Dragging the teen down several flights of stairs proved to be a LOT harder than it looked. She looked like she was pretty lightweight, but that was quite far from the truth.

"Dang it…I'm gonna pull my back out of joint dragging this kid…" complained Yuki as he picked up Shuichi and slung him over his shoulder. "You had better be worth the trouble, girl."

"Eiri-san, if I may, can I PLEASE have my boa back now? I've been behaving myself for over five minutes, just like you told me to!" Tohma mentioned quietly as he bounced after Yuki and his cargo.

"Tohma, if you ask me that question ONE MORE TIME, I'm going to BURN the STUPID FEATHERS!" stated Eiri as he dropped the so-called 'girl' on the floor of the main hall.

"Of course…completely understood…I won't bring it up anymore, not once more. I swear, my Liege."

"Good. Now go and do something productive before I change my mind and burn it for fun."

Waking up to a demon standing over you was not a good way to wake up according to Shuichi. Upon opening his eyes, he realized he was flat on his back in the main room of the castle, with his captor staring at him avidly.

"What the heck do you want?" inquired the boy.

"Shut up, and follow me" You shallow minded twit.

"Listen, dude. Don't TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" You arrogant arse.

"You WILL listen to me. You WILL follow my orders. UNDERSTOOD!" Never talk back to me.

"You're an insensitive jerk! I just lost my whole family, my whole life, in less than 15 minutes, and all you can do is boss me around and whack me in the head!" What the heck is your problem?

"I'm allowed to be whatever I want, whether it be a recluse, or an 'insensitive jerk'. This is my castle, my rules, and I could care less about your stupid feelings, got it?" This girl is really grating on my last nerve.

"Fine." Spat the grouchy boy, who was not happy about this in any way.

"Good." Spat Yuki back. I'm starting to regret this trade and it's only been twenty minutes.

As Yuki led the way up the stairs towards the east wing, Shuichi reluctantly followed behind him, still pondering the meaning of the word 'mistress'.

"Where are we going?" piped up the small boy.

"Shut up. Your voice is annoying me." Snarled the moody demon as they got closer to Shuichi's quarters.

When Yuki and his special 'guest' had reached the correct door, he grabbed the small kid and threw him into a plainly decorated room.

"This will be your room. You are by no means allowed to leave it unless I say so, or you're in my company, understood?"

"I understand…"replied the teen gloomily. "What about if I'm with the candlestick?"

"NO. Stay away from that dolt…and by the way, you'll be joining me for dinner, whether you want to or not." Answered Yuki as he stormed back up to the west wing.

With these orders firmly in place, Shuichi of course decided to explore the castle, on his own. He was hoping that that stupid demon meanie didn't expect him to only leave his room in such unpleasant company. Walking over to his small window, Shuichi suddenly had the perfect idea of what to do first in such a large castle.

Grabbing some sheets off of his large bed, Shuichi cautiously opened the door that led out into the hall. Big mistake.

"You didn't wait long enough to see where I'd gone, you baka." Came the cold words that came out of the now angry Yuki's mouth.

"Uhh…umm...I...I…" Sputtered the frightened boy as he started to back away, into his room.

"You got that right. Don't come out until Sakano comes to fetch you for dinner, got it? And when you say yes this time, actually mean it, punk."

"Right…Yeah. I got it." Replied the shaking Shuichi.

Deciding to save the daredevil antics for another time, the boy quietly admitted defeat and plopped down on his bed for a short nap.

"Why does he have to be so mean?" mused Shuichi as he stared at the blank ceiling. "What did I ever do to him? What did my Dad ever do to him? We'd never even met him…"

"Maybe it's what you DIDN'T do." Said a female voice from a corner. "My little brother is always nicer to people who say bad things about him."

Stepping into the light, Mika thoroughly enjoyed the twitching of the small girl sitting on the bed. Ah, she's so cute. No wonder my brother hasn't killed her yet.

"You're his sister? But you're a feather duster…"

"And my husband's a candlestick. It's a long story, and you're already giving me a headache. Ask adequate questions if you're going to talk at all, kid."

"OK. Why is your brother nicer to people that are mean to him?" inquired Shuichi.

"He says the person gets to trusting him, and therefore it causes a lot more trauma when he decides to pitch them out the window. For instance, if your father had done what you did, he would have been long since dead before you even showed up. Eiri's just weird that way, I guess." Answered Mika truthfully.

"Right…He scares me. A lot." That's an understatement to rule the world.

"Eiri scares everyone, even me sometimes." replied Mika as she moved toward the door.

