For anyone new to this book you don't have to read this but for old readers reading these updated chapters I am so sorry. Please forgive me! Four years. I hadn't even realised it had been that long. Time flies when you're stressed out on school. When I saw this story again after years of not doing anything with it, and after reading all your lovely comments I jsut felt so guilty. How could i have left you all for so long? My friend and I sat down and figured out a proper plot for this story. We've connected things to the actually Black Butler Manga plot and have twisted things to beautifully work for my benefit. I love my idea and I hope you do to. Just about every chapter has been rewritten to accommodate for this new idea. Some things are still the same but most has been changed. So, after four years, I am finally continuing this story and hope to be dedicated to it and publish at least a chapter per week. I hope I'm forgiven and I hope you like the new plot!
Chapter 1 – Assassin at the door
The morning had started off clear but by mid-day the clouds had rolled in, think and heavy, ready to pour out their sorrows on the world. Gravel crunches under her shoes, her deceiving dress ruffling with the wind, flashing the pants beneath in quick glimpses. Her steps are purposeful, grey eyes staring only ahead at the manor, perched proudly in the centre of its elaborate garden. White roses pass her. Bushes of green and trees that have long since lost their flowers. The path curves up to the manor doors and she steps off it to stride up the stairs.
A breeze carrying the scent of rain and winter sneaks through her long sleeves as she raises a hand against the door, slender fingers curled into a fist. She knocks, the sound echoing inside the building and she strains her ears to listen to the confusion of the servants on the other side. Confusion, and perhaps fear, unsure of who would arrive without invitation. The girl raises her hands to scoop up her hair, tying the strands back until the colour of dying wood hangs down her back. The door opens to a reveal a man, dressed in a chef's uniform with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. At the sight of the girl he quickly snatches the toxin from his lips and hides it behind his back, curving his lips into a toothy smile as she stares up at him.
"Hi," she puts on a smile, "is this the Phantomhive manor?" He hesitates, wondering why such a young girl would be wondering on her own.
"Ah… yeah, it is." Her smile grew.
"Good." Bard registers the gun seconds before it fires and he jerks his head out of the way. The gun shot explodes in his ears, dazing him a moment. Mei-rin, who had been not far behind him, grabs the chef's collar and pulls him back as another shot goes off. The girl advances and they dart away from her but before she fires again one of the marble stands, that sit decoratively around the room, crashes down on the place she'd been and her dull eyes shoot to Finny as she jumps away and he picks up another one. Energy floods her veins in panic as the incredible strength registers in her mind and she turns her aim to the new threat, but before the bullet could fire another shot passed, knocking the pistol out of her grip.
Mei-rin's glasses clatter to the floor as she pulls out her other pistol, opening fire on the girl who jumps away from the bullets, ducking behind a pillar with incredible speed. The girl pulls out another gun, waiting a moment before trying to run, but she only managed to flinch around the pillar, a bullet skimming the stone, chipping it as she ducks away.
The maid isn't normal either. She flinches in the other direction, retracting instantly as a bullet goes off. Definitely not normal. Her eyes, like an eagle. Like the scope of a gun but without the restriction of movement. The girl moves, blurring between pillars, dodging each and every bullet until she stands behind the last pillar and Mei-rin's guns click empty.
The girl moves.
The broom stick whizzes through the air, cracking against the ground as she dodges it. She discards her gun and stands on the broom as Bard tries to bring it back up, occupying his hands long enough to jab a fist at him. He abandons the broom and scrambles out of the way of the snake strike. The girl kicks the broom into her hands and she throws it across the room, hitting Finny in the stomach as he unleashes another marble stand.
Wood splinters and cracks and Bard cries out as it lands too near him, distracting them long enough for her to whip out a blade.
But by then Mei-rin had reloaded. Bullets chip the walls and the girl once again dances away from them, jumping across the stairs and up onto the upper balcony. The bullets stop not wanting to be wasted again as the girl moves out of sight, thinking. He had not told her the boy was protected. That they were good. If he had she wouldn't have underestimated them. The girl closes her eyes, listening to the sounds below, to the panting of the servants as they prepare for the next round.
