After Yumi left to grudgingly give Sebastian a tour of the house, Randolph Carter went back to the kitchen, seeing the plates, pots, and utensils having already been placed back into their proper cabinets or drawers. He sighed in exasperation, thinking how long she had done all this while he was preoccupied with his friend's arrival.
On top of that, he now has Sebastian living under the same roof as them, and things might be a little different with him around. Regardless, it's nice to have something other than her being with him all the time. Not that he would say it to her; he has his reasons not to do so.
He rubbed his forehead, trying not to get distracted by unnecessary things as he headed straight to the kitchen table before sitting down, deep within thoughts of himself, analyzing his own circumstances in this situation of being alone in this kitchen.
Taking out his cigar and lighter from his pockets, Carter placed the rolled tobacco product between his teeth before using the small flame to ignite its end. He began smoking as soon as smoke began billowing from the fire, its aroma spreading through the air when he breathed in its fumes.
Releasing thick smog and inhaling the refreshing nicotine to ease himself, he felt relaxed when tension slowly left his body, like a massive weight had been lifted off him. Tapping the tip with two fingers, ash fell of its own accord onto the wooden tabletop before being flicked to the ground below.
Inhaling more, allowing himself to experience the soothing effects of tobacco permeating throughout every fiber of his being, he felt rejuvenated by such indulgence to the point that he felt it had been a while since he last smoked, even though he just had one last night.
But Carter wonders if this is a good idea when he wants to live forever. In fact, something else was on his mind after being reincarnated into this world. How the hell does he use his powers? He isn't sure; he remembered in a glimpse manipulating the narrative to his conclusion but never getting an outright answer to it.
Its mystery lies in how he can grasp, in using it while being knowledgeable, that it automatically grants him protection by moving his story to protect him from his death and guiding the young man to specific paths of choices that will lead him to his victory.
"Ah, I found you, master Carter," Sebastian's voice entered the kitchen, approaching his old friend in a graceful pace before sitting down to his right. "Your well-being is something I cannot take lightly," he stated suddenly, hands clasped upon each other with elbows on the surface of the wooden desk. "Is there something that troubles you? Perhaps related to your maid's treatment of me?"
Blinking a couple times in confusion, the young man shook his head and said, "No, it's not that," answering briefly while exhaling the remainder of smoke to the side away from him, "it's something else," continuing on his statement, pondering how he should respond to this, about myself. He finally responded after several seconds.
Carter stared at the cigar in between his fingers, watching as the remaining embers dimmer out to mere ashes. "Do you ever feel like you're missing something that's always been there but you've never known what exactly?" Asking him while thinking deeply, his brown eyes glistened with anxiety and concern: "Like having memories of things you've never experienced in previous lives but somehow remembering them like they're part of yourself in this world?
The curious question brought Sebastian to ponder for a moment; he wasn't sure how he should respond to such an inquiry: "Can you elaborate, master Carter?" He asked his friend politely, being unsure of what he was implying, "I'm afraid I'm not following on what you're referring to," politely requesting him to continue his explanation.
Exhaling his breath, the commissioner sat back against his chair while removing the cigar from his mouth. "How do I put this...?" Tapping his own forehead to get the gears turning, he searched for the correct words: "You know what a posthuman is, right?" Carter looked over his butler in hopes of him having such knowledge of the subject.
A brief silence and a nod were all he received: "Yes, of course. Everyone knows about them," he acknowledged his knowledge on the matter, "in fact, I am one. Casually admitted with a sly smirk forming on his lips.
"Huh?" A look of surprise appeared on his face when hearing this: "Really? What powers do you possess, Sebastian?" He asked in intrigue, eagerness shining brightly on his brown eyes, to know of this revelation that he just learned moments ago: "Please, enlighten me."
His rather intrigue attitude was enough to amuse the butler greatly as the finely dressed, white-haired young man leaned in closely, whispering something, and said, "I can control you." He answered vaguely, resulting in poor Carter blushing heavily from those words.
Sebastian laughed at this sight, his shoulders shaking violently. "You should see your face, master Carter!" He joked teasingly with a lighthearted grin across his cheeks, "Your expressions are the most adorable I have ever seen." He commented as the embarrassed young man slowly turned beet red from being mocked.
God, why does he get flustered so easily by people like him? He's already a grown man, but yet he's having these ridiculous emotions of giddiness whenever he sees someone that attracts him. Well, at least he will learn how to manage to keep his feelings in check.
"Anyway, pardon my teasing. My real abilities are something far explained smoothly. I can accurately see what you will do in the future with what lies in front of me," he elaborated, grinning cunningly, "and whatever attack is thrown at me will be perfectly dodged or deflected accordingly."
This ability of his sparked Carter's interest: "You can see the future?" The commissioner questioned incredulously, trying to grasp such a concept, "Tell me, can you see how things will pan out in the future?" He couldn't contain himself at the possibility of being granted such abilities in manipulating destiny itself.
