Hello again! Please enjoy Chapter 2!
Clarification about Kuroshitsuji: This takes place some time DURING the Kuroshitsuji MANGA. Ciel is NOT a demon. Angela/Ash, Pluto, Alois, Claude, Hannah, and all of the other anime-only characters do NOT exist. Lau is NOT evil. Snake DOES exist.
Clarification about the Infernal Devices: This takes place some time BEFORE Clockwork Angel. Will does NOT know about his "curse", and Tessa does NOT exist in their lives.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kuroshitsuji or the Infernal Devices. No matter how much I wish I did. They belong to their respective authors/artists.
Sebastian was cut off, as the tip of a wickedly sharp, glowing knife protruded from his chest. As the butler collapsed at the feet of his master, a man –no, boy –stepped out of the shadows.
"And by the knife of the Angel, I banish you to the hellish world from where you came."
Chapter 2: Rooftop Shadows
Ciel's hand flew to his cloak, where he had concealed a loaded gun. However, even the young Earl's trained reflexes under Sebastian's coaching were too slow. Ciel didn't even see the boy move before he felt a strong grip on both of his arms, forcing his right hand to drop the gun and his left hand to drop a certain unaddressed envelope marked by a single blood red seal. Finally, the younger of the two boys stopped struggling and went limp with defeat. His only movement was to slowly, almost passively, tilt his head back to catch a glimpse of the attacker.
Ciel's first, rather bizarre impression was that he was staring into a mirror, his own blue eyes reflected back at him. Of course, common sense and the lack of an eye patch kicked in, and he knew something was wrong. Yet he couldn't get the thought out of his head as he stared into the deep blue eyes, deep and cold as a frozen river and half obscured by glossy black hair. Meanwhile, the other boy was staring at the demon on the floor, prodding it with the tip of his black leather boot. Ciel groaned, irritated.
Mildly exasperated, Ciel repeated his earlier command to his butler. "I said no playing around. Get up."
His captor walked around him, still keeping a firm grip on one of his wrists and kicking the gun aside. "Your pet demon is dead," he said, a cynical grin on his face. "The blades of the angel never fail to banish the darkness." There was a certain air of arrogance and baseless self-confidence reflected in his voice that Ciel found extremely annoying… possibly because it was so similar to his own character. That was exactly the air the young Earl needed to assume in order not to be looked down upon amongst the nobles of London society. However, what did his captor have to hide?
Ciel returned the grin. Without looking down at the "dead" butler, he said in his best, most demanding and omnipotent voice,
"I order you to get up. Now."
The shadowhunter was slightly taken aback by what could only be called "charisma." The boy was magnificently charismatic, even when under someone else's control, even with his gun lying on the ground five feet away, and even with his pet demon dead. Was there something he didn't know? He did find it a bit bizarre that the demon wasn't collapsing and folding in on itself. Perhaps it was playing dead? The black-haired blue-eyed boy reached back into his belt to take out another seraph blade, expertly twirling it around his fingers before whispering its name. It jumped to life in a flurry of blue flames, a spectacle that surprised his young Earl. A shadowhunter and a child aristocrat, quite the comical pair indeed. One trained in killing behind the cover of night, blending in the shadows, never seen until it was too late. The other, a spoiled brat that couldn't lace his own boots, much less manage his own estate or wander into Downworld unattended. How he ended up with a demon under his control was quite the mystery.
The black-haired blue-eyed boy, William Herondale, a Shadowhunter of questionable character and unquestionable skill, smiled. This was exactly the kind of person Jessie would like, he thought, a spoiled brat with a piece of inherited dirt to call his own. He casually closed one eye and, after a small calculation, tossed the glowing glass blade at the perfect arc so it would hit the demon right in the center of its chest, just above his first cut. That's right, he thought, Let the foolish noble's pet's black blood coat the streets of Downworld. The young Earl was struggling again, getting nowhere and appearing no more than a flurry of scrawny arms and expensive fabric. Just before the blade hit, the boy ripped his eyepatch of, his voice shouting a single word, loud and clear.
"SEBASTIAN!"
At first, nothing happened and it appeared that that the blade would find its mark. The clean, pressed, white glove on Sebastian's left hand faded to black and crumbled away, as if made of ash. Revealed was a Faustian Contract seal, glowing ruby red. A corresponding seal was glowing blue on Ciel's right eye, a brilliant, bright shade of sapphire. A third, similar red light was emanating from the bloody gash in the center of the demon's chest, and the three intersected with a blindingly bright white flash, forming a tripod of light with the seraph blade caught in the middle, suspended in mid air. The blade exploded into dust and light, the fragments and shards of glass gently floating down one of the ruby-lit paths and arranging itself over the wound. Suddenly, everything disappeared, leaving behind darkness and confusion.
Ciel collapsed unconscious, suddenly exhausted beyond measure. Will had let go of his hand during the spectacle of lights, so there was no one to catch him. He was plummeting towards the blood-soaked cobblestone when….
…His butler caught him.
Will gasped. "I-" he started, shocked. It all made sense now. The boy didn't get a demon to listen to him out of its own accord, he sold his soul. I wonder what the terms of their contract were? he thought. His face turned from a look of confusion to a mask of disgust. "Demon," he spat. Then, moving with a Shadowhunter's lightning speed, he readied another seraph blade and confronted the Earl's butler. Sebastian, still carrying his young master, leapt out of the way and landed on one of the tiled London rooftops.
"My, my," the demon said, still carrying the boy, "You certainly are a hot-headed Shadowhunter, aren't you," he smiled.
