Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji, and I never will, as sad as that it. It all belongs to Yana Toboso.
A/N:
I'm back! Only a week late! I wasn't exactly expecting to fall behind like this, especially since I've been going this well with the updates!
Oh well, I guess it couldn't be helped. But in compensation for the wait, the chapter's extra long, so I hope that counts! :D
I think this is really the chapter where you can see some crucial elements of the plot come up, one of them rather obvious (you'll see what I mean!), and others a bit more subtle. Keep in mind that most details have a meaning to them (well, maybe not all of them, but lots of them do!), so hopefully you'll start getting a little into what it's store.
And as promised, Ciel and Sebastian meet this chapter, though perhaps not in the way you expected (or maybe it is?)!
I'll take one more line (yes, I know I'm being annoying! XD) to give a big thanks to all those who reviewed/read/favorited/put the story on alert. It's a great inspiration to see so much positive feedback and input!
Right then, I'll let you see for yourself!
Chapter Four: Calm Chaos
As Ciel absent-mindedly strolled across the Scramble Crossing amidst the crowd generated by the early mornings of Shibuya's population going about their daily activities, he couldn't help but think about the previous day's encounter. Refraining from sighing irritably as he walked on, he ironically pondered upon the fact that if his day's woes could have been summed up by the slightly traumatizing 'display of affection' Alois had oh-so eagerly demonstrated at lunch hour, then perhaps Ciel would have been inclined to call the day mildly uneventful. That is, compared to the current dilemma he was in now, seeing as how yesterday's happenings hadn't stopped at that particular moment.
No, as if fainting in public to fall into some sort of oneiric world trapped deep within the recesses of his mind hadn't been enough excitement on Phantomhive's part for one day, he'd managed to actually meet people from back then as well. Needless to say, the meeting had managed to send his poor mind already in shambles into an overdrive of images and memories. Thank goodness he hadn't passed out again, or else he wouldn't have known what to think anymore.
Ciel certainly recalled what he considered to be a great deal of his escapades in company of his butler, and the redhead of a shinigami that always seemed to enjoy openly flirting with this Sebastian he had yet to fully remember in clarity. And for some reason, the mere thought of it annoyed him and ticked him off with a steadily growing vengeance the more he pondered about the memories. It was strange for Ciel to feel any kind of irritation for those sorts of things, and so naturally, the seventeen-year-old was rendered more and more confused as time went by.
According to William, the only actually sane person he'd met so far in the whole of Japan, the fact that he recalled anything at all about his previous life was a rare occurrence in itself; having him steadily remembering everything was something that just simply hadn't ever been seen before. And it was something Ciel was willing to believe. Otherwise, he was sure he'd have heard about more reincarnation stories on those talk shows his mother seemed to enjoy watching back in England. William had briefly and curtly explained to Ciel that the both of them were in Shibuya to monitor an exceptional situation, and although he'd refused to say anything more, Ciel knew that 'exceptional situation' just had to be himself. After all, if they were both supposedly anchored in English territory, why else would they have come all the way to Japan? Ciel couldn't possibly fathom any other explanation.
Perhaps if William hadn't been there practically breathing down his neck, the inborn pain-in-the-neck Grell could have been of some assistance (albeit indirectly), as he seemed rather prone to spontaneous outbursts of information (which were effectively put to a stop for what Ciel guessed was his own well-being in presence of William). Apparently, from the little he'd managed to garnish from the redhead before he'd been viciously clobbered over the head by some unidentified object Ciel thought disturbingly resembled a clip, Grell was still very much infatuated with his former butler, to the point where he needlessly displayed fits of childish behavior. Such as pouting and portraying decidedly feminine personality quirks. Whether it was an in-the-moment feeling or some sort of residue from Phantomhive's memories, Ciel always felt an overall shiver, complemented by goose bumps spreading across his body whenever Grell spoke of Sebastian. It was just so indecent and nasty that Ciel couldn't even begin to explain how much it repulsed him... And from what little he'd seen of Phantomhive's memories, Sebastian seemed to give off the same sort of reaction to the redhead.
It had been a blessing and a curse all at once when the unlikely pair had at last decided to depart back to the 'Shinigami Headquarters' (whatever, and wherever that was...). A blessing, as Ciel felt an uncharacteristic desire to slaughter mount within him at each passing second spent in Grell's company, and curse since quite obviously, he hadn't managed to scrape off the information he'd wanted in the first place.
Speaking of which, what exactly had been the information he'd wanted? Now that he thought about in more depth, Ciel couldn't recall ever knowing precisely what he wanted to be told about. It was more like a general need to know about everything, from the smallest of details to the greater picture. And if he was to take William's reaction as any sort of tip, Ciel apparently wasn't going to be getting anything from the two shinigamis. Quite the contrary, as Ciel had learned the previous afternoon. Sighing as he continued his monotonous march towards Seijuu Academy, Ciel knew he would have to search for answers elsewhere. The real question was, where was elsewhere exactly?
Ciel didn't have all that much time to ponder over the dilemma any longer, as his musings were interrupted by a shrill cry of,
"Ciel-kun!"
Ciel whipped around, coming face-to-face with his three newest 'friends', namely an overenthusiastic pair consisting of Lizzie and Izanagi, alongside an Alois who, while looking seemingly displeased with the over exuberant display, had the ghost of a mischievous smirk dancing across his lips.
'Tch. If there was ever a devil in disguise, it was definitely him...' Ciel mused sardonically.
However, he hadn't been given anymore time to dwell on the subject, as he was momentarily blinded by an oncoming mass of flesh, before he found himself back flat against the sidewalk, with the weight of none other than Lizzie and Izanagi pinning him down in a literally bone-crushing hug...
"Ciel-kun! It's so great to see you again!" Lizzie gushed in happiness; something Ciel had learned was somewhat characteristic of teenage girls over the course of his life.
