Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji!
AN: This is kind of from the manga as well, I could not resist giving her a new outfit. I mean, there had to be a limit of dresses she can go tearing up. Anyway, hope you sort of picture what she wears in your head (make it cooler than it sounds :P) Have fun!
"Sebastian! I hate to be inelegant, but I'm going to kick down the door!" I pounded Sebastian's door. I almost hit Sebastian in the face as the door swung open suddenly, if he hadn't caught my fist.
"Yes? You know, I do have work as well." He sighed exasperatedly.
"Of course I know that and I would be helping if not for this!" I wrenched my wrist out from his grasp, pointing at my torn sleeves and ripped dress.
"I didn't exactly bring a plentiful amount of clothes with me, and thanks to that scuffle the other day, I'm really out of options on what to wear. Seeing as you're the cause of this wreckage, I think you should be responsible for it, right?" I tugged at the ragged dress, sighing.
"…..I suppose so. Well, I guess it is time to call that woman anyway."
"That woman?"
I watched Mey-Rin open the door to welcome the tailor Sebastian had called.
"Miss Nina!"
"I missed you Mey-Rin!" Miss Nina said fondly. From what I could gather and from what Sebastian told me, she was an energetic, out-going and confident individual, whose tailoring skills were second to none, though apparently she had some daring fashion ideas.
"The tailor who indicates seasons, Nina Hopkins has arrived!" She said brightly.
"Oh, I think I'll like her." I smiled.
"I thought you might." Sebastian smiled tiredly. As soon as Nina was fully inside, she tackled Mey-Rin into a hug, groping her in indecent places.
"Might my maid costume have come in handy this time?"
"Uhh!" Mey-Rin was flustered and unable to escape Nina's clutches.
"You have such nice materials to work with, so I can make some highlights. Next time at my store-"
"Hello…."Finny and Bard greeted her. Nina's eyes flashed and she swiveled away from them.
"Hmph. So, Mey-Rin, I'd like you to…..Oh, my gosh." Nina suddenly caught sight of me, breaking out into a rather scary grin.
"Oh, ça va?" She glided over to me and I waved.
"Ça va bien, merci." I watched on suspiciously as her hands started to twitch. I was startled as she suddenly leapt onto me, starting a groping process similar to the one she went through with Mey-Rin.
"Oh, no one told me there was a new specimen! You have such suitable measurements as well…! Oh, you must let me design something for you…!" She gushed, rubbing her hands along my waist.
"Maybe you should go to the little ear-young master first!" I tried to keep the laughter out of my voice as she kept running her hands everywhere, I secretly marveled at the range of people Sebastian manages to find.
She pouted, giving me one last poke.
"I guess I should…" She let Mey-Rin and Sebastian lead her reluctantly away.
"I'll still be here!" I called after her, rolling up my tattered sleeves. Well, at least today won't be boring.
I knelt on the floor, yawning as I scrubbed the boards. The fact that I wasn't sleeping much at night was getting to me. I was sent face first into the ground as I was tackled from behind, and I instantly identified my attacker as the hands started to explore again.
"Hello Miss Nina!" I said, standing up.
"Just call me Nina! Sebastian has already told me about you, Phia! I can help you with your pockets." We went into a room.
"Alright! First we'll get the measurements and then we can talk about the design…"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about the design, I'll just take a duplicate of Mey-Rin's dress. Our jobs aren't that different, I just like the title housekeeper." I took off the tattered dress, discarding it onto the floor.
"Ohhh, but there are so many possible things that would look so good on you! You have to let me-"
"Fine. I can tell I won't win this battle." I smiled wryly.
"Yes! Okay, off with the corset!" She turned to me cheerfully.
"Hm? Oh, do I have to? I have a bit of a scar that isn't very pretty. You can get measurements with the corset on right?" I glanced down at the barely concealed scar. Luckily it was in the middle of my chest rather than higher up, so all corsets concealed it.
