- Devil's Waltz!

- Discolored Soul!

- Black Masquerade! Devil's Waltz,

"Kitty, kitty, kitty," you intoned softly, watching as the adorable black and white cat wandered towards your outstretched hand, curiously tilting its head, its pale green eyes round and utterly irresistible. The cat mewed, rubbing against your hand, and you stroked the cat as it desired until it was tired of it and moved on. You sighed, wishing you could keep one, but there was no chance your master would allow it. It wasn't that he was allergic; he just didn't want his apprentice to have any distractions, which you could understand, but you still thought it was cruel.

"Get away from me with those cats, you idiot!" a boy shrilled. Three consecutive sneezes shortly followed.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I just instinctively..." a velvety voice replied, sounding as if he was in heaven. Out of interest, you slightly turned toward where you had seen the cat you had been petting run off to see a tall, raven-haired butler with two kittens and three adult cats in his arms, one of them sitting on his shoulder. You blushed; the sight was impossibly adorable, especially with the cats mewling and wriggling, not to mention the man was quite attractive himself.

You walked closer unconsciously and soon found yourself petting one of the kittens.

"Sebastian, hurry up and get rid of them! And stay away from me; their hair is all over you!" Again, the short-tempered boy sneezed. The kitten, without warning, broke free of the butler's grasp to land in your own, purring like crazy.

Startled, you met the eyes of the butler, and you smiled.

"You can't hog them all to yourself, Sebastian," you teased, nuzzling the little purrbox as he chuckled.

"But you can?" he asked, allowing the cats to flee to your arms, and you were almost knocked over by the force of them.

"Woah!" you yelled, barely balancing on the heels of your feet; five cats was a little too much. Just as you were about to fall over backward, there was a sudden pressure at your back, and you were back on your feet.

"Careful," he whispered. "If you drop them, I just may not forgive you, miss." You chuckled.

"As if I would drop these precious balls of fluff," you murmured, rubbing noses with the kitten that had first jumped into your arms. "I wish I could keep one though..." Sighing, you smiled at Sebastian again before you turned your back and gently carried the cats to your favorite spot.

<><><>

"F/N, what have I told you? Focus!" your master reprimanded, sharply whacking your hand with his cane. "You cannot help anyone if your attention is lax." You nodded.

"Yes," you replied, evaluating your concoction. If anyone was to drink it, they would die in seconds. "But, master, why must I learn how to poison?"

"Because in order to create an antidote, you must first know what makes up a poison. I shall teach you both before we move on to something more complex. Simply know that if you use a poison for the wrong reasons, I will find you, F/N. I'm not teaching you for my own health, you know." You nodded again.

"Of course."

"And what has you so distracted?!" he scolded, harshly slamming his cane on the counter. "You poured in arsenic again; it's like you're in a daze!" Truthfully, you were in a daze; Sebastian's face kept coming back to you, and it was very difficult not to think about him.

"There was a strange butler in the square this morning," you muttered, emptying the arsenic out of the glass container.

"And?" your master asked, knowing there was more to it.

"And he..." you stopped, thinking about what had happened. Come to think of it, hadn't he been a little quick when he'd stopped you from falling? It didn't seem very human...

"What?" Your master was growing impatient with your reluctancy, evident by the fingers tapping on his cane.

"He loves cats," you finished lamely, picking up a small black berry and crushing it.

"Hmph. I do not understand either of your likes of those arrogant creatures. But no matter. After you perfect that potion, you will be free to go for the day. I'm quite tired."

"Right," you responded, trying to focus on the task in front of you. This could take quite a while...

<><><>

Eventually, you did manage to perfect the mixture your master had specified, though it was long after dusk that you had. Still, you were fairly happy that you were at least able to escape a harsher rebuke from your master.

"Ow!" you yelped as you crashed into a wall and fell on your ass.

"Ah, I apologize, miss," a smooth male voice said. "Are you alright?" You looked up to discover the same butler from that morning holding out a hand to you.

"No," you mumbled, nevertheless taking his gloved hand and allowing him to pull you up.

"Your pulse is racing," he quietly commented, his fingers lingering on the underside of your wrist. You blushed.

"Wha? No it isn't!" you refuted, and Sebastian chuckled before he himself blushed. And as you followed his gaze, you noticed a stray black kitten; it couldn't have been more than 4 months old. "Now your pulse is racing," you commented slyly after having pulled down his glove to feel his own wrist.

Then, suddenly, you had an extremely bad feeling. On impulse, you looked up to see a heavy shingle is falling down towards the cat, and before you even realized it, you were running. You scooped up the cat, only daring to stop when you were sure the shingle would not hit either of you, but to your surprise, you never heard it crack against the stone walkway.

You glanced around to discover Sebastian was holding the shingle between two fingers

"Mreow?" The kitten poked its head out over your arm.

"Are you human?" you asked, though with a joking inflection in case he was.

"I am simply one hell of a butler," Sebastian answered with a smile, casting the shingle aside to kneel next to you and stroke the complacent kitten in your arms.

"Ah, F/N!" your master's voice yelled.

