It was a couple of weeks before Undertaker saw Ran-Mao again. He'd been driving his carriage past the grounds of the Phantomhive manor, having just picked up a new guest from a neighboring noble family, when he caught sight of her and Lau in another carriage trundling down the road to the young earl's estate.
"I guess thinking of the Devil makes him appear too. Or her... Oh well; better late than never~!" He giggled to himself as he impulsively turned the pair of coal black horses attached to his vehicle about and followed the Orientals. Why not implement a few of the plans that he'd made to make her smile now that he knew where she was?
Plus he'd been carrying around most of the props for over a week and was getting tired of lugging them everywhere he went.
_-Smile-*'
"May I ask what you are doing here, Undertaker?"
The silver-haired shinigami had just planted the last usable prop and was in the middle of turning to leave the scene when he came face-to-face with the demonic Phantomhive butler - Sebastian Michaelis. (Undertaker didn't think that was a half bad name for the demon.)
"Seeing if the little earl has a certain something in his possession that he didn't get from me~"
"...A coffin?"
"What else~? Ehhehehehehehee~"
Sebastian sighed. "I'm afraid the young master has nothing of the sort anywhere on the premises."
BOOOOOOOOOOM! POPPOPPOPPOPPOP-KA-POW! Whizzzzzzzzzz-PHHHLOOM!
The fireworks rocked the manor and bits of the ceiling rained down from the rafters.
"...He may need one after that~" Undertaker giggled to himself. The first prop had been used a little earlier than planned, but at least he was able to catch a glimpse of the parlor that contained little Ciel and his guests. They were all showing signs of surprise at the loud noise. Good, good, hehee~ He covered his mouth when Sebastian gave him a slightly curious look - another giggle must've slipped out without permission.
Before the demonic butler could comment, however, a very crispy Bardroy leapt out of the kitchen with a Catherine wheel hot on his heels. A couple of sparklers trailed behind the larger firework but died out in the middle of the hall.
"Sebastian, make sure that the kitchen is salvageable..." Ciel sighed, then caught sight of a snickering Undertaker. "Undertak- Ahh!"
The supposedly dead sparklers had started spraying multicolored sparks at the earl's feet, causing him to jump backward in surprise and nearly fall onto Lau.
"Ehhehehehehehehehehee~ Ohh, little earl, you amuse me so~!"
"Oh yes!" Lau added with a smug smile. "Now, how does he amuse you?"
Ciel blanched. "Don't say anything unless you know what you're talking about! Now, Sebastian, go see if the kitchen is salvageable!"
"Yes, my lord," the demonic butler bowed before leaving the area.
While the others were distracted, Undertaker glanced at Ran-Mao only to find her as unreadable as ever. Apparently people being caught unawares by fireworks wasn't very amusing to her.
Oh well. Maybe one of the other props would yield better results.
_-Smile-*'
Since Ciel didn't need Undertaker's services but grudgingly allowed him to stay for tea anyway, the silver-haired shinigami sat quietly off to the side with his own tea service and the last of his bone-shaped cookies, which he'd forgotten he'd put in one of his pockets. He only half-listened to the others' conversation as he nibbled on his homemade treats - another of the props should be in use soon.
A nearly inaudible bubbling sound finally reached his ears. It was about time! Grinning mischievously to himself, Undertaker quietly rose and made his way to the laundry room. The bubbling had gotten louder, but not much.
Undertaker barely turned the doorknob and the door burst wide open, frothy bubbles spilling everywhere. He managed to keep his footing until a very sudsy magenta-haired maid with huge glasses skidded into him and knocked him over.
"Ehhehehehehehehee~ Let me help you up~" He used the wall to help regain his footing before reaching down to the maid.
"Uwaah! I'm sorry mister, I am! It was an accident - I must've read the label on the soap wrong again, yes?!" She gasped as Undertaker pulled her up and helped her regain her balance on the slippery suds only to nearly fall down again.
"Mey-Rin?!"
"Master Ciel, I wouldn't come down here if I were you! It's slippery, it is!"
But it was too late. Ciel had already stepped onto the bubbly carpet and lost his footing. Somehow, however, Sebastian was suddenly right behind his young master, propping him up until he could recover.
"Mey-Rin, what have I told you about double-checking the instructions?" The demonic butler glared at the maid, whose instinctive flinch sent her and Undertaker sliding across the blubbles.
"Wheeeeeee~!"
Ran-Mao, curious as to what all the noise was about, followed Lau to the scene just as Undertaker deposited Mey-Rin onto solid ground and reached out to pull her onto the suds. Lau frowned a little but didn't comment as his 'little sister' was almost literally whisked right out from under his nose.
"Do you like this~?" Undertaker's grin was much bigger than normal as he tried to make the ride as smooth as possible for the Oriental woman.
Ran-Mao nodded slightly, but her expression didn't change.
Slightly disappointed, the silver-haired shinigami took her back to the dry carpet and allowed a very irritated Sebastian to clean up the mess.
_-Smile-*'
There was one more prop that might tease a smile out of Ran-Mao, but it was just as unsuccessful as the other two. Even Ciel running away from the Leaf Monster (which was really Finnian covered in sticky leaves) didn't brighten up Undertaker's day as much as it should have. Feeling a bit gloomy, the silver-haired shinigami climbed into the driver's box of his carriage and drove back into town.
_-Smile-*'
"That man was strange..." Ran-Mao thought to herself as she watched Undertaker drive away through her carriage's window. He was certainly...different, but then again, most people in this country were. Different clothes, different manners, different jobs... Why did Lau choose to drag her here all the time? He had plenty of other bodyguards and assassins at his disposal.
Sometimes she wished she wasn't his 'favorite,' his 'little sister,' but nothing in life came without strings attached.
Maybe she'd try to find that strange man tomorrow, or whenever she had at least a day off.
[Edited 12-18-14]