Disclaimer: I don't own -man, Black Butler or any of the characters. I just had this twisted idea and decided to follow through! The title is a title of an awesome composition from Devil Doll, which had originally inspired this story.
Warning: It will get violent.
Author's note: I'm back! (faster than I thought I would be) Back with a new story and in a new fandom as well! (maybe there's more -man to come from me) I just want to say that this is an "alternate universe" story and I freely take what fits me from the original stories. Hope you don't mind. In a twisted way, this is a sequel to "Let's leave unsaid what's left unspoken", my favourite of my own Black Butler / Harry Potter crossovers. It's not necessary to read it, but if you like HP as well… go and read! ^^
Also, favs and reviews make me want to write more, so show me your love ;) Writing stories is ten times funnier when people are reading.
Ch. 1: Onstage
Sebastian followed his little master obediently, the guidelines for their latest mission echoing in his head. The opening ceremony of a new hospital near the rich, residential area of London had been disturbed by things and the queen has had enough. Consequently, the little Guard Dog and his faithful butler were sent out in order to find the source of disturbance and remove it. They were accompanied by a guide who was supposed to know how to find a temporary hideout of the persons blamed for the appearance of the things.
Surprisingly, this time, Queen Victoria had a very precise guess as to who was to blame for the disturbance: the Black Order. Sebastian had heard about them and had no idea why the order of the pope would take headquarters in England. The Church of England and the Black Order lived in uneasy peace and it seemed that finally the Queen had found an excuse to remove the offending organisation.
'Is it far still?' Ciel asked irritably. Their guide had insisted that they stop the carriage and walk the last distance. They have listened to him and left the carriage close to the hospital to venture on foot into the less privileged districts that stretched nearby. Walking presented more risks, but Sebastian was sure that he could notice them on time and, in any case, it was late evening and the streets were almost abandoned.
'We're soon there my lord,' the guide said, bowing even as he walked. 'Carriages are not common in this part of the city and my lord doesn't want to draw attention to himself until we reach the exorcists.' Indeed, the clink-clacking of horse shoes on the pavement would doubtlessly alert many to the presence of the elegant and expensive carriage.
'Exorcists,' Ciel muttered under his breath, not even trying to hide his disdain for the title or his disbelief. 'It better not be some stupid game,' he threatened darkly. Sebastian hid a smile, taking a faster step to lean to Ciel's ear. His little master was so ignorant sometimes, but this mission should prove a nice change from the monotony of every day.
'My lord didn't want to believe in magic either,' he pointed out, quietly enough so that their guide wouldn't hear. The single blue eye glared at him coldly and Sebastian forced himself not to smirk. Their adventure in the future had been quite an interesting lesson. Not to mention that Sebastian managed to get a lot of knowledge about the future and already knew whom he would tempt into becoming his new meal, after the deal with the little Phantomhive was complete.
'I told you to never mention that in public,' the little lord hissed. Their guide looked interested but kept a polite distance: the reputation of Earl Phantomhive preceded him and nobody wanted to get on his bad side.
Sebastian bowed and slowed down by half a step, to follow his little master. The guide whispered that they were coming closer to the hiding place and led them to a completely deserted alley, saying that they were almost there.
Just as they entered the alley, Sebastian noticed movement in the corner of his eye and sensed a potential danger. He turned to face it. He barely had the time to register three figures, two Europeans and a Japanese, when the white-haired teenaged exclaimed "demon", pointing straight at Sebastian.
In the time that it took Ciel to gasp, Sebastian had to dodge a sword that swished past him, nearly cutting the tips of his hair as he moved away. Turning to face his opponent, he barely managed to duck the second blow and a nasty smile twisted his lips. It has been a while since he stretched his muscles.
Razor sharp kitchen knives appeared in his hands and Sebastian took a swipe at the attacker, but the Japanese man twisted away gracefully. With the corner of his eye, Sebastian noticed the other two running up, shouting something. However, he paid them no more attention, focusing on the one who was attacking him again and also ignoring his companions.
With inhuman grace, Sebastian dodged the long blade and replied with an attack of his own, surprised yet again when his knives cut through air. Was he going to have to put an actual effort in this duel? This was such an amusing thought that he would have laughed if the sword, no, the katana, wasn't swishing at him again, cutting through the air fluidly. That was some determined man he was facing, he thought.
Smiling, because he knew that no mortal could stand a chance against him, Sebastian picked up the speed a notch. His knives slashed the sword arm of his opponent, before he slowed down again, to allow the man to strike back. He liked to play with his victims and he was going to enjoy this one for sure.
The Japanese man managed to block his second attack, even with Sebastian's somewhat increased speed, and for a split of a second, Sebastian could look into the dark eyes, filled with anger. A fleeting thought that there was something wrong about the man crossed his mind, but there was no time to dwell on it. Laughing he dodged an attack after attack, occasionally slashing at his opponent. He was impressed that the man didn't show any signs of suffering from blood loss or even pain. He was even more impressed when the katana nicked his arm. It barely cut his flawless skin, but it was still more than anybody had managed in a long time.
'Sebastian,' he heard behind him and sighed as he dodged another blow. His master was bored of the show. He stepped away from the Japanese man and bowed mockingly.
