Hisui was well aware of her fragile position in life.
Shiki-Sama is insane.
Nee-San is insane.
Akiha-Sama is insane.
Arcueid-Sama is insane.
Ciel-Sama is insane.
This was not a hasty, quick-draw, blanket judgement by any means. No, she had been watching them for a long time now. Their eyes. Their bloodlusts. The nightly sneaking-out and meeting each other to do who-knows-what.
Shiki-Sama seemed like a nice, sweet little boy. And really, he was on a good day. But he had a strange dependency on his glasses, and not just to help him see. She couldn't explain it, but she had a theory that the glasses were his only hold on a stable mind. And that knife...
Akiha-Sama was simply mad. No young lady would willingly rise at five in the morning every single morning. No lady would complicate her life with family affairs whilst both going to school and having an anemic brother to dote on. And yet... she still appeared peaceful and mannerly at all times. Very suspicious.
Nee-San drugged people. Still does.
Arcueid-Sama was... energetic, and a bit clumsy. That didn't mean her charm and personality made it a bit fun to watch her, though. There was a thick layer of kindness and innocence about her which quite surprised Hisui at first. Except when she was in a room with Ciel-Sama. There was no kindness to be found in a room with both Arcueid-Sama and Ciel-Sama in it.
Speaking of Ciel-Sama, she was possibly the easiest one to spot insanity in. That smile. That fake, fake smile. The haughty back-and-forth banter with Akiha-Sama that always threatened murder at the slightest misunderstanding. The aforementioned hate of Arcueid-Sama. That greedy stomach, always waiting, wanting for the lovable curry Nee-San would frequently oblige her. The curry was an obsession. She would grow fat like that if she continued.
All five of them thought they hid it so well. And, really, to someone who only exchanged a passing greeting, or engaged in some light conversation, they would be fooled quite easily. But not her. She was in the thick of it all. And having done her research, she came to a very logical conclusion.
Every important person in her life was functionally insane.
And there was literally nothing she could do about it.
So, the lowly maid continued her daily routine, amidst all the psychological horror around her. She was brave; she could power through it. All it would take is perseverance, humbleness, patience, kindness, fortitude, and knowing when to leave the room when all her friends were on the verge of killing each other.
Hisui arose at 4:30 A.M.. (Yes, she was complaining about Akiha arising so early when she arose even earlier, but she was a maid. That was a completely different matter.)
After hastily shaking off her sleepiness and dressing in one of her many identical uniforms, she left her room and greeted her sister, Kohaku, in the hallway.
"Good morning, Nee-San." Hisui bowed.
"Good morning, Hisui-Chan." Kohaku curtsied. "I shall get Akiha-Sama up."
"I shall open the windows and awaken Shiki-Sama."
And they were off.
It took around 20 minutes for Hisui to open all the windows, as the Tohno mansion was clearly spaced out in such a way that required long treks to opposite sides of the house to reach everywhere she needed to. After she was done, of course, she had a small nap. She need not get Shiki-Sama up for another three quarters of an hour, and Kohaku and her mistress would do their own things that did not require her help. Also, Hisui was naturally a sleepy person.
Now, it was time for the last person in the residence to wake up. Hisui, the perfect little Jade-Chan, with immaculate posture and silent feet, slipped her way upstairs and in to the bedroom of her master, where, with her stoic face set in a firmly commanding position, she intended to get him to cooperate.
Some mornings, it fared better than others. Shiki-Sama was a stubborn sleeper. Actually, he was stubborn in much more than that, but she need only focus on this for right now. She could call him for quite a while without him drifting out of sleep. Once, she even, with great trembling, lightly shook his body, but to much the same usual result.
In essence, she had to pray she got lucky.
Hovering over the bed, Hisui could not help this morning, as with most other mornings, spending a moment looking at him. Why did he look so happy in sleep?
Ahem.
"Shiki-Sama, it is time for you to awaken."
Nothing.
Ahem.
"Shiki-Sama, you will be late for school if you do not rise. Please get up."
The body took a great, fresh breath, the eyes fluttered, and Tohno Shiki yawned and lifted himself naturally.
"Ah, morning, Hisui. Thank you for waking me."
"Good morning, Shiki-Sama. Your uniform is on the edge of the bed. You have plenty of time before you must leave, so please wash yourself. Nee-San will have breakfast for you when you are finished."
A hum of appreciation came from the boy as he decisively put on his glasses and looked up at her with a smile. "Yes, I think I'll do just that. I'm in the mood for breakfast. Thanks, Hisui."
