Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters. They belong to Yana Toboso.

At midmorning the next day, Soma skipped into the living room, dressed in his sparring robes. It was a spacious room; Soma reckoned it was big enough to play a game of cricket inside and only smash a few vases. Agni had pushed the furniture back against the walls, creating an expanse of bare floor in the centre. When he saw Soma, he smiled and bowed.

"Are you ready to practice?" Soma grinned and clapped his hands.

"Yeah. By the end of today, we'll be invincible!" Agni chuckled as he walked towards him.

"Now, my prince," he said, his hands pressed together. "Considering the current position we are in, it is very important that I train you to defend yourself sufficiently. Training is ideally not supposed to be rushed, but-"

"I need a crash course in fighting, in case we get attacked again very soon?" Soma suggested.

"…Yes, you need to pick up some essential skills in the quickest amount of time." Agni smiled at him reassuringly. "You are coming along well though, Lord Soma. You can punch and kick with accuracy." His smile fell as he looked down. Soma followed his gaze to his bandaged right foot. "I hope your wound isn't hurting you."

Soma stretched it out in front of him. He considered telling Agni it was very painful – a weak part of him wanted his servant to fuss over him. No one doted on him better than Agni and he couldn't help but feel treasured when his companion worried about him with genuine concern. He mentally scolded himself for even thinking this. Ciel would think wanting attention childish. What would Ciel do? He remembered that night when Ciel had returned to the townhouse, coughing and burning with fever… and how he had to command Agni to forcibly stop him leaving immediately afterwards. Brave. Gentlemen are brave.

"No, it's okay. It's a scratch at worst." Soma gave his servant a grin which felt almost too large for his face. He sat down cross-legged on the floor. "Besides, there isn't enough time to dilly-dally. I'm all ears, Agni." Agni smiled back, though there was a wary look in his eyes.

"Today, I think we shall look at other skills aside from the usual striking. Everyone can learn to fight, but often we need to try different techniques to see what suits us best. Some people are solid and can take many hits. Others need to dodge because one knock will render them damaged." Agni's eyes scanned his master from head to toe. "As you have a rather slight build, my prince, brute force might not be the most effective strategy. Our opponents yesterday, for example, had a height and weight advantage over you."

"So, no matter how much I train, the burly fellows will have the advantage?" asked Soma, disappointed. Agni shook his head.

"Not necessarily – only if you try to take them on using force alone. If you use techniques that don't rely on having more strength than your opponent, they will hopefully be disadvantaged." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "As much as I can, I'll protect you from anything, but… if there is ever a time when, for whatever reason, I can't immediately reach you… a few self-defence skills could make a vast difference."

Soma nodded. Agni turned and walked over to the furniture. He gathered up cushions in his arms as he spoke.

"In this session, we shall focus on a particularly effective technique: pressure points." Soma leant forward, interested. "No matter how strong or tough an opponent is, if you find a point of sensitivity, they can be overpowered."

"Gotcha," Soma said with a grin. He watched as Agni dropped the cushions one by one in a circle around him. It intrigued him how his attendant seemed to perform every single action he made with care, even when it was a move as simple as dropping cushions. Agni turned his attention back to Soma, having formed a ring of cushions around them. Soma recognised this as Agni's way of padding the floor to soften their inevitable falls in practice. Or more accurately, his inevitable falls.

"There are many places on the body which are sensitive. How to demonstrate…" Agni paused as if considering an option. "May I show them on you, my prince? It could help you remember them better when you know where they are on your own body." Soma stood up and spread his arms wide.

"Go on then!" he said cheerfully. As Agni stepped towards him, Soma wagged a finger at him teasingly. "Though be careful, I don't want you to make me pass out or anything."

"I'll be careful," Agni said with a smile. Soma opened his arms again. Agni lightly pressed a finger to Soma's temple.

