Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Black Butler world which is owned by Yana Toboso. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and the events which happen in this story are not canon. I am not profiting financially from this story. I only own the idea of the plot and my own original characters. Thank you Yana Toboso for thinking up such a world as wonderful as Black Butler.
Chapter #4
"…Is this how you normally investigate cases?" I asked Sebastian.
"Not usually. But because my young Master has other pressing matters he must attend to at the moment, he unfortunately could not come with us to investigate at this time," Sebastian explained.
Sebastian and I were revisiting the crime scenes. Currently, we were walking through a back alleyway of London. Clara had been murdered not 20 steps from where Sebastian and I stood.
"…," the demon-butler looked as if he were contemplating something. He then leaped up, and onto the roof of the building I stood behind.
I followed his example, and leaped up and onto the roof of the house opposite the one he stood upon across the alley. My legs felt a light soreness, as if I had walked up a fair number of stairs. It wasn't painful, but at that moment, I did think: my starvation is starting to really show.
As soon as I landed on the roof, Sebastian leapt up and took several great leaps across various rooftops. I followed suit, only a couple rooftops behind him. As I leapt from rooftop to rooftop behind Sebastian, I thought: Alas, I am but an elderly tortoise now, compared to the speed and agility I once possessed.
Sebastian came to a stop upon one rooftop in particular. I came to a stop on the rooftop opposite his. Suddenly, a large shadow passed over us both. I looked up, but was momentarily blinded by a dark figure and the sunlight shining down upon him. The figure landed nearly atop Sebastian, and would have had he not jumped out of the way at the last moment. As Sebastian flew through the air, he threw several knives in the direction of the previously shadowy figure.
Just as sudden, a very long rod extending through the air nearly impaled Sebastian just as he landed from jumping out of the way from the first attacker. Sebastian somehow managed to dodge the second attack as well. I merely stood still, frozen, as the rod kept extending, easily letting it run straight through me. It would seem, today was not the day I was destined to die, for Sebastian knocked me down onto the roof's jagged shingles before the rod could run me through.
Sebastian now lay atop me, propping himself up with his arms. He had me pinned beneath him, sandwiched between the roof and himself. His eyes glowed demonic red once again, and a somewhat angry expression found its way onto his features.
"Just what did you think you were doing?" Sebastian practically growled.
"I think the need for help came from a lack of action rather than an action having been committed," I cheekily replied, smirking.
Just then, Sebastian and I rolled over, narrowly missed a pair of scissors having lodged themselves into a roof shingle after being thrown. Sebastian stood up, offering me a hand. I took it and he hauled me up onto my feet. He brushed himself off, as did I.
"We'll discuss this later," Sebastian whispered into my ear. "You're later than I initially expected. Slacking on the job, were we?"
At first, I didn't completely realize just who he was egging on. I soon found out, though.
"We simply did not see it necessary to step in before this point," a tall young man looking to have been in his mid to late twenties replied. He wore rectangular framed brown spectacles, and was dressed fastidiously in a suit. His long rod-like object retracted to what I assume to be its usual length, and the man used the rod to push his glasses further up his nose bridge. His hair was brown, and his irises were a bright striking chartreuse yellow colour.
It was then that I realized, this man dressed so pristinely was in fact, a grim reaper, as was his comrade. His comrade had blond hair with a black under-layer. He wore pentagonal rimmed brown spectacles, and was also dressed fastidiously in a suit. He was also fairly tall, and looked to be a few years younger than his colleague. He was currently trying to fix his lawnmower which was making rather disconcerting sounds.
"Why now, then? What's so special about the most recent of events that's got you Grim Reapers excited?" I inquired.
"I don't believe that's any of your con-," the Grim Reaper with the extending pruner was interrupted.
"Hold on! I haven't introduced myself yet! My -," the blond and black hair Grim Reaper was also interrupted.
"No one cares. Shut up," Sebastian coldly stated.
"You know these morons?" I whispered to Sebastian.
"Unfortunately, yes," Sebastian sighed exasperatedly.
Before any further conversation could carry on, a red haired humanoid creature climbed onto the edge of the roof Sebastian and I stood on, his arms grasping the roof for dear life.
The man exhaled loudly. "Bassie, care to give me a hand?" the red haired man asked.
I was confused as to who he was speaking to. No one facing him, being Sebastian and I, was named 'Bassie'.
"Who's…?" my question died on my lips as Sebastian stomped on the red haired man's arms, making him fall to the ground. "What'd you do that for? That was awfully rude."
"Please think nothing of it, my lady. He's a horrible and vile thing who shouldn't be allowed to stand on the same land as you nor breathe the same air as you," Sebastian suddenly bowed, being extremely polite and switching into 'polite servant' mode.
