Chapter Seven: The Butler, Targeting
The next morning Sebastian served Ciel his breakfast in his room as usual. When the young master had finished the butler then proceeded to dress him in his green outfit and, as he was tying the black ribbon around the young boy's neck, Sebastian noticed that Ciel was more subdued than usual.
"Is something on your mind, Bocchan?"
Ciel seemed to shake himself from a daze and then looked at his butler with two wide eyes, "I thought I'd asked you to find some more staff?"
Sebastian's lips twitched as he tied the eye patch around Ciel's head, "You did, sir."
"So why haven't you done that? I thought you had to obey my orders?" Ciel's voice broke a little on the last word as his fear of the demon actually acting of his own accord rose to the surface of his mind.
Sebastian sighed, "You did not mention a specific time frame in which I had to acquire said staff."
"Oh," the boy relaxed slightly as his fears were abolished and he plastered a firm look onto his young face, "Well then, I want you to find a maid, chef and gardener by the end of this week. Understood?"
The butler bowed low, "Yes, my Lord."
"I shall leave the young master in your care, Mr. Tanaka," Sebastian was standing at the main door of the Phantomhive manor as Ciel's remaining servant, Mr. Tanaka, waved him off. The old gentleman was more than capable of watching over the boy for one night but Sebastian felt that it was his duty to double check he had everything under control. After making sure Tanaka knew how Ciel liked his eggs Sebastian bid the man farewell and told him he would be back by morning.
After stepping only a few paces from the manor Sebastian heard the door creak open slowly. He turned to see his master standing in the dimly lit doorway in only his nightshirt.
"Young master, you will catch a chill," Sebastian stepped back towards the mansion but Ciel held out his hand, palm facing the demon, making Sebastian stop walking.
"Don't…" Ciel seemed nervous and he began fiddling with the buttons of his nightshirt. His voice came out as a tiny whisper, "Don't… Don't die." His cheeks reddened and he turned on his heel before slamming the door.
Sebastian stood for a moment in the sudden darkness and grinned a sharp-toothed smile; the child was actually worried about him? How odd. He shook the sudden uneasiness from his shoulders and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Ciel slammed the large door of the mansion shut and turned around only to walk directly into Tanaka. The boy stepped to the side to pass him but Tanaka mirrored his actions. Ciel looked up at the servant he had known all his life,
"What are you doing, old man?"
Tanaka's moustache twitched as he smiled warmly, "I am waiting to take you back to bed, young master."
Suppressing a yawn Ciel mumbled, "I'm not tired yet. I think I'll stay up a while longer."
"I think Sebastian may be a while, if you were wanting to wait up for him-"
"-I will do nothing of the sort! I am merely restless," Ciel stepped past Tanaka and made his way into the games room. He grabbed a pool cue and gestured to the other one hanging on the wall, "Play a game or two with me, Tanaka."
Tanaka obediently obliged and took his cue. They played several games and time seemed to pass ever so slowly as Ciel tried to convince himself that he wasn't waiting up for the demon he had made his contract with.
The wind snapped at the demon's long black coat as he watched the young girl from the bottom of the bell tower. He had been watching her for almost an hour as she'd set up her sniper rifle at the very top of the bell tower in the centre of town and he'd found it fascinating that she'd decided against using the proper scope for the weapon. He turned his head to gaze upon the man oblivious to the fact that his death card was about to be dealt; the man was around forty five years old with a balding head and a shark's grin. He was talking and laughing to a young woman whom Sebastian guessed was more than experienced with that type of man and his hands kept wandering to places that a real lady would be ashamed to even show.
An almost inaudible click made Sebastian's head snap back to where the young red-haired girl was crouching. He could just see the top of her head and he knew that in a second or two the man with the shark's grin would no longer be. He didn't particularly care about that, in fact he thought it might be quite entertaining to watch the man bleed to death as the 'lady' he was with screamed blue murder, but something like that would draw attention to the area and that was something the demon didn't want.
Sebastian darted up to the top of the bell tower as though he was riding on the wind itself and caught the bullet just as the assassin pulled the trigger. She squinted blankly for a moment, wondering why her target was still standing and then her large eyes drifted to Sebastian. He smiled pleasantly,
"Good evening, Miss."
Without thinking the girl grabbed her rifle and turned it to face Sebastian, she pulled the trigger but her finger grasped at thin air. The gun was already plummeting to the ground beneath them. She stepped back and glared at the demon through a deep red fringe,
"Who are you?"
"A friend."
"Are you here to kill me?" She stepped to the side ever so slightly.
"Do your friends usually do that?" Sebastian followed her movement and was suddenly standing behind her, his arm around her neck. She inhaled sharply, a little shocked by his speed,
"Sometimes…" she turned as best she could to look at him, "That's not why you're here though, is it?"
Sebastian leaned closer to her, his lips brushing against her slender neck, "No. I have been sent to find a maid for my master."
"A maid?" her voice came out as a gasp as Sebastian's cool breath tickled her cheek.
"Wouldn't you like to clean up dirt instead of cleaning up…" he gestured to the man down below, "…dirt?"
She turned her eyes to her original target and spoke to the empty space in front of her, "I don't have that option. I can't just leave the work I do."
Sebastian glided his hand up her neck and traced his fingers across her pink lips as he spoke softly, "I'm giving you that option. Your special skills would be needed now and then but for the most part you'd be living for free in the country with no worries and no more blood on your hands. What do you say, Mey Rin?"
"How do you know my-"
"-What do you say?"
Mey Rin closed her eyes and Sebastian released her from his grip. She turned to face him and smiled, "Yes. Take me with you."
