Four girls were in the castle, in the room where the Princess once slept. It had silencing seals so they wouldn't disturb the Queen and her important guests, but still allow them someone to talk to without being bored out of their minds.
Ichigo, the least mature of the four had bright pink hair that made it hard for most people to believe she was an expert blackbelt and baker. She was considered the second-best master of her father's style and could beat anyone at hand-to-hand...when she wasn't gushing about sweets or fashion.
Kaori, the most mature and cool headed of the four. She had deep sapphire blue hair, and looked more like a feminine version of her father than her mother, complete with fashionable glasses. She was an excellent accountant, and the first to make a plan that the others could follow. It was usually her ideas that got the Princesses plans to work like she wanted them to.
Himeko, the tomboy of the four. Her parents were the only ones that weren't married to each other, being the product of a rather odd custody agreement since her mother was a lesbian. In return for bearing her father an heir (so his friends would quit annoying him with stories of their own daughters) her mother had her. She visited often, and the two got along fine, but she preferred living with her dad. She was a master swordswoman, and often wore a kendo sword at her side, seeing as how the nobles got nervous around real blades. She had short black hair that reached her neck, had an even mixture of her mother's looks and her father's personality.
Regina. The biggest fashionista, she kept the others up-to-date style wise. She had dark blond hair which looked like wheat that she kept pinned around her head to make it easier to maintain. If she left it undone, it took hours to get it brushed. She had the best color coordination and was ironically enough the first one to figure out the weakness of whatever opponents their mothers let them fight against in time for Kaori to find a way to kill it. She was decent at a sword, but she preferred her chains. So many style choices, so little time!
"I can't believe she ditched us without any explanation," whined Regina.
"I can. 'Oh Princess, I have a handsome son I would love for you to meet.', 'Princess, have some free samples of our family's specialty clothing and food!'. It was enough to make anyone sick!" said Himeko in disgust.
"I'm surprised it took this long for her to finally snap and take Dad on the suggestion to graduate in the past, where people wouldn't know who she was."
"Why didn't she take us though!" whined Ichigo.
"She was in a hurry. Apparently her alternate self, Chibiusa, landed in the wrong timeline and she had to rush in order to deal with it before the time got unraveled," said Kaori.
The four made identical faces at the mention of the other princess. The one who was so spoiled and lazy she couldn't find a way to deal with the fact she got stuck at nine years old for nine hundred years, or that she couldn't use the Silver Crystal like her mother. Not to mention the fact they had to outsource the Inner court, since for some reason the old Princesses became celibate in order to 'better serve the Queen'.
None of them had fulfilled their individual dreams. It was ridiculous.
"At least she took Diana with her," said Kaori finally.
"Yeah, but she left in such a hurry that she forgot her travel bag and everything else!"
It was Ichigo who came up with an idea that had the other girls grinning mischievously.
"Why don't we bring her stuff with us?" she asked innocently.
"We are supposed to be her back up..." said Himeko evilly.
"And it would be nice to fight without having our mom's correct us after every fight..." said Regina thoughtfully, before her grin widened "Plus think of all the fashions they had back in the past!"
"Not to mention the fact we keep getting denied in making a maid cafe," said Kaori crossly.
In the spirit of copying Uncle Tamaki's idea and making life-long friends, the girls had tried to make a maid cafe, since there wasn't any female version of a host club without having them strip. The closest thing she could find was a maid cafe.
Her father and the others were all for it. The nobles were not. They had issues with any idea that had the girls calling other's "master". They claimed it would give the other planets the wrong idea. Even Nozomi, Ciel's cousin (on her mother's side) couldn't get one started. She wasn't part of the Inner Court, but she was part of the Royal family.
Nozomi had dark blond hair, her mother's calm demeanor and her father's flair for the dramatic. She occasionally wore dresses, but most of the time she could be found in a pair of jeans and a funny t-shirt. Her eyes were the familiar blue of her father, but her face was entirely her mother's. Like her father she loved to cosplay and read the older works and could play the piano...but she inherited her cooking skills from her mother. Not to mention the common sense.
"So we're all agreed?" asked Regina.
"Should we bring Nozomi with us?"
"I don't see why not. I mean she has to deal with the same nonsense Ciel did, and you know she'll never let us live it down that we got to see our parents before the Queen took over and she didn't."
Minds made up, they went to speak to the Queen and Setsuna about getting permission to borrow the Time Watches so they could get some time away from royal life.
Or at the very least have some adventures that wouldn't have their mothers critiquing their performance.
Queen Usagi looked at the girls with an amused gaze.
