Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji and I'm not making money off of this story.

Author's Note: To all who have decided to read this new story, I thank you and I hope that you all like it. Also, some parts you may wonder why Sebastian acts the way he does towards Ciel, and hopefully, I'll be able to explain why in a few chapters. Again, thanks for reading!

Prologue

It was a rather chilly day even though the season was well into spring when a young man named Sebastian Michaelis left the hospital where he worked to go home. He had endured a long day and merely wanted to rest now that he was going home. Unfortunately, his car had been with Dominic-his mechanic- for the past two days because of some peculiar reason that had made it start to act up. Which meant that Sebastian would be walking to and from his house and the hospital until Dominic called him to retrieve the car.

Sebastian couldn't help but sigh, his shift had been trying today if only for the reason that a little boy merely minutes from death had been brought to him after the poor dear and his parents had been involved in a car accident. The boy could've easily bled to death had the paramedics not been so careful when they brought him into the hospital. Really, Sebastian wondered once more for most likely the thousandth time since he had become a doctor about why he had decided to become one.

Ah, that's right; Sebastian smiled to himself as he pulled the neck of his trench coat tighter to himself to ward against the chilled air as the sun slowly began to fall and darkness inked through the air. It was because of his patient's smiles. The patient's families. Yes, he wanted to help people, he loved the feeling he got when he was able to save a patient and that patient was able to live a safe and healthy life.

He wasn't in it for the money, no matter what those backstabbing wretches he called colleagues said. He merely wanted to do what he could to help people and he had clawed his way out of that damnable orphanage he had resided in all his life to get to where he was today. He had studied and studied and earned the scholarship he had received and made his way up to the top slowly but surely. And now, at age twenty-six, he was a prodigy considered by many.

People either envied or admired him and he couldn't care less. So long as he was able to save lives and do something good for those people, he was happy. Even if his normally stoic façade didn't show it. He didn't care about what his colleagues said about his workaholic attitude and he made sure that he was always at his peak. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. He considered that it would be a disgrace not to be when he considered his patients.

Sebastian shivered slightly as a large gust of wind whipped against him as he walked through the forest that would lead him home. He was sorely regretting the fact that he had forgotten his favorite crimson red cashmere scarf when he had hurried out of the house that very morning but he couldn't do anything about it now. All he could do was hasten his steps in an effort to get home that much sooner.

Besides, it wouldn't do for him to catch a cold out here or he would receive a visit from the hospital's founding heir. Soren Phantomhive was a man that Sebastian couldn't understand. Well, he understood the young man perfectly well, but Soren's navy blue eyes just seemed to cut through him. The heir's eyes were far too cold and he knew why.

Everyone that worked at the hospital knew why.

Ciel Phantomhive-quite a few generations back- was Soren's ancestor and had lost his parents in a deadly inferno that had razed the family's manor to the ground. The pre-teen at the time had declared that their family butler was supposed to rescue his parents but instead disappeared without a trace. After that, Ciel closed his heart to anyone and everyone-it was said that he had dearly trusted and adored the butler- and when he took a wife and had a child, raised his son to be just as cold and distrusting as he was. It became somewhat of a family tradition over the generations.

Sebastian was saddened when he had heard the story but more than that, he wanted to know why the butler had simply disappeared. Was it possible that he had gotten caught in the fire as well and had just burned to complete ashes or had he run away from the manor and sought out a new life completely? It must have been horrible for the child to go through such a traumatic event.

Sebastian was startled from his musings when he heard the rumbling of thunder and he caught a flash of lighting out of the corner of his eye. Oh dear, a rain storm was coming. He had heard one of the nurses mention it but he'd foolishly thought it would occur after he had safely gotten home, not when he was on the way.

A drop of rain fell from the sky and landed on his forehead when he had looked up to watch the ever darkening sky that was slowly becoming thunderous looking. The raindrop slowly slid down his face and Sebastian's crimson eyes shut slightly at the cold trail it left before moving towards a large oak tree. This particular oak tree was very large and looked as though it would shield him quite effectively from the rain and wind if he were to climb up it halfway.

