Author's notes: *hangs head again* I know I'm late! *dodges tomatoes* I've had to have time away for eye problems so my writing time has been limited now. Unfortunately, chapters will be slow from now on til it's fixed so please bear with it! And so many of you gave me kind words too! Once my eyesight is fixed, I'll upload two chapters a week! For now, it'll be a bit slow but I'll try to keep it up! When we last left everyone, Ciel had a plan to investigate the newly built training building on campus at night and had sent Sebastian out in the meantime to find Sitri. Meanwhile, a crash from the girls' bathroom has Ciel and Rachel rushing over. Is it Sitri? Have their plans been ruined before they even begin? Let's find out!
Warning: Sebaciel (implied), gore, swearing and violence
His Butler, Disappeared
As they approached, Ciel noticed a crowd of girls surrounding the bathroom door. He gritted his teeth and elbowed his way through, Rachel closely following, until they were in front of the door. They exchanged worried glances and Ciel noted the looks of fear on the girls' faces around them. He could hear murmuring from inside the bathroom, the splashing of running water and someone moving around. He wondered if he should be looking in, feeling embarrassed at what he might see in a girls' bathroom, before another scream convinced him to forget this worry. Ciel pushed the door open fast and rushed into the room, braced.
Steam had filled the room and instantly soaked his clothes and skin, dripping down the walls, windows and mirrors all around. Someone was running all the hot water taps and had created a muggy misty atmosphere. He squinted through it and could make out sinks and mirrors lining one wall and stalls on the other. At the far end, showers were situated behind fabric curtains and he noticed large windows with frosted glass beside them. He could see two shadows moving behind one of the curtains and stepped further in, coughing as the steam irritated his asthma.
"Who…" he choked out, coughing again. "Who's in here? Are you hurt?" He hated how weak his voice sounded; the steam was closing his throat and made his chest feel tight. He bent forward to relieve some of the pressure on his chest, gasping for breath.
Rachel looked at him with concern and rushed over to one of the windows, pushing it fully open and letting the steam flood out into the warm afternoon air. As the steam cleared, Ciel felt his chest ease up and his breathing became easier once again. He stood up straight and noted that the two figures were still behind the curtain. He nodded to Rachel and glanced at the curtain, she nodded back in understanding and approached the curtain with silent footsteps and arms up to pull back the fabric. Ciel felt his hand go to the hidden gun in his dress, anxious about who would want cover in a place like this and what they could be doing.
Rachel looked at her young master, nodded and whisked back the shower curtain so fast she pulled it off its rings. A figure jumped out of the cubicle; a girl, bare as the day she was born and sopping wet. She sobbed as she grabbed the curtain from Rachel and wrapped it around herself. She then tried to run out but her feet tangled in the length of fabric and she smacked the tiled floor hard with a cry. She laid there sobbing as Rachel knelt down to comfort and check on her, muttering soothing words to the girl who clung tightly to her dress.
Ciel, startled by the sight of a naked adolescent girl and unsure where to look, had decided to instead to focus on the second individual, who was also dripping wet,
"Are you serious?" he muttered, as he realised who it was. Rachel looked up too and started at what she saw.
Sitri blinked, holding the head of the shower in one hand and a small screwdriver he'd no doubt taken from somewhere in the other. He smiled at the seething lord sheepishly, but this didn't surprise Ciel. What did was the fact the demon was also naked. He glared as best he could whilst keeping his eyes firmly averted from anywhere below Sitri's neck; he found himself fighting off a blush.
"You…" he started, rounding on the man, angry at both the demon and himself. Sitri grinned,
"Hello little one!" the demon responded brightly, clearly unperturbed by the many eyes looking on at him in his state or the group of girls who squealed. "Settled in now? I've just discovered an interesting pipework system in this building. Did you know, the pipes are actually all one large system, fed by one pump? I would have thought they'd use separate smaller pumps throughout the building, but this actually reduces the water flowing until it's needed, saving-"
"Shut up!" snapped the boy, cutting short the demon's rambling. "Why are you here? Why were you bothering this poor girl? Why are you naked?" he punctuated the last question with a broad gesture at Sitri's form, fighting down another blush. "Do you have no common decency or shame as a man?"