"Stop it, Sebastian. Do not take me for a fool. There's no need to use the 'faithful and humble servant' act as an excuse to act horribly towards someone," I saw right through his little 'act'.
The demon-butler merely smirked in response. "Well, it seems you saw right through me. How troublesome."
I narrowed my eyes, making them glow demonic red.
A loud groan from below ruined our little hateful moment and atmosphere.
"Bassie, how could you?! And I came all this way just to see your beautiful face, Bassie!" the…Grim Reaper…?!…excuse me. The Grim Reaper dramatically and flamboyantly climbed back onto the roof, making me take a step back, and wiggled his…bottom…in a most unseemly manner.
I couldn't believe this…thing…was a Grim Reaper. He was much too…shall we say emotional?…to be a Grim Reaper. If it weren't for his eyes and inhumane looks, I would've pegged him for an extremely peculiar human. No, on second thought, he's to odd to be a human, but too odd to be a Grim Reaper as well, perhaps a demon? He would be strange enough to be a demon, that's for sure. And yet, he's a Grim Reaper.
Sebastian gave an exasperated and disgusted sigh. He went over to the pair of scissors lodged in the roof, unlodged them, and whipped them towards the dark red haired Grim Reaper. "I believe these, belong to you."
The oddball Grim Reaper ducked before the scissors could dig into his forehead. "Bassie! If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to kill me! Me!"
"If I may ask, who exactly is this peculiar Grim Reaper?" I reluctantly asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"Oh, that's right, you haven't met these men yet. These are William T. Spears, Ronald Knox, and Grell Sutcliff. They're Grim Reapers as I'm sure you've already figured out. They're also a big pain," Sebastian muttered the last part.
"Oh, Bassie!" the Grim Reaper, Grell, attempted to jump atop Sebastian, though he moved away at the last moment, as I predicted.
Sebastian landed beside me.
"Oh? It seems I have some competition…," Grell trailed off, half grinning maliciously and half smirking maliciously.
I was confused at first as to who Grell was referring to. Then it dawned on me.
"Oh, no sir, you're mistaken," I started.
"He is not," Sebastian falsely corrected, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"You're just bent on making my life miserable, aren't you? You insufferable demon-butler," I growled. The damned demon-butler probably thought this was humorous.
"Hm…I must warn you. I can be very possessive. After all, what good lover wouldn't be possessive of their significant other?" Grell more calmly than before warned me.
Sebastian reverted partly to chibi form, an annoyed expression on his face. "I am not your significant other. The mere thought is revolting," Sebastian said firmly in a low voice.
"Oh Bassie-," I cut Grell off.
"Have any of you seen anyone suspicious around here?" I asked, before we could all continue with what would've ended as something rather strange.
"If we did, would we tell-," the Grim Reaper Mr. Spears was interrupted by his colleague, Mr. Knox.
"Well, there was this couple who were passing through. They looked sophisticated and of nobility yet they were snooping around back here, in a back alleyway," Mr. Knox spilled the beans.
"Why would you tell them that?" Mr. Spears didn't look particularly angry, though he did look annoyed.
"I didn't see why it'd matter if I told them or not," Mr. Knox shrugged his shoulders.
"In anyway, I thank you. My lady and I will be going now," Sebastian said, grabbing me by my waist and, carrying me bridal style, leapt away from the Grim Reapers.
"Wait, Bassie!"
"And where do you think you're going Grell?" Mr. Spears could be heard as Sebastian and I grew farther away from them, his monotonous voice instantly recognizable.
I imagine Grell listened to Mr. Spears, seeing as he no longer followed Sebastian and I.
I had my arm awkwardly slung around Sebastian's neck, Sebastian holding me in his arms. "May I be let down, please?" I asked, feeling rather self-conscious.
"No," Sebastian answered shortly.
"And why ever not?" I asked in reply.
"I'm simply not interested in pausing and putting you down," Sebastian answered, though his reasoning didn't make sense to me.
Ironically though, Sebastian paused just then and put me down. He kept an arm around my waist though.
"What was that back there? You are a demon are you not? Unless…?" I believe Sebastian figured it out.
"Yes. You are correct in assuming that I've been starving," I admitted.
"Ah. May I ask why?"
"I've simply resigned to not consuming souls," I vaguely explained.
"And why not? It's already become apparent that you're weakening. You'll only grow worse from here," Sebastian warned. His face seemed emotionless, but his words told a different story. I could tell Sebastian was concerned to some degree - or perhaps 'interested' would be a more appropriate word.
