#💎 Paladin's Broken Clover Of Clovers (Aichi Broken Wonderland AU)

[universestreasures]

The Mad Hater: Ren Suzugamori

Gift For @blasterdiablo and only they may reblog!!!

[universestreasures]

@jeweledknight​​ (Plotted Starter!)

“Wait up, Kai!” He calls out to the White Rabbit who his cerulean hues could barely keep up with as he ran through the halls of the Palace of Hearts. The other had been in a hurry ever since the two met, but whatever happened with the earthquake and that red light had caused him to pick up the pace considerably. Aichi can only figure he’s worried about the Queen, the very person the human was supposed to meet and supposably help, despite not knowing how exactly he can or how to do it.

The halls of the palace were coated in bright reds and stark blacks, everything slowly blending together as he did his best to follow where the rabbit went. It was like a maze in here! Every hallway looked the same to Aichi at least, and with his lack of physical speed in comparison to Kai, it made the task of trying to follow him to his destination rather difficult. Not to mention, he’s running low on energy. He didn’t exactly eat anything since he got here other than those weird eat-me drink-me foods that changed his size.

Was he really just dreaming all of this? 

The boy came to question that more and more as his time in Wonderland continued, and at this point? He’s feeling unsure. He certainly wasn’t creative enough to make up stuff like this. Furthermore, there was something so real about the people here, as mad and nonsensical as they can be. He felt it from every single resident he’s encountered so far, especially the White Rabbit in relation to his concern about his queen. It reminded him of how Emi was always concerned about him, or how his late father was with his mother. 

Feelings like that...are not so easily fabricated, even in a dream. 

Unfortunately for the boy clad in blue, he had lost track of Kai despite his best efforts at the turn of a corner. This left Aichi stranded in the center of a hallway, one that was surrounded by multiple doors and staircases. Little did he know he had made it to the palace’s center, it’s very heart if you will, that connects all of the major sections together. 

If he chooses the right one, he’ll probably be able to catch up with the White Rabbit quickly. Sadly, that was easier said that done considering he had too many options to pick from. Just his luck to get separated from his guide. 

“Come on, Aichi. You can do this. You just need to go in the door Kai did.” He gives himself a little pep talk, the boy doing his best to emulate his sister’s encouraging speeches. If he’s made it this far, surely he can keep going, right? He couldn’t let this crazy adventure just end here, not when he had a promise to keep to Kai. 

So, with a deep breath, Aichi decides to go for the door all the way to the left, having sworn he heard footsteps in that direction. Opening the door led to an entire hallway of even more doors, all of which perfectly lined up in two rows. Unbeknownst to him, he had ended up in the guest room area of the palace, where everyone who was invited for the Queen’s unbirthday celebration from outside the palace was staying. 

Being an area where most important guests were, it was to be expected it would be well protected. And out of his cerulean blue eyes he sees at the end of the hall...walking cards with spears? You would think after all he’s seen today, from talking flowers to a teenager with bunny ears, he wouldn’t react to yet another whimsical sight, but the sight of this one definitely took the cake on strangeness. 

Panic soon sets in though as those cards seem to spot him, instantly turning and running straight towards him. They were shouting ‘intruder’ as they did so, Aichi putting up his hands and trying to signal that this was all a misunderstanding. Though, his attempts seemed to have been ignored. Kai wasn’t exactly with him to vouch he was a guest here. Plus, he was a human, something the other residents said had not been seen in Wonderland in many years.

Staring at the cards coming at him with such intensity... reminds him of the look in Kai’s eyes when they first met. Could the people of this world not like humans? Was that it?

Before he can even attempt to think, his eyes widen as he is suddenly pulled by the back of his shirt and into one of the rooms. Oh, great. He was done for now! He was going to die! He was surely going to...going to...

That’s when he takes notice of who pulled him in, a woman with flowing blonde hair who was clad in pure white. She stuck out against the reds and blacks adorning the palace walls, and the incoming moonlight from a nearby window illuminated her figure perfectly. It was almost like she was an angel, an angel who saved him from a cruel fate.

“Beautiful...” The word simply comes out of his mouth, Aichi taking a few moments to realize what he said and quickly turns to the side to hide the red color of embarrassment that began to cover his cheeks. Where did that come from? Aichi wasn’t the type to say things like that out loud. Then again, he’s...he’s never seen such a beautiful sight before in his whole life. It truly was something out of a dream, making him question again the line between reality and fiction even more than before.

