Author's Note: Okies. My new beginning for Kitten is Angry. Finishing this first chapter is going to be quite a relief for me. .! Here we go! I will try my best but there might not be very much Ivy in the first chapter. Not really much to say other than that I hope I can keep it interesting and that nobody abandons me while I make my changes. Oh and of course a lot of my original material is going to be used…just differently. Jamming to Robin Thicke's 'When I get you alone' while I mull over a few kinks. I'll be right with you soon. Go. Read. Love. Enjoy. Love me. Review. CIAO! :D!

Disclaimer: Square one. I do not own kuroshitsuji or any character that lives in the kuroverse…except for my OC and nobody really cares about Ocs so whatewa. Now on to the readie readie. *vanishes with cape because its late and I'm lame*

Chapter One: Oxymoron

"First deserve, then desire." - Unknown Proverb

"Father…do you not remember your promise to me?" A young man who appeared around the age of twenty six or so asked the older male beside him. The two of them sitting in a dark room. He simply stroked his chin at his son's words with the slightest of grins tugging at his lips knowingly.

"Ah, it is about that time, isn't it?"

"Yes." This was all the young male responded to the dead panned statement.

"Very well then. The search is to begin once you can get together a decent group." The subtle mock in his voice made the youth bristle. Neither of them bothered to make eye contact with the other. His teeth -slightly pointed- gritted together as he calmly responded.

"Yes, father…thank you." Such a statement hurt his teeth. However he needed to give his progenitor no excuse to accuse him of being defiant…for now. The approval was needed for this particular search and it needed to kept under wraps from the others. It would be difficult to do this without the best of the best however they were of far too high a profile amongst the clan. In any case this was his priority.

He always got what he wanted, and this would be no exception. Nobody humiliated him in such a manner as that insult to his name all those years ago, never mind being allowed to get away with it for so long. He was not going to start making exceptions now.

…..

Since the day in which that unforgettable contract had been sealed between boy and unlikely butler, Ciel Phantomhive had refused to hire anybody into his manor. Only an elite group of three skilled killers/weapons had been selected and rounded up for his use when it was clear that such a thing would be necessary. Maylene, Bard, and the young Finnian. Them, including Mr. Tanaka…and the demon Sebastian made up the Phantomhive household. Never was another hand needed…even if skilled weapons often made lousy housekeepers.

Though one would assume that only a gaggle of five servants managing a whole manor might have been rather odd, it had been fairly simple keeping attention off of themselves in spite of it. No questions were asked. It was a good thing. Any individuals that could potentially turn up looking for work were to be immediately turned away. Simple enough. It took a bold soul to step onto Phantomhive manor grounds without sending word ahead. Most requests for work came through the mail. The boldest were normally male servants, females of the servant class -maids- had been taught from birth to be seen and not heard and often had been cowed by now into a timid shadow. They would never dare cause a stir.

So honestly the idea of finding a strange girl handing out her credentials on the extravagant front steps of this manor was absolutely ludicrous. Most of all Sebastian Michaelis was dumbfounded that he had not even noticed an intrusion on the property in the first place. Immediately this called for a careful scrutiny the moment he looked at her. She -like most maids- held the detestable air of timidity about her. She wore a plain, old, navy blue bonnet with rebellious wisps of black hair escaping from its confinement around her rather pale face. Shielding her from the late autumn cold was naught but a dark gray buttoned down coat that seemed a tad small on her already slender frame. In her free hand was a worn old leather hand bag, its handles were starting to fray where they met the fabric of her sorry excuse for a valise. On her feet she wore old looking leather shoes whose heels were nearly worn completely away by now.

The only thing notable about her -due to their contrast to the rest of her dull, dreary, colorless appearance- other than the fact that she looked like an unfortunate refugee- was the expressive green colored eyes that did not at all stare in anything other than suspicion at him as if catching an unsightly scent of some sort the moment he opened the door. They gave her the illusion of a defeated nymph.

He frowned and raised an eyebrow at her. When she had spoken she had used her voice softly, as though if she spoke too loudly that a trap door would open up under her and send her plummeting into the pits of hell. Tempting as it was to roll his eyes at her, protocol was necessary. He did not take the paper from her hands and only stated very curtly.

