I own nothing but my OC.


That Butler, Victorious 2


≤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

—^—^—^— change of perspective/area of action within one specific time frame/location


Previously:

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for myself." Ciel stated coolly as he placed his top hat back on his head. "But... as a result, you babysitter has returned as well, so I suppose this is a case of killing two birds with one stone." Agni smiled bashfully as he scratched his nose shyly. There was no way he'd ever be able to repay these people for their kindness.

"Ciel... if I hadn't come to Great Britain... I might never have come to learn a number of truths. I would have stayed my narcissistic self, ignorant in the ways of the world. That is, if I hadn't met Ciel." Soma said seriously, his eyes glowing with resolve as he clenched his fist in determination, illuminated by the orange glow of the sunset that was streaming in through the glass wall of the Crystal Palace. "From now on, I'd like to see and learn about many things. And some day... I'll become a fine man, second to none! I'll show you!" He declared, grinning brightly, proud of his new resolution.


"..." Ciel said as he stared solemnly at the Indian prince. "Anyone cane simply say the words." He deadpanned.

"I'll do it! Just you wait and see!" Soma shouted indignantly.

"Yeah... sure, sure." Ciel said boredly, blatant disbelief written all over his face.

"Haha, glad to see you two are getting along well~!" Chêne teased as she hopped off the stage and landed next to the two younger boys.

"Who's getting along...?" Ciel muttered, slightly chagrined.

"My, My." Sebastian said, smirking slightly in amusement at Ciel's expense, as he too exited the stage and rejoined them, toting his shiny new trophy. "How lively."

"Mister Sebastian!" Finni and Mei-Rin cheered excitedly as they and Bard ran over. "Congratulations~!"

"You did it!! Today calls for a victory celebration!!" Bard declared jovially as they all swarmed Sebastian, and he swung an arm around the demon butler's shoulder, grinning. Honestly, Sebastian would've much preferred to have Chêne's slender arm around him, so he let the three stooges hold the trophy for a while to keep them occupied and out of his personal space for a bit.

"It's the... the trophyyyy!!" Finni cheered excitedly as he hoisted the gleaming object high above his head and started running around willy-nilly.

"Don't drop it!" Bard shouted as he and Mei-Rin ran after him to make sure Finni didn't so anything Sebastian would make them all regret later.

"Mister Sebastian." Agni said tentatively, getting his fellow butler's attention. Sebastian watched as Agni dropped to his knees before him humbly. "I do not know how to apologize to you for these circumstances..." Sebastian stared down at him for a moment. Agni looked truly repentant and deeply troubled by all the difficulties his actions had caused for them... even though, in Sebastian's opinion, the man had no real reason to apologize to him in the first place. Agni had merely been faithfully serving his master, just as a butler should.

"Mister Agni, there is no need for that." Sebastian stated calmly as he too kneeled down and offered the other man his hand. "Please, raise your head."

"That's right. No real harm was done, so don't worry about it, 'kay?" Chêne said reassuringly as she squatted down beside them. "Just look over there, and you'll see that everything is copacetic!" She added, smiling brightly as she pointed to Ciel and Soma. Soma had his arm around Ciel, and the Indian prince was smiling and laughing. Ciel didn't exactly look pleased about having his personal space invaded, because there was a small vein mark on his face and he was making a rather feeble attempt to remove Soma's arm with the hand that wasn't holding his cane, but if Ciel had really hated it, he would've probably gotten one of them to remove Soma for him by now... It was nice to see him 'playing' with another boy who was so close to his own age. Ciel was such a work-a-holic most of the time, that Chêne was worried he'd forget how to interact with other children altogether. Kids should take time to play while they still can, you know? Agni stared at the scene, looking a little awestruck.

"I initially regretted bringing my prince over to Great Britain." Agni admitted solemnly. "However... now I am glad I brought him here. My prince and I have been taught many things by you. I cannot even begin to express my thanks for all you have done." He told Sebastian and Chêne.

"As I have said many times... I fought for my own reasons, and you for yours. That is all. Thanks are not necessary." Sebastian stated calmly.

"Yeah, it's no big deal, Mister Agni. If Sebastian says it's okay, then it's okay." Chêne said, smiling. She was glad Sebastian was being so gracious to the poor man after everything he'd been through. He must have developed some respect for the humble khansama.

Not many people could give Sebastian a run for his money like that.

"The goddess Kali in whom you believe was also able to realize her mistakes because of the pain that both she and the god Shiva suffered... just like the two of you here now." Sebastian added as he stood up again. "... Goodness. The sun is already setting. Let us go home." He held his hand out to Chêne and helped her to her feet, like a proper English gentleman. She smiled warmly at him, her eyes sparkling in the warm glow of the setting sun.

"True... Besides, you know what they say—no pain, no gain. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Chêne said, smiling wryly as their whole motley crew reassembled, and they started making their way out of the Crystal Palace.

"Indeed..." Sebastian said, smirking slightly as he glanced surreptitiously at Ciel. Their young master had a certain level of experience living that particular idiom already.

