The Nasod Whim was as vivid as ever. This day in particular featured a foam party. The dance floor had every table and booth removed to add room. A floating machine equipped with a bunch of foam cannons as well as speakers hovered over the dance floor, shooting away streams of white bubbles. The entrance was offering a swimsuit rental service for the night, and both Lu and Ciel just came out of the improvised changing rooms. Ciel was wearing deep blue trunks while Lu had a light blue bikini.
"This explains the huge queue to get inside; I didn't know they were going to do this today!" Lu screamed excitedly, running into the foam.
She left a trail in the ocean of bubbles and turned back to call for Ciel. A summer song was playing and everyone was enjoying it, the private balconies were closed tonight and almost everyone was in the dance floor. Aside from the one on top, smaller machines floated around with free drinks. Even if it was hard trying to avoid your drink getting full of foam, Ciel managed to grab a pair of cups to share with Lu.
As the party was progressed, the lights in the disco dimmed and the usual laser lights cast their colorful rays across the floor. The bubbles reflected the lights brilliantly, creating a dream-like ambience.
After almost an hour of dancing, Ciel was already exhausted, and soaked. However Lu was still as fresh as ever. Luckily for him, she realized her partner was already out of energy.
"Do you want to take a break?" Lu asked as loud as she could.
"Yeah."
They made their way to a specific area right next to the dance floor, it was only opened for that day apparently. The lights in the room were red, and a calefactory system kept the place at a comfortably warm temperature, even in a wet swimsuit. It also melted away the foam, keeping the place and the customer dry. A mobile bar was set there; they ordered some drinks and sat on a red leather sofa.
"It's an interesting party today huh?" Ciel said trying to be heard over the loud music.
Lu took a sip of her drink. It was called "Master Mateo": a complicated beverage that was made of vermouth combined with a bit of gin, red grapefruit juice, rhubarb syrup, some drops of lemon bitter and a bit of an egg's white. It was served in a vintage cup and adorned with a twisted peel of grapefruit, a leaf of mint and ice.
Her hair was still wet from the foam. Beads of water slid across her shoulders, back and chest; captivating Ciel's attention. Once she put her drink down she noticed Ciel staring at her. He immediately looked away after being caught and tried to think something to say to break the ice.
"So… how are things going?" He said to her.
Ciel sipped his drink. He had ordered a simple combination of vodka and soda. Even if he hadn't asked about it, he was expecting Lu to say something about Lento, and even though he didn't want to speak about him that night, curiosity got the best of him.
"Well I suppose. Professor Grail says that I'll fail his exams if I don't get serious about it, but I guess I can still manage to pass them… What about you?"
Not being able to hear what he wanted was a bit frustrating.
"I've been doing well, the other day I saw you lurking around the sports clubs' fields. Are you going to join any?"
"Ha ha! Of course not, I was there… hum… waiting for him to finish his training."
"Him? Did she try to avoid using his name for some reason?" Ciel thought to himself.
"But let us not speak about those things today Ciel, we're here to have some fun. Hey, why don't we bail out of here and go to that park we used to visit." Lu continued.
"You mean the park that is near the academy? We only went there to smoke."
Lu got up the sofa; she shook her head to try to dry her hair. The moisture was beginning to make her locks curl. The white locks dripping in front of her face made her look even more cute than usual, or so Ciel thought. They headed out after getting dressed again. The swimsuit rent was incredibly expensive even if it was just an hour or two. The cold night air and the wet sensation that was still on them made Lu tremble with cold.
"Here, wear my coat." Ciel said.
Lu didn't try to reject it and snatched it right away happily wrapping herself in it. The coat was too long for Lu and its lower part was being dragged on the floor as she walked. Ciel pretended not to be cold; however the night was already pretty chilly. The walk between the disco and the park wasn't long. Their favorite park was placed just a couple of blocks away from the academy walls.
