HELLSING headquarters was in a tizzy after what happened in Manchester. Not only did they need to replace a long-time investigator at that branch, but the research department was having a hard time figuring out what exactly made the ghoul act the way it did. As far as they had found so far, this was the body of an ordinary ghoul that they were given. Yet in the report, witnesses described the creature being able to run, jump, and dodge. There was something certainly amiss.
In the worst case scenario, this was something they had no knowledge of. Surely whatever was responsible could be killed, but it would be dangerous. Going into any battle unprepared was. Immediately, they went looking through the various new species that had been admitted to Pyestock in hopes of finding something that matched. Perhaps one somehow ended up in Manchester. It was just as logical as any other solution. Over the next few days, however, things took a turn for the worst as more bodies with similar injuries to the first were found in a clear trail across England. After how the first incident went down, they were all shot before they could get back up again. It was a rare moment where HELLSING had no expertise on the matter. That was scary.
Several departments focused on this task, saving the demonic duo as a last resort, given that the Watchdog was still sore. He was doing much better and had a lot more mobility now. Mostly, it was soreness getting in the way of his movements. His muscles ached and he didn't want to do much, but was thrilled that he was on the home stretch. Meanwhile, however, his butler had his own thoughts about things.
He had noticed that Blackwood was lacking a soul when he came back for autopsy. Everything else was healthy and fine. Humans would refer to this as "spontaneous death," but Sebastian suspected more nefarious forces at work. It just so happened that these other attacks happened close enough to Manchester that the Manchester branch answered the report, just like Blackwood's death. The only problem was that the modus operandi was different. Blackwood died without a scratch on him while the others were torn apart and he certainly didn't become a ghoul. There was little else connecting them, other than region. Still, it was suspicious.
He pondered and he asked if HELLSING would keep a watch out for any grim reapers. Without that, it would be impossible to prove whether or not the bodies that came in had their souls collected or stolen. That was a concerning idea. Anything involving fights with other demons were undesirable, as they were just as dangerous as the Phantomhives themselves.
"You have my permission to look into it, if that's what you're looking for." Ciel told his butler. "Do you have time?"
"I would need to be away for a few days." Sebastian replied. "That would mean that someone else needs to take Luka to school and back, maintain the household, make sure there are no outstanding bills that need attending to..."
"Basically, everything that keeps the household working, huh?"
"My apologies, sir. I'm uncertain as to how else to get around it."
Pausing, Ciel thought while leaning back in his chair. It was a lot, but perhaps most of it could wait a few days? If Alois could take Luka to school, that would be fantastic, and if Sebastian double-checked that everything was in order, most everything would be sorted.
"I'll talk to Jim about bringing Luka to school." the Watchdog eventually answered. "I'm not sure if he would like the idea of Revy doing it, since he takes public transport. Can you check and see if at least most things can remain standing for a few days?"
"Certainly. It would ease my mind if I may be permitted to go."
"Mine, too. If it's something serious, I want it taken care of swiftly. Just be careful about any HELLSING operatives wandering the area."
With a smile, the butler placed a hand on his chest and offered a slight bow. "Yes, my lord."
Ciel could tell how eager the butler was. The man hadn't been on a significant mission in ages. It was probably best if Sebastian went instead of the duo. He was far more efficient and would probably make quick work of anything that came his way.
"Call if anything goes wrong." the Phantomhive added, regardless. "You aren't allowed to die."
"You've grown attached." smiled the butler. "It's interesting."
"Don't talk like you aren't attached to Luka. "He's like your son."
"He's much cuter than you."
"He's still little. He has time to grow." Ciel smiled. "Though I guess if it's your kid, they never really stop being cute, do they?"
"You were sort of cute when you were younger. Like an irritable corgi." answered the butler. "You became much more tolerable as you got older."
"Gee, thanks..."
"If I may, I would like to get started on preparations."
"Right, right. Get to it." Standing up, Ciel scrunched his face while stretching his muscles. "I'll go ask Jim how he feels about handling Luka's school situation."
In all honesty, he had been thinking about getting up to annoy his spouse for a while and it was only just then that he had a solid excuse. Strolling down the hall, he made his way to the stairwell and traversed downward. He had a hunch that his husband was down in the library, as he had been spending more time there as of late. He was very interested in buildings, among other things. Ideas about how to make this new town stable occupied a great deal of his thoughts as he had to build from the ground up when it came to this new society.
