May have typos :P Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Determination

In the morning, Sebastian had left to work. Ciel had stayed at home to recover, since he limped and his hip hurt when he walked. "First day of the new job and I'm home," Ciel muttered to himself. He turned his eyes from the television to out the window. Even though the sky was cloudy, it didn't rain that much. Ciel looked down at his paws. He began to not like them. Yes, they were cool and such, but he couldn't pick things up like the humans could. He raised a brow. There had been someone who could take care of that. The rich cats had enough money to turn their front paws into hands. But Ciel had nothing.

"Hmm," Ciel meowed and folded his arms. "Perhaps if I talked to the one..." he trailed off and stood. He hissed in pain, but it wasn't so bad. That was it. He had needed a couple of hands, and he was going to get them. Ciel went upstairs to get changed and go out.

Ready to go, Ciel zipped his black jacket and picked a large, green umbrella up. He fixed the scarf Sebastian had given to him, and was out the door. His legs weren't used to the feeling of jeans, but he wanted something his owner wouldn't notice he went out with. This kind of pants allowed him to not show that he was outside in the rain. If Sebastian found out, he'd be most probably angry. After all, Ciel only wanted to know how he could get a good pair of human hands.

If he remembered correctly, the store was a couple of blocks way. Ciel sighed as he looked around. The streets were almost deserted, the different shops, cafes and bakeries packed with people and their pets. Even on a weekday, cats spent time with their owners to go out on a rainy day. Sighing, Ciel made a corner to another street and walked down the sidewalk.

Ciel finally reached the respective store and peeked inside. It was empty. Hesitantly, he walked in and left the umbrella at the exit. He approached the counter slowly, looking around. The place didn't look like a store. The shelves were empty. Was he in the right store?

Heavy footsteps caught the cat's attention and he looked toward the back door. "Hello?" Ciel called quietly. He stared at a tall person, who had a large, black cloth around them, coming into view. "Um... I'm looking for the one who can convert cat's paws into human hands. Is it here?"

The man giggled deviously, making Ciel lean back. "It's here alright," he answered with a strange, shrieking voice. "Are you the one who wants hands instead of paws?"

Ciel nodded slightly. "But I just want to know the price. Right now I don't have any money."

"I see..." the man walked around the counter and giggled once the cat took a step back. "Let me have a look at your paws." Ciel raised them and he looked down. "Hmm... How old are you?"

"Eighteen," Ciel said. "Why do you ask?"

The man held the cat's paws and lifted them his own height. "Your paws are big for your age... But, then again, it can be my impression because you're small for your age as well." He released the paws and took the cloth that covered half of his head, revealing a couple of scares on his handsome face. "If I convert your big paws, your hands will certainly look great."

"Okay, but how much would it be if I wanted hands?" Ciel asked, frowning slightly. "My owner doesn't know that I'm here. I need hands because these things are so large that I'm clumsy. Well, I already am, but they make it worse. I almost broke my owner's camera last night."

The man closed his lips into a tight line. "That's certainly troublesome. Still, I can make a special price for you on a few of my conditions. You're to adorable to say no." He giggled deviously again.

Ciel looked away. "I can't go home and let my owner see me with hands. He'll know that I left the house."

"Then, bring him here. Tell him that you're going to meet with someone who know and you haven't seen me in a long time," the man said and extended his hand to him, showing long nails. "I'm Undertaker, and I'm not going to tell you my real name anytime soon."

Looking at Undertaker's grin, Ciel smiled slightly. "My name's Ciel. Nice to meet you, I guess," he murmured.

"The store will be open until you return. Even if you come here in three days, it won't close for that whole time," he said and Ciel stared at him. "That means that you have to go." He laughed strangely.

"Oh... Okay." Ciel chuckled slightly. "I'll bring my owner here when he returns from work."

And that's what Ciel did. Once Sebastian arrived home, he was asked to take him to the same store. His owner was tired, but Ciel insisted, and Sebastian couldn't say no.

Back in the store, Ciel walked in, accompanied by his owner. "Undertaker," he called.

"What kind of name is that?" Sebastian asked, raising a brow. "Is this even a shop?"

Undertaker approached the counter from the backdoor. "Hey, Ciel. Long time no see," he said and chuckled. It had only been a few hours. "So, let me take a look at your paws."

Sebastian stared at the other man, who looked strange to say the least. "What do you want from him?" He stepped between them, shielding his cat.

"Well, you pet told me a long time ago that he wanted a pair of hands instead of paws," Undertaker said and looked at Ciel. "Isn't that right?"

Ciel nodded quickly once Sebastian shifted his attention to him. "I didn't have any money at the time, but he told me to... come here when I got an owner," he made up and looked away.

Sebastian looked at his cat in concern. "But your paws are just fine. Why would you want to change them?"

"I can't do anything with them," Ciel muttered. "The older I get, the bigger they are instead of smaller and more mature-looking. Besides, I would leave everything else just the same."

"And it's a temporary effect," Undertaker added. "He would have to come here every three months to convert them into hands again. I made it something temporary because some cats complained that they wanted their paws back. Still, since he can't pay, I set a few conditions that he must follow if he wants to have them."

Sebastian looked down at Ciel again. "Are you sure that you want to do this? You know that I like your paws, right?"

Ciel nodded. "Even if you like them, I want to stop breaking things—Well, fewer things. I'll be able to work normally. And don't forget that in three months I'll have them back if it doesn't work out."

His owner sighed. "If that's what you want..." He pressed a kiss to Ciel's forehead.

"Thanks." Ciel smiled tightly and looked up at Undertaker. "So, what do I have to do?" He hoped it wouldn't be anything strange. Just the way Undertaker laughed, talked and dressed was already awkward.

As I mentioned in another story:

In my little blog (eikokazama dot blogspot dot pt), I made a Q&A with three great writers! Robovacation, Little Storm and aliendroid answered a few of my questions about Fanfiction writing and themselves. If you'd like to know them better, stop by and check out their awesome answers and different points of view!

Have a nice day/night!

Eiko.