Chapter Seven is called thoughts

After taking a deep breath, I glared down at the sheet of paper that sat before me on the cluttered desk. My hand had been poised over the sheet for what felt like days, and all that covered it was scribbles and irrelevant doodles. It was honestly just a wonder I wasn't sleeping right now. I knew I was tired, yet every time I closed my eyes, my brain kept racing ahead, and stirring up thoughts that I had spent my waking hours going over dozens of times.
The chair loudly scraped against the floor as I shoved away from the overflowing desk. I was frustrated with what I thought I was overlooking. Either that or I was genuinely not picking up on something. It was just that every time I reviewed the notes I felt like I was overlooking something and I tried to turn my brain off, but then it would touch base with a bunch of angles I had already worked at and my head became a buzzing hive of activity once again. It wasn't even the case that was frustrating me anymore, it was myself. It was just a shame I couldn't get away from myself.
I started running my fingers through my hair and stood, deciding I needed a nice, day long break. Before exiting my room, I turned off the small brass lamp that on the surprisingly empty corner of my desk.
Abaroa glanced up from the book he had been reading as I approached the living room and smiled slightly. He had been doing it a lot lately, but I figured it was just his way of silently encouraging me, since there wasn't anything I'd let him do. "What's going on Gus?"
He slightly tipped his head to one side as I casually replied, "Nothing much I guess, just going for a walk."
Abaroa's eyes widened slightly and he leaned forward a bit, making it look like he was going to get up. "It's pouring out!"
I shrugged slightly, not really caring what happened anymore. "So?"
"You'll get sick or something." Being laid up in bed a couple days would probably help me catch up on my sleep anyway and show me just how much that kid could get done by himself. With my dumb luck I wouldn't get sick anyway, I'd probably just wind up coming home, dripping water all over the floor and get fussed over by Abaroa.
I placed my hand on the warm doorknob and shrugged again, glancing back at Abaroa before opening the door. I took the first step out into the hall and heard him calling after me, "Wait, at least put a coat on!"
I closed the door back and leaned against the weathered wood. Light green paint chipped off and fell to the worn carpet below as I listened to the rain relentlessly pound against the roof.
Wandering down the same dingy hall I had countless times, I found myself not really noticing anything, even after I was standing out on the front porch. It was like there was this fog surrounding me; preventing me from noticing anything about my surroundings, not matter how insignificant it might be.
The uneven streets and anything else that wasn't covered over were assaulted by the large drops of icy water. There wasn't a soul out on the drenched streets; every living thing had sought shelter away from the undesirable weather a long time ago. As I roamed down the street, sloshing through puddles, not once did it occur to me that I should take the advice of everyone and head back inside.
Despite being drenched, I didn't feel cold, and for the first time in weeks my head was empty. It was refreshing to not have thought constantly whirring around and having to nitpick with everything that surrounded me. I could just walk along and let the rain wash over me without a care in the world. It was just me and the water out here.

~***~ Light green paint chipped off the ancient door and fluttered to the carpet below when I knocked on it. Briefly looking around the dimly lit hallway I found myself wondering why I was even bothering. There wasn't any point in making amends, since I was more than capable of figuring out this whole thing out on my own. Filling in the blanks was just taking a lot longer than it normally would.
There was some shifting around from inside the apartment before the door was opened and Abaroa stood before me. He opened the door wider, and motioned for me to enter, before closing the door back behind me.
I moved away from the door and blinked a few times in the sudden brightness, waiting for my eye to adjust. He helped me with my coat, and hung it up on the coatrack nearby. "This rain came out of nowhere didn't it?" I nodded in silent agreement, before he added, "Gus isn't here; he went out for a walk."
For some reason, I found myself a bit disappointed with Gus' sudden lack of presence. Once I processed the fact that he was actually outside in this I wondered if he was okay. Closing my eyes briefly, I quickly dispelled the thought and skeptically asked, "In this?"
Abaroa nodded sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. He acted like it was his fault his superior was always wandering off and was doing something stupid. "He was in ones of his moods, and I don't think he would have stayed even if I asked him to."
Shaking my head, I thought to myself, he's going to get sick; a grown man should know better than to be outside in weather like this. Abaroa offered me a nearby chair, and sat down across from me. This whole afternoon is going to be a waste if Sebastian can't turn up anything.
