Okay, this was supposed to be the action-packed finale for episode two, but it didn't quite work out that way. It seems episode two will instead be a five part episode. I wanted to keep it four parts like episode one but I don't think that'll work. Sorry about that. My hopeless romantic side got the better of me.

Rozen Maiden: Märchen

EPISODE 2

First Kiss

Jun was at the hospital visiting Tomoe. She was his friend. There was nothing wrong with that.

So why did it bother her so much?

Shinku had resorted to watching daytime television to try and distract herself from these thoughts. She flipped through the channels, trying to find the most mind-numbing programme being broadcast in the hopes that it might take her mind off things. Suiseiseki was right - she was jealous. Jealousy was hardly a trait worthy of a Rozen Maiden. How could she aspire to be Alice when she harboured such feelings?

She had told Nori that she was thinking of leaving. That was true. She was thinking about it. In doing so she had discovered that the mere thought of parting permanently from Jun made her distraught to the point of wanting to weep. Another behaviour unbecoming of a Rozen Maiden. It was really starting to bother her. Jun was her Medium and her servant. In that regard he'd performed quite admirably, and proven himself to be capable of much more than she'd initially believed. At some point she'd started to care for him however, and at some further point those feelings had changed into something more.

More and more she wanted to know if Jun shared these feelings, but how could she find out? It wasn't as if she could simply ask him; he was hopeless at expressing his feelings properly, a fact not helped by her teasing him about such matters in the past. She'd joked with him about having feelings towards him before, and promptly mocked his reactions to such advances. Perhaps she could show more kindness and compassion towards him ... except that whenever she tried that she'd see him spending time with Tomoe and find herself treating him with cold contempt. If anything, her behaviour towards him these past few days had only served to irritate him more than usual. It felt as if she were competing with Tomoe for his affection, and if that crazy thought happened to be true, what chance did she really have?

It's not like I'd get anything out of kissing a doll!

Shinku lowered the remote control and winced at that particular memory. Perhaps she was being foolish about this whole affair. Perhaps ... her feelings towards Jun were a mistake, and she should consider concentrating on fulfilling Father's wishes. She still had to restore Hinaichigo and Souseiseki, to say nothing of discovering the other ways of becoming Alice that Father had hinted at.

Shinku was snapped out of her thoughts by the television. The image on the screen (a particularly eccentric advertisement) was distorting and bending, as if it were being warped. She frowned and watched as the screen seemed to bulge outwards for a moment. Then, and to her considerable astonishment, Jun shot out of the screen and landed at her feet, cursing.

"Ow! That hurt."

Shinku blinked and turned her attention back to the television in time to witness an even more surprising sight; Suigintou followed, albeit slower and with more grace. She landed lightly in front of the television and scowled at Jun as he rubbed his bruised elbow.

"I told you to hold on to me," she said.

"Well excuse me for being a little cautious," he shot back, "Dolls have a habit of hitting me whenever I touch them."

"Jun? Suigintou?" Shinku didn't know what to make of this scene. At the back of her mind a semblance of an idea occurred to her - after taking Suigintou's Rosa Mystica during the Alice game she had witnessed memories of a certain sick girl, confined to a hospital bed. Suigintou's Medium. It was not only possible but likely that in visiting Tomoe at the hospital, Jun had run into Suigintou as well. The question now was, what was Suigintou doing here?

"Well hello, Shinku. Aren't you going to offer me any tea?" said Suigintou. She proceeded to wander around the room as if surveying it, whilst Jun dropped himself into the nearest chair looking thoroughly miserable.

"Jun, what's wrong?" Shinku asked, "And what is Suigintou doing here?"

"Suigintou is here to see the look on your face when Jun explains," Suigintou answered for him, smirking a little. Jun clutched his hand to his head as if it were in pain.

"It was Kirakishou again," he explained reluctantly, "She's stolen Tomoe's soul tree and she's threatening to destroy it unless ... unless ..."

