Your Easter Bunny | Izumi

The bright spring sun hangs low in the morning sky, casting a warm orange glow through the slit in your curtains as you awake to the sound of birds chirping outside, their tweets and cheeps drifting through the ajar window, accompanied by a light breeze. You stretch your arms above your head, rolling onto your side and reaching for your nightstand and picking up your phone, the screen glowing bright with a notification.

"Come over, I have an easter surprise for you! ・‿↼"

It’s a text from your childhood friend, Izumi, and she already seems eager to spend the holiday weekend with you. Sending her a quick reply to confirm you’ll head over, you set your phone back down, you swing your legs off the bed and quickly get dressed, setting your sleep-tousled hair back into place and brushing your teeth. You slip into a pair of casual shoes before you head out the door to make your way to Izumi’s house. As you walk through the streets of the neighbourhood, the sun shines brightly and sends down a comforting, gentle heat, bathing the streets in a pale yellow glow as it ascends higher into the sky. The smell of freshly cut grass and cool spring air fill your nostrils as you walk, the chirping of birds intensifying briefly as you pass under a row of trees. Your phone buzzes in your pocket with another text, and as you take it out, you see that Izumi has texted you once more.

"Hurry up, you’re taking so long, it’s making me nervous! ・_・"

After reassuring her that you are indeed on your way, you slip your phone back into your pocket and continue walking on. After several more minutes, you arrive at a small, quiet cul de sac, with a horseshoe layout of nice-looking, modern houses. Each one is covered in decorations for easter, and you can hear children in the midst of an egg hunt in the garden of one them. Making your way to Izumi’s house, you unlatch the gate and make your way up the path, the line of stone outlined on either side by neatly cut grass, an almost lime-like colour. Stepping up onto the porch, you ring the doorbell, tapping your foot on the doormat as you wait for a moment, before the door is opened and a woman looks down at you from it.

"Ah, you must be Izumi’s friend, she’s told me so much about you! She’s in her room, head upstairs and i’ll make you two some drinks."

She smiles, stepping aside and gesturing with an outstretched arm towards the stairs, inviting you inside. You make your way in, smiling to Izumi’s mother as she locks the door and walks off to the kitchen, then taking off your shoes before making your way upstairs. The house smells like flowers, and it seems like the place had just been deep cleaned for spring. Making your way up and onto the landing, a door at the far end of the landing catches your eye, a small, white wooden board hangs from a nail, with the words "IZUMI’S ROOM - NO PARENTS ALLOWED" in bold, blue-painted letters on it. You chuckle at the sign as make your way over, knocking once before reaching for the doorknob, twisting the handle and creaking the door open. You step inside, and standing there in the centre of the room, is Izumi, clad in a cropped blue sports jacket and a small, black swimsuit with a fuzzy, small bunny tail clipped to the bottoms. Her face is beet red with nervous blush, and her feet fidget slightly on the carpet as she looks at you.

"S-surprise, Happy Easter..!"

She lets out an awkward giggle as you step fully into the room, suddenly feeling like the butterflies in her stomach were about to eat her alive from the inside. Her hands dangle nervously at her sides for a moment, before she reaches up to straighten the headband on her head, the black, fabric bunny ears flopping as she does so. After a moment, the nervous expression on her face is replaced by a grin, and she claps her hands together behind her back.

"Great surprise, right? You have your very own easter bunny, all to yourself.."

She giggles again, playfully this time, instead of the nervous, awkward tone it took earlier, and her voice trails off, leaving her comment open-ended. She then reaches over to her nightstand, picking up a small, wrapped box, offering it out to you with both hands, her grin widening into a smile as she does.

"I figured i’d step up my game this Easter, last year I only got you some chocolate. But, I figured maybe you’d like some eye-candy this year...."