Suddenly and without any extra thought, the girl runs to the railing and jumps, turning herself to face where Mei-rin is standing. The blades leave her hand faster than any of them can register and Mei-rin cries out as they slice across the flesh of her fingers. Guns clattering to the ground, the girl takes the distracted moment, kicking Bard out of the way and dashing down the hallway.
Following the scent she turns down the halls as if she'd walked them a hundred times, windows and paintings blurring pass. She stops.
"I had thought those three fools would be able to take on a child but it appears I underestimated you." Her eyes narrow, his scent billowing off him. She flicks out two blades that he caught easily, but as he caught them she blurs forward, a third in her hand and the demon jumps back as she swipes at him. Sebastian's eyes narrow at the speed and he returns her blades but she moves out of their way and came forward again, swinging and slashing too fast for his liking.
One nicks his coat, another stabs it as it flares out behind him, his body moving out of the way in a blur. He snatches her wrist but she just drops the blade into her other hand and tries again and he has no choice but to move out of the way.
That blade is no ordinary blade.
Suddenly her head whips around and Sebastian knows exactly what she's smelling as her eyes land on Ciel. Without hesitation she spins around, blade in hand and swings her arm in one precise and powerful movement. The Earl's eyes widened as the blade rockets towards him but Sebastian appears in front of him and catches it, centimetres from his head.
Ciel blinks, but then he looks up and glares at his butler. Sebastian offers a not so apologetic smile before they both look to the girl who sprints towards them eyes completely transfixed on Ciel. Sebastian moves, smirking at her focus and intercepts her course.
"You shouldn't solely focus on the target." He hums, his fingers wrapping around her neck as he slams her against the wall. She moves for a blade but this time he's ready and snatches up her two small, slender hands into his one. She growls at him.
"Who sent you?" Ciel snaps, walking up behind Sebastian. Her entire body pushes against Sebastian's grip at the sight of the boy but it did very little. "Tell me and I won't have you killed." He glares.
"That wouldn't be a threat even if you could kill me." She snaps.
"Who says I can't?" He quirks a brow and Sebastian's grip tightens slightly. She glares at him. Ciel opens his mouth to ask another question but the three servants appear in his peripheral vision. They can't talk with them around. "Bring her to the study." The little Earl demands. "Don't give her a chance to escape." Ciel walks away from them and Sebastian moves his hands down to her arms, pulling them behind her as he spins her around.
"What do you want us to do?" Mei-rin asks.
"Get back to work." He snaps and quickly they move.
The girl doesn't struggle as they walk down the hallway, but her eyes never left the back of Ciel's head. "Who are you?" He demands, pushing his study doors open.
"You don't care who I am." She points out, Sebastian roughly sitting her in the chair in front of the desk. "You just want to know why I tried to kill you." She glances at Sebastian who stands beside her, before glancing at her free to move limbs and she debates a moment before deciding the demon is being too attentive.
"Then answer me that." Ciel sits down in his chair.
"No." She says bluntly, crossing her arms. His eyes narrow and she mimics his expression. "If I told you everything I wouldn't be a very good assassin."
"So you're an assassin?" He says. She glares. "Who hired you?" She shakes her head.
"I'm not that kind of assassin."
"That's the only kind of assassin." Ciel says. "Stop wasting my time or I'll just kill you now and wait for the next one."
"There is no next one. There is only one of me." Ciel studies her, meeting her eyes. The second they meet hers shoot to the ground and she watches him out of the corner of her eye. He narrows his gaze. What is that…? Is she lying? No, it looks different. Her body trembles, she wants to look at him but she can't. It clicks. She's not allowed to. She's submitting. She's keeping herself from challenging him. But she wasn't told to. No, this is too embedded. She was trained to. Trained to not look people in the eye. Not unless she's cutting out their heart.