A kettle started to whistle in the kitchen shortly after we had run out of small talk, and Abaroa glanced in its general direction. "Why don't you have some tea before you go? It's the least I can do for you."
"Alright," Abaroa stood and rushed off to the kitchen. The kettle ceased its infernal screaming and the room was filled with the pattering sounds of large drops of water assaulting the window panes. At times it seemed like nothing more than a background noise, but then the wind would kick up and the sound would increase to a seemingly deafening volume.
I don't know when I had started, but I found myself running my fingers through my hair. After the fact, I quickly stopped, not wanting to make a habit of it, and sighed softly. However shortly after I had found myself doing it again; this is all Gus' fault, I hope he does get sick so I won't have to listen to all his snarky comments. I smiled slightly at the prospect of him getting sick from his own stupidity. Even then he'd probably still be striving to solve the case before I did. It was inspirational in a meek sort of way.
A pot clattered to the tiled floor in the kitchen, followed by a lengthy pause before something else fell. Why do I get the feeling that this happens a lot more than it should?
Silence stretched on filled with the sound of rain pattering against the window again. Despite the constant banging coming from the kitchen from dropped pots or what have you, I still felt a bit lonely. The emptiness in the roomed seemed to resonate with the presented atmosphere, making the background noise coming from the kitchen nothing more than an illusion.
I jumped when Abaroa set a small tray on the table, and stopped working my fingers through my hair, forcing myself out of whatever self-induced trance I was under. "Sorry it took so long, I'm still learning my way around the kitchen."
I shrugged slightly, quickly recovering myself, "It's no big deal, I don't mind."
While handing me a dark blue mug, Abaroa slowly asked, "If you don't mind my asking, have you managed to find any new leads."
Shaking my head, I replied, "Nothing profound, we've just been chasing down a bunch of rumors at this point." Some of the rumors had actually proven to be quite useful, but it was just a matter of finding that one missing link at this point; it was just proving to be a lot more difficult than it normally would be.

A silence stretched on after the subject had been dropped and the room was filled with the sound of the inclement weather once again. Abaroa glanced at me several times over the rim of his mug, and it seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Several times it seemed like he came close, after having taken a deep breath, but then faltered. I pretended not to notice, a thing so it continued on like this.
Just when the whole thing was starting to tweak a nerve he finally spoke. "This probably isn't any of my business, but I figured you might want to know that
He trailed off for a bit, having lost his nerve. Suppressing a sigh, I arched one of my eyebrows in silent encouragement. Just when I was about to confront the whole thing head on, Abaroa finally continued. "I don't really know how to put this, but Gus does care about you; even if he doesn't show it. I don't know what specifically happened between you two, but I suggest at least being civil. I mean after the party he chewed me out for whatever had happened I don't think I've ever seen him so worked up."
The comment caught me off guard, and for a few seconds I wondered if he was expecting some sort of emotional reaction. If he was, he certainly wasn't going to get one. It didn't matter what he felt because I refused to get overly invested in someone I barely considered to be my friend. I didn't care, and neither should he. I didn't want sympathy from some middle aged man. The mere implication of such a thing was absurd and off putting. The whole thing was probably spawned from his underlying need to fix things. "That's nice to know, but I don't need people taking pity on me."
Abaroa nonchalantly shrugged while taking a sip from his mug. "I didn't mean anything by it, I just figured you would like to know; most people usually like to find out stuff like this."
I shook my head slightly, but didn't offer up any verbal response, not really wanting to open that can of worms. I never understood why people had an incessant need to know about the feeling of others. They were just a hindrance, especially since when people were trying to 'support and protect' you. It's all nonsense; the only person who can protect you is you.
The wind picked up in correspondence with the door bursting open. Starting, I placed my mug on the table and glanced behind me to see who was making such a fuss. The door closed back and shortly after Gus took up a place behind me. Cold water dripped onto my head, followed by even colder fingers working their way through my hair. A shiver ran down my spine as Gus enthusiastically asked, "It's been awhile kid, what brings you here on this lovely day?"
Water continued to drip into my hair, after Gus decided to rest his cold hand on my head, and he didn't move it when I attempted to swat it away. Abaroa let out an exasperated sigh, before firmly stating, "You'll get him stick too! Not go put some dry clothes on, because I know you aren't going to be the one to clean up all this water."