"Unless what?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't. Guilt was visible on his face for anyone to see. He groaned and covered his face with his hands to hide it, whilst Suigintou stopped exploring and regarded him as if he were the pathetic wretch he currently felt himself to be.

"He can't even bring himself to say it. Well I can't say I'm surprised." She strolled in front of Shinku with her arms crossed, showing a mixture of smugness and annoyance. "Our adorable little sister says she wants your Rosa Mystica, Shinku."

Shinku was bewildered. She'd thought Kirakishou was after Barasuishou. So why? "My ... Rosa Mystica? For what reason?"

Suigintou directed her gaze at Jun. "Well, Jun? Shall you tell her or shall I?"

"Jun?" Shinku fixed her blue eyes upon her Medium, demanding an explanation. Jun clenched his hands tightly and stared at the floor in front of him.

"She said I had to choose between you and Tomoe," he finally answered, the words coming out with as much ease as if he were pulling teeth. Suigintou scoffed.

"Apparently Jun here is in love with you, Shinku," she said, filling in the information he was selectively omitting, "But he also has feelings for that Tomoe girl. Kirakishou intends to force him to choose which of you he loves most."

Shinku gasped. Jun ... loved her? But he had feelings for Tomoe as well. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. She actually felt faint. The remote control slipped from her grasp and her eyes widened as she tried to deal with this sudden information. Suigintou meanwhile leaned forwards and peered at her intently.

"That's the look I was waiting for," she said, sounding almost disappointed, "Hmm, for some reason it's not nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be."

"Jun ... is this true?" Shinku managed to whisper. Her Rosa Mystica burned brightly inside of her, becoming almost intolerable. A faint red blush appeared on her cheeks, whilst Jun was rapidly turning the same colour as her dress.

"Does it matter?" he said, still staring at the floor, "We have to think of something."

Suigintou snapped her head around and narrowed her eyes at him. "What is there to think about? There is no way Shinku is going to surrender her Rosa Mystica. Believe me, I know."

Shinku grabbed her dress and clutched it tightly, simply to have something to hold on to. It was true, then. Even though Jun cared for Tomoe, he did have feelings for her. She didn't know why Kirakishou had decided to do such a thing, but she found herself wanting to know the same answer as the seventh doll did.

"That's not what I meant," said Jun, meeting Suigintou's glare with one of his own, "I'm not going to play her stupid game. I'm saying we need to find some way to save Tomoe's tree before that maniac destroys it."

"No," said Shinku, startling the other two, "If Jun wishes to make his choice, I will abide by it."

They both stared at her, aghast. "What?" said Suigintou, not quite believing her ears.

"If Jun wishes to save Tomoe, I will surrender my Rosa Mystica to Kirakishou," Shinku clarified. What frightened her was that she meant it. She really would give up her Rosa Mystica if Jun wanted. What had happened to her?

Jun faced her, his expression and body language angry. "To hell with that! There's no way I'd want you to give up your life like that!"

She knew he'd say that, but she also knew what he was going to say next. "If I don't, Tomoe will die."

"We'll find a way of saving her. There's no reason anyone has to die."

Yes. She'd known he would say that as well. It was just like the situation with Nori, earlier. Jun couldn't, wouldn't make such a choice. Instead he'd insist on finding a third option. Shinku closed her eyes and bowed her head, relaxing the grip on her dress. "Jun, that may not be possible. I know you want to find another way, but there may not be one. Sooner or later you will have to face a choice that you cannot work around."

Jun threw himself back against his chair, his arms crossed defensively, almost sulking. "Forget it! There's always another way. If you can't find it then you're just not looking hard enough."

"As much as I hate to agree with him, he's right," said Suigintou, a little reluctantly, "There's no choice to be made here. You won't give up your Rosa Mystica because I wont let you."

Shinku opened her eyes and regarded Suigintou sadly. And why wouldn't Suigintou allow her? Because she wanted Shinku's Rosa Mystica for herself? Or because...

