Chapter 1: Smoldering hope

The N-field, forever changing world full of uncertainties and solidness. A place where you can find everything in a second and nothing in a century. No human can enter this wonderful yet so terrifying artificial plain. Thus, it is free for every form of life which is not representative of mankind such as dolls and…

"So much effort is spent in search, but only an abysmal grain of truth has been found. Which, unfortunately, will remain unnoticed... Ah, poor little souls, how much will you follow your stubborn nature? There is nothing wrong with giving up on an unrealistic dream. No matter how much you multiply the chance of success, number zero is constant as the will of my lord…"

Echoes the voice of the one who is allowed to freely exist in the uncertainty of this world. His name is Laplace, Demon of Laplace, referee of Alice Game. The crimson eyes of the humanoid rabbit are directed at the oval mirror. A weak glow might seem to be uncomfortable to watch, yet Laplace´s gaze is unchanging like it was for years and centuries. He is staring at the house, the residence of Sakurada´s family, where resides Jun Sakurada, the one who has a burden of an impossible task.

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It's been a year since the occurrence in the N-field which led to the birth of Alice and her quick demise. Jun Sakurada, throughout the year, was in search of the recipe to create Roza Mistica, a soul component of Rozen Maidens. During the first month of their research, they constructed several theories on what this mystical stone might be. The most probable answer was a philosopher stone, to which Jun was not happy at all. Immortality is a state desired by humanity from the very beginning of civilization. Philosopher stone is said to fulfil this naive wish, but no one ever was able to create such a miracle. So joining a chase for the impossible dream of a man was totally unwanted. But it, being the only hint, brought courage to the group, which soon enough turned into the run around the circle.

A countless number of African shamans and sages were questioned in this regard, yet no helpful information was present during his and his parents' visits. Tons of materials regarding spiritualism and occultism were read, plenty of case studies about long-dead mages and their magic were decrypted, but nothing brought any light to their researches. This is the reason why miracles are being called so, no matter how much effort one can give in, it will remain impossible as long as the said person prevails his humanness… Seems like there is no hope for such a miracle, but Jun does not give and the proof of his determination is his position at the given moment of time. The boy is sleeping by his table, which is densely occupied by books and papers. This hard-to-process literature set the schoolboy to deep sleep. And the dream world was holding him so tightly that his older sister, Nori, was not able to wake him up for a while.

"Jun! Jun, you will be late for school!"

A series of forceful knocks was made into the door, yet Jun´s peaceful breaths were not interrupted. With every second Nori´s composure was getting weaker and weaker. Eventually, she banged on a door so loudly that the thud sound spread around the house, and this uproar was escorted with a wild shriek, coming out of Nori´s mouth.

She screamed: "JUN, WAKE UP!"

This time his sister´s cries reached the boy's ears and with a slight shake, he raised a heavy head, feeling dizzy.

"Shut up, I can hear you perfectly!"

"I know this is not true! You will get late, please, hurry up for breakfast."

After her words, which were getting less emotional, receding steps could be heard outside Jun´s room, indicating her descendence to the kitchen. The boy sighs and stands up from his table with quiet cracks coming from his spine. He jerks his glasses and directs his gaze to the curtains which are slowly dancing on a gust of wind, coming from an open window. Jun comes closer to the window, seems like he is determined to close it, but instead, he lowers his head and sees another sleepyhead, who is resting on a chair.

Her blonde hair is kept in two long twintails, which are practically touching the floor. The crimson dress seems to be antique, yet so fresh, because of daily care. But the most unique feature of this girl is her small size, which becomes obvious after knowing her true nature. She is a doll named Shinku, the one Jun was desperately trying to wake up.

Her beauty is observed by Jun who instead of smiling, because of having such a lovely doll, frowns and strokes his chin in thoughts.

"It would be helpful if you could wake me up, you know?"

