Over the phone, Detective Bailey Juniour gave the basic rundown of what they were needed for, as well as the address for a house. Someone had been killed under strange circumstances, and the witnesses weren't making any sense. The residents rambled on and on about ghosts and hauntings, and how they had been seeing things in that house for quite some time. Things would move on their own, figures would be seen, and scratches would appear on the residents' bodies with no explanation. When police searched the premises, there was indeed a body, but not much else. There were no clues or evidence to be found. Thus, the yard had given up after scratching their heads for half a day with nothing else to be found and decided to call in the demons.
Ciel had been sent photographs of the body. Deep scratches that bled profusely covered large patches of skin, and the man showed signs of being beaten. The cause of death was choking on his own blood. Now, the demons weren't sure what exactly they could do, but they would try. They hadn't the faintest idea as to what they were dealing with, given the vagueness of the situation. No one really knew what happened but the victim, the victim's family, and the killer, if the latter two things didn't overlap by some miracle. The family was currently staying with relatives, due to the state of their abode, giving the demons plenty of room to work.
The duo was already not in a very good mood. Ciel had to attempt to explain to Sebastian that the butler didn't really walk in on any intimate rendezvous, which was a lot easier said than done. Both men were somewhat doubtful as to whether the man actually believed them, despite the fact that it was the truth. Regardless to their personal problems, they still had a job to do, and were going to do it the best they could.
Arriving at the house, the pair didn't bother knocking and just walked inside. The house was dark, and contrasted greatly to the light of the outside. Immediately, they felt a presence of something inside of the house, but it was hard to place.
"Someone's here." Ciel stated, looking around carefully.
"The family should be out." Alois replied. "A thief? Of maybe their ghost story holds up after all!" He grinned as he made his way through the dark entryway. While examining the area, he looked up, having the state of mind to inquire as to why it was so dark. When he did, he came across a discovery.
"The lightbulbs are shattered." the blonde pointed out. Seeing that this was the case, he looked down before crouching. With a gloved hand, he touched the carpet. "There's shards everywhere."
"That's rather ominous." answered the other man. "It looks like all of them are that way."
"I'm not sure what kind of killer would do this."
"Neither am I. I think we should talk to whoever it is that's hiding up ahead."
"On it." Alois said, standing up. "You go look at the crime scene."
"Understood."
Without another word, Alois pressed on, separating himself from his partner's proximity. He stalked the hallways and rounded corners like a seasoned professional. Fingers wrapped around the handle of one of his pistols concealed within his jacket. What he couldn't shake, however, was a bizarre feeling welling up in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't figure out what it was, however. Could it have been anxiety? Not quite. It was similar, but not exact. It was anticipation for whatever it was before him, but he couldn't figure out why this was so.
As the man drew closer, he realised that his mouth was watering and his teeth had become sharper. He couldn't see himself from the outside, so he could not witness his icy blue eyes changing crimson like blood dripping into pools of water. They glowed and his pupils narrowed, all without his own volition. Alois did not tell his body to do these things, but rather, he did them on his own. Truthfully, he was concerned. He had no idea what was happening to his body, nor was he sure as to why he still felt compelled to move forward despite his change. In fact, he was excited as he move forward, seeking out the end.
Finally, the blonde arrived at an upstairs bedroom and stepped inside. Immediately upon opening the door it felt as though he were pushed by an unforeseen force, but it's strength was insufficient to deter the demon. The room was dark and had various items strewn about it, completely littering the floor. Other than the trash, it would appear that he was the only one inside, but Alois distinctly sensed another. They were just unseen.
"I know you're here." he said, facing the direction that the feeling was strongest in. Drawing his gun, he aimed right for it. "Show yourself! I don't wanna play around today."
He didn't get the response he wanted. Instead, he had a bottle knocked off the dresser toward him, landing in front of his feet. With a sigh, he repeated himself.
"Listen, I know you're in front of me, you know you're in front of me… Let's just cut to the chase and get this over with, huh?" the menace insisted, only to be met with silence again. It lasted only a few moments, however, before the lamp on the bedside table seemingly moved on its own and hurled itself directly at the man's face.
Reflexively, the blonde swung his arm, knocking the lamp to the side before firing his gun with the other. He hit the spot where his senses were telling him his foe was standing, only for his bullet to be embedded in the wall. Crimson eyes widened in surprise as the man hadn't expected this outcome.
Alois had no idea what was going on right away. He had seen all sorts of things, so he assumed it wouldn't be out of the question for a creature with the ability to become invisible to exist. Surely, it was possible if things like revenants and doppelgangers can exist. In his head, the blonde quickly ran through what he knew about the situation. The family that lived in this house claimed that it had shown signs of being haunted for a while. Objects moved, scratches would appear on the skin of the residents, sometimes they would be shoved.
"Poltergeist!" the man said aloud. He was startled by the sound of his husband storming into the room with his gun drawn.
