Inaba 1: Run Rabbit Run

*eyes bug out* A foster kid and diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor at 10, good grief, anyone who picks on this kid is a monster with no empathy. And cancer has spread that much, 80 lbs. at 5'4", I hate cancer! Lost a friend in rl to it and hate seeing anyone suffering from it. Hiding out in a National Park, this kid has guts despite everything.

Ugh, I know they are trying to train new medical students but talking about patients in front of them like this just seems beyond rude. Rose Lindevall, pretty name, and unique last name, never heard it before in my life. Good grief, I know cancer has spread but to just give up on her like this, are situations like this common in such cases I have to wonder.

Sneak out on Valentine's Day, she isn't wrong, a lot of working stiffs get distracted on that day. She must have some kind of luck though, to make it this far and not being noticed despite her stealth in the matter. Huh, that is interesting to learn about Downtown Minneapolis.

Nice to see a security guard who does his job and is kind to children. Ouch, block and a half outside to get the library in her condition, brutal. Pulled from school and tutoring stopped, they gave up on her completely, you never give up until it is over. Okay, took a moment to look up the Boundry Waters myself, now I want to go there sometime. And I'm shocked she got there without incident, almost like she has a guardian spirit or something watching over her.

Illegally camping in her condition, I wonder how long until another human finds her.

I was shocked when the reply came. “There are those that get what they deserve, and those that don’t deserve what fate has laid out for them. None of us in the great mystery can know why fate chooses as it does. It is just our place to make what we can of what we are given.”

A wise and mysterious voice when she asked the Moon something, who could this be.

“Don’t worry, I mean you no harm. In fact, I may be able to render you great aid in this time of hardship”, the mysterious voice answered. “As for who I am, I have been called by many names. Inaba, Yutu, Inlé, are but a few of them.”

“Inlé…? I have read the book. The Black Rabbit of Inlé was an aspect of death. Am I dying? And to be visited by death… in the form of a rabbit? I’m not sure how to respond to that”, I stated with resignation.

“While that is one interpretation of my aspect, I come bearing not death… but life, should you choose it”, my mysterious visitor assured me.

I got goosebumps reading this part, another ancient and powerful entity. Cancer preventing her physical mutation from activation, yikes. And from the sounds of it Rose is a high-level avatar. A healer and an apothecary, now those are good abilities to gain in addition to regaining her health. A spirit who actually tells their potential host the full details and potential consequences, only bonding with them if they agree after learning all this, Inaba certainly is different from most other spirits we've met so far.

Tears due to having hope once again, I can relate. Boy, Rose is a quick learner in communicating with Inaba. Help to get her energy reserves up, hope the people at the hospital aren't upset she ran away too much. Crud, all the signs of potential burnout, please let her get help and not people taking advantage of her in that situation.

In a hospital, those sensations, and strange weight moving on her chest. Sounds like she might be in a tub filled with ice water or something and that she developed overnight. Wait, why did her ears turn, don't tell me she has rabbit ears now. Inaba still there but weak, yikes, never seen a spirit hit this hard which I can recall. Oh, sleep mask due to sensitivity to light, so no issues with being unable to open her eyes. Oh no, what is going on with her eyes?

Sedated and wakes up to explain what Inaba told her and the doctor skeptical about her spirit talking to her, oh boy.

"It's actually extremely rare. Spirits are almost never sentient; they're more like a 'feeling' of a presence. Although there have been mentions in professional literature that there has been a reported but unexplained increase in the number of sentient spirits." He frowned, and it was obvious that he didn’t know either.

Not one of these doctors, we need Dr. Cody from Whateley, stat!

She was out for over a month! Rosalie, so Rose is just a nickname. And she has farsightedness, much like a rabbit from what I understand. So, no burnout, just Inaba helping purge the cancer from her system, good. Rabbit eyes, rabbit ears, rabbit tail, and nails like rabbit claws, eep. And I was right, feminine hourglass figure, girl is going to have to be careful around guys now.

Heh, extremely far-sighted and eyes work like a rabbit now, there are worse adaptations to get. Color-blind to oranges and reds, that sucks.