After a bit of time, spent in anticipation for an answer, Jun lowers his head, giving off a disappointed sigh. Every morning from the moment of her coma he tried to talk her out of it, but it never worked. The idea in itself is not the smartest, but the hope never left his mind, establishing this tradition. Today, though, something was different, while looking at the floor he noticed a small, black shoe. Without a second thought, Jun grabs the shoe and glances over Shinku´s feet. One foot is bare with only white tights, covering her artificial, yet so real skin. This occurrence made Jun ponder.

"Did it happen because that idiot hit the door too hard?"

Jun slowly pulls the boot over a small foot of the doll. He hopes for a miracle to accrue, and expects her to decorate the dull look of this room with her blue eyes. He expects her to hit him with a drill tail in a sense of defence from the hands of a pervert. Nothing happens, the doll is tranquilly sitting on a chair without any movement as any doll would do… as any normal doll would.

After some preparations, Jun unlocks the door to his room and leaves it, giving the last glance to Shinku. While descending the stairs Jun could hear loud noises coming from the kitchen, it was his sister, but the boy had no idea about her doings. More importantly, there were fewer strange sounds such as screams in a quarrel or a noisy, yet surprisingly entertaining TV show "Kun-kun". This fact indicates the lack of girls residing in this house. This was the first thing Jun asks after catching a glimpse of fussy Nori.

"So they are not back yet?"

"Ah, Jun!"

She answers in surprise, but a sweet smile soon disappears as she further examines the state of her younger brother. He looks tired with bruising under his eyes and a face paler than a corpse. She was ready to take a note of his condition, but a quick glance of his brown eyes, as if saying "I know." halts Nori and she instead answers the question given earlier.

"N-no… they still did not come back."

"I see… I recently made a discovery that is not a sensation, but it could hint us at the creation of Rosa Mistica. Seems like my last assumption was unfortunately incorrect, but-"

"Jun!..."

They are now sitting by the big table with a portion of omurice on each side. Jun, instead of eating, was just playing around with food while having this huge train of thoughts. This made Nori mad, so she interrupted him in a rather commanding manner. Jun was surprised by this attitude, but a bemused face quickly was changed with an angry one, because he knew better than anyone what was coming.

"You stayed up until early morning again, didn't you?"

Jun snorts, hearing this question. The boy then proceeds to eat as if nothing has happened. A spoon after spoon full of omurice entered his mouth, but Nori, instead of joining the meal, was burning him with a stubborn gaze of a worrying sister.

"Luckily, I had my 1st class cancelled so I was able to wake you up, but otherwise you would skip school… you did not visit it this week at all!"

"My grades are perfectly fine even with that, what is your point here?"

Nori hesitated for a moment but said anyway the words Jun did not want to hear the most.

"We are returning to the point from which everything started. Jun, you-"

"No, we are not! I am able to go to school and make friends there, unlike you, four-eyed!"

Saying this, Jun slams the table with his fists and ascends from the chair. He was highly offended by the point his sister made, thus did not want to continue talking. No, not even being in the same place as her. He himself from the one year long past was nothing, but a pathetic slug. He wholeheartedly hated THAT person within himself and the hatred towards this slob is still in present even now. You do not know how much I have changed! - he screamed in his head.

Nori also stands up and calls out for Jun, pointing her finger in objection to his spiteful words.

"Hey, you are also wearing glasses and I have friends! You… where are you going?"

At last, she noticed Jun´s strange direction. Instead of coming closer to the entrance door, he was approaching the storage room. Without directing a face to Nori, he answers with a slight irritation in his tone.

"I am going to school, it will be faster through the N-field."

"You are becoming very dependant on this Rozen´s ability, why would not you go for a walk? It's pretty weather outside and I could conduct you if you want."

Jun did not answer but proceeded his path and soon enough he outreached the hand to open the storage room´s door. The place in itself was not as dirty as it previously was, due to it being used much more frequently. Unnecessary pieces of literature and different raw materials for Rosa Mistica were stored here. There were plenty of recommendations on the creation of the stone of life, but unfortunately, nothing was any close to that. The sheer amount of the, surprisingly clean, garbage pained the boy´s sight, so he came to the mirror as fast as possible. Nori was trying to catch up to him, but when she ran up to the packed room, Jun was already gone.

