Author's note: Here is the first chapter! It is quite short, but I noticed that if I maintain shorter chapters, I can keep focus more and keep more muse. My BL novel has VERY long chapters, and it is quite easy to set it aside. I think for this fanfic, please expect some shorter chapters instead of chapters that are around 5,000-20,000 words long.
Keep in mind, that this fic is rated M for a reason. It will not be all sunshine and rainbows, and it will have suggestive, adult themes in it. This is intended to be quite dark. Sebastian is a demon, and therefore will behave and think like one.
Whether or not there will be "love" between him and Ciel, I am unsure. But there will be smut at some point. Whether it is a lemon or lime, I dunno. ^^ Just have to wait an see, eh? ^.~ However, this fic will contain death, rape, murder, attempted murder, hints at rape/sexual assault, psychotic mind games, demon Sebastian, and probably a gruesome end for someone.
There will be hints and references to the manga in this fic.
Disclaimer: Kuroshitsuji and all related characters are the property of Yana Toboso and all licensing companies and their parties involved. I do not own this, nor do I make money from it. This fanfiction has been written for the pleasure of writing and capturing my muse.
Chapter I:
His Butler, Too Hot
The study was hot, too hot in this early summer heat, and Ciel found himself with his upper body sprawled out halfway onto his desk just to feel the cool surface of the wood against his pale, but red-tinged, skin. He had to repress a groan as the breeze from the open window cast a momentary relief into the room.
For the past three days, a scorching heat had spread itself across England, and there was no escape from the terror of the sun's light. It was almost as though the Sun was attempting to boil and burn everything that lived. Even the ladies were tempted to opt out of their restricting undergarments and inappropriately wear their outer layers in hopes that they would not die in their own gowns. At least, that was what Ciel had heard come from his Aunt Francis yesterday during afternoon tea.
This entire week held promise of torture. And hopefully, as everyone hoped, this torture would not last too long. He could not remember when the last time this sort of heat had pervaded the British Isles, and certainly not for this long of a time period. Three days already, and the main part of summer was not even here yet.
There was a slight creak as the main door to his study opened, and the young earl heard Sebastian's carefully paced footsteps as they tapped lightly across his floor. They came to a stop at the foot of the desk, just in front of him, and there was an accompanying clink, clink of china next to his red, sweaty face. The first thought that went through his head was that that tea had better be cold.
"Young Master," Sebastian's voice, though calm and collected, was slightly higher pitched than normal, indicating that the demon was (politely) demanding his attention, "Your skin has turned the color of the roses in the garden. I should feel worried that perhaps this heat has not been doing well for your health these days," a slight pause as Ciel heard the pouring of liquid into china and the clink as the tea cup was set onto the small plate, "So I was thinking, Young Master, that maybe it would be best for you to enjoy a cool bath and some cold tea. At least enough to rid of some of your redness."
There certainly was not a question in that tone, and Ciel had the distinct impression that his butler was not going to take 'no' for an answer. Not that the earl felt that a cold bath was a bad idea, it sounded incredibly wonderful. He was merely having a bout of rebelliousness with Sebastian's self-imposed authority. Or, was it authority at all, and it was just the hot weather messing with him? It was quite possible that the demon was just doing his duty as a butler.
Then again, that demon did have to make sure that nothing happened to his meal. Just doing a job indeed.
"Do as you will, just make sure that the bloody water is not freezing. I would like to feel my limbs when I enter the bath." No room for argument was left, and the earl finally lifted his head off his desk. Sweat dripped down his forehead and into his face, wet hair matted sloppily onto his sticky skin. There was no eye patch, since earlier the boy had thrown it off somewhere in a fit of heated frustration. Being half blinded had not helped calm him down with the rising temperature of the morning.
Gods. It was only morning. It was only morning and he was already looking as though he had stepped out of a murky lake. It was utterly disgusting, and certainly not becoming.
"'Bloody' water, my lord? I would certainly hope that the water not be 'bloody'."
Ciel eyed Sebastian warily, who was looking back at him with a curious expression on his lovely face. His lovely. sweat-less. face. In fact, everything about the demon screamed "perfect" or "comfortable" or "not hot".
An eyebrow twitched, a vein rising on his temple, and the earl made move to stand, swaying slightly. It was possible he had become dehydrated. He leaned over his desk, both hands slamming down onto the surface.
