I do not own in any form Black Butler or its characters. I do own copyright on the OC Rhazen Leonidas.
This story contains elements from both the manga and anime of Kuroshitsuji.
I in no way make any form of profit from this story.
This story is rated M for general content.
Special Note: As Grell considers himself a woman, I will be using female pronouns when writing from "her" point of view. Other characters will still refer to Grell as male.
Chapter II
*FLASHBACK*
William T. Spears, the supervisor of the Dispatch Management Division of the Grim Reapers, sat at his desk, going over the endless amount of paperwork he had to put up with. Though his face was stoic, seemingly incapable of displaying emotion, anyone who knew him could tell his was under a great deal of stress.
Given the understaffing of the British Retrieval Divison, he'd been forced to send that idiot Reaper Grell Sutcliffe to handle a task that normally a much more competent Reaper would perform. Still, at least he, a member of management, wasn't being sent out into the field again.
But to leave Grell and Ronald to their own devices was to court utter disaster. While Ronald certainly had a better work ethic than his partner, he could get just as easily distracted and forget to do his job. So William had been forced to take drastic measures, hence the demon standing before him at this very moment.
Swathed in darkness like all of his kind when they appeared outside of their home plane, William could only truly discern the glowing violet eyes and fanged Cheshire grin of the noxious beast.
"So then, I take it we have an accord?" the demon asked in a sultry, silk laden voice, the grin somehow growing wider.
"Yes," William replied, adjusting the glasses he wore without which all Reapers were horribly nearsighted to the point of almost being blind. "You shall watch over the Reapers Grell Sutcliffe and Ronald Knox until they accomplish their mission. Afterward I will pay the covenant fee due, though you have yet to inform me of what that may be. You are to use whatever means you deem necessary to keep them in line. Though I do wish you would assume a form more befitting a servant carrying out his Master's command."
The cloud of darkness moved closer, the demon sliding out a jet black hand tipped with serrated five inch claws to mark the Reaper. "Then all this is left is to mark you with the symbol of our pact. Remember, the more visible the place you are marked, the more control and power you shall have."
Hesitating a moment, William removed the black glove he wore over his right hand. He extended it towards the demon. "Then we shall shake hands and you can place your mark there." Had he been the sort to display emotions, he might have show a little fear at the ever growing smile on the demon's hidden face. Or at the pain that shot through his hand when the demon shook it with its left hand. When the hand was pulled back, there was an inverted pentagram seal tattooed onto the back of William's hand.
Watching with its own sense of smug satisfaction as William slipped his glove back on, the demon spoke once more. "Our pact is now complete. When this Grell and Ronald return to you after their mission, I shall collect my payment. In the mean time, I'll leave you with this..." The darkness surged across William's desk, mashing the demon's lips to his own for a few seconds before it vanished completely.
William blinked a few times in confusion, a remarkable display of emotion for him. Pulling out a hankerchief, he dabbed at his lips. "Disgusting beast," was all he said before returning to his paperwork.
*END FLASHBACK*
Everyone in the study looked out the window to the fastly growing snow storm with increasing frustration. "Oh dear, it certainly appears as though we'll be staying within the confines of the manor for a considerable duration," Sebastian observed. He sighed softly and turned for the doorway. "Well, no use in fretting over it. We'll simply have to make the best of it. Snake, go and make sure all the fireplaces are well stocked with wood. I suppose I shall go and round up everyone. Young Master, perhaps you'd best go and wait for us in the dining hall, I shall bring some tea along once I've accomplished that." Spinning on his heel, the lanky butler swept out of the room.
"Perhaps we should adjourn to the dining room as well," Rhazen commented to Grell. "Performing our mission will be much easier when we know who not to consider as our query."
Ciel, who'd just been about to leave the room himself, paused as he heard this. "Mission? What the devil are you talking about?" he demanded.
Grell looked at Rhazen. If she messed up, he'd tell William, and that certainly would not bode well for her. But a shrug from the demon butler still in the room gave her the all-clear. "Well, we were told to come here to hunt down some ghosts that are supposed to haunt this place, but we haven't found anything yet," she said with a flamboyant shrug.
