While the head of the house was away, Alois began his search anew. His gut told him to check the office, so that's what he did. Now he remembered why on earth they had a two-person desk. The one to the man's right belonged to Ciel! This made things tricky, as the Watchdog was a sly one. Alois could tell just by looking at the man. Thus, he had to be careful to make it appear as though Ciel's belongings had not been disturbed.

It wasn't easy, as the man had very few trinkets or the like on his desk, unlike Alois himself. The only thing was a plush lion that sat next to the computer monitor. Alois recognised it. In fact, at first, he thought it was his, since he recalled winning it, but that was not the entirety of the story. He remembered giving it to somebody. All clues led to Ciel, which was strange to the menace, considering he could have sworn this took place while on a date. That simply couldn't be right! Ridiculous.

That was an impossibility, as the menace was absolutely certain that he wasn't into men. Just because he thought that the Watchdog was a good looking man meant nothing. Some men are just attractive! That's all it was, therefore, that detail must have been fabricated while Alois was missing pieces. Yes, that had to be it. At least, that's how the menace rationalised it.

There were several drawers in the desk, but most didn't contain anything interesting. It was just files and office supplies and the like. There was one drawer, however, that seemed promising. Alas, it was locked and Alois didn't think he had the ability to pick it.

"That's probably where he keeps his goodies..." Alois thought, wondering how he can get access to the drawer without breaking it. Perhaps he could find the key, but he hadn't the faintest idea as to where it would be.

His attention then turned to the Watchdog's computer. Pressing a random key, he disturbed the screen-saver, only to face further disappointment. It was password protected. Furrowing his brow, he sat down in the chair and thought. Alois was certain that he knew this password at one point; He simply wasn't sure what it was. Most people used numbers that were significant to them for easy memory, whether they're birthdays or pop culture references, but Alois really didn't know enough about the man in order to guess.

Thus, he turned his attention elsewhere. This time, it was to his own cellphone. Getting up, he sat in his own seat after moving everything back where he found it. Pulling out the device, he unlocked the screen and found that his wallpaper was a photograph of himself and the bluenette sitting together closely. For a moment, Alois had to sit there and take it in, getting comfortable and crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back. He and the Watchdog looked so happy in the photo. Ciel was even smiling widely along with him.

Come to think of it, Alois hadn't seen the other man smile once since being reintroduced. Ciel had a wonderful smile; one that could be spread as the blonde's expression changed accordingly. It pleased the menace greatly and he hoped that he would be able to see it in person someday soon. Right now, the bluenette always looked sombre, at least during the rare instances where Alois saw him.

Ciel Phantomhive was an elusive crypid, it seemed, but the times when he was seen, the blonde wanted to see him more. Alas, the bluenette didn't want to be seen. Alois couldn't help but feel at fault, even though he didn't know whether or not this was usual behaviour for the other. It didn't feel right. If there was one thing that Alois knew he could trust, it was his gut, and his gut was telling him that something was wrong.

His investigation continued as he browsed his contacts, but oddly, he didn't have a "Ciel" entered in his phone. All of the other names were recognizable as he went down the list, including nicknames and silly things he entered into the device. "Pinky" for Kristopherson and "Bones" for Audrey. He still needed to delete Preston's name from the device, but somehow, he hasn't been able to motivate himself into doing it yet. There was one that was out of place, however, and it was a contact that had "The Bae" written in as a name with a heart emoticon next to it. That was a cause for concern. Alois didn't remember dating anyone, although he could picture himself entering it in as a joke about a friend.

As he moved onto checking his recent text messages, there were a lot from his friends over the past few days. They were worried about his welling. Calls needed to be made. While he was thinking it, he might as well go for it. First person he ringed up was Kristopherson, and the man answered rather quickly, much to Alois' surprise. The blonde hadn't even been able to get comfortable in time.

"Alois?!" answered Kristopherson, his voice frantic.

"'Sup, dawg?" playfully greeted the menace, a smile appearing on his face.

"What the fuck do you mean 'Sup dawg'?! Fuck you!" barked the faux-blonde. "We were all worried sick about your ass!"

"Just my ass?"

"ALOIS!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I couldn't resist." Alois stated, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk as he held the phone up to his ear. "I haven't been able to joke around much the past few days. I'm deprived. I'm otherwise fine, though."

