I stared at my reflection and sighed. That mark was still on my neck. I walked over to my cabinet and looked for something to cover it with. My eyes landed on my red scarf, but I thought about how strange it would've been to be wearing a scarf during spring. I wore it anyways. If it was able to give me time before Ciel or Shuichi noticed something weird, then it was worth it. 

"Are you done yet !?", Ciel called from downstairs, "Shiori !?" I checked my reflection one more time before leaving my room. "Coming !", I shouted as I began walking downstairs. Ciel and Mizuki were already standing by the front door. "You're slow Yon", Mizuki said to me with a sigh. I walked up to him and ruffled his hair. "Hey !", he snapped as he tried to get me to stop. I grinned at him as he glared, trying to fix his now messy hair. Ciel watched us with a nonchalant smile on her face. "Come on you two", she said as she opened the front door, "Let's go before we run out of time." Mizuki and I looked at her and grinned. "Right", we said in unison as I closed the door behind us.

While walking behind Mizuki, I noticed a shift in the air around us. It seemed slightly denser than usual. Heavy. I wondered why. "So Shiori", Ciel said, instantly pulling me away from my thoughts. "Hmm ?", I asked softly. We took a turn and waited for the street light to turn green. "Last night, did you find anything ?" At the mention of last night, my heart seemed to stop. I didn't think she'd ask so soon !? Did she already find out that I was hiding something !? "No", I eventually ended up saying, "I didn't." I stole a quick glance at Ciel but quickly regretted it. She was staring at me with an indifferent expression, as if she were trying to observe something on my face. And let me tell you, she was. I know Ciel. I could tell that she was trying to make sense of something. I told myself to relax a bit so that I wouldn't loose it. "Wh..what are you doing ?", I asked her. I tried to ignore the tension of her stare. For a moment, she didn't reply. Ciel titled her head to the side and shrugged. "Nothing really", she mumbled after a while, "I just thought that you looked really tired. Did you do something yesterday ?" "I fell", was my automatic response. "I was moving along the trees and landed to late on one of the branches." At least that sounded somewhat true. Her expression remained blank until she broke out into a grin. "Really now ?", she asked, her voice full of amusement and disbelief, "How do you manage to do that ?" I pouted. "Oh hush ! I just misjudged the timing of my land", I muttered. Her grin didn't fade. 

"Anyhow, did you ?", I asked. "Did I what ?" She yawned and stretched her arms up. "Did you find anything ?", I finished asking. She looked at the road in front of us. The light turned green and we began to walk. "Me ?", she asked again, "Sadly, I didn't. Though I do recall sensing some strong auras nearby." I glanced at Mizuki who was causally walking along with us. I wondered if he was listening, this 10 year old. "But by the time I got to the spot where the auras seemed strongest", she continued to say, "Nothing was there. I tried to locate the sources, but there was nothing." I nodded my head slowly and stared at the ground. "I see", I replied quietly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ciel ruffled Mizuki's hair before we saw him off. We were all standing in front of the gates of Tachibana Elementary. "Don't get into any trouble now", she was saying to him, "Or else I'll send you back to Makai. Got it ?" Mizuki smirked. "I've been with you for almost a few months now", he informed, "What makes you think I'll cause trouble now ?" He turned to me and smiled. "Besides, Shiori nee-san wouldn't let you do that." I grinned and walked over to him to give him a hug. "That's right !", I replied as I tightened my arms around him, "I won't let that happen to you." I released my grasp on him and smiled. "See you later Mizuki", I said. Ciel sighed and shook her head. "What a kid", she said as she turned away. Mizuki stuck his tongue out at her. "Boohoo", he replied. She peered over her shoulder and grinned. "See you", she said as she began to walk away without me. I pushed Mizuki towards the school. "Get going", I said to him. He nodded his head and waved. "See you later Yon !", he called out as he disappeared into the school. I found myself standing there on my own.

"OI SHIORI ARE YOU COMING OR NOT ?"

I turned around to face Ciel, who was casually standing there, waiting for me. "Coming, coming !", I called out. When I caught up to her she grinned. "Mizuzu's such a cheeky kid", she said to me, "He takes after you." I jokingly punched her on the shoulder. "Oh hush !", I snapped, "You really can't blame me, now can you ? I'm basically raising him." She grinned. "Besides, you're taking care of him too." She looked up at the sky and placed her hands behind her head. "Ignoring that", she said after a momentary silence, "Why're you wearing a scarf ?" I looked down at my red scarf. "Oh", I replied. I had forgotten that I was wearing it. "Are you cold or something ?", Ciel asked in a concerned tone, "Are you getting sick again ?" I slightly nodded my head as I thought about the possibility of getting caught. Luckily for me I was prepared this time. She sighed and placed a hand on her neck. "Well if that's the case, then you really should start taking care of yourself more often. If Oka found out then she'd kill me for not doing anything about it." Ciel's expression suddenly became uneasy at the thought of being scolded by Oka. I chuckled and tilted my head to the side. "Perhaps you're afraid ?", I asked in a challenging tone. She huffed and kept walking. "Obviously !", she stated, "I'd rather be killed than to have to deal with Oka's lectures !" I laughed as she quickened her pace.

And before I knew it, we were already at Meiou's gates."I didn't know you were eager to get to class !", I called out to her. She looked over her shoulder and grinned. "Oh shut up !", she shouted back. I slowed down and watched her disappear from my sight. I wonder if she noticed.

"Oi, you there." 

I looked over my shoulder and almost dropped my bag. "Y..you're !" He walked up to me and sneered. "What ?", he asked me, "Why do you look so surprised ?" This boy with black colored hair, he was... "Tsu..Tsukiya !?", I asked in a doubtful tone, "You're Tsukiya !?" The sneer on his face disappeared and was replaced with a smirk. "Bingo", he nonchalantly replied. "What're you doing here !?" Tsukiya moved closer to me, which caught me off guard. I took a step back. He didn't answer my question. "Wh..what ?", I asked. I could tell that he was looking at my scarf. He placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and sighed. "What a lame way to hide the contract", he said mockingly. I decided that I wasn't in the mood to loose my composure. "What're you doing here ?", I asked again. "To watch you", he bluntly replied. I turned around and sighed. Oh yes, I was being monitored.

"Hey you", he said again. I looked up to see him looming over me. I didn't realize, but he had casually put his arm around my shoulder. "Wh..what're you doing ??", I replied. Even if I tried to free myself from him, I knew it was no use. Especially since it was him. To my surprise, Tsukiya pulled me closer to him. "Remember", he whispered into my ear.

"Your choices from here on out determine your fate. Choose things wisely. I'll be watching."