A/N: Hello world! What? I didn't... do anything... Heheh... Okay, so I've decided that I'm going to try harder with this fanfic. I had kind of put it away for another time, but I finally understood that enough is enough! I know I'll probably never be the perfect author who updates once a week (or hopefully I will be, but probably not soon), but I really want to continue with this. So here I am!

So, a little under half of this chapter was finished ages ago, but it really didn't fit to just publish it like that, so yeah...

Like I said, I'll do my best to try harder, but I really can't promise anything. I just got this sudden inspiration thing, so I've been up all night writing this chapter. I don't know if it is too good, but you know, it's there. Maybe I'll come back later and edit a few things, but nothing really important.

Also, lots of thanks to "Jaime", who reviewed a few days ago, for reminding me that there are still people reading this story. :)

AND EVERYONE, IMPORTANT MESSAGE. I'M NOT POSTING ANY CHAPTER WARNINGS ANYMORE, SINCE THEY WILL PROBABLY SPOIL THE ENTIRE THING.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Kuroshitsuji or any of the characters in it.

Thank you, everyone. Without you, this fanfiction wouldn't exist.

(By the way, guys, I'm thinking about doing a rewrite of the first few chapters because I suspect they might be he main reason I dislike this fanfic so much. What do you think?)

At the sound of the door creaking open, two heads immediately turned to look at the young demon entering the room. Said demon raised a brow at them, closing the door carefully behind him with an angry growl. "What? I thought you wanted me to come here? Don't act so surprised." Ciel stepped up to the men in the room, sending both of them a glare.

The king nodded slowly, his gaze falling from the boy to the door behind him. "Such a noise. I must really get that fixed," he said quietly, as if to himself.

"Oh, shut it." Ciel rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked over at his old friend, frowning at the small sigh he was given. He wanted to ask what the man was doing there, but he kept it to himself, sure that he would get his answer soon enough. "How long have the two of you been here?"

He saw Lance narrow his eyes at the question, and he opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Sebastian. "Oh, we just got in. Well, we were standing in the hallway, talking for a minute, but I don't suppose that matters?"

The man chuckled a little, making the other two turn to him angrily. Before Ciel could yell at him to stop being annoying, Lance asked in an angry voice: "What's so funny? I thought we were going to discuss something important here, Your Majesty?"

"Of course." Sebastian smirked. "I believe it's time for us to talk about your mission. Properly, this time."

"Good. Then please,enlighten us. What is so important that you have to make the two of us do it, instead of your loyal, strong guards?" Lance said, rolling his eyes as sarcasm pretty much dripped from his words.

The king nodded slowly, before turning to look at Ciel. The smirk that formed on his face made the boy's skin crawl, and he sent a glare back. Sebastian simply snickered at his harsh stare. "Maybe you should take a seat. I need to talk to you alone afterward, so why not just settle down? Wouldn't want to make you tired," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah?" Ciel grit his teeth in irritation, putting his hands on his hips much like a girl would and tilting his head. "The only place to actually sit here is that stupid throne of yours. If you're not thinking about me sitting on the floor."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it. Just thought you might want to get comfortable now, or you'll get really.. what word should I use? Ah, cranky. So, what do you say? It's entirelyoptional," Sebastian said with a somewhat smug voice.

Ciel narrowed his eyes at him, looking over at the other demon in the room, who in return shook his head as if the whole conversation was just ridiculous, offering him a tiny, almost apologetic-looking smile.

"Better listen to him, Ciel. It doesn't hurt to sit down for a while. What's more, you look exhausted. Have you been sleeping properly?" Lance sighed the way a worried mother would, making the boy raise his eyebrows and the king hum in amusement.

"I just slept. But since someone," Ciel hissed the last word out, glaring daggers at Sebastian, whose smirk only widened, "made them come and wake me, I'm still tired."

"Oh? It seems you sleep an awful lot to be a demon. That can only mean you're not fed well enough. Don't worry, we'll do something about that soon enough. Can't have you sleeping in my hallways when I'm having important guests over." The king snickered, ignoring the annoyed look of the others.