Oh no, scratch that. Make that teenage girls and Grell...
"I-it's nice to see you to Lizzie-chan..." he managed to say, his voice strained from his recent intimate encounter with what was commonly named sidewalk. As in meant for walking, not random fits of glomping...
It was then that Izanagi's darker head popped into view beside Lizzie's, giving Ciel a rather frightening view of the scarily in-sync couple.
"Mou, you could act a little happier in the morning Ciel-kun! It's always better to reply when your friends say hello."
Here he went again with the patronizing. Ciel knew from experience (regardless of the fact that it wasn't his own) that Izanagi's patronizing was never a good sign. If he followed Phantomhive's memories well-enough, it could lead to rather... drastic complications... namely house-squatting...
"R-right..." Ciel wheezed out, starting to run out of air as the two still didn't relinquish their hold on him. He'd also begun to notice the rather curious and odd stares they'd been receiving ever since Ciel had re-acquainted himself with the ground.
Alois chose that moment in particular to show up right beside them, standing above them, towering Ciel and showing off a now full-blown smirk. Ciel frowned despite his now increasingly rapid decline of air.
"Y-you're not going to help me, are you...?" he wheezed out.
Alois's smirk grew even wider, if such a thing was even considered possible at this point.
"Under normal circumstances? No. But since you're just so irresistibly cute, lying there all helpless, how could I possibly say no?" And with that, the blond effortlessly pulled off the two offenders, leaving Ciel in a quickly angering heap of ruffled clothes (and incidentally, feathers...), a dark glare thrown in Alois's general direction.
"I thought we'd talked about this yesterday..." he said between his teeth, obviously on the verge of seething.
"Ah, ah. You made me promise I'd stop. You never specified just what it was I had to stop..."
Oh the little...!
Alois caught on to Ciel's angry vibe rather quickly, seemingly more and more amused at his comrade's rapidly mounting temper. My, it certainly was a sight to behold; and a rather funny one at that...
Still ticked off by Alois and his obvious and merciless teasing, Ciel pushed himself off the ground with the help of his own hands and legs, and proceeded to brush off the excess dust and dirt specks that now riddled his previously pristine white uniform shirt. It was during moments like this that Ciel thanked whatever all-mighty power was out there that their uniform pants happened to be the rather convenient color of black...
Sighing in barely contained irritation, Ciel turned his back to Alois while he addressed the other two,
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that in the future. Personally, I like the sidewalk better when I'm walking on it, not sprawled across it..."
"Oh, come on Ciel-kun! It wasn't that bad! I do it to Aghni all the time, and he doesn't complain about it!" retorted Izanagi, arms now crossed across his chest in a childish display of pouting.
In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder how Izanagi's poor younger brother managed to put up with him on an almost twenty-four hour basis. The very concept already gave Ciel the ghost of an oncoming headache; not to mention since Lizzie lived nearby, calm most likely wasn't something that was usually used to describe the general atmosphere of the place.
"We're sorry if we made you angry Ciel-kun. We only wanted to say hello..." Lizzie apologized softly, something Ciel felt was decidedly uncharacteristic of her. He couldn't help but oblige her and her hyperactive boyfriend just this once...
"It's... fine Lizzie-chan. Just don't do it again like that..."
The girl and Izanagi nodded vigorously, the widest of smile plastered upon their faces as they moved in to hug him again.
An action that was put to an almost immediate stop when they both froze, eyes wide as they stared at Ciel. He frowned, watching them as they slowly backed away from him at what Ciel was progressively beginning to think was an alarming rate.
"What...?"
"Maa, that was so cute and cunning Ciel... Keep on going like that, and you're going to manage to turn me on..."
Ciel swiveled around, eyes wide as he stared directly at Alois's half-lidded eyes for the second time in two days, his face mere inches from his own while his hot breath danced tantalizingly across his skin.
Oh, there was no way in hell he was going to let it happen again!
Ciel pulled away before Alois could attempt to defile his poor mouth again, backing away until his back hit Izanagi's chest lightly.
"You...!"
"Aw, you're no fun Ciel..." he replied, sighing in an overly dramatic manner.
If one was to ask any of the passersby at that precise moment, they would have most likely taken notice of the fact that Ciel, right about then, was the spitting image of hissing cat, his teeth bared in his fury at the now positively laughing blond.
VVVVVVVV
Sebastian had always taken pride in the fact that he was a particularly patient man (or rather demon if he went into specifics), as he took all the necessary time to allow his prey to grow and mature to the levels he so ardently desired for his prestigious meals. He could wait centuries in order to find the right pick, the ripe forbidden fruit of desire and sin that he would feast upon when the time was right. It was an almost obligatory virtue one was to have if in search of the highest class of souls to devour: after all, as the humans put it, 'Rome wasn't built in a day'.
Thus, it was an entirely incomprehensible thing to see Sebastian pacing up and down the vast corridor of one of the upper floors of Rosen Industries, hands held together behind his back as he looked to the ground, deep in his thoughts. Although he was equally prideful in his ability to never be truly surprised by his masters (with but one exception in mind), he'd been utterly and thoroughly stumped by Miss Arisu this time around. Then again, how could he not be when she'd just ordered him to stalk and manipulate a boy that bore his previous master's name, said previous master being the one human he just couldn't seem to get his mind off of. The young Phantomhive had always and forever remained a taboo subject in his mind and memories, as each time he'd been brought up in the earlier years following his death, Sebastian had felt an odd pang, an emotion he wasn't normally akin to feeling. Sardonically, he'd mused at the time that even in death, his young master would continue to puzzle him remarkably well.