The doctor had me reading charts every ten feet or so, finally giving up at about somewhere around two hundred fifty feet, after I decided to show off and read the small copyright disclaimer in the lower corner. That amused Dr. Stevens, and we were both laughing as we went to the optical lab.

Whoa, that is impressive.

Seesh, you have a life ahead of you now and you get morose like this, Rose. Learn to enjoy life instead of just seeing the bad side of things. Devisor-designed glasses that durable, she is going to need them. A button to turn them off and on, no wonder they required a devisor to design them. A tinting function as well, this is deluxe glasses. A charitable foundation, I wonder who that foundation might be.

Buck teeth like a rabbit, on her they are adorable I bet. Whiskers too, how many rabbit features did she get? No body hair and fur in her private area, good grief. Yikes, having those kinds of fears at 14. Recognizing Dr. Stevens by the smell of cigars on him, handy.

“Our hypothesis is that when your spirit held back your physical changes to allow your regeneration to emerge, that caused something akin to tension. Think of an elastic band, when stretched it will forcibly propel forward when released. So when your spirit released its hold on your manifestation of your exemplar traits, your body template shot forward, past your current physical age. Don’t worry though, exemplars and those with high regenerative powers usually age slower than typical humans, so we believe you will probably physically stay at the same age until your body and actual age synch, then you will likely resume aging, albeit at a greatly reduced speed.”

Wasn't expecting that answer, interesting.

Going to the cafeteria, 5'9" and has antlers, Native American heritage, wonder who this girl is. And in a costume no less, a local hero perhaps? Oh boy, Rose turned on by this woman.

“I’m known as Caribou, I’m a member of the group known as The Duluth Superiors.”

She is an old friend of Dr. Stevens and her team is going to help out Rose, guessing they know about or even went to Whateley Academy. So the original founder of the Duluth Superiors charitable trust is who took care of Rose's expenses, taconite mining must be good.

Poor Rose finding out she is attracted to girls like this.

In the back of my head, I heard a faint voice that I had not heard in a very long time “No, it’s all you. I like males.”

Well, this complicates things. And Rose telling all the very real fears why she doesn't wish to end up back in the system again, I would be terrified with those reasons. Protective custody of the Duluth Superiors, yay! And yet why am I worried at the same time?

Glenshen Manor, not sure I could live in a place where someone was murdered even if the room it happened in is left untouched. Carrie Running Elk, nice name. Out shopping for much needed clothes, and Rose's eyes come out red in every picture, figures. Twin Cities Overseers, a mage called Hydroica, kidnapped girl avatar, oh boy, don't like this woman already. For a mage this Hydroica was arrogant and ill-informed, to say the least, trying that with a random mutant avatar, all those lost. What! The rest of the Duluth Superiors except Caribou and one other used this tragedy as an excuse to move to Minneapolis, sickening.

Carrie moved closer and put her arm around me. “Don’t be ashamed of who or what you are. You are just you. Nothing more, nothing less," she said, patting my head.

Good advice, though harder to follow than hear. Victoria's Secret, and Rose has 34Ds, attention-grabbing seems like an understatement now. So she is 34-22-36, she is going to need friends to help keep the idiots away.

Dremel hand tool, smart purchase. Trouble with numbers, is this from not learning math fully or an actual issue like dyscalculia?

It was difficult for me to even recognize numbers, or what they meant.

This makes me think the latter. Sewing machine to modify her clothes for her tail, there is a skill that will come in handy.

Salad for dinner and of course Carrie noticed Rose checking her out. Carrie understands what Rose is going through, plus Rose was checking out some of the cute boys too. Exemplar Six and Wizard Two, huh. Well, that is an interesting tale for why Carrie has antlers and fur, under the effects of a curse due to an ancestor's action.

Lost appeal for meat so rabbit's love for fruits and veggies.

I was amazed that I could remember what I had read clearly, after one quick glance.

Wonder what level of memory and speed reading that is, wish I had it. Newly modified clothing, she either has a knack for sewing or Inaba's gifts are more numerous than I thought.

She nodded solemnly. “It is said that the great spirit will curse a person for certain sins by trapping them inside a monster made of perma-frost. To defeat the monster… you have to kill the remnant of what was once human.”