"It is quite rude to come to call without giving a single letter of word in advance." He made sure to put across the reprimand. Normally such a thing turned such girls into a nervous stuttering mess. Instead she winced at his tone, regarding him carefully as if testing water. Eventually she shut her eyes calmly and nodded before speaking up again.

"I understand, but you see it was impossible under the circumstances, good sir. I only wish to hand out my credentials, perhaps you would be kind enough to refer me somewhere if not here. I simply thought that since the Phantomhive manor does seem rather under-staffed that I might be of-"

"What gave you that idea?" The disinterested interruption made her blink slightly.

"Well…honestly it is difficult to conceal from guests the fact that one has only a literal handful of servants for such a large manor, sir. Word spreads quickly. I was referred here by a social acquaintance of the Earl's whilst searching for-"

"No help is needed and apologies but the Phantomhive manor is not an unemployment center." He eyed her appearance, causing her to look down and clear her throat in embarrassment, clasping her hands.

"I suppose I have not been entirely forthcoming… you see city orphanages do not offer respectable attire for their ex-wards. We do the best we can. Please do not misunderstand my withholding of such information, it is difficult for an orphan to find employment as people have a sort of…mistrust toward the parentless wards of the government." Her free hand awkwardly smoothed her sad looking coat. Ah, clearly she was no maid. A presumptuous, overly ambitious street urchin perhaps. Still that did not explain how nobody had detected her.

"How precisely, did you manage to get onto the grounds undeterred?" He inquired. Just one last question before he turned her away. She frowned in puzzlement before blinking and pursing her lips.

"The gate was open, and well…in a manor with so little household members it should not come to such a surprise that nobody noticed."

"Open." He dead panned skeptically.

"Well it…-it did not give me any trouble." She shrugged. Silence. Her presence held a strange vibe to it. Something familiar yet not at all the same. The butler could not call it hostile but…still.

"Indeed. Well then, as I said we have no need for any extra hands. Please see yourself off the grounds." To his annoyance she spoke again. His schedule was going to suffer because of her stubbornness. Stubborn and timid in the same sentence. An oxymoron if he had ever encountered one.

"Just a quick questi-"

"Please. I am on a rather pressing schedule, miss." Honestly any questions she may have had were not his problem. All the demon wanted was to send this girl off.

"Certainly, sir. I only w-"

"There is nothing to discuss. Good day." She gave a soft huff.

"…Can I not j-?"

"I would really rather not escort you myself." He warned, getting more irate with every attempt at speech. At this something in her gaze softened and she moved away.

"A-…apologies. I should have already left, good afternoon." With a hurried dip of a curtsy she scurried off rather nervously. Red eyes watched her suspiciously before shutting the door. Security would have to be much tighter around here.

….

Ciel placed down a newspaper on his desk with a frown as he pondered. The headline read plain as day…

Country Orphanages Terrorized

Orphanages? This was indeed interesting. Along with the paper he had also received the normal slew of mail. With this came a letter from her majesty the queen demanding that he look into this matter. The threat of the disappearance and or destruction of children was always a matter that wrenched at her majesty's heart. What truly interested the young master of Phantomhive however was the accounts. People said the subjects from all the orphanages that were hit behaved as though everything was fine, even though they had no recollection of anything in their lives. As though somebody had carelessly wiped their memories in a hurry. Nobody had even been killed.

The twelve year old boy pursed his lips in thought as he sipped his tea. So…somebody was going from orphanage to orphanage in the country side. Now why would that be? He had every reason to believe that this threat was supernatural. It seemed that he would be headed for the country side soon. He would have to alert Sebastian about this.

Looking nowhere in particular he called out to his servant calmly. "Sebastian." As expected, he was there to respond in no time. The boy never bothered to question how he managed such a thing. He was a demon after all.

"Yes, my lord?" The butler's familiar voice inquired from beside the large mahogany desk that seemed to dwarf the small boy. In response the boy tossed the received information to his butler. Scotland yard either had close to no information on the subject, or they were purposely leaving things out. One would assume the Commissioner Lord Randall would have learned by now that if he wanted to avoid a visit from the Queen's Watchdog, he would have to send out all information.