"What did you call him?"

"His name, you insolent twit. Even demons have names you know. But don't get caught calling him that. You can call him 'Master' or 'Yuki-san', maybe. Understood?" were the last words heard as Mika shuffled out of the room to go find Tohma.

"Well I can sure hear the family resemblance. That whole 'understood' thing really bothers me." grumbled Shuichi as soon as he was absolutely sure no one was around to hear him.

Stretching out on his new bed, Shuichi instantly fell asleep. It had been a trying day for him. A nineteen year old can only take so much. With everything that had happened in the space of twenty-four hours, Shuichi was sure it had been at least a week since he had come for his father.

Meanwhile, down in the dining room, the sullen demon was receiving some major coaching from Tohma and Judy.

"Remember…impress her with your sharp wit and blooming personality!" said Tohma with enthusiasm as Judy muttered "Yeah, blooming Venus fly-trap personality at best. Great plan of action."

"You have got to be kidding me." Said the demon as he rolled his golden eyes at Tohma's insane amount of pep and Judy's lack of moral support. "I can handle this. Trust me."

"Sure you can…" smirked Judy in a haughty way. "Just like you're going to handle showing off your non-existent wit, right?"

In response to this, the demon gave Judy's cart a swift kick and sent her zooming back toward the kitchens while he shot Tohma a death glare that could melt Mt. Everest. Five seconds later, in the main hall, an uninvited pigeon fell from the rafters and landed with a loud splat sending feathers up in a small cloud.

Half an hour later, though, a small knock woke him up from his peaceful slumber.

"Umm…human? Person in there?" asked the shy clock tentatively. "Dinner is served."

"I'll be there in a minute." Called Shuichi as he changed into his spare clothes. "Wait for me please, Sakano! I'll get lost!"

"Ummm…Sure, I guess…" Was the reply from the shaky clock.

Within five minutes, Shuichi and Sakano were on their way down the stairs to the dining room.

"Uhh…Guest? What's your name? I'm having trouble recalling." Queried the clock.

"No duh you're having trouble recalling. I never told anyone my name. It's Shuichi, though. And yours is Sakano, right? That's what Yuki-san said."

"THE MASTER REMEMBERED MY NAME!" squealed the clock in surprise as he keeled over on the floor.

"That clock is one freaky little guy…" smirked Shuichi as he continued down the stairs, praying that he wouldn't get lost.

"TOHMA! WHERE THE HELL ARE THE FEATHERS! YOU STOLE THEM BACK DIDN'T YOU? I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU EVIL LITTLE CANDLESTICK!" (A/N: Yuki and Tohma seem to have nothing better to do with their spare time, and are constantly waging war over Tohma's feather boa.)

Upon hearing this, Shuichi quickly decided to run for his life in the other direction, because the large shadow of Yuki was coming his way.

"And where do you think you're going?" snarled Yuki as he grabbed Shuichi's shirt and dug a claw into his shoulder.

"Umm…Nowhere?" squeaked Shuichi as he tried desperately to remove the sharp claw, which was very painful.

"The dining room is that way, unless you happen to know where Tohma is." spat Yuki as he pulled his claw out of poor Shuichi's shoulder.

"I have no idea where he is, but the clock guy passed out over there by the top of the stairs." Answered Shuichi weakly as he held onto his hurt shoulder.

"Come here." I have an idea.

"Ok…" Now what….? Oh boy. Here we go. I'll just ignore the shoulder problem for now.

"What's your name, kid?" Why didn't she say something earlier…

"My name is Shuichi, and what do you want?" I don't like you.

"I need you to help me find Tohma. You go search the dungeon, I'll take the wings. Understood?"

"Yes." replied Shuichi through gritted teeth. I hate the understood thing.

"Then get going. If you find him, take him to the dining room and wait for me." Ordered Yuki as he flew off in the direction of the east wing, where Shuichi was staying.

Knowing that no amount of protest could relieve him of this chore, Shuichi willingly walked off toward the dungeon area. Upon arriving, he thought he heard voices. And one of these sounded like the culprit, Tohma. He thought about screaming for Yuki, but he decided to see who the other voice was. He instantly regretted it.

There was Tohma, trying to romance Mika. Cocking his head and trying to back out slowly, Shuichi failed to look behind him, and ran straight into Yuki.

"AHH! Sorry! I didn't see you…you just showed up." stuttered the scared Shuichi. Dang, he's good at just appearing.