"To make it perfect it has to come off! I won't accept anything less!" She undid the strings skillfully and I sighed. Oh well, she can't say I didn't warn her.
I slid it off, crossing my arms for modesty, if nothing less. I had to say, she was very professional, she only froze for a second when she saw it.
"I used to play with knives when I was small and you know little children and their clumsy little hands. Lucky I had a good doctor!" I lied casually, earning a twitchy smile.
I drifted off, the random delighted yells of discovery from Nina piercing my thoughts.
"Finally done! Now we can work on the designs!"
"I did have some ideas in mind….because I've been admiring Sebastian's jacket and he's been lending it to me so much I feel like I should own one myself."
Sebastian glanced up as Nina burst out of the room, grinning delightedly. She dragged a cloaked Phia out.
"It's done, it's done, it's done! It took me some seriously speedy handiwork, but we've finished the masterpiece of the day!" Nina said.
"Is this really necessary?"Phia said exasperatedly, indicating the cloak that covered her.
"The dramatic reveal is everything!" Nina explained extravagantly.
"Alright! Let's see it!" Bard said eagerly. Mey-Rin and Finny agreed.
Nina grabbed the edge of the cloak and flung it off dramatically, revealing the newly dressed Phia underneath. There was a mutual intake of breath from everyone, an appreciative one for Nina, and an admiring one for Phia. She had a black coat on, with particularly emphasized coat tails. She had a dress on, but not a conventional one (as expected of Nina).
Above the waist, a white and loose chemise with slight ruffles, though it had no straps or sleeves, so it was much more similar to a corset except made of different material and a slender black ribbon was tied into bow in the middle. There was a ribbon around her waist, tied into a bow behind her back (looking just tight enough to emphasize the curve of her waist, but not enough to look strangling, Nina really is quite the master of appearances), on the right side the ribbon led down sideways to form a diagonal purple apron. Underneath the apron was a continuation of the white dress, simple, but it looked flexible. She wore sturdy yet graceful looking boots that looked suspiciously designed for kicking. When she raised her hand to brush her hair out of the way, he saw that she had gloves on, though not the conventional white ones, they were a slightly lighter purple colour to suit her apron.
The first comparison that came to mind when he saw that colour was the colour on the horizon when it was twilight, between sunset and dusk. Something so fleeting and playful, yet dark and menacing, it was a rather accurate description of her. He had to give it to Nina, it was a spectacular display of ingenuity and it suited Phia flawlessly.
Perhaps I should not have called such a skilled tailor. It only serves to make her more tempting.
"Perfect, as always." Sebastian commented, and Nina laughed haughtily.
"I'm glad you find it that way, it is slightly modeled on your daily outfit. I have always adored what you wear, Sebassy!" I said sincerely.
"That'll teach you to second guess my decisions, Sebastian!" Nina marveled over her work. After a while of compliments and polite chatter, we bid goodbye to Nina, who I must say is quite the interesting person. I quite liked the new outfit, after all, it was an idea I had in my head for awhile. I was relying on Sebastian's jacket far too much. Pockets littered the coat, apron and dress, and I had hidden straps for weapons. It had a slight cut right next to where I kept Nil, so I could slip my hand through my dress to grab it at any minutes notice. I stretched satisfyingly in the garden, letting myself fall back onto the grass. The moon was indifferent towards my new outfit, drifting as if it were aimless. I frowned at the cold stare it emitted, shutting my eyes huffishly. It had been getting awfully chilly lately.
I had followed Sebastian and the little earl to the so called 'Ice Top Market', the reason they were there I was not sure of, but it certainly was an interesting place. The cold air would usually have been uninviting for a person like me, but the new clothes were insulating and I found myself quite protected from the frosty breeze. What I didn't predict was my awful balance on ice. If I didn't hold something, or crawl along the floor, I would be falling onto my backside. Everyone else seemed to be just fine, and I sighed, standing up shakily for the hundredth time. Oh my, oh my, am I getting rusty?
