AN: So, I'm back, and celebrating a 1 year anniversary since I posted this fic. 13 chapters ain't much, but it's a start. Anyhow, I'm happy to see that there are readers who enjoy the story and that's what matters most. Anyway, I'm updating rather late so it might end up being March 1 when you see this update. Sorry about that. Other than that, I've concluded the mystery (despite how crappy it is), and I hope I've made a good enough conclusion. And towards the end, kinda added a filler to transition to the next part of the story. I was kinda getting impatient, but hopefully when I get around to editing it, I'll think of something better.

Anyhow, on to the reviews!

8shadesofmadness: Roflmao, thanks again for the ideas and the PMs. They helped a lot, and I'll be sure to ask if I need an idea generator. Enjoy reading!

bunnyxstar: Thanks, and I hope to keep up the quality. Hope this chapter does the same as well!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji nor will I ever. Everything read not included in the manga are my ideas and characters alone unless mentioned otherwise.

Chapter 12
Rachel's POV (1st)
"Rachel?" The hooded figure before me inquired, lowering their weapons. He raised himself slowly from his battle stance.

I stared in shock. I hadn't expected my adversary to be someone I'd known from my time… much less be at this very same place.

It couldn't be…

…

Today was the day. I was sat on the bed, tense. I glanced at the clock. Five o'clock p.m. Another round of niceties exchanged, facades maintained, but now…

Now, everything would be revealed tonight.

The door creaked open and I looked up to see Undertaker's head poke in with a grin. "Excited?~"

I blanked. He certainly has a way with words. I looked back down at my hands, deciding not to answer.

He snickered at my lack of response. "Now now, whatever could it be, deary? Could it be our infamous assassin isn't as tough as she looks~ Hi hi hi!"

My head snapped up with a glare, nostrils flaring. Just one moment of peace. Is that so much to ask for? I decided to give him the cold shoulder, sullenly turning my back on him to think some more. Even moreso, ignoring the way the bed sunk under his weight as he sat somewhat close to me. My eyebrow ticked. Of all the places to be, couldn't he have just bothered Vincent some more? Or even Diedrich? That stick in the mud is more fun than I'll ever amount to in my whole life.

I shook my head. I was getting sidetracked.

I was still muddled over our situation altogether, and add to that, the current headache by yours truly - that being Undertaker - made itself known once again. Except, he was only part of it. And whatever stunt he pulled those few days ago after that impromptu meeting didn't help any. Any time I thought about it, that one damned green eye would flash in my head, and I'd feel a phantom of his hand on top of mine. Whatever the hell it was supposed to mean, I don't know, nor do I have the time to care to.

There was so many loopholes in the investigation itself. Each route ended with two more routes, more questions lead to more questions. Yet, Vincent was so totally set on wrapping up everything tonight. He'd had routine walks with Lady Evans during the day with Diedrich accompanying him, deceitfully noting for potential places to hold the missing bachelors, yet, of all the places in the house, only the areas where servants were allowed remained unknown to him. Therefore, I'd picked up the slack and investigated during the night. I did, at one point, sense an unknown presence before it hid itself again. Perhaps another victim killed? I could only sense the bloodlust though, but when I investigated, no blood, no remains, and no corpse. Nor could I find where they were hidden.

/Curiouser and curiouser, isn't it?/ I was not happy with this turn of events. Perhaps there was a missing person. Cases tend to resolve like that if there are so many pieces that can be strung to one cause. That had to be it. A co-mastermind perhaps? Maybe even a powerful one.

I turned to Undertaker, slight annoyance already forgotten with my revelation at hand. "So, I've been thinking for a while now…"

He was already focused solely on me, trademark grin in place and nerves alight that I was now giving him my full attention. Much like a child, and I could tell because the bed was jiggling a bit with his excitement. "Yesss~?"

I sighed internally but continued. "This case may involve a co-mastermind, or at least someone behind the scenes."