Will repositioned himself in a fighting stance, his blue eyes blazing with icy fury. He climbed several pipes, before standing on another rooftop, poised and ready to strike. The pair stood in silence, silhouetted by moonlight, appearing no more than fleeting shadows, black against a snow white moon. It was the Shadowhunter that made the first move, easily closing the gap with a single leap. The demon, however, was one step ahead, skipping out of reach of the gleaming blade and regaining his footing on the a rooftop hanging above a silent street, lit by faint lamp-light. Sebastian sighed, putting up a mock façade of boredom.
"What a one-sided match this is," the demon said, imitating the Shadowhunter's drawling tone. "You know you can't banish me, don't you?"
"What do you mean?" the Shadowhunter asked. Though Will was trying to mask his surprise, the demon could still sense the boy's interest and confusion.
"You and your kind are called Shadowhunters," the demon replied, "not Shadowkillers. Have you ever found that odd? That is because you cannot simply kill a demon, you and your Angel's blades can only banish us. However, I am tied to this world by the soul of my master," he paused to look down at the unconscious boy, gently pushing a lock of his hair out of his shut eye, "and cannot leave this world until he allows it. He evoked the power of this connection by simply calling my name. Your blade served as a source of energy for me to call upon in order to complete my resurrection. Any other unbound demon would be drained of their energy and sent back to their home dimension, but I have a tie tethering me to this world," he smiled, giving a look that could have passed for 'rueful' "And I don't think he plans on releasing me any time soon."
Will stood, silent, before lunging at the demon once more. "Liar," he spat, redoubling his efforts. Only one thing the demon said was true; he was being hot-headed and headstrong. Not that it mattered. What mattered was killing the demon. What mattered was staying alive. What mattered was himself and Charlotte and Henry and maybe even Jessamine and… Jem. What mattered was Jem and what didn't matter was the packet of silvery powder in his coat pocket. And it most definitely didn't matter that Jem was lying in his white-walled room with red spots on his pale cheeks, his gleaming hair matted, his silver eyes dull. It didn't matter that Jem was dying…
Will made his decision in mid air, changing directions and hurrying across the rooftops towards the carriage where he knew Thomas would be waiting. Waiting to take him home to revive his delirious parabatai.
"I'm coming, Jem," he whispered, allowing a single tear to fly from his eye onto the streets below. Only on the rooftops in the dead of night was he truly alone. Only when he was alone could he allow his tears to flow. The tears that had been pushed down by layers of arrogance and walls of nonchalance, building up until they overcame him. Will punched himself in the jaw, his own way of punishing himself. He was acting like such a child, it was unbecoming. Thinking about his weaknesses consuming his heart in the form of salty, bitter tears made him think of other nights. Nights of sitting on roofs or bridges and thinking of his family, both biological and at the Institute. Thinking of hurting them, hating himself so much he wanted to scream. Scream an apology to Ella and Cecy and his parents and anyone he's needed hate, needed to throw away, needed to disregard. Still, he ran on. He would run to the end of the world for Jem, if need be. He needed to know that he wasn't worthless, that his life wouldn't end as complete mess he made of it. If he could do one thing, if he could reach Jem in time, he could die happy, knowing he wouldn't be reborn as a rat that some noble kicked. At least, not in Jem's eyes, and at this point those were the only eyes that ever meant anything to him- the only eyes he could accept meeting with his own. Somehow, he knew that the demon wouldn't follow him. Even so, he ventured a glance backwards, more out of curiosity than as a precaution, and sure enough, a single black shadow stood stark among the rooftops, silhouetted by a full moon, unmoving.
The butler watched the Shadowhunter elegantly jump from roof to roof, his master only just beginning to stir. The Earl's eyes flashed open, his contract seal glowing faintly.
"Sebastian," he whispered leaning closer to his butler. Ciel's voice was thin and weak, making him seem no more than he appeared- a young boy. Suddenly, his muscles tensed as he realized what was happening. "Sebastian!" he commanded, his usual air returning, "Put me down this instant!" The butler allowed himself a small smile.
"Yes, my Lord."
Well, that's Chapter 2 for you! Hope you liked it, please review/favorite/alert… Thanks to
-IggyLikesToExplode (Maximum Ride, right?)
-ToffifeeKat (nom-nom-nom nya-nya-nya *cue Sebastian cat rant*)
-Prisma Honeydew (honeydew = yum!)
-mmelomene (YOU WIN FOR FIRST COMMENT cause Beta5200 doesn't really count CONGRATS AND THANKS!)
-Beta5200 (lol thanks)
for your super motivational comments! They're giving me ego boosts every time I don't feel like writing….. Also… I'm currently winning my crossover war with Beta5200! Read her story Fairy Tail Evils Series (a crossover between Fairy Tail and the Vocaloid Evils Series) and tell us which one's better.
On a totally separate note, I will admit that Sebastian was pretty OC at times, but then again does anyone really know how Sebastian would talk if Ciel wasn't looking? Yes, I know that Will also was pretty far-off too at the end, but I wanted to try to show a different side (i.e. the "real" side) of him. What did you think? Did you like it? I promise I'll try to get better! In my mind Ciel was more or less accurate, but any constructive criticism is welcome.
Next Chapter: Blood is Black
Preview:
"Pick one! Your pride or your parabatai!"
"I won't work with someone I can't kill!"
Is he… no, he can't be… this emptiness… could it be…death?
Makes ya kinda want to come back, right? Next chapter promises to test the ties between our characters and maybe, just maybe forge some new ones…
Anyways, please review, fav, and/or alert… tell your friends… spread the Shadows of Black propaganda… leave a PM me so I can acknowledge the existence of my otherwise anonymous readers… if you're out there… please… *falls into depression*
Until we meet again!
DC