It reminded him of World War II, to be standing by a small plane. The difference here was that this was a civilian plane (and a privately owned one, at that) and it wasn't armed either (well, as far as Sebastian could tell). It was similar to a military plane in the sense that it was painted, but this wasn't intimidating or serious.
Sebastian had a feeling that it was the mascots of Funtom that covered the plane in gothic cuteness that lent it a much more... childish feel. It was odd, though, he had assumed that if Ciel were to design his plane, it would be more elegant, rather than cute.
"Hurry up, Sebastian! We haven't got all day!" Sebastian followed Ciel up the stairs and into the interior of the plane.
Ciel's mood had improved greatly, even after only a few hours of sleep. It was rather astonishing and Sebastian was thankful that Ciel was cheerful. It was more pleasant.
The CEO lounged in his seat, the massage function turned on. There was nothing he loved more than a case and flying in his private jet was a bonus. Sebastian came and sat next to him, pushing the armrest up so he could pull Ciel close.
"I'm sorry about your house," He kissed Ciel's forehead, the boy blushing in return.
"It's okay. It can be fixed and replaced," Ciel snuggled closer to Sebastian. "Personally, I'm happy to have a case, and to be staying in such a nice hotel."
The door to the cockpit opened and a young man with orange hair stepped out.
"Hi! I'm Joker, and I'll be your pilot today! Now, just because I've got the door closed, it doesn't mean I can't hear you. So, no funny business, okay?"
Ciel saw a shadow of disappointment cross over Sebastian's face. It was obvious that the demon had something on his mind that had just been shot down.
"The flight will be about five and a half hours. Las Vegas is three hours behind, so if you wear a watch, be sure to set it back!"
He gave a little wave and vanished back into the room. Sebastian watched the door close with interest. It seemed that most everyone that Earl Phantomhive had come into contact with had been subject to reincarnation.
"He's cheerful." Sebastian remarked.
"I like it." Ciel observed Sebastian as he began to wind an antique pocket watch, the clicking almost drowned out by the roar of the plane's engines. "Do you fly often?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you travel a lot?"
Sebastian closed his eyes as the force of the plane gaining altitude pressed him back into his seat. "I suppose. But it's usual by more... unconventional methods. I'm not nervous if that is what you're asking."
Ciel scoffed. "You? Nervous? Sebastian, I wasn't implying that and, besides, I can't picture you being scared of anything."
"Of course not. There's nothing on this earth that could hurt me. Is something bothering you?"
Black nails skimmed over his shirt, lingering over his heart. "It's right here, I think. A general feeling of fear. And I'm not scared. I can't imagine why I would be having these feelings."
Crimson eyes roved over Ciel's face, watching the CEO chew at his lip until little drops of blood formed. It seemed that Ciel was picking up more so on his past emotions and feelings. Which meant...
Ah, so that was it.
The fire had been a trigger, so to speak. Earl Phantomhive was recalling that fateful day and those emotions were being displaced onto the current Ciel. Furthermore, objects from his past seemed to trigger feelings and possibly memories.
With this realization, Sebastian's plan began to solidify.
What exactly would this murder case turn out to be? Sebastian didn't have any control over the circumstances. But, he had a feeling that it would play out nicely.
Ciel frowned at Sebastian from over the top of his novel. The demon had certainly been pondering something for the last hour or so. He tugged at Sebastian's sleeve and snapped him out of his daze.
"Hey, you'll be gentle, right?"
His reaction was immediate. Ruby eyes glazed over with lust and paper white skin gained an excess of color.
"Don't you trust me?"
Ciel rolled his visible eye. "I think I've proved myself enough. Of course."
"Then I shall be as gentle or rough as you command me to be. And I shall wait until you allow me to take you." Sebastian smirked. "Now you're the one blushing."
"With sweet words like that? It'd be more surprising if I weren't flustered."
"Indeed. Love, if I may ask, why is your plane painted so-"
Ciel interrupted. "Cute? It's my promotional decor for when I travel to other places to promote the Funtom products."
"Ah, that makes sense."
Sebastian held back a purr as Ciel ran his fingers through inky black locks. He let Ciel tug gently on his hair, enjoying the attention.
The last few hours of the flight passed in a similar manner with plenty of snuggling. Ciel fell asleep towards the end, and as they landed, Sebastian gently shook the CEO awake.
"Ah? Are we here?" He yawned.
Sebastian nodded. "I was told that our luggage would be delivered to the hotel."
A limo drove up to them, a chauffeur stepping out to open the door.
"And there's our ride."
