Thorns

Summary: AU. Sebastian, an aristocrat of the Michaelis family, one day came across a small, frail boy allowing himself to die on the middle of a pathway. Taking him in, he learns about the boys true past and his life-threatening illness.

Rated: T+

A/N: WARNING- A bit confusing and very creepy (for me to write anyway).

Chapter Eight

Even covering his ears didn't make the noise go away. It sounded so loud, the screaming. Why was he hearing screaming? He wasn't near anyone and there was screaming. Maybe he was going delusional?

Red eyes flickered as he gritted his teeth, trying to figure out what was going on. Sebastian was already worried since he didn't know how to get to Ciel, and now he could hear screaming that sounded exactly like Ciel!

His cart stopped all of a sudden, and when he questioned on what was going on, the driver started screeching before everything went quiet. What the hell was that?

CRASH.

Usually, his reflexes wouldn't have been fast enough to act, but before he knew it, he'd gripped onto the door and hung there as the cart skidded before deliberately dropping himself as the cart hit a wall. His eyes glowed as his eyebrow twitched; bashing his hand off the side of the wall and breaking it open, stepping out completely unscathed.

Looking at the main road, he noticed that his cart driver was dead; knife plunged deep in his throat. It looked horrible, but that wasn't Sebastian's worry right now. He wanted to know who had attacked his cart, and he knew the cart had stopped too, so it was a question that he really wanted answered.

Who would have been strong enough to move the cart, and from where it hit the wall, no one could have made it go that far. Was it some form of unnatural creature? A demon like him perhaps.

'W-What are you doing? S-Stop it!' It was definitely Ciel's voice. Was he in trouble? Was someone hurting him? He looked around for the attacker, but sadly he didn't find one. He, or perhaps she, probably fled for it the instant they done it. Cowards.

'Don't touch me! Let me go!' Sebastian furrowed his brows. The voice sounded panic stricken and scared. From the lines spoken, it could mean a great many a things, but Sebastian couldn't just think of the worst case scenario. He had to think of a way to get Ciel back. If he was being treated roughly, it wouldn't be good on his stomach.

'Don't touch my eye! Stay away from me!' his eye? What about his eye? Did that other demon want to do something with his eye? That wasn't good, not good in the slightest. He concentrated on where the man he had spoken to earlier said the Phantomhive Manor was, but he could remember hearing that it was quite a journey away.

'You aren't getting it! Let go of my head!' Sebastian flinched as he kept walking, listening to the shouts and the screaming. Right now, he could tell Ciel was probably kicking out at the other demon. That boy wasn't one to remain caged.

'W-What the hell… is that…?' Sebastian stopped moving, listening carefully. He could hear struggling, and it was irritating him beyond belief that he couldn't see what was going on! He started walking a little more quickly, focusing on his thoughts as he felt his eyesight adjusting to the darkening sky.

'No, NO! Stop it, STOP IT!'

He started sprinting, running a lot faster than he expected himself. He didn't like the sound. It was the sound of someone suffering. Ciel didn't deserve that, he didn't deserve any of it.

It was cold. It felt too cold.

Finally getting his face lifted from the bucket of ice-cold water, he started gasping for breath. His eye still shimmered purple though his blue one had dulled due to the water hitting it. It stung like hell. What did they put in this, salt?

Turning his head round, he looked at the male who was grinning a toothy grin before his eyes stared with hate at the demon who leaned against the wall, an evil smile playing across his lips. Did he enjoy watching him freeze? Did enjoy watching him being partially drowned? Did he enjoy watching him shiver and collapse?

"You know, I can make all this go away if you give the seal to me." said John, giving off a fake yawn as Ciel glared at him coldly.

"No. Sebastian will be keeping the seal since he deserves it. You do not." spat Ciel in turn, earning a boot from the toothy man. He hit the floor, hissing while giving off that stubborn expression. He would not give up that easily, they weren't doing anything too-

COUGH. SPLUTTER.

John raised an eyebrow, watching as blood dripped over his office floor in distaste. It was a pretty colour, but on a cream carpet… it just didn't go.

"Dip his head back in the water again. It's the fastest way to clean it up." the toothy man grinned, grabbing Ciel by the air and dunking his head back under, laughing loudly at the thin arms that tried to push him away.

If he could scream in water, he probably would have done it by now. The salty water went up through his nose and burned his throat and lungs. His eyes stung as he struggled, feeling a painful stabbing feeling as more water filled his lungs before he was pulled back out, thumped on the back and tossed on the floor. His eye flickered slightly as he tried to figure out what part of the room he was staring at.

"That'll do for today. Drug him and then put him to bed."

Everything in Sebastian's head went quiet. He couldn't hear the screaming anymore. Did that mean Ciel was no longer conscious? Maybe he was dead. He slapped himself before stopping, taking in a deep breath of air as he tried to remember where the manor was again. He thought it urgent that he got there quickly. He could sense a lot of pain, yet he could sense the stubbornness streak.

