Chapter Nine: Making Arrangements

...

Shigure let out a sigh as he leaned against the wall in the hallway. This evening had completely turned on its head. He wasn't sure what he thought about any of it anymore. Too much had happened since Tohru had come home from school, bringing with her two guests who were quickly turning into overnight guests.

Sebastian came out of Kyo's room, gently closing the door behind him. "He's still asleep," he informed. "I have made him as comfortable as can be, considering the situation, and would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your kind attentions towards him."

Shigure nodded. "Why don't we go downstairs and talk about this a little more," he suggested. Tohru was downstairs again, working on cleaning up the dinner dishes. Now that the excitement had gone down, they'd all pretty much found their appetites had disappeared, at least temporarily on Shigure's part. He was almost always hungry, after all. Especially if Tohru's cooking was involved.

Sebastian let the writer lead the way back to the kitchen where Tohru was finishing up the dishes. The arrangement of the room was definitely not something he was quite accustomed to, containing a great deal less than what he usually had at his disposal. He could now well understand why the girl had been so impressed with the kitchen back at the Manor.

"Tohru," Shigure waved, trying to catch her attention. "I think we all need to sit down and talk."

Tohru turned from drying a dish. "How is he?"

Sebastian let a hint of a smile lift the corner of his lips. "He's resting comfortably."

Tohru smiled back. "That's a relief." She turned to Shigure. "What do we need to talk about?" She put the dried dish down on a stack of other clean dishes.

Shigure nervously fingered the hem of his sleeves. "Well, Tohru, there's a few matters we need to clear up. For one-"

"The matter of my master's housing," Sebastian cut in. "Yes, I can see how that would present a problem. We did not intend to intrude as we have."

Tohru's smile turned into one of concern. "But you can't be thinking of kicking them out into the streets! Shigure, please! Can't they stay here? They won't get in the way! Promise! It'll only be a for a little while!"

Shigure looked over at Tohru's pleading face. He wasn't sure he understood why she was being so insistent about the matter. It could just be her kind heart, though he rather thought there was more going on than he knew about. His expression wavered.

Sebastian took a step forward. "If it is a problem of compensation, that can easily be taken care of," he informed. "We are more than willing to pay for our lodgings through whatever means you feel necessary, be it through service or monetary means."

Shigure wavered some more. Tohru's pleading eyes were melting him on one side. The idea of getting more money from the situation was melting him on the other. They didn't need someone else doing chores, since it had been agreed upon that Tohru would take care of those for her room and board and he wouldn't dream of taking that away from her. "Fine," he gave him. "We'll work out the details later."

Tohru almost ran unto him to hug him but stopped herself. Instead, she gave an excited little jump. "Oh thank you, Shigure! You won't regret it!"

Sebastian bowed slightly. "I thank you on behalf of my master and myself."

Shigure smiled a bit uncomfortably at the attention. "Let's move on to the other items of business," he said hurriedly. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you that one of our household is missing."

Tohru's excitement declined drastically. "That's right. Kyo's still not here! We need to send out a search party or something!"

The writer held up a cautioning hand. "What we need to do is be patient. It's entirely possible that he just ran off somewhere to cool down after some chance encounter. If we haven't heard anything from him by morning, we'll start looking. We don't want to worry too many people prematurely."

Sebastian cupped one hand under his chin. "Is that why you didn't mention it to Dr. Sohma when he was here? I gather he is somehow related."

Shigure's mouth dropped open slightly. It took him only a moment to realize it wasn't too hard to put two and two together on that end. "That's right," he said, composing himself. "Hatori's a cousin of ours. He also reports directly to our head of House, which might not be the best idea right, especially since he and Kyo are not exactly on the best of terms right now. I'd rather wait until we have decisive proof before we let him know."

Sebastian inclined his head in acceptance. "Of course. As their legal guardian, it is your place to decide. I did not mean to imply that you were not giving them your full due on the matter."

Shigure blinked, not sure if he'd just been insulted or praised. He decided to wave it aside. "Well, I guess Ciel can use Kyo's room for now, until he comes back that is. I'm not sure where you'll sleep though. I mean, the couch is still free."

The butler smiled. "I shall stay with my master. Did not your doctor say someone should keep an eye on him tonight? Besides, what kind of butler would I be if I did not keep an eye on him?"

Tohru took a step forward. "I can always give up my room! I wouldn't mind!"

Shigure raised a hand to protest but Sebastian beat him to it. "Although I do appreciate the offer," the butler interjected, "I believe that it would be more appropriate for me to refuse. I believe it would be better for me to share my master's apartment and allow you to keep your room. And as your guardian as offered, there is always the couch should I feel so inclined."

"I agree," Shigure added, trying to be an authority figure. "If Kyo does show back up, he can always sleep on the roof or in Yuki's room. He's up there enough anyway that it shouldn't be a problem."

Tohru blinked rapidly at this development. "Oh. Okay. If you're sure it's okay. I mean, I don't want to be rude."

Shigure snorted. "Tohru, Tohru." He moved to put a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Your kindness does do you credit, but please try to remember that you are the only girl in a household of men. There's no way I could allow you to give up your room. Okay?"

She nodded, and then looked around. "Um, while we're talking about these kinds of things, does anyone know where Yuki went?"

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Yuki shoved his hands into his pockets and stamped his feet. He'd been walking for a while now and there still was no sign of his cousin. He'd looked in all the usual places, with no result.

