"Want to try some of this too? Heh..."
A cute animal feeding another cute animal.
Ren, holding out a clump of grass she'd gotten from who-knows-where to the rabbit.
It was a heartwarming sight that naturally brought a smile to my face, but it wasn't just adorable.
What she was wearing suited the gradually warming weather: short shorts.
They weren't as bold as dolphin pants, but they were short enough.
In that position, squatting down, the shorts naturally pulled down, exposing the crease of her ass wrapped in panties.
'White...'
And because of her posture, her ass was pressed flat against the shorts, making the panty lines perfectly visible.
I want to touch it.
I want to hug her tight and grab handfuls with both hands. Knead them for a good long while, then slyly slip my hands inside the panties to savor the feel of that soft, bare skin.
But just as I was lost in those pleasant imaginings, Ren's voice suddenly changed.
"Eh, ehhh? R-Rabbit...? Wh-What's wrong...? Eh... ehhh...?"
Looking over her shoulder, I saw the rabbit in the enclosure collapse with a thud and start convulsing.
Why's it doing that?
"Miss Tsumetai, what's going on?"
I hurried over and asked, and she—who'd normally be on guard right away—answered immediately.
"Th-The rabbit suddenly...!"
Her voice was thick with tears. It was pitiful, but that info wouldn't help solve the problem.
"What did you feed it?"
"Th-That..."
She pointed, and there was a patch of grass growing there.
Deep green, with long, slender leaves sprouting from the stems.
"That's..."
It looked like watercress at a glance, but it wasn't.
A poisonous weed dangerous even for humans.
"...a silver bellflower stem."
Cardiac glycosides or whatever—they wreck the heart.
Before the flowers bloom, the stems look a lot like watercress, so it's an easy mistake.
"Wh-What?"
If you weren't someone like me, raised eating random grass just to survive since childhood, you'd never know. Modern folks only eat processed veggies.
"Even humans would end up in the ER if they ate that. How much did you give it?"
"H-Humans too...!? It didn't eat much! J-Just a tiny bit! Like, fingernail-sized...!"
Ren frantically explained, her eyes brimming with tears.
I want to lick them away and wipe her eyes, but first, let's save the rabbit.
"What do I do...! Sob... It's my fault... Uwgh... Tosun..."
She'd even named it.
"W-We need to take it to the animal hospital!"
"No, hold on. Wait a sec."
"Eh?"
I scanned the area and spotted something useful.
The small animal enclosure was so out of the way that an incinerator was nearby. I dashed to it, flung open the iron door, and pulled out a chunk of charred coal.
It'd been burned a while ago, so it was just faintly warm, not hot.
Tremble tremble tremble
The rabbit convulsing.
Foam bubbling white from its mouth.
If I didn't hurry, it'd die before we got to the vet.
I needed to get it out right away, but the bars were in the way.
"Haa... Guess I'll have to complain later."
Bars like these for small animals couldn't withstand my grip strength.
Creeeak—clang!
I grabbed the bars and yanked them off in one go, then pulled out the rabbit.
The tiny creature dying in real time.
With a massive monster suddenly smashing into their home and snatching their friend, the other rabbits in the cage had all huddled in the corner, shivering.
"Ren, water."
To save this little furball, I needed water. Knowing her personality, she probably carried some.
"Eh...?"
"Water!"
"Ah, y-yes!"
Yep, she had it.
I crushed the charcoal lump in my hand.
Crack crunch!
"Hold the bottle."
I dumped all the powdered charcoal into her half-empty plastic bottle. Sorry for getting your pretty hands sooty, but I could clean them later.
"Mix it. Shake it hard till it's all blended."
"Y-Yes."
Even though she was freaked out, she shook the bottle diligently as instructed.
While she did, I went to the rabbit and pried its mouth open, scraping out all the remaining grass inside with my finger.
Gurk...
Chomp...
"Hang in there, buddy. I'm trying to save you."
Even on the brink of death, something shoved in its mouth triggered its survival instinct, and it bit my finger. It stung—looks like it's bleeding.
Tori last time, and now this guy...
Always hurting me when I'm just trying to help.
Anyway, I got all the silver bellflower stems out of its mouth and held out my hand to Ren.
"Gimme the mix."
"H-Here."
I dented the bottle spout with my finger to make it smaller and poured it into the rabbit's mouth.
Gulp gulp
"What are you doing? Wh-Why feed it that!?"
"Just wait."
Charcoal is basically activated carbon.
It's crude, but it can adsorb and suck up the toxins well enough.
I still vividly remember some old man feeding me charcoal powder when I collapsed after eating random mountain grass out of desperation.
Even though I'd eaten a ton, I puked it all up after the charcoal and got better.
For just a fingernail's worth, this should be solid first aid. Call it a back-alley gastric lavage.
Once it had drunk enough of the charcoal water, I picked up the rabbit and pressed firmly on its belly.
Splurt—splat—
Vomit spilling onto the ground.
Damn, it ate a lot of random stuff.
I expelled all the grass blackened by the charcoal, laid the rabbit back down, and its breathing was amazingly stable compared to before.
"Phew..."
Of course, it'd need a proper checkup later, but for now, crisis averted.
"H-How...?"
Ren, kneeling behind me and staring at the rabbit, asked in a trembling voice.
"How did you...?"
"Charcoal absorbs the poison."
