Ok! So I thought I'd take a moment to chat about some of the things you guys have mentioned in your reviews!
Paxloria! Your comment was very interesting! The answer is a bit complicated though.
There are 2 parts to that answer. The more simple part is that Ciel is used to keeping anything related to Sebastian to himself. Remember that usually in therapy he didn't speak at all. He didn't want the therapist to get involved in the first place, he just spoke out in a moment of weakness. He has never tried or wanted to try to prove Sebastian's existence to anyone but himself, and one of the problems is that when it comes to Sebastian he really can't trust himself.
The second part to the answer is a bit more complicated. The truth is that there were many ways they could have tried, but even though Ciel wants to know if Sebastian is real, a part of him is too afraid that he isn't real, so he unconsciously never tries too hard. He just kind of lets it go. He doesn't realize it himself, but he never lies awake thinking about different things they could try out he just kinda suffers in silence.
Now, for Promocat! Here are 5 fun facts about Ciel's father:
1) Only visits around twice a year.
2) Visits every other Christmas, misses every birthday.
3) Each birthday, sends Ciel a board game (this will be acknowledge later in this chapter). Honestly he just asks his secretary to get something for him, and she isn't very creative.
4) The one time he tried to "bond" with his son was when he took him to a work meeting when the boy turned 10, as was mentioned in the previous chapter. He spent the entire time completely ignoring him, which was exactly what Ciel expected, and in preparation for that day was how his and Sebastian's signing system was born.
5) Sebastian knew almost nothing about the man until Ciel was around 4 years old (that's 3 years of being practically non existent!)
So that's that! Any other thoughts you have I'll be happy to chat about!
After school, Ciel was in a particularly good mood. He had been able to spend most classes playing catch with his eraser and Sebastian. He laughed at the memory of his fellow classmates looking confused at the fact that thin air was returning the object to Ciel, before convincing themselves that it was a trick from the light and it was just bouncing off the wall.
"You need to be more careful." Sebastian chided.
"Hey you threw it back!"
"There wasn't much else to do."
They walked past the area where the black haired kid had been.
"I wonder if he'll go to school on monday." Ciel mused.
"If he does, it better be with the right attitude." The demon said with a light yet threatening tone.
"Do you think he'll tell everyone that I beat him up?"
"You are much smaller than him, it would ruin his pride to say that."
"You're probably right." Ciel looked at his arm and felt his not very developed muscles. "Do you think I could take him on?"
"No."
"Sheesh how direct."
Then something changed. Ciel felt a pair of arms around his stomach before he found himself leaping into the air. The boy gasped as he watched the spot of pavement where they had been standing be suddenly crushed to bits.
Ciel concluded that they had just been attacked by the demon Sebastian had warned him about.
Sebastian landed on a tree branch, quickly getting a better hold of Ciel. The boy threw his arms around the demon's neck, not surprised when Sebastian jumped again, seconds before the tree branch was destroyed.
This repeated itself two more times before Sebastian stopped moving. Ciel lifted his head, heartbeat fast, as he tried to see what Sebastian was looking at.
Dust from the destruction was floating around. Out of it, a silhouette emerged. Sebastian's eyes shone dangerously. He put Ciel down, before stepping before him and shielding him with his arm. The message was clear: stay back.
As the dust cleared, the demon's form was revealed. He looked a bit like Sebastian: same height, hair color, skin tone, and clothes. His face and hairstyle were different, and he was wearing glasses.
The demon was walking towards them, seeming not to care about Sebastian's hostility. He stopped a few meters away from the pair.
Ciel's mind was working in overload. Sebastian had been able to see him before, but now he was allowing Ciel to do the same. Why? And why was he risking a fight?
Then quick as thunder the suspense ended. The demon gave a tiny move which Sebastian mirrored and had them both meeting halfway, engaging in battle. Ciel's eyes widened as he watched. They were sometimes in mid air, sometimes on the ground. Then they began moving from one side to the other until they were out of sight. Ciel just stood there, heart pounding, not knowing what to do or expect.
