*I do not own Legend of Zelda or Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji.*

Round Two

Link, Sebastian and Ciel were standing in the foyer. The young earl had his arm casually resting on the banister of the central staircase and the demon stood beside him straighter than Link would have thought possible.

"That duel we had before," said the Hylian slowly, "I want a rematch."

"There will be no escaping your promise," said Sebastian, earning a curious and confused glance from both Ciel and Link.

"Honestly Sebastian, I would rather we forget about it," said Ciel. "He is no butler."

"Actually," said Link, ignoring the blue-haired boy's comment. "I consider it fulfilled. Despite his misadventure, for one full day, I was his butler."

"Not so," replied Sebastian. "In fact, before the day was out you and he both were tumbling out of the portal."

Ciel huffed and Link noticed his fingers had curled into fists. The boy probably didn't like being ignored. "Very well," Link mumbled to Sebastian, "but I still want a rematch."

The demon butler raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you can do better?"

"I know I can," answered Link confidently.

The demon nodded. "Very well, did you have a time in mind?"

"How about now?" suggested Link.

"Or we can not do this," Ciel interjected.

Sebastian leaned forward and raised a hand to whisper in Ciel's ear. The boy's eye darkened with a kind of determination and Link wondered what Sebastian could have possible said to him.

The demon straightened again as young earl amended his earlier statement. "The agreement and conditions were previously set and you are expected to hold up your end of the bargain," he said. "Properly this time, Link."

Link nodded just once in response.

Ciel continued, turning to Sebastian. "Don't drag this out too long."

"Yes, my lord," said Sebastian. Then he turned to the Hylian. "The foyer is no place for a duel, so we'll resolve this in the other room."

Perfect, thought Link as he recalled all the weapons that lined that other room.

Several minutes later - after Sebastian checked on Baldroy to make sure dinner would be ready on time - Link and he were both back in that strange parlor.

Link stood, sword in one hand, shield on the opposite arm. He swung his sword experimentally. Neither sword nor shield were his own, the previous condition insisting on only weaponry from that room. And it was probably better that way considering Link didn't want to risk Sebastian breaking his sword. He'd also grabbed a couple of daggers, which he had strapped to his belt.

He rolled his shoulder and fixed his gaze on the demon butler. After all the excitement and not sleeping for nearly two days, it occurred to him that fighting a demon probably wasn't the best idea. Although, he had faced Zant and Ganondorf under far worse conditions and had survived. Then again...Sebastian was nothing like those two.

"Are you certain you want to do this now?" asked Sebastian as he tugged his white gloves, readjusting them.

Link nodded. "I underestimated you the first time," he said, falling into a fighting stance. "I won't be making that mistake again."

"Very well," said Sebastian. And that was all the warning Link got.

The demon charged at him, covering the distance between them in an instant. Link raised his shield to block a kick while thrusting his sword forward. Sebastian twisted away at the last possible moment, but Link expected that and was already moving his sword, the initial thrust turning into a horizontal slash.

The blade tore nothing but the waistcoat, but Link wasn't deterred. He rushed forward, extending his sword out to his left to swing as he got close. Sebastian reached into his waistcoat and produced forks, causing Link to frown upon noticing the pointed bits of metal. He swung his sword, but it was met with resistance. Link glanced at it and in the second it took him to realize the blade had been caught between the tines, he released his hold on the sword to avoid it being twisted from his grasped and drew a dagger. Smoothly and with no hesitation, Link continued his swing with the shorter blade while shoving his shield forward and to the side to block Sebastian's other hand.

The sword clattered to the floor as Link leapt backward. A stunned Sebastian looked down and pulled the dagger from his side. "Impressive," he said, as he turned the red-stained blade in his hand. The next instant though, it was flying toward Link who only side-stepped out of the way. He heard it clang behind him as it presumably struck the other weapons, but he didn't turn around.

Ciel, who had been leaning against a wall off to the side and looking pretty bored with the display, was suddenly standing straight.

"You're faster than other opponents I've faced," said Link, "but I can read you now." Not entirely true, but he wasn't going to admit he'd just gotten lucky that time. The demon thought he could easily dodge or deflect all his attacks; that was the assumption Link was using. Overconfident opponents usually fell to their egos.