He then takes notice of her regal appearance after peeking back to look at her, making note of the crown on her head. A crown signified royalty, and considering he was in a palace right now, that could only mean that she...

“You’re...You’re the queen...” He speaks before quickly composing himself, instantly going to bow at the waist deeply. He was in the face of royalty, after all. “F-Forgive my lack of manners, y-your majesty! You just surprised me, that’s all! T-Thank you for saving me!”

His body was starting to shake from nervousness, never having exactly spoken to someone of such high status before. Still, he does his best to be respectful, slowly then raising his head to look at her. “My name is Aichi Sendou. Kai wanted me to meet you so I could...help you in some way. Though, he never explained in what way that was. Wait...Where is Kai? Is he not here? He ran ahead of me because he was so worried about you! Did he get lost?”

~

[universestreasures]

@crimsonkaiser​ (The Kai and Aichi POV Of This Ask)

He and the White Rabbit had been traveling for quite a while now, the duo visiting various locations in this crazy messed up world with no rules on their way back to the Palace of Hearts. Everything didn’t make sense here, and the more he tried to make sense of it, the more frustrated he got. He’s thankful he at least has Kai to be his guide. Without him, he surely would have gotten lost in the madness by now.

Throughout their travels, which had all been in the span of a single day despite it feeling like weeks, he slowly has gotten to learn more about this place and the rabbit who was guiding him. Aichi could start to see what was hidden behind the layers of madness, the broken state of the world so desperately trying to be vibrant and free. He most noticed it with the talking flowers as they walked through a forest, noticing right away the dullness of their petals and the way their smiles seemed forced whenever Kai would look at them. 

This world was...not right, but not because it didn’t make sense to the human clad in blue. It was almost like it was...dying, like how any plant would without water and sunlight. And according to Kai, this was because the heart of the world was breaking, the very heart that belonged to the person the White Rabbit served and who he desperately wanted to return to the side of: The Queen of Hearts.

“Hey, Kai? I...I want to ask you something.” He breaks the silence, the pair now finding themselves in a flower field of roses where one could see the Palce of Hearts in the distance. “This...This Queen you keep talking about...She...She means a lot to you, right? That’s why...you want me to meet her, right? So I can...help her.”

He isn’t sure what he can do to help, but Aichi promise Kai that he would help. He wasn’t exactly the type of guy to let someone who is suffering remain in pain if he could alleviate it, especially since from what Kai said his heart and hers had things in common, whatever that means. He still had trouble wrapping his head around how people here spoke, even if Kai’s language sounded more ‘normal’ than anyone else.

Cerulean hues widen then as the ground before them shakes, his view focusing in on the red wave of energy coming from the tallest spire in the royal palace in the distance. It eventually makes it way to the two, it’s power passing over them like a huge blast of wind that causes the petals of some of the roses to scatter. Aichi’s eyes shut at the intensity, doing his best to not fall over into the flower-filled grass below.

Eventually it does pass though, and when Aichi opens his eyes again, he now gazes upon a wonderous sight. The red roses in the garden, and the petals of them scattering in the wind, all start to glow. In a matter of seconds, the dulled darker red of the flowers start to become vibrant, as bright red as the color of blood. It was striking, a sharp contrast to everything else around them whose colors were still dull and lifeless in comparison. 

“Look, Kai! The flowers they’re...brighter! But...just the red ones? Is that normal? And...what was with that light and that earthquake? It looks like it came from the palace.”

~

[universestreasures]

@crimsonkaiser​​ (Time For Aichi To Meet Bunny Boi Kai xD)

“Aichi!”

“Aichi, wake up already!”

“Supper’s almost ready!”

The voice of Aichi’s sibling stirs him awake, his arms stretching as he slowly wakes up from a nap under a tree in their house’s garden. It was a small cottage, located a fair distance from the nearby town. This was by design, of course. After all, the young teen had a notorious history of being bullied throughout his childhood, and after both his mother and sister Emi had enough of it, they decided to move to a small house in the middle of the forest. It wasn’t too far where it would be difficult to travel to get needed supplies, but far enough from any bullies or other such folk who would pick on him.

Some would say this sort of decision was cowardly, as if running away from a problem instead of facing it. However, when you were a shy and timid boy like Aichi Sendou, facing your problems was far from easy. In fact, facing his problems seemed to just get him into more trouble more often than not. He still had some of the bruises and scars to prove it. 