Cherry trees dotted the landscape and the park itself was surrounded by huge buildings creating a four squared plaza. However since it was already winter the usual pink leaves were gone, and only a lot of skinned branches remained. The tiles distributed over the park, formed an X shaped path with circles on the exterior. In the center black and white tiles combined to form an abstract image. The park was illuminated strictly by lamplight, and most of the ground not covered with tiles had tall bushes on it, making it darker and harder to see. For that reason the park was usually visited by couples to have some fun, or by students that wanted to do some mischief. But most important was the group of Elesis' gang members that patrolled it, keeping away rival students as well as undesirable visitors.
They walked to the center, and once there they went through an opening in the bushes. They crossed two walls made of bush and then sat between two trees. It was their usual spot. Ciel rest his back against the tree while Lu browsed through her purse.
"Oh, I found it." She said, taking a joint out of the purse.
"Hum? Where did you get that?" Ciel asked surprised.
"I asked Raven some time ago, in case he would be absent or something." She said, sitting in front of Ciel and giving it to him.
"The zippo is in the coat." He said while rerolling the thin paper of the cigarette. It was all messy due to being in Lu's purse.
She taped the coat in search of the lighter. But was unable to find it. Ciel finished readying the joint and seeing her still without the lighter he decided to reach for it himself. However he soon realized that with Lu wearing his coat it was really embarrassing and weird reaching out to it, so he took his hand out of it so fast that Lu laughed. He shook his head and placed the joint in his lips and lit it up.
The tiny light from it painted two orange dots on Lu's eyes as she eagerly waited for her turn. The warm smoke flowed out of Ciel's nose before he blew it out. Lu took the joint from Ciel and took a drag herself and lied on her back. The sky was clear that night, and the stars displayed their beauty in it. The smoke that rose from the lit joint merged with the soft light of the lamps.
A suddenly cold wind made Ciel tremble. The effect from the alcohol was wearing out, and the temperature drop was becoming more intense as the night advanced.
"Are you alright? Do you want me to return this?" Lu asked.
Ciel shook his head. Even if he was cold he wouldn't admit it in front of Lu. Even if that stupid pride would reward him with a pneumonia. However it was evident how cold he was for Lu, seeing how his skin was full of goosebumps. She took a drag and blew the smoke on his face.
"Are you sure? Your lips are getting blue." She insisted.
"Won't you be cold then?" He answered.
It was true that Lu didn't wanted to be cold. So she decided to do another thing. She sat astride on Ciel's lap, facing him; and opened the coat to wrap him in it. He was surprised, however another blew of chilly wind shook him, and he decided to play along. He passed his arms between the coat and Lu back. It was warm. After that he leaned again against the tree and bent his knees to give Lu some support. The cold wind was gone, or rather it was pushed away by the comfort of Lu's embrace.
Ciel almost lost himself to the relaxation of the joint and the hug, but then Lu brought him back with her movement. She was trying to get comfy on Ciel's chest, however her hips were lightly pressing against Ciel's. He tried his best to keep his mind clear of weird thoughts. When she found a good position she took another drag and looked into Ciel's eyes. She approached his lips and blew the scented joint's smoke between them. Their lips touched by a mere instant.
"It's been awhile since we did that" Lu said.
As usual, she gave the joint to Ciel, expecting him to do the same in return. He did follow Lu's little game. Their lips barely touching again.
"I still don't really know why you enjoy it that much. We could just kiss." Ciel said. However he didn't realize he said the last part out loud until he saw Lu's face.
"Do you want to kiss me?" She asked.
"Yeah." Ciel said.
Since he already said more than he should once, he decided to place the bet there. After all there wasn't too many to lose anyway. Lu didn't answer back, so he took the initiative. He placed his arm around Lu's back and drew her closer. Ciel placed his lips over Lu's for a brief moment. They felt wet and fleshy. He looked her in the eyes. They were open, staring back at him; there wasn't a single trace of anger or anything like that in them, so Ciel proceeded.
This time he closed his eyes and locked lips with her. A bit of sucking made them feel more moist, he let his tongue go through, licking Lu's lips. She opened up, letting Ciel's tongue brush against her teeth. And then it met with Lu's. At first both tongues stepped back as if they were scared, but immediately after they searched for each other again. They touched again, and started to move playfully; licking and twisting around each other. The hot air that blew out of Lu's nose made Ciel open his eyes for a second. Lu was with her eyes closed and her cheeks blushed. He resumed the kissing, moving his lips and changing his head position.
