Reincarnated as the Chosen One in My All-Time Favorite Fantasy Novel: V - The Rabbit Army, Of Course!

Kamiael had loaned them each a pegasus from his stables. While each horse had a magnificent pair of wings, with non-Angelus riders, they were too burdened to take flight. Still, they could run faster than a typical horse.

Kenichi led them to the Burrows, barely needing to consult a map. The map at the back of the book paired with Amagami's detailed descriptions gave him all he needed to identify the roads and landmarks.

Marumi rode beside him. “Where are we headed?” she asked, looking at the brush and rolling hills of this strange place.

“The Burrows,” Kenichi said.

A chill wind blew across the road. “Is this a place of the dead?” she said.

Kenichi laughed. “No,” he said. “It's where we're going to find the Rabbits.”

Kofi grunted. “I think we're good on provisions, boy,” he said. “Besides, rabbits barely have enough meat on them to make it worth the effort.”

“We're not looking for rabbits to hunt,” Kenichi said. “We're looking for Rabbits to fight.”

“Has he struck his head upon anything recently?” Tivareth asked. Kofi chuckled.

“I think he means to enlist them as allies in the fight against evil,” Ash said in a solemn tone. His pegasus had black wings.

“Didn't everybody agree to help us already?” asked Korrael astride her own pegasus. She looked like a doll upon its back.

“Rabbits aren't part of the People of the Light,” Kenichi said. “We have to ask them separately.

“Why do we need the help of Rabbits?” said Oren astride a pegasus that was busy rethinking its life.

“It'll be important later, like Chekhov's gun,” Kenichi said.

“Is this yet another artifact we must find? One of your ‘plot coupons’?” Momiji said, using the strange words delicately.

“No,” said Kenichi. It's a mark of brilliant writing. If you introduce an element in a story, it should serve a purpose later. The Rabbits are quite possibly the best Chekhov's gun I've ever read about.”

“And we're certainly a lot nicer to look at too,” said a voice. On a rock in the distance stood a Rabbit on its hind legs. It wore a crown of woven sticks and a cloak of foxhide. In its front paw, it held a club, and in the other, a shield. “While I don't appreciate the dwarf's assessment of our musculature, I do appreciate your kind words.” He pointed his club at Kenichi. “To what do I owe the honor?”

Kenichi climbed off his pegasus. He hurried over to the Rabbit King and bowed deeply. “Oh, great King Tharnwald, the Burrowbreaker, it's such an honor.”

The Rabbit snorted. “I've been licked less adoringly,” he said. “Rise, human, and state your business.”

“Oh, yes,” said Kenichi. He could barely contain his smiles. His favorite part in the entire story, every last word of The Eternal Blade of Tenrai, was the Rabbits! And here he was! “We seek you, mighty king, and your terrible army to help us defeat the Dark Lord,” he said, remembering what Pukku had said in the book.

Tharnwald extended his ears. “I'm listening,” he said.

“Without the bounding strength of the Rabbit Army, we would surely be at a loss. Would you do us the honor and join us in our battle against evil?”

Tharnwald pretended to think about this request. His ears twitched as he did so.

“What is in it for us?” he said at last.

“I will guarantee that your lands, the Burrows, remain free from the encroachment of People of the Light. None of them shall stake a claim against your ancestral home. None shall hunt your people within your bounds. None shall seek to overthrow your dominion.”

“And what right have you to make such guarantees?” said the Rabbit.

“He has the will of Velemir behind him,” said Ash. “And the support of the People of the Land. Any binds he ties with you bind the rest of the People, never to be severed.”

Tharnwald hopped off his stone and loped over to Ash. “As one king to another,” he said, his voice serious, “I accept.” He held out his paw.

Ash climbed off his horse, took a knee, and shook the Rabbit's proffered paw. “It is done,” he said.

Tharnwald scurried back over to his rock. He bellowed across the land. “Did you hear that, you scrawny bush-buns? We have a war to prepare for!”

Soon, the entire land was filled with the curious looks of Rabbits emerging from their burrows. The ground was awash with them. Kenichi was having the time of his life seeing all the Rabbits poke their fluffy heads out of their holes.

The Rabbits began a makeshift celebration in preparation for battle. Several rolled out a large cookpot, and another bunch carried wood to start a fire. The Rabbits filled the pot with water and a variety of sliced vegetables, and soon had a roaring fire beneath the thing. Marumi approached a Rabbit wearing an apron and a toque and offered her assistance in preparing the meal.

Several of the larger warrior Rabbits started doing battle drills, and this captured the attention of Ash, Oren, and Korrael. Kofi was giving pointers to a blacksmith Rabbit working blades, and Tivareth was giving pointers to a row of archer Rabbits. Momiji and Pukku were taking care of the pegasi.

That's when it happened. “Are you a hero?” said a small voice. Kenichi looked over. At his feet were a few little Rabbits, the young ones of the Burrows.

He crouched down and looked at the one who spoke. “I am,” he said. This was his favorite part in the book, when Pukku got to play with the little Rabbits. He had pretended to be a ferocious dragon, and the little Rabbits were an army of warriors set to take him down. As a kid reading The Eternal Blade of Tenrai, he had always longed to get to play with a group of Rabbits like this. He would often visit pet stores to look at the rabbits they would have, and wish that he could get one as a pet, but his parents wouldn't let him get any pets, as he was too busy with his other activities to properly care for one.

