Hey everyone! It's suzubell-chan. Yes I'm still alive! I'm really sorry about the delay with this chapter and swear I will try to write shorter ones in the future.

But before I do, I have to correct one mistake I made. I never truly defined the * I made at Masahiko saying about time periods. In Wonderland, when the time periods change, things go back to the way it was before, basically broken objects are restored and injuries are healed.

Sorry again, meet me at the end of the chapter.

Daisuki Papa Chapter 31 The Rumors of Wonderland! The Secret is out?!

"The walls have ears" they say… and so do maids, but unlike walls…. they have mouths.

Not even one time period passed when the maid told her colleagues over placing white sheets out to dry, their shadows on the cloths showing her whispering while the others leaned in close. Only one time period was needed for all the faceless in the castle to know the secret. Before evening could become day or night, a few commoners of the kingdom were already whispering into their friends' ears. On hushed tones, incriminating words carried to the other territories. Sometimes behind gloves or fans, when centimeters stood between faces. The secret spread and evolved until practically everyone knew even before three time periods passed.

"Practically" everyone.

Two Heart Castle soldiers, three hearts on one, seven hearts on the other, couldn't help but stare at the small brunette as she fastened red and black bows onto different walls of the garden maze. Concentrating, with a rather serious brow on the cheerful child's face, the girl carefully slipped the ribbons in between the dense leaves and thorny branches to tie the decoration.

"Umm, Miss Mamoru?" The three of hearts tried for her attention.

The lass didn't reply, her eyes and hands still on the crimson material as she gave it one last tug to make the bow and to keep it in place. When the decoration seemed secure, the kid turned towards the male, "Yeah?"

"What exactly are you doing?" the faceless male asked.

"I'm marking the trail to the castle. Red ribbons for the path to the castle, black ones for no goes. People get lost in here, so I thought that maybe people would appreciate some sort of path," Mamoru explained.

The girl then dashed over to the next path, and started her tying process again, this time with a strip of black satin.

"The only people who actually get lost in the maze are Lord Ace and you…" the red guards thought together.

The seven of hearts asked, "Are you sure, you should be doing this? Her majesty will be upset when she finds you messing with the garden…"

"Don't worry, I asked Vivaldi and she said it was okay, she even helped me pick out the colors," the child affirmed.

She then scurried over to the path she marked okay and then followed other red ribbons to the very beginning of the maze, where she tied on her last bow. The soldiers arrived as she gave the streamer one last tug for security.

Mamoru let out a sigh, "Phew! Finally done."

"HEY THERE!"

The group turned to see a bloodied cape, flowing with the wind, approaching them. A gray mask covered the top of the face of the figure.

The girl started to wave, "Hey there, Ani!"

A glove pulled the hood off, revealing chestnut hair, and red eyes under the mask. "I'm back!" the knight smiled.

"Ani! Ani! Come over here!" the girl called.

As soon as the male was close, her small hands grabbed one of the Roleholder's larger one and started to drag him over to the red ribbon. "You see this bow? If you simply follow all the red bows, you can get to the castle without getting lost!"

Ace eye's widened a bit, "Heh…that's pretty handy. Let me try it."

The knight started down the marked path. When he reached the end of the brief way, the man noticed on his left was another red bow but a black bow on his right seemed to call him over.

Mamoru watched as her dad took a few steps to the right.

"Wow…he's dumber than I remember…" the girl thought in shock.

The girl quickly towards to the man, jumping on him as if he were a life line when she caught up to him.

"Whoa! What's wrong, kiddo?" the Roleholder asked.

"Ani! I told you to follow the red ribbons!" the child yelled.

"You didn't tell me there were black ribbons, where do they go?" Ace refuted.

"Dead ends and endless hours of walking, that's where they lead to." Mamoru explained.

The girl let go of the knight's torso to only grab one of his hands, "I'll show you, come on let's go!" she cheered.

So started the tug-of-war style of follow the leader. Often the man was willing to follow the child, hand-in-hand, but every so often, when they came across several paths, he would use his strength to drag the girl, huffing with her heels in the ground making trails. The girl would then wiggle or twist her fingers out of his grasp, only to grab him by the hand or sleeve, guiding then by following her accessory made path.

The soldiers simply watched in amusement and slowly followed the two.

Once they stepped out of the maze, Ace couldn't help but smile at the castle just a climb ahead. "Well, look at that, I didn't think we'd get here so fast, it usually take me at least three time periods at least."

"Yeah I know what you mean, I'm glad we were able to get here in one!" the small brunette agreed.

"It would normally only take one time period…" the soldiers thought.

The man with three hearts on his chest chuckled, "You are such a nice girl, helping your father out like this."

Mamoru mouth stretched to each now bright pink cheek. She gushed, "It's nothing, Mom does it for the two of us all the time."

A lightning bolt shocked the girl's mind, frying and scrambling it, sending her heart on rapid escape attempt from her chest and body in a cold sweat.

"The soldiers! The secret! I promised! They know! To keep! Alice! That means…"

Slowly, in an almost creepy cartoon-like fashion, the lass's two small rubies glanced over to the knight. The confusion on his face didn't really fuel or settle her heart rate.

The Roleholder asked, "Hey Mamoru, what are they talking about? I don't even know your mom…"

The nervous giggle rushed out of child's mouth. "I guess I wasn't thinking! I thought my dad was next to me but he isn't. Well he is but he isn't. Oh Boy! What am I talking about? Heh heh heh…"

Quickly her mouth shut, but then a small hole appeared on the side to let a small soft "Mamo-chan…"

Then Mamoru started off loudly, "Oh! Looks like Natsuki wants to see me! Knowing me, it'll take forever! I better go! Bye!" The lass dashed away up the climb, a trail of dust behind her.

The knight watch the girl run for a few minutes, then changed his view direction towards the soldiers. "Hey what did you mean by 'helping your father'?"

The guards began to sweat, shiver and the man with seven hearts started to stutter, "Well you see…"

Ace smiled, his faithful weapon shining below his chin, he chirped, "Now come on, it's not nice to keep secrets from your boss."

"White you are late again!" the queen roared from her throne, her scepter aimed at the minister beneath her. Masahiko sat right next to the throne on a small throne.

"I assure I'm not late for the meeting," the minister defended.

"Being eleven hours and thirty minutes early for five in the morning isn't something you should boast about, sir." The prince commented with a smirk.

"Silence brat," Peter mumbled.

"ONII-CHAN!"

The whole group turned to see the small rabbit, her fist full of papers.

"Onii-chan you forgot these papers on your desk!" Natsuki stated, offering the sheets to him.

"Ah! Thank you little one, you are always a great help," the male rabbit smiled and patted between the child's white ears, bent down so they wouldn't get in the way.

The girl beamed happily at the contact.

"First you are late and then you forget the documents," Vivaldi grumbled, "Such impudence. If only we could have your head."

"Hey how come you are always so nice to Natsuki and not me?" the boy asked.

"This sweet child is being raised out the overflowing generosity of my beloved's heart. How can I turn a cold shoulder on someone on her?" the man answered. "Besides my darling's kindness has rubbed off onto this girl. Ahh…Alice is the best in the world!"

While Peter continued to fantasize about the girl of his dreams, the queen rolled her eyes, the boy tilted his head and the girl hid her blushing face with papers still in her hand.

"Delusional as usual…" Vivaldi thought.

"Love is definitely a weird thing…" Masahiko pondered.

"How do we have the same blood type* again?" Natsuki wondered.

Then a small light bulb lit up above the boy's head…It had just become night and they came on after the queen clapped.

He asked, "So Minister White, if Natsuki wasn't being by Alice-aneue-sama, would you still like her?"

