To say that he wasn't feeling well would be a vast understatement. Being sick sucked. He had to constantly ask Mako to babysit. While it meant free food, which was a massive upside, Rex was definitely getting tired of fish. As much of a positive spirit Mako was, there was also a limit to how much the man could take. Mako was having to deal with both his boat and watching after Alice. The combination of the two made the fisherman more irritable than Rex had ever seen him. Rex had almost recovered from being sick, yet he still wasn't at a point where he could watch over Alice.

Alice had become more interested in the outside world recently, and now tried to escape every time someone wasn't watching her. At first it was slightly funny, now however, it was a slight problem. Her general ignorance about how most things happened in the world, meant that Rex couldn't trust her to her own devices. Not yet at the very least.

He let out a deep sigh, Mako was no longer an option for essentially free babysitting. That left his options with very few people. Roba and Weevil were at an event in Germany, and Rex didn't trust Bones enough to allow him into his apartment. Something about him changed ever since battle city, Bones became more reclusive, almost hollow. Back when Rex was still a duelist, he had tried reaching out to Bones. Apparently the only appearances of the boy were at a café. Nobody knew where he lived, or even where the rest of his posse were, the only thing anyone knew was that he frequented the "Lone Wolf Café". When Rex found him, he was in complete shambles. He kept emphasizing a certain group of people. The "shadow people". Saying that the shadows spoke to him, and told him secrets. Dark secretes.

Rex recalled the event vividly in his mind. It had freaked him out enough to the point where he didn't sleep that night. Bones had always been creepy, but his terror had always been on a superstitial level. It was like a jumpscare, while it was happening it was very scary, but once it was over it no longer had a lasting effect on you. Now… now was a different story. Even now Rex could feel himself recoil from the slight remembrance of Bones. How he ever so subtly smiled when he mentioned the "shadow people". How his voice became nothing but an excited series of whispers at the prospect of showing someone "true fear". Rex asked about the shadow people, that had been a mistake. Bones made no response, instead his eyes went very wide, not out of terror, but out of spite. His lips narrowed and furrowed into a small rage. Without another word, Bones merely just left the table. Leaving a visibly scared, and confused, Rex there.

So, it was safe to assume that Bones was not on babysitting duty. That only left one option. Rex scrunched his nose slightly, he'd rather leave her out of this, but now he had no choice.

A few hours later, there were a series of knocks on the door. Rex got up from his couch and stumbled slightly to the door. He got up too fast and blood rushed to his head, causing his normally coordinated actions more sloppy. After waiting for a few minutes to stabilize himself again, he opened it. Only to see a blonde slightly tip her sunglasses forward.

"You took your sweet time getting to the door."

"It's called being sick Valentine. Believe it or not, It does make me slower than usual."

"That's certainly saying something."

That made his eye twitch.

The blonde let out a sickly sweet laugh, "calm down dino-breath, it was a joke."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get in here already."

Mai didn't argue with him, rather, she simply obliged and walked into the apartment. She was greeted with another blonde. It was more of a blonde bullet, headed straight for a tackle. Rex could've sworn that she was saying something, yet he couldn't pick it out.

Mai let out a groan and a forced smile. "Nice to see you too kid."

Rex let out a gentle smile, "good to see you two are gonna get caught up. Alice, you stay with Ms. Valentine, her word is law.."

"Okay Mister Rex!"

"Valentine, don't blow up my apartment."

Mai let out a devilish grin, and in a very sing-song voice answered. "Okay Mister Rex"

Mai and Alice made eye contact, and the pair laughed heartily. Meanwhile, Rex let out a quiet "stop that" as he simply passed the two of them and went into his bed. His cold was catching up with him and he was beginning to feel tired. For now, he'd just have to trust Mai to look after Alice.

"So, kid."

"Yes ma'm?"

"How old are you?"

"Hmmm… I think I'm an adult…"

"You think? Meaning you don't know?"

"Sorry, I don't quite remember. I just remember mister Rex telling me about adults, and it seems like fun, so I wanna be an adult!"

Mai couldn't help but smirk, that was definitely a kid thing to say. The way Alice talked reminded her of a certain other blonde. Now he definitely was a kid… at least in some regards.

"Alice?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know any other women?"

"No! You're the only one!"

"Why does that not surprise me?" Mai whispered under her breath.

"What did you say?" Alice curiously tilted her head.

"O-oh nothing dear, anyway, that needs to change. Rex can only teach you so much, especially about… womanly things."

"What kind of womanly things?"

This threw Mai for a slight loop. She had been vague on purpose. There were definitely things that she had never wanted to explain. Now, she never meant to go toward something like the birds and the bees, yet when she said "womanly" that was one of the first things her mind gravitated towards.