"The details on this police report are close to nothing. I'm afraid we must take precautions and visit the yard in person to check it out." His single ocean blue eye stared coldly ahead now.

"Orphanages indeed." Sebastian raised an eyebrow with a hum. Placing the paper down he looked back at his seated little master. "I shall make preparations for our visit right away. When do you command we leave?"

There was a moment of silence as Ciel Phantomhive looked up at his dutiful butler. "Immediately."

"Understood." Ah, children were always such impatient creatures. No matter.

…..

"Liam take the counter for a bit while I take this call, will ye?" An old man with pure white hair and a scruffy beard smiled at his youthful son. A handsome young man at the age of twenty. He had hair the color of deep ginger and the most devastating baby blue eyes that held the warmth and happiness of a well cared for and loved child, and a smile that made even the meanest shrew out there feverish and giggly. The boy nodded without hesitation. Just a routine day at the workplace.

"Of course papa." he smiled back, speaking in an airy Irish accent. The old father nodded his approval before heading off for the telephone that was ringing off the hook. Liam looked around at his family's little bakery fondly. One day he would be happy to take over this place. He heard the familiar pattering of little shoes behind him and looked over his shoulder.

"Cassie, are the Danishes already iced?" he asked his little sister. A small red haired girl with freckles stood beside her big brother. Probably around the age of nine. She pouted slightly.

" I want to help with the people." she told him honestly. He sighed and rolled his eyes to himself.

"Go help mummy in the back, you're still too young alright firefly?" he told her patiently. Ah the joys of sibling bonding. She folded her arms and glared at him stubbornly. He looked at her. There was a staring competition. She was not going to let up anytime soon. Liam could not handle this and customers at the same time. The older brother let out a resigned sigh. "Fine. How about you help frost these cupcakes at the counter, you remember how I taught you right?" he asked. The girl nodded enthusiastically. "Wonderful. If you need anything tell me alright?" he smiled.

"Alright." was all that she answered as she picked up the bag of icing with all the eagerness of a child. Liam watched her for a second with a chuckle before tending back to the counter. It was basically the same as any other old day. One customer after another. Orders here, shipments there. Not to mention money counting. Yes a lot of that.

He was once again getting into the swing of the day as he helped Cassie decorate a very important wedding cake for a rich noble couple. That was when he looked up and had his breath stolen. There was a girl. Not particularly well dressed but everybody fell on such hard times around the area. Still, she had a measure of…something about her. His father noted his son's expression and smiled knowingly with a shake of his head. "Oi Liam. Help that young girl out will ye?" he could have done it himself but he knew what it was to be young.

"Um yes, Papa." he nodded and hurriedly went over to the counter. She looked left and right then straight at him. He managed a friendly smile and a nod as she made her way over. "Wow…" he breathed under his breath as she smiled back at him, her eye catching green eyes lighting up. There was a certain light about her that he could not put his finger on. She emanated a vibe that seemed to say 'come hither' sweetly and secretively.

"Hello." she spoke placing her hands on the counter absently. She had a friendly smile on her face yet seemed to be distracted by her own thoughts.

"Hallo." he nodded back. "What can I help ye with Miss?" he asked dutifully. She pursed her lips with a shy nod.

"I am currently looking for work. You see I must be honest. I was recently removed from an orphanage quite a way from here- Bedfordshire all girls-"

"Bedfordshire?" he asked with a start. "That is out of the way." He was astounded. How on earth had she gotten there in one piece was beyond him. Such a small girl with clearly little to her name. "Why on earth would you want to leave so far from that place?" The young Irish man was genuinely curious. The girl before him visibly deflated.

"I have my reasons, however it is quite personal. It is difficult for an orphan to find work anywhere other than at a work house of some sort which is the almost exactly like slavery…most would rather die, myself included." she explained apologetically. He quickly nodded in understanding. Now it was his turn to deflate.

"I'm sorry but times are too hard for us to hire on somebody else, my father simply can't afford to pay anybody else." he explained to her, genuinely sorry that they couldn't hire her. It would be nice to have her working with him. After all by what he read she seemed fairly qualified. That he knew of. She nodded with complete understanding of the situation. "Well…if you like I could look around and help you to find something." he proposed. She smiled appreciatively.

