Authors Note: Yup, I'm back, I don't think I was gone that long to be quite honest! Anyways, this chapter is a bit longer than the last one. So I would suggest reading this maybe over the weekend, but I suppose if you have time this week, you could read it this week, it's all up to you!
Anyways, there's not really much to say, a friend of mine, and she knows who she is if she's reading this, told me she kind of wanted to see one of my OTPs kiss so um...yeah...there is that...so you will be seeing that later on in the chapter.
Also, I got a new favorite! Yeah! Thank you to those who have been supporting me and my writing, I really appreciate it! -^^-
Have a wonderful week, and I'll see about getting the next chapter out soon, though, I'm not really in a rush to be honest so...
Bye bye for now!~
Chapter 21: Freckles
"Crap, we totally should have ended this little investigation sooner." Homura growled in a hushed voice as all three members of her investigation team tried their upmost hardest to remain hidden behind the single bulky wooden crate that stood nicely against the tent they had recently been occupying for their examination. She watched as the group of main performers made their exit from their performance, and now seemed to be heading towards their own tents. She tried to distract herself from the agitated feeling of Makoto's warm breath that kept making its way up and down the back of her neck, contrasting with the cool night air that also seemed to be trying to bite at her exposed skin, by watching for the girl she only knew by the name of Pigtails.
"I'm feeling puckish." She heard a familiar voice cry out in a whine, the sound of soft footprints in the grass following as she watched the small boy in front of her decide whether or not to make his means of escape.
"Should we go eat?" Asked another familiar voice, still not as familiar as Pigtail's
"Um, guys." Homura suddenly heard Mako speak up, her voice still trapped in a whisper.
"Not now, Mako." Homura dismissed with a wave of her hand. Following her irritated hand motion was the definite hiss of a snake.
"Well, this stinks!" Homura sighed as both her and the boy she now knew to be Ciel Phantomhive turned to face the sudden appearance of the long, slender creature.
"Quick Mako, whoever grabs and ties this snake up first, wins!" Homura declared a little too enthusiastically.
"Are you crazy?" Makoto spat. Before Homura could respond, however, there came a dazzling light from behind them, forcing everyone to turn their gaze to the back, this maneuver soon leading to the revelation of one of the performers as she held a lantern over the startled group. This performer looked to be female and her attire consisted mainly of a bright white, from her floral headpiece down to her skirt, the rest of her outfit concealed by the crate in front of them.
"Oi." She finally spoke up, causing Homura to stare deep into her bright blue eyes, "What are you doing there?"
"Don't move." The girl then suddenly commanded before leaping over the bulky crate, soon appearing in front of Homura's group.
"Sebas-" Ciel tried to scream, but the girl soon held his mouth shut. Though wanting desperately to fight her despite her gorgeous appearance, Homura stood at attention with Makoto, trying to analyze the girl's next move.
"Quiet." The girl could then be heard commanding, as she still held tight to the boy's mouth. The disruptive hissing of the snake now replaced by the call of another young boy,
"Oi, Doll!" The girl, in response to her name, made her way from behind the crate and in front of the boy.
"What are you waiting for?" The boy asked, his hair a bright gold with a small hint of black upon his bangs. His face painted to look somewhat like a clown, "Get changed and we'll go eat-"
"This snake was loose." The girl, Doll, informed him, holding said creature up to his face, causing a quite obvious scream of fear to escape his mouth, "We've told him not to let them outside."
"Who lets a bunch of snakes roam free anyways?" Homura whispered to Makoto.
"Maybe instead of a crazy cat lady, this person is a crazy snake lady?" Makoto suggested, and Homura couldn't help but shrug,
"I guess it could also be a man." Homura then pondered.
"Would you two be quiet?" Ciel hissed at the both of them, causing Homura to retort back, still remaining quite silent,
"You shut up, don't tell us what to do brat, I don't care if you're a royal or not!"
"Snake, put it in your tent!" The blonde boy commanded as a man with bright white hair and skin that looked to made of scales made his way towards Doll's group.
"See, it's a man." Homura nodded confidently as she heard Ciel sigh in irritation.
"What's wrong with his skin?" Makoto asked.
"I don't know, maybe it's the cold or something, not enough moisturizer!" Homura sighed. She then turned back to watch the man as he was then given his animal back, its forms making its way upon his shoulders, as he then turned to leave without a word. The golden haired boy then followed in pursuit as he scolded the man for not keeping his animals locked up. Soon waving goodbye to Doll a few seconds later. Doll then returned to her group behind the crate, and grabbing Ciel by the arm, she led them all away from the group of main tents and right back to the new arrival's tents.
