Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of the characters! sadface.

Edited on October 24 to account for changes in plot and to fill in some plot holes that I noticed. Also fixed typos and such. Hope you notice the improvements. Please PM if you notice any other issues or have general questions.

Please review!~ :3

Ch.1

"Oh lord

Said I'm bloodshot for sure

Pale runs the ghost

Swollen on the shore

Every night

In every pore

The scales that do slither

Deliver me from…

Freeze without an answer

Free from all the shame

Then I'll hide

Cause I'll never

Never sleep alone"

Ciel Funtom awoke in a start, covered in cold sweat; still shivering from the thought of those dark hands reaching out to him, clawing at him hungrily, the long finger nails tearing at his tender flesh, the crimson eyes bearing down on him, searching for his soul, and a wicked smile spreading in the dark.

The boy released his grip on the revolver he kept under his pillow as he scanned his darkened room in search of those glowing red eyes from his nightmare and found none. He thought he felt is immobile right eye twitch, and he reached for his leather patch just as the old butler Tanaka opened the door and flung open the window covers.

"Another nightmare, Young Master?" The wise old butler said softly, "You are rarely up this early," Tanaka reached for his silver pocket watch and checked the time, "You have an hour before you depart for St. Michael's School. It is your first day back, so please be hasty. Lady Elizabeth shall meet you at the gate." Tanaka smiled down at the young boy.

"School will have to wait. Funtom Corporation needs tending to," Ciel replied calmly, not allowing the night's occurrences to disrupt his busy morning. The young entrepreneur secured his weapon back in his place under his pillow and crawled out of his big four-poster bed. "I would like something sweet," he said as a dismissing comment to the waiting butler. Tanaka silently bowed out the room, off to whip up something for his fickle master.

Ciel, a boy of 15, opened his extensive wardrobe and shuffled through what seemed like endless amounts of the blue and gray school uniforms. Sighing, the boy dressed himself in the black undershirt, gray waistcoat, navy tailcoat and navy and gray striped shorts. He tried buckled his sock garters, secretly cursing the outdated fashion and gave up as the snapped off twice. He pulled his socks up anyway and began to comb his hair, trying desperately to make himself look more mature.

Gazing in the mirror, he raised a small hand and touched the leather patch that covered his right eye lightly, trying to remember the last time he had seen the cerulean color of the eye. He shuddered slightly, recalling the night his home burnt down and his parents died, and he fought back the memory of the two months that followed; the darkness and the cage, the pain and the stage. As if warning the young lord about the shame, the brand on his back began to tingle and the stitching that sewed his right eye shut itched.

Ciel blinked himself out of the trance, grabbed his cane and shuffled off to his office to sort out some documents before heading off to school. After a few moments, he looked up as he heard the tea cart and set aside his work to take breakfast. The butler poured the master tea silently, and set the strawberry crepes down lightly, the powdered sugar settling on the thin, crisp dough.

Ciel sipped at the tea elegantly and sampled the crepe, allowing himself to take his mind off of work and let it wander, finally allowing it to settle yet again on thoughts of his parents. If he remembered well, his mother was tall, blonde and always smiling softly at him with soft blue eyes the same color as Ciel's. His father was harder to remember; a tall, elegant man with dark hair and dark eyes, and that ever present blue ring, which Ciel now wore on his thumb as a symbol of his inheritance. Ciel felt that they must have loved him, but he couldn't recall such a feeling. He glanced up at the family butler, who had survived the fire that claimed the life of his parents and dog, only to return to the young Ciel when he had mysteriously returned two months after the incident.

"Tanaka," Ciel began weakly, regaining his composure has he spoke, "My parents… loved me." It was really a question, but he felt lowly asking.

The wise old butler understood his master's intentions and answered honestly, "They loved you more than anything you can imagine."

Satisfied, Ciel returned to his crepe as Tanaka flipped open his pocket watch to check the time. It was half past seven, and Tanaka sighed as he snapped the watch shut. Always behind schedule, he thought, before announcing, "Your chauffer awaits you, my Lord. And no stalling. Your parents left you in my care, and I shall serve my former masters with an unyielding loyalty."

