The drip, drip of water hitting porcelain was enough to drive one completely insane. It kept mismatched eyes open, mind unbreakably tethered to consciousness. Or, perhaps, it was the thoughts that raced though the child's mind.

There was something wrong. Sebastian hadn't talked to him since their... conversation... earlier. He hadn't really even looked at Ciel, avoiding his curious, and somewhat hurt, gaze. He just stared off into nothingness. If it had been someone, anyone, else, Ciel might have thought he was worried. But some people just don't worry.

And later, after he had gotten into the bath, Sebastian had simply stopped touching him at all. He just didn't understand. He had been quite convinced that the demon was fond of him. He most certainly had been before. Ciel really hadn't thought he would take such offence.

The sapphire boy rolled onto his side, still half listening to the rhythmic pattering of water in the other room. He didn't sleep.


Living had become a novelty term. Ciel found that if he didn't think too much, things seemed simpler. It was when he allowed his mind to wander... But such musings were weakness, and weakness was something he could not afford.

He floated through the hours, days, doing what little was asked of him. He made an effort to avoid the raven whenever possible. Sebastian made it hard to not think.

The blank, dazed monotony he existed in was less difficult to withstand than the disturbed emotions he repressed. But... the problem did not seem to be solving itself. He would wake from the blank state and find himself even more shattered than the last time he thought about it. It was as if his own sorrow was slowly driving him mad, and even ignoring it could not stop its rapid progress.

Ciel's eyes burned. But he was not going to cry. That was pathetic, and, whatever else he may be, Ciel Phantomhive was not pathetic. Still, a distraction would be nice right now.

He rested his forehead against the frosty windowpane in the bathroom. The chill helped him focus. He slid the window open, letting the glacial air fill the room. A few deep breaths would clear his head.

Even so, he walked over to the porcelain bathtub. The small silver tap turned easily under his touch, filling the basin with icy water. He watched it with a sort of detached interest as the crystalline liquid sparkled.

Undressing himself was, while not exactly difficult, certainly strange. It had been so long since it had been an issue that he couldn't actually recall the last instance. Before, it had started to seem as if it had always been like this. No parents or friends, just Sebastian, and an intense loathing for the company of anyone else.

Surely the demon could hear the water running. Ciel wondered if he would come up to see what was happening, but he doubted it. Sebastian avoided him just as well, if not better, than he avoided the demon.

He turned the tap to closed, and stood contemplating the sparkling pool for a moment. And then he stepped over the side and into the water. The room was already cold from the air seeping through the window, but it didn't compare to the water. The liquid wrapped around his legs, so cold it burned. Distracting, indeed. He sank into the deceptively welcoming pond.

For the first time in days, his mind felt truly clear. Complex thoughts were certainly not an issue now. The only thing filling his head was the cold. It seemed to go on forever, as though no matter where he went, it would be right there with him. A welcome change from the never ending hateful depression he had been living in. He fell back into the icy depths, completely emerging himself in the fluid cloak.

His hair floated around him like a black gossamer halo. The water stung his eyes, but not in the way of tears. It was a more pleasant, less humiliating sting. Almost comforting. And fading. He felt them even through the numbness, a pair of slender hands, pulling him back to the truth.

"And what exactly does the young master think he is doing?"