Chapter Text
“Keiji! The man, the myth, the… best editor in the whole, wide world!” My boss, Tenma, swings unceremoniously around the doorframe, hiding half of his body behind it. He has a superficial grin on his face, meaning he needs something from me. I don’t pay him any actual attention, but he continues nonetheless, “Just the man I was looking for.”
“Wow, you searched the entire two rooms we have in our office. Don’t work so hard next time.” Tenma frowns in response.
“I’m going to ignore you said that.” Tenma swings a nearby rolling chair beside my desk and plops down, “So, I have news. The publishing company actually wants to preview the first couple chapters of the series earlier than I thought, so-” Tenma pauses and avoids looking in my direction, “-mind getting that editing done by tomorrow?”
“Tenma, you do realize I only have the first chapter done and the company requested three, right?”
“Why, yes, of course I do.”
“Then what makes you think I can complete all of that?”
“Because you’re Akaashi Keiji. And this is my first time writing a fantasy manga, so I need to make sure it’s in tip-top shape.”
“Yeah, well, Akaashi Keiji takes at least one day to edit a single chapter.”
“Well, maybe Akaashi Keiji should work faster.”
“Maybe he could if Akaashi Keiji’s boss wouldn’t be so careless in his writing.”
Tenma playfully pouts like a child and swings his chair away from me, “Maybe Akaashi Keiji’s boss would be more careful if he wasn’t so judgmental.”
I look over at Tenma who’s still sporting a faux pout, as well as sneaking in not-so-subtle glances over his shoulder. “Listen, I’ll try my best, but no promises, Tenma.”
Tenma jumps up from his chair, switching moods instantly, “Yes! Oh, I knew my dear, dear, Akaashi Keiji would pull through!” He prances towards the office door and grabs his coat from the coat rack. “Now, I don’t want to be in your hair any longer, so the office is all yours for tonight.” He slips his arms through his coat sleeves and turns around facing me once more. “Give me a ring if you need anything! Emergencies only. Bye-bye!”
And with that, the office is empty besides me.
x x x x x
As much as I want to just walk out of this office and never turn back, I still have rent to pay. I should begin editing while it’s still light outside, though the growling of my stomach is quite distracting. I guess I could always stop downstairs for a quick lunch. Can’t work on an empty stomach, right?
I head down to the lower part of the building, which is home to OnigiriYama, one of the best onigiri shops in Osaka. I head through the “tenants only” door and take a seat at the bar. Only one look at the chef and he’s already begun preparing my usual. It's a tad embarrassing how often I frequent this place.
I lay my head down in my arms and allow myself to relax. It’s only three in the afternoon, but a little rest has never hurt anyone. Heaven knows I won’t be getting any tonight. I seem to doze off pretty quickly, but I am soon interrupted by a fuzzy feeling near my ankle. I raise my head and slowly open my eyes toward the disturbance.
I must be dreaming right now as that’s the only logical reason for what I’m currently seeing. As I look down, I see a literal white rabbit, though this rabbit has a little tuft of green fur atop its head and cheeks full of freckles. My first thought should be asking why there are rabbits this deep into the city—and why they have green fur—but it’s not. I frankly have more apparent concerns; this rabbit is holding a pocket watch.
The rabbit seems to be quite frazzled—if rabbits even have the ability to express that emotion. The rabbit begins to jump, hop, and weave through the barstools, mumbling something. I look around at the chef and the other patrons, but no one is batting an eye. As soon as I turn back around, I'm face-to-face with this rabbit.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! I’m late! Oh, for heaven’s sake I’m so, very late!”
Did this Rabbit just talk? This cannot be truly happening, right? Yeah, there’s no way.
I stare at the pacing Rabbit as it moves back and forth across the bar. Its feet are stomping into people’s food, spilling drinks, and knocking over napkins, but no one is paying it any attention! Why doesn’t anyone else care?
“Um, excuse me?” The only one to hear me, or care to acknowledge me, was The Rabbit.
“Didn’t y’hear me? I’m late! Oh no, he’s gonna kill me when he finds out. Oh, he’s so scary when he gets mad!” The Rabbit hops over to my seat, simultaneously smashing both of my rice balls with its floppy feet.
“I’m afraid I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Him! Who else would it be? I’m late! He’s really gonna get me for this one! I should’ve gotten this watch fixed long ago.” The Rabbit furrows its brows as it slams the face of its pocket watch with its very small Rabbit-paws.
“May I ask what you’re late for?”