The whole thing had just gotten even more disturbing as Sebastian, considering the last day's events, had had a lot of time on his hands to ponder and reminisce over his time with the Phantomhive boy. Now that he could no longer think of anything but him, it seemed as if the more time passed, the more Sebastian realized that there was something missing in his memories. Not that it was seen as he scanned through said parts of his life, but more as an all together feeling, a sentiment that left him perplexed and troubled. Not only that, but a strange sort of blank when his mind reached the moment of their contract's end. While his rational mind was certain he remembered everything correctly, at that particular moment, he had the odd and singular sensation that there was a detail he was omitting. A rather important detail might he add, despite his inner mind's scolding that there couldn't possibly anything of significant importance that he could've forgotten. Nonetheless, Sebastian kept his instinctive inkling in the back of his mind for any future reference. If he was bound to be forced to recall his time with the young Phantomhive, then at least he would make the needless pondering something productive.
All too suddenly, a door on his right swung open, revealing the famed and acclaimed CEO of Rosen Industries (a right she'd inherited by birth, and not by sheer merit as Sebastian had understood it), Arisu Hanagizawa. He had to admit, the woman wasn't all together bad looking in her work attire, her generally black clothes complementing the darkness of her amber eyes, the only thing about her person that revealed anything as to her true nature. However, despite observing this, Sebastian found her to be entirely unlike his type. Not that he even had a type as a demon anyway.
"Sebastian, my darling! What on earth are you doing here pacing? Come in, come in dear!" she cooed, making Sebastian nauseous at the excess sweetness that enlaced her voice.
It was to be expected, despite his great dislike of it; he was posing as her husband, and unfortunately, they had to keep up a public façade. He nodded to her as was considered appropriate, his usual alluring smile gracing his facial features as he entered the room, waiting for her to close the heavy door behind her before doing anything else. She whipped around, dropping her bittersweet act as she slowly approached the demon in the way a lion stalks its prey, or so Sebastian believed it be.
"Good, good; you actually came today, and at the right hour too. It seems you've finally learned that my plans and schemes work much like clockwork; one second too much or too little, and the entire mechanism falls to pieces."
"Of course we wouldn't want that to happen Mistress, now would we?" he answered in a tone that was laced with underlying mockery. Sebastian was extremely glad he was a particularly adept actor; without such a skill, it would have been entirely impossible for him to mask his discomfort as to the whole situation, seeing as it reminded of things he'd have rather forgotten. He couldn't afford to let by any weaknesses, or else he'd be in a rather tight spot indeed.
As he knew she would, Miss Arisu frowned in irritation. Clucking with her tongue against her palette, she bit her bottom lip in her aggravation and answered acidly,
"I've already told you that I will not tolerate any unnecessary comments from you, demon."
"Indeed you have Mistress. I'm so very sorry I forgot my place."
"You'd best remember it, if you know what's good for you."
He restrained a monumental smirk. Such empty words and threats from the filthy mouth of a mere mortal.
"Yes Mistress, I'll be sure to remind myself of that in the future."
Though she still seemed entirely unconvinced (and for good reason), it was rather obvious that the woman no longer had anything sufficient enough to say against him. As such, she put aside her highly noticeable irritation for what she would call 'more important things'.
"I hope you remember what I told you yesterday Sebastian...?"
"Naturally Mistress. I am to meet this Ciel Kurosu and extort any and all information from him concerning his family's enterprise, in the most subtle of ways possible."
"Well, you see that you learn well when you want to... and might I remind you that you'll be doing all of this so as to avoid any involvement on my part."
"As was originally planned Mistress."
"Perfect. Considering it's already mid-afternoon, I suggest you go and take care of things with that so-called school of his immediately. Wouldn't want any odd questions popping up later, now would we?"
Sebastian this time trulycould not contain his smirk. So driven by her greed the woman was that she attached the greatest importance to the smallest and most insignificant of details. Perhaps that was one of her more interesting traits. Or rather one of her only interesting traits that is. Sebastian was to show up at the school (Seijuu Academy, was it?) a tad bit earlier than class ending time, to have a chat with the school's head. No, on second thought, perhaps chat really wasn't the word to use. As far as Sebastian went, he believed coerce and hypnotize to be far more realistic ways of defining what was to transpire behind closed doors. It was, after all, the only way to make certain that no one who didn't need to know what was about to happen wouldn't discover anything. It would only bring about needless and tedious complications (at least on his mistress's part).
Sebastian then took his leave from the woman; he didn't especially enjoy spending any length of time in her company anymore than was strictly necessary, and loitering about her business's headquarters was one of the things that entered into the realm of Sebastian's more detested activities. As he made his way into the nearest elevator to freedom (a paradox to his general condition Sebastian found rather laughable), he encountered quite a number of Rosen's employees, going about their daily tasks. Some cheerfully greeted him; others gave him a startled and slightly frightful 'hello'. They all knew it was best if they treated their boss's 'husband' with the utmost respect; they, as had Sebastian on more than one occasion, learned that it was best to not openly disregard Miss Arisu, or as she was called by these flocks of men and women, Hanagizawa-sachou.
Stepping out into the busy streets of Shibuya, the sounds of cars rumbling by and of senseless chatter assaulting his ears, Sebastian gave a resigned sigh as he made his way towards Seijuu Academy on foot, knowing full well he could get there rather quickly as the school only lay on the outskirts of Shibuya, not all too far from Rosen Industries. A simple twenty-minute walk was nothing to the demon that'd had his fair share of walking back in the day.
Regardless of the fact that the name brought back a lifetime's worth of memories he'd rather have forgotten, Sebastian couldn't help but be curious as to whom Ciel Kurosu truly was. The fact that his mistress hadn't given him a photograph of the young man led him to be far more intrigued; apparently, he wasn't supposed to know what the boy looked like, lest it bring unwanted suspicions upon her. Sebastian scoffed as he pointed out yet another of his mistress's nasty and completely unnecessary habits that, in the case, only served to aggravate the demon. Such human foolishness she incarnated, like the rest of them. There truly wasn't anything special about the woman in the least.