They finally broke the kiss, separating with their mouths slightly open. Their eyes met. Lu's head was spinning along with Ciel's. This time it was Lu that went in for a kiss, placing her hands against the tree's bark. She leaned over Ciel more and he realized that he had let his guard down. By the way she was pressing her body against his it was impossible that she hadn't noticed. But since she didn't say anything about it he wondered if she was okay about it.
The second kiss broke. Lu stared back at him panting. The joint fell at some time on the ground and its embers were already extinguished. She leaned over his chest again.
"Ciel. I need to tell you a secret." She said.
"What is it?" He asked.
Lu shoved her face in Ciel's chest and spoke.
"I called you tonight so I wouldn't have to spend the night with Lento."
At first Ciel couldn't understand what she was saying. He was still dizzy from the amazing kiss.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"You remember some time ago when I told you he wanted to… do it? Well, we didn't do it… and he had become a bit… annoying from it." She explained.
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that." Ciel answered.
"You're really saying that after we kissed like this?" She said, laughing.
Ciel couldn't help but to laugh as well.
"But, why didn't you do it? I mean, you told me you'll do it." Ciel said.
"It's hard to explain. I just didn't feel like I should do it with him. I love him and all of that but… I feel like our love is just made up. Like two teenagers that doesn't want to be tagged as losers for being virgin or something." Lu said.
"That's probably true for him. I mean, if you're saying he's being upset about it, he might be under some kind of pressure like that."
Lu leaned back to think. She saw the dropped joint and picked it up, lighting it again.
"I've been thinking about ditching him." She finally said.
Ciel didn't say anything more. Even if it was sad it was good news for him. Well, everything was good news for him that night. Lu took the last drag of the exhausted joint. The effect of the smoke was already making them dizzy. Lu faced Ciel again and kissed him. She didn't need tell Ciel that she wanted some love. They started making out again. As they were at it Ciel started losing interest in trying to hide his lust. Instead he ran his hands across Lu's thighs. They were so soft and warmth as her lips. For Ciel, Lu's skin felt like silk.
He decided to try and see where Lu would stop him. Slowly he lift the dress' skirt without breaking their sweet kiss. Instead of resisting, Lu unbuttoned Ciel's shirt. Her small hands caressed his bare chest, giving a calming sensation. He let his hands go up a little more, this time feeling her buttocks and inner thighs.
"Ciel… we should stop here tonight." Lu said, breaking away from him.
A sudden chill awoke Ciel. He saw Lu straightening her dress in front of him. Even when he really wanted to protest, he just stood up as well.
"Yeah, lets head home, it's late already."
Chung was awoken by a loud voice. He looked around and found himself in a small white room. The source of the voice happened to be a megaphone on one of the upper corners of the room.
"Are you awake, sleeping Beauty?"
Chung nod, even when it was impossible for the speaker to see him.
"In about five minutes you'll be interrogated about the incident you were involved in yesterday."
And with that the megaphone went silent.
He inspected the room he was in. It was a square room of white ceiling, white walls and white floors. There was a single white metal door and the only furnitures in the room were a white bed with white blankets and a white desk, with a pink chair.
"Sorry about that. The jailor thought you were a girl." A voice said behind him.
He looked back to see that the door had a small slit. The sound of a key turning a lock could be heard and was followed by the heavy creak of the door. Chung could see his interlocutor. It was a young man, with blonde hair and muscled looks. He had a messy five days beard and wore a dark blue office suit. An ID card was hung on his chest, displaying the name Jack and the rank: mafia police officer. He gestured for Chung to follow him and they went out of the cell. Chung realized he wasn't in prison. After the gloomy hallway his cell was in, he was surprised to see a big office full of uniformed cops. He was lead into a room on the upper floor. This time it was bigger room, with a chair and a table. He sat there and waited for agent Jack to speak.
"Alright, we'll wait for Lieutenant Connors and then you'll tell us what happened yesterday."
