Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji
Bard never had sheets to give Ciel and Lizzie. He did give them the extra lighter, so hopefully that'd come to good use. Some of his caps could fit Ciel, and it was easier to pass the time now that he had his magazines. So this was it- his new home, a pew in an old church, with scratchy blankets that Lizzie had been generous enough to share with him. He found he didn't really mind. Well, none of their lot minded when he smoked or snored so that was a start.
Sebastian still had the habit of appearing out of nowhere. And Bard suspected the demon had an enormous sadistic streak when it came to him. Meals consisted of stale bread and dry meat, a few fruits if they were lucky. Milk was the children's favorite beverage. And Sebastian never ate or drank, period. This, Bard already knew but now that the week was coming to an end, he could confirm that knowledge.
He also found out Sebastian was ironically judgmental when it came to those magazines. If he hadn't left to take a piss, he would never have been quick enough to stop the demon from tossing his books into the fireplace. Apparently, the demon deemed those pictures too graphic for the children. Never mind the fact that their acquaintances consisted of a lewd opium dealer and his succubus, or that they made their living through actual carnage. It was awfully hypocritical in Bard's opinion.
And when all was said and done, Bard realized the one most distant from him was not Sebastian, but Ciel. Something about the boy always had his guard up. Lizzie was used to the gambler's presence and the demon seemed to have accepted him as part of their bunch, but Ciel- Ciel was always on edge, as if expecting Bard to steal their money and hightail away at any moment. Well, Bard didn't blame him.
He'd almost forgotten about the bet with Tom, what with Vanel's death and all. The final cockfight of their terms was tonight and if Ciel won, they'd get all Tom's winnings, along with his demon. But Ciel had made it perfectly clear he wouldn't want that demon even on pain of death. Bard wasn't sure if Ciel had finally told Elizabeth about it, but she had figured out on her own that they went behind her back. And even attempted to run away as punishment.
Bard hoped Ciel wouldn't stir up such drama again. But he'd been too optimistic, because in the morning, Ciel led them all to the square, under the impression that they should exchange Lau's poppies for some extra bullets, should things get "ugly" when Tom loses the bet. Bard knew he hadn't wanted Elizabeth to go, or even Bard for that matter, but he wasn't about to let Ciel risk Lizzie's temper again.
So technically, it was my idea to go with Lizzie. Ah, well.
"I'll do the trade. You wait for me here, Ciel," Lizzie said upon arrival, snatching the sachet from Ciel's hands. "Eliza-" "Trust me."
She looked him hard in the eye, green eyes flashing, and under that determined gaze, Ciel relented. You have to trust me, she seemed to be saying, trust me and we can go back to the way we used to be. "Fine, Sebastian, Bardroy, you stay with me."
"Aye aye, captain," Bard said. Only Lizzie chuckled before planting a kiss on Ciel's cheek and joining the mass of bastards entering the old music hall.
He turned to Sebastian. It honestly shouldn't have been easier talking to the demon than Ciel, and yet it was. "So um, anything to watch out for tonight?"
"No more than usual," Sebastian said, "we might have a sore loser on our hands."
"But how about the uh-" Bard gestured at his own back, "you know."
"Barely any feeling. It's coming out tonight, regardless."
"Alright- then-" he trailed off because something caught his eye. Not again. Ahead, he saw someone he had hoped never to see again: the red-headed rogue. The sinning saint seemed to make a beeline straight towards them. She jumped away at the last minute, just as Bard put up his arms out of instinctive defense, as if she hadn't seen them at all. She was running.
And her pursuer was-
"Hopkins!" Bard cried.
The brunette was dashing after the sinning saint, a pair of shears in her hands, locks of scarlet hair caught between their blades. "Get back here!" she howled, "I'll kill you, I'll bloody kill you!"
The sinning saint turned to laugh at her. "You? Kill me? Don't speak so highly of yourself, darling. If it wasn't for my orders, you'd be mincemeat!"
"To hell with you!" Hopkins charged, the shears stabbing air as the sinning saint danced around her.
"Your girl wasn't half as feisty as you," the sinning saint teased, "she was all sobs, you know, like a little lamb."