Ciel clenched his fist in irritation, just about to open his mouth to speak when he decided not to. It was what Sebastian wanted anyway, and he had no wish to give the man the satisfaction of watching him grow angry. As he glanced at his old friend, he almost had to smile at the furious look that crossed his features. "Lance, don't listen to him. It's not like this is what we came to talk about anyway."

"That is correct." Both Ciel and Lance looked over at Sebastian, both with their eyes narrowed to slits.

An irritated scowl found its way to the younger demon's face as he pretty much stomped over to the throne and sat down the way a child would after being scolded and told to go to their room. He felt the cold stone beneath him and had to struggle to hold back a shiver.

He started moving around in the seat, not being able to find a single comfortable position. When he felt the weight of two pairs of eyes on him, he immediately stilled, putting on a stoic mask.

"There, I'm sitting here now. Happy?" He glared at the king, not waiting for an answer for his rhetorical question. His eyes calmly strayed over to Lance. "If we're not going to talk seriously I see no point in either of us being here." Before looking back at Sebastian, he let his eyes linger for a second on his old friend, his face hardening ever so slightly. "So stop playing with us." He looked back at the king, the sweetest, fakest smile he managed to make coming to his face. "Your Majesty."

There was a small silence where Ciel continued smiling at the king, Sebastian simply stared back in mild surprise, and Lance, from the looks of it feeling way to uncomfortable to do anything other than standing there, observing the other two silently.

Soon enough, though, Sebastian got his smug face back. He tilted his head at the demon currently sitting on his throne as if he was a small child, before letting out a short snicker. "Indeed, there would be no reason for you to come here if not for a serious talk. So, now that you're seated," he glanced at Lance with an amused smirk, before turning back to Ciel, "I would like to tell you what it is you're supposed to be doing while in the human realm."

When the man paused to take in their reactions, Ciel rolled his eyes, and he could hear the loud snort coming from Lance. "Yeah, we know. Just get to it, will you? I'm tired," the boy said in a monotone voice, frowning at the king.

"You're quite impatient. Nothing has changed in that area, I see," Sebastian said, chuckling at the huff coming from Ciel. "I won't tell you everything, since I still want you to be surprised when I tell you in two days. If I told you now it would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?"

"Right… fun…" Ciel sighed as he leant back in the throne, clenching his teeth in irritation at the fact that there was no way to sit comfortably there.

"Yes. What I will tell you, though, is that your mission is to locate and bring me a certain human boy. Preferably uninjured, but it doesn't really matter, I suppose. As long as he's alive and able to talk. Or scream." The king looked at both of the demons in the room, his face now so stern the playful demeanour that had been there just seconds ago looked as if it had never been there at all.

"Why?"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. He looked thoughtful for a while, before letting out a somewhat irked sigh. "A revenge of sorts. It is nothing much, but I am not one to let someone who wronged me go unharmed. Especially if it is just a human boy. I'm sure you understand, Ciel. After all, you were once a human yourself."

As soon as he had said that, he turned around to look at Lance with curious eyes. The action almost made Ciel laugh. Apparently, Sebastian had not expected the boy's friend to know that he was not a "real" demon. Too bad for him, though. He remembered telling Lance what had happened to him, and how it had almost weirdly fascinated the man, asking questions practically all the time. It was such a long time ago, yet he remembered it like it was yesterday.

When Lance noticed the way Sebastian stared at him, a slightly offended look crossed his face. "What, you thought I didn't know? We were like brothers for two years, you know. He told me everything."

A sharp pain went through Ciel's chest at the man's words. It had never occurred to him how trusting Lance was, and it really pained him to hear him talk about him in such a way. He tried swallowing the guilt, but it did not help. All things of actual importance had been left out from their conversations, but it seemed Lance had not noticed at all.

"Really?" asked Sebastian, a smirk playing at his lips. He ignored the warning glare coming from his former Master, instead focusing on the growing anger of the other man present. "Did he tell you about me?"

"Sebastian, it's enough," Ciel hissed.

Lance simply frowned, also deciding to ignore the boy. "Of course he did. You were his butler when he was a human. The two of you made a contract, or something."