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Countless numbers of doors, mirrors and random objects are floating in space, violating Newton's laws. Such a bizarre sight will surely surprise unprepared people, but not Jun who has gone through this miraculous place dozens of times. His gaze is strictly directed to one point in space and his body is quickly floating to where he already got late - school.

School life for Jun was tough at the beginning, even though his classmates seemed to not mind his appearance, it still was a stressful experience for the once shut-in boy. Especially hard was catching up to the program, which cruelly was moving forward, leaving incapable students behind. Luckily, Jun is a smart kid and highly adaptive. Even though his weak shoulders already were under the pressure of an unimaginable mission, he was able to catch up to the school program and even make friends with some of his classmates. No one, of course, knew about his double life, because that would inevitably cause some troubles. Because of that, Jun often had to ditch any invitations to hang out, which left him in a position of just a school friend to whom outside no one really had any connections… except for one student, who was already waiting for his arrival at the back of the school.

Jun reached his goal in the form of an old mirror. Nothing could be seen at the other side of it, only his own reflection, thus the boy always hesitated on whether he should leave the N-field now or wait a bit more. If anyone would see him coming out of the mirror-like some kind of ghost from "The Ring", it would destroy Jun´s conspiracy. Though it was not such a big deal at all, his back is covered by a young lady, whose eyes are moving from side to side, checking for unexpected guests.

Jun outreached his arm, which successfully went through the mirror. After that his whole body was absorbed by the reflective surface. The first one whom Jun sees at the outside is Tomoe Kashiwaba, the school's honoured student.

"You got late again, Jun."

Her face is loosened as if nothing bad has happened, but the gaze is strictly directed at the boy, which makes him uneasy. It was his idea in the first place to reach the school via N-field, because of how handy and fast it is. Tomoe, on the other hand, was not happy with this shortcut at all, if someone will ever notice him, entering or leaving the mirror, it will give rise to plentiful problems and rumours. But as much as she wanted Jun to act like a normal human being, his stubbornness was indestructible. Thus, a system, according to which she is covering his appearance and disappearance from school, was born.

It used to work well, but with time Jun was getting late to school more and more frequently. Sometimes he did not even appear, which was quickly getting on her nerves. Jun indeed was not in the position to fight back, so he lowered his head and apologized quietly.

"Sorry, I overslept."

"Was your head again full of this research?... Did you make any new discoveries?"

Jun did not answer with words, just shook his head and headed to the school entrance. Tomoe breathed deeply and followed Jun, whose shoulders are compressed and the head is down. She outstretched her slender hand to Jun, who suddenly turned his head and started talking.

"Well, actually, I found something interesting regarding the creation of Rosa Mistica aka philosophers stone, but… this is just a suggestion on the material, not that interesting…"

"Tell me anyway, I will gladly listen to whatever new information you have."

Hearing these words, Jun caught a glimpse of Tomoe´s face, which was decorated with a pure smile. This made him blush, but he hid it by averting his head from the view. After a second Jun smiled softly and proceeded to talk.

"Then I will tell you, but do not complain if the talk will get boring."

She did not answer, just silently pricked up her ears and lined up with Jun, whose mouth was busy with a talk about African minerals. This topic indeed was boring, but she never said that, because of how charming the look of enthusiasm, coming from a usually grim boy, was.

Soon enough they reached the hallway where their paths were parted. Jun explained every discovered detail just in time, so Tomoe did not have a chance to make a comment regarding it. Jun was not bothered about it that much, because it was just a waste of time anyway. Even though he was calling it a "discovery", deep inside he was suspecting how useless last night research appeared to be.

But now is not a time for overthinking, he slapped lightly his cheeks, just enough to not make them red and entered the classroom, where the lesson was in full swing. After some mild apologies for getting late and hearing the cackles of his classmates, Jun sat by his desk at the end of a classroom. Such was the beginning of his daily routine, with a bit of disputes, sadness, blind enthusiasm and Rozen's magic.