This struck the minister hard. He glanced uncomfortably at the girl. He never imagined to not be annoyed by anyone else who wasn't his darling Alice or any child that they would (hopefully) have together. Yet, for some reason, this child seemed to be the exception. Furthermore, he actually…sort of…liked the girl. Peter hadn't really thought about it until he was questioned, but he definitely felt something for the girl…the question was…what?

"Umm Onii-chan?" Natsuki questioned, her eyes filled with worry. "You do like Natsuki, don't you?

The White Rabbit glanced around, avoiding the sad eyes.

"NAAAAATSUUUUUKIIIIII!" A voice yelled out, calling the attention to the cloud of dust following Mamoru as she fled towards them.

"Wow, the maids sure do a lousy job around here," the prince commented.

"We should behead the maids on duty when this is over," the queen agreed.

After screeching to a halt, the brunette grabbed her albino friend and started to shake her by the shoulders, wailing, "We! Trouble! Big! Natsuki! In! Are!"

"What's wrong with her?" the minister asked.

"She tends to talk this way when she gets nervous," the rabbit girl answered, her voice shaken along with the rest of her body.

Natsuki clenched onto her friend's shoulders, stopping her movement.

She sighed, "Mamo-chan, can you please calm down and tell me what's wrong?"

After taking a deep breath, Mamoru's cherry orbs shifted at the minister and back to her friend. She stated slowly, "Ymay adday oundfay aboutway ourway ecretsay."

"Huh?" the snow haired girl let out, with one of her matching ears bent half way and her head tilted.

Her companion continued to spout apparent gibberish, this time she stressed her words, "Ehay iscoveredday atthay Iway amway ishay aughterday."

"Oh now I understand what you are doing!" Natsuki smiled, "Just give me a minute."

Her ruby eyes shot up, while her lips moved with no sound and her finger swayed around.

The white rabbit girl suddenly stopped her movements, her eyes were wide and ears flopped down. "Oh…"

The rabbit eared lass faced the adults, her body shaking and sweating. "Sorry but I just remembered that I promised Onee-chan to help out with some chores, you know, like folding some cookie sheets, mowing the laundry…stuff like that so…SEE YOU LATER!"

As she hollered, she grabbed her brunette by the wrist and dashed away, dragging her friend.

"Hey Natsuki~~~~I can run by myself!"

"You'll get lost along the way!"

The three people left in the throne stood there in silence, the two adults tried to figure out what had just happened and the boy sighed and his hand ruffled his hair.

"Masahiko, can you explain to us what Mamoru was saying?" the queen questioned.

The boy sighed, "Alright, but you are not gonna like it."

After the lad waved finger, the royal leaned in closer and he whispered in her ear. Her brows furrowed and cheeks matched her dress. "WHAT?! HOW DID THAT USELESS FOOL FIND OUT?"

The minister couldn't care less on what would worry his tyrannical boss but if it concerned the small rabbit it definitely caught his attention…but…why? He still couldn't find the answer inside himself.

"I wonder why I care?" he pondered out loud.

One maid spoke, "Isn't natural for a father to be worried about his daughter?"

The White Rabbit snarled, "What are you talking about?"

Quietly the faceless woman continued, "Well, I've heard that she is your daughter, is that true?"

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!"

Masashiko couldn't help but pray inside his mind, "Good luck Aneue-sama…you'll need it.

Amai glanced up as the sky as it changed from stripes of orange and red to black with white sparkles.

"Looks like it's going to be a night tea party," she commented. Off in the distance, the dark sky boomed and bloomed with sound and color.

"HEY! STOP SLACKING OFF!" Takara shouted as she placed some plates out.

"Yeah, our pop-chans will be here soon and we want everything to be ready," Fumiko agreed, placing little sugar bowls and jugs full of cream around.

"I only stopped for a little seconds and you guys just got started," the hare growled, she placed her plate of colorful round desserts.

Akahana appeared, her hands holding a tray where three jars- red, yellow, and orange colored- stood next to a plate of small circles of bread. A maid, her tray covered in teapots of varying widths, heights, and colors, stood next to her. They both set their trays down on the table.

"Thank you ma'am."

"My pleasure~." The maid responded and left.

"Wow, you guys sure got a lot done while I was in the kitchen," the noirette commented.

"Hana-nee in the kitchen?! Run for your lives, everyone for themselves!" The red Tweedle screamed and dove under the table.

Holding her stomach, the blue-eye Tweedle girl broke out into tears and laughter while Amai's palm hit her face and Akahana's cheeks bloomed.

"Look I know that I'm not the best when it comes to cooking, but I know that my jam and scones are good," the black-haired girl stated.

Takara rose from the table, a smirk on her face, "Yeah, you say that and the last thing your father says is "This is quite an unusual…" the little girl, didn't finish her sentence for she animated her head slamming against the table, her eyes wide, tongue sticking out, body shaking in short spasms.

Now on the ground, Fumiko burst into more laughter and tears. The other two other Hatter girls didn't find that much humor in the scene.

"Hey come on guys, Hana-chan worked really hard on these, besides I was there to help her so it's all good," the hare stated.

"All you can make is carrot food only a rabbit would like to eat," the blue girl mumbled.

"What was that?"

Akahana cleared her throat, "Now girls we need to get everything ready for our fathers before they come home. If you guys don't start behaving, I'm afraid you guys are just getting a spoonful of my mother's punishment jam."

With blue faces, the two look-a-likes dashed around, placing dishes and silverware on the table. The noirette smirked while her equally blue-faced brown eared friend gulped.

"You know the recipe for your kaa-san's punishment jam?"

"No, but it still makes for a good threat, doesn't it?"

"People say the Dupre Family is the most terrifying family in Wonderland…they are right…" Amai thought.

As she nodded in agreement to her thoughts, her eyes couldn't help but notice her friend's had reach for the platter of colorful sweets. The hare made sure to give it a good slap.

Rubbing the red spot on her hand, the noirette whined, "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't eat my macarons before its time and especially without my permission!" the hare growled.

"When it comes to sweets, there is no family as scary protective as the Marches..." the Hatter's daughter thought.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a familiar male voice asked.

The quartet of girls twisted their heads to see the four Hatter men, their guests of honor. They then scrambled into a line and slightly bowed. "Welcome to our party," the females said formerly.

"Your party?" the March Hare questioned.

Akahana rose, "Since you gentlemen have been so nice to us, we decided to have a party to thank you."

"So let's get started before everything gets cold!" Takara cheered.

In the blink of an eye, the Hatter family sat down, each man with his daughter beside him.

The small noirette picked up a tall and skinny teapot, a hand on the handle and bottom, "So who wants to start off with some tea?"

"I was hoping you would ask that," Blood grinned, offering a cup.

The little girl tipped the pot, carefully. Surprising the Mad Hatter, a light lemon yellow liquid flowed rather than the deep dark chocolate brown than normal.

Breathing in the sweet aroma, "This is…white tea, correct?" the man guessed.

"Since you just came back from work, I thought you would like something refreshing to drink," admitted Akahana, a small blush on her face. "I hope that you like it."

The adult took a sip and beamed, "You have excellent taste, little lady."

The girl shrugged, "Well, apples don't fall far from the trees."

"Pardon?"

"Uh…well, my father is as mad about tea as you Aniue. I know a lot teas thanks to him."

"Your father seems like an interesting man, I should invite to one of my parties when I can."

"My father isn't invite to your tea parties, he host them." Akahana thought.

Shrugging, the noirette decided to switch the subject, "Let's start on the sandwiches."

"Okay!" the Tweedle girls agreed.

They left, returning with some loaves of bread. They looked attractive enough, golden brown crust with white fluffy insides. They just weren't prepared as sandwiches yet.