Ciel wasn't about to argue, not in the sentimental mood he was in, and he was especially not going to waste precise energy after the restless night sleep he had. He resigned him self to his fate, and shuffled through his desk grabbing his school bag and his inhaler as Tanaka cleared away what was left of his breakfast. He made his way down the staircase, averting his eyes as he passed the portrait of his first cousin, thrice removed, the founder of Funtom Toys and his namesake; Ciel Phantomhive.

The picture only bothered Ciel Funtom because of the striking similarities between Phantomhive and himself. He had the same dark hair, the same cerulean eye, even the same eye-patch and cold stare. The similarities were only expected though, as his great-great-great grandmother had been cousins with this boy, and was even engaged to him before he died unexpectedly soon after his company began to flourish. He knew he should be honored to be named after his ancestor, but it truly only made him uneasy. No one really knew anything about the boy in the picture frame and the stories they told about him were washed in mystery and deceit. Furthermore, it had been the only portrait to survive those vicious flames, virtually untouched at that. I guess we are more similar than I like to admit, Ciel thought to himself glancing back at the portrait only for a moment as he threw open the great doors and stepped out into the sunshine of the courtyard.

A black Mercedes S63 AMG growled in front of him as Tanaka opened the door for the young master. "Don't forget Lady Elizabeth awaits you," the old man smiled down at the boy, who nodded dutifully.

"I won't leave her there, as much as I would like to." Ciel grumbled as Tanaka closed the door and signaled to the driver. They arrived at St. Michael's School as the bell chimed for students to begin heading to their classes. The old Victorian building had always felt like home after his own had burnt to the ground, with it's wide lawns and extravagant gardens. The building had also belonged to that Ciel Phantomhive, and when the boy had passed, his faithful servants had rebuilt it after the Great Fire and dedicated it to their saint. His great-great-great grandmother, Elizabeth Middleford, had commissioned it for the tutoring of young and noble children in honor of her late fiancé.

Ciel could see the bouncing, vibrant pink form of his lovable cousin Lizzie Druitt, as they pulled up to the school gate. He grit his teeth as the car stopped and bid farewell to his driver, opening the door. He could barely greet the small girl before she hugged him tightly, knocking the air out of him.

"Ciel!" The girl gasped in a painfully shrill voice, "It's been too long!" Tears began swelling up in her emerald eyes as she shook her blonde curls.

"Calm down Lizzie!" Ciel tried to comfort her, "It has only been two months!" He grit his teeth further and tried to act as a gentleman in placing his arm about the girls waist. He steered her toward the school buildings as the final bell tolled over the grounds.

Ciel felt his hair stand up on the back of his neck as he guided the young girl toward the school, but attributed it to a passing breeze and thought no more of it. If only he would have turned to see the bright crimson eyes that followed his every movement from afar.

Smiling faintly, Sebastian Michaelis faded back into the shadows.

A few hours ago

The lair of Sebastian Michaelis

Azure eyes watched him diligently, following him back and forth, not allowing him to escape. They had watched him for so long, he couldn't imagine being without that cold, proud stare that seemed so young and so old all at once. Those eyes would never change. They would be just as they had been on that day for the rest of his miserable existence, not allowing the demon any peace. He finally gave up on trying to rest.

Sebastian Michaelis sat up for the first time in over one hundred years. He cracked his neck and stretched to limber up before clambering off of the sacrificial alter on which he had enjoyed his last meal; one Ciel Phantomhive. But since he had laid his head to rest, the demon had been unable to truly hibernate because the haunting blue eyes of the boy never stopped watching him. The eyes weren't full of remorse or hate or rage, but rather a calm, cool understanding of the world around and an unrivaled acceptance of his fate. Most had tried to run in the end, but the boy had sat calmly, letting his end come. The boy had even wanted the pain. And Sebastian had complied without hesitation.