Smirking to himself as he walked on, Sebastian largely anticipated the meeting with this 'Ciel Kurosu'. It'd at least manage to give him his day's worth of excitement if what the human's called 'Lady Luck' was still on his side...
VVVVVVVV
It was dark, and decidedly sinister in its general disposition. As the loosened wooden planks that smelled of rot and mold gave way to the empty darkness, clouds of dust rose from the ancient floor, the once gleaming marble covered in layers of settled dust, dirt and fallen cobwebs.
As Ciel sneezed quietly at the onslaught of dust that flew to his face, he numbly wondered why on earth he'd even agreed to this...
Indeed, that afternoon at lunch, Ciel had discovered from Lizzie, Izanagi, and Alois that they exceptionally had an entire block of two hours that were free of classes at the end of the day. And much to Ciel's chagrin, the three of them had naturally brought up the subject of their more recent adventures within the school. As Ciel had been previously told, there were a few abandoned wings that littered the building here and there, and one had to be particularly persistent if they set out with the objective of discovering them all. Apparently, according to the three of them at least, the last time they'd found an alcove that, while seemingly produced a dead-end, had an unusual place in the wall that was covered in odd planks. Naturally, this time around, it was something worthy to investigate. And as such, Ciel had ever so kindly agreed (make that been coerced...) into accompanying them in their escapade that the young man was beginning to think was only reserved for either the extremely childish, or the generally foolish. At this point, he didn't know which option sounded the best; both criteria fit rather well in his opinion.
And so, Ciel had been dragged along by the formidable trio (a name he'd thought of spontaneously that he saw as quite befitting) and into one of the abandoned halls he'd been told of by the school's headmaster when he'd been given a tour. From what little the old man had told him of it, the entire school building had once belonged to a rich noble family from Europe, thus explaining its very Europeanized look that was singularly different from the traditional architecture present in Japan. The owners of the place, upon their death, had requested the elaborate manor be made into a school, only specifying that a few places in the old building to be left as they were, untouched and unchanged for eternity. A concept and demand Ciel didn't quite understand the use of, but who was he to question long dead people? It wasn't as if they were going to rise from the grave and answer his inquiries.
In knowing this (and the fact that those halls were out-of-bounds for pretty much everyone), Ciel was nonetheless dragged into the nasty place that Lizzie, Izanagi, and Alois already seemed to know quite well, considering it was an off-limits place. Through a few twists and turns Ciel (albeit reluctantly) admitted were vastly complicated and difficult to memorize, they reached the so-called 'mystery' room where there indeed were wooden planks that seemed to be on the verge of rotting plastered onto the walls. Ciel, while looking upon the wood in an analytical manner, had pointed out to no one in particular that although it could have been assumed that the boards had been placed as a form of reparation by the school, the fact that no signs of such actions was visible anywhere else in the place and the question of why choose this place in particular to renovate led him to believe that the planks had been placed there by the original owners. The only question left to ask now was why had it been done? It was most obviously to hide something from unwanted guests; that much was a certainty. The other three had look at him in some form of awe, Alois being more than pleasantly surprised by Ciel's deductive skills.
Which led them to their current situation, standing before a dark and intimidating abyss that threatened to swallow them whole should they decide to venture beyond the threshold of the doorway that had been subsequently revealed. And although Ciel still didn't exactly approve of the whole idea, he couldn't deny that his insatiable curiosity was indeed awakening the longer he stared at the gateway of darkness.
"Wow. We've been scouring the place for god-knows how long, and we never found this thing...?" whispered Alois in a tone akin to awe.
"It.. it's a little scary..., I can't see anything..." whispered Lizzie in turn, slightly hunched over as she stuck to Izanagi's side, seeking some form of reassurance. Izanagi in turn snaked a protective arm around her waist, looking somewhat serious for once. Ciel could have been shocked had he not been so enraptured by what lay before him.
"Lizzie-chan's right. All the other places we've been always have a little light shining through because of the windows. I don't know were that goes, but I don't think it had any windows..." Izanagi stated, looking a tad bit uneasy. It was rather odd, considering he'd been so enthusiastic about this escapade in the first place, but Ciel supposed it was only natural to feel apprehension in the face of something that, needless to say, reeked of bad omens.
"Well? Isn't anyone of you going to actually see what's in there?" Ciel asked, his voice firm, and yet barely above a whisper. Somehow, the thought of speaking aloud in such a place didn't seem like a very intelligent idea, and Ciel was well aware that his intuitions were best followed when in such situations.
"Are you crazy Ciel-kun? We can't go in there! It must have been sealed off for a reason! What if something happens to you!" Izanagi whispered frantically, having let go of Lizzie in favor of gesticulating his arms furiously in the air. Ciel refrained from smirking, and instead opted to frown,
"Oh? Are you chickening out on this? Might I remind you this was entirely your idea? And what's this, feeling like you aren't supposed to be in there? We're not even supposed to be here, so I really don't see where the problem is..."
Ciel was startled when Alois gently placed his hand on Ciel's shoulder, his light blue eyes heavy with a seriousness he hadn't shown up until now, despite the fact that Ciel had suspected his capacity to act as such when necessary.
"Don't you feel it, Ciel? Don't you feel something... different coming from in there?" His face contorted into something Ciel would have gladly qualified as the devil's smirk; from the few memories of the Phantomhive he had at his disposal, Ciel was quite willing to compare it to the sort of otherworldly expression his butler Sebastian had exhibited on occasion. Had Ciel been a weaker man, he would have cringed and shivered in his discomfort. Instead, he held Alois's gaze with an equally powerful one. He continued,
"It's almost as if... you'll get eaten whole and never escape from it again once you enter it."