Okay, Wendigos confirmed as existing in the Whateley Academy Universe, eep.

I sniffled and moved over to the other couch, sitting beside her. I hugged her tight and buried my face in her shoulder. “I… I don’t know how. I’ve never been able to be one. When you shuffle from foster home to foster home, you have to be on your best behavior. If there is another kid in the house, you don’t play with them, because if they get hurt, even accidentally, you are shipped right back to juvie. If it’s another foster kid, forget it. It’s a competition to be the one to keep. When the adults don’t see, they punch you and kick you. They do everything to get on top and stay there.”

I want to give Rose a hug right now, this is a nightmare to put children into such a system. And crap, how weak is Inaba and why did Rose blackout again?

They are in Carrie's dream space and her mentor is Mr. Lodgeman, dang. Wasn't expecting that. Using a lake to move between Carrie's and Rose's dream space, intriguing. So now it is Rose's turn to help Inaba to recover her strength, Inaba almost gave her own existence to save Rose. I have the feeling Rose is going to need to see a counselor to help her deal with all these new feelings. Hyper awareness, a blessing, and a curse it seems.

Carrie certainly has a great family to learn from and be a part of. Her father was definitely a hero. Trimming down antlers, this will be a unique experience. Short, sassy, and easy to take care of, just hope it doesn't grow back fast. Water balloons for a work-out, where is Carrie going with this? Whoa, amazing flexibility and agility to dodge all those water balloons and perform those moves.

Boy, the Duluth MCO office is amongst the smallest we've seen. Isobel, Carrie, or at least as Caribou is friends with the receptionist. Ouch, Isobel's daughter has depression and no control over her powers, very bad combo. Yes, please get Isobel's daughter to Whateley where the experts can help her.

No Wiz or other form of magic talent for Rose, good thing Carrie has that stone for easy testing. Dr. Addler, why does he make me nervous? Oh good, no bad seeds in this MCO office, good to know. Those suits, makes you wonder who designed them. Hey, 25 miles per hour and kept up for 30 minutes at an incline is good. 500 lbs, so Exemplar 3, good solid range to be in.

“I can sometimes feel changes in the airflow around me with my whiskers, that’s how I could tell something was coming at me from behind.”

Okay, that is more impressive than a danger sense to me. No devisor, gadgeteer, or psychic abilities. Fear of scalpels and needles bad enough to have her running at first sight, ouch. At least Carrie is able to calm her down. At least Avatar four, Exemplar three, and Regen 3, very impressive. A feeling of family, Carrie is becoming a mother to Rose from all we've seen. Live at the mansion and the team headquarters in a different location, smart move.

A small, nondescript headquarters is perfect for avoiding villains and criminals attacking in retaliation.

“Yes. This is it. No super-high tech base with lasers and holographic displays... you have to keep in mind that Duluth isn’t the Twin Cities or Chicago, or even Milwaukee. We don’t get arch-villains trying to take over the town or kidnap people for ransom. VERY rarely, we get the odd mystical event like that Wendigo. Our primary jobs are search and rescue and assisting first responders and government agencies. That means the mission could be assisting park rangers to find lost campers, aiding the Coast Guard in lake rescues, or even helping to stop illegal smuggling operations. Of course there are plenty of powered petty criminals that try stuff like bank robberies, and so on... But really grand diabolical evil master plans? Not so much.”

The world needs heroes willing to do this kind of work and not care about glory or fame over saving lives and stopping crime. And the interior of the base is nice.

So cute, Inaba in Rose's lap in her dream space, we need a drawing of this. Waking up to a guy this tall standing over you would startle me too. Miguel Santino aka Transistor, able to teleport organic matter but has a neural interface along with a cybernetic right arm and leg, yikes. An intern from Whateley Academy, uh oh. Rose finally learns about Whateley and I was right, dyscalculia and diagnosed in third grade, at least she learned how to deal with it partially. Relax and discover who you are, wish more teachers would agree with that instead of being all about grades.