"Bocchan," Sebastian tested the word in the air, half expecting the young master to make a snide remark or ring the service bell impatiently. When he was sure there was truly no bocchan to serve, Sebastian resigned himself to exploring the human world to see what developments had been made. He stood and dusted off the Phantomhive butler uniform he still wore from that day, shining the lapel pin of the Phantomhive coat of arms lovingly. He certainly wasn't expecting to feel empty after ending the contract with the young master and devouring the delectable soul. Perhaps such a small master just simply wasn't enough substance, he thought to himself, thinking of the delicate taste of the boy's rage drenched innocence and the soft lips that tasted lightly of blood and unhappiness.

He had devoured the young master believing that he was liberating the child from his complicated and hurtful existence. He couldn't recall the feeling of great remorse that struck him as he held the limp but still warm body of Ciel Phantomhive in his arms, or the feeling of wanting to taste those delicate lips once more….

Sebastian combed through his hair and tugged the white gloves of his servitude over his long, slender hands. He briefly touched the back of his right hand, feeling as though he could still sense the contract seal that had lingered there once upon a time. Sighing and banishing all thoughts of Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian made his way to the human world.

Upon breaking the surface from his mausoleum, Sebastian instantly caught a whiff of something truly remarkable. He inhaled, sifting and sorting the different scents in the air until finding the right ones; sweet smoke and a hint of cherry and almond. Not possible, the demon thought to himself, must just be lingering since I haven't had fresh air in a while.

The demon considered where he would go, and decided on the Phantomhive manor, as he was feeling quite nostalgic at the moment, but he quickly changed his mind as he realized the little brat still had control over him. I am a free demon now, he thought, no need to check up to see how the master's affairs have fared during the one hundred and twenty-three years since his company ran without it's rightful head. He smiled gleefully and headed in the direction of London to acquire more time-appropriate clothing.

London had grown at an exponential rate after Sebastian had gone to sleep, and where there should have been countryside, there were sprawling suburbs. Feeling a bit of culture shock at how far along the human race had come with their fully motorized vehicles, portable telephones, and strange books that let you view things from all over the world from a thin window, Sebastian was unsure of where to go. Being a demon who had lived for many years, Sebastian had experienced this sort of shock a few times before but always resolved his surprise by burying himself in a few history books for a few days. When the scent of smoke and cherry almond continued to follow him wherever he went, Sebastian finally decided that it was due to his butler's uniform, and with this reenergized determination to rid himself of the Phantomhive brat, hurried to find a suitable replacement.

Unable to find the tailor that he had normally taken all of the Phantomhive orders to, Sebastian entered a clothing department store and purchased a new wardrobe with the old farthings and shillings that had remained in his pockets, much to the surprise of the sales clerk who hadn't seen such money in at least a decade. Seeing at how bewildered and intrigued the man was at his payment, he decided that looking into a history book would be of the utmost importance to him. As he walked out of the store, Sebastian caught sight of something truly nostalgic.

"Peter Rabbit," he muttered softly, thinking of the old wool rabbit Ciel had designed for one of his first products. The materials had changed on this rabbit, but he still had the monocle and pocket watch that had been a part of the original design. Deciding he shouldn't buy such a trinket, Sebastian walked out of the store in a smart looking sport coat with nice slacks and something called a graphic tee, which was quite possibly the most comfortable thing he had ever tried on. When he couldn't find a library, Sebastian settled on trying to locate the former house of Phantomhive to see if it had survived the radical transformation of London. He thought dreamily of Meirin, Bard, and Finnian, and was secretly glad they were no where to be found, and of Tanaka, wondering if he had managed to survive the long years, knowing it impossible for humans.

When he found the spot where the glorious mansion should have rose out of the English countryside with pomp and circumstance, Sebastian found himself face to face with St. Michael's School for Prestigious Youth. It was certainly the Phantomhive manor, restored to its former glory but full of bumbling and idiotic children of noble birth. Oh how the master would scoff, Sebastian chuckled to himself. He was about to turn away when the scent of cherry almond became overwhelming and he caught sight of a single sapphire eye glittering in the distance.

There, among the bumbling and idiotic children, was Ciel Phantomhive.