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Clock hands are slowly rotating with monotone ticks. Jun is averting his gaze to the clock from time to time while listening to his teacher's explanations of some hard equations in the background. Arrows on the clock, as if mockingly, are going slower and slower so that it seemed like they stopped completely at the time of 59 minutes. His gaze was burning through the glass of the wall clock, eventually, this lack of concentration on the lesson was noticed by his teacher. He opened his mouth to make a comment on Jun´s detachment, but his words were interrupted by a sudden scream of the bell, which indicated the end of the lesson and school in particular.

"Sigh… Well, for today this is all, do not forget anything."

Said the teacher after a few seconds of dumbfoundedness. All the kids said goodbye to their sensei and started packing while having a talk with each other. Jun, though, already prepared his belongings and was about to leave the class, but one of the boys stopped him near the exit.

"Hey, Jun, would you like to go and play some video games at Kenichi´s place?"

Jun directed his gaze at his classmate whose name is Ryota. He was one of the first people with whom Jun constructed some kind of relationship. He is a short boy with chubby cheeks and blonde hair, he was not particularly popular in the class, but still on a good note with everyone due to his kind nature. Jun was happy with this invitation, but he had to reject it, giving his current goal a more dominant role.

"Sorry, but I have to study more, this equation was pretty hard to understand. Also, I still need to improve my English, so…"

Jun was saying it with a wry smile on his face and closed eyes, but Ryota was not ready to give up, he called for his classmate yet again, but this time more forcefully.

"Oh, c'mon! You have been doing nothing, but studying lately! Not even coming to school, huh… There is nothing wrong with studying, but not giving it a rest may cause troubles."

"I know, thanks for your concern, but I really need to go. See ya!"

After these words, Jun proceeded to walk, showing his friend a big smile. Ryota did not stop him but obediently walked away from the door, so that Jun could leave. The boy opened a door, said his last goodbye to some of his classmates, which provoked a wave of farewells, and entered the hallway. He could not see what occurred behind, but a heavy and worrying stare of his friend passed through his backpack and pierced the boy´s spine. Seems like Jun´s state is a topic of concern not only for his sister but for the people around him as well. He did not want to worry anyone, but if that's the reaction he will receive for working himself out, so be it. No matter what kind of walls are going to be built up in front of him, he surely will find a way to revive his first doll, Shinku. This fleeting thought provoked a spark inside Jun´s head, his gaze again is determined, with a grain of tiredness and incertitude. Starting from one solid step, he proceeded with the conquest of the hallway at a faster pace.

Soon enough Jun came to the same mirror at the back of the school building. He never really wondered why this mirror was here in the first place, it was not him nor Nori who brought it here. Truly a topic for reflections, but not for Jun, who was not bothered by its appearance at all. As long as fate´s gift is convenient he will gladly accept it without questioning.

With a small step, Jun dived into the reflecting glass, giving rise to an oval wave. Just like that, in a glimpse, he disappeared from this world only to magically materialize at his home, as if nothing strange has ever happened. On his way back he remembered Tomoe´s request yesterday, she asked if they could walk back home together. Jun grinned his teeth at the violation of this promise, it was not intentional, he simply forgot.

"Sorry, Tomoe, but I can't just waste time on coming back."

These words, filled with excuses, came out of Jun's lips as his body was soaring through the N-field. He could come back to school, considering the speed of travel in this mystical world, but decided not to do so. Not when every minute wasted could be spent on the research. Thus Jun proceeded with his travel, averting his thoughts from his dear friend´s sad expression to the problems he was desperate to deal with for an entire year… so it was in the first few seconds because now all his attention was swallowed by a well-known voice.

"Overlapping goals are impossible to solve at once, by chasing down two rabbits you will not get even one."

These words made Jun stop in an instance. His pupils expanded and began to rush from side to side. Soon enough he noticed a man in an elegant costume with a cane in his right arm and a tophat on the head. The sight of such a gentleman in a world full of uncertainty is way too bizarre, but the head of a rabbit somehow normalizes his existence, because only one person or rather a demon could carelessly wander in the N-field.

"...Laplace."