"My brother thinks you're lovely." Cassie popped into the conversation, making the Irishman nearly pass out from embarrassment. He snatched her up and covered her mouth. "Cassie." he scolded. She struggled. "Oh keep licking my hand, it doesn't matter to me." he responded to the unhygienic action, rolling his eyes. The girl at the counter giggled and he turned red.

"Who is this?" she asked curiously tilting her head at the little girl.

"I'm Cassie!" the girl managed to get away. "And I think you're lovely too." she smiled brightly.

"Well thank you Cassie, my name is Ivy." The maid held out her hand over the counter to shake the little girl's hand. Cassie took it with a professional air that made Ivy have to smile to herself. Liam ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.

"Well since we are having introductions, I suppose I should tell you that my name is Liam." he held out his own hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Liam." Ivy smiled with a knowing nod. He really was a sweet guy. His presence was nothing but gentleness and breeziness with warmth mixed in. She shook his hand. "I should be going. If I need any help I will come back here and let you know." She assured with a nod. Then she was off. Liam let out a long breath as he watched her leave. He and his sister went back to the cake. He let out another distracted breath as he iced the cake. Or he thought it was the cake.

"HEEYY! PAY ATTENTION YOU GOOSE! I'M NOT A CAKE!" Cassie screamed at her brother as he got chocolate in her hair. Liam jumped and put down the icing. "Daddy! Liam frosted my head!" she protested stomping to the back.

"It was an accident Cassie! Stop being dramatic! Here let me clean it." he followed after her. Unfortunately for Cassie the idea of her brother cleaning out sticky sugar from her hair did not sound like a good idea.

"No! You don't know how to do it! Only Mummy!" she ran now. He chased after her.

…..

"We will be looking at these orphanages first." Ciel murmured. Country orphanages. Hmmm. It was best to start at the very beginning naturally. Whoever it was, was clearly involved with the supernatural to be able to wipe a memory so effectively. However, what could they possibly want with children? If it even had anything to do with children considering no children had gone missing. Perhaps they were searching for something specific. He pushed the list toward his butler. The first orphanages to be hit by this…being, were all set neatly on paper in alphabetical order. Sebastian looked it over critically.

"These are all quite a distance from here." he stated. Ciel grunted indifferently. As if it made a difference to him. He stroked his chin in thought. What would you want with an orphanage if kidnapping children for whatever reason was not an option? No trafficking. No human sacrifices. What was this about then? "It would be unwise to make a trip at the last minute that is liable to keep the young master up past his bedtime." Sebastian teased the young boy. Ciel narrowed a single ocean blue eye at him. Damn demon. Ruining the earl's train of thought with his mirth.

"If it's an order, then you can do it." was all that he replied. He would ignore his pride for the sake of spite. Sebastian smirked knowingly, further infuriating the young earl. There was no peace living with this creature. Then again his life seemed to have never been meant for peace did it? Now he smirked to himself wryly.

"Yes, my lord." The butler bowed at the waist. Things were starting to pick up again. Getting away from these servants for a bit would be good for the demon's health. Even he had to admit to that. As if set off by that idea alone an explosion was heard from the silent office. Ciel said nothing, settling for a very pleased, evil grin at his servant's misery. Sebastian deflated and made a very displeased sound before placing the tea tray he had set before the young Phantomhive down. "When do we do this precisely?" he asked. He needed to make preparations.

Ciel sipped his tea smugly. "Tomorrow morning of course." he smirked over the porcelain rip of his cup. Sebastian blinked at him almost looking stunned. So then everything would have to be last minute. That bra-…never mind. He simmered down. He could handle anything. He was still one hell of a butler and not even such a rude young master could change that. What could he do if he could not deal with this? It was nothing. Still he could not help but twitch when he heard two girls scream. Ciel scoffed. "What are you still doing here? Go and look into the scenario." he murmured.

"Yes, my lord." He complied. Somebody was going to get it.

Author's Note: So it is finished. Enjoy my revision muahahaha! Ugh I'm used to writing much longer chapters, but I am not sure what else I could put in here without rushing things along too much. Yes. I am using material from the deleted beginning chapters because I have some good stuff in there. It will just be introduced differently lolz. That is all for now. Ciao!