Their Battle Begins

I wave my free hand in the air and catch the attention of the older man leaning against his silver car. He wears a textbook example of business casual along with a pair of glasses that screams 'office worker'. Standing next to the man is a girl I've met only once, but she certainly left an impression at that time. She fiddles with a strand of her thick, almost orange hair.

"Good morning, Noa! You two seem to be doing well!"

"Sorry for having you show up so early, Mark."

"No problem! I wanted to be early at least for today."

To my surprise, he seems to be completely composed. Considering the last time Ange was involved with something, I had expected him to be all over his daughter with tears in his eyes.

One hand is kept in his pocket as Mark pushes up from his spot against the vehicle.

"Nervous?"

"More than even my own first day of school…"

"Hahaha! I get what you mean!"

He pats me on the shoulder while the two rabbits seem too nervous to properly fight. Ange makes the first move and crosses her arms. She may try to look confident, but you can see the twitching of her eyebrows.

"A-Are you already scared Droopy Ears? W-We haven't even seen anything yet!"

"Y-You're one to talk, Old Man! Look at how your hands are shaking!"

The two move off to the side as us guys watch them face off. Mark removes his glasses and begins cleaning the lenses. The hand previously hidden in his pocket is now revealed and can't stop fiddling with a hand lighter.

"Do you think I'm managing to look alright?"

"If somebody were to walk by, I don't think they would realise."

Mark takes a deep breath and conceals his quivering hand back into his pocket.

"I guess we're both pretty good at hiding our fear."

"Hopefully that's the case. I'd rather not add to their anxiety."

I can't take my eyes off of the two girls just trying to keep themselves from running away. Mira still hasn't removed her hands from the backpack straps and Ange is constantly fiddling with either her hair or her clothes. If the two of us don't act strong as their guardians, they won't be able to rest easy when we leave. No matter what it takes, I won't allow myself to show any more weakness until they reach their destination.

Beside me, Mark lets out a light chuckle.

"You really are a fine young man, Noa."

"Don't say that, it will make you look older."

"Hahaha! I suppose so!"

Mark claps his hands together a couple of times. The rabbits are so on edge that this small sound was enough to make them jump.

"Time is of the essence. We don't want to be late on the first day."

""Okay…""

They don't sound ecstatic, but they follow our lead out of the parking lot and towards the path I'm more than familiar with. Much like in the early afternoon, the road is absolutely packed with cars taking the one and only road to school from this direction. The school has enough students that the line of cars reaches all the way to the bridge.

The salaryman frowns at the little room between the lanes for cars and the railing.

"You walk this everyday? It doesn't seem very safe…"

"It definitely looks scary at first, but the cars are never moving fast enough to hit anybody."

Like it's the most natural thing in the world, I start walking down the uneven concrete. It takes a few moments for Mark and me to realise that the girls aren't behind us on the bridge.

"What's the matter, Ange?"

"Look at all of the cars, Dad! How many people are we dealing with at the other end!?"

The two are crowded behind a tree just past the patch of grass. The extra luggage makes it difficult for them to properly hide themselves from the passersby driving at a snail's pace. I have to retrace my steps to try and convince the rabbits to leave the forest.

"Half of those are going to my school, so it's not terrible."

"That's still too many!"

Mira is insistent on camping in the bushes she grew up in. I'm sure even compared to my apartment, this greenery must be more familiar and comfortable. Unfortunately, this does the opposite of making life easier. Mark also seems at a loss at how to proceed from this point. The cars aren't exactly going anywhere.

"This really is a problem…"

"I knew that the bridge would be rough, but I didn't expect it to be this bad…"

Just when we're out of ideas, Mira and Ange suddenly perk up. The source of the disturbance doesn't reach the ears of us humans before the visible rustling within the trees. They move away from the trees and onto the grass as the large mass moves closer and closer. To all of our surprise, it isn't a single large entity, but a group of very small entities.

"W-What are you all doing here!?"

"My soldiers!? You should have returned home!"

From the darkness flood out tens of rabbits of all shapes, sizes, and colours. Among the mob, you can make out two distinct groups of either floppy ears or thick manes. The two parties gather at the edge of the trees and begin wildly squeaking. Some even wave small flags with their respective girl's colour.

"You guys…"

"To think you would come this far for me…"

Mira and Ange are lost for words at the show of support offered by the small creatures. I may be unable to understand their language, but I don't need to in order to understand the weight of their waving arms and stomping feet. It isn't just us as their new family behind them. No matter where these girls go, their old family will also always be here to push them to new heights. Just like humans, rabbits will take care of their own.

Determination now burns in Mira's eyes as she turns her back to her field of supporters.

"You all are right, I can't let this stop me. I'm a lop! The world has always been ours to rule!"

Her blue hair waves behind as she moves to join me on the concrete. However, her path is cut short as a large blanket of orange runs past her.

"Don't think that you're the only one with claim to this land!"

Ange leaps forward and places herself at the start of the walkway leading to our schools. She crosses her arms and tilts her head such that she's looking down at Mira.

"All of this will one day be ours! It only makes sense that I can move freely on our land!"

"Don't think we'll sit by and let you!"

With renewed spirit, the two rabbits race ahead along the side of the road. Mark and I had to lead them over here, but now we're being left in the dust. The power of their rivalry really is something else. No, not just that. The power of rabbits really is something else.

The patch rabbits too dense to count continue to watch as the two disappear into the distance. I turn to the small creatures and offer a military salute similar to the one Mira is fond of.

"You have my gratitude, soldiers!"

My heartfelt thanks reach the balls of fluff as I receive countless salutes in return. With that final motion, the rabbits disappear back into the forest.

The rest of the journey is painless as the cars predictably cause no issues. Mira and Ange simply needed that one last push to cross the final major obstacle. Now it's just continuing past the high school and down the road to the middle school. However, my watch notifies me that my journey ends here.

"Crap…I won't make it back in time…"

"We certainly killed a lot of time."

Mark confirms the time for himself as we cross directly in front of the high school entrance. It will still take at least five to ten minutes of walking to reach the other school, not to mention the time of watching the girls actually enter the building. By the time I walk all the way back, the first period will be well underway.

"Being tardy once in a while shouldn't hurt too bad…"

"That won't do, Noa."

Mark places a hand on my shoulder and shakes his head.

"You have your own responsibilities. Let me take it from here."

"But…"

"Saying goodbye here and saying it over there won't be much different. Besides, Ange is here to help Mira out."

I can feel my face tighten up at the idea as I watch the two girls walking just a little further ahead. Mira is smiling, that alone can put my heart at least mostly at ease. There is no way to remove all of the worry, but how am I going to best her current enthusiasm?

"Alright…"

I jog to catch up to the pair of rabbits and reach for Mira's shoulder.

"Sorry, but you'll have to go the rest of the way on your own."

"Huh? Noa is leaving so soon!?"

"This is my stop after all."

I point behind me to the large building with students constantly funneling inside. We both knew that this moment would come eventually, but neither of us were looking forward to it. Regardless, I have to put on a strong face.

"I'll see you after school, alright?"

Mira leans forward as if to say something, but no words come out. Instead, she meets my determination with her own.

"I'll be waiting!"

"Good luck, Mira."

I pull my hand back and watch the three of them continue off into the distance.