I'm sorry for being late! But here is the promised next chapter! Hope its up to standard!
Boring Disclaimer; I own no characters that are referenced in Kuroshitsuji, Pandora Hearts, or Nabari no ou! Other than that though the rest are mine and if you steal I hunt you down. I'm serious :(
The silence that followed wasn't one of fear, but instead of light amusement. That toxic drugged calmness seeping through the atmosphere forced itself onto the three, messing with their sense of illusion and reality. Therefore, the high tea continued while a simple conversation began over tea and desserts.
"Now Mr. Phantomhive, however respective the name is, I feel that it would be best calling you by your first name. Ciel after all is a very attractive name. I do hope that this also goes for you two as well, Miharu, Oz.~"
A flash of irritation swept through Ciel, but with both a loss of sense and a caution of the current situation he replied with a sigh, "Of course your highness, I do not mind being referenced by my first name."
Finishing his scone, Oz flashed a smile before giving a nod of consent. As he opened his mouth to speak though, he was cut off by Miharu who, slightly dazed, asked again the question he had asked before, "But…Who, no, What are you?"
The question threw the air off balance and Miharu was met with an incredulous glare from Julian. He wasn't supposed to think like that now, in fact, he wasn't supposed to think at all. The slip up seemed to prick at the other two boy's minds and as they both turned to Miharu, beginning to realize how ridiculously simple their actions were.
Unlike Julian, Malus took the surprise with delighted interest and chuckled to himself. These boys were just getting more and more interesting. She was quick to the point wasn't she, but such impatience isn't good for his entertainment so a extra few layers wouldn't hurt. In reply to his addition however, Malus was met with a wave of rage. Persistent woman.
The question was left unanswered once more as another voice slurred into the mixture.
"Oh, it seems like my lord is being thoroughly amused. Now I must say my apologies for being late sire. As the supposed first to greet, I was in fact bullied to the last in the line."
At this sudden intrusion of a foreign voice, the peaceful atmosphere was dropped and greeted with an uncomfortable sense of excitement. Perking up, Malus turned towards the man who had appeared through the rose bushed garden. The smiling slits on the mask he wore stretched even wider, even more sinister, as Malus greeted him with a sing-song voice "Hatter~ Come along and introduce yourself to our lovely new guests"
Everything about the man named 'Hatter' seemed to contrast: the fiery red curls which hung both loose and styled complemented the confidently smiling lips that stood out from the pale skin, the redness of his hair brought out a pair of ivy green irises, and his outfit completed with a top hat was an outwardly simple yet intricately detailed suit. On seeing Malus he removed his hat and brought it to his chest as he swept an elaborate bow before complying with the order. "Ah, so these are our new guests, how, adorable."
This new addition to the group was welcomed with all open arms- quite literally by Olia – but one. "Hatter's" presence was treated with a roll of eyes and a sigh of discontent from Julian. Now that you look at it, mused Oz, the two seemed like complete opposites. Julian had perfectly ruled long straight black hair, his eyes were a cold yet 'pretty' blue, and his attire consisted merely of a plain navy suit with a white ruffled collar. The only similarity that could be found between the two men is the age of the two. Early, maybe late twenties? Little did Oz know that since time wasn't existent in this realm, then age is therefore meaningless. The dismissive attitude of Julian was taken with little offense and to tease him even more, the other put a arm around Julian's shoulders, and pulled his face unnecessarily close as he spoke "Aw but it wasn't any fun without little JuJu. There were so many flavors, you should have came! Guess what I had? Can you smell the fresh strawberries~"
Julian, consumed in irritation, pushed the body off him and retorted with a voice dipped in sarcasm "I'm sure it was, and yes I do smell strawberries, but it's mixed with the stench of your breath so why don't stop breathing toxic in my face."
The King seemed to find this absolutely hilarious, and his shrill laughter filled the air, covering the taunting whisper Hatter finished with. An arm snaked around Julian's shoulder, gripping it with an unnecessary amount of force and yanking the frozen man once again into uncomfortable close proximity. "I'll breathe wherever I want JuJu, you should enjoy it."
Julian said nothing, merely glared straight into the green, or puke coloured as he called, eyes in front of him and let the glow of dark blue forming around the areas where the two came into contact speak for him. His opposites' eyes narrowed for the slightest moment before releasing his tight grip and stepping back, the irritating smirk once again permanently plastered onto his face.
"Relaax darling, you always take games so seriously. You need to learn how to indulge in the luxuries found in games; after all you don't know how long they will last."
