Chapter 1: Ciel's Butler, Unaware
Ciel was astounded at the young man's reply. They were sitting in chairs in Ciel's study and in between them was a table with a chess set. So far, it looked as if the other man, Byakuya Togami, was winning with the black pieces. "I refuse to partner with the Funtom Company.'" said Byakuya Togami coldly. A blond young man with a black suit, he was the owner of the Togami Company, an extremely rich and profitable tea company. Even though his company only made earl gray tea, they were the main manufacturer of earl grey tea; and it was brought by the rich and poor alike. Byakuya was the last surviving heir to this company, though it was often wondered how this happened. "Why!" blurted out Ciel, unable to stop himself. Byakuya stared at Ciel in distaste. " You are a brat unworthy of partnering with my company. I have no time for people like you. My company needs power, not mere children with sob stories". Byakuya then got up, and without a trace left the Phantomhive manor. Sebastian watched Byakuya go, but his head turned when Ciel's hand slammed on the table. Most of the chess pieces toppled over, but some fell off the table. "Damn." said Ciel "That partnership would have made me rich". Sebastian stared at him as he said that, and then he checked his pocket watch, which he put away after checking. "Young Master." says Sebastian. Ciel looks up. "It is almost time to begin heading out to the Queen's castle for the investigation." Ciel then leaves the room, but not before looking at the chess set; and Sebastian was following behind.
They were going to ask the Queen for her blessing to investigate a string of murders, five of them in fact. It was so important to Ciel that these murders were investigated as it was rumored that Her Majesty had something to do with it, as if she ordered someone to kill them. So Ciel wanted to prove the Queen's innocence.
So they arrived at the castle. And once they went to see the Queen, the door was closed in their face. A servant told them the Queen was in an important meeting, but couldn't be interrupted for any reason. And when Ciel questioned the servant, the servant told him that there was a person that could tell them about the murders. The Queen's aide; Kiyotaka Ishimaru, whose room was located at the end of the hall near the Queen's personal study. Knowing where this was, Ciel made the correct turn, and he and his butler arrived at the room. Sebastian knocked.
"Who is it!" came a loud male voice. "Ciel Phantomhive." said Ciel. "My master needs to talk to you. It is needed for an investigation." said Sebastian. Silence. It sounded as if a person was quickly changing clothes, and then the door opened, revealing Kiyotaka. As soon as he entered he quickly slammed the door, allowing nothing to be seen. He wore an all white uniform of sorts, which looked nearly perfect. He smoothed out his outfit, making it look less disheveled and absolutely perfect, and then saluted. "I have a day off today, but I am happy that I can help you! I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru, and I live to serve her Majesty the Queen! Long ling her Majesty Queen Victoria!" shouted the man (now known as Kiyotaka).
"So, what do you need?" asked Kiyotaka. Ciel's ears were ringing at the sound of the man's voice, but he answered anyway. "A servant told us that you might have information about the murders that have been rumored to be ordered by the Queen. Do you know anything?"
Kiyotaka clearly looked uncomfortable. He stared, sweating and uncomfortable; his face in shock. "Well, the only thing I know is that the Queen had nothing to do with it! Nothing at all! I know..uh...nothing! I know nothing and you can't make me talk!" Kiyotaka paused, and then looked at his watch. "Time to do that paperwork that I need to do for Sayaka today! Sorry, very,very,veryveryveryverybusy" said Kiyotaka. And before Ciel could say anything more, Kiyotaka turned around and quickly went inside his room, slamming the door in their faces. Ciel was silently furious that someone so low-class should dare slam a door in his face.
"I thought he had a day off." said Sebastian. Ciel stared at him in hatred. Sebastian looked down, peering at him. The starefest went on for a while until Ciel stopped staring, and it was silent again. Ciel's boots became oddly interesting to him. Sebastian simply stared down at his young master. And then, when Ciel regained his composure, he looked up. "Let's go see what Sayaka has to say about this."
Turns out that Sayaka was the royal fashion designer, apparently known throughout the monarchy for creating the best outfits for royalty. When Ciel and Sebastian neared the room, they could hear the fashion designer's voice. She seemed to be talking to herself.
"Let's see…I have a dinner party on Wednesday, where I have three meetings and five clients." The voice paused. "And so far I have to finish twenty orders by the end of the week, and two orders for the afternoon" went on the voice cheerfully. "I hope that Leon doesn't try to sneak pass me" she murmed. Ciel and Sebastian entered, and it seemed as if a girl was peering down at a table with papers on it. "Oh, come in! I had a feeling you two would come in!" said the blue-headed girl, turning around. "My name is Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to meet you!" said the fashion designer. She wore a pink dress, very stylish and expensive.
