Chapter Six
"I couldn't care less about who sent that letter... I hate going to crowded places." Ciel was saying as he, Saphira, and Sebastian made their way to the summer house.
"But maybe being away from the mansion is okay too, for a change." Sebastian said as they entered the mansion. "Isn't it much more peaceful without those four by your side?"
Ciel grimaced, but couldn't help but agree.
It was then that the trio noticed that the mansion was already occupied.
"Jeez, where did they put the tea leaves in this house?" A woman in red said while ransacking through a cabinent.
"I can't find them either." a Chinese man said.
"Madam Red?! Lau!?" Ciel exclaimed, eyebrow twitching. "Why are you here?"
The woman, Madam Red, turned to him. "Ah, he came back so quickly." She smiled at him. "Since my cute little nephew is in London, how could I not come visit you while I'm here?"
"Hey, Earl. I've heard that many interesting things happen here." Lau stated.
Sebasstian smiled politely at the guests. "We had no idea guests were coming, I apologize for not accommodating you earlier. I'll go prepare tea for you immediately."
Saphira stepped forward. "Would any of you like a snack?" she asked the trio. She noticed how Grell's eyes lingered on her hair and inwardly laughed. She remembered that the 'butler' had an obsession with the color red.
Madam Red's gaze snapped to her. "Snacks would be wonderful, though I don't believe we have met. I am Angelina Durless, but everyone calls me Madam Red."
Saphira curtseyed. "A pleasure, Madam Red. I am Saphira Nightray, a maid of Master Ciel's." she introduced herself.
The woman eyed her from head to toe, her gaze stopping on her dress. "Lovely dress. You have excellent taste."
Saphira glanced down at her gown. It was a sleeveless bandage ruffled black and red gothic victorian dress and fit her perfectly. "Oh. Thank you." She smiled at the woman.
Madam Red stepped torward her and lightly grabbed a red lock of her hair. "And your hair's such a lovely shade of red."
"Not as lovely as yours, Madam Red."
She beamed at her. "Oh, you flatter me, Miss Nightray."
"Please, call me Saphira."
At that moment, Sebastian entered the room with the tea. Saphira's eyes widened.
"Oh, I was going to make snacks! Exscuse me, Madam, but I have food to prepare. Anything specific you would like?" she asked the woman in red.
"Scones, please."
Saphira nodded and hurried to the kitchen, gathering the ingrediants to make the scones and a few small cakes.
/
Saphira entered the lounge just in time to see Madam Red smack Sebastian on the ass and grope him further. Giggling, she set the tray full of scones and small cakes down before moving to stand beside Ciel.
"Lets talk seriously now." Ciel said, leaning back in the chair. "I've heard about the case of the prostitutes being murdered on the streets lately."
"You mean what's been on the news nonstop lately? I know of it." Madam Red responded. "However, what are you planning?"
"This isn't just some ordinary case." Ciel stated as Saphira handed him a plate with a small cake on it and Sebastian placed a cup of tea in front of him. "The killer's ways are very special- No, I should say, abnormal. That's why 'she' is so concerned about it."
"What do you mean?" Madam Red questioned.
"The murdered prostitute was called Mary Ann Nichols. The wounds looked like they were from some kind of sharp tool, using quick cuts, with a painful death." The Phantomhive Head explained. "The police and other prostitutes call the murderer... Jack the Ripper. I just wanted to know the circumstances, so I rushed to London, too."
"Fu, the Queen's watchdogs have already been dispatched, but I'm not interested." Lau started, calmly sipping his tea. "However... Do you have the guts to go to the crime scene?"
"What do you mean?" the Phantomhive Head questioned.
Lau got up and slowly moved toward Ciel. "I smelled a wild beast at the crime scene. This murderer is definitely an abnormal madman. Will you be scared, Earl of Phantomhive?" Lau touched his cheek, leaning over him.
"I came because I was worried about my fiancee. I don't need to answer your pointless questions."
"Not bad. That look in your eyes is good." He suddenly grinned widely and pulled Ciel to his feet. "Then come take a stroll with me!"
"Wait a minute!" Ciel glared angrily at the man.
Madam Red huffed. "Seriously! I rarely ever get to have some afternoon tea with the Earl, but I can't even enjoy it in peace? I want to go, too. Lau, where is this crime scene?"
"Don't you know, Madam? Don't ask me. I don't know the way either."