At this, Hatter glanced over at the three guests, making eye contact with another blue, a blue which gave off the same suspicion, the same detestability as Julian's. Ciel had missed none of the details while choosing to ignore the giddy royal and to his annoyance, Hatter's smirk only grew wider when he realized this. It was a familiar feeling of aggravation. One which he found always originates from a certain butler of his. The movements, the attitude, even the fake grin which hid emotions and knowledge just for the sake of others misfortunes. And now, even the disobedience of ignoring orders.
By this time the laughter of Malus had died down to little chuckles. Wiping an invisible tear off the strange mask, he waved a hand loosely as if to fan away the humor hanging in the air. With his breath still slightly shaky he spoke, "N-now now. Let's not be rude and quarrel in front of our guests. Though sadly, it seems our time has come to its end. How about we start our game; you three seem impatient to say the least, and I'm sure Hatter is just the same."
As the words were spoken, the darkness began creeping in again, and as the chairs holding up the boys disappeared, they into the endless abyss. Everything was happening slowly. The ring of laughter faded as the figures looming over them disappeared one by one into the shadows, leaving only the three strange girls and Hatter left. Together the girls said their united farewells, changing only the names as they finished and followed their companions into the never ending darkness.
"Good luck-
"Ciel!"
"Little King!"
"Oz Vessalious."
They couldn't scream. Couldn't shout. Couldn't even try to cling onto the last speck of light left in their surroundings. All they felt was the weight of their fall, and now, all they could see was the Cheshire grin of Hatter watching their descent.
"So it begins, it will be a…extraordinary game."
The green eyed boy woke up with a throbbing ache. A hand went automatically to the source, his hip, and with a ginger touch he let out a soft whine of pain. He had to move, to shift his weight so that he would no longer be pushing the injured bone into what felt like rocks or concrete beneath him. With a sigh Miharu managed to muster enough energy to turn so that he was instead lying on his back while his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the new surroundings. Somehow he had fallen into an alleyway of sorts and was now just lying there, eyes watching the looming grey clouds above him. The air that entered his lungs no longer held that feeling of sick intoxication, and instead the crisp cold air clung to him making him wish that there was a blanket of sorts which he could crawl into.
This dream of his was getting stranger and stranger, and as the seconds go by he knew he had to arrive at a conclusion. It was a conclusion that he dreaded, one which the longer he stayed here the more convincing it seemed. Yet nothing would make sense if he arrived at that conclusion. So as he lay there, the speck of dread grew larger and larger until it pushed onto borderline fear, until he could fool himself no longer and the acceptance came like a flood which took his breath away. This was no dream. It wasn't a dream and he was alone in a world which threatened his life. He might die.
Though strong, the moment of shock was short lived, for soon enough the veil of indifference wrapped its arms around the boy as it always had and protected him from the thrashing emotions which threatened to break him. Instead another irritating feeling came to him. It was the feeling as if he had lost something. This feeling had been chewing at him since he left that watery prison. It was as if something had just been taken from him, something he took from himself and now desperately wanted it back. It was annoying because he wanted to search for it, but didn't even know what it was. Instead no matter how hard that something was erased it left a lingering dust of existence which will forever ignite Miharu's desire. But it wasn't time to theorize.
Taking a deep breath Miharu pushed himself up from the ground, wincing a little at the surely bruised hip that he contemplated was probably fallen on. Though he didn't fear death, lying in an unfamiliar alley just waiting for it to come wasn't something he would prefer. With a hand on the stony wall to help balance his lightheaded feeling, he took a step towards the street only a few meters away from where he had woken up. Its grey, everything is grey. How depressing. From what the boy could see, everything around him was painted the tinge of unsaturated black. Welcome to England huh. Standing still for another minute to allow his body to adjust, he debated on whether or not to look for the two other boys that seemed to be stuck in the same predicament. The decision was not reached however as a hand pushed him straight into the wall he was using as support.
"Out of the way shortie!"
How rude, he wasn't short, he was perfectly fine for his age. Sending a small glare after the brown haired teen running with something that looked like bread underneath his arms, Miharu rubbed the cheek which had a brief uncomfortable meeting with the cold stone and noticed one of the smaller pieces of bread that the runaway seemed to have dropped. It was in a strange shape but the smell it gave off made him miss the little deserts that he had tasted only moments before, before he was thrown into another weird place. Picking up the bread that still radiated with warmth he started once more towards the street ahead of him. It took no more than another three steps for a clatter of footsteps to sound behind him.
"YOU THERE STOP! THIEF!"
How on earth was he so unlucky today. Cursing his fortunes and the boy which brought him into this situation he managed to convince his still sleepy body to make a dash for it. Yet to his dread he ran head first into a man who seemed to come out of nowhere and block his escape route. Turning around quickly to run the opposite direction he sighed exasperatedly to see the man who had shouted at him stalk closer. Miharu was just about to look for another way when two rough hands bound his arms painfully behind his back and he looked up to see a sneering grin laughing at him.
