A/N: (Warning) side-quest. If you want to get onto the plot, feel free to skip to Chapter 41 (Resolved). If you like reading for the hell of it (and cute antics), continue reading chapter-by-chapter.

Summary: Ciel Phantomhive thought he was the least conspicuous in a private school full big names. When they all come together though, whose family is targeted? What will Ciel do without Sebastian to help him?

Chapter 37: Ciel remembers

(February 2014)

Ciel remembered the Incident everyone was talking about, but not discussing out loud. He took a slow deep breath, and sipped his tea. It could use some more sugar, he decided.

(December 2013)

It was a wedding of one of his father's friends— Ciel couldn't quite keep straight exactly who Yuri Aoki(*1) was, but both his father and Ciel were invited. The ceremony had finished, and Ciel moved with everyone else into the reception hall, feeling like he knew very little about either bride or groom.

As was typical in a "Western style" wedding, the guests were dressed in their finery for the wedding. Everyone was talking loudly after the ceremony, and the meal was set just so in the polished, pristine room. Even the flowers seemed to be extensions of the white space. Ciel thought it was beautiful but cold.

"Ciel!" One of the others exclaimed. "It has been so long since I've seen you...oh, you look darling!" She barely spared a glance for his father. "No matter what you wear, you always turn out well...even if it's a dress!" She laughed at her own joke.

Ciel stiffened at the reminder. He fair suspected that department store fiasco had leaked more than a few photos...

"Do you know the bride?" He asked, casually fishing for more information.

"Isn't she related to Bluer? His oldest sister Lily, I think. Or was it Yuri? But isn't this hall beautiful? But of course, I want a gorgeous church wedding, and two dresses... a party dress, and the wedding dress." She sighed, happily.

Ciel nodded absently. That would explain why so many of his classmates were there...

The girl made a delighted noise, and started moving in the direction of another girl her age. Ciel barely noticed her go.

"Is she one of your classmates?" Vincent asked quietly.

"What? No, I don't think so...she looks a bit older, don't you think?"

Vincent made a noncommittal noise. "Ah. She's lost an...earring?" He frowned, his gaze focused on a shiny bit of metal.

Ciel followed his gaze. "Oh, so she did..." He glanced up. "I'll return it to her..." He scooped up the little thing between two fingers.

Vincent started to reply, but Ciel stepped out of their area, and someone else immediately took the opportunity to hail Phantomhive Sr. with a question.

Ciel walked through the crowd, smiling at acquaintances, but waving them off as he searched for the girl. Mina, he thought her name was. He seemed to recall her in some relation to...Soma?

He tried calling her name. "Mina!" But she had nearly danced away, laughing cheerfully with whoever's arm she clung to. Ciel too was swept into the flow of the room, following the clusters of people gravitating for the dance floor or the tables.

"Mina!" He called again, clutching the earring. "You dropped—"

Ciel found his path rather rudely obstructed. He looked up to see a blond man looking down at him. "Is that for Mina? I think I saw her step out into the garden..." His smile showed too many teeth.

Ciel was starting to feel something, some pricking sensation of suspicion that he couldn't quite explain when the man clapped him on the back, and began to lead him to the garden.

Ciel tensed, visions all flying on broken wings, memories of the day in the shopping mall, and the events following That Day his mother died.

"Here, I'll show you..." the man was saying, but when the door closed behind him, all other party noise was blocked out.

There would be too much going on inside. Who would notice if Ciel stepped away? If he was taken away? "No, it's all right." Ciel jerked his arm to the left, attempting to free himself. "I...I think she knows my friend Soma...I'll just give it to him..."

A panicky feeling fluttered around his chest, closing up his throat.

The man with the shining grin just kept walking. Ciel could no longer see his face because he was turned away, pulling him on.

Ciel found his vision blackening, his limbs seeming to freeze. While this didn't stop his assailant from pulling him, it didn't make it easier, either.

His mind was in a haze when he heard the man grunt in surprise. Ciel saw something roll away. A cricket ball? He turned to see his father already moving out of his pitcher's stance. Soon after, his father's strong hands pulled him away from the garden door before releasing him.

As he watched, a half dozen men in suits were coming towards the pair of them. Ciel noticed their muscles rippling under their shirts, the menacing way one man held out his fist. Ciel's mind raced, calculating the apparent disadvantages they would face. The men were all bigger than his father, and Vincent would need to try to avoid hurting any of the guests or the furniture. Those thugs would have no such qualms.

Ciel would later remember it as a blur of movement— the men coming in, their faces unreadable, and their breath too fast.

