A Soul's Tourniquet
Shadows: *hides behind Kiryuu Zero*
Zero: *slightly annoyed* What are you doing?
Shadows: Hiding, what else does it look like?
Zero: *annoyed* Why are you hiding behind me?
Shadows: Because Claire and the others don't know who you are!
Zero: *sigh* You're just as annoying as Yuuki…
Shadows: Hey! I am not! Maybe I should've gone to Kaname-sama instead.
Zero: … Are you going to introduce the story or not?
Shadows: Story…? Oh, right! Almost forgot about that. Hey everyone, It's me again! And no I'm not dead… yet. *glances around* Any who, I haven't been updating 'The Darker Side of Love' lately cuz I have some serious writers block for that story that just refuses to go away. So that story is temporarily on hiatus until my writers block goes away ((and hopefully soon)). In the meantime, I started writing this. And because a certain flamboyant Shinigami ratted me out to Will about not having a disclaimer in my last story, I have to put one in this time or get demoted TT^TT. *turns to Zero* Ne, Kiryuu-kun-!
Zero: Do it yourself… It's not my series anyway. *walks away*
Shadows: Gah! Zero you're so cruel, ya know that! Tch, Fine then! I'll do the disclaimer myself… I do NOT own Kuroshitsuji or its characters. All rights belong to Toboso ((not coffin)) Yana. All OC's do however belong to me. Please review after you read. It'll help me a great deal too.
On wards with the story^^
Prologue
"Rebecca darling please reconsider your actions!" The brunette female pleaded, hoping to change her daughter's mind.
"Felicity that is enough. If this is what Rebecca wishes, then we cannot hold her back." The slightly graying male sighed, turning to his wife who sat next to him.
"Joseph!" Felicity reprimanded.
"Mother, please… Horatio was able to join Her Majesty's Armed Forces, why can I not go out on my own for some time?" Rebecca wondered, a look of silent pleading instilled on her face.
"Because, dearest little sister, you ARE a women of noble birth. Traveling England on your own is not only dangerous for yourself, but also for our family name." A raven haired female interrupted, walking into the study and standing behind her mother.
Rebecca watched to newcomer with distain. She and her older sister never got along and had opposing views on EVERYTHING.
"Thank you, Lydia…" Felicity smiled at her oldest daughter, before returning her attention back to the ebony haired teen that stood across from them. "Rebecca, you are still young and have much to learn… But I refuse to allow you to travel, UNACCOMPANIED no less, about England! It is HIGHLY improper for a young woman of noble status!"
"Mother I will be perfectly fine! Father, please try to convince her!" Rebecca begged, looking to the older male to help her in some way.
Joseph released a stressful sigh. He knew that there would be a large conflict in the matter of his youngest daughter leaving the estate shortly after her brother did, but this… This he had not expected. Even though the male knew that his wife's statement held truth in that it was highly improper and immoral for a young woman to roam about England, he believed that by allowing Rebecca to explore on her own that she would come across a possible fiancée.
"Honestly Becky, why must you be so stubborn? You can hardly call yourself a noblewoman as is since you purposely sabotage your studies. Perhaps you should stay here instead of chasing after some worthless dream." Lydia sighed, shaking her head.
The ebony haired teen glared towards her older sister. "They are not worthless… You only believe so because you are as heartless as they get. I simply do not wish to become a stingy prude like you already are."
"Excuse you!" Lydia shrieked, eyes wide with shock.
"I am positive that you heard me, dearest older sister. Shall I repeat it for you encase you did not hear me?" Rebecca smirked, trying to keep back a few giggles that were building in the back of her throat.
"That is enough. Lydia, I did not ask for you to voice your opinions. This is a matter between myself, your mother, and your sister." Joseph scolded.
Lydia flinched at the tone of her father's voice. "Y-yes, please… forgive me."
"Felicity, will it ease your mind at night if Rebecca were to write to us of her travels?" Joseph inquired, turning his attention back to his wife.
The brunette female looked to her husband, eyes full of sadness. She did not wish to lose another child in the sense of them leaving home. Especially since Rebecca was still her 'baby', being the youngest of the three siblings. "Y-yes… I suppose." She nodded reluctantly.
The ebony haired teen's eyes lit up with excitement. "Thank you so much, Mother! I promise to write every day." She smiled happily, hugging her mother.
Felicity hugged the teen back, debating whether or not to actually let go. Rebecca pulled away with ease and went over to hug her father, thanking him the entire time.
