Although it's still a long way from the required number of gems, I was touched by the fact that people are donating their gems to my story. Especially for you, an unscheduled extra chapter
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I stared at the black rabbit, which, after its comical fall, was trying to retain the last shreds of its dignity, shaking itself off and shooting defiant glances at me with its ruby-red eyes. Around Riser, the fire spirits and salamanders still swirled, drawn by his Phoenix aura, but my attention was completely fixed on this strange, solitary creature.
Something about it was wrong. Not just a familiar looking for a master. There was a stubbornness to it, a hidden spark that didn't match its clumsy movements and frightened look from a moment ago. And that gaze… it wasn't empty or fawning, like those fire-creatures. There was intelligence in it. And emotion.
"Well, long-ears," I addressed it, my voice sounding unexpectedly soft, even to myself. "What do you want? Looking to latch onto someone? Or just lost?"
The rabbit twitched its long, crimson-tipped ears. It took another step toward me, stopped, and looked me right in the eye. And then… it nodded. Not just a nod, but a furious bobbing of its entire head, so vigorous its ears flopped comically from side to side.
I smirked. "You want to come with me?" I clarified, just to be sure.
The rabbit froze for a second, then nodded even more energetically. And at that moment, something strange happened. Its long black ears with their crimson tips suddenly changed color. The crimson flared up and spread down the entire length of the ears, turning them a bright, almost luminous pink in the forest's twilight. It was so unexpected and so… cute, that I involuntarily smiled.
"Ha! Look at it!" Riser snorted, watching the scene with contempt. "Its ears are even changing color with joy at being picked up by another weirdo! What a pathetic sight!"
The rabbit, hearing his words, whipped its head around, its pink ears flattening angrily, and its ruby eyes shot Riser a withering glare. It even gave a quiet thump on the moss with its hind leg, expressing its extreme displeasure. Then, as if forgetting the Phoenix, it turned back to me, and its ears immediately turned bright pink again.
It hopped on the spot. Once, twice. Then it did a few clumsy somersaults, flopped over again, quickly scrambled up, shook itself off, and, running up to me, began to joyfully jump around my feet, making quiet, purr-like sounds.
"Alright, alright, take it easy," I said, watching this display of joy. "If you've decided to come with me, then act respectable."
The rabbit stopped, looked up at me, then at my head. And in the next instant, with an agility that belied its earlier clumsiness, it leaped onto my shoulder, then deftly scrambled onto the top of my head, settling there as if on a throne and wrapping its long pink ears around my hair.
"Hey!" I protested, feeling the soft fur tickle my scalp. "Get down!"
The rabbit only clung tighter to my hair with its paws and let out a satisfied purr. It seemed to have decided this was the safest and most comfortable spot.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Riser laughed again. "That's some familiar! Sitting on its master's head! The nerve! Now you really look like a clown, upstart!"
I shot him an irritated look. This rabbit was weird, but definitely interesting. It could stay for now. I'd deal with it later. Right now, getting out of this forest was more important.
"Alright, Phoenix, stop laughing," I said, trying to ignore the long-eared passenger on my head. "Since you know this place, tell me, how do we get out?"
Riser stopped laughing, his face souring again. "I already told you, we need a guide or a special ritual! We can't just walk out! This forest is a separate dimension, it's connected to the Underworld, but it's not part of it! Standard methods of travel don't work here!"
"Standard?" I frowned and pulled the teleportation crystal Grayfia had given me from my pocket. It allowed free movement between the human world and the main districts of the Underworld. I concentrated, pouring a little energy into it…
Nothing. The crystal didn't even glow. It was completely inert, like a piece of common glass.
"See!" Riser exclaimed with-malice. "I told you! Your toys are useless here! We're stuck!"
I put the useless crystal away. The situation was becoming unpleasant. Stuck in an unknown dimension with a whining Phoenix was not an appealing prospect.