Sitri watched the little lord rant then a wicked smile wormed its way across his lips,
"But I'm not a man. You said so" he replied mischievously. Ciel stood dumbfounded,
"You could hear? How did you?…" the boy started then shook his head, fury returning. "That doesn't matter! Why are you in here of all places?" Sitri gestured to the pipes,
"I wanted to know how they worked. As for being naked, I didn't want to get my clothes wet. And as for the girl, I simply wanted to ask how these fountains were operated. But she got upset over something"
"And rightly so! A strange naked man appearing whilst she showered would cause a fright in anyone! And they're called showers not 'fountains'" Ciel cried, the pitch of his voice getting higher as he became hysterical. Sitri looked confused,
"Huh… I've never had a girl who has been frightened by my naked form before" he replied thoughtfully, ignoring Ciel's rage. "Normally, it's quite the opposite" he continued casually, glancing over at where Rachel and the girl were. He knelt before the sobbing girl, who clutched to Rachel for protection, and smiled an alluring honeyed smile, "Does my body not appeal to you, girl?" He stretched, flexing muscles and displaying himself proudly. "Does it not awaken desires you have long kept hidden? Desires you wish to explore? I could help you discover a world of pleasure you've never known" he leant in closer, gazing into the girl's eyes. "What do you think?" he purred.
The girl's trembling grew more as she gazed back at him, a hand reaching up towards his chest. Suddenly her expression changed and the fear returned to her face. It became too much for her to bear and she scrambled away, crying, leaving a confused demon and two angry humans in her wake.
"Females have clearly changed since the last time I was here" Sitri stated flatly, leaning back, his expression unamused.
"Sitri…" Rachel finally spoke quietly. Said demon looked down at the girl then beamed again,
"My dear, you still think I'm attractive like this, do you not?" he asked, flexing once more and began talking about pipework again.
The girl rose silently, face shadowed by her bangs, as the demon rambled. Ciel noted her hands were shaking and suddenly visions of his fiancée when she was furious came surging back. He took a step back from the raging woman.
Sitri noticed too and he looked over at Rachel; his cockiness seemed to drain at what he saw. He started fumbling, trying to put the shower head back on, as he spoke to Rachel.
"Eh heh heh… I-I guess I better uh… p-put this back together. Uh… why don't you and the little one head back to your room? I'm sure you have lots of unpacking to do" the demon hoped to placate Rachel's fury, his hands slipping on the pipes in his nervousness. Ciel had to admit he was shocked to see such fear from someone so powerful and he felt himself turn and stare at his housekeeper in awe. Rachel was approaching the demon slowly; Ciel noted the air around her seemed to be distorted and he could taste a tang in the air. He watched as Sitri gave up with the shower head and fell back on his rear in a corner of the shower. He realised the girls by the door were also avidly watching,
'This is bad' he thought, turning his attention back to Rachel before a knot twisted in his gut. 'I wish Sebastian was here'
Rachel had Sitri boxed into the cubicle and the demon seemed to be whimpering,
"Please… I'm sorry! I'll be good from now on! I didn't mean to be seen! I'll get dressed and do everything you say" Sitri cried out as Rachel leaned over. He clung nervously to the pipes and Ciel noticed, as Rachel's face became clear, she was smiling.
"You poor dear! You must be cold, lying there naked and wet like that" she said, far too happily. Then her eyes began to glow eerily, creating terrible shadows on her face with that rictus of a grin showing her canines clearly. The air sparked around her and her next words sounded cracked and inhuman "Let me warm you up!"
With that, she grabbed the pipe next to Sitri's hands and sent the current she had been building straight through the metal and into him. Ciel flinched and looked away as he heard the demon's screams of pain.
"Well that was a disaster!" snapped Ciel, as they rushed away in a fast carriage. The carriage bounded down the streets, baggage thumping where it had been hastily tied on top, as it headed towards the hotel they had previously stayed in. Ciel kept looking out to ensure no one had followed them out. He pulled the wig off angrily,
"I apologise for the inconvenience, My Lord" stated Rachel impassively, her face now emotionless. Sitri was staring out the window, smoking still and furry ears and tail displayed, drooped to show he was upset. He said nothing.
