Waikiki was dirtier than she remembered.

The acrid smell of gasoline mixed with salty sea air to burn her sensitive nose. The sounds of cars and tourists filled the air, a cacophonous onslaught on her ears, and the lights of the city overpowered the stars in the sky. Despite the intensity of it all, the Rabbit found herself a strange sort of peace.

To those of this world, it was just another night. To those that had been the Rabbit’s companions in another world, it was a long-sought dream. To the Rabbit herself, long-lost and newly-returned and oh-so-changed? It was an old fear finally crushed.

Underneath the moon, underneath the bridge, the Rabbit knelt down and cried softly.

She was home. She was… finally home.

===============

Seven years had passed for the Rabbit in that other world. She had hoped that there would be some distortion in time that would have made it so that only seconds, minutes, or even days had passed, but just by looking at the crystal blue waters of the Ala Wai, being able to see the fish swimming through the algae and undergrowth…

While it made the Rabbit happy that the Board of Health had finally started cleaning up that mess, it spoke of years of concentrated effort for the Ala Wai to be this clean.

Still, the fact that the city skyline was still recognizable gave hope that perhaps it wasn’t the worst-case scenario where hundreds of years had passed and everything was gone.

Either way though, the Rabbit  had changed so much. Her body, her mind, her name, so many things had changed, but she hoped that she had remained the same in the ways that counted.

Remained just the same enough that her family would still recognize her…

Hapa then slapped herself on the cheeks with both hands. Nope. That way led to brooding and depression. That wasn’t her! She hadn’t survived two wars, helped build a transit system that spanned time and space, and helped kill a god (lowercase and using an ‘a’ to imply plurality just to retroactively piss off that fucker of an asshole) to suddenly lay low and cry about how shit everything was.

She was Hapa. She had survived her isekai adventure, she had her stupid character arc, and now that she had finally gotten home, she was going to damn well enjoy being home. It was a shame that her comrades couldn’t be here to enjoy this with her, but if all had gone to plan, they’d be at their homelands too. They could figure out how to contact one another and do a reunion some other time.

Right now, Hapa was going to enjoy walking around and she was going to have fun.

…Well, as much fun as being broke in Waikiki could be. Hapa wished she had her old stuff from when she had first been Isekai-ed, but she had sold, traded, and bartered all of that long ago. Oh, well. Sightseeing was free and Hapa had stopped needing glasses when she got her new body.

Walking through Waikiki, the Rabbit marveled at how little the city had changed.

Same old lights, same old hotels, tourists wandering about in leis and colorful Hawaiian shirts. Some things had changed, an old mural or two redone, a building renovated and another destroyed.

Lifting her head up, Hapa adjusted her hat and smiled at the statue of Duke Kahanamoku. Nice to know the statue of the surfer was still up.

Eyeing the sculpted surfboard the statue was standing in front of, she frowned and then nodded. This time she was absolutely going to learn how to surfboard. It was a damn shame she never learned in her past life, and that time against the fire dragons didn’t count.

“Hey!” a voice suddenly called out, “Nice costume, what’s it for?”

For a moment, Hapa frowned and idly resigned herself to an impromptu lesson. Was this yet another idiot trying to pick a fight? They’d learn to leave the specism behind, but it was always anno--

She blinked and resisted the urge to slap her face. She wasn’t in Akasha where the fantastical was the norm and newcomers had to be tactfully taught violently the new rules. This was Earth where being a bunny anthro was fucking weird.

Thankfully, the questioner, a large polynesian man holding a snowboard, had already given her an alibi. And, judging by the smell, appeared to also be mildly drunk enough to decide that going surfing this late at night was a good idea. More power to him, she supposed.

“Eh, just felt like walking about,” Hapa shrugged, not quite lying, “Seems a shame to break out the outfit once a year.”

He raised an eyebrow, “So you’re not here for the convention?”

“Shi-- Shoots,” Hapa’s ears flapped in nostalgic joy, and she had to resist the urge to pull them down to pin them down. She had loved going to Kawaii Kon, but did her ears really have to move on their own? “Is it that time already?”

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Suspicion fleeing as soon as it had arrived, the man laughed, “Heh, you should totally go! It’s next month! We’re getting some Divers, and one of them’s a local gal too! I'm actually going to be there as a volunteer, actually! Working in security!”.

“Sounds fun!” Hapa laughed, not quite cackling in panic. Yep. Yep. She was just about done with this conversation. Ugh, she wished Tofu was here. She’d know how to get out of this conversation super easily.

He then moved in close, uncomfortably close, rubbing his chin, “Whoa, your suit’s really realistic. Your chest is moving in time with your breathing. Did you get it custom-made with monster parts or something? Ooh, or the new SmartCloths?”

“No, and no. Also,  I’d thank you to not stare at my chest too much, marvelous as it is,” Hapa rolled her eyes, pulling her cloak together to hide her chest, “Anyways, got to go. I’m running late for a meetup.” she then began lightly jogging away.

“Hope to see you there!” the man hollered, waving a hand goodbye even as he stepped towards the beach, “Also sorry for being weird! Love your suit!”

“Thank you,” she hollered back. Then, she booked it. She had spent long enough delaying the reunion, it was time to meet her family again.

===============

Roof hopping from Waikiki to Ala Moana to Chinatown, Hapa sighed as she saw yet more evidence of time’s passage. They had demolished the old Korean Mart close to Ala Moana Mall and replaced it with the bones of yet another damn high-rise. Admittedly, this one was a fair bit lower, standing at what looked like a mere five stories, but still.

Annoying to say the least.

She stopped, perched on the corner of a building, to look closer at the building as she noticed something strange. The high-rise was natural in an unnatural way. Okay, she could have worded that better, but in the urban center of Honolulu, this building was extremely out of place with just how colorful and covered in flora it was.

