No Baba!

Let’s rewind time.

Nachikatsuura, Wakayama. It is a small town where mountains meet the sea, located on the Kii Peninsula. The home of the highest cascade in Japan, the Nachi Waterfall, and the Daimon-zaka slope, a sacred cobblestone route paved across millennial cedar trees. Also known for its open hot springs and the cluster of small rocky formations in Katsura Bay, the Ki-no-Matsushima islands.

Typhoons may occur during the summer season, but today, it does not appear to be the case. With the arrival of a warm morning, various creatures awake from their slumber.

It isn’t any different in this small garden where we can find a truly remarkable creature. Oryctolagus cuniculus babacus, commonly known as a Baba.

Crawling from under a Yada, a resident species with whom they usually form a symbiosis interspecies relationship, the Baba stretches to face another challenging day.

Commonly mistaken for a rodent, this lagomorph hunts for food despite being a herbivore. They are known to have a voracious appetite.

Incredibly clever, they manage to enter their natural enemy’s den, risking their lives for another meal. As expected two times every week, at this time, the Ru is in a deep sleep.

This ape possesses a pocket-sized technological device that can summon any morsel. And the rabbit knows it all too well.

Carefully to not wake him up, he slowly grasps the human’s index finger to place it on the device. A single blunder could be his last.

Placing it on the minuscule circle on the inferior part of the equipment is the crucial step to obtaining his prize.

But the worst has happened. It vibrated. The human reacts and traps the rabbit around his arms.

(“Please Yada… You don’t have to move… Just point the hose to the flowers…”)

A strike of luck. It was an unconscious reaction, and the big mammal was still snoozing. The chance to run away comes when the ape rolls and loosens his grip.

Descending from the human’s nest, the rabbit leaves the lair victorious. Now, he just has to wait in his territory, out of danger.

Eventually, another species from this Peninsula arrives. A harmless species toward the rabbit. It is called… the Delivery Man. They can reach astonishing speeds of 18 mph on their migrations using their so-called Flying Pigeon.

The animal hurls an 8 x 6 x 4-inch cardboard box, hitting the Yada’s skull but ultimately falling on the ground. It was the rabbit’s feast. His deserved assortment of fresh papayas, juicy plums, succulent peaches, and bright strawberries. He does not have to starve for another day.

However, soon, his peace is disrupted. A gargantuan feathered beast, a masked thick-furred mammal, and two lively humans, one blue-colored while the other green-colored, came to claim his territory.

He hisses and growls, trying to frighten the invaders. The green-colored human leaves. His menacing screeches might have worked for that one but not so much for the others.

The Yada is the first victim. The Hai constricts her prey, squeezing it with considerable force. They will not escape any time soon.

The rabbit knows there is no time to dally with. So, to handle the rest while also trying to diverge the Hai’s attention, the Baba resorts to an extreme intimidation technique, only employed when facing the greatest of dangers. A game of cards. In this case, Poker.

They assume the standard procedure for this situation: to sit in a circle facing each other.

Five cards are dealt to each player. They may return as many cards as they want to the deck and draw the same amount.

Every participant does that. All but the Baba, who keeps his hand. A full house. His victory is assured.

This wasn’t a mere chance. He is a conning being, after all. While shuffling, he manipulated the cards in his favor. Desperate measures are needed to survive in the wild.

They must now reveal their cards. The Hai, playing as a team with the Yada, only has a Queen as a high card, while the tanuki shows a pair of threes and a pair of Jacks, which is not a bad hand at all.

The Baba confidently reveals his cards.

But, as always, you can’t predict Mother Nature.

The giant Emu unfolds his cards one by one. As a twist of fate, he was holding a four-of-a-kind.

Defeated, the rabbit knows its destiny. He has to leave. He understands that his adoptive mother was captured and that even if she escapes, she might prefer the company of those other beasts. They were superior to him.

What started as a good day for our long-eared companion ended as a disaster.

He is now destined to roam on the treacherous streets. He might manage to sustain himself for a few days as, before leaving his habitat, he wrapped nourishment in a green cloth around his neck. But it won’t take long for his provisions to run out.

Securing a water source at a nearby park was unchallenging, although he had to share it with a flock of nasty birds.

But that might not be the only thing he obtains. A perfect round ichigo daifuku resting on a plate under a tree. The sunlight hitting it at the right angle makes it glow as diamonds from the perspective of our famished rabbit.

What he doesn’t know is that two sly predators are hiding, waiting for their target to fall into their trap.

It’s too good to resist. He has to take the shot. Such an opportunity rarely presents itself again. A net engulfs the Baba, powerfully closing and rising through the tree branch. He was doomed.

(“I can’t believe it, we’ve finally found him! Brother, we are going to be filthy rich with this one!”)

Will this be the end for our little friend? We shall now return to the events happening at his old abode.

ᙏ̤̫

Where could Baba be? He was playing cards with his buddies just now.

“Oh no! Did something happen to the little guy?” Niwashi alarmingly asks.

“Let’s remain calm. We’ll split up to cover more ground and find him quickly!” Tenchō instructs.

Everyone starts looking for Baba everywhere.

Hai is trying to ask if Emu L. Jackson knows anything about him using a cardboard box as a drum. But since she isn’t using the right tool for the job, it takes her longer to form words.

Yada is desperate. I've never seen her crawl around so much. I've walked through every floor of the house, and nothing. He wasn’t accidentally closed inside the greenhouse. He also didn't get stuck in the holes he's been digging.

“Ru! Come here!"

"What is it?”

“I was finally able to talk with Emu L Jackson. He says that after the poker game was over, he saw Baba leaving the yard.”

“What? Why the hell did he do that?”

Yada had long left the house while I was distracted. Using all her might, she pulled her entire body, only using her arms through the streets.

Maybe because she hadn't exercised her body for so long, her muscles atrophied, and she couldn’t walk.

Her arms start to tremble from the weight and fatigue. With each advance, she gets slower and slower. Her face is boiling red, and she's gritting her teeth to endure the pain.

She remembers the day the young kit appeared from the bushes. The memories of him being the only thing that, by standing each day next to her, kept her here when she had already given up. I have to hold on a little more, she thinks.

She continues to drag herself along the boiling pavement. Her hands slide, and she slips to the ground. She resorts to her forearms. Her skin keeps scratching on small rocks. She’s filled with bruises and screaming profusely:

“No!”

“No!”

“No…”

“N…”

…

Until she uses her last ounce of energy remaining and collapses to the ground. The only thing she could do now was to cry.

When I realize what’s happening, I run after her.

“Are you mad?” I instinctively burst out, immediately realizing how inconsiderate I was. “I’m sorry I lashed out, but please calm down. I understand you are very worried and afraid that something has happened to him. But I promise we'll find him. Let me help you.”

While I piggyback carry Yada, Tenchō waves a newspaper in the distance. He is running as fast as a person with a leg prosthesis could.

“Uff, Ufff…H…Hey, Ru!! Look what I found!”

He catches his breath against a street lamp and hands me the paper. I shockingly discern Baba’s picture!

“WANTED! Dead or Alive. 5.000.000.000 blueberries. (Disclaimer: Each blueberry is worth 100 yen). This fugitive has robbed astronomical amounts of bread and might be armed with his own teeth.”

What the...?