The king nodded, and for a moment Ciel though, or rather hoped, that he was satisfied with what Lance had said, but of course that wasn't the case. Sebastian started moving around the man, circling around him like a predator would his prey. His expression became that of a superior ruler, someone who held all the power of the ones under him. In this case, it was Lance.

"That is indeed true. What did he tell you he did for a living, then? Or maybe he didn't want you to know something like that?"

"Of course he told me about that!" Lance was becoming heated, Ciel could tell. "He, uh, sold toys, I think. Children's toys. He was the head of the Funtom company. I know all about that. And something about the queen of England… He helped her? Did missions for her, and such."

"Correct. Now tell me, what do you know about his friends? If you could call them that… Some of them were more than friends, but I'm sure you already knew that," Sebastian said with a scornful smile.

"Bullshit, I had no friends," Ciel interrupted.

"Not that he will ever admit it," Sebastian hummed at Lance. "Anyway, I'll tell you some of their names. See if you can remember anything, okay? Elizabeth, Soma and Agni. Do you know anything about them? Anything at all."

Neither of the two men currently "competing" seemed to notice that Ciel's confusion grew more and more as he listened to their conversation. When he tried looking back at the times his former butler seemed to be recalling perfectly, a lingering ache would latch onto his brain, and he would simply give up. If he couldn't remember anything, there was no way Lance would. How could he have told him anything anyway?

"Well, Elizabeth was his fiancée, right? I think that was it... He didn't really tell me much about her, except that she was pretty annoying," said Lance, and looked down with a small smile on his lips, almost as if he was thinking back at something funny.

Ciel let out a loud sigh, but not one glance was sent his way. Though he would never admit it, the lack of attention he got right now from the two most important people in his existence annoyed the hell out of him. Maybe it was because they were talking about him as if he wasn't there right in front of them? Well, it was a perfectly logical reason to be angry. He thought so anyway.

"I'm right here," he muttered, though he knew that the others wouldn't care.

"Well," Lance continued, the concentrated look on his face almost breaking the depressing ring of thoughts of his friend. "Soma and Agni were some pretty irritating people, according to this little fella. I don't really-"

"Hold on a second." Ciel frowned. "Who are Soma and Agni?"

For a moment, the room was completely silent, the only thing heard being the boy's flustered breathing. When the two demons only looked at him, he understood, and he hated it. He seemed to shrink under the eyes of his old friend and king, and all of sudden he wished he had kept his mouth shut. "Oh, you're kidding me," he murmured almost absently, the cold feeling of his chest sinking, making his voice waver ever so little, though just enough for the others to catch up.

He closed his mouth firmly, grinding his teeth together in an attempt to find something to say. Finally, he grew tired of the silence that seemed to drown them. "It's a lie, stop it." His breath hitched in his throat. "I've never known any 'Soma' or 'Agni'. Both of you, this isn't funny. Stop it."

If only his words would have an effect on them, on him, he might have felt better, but the way those two pairs of eyes looked at him as if he was some sort of wounded animal was almost worse than the actual thing going on. Even Sebastian pitied him, it seemed. Sebastian.

"I'm sorry, Ciel," Lance finally said, his voice thick from... something. Was it sadness? Disappointment? Ciel did not know.

I'm sorry, Ciel. I'm sorry.

"It really is... Oh, am I going crazy? Why can't I remember anything? I understood about my human life, but this?" Rage filled his body, head, everything. Irrational rage, pointless rage.

Why couldn't he remember? Even Lance knew more than him.

He looked at Sebastian now, for he knew that Lance would not, well, could not give him the truth. No matter how dangerous or painful, his former butler would tell him. He knew that.

"Sebastian," he said, but stopped himself before any more words slipped out. Help me.

He couldn't say that, not anymore. The roles had changed. Sebastian was the king now, and he... he was nothing.

The man looked as if he was expecting something more, though, with his eyebrows arched like that. But what was there to say? As far as Ciel could tell, nothing.

"Just... get back to the original topic. I really don't think this is the time for thinking about my problems. Y-You said you wanted us to go after a human boy for revenge?" He stopped, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Yes. I presume you want to know some more about this? I'm open for questions, so just fire away," Sebastian replied, looking as if the last part of their conversation hadn't even taken place. For that, Ciel was thankful.