The red eyes of a rabbit are directed at the boy, or rather through him because Jun did not feel any weight in the rabbit´s gaze. For all of the time after Shinku won the Alice game, the demon never made his appearance, as if he vanished from the world completely. Yet here he is, in all his glory, levitating a little above Sakurada.

"Where have you been all this time, Laplace?"

"I am everywhere, yet I am nowhere, so a more appropriate question would be "What was I doing?" or even "Why was I not appearing?". Don't you think so?"

Suddenly, Jun felt a light tap on his shoulder and a quiet breath in his right ear. He was about to make a move, but in a blink, a demon was found closely in front of him. Jun could clearly see his own reflection in the rabbit´s crimson eyes. He flew back abruptly and then exclaimed impatiently.

"You know what I meant, dammit! Answer me!"

"No need for such a rude attitude, time is on our side so rushing a conversation might make a bitter aftertaste, just like unripe fruits…"

Laplace paused his talking for a moment, but then continued with an unexpectedly serious manner. So far Jun never heard this rabbit speaking straight.

"I was watching over you, all this time."

His voice was firm and slow. It penetrated the boy's soul, causing a wave of fear through his entire body. His hands were shaking and a cold sweat produced on Jun´s forehead. Yet he somehow found this little bravery in order to ask a question.

"Why… didn't you make any contact with us?"

A smirk appeared on the rabbit's face, which was a bad sign for Jun. He was ready to flee, because of the unusual aura of a well-known demon. Maybe it was not Laplace at all? Just some parodying freak! But treacherous curiosity did not let Jun run away, he stayed, watching Laplace who raised his hands and continued to speak.

"It would be rude to interrupt your deep research. My appearance could give you one weighty hint or drive you into the depths of doubt, which is unfair in both cases. As a referee, I must stay impartial, but now is the perfect opportunity to praise you, Sakurada Jun."

Jun gasped but did not say a word. He was surprised by the sudden applause from Laplace. The claps were not as sonorous because of his gloves, but still distinct enough to leave him at a loss.

"Congratulations."

This word came out of a clapping rabbit, floating in the middle of an empty space with only a couple of doors beside him. One might think that he went crazy just at the sole sight of this scene, yet Jun knew how real it was, thanks to what did not fall into the trap of incertitude. This occurrence convinced Jun that the demon in front of him is indeed Laplace. The tension eased a bit and Jun´s mind was finally cleared. Whilst listening to dull claps, which are quietly subsiding, he proceeded with questioning Laplace.

"Thanks, I guess? But what was that for?"

"For your determination which led you and your companions, as closely to my master´s secret as no one ever imagined to be."

Jun gasped, his eyes glanced and a tear ran down his right cheek. His body reacted instantly to the demon´s words, yet he had to have a second thought, before drowning in the feel of victory. The boy just could not believe it, could not believe the success of his research. Until this point, he did not understand how desperately he needed these words. But it did not mean the finale of his journey, all Jun got now are Laplace´s words which could also appear to be a trap.

Jun cast away the tears of joy and carefully, with a seemingly happier tone, he continued talking.

"Does it have something to do with my sphere of research, or are you referring to the girls' studies?"

With a slight nod, Laplace confirmed both statements, but his further reasoning made it clear whose work was more productive. He snorted in resentment but listened attentively to new details.

"Girls indeed found a big clue for your last journey, or rather clue for a clue."

Laplace giggled a little, to which Jun crossed his arms impatiently. This sign of annoyance was noticed by a demon, so he covered his mouth with a hand and then continued.

"But I need to warn you… if you will explore the rabbit hole even further, it might erase my status quo as a referee."

At these words, a chill ran down Jun´s spine. He subconsciously flew back, while staring at the rabbit head. He always was suspicious of the referee of the Alice game, but because of his neutral attitude never even thought about fighting him. This indeed is an awful scenario to think about. The least Jun could do is ask again about the meaning of Laplace´s words, naively assuming that he misheard him.

"Status… quo?"

"You are entering the territory which, in theory, can end the Alice Game. This is an unwanted occurrence for either me or my master so I am here to-"

"-Alice game!? But it is already over, Shinku won, but wished upon everyone's safety!"