Sebastian… Damn it, Sebastian!... Don't you dare let him beat you…
Then he felt it: like a fan was suddenly blowing at his direction.
Before he realized what that meant, Ciel was knocked to the ground, something… or someone… pining him down.
His eyes widened as they register the strange demon's face over his. He let go of one of Ciel's wrists but the boy was just as trapped. The demon slowly let his hand go up Ciel's cheek, the boy pulling away in disgust. He snickered before his fingers took hold of the boy's eye patch. The demon roughly pulled it off, breaking it in the process and exposing Ciel's bright purple eye. The demon's lips curled, which brought a shiver down Ciel's spine.
"Looks like I'm trespassing on someone's territory." He said. He began to pull back his arm up straight, closing the space between his fingers, making a sharp and threatening point over the boy's eye, which widened in horror. "I should make sure to soil it properly."
The arm raced down but was caught inches away from Ciel's eye. A familiar hand had taken hold of the demon's limb and was crushing it in a tight grip. The owner made no sound of pain.
"You really are persistent." He said. In a second, the weight over Ciel was gone and the two demons were fighting again.
Before Ciel had even thought about standing, Sebastian was at his side, helping him up with a concerned look on his face.
"Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine. Are you?"
A loud and mocking laugh was heard. The pair turned to its source, glaring. Sebastian made sure Ciel was standing stable before he gave a step forward and extended his arm, shielding the boy once more.
"Look at this! How touching. A demon and a human: caring about each other. I can't help but think that it means someone doesn't know something important." The demon smirked and looked directly at Sebastian. "Have you not told him?"
Ciel didn't want to listen to what this stranger was saying, but doubt crept into his mind.
"Sebastian?"
He said nothing. The demon chuckled at his silence.
"I would have never expected this. You'd rather risk everything you've worked for than to lie. You must respect him very much... or maybe you are just foolish." The demon then turned his attention to Ciel. "There is only one reason why demons come to earth…" His smile showed his teeth. "… to feed."
Ciel felt his blood run cold.
"And what is it that we eat? Well human souls, of course!" The demon said cheerfully. Ciel's eyes were wide. He didn't notice he was shaking until he realized his own voice was too.
"W-what?..." He turned to look at Sebastian, who was giving the demon before him a look of pure and absolute hatred.
"Oh it gets better! Do you know why demons mark humans?" He continued with a teasing tone. Ciel felt his hand unconsciously rise to his exposed eye. "It's to "book" their lunch! To make sure no other demon will try to get a taste! I usually respect that, but with you… your soul is just… radiant…." Hunger had set in those eyes. "I am willing to make an exception."
Ciel couldn't believe what he was hearing. His mind couldn't possibly digest it.
"S-sebastian…" He looked at the demon before him, who was avoiding his eye. He was still shielding him with his arm.
Keeping his lunch secure
"Sebastian!" Ciel's voice rose in anger and a touch of desperation. The demon's shoulders tensed but beside that there was no response. "Have the decency to try to explain yourself!"
And then it hit him: there was nothing to explain.
"… it's true, isn't it?" Ciel whispered looking down, suddenly feeling an overwhelming amount of emotions. He couldn't breath. He couldn't stay there a second longer.
The boy turned around and blindly ran as fast as he could. Immediately, Sebastian's head whipped.
"Ciel!" He called out. He heard a laugh and saw the demon out of the corner of his eye trying to run after the boy, but Sebastian quickly intercepted him.
"Whoops. I think I've caused a bit of a domestic between you two."
An animalistic growl originated from the back of Sebastian's throat. A fight soon broke out.
It doesn't matter what Ciel thinks of me, only that you never reach him.
Ciel ran, breathing hard, wetness in his eyes. He felt scared, hurt, betrayed, confused, angry, worried. Too much: he was feeling too much.
Too busy with his own thoughts, Ciel paid no heed to the way his running was becoming sluggish and difficult. He only became aware of it when he experienced a sharp pang in his chest that made his knees weaken and had him landing unceremoniously on the ground. He curled onto his side, clutching at his chest in pain. His entire body felt weak, and he felt echoes of hits and slashes…
It's what Sebastian is feeling.
