A/N|| Sorry this took so long! I've had a lot of stuff to do recently. But, this chapter is longer-ish, so hopefully, you all can enjoy this. I'd like to shout out to my first reviewer; to answer your question now, it's somewhat of a realistic fiction, if that makes sense? So yes, something can affect Sebastian and Ciel, and the answer to that shall be revealed in time.

Another shout out I'd like to make is for Suddenjami, who has reminded me to finish the first chapter several times; she is another author in , check out her stories!

Okay, one last thing before you read. Sebastian and Ciel might be a little OOC [out of character] in this chapter. Enough said, go read, enjoy, comment, review, and favorite~

Chapter One || His Butler, Brusque

"You're in charge while we're gone," Sebastian said to the three servants after Ciel was inside of the carriage. Honestly, I hope that they don't blow the whole manor up…

"Yes Sir," the three cried in unison, saluting to Sebastian before he turned away and briefly told the carriage person where they would be heading. Soon, they were off.

"Sebastian."

"Yes?"

"You asked me if I was alright this morning. There's something that's bothering me."

"Oh? So you would like to talk about it now, My Lord?"

Ciel's pale lips thinned slightly as he sat back, easing himself into the plush cushions that lined the carriage. "Do you know anything about it?" He asked dully for a moment, before casting a acute glare at the red eyed man. It was quite obvious that Ciel wanted nothing to do with this, yet now he felt even worse, especially after going outside. And yet, he still had no clue of what this was all about.

A small smile curved on Sebastian's pale face before he then spoke. "You see, My Lord, us demons do not waver easily, as you may know already, yet neither of us have been feeling well… This could only mean that-"

Suddenly, there was a bump in the road, and a jolt, until the carriage stopped. With a small sigh, Sebastian rose from his seat, and opened the carriage door. The intensity from the brief conversation dissipated into the air, as Ciel stepped outside, raising his arm to block the sunlight. The reflection from the snow was definitely not helping him In fact, it only intensified the sun's scrutiny.

"Hey, hey you! What do you think you're-"

"Sorry for this miscommunication, Sir, but my Master and I have come to look up on the case of the disappearances," Sebastian said, nodding at the guard that stood outside of the building. He was frowning ever so slightly, though it wasn't very obvious, especially because the shade masked his facial expressions all together. His darker toned eyes were calm, though they held a slight gleam, the somewhat taunting-like gleam that he usually had whenever he was angry, or perhaps slightly bemused.

The guard looked all the more baffled though. "This area is restricted to the Scotland Yard, as they are investigating the crime scene," he affirmed.

"Crime scene?" Ciel asked boredly with a raised eyebrow. Blinking, Ciel then realized that they weren't at the right location. Instead, they had somehow gotten to this place, the square, rather than the abandoned road that led out of the city. So, why were they here?

The guard stared down at the blue haired boy with a slight frown on his face; he looked anything but shocked at this. "The crime scene about the odd animals; there's been another mishap in the last hour or so. I'd advise that you two leave so we can conduct our business. Now run along, this isn't a place for young boys."

Ciel was just about to open his mouth to retort a reply, yet he was beaten. Sebastian stared at the guard for a moment, and then replied," We have helped the Scotland yard on numerous accounts previously. And plus it appears that you haven't found anything yet..." Ciel didn't bother to look up at his butler; he wasn't the least impressed by his butler's skills in his speech; he was still fuming on being called a boy still. "Then let's go, and not dwindle all day," he replied in a bored tone, as he then began to walk forward, brusquely brushing past the guard and further onto the road. After a few steps, he froze, then stared at the sight before him.

In the courtyard before them, were scratch markings, almost like scorch markings, even, all across the ground. The stone ground itself seemed to sizzle, and slicks of oil made the already stagnant air smell horrendous, like a gas-like substance. The air was seemingly frigid all together though, from the still slow that resided in the corners of the square.

"Ah. So it appears that this is the crime scene. Not exactly helpful, now, is it, My Lord?" Sebastian asked as he halted besides Ciel, the corners of his mouth pinched downwards. The butler himself gazed around, with his dark ruby hued visionaries glinting, as he caught sight of the black sludge. With one of his hands, the tall butler then used his index finger, rubbing it onto the ground. When he was satisfied with the black sample he had collected, he rubbed his index finger to his thumb, sniffing the substance. "Oil."

But Ciel ignored him, as he approached one of the corners opposing the entrance of the square. There was something rather peculiar in the snow that glinted, though it was somewhat submerged within the shadows, so that that the glint was only barely seen by those who weren't wary.

