Hello there, thanks for stopping by.
This silly little story has been written as a collaboration between me and my good friend Seth's Kiss.
Hopefully this one will make you laugh, as it did me while making this.
Let me know what you thought of it. And drop a little love at Seth's profile as well while you're at it. :3
Without further ado, enjoy the story.
The last thing Kurosaki Ichigo could remember was a white, blinding light, before he abruptly lost consciousness.
And when he eventually came to, much later, slowly becoming aware again, chocolate brown eyes flitted around, taking in his surroundings before they then went wide, shock and confusion gradually filling them.
No way was he currently in Karakura Town. Or the Seireitei. Or even the Hueco Mundo for that matter.
Sitting up in a rush, the orange-haired teenager cast a more careful, attentive glance around.
The first thing that came to his attention was that he was in a sort of lush and verdant glade, which was part of this...odd forest.
He thought 'odd' because he had never seen a place so green with an air this fresh. ...Where were the buildings and skyscrapers at? Or the traditional homes? Or the endless miles of white sands?
There was nothing at all but flora and fauna, like Mother Nature had decided she was through and done with Mankind.
The second thing Ichigo noticed, was that he wasn't in this place alone. All those he had been with just moments before blackening out were also with him, all out cold on the ground.
Worried, the teenager immediately hastened to their side, checking their vitals - they were all alive, thank God - prior to attempting to wake them.
Minutes later, Yasutora Sado, Ishida Uryuu, Inoue Orihime, Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji were all up and staring around in astonishment, every one of them utterly unable to comprehend what had happened to them.
One moment, everyone had amiably agreed to part ways after yet another day of ridding - bleaching - Karakura Town of a few stray Hollows; the next moment, they were here...wherever here was.
Completely floored, Renji then instantaneously directed a glare at the orange-haired teenager: "What the hell did you do?!"
Not at all liking the other's accusatory words, Ichigo scowled, gesturing wildly around them as he spoke up, defensively: "Why on earth are you glaring at me as if this was my fault?!"
"Isn't it though?" interjected Uryuu scornfully with a patronizing smirk "I agree with Abarai. When something strange happens, it's generally because of you."
The Shinigami Substitute's scowl turned into a glare: "I'm gonna punch you, Ishida. And that, will be because of you."
"Come on, you three," spoke up Chad pacifyingly as he stepped in between Ichigo, Uryuu and Reni who were all scowling or glaring at each other "Let's not fight."
"Sado's right. We need to figure out where we are," mentioned Rukia "And how we got here."
"And how to get back," added the redhead shinigami, suddenly looking fairly apprehensive, his mind elsewhere "Kuchiki-taichou needed me to run errands. And he isn't fond of waiting-"
"I think we're in a fairy tale. Like, quite literally."
Taken aback by that comment, Ichigo and Renji both stared at their Quincy friend: "...What?"
Uryuu loftily arched an eyebrow at them: "Are you two blind? Can't you pay any close attention to your surroundings?"
True enough, upon a closer look, no part of the mysterious woodland they were in was 'normal'. From the flowers to the sky, everything seemed...alive.
Okay, yes. Earth was life, and was alive. But not in the way they were seeing it.
Rocks in the shape of faces blinking as they stared at them, trees waving their branches - hands? - in some sort of gentle greeting, glowing rainbow flowers giving birth to multi-coloured eggs, which came scuttling over curiously, upon tiny legs before clustering around the shinigami and humans' feet.
...What the actual freaking hell?
Amazed, Orihime hastily bent down to poke softly at the sentient eggs, giggling giddily in utter wonder: "...Is this Wonderland?"
Chad stared at her, sweat dropping: "Why is that the first thing that popped up in your head?"
Distracted by the eggs, the young girl replied: "Uh, well... Ishida-kun said we're in a fairy-tale. So, why not Wonderland?"
"Honestly?" spoke up Ichigo, with a deadpan expression "I was thinking the same thing, man."
"A land of Wonders?" whispered Rukia, large violet eyes widening "Pinch me, I'm dreaming."
"Or we're having a nightmare," muttered Uryuu vigilantly with a rather concerned frown as he readjusted his glasses "Does anything here make sense to you, guys?"
"Nope," admitted the redhead shinigami whilst shaking his head, before he abruptly paused, eyes going wide as a horrifying thought occurred to him "Hey, guys. What if it's Aizen that caught us in some messed up illusion?"
All of his friends gave him a collective incredulous look, with Rukia chiding him with a smile: "From Muken itself? Don't be absurd, Renji."
The six new arrivals then began to tread around prudently as they meticulously observed their surroundings, totally unaware that they were being watched.
"Who do you reckon those blokes are? They're so peculiarly dressed," noted Ron Weasley suspiciously, as he and his companions all laid on top of a hill, spying the people below "Do you think that they're the ones behind us being here?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions, Ron. They might even be in the same predicament as we are," replied Hermione Granger matter-of-factly, in her faithful know-it-all tone.
"This is utterly ridiculous," muttered a very annoyed Draco Malfoy, standing up and brushing off imaginary dust from his robes "Just go ask them if you want to know."
"Are you bloody BONKERS? What if they are, you know, 'unfriendly'? Do you not see that they're heavily armed?" pointed out Ron in angry whispers, glaring at the blond-haired boy.
"Alright, what's YOUR plan, then?!" countered Draco briskly, giving the ginger head a nasty look in return.
"Guys, guys, calm down. The last thing we need right now is to fight amongst ourselves. We're in this mess together, so we get out of it TOGETHER," declared Harry Potter firmly, taking command.
Both boys glanced at the bespectacled teen and fell in silent agreement at his words, before going back to watch the newcomers - but still giving each other menacing, dark glares.
"And what do you guys think?" asked Harry, turning his attention the two last members of their group. Two of Ron's older brothers, the Weasley twins, Fred and George.
"Maybe we could split up. One groups stays here-"
"While the other confronts those people."
"And should they be hostile-"
"We'll have the advantage of surprise," they said, as usual completing each other's sentences.
Harry nodded, liking the plan, before he addressed their entire group: "Okay, I'll go then. Who's coming with me?"
