Ciel watched as Buffy chatted with some old friend. It seemed that everyone was having luck with love as of late. Miss Calendar and Giles were teasing each other about a date (okay more her teasing him) and now Buffy was all sparkly eyes with this Ford guy. It didn't help that Sebastian and Rige were actually discussing wedding plans. They were actually going to have a wedding… Ciel groaned once more. This whole love thing was giving him a migraine.

"Ciel, you still in there?" Xander suddenly asked. Damn it, Ciel was zoning off again. He seemed to be doing that more often lately. He really needed to get out of the school setting. Still, it was the perfect cover. Ciel could never argue that.

"Hm? Yeah, I am just thinking," Ciel mused.

"I saw Rige this morning fawning over Mr. Michaelis. Those two are disgusting," they heard Cordelia rattle to her friends.

"At least you don't have to live with it," Ciel growled under his breath.

"Aw, come on, they can't be that bad!" Willow assured. Ciel held back a laugh. Sometimes he felt this group of kids could be such idiots. Still, there was something odd about Willow, something Ciel couldn't quite place… It was strange.

"So, is studious Ciel going to join us at the Bronze tonight?" Xander asked. Ciel shook his head.

"If it means dealing with Buffy and Ford, I'd rather not. Besides, it'll be nice to be home with Rige out. I might actually get some work done," Ciel sighed.

"Don't you like her?" Willow asked. Ciel shrugged.

"I suppose, well enough. I'd just like to hear something that isn't about weddings or love for once," Ciel replied. He grabbed his bags as the bell rang. He took another look back as Buffy rejoined her two friends. She was a lost cause.

***Later at Ciel's***

Ciel had just finished his English essay with a heavy sigh, staring at the ceiling. He had finished his school work earlier than he thought and almost had a mind to head out for the rest of the evening. Still, he'd see Rige possibly, and Buffy was at the Bronze. The two had been rather distant since Halloween. Some part of Buffy actually reminded Ciel of Lizzy. Buffy was that tough girl who at least was once rather girly. It was like she was forced to be tough and strong while Lizzy felt forced to be girly. They were opposites, complimenting each other. Ciel groaned, throwing his pillow. He was a demon. He shouldn't be like this.

The phone suddenly rang. He picked it up, noticing the number. "What the hell do you want, Cordelia?" he growled. The two had worked on a project in history a month ago (Sebastian's bright idea to get Ciel to be higher in the social standings) and ever since Cordelia had used him to get the scoop on what Buffy and her friends were up to. Supposedly she wanted to just hear the gossip, but Ciel wondered if there was something more going on.

"What's with that boy Buffy was with today?" Cordelia asked.

"I don't know. Apparently they knew each other in LA," Ciel replied. Silence hung for a moment. In that silence, Ciel got an idea.

"Hey, did you want to meet at the Bronze some night? Not tonight, I'm rather busy, but some night?" Ciel asked.

"I guess. Some of the girls are starting to think you're not half bad," Cordelia answered. Ciel smiled. If he was going to have some girl by his side, he had to choose well. Besides, if Cordelia was going to use him, he may as well use her.

***Next Day, Magic Shop***

After school, the gang decided to go touch base with Rige. The only two that weren't there were Buffy and Ford, the two having decided to go take a tour of Sunnydale. "Angel asked me to look in on Ford," Willow confessed.

"Good, he seems off," Ciel mused. The others looked at him.

"Ciel has always had a knack for being able to read people on some level. I believe that is why he makes such a good demon," Sebastian explained.

"I actually have to agree with Ciel. I mean, this guy just shows up here and doesn't have a clear answer as to why," Xander agrees.

"I found a warehouse attached to his name," Willow offered.

"We should check it out," Rige proposed.

"Well, I told Angel I'd let him know what I found," Willow stuttered.

"I know where he lives," Rige assured, grabbing her jacket. She looked over at Sebastian.

"Will you watch the store?" she asked. Sebastian nodded with a smile. The sun was setting outside. "Are you coming, Ciel?"

"No, I promised Cordelia I'd meet her at the Bronze," Ciel sighed. Willow and Xander gaped at Ciel.

"You have a date with Cordelia Chase?" Xander exclaimed. Ciel just shrugged.