He nodded eagerly. "Go onnn~"

Ok, this was starting to get annoying. He already knew didn't he? Based off his snickering at my reaction, I already had my answer. But that was besides the point.

"Anyways, I find it suspicious that she's been able to get away with the murders of the bachelors, receive a steady supply of arsenic, and yet not have any kind of slip-ups until recently. Unless…" Unless if it was intentional! "Bait! The corpses showed up recently for attention. Someone's attention! Almost like it was aimed for someone… But…"

Undertaker's grin got impossibly wider. "You're getting there, m'dear~"

Whatever he said completely escaped my notice since I was too busy marveling at my realization. Then the conclusion arrived. I blinked. Tilted my head. "Bait for whom?"

His grin became vague. "That, we'll have to find out tonight, m'dear."

I pursed my lips. That really wasn't the answer I wanted, but he was right. It would have to wait until tonight. I looked back at him. /How had he managed to piece it all together so soon? I mean, I understand he would eventually become the mastermind and creator behind the Bizarre Dolls fiasco, but… How?/

At my inquisitive stare, Undertaker only offered that same vague smile, like he knew something I didn't before getting off the bed.

/I guess that's what makes the brand of a genius./

"Well, m'dear, I best get going~ Can't keep the Earl waiting too long."

"I'm sure."

He gave me an amused smile. "Try not to get too caught up with your thoughts tonight. Can't lose my assistant too soon, after all~ Who knows what could happen to an old man like me!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Who would care to? I'd think half of London wouldn't care to know who you were in the first place."

He pouted at me, before shortly grinning, unfazed. He giggled on his way out, waving. "If that's all, I'll be taking my leave then, dear~"

/It's not like he knows everything./ I frowned. /But then again, neither could I./

…

Nighttime had already fallen. Vincent had relayed the message earlier to meet them at the wine cellar. They most probably had Undertaker guide them there. I only needed to use my nose, and if not, then just sense where they were.

I turned the corridor, heading down the dark hallways. It wasn't too far off, and by the time I opened the door to the wine cellar, I could see the three of them huddled at the center of the room, Diedrich holding a lit candelabra.

"Ah, you made it." Vincent looked pleased for whatever reason.

"Right, so what's the game plan?" I received odd looks at my lingo but I just raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for one, try to recover the bodies. We will require evidence in order to incriminate her as well as rescue the women." Vincent turned to grab another candelabra, lighting it using Diedrich's before handing it to Undertaker. "We will separate into pairs: Diedrich and I will look in here while you and Undertaker look into the second room. If there's any more underground rooms, then we'll regroup here."

Sure. Good luck with that. I nodded anyway just so we could get moving. Feeling Undertaker's dark presence near, I looked up to see the candle casting shadows on his face. Half his face was dark, the other half light, mostly because of his hair; his robes didn't help either.

I blankly stared at him before remarking rather loudly, "You look like a ghost."

He burst into mirthful snickers. "Why, thank you kindly, dear~"

I shook my head before following him into the second room. So far, the room was stale, smelled stale, and looked stale. Rows of corked bottled lined the walls, and within the rows would've been ideal hiding spaces for corpses, but alas, nothing. I furrowed my brow. There was nothing down here. Maybe she already cleaned up?

I still had an itch that there was a 13th person case going on here. This was so very clearly bait yet here were just like sitting ducks. I didn't like it. Not one bit.

All of a sudden, another presence made itself known, and my eyes widened before drawing my sword and pushing Undertaker behind me to block the incoming attack.

/Clang!/ A hooded figure had drawn his own short sword, and we pushed each other way. Both of us assumed an offensive stance, crouching low, muscles tensed before lunging at each other. We exchanged and parried blows, neither of us getting a hit in until the figure managed to get a good look at me by coincidence of the flame lighting up my face, and in his shock, I took advantage of the opening and kicked him a good few feet away. Readying for the final blow, I raised my sword until the figure suddenly straightened.

"Rachel?"

I stared in shock. I hadn't expected my adversary to be someone I'd known from my time… much less be at this very same place.