…Okay, fine, she wasn’t the best with words. She just dug holes and fought crap back in the other world. Point was, the building was really out of place. With the round base and the weird entrances and the growing branches, if Hapa didn’t know better, she’d have thought she was looking at the start of a… of a… Guildcenter…

Nope. she shook her head. The Rabbit didn’t like that train of thought. It was a coincidence. It had to be a coincidence. If it wasn’t, that meant that chucklefuck of a god (lowercase because fuck them) was right and the worst-case scenario shitstorm really was coming in and-- and--

No. Maybe denial wasn’t the best idea, but she had earned it. Seven years gone and she just wanted to be home. Moon’s Scorn, she hoped home was still where it used to be.

Shoving that tiny (large) worry in the back of her mind, Hapa returned to hopping back home.

Chinatown was its same old shitty self at least. Dirty roads, worn-and-torn buildings that had ‘character’ with the wear, a fractured window spicing up bits and pieces, it was her hometown and by the moon, did the ugliness detract absolutely nothing from the joy she felt at seeing her old apartment.

It would’ve been too obvious to go through the lobby, so Hapa jumped up, climbing until the fourth floor to slip in through the fire escape. Technically, they were supposed to be locked, but it was still good to see that jiggling it in just the right way popped it open. Stepping in, she smiled and just… breathed in.

So close to home.

The old mirror on the wall opposite of the elevators was still there. Walking to stand before it, Hapa took in her current self.

Gray fur covered her body and her long ears poked straight up to be tipped in black. Wearing a black trench coat and white pants, Hapa smiled at her chest wrapped in bandages. When she had first grown breasts, the wrap had been an impromptu fix, but then it had just become a part of her image. Despite Tofu’s insistence that she needed proper support, Hapa liked her sarashi wraps. They were perfect for her sukeban aesthetic.

Black and gray made her long silver hair pop and… Hapa placed a hand on the mirror, meeting and marveling at herself just a bit. It was funny how time changed what was once devastating into something to be celebrated. At the time, Hapa, like so many others, thought the changes were a curse, but… 

Moon’s Scorn, did she look fucking good. Maybe it was a bit too much of a sukeban cosplay, but damned if she didn’t make it look good. It was just about midnight, so nobody was around to watch as Hapa posed a few times; a classic pinup pose of blowing a kiss, two hands behind her head with her chest puffed out, even a silly pose where she pointed a finger gun at her reflection while leaning back.and pulling her cap down.

“Yare yare daze,” Hapa drawled before giggling. Her friends would call her a filthy otaku right about now, but so what? Hapa enjoyed life as she did without regret.

…This body felt right in a way that her natural-born one never did and… It was such a shame that she couldn’t, shouldn’t be herself for this reunion. She didn’t want to hide herself, but… it was best to hide the change… Just for a bit.

Reaching into the pocket of her trench coat, she pulled out a leaf. Breathing in and out in a controlled manner, Hapa jumped up with the leaf held to her head, flipping backwards, and transformed in a plume of smoke..

Coughing, she waved hand to clear away the smoke. Gah, hopefully that wouldn’t set off the fire alarm. Hacking just a bit more and wincing at the more masculine tone she had obtained, Hapa looked at the mirror once more and sighed.

She was… taller now. And a man. Her trench coat actually felt a bit tight, so she took it off and shoved it into her subspace. Hapa didn’t want to tear her trenchcoat now just because she was slightly too big for it, not after it had survived so much.

…Staring at the mirror, she nodded once. She really didn’t like wearing this shell, but  Hapa could endure the dysphoria for this first meeting. It would be better to have this form for now. More recognizable for her family to see a past self instead of her current self.

Turning away from the mirror, she hurried down the hall and paused across the room.404. Mother had complained that two 4’s meant bad luck, but seeing those numbers felt like anything but bad luck.

Not even bothering to breathe, Hapa knocked on the door, almost forgetting to control her strength. As it was, she merely dented it instead of punching through it.

“It midnight now!” She heard her mother grumble softly in broken English, “Who knock this late?”

Biting her lip, Hapa forced her hands into her pockets. It was gratifying to have confirmation that her family still lived here and oh, how did she want to see them right now. She could tear open the door easily, simple wood that it was, but she didn’t want to hurt her mother and she both looked forward to and dread and oh no she should’ve thought this through more and--

The door opened to reveal her mother wearing a prepared scowl that slowly transformed into slack surprise.

Still as short as she remembered, her short black-haired had a few streaks of white now, her face had a few more wrinkles, but her mother was still her mother. Amber eyes glistened as tears welled as her mother let go of the door to cover her mouth.

Stepping forward and using one arm to hold the door open, Hapa opened her mouth and found her throat closed. She opened and closed it once, twice, before raising her free hand to form a fist to cough into. She then fell into the oldest of exchanges between child and parent.

Smiling weakly, Hapa then murmured in meek Mandarin, “I came home, mother”

Stepping forward, her mother embraced her tightly, burying her face in her child’s chest and shaking her head in grieving, wondrous joy. To have a child long gone suddenly returned was a gift of a heady mixture of feelings. She still found the strength to finish the tradition.

“You’ve come home, my son. You’ve finally come home.”

There were so many things Hapa wanted to say to her mother. Apologies for disappearing. A correction about gender. Explanations about where she’d been. Revealing the changes, physical, mental, all of them. Asking how mother had been, how her sister was. There were so many things she wanted to say, but all the Rabbit said was nothing.

Hapa simply hugged her mother, ignoring the discomfort of her body transformed into the shell of a past self, and pretended that everything was normal and right with the world.

In a way, it was. She was simply a lost child coming home after all.