"Ah...?"
She still looked confused.
I want to stick my finger in that gaping mouth. Ideally other parts too, but gotta hold back for now.
"Back when I had nothing to eat, I grabbed random grass from the mountains and nearly died. Some village grandpa saved me by feeding me charcoal powder."
"Ah! So that's...!"
She lit up seeing the rabbit breathe easily, then turned gloomy again.
"I stupidly fed Tosun poison... Uwgh..."
"Good intentions sometimes turn toxic."
Like when I beat up those punks.
"Don't beat yourself up too much. It's alive, right?"
I patted her back as she teared up, and she accepted it naturally, probably from relief.
So soft.
Warm and cozy.
Not even her chest, just her back, but a girl's body is soft everywhere, huh.
Heh heh heh... Skinship amid the chaos: success.
But don't push too far.
I stroked her back a few more times and pulled my hand away.
"By the way, is Tosun the name you gave that rabbit, Miss Tsumetai?"
"!...Y-Yeah."
Pretending otherwise, but avoiding my eyes—she was embarrassed I'd caught her naming it while chatting alone with the rabbit.
I gently picked up the sleeping rabbit and held it in front of her.
"See this?"
"Y-Yeah...? What?"
"It has balls here."
"...!?"
"Right here. Small for a rabbit, but definitely balls. Probably gets hard if stimulated. Could mate with a female for sure—"
"St-Stop! D-Don't say weird stuff!"
"It's not weird—Tosun's a girl's name. Thought it'd be nice to rename the boy something more fitting~"
I grinned slyly, and Ren glared at me.
"...A-Ahem! Fine. I'll change it to something proper later."
Her ears were red.
"You're super embarrassed. It's just rabbit balls."
Teasing her more made her snap.
"Eek...! Sh-Shut up, you perv, and give me your finger!!"
"Huh? Why my finger?"
"It's bleeding!"
She rummaged in her ever-present handbag and pulled out a bandage.
One with a white rabbit and a black rabbit drawn on it.
I held out my finger obediently, and she took my hand, carefully applying it.
Wonder if I'll jerk off with this hand later.
...Nah.
The wound might get worse, and Ren'd be sad.
"Thanks, Miss Tsumetai."
"It's nothing. You saved Tosun—no... the rabbit, so it's payback."
Grabbing a guy's hand and bandaging it so meticulously must feel awkward even to her—she turned her head away, ignoring me.
So stubbornly honest.
"Anyway, were you just hanging out here alone with the rabbits?"
"...Yeah."
Poking her sore spots in a row—her reactions were hilarious.
"The sports field had all sorts of fun events. Weren't you watching and eating?"
"I don't like crowded places. Eating in a noisy spot might make me sick..."
Makes sense for her personality.
"But you were with the crowd earlier. Watching my long jump."
"Th-That was! Just 'cause I saw a familiar face. Nothing special."
"Haha, got it. How was it? I ran pretty hard."
"I thought it was... impressive. But why'd you go all out like that? You turned down all the sports club presidents who approached."
She was asking why I pushed so hard if it wasn't for scouting or self-PR.
"They said the prize was a hot spring trip voucher."
Tilt
"Hot spring... voucher? But Yu, you're..."
"Like, 'Who'd go with a guy like me that you'd grit your teeth and run that hard?' Right?"
"I-I didn't mean it that... harshly..."
She bowed her head, realizing she'd unintentionally hit a sore spot.
"You've got Miss Tsumetai."
"...Huh?"
Ren stared blankly, not grasping what she'd just heard.
I gave her a light smile and continued.
"Thought it'd be nice to go with you sometime~"
"Wh-What? With me...? Why? Wait, don't tell me—"
"It's part of repaying your favor."
"Just for showing me around once, how many times are you gonna repay me? And anyway, a guy and girl al-alone on a hot spring trip? What nonsense is that? You think I'd accept something like that? I don't fully trust you yet, Yu!"
Whoa.
First time hearing Ren talk that fast.
"Whoa, calm down. And you just got another favor from me."
I showed her the rabbit bandage, and she gave me a deadpan look.
"Not going right away, obviously. The voucher works till end of winter. Up to five people, too. If I make new friends, we could go as a group."
"Eh?"
Ren froze for a sec.
"Hmm...? Why so surprised? Oh? Were you picturing just the two of us at the hot springs, Miss Tsumetai?"
Shiver!
"...N-No..."
As if. Her ears were red as if dipped in paint.
"Whoa, your ears are red."
"Eek!?"
She clapped both hands over her ears like she'd touched a hot pan.
"Puhahaha!"
She's the best.
I barely suppressed the urge to laugh and hug her.
"Think about it later. We're classmates. You can watch till year's end and decide if I'm trustworthy. No rush. Mull it over. Later."
"...Later."
She thought for a moment, then nodded readily.
"Yeah. Later."
"Yep. Later."
The faint smile that ghosted across her lips wasn't my imagination.
💖 Heroine Status 💖📛 Name: Tsumetai Ren (Cold Lotus)🏫 Class: 2nd Year C Class🎂 Age: 20 years old🏛️ Affiliation: Academy - Yumekoi Academy💕 Relationship: Classmate (Stage 3)❤️ Likes: Neatly made beds, puppies, rabbits, the smell of shirts dried in the sun, theater ... people who know a lot.