"Has anyone seen Ciel?" Alois asked as he entered the kitchens.

Arran looked up and shook his head. Claude shrugged and Hannah replied politely that she had not seen Ciel.

"Did you check her study?" Arran asked.

"Sebastian was cleaning and said she didn't want to be disturbed. When I asked where she was, he replied she was somewhere private" Alois replied.

"If Sebastian says she doesn't want to be disturbed, then you shouldn't disturb her" Claude said.

"But Claude, I'm bored" Alois complained.

"I don't have any training with Luke today. If you want, we could play some of the video games Luke has" Arran said.

"I've already won those games. Why don't we go out? Come on, Claude, let's go to the movies" Alois said.

"If my master so wishes" Claude replied and then wiped his gloved hands on a towel.

"Yes! I'll just wear my shoes" Alois raced out of the room and Arran stood up to go and change out of his robes.

Meanwhile, Ciel sat alone in the basement study. She was nearly finished writing her latest adventure in her journal. She took a sip of her tea and then leaned against the leather seat. As she stared at Ciel Phantomhive's portrait, her mind wandered to the three people they had met. Deok Seong had the mastered the art of controlling bodies, Xiao with fire and Eum Ja with the flute. It was frightening to think about their powers.

The door to the study opened and Sebastian entered with a tray of biscuits and other treats. He placed it on the desk and then proceeded to serve them.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked, his tone light.

"Just thinking about those three. Their powers were rather formidable" Ciel replied taking a bite of a biscuit.

"Alois was looking for you earlier. I told him you were not to be disturbed so he left with Arran and Claude to the movies" Sebastian said.

"What is Luke doing then?"

"Luke has an art project from school to finish up so Arran excused him from training" Sebastian replied.

When Alois and Arran returned, Ciel suggested they all go out for a sports activity.

"What should we play? I'm not playing soccer" Alois asked.

"Basketball?" Ciel suggested.

"How about tennis? That's fun" Arran suggested.

"I enjoy tennis. Let's go" Alois said.

Ciel dressed in shorts and a tee shirt, similar to the rest of them. Sebastian had opted out since he still had work to do but Claude drove them to the street tennis courts.

"Should we do singles? Or doubles?" Ciel asked holding her rented racket in his hands.

"I wanna be the ref" Luke said and then scrambled up to sit on the high chair.

"I'll sit this one out. You two can play" Arran said sitting on the nearby bench.

"Let's go then. Who serves first?" Alois asked.

"I'll serve first" Ciel replied.

They stood on opposite sides of the court and Ciel served. Alois volleyed the shot back and they began a rally. Finally Ciel lobbed the ball at the edge of the court and Alois missed it.

"15 Love" Luke announced and Ciel grinned.

She served again and then spotted a few boys passing the court. Because of the distraction, she failed to see the tennis ball pass her and hit the ground.

"15 all!"

The boys paused and then began watching the match. Ciel gritted her teeth and then served. This time she served it with enough strength so Alois would fail to even return the shot.

"30-15!" Luke shouted.

"That chick's damn good" One boy murmured.

"Hey, who are you calling a chick?" Arran asked standing up and turning to glare at the boys.

"What's wrong, did we insult your girlfriend?" Another boy asked and Ciel turned to the guys.

"Every woman should be treated with respect. I cannot allow you to call my friend something degrading" Arran replied.

"Arran, stop it. They're not worth it" Ciel said.

"You're the one not worth it, whore" The boy asked and Ciel's fist clenched.

"No one calls my best friend a whore!" Alois shouted.

"What about you darling? Why don't you ditch these two and come along with us?"

Ciel glared at them and then swung her racket. It hit the guy right on the face and he fell over onto the ground.

"You stupid bitch!" The guy's friend lunged for Ciel and Arran stepped in the midst by flipping the guy over his shoulder.

"We should go" Claude said helping Luke down from the tall chair.

"Let's go" Alois tugged on Ciel's arm and they all walked away from the tennis court.

"Who were those guys?" Ciel asked as they drove back to the manor.

"They are two college students. I've seen them before lurking around our school leering at girls. I don't like them at all" Arran replied.

"And you just stepped up like a royal knight in shining armor to protect Ciel. How sweet" Alois commented, making Arran blush.

"Thank you" Ciel said and then she turned to fiddle with the radio.

Arran blushed and then cleared his throat. He turned to stare out the window, occasionally taking glances at Ciel through the reflection of the glass. Claude and Alois exchanged glances through the review mirror and Claude gave a small nod to Alois.

Back at the manor, Ciel went to her bedroom. Alois went into his study and a few minutes later Claude appeared.

"This Arran makes me suspicious" Alois said.

"He seems to be rather suspicious of Sebastian. He must be trying to find out how Sebastian fought Xiao so well. I shall keep an eye on him for now" Claude said.

"Not to forget the crush he has on Ciel. Sebastian has been distancing himself from Ciel because of this"

"We need to deal with him as soon as possible" Claude concluded and Alois nodded seriously.

Claude suddenly chuckled and then hid his smile by putting his hand over the lower half of his face.

"Why are you laughing?" Alois asked.

"That intense look in your eyes brings shivers up my spine" Claude replied.

"I can do a lot more than shivers" Alois jumped up and grabbed Claude's collar.

He pulled him down and kissed him passionately. Their tongues battled for dominance until Claude won and then pressed Alois against the wall. Alois took in a deep breath as Claude's skilled tongue trailed down Alois's neck. Claude nipped at the point between Alois's neck and shoulder making Alois knees give out.

"We should continue this in my bedroom" Alois gasped out.

Claude paused and then nodded. Alois's bedroom was the only place where they could get some privacy.

Ciel sighed as she changed into comfortable shorts and a cut sleeve top. Sebastian had not been there to welcome her home and she missed him. Hannah had said he was out in the grounds mowing the lawns and working on the shrubbery. Ciel pulled on a pair of converse and then decided to go find Sebastian.

"If he's not coming to me, I'll be going to him" she said to herself as she walked out onto the grounds.

Immediately Damon bounded up to her, barking loudly.

"Hey Damon, have you seen Sebastian?" Ciel asked patting her dog.

Damon ran off and Ciel followed him. He led her to the very edge of the grounds where the rose bushes grew and Ciel spotted Sebastian clipping the roses and then trimming the shrubbery.

"Sebastian?"

Sebastian sat up, back ramrod straight and then turned to Ciel. He smiled but Ciel could see a hint of sadness in his crimson eyes.

"Did you need something, mistress?" Sebastian asked standing up and brushing the dirt from his pants.

"Why are you running away from me Sebastian? Did I do something wrong?" Ciel asked, stepping closer to him.

"It's not you, it's me. I'm being insecure for silly reasons" Sebastian replied.

"So tell me the reasons so we can work through it. As your mate, I should be supporting you through it" Ciel's hand reached out to grab Sebastian's and thread her fingers through his.

Sebastian remained silent.

"Is it because of Arran? Sebastian, I already told you not to worry about him. Why don't you trust me?" Ciel asked.

"I trusted you and you went to hug the human instead of the person who loves you" Sebastian replied.

"I already told you that I was sorry" Ciel said.

"Ciel, just leave. I need some time alone" Sebastian said and Ciel took a step back.

"Come back to me when you want to. I'll be waiting" Ciel turned around and began walking away.

Sebastian stared at Ciel's rapidly disappearing silhouette and then looked away.