I don't think we should be as rash to hate on them just yet.....

XXX

" It was his birthday today, did you know that?"

There was a pause. A second filled with pain.

" Yes, I'm well aware. I'm sorry for your loss."

The man in front of him smiled. He smiled with cruel, sharp teeth that had once been mocking, condescending... that had bit into countless souls, torn them apart limb by limb without hesitation. But now, it was a broken smile, one full of sorrow.

To think that he might one day become like that---

" I doubt you would." Once before, he might have lashed out at any that pitied him; pitied him or his master.... But now all he did was run a finger down that porcelain cheek longingly, an ungloved finger, for he was no longer a butler, no longer a servant of Phantomhive or of any use at all, it seemed. He looked up,( since when did he look up at anybody?) at the cold, stony faced man hovering above him, the one with his glasses glinting in the candle light, unflinching, almost as if it was a reflection of his personality--- up at the man who had come to "relieve him from duty", his replacement---

Upon staring at that face a laugh erupted from him. No, this was bad. He wasn't human, he couldn't lose control of his emotions, it wasn't right.

"Mind telling me what you are doing here again? Your name, at least?"

Here. Did that refer to the ruins of Phantomhive Manor? He glanced around, at the rocks slowly crumbling, the rose wallpaper curling over, its edges tinged with ashes that were slowly crumpling, slowly disappearing. Would he disappear like that too? His smile grew wider. It was amusing to think that the demon that had caused so many lives to end, was afraid of death now. He couldn't hold them back any longer, the mad peals of laughter ripped out of his throat, the sounds echoing into the obsidian night that enveloped them.

Even when they subsided, the man with the glasses simply stared at him, expressionless and stoic.

" The name is Claude." he seemed to think for a second. " Claude Faustas." His glasses caught the candlelight, the surface glinting with a white, searing light. Claude looked at the man who cradled the body of a boy whose soul had long fled in his arms with pity. The body itself looked even paler after the flight of its soul, like a broken china doll that was waiting to shatter into pieces. He then glanced at the cake on the counter, which with its perfect frosting looked out of place among the ruins. Yes, the ruins of this mansion were not mere stones or bricks cemented together, they were a dream. But the boy who had dreamed of revenge was now an empty shell. Now that Phantomhive Manor was in pieces, that dream was, as well.

" What is yours?" Claude asked the broken demon in front of him. This demon... with his raven colored hair and eyes of crimson was a part of the dream too, a shattered pawn that was no longer needed now that player was gone.

" My name is Sebas----"

" Your real name."

The other looked up at him in confusion. The words came out hoarse. " Real name?..."

Claude's face was blank, and the flickering light made frightening shadows dance across the expressionless expanse. " Your human name."

" My name is Sebastian. I'm far too old to remember my human name." yet again, his finger trailed down that cheek, tracing the lines into his memory. " My Young Master gave me that name..."

Claude sighed in pity. No wonder he was sent. This old demon had been corrupted with the thoughts and feelings of a human-- he had begun to wish. The younger demon sucked in a breath. They were not allowed to dream, much less wish...

He pushed his glasses up, looking at the broken demon. " Sebastian." The other looked at him in surprise.

" Your Young Master is no longer here." he put a finger under Sebastian's shaking chin, his voice dropping almost to a whisper. " You are alone now."

Sebastian stared at him. "Alone?" In all the years he had been a demon he had never once used that word. Alone. What did being alone mean?

"That's right." it was as if he was talking to a child now. " Your Young Master is gone. You are alone in this world."

Sebastian's crimson eyes grew wide, slowly processing the information. He began to stagger, his hands clutching tightly to the corpse of the boy who would have turned fourteen today. "... Gone?"

Claude looked on in satisfaction. At last, he beginning to understand.

" Ciel Phantomhive is dead."

Sebastian understood now. " Dead..." That's right. Didn't he take the boy's soul himself? And it had been delicious...

He looked out into the darkness of the night. The clouds swirled in the sky, snowflakes dancing in a blinding mass, so dark and heavy that not even the slightest sliver of moonlight was able to shine through. He felt like he was suffocating. Sebastian looked around at the rundown mansion. There was no point in staying here now...

The demon's eyes rested on the cake on the counter. He gave it a long, sad glance before continuing to walk-- continuing to walk into the night, with the hope that the pure white darkness might take him. Happy Birthday, Bocchan...

Claude watched. Where in the world did he intend to go now?

" Where are you going?" he called out.

But he was ignored as Sebastian continued to stumble into the snow-blanketed night, the corpse of Ciel Phantomhive in his arms. Claude stood silently in the shadows of the ruins, watching him with scorn. Even as the wind blew hard against them, Sebastian continued on, murmuring a few words under his breath-- for he was broken already...

The same wind brought Sebastian's words to Claude's ears.

" I feel... so alone."

XXX

T___T you know, I feel kind of sad now too.... CIEL!!!!!!!! D::::::

Please review, I hope you enjoyed! Alois will be in the next chapter! ;D