"Oi! What are those?" Elliot asked, growling.

"Loaves of sandwiches," the azure Tweedle replied.

"Duh," her crimson cousin added.

"Well, I'm seeing the loaves but not seeing the sandwiches," the Mad Hatter commented.

"The chicken-rabbit is actually right for once. I don't see any sandwiches," Dum stated.

"Yeah, where are they?" Dee asked.

Pointing to the loaves, Takara stated bluntly, "Here"

"Like we said where?" Elliot asked.

"Like Taka-chan said, here." Fumiko said confidently, her finger right next to her cousins.

"Girls, I think you need to take the lids of the loaves," Akahana suggested, calmly sipping her tea.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot," the red eyed girl stated, hitting her head lightly with her hand, her tongue sticking out of her smile.

Gently grasping the top crust of one of the loaves, Takara lifted it up to reveal squares of bread with something pink in between them. "These are the ham sandwiches."

Her cousin followed suit, lifting another crust to reveal green insides this one. "These are cucumbers."

One with orange revealed, the cerise Tweedle girl sneered, "These are Elliot-nii's and Amai's…" She pushed this loaves closer to the hare by pressing the plate by a finger.

The last one, lifted the sky-colored cousin, was all white. "These are going to be jam sandwiches. We didn't want to make all the bread all squishy so we didn't put it in there."

"We did the sandwiches like this, we couldn't be sure when you guys were coming back, so we made the sandwiches like this so that way they keep fresh and don't get covered in bugs and stuff while you are waiting

"That's pretty cool!" Dee exclaimed. "Thanks you two

"Thanks girls." Dum said happily as he grabbed a ham sandwich from its bread container.

"Uh…Thanks…" Elliot muttered as he took a few carrot sandwiches and put them on a plate for himself.

"This is rather clever girls." Blood commented, taking one without anything filling.

"This was actually Amai's idea," Fumiko stated. "We just put the sandwiches back in the bread after we made them."

"Really? That makes sense, since she's such a chef!" Elliot beamed and ruffled his fingers through Amai's hair.

Completely red faced, Amai started to stutter, "W…Well, it's actually my…k…kaa-san's idea…she found it in a b…book. Sh…she usually d...does this for picnics, but I...I'd thought it would be a good idea here…" Rising steam floated from her head, her hands on her cheeks.

"What's with her?" the blue Tweedle boy asked.

"She's get embarrassed when she gets praised," Akahana explained, "Personally I kind of cut when she acts like that."

"Ha! Ha! Your face is as red as a strawberry!" the red Tweedle girl chuckled.

"S…shut up," the carrot topped child uttered. Both her hands left her face to grab a carrot sandwich and she started to nibble on it.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? That was a really great idea!" the March Hare grinned at the girl, rubbing her hair some more.

More steam rose as Amai's head sunk lower to hide the deepening blush.

The male hare let out a "Huh?" at the reaction.

"Don't worry yourself. She'll cool off if you just give her some time to herself," the noirette child stated.

She got out of her seat to bring back the three jars from before. She opened up the yellow jar, dipped a knife into the gooey substance, spread it one piece of cut bread, put another square on top, and began to eat her sandwich.

"What's in the jars?" Dee asked.

"Strawberry and lemon jam and orange marmalade," Akahana answered.

Tama started, "Don't worry, they're…."

"DON'T. YOU. OR. ELSE." The dark haired girl growled.

The small Tweedle girl started on a ham sandwich in silence.

"Akahana, what was that about?" Blood asked.

"You'll know in a few years, Aniue. For now, remain oblivious for that is bliss," the hatter girl stated, a mischievous smile on her lips.

Interest piqued, the Mad Hatter decided to make himself a lemon jam sandwich. Once he swallowed his first bite he stated, "This is quite an unusual jam."

While Akahana flinched, Takara took the moment to mouth out, "I told you so."

"I rather like it," the man added.

While the Tweedle pouted and huffed, the Dupre girl across from her stuck out her tongue while pulling her lower eyelid, then smirked.

The rest of the sandwiches were consumed with no incident, rather than the usual teasing about carrot food. Even the literal bread boxes were ruins by teeth marks.

"I've prepared some macarons as a desert, would anybody like some?" Amai asked.

When mutual agreements were murmured, the hare girl left and returned with her plate of colorful circles.

"Here you go, there's plenty for everyone," she offered.

The Tweedles immediately grabbed a sweet and started to snack. The Dupres took a desert each but set it aside so they could sip some more tea. Elliot seemed to be scanning over the plate.

"Hey Amai, something's off with this macaron," Dee stated, staring at his brown bitten sweet.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, its brown but it tastes like…watermelon."

Takara added, "My white one tastes like cinnamon."

"Mine's taste like blueberry and its green!" Fumiko exclaimed.

"Yellow flavored peach here!" added Dum.

"Well, I thought it would be kinda interesting if I added different flavors to different colors," the hare explained. "It makes things more fun and interesting."

The Durpes gulped and stared at their sweets, neither of them were orange so they thought they were safe. Looks like they were wrong.

"Amai, you wouldn't happened to know which flavors go with which colors, do you?" Akahana asked nervously.

"Well, let me see…" the brown eared girl "Nope."

The noirette girl sighed, "Okay."

The two hatters sighed and shrugged.

"At least it isn't orange…" Blood thought, as he looked over the purple sweet.

"At least it doesn't smell like carrots…" Akahana thought, sniffing the blue treat.

The two bit into their sweets and they both sighed in relief.

"Vanillia."

"Mint, yummy."

As the two continued to chew, the small hare gasped, "Oh but I do remember that I didn't any carrot flavoring to any of them."

The two glared at the child, the girl added a shy giggle, "Sorry."

While everyone else happily ate and chattered, the March Hare slowly chewed his pink banana flavored macaron.

"What's wrong Ani-chan, don't you like macarons?" Amai questioned.

"No, they're really good," he stated, a weak smile on his face. He continued to chew his snack.

The girl grinned, "I know what you want." She turned around and clapped her hands. A maid suddenly appeared with a plate, an orange pile of macarons in her hands.

"I made these especially for you, so dig in!" the female hare beamed.

"Thanks!" He started to chow down on the plate. "You are the best!"

The little hare's face turned red again, "It was nothing. Thank you ma'am for bringing the macarons."

"It was nothing~. After all you girls were the ones who made the food~," the woman stated.

"Is that true?" Blood asked.

"Yeah, it's true, it's not a big deal." His daughter stated, her face a bit red. "We do the same thing for our fathers all the time."

"But if you want to praise us, we don't mind," Fumiko smiled, battering her eyes at her father.

"We'll take Amai's share to spare her face," Takara grinned, leaning towards the red Tweedle.

"Hey, I like getting praised as much as anyone else does…"Amai shyly added.

"So cute.~ You girls really are daddy's little girls.~"

That stopped the girls right in their snacks.

"Heh…heh…Ma'am, what are you talking about," Akahana added calmly, despite her shaking hands, "Our fathers aren't even here."

"Y…yeah! No tou-sans around here," the small hare nervously added.

The two smaller girls didn't even say a word, they kept looking away, avoiding eye contact.

"Well you said that your fathers were coming soon and then there are some rumors going around~," the maid said.

"Well, I don't know anything about any rumors, but I guess we misspoke," the noirette responded, less confident than before.

Changing its mind, the sky changed its colors, dressed in bright blue rather than deep black.

"Looks like the party is over. Come on girls, we promised Alice-aneue that we wouldn't stay for too long," Akahana said calmly. "Goodbye good sirs, I hope we can have tea again soon."

The other girls mumbled their farewells.