Gus finally removed his hand from my head, and I could tell he rolled his eyes, but he complied with what he had been asked to do. However Gus wasn't going to do things without causing some sort of trouble. He stripped off his soaked shirt and dropped it into Abaroa's lap on the way by, before he disappeared down the hallway.
Abaroa lifted the wet lump of fabric off of his person and headed down the same hallway. Running my fingers through my damp hair, I took a few deep breaths to quell my somewhat shaken nerves.
No sooner had I dropped my hand, that a warm towel was draped over me. Gus vigorously rubbed the thick cloth over my hair for several seconds, before whipped it off and smiled down at me. "Hi kid."
Closing my eyes, I tried to reorient myself before slowly asking, "What are you doing?"
The obnoxious smirk stayed where it was as Gus continued to stare down at me from his place behind the chair. "I'm simply cleaning up after myself, is that a problem?"
Sighing irritably, I quickly replied, "Yes, because I don't want you touching me."
He rested his hand on top of my head and slowly worked his fingers through my hair, "You mean like this?"
I closed my eyes and ignored that fact that the action didn't really bother me as much as it would have if someone else was doing it. "Yes, exactally like this."
"Why?"
I moved my head slightly, in attempts to get his hand off of my head, but Gus only moved and continued. "There are a variety of things people don't like and I don't like being touched."
Gus moved his hand poked the soft skin on my cheek, "Why?"
Sharply exhaling I changed the subject. "Are you a child? If you are I shall proceed to treat you like one."
Gus finally allowed me to have my personal space back, and flopped down on the couch, "sheesh kid relax. If we are going to talk about age you certainly don't act yours. You're what? Ten?"
Clenching my jaw I slowly replied, "I'll be fifteen in December."
A silence fell across the room, and it only further tested my patience. I can't be that short and child-like I've grown four inches. I shouldn't have to be tall and not have a round face for people to get my age right.
Gus finally shrugged and commented, "Don't get your coattails in a bunch, some girls are into that."
I shook my head slightly, but didn't really say anything. This particular conversation had gotten to me, but I just wished I knew why. People were always calling me short and mistaking me for a child, so why did it coming from Gus bother me so much. I began working my fingers through my hair again and I noticed Gus smile. "Don't feel bad kid, you're going to grow up at some point, it just isn't your time." I shrugged and pretended not to care, then he added, "You never did tell me why you came here; I gathered we still weren't on speaking terms."
"Oh yes." I paused before slowly continuing on, "I just came to see if you had any new leads for our case."
Gus arched an eyebrow, "Oh, so it's our case now?"
An impish grin worked its way onto his face as I explained, "It has always been our case, we were just approaching things from different perspectives for a brief period of time without having to constantly look over the latters shoulder." Gus shifted slightly from where he was lounging, but didn't say anything. I took his sudden silence as him not having accomplished anything profound in our time apart. You would think that he'd be better at producing results since he keeps insisting on doing things his way.
A silence formed, and stretched on for what seemed like hours. It was eerie though, since Gus had never been thing quiet before; even when he was thinking about something. He glanced over at me for several seconds seeming to be contemplating something, before finally asking, "Just what are you still trying to find?"
I shifted into a more comfortable position before finally realizing he had finally come to terms with this whole thing. I tried not to smile as I came up with an answer; he acted like the whole thing was a delicate subject. "Sebastian told me that Raziela is, in fact, the one who is behind these crimes. She refuses to stand down though, or even acknowledge that she's doing something wrong. There also isn't anyway we'll able to do any real snooping since she rarely leaves the house. At this point all there is to do is make sure the mark her demon has corresponds with the one found at the crime scene. Since she has entered a contract with Lahash his mark will be somewhere on her body, and that links her to everything as well. We're still trying to figure out who has her brainwashed though since we might as well hit two birds with one stone."

Gus shifted, slightly before stating, "All you have to do is narrow it down to all the religious groups based in the region, then sift out all the ones that don't deal with whatever religion she's claiming to follow."
I rolled my eyes, "You make it sound like that's easy."
Gus glanced over and quickly replied, "It is when you know about cults."
Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair and countered, "Yes but we may not even be dealing with a group, for all we know it could be just one person."
"If that's the case then he's probably dead," he bluntly pointed out.
The comment caught me a bit off guard, especially since he didn't seem to be that observant, and insightful. I found myself slightly doubting his logic. "What are you getting at?"