"Thought you could get away huh? Well it isn't your lucky day boy, I'm going to make you tell me where that little friend of yours ran off to with all our food and then I'll make sure you understand what hell on earth means you piece of trash!"
That was enough acceptance for today, its time he got a little peace. A sweet grin made its way onto Miharu's face and seeing this the man was a little put off in confusion but what Miharu said next vexed him to no end.
"Mister, you should really get yourself to a hospital, all that ugliness must be messing with your brain. I didn't take anything, but I guess you wouldn't understand, it takes more than one brain cell to comprehend. But don't you worry-"
With a jump, he was up in the air and tumbled backwards so that he was now behind the man and a kick to the head released his arms successfully. Landing easily onto his feet, he rolled his weight onto the his heels and sent a sickly sweet smiled once more at the man who now was on the floor groaning in anger and pain about his head.
"Now you won't have any!"
The invisible devil wings and tail barely had time to disappear before a cloth smothered his nose and mouth as he felt himself becoming suddenly sleepy yet again. A flash of white and gold could be made out before he drifted back into the darkness. His luck was really really terrible today.
A young blonde woke up much the same way as our ill-fated Miharu. Luckily instead of rocks Oz had landed straight into a scratchier, but much softer bed of hay. The dream he was having confused him even more when he woke up to the sound of a voice calling him.
"You! Boy up there! Get out would you? I'm going to have to deliver this cart soon!"
Ruffling his hair to dislodge the many straws and blinking his eyes in confusion the boy managed to sit up and send an apologetic smile to the woman who had called to him.
"I'm-" Yawn. "-sorry! I'll come down now!"
With that, he jumped out of the cart only to stumble and land messily onto his back. A hand rubbed his now spinning head and an "owww" escaped his lips. Seeing this and the extravagant clothes the woman came over quickly and kneeled in front of him, a small frown of concern set onto her face.
"You alright dear? I didn't mean to startle you but I do really need to get going soon."
Hearing and seeing the worried expression in front of him Oz jumped up, much to the annoyance of his dizzy head, and let out a chuckle of embarrassment before replying cheerily.
"I'm fine thank you! A little clumsy you see?"
The woman seemed to stare at him in disbelief for a second before sighing and standing herself up as well. "Well, if you say so. I should get going, and looks like you should probably too, wouldn't want to be late to anywhere with that kind of clothing." She turned away from him and was about to go before Oz called her back. The environment here seemed familiar enough, maybe he had just been transported somewhere and was now back where he belonged.
"Um, sorry but do you perhaps now where this is?"
The woman stopped and looked at him quizzically before replying obviously, "Its London of course, well, just a little outside of the city central but London no less. Boy, are you sure you're alright?"
London? Where was that? Maybe it was just a city he had not come across yet, maybe he should just ask her which kingdom this was. Yet before he could his eyes caught onto a blood red which sent shivers through his spine. It was the man from before, the one who had promised them the experience of an 'extraordinary game.' Not wanting to lose him Oz turned quickly and ran after him, calling thanks to the woman behind him. His weakened legs wobbled a bit in complaint of his movement but he ignored it and tried to wrack his brain for the name of the mysterious man covered in red. H…Ha-Hatt…"Hatter! Wait Hatter!"
As soon as the words left his mouth he felt a small hint of regret. What if this, Hatter, person was not an ally. In fact, he probably wasn't from what had happened before. Was it a good choice to just run straight to a possible enemy? None of that mattered though, because it was already too late. That bed of messily ruled crimson hair rustled in the wind as the Hatter looked back at Oz. Freezing on spot, Oz tried to organize his hazy thoughts as he managed to stutter "H-hatter, where are you going?"
A mocking grin latched onto the Hatter's face as he replied,
"Ah, Oz Vessalious, how wonderful to see you're well and…unharmed. Where am I going you ask? I'm going nowhere; it wouldn't make much difference to you anyways for you have no idea where you are do you?"
"I…It's true but where is this?"
"You are surprisingly innocent Mr. Vessalious. You remind me of her, the one who happened to give me this name of 'Hatter'. What was her name again? Oh yes, Alice. She had said that I reminded her of someone she knew, a mad h-"
"You know Alice? Do yo-"
"A mad Hatter she said, because my words always seemed to confuse her. Ah but from her descriptions I personally feel more like a queen of sorts, a Queen of Hearts. For sadly by the time she had came to me it was already 'off with her head~'"
He's not talking about Alice. Not the Alice that Oz knew anyways, it couldn't have been, because she was still alive and that Alice wasn't. She had to be still alive because the seal on his chest hadn't disappeared yet. She had to be alive because she helped give him a will to live. Seeing the look on Oz's face, Hatter chuckled and took a step towards Oz.
