Chapter Fourteen: Wardrobes and Visitors

Tessa carefully put back all of the files in the exact order she'd found them. She had to make sure her tracks were covered in case someone discovered something was going on, like that Hanajima girl who had been lurking outside the school. She'd have to do something about that snoop as well, though she wasn't strictly sure if she'd been snooping or not. Either way, she didn't like her and that was reason enough.

She reached out a mental hand towards the unconscious Kyo in her lair. He had not so much as moved while she'd been gone, but she would have t do something with him soon as well. He was mortal and needed nourishment of some kind. It would not do to starve her new toy. But she would have to do it in such a way as to not disturb the still delicate connection that was forming between them. Already she could feel the tingling of his soul connecting with hers as her magic poked and pried and practically drilled into his. By this time tomorrow, she would be able to explore basic memories. And not too long after that, she'd be able to read his every memory and use them against him and his friends.

She almost squealed in delight, arms drawn up to her chest as she contained the glee she felt bubbling inside. It would not do to leave too many spiritual ripples in the area. She wasn't sure if that Hanajima girl was still nearby or not. She couldn't get any real reading off of her, and that definitely bothered her. Her investigation had shown that she was also connected to Tohru Honda, who was somehow connected with Kyo. It was yet another good reason to get rid of her. Now all she had to do was make her plans and set them in motion. And to do that, she needed to do a little more background work, especially in the area of spying on her intended victims.

Tessa jumped down from the desk she'd been sitting on and looked around, making sure everything was back in place, then left the room, making sure the door was locked. She now knew where to find Kyo's residence. That was the first place to start.

The taxicab dropped off the rather odd group in front of the shopping district. True to his word, Momiji paid the fare and made arrangements for them to be picked up later that afternoon.

The moment Ciel stepped from the cab, with Sebastian's help, he found that he couldn't help but stare. Though he had been in many areas of London, and several other places in both America and England, he could not say he had seen a place like where he found himself. Everything seemed brightly colored, or made to stand out in one fashion or another. And there were a lot of different stores almost all squished into one area, with open air shops skirting the sidewalks. Not to mention the number of people milling about. It was an absolute nightmare as far as security was concerned. He felt a bit more exposed than he cared for, especially since several people stared at him as they passed the group.

Momiji whistled to himself as he walked on his heels. "Well, here we are! This is one of the best places to shop for clothes, or anything else for that matter! You'll also find the best selection here too!"

Tohru gave him a big smile. "Momiji, you're amazing! I didn't know you knew about so many kinds of shopping areas!"

Hana's face remained neutral as they began to walk. She was trying to close her senses off to the various waves of electrical pulses coming off of so many people. It was almost overwhelming, even though she'd gotten used to zoning out on most of them. Sometimes, however, some waves crashed more persistently against her mind than others did. It gave her a more distracted air than was usual, for all that she also kept a sharp sense on everything around her, especially upon her friends and new acquaintances.

Sebastian watched this strange girl with some interest. She was not the typical human, by any stretch of the imagination. He hadn't really had a chance to focus his attentions on her, even though they'd been in the same vehicle for a good ten minutes. He had been too busy keeping an open ear on his young master's condition, as well as musing over some of his own thoughts on their particular assignment and how to go about achieving it.

He glanced at her now, following a few feet back from the rest of the group so that he could observe them all with one glance. He was also keeping his sense open for any sign of Kyo, who the others had either chosen to dismiss, or had forgotten about. No one had really mentioned doing anything to find the lad, and so he would do as much as he could to ascertain his whereabouts while in the company of his master, unless it became an order to search independently, of course.

But now he kept a portion of his mind focused on this strange girl named Saki Hanajima. What exactly was she? Her soul felt different than the typical, to be sure. In fact, he wasn't sure if he'd ever felt a soul like hers before. It was almost as if there were a nearly impenetrable wall around it that only let out enough of the essence to tempt someone like himself. Of course, he was sure he could actually extract it without harm to himself, if he really cared to try, but it was not in his orders to do so, nor was it something he felt inclined to do either. He found he was more curious than anything.

"This one should do," Tohru said as she led them to a relatively popular clothing store that catered more to the younger audiences. She had heard that a lot of the Sohma cousins shopped at this particular store.

Ciel glanced up at the signboard announcing the name of the establishment. It was a rather splashy name that didn't seem to have anything to do with clothing, but there were a lot of display dummies in the windows, sporting some of the latest fashions, which were a great deal more plain than what he was used to wearing. He felt some misgivings as they entered the shop.

"I know the way to the boys' section," Momiji announced, and took over leading the way as the party skirted around giggling pre-adulescent girls and boys.