He addressed the perfectly kept demon with anger and irritation, "How is it that you have absolutely nothing out of place! Your hair is nicely kept! Your skin is fresh and clean! You have no sweat dripping off you nor do you have any appearance of slight discomfort! Do you not feel this bloody heat?"
There was no immediate response from the demon as the young earl panted from his maintained position, but instead, he moved slightly to the side, head tilting to the left and eyes blinking. That body, Ciel briefly noted with disdain that he was also still wearing long sleeves and a jacket, seemed to sway elegantly and masterfully towards the side of his desk, coming at last to stand just off to his left.
"My lord, I mean no disrespect, but what sort of butler would I be should I not be able to follow proper uniform protocol?" Sebastian placed a hand in front of his chest, where his heart should be, and his expression was twisted into one of absolute confusion and possibly a little bit of feigned hurt, "And you should either sit down and drink your nicely prepared tea before the heat takes you down or you should allow me to escort you safely to the washroom for a cold bath." He raised from his bowed position, motioning to the tea still sitting on the desk, "Today's prepared tea is mugicha, a nice barley tea from Japan. It is best served cold in the summer, and hot in the winter. Quite refreshing, I hear."
The gall of that demon.
"Sebastian."
"Yes, my lord?"
"My bath."
"Of course, my lord." Sebastian bowed, hair falling forward over his forehead, and then turned swiftly, and easily, on his heels towards the door, removing himself from the study.
Perhaps the heat had finally gotten to him, forcing him to be even more of a dreadful company than he already was. Ciel shook his head, flinging a little bit of sweat, and made to move towards the door as well. It would be best to just be ready to hop into cool water rather than wait for it to be prepared and then get stripped. It would take quite a bit of time to do that, he wanted to feel something cool now.
Another breeze swept mercifully into the hot room.
()()()()()()()()
Sebastian listened with little interest to the noises around the household, locating each of the servants and paying close attention to the young master. With that huff and the quick shuffling that followed him out the study door, it seemed that the boy had decided that he would rather wash immediately than wait, and Sebastian found it a tad bit amusing.
The whole situation was amusing. The heat had been quite intense these past few days, and it had everyone irritable and upset. Even Meyrin had snapped at him yesterday when he caught her after she tripped over her feet. Sebastian had paid it no real mind, but he had to keep himself in check so as to not smirk at any of the suffering humans. Their bodies were so weak and incapable, and they were so easily influenced by outside forces.
Humans were so strange. They were incapable of withstanding natural occurrences. From heat to cold to natural disasters. Demons had never needed to worry about any of those things, even when they explored this realm in search of prey or they were here for some form of entertainment. Overall, demons were simply able. They were able to survive through most things. That, and being immortal helped too.
With a chuckle, Sebastian turned and headed into the wash room, setting up the pail and bath and beginning to prepare for the young master.
Doing these jobs were not all that mundane nor were they useless to him. They allowed him time to think, to prepare, and to plan his next move. These little moments to himself, where he could be a demon, and where he would not have to worry about what his master may order him to do while he was internally 'busy'. These were moments where the demon allowed his thoughts to get away from himself, and he could fantasize about whatever he wanted. Including devouring his next meal. Maybe even tasting the meal before actually taking it. So many ways he could make his young master suffer, and the boy would not even remember it when he once again rejoined the world of the living. He would eternally be victim to whatever his demon wanted and however the demon wanted him...and Sebastian was quite content to decide how to next make the boy suffer.
It was work. It was survival.
Besides, it was not as though Ciel Phantomhive did not enjoy the pain. He had even said it himself, told the demon to make it painful so as to etch the pain of his life into his soul. And who was the demon to deny a delicious and tempting offer like that? It was more than Sebastian could have ever dreamed of, and not at all unpleasantly unexpected from his Ciel Phantomhive.
Three years since he last ate. Three years since the demon had devoured the earl's soul and made his decision to rebuild it to its original glory, to take it as often as he felt he wanted it. To taste it greedily.
Frankly, the three years had passed quite quickly, in the blink of an eye even, and he began to find little things and little jobs that he enjoyed doing to pass the time. Such as the collection of stray cats he had been taking care of in his quarters against his lovely, young master's orders. Maybe it really was not a good idea to potentially compromise his prey's health, but those lovely felines were so damn adorable. They were cunning, intelligent, and certainly nothing like the pets that they had in his Homeland. He wanted to take several back.