"You are always welcome, girls," Blood smiled. "Elliot escort these ladies back home."

"Alright," the hare replied, getting out of his seat. "Come on girls let's…" before he finished, the man noticed the girls dashing away.

"What are we going to do?" Fumiko uttered.

"What should we do? What should we do?" Takara panicked.

"First let's get back to the Clock Tower," Akahana stated.

"OI! GET BACK HERE!"

"No, first let's keep away from my Tou-san!" Amai disagreed.

Increasing their speed, the girl raced away from the man.

Amused at the scene, the Hatter turned to his guards. "Dee, Dum, back to the gate."

"Aw come on Boss," Dee whined.

"This was getting interested," Dum complained.

"Back to worse or else."

The twins started back to the gate, but they quickly dove underneath the table, hiding from their boss's reach, from both his cane and when it was a machine gun.

Blood paid them no heed, he turned towards the maid. "Now, what were those rumors you stated?"

"Well, you see boss.~"

On a tree in the domain of the Amusement Park, two Cheshire cats relaxed after cheering the fireworks on.

"Wow! Those fireworks were awesome!" Tora exclaimed. Bouncing on her branch, she beamed.

Feeling the limb underneath him shake, Boris scooted over towards the base and leaned against the bark. He sighed, "If you say so kid."

The kitten leaned a bit over, her hands keeping her in place, legs out for balance, "Aw! Come on Aniki those were great! Didn't you like that pink swirly one that burst into the golden sparkles?"

The teen smirked, "Yeah, just like the blue swirly one that turned into green three times periods ago when it was night, and that gold one that turned into silver seven times periods ago, then the nine time periods ago when…"

Leaning a bit more, the girl added, "Okay, okay, so the fireworks are kind of similar, the shows are still pretty co~OOOOOL!"

Teetering then slipping, the cub nearly fell right off the branch. Boris grabbed her shirt and plopped her back on the branch, laying her against it-belly to bark. She clung onto the branch like a life line.

"You know, I remember before we got up here, I remember you telling me that your mom said you are not allowed to climb trees."

"No," Tora retorted, "I said I'm not allowed not climb trees, without an adult. Then you said that you counted as an adult, so I could climb the tree. Although," the girl sat up, legs wrapped around the branch, "I can climb trees just fine, and I don't see why I need one." At that moment, the girl started to slide until she was hanging upside down. Quickly, she grappled the branch, nervously chuckling with some sweat coming down.

"I think I can," Boris smirked. "Looks like you've got a long way to go."

He then jumped off of the branch and landed perfectly.

The girl then grinned excitedly, dangling herself of the branch. After swinging herself a few times, Tora managed to go around the branch once before letting go, launching herself in the air before landing on the ground. She landed feet first stumbled for a few seconds but then stood straight with arms in the air.

"It's a good thing I'm a fast learner!" the kitten beamed.

Before she knew it, Tora had one arm around her neck and a fist rubbing her hair roughly.

"Little showoff!" Boris lightly scolded, grinning.

The girl, despite her hair getting messed up, beamed. "Looks like Pop will always be Pop!"

They starting to travel closer to the rides and stall of the Amusement Park, when both sets of ears perked at the sound of gossiping female workers.

"You wouldn't believe at the news I heard about the Boss!~" One worker started.

The one on her left exclaimed, "Really, Really? Do tell!"

"What is it? What is it?" the one on her right questioned.

The one in the middle started again, "Well you know Utako, the little girl that's been hanging out with the boss lately."

The servant on the right giggled, "Yeah, she's such a sweetie."

"And practically glued to the boss's side, every time she's around, it's so adorable!" the left one squealed.

"Well, I just heard that girl is actually the boss's long-lost child!" The starter of this of this conversation proclaimed.

The two on her sides gasped.

"Where did you here this from?" the right-sided woman asked.

"Well I was told by someone who lives nearby Clover Tower, who was told by a worker from there, who heard it from someone who works in the Hatter's domain, who overheard it from when she was visiting Heart Castle," the first worker explained.

"I wonder what happened to the poor mother," the left-sided woman mused.

"I wonder if that little girl knows?" the red head on the other side added.

"More importantly, does the boss know?" the middle employee pondered.

The rest of the conversation seemed to be enveloped by excited whispers and even more so squeals.

"It's amazing what bored women come up with to entertain themselves, right Tora?" Boris smirked. He turned towards the girl, but only found himself all alone. "Hey where did she go?" the cat pondered, scratching his head.

"Marco?"

"Polo…"

"Marco?"

"Polo…"

Swimming circles around her mouse friend, Utako, with wavy hair reaching half way on her back in a lemon colored one piece swimsuit, called as softly possible. Midori, eyes shut tight by rules, her swimsuit a lime color, stretched out her arms as much as possible. When she moved a little to the right, the mouse barely missed her friend's shoulder. The blue eyed girl dove under water, way underneath her friend's feet, until she reached a wall a few feet away.

"Marco?" The little mouse moved farther away from her pal, still trying to reach her.

"Polo." The other girl called, a little louder but still enough to stay away.

While their game continued, their kitten friend scampered towards them. As she noticed the distance between her two friends, a smirk grew on her face. Slowing her pace, Tora quietly strolled until she was behind her friend. She then took a deep breath in.

"Marco?"

"Polo."

"Marco?"

"POLO! POLO! POLO!" Tora hollered.

"TORA?!" The red-haired girl exclaimed, turning around to see her friend. The cat beamed at her widely. The non-animal eared girl felt something catch her elbow and turned to see the mouse's hand clenching it.

"I caught you, Uta-onee-tan!" Midori beamed.

"What did you do that for?" Utako whined.

"Couldn't resist," the cub admitted shrugging.

"Oi! Girls! Hamburgers are ready!" A male voice called out.

"Alright!" the human girl cheered, dashing out of the pool, towards the sound

"Food!" the mouse girl squeaked, following her friend.

The kitten jumped, "Oh! That's right!" she exclaimed and dashed after her friends. "Wait up!" The cat caught the mouse by her tail. The prey fell backwards, following the pulling force.

As she rubbed her sore bottom, Midori growled, "Yeesh! What was that for?"

"You've got to listen to me," Tora exasperated. She leaned down to her friend, whispering into her chocolate ear.

Those two ears flopped down, "Really?" the mouse girl squeaked.

"Yeah…" her friend nodded. "Well, my pop thinks it's just some crazy story…but I'll think that he'll definitely tell Go-ani and there's some workers who believe it and probably tell everyone they can…"

"They can't! We promised Onee-tan! What are we going to do?" Midori wondered worryingly.

"Well, I guess the first thing we should do is first is tell Uta-ane then we'll have to find a way to keep everyone's mouth shut," the cub stated.

Oblivious towards the trouble she was in, Utako stood with a plate with two buns, soft side up, waiting.

"Here you go, little one." Gowland stated, as a cooked patty slid from his spatula to one of her buns.

"Thanks, Go-nii-san, the girl beamed. She dashed over to a small table, where bins full of cheese, vegetables, sauces, and anything else that anyone could want on a hamburger.

Her two friends screeched to a stop right to her friends.

"Utako, we've got a problem," the kitten stated.

While piling on some lettuce, tomato, and cheese, Utako asked, "What is it?"

"You see, it's about Boris-onii-tan," her mouse friend started.

"Hey there old man!" the subject of the girls conversation called as he strolled over. "Yo Utako, how are you two getting along?"

The red headed girl placed the other half of her bun on top of what looked like a tiny tower of toppings and looked up at the cat, "Famously," she answered. The child returned to her meal, chomping down on it.