He paused next to a tree, looking at the large manor before him. With that one building, you could probably fit up to 4000 people and still have room. He eyes glinted as he focused on one window, watching a male stand there talking to another, who had a boy in his arms. Sebastian frowned. Indeed, Ciel was unconscious, but it was a question if he passed out or if he was knocked out.

Leaned next to the bark, he rolled his tongue over his slightly sharper teeth as he watched the second male walk away with Ciel, so it easily determined that the first was John Anderson. For a demon, his name was awfully simple. Maybe it was to hide the fact he was more than human?

Then again, Sebastian had a perfectly normal name and all, but people still screamed demon at him because of his eyes. Then again, his were maroon/red, while John's were brown/red. He still really couldn't see the difference.

Shaking his head, he straightened up, a smirk crawling across his face as his eyes blazed slightly.

"Kill the bastard, get Ciel back. Simple."

8 hours later

Ciel kept his mouth sealed shut, refusing point-blank to eat the food the toothy torturer gave him. His purple eye still glowed brightly, so there was no way his seal with Sebastian was cracking yet. Looking to the side, he closed his eyes and concentrated. He could sense it. There were two demons in this place, and one of them was instantly recognized as Sebastian.

He was in the building. Ciel shrugged internally. Sebastian must have taken the words 'stay by my side' very seriously. It was a good thing; it didn't mean he was alone. It meant that he too had a demon on his side, and probably a far stronger one at that.

Letting out a sudden yelp, Ciel closed his eyes when he felt his hair being dragged backwards and a spoon practically being forced down his throat. The spoon was twisted, causing it to clatter on his teeth before being yanked out. Ciel opened his eyes and looked backwards when his hair wasn't let go of.

"Today we aren't doing physical torture." said the toothy man, causing Ciel to frown in confusion. "Mental torture always does better than anything! So when you through this, I want you to have a nice, full belly just so I can watch you vomit all over the floor!"

Disgusting. Grotesque. Horrific. Those three words swirled round Ciel's head as he rolled his eyes. Mental torture? Give him a break; nothing could mentally hurt him now. He watched his parent's burn to death after all-

Paling, Ciel bit his lip. But what if John Anderson really was the one who murdered his parents? He could easily whip up something to traumatize him if he was actually there, but...

Ciel didn't now this demon's ability. They were all different, but all demon's had fast healing, sharp hearing, eyesight and smell, and if in a seal, can communicate with whoever sealed them even if they were thousands of miles away. After that, they were categorized off. Category one was intelligence. Demon's with this category can outsmart most with a simple twist of words and can turn mind games into reality if they can confuse the enemy enough.

Category two was magic and sorcery. These demons were very sadistic when it comes to screwing with peoples heads, making the unreal happen and making humans truly believe they are 'angels' when clearly they are not. This is probably the least common category for demons, so it is quite rare for a demon to have it.

Category Three is Strength and Natural Abilities. This is quite a common trait, leaving a demon to rely solely on combat ability or the natural ability they happened to have. Ciel could remember his father telling him once that he had tamed a demon that actually had an ice-ability, but that was another story to tell.

If demons don't have any of these categories, they're registered under 'common'. In under words, pretty much harmless until they get one of them. As a child, Ciel had always been surrounded by demons, but his mother and father ha a separate contract.

His parents formed a Faustian contract, which meant that they could have any strong demon they wanted under their thumbs and in exchange, sacrificed their souls. They had the sealing ability too, but they chose to give away their souls and then had forbidden Ciel from ever using a Faustian if he managed to inherit the family ability.

He preferred the seal anyway; it meant that when he died, he could actually start afresh. Sometimes he wondered what had actually happened to his parents souls. They died, but since the demons they made contracts with failed to protect them, then they should have been free.

Ciel clenched his fists as he was dragged off, confused when he was dragged downstairs instead of upstairs.

The instant the door to an underground room was open, Ciel started screaming. They were here, they were... were... their corpses... No... This couldn't be happening. Although they'd been dead for over two years, he could still recognize them. It sickened Ciel as he was dropped to the ground, clutching at his stomach and he vomited across the floor, earning a couple of claps from behind him as he raised his head weakly. John stood with his arms crossed before unfolding them, walking over to the corpses with a smirk on his face.

"Perhaps I should toy with them for a while?" he said, causing Ciel to snap his head up in dismay as he chuckled. "Or more simply, you could break your seal contract with him."

"I r-refuse..."

"Very well." Ciel covered his mouth, feeling the urge to puke once more as his vision became hazy. His attention was turned back to the corpses when they began to move, heads turning towards him as he felt his eyes burn. He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't cry-

"Ciel, my darling..." Ciel looked at the female corpse, trembling. This could definitely pass for a nightmare. He clenched his fist, shaking his head as he looked away from her.