"Oh, thank God..." sighed the wolfman on the other end. "We thought we lost you..."

"It'll take more than that to wipe me out. I'm fine, really. There's no need to be worried."

"But what about your memories?"

"You heard about that?"

"Chain of communication. Started with Audrey." Kristopherson explained. "How's Ciel?"

"I have no idea… That's my main problem right now. That's what my memories affected. I have no idea how to act around this guy..."

"Fuck… That's right..." lamented the faux-blonde, rubbing his forehead. "I doubt it's good, in that case..."

"So he isn't always mopey and secluded?" questioned the menace, spinning around in his chair. He knew that Kristopherson had some information on the Watchdog, and hoped that he would be willing to dispense some of it."

"No. He's never like that. The most he is is awkward when we have a bunch of people in our group. That's not the same thing, though." Pausing, Kristopherson had to ask: "How much do you know?"

"Just that we were apparently 'best friends' or something and that he's not very sociable." the menace replied. "Other than that, I haven't had much luck even talking to him."

"Yeah, nobody expected him to take this well..."

"Why's that?"

"It's just who he is, along with the context. Listen, I'm not supposed to tell you much. We all were told not to."

"Shit…"

"Sorry, mate. You're on your own." said the wolfman apologetically.

"Uuuugh! Fine..." Alois groaned, slouching in his seat.

"I have to go, soon. I'm about to walk into a movie theater." Kristopherson warned, piquing the other's interest once more.

"Really? What movie?"

"'Sweets Basket'?" he replied with a twinge of uncertainty in his tone. "It's got something to do with the Chinese zodiac. My sister's in it, so I figured I'd go see it with Logan."

"Ooh~!"

"Not like that, you prick."

"I guess I'll let you go, then." Alois said, completely ignoring his friend's insult. "Call me back when you get the chance."

"Alright, alright." Kristopherson answered. "Good luck with Ciel. Laters."

"Later days." the menace said before hanging up. He was then left alone in the quiet office.

He didn't want to be alone with his thoughts. The more he thought, the more he thought about his predicament, thus dwelling on the fact that large chunks of his life over the past six years was missing. It was terrifying! It was also sad. How much was gone? How many happy memories? He didn't know, nor did he have the slightest idea as to how to get them back again.

In an effort to occupy himself, he stared out the window at the garden below. Somehow, the view of the back of the house was prettier than that of the front, even though the flowers were not yet in bloom, and leaves were still gone from the trees. He had memories, there. Alois remembered discovering his ability to manipulate plants for the first time, and the many paintball fights he had there. Sometimes, however, it was just him and a face he did not recall. From what he had learned thus far, however, it was probably Ciel. The answer was going to be "Ciel" for a time to come, now. That's just how it was, as it was the Watchdog who had been erased.

Inserting Ciel into those memories made sense, however. It made the blonde able to build upon what he knew. Yes, he recalled that he would battle with the Watchdog with paint, colouring him purple while the other would use blue. Alois even remembered the two of them getting splattered with black once from the butler, although they could never prove that it was Sebastian. Ciel laughed as the menace's flaxen locks were matted with the dark colour, although the memory was still blurry. Alois still couldn't recall the other's exact expression. How did Ciel smile back then?

It gave him hope, knowing that he could recall things by filling in details. A smile appeared on Alois' face as he knew that he would have to tell the others—especially Ciel when he returned home. It was wonderful news, and the blonde was elated at this fact. Perhaps things could be restored back to normal, whatever his "normal" was before!

Movement captured his attention, however, interrupting his train of thought as he stared out the window. Scooting his chair closer to the glass, he leaned forward, being careful not to hit his nose while getting a better look. A familiar figure was lurking along the border between the forest and the garden before eventually disappearing into the trees. Ciel must have bypassed the front door and walked around the house, but really, what was the purpose of it? Alois hadn't the faintest idea. He didn't know what was in the forest, but watched it.

Half an hour later, Ciel hadn't come back out, and Alois was running out of things to snoop in inside the office. Curiosity was starting to get to the menace. After a few more minutes of watching the forest, the man got up and left the room, grabbing his coat on the way out of the house. The air was cold and the ground was damp as he walked through the garden and entered the forest where he saw the bluenette do so.

