Chapter Seven: What Then Transpired...

Yuki sighed as he left school. The meeting had taken a lot longer than he'd hoped it would. It would be nice if he wasn't questioned on every point by his fellow council members. Well, not everyone questioned, but having just that one always threw a wrench into things. But it couldn't be helped.

He walked down the streets, glad that Miss Honda wasn't working that night. It was already dark out and he'd had to refrain from using a few karate moves on some overly zealous punks. He mostly ignored them and they usually left him alone. It wasn't his fault, after all, that he had the features of a girl.

He wondered what Tohru had made for dinner. His stomach growled at the thought. Of course, he'd probably have to put up with Kyo once he got there, sticking it to his face that he was training just to beat him. It was so annoying. He wished he'd just give it a rest for once, but knew it would never happen.

Lost in thought, it didn't take him long to walk the long road home. The lights coming from the windows were warm and welcoming. He trudged up the steps and into the foyer, where he removed his shoes. He noticed two pairs he didn't recognize and paused in confusion. Did they have guests? But why was there a pair of high-heeled shoes that would fit someone like Momiji? Kyo's shoes were not present, he also noted, though that didn't necessarily mean anything.

"I'm home," he called as he entered the main room and stopped in surprise. He blinked a few times, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Were they having a costume party? "Um, hello," he finally said to the two pairs of staring eyes, barely registering that Shigure was also in the room.

Shigure stood. "Oh Yuki! Look who came to visit! These are Tohru's friends from England! That's Ciel," he pointed to the young lad, "and that's Sebastian, his butler." He grinned from ear to ear, like someone waiting for the other party to get the punch line of a particularly funny joke.

Yuki just stared. "Um… hello. I'm Yuki Sohma. It's nice to meet you." He offered a stiff half bow, eyes filled with confusion. Tohru coming out of the kitchen saved him from having to say anything else.

"Dinner's ready," Tohru announced with a smile. "I hope you like Japanese food because tonight I made teriyaki." She stopped, seeing Yuki. "Oh, hello Yuki! Welcome back!" She looked around the room, her smile sliding away. "But where's Kyo? Shouldn't he be home by now?"

Yuki waved off the comments. "I'm sure he's still over at Kazuma's training. We don't have to wait for him." He swept through the room and towards the dining room where Tohru had set the low table for six. He really didn't care what the cat was doing and it showed.

Ciel and Sebastian exchanged glances.

Shigure stood to follow his younger cousin. "You'll have to excuse Yuki. He and Kyo don't exactly get along very well. You might say it stems from a childhood rivalry."

Tohru clasped her hands together. "I can't believe Kyo's not here yet! He promised to be home in time for dinner! Maybe I should call the dojo?"

Shigure took her by the shoulder, gently pushing with one hand to turn her. "Why don't we get our guests some food first," he suggested.

Tohru started. "Oh! Right! Sorry!" She turned to Ciel and Sebastian and bowed. "Sorry! I know you're hungry! This way please!" She showed them to the dining room, where Yuki was already sitting, mild agitation rolling off his shoulders.

Their two guests took up seats on one side of the table, Sebastian next to Ciel, after Tohru insisted. How could they refuse, especially since they were in a totally different culture and time? They were both, however, aware of the breach of decorum, but chose to bear with it for the evening. Things were, after all, rather "casual" at this house.

The meal started out well. Tohru's cooking was well received, but the girl kept glancing up at the clock, wondering when Kyo would show up. She'd glance between the clock and his empty place at the end of the table. She finally put her chopsticks down and sat up straight. "I'm going to call the dojo. It's not like him to miss a meal."

Shigure looked up as she stood. "I'm sure he'll find something over at Kazuma's," he commented, but was ignored.

Tohru went over to the telephone in the kitchen, just out of sight, and dialed the appropriate number. Silence followed while she waited for someone to pick up. "Hello? Um, could I speak to Kazuma please?" More silence followed. "Kazuma? Sorry to bother you, but this is Tohru. Has Kyo left yet?"

The silence deepened, but was broken by Tohru letting out a little gasp. "What do you mean he never showed up? He left right after school!"

"Is something wrong," Shigure called out from his seat, chopsticks in hand.

Tohru ignored him as she listened to Kazuma over the line. "Right. Thank you." She set the phone back in its cradle and mechanically returned to the dining room. Her face was a bit pale and she looked rather shocked. "Kyo never showed up at the dojo and Kazuma doesn't know where he is."