"Is that so…" the Cheshire Cat commented. He glanced from the older man to the child and back again. He lifted his hand, resting it on his fist, "I guess that apples really don't fall far from the trees, although I'm hoping you don't get your dad's… musical talent," he added some sarcasm to his last words.

At that comment, a bit of burger went down the wrong tube in Utako's throat, sending her into a hacking frenzy to get rid of it.

"UTA-ONEE-TAN!" gasped Midori. She glanced around, then quickly grabbed a napkin she found. The girl shifted her friend lower, bending her over the fabric.

"UTAKO!" shrieked Tora. The girl began to practically pound on her friend's back.

As the girl continued to cough, thinking that her very short life was flashing before her eyes, something clutched her stomach and squeezed. The pressure pushed the food out of her throat and mouth, landing in the napkin.

Gasping for breath, Utako turned her head, seeing Gowland right behind her, sighing. The panting girl let out a soft "Thank you," as she continued to catch her breath.

"Darling, you nearly scared us out of our skin! You better take smaller bites from now on." the man scolded with concern.

"My Okaa-san is always telling me that. Looks like I'm finally going to start listening," the little girl stated with a small chuckle.

"Here kid," Boris offered, a yellow cup of water in his hand, right in front of the girl's face.

"Thanks," the red head replied, taking the cup from the teen and slowly drinking from it.

"Hey Midori, let me take that to the garbage," Tora stated. She pointed to the small paper now filled.

"Sure," the mouse agreed and gave the trash towards her friend.

After receiving the tissue, and keeping it at arm's length away, the cub strolled away. While walking, Tora tried to calm down the swirling thoughts inside her head. She had to figure out a way to distract her pop or else he might completely blab out the secret. The girl found a trash can, just a few feet away from her. She aimed at the basket, shot the trash into the air, and it landed, nothing but trash bag, in the waste bin. The girl took a moment to enjoy her small victory, but then got back to her dilemma. She then noticed a worker handing out some balloons to some children. A smirk grew as her idea began…

"So what should we do Uta-onee-tan?" Midori asked.

The two girls sat on a bench, changed from their swimsuits to their regular clothes, as they discussed their problems.

"Well, I guess… if we can keep our Otou-sans busy, then they'll be too busy to listen to them," Utako stated.

"Yeah! That's sounds like a great idea!" the mouse agreed.

"Hey where is your otou-san anyway?" the human girl asked.

"I don't know, probably out in the woods somewhere," the green eyed girl shrugged.

"Well, shake your tail feathers and make sure that your otou-san hasn't heard anything yet!" the older child stated.

"I've got fur, but I'm going!" Midori called, jumping off the bench and dashing off into the woods.

Letting out a chuckle, Utako slid off the bench and casually strolled. She already knew her plan to distract the Amusement Park owner. The girl used this technique for as long as she could remember, probably before that, to get what she wanted. She continued until she was right behind her target. Her small hand clutched a piece of yellow fabric and gave it a good couple of tugs.

Feeling something pulling at his shirt, Gowland turned around to see an expression to rival a puppy. Wide sparkling blue eyes and small smile that made her cheeks round and just plain squeezable.

In the sweetest voice, Utako pleaded, "Please Go-onii-san, would you please go on a ride with me?" She tilted her head, just a bit, only adding towards the cuteness.

"Well…I'm rather busy…" the man stated, trying to avoid eye contact.

That's when the Cheshire Cat popped up, his hand on the Duke's shoulder. "Come on, old man, take the girl on a ride."

"Oi Boris! I thought I told you to fix the newest attraction!" The older man growled.

"Don't worry, I fixed it," the cat stated.

"The last time you 'fixed' a ride, I had to shut it down because it went so fast, it nearly threw people off!" Gowland scolded.

"Aw come on, loosen up old man, I just made more bada-" The teen started but something exploding water hit the back of his head stopped him. Some the water hit red heads next to him.

Utako turned and noticed her feline friend, her hand waiting to launch its next bomb. Grinning, she dashed away quickly to find something to help her friend.

The cat turned around and roared "OK! WHO WAS-" All he saw was something green and round before it hit his face, bursting full of water.

"TWO BULLSEYES IN A ROW! WHOO!" a voice called out.

The three found Tora, dancing in a circle, a sack full round, clear, colorful objects, near her feet.

"TORA…"

"Hey Onii-san," the little girl called, a little musical tone in her voice.

The teen looked down to find a large water gun being offered to him, by a pair of small hands.

"Go on, give her a good ol' blast of revenge!" the girl cheered.

After grabbing the toy weapon by its grip in one hand, Boris ruffled the girl's hair with the other hand. "Thanks kid!" He then dashed towards the kitten.

Spotted her pop approaching, Tora quickly grabbed her bag of ammo and dashing away. She shouted something along the lines of "Utako!" and "Get you!" as she scampered away.

"Now while the cats away…" the red head smiled and then clung onto the boot of her father, looking up him with a wide smile, this time with tilted head and eyes closed. "Let's dry of then play okay?"

With that the old man will crumbled, "Well, I guess a break would do me so good…" he decided, rubbing his neck.

"YAY!" Utako cheered and squeezed the leg in her arms. It felt great to know that she still cute enough to charm her otou-san…even when she wasn't her otou-san.

"ONII-TAN! ONII-TAN!" the rodent child scurried about, searching everywhere for the older mouse. Poking through every bush, peeking around every trunk, yet she still couldn't find Pierce.

"The more I search for him, the more I'm more worried what happened to him rather than what's he's heard."

Sighing, Midori plopped down. "I'll rest for a few minutes then I'll look again…"

Then, a breeze filled her nostrils with a bitter metallic scent, one that she knew from years of helping her mom with the laundry. Perking up, the girl began twisting herself around until she spotted a familiar mop of red hair, lying by a nearby tree's roots.

"Onii-tan!" the mouse cheered and got up and dashed over towards the figure, but as the girl approached the teen, she started to stop, digging her heels into the dirt. When she completely halted, the child ended up her rear, but right next to teen. To get a better look at the Roleholer, the girl got on her hand and knees, leaning over him.

"Looks like he's asleep…" the child mused, noting his closed eyes and slow breathing. "I guess if he's been asleep this whole time, then he hasn't heard the secret. Better keep him like this until it's been calmed down."

The girl crawled over towards Pierce's head, then gently lifted it onto her lap.

"There, nice and comfy, that should keep him sleeping for a little while longer," Midori thought. Soon, the warmth of the day lulled her into a gentle sleep.

Just a few moments afterword, the sun started to poking at the Roleholder's eyes causing him to slowly rise from the depths of slumber.

"Huh… When did I…?" Pierce mumbled. His ears pricked up at a pair of voices, conversing nearby.

"You won't believe the news I just heard!" one female giggled.

"Really?" her other friend said, her voice low with suspicion and sarcasm.

"I can hardly believe it myself! It just so unimaginable! You'd never guess it, not even in a million time periods!"

"So don't tell me."

"Don't you want to know?"

"Just tell me already!"

"Well I heard…"

After a few time periods of non-stop rides for one, running for her life and throwing water balloons as a distraction, the girls plopped down on a bench, completely exhausted and starving.

"I hope that the guys come back with some food soon…" Utako mused.

A tired "yeah" was the response that her feline friend gave.

"Tora-onee-tan, Uta-onee-tan, I'm back! And guess who I brought with me!"

The redhead girl spotted her mouse friend with her dad in tow, holding her hand. His head, sort of bobbled from side to side, with his eyes slowly opening and closing.

Getting up, the older girl growled, "Midori! What are you doing!? You were supposed to keep your otou-san busy!"

The youngest girl explained, "Don't worry! Don't worry! He's been asleep this whole time! In fact, we just woke up!" A little yawn came out of her mouth.