"I actually am well liked by people of higher standing, Harris," Ciel smirked, getting up and walking out of the store. Rige shook her head, and began to lead the others to Angel's.

***At Angel's***

"You told them?" Angel half growled at Willow, who suddenly grabbed onto Rige's arm and pulled herself a bit behind the woman.

"Give her a break, Angel. Besides, you know backup isn't always that bad," Rige defended. Angel just glared at her.

"Alright, let's just check this place out," Angel caved. They walked out into the night, until Rige heard something, or at least thought she did.

"Hey, you guys go on ahead. I feel like I should patrol a bit," Rige told the others, who apparently hadn't heard anything. They went on ahead, and Rige turned down an alleyway. There was a hooded figure at the back of it. "Who's there?" Rige demanded, grabbing her stake which she kept tucked into the waist of her pants. A shrill laugh replied, and Rige tensed.

"I thought I should pay a visit," the Undertaker cooed. Rige flinched. She hated that voice.

"I haven't seen any of your kind here yet. Why now?" Rige demanded. The Undertaker shrugged.

"I actually don't know. I think we just don't like the Hellmouth," he mused. Rige laughed.

"It's not too bad," she replied.

"I have a message. It's for you. A soul will be returned to us soon," the Undertaker told her. Rige sighed.

"So someone dies. Why warn me?" Rige asked.

"You will have to prepare the strong one to replace it. Otherwise terror will occur," the Undertaker instructed. He then laughed again. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon. Have a nice night!" With that he was gone, and Rige was left alone. She had an inkling of what the reaper had meant, and that never meant anything good. She'd have to talk to Jenny soon. In fact, she was planning on doing it as soon as possible.

***The Next Night (whilst the others are dealing with Ford)***

Jenny and Rige sat in the shop discussing what the Undertaker had said. "Do you think it will happen?" Jenny breathed. Rige nodded.

"I hate those reapers, but they are never wrong concerning a soul," Rige replied. She took a sip of her tea. Jenny looked out the window.

"Who is the strong one then?" Jenny asked.

"I wish I knew. I can't get a read on people anymore, not like I used to, not like when I was contracted with you," Rige explained. Jenny laughed.

"They should have at least let you finish that one out," Jenny remarked. Then she pondered for a moment. "You know what though; I guess it's not that bad."

"I know that smile," Rige teased. "He's a good man."

"Hey, you're pretty lucky yourself," Jenny replied. They both laughed. Rige leaned back.

"What do you think of what's going tonight?" Rige asked.

"I'd rather not get involved. If this Ford is what we think he is, or wants what we think he wants, it's up for Buffy to deal with him," Jenny answered. The two women were silent for a moment.

"She's a strong kid. She can handle it," Rige agreed. She studied Jenny. "You know, I always meant it when I said you should give me a chance."

"We both know I don't swing that way," Jenny denied. She glanced down at the table. "I think I love him, Rige. I'm scared though. I feel like something just won't work out."

"I feel the same. Something is about to happen, something I can't pin point. Sebastian agrees. I'm sure Ciel has a few thoughts of his own too," Rige mused. A stillness overtook the room. Whatever happened, it was still a bit off. Why else would they be warned to train someone in some of the stronger magic that few even still knew? It was all in the future, and to the rest of the world, they just had to lie.

A/N: I am so sorry this is late! I tried writing this weekend and I just couldn't quite focus enough to work on this! Still, I think I set up a few nice things. Jenny and Rige know each other from the past. Ciel goes on a date with Cordelia. Things are getting interesting! Also, I will note, yes Rige is bisexual. Keep this in mind for later. I have some plans with this, and they will be interesting. There's a lot of interesting stuff I have planned actually. It's just that a lot of it takes place a lot later in time... Oh well. Anyways, if I ever lack in posting regularly, please understand that I have a lot of stuff going on in my life and it's hard to sit down and write. I also have a lot of writing projects, some fan fiction and some not. With this in mind, I can say now that November will especially be a difficult month because I am doing Nanowrimo this year in hopes of using it to expand another project I've been working on, and stuff like that. Anyways, I may skip ahead a few Buffy episodes after this just to maybe get myself going a bit. I hope you all enjoy. Please leave a review!