K had never been one to give up. Not once in his life had he labeled a task impossible. He was dealing with his son's servitude the same way. In K's mind, there was a way out of everything. Especially if you had a gun.

"I'm going to get him out of there, Hiroshi." Said K, looking out of a window back in his cottage. "Just because we failed the first time doesn't mean we will again."

"K, listen. I love Shuichi too, but this is hopeless. That demon is not going to give him up." Replied Hiro, twirling a pocky stick between his long fingers. "Shuichi is safe. You saw how the demon reacted to him when my life was at stake."

"I don't care! He's not staying there." Said K, his tone giving an air of finality. "I'm leaving to help him again. You can come if you want."

His choice being clear, K grabbed his gun and other survival tools and set out for the northern woods. Sensing defeat for his cause, Hiro cautiously set out behind him, not wanting anything to happen to the crazy man.

"Here we go again…" muttered Hiro as he picked up his pace to match K's. "K! Don't be rash. Shuichi's good at causing trouble. With his annoyance level, he'll probably just meet up with you in the woods. The demon seemed to have a pretty short fuse."

"Exactly. Shuichi's probably out there right now freezing, starving, and with a wolf gnawing on his leg."

"I think you're exaggerating K. Shuichi's either in the woods, or in the dungeon. I don't think his host likes him very much."

"Comfortable?" asked Yuki in a mocking tone, staring down at Shuichi lying underneath him.

"Stop torturing me!" said Shuichi indignantly from his position. "If we're going to do this, get on with it!"

"Aren't we grouchy."

"It's a tribute to you."

"Enough. Too much talking." Said Yuki, focusing his attention on removing the rest of Shuichi's clothing.

"Yuki…"

"Enough. Talking." Said Yuki testily, working at the boy's pants.

"Wait…do you hear something?"

"Finally…" replied Yuki, sliding the conquered pants to Shuichi's knees. "Ready?"

"Yea-" started Shuichi, when the door was suddenly slammed open.

"I'M ON FIRE! HELP ME! ASSISTANCE!" screamed Sakano as he ran into the room, circling around the bed several times. "HELP!"

"Come back here!" shouted Tohma, charging in behind Sakano. "I can help you!"

"EEK!" screamed Shuichi, pulling himself under the covers, seeing as his only remaining clothing was at half-mast.

"FIRE, FIRE!" screamed Sakano again, starting to roll around on the floor. The flames were spreading to his internal areas. "Put me out! PUT ME OUT!"

Catching up to the running clock, Tohma threw the bucket of water he had been carrying onto Sakano.

"I told you I could help…" said Tohma, backing up a few paces. "All better."

"But I'm charcoaled…"

"It gives you personality. Now let's go before the master shows up."

"Tohma." Said Yuki, rolling himself off of Shuichi with an aggravated sigh. "Sakano."

"Ahh! Eiri-san, you scared me…"

"I told you not to come in here! And don't call me that!"

"Sorry…but-"

"No more talking from you. What happened this time?"

"Well…" Tohma began dramatically. "Sakano and I were down in the kitchens playing a version of cookie dough baseball and Judy got really mad at us."

"That doesn't explain the fire, Tohma."

"I was getting to that. Then Judy told us to leave and I told her no, Sakano left, and I threw the cookie dough at her. It left a mark…now she's kind of leaking…"

"You broke Judy?" asked the demon incredulously, stifling laughter coming from Shuichi with his hand.

"Sort of. Then I ran out of the kitchen because she looked extra pissed and last time she was this mad she cracked the floors in the main hall."

"Keep going."

"As I was bravely running away, I didn't watch where I was going, I was watching Judy, and ran into Sakano…my flames weren't put out and he caught on fire…"

"He's never caught on fire before. I don't believe you."

"Part of cookie dough baseball is that you have to be covered in oil to slide into the bases…"

"I've heard enough. The boa's mine and you're both grounded."

"I think you're over-exaggerating a bit…" said Tohma, calmly edging towards the door. "No harm done…"

"Tohma." Chimed in Shuichi, holding the sheet up to his neck and glaring at Tohma from a strained sitting position. "Nice weather we're having."

"Oh…OH!" exclaimed Tohma, suddenly realizing the situation.

"GET OUT!" screamed the two interrupted lovers from the bed.

Sakano, having already made a speedy escape, held the door open for Tohma, a chucked shoe barely missing his head. Both being outside the door, they ran for the kitchens not bothering to look behind them.

