Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji or anything affiliated with it.
Sing with me everyone, ***Alyssa is the worst!***
I'm sorry I suck at updating. I really do. I'm having fun with this story though when I have the time to sit down with it!
Anyway, you've been waiting a long time so no more from me up here. Check at the bottom though for more stuff!
Enjoy!
About a month had passed since Seraphine's arrival at the Phantomhive Manor, and things had been going particularly well.
At least for her.
As it turns out, Sebastian was not amused by Sera's tall tales of his romantic chivalry, nor of his supposed hidden kindness towards the servants.
As an effect of her fabrication, the servant's attitudes towards the butler had changed drastically, though it didn't last long. They'd begun to act much more lax and humorous with Sebastian, thinking they just needed to coax him out of his shell. Given all the information that Sera had given them (the housekeeper letting slip that the butler secretly loved to laugh), they seemed to set out on a mission. They thought that by talking to him more, joking around, and goofing off, they could get him to come out of his shell.
They were horribly mistaken.
Her mate was highly unamused of her tall tales and quickly set the servants straight once more, quickly striking unwarranted fear into their hearts. Not needing to be verbally and emotionally torn into twice, the servants quickly scattered and left Sebastian to his own devices.
Fortunately, while they failed to get one Michaelis to open up to them, they had no such problems with the other Michaelis. They found that Sera was much more kind and receiving than her male counterpart. She was always there encouraging the servants in their abilities and praising them for their successes. Not only that but she was willing to help them in their work whenever she had the time
And on one sunny afternoon, she continued to do just that.
"Finny, what are you doing?"
The gardener glanced up from his work amidst the flowers and quickly stood to attention once he spotted the beautiful new housekeeper. "Oh, Sera! I didn't hear you come up! I was just adding some fertilizer to the soil, to help the plants grow nice and strong. I'm just about done here though."
Sera's eyes perused the many large, brown bags sitting scattered around the young blonde. She then studied the vast garden around them before a slightly amused look graced her face. "Finny, I don't believe that's fertilizer."
A questioning look crossed Finny's face before his eyes followed the housekeeper's gaze. "AHHHHHHH!" The gardener screamed, for before his eyes was a field of decayed and withered plants. "Oh no, what have I done?" Finny cried, falling to his knees, great big tears rolling down his cheeks.
Sera toed one of the bags with her boot, "I think you may have mistaken fertilizer for weed killer." Turning over the bag, there was a design of a weed with an X over it as well as a skull and crossbones. It appeared that Finny hadn't noticed due to some smudges over the lettering.
"I must have overdone it," Finny sighed, looking dejectedly out at the massive garden of dead plants. "I just wanted to make the garden more beautiful and vibrant."
"It's ok, Finny," Sera kindly reassured, placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "We can fix this garden up in a jiffy."
"We? You mean you'll help me?"
Sera giggled at his awestruck tone. "Of course, I'll help you!"
The gardener threw his arms around the housekeeper. "Thanks, Sera! You're the greatest!"
They soon got to work, Finny procuring a pair of gardening gloves for Sera.
"It's fine Finny. The gloves I'm wearing will be efficient."
"Are you sure you want to get those dirty?" He questioned in concern. "They look right fancy and expensive. I also don't think Sebastian would be happy with you gettin' any of your clothes filthy."
"It'll be our secret then," Sera teasingly said, her finger pressed to her lips. "Whatever my husband doesn't know won't hurt him. These also aren't my only pair of gloves."
Finny shrugged in acquiesce.
Soon enough they had dug up the rotted and dead garden, replaced the soil, and planted new and vibrant flowers of all kinds to give some life to the cold mansion it surrounded. Covered in smudges of dirt that stained their clothes and faces, the gardener and housekeeper looked on in pride.
"We did it," Finny cheered. "And it looks so much more lovely than it did before. Thank you so much, Sera!"
"And just what is going on here?"
Finny seized at attention at the sound of the scary and authoritative voice, while Sera just simply turned around. Sebastian was standing behind them, looking as dashing as ever in his butlers' uniform, his hair falling attractively around his face. He was balancing a silver tray upon the tips of his fingers. A single letter resting on its surface.