Ciel's eyes widened.
Sebastian… who is only after my soul
Sebastian… who has been hiding his intentions all these years
Sebastian… who is currently fighting for me
The boy forced himself to stand.
I don't care why he is doing it. The point is that he is fighting for me, and I need to be there.
Willing himself to stay standing, Ciel moved as fast as he could with his aching body.
"Sebastian…" He muttered.
Sebastian's breath was slightly heavy. He was feeling something he had not felt in a long time: exhaustion. He knew exactly what the cause was.
He cursed as he felt an echo of emotional turmoil that did not belong to him. He could also feel Ciel moving father and farther away. Sebastian's body was physically disagreeing with it. His movements were slower, his attacks weaker. He felt stretched.
Our bond it's at its thinnest and most sensitive now.
The demon before him gave him a particularly strong hit. Sebastian shielded himself with his arms, grunting at the effort, and was barely able to keep himself grounded. His eyes narrowed.
At this point, Ciel can feel everything I do. I need to be more careful.
He continued fighting, trying to avoid as much damage as possible. He was about to jump out of the way as he sensed another hit coming his way but suddenly his legs were not responding.
As the impact sent him flying, Ciel felt as if he had suddenly run into a brick wall. He was barely able to catch himself from falling back before forcing himself to keep moving.
I need to hurry!
The fight continued, the other demon seeming to be enjoying it quite a lot. Although there were bigger problems at hand, Sebastian was annoyed at not being able to act as nonchalant as he would have liked.
That was when he began to feel his strength returning. A sort of fire had been lit inside of him and he suddenly felt a lot more relaxed and dangerous.
Ciel is returning.
A smile appeared on Sebastian's face.
"I am going to make you regret ever coming near him." And the battle acquired a new sort of ferocity.
Ciel soon got there, out of breath but forcing himself to yell: "Sebastian! You better beat him, you bastard!"
Sebastian's expression gained confidence. His hits were more forceful, and the other demon seemed to be having trouble keeping up. Ciel's heart continued hammering against his chest as he watched the fighting turning into a dark blur, leaving him clueless as to who was injuring who.
A minute later, they both seemed to retreat. Sebastian landed gracefully next to Ciel (who was immediately angry at himself at the amount of relief Sebastian's arrival had brought him). His features were calm yet threatening.
At the opposite end, the other demon seemed more damaged. He half smiled half winced.
"Well this has proven to be as interesting as I thought it'd be. I will admit it is in my best interest to retreat for now." He gave a laugh. "Besides, you two probably have a lot to talk about thanks to me." He turned to Ciel, who glared in return. "See you again soon."
With that, he gave a jump back and disappeared into the darkness. Ciel continued to stare at that spot for some time before letting himself release a breath he had been holding. Although he knew his problems were far from over.
Now the main problem was that he suddenly felt incapable of turning to look at Sebastian. After breathing out, the boy looked down before letting his eyes close.
Did all this… really happen?
"Ciel…"
The boy tried hard to stay expressionless, even though his emotions were so twisted and painful that he couldn't even distinguish them. Sebastian had not neared him, and Ciel recognized that he was giving him space to not pressure him. This made the boy clench his fist and curse under his breath.
"Is it true? Are you only after my soul?" Ciel suddenly found his voice. He looked up, and his anger practically vanished when he made eye contact with Sebastian.
The demon's eyes had softened and if Ciel hadn't know better he would have said they even looked a bit pained.
They stayed in silence for a few moments, simply taking the other in. The distance between seemed huge.
"That is the reason why demons come to earth. It is the reason why I came…but…" Something in his voice changed that made Ciel's eyes widen lightly. "It's not the reason why I stayed."
A light smile grazed Sebastian's lips as he continued.