"I promise to come back and visit soon." She added, looking at all three occupants in the room.
Lydia simply scoffed and walked out of the room without a word. Being the first born child, she was forced to become the epitome of a noblewoman, all the while watching as her sibling's shirked off their studies and play all day. Rebecca never did take her studies seriously like everyone had hoped she would, opting to play with Horatio more often than not. Because of that, the raven haired female developed a silent envy for her younger brother and sister.
Joseph patted his youngest daughter on the back before she released him from her embrace. "Best get a good night's rest, Rebecca. You will be leaving early no doubt."
"Yes… If I happen to run into Horatio, I will tell him to write to everyone as well."
With that, the ebony haired teen bowed her head in respect for her parents and dashed out of the study.
"Bloody 'ell! We've been walkin' fer days now!" The young dirty blonde male groaned, hunched over as he continued to walk.
"It's only been two days since we left the last town, Ben. We're actually makin' good time, if you ask me."
"Yer too optimistic, Becca. 'Ow come yer parents ACTUALLY let you 'eave yer estate?" Ben wondered, looking up at the disguised female next to him.
It had already been four months since Rebecca left the family estate to travel about England, and since then she had already met some people she considered good friends. One in particular being the boy she was currently traveling with to a town called Houseworth, Benjamin Sommers. The ebony haired teen had met the seventeen year old male while in Kingston, after he accidently ran into her.
"Hm— to tell you the truth, I did not think that they would actually allow me to leave." Rebecca admitted, recalling how she felt while her parents discussed the matter.
"So ya just 'eft of yer own will then?"
"Yes… Though, my decision was influenced by my older brother, and some family matters that did not sit well with me."
"Blimey… guess all nobles ain't so stuck up after all." Benjamin smirked, straightening himself out after the two stopped walking.
The ebony haired teen turned to her companion and smiled. "Do not forget my friend… I ain't like most nobles either."
Rebecca purposefully deepened her voice just enough to sound like a young male, which surprisingly had actually fooled Benjamin until a month ago. Whenever the two were away from the busy towns and smaller cities, the female tended to use vocabulary more properly suited to a child of noble birth, and used her normal voice around the male more freely than she use to originally.
Benjamin chuckled. "Ya got a point 'here… 'Ow far to 'he next town? My feet are killin' me."
"Probably another day's walk if we keep stopping every ten minutes. We'll take up lodging's in Richmond for a bit then we'll 'ead towards Houndsworth."
"'air enough… A 'ot meal don't sound too bad about now." The dirty blonde teen agreed.
"Right then, next stop'll be in Richmond." Rebecca nodded
Both teens started north on the path once again, hoping to be in Richmond's outskirts by nightfall. Clouds slowly gathered in the distance, blocking out the sun at times, silently making Rebecca AND Benjamin worry that a rain storm would start before they could reach their next destination.
'I hope nothing bad befalls us tonight…' The ebony haired teen begged internally.
Thunder cracked outside as the storm began to intensify. The streets of London were nearly bare save for a few stragglers left to seek shelter from the rain. News of the recent 'Jack the Ripper' murders in Whitechapel kept many from roaming about the city streets at night.
"The population of London alone is four point five million. And that swells further during the season. By simply relaxing the conditions, the number of suspects increases." Ciel groaned, looking over just ONE of the several suspect lists he had his butler, Sebastian, compile after seeing Undertaker about the corpses. This case was slowing turning into a nightmare for the young Earl of Phantomhive. Though luckily, in his opinion anyway, the worst was already done with and one Viscount Druitt was spending his time in a jail cell in Scotland Yard.
"Still at it, are you?" Came a familiar voice, causing both Ciel and Sebastian to look over towards the doorway.
"Madame Red." Ciel stated, not surprised with the appearance of the red clad female.
"All work and no play makes Ciel a dull boy! What say you take a break for a round of this?" Madame Red smiled, holding up a chessboard.
"The chess set eh…? That takes me back." The bluenette smirked, recalling the times when he use to always play against his aunt.
"Doesn't it just? I got it out of the storage room because Ciel was coming." She explained, still smiling happily.
"Now, break time, break time!" Madame Red chanted, shoving all of Ciel's papers onto the floor and placing the chess board where they once sat on the table. The preteen sweat-dropped at his aunt's enthusiasm. "Grelle, see to the tea!" She ordered, turning to the clumsy brunette butler.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" The male shrieked, stumbling out of the room as quickly as he possibly could.