Ciel found that he was now hanging back closer to his butler. Seeing so many children near his age was somehow disconcerting. He wasn't sure if he felt superior to them, overwhelmed by them, or simply out of place. One thing was certain, he was not like those his age. And how could he be? After all, he'd given up most childish things when he'd made a contract with a demon and "come back from the dead". To play the kinds of games he liked best, he had had to learn not to be overly childish, though sometimes he played the role as the situation demanded. Circumstance had aged him beyond his years.

Sebastian glanced down at his young charge, feeling the confusion of emotion coming from him. He rather thought the experience would be good for the lad, though he could understand why he'd draw back from those around him, what with there being so many, and with a good deal of them staring at him like he was some kind of freak.

"They're staring at me," Ciel said from behind his clenched teeth. It was the same kind of stare he'd gotten from those older ruffians the previous day when he'd first heard the term "loli". It made him feel extremely self-conscious and he found he had to take his hat off and try to hide it under one arm, which left him possibly looking even more strange, as his other arm was in a sling.

Sebastian glanced down at the top of his head. "Ignore them, young master," he responded quietly. "Soon you will blend in with the crowd and you won't need feel out of place."

Momiji had stopped in front of the appropriate section now and had started to look critically at some of the shirts and pants on the racks and displays. "Hmm, what do you think Tohru?"

Tohru, having been called upon for her advise, moved forward to look at what was available. Her eyes went large at all the choices. "I don't know! Should he wear something more popular or something more practical?" If it had been up to her, she'd have gone more practical, but she couldn't decide.

Hana moved over to help select some items for Ciel's inspection. "If we were shopping for Megumi, I would suggest lots of black," she offered helpfully. "However, I'm not sure how helpful that advise would be to Ciel. I do think, though, that he would look rather good in the color."

Ciel, finding himself suddenly the object of scrutiny, found that he drew even closer to Sebastian, pressing his back against the butler's legs. Why did he feel so insecure? He couldn't explain it and it made him mad. "I wear a great deal of black," he almost retorted.

Sebastian found himself smiling in amusement. "The young master also looks quite well in darker shades of blue, as well as brown and pink." His smile widened as he mentioned the more feminine color.

Ciel scowled up at him. "Very funny, Sebastian. I did not wear that color by choice, as I'm sure you are well aware."

Tohru listened to this exchange with interest. "Mom always told me that pink is a very manly color," she said, "though I was never sure why."

Hana smiled at her friend's momentary confusion. "Pink can indeed be considered a manly color, but I think that we should forgo suggesting anything with that color at this time. It would seem that most items in that shade are meant more for the female gender." She indicated the girls' section with a nod of her head.

Ciel continued to scowl. "I refuse to wear pink or anything of a girly nature." Horrible thoughts of Lizzy's attempts to make him cute passed through his head, though he had to stifle a bit of a snort when the image of Sebastian wearing a pink bonnet randomly popped into his thoughts. He quickly cleared his throat to cover his slight smile. It would have been more effective if he'd had a free hand to move to his mouth like he was smothering a cough, but it would do.

Sebastian took a step forward. "Allow me to do the selecting of the young master's attire. As I am the one who generally knows his usual tastes, I believe that I am the best qualified to judge which articles of clothing would best suit him."

Tohru nodded with slightly wide eyes. "You're right, Sebastian! I almost forgot that you knew those kinds of things!" She moved to one side to let the butler closer to the clothing racks.

The butler smiled warmly. "Now then, shall we begin with this?" He held up a pair of dark khaki pants.

Yuki stumbled out of bed a little past eleven. Still half asleep, he made his way downstairs. It was nice to be able to sleep in for once. He yawned just inside of the kitchen, half expecting to see Tohru at the stove, cooking up something for either a late breakfast or early lunch. But he was met with silence.

Still groggy, he moved to the fridge and found something to nibble on, probably some kind of leftovers from the night before. He wasn't awake enough to tell. Having satisfied his stomach enough to keep it from rumbling, he washed his hands and wandered around the house, wondering where everyone was.

Remembering that they had house guests, he looked upstairs first, but found every room empty. Wandering back downstairs, he found Shigure's den also empty. He scratched his head. While it wasn't unusual for everyone to be off doing something, he didn't recall there being any plans set about the day. Maybe they were all just outside.

He headed out the backdoor to check on the garden, not seeing Tohru, or anyone else out there. No one was doing laundry. No one was weeding. He moved to the front of the house to check there, but with nothing to show for his efforts. He was about to head back inside when he thought he saw someone coming down the road so he paused, waiting to see who was coming. His eyes went wide in surprise the moment he recognized the person coming towards him.