Finny gave a quick salute. "Sebastian, Sir! We were working in the gardens and we've just finished up. Look at the flowers! Don't they look beautiful?"
The butler's eyes examined the area around him before he took in the pair's appearance. "While I agree that the garden does look immaculate, what I'm having a hard time understanding is why the head housekeeper is out here as well, looking as if she just took a tumble through the weeds."
Seraphine smirked at her mate who was giving her a disapproving look. "I was helping Finny with his work," she replied.
"And yet that's not an obligation of yours," Sebastian sternly said. "You were hired to do the work specifically assigned to a housekeeper, and Finnian here was hired to do his own work as a gardener. How can this house run efficiently if everyone is not doing the jobs they were hired to do?"
Finny seemed to start to shrink into himself as a foreboding aura seemed to surround the butler. He looked over at Sera, sure she was just as frightened as he was, but was surprised to see her standing tall.
"That would be a problem, sir, if I hadn't already taken care of the work assigned to me, but as it just so happens all that work is completely finished. Ready and waiting for the master to sign with his approval, which I set before him upon his desk just before I came out here to help young Finny."
Finny looked back and forth between the butler and the housekeeper, their matching eyes trained upon the other in what seemed to be a battle of wills. He really didn't want to be here right now. He felt like if he didn't dash away as soon as possible, he was going to get caught in something that he would regret for the rest of his life.
It appeared the gardener had no cause for worry though, as the tall butler sighed before nodding his head.
"Very well then. Finny, good job on the garden. I hope you thank Mrs. Michaelis for her help."
Finny, caught unawares at being addressed, stammered his reply. "Oh I…I did, Sebastian! You can, you can be assured that I…that I did!"
Sebastian nodded at the gardener, his gaze moving over to his wife. "Sera, I need you to come with me, the master requires our attention."
Sera gave him a questioning look to which he gave no reply, his demeanor giving nothing away as he stared blankly at her. The demoness shrugged inwardly, knowing she'd find out soon enough before she turned to the blonde next to her. "I had a nice time with you today Finny. I hope I can be of some more help to you in the future."
Finny gave her a bright smile in reply. "Oh, I had the most wonderful time as well, Sera! Thank you so much for your help!"
Sera just grinned in reply before walking away towards Sebastian.
Finny scratched at his head as he watched the shadowy looking pair walking back inside the manor. "What an odd couple they are. I can't quite seem to make them out." He was deep in thought for a while before he shrugged, "Oh well. Can't erase how simply lovely Sera is."
Inside the manor, the demonic couple made their way through the first floor and up the stairs.
"So," Sera drawled, "what exactly is it that the young Master requires us for?"
"This," Sebastian replied, gesturing towards the aforementioned letter.
Sera reached up in attempt to snatch the letter off the tray, "What is it?"
"It's none of your concern as of right now." Sebastian admonished, whisking the platter above his head and out of her reach. "We'll soon discover the contents, I assure you."
"Well you can't expect me to go see the young lord looking like this," Sera gestured down to her mud-stained gown, grass stains covering the knees of her stockings, and dirt smudges all over her boots.
The butler simply snapped his fingers, and Sera was clean and pristine once more with not a hair out of place.
"How convenient of you," Sera dryly commented, looking down at her immaculate appearance. "I was hoping to dally away the time and make us late by taking forever to look presentable."
"Which is exactly why I did it," Sebastian concluded. He was getting used to her tricks. "Now come. The master awaits us." The butler swiftly turned and continued his walk down the mansion.
Coming upon the office of Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian gave a swift knock.
A soft "enter", came from the other side of the door, and the two demons made their way inside.
"Master, I hope you're finding your snack to your taste," Sebastian commented as he came to his young lord's side.
Ciel sighed as he took another bite of the Gooseberry and Elderflower Jelly, strawberries scattered around the confectionary. "I suppose It'll do."
"I'm glad you find it satisfactory."
Sera rolled her eyes at her mate's typical reply as she went to sit down upon the cushion of the window seat just behind Ciel's desk.
His single cerulean eye following her as she made her way across the room, Ciel addressed the demoness. "Sera, I just wanted to say how pleased I am with your work this past month. Everything has been nothing short of perfection, and I see that you've managed to lessen the Phantomhive spending with a new budget plan. Very good."