Ciel's eyes narrowed at Alois. How dare he assume he was as pitiful as the rest of them? And with that creepy, teasing look about him to boot! He wasn't going to let some foolhardy fear keep him from doing what he'd agreed to do. He was a man of pride (if one could call it that at this point), he was the Phantomhive heir, regardless of the fact that it had been in a past life he possessed scarce memories of. He didn't back down from his word, nor did he abandon something that hadn't been completed; it was in his nature to go to the absolute end before stopping and returning from where he'd come from. A cold determination he was more and more certain came from his (albeit unconscious) heritage from the Phantomhive. He marched straight up to Lizzie, who held any and all material they could have needed in a bag, and promptly snatched away the sole flashlight that lay amongst the many other diverse contents of the cloth sack she carried. Swiveling around, he took a deep breath and turned his head back slightly so as to catch the lot of them in his eyesight range,
"If none of you will go, then I will. I'll go and check what's in it, and then I'll come back and tell you there's absolutely nothing wrong with it besides the fact that it's dark."
And with that, he was off into the darkened depths, and although he was admittedly a tad bit apprehensive, and despite the whispered, desperate cries of his friends that tried to call him back to the light, Ciel walked on into the empty, desolate abyss ahead.
Thinking back on it later, Ciel would undeniably try and resist slapping himself out of his idiocy. Just because he was trying to prove a point, it in no means meant that he shouldn't turn on his flashlight. Especially considering the place was as dark as could even be considered possible, and that it was more than likely that not a single human being had set foot in it for at least a century, if it wasn't any longer.
Thus was how Ciel Kurosu ended up taking one step even farther into the darkness, omitting to imagine the possibility of something other than flat ground. Omitting the possible presence of a staircase. And considering the thing was made of wood, as old and rotten as the planks covering the doorway had been, it was more than predictable that it would collapse under such an onslaught of weight. Which it did. Ciel gasped as he felt the ground not only drop from its previous level, but subsequently give way beneath his right foot, sending the young man crashing to whatever floors lay below through the hole in the stairway.
Having heard the distinctive sound of wood cracking, and of Ciel falling with a grand crash! to the floor below, it was only natural that the three individuals waiting in some sort of shocked stupor to cry out in worry,
"Ciel!"
"Ciel-kun!"
Ciel groaned as he pushed himself off the ground, clutching at his left arm. It seemed the limb had taken the majority of the fall, and it was thus a bit sore from the less-than-comfortable landing he'd just experienced. Hearing the worried cries of his friends resonating above his head, Ciel called back, this time not in whisper,
"I'm fine! Stop yelling already!"
"But Ciel-kun...!" he heard a feminine voice he knew belonged to Lizzie protest.
"I said I was fine Lizzie-chan! I'll come right back up, just wait a minute!"
And although Ciel sounded quite confident as he called up to them, he realized his situation was a bit preoccupying nonetheless. In the tumble he'd suffered from, he'd managed to lose hold of the flashlight, plunging him into pitch-black darkness. He could make out some distinct forms from the light that was filtering through from the opening that was the pseudo-door up above, though his sight didn't go far enough for him to see where the flashlight had landed. He could see a few of the debris from the wooden stair he'd stepped on, scattered here and there all around him, as if in some sort of preordained ring. Ciel resisted the urge to growl in annoyance. How exactly was he supposed to get back up there if he couldn't even see where he was going? If only he hadn't dropped the flashlight...
... But the again, there was fire he could ignite. This time faintly growling at his apparently lack reactivity, Ciel grabbed for the spare lighter he always had lying in his pocket, finding it a handy object to carry around. This event only served to prove that point further. Snatching a rather small piece of wood off of the floor, he brought the tip of it to his lighter and pushed onto the igniter. Instantly, a wee flame flickered to life, and a few moments later still, the hungry flame had begun to lick gluttonously at the wood, growing as it spread across the tip and lit Ciel's immediate surroundings with a glowing, ethereal orange light, dancing to and fro in its excitement. He knew he would have to act fast, as the flame wouldn't waste its time in devouring the twig-like piece of wood he'd chosen as a torch. Looking back from where he'd come from, Ciel saw that his fall, although harsh, hadn't been from all that high up. From what he could see, he estimated the height of the staircase to be something close to three meters, give or take a bit. He couldn't climb it up, but using a few of the stairs as a means to get him higher, it was a feasible thing to attempt. Turning around in the hopes of perhaps finding himself another twig to buy him more time, Ciel's train of thought was rather abruptly put to an end when he caught sight of what lay beyond him, even further into the murky, uncertain depths of the place he'd fallen into.
Upon further inspection, he might have taken notice of the fact that this place in particular seemed to have even more dust and cobwebs littering the floors and walls than the rest of the wing, leaving one to assume this mysterious place had been out of use for even longer than the 'upstairs' halls. A vine or two crept up the walls, and here and there a few bits and pieces of the rocks that seemed to compose the wall lay like crumbling ruins upon the floor, forgotten in the meanders of time. But that wasn't in the least what had captured and withheld Ciel's attention; without it, the rest of the place could have been akin to an abandoned crypt, empty of coffins with corpses turned to dust.
An intricate door, high and grand as any door to a main hall wing stood before him, mighty immortal against time, framed by a complex design that greatly resembled the most delicate of embroideries, only made of the finest gold. Despite the ancient, crumbled and ruined state of the deceitful alcove he'd fallen prey to, the door glistened in the meager flame's light, polished and as beautiful as it should have been on the first day. Forged in what could only be the most precious of bronze, the shadowed reflection of the hungry flame drew pattern after pattern upon its smooth, untouched surface. All at once, Ciel felt a maelstrom of various emotions wash over him, steadily growing in intensity the longer he stared at the unmarred perfection.
Intrigue. Mystery. Danger. Fear. Insatiable allurement. And above all, a pull so strong and so deep that it struck a cord buried in the very depths of his consciousness, more so than even the odd oneiric realm of elegantly swimming streams of images. And yet despite the attraction that defied all forms of logic, there was an ever-present fear. Not as if he were frightened of what he would find beyond. Oh no, it was as if something within him knew what it was that lay beyond the threshold, and that it was the one thing that he feared the most out of all things...
