Chapter Three: Down the Rabbit Hole

Tohru felt a sudden chill and shivered ever so slightly. She wrapped her arms around her chest for a moment, and then involuntarily looked up at the clock. Eleven-eleven, the clock read. The second hand had just counted out eleven seconds. As it reached twelve, then thirteen, Tohru's shivering stopped as mysteriously as it had begun. She blinked in surprise and picked up her momentarily discarded pencil to finish the final equation on her page.

Next to her, Yuki glanced up for a moment. He'd noticed Tohru's slightly odd behavior and wondered at it. But as it only lasted a moment, he disregarded it and continued with his test. The last question was a hard one and he needed to be sure he got it right.

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Kyo felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle when he looked up and saw the rather odd time, November the first, eleven-eleven. For some odd reason, that seemed significant, though he wasn't sure why. Then he shook his head at himself in disgust. It was probably only because of the essay he was writing. Mark Twain was getting to him. But he was almost done.

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In another classroom, Hana stared absently at the wall for all of five seconds. She'd felt the subtlest change in the very fabric of time. She'd felt something similar the night before but could not account for it. Her brother, Megumi, had also felt it, but after mentioning it briefly to each other, they'd decided to drop the subject. Now she wondered if there hadn't been more to it than just a strange crackle of misplaced energy. It almost felt like lightning had struck somewhere close by, but there was nothing she could do about it right then.

Despite trying to convince herself of that there was nothing wrong, she still felt the little after ripples from whatever it was. It was as if the very fabric of time itself had somehow changed in a very subtle manner that could either cause a less subtle change, or simply quiet down and return back to normal. She tried to reach out just a little to understand what it was she felt, but the rippled died down again. What had it been?

At the front of the classroom, the teacher announced that they only had three minutes left before the period was over. After this was lunch and she was hungry. With an inward sigh, she went back to her questions. She somehow felt it would be a good idea to actually pass this one, instead of having to retest on the subject, like she usually did.

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Ciel felt incredibly dizzy from the moment they'd passed through and into the rift. He felt like he was in one of those carnival fun houses where the mirrors warped all sense of reality, and it was making him even more sick to his stomach than he'd previously been. If it weren't for the constant pressure of Sebastian's hand over his, he might have gone mad.

Weren't time rifts supposed to be shorter in duration? Didn't they just suck you in and spit you out wherever, whenever, they were supposed to? At least, that's what he'd assumed. Apparently he'd been wrong. But then, why did it seem to affect Sebastian less? He could still feel the strong pull of his butler's hand, calm and confident. Was it because he was a demon and Ciel was not? Would this sensation ever end? It felt like he'd been trapped this way forever.

Up ahead, the air shimmered again, the same rainbow like glimmers flailing all around like jumping fish in the ocean, or trout going upstream. His feet flailed underneath him. His breath came in panting gasps. It felt like he was climbing a mountain. The pressure on his hand increased and he thought he heard Sebastian's voice in his ear. "Not much further. I can see the end."

The next thing the boy knew, he suddenly felt like he'd been spewed out of a giant's mouth and onto some hard surface. His head spun and his body ached. He couldn't catch his breath, which didn't help as he tried to retch onto the ground.

Sebastian had been a bit more fortunate. He landed on crouched knees, much like a cat would. And though the passage had not been as arduous on him, he still felt some slight effects from it and had to shake his head to clear it before realizing his master was having difficulties. "Young master!" He rushed to Ciel's side.

Ciel put up a hand, the other on the ground as he coughed for a bit, but was finally able to regain control of himself. "I'm fine," he rasped, moving his free hand to his head and rolled over to his back so that he could face the sky. He closed his eyes. "Just make the world stop spinning."

His master looked a bit pale, Sebastian decided as he watched the lad. Was it another asthma attack? No. The coughing did not continue as it might, though his breathing was a bit labored, which was not entirely unexpected. And it didn't sound the same as the last asthma attack had either. Perhaps it was merely the effect of time travel on the human body. That would explain why Tohru had been in less than good spirits when they'd first met her. Kyo had been in a cat's body at the time and so had probably not suffered the same effects. But he would keep these musings to himself until his master was in a better humor.

After several minutes, Ciel finally felt that the world had settled, once more, to where it should be, and did not feel like it was revolving around any more than usual. He slowly opened his eyes just a bit and shielded them against the sun filtering down through bare tree branches. The branches only looked a bit different from what he was used to seeing, to the point that he almost felt that they'd not traveled anywhere at all, but the shapes were different enough that his brain refused to believe they were quite the same.

Cautiously, for he was still not sure of his stomach, he propped himself up on one elbow and looked around and saw Sebastian kneeling nearby, watching him. "I would gather that we have… arrived." He didn't know if he felt like he'd arrived or not. It was more like he'd been dumped, and he still ached all over, but that seemed to be slowly fading as well.

Sebastian moved to help shade his master's uncovered eye from the sun. "It would appear that we have," he agreed. "I took the liberty of looking around a little while you were reorienting yourself. There is something of a road not too far from here. It appears to be a country lane, not paved or cobbled over. Not too far off seems to be the beginnings of a fairly decent sized community."

Ciel propped himself up even further, finding that the earth had indeed stopped spinning and was now staying still where it should. "And what of our fugitive? Any signs of her?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I sensed that she had been in the vicinity but I did not detect any signs to suggest that she stayed in the immediate area. It is my belief that she has moved into the city just beyond these trees and will likely try to blend in with the citizenry."