"We shall see," said Sebastian, that same confidence still in his voice, but his eyes were hard, focused and Link was pretty sure they were glowing red. The demon charged forks in one hand and knives in the other.

Link quickly drew a second dagger and was instantly on the defensive. Sebastian was quicker than he was on a good day; there was no denying that, but he was able to mostly keep up. In other words, by the time he had put some distance between them to retrieve his sword, he only had shallow wounds. Painful and annoying, but nothing new to him.

He freed his shield from his arm, it suddenly feeling heavier than it had been at the start. He saw Sebastian coming at him again, so he tossed the shield at him, the heavy thing spinning toward the charging demon. Sebastian batted it away, an annoyed expression crossing his face for a moment. That was all Link needed though. Just long enough for him to shake out his shield-bearing arm in preparation for his next attack.

Link charged forward, but before he reached the demon, he leapt into the air and raised his blade in preparation for a powerful downward strike. Sebastian calmly caught the blade between his palms, halting the attack and the Hylian's fall. In that instant though, now anchored by Sebastian's powerful grip, Link swung his leg around and kicked the demon, the strike connecting with the side of his head.

Sebastian let go of the sword as he stumbled back but didn't fall. Link landed on the floor, lowering himself into a crouch in that same moment and swung at his opponent's legs. But there was nothing but air.

Link cautiously stood and turned, searching for Sebastian. Too late though, he noticed the attack and the demon's kick sent him sprawling. He didn't stay down long though. He raised his sword in front him as his right hand went to his left side, his fingers tenderly assessing his condition. Maybe a cracked rib and definite bruising, he determined. He would just have to make sure he didn't let that side get hit again.

Sebastian stood a little ways from him, just out of range. Link gave his sword an experimental swing and winced. He wasn't done though.

The two of them continued their duel, exchanging blows. At a glance, they looked evenly matched. Even despite the butler possessing inhuman speed and strength and the Hylian being somewhat sleep deprived and injured. And when Link lost his sword, he only drew the daggers and used them instead.

Eventually though, Ciel grew impatient. He didn't say anything, but he crossed his arms and began tapping his fingers on his arm. It was around then that Sebastian straightened. And didn't dodge Link's last attack. The dagger sliced through cloth and skin. But the demon soon grabbed the Hylian's wrist and all but flung him aside.

"I rather liked this waistcoat," Sebastian said with a sigh. "It's a pity it'll have to be thrown away."

Link, though he had stumbled but not fallen, flipped the dagger around so the blade turned back toward him. "You're not done, are you?" asked Link. He tried to sound confident, but he was tired. And not only from lack of sleep.

Sebastian looked Link over. "I think that's enough," he finally said. "You need plenty of rest if you're going to mind the manor tomorrow."

Link glared at the demon. "I haven't lost," he said. And no way was he giving up.

"A draw then," said the demon with evident distaste for the word. "If we continue, we'll miss dinner and we can't let the young master miss such an important meal." The corner of his mouth twitched in a smile. "Besides," he continued, "you can barely stand."

Link growled, but the demon had a point. "Fine, a draw," he said.

Ciel didn't seem to like that arrangement. "A draw, Sebastian? You've never lost before."

Sebastian took off his torn gloves. "Shall we head to the dining room?" he asked.

The young earl rolled his eyes, but uncrossed his arms. "You two get cleaned up first," he said. He turned and before he walked away, he added, "You're bleeding all over my parlor." With that, he left the two of them there.

Link noticed a strange mark on the back of the demon's hand, but didn't think too much of it. After all, he had a mark of his own of the back of his left hand, hidden under gloves of his own. "Was dinner the only reason you called an end to our match?" he asked.

"You did better than the first time," said the demon. "But it wasn't good enough." Sebastian produced a cloth from the inside of his waistcoat.

"The way you look says otherwise," said Link, gesturing to the demon's torn clothing covered in dark patches where blood had soaked in.

The demon butler said nothing in response to that, but his eyes. His eyes seemed to glow red for a moment and Link tightened his grip on the dagger he still held. But it was gone in a moment. "The cleaning will go twice as fast if you help," said the demon. "You're just as responsible for the state of this room."

Somehow, Link doubted his help would make the task go any quicker. But still, he set about cleaning the weapons before returning the them to their stands along the walls while Sebastian set to cleaning the floor.