I own nothing but my OC.


That Butler, Foreign 4


≤speech in Indian language≥

'thoughts'

"speech"

"Demonic speech"

{setting/stage directions?}

SOUND EFFECTS

An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration for dreams or stuff like written letters.

=†=†=†=†= scene shift/time shift


Previously:

"..." Ciel said as he stared at her for a moment, considering it. It was true that he hadn't picked a present out for Lizzie yet... and if he went with this option, then Chêne wouldn't make him go shopping for it himself, since she always insisted that Ciel should buy the presents he gave to close friends and family himself, claiming that even if it turned out that it was something they didn't want, it would 'mean more' since he picked it out himself. This had proven to be especially true when it came to Lizzie. Ciel sighed.

"Fine. You have until dinner to figure out how to make it work. If you can draw up a successful design by then, I'll make it." Ciel conceded, hoping he wouldn't regret this.


"Heeeeey. When will you be done?" Soma asked boredly as he laid on his stomach on the floor, his head propped up in his hands. "Heeey! Heeey! What are you doooing? Heeeeey, IIIIIII saiiiid. Heeey!"

"ARGH! SHUT UP!!" Ciel roared angrily. "I can't concentrate!!" Multiple vein marks throbbed on his head as he exploded in anger and irritation at the spoiled prince. His eye was even twitching a little. Sebastian sweat dropped and sighed. Chêne paused in stitching up the mockup that she was making for her pink elephant, in order to test if her design really worked, before she presented it to Ciel. It was 2:00PM, and Ciel was trying to have his fencing lesson with Sebastian, but Soma's constant whining had made it extremely difficult to concentrate properly for Ciel. Chêne had no problem tuning Soma out, since she was used to Laurie always whining to her like that whenever she wanted to play while Chêne was trying to work on her homework. But when Ciel had finally snapped, it startled Chêne, and she pricked her finger. Chêne sighed.

"I'm going to go get a band-aid..." Chêne said as she sucked on her finger to keep the blood from dripping onto the floor, and left to treat her tiny cut.

"C'mon, you don't have to get so angry. Booooo!" Soma said, pouting like a little kid. Ciel was breathing heavily from all the yelling he had just done. Another vein mark throbbed on his head.

"All right. Enough." Ciel sneered, gritting his teeth in frustration as he snatched Sebastian's foil out of his hand, slightly surprising the demon butler. Sebastian had a feeling he knew where Ciel was going with this, and Chêne would most likely scold the boy once she returned. "I'll take you on if you're so desperate for attention." Ciel said coolly, vein mark throbbing on his forehead, as he tossed the light practice sword to Soma.

WHIZ. WHAP!

Soma caught the foil in one hand, and began waving it around, testing it. Lau had managed to find another foil, and he was playing around with it while Agni stood and watched nervously, worried for Soma.

"I only know Kalaripayattu and Silambum, but... well, why not." Soma said. He was bored anyway. "So if I win in this... you will play with me, right?" Soma asked, grinning confidently.

"If you can win, that is. If you lose, behave yourself and stay out of my way!" Ciel said coolly as he assumed the proper stance for beginning a fencing match.

"We will play five rounds of three minutes each. The fencer with the most points wins. All right?" Sebastian asked to make sure everything was clear as he assumed the role of referee. "Now..." Sebastian said, raising his arm. "... Begin!" He said, bringing his arm down to signal the beginning of the match. Soma immediately charged forward, towards Ciel, smirking. Ciel was just standing perfectly still, not even bothering to move out of the way.

"You are mine!!" Soma yelled triumphantly as he swung his sword.

KUNIN~

The sword made a strange noise as it bent when it hit Ciel's leg. Ciel didn't even flinch.

"!?" Soma gasped, shocked. He furrowed his brow and sweated nervously what had just happened!? "The blade bent!?" He yelled incredulously. Soma's powerful blow had been about as effective as hitting Ciel with a flyswatter, due to the strange and abnormal flexibility of the blade. Ciel smirked.

"The leg is not a valid target area of the foil." Ciel told him haughtily. He was going to enjoy teaching this spoiled prince a lesson. "Too bad!!" Ciel shouted, grinning, as he suddenly thrust his sword at Soma.