Her friend sighed, "Why I am not surprised that you guys fell asleep somewhere outside? You two are going to catch colds…"

"Speaking of sleeping outside…" the mouse girl added, a finger of hers pointed towards something behind her friend.

The human girl followed the finger to find Tora, curled up with a small bubble coming out of her nose, growing and shrinking with her breathing.

"You know, when she's like this, I really see her as a cat," Utako stated.

"Really? I just think about all the pranks she's pulled on me and makes me want to something to her as pay back," Midori commented.

"You're right," her friend agreed with a nod. "Me too. Got a marker?"

"Hey there you two, what are doing?" a male voice asked.

The two conscious girls turned to see the Duke and Cheshire Cat, bringing over some trays covered with food and drinks.

"Finally!" Utako exclaimed, dashing over to the older man. She held her hands out for something.

The older man chuckled and handed her a hotdog, "Here you go, but remember, small bites."

"Right," the girl agreed and began to nibble at the meal.

Boris called, "Hey there Tora, I brought you something!"

The kitten's response-snuggling into her crossed-arm pillow.

"Sorry Onii-tan, but Tora usually out like a light when she naps, " the mouse girl explained.

"Is that so….?" The cat answered.

The mischievous tone of his voice both intrigued and scared the girl, "What are you going to do?"

He gave the tray to the small mouse, lifted the lid on one of the drinks, and picked a piece of ice out of it. The Roleholder slowly slid over to the sleeping cat and dropped the frozen chunk right on her neck.

The kitten's response-waking up screaming. "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Good prank, wish I thought of it," Midori thought.

Tora let out a roar, "OKAY POP! THAT'S IT! I'M SOOOO TELLING MA!" She then shot a glare which faded when she noticed the age of the man next to her, replaced by rouge cheeks. Her voice lowered to almost a mutter, "Uhh…sorry my pop likes to pull pranks on people, including me."

The rumor Boris heard suddenly crept back in his mind and he smirked, "I see…" He then turned towards Utako, obliviously eating her meal.

The scream completely awoke the sleepy Dormouse with no need for caffeine.

"Hey there, Uncle," he greeted the eldest Roleholder. "When did you get here?"

"I'm not your uncle," the older man growled.

"Hey there, Onii-tan, need something to eat?" the little mouse asked.

"I really want something with cheese," the young man stated.

"You're such a dork," the male cat chided.

The male mouse saw the cat and paled.

"AHHH! CAAAAT!" he screamed.

Just as he began to dash for his life, Utako grabbed him by the end of his chestnut tail.

"Don't you worry, Onii-san, meal times are peaceful times, unless you're fighting over food," the little red head stated. She took a large cheese burger from the tray and offered it to mouse. "Here."

Pierce took the sandwich from the child, glancing between the two, before stating this…

"You really are Uncle's kid aren't you?"

A chill went up all the girls spines while the Cheshire Cat started to beam.

The only thing the Duke felt was confusion. "What are you talking about son?"

"I overheard some ladies talking about it in the forest," the mouse explained before starting on his meal.

"You know…I've been hearing rumors like that around lately…" Boris commented. He gazed at the man, head from toe and back again. "I guess you were young…like a million years ago."

Despite the situation, the girls couldn't help but chuckle at the joke.

"HEY, I'M NOT THAT OLD!" Gowland hollered. "Besides, what in world would make anyone think that anyway?"

After that question, the two sets of sea-colored eyes own by the man and his child blinked together.

"The question is-what wouldn't?" The Cheshire Cat retorted.

"Hey Utako, help me out here?" the oldest man asked.

When put on the stand, Utako replied, "Well, my otou-san is…really…more or less…actually….AHHHH! WHAT IS THAT!?" A finger of hers pointed in opposite direction of the group.

All three Roleholders twisted their necks to see what scared the girl. They saw…nothing. When their necks returned to the girl they found nothing, she and her friends vanished.

Although they heard some very familiar voices yelling…

"Hold on Onee-sama, I'm almost done. I've just about finished with the top part of the apron," Yumeko stated, her hands pressing and molding snow against the snow figure in front of her.

"I'm fine Yumeko, but I think you should be more worried about Tama," Alice commented. She stood a distance away from the girl, her work, and her friend.

"Yeah, I'm not going to be a step stool forever, you know," Tama groaned, underneath her friend, right next to a pair of legs made of snow.

"Sorry Tama-chan, Aoi-chan should be back with the stepstool any time now," the grey haired girl spoke.

"She better," the girl below her mumbled.

In preparation for the usually Clover Tower Winter Festival, the girls offered some of their talents. Aoi offered to help with organization, Tama with making some snacks, and Yumeko by making some snow statues. At that moment, the little grey haired girl was surrounded by men pleading her to do so, especially by her father. After agreeing, Yumeko went outside with the other female residents of the Tower, to help her out, to get started. It didn't take long to decide on what to make first, a glance at the foreigner was all it took. After some protesting, Alice stood still, occasionally turning for the young artist's benefit. Starting from the shoes up, Yumeko was able to build up to the waist until her height caught up with her. Aoi raced inside to find a stepstool, while Tama offered to let her friend stand on her back to continue her work. Once the sculptor was done with the body, she regretted her suggestion.

"There done with that part," the little incubus signed as she rubbed her forehead with her arm.

"Great. Can I take a break from being your stool now?" the darker hair girl whined.

"Naturally," the girl on top replied. She slowly stepped down off her pal's back. The second girl sprung up and immediately and began to rub her two hands together for warmth.

Alice strolled over to the girls, taking a good look at the "Snow Alice", looking very much like her, all except for the neck up and color.

"This is actually pretty good Yumeko, you really are quite the artist, aren't you?" the maiden stated.

"Well, I'm actually more into drawing and painting, but I usually help my nii-san when it comes to his snow sculptures," answered Yumeko. "He's more of the sculptor of the family."

Tama rolled her eyes and added with sarcasm, "Yeah. 'Help."

The small demon girl sighed, "Aww come on, Tama-chan, you don't have to be so mad,"

Her friend started to grumble, "Why shouldn't I be? Why shouldn't you be? After all, us 'helping' is always us doing all the work while he bosses us around?"

"It can't be helped, you know he's really sickly like my otou-sama," the ash haired child replied.

Tama began to growl, "If he's sooo sickly, then where does he find the energy to pull pranks on everyone, especially me, LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW!?" the Lizard's girl covered her ears with her mitten covered hands.

"Aww come on, you know that he's a good guy!" Yumeko insisted.

"LA LA LA~! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH I CAN'T HEAR NOW! LA LA LA~!" the dark hair girl yelled, shaking her head around.

Alice stared at the little show. "I'm getting the feeling that Tama really doesn't like your brother," She observed.

The Caterpillar's daughter sighed, "That's one way to put it."

"Hey, I'm back!" a young voice called.

The two girls not busy blocking out the world spotted Aoi coming over, carrying in one hand a step stool over her shoulder and a small spray bottle in the other. She took one look at her dark haired and sighed, "Somebody mention your onii-chama again, didn't they?"

"What was your first guess?" Alice asked sarcastically.

"Hey, what's with the bottle?" Yumeko questioned.

Aoi replied, "Well, I know it's just a snow statue, but since it's going to be one of Alice...I wanted to make it just a little special, so I got some food coloring to color it. Although, all I can find was blue and it's sort of darker than her usual dress."

"That's our Aoi-chan, always thinking outside the box," Tama cheered.

"Ah, welcome back," the outsider said.

"ALICE-ONEE-CHAN!" A girl's voice called out.

The girls noticed, Natsuki dressed in her pink winter coat, dragging dark coated Mamoru alongside her, dashing…right towards the Snow Alice!

