The demons drove around for a while, despite the freezing cold. They stopped once to sit in a warm restaurant and eat. Mostly, it was for the heat, as the menace hardly touched his food. He was too busy thinking. Of course, he spoke with the other man with him, but couldn't help but be distracted. There was a lot on his mind and being near the bluenette made things difficult.

He continuously noticed things about the other man as they talked- The way Ciel spoke, the way Ciel's face moved, and the way he moved his hands. The more Alois looked at the Watchdog, the more he was made aware of the fact that Ciel was a very pretty man. The more Alois listened to him, the more he thought well of him.

Ciel was smart, reasonable, and had many stories. Some of them didn't involve him at all, so they sparked no memories for the menace. Some of them were simply articles that the bluenette had read recently. He was also attentive, listening very carefully to whatever Alois had to say when he spoke, and held a few quirks. He was a little fussy, absent-mindedly leaning forward to brush a stray lock of hair out of the blonde's face. Poor Ciel caught his faux-pas too late and quickly took his hand away with a blush. He forgot that male friends didn't do that sort of thing, despite Alois secretly liking it. The menace's cheeks turned a light pink as he internally scolded himself.

Things carried on like this until both men were done. Awkwardly, they wrapped up their meal and headed home until dark. When night came, the pair set out again, this time on their way to the headquarters of the Girasol vampire coven. Neither of them were entirely thrilled to be seeing Baldassare, but they must, no matter what personal business they were going through.

Naturally, they were welcomed with open arms. After all, one does not deny H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. entry, especially when it was the Watchdog and Lion. Refusal was just misfortune waiting to happen. Baldassare wasn't happy about this, either, but he allowed them inside the slightly run-down, yet paradoxically maintained building in his own special way.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the ass-pirate and his 'special friend'..." the coven leader asked. HE sat before them in a chair far too large for him as his feet dangled off the side. "How are you two? How's the memory? Still plundering booty?"

"I could always shoot you, you know." stated the Watchdog while his partner was puzzled over the meaning of the vampire's words.

"If I die, though, you can't get what you came here for." Baldassare answered. "I know you didn't just stop by to say 'hi'. You're not that nice..."

"Neither are you." Ciel said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a photo. "This man. I need to know if you or any of your vampires have seen him."

Glancing at the picture, Baldassare immediately recognised who was in it. It was Warwick Academy's former coach. The vampire had only seen him once, but the man's future looked both short and bleak at the time. In addition, the vampire knew that he would be implicated for not doing anything about it.

"Never seen 'im before..." he stated, his eyes dodging to the left.

"So you have." Ciel nodded, immediately calling his bluff.

"Hey! I just said I didn't!"

"Most people, when they lie, their eyes shift to their left." the bluenette said. Holding the image out further. "Now, think long and hard for me."

"Yeah, bet you'd like that, huh, queer?" Baldassare scoffed, snatching the photo out of the Watchdog's hand before pretending to look at it more carefully. Before long, he tossed it back.

"Yeah, I saw 'im." he admitted while folding his arms. "He was at another coven's place. I was visiting for political reasons. Didn't look like things were going too good for 'im."

"What do you mean?" questioned the meance, wishing to be included in the conversation. "Was he injured?"

"Dunno. He was made a deal by the owner of the place." Baldassare replied. "Something like… 'stay alive until dawn and you're free to go'... I don't remember exactly what the guy said."

"Who was it?"

"I can't tell you that." the vampire stated. "If word gets back to him that you know, it'll be my ass."

"I thought Girasol was the strongest in London?" Alois stated confusedly while arching an eyebrow.

"Strength and man-power-wise, yes. When it comes to cash, though, we're beat."

"That gives me an idea." Ciel said, thinking aloud. "I know someone who fits that description..."

"Hey, hey, hey, don't mess with him." the Girasol leader scolded. "Remember: my ass."

"I have no interest in your ass, Baldassare. You flatter yourself too much." bluntly answered the Watchdog, prompting his informant to fume. Either way, the bluenette turned to walk away while his partner snickered. "Come along, Alois."

"Oi! Fuck off! I ain't a cock jockey like you and your-"

Before the man could say another word, a shot rang out and blood trickled down Baldassare's cheek. He sat in his chair with wide eyes as a bullet hole pierced it. Technically, it didn't miss him, but it didn't harm him. Baldassare had simply been grazed. Either way, he had been silenced by the bluenette as Ciel stood there with his gun aimed.

"Not. Another. Word." he said. He could see the vampire's nails digging into the arms of the chair out of fear. The glare Ciel gave him was enough to chill someone to the bone.

Putting his gun away, however, the Watchdog carried on with an astonished blonde in tow. Alois simply stared up at the man for a while, trying to figure him out. In all honesty, he didn't picture the man as being quick to violence, but Ciel pulled that trigger before any of them could blink.

"Didn't think you'd shoot at him for something like that." the blonde noted as they walked out of the building.

"I am allowed to take offense at such vulgarity." Ciel answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "Someone needs to remind him that he cannot behave like that, and this is the only language that he understands."

"True." Alois grinned. "Nice shot, by the way."

"Thank you."

"So, where's this 'idea' of yours leading to?"

"A certain vampire by the name of 'Leslie'." the Watchdog informed. "I met him once. He was rather… 'odd'."

"Good way or bad way?"

"Leaning toward bad."

"Is he just the kind who gives you a feeling in your gut?" the blonde questioned.

"Yes, that's exactly it."

Although they were far from being done, Alois was content for the moment. He recoiled when Babyface said what he did, disgusted both with the vampire and himself. Ciel put an end to it, however. It felt safe around Ciel and Alois appreciated that about the man. Alas, he also felt nervous, but in a way that was most peculiar. He was starting to catch on, but for now, he still couldn't accept it. All he knew was that he liked being around Ciel, and although his memory had massive, gaping holes in it, that made things more bearable. He was slightly more at ease. However, Alois couldn't help but think that he was missing something extremely vital, and he hoped to remember soon.


A/N: This is what I did instead of tweaking my presentation for tomorrow. Be grateful~!

Thank you everyone who gave your input. It's really helpful! I'm still not ready to lay out all of my cards just yet, though.

I should think about this more...

For now, though... I must finish homework...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!