He is unbearably cute. Hisui could not help a small blush. "You are welcome, Shiki-Sama. Take your time."
She left the room. Further developments would ensue in the evening.
The developments were far from what normally occurred. It was the worst possible scenario.
They were all dining, in the mansion, in the same room, at the same table. And Hisui was simply standing in the background, terrified. She was glad no one had yet noticed her efforts to contain her posture, and her nervous sweating.
Kohaku had made an incredible dinner for the four eating it. (Seriously, how does she make it look so easy? I suppose everyone has their talents...) Rice, chicken, vegetables, potatoes, and soup, all thrown into various combinations of perfection. The food was wafting with steam, laid out on at least five gorgeous platters, as well as being inserted into mouths, and being heartily enjoyed.
"Hmm!" Arcueid let out a massive sigh of contentment as the dinner went down her throat. "This is really amazing! Miss Kohaku, how do you do it?"
"Ahaha, it's nothing, honestly," Kohaku replied with a small hand wave as if to add, 'oh, please'. "I just serve my guests with my humble skills."
Akiha's eyebrow twitched.
"But, I really must agree with Arcueid," the old-lady-Senpai added with that everlasting fake tone. "It's marvelous! I would have dinner here every night if I were more selfish. Alas, I must watch myself..."
"Aww... Shiki doesn't cook like this." Arcueid's tone shifted to disappointment as she began picking at her greenies, slumped in her chair with no respect for table manners.
Akiha's eyebrow twitched.
"Stop that, silly woman." Shiki nudged Arcueid's arm, and she returned to eating. "What do you think of all this, Akiha?"
The lady of the house cleared her throat. "It is a perfectly acceptable meal."
Silence.
"Waa, that's it? Stop being such a downer, little sister." The white woman rolled her head to the side and whined.
"Really, Akiha-San," Ciel admonished her junior with a finger wag, "even though you are spoiled daily by Miss Kohaku, perhaps you should think about taking a step back and evaluating this masterpiece of culinary from a more open perspective."
"Yeah, Akiha, it's way better than how you just described it." Shiki just didn't look impressed.
Akiha stood up with a loud clatter. Both eyebrows twitched separately.
"I am finished." The desire to slaughter was barely restrained by a shred of courtesy. "Come with me, Kohaku. I will go to bed early tonight. Nii-San, make sure the guests leave at an acceptable time." She gracefully stormed out of the dining room in a flurry of black and a tinge of red, with her mischievous maid following close behind.
"Alright." Shiki got out of his chair and sighed. "C'mon, girls, we're done here. You two can go now, okay?"
Arcueid and Ciel shared a grumpy, suspicious look. "Fine," they both conceded. All three departed, leaving a half-finished dinner behind.
Hisui, now alone, took a great breath of relief. It was another close call, as usual.
The mansion settled down after the last meal.
Hisui closed up the windows with another long trek back and forth through the house. It was her little time of quiet, where she could simply relax and focus on her feet and her task. Then, she washed the clothes. This included the careful tending to Shiki-Sama and Akiha-Sama's uniforms which they would wear again soon enough. She turned off the lights in the rooms they used that day. She washed the dishes that Nee-San had used. (It was her that did the dishes for obvious reasons.)
And now, since she had done all the dusting in the afternoon like she was supposed to, she put Shiki-Sama to bed.
It seemed like tonight, he wouldn't go out of his bedroom. At least, it seemed so; he lacked the slight fidgeting and minor impatience that was commonplace for him at bedtime. He had also already seen all his friends earlier, so he was likely satisfied. That was good.
The time displayed by all the large clocks throughout the estate marked ten-thirty. Hisui was now off to bed. Walking down the hallway to her room, she met her sister.
"Good night, Nee-San."
"Good night, Hisui-Chan. It is Saturday tomorrow. Shall we let them sleep in?"
"...Yes."
They hugged. Two doors opened and closed at the same time.
Nee-San is insane.
Hisui changed into her nice pajamas. (Actually, the pajamas were a gift from Shiki-Sama on their last date months ago. She was quite embarrassed, but her master insisted so much that they both agreed to keep it a secret and had to smuggle it into the mansion when they returned.)
Shiki-Sama is insane.
She put the uniform aside. Crawled into bed. Dozed off.
Arcueid-Sama is insane.
Ciel-Sama is insane.
Akiha-Sama is insane.
They are all insane.
And for some reason, I don't want that to change.
THE END.
