Twisted Wonderland | Mickey's Print

14. Asking For Apologies

"Helloooooooooo? Can you hear me?" Grim's high-pitched voice asked.

Yuu felt like waking up from a trance when he found himself in the rose maze again. He was standing next to Ace and Deuce. Grim was at his feet, tugging his pants with one of his paws.

He blinked a few times and looked at them in surprise.

"You're finally back to your senses," Ace said.

"Good thing, I thought you were traumatized by the battle," Deuce sighed, relieved.

"What? Did I got distracted?" Yuu asked.

"You were still like a statue, and when I commented that you had not fallen to your knees after experiencing somethin' terrifying, you stood up and walked as if someone controlled you. Your eyes were wide open and you barely blinked. It was so creepy, yanno!" Grim explained. "We talked to you, but you wouldn't answer. What the hell happened to you?"

"I... I don't know," he stammered in response.

He wasn't exactly lying, he still remembered that strange encounter with Riddle and his memories, but he still couldn't find an explanation for that.

The atmosphere had returned to the blue and sunny day of that afternoon, with the difference that the garden had suffered destruction and havoc as a result of the battle. Trey was still kneeling next to Riddle's unconscious body, next to him stood Cater and the Headmaster, who had returned, holding their breath.

They noticed Riddle squeezing both of his eyes as if he were going to finally wake up. Trey gasped in surprise and gently shook his shoulder.

"Riddle!!!" He called again.

Riddle's eyes snapped open on a loud exhale.

"Oh, he opened his eyes!" Ace said with a discontent face, indicating that he was not going to put aside what had happened minutes ago.

Cater sighed in relief. "Ah, thank goodness! We didn't know if you were going to wake up or not!"

Between gasps, Riddle straightened and looked around him before narrowing his eyes in reaction to the mess in the garden. "I... What have I done?" He asked.

"What a relief," Crowley smiled. "At last he came back to his senses."

Trey put his arm around Riddle's back to help him lean on. "Don't think about anything now, just rest," he replied.

Ace was the only one who didn't seem happy with the situation and crossed his arms.

"Ah, come on! Of course, he's going to throw a tantrum like that when he's scolded if all you do is spoil him like this all the time." He gestured around him and Trey looked away. "The garden is a mess and we're in trouble!"

"It really was crazy," Deuce commented.

"Good grief, it's really not a good thing to swallow and bottle up stress," Grim sighed disdainfully.

Still standing on the ground, Riddle watched Ace with a look that reflected his weariness and despondency. "I..." He murmured after looking at him for several seconds in silence. "I really wanted to eat those Mont Blanc tarts..."

"What?" Ace asked, surprised by the confession.

"Roses are fine being white... And so do flamingos by being pink," Riddle continued. "I prefer adding honey to my tea rather than sugar cubes, and I like milk tea more than lemon tea." He closed his eyes in frustration. "I also want to talk with others while we eat..."

With that, Yuu finally understood why Riddle seemed frustrated the moment he had the tarts thrown out for being 'against the rules' and why he constantly repeated his insistence on following them.