Ciel nodded and moved to stand. The demon moved to help him, brushing off dirt and twigs from his tailored coat and three-quarter length pants. "Then we should start our search there." He stomped his heeled shoes, something he wore to give him a sense of greater height, not to mention being fashionable, not that he cared about such droll things, but he was an earl and had to stay current with the trends. "Did everything make it forward with us?"

Sebastian nodded. He recalled how Tohru and Kyo had both expressed the loss of several items upon their initial journey back into their time. "All our articles made it forward with us." The gold and other coin, he'd kept safely in his inner pockets as a precautionary measure. Everything else had been kept in a small bundle that he'd carried under one arm.

Ciel moved one hand to his covered eye, making sure his patch was completely in place. It would not do to have it accidentally slip and show his mark of the contract he had with the demon who served as his butler. "Very well. If all is in order, let us be off. I want to find this woman and be done with it as soon as possible."

Sebastian bowed. "Yes, my lord," he said and took the lead, realizing that not only would the earl not know which direction to take, but that his sense of direction would be rather challenged given the circumstances. It also allowed him to keep his master in a protected perimeter should a threat arise.

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The bell to release class finally rang and Tohru practically bolted out of her seat. The last few minutes had been an agony of waiting, wondering if she'd forgotten something on one of her math equations, wondering what it was she'd felt at that rather odd time, and wondering where she should meet up with everyone for lunch.

"Hey." Arisa put a hand on her shoulder. "Tohru, you okay? You look a little shaky."

Yuki was about to agree to those sentiments but was momentarily sidetracked by a fan girl coming up to him and demanding his attention.

Tohru looked up from the activity of closing her book bag. "Huh?" She blinked for a moment, and then realized her friend had probably seen her strange behavior a few minutes ago. "Oh! No! I'm fine! I just felt a sudden cold chill is all. It's nothing to worry about, honest!"

Arisa eyed her friend critically. "You sure? You're not coming down with a cold, are you?"

Tohru smiled brightly. "Uhuh. I'm as fit as a fiddle! I think it was because I'm sitting under the air conditioning vent."

Both girls looked up, the evidence apparent above them. Arisa shook her head. "Okay." That explained that mystery, at least as far as she was concerned, though she'd still keep an eye on her friend. "So, where are we going to eat today? I was thinking a picnic out on the lawn would be a good idea. After all, there won't be too many more warm days with winter coming on."

Tohru nodded. "Sounds good! We should find Hana and the others so they know what we're doing!" She looked around and spotted Yuki finally managing to get away from the fan girl who'd accosted him. "Yuki! Uo thinks we should have lunch out on the grass!"

Yuki smiled warmly. Tohru appeared to be her normal self. That, at least, was a relief. "A fabulous idea. Should we head to the usual location?"

"Yes!" Tohru picked up her bag and headed for the door. "Do you think the others will know where to meet us though?"

Arisa had casually flung her own bag over her shoulder. "I'm sure they'll find us without too much trouble," she replied. "But I'll have to meet you out there in a minute. I need to visit a certain room, if you know what I mean." She indicated the opposite direction down the hallway with one shoulder.

"Oh. Right!" Tohru smiled knowingly. "We'll meet you out there! And if you see the others, let them know where we are, okay?" She glanced around for Yuki. Once sure he was following, she headed in the other direction down the hallway, towards the main doors.

Hana let out a slight sigh of relief as she left her classroom. She rather thought she'd find her friends having lunch outside and she was starving. But, as she walked down the hall, it was hard to ignore the various thoughts and emotions charging against her, some like crashing waves, others like small ripples. One thought came across very strongly.

One girl was standing against the wall, arms folded as she talked to her small group. "Did you hear there's a new student?"

Another girl chimed in, her expression earnest. "Yeah! I heard about her! Isn't she a transfer student? I guess she had some trouble at her last school, though I'm not really sure what."

And, just like with any group of gossiping girls, one of the Prince Yuki Fan Club had to butt into their conversation. "I heard she was kicked out of her previous school for witch craft." She shot a snide look towards Hana, who ignored it as she slowly made her way past them.

"Well, I don't care, so long as she keeps her eyes off of our Prince Yuki!" another fan girl admonished. They always came in droves, when they came at all.

Hana moved past them all. It was the first time she'd heard about this new transfer student and she wondered about that. She was usually very good about sensing new people being around. Was she losing her touch? No. She remembered the tremor she'd felt in the fabric of the universe. Could it have been caused by the newcomer? She would have to investigate this as soon as possible.

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Ciel had to stop when they reached the road. It had been a bit more of a trek than he'd thought it would be, and he heartily wished he'd remembered his cane. He took a moment to lean against one of the smooth tree trunks just off the slightly rutted road and stared out. "Which way did you say the town was located?"

Sebastian pointed off to the right. "That way, young master. I believe it is about a mile off."

Ciel groaned in dismay. "So far? Can't we find a carriage or something to make the journey faster?"

Sebastian felt now was a good time to point out what had been very obvious to him. "It would seem that this particular road is not heavily trafficked, my lord. And, as I do not know where to procure a horse and carriage, or if there are any to be procured, the fastest way to convey us forward would be for me to carry you once more."

Ciel bit his lip. "I suppose it can't be helped. But if anyone else shows up on the road, you are to put me down immediately. We don't need to make any more of a spectacle than we likely are already." After all, he knew what he was wearing wasn't anything like what Kyo had worn. But he hoped that was only because the older boy's clothes had been a uniform of sorts, and because he was less inclined to wear anything overly formal.

Sebastian smiled. "If you wish it," he said while scooping up the young boy into his arms, "I shall certainly oblige you in this request." After all, it had not been made an order, but would certainly be amusing. He rather had the idea of possibly just dropping him, quite literally, should the situation arrive, just to see what his master would do.