It couldn't be…

"Zero?!"

…

Undertaker's POV (3rd)
His assistant never failed to intrigue to him. From her appearance all to the way to her personality, even her interactions with people. Even now was no exception, not ever since the surprising reveal of what appeared to be her former comrade.

He raised a sleeved hand, feeling a grin form on his face. Ohh, this was definitely about to get good.

HIs assistant remained frozen, sword ready to deliver the final blow before slowly lowering it. Perhaps she'd been too focused on trying to kill the enemy that she needed time to register the surprise. Then to his amusement, he saw her blurry form walk to her former assailant slowly and stand before him for a moment before smacking his head with an audible thump from her fist.

He couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "Bwahahahaha~"

Although he couldn't see much - damn his reaper sight - he could guess from his complaints and her berating that they were most probably friends or even comrades.

"Zero?! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, I was stuck and I needed help so I ended up here!"

"And what made you think killing bachelors would help anyone?!"

"Well, I- Can you just let me finish for a second? Just calm down…"

"Calm down? You want me to calm down?!"

Another thump and a yelp confirmed his guess. He snickered.

"Alright, fine! She promised to help me as long as I helped her."

"So, what, you were the one to kill bachelors, clean up the corpses, /and/ supply her with arsenic? I thought it was the maids doing that!"

"Well, no, they're pretty useless when it comes to the art of killing, but that was my only opportunity to crossdress~"

"/Zero/…" He could hear Rachel's warning tone.

"And well, I thought if it became a huge deal, you'd come and investigate…" Her comrade's tone had dwindled rather pathetically at this point.

"Oh, so becoming the enemy of the Queen was a great idea?"

"I mean, it got you to come here and find me!"

Another smack.

"/Owww/, my head is throbbing!"

"Yeah, probably because I got your brain to work again!" She sighed.

He approached with candelabra in hand, a sleeved hand to his mouth as he got closer to them. He could somewhat see her pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. In his opinion, he was highly amused at the man's macabre planning, albeit foolish. "Well well~ what to do now with him and the noblewoman, hihihi"

"Ugh, you work for him?"

"Zero! Show some respect!"

"Ow! That's my ear!" She must've pinched it.

"He's my boss, you idiot!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know?!"

"Even if you didn't, you still show some respect!"

"Alright, alright, fine, just let go, now!"

He snickered again and sensed two more presences approaching. The Earl and Diedrich. "Hihi, milords, seems the case has been resolved~"

The Earl and his German dog came in, looking a bit alarmed, but seeing as Rachel and her comrade were arguing, the Earl seemed to be politely amused but more confused. Diedrich was just bewildered at the rough display. "That's the assailant?"

"Hihi, right you are, milord~"

Diedrich scoffed. "Tch, what a waste of time."

"Then, it's just the noblewoman who needs taking care of."

"Oh, her? Why, she's right here." Surprisingly, he heard Rachel speak up and walk over to the rows of wine, and within, she pulled out a disgruntled Lady Evans.

Then, he heard the sound of her sword being unsheathed, and before he could speak up, another voice screamed out. "Wait!"

Silence reigned for a second, so deafening that a pin dropping would've been audible. Since he didn't sense a weakening of a presence, he guessed that the sword was stopped inches away from the noblewoman. An impressive amount of self-control and experience for wielding a sword.

"Please, don't." Although everyone's heads were craned to the direction the voice spoke out, he could easily surmise it as one of the maids employed in the manor. "You can't kill her."

"And why not?" came Rachel's steady reply. She had adopted the role of assassin again; Ruth, wasn't it?

"You wouldn't understand." Her grim reply made a smirk come to his mouth.

"You're right," said Ruth, after a moment passed. "I don't, nor do I care to. It's not my business how you live your life, but once it began to interfere with others, then it did."

He could hear a shocked gasp, most probably from the maid, at how swiftly Ruth had used her own words against her. How intriguing that his assistant could become so confident before her foe. He could imagine her, cold and unyielding, firm in her opinion. Ruthless.