He looked at him for a second, thinking about what to start with. "Well, first of all, how are we even going to get there? I mean, is there some kind of portal to the "real" world, or what is it? Plus, even if there is, how will we find the right place? I mean, the world is big! And how will we get back? Are anyone going to escort us, or something, or are you going to let us do whatever we want?"

To that, Lance let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Ciel, you're kind of making it obvious what we're going to do."

"Yeah, as if he didn't know that before. He's not an idiot, Lance, why do you think I asked? He must have something up his sleeve." Ciel rolled his eyes at him.

"Oh my, you believe so? I'm simply devastated that you trust me so little, Ciel," Sebastian purred with mock disappointment. "I will tell you everything, so just calm down, will you? You'll get to the human realm by my leave, meaning I will give you something to drink, and you will be there in a flash. As for the rest, you need only imagine the place you'll be going, and that's where you will appear. It's really not that hard."

"But," Ciel cut him off, "is that the only way to get there? Does every demon have to drink something to go to the human world? Are there any exceptions?"

"Well, of course. You need to drink the potion a few times, maybe only once if you're lucky, and then you're free to come and go as you want. It needs to get to your blood, you see. A lot of demons get out of here by buying it from someone else, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. To be honest, I don't even care. Can I continue now?" Sebastian blinked innocently at him.

"..Yes."

"So as I was saying, you'll go there by yourselves. Don't worry about finding your target; I'll show you a picture before you leave. All you need to do is bring him to me, and for that you just have to do the same thing as when you go there. Hold him tightly, because it's important not to lose him, close your eyes and concentrate on getting back here with him. I'll take care of the rest."

Lance nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Very well then. Was that all you wanted to talk to us about?"

"Yes, you may go now. You, however," Sebastian said, and both knew that he was addressing Ciel, "need to stay."

The boy shot one last look at his friend as he started leaving, nodding. "Fine."

Just as the door fell shut behind Lance, the two remaining demons in the throne room turned towards each other, each observing the other and waiting for some sort of sign, an indication to say or do something.

When nothing happened, the older of the two took a step forward.

Ciel narrowed his eyes at him, bracing himself for what was to come. He expected harsh, taunting words and snide comments, but that was not what he received.

A tired look crossed the king's face as he walked over to the wall closest to him and practically fell against it. "You really are a piece of work, huh…" Sebastian murmured, heaving a sigh. "My servants have been complaining about you since you got here. Did you know? More than half of them want you to be thrown in the dungeon. They're already signing a petition for it."

Ciel huffed at the newfound information, though would not say that he was surprised; if he had been in their situation, he would be pissed too. Too bad he didn't care, though. He didn't exactly wish to be there. Still, the dungeon wasn't somewhere he wanted to go.

"What are you going to do then? I'm sure you know that I am not willing to go down there. You won't try to force me, will you?" he said, his voice growing quieter as he spoke.

"I could." A pause. "But I won't. I still have need of you, remember? Plus, I' a little curious about your memory loss, and I won't be able to find out anything about that with you rotting in that old cellar, will I now?" The almost-smirk Sebastian sent him was nearly completely overshadowed by the exhaustion now evident on his face.

The young demon sighed, feeling something within him stir in restlessness of the other man's foolishness. "…I suppose. Even so, having so many of your servants despising me, and not doing anything about it? You're in it deep now, Sebastian. More than I ever was. I get it, you are the King of Hell, but you can't always do whatever you want to. Maybe this will be a good time to listen to someone other than yourself. Let us go. Or better, make us go. Tell your servants that you're doing it for them."

Ciel stared at his butler, awaiting the response. Had he been talking to any other person, he would throw in a small, professional smile to seem more convincing, but this man, no matter how long they had been away from each other, knew him as well as he did himself. The words the boy had just said were almost complete and utter baloney, and he was aware of it. Still, if they could persuade Sebastian to let him and his old friend leave without a fight, it would be great.