Unable to contain the pull, now swiftly turning into a need, Ciel approached the door, a veritable rampart against time itself, extending his left arm that still shook from the fall, as if daring himself to brush his fingertips against something that vastly exceeded him. However, before he could bring himself to touch the bronze perfection, his gaze caught of a rather complex mechanism, that upon further inspection seemed to act as some sort of seal to the door. As if keeping any and all trespassers out by force. The more his gaze skimmed the door, the more details he seemed to be garnishing, finally laying eyes on a barely visible inscription, etched upon the upper frame of the door, passing on a message for countless ages. Ciel, approaching the remnants of the flame he bore to the top of the door, he recognized three forms of script, languages that he supposed spoke the same untimely words.
One was in Latin, Ciel could decipher that much. However, his comprehension of the long forgotten tongue wasn't nearly sufficient enough to allow him to understand the message.
Another was in what Ciel perceived to be some sort of archaic form of ancient Japanese he couldn't and most likely would never comprehend.
The last, however, was written in French. Old French perhaps, but French nonetheless. It was, undeniably, a language he could understand, as his mother had drilled it into his mind alongside a few others when he'd been young.
Nulle autre que celui dont la destinée l'y oblige ne peut entrer en ce lieu. Seul l'être dont la venue est écrite franchira le seuil de la porte immortelle.
"None other than the one whose destiny dictates it shall enter the place beyond. Only the being whose coming has been written shall cross the threshold of the immortal door..." Ciel murmured to himself.
What on earth...?
"Oi, Ciel, you alive down there?" a distant voice called out to him, effectively snapping him from his reverie. He supposed it was Alois who was calling out to him, considering the lack of an honorific to his name.
It was then that Ciel took notice of the flame he'd lit, slowly inching its way down towards his hand, consuming little by little the poor twig he held clutched in his tight fist.
'Damn!' he cursed silently, whipping around and running back towards the broken stairway. Ever so gingerly, and with the most caution he'd ever taken, he stepped onto the first two steps, careful to not overwhelm the thing with his weight. Climbing slowly, he at long last managed to gain a height that was sufficient enough to make a grab for the ledge of stone with out falling out. Playing with fire (in the very literal sense), he placed the twig between his teeth, hoping the flame wouldn't reach his face before he was through, and jumped, both of his forearms landing on the dusty ledge. Holding back a sneeze at the explosion of dirt that formed a cloud around him, he pushed himself up with a bit of difficulty, finally managing to pull his legs over the ledge. Taking the twig back into his hand, he threw it to the ground and promptly stomped upon it, putting the flame, plunging Ciel back into the omnipresent darkness. Walking towards the entrance where he could already see his friends, the stepped out into the light, coughing slightly. He was instantly embraced by Lizzie and Izanagi, naturally.
"Ciel-kun! We were so worried!"
"Yeah, you scared us there Ciel-kun! You aren't hurt or anything, right?"
"No, I'm fine, just like I said before. Nothing to worry about."
And just when he thought they were about to drop the issue, Alois spoke those words that brought Ciel's mind back to the alluring and bewitching door,
"What I'd like to know is what could have possibly been so interesting down there that he took so long in coming out..."
Ciel held back an annoyed growl. Alois was entirely too perceptive for his own good. Or rather, for Ciel's own good really. He'd have to tread carefully around the blond, or he could end up discovering far more than he should. Not that the door really was a secret, but something within Ciel, perhaps intuition, silently coaxed him into keeping his mouth shut. Somehow, it seemed as though the door wasn't meant to be found, particularly whatever lay beyond it.
"There was nothing down there. Just vines and broken rocks. I was busy looking for Lizzie-chan's flashlight if you must know..."
A blatant lie, but at this point, it wasn't as if it was going to hurt anyone, was it? Silently, the group followed Ciel as he trouped out of the unexceptional room, 'taking his word for it' as they said. Alois still seemed to have a few doubts as to Ciel's story, and though determined to find out whatever it was he could have seen down there, even he knew when to stop pushing. He preferred needless teasing far more in any matter. He swiftly grabbed onto the boy's shoulders as Lizzie and Izanagi continued their walk up ahead to the exit,
"You know Ciel, I was so scared for you... what if there was a demon down there? Or a ghost? Or maybe even worse... like an incubus? Not that I would mind if you jumped at me..." he whispered tantalizingly, licking Ciel's ear experimentally.
"ALOIS!"
VVVVVVVV
Sebastian had to admit; despite the boy being an intrigue for him, as well as a relatively simple task to undertake in the name of the contract, he was proving to be quite a hassle... Namely in the form of the demon wasting his precious time. Not that he didn't have as much as he wanted on his hands, but boredom and waiting on some non-identified individual that wasn't a contractor, regardless or not of the fact that said individual happened to bear his old master's name, was not something Sebastian particularly enjoyed doing. Not at all. Thus, it was comprehensible that the demon was growing steadily more and more irritated at the lack of the young man's presence. According to the school's headmaster (which he'd quite easily manipulated, it was almost funny), the boy's class had been let out earlier due to some event Sebastian hadn't taken the time acknowledge. It was, thus, an acceptable outcome to believe that the young man would come and meet him early. Instead, Sebastian had ended up waiting even longer than was initially planned. Decidedly not something he was enjoying, or as the English put it, 'it wasn't exactly his cup of tea'...
From his pocket, he drew out the elaborate silver pocket-watch he'd been given so long ago by Ciel Phantomhive himself, back when he'd been his faithful butler. The contraption held a certain elegance to it, and it was so very intricate in detail that Sebastian had never found it in himself to dispose of it. He, of course, refused to believe that he'd kept it as a form of keepsake that reminded of the Earl of Phantomhive. Such an act coming from a demon was despicable to think about, and thus Sebastian disregarded it entirely.