Ciel sat back in his chair, resting his cheek against his propped up hand. 'Oh boy…'
Grelle returned shortly after the Madame and Ciel had begun their game, tea in hand. "As it is evening… I have prepared an herbal tea of Rosehips." He stated, his voice slightly unsure.
Handing a tea cup to each noble, Grelle returned to his spot next to Madame Red. Instantly, both the Madame and Earl noticed a strange taste to the tea.
Ciel looked down into his cup after one sip. "Salt…?" He mused to himself.
Madame Red, on the other hand, was not so subtle about the find. "BLEEEEECH! HOW CAN HERBAL TEA BE SALTY! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A BUTLER! FIX IT!" She shouted angrily, causing Grelle to turn into a shaking mess.
"Eeeeyes'm! Even so, I am a butler for sure!" He proclaimed, quickly making his leave of the room.
"Pardon meee!" Madame sighed, returning to her seat. "Really…!" Looking towards Sebastian, who stood silently by, writing done changes to their list of suspects, she continued. "By contrast, your butler is really rather competent, or should I say a hard worker, or…?"
"Not particularly? Certainly not to that extent." Ciel interrupted, moving a black pawn across the board to another square.
"If Sebastian is that able, you may as well even leave the investigation of the Viscount's residence and all the rest to him." Madame Red proposed, moving her white pawn across the board as well.
The bluenette looked down at the chessboard, picking up his black knight before speaking. "He is both my 'Might' and my 'Hands and Feet.' Sebastian is my 'Chessman.'" He explained, moving his knight to take his aunts pawn. "And only I, the 'Horseman' can move the 'Horse.' If I were to defeat my opponent with an 'Automaton of a Chessman,' the achievement could not be considered 'my own.'" Ciel continued, taking away the pawn from the board.
Madame Red frowned slightly. "Hrm… He's taken it…"
"I always give the orders… and without them, he has been disciplined to move not so much as a muscle. However, you might say the sole difference between Sebastian and this 'knight' is… that he is a 'knight' who can move to any square in one fell swoop. Like this." The preteen smirked, once again picking up his 'knight' and using it to knock over Madame Red's 'King'
The red haired female sat stunned. "Ah! My King is—!" Recovering her composure, the Madame picked up her toppled over King and returned it to the board. "Really…! But that's against the rules!"
"Indeed. That is, if we are playing a 'game' of 'chess.' But this world is no chess game, where one cannot win if not playing by the rules. Without fail, players will break the rules… and chessmen will betray the players. And if I'm to play games with their like on equal footing, I'd have no chance at victory if I didn't break the rules myself, right?" Ciel looked up to his aunt, sitting quietly as he explained his reasoning. "On this chessboard of Great Britain that we call our home, letting one's guard down immediately amounts to… checkmate." He continued, placing his Knight where the opposing King once stood.
Rain continued to pour down from the clouds. It's sound amplified by the cobblestone streets outside. Ciel and his Aunt spoke for a bit longer afterwards till the preteen retired for the evening, not wishing to be coddled by his Aunt when the subject of his family came up. Even after two years, the mention of his parents stirred something within him that the bluenette could only describe as pure and utter hatred.
Rebecca and Benjamin sat across from the fireplace in the inn. The teens had arrived in Richmond sooner than they had both excepted, quickly taking up stay at one of the nearby inns. The rains had passed a few hours ago, leaving the air rather frigid outside.
"You think the Yard'll ever catch 'Jack the Ripper'?" Benjamin wondered, looking over the newspaper that was left on the table.
"Who knows… I 'ope they catch 'im soon though." Rebecca sighed, keeping up her boyish façade just in case. Staring into the fire, the ebony haired teen couldn't help but wonder what poor soul would be the next one to cross paths with 'Jack the Ripper'. Just the thought of it gave the girl nightmares.
Benjamin nodded in agreement. "Scary thought that is… Never knowin' the face o' a murderer."
"Can't really trust anyone, huh…"
"Yeah… Should be gettin' ta bed. Sun'll be up early again t' morrow mornin'." Standing up from his seat, Ben quickly stretched his back and arms before helping Rebecca off the floor. Nodding to the inn keeper as they left the small lobby area, the teens turned in for the night, expecting an early start when they woke up.
Hope you all enjoyed the prologue. The real chapter'll start with the end to the 'Jack the Ripper' arc and head into the 'Demon Hound' anime arc. Oh, and on a side note, this story will be a mix of anime and manga, so a few things will change slightly in this story. The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll update^^