"I'm not risking my life, so DEFINITELY not me," replied Draco instantly, crossing his arms for good measure.
"I'll come with you, mate," declared the youngest Weasley present, faithful to his best friend as always.
"Cool. Thanks, Ron. The rest of you, stay covered. And watch our backs, ok? You know, just in case," recommended Harry, before he then left their hiding spot with Ron, gradually and carefully approaching the other group below.
Soft footsteps nearing them caused Ichigo and Co to turn the source, eyes going wide as they saw two young, oddly dressed boys, about teen age, walking up to them with slow, wary steps.
"When-? Who-? Where-? How-?" spluttered Renji as he pointed to and fro, absolutely baffled.
"Did either of you sense them?" asked the Shinigami Substitute, directing his question to those who actually had spiritual awareness, and was very surprised to find Renji, Rukia and Uryuu all shaking their heads in unison.
"No. My awareness is totally off," replied Rukia with a frown, clearly displeased over this fact.
"Oh? And how does that feel?" snickered Ichigo smugly, glad that for once he wasn't the only one having this problem, his grin growing broader still when the petite shinigami glared at him.
"...Shut up."
Upon reaching them, Harry gave them a small, tentative smile whilst waving at them hesitantly: "Hello, there! Welcome to - um - wherever this is."
But when the bespectacled Gryffindor Wizard caught Ron glaring at the other group, Harry swiftly gave him a nudge in the ribs, drawing his attention, before giving him an expectant stare.
And so, Ron, still glaring and now somewhat annoyed, muttered distantly: "Hey."
Choosing to ignore Ron's paranoid attitude, Harry focused back his pleasantness on the others, sincerely hoping they could help each other: "Do you guys happen to know what's going on?"
"Uh...Say what now?" blinked the petite raven-haired shinigami, before glancing at those in her group "What language is that?"
"Definitely not Japanese," pointed out Ichigo helpfully, which earned him a light-hearted kick from Rukia and a knock on the head from Renji.
Frowning, Uryuu fixed his glasses before uttering: "I do believe it's English - Eigo, if you will."
Renji stared at the bespectacled teenager in their group: "So, if you know it, then speak to them."
"It doesn't mean that I speak the language purely since I can tell what it is. I'm fluent in German, not English," countered the Quincy, a tad miffed, before he glanced at his classmates, obviously skipping Ichigo as he did so "Sado-san? Inoue-san?"
At that, Chad shook his head contritely: "Spoke it as a kid, true. But I'm way too rusty now."
"And I only know the names of food," beamed Orihime proudly, raising her hand as she spoke.
Running a hand over his face, the Shinigami Substitute to let out a long, weary sigh: "...Great."
While they were struggling to come up with a way to communicate with Harry and Ron, the latter two glanced at each other, at total loss: "Do you have any idea what they just said, Ron?"
"Nope. Sounds like utter gibberish to me," muttered the other Gryffindor with a deep frown "What do we do?"
"I honestly have no clue," confessed Harry whilst curiously glancing back at the strange group "We could try sign language, maybe."
"And you know how to do that, do you?" snickered the youngest of the three Weasleys present with a smirk and raise of his eyebrow, causing Harry to huff, getting restless.
"Well then, you come up with an idea. We have to do something."
Back up on the hill, Hermoine, no longer being able to see the boys failing around, trying to communicate, huffed exasperatedly: "For Goodness sake! Do I have to do EVERYTHING?!"
"Right. Like you don't just LOVE it," muttered Draco scathingly, earning a withering glare from her which instantly prompted him to shut up.
Getting up and storming down the hill, her bushy hair bobbing up and down as she went, Hermoine made her way towards the group below, surprising them with her impromptu arrival.
And Ron instantly went into concerned, overprotective mode: "Hermoine? What are you-?"
Brandishing her wand which she pointed at Ichigo's group, Hermoine spoke up indomitably to her friends: "Step aside, you two."
Seeing her stance, which didn't look that friendly at all, caused Ichigo and the others to go on alert, shifting into defensive stances, with Ichigo, Rukia, Renji and Uryuu's hands each on their respective weapons. Just in case.
But all that happened was that the bushy auburn-haired girl uttered a few odd sounding words.
But all that happened was that the bushy auburn-haired girl uttered a few odd sounding words.
"Orbis Transferendum*!"
Satisfied, Hermoine pocketed her wand and began speaking to Ichigo's group with an agreeable smile: "There. We should be able to talk to each other now. Testing, testing. Can you understand me?"
"Yeah, we understand you," confirmed Ichigo with a grin, looking particularly relieved "Now."
"That was...pretty awkward," commented Harry with a faint flush of embarrassment, earning a collective nod from nearly everyone in the group.
"Very," agreed the Quincy thinly as he readjusted his glasses "So, what were you guys saying?"
At that, it was Ron who spoke up: "Well, we were asking you guys if you knew what the bloody heck's going on. And if you know this place, maybe?"
"No clue," admitted Ichigo with a sigh "One sec, we were back in Karakura Town. The next, we're here. Guessing that's your story too, hm? You guys don't look like you belong here either."
Upon seeing that the strange group below wasn't a threat, Fred, George and Draco in turn made their way over, whilst Ron, puzzled, whispered to his friends beside him: "I've never heard of a place called- Uh. What was it again? Kura-? Karakararu Town? What are they on about?"
"Ron, until a few seconds ago, we didn't even know their language. Of course we won't know where they're from," huffed Hermoine with a roll of her eyes, before she chided the redhead gently so she could listen "Now, hush."
"Yeah, we too have no idea how we ended up here," confessed Harry to the others, just as the missing trio from the top of the hill joined them and near instantly took part in the conversation.
"One minute we're walking to class-" began Fred as he stopped to stand beside his friends, along with his brother who promptly completed the rest of that sentence.
"And the next, all six of us wake up here."
"Sounds like our story," commented Renji with frustration, wondering 'what the freaking heck'.
Orihime, amazed, poked Rukia gently and whispered: "Look, look, Kuchiki-san! Twins! And they finish each other's sentences! That's SO cute!"