"Hmm." Shigure mused, one hand on his chin. "This doesn't bode well. He wouldn't just go off without telling someone, unless something happened to make him angry, but he'd usually go up to the roof or somewhere similar. And since he didn't go to the dojo, maybe he's here somewhere?"

Sebastian placed his chopsticks neatly by his plate. "Then, perhaps, we should go look on the roof," he suggested. "Do you, perchance, have a ladder available?"

xXxXxXxXxXxxxXxX

Kyo felt like he'd been hit by a truck. He tried to open his eyes but everything seemed hazy and dark. His head pounded and he groaned as he tried to roll over but found his hands were tied by some kind of cord. "What the…?" He tried to move his legs, and found them similarly restrained around the ankles and knees. "What's going on?"

Foggy memories of heading to Shishu's place filled his head. He'd almost made it there when something had happened. He tried to remember, scrunching up his eyes, as if that would help, but with the pounding of his head, he found it difficult to focus. Had he run into someone? Had he been forced to transform? Then, shouldn't he be in cat form? But he wasn't. And if that was the case, wasn't he naked?

A moment of panic filled him, but, after about half a minute, he calmed himself. He could feel fabric against his legs, up to his belly. He at least had some pants on, but no shirt. He couldn't feel the telltale slide of fabric as he tried to shift around, the skin on his back scraping lightly against what felt like a concrete floor. Where was he? Had he been drugged?

He winced as a loud sound grated against his eardrums, an old fashioned key turning in a lock, then a door grating open, allowing a small amount of light to spill into the room. The sounds seemed louder in his ears than they should be. He tried to look around but the sudden light blinded his usually sharp senses. He felt like being sick, his stomach churning. He had to have been drugged, something said in the back of his mind.

"Ah! You're awake! Looks like my timing was dead on." The door groaned shut as Tessa shut herself in the room with her prisoner. She had no need for light, her eyes eerily shining in the darkness like a cat's, only a completely unusual color, hints of red, blue, and purple in an almost muddy brown color, along with a few flecks of green.

Kyo couldn't help but groan again as he shut his eyes to ward off the pain from the blinding light now shut out of the room. He hunched up as much as he could, shivering slightly against the cold floor. "Who are you? What do you want?" His skin suddenly felt like it was touching something slimy.

Tessa laughed lightly as she sat down on a low bench, one leg crossed over the other. If Kyo's eyes had been working properly, he would have noticed that her attire consisted of a dark dress that only reached down to the top of her knees, with long black socks underneath, and funny pointed, high-heeled shoes that were also black. "Silly! Isn't it obvious? I want you." She leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees and peered at him.

Kyo's eyes opened quickly at this admonition. "What?" His body went rigid, causing his muscles to strain against the cords around him. He let out a slight gasp of pain, realizing the cords were strongly tied, and tight. He forced himself to relax with some effort. "Why?"

Tessa laughed again. "Isn't it obvious? You're unusual. You're not like the others. You can transform into something that isn't human, which means you have magical properties dwelling inside of you."

"Huh?" He'd tried to sit up, rolling forward, at this declaration, but fell back against the concrete as he saw stars. His head knocked into the hard floor and almost bit his tongue to keep from exclaiming from the pain. His efforts turned into a low growl. "What magical properties," he nearly spat. How had she found out about the curse, he wondered. Was she the one he'd run into then?

She tapped one finger against her cheek, knowingly. "Why, the ones that allow you to transform, of course. You have no idea how long I've searched for someone like you."

Kyo grit his teeth. "So? Whatcha gonna do now that you've found me, huh?" He didn't like the direction this conversation was going. He had no idea what this girl wanted with him. And he certainly hoped it wasn't anything romantic, or even remotely connected with it. His heart belonged to someone else, after all.

She jumped down from her perch and crouched in front of him, tapping his nose with one long finger. "Shouldn't it be obvious? I want to use you! I want you to be my slave! You will do my every bidding."

Kyo froze in shock. "What?" His eyes had flown wide open at this declaration and he found, with a bit of work on his part, he could actually start to see basic outlines of shapes, including Tessa kneeling over him with an intent expression on her face. He suddenly struggled even harder against his bonds. "Like hell I will! Besides! They'll know I'm missing! They'll come looking for me!"