"If it pleases my master, it pleases me," the demoness said with a saccharine smile, as she lowered herself into her seat.
Ciel just smirked as he turned back around to his snack, taking another bite.
"When you're finished with your food, master, there is work to be done," Sebastian said, completely ignoring his mate's inherent disrespect.
Ciel looked up at the butler, mildly surprised to find a letter addressed from the Queen resting on a silver platter.
Intrigued, Sera leaned slightly forward, interested to hear what the human monarch of Great Britain had at task.
Swiftly opening the letter, Ciel's eye scanned the paper with a serious determination. "It appears that there are people dying by fire."
"People being burned alive?" Sebastian questioned, refilling his master's tea cup. "Oh yes, that's to do with the rash of crimes in London? I'm told there was another last night."
"Wait, are you serious?" Sera questioned, standing up to lean against the back of Ciel's chair, her eyes reading the letter over his shoulder.
"Yes, unfortunately," Ciel answered. "And naturally her majesty grieves for those who have been afflicted, and for her citizens who live in fear."
Sera chuckled, "well, I'll be damned. You don't hear of that kind of stuff going on in the mortal world all the time."
Ciel hummed his agreement, his brow furrowed in thought.
"Is there something else wrong, my Lord?" Sebastian asked as he placed the refilled cup of tea before his master.
Ciel simply handed the letter over, watching as Sera moved closer to the butler to read the rest along with him.
"'We find these events most unsavory'," Sebastian quoted the queen, "'our course is quite clear. We shall again leave the matter to the Dog and the Spider'. That's an odd statement," Sebastian commented.
"It sounds as if she's saying this sort of incident has happened before." Ciel said, confusion lacing his tone."
"Hasn't it?" Sera questioned. "The queen rules over a vast nation. I'm sure you can't be her only knight of the underworld."
Ciel mulled over the demoness's words. "You do make a point, Sera, though it's a mysterious nickname: Spider. I can't say I recall of ever hearing of such a person." Ciel replied nonchalantly, taking another sip of his tea.
Sera's blood red eyes met those of Sebastian's, their minds going back to their first mating in the forest, and the shadow of a spider with golden eyes skittering away into the dark.
"There's no use sitting here anyway; we'll see to the Queen's concerns. That must always be our priority." Ciel stated, his cerulean eye taking on a most fierce glimmer. "We head for London."
A small smirk of approval upon his lips, Sebastian bowed in deference. "I'll begin the preparations."
Sera settled herself on the edge of Ciel's desk. "I assume you'll want me here to look after the manor?"
"Actually, I expect you to join us." Ciel said. "Who knows what's to be expected and having you with us will make this trip all the more efficient I believe. Tanaka will be here to look after things; he's never failed me before."
Sera shrugged in assent not really caring where she was, though kind of excited to return to the city. Her last adventure there didn't exactly go the way she had planned. She went for a meal and ended up with a mate.
Ciel stood from his desk, making his way towards the door. "Get everything ready, Sebastian. I expect us to leave first thing in the morning."
The demon placed his hand over his heart and lowered his head. "As you wish, my young lord."
"Well this should be interesting," the demoness pondered as the earl left the room.
Sebastian reached out to trace his finger along the delicate curve of her jaw. "It should indeed."
A crowd of Londoners stood circled around a crime scene, some whispering in distress; the gathered city dwellers only held back by the line of policemen that stood monitoring the area. A black scorch mark showed intensely against the stone wall of a building, traveling down against the sidewalk, the sign of a most gruesome death.
Standing before the mark, surveying it intently, stood two men of the notable London police force, Scotland Yard.
"The people have a theory. They say the victims took too much to drink and combusted," one of the men known as Aberline offered.
"The Yard doesn't go by gossip. Go find some evidence!" The other man yelled, irritated by the audacity of those around him. Sir Arthur was a gruff, unforgivable man, with the facial hair to prove it.
"Yes, Sir! I'll start right away, Sir" Aberline saluted, before running off. "Let's go!" He commanded a group of men, the small unit running off after him.