There is a small part of him that wishes he was stronger, wishes he could do something meaningful with his life. He enjoys studying and helping at home with his mother and sister, but such a peaceful quiet life got...repetitive. It was the same sort of routine day in and day out, as mundane as it could get quite frankly. Desiring a change of pace was only natural when you lived a life such as his own. 

And when a strong enough desire is put out into the universe, the universe might just respond in kind...

“I wonder what’s for supper. It smells really good.” Aichi muses to himself after taking a quick sniff in the air, moving to stand up from the comfortable position on the grassy terrain underneath the tree. He better make it back inside before he is scolded by his sister. It was moments like this that made him forget he was the elder of the two, Emi often more acting like the older sibling. If it wasn’t for her, Aichi probably would spend so much of his time daydreaming and laying out here. 

Something then catches his attention, cerulean hues shifting the smoke coming out of his family’s cottage’s chimney to instead a white hat that appeared to be stuck on a bush. While the hat itself didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary, the fact it was out here in the middle of nowhere was odd. No one ever passed through these woods for as far as he and his family have lived here. Did it fly all the way here from town?

Curious, Aichi shifts his movements to head in the direction of the accessory, despite Emi continuing to call out to him from the cottage’s doorstep. It takes no time at all for him to reach the item, allowing him to examine it in more detail after picking it up. The top hat was pure black with a gold ribbon with black diamonds etched into it. Roses and playing cards also decorated the piece, making the entire thing stand out from any top hat he’s ever seen. 

Then again, he didn’t exactly know much about fashion, considering he was wearing nothing more than a plain white shirt with a black tie, light blue vest, and blue dress pants. His clothes looked nice, but were rather simple. That was jus the way everyone in this region dressed, but such a...personalized and weird hat like this had to have been custom made. Just who did it belong to then? 

The boy then decides to examine the inside of the hat for a label that might help him identify who the clothing piece belonged to or was made by. Thankfully, it was not hard to find despite the hat’s dark color. In fact, the red string etched into the fabric made it stand out from the item’s color, clearly another sign this was well made. Aichi then brings it closer to his face to read the name etched into it in a red string, the name being written in a beautiful cursive writing. 

“...Hatter? Guess whoever this belongs to this must really like hats. Maybe if it’s foreign?” He tilts his head, still perplexed but captivated by the strange hat. It was like nothing he’s ever seen before, and the mystery of who it belonged to or where it came from seemed to capture his attention completely. He continued to ignore Emi’s calls for him, no matter how loud they were.

Suddenly however, without any warning, Aichi feels himself being pulled forward by a strong force along with the hat he was holding onto. Turns out the strange object had a white string tied to it, and whoever was on the other side clearly was trying to take it back. The teen hangs on for dear life, his black shoes skimming through the grassy terrain as he is too in shock to process what’s going on. 

Screams of fear and confusion escape his lips as he is being transported deep into the woods. Sticks and leaves fly into his face, blinding him even to just what was going on. Before he knows it, he is suddenly taken into a burrow underneath a giant bent tree where he goes from being dragged by the hat to...falling in a dark hole alongside the hat?!

“What...What is happening to me?! Am I...Am I dreaming?! Am I...Am I dying?!” He can’t help but say such panicked words as he not only continues to fall, but also starts seeing weird objects float around him. Playing cards, roses, tea cups, flowers, clocks and all sorts of random things surround Aichi as he descents further and further away from his home. He really should have just listened to Emi’s calls instead of wandering off on his own.

The falling ends after what feels like an eternity, with Aichi crashing into a strange room with many doors, a table with a cake and a bottle with labels that said ‘Eat Me’ and ‘Drink Me’ respectively, and a checkered floor. The top hat that got him him into this mess is no longer in his own hands, but instead is now on the head of a stranger who also seemed to be occupying the space. He was taller than the teen, had striking green eyes and light brown hair, and an intimidating face that already told Aichi he was in big trouble. It sent a shiver down his spine as he could only stare up from him from his position on the floor. 

“You...You must be the owner of that hat...Hatter, r-right? I-I saw that name on the label...” He says as he weakly tries to stand, having took quite a hit when he fell onto the floor. The fact his bones didn’t break from that was some miracle. Maybe he really was already dead or dreaming.  “Where...Where are we, a-and why did you bring me here? I-I wasn’t trying to steal your hat or anything, I promise! I-I just wanted to know who it belonged to and why it was near my house!”