Luna Library

Night 1 of the Moonlight Festival

Have you ever been hit by a car? Strange question, right? But stick with me for a second.

It was Monday. Just an ordinary, unremarkable Monday𝄖 except for one thing: the sky had three full moons dominating it. No one saw this coming; how could we? It's been ten years since something like this ever occurred.

I stood there in awe, staring at the sky. The world felt still under the moons, as if time itself were holding its breath.

The screeching sound of tires. The loud magic engine. The sudden thud. Everything happened within moments of each other.

The next thing I knew, I was lying on the road, my body tingling from the impact.

"Am I dead?" I asked, staring at the cracked pavement beneath my head.

I sat up, groaning, only to see the car...

...Or what was left of it.

The front of it was demolished, as if it rammed into a tree... and lost.

The door of the beat-up vehicle creaked open—parallel to the ground, like something out of a fancy sci-fi play. Out stepped a single man dressed in a sharp, spotless suit. I never seen clothes that fancy in real life.

Before I could even ask if he was okay, he started yelling at me, throwing curse words left and right. I tried to defend myself, but my stance was frozen. My bravado was completely gone.

And that was how I ended up here, in a hotdog suit, spinning a sign for his restaurant under the blazing sun.

Morning 2 of the Moonlight Festival

It could have been worse. Imagine if I had been hit by a bus...

Could I have confronted him? He was the one who hit me, after all. But his hospital bills were no joke. And I was the one standing in the middle of the road. Definitely not my proudest moment. And this wasn't either.

"Come eat at Rockaburger City, where this food rocks!" I shouted, trying to muster some enthusiasm. I even added a little dance for the kids passing by.

Their laughter didn't make it any less humiliating.

I never thought I'd end up working fast food for the number-one restaurant in Cirque.

Cirque, as its name suggested, was a circular town encased by a massive brick wall. It was divided into four sections: North, East, South, and West. I lived in South Cirque, where the poor folk resided, but that night, I decided to run away from home and explore what West Cirque had to offer. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought I'd be hit by that giant hunk of metal.

This town was full of humans and beastmen. Outside of me, every member of this dumb restaurant was an underpaid beastman. Not that I really cared, though; they had their own issues, and I sadly had mine.

"Nyaaaaaaa!" I heard a loud scream from behind, but before I could turn, I felt something—or rather, someone—pounce on my back.

I turned around and heard the owner yell from behind, "Korra! Quit messing around!"

I twisted and turned to finally get a look at my attacker. She was a beastman, all right, even wearing a hat that accentuated her cat ears. She smelled like fish, and her pink eyes gleamed with cat-like pupils.

I pushed her off, but to my misery, she bounced off a human customer standing in line. The random human fell.

Her outfit was fancy, well-tailored and elegant, like something a noble's daughter might wear. But the heart-shaped sticker on her cheek clashed with the aesthetic.

She patted herself down while the owner got busy helping the customer on the floor. Despite his injuries from the previous night, he could really move.

While the owner was distracted, Korra took the time to introduce herself by standing on a box. "Listen well, my hotdog companion! I am Korraline Belle, the right-winged angel of Moonshire. One day, everyone will cheer for my name in ways you can't even imagine. Usually, people fawn over me... So normally, I would allow only a single head pat, but with the lack of love I am receiving today, I will allow you to give me three head pats."

"Are you stupid?"

She nearly fell off her box, stunned by my response. "At least give me your name, NYA!"

"Fine... Shiori. Sukafu Shiori... But just call me Sukafu."

Korra squinted at me. "So, Su-Shi, why are you here? You owe the owner some money?"

I ignored my new nickname. "Yeah... Everyone here owes him something. That's how he makes his money. I owe him thirty thousand seeds."

Korra blinked. "I owe him ten seeds..."

I stared at her dumbfounded. "Listen, if that's all you owe, either borrow the money from someone else or run away. I doubt any hunter will chase you for a ten-seed bounty, Stupid."