Vincent must have heard something, would have known about this, wouldn't he? How could he not? In spite of the best connections in Tokyo, Vincent Phantomhive watched as the men pulled out their weapons and absorbed the first intruder into their numbers.

The man turned around to face Vincent, hiding a bloodied lip behind one hand as he straightened. His smile was more arrogant than before. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the men, then forward to the glass doors. Unsurprisingly, they were far enough away from the main party to be relatively unheard.

Vincent cleared his throat, and gave a thin smile. "Azzurro Vanel, isn't it? I don't think you're cleared for the guest list. Might I see your invitations?" Vincent stood closer to Ciel than he had a second before, and so when he addressed the group, it was with a hand firmly on Ciel's shoulder.

"You want your son safe then, do you?" Azzuro spat. "Well, we can talk things out, can't we?"

One of the larger men came closer to Ciel, close enough that Ciel could see his hands. Such rough hands don't seem to fit in a room filled with fine things. A sense of vertigo, not knowing where or when he was kept him glued to the spot. Is Sebastian among these intruders? Or is it the men from that time? Ciel broke into a cold sweat.

Ciel fought the urge to laugh. He instead turned his attention to the surroundings. What was there that he could use?

In the meanwhile, Vincent slowly turned around, letting his weight fall evenly. He leaned forward, then followed slowly with his feet, shifting Ciel and himself subtly. He seemed more certain of what would happen than Ciel did.

So it was that when the men advanced further still on the pair of them, Vincent was able to turn away from the brunt of the force, and take Ciel with him when he did so. There was the feeling of air passing by his cheek, but not so much as a glancing blow. Ciel was impressed.

That was when the wedding guests noticed the commotion. A woman gave a high pitched scream, and a quiet hush came over the assembled people as the bride and groom stood from their table at the center.

"Who is that over there— is that a fight?" One of Bluer's sisters, Ciel thought. There was a quiet murmur at that, and snatches of conversations overlapped each other.

"Is that security? I didn't know there were so many—"

"Where is the staff?"

"My God, he's got a knife!"

"But the Aoki family couldn't possibly have invited— "

Bluer's voice in particular caught Ciel's attention— he hoped to catch his senior's eye in fact, and the boy said, "— Ciel?"

Vincent caught another man's arm as the fool attempted to take them off balance, neatly sending the man into a fellow assailant. Instead of coming one-after-another as a villain in children's stories might, they came in clusters and pairs, trying to overwhelm the elder Phantomhive with brute strength.

"Agni!" Soma's voice cut through the drone of the crowd, pushing forward when everyone else was stepping back. "Get Ciel!"

"There are cameras here, you know," Vincent said conversationally, as he sidestepped two, and hit another on the back of his knees. "Witnesses that see you attacking me. What," he gasped as one man hurled himself against Vincent's shoulder, "is the point of this very public attack?"

Even throughout all of this, Vincent managed to keep Ciel out of the way.

The rat-faced man, snarled at that. He looked as though Vincent had punched him directly. "Just come quietly!" he hissed.

"Too late for that," Ciel looked around. "Help us!" He shouted at the crowd, and swallowed his words as he saw familiar faces already stepping forward. They would be safe from the man. Did dad call him Azzuro? The thought distracted Ciel.

Bard, Mei-Rin, Finnian, and even Lau and Lan-Mao were approaching, bringing members of the wedding security with them, while he looked around again, trying to spot the tall, turbaned figure of Agni amongst all the guests. Ciel thought he spotted Double Charles pushing guests into the far side of the room.

Azzuro Vanel, Ciel finally recalled, started to look more panicky than rude. "Shut up," the tall man barked.

Just before Ciel could properly gloat, strong arms bore Ciel out of the fray— Agni, it was always Agni acting on orders, who was there to brisk Ciel out of the fight.

Through it all, he could hear his father talking. "I don't think we have anything to negotiate. The police are already coming— calm down, and don't escalate your charges, hm?" Vincent's smile was cold, and he was convinced that they had already won.

"We've still got you," Aurro snapped. "We'll have your money yet, Phantom—"

Then Vincent was doing something, moving forward much as Ciel had seen Sebastian do that day in the department store, and he grasped the man's wrist, kicked his shin. The knife clattered to the floor.

Ciel blinked. The buzzing around him had grown to a tidal wave of noise, and then it had settled over again. His vision came back into focus.

Vincent put his hand on Ciel's shoulder when they were rejoined by the servants. He said nothing; just looked at his son with such intense emotion that Ciel couldn't fathom what he was thinking or feeling.

Ciel wavered under that gaze. "...thanks," he muttered.