Prodding the piece out of the snow, it was revealed to be a small piece of metal, sharp edged and shiny. It clattered upon contact on the ground, sending a high pitched ring throughout the area. Ciel winced slightly, flinching. Sebastian though, came to his master's side as soon as he had seen Ciel prodding at the mysterious object.

"Stainless steel." Sebastian announced with a small frown, as he stooped down to pick up the metallic piece and observe it with such scrutiny. "Such a piece could only mean some type of machine."

"Hey, what do you have there?" An officer yelled across the square, as he sprinted towards the duo. As soon as he halted, he was out of breath. "Oh… T-that's just a… scrap… of some carriage, or jewelry… I'm sure."

"And what makes you say that?" Ciel asked, raising one of his eyebrows, turning to face the man. The young Phantomhive glared at the officer, waiting somewhat impatiently for him to catch his breath.

"There was a ball last night, here, Sirs." The brown haired officer replied, straightening his posture as he recovered from his out-of-breath state. "You see, in this building behind you, there was around two hundred people, around ninety couples attending. The party itself was thrown for the discovery of a sole artifact that no one has ever deemed to find; one of Da Vinci's journals. It was an excellent find. It had been found a couple of months ago, yet it took a long time to recover all of the missing pages. There are still a few missing from the journal."

"Da Vinci's journals, hm? I suppose that it had many inventions within it. It's a very special scientific engineering find." Sebastian commented as he stepped forward, shoving his hand into his black suit pocket.. "Do you happen to have the journal? It would serve very well as evidence."

"Unfortunately, no. The book has gone missing after last night's party, after the attack. It was being carried in a carriage with Mr. Waters and it was encased in a heavily padlocked box. Just as the carriage was about to depart, someone attacked the carriage, leaving it to shambles. Mr. Waters, sadly, did not live. He was taken to get an autopsy after the accident." The officer closed his dark brown eyes for a moment, letting out a huff of steam from his mouth, since the weather still was quite frigid. He was obviously a rookie, as more experienced officers likely would have interrogated the duo on the scene and they wouldn't give out information as easily. "The name is William Larks, by the way. If you need anything else Sirs, please, let me know."

Well, that was certainly unusual, and neither Sebastian nor Ciel needed to sound this out. It was clear that at least the work of this leg of the mystery would be eased. Now, they just needed to get their facts straight and figure out the mystery. "My Lord, I believe that it is time to return to the manor." Sebastian murmured with a simple gesture towards the carriage.

Without another word, Ciel began to walk towards the carriage, with his cane clicking against the ground. Thoughts buzzed in his already aching head, but being strong and proud, Ciel continued on, heading into the carriage, head high. Even after Sebastian noted their farewell to Mr. Larks and sat across from Ciel in the carriage, all was silent except for the groan of the wooden box and the slam of the carriage door.. The carriage jolted forward as the horses began to trot forward, their dark colored hooves clicking against the cobblestone.

Sebastian turned to gaze at Ciel, watching the young head of the Phantomhive family dully toy with the decorative handle on his cane. "Let me see it." He commanded to Sebastian, without looking up.

"Of course." The tall butler replied with a smug smile, as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the small shard of metal. It glinted mysteriously in the dim light that filtered through the cracks of the door. "But please do be careful, my Lord, it is sharp."

With a small snort, Ciel inspected the piece of metal with such scrutiny, that it would appear that he would be having a staring contest with an eagle. An eagle, with a cold steely gaze, with emotionless black pupils, with a yellow copper color fanfare behind it. "It appears to be steel." He finally muttered, agreeing with Sebastian's earlier statement.. "And by the looks of it, it came off of something rather large…"

"-And that is what we must find out. I believe that it must be a part of some machine, perhaps even mechanical. There certainly were oil slick markings on the ground, now wasn't there? That means that it is most likely a machine, one that possesses quite a bit of mobility, and also strength. But obviously, it seems to be a prototype, or else, why would a prefectioned machine be leaking so much oil?" Sebastian murmured out loud, placing his clean alabaster glove beneath his chin.

"-that can only mean that it is a mere prototype, assuming that we are correct about this being a machine."

Ciel nodded silently, his head bobbing up and down slowly. "What are you still doing here? Get going." The teen said demandingly, as his grip continued to constrict around the top of the cane.

"Of course, my Lord." Sebastian said, as he opened the door, and leaped out of the carriage, and disappeared, leaving Ciel alone to his own thoughts.