A/N: Ah, the winter holidays are finally here :) Strange though, I am sure that I slept for more than ten hours last night and yet I felt more tired today than I usually do. I wonder why. :/ Anyways, so I moved through the day in a zombie like phase and yes, with a zombie like pace I finally updated :). I would just like to take a moment to appreciate my kind reviewers. You guys are wonderful *-*


Chapter Seven: Quiet Suspicions

"Where were you this morning...?" The young master demanded irritably.

Lau only grinned, chuckling, the light in his eyes dancing with mockery.

"I arrived there at half past eight-

"-We decided as a group to meet at half past nine-

"-Don't you know the saying 'the early bird always gets the worm'...?"

Ciel sighed heavily and waved it off. The four of them were seated, if not a bit uncomfortably, around a cheap white plastic table that smelt unpleasant and was covered in stains of ugly colors. They were locked in this room, but it wasn't really an issue. Sebastian could fix that in the blink of an eye. For now, they simply wanted to hear what Lau seemed so anxious to share with them.

"Nevertheless, I would still like to know whatever information you have acquired..." He grumbled tiredly.

"Very well. Seeing that you are a rather impatient child, I'll get straight to the point. I have a strong suspicion on who the culprit of both these cases are,"

Ciel Phantomhive's eyes lit up and immediately his face showed a look of utter amazement and quiet gratitude. Maybe it was the smells that were messing with him but right now, in this moment, he felt they were finally onto something.

"Lau. Proceed immediately," He demanded enthusiastically.

The man grinned, chuckling amusingly.

"You're not even going to question my judgment...? Knowing that the Chinese are experts at lying, you must be feeling quite bold, or should I say...terribly desperate..." He snickered.

The young master huffed with agitation and threw his hands in the air with frustration.

"Resume mocking me after you have proved your...theory..." He scoffed quietly.

"Well, I suppose we should get started-

"-We should have gotten started ten minutes ago...!" Madam Red shrieked irritably.

"Madam...! Please watch your temper. Now I understand where the young master gets his attitude from...am I correct, my lord?"

"Shut up, Sebastian." Was the only reply.

After observing that everyone was too exasperated to interrupt him anymore, Lau finally decided to continue.

"Well then. I would like to say that there were three specific events that lead me to my conclusion on a possible suspect of this case, but of course, some of my personal feelings are also involved in this conjecture, so you may want to be wary of that..."

"So you're saying that your theory is not entirely based on cold, hard facts...?" Ciel sighed heavily.

"Precisely. I agree that this is most definitely unfortunate, but you must forgive it when your personal life mixes with that of business...sometimes it just can't be helped..." Lau lamented in mock misery.

"Alright. No matter. Tell us about it anyway. Your intuition may not be as inaccurate as we might think. You are Chinese after all..."

The man smiled flatly, seemingly hiding something.

"What exactly are you implying...?" He inquired carefully, his grin growing wider.

Ciel shook his head. Lau was impossible.

"Nothing. Just go on,"

He nodded, but he didn't seem to want to pick up the pace. He liked the way things were moving now, nice and slow...

As the minutes ticked away, their goal was slowly floating further and further away from shore. He smiled. The tension was intoxicating.

"When I walked inside of the Royal Hospital, there was something that immediately caught my attention. You see, there were some Chinese fishermen that were in the hall, delivering their goods to the main office. One of them was in a very heated conversation, possibly an argument, with one of the nurses in the hospital. The nurse was Caucasian, of course. The fishermen was very angry, complaining that his co-workers were never returning alive from their long trips at sea. The sea-faring goods they gathered from their errands were for medical use and the largest company they had an ally with currently, was the Royal Hospital. It was only second nature to suspect the people they delivered to were up to something,"

"So you think a suspect may be one of nurses working at the Royal Hospital?" Ciel interjected skeptically.

There was a pause.

"...No. Wait for me to explain the other two events, if you would be so kind..."

The young master did his best to remain patient.

"- Anyway, as I walked away from this unexpected outburst, I noticed some more interesting things. The other fishermen were simply walking, not doing anything rude, but several nurses appeared very afraid of them. When they handed the goods they had obtained from the ships full of dead sailors, the servants wouldn't even brush fingers with them. I thought this was most interesting. Another thing-

"-So you think these fishermen killed the nurses-

"-No, I do not. Dear Madam, please control your impatience and wait for me to finish my point. If I am so often interrupted I don't see why I should help you lot at all. Clearly you people want to solve this case on your own..."

Ciel's eyes widened. Lau actually seemed to be rather upset. Hmph. Well, he deserved it. He was dragging this conversation like a dead body.

"Alright, Lau. We won't interrupt you anymore. With that said, please get to your point faster,"

"Just listen carefully and I won't have to change the pace at all. The last event was what finally convinced me of my suspicions. There was a Chinese fishermen who bumped into me while I was heading to the restroom and he was in a rather terrible mood. He wouldn't even apologize for almost knocking me into the wall. He was too deep in anger about his employer. He complained that his boss was punishing his workers quite violently for returning with either not sufficient goods because they refused to travel far into the ocean, or they simply wanted to quit their jobs. And no, I am not suspecting the employer of that man..." Lau muttered quite agitated.

