At some point during the car ride, Iku felt a hand place itself on her hip and shake her slightly. Even though she knew it was time to wake up, part of her didn't want to bother opening her eyes.

The car was full of warm, wonderful air, and it was so comfortable to lay like this. When had she ever slept so well before?

Her side shook slightly, but Iku still didn't budge, instead burying her self a bit deeper into Ikuto's leg, the smooth cloth from his pant leg feeling great on her cheek.

This must be exactly how a cat feels when it rubs against it's owner's legs...

"I-Iku-chan...Please wake up..." Ikuto whimpered above her, now using both hands to shake her.

"...I don't want to get up..." Her eyes opened ever so slightly, gazing up at her brother's worried expression. She wished he didn't always worry about her, he should worry about himself too...

"Is she awake back there?" Masuyo's voice cuts in, staring ahead while turning the car to the left and killing the engine.

"Y-Yes!" Ikuto blurted before Iku could respond, his cheeks turning bright red. He hadn't meant to yell, let alone have his voice suddenly sound so...Strange. Like the voice Master liked. The voice Master made him use when it was 'time.'

Masuyo turned around to look at him, making him shiver and turn away. He didn't want to see her face, which he was sure had the look on it that everyone gave him.

"...Let's go then." She said simply, getting out of the car.

Fraught with curiosity, Iku sat up and looked out the window, rubbing her eyes which were filled with blurriness. "Wha...Where are we...?" She murmured, gaze fixed to the window.

The sky had gone from a blue-midnight to a cloudy gray, clouds looming over dangerously.

A knock came from the window next to Ikuto, startling the pair before they hastily piled out of the car. It was only then that they registered that this was a driveway they were in.

In front of them stood a two story house, painted with a light leaf green and a white roof, several bushes surrounding the house with pretty pink flowers they'd never seen before.

It was strange to look at house that wasn't the one they'd stayed in for so long.

"Welcome to your new home." Masuyo said, extending her arm out to her side in a presenting fashion.

Iku let out a soft gasp, her brother's eyes tripling in size.

"...New home?" Her voice became light with a whisper, something that was normally hard for her to accomplish willingly.

"B-But we have a home with Master..." Ikuto added in, though Iku gave him a small look.

It wasn't exactly a 'home' per say.

Brushing a lock of brown hair from her face, Masuyo shook her head and searched for the right words. Twisting her face into a slight scowl, it inflated back into a small smile.

"But you'll like it better here...You won't have to stay in one room all the time. And you can do anything you want to without needing to ask someone."

Watching the two with a nervous smile, she prayed inwardly that they wouldn't ask too much. Not now, at least. Not yet.

"...Are you...Are you o-our new Masuta...?" Squeaked Iku, ducking behind her brother for fear of being wrong.

The last time she'd been wrong about something, Master had slapped her across the face and it remained swollen in blue and black for an entire week.

Masuyo made no attempt to strike her, however.

Instead, she shook her head and put a palm to her forehead, rubbing it as though a headache were coming on. "Please, you really don't need to call me that..."

"B-But we need a Masuta!" Countered Ikuto, balling his hands into fists. "We need a Masuta or we can't do anything!"

"No, you don't need someone to do that..."

"Master said we-"

"Master isn't here, is he?" She didn't like having to say that, but knew it was needed. "Just come inside, we'll discuss this. I'll bet you're both starving, anyway..."

--

Inside, the house had distinct scent that seemed like a combination between lemons and vanilla. Some spots, one scent over powered the other. Ikuto's eyes watered up whenever he got too close to a spot with a lot of lemon, but they adjusted to it fairly quickly.

The kitchen was nicer than Master's. Much more clean and organized, and no spatters of food on the walls in some areas.

Leading them in, Masuyo went straight for the fridge. "You're both going to be staying here from now on." She paused for a minute before quickly adding in, "You can leave though if you want to. To go out and...Yeah..."

This would be harder than it sounded, judging from the look on the pair's faces.

Being a Maidloid and a Butlerloid, they were only going to respond to what they were told, so she had to make sure she said it right the first time, in a clear way.

Otherwise, it could turn into a mess.

Iku shifted her eyes around the room, cautiously taking in her surroundings. "Why are we staying here...?"

"Because..." Masuyo thought a moment. "Because Master doesn't want you to stay with him anymore." It was the clearest thing she could think up, and besides, it wasn't entirely a lie.

Closing the fridge, the brunette pulled out two chairs from the table and motioned for them to come sit.

Despite wanting to ask more, Iku kept her mouth shut and sat quietly, looking back at Ikuto. Something seemed...off.

He stared at the other chair, a curled fist pressed against his lips. That was a habit of his, whenever he became nervous. What was there to be nervous about?

"Ne, come and sit down." Masuyo urged. He merely shook his head in response, rather rapidly at that.

With a sheepish expression, Ikuto tried his best to give a half-hearted smile. "N-No, really! I'm fine with standing! I've been sitting too much, anyhow..." He prayed she had bought it.

But she didn't.

"Nonsense. Go on, sit and I'll make you a nice meal."

"Ikuto-san..."

Outnumbered and defeated, the green haired boy bowed his head towards the floor exhaustively and walked to the chair. He managed to sit himself down for at least a minute, before jumping back up again with a painful expression. "Ah!!"

Both girls turned to him as he lept from his chair, knees knocking together while wincing over and over.

'It's back...The pain...It's back...'

"I-Ikuto-san! What's wrong?" Iku stood from her chair fast. Stepping forward to approach him, Ikuto backed up further with each step she took.

'The pain, the pain! It won't go away!'

