FYI: While the story is more or less the same, I'd recommend rereading/scanning through the past 8 chapters before continuing on, as the changes that have been made affect the plot now. Edit: Fixed some errors I spotted, hence why I took it down for a moment.
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Ciel had put Undertaker's chain of funeral pendants in a bag, and was heading for the manor's front doors when he spotted someone coming toward him. Ciel stopped short, realizing that it was Snake, who had two of his snakes curled and resting lightly on either of his shoulders. Ciel shuddered inwardly, as he couldn't imagine having something potentially lethal so close all the time. Ciel covered his mouth with a hand as he smiled faintly, thinking about Sebastian, and the way that he was practically always by his side.
Snake spotted Ciel as well, and headed over to him, fidgeting slightly before speaking. "Where is Black?" Snake indicated the snake on his right shoulder, "Says Goethe."
Ciel appraised Snake for a moment, before he responded, "Taking care of some business for me. I need to head out for a moment." Ciel turned and opened the door, "Do you know how to drive a coach?"
"..Yes."
"Then come with me. I need to get to London, as I'm following up on a lead for my investigation."
Snake was silent as he followed Ciel out of the manor and to the coach. Snake settled on the driver's seat and took up the reigns.
Ciel's lips set as a snake came slithering in to the coach to rest next to him in a tight coil.
"The air is cold. Keep me warm?" A pause, "Says Emily."
Ciel held back a sigh as the horse began to trot, taking to coach along. He hoped Sebastian wouldn't notice Snake's presence leaving the mansion as well.
-x
William eyed Sebastian with distaste, but he didn't overlook the fact that Grell looked quite a bit better than he had even an hour ago. William's gaze zeroed in on Sebastian, "What did you do?"
Sebastian looked displeased, but as he had already told Grell, he might as well let William know. Keeping himself four feet away from the red head, thus making the silver chain visible again, Sebastian responded smoothly, "I made the decision to remove the spell that had been preventing him from healing, as I will soon need to run errands and such for my master. Mr. Grell running under his own power is preferable to having to carry him around."
William looked distinctly harried at the thought that Sebastian could have helped Grell sooner, and then decidedly unhappy at the thought of Grell being taken anywhere with Sebastian where other reapers in the area might see them.
Grell, on the other hand, looked like he liked the idea of being carried, then became pouty at the realization that Sebastian could have removed the spell before trying to get information to him. Already, Grell could tell that his wounds were healing, and that his breathing was a lot easier. He was feeling well enough, in fact, to slide off the bed and edge nearer to Sebastian, despite William's presence and the fact that Sebastian was moving away from him bit by bit.
While William didn't like what Grell was doing, at all, he had some sort of satisfaction that the demon was clearly uncomfortable with the attention. Waiting until Grell was within reach of Sebastian, William decided to let the demon know what he had found out coming up to see Grell, "I really don't care for the fact that your master isn't around to make you behave. Despite the fact that another demon attacked us, I still believe you to be the culprit behind some of the humans dying sooner than they were scheduled to be."
Sebastian froze, not seeming to care or notice that Grell had latched on to one of his arms as he stretched his senses. Ciel wasn't in the mansion anymore, yet Sebastian didn't sense any demons nearby, meaning that Ciel had left of his own accord. Giving his arm a light shake, Sebastian spoke with a resigned sigh, "It seems my young master is impatient to find out more information. I need to go to his side and see that he doesn't get into trouble." Deciding he didn't know how quickly Grell would heal, Sebastian made the decision to scoop Grell up, bridal style, and leap out the nearest window. While he wanted to deal with the object Grell had brought to the mansion, getting his master back to the manor was a priority.
William was about to follow them, when Ronald came into the room. The two reapers eyed one another, before William spoke, "Ronald Know, you will stay here until I tell you to return to headquarters. Grell will be back shortly." That said, William turned and followed Sebastian's path out the window.
Ronald was left behind utterly confused, and then utterly devastated. He had a date with a secretary that night, and there seemed like no way he'd get back by then.
"Oh, I can't believe I forgot to change the clothes!"