"Ghosts? There's never been any such nonsense around here before," Ciel protested.
"Be that as it may, that is why this moron has been sent. There may not have been anything in the past, but something has warranted Reapers being dispatched now," Rhazen countered.
The young Earl sighed. "Very well. Simply see that it does not interfere with my holiday."
"We shall do our best, Young Master," Rhazen said, grinning behind his mask as he bowed.
With one last glare at the two beings in his study, Ciel made his way to the dining hall, feeling that this was going to be more trouble than it was worth very quickly.
As he entered the dining hall, he saw that Sebastian had indeed gathered everyone together, including a blond fellow with glasses he didn't recognize. But those eyes were unmistakable. "You're with Grell then I take it?" he asked.
"Indeed I am. Ronald Knox at your service my lord," the young man said with a grin. As Ciel took a seat at the table, Ronald's gaze fell to Mey-Rin, his grin widening. He sauntered over to the clumsy maid and leaned in close. "Hello there love, what's a pretty thing like you doing with this riff raff?" he asked, jerking his thumb at Bouldroy and Finnian.
"Oi, what's the supposed to mean?!" Bouldroy exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest. Finnian simply looked a little confused. The youngest of Ciel's servants, having been kept as an experiment for most of his life was still quite naive when it came to things like insults.
As Mey-Rin blushed and tried to stammer out an answer, Ciel spoke up. "Enough of that. You three return to your duties," he ordered.
Before the order could be carried out, Grell entered the room, followed shortly after by Snake, Rhazen, and Sebastian, the latter two both carrying tea trays. Grell plopped into a chair near Ciel, Ronald joining him.
As Sebastian began serving his Master tea, Rhazen did the same for the two idiots he was being forced to watch over. "Today's tea is Lady Grey," came the muffled words from behind Rhazen's mask.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Finnian asked, looking up at the towering butler who dwarfed even Mister Sebastian.
Rhazen's eyes glimmered with delight as he looked over at the young servant. Straightening to his full height, he strode over to the trio of Phantomhive servants and bowed in greeting. "My name is Rhazen Leonidas, and I have been tasked with minding those two over there for a time," he said, gesturing towards Grell and Ronald.
"You look an awful lot like Mister Sebastian you do," Mey-Rin said, adjusting her glasses.
"That would stem from me being his older brother I'd wager," Rhazen said, eyes bright with amusement.
All three jaws dropped as they looked back and forth between the two butlers. "What devil are you three staring at?" Ciel asked. "One would think you've never seen brothers before."
They all rubbed the backs of their heads in embarrassment before Finny asked, "Why are you wearing that mask?"
"I have a slight... deformity that many find unnerving, so I keep my face hidden behind this mask to make those around me more comfortable."
"Surely it cannot be as bad as all that," Grell said from her seat. "Come on, let us have a look."
Rhazen sighed as the servants seconded the motion. "Very well, but do remember that I gave you fair warning." He wasn't the least bit concerned of what they thought of course, but one did have to put on the act. Reaching back, he undid the ties of his mask and slid it off to reveal a beautifully sculpted lower face. His lips were thin and firm, his chin bearing a hint of a cleft.
"I don't get it, thought you said you were deformed," Ronald said.
"Oh but I am," Rhazen replied, opening his mouth to expose twin rows of gleaming white fangs that put Grell's to shame.
The Phantomhive servants recoiled a bit at the sight as Rhazen redonned his mask. Pulling out a ivory coated pocket watch from the inner breast pocket of his suit, the demon butler checked the time. "Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way, I shall go and prepare dinner, Mr. Grell," he said before spinning on his heels and leaving.
"I believe I shall do the same, Young Master," Sebastian added, bowing before making his own departure.
Then something Rhazen had said clicked in Finny's brain. "Grell? You mean Madam Red's butler? I don't see him anywhere." He looked around confused.
"He was talking about me, little boy," Grell chimed from her seat at the table. Knowing William would tear her a new one, in a way even she wouldn't like, if she revealed what she was to the servants, she'd already worked out a decent cover story. "After Madam Red's departure from this world, I made a few cosmetic changes to myself in honor of her. I do so love the color red after all."
