At the beginning of the week, Bugs had been scouring the attic for items to donate or toss. He had found many items with the help of Porky but no help from Daffy (as per usual). The only advice Daffy had given his best friend is "just don't get rid of anything important." Bugs had agreed and gone along with the searching. This had been a Monday. Just a day after donating a pile and tossing a pile (Daffy had actually been busy occupying Lola, so she wouldn't take all Bugs's things), Daffy had returned to the attic to check out the space.
Doing so, he walks over to a large trunk in the corner and starts sifting through. He pulls out a scuba diving helmet, a broken coffee machine, several diaries in the viewpoints of his many characters, many different action figures and a lot of different-colored hats. His screech is suddenly heard throughout the neighborhood. Bugs walks up nervously, only to be greeted with a viscous scowl.
"Eh, Daff? You okay?"
"Okay?!" He shrieks. "Where is the rabbit?"
"Eh, what?"
"The rabbit." He answers impatiently, describing the missing toy. "The old worn-out sthuffed rabbit with the stitches poorly holding in fluff and a mithing button eye. Where is it, Long Earsth?"
"I, uh," Bugs tilts his head awkwardly. "Y'mean that was important? How could it be important to ya? I remember it sittin' on a shelf when I was a boy. I didn't know ya back then."
"That was MY shelf, back when my feathers were green because of some SCREW-UP at the orphanage and I got that damn rabbit!"
"You used to have green feathers?" Bugs asks nervously, suddenly recalling exactly who he was arguing with over the toy all those years ago.
"Work with me." He grumbles. "Where is the RABBIT?"
"I, err, umm, I threw it away."
"Threw it, you threw it away." He repeats quietly. "Get out."
"I'll give you some time in the atti"
"Get out of the house." Daffy narrows his eyes.
"It's my house." Bugs protests.
"GET OUUUT!" Daffy screams, red flames firing in his eyes.
Bugs's ears flatten and he coils back in distress. "Sure, Daff."
+ FLASHBACK +
Daffy Duck is seven-years-old. He has taped-up glasses and broken braces. His beak is bent in an irregular position. Daffy doesn't fit in anywhere, not even at the orphanage. After a particularly nasty incident, his feathers are left singed and a bright lime green. He escapes to the park after lights out and climbs into the tunnel. There, he meets a barely younger gray bunny. The younger kid is holding a toy rabbit with mud stains all over.
"Hi, I'm Bugs."
Daffy looks up, unsure about trusting the other kid. He quickly thinks up a story and stretches out his hand. "Bathil. What're you doing outh here?"
"I'm running away from home."
"Yeah, who cares? I call this tunnel."
"It's just, every way I toin, Dad's always theya." He continues. "I mean, I'm five-yeas-
oid. I'm goin to kindagodden. I don' need his help all de time."
"Yeah, I mith my dad." 'Basil' responds with a sigh. "He wanted to thpend time with me thoo, but now I'm thuck at my uncle's plathe. And he'th al work-work-work. I wanna get out thoo."
Bugs squirms and holds out his toy. "Terabi can help. She's helped me when I feel bad."
"You're giving this? To me?" He's almost speechless.
"Yeah." Bugs smiles. "I'm gonna head home now. Nice to meet ya, Basil."
"Thankth, Bugth." Daffy replies quietly.
+ END FLASHBACK +
Daffy locks himself in his bedroom and barricades the door. He trashes his room, hoping the toy rabbit might have made its way there instead of a junk pile. He boards up his windows and blocks the mousehole. Outside, Bugs joins a very confused Porky.
"Hey, where'd Speedy go?"
"He-a, he-a, he-a opened the pizza-pizzariba early. What-a, what-a, what's wrong with Daffy?"
"I, err, threw something away he really likes."
"Why? And wha-what is it?"
"I di'nt mean to, Pork. Some toy rabbit."
"Rabbit?" He raises an eyebrow.
+ THAT AFTERNOON +
Bugs returns home with a few things for Daffy: a new grooming kit, Persian chocolates, a new handbag (it's not a purse) and several bags of toy rabbits. The front door is unlocked as per usual, but no response when Bugs calls for the duck. Bugs knocks on Daffy's bedroom door, but still no response. The bunny drops off the goods at the door, and then heads downstairs to make Daffy's favorite dinner.
The next day, Wednesday, Bugs awakes a little past ten. He hasn't heard anything from Daffy all night. This worries him a little but decides to give the duck some space. Porky and Speedy come over around noon to talk it over with Bugs. Speedy rams through the mouseholes to get to Daffy's room. Once there, he notices a lot of broken glass and items thrown around. Before he can see much of anything, a blur of black feathers clutches him and harshly throws him out of a hole in the boarded window.
Back inside of his room, Daffy paces with a large knife. He stares longingly at the shiny metallic surface. It is already stained a faint crimson color. His eyes are bloodshot and his feathers are ruffled. He wasn't able to sleep last night. He doesn't know what time it is, since most of his belongings are broken. He boards up the rest of his window and boards up the mousehole. Daffy sighs and sits down on the foot of his bed.
The next morning, Bugs realizes he hasn't slept. He checks in on Daffy but nothing has been touched. The door is still locked and there is still no answer. Daffy sets the rusty knife next to the discolored tossed tissues and broken scissors. He weakly closes the wound, collects a set of elbow-length armbands, and places one on each walks up to the dresser and stares as the mirror, pausing to bash his head against it. Taking in a deep breath, he rolls his weaponry in a pillowcase and places it in a drawer.
Daffy sits back on the bed, breathing heavily. He glares at the destruction of his room. This isn't so much about the rabbit, but how Daffy feels about his life. He feels like the butt to everyone's jokes as he starts thinking about who would miss him if he were gone. The witch never has liked him and Gossamer would get over it - he's just a kid. Foghorn forgets easily, like Lola. Granny, the cat and the bird hardly ever talk to him. Speedy, Marvin, Mac and Tosh wouldn't care too much either. Yosemite doesn't like him either. That leaves Bugs, Tina and Porky. Porky just wants to tag along. He can do that with Bugs.
Speaking of, Bugs and Tina just have him in their lives to add excitement. Daffy knows what he is: a burden. He is a foolish, mentally deranged menace to society. It says so in his name. Daffy can hear Bugs calling, knocking frantically on the door. He must have heard the glass shattering. Normally, Daffy would be on his feet, happy that Bugs actually cares. However, as he's been thinking about this, Daffy is certain all Bugs cares about is his busted, shattered mirror. The duck continues to glare at the dresser, slowly tuning out his so-called best friend - who had managed to shed some light onto Daffy's life by tossing away an emblem. Daffy sighs again. He hadn't patched up his last wound too close. A small crimson clot soaks through the bracelet as his eyelids grow very weak. Daffy can only hear blood vacating his head as it collides with the stained sheets at his side.