"Alright, the car is ready to go."
"I said to prepare the Bentley."
Taiga just rolled his eyes. "Trust me, she'll dig the Rolls."
Keichi refused to break eye contact with the person he considered nothing more then an ungrateful street punk. "The Rolls Royce was Master Iori's."
"So, what, it'll just collect dust in the back of the garage?"
"It is for Master Hitomi to decide its fate, not you. Now put it back and get the Bentley."
"Geez, what're you being so uptight about? We can use it this one time."
Keichi narrowed his eyes. "As long as I sign your paychecks, you are my subordinate and must obey. I shall now use small words so that you can't possibly misinterpret me. Go. Get. The. Bentley. Now."
"Or what?" Taiga growled in the back of his throat, his volatile temper rising.
"Or you're fired. Until the young Master comes of age, final say regarding the manor staff is my prerogative. And I will not have a little rat undermine this family at such a critical junction for such a foolish reason."
Taiga's temper snapped at that remark. "Oh, well, I'm so sorry my choice of car will apparently destabilize the power structures of the world at such an important time. Who died and made you in charge, huh!?"
Keichi's answer was simple and blunt. "Master Iori."
Both men were silent after that for awhile. Keichi never understood why Master Iori had brought home the kid who tried to steal his wallet, nor why he hired him to be his chauffeur when he insisted on driving himself everywhere. Taiga's failure to even act with the basic respect befitting a servant regarding his master had always rubbed Keichi the wrong way.
For Taiga's part, he found Keichi infuriating. Both had been born to the same class, and yet everything about that pompous jackass, from his glare, to the snide tone of his voice, to his dismissive mannerisms, made it clear that he thought he was superior to Taiga in every single way.
Both, however, agreed on one thing, and that was loyalty to the family. Master Iori had been their life, and the new Master gave them a continuation of that life. Neither man knew the nature of the debt the other owed to the Old Master and his niece, but they knew it was there, and was about the only thing that kept them both tolerating each others presence, if only barely.
Grumbling under his breath, Taiga returned the Rolls and grabbed the proper car.
******
The two men stood in silence for a long time. Keichi was as still as statue, heels together and arms crossed behind his back, facing the door Hitomi would soon come out of. Taiga was hardly prone to sitting still, and was constantly adjusting his posture, twirling things between his fingers, and attempting and failing to whistle.
Keichi was already somewhat annoyed with the punk, so it was even more unfortunate when Taiga decided to speak.
"Gods of Fate, how much longer can she take?"
"A servant should not complain about his Master." Unknown to both men, Hitomi had only just staggered stiffly to her feet, and was currently trying to pull off her nightie while attempting not to bend.
"Guess it's just the consequence of having a woman master, huh?"
Silence.
Taiga continued. "Guess we'll just have to get used to it."
More silence.
"Still, she's a lot easier on the eyes than old Iori was, eh?"
"Stop."
Taiga smiled at finally getting a response from the haughty butler. "C'mon, tell me I'm wrong. Cute face; long, black hair; soft curves-"
"End this topic of conversation at once. It's improper."
"Says the guy trying to help her change."
"One of the duties of a butler is-!"
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Bet you were just trying to cop a feel of them tig ol'bi-!"
"She is a child!"
"Please! She's 17, hardly a kid anymore. And she'll be 18 in a few more months, then all bets are off. Hell, maybe for her birthday I should show her how a real man does-"
Taiga never got a chance to finish his sentence. Keichi moved with almost blinding speed, and before the chauffeur could blink, the lanky butler had him against the car and a long thin blade against his throat.
"For your continued good health, I would not dare finish that sentence."
Taiga gave a grim, predatory grin. "Oh dear, did I strike a nerve?"
Keichi did not respond to the question. "If you ever raise a hand against the Master, I will bury your corpse in the garden."
"Is that a threat?"
"No; simply a statement of fact."
Taiga's grin grew a little wider. "You'd be planting yourself right next to me."
Keichi felt a solid object move near his groin. Without looking, he knew that somehow the street punk had drawn his own hidden blade while he pushed him against the car and now had the weapon lined up for a killing strike against his femoral. The two stood in silence for what felt like hours but could only have been a heartbeat or two, before Taiga spoke once again.
"You know I'd never hurt her. She's a sweet girl and the Old Boss was a good man, and I won't give a good turn a bad one. But whatever Iori said, you can't protect her from everything. And if she wants me, I'm hardly about to say no."
Keichi was most certainly not happy with that response, but despite his virulent hatred of the man, he knew Taiga was being truthful, if rather crude. The lanky butler wasn't ready to spill another's blood over this, and he slowly drew back. Taiga straightened himself up, adjusting his clothes, and folding his butterfly knife and putting it back in his pocket. Keichi hid his stiletto back wherever he'd drawn it from, and was back to the prim, perfect butler a heartbeat later.
Again, Taiga broke the silence. "You going to tell Boss Lady about this?"
"There are certain things it's improper for the Master to know."
"I fuckin' knew you'd say that." Any other words the men might have said were forestalled as the great oak doors of the mansion opened, and Hitomi Uharu made her way out with a smile and a wave.
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