Tessa tapped her own cheek. "That would present a problem, if they were to succeed. But I think I can handle it. After all, I'm more than I appear as well." She stood grandly, spreading her arms out from her sides, fingers wide. Eerie green light traced the outline of her form. "I am one who others fear. They call me by names based off of that fear. Witch. Shaman. Blighter. But those are not my name. And I have chosen you, to be my pet. For now."

Kyo's eyes went even wider. "Hell no!"

She cut him off with a gesture that sealed his tongue. His mouth closed against his will and he couldn't open it. He could only stare at her like she was crazy. The only problem was that she did seem to be more than what his eyes told her, what with that eerie green light licking across her skin, showing eyes far too intense for a person of her apparent age.

She let out a bit of a snort of scorn. "You don't have a choice in the matter. The Spirits have given you to me! You are mine, to do with as I please! And no one can save you from that fate! I bind your will to me!"

Kyo trembled all over, but he couldn't look away as she began to draw crazy patterns in the air with her green light, patterns that lingered where her fingers had left them, strange words washing over him as strange smelling smoke filled the air. He couldn't help but breathe in the oddly cold yet thick vapor. It felt like it was clawing its way down his throat and into his blood, making him feel heavier and heavier, like he was being thrust into deep water where he would drown. In the back of his mind, he thought he heard wild laughter.

xXxXxXxXxXxxxXxX

Yuki had remained at the table while the others had gone up to the roof. He sighed heavily to himself, wondering just what kind of prank Kyo was trying to pull this time. He pushed his food around his plate for a minute before getting up. He had a few ideas of where to look for the his cousin, places that didn't include Shishu's or the roof so he headed off, not bothering to tell anyone on his way out.

xXxXxXxXxXxxxXxX

Almost everyone followed Shigure upstairs to the second floor, and out onto the deck where a ladder led up to the roof. "Well, there it is," he said as he pointed. "Now, who will go up there and look?"

Before Sebastian could offer, Tohru had stepped forward and put a hand on the ladder. "I will!"

Ciel stared at her in shock. This was definitely not something a young lady should be doing. "Nonsense! Let Sebastian go," he entreated. "This isn't something a girl should do!"

Tohru turned with a smile on her face, both hands on the ladder, one foot resting on the bottom rung. "It's okay. I do this a lot. Sometimes I even sit on the roof with Kyo and watch the stars. It's not really that dangerous, so long as you stay away from the edge." She began to climb up, despite his protests.

The boy watched in disbelief. "Sebastian!" He let out a bit of a protest as his butler just stood there, watching. "Are you really going to let her do this?" He turned entreating eyes towards Shigure, the person who, as her guardian, should be looking out for her well being.

Shigure shrugged. "It'll be all right. She does this a lot. Besides, there's only one person who's ever almost fallen off the roof and it was only because he was trying to commit suicide."

Ciel looked scandalized by this admission. "What! Who was it? Tell me!' He felt a surge of panic, wondering if it had been Kyo. His chest tightened at the thought. After all, he'd made them both promise to not do anything foolish upon their return from England. And he'd sworn Sebastian to make sure of it. He glared at his butler.

Tohru, meanwhile, had made it to the top of the roof and turned around to wave back down at them. "Hey, Ciel! You should come up here and see! The stars are very lovely from up here!"

Shigure looked up at the same time Ciel did, though his expression remained mild in comparison to the shock on the boy's face. "Is Kyo up there," he called up to her.

Tohru shook her head. "No. I don't see him, but he might be on the other side of the ridgepole. Let me go check!"

Ciel almost came unglued as he heard her scrambling around above them. "Sebastian! Do something!"

The butler glanced at his master. "What would you like me to do, young master?"

Ciel stamped his foot. "I don't know! Just do something! Before she falls!"

Sebastian mused to himself for a moment. His master had not given him any specific instructions, other than that he "do something". That left a lot of room for interpretation. "Very well," he said with a slight bow and picked up the earl and placed him over one shoulder. With the same fluid motion, he stepped towards the ladder and quickly climbed up.

"Sebastian!" Ciel stared down in shock, seeing his own shock mirrored in Shigure's eyes as he stared back up. But he also thought he caught a glimmer of humor from the older man's eyes. "This isn't what I meant and you know it!"

But before he could even finish his protest, he found himself being set down on the roof, which was neither as steep or small as he'd thought it would be. All the same, he did not like the feeling of being out on such an unpredictable precipice.

Sebastian stood to one side, a slight smile of amusement on his face at the boy's obvious discomfiture. "I assumed you would wish to see for yourself," he said by way of explanation.