"When I found you all those years ago, it was your soul that captivated me so. It would be hard to explain to a human, but your soul is just… different. At such a young age it was already more valuable than any developed and strong willed adult's, and I was… fascinated." He paused. Ciel was hanging onto his every word. "I thought about taking it… but I reasoned that, with time, it would only become something even more extraordinary."
The look that Sebastian was giving him wasn't one of hunger like Ciel would have expected. Instead, it was very near to pure devotion. Ciel wondered what it would be like if he could understand what Sebastian saw in him and whether he would be impressed at all.
"So yes, that is the reason why I came to you. To devour your essence was my only intension… " a distant look set on the demon's face which took Ciel by surprise. "I never planned to stay by your side for so many years. I did not even realize it at first... time is nothing for my kind... it was when... in your first achievements... much before you had even a consciousness... you would turn to look at me with pride…" Now Sebastian's gaze was deep in Ciel's own, and the boy felt suddenly tired. "That was when I knew that I had made a terrible mistake, because now I was stuck. I suddenly knew I would not be able to leave you."
Ciel's eyes were almost half closed.
"So you see, it was for your soul that I came, but it was for you that I stayed. I wont deny that my nature is at every moment yearning to consume you, and that surely a day will come when I can no longer hold myself back."
Although his words were morbid, Ciel felt unaffected by them. Suddenly Sebastian fell on one knee, head bowed, eyes closed, hand over his chest.
"Until that day, please let me stay by your side."
Ciel stared at him for a long time.
You're literally asking for permission to kill me... He felt so emotionally drained that he thought he might never be angry or sad again.
"Ok."
Sebastian looked up with slight surprise (and concern) in his eyes. Ciel shrugged weakly, his head lolling to the side a bit.
"If it's my soul you want, it's yours." The boy looked up, dazed. "I have no use for it anyway."
"Ciel…" Sebastian's tone was disagreeing. He slowly stood up and dared to take a step closer to the boy.
"No, I'm serious." Ciel seemed to regain some spirit. "My mother abandoned me for alcohol, and I can count the number of times I´ve seen my father in the last 2 years with one hand." Ciel shook his head at himself. "but the truth is…I've never been alone a day in my life."
The boy looked at the demon, who in turn seemed shocked.
"So if a soul is what that costs, then it's fine by me." Ciel concluded nonchalantly. He began to walk away. "Let's go home; that cake has been waiting for me long enough."
Soon, Ciel felt Sebastian walking at his side once more. He saw the demon's shadow falling over him and he knew that even though it should be threatening, after so many years it simply never would be.
The moment they reached the Phantomhive residence, Ciel headed straight for the kitchen. He stopped when he noticed a medical patch waiting for him on the table.
"Mother…" He murmured. She was not at home. Probably trying to avoid him, Ciel reasoned. He took it gently between his hands and stared at it for a moment before Sebastian wordlessly extended his hand. Ciel gave it to him and allowed for the patch to be set over his eye and tied behind his head.
Once done, Ciel took a seat at the table. He let his arms flop onto it and laid his cheek against the cool surface.
"I'll serve a slice for you."Sebastian said, referring to the cake.
"Make it big."
Ciel listened to Sebastian take out a plate from the kitchen counter. The sound was one so common in a household, so monotonous, but to Ciel it was still so rare and important because it was Sebastian who was causing it. The sound of a plate gently coming in contact with the table made Ciel blink out of his daze. He slowly sat up and stared at the perfect and beautiful dessert before him. The sight was almost too much for his tired heart to bear.
"Let's watch a movie." Ciel said, taking the plate from the table and walking towards the living room.
Sebastian wanted to advice against it, thinking about Ciel's recent problems with his mother, but he knew that the boy needed the distraction.
"Don't forget about sitting again." Ciel said as he found his place on the couch. Sebastian paused for a moment before taking a seat next to the boy.
Stopping at the first movie channel, Ciel mindlessly stared at the screen. He cut a piece of cake with his fork and put it into his mouth. Immediately the boy stopped, looking down at the dessert. Sebastian watched as a small smile appeared on Ciel's face.
"It's delicious. I can proudly state that I sold my soul for cake."