Nonetheless, he quite liked to fiddle with it, and take it out, the sound of the contraption snapping open and shut resounding like music in his ears, a nostalgia from a certain time long passed.
It was, as such, at the moment when he drew out the elegant pocket-watch bearing the Phantomhive coat of arms, that the first actually sound from students he'd heard in a while came to his ears, dancing on the wind. Looking to his far right, he caught sight of two young individuals, one a young lady with bouncy blond curls; clearly not entirely Japanese. The other was a boy slightly taller, his tanned skin also proof of his foreign heritage. They seemed to be talking animatedly, joking about one thing or another. Sebastian scoffed at them. He wouldn't have truly paid attention to them any further, had one of the boy's phrases not scuttled to his ear, like a shy breeze,
"Oh yes! Too bad we didn't stay back with them! Alois is kind of scary, but it's worth seeing little Ciel-kun all riled up! ... I think he'd kill me if he knew I said that, right?"
The girl giggled, but Sebastian hardly paid any of that attention. They'd said Ciel. And he knew for certain that there was only one person in this entire flock of humans attending the school that had such a name. If he got them to tell him where the blasted boy was, it would save him the trouble of waiting aimlessly. Slowly and silently approaching the pair, he quickly ended up right behind them, addressing them in a soft, honey-coated tone, a deceitful smile sneaking its way across his features,
"Hello there young Sir and Miss. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find Ciel Kurosu-san by any chance?"
The girl, gasping spun around, while the boy followed suite almost immediately. And for once, it was Sebastian's turn to suffer from a sharp intake of breath, miraculously keeping his welcoming smile on his face.
Of all the places in the world to find people he'd once known, it had to be here, and it had to be the reincarnations of Lady Elizabeth and Prince Sohma. Although the feeling of déjà-vu was omnipresent in his mind, it wasn't something he hadn't faced before. He supposed this time around, the feeling hit him particularly hard due to some excess of nostalgia from the late nineteenth century. And in any matter, it wasn't as if they remembered him. Reincarnations never kept memories of their past lives, and in the rare cases that they did, they were only flashed of insignificant images that spoke no real truth.
"Ah, yes, we know where he is... but what do want with Ciel-kun?" Lady Elizabeth's counterpart asked, hesitant.
"Ah! I'm so sorry Miss. I haven't even properly introduced myself. My name is Sebastian Michealis, and I am here on behalf of the Kurosu family's business associate. Kurosu-san is to be brought to this associate's offices to meet with his parents and my employer in a more formal manner."
Had the girl been a bit less trusting, she would have continued to question him. As did Prince's Sohma's counter-part, who should have resumed questioning in her stead. But as Sebastian knew exactly what to tell them to avoid unnecessary discussions, he knew he would inevitably receive an answer from them, regardless of their apprehensions.
"Oh... all right then. I guess you're a good guy!" she chuckled a bit as Sebastian smiled to her warmly. Or at least he apparently did.
"Yup! I'm sure he's ok Lizzie-chan! Ciel-kun is over there somewhere, taking it out on Alois... though Blondie did kind of deserve it..." He then proceeded to point in the general direction located behind him and Lizzie. Which was also behind Sebastian, thus forcing the demon to turn around so as to inspect said direction.
Needless to say, it didn't take too long to start hearing the apparently arguing pair, from what Sebastian had garnished.
"Aw, come on Ciel! You know I didn't mean it like that..."
Sebastian inwardly cringed at the voice. Somehow, it seemed familiar, but he couldn't exactly put his finger on it... At any rate, something about the boy's voice put him off.
"You did Alois! You absolutely did mean it that way! That's probably why I'm pissed at you right now...!" another voice yelled, the venom in the voice of the seething boy dripping from his words like poison leaked from a snake's devious fangs.
Sebastian could honestly have been amused at the unsightly display of mental sparring between the two boys. It always intrigued the demon to watch how these things played out between humans, especially when the protagonists seemed to have a tad bit of logic at play. But in this case, he just couldn't bring himself to feel amusement.
Why so?
Perhaps it was because he was already frozen in place, crimson eyes wide in stupefaction and disbelief, all other feelings, sights, smells and noises drowning out before one single overwhelming thought that mercilessly took despotic control over his mind, planting its flag of dominion deep within.
He knew that voice! He could recognize it anywhere, no matter the place, no matter the time!
His Young Master! How?
And as sure as the sun set over the western horizon, bathed in twilight, there appeared beside a blond and frivolous looking boy, in all his glory and not a miniscule detail changed upon his physique, Ciel Kurosu, or more like it, Ciel Phantomhive devoid of his initial memories, it seemed.
All this time he'd tried to forget and never recall it, and yet it continuously threw itself at him, as if the forbidden fruit of Eden who tempted the already sinful Eve that he was. So why now, of all times?
So caught up in his thoughts and shock he was that he barely even registered the pseudo-Sohma calling out to the blond (Alois was it?), telling him to leave Ciel and he alone, as they had business together for family reasons. Not exactly as he'd said it, but it worked all the same...
And as suddenly as the bolt of shock who's remnants still coursed through his veins, the three departed to who knew where, leaving only he and Ciel, standing in the vacant lot of asphalt, both staring with eyes wide and bodies immobile, as the lonely breeze was the sole one who dared disrupt their calm chaos...
VVVVVVVV
Ciel stared. It was all his mind could bear to do. As far as he was concerned, the scene had changed in a whirl of color and memories, bubbling to the surface in effervescence, like the liquid fire that burst from the mountains in clouds of smoke and chaos.
It couldn't be. It couldn't be! The eyes of the most alluring crimson, the mouth that so often had been raised in a smirk of sufficiency, the features that lay before him, dark and dangerous, driving him to play the devil's game.
The images flashed before his inner eye in a maelstrom of sensations and memories of an intensity that rivaled anything and everything he'd ever felt before.