Both turned upon hearing Tohru scrambling back up from the other side of the ridgepole. "He's not there either," she announced, then blinked in surprise to see Ciel and Sebastian both on the roof. "Oh! So you did decide to come up after all!" She sounded pleased as she scrabbled to reach them, Ciel gritting his teeth the entire time. "Isn't it nice up here?"

Sebastian looked out at the area around them. There were trees as far as the eye could see, except for an area where the city lights could be seen. And, in the other direction, there was a bit of a hill where the sun would rise. "I can very well understand why master Kyo would prefer this location," he commented.

"That's all fine and good," Ciel said, leaning as far away from the incline as possible, "but can we go back down now? I find this all a little unsettling." A cough or two escaped through his lips, his face a bit drawn. He was usually fine with heights, but, for some odd reason, he was very unsettled now. Perhaps it was because the foundation underneath him was tipped instead of being flat, as he was generally accustomed to.

Tohru looked up quickly, hearing him cough. Her eyes went wide with concern. " Of course we can go back down! I'm so sorry! I forgot you weren't feeling well!" She practically ran over to him, which caused both the young boy and his butler to wince in potential alarm, but she did not falter. After all, she'd been on the roof many times with both Yuki and Kyo. "Do you need me to help you down?"

Ciel edged towards the ladder very carefully. "I can make it on my own," he replied. He hoped he could make it. His hands were shaking as he found the top of the ladder and grabbed onto the protrusion. For some reason, he found himself suddenly feeling weak.

Sebastian stood, waiting, watching, evaluating. He had one hand under his chin as he contemplated. He could easily help his master down, just as he'd brought him up, but, for some reason, he wanted to see how far the boy would and could go before he stepped in. He did, after all, need to learn to rely a bit on his own abilities a bit more, and not so much on those of the people around him.

Tohru quickly moved to stand next to Ciel. "Maybe I should go down ahead of you, in case you fall or something."

Ciel resisted the urge to slap away her lifted hand. "I can do it myself," he said a little brusquely and swung around to climb down the ladder. He closed his visible eye and swallowed nervously. Why did this ladder feel suddenly rickety? Was the world spinning? Was he falling?

"Ciel!"

"Young master!" Sebastian leapt forward as the boy suddenly lost his grip on the ladder and began to fall backwards. He managed to grasp his hand before the ladder tried to twist from the abuse, but, despite his efforts, the earl still slammed into the ladder, which Tohru grabbed to keep from falling over onto Shigure below.

Shigure looked up at the cries of alarm and saw what was happening. In a quick flash, he moved to help Tohru steady the ladder from below while the boy dangled limply from his butler's hands. This was, indeed, a most interesting turn of events, he decided as he watched from below, one hand firmly on the ladder. "What happened?"

Sebastian looked down at Shigure as he moved to pull his unconscious master back up to safety. "I believe he had a bit of a dizzy spell," he called down. "His asthma has been a bit active today and I fear the sudden adventure was too much for him."

Tohru's eyes went wide in alarm. "His asthma? Oh no! We should call a doctor! We should..!"

"We should all calm down," Sebastian said calmly as he pulled the earl into his arms and looked at his pale face. He could hear the ragged breathing; feel the struggle behind each breath. He leaned slightly over the roof's edge to glance at Shigure once more. "I am going to carry him down. If you would be so good as to make sure the ladder remains steady, I would greatly appreciate it."

Shigure nodded from his post and moved to one side so that he wasn't standing directly in front of the ladder, but still kept a firm grasp on the tall structure. "I'm ready down here," he called back up, in case the butler had turned to look away.

Sebastian nodded to Tohru. "I will apologize for taking the young master down first, ahead of a lady, but the circumstances seem to warrant it."

Tohru just shook her head. "No! No! It's okay! Don't worry about me! Ciel's sick and needs to be taken care of! I'm fine!" She moved aside so that the butler had full access to the ladder.

Sebastian gave her a smile as he moved past her and began climbing down the ladder, the boy now gently thrown over one shoulder so that he had one free hand. It would have, of course, been much faster for him to simply jump down, but only Tohru knew, or at least had an inkling about his true nature, and he did not feel it necessary for the other male to know any more than he did at the moment.

It did not take long to climb down the ladder. When they were both safely on the ground, the butler gently placed Ciel down on a blanket Shigure brought over. He knelt by his master and took his wrist in one hand, feeling the pulse. "Hmmm."