"Ciel…"
"Shut up. I'm not complaining." He continued to eat, turning back to the movie. Sebastian watched him for a moment before staring at the screen himself.
Neither was paying attention to the movie and they were both aware of it, but the background noise was nice and gave the day a sense of normality that had been truly missed.
Once Ciel finished his cake, he set the plate on the floor. He noticed that Sebastian seemed to have the intention of standing and taking it to the kitchen, so Ciel let his head fall onto the demon's lap, efficiently making him stay sitting.
"He looked like you." The boy spoke, finally giving up on watching the movie. He felt Sebastian's hand land lightly on his waist.
"Lack of imagination."
"Huh?" Ciel looked up curiously, seeing Sebastian's face upside-down.
"A demon can take many forms. We only ever use our true form in extremely dire battles. It is obvious that demon copied my form and added a few changes."
"He was even wearing your same clothes. Although the glasses were a nice touch."
"I dislike him." Sebastian's tone was hard. "I'm disgusted by the idea of you being touched by another, specially a demon. He's also trying to take you away from me, and that I will never forgive."
There was silence as both boy and demon thought of the same implication.
"He could touch me…"
"Yes."
"Then that means… he's made a contract with a human." That statement was followed by silence.
Ciel let the buzzing of the television lull him to sleep. He was, after all, on a very comfortable pillow.
As Ciel fell asleep, Sebastian found himself focusing on the boy instead of the TV screen. He let his unoccupied arm gently wrap itself around Ciel's head. He pressed his lips to it, inhaling his essence and loosing himself in it for a moment.
Not truly awake, Ciel struggled with his sheets as he moved in bed. Once on his back, he couldn't help weakly opening his eyes. Feeling terribly disorientated, Ciel looked around his room and realized it was empty. A hit of panic went through him before Sebastian's form suddenly appeared.
"I'm sorry, Ciel. I was in the kitchen." The demon sounded concerned, but all worries had evaporated from the boy. His body relaxed and his eyes began to close. He felt a hand land lightly on his head. "It's Saturday, go back to sleep."
Ciel hummed in response before allowing himself to be taken once more by slumber.
The next time Ciel woke up, he was much more conscious. He groaned as he noticed once again how achy and tired his body felt. Usually what he experienced was simply an intense lack of energy, but this time it was much more physical. It was as if he had intensely worked out the day before.
"How are you feeling?"
Ciel's eyes fluttered open to look at Sebastian, but they quickly closed once more. He opened his mouth to answer but only a weak sound came out which would have embarrassed him if he had been in his right mind. Sebastian gave him a sad smile. Ciel then felt fingers expertly massaging at his shoulders. The boy's body went limp with relief.
"As I suspected. Yesterday's battle has taken a toll on your body, specially at that point when our bond was so stretched and sensitive." As he spoke, he continued to move his hands, going down Ciel's arms and legs, squeezing with just the right amount of pressure.
The pain was a lot better soon. The boy slowly opened his eyes once more and willed himself to keep them that way.
"What time is it?…"
"One o´clock."
"I can't remember the last time I woke up so late."
"2 years ago, after the neighbor's new dog wouldn't let you sleep." Sebastian said casually. He was moving back up again, focusing on a specifically painful area around the boy's shoulders. Ciel thought about the demon's comment.
"Can you… remember everything that's ever happened to you?"
Sebastian nodded. With one final squeeze, he moved away from the bed to pick Ciel's clothing for the day. He returned and carefully sat the still weary boy up.
"Then tell me something…" Ciel said, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes.
"Like what?" Sebastian pulled the boy's shirt over his head.
Ciel thought about it for a bit as Sebastian continued to dress him.
"Tell me about… the day I named you."
Sebastian hummed in response.
"You had just turned 3. It happened a few months before you asked me about my birthday. You had never had the need to call me by a name since the only thing you needed to do to get my attention was look up, but that day you had been introduced to Mey Rin, so I suppose it was when you realized that everyone probably had a name. You looked up at me and with your childish grace, asked me that peculiar question. I told you that you could give me one if you'd like."