"Right, we should be clear now." Doll replied as she scanned the area around her, the sound of Ciel's coughs following her voice.
"Why did you help us?" Ciel then asked after he was finished with his outbursts.
"You still don't get it?" The girl replied, sounding somewhat irritated.
"Get what?" Homura asked as the girl then began to remove her headpiece, revealing the short locks of brown hair that lie upon her real head. The boy next to Homura seemed to jump back when he saw her.
"Who is she?" Homura asked, clearly not amused.
"Freckles?" The boy cried out, pointing a finger in her direction.
"Still doesn't answer my question." Homura stated plainly.
"Hey, that's not a very nice name to call me!" The girl retorted, Homura's question still hanging loosely in the air.
"You're a bloke who wears dresses onstage?" Ciel asked, his outright shock seeming to cause him to step back a few inches from her.
"I believe that's called cross dressing from where I come from." Homura snickered, now becoming quite entertained.
"You're very rude, I'm a maid, I'll have you know." The girl spat back defensively and she watched the girl as she brought her form up towards Ciel, and taking his hand in hers, she brought it to her own chest. Homura tried her hardest to hold back her laughter as the girl then asked creepily,
"Want to check down below while you're at it?"
"No thank you!" The boy replied, clearly mortified.
"So, what were you doing there?" The girl then asked, her tone instantly becoming dead serious, " They must have told you all it was dangerous."
"Well…" Ciel struggled to reply, and Homura lifted an eyebrow, waiting for him to answer, it was her little form of punishment for trying to him for trying to tell them what to do.
"I'm sorry, but I swear I haven't stole anything today!" The boy then cried, holding his hands over his head as if he thought Doll would hit him, "I promise, please don't chase me out!"
"Wait, today?" The girl asked in slight shock.
"The Truth is," The boy began, " I lived in the East End before I became a page, and I got by however I could, I know I shouldn't steal, but I just can't shake old habits, and my last master found out, if the circus turns me out, I'll have to go back to the East End!" The boy was now on his knees, "
"This boy is pretty good." Homura mused to herself as she felt a slight smirk make its way to her lips, her form remaining behind Doll as so she wouldn't be able to give anything away.
"What about these here maids?" The girl asked, turning to meet their eyes.
"He's a dear friend of ours." Homura replied, softening her voice to mimic Ciel's performance, "we both met him in the East End, we made our own little group and stole together, no one barely noticing us, when we heard about the Noah's Arc Circus was coming, we figured we could make a new life for ourselves, a life where we would actually be noticed."
"Hmm." The girl seemed to ponder, " You all swear you didn't take anything?" She first turned to Ciel.
"Yes, I swear!" Ciel replied quite hastily.
"How about you two?" The girl then turned to look at them.
"Yes, we swear." Homura replied with a simple nod.
"Well, all right." Doll sighed as she placed a single hand on her head.
"Thank you so much!" Ciel cried happily.
"It's fine, I owe you one anyways." The girl replied in what sounded like defeat, "We've all got our secrets right, what I did to you earlier was wrong, so I'll keep this quiet, now we're even, but no more sneaking about!"
"Right." Ciel replied innocently before questioning, "Say, can I ask you, if you're a first-stringer, why are you sharing my tent?"
"Oh, is that where her knows her from?" Homura asked herself as she waited for the girl to answer as well.
"Well, I don't like staying by myself." The girl stated, I sleep better when someone's with me." The girl paused, "Hey, you'll still room with me even if I'm a first string, won't you?"
"Yes, of course!" The boy replied, sounding unusually happy.
"Oh good." The girl sighed in what sounded like relief, "Then what happened here stays between us."
"Right." The boy agreed, the faint sound of hands clasping together could then be heard.
"You knew I was still there when you freed the snakes, didn't you, you bastard?" Ciel hissed angrily as he stood in front of both Homura and Makoto, holding the entrance to one of the tents open. Homura, being quite curious, peeked over his shoulder to see that he was screaming at his butler, while Princess and one other woman she did not yet recognize stood watching them in shock. Princess, upon noticing Homura's presence, smiled innocently and waved at her, oddly forgetting the fact that Homura was the one who almost tried to kill her friend.
"Yes." Sebastian could be heard replying bluntly, "You did order me to return before the first-stringers and free them, problem?" He then clarified before placing a hand over his 'heart'
"Sebastian, that wasn't very nice." Princess huffed somewhat angrily as her face could be seen transforming into a small pout.
"No, but he did kind of deserve it." Homura thought to herself as she watched Sebastian's eyes slightly illuminate, "So you are a demon, aren't you?"