"To have an Englishman and Englishwoman instruct us in a teaching of our own heritage... is most embarrassing." Agni said humbly, smiling wryly as he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. These people were so kind and understanding!

"I'm an American, though..." Chêne said, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped.

"England, India, or America, it makes no difference." Sebastian said, smiling slightly as he stepped ahead of them. "No matter where or from what era, they are all alike..." The demon butler turned to face them, his silhouette framed by the orange glow of the brilliant English sunset that could be seen through the delicate glass walls. His crimson eyes glowed like embers in the fiery light. "... Those beings called humans."

"... Yes, you are right." Agni agreed, smiling a little as they all stopped to admire the sunset as well. "The sunset seen from the banks of the Ganges and the sunset seen from Great Britain... They are both beautiful."

"...'Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.'" Chêne said thoughtfully as she watched the sunset with her odd assortment new family and friends.

"That was beautiful Miss Chêne! Did you just think that up? What's it mean?" Finni asked curiously.

"Haha, actually, that was something Mrs. Karishma told me before. It's from one of her favorite Indian poets..." Chêne admitted, smiling wryly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I think it means don't sweat the small stuff, because even hardships can have happy endings...?" Sebastian smiled slightly. How very like Chêne to say something like that. He glanced at Ciel. Ciel was gazing at the colorful sky stoically as he stood beside Soma. Soma was watching the setting sun with a slightly more forlorn expression.

SLAM!

"Wha...!?" Ciel shouted with indignant surprise when Soma suddenly threw himself at the younger boy, embracing him, as he buried his head against Ciel's slim shoulder.

"U..." Soma said, his voice muffled.

'U...?' The three stooges thought, stunned. What was the significance of this, and why had he just suddenly grabbed their young master...?

'Ah...' Chêne thought, nodding to herself in understanding as she started searching for her handkerchief. 'Three... Two... One...'

"—UWAAAAAAAAAH!" Soma wailed mournfully, startling Ciel and the three stooges.

"Wh—!?" Ciel cried in surprise, turning slightly blue with shock. What the bloody hell just happened!? Why was he crying now..?

"Mi... Minaaaa!!" Soma sobbed miserably, unable to hold in his sadness over the loss of his kind maid any longer. "Uwaaaahn, Ciel!"

"Let me go!" Ciel demanded, vein throbbing on his forehead. Why must he be treated like a human security blanket? Chêne smiled wryly as she sighed and shook her head at the two boys antics. Agni wrung his hands nervously, not quite sure what he should do.

"Don't worry, guys. I got this." Chêne said reassuringly as she pulled out her hanky and went to help peel Soma off of Ciel and comfort him. "Aw, hush now... I know it hurts now, but it's gonna be okay, Prince Soma. You're all right. I've got you." She cooed soothingly as Ciel elbowed the wailing prince in an attempt to put some distance between them. "Ciel! Use your words if you have a problem!" She scolded him lightly, trying not to laugh at the priceless expression on the young earl's face.

"... I truly am so very glad... we came to Great Britain." Agni told Sebastian once more, smiling as he watched Chêne and the three stooges try to cheer Soma up while he stubbornly clung to his new friend, much to the latter's chagrin, since Ciel's expensive clothes were being covered in snot and tears. "Both my prince and I... were able to meet the greatest of friends here." Sebastian's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Did you say... friends?" Sebastian asked, genuinely stunned. "This is my first time hearing that from someone."

"Hey!" Chêne said indignantly, turning around to face them as she put her hands on her hips. "Aren't we friends, Sebastian? We've been 'brothers in arms' for two years now, taking care of Ciel..."

"..." Sebastian said as he stared at her strangely for a moment. "Chêne is Chêne. You don't count." He stated bluntly, causing her to flinch in shock, as he beamed a brilliant shit-eating grin at her.

'Wha—!? Just what the heck is that supposed to mean...?' She wondered, feeling a little chagrined. Even if they'd never said it out loud, hadn't the become friends over the past two years after all the obstacles (i.e., Ciel's unreasonably high expectations and doing damage control for the three stooges) they had overcome together? Weren't they kind of comrades in arms...? Chêne blinked when she suddenly realized there was something else a little strange. She glanced around, taking a silent head count. Sure enough, it hadn't been her imagination after all. Lau and Ran-Mao had gone off somewhere on their own...

=†=†=†=†=

{In a certain back alley...}

"—Hell! How dare they reduce my plan to ashes!" West shouted in frustration as he slumped back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position, holding his head in his hands. Three years... Three years of kissing up to the royals with free goods, and nothing to show for it!

"Cheer up... There's always next time." Mina said soothingly, trying to reassure her defeated husband.

"Yes, yes. Next time, quite." A mysterious voice said slyly as a figure emerged from the shadows. It was Lau. The Chinaman grinned. "Hiya, you two. Nice try back there." He said pleasantly, as though he were merely commenting on something as trivial as the weather.

