Full Summary:

Sebastian - what started as a word of command slowly grew into a name he yearned to hear. Ciel - what started as a means to an end slowly transformed into something irreplaceable. In the midst of their growing bond, the child Earl and his demonic butler are thrown into a merciless and deranged plot that will test their will to persevere and their trust for one another. (Sebastian x Ciel)

Genres: Mystery/Action/Adventure/Romance

SPOILER WARNING: This is a continuation of the manga from chapter 62 onward with a slight deviation in a few places. It will begin with series of separate events that take place over the span of a few months followed by a continuous chapter story that takes place after the last chapter of Black Butler currently posted online.

If you enjoy, please review! Looking forward to hearing from my wonderful readers!

Much Coveted Servility

Chapter 1

April, 1889

That night, the moon silently observed the death of hundreds. From its perch in the black, cloudless, sky it had a perfect aerial view of the tragedy caused by both nature and man. In the span of a few hours, a ship that was meant to carry over one thousand people on an adventure of their dreams became a vessel of nightmares. Oddly, Ciel knew that what he was seeing was a dream, but the emotions and sensations he experienced were too tangible to allow his logic to drive away his fear. That night - this night - unfolded before his eyes much like it had in the past. Before its inevitability, he stood helpless - the nature of the events set in stone allowed him no freedom to rewrite history. He could only watch in horror and hope that he would wake up before the worst part of his memories caught up to him.

Where are you?

The scene shifted. He abandoned the apathetic face of the moon. Now, he was a passenger desperately trying to run away from a horde of animated dead bodies. Trapped in a stampede of others just like him, he watched the echelons of high society abandon their shallow masks of civility to trample over others in their haste to save themselves. Men who had just recently been courting beautiful women now pushed them aside in their mad dash towards safety. Primly dressed women who spat on those who spoke without perfect manners now cursed and shouted insults at anyone in their way. Hypocrisy - in the face of disaster, humans drowned in it. In this narrow corridor between lavish cabins, no one was more aware of this fact than he.

Ciel's eyes darted around sharply. Where? Where was Sebastian? Though the body he currently occupied didn't know who that was, the boy did. He could push aside the gruesome deaths of the passengers - could tune out the screams, the pleas, and the sounds of grinding human teeth. He could ignore cries for help and throw off hands that tried to impede his progress for a few simple reasons. In these dreams, he was not bound by the principle of good and evil. In these dreams, the thought of leaving someone behind did not disturb him. In these dreams, only one approaching doom was responsible for his rising hysteria.

Where are you?

When Ciel finally broke away from the herd, he burst through various cabin doors. The ship was slowly tilting upwards and sinking into the black waters of the ocean. By the time he made it to the end of one hall, he was submerged to his knees. Furniture - dishes, books, beds, dressers, and everything material that had once composed someone's world - now floated around the rooms and hallways aimlessly. He was cold. At least, he knew he was. But, it wasn't time to feel it yet. That bleak scene was still to come. For now, he had to keep searching for the one person he needed most. Tirelessly, he opened door after door until the water reached up to his neck. Room after empty room met his eyes. Even the screams had died down. The only sounds he could hear now were those of rushing water, groaning pipes, and moaning distortion of metal. When the water nearly overwhelmed him, he finally struggled to make it to higher ground. Swimming up a grand staircase in the middle of one of the lobbies in the center of the ship, Ciel finally made it to the surface and gasped for air.

Immediately, he shifted bodies again. This time, he was himself, watching a battle between Shinigami unfold. At last, he saw the man - no, demon - he'd been searching for. Without hesitation, he called his name. His voice may as well have been a whisper. No one heard him. The air shifted as though a pulse of deafening electricity ran through it. His lungs burst in pain and he covered his ears to keep his ear drums from exploding. In the space of the millisecond when he closed his eyes, something grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pulled upwards with enough force to drive the air from his lungs.

"Now I can put you in one of my specially made coffins, Earl..." an unearthly voice whispered in his ear. Green - sparkling and vibrant - met his gaze when he finally opened his eyes. How unjust, that a God of Death should have eyes that appeared to be so full of life. Especially this one - the Undertaker. If not for the gruesome scar upon his face, he would have been beautiful. His hair was white, but not like snow. Instead, it was symbolic of an absence of something - a soul, perhaps? Yet, he was convinced that there was more to the Undertaker than evil intent. For a moment, the two floated in the air. Then, reality kicked in again. Caught in a bruising grip, Ciel felt himself being bodily turned around. He felt Sebastian running towards them and saw him a moment later. Then, the Undertaker threw him backwards over a staircase railing that stood nearly two stories tall. Sebastian whirled around, determined to catch his hand.

