I recently got into Kuroshitsuji. Honestly, I don't even know why I wrote this. Not beta'ed. This is my first time writing a period piece, so the language might not be appropriately used in that particular timeline. Sorry... Warning: MAJOR OOC-ness.

"SEBASTIAN!" Ciel called his butler loudly. So loud that the whole manor seemed to shake from the force of his voice alone.

Having a demon for a butler meant that Ciel didn't have to shout whenever he wanted to summon him. However, today was different. He didn't have the patience to deal with the demon's antics. Not that he usually did.

Ciel had woken up grumpy this morning because there were some problems at the Funtom company. True to his character, he didn't even bother to hide his grumpiness and his butler had borne the brunt of it.

So, Ciel had thought that today, just for today, Sebastian would be a good little demon as to not irk him even further. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently, that was too much to ask.

"SEBASTIAN!" Ciel called again. He knew full well that the demon had heard him. But instead of answering his master's call, the demon had decided to be defiant instead.

"You blasted demon!" Ciel swore.

Sebastian had definitely heard that too, but Ciel didn't care, for the butler was meant to hear that.

Ciel looked at the object of his ire and the thing stared back at him.

Ciel bristled in annoyance. He made sure to stay as far away as possible from the offending object that was currently sitting not-so-innocently on the steps that led to the second floor.

Oh, Sebastian was going to be punished for this.

Ciel contemplated calling him again, but decided against it. If he hadn't answered his call the first two times, he wouldn't be inclined to answer the third. So, Ciel decided to take a drastic measure.

"Sebastian, this is an order, come here this instant!" Ciel commanded.

Due to the nature of their contract, the demon had to obey his master's orders. Within seconds, the raven haired butler strolled into the entrance hall.

"Does my lord require anything?" Sebastian asked with a slight bow.

Ciel wasn't impressed. He could detect the sarcasm and see that stupid smirk on his face, not that the demon was doing anything to hide it.

Ciel pointed at the stairs. "What the devil is that thing?!"

Casually and seemingly with disinterest, Sebastian turned to look at what his master was pointing at. "I believe that is a cat, Bocchan."

"I know what it is!" Ciel snapped. "What is a cat doing there?!"

"Hm, that is odd, indeed. But the weather is quite dreadful this evening and it's pretty chilly outside. Perhaps it's seeking shelter, my lord." Sebastian said.

"It could be freezing out there for all I care, I don't want that bloody thing in my house! Get rid of it!" Ciel told him.

Apparently, the cat decided that it had rested enough and got to its feet. It stretched and started to leisurely made its way towards the pair.

Ciel watched it warily, Sebastian watched it adoringly.

The cat looked at the other two occupants in the room, as if trying to decide whom it should approach.

In the end, it chose the boy with an eye patch.

"Get it away from me!" Ciel said, rapidly backing away. "My allergy..." This was followed by a series of sneezes.

Sebastian walked over to his master and reached into his pocket. He took out a handkerchief and offered it to the young lord. "Perhaps you need this, my lord?"

Ciel snatched the item from Sebastian's hand.

"Sebastian, this is - a-choo! - an order!" Ciel said while trying to see through his watery eye. "Get rid of..." He sneezed a few times in a row.

Sebastian stared at his young master expectantly. "Your order, my lord?"

Ciel scowled and decided that his first priority was to get away from the cat. He darted around the cat and bolted up the stairs. Once he was at a safe distance, he waited until the urge to sneeze had passed before re-issuing the order. "Sebastian, this is an order! Get rid of that thing and do not ever bring another cat into the manor ever again!" He watched with satisfaction when Sebastian's face fell. He had been quite lax with the demon in regard of this matter, but the boy had had enough.

Sebastian lowered himself to one knee, bowed, and placed his hand on his chest. "Yes, my lord."

Then he reached out to pet the cat.

Ciel was fuming. He turned around and stomped to his study, slamming the door behind him with more force than necessary. He stalked to his desk where he spent the next hour or so devising the perfect punishment for his demon instead of working. Once he came up with a brilliant idea, the corners of his mouth lifted in a sadistic smirk. Satisfied, he went back to work.

His punishment planning session had proven to be effective because after he read over the report again, he found the exact problem and it was solved within the hour. 'Two birds with one stone. Not too bad...' Ciel thought and rang the call bell to demand a cake.

With that, the matter had been resolved and things went back to normal at the Phantomhive household.

Or so he thought...

A week later, Ciel was walking along the hallway, deep in thoughts. He was looking for an idea to advertise Funtom's newest product. He hadn't been able to come up with any idea and as a result, he had been in a bad mood since yesterday.

"Meow..."

Ciel paused in his track, a deep frown on his face. "Was that...?"

"Meow!"

There was no mistaking it. Ciel looked around trying to locate the source, all the while muttering some fine choice words directed at his demon. He was lucky that his Aunt Francis wasn't here. Otherwise, she'd have washed his mouth with a bar of soap.

"Meow!"

By now, Ciel was convinced that it was taunting him on purpose. He walked a few paces back and then he saw it, a glimpse of a tail, just around the corner. He debated with himself and tried to find the best way to approach this situation. From past experience, namely last week's experience, calling the demon would only be a waste of time, breath, and energy.