"I am Ciel Phantomhive. The person behind me is my butler Sebastian" said Ciel. Sebastian was silent. He began to explore the room while Ciel and Sayaka were talking. "Phantomhive?" said Sayaka, slightly confused. And then, Sayaka seemed to remember. "You're her Majesty's detective. They call you the Queen's watchdog. What are you doing here?" "We are investigating-" said Ciel, but he was cut off. "The murder." interrupted Sayaka cheerfully. "Oh, sorry, I'm physic" said Sayaka. Ciel was dumbfounded while Sebastian seemed shocked, until Sayaka said as she laughed, "I'm just kidding! Hehehe!" She said it so cheerfully and casual that it seems odd for a normal person to do this. Silence, until Ciel began to open his mouth to answer a question, but Sayaka already knew it.
Sayaka sighed. "I don't know anything, if that's what you're asking. As far as I know, the Queen has no assassins of her own. She doesn't have a motive for killing those men, so it is probably a rouge serial killer." her voice sounded grave, and her eyes seemed to look bleak. Then, she cheered up, and seemed to grow happier. " How did you find this place? This is a basically unknown studio." The faint sound of footsteps could be heard from outside the room.
" A man by the name of Kiyotaka Ishimaru said that he needed to do your paperwork. But apparently, you do your own." said Sebastian, holding up a piece of paper that looked like a contract. Sayaka shook her head in a silent disagreement. " Yes, I do do my own paperwork. But don't worry about Kiyotaka. He just gets worried easily." "Why would he be worried?" asked Sebastian. Sayaka shrugged. "Everyone gets worried. Some more than others."
Ciel was about to ask what she ment when someone interrupted him. In fact, it was Sayaka.
"Don't think you can skip an appointment that easy Leon!"
" You gotta be kidding me!" said a man.
Said man entered the room, and at first glance his appearance was odd. His spiked hair and goatee was a scarlet red-orange type of color, and he wore plain black clothes, as if he was a carriage driver. However, he seemed to hate these formal clothes, as he appeared stiff and uncomfortable. Then again, the man seemed to distaste walking into the fashion designer's studio all together.
He went up to Sayaka and sighed loudly, remarking his displeasure.
"Let's just get this stupid appointment over with." said the man. Feeling someone watching him, he turned. "Who are you?!" said Leon surprised.
"I am Ciel Phantomhive, Earl of Phantom-"began Ciel, but he was cut off. "Yeah, yeah, I know who you are. I just wanted to test you, that's all. The name is Leon Kuwata" said the man proudly, but constantly speaking in a casual tone. "You were talking about the murders, right? Well it would be stupid to think that the Queen had anything to do with it!". He seemed enraged. "It's probably just some guy killing people for the sake of revenge. You should just go investigate someplace else." He seemed annoyed, and sick of talking. "This is stupid." He turned to Ciel. "Has her Majesty ever forced you to get new clothes?" asked Leon. Ciel shook his head. "My clothes have always been suitable enough for her" said Ciel. Leon seemed angry. "My thought exactly! My clothes have always worked fine, and a couple of rips and tears aren't that bad for my profession!" said Leon angrily. He then calmed down, and seems to be deep in thought. "What is your profession?" asked Sebastian politely. "I'm a carriage driver for her majesty and her royal guests" he said sourly. "It's an extremely boring job. It's incredibly stupid! Hell, I would rather be a butler than a dumb carriage driver!" said Leon angrily again. Before Ciel could ask anything else, Sakaya interrupted politely. "I apologize in advance, but you all have to leave. My appointment between me and my client is always private so that total attention can be placed on the fashionable needs of my client". She then ushered them out of the room and quietly shut the door in their face. Ciel figured that that was the end of his investigation, so he and Sebastian began to leave the castle. However, they were interrupted in the hallway of the castle, near the exit. Well, "interrupted" was an understatement. It was more like Ciel wasn't looking where he was going and nearly got trampled by someone. Luckily, Sebastian pulled him out of the way just in time.
"Hey! Watch where your going dumbass!" said the man, stopping with an angry expression. He wore slightly ruffled black trench coat and light brown pants. He gave off a sinister air, and he had an odd hairstyle that resembled corn. "You are the one who should watch where you're going. You nearly ran my young master over" said Sebastian. The man turned to face Sebastian. "Listen here punk, if you-" began the man, but he stopped, looking at Ciel. "Oh. You're that kid. The Phantomhive one. The one who investigates the murders." said the man. "You look like a rookie to me" commented the man rudely. " No offense kid, but I think you should stay out of the murders. Both Scotland Yard and the best detectives known to man don't even think anything of it." said the man, a hint of anger and malice in his voice. "Who are you?!" asked Ciel impatiently. The man smirked. " Just someone you don't want to cross" said the man mysteriously. He began to walk away, until he stopped before he went out the door. "By the way, there's been another murder. A few blocks away. You should check it out, rookie."
And then the man excited the castle. And when Ciel and Sebastian left, the man was nowhere to be found. As if he disappeared into thin air.
How despairing.