"Calm down, brat." whispered Yuki as he gently grabbed Shuichi and placed him behind him. "Stay there and wait for me."

Deciding to listen instead of bolting, Shuichi was able to hear the conversation between master and servants.

"TOHMA! Get your waxy paws OFF of my sister!" Yuki screeched at the candlestick, who happened to be wearing the boa.

"EIRI! GET LOST! I'm older than you, and I can--" Mika started.

"You stay out of this, Mika, OK?" requested Yuki politely. Everyone respects Mika, whether they want to or not.

"Eiri-san, I'm sorry…but she's my wife, and if you don't approve I'm sorry." Tohma stated firmly.

"First of all, I could care less. She's my sister, and this isn't really about her. Why do you have the stupid boa back?"

"Uhh…Mika gave it back to me, sir." replied the scared candelabra. Eiri snarled in response.

"You lie. Mika, is this true?" Questioned Yuki coldly.

"Yes…it is Eiri. I found it in the new kid's room. Behind the door, and rumpled and dusty. I thought Tohma had lost it. It was an honest mistake." Replied the only one who wasn't shaking, Mika.

"Shuichi…? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I didn't do it. I never touched that hideous thing. It's not my color." Answered the boy truthfully with a girlish 'hmph'.

"Really now? I don't know who to believe, but I'm going to take my chances with Shuichi. I've told you both to stop trying to set up everyone that you share this castle with, and now she's on that list to, understood?" Yuki questioned.

"Understood." Said Mika and Tohma gloomily.

When Yuki and Shuichi had finally arrived in the large dining room, Judy came zooming out with the main courses, which were t-bone steaks.

"Are you even hungry, Shuichi?" inquired Yuki from one end of the table.

"I'm a vegetarian, thank you very much." Came the disgusted reply. "Meat makes me sick, so if you'll excuse me…"

"Where the hell do you think you're going? Get back in here!" growled Yuki. "JUDY! Salad, please."

"Are you feeling, alright master? You never eat anything but meat…" replied the teapot.

"It's not for me you stupid pot, it's for her." He spat back, gesturing at Shuichi. "Is that alright, girl?"

"Girl? What do you mean by GIRL! I'm a--" screeched Shuichi.

"I'm sorry. How's milady?"

"Even Tatsuha's better than you!" Cried Shuichi as he ran out of the room before anyone could stop him. "It's so insulting to have people get confused about my gender…I'm a guy! Not a girl! For once I wish someone would realize that."

"Then I guess your wish has come true, sir." Tohma called softly as he crept out of the shadows. "I always thought you were a funny-lookin' girl."

"TOHMA!"

"Calm down, boy. Just be quiet. We don't want Eiri-san to find out about this. Remember, you're supposed to be his mistress."

"Ya know…I never really figured out what he meant by that…" puzzled the young boy.

"Uhh…How do I say this…Umm…I'll tell you when you're older OK? Until then, maybe you'll find out on you own." The candle answered quickly. "Now why don't you run along? I'll go see to the master and keep him occupied. Have fun, but don't tell him about this conversation, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it." Well that's a lot better than UNDERSTOOD, isn't it?

Climbing the stairs back up to his room, Shuichi remembered his original plans for exploring the castle. And he decided to carry them out, which he knew would surely upset Yuki-san. Good.

"This will do quite nicely…" muttered Shuichi to himself as he pulled a long rope out of a nearby closet.

Running up to the top of the castle completely exhilarated Shuichi as he thought of his conniving scheme. When he had reached his destination, he tied the rope around his waist, opened a window, and jumped out; all the while screaming at the top of his lungs, which he knew would draw attention.

Down in the dining room, Yuki's solitary dinner was interrupted by loud screams coming from the top of the castle. The demon quickly ran to his room and opened the nearest window, and looked up.

There was Shuichi, jumping out of the castle with a rope tied around his middle, laughing and bouncing up and down in the air. Then the rope broke.

With cat-like quickness, Yuki reached out a clawed hand and grabbed the collar of Shuichi's shirt as he went falling past the window. When he made sure he had a good hold of the shaking teen, he pulled him through the window and sat him down on the floor.

"What in all of Hell were you doing! Are you stupid or something!" lectured the angry demon. That was a redundant question.

"I…I...uh...thought it might be fun?" answered the quivering boy quietly. "Honestly. It was fun until I fell."

"You've already convinced me that you're an idiot." whispered Yuki as he pulled Shuichi closer to him. "And I've only known you for a day."