And so, he firmly gripped the bark with his black gloved clad hands and using a root that was settled about a foot above ground as a step, climbed the tree swiftly and easily. He climbed onto a particularly fat branch that would hold his weight nicely and leaned back against the tree's trunk.

Sebastian closed his eyes and listened to the wind trying to reach him and the rain steadily getting louder, it was pounding against the tree's top but the heavy foliage of leaves and branches shielded him from all of it. He pulled the thick black coat around him and tried to nestle into the warmth that it held, wishing that it would soon stop raining and he would be able to go home soon. He'd make himself a nice cup of warm tea and curl up under his thick downy comforter with the book that he had been meaning to read for quite some time now.

Ah, he loved being able to expand his knowledge. Especially that he could afford to do so what with the money that he made. He had grown up with not a penny to his name but was now able to afford the things he so wanted when he was just a child. Sebastian held a bitter smile as he remembered those horrid days of his childhood. Often times, he would be forced to go without food or if the caretakers were feeling especially cruel, he would have to climb up a tree for the night and hope that he wouldn't freeze to death after they had kicked him and some of the other children out just to have some time without "meddlesome brats" as they called the children in their care.

The young doctor watched as his legs swayed from where they were hanging off of the branch and slowly felt his eyes begin to close of their own accord. Sebastian wondered why he was so tired now but couldn't find it in him to refuse the sweet lullaby that was gently sending him to the realm of dreams…

Ciel Phantomhive glared at the fool in front of him, just because it had been two years since his parents' deaths, did not mean that this idiot could waltz into his home and upset his staff and guests with his horribly appalling behavior. Ciel knew that this man was one of the ones responsible for his parents' murders and yet couldn't find anything to support his suspicions. Those bastards had done a hell of a job concealing anything and everything that could point to them as being the ones who had set the wretched fire.

The twelve year old heir stood from where he was sitting and snapped his fingers, immediately getting one of his dearest friend's attention and that of his butler. Alois Trancy and his butler, Claude Faustus, appeared by his side in a split second and when he whispered that he wanted the ignorant buffoon out of his home, Claude rushed to do as his master's friend ordered. At Alois's concerned gaze, Ciel shook his head slightly and as gracefully as he could, left the ball room that he had been having the gathering in.

As soon as he was away from his guests he broke out into a sprint and rushed out of the manor that had been made to remind him of his true home. Ciel didn't stop running until he had reached the forest and when he did, he bent over at the waist and rested his palms on his knees, it had been so long since he had actually run about anywhere and he was horribly winded from the short yet slightly exhilarating run.

A slight smile touched his face before he could realize it; he angrily frowned when he noticed it and glared at a rose bush just to his left. He hadn't smiled in two years, no; it was usually a cold mask or a harsh frown that sat upon his face now. Ever since that man had abandoned his parents to their terrible fate, he had lost all emotions that were even slightly happy or joyful.

Ciel was actually surprised that he had yet to push away the small group of people that he had known since his childhood. It wasn't for lack of trying that was for sure; he mused as he walked along the forest trail with a hand to his chin. The young boy sighed and reached up to touch the eye-patch he now wore to conceal the blindness and discoloration in his left eye; that fire had done more than steal his beloved parents from him, it had also taken away half of his sight.

The heir squeezed his good eye shut and stopped in the middle of the path that he was walking. Really, he shouldn't be thinking of that day. It was long in the past, and there was nothing that Ciel could do but find his parents' murderers.

He frowned once more and continued walking after his navy blue eye opened only to stop in front of a rather large oak tree. The full moon's light was strangely bright and seemed to be zeroing in on a certain point in the middle of the tree. A chilly breeze wrapped around Ciel and he shivered at the suddenness of it only to stop when about halfway up the tree, a branch creaked and swayed violently. The teen froze when a blur of black fell from the tree and landed on its feet.

Ciel could hardly believe what he saw when the black blur turned out to be a very handsome young man who looked to be just about five feet and seven inches tall, with crimson eyes and inky black hair. The paleness of his face contrasted nicely with his hair and the black clothes that he was wearing. Ciel stopped when he realized that he was actually assessing this mysterious man with interest; the only thing that was supposed to be interesting him was finding the murderers responsible for his parents!

