Memories of Murder:

Summary: Sebastian Michaelis is a student attending an international school in Tokyo, Japan. On his first day he finds the school is haunted by the ghost of a boy who was murdered there, Ciel Phantomhive. Once Ciel knows Sebastian can see him, he forces him into solving the mystery of his death. As the investigation proceeds Sebastian starts to find secrets about the school and the Phantomhive family.

Chapter 1:

Japan was the furthest Sebastian had ever been from England. He was very well travelled when it came to European countries as they were closer to home. He had even attended international schools in the countries he had spent extended times in. The next international school he was going to attend was in Tokyo. Already he missed his home country. The streets of Tokyo were certainly more pristine and clean than the chewing gum splodged pavements of London and the people were certainly politer and the sun was currently shining, but he would not mind seeing grey clouds fill the sky and feel a light drizzle of rain.

He had only spent a month in London in between returning from returning from Paris and travelling to Japan. It wasn't that he disliked spending time in other countries, it was just that there was nothing like a crumpet and some decent tea. Every country he been in had something called tea that certainly wasn't up to his standard.

He pulled on a plain t shirt and a pair of dark jeans. As he was 17, he was going to attend sixth form so he didn't need to wear a uniform. He had worn a variety of school uniforms that varied from simply being a jumper in the school colour and black trousers to smart blazers and school regulation trousers. He wouldn't have minded trying out a Japanese gakuran though. Everyone always told him that black was his colour. It complimented his distinctive red eyes and dark hair.

Breakfast involved sitting at the table with his parents. His mother and father had founded a major business and were constantly working on expanding into other countries. They believed a personal touch was necessary so he had been dragged around the world accordingly.

"How is the tea?" his mother asked with amusement.

Clearly she had noticed he had avoided touching the small teacup in front of him. Sebastian put down his slice of toast and reluctantly swallowed a sip.

"It's not bad," he answered truthfully.

He could get used to it once he became accustomed to the lack of a strong taste. He had received lots of warnings about Japanese customs and politeness so he knew it was best to get used to finishing cups of green tea.

His father interrupted from behind the Financial Times.

"As you know, you can find an import shop if the lack of Twinings really bothers you."

Finding import shops had always been high on his list of his priorities in every country. There were often surprises there too. He had previously found products from British brands that couldn't actually be obtained in Britain.

"Are you packed for school?" his mother questioned.

"It's sixth form," he corrected her.

She rolled her eyes. "You knew what I meant anyway."

"I am packed. Where would I be if I wasn't good at preparing for first days at new school?"

He realised that he had said school instead of sixth form and waited for his mother to point it out. However she didn't although the smile on her face indicated that she had noticed.

"We are going to be staying here until you finish your A-levels so you won't have any more first days after this," she said.

"That means you should act accordingly," his father warned. "I know what you did when you knew that you were only going to be at that school for a few months."

"It was not my fault that my class got the idea I was a demon and kept trying to contract me," Sebastian argued.

"The idea had to have come from somewhere."

"I told you before, that annoying Faustus boy spread the rumour not me," he protested.

His mother intervened. "Are you sure you know the way there? Do you need me to walk you there?"

He shook his head. "I'm in sixth form. It doesn't look good if I walk in with my mother. It will ruin my reputation before I even open my mouth."

He reached the school with no major mishaps. The sheer amount of traffic crossings to wait at had been an interesting experience. Even a one way street had one. He wasn't sure yet if it was legal to cross the road without them, but he had noticed that no one else had done it. The legality of crossing varied in every country. He had trouble fighting off yawns as he walked because he had jet lag from the journey from England to Japan.

The entrance to sixth form was also found without any trouble. His timetable and map had already been sent to him so he had already known roughly where to go. The inside was brightly coloured and modern which matched with the exterior of the building. Although the Victorian style streetlights outside were quite a contrast. It was not the worst looking school he had attended. In his experience it was schools built during the 1980s and 1990s that had the worst décor.

A short blond boy walked past him carrying a backpack that looked weighed down with book and turned round. His face looked young and his fringe was pulled back by red hair grips.

"I haven't seen you are here. Are you the new student?" he asked eagerly.

From the boy's accent he could tell that he was from England, but he couldn't tell exactly where from. Prior experience told him that the boy had lived in Japan for at least a couple of years as his accent had become less distinct.

"I am," he replied.

"I thought so. I'm Finny by the way. Do you need to go and see the head of sixth form?"

"I am supposed to," Sebastian confirmed.

"I'll take you to his office," Finny offered helpfully and talked a mile a minute on the way there about all his club and what subjects he did. Sebastian just nodded without really taking in what he was saying.

The talk from the head of sixth was mainly about work ethics and passing exams being equally as important as making friends. Then he proceeded to promote all the after school clubs available to students. All he picked up on was that there were lots of clubs to choose from. He emerged from the office to find Finny still waiting for him.

"What's your first lesson?" he enquired. "I'll take you there."

