Ch. 2 — Awakening in the Incubator

Warmth cradled me before awareness did. It wrapped around my tiny body like a blanket, gentle and steady, so different from the cold pavement I remembered. For a moment, I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming. The last thing I remembered was darkness swallowing everything… so why did my world now glow with soft, white light?

I opened my eyes.

A curved glass dome hovered above me, faintly humming. The air smelled clean, sweet even, and the surface beneath me was cushioned, almost cloudlike. A nursery? No—a facility, with smooth walls, glowing panels, and rows of incubators like mine lined in perfect order.

I tried to move and felt… strange. My limbs were tiny, pudgy, and uncoordinated. My fingers—small. My ears flicked on their own, soft and long, brushing against the bedding. I froze. Ears? Bunny ears?

Someone approached, and the tall figure leaned over me. A woman in a sleek uniform, holding a tablet that scanned my body with a soft beep.

“Oh, look at you,” she murmured. “Two months old and already healthy. Sweet little hybrid.”

Hybrid.

The word settled into my awareness. I wasn’t human anymore.

She continued scanning me, her tone professional but gentle. “He’ll definitely get chosen fast,” she said to someone behind her. “Bunny hybrids are rare, and he’s adorable.”

Chosen? Chosen for what?

Before I could attempt another movement, more footsteps entered—three men, each tall and strong in a way that radiated authority. Their scents—yes, I could smell them—were distinct: warm sun, crisp snow, and forest leaves.

The woman greeted them. “Kai, Ren, Jiro. You’re here to review potential wards?”

The man with golden-brown hair—Kai—stepped closer. He had sharp lion-like eyes but a calm, grounded aura. He peered into my incubator, studying me with a softness that surprised me.

“He’s small,” Kai murmured.

“But alert,” Ren added. His snow-white hair and cold blue eyes made him look like walking winter, but his expression softened when he looked at me. “He’s watching us carefully.”

The third—Jiro—had foxlike features, slim and graceful, with eyes that glittered with amusement. “Already tracking movement,” he said quietly. “Smart little bun.”

Smart. Even as a baby, their instincts picked up on something.

The woman lifted me gently, supporting my head. My body felt tiny, weak, but not helpless. Not this time. This world was unknown but… warm. Softer. Kinder than the last moments of my life.

“Would you like to hold him?” she asked.

Kai was the first to step forward. His large hands were surprisingly steady as he took me. Instinctively, I reached toward him, my small fingers curling into his shirt. His expression melted just a little.

“…He likes you,” Jiro teased.

Kai cleared his throat, but he didn’t put me down.

Ren leaned in next, brushing a finger down my cheek. “He’s calm. Very calm.”

“He chose you three,” the woman said with a smile. “If you want him, the adoption papers are simple.”

Adoption.

I didn’t fully understand this world yet, but a soft warmth spread through my chest. These three—Kai, Ren, Jiro—felt steady, like anchors. Safe.

Kai looked at the others. Ren nodded once. Jiro grinned.

“We’ll take him,” Kai said.

And just like that, my new life began—warm arms holding me, the hum of the incubator fading, the old darkness replaced by something that felt dangerously close to hope.

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