Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Kurositsuji.

The Last Words.

Chapter IV.

Perception Drifts.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Ciel awoke with little sleep under his belt. He rubbed his tired eyes and fumbled into the bathroom to wash his face. Drying off with a soft towel, he walked back into his bedroom and opened his wardrobe to pull out his outfit of choice for the day. He headed downstairs for a bite of breakfast when he ran into Tanaka in the kitchen.

"Good morning Master Ciel," he said warmly, putting a kettle of water on the stove.

"Morning," Ciel answered back, pulling a sweet cake out of a covered dish. It smelt of strawberries, and Ciel took little time to finish it off. He was just about to leave when Tanaka spoke up again.

"It seems the kitchen door was ajar all night," he commented with his back to Ciel.

Ciel froze in the doorway but didn't fully turn around. Instead he threw over his shoulder, "Strange. Luckily no one tried to break in."

"Lucky indeed," replied the old butler. Before he could say anything else, Ciel had disappeared from sight.

Ciel eased his way into the family room, where no one was to be found. He scouted around and when he heard no movement anywhere he headed upstairs towards his father's office. He found it a little strange, as he raised his hand to knock. How many times had he sat in this office with Sebastian at his side? Just before his hand came down on the oak he stopped, hearing two voices.

"I'm telling you Phantomhive, the Queen wants this taken care of immediately. Have you come up with anything? The yard had been no help at all, but surely you..."

Ciel didn't recognize the man's voice at all. He pressed his ear near the door to listen better.

"I assure you, me and my men are working non stop until this is taken care of," Vincent stated firmly.

"I am sure you are aware that two more bodies were discovered this morning?" the other man replied gruffly.

"Fully. And as I have told you, the only thing we have to go on is that one of the detective's states to have found a hair not belonging to any of the victims at one of the crime scenes. A single red hair," Vincent stated flatly.

"These past few weeks have been maddening! You're the best chance we have Phantomhive, her Majesty hopes to hear from you soon." The sound of a chair scooting back across the floor could be heard.

Ciel decided to make a beeline for his room, but he only made it a few steps before the door opened. Ciel turned around to face both gentlemen.

"Ah, and this must be your son," a tall man with dark brown hair and wrinkle marks on his face smiled down at Ciel. He gave the boy's hair a light ruffle. "You do look like your father, except for your eyes." He held a hand under Ciel's chin like he was checking for any damage. "You have your mother's eyes."

It took all of Ciel's will power not to yank his face out of the grasp. He didn't like being treated like a child! Even more so by someone who he didn't even know! He worked to keep his face calm. The man released him and turned back to Vincent.

"I hope to be hearing from you soon Mr. Phantomhive," the man gave a light nod before showing himself out. Once Ciel saw the man was out of sight he turned to his father.

"Who was that?" he asked, glancing down the hall.

"A messenger from the Queen," Vincent answered his son and quickly changed the topic at hand. "You have a fencing lesson today."

"Was it about the people who have been turning up dead?" Ciel probed.

"Ciel, that's not up for discussion. You heard your mother last time; you are far too young to worry yourself with these ordeals. One day you'll get more than you can chew I promise," Vincent gave his son a warning look.

'I'm sure I could handle it,' Ciel's sarcasm spoke in his mind. "Fencing?" he repeated out loud. "But I already know how to-"

"Your instructor will be here soon son, go and change," Vincent cut him off and gave Ciel a pat on the shoulder before heading back into his office and shutting the door.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Ciel stepped in the room used for his fencing practices to find the instructor waiting for him. He was a tall man, a bit younger than his father. He had ash blond hair and wore a pair of thin glasses. He was suited up as well standing by a small table holding their swords.

"Good afternoon Ciel," the man said easily. "I am your fencing instructor, Mr. Falons. Let's go over the basics, and if you have any questions along the way just ask alright?"

Ciel wanted to argue he knew the basics already, but the man didn't give him the chance, and just started right in. As he went over proper holding and blocking techniques, stances and thrusting, Ciel was starting to get irritated. He knew this all from Sebastian. Sebastian had been a very good teacher when it came to anything, this didn't exclude fencing. They spent hours in this very room, practicing, passing the time away when there was nothing better to do. Ciel remembered it vividly.

"Look, I know this already!" Ciel finally let out sharply.

Mr. Falons pulled his brow together, confused. "I know your eager, but your father said this was your first lesson. I just want you to be prepared so you don't hurt-"

Ciel had grabbed a sword off the table and assumed the proper stance that Sebastian had taught him more times then he could count. He was beyond irritated now, the man just wouldn't listen! It appeared he would have to show him. The instructor raised his sword slightly, more in shock. Ciel gave a quick lunge forward, his steel clashing with Mr. Falons. Ciel let loose a string of strikes and thrusts out at his opponent as he took forward steps. Ciel's attacks came down hard and true, from his practices he had done over and over...