"The side of the forehead is very sensitive," he said. "Hitting it at the right angle can cause your opponent to lose consciousness." He smiled and gently pushed Soma's head back with his other fingers. "I wouldn't lean into my hand, my prince. I will be able to teach you far more efficiently if you are awake for my demonstration."

Soma jerked away as if he had received a friction burn. Had he really been leaning into Agni's touch? Agni didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he wasn't letting on. His hand slipped down to softly trace Soma's neck.

"The neck is another tender area. I do not know the biology behind it, but there are veins which can be targeted to cause unconsciousness."

"Where are they?"

Before Soma could brace himself, Agni had moved his fingers to rest over the spot where Soma could feel his own pulse throbbing. Soma felt his face heat up. Suddenly he felt very uncomfortable.

"Here, I believe, is the easiest artery to find." Agni frowned. "Your pulse is very quick, Lord Soma. Is it usually this fast?" Soma shrugged and grinned, elaborately easy-going.

"Perhaps it's because you're one centimetre away from knocking me out?" Agni smiled apologetically and withdrew his hand.

"Forgive me for making you feel nervous. This is a vital practice though, which you will benefit from learning. We shall practice finding them on me instead, if it makes you more comfortable."

For some reason, Soma didn't think this would make him much more comfortable, but he internally urged himself to get it together. Since when had he been touch-sensitive to his attendant? He reasoned that it was the unfamiliarity of this type of contact which was causing him to clam up. Agni stood in an open stance, seeming completely oblivious.

"Can you remember what I have just taught you?" Soma paused before trying to reach up to find Agni's temple. Agni laughed as his master jumped and missed. "It is a hard target to reach on someone like me. Luckily, your opponents are unlikely to be my height. Not to worry, we shall look at points you will be able to reach more easily." He held out his arm. "The forearm is a useful target and not a place people think would be sensitive. Apply enough pressure, and you can inflict a spasm or even cause the arm to go numb."

Soma took Agni's left arm and gripped it between his hands. He frowned as he squeezed just above the crevice to limited effect.

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but your arm is too muscular for its own good," he complained. Agni chuckled.

"Thank you for that observation, my prince, but that actually makes your task easier. Try pinching a little; it's a sharper action and can catch your-" He winced and recoiled as Soma dug his fingers under his muscles. Soma released him immediately.

"Sorry!"

"I-It's alright. You don't have to apologise to me, I am your servant."

"Yes I do," Soma replied simply. Agni raised his eyebrows. It saddened Soma that Agni seemed surprised. Servants were people too, after all, who could be hurt just as easily as whoever they were serving.

"Well, that's very kind of you." Agni rubbed his arm and mustered a smile. "What I was saying before was, you can catch your enemy off-guard. No one expects the smallest actions to cause so much shock. That is how you can cause an impact that your target hasn't even thought to defend himself from."

"…Quite." Somehow, these words made Soma relax. "So, are there any others?" Agni patted his front.

"There are many weak points on the torso – the sternum, ribs, sides, centre… really, if you manage to strike their torso, they are in trouble." He shook his head. "Naturally, that is why landing a hit is difficult, because it is human instinct to protect the vulnerable areas. Learning the pressure points on the hands and feet can break down this defence though."

Agni held out his hand to Soma. Soma looked at the outstretched hand unsurely before taking hold of it. This moment of contact soothed and stunned Soma at the same time. His khansama was a warm and gentle man and somehow, holding his hand made Soma feel closer to this warmth and gentleness. The prince felt like he had just discovered an attractive idea had a physical presence. His thoughts clouded over as this connection became the only element of the space around him he was aware of. Almost.

The rational question still broke through the haze: why did Agni want to hold hands? This question was answered when Agni twisted his wrist so that the back of his hand was facing Soma.

"The back of the hand is usually exposed when an opponent tries to punch or strangle you," Agni explained. "Do you see the structure of the bones leading to the knuckles?" He seemed oblivious to the fact that Soma was not concentrating on the structure of his hand so much as the action of them holding hands. "Well," Agni continued. "The hand usually appears to be strong, but if you strike the centre sharply… my prince, are you listening?"