As the female raven-haired shinigami nodded in agreement with a smile of her own, Draco spoke up, tone complaining: "And they just HAD to drag me along as well. I shouldn't be here! I should have known to stay away from you, Potter. You're nothing but trouble."
"Hey! This isn't MY fault! Not this time! ...I think," he ended with uncertainty, prompting Draco to give him a 'really?' look.
Ichigo stared at the exchange, smiling softly, as he felt sympathy for the bespectacled teenager. He too tended to blamed for things that weren't at all his fault - just like barely minutes earlier - so, he could relate. Like totally.
Walking over to him, Ichigo patted Harry's shoulder comfortingly: "I don't think it's your fault. Or anyone's for that matter."
"Oh, but there is someone at fault, mate. Still, you're right. It ain't him. Nor you," uttered a voice all of a sudden, a voice that wasn't part of anyone within the two groups crowded together.
Tense, they all turned, before their expressions turned to total surprise and utter bewilderment.
Right there in front of them, stood what could only be described as...a giant rabbit?
It stood there on its hind legs, making itself taller than Chad even, with its grey-blue like fur adorned by rather interesting markings. In addition to its long bunny ears, both held up proud, its white tail was, expectantly, soft and fluffy looking. But, even though it looked like a giant bunny, one could instantly see that one shouldn't mess around with this one. It was armed with a boomerang, and a grin that promised trouble.
Whilst everyone else in his group was mostly in complete shock, Draco tilted his head with a frown, looking pretty sceptical: "Is that...a giant bunny?"
Nobody answered or confirmed what the Slytherin had just asked, except for Chad who nodded.
With rather wide unblinking violet eyes, Rukia, stock still and with her jaw dropped, whispered: "...Bunny rabbit-san."
"It is a giant rabbit. Is this even possible?" uttered Uryuu, amazed, before he came back to his senses "Wait. Isn't anyone going to point out that this rabbit actually just talked to us?
Blinking, Orihime turned to him with an exceptionally serious expression: "Why would that be strange, Ishida-kun? We're in Wonderland."
"...We're not in Wonderland, Inoue-san."
Orihime seemed to consider this, looking around again absentmindedly: "Assuming that we're not - though I strongly think that we are - then...maybe we're caught in a video game? Hm. Oh! Then the rabbit is here to guide us, like when you're stuck on a particularly difficult level!"
"N-Never mind, Inoue-san. Forget I even asked anything in the first place."
Tense and already taking a few cautionary steps back, Ichigo whispered warily: "I'm just hoping it's not carnivore."
No longer fazed, Hermoine scoffed: "Rabbits are not carnivore. That's common knowledge."
"Clearly you've never watched Blood C," muttered the Shinigami Substitute, sweat to his brow his remark having the only girl in Harry's group arch an eyebrow, both intrigued and puzzled.
"And...What's Blood C exactly?"
"Oi! Lookie here, remember me?!" yelled the giant rabbit snappily, visibly annoyed at being ignored, before it muttered something under its breath which sounded like "Why did I think putting a bunch of teenagers together was a darn good idea?"
Seeing that it now had both groups' attention, the rabbit spoke up again, a tad of smugness to its tone: "Now, listen up. You've been brought here for a reason - well, not all of you anyway. So, if ya'll wanna get out, pay attention!"
"So, we're here because of you?" fumed Renji with a furious glare, ready for a fight if need be "Let us leave right now!
"...Bunny rabbit-san."
Fred blinked, still unable to get his head around the giant bunny bit, before glancing at his twin: "Brother, you sure we didn't accidentally inhale one of our new experiments or something?"
"Don't know. Possible though. It explains all the colours."
"Whatever you did or didn't do, I sincerely doubt it," commented the Quincy with a long sigh, before thinking about it and adding matter-of-factly "Unless you somehow managed to spread this 'experiment' of yours all the way to Japan."
"Are you done ignoring me, brats?" asked the rabbit with an irritated click of its tongue whilst crossing its powerful arms "Or is it that you maybe wanna stay stuck here?"
Everybody, with the exception of the shell-shocked Rukia, let out a collective shout of dread: "NO!"
"Good," grinned the rabbit, glad to finally have control over the situation "I'll start with why you're here. This world you see depends on believers. Without them, this place and I would no longer exist. Now, one of you is not only a non-believer, they're also spreading lies about me not existing. And that is UNACCEPTABLE! So, here's what's going to happen. If you want to return to your own respective worlds, you'll have to cooperate and find all the special Easter Eggs I've hidden in my warren. And, hopefully, you'll learn a lesson or two along the way."
A brief moment of silence held in the air the instant the rabbit mentioned the word 'Easter', and those familiar with the word, just could not believe the utterly unique situation they were all in.
"Wait, wait. You're the Easter Bunny? No way!" breathed Hermoine, soaring with excitement.
"What's an Easter Bunny?" inquired Draco, rather puzzled "Some sort of Muggle stupidity?"
"Meh. He looks more like a kangaroo to me," commented Ron with a series of soft snickers.
"Oh my God! How insane is that?" exclaimed Orihime, as her eyes shone with pure amazement "I was just talking about you to- Rukia?"
Rukia was indeed no longer with Ichigo and Co., instead up ahead hugging the giant rabbit with all her might, nuzzling her cheek against its fur, features glowing with bliss: "You're so fluffy!"
While the Easter Bunny was being midway embarrassed, midway flattered, Ichigo raised an eyebrow, reflecting on something the rabbit had previously stated: "So, someone doesn't believe in you, and you do this. ...Wow. That's petty. And childish."
"As loathe as I am to admit it, I agree with Kurosaki," nodded Uryuu before arching an eyebrow "Was all this shenanigan the polite form of a tantrum or something on your part?
Rather than answering them right away, the giant rabbit first attempted to get Rukia off of it: "Hey, squirt. You can let go of me now."
"Never!" declared the raven-haired shinigami fiercely as she snuggled against it even closer still, leading the Easter Bunny to sigh resignedly, before ignoring her and focusing its attention towards the others.