"Wah!" Soma cried as he just barely managed to jump out of the way. Ciel immediately made another jab at Soma.

"You coward! I don't know the rules!" Soma yelled incredulously as he just barely managed to dodge again, turning blue with shock. "What is a valid target area!?"

"It's a little late to be saying that now, isn't it? You should have taken the time to learn the rules before rushing into danger." Chêne said, sighing as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh, my~! How long have you been standing there?" Lau asked her.

"Long enough, but don't worry. I won't interfere with the match. These things have a way of taking care of themselves..." Chêne said as she sat back down and continued working on her prototype elephant doll.

"Heh heh! Just as Chêne said, it's your own fault for being ignorant of the rules. A bout is a bout." Ciel said, smirking deviously.

"You fiend! Grrr..." Soma said, sweating nervously as he gripped his sword and grit his teeth in frustration.

"Heh." Sebastian said, smiling wryly, as he held his hand to his chin, amused by Ciel's wickedness, and Soma's distress. He glanced at Chêne. "That was not the reaction I had expected you to have." He told her. Chêne glanced at him.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not really supporting Ciel's bullying—I just happen to already know what the outcome of this little 'match' is going to be." Chêne said meaningfully, giving him a significant look as the young earl and prince continued fighting.

"Oh?" Sebastian said, smirking slightly. It had been a while since Chêne had one of her visions... It made him curious about what was going to happen next.

"Kuh!" Soma grunted as he dodged another attack from Ciel. "Hah!" He yelled as he swung his sword sideways at Ciel's, trying to knock the other boy's sword from his hand.

KUNYA~

The sword bent again.

"Ugaaah!" Soma yelled in frustration as his sword continued to wobble up and down from the vibrations caused by hitting Ciel's sword the way he had. "Aww, hell! This sword bends, so it's hard to wield!!" He shouted angrily, with multiple vein marks throbbing on his forehead.

"Oh dear... Oh no..." Agni said anxiously, worried for his prince.

"My, my..." Lau said. This was turning out to be most amusing.

"In fencing, you thrust forward. If you swing you foil sideways..." Ciel said calmly as Soma yelled and made another wide swing with his sword. "... Your valid target area is completely vulnerable!!" Ciel declared as he thrust his sword at Soma's unguarded torso. Soma's eyes widened in shock, and he paled slightly, knowing he wasn't quick enough to counter Ciel's blow—He was going to lose!!

"Prince!! Look out!!" Agni yelled anxiously as he suddenly dashed in front of Soma, shielding him.

STAB!

"!?" Ciel yelled in pain and surprise when Agni suddenly, reflexively jabbed Ciel in the elbow joint on the arm he was holding his sword in, stopping his attack.

"!!" Sebastian said, surprised, as he, Chêne, and Lau watched Ciel drop his sword and fall to his knees, cradling his injured arm. That had been the same strange attack that had made his arm tingle slightly before, and had rendered Chêne's arm immobile for a short while. They all stood in silence for a moment, stunned.

"Ha!" Agni gasped when he realized what he had just done. "L-Lord Ciel!! I am so sorry!" Agni said earnestly as he nervously glanced back and forth between Ciel and Ciel's fallen sword, which he had picked up. Poor Agni was blue with shock. "I could not help it when I thought my prince would lose...!!" Agni apologized profusely.

"Are you all right?" Sebastian asked Ciel as he knelt down beside him to check on him. He glanced at Chêne, wondering why she had let the match continue when she knew Ciel would get hurt. Ciel was grimacing from the tingling pain. It felt like someone had turned his arm into a pincushion. Ciel wondered how on earth had Chêne been able to stand it...

"Don't worry, there's no permanent harm done." Chêne announced as she too knelt down beside Ciel and examined his arm. Chêne began massaging his arm.

"What are you—!" Ciel said, wincing when she pressed into his tingling arm, but to his surprise, the tingling sensation started to subside, and it didn't hurt as much.

"Relax, my mom taught me how to do therapeutic massages when I was little, and she used to make me 'practice' them on her after a long shift at the hospital... until I got old enough to figure out I was being used." Chêne said, sweat dropping as she smiled wryly. "Thanks to that, I know a little about pressure points, at least..."