Korra's ears flickered in annoyance, but her lips curled into a grin. "Run away? Ha! That's quitter talk, Su-Shi! A true angel never runs from destiny."

"Angel?" I raised an eyebrow. "Hmph. If you keep calling yourself that, maybe one day a god might actually take you seriously."

She gasped, placing a hand dramatically over her chest. "I am too an angel!" She stepped back. "My god sent me here to find someone worthy of being his left wing~"

"Some angel. Does your god know you knock down innocent civilians and put stickers on your face?"

Korra touched the heart-shaped sticker on her cheek. For a moment, we both stared at each other in silence. Her tail twitched, and just when I thought I'd hit a nerve, she quickly snapped back to her usual self.

"Either way," she huffed, trying to sound composed, "I'm not running away. And your other solution is also dumb. Borrow money? I'm a cat-girl in some random town. Where am I going to find a person who's—"

I didn't let her finish. Without a word, I thrust the ten seeds I'd been holding onto and forced them into her chest.

Her cat-like eyes widened as each coin fell gently into her hands. Her pupils dilated, growing larger as she stared at the seeds now resting in her palms, as if trying to figure out whether this was some sort of trick.

"Wha...."

"Your problem is solved. Get out of my face and never come back."

She stood there, frozen, her mouth slightly open as if trying to come up with an answer. "I can't take this money... You need it more than I do..."

"I'd rather get hit by another car than deal with your theatrics. Now go. You're free."

Korra stood there, processing my words, her ears twitching. Her gaze dropped, and for a brief second, her shoulders slumped. Slowly, she pulled off her pink hat, revealing the soft fluff of her cat ears beneath. Then, with a mischievous grin, she stepped forward.

"Pat my head."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

Her grin widened. "Consider this payment. Hurry up! Or do you want your interest to pile up?"

"You're unbelievable..."

Korra wiggled her ears, waiting.

I stared at her in silence, refusing to let her have her way.

Her grin widened even more, as if she already knew how this would end. "A token of appreciation, from one angel of Moonshire to another sorta-angel of Cirque. Come on, you know you wanna~"

Before I could say another word, a strange stillness settled over the street. It was subtle at first, like the whole town was holding its breath.

A bad feeling crept up my spine.

Then I heard it: the crying strain of metal against the concrete, distant but growing louder. A bus, moving sluggishly, came to an unnatural stop in the middle of the road. The festival crowd parted, their chatter fading into a hushed unease as something emerged.

A massive figure stepped out from behind the bus, towering over everyone. Its fur glistened under the three moonlights—pure white, almost like fresh snow. The air grew heavy around us.

"Korra..." I muttered, my throat tight. "Quiet down... I think—"

"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

The sound tore through the air, louder than anything I'd ever heard. Korra and I froze, eyes wide, locked in a shared look of terror.

The beastman𝄖 no, this creature as far larger than any I'd ever seen. His muscles rippled beneath his fur, and with a casual movement, he reached out and grabbed the bus.

The crowd gasped in disbelief. His massive hand clutched the vehicle as if it was no more than a toy, and with a deep grunt, he lifted it effortlessly into the air. I started moving, making sure to keep my eyes on the beast.

I couldn't process it. My brain told me it was impossible, but my eyes refused to look away.

"What the... he's really lifting it..."

Without warning, the beastman hurled the bus toward us. It spun through the air, a two-ton mass of metal and machinery flying straight at us like a cannonball.

I glanced at Korra, who was frozen stiff. Damn it, that idiot! Without thinking, I turned and quickly shoved her.

Time slowed. And it kept slowing... as if the goddess of time were holding her breath.

The bus slammed into me, crushing me against the brick wall with a deafening crash. Pain exploded in every part of my body, my vision darkening around the edges. I heard glass shattering, metal twisting, and the distant, horrified screams of the crowd.

The universe faded into darkness.

On a random Tuesday night, just like any other... imagine getting hit by a bus.