"What happened?!" demanded the bluenette, only to see nothing. His eye was glowing as well as he stared at the blonde. Teeth were pointed and he seemed excitable. That could have been due to the fact that he heard a gunshot.
"They were right about the house being haunted. There's a poltergeist in here. I can't shoot it." complained the menace, keeping his senses honed in on that one spot.
"Jim, this isn't the time to jo-"
"It moved!" Alois shouted, swinging around to face the bookshelf by the door. Books started flying off the piece of furniture and pelting the two demons. Once it was sufficiently empty, it then tipped and fell toward the men, almost hitting them.
"What do I do?!" asked the blonde. He was at a total loss, since he couldn't shoot the spirit.
"Catch it!" answered his spouse. "It's just a soul, right? You can probably touch it!"
Furrowing his brow, that's just what the menace attempted to do. He put his pistol away and honed in on the spot again before abruptly lurching forward. His arms were extended, and just as the Watchdog anticipated, he hit something. Alois' palm struck what felt like the chest of a man. When he did, the hazy image of what looked like an upper torso appeared.
Suddenly, the menace felt something wrapping around his wrist and digging in. When it touched him, the hazy, blackened image of what appeared to be a hand grasping at him appeared upon contact. Baring his teeth, Alois' eyes glowed brighter with a swing of his arm. He aimed for the general vicinity of where he thought his foe's neck would be and grabbed it tightly. The force he exerted was enough to crush the trachea of a human being, but killing his assailant was going to be an impossibility.
The blonde could now see the poltergeist's chest, arm, neck, and chin, but it was still left with one more arm and some telekinetic capabilities. Books started hurling themselves at the Lion's back, causing him to grunt with the first two hits, but he took the blows like a champion. They were nothing. Even when the spirit tried to punch him, it did nothing. No pain was felt by the blonde in the slightest. What was felt, however, was something completely different.
It was familiar, but hard to recognise. He felt it as he approached the room, and it grew stronger as he gripped the entity. The feeling peaked however, when the spirit brushed his mouth with its fist, causing something within the demon to click. Alois' fingers dug into the poltergeist with one hand, and the hand around its neck gripped it with crushing force. A wicked grin spread across his face, revealing sharpened teeth as he glared down at the entity with eyes aflame.
His husband looked on in a state of shock at first, but it soon faded. Ciel's surprised expression was soon replaced with a smile of his own, although it was more of a smirk. Indeed, he did derive joy and pride from this situation, but was perplexed as to why the other man seemed hesitant. It was as though Alois wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or what he wanted.
"Go on." the Watchdog said, his tone calm and almost soothing. He stepped closer to the other man, appearing almost directly over his shoulder. "You've done this before, even if it was only once."
The blue demon put one hand on Alois' lower back and used the other to gently touch Alois' elbow on the arm he was using to grasp the entity's neck as if to guide him. His voice was soft and almost enchanting. He continued, saying: "No need to hold back. Just give into it and let nature take its course."
Alois held onto the other Phantomhive's words, unsure if he wanted them to pull him back. He knew what he wanted. He was just afraid. Although he had indeed done this before, it was not without a contract, and it wasn't in such a gruesome manner. Regardless, the poltergeist's fate was sealed. It had failed to be collected by the Reaper Dispatch, and a demon had found it first. This is simply the way things are.
The Lion descended upon his prey with the encouragement of the other demon in the room. Ciel was proud of him in a twisted way. He knew it was, too, but knew that it was inevitable. Alois had only devoured one soul in his entire life as a demon, and now he was feasting on his second. This time, however, there was no contract. It was a free meal. The Watchdog's grin stayed prominent throughout the entire event, and even afterward when the menace was overcome by the feeling of being full.
As strange as it was, Alois had forgotten what being hungry had felt like, as well as consuming food for the sake of actually gaining nutrients of some sort. Strangely, he had forgotten the feeling that comes with eating a soul, and he understood why Sebastian was so keen on it. Nothing else seems to interest most demons, and now he could see why. That scared him. At the time, however, the man was enjoying the afterglow.
He had fallen to the floor, bringing his husband with him and sat on his knees. The menace's eyes were clouded and unfocused despite their bright glow. He shuddered, and he held the Watchdog's hand as the man held him at the waist. Alois was in a daze as he was overwhelmed by the rapturous feeling. He felt empowered and powerless at the same time as he was immobile from the energy coursing through him. This was a demon's pleasure. It was a force to be reckoned with.
The entire time, Ciel firmly held him in place although he wasn't going anywhere. Alois' back was against his chest as he allowed the menace to recover slightly. The effects would fully wear off in a matter of days, but the worst was right after the fact.
"How do you feel?" the Watchdog finally asked although he didn't expect an answer right away. He placed a kiss to the side of the blonde's head, forcing the man to realise just how heavy his eyes were. While Ciel's eyes were back to their usual shade of blue, his husbands were still a bloody red, although the glow had subsided. Before he answered, they closed and he uttered a sigh.