Gus sighed softly, before going into this convoluted explanation. "Even if he was one person, he was physically and, probably, emotionally as well. Add in the religious aspect and being brought there at a young age and she'd be terrified of leaving, since she hasn't know anything most of her life and the prominent threat of more abuse. If she contracted that demon while she was there she probably had her captor killed; there's also the possibility that he died of natural causes and she was all alone when she sold her soul."
This does make a lot of sense, but it doesn't really correspond with common happening of religious groups. It was a possibility, but it was highly unlikely. There was still the fact that there were still a lot of groups that fell into the right categories. Gus the offered, "I can do some digging if you want; I'm usually pretty good with this kind of stuff."
I nodded slightly, more than happy to have one less thing to do. "By all means, be my guest."
Gus watched Abaroa pass by before moving into a sitting position, before hesitantly asking, "So when is your babysitter coming for you?"
I glanced at the coo-coo clock perched on top of the mantel place, before stating, "Anytime now."
Gus nodded slightly, staring down at the floor. I could have sworn there was a hint of sadness reflected back in his dark brown eyes, but I didn't really want to think much of it. Rolling my eyes at his sudden silence, I thought glumly to myself, this is how it all starts out Gus quickly shifted out of his sudden bad mood and happily replied, "Well we better have you ready then. If I don't return you in the same, or better, condition that I got you in you won't be allowed to come over anymore."
He tousled my hair as he passed by to retrieve my coat and I frowned slightly. I sighed softly and shook my head. Once again I'm being treated like a child.
Gus dropped my coat on my head and settled himself in the chair next to me, "Ciel get to be a big boy and put his coat on all by himself!"
He met my irritated glare with and impish smirk and continued to call out unnecessary encouragement while I put on the dark colored article of clothing on. I was down to the last few buttons when I had finally had enough. "Will you stop?!"
"Why?" Gus rose from his chair and stood in front of me.
Staring up at him I flatly replied, "You're being annoying."
He finished doing my buttons as I was about to go back to them and tousled my hair after he had finished, "There you go kid."
I ran my fingers through my hair in attempts to fix it while firmly replying, "Stop."
"Why?"
Taking a deep breath, I slowly replied, "Didn't we just go through this?"
Gus shrugged and changed the topic by giving me a cookie from the tray. He patted my head and said, "Here, now I can say a few things to you."
Sighing I took a small bite from the cookie to make him leave me alone. I settled back in the chair and got a cheeky smile from Gus as I had finished it, but he didn't say anything. I kept an eye on him, wondering what he was up to.
There was a knock on the door and Abaroa came rushing in to answer it, since Gus didn't even make the slightest inclination that he was going to do it. I heard Sebastian's voice form out in the hallway telling Abaroa, "I have come to collect my young master."
Abaroa took a step backwards and opened the door wider, telling me Sebastian was here. I was already standing, and heading towards the door, but Gus wasn't done fooling around like the man-child he was. Gus came up behind me and took me into his arms. I squirmed around and demanded to be put down, but he didn't comply, and instead placed me in Sebastian's waiting arms.
He smiled down at me briefly before ignoring my protests while Gus enthusiastically stated, "Here you go, all safe and sound; we even fed him for you."
I let out an irritated huff and pouting, firmly demanding to be put down, before Sebastian replied, "Thank you for taking such good care of my young master. I hope he hasn't caused you too much trouble."
Abaroa had settled himself in a nearby chair and loudly commented, "Gus is the only one who is too much trouble; Ciel is a saint compared to him."
An impish smirk worked its way onto Gus' face, but he didn't say anything in objection. "Be careful on the stairs; I'll be seeing you guys around."
Sebastian nodded slightly, before heading off down the stairs and not letting me walk by myself. I knew it was pointless to argue back, so I just let him do what he wanted. "Did you find out anything?"
A slight nod was the only hopeful response I received, then Sebastian replied, "Its best we discuss such things behind closed doors."
I nodded slightly in agreement as he stepped outside and carried me to the waiting carriage.

After leafing through another dusty tome, I tossed it aside, having found nothing of any substantial value contained within the brittle pages. Great, I managed to find another useless book, I sarcastically thought to myself as I leaned back in the rickety wooden chair. Shaking my head slightly, I glanced around the almost empty police library. Some guys on break were playing cards in the corner and some new trainee had been stuck with the job of 'librarian'.