Hopkins snarled and charged again, the sinning saint avoiding every strike. Bard looked around- they'd attracted an impressive number of onlookers, a kind of attention the sinning saint seemed to enjoy. He cupped his mouth and yelled, "Nina! Stop this- you're no match!"
"Shut up!" she said, "what would you know!?" The rage was written all over her face, but Bard saw the tears welling. She'd been grieving this whole time, plotting her revenge, and there stood her lover's killer, completely nonchalant and legions beyond. It wasn't fair. Even he knew this wasn't fair. But what else could they do but give the fuck up?
"Sebastian, stop this mess," Ciel ordered, with all the emotion of a marionette.
"Yes, young master!"
"That's 'lord' to you, cocky bastard."
Grell kicked Nina in the waist, and before Bard could finish his next blink, Sebastian had jumped into the fray. He was just in time to block the flash of a scythe from slicing Hopkins' throat. Bard blinked again- no, it was not a scythe. The sinning saint grinned, teeth sharp as a shark's. She jammed the weapon away, just as Nina returned, plunging her shears into the rogue's shoulder.
"Ouch! That hurts, you know!?" the sinning saint cried.
"This will hurt more," Sebastian said, flashing a fanged smile. And true to his promise, he knocked the sinning saint in the chin, followed it up with a kick, and a hard smash between the ribs.
"Hurting a lady, I don't care how handsome you are," the rogue moaned dramatically, "I can't let this slide."
She dodged his next hit, pushing past shoulders to strike Nina next.
"Come at me, you sick fuck!" she yelled.
"With pleasure!"
That weapon, whatever it was, came down again, and Bard realized it was a saw. He cried in warning, and Nina rolled away with several lost locks of brown hair. Then Sebastian landed between them, and jacket ripping, caught the saw between his arms.
"Oh, why do you keep getting in my way, damned demon!?"
"My master ordered it."
"Oh?" the sinning saint said, and that grin spread wider, "but I order this."
The splash of blood came next. That saw suddenly spun, whirring as it screamed in its owner's hands, and Bard could only gape as it cut across Sebastian's side, edges breaking off as the demon stepped away. And judging from the look on Sebastian's face, even it didn't see this coming. But Sebastian wouldn't fall for that trick a second time. He flipped away when the sinning saint pulled the saw back, yanked her hair, and threw what remained of his clothes into the blade's path.
As the sinning saint protested the jamming of the blade, Sebastian threw a fist her way. She collided with the wall, and when she made to get up, a whole squadron of the Yard appeared. One look at their eyes and Bard knew- these were a division the sinning saints.
"Grell Sutcliff," the one at the head said, shoulders slumped and hands in his pockets, "you're under arrest."
The sinning saint spat out a speck of blood and attempted to sit up. "Arrested? You really think you can hold me?"
The head fellow smirked. "We already did."
Grell was lifted by the collar, rendered powerless by the tight grips on her and separated from her scythe. They began ushering her away when Nina regained her senses and screamed again.
"I bloody hate you!" she screeched, "I hate you! All of you!"
And the crowd that had dispersed was back again, joining her protests and screaming at the squadron. "Sinning saints, get off our streets! Get out o'here! Get out!"
Some picked up pebbles and stones and rotten apple cores. Bard knew what would come next. They threw those objects at the squadron, without a care for who they'd hit, be it Grell or the other saints. The squadron kept their heads low, those yellow green eyes lost in shadow. But Grell held her head high, even as she was pelted and jeered. Her eyes shone fire and her smirk stayed plastered. Bard would have found it admirable if it wasn't for what he knew her guilty of.
But the others, a knot tightened in his stomach- the sinning saints had done nothing wrong. Still a bit shaken, he shed his own jacket and draped it around Nina.
"Hey, see a doctor, Hopkins."
"Shut up, Bard," she whispered, but she clung to his jacket.
Behind them, he heard the head of that squadron address Sebastian: "Next time, demon, stay out of our way. Better yet, go back to hell."
There was nothing more Bard could say to Nina. So he stood and returned to Ciel's side, who had watched it all without a change in his stoic face. The boy sidled up to Sebastian and inspected its ripped side.
"What's that?" he asked.
The demon glanced down, seeing what appeared to be a shard embedded in the tissue. Sebastian poked at it, only for the piece to sink in deeper. It frowned, but Ciel's attention was already elsewhere.