"How about we play a game Vessalious? If you win then I'll answer one question about anything you wish and our game will end without the thrill of violence, but if you lose then I'm afraid our little game will have to continue as it should. Your fate, their fate, are in your hands. All you have to do is answer this question."
By now the Hatter's face was inches from Oz's and Oz was finding it hard to breathe normally. The three words were spoken slowly and accentuated.
"Who. Are. You?"
Oz blinked, caught off guard by the simplicity of the question. He was about to answer when he felt a sudden sickening feeling in his chest. Who was he? He was Oz Vessalious, the heir to the Vessalious house. The contractor of Alice, the B. Rabbit. The master- no- friend of Gil. But why could he not feel confidence when saying that? Pushing away the confusion he answered anyways, agitated and a little afraid of what was going on with his emotions.
"I am Oz Vessalious."
The grin on the Hatter's face disappeared for a second before being replaced by a smirk of satisfaction. Leaning back he turned away from Oz and began walking in the other direction.
"I'm sorry, but your answer was wrong. It seems our game can only continue 'Oz Vessalious'. Now's not the time to agonize over it though, you'll have plenty of time for that later. Isn't that the other boy over there? Body parts about to be sold to the termites of this beautiful world. We will see each other soon boy, for now the Phantomhive is waking."
Without another word, the figure before Oz had disappeared just like before, leaving Oz to struggle with his unstable emotions for a moment before chasing after the other boy.
Miharu had felt it for a while now. His mind was strangely peaceful, and his body felt for once completely his own, but that only meant one thing. 'Shinra' was no longer here. That, however, was impossible. If she was taken from him then he would not be here either, his body was a vessel that would be destroyed as soon as her 'knowledge' left him. So then, where was she?
He was waking up now. He felt his body being moved to the rhythm of someone walking, and the muffled voices were becoming clearer.
"Those emerald eyes, a colour even crisper but yet as tender as the new born leaves in spring! That flawless skin which puts even the most famous marble statues to shame! He is just perfect isn't he? And perfect comes with a great price. Oh he reminds me of my dear little robin! My…"
Robin? Who's voice is that?
"Miharu! That's him! That's my cousin and they're trying to steal him!"
Strange, how did he know his name? Is it…the blonde boy?
"Drop him!"
"Vicount?"
"Oh I'm so glad you're here! It's just horrible isn't it? I tried to stop him but I am only a man of beauty and art and no match for such a brute. Quick! He's running away I'll look after the child."
"No, I don't know who you are but you were with that man too. Get away from my cousin!"
"What are you talking abo-"
"Leave them be Viscount, the boy's just shocked. Is he okay son?"
"nnn…what's going on?"
"Miharu! How are you feeling?"
"…drowsy, but fine."
"That's good, now is there anything else you need son?"
"Actually, my cousin and I were just here to visit another friend. His name is Ciel Phantomhive, do you know who he is?"
"The Earl!"
A ruffle of the silk sheets indicated the young earl's awakening. His body still haunted with a layer of lethargy, Ciel buried his face deeper into the feathered pillows. It was a bizarre dream to say the least, and not only was his body tired, but his mind was drained as well. What a hassle it was, to wake up weary to a day full of unpleasant dealings. The Viscount was someone he never would want to meet again if it was up to him, his continuous ramblings about the beauty of everything and the chilling reminder of that…event was also dreaded. After which Elizabeth will come to him, full of expectation and innocent love. It was going to be a long day.
A long day indeed my lord.
The sapphire eye snapped open immediately to this voice.
"Sebastian?"
What was he so anxious about? It was just events of the dream still lingering in his mind, but he was awake now so there wasn't any need to feel, let alone show, these sentiments. Sitting himself up with a sigh, Ciel stifled a yawn and stretched waiting for the recognizable three knocks on his door that will mark the presence of his servant, his demon. Except it was when he sat up did he notice that he was already fully dressed and the servant was still nowhere in sight. Frowning he spoke the command.
"Sebastian, come."
The large clock on the other side of the room seemed to shove the sound of each and every passing second onto Ciel. Frustrated, Ciel growled out the command once more.
"I order you to come Sebastian."