Tessa had endeavored to seek out Kyo's house, and, after some missteps had finally found her way to the address given on his school records. She had the house just in sight when she realized that someone was standing on the front porch. Who was he again? A quick mental look at the pictures filed in her head told her he was Kyo's cousin, as well as the student council president, Yuki Sohma. What an interesting occurrence to meet him right off on her initial investigation.

"Good morning," Yuki greeted, once Tessa had come close enough to deem a greeting necessary. He wasn't sure why she was there. Shigure's house was more out of the way on purpose. And most people from school did not visit it. Perhaps that was due to the fact that most who would want to were members of the Prince Yuki Fan Club. They apparently had strict rules about going to his house that he wasn't sure he wanted to understand. Tessa obviously did not adhere to those rules.

She pretended surprise. It seemed the best point of attack under the circumstances. She looked up at him with blinking eyes. "Oh, hello. You're Yuki Sohma, right? I'm Tessa Harbinger." She extended a hand for him to take.

He took it with a look of confusion on his face. He wasn't sure if she wanted him to shake it or kiss it, though why he thought that, he wasn't sure either. There was something different about this girl and he couldn't immediately understand it. His brain still wasn't completely awake yet, despite having been up for about an hour now, something that was not usually the case, but his mind refused to completely focus. He wasn't sure why or if he cared at the moment. "Um, yes. That's right. Nice to meet you."

Tessa raised her brows ever so slightly at his obvious confusion. She could sense a similarity to her prisoner in spirit, but there was nowhere near the same kind of level of energy. She wasn't sure why this was the case, unless it was because they were not immediate relatives, but cousins, as the school files had told her. Of course, it was also possible that his talents lay more in other areas. Most of the girls were totally smitten with him, though she really couldn't understand why. He seemed too much of a simpleton.

She glanced around idly at the yard. "I was just out taking a walk," she confided. "I didn't mean to trespass on your property. I had no idea there was even a house out this way."

Yuki laughed a bit uncomfortably. "Well, yes. We like to live a bit more quietly than most." Why was his brain being so sluggish this morning? It was like someone had raised a shushing finger to keep his thoughts back.

She smiled warmly. "Do you live alone?" She knew the answer to this already, but wondered if she could ease the information out of him about who else might be there. Offhand, she couldn't sense the presence of any other souls, which felt unusual to her. Where were the others? And there was the faint hint of something else there that she couldn't quite catch. What was it? She'd felt it before, she was sure, but it was too faint to give her much information.

Yuki shook his head. "No. This is my cousin's house, but he seems to be out at the moment." Something told him not to say anything else. Again, he wasn't sure why. That shushing finger remained firmly in place, keeping his thoughts sluggish.

Tessa stored that little bit away. What her senses told her seemed to be true. Yuki was alone right now, but he didn't seem to pose much of a threat. He seemed rather a dullard, despite his popularity. Why on earth was he so popular? Did the girls here just like stupid men? She shook the thought from her mind. That was not why she was there.

Yuki was about to suggest she come in for a moment when something whispered in the back of his head that it would not be a good idea. And he found he had to agree. With the curse, and being alone in a house with a girl, it definitely would not be a good idea. He would have no one to help him if a situation arose. He'd have to do something quick to encourage her to leave. "I was actually just on my way out," he said without thinking.

Tessa blinked in surprise. Hadn't he been heading inside when she'd come up from the road? No matter. His thoughts seemed slow and sluggish. He probably didn't know which way he was going. He wouldn't be a threat at all. The others who lived there, though, she wasn't sure about. That's what she had to find out, and it would be easier to decide that if she could feel their souls up close and personal, but with them gone, that was impossible. She'd have to come back later, or look into some of her other leads, like Kyo's foster father.

"Sorry to have disturbed you," she apologized. "I'll just finish my walk." She turned around and headed back down the road. Something didn't quite feel right about either that boy or that house, though she couldn't say for sure what it was. Why did it her brain feel slightly hazy going there? Like she'd walked into a cloud? She made a fist, catching a random strand of energy in her hand. She would analyze it once she was out of sight.

Yuki watched her leave, not offering another word as she turned around. He felt a sudden sense of relief flood through him as she moved out of sight. He shook his head as if to clear it from tangled thoughts and absently went into the house, feeling suddenly much more awake. What was with that girl? And what had just happened?

"Shigure?" He searched the house again, now more awake. He wasn't entirely surprised to find that no note had been left in the older Sohma's den. He was always off doing something. He was a bit surprised, however, not to find one from Tohru. She was usually very conscientious about leaving things like that if she had to go and no one else was home.

Yuki blinked as he suddenly realized that not only was Kyo not there, but no one seemed to have done anything about finding him. Or was that the reason why everyone was gone? He wasn't sure and so he pulled out his cell phone, dialing Shigure's number, hoping the man had taken his own cell with him. He didn't use it often, but sometimes he actually had it turned on.