'A direct approach it is then...' Ciel mused. He opened his mouth and promptly sneezed. "Damnit!"

Quickly remembering what he was about to do, Ciel ordered his butler to come to him that very instant.

Sebastian showed up a second later. "Is something the matter, my lord?"

"You know what it is!" Ciel yelled and pointed at the cat that had come out from its hiding place due to the commotion. "I thought I've ordered you to get rid of it! Did you dare to disobey my order?!" His patience was wearing thin. He was frustrated with his company and his butler wasn't helping. In fact, he seemed hellbent on making his day even more miserable than it already was.

"Of course not, my lord. I wouldn't dare." Sebastian said in mock horror.

"Then what is that thing still doing here?!" Ciel asked loudly.

"Ah... You see, Bocchan... Last week, you did order me to get rid of the cat, but as you can see..." Sebastian went over and picked up the cat. "This is a different cat. I'm afraid you did not order me to get rid of this one."

Ciel stared at the butler dumbly. "What?"

"It's not the same cat, my lord." Sebastian repeated patiently.

Right there and right then, Ciel decided he was going to kill this demon in his sleep.

"Very well..." Ciel said through clenched teeth. "Sebastian, this is an order, and you better listen carefully, get rid of all of the cats in the manor!"

Still holding the cat in his arm, Sebastian bowed. "Yes, my lord."

Ciel turned around and went to his study. It looked like another punishment was in order for his butler. This time, Ciel spent almost two hours thinking about Sebastian's punishment. And again, it was effective because while planning and formulating his punishment idea, he actually came up with an idea for the advertisement.

Ciel desperately hoped that this would be the last of it. He definitely could live the rest of his life without seeing another cat in the manor.

Alas, his luck wasn't that good...

"Sebastian, you bloody demon! This is a bloody order! Come here this instant!" Ciel yelled, his face red with anger for there were not one, not two, but three cats sitting in front of him.

Ciel could feel his head throbbing painfully. He had been having yet another bad few days. This time, he was performing his duty as the Queen's Watchdog, but the investigation had come to a halt and he was understandably very testy.

Just like before, Sebastian showed up within seconds. "What seems to be the problem, my lord?"

Ciel simply pointed at the three cats, sitting together, looking at the boy curiously. "I thought I told you to get rid of all the cats in the manor?!"

Sebastian looked at the cats and then back at his master. "Yes, my lord. Last week."

Ciel glared at him, but it wasn't very effective since Sebastian was used to it. "What is your excuse this time?!"

"As per your order, I did get rid of all of the cats that were in the manor last week, but these three weren't in the manor last week, hence they are not part of that particular order, my lord." Sebastian said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ciel's headache was getting worse. Then he remembered his other order. "And did I or did I not order you not to bring anymore cats into the manor ever again?"

"Yes, you did, Bocchan." Sebastian easily agreed. "You issued that order two weeks ago." He added helpfully.

"So?" Ciel folded his arms in front of his chest. "Why did you bring them into the manor after I have expressly ordered you not to?"

"I did not, Bocchan. Finny did." Sebastian told him calmly, but his eyes were twinkling with barely hidden mirth, no doubt, at the Earl's expense.

"Pardon?" Ciel stared at him.

"Finny brought them in. He found them loitering around the garden in the rain and brought them in." Sebastian explained.

Ciel wanted to kill his butler, then himself.

"Sebastian..." Ciel said very slowly. "Here's my next order. You are to get rid of all of the cats in the manor and in the townhouse, presently and in the future. And nobody is allowed to bring in, adopt, or sneak in anymore cats into the manor or the townhouse ever again. Not through the front door, the back door, or any of the other doors and windows. Is that understood?"

Sebastian looked like he was on the verge of laughter, but he quickly composed himself and bowed. "Yes, my lord."

Ciel nodded. "You may go. Take the cats with you and put them outside."

Sebastian scooped up the cats, bowed, and walked away.

"Oh, and Sebastian?" Ciel called.

The butler turned around. "Yes, Bocchan?"

"If I see any more cats in the manor or in the townhouse, I will buy a large black dog, name it 'Sebastian', and train it to chase the cats. Am I understood?" Ciel said calmly and watched with utmost satisfaction at the various emotions that played across his butler's face: shock, horror, disbelief, and disgust.

"Understood, my lord." Sebastian said meekly.

"You're dismissed." Ciel said and headed to his study. He toyed with the idea about giving Sebastian yet another punishment. He thought that maybe, just maybe, this time, he would finally learn his lesson.

One hour later, Ciel's eyes widened when he thought of something pertaining to the case. and he rummaged through the papers that were scattered around his desk. He found what he was looking for and leaped out from his seat.

At the same time, the door opened and Sebastian came in with a push cart for Ciel's afternoon tea.

"Let's go, Sebastian! I know who the killer is!" Ciel ran past the butler in excitement.

Sebastian smirked to himself. "Maybe I can make something to put the cats outside the windows..." He mused.

"Sebastian!' Ciel called impatiently.

Sebastian put aside his idea for now and followed his young master.