"History. I have a map so I don't need any help," he said.

"It's okay. I have a free period right now. I can give you a tour of the whole building if you like. Not all lessons take place in the sixth form block,"

Finny was clearly not going to take no for an answer and a tour would be beneficial, Sebastian decided. He could work it out himself using the map, but that would take longer.

"If you like. Not now though. Is lunchtime fine?"

They agreed to meet in the canteen and split off. Sebastian pulled out his map once Finny had gone and looked for his History room.

History was a relatively easy lesson to sit through. He had two months of lesson material to catch up on; however he knew it wouldn't be that hard. He was used to having to do extra work to get to the same point as the rest of the class.

Japanese was a much harder lesson. Languages were usually ones of his many strong suits, but he had never learnt a language like Japanese before. European languages were simpler to learn with a good knowledge of Latin. Latin was no use in learning Japanese. He wasn't looking forward to learning about Kanji at all.

The tour from occurred when he and Finny had finished lunch in the sixth form canteen. The tour started with the common room and the study room and the other sixth form facilities.

Then Finny took him into the main school. He could tell the distinction between the two parts of the school. The paint on the walls became brighter and the amount of posters and displays on the walls increased. The students wore all black blazers with the school logo on the right side and a striped tie.

"The younger students are at another site down the road," Finny explained as the corridors became brighter in colour and more populated. "That's why you won't see anyone that looks younger than 12."

As Finny said that Sebastian spotted an extremely vertically challenged boy with blue grey hair who looked younger than twelve, a few metres down the corridor. The boy was in earshot of him and already looked annoyed so he resisted the urge to point it out. He did not want to irk an angsty prepubescent teenage boy right now even if he was cute.

"How was your Japanese class?" It's gets easier once you get the hang of particles."

That was encouraging for Sebastian. He wasn't going to be beaten by a language yet.

"What's the hardest part about learning Japanese?" he asked.

"Writing it," the blond answered without hesitation. "I've mastered Hiragana and Katakana. Kanji is difficult. It's good that I haven't been anywhere that isn't a city- I wouldn't be able to read the signs."

Finny pointed out the science laboratory corridor.

"The science is good here. The practicals aren't bogged down by health and safety like they are in the UK. Or they weren't until Bardroy ruined it. We had no idea the screaming jelly babies practical could go so wrong."

Sebastian had a feeling he didn't want to know what had happened. He had witnessed some interesting practicals at other schools, some with a complete lack of regard for safety. His own country was the strictest though.

The school canteen was the most crowded place Sebastian had seen in the school so far. It was tidy for a school canteen though. He observed the short boy he had seen earlier sitting at a table close to the window at the far end. The other students sitting at the table weren't talking to him or even acknowledging his presence.

"Don't you think that boy over there looks too young to be here?" he said to Finny.

The blond squinted. "Where? Someone might have sneaked in to see their sibling."

Sebastian pointed. "The boy over there. The one with the blue hair."

Finny gave him a puzzled look. "There's no one over there that looks like that."

Sebastian frowned and looked back in the boy's direction. He wasn't seeing things. Then the mysterious boy looked up and they locked eyes. Sebastian took a closer look at him. The boy looked shocked that someone was actually looking at him. His school uniform was also slightly different from everyone else's, the school logo was smaller and on the opposite side of his blazer.

It all added up to meaning one thing that Sebastian did not want to consider.

Could he be a ghost?

Sebastian shook his head. He did not believe in things like that. Perhaps the stress of constantly moving countries and his current jet lag was getting to him. He had started to see short boys with sour expressions. Or rather shocked expressions as the boy now looked very surprised.

He was jerked out of his own thoughts by Finny.

"That reminds me, I am part of an afterschool club. Would you be interested in joining?"

Sebastian tore his gaze off the boy and back to Finny. When he got back home he was going to get out his small stash of English tea that he had manged to pack and treat himself. Perhaps it would cure his temporary ability to see ghosts.

"What club is it?"

After school clubs did seem to be important at this school.

"We are interested in solving mysteries. Currently we are working on the Seven Mysteries of this school."

Strangely enough Sebastian could think of a mystery that Finny couldn't see.

"I see. I will consider it. When do you meet?"

"Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays after final period in one of the English classrooms."

That was compatible with his timetable. If he saw that boy again he would have a genuine reason to join the club. Currently he was sure he was imagining it.

"We're finally getting a new member!" Finny exclaimed happily.

"I said I would consider it," Sebastian emphasised.

He risked a glance in front of him again. The ghostlike boy was now observing him intently. A shiver went down Sebastian's spine. He was going mad.

Finny checked his watch and led him back to common room before the warning bell sounded. He split from him there and went to his next lesson which was Maths. Statistics were reassuringly easy and allowed the mysterious boy to slip out his mind.

On his way out the building everything came to a stop when something behind him spoke.

"You can see me, can't you?"

