The black bunny had fidgeted in Komaeda’s hands: between the two, the black one was more comfortable hiding away in the cage. He wasn’t terribly interested in the assortment of fingers that were stuck between the bars each day by the class of 77-B. But Sonia had a plan, one that had necessitated all of her courage to seek him out in the library, feigning an intention to find a book on rabbit care and instead preferring to seek out his advice instead. The black bunny, cowering away from his partner as Komaeda cleaned their cage, reminded her so much of Gundham. Gundham, who seemed to be one of the few people at Hope’s Peak who didn’t pay her much thought, as much as she tried to initiate conversation with him.
“You do not have to do all of the cleaning yourself, Komaeda, please let me be of assistance,” Sonia insisted, busying herself at the nearby shelves to locate the rabbits’ pellet food, fresh hay, and in perhaps a slightly extravagant choice, bottled mineral water to refill their water bowl. She nearly dropped the bag of pellet food when he inquired about her experience with small pets, her cheeks turning pink.
“N-no…not quite, at least with small pets. I have a cat at home who is the most delightful companion,” She hesitated, wondering if she should reveal the truth behind her expertise. It would look too suspicious if she knew so much on their first day: she really had no choice. “To be honest, I sought out Tanaka for his advice yesterday. I wanted this to be a success and there was no rule that we couldn’t ask for assistance. With his advice, I had hoped that this could seem less like a school assignment and more like…well…fun!”
Deep down, she’d also hoped that he would have taken enough interest to accompany her to the grocery store to continue their conversation that afternoon, but he’d made no such effort. The cake was her consolation prize for her valiant efforts to socialize with the boy that constantly occupied her thoughts. But she did not mind Nagito’s company: despite his talent causing the occasional problems for their class, his cheerful disposition never seemed to change for Sonia. He was easy to talk to.
“Just like us, strawberries are a special treat for rabbits as well. Perhaps with these, we can reassure them that we are friends, not predators.” Sonia placed the slices of cake on separate plates, along with a few slices of the bell peppers and plain strawberries, before handing one to him. “Would you like to feed one while I feed the other?”
As he worked to clean the cage, he listened to Sonia speak and smiled at the mention of her own pet. While he shared an experience with personal companions like that, he also hadn’t really ever taken care of small animals like this. He pushed back the small sense of grief at the though of his old dog, there was no need to think about the past like that and ruin the atmosphere. Just knowing they were able to work off the advice of Gundham, though, was reassuring.
“As expected of the ultimate princess! So sensible and forward thinking, it’s truly stunning to see your hope shine!”
He set down some of the cleaning supplies he held and moved to provide Sonia with some help feeding the rabbits. He’d noticed the frequent looks she’d taken toward the far more shy black rabbit, so Komaeda set the treats down on a desk before he reached down into the pen and lifted it gently into his hands.
It was nice to have been paired with the princess. She didn’t make effort to point out his odd habits - something others did frequently. Komaeda couldn’t help but appreciate the sense of being as welcome as trash like him could be around an ultimate.
Carefully holding the bunny out in his hands toward Sonia, he smiled toward her.
“I do hope I haven’t been much of a nuisance so far, Sonia. What a wonderful idea too! This one seems a bit more anxious than the other, so I’m sure it’d prefer your company.”
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