Five minutes later a knock on the door was heard, and Lieutenant Connors entered the room. Chung was surprised to see her. She was a Nasod, but pretty different to all the others. She was nearly two meters tall and her body looked a lot more dynamic than any other Nasod. Her skin was totally white and it was full of black lines that Chung realized they were to allow her skin to move and gesture. Her eyes were black while her iris was made of small lights arranged in a circle. She had long blue hair with exactly three single hairs falling over her face. However they were thicker and looked like some kind of plastic material.
"I am Lieutenant Connors. As I heard you're Chung Seiker, son of Helputt Seiker."
Her voice sounded as if it were some pre-recorded message. It was devoid of any kind of tone, intention or warmth.
"We need to hear an explanation about yesterday's incident." She said.
Chung took a deep breath and explained it. He altered the history. His version was that they entered the technical school to make a hazing to their rival school and that they were found out. Officer Jack was smiling and nodding as if he were remembering his own youth, while the Lieutenant was staring so hard at Chung that he could feel as if she were scanning his soul.
"Were you forced to follow this person?" Connors asked showing him a picture of Raven.
Chung shook his head.
"No, we're friends so I was just hanging out with him." He answered.
"Are you friends with this person as well?" This time she showed an Elesis' picture.
"I only spoke to her a bit."
Both agents looked at each other, but they didn't say anything.
"Hey Chung. Can I call you Chung right?" This time it was Jack the one speaking. "Tell me. How does the prince of Hamel Kingdom end up involved with a gang of delinquents? Did you have a quarrel with your father?"
Jack used a somewhat friendly tone. It was even hard to tell if it was part of the interrogatory or if it was only curiosity.
"Come on, you can tell me. Did he take away the credit card? Said that you cannot go out with your girlfriend? That you're friends aren't a good influence on you? My father was a tyrant too, when I joined the police corps he said I wasn't worth anything. He wanted me to study to be a lawyer."
"Hum… I appreciate the concern, but my father and I have a good relationship, sir." Chung answered.
"I hope you can keep saying that once you arrive at Hamel, because we're sending you there so a hamelian jury can determine your fate." Connors said.
"Eli, wait." Jack said, leaning in to whisper something to her.
"Officer Knight, I told you to not call me that, especially in front of suspects." She warned once he finished whispering.
Once Chung heard their full names he finally realized he already knew these agents. They were usually on TV every time news about a gang or the mafia would be aired. They were Lieutenant Elizabeth Connors and Officer Jack Knight, and they were quite famous for their skill when it came to managing criminal gangs.
"Alright mister Seiker, my partner said that instead of being sent back to Hamel; your punishment will be handled by your tutors here." Connors explained.
As she was saying that, a knock on the door was heard. Principal Penensio and Council president Eve entered the room. They introduced themselves to the two agents and sat in front of him. Chung noticed how Connors bowed to Eve and pulled the chair for her.
"Good morning Chung Seiker. Do you remember me? We met on the sky dock the first day you arrived here. It's a pity the second time we met is when you're under arrest." Penensio said.
"I'm sorry, Principal Penensio." Chung said, lowering his head.
"Don't fret about it. I was once a troublesome child too. However I was able to learn and discipline myself. And this lovely lady here insisted that we should handle this issue." He said pointing at Eve.
"Chung, I don't know how you feel about being sent back under these conditions to your father. However I know that it would harm the school image. And it would be troublesome for your studies too. That's why I decided to intervene here." Eve explained.
"What they are saying, boy, is that you won't be sent back to Hamel in exchange for a punishment in your school. Get your wrist ready because I can already see you filling chalkboards." Jack added.
Eve and Penensio both nodded.
"You won't be writing I won't do it again 1000 times though, I decided that a suitable punishment for you would be helping the student council for the rest of the year. That way you'll be able to know how much trouble you caused to poor Eve here with your little mischief." Penensio said.
Chung just nodded in response. Both Eve and Penensio stood up to leave. They waited at the door for Chung. However before he stood up, Lieutenant Connors spoke again.
