Chapter 15: Obsto Pluto

Sebastien woke up a while later; whatever time it was, he didn't care. The first thing he checked was the boy sleeping on his side. He felt something quite wrong about him. His breathing was shaky and wasn't quite relaxed and also, the boy's body was just too warm… no, actually it was too hot in terms of temperature. He was sweaty too and the wolf felt quite uncomfortable having a damp feeling on his side as he slept. "I hope it isn't what I think it is…" He gave a gentle nudge at his forehead to check his condition. He instantly withdrew when he felt his temperature. "Fever? Dammit! The infection had already set in!"

Ciel stirred awake and emitted a weak groan. His body felt so sore, especially his right arm. The temperature was oddly cold too; and he felt heavy and weak. He wanted to lie down for a longer time, but he was worried about the discomfort he was giving to the wolf for using him as a pillow for who-knows-how-long? "S…sorry…"

"Why are you saying sorry?" Sebastien snorted and his guilt made a grand come back to make him feel ashamed or angry at himself. "This is really not the right time to get sick…!"

"S-sebastien…?" The boy gasped as he opened his eyes. When the wolf caught sight of those pained looking eyes, he felt another stab of guilt and he whimpered to show how sorry he was. "This is all my fault…!"

Ciel's fingers traced back the area where Sebastien had bitten. "The wound's… g-gone… see?" He cringed a bit when he poked the already scar-less area; despite it having no visible wound, it was sore and seemed to be swelling. He gave a weak smile to the wolf. "I'm alright… Nothing to worry…" He mumbled and pulled himself up but he went about it quite slowly since, he felt heavy and feverish. "L-let's go…"

Sebastien wasn't a bit comforted even though the smile was sincere. He emitted a whine of concern and bit the boy's sleeve. "Don't move so sudden!"

"I…I'm fine…" Ciel said weakly as he tugged his sleeve away. "We… we have to go…" He blinked his eyes hard and sighed shortly. He started walking but his feet shuffled a bit; his body seemed to be sore and throbbing all over. "I'll feel more pain if I keep on walking slow like this…" He thought. So he started to run, though at a slower pace and ignored the throbs of pain most of his muscles did. Sebastien circled about; frustrated. "Slow down!" The wolf quickly ran ahead of him when he saw the boy run. "You'll get dizzy if you do that!" He barked loudly to show his protest. Ciel was quickly disoriented with the bark; he stopped running and that made his vision swirl around as if it hadn't caught up with him and it made him painfully dizzy. He grabbed the nearest thing he could lean on, which was a kneeling bench, so that he could regain his composure. "I… I'm fine…" He gasped as he put a hand on his forehead and he fell to his knees.

"Be still, now!"

The world seemed to be tilting down that it made him tilt sideways too. He leaned his hand down to the floor in hoping to adjust his focus. In all honesty, Ciel didn't like getting sick. Not only because of that heavy feeling his body has and his disoriented vision and how every little sound became so loud; he didn't like people worrying about him. But the fact that he was really delicate and physically weak made him really something to be worried about. He didn't like that thought; he wanted to show everyone that he could take care of himself.

Sebastien barked again. "You're not alright!" He approached him and bit his cuff. "Go about slowly, will you?"

Ciel sighed. "Why are… you doing this… S-sebastien?" He looked at the wolf forcing him to stay still. "There's… there's nothing to worry about…"

"Stop lying to me that you're alright!" Sebastien growled a bit and forced the boy to sit down on the floor by dragging him down. He managed to do it easily since the boy was weak and a bit disoriented to be able to decipher what he was actually doing. "Take it easy, now…"

Ciel collapsed and Sebastien was obliged to be his 'pillow' once again; this time, a pillow that he could lie on to relieve his discomfort. The boy snuggled into his fur without any hesitation. "S…sometimes…" Ciel said as he drew his knees close to his chest. "I wonder i-if… you're… really a person inside a wolf's body…" He sighed heavily again. "…You could understand me very well…"

"Do you really think that?" Sebastien glanced at him and gave him a gentle nudge at the forehead for reassurance. "I'm just a wolf to the core."

Ciel giggled at the wolf's gentle poke. "… I wish I could understand you well… the same way you could understand me…"

Sebastien blinked and an awkward silence prevailed in the entire chapel. The boy had quickly fallen asleep before he could even finish his sentences. But no matter, Sebastien got his point perfectly and was about to sleep…

… When a door suddenly slammed and the turning of the key was heard. A demented laugh reverberated from the wolf's ears twitched up; alert and tensed in horror. He turned his head at the sound's direction.

"DOLLY!!!" Pluto's cried in childish glee as always. "MY DOLLY!!!"