Ronald perked up and poked his head out the door, glancing at the sight of a red haired maid running down the hall in high heeled shoes and struggling to keep the clothes in her hands from falling all over the place. Ronald smiled. She looked familiar. Ronald almost skipped down the hall to Mey-rin, catching the clothes that came tumbling out of her hands, as well as stopping her from falling to the ground.
"Oh, I am sorry, yes I am. I think I was carrying too many clothes." Mey-rin adjusted her glasses, before she realized that it was not Sebastian, but a grinning reaper that greeted her sight, "Oh, you're…"
Ronald made a light bow, despite the clothes in his arms, "Ronald Knox, miss. I believe I said I'd treat you to tea, but since I have orders to stay here, hows about we go to the kitchen and have some?"
Mey-rin was flustered as she was led down the hallway, a smiling Ronald leading her along by one arm, "Oh my, I couldn't. I have chores."
"I'll help you then." Came the cheerful reply. Ronald decided not going back to headquarters had some perks.
-x
William caught up with Sebastian, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the sight of a boneless Grell in the demon's arms, like he couldn't believe Sebastian was carrying him. William finally made eye contact with the other reaper, "I need to get back and see if anything more has been found out about the demons. I believe Ronald to be competent, but I never know if he will be distracted at an inopportune moment."
Grell's lips quirked at that. Distracted indeed, if hitting on the secretaries was what William was hinting at.
William cast a look at Sebastian, before looking back to the red head, "Do try to not divulge any further information, if you can help it. I'll return as soon as I am able to." Seeing the nod of assent from Grell, William changed directions and was soon lost from view.
Grell made himself comfortable in Sebastian's arms, leaning slightly against his chest and trailing a finger along the tie lightly.
Sebastian more or less ignored what the reaper in his arms was doing, as he headed right for London, as his mind was currently elsewhere. Why was his young master being so impatient? Sebastian was silent for a moment, only running and sending the occasional hand slap at Grell to prevent the reaper from unbuttoning his tailcoat. Then, Sebastian began to scowl as a thought occurred to him. He recalled the previous night's events, and that Ciel, after amusing himself with the sight of Sebastian's predicament, had casually inquired about the pendants they had acquired from the Campania.
Sebastian knew he should have found it suspicious that Ciel had said that he wanted to look more closely at them, as he and Ciel had been doing that for countless months already, and still no information could be garnered from the lockets. Ciel had subsequently lost interest after that. The fact that Ciel had left the manor he had likely taken the item with him, and that meant only one thing in the demon's mind.
Ciel was going to go see Undertaker.
-x
Ciel was aware that there was the potential of a demon appearing in the surrounding area, but Ciel was confident that Sebastian would be able to come to his aid, whether or not he had to cart Grell around to do it. Ciel still found it amusing that another demon had managed to get a spell in, and that Sebastian almost seemed offended, as if he couldn't believe he had allowed it to even happen.
Ciel had Snake slow the coach as they neared London, before he began the arduous task of locating Undertaker's new shop. Much to Ciel's surprise, five minutes into his search for the building Undertaker had told him about, Undertaker himself suddenly before him. Snake pulled the reigns sharply, and the horse whinnied and came to a halt, snorting and tossing its head at the sudden appearance of the other being.
Undertaker snickered into his sleeve at the sight of Snake attempting to get the horse under control, before he turned his head and appeared to survey Ciel, who had glanced out the coach at him. Undertaker's bangs were back in place, hiding his eyes, and somehow Ciel didn't quite believe that was how he had hidden his presence from Sebastian.
The two stared at one another silently as the crowd passed them by.
Undertaker broke the silence after he had deduced that Ciel was indeed alone, as the sight of Snake didn't trouble him, before he began to smile, "I was wondering when you'd come to find me." There was a brief flash of an intelligent eye and Undertaker's smile widened, "I think we should retire to my shop. It can keep out prying eyes." Undertaker motioned for Ciel to follow after him down an alley. Undertaker swept down the street at an eerily calm, unhurried pace, and Ciel nodded to Snake, who got the coach moving once more. Undertaker came to a stop in front of a nondescript building after a few minutes, "Have your footman wait here." A side street right next to the building was indicated with the wave of a bulky sleeve.
