A/N:: Well, I certainly was able to find time to write the next chapter among college work; as I type this I am sitting in my car outside my doctor's office as I wait for their lunch break to be done. xD; What better time to update my fanfictions, right?

Thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful reviews. Some of which really stuck out to me, and I will mention those people at the end of this chapter. Seriously, some of these reviews made me so happy I started to cry. 8'D

I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as you've enjoyed the last few.

Slowly but surely I was going insane.

That was the only rational conclusion! How else was I to explain all of these confusing and infuriating emotions? From the very beginning when I first met Sebastian I was always fully convinced that demons were creatures with lack of emotions.

Apparently, it was the exact opposite in my case. I had an obnoxiously amount of very human feelings all bottled inside my small body. Anxiousness, hunger, pain, sadness, hate, and at seldom times pride and positive emotions. I didn't understand this… Being a demonic being, would it not be a hindrance to have all of these emotions clouding your proper judgment?

I asked Sebastian about it, just curious and confused and seeking some sort of answers from him.

"Sometimes created demons experience different things than those of which who were born, especially if they hid away a previous side of themselves as humans. I was born a demonic being, so I could not tell you from personal experience." He arched a brow at me and wore the expression of a curious cat. "Have you been experiencing strange emotions, young master?"

'If the strange tightening in my stomach, the pounding of my heart, the clamminess of my palms and the cold sweat down the back of my neck pointed to "strange emotions", then yes.' Instead of telling him my own embarrassing thoughts I turned my head to the side and stared out the window. "No. I was just curious."

He left it at that, thankfully. I wasn't positive what I would have said if he had questioned me further along. I could barely answer my own questions these days. All I did was wander around, hopelessly clueless and left to the mercy of Sebastian's knowledgeable word… which was exactly what he wanted. Sometimes my own defensive mind cried out that Sebastian was just planning to use me and toss me away or even look for a way to kill me, or maybe even drive me to the point of insanity so I killed myself. It must have been so; certainly he was starving for a "meal" on a delicious soul and had spent years of his life slowly preparing his meal and tainting me but at the same time keeping me pure. After losing that and letting all that hard work go to waste, I would certainly be bitter and angry and do whatever I could to get my own wishes. Sebastian… Was he doing the same?

Another little voice would stick up in the back of my mind when I began to have doubts. Sebastian had sworn on his word that he would not harm nor betray me. It went against the contract, and if he really wanted me dead he could have tried the moment that I broke down the previous few days. As he's said before, anything I ordered him to do he would fulfill, including killing me… So far Sebastian has never betrayed my word, but he had played around my orders and found little holes to move around and get his own wishes as well as fulfilling my own; he was a trickster, a jester and a playful mutt that always darted out of my grasp before I had a complete hold over him.

How frustrating it was, to have a butler who is both absolutely loyal and yet disgustingly unfaithful.

How even more frustrating it was, to be unable to hate him and just go on with my immortal life.

It was the second day of the "contest" that Sebastian had put together; he still insists on calling them "lessons", but I know he is just as competitive as I am when it comes to who truly has the upper hand over the other. Instead of his normal routine of coming to wake me up and dress me for the day, however, I found a note he had written on my bedside table. It was written in his—of course—perfect cursive script that was flawless in every curve.

Good morning, young master. I truly hope you slept well. Our next lesson shall take place in the garden today, so when you are dressed and ready please come down so that we may get started post haste.

Stupid butler, ordering me around! And leaving me just like that to take care of myself? That was his job! I scowled, my mood already turned sour in the first minute of my day, and threw the covers off of my body and stumbled to my feet. I wasn't as helpless as Sebastian must have thought of me to be. I could do a little thing such as get myself dressed by myself. I grabbed my normal clothes out of my wardrobe and tossed them on the bed. Shirt, coat, shorts, underwear, socks… That was it, right?

I started to tug off my over-sized white nightshirt, but soon found a slight problem; my head wasn't coming through the hole it fit through. "Argh! Why do they make these things so damn impossible!" I groaned to myself, tugging at the shirt tightly and wincing as it only pulled at my head even more. I sat down on the floor cross-legged and continued to tug at the shirt before sighing and letting it fall back on my shoulders. Tugging was useless…

I pulled apart the buttons from the shirt, some flying off somewhere in the room and scattering. I didn't care at the moment; I just wanted to change my clothes! I stood back up and got into my underwear easily enough, but once again ran into trouble when it came to the buttons on my shorts and shirt.

…Damn whoever in the human world created buttons, and I hope to be able to see them rotting in Hell for it.