"By simply looking at something or someone, I could see dozens of alternative futures and even see how an entire battle plays out with complete accuracy of thought, knowing the exact trajectory of attacks and how to best dodge them." Sebastian stated with pride, revealing to him all about his powers.
"Then," Carter said with a slight pause as he looked at him in the eyes, "can you see my future? The young man asked, wondering if his dear friend could peer through him into his own destiny, "What will happen after this conversation is over?
Narrowing his eyes, Sebastian coldly stared at him for a few seconds before shutting his own eyes, smiling sadly for what his master had to hear. "I'm afraid I can't see your future," the butler said apologetically, "or at least, something is protecting you from having me use my abilities." He stated in a curious tone while placing a hand over his chin, "perhaps the universe itself is preventing me from knowing yours for some unknown reason or you are just being mysterious as you are. That's all I can see when trying to find a path that involves you."
Interest plagued the young man, who found the possibilities of seeing what awaits him in the future or if it even exists in the first place to be very intriguing to see. "Then what about Yumi? Can you see hers?" Carter asked him, wondering about his maid and what secrets she held.
A small chuckle escaped from his lips. "If it's about your maid, I can see her clearly, and by that, I mean I know she's planning to kill me without you knowing," he said, shocking Carter instantly. "But do not worry, master Carter. I can take care of her no problem, and there is no need for you to intervene. Please rest assured that I will deal with your maid in my own manner."
Feeling satisfied and relieved, Carter smiled happily at his childhood friend, glad to have him back in his life but disturbed nonetheless. "Just..." he stared down for a few seconds. "Just don't harm or kill her, okay?" He requested it earnestly, showing that he deeply cares for Yumi.
Laughter rang through the kitchen. I wasn't planning to," Sebastian said amusedly. "I understand you care deeply about her and the people you care about; I would never dare to bring harm to those individuals. Be aware, master Carter; the only ones that can kill her are you. No one else, including other people," he assured while standing up from his chair.
Extending his hand, he said, "Now, my dear old friend. Why don't we take a walk outside? It's nice morning weather, and it's best not to waste such a fine day as this," he politely suggested with his arm extended outward, waiting patiently for a response.
A few seconds later, Carter nodded and accepted the kind gesture, taking a hold of his hand to lift himself up. "Sure, why not?" Seeing this as a way to spend time on his free weekends, he then said, "At least we can spend some time after our long separation. It's good to have you back, Sebastian."
"You as well, my master."
They stared at each other lovingly to the point of forgetting how long they had been holding their hands together, studying each other's faces in detail, unaware that Yumi was calling out her master's name from a distance, sprinting into the kitchen to see them having their hands connected in a warm embrace.
She felt her heart drop at the sight of her master Carter holding someone else's hand besides hers. Sebastian... Anger welled up inside of her, seething and bubbling over until she could no longer contain it. "Get your filthy hand off of Carter at this instant!" Yumi threatened dangerously as her pink eyes glared daggers at him.
"Yumi?!" He immediately retracted his hand from his, It's not what you think," stuttering with embarrassment, not wanting his maid to assume something completely different, "We were just—ah..." he felt tongue-tied, struggling to explain himself.
"Forgive me if my master's behavior made you jealous, miss Yumi," he apologized genuinely on behalf of his friend. "I was simply having a wonder conversation about—" He didn't finish his sentence when she ran at supersonic speeds, as not even Carter could see or sense.
Unluckily for her, Sebastian has already seen this coming after seeing many alternative futures within thought, placing his palm and fingers around the knife intending to stab his left eye, preventing such a fate before crushing it with his own bare hand.
"What?" She hissed lowly, glaring death at her target, "How did you—?
"Secret, miss Yumi," smiling charmingly as he cast the broken metal object to the side without a care in the world, "perhaps in due time, I will tell you sometime in the future," he mused thoughtfully, "though, for now, why not let us walk together outside? It will be fun," answering casually if nothing had occurred.
Her shocked face turned hardened, staring menacingly toward this butler. "I would be very careful if I were you, Sebastian. I won't allow Carter to be under your spell like a witch, so don't even try anything against him, got it?" Threateningly cracking her knuckles with the serious intent of killing him if he dares to cause trouble.
"Yumi..." Carter frowned sadly at this disappointment: "You can't just threaten someone's life like that, especially when guest was invited into our home. He just arrived this morning, and you are acting like this when he hadn't done anything wrong to provoke you." Lecturing gently to his maid, who could only stare at him with mixed feelings of shame and remorse.
"I...your right," she looked away for a few seconds before composing herself, "I apologize, master. I lost my temper and did not think of the consequences of my actions," she bowed deeply to her beloved, showing how much she regrets her own words, "I shouldn't have done that and hope to not make another mistake again," promising not to let anger control her again.
"Good, now that we've got that clear, shall we all enjoy ourselves with a stroll around the city?
