Matte
Chapter 2
Hentai no Yokai

xXx

Kagome met Meirin two days later, when the woman was humming and clumsily sweeping the tiled floor. She knocked a vase over and stared at it in horror for so long that Kagome eventually got up, wrapped the sheet around her and tied it in various places so that it was hiked up to just above her knees and wrapped around and over her shoulders. That done, she made her way over and started cleaning up the broken pottery, sighing in annoyance when she cut her finger.

"Oh no!" the girl gasped in Japanese. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry!"

She dropped down beside Kagome and took her hand, pulling a roll of bandages out of nowhere. Kagome watched in amusement as she used a broken piece of porcelain to cut a length off and tied it snugly around her finger, nodding in satisfaction when the deed was done. Embarrassment colored her cheeks as cherry-colored eyes rose to meet her own. "Sorry," she grumbled.

Kagome nodded. "It's okay," she assured her, patting her on the shoulder. "Just be careful next time, huh?"

The maid nodded enthusiastically. "Un!" She beamed. "I'm Meirin! It's nice to meet you."

Kagome couldn't help but smile back at the redhead. "Kagome. Higurashi Kagome."

"Oooh. That's a pretty name!" gasped Meirin cheerily.

"Thank you, Meirin-san." Kagome paused, looking about the room she'd been in. "Say, could you get me my clothes, Meirin-san?"

Blinking, the redhead stared. "Your clothes? Oh, no, you don't mean those rags you were wearing? Those were so indecent! I was so red when Sebastian-sama said something about... Um..." She peered around, almost as if afraid someone might be listening in. Leaning forward, she whispered so softly that Kagome had to lean forward as well in order to hear her. "He said that they made access readily available."

At that statement, Kagome felt her face burn, eyes widening with anger and indignation.

xXx

Ciel was just about to start eating his afternoon sweet, having dismissed Sebastian - though the butler hadn't quite made it out the door - when, out of the blue, he heard it.

"NANI?"

Suspiciously, Ciel looked at his butler, only to find the red-eyed fiend smirking as he slipped out the door. He sighed. "This is going to be a bother," he grumbled, stabbing his fork into the cake before him.

xXx

Meirin laughed sheepishly as she watched Kagome methodically tear her old skirt to pieces, practically seething as she did so. The door opened, Agni sticking his head in, concerned, but Meirin quickly pushed him out before Kagome saw him and thought he was Sebastian. Meanwhile, the girl in question was muttering under her breath.

"I can't believe it. Why must every man I meet be either a jackass or a pervert? Is it some cosmic requirement? Like- like- uhg!" She threw up her hands and dropped the skirt she'd been shredding. Why her, anyway? Did the gods like screwing with her? It wasn't her fault that Inuyasha had... And then that woman... All she had been able to do was topple backwards into the well, wishing to find a place that she could recover without having to deal with her mother's worried looks.

She was pretty certain she wasn't in Japan; who knew that the well could bring her to places as well as times? It made sense, anyway, in the way that everything else strange in her life did... Gods, why her?

"Higurashi-san?"

Blinking, she looked up at Meirin and colored slightly with embarrassment. She shouldn't take her misgivings out on the redhead; Meirin had been nothing but kind to her. Smiling, Kagome stood up. "Well, if you could get me some clothes, then, Meirin-san, I would be very grateful."

The maid nodded. "Yes, of course!" she exclaimed. Before she could say anything else on the matter, there was a knock on the door and she pouted slightly. "Who's that...?"

Kagome sat down on the bed and stared hard at the door as Meirin stood to answer it. She hadn't noticed it until now, but there was definitly a close sorce of heavily-veiled yoki. It burned against her miko ki and she had no doubt in her mind that whoever it was, he wasn't a very nice person. However, try as she might, she couldn't pinpoint his current location. He was probably one of the servants, then, as it became obvious that he'd traversed these halls quite often, leaving trails of yoki in his wake so that even if someone sensitive to such came into the manor, they'd never be able to find him. Clever, she thought, but also very annoying.

The door opened just enough for Meirin to peek out, and Kagome was able to see the man on the other side through the crack. A mocking smile and red eyes caught her gaze, and Kagome's eyes narrowed. Was he trying to hide himself? Or wasn't he? If her hunch was right, she mused as those eyes met her's briefly as he spoke softly to the maid, then she would say that this man was the demon. She'd bet her paycheck on it, if she got a paycheck.

But then the door was closed and Meirin turned to her, holding up a pretty dress with a corset that Kagome would soon refuse to wear. "Sebastian-sama thought ahead!"