Snake stopped the horse once more, and Ciel emerge from the coach, and glanced up at Snake, "I'll be back shortly."
Snake looked back at Ciel, as Emily slithered back onto his shoulder from the inside of the coach. He glanced at her, then back to Ciel, "Don't take too long. I'll miss you." Snake tilted a finger at the snake, "Says Emily."
Ciel kept a neutral look on his face as he turned and walked over to where Undertaker was waiting for him.
With an eerie smile, Undertaker opened the door of the shop and beckoned Ciel to come inside, "Come in, earl, and let's see what I can tell you about your problems…" He lowered his voice, so that Snake couldn't hear, "...of the demonic kind."
From Undertaker's mentions of demons, Ciel had little doubt that, like Sebastian, Undertaker had sensed the other demons. Ciel was a bit unnerved that the mortician had locked the door as soon as he had walked inside, and even more so when Undertaker ran a hand along the door and muttered something, before moving back across the room to take a seat behind the desk.
Ciel removed his hat and sat at the chair in front of the desk, almost scowling at it because it meant that Undertaker had been expecting him.
"You have it?"
"Yes."
Both of them knew that Ciel wouldn't have come if that weren't the case.
Undertaker chuckled a little, "I wonder how worked up your butler will be when he figures out you left and then can't locate you."
Ciel settled more comfortably in the chair, "As long as I learn something of use, he won't be able to call me on it. After all, I've had enough people telling me that I can't do things on my own without Sebastian."
"Can you now? I was under the impression that you relied on the butler exclusively."
Ciel offered a faint smile, "I came to see you, didn't I?"
Undertaker gave the earl with an approving grin, "That you did, earl, and since seeing your butler upset will be more than enough payment, I'll gladly help with whatever you are snooping around for this time."
Without being asked, Ciel drew the chain of pendant out and passed it over to Undertaker's outstretched hand.
Undertaker took it from Ciel gingerly, and after examining it to make sure it was all there, attached it back to his robes once more. That done, Undertaker's small frown had stretched back into a smile. Undertaker ran a hand through his hair and shook the bangs slightly, in order to allow his eyes to be seen.
Ciel pressed himself against the back of the char, not quite sure whether being stared at by Undertaker was creepier with his eyes visible or not. The two toned eyes reflected the smile on Undertaker's lips, and Ciel decided that while it was unnerving, it was better than trying to figure out what he was thinking when they were hidden by the bangs.
Undertaker glanced past Ciel with a blink of his eyes, and his smile widened, "It seems your butler was quick to notice your absence." Undertaker transferred his gaze to Ciel once more, "Ask your questions, earl. I made sure that no demon or shinigami will be able to detect my presence, especially when I happen to be in this shop. Seeing that Ciel was about to say something, Undertaker waved a hand dismissively, "I set up some spells this time around."
Ciel decided to get to the point. Either Undertaker knew something useful, or he didn't, "I've been asked by the queen to look into the matter of three villages and a hospital, where it has been reported that people who were otherwise healthy have dropped dead, for no apparent reason. In the hospital's case, the staff there believes that some patients were supposed to have lived longer or gotten better, but found the patients dead and decided that perhaps they had been mistaken." Ciel looked Undertaker in the eyes, "Is this the work of demons from the places that this has occurred?"
Undertaker intertwined his fingers and smiled, "Yes, they are. At least in the case of the hospital you are alluding to. I still get customers, you know, and I can tell whether a body still has a soul in it or not, even without the list. I can tell especially well when there are no apparent wound on the deceased's body." Undertaker frowned thoughtfully, "I haven't gotten any customers from any villages lately from outside of London, so I can't be sure of the culprits unless I see some of the bodies."
"If we were to go to those villages, would you be able to tell from the condition of their bodies?" Ciel questioned.
Undertaker's eyes glinted, "By 'we' I'm assuming you and your butler as well as myself." Undertaker leaned back in his chair and gave a light shrug, "I've no reason to objection to doing such a thing, as I could get a laugh out of it, however..." The playful tone was gone as Undertaker fixed Ciel with a piercing stare, "That demon may still be a bit inclined to attack me for what I did back on the ship, and I don't feel the need to fight with him. Not yet, anyway." Undertaker glanced at the door again, wearing a small frown once more, and then added, "Even if you were to tell hm to not start a fight, demons are likely to look for ways to get around orders." Undertaker smiled lightly at Ciel, "I'm sure you've experienced that before, so you must understand my reluctance to agree to such a thing."