"However you're still guilty of destroying public property as well as endangering innocent lives with your reckless actions. So you'll be under house arrest for the rest of the semester. You are only allowed to leave your current home in the school dorms to attend your classes, your new obligations with the student council and to eat. You're not allowed to leave your room to meet with other students; neither are you allowed to meet with them inside the room. And I'll let you know that we will be surveilling you."
With that Chung was allowed to leave. They asked him to wait in front of the gates of the night court to receive the official home arrest notification. Both Eve and Penensio went out without waiting for him. As he was waiting there, the court gates opened and Raven came out of it.
"Raven! I see you're alright. What did they say to you?" Chung asked.
"Hi boy. Glad to see you well too. They beat us up badly last night. Looks like I'm going to spend a couple of months in prison." Raven asked.
"What?" Chung asked surprised.
"Don't worry, someone will come to pay my bail so I can leave earlier. But I'll still be there for some time."
"Too bad. I had Eve and Penensio help me. I'm under house arrest."
"Oh, so the Queen already played her move on you." Raven said.
"What do you mean?" Chung asked confused.
"Haven't you realized? Isn't it weird for you that someone as important as Eve is studying in our academy?" Raven asked.
"Well, now that you mention it…"
"She's right where she wants to be. Empress Academy is the highest class school in the entire world. Only the best of the best are allowed to study here: princes, heroes, geniuses… And sooner or later, EVERY one of them end up owing the Queen a favor or two."
"You're screwing with me here now." Chung said in disbelief.
"You can choose not to believe it if you want. But isn't it weird for you that such a high class academy allows the existence of a delinquent gang under its wing? It's like a favor farm! Almost anyone in the gang owes our dear goddess a favor already. I actually owe her two, and that must be the reason I'm going to jail today."
Chung couldn't believe it. He thought Eve was just being nice, but was she actually just collecting favors? The image of Eve, sitting on the council room; surrounded by her underlings with a twisted smile on her face waiting for the persons that owe her favors to come and pay her tribute in a mafia like fashion just popped in Chung mind.
"Nah, I think you're paranoid." He finally said.
"Chung Seiker! Calling Chung Seiker!"
A voice was heard from inside the court, he quickly bid farewell to Raven and entered. Raven was escorted to the Police Station prison cells by Jack and Connors. Before they ditched him in his cell, he was allowed to make a call.
Ciel rolled over his bed. His head was pulsing with pain. Every time he would open his eyes the light that entered through the room blinds would stab them.
"Vodka… even if I love you, you treat me like this…" He mumbled to himself.
But that just reminded him about what happened last night. He rushed to get his Elshard. It was resting on the table recharging its battery. He browsed through his message history. Lu hadn't sent anything yet. He touched his lips and remembered the soft sensation he had last night. It was still hard to believe. Then he noticed the time displayed on the Elshard.
"I should be in the club in… two hours ago!" He said, rushing again to get changed.
He managed to put some clothes in him in just two minutes. Every Sunday morning they would do rehearsals of the current play. However he was more interested in seeing Lu. And he figured out It wouldn't be a good idea to arrive late and anger her just six hours… eight hours actually; later than their first real kiss. He was about to leave the room when his Elshard rang. He jolted to grab it, he was actually going to forget it on the table.
"Lu?" He said.
"Yeah, it's me, my dear Romeo."
Ciel looked the Elshard display, it was showing Raven's name and number.
"Dude…" Ciel said.
A laugh was heard from the other side of the shard.
"Actually I don't have time for jokes. Listen up. I'm going to jail right now and I need you to do me a favor."
"Woah, slow down there. What did you do?" Ciel asked.
"Lot of things, don't worry, it's actually only two months. But hey, I can't give you the full details here but… If you look in your drawer, right under where you keep your boots there's a small ventilation grill. I hid a box there with my money. Hum… you'll find the details inside it."
Raven said, looking behind him to see Jack and Connors waiting for him.
"Well that sounds simple enough… And why did you hide that there?" Ciel asked.
"You'll understand it once you get it. Listen, you can have everything else that's in the box, just make sure you come and pay my bail so I can get out. I'll be waiting man."