Sebastien moved slowly so that he could stand up without Ciel's head dropping to the floor violently. Pluto had trapped them inside Iustitia's chapel and Ciel was fatally vulnerable.

The wolf readied himself with the fiercest of snarls and barred his vicious canines. If he could not intimidate Pluto to flee, he had no choice but to snap his neck in half in order to keep Ciel safe.

Pluto gave another childish and insane laugh; he was delighted that he had found his dolly at long last. He had found him before; he saved him from drowning underwater and left him in that dark hall so that he would be dry by the time he had finished polishing Iustitia to a glorious luster and pruning the garden near the front gate of the castle. He was so worried when he returned to the hall and didn't find his dolly. He searched the whole castle and even called Angela-dolly for help to search for Ciel. "CIEL!!" He was about to break into a run when the black wolf darted in front of him and blocked his path. Pluto's dog-like smile turned into a scowl as he laid his eyes at the angry wolf growling at him. "Doggy stole dolly!!" He growled in rage in realization. "Dolly is MINE!!! Doggy BAD!!!"

"What?!" Sebastien fluffed his hair into spikes and barked ferociously. "He's never yours! Ciel is MINE! Do you get that?!" He swiftly launched himself at Pluto's head and bit into his neck. The man trashed around violently and screamed in agony as the wolf crushed his neck. Blood gushed and dripped into the man's body and to the floor. The wolf closed his jaws hard around the flesh and bone and threw his head around in wild directions. The attack was risky, the wolf had to admit; but it was the only way to end the man's life quickly.

Pluto managed to grab his tail and with it, he was thrown off towards the aisle; specifically at Ciel's direction. Sebastien felt that his precious tail must've snapped at the force of the man's hand; but fortunately, his tail was intact though it was kind of sore. Unfortunately, he squarely landed on Ciel's body and bounced off to the floor. Ciel's whole body racked with a burst of pain upon Sebastien's heavy impact on him; air was heavily knocked out from him and he writhed in pain. The wolf immediately got up and whimpered in apology. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" How he wanted to embrace him and relieve his pain; but he couldn't do anything but show remorse with the best he can as an animal. Ciel looked at him and upon seeing the pain reflected in them, he bowed his head down in shame. "I vowed that I will protect you from anything. But what am I doing to you now?"

"…Are you… alright Sebastien…?" Ciel gasped as he pushed himself up, despite the protests of pain his body made. He surveyed the wolf's body and gave him a feeble caress on the head. "… I'm sorry…"

"Why?!" Sebastien asked although his inability to speak words refrained him from asking the question. "Why are you saying sorry to me?!" His question came out from his throat as a dog's whimper.

"This time…" Ciel pushed himself up; still wobbling out of balance but his determination was his strength to lean on. "…I'll protect you… no matter what." He gasped.

"No!" Sebastien whimpered and bit his cuff to pull him back. "Don't force yourself like this!"

"DOLLY!!!" Pluto cried in joy. "Found… YOU!!!" He charged towards them; footsteps as heavy and loud as booming drums in Ciel's ears. Sebastien didn't spare any second and dashed at the man for another attack despite Ciel's cries of protest to stop. The wolf ignored him and bit more fiercely; flesh and blood tore off from Pluto's neck and splashed the floor and the benches. Ciel looked on, terrified and stunned; torn in anguish and guilt of allowing the violence to happen. The chapel echoed with Pluto's screams of agony; the boy couldn't bear to see someone being hurt. Adding to that fact, hearing Pluto's screams gave him more headaches since his voice rang loudly through his ears. "STOP IT, SEBASTIEN!!!" He yelled finally.

The wolf halted his attack; the boy's distressed voice shamed him very much and that split pause made him vulnerable enough for Pluto to fling him off again. His eyes had closed due to the pain of his fur being harshly pulled off at his mane; the area where Pluto grabbed him this time. He had no idea to what direction he was thrown off; he was only expecting for the pain to come…

…But instead he collided not into hard wood or concrete. He smacked at Ciel's delicate frame; he definitely felt the boy's bones crack. It seems that Ciel ignored all sore and haze to run ahead of him and soften his fall with the only option he had in mind. The wolf yelped as they fell down together to the inevitable, concrete floor.

