Filthy... filthy is what I am.

And so are these rats.

The fullmoon stood high in the cloudless sky, wind slapped on the young earl's face, making some of his locks fall on his face as he leered down at the rats that were in the rectangular black cage dropped in a huge dark basin filled with boiled water. They heard them squeak, beg out for mercy and saw them struggle to break out of the cage in a desperate yet futile attempt.

Alois could only narrow his eyes at them and bit his lip. Recently, every night he would be awaken by these rodents that crept around the mansion. Ambivalence struck on him. He was relieved that the insolent rodents were forced to face demise already but at the same time, he felt mercy. After all, he was considered to be something as low as a rat before. This made him feel disgusted with himself.

He repeated the words but this time, it was no longer a whisper. "Filthy is what I am… and so are these rats." He smiled reluctantly. "You said it yourself, Sebastian," he said reticently. "That I am filthy… that I would defile your precious Ciel." Sebastian kept his face void of emotion.

Disgusted by the awful sight in front of him, Alois finally turned around to face his new demon butler. With his arms folded against his chest, he studied Sebastian's face. "Who would have thought that what you said would become even more legit than it already was?" His shoulders started twitching as he snickered. "It must have been sad for you to witness Ciel turn into an entity like you," he remarked as he tilted his head at Sebastian, sounding compassionate. "If it weren't for me, you would have gotten what you think you deserve already."

He walked closer to Sebastian, pulled his necktie and looked into his crimson eyes. "But don't worry... I know how it feels to be played with… to be…" His eyes fell on the floor, "abandoned." Sebastian stared down at Alois, perplexed by his action. However, he still maintained his composure. "One can't simply easily forgive... one can't simply forget the past. The poignant memory of being betrayed by someone who was so precious to me… it still lingers at the back of my mind." He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Sebastian's chest.

A smirk grew on Sebastian's face. "What do you desire?" he whispered gently to Alois.

Alois' grip on Sebestian's necktie tightened. "There's only one thing I want and that is..." he paused, opened his eyes and through gritted teeth he continued, "revenge."

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Three days earlier, feet splashed hard on the muddy puddles, dark droplets soared into the sky as Sebastian came running through the woods in accurate speed. Alois awoke in the woods and he found himself resting under a tree. He reached for the wound on his stomached that was still bleeding, staining his forest green vest. He heard the growling wolf and smiled at it, smiled at his imminent demise, accepting the fact that he will soon die and be eaten by this beast. He closed his eyes and anticipated the wolf to attack him. The growl became louder but it suddenly halted. He heard a loud thud on the forest ground. His eyes gradually opened and saw a shadow of someone familiar on the ground. He lifted his eyes and they came in contact with Sebastian's. "Se… bastian?" he mewled, unable to speak properly because of the pain stinging in him

"You looked like a lamb with those eyes that showed acquiescent to death," Sebastian remarked. "You just came back to life and you want to be dead again?"

"What… what are you talking about?" He averted his eyes away from Sebastian. He honestly didn't know why he was alive again or why he was back to that place.

"I believe Hannah Anafeloz sacrificed herself."

Alois' eyes widened. A gasp escaped his mouth. He quickly returned his glance to Sebastian. "You mean…"

Sebastian simply nodded and knelt in front of Alois. "Demons don't easily die, Alois. But Miss Hannah sacrificed herself to let you live again… to let you start all over again."

"Why are you telling me this?" Alois snapped as his eyes twitched because of the pain. He clutched his wound. "More importantly, why are you here? Don't you have to take care of Ciel? Your demon master? Oh, that's right. He's a demon already. What's the point in serving him, Sebastian? You can no longer eat his soul." He smiled and chuckled despite the swirling pain in him. Suddenly, he spat out blood. He pressed down his other hand on the ground to prevent him from collapsing. "Are you just going to stay there and watch me suffer too like Claude?"

Sebastian gawked at the mention of Claude's name. He thought, "what did this child feel when he was only watched by his supposed to be loyal butler when he was dying?" He was stunned by the thought. Sebastian was a demon butler with great fidelity and it somehow saddened him to remember what Claude did to his master. "This child," he thought. "He fell in love with a mere butler." He smiled at Alois. "Perhaps he's not that filthy after all."

Alois fainted on Sebastian's lap.

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"And whom shall I kill to give you that?"

"Who else do you think it is, Sebastian? It is no other than the creature that I thought had an unwavering loyalty." He clutched Sebastian's chest. Sebastian could feel he was shivering. "The one who should burn in hell... Claude Faustus."

Sebastian nodded. "Understood."

