Chapter Seven
When he'd pictured seeing his family again...he hadn't pictured this.
He'd pictured meeting them in the Pure World, Kisame at his side as he greeted them and apologized for his sins. Seen them in the nightmares of his past self's life, and known he'd never make it to them. He'd imagined catching a glimpse of them, just before Sebastian took his soul from his body and he'd made peace with the fact that he'd never see them again.
Never truly get a chance to tell them that he was sorry.
He'd never pictured them coming to this world.
His new life.
His Mother, with her warm dark eyes and pale skin contrasting the pale blue qipao she wore.
His father, clad in a sleek black shirt and pants similar to those worn by anbu, his eyes keen as they roved his new form.
Shisui, and didn't that just make his heart ache. His best friend, and pseudo older brother was watching him with warmth in his eyes. Recognition.
Sasuke.
His beloved baby brother's expression was blank as he followed them to the dining table and had he not known him as well as he did, he'd have thought the paradoxically younger/older teen wasn't paying any attention. Still he could see the recognition in those eyes.
The curiosity.
It took everything in him not to react to them. After all, he was entertaining a guest tonight and he couldn't afford for his emotions to get in the way. Shoving his feelings deep into his mind, he took his seat at the table, his expression as impassive as Sasuke's.
His otouto's features tightened briefly and he tried not to feel the way his own hurt clenched in response.
"Welcome," He greeted calmly after Lau introduced them, gesturing for them to take their seats. "As Lao has doubtlessly told you, I am Earl Phantomhive. Mr. Brandel," He turned to his true target of the evening, taking in the slight tension in the man's shoulders. "Would you be amenable to discussing our business after the evening meal?"
Brandel sneered slightly, but hid it quickly. "This is an urgent matter, Earl Phantomhive. And I've little doubt that you will be ready to retire after dinner."
Did he just-
He had.
Oh, he was going to enjoy this immensely, and the way Lau seemed to stiffen told him that the man knew he would.
As their dinner began, he watched calmly as Brandel grew more tense with each passing moment.
Finally, nearly half-way through, the man asked to be excused.
A near feral smirk curled across his lips as the man left.
"Sebastian," The demon appeared immediately.
"Bocchan."
"I assume you're finished."
"Of course, milord."
He hummed. "Good, please show Mr. Brandel our full hospitality."
His demon bowed, then vanished.
"Earl Phantomhive?" His mot- no, Mikoto asked and he hummed.
"Yes?"
She hesitated, only to be cut off by a heavy knock on the door. Lau stood, eager to escape the oppressive atmosphere and Sasuke took over.
"Nii-san, how are you here? What's going on?"
Ciel stared at them, wondering why the guilt and agony he'd normally felt at the mere thought of them felt muted. Why he couldn't seem to shake the frost that had engulfed his heart in this new world, the mask that once he'd been able to remove and call upon at will.
Instead, the darkness that had served as his cloak in his last life seemed stronger in this life, no longer a cloak but still heavy in its protection of a heart he was no longer sure he possessed.
"I think," He responded, single eye half-lidded as he rested his cheek on his fist. "A better question is how are you all here?"
"Lau-san hired us as bodyguards." A scream rang out, and Sasuke frowned when his brother didn't so much as flinch. Instead, the youth's lips curled into a slight smirk. He wanted to question it, but as he went to do so, Lau returned carrying an envelope sealed with an expensive red seal.
Ciel took it, smirk falling into a scowl.
"Bocchan?"
Sebastian reappeared and the youth handed him the letter.
"Her majesty has invited us to the circus."
Lau raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
He nodded, and stood. "Feel free to stay. Sebastian will show you to your rooms."
Sasuke frowned, watching his brother's current incarnation leave the room all the while wondering just how different he was in this life...and how much of it was another act.
*/*
He was so different.
Shisui couldn't help but stare after his otouto's current incarnation with dread and pain in his heart, wondering what had happened in this life to drag his best friend so deep into the darkness he's spent so long trying to escape. The way that single blue eyes had watched them, cold almost impassive as he'd spoken, the way he'd smiled as what he was sure was Mr. Brandel screaming, even the way Lau seemed to be on edge around him, none of it was painting too nice of a picture.
It made the Kami's words come floating back to him.
"Your job is to help him find his way again. But be warned, for he is far more jaded than he was in this life."
He could see it. In the demons lurking in his friend's stare, the heaviness in his shoulders and he knew that no matter what, he would try to bring back the little spark of life that had driven Itachi in their past life.
A smooth voice interrupted his thoughts and he found Itachi's butler watching them all with something curious in his eyes.
"Come, as Mr. Lau's bodyguards, the young master has given you the rooms closest to his."
He nodded, sharing a glance with Fugaku, who was frowning at the butler. With a few more pleasantries, they were released to their rooms and the butler was gone.
Storing what he'd seen so that he could think over it later, he entered the room, hoping that he'd be able to talk to Itachi alone in the morning.
*/*
"Missing children?"
Ciel nodded, staring down at the invitation Her Majesty had sent, interlocking his fingers beneath his chin as he thought over the information given.
"The Noah's Ark circus is a popular circus that has been touring the world recently. However, over the past two years, children have gone missing wherever they've stopped. Her majesty wants us to investigate, and she wants the culprits captured, alive."