"Moving on…" said Yuki, eager to get back to before the interruption.

"Uhh…I have…plans. With….Judy…yeah, that's it…with Judy." Stammered Shuichi, fishing for an excuse. "Bye"

Jumping out of the bed with his pants securely in place, Shuichi snatched his shirt from the floor and darted out of the room. Left behind was a very pissed demon.

"WHAT THE HELL!" screamed Yuki, throwing a death glare in the direction of the ceiling. In the village a pigeon died and hit Tatsuha in the head. "DAMMIT!"

Running back to the East Wing to avoid being seen, Shuichi was relieved. Something had started clawing at the back of his mind when Tohma and Sakano had disrupted the proceedings. Did he really want to sleep with Yuki? He didn't even love him and he knew the demon didn't have any feelings for him.

"What was I thinking?" muttered Shuichi, collapsing on his bed to go to sleep for the night. "Temporary lapse of insanity, I guess."

Yuki hadn't been this mad in a while. Judy was broken, Tohma was an idiot, Sakano was charbroiled, and he didn't get to have sex with Shuichi tonight. Life sucked. Maybe things would be better in the morning. But probably not.

If only Tohma and Sakano hadn't gotten in the way, things would be perfect…Shuichi would still be here, the plan would have payed off, everything would have been perfect. There was only one logical solution. Kill Tohma. And then Sakano.

But killing servants didn't always work. There used to be a butler. If Yuki killed Tohma, Mika would be angry. When Mika got angry people got hurt. Or got dead. One of the two. If Sakano was murdered no one would care.

"Too complicated…" groaned Yuki as he walked over to the previously occupied bed. "Too damn complicated."

Everything being pushed aside for the morning, Yuki was asleep within minutes.

The next morning found the castle to be deserted. No servants to be found anywhere, no Shuichi, Yuki still off in snooze-ville. The castle soon lost its deserted feeling, the sun breaking over the horizon, revealing some strange occurrences.

It wasn't often that Shuichi got up before noon. For this, though, an exception had been made. In a line directly in front of the pacing boy, all of the servants were assembled. And they all appeared to be waiting for something. Orders.

"In a fight, the most fundamental defense is a good offense. Don't give the enemy a chance to kick your ass. Blacken their faces first!" shouted Shuichi, his voice deep and serious. Playing general was quite amusing. "Alright. Let's demonstrate this. Tohma! Mika-san, if you please, ma'am."

Answering Shuichi's request, Mika jumped forward eager for a chance to take her anger out on Tohma. Tohma, on the other hand, was not as near eager. He was quite afraid of his wife.

"Tohma! Get over here. Fight me like a man!" screamed Mika at Tohma, who was now cowering. "NOW!"

"Good! Get the anger going!" encouraged Shuichi, approaching Mika and the quivering Tohma.

"Don't make me come after you." Mika said, scowling in Shuichi's direction. Shuichi gulped loudly and retreated back ten feet.

"Ok. Let's begin. Remember, good defense is a showy offense." Said Shuichi, retreating another five feet for good measure.

The demonstration having commenced, Mika leapt at Tohma with a snarling growl. Tohma plugged his nose and blew as hard as he could, sending flames rushing at Mika. Mika instinctively dodged, throwing herself at Tohma and knocking them both to the ground. As she was going for the finishing blow, Shuichi stepped in.

"Don't kill him!" screamed Shuichi from a safe distance. "Please!"

"I get to kill something. Whether it be you or him, I don't care." Said Mika, taking off at full speed after Shuichi.

"AHHHH!" screamed Shuichi, running as fast as he could in the other direction. "Don't hurt me!"

"I guess a pair of fast legs is good for a fight too, eh?" laughed Tohma, nudging Sakano in the side.

"I don't think I've ever seen him move that fast…" said Judy, coming up behind Tohma and Sakano. "For those chicken legs, you'd think he'd of passed out by now."

The chase concluded itself with Shuichi jumping into a tree and climbing for his life. He was thirty feet up when he realized Mika couldn't come after him. Feeling safe, he swung his legs over a branch and sat down.

"Furniture! Assemble!" he said loudly, eager to continue the drill-lesson. "Chop-chop!"

Hearing the command, everyone got back into a line to hear Shuichi's next statement.

"Second, as already demonstrated, strong legs are a must in case the enemy calls your bluff. Sakano, this would be good for you to learn…Hey Tohma…Sakano stole your boa."