It had gotten cold out. The moon had not come out yet. He paused under a streetlight and sighed in disgust. "Kyo, where are you? This isn't funny anymore. You should just come out and stop hiding. You're making Miss Honda worry."

He stayed under the light for a few more minutes, debating on his next course of action. If Kyo was upset enough, he could go missing for several days. Tomorrow was a free day. But Monday, if he hadn't shown up by Monday, well, that was something else entirely. He'd just have to figure out a way to distract Tohru until then. Maybe having those two friends of hers around would help.

He glanced at his watch. It was after ten now. He'd been out for several hours. They'd definitely have noticed that he wasn't there by now, and since he hadn't mentioned his plans to anyone, he decided it was probably time to head back. He'd forgotten to take his cell phone with him or he'd call and let them know not to worry. But since that wasn't an option, he decided to get back before anything else happened.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Shigure glanced at the clock as he heard the front door open, then close. It was after eleven. Tohru and Sebastian had supposedly gone to bed an hour ago, at his insistence. He'd actually insisted that Tohru go sleep, telling her not to worry about either Yuki or Kyo. After some protesting, she'd gone to bed when the butler had decided to retire for the night as well. He had no idea if he'd actually gone to bed yet or not.

"Yuki, is that you," he called from his den. The door was wide open so that he could keep an eye on the entryway.

Yuki stepped into the hallway. "Yes, I'm back. Has Miss Honda already gone to bed?"

Shigure moved into the hallway. "Yes, she went about an hour ago. Oh, and you should probably know that Ciel and his butler are staying the night. I let them use Kyo's room, since he's not here right now." He glanced at his younger cousin's attire. "I'm guessing you were out looking for him?"

Yuki nodded. "Yes. But why are they staying here? I thought they had a hotel in town?"

Shigure twiddled his thumbs a bit nervously. "I'm guessing you missed all the excitement then. Well, after we went upstairs to see if Kyo was on the roof, Tohru convinced Ciel to go up and see the view. On the way down, he had an asthma attack and blacked out, almost falling off the roof. Thankfully, Sebastian caught him before he fell, but he's probably got a concussion, along with a few other injuries. Hatori came out and give him a look over."

Yuki's mouth fell open with surprise. It took him a few seconds to compose himself. "Anything else I should know about?"

Shigure smiled as he shook his head slightly. "Nope. Not that I can think of. I was just thinking about locking up and going to bed. You might want to do the same, even if you don't have to go to school tomorrow. We all know how you get when you don't get enough sleep."

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Good night, Shigure," he said, feeling slightly agitated with his older cousin. He turned and headed for the stairs.

Shigure watched, smiling behind him. He clicked his tongue as he shook his head. "Night! Try not to trip on anything in your room! We don't need any other accidents tonight!"

The younger boy ignored him as he turned towards his room and shut himself inside. It was true though, his room was a mess. Maybe he should clean it. But not tonight.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Tessa stared absently out of her window. It was a makeshift bedroom, but it worked. She didn't need much sleep, after all. All she really needed was a small base of operation while she tried to figure out what it was she was missing.

Everything had gone off wonderfully so far. But, she felt a niggling in the background of her thoughts that warned that not all was well, and would continue to be unwell unless she did something about it. Had she gotten too excited and overlooked something? She tried to think.

Was it her disguise? No. That was perfect. And she wouldn't need it for that much longer. Once she tested out all the capabilities of her new toy, she'd head back to her own time. It would be easier, after all, to do that here instead of making the same mistake she'd made last time. Make sure everything works before you move in and try for the ultimate goal. The rest of her coven hadn't and had been eradicated. It was all up to her now, to bring them back and realize their goal.

She absently, mentally patted Kyo's soul with a wisp of magic. It was a tangled, complicated, injured and battered thing, this soul. There were a lot of dark areas. There were also a few light areas. She'd have to snuff those out before she moved on. It would never do to have them suddenly waken. Right now, they were safely suppressed by her magic, but that could change, ruining everything. She had to figure out how to get rid of them for good.

What was it the boy had said? She tapped her chin with one finger. After he'd come to in his little prison, what was it he'd said? There'd been the typical banter of a prisoner, outrage, denial. She was used to those things being expressed to her. That wasn't the problem. "Hmm." She tried to think harder, looking back over last night's conversation with him before she'd bound him.

What was it? What had she missed in her excitement? She began to pace, then paused suddenly.

"They'll know I'm missing. They'll come looking for me!"

She'd boasted that it wouldn't be a problem. It was probably true, once she knew who they were. Now she just had to discover that little point. She'd go and force it from Kyo right then and there if she could, but she couldn't disturb him for another twenty-six hours or the connection wouldn't set right. Magic was a fickle thing sometimes, especially when one was not in their original time or dimension. She had to let it set in completely or other problems would arise.

Tessa ground her teeth in frustration as she tapped at her chin. Who all would present a threat to her plans? Who were the people who would come looking for him? It would be so much easier if she could just force him to tell her, to barge into his head and steal the information she needed, but she couldn't do that just yet. In twenty-six hours, it wouldn't be a problem. She could either wait, then, or go about finding out the old-fashioned way.

A low hiss came from her throat. "If I wait too long, they may get a lead on me," she decided. "I have to start now. And the best place for that is…" She smiled suddenly. She was posing as a student at his school. They would surely have records about his current residence. That was as good a place to start as any.