"I suppose there's no harm in allowing the five of you to leave. The same rules apply to you as they do to Ciel and everyone else. No major changes, and no discussing future events unless there is absolutely no other choice."
"So when should we make our expense accounts, background information and applications?" asked Kaori. Leave it to the smartest and most level-headed of the five to remember important things like that.
"I'm sure Ciel can come up with living accommodations...as for your expense accounts..." said Kyoya. He went into the back and pulled out five odd colored cards.
It wasn't uncommon for those who were authorized to use Time Watches to forget that currency has a tendency to change, and often. It was easier to give everyone who got a Watch a version of a credit card that wasn't actually connected to anything, but would register as 'paid' to any computer it connected to, or allow them to get cash from any ATM connected to the internet.
For all intents and purposes, they had an unlimited card. So long as they didn't draw any attention to it, or the fact most of the information that would automatically load once they first used the card was fake, no one would find out they were from the future unless they said something.
All watches were also equipped with a spell that would allow people to remember faces, but would prevent any connections from being formed to any of the people in the past. Once the girls left, their parents were likely to forget them as 'old classmates', and it would stay that way until they were born and things had already settled down. That was the easiest way to prevent paradoxes, since people have a habit of trying to regain any 'lost' memories.
The girls got packed, and put a few things in a suitcase for Ciel as well, since she had forgotten to pack in her hurry to leave. They also got a few things for Diana, since she wasn't much better.
Kyoya's first indication that some new surprises were arriving was the sudden formation of a 'maid cafe' not too far from where the host club had it's room. Considering most of the girls at the school would have great difficultly cooking without the help of the teachers (barring those coming from families known to cook), and those that did would find being a maid either demeaning or their parents would raise hell, it was pretty obvious something was up.
He was still amazed Tamaki managed to pull off the formation of a host club. Probably because he was the superintendent's son and because it did actually form useful connections for later without being too degrading.
Naturally he had to see this new cafe for himself. One look inside and he knew who had managed to get away with forming a maid cafe without causing alarms.
A pink haired girl who bore an unnaturally strong resemblance with Honey-sempai with Makoto-san's eyes spotted him instantly.
"Ah! Kyoya-jii-san! Did you come to help or just to see what it was about?"
Kyoya's mind went on a three-second standstill, before he replied "I came to see who managed to pull off a maid cafe without anyone raising a fuss. I should have known more scouts from the future had come to get an education without having to deal with politics getting in the way."
The pink haired girl brightened.
"Has Ciel found out about us being here yet?"
"I would say no."
"Yay! That means there's still time for cake and a party!" said the girl brightly.
It was like Honey's natural childish personality had grafted itself onto a strawberry pink girl with Makoto's long legs and love of cooking.
(To put Ichigo into perspective, imagine a human version of Pinkie Pie only with brown eyes instead of blue, and an extensive knowledge of martial arts.)
Then Kyoya saw someone that gave him a headache.
A deep sapphire haired girl with fashionable glasses walked up, carrying an ever present clipboard and a red pen.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Exactly how many of you came?"
"Everyone in the inner court and Ciel's cousin Nozomi," said the girl without hesitation. Her voice was as calm and blunt as his own.
"Once you get everything set up, I'll bring everyone over. Until then close the door, otherwise you'll just ruin the surprise," said Kyoya finally.
"I told Ichigo to lock the door, but she forgets we're in a school where people aren't used to hard work, or setting things up without delegating it to common folk," said the girl.
"Come on Kaori, it's not like we couldn't have gotten someone to help!" said Ichigo.
"This is a school full of rich, lazy heirs who only keep their grades up because it's expected of them and because it gives them more pocket money each month. Unless it's Aunt Haruhi or Uncle Mori, I highly doubt any of them even know how to set half of this up," said Kaori crisply.
"Not to mention Tou-san would just cause us all headaches once he finds out who we are," said a tired voice. From her appearance Kyoya guess that this was Nozomi. Clearly she was Tamaki's daughter with Haruhi.
"Should I tell Ciel you're here yet?"
"And ruin your hearing early?" said Kaori.
Kyouya pushed up his glasses.
"Point taken."
He left, and Kaori firmly locked the door. With no more interruptions it took them a few hours to set all the tables up, the place holders and the snack trays courtesy of Nozomi, Ichigo and ironically Kaori. Regina set them in a way that would provide maximum appeal to the sweets without distracting the customers from the 'maids'.