When Shinku collected all seven rosa misticas she became the perfect girl and was granted one wish, which happened to be a revival of all Rozen Maidens. Even her own life was cast aside in order for her to follow her own ideas. And considering how Laplace disappeared from sight and the lack of Rozen´s further acts, they assumed that the Alice game reached its climax, there was no more reason to fight. But now Jun yet again heard the name of this cursed game…

"An intriguing speculation, yet disastrously wrong. The Alice Game will continue as long as there is only one worthy to become a perfect girl left, no more no less."

These words made Jun fall down as if gravity suddenly emerged in the N-field. The news brought by the demon at first fired the boy up but then put him on his knees with a sour taste in his mouth. He quietly murmured to himself.

"Then… what was Shinku fighting for…?"

Laplace, though, overheard Jun´s trembling voice, but they could not shake the cold referee in the slightest. In his usual mysterious manner, he gave an explanation to Jun´s question, despite the lack of desire to hear it in the first place.

"The goals of Crimson Rose differed from Rozen Maiden´s main objective. When she collected all required rosa misticas, she refused to stay as an Alice, thus sacrificing her existence for the defeated ones."

Jun did not react at all, he was well aware of the occurrence, so the further explanation was pointless. The pitiful sight of the kneeling boy made Laplace sigh quietly and in a blink appeared in front of him. Jun noticed dark leather boots and ascended his head to see the rabbit's face which was staring at him top down. Laplace squats down to the level of Jun and proceeds to speak.

"Keep balancing between the misery and joy, to not fall down from the tightrope."

After that, the demon gave him a napkin, which Jun obediently took from his hand to wipe off the tears. Laplace backed down with a few steps and waited until Jun got back on his feet. There were plenty of sensations during this short dialogue, so the boy was in need of digesting all the information. But before that, he had to clarify his current state.

"So, what should I do next?"

Laplace smiled as if awaiting this question.

"If you are ready to risk your own life for a slight chance to see her again, you are welcomed to the new game against my master. Or you could abandon your work and proceed with the Alice game. There are no right or wrong choices, and I will gladly accompany you as a fine rival or as a cold spectator. But you are the one who must decide, Sakurada Jun."

After these words, Laplace took his tophat off the head, bowed politely in his final farewell and disappeared once again from June's sight. This demon could not be found anywhere nearby, so Jun silently continued his way home, with a head full of numerous thoughts and treacherous doubts.

Eventually, Jun managed to reach a huge mirror that led to his home. This time there was no need for any worries, before coming out of the N-field because the only possible person who could see him was his sister Nori. Yet, he still hesitated for a moment, but the reason is unknown even to himself. His thoughts were still hardly processing the recent dialogue with Laplace who mentioned a clue for the end, but what could it possibly be?

There is no reason for further speculations because the ones who will direct him in the near future are Rozen Maidens themself. With a single step, Jun came out from the N-field to his house´s storage room. It was still bright inside, which showed the meekness of the conversation between himself and a demon. He felt like it's been going for a significantly longer period of time, but the sense of time is truly abnormal in the world of the other side of the mirror. He came closer to the door to enter the kitchen, but his ears caught a sound that made him freeze. It was the voice of several people, the real tantrum was happening outside this room! As if struck by lightning, Jun rashly opened the door and came outside of the storage to witness several entities in a heated discussion. The most marvellous was the presence of small figures, dressed in beautiful and colourful dresses.

"Y-you are back!"

Screamed Jun with a rising smile on his face. Right now Sakurada´s house is occupied by 6 living dolls, whom he definitely knew. His words caught the attention of an entire group, making them silent, but after an instant stillness was destroyed by none other than his sister, Nori.

"Jun, you are finally home! Help me, I do not know what to do!"

She ran towards her little brother but tripped on a way to him. With a thud her body fell on the floor, a quiet groan of pain could be heard from her side. Her actions provoked their guests and the whole tantrum resumed, but now every word was directed at the boy.