"You're not real... y-you died..."Ciel stopped when he felt a disgusting hand that once belonged to his father cup his chin, eyeless sockets looking at his face with a rotten smile. He felt himself going green, his purple eye glowing brightly as it determined what kind of creature the 'corpse' was. It was obvious John was under category two, but it was still hard to cope with, especially when he was forced to suffer his dead parents talking to him and touching him.

"Remember what I offered you, Phantomhive." Ciel remained still, his eye wide as his dead mother hugged him weakly, flakes of dead skin landing on his clothes. He felt his eyes well up with tears as he felt his dead father pat him on the head and his dead mother whispering raggedly in his ear.

"We love you, our darling Ciel..." it was growing steadily harder to think that these corpses were dead. They could speak, they could move. They knew the right things to say to him. They looked horrible, but they... were being so kind...

"M-Mother... Father..." mumbled Ciel, unsure of himself as he felt his eyes dull. Just for a flash of a second, he saw them back in their normal forms. Maybe if he just let go... They would come back. Relaxing a bit further, they slowly restored themselves, but he suddenly started screaming as the purple orb in his eyes cracked, leaving a jagged line as it flashed.

"Ciel, just let go..." said his mother soothingly, her orange hair swishing across her now normal looking skin. "Let it all go... and we can stay together, forever..."

"Come on son, we can go play games again..." said his father, his hand still resting on his sons head as he screamed loudly. "You know you want to... We can return to being a loving family... A happy life, one where you won't feel tormented and you will no longer have to suffer pain..."

"B-But, Sebastian- I-I-I can't-" Ciel let out another dry scream as he cowered, his purple orb cracking again. He flopped forwards, landing in his father's arms as his mother held his hand tightly. "I-I can't... I w-won't... no... n-no..."

"Just let go."

Sebastian suddenly let out a loud hiss as his hand burned. He pulled off his glove and examined his hand, his red eyes glowing a dangerous red as he noticed the blood trickling from it. The mark was cracking, and he could hear the screams in his head. He clenched his head and then peered out from the cupboard he was hiding in.

There were still tons of people walking about, and he knew they would be able to pick out he wasn't a member of staff that worked here with a mere glance.

'I-I can't... I w-won't... no... n-no...'

Something bad was happening. H could feel the distress, but it was growing weaker as more time passed, the mark on his hand burned and then cracked some more. Did something happen to Ciel?

'Mother... f-father...'

Mother? Father? Weren't they dead? Sebastian could remember that Ciel had told him that his parents died in a house fire. He looked at the mark on his hand once more before he bit his lip. It had separated into several different shapes, but it still hadn't vanished yet. He still had time.

It felt warm. He felt the warm arms of his mother wrapped around him and the gentle pet to the head from his fathers hand. The pain had died down a lot now, although it had briefly returned when John leaned over him, grabbing his hand and placing it on top of his own and his eye cracked a little more when it got covered by the other demon's hand.

His parents told him to relax, so that's what he did. He ignored the shooting pain that went through his skull and clenched both his eyes shut, hearing a harsh chuckle near his face.

"I always get my own way, Phantomhive." Ciel snapped his eyes open as he felt something burning under his hand. Although he made a contract with Sebastian, it never felt like this. Perhaps it was because Sebastian was originally a human with a demon sealed inside him, but John Anderson was a full-fledged demon. It was hurting him.

"S-Stop-!" Ciel was hushed when he felt a soft finger press against his lips. He glanced at his mother, who was giving him a warm smile as his eyes flickered shut. John withdrew his hand and looked at the cracked mark that had been left.

"He's struggling." said John knowingly, turning to the toothy male behind him. "In order for me to get the full benefit of the seal, I need Sebastian Michaelis dead. The boy is struggling since he's sharing his soul to two sources, and his spirit is only strong enough to manage one right now. He belongs to me, so get rid of him."

"Yes sir." the man grinned, rubbing his hands together as he looked at Ciel with an amused expression. "Since you have the seal, are you going to drop the illusion and make him enter a world of misery?"

John contemplated it, looking at Ciel who seemed quite content in the two corpse's arms.

"No." he said. "I'll keep him in the illusion. If I do that, then he won't try to fight against me when I feel up to feeding. Although, I wonder what Sebastian's expression would be to see the boy he rescued sleeping down here with the dead corpses of his parents."

"You are cruel indeed, my lord." said the toothy man, rubbing his hands in greed. "I shall do as you requested."

John nodded, watching the male scuttle off as he continued to rest his gaze on Ciel. The two corpses he was manipulating and placing an illusion on were acting like the perfect mother and father to him. He lit some candles before exiting the room, a maniac smile on his face.

"Now all I have to do it deal with you... old friend."

A/N: This is the last update until Monday ^^ Hope you enjoyed~

Leave a review for little Sky? Thank chuu~

~Sky~