"What are you glaring for?" Sebastian questioned Ciel, ignoring Princess' question, "Rest assured, my lord, I won't let you die while our contract still holds, but you may encounter some non-fatal suffering if you give the wrong orders, you knew as much." He must have known Homura and Makoto already knew he was a demon, for he was holding nothing back, not even the glow in his eyes, "Every game needs its thrills, you're such an avid player, I assumed you shared my opinion."
" Your game is in sickeningly bad taste, demon!" Ciel shot back confidently, Homura assuming he knew as well.
"You flatter me." Sebastian replied with a smile, "Now I guess you two already know our little secret." Sebastian then turned his attention to the girls who now stood next to his master.
"Yeah, we kind of already guessed you were a demon based on your eye color, I mean, I only know of one other species who share the same eye color as you, and believe me, you are not one of them." Homura explained.
"That's intriguing." Sebastian replied, the smile still remaining on his lips.
"Never mind that." Ciel interrupted the three through a couple of coughs, "Homura found a letter in Joker's tent that mentioned my name, it had my rank, the location of my estate, and even a biographical sketch."
"Yeah, it was pretty creepy." Homura added with an indifferent shrug.
"Ciel, are you feeling okay, you look very red." Rin suddenly spoke up from out of the blue.
"I'm fine." Ciel dismissed the girl.
"But-" Rin was about to disagree when Ciel interrupted,
"It's fine, Rin." He thought for a minute, "Actually, Sebastian, let's talk outside."
"Why, you too good for the inside?" Homura asked as she placed her hands upon her hips.
"No, I'm just feeling a little warm, that's all." Ciel replied coolly as he turned to exit the tent, his butler right behind him.
"So." Homura finally decided to speak up, "You know that kid?" though her question was directed towards Rin; she got another question directed back at her by the unfamiliar woman,
"Excuse me, but who are?"
"Name's Homura Tsukami and this is Makoto Izumi, what about you?" Homura responded, turning her attention on the woman.
"Utsuho Reiuji." The woman replied suspiciously.
"Hmm, could this woman have been dropped here from our world as well, that name is obviously not British, but neither is the name "Rin", Are they both from our world?" Homura asked as she turned her attention back towards Rin, pretending not to be intrigued by the woman's name.
"Well, now that introductions are complete, how about that relationship with the boy?"
"Well, he's my cousin." Rin replied, not seeming at all cautious as to why a stranger was asking her this question. Sebastian's voice could then be heard outside the tent, interrupting their conversation,
"Young Master!" His words filled to the brim with concern.
"Ciel!" Rin could be heard screaming into Homura's ear as she began to get up from her bed. Soon making her leave from the tent.
"M'lady, please wait!" Utsuho cried frantically as she followed her outside.
"Aw crap, what's going on?" Homura asked, slightly panicked.
"Smile, what's wrong, Oi!" The girl known as Doll or Freckle's voice followed in panic, the name Smile was quickly assumed to be Ciel's circus name.
"Homura, should we…? " Makoto was about to ask before Homura held her hand up to stop the question in its tracks.
"Nah, this is none of our business, plus, I really don't feel like it. "
Shizu's P.O.V
*While Ciel was having his asthma attack*
"Geez, what was her deal?" Shizu growled to herself as she lie with her back against her newly appointed bed, her pajamas matching that of William's, who sat at the end of Shizu's bed, quietly reading a book. Her words not seeming to reach his ears as she continued to grumble herself, "Like, who pulls out a gun out of nowhere and decides it would be a great idea to shoot someone." William in turn then raising an eyebrow to her, as if he seemed to think she was acting as a hypocrite.
"Hey, don't you give me that look, I don't even own a gun." Shizu spat back at Will, his attention soon drawn back to his book.
"Well, as long as I won't have to see that Little Red anymore, I think I should be fine." Shizu sighed.
"You do realize that both are now enrolled in the circus, and therefore, there is no guarantee you'll never see that girl again." William replied, turning his dazzling green eyes in her direction, and Shizu could feel her whole body become tense at the thought of seeing the red-headed menace one more time.
"Crap, ugh, can't Joker just kick her out or something?" Shizu asked, the answer to her question seeming quite obvious as she then assumed that was why William did not provide her with an answer.
"Geez." Shizu breathed irritably as her thoughts then began to drift to the hope of Rin's well being. What was she doing at this moment? Was she okay? Did Little Red find her and decide to kill her just to get back at Shizu? All of these thoughts rushing through Shizu's mind quickly caused her a great deal of anxiety and she couldn't help but then sit up. She figured she would have heard a gunshot run through the circus grounds if that was the case, but what if she had decided to do it a little more secretly? What if she snuck into Rin's tent while she was sleeping and slit her throat? Would she be that bent on revenge to do such a thing?