Pluto gave another demented giggle and clapped his hands together as if he had done a good deed. Sebastien rolled off of Ciel's body the second time; looking at the boy's beaten body made him feel unworthy. He felt useless and frustrated; especially upon realizing his limits as a mere hound. "If only… If only I…"

Ciel staggered up without a gasp or whimper of pain passing from his lips; he was now used to the throbbing pain his body flared up with. He immediately turned to the wolf. "Are you alright, boy?" His hazy blue eyes surveying the animal's body once again. He ran a hand over Sebastien's limbs; searching for any possible injury. When he was satisfied upon finding nothing, he sighed in relief. "Stay… Sebastien, stay." He stared at the wolf's crimson eyes seriously. "Any more falls will… break your limbs…"

"NO!!!" Sebastien snorted to show his disagreement. "I won't let you handle this… thing!" He bit the cuff of the boy's sleeve and tried to pull him back. But all of a sudden, the boy threw his arms all over him; a tight, warm embrace. "…I don't want to lose the ones I love…" Ciel's words were muffled by the wolf's fur. "… I want to protect you. I don't want to lose you…"

"I want to protect you too!" Sebastien whined; his teeth still fastened on the cuff. "I don't want to lose you either. I'm strong enough to do that. While you…"

Ciel gave him a stern look even though his focus bobbed in out. "Stay." He said as he attempted the same cold and dominating stare that he gave when they played fetch. "That's an order."

The wolf hung his head low and whined again. He let go of the boy's cuff as if in obedience but in reality, he didn't want to follow the boy's command. He was completely worried; sure, the boy proved to be daring at times but in the situation he is in now, his attitude does not benefit him at all. He watched the boy move to the aisle and offered himself to Pluto. As soon as the boy's back was completely turned to him, he silently prowled behind Pluto's side but he kept himself hidden. "Just in case he really needs help, I'll barge in…"

Ciel shook his head a bit to focus at his adversary; he took a deep breath and shouted, "Come and get me!"

Pluto giggled and clapped as an acceptance to the boy's invitation to play, or whatever his little mind assumed what the boy's invitation was. The man broke into a run towards him; giving him the usual 'cat and mouse' chase. Ciel tried his best to evade the man's lunges at him; though moving fast made him feel painfully dizzy, he refused to give up. He frowned; steely determination glistened in his eyes as he ran towards the altar. "Hope I could wield that thing…" He set his eyes on one of the poled candelabras standing on both sides of the altar. "That fire might scare and injure him a bit… Oh goddess, forgive me…"

He seized the candelabra the moment he reached it and swung it towards Pluto like a clumsy sword. His swinging of the ornament seemed like a miracle, or perhaps an adrenaline rush; he struck right at the man's neck and the lit candles that fell off set his clothing on fire. Pluto was flabbergasted and confused by the blow and the fire; he yowled in pain and attempted to put out the fire by blowing at the flame but it only let the fire spread more throughout his clothes. Ciel took advantage of the confusion and dashed towards the door; the only entrance and exit. "Sebastien, come!"

"Where are you going?!" Sebastien watched the boy that ran past him. "The door's locked! Oh no… he didn't notice?!" He barked, hoping to call the boy's attention to him. "Nice performance there, by the way."

"Come on, Sebastien!" Ciel called to him and seized the doorknob. To his horror, he realized that it was locked. "He… he… how could it…" He sighed in fatigue and frustration; strength was draining him really quick. He collapsed to an all-fours position; gasping for breath and vision spinning wildly. "What should I do…?" He took deep breaths to calm his aching nerves. "The key's with him…"

Sebastien barked at him softly and gave him an assuring nudge at his face. "We'll get out of here…" The boy smiled at him. "…We will… I know…"

Heavy footsteps pounded at his ears. He looked up and saw Pluto running towards him. The man looked really mad; no surprise there since he got struck by a candelabra and clothes and body singed by flames. Who wouldn't be angry with that? He eyed the boy angrily as he ran, arms raised, hands curled like claws and his teeth were bared like a beast's. Ciel was dumbstruck and on his wits end as he collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. Sebastien didn't spare a thought or two to dash and bite Pluto's hand; hoping to rip the man's hand off for a quicker and easier death. But perhaps the wolf was getting exhausted too; his biting power had slackened a bit than before. The lack of force from the hound's jaws was enough for the man to fling him away. Sebastien was flung towards the chandelier's supporting mechanism fixed on the pillar but he skillfully twisted his body around that he managed to land his paws on the mechanism; like a platform where he could jump off to go to the next platform. In this case, the next platform was Pluto. Sebastien landed on Pluto's back and started biting and ripping flesh from there.

Ciel noticed that the chandelier above them tilted out of balance when Sebastien used the mechanism as leverage for his jump. The mechanism's wheel got disturbed by the wolf's paws; causing the wheel to turn and slacken the rope supporting the chandelier. "Hmm… Why not?" A nice bubble of thought formed in his head. "If Bugs Bunny and anvils work nicely when the situation calls it, why not Pluto and a chandelier?"

