Sebastian mused quietly.
That young woman around the sixteenth century. She had lasted almost one year.
The Inquisition cleric. That one too. Oh, that one had been particularly interesting for the sheer irony of it. He still remembered the taste of that soul.
Probably that enslaved man. But he didn't take even a handful of months.
Hm. Anyone else he could recall hadn't last so much as a full month. None of them had desires that extended longer beyond that, or were easily tricked into hastening their ends. Or were simply so boring he pulled some strings to properly fulfill their wishes. Or he was simply too hungry (granted, he was younger then. Much more impatient. He learned a bit more with each contract he made).
Then came his Little Lord. The source of his quiet musing.
He was currently sleeping soundlessly, an achievement Sebastian couldn't overlook given the severity of latest events and the emotional toll they'd understandably have on the Young Master. His small back rose and fell slowly with each breathing. Well, not as small as it used to be, in all truth. The little Earl was growing up visibly. It wasn't a human feature Sebastian could say left him in mesmerized awe, but it did have its interesting aspects, if not for anything else, for simply being the first time he was present long enough in someone's life to witness it.
Which was precisely why he had caught himself wondering.
It had been three years since their contract was forged. Three years and ten months... almost to the day, Sebastian realized. Soon, they'd reach four years.
A child, whom Sebastian first deemed so pestering and greedy, had extended his contract and his life for four times longer than any other human before him.
What a convoluted experience it had been. And still going.
He knew he could still be surprised with humans, for good or worse, but the things that he witnessed while in service to the Young Master surpassed not only expectations, but the very fabric of what he knew to be true. The insanity of humans, ranging from the most vile to the most innocent, now all topped off by that insane Grim Reaper (who in turn had been human once, too, and therefore was stamped with that insanity to begin with) and his experiments, the implications it might have on his long-running contract with the Young Master.
Sebastian mused quietly.
This human child had an otherworldly amount of responsiblity and bloodied history on his shoulders. It wasn't as if Sebastian hadn't been invested in the Young Master's revenge before - it was the conduit to fulfill Sebastian's craving, after all - but it hadn't been personal, of course. Sebastian was simply a pawn used towards a goal of which he'd be the sole victor in the end.
But now, as more and more layers of complications added up, he found himself irked and not excited. There were forces at play here that rivalled his own. That surpassed his own. And this human child was in the midst of it. It was his role to protect him and see this to the end - the Young Master's revenge.
All Sebastian had wanted was a meal, and he had found a very complicated journey towards it.
Before, he probably would have found ways to shorten this whole ordeal, but not now. Not after all the investiment he had poured into this contract. Not after seeing there was much more to this than he believed. Not after all the will, strength and rage this child had to lead and to follow Sebastian through it.
It wasn't personal, of course, but it was to be dealt thoroughly and decisively, for both their sakes.
.
the end
.
.
Author's Note: I got a prompt request so long ago I couldn't even find it in my inbox. I had another little prompt suggested for a Faustian Exchange event on tumblr 2 years ago. I decided to try and blend the two in a drabble because I'm starting to cleanse my to-write list.
Disclaimer at the end but obviously don't own Kuroshitsuji.
Thanks for reading.