Sighing softly, I stood and wandered back to the bookcase I had removed the large volume from. I still can't find anything; there has to be a better one to take than this.
Despite having exhausted the 'vast' collection of books on the related subject matter, I roamed around the dim room and perused the shelves. At this point I was really looking for anything that would be remotely relevant to the topic. It was pretty hard to read anything on the book binding though, so instead of ruining my eyes to look for something that wouldn't be there, I went back to just wandering around for a bit.
After having made my way up and down every aisle in the large room, I deemed the whole thing useless and headed back towards the front door. I had just wasted the whole morning and figured some obscure bookstore would be able to come to my aid. The hunch was a shot in the dark but it was better than nothing. Not to mention it was a better option than going home to do nothing.
The streets were unusually active after the rain, and it was a nice change of pace from yesterday. Everything wasn't as lonely and barren as they had been.
Wandering along the bustling streets, I didn't really pay attention to my surroundings. Yesterday I had managed to come across some strange little shopped tucked away somewhere. It might have been useful if I was able to find it again. It would prove to be a challenge though since I wasn't even trying to find it the first time, I just came across it while wandering around; much like I was doing now.
Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I turned left and made my way down some back alley. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting to find, but it just seemed to be some convoluted short cut that I was coming up with as I went along.

As I tried to pay attention to my surroundings so I could find my way back, I found some things looking familiar, but then I would turn a corner and feel completely lost. The fact that at some point yesterday I could barely see two feet in front of me wasn't really a comforting through either. I'm just better off going back the way I came Even as I thought it I knew I wouldn't comply with my rationality. That little okay large stubborn part of me refused to let me go back empty handed. The fact that there was nothing to do back home still hadn't changed either. Everything piling up on my desk had frustrated me and I wouldn't have remotely enough patience to deal with the tedious task of cleaning them all up.
Looking around again, I turned left on a hunch and once again the surroundings started to look semi-familiar; I was just banking on them staying that way. Getting back on my own was definitely going to prove to be an interesting task on its own.
Taking another left I came across what seemed to be another dead end, and I was about to turn around when I realized it wasn't. My joy briefly overflowed as I recognized the dark colored wooden door surrounded by dark colored stained glass.
Continuing along the glass strewn alley, I briefly paused in front of the door. Taking a deep breath I placed my hand on the cold brass and pulled the heavy door open. A silver bell tinkled overhead, subtly announcing my arrival.
There didn't appear to be anybody in here other than a strangely dressed girl, who was looking at small gargoyle statue, and the man I had seen her yesterday, and assumed to be the owner.
The girl glanced up briefly, and studied me with her bright green eyes, before wandering off to a different part of the shop.
The owner glanced up and smiled slightly, "Welcome back, I didn't think I'd see you again in here."
I shrugged slightly, not really sure how I was supposed to take the comment, "I just figured I might poke around a bit more."
The owner looked me up and down with his unnaturally bright blue eyes, "Is there anything in particular that I might be able to interest you in?"
I shrugged again, stuffing my hands back in the pockets of my trench coat, "just a book."
He leaned against the dimly lit display case and brushed aside some of his long black hair. He tapped one of his long alternating black and red nails on the glass. The tapping was like a metronome, marking off the seconds in the background while he asked, "What kind I book? I do have lots of them."
The girl from before came forward from the recesses of the dim room carrying a sword that was a little bigger than she was. In fact, I was surprised she was handling the large object so well since it must have weighed a lot. The blade was black, and the handle must have been made out of some sort of crystal since the candle light from the metal chandelier overhead was refracted a bunch of times.
The owner shifted his attention to the girl by asking, "Yes, child?"
The girl glanced at me and asked, "I don't want to interrupt or anything."
"It's quite all right."
The girl shrugged and held up the sword, "How much?"
He looked the girl up and down, before chuckling softly, resuming his tapping on the glass, "You won't be able to use that."
The girl glared at him and pouted, "If you must know, it's not even for me. It's for my 'keeper' or whatever title he has."
He shrugged again, "So long as you aren't the one using it."
Letting out an irritated huff, the girl glared at him, "I'm not, besides I haven't settled on a weapon of choice yet. It has to be something a lot less common that a sword. Now answer my question. Please."
The owner leaned forward on the glass and rested his head on his hand, still tapping away, "Six fifty."
The girl shrugged as the owner glanced at her, not seeming to really care. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the money before heading out, telling him to keep the change. The owner told her to come back and she sighed, before slowly turning.