"So it was your idea…" Ciel mused, wishing he could remember. Sebastian began to straighten the boy's collar.
"You didn't hesitate for a moment: you knew exactly what that name should be." The demon suddenly chuckled. "At first I didn't understand what you said, you may not remember but you had quite a hard time pronouncing the letter S…" Ciel blushed. "After I asked you to repeat the name once more I realized that Eba-tian was actually Sebastian."
He began to brush the boy's hair.
"I was quite curious about why you had chosen that name, specially when you were so bad at pronouncing it." Ciel watched Sebastian as he continued. "I asked if it was your father's name. It's probably no surprise that he was as distant before as he is now so I did not know much about him." A slight bitterness took over his tone. "Although I must admit that if you had named me after him I would be quite unhappy today." His tone returned to normal. "But at that point, it was the conclusion I had come to." Ciel was startled by the sudden teasing smile that appeared on the demon's face. "And what did you answer? You smiled very widely and said that it was the name of your dog."
Ciel was quiet for a moment before he found himself with his hands over his cheeks and his eyes wide with realization like the painting of the scream.
"Sebastian! Oh my God! That was the name of my aunt's dog that had just died!"
After the initial shock, the boy began to laugh. He laughed hard and heartily and the sound left Sebastian watching with a smile of his own. It was the first time in a while that Ciel had laughed like that, and it had them both feeling glad.
Once he had calmed down, Sebastian offered his arms to the boy. Ciel shook his head.
"It's already afternoon so my mother is here. It would be safer to walk."
"If you insist."
Sebastian helped him stand up, which was a lot harder than Ciel thought possible. Walking was at another level entirely, with his movement unsteady and his body feeling so heavy.
"Has the hall always been this long?" The boy muttered as he made his way to the kitchen with difficulty.
"The consequences of being rich."
"And having a contract with a demon."
"Yes, that too."
After what seemed like an eternity, Ciel caught sight of his mother sitting at the kitchen table. The moment he entered, she looked up and greeted him eagerly.
"G-good morning, sweetie!"
The boy found a soft smile on his face. He was glad that there wouldn't be any hostility between them.
"Good morning…" That was when dark corners crept into his vision, his body drained from the walk. He began to fall to the side, his mother suddenly standing with a slightly panicked look.
Sebastian quickly caught him, letting the boy lean on him lightly.
Mrs. Phantomhive just saw that Ciel had stopped falling but was not actually standing straight, which confused her. Before she could think about it more though, the boy blinked the darkness from his vision and regained his footing.
He took a seat next to his mother, who still looked lightly concerned, before greeting Mey rin.
"What's for breakfast?"
"I'm making p-pancakes! I k-know I make a mess of them sometimes b-but this time it'll work out for sure!" She said with determination.
"I bought groceries." His mother explained, her voice soft. Ciel knew she had done that out of guilt. That reminded him of something.
"Thank you for the eye patch." He said cordially. With that, they looked away and spoke no more of the subject.
Ciel was distracted by the sound of Mey Rin cooking. It was obvious that she was losing control of the process.
Right when she hit the bowl with the mix with her left elbow, and the process of turning around to try and catch it made her hit the pan's handle with her right elbow, Sebastian caught both items and placed them in their respective locations in a heartbeat. Mey Rin stood there, panicked and confused, while Ciel tried really hard not to laugh.
Miraculously (cough, Sebastian, cough), the pancakes came to be. Ciel happily added lots of butter and syrup to his.
"Get some fruit too."
Ciel pointedly ignored Sebastian as he cut a particularly large and gooey piece and stuffed it into his mouth.
After breakfast, Ciel didn't really feel like going outside. He signed to Sebastian that he was tired and wanted to head back to his room.
Once they were out of earshot, Ciel stretched as he spoke.
"Maybe I'll take a nap."
"You've slept too much today already."
"Yeah I guess you're right." The boy yawned. Sebastian looked at him, worried.
"Are you truly that exhausted?"