Sir Arthur sighed in exhaustion as he stared at the crime scene, the angry black marks seeming to mock him, telling him that this was another case that would sooner elude him than make anything easy.
"Having a little trouble are we, Sir Arthur?"
The man in question froze where he was as a voice belonging to the bane of his existence rang into his ears. Standing from his crouched position and turning, his eyes fell upon the young nuisance and his equally annoying butler. Surprisingly, there was a new figure with them. A beautiful young woman with hair black as night stood closely to the tall butler, her hand resting lazily in the crook of his arm.
Returning his gaze back to the annoying child, Sir Arthur growled, "Ciel Phantomhive."
Ciel smirked at the annoyed tone of the equally annoying man. He held up the letter holding the queen's seal, letting the gruff man know that this was royal business. "Let's hear about the investigation so far."
Sir Arthur sighed in relent as the young boy walked up to him. "There's no progress to mention as of yet."
"So how do these differ from the previous incidents? Or perhaps everything happened exactly the same; there have been similar crimes before," Ciel said, his expression almost mocking.
"So then you do know," Sir Arthur said irritated. How did this boy already know the secretly intimate details of this investigation that he himself was only privy to?
Ciel chuckled. "Actually, not until now. You confirmed it."
Sir Arthur blanched, growling at his slip up.
"Now that that's settled. Show me the old case file."
"There's nothing left of it," Sir Arthur admitted.
"Nothing?" Ciel asked curiously.
"Not a page, and even if there were, I couldn't show it to you."
Ciel brought his hand to his chin, deep in thought. There aren't any records left?
"Scotland Yard will find who's responsible for this and their motives," Sir Arthur dictated. "We'll determine how it's connected to the old cases as well; you aren't needed here."
Ciel scoffed, "I hope you're right, Sir. Let's go, Sebastian." Turning back towards his servants, the young Earl froze in surprise at the scene before him.
Kneeled before a group of kittens and their mother, was Sebastian, completely entranced by the small felines. His eyes were glowing in wonder as he hesitantly reached out to them. Next to him stood Sera, her arms crossed, looking down at the butler in exasperation.
Sebastian was lost in the gentle aura of the felines before him. Those round eyes so innocent of this world's filth; that tail, childish yet somehow noble. Those paws, pale, pink, and perfect. Sebastian inwardly swooned, completely overcome with emotion.
Sera sighed. "You are completely ridiculous.
Ciel groaned as he pressed his palm against his face in embarrassment. Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps appeared behind him.
"Chief Inspector, we weren't able to find any notable evidence," the man known as Aberline said.
Brought out of his enchantment, Sebastian stood, all back to business. "Master, my apologies, Sir. I was distracted by these charming kittens. Shall we?"
"Are you kidding me?" Demanded Sera. "Not two seconds ago you were completely ready to turn into a cat yourself."
"Did you not see them, my pet? They were beauty and grace! How could one not fall into a trance at the sight of them?"
"Coming from the guy who's all about upholding the Phantomhive honor, you really know how to make us look like a bunch of idiots."
"Sera, get ahold of your husband." Ciel ordered, as he quickly walked past them, heading back to the carriage.
"I'm trying, Sir, but he doesn't make it easy."
As the trio walked away, Sir Arthur stared after them with narrowed eyes.
"Who was he, Sir?" Aberline asked, his eyes also following after them.
"A menace, also known as the Queen's Guard Dog. It seems he's come back to London."
"The Queen's Guard Dog?" Aberline said slowly, recognition alighting his features. "Then does that mean he's…"
"A most unpleasant man," Sebastian said to Sera, concluding his explanation of the history between Ciel and the Chief inspector of Scotland Yard. "What shall we do now, Sir?" Sebastian asked his master. He was seated on the opposite side of the carriage along with his mate, both demons waiting expectantly for their master's next orders.
Ciel sighed against his hand that was resting against his cheek, his eyes looking lazily out of the window upon the gloom of the city. "Well if the yard is no help, then there's only one thing to do."
With that the carriage started along its way, Sebastian having given the directions for their next destination to the driver.
"Where are we going?" Sera whispered to her mate.