He briefly retired to the back room before returning with an ornately decorated silver sheath. "He's going to need this too, besides you don't want to expose the blade to the elements."
The owner smiled impishly while the girl looked very unamused, bluntly stating, "It's a sword." Never the less, she thanked him for it on her way out. The bell tinkled once more, followed by the door slamming shut.
He muttered something I couldn't quite make out before straightening up and saying, "I'm Ayberk by the way, welcome to me store."
I arched one of my eye brows and replied, "It's a little late for introductions don't you think?"
Ayberk smiled slightly, "It's never too late to learn someone's name."
Shrugging slightly, I replied, "I'm Gus."
Ayberk started tapping the glass again and replied, "You never did answer my question. What kind of book are you inquiring about?"
There was a brief pause, where I tried to come up with a coherent answer, but there really wasn't one. If there were, my words just weren't flowing properly. "I don't really know, I just figured I'd be able to find it here."
Ayberk interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them, "What gives you that feeling?" He tipped his head slightly to one side as I threw a glance around the atmospheric shop. He laughed softy, a deep raspy sound, before straightening slightly and running one of his red nails in a circular motion around the glass. I was surprised scratches didn't for in the thin material. "Well you felt right, I do, in fact, believe I have something that will help you well two somethings. Wait here."
He left to go looking through the back room, so to occupy myself I studied the contents of the glass case he had been leaning on. They were mostly decorative rings, and few of which had an extensive network of chains attached, but there were also a few bulky necklaces. Most of the stuff in here seemed to Gothic and outlandish to even fit in with anything people would normally even consider wearing, but I guess that would be the appeal to all this stuff.
The most out of place thing in the case was a silver dagger with a dragon carved onto the handle. There were some small characters carved into the blade, but I didn't know where exactally they were from.
Ayberk came back carrying two thick books and place them on the counter in front of me. The binding of the bottom one seemed to be covered in dark green velvet while the top one was bulky and covered in buckles and straps. "I do have one request before I entrust these into your care."
"What is it?"
Ayberk paused, seeming to be looking for the right words before continuing, "These volumes have yet to be completed, so they need to be brought back, but don't let that discourage you. The information contained within these pages far surpasses that of anything a mere mortal could ever hope to come up with. I just request you keep them in good condition and be wary of those with prying eyes."
I nodded slightly, "Seems easy enough."
Ayberk produced a cloth sack and placed the books in them, "That's good."
He pushed the bag towards me while I asked, "When do I have to return these by?"
There was a long pause, and Ayberk shrugged, before replying, "Whenever you don't need them anymore, so long as you bring them back within a reasonable time frame. I would hate very much to have to come and retrieve them, I get such strange looks when I go out in public, although I can't imagine why "
I took in his bright blue eyes, shoulder length black hair and somewhat skeletal appearance but didn't say anything and just shrugged. "These days everyone is suspicious of everyone."
"Well humans in particular are a very suspicious creature; it's quite fascinating to witness what they are capable when enveloped in one of their boughs of paranoia."
I blinked a couple times, caught off guard by the underlying morbidity of the comment, "Uh "
Ayberk smiled and something sinister reflected back in his eyes, "Well it had been fun, but I trust you would like to get back to human society. I shall see you around."
I nodded slightly, still a bit confused at the turn this conversation had taken. "Uh, right; I'll see you around." I grabbed the bag and made my way out, not wanting to seem too eager to get back out side. The bell tinkled again to announce my departure from the creepy little shop. I glanced up at the sky as I made my way back down the alley and noted the pink-orange tint it had received form the setting sun. I didn't think I was in there that long.
Sighing softly I continued to attempt to find my way out of this giant maze, feeling exhausted. I kind of wanted to know what I had done that was so draining, I mean even after sloshing around in the rain most of the day hadn't left me this tired. Rubbing my eyes with my free hand I decided to take a nap when I got back home.

Stuffing my hands into my pockets in feeble attempts to keep them warm, I glanced up and down the empty street, wondering how I let myself get involved in this whole thing. I glanced at Ciel who was standing off to my left and asked, "Remind me why I'm here again?"
Ciel sighed softly before stating the obvious, "We are doing surveillance."
After shifting my weight, I suppressed a sigh and changed the wording of my question, "I had to come because?"
