A Soul's Tourniquet
Rebecca Mason
Naruto: Whaaah~! How come I ain't in the story? I'm the greatest ninja there is!
Shadows: Naruto, shut up will you. This isn't your fandom for the thousandth time!
Sasuke: He isn't going to listen…
Shadows: He won't listen to you either…
Sasuke: Hmph… Hey, loser. Shut up before you say something to piss off Sakura…
Naruto: *freezes*
Shadows: It worked… *smiles* Thanks Sasuke. Wanna help me with the disclaimer?
Sasuke: No.
Shadows: Oh come on! Yer just as bad as Kiryuu-kun is. Fine, I'll just get Itachi to—
Sasuke: *cuts her off* I'll do it…
Shadows: Yay!
Sasuke: Shadows doesn't own Kuroshitsuji or its characters. All rights go to—
Naruto: *cuts off Sasuke* GO TO TOBOSO YANA! AND ALL RIGHTS TO NARUTO BELONG TO ME, NARUTO UZUMAKI, DATTEBAYOU!
Sasuke: *glares at Naruto* You don't have the rights to us you moron, Kishimoto does.
Naruto: who's that?
Sasuke: *smacks forehead*
Shadows: … Okay then, well, while Sasuke beats the crap out of Naruto… I guess we can continue on to the story. All OC's belong to me^^. Also, Angela makes her appearance in this chapter, however, her motives are not the same nor is she involved with the deaths of Ciel's parents. In other words that means no nun episode… just remember, I never said anything about a certain animal tamer XD.
He had noticed the second glance his butler had sent the two males. The action confused Ciel a great deal. Sebastian never paid any mind to others. What had made those two different? Curiosity stirred something in him, causing the preteen to recall the night Grelle Sutcliff had murdered his aunt.
"…Your eyes are the eyes of one who does not love—tarnished eyes. You are a devil that defiles innocent souls with your vile hands and lips."
Was it really impossible for demon's to love?
As the carriage passed by another home, Ciel was brought out of his thoughts when Sebastian began to speak, clearly referring to the brunette male that was training his dog outside.
"He wraps its will with rewards and punishments, and forces obedience. A fine sight! But the dog is not blameless. It fawns on humans, and welcomes the chain around its neck. Really, it is quite hard to understand."
The bluenette preteen surveyed his surrounds briefly before turning his gaze back onto his butler. "If you have something to say, just say it." He sighed.
"Thank you, my Lord. While I do love cats, I am not very fond of dogs. Quite frankly I despise them." Sebastian smiled
Ciel thought for a moment. "Woof." It was ironic that a cat loving demon happened to work for the Queen's Guard Dog. Even more so that the butler was named after the family dog.
The carriages continued on towards the Barrymore Manor that sat atop one of the larger nearby hills. From its perch, the estate looked out over the entire village, almost like a castle. With dead trees surrounding the property, and the eerie look to the Manor, one would probably mistake it for being haunted.
Upon arriving at the entrance into the Manor, a young female dressed in servants attire stepped outside to greet her Master's guests. Her hair was a soft bluish white and short, while her eyes were a cold and hard violet, hiding a secret that no one was to know about. The young Phantomhive did not miss the glare she sent towards Sebastian. And neither did said butler.
"The Earl Phantomhive, I presume?" Her voice was nothing short of captivating. A voice that should belong to an angel if at all possible.
"Yes." Sebastian confirmed, turning to look down at the female. Quite truthfully, he was surprised to see one of HER KIND roaming about the mortal plane. England truly was a playground for the supernatural.
The female bowed in respect before speaking again. "Welcome to Barrymore Castle. My Master awaits your arrival."
Bardroy, Mey-Rin, and Finni stared at the servant in awe. All three surprised by her beauty.
"Sh-She's beautiful, yes!" Mey-Rin admitted.
Finni blushed at the sight of the woman. Her beauty was something unrivaled in the opinion of the strawberry blonde male.
Rebecca and Benjamin had walked around the small town of Houndsworth for another hour after their quick run in with the black clad servant. If one could even consider it a 'run in'. Neither teen had actually taken interest in the reasons behind the noble's visit, whoever he or she was. Quite frankly, neither could understand why a noble would want to come here in the first place.