"Good." was all he answered, completely content with everything in the world at this moment. It's really all he was capable of saying, and in all honesty, Ciel was impressed. When he first started, all Ciel could managed to do was hum in response when his butler inquired about his state of affairs.
Alois' head fell back and rested on Ciel's shoulder, enjoying life and feeling nothing but bliss. Naturally, his spouse didn't want to ruin this for him, so he waited. There, they sat for two whole hours without moving from that spot in the dark room. Ciel rocked his husband back and forth and smiled the whole time. Over time, Alois would get better at handling this, but for now, it was going to be a bit much for him. Fortunately, his family was understanding.
"Jim, we need to wrap things up here." the bluenette finally said. "I'll call Sebastian to come get us."
"Nnngh..." Jim expressed his displeasure at the suggestion as he didn't want to move, still, but they had to, eventually. It was inevitable.
"I know. I'm sorry, but we need to go home." Ciel said before attempting to bargain. "We really don't have anything else to do here, and when we get home, you can sleep all you want."
"Nnoht sleeping..." insisted the menace, but his husband was not convinced.
"Either way, we need to go." the other said, letting go of Alois' hand in order to reach into his pocket and grab his phone. "Sebastian will probably be proud of you. I'm proud of you, too. Eating souls is a major milestone, and your first contractless one is as well. Good work."
"Sstupid..."
"Take a nap, Jim."
"Mmm..." answered the blonde, doing just that. The bluenette then called their butler, and when they returned home, he relayed to Scotland Yard the information on perhaps their quickest-solved case yet.
A/N: Not the most important of chapters, but here is a chapter...
Not really a fan of ghosts, tbh. They're hard to get rid of...
Ughhh... It's five in the morning and I am dying...
I got a question tho:
"I was going to ask a kinky question, but I won't. Hate, how do you get inspiration for a chapter or an arc?" by Guest
It comes from all kinds of places. Sometimes I just come up with stuff in class after a long sequence of daydreams, or maybe I read a news article or see something somewhere that I derive something from. The Blackwood arc, for example, was roughly based on a manga called "Homunculus" where a guy had a similar power, but a lot cooler. The reason why I did this was because the manga had a really cool, unique, and solid concept, but then it just got sucky and needlessly gross, and you stop liking the main character and just kinda want him to fuck off. Like, he's not even bad in a way that's interesting. He's just gross and unlikable. They tried too hard to be edgy. So, Blackwood's character was born! He was mild in comparison. "I want this power and bad-guy-ness, but I want it to not suck." That was my thought process. Now, whether or not I executed that well or not is debatable.
ANYWAY, inspiration can really come from anywhere. I also draw a lot from just stuff that happens to people. A lot of the story has been revolving around that kinda stuff lately. Like, it's all stuff that happens to real people in real life, but with a supernatural/assassin spin.
I have several pages in my little pocket memopad filled up with very vague ideas, but I mostly just want to move on with the story... I don't want to do Scarlet Order yet, but I WANT to do Scarlet Order stuff? I have other ideas, it's just that this looks the most fun...
Also, as a side note: you can ask more "mature" questions, but only on the condition that y'all aren't gross about it. I have gotten some Character Shet questions in the past that seriously made me regret creating the segment at all. A good thing to keep in mind is a vague idea on how the characters react. If the scenario you are presenting will most likely result in extensive psychological trauma, the police being called, or someone being brutally torn apart with nothing but one's bare hands in a fit of blind rage (or that will just gross out the author tbh), please refrain. Simple questions are probably the safest bet. "What are Ciel and Alois' favourite positions?" "What are their kinks?" "Did you guys have fun last night?" "Did you guys do x?" "Have they ever tried y?" Questions like that are more welcome. Just don't get TOO explicit.
Remember, I'm not a smut writer.
I'm sorry if I sound a little funny. I'm really tired. Running on empty. Not good. Mayday, mayday, we're going down...
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
CHARACTER SHET
Question: "Hello Ciel, Hello Alois. Now you guys are going great as a married couple. However, what surprises me that you guys do not argue. Have you two had a major fight over something. And if so, what happened?" by I give up
Ciel: "Usually, when we fight, it's over nonsense. A big cause of it is our differences in 'snobbishness', as Jim would put it. For example, one time we both had to go to a formal event, and I told him that he couldn't wear a clip-on tie because of the type of event it was. He didn't understand why it mattered or what the difference is, and come to think of it, most people can't tell the difference. (It's a difference in material and weave) We bickered about it, but eventually reached the consensus that yes, it is a bit of a silly thing to fixate on. We also argue about politics on occasion. Jim usually wins, though."
Alois: "We argue over politics sometimes, and we also argue when Ciel is overly snooty about something and I accidentally offend his posh sensibilities, but I think the absolute biggest thing we argue about is him stealing other people's snacks from the kitchen. It's a nasty habit of his. I can't think of a punishment that will keep him from doing it! I bought those Jaffa Cakes with my own money, you prick! I was SAVING them! ...ah... *ahem*... anyway, it's pretty normal stuff."