Instead, Ciel whipped his head in the direction of the double doors and in direction to the sound of an echoed chuckle. Throwing the sheets off himself, he jumped out of the large bed and ran through the door, the corridors, towards the source of the voice; pushed by a bubbling feeling of both anger and restlessness. It wasn't till he got there did he realize where he was going. He was now on the top of the wide staircase, green staring at him, more amused than Ciel would ever want that gaze to be. The name was nearly spat out.
"Hatter. So it wasn't a dream then."
The said man pulled his shoulders up and dropped them in a loose shrug before teasing Ciel.
"It may have been, it may not have been~ But that doesn't matter now does it? What matters now is why you were running so quickly to get here. Ciel tell me, where is this Sebastian that you ask for?"
Ciel had always hated teasing, and those who knew the earl never dared to do such a thing, bar a few irritating remarks by his now missing servant. Obviously the man knew what had happened to Sebastian, and was finding utter entertainment in Ciel's aggravation. Well that was a pleasure Ciel will be taking away. Dropping his scowl of annoyance, Ciel crossed his arms in front of his chest and now looked passively at the Hatter in front of him.
"Why are you here Hatter. What do you want."
A cock of the eyebrow replied to the sudden change in attitude. How disappointing, the boy was just like Julian, never up for a good game. No matter, this game, he will have to accept.
"Firstly little Earl, my name is Hain, Hatter is just one of many other names I have. By the end of this you will have your own name for me. But for now, I'll answer your question. I am here because of you, because I want to play a game with you. You are familiar with the game of Chess aren't you Ciel?"
Though he was in no mood to play games, the question didn't actually sound like a question, instead it was a command, and Ciel wasn't to be commanded by anyone. Eye narrowing he replied, "What of it Hain?" The name tasted even worse than Hatter.
"I am proposing a game of Chess with you Ciel. The white king's position is yours, and since you are familiar with the game I'm sure you needn't me explain what the goal is."
"And I'm assuming you're the black king then?"
"Ah, I suppose so. But Ciel, think of this game as one of cat the mice as well. Will you get eaten first or will I? Our rules have been set in this envelope."
Ciel's eyes drifted to the white envelope that Hain had stretched to him. The appearance of the envelope was recognizable, too recognizable. Snatching it from Hain, Ciel opened the letter and read through it quickly. It was a letter from the Queen, all but the small section written on at the bottom that was written in handwriting unrecognizable to Ciel. He sighed, the man even dared to graffiti on the Queen's letter.
"…What does this have to do with Chess."
"Patience Ciel, your bishop and knight are here already after all"
There was a slam and the large front doors were opened revealing the two said characters. Seeing the figure on the top of the stairs Oz called out happily,
"Ciel! We've come to see you! Is th- Hatter?"
"Oz Vessalious, bishop. Miharu Rokujo, Knight. Right on time."
With a jump, Hain was in front of the two new comers, and this time picked Miharu to speak to. Leaning in he prepared his finishing statement
"Make sure you survive little boys. Let's see how long you can entertain me for~"
Just as he was about to disappear again however, a wave of hateful energy hit him from Miharu. Miharu felt it too, she was still there, faint, but definitely there and enraged at something. Hain's eyes narrowed but the smirk stayed all the same, and with a final sentence vanished like before,
"Persistent woman."
Um….I'M SORRY FOR BEING LATE
But but here's a damn long chapter for you. I think it' like 4,500 or something words.
So technically its two/three chapters.
I hope that this was okay, was really excited when finishing it so didn't even read it through before posting it. So I'll probably be updating a revised version soon D:
Anyways;;
The game begins!
Trust me I'm as interested on how this turns out as you are
And I'm trying really hard to keep the characters in character because well,
Though the story is mine they aren't.
And I personally hate when fanfictions are out of character unless it's like a completely extraordinary piece of writing. The reasons are simple, I came to read fanfiction, not other people's stories. I can read that elsewhere.
It's really hard but I hope I have kept them as similar to the real characters as possible.
(So do tell me if I haven't and I'll change the little bits)
I've already started on the next chapter so yay!
But please please please do review ; ^ ; /bricked
They keep me going, especially for this kind of thing that takes some real figuring out to make :/
p.s:
Lil secret of mine is that I sort of stopped following Pandora Hearts and Nabari no Ou until last week. I don't know, I just lost interest, but because I was writing this I felt that I couldn't continue without at least knowing what was going on in the real manga so I spent 2 days catching up.
Now I must say: EVERYTHING IS SO INTENSE. Stuff is being revealed and and I swear if Jack….
Stopping the sidetrackness, I just wanted you guys to know that this fanfiction will contain information about the recent chapters. I'll try my hardest to not put in potential spoilers but when I do I'll bold the whole section for you and tell you beforehand.
Thank you for reading!
Emaginethat