Since the ebony haired teen had met her dirty blond companion in Kingston, she had been going under the pretext of 'Horatio Sommers', Benjamin's 'younger brother'. And with using a deeper voice more often than not to try and fool many of the inn and shoppe keepers, her throat would become hoarse and Benjamin would have to explain that 'his brother' never talked much, even to him.
So far, their plan had worked without any problems.
"Ya know, sometimes it's 'ard ta believe that yer actually a noble. Ya 'ardly evar act like one." Ben stated, looking up at the sky with his hands folded behind his head as the two headed back towards the inn.
Rebecca smirked. "That's cuz most of 'em noblewomen're all fur coat and no knickers. 'Sides, I 'ang 'round you too much." There was no denying the fact that ever since she met the dirty blonde male, her mannerism has definitely taken a turn for the worst in most cases. What she had been doing in the last four months was frowned upon by any sensible noblewomen in proper English society. But in the ebony haired teen's opinion, if she was eventually going to be tied down by proper English society anyway, she decided it was best to travel now before having to marry some disrespectful pig of a noblemen.
"Ya also don't go arse o'er tip with every bloody guy ya see, like them other's did." The male laughed, trying to prove a fact that even though she hardly acted like a noble, she even hardly acted like a girl.
Rebecca glared at Ben, immediately picking up on his implication. "I could bloody well whip you fer that. Don't ferget, I stay up later than you do."
Benjamin froze. His face quickly drained of its color. "I-I only, meant that as a joke! Y-you know…Ha-ha" He laughed nervously.
The female teen only smiled, causing Ben to look to the side and down at the ground. "Why'd I 'ave ta bat on a sticky wicket?"
Ciel and Sebastian followed the Barrymore maid into the manor after the demonic butler quickly gave off his orders to the other Phantomhive servants.
Opening yet another door, the female led both males into another room.
"This way." She stated, entering her Master's study.
The room they were currently in was filled with various taxidermy dolls and mounted animal heads. Ciel could barely believe that someone actually ENJOYED this type of décor.
The crack of a whip and a feminine screech resonated though the air of the study, causing both males to turn their gaze towards the maid, who was currently cowering on the floor as an older male, undoubtedly Lord Barrymore, whipped her like a disobedient animal.
Sebastian did his best to hide his smirk that so desperately wanted to show itself. Watching an Angel at the mercy of a mere human was extremely entertaining.
"Who the devil is this Chihuahua? I told you to go receive the Queen's messenger!" Barrymore growled, continuing to whip his servant.
Ciel stood offended, jaw hung slack at the notion of being insulted by someone under him.
"'Chihuahua'…?" Sebastian questioned, completely dumbstruck at the Lord's comparison.
"Can you not even do a simple thing like that, Angela?" He continued, striking Angela yet again.
Ciel had definitely seen enough from this man. HE didn't even abuse his servants like that. Then again… the preteen had no idea what Sebastian did to them. "Sebastian."
The boy didn't even need to completely state his order for the demon to step in, grabbing Barrymore's wrist just as he was about to swing the whip down upon Angela once more. Though granted, the demon would have preferred to watch his temporary form of entertainment for a bit longer.
The older male glared at Sebastian angrily, but also in surprise. "What are you doing, you filthy Doberman? Trying to bite my head off, are you? Let me go!"
"I ordered him to do it." Ciel stated, causing the Lord of the house to turn his attention to him.
"What?"
"It sounds as though you got my letter. I am Ciel Phantomhive." He stated, taking a seat in front of Barrymore's desk.
Sebastian released the male's wrist, deciding that he was too preoccupied with Ciel to worry about his maid's incompetence.
"You mean to tell me a little toy poodle like you is Her Majesty's messenger?" Lord Barrymore growled, holding onto the wrist that Sebastian had released but a moment ago.
Ciel smirked. "You disapprove of small breeds, Lord Henry?"