One hand trails down his leg. He wants to touch, to stop. But he can't. Not here.

Someone reaches for his other hand, and he whirls around to face them. Masuyo's face is etched with concern. "Is something wrong? Why are you suddenly so-"

'Make it stop!'

"Ikuto-san..."

'Make it STOP!'

"Calm down and tell us-"

Wrenching away from their sight, Ikuto ran down the hallway aimlessly. He had no clue where he was going, but his eyes darted around in search for a place, any place he could hide.

He settled for the next door on his left and slammed it shut, satisfied to find that it could be locked.

Pressing his back against the door, the Butlerloid slid down it until he sat on the floor, his breath raspy. When finally his mind caught up with him, he dragged his arm up the wall slightly to find a light switch.

With a flick, the room illuminated with light, and he found himself sitting on the bathroom floor.

--

Any knocks on the door proved unsuccessful for an answer, and Iku found herself giving up and going back into the kitchen. Masuyo was already frying up something on the stove.

"Did he say anything?" She inquired.

Iku shook her head. "No...Nothing..." Drawing out a sigh, she slumped back into her chair to resume her place. What had gotten into Ikuto lately?

"Maybe all this is just a bit too much for him right now." Masuyo suggested. It was worth throwing something out there to think about, anyway. Although, the feeling in her gut was telling her a thousand other things.

Mumbling something to herself, Iku closed her eyes and listened to the steam and sparks crackling from the frying pan. Master had never made them anything special to eat like this girl did. He always gave them something that minuscule with value in terms of food.

Any number of times, Ikuto and her had most likely suffered some source of food poisoning, whether it made them sick to the stomach or lay in bed all day.

Whatever sat in the pan smelled wonderful to her. Iku hoped that her brother would come out soon and share some of it with her when it was done...

--

He hopes that he isn't breaking a rule by doing this without asking, but it's an emergency, so...

Turning the large, silver dial to the left, the faucet of the bathtub slowly begins streaming semi-warm water before quickly evolving into a rush of cold water.

Checking again to make sure the drain is plugged, Ikuto watched the water fall into the porcelain bathtub.

Almost as though the water put him into a trance.

The feeling was easily shaken off though, and he stepped back and begin pardoning his uniform off himself.

First came the boots, which he was more than happy to take off. Blisters always seemed imminent when he wore them, but what else did he have? Maybe he could find a nice, comfortable pair of dress shoes around here...

Then the rest came off rather spontaneously. Unbuttoning the suit, zipping off the black pants, untying the white, slightly frilly neckerchief...

And he tried to be as slow as he could. Easing everything off carefully, as though he were wearing a bomb.

The pain made itself right at home again, burning intensely throughout his stomach and lower regions. Ikuto gasped and clenched the corner of the sink, trying to recompose himself.

He couldn't tell, wouldn't tell. It was much too embaressing to tell them about this, and especially when he didn't for sure if anything was actually wrong.

Maybe it was just pain from taking Iku's turn that day. He could have over done it all, that was it.

Yet, the thought still lingered that he could be sick as well. Oh, but no! He couldn't possibly be getting sick with anything! Not when he had to keep moving, keep being strong like he always had been!

He looked to the tub and found the water had climbed high enough, thankfully.

Taking a deep breath, Ikuto tested the water by dipping his foot in it. A high squeal almost let loose as he jumped back. It was freezing! Or at least close enough to it!

Though, that had been his intention.

Before the pain could burst again, he stepped back into the water and didn't pull out this time.

Getting his other foot in, Ikuto's body shook already with the thought of impending chills.

One last deep breath, and down he bent to sit all the way. He had to cover his mouth with his hands as soon as he was immersed in the tub, a muffled yell screaming into his palm.

The burning seared incredibly before reducing itself to a sting.

Arm leaning on the rim, his emerald eyes closed as he let the cold water do it's job...

--

"Aren't you going to eat any of it?" Asked Masuyo, pointing at Iku's plate. She understood that maybe the girl wanted to wait for her brother, but wasn't she hungry by now?

Shaking her head, Iku looked back down the hallway in hopes that Ikuto would coming walking down it any minute.

Her mouth felt perpetually sewn shut, as even though there were many things she wanted to ask and to say, none of them could make it past the lump in her throat.

Although she willed herself to wait until Ikuto came to eat, her stomach was betraying her with growls and hunger pains.

"It tastes better when it's hot you know..."

Masuyo still pressed on, trying to will her to eat.

Finally, after a few more minutes of waiting, Iku caved in and took up her fork. The first bite was the tastiest.

And everything after it was merely savoring that first taste over and over.

She gobbled it all up, and asked for seconds, and even then Ikuto wasn't there still. But her mind had gone elsewhere, and she stopped worrying just a bit.

Not much.

But just a little bit.

The only other thing on her mind was Master. What was Master doing right now? Perhaps Master missed them! After all, he had let them stay for so long...

Then again, he'd only kept them for their 'purposes'. Shuddering with that thought in mind, Iku turned to look out the window by the counter top, staring at the outside world.

It would be nice to go out there again...They hadn't been out for such a long time, and just the car ride here had felt great.

She'd have to ask Ikuto later, though. And Masuta too, of course!

Masuta wouldn't do the things Master had done.

Right?

"You sure must be hungry..." Masuyo commented, giving a surprised look at much food Iku had already packed away. Taking the plate off the table, she went to the stove to get more. "Hopefully he comes out and eats some of it before you take it all."

The Maidloid just giggled nervously.

Masuta was going to be better than Master. Masuta wouldn't hurt them, she'd make them happy!

Why did she feel like she couldn't be trusting?