Then he kissed him…long, hard, and passionately, and was thoroughly disappointed when Shuichi's eyes got to be the size of watermelons and he pulled away, gasping for air.

"What the hell is your problem, you freak?" screamed the disgusted adolescence as he ran out of the room as fast as his little chicken legs could carry him. "That guy is so scary!"

"Is something wrong, Eiri-san?" asked Tohma suspiciously as he entered the room.

"WHAT did I do wrong, Tohma! I just kissed her."

"Umm…Some people are just weird like that…she'll get over it…eventually."

"You are no help at all, and I honestly don't know WHY I keep you around." Snarled Yuki as he flew up into the rafters to think about what had just happened.

Running as fast as he could through the deserted castle, Shuichi didn't even bother to see where he was going. He just blindly ran on, and on, and on until he finally reached an obscure ending location.

Scurrying through the darkness of the new room he had entered, Shuichi quickly tried to find a place to hide. The last thing he wanted was for the master of the castle to find him. Looking around, the boy could see nothing, and no one, so he calmed down substantially.

"Why does she have to be difficult? I told her the catch of the deal when she proposed it. She is my mistress, in exchange for her father's life. What is so confusing about that!" hissed the demon from his lofty perch as he glared around the gloomy castle. Yes, with his patented 'Death Glare', the one that makes pigeons within a fifty-mile radius drop dead with fright.

Assuming that the master must be around somewhere glaring, Sakano carefully dodged the falling pigeons that were dropping like stones from the rafters. When you're a stubby legged clock, dodging pigeons is no easy task. Jumping this way and that, trying not to get hit, Sakano flew for the nearest open door, which happened to be the kitchen.

"YES! Safety…no pigeons in here…I hope." cheered Sakano triumphantly as he entered the dark kitchen.

Stepping into his new sanctuary, Sakano failed to notice the other frightened person that was taking refuge in the kitchen. Strolling over to the oven, the clock noticed a trembling foot. He reached out to touch it. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU SICKO! ARGHHH! GET AWAY FROM ME! AHHHHH!" screamed Shuichi as he attempted to run for his life. He was stopped by Tohma with some assistance from his now returned feather boa.

"Woah, now. Just calm down. It's only Sakano and I." Said the candlestick comfortingly as he wrapped the boa around Shuichi's mouth to keep him from screaming. "We don't want the master to hear you! Shut up!"

"Alright!" came the muffled reply from Shuichi.

"Is there anything I can get you, Shuichi? Food, water, perhaps?" asked Sakano charmingly.

"Well, I am a little hungry." Boy was that an understatement.

"Say no more!" said the candlestick gleefully as he summoned the china and silver.

"No! NO! Crust of bread, glass of water. We've screwed up enough for one day! I don't want to get killed, Tohma-san!" pleaded the clock.

"Just calm down, Sakano. Eiri-san won't find out unless we make too much noise. We'll just have to keep it down a bit, OK?" Tohma comforted smoothly as Shuichi watched the two, with peaking interest of what was going on.

"NO, not OK! No! If the master finds out, he'll kill us all!"

"Yeah, Tohma, I'm too young to die… If I have to go hungry for the night and keep my head, I'll be happy too." stated Shuichi quietly, as he didn't want to draw attention. Too late.

"Now what's all this about someone going hungry? Not in my kitchen!" Said Judy enthusiastically as she jumped down from the stove.

"Yes! Finally someone on my side!" squealed Tohma as he fired up the stove.

"NO!" squalled Sakano, but he was quickly silenced by the feather boa being completely wrapped around his small clock body.

"Alright then, you heard Tohma! Get the china spotless, and shine the silver, we're havin' a dinner party!" ordered Judy as the speechless Shuichi watched the kitchen come to life…

"Be our guest…" whispered Tohma to himself.

And thus begins the mighty thing that is the dancing silverware scene. This took me forever to find the inspiration to write. At least three weeks. Phew. Glad I'm done with it, and enjoy.

"It is with deepest pleasure and greatest pride that I welcome you tonight. And now, we invite you to relax. Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents...your dinner." Proclaims Tohma impressively as silverware started to dance into the room.

Be our guest, be our guest

Put our service to the test,

Tie your napkin 'round your neck

And we provide the rest!

(The chair Shuichi is sitting in ties a napkin around his neck a little too tightly. Shuichi gasps for air and falls out of the chair. The chair scuffles away, and Shuichi spends the rest of the show on the floor.)

Soup du jour, hot hors d'oeuvres

Why we only live to serve

Try the grey stuff, it's delicious

Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!

