Sebastian has collected his reward and Claude is a little sore however he can still walk. They leave to take Alex shopping when Claude receives a phone call from Damian. Something unusual is going on at the bank and the last person you would expect is looking for him.

It's just another day at the office for Ronald. Grell is flirting with William, who is constantly telling him to get his work done. Only Ronald is taken into Williams office… which wouldn't be unusual except for the fact William is escorting him.

What is going on at the bank and who is looking for Claude?

What's going to happen to Ronald?

Will Grell ever learn?

I hope you enjoy,

~The Dark Ringmaster

I do not own Kuroshitsuji.

Chapter 22: Numbers

Claude slipped the piece of melon into his mouth and chewed. He purred a little and Alex realized that the demon actually liked melon, it was odd however true. She chopped a star fruit when she watched Claude bring the two fingers he had used to grab the orange wedge. He reached for his coffee mug with the other hand and slowly slipped his index finger between his lips. Alex froze and watched his pink tongue slip out of his mouth for a second as it ran down the side of is finger. She dropped the knife, as he pulled his finger out and reached over Sebastian, "Add some spices plain eggs are boring," he commented. Sebastian looked over his shoulder and slapped Claude's hand away with the spatula. "They're my eggs, and I will cook them as I please," said Sebastian harshly. Rather than arguing Claude sighed and slowly pulled his hand back. Sebastian was smirking once again with a hint of triumph. Alex snickered as she watched Claude slip his arms around Sebastian, "You know that apron looks wonderful on you," whispered Claude. Sebastian blushed and gasped when he felt Claude's hand sweep over his nipple. In seconds the spatula hit Claude over the head and Sebastian said angrily, "No kinky activates in the kitchen!" Claude sighed and went to the fridge; Alex could tell Claude was disappointed.

Ronald sighed as he watched Grell flirt with William. He couldn't believe that Grell would get this bad over the fact that Sebastian and Claude had decided to take a vacation and leave him behind. Grell shouted, "Aw Will, can't I drop in and see them! I mean honestly how come they get a vacation and I don't?" William glared and replied glacially, "Because they deserve one, they actually do work." Grell gasped and shouted in a high pitched voice, "William you're so cruel!" William adjusted his glasses and began to walk away swiftly. Ronald sighed as he watched the red head bound after him. "I wish I was on a vacation, why must he hit on my boss?" asked Ronald. He ran his fingers through his blond hair and began to wonder why Grell always chased his boss. He picked up his pen again and returned to his reports. There was silence and Ronald looked up, looming over him was William, "Mr. Knox, I would like to see you in my office," said William.

Ronald was confused for a moment, he had submitted his reports on time, they were grammatically correct and well written. He was just about finished with the one he had started and yet William was annoyed, there just wasn't any pleasing the older shinigami. Ronald nodded and slowly stood up and silently fallowed William to his office, for a while Ronald had admired his boss's work ethic however now it was a little strange. All of his coworkers stared, it was as though Ronald was walking to his doom. Once he had gotten into the office he watched William walk behind his massive mahogany desk and sit in the chair, "Sit," said William. Ronald swallowed hard and slowly sat in the chair in front of his desk. He had a sinking feeling that something bad was going o happen.

Alex laughed as she looked through the view finder and set up another shot. Claude and Sebastian smiled as they watched her snap photos, "Her smile's beautiful," he whispered. Claude noticed the smile on Sebastian's own lips; even though they were usually curled in a playful smirk his true smile was dazzling. Claude wrapped an arm around Sebastian's waste, even though he had planned the vacation months ago only for the two of them, having Alex along wasn't too bad. He did get to be Sebastian smile, which was a rare event. Alex turned to them and asked, "What are we going to do now?" Sebastian looked up at Claude, who was wearing a pair of sunglasses. "Well you do need some clothing, you can't keep wearing that white sack," said Claude casually and Alex glared. "You were the one who gave it to me," she replied, Claude shrugged and grinned. "Well I didn't think you were that small, I thought you were at least a D," said Claude. Alex grit her teeth and turned bright red, there was no way she could make a come back the truth was she was rather small there. "Why do you care!" she responded hostily, "You have Sebastian!" Claude was slightly amuzed by this response, he didn't expect her to respond like that, Claude hummed. She paused, and Sebastian hit Claude in the ribs with his elbow, Claude looked down at him. "What?" he whispered and Sebastian glared. Claude could tell Sebastian was displeased, he sighed and said, "I apologize, he choked." Sebastian seemed to lighten up and walked over to Alex, "Let's go get some cute clothes," said Sebastian. Claude sighed he began regretting ever opening his mouth.