Tohma's face contorted in rage, he gave a war scream, and took off after Sakano. Sakano cried out and ran for his life, almost as fast as Shuichi.

"Good. Faster, Sakano!" said Shuichi, starting to come out of the tree.

"I wouldn't come down any farther if I were you." Threatened Mika, glaring up at the descending teenager.

Shuichi yelped and scurried back into his tree, deciding to stay in one piece for the day. On the ground, Tohma had caught Sakano and was banging his head into the ground.

"Stop! He didn't really steal the boa!" shouted Shuichi from the tree.

Tohma stopped trying to kill Sakano immediately.

"The final thing to remember in a fight: You have to play dirty."

"Oh boy…" muttered Mika from the back row. "I'm through with this. I've got this part down." With that said, Mika shuffled off into the castle, throwing Shuichi one last glare.

"Tohma, your fire blowing ability is top-notch. Not the best against Mika-san, but still great. Sakano, you're cowardice is an excellent thing to make an escape out of. Judy, steam makes a great cloud cover to throw a sucker-punch with. Everyone, let's try it!" said Shuichi, jumping down out of his tree. "GO!"

Chaos followed Shuichi's words. Tohma caught a wardrobe on fire, Sakano ran into a wall and knocked himself out, Judy gave Shuichi a steam burn, and everyone else just started attacking one another.

"Stop! You're going to annihilate each other!" screamed Shuichi, nursing his burn.

"Don't use words you can't spell, dumbass." Said Yuki, coming out of the castle looking angry and amused at the same time.

"I can too spell it! A-N-N-I…hey Yuki…what's after the I?" asked Shuichi, his voice low and cowed. "Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing."

"Why did you come out here? I'm sorry if I woke you up…"

"You didn't wake me up. I came out here to ask you something, but seeing this makes me question your mental stability and capacity."

"Hey! Stop being mean! You never know when a giant robot panda might show up."

"Don't tell me what to do. If I change my mind, I'll get back to you." Replied Yuki with a smirk, walking back into the castle.

Yuki had had a revelation the moment he had woken up. His feelings for Shuichi were much more than physical obsession. Yes, that was the primary feeling. And yes, he still wanted to sleep with him more than he wanted to date him. All in all, Yuki had decided that he wanted Shuichi to be more than his 'mistress, title used for lack of better word.

As soon as he had woken up, Yuki had gone to the kitchens and arranged with the remaining staff a candlelit dinner for two in the main hall. However, after seeing Shuichi's latest escapade into the idiot hall of fame, his mind was feeling a change in the wind. Shuichi may be an idiot, but he was a cute idiot.

"Maybe I should just ask him. Stupidity aside, he's worth it…right?" said Yuki to himself as he walked down the hall towards the stairs. "Suck it up and do it."

Personal coaching finished, Yuki stopped mid-step and turned around. He would ask Shuichi. Shuichi would say yes, and by the end of the night, everything would be great. Making sure of course that Tohma and Sakano were locked up beforehand. Yuki didn't want another episode to occur. No more disruptions. Not this time.

Having reached the door, Yuki took a deep breath and stepped outside. Judy was still emitting steam from the crack she'd received during cookie dough baseball and random furniture was bumping into one another. So far the flaming wardrobe and Tohma had caught five others on fire, and Sakano was still unconscious. Mika was watching all of this from a balcony, chuckling to herself. Shuichi was back up in his tree, still holding the arm that was burned by Judy.

"Shuichi! Come down here."

"No way! You come up here! I'm not getting burned again, this hurts!"

"Now."

"No! You'll have to make me!"

"Consider what you've just said."

"I'm not coming down, Yuki!"

"Fine." Said Yuki, spreading his wings and joining Shuichi in the tree. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About your dinner plans for this evening."

"Well Tohma and I were going to go fishing and then-"

"Stop talking. You're making me regret coming up here." Said Yuki while massaging his forehead. "Speech is not your best feature."

"So…dinner plans?" said Shuichi timidly, as he was interested in continuing the conversation.

"Will you have dinner with me tonight in the main hall?"

"Main hall? The ballroom?"

"Yes, the ballroom. Call it what you will."

"Just dinner, Yuki?"

"We'll see. Depends on how much you annoy me."

"I'm not that annoying…"

"Maybe not…" said Yuki, putting his arm around Shuichi's shoulders tenderly.

"Wow…you're being really nice. Cool change."