Rose going out for a run down by the lakefront, goes to the HQ to see Miguel and he is out flying search and rescue. Hope the intern is as nice a guy as his Whateley transcripts say. Captain Justice aka Steve, great, Rose is already charmed by his good looks. Moving closer to her like this, touches her, the bastard is a telepath of some sort and trying to mentally manipulate her!

She slept with him and only after he left to take a shower does Inaba tell her he mentally pushed her into it. Miguel shows up, finds out Rose is her, one call to Carrie and she is arresting this sleeze. Third-degree Sexual Misconduct, first-degree mental coercion, wonder how many girls at Whateley he used mental coercion on before this.

Rose, you have the libido but Steve never asked your age and used his mental powers on you, this is his fault, not yours. Seeing Rose this scared is heartbreaking. Changing prescriptions to keep ahead of the body adjusting to and offsetting any medications, the hits just keep on coming. Zoning out to not deal with anything after trauma, the poor girl needs to see that therapist sooner rather than later.

Rose talking about herself like this is painful to watch. Carrie trying her best to make Rose see that isn't who or what she is, yet Rose keeps trying to convince herself otherwise, like signs of depression which I wouldn't wish on anyone.

“You amaze me, with your fortitude and inner strength. I mean for a teenage girl to survive all those months in the wilderness in Northern Minnesota, especially during the winter and spring snows… that shows an amazing level of resolve.”

I'm so glad someone told Rose that finally.

Black forest cake with milk, Carrie sure knows how to cheer someone up.

“But seriously, you know that sex isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. It can be enjoyable, and if you find the right person, it can be special. Don’t let society dictate your opinions. Be yourself. You are who you are. The only thing I'll tell you is to be careful and don’t do anything illegal. You're a good person, and good people are allowed to have sex.”

Now there is a good adult figure to listen to. And all those things to help Rose with sewing and figuring out what other interest she might have, Carrie is Rose's mother whether she calls her mom or not. And so glad Rose realizes the whole thing is on Steve and not let it ruin her life.

Going out for a run again and ends up back at HQ with Miguel.

“Don’t kick yourself over what happened. It was nothing that you could have predicted. And I was just as at fault as he was. He may have pushed into my head and tried to convince me, but he really needn’t have bothered. I have to learn to control myself. These hormones and thoughts and feelings are a part of me, and like it or not, I have to adjust and cope”, I stated matter of factually.

Rose keeps proving she is more mature emotionally than some adults.

And once more Rose and Inaba in Rose's dream space is so cute in how they interact. Bunny in someone's lap will never not be cute to me.

A specialized watch so Rose can read it, Miguel has given her a wonderful gift. Back at the mansion and Carrie talks about getting Rose her own phone, oh no. Rose having a future now, glad to see her happy after all this.

Seeing a kid sick in a hospital, doctors gave up on them and having cancer hit hard for me. Even over a decade since losing a friend to cancer, it is still hard to read stories with characters who suffer from it. Glad I was able to read this story. Rose, despite how she thought at the beginning of the story, proves she has an incredible resolve and the kind of person I would have loved to be friends with when I was younger. Surviving out in the forest, meeting Inaba, I can't believe I've never heard tales of this being before now, you would think more people would use her for their stories.

And Inaba telling Rose everything bonding with her entailed, even the risk, it was nice to see a spirit live up to their reputation. Even risking her own existence to heal Rose, I knew there would be changes but not as drastic as what happened, a nice surprise. Rose having to adjust to all the changes and the feelings they brought on were shown masterfully. Caribou aka Carrie is at first like the perfect big sister and becomes more and more like a mother to Rose as the story progresses, I loved seeing her so protective and empathetic. Plus learning the appearance is due to a curse on the women of her family bloodline and not her mutation certain made it more interesting.

I'm glad Rose and Inaba have talked more, learning about the effects of bonding has had on Rose so they can get ahead of any potential other issues hopefully. What Steve did to Rose, I had to restrain myself from lunging at my monitor to try and strangle him. Though I'm glad that Rose was able to talk to the doctor, to Carrie, and to Inaba about it, accepting it wasn't her fault, and she can learn to control herself but also not be ashamed of it. I can't wait to read the next story with Rose, Carrie, and everyone in it.