I spotted a nearby restaurant, quickly stumbling over to it and tripping my way in. It appeared that I had stumbled in through a side door, and I was a little surprised to see the little earl sitting with an auburn haired adult. I also spotted Lau and Ran-Mao , sitting beside them. I sneaked closer via pot plant, it did not hide me well at all, but they seemed to be so engrossed in their conversation that I managed to crouch there unnoticed. From what I could gather from their conversation, someone was found dead in the river, and something about a stolen ring that is extremely expensive or important or something along those lines. I'm guessing they had to find the ring or something like that. Anyhow, it sounded extremely fun. So imagine my joy when the little earl joined the investigation. I leapt up from my hiding spot, cheering.
"Young master is the best!" I hugged him tightly, much to his disdain.
"Get…off…me!" He struggled.
"Ha…ha…I thought your butler said you were delicate….?" Mr…..Aberline , I think, joked a little worriedly.
"It's only because Sebastian isn't here." He grumbled.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I got too excited. I forget how to act sometimes, forgive me young master." I bowed sincerely, but I smiled and poked my tongue out at him when I came up. He sighed exasperatedly, looking weary.
"Whatever. Well, now that you're here, make yourself useful at least."
"Oh, what a way to talk to an apologetic girl." Lau lamented. Ran-Mao cradled my head between her none too small breasts. I giggled, almost feeling ticklish.
"There, there." She said softly but indifferently.
I ducked out of Ran-Mao's hug, bowing to the auburn haired man, who I heard was a police officer.
"Phia at your service, I am currently under the employment of the Phantomhive house as housekeeper. I hope I will be of help to the investigation." I smiled warmly, trying to make the kind looking man feel less threatened, thanks to our very own little master.
"Oh, my name is Fred Aberline, I am a police officer sent to work in this case from Scotland Yard." He seemed surprised to see such friendliness from anyone working under the little earl but he managed a kind smile in return.
Sebastian didn't seem to be surprised that I was there, greeting me with a big sigh. I laughed at him, but then immediately latched my hand onto his jacket. I still couldn't balance.
I stared up at the big sign that said 'Undertaker', still leaning severely on Sebastian.
"The Undertaker? Is he interesting? Actually, everyone you know seems to be interesting." I looked at the small stall set up on the ice. The little earl looked a little unnerved.
"Apparently, quite a few people have died of frostbite so he decided to set up a shop. " Fred shrugged.
"Earl, the name of this shop….it can't be…"
"Since I especially permitted you to tag along, please wait outside." Fred gestured as he turned to open the door. Which was actually just a cloth covering the entrance. Which mean our poor little Fred went flying in.
"How reckless." The little earl sighed.
"That is but a privilege of youth." Lau said nostalgically.
"So. What is this?"
"The Undertaker's shop! We met him during the Jack the Ripper incident, remember?" The little earl said impatiently.
"Oh!" Lau remembered.
"He'll be in tears in a moment. Sebastian, get ready to-"As the little earl was talking, loud, hysterical laughter echoed out of the building. He stalked in disbelievingly, but I stood there, shocked for the first time in who knows how many years.
That laugh…..it can't be him….
I was tugged along into the shop by Sebastian, whose coat I still held tightly. I took a deep breath, glancing into the dark shop. The smell of death was lessened because of the temperature, nothing could rot in this cold, but coffins and various morbid looking things littered the crowded shop, most of all a black clad person, still giggling. His wore a floppy top hat and had silver hair as long as mine, but his covered his eyes. His appearance had changed, but he was definitely the same person I knew. At the same time I realized this, a wave of anger and nausea hit me. I reeled, letting go of Sebastian to run out and collapsing to dry heave on the icy floor. After nothing came out, I coughed, heart beating erratically. I could still hear them talking inside, and I closed my eyes to stop my head spinning.
My chest burns…..He's changed…..
AN: Cliffhanger...heehee! I thought Phia had to have some reason to lose her cool, and the Undertaker is the perfect nutty reason :D Thanks for reading!