"No, this not petty, nor childish, kids. In this world, believing is a big deal, ya hear? So, you're gonna do as I say, or you'll never get out. Though, if you don't want to leave, I could use some help to paint my eggs."
Raising his hand like the student he was, Ichigo drawled out dryly: "As much as I would really love that, we can't stay here. So, the quicker we get this over with, the better it is for everyone, I'm guessing. Even for you guys, right?"
Harry was fast to nod in agreement with the Shinigami Substitute: "Yeah. We need to go back."
"Well then, that's settled. I'll leave you to it," declared the Easter Bunny, making it transparently clear that it was going to leave now "See you brats back right here. Whenever you're done."
"Hey! Wait, wait! Aren't you supposed to tell us what to do? Or are we just meant to guess?"
"I really don't like to admit this, but Draco's right!" voiced Ron "Give us clues or something."
"I already told you what to do. Whether you succeed or not, is entirely up to you. But I'm not cruel. I'll tell you how many eggs you need. One for every one of you, which means twelve. Good luck, you brats."
With that said, the Easter bunny delicately slipped out Rukia's from tight grip, before dashing off and disappearing somewhere into the warren.
"No! Bunny-san come back!" cried out the petite shinigami, heartbroken and in tears, only to be promptly comforted by Renji, Orihime and Uryuu, careful to hide their smiles, awestruck by Rukia's undying love for rabbits.
"Great," mumbled Ron with an aggravated expression, before slowly looking at all the others "Now what do we do?
While most just shrugged or shook their heads, Harry gave it some thought, before he spoke up rationally: "Well, if we all want to get back to our own worlds, we need to find these eggs. Does anyone have an idea where to start?"
"With a freaking miracle," muttered the Shinigami Substitute under his breath, closing his eyes.
"The rabbi- The Easter Bunny said we needed twelve eggs, one for each of us," considered the Quincy thoughtfully, before he readjusted his glasses and sighed "As a group, it'll take too long.
"Then, isn't it best to split up?" pointed out Hermoine, near instantly getting positive reactions, with Ron being the first to nod in agreement.
"Yeah, we could cover more ground that way."
"Fine, but I'm not pairing up with any of you, Gryffindor geeks. I'll take my chances with them," declared Draco snobbishly whereas jerking his head in Ichigo and Co's direction, a few of them raising eyebrows at his snootiness.
What was he? A prince?
Relatively used to the Slytherin's attitude by now, Harry merely shrugged: "Whatever, Draco."
"We could draw straws to see who gets to be paired up with who," suggested Hermoine, already bending down to randomly pick up stray sticks and small broken branches from off the ground.
"Let's do this," said Renji, determinedly cracking his knuckles, as if getting ready for the worst of hardships, whereas Rukia simply sighed and shook her head at her friend.
"And get it over with," muttered Uryuu under his breath, having this feeling it wouldn't be as simple as they all hoped.
Immediately diving to pick first, Ron and Renji found themselves paired up together and, with but a single glance at each other, both decided that they were NOT happy with this outcome. At all.
"I'm paired with you?" grumbled Ron as he cast the other redhead a glance from head to toe, before he addressed his friends pleadingly "Come on, Hermoine, guys. Do I really have to?"
Alas for him, he didn't get any response as they were all too busy acquainting themselves with their own partners.
Renji, upon hearing Ron's protest, was not amused. However, trying to act a tad more mature, he chose to stomp down on his displeasure. But not on his petulance.
"Don't think that I'm all happy about this situation either, kid. I'm paired up with a whiny brat."
That simple exchange led the two redheads to turn their dark glaring into a silent, yet intense staring competition, neither one of them willing to give the other the satisfaction of winning.
Several minutes had passed with Ron starting to have difficulties in keeping his eyes open. His natural instincts were quick to betray him and the young Gryffindor Wizard ended up blinking.
"Aha!" exclaimed Renji in childish triumph with a broad, smug grin as he pointed at the other "I win!"
"Whatever," muttered Ron in reply, trying to sound bored and not totally devastated by the loss, before he turned to address Harry and the rest of his group.
And then he blinked repeatedly. And then he groaned out in sheer enragement.
During their inane staring competition, the two hadn't noticed that all the others had already left, and they were now standing alone in the clearing. And leaving him behind with this guy.
"Great!" moaned Ron in a complaining tone, before he scowled darkly at the other "Now what?"
"Don't look at me. This is all your fault!"
"My fault?!"
"You heard me, you whiny brat!"
The two didn't waste any time and butted heads again. And the irate glaring was back fulltime.
It seemed like they were going to start yet another staring contest, but instead they huffed and looked away from each other at the same time, aggravated and irritated.
"We don't have time for this," grumbled Ron, annoyed to no end "Let's just get this over with."
"Fine. Let's go," agreed Renji briskly, as he picked a random direction and began walking away.
"Hey! Wait!" yelled Ron as he rushed to follow suit, not too keen on being left behind and alone "Who the hell put you in charge?"
"I'm the oldest, hence I lead," enunciated Renji, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Bullocks! You look the same age as me! You can't possibly know for sure that you're older."
"Oh, believe me, I'm much older than you. Don't even question it. You wouldn't get it anyways."
"Do you even know where you're going?"
"Not a clue, but it's definitely better than standing put and doing nothing. Those eggs we need to find won't magically fall in our hands, after all."
The young redhead really couldn't do anything but agree to that, but he didn't voice it out loud, instead saying this: "...Has anyone ever told you how much of a pain you are?"
That comment simply made Renji snort with apparent derision, only he blatantly chose not to answer the young Wizard and continue on his path, which annoyed Ron even further still. But the latter then eventually opted to fall into silence as well, warily looking around as they went.
Despite having no idea where either of them were heading, the two males steadily calmed down a little. It was hard not to become calm, for this place had an awfully relaxing atmosphere to it.
And so, they kept walking, scouting the area, until Renji finally broke the silence, attempting to strike a conversation: "So this entire mess we find ourselves in is because someone doesn't believe in this Easter Bunny?"
"That's what the kangaroo said. I wonder who it could be though."
"Not you, I'm guessing?"