Oh, great. The pervert was a demon. Did the universe hate her?

xXx

Ciel heard footsteps. Light, careful footsteps, and he wondered if one of the servants was trying to sneak around and failing horribly at it. The door to the room across the hall - a closet, actually - opened, then closed a moment later. He frowned. What on Earth were they doing?

His question was answered seconds later when the door to his study opened slowly and a head of black hair peeked around curiously. For a moment, the girl didn't notice him at all, but then her eyes landed on him and widened. She stepped into the room and bowed - bowed? What on Earth? - smiling sheepishly.

"G-gomen nasai, bocchan," she murmured, glancing about. "Watashi wa tsua o hoshii," she said, though Ciel had no idea what she was saying. She frowned at his clueless expression and glanced around the room. "Pa...per?" she tried.

Ciel's brow, which had gradually been inching upward, met his hairline but he nonetheless pulled a piece of blank parchment out and set it on the opposite side of his desk, holding out a pen as well. Her nose wrinkled as she took the pen, but she ignored her own distaste and dipped it in the provided ink, carefully writing out what she wished to say and putting the piece of paper before him to read.

I wanted to explore, it said, the script rather pretty considering she didn't speak English.

"Oh," he responded lamely and looked up at her in confusion. "Do you at least understand English?"

Her brow wrinkled again and she shrugged. "No English. Little."

Whatever that was supposed to mean, he mentally grumbled. With a resigned sigh, he wrote out his reply on the paper and gave it back. You're free to do so, though you should tell Sebastian so he can help you.

He was contemplating going back to work when she tapped the paper, a tad impatiently, and he looked at it. She was pointing as his butler's name. "Oh. Um... Sebastian," he provided and was a little concerned when her face colored and she looked annoyed.

"Sebastian-san wa yokai desu ka?"

"What?"

She sighed again and sat in one of the chairs opposite the desk, looking irritated. Taking a deep breath, she apparently tried a different tactic. "Ka-go-me," she said slowly, tapping her collar-bone pointedly. "Hi-gu-ra-shi. Kagome Higurashi."

Kagome... That was a nice name, he found himself thinking, but abruptly shook the thought away and nodded. "Um... I'm Ciel Phantomhive," he replied, unsure if he should slow it down for her like she had for him.

But then she beamed, the action somehow managing to brighten the room in a matter of seconds, and repeated, "Ciel Phantomhive-san!" with a little giggle.

"'San'? What is 'san'?" he asked, confused. Was that supposed to be some sort of insult? He hoped not.

She giggled again. "-San... -san is 'sir'."

Oh. Well that was alright, then, he supposed. Before either of them could continue, however, there was a tap on the door and Sebastian stepped in, quirking a brow as his gaze landed on Kagome. "Ah. Higurashi-san. Here you are," he murmured almost absently, except Ciel doubted he did things such. The butler set the tray in his hands down on the desk and smiled at her scowling countenance. "Hello."

Her eyes narrowed. "Sebastian-san?" she queried, and at his curious nod, she huffed. "Nan desu ka...? Sebastian-san wa yokai desu ka?"

Surprisingly, Sebastian's mouth tilted in a knowing smirk as he turned away, pretending to be busy cutting Ciel's snack up. "Hoh...? Boku wa kana...?"

Kagome scowled. "Teme," she muttered, looking away.

Ciel sighed and resisted the urge to pinch his nose. "Sebastian... Please don't antagonize our guest."

"Yes, my Lord," Sebastian responded easily, anything but contrite. He beamed at Kagome. "Tea?"

xXx

Ah, they met. Beautiful. XD And Sebastian... You are a prick.

Sebastian: I am a demon. It's in my job description.

Sorrow: ... that's beside the point.

Sebastian: *smiles* That EXACTLY the point.

Sorrow: Keh. *looks away*

Anyway. R&R!

Translations:

Nani: What?

Gomen nasai: I am very sorry; a very formal way of apology

Bocchan: Little lord, young master; a superior that is notably young/younger than the the speaker

Watashi wa tsua o hoshii: Roughly (very much so) 'I wanted to explore this place', or 'I wanted to tour here'. (Again, if you know Japanese and do not have to look this up, please correct me if I am wrong)

Sebastian-san wa yokai desu ka: Mr. Sebastian's a demon? (roughly)

Nan desu ka: Is that so?

Hoh: Oh, more or less.

Boku wa kana: I wonder (Again, if you know it, correct me)

Teme: A very rude way of saying 'you', roughly 'you bastard'. In this case, an insult. Well, it is in all cases, but whereas our 'you' doesn't stand alone unless cut off, 'teme' can.