I struggled with the buttons, slowly popping them in the little slits of the fabric one by one. When I was finished and looked at myself in the mirror I was suddenly reminded of poor circus folk with how askew I appeared. The buttons were in the wrong places, grasping the fabric and brunching it up messily. Thankfully I managed to get my shorts right, but that only had one button to worry about…

I scoffed and pushed the matter to the side; Sebastian could fix my shirt for me later. I tugged on my socks, shoes and jacket and managed to tie my eye patch around my head before I was out the door.

Despite the fact that I was certainly content inside the safety and security of the mansion, I did enjoy coming outside and relaxing in the garden when I had the time and peace for it. As always, Sebastian kept it in pristine condition with no flaws whatsoever; even when Finny was still the gardener and was constantly finding some way to ruin everything, Sebastian had it covered. The perfectly shaved down grass, the beautifully grown flowers that lifted sweet scents into the air, and my favorite white roses all served to comfort me in times where I needed time alone.

Among my white roses, Sebastian stood out like a sore thumb. The darkness of his person collided sharply with the pure color like an ominous shadow, subtly revealing his true nature deep beneath the smirk on his face. I watched him for a moment, standing there with his back turned to me, and wondered briefly how no one else was able to deduct Sebastian's true identity.

As he turned to look at me I felt those stupid emotions from before boiling up inside me and seeing that warm yet cunning smirk on his face and those lidded crimson eyes falling on my person just made them all the more violent. "Good morning, young master. I see you've found my note that I left you?" His eyes appraised me for a moment before I heard the soft sound of a chuckle deep in his chest. "But it appears you've run into slight difficulty getting dressed…"

I felt my face flush with embarrassment. "These god-forsaken buttons are nothing but nuisances," I muttered, glancing away so I didn't have to look at his face. A moment later I felt Sebastian tugging at my shirt, undoing the buttons before fixing them properly faster than it took me to mess them all up in the first place.

"Truly, are you this helpless, my lord? To be unable to accomplish such a simple thing…"

I scowled up at him and slapped his hands away from my clothes. "Enough of this! Let's move on to the 'lesson' of the day already before you bore me to sleep!"

Sebastian chuckled softly and nodded, placing a hand over his heart and bowing a bit. "Of course." He stood back up straight again, glancing to the side at the various beds of flowers. "I have believed that being outside for today's lesson would be suitable. Young master, you remember the form that I was in when we first met, correct?"

How could I forget? That ghostly voice, that bone-chilling laughter… It all came from the form of a large raven perched on a large stick that was standing on its own. "A rat with wings," I answered crudely.

"How cruel, young master. I believe that a raven is far from 'a rat with wings'." He still continued to stand there and simply smirk. "But yes, I was in the form of an animal. Demons can take the forms of anything they desired, but in my opinion animal forms are much more efficient and simple than the forms of different human beings."

I arched an eyebrow at him in slight disbelief. "We're seriously just going to be changing into animals?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "I believe I told you not to bore me, Sebastian."

"On the contrary I believe that you might enjoy this lesson. Isn't it every child's dream to be an animal at one point?" His smirk turned into a sickly sweet smile as he reached down and lightly tugged at one of the buttons of my shirt. "Animals also do not have to wear buttons."

My cheeks burned again at the little taunts. "Be silent!" Once again I slapped his hand away from me. He was being very touchy today, wasn't he? "Just explain to me how to change forms already. You're stalling far too much today."

His face curved into a wide smile and his eyes narrowed like a mischievous cat. "Then allow me not to make you wait any longer." His long finger tips curled around my shoulder as he slowly stepped behind me, keeping me in place, and its twin trapped my other shoulder in its grasp. My body stiffened instinctively with apprehension; what was he planning?

Sebastian's sudden whispered-voice in my ear nearly made me jump out of my skin. "Controlling your body is all about your mind set, my lord," he murmured to me, his voice low and almost husky and sending chills down my spine. "You can do anything you want with it. Make your hair longer, grow taller… Even change what is happening inside you at this very moment." A bit my lip a little and struggled to actually think more about the words he was speaking than how his breath was flowing over my skin. The heat of his body was radiating right up against my back. I could just… feel him.

"Imagine yourself as the creature you wish to change into." Lightly his thumbs began to rub into my shoulders, making both my fingers and toes curl. "It's very simple," those sinful lips spoke, now brushing against my ear. "As long as you focus, that is…" Oh those lips… I wanted… I wanted-!

Suddenly it was all gone. The heat, his breath on my skin, his hands on my shoulders... I blinked in surprise and looked behind me, only to see Sebastian had disappeared.