Ron shrugged uncertainly: "Well, Easter is a muggle holiday. I know it exists, but I never paid much attention to it. But it's not like I don't believe, rather I just don't paid it any mind."
The 6th Division's lieutenant hesitated, frowning at the unaccustomed term: "Wait, muggles?"
"Yeah, you know, normal people. Without magic."
At this, Renji's eyes went wide, totally incredulous now: "Magic?"
The young Wizard looked exasperated now: "Jesus, are you going to repeat everything I say? It's not important right now. We need to focus on getting these...eggs to leave this place, right?"
Renji became faintly annoyed at Ron's attitude. Then again, he had brushed him off just as well.
"Fine," sighed the red-haired shinigami, rubbing at the back of his neck as he pondered a bit "But there are so many eggs running around here. How do we know which ones we'll need?"
"I have no idea. There must be hundreds- No. Millions of these eggs running around," said Ron, crouching and picking one of them up for a closer look, a mix of awe and repel to his features "They have such little legs. Who gives eggs legs?"
"Definitely not God," commented the other absentmindedly as he wandered around the glade they were in and searched a bit here and there, high and low for a while.
But upon finding no clues whatsoever, Renji then growled and dropped to lie down on his back on the soft grass, unable to think straight and needing a break from this weirdness.
Ron, on the other hand, held on a little longer, wracking his brains and looking around harder than Renji had.
And, eventually, he was about to give up, and go lay beside Renji, when he noticed something.
All the eggs running around avoided all contact with either one of the redheaded males. Unless they initiated contact themselves, the little eggs would shy away from being touched. This went on for some time until exception occurred. One of the eggs used its tiny legs to climb on top of Renji's chest.
It just sat there, doing nothing.
Then Renji moved a bit, to rearrange himself, but it caused the egg to bounce of his chest and scurry away in the egg masses as fast as it could.
It didn't go far, however. And once it noticed that the red-haired shinigami hadn't moved, it climbed right back on top of him again.
"Hey. Seems like you made a friend," commented an amused Ron, prompting the other to look over, not noticing nor feeling the egg on his chest until he was told.
Curiosity overtaking him, Renji cautiously went to touch it, but the egg fled. Again.
At that, he sat upright, confusedly looking at the blue-yellow coloured egg, which didn't go far.
"I think that's your egg. Or key. Or whatever," remarked Ron, brow furrowed as he observed that the egg once more appeared to draw nearer to Renji now that he wasn't moving again "It's the only egg that acts differently than the rest, and it seems really attached to you. I don't know how else to explain its behaviour."
"Oh, really?" asked Renji, somewhat amazed, before his attention was then drawn elsewhere "Like that little egg climbing on your lap? Should that one be yours then?"
The young Wizard had been so focused on observing the other eggs, he hadn't noticed that, just like Renji, he had gained a follower.
"It can't be that easy, right?"
And, oh boy, wasn't that right.
The moment Ron reached for the green coloured egg in his lap, the little thing scurried away, vanishing amidst the others of its kind. Just like that blue-yellow egg had.
"We need to catch our eggs," said the young Weasley, starting to take cautious steps forwards, thinking on the best way to do what he'd just voiced.
"Why do I feel like I'm not going to enjoy this?" muttered Renji as he reluctantly followed suit.
What followed next would have undoubtedly been ridiculous for any other person to look at. Two men- Sorry. 'Grown' boys running around like idiots, trying to capture two tiny eggs that were, quite evidently, way smarter than them.
Patience was not Renji's strong suit, so when he fell down, face first into the ground, for the fifth time in a row, he snapped, more than fed up: "This is NOT working!"
"Tell me something I don't know," grumbled Ron, dusting off his clothes and robes, desperately looking for a solution "We have to like try and herd them into a corner or something."
"Not gonna work. This place is massive. We're outside, yet inside. There are no corners here, anywhere."
"That doesn't make any sense. And yet," trailed off the young Wizard, realizing that the other's description was on point, if not ill-interpreted "AAARGH! I'm getting a headache now. Please tell me you have a plan."
Renji seemed to consider this: "I think at this point it's better to look for the others. Then they can help us. With more people, we should be able to encircle the eggs and give us an advantage. ...I hope."
As if on cue, a voice rose all of a sudden, snickering with scathing hilarity: "Oh, look. Two hot-headed, reckless imbeciles sighted, twelve o'clock."
The two redheads snapped their heads towards the voice and found Hermoine and Uryuu there, both eyeing them with profound amusement.
How long had those two been standing there? If their expressions were any indication, a while.
"Amen, sister," laughed Uryuu, his lofty smirk matching the young Witch's grin beside him.
"Sister? You two are getting on pretty well," noted Ron, frowning, a hint of jealousy to his tone.
"Clearly. Compared to all of you together, we have brains," drawled out Hermoine, very much smug about this fact and fairly glad that she wasn't the only one "We're the smartest ones here."
Though the young Gryffindor was pretty used to his friend's attitude by now, Renji did not like what she was insinuating one bit: "...Are you saying we're brainless?!"
"Pretty much," stated Uryuu, still smiling before he then made his way towards them, mindful of his step in spite of the fact the eggs moved out of the way anyway "Here, let me prove it."
Leisurely and prudently walking over, the Quincy then came to a sudden halt in front of Renji. Like in front of him. They were nearly face to face.
Put-off at first, the redhead shinigami was about to pull back and growl, but Uryuu was swift to prevent him from doing so, his tone firm and no-nonsensical: "Don't move."
There was something in the other's voice that made Renji listen, but he was still uncomfortable due to their proximity: "O- Ok. But why?"
"Just stand still, Abarai."
And so Renji stood still, reddening a little as the Quincy easily entered in his personal space. But then, as swift as he had done so, Uryuu smoothly pulled back, smirking triumphantly with an egg now in his hand.
"There."
Funnily enough, it was the blue-yellow egg.
And Renji was flabbergasted: "How in the hell?"
"It may be your egg, but you're not the one who's supposed to catch it," elucidated the Quincy, as he motioned for the shinigami to hold out his hand before gently setting the egg - which no longer seemed like it wanted to flee - in the other's palm "Someone else has to do it for you."