Sure enough, when Ciel peeked into the large room lined with books, he found the blonde precariously perched on one of the ladders, just reading a book he found. Sometimes, it took him a while, as he needed to enter a word into Google to know how to say it and what it means. His reading comprehension had improved greatly over the years, though he would occasionally stumble every so often.
"What are you reading?" questioned the bluenette, looking up at his beau. The other man flinched slightly, as he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings.
"Tiny houses." Alois answered with sparkling eyes. "You can put a bunch of them in a small amount of space. They're like apartments, but you can make them out of almost anything!"
"Maximum utilization of materials with minimum occupation of space? Interesting concept."
"Yeah, but I wouldn't put a bunch together. That would be ungodly. Think of the lack of privacy!"
"Can't say I can. My house has always been too big for the amount of people inside." the Watchdog commented, prompting the other to roll his eyes before starting the climb down.
"I'm not clever enough to design these." Alois stated, electing to ignore the attitude of the man who has been rich all his life. "Feasibly, I think it could be done and people could live rather comfortably in them. Unfortunately, a bad design would make them intolerable."
"Then hire someone who can design them."
"I want to talk to the others on the project first before I do anything." the menace stated. "Sometimes, for the places we have absolutely no ideas for, we just ask the people who are gonna live there what they would do with it. You'd be surprised how many places look like they'd make a good house to these people. Some even ask if they can just convert it into one themselves like they did in Gehenna."
"The only problem I can see with that is acquiring materials." Ciel said. "Though I'd be curious to see what would happen if you just let them loose."
"I've been talking about that too." grinned the blonde, setting the book in his hand on a table. "Sorry, did you need something? I got sort of sidetracked..."
"It's alright." chuckled his beau. "I was wondering how you feel about possibly taking Luka to school and back for a few days. Sebastian wants to go check out the 'Manchester' situation."
"Sure. I don't mind. I don't think I have any meetings that come up around those times."
"Fantastic." the blue Phantomhive said. "That's all I really needed. Feel free to keep telling me about your ideas, though. I love how interested you are in this." Pulling out a chair, he sat down and got comfortable. "You just light up and it's really great."
Blushing, the other man sat down as well. "You like the weirdest things about me..."
"I don't think that's weird. Shouldn't you be interested in what's important to your spouse? You're so energetic and enthusiastic about it. Of course I like that."
"Well, it's probably better than having someone who has no interests at all." Alois replied. "Seriously. People like that exist. I don't know what they do all the time. There were plenty of them at school."
"I know. I taught them. I was constantly amazed by how people can use so many words to say nothing at all. It's a skill."
"I do believe that it's called 'bullshitting'."
"Is that somehow different?"
"Could be. Being boring and being a bullshitter can be mutually exclusive, but not always." presented the menace, realising just how close their faces had gotten. Blinking at the discovery, he kissed the tip of the other man's nose before pulling back. "Most of the time, I have no idea what's going on in those meetings I go to, come to think of it. I mostly just spout stuff while people who like, actually know shit about building and city planning do most of the talking."
"That's why they were hired in the first place." Ciel replied. "You're still important. Who do you think knows more about what people in Gehenna want and need? Who is their public relations guy?"
"Me." Alois grinned, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head.
"Precisely. You're amazing."
"Flattery will get you everywhere..."
A/N: This entire chapter was mostly me just getting into the stuff with Sebastian. Everything else wasn't as important. Thus the abrupt ending.
Ah... I think I need a day off, soon... Even on the days that I don't post, I worry about posting. I need a nap.
I got a question tho:
"I'm very late with this, but in DLTD Ciel had an incantation to bypass a barrier and it said "Deus serve mihi. Tutela meus viscus ex vulnero, tutela meus animus ex malum. Contego mihi ex hostium." This translated to "God has done for me. Care my flesh of their wounds and the protection of the Lord my soul from evil. Shield me from the enemy." Nice use of irony, even though I'm at least two years late. Is it fine for me to say that? I'm Christian, myself..." by raynaheart23
I know what you're talking about, but I don't remember the original intent at all! It could have been for the purpose of irony, or maybe I was just trying to do the thing where "it sounds cool if you don't look too close." I have no idea anymore... Sometimes I sneak in nonsense phrases that make absolutely no sense on purpose. I think a while back, there was some Norwegian that just said something like "This is bad Norwegian," or "This is translated bad" or something. The joke being that most people would kinda skip over it or not bother to translate it. I feel like I should add more easter eggs like that.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
