Comic Essay [Usa no Mani Mani] 60: A Step Forward! (After 10 Years)

A step forward! (After 10 years)

Huh?Rabbits won't even let you hold them?
Doesn't that mean they aren't attached to you and actually dislike you...?

I can almost hear the voices of dog and cat owners saying things like that,

but rabbits are just like that by nature.
Because they have a history of survival where the most cautious ones lived,

being held by a human = life-threatening

is how most of them instinctively perceive it, so
it's quite common for them to let you pet them but refuse to be held.

My previous rabbit, a gentle soul named Sentaro-kun🐰, didn't refuse to be held, so I still have vivid memories of the indescribable feeling of happiness that would wash over me whenever I wrapped my arms around his warm rabbit body.
Because of that, there were times when I couldn't suppress my

desire to hold him,

and I kept hoping and looking for chances, thinking that if I lived with Leon-kun for a long time, he would eventually let me hold him.

However, the idea that time would solve everything was naive...
Even after 10 years together, he really seems to hate being held; the moment I lift him with both hands, he thrashes about, rejects me with his whole body, and runs away.
In other words, no matter how much time passes or how much trust is built, if he hates being held, he hates it, and I realized that forcing this on him was purely


human egoand nothing but stress for him, so I tearfully gave up on it.

※The only exceptions arenail trimmingandwhen washing his bottom,where I wrap him in a mini blanket and hold him in a semi-restrained state, but I can't exactly call that a healing experience😭

Well then, at the very least!On my lap,I wondered if he might sit there and relax✨, so a small wish welled up, and I gently lifted him and placed him on my lap (I never learn).

It was just this simple action,
but he sat on my lap without thrashing!
Considering everything up until now, it was ahuge step forward!
It was practically a miracle･:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+

It only lasted about30 seconds,but the rabbit's warm body
combined with the stability of my fleshy thighs,
fit perfectly, and it was an indescribable feeling of happiness😍

Oh, thank you!🤩

It felt like several minutes to me,

but...

immediately after that, he got off my thighs and,
just like in the manga, scratched my back with all his might...

The reaction was so predictable that I felt more like laughing than being sad,
but just the fact that he sat on my lap was enough to move me✨

In the future, I hope Leon-san will live a long life as a
super long-lived rabbit,and when the day comes that he can't stand on his own and needs care, I think I might be able to gently hold and support him then.
Thinking that his current rejection of being held and his full-force attacks are


proof of his vitality,
I think I'll just have him continue toperfect his tsundere ways
as much as possible from here on out!(*´∀`)b