~Baldroy's POV~

"Awww, brother. They got to it," Baldroy muttered as he fixed the wiring in the manor. "Guess they have it bad for cable pasta. Those damned mice."

"It's them mice again, is it?" Mey-Rin asked.

"We've got lots of them this year, don't we? Finny commented.

"I heard there's an epidemic in London… But I didn't think they'd bother coming to the city's outskirts." Baldroy replied. "Business will go bust if we keep having power outages so often."

"MOUSE SPOTTED!" Finny shouted as he grabbed the nearest statue and flung it at a tiny mouse that appeared behind Baldroy. The statue almost flattened him, and the mouse ended up getting away, squeaking loudly as it scurried down the hallway. "Oops, it got away!"

"… AIN'T GONNA CUT IT! YOU TRYIN' TO KILL ME TOO?! YOU IDIOT! Anyway, it's no use just going at 'em directly! We hafta use what we got up here!" Baldroy pointed his thumb towards his head.

The others watched him, confused looks penetrating their faces.

"We gotta use our heads and read the enemy's movements! A direct assault isn't the only way to fight battles. That's right! What we need's a diversion!" Baldroy's military training kicked in as a plan formulated in his head. "So here's my plan! Because there're so many of 'em now, I figure they're short on food. There ain't nothing as tough as starving on the battlefield…"

He ducked into the kitchen, and came back out with a pot of a brown, bubbling substance. "SO WE'LL USE THIS! BETTER KNOWN AS 'CHEF BARD'S HOMECOOKING, MICE FULL SPEED AHEAD' PLAN! Can't expect anything less from a pro!"

Finny had a huge grin on his face. "'Kaay! Then I'll… HAVE AT IT WITH THE 'SHOWDOWN OF THE ARCH-ENEMIES, TOM AND JERRY' GRAND PLAN!"

Mey-Rin had a plethora of mouse traps gathered in her arms. "I-I won't lose to you! HERE WE HAVE THE 'ONCE I CATCH YOU, I WON'T LET GO, MICE HOIHOI!' GRAND PLAN!"

They all spoke in unison, "ALL RIGHT! THEN… LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

~Ciel's POV~

Loud nags and shouts slithered in through the cracks in the door as Azzurro Vanel took his turn at the pool table. It must have been the trio of servants again, most likely making yet another mess and creating even more unnecessary work for Sebastian.

"How terribly noisy," Sir Arthur Randall of the Scotland Yard muttered as Mister Vanel hit the ball. "It would appear there are mice here as well."

Diedrich took another bite out of his sandwich. "How long are you planning to let the vermin roam free? All they do is forage for food and spread plagues."

"Let them roam free?" the Chinese nobleman, Lau, asked. "Is he not leaving them at large?" Everyone in the room looked over at him in understanding, with a hint of suspicion.

"Quite right. He always aims for the nine ball," Angelina Dalles, Ciel's aunt, otherwise known as Madam Red, said. "Will you be passing again…? Earl Phantomhive?"

"Pass," Ciel answered. "I don't believe in shooting useless balls."

"Enough of your pompous talk," Sir Randall grew impatient. "When will you carry out your extermination of the mice?"

"Right away. I've already had Chlaus secure the necessities. It will be rather a pot of bother to find their nest and eradicate them. I hope you're prepared to pay me a tidy sum?"

"… You vulture…!"

"Have you the right to insult our coat of arms? You. Who've spent a fortune on bloodhounds that cannot kill even a single mouse?"

Lau sighed in disappointment. "Too bad, that. A foul. My, billiards is difficult. It is the earl's turn. You will take your shot?"

"I suppose it's about time I ended this silly game." Ciel stood up and walked over to Sir Randall. "Well? When will you have my compensation ready?"

"… B-by this evening."

"Very well. I shall have a carriage pick you up later. And I shall be waiting with high tea at the ready for you, Sir." He got in position, aiming directly for the nine ball.

"Three balls left, and you're aiming for the nine ball?" Sir Randall asked.

"Of course."

"Let's see the skill of this game prodigy for ourselves!" Diedrich laughed.

"Greed shall prove to be your downfall… Ciel!" Sir Randall bellowed.

Ciel laughed silently as he took the shot. Without fail, he made the shot. He loved doing this, proving adults wrong. It made him feel even more powerful, deliriously powerful, as if he was drunk with all of it. Sebastian gave him enough to dominate the world, after all.

"Greed, hmm…?"

~Sebastian's POV~

"… What are you doing?" Sebastian asked the three servants, completely appalled by the sight that greeted him in the main hall.

"WHADDAYA MEAN, WHAT?!" Baldroy shouted despite the chaos. "WE'RE CATCHING MICE, OF COURSE!"

"I… See… Is… that right…?"

"Sebastian!" Ciel called as he walked down the hallway towards them.

"Young Master," Sebastian replied. He longed to call him by his first name, but he knew that the other servants would be hopelessly suspicious.

"Send a carriage over to Lord Randall's mansion tonight."

"A carriage, Sir?"

"We will be hosting a party this evening."

Sebastian smiled. "Very good, Sir. Once I have made arrangements for the carriage… I shall bring your afternoon tea to your room. For today's afternoon tea, I have prepared a deep dish pie of apples and raisins. I will bring it fresh from the oven, so please wait a little while."

"All right," Ciel muttered as he walked away.

When Ciel was out of earshot, Sebastian truned around and caught the mice the servants were hunting in one hand. He briskly tossed them out the window. "Now then. Please stop playing about and get back to work. We are expecting a guest tonight."

They all mumbled their apologies as Sebastian strolled to the kitchen to make Ciel his afternoon tea, it needed to be perfect, after all.

~Ciel's POV~

Ciel sighed as he closed the door to his study behind him. The servants were ridiculously incompetent, but he put up with them nonetheless. The only reason they were even alive and with a home was because he offered it to them.

Besides that, the repaid him very well.

"Why are our servants so carefree—" Ciel started, until a hand came up from behind and covered his mouth. He struggled, trying to release himself and summon Sebastian. However, he was just too weak, and he felt his consciousness fading away.

Sebastian?

Where are you?

Help…Me…

Everything went black.