"Suigintou..."

"What? If anyone is going to take your Rosa Mystica, it is I," she said, though a flicker of doubt crossed her face. She turned away from Shinku slightly, trying to hide the concern she felt was showing in her eyes. "Besides, I..."

"Yes?"

She flashed Shinku an annoyed glance. "I don't want to see you dead any more than this idiot does. Okay? There. I said it."

Jun might have taken issue with being called an idiot if he weren't so surprised by her admission. He leaned forwards a little, curiosity getting the better of him. "Really? I always thought you hated Shinku."

She treated him to an annoyed glance as well, her teeth clenched, but said nothing. Her annoyance vanished completely when Shinku suddenly slipped off the couch and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, Suigintou!" Her voice was muffled by Suigintou's dress. The first Rozen Maiden doll was utterly shocked. She searched about, completely at a loss for what to do. When Shinku did not immediately let go of her, she recovered and gently wrapped her arms around her sister.

"You are such a fool, Shinku," she said softly. Jun thought for an instant that he saw her smile a little, but before he could be sure the two dolls separated. Shinku looked deeply into Suigintou's eyes, a single tear rolling down her warm cheek.

"I am ... sorry. For everything. Can you ever forgive me, Suigintou?"

Now she did smile, though for a change it was not a mocking or cruel smile. There was a sort of gentleness to it. She carefully brushed the tear from Shinku's face. "We'll see. For now though, I may have that third option for you..."

Suigintou refused to go into details, saying only that they would need Suiseiseki. Jun found her upstairs, peeking into his bedroom. She was observing Barasuishou as one might observe a tiger or a particularly venomous snake. Barasuishou was sitting on Jun's bed quitely reading one of Shinku's books. He decided to leave her there - no need to provoke Suigintou given that she seemed to be willing to help out. He reached down and grabbed a hold of Suiseiseki, startling the doll.

"Hey! What's the big idea, put me down!" she flailed about. Jun scowled.

"Will you knock that off? I need your help for something," he said, adjusting his hold on her so that she was more comfortable. She settled down a little.

"Well all right then. You only have to ask, there's no need to go sneaking up on me like that."

The reason he had opted to carry her instead of simply asking her to come with him became immediately apparent when they entered the front room. Suiseiseki saw Suigintou and Jun had to act very fast to keep a hold of her. Her hands continued to stretch out towards Suigintou in a vain effort to grab her.

"Let go of me! I am so going to turn that worthless Suigintou into junk you hear!"

Suigintou turned her nose up at the noisy doll. "Dear me Suiseiseki, you're not still holding a grudge against me for defeating Souseiseki in the Alice Game, are you?"

"Calm down! She's here to help," Jun said, still struggling to keep a firm grip on her. She stopped thrashing about for a moment and gawped.

"She's what now?"

Suigintou floated up towards Suiseiseki but kept just out of reach. "You heard Jun. I have an idea for helping his sick girlfriend, but we're going to need you to pull it off."

Jun blushed a little and tried not to look at Shinku. "Tomoe is not my girlfriend. Now are you gonna behave?" He addressed that last part to Suiseiseki, who had at least stopped trying to wriggle free. She clenched her hands tight and nodded, once. Jun carefully set her down on the ground and Suigintou floated down as well.

"There now, isn't that much better?" said Suigintou, "You really should watch that temper of yours-" she was cut off abruptly as Suiseiseki slapped her across the face. Suigintou raised a hand to her stinging cheek, momentarily surprised, whilst Suiseiseki's furious gaze bored into her.

"That was for Souseiseki," she said, her words etched with anger, "And believe me, if I weren't so sick of us fighting one another all the time I would so beat you into a pulp, you wretched sorry excuse for a sister, you!"