Then there was taking care of his little kitten currently standing outside the door. The kitten who certainly did not want to be hot any longer.
That suffering that the boy was enduring was quite beautiful.
"Sebastian, has it been prepared?"
Ah, the young master's voice was music to his ears. It was the prelude to a meal that he couldn't wait to taste again. It reminded the demon that there was something to live for, something to work for, and something to be had when the time was right. And with Ciel Phantomhive, it would never be the same song and dance all over again.
So often had he come across a human who had only wanted something mundane or petty. Many of them wanted money, fame, glory, petty revenge, sex, or a love they could not have. But this boy, this just of a human boy, wanted revenge for something vile. This was not revenge for fraud or thievery. It was not revenge for the death or cheating of a spouse. But the revenge of an innocence stolen from a child.
There was nothing more beautiful than lost innocence. Nothing more delicious than the sin of what had been committed that special, fated day.
When Sebastian had set his crimson eyes on that boy, he knew immediately what had been done, and what was being offered. Like any demon, he simply reached out and took the opportunity presented to him. He stole the forbidden fruit from that cage, and slaughtered the competition for it. The blood he bathed in that night was the blood of humans who knew not what true sin was. They had summoned him under the pretense he would serve them, help them or protect them. They had no idea that he had waited thousands of years for this opportunity to present itself.
How could they have known? They were only humans after all.
"My Lord, the bath has been prepared." Sebastian stood up, rolled up his sleeves just above his elbows (he must have removed his jacket earlier, though having been lost in his thoughts Sebastian embarrassingly could not remember when he did, but he located it nearby on a stool in the corner), and waited for his young master to approach.
Such a beautiful meal to be had in only a little more time.
()()()()()()()()
Here it was, day four. Miserable day four. A miserable day that delivered a message with a Royal Crest. Make that an even more miserable day.
It had arrived a little earlier when Sebastian had left the letter to him before leaving to prepare lunch, and Ciel now stared with dread at the message.
There had been some disappearances happening in London these past several weeks, and the Queen wanted him to investigate an area on the outskirts near an abandoned farming property. Apparently the property had once been owned by immigrants from Ireland, and they had been quite protective of the property for four generations before the last one disappeared. There were no traces of the family. Except for their belongings and a freshly made meal, the house guest had woken to an empty property.
Now, it seemed that the Queen suspected that the disappearances may be related, since the first three of the new cases, four weeks ago, happened on the immediate neighboring properties.
"My Lord."
Ciel nearly jumped out of his skin, Sebastian's voice appearing just next to his right ear. The demon was leaned in, reading the letter from over his shoulder.
He should have been paying more attention. Damn. The blasted heat had him unaware of everything.
"My Lord, it seems we will be leaving the mansion for quite some time. I shall begin to make preparations and pack so we may set out this evening."
Leave it to the demon to do so much work in the middle of so much heat. It was incredibly frustrating and unrealistic that the young earl wanted to smite the bastard in all his perfect glory. Not even so much as a sweat. Not even so much as a bit of discomfort. The male was either a rock or a tree, though at least trees seeped sap.
"Very well. Make haste." There really was no point in being stubborn, and Ciel really did not feel like being stubborn at the moment. It was much too hot and much too unpleasant a week to feel anything except exhaustion and frustration. With as much sweat as he had been dripping these past four days, he was sure to have lost more weight on his already small body.
The butler shuffled his feet a moment, moving to stand in front of him and his desk. He bowed.
"Young Master, I will begin to prepare for departure, and we shall leave immediately. I feel it best that we leave after the sun sets, so as to avoid any unnecessary heat during travel. Should we leave soon enough, we should be able to make it before the sun rises again."
Ciel nodded his head, beads of salty water dripping from his matted hair, "Good. I will await you outside."
"But my Lord," Sebastian cocked his head, "should you not dress into travel clothing?"
A slender brow lifted slowly as the earl stared at his butler.
Sebastian must have caught his mood, for he chuckled lightly and nodded his own head.
"Understood. We shall leave once the preparations have been made."
There would be time for changing later. Right now, Ciel Phantomhive just wanted to get the hell out of this heated hell-hole and go somewhere cold. Very cold. Maybe the Arctic. On that last note, the boy looked up from his train of useless thinking.
"Grab my walking stick while you are at it, and a change of travel clothing." He watched as his butler bowed at the waist, hand coming to rest in front of his chest.
"Yes, my lord."
()()()()()()()
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