A/N: This is based on a flash game called "Loved", over on Kongregate. It's kind of a strange game, the kind that makes you really think about what you're doing and why. And for some bizarre reason, I wanted to Kuro-fic it. So here we are. XD Enjoy.
Also, for those of you who read "Miniature", the next chapter is almost done. ^_^
Summary: I'm so happy that you're mine…
Loved
The wide corridor he is dropped into is featureless and white. He is not entirely certain how he got here, but he knows nothing good will come of it. Nothing good has come of anything, for three years, ever since his parents were murdered in cold blood. But as he tries to think, he cannot remember what he has done since then or where he might have been staying.
Finally glancing around at the odd corridor, he notices that the floor is not flat and featureless. It has pits and hills, things to climb and odd-looking features. Turning around, he sees a single door-like shape outlined on the wall, and runs to press his hands against it, searching for a way out.
No. You will control nothing.
The voice takes him by surprise. He stares around the bland space, and calls out, "Who's there?"
Are you a boy, or a girl? You are certainly pretty enough to pass for either…
He bristles. "I'm a boy, you bloody imbecile! My name is Ciel Phantomhive!" This voice has been speaking to him for less than a minute, and he already does not like it. Seeing nothing else to do, he begins to walk down the hallway, climbing up a small rise in the floor.
I see… Well, shall I teach you to play? Or not?
"If we're playing a game, the polite thing to do would be to explain the rules." Ciel snaps, getting to the top of the hill and looking down. It's sheer on this side, with something fuzzy and red-looking at the bottom. Ciel rubs his eyes, feeling like he can't focus on the red at all.
You do not deserve it. The voice's tone is clipped, almost harsh, and Ciel scowls. But he doesn't have time to respond before an order is being given. Jump over the barbs.
Feeling like he has missed something, Ciel scans what he can see of the hallway, before glancing at the red again. "Barbs? Yeah, sure." But he jumps anyway, landing on the other side of the out-of-focus patch of red, and turns back around, seeing barbs where the red used to be.
Good boy.
"I am not a damn dog!" Ciel rages, but the voice says nothing more. There is nothing to do but to continue down the hallway. He walks past statues and broken pillars, staring around at his bleak, stark surroundings. Finally, he reaches a crossroads. A ladder goes to a higher platform, while the hallway winds on underneath, lined with spikes and moving walls that will crush him in a moment.
Take the lower path. the voice instructs calmly.
"Are you mad?" Ciel almost screams, eyes fixed on the rows of deadly spikes he would have to jump over. "There's no way… those spikes will kill me!" But there is no answer, and Ciel eyes the ladder. I give the orders, something in his memory snaps, and he starts forward. He climbs the ladder carefully, looking over the clear path and seeing the matching ladder at the other end. Though he crosses cautiously, nothing attempts to harm him, and he descends the ladder with no trouble.
How disappointing… the voice murmurs, filled with regret and a hint of annoyance. Ciel ignores it. He cannot believe after that last command that this… being… has any concern for his safety or welfare. A death course this place may be, but to specifically command him to take the more dangerous path? The voice is a sadist, or a monster.
The top of the hill he climbs next has a small gap, with a pit of barbs at the bottom. The voice again speaks, commanding, Throw yourself into the barbs.
"No!" Ciel shouts, not wanting to show how terrified he is of the command. This thing does want him dead.
Disgusting, the voice comments, but Ciel merely leaps the gap and keeps going, knowing now that he cannot take anything this voice says at face value. It is not his friend.
He comes upon a strange looking rock formation, and in it finds cool, clear water. He takes a moment to drink, knowing that whatever twisted game the voice is playing is not over yet.
Out of nowhere, he hears the voice musing, Do I own your body, or your mind?
"Neither, you monster!" Ciel shouts in reply, but the voice merely continues.
Perhaps your body… Dance for me.
The furious child splutters, unable to think of a reply, and now there is a lilt and a laugh to the voice. Or maybe your mind. Ciel feels an odd sensation, like long fingers running down his spine. Beg for me.
"Leave me alone!" Ciel shrieks, getting up and racing farther up the hallway. He ducks under more moving pieces of the walls, hops over pits in the floors, and finally finds a set of platforms to climb to continue on.
Don't move.