Alois couldn't imagine someone wanting to spend much time outside from the state of things. The forest wasn't as maintained as the area around the manor. It was unruly in some places, while thinned out in others. The menace could see trees stained with old paint while others were knocked over with a single point of impact the size of a fist. They had been like that for ages. Sometimes, there were ruins of old buildings that were only weathered rock walls that were falling over, now. While there was no discernible path, Alois knew that he was heading in the right direction. He could sense the bluenette, surprising himself in how well he could pick the other man's signature up with his sixth sense.

Eventually, he came to an iron gate covered in rust and grime. It was intimidating. Alois had no memory of this particular place, as he had never been here in the first place. The knowledge of it's existence was never given to him. From the looks of things, there was no intention to do so, either, as this place had not been touched in years. The gate was tall and appeared immovable, but the rust had been disturbed and the hinges on one side had been broken from being forced open very recently. The area that the fence had housed had no trees, but grass had taken it over, despite it being dead and turned brown by the change in seasons. Alois could see the stone fixtures littering the area in neat rows.

There were statues, crosses, and traditional headstones; Yes, this was a cemetery. It wasn't just any ordinary place for the dead to rest, however. This was were those of the Phantomhive family were buried.

Ciel was found here. He sat on top of a stone slab that was placed flat on the ground over one of the graves while leaning against the stone cross that was positioned above it on the lot. The slab wasn't the cleanest, as dirt started to bury it as well. The man sitting on it didn't look happy. In fact, he looked dead, himself, sitting there in silence. At first, he didn't move as the blonde approached, but his reddened eye cracked open as Alois got closer.

"Ciel?" the menace called, waking the other man up, some. Ciel took in a deep breath like he was just waking up after a long sleep.

"I'm surprised you found this place." said the Watchdog. "You've never been here before. Then again, I haven't in a hundred years."

Unsure of what to say, Alois simply asked: "Are you okay?"

"Do you want the honest answer, or the one I just made up?"

"The honest one."

"No." Ciel said bluntly. His expression was melancholic and it seemed impossible for this man to be the same who smiled so brightly in the photo on Alois' phone. A crushing feeling told Alois he wasn't supposed to be here- that he was intruding on an extremely private moment, and he felt guilty at that. His body tensed as he tried to think of something suitable to say.

"I'm sorry..." was all he could let out, his face reddening.

"I don't blame you." the Watchdog replied. "I'm upset, but I know it's not your fault that any of this happened."

"But I can't- I can't..." Alois trailed off, trying to figure out what to say. He didn't know what he was trying to convey. "Why are you in the cemetery?"

"Because that's where you go when someone dies." Ciel stated while getting up. His words made the menace regret changing his train of thought so suddenly.

"You don't need to do anything. All you need to do is try to be happy." continued the bluenette when the other didn't answer. "I can't stand it when you're sad. Just let me deal with it, okay?"

"But… I don't want you to be sad, either. I'm still here. I still want to be friends with you."

"It won't be the same."

"Can't I at least try?"

Pausing, the bluenette began to walk. "You really don't remember anything at all..." he sighed. Before he passed the man, however, he stopped and turned.

"Oh, yeah… I never introduced you." Ciel added. Gesturing to the graves next to the one he was sitting on, he spoke. "Alois, these are my parents." He then lowered his hand and continued onward. "It's customary, I think, although it's a bit late."

All Alois could do was stand frozen, staring straight ahead as the man walked past him. The blonde's eyes were fixated on those graves which matched the other. Moments passed, and Ciel was a ways off before he found it in himself to take a few steps forward, himself.

"Vincent… Rachel..." Alois read aloud. Then, his eyes slowly moved toward the right to see yet another name, the one on the grave that the Watchdog was seated on. "Ciel..."

Quickly, the man's head whipped around to look after the bluenette, watching Ciel's back as he disappeared into the trees again. Icy blue eyes were wide with shock and horror as Alois' blood ran cold as the air around him. Something was wrong- very wrong. He just didn't know what it was. What he was certain of, however, was that Ciel was a complicated man. Perhaps, he was just as complicated as the menace was, himself.


A/N: vera dramatic.

I've taken a liking to writing things the night before and posting them when I get around to it the next day. Can't spoil you, now.

I'll start work on the next chapter... sometime today. Whenever I feel like it.

I kinda wanna watch anime

Dunno what tho

Feelin' kinda like Psycho-Pass or something...

Hmmmm...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!