"We are to meet with a most interesting man, though the definition of his character depends solely upon the individual meeting him," said the demon. "I must demand that you guard yourself strongly against this person. While he may seem like a fool, I promise he is a most worthy adversary."
Sera raised her brows at Sebastian's words, never having heard him speak of anyone this way. She turned her gaze to the view outside the window, watching the city pass leisurely by, wondering just who this man was. He could not be any ordinary man for Sebastian would never sing a human such high praise. Glancing over at the touch of her mate, she gave him a quizzical look as he took her gloved hand in his own, holding it gently upon his lap. Sebastian merely returned her look with a close-lipped smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ciel give their clasped hands a look before rolling his eyes and returning his focus back onto the world outside.
Giving an internal shrug, Sera also returned her gaze to the passing city, not for one second thinking of telling Sebastian that the feeling of his thumb rubbing soothingly against her hand caused her even one iota of comfort.
After some time, the trio arrived at their destination. Removing himself from the carriage, Sebastian exited the cart and turned to help his master and mate from the vehicle.
Standing before a most sullen looking building, Sera gazed up at the words framing the top of the gloomy shop.
Under taker.
The bold black words were seated upon a purple gray background with a golden frame surrounding it. Right above - centered in the middle of the frame - sat a smiling skull, his dark, fathomless sockets seeming to welcome the living and offering them a one-way ticket to join the dead. Surrounding the entrance to the building sat coffins and tombstones, the owner of the establishment probably thinking this was a good form of advertisement.
"Lovely," Sera commented.
Ciel smirked at the housekeeper's assessment of the place, before walking through the entrance, Sebastian having opened the door.
The inside looked just as depressing as the outside, Sera noted. Coffins littered the area, there were shelves set against the walls covered with jars and bottles filled with substances that she had no care to discover. Though through all the gloom and doom there were some nice pictures covering the walls.
The room was empty save for the three of them. Sera sidled closer to Sebastian's person, remembering his warning in the carriage.
"Undertaker!" Ciel called.
Nothing happened at first, but then an eerie laughter filled the room.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the young Lord of Phantomhive."
Behind a curtain in the doorway across them came a most curious looking man. Clothed in robes of black, the sleeves so long they covered his hands, was the man known as the Undertaker. He had long silver hair that reached way passed his rear, and bangs that completely covered his eyes, but Sera could see a long scar that ran diagonally across his face and another one to match across his neck. His silver head was covered with a top hat that had a tail coming off it which trailed along his hair. He also wore a gray sash around his shoulder, which was tied off across his opposite hip, and a golden chain wrapped around his waist.
"I was wonderin', when you were comin' to see little ol' me," he grinned, walking closer to the three. "The city's been all abuzz with talk of the recent deaths, I knew you'd come around sooner or later."
"Yes, I had some questions regarding the death of-,"
"Ah, ah, ah, my Lord Phantomhive," the Undertaker interrupted Ciel, tapping him on the end of his nose, his long black fingernail barely scratching the boy's face. "First comes the payment. Will you try your hand to bring me to the euphoric wonder of laughter, or will you leave it all to your butler?"
At his words, the Undertaker's eyes turned to the demon in question, but his gaze fell upon the woman by his side. Grinning in delight, the Undertaker immediately recognized what the girl was, and with how closely she was standing to the butler, he knew exactly who she was as well. Leave it to the demon butler to find himself such an exquisite creature. His eyes roved along the lady's form and he could easily tell that Sebastian was having a good ol' time with this wonder of a demoness.
"Or…" the Undertaker drawled, sauntering over to stand before the dark beauty, "will your knew friend give it a try? Hello, lovely."
She could feel if not see the subtle way Sebastian tensed as the Undertaker addressed her. She didn't break eye contact with the silver-haired man, or what eye contact she tried to make given his bangs completely covered the upper portion of his face.
"Undertaker, this is my new housekeeper, Sera." Ciel introduced. "She's also Sebastian's wife."
"Oh my. The ol' butler finally settled himself down, did he? And what a pretty prize he's caught."
Sera was not comfortable with the intense study Undertaker was making of her. She got a strange feeling from this man. Some semblance of power humming underneath his skin. Sebastian was right, there's more to this Undertaker than meets the eye.