"Well?" His voice was above me. I looked up sharply and spotted a large raven with red eyes staring down at me from the branch of a thick oak tree; Sebastian had taken his form and was now waiting for me to do so. "Show me you understand, young master."

Good Lord I felt humiliated with my thoughts from before, and even if ravens couldn't smile I just knew he was grinning down at me. I glared up at him angrily and turned my head away as I shut my eyes tight and forced myself to focus.

Animal… What animal could I become? Which one was I the most partial to and knew the best?

Stupid butler… Always flirting, always messing with my mind!

No, you idiot, focus! Think of animals you've come to know. Birds, cats, dogs, rabbits…

He was like a cat, always playing with his food and always getting into mischief…

Dogs… He had a dog when he was a child, ironically named Sebastian.

Sebastian… Just what were his intentions? What was it that he was thinking?

I felt the familiar tingle and warmth spread throughout my body, just as I had when I became a poltergeist the night before. I let out a soft breath, willing myself to relax and just allow my demonic blood to take over for me once again. It was so easy, to step back and let something else do all the work. Perhaps my new body had found a way to compliment that?

It was… strange at first. I could feel my spine cracking and bending, forcing myself to my knees. The bones of my legs curved and straightened out, bending in ways that I had thought impossible. My fingers curled in, almost painfully, and morphed into furry paws; the lack of a thumb bothered me the most. The bones in my face shifted and popped and became narrower and I felt my nose stretch out and my ears perch on the top of my head. For a human being a transformation such as this—if it were ever possible—would have been excruciatingly painful.

Slowly I opened my eyes again and found myself inside a bundle of my clothes. I grunted and pushed myself out through the neck hole and realized that I was much smaller than I was before. When I was thinking of dogs I was remembering what my dog had looked like; a large and sturdy afghan with a golden coat. This… was not what I had in mind.

I felt my ears on top of my head twitch as I heard an audible sigh of disappointment. Sebastian was standing before me in his human form again, arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. Did I do something wrong? Did something happen in the change?

"Out of all the animals in the world, my lord, you decided to change into a dog?" In my mind I grinned in amusement at his obvious displeasure. Sebastian was always more favorable of cats than dogs; in his words he absolutely detested them. As if to taunt him I let out a bark and nearly scared myself at how high pitch it was. If I didn't become an afghan like I had planned… what did I become?

Sebastian smirked a bit at the sound of my bark and reached down. I flinched back and lowered myself to the ground, growling a little in my small puppy voice. He easily plucked me up from the ground and held me up to his face, and compared to him I felt very, very small.

"I must say, though, this form does match. After all you were the Queen's watchdog for quite some time. It's quite amusing to see the fearsome watchdog all of London feared was actually a small Papillion puppy all along."

A Papillion? I recognized the word; it was of French origin and translated into 'butterfly'. Sebastian held me in one arm and reached into his coat and pulled out a small compact mirror. "Here. Take a look."

I yipped quietly when I saw a little puppy staring back at me. I was so small and fragile looking with large ears with fur black fur hanging off them like little wings. My fur was a mix of white and black, white being the more dominant. My paws were small and barely the size of the tip of Sebastian's thumb. My new tail had a small white puff of fur at the end and moved in the air if I wagged it.

I was a puppy… Though I had to admit myself that I was a rather cute one. I looked up at Sebastian as he put away the mirror with a sigh. "I had hoped you might've changed into a kitten," he mumbled a bit, glancing away. I barked at him once and narrowed my eyes in amusement, only making him look back down at me. "Very well. The little challenge today is to see how long exactly you can hold that form before changing back to a human form. Eventually it's going to get difficult to keep your focus on it. If you can last for one hour, you win."

More time limits? I would have thought Sebastian was more creative than that. I wiggled a bit in his grasp, growling up at him until he set me down on my four legs. Immediately I bounded off into the garden and weaved through the flowers and grass.

I was beginning to understand what he meant before. It was a strange, childlike enjoyment that pulsed through my body. I was overly curious, sniffing at the ground and feeling the grass beneath my furry paws. It was a whole new experience and strangely felt… well, riveting. I could feel the sun from before reach through the shards of grass that began to grow too tall for me to see over. For a split moment I had forgotten about all the worries I had earlier and just had a short moment of peace and happiness.

"Tread carefully, young master." I blinked and paused, listening to Sebastian's voice from outside the garden. "You might run into something that will frighten you." Frighten me? Foolish demon, what could possibly be hiding in a garden? A worm?

In an instant I became a firm believer in karma. I had nosed closer to the white roses when I heard a soft hiss come from my right side. I jumped a little and moved quickly, yelping when I saw a large garden snake watching me intently with its beady black eyes. Its forked-tongue slithered out, tasting the air and moving closer to me.