"Nah, I'm just feeling lazy."
The moment they entered the room, Ciel's eyes landed on an old board game peaking out from under his bed. He seemed to regain his energy all of a sudden.
"Let's play with that!" He quickly ran to it and began setting it up. "I'll finally give these things some use!" Although Ciel sounded happy, Sebastian knew how much history and anger was behind those words.
Every year on his birthday, Ciel's father would send him a board game. The boy would always receive it with a neutral look, but at night he would angrily hit his pillow and cry.
Sebastian heard an echo of a younger Ciel yelling.
"I don't want these stupid board games! I don't have anyone to play with!"
"Sebastian! Sit down!" Ciel was on his knees, looking up at the demon. It reminded Sebastian of those younger years even more.
He knelt down as well, on the opposite side of the board. Ciel took out all the pieces and parts that constructed the game.
"How do you play?"
"No idea!" Ciel exclaimed. Sebastian watched him as he read the instructions. The boy hummed. "It's simple, actually! Look!..."
They tired out different games for around and hour before finally settling down on Monopoly. Sebastian stared yearningly at a different game.
"Why not Pictureka?"
"Because your creepy demon eyes can see the whole board at once so it's not fair."
"That's why it's fun."
"You suck."
As they played, they started talking about the demon.
"We need to think about what to do next, don't we?" Ciel asked. Sebastian nodded.
"We have two options before us. One would be to wait for him to attack again and for us to keep fighting him, but that would not be advisable."
"Why?"
"Time is not a factor for a demon. We can hold grudges for centuries and feel like they happened yesterday."
"Sheesh."
"We have to take a more direct course of action. Maybe search him out and propose a final battle to the death."
Ciel frowned at that.
"That is not a good plan at all." He threw the dice and moved his piece, lost in thought. "What if we search his human out? If we break their bond it'll make him weaker, no?"
"His human was not there when we were fighting."
"I thought so… what does that mean? And how is that possible? I mean, we became weakened when distanced, so why would he not bring his human with him?"
"I'm thinking that their bond is different from ours. Weaker. It affects them less."
"Maybe… the human doesn't even know he's been marked…"
"That is not possible. To form a contract, the human must agree on it too."
That surprised Ciel. They were both silent as they each thought of different things.
"During our fight," Sebastian began. "I noticed that I am actually stronger than he is. What made us even, though, is that I have not done any fighting in 13 years. It is nothing for a demon, but it did all the difference yesterday." Ciel couldn't help feeling a little guilty all of a sudden."If we can break his bond, then it is likely I will be able to defeat him."
"Then it's settled. We'll go search for Claude's human."
Sebastian, who was about to move his piece, froze.
"…Claude?"
"Well yeah. We can't keep calling him "demon". It's confusing."
Sebastian's face darkened, as he finally finished his move. Ciel noticed his expression.
"What's with you?"
"Nothing."
Sebastian leaped from one building to the other, one hand holding onto Ciel as the boy sat on his arm.
They were trying to track down Claude's human by searching out the demon's essence. Sebastian would've rather not brought Ciel along, but the boy had reasoned that a human would most likely listen to another human.
"You don't think Claude will be with this person?" Ciel asked. Sebastian's nose wrinkled lightly, as if he had tasted something sour.
"I could find…Claude… if I wanted to, but since that is not our goal I'm staying away from his complete scent. What I'm currently following is a lighter form of his scent, which I presume is the marked human. They are currently not together."
"I wonder why…"
"Hm?"
"Well… if this person accepted to be marked, then there must be a reason. We'll need to understand their bond if we want to convince the human to break it."
They continued their journey, already quite away from home. Finally, Sebastian lowered himself to jumping from trees instead of buildings, and Ciel knew they were close.
The demon stopped at a tree in the courtyard of a large home.
"It's him." Sebastian motioned to a young boy with blonde hair and blue eyes who was siting on an outdoor table. He had a book in his hands, but seemed to be distracted.
"He wont be able to see you, right?"
"Correct."
Sebastian gave a final jump onto the ground and set Ciel down. The blonde did not even noticed.
