A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter is not very eventful :/ I promise to make the next one more interesting :) It's my dad's birthday today :) I'm thinking of writing something for him, maybe a poem or something. I wish my reviewers promocat, Silvia Grace, Tosca Thor Cat and haruda and of course my readers an early Happy New Year :D
Chapter Nine: Frustrating Events
Ciel Phantomhive was silent as his mind swam with confusing thoughts. He had retired into one of the surprisingly comfortable bedrooms of Lau Fong's suite. He couldn't really think straight at the moment, but he had a feeling it wasn't only the alcohol he had consumed. He was a responsible individual who took care to control his own actions for the most part, and Ciel was certain he didn't drink more than two or three bowls.
Didn't Lau's uncle say that rice wine only contained a very small amount of alcohol? So little it should be harmless? Now, he didn't particularly like Lau either, but he had a feeling that man knew what he was talking about when he said that China was full of liars. That sneaking bastard of an uncle must have been lying after all.
Ciel had an uneasy feeling about Lau Fong from the beginning but the thing was, they needed to find proof that he was the culprit of this crime. But even though his mind was a mess he still knew it made absolutely no sense to kill your own workers when your company was already at a crisis. Fear fed upon fear. Soon enough the entire business would collapse.
And that Sebastian. Didn't that butler promise that he would never lie to him...? Wait. Hold it. Knowing the way that Sebastian was, he probably managed to find some kind of loophole in this circumstance. Hmm. He said that the level of alcohol was very low. But he must have meant the amount of alcohol in the bowl, which was very small, so of course, it wouldn't be very much. He also said it would take several bowls of it to get the slightest bit winded. Putting the size of the bowls into consideration, that much was probably true.
Ugh. Ciel buried his tired face into a large cotton pillow as he lay sprawled on his stomach, his fingers digging into the wrinkles of the soft blue bed sheets. The bed itself was terribly stiff. The matching blue pillow case had fancy embroidery of orange blossoms and small red roses. Roses. That's right. He took another whiff of the plump pillow and sure enough a distinct scent of that flower entered his nostrils.
He hurled the wretched pillow across the room. It was giving him a headache. Now, he didn't mind it when women wore perfume that was very subtle and understated but that, that horrible pillow was like those old women who always passed by him when he was in town, reeking strongly of that terrible flower called fuchsia. How was it that they just couldn't comprehend that such a sharp, infectiously horrid scent drew men away and not to them. Ugh. Women.
Oh, yes. That just reminded him. Madam Red was currently awfully happy about their trip to China. She was enjoying herself splendidly. Huh. Maybe Lau Fong was terribly fond of foreign women. Maybe they were the only people that he felt he could be honest with. If Ciel could remember clearly, there was not a time when Lau's uncle had remotely lied to Madam Red.
He coughed indignantly. Well, that aunt of his might actually be of use now. Clearly, she was the only one on their team who had any actual power here. He would talk to her about this now.
"Sebastian..." He grumbled as his covered eye flickered pale violet.
The butler was at his side before he could blink his eye, silently and gracefully.
"Yes, my lord...?"
"I never liked that Lau Fong person and I am beginning to suspect that he may be a snake in the grass. While Lau has his own personal vendetta with this man for reasons I am currently unconcerned about, I am starting to think he may have a valid point..."
Sebastian smiled faintly and straightened his waistcoat, running a delicately gloved hand through his coal black hair. Then he bent down to Ciel's eye level.
"What do you propose, sir...?" He whispered quietly, his eyes glinting slightly murderously.
"Ah, I just wish we could find evidence that Lau Fong is the murderer. Then we can be back to our usual days,"
Sebastian grinned, chuckling amusingly.
"Don't you detest boredom though, my lord?"
Ciel scoffed and averted his eyes to the walls.
"I could use some boredom sometimes...Anyhow, call Madam Red to come over here and talk with me,"
"For-?"
"Don't question my actions. I know what I am doing," Ciel ordered irritably.
"Of course. Please forgive me for my rudeness. She will be here momentarily,"
He disappeared as quickly as he had come, leaving nothing but a scent of roses behind. Ugh. It was rubbing off onto Sebastian too. When they got back to his manor, both of them would take a long, warm bath to get rid if this horrid smell. An image flashed through his mind, quick but not unnoticed and Ciel flushed red and shook his head. No. Not together. Obviously.
What was up with that rice wine...? It was seriously messing with his mind.
Moments later, Madam Red quietly turned the knob of the door and let herself in. She smiled sympathetically at her irritated nephew and went over to smooth the strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes. Ciel was lying on his back now and staring at the ceiling, though the canopy of the bed covered it. He looked troubled and frankly, a bit sick to his stomach.
"Ciel dear. What is it that you want to talk about?"
The young master sighed and cleared his throat.
"I am having doubts about our host, Madam Red," He muttered quietly.
"Oh, whatever for? Lau Fong seems like a very polite and respectful man and his son is a very sweet boy...!" She exclaimed with bright eyes.
"Looks can be deceiving. Lau Fong said it himself, if you remember. But I can understand your point. There is no obvious reason he would murder his own workers and then murder a bunch of servants who work in the underground medical facilities. He would simply be causing a serious problem for himself when his company is already at a crisis..." Ciel trailed off.
"Then why do you suspect him?" She inquired calmly.
He covered his face with his hands, taking in the scent of his fingers. Even he was beginning to smell like roses. At this rate all of them would look like suspects...!
