I do not own Black Butler or any other media referred to in this fanfiction.

A wolf, black as night, was running through the forest late one twilight. The moon was full, shining over its sleek coat. On his back was a girl with black hair and matching wolf ears and tail. She nodded to several other wolves unseen in the shadows around them and charged forward. In their path lays a village—a fort full of people to guard the demon lord she would have despised had she had a soul any longer. She wants to reclaim it now.

Black Wolf

Emotionless Wolf

Ciel Phantomhive and his butler Sebastian Michaels were out on a job in that small fort. It seemed the people were being terrorized by a pack of wolves. Ciel knew better, however, assuming it was a creature of another world such as a demon. The village itself was small and compact, filled with young and hard-working people. It seemed like the typical independent village, yet something about it was abnormally depressing. Sebastian and Ciel went to the shrine that held the ruler of this small independent community as requested.

She was sitting gracefully on a large throne in front of a small fire. She was tall and mature, her sleek black hair tied back in a traditional style. Her face was painted with minor hints of dark red and black paint. At her feet, two large, thin dogs began to growl at the newcomers. Her steely black eyes gazed at Ciel and Sebastian passively.

"Greetings, strangers," she said in her perfectly elegant voice. "I am Akita. I am the maiden here at this shrine to honor the gods. I hear you've come to expel the demons from our village?"

"Yes, that's right," Ciel nodded once. "We need as much information as you can give us, and we can take it from there."

"Very well," she purred, turning to one of the dogs and stroking his head to quiet him. Sebastian wrinkled his nose; that was an exceptionally ugly mongrel. "The wolves aren't like normal wolves. They are abnormally strong and fast, and they are controlled by a demon princess."

"Demon princess?" Ciel questioned. His assumptions must be right.

"She constantly breaches the village and tries to kill me. She's a creature of thievery and trickery, so don't be fooled by whatever she tells you. Wolves are horrid creatures; bred from Satan and sent to do nothing but defile this earth with their thieving, cruel, worthless existence. If I could leave this shrine, if I could ever kill really, I would tear each and every wolf apart with my own hands. It must be satisfying, but as a shrine maiden, I am bond by a covenant to God and I cannot kill anyone. Be careful of that wolf girl, when you see her. Trick her before she does you."

"That might not be necessary," Sebastian replied, for his master was at a loss for words at the woman's cruel speech. "But I assure you my young master and I will do everything in our power to stop the killing in your village."

"Yes," Ciel nodded firmly. "We will make sure this demon girl that you speak of will never harm you."

"Good luck, stranger," Akita nodded them off as they left the shrine.

"A wolf, is it?" Ciel spoke almost to himself as they continued through the town. "Hm, a nice change from dogs, isn't it, Sebastian?"

"Quite, young master," Sebastian nodded. In truth, dogs annoyed him, so why wouldn't wolves? Cats are much better; they're gentle, yet deadly, they're independent, and they're so soft. "I assume that these wolves will be active at night. I assume we'll be searching the village for more information until then?"

"Yes," Ciel sighed, looking up at the sky. He didn't know why this village made him rather melancholy inside. Maybe it had to do with this strange case.

It was late and they were about to find lodgings for the night when a splitting bang of metal against metal rang through the small fort, accompanied by a harsh cry.

"The wolves are here!" a guard manning the tower shouted. "It's the wolf princess!"

"Sebastian, move!" Ciel barked.

"Right, master!" Sebastian replied before jumping atop one of the roofs and gliding to the nearest wall.

The soulless wolf princess Haru leapt off her wolf's back and climbed the wooden wall effortlessly. She was shot at, but she avoided the shots and kicked the guard over the wall. She jumped onto one of the roofs and began running towards Akita's lodgings.

"She's after Lady Akita!" one of the villagers shouted, shooting an arrow at her. Haru spotted something else in her way; a demon. She spun around and jumped off the roof, suddenly transforming into a black wolf, galloping in a small circle to distract her foe before jumping up again on the other side. Sebastian had fallen for her trick and was now standing in front of her with his back to her. She growled quietly, baring her fangs. Sebastian turned around.

"You're good," he said. "I get that you're after the humans for stealing your forest, but I'm afraid you have to leave now."

He lunged at her, throwing dinner knives at her legs and feet so she'd back up off the roof. She slid down rather clumsily, landing roughly on her forepaws in a pile of crates. The villagers around her cheered at her fall, brandishing their pitchforks and torches viciously. She growled, transforming into a human again and running at the shrine. One of Akita's handmaidens met her halfway, wielding a purification rod in an attempt to exorcise her.

Ciel watched the scene calmly as Sebastian regrouped to join him.

"Master, what should we do?"

"She's not like most demons we've met. Where's that driving fire in her attacks? I know hatred when I see it and she doesn't have it."

"Such hatred in a soul can drive people mad sometimes," Sebastian agreed. "No, she doesn't even have a soul."

"What?!"

Sebastian leapt in between the fighting girls, taking the purification rod in one hand and Haru's wrist in the other. Haru growled and fought, but whimpered when she realized she couldn't get out of Sebastian's firm grip. He turned to glare at her. She gazed at him with beautiful, empty blue eyes. With her black hair and those eyes, she looked a lot like Ciel.

"You don't even fear a demon, do you?" he asked, grinning slightly. With a sharp blow to the stomach, she was unconscious. Sebastian gathered the girl in his arms and began walking away. "You're village is safe now. My young master and I are leaving, and we're taking the wolf girl with us."

Intermission

Haru awoke in a large, soft, warm bed. She stretched and yawned, looking around the room. So this was the Phantomhive's estate. She left her room cautiously. She ghosted about the halls, in search of food, and that charming demon that helped her….

She met Sebastian in the kitchen. He was preparing breakfast for his master and his guest when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to see Haru half hiding behind the door.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you?" he asked. "You don't have to be shy. Come in. I apologize for not having breakfast ready for you; my young master usually sleeps in a bit later."

Haru sniffed the soup and licked her lips. Sebastian watched her carefully, although he didn't anticipate her attacking soon.

"It's odd for a demon to crave human food," he noted.

"I'm not a demon," Haru said quietly. "My soul was stolen by that witch and I need to get it back."

Sebastian frowned. "I see. So I assume you weren't attacking that village for destroying your forest?"

"It's not my forest," Haru shrugged. "Nor were they my wolves I was attacking with. They merely offered me help. But I'm incapable of a force driving me forth to fight enough to get my soul back from that shrine. Day in and day out, it's always breach, attack, get hungry, retreat; breach, attack, get hungry, retreat. I lack hatred, pain, and even desire. I only know right and wrong now."

"So I assume you need a place to stay to recover the fragments of your soul?" Sebastian asked casually, not taking his eyes off the food he was making. Haru tilted her head.

"Huh?"

"Souls work in strange ways. If they are taken by a demon, then the victim will surely die. If they are taken by an innocent shrine maiden that can't kill anything, the victim will live like an empty shell. Pieces of the soul can be recovered one fragment at a time until the soul itself is whole again."

"How do you know about this stuff?" Haru asked. Sebastian smirked.

"If I couldn't explain any fact of soul collecting, then what kind of butler would I be?"

"I was being serious."

Sebastian smiled back at her. She reminded him of a child; she was no older than Ciel.