"If I made the order specific enough, Sebastian will have to listen. Besides, even he should see the use of a shinigami who has no ties to the other reapers." Ciel responded, even if he was hesitant of traveling to the villages with him and Sebastian, along with the added nuisance that was Grell. It was something he'd rather not deal with, but it was necessary if he wanted to get his investigation moving from a standstill.
Undertaker tapped one hand against the table, fingernails clicking against the tabletop, "If you can order him like you say, then I'll travel with you to the villages for your answers. In return, I want to have sanctuary at your manor, to better view your little escapade, and to not have to defend myself against your butler or the reapers that might stop by."
Ciel didn't like how the word defend made him think that Undertaker wasn't worried about being the one being injured. Ciel nodded after a moment, "Very well, so long as you leave when this is all over, and you keep our prior agreement in order."
Undertaker's eyes danced with dark humor, "Agreed, though the next time you come to call for help, I'll expect payment, and I'll be very interested in whether you'll be able to manage without your demon to help you. That little display for information about missing children won't cut it like last time."
Ciel stood up and placed his hat back onto his head, "I hope I'll be able to avoid such a thing, but..." Ciel trailed off and shook his head, "In any case, I think I should go out first, so that Sebastian doesn't see you right away."
Undertaker rose smoothly and headed over to the door, running his hand over the door and muttering something. He stepped back, and Ciel opened the door, stepping outside and taking his eye patch off as he went.
Ciel had expected to get to the coach and have Snake get them a few buildings away before his butler found him. What Ciel hadn't expected was to barely take a few steps out of the door, and find his path blocked by one highly irate demon, who was carrying one content Grell. Ciel could tell in an instant that Sebastian had realized who he had gone to see, and just how unhappy he was about it, if the way he dropped Grell was anything to go by. The demon's hands were twitching, as if Sebastian longed to grab Ciel and shake him, but apparently thought better of it, and opted to instead stare fiercely at Ciel.
Ciel smirked at the sight of his usually unflappable demon butler, the smile increasing in its intensity when Sebastian was momentarily distracted by Grell latching onto one of his legs. Giving Sebastian this particular order was going to please Ciel immensely. More than hoping to see Sebastian eventually fail at something, Ciel also loved to see Sebastian agitated and losing his cool. Although Ciel decided he didn't like that agitation was directed at him. No matter. He'd worry about that later.
It was time to give the order to one very unhappy demonic butler.
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Finally, an actual update!
If you didn't read my note about revisions/updates, thanks again for being patient for these past two years. I hadn't wanted to update this story when I had no idea how to get it to the ending. I had hit a mental roadblock for this story, and had to think about it before continuing. It was the lack of a plot that did it for me, so once that was resolved, I decided to go back and revise the story that I had so far. I do have an ending for this story, and about 3-5 chapter outlines but I am unsure how long it will take to get to the last chapter (As the outline I currently have isn't anywhere near half done). So more story for you guys to read. Ah, and let me know what you think of the changes.
From the plot I made, it seems like it may be drawn out a bit more than I had anticipated. So, hopefully there'll be enough action between the information gathering, since I gave Ciel an investigation to look in to. Plus I completely changed Undertaker's role in this story, as I have found I like how he is being portrayed in the manga (plus I wanted to give Ciel a chance to do something on his own). And argh I can't remember. Are the lockets Undertaker has lockets, pendants, funeral pendants or what? Not that they'll show up again but perhaps in passing (I doubt that Ciel would just give them back to Undertaker, no questions asked, but for the purpose of this story, that's what I'm doing).
Obviously it wont take so long to get to the next few chapters. It is a matter of typing them up and editing them. At the moment, though, my temp job involves computers, so lately I haven't been able to stare at the computer screen for long without it straining my eyes. But it certainly won't take me years to update now that I've got a handle on the story again.