The demon followed Ciel into the car. The door closed and Ciel began to talk with the other passengers. Sebastian frowned. That man, with the short brown hair and eerily green eyes and glasses, seemed very... out of place. The other occupant was the journalist, Angelina Durless.
He had a rather uneasy feeling about this.
"Sebastian, this is Angelina Durless. You met her as a journalist, but she's really my mother's sister and one of my correspondents."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, again, Sebastian." She gave a wave to the male sitting next to her. "This is Grelle Sutcliff, my assistant."
Ciel glanced over at Sebastian to see that the demon was just as surprised as he was. This wasn't the Shinigami, right? He watched the demon skim his thumb over the touchscreen of his phone. A second later, his phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen to see Sebastian's message.
That is definitely not Grell. When we have an opportunity, away from them, let's talk.
-SM
It was the epitome of passing a modern note. He nodded at Sebastian. This trip was becoming even more interesting than he had guessed it would be.
"Now then, we'll meet up again for dinner and I'll explain the murders."
The limo came to a stop, letting Ciel and Sebastian out at the entryway of the Cosmopolitan. Ciel grabbed Sebastian's hand and followed the demon inside. The CEO checked in and received his card key. With that, they hurried into the elevator.
"Only the sixth floor? Too bad." Ciel read the rest of the room number with a grin. "Oh, I think you'll like this, Sebastian. We're staying in room 666."
He received a smile that split the demon's face in two, showing sharp fangs.
"Fitting," commented Sebastian.
The demon smiled all the way to the room, amused with some private joke.
It was a highly modern room, in a lovely color scheme of blue and white. Ciel rushed to the restroom, suddenly feeling quite sick.
Sebastian noticed Ciel rush off and frowned. He paced the room, pondering the appearance of 'Grelle'. Simply put, it didn't make sense. Was this a repeating event, and if so, how would it play out?
"Ah..." He took a deep breath, feeling the energy of the city buzz on his tongue. The debauchery was palatable. This certainly was a haven for his kind. A demon could practically live off the air itself. Sebastian knocked on the bathroom door, calling to Ciel.
"Love, are you alright?"
There was no response. He entered the room to find Ciel crouched over the toilet, retching.
"Ciel…" At the sound of his name, Ciel looked over at Sebastian, his face heated with embarrassment and sickness.
"I'm fine, really."
Sebastian frowned and sat down on the tile, leaning against the bathtub. "Are you sure?"
"Of course. It was just a mild attack. I'm sure that I'm going to get sick after this case," He laughed weakly. "Hey, this wouldn't be anything from the Spider's Bite, right?"
"No. You are most certainly cured from that incident." The demon took a washcloth and dabbed at Ciel's face. "My blood, my saliva… everything we've done together has cured you."
"Good. Ugh… I'd rather not sleep."
"Ah," Sebastian thought of a different activity. "Well, I think some fresh air would do you some good."
"It can't hurt," he stood up. "We should get unpacked first."
Sebastian followed Ciel back into the main room. The CEO frowned as he noticed that his luggage was already unpacked and his clothes were hanging neatly in the closet next to Sebastian's.
"I took the liberty of unpacking your bags for you."
"I can see that." Ciel sighed. Sebastian was incorrigible. He grabbed his bag of toiletries instead and returned to the bathroom to brush the taste of bile out of his mouth.
Sebastian continued to pace. There was a window and a small balcony that overlooked the city. He stepped outside into the hot sun and leaned on the railing, watching the excess of tourists crawl around on the sidewalks.
From here, they looked like ants.
Pathetic, tiny, insignificant ants.
He squashed those thoughts as he heard Ciel approaching him.
"So, about 'Grelle'…" Ciel air-quoted the mysterious assistant's name.
"Indeed. Who is he?"
Sebastian took a seat next to Ciel. He slid a glass of red wine over to Sebastian, saving a glass of water for himself. Ciel rested his chin on his knuckles and leaned on the table, pondering the situation.
"I've never seen him with Angela before. Honestly, I have no idea who he is or why she would trust him. Do you know anything?"
Sebastian hesitated. He could tell Ciel about the past, about how his Aunt had gone about killing prostitutes. How a Grim Reaper had decided to assist her. How that Shinigami had disguised himself as her butler with coal powder to cover his ruby red hair.
Instead, he decided to play innocent.
"I simply know that he is not Grell, the Shinigami that you have met." Sebastian shook his head. "I wish I knew what this 'Grelle' was."
Ciel sighed. "Well, that's all we need to know, I guess. If he's not Grell, then he's not Grell." He shrugged. "That's all there is to it. And if there's more to him, I suppose we'll find out for ourselves."