He patted the little Rabbit on the head. The fur was soft and its stubby ears twitched. “But I can also turn into a ferocious dragon!” he said. Then he stood to his full height and gave a roar so loud that even Tharnwald stopped his conversation with Ash to look over at the noise.

Kenichi stomped. “I'm a mighty dragon, and no army of tiny Rabbits can stop me!” he said.

The little Rabbit that had first spoken to him cowered briefly, until it realized that all the eyes of the Rabbits were on them. It whispered to the others, “We'd better show the old folks what we're made of,” it said in a squeaky voice.

The other little Rabbits nodded.

“We're not just any ordinary Rabbits,” said the little Rabbit. “We're Burrowbreaker Rabbits! Attack!”

The entire army of little Rabbits ran at Kenichi. They swarmed him, pounced on him, and some even bit him lightly. The leader of the little Rabbits scurried up him, and once it was on his head, declared in a loud, albeit still squeaky voice, “The dragon will fall by my paw!” before hitting Kenichi on the head with a club.

Kenichi fell like a hewn tree, the little Rabbits scattering before he struck the ground, all except the one that had delivered the “fatal” blow.

Once Kenichi had collided to the ground, the other little Rabbits approached, slowly at first, their noses sniffing the air. Then, sure that he had been truly and thoroughly defeated, they all pounced on him, covering him in a thick layer of Rabbits.

Had he still been conscious, he would have loved it.

The next thing he knew, he saw Momiji and Marumi crouched in front of him. When Momiji saw Kenichi's eyes flutter open, a smile crept across his face. “It looks like he's still with us.”

Marumi held a bowl of the stew out for him. “Are you hungry?” she said.

Kenichi sat up, dazed. He blinked a few times, took the bowl, then started eating. “Did the Rabbits beat me?” he said after a while, his head smarting where the one had bludgeoned him.

“Yes,” Marumi said. “But they're sorry, especially little Daucus.” A small Rabbit hid behind her calf. It crept out, its ears down at its side.

“I'm sorry, sir,” it said, holding a club behind its back.

Kenich smiled, pushing past the lingering headache. “It's okay,” he said, patting the Rabbit on the head again.

Tharnwald stepped up next to Daucus. “Paw of my paw,” he said, ruffling the hair of the little Rabbit. “He'll be a giant slayer in no time.”

Kenichi gave a weak nod. He looked around and saw that things were settling down at the Burrows. The stew that Marumi had given him was excellent. The flavors of celery, carrots, parsnips, and radishes all rolled around on his tongue in perfect harmony. When he was done, he handed the bowl back to Marumi before leaning back and watching the stars start to decorate the early evening sky.

“I could go for one of those unicorn rainbow lattes right about now,” he said to nobody in particular.

“That Rabbit must have hit you harder than it seemed,” said Tivareth, plopping down beside him.

“Give the boy a break, elf,” said Kofi, taking the other side. “He's just been bested by a hare.” Then he snorted a laugh at something that crossed his head. “Did you have a bad hare day, boy?”

“We're Rabbits, not hares,” said a passing Rabbit.

Kofi cleared his throat. When the Rabbit had gone, he slapped Kenichi on the shoulder. “Oh, look,” he said. “There's the first star of the night. We call it the Jewel of the Mountain. Legend has it that our earliest smith, Raugen, was mining deep within the mountain, when he came upon a gem so bright and shiny that it nearly blinded him. It was so coveted by dwarves and men and the other People of the Light that the only recourse was to set it in the heavens. And so, Raugen placed it there so we could all enjoy it.”

Tivareth gave a bitter laugh. “It's actually the Guiding Lantern. The elf shipwright, Rogilien, needed a way to traverse from Elfheim to the world of mortals to establish trade with the short-lived ones. The seas between the lands were so dark and stormy, that only the brightest lamp would do to guide him through the treacherous waters. When he had made the arduous journey, he hung the lamp in the sky so that others may be guided by its light.”

"Both legends sound equally plausible," Kenichi said politely.

The elf and the dwarf crossed their arms and faced away from one another.

It was Ash that spoke next. He appeared from out of nowhere, silent as a shadow. “It's just a star,” he said. “A billion miles away, it floats there in space. The light we are seeing is taking ages to get here, and were we able to build an optical engine refined enough to see what civilization lingered upon the worlds drifting around it, they would look to be primitive and ancient, though in all likelihood, they would be as advanced as we.”

Kofi and Ti were still pouting.

“Or perhaps more.” He looked to Kenichi. “A word, Ken?”

Away from the crowd, Ash stood under a tree. The stars filled the sky, a beautiful tapestry of lights and stellar clouds. “What is it?” Kenichi said.

“I'd like to know more about the next phase of your running fast. How do you propose we get the Mirror Sword?”

Kenichi beamed. “It'll be a piece of cake,” he said. “And nobody will have to die.”

Ash's eyes widened. “I certainly hope there will be no need for sacrifice. I am unsure of how things are on your world, but here we have done away with such barbary.”

Kenichi laughed. “Oh, sorry,” he said. “No. We're way past that where I'm from too.” Then he told Ash his plan on how to get the Mirror Sword, the only weapon known to be able to defeat Kagamikurai.