Sebastian pushed himself away from the wall, seemingly taking a big interest in his pitch-black nails. At a slow pace, he started circling the throne where Ciel was sitting like a predator getting ready to attack its new victim. "And here I've gone and thought you were both going to disappear as soon as you left the demon realm. How very kind of you, waiting to finish your mission before abandoning us. I must say I'm astounded by your generosity."

"But it wouldn't be the end, would it, Sebastian? You'll probably hunt us down anyway, then punish us for deserting. Don't think I haven't thought of that possibility yet." Ciel sighed, keeping his eyes on the man.

"Ah, that's where you're wrong, silly little Ciel. Do you really think I would bother to go looking for you after all the trouble you've caused me? The only reason you're trapped here now is because you came to me. There's nothing more to it, so don't flatter yourself. If you do leave, I won't do anything to you, but if you put as much as a foot in my castle again after that, you're as good as dead."

Ciel narrowed his eyes, suspicious but at the same time relieved. "That doesn't make sense. You told me that you would never let me leave. Never. What's with the sudden change of heart?"

Sebastian, now standing in front of him, shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I'm just feeling more human today. What, you want to stay here for the rest of your life? It's your choice."

The words stunned the young demon more than they probably should have. If Lance was there, he would probably be grinning in joy, so why wasn't Ciel? He was happy, yes, but there was something else... something he could not easily place. Maybe it was the small sense of familiarity he got when he was near Sebastian. The thought of it disappearing hurt, but that couldn't be it. His human life was over long ago.

He frowned when something came to mind, and he could feel his eyes growing sterner as they looked at the king. "What about my memories?"

"What about them?"

"There's no one else other than you than could possibly help me get them back. You... You're the only one..." Ciel almost whispered, something akin to accusation present in his voice.

Sebastian didn't seem fazed at all. "And? Are your memories really so important to you that you would give your freedom for them?"

"No."

"Oh really? Am I missing something then? To me, it sounds like you have doubts about leaving this place, and your memories. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no problem with you staying here as my servant. In fact, I think I would like that. But honestly, child, your memories are of your past. It's over, so why bother with them?"

They stared at each other, monitoring each other's reactions. For a while, none of them said a word, only stared. Not for a single moment did their eyes break contact, even when Ciel's eyes started drying up. Nothing happened. They didn't even move.

How much time passed like this, none of them could know. Be it after one minute or ten, in the end, the youngest of the two had to look away while blinking erratically while trying not to let any tears fall down from his eyes due to the staring.

"So..." He cleared his throat, looking back up at the man who now wore a pretty pleased smirk. "Why is your throne so uncomfortable? Aren't you kings supposed to have everything perfect, or something?"

"Well, it's simple, actually. If my throne is hard to sit on, it will be even harder to fall asleep on, don't you think? Sebastian chuckled, for some reason finding it very funny.

Ciel, however, didn't. "Aren't demons supposed to not have to sleep at all? I know I'm different from you, but looking away from me..."

"That's true, but we can if we want to. Believe it or not, even demons can get exhausted. Sleeping helps with a lot of things, you know. Anyway, I wasn't the one who made it that way. Some old king was probably tired of all the boring meetings where he could just doze off, so he fixed it. Can't say I like it, though."

The boy nodded, leaning back. "Am I allowed to leave now? I can't really see my reason for being here right now."

"Not yet, no. There's something I need to show you." Sebastian stepped back and lifted his hand, holding it out as if I was holding something up.

Ciel was just about to say something when something started rising from the man's palm. Slowly, it got bigger and bigger until it was obvious what it was. The dark fire swirled around, even though there was no wind in the throne room, and clung to Sebastian like a lifeline, climbing up his arm and licking his face. Nothing happened to him, though. He was immune.

"What is this?!" In one swift motion, Ciel was on his feet. He stared at the flame that only seemed to grow. Soon enough, the king was completely enveloped in it.

"SEBASTIAN!"

"Relax, I'm still here." Suddenly, it was gone, and Sebastian was himself again. He even sent a cocky smile Ciel's way, but the young demon hardly seemed to notice it.

"What the hell was that, Sebastian?! It just swallowed you, and you didn't even react! I've never seen this before in my entire life, and I've met a lot of demons! None of them have done this before! Ever."