"F/N?" Sebastian asked, tilting his head, a smile curving his demonic lips. "What a beautiful name," he whispered. "Befitting of such a beautiful woman." Instantly, your cheeks flamed with shyness.

"I meant to give you this," the older man spoke with a huff as he handed you a parcel, which you remembered he had a tendency to lend you books wrapped like this. He glanced at the man kneeling at your side. "So he is the reason you could not focus today. Yes, I can see why, though I think you should take your attentions off him." Your blush intensified.

"Y-You knew?" you asked, feeling as if your blood was quickly turning to fire as Sebastian's smile became more smug. Your master laughed.

"I was young once, F/N. I'm not a blind, bumbling old fart yet. More to the point though, this man will destroy you." Your master's wizened eyes narrowed at Sebastian. "Butler, I assume that you do not currently bear any ill intentions for my apprentice?"

"Why would I?" Sebastian asked with a smile, one of his arms around your back. "Miss F/N is so terribly gorgeous, and not only that, but she would risk injury to save one precious kitten."

"Hmph. You have the face of a demon, Butler. My apprentice is the only one who can put up with me anymore, so know that if you harm a hair on her head, I have a poison that can deal with your kind."

"Master! You're threatening a man you've just met!" you protested, standing up, still clutching the kitten to your chest. Sebastian also stood, chuckling to himself.

"Amusing." It seemed as if Sebastian was about to do something to your master when he looked at you out of the corner of his eye and appeared to reconsider. Then, smiling, Sebastian touched noses with the cat before looking at you and boldly kissing you on the lips.

Completely caught off guard, you stared after him long after he had left, not quite comprehending what had just happened.

<><><>

"Why here, Sebastian?" you heard a young voice ask as you were preparing your master's medicine.

"No way," you muttered, shaking your head as you continued mixing.

"They say this shop is the very best in pharmaceutics, young master." You stopped again as you heard the door to the shop open.

"What do you want, Butler?" your master asked grouchily, no doubt having just been woken up from a peaceful nap.

"It's not what he wants, rather it's what I want," the boy's voice interjected.

"Fine then. What do you want, Boy? I don't have all day." You then heard a soft, irritated 'tch'.

"A sleeping tonic," he replied shortly.

"Hear that, F/N?"

"Yes, Master!" you called back and rifled through his box of prepared medicines, and found only one bottle; still, it was better than having to make the customer wait as you prepared a dose.

"How's my medicine coming along?" your master asked as you handed him the bottle.

"It's almost finished," you lied. In reality, you were only half-done.

"That so...?" he asked as he turned back to the boy with the black eyepatch. "That'll be £10. Butler, don't even think about it." You glanced at Sebastian, who had been about to teasingly kiss your cheek.

"Oh, I see now," the boy said with a smirk, looking at his butler. "Come on, you infatuated idiot." To your surprise, you caught a slight blush on the pale man's face. Did he just want to see you?

"I was caught," Sebastian recovered quickly, winking at you as he paid your master and walked out with the sleeping tonic. Your master sighed tiredly.

"That butler..." your master grumbled before he nudged you. "Where's that medicine, F/N? Don't tell me you forgot while you were staring at your little crush?" You blushed.

"Ah, sorry!" you yelled as you headed back into the storeroom where your concoction was waiting.

<><><>

You were heading back home to finally rest when it happened: you were attacked.

"Bahaha! What an ugly sow!" a burly man insulted you with flushed cheeks."Then again, it is the ugly ones that make me feel the best." He tried to take off your clothes, but you resisted, screaming and trying your best to knock him out.

"Pervert!" you wailed, trying to get someone's attention, but this was a very late hour and most people were sure to be asleep. "Somebody help me!"

"You're noisy!" the man yelled, slapping you hard enough to make your face sting as if you'd scraped it. "Be a quiet little thing, and I might just be considerate."

"Who do you think you are speaking to?" a deep voice spoke from somewhere in the shadows, and you could feel a great anger.

"Huh? You wanna fight, dandy?" the drunken man asked, turning around to face the wrathful presence. "Nevermind. Look at these muscles! You wanna die?" the man flexed his exposed biceps, turning around to continue trying to take off your clothes.

"Please do not misunderstand me," the voice spoke flatly, and the man who had been attempting to rape you appeared to be in immense pain. "This shall not be a fight, nor will I be the one dying." Even in the low light, you caught the red splotch appearing where the man's heart was. The man collapsed gracelessly onto the pavement, and you instinctively backed away, frightened by the sight of blood. "Are you alright, F/N?" Sebastian asked, his voice returning to its kinder cadence.

"I-I think killing him was a little much, Sebastian... You'll get arrested." A hand grabbed your own, and to your surprise, there was no glove.

"I cannot allow someone so low to touch my F/N."

"I'm not a possession to be had!" you retorted, your temper flaring slightly. Sebastian simply laughed, kissing your knuckles.

"If you were, F/N, then this would be nowhere near as fun as it is right now. You surprise and fascinate me with your incredible tendency to get into trouble." He pulled you closer and lightly kissed your forehead.

"T-Then, d-do you l-l-love me?" you asked boldly, earning a chuckle and another kiss on the lips from Sebastian.

"Does that answer your question?"