Shigure stood nearby, watching while Tohru climbed down to join them. "It doesn't look like a bad attack, if that's what did happen," he mused as he watched. "I've definitely seen worse."

Sebastian glanced up as he spoke. "I take it you know something of asthma. Are you also trained as a doctor?"

Shigure put his hands up, a sort of smile on his face. "Oh no! No, no, no! Let's just say that I'm familiar with the condition. Yuki has asthma, and we have to deal with the occasional attack here and there. Usually, we just call Hatori and he takes care of everything."

Sebastian glanced up at the name. "Ah, your family physician, am I correct?" He didn't add that he knew a bit more about the doctor, thanks to Tohru and Kyo's intelligence. He didn't deem it to be wise to let on just how much they knew about the family.

Shigure blinked a few times, surprised that he knew, but nodded. "That would be the one. I can call him, if you like, though he usually doesn't see anyone outside the family. But, seeing as you're a friend of Tohru's, he'll likely come over. But, if you prefer, we can call an ambulance and have him taken to the hospital. I don't drive a car, you see." He shrugged carelessly.

Sebastian had returned to his examination of the boy. It was true that his knowledge was probably not as good as this Hatori's was, especially considering they were now in a more modern time where more information was available, but was it worth the risk? He debated for a moment. Well, a physical examination would not show that they were from another time, nor would it reveal that they knew about the Sohma's family secret. He nodded. "Very well."

Tohru had finished climbing down the ladder by this point. "I'll go make the call," she offered and jumped to do so before either adult could say anything about it.

"She's a very ambitious young lady," the butler observed.

Shigure smiled bemusedly. "That she is, always putting others ahead of herself." He gave himself a little shake. "We really should probably move him inside where it's warmer. It can get quite drafty up here after dark. We can use Kyo's bedroom for now."

Sebastian nodded and scooped up the unconscious Ciel into his arms, blanket and all, following Shigure into the room where he deposited the lad on the somewhat mussed bed. Ciel's breathing was still a bit ragged, but at least he wasn't gasping for breath, which was a good sign. Like Shigure had said, a mild attack if anything, but still something to worry about, along with his other potential injuries.

The butler turned back to the writer, once his master was situated, a blanket pulled over his slight frame. "What do you plan on doing about your missing cousin? Are there any other places he might have disappeared to for a short duration?"

Shigure rubbed at the back of his neck. He'd forgotten about Kyo in the excitement. "I don't know," he confessed. "It's really not like him to disappear like this. If he's not here or at Kazuma's, I really don't have any idea where he could be. One thing for sure, I really don't like it." His expression became grim and thoughtful as he moved his hand to rub at his chin. "Not one bit."

Sebastian watched him, seeing the more serious side of this man coming out just a bit. He's not as flighty as he would like us to think, he thought. We will have to keep a close watch on this one. I have a feeling he's a shrewd one.

Tohru came running back into the room, a bit out of breath. She leaned against the doorframe, half in the hallway. "Hatori's on his way," she announced between breaths. In one hand, she held a hot water bottle filled with ice. "I brought this in case we need it." She moved into the room, holding the bottle out. "How is he?" Her eyes were large with concern.

Sebastian took the bottle with a hint of a smile. "He is resting as comfortably as possible, given the circumstances. I should, perhaps, tell you that yesterday he did also suffer from a bout of food poisoning, thanks to one of our friends, Lau Tau. I wonder if that might not also be partly to blame."

Tohru blinked at the mention of the Chinese man's name. "He's not here, is he?" She suddenly felt a bit nervous. If Lau was there, he probably had Ran Mao with him, which meant she'd want to hug Kyo. If that happened, the cat really would be out of the bag.

Seeing the worry in Tohru's eyes, Sebastian put a gloved hand on her shoulder. "No. He remains in London, along with his associate. I don't believe we shall be bothered by him, which is probably all to the better. I believe the young master is still quite upset with him over the whole incident."

Shigure just listened and nodded, trying to pretend that he knew what they were talking about. "This Lau sounds like a real character," he observed.

Sebastian smiled. "One could certainly say as much," he confirmed. "Let us just say, for the occasion's sake, that he is one of my lord's servants, though he sometimes forgets his place and has his fun at my master's expense." The butler turned back to his young charge, checking his pulse.

"I see." Shigure nodded sagely, hands tucked into the sleeves of his robe as he rocked back on his heels. "Well. Maybe I should go downstairs and see if Hatori's here yet." He nodded to himself as he left the room, leaving the door wide open.