With a deep breath he turned his head. As he had guessed, standing behind him was the boy. He groaned inwardly and checked that there was no one around before he answered.

"Yes, I can see you."

It had passed through his mind that the boy was really there and was simply being ignored by the other students for some unknown reason. That explanation did not cover the boy's reaction or the difference in uniform.

"I thought so. I have been waiting for someone to be able to see me. No one else has until you."

It was as he feared. He was either talking to a ghost or he was imagining it.

"Prove it," Sebastian said and turned around properly.

For the first time he saw the boy close up. His skin was pale and had an almost translucent property. His eyes were an unusual shade of blue and were quite entrancing. If this was all his imagination, his imagination liked to conjure up cute boys.

The boy poked his arm and his hand went through Sebastian's arm. Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"You could still be my imagination."

The boy's brow furrowed in concentration. "What lessons did you have today? I have been here for so long; I have been to most lessons at some point."

Sebastian listed them and the boy managed to give him details about the curriculum and things he was going to be taught. That didn't quite convince Sebastian.

"If you are here tomorrow after I've recovered from the shock today, I'll believe that you are real and we'll have a proper talk."

He received a shrug in return.

"I have been waiting long enough- I can wait another day."

"What is your name?" Sebastian asked as an afterthought. The name could be a hint that it was all his imagination.

"Ciel. I don't know my surname."

Ciel. It was French for sky. It was an unusual name for someone English. He could tell the boy was English from his accent. It was strongly English which suggested he hadn't lived in Japan long enough to lose it.

"Perhaps I will see you tomorrow, Ciel," he said and walked away.

"You will see me tomorrow."

Sebastian keyed in the code to unlock the door to his family's apartment and sighed. He was home now. He could forget everything that had ever happened at school.

He took his shoes off and darted into his room to retrieve his stash of tea. Tea always made situations better.

In the kitchen he found that his parents had bought a Japanese style kettle that looked very modern. It was a shame that all the buttons were in Japanese. He squinted at the writing and managed to recognise some characters.

"There's a normal kettle in the cupboard on your left," he heard his mother's voice say.

Sebastian found the kettle and then remembered that his parents were supposed to be at work.

"Why are you here?" he asked as he filled it with water.

"I had a half day because of the jet lag," she explained. "Did something happen? You only use your English tea stash when you are stressed."

Sebastian hoped a one word explanation would suffice.

"Kanji."

For a moment she looked like she was convinced. Then she seemed to think better of it.

"No, that's not it. You don't have an immediate need to learn Kanji so it can't be the reason. Did no one talk to you?"

"People talked to me. I had someone invite me to join his club."

"Is it a sports club?" she questioned doubtfully. "Your physical education grades have always been exemplar, but you've shown no extra interest in it."

Sebastian found a suitable teacup and placed a teabag in it.

"They solve mysteries apparently."

Her eyes sparked. "How exciting. Are you going to join?"

"Solving mysteries is not something I am interested in," he dismissed the subject and looked in the fridge. "Which one is the milk?"

"Third on the left," she told him. "You should join. You need a hobby to put on your CV that isn't related to cats."

An unfortunate disadvantage to moving around the world was that he couldn't keep cats. Research had told him that cats were strangely popular in Japan which meant he hadn't complained about moving.

"Mystery solving sounds like I want to be a private detective and that is not CV worthy unless you are applying for something like that."

"That is a point, but I have a feeling that your father will say something different," she smiled.

Sebastian considered the significance of her statement. At his previous schools he had been told who to make friends with by his father. There had only been one motivation behind that.

"Does a child of a client or business rival attend sixth form?"

"Exactly. Since it's Tokyo and it's a fee paying school, there is likely to be the children of influential international figures there. There's probably someone like that in the club."

The following morning Sebastian walked to sixth form with trepidation in his chest. If he saw Ciel, that meant he could see ghosts. If he didn't see him, he had just gone temporarily mad the previous day. He wasn't sure which option was preferable.

Seeing grey clouds in the sky and not having to drink green tea at breakfast hadn't cheered him up in the slightest. There was no one spectral lurking at the gate or at the entrance so he relaxed slightly.

Sebastian Michaelis did not see ghosts.

All was fine until he entered the common room. Sitting on one of the sofas with one leg crossed over the other was Ciel who smirked dangerously when he saw Sebastian.

"I hope you remember your promise."

The glint in his eye was somewhat evil. Sebastian looked around the room carefully. He was early so there weren't too many people around. There was a group of girls gossiping in the corner and a boy reading a revision guide on the other side the room. If he talked to Ciel, it would look like he was talking to himself about ghosts so he had to do it carefully. He sat down next to him.

"All right, I admit you exist. What do you want from me?"

It had better not be his soul.

"I want you to find out who murdered me."

A/N: For those that don't know, an international school is a school in a country that caters for students that do not come from that country. The schooling can be based around the International Baccalaureate or British examinations.

There is a specific reason for this fanfic being set in Japan that will become clear in later chapters.