"Jun, just look at what this stupid Chibi-Ichigo has done to me, desu! My dress is soaked and torn, you need to repair it. Now, desu!"

"It was an accident… sniff… I did not mean to."

The one standing in a muddy and scratched green dress was Suiseiseki. Not only her clothes, but her long brown hair was in an awful condition as well. Even though her voice was local and embittered, the tears could be seen in the corner of her eyes. But the one who actually was crying is Hinaichigo. For some reason, her pink dress was a bit dirty as well, and the steins were strangely resembling small handprints.

"First tell me what happened to you, why are you so dirty?"

At Jun´s question, Suiseiseki frowned and glanced at Hinaichigo with clear malice intent. This gaze provoked the blonde girl further and her cries intensified. Suiseiseki angrily pointed a finger at her and impatiently explained their state.

"We were on our way to the mirror, desu, but Chibi-Ichigo just had to take a closer look at the river! The view was nice, so I started wandering around and then she pushed me into the water, desu!"

"The frog scared me…"

"But it does not change the fact that you pushed me, desu!"

Even though Suiseiseki was grinning at Hina, she still looked adorable and harmless, because of how small she is. The whole situation is undoubtedly hilarious for Jun, he barely held back the laughter. But such an attitude will disappoint both girls further, he will surely receive another silent treatment from Suiseiseki for a couple of days, if he indeed will laugh. Jun took a deep breath, to ensure steadfastness and began to speak in a manner resembling older brother.

"Ok, that's enough! This was just a small accident and-"

"-A small accident, desu!? It was an assassination attempt, desu! Hinaichigo must be punished!"

"No one is going to be punished…"

Hearing Sakurada´s cold statement, Suiseiseki crossed her arms and turned her head away, puffing her small cheeks. Such stubbornness made Jun frown and he came closer to the tiny girl. Hina stepped aside to let Jun kneel down before Suiseiseki. After seconds of intensive glare, he suddenly grabbed her by the waist and lifted the light maiden.

"W-what are you doing, desu!? Let me go!"

At this bold move, the girl´s yells increased and she started to buck. This, though, did not destroy the boy´s equanimity, he silently came closer to Nori, who was slowly ascending from the floor, adjusting round glasses.

"Here, wash this up… please. And you, Hina, come as well"

"Oh, um, alright."

Nori without hesitation took a noisy doll from her brother´s hands and headed to the bathroom, with Hinaichigo following them in a significantly better mood. There was an attempt to settle the conflict with her, but if it meant that Jun had to confirm Hina´s guilt or have a lengthy quarrel with a spoiled girl, then a couple of silent days is more pleasant payback.

"Do you think I am some kind of dog? I said let me go, deeesuuu!"

With these words, the three girls disappeared from Jun´s sight, and now he is left with four more troublesome guests. Hina was not the only crybaby present in the house, Jun came closer to another sobbing girl in a bit messy white dress, the white rose in place of her eye strangely vibrating.

"And… what happened to you?"

"I… I have been violated, I have been spoiled. I will never recover from such a shame."

"Wha-"

"-Do not phrase it like that, I suppose!"

After a rather bizarre description of Kirakishou´s state, Jun was dumbfounded and not sure how to act. He was ready to present more questions, but the doll with green hair and bright yellow dress, Kanaria, interrupted him with an evident blush on her face. She faced Jun and hurriedly explained what Kirakishou meant by that vulgar statement.

"She, well, we were in the park, preparing ourselves to come back here, I suppose. Suddenly, a straight cat showed up and… it snatched Kirakishou, I suppose."

"What? How is that even possible?"

Kanaria hid her face with an umbrella as much as possible, which was a cute sight, but definitely suspicious. Jun was ready to question her even further in order to get a clear answer, but he again was interrupted with another dramatic statement from Kirakishou.

"These beasts are indeed scary! The paws, long whiskers and sharp teeth up close look so menacing! No wonder dear Shinku was afraid of them…"

As if praying, Kirakishou folded her arms and a tear ran down her cheek. After an instant, she opened her golden eye and faced the door to the outside.