"Lau. You are quite unlike yourself today. What is your problem...?!" Ciel demanded.

Lau glared at him briefly before shaking his head and sighing.

"Do you smell this horrendous odor...? This, this, terrible mix of liquor and roses. It reminds me too well of my uncle from my mother's side. I hate that man. He also happens to be the person I suspect to be behind this case,"

Ciel scoffed and grumbled irritably.

"Lau, you can't just suspect someone out of hatred and desire for vengeance..."

"It is not entirely based on hatred. These three events prove that it has to be him...!" He protested indignantly.

"Oh really? Please enlighten me on this subject." The young master sighed skeptically.

"Firstly, my uncle is the head of the company that was delivering the goods to the hospital. If his workers suspect the nurses were planning something, he may be taking revenge on them by killing them in the same way. The frightened reactions of many other nurses were quite severe which shows that someone among these sailors must be secretly harming them in some form."

He waited for this information to sink in. Then he continued.

"Lastly, although my uncle was not the employer of that fisherman, that employer works for him. He could be following orders from my uncle to kill some of the sailors while they were on their long trips at sea to keep fear burned in the minds of the other workers. It's a difficult time in Beijing after all. The factory explosion is making everyone quite disruptive and ill at ease. Fear controls people fairly well,"

Sebastian smiled faintly.

"While your points are valid, there are holes in your arguments. How can you be sure of any of this? You are perceiving all these events in the way that you want to see them. The nurses could simply be afraid of the fishermen because they are foreign men and they could be dangerous. People say things they don't really mean out of anger. The fisherman you talked with could have been stretching the truth because our eyesight is often obstructed by red when we are enraged. Finally, the argument between the nurse and the fisherman could simply be out of prejudice. Our trading alliance between the Chinese is at a crisis at the moment because their people are being mysteriously killed,"

Lau remained quiet, listening to the butler's every word. Then he sighed and widened his eyes slightly. He looked quite ominous like this.

"While you are correct, I would like to know if you and your lot have any suspicions of the culprit...?"

Ciel coughed bitterly and glared at the man.

"While we have none at the moment, being hasty is never a good thing. We might miss important information that will be crucial for us to solve this case. For example, what about the strange behavior of the animals coming out of the bamboo forest? How would you explain that? Is your uncle also secretly a sorcerer who can control the actions of beasts? And what about the strange method of killing the sailors? Pouring boiling water into their faces? Why would your uncle choose that specific way of killing them? That is not conventional at all,"

"My uncle is a strange man. That would not be unusual for him at all. I am still convinced of my suspicion," Lau declared stubbornly.

"Well, then. What do we suppose we do?" Ciel grumbled tiredly.

"We travel to Beijing. We meet with my uncle. Then maybe I can convince you of my theory,"

The young master was frowning and glaring at the floor.

"I detest traveling. I loathe unnecessary traveling even more. What happens if you are wrong...?"

"You earn a patent that gives the right for me to be your personal slave for a week,"

"I already have a slave," Ciel snorted flatly.

"Slaves are like shoes, Ciel dear. There is nothing wrong with having another once you already have one" Madam Red chuckled.

"Well, obviously. You have two feet. You can't just have one shoe..."

The Madam sighed and shook her head. While she hated agreeing with Lau, the stench in this room was seriously messing with her mind.

"Alright. We'll go to Beijing. Are you happy now, Lau...?" Ciel spat under his breath.

The man brightened up and grinned.

"You accept my suggestion? Very well, then. Let's go right away,"

Ciel shrugged, consenting reluctantly.

"Anything to be rid of this horribly smelly room. And this plastic chair makes my bum sore..."

So it was decided.

But when Sebastian was making his way to the locked door, Lau stopped him.

"I think it's best we use a different path for travel. I am not very familiar with this underground facility. I don't know how we can get back into the upper level of the hospital. However, I am quite familiar with an alternative route in these underground passageways. See, I have been here when I was quite young so I know the quickest route to Beijing,"

"And yet you can't find your way back out of here...?" Sebastian questioned, amused.

"No...See, my childhood friends would be quite mean, they would tie me up and stuff me into a sack and throw me down here. I could never find my way back up but I know how to get to basically everywhere else,"

"You have some wonderful friends. And there is chance that they could have been the ones that locked us in here...?" Sebastian inquired calmly.

"Quite likely, yes,"

"And they could possibly be the reason you ended down here to start with...?"

"Again, you are as sharp as a needle, Sebastian,"

Ciel sighed.

"Well, this is getting weirder and weirder. We best be on our way. By the way, how did your childhood friends find you after all this time...?"

Lau paused and took a moment to wonder about the possibilities.

"Who knows? Let that be a mystery for another day,"