[HIATUS] G o l d e n [[Louis x OC]] ; Beastars

Chapter 3

"Hello? Louis? Earth to Louis!"

Louis was snapped out of his stunned state by a girl who resembles his late friend, Katsumi, waving her hand in front of his face and calling out to him. He looks the girl over and no doubt she does look a lot like the girl he used to know, but that's not possible. That girl is dead, but she spoke to him as if she knew him. Louis is so confused at the moment he didn't know how to respond.

"Why are you looking at me like you've just seen a ghost?" the hybrid huffs out in annoyance at Louis's lack of response.

The deer looked down at the girl's bright, golden eyes and it wasn't until then that he was sure it was her. It had to be, no one else had those eyes and that look.

"I think I have." he breathes out, still coming to terms with this new development.

Katsumi raises her brow at her old friend when he claimed to have just seen a ghost and the suddenly realized what he meant, "Oh? Oh!.... Yeah, I forgot, sorry. Well, um, surprise.....I'm alive."

Louis gave Katsumi a dumbfounded look after her lackluster and frankly uninformative announcement. He could see that Katsumi was alive, what baffled him was the 'how' part of it. How is she here, right now? How is she alive? How did he not know this? How is she so calm!?

"I don't understand." Louis shook his head and let his eyes dart around the rooftop looking for a place he could take a seat, feeling overwhelmed.

Katsumi noticed Louis's current state and directed him over to a couple of cheap, plastic chairs near a bed of flowers that she and Haru used to sit and eat lunch earlier today. Louis and her took a seat, and he seemed less likely to throw up now that he was sitting--which was a good sign for Katsumi to start explaining how she is, in fact, not dead. Katsumi just wasn't sure how to do it. She hasn't had this conversation with anybody yet and never planned to, but before Katsumi could start Louis beat her to the punch.

"How is this even possible. I was told you were dead. I haven't seen you in years. Did my father lie to me? He told me to my face that you and your fath-"

"Louis," she cut him off before he could go any further, "take a breath."

Louis did as he was instructed and let himself calm down and the air passed through his nostrils, filtered through his lungs, and out again.

"Listen, Louis, your father didn't lie to you. My father actually did die and," she looked directed her gaze towards the lilies Haru planted, "as far as anybody was concerned, I was super dead."

Louis, obviously not satisfied with her statement, gave Katsumi a look that said 'are you serious?'. She was serious, though, as far as anybody was concerned she was dead--like never coming back dead, and she wanted to stay like that. Her grandfather was the one who brought her back and neglected to tell her that the deer she once knew was here and in her class, he's the one who should be having this incredibly difficult and awkward conversation.

Katsumi wasn't planning on saying much else about the past, but she knew she made a mistake when she looked into Louis's eyes. Every physical feature about Louis could be different, he's much bigger now, voice deeper, stronger build, speech clearer, but his eyes? They remained the same, and she could never say no to him.

Katsumi let out a defeated sigh, "So, the report of my death was an exaggeration. I-I may have made it look like...I...died, and then I....left?" she asked instead of explained like Louis could answer her and say 'ding ding ding, correct! You did leave. Congrats.', but he didn't know that. This is the first he's heard of it, which must be shocking for him. Katsumi wishes she was willing to tell him more, but she....just couldn't bring herself to dive any deeper. There was a time where she wouldn't have hesitated to tell the deer anything, but now? Everything is different.