Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Black Butler. They, and their characters, belong to their respective creators.
Chapter 14 - Waiting
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It was dark, too dark to see anything with any sense of clarity. Tohru squinted anyway, trying to make out the various shapes around her. She had no idea where she was or why. She couldn't clearly remember what had happened either.
"Tohru?" Elizabeth called out, her voice filled with fear. "Is that you?"
Tohru tried to discover what direction Lizzy's voice was coming from. "Yes, it's me. Are you okay?" She didn't think she'd been injured herself. At least she didn't feel any pain, but she couldn't move. Strong cords bound her legs and arms.
Lizzy shivered. "I'm scared," she admitted, tears wetting her cheeks. "What happened? What are they going to do with us? Do you think they'll do terrible things? Why hasn't someone come to rescue us! I want Ciel!"
Tohru tried to make comforting noises, but without knowing exactly where the other girl was, she couldn't do much more than that. "Shh… I'm sure they'll be looking for us. Kyo's really good at finding people." After all, he'd found her after she'd moved to her grandfather's house that one time back when she'd first met him.
She vaguely remembered that they had been out sightseeing with the others when suddenly something had come from behind and covered her mouth. After that, everything had blurred. Maybe they'd drugged her and her companion? She wasn't sure. Kyo had always said she needed to not space out of something like this would happen. She just hoped she had the chance to tell him he had been right about that.
Around both girls, the sound of groans and breathing could be heard. How many others were in that room with them? Tohru didn't know but she definitely didn't like it. But her determination was not going to let her break down when a younger girl was counting on her. She had to be strong for her, at least until help came.
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Ciel was awake long after Sebastian had left. The manor was dark, the moon hidden behind clouds. Where was Elizabeth? Was she somewhere warm? Was she in immediate danger? The various possibilities kept him from sleeping. What was he missing?
Various possibilities floated around in his head, each one less plausible. He just hoped that Sebastian would have something the next time he came back. If not, he might break down and show more emotion than he was willing. Either way, it was going to be a long night.
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Kyo stared up at the ceiling. Why was he still there, waiting for something to happen instead of going out and doing something about it? Tohru was in danger. They had no clues. He could at least be looking. He scowled at his own inefficiency. It was maddening.
True, he'd learned some very important things, like Sebastian's true nature. But all of that didn't get him any closer to figuring out what to do about Tohru missing. Not to mention the little time traveling issue. He had to figure out how to get them home again once he'd found her. It was all insane and he hated it. There had to be a way to make it all fit back together again.
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Morning came. Both Ciel and Kyo yawned hugely as they left their respective rooms and made their way down to breakfast. Tanaka had assisted Ciel that morning, and Finni had tried to assist Kyo, though the older of the two hadn't needed or wanted the additional help.
They yawned at each other as they entered the breakfast room and took their respective seats while platters of eggs and bacon were placed in front of them.
Kyo glanced over at Ciel and half snorted. "You too, eh? You'd think they'd have paid more attention and at least screamed or something." Hadn't he warned Tohru to be more diligent about not spacing off? Okay, so he'd added that it wasn't always necessary when he was there. Crap.
Ciel grumbled over his eggs as he checked the newspaper. No new disappearances were reported. That was something at least. Then it hit him. No new disappearances. He hadn't told the authorities about Elizabeth or Tohru. Perhaps it was related after all! His fork clattered against his dish as he dropped it.
Hearing the sound, Kyo looked up and saw Ciel's expression, one of shock and comprehension at the same time. "What?"
Ciel's lips formed a determined line. "They are connected, the disappearing women and our missing ladies. They have to be. Disappeared without a trace, quicker than seems possible. There's something supernatural about this and I don't like it."
Supernatural. Great. Kyo scowled. Hadn't they already had enough of that already? After all, he was cursed, Sebastian was a demon. What else would pop out of the woodwork? Shinigami? That idea really did make him want to snort. It was stupid. "Right. Whatever you say."
Ciel rolled his eyes. The cat boy would learn soon enough. Apparently being cursed alone hadn't taught him that there were others out there that most didn't see. But he wasn't sure if they were dealing with the supernatural or not, though it seemed the more likely of the two. He just hoped Sebastian would be able to tell them something when he returned, if he returned. He dismissed the thought. Sebastian always returned. It was a promise and their contract demanded it. He'd come when he had news.
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For whatever reason, Tohru had been in and out of it for a while. It was almost as though someone had pumped gas into the room, sleeping gas, though that couldn't be right. Why would someone do that? She blinked her eyes open, realizing she was still tied up, but it was lighter out now and she was still not gagged. "Lizzy?"
She looked around and almost gasped. There were quite a few other girls in the room, some older than her, others younger. All of them seemed to be wearing clothes less fine than her own. Who were they? Why were they there? Whoever they were, they were all asleep and all bound.
Sounds came from behind a door at the end of the room, masculine grunts. She cowered, afraid of what would happen next, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it either.
The door opened and two rough looking men entered the room. "Which one," the first asked and the second grunted.
"Doesn't matter, someone from the front." He headed towards one of the women nearest the door.
The other pointed towards Tohru. "How about her?"