'You must forgive me, but my master is calling,' he said. The man opposite to him growled and launched an attack that was so fast Sebastian almost didn't see him move. Still, the demon was faster as he dodged the weapon easily and allowed the three knives he held in his right hand to deeply cut through the neck of the man.
Bright red blood erupted from the cuts, with a characteristic gurgling kind of sound and Sebastian moved away to not ruin his clothes. He smirked as the lifeless body hit the pavement with a dull thud. He wasted no time on the other two, ostensibly showing how utterly unafraid he was, by turning to his little master and bowing deeply.
'Forgive me, my lord,' he said, masking his smile as he straightened up. He vaguely heard something about stopping behind him and mistakes. 'It seems that those streets are not as safe as we would like to think,' he added. Ciel only glared at him, so Sebastian turned to their guide, who was looking at him, obviously terrified. 'Shall we continue?' he asked, well aware of a strange kind of gasp just behind him.
'No, Kanda stop-' yelled the same voice that had previously accused Sebastian of being a demon. In the exact same moment the guide whimpered and Ciel's eyes widened. Sebastian was about to turn around, but sudden, burning pain froze him on the spot.
'I'm not done yet,' hissed a voice behind him, distorted by a foreign accent and sounding as thought something was wrong with the vocal chords of the speaker. Sebastian glanced down at the katana sticking out of his abdomen. He was about to comment mockingly on the fact that the blade seemed to be trembling and the voice behind him was weak, but then he realised something: it wasn't a normal blade.
In a sudden flash of what would be panic if Sebastian wasn't a powerful demon, he thought that this was a bit like Undertaker's scythe. In the split of a second that it took him to decide on further action, however, the blade was gone. The guide rushed to support him as he wobbled unsteadily and his internal not-panic-at-all grew.
Sebastian glanced at Ciel's shocked and horrified expression, gratefully accepting the help of the guide and turning to face the other trio.
'Would you ever listen when I say stop?' the white-haired teenager, who had previously identified Sebastian as a demon, was shouting at the Japanese man who, now that Sebastian had the time to look, didn't seem to be that much older. All but covered in his own blood, he was being held back, or maybe supported to not fall. It was hard to tell because he was struggling somewhat, even when he looked ready to fall over. The third man, the one firmly holding the Japanese, was a well built, tanned person who looked to be close to thirty. Immediately, Sebastian realised that the man was blind.
'Shut up,' the Japanese man growled. There was no trace of damaged vocal chords in his voice anymore. 'Why would I stop?'
'Because I made a mistake,' the white-haired kid all but howled, anger evident in his voice. 'You almost killed an innocent man, Kanda!'
'Why did your eye activate?' the tallest of them asked calmly, his voice also carrying a foreign accent. Sebastian chose that moment to clear his throat and all the attention was at him. The white-haired kid, introducing himself as Allen, started to apologise immediately for his friend's behaviour and inviting Sebastian and his companions to join them, so that Sebastian's wound could be tended to.
The demon couldn't help but wonder how that kid could be apologising to a person who had, quite literally, killed his friend. He was sure that the wound to the neck had been fatal and death, while not immediate, would come quick with the blood loss. Not that the friend seemed to be worse of wear for that fact, Sebastian noted, hearing how the Japanese man insisted that he could stand and walk on his own. The tall one let him go and wordlessly steadied him a moment later as he almost fell.
'I'm very sorry for calling you a demon,' Allen said finally. Sebastian fought down the smirk at that comment. Behind him, the Japanese man, whose name was most obviously Kanda, sheathed his katana, glaring at the white-haired one murderously. 'Please, will you accompany us? Our place is not far from here,' he added.
'We have no choice,' Ciel said coldly, making the white-haired kid jump. So his little master also caught up on the fact that those were probably the men they had been looking for? 'Your companion has seriously wounded my butler,' Ciel added, not sounding worried at all. Trust the earl to be a disastrous actor, Sebastian thought, hiding his smile. However, acting skills didn't seem necessary with the distressed teenager and Allen glared at the man who had been previously murdered by the said butler.
'One day you will think before you act,' he spat angrily.
'I could say the same thing about you, beansprout,' the Japanese replied without missing a beat, his tone cold and disdainful. 'You said he was a demon.'
'And then I yelled for you to stop,' Allen countered, fully turning to the man. With some surprise, Sebastian noted that the hand of the Japanese was back on the hilt of his katana, his eyes glaring with murderous intent. Humans never ceased to amuse him.
'I have no pity for demons, beansprout,' he replied in a threatening kind of tone.
'Don't call me beansprout, you-'
'Shall we go before you two get into another argument?' the third man interjected smoothly, turning to Sebastian, Ciel and their guide with an amazing precision for a blind person. 'Please follow us. Since Kanda insists on walking, would you like that I carry your butler?' he asked Ciel directly.
Sebastian was mortified at the very idea of being carried by a mortal, but Ciel gave him no choice on that matter and almost immediately Sebastian found himself lifted up bridal style. Although he would never admit that the wound was bothering him more than it should, carried, he could engrave every detail into his memory.