And then Raven hung the phone. Ciel wanted to go meet with Lu, but actually his friend being in jail was more urgent. So he decided to check that box Raven mentioned. He still didn't understand why Raven would hide it in his drawer.
As he said, the box was there. It was a plain shoe box. However once he opened he was amazed to see its content. Approximately one kilo of weed in bulk with a note in it. Ciel took it and read it.
"Dear Ciel, if you're reading this, either you finally found my secret stash or I'm in jail. If it's the latter you'll have to sell this in order to get the money to pay my bail. If it's the former I dare you to touch my weed. Ask Elesis about selling this."
"Damn it Raven! I'm not a drug dealer." Ciel complained, putting back the box in its hiding spot.
Even if he didn't like it, he didn't want to leave Raven jailed. However, as payback for dragging him into it, he would make him wait a bit.
He finally left the room, heading to the theatre club. He was eager to see Lu. However he still had a weird feeling. He was worried that what happened yesterday was only due to the effect of alcohol and weed. But she only had a single drink and smoked just a little; it shouldn't have affected her that much. No, it had to be real. Ciel increased his pace. He arrived at the club almost running. Everyone was changing into their costumes or putting on makeup. Ciel searched for Lu everywhere, but he found other girl wearing Lu character's costume.
"Hasn't Lu arrived yet?" He asked to the nearest member.
"She texted through the club chat that she was a bit ill and so she wouldn't come today."
The club chat! Ciel muted that chat long ago due to the high amount of spam the members sent through it and already forgot about it. He connected to the NN and opened the chat. A huge amount of notifications filled its display. He searched for the most recent one. How could it be possible for Lu message to be 500 notifications away if only two hours had passed? He tossed the Elshard back at his pocket and headed out.
"Vice-pres, are you going out too?"
Ciel apologized to the club members as he rushed out the room. The message said that Lu had a bit of a fever. It could be true since last night was cold and they were wet due to the foam party, but it could be something else. He ran across the hallways, disrupting every student he stumbled past. When he finally reached Lu's room at the girl's dorms, he saw that there was already someone knocking on her door. It was Lento.
Ciel stayed back and waited. Lento knocked the door several more times before calling for her, but he got no response. A girl from the next room peeked out of the door to tell him she may be resting due to being ill and Lento decided to leave. Ciel waited until he was already far away before knocking the door.
"Hey Lu, it's me." He said after making sure nobody else was present.
The sound of the door unlocking invited him to enter. The room was in total darkness, only a thin beam of light from the upper row of the blind entered the room. Lu was going back to bed when Ciel entered the room. He noticed she was wearing one of his own long lost t-shirts. It was a lot larger than Lu, so it covered almost to her knees and her hands were way into the sleeve. She waved one sleeve at him as a salute and holed up in bed again.
"How are you?" Ciel asked.
"It's just a hungover, I just didn't want to go outside this morning." She answered.
Ciel grabbed the desk's chair and sat next to Lu's bed.
"Is that all? Because I was sure that Lento was here just now." Ciel asked.
"He was? I guess I was asleep."
"Is that so?" Ciel asked.
Lu laughed and rolled on her bed. Ciel looked around the room. The clothes Lu wore yesterday were lying on the floor, as well as her purse. She dropped it open and its contents were scattered on the ground. Ciel kneeled and picked them up.
"Ciel, do you want to get inside?" Lu asked.
Ciel looked at her. She had half of her face hidden under the blankets. She made some place under them for Ciel to slip in. However he was hesitant. He just remembered Raven.
"Actually, I should be doing something else now." He answered.
"I could use some cuddles right now Ciel." Lu asked stretching her arms as if she were trying to reach Ciel.
He sighed.
"Alright, but I'll leave once you're asleep. It's really important that I get my errand done."
Lu smiled. Ciel removed his coat and his shoes and got under the blankets. He squeezed Lu against his chest and she curled up there. Not much later, both of them were already asleep.
7 chapters already?!
Well, this sure took a while. I'm happy that I was able to write until here.
However I want to tell you something. This will be the last chapter before things get...lewd.
So next chapter the rating of the fic will go up to M and will contain NSFW things.
That's all :3