"No! Don't come for me! Don't, Sebastian!" Again, nobody heard him. His demon twisted in mid-jump. A look of fierce determination warped his face. The Undertaker chuckled and raised his scythe in preparation for a killing blow. "No, Sebastian! Don't!" But, although Ciel withdrew his hand, Sebastian did not hear him. With a sickening crunch, the Undertaker's weapon knifed into the demon's torso. Blood spurted in a long fountain from his chest. "No!" The sound of Ciel's scream echoed between them as though it crossed a chasm. He watched in horror as Sebastian pushed past his pain then felt his arms surrounding him as he caught him and saved him from a fatal drop. Everything went deathly still and pitch dark.

Slowly, the fading rays of moonlight illuminated a completely different scene. Ciel looked around and saw that he was sitting in a small life boat. In the distance, he saw the ship Campania stabbing upwards into the sky - mighty and flaming as a torch - as the ocean slowly devoured it. Now, it was time. The cold slammed into him with the mercy of a blunt end of an accelerating hammer. Ice coated his hair. Dreading this moment, he looked down. His small arms wrapped around Sebastian's torso; his head lolled against his chest. He was so pale - so still. Blood coated him in disturbing quantities. His clothes were torn open by multiple lacerations where gored flesh shone brightly in the dim light. Leaning over, Ciel struggled to keep himself from throwing up.

"Sebastian?" he called faintly. "Sebastian, wake up." With gentle fingers, he brushed aside long hanks of wet, black, hair from the demon's forehead. "Look, we're away from the ship now." He heard his voice tremble; felt disgust at his own weakness. "You're embarrassing me, Sebastian. A butler isn't supposed to sleep in his master's arms." In his chest, Ciel felt his heart rate accelerate; with every moment that his demon lay motionless, the pulse quickened. "Wake up, damn you!" he demanded, slapping Sebastian's cheek. "Wake up! This kind of behavior is unsightly! I won't have it, I tell you!" As he pounded his fist against the demon's arm, the life boat drifted farther and farther from the ship into a murky, foggy, darkness. Trembling now, Ciel looked around at the new emptiness. The water around the tiny boat began to bubble.

Faces - hundreds of rotten, misshapen, and swollen faces - rose up from the depths. To his horror, he recognized them. They tugged at memories from other nightmares. In unison, they laughed. With gnarled hands, they reached up to shake the boat and whispered of things he longed to forget. But, the wounds they bore were unmistakable. They were the wounds his demon had carved into them one by one after their contract had been sealed. Three years ago, he'd mercilessly slaughtered them like pigs and spilled their innards all over the place. Now, they'd returned to haunt him. But, this time, there was no one that would stop them. Ciel buried his face against Sebastian's cheek in the crook between his shoulder and his neck. Sticky blood dripped against his temple; silky, black, hair rested against his lips.

"Wake up...wake up...don't let them touch me...not again..." The sound of grinding teeth drew closer; the boat rocked as more and more bodies climbed on. "You're abandoning me? After all this time, you're going to leave me by myself?" Directly above him, he could hear grinding teeth. "Then at least take my soul, you bastard...finish what you started..."

Cold, clammy, fingers brushed the back of his neck a moment before blunt, human, nails started to tear into his skin.

He screamed.

OOOOOOOOO

Sebastian lay utterly still, knowing that making any sudden movements would only worsen the situation. On top of him sat his Master, his petite hands wrapped firmly around the demon's throat. The fact that Ciel was trying to choke him should have bothered him, but it did not. He barely felt anything; even if the boy had used his full strength, he wouldn't have done any harm. Sebastian saw no recognition in his eyes, only a swirling hurricane of emotion. After three years, this still fascinated him - that such a slight frame could hold such a storm constantly bottled up within it.

"You let them touch me..." the boy ground out through clenched teeth. He shook and trembled violently, his breaths coming short, pained, bursts. After their return to the mansion from their misadventure on the ocean, Ciel had fallen ill. His body wasn't very strong to begin with, and the extreme exposure to stress and the elements had worked to set off his asthma. Though a few days had passed, the sickness had yet to leave him. The demon reached up to brush his Master's blue-grey bangs away from his feverish skin, revealing his marked eye. Within, Sebastian's true name glowed angrily, reacting to the owner's emotions.