"SUKI-CHAN! WAIT STOP!" Yumeko cried.

Yet, the rabbit continue her path and pace.

Cupping her hands near the sides of her mouth, Alice hollered, "NATSUKI! SLOW DOWN!"

However, spotting the foreigner only made the rabbit speed faster.

"ALICE-ONEE-CHAN!" The albino child exclaimed.

The maiden signed and mused, "Well, like father like daughter, I guess."

With a grit of her teeth, Aoi set down the stepstool and run towards her rabbit-eared friend, crashing into her. The bottle, still held in her hand, was freed by the force and burst open, leaking itself on the head of snow. Mamoru was freed for the rabbit's paw and slide right into the snow, stopping at the feet of the snow statue.

"Ow!" The rabbit rose, the blue dye creeping down towards her bangs. She growled, "Why did you do that Aoi-chan?"

"Sorry, but you were going to knock over the Snow Alice, we were making!" Aoi exclaimed.

Mamoru popped her head up, a small hill of white powder on her head. "A Snow Alice? Where?" she asked. Twisting her head, she noticed the figure before her. "Did a Snow Vivaldi come and chop her head?"

"It's not finished yet," Tama stated as she poured more snow on top of the brown-haired girl, giving her a mountain now.

"Natsuki, why were you running so fast?" Alice wondered out loud.

The white rabbit girl gasped, "That's right! Onee-chan, it's bad! It's really bad!"

The little brunette rose up from the snow, her head still having its own peak, "Ace-aniki knows that I'm his kid!"

"Eh!? HOW?!" a chorus of screams arose.

"WHO TOLD YOU?"

"WHEN DID YOU HEAR THIS?"

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?"

"I have an idea on what to do," Yumeko offered, her hand in the air.

"WHAT!?" everyone seemed to yell at her, knocking her off her feet.

"Well, we could start by getting the coloring off of Suki-chan's head first," the girl stated.

It was then Natsuki noticed the dye now dripping from her head, she touched the wetness. Looking at her stained mitten, the girl let out an "Ew!"

Alice chuckled, "You're right, first things first."

"Aneue!"

"Ane-chan!"

"Ali-nee!"

"Ali-nee!"

The sound of these four voices shocked Alice, the washcloth in her hand jumping onto Natsuki's right ear. Mamoru, completely warmed up and snow free, grabbed the rag from the ear and handed it back to the maiden. The three Clover Tower girls walked around the tower, trying to catch any rumors being spread about them.

"What going on? I thought you girls were at a tea party for your dads?" the foreigner.

Akahana started, rubbing her hands together, "Well, Aneue…you see…we were at the tea party with our fathers…and having a lovely time mind you…"

"Amai, can you help Akahana cut to the chase?" the outsider questioned.

The hare explained, "Well it seems that our little secret came out, although it seems that there's a rumor added with it…"

"Alice-nee, what's a love child?" Takara asked.

"Yah, do you know what it means?" Fumiko added.

"I knew that letting you hang out with Blood was a bad idea…" Alice sighed. "Ask you dads when you get back to your time."

"Oi girls!" A male voice called out. "I told you brats to slow own!"

The man made his appearance, brown rabbit ears and all, quickly walking over towards the Hatter group of girls. In a few blinks, bumps formed on their heads, thanks to his fist, leaving them mumbling and tears springing from their eyes. "Next time, listen!" the March Hare roared. He then towards the foreigner, "Sorry about this Alice. There was some confusion at the mansion…"

"It's alright," the maiden said, as calmly as she could.

Elliot began to "But it was kind of funny, there was a maid who thought that the girls were our love kids! Crazy, right?"

"Yeah," Alice agreed, chuckling nervously. She started to mess with the bow in her hair, trying to the violet eyes.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

"YOU TWO STOP YOUR HISSY FIT RIGHT NOW! YOU'VE BEEN FIGHTING SINCE THE MOMENT WE LEFT OUR OTOU-SANS BEHIND!"

The three girls continued to bicker as they approached the outsider, they then focused themselves onto her.

Tora started, "ANEKI IT'S ALL MI-CHAN'S FAULT!"

"NO IT'S NOT! I DIDN'T KNOW HE KNEW!" Midori protested.

Utako demanded, "IT'S NOT ANYONE'S FAULT SO STOP IT ALREADY!"

The three fighting girls began to quarrel amongst themselves, turning into a brawl.

"So, what should we do with them?" the maiden asked.

"I'd hit them, but they won't stay still to get to them," Elliot shrugged.

"That's alright,"

"What about that?" Natsuki suggested, pointing at the rag in the foreigner's hand.

Alice smirked, "Good idea…" then she stopped herself, hand on her forehead.

"What am I thinking? I think Wonderland is starting to get to me…"

"Can someone else do it for me?" the outsider requested. "I just can't find it in me…"

"I'll do it," Mamoru offered, her hand in the air.

The rag got handed to the brunette girl, who wet it down then plopped it down on the kitten's head.

"HEY, WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" Tora roared.

"Well, you seemed to be one who started this whole fight," the accused answered.

"Well, it's not my fault, it's Mi-chan's," the cub stated again.

"No it's not," the mouse whined again.

"How did all this start?" the maiden questioned.

"Well, Onee-san you see…" Utako started, but when she saw the man waiting to hear the story as well, she clammed up.

"Let me guess…" Alice started. She leaned in closer to the three and whispered, "The secret about your dads is out, right?"

"Was it that obvious?" Tora asked.

"Don't worry, you're not the only ones who found out," the female stated, motioning over to the four girls sulking over their wounds.

"Maybe it is my fault…" Midori wondered.

"Huh?" the red head next to her asked.

"Well, you told me to keep my tou-tan busy but when I found him asleep, I thought I could keep him that way and I fell asleep too. But I guess he woke up…"The brown-ear girl explained.

"No it's not, after all, Tora was the one who screamed "Pop!" loud enough for the whole entire Amusement Park to hear." The small red head stated, giving a glare to the pink kitten.

The cub stiffened at the comment, drooping her ears and holding the back of her neck with her hand. She mumbled, "Well, I guess it could be…a bit…my fault…"

All the mob girls also wanted to say something but with one of their own nearby, they couldn't find the words.

Alice sighed, "I guess it can't be helped." She turned towards the March Hare, "Elliot, could you please get Blood and the twins to come over?"

The man shrugged, "Sure, but what for?"

"Well, let's just say that I've got a lot of explaining to do," the maiden admitted.

"Alright," Elliot decided and walked off.

When he was out of sight, the outsider turned towards the Hatter girls first. She asked, "Is there anything you want to say?"

Akahana took a step forward and stated, "We're sorry, Aneue, we practically said the secret out loud. We thought we were alone. Please forgive us."

Amai grumbled, "We didn't even come up with a really good reason why we said it, we just denied even saying it."

Takara whimpered, "We're sorry, Ali-nee."

Fumiko added, "We really are."

Natsuki admitted, "That's what I did too…I just ran away…"

"Maybe it's all our faults," Mamoru contemplated.

The outsider let a small chuckle, "Are you all girls just silly by nature?"

A collective group of "huhs?" and "what's?" escaped the girls' lips.

Alice started, "Did any of you point to your dad and say 'That man is my dad' or anything like that?"

"No!"s, "Never!"s, and "I didn't!"s rang out.

"If no one said it, then it's no one's fault. Nobody is to blame. Alright?" The young woman asked. All at once, the maiden felt herself swarmed and snuggled from leg to neck. She found herself chuckling, "Okay! Okay! I get it, now get off of me and get back to your fathers and bring them here, okay?"

The little white rabbit looked up from the arm she was holding to question, "Why?"