"Haven't I told you enough to stop talking?" said Yuki testily. "Consider this a lesson in listening."

With that, Yuki pushed Shuichi out of the tree. The boy landed with a soft splat, but didn't appear to be seriously injured.

"Dinner. Tonight. Don't be late." Said Yuki after he had left the tree. "I'm busy today, leave me alone."

"Ok…" said Shuichi quietly from his face down position on the ground. " No problem…"

"Tohma! I need your help. Get over here and put yourself out." Ordered Yuki, facing Tohma and watching him struggle to put out his flames. "Hurry up."

Once the two were inside the castle, Tohma ventured to ask Yuki what they were doing.

"So, what can I help you with?"

"I need a…a…a makeover, so to speak."

"A makeover? Why?" Tohma asked in an incredulous tone.

"I asked Shuichi to dinner in the main hall. I look horrible."

"Not really…" muttered Tohma.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's get started. Hair first!"

After twelve hours of hard work, the demon looked amazing. His hair had been trimmed back, revealing the nape of his neck. His clothes had been repaired, no longer being covered in tattered holes. His wings had been nicely folded back, his claws trimmed. With some persuasion, Tohma had even gotten him to wear an old royal suit that had belonged to his father. To describe him in a word, spiffy.

Not that the twelve hours had been perfect. Tohma spent half the time pleading, debating, running, or working. Yuki spent the hours being tied to a chair and every once in a while escaping to chase Tohma. Family bonding is always so much fun.

"I hate this."

"Oh, get over it."

"What? Don't tell me to get over it! You made me look gay!"

"You are gay!"

"Tohma, you're pushing it."

"Sorry…master."

"Leave now or be killed. And tell Judy we're ready for her on your way out." Snarled the demon, glad to be rid of Tohma.

Half an hour later, Shuichi showed up, looking wonderful. His hair had also been cut, showing more of his face. His eyes were as bright as diamonds reflecting sunlight, and his clothes were the only bad feature. Seeing as he no longer had anymore clean clothes, he had been forced to steal some of Yuki's. The sleeves were too long, the pants were too big, and all the pieces were black.

After a quiet dinner, Judy cued some instruments to play music.

"Dance?" asked Yuki quietly, his eyes dark in the candlelight.

"Really?"

"Don't ruin this."

"Right. Yes, dancing sounds…um…"

"Just stop."

In response, Shuichi smiled loopily and followed Yuki onto the dance floor. When they started dancing, Judy tuned the band to a certain song, adding her own voice in.

Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends unexpectedly.

Just a little change

Small to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared, demon and the loon.

(Shuichi and Yuki have moved into the ballroom, where they move through a perfect dance sequence. Yuki occasionally looks over at Tohma and Sakano for their approval, though secretly shooting them a Death Glare as a warning to behave themselves. A pigeon splats onto the balcony. Shuichi giggles and Yuki SMILES! For like…the first time in eternity. Judy and Micheal are in the ballroom on their

cart.)

Judy: Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before, ever just as sure

As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Bittersweet and strange,

Finding you can change, learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

Tale as old as time,

Song as old as rhyme, demon and the loon.

Tale as old as time,

Song as old as rhyme, demon and the loon.

(To Micheal) Off to the cupboard with you now, Mike. It's past your bedtime. Good night, love.

(Micheal slides off the end of the cart, and hops out of the room, but comes back for one last look, trying to avoid Judy's watching eye. Shuichi and Yuki have adjourned to the balcony under a starry

night.)

"I'm done dancing." Said Yuki, admiring Shuichi's features in the moonlight.

"Yeah, me too." Replied Shuichi, moving closer to Yuki.

"Let's go in."

"Are Tohma and Sakano locked up?"

"Really?"

"Don't ruin this."

"Stop acting like me, brat."

"Ok."

"Get inside."

"Pushy."

"Loud."

"Meanie."

"Punk."

"Hey!" squalled Shuichi, but he was quickly stifled by a kiss from Yuki.

"Enough already, bedtime."

"Heh."

Upon reaching the West Wing, Yuki bolted the doors closed, to avoid any more disturbances. After securing any possible entrances, he turned his attention to Shuichi, looking him up and down.

"I'm going to need those clothes back you know…"

"And how are you going to accomplish that?" posed Shuichi slyly, angling himself toward Yuki.

"Like this." Answered Yuki suggestively as he slowly pulled the baggy shirt off and began to kiss Shuichi's neck, all the while pushing him onto the bed.