Soma was jolted out of his daze. He looked up at Agni as if he had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. Agni laughed, as patient as ever.

"You do seem distracted today. Let us take a break for an hour or so. Perhaps you would like to give your foot a rest, your highness."

"No… we can continue." Soma thumped the side of his head as if to wake himself up. "I really am listening, Agni."

At that moment, the door clicked open. Ciel walked in, with Sebastian just behind him as always. The young boy looked around disdainfully at the moved furniture.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a hint of annoyed confusion in his voice. Meanwhile, Sebastian's attention was drawn to Soma and Agni's entwined hands.

"I assume there is a context?" he said with a small smirk.

"Self-defence training," Agni replied with an indifferent smile. "Pressure points."

"Ah, I see. A good idea, considering the circumstances." Sebastian's tone was of utmost politeness, but Soma was not convinced of his sincerity. The butler smoothed out his white gloves. "Learning how to locate the human weaknesses must be very useful indeed."

Soma felt a chill rush down his spine like icy water. A memory of Sebastian returned to him… a memory of himself ordering Agni to defeat Sebastian and Ciel when they had first met. No matter how many times Agni struck Sebastian's 'pressure points', he had not been able to induce numbness in any part of the dark-haired man's body. Sebastian had no weak points.

Sebastian lacked all human vulnerability.

The fact that Sebastian was now describing their lesson as being 'very useful' made Soma come to the conclusion that Sebastian was subtly insulting Agni's training technique. He felt defensive of his khansama. Does Sebastian think we don't know when we are being patronised?

"They work," Soma insisted. "They should work on everyone, including you!"

"What a wonderful idea, my prince!" Agni cheered. Soma turned his head to look at him, confused. "Lord Ciel and Mister Sebastian can join us and learn too! How very generous-spirited you are."

Soma felt slightly deflated as he had to come to the conclusion that Agni didn't know when they were being patronised. Still, a part of him was relieved that Agni didn't seem to read between the lines. If he did… today's lesson could have been even more awkward than it was already.

Agni spread the cushions out to surround all four of them. Ciel let out a reluctant sigh as he came to join Soma. Soma was surprised but pleased that he was joining in. He beamed at his younger friend. Ciel folded his arms and kicked at a cushion. Agni bowed to Ciel and Sebastian.

"I think we shall move on to experiment with take-down techniques," he said with a smile. "They might be more useful to you." Soma was starting to consider Agni not being quite as oblivious as he had thought when his servant called him away from his thoughts yet again. "Prince Soma, may I ask for your help with this demonstration?"

"Oh? Um, yes, you may." Soma overheard Sebastian and Ciel muttering in hushed voices to each other. The only snippet he caught was 'concentration span', but that was enough to guess the rest. He clenched his fists and urged himself to focus, if only to not let Agni down. The prince stood opposite his attendant and adopted a fighting stance.

"There are many ways to bring your opponent to the floor," Agni started in his calm way. "This might be of particular use to you, Lord Ciel, as you are… well, you're still a child." He gave Ciel a fond smile, which the earl did not return. "The smoothest way is the 'foot-sweep', in which you can make your attacker lose their balance by sliding your foot into theirs."

"In other words, tripping them up?" Ciel suggested. He sounded unimpressed. Agni just laughed.

"Effectively, but this is more methodical, hopefully! Now, I shall make as if to attack my prince. He will of course defend himself and defeat me." He looked back at Soma as if to check he was concentrating. Soma pounded his fists together to demonstrate he needn't have worried.

Agni took a step towards Soma and aimed a cautious high kick in his direction. Soma easily dodged around him and stepped to face Agni's back. His foot… sweep away his foot… it should be easy, he's unbalanced. He tried to drive his foot into Agni's back heel. He winced as he just ended up stubbing his toe.