The outsider admitted, "Like a said, I've got a lot of explaining to do…and a lot of tea and coffee to make."

When the Roleholdrs assembled in the hall usually used for the Clover Tower's assemblies, Alice locked out, the girls and the boy who came along with his mother (his father was busy with paperwork as usual).

"It would be better if I explain everything first, until then wait out here." These were Alice's words.

So naturally, the kids waited outside the door, trying to keep as quiet as possible, while the animal-eared children pressing their furry appendages against it, pressing their cheeks.

"Are you sure it's okay to just keep waiting around like this?" Masahiko asked.

"Well, how else are we going to know what is going on?" his cousin replied. "Now shush! Do you hear anything, girls?"

"It's mostly mumbled, but I can make out some voices…" Natsuki stated.

"Yeah, I think I hear Alice-ane-chan and some of our dads," Amai agreed.

"Sounds like a fight," Tora commented.

"Poor Onee-tan," Midori expressed.

Aoi wondered, "Has she told them yet?"

"I don't think so," the white rabbit admitted. "I think she's trying to get everybody to calm down first."

"Well, I hope she tells them soon," Tama started to complain, "I'm getting tired of all this waiting."

"I'm sure she's trying her best," Yumeko interjected. "Just give her some time."

"Hey! It's gotten really quiet!" the little mouse squeaked.

"Did she say it?" Utako asked.

"I didn't hear her say anything," the hare admitted.

Suddenly a bursts of shouts, yells and exclamations-you name it, it was there-cried out, different voices clashing and covering each other.

"I guess she told them," Fumiko stated.

The four listeners continued their jobs, trying to discern words and voices out of all the hollering.

"Able to understand anything?" Takara inquired.

"Things like 'No! No! No!', 'That's not possible!', 'Have you finally gone mad?', and 'Let me check you for a fever.'" The kitten stated.

"What's a paternity test?" the mouse girl questioned.

Several "Huh?" were let out.

"I heard someone say it," Midori explained.

"Well, paternity means something to with fathers, so maybe it's a test about them," The prince answered.

"That's my Masahiko, you're so smart!" Natsuki beamed.

"Who said he was yours?" Tama glared at her friend.

"Yeah," Takara growled.

"Ummm…can we focus on the test for a moment?" Aoi wondered.

"If it's a test about how much we know our fathers, that might be a problem," Utako stated, "We're in the past, so the Otou-sans here are different than we know. Sometimes, my otou-san feels like a stranger."

Akahana chuckled, her eyes wide, "Really? I thought that your dad couldn't get any stranger!"

Tora gave a small smack to her friend's forehead with a huff, "This is not the time for lame jokes."

"Hey, Vivaldi-ane-chan just said something and now it's gotten really quiet again!" Amai exclaimed.

"What did she say?" Yumeko asked.

"It was something about Masahiko," the small hare replied.

All the children leaned towards the door…

All at once, a wave of laughter roared so loud that it knocked the kids off their feet.

"I'm not sure, but I think we missed the punch line…" the small royal joked.

The chuckles only grew in sound, even after an "OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!" rang out-loud and clear enough for the children heard without pressing against the door.

*CREAK!*

The sound of the door opening made the kids jump.

The foreigner smiled at them, "Okay, now you kids can come in now."

The youngsters prayed for their safety.

"Honestly?! You didn't even think that these girls could even have been your daughters?" Alice questioned, astonished.

"Well, it's just that they don't seem to be Roleholders…" Gowland admitted.

"Yet, they certainly aren't Faceless," Blood added.

"Can't be called foreigners though…." Julius spoke.

"Well, Masahiko is one, aren't you?" Utako questioned.

"I guess I am…" the prince answered. "Yet I don't think I can change the time of day like my mother can. I've also never been called been to a duel either…"

"Speaking of which," Peter started, "What kind of insane man would even think of marrying such a hysterical woman?"

"I think the real question here Peter-san," Ace interjected, "Is how many men could go through with it. After all, she probably beheads her husband after a fight."

"Papa don't be so mean!" Natsuki scolded, "Say you're sorry to Vivaldi-nee-chan!"

"Yeesh, Dad, it's a miracle you've lived this long without Mom or me covering your neck," Mamoru huffed.

The two girls bowed slightly and requested, "Please forgive him and don't chop off his head."

"Sounds like that's be rehearsed," Alice commented.

"Well actually, it's probably the second most common phrase we girls say," Akahana explained.

"What's the first?" the outsider asked innocently.

"That's…" Aoi started, a cherry pink blush on her face. She glanced around to all of her friends.

Each child got to close to their respective parent, younger eyes meeting old, and then jumped on them-arms open wide- letting out a loud "DAISUKI!"

The air filled with sounds of falling chairs, exclaims of surprise, and giggles.

"Sure is quiet here…" Alice stated to no one in particular. When she usually dressed in her pajamas, the other girls would be all around the room, several mattresses on the floor, getting themselves ready for bed.

"I guess it can't be helped, all the girls wanted to live with their dads. The guys didn't mind so they let them. I guess that leaves me with…"

A hermit man's good daughter.

A clumsy man's good daughter.

A troublesome man's good daughter.

With these thoughts she sighed, "Why is it that the adults are more headache-inducing than the kids?"

"Hey nee-chama, can you please read me this story?" a small voice asked.

The outsider looked down to see Aoi, blue hair flowing down past her back, wearing purple and blue stripped flannel pajamas. She held out a book with a colorful cover.

"Oh sure," the maiden replied.

After settling down on the bed, Alice began to read. Yet, she quickly noticed the girl's interest aimed at the door in the room more than the story.

"Is something wrong?" The foreigner inquired.

"N…No…" the little girl stuttered, still staring the doorway.

The young woman put down the book and started towards the door, the child tried to stop her by tugging on cream nightgown the maiden wore and stating that everything was alright. Yet the outsider's suspicions confirmed when she saw the two other Tower girls, Yumeko-wearing a light gray night gown- and Tama-in a black slightly-big-on-her-night-shirt- carrying a blue jar.

Tama looked at her friend with a lowered gaze and said, "We've should have known that Aoi would make a lousy liar."

"That's true," her accomplice agreed.

Quickly setting the jar down, the two girls took off the lid and grabbed themselves a snack then dashed off.

"HEY! PUT THOSE COOKIES BACK IN THAT JAR!" Alice yelled. She then started a chase but a thought caused her to screech to a halt. When she turned around, both Aoi and the jar were gone.

"Maybe it won't be as quiet as I thought…"

*Blood type- The Japanese have this belief that blood types can influence a person's personality and health. They even make products that are specialized for each different type.

What Mamoru is saying translated from pig latin -My dad found out our secret. He discovered that I am his daughter.

It's finished! It's actually finally finished! I'm sorry to keep you waiting again. College classes sure can be tough…As well as the social life, which I actually have now! Yeah! This upcoming semester I'm going to get two roommates, don't worry one is my friend and best friend. I've also got a boyfriend (who is completely wasted on me…and no you can't have him).

Sorry if I sound like I'm bragging, but I just want you to know what's been going on in my life. Don't worry though, I'm all right. I'm going to my grandma's tomorrow, so I really wanted to finish this chapter beforehand. These next chapters are (I hope) going to be shorter but still filled with the feels and moe you love.

Also I've got a tumblr account, had it for a while now, and I'm going to use it to try to keep you guys posted on my progress so that way I don't have to make info-chapters like some fanfic writers do. My tumblr name is spelled suzubelle-chan (confusing ain't it?). Follow if you want, I'll do my best to keep you up to date on whatever is going on with my writing (or just plain going on in my strange fangirl mind).

Remember to review, tell what you really liked, what you want to see next and I'll see what I can do. See ya!

Daisuki!