Jun fully expected Suigintou to fly into a rage and attack, and indeed the idea seemed to cross her mind. It vanished, replaced with a look of haughty self-control. "I suppose I deserved that. I know how much Souseiseki meant to you," she lowered her voice and spoke with an added layer of menace, saying; "Strike me again though and I will teach you some respect, or do I need to remind you what Souseiseki did to me once upon a time?"

When everyone had calmed down, Suigintou told them to meet her back at the hospital tonight when it was quiet, adding that Suiseiseki should bring Sui Dream with her. Saying nothing further, she left the same way she arrived. Suiseiseki promptly stormed off in a huff, leaving Shinku and Jun alone together in nervous silence.

"Jun, will you tell me something?" Shinku asked eventually. Jun swallowed. He really didn't feel like talking right now, as he had a vague idea what she wanted to ask.

"What?"

"Although we are taking Suigintou's help to resolve this situation, I was wondering ... if you had to choose, as Kirakishou intended..."

Who would he choose? Shinku or Tomoe? That was a rotten question and he'd sooner be in school right now, standing up in front of the entire classroom than answer it. He slumped down onto the ground in front of her, his eyes downcast.

"How can I possibly answer that? It's not a choice of who I care about the most, it's a question of who I'd let die. I don't want either of you to die."

Shinku moved closer to him, her face level with his. Jun tried not to look at her, but he felt her eyes burning into him. "Then tell me, Jun," she spoke softly, each word stinging Jun's heart in dreaded anticipation of what would come next, "If our lives were not at stake. If neither of us had to die. Who would you choose?"

Jun shut his eyes. "Shinku..."

When he opened them again she was gone. He heard Nori at the front door and heard her greeting Shinku. Jun sagged, his heart feeling as if it'd been squeezed to bursting point. He removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes.

"You Shinku, I'd choose you," he whispered.

The hospital was dead quiet that night. It was still staffed but at least there were no visitors and most of the patients were sound asleep. Even Megu was out like a light, and did not wake when a boy and three dolls entered her room and started talking.

"This is her," said Shinku, "the girl I saw in your memories. Your Medium."

Suigintou scowled. "Only by accident. I don't need a Medium and to be perfectly honest she's been more of a hindrance than a help to me."

"And yet you care for her a great deal. I am glad you have found someone to be with."

Suigintou opened her mouth to snap off a remark but decided against it. It was no use lying to Shinku, not after she'd held her Rosa Mystica. She turned her attention instead to the soulless girl on the adjacent bed. Jun stood at Tomoe's side with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Okay Suigintou," he said, "Lets hear it then."

A mischievous smile returned to Suigintou's lips. It would be interesting to see his reaction. She almost felt like rubbing her hands together. "It's very simple," she explained, "You just have to kiss her."

Jun froze. Granted he wasn't moving much prior to her speaking, but now he actually became motionless. Not a twitch or a shuffle. After several moments of silent shock his mouth moved, forming the word; "What?"

Suiseiseki buried her face in her hands and groaned. "She's right. I so don't believe I didn't think of this."

Jun gasped at her. "What? You mean she's serious? Please tell me this is some kind of joke."

"It's no joke, Jun," said Suigintou, relishing his discomfort, "If you want to find the poor girl's soul tree before midnight, then you're just going to have to kiss her."

Jun spluttered. "W-why? What good will that do? This isn't a fairy tale. She's not going to wake up if I k-kiss her!"

Suigintou tilted her head in the direction of Suiseiseki, inviting her sister to explain the details. Suiseiseki did so, trying hard not to think about how Shinku would be feeling right now. "People's dreams are linked through the branches of Yggdrasil, the world tree. The stronger the bond between two people, the stronger the link. If you can forge a strong enough emotional bond with Tomoe, we can follow the branches of Yggdrasil from your tree to hers. Since we don't have much time, and since Tomoe is trapped in this state and cannot interact with you, the only way to do that is for you to kiss her."