"Concerned?" I taunted.
Sebastian narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening around my waist.
"Alright, never mind," I attempted to step back, but found that I couldn't.
"I would appreciate an apology," Sebastian whispered, his crimson eyes boring intensely into mine.
I rolled my eyes, "I deeply apologize for pointing out your concern for my unhealthy demon state."
Sebastian's eyes started to glow.
"I'm deeply sorry for misconstruing your behaviour, as well as for automatically assuming. I hope you'll accept my sincerest apologies," I quickly corrected.
Sebastian's eyes' glow faded, and his irises returned to their usual dark crimson colour, "Apologies accepted," and with that, Sebastian turned us both around and directed my view towards a couple whom looked sorely out of place.
The couple looked to be of nobility. They were young, the woman in her early twenties and the man in his late twenties. The woman was very beautiful, with curled blond hair in ringlets and crystal blue eyes. The man was very handsome, with wavy blond hair that was neatly combed over and icy blue eyes. The woman wore an elegant white dress with many ruffles. Her husband wore a white suit.
The young aristocratic couple did indeed look very out of place walking through dirty back alleyways.
"Could they be the suspicious couple Mr. Knox mentioned?" I wondered.
"Yes, it would seem so," Sebastian confirmed. "Let's follow them, shall we?" Sebastian leapt through the air after the couple, I followed after him.
We leapt down and followed the couple from afar, from the ground. We overheard part of their conversation when they paused in their walking.
"—," the said gently as he tucked some hair behind his wife's ear tenderly. Then the two continued their walking gaily.
I looked to Sebastian for our next move, but he didn't follow the young couple.
"I believe we're finished here," Sebastian said, with finality.
"You've solved the case? Or you've figured something out?" I inquired.
"You'll soon understand. Come now, let us go home," Sebastian said, turning back towards the direction of the Phantomhive Manor.
I was confused. But I decided to trust Sebastian for now.
I later found out what the plan was. Sebastian and I, as well as Lord Phantomhive and his fiancé, and Miss Geneva, were going to infiltrate the couple's anniversary ball.
The couple, Earl Silas Drytte and his wife Countess Lenore Frinil Drytte, were holding a ball in celebration of their one year wedding anniversary. They invited most, if not all, of the aristocracy.
There seems to be an unusual pattern of how everyone who's been mysteriously murdered have all recently attended a party or meeting of some sort with the young Drytte couple. Or they all have some sort of connection to the couple through a romance of some sort.
We have an idea of what the couple looks for in victims, but we're not completely certain yet. We're going to test our theory at the ball the coming weekend.
In the meanwhile, I must prepare Miss Geneva for the upcoming ball. No doubt, she'll be panicking about what to wear, and how she'll act, and if she'll meet her 'prince-charming'. The things children think about these days…
Anyhow, after today, Sebastian escorted me home because 'it would be unseemly for a lady to travel alone, not to mention dangerous'. After I arrived home, back at Elinton Manor, I checked to see if Miss Geneva had received her invitation to the Dryttes' ball yet.
After I confirmed that Miss Geneva was indeed invited, she panicked and threw a small fit, as I had predicted she would.
"Celia, what ever am I to wear?!" Miss Geneva shrieked, waving her arms around wildly.
"Miss Geneva, please, calm down," I tried to be patient.
"How can you possibly expect me to calm down?! We have so little time before the ball to prepare," Miss Geneva cried.
"Tomorrow, we'll go out shopping for dresses, alright? Everything will be fine. I'm very capable, as you know," I reassured, my last sentence carrying a double meaning.
"But everyone who's anyone will be there! What if all the pretty dresses are all sold out?" Miss Geneva could come up with the most ridiculous ideas sometimes.
"If that happens, I can merely make a new dress for you from scratch. I'm very skilled at sewing," my patience was thinning.
Miss Geneva was silent for a moment. Then, "Oh, thank you so much Celia. You may be annoying at times, but you really are the best!" Miss Geneva then threw herself onto me, crushing me in a hug.
I stumbled back a bit, startled. "It's no trouble at all, Miss Geneva," I felt less impatient now, and more in a good mood.
Miss Geneva certainly does have her moments. And I'd better not disappoint her, otherwise it'll be rather troublesome for me. And so, I started thinking what colours looked best on Miss Geneva, what hairstyles looked good as well as what she liked, and what fashion styles fit the season. Fashion really isn't one of my specialties but, as a demon, I have many talents and am very competent.
Author's Note:
Sorry if I didn't capture Grell's personality very well. My perspective on the world as well as my personality and way of thinking is completely different from Grell's, so it was hard to write how Grell would act correctly.