“It! I’m late for it! What else would it be?” The Rabbit looks at me as if I’m the one who’s a talking animal. “Oh, dear! Look at that clock,” The Rabbit looks at the wall clock behind the bar counter, “I’m so behind, even worse than I thought! I must leave! Right now! I must leave right now!” The Rabbit suddenly hops from the bar counter and rushes out of the shop’s front door.
“Wait, where are you going?” Before I can stop myself, I start rushing out of the onigiri shop after The White Rabbit. I’m not sure as to why I’m following this Rabbit out of the shop, but it seems as if I’m no longer in control of my feet. One moment, I'm sitting in the quaint onigiri shop, and now I’m weaving through the busy streets of Osaka chasing a talking Rabbit. Well, it’s better than editing I suppose.
No one on the street seems to mind The Rabbit, either. The only hint of recognition is the disgruntled noises from the city-goers as I accidentally slam into them. It also seems that I’ve been chasing this Rabbit for quite some time. The idea is quite asinine, really, as I’m barely out of breath, yet we’re so far from the shop. The only scenery around us at this point is a large green field. That is, until a large hole suddenly erupts from the ground in front of The Rabbit.
Before I can call out to warn The Rabbit, it’s already jumping right into the hole. “Wait, no! Be careful!” I’m not able to stop my feet before I, as well, am falling face-first into the black pit.
I didn’t think this is what falling would feel like. One usually thinks of falling lasting for only a few seconds until you eventually meet your unfortunate demise. Though, I do not seem to be stopping anytime soon. I haven’t been counting, but I definitely have been falling for more than what is considered logical. I notice that I’m still entirely conscious and am actually able to move around—I can turn my body, move my hands and my head; it’s almost like I’m levitating. With my newfound abilities, I twist around in the hole to take a closer look at the things around me. This definitely isn’t a normal black hole. The blackness around me sparkles everywhere you look, there’s a faint playful melody of which I can’t pinpoint the source, random floating objects, and the occasional sighting of The White Rabbit who is in no better state than it was before.
“Uh, excuse me!” I shout over the sound of the wind and music, hoping to regain its attention.
“Yes? What is it? I’m still late, y’know! Is it urgent? I gotta figure out an excuse before he finds out!”
“Okay, yeah, sure. Where are we? Where are we going? What are you late for? Why can you talk? Since when do rabbits have green fur? I have so many questions that I feel aren’t going to be answered in the near future and I would love it if you'd help me.” I grab onto a random floating teapot to try and gain some composure over my current physical—and mental—state.
“Oh, you don’t know?” The Rabbit is currently gripping both of its ears in its paws, presumably to keep them from flapping too much, as it runs in circles around me.
“Yeah, I wasn't aware these things are common knowledge.”
“Oh well, that’s something you’ll have to figure out on your own! Bye, now!” The Rabbit ends our short-lived conversation as it continues to ramble about being late, running deeper into the hole—deep enough that I can no longer see or hear any sign of it.
“What?” I shout into the blackness, receiving no response. “It sure seems like those would’ve been easy to answer!” I yell into the blackness, yet again, met with silence. “Damn Rabbit. I was never a fan of rabbits anyway.”
I continue falling—accompanied by the sparkles, music, and falling objects—until I see a tiny notecard fly in front of my face. It seems that it came from the bottom of the hole, different from anything else. Every other object has been floating level with me, so I’m certainly intrigued.
I twist my body around, waving my arms, attempting to grab this card. With whatever luck has stricken me, I catch it.
The card reads:
You’re Invited! What to? A Party!
An UnBirthday Party! A VERY MERRY UnBirthday Party!
Details are listed below:
Where: Mad Hatter’s Owl Dwelling
0405 Owlhead Ave.
When: Same time as always
An UnBirthday? What’s an UnBirthday? Who even is The Mad Hatter? I literally have never heard of Owlhead Ave. This is all very strange, but this must be where The Rabbit was late to. If ‘he’ was going to get ‘mad’ at The Rabbit for being late, one would expect someone who’s known as The Mad Hatter to have such a reaction. I hold tightly onto this invitation as I continue falling. Once this hole—hopefully—reaches its end, I could perhaps get some of my questions answered.
As if the hole was waiting for me to receive this invitation, a bright, bright light shines through the bottom of the hole. The speed and wind of the hole increase as gravity takes over. I try to shield my eyes from the light, though it’s no use as it quickly engulfs me. As I fall into the bright light, a faint boisterous laugh can be heard from somewhere far off in the distance.