"Exactly," agreed the young Witch, before she directed herself to her fellow Gryffindor, ready to follow the other's example "Here. Let's give it a go, Ron."
Effectively, by doing exactly the same, Hermoine was quick to find herself with Ron's entitled egg, which she then handed to him.
"...Wow," marvelled the young Wizard as he stared at his green egg "Just like that? We've been at this for ages."
"Which proves our point, you hot-headed, reckless imbeciles," she maintained, repeating their former taunt teasingly, which prompted Uryuu to laugh again, awfully amused.
"...Ok. I've never heard Ishida laugh before. Let alone twice. In a row. Who the heck are you?" bristled Renji, pointing his finger accusingly at the brown-haired girl.
"Only the best Gryffindor there is," stated Hermoine proudly with a wide, bright smile, whilst exuding a modesty so fake it was literally palpable.
"I'll have to second that, mate," admitted Ron, looking somewhere between weary yet grateful "We'd be dead more than once if weren't for her."
Uryuu had to blink at that, halfway horrified: "Dead? I thought you said you were students."
"But we are," confirmed the young Witch effortlessly, not getting what was wrong in what she had said. Or chose to ignore that there was anything wrong.
"...What kind of school do you go to? No, wait. Don't answer. My life as a student isn't hazard-free either. Thanks to blasted, blithering shinigami existing. Like this one."
While the two Gryffindors glanced at each questioningly, both mouthing the word 'shinigami', Renji was quick to catch the other's insulting jibe, leading him to glower menacingly at Uryuu: "Wanna fight?"
Uryuu didn't miss a beat, having predicted the other's reaction, and sought to add even more oil to the fire: "Let's not. I'll beat you, and I doubt you'd want that. Not with Kuchiki-san around."
"Why you-"
Clearing throat, Hermoine brought them back to the issue at hand: "Shall we go back then? Now, that you've 'caught' your eggs and all."
"Hey, but wait. What about your-?" began Ron, wanting to point out that the other two didn't have their own eggs yet.
But before he could carry on, Hermoine and Uryuu both reached in their pockets, retrieving and flaunting their respective eggs each. A pink one with silver swirls. And a purple one with blue.
And at their sight, the young Weasley was quick to shut himself up, feeling particularly miffed. He wished he had been paired with Hermoine.
"Come on. Let's go and join the others. Or wait for them, if they're not done yet," she said, taking the lead and heading off in the direction of the clearing everyone had been at the start of all this adventure.
And so they went, making their way over there, with Renji and Uryuu walking side by side, and Hermoine being next to Ron, who chose this proximity to question her in a whisper: "Hermoine. Has that guy - whatever his name is, I don't care - been any nice to you?"
Hurriedly hiding her smile at Ron's concern, the bushy-haired girl nodded without hesitance: "Yes, actually. He's quite the gentleman. I feel bad. I was a tad rude to him at first."
This pricked the young Wizard's curiosity, glancing at his friend: "Oh? And what did you say?"
Hermoine reddened a little, but staunchly kept silent on the matter: "L-Let's not go there, ok?"
This drew Renji's attention, who was quick to then turn it to the Quincy at his side, eyeing him: "Ok, I'm curious. What did she say to you?"
"Let's not press the issue," uttered Uryuu with a casual shrug, though he became just as red as the young Witch was.
Now wrecked with the need to know, Renji and Ron glanced at each other, before persisting: "...WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?!"
Draco didn't feel well.
Wait. He actually had to rephrase that. The one he'd been partnered with made him feel unwell.
If that Easter Rabbit whatever-the-blood-hell-it-was was tall, this guy was a freaking colossal. Worse, he didn't speak. At all.
Not that the Slytherin dared to try and start a conversation.
He had to wonder if he had been paired with a hooligan or the like. The other did look like one.
Draco shivered at the thought. He wanted to go home.
An open-splayed, tanned hand was suddenly held out in front of his face, causing the blond teen to let out a startled squeak, jumping out of his skin: "Wha-What- What the hell?"
"Shhh."
Totally unblinking, Draco openly stared at the other, halfway between flabbergasted and irked: "...Did you just shush me?!"
Rather than respond, Sado pointed upwards for the other to see what had caught his attention: "Look. Up there."
Draco really didn't like being ordered around, but he relented all the same, confusion crossing his features as he saw what the tall male had seen: "Why are there eggs hanging up in a tree?"
"It must be an egg tree."
"An egg tree," deadpanned the Slytherin incredulously "Wha-? Are you actually being serious right now?"
"Very," came Sado's short and simple reply. As plain as that.
"...Ok. Then again, everything's totally absurd here, so..." trailed off Draco, before staring back up at the tree ahead, frowning with puzzlement "Why are there only two though?"
True enough, there were only two eggs playing in the branches of the tree. One was dark fuchsia with black polka dots, and the other was a pearl jade-like colour.
"I think they're ours."
"Huh. Maybe. How are we even supposed to reach them like th-? Whoa! Hey, what are you-?"
"Can you reach them like this?" asked Sado evenly, as he smoothly picked up the smaller male and placed him steadily upon his shoulders.
Once the startled Draco saw that the giant beneath him wasn't a threat, he looked up once again - but not before muttering something amongst the lines of 'his father hearing about this' - and reached out for the happily dangling eggs.
"I think so. Wait. Ok, got one. Now, the other on-" breathed out the blond male as he made an effort to stretch out for the eggs, only the second one wasn't being too cooperative with him "Hey! It's running away. Could you-?"
The little egg Draco had been trying to catch had pulled itself up, running along the branches before letting itself hang again, tauntingly close, yet still out of reach.
It was frustrating and dreadfully annoying, but there was no way he could ever get it like that.
But the tall, tanned male was swift to understand Draco's unfinished request and shifted where he stood, following over to where the jade egg had ventured.
"How's this?" inquired Sado, as the blond male hastened to try again. And again. ...And again.
"No good. Whenever I get too close, it just runs away," seethed Draco, as he once again failed to grab the egg for the sixth as it got out of reach once more, scurrying off just before he could touch it.