Jun listened to the words and wished this was all just a dream. Sadly he was very much awake and the clock was ticking. He could feel his face burning with the heat of embarrassment. He doubted very much if he would have the courage to kiss Tomoe even if she were awake and expecting it. Doing it while she was lying in a coma, and with Shinku watching ... this was a nightmare. This really was the worst weekend ever.

Suiseiseki moved to stand beside Shinku and clasped her hand, giving her sister a deeply sympathetic look. Shinku was rooted to the spot, her face completely devoid of expression or emotion. Jun looked from Tomoe to her, his blush deepening.

"Shinku..."

"Well Jun, what are you waiting for?" she said, her voice carefully neutral, even. Jun blinked at her in surprise.

"Huh?"

"If you wish to save her soul without giving Kirakishou mine, then you must kiss her. This is your choice, Jun. You said there was always another way. Here it is."

He couldn't tell if she were angry or sad. She gave nothing of her feelings away, and he felt lost, standing there as they waited for him to do something he wasn't really sure he wanted to do. Kiss her? He'd never kissed anyone before. This would be his first kiss. His first. Boys really shouldn't make such a big deal about that, but Jun felt like it was.

"But I ... I ..."

"Tick tock, Jun, tick tock," Suigintou glanced at her wrist as if checking the time. Suiseiseki glared at her.

"Shut up, you!"

She gave Jun a helpless look, knowing full well Shinku's feelings for him and what this would do to her, yet having no alternative to offer. Shinku continued to stand still as a statue, offering no protest or further comment. Jun wished she would. He wished she would cry out for him not to do it, or ask Suigintou for another way. Something, anything. Yet she didn't. She just stood there watching him with those cold blue eyes of hers, waiting for him to kiss the very girl she was jealous of, a kiss that he had refused to give her when he'd had the chance.

With the weight of their stares and the pressure of time at his back, Jun gazed at Tomoe's lips and tried to bury the sudden feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. This shouldn't be such an issue. It wasn't as if he were proposing to her, or ... or ... it was just a kiss. That's all. A kiss to save her soul. Poetic, even. He swallowed.

"Incidentally, you should put as much feeling into it as possible," Suigintou helpfully added, ever eager to twist the knife, "After all, the stronger the kiss the stronger the bond. You do want to find her tree in time, don't you?"

He silently wished Suiseiseki would slap her again. Feeling distinctly weak at the knees, Jun leaned down and pressed his lips against Tomoe's, closing his eyes as he did so. He followed Suigintou's advice just in case it was true, and poured his aching heart into the kiss, whilst his head felt as if someone had snuck in and lit a fire in his brain. Her lips were tender, warm. After what felt like an age, Jun pulled back and opened his eyes, half expecting to see her wake up as if this were some kind of fairy tale. Flushed with guilt he turned to the assembled dolls.

"There," he said, his voice so tiny and quiet as to be almost unheard. Shinku had still not moved. She did not even blink. Looking at her now, one could easily mistake her for an ordinary lifeless doll. Jun however couldn't even bring himself to look at her. He felt numb. Suigintou gestured towards Suiseiseki.

"Your turn, Gardener."

Suiseiseki let go of Shinku's hand and stepped forwards, her expression miserable. She summoned her artificial spirit and directed it towards Jun, who promptly folded up onto the floor, sound asleep. A swirling grey vortex appeared above him.

"Let us be off, there is not much time left," said Shinku, finally moving. She strolled past Suiseiseki and looked up at the open doorway.

"Oh, Shinku..." Suiseiseki murmured. Shinku either did not hear or chose to ignore her, floating up into the portal and vanishing without another word. Suigintou stopped at Suiseiseki's side and folded her arms.

"What's with the doe-eyed looks?" she asked.

Suiseiseki glanced sideways at Suigintou and narrowed her eyes. "Shinku is in love with Jun, and we just made him stab her in the heart. I hope you're happy," she snapped before vanishing into the portal, leaving a startled Suigintou behind.