"Curse you perverted thoughts! Now the kid's looking at me for an explanation. Quickly, think Valentine. What else is 'womanly'? What else is-"

"Hair!" Mai suddenly spat out.

"Hmm? Hair?" Alice questioned politely.

"Yes-hair-of course! Ha ha ha… ehhhhh" Mai couldn't help but add the slight awkward laugh at the end. She was glad that she was able to change the subject from what she originally thought, but now she had no clue what she was going to talk about. Her silent hope was that Alice would pick up the conversation.

"Well, mister Rex already taught me about hair." Alice rethorted, matter-of-factly.

Mai's eyebrow raised slightly. "He did?" Now this was something she had to hear.

"Yes, he taught me how to brush it, and blow dry it, and he told me that I had to wash it at least twice a day. Once, after I woke up. The other, before I went to bed." Alice repeated all this like it was the most important information in the world, which Mai found slightly cute.

"With his amount of hair, I wouldn't find it surprising that dino-breath knew how to take care of hair. Yet, it does make me interested. How much does he know?"

"Alice my dear, could you show me how you manage your hair?"

"Okay!" The girl replied cheerfully.

The pair went to Rex's bathroom. Mai couldn't help but notice how clean it was, she let out a slight chuckle at the mental image of Rex buissily cleaning. She never pictured the boy as someone who focused on cleanliness.

Despite her previous doubts, Mai could not help but be gently impressed with the level of depth that Rex knew about hair. Alice repeated everything that he taught her, and went through all the motions of haircare. It was true, Rex really did teach her everything that she needed to know. Yet there was a brief thought that went across her mind. Why was it that Rex was the one who taught her these things? She may be young, but she was definitely old enough to know how to learn hair care before she lived with Rex.

"Come to think of it, she should have known her measurements as well. So, why did I have to get them from her? These are things that people should naturally know. So, why did she not know these things?"

"Ms. Valentine?" Alice called out to Mai. There had been several minutes of silence from the older blonde, in which Alice quietly became concerned.

That's right, she had to take care of Alice for right now. There would be time to ask questions later. Too many things didn't add up, too many inconsistencies had begun to form in Mai's mind. For now, she'd have to wait to ask these freshly formed questions.

Mai let out a simple smile. "I see Rex didn't teach you about braiding hair. I was just thinking that I could teach you."

"Can you!?" Alice excitedly asked.

Mai let loose one of her shrill fake laughs. "Don't underestimate my womanly intuition my dear! Of course I can!"

Alice's already bright face, lit up even more.

The pair had spent the entire day together. Soon, Mai had forgotten about her questions. She was far too busy having fun. Alice was like the younger sister she didn't have. Of course there was Tea and Serenity, and if Mai really wanted to stretch it, Rebecca. Yet, there was something more profound with Alice. Her childlike innocence, and general ignorance, made her feel more like an elder sister. She went from teaching her about braids, to having an explosion of everything she could think of. There were many things, some having nothing to do with the other. Yet, Alice listened quietly. She absorbed everything Mai was saying rapidly, and treated it like they were incredibly important. Mai secretly loved this, and it compelled her to talk and share more with the girl. Soon, it was becoming evening. Alice, excited from the long day, had peacefully fallen asleep on the coach. Leaving Mai to lovingly watch over her. Her hair was braided, she had foundation on her face, and some eyeliner. Alice didn't need makeup, which only amplified how good she looked in it. That did slightly frustrate Mai, but she was willing to cope with it.

There was a subtle shift in the room over.

"It was about time he woke up."

The questions that Mai had forgotten came back to her. Now it was time to get some answers to them.

"Hey Rex, we need to talk." She started.

Rex had not expected this when he woke up from his nap. First, this was one of the few times Mai didn't call him "dino-breath". Second, he had never seen her take this serious of a tone. He instantly became concerned.

"What's up Mai? Did Alice do something?" He noticed that Alice had been sleeping peacefully next to her.

Mai took a deep sigh, "It's not really her, but it's about her."

There was a brief pause. Rex knew that this wasn't going to be good. No offense to his friends, but Mai had been way more observant than them. If anyone was going to find holes in his weak cover story for her, it would be Mai.

A few moments later, his suspicions had been confirmed. She may not have believed him, but he had no other option. He had to tell her the truth.

AN: Alright, it's defiantly been a while since I've updated. I'm so sorry about that. My family came down with COVID, yeah, my entire family. Plus college actually finally caught up with me, So I had to deal with both of those things and before I knew it, it had been a very loooooong time since I had updated my story. I know this chapter is a bit short, but I'm still getting used to writing again, so, hopefully it will come out better next time.

Till next time, I'll see you later!
Stay tuned~