Regina had them all in formal kimono, mostly because it was the first thing she could find that wouldn't get them in trouble. At least until she got some better inspiration. Ichigo planned on loaning her a series she was hooked on called "Kaichou wa Maid-Sama". The costumes from that series should be right up Regina's alley.
Kyoya waited until he got a text from Kaori, who had gotten his phone number directly from him before leaving to the past, before convincing the Host Club, the Scouts, and Nekozawa into seeing the cafe before it opened officially.
The moment Ciel saw the 'maids', she let off a high pitched squeal and ran over to her friends and cousin before talking a mile a minute.
Kyoya was glad for the forewarning, because he had been nowhere near her when she went off. He felt sorry for Kaoru, who had been right next to her.
"Kyoya...why does that blue haired girl look almost identical to you?" asked Haruhi slowly.
"Ciel, perhaps you should make the introductions," said Kyoya pleasantly.
Ciel brightened up, before she went over to each girl and decided to take a page out of her uncle Tamaki's book.
"Ichigo Haninozuka, expert martial artist and cook. Her favorite things are cake, anime, cosplay and training with her dad," said Ciel, standing next to the very cheerful pinkette.
"Himeko Morinozuka, considered one of the best swordswomen and part-time Miko, she generally keeps Ichigo out of trouble. She likes collecting swords, sparring, sports and generally being a tomboy," said Ciel, standing beside the short raven haired girl who had a single hand up and said "Yo."
"Kaori Otori. She an actual doctor, despite how old she appears, and the one who comes up with the plans that make things work. She hates waking up in the morning, and can be a real dragon if you get her up too early. Her likes are math, gardening, mixing up medicine, and strangely enough poisons," said Ciel, as the sapphire girl who looked like a female Kyoya with Ami's hair coloring smiled at the Host club, sending the horrifying realization of 'Holy crap, there's two of them now!' in the minds of everyone BUT Kyoya.
"Regina Hitachiin, resident fashionista and the first one to spot any weakness she can find. She has major color coordination and beware her wrath if she finds you're wearing something that clashes. From what I understand she's worse than that crazy Otaku Renge. She like fashion, sewing, and music," said Ciel, next to a dark blond girl wearing chains as a belt.
"And finally, my cousin Nozomi. She's got her mom's common sense and her dad's flair for the dramatic when the mood strikes her. She's also the second best cook in the group."
Tamaki looked at Kyoya in confusion.
"Ciel...who are these girls?" he asked slowly. It was bad enough finding out his niece had come from the future and that his sister was an honest-to-kami magical girl.
"I should this it was obvious Tamaki-jii-san. We're Ciel's inner court from the future...well that and her cousin, since we couldn't leave that headache behind without having Nozomi complain about leaving her."
Nozomi might not have inherited any magical powers, but she did play a vital role in battle nonetheless.
Her job was to get any noncombatants out of the way, so they could focus on the fighting. Most people would complain about something they considered a minor role, but Ciel had explained it to her in a way she could accept.
With her mother's common sense and her father's flair, she could convince civilians to get out of the area so they didn't have to worry about collateral damage. From what they heard of the Queen's old exploits, there had been a few injuries during their battles that could have been prevented had someone taken the time to evacuate the area while they kept the monsters busy. And they made sure to include her whenever they could, because she was one of them.
Tamaki stared at his future daughter...and fainted.
Honey and Mori accepted theirs with ease and it wasn't long (at least after a minor scuffle which was Haninozuka tradition) before the two were chatting about anything and everything from cakes to favorite animals and cute things.
The Hitachiin brothers were more interested in finding out which one of them was Regina's dad...and then learning she did in fact have a twin sister Emma that they left behind because she wasn't as interested in joining them. To be honest, they never did figure out which one of them was her father...and because they were twins it was highly unlikely they would figure it out.
Haruhi was the most confused, then again, she had never really bought the whole 'Usagi is a magical girl, and Ciel is actually her daughter' line.
With the introduction of Nozomi, who looked a lot like her mother with Tamaki's hair and eyes, it was starting to become a little more real to her.
Kaori...she remained the same as ever, while Kyoya asked where they were planning on staying and how they were paying for the application and living fees.
Fortunately that issue was already settled. The Nekozawa clan had a slightly smaller wing for those who practiced magic. It could be unpredictable at times and it was easier for them to do so in relative peace away from the others. Most of the rooms were rarely used, and they already knew about Ciel's situation anyway.
Odds were they would allow the girls to stay with their friend/cousin, since they were already paying for their own living expenses...in a way. Though their last names had been tweaked to avoid causing confusion.
They mostly took their mother's last names, or in the case of Nozomi, her cousin's last name.