They sat there for a while, sipping at their drinks. Ciel finally admitted that he really wanted to go shopping, so the couple left the hotel and walked down the strip.
Sebastian sighed, holding back his annoyance. This wasn't so bad, really. It was like being in London with the young master again. He had found himself in the role of a butler once more, carrying a copious amount of bags from store to store. No, he decided, he didn't mind.
Ciel smiled, pawing over trinkets. Sebastian watched the CEO, realizing that he was buying souvenirs for the trio and Mandy. Nothing had changed, really. Ciel still had a sentimental side.
Sentimental.
That dress and suit. They bothered him. It was wrong, out of place. Just what was it?
"Ciel, why do you have a wedding dress and suit in your closet at Funtom?"
"Huh?" Ciel turned towards Sebastian, confused. "No, I don't. Why would I keep something like that?" He laughed. "I've never been married."
What?
He picked out four items. "Honestly, Sebastian, you are quite silly."
Sebastian trailed after Ciel to the counter where he was handed another bag. Outside, Ciel was still laughing to himself, muttering things about dresses.
Then, what was it? And how did those two pieces of clothing get into Funtom? Better yet, the question - who put them there?
They stopped before the fountain in front of Bellagio, Ciel dumping out a pile of change from his wallet.
"Let's see. You're supposed to toss it over the shoulder, and the further it lands, the more likely it is that your wish will come true."
He pressed a quarter into Sebastian's hand.
"Or something like that."
They turned in harmony, with a silent count, and the two silver coins splashed into the water to rest with the copious amount of abandoned things at the bottom of the fountain. Room cards, change, credit cards, even a soggy twenty dollar bill. Rings, plastic and otherwise, from broken or faulty marriages.
It was a pool of regrets with a pretty display of lights.
And even so, people still wished.
I wish for good luck on this case and for Sebastian to stop worrying.
I wish for my young master back.
Selfish and selfless. That was the clear distinction between the two of them.
And even as Angelina Durless stared at the couple across from her, she could sense that there was something indefinitely wrong with Sebastian Michaelis. That smug look on his face. Those blood red eyes.
Nothing to eat and only a glass of wine to drink.
It wasn't natural.
Then there was Ciel. Lovely Ciel. Sweet, sweet Ciel, politely sawing through a steak with a determined look on his face. It was odd, how he would soon be facing these gruesome incidents, and just a little bit before, be smiling widely.
There was that, too.
Ciel was smiling. She guessed that it was a good thing that his heart had thawed out. But still, that was odd too.
Happiness wasn't something she had known for long. After all, it had been torn away from her.
But that wasn't the point.
Sebastian stared at Grelle, the… the… man? Doppelgänger? Reincarnation?
No, if that was a reincarnation, then there would certainly be a duplicate of himself as well, so that was not apossibility. Then, what was he?
Grelle seemed human enough, eating a salad with an impeccable nervous look plastered on his face.
Odd.
"Well, then. The murders. How did they occur?" Ciel was eager to get to the details.
"Perhaps you should wait until you've finished eating." Angelina laughed nervously.
"I have a strong stomach."
"If you insist," she cleared her throat. "The incidents have all been of a peculiar nature. The victims are found, and they seem fine at first, other than being dead. Upon being examined, a rather important piece is missing."
"A body part?" Ciel leaned forward with interest.
"An organ. They have all been found with stitched-up chests, hearts missing."
"Fascinating!" exclaimed Ciel, his dinner forgotten.
"It gets better. Later, when returning to the crime scene, the victim's heart is found, along with a single red rose and a note."
"Sounds more like a Valentine's day murder than Halloween."
She shrugged. "I suppose. I can take you to the crime scene…"
"Of course!"
Now, Sebastian had a feeling that they were being watched, and as he scanned the crowd, he found the observers.
Four Grim Reapers with gaping mouths, staring at Grelle.
Get over here! mouthed the real Grell.
Sebastian excused himself and maneuvered over to the Shinigami.
"What the fuck is this?" asked Grell. "Why the hell is 'Butler Grell' here?"
The air quotes were a common occurrence, it seemed.
Sebastian sighed. "I'm afraid that I don't know."
As was lying.
A/N- Who is this mysterious Grelle and what is his intent? Hmmm...
Thank you all for your suggestions last week! They were very helpful. You know who you are. Anyway, please go and review chapter 10 as well as this one so I might have more than 2 on everything. That would be lovely.
Thank you!
Please follow, favorite, and review!