Agni looked at his from over his shoulder, concerned. Soma brushed his fringe away from his eyes and tried again. He hooked his foot around Agni's ankle and gave a hard tug. The exaggerated way his servant came crashing to the floor signalled to Soma that Agni had faked falling. He looked down at his attendant, who was lying on his back on the floor. He glimpsed the worried look that was still in those grey eyes before Agni closed them, smiling.

"That is how the foot-sweep works, Lord Ciel!"

"Can you show me again?" Ciel asked sceptically. Soma could understand him thinking it was an inadequate demonstration. No one else he would come across would fall for him. Only Agni would fall for him.

"This time I'll attack you, Agni. Then you take me down. It might clear things up for Ciel." Agni opened his eyes, but Soma looked away before he could meet their hopeless concern again. He hung his head, feeling incompetent.

Agni climbed to his feet and gestured for Soma to come at him. Soma lunged to fire a jumping kick at him. Agni dropped to his knee to let Soma soar over his back. Soma landed, turned and threw a punch with each fist. His servant caught hold of both of his wrists and swept away his feet. Soma shut his eyes and braced himself for the impact of the cushion-covered floor. It never came.

He opened his eyes. Agni had an arm cradling his back, holding him up from the floor. He still had one of Soma's wrists enclosed in his hand. Soma's stomach went tight as he took in their position. His servant was so strong. He could easily overpower Soma if he wanted to. Soma mused over the idea that Agni's only weakness was him.

"Prince?" Soma turned his head to Ciel, who was watching them, a thoughtful frown on his face. Soma forced himself to snap back to normal …whatever 'normal' was in this context. He gave his most confident smile.

"And that, Ciel, is how you overpower your enemies!"

"By tripping them up and forcing them to dance with you?" Soma laughed.

"Exactly," he said with a wink. He rocked back on Agni's arm and propelled himself to his feet. He jokingly took Agni by the hands and pretended to slow-dance with him. "You see Agni, no matter how amazing a fighter you are, whoever forces you to dance has the upper hand. So really, that makes me invincible!" Agni smiled and allowed Soma to twirl him around.

"That's right," he said softly. Ciel cleared his throat. He did not appear amused by their silliness.

"Shall we have lunch?" Soma released Agni to let him go with Sebastian to prepare lunch. Soma watched them leave, smiling. Ciel looked up at him. "Prince, we questioned the men you and Agni caught last night."

"Hmm?" Soma walked over to a settee and flopped down carelessly. "What did you find out?" Ciel took a seat on an armchair opposite him.

"I'll go into detail over lunch. Your ridiculous dancing reminded me of something one of the men said." Soma cocked his head, curious. "The man you brought back conscious alluded to you and Agni being rather… close." Soma grinned.

"Well, we are! What's the harm in that?"

"He described the pair of you as… suspiciously close." Soma blinked in confusion.

"I don't know what he means, Ciel." Ciel sighed.

"I assumed you wouldn't. I have received similar comments about Sebastian being close to me. Those from poorer backgrounds seem to find the concept of a man who lives to serve you very odd." Ciel leant forward. "This is just a word of advice: you have to be careful of who you show your displays in front of. Not everyone will understand that you are able to fool around with your butler as you do. You might convey the wrong idea."

"What idea, Ciel?" Ciel raised his eyebrows. They knitted back together as he shook his head.

"If you don't know, we shall leave it at that. If you were in danger of conveying the wrong idea, you would know what it was. I for one am not going to explain it if I can possibly get away with it."

Soma leant back on the settee, supporting his head with his hands. The wrong idea? How could anyone think the way he and Agni interacted with each other was wrong? There is a fine line between 'close' and 'suspiciously close'. Where does it start to become suspicious?

A/N: Agni would make an awesome martial arts instructor XD I had to look up where exactly the vital pressure points are to write this chapter – there are more than I've mentioned in this story, but listing them all would have made a very long training session. My knowledge in this field is very limited, so I'm sorry if I have made any mistakes. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)