He was about to apologize again when his cell phone rang, he was quick to answer and Sebastian ushered Alex into a shop. Claude was now in need of not only a secretary but a paralegal as well, in reality he should have been in London looking for new employees. "Hello, Claude Faustus speaking," he said as he leaned against the wall of one of the buildings. He wasn't wearing a panama hat and slipped his Ray Bans off. A pair of girls giggled as they watched him from afar. "Hey Claude, remember that account?" asked Damian. Claude paused, the accounts were empty and had been long gone, "Yes," he replied. Damian paused and Claude could hear keys clicking in the background, "Listen something strange happened, the funds didn't just disappear," said Damian. Claude was slightly annoyed he figured they were somewhere else he just didn't know where. "It's strange though, the balance in the account isn't zero," said Damian and Claude paused, "What?" he asked. He looked at the store and watched as Sebastian handed her another dress. "In the line where it states the balance should e zero is a string of numbers but it isn't the funds in the account," said Damian in confusion.

Claude had never heard of such a thing the banking software was nearly impossible to fool, "I texted the numbers to you, it's strange," said Damian. Claude watched Sebastian laugh and ruffle her hair, at first he saw Alex as a potential contract yet now he felt something else, it was a strange emotion. "Thanks," said Claude he was about to hag up when Damian asked, "Why are you doing this?" Claude fell silent, he knew what Damian was talking about it wasn't normal however he didn't even know the answer. "Because it's right," said Claude finally he watched Alex and Sebastian disappear from view in the store. "It may be but listen, don't get caught up in this, what ever it is," said Dai Damian, "These people aren't playing, and they intend to summon a demon." Claude knew that he didn't need anyone to tell him, and the one they desired was helping the girl they wanted to kill try on clothing. "I know, it's just," he paused and looked across the street. "Hey just one more question, the Campbell family was looking for you did you see them?" asked Damian. Claude paused, his golden eyes widened and he turned a little paler than usual, "The Earl and Lady of Essex?" he asked. Damien made an affirming sound and continued, "Yeah they mentioned it was something urgent when they walked into the firm, it was strange the Earl didn't look well. Apparently he had tried to reach you and couldn't." Claude looked back at the store and asked, "Did you mention where I was?" He began thinking of different ways to get her out of harms way if anything happened, "No, I didn't however he looked rather frightened," Damian said. Claude relaxed a little and replied, "I'll take care of it when I return to England." Damian sighed and hung up.

Sebastian looked at him from the shop window, an expression of curiosity and suspicion was on his face. Claude was well aware he would have to tell Sebastian however he didn't want to ruin this atmosphere, it was calm and happy. When he was contracted to Alois he was more miserable than happy, he spent all his time trying to please the boy, to the point that he began to neglect his fledgling relationship with Sebastian. He couldn't bear to go through that pain again, even when Sebastian held him close at night there was a period of time in which Sebastian wouldn't even recognize his existence. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and walked into the store, "What was that?" asked Sebastian softly. Claude responded quietly, "We'll talk later."

Sebastian sighed and pouted, Claude loved his pouts however this one wasn't cute. It was more like Sebastian really was annoyed and concerned. Claude was about to say something when Alex walked out in a smaller cuter light blue sundress. It was much more suitable for her build and skin tone. "Better," said Claude and Sebastian nodded. After a moment Claude smirked and walked behind her. Alex nodded and was about to say something when she felt something on her head. "What?" she asked in confusion. She looked in the mirror to find a straw fedora on her head with a navy hand. "Oh," she said after a moment, a small blush spread across her cheeks. Claude smirked and said with a note of triumph, "Now you look cute." Alex crossed her arms and looked up at him, "I didn't look cute before?" she asked. Claude shrugged and replied coldly, "No, you looked frumpy." Alex jumped in the air and playfully punched the side of his arm, "You jerk!" she cried. Claude laughed, not only was it amusing to see her open up like this, but for her to attack the demon who had saved her in that factory not to long ago was just as funny. Sebastian looked worried for a second and then snickered as he watched Alex punch Claude's arm.

On another note, my laptop kind of broke… yeah bummer. I will try to post as many updates as I can however I do know for a fact that it will be fixed at some point next week. Just bear with me. I'm sorry.