"How did you know?" Mei-Rin frowned, her eyes sharp despite her glasses. "What—"

"—was it their suits?" Finnian wondered.

"Nah, it was the knives. They walk like men with weapons," Bard disagreed.

Then Bluer broke their little circle, crying out, "Are you all right?"

"He's fine." Vincent offered a cool smile.

"We have the situation under control," Bard added with a toothy grin.

Bluer finally noticed the servants, their stances, their hands that didn't shake, the strength of their arms and determination. He nodded again before looking at Ciel. "You should sit down."

Ciel only laughed, uncomfortably aware of all the eyes on him. This wasn't the end. Not for Ciel.

.

.
"The clock is ticking, Mr. Phantomhive. You'd best make your way to class." Sebastian peered into Ciel's eyes, noting the vacant expression. Ciel didn't seem aware of anything in front of him.

Ciel snapped, his jaw trembling and his eyes bright. He seemed only to barely see Sebastian. Strange, Ciel thought, looking up as he shook the memory off him, how as far as I know, no one who was actually there said anything to anyone. And yet somehow the whole school found out.

He suspected that was how Sebastian heard about the whole incident. "Why are you bringing that up?" Ciel demanded. He had the sensation that he'd lost time, and it did not sit well with him.

Sebastian gave an empty smile, and moved away.

oOoOo

(Sebastian)

"If he's going through all that trouble, surely it would be best for him to transfer. And his father supports the decision. His first choice school is a good one, too…" Ciel's homeroom teacher pressed his lips, nodding. "It can't be helped! It's a pity to lose him, but…"

I added tea leaves to a pot, arranging the cups on a tray while I waited for it to steep.

With a bit of subtle questioning, and no small amount of eavesdropping, I pieced the story together. Once I knew what Vincent had done, it seemed they gossiped about nothing else. Knowing these details, the behavior of the students suddenly seemed to have new meaning. The teachers seemed little better.

"What was it they called him? The English lord?"

Another teacher guffawed. "No, it was the English gentry. No that's not it…"

I hid a cruel smile. They didn't even have any interesting information to offer.

The students had turned Vincent's actions into some sort of legend, and began idolizing the man that could do such things. The son, too, took on a new light— instead of the shady figure they knew before...he was...what? A dark prince?

The thought made me smile.

Ah, but Ciel used to think they thought him innocent. He was suspected then, and confirmed now, to be somehow related to the underworld of the city. Who else could deal with assailants so efficiently?

I turned my thoughts back to the task at hand. The tea properly brewed, I poured two cups. "Principal. Vice principal." I gestured to the tea. "Would you care for a cup?"

Agares smiled thinly. "The tea seems a great deal better lately. Did we change brands?"

"I'm afraid I use only what was already there. If you'll excuse me, I have a business trip."

"Have a safe trip," Agares said wryly.

Of course, it wasn't a business trip so much as a ridiculous outing orchestrated by Undertaker. I took my portfolio, and prepared for my first task of the day. It shouldn't take too long, I thought wryly. Undertaker cannot possibly think of a task to keep me for more than a few hours— any more delicate tasks (such as tempting Ciel...) were surely out of his grasp of imagination.

I looked at my smart phone, reading the encoded message. My eyebrow twitched. I was to be going to the outskirts of Tokyo, to make contact with...one of Phantomhive senior's people, no doubt.

My phone beeped again, signaling a new chat on Line. I opened the program and saw Undertaker's attached doodle of himself snickering. The .GIF moved obnoxiously.

Death Scythe: you don't need the Key, do you?

This task would be more difficult than I first assumed…I sighed, and prepared to leave. The information in my hands was not as volatile as the location…

As soon as I left the school campus, I thought I felt the eyes of a curious student. But the pull of his attention and suspicion could only mean that it was only one person, and not one among many. I imagined the eyes to be a peculiar shade of blue. The very child everyone gossiped about, our little dark lord-ling himself was out to play.

Well, well. How much more difficult this task would be with Ciel following me. I smiled, and was never more relieved that I could interact with the boy more freely.

What an adventure.

oOoOo

(*1) Yuri Aoki: Lily Bluer. Actually, the only one of Bluer's sisters named is Adela, but she's younger. If you recall, Bluer is a nickname, and Aoki is his actual family-name (in this fan-fiction only). He is usually referred to as Bluer. She (Yuri / Lily) is older than Bluer.

A/N:I couldn't come up with a good screenname for Undertaker. If any of you brilliant people have something better than DeathScythe, please do let me know. My other option was Sotoba, but I thought that would confuse people…