"How come though? You caught the other just fine."
"...Maybe it doesn't like me," muttered the Slytherin, lowering his arms and rubbing circles into them, given they had started to feel a tad numb and sore. Draco had kept them up too far long.
"Hm," uttered Sado, thinking, before he gently lowered the smaller male back onto the ground "Let me try."
Horrified at the thought, the blond paled: "Wait. You want me to carry you on my shoulders?!"
"No, let's not do that. I'll crush you."
The relief on Draco's face was clearly visible, despite him using a condescending and curt tone: "Uh, yeah you will. But wait. What will you do?"
"Climb," responded Sado simply, before adding as an afterthought, in case "So, you stay here."
Strangely enough, the Slytherin was starting to get used to the tanned male's short responses. Even if they were not that comforting to hear.
"Not like I can go anywhere," muttered Draco, clicking his tongue in faint annoyance, before he focused on the other who was actually about to go up the tree as he had said he would "Hey."
"Hm?"
"Uh... Wa- Watch your step. I'm not helping you if you get hurt."
As the blond male quickly looked away, embarrassed by his own words, Sado gave him a long, indecipherable look, before he nodded to himself: "Hm. You're a tsundere. I thought so."
"I'm a what now?" asked the other, completely baffled by the unfamiliar term, unsure if it was an insult or not. It sure sounded like one.
But somehow, for some reason, the blond male wasn't certain the tanned male would do that.
Trying to figure out what a 'tsundere' was, the Slytherin hadn't noticed that the tanned teen had already collected the egg, made his way down from the tree and walked over, until said teenager then stood in front of him again.
Which led Draco to jump a little, snapping out of his thoughts and still a tad wary of the other.
Brandishing the jade egg for the other to see, Sado stated simply: "I've got it."
"I can see that," replied Draco dryly, angry at himself for being so skittish "Let's go back then, and get this over with. Don't fall behind. I won't wait for you."
He didn't wait for the other to reply, practically running off, before abruptly halting in his steps, and glancing hesitantly over his shoulder, before snapping his head forward and staying put, as if waiting for Sado.
"Definitely a tsundere," confirmed the tall, tanned male to himself before eventually following.
"Inoue-san, look!" exclaimed an excited Rukia to Orihime while grabbing her arm, pointing to everything around them.
Orihime could only nod, speechless and unable to say a word, just as much in wonder herself.
The girls' amazed reaction to their surroundings only amused the two boys in their company. Whilst it had been agreed upon to split up into pairs, Fred and George, just couldn't leave each other behind.
They were freaking twin brothers. It wouldn't be fitting to split them up or pry them apart, right?
They figured it wouldn't cause any harm for them to team up into a group of four - since Rukia had been previously paired up with Fred and Orihime had been paired with George, when they had pulled the sticks
The boys had tried to make small talk with the two girls, only the latter two seemed like they were lost in another world of their little own. ...Well, that was kind of the situation.
Without realizing or intending it, the brothers took the lead and the girls followed. Yet none of them had any clue where to start or where they were going.
"You know what I think is strange, brother?" asked Fred.
"The lack of little eggs while there were plenty around earlier?" pointed George out, knowing what the other was thinking.
"Yeah. Maybe the Easter Bunny literally meant that we needed to find the eggs, as in we need to look for them in our surroundings."
"Like in the actual tradition? I don't know. Can it be that easy?" wondered George sceptically.
"This whole point is to punish someone who didn't believe in the Easter Bunny. So, it's not that far-fetched that he would make us participate in said tradition. I mean that's not the weirdest thing up to this point, hm?"
"You're right. Let's involve the girls."
"If we manage to snap them out of it."
By now, Rukia and Orihime were talking amongst themselves, commenting on all the colours.
"Hey, girls - Rukia and Orihime, was it? What do you say we find us some eggs?" suggested Fred, demonstrating by diving enthusiastically into some bushes.
Hearing this, Orihime beamed like child before Christmas. Only she was a teenager...at Easter. Same thing, different day, one could say.
"I'm in!" she replied instantly before racing to his side, also vividly participating in the search.
"Hold on. Wouldn't that be wasting time? We need to find specific eggs, right? It'd be pointless to look for any other eggs," pointed out Rukia, not entirely knowing what Easter was all about.
"That's the point. The most popular Easter tradition is looking for eggs that have been hidden," clarified George "Our objective is to find eggs."
Rukia thought about it for a minute: "...Well, if it means I get to see the bunny again, I'm in."
"Great! Let's get to it then."
All four of them began looking for their eggs. Looking into hollow trees, in bushes, under small hills and even in the rooftops.
But they had no luck. After about an hour, they haven't found a single egg.
Orihime seemed disappointed, Rukia was frustrated and Fred was nearing giving up. But then, George spotted something.
"Over there!" He yelled, pointing to something in the distance.
"What is it?" Rukia asked.
"I saw an egg. It peeked over that tree stump over there. When it saw that I was looking it hid from view."
"Let's go take a look then."
The foursome arrived at the stump, but there was no egg in sight.
"Oh, I see what's going on here." Fred said.
"Well, don't keep us in suspense." Answered Rukia, slightly inpatient.
"The eggs are hidden, but they are also moving. Remember that the eggs we saw earlier had feet?"
"You're right. This is no longer us finding the eggs, it's more like-"
"-Hide and seek!" Finished Orihime, getting excited again. "We need a strategy." She said putting her fist into her palm. "Here's what we need to do. Two of continue to search like before. The other two keep on the lookout. So, when we get close to their hiding spot, the ones on the lookout will see them moving about."
"That's brilliant, Inoue-san!" Said Rukia.
"Do you really think so?" She replied, suddenly embarrassed.
"It's a great idea. Let's do this!" George said giving Orihime her confidence back.
They all nodded at each other and got to work.
This time, it didn't take long before they got some results.
"There!" Yelled Rukia when she saw an egg scurrying away.
"On it!" Yelled both brothers at the same time and ran after the egg.
For having such tiny legs, the egg was surprisingly fast and very agile. Wasn't easy to capture the thing.