"So what now?" I asked. "Wander the forest until we accidentally stumble upon an exit or the Familiar Master?"
"Looks like it!" Riser snapped. "And it's all your fault! If you hadn't picked your stupid duel…"
"If you weren't an arrogant peacock, none of this would have happened," I countered. "So stop whining and let's go. We'll find a way out. Or at least someone who knows the way."
I strode decisively in a direction where the trees seemed slightly thinner. The rabbit on my head swayed a bit but held on. Riser, after grumbling some more and shooing away the annoying fire spirits, reluctantly trudged after me.
We walked for a long time. Hours blurred into one endless, green-and-blue twilight. The forest was strange. Quiet, but full of hidden life. Sometimes glowing insects, like living lanterns, would fly past. Leaves of unusual shapes and colors rustled underfoot. In the distance, we heard melodic chimes and a quiet whispering, as if the forest itself was breathing and talking.
The rabbit on my head was relatively quiet. Sometimes it would twitch its ears, listening to the forest sounds; sometimes it would just doze, its nose buried in my hair. Its ears gradually returned to their usual black with crimson tips, only flashing pink when it noticed something particularly interesting (like a large, glowing butterfly).
Riser, however, didn't stop grumbling. He complained about being tired, hungry, about the dampness, the strange noises, about me, about his fate. His whining was getting on my nerves, but I tried to ignore him. The main thing was to find a way out.
We crossed streams with water that glowed like silver, passed by giant mushrooms that looked like houses, and saw strange, skittish little animals with feathers instead of fur. The forest was beautiful in its own primal, magical way, but also dangerous. I could sense the presence of strong magical creatures somewhere in the deep woods, but luckily, they weren't in a hurry to show themselves.
Time passed. How long had we been wandering? A few hours? An entire day? In this dimension without a sun or familiar landmarks, it was easy to lose track. Fatigue began to wear on even me. Not physical—my 'Perpetual Motion Machine' provided endless stamina. But mental. From the unfamiliar landscape, from Riser's whining, from the uncertainty.
"Are we ever getting out of here?!" Riser whined for the tenth time, tripping over a root. "I'm tired! I'm hungry! I want my bath with rose petals!"
"Shut up and walk," I said wearily. "Whining won't find you an exit."
And just then, the rabbit on my head suddenly perked up. Its ears turned bright pink again, it lifted its head, and began to twitch its nose, sniffing. Then it gave a soft squeak and tapped its paw in a specific direction, to the northeast.
"What is it?" I asked, stopping.
The rabbit squeaked again and pointed its ears in the same direction. It seemed to have scented something. Or heard something.
I listened. And I caught it too. Distant, but clear. Voices. Familiar voices.
"...you sure it's this way? The Familiar Master said the rarest types live in this part of the forest..."—Rias Gremory's voice.
"Ara-ara, Rias, don't worry. My senses aren't deceiving me. There's a strong magical concentration here,"—Akeno's voice.
"I hope we find something worthwhile… And don't run into any trouble,"—Kiba's voice.
"I want a little dragon! A small, cute one!"—Issei's voice.
"I want a chocolate monster..."—Koneko's voice.
They were here. Rias's team. It looked like they'd gone on their familiar-quest after all. And we, wandering through the forest, had accidentally stumbled onto their trail.
"Let's go," I said to Riser, who was also listening with a surprised look. "Looks like our walk is coming to an end. And we have company."
We headed toward the voices. The rabbit on my head bounced impatiently, its pink ears twitching with excitement. It seemed it was also happy at the prospect of meeting someone other than just the two of us.
A few minutes later, we emerged into a large clearing, bathed in the soft light of giant, glowing flowers. And there, in the middle of the clearing, stood Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Issei, and Koneko. They were in the middle of discussing which way to go next.
When they saw us—me, with a rabbit on my head, and a disheveled, dirty Riser—they froze in astonishment.
"Jin?! Riser?!" Issei was the first to exclaim. "What are you doing here?!"