Not to mention that this forest was Phantomhive property, what was this man doing here without his express permission? It was only then that he noticed that the man was watching him curiously.

"What are doing here on my property?!" He snapped, embarrassment giving way to anger.

Sebastian stopped breathing when he realized who he was looking at. Soren had once hung a picture of Ciel Phantomhive up in the staff room so the entire staff would know what the man who had founded and created the hospital looked like. Of course, Ciel Phantomhive was a young man of about twenty-five or so in the picture but Sebastian could see that this boy was the younger version of that man.

Navy hair, one navy eye visible while the other was hidden behind a navy eye-patch and a scowl twisted his young face.

How had he managed to go back in time? Or was this merely a dream created from his recent thoughts and then formed from sleeping in the middle of a rainstorm in a tree? Then again, that landing wasn't as smooth as he was used to performing due to all the gymnastic lessons he had taken as a child when he was able to pay for them. Not to mention, he had had dreams where he was falling in midair before, those ended with him bolting upright with his heart pounding a mile a minute.

It was now unlikely that this was a dream and that worried Sebastian quite a bit. It was also quite clear to Sebastian that tragedy had already touched young Ciel. It was whispered that the fire had caused the young boy in front of him to desperately need an eyepatch. Ciel snapped at him when the boy noticed him watching and he moved to answer; if he truly was in the past he needed a suitable reason seeing as Ciel did indeed own this forest.

"I am terribly sorry my Young Lord, but I seemed to have gotten lost earlier this evening and so climbed this tree to rest and preserve my energy. In the moments after that, I must have fallen asleep." He ended his convincing lie (really, more of a half-truth) with a bow at the waist and a hand over his heart.

Sebastian waited patiently until he heard the young lord sigh and lifted his head to look at the young boy-he couldn't have been more than twelve- when Ciel spoke to him.

Ciel didn't believe that this man had any intent to harm him and he seemed to know proper manners; the mysterious young man also knew who he was. Not many of the lower class did because he had shut himself away and allowed great exaggerations to take place in his absence from society.

"Very well, I'll accept that as a suitable statement. As you most likely already know, I am Ciel Phantomhive; the Earl Phantomhive. May I know you're name?" He asked somewhat politely. The young man in front of him lifted himself to stand upright and straight before answering with honest crimson eyes.

"My name is Sebastian Michaelis, Earl Phantomhive." Ciel watched as Sebastian kept his hand over his heart as he stood upright. Really, this young man seemed a bit like a butler. Hm, perhaps this could work out in his favour.

"Sebastian, I would like you to work for me. It solves the problem of you trespassing on my property and making sure that no one thinks of me as just a child. I won't be lenient if you screw up and will inflict proper punishment." With that, Ciel turned from his new servant and prepared to listen to the man bombard him with protests only to be slightly stunned when all he heard was Sebastian walking calmly behind him. He kept his distance and stopped when Ciel did.

"You're not going to protest?" Ciel asked after turning back to watch the emotions that might cross his new servants face. Sebastian merely shook his head and gave the young heir a small smile.

"I suppose it would be somewhat proper, My Lord. If it is your wish I will follow you."

Sebastian spoke truthfully; he would follow the young heir, if only to save Ciel from the loneliness that fate had promised him and his family in Sebastian's own time line. Besides, no child should have to have such a haunted look. He had promised himself that when he had been but a small lonely child back at the orphanage.

"Ah, My Young Lord, I should mention that I am doctor and should someone need help, I am obligated to help them."

Ciel watched Sebastian for any hint of a lie. His crimson eyes were honest and clear and the smile he wore wasn't the least bit deceitful. "Very well, come along Sebastian. I was in the midst of a social gathering when I left and I need to return quickly." The young earl turned back around and continued on the way that he had come from all the while listening to Sebastian's almost eerily quiet footsteps through the forest. He was loath to trust another butler with his care but Tanaka was growing older in age and just couldn't do what he had once been able to.

Surprisingly, Sebastian hadn't been lying when he said that he would follow Ciel. He hadn't tried to run away either and Ciel was already finding Sebastian to be trustworthy; only by a small margin however…