"Hey! Watch out!" Yelled Fred after he bumped into his brother, causing them both to fall on their asses.
It was so comical that the girls just stood there, laughing at the scene.
"Don't just stand there! The egg is getting away!"
After regrouping, it took only about ten minutes before the first egg was captured.
"Aha! Gotcha!" Exclaimed Rukia in triumph when she finally got hold of the egg. "You're a little troublemaker, aren't you.?"
She pocketed the egg and re-joined the others in the hunt for the other three remaining eggs.
By the time all four eggs were captured, all members were panting and trying to catch their breath.
"Well, *pant* glad that's over. *pant* I do not want to do that ever again." Said Fred.
"Oh, come on brother *pant*. This was fun! I wouldn't *pant* mind doing it again."
"Well, I don't. So make sure you keep a good hold on your egg. It seems like it's trying to get away."
And sure enough, the little egg was trying to make an escape.
"No, you don't!" Said George as the egg jumped out of his robe. Luckily it wasn't fast enough and George managed to catch it before it fell to the ground.
After securing the eggs, making sure they couldn't get away again, the group headed back to the clearing were they all had first met.
Ichigo and Harry were the first to arrive back at the clearing. Chad and Draco soon followed after. Hermoine and Uryuu arrived later with Ron and Renji in tow. And lastly the twins brothers, Rukia and Orihime returned.
"Okay, now what?" Harry started as soon as everyone was gathered. "We have our eggs, so what do we do now?" He said, while taking out his egg, prompting the others to do the same.
"The question we should be asking is-" Fred began.
"How do these tiny eggs get us home?" George finished.
"Hey. Can I ask you something?" Draco asked Orihime, while the others were discussing the topic of getting home.
"Of course."
"What's a tsundere?" At which Orihime looked wide eyed at Draco, not knowing how to answer. She was saved from giving an answer by Ron addressing the group.
"Wasn't this whole point to punish the person who didn't believe in the Easter Bunny? Have we figured out who it is yet?"
But everyone shook their head. Everyone, but one. And that person was none other than Fred Weasley.
"Wait, YOU'RE the one who didn't believe in the Easter Bunny?!" Shouted George unbelieving at his brother.
"Well, yeah. I thought it was something the Muggles came up with, so I didn't put much stock into believing it."
"But you believe now?" Asked Harry, still in a bit of a shock that one of the biggest pranksters he knew, didn't believe in the Easter Bunny.
"It's hard not to when there's a giant talking bunny in front of us, who kidnapped us into another world. I need to see before I believe."
"All this time, you've betrayed me brother." Said George dramatically at Fred. Pretending to have been stabbed in the back, holding his hand over his heart.
Fred laughed. "At least now that has been cleared up, we can go home. Right?" He asked the last question specifically at Aster.
"If everyone managed to find their eggs, then yes." The rabbit nodded. "Let's see 'em."
Everyone complied and each pulled out a unique coloured egg.
"Good job. Now, in order to get home, there's one last thing you need to do. What do people do with the eggs they find on Easter?" Aster asked.
Orihime knew the answer and was horrified. "You want us to eat these little eggs? But, aren't they alive?"
"I agree with Inoue. We can't commit murder!" Rukia said, holding her egg protectively to her chest.
If not for the situation they were in, Ichigo would have found the sight funny. Kon would have been so jealous.
The rest of the group shared the opinion.
The Easter Bunny sighed and explained: "They aren't alive, technically. How do I explain this? They are meant to be eaten. They are just temporally animated using a form of magic to get them where they need to be across the world. It's physically impossible for me to hide all the eggs all over the world in one night. So, I give them legs, so they can hide themselves."
"They are just puppets and you are the puppeteer, they aren't really alive, I see." Said Ishida.
"So, I guess we're doing this, huh?" Ron added.
"I mean, we've eaten worse, haven't we? This should be fine." Hermoine said, trying to convince herself more than the others.
"And they're conveniently small enough, so sure. What about you guys? ...Why are you so hesitant?" Draco said, not seeing the problem.
"...Doing this will be turning me into a cannibal. I'd rather stay here." Said Orihime with a tear in her eye.
Uryuu answered instantly: "Don't be ridiculous, Inoue-san. Think of this as nothing else but a dream. Wonderland, remember?
Orihime nodded, unconvinced. "...Ok."
"I feel weird. I can't do this." Ichigo said, while looking at his egg.
"I can help you, if you want. I'll shove down your throat, that way it'll be over before you know." Renji added helpfully.
"Do that, and I swear you'll be black and blue."
"How about we just do it together? All at the same time." Suggested Harry.
Reluctantly they all agree.
"On the count of three. One"
"Two."
"Three!"
They all popped the rainbow coloured in their mouths at the same time and swallowed, some quickly as to not think about, others with the difficulty but eventually managed to ingest them.
At first, nothing happened.
And then all twelve of them began to glow, swirls of magic dust and stars steadily surrounding them via a powerful as they began to fade away where they stood, becoming less and less visible, until they vanished completely into thin air. As if they had never been there.
Easter Bunny: Well, there's that.
Being engulfed by a bright light was a unique experience to say the least, but it was over as soon as it began.
The glow faded and the scenery was completely different than before. Gone was the magical warren. Instead, the people who were transported now found themselves in an eerie, dark place.
The full moon shone bright above them and illuminated the dirt road.
In the distance a small town could be seen, but it was all wrong. The houses were crooked and looked out of place.
"Were are we?" Asked a confused Hermoine.
"I have no idea." Answered an equally confused Ron.
As they tried gain their bearings, a familiar voice called out.
"You guys? Weren't we all supposed to go back to our own worlds? Where are we?" Asked an even more confused Ichigo.
Turns out that all twelve members were still together in this new, creepy place.
"I think I can answer that last question, Kurosaki." Said Ishida.
That gained everyone's attention. Uryuu pointed at a sigh that pointed at the village and clearly read: Halloween Town.
To be continued?
A/N:
*NP: Translates to 'World Translation' in Latin.
Hello there, lovely readers. First off all thank you reading this story.
Me and Seth had a wonderful time writing it, and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we did.
See ya next time.
Love, Neko