She continued. "It is a shame that women are subject to a society where they hold no advantage against men, they're subject like farm animals to be sold away for marriage only for profit, milked like cows for sons and then throw away. It's a shame, but I don't have the experience to sympathize nor do I care to. All I am concerned about is the crimes this woman has committed."

"But, it's our way of life! She saved us!"

"True. But those bachelors you killed had their own lives too. I don't care for what you do so long as your rights don't infringe others. Rather, do it the right way. Otherwise, the fate of Lady Evans rests in Earl Phantomive's hands." With that being said, she sheathed her sword and walked closer to Undertaker.

He giggled. What proud yet stubborn girl. He was going to have fun with this one. He aimed a cryptic grin and she only responded with a raised eyebrow before looking away. He wanted to know what she was thinking, what she must've been pondering as she talked to that maid. He wanted to find out.

"Well, with that out of the way, I can assure you that Lady Evans would most definitely be spending time in jail." Ah, the Earl it is. Yet, his tone of voice seemed to suggest something.

"You seem to be quite disappointed, though, milord~ Why would that be, hm~ hihihi!"

Diedrich, as always, that dry German dog, was impatient as always. "Well, what are we standing around for? Cuff her and get on with it!"

Undertaker smiled. Oh no, the Earl definitely had something in mind.

"Why, Diedrich, that isn't how you treat a woman!" Vincent lightly scolded. "No, this seems a more delicate case. In consideration for your maids, I will discuss this with the Queen and see if a more fair punishment will be dealt. However, in terms of your accomplice…" The Earl seemed to suspect Rachel's comrade, but given the familiarity between them, was also just as curious about what was between them.

He heard a sigh next to him. "If you would be so kind, my lord, to push this matter to tomorrow on the way back. Tonight has been quite exhausting."

"Ah, yes, my apologies."

Undertaker snickered. She did, after all, just have a slight skirmish with him and probably would be having a few more words with him afterwards, no doubt. Poor thing must be embarrassed. "Now now, dear, I'm sure it'll be just fine~"

He could feel her heated glare on him. "Shut it," she seethed quietly.

He giggled. Out of patience, wasn't she? He draped himself over her with a dramatic pout. "Is that any way to treat your employer?"

"Oi! Get off me! Zero!"

"Hmph! He's your boss, your problem." He could see the blurry form of her comrade turn his back with his arms crossed.

"What!"

"Zero." The noblewoman spoke up this time after having been silent for so long. Everyone quieted, curious to see what she had to say after his betrayal. "What happened to removing the pests?"

Her white haired comrade twitched before looking back at Lady Evans. "Pest?" Then a wide grin replaced his frown. "Why, my Rachel isn't a pest. She is my mistress! After all, I am but simply her subordinate. I would never dare go against her. Ever." He bowed mockingly. "Hence the swift betrayal."

The noblewoman's eyes narrowed before looking down, accepting her loss.

Undertaker grinned. This was just getting too interesting. He looked down at the assistant he was draped over, brooding. Too interesting, indeed.

…

Rachel's POV (1st)
I sighed, aggravated. "I swear, Zero."

He whined behind me. "How many times do I have to say sorry?!"

I whirled around to look at him. "'Sorry' isn't gonna fix anything! How am I supposed to explain your arrival?"

He tilted his head. "Hold on, so you're working for the Queen's Watchdog, too?"

I blinked. "Not directly. But how do you know about that?"

"Pfft, anyone in the Underworld knows that. But since my connection to Lady Evans, she knew it would draw the Earl, just not you at the same time."

Ah. That made sense. "And hence why she lost so easily, huh?"

He nodded with a bright smile.

I sighed again before shaking my head and heading up to my room. I give up. Back when I first recognized Zero, I had never felt more relieved and annoyed in my entire life. I massaged my temple, feeling an impending headache arrive.

"Oh, uh, Rachel?"