"!?" West gasped in surprised. "Who are you...?" This man looked vaguely familiar, but he just couldn't figure out why... Had they met somewhere before?

"Lord Earl said to leave the small fry alone, but those who try something once will try it again and again." Lau said, smiling wryly as he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "He's still too soft when it comes to that sort of thing, I guess. Well..." He said, changing to a more serious tone as he opened his vulpine eyes and smirked slyly. "... I do find his boyish side rather loveable." He gave a soft, cynical laugh. "But I must strike fear into the hearts of the naughty little mice who made a mess in my garden here, in the East End."

SWF...

"!?" Mina and West said, startled when yet another mysterious figure emerged from the shadows. This time it was a scantily clad Chinese girl holding two melon hammers.

"That's why I keep this cat." Lau explained as the girl slammed one of the ancient Chinese weapons into the paved street, shattering the cobblestones as if they were simply brittle clots of mud.

"Eep...!" Mina and West yelped as they flinched and turned blue with shock, holding each other as they cowered in fear of the insanely strong girl.

"Meow~!" Lau said play fully as he held one of his hands up like a cat's paw and imitated a Chinese 'lucky cat' figurine, grinning ominously at them.

"GYAAAAAAAAH!! WE WON'T DO IT AGAIN—WE SWEAR!!" Mina and West cried in terror, begging for mercy as they deadly cat closed in on its prey.

=†=†=†=†=

{Back at the Crystal Palace with Ciel and company...}

"It's about time you stopped crying!" Ciel huffed indignantly as he tried to brush himself off and make himself more presentable now that Soma had finally released him. "Didn't you say you were seventeen?" Ciel asked, sweat dropping, as he watched Soma sniffle and wipe his runny nose on his own sleeve. Chêne's poor abused handkerchief had already been used to the point of no return, and it had now become one giant glob of slimy mucus... Chêne had decided to just let Soma keep it. There was no way she could ever look at that poor little handkerchief the same way ever again after that...

"Use this..." Ciel told Soma, sighing as he decided to sacrifice one of his own handkerchiefs this time, rather than be seen walking around with a snot-covered teenager. "?" Ciel said, surprised when an envelope was pulled out of his pocket along with his handkerchief. "...! This is—" Ciel said when he saw the royal crest on the wax seal. "When did this get into my pocket!?" He shouted in surprise, turning slightly blue with shock as he clutched the letter.

"Her Majesty's man put it there a moment ago." Sebastian informed him dutifully, flashing him a brilliant shit-eating grin.

"That's why it took him so long to chase after Her Majesty when she left." Chêne added very matter-of-factly, as if it should have been obvious.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" Ciel demanded incredulously, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. What if this contained urgent information!?

"You did not ask." Sebastian said reasonably.

"I thought you would've realized someone was digging around in your pocket like that." Chêne said, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped. "You'd be such an easy mark for pick-pocketing... You're like a thief's dream come true, Ciel." Another vein mark throbbed on his head. These two...!!

"Tch!" Ciel clicked his tongue in irritation and handed Soma his handkerchief so he could blow his nose before proceeding to open the envelope. "Nn? A card...?" Ciel said, puzzled as he removed a cheerful, but tasteful Christmas card from the envelope.

"Oh, that's a really nice card Ciel! It looks handmade, too." Chêne observed as she glanced at it over his shoulder.

"Perhaps it is a Christmas greeting for her dear boy." Sebastian teased, grinning slyly.

"Do you want to die?" Ciel asked him in a deadly calm and cold tone of voice. A vein throbbed on his head as he glared coldly at Sebastian, his face cast in shadow. He was emitting a very dark and dangerous aura. His demonic butler was definitely enjoying this way too much, in his opinion.

"By the way, where did Mister Lau go, where?" Mei-Rin asked curiously, suddenly realizing they were short a couple of people.

"Yeah. He aint's around, huh." Bard said thoughtfully. Chêne sweat dropped. Seriously? They were only noticing that now...?

"Haah!" Ciel sighed wearily, both mentally and physically exhausted from the day's events. "... I'm tired. I want to go home and relax over a cup of tea."

"Very well, Sir." Sebastian replied dutifully as Ciel handed him the card for safe keeping until they had returned home, where he could read it in privacy. There was no way the queen would go to that much trouble just to give her watchdog a simple greeting card. "I shall brew a high-grade Assam upon our return. And for dinner, I shall put everything into making the very best curry—"

"Hell no!" Chêne cut in bluntly, instantly nixing that plan. "If it's going to be like that, then I'm cooking—and it's going to be anything but curry! I've had enough chicken to last me a month, too!"

"Quite right. You can drop the curry jokes." Ciel said, chagrined, vein throbbing on his forehead. He was behind Chêne one-hundred percent this time. "I don't want to lay eyes on anything so much as resembling curry. Leave the cooking up to Chêne tonight."

"Heh. Very good, Sir." Sebastian said, smirking slyly. Chêne sweat dropped. He definitely did that on purpose...!