Ok, so I have time on my hands tonight before I hit the hay so I'll be uploading all of the chapters so Yuichiro in Wonderland is also complete on here. I do have other completed works that will be uploaded on here soon. If my readers over by AO3 love them, then you all will love them as well. Enjoy!
Chapter 9
Croquet Game
"Do you play croquet?" Mahiru asks, batting her eyes rather sweetly but Mika didn't like it one bit, knowing she'll no doubt be up to something.
Yuu answers with a bow, even though her question was not expected, "Yes Your Majesty."
Mahiru is more than pleased to hear that as she calls out with an arm draped around the boy's shoulder, "Then let the game begin!"
Kimizuki and Yoichi blow their trumpets to make the announcement official with the card guards getting the field prepared. With the preparations underway, Mika gently takes Yuu's hand and pulls him off to the side. "Yuu-chan, I must warn you to be careful during this game. The Red Queen is known for cheating, being certain that she'll win every time."
To learn that Mahiru likes to cheat did upset Yuu, thinking that this game won't be fair for him. "So whenever she does cheat, do not call her out on it. People might agree with you but they don't have the guts to stand up to her in her presence without being sentenced. Promise me you'll keep your cool and not do anything that'll make her mad."
Appreciating that Mika is making sure he'll get out of this alive, Yuu decides to follow his advice and nods, agreeing to do what he told him. Relieved that he will take his advice, the. Cheshire Cat takes his pinky and entwine it with Yuu's, making a pinky promise with their foreheads touching.
With the arches set and the two rabbits gather two flamingoes, Mika whispers to Yuu before he goes to join the game, "Good luck, Yuu-chan."
Once everything was all set and Yuu is ready to play, Mahiru takes one flamingo as her bat with a small hedgehog as the ball. As Mahiru takes careful aim on her first turn, Yuu takes the other flamingo only to have the bird make so much ruckus, breaking her concentration. "Silence!" Aoi yells, causing Yuu to clamp his flamingo's beak shut, mouthing a 'sorry' to Mahiru and she went back to concentrating.
Just watching the game is already making Mika nervous for his friend. Once enough power had been built up, Mahiru swings hard only to miss her ball completely, but the little hedgehog went ahead and started to roll ahead to Mahiru's pleasure but Yuu's shock. Yuu was close to tell her off when he remembered Mika's words. Glancing over to the gathered audience, the boy could see that the Cheshire Cat is really nervous about this rigged game.
So Yuu stays quiet as he watches the hedgehog roll under the arches with a couple of them moving, allowing Mahiru to gain points. After sending the ball off again, the cards move to form a long line, however one card missed it completely, with Mahiru not too pleased.
Knowing of what needs to be done for her sweetheart, Aoi makes the sentencing instead, "Off with his head!" And so two guards grabs the unfortunate one and drag him away to have his sentence carried out.
"It's your turn, my dear." Mahiru then says almost gently now that her turn is over.
"Yes, ma'am." With that Mahiru walks off the court and stands beside Mika as Yuu prepares his bat with a different ball.
Glancing over to him, Mahiru could sense that Mika will be rooting for the outsider during the game and she could also sense a special feeling he holds for the raven. She just might be able to use that to her advantage.
Yuu gets ready to play his turn when his flamingo decided to fool around and go limp in his arms, causing the two queens to chuckle and a few guards to snicker at his gameplay. Trying again, Yuu holds the flamingo more by its neck and being low to the ground that once he went to hit the ball, the flamingo's legs shot straight up with Yuu laying right on its back, which in turn caused the audience to laugh their heads off.
The raven just couldn't believe that his flamingo has to give him a hard time while trying to play the game. So he had tried to reverse the pink bird's position so it was laying on its back and his legs right against his midsection only to have it start kicking him, somehow making him ticklish. Watching everything happen on the court, Mika had to glance away at the fact that even the flamingo is making it difficult for Yuu to win the game.
When the bird had finally stopped kicking/tickling him, Yuu glares at it. "Do you want the queens to Sentence the both of us to lose our heads?" The flamingo nods with a squawk of a giggle. "Well I don't!"
Then the flamingo flips them both until it was sitting right on top of him and as it tries to fly away, Yuu grabs at its legs to keep it down with the audience still laughing.
But then they stop laughing to see what happens next, making them cheer instead. To hear the audience cheer instead of laugh, Mahiru, Aoi and Mika look back only to have both queens gawking and Mika to blush a deep red; the flamingo is standing, Yuu is laying on his back with the bird holding his legs and swing them up and down like it was playing instead of the boy and even the hedgehog enjoyed what the flamingo pulled off.
Having enough of this foolishness and looking like an idiot, Yuu snatches the flamingo by the neck, set his ball and uses his full force through his flamingo to send the hedgehog flying through arches until it hits a rose bush, causing a couple roses to fall out.
This had left the crowds cheer and laugh almost at the same time as Mahiru gets ready for her next turn with Yuu stepping off the court. Now by each other, Mika then speaks loud enough only for Yuu to hear him, "That was a very good shot, Yuu-chan. There's something I should add. She will lose her temper if an opponent proves to be a challenge and wins at this game instead of her. So as this game continues, play with more caution each round."
This may have been set as a warning, but it had only made Yuu more determined to win against her.
Time flies during the game and by the end of it, Mahiru is left speechless: Yuichiro had won her game. He had proven himself a challenge and was announced the victor, the audience also left speechless until Mikaela applause loudly and soon eventually the crowds applaud and even cheer.
But this had only angered Mahiru, no one in Wonderland ever stood a chance against her. Just as she is about to sentence him, she is stopped when a hand is placed on her shoulder. "My queen, perhaps it is best if he has a trial before you sentence him."
To hear King Guren make that suggestion left Yuu and Mika hopeful that he can get out of being sentenced. "Oh very well, my king. Let the trial begin!"