"Ahahaha! Agni! You protected your master. I commend you~!" Soma said, laughing cheerfully as he patted Agni on the back. "Agni's my ≤khansama≥. He belongs to me. There fore, I win!!"

"No—!" Ciel shouted, moving to stand back up, but Chêne held him back, and shook her head at him.

"You shouldn't use that arm too much Ciel. It's not completely healed yet." Chêne warned him sternly. She was in 'Nurse Chêne' mode, and she wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

"Noooow~! You must accompany me~!" Soma said gleefully, obviously enjoying his 'victory' over Ciel.

"Hold it." Chêne said bluntly, holding a hand up. "It's true that Ciel getting injured is his own fault, since he should've known better than to bully someone like that..." Ciel flinched in shock. He knew Chêne wouldn't approve, but was she really going to side with that annoying idiot!? "... But, while Agni may... 'belong' to you, this match was supposed to be between you and Ciel. If you can call in a substitute, then why can't Ciel?" Chêne said, glancing meaningfully at Sebastian.

"Dear, dear." Lau said as he balanced the sword he had been playing around with on his hand. "Now you must avenge your lord..." He said as he tossed the sword to Sebastian.

WHAP.

Sebastian reached up and easily caught the sword.

"Ciel's khansama. Are you going to fight?" Soma asked excitedly, grinning. He was sure he'd win either way. Sebastian glanced at Chêne, who looked at him expectantly. He raised an eyebrow at her. So, this must be why she didn't stop Ciel... she must have 'seen' this, and known that he would end up fighting Agni...

"Don't worry, I guarantee you won't be bored." Chêne whispered, seeing the look on his face.

"Haah..." Sebastian sighed boredly as he glanced down at Ciel, like he was looking at a cute, but stupid puppy (the kind that just never learns, and continuously makes the same mistake over and over again—like chewing on your slippers, despite being punished when it tried that on the last five pairs). Ciel glanced back at Sebastian, wondering what was with the sudden attitude. "Goodness... all this because you were nasty to a complete amateur who does not know the rules." Sebastian said, sighing in disappointment at Ciel.

"Wha—!?" Ciel said incredulously, flinching in shock, as a vein mark throbbed on his forehead. Sebastian had acted like he was all for getting a little payback from Soma for all the aggravation he caused them earlier, before Chêne came back. He glanced suspiciously at Chêne. Was there actually something going on between these two...? Whether or not either of them was aware of it... it was almost like Chêne was starting to get Sebastian wrapped around her little finger...

"However... My master has been injured." Sebastian said as he stood and swung the sword to the side in one fluid motion as he gripped it in his left hand. "As butler to the Phantomhive Family, I must do something about it." Sebastian stated coolly. Chêne blushed slightly, feeling a little chagrined. Why did he have to look so dashingly handsome all the freakin' time? "Moreover, we have fallen ten minutes behind schedule." Sebastian mumbled darkly with a serious gleam in his eye.

"That's your real motive, isn't it." Ciel said bluntly as he sweat dropped and a vein mark throbbed on his forehead. These people...

"Interesting. Very well." Soma said, grinning confidently. "I approve of the duel!" The two butlers stepped forward, taking their places for the start of the duel as the others moved out of their way, making room for them to fight. Sebastian, like Ciel, took up the traditional stance for beginning a duel in fencing, but Agni was holding himself in a stance that reminded Chêne of a similar stance a swordsman had taken in an old Bruce Lee martial arts film she watched with her dad once. It looked pretty bad ass, but Sebastian's graceful form only served to emphasize the stoic expression on his face. The demon butler was deadly calm, like the silence before a perfect storm.

"You may begin the match on my signal." Chêne said as she stepped forward, deciding to act as their referee. She doubted they would really need one, but whatever.

"Agni! In the name of our goddess Kali, win this match!" Soma ordered confidently, already sure of his victory against Ciel.

"Sebastian. I command you to shut that brat up!" Ciel ordered coldly.

"≤Jo aagyaa.≥" Agni said calmly as he faced Sebastian.

"Yes, my Lord." Sebastian said, smirking slightly. It looked like he was going to get a little bit of exercise today...


Author's note:

I've added a link to a diagram of Chêne's pink elephant, and I'm also going to start working on a surprise pic that one of your fellow readers inspired me to do... Fu-fu~! It's really gonna be something~! XD