The second man looked up. "Nah. She's special. She's for later. This one'll do. Help me, will ya?" He took the woman by her shoulders while the other man took her feet. "Heavy, this one."
They dragged the unconscious girl out of the room, closing the door behind them. The sound of a key grating in a lock followed, then footsteps, then nothing.
Tohru wasn't sure what was going on, or what that exchange meant but she suddenly felt very afraid. "I have to get out of here," she decided but couldn't see any way out besides the door and she couldn't move from the knots that bound her.
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Sebastian moved stealthily. It was much easier to move like this, unburdened by human form as he went from shadow to shadow. He'd caught a rumor of something that might be related. Knowing that he had already been out all night investigating, only to find this one crumb, spurred him on. He would not return to his master empty handed. He paused behind some large barrels on the docks. Two men were talking.
"Can't believe he'd want so many," the first one, heavier built than the other, said. "What's he want, a harem or something?"
The other, shorter and more unsavory looking, spat. "Nah, I hear he just likes em that way, if you know what I mean." He laughed. "Doesn't matter to me so long as we get paid what was promised."
Heavy laughed. "Yeah. I think we won't be needed much longer anyway. I heard he'd found the last one he needed yesterday, two for the price of one, actually, right down by the Palace."
Short laughed at that. "Must be a real lady!" They walked off, cackling at each other.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed. There was no mistake about it. They had to be referring to the kidnapping of Lady Elizabeth and Tohru. But did their comments about not being needed much longer mean the monster behind this was finished collecting girls? Or just that those two were not needed? Well, he'd have to investigate this more thoroughly, he decided, shadowing them.
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Lunch time. It was a droll prospect, Ciel thought as he barely touched his food, not that it was all that edible anyway, Bard's cooking that was. What was time worth anyway? And why did it just keep slipping through his fingers? He felt so useless just sitting there, pretending that everything was fine, knowing that everyone knew it wasn't and that there wasn't much he could do about it either way.
Kyo had one elbow on the table, his head resting on that hand as he played with the contents of his plate. He wasn't sure what it was supposed to be, but it wasn't really edible. He couldn't blame Ciel for not trying it. It was worse than Yuki's cooking! He started to ting the tines of his fork.
Ciel looked up in irritation. "Will you stop doing that? It's annoying." He swung his feet freely from his chair. He was always too short for most chairs, even with the heels. It was the only outward sign of his more than usual aggravation.
Kyo sat up, removing his elbows from the table. "Fine. Whatever. Let's all just sit here and pretend that everything's fine and dandy and that nothing's wrong. Let's go on and act like nothing bad's going to happen and we're all just enjoying a nice picnic in the park. Like hell we will! Wake up already, will you! If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself!"
Ciel ground his teeth. Didn't the stupid foreigner know he felt the same way? He was itching to go out and do something, anything. But what could he do? "We need to wait for Sebastian."
Kyo crowed. "Sebastian? Right! He may be a demon but even he's having trouble finding out anything! I say we head out and tear down every building until we find them!" He was on his feet, fists held up in the air as he talked animatedly.
Was this the kind of thing Tohru had to put up with on a constant basis, Ciel wondered. Just watching him made him feel drained. "And what good would that do? You'd have a bunch of torn down buildings for your trouble, along with a good deal of upset people. No, we wait. Don't underestimate Sebastian's abilities."
Kyo didn't sit back down immediately, but looped around to the back of his chair and fiddled with the woodwork. "Yeah? And what's so great about them? Sure he's really fast and really strong and can kill anything he wants in a heartbeat, but how does that get us what we want or need? What good is a demon anyway?"
Ciel scoffed. "What good is a demon? Don't you know that they can go to places that others cannot? They can become the shadows themselves if they wanted to. Their strength lies in fear. Most people dread even the possibility of coming in contact with one."
"Fear? Heh. What good is that?" He retook his seat with a huff, both elbows on the table.
Ciel chose to ignore his companion's rude table manners. "Fear, when used in the right way, can induce all kinds of desirable responses, like answers. Of course, it helps knowing that if you refuse to do the demon's will, he'll eat your soul."
Kyo almost choked. Eat your soul? He suddenly felt really glad knowing that Sebastian was under Ciel's orders. He never wanted to have to worry about the possibility. The very idea was enough to make anyone look at shadows as though they held something menacing, and perhaps they did.
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The man's eyes were wide as he tried to swallow. Sweat poured off of him. "Don't! Don't hurt me! I promise! I'll give you anything you want! Just don't eat me!"
Sebastian smiled at the man he held by the collar, dangling him above the ground by a foot. He really was a short one. The other had been less cooperative and now lay in a crumbled heap. "Now why would I eat you? I only want to reclaim something of mine that you helped take away. That's not so bad, is it?" His grin revealed pointed teeth. "Now, tell me about those women you helped abduct."
The man screamed, struggling, but it was like a marionette hung from its stand, a useless action. "I don't know what he wanted with them! Honest! He just promised us wealth if we helped take in some women without leaving any traces! I wasn't even one of those who did the kidnapping! I was just the lookout!"
The butler pulled the man closer to his face, making him rise even higher off the ground as his fist tightened around the man's collar. "Is that so? Then tell me, Mr. Lookout, where I might find this little harem your employer was collecting."