"What is frightening you so?" Sebastian asked, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Look. I'm here and I will allow nothing to harm you."

"Their teeth...their nails...they're biting at me...they're clawing me..." Ciel continued muttering as though he didn't hear him. "And you let them...you let them..." With endless patience, Sebastian lowered his arm to his side and frowned. In truth, the Ciel he saw before him now made him uneasy. Over the years, he'd had plenty of nightmares. But, never had he made physical contact of his own accord. On the contrary, he hated being touched upon awakening. When Sebastian initially heard him screaming a short while ago, he'd come in to check on him as he always did in such situations. The last thing he expected was for the boy to rear up and jump on him. After making sure that Ciel landed on top of him without breaking his slender neck, Sebastian allowed things to play out at their own pace. His Master was very fragile in this state. Sharp sounds or movements only served to make him more hysterical. Because this was a new experience, however, Sebastian wasn't certain of what he should do. In the end, he decided to allow Ciel to wake up on his own, even if it meant that he would have to bear with the boy trying to choke the life out of him.

"Master..." No response. The boy lapsed into silence, but his grip did not let up. "Master, call my name," Sebastian urged carefully. "All you have to do is call my name."

"Sebas...tian..." he murmured.

"Yes, My Master, I am here."

"Sebastian..." Suddenly, Ciel's eyes seemed to focus. His pupils contracted; the symbol in his eye stopped glowing. "Sebastian?" He looked around, clearly confused, then saw the position of his hands and gasped. Immediately, he pulled away as though he'd been burned. "I...what was I doing?" The horrified look on his face was a good indicator to leave out a few details.

"Dreaming, Young Master. That's all." The demon smiled reassuringly and ran his slightly extended claws through the boy's hair. Once, Ciel had reluctantly mentioned that the feeling was soothing.

"The boat...the bodies..."

"We are home, now," Sebastian reminded him. He turned his head and saw that the candlestick he'd been holding earlier had been tossed to the ground in their brief tussle. One of the candles was still lit, dripping white wax onto the red carpet. A mental note: that would have to be cleaned up later. With a flick of his wrist, he set the three-pronged candlestick upright to avoid anything catching fire. Burn spots never looked good on anything, and replacing the entire carpet would be too much of a hassle.

Suddenly, his train of thought was entirely derailed.

His head snapped forward.

Ciel's now peaceful sleeping face came into his line of sight. Instead of getting up and breaking contact as fast as he could, the boy had lain down on him and fallen back asleep. His body had gone entirely limp, resembling a rag doll. The top of his head was tucked directly under Sebastian's chin, his toes barely reaching the demon's knees. No traces of fear remained on his features - only signs of a deep, untroubled, sleep. The experience was...unnerving. That his Master would reach out to him for such close contact willingly and without necessity was...unexpected. A few times, he'd requested for Sebastian to remain in the room until he fell asleep, but he'd never requested for him to be so...close.

"Young Master?" he ventured, suddenly unsure of how he should act. The Ciel he knew would likely hate himself if he saw this picture.

Prideful, fiercely independent Ciel...

"Young Master, you shouldn't stay in such a place." Gingerly, Sebastian brushed his knuckles against his Master's clammy cheek. He felt him shiver. Ciel's over-sized, white, nightshirt was hiked up past his knees, pooling around his hips. With a spark of frustration, he noted the goosebumps that covered the boy's slender legs. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, the demon reached up and pulled down one of the sheets from the bed. As he wrapped it around Ciel's body, he sighed in exasperation. Somehow, however, he found himself suppressing a chuckle. "It's unseemly for an Earl to sleep in his butler's arms," he chided half-heartedly.

Or for prey to sleep so peacefully within the arms of its predator...

By habit, he went through a mental checklist of the things that still needed to be done around the house before morning. Pulling out his pocket watch, he noted the time. Though the current situation was highly inappropriate in many ways, he supposed that he could accept it - for a short while. Again, he slowly ran his claws through Ciel's hair, breathing in the faint scent of lavender shampoo and sandalwood soap. He couldn't recall ever having the urge to sleep before. He'd always thought sleep was a waste of time, even for humans. However, the few times that Sebastian watched his Master sleep always gave him a sense of contentment. For now, he supposed, it wouldn't hurt to feel that once more. After all, he was certain that a situation like this would never arise again. Sebastian closed his eyes and listened to his Master's slow heart beat, basking in the rare, quiet, moment and almost wishing that morning would be just a little late in coming.

...