"Never mind, we'll take care of it after this. Clean up that blood before we go in."
"Of course," Sebastian replied, though the words were absent.
Ciel looked at him with disdain and humphed. "Well, go do it. And get rid of those clothes. We'll have to get you new ones now, you dolt."
Then the boy had turned and marched his way into the arena. Bard approached Sebastian, unsure what exactly to say.
"Hey," the ex-soldier tried, "do you need help-"
"No," the demon hissed, so much anger in that one word Bard was afraid Sebastian would kill him then and there. Then it was Sebastian stomping past him, very roughly shoving Bard aside as entered the building ahead.
Elizabeth never came to the cockfight. But Ciel had looked to the doors every now and then, which told Bard he'd told her everything. Bard didn't blame the girl for not coming- she had every right to be mad, after all. As expected, the fights were gory limb-ripping carnage; the audience got a real kick out of the decapitations. But blood always made him a bit nervous- it hit too close to home. So he lit a cigarette, paying more attention to the wisps of smoke than the fights below.
Sebastian dazzled the audience, as usual, grinning and laughing all the while. If it hadn't been born a demon, Bard supposed Sebastian would make a good showman. And as usual, he lasted a near ten rounds with barely a scratch on his body. But he was winded, slower, and looking at Ciel's nervous purse of the lips, Bard suspected he wasn't alone in his concerns.
Sebastian was bleeding, not from any wound he'd received in the cockfight. It was where the sinning saint had struck, a clean slice in the side that bled and bled. And the other demons were dumber, but not so dumb. Sooner or later, they'd know where to hit. And as luck would have it, Tom's demon was the one who figured it out. In the end, it was just him and Sebastian.
They grappled and punched at one another, snapping teeth and kicking dirt. But it only took one moment of lost breath for Sebastian to go down. The other demon kicked his side, once, twice, thrice, relentless. And for the very first time, Bard heard Sebastian scream. Ciel stood up and cried, "Get up! I order you to stand up!"
Sebastian choked back the next cry and wrestled its way out. Blood gushing, Sebastian kicked Tom's demon down, wrapped its body around the opponent and with a twist of limbs, cracked the demon's skull. From the seats, Tom sputtered, choking on his own spit. Swaying, Sebastian stood and teeth grit, plunged a hand into its own back. Tom's knife was plucked out, Sebastian's arm red.
The demon dropped that knife, forced a grin, and bowed under Ciel's gaze.
"Lizzie, we've returned!" a smirking Ciel announced, a new pouch of winnings in his hand, "you should have seen old Tom's face!"
Bard followed suit, Sebastian slinking past him, and closed the church doors. On the pew, Elizabeth perked up and left to greet them. She took the pouch from Ciel first and smiled at Bard. Sebastian crept past her to his pew. But whatever brightness was on her face dropped when she saw the demon's state, its body barely hidden by a coat Ciel had bought on the way back. The blood had dripped to its shoes.
"Sebastian," she whispered. Then louder, she looked at Ciel. "What did you do to him?"
"Lizzie-"
Elizabeth turned away, fiercer than Bard expected, and sat down next to the demon.
"Young lady," Sebastian said, "I'm quite alright. There's no need to quarrel with master-"
Her hand brushed his forehead.
"You're burning up," she said. Then she turned her gaze on Ciel again, the boy lost as she spoke. "Is binding his wounds really such a waste of time for you?"
"Lizzie, I- he can take care of himself."
"Ciel, bring the bandages here. Please."
Bard didn't know if he had any place to speak. The only thing he did know was that sweet Elizabeth was quite terrifying when she wanted to be, and that Sebastian looked weaker by the minute. And he was very glad he was not Ciel Phantomhive at the moment.
"You stay here, kid. I'll get them."
"Thank you, Bard," Elizabeth said.
Bard turned away, the storm just starting behind him.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I have no idea when the next update will be, or if I'll continue this but as long as there's some interest, I think I'll try to keep this from being discontinued. I honestly thought this would be on permanent hiatus, but I had half this chapter drafted already so I decided to go and finish it.
This is an AU where the 2CT doesn't exist and Elizabeth's life doesn't revolve around pleasing Ciel.
And I'd like to give a special thanks to roturier for some last minute motivation.