"I'm sick of listening to you!" Ciel begins climbing anyway, bristling as he hears the voice lament, Ugly creature… For a moment, he sees a flash of memory, a cold stone room, an altar, and a voice saying tauntingly, Don't move, this won't hurt… as white-hot metal approached…
Shaking his head to rid himself of the memory, it occurs to the boy that maybe the voice is actually here somewhere, watching his movements, and he begins to look for anything out of place or out of the ordinary. He walks for a long time, and finally spots a small gap in a wall of spikes. Carefully he wedges himself into the space, but only finds another water source, which he drinks from greedily.
Even here you search for me… So sweet…
Ciel can't even muster a reply at this point. He feels so tired, and it seems as though he has been in this place for hours. He can only continue on, and hope that there will eventually be a way out. The voice offers no comfort; he has only himself.
xXx
The walls begin to throw traps at him somewhere along the way. He dodges them with difficulty, his tired body not wanting to respond. The next water source comes as a relief, and the water seems to rejuvenate him a bit more than usual.
As he drinks, the voice comments softly, Soon we will see each other. Are you excited? Or frightened?
So much of his willpower is gone, and with it his pride. Ciel doesn't even register what he's saying as he mumbles, "You frighten me."
Then it will only be more enjoyable, the voice croons to him, mockingly gentle. This is the last. Do not fail.
Ciel staggers to his feet, looking at the corridor ahead. More climbing platforms and wall traps. He forces himself into a run, scrambling up the platforms as he desperately avoids the traps. Reaching the top, he starts down the last stretch of the hallway, as spikes begin to fall from the ceiling and the voice repeats urgently, Do NOT fail.
He passes the spikes in a blur of speed, but is unable to stop before dashing right off the edge of a cliff that he didn't see, falling into a pit that has no apparent bottom. And the voice is speaking once again, sounding genuinely pleased with his actions.
I'm so happy that you're mine…
xXx
When he wakes, he is tucked into bed in a room that is not his own, swaddled in layers of blankets that keep him snug and warm. He doesn't open his eyes right away, taking stock of his own body first.
A dream? But it isn't. I can feel the scrape I got from one of those traps, and all of my muscles ache from climbing. But then, where am I? And the voice…
Ciel opens his eyes, taking in the room impassively. He was correct in assuming it was not his. He has no idea where this place could be. The only thing that he recognizes is the black-clad figure sitting at his bedside, garnet eyes focused on his face. "S-Sebastian!" Memory slams into him like a speeding carriage, three years worth of time spent with this demon, until the final conclusion when he had closed his eyes and Sebastian had taken his soul… or so he'd thought.
"Bocchan." Sebastian smiles, and if Ciel was able to concentrate he would see that it was a genuinely warm smile. But he is busily distracted by another detail he has just now realized.
"It was YOUR voice!" he shrieks, pushing the covers off and sitting up. "What was that? Why would you… You tried to make me kill myself!"
Sebastian straightens the covers before leaning forward to look his agitated charge in the eyes. "Firstly, Bocchan, the deal of our contract was your soul for my aid, and your soul is inextricably bound to your life. Your life is mine, and however I wish to take it is valid." Ignoring the furious look he receives, he continues, "However, the dream-state that you were put in was a test. I am quite attached to you, Bocchan, and to be allowed to keep you, I had to prove that your pride was not too great for you to be my pet."
"What do you mean, keep me?" Ciel demands, feeling as though he's gotten lost in this explanation. "You're not going to eat my soul?"
"I've found that I much prefer a living, animated Bocchan than just a soul." Sebastian says with another warm smile. He leans over and plucks Ciel out of the blankets, settling him in his lap. "I apologize for frightening you, but you did very well. You can obey when necessary, but also will not blindly follow to the point of getting yourself hurt." He nuzzles the astonished child's hair and asks seriously, "Is it really so terrible, to live with me? You will be treated better than any human pet has ever been in Hell."
Ciel stares down into his lap. "I will be just a 'pet'?" His voice is subdued, wondering if Sebastian truly cares, or if the demon just finds him amusing to have around.
Hugging Ciel close to his chest, Sebastian breathes into his ear, "No. You will always be my Bocchan, now and forever."
Ciel looks up into the face of the demon he has come to know so well, and reaches up to wrap his arms around Sebastian's neck, just holding on. He is surprisingly happy with the turn of events, pleased to know that the one constant thing of these past three years will still remain in his life. He can handle Hell, even as a pet, so long as Sebastian is by his side.
