Won't You Be My Friend?

A young woman had taken a break from her all-day study session to go for a walk. It was early afternoon, and the shady park would be an excellent refreshment. Soon, she would be ready to dive into the books again.

As she followed a leafy trail, she was surprised to see a rabbit cross the path in front of her. It quickly slipped into the brush. More surprising, two -- no, three -- more rabbits followed. They did seem to be eager to reach their destination, yet they did not run as though they had been frightened. They had taken no notice of the young woman at all.

Curious, the young woman stepped off the trail and followed the rabbits through the foliage. She emerged into an isolated clearing. A short distance away, a man with white hair and a blue and white checked shirt crouched in the grass, his back to her. The rabbits moved directly to the man, joining a dozen or so of their fellows already gathered attentively around him.

She watched in amazement as the man, otherwise quite still, reached out to gently caress the rabbits one by one. He seemed to be talking to them, but his voice was too soft for her to understand what he was saying.

Suddenly, he raised his voice. “Good morning.” Although he had not turned around, the young woman realized he was addressing her.

“Oh -- good morning!” she replied. “That’s quite an amazing thing you’re doing! Can I ask … how it’s done?”

His shoulders shrugged. “I’ve always been able to do it.” He turned his head slightly toward her, but his hair was long in front, and so she still could not see his face. “If you would like to sit here,” he patted the grass beside him, “I will hold one of them so you can pet it.”

She thought about it for a moment. What harm could it do? she decided. Carefully, she stepped toward the man, careful not to tread on any of the animals. The man gently shooed some of them with his hands, to make a space for her to sit.

Once the young woman was settled in close to him, he took one of the smaller rabbits in both hands and lifted it up. He started to move it toward her, then drew it back. “You must be very gentle with rabbits,” he said softly. “They are delicate. It’s easy to hurt them without meaning to.”

“I understand.” She tried to see his face. It was still too obscured by hair. From his voice, she thought he must be close to her own age.

“Here.” He brought the rabbit within her reach.

With one finger, she stroked its head and twitching ears. She smiled.

“Do you like rabbits?” he asked.

“Yes, they’re really sweet.”

“My name is Usagi.” Rabbit.

“Oh … really?” She tried to laugh it off. “I guess that’s appropriate.”

“The rabbits are my friends. People don’t want to talk to me because they think I’m strange, but really all I want … is to be friends.” Usagi said this in a matter-of-fact, dispassionate tone.

The young woman was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She had heard rumors, like everyone else had, that there were people with strange powers. Clearly, those rumors were true, judging by this man. She wondered if it was also true what she’d heard that people with powers were found and contained -- some people said it was the government, and others said it was by businesses or criminal organizations. There were many wild stories about what happened to these captives. Some simply said they were merely imprisoned as a precaution, others that they were used for research or breeding. There was even a theory that there was a forced battle for the entertainment of the super-rich.