None of them noticed the ever so slight clenching of Ciel's fingers on his teacup as the memory of the night Grell murdered his aunt flashed through his head.
The group sat in awkward silence until the two butlers returned with dinner. Sebastian had prepared a simple meal of roast pheasant and some greens. Not his normal level of extravagance in a meal, true, but with the weather one had to make the food last.
Rhazen had prepared a sumptuous smelling beef curry that had all mouths in the room, even Ciel's, watering. And while Sebastian's meal was solely for his Master, Rhazen had prepared enough for everyone. "Do enjoy some everyone," Rhazen said jovially.
"How'd you manage to make so much?" Bouldroy asked. The supplies were a bit limited at the moment after all.
"A butler is always prepared," Rhazen pointed out with a smirking glance at his younger sibling, who merely pretended to not notice he'd been outdone.
"Sebastian, fetch me a plate of the curry," Ciel said, pushing his pheasant aside.
Though a frown flashed across his face, Sebastian quickly recovered into that smile he often wore when hiding how irritated he was. "As you wish, my Young Lord." Perhaps what irked him most was that normally Ciel utterly despised curry.
Dinner itself was a relatively quiet and pleasant affair, everyone save the two butlers tucking into their meals contentedly. "I do believe I shall go and tend to your horses," Rhazen told his brother. "Do be sure and clean up when everyone's done."
Out in the blizzard, Rhazen strode atop the snow, not even leaving a footprint as he made his way over to the stables. His brow was currently furrowed in thought about that one Reaper, Grell. He'd lived quite a long time indeed, had even encountered Undertaker back when he worked for the Reapers. But never in his untold ages had he encountered someone like Grell. It wasn't the way the idiot acted, it was those teeth. No Reaper had teeth like those, and it gave rise to the thought in Rhazen's head if perhaps Grell was the spawn of a union between a Devil and a Reaper. This certainly warranted further investigation.
He kept running these thoughts over and over in his head as he fed and watered the horses, stroking their muzzles to keep them calm. Unlike his brother, who often found the beings of this world merely tedious, Rhazen had lived long enough to learn to appreciate just about everything this world had to offer whenever he was summoned to it.
Hearing a noise outside, he went to investigate, freezing in his tracks as he caught sight of Pluto in his hell-hound form, rolling in the snow. The demon butler's eyes widened as he watched the massive canine playing. Slowly, he approached, drawing Pluto's attention.
The large hell-hound sniffed the air, taking in Rhazen's scent to determine if he was friend or foe. When Pluto picked up a smell similar to Sebastian's, his tail began to wag and he charged towards the approaching demon.
"What utter perfection," Rhazen said in an awed tone as he reached out and stopped Pluto with a gentle touch to his snout. "A glorious beast you are indeed my friend." He ran his gloved fingers along Pluto's jaws, scratched under his chin and behind his ears. "If only I had the time to properly spend. Alas, I must return to my duties for now. Still, I can leave with a parting gift..."
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching him from the manor, he used his powers to manifest a gigantic bone for the hell-hound to chew on. "Until later, my friend," he said, striding back towards the manor to make sure Grell hadn't caused trouble.
Back inside, he wandered the halls, looking for his charges, only to find they'd retired to a bedroom for the evening. As had everyone else it seemed. "Surely I wasn't gone that long," he mused as he checked his watch. "Though it seems I am mistaken." No doubt his brother was elsewhere in the manor, preparing for tomorrow, as should he.
But a sudden creak and groaning sound just ahead of him gave him pause. His demonic senses being so much stronger than a human's, he knew nothing... natural had caused them. "So it begins."
Author's Note: First, I'd like to thank everyone for all the views and reviews on my first chapter. But more importantly, Will's in for a hell of a time when it comes time to give the devil his due. And what's all this about Grell? Could he really be the child of a Demon and a Reaper? Stayed tuned and find out. As always folks, reviews are welcome and certainly appreciated.