"We don't know how he might react, also we are sort of trespassing, so stay alert." Ciel whispered before turning towards their target.
As Ciel neared him, he noticed they were similar of age. He stopped right before the blonde, but he was still unseen. Ciel looked at Sebastian for a second, who shrugged. Ciel turned back to the boy with some frustration.
"Hey! You!" He called out, suddenly at a loss of what to say. That was enough to snap the blonde out of his thoughts. He quickly sat up and looked at Ciel.
His eyes widened in what seemed like awe. Confused, Ciel couldn't do anything as the blonde sat up with excitement and threw his arms around the shorter boy.
"It's you! It's really you! Ciel Phantomhive!" This statement shocked both Ciel and Sebastian. The blonde pulled away to look at the other's face for a moment before a cheery laugh escaped his lips. "Look at you! You're so cute!" He hugged him again. His voice suddenly a whisper in Ciel's ear. "No wonder he wants you so bad…"
This made him snap out of his shock and violently push the blonde away. Immediately he felt Sebastian pull him back and take a light step before him.
The blonde gave a small laugh behind his hand.
"Sorry, sorry. Let's do this again, shall we? My name is Alois Trancy."
Ciel frowned, stepping around Sebastian.
"Trancy?" The name sounded familiar. That was when he remembered it as one of his father's competitors. As Ciel looked around the courtyard they were currently in he realized it was huge. This boy was also filthy rich.
What's with demons and rich people! Ciel thought in sudden annoyance. He forced himself to focus.
"Anyway! If you know me, then you understand why I'm here! Your demon is after me!" He said, frustration obvious in his tone.
"I know that." Alois's smile twitched, and he looked away. "I know that…"
There was silence as Ciel tried to seize up the boy before him, but there was too much he didn't know. The blonde knew his demon was after someone and he was ok with that? Was he ok with that? Had he been forced into the contract?
That was a place to start.
"Alois…" Ciel began. The blonde looked up at him. "Why did you form the contract?" It was not until those words left his mouth that he realized how personal that question could be. He needed the answer though, and he really hoped he wouldn't need to resort to force to get it.
"I do owe you this, don't I?" The blonde said with a sad smile. So he wasn't all that happy with the situation. Alois looked at the sky with a distant look on his face. Ciel listened carefully.
"He saved me… my father… was a bad man. He offered me safety in exchange for… helping him get someone…" His eyes landed on Ciel, who felt a shiver run through him. "He changed my life so drastically. I was finally free. I would have done anything for him."
The look in Alois's eyes slapped Ciel with a sudden realization. Ciel forced himself not to think about it.
"You need to stop him."
"I can't."
"I need your help."
"I know…" The blonde hesitated. "I just… I can't…"
"He's never going to leave me alone, and you know that. I'll never be able to live in peace." Ciel tried to keep his temper in check. Alois winced.
"I know! But I… I owe him!"
"You don't owe Claude anything! Your soul is already price enough for your freedom!" That was when Ciel realized that maybe the blonde did not know about that. A look of surprise filled Alois's face, but it wasn't for the reason that the younger boy suspected.
"Claude?"
Ciel blinked in confusion.
"Oh… It's just the name I gave him…"
Alois was watching him with an unreadable expression before a soft smiled graced his lips.
"Claude… it fits him…"
Ciel felt that uncomfortable tug at his chest once again. He clenched his fists. Alois sighed.
"I'm sorry about all this... I will help you as much as I can, but I will not break my bond with Claude. I know that is what you want, but it is the one thing I would never be willing to do."
Ciel and Sebastian were once again jumping through the air, this time towards the Phantomhive mannor. Their trip had not ripped the desired fruits but at least they would not be returning empty handed. There was still an unpleasant feeling lingering in Ciel's chest. Sebastian seemed to sense his discomfort.
"You noticed it too?"
Ciel nodded.
"Alois is in love with Claude…"
"and Claude will dispose of him the moment he has you."
"You don't know that."
They remained silent all the way back home.