"I have to go check on Rin." Shizu soon spoke up, her tone almost lifeless, as if she were in some sort of trance.
"Miss Shizu?" William questioned as he turned his attention from his book to her once again.
"I'm leaving, and there is nothing you can do to stop me." Shizu replied bluntly as she looked Will dead in the eyes.
"Actually." William dared to challenge her, and placing his book aside, he took his hand and placed it on her shoulder, gently forcing her back upon her pillow.
"What are you doing?" Shizu questioned, her tone suspicious, her body soon falling back on her bed, "You get that hand off me this instant!"
"Please forgive me, Miss Shizu, but I'm afraid its past lights out, you should be in bed." William informed her.
"You can't tell me what to do, I'll fight you!" Shizu challenged angrily, trying desperately not to give into Will's demands. "Plus, if that's the case, why are the lights still on?" Shizu mused to herself.
In response to her threat, she watched carefully was William leaned in closer to her, his face inches from her's.
"What do you want?" Shizu breathed angrily as she tried her hardest to turn away from him. Before she had a chance to stop him, he brushed his soft lips against hers, his hands then gently removing stray pieces of her unbounded hair from her face, his sudden actions soon forcing Shizu's face to turn a burning red as he then pulled away.
"Y…you, I never told you could do that!" Shizu yelled at him, her face a burning mess.
"I understand." He replied, for once, not apologizing, "I do believe it is important that you get some rest however." He then started to remove himself from her bed and make his way over towards the light switch, but not before placing the blanket she was provided with over her shoulders. A moment later, the whole room went dark, and Shizu could barely see her hand in front of her face.
"This time, Miss Shizu, if you need anything, please don't be afraid to ask, I should be here at all times, so there is no need to worry." William then stated as she watched him make his way over to the ladder that led to his half of the bed.
"Y...yeah, whatever, just leave me alone!" Shizu replied, turning over in her bed, trying to ignore the fact that he had just tried to kiss her and in response to that kiss, her heart was beating out of control.
"This isn't real." She assured herself, " You are not actually in love, you are just being paranoid, snap out of it!" She repeated this to herself until her body forced itself to fall asleep.
Homura's P.O.V
*A while after Ciel's asthma attack. *
"Homura." Came the hushed, but seemingly urgent voice of her partner. Homura, who now lie upon the top bunk of the two beds staring at nothing in particular upon her ceiling, now sat up, slightly surprised at her partner's sudden appearance.
"Yeah, you finish checking up on the kid?" Homura asked, slightly curious.
"Yeah." Makoto replied.
"Geez Mako, what's with you and that kid, you seem pretty attached to him, there something you want to tell me?" Homura asked with a slight chuckle, she loved teasing her partner, watching her usually emotionless face become even slightly agitated, it gave her the strangest of laughs.
"No, why?" Makoto asked, eyeing her partner questionably.
"Well, I think I'm starting to become a bit jealous, you seemed to pay more attention to him than you do me, am I boring you?" Homura asked, playing out her taunt.
"Homura, this is serious." Makoto responded, clearly agitated.
"More important than my feelings?" Homura teased with a large smirk across her lips.
"Yes." Makoto replied, dead serious, forcing Homura to cease her joking and finally ask the long awaited question,
" Fine, what is it?"
"I stopped by one of the first stringer's tents, because I could have sworn I heard people's voices." Makoto began, her story peaking Homura's curiosity.
"Yeah, go on." Homura urged.
"Well, I went in closer to have a listen, and they seemed to know that we found that paper, and that we know what's really happening." Makoto replied in a dead whisper.
"You sure you weren't just being paranoid?" Homura asked skeptically, though it wasn't really like Makoto to be paranoid, usually she knew what she was talking about.
"Yes, I'm sure." Makoto confirmed, " Also, that Joker guy mentioned something about a father."
"Maybe his father?" Homura suggested.
"Homura, they're all adopted remember, that kid said they were all orphans." Makoto reminded her.
"Yeah, but what does he know, he made a contract with a demon?" Homura stated.
"Still, her seems pretty smart, even for his age, I have a hunch that the 'father' Joker was referring to was that unidentifiable man in all pictures we saw." Makoto responded.
"Hmm, you think so?" Homura asked.
"Yes." Makoto clarified.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to see how this whole thing plays out, maybe we'll even get to shut this whole circus down." Homura fantasized.
"Yeah, but for now, let's keep this between us two, okay." Makoto affirmed
"Couldn't agree with you more." Homura replied as she lie back down on her bed, "Though the kid might already have this stuff figured out, like you said, he's pretty sharp for his age, even if he made a contract with a demon."