You Can't Hide Forever

His Butler, Freeloader (part 2)

Agni and Sebastian began the duel and things looked balanced. Agni jabbed at Sebastian, but Sebastian blocked his blows. This continued and each one either dodged or blocked the other's attacks. Their eyes narrowed in determination and they jabbed at one another at the same moment. However, both threw their heads back to dodge the other's blow. Soma, Lau, Ciel, and I watched them in awe at their evenly matched skills. The two jumped back and they jabbed at each other again. However, the flat tips of the swords met and the swords bent sharply and snapped. Sebastian caught one of the tips and looked at it. "Good grief. The swords broke", he said.

"So it's a draw", Soma pointed out. "Your khansama's not bad, Ciel." Ciel looked shocked by this, eye wide and mouth slightly opened. He must've been thinking something close to what I was.

A draw?! Sebastian's a demon though! I knew I felt something odd about Agni!!

Ciel quickly recovered from his shock as Soma continued. "Agni is the best warrior in my palace", he said. Ciel walked towards the two and I followed a little behind him. "I've never seen anyone fight him on equal terms before!" I noticed Ciel was looking at Agni through the corner of his eye. We stopped beside Sebastian and he leaned down.

"Sebastian, who is that man?", Ciel asked quietly while watching Agni. He looked away and into space in disgust. "Don't tell me he's another..."

"No, he's a deadly human", Sebastian said. Ciel looked back at Agni, who was approaching a smiling Soma.

"I see... But with that much power...", Ciel began. Sebastian followed his gaze.

"Yes. He could easily hang men upside down", Sebastian confirmed Ciel's suspicions.

<Time Skip>

"All right! Today I'll whip up my very best--", Bard began while holding a pan when Sebastian walked by and grabbed it from his hands. It was getting close to lunch time and I insisted on helping out with the cooking.

"I'll cook", he said. "You behave yourself." Bard looked at Sebastian.

"Excuse me?! I was going to make my special--"

"Sebastian? I was wondering if I could be of any service", Agni said, interrupting Bard.

"You just relax and enjoy yourself", Sebastian replied.

"Two can work much faster than one", Agni said. "Please, ask me for anything." Sebastian grinned his creepy grin.

"In that case, could you make a cottage pie and some gooseberry sauce for tonight's main dish?", Sebastian asked. Bard raised an eyebrow.

"Of course", Agni replied. Bard glared at Sebastian.

"Hey! Why are you letting him cook, but not the chef?!", he asked. Sebastian just walked away from him. "Hey, are you listening to me?!"

"So much to do, so much to do...", Sebastian said. He glared at Agni from the corner of his eye as he passed him. Bard sat down in the kitchen with his arms crossed. He 'tch'ed and sighed as he rested his hands behind his head.

"Chef? Mr. Chef?", Agni called and Bard looked over at him.

"'Chef'? You mean me?!", he asked in surprise.

"Yes", Agni said. Bard smiled.

"Chef...", he repeated.

"I'm not accustomed to English cooking. Might I ask for your help?", Agni asked. I sighed at Bard's lack of response afterwards and shook his arm.

"Snap out of it, Bard!", I said. He came back to himself and threw his fist into the air.

"S-Sure! Leave it to me!", he said excitedly. The use of the term 'chef' had obviously meant a lot to him. Soon, Bard was chopping onions like a pro while Agni kept an eye on a pot of potatoes and I kept their workspace clean for them. While I was sweeping around a little, the door to the kitchen creaked open and Finny poked his head in.