"Good." He finally let go of Sebastian and turned away. "By the way, from now on, you must address me as your highness."

Sebastian nodded and smiled. "Yes, your highness."

"How nostalgic," Alois thought and smiled sadly as his eyes became droopy. "Sebastian, I'm getting sleepy already."

Sebastian nodded and smiled. "Just sleep in my arms," he lifted the boy up. "Tomorrow you`ll wake up in a warm bed,"

Alois' heart started doing pirouettes in his chest as he felt Sebastian's strong arms around his thin frame. He glanced away from him, breathed calmly and gradually fell asleep until they got back into the manor.

Sebastian smiled and placed him in his small bed, wondering what to do next.

Alois sensed his butler leave. For a while, he turned to his side, clutched his pillow and savored the softness and warmth of his bed. He wasn't completely asleep yet, especially not after he heard the thunder outside that woke him up. He figured Sebastian might be sleeping already since there was nothing else to do for the night. "Speaking of Sebastian," he thought. "It's quite unbelievable that he made a contract with me." He closed his eyes and smiled. "I guess we're almost even now... Ciel." He finally fell into deep slumber.

Sebastian watched him as he slept, not requiring as much sleep as another human.

Mylene, Bart and Finny were waiting in the corridors outside Alois' room. Sebastian came out and gave them an admonishing look. "We're sorry but it's been bothering us, Sebastian," Bart whispered. The other two nodded in agreement. "Are you sure with this?" Mylene said, referring to Sebastian making Alois' his new master.

Sebastian nodded uninterested. "Yes, yes, of course I am," he waved them off. "If you don`t want him as your master; leave. I can do your jobs,"

The three servants flinched and shrieked frantically as they somehow clang to Sebastian. "We can't! We can't leave you Sebastian!" Mylene's voice was no longer a whisper, making Sebastian twitch. He shushed them and they immediately covered their mouths as they remembered Alois was already asleep.

"We don't know where else we'll go," Bart said.

"Yeah, Sebastian, we'd rather stay here even though it's not Master Ciel who we'll be serving already," said Finny as he looked up at Sebastian with innocent eyes.

Everyone glanced at Finny.

"Finny, I thought I told you to not mention that name anymore," Bart whispered to him, afraid of offending Sebastian. The butler just smiled and said it's alright. He finally walked away with the candelabrum in his hands, leaving the threesome alone in the dark.

"I guess..." Mylene started, "… we'll have just have to bear with this."

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Sebastian walked to the kitchen, making tea for his new master, still with the fake smile upon his face. How dared that fool mention Ciel`s name?

The sun had finally risen. Its brightness almost lit up Alois' room through the large lavender curtains. Slowly, Alois woke up, sat on his bed, gently rubbed his eyes as he yawned.

Sebastian walked over to him with newly made tea. "Here you go, your highness,"

Alois pushed away his violet comforter and sat at the edge of his bed. He smiled up at Sebastian and took the cup and started drinking the tea, its steam tickling his nose.

Sebastian smiled fondly. "Anything else you wish?" he said, finding the boy`s clothes

"Just a decent breakfast for now," he said as Sebastian began to dress him up. "And maybe we could stroll around downtown later."

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"I wonder why Claude couldn't smile like you," Alois said as he looked down at Sebastian who was now buttoning up his forest green vest. He was finally dressed up and ready to go but he flopped down on his bed and gazed at the ceiling for a while. He narrowed his eyes. "Claude... I still can't believe he murdered me... betrayed me. But you, Sebastian..." He sat straight on his bed again and looked up at his butler. "You wouldn't do such a thing, would you?"

"Of course not," Sebastian said. "Neither do I lie. your mark is in your eye now, you know that? it means our contract is stronger."

Alois' head dipped a bit. He placed a hand on his right eye as he smiled at Sebastian's words. "Really now…? I guess I'll have to get an eye patch." He chuckled. "All the more reason for us to go to downtown!" He stood up, stretched his arms then started walking towards the door. "Sebastian, prepare the carriage while I eat breakfast."

Sebastian smiled and nodded. "Understood," he said. "Your breakfast is downstairs, your highness."

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A/N: Hi there! Sita here. This story is actually the remake of the one I published last August 9, 2012. The truth is, this is actually a roleplay but I changed a lot of things since it's a fanfiction now. After the italicized words or the flashback, the writers there already both me and Meow (or Randonminoes from Tumblr). If you want to see the old version of this, just ask me but I suggest that you shouldn't bother because the old one was kind of rushed! I don't normally ship Sebastian and Alois but hey, it's not bad to try something new, right? Thanks for reading. A review will be very much appreciated.