Ethan the Rabbit Informant

THUD!!

Unblinkingly and with my mouth slightly ajar, I stared at the fluffy white rabbit standing on the chair staring at me with its red rounded eyes, amused.

It opened its mouth and said in a voice that was very familiar. "Really, you don't have to be wary of me. But if you're afraid of me because you find me too intimidating to handle, I can understand that much."

That's not the problem here! Why can a rabbit talk?!

While I was still racking my brain, it hopped on the floor which scared the hell out of me. Afraid of what it might do. The unknown always scares me!

The rabbit sighed and all of a sudden, he stomped his right furry foot three times on the floor. And with that, semi-transparent grayish-white smoke emerged from its body with a "poof" and the rabbit transformed into a white-haired human. He was none other than Ethan Meyer!

"Don't ask me stupid questions like what kind of amazing creature I am. Because I don't know if I am a human who can shapeshift into a rabbit or a rabbit that can shapeshift into a human. In fact, I am having a little identity crisis whenever I think about that. Sigh…"

When I finally snapped out of my reverie, I immediately stood from the floor and made a distance from him. Seeing this, the white-haired young man chuckled and said, "Didn't I tell you I would see you tonight? So why are you so shocked? Anyway, let's get down to the business, shall we?"

"Wait!! You're the one from the tunnel!" That one from the tunnel who introduced himself as Ethan Meyer.

"Sweet! You remembered me!"

"How?..."

"How what? How am I so amazing?"

"How did you do that?!"

He seemed to be quite confused with what I said. As if he was having a hard time understanding what's the meaning behind my words. As he rubbed his chin, he suddenly snapped his thumb and middle finger and said, "When you say 'that', do you mean how I managed to have a 'purely coincidental' meeting with you earlier? Or do you mean how I managed to notice of your ignorance?"

"That too! Wait… That sounded wrong. But what I meant was how the heck were you able to shapeshift?!"

"Oh! That? I don't know either. I was born this way and it just felt so natural."

Born that way? You mean you were born a shapeshifter? What kind of world did I transmigrate to! And how many shapeshifters were there out in the open? No, the best question would be, would it even be safe for me to live here?

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Suddenly I heard a series of knocks on the door and the metallic twisting of the doorknob. I began panicking because how the heck am I supposed to explain why there was a guy in my room?!

I turned to give Ethan a knowing look hoping that he's not too stupid to not be able to take a hint. But when I look at him, he was already back to his rabbit form.

Phew!

"Jack, I'll come in!" Kai said followed by the creaking sound of the door. "I only came to tell you that I will be leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow."

"Eh? Oh! Cool!"

"Yup! You'll be fine here, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then—wait!! Is that a rabbit?"

"Uhh… Yes?" Kai, I understand you mean no ill but can you please not stay here any longer? I don't know what that shapeshifting rabbit might do!

"Where'd you get this and when did you start getting interested in rabbits?" he asked as he single-handedly took it from the floor and held it like a newborn baby. It didn't seem to mind Kai. And it turned me down earlier when I tried petting it. Wait! That's not the point here!

"I once read in a book that rabbits are very sensitive and can get easily frightened," I said as I hastily took it from his arms and put it on the bed.

"I see. Did you buy it?"

"No, I saw it at the underground tunnel on my way back." I am not really lying here, okay?

***

I heaved a sigh of relief when Kai finally left. And now, I am left with the rabbit who has already transformed back to being a human.

I sat on the bed while he dragged the chair so we could be face to face. Acting like he's in his own house.

"Please, allow me to reintroduce myself, Mr. Jack. I am Ethan Meyer, and we will be talking about our future." Exactly what kind of future are you referring to?

"What do you mean?" I asked. I definitely needed an explanation. First, he popped out of nowhere and just started spouting things like helping me with whatever he had in mind. And now, he's telling me about the future.

"I'm saying that I wanted to be in a cooperative relationship with you."

"Explain"

"Simple! I will help you earn money, give you the information that you need, and help you stay out of trouble. In return, you will give me 10% of your salary and give me food but don't worry, you don't have to provide me my shelter."

So in short, he wanted to be my informant. If I think about my current situation, information is what I needed the most. My goal as of now is to earn enough money so I could live comfortably in my new environment. And at the same time, it is to avoid getting entangled in any kind of a mess. So his offer is actually not bad, but I've yet to know if I can really trust him. I can't be too careful.

"I see where you're coming from. But why do you have to go through all the roundabout way, I mean, can't you just work on your own? You'll earn bigger that way instead of just the 10% from mine. Also, why me?"