(Tohma offers Shuichi a plate with some food on it, Shuichi reaches out to try one and burns his finger.)

They can sing, they can dance

After all, sir, this is France!

And a dinner here is never second best!

Go on unfold your menu, take a glance and then you'll

Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!

(A cabinet in the side of the dining room opens and some sparkling china shuffles out and begins to dance around. Tohma then hands Shuichi a menu, and he begins reading.)

Beef ragout, cheese soufflé,

Pie and pudding en flambé!

We'll prepare and serve with flair

A culinary cabaret!

(Plates of food go dancing by, and Sakano is hiding in the pudding. Tohma puts his torch to the bottom and Sakano screams and jumps up, his face covered with soot.)

You're alone and you're scared,

But the banquet's all prepared!

No one's gloomy or complaining,

While the flatware's entertaining!

(Some spoons begin to sing and jump into a large bowl of punch.)

We tell jokes, I do tricks

With my fellow candlesticks

(Tohma jumps on a plate and is elevated into the air while juggling his candles. Dancing mugs of beer come bouncing down the table. Only would you find dancing alcoholic beverages in Yuki's castle. )

Mugs: And it's all in perfect taste

That you can bet!

(The mugs begin a gymnastics routine, hopping over one another and passing a beverage from one to the next)

All: Come on and lift your glass,

You've won your own free pass

To be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!

Tohma: If you're stressed, it's fine dining we suggest!

All: Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!

(Everyone disperses towards the kitchen, leaving Sakano standing alone. As he begins to shuffle off, Tohma grabs him. A door opens, and is regarded as more silver leaving.)

Tohma: Life is so unnerving,

For a servant who's not serving!

He's not whole without a soul to wait upon

Sakano: Get off!

Tohma: Ah, those good old days when we were useful

Suddenly, those good old days are gone.

(Tohma starts to fake cry, blowing his nose on the boa, and would- be snow starts to fall from the ceiling. Sakano looks up and sees two salt shakers pouring salt down. Shuichi watches intently from the floor, deciding to ignore the rustling he keeps hearing behind him.)

Tohma: Six years we've been rusting

Needing so much more than dusting

Needing exercise, a chance to use our skills!

(Tohma reaches to dust the salt off of Sakano with his boa, but only ends up tripping him with said feathers. Sakano flies through the air and is caught by Yuki, who silences him immediately.)

Most days just lay around the castle,

Flabby, fat and lazy

You walked in, and oops-a-daisies!

(Tohma jumps on a spoon that was stuck in some gelatin mold. Said gelatin flies through the air and hits Shuichi right between the eyes. Shuichi cries out, Tohma ignores him, Yuki tries not to snicker. Scene goes to the kitchen, where Judy is surrounded by soap bubbles.)

Judy: It's a guest, it's a guest!

Sakes alive, well I'll be blessed!

Wine's been poured and thank the Lord

I've had the napkins freshly pressed!

(Judy bounces over to the stove.)

With dessert, he'll want tea,

And my dear, that's fine with me!

While the cups do their soft shoeing,

I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing!

I'll get warm, piping hot

Heaven's sake, is that a spot?

Clean it up, we want the company impressed!

We've got a lot to do--

Is it one lump or two?

For you our guest!

(Judy springs onto a cart and goes zooming off into the dining room, and almost runs over Yuki, who jumps out of the way just in time. Judy continues on to Shuichi and offers him tea, which he accepts with a squeal of "Caffeine!")

All: He's our guest!

Judy: He's our guest!

ALL: He's our guest!

Be our guest! Be our guest!

Our command is your request!

It's six years since we had anybody here

And we're obsessed!

With your meal, with your ease,

Yes indeed, we aim to please

While the candlelight's still glowing

Let us help you, we'll keep going--

(The china and select candlesticks start dancing and the scene cuts to Tohma standing on a giant cake, trying to keep his feathers out of the icing)

All, led by Tohma: Course, by course

One by one

'Til you shout "Enough, I'm done!"

Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest

Tonight you'll prop your feet up,

But for now let's eat up

Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!

Please Be our guest!

(A fantastic ending comes of the song, with silver and china flying through the air, plates rolling and feather dusters, led by Mika, dancing, and Judy is the focus of attention, until Tohma comes sliding in and sends her flying off to the kitchens on her cart.)

"Bravo, Tohma. Well done." Yuki said deceptively from the back of the room while clapping. With this statement, Tohma clutched his feather boa, Sakano got free of his captor and hid under a table, Mika runs out of the room, and Shuichi promptly passes out.