Kawaii hated life. Why couldnât he have just barricaded himself in his cozy burrow and slept until he died? When a few days prior he had been unceremoniously dumped out of his hole so they could do some ârenovationsâ, he had settled into the makeshift generalâs quarters and figured that was that. But then these two leader rabbits, Windshift and Secretmapper, come with the nerve to tell him to leave off in search of the same group Rukia went after? First off, he hated Rukia, and meeting her alone scared him greatly. Secondly, what was he to do when he found them? Drag them back to the warren? He was angry, and obviously argued. When he was forcibly removed and commanded to take the travelers back, he had worked up a large temper and set off in a huff. Now, of course, he was lost. All he knew was he had to find the stream. Being quite thirsty in the first place, he was relieved when he stumbled out of a raucous cornfield and beheld it. Clear, flowing, and cool, he sank to the banks and sucked in water, making a good deal of unnecessary noise. He had drank for a good thirty seconds when a voice sounded politely behind him
âUm, excuse me sir.â Kawaii whirled around in surprise to find a small frog, green and slick, sitting behind him. âI am Darkroot, and youâre drinking my home.â Kawaii spat on the banks and began to scrub his tongue while Darkroot watched, fascinated. âSo, what are you doing here?â
âPhteph. Iâm looking for a few rabbits and a hawk, have you seen them pass by here?â Darkroot paused for a second and pondered this.
âOh yes. Two rabbits and a hawk came through about two weeks ago. Following them by about a day was another rabbit. But she got captured by a couple of foxes and marched downstream with them.â Kawaii froze. Foxes? Rukia? Maybe they ate her! He brightened. This might not be a bad trip after all!
âI appreciate the information! Goodbye Darkroot!â He began to saunter off when Darkroot called him.
âWait! Umm, can I come with you? Iâm a bit bored, and seeing as you just destroyed my home, I guess you owe it to me a little, eh?â Kawaii shrugged nonchalantly.
âAllâs same to me. Come along if you want.â Darkroot squealed in anticipation, and hopped into the stream, where he swam alongside Kawaii.
The mid-afternoon sun beat down on Kawaii and Darkroot as they passed onwards through the fields surrounding the western stream. Kawaii was sweating profusely, and calling Darkroot, settled down over a hunched aspen. In the shade, he panted as the frog shook moisture from his skin and went out to dry. As he went out, he spotted something nearby.
âHey Kawaii, come check this out!â Kawaii rolled his eyes and hopped over slowly to where Darkroot was pointing frantically.
âWhat is it?â He asked. As he followed Darkrootâs gaze, however, he soon found out. On the shore of the stream, ragged and covered in dirt, was the carcass of a large fox. Kawaii wrinkled his nose in disgust at the smell, and said, âletâs get out of here. Iâm creeped out.â But Darkroot was fascinated.
âThatâs one of the foxes that took the rabbit.â For a second time, Kawaii froze. One of the foxes was dead? He immediately thought of the possibility Rukia had killed it, but he smirked and pushed it aside. What had happened? The other fox was nowhere in sight, and neither was Rukia. Based on his extensive scouting research, the body was about a week old, and flies were gathering. He was worried. What was wrong with this place? Never having experienced life in the open world, he began to fear the worst. What if he had some kind of outside world disease? What if he were to die tonight? He shook his head at the prospects, preposterous. Darkroot had said that the stream led to a forest about a dayâs march from where they were at, so without further ado, he gathered Darkroot and they continued, the hot sun at their backs.