"I don't feel like having to update you if anything significant happens; besides you live nearby and are obligated to come." Resting my back against the brick wall, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, still tired from my very brief nap. I was hoping nothing happened anytime soon, but with my luck the second I fell asleep I'd be woken up by something. I should have stayed home.
I would give the kid that things seemed to be unusually quiet; but it could have been from a brewing storm I failed to notice. Rain wasn't really that uncommon given the time of year.
A relatively strong breeze kicked up, but it petered out just as quickly. Ciel nudged me shortly after, in an attempt to keep me engaged. Opening my eyes, I glanced down at him and arched an eyebrow, before tousling his hair. The action earner an irritated glare, and he took a couple steps away from me, but I didn't really mind. As the quiet stretched on and the street stayed empty, I found myself what we were supposed to be surveying in the first place.
There was some figure was down on the other end of the street making his way forward by jumping from rooftop to rooftop. I was the only on to notice because Ciel stared at it for a few seconds before closing his eye briefly and stating, "Sebastian."
Sebastian bowed slightly, before easily jumping across the street. I found myself staring stupidly for several second trying to comprehend everything. I mean I told myself I'd pretend to buy into the whole thing, but that was just crazy. This whole thing is crazy and I must have been crazy for allowing myself to buy into it. I'm going to need a nice, long vacation after this is over and done with.
It was a matter of minutes until Sebastian came back, seeming somewhat amused as he dropped this bloody young man on the sidewalk in front of Ciel. Normally something would be telling me to help him at the sight of all this blood, but some little voice in the back of my mind was telling me he was fine. It was a weird feeling and I honestly didn't know where it was coming from either. The man ground briefly curled up into a little ball, muttering something in a different language. Sebastian sharply said something in the same language and forced him onto his back.
I could make out some claw marks in his blood stained shirt, but it seemed like they had already stopped bleeding. The young man glared up at Sebastian and stated, "No need to be so rough. Damn dogs already got to me; I'm not up for another fight." He had a slight accent, but I couldn't quite locate where it was from, since it didn't seem to be from the usual bunch. He slowly sat up and brushed some black hair away from his face, "What?"
Sebastian glanced at Ciel, who nodded slightly to give him permission to proceed, before asking, "What do you know?"
"You couldn't have just stopped at my place of residence?" The young man shook his head slightly while sitting up, "Not much really I don't ask too many questions when it comes to mercury. At least when you finally poisoned yourself to death you're seeing rainbows, fairies and all that other stuff."
Sebastian glared down at him, bluntly replying, "Now you know that's not what I mean."
He sighed before smirking impishly, "I don't go near churches either; especially the creepy ones made out of stained glass and are out in the middle of nowhere. Crosses and Holy Water aren't really a good combination for me. They are perfect for intensely religious sociopaths though." He shifted slightly and sat cross legged, throwing a glance back at Ciel during the process. "I'd keep an eye on that kid of yours too." He slowly rose from the ground, straightening to his full height. "That's just me though," he shrugged slightly and glanced down the street. "Can I go now? I have places to be and you probably have people to find, stalk, and inevitably murder.
Ciel nodded slightly when Sebastian glanced back at him, and Sebastian added something in the language from before. The young man rolled his eyes and started walking away, "You know where I am, just go there next time, it's more civil that way. Isn't that what this country is known for?"
After a few seconds, Ciel glanced up at me and adjusted the collar on his coat, "I'll see you around."
Despite my prickling irritation at the fact that I just wasted my time out here, I nodded and managed a civil response, "Yeah, see you." I watched him walk away with Sebastian for a couple seconds, before turning and heading in the opposite direction. The cold air swirled around me as the wind picked up again.
Some part of me was hoping that they didn't run off and so something without letting me know. I mean I knew I did a lot of stupid things that went unchecked but it just seemed wrong letting a kid charge off and do something stupid without the consent of a human adult. I really didn't count Sebastian's permission as too restricting since he did everything that kid told him to do.
Granted my dumb luck had yet to run out and a lot of the seemingly stupid things I do turn out to actually be productive in their own convoluted and unexplainable way. I also may not be able to do any of those things again no matter how hard I tried so I liked to consider them personal victories.
Some other part of me chimed in saying that Ciel wasn't a kid anymore, but I still thought of him as one. Sure it seemed like he went through some stuff hell he was going through things now but he was still just a kid, stuck playing adult out of convenience.