Sebastian nodded, glancing over at his master, who was staring blankly at the pages, no longer reading them. The boy had been in a pensive state since unveiling Lau's hidden companions earlier that evening, and yet as far as he could tell there was little reason as to why. The assassins had all been very well behaved, their curiosity obvious as they watched his master and he found himself curious about whether it would be a good idea for him to steal them for the household after Lau finally made himself too much of a nuisance for Ciel to decide to keep around.
His lips twitched at the thought, before he turned his concern back to his master, noting the faint darkness under the teen's eyes.
"Perhaps, it would do you well to rest, bocchan. The show isn't until tomorrow evening, and you do have a few pressing matters to attend to beforehand."
The young earl glanced at him, then sighed.
"You're right," He responded softly, standing. Good night, Sebastian."
The butler frowned, following his master. "Your bath-"
"I shall take care of it," His master interrupted firmly, as he had since shortly after Madame Red's death. "Good Night."
Bowing reluctantly, his pride as his master's most faithful servant stung by the rejection, he wished the other a good night's rest and went to tend to the rest of the things he had to do before retiring himself.
*/*
It was well into the evening of the next day before they saw Ciel again.
Lau had informed them that Ciel had left early that morning to attend to business and that he would return to escort them to "the circus" later that evening. It was due to his absence that they finally decided to question their employer.
"Why are you so afraid of Earl Phantomhive," Shisui had asked. "He's just a child."
Lau stilled, and to their surprise he opened his eyes completely and gave them a slight glare.
"Ciel Phantomhive is one of the deadliest people you will ever meet for the simple fact that anything he does, he can pass off as having done so in the name of protecting the Queen and her assets. Nothing happens in the underworld without his say so, and if it does, he has Sebastian get rid of it. Ciel doesn't have to do the dirty work, he can and will make you do it to yourself."
It was the most they'd ever heard the other man say, and it was the most serious they'd ever heard him be, and Fugaku had hummed softly, signalling for the younger Uchiha to drop the subject. He did so with a shrug at the opium dealer.
"Sorry. I was just curious."
Lau scowled then shrugged, his expression dropping into a faux smile, eyes falling closed.
"It was no problem. Just be careful what you say, the little Earl has ears everywhere."
The words had lingered in their minds for the remainder of the day, and now as they stood in front of the boy Fugaku could help but observe him thoughtfully.
Before their deaths, his son had begun to draw away from them all, the burden weighing down his shoulders making him colder with each passing day. He'd started to hide his emotions from them all, always smiling (if Sasuke or shisui were around) but cold to all others. In fact, it was only as the child had stood behind them his blade poised that he'd realized just how much he'd been holding back.
The rattle of his son's blade still haunted him, as did the soft, near silent sobs he'd allowed to escape as he'd cut them down in the name of protecting Sasuke and their village.
He'd wanted to be angry, to feel betrayed and yet he couldn't. Not when he knew just how much doing so had destroyed his eldest son.
Not knowing it was his choices that had led to it all.
Earl Phantomhive was eerily similar to Itachi just before that fateful night, his single visible eye impassive as it passed over them. Even his expression gave nothing away, and had it not been for the fact that the boy had acknowledged them the way he had the night before, he would have wondered if he even knew who they were.
Still, he greeted the young earl calmly, his wife asking about this "circus" they were to be visiting.
Sebastian answered them patiently, leading them to the waiting carriage and he watched as the man went to help the Earl into it.
There.
Annoyance, sharp and cutting flashed through that bright cyan eye, and he felt a tiny, almost invisible smile cross his lips at the thought of his heir's stubborn independence streak breaking through in this life.
While Itachi had never had an issue asking for assistance if he needed it, he hated being coddled, as well as what he called 'unnecessary assistance'. He'd nearly lost his ever-long patience with Shisui and punched the other when he'd insisted on coddling him after they'd first discovered he was ill.
The young earl met his gaze passively. "Is this your first time going to a circus, Fugaku-san?" He asked after a while and the man almost glared.
Instead he nodded. "Hai, They are not common in my homeland."
The carriage came to a stop, and the other gave him a tiny smirk.
"Then I hope you enjoy it."
*/*
What the hell was Sebastian doing?
He couldn't help but stare in complete exasperation at his butler as the demon allowed the tiger to bite him, the man's euphoric smile more than telling.
So far, he'd only been observing the performers, his gaze continuously drawn to one of the strongmen.
He was tall, about the same height that Kisame had been, his hulking frame clad in skin-tight black pants and little else. He'd had his back turned, the low lights concealing most of his identifying features and yet…
He was almost certain he knew that man.
He was also just as certain that it was impossible for him to be here.
Watching as Sebastian continued to play with the cat, he felt his breath catch in his throat when the man he'd been watching moved into the spotlight, hearing Sasuke give a soft gasp as well.
Deep blue skin, mischievous amber eyes, sharp teeth curled into a wild grin as he finally freed Sebastian from the tiger's grasp, the mere sight of him made Ciel's heart race.
Kisame.
Kisame!
His lungs constricted and he saw his butler glance at him worriedly, and yet he couldn't bring himself to speak.
Instead, he stood and as quickly as he could without drawing too much attention to himself, he fled.
TBC...