So she isn't lying, but if that's the case than what does it mean? He hasn't heard of any organisations with that sort of method. So maybe she isn't a part of a group… A single person? What would a single person want with him? Wrong question. Why would a single person train her to kill people? How could they? He won't get that answer with guesses.
"You're under command." He says and her eyes flick to him with a glare.
"No." She says.
"It's obvious." He shrugs. "You're being ordered by someone, a person, not an organisation." She eyes him over.
"No." She repeats, not as strongly.
"Who is it?" Ciel presses. "He has to be new, or at least well-hidden or I would have heard of him." Suddenly the fearful look in her eyes vanishes and is replaced with anger.
"You think because you're smart you can figure everything out? You think because you have a demon you're invincible? Kid, you're nothing. Just a brat with a title and a demon to chuck tantrums for you." Ciel is too caught on the word demon to register everything else.
"How do you-"
She scoffs, cutting him off. "You think you're the only one who knows? Maybe you aren't so smart after all." She smirks. "While this little chat has been fun and all, I really must be off." Sebastian grabs her as she stands and pulls her back from the window but with a sudden burst a strength she pulls herself from the demon's grip and bolts but Sebastian appears in front of the window.
Thunder cracks and a flash of lighting shoots across the sky, so bright and white that even Sebastian has to cover his eyes. Glass shatters and the girl sprints outside, feet squelching in the already wet mud. By the time Sebastian and Ciel's eye sight returns the girl has already vanished into the woodland and Ciel doesn't bother ordering Sebastian to follow her. It won't be long before she returns, that he's certain of.
Her swiftness and agility carries her through the forest at a phenomenal speed, but she's starting to ache and feel tired. The thought of that boy and his demon keeps her running, keeps her moving and she refuses to stop. Refuses to. He knows too much already. Master never told her about them. About how smart he is or that he has a demon. Master should have told her.
But it isn't Master's fault, it never is. She should have been prepared, for anything. She should have been ready. The girl ran and ran, until there was nowhere to run.
"What is she?" Ciel demands as he stares at the broken window, hands pressed against his desk as he stands.
"I don't know." Sebastian admits. "Her scent is almost indescribable. It's human but it isn't. It isn't demon or reaper or anything else I've heard of." The demon bends down and starts picking up the shards of glass that had tumbled in, dropping it into a bin Ciel has no idea where he got.
"She was able to match you." He points out, hand cupping his chin in muse as he sits down.
"In speed yes and momentarily in strength but she seems to have a limit. Just like a human she tires." Rain splatters in through the window and Sebastian looks at it disapprovingly.
"But you said she isn't human." Ciel says. Sebastian stands.
"I said I don't know." He corrects. "It's possible she was once human. That could be where the scent is coming from, but now…" He puts the bag on the tea cart. "Now she's something else." With his free hand he regards his torn coat, withholding an irritated sigh. "It would also appear she has access to some… demon harming weapons." Sebastian appears in Ciel's peripheral vision with a plank of wood but he is more caught on his words.
"Those blades could have killed you?!" He exclaims, blinking as the demon starts hammering the wood to the wall. He pauses his hammering.
"I don't know about kill but they definitely wouldn't have been pleasant."
"Well, that should narrow it down shouldn't it? Who has access to something like that?"
"There are only two weapons I am aware of that can kill demons other than other demons. The demon sword and a reaper's scythe. She is not a reaper so I can't see that as a possibility and the demon sword is hidden somewhere that not even demons can locate."
"So… we have no leads." Ciel slumps in his chair. Sebastian simply nods and starts hammering again. Not only are they looking for someone working with the supernatural but someone who has access to things even demons don't know about. Sebastian keeps hammering. And that light, what was that? It wasn't natural, almost as if it was helping her escape. Bang, bang, bang. What on earth could do that? Bang, bang, bang. "Do you have to do that now!?" Ciel yells and the demon looks to him innocently.
"Unless you want to redo all your paper work." Ciel looks at the files near the window with dread and let him continue.
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