I yelped and barked loudly as I scrambled into the roses, forgetting for a moment that they were covered in thorns near the roots. The thorns cut into my little body and made me flinch and yelp loudly in pain. I could see the snake slithering easily through the horned vines of the roses towards me.

"SEBASTIAN!"

The next moment I heard a quick clink of metal before the spider was instantly impaled to the ground with a dinner knife right through its head.

"I warned you, young master." Instinctively I whined and squirmed even more, only cutting myself up further. Sebastian moved the roses aside and reached in, scooping me up in his hand and pulling me free. "You're much more likely to be attacked in this form, of all things." He sighed softly and shook his head slowly, taking a look at the cuts that were beginning to stain my white and black fur red. "You should change back to a human form, my lord, so that I may treat these injuries more appropriately."

I didn't question him and just did as he asked, thinking back to how I looked before. My body responded instantly, stretching out the bones and moving them back into their rightful places in their normal sizes. The fur fell off my body and was replaced with skin. I winced a little and held my head lightly when I was back to normal. That wasn't entirely comfortable…

"Was it always this cold out here?" I looked up at Sebastian as I felt a sudden chill over my body, and when I saw the sight of the wide smirk on his face and his eyes not exactly on mine, I looked down and wanted to screech when I realized that I was NAKED. Much like Pluto had used to switch between human and demon forms, he always appeared naked when he was human…

Apparently now that same case appeared with me. My clothes were off to the side, neatly folded in a pile. Sebastian must have gathered them after I ran into the garden. Now I was laying in his arms, cut up, cold and NAKED.

My face flushed bright red with humiliation as I reached up and slapped Sebastian for staring at me. "What do you think you're doing? Go get me my clothes!"

The butler just chuckled as if I hadn't just left a nice red mark on his face a second ago. "But my lord, I must tend to your cuts first… And it would hinder me if they were all covered from your clothing."

I glared up at him, clenching my jaw tightly and resisting from slapping him even more and pulling each strand of hair from his head. "At least let me put on my underwear for god's sake!"

"Quite ironic of you to say that."

"SHUT. UP."

When he put me down I quickly pulled on my underwear before Sebastian started to tend to each of my cuts. I sat there on the ground, my clothes piled on my lap and my face red with furious embarrassment and shame. He must have known I would've been so indecent after I changed back! The demon could have simply mentioned that before I did anything!

"Well it appears I won this challenge as well."

…WHAT? "What do you mean you won! I didn't—"

Sebastian turned his head up to look at me, a wide smirk on his face. "You changed into a human before the hour was up, my lord. So, by default… I am the victor."

I gaped at him for what must have been two seasons in human time. "…You…You tricked me!"

"Merely just a play on words, I assure you. You were doing very well before. It just happened to work in my favor this day." Once he finished tending to the cuts on my skin Sebastian stood to his feet. "Now, as for my reward…"

I huffed and looked away from him stubbornly. "What is it you want this time?" Damned pervert... He probably wanted some sick, like for me to get on my hands and knees and serve him or something!

"Change into a kitten."

…

"…What?" I looked up at him again with wide eyes, only to be returned with an all-too-serious face.

"That's my reward. Turn into a kitten for an hour." This…this idiot must have been obsessed with cats! To waste his reward for such a trivial thing-!

"Tch." I grumbled and looked away from him. "Fine." I didn't argue further as I changed forms once again, finding it easier with each time I do so. The bones popping, the fur growing, and the shifting of sizes was becoming more and more familiar instead of a painful experience.

When I was finished, instantly Sebastian scooped me up in his arms and smothered me against his chest. I meowed angrily, batting at him with my small paws. I had changed into a black and white kitten, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.

Sebastian gripped my paws with an almost blissful expression and pressed on the center of them, making my little claws extend. "Such blissful creatures, so soft and refine~"

Good lord, my butler was more insane than ME.

A/N:: All done with this little crack-chapter, you can say. xD It was pretty fun to write and just to mess with Ciel and Sebastian a bit. We're getting closer to the fun parts, I can assure you, and I will do my best to write them the best I can!

As for reviews, there were a few that stood out to me the most. One of which was written by an M. M. Valentine. Her review just… brought me to tears. I was so happy and flattered and completely HONORED by such kind words, so I dedicate this chapter to her. 8D Thank you so much for your review, it makes me happy that you loved it so much!

I love every review I get and all the encouragement, so please keep it up and I'll reply to them if you'd like in the chapters from now on! Thank you all so much for your support, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!