The singing of decomposing ghouls echoed throughout the graveyard, harmonizing with sharp cords of a vaguely heard harp. Most would find it preposterous to believe a thirteen year old child would be lying on the weakened soil of reaped souls' resting place, but he was no ordinary boy. The hellion was barely awaking from his profound reverie, loathing the very events that led him to such a predicament. His clothes were tattered, revealing his lithe body that was bathed in its own crimson goo. It came as a surprise, but not long ago was his 'loyal' butler severing their prolonged contract. It would seem that adequate demon had found a way to break the curse placed upon him the day of his master's death. Now, the question roaming the boy's mind was just how he had managed to survive. Ciel Phantomhive should be nonexistent, considering the circumstances that followed Sebastian's ritual, but even as a demon he still breathed; the whole charade was beginning to be troublesome. The man, or lack there of, stringing the soothing instrument halted his movements, taking a quiet moment to observe Ciel's fragile state. After crouching to eye level with the haughty child he brushed back the tangled ultramarine mane that hung before the boy's forehead, grinning madly before carrying Ciel off of the suffocating rock he leaned against. The situation was far from what Ciel expected. Sebastian had won his freedom; there was no explanation for how he is still alive.
The stranger was dressed in a pearl suit, decorated with a red rose glimmering in the left pocket of his shirt. It wasn't until he glanced down at his victim did Ciel notice his uncanny resemblance to Finnian, the only quality that separates the two would be the high-class exterior he gave off. "Ciel," the blonde's voice was suave, alarming yet seductive in the most distasteful ways imaginable for the head of the Phantomhive family, "would you like to make a contract? In case you haven't realized it yet, it is quite possible for contracts to be linked between demons. However, this is a special case. You need a guard dog, a loyal one. I am willing to lower myself to such measures, for a price of course." Ciel could hardly move, let alone voice his thoughts on the man's choice of topic, so all he had the ability to do was pretend to be interested in the Finnian replica. "My price is not something as silly as a soul, which you do not have. What I long for is quite a complicated request, which leads to why I chose you for this deal. Ciel Phantomhive, you shall be my [WORD MOUTHED]" The boy's eyes widened, unpredictability catching him off guard. A few moments passed as the numbness of Ciel's face began to fade, allowing him the slight movement to give the other his answer. "You would have to do nothing but what is required at the strike of dawn, and I will forever serve as your loyal assistant. All you need to do now is nod your head and I will be eternally in your hands."
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The Phantomhive Estate, an elegant mansion fixated for pure nobility. It is currently being placed in an auction in search for a new royal master, prepared solemnly by the hands of its most trusted servants. With that said, it would not be completely ridiculous to believe the state of havoc erupting from within its confinement.
"Finnian! Its horrible, I can't find Tanaka anywhere! The bidders will be here in a few minutes!" A frantic scarlet haired maid squirmed across the mansion's spacious halls, stopping at the sight of smoke arising from the kitchen.
"AHHH!TANAKA IS IN THE OVEN!" Mey-Rin charged for the kitchen, tripping over her maid uniform and landing face fist into a row of five burnt pies on the counter. The gardener hectically made way to the clumsy girl, him too tripping over the inedible desert while accidently starting the cooking machine. They glanced at each other for a few seconds, fear in their usual joyed eyes as one common name left there trembling forms. "TANAKA!"
The two banged their fists on the unbreakable glass granting them view to their roasting comrade, crying and screaming when one thought came to them. "Bard! He should know what to do! BAAAARRRRRRDDDD!"
Right when hope made way to their hearts, the chief swung open the double doors. "Ellop mipster garpenter…hiccup…Myrip…whaps gonna pappen topay? giggle….im nod soap feeping gooc…if you knm wat ti mean…." THUD
"BAARRRRDDD!" Completely forgetting about the other, they both rambled off nonsense and helped the drunk to his feet, pausing at the 'ding' noise the oven made that the signaled the old man's death. Tears welled up at the corners of their sockets, vanishing at the sound of Tanaka's voice.
"HO, HO, HO" The three turned to find the shrunken man sipping tea, heavily relieved the image they saw in the oven was his reflection from behind them. The mansion's servants were about to return to their regular duties before being stopped by a shockingly familiar voice.
"You imbeciles aren't capable of taking care of my mansion while I was gone? How despicable, as always." The thirteen year old demon appeared from thin air, happily displaying his disgusted expression and preventing them from screwing anything up further. "There shall be no auction, I specifically informed that before I left. Thanks to James, the event will no longer take place."
As if on cue, the new butler stepped forward and bowed in front of his new coworkers, elegantly bringing himself to his left knee and presenting them with a gift for his disclosed arrival. The beautifully wrapped box was enclosed with a mulberry ribbon, placed lovingly onto Mey-Rin's lap as the owner of such a gift spoke softly to the staff. "It would seem I am the new butler, the old one has kindly chosen to leave the young master in my care. I inform you, James is my real name." James rose to his feet and swept Ciel from the ground, eliciting earnest shades of pink upon all of their cheeks, resulting in the ignored command from his master demanding to be unhanded. "Now, I'm afraid me and young master have places to be. We shall be back at the break of dawn, so don't feel the need to wait up." With one last wink to the nose bleeding maid, he vanished from the scene, along with a displeased, and overwhelmingly embarrassed, boy.
Black Butler III One Hell of an Afterlife