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The Concepts of Sweet
Concept 4: Secret sweet

While the girls were extremely friendly, Momoko had no idea that they could be so strict to a baby. It was almost shocking that such kind people had such... authority.

"No, Hana-chan, no," scolded Doremi as she pulled a plate of pudding away from Hana-chan's reach. "Too many sweets are bad for you. Bad."

The baby only responded by pawing her tiny hands madly in the air, squirming and making sounds of desparation. Her former smile upturned into a large frown, and her eyes were moistening. Her cries became louder, filling Doremi with guilt.

Before Doremi gave in, Hazuki sharply cut in with little to no sympathy in her otherwise soothing voice. "No, Hana-chan," she said firmly. (Momoko was amazed at how someone shy like Hazuki be so forward and demanding. Life was full of surprises, she figured.) That seemed to stop Hana-chan from clawing to the pudding temporarily, as she withdrew her hands. However, more tears began filling up her honey-brown eyes.

"Aw, come on, Hana-chan," Aiko filled in, placing a hand on the baby's shoulder. "We really don't wanna do this, but it's for your own good. It's not like you can't eat pudding forever. You can have it later, just not now."

That didn't seem to help either. Hana-chan was on the verge of crying.

"Be a good girl for us," pleaded Onpu. Even she was unsure of what to do.

"Hana-chan," begged Doremi again.

Before any of the calming could take place, Majorika burst in on the scene, demanding the girls to get back to work. Reluctantly, they did, shooting long glances back at Hana-chan's depressed expression.

When the other girls were gone and no one was within earshot, Momoko tiptoed back to the playpen. Hana-chan's ponytails perked up at the sight of her visitor, and before she could babble in question, Momoko placed a finger on her lips. "Shhh," she whispered carefully, and produced a plate of pudding for the baby. "I managed to take this when the others weren't looking. Eat it while you can. Don't tell anyone. Keep it a secret."

Hana-chan nodded in agreement, a large grin forming on her face.