Ciel and Saphira sweatdropped.
An angry tick appeared on the woman in red and she glared at the Chinese man. "You talk so arrogantly, yet you don't even know where it is!?"
Ciel sighed, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "Calm down. I know there has to be at least one person that's been to the crime scene."
Both Lau and Madam Red turned to him. "Eh?"
"At the time, many people gathered to see what was going on. But it's too troublesome for me to ask the police." Ciel continued.
"Then what should we do?" Madam Red asked.
"Earl... you couldn't be..." Lau started, as if he knew exactly where Ciel planned to go.
"There's no other way... It's bothersome to meddle in this case, but I can find someone who works on this case."
/
Saphira fought the urge to bounce with giddiness and excitment as they came to a stop before a building that said 'Undertaker'. She couldn't wait to meet the shinigami, to see him in the flesh.
"So, what is this place?" Lau asked.
Madam Red whirled on her nephew. "Why are you familiar with this kind of place!?" she yelled at him.
"Because the person Young Master knows works as an Undertaker." Sebastian explained.
"An Undertaker?"
"Are you there, Undertaker?" Ciel called as the group entered the building.
"Hi hi... I knew... that you would come..." a voice came from seemingly nowhere. One of the coffins suddenly opened, scaring Grell, and a man with long silver hair was revealed. Saphira barely contained her squeal. "Welcome, Earl... Do you want to see how it feels to sleep in my custom-made coffin..?"
Saphira stepped forward, her head tilted curiously. "Is it comfortable in there? I've always wondered,"
Undertaker turned to her and hummed. He suddenly strode forward and gently cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her face upwards. "Interesting." he murmered, grinning. "You're a bit far from home, aren't you, noble warrior?"
She smiled at him, chuckling a bit. "I'm not at all surprised that you know that."
"I know many things." he leaned closer to her. "I would love to hear your story. It must be quite the tale."
"Then I shall visit and tell it to you some time." she told him, smirking a bit.
His grin widened, eyes shining when he noticed the glares Sebastian and Ciel were sending him. 'Interesting, Interesting...'
"We didn't come here to play today..." Ciel said.
Undertaker released Saphira and turned to him. "You don't need to tell me. I know why you came. With just one look I can tell what's on your mind. Since the Earl went out of his way to visit me, I'll certainly do anything I can to help."
"You know something?" the young lord asked.
"Please take a seat firist, I'll go make tea."
Saphira sat on one off the nearby coffins while the others got confused looks, wondering where they were supposed to sit. Seeing Saphira's action, they copied her and sat on a coffin.
"Now then, you wanted to know about Jack the Ripper?"Undertaker asked once everyone had tea, opening a jar of bone shaped cookies. "Everyone's been scared because of this disturbance, but this isn't the first time I've handled this kind of thing."
Madam Red straightened, eyebrows furrowed. "Isn't this the first time? What do you mean?"
"It's happened before, a case where prostitutes were killed." He held the jar of cookies out to Saphira and Ciel, who had sat beside her. "Want some?"
Ciel declined, eyeing the jar warily, while Saphira happily took two. She bit into one, pleasently surprised at the flavor. She grinned at the Undertaker.
"These are good." she complimented him.
He beamed at her, smiling widely, before he continued on with what he had been saying. "In fact, the way they were killed was very similar, too. But in the beginning, the police didn't think much of these cases, though the murdered prostitutes all had something in common."
"Something in common?" Ciel asked.
"What is it?" Sebastian inquired.
"Well now, I wonder what, I wonder what it is indeed." Undertaker said as he closed the jar. "Is it bothering you?"
Ciel sent him an irritated glare.
"I see, so that's how it is." Lau spoke up. "You're very good at doing business, Undertaker. How much money do you want for this information?"
Undertaker gave him a surprised look. "How much money!? I don't want any of the Queen's money!" he told Lau vigorously. He turned to Ciel, grinning. "Now then, Earl, I only have on requirement. Show me a 'First rate laugh'. If you do, no matter what you want to know, I'll tell you!"
Ciel twitched with annoyance as the man giggled to himself. "Weirdo."
"Fu... Earl, if that's the case, let me handle this." Lau stepped forward. "The sleeping tiger of the Shanghai New Year's party, also referred to as my soul. This should satisefy you!" he declared. "Do you like it?"
Silence.