"I just have this very uneasy feeling about him. It is an instinctive thing of mine and once it hits me it lingers like a bad smell. He seems a bit too perfect in his actions; he is very cordial, joyful and good tempered but I have a creeping sensation that this is only a mask that hides his true nature. Not only that but his home smells of roses, and a bit of liquor as well. He wouldn't tell me any information about the case we're working on. He just tried to get me drunk -as if he were trying to delay me or something..."
Madam Red chuckled softly and mussed his hair as Ciel grumbled groggily.
"Well, I think it's best if you don't psychoanalyze things all the time. If you would just relax-
"Madam-
"-Ah, wait for me to finish, Ciel dear! I was just chatting with Lau Fong and I easily twisted the subject onto the case that we are working on. You wouldn't believe how much he knows on the subject! See, when he-
"-Do me a favor and quit praising that deceitful bastard..." Ciel interrupted angrily, crossing his thin arms.
"Ciel dear, please quiet down. What if he hears us...?"
He sighed, shaking his head.
"Good point. Wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea about us, now wouldn't we...?" He muttered, partially to himself.
"Exactly. Now then, I shall continue! See, Beijing currently has a very serious chemical problem. This pollution is quite dangerous for the mental health of these citizens. The workers complain of constant aching headaches, hallucinations, sudden pain in the joints, all kinds of things. It is just dreadful...!"
"Madam, please get to the point! You are starting to act like Lau..."
The Madam scoffed and shook her head, scolding her nephew to remain patient.
"When the sailors were being murdered overseas, all types of theories began to circle around Lau Fong's business. Someone said the murderer on the ship was so heavily affected by the chemicals in the factories he had a tendency to kill the sailors as a way to distract himself from the horrible hallucinations. Another said that the murderer was different every time and it was actually a sailor that wanted to relieve everyone of the constant pain they felt so he secretly killed all of them when they were asleep and then committed suicide after that. A third theory was that all the bodies found were not even real. Someone in the underground was creating fake dead bodies and marring their faces just to destroy Lau's uncle's business. Lau Fong is a very wealthy man and it is said that most of his money comes from that business that deals with medical seafaring goods,"
Ciel Phantomhive was silent for several moments. Then he turned to Madam Red.
"Did Lau Fong actually reveal any information about himself...?"
A worried look crossed the woman's crimson eyes. She shook her head slowly.
"No, now that I think about it, he actually didn't tell me anything regarding himself that I don't already know-
"-If you noticed, all he gave us was three blind theories...! That horrid man...He didn't give us any useful information at all. I was hoping that he would tell you enough evidence for us to deduct who the culprit was without having to go to the scene of the crime to figure it out... You know how much I hate taking risks..."
Even if Sebastian is with me Ciel thought tiredly I cannot afford to take these kinds of risks. We are dealing with people who could be severely mentally ill. Even Sebastian is not always perfect. If we're not careful, this could end badly.
The young master finally rose from the bed and laced his fingers together, setting his chin upon them.
"I suppose we don't have a choice. We will have to board a ship with these sailors in order to experience the murder for ourselves. It's not even guaranteed that the murderer will show his face. Then what will we do...?"
Suddenly Ciel gripped his forehead tightly with his hands. No. It was happening again. It was getting bad again. He began to breathe heavily and his face twisted violently in pain as he collapsed forcefully onto the wrinkled bed. Where were his headaches coming from...?! He didn't breathe in enough chemicals to have a headache of this level. Plus, he began to get these headaches before they even arrived at Beijing.
It was no coincidence. This pain, this recurring pain was trying to tell him something. He just couldn't figure out what.
Then just as abruptly as it had started, his migraine suddenly disappeared. Ciel was left breathing slowly and fearfully, his limbs feeling stiff and lethargic. It was irritating, but it was also frightening. During these ordeals he really did believe he could die. That strike into the eye. He could still feel the phantom shadow of it lingering. The horrendous hallucinations. It was an instinctive message of some kind. His gut feeling was telling him there was something he missed, a curtain he overlooked.
Ciel grumbled and just lay there, still, save for the weak breathing through his nose.
Madam Red looked over at him with pity in her eyes and a slight guilt.
"You know, Ciel dear, I do understand why you suspect Lau's uncle. He is a strange man who we cannot seem to trust. But just hear me out, just this time. I feel like we are missing something. Lau Fong just doesn't seem to fit as the murderer of this case that we have been given..."
The young master sighed and stared at the ceiling of the canopy bed. Then he took his aunt's hand and gently smoothed her fingers. Then he got up and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"I know. I have the same feeling. But there is only one way for us to find out..."
She sighed and chuckled quietly.
"Alright. We'll set off tomorrow, then. For now, get some sleep, Ciel dear. Your mental health worries me..."
Then the Madam got up and began to leave the room, the gentle rustling of her silk dress being the only sound announcing her departure. She turned off the light, and closed the door until it was just a crack, only a thin shaft of light peeking through.
"Good night," She whispered kindly.
"Good night," Ciel mumbled groggily, yet he still felt as restless as the undead.
When she was out of earshot, Sebastian returned to watch his young master fall asleep.
"You know me so well," Ciel noted, only partially conscious. " - sometimes I think you can read my mind..."
"Ah, it's only an understanding formed by habit, sir," The butler replied with a grin.
"We are going to venture onto one of those ships tomorrow. It's the only way we can catch the murderer in the act...I suppose,"
"Of course, my lord,"
An empty silence filled the room. Then Ciel sighed and grimaced when his voice sounded weak.
"Sebastian...No matter what events happen tomorrow, I am counting on you to protect me with your life,"
The butler placed a hand upon his heart and bowed lightly.
"Yes, my lord. Isn't that how it always is...?"
Ciel smiled, though it was hard to see it in the darkness.
"Yes. That's how it always is,"