Ciel rubbed his temples, groaning,
"It would have been so simple! Sneak into the building tonight to gather evidence and monitor the classes during the day for anything unusual! Now we'll have to sneak into the campus from outside, trying to get past those armed guards" the boy snapped again, his headache not subsiding. "And we won't be able to find out about whether the brainwashing is happening at the school either"
"I apologise again, My Lord" Rachel responded. "Sitri apologises as well. Don't you?" the inhuman edge returned to her voice briefly, making Sitri flinch. He turned to face the other occupants of the carriage, looking defeated and somewhat smaller. He nodded to the earl,
"S'ry…" he mumbled, before shooting an anxious glance at Rachel. She nodded, face still stern, and the demon went back to facing outside. Ciel briefly forgot his fury as he watched their interaction. He had to admit, despite the fact he had control of a demon who could tear him to shreds, a fiancée who could slice his head off in a moment, servants whose sole purpose was to defend the estate but could take him out if they ever got the idea, and contacts who could send any multitude of deaths his way; he found this impassive strange girl to be oddly the most frightening. She could control a demon too, not through a bound contract but through her own power, and seemed quite capable herself. If she ever turned her anger on him…
'Remember as well, she is already dead' he thought, remembering the hole in her chest caused by Sebastian. He shuddered as he remembered the gaping wound with his butler waving through and then realised something.
"Where is Sebastian?" Ciel asked, expecting the butler to pop out of somewhere. Rachel raised an eyebrow,
"You sent him out looking for Sitri and told him to be back at the school by 11pm, My Young Lord. No doubt he has gone quite far away, thinking Sitri may be somewhere remote" she explained, an accusing look shot at Sitri. Said demon turned back to face them and looked down guiltily before looking up at Ciel,
"Malphas is very thorough with his work. If you ordered him to find me, then he won't relent until he does" the demon said. Ciel felt somewhat uneasy, imagining his demon's fruitless searching through various cities and countries,
"How far do you think he's gone by now?" the earl asked, still peering around in case he appeared. Sitri shrugged,
"Many thousands of miles in any direction. Finding him right now would be a matter of luck" the demon stated simply. The demon had the decency to look apologetic this time.
Ciel sighed heavily then started removing his eye patch; he would have to call Sebastian back through their contract. Raising the black fabric that concealed his eye and the sigil burned into it, the Earl set a determined look on his face.
"Sebastian. Come to me" he ordered. Silence settled in the carriage for many moments, whilst they waited. The moments stretched out into an eternity before finally Sitri spoke,
"He isn't here. Or anywhere nearby. I can't sense him" the demon peered out the windows. Ciel felt confusion and worry fill his gut with ice, where was he?
"Sebastian! I order you to come here right now!" he cried, the fear hitching his voice up. They waited further but there was still no arrival of said demon butler. Ciel felt his heart start pounding,
'Where is he? What's happened to him?' he realised the fear he felt wasn't for himself; it was worry for his demon. The foreboding he had felt earlier returned in force now. Then he remembered something else from earlier,
"Rachel, you said your chains were sapping your strength at the college earlier, correct?" the Earl asked suddenly, looking at his housekeeper. The girl looked confused at this sudden question but nodded, uncovering the black bands on her wrists. Sitri shot the bands a brief saddened look before returning to his passive expression, Ciel noted this but ignored it for now,
"Yes My Lord. They have stopped since we have left the college grounds" she replied. The Earl nodded, an uneasy thought forming,
"And you said that whatever had caused that was something inhuman, correct? Something either from Heaven or Hell?" Ciel glanced at Sitri briefly, remembering again how easily he could overpower Sebastian.
"Yes Mr Lord" she answered, now realising where the earl was going with this line of questioning. Ciel looked at them both with a dark expression,
"What if whatever that creature is, has got Sebastian?"
And that's it for now! What will Ciel do now? Has Sebastian been captured? How will they make it back into the college unseen? Stay tuned to find out! Please like, review and let me know what you think! I'll try and update as much as I can, but I apologise that it's going to be slower now. Until next time!