Saphira stared at him unblinkingly before turning to Ciel. "Is he serious?" she muttered.
"Apparently." the young Earl murmered back.
Madam Red walked forward. "It looks like he still won't talk, Lau. It can't be helped. Then I, Madam Red, a beauty of high society, shall make my appearence now. If I ask him, he'll be sure to tell us!" she declared
She then procceeded to tell a dirty joke and Saphira and Sebastian quickly moved to cover Ciel's ears, Saphira's hands trapped under the demon's. She glanced at him, fighting back a blush when he twined their fingers together. Her blush deepened a bit when Ciel leaned into her hands. An hour later, Undertaker had both Madam Red and Lau's mouths covered so they couldn't talk. Undertaker turned to Saphira.
"What about you, noble warrior?"
She smiled at him apologically. "I'm afraid I have no jokes." She did have stories, though thy weren't ones to be told due to present company (meaning Madam Red, Lau, and Grell).
"You're the only one left, Earl." Undertaker looked at Ciel. "I've helped you many times in the past... can't you be nice to me just this once?"
Ciel scowled. "Damn,"
That was when Sebastian smoothly moved forward. "It can't be helped."
"Sebastian?"
Undertaker grinned. "Oh, it's the butler's turn now?" he asked.
"Everyone please step outside for a moment. You absolutely must not peek inside."
Saphira grabbed Ciel and dragged him outside before the 13 year old could protest, Madam Red, Lau, and Grell close behind her. There was a moment of silence after the door closed behind them. Then there was loud laughter and the building began to shake, making everyone jerk in surprise.
The door opened once everythng went silent once again and Sebastian smiled at them. "Please come back in. Let's continue our discussion."
Saphira giggled quietly when she saw Undertaker, who was still shaking in laughter. She silently wondered what Sebastian told him.
"Come, continue." Undertaker laughed again. "Whatever you want to know is fine."
Once everyone was seated with their tea, Undertaker began to tell them what he knew.
"Actually, I've always thought that there weren't enough 'guests'. Gu fu."
"Not enough?" Saphira and Sebastian repeated, eye narrowed.
"Yes, not enough. Internal organs, of course. Don't you think that the eternally sleeping 'guests' that lay in coffins are so cute? My hobby is to take out the organs for research."
Lau set his tea aside. "This could have stored a kidney before, right? A criminal could've given it to a loan shark."
"It also could have come from the slums of China." Undertaker said, earning an angry glare from Lau. "That prostitute isn't a whole woman anymore. Because her womb is gone. Recently, these kind of 'guests' have been rapidly increasing. Their whole bodies dripping with blood, it's made me very busy."
"Let's just say that there aren't very many people out on the streets late at night," Sebastian started. "But accurately cutting out specific organs couldn't be done by a regular person, right?"
Undertaker grinned, resting his chin on his folded hands. "The butler understands well, I too feel this way." He made his way to Ciel. "If he had to act within such short time, he should slit the throat first." he said, miming slitting Ciel's throat. "And then proceed to cut open the stomach. It's easier to succeed this way. From the looks of the culprit's work, that cruel accuracy definitely wasn't carried out by a normal citizen. It had to have been someone experienced. You should've been able to figure that out too, Earl." he explained, poking Ciel's cheek.
"It's very likely that the murderer is an expert. Maybe if he knew you were here, it would lure him out." Undertaker continued. "He will keep committing crimes unless someone stops him. Can you stop him? 'The Notorious Noble' Earl of Phantomhive."
"The world of darkness has the world of darkness's rules. He wouldn't murder random people for no reason. There must be an influence manipulating him from behind." Ciel stated as Sebastian helphed him with his coat. "I won't be scared, no matter what tricks the Queen's lackeys want to use, I will solve them all. Sorry for intruding, Undertaker."
Saphira smiled at the long haired shinigami. "I promise to visit soon." she told him, retrieving a wide grin in response. She missed the angry glowers both Sebastian and Ciel sent the man.
The group made their way to the carrige, where Saphira sat beside Grell, who was driving. She smiled at the man, who eyed her nervously.
"You don't mind, do you?" she asked him.
He shook his head. "O-of course not, Miss Saphira."
"Just Saphira is fine, Grell." she told him.
He smiled shyly at her, nodding. "Saphira, then."
I hope I kept Undertaker in character. Next chapter is the ball :)