Before she could retort, her mate stepped in.
"If it please you, Undertaker, I have just the joke that should lighten your spirits."
Sebastian maneuvered Sera behind himself and towards their master, a movement not unnoticed by anyone in the room. While Sebastian began his joke, the Undertaker hanging onto every word like a dog waiting for a treat, Sera went to stand by Ciel's side.
"Interesting creature."
Ciel looked up at her, his one orb giving her a curious look. "Interesting that you say 'creature' and not 'man'. Why is that?"
Sera crossed her arms, looking down at the boy. "You don't get the feeling that the Undertaker is more than he seems to be?"
"No, I do," Ciel replied. "He's always been a bit otherworldly. He's not a demon, is he?"
"No," Sera said, eyes shifting over to the two black-shrouded beings across the room. "No, he is certainly not a demon." Sebastian would have been much more murderous had the Undertaker been one. That and the Undertaker gave off no demonic aura.
Roaring laughter brought the two from their conversation. It appeared as though Sebastian's joke had gone off without a hitch and the Undertaker was extremely satisfied.
"That was brilliant!" Undertaker gasped, kneeling on the floor, leaning heavily against a coffin. "Everything from the words down to the delivery; you're truly a comic genius! The finest act I've seen in quite some time!" Giggles erupted from the male once more.
Ciel glowered at the Undertaker, before muttering to Sera, "that just might have been the worst joke I've ever heard in my life."
Sera giggled behind her hand, nodding in agreement, loving the sour look Sebastian gave her.
"Which in itself is something special." Undertaker said, appearing by Ciel's side, his arm going around the young earl's shoulders. "I shall have to keep my end of the bargain, shan't I?"
Walking a couple steps away, Undertaker pulled a small vile from his sleeve and set it on the counter. Inside the vial was nothing but a sparkly gray powder.
Ciel frowned. "What are you playing at? I asked for a corpse from the arson case."
"Indeed, you did, and here it is." Undertaker answered, shaking the glass jar. "In this little vial." The silver-haired male took a seat on a nearby coffin, tossing the vial up and catching it in his hand over and over. "Well most of it anyway. I scraped up everything I could from the crime scene. After the fire was done with the victim, there was nothing left behind for me to collect but these ashes."
Ciel caught the vial as Undertaker tossed it to him, studying the contents. "It appears we have more work to do." Ciel said, addressing his two servants. "Thank you, Undertaker, for your time."
The male giggled as he took back the vial from the earl. "Oh, it was my pleasure, my lord. Certainly, my pleasure indeed. Come back again and don't be strangers. You especially, Mrs. Michaelis. It's been a long time since I've seen such a pretty face."
As they exited the parlor, Sera turned back one last time, not missing the wide grin that the Undertaker sent her way, nor the flash of yellow green that appeared beneath his bangs.
Otherworldly indeed.
We're finally in the plot of the anime! If any of you recognize it, this is at the beginning of season 2. I was going through the episodes and something hit me that I just had to write Sera into. I also thought it was a good place to start. This will be part one of the episode. Hopefully I'll only have to split it in two.
I know not everyone is a fan of season 2 cause it doesn't follow the manga, but don't worry. I'm not going to follow everything either (Ciel is not going to turn into a demon at the end, I promise). There's just a lot of stuff that I want to insert into Sera and Sebastian's story from season 2.
Also, 1 announcement. I've created a tumblr account dedicated to posting all my stories as well as something new:
Requests!
I've had some people request that I write oneshots of different couples in another anime. If you follow me on here, you'll have gotten those notifications of those stories. I list on my tumblr what shows/books/anime that I am willing to write about. If there's something I didn't list, just shoot me a message. I may or may not have seen it, but I'm not against expanding my horizons.
So just follow me on (fanficwritingescapades).
(Just take out the spaces and parenthesis)
I list my name there. You know me. I'm Alyssa. Your trash amateur author who takes forever and a day to update.
Anyway, please leave a review, let me know what you think, what your expectations are, what you'd like to see! And definitely shoot me a request on tumblr! I will do everything in my power to make your fantasies come true (on paper/the computer screen at least).