He closed his eyes hard; renewing his focus and determination. That idea must work; now or never!

"Sebastien, keep that up!" He called out to the wolf in a commanding tone. When he heard the wolf bark in reply, it meant that the order was completely understood. He ran towards the chandelier supporter that Sebastien had jumped off and aimed a kick at the mechanism. He winced when one kick shattered the mechanism entirely; either his kick was really strong or, the mechanism was completely old… probably the latter. The chandelier tilted and hung completely out of balance. "Whoops… Oh well…"

He ran to the other mechanism but before he kicked it, he stopped in thought. "That chandelier must fall directly on top of him. I have to time this right…" So, he watched Pluto struggle against Sebastien until he moved to the spot where he wanted him to be. He immediately spun around and kicked and shattered the mechanism; a roundhouse kick at that!

… But something doesn't seem right. The rope didn't slacken the way it should've been…

… Epic fail… Nothing else happened to the chandelier.

His eyes widened in horror the moment he turned to Pluto. The man had seized the wolf completely off of him and was about to throw the hound at the altar's direction. Ciel immediately dashed in front of Pluto to catch wherever Sebastien was to land. He didn't catch his wolf exactly but cushioned his fall instead. Either way, it hurt a lot. He came crashing down to the floor for the 'nth' time with the wolf on top of him. He felt guilty for making the wolf work too hard. The quick and strong pulse he could feel on top of him told him that the wolf was completely exhausted; thankfully still alive. Nevertheless, he felt grateful to him. He realized how intent he was to save his life and he felt obligated to do the same thing to his faithful wolf. He sat up and held the wolf close to him in a protective bear hug as Pluto strode towards them. Ciel couldn't think of any way how they would get through the situation alive. All he could do for the time being was scoot back in retreat and protect his wolf from further injury.

…And then he remembered how awfully sore his body was and the terrible heavy feeling and the unstoppable spinning feeling, and etcetera. In Layman's term, he had just remembered that he felt ill. No, he WAS ill…

Pluto twisted and cracked his neck. His back, especially his neck, was full of bites and ripped flesh. He felt totally strained for dealing with the savage hound. Now that he had beaten his adversary, he could finally take his dolly without any distractions. "Dolly… back to bed…!" He growled. "No running…!" But when he saw his dolly continuously backing away from him, he became more frustrated. He let out a threatening roar and spread his arms wide; his own way of showing intimidation and warning.

But Ciel doesn't seem to take notice of Pluto's intimidation. His eyes were fixed on the last mechanism he had kicked. The mechanism's pulleys were emitting a faint squeaky noise; indicating that it was moving. He turned his eyes to the chandelier above them and saw that it was slowly lowering down. He checked Pluto's current position; a few steps more and he would be directly under the chandelier. The chandelier to drop on the man was the only way they could get out.

He didn't know what had gotten into him but instead of planning something, he stayed in his place and prayed. He prayed that the chandelier would fall fast and on time. He shut his eyes and prayed hard; his heart pounded heavily in panic and the loud beat rang in his ears. There was nothing else he could do but wait.

He could hear nothing but the heavy pounding of his heart. He embraced Sebastien tightly and buried his face on the wolf's fur; not minding the smell of sweat and blood he was inhaling.

… The chandelier's crystal ornaments jingled; the mechanism's wheels squeaked louder...

"UWWAAAAAAAAAARRGGHHHHHHH!!!"

… And a moment of silence prevailed.

A/n: I fail my fight scenes. And there is like, what, four fight scenes including this one. Oh... the torture!!! Anyways, we're close to ending the Pluto-stalker mode of the story. Nobody has guessed Lorenzo's equivalent yet. Keep guessing! (Though I admit it's only a mini-achievement on your part... sorry. Nothing epic about it...) A question: Do I have to push the fic's plotline faster? Just tell me if it's a bit slow. ('Coz I think I'm writing it slow...)

antitype-blackblood is my Muse. Her Kuro fic is awesome!

Replies:

Yana5 – No. He just looks like the goddess. His pretty looks will be much help to him. Now have a tart. (:D)

Anna-Jay – Many thanks! Now have a tart! I love you too for reading my fic!

Cielshadow17 – Don't worry, Sebby will always step in and ruin Ash's advances; and Sebby will never be late… just quite late. If not, whether he's incapacitated or sedated.

Chu chu banato! – Thanks! Things will be freakishly weirder and weirder further on. Now have another cup of tea and a tart… or maybe you could take a break from those treats if you want to. Hey, have you heard of the Kuroshitsuji musical? (=D)