Sebastian. Sebastian!
It couldn't be and yet it had to be! None other held those singular features that drew his gaze, that satiated his hunger for rivalry and adequate companionship. And there was something else, something he couldn't possibly describe that had no name, like a pulsating need to know, to be sure this was the right one. To make sure it was the right one. To own and be owned, a want so strong for everything that it was slowly drowning him in a crashing wave of sensation.
The man or demon before him spoke, his voice dark and rich, eliciting a plethora of other reminiscences.
"What has once been lost can never return. Once you bind yourself to me, you forsake your path to heaven. Now choose."
"I shall remain by your side until the end, even if the king falls, even if I must follow you to hell."
"I am but one hell of a butler, Young Master."
"I've already taught you how to act when you want something, am I not right Young Master?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"I apologize for my conduct. I am Sebastian Michealis, the subordinate of Miss Arisu Hanagizawa who has asked me to escort you to the Rosen Industries offices on request of your illustrious parents."
Ciel continued to stare at him, each breath filled with the musky, otherworldly scent of the entity before him, intoxicating him with more and more flashes of memories that were his own and weren't at the same time. It seemed that every one of his senses were on fire when it came to him, like none of the others had triggered before. In his moment of sanity, Ciel mused that perhaps it was the remnants of the contract that had once bound them (as now he was certain this was the demon, his demon) that mounted the emotions to such phenomenal heights. And of all the things he could have said, of all the things he should have said, only a cracked, half-whispered name escaped, sounding as if a cross between disbelief and a desperate plea.
"Sebastian...?"
"Yes Kurosu-san. I, like yourself, have a rather foreign name, though I'll admit yours is a tad bit more exotic..."
"No... Sebastian... Michealis..."
Sebastian seemed to look at him questioningly, as if uncertain as to what it was exactly he was getting at.
"That is my name Kurosu-san..."
Ciel's frustration was growing, albeit internally. He didn't know how to get his message across correctly anymore.
However, as in most situations, frustration and aggravation cleared Ciel's mind enough to allow him to attempt to respond to Sebastian's inquiries adequately.
"I know... of course I know that's you're name... how could I not..."
Sebastian's eyebrow rose elegantly, sending Ciel a silent question, urging him to continue. How the demon could act so at ease when he was reduced to this stumbling mess was beyond him.
"How could I not when I'm... your master."
Sebastian's mouth opened slightly in surprise at this, but he remained silent. Having managed to make the demon's guard drop considerably gave Ciel a burst of confidence sufficient enough to restitute him his eloquent power of speech and persuasion.
"Could you perhaps be...? No, that's ridiculous, you can't be him..." Sebastian mumbled the last part more to himself than to Ciel, but the young man perceived it nonetheless. He smirked, the mocking expression turning despite himself into a full-blown smile the more time passed.
"Oh but I can be Sebastian. If by him you mean the Earl Ciel Phantomhive, then he stands before you, that I can guarantee. Not whole and complete, but here nonetheless."
Sebastian, at this declaration, returned to his shocked stupor, his right hand clenching and unclenching an invisible object in a vice grip, staring at Ciel with the troubled, chaotic eyes of the deepest crimson.
VVVVVVVV
No! He wasn't! It was impossible!
And yet... and yet it was! He was here, in the flesh and breathing in life as he had over a hundred years prior, defying the world with his air of complete arrogance and sufficiency. Defying him to this day, and drawing him into his deadly trap, once again igniting the long-forgotten flame of their complex games.
Ciel Phantomhive had been reborn. And with his memories to boot! It was glorious and distasteful all at once, the bittersweet, acrid sensation swooping over his emotions like a damper to his mind. How wonderful it was to have met such a brilliant mind once again, such an interesting and alluring human mind that had been given second life. How disgusting of him, as a demon, to even condone such actions and pitiful feelings that he no longer had control over, as overwhelming as they were. How cruel that he would inevitably have to betray him, as he was no longer contracted to him...
... How interesting now that he could test the limits of the contract he had forged with his mistress; treading the fine line between technicalities and treason. The very prospect could have sent shivers across his skin in anticipation...
From what he'd managed to garnish from Ciel's meager words, he hadn't yet recovered all of his memories as a Phantomhive. Which meant that he was still gaining them back. Meaning that Sebastian was going to tread that alluring line by helping and offering companionship to Ciel, his Young Master regardless of the place and time.
Oh yes, he would help Ciel, rekindle their relationship as partners, as sources of interest for the other as it had always been. And although returning to a master/servant context was impossible at this point, Sebastian relished in the thought that his life had once again been graced with the presence of the one human who could baffle him and captivate him in ways no one else had ever managed.
Ciel Phantomhive.
And while he was at it, if Ciel could help the demon clear up the shadowy, missing clips from his memory that he'd felt, like a distant feeling that something important was gone, erased like the morning dew was dried by the heat of the sun, then perhaps he'd actually have something worth his while...
End Chapter Four
A/N:
... You know, if I was a meaner person, I could've stopped the chapter at 'calm chaos'. Now wouldn't that have been a lovely cliffhanger! XD
My big fear here is that I didn't keep them in character. It's more difficult to do then I imagined, and while keeping Sebastian and Ciel in character when they're separate is relatively simple, the second they're together, everything becomes so frustratingly ambiguous! I hope I did a decent job of it!
My favorite scene to write was most likely the door scene. It has so much foreboding it's overflowing! XD I highly recommend listening to a certain piece of music while reading it (or just to get the overall feel of the moment). I wrote while inspired by it, and it fits so perfectly it's scary!:
Shinrabansho no Sasayaki – Nabari no Ou OST
As for why Sebastian didn't recognize Alois like he did the others? I guess it's food for thought... (because I'm evil like that! XD)
I hope you enjoyed reading, and I'm looking forward to your impressions and feedback (a little bit impatiently, I'll admit it! XD)
'Til next time! :D