"Watch you footing, Young Master."

Ciel's sword clashed in a block with the older male and he froze. He could have sworn he heard that out loud. Something Sebastian had corrected him on often.

"Impressive Ciel," his instructor praised, dropping his sword and taking a few recovery breaths. Ciel set his sword back on the table. "But how-?"

"Like I said, I know all this already," Ciel answered almost sadly as he turned to leave the room.

X+X+X+X+X+X

Their dinner that night was a bit quieter than normal. Vincent seemed stressed from his work as of late and Rachael just kept a look of concern lightly on her face as she looked back and forth between her son and husband. Ciel picked around his food lightly, not eating much of it. Even the butterscotch cake that sat in the middle of the table was left untouched.

"Ciel darling, I heard your lesson went well today. The instructor said you really surprised him," Rachael tried lightening the mood. "When did you learn to fence?" She teased.

"I..." Ciel set his fork down. He couldn't answer his mother's question. "May I be excused?"

Vincent and Rachael looked at each other then back at their son. His plate still full, dessert not touched as he slouched slightly in his chair.

"Yes," Vincent answered after a pause. Ciel pushed his chair back and left his parents alone at the table. He was glad his mother and father didn't press further. He wasn't in the mood for trying to explain the impossible. He reached his room and readied himself for bed. He wasn't even in the mood for a hot bath tonight. He pulled the familiar nightshirt over his head and crawled into his large bed alone.

As always he let his mind drift back to everything that once was. His life with his butler and the servants that were his own drifted across his thoughts. It was far from perfect but it was a life he enjoyed, it was the new family he had made for himself. He may have enjoyed that life more if he hadn't consumed himself in revenge. Yet, if revenge weren't a factor, he wouldn't have had that life at all.

"Oh! But he's sleeping!" A high whisper brought Ciel out of his thoughts. He flung himself up and turned to face the direction he heard it from. Ciel's jaw almost dropped.

"Good evening, Ciel Phantomhive. I hope we are not here at an inconvenient time."

William Spears pushed his glasses up a bit on his nose with his death scythe, sounding like he didn't really care if it was a bothersome time or not. Grell stood next to him, sporting a shorter red coat than Ciel had remembered him wearing before.

Ciel quickly got out of his bed to stand before the Reapers. "What's going on!" he demanded. How was this possible?

"We are here on official business," William started. "You see there is a bit of a mix up going on back at Reapers' Library, and you're the cause of it." He folded his arms professionally in front of him.

"What do you mean?" Ciel asked, still looking between the two men. Seeing these two together gave full confirmation in his mind about his former life. Now the only thing to figure out was why things were so different now, and where his butler was, of course.

"I'm sure you're confused about why your life has been 'restored' to how it once was before your parents died," William started. "When your life was re-written back in this order, your memories were supposed to be erased of everything, creating a seamless transition. However, obviously that has not been the case," William looked down his nose at Ciel.

Ciel felt like the world had been lifted off his shoulders now that he knew madness was out of the question. The relief he felt at someone else confirming finally that his memories were true was indescribable.

"So what if I can remember my old life? What does that have to do with anything?" Ciel asked defensively. He wasn't sure why they were here.

"It seems the memories you are recovering from your previous life are affecting the stability of your life now," William grimly stated.

"Meaning...?" Ciel wasn't catching on.

"Souls of humans who had been re-written to restore your former life are disappearing from existence," explained William.

The realization of it all hit Ciel like a rock. The townspeople who were dying seemingly without reason were because of him! His memories of Sebastian and his old life were causing this all to happen. That explains why they were found unharmed; the soul disappeared leaving only an empty shell of a corpse.

"Naturally, we can't allow soul's to roam off the map so to speak," William added.

"It's been so boring lately! No cinematic records to watch!" Grell whined out loud. William ignored him momentarily.

"They found a piece of your hair at the scene of the crime anyways, Grell," William scolded.

"That's not my fault!" Grell cried. William turned his focus back to Ciel.

"If you can suppress all your memories from your previous life, ceasing the souls from disappearing, everything will be fine," William gave Ciel a hard stare. "But if you don't, your life will be compromised."

"So if I can't forget everything, you'll kill me?" Ciel asked, incredulous at this news.

The moonlight shone against William's glasses, creating a glare effect.

"Precisely."

Hope you all enjoyed this newest chapter. As always a big thanks to my Beta, who puts up with my typo tantrums like no other. The chapters would honestly not be nearly as good with her! Please review =]