"…What?"

"Can I stay with you? The amount of women in this mansion is freaking me out."

What the hell? "Uh, Zero, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a man, either."

"Of course not, you're just not as girly as them." He jerked over his shoulder with his thumb like he didn't even like the prospect of looking back and seeing one accidentally.

I snorted. "Fine, whatever. But you make your own bed."

"Oh sure, no problem!"

His happy-go-lucky attitude would be the end of him.

I opened the door to my bedroom, more than ready for sleep to come. An hour later and I was already in bed. And Zero was sleeping next to me. There wasn't anywhere manageable for him to make a bed

"Hey, Rachel?"

"Huh? Why aren't you asleep?"

"… Thanks."

"You're welcome?" What was he thanking me for?

"If this goes to hell, then I'll just have to find somewhere else to go."

I snorted. "What are you, an idiot? Don't worry, I'll work something out. Also, just out of curiosity, what happened to all the bodies?"

"Oh, those? Eh, I buried them. It was a pain in the ass having to drag them all the way from the manor to the woods, but it kept me in shape."

I snorted. "Fair enough. Now shut up and sleep."

…

"So."

I looked at Vincent.

"Care to explain?" He gestured at Zero with a smile.

We were already in the carriage heading back to the Phantomhive manor. Lady Evans was under house arrest until the Queen came to a decision, and Zero and I were, well… I don't know.

I shrugged. "He's my subordinate from my time. I think he was in a close enough radius to have been affected like me."

Undertaker suddenly perked. "Ah, you mean the pocket watch~"

I nodded. "Sure. But I'm not sure if that will applies to everyone else on there with us." I glanced at Zero and he nodded. We both thought that maybe our enemies are here, too, but no evidence so far.

Vincent looked at us oddly. "Pocketwatch?"

I deadpanned. /Oh, right, I only told Undertaker./

"Well, basically…." And from there, proceeded to tell everyone basically what I told Undertaker.

Vincent held his chin. "So you can't go home? What about if you repaired it?"

I shrugged again. "It's worth a shot. But I'll have to find someone for that." And it might be complicated considering the nature of it to control time. But we had time.

"Uh, shouldn't you be more eager to get home?" Diedrich looked at us as though we ought to be.

We glanced at each other nonchalantly and then both shrugged. "We figured we could take a break."

Zero relaxed against the side of the carriage. "Yeah, what she said."

Undertaker snickered. "Well, both of you look rather relaxed~"

I shrugged again. "Yeah, I guess. I'm just pretty tired. Don't wake me up unless if it's a life-threatening emergency." With that, I shoved my earbuds in, turned up the volume, and passed out against Zero. I hated traveling, not the new places, mind you, but motion sickness was a pain in the ass. I'm sure Zero shared my thoughts, too.

The next time I came to, I was already at Undertaker's place, in my bedroom, tucked under the blankets. I sat up before seeing Zero in the seat Undertaker initially occupied.

"Oh hey, you're up." He was shuffling cards in his hands. He was still in the same attire since the last time I saw him. Well, it's not like Lady Evans had any men's clothing unless if it came from the bachelors. Maybe that's why he cross-dressed.

I blinked. "Yeah, but where's Undertaker?"

"Downstairs. He'll let me stay for a bit, but after a while I'm gonna find somewhere else to work."

My eyes widened. "Wait, he's not letting you stay?"

Zero shrugged. "Eh, it's not that. More like, I'd rather not be the free loader. Plus, he seems pretty content just having you around. I'll still visit, but I'll probably go to a bar. Maybe they'll have open spots."

I stared at him blankly. "You're gay."

He pouted. "What does that have to do with anything?!"

I sighed. "Just be careful. Drunk men aren't usually the kind of people you look for in a husband."

He crossed his arms defensively. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

At that particular moment, my stomach gave a grumble. Zero snickered. "Go eat. Everyone knows how ravenous you get after a mission."

I glared. "Shut the fuck up."

01/28/19