"Never again will I drop my guard down in such an environment… Also, sorry for all the troubles, I am nothing but a hindrance…"

Kanaria was looking at Kirakishou with pity, she turned her face to Jun, who was examining her repentance with a poker face. Kanaria´s look of compassion was instantly changed with the condemnation pout. She was disappointed with Jun´s indifference. As if telling him to comfort the poor girl, Kanaria was burning Jun with the green eyes. This made the boy sigh, but he followed her silent demand, came closer to Kirakishou and stroked her blonde hair. Soon after, a gentle voice of a young man reached the crying girl.

"It's alright, Kirakishou, such occurrences might happen and we are not troubled because of that in the slightest. It was actually my mistake to put you in one team with this clumsy idiot."

Kanaria gasped but did not say a word. As Jun gazed at her with a smug smile, he witnessed the doll showing her tongue in displeasure. This made him giggle a bit, but after a second he stopped and faced Kirakishou, whose crying went down to quiet sobbing.

There was a truth in Jun´s words, he was the one who managed the teams for outside research. This time two out of three groups came back here after an unpleasant incident. He planned on experimenting with their teamwork, but such a change appeared to be a failure. Even though it's been a year since Kirakishou got her physical appearance, she was not able to explore the world much. She stayed in the unwound world, where Rozen Maidens´ existence should not be possible. Thus only when Jun from the wound world would come to take her on a mission, she was able to move on her own.

This resulted in slow growth in the form of her understanding of this world. Kirakishou´s curiosity often led to the dangerous situation, but thanks to her sisters´ care she was not suffering much from it. At first, such a troublesome presence was slowing them down, but soon they got used to it and even found out the benefits as Kirakishou was progressing. But leaving the least immature girl to Kanaria, who can either make the most productive work or be the fifth wheel in an entire process was indeed a risk.

"Go to Nori, she will clean you up. After that, we will pay a visit to the grown-up myself."

At Jun´s words, Kirakishou´s mood was slightly improved, which proves a slight smile on her face. She reached out for the boy's hand, which was so big in comparison to the doll´s that she lifted it with two of her hands. Upon lowering it from her head, she gifted Jun even a bigger grin with her only eye widely open. It was a rather creepy habit of hers, but Jun witnessed it so many times that he got used to it. Only red spots from the tears pointed at her pure intentions.

"You are too kind, my master."

After these words she left, leaving in the dining room the last group. No need to say that he expected an unknown discovery. His gaze was directed at the one Rozen Maiden who through all this tantrum was waiting patiently for her turn to speak. As soon as she noticed Jun´s curious gaze she bowed politely, holding her tophat with one hand, and started to speak.

"We are back from our trip master, I hope you did not overwork yourself while we were absent."

"Everything was fine, more importantly, wh… where is Suigintou?"

As he was ready to present his question, he noticed that there were only two dolls remaining in the room, Souseiseki in front of him and Kanaria on a chair nearby. Just a few moments ago he surely saw a girl in a black dress with a pair of dark wings at her back. Suigintou was quietly examining all this mess sitting by the table, but now she is gone, which left Jun dumbfounded.

"Did she leave, I suppose?"

Kanaria made a surprised look and started to examine the room, she did not notice her sister's disappearance as well, despite having the closest seat to her. The one whose face did not show any sense of surprise was Souseiseki, with a slight cough, she proceeded to speak.

"She left as you were calming down Kirakishou."

"Wha? Why didn't you stop her?"

Jun was a bit embittered by her attitude, she always preferred acting on her own, which was not much of a deal, but when there must be new information from her side, she should at least let him know about it.

"I did not want to anger her, so I let her go."

"But you discovered something on your trip, right? Then why would she keep silent about it!?"

This time Jun was truly angered, even though they have a clue for Shinku´s revival, they are not serious even in the slightest. And if he could overlook Suigintou´s carelessness about it, then Souseiseki really disappointed him. He cast his gaze aside, catching Kanaria, who was standing bemused at his words, but then Souseiseki´s words returned his attention back to her.

"...I am sorry, but we did not find anything important during our research, that's the reason I let her go."