As soon as he had uttered the words, Ciel could swear he saw something glint in the other man's eyes. "Oh?" Sebastian said as he took a step closer, his dark aura making the boy instinctively retreat, only to fall back down on the throne.

"You've met a lot of demons? How interesting. I wonder, did you go under the name Noir then too?" Sebastian studied him with sharp eyes, searching for any unnatural reaction.

"Sebastian..." He clenched his teeth, pushing the man away as he leaned closer. "Just let it go! Tell me about that.. thing! What was that?"

Sebastian glared at him for a moment, before backing off. He straightened his clothes and turned his back to the boy, sighing to himself. "It's something we use as self defence here in the castle. A power only the richest of the richest can have, and I plan to give it to you. You should be thanking me; This really is one of the best things you can ever use to fight."

Ciel thought it over, thinking back at the strange, black fire. It had indeed seemed very dangerous. "Can it kill a demon?" he asked Sebastian, knowing that normal weapons couldn't.

"Of course, it can kill anything. You can even change its form and make it look like for example, a sphere. Not knives or guns, though, that's way too complicated. However, one hit from this coming your way, if landing on a critical place, will definitely kill you. Or if you want to, you can just burn your enemy, though that takes more time." The king smiled for a moment. "We found the substance used in making these in a demon sword we found lying around. Personally, I find it amazing how someone can make something this powerful. Don't you?"

"A demon sword lying around?" Ciel said with a frown, ignoring the question. "Even you know that that is kind of suspicious, right?"

"Hm, that's true. Yet nothing bad has fallen upon us yet, after all this time using it. I doubt something will happen now." The king chuckled.

Ciel looked away, still not really convinced. "I suppose... Why are you telling me this anyway? Didn't we just talk about me leaving this stupid place?"

"Well, I have to teach you how to use it, don't I? Lots of demons are after me, you know. There are those out there willing to do whatever it takes to hurt me, so killing you and my target off wouldn't be a problem for them. And before you asked, people know that you're here, all right? Calcifer isn't one to keep his mouth shut." Sebastian snickered.

"Wait..." Ciel's eyes widened in horror as he watched the man's smirk widen. "Everyone thinks I'm your fiancé now? Everyone? But what about my plans to get the hell out of here?!"

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'll just tell everyone it's off. You know, if you do leave. There's no problem here, as I see it. The only thing is, like I said, you need to know how to defend yourself against other demons while you're out there doing your job. That's why I'm going to teach you, just like the old times." He snickered again.

Sighing, Ciel silently agreed. Being able to stay alive seemed more important than anything right now. Well, almost anything. "What about Lance?" he had to ask.

"Don't worry about him, I have other servants teaching him. He doesn't really matter anyway, you're the more important one. Now, we must begin with giving you this "power", for lack of a better word."

"And how are we going to do that? Do I need to drink some weird potion for this too?" Ciel straightened up in the throne.

Sebastian grinned, coming closer to the boy, only this time Ciel did not stop him. Even when he grabbed his chin, the young demon didn't do anything. He shuddered as their skin touched, but that was it.

"You're cold," Ciel remarked.

"Was I ever warm?" came the reply.

"..You weren't."

"Let's get to it then." That was the only warning Ciel got before his chin was lifted up, and a pair of lips landed on his. He had somewhat expected it, but it still came as a surprise to feel Sebastian's mouth on his own. It was warm, despite it all.

There was no love in the kiss. Sure, it was gentle, quite different from what the boy had expected, but it didn't feel real. And it wasn't. Their eyes were open; there was nothing to do but stare as soft, wet lips moved against each other.

Sebastian pulled away just a little, so that their lips only barely touched. "Open your mouth," he said almost softly before leaning in again.

Ciel did as he was told, and soon enough he felt something warm slide down his throat and through his body. It got hotter and hotter, until a pained moan escaped his lips. He hadn't even noticed when Sebastian moved away from him, but he could see him now, standing about a meter away, studying him.

"What..." the boy hissed as the heat flowed through him, fortunately gradually vanishing completely. "...the fuck."

A new feeling overcome him, unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was more powerful than the greatest pain he had even been in, and could ever imagine. More powerful than the greatest pleasure.

He felt strong.

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