Both teen's had returned to the inn shortly after Rebecca 'discreetly' threatened to get back at Benjamin for his earlier comment about her gender. She knew that he in fact had meant well with the notion, the teen did not deny that she hardly ever 'swooned' over any male, but she couldn't pass up the chance to scare the poor boy out of his wits. Especially since she knew how much the dirty blonde hated dogs.
"Good thing this place ain't much of a tourist 'own. We got our own beds this time." Benjamin smirked, tossing his bag onto the single bed closest to the door.
Rebecca copied the action, throwing her own things onto the bed closest to the window.
The room was a fairly good size. Had it been a tourist town, the teens would have been unable to get this room and Benjamin would most likely be sleeping on the floor if the room didn't have a couch.
Taking off her cap, Rebecca shook out her shoulder length hair, allowing some of it to fall over her shoulders. It was troublesome in her mind having to keep up this façade of being a male. If only society didn't frown upon females traveling about on their own accord. Searching through her bag briefly, the ebony haired teen pulled out a comb and started pulling it through her hair, hoping to free it all from the somewhat tangled mess it was becoming.
After Angela had shown the young Phantomhive to his room for the duration of his stay, Ciel couldn't help but notice that his demon butler seemed slightly distracted while unpacking the Earl's clothes.
Grelle's words about demon's being unable to love echoed through the young boys head, as if they were taunting him. From the affection the flamboyant reaper showed towards Sebastian, it was safe for Ciel to assume that reapers were capable of love, so then why were demons the only exception?
"Sebastian… is it truly impossible for demons to love?"
The demon paused, momentarily baffled as to what caused such a question. "Why do you ask, my Lord?"
"Curiosity…" Ciel stated plainly.
"I do not take kindly to liars, young Master."
The bluenette was silent for a moment. "… Grelle had mentioned it. And simply because I AM curious. Do not forget that you also have a contract with me. I do not need you running off somewhere just because of some girl."
"… Devils ARE able to love; however, it differs from the 'human' sense of the word. My kind does not often show affection like humans do, and we are also quite possessive of our 'mates'. But yes, contrary to popular human belief and what that annoying red abomination said, devils are able to love, just only one being." Sebastian explained, continuing to put away the Earl's clothes.
The young Phantomhive nodded. "I assume that you do not have one then… A 'mate', as you called it."
"Yes… however, the older a devil gets, the less likely it is that they do not already have a mate…" Sebastian added.
"How uncommon?" Ciel inquired, catching the underlying statement of his butler's words.
Sebastian sighed. He should've just lied. "To my knowledge, there is only one other devil besides myself that does not have a mate at our age."
Ciel nodded, deciding to drop the subject at that point. At least until an idea popped into his head that he truly wanted to try out now thanks to the information Sebastian had just given him. "By the way, I forgot to mention that Her Majesty informed me that she would be sending two others to 'help' us. We saw them earlier in town but it would seem that they were not informed of our own accommodations here. See to it that they arrive here without any trouble."
"… Of course, my Lord."
Rebecca sat on the edge of the windowsill, balancing herself as best as she could while read her book. Her damp ebony hair appeared almost black like it always did after she washed up from a long day. The sun was slowing starting to set over the horizon and it seemed as though already half of Houndsworth was preparing for bed. It made the teen wonder if there was some strict curfew in place.
"Scotland Yard still 'asn't found 'Jack the Ripper' but, 'ccordin' ta them, the killings 'ave stopped." Benjamin sighed, folding the paper he had been reading and placing it back on the table. "Probably left th' country or sumethin'."
"Hope so… I heard a rumor before we left Richmond that the sister of the Countess Phantomhive was 'Jack the Rippers' last victim."
"Why would 'e kill a noble? Thought 'e only killed prostitutes."
Rebecca shrugged. "Mistaken identity perhaps? Regardless, it was only a rumor." Folding the upper corner of the page she had been reading, the teen closed her book and tossed it onto her bed, opting to look out at the street below.
The area was practically barren save for a male who nearly blended in with the shadow one of the buildings casted. Had it not been for the pair of bright russet eyes looking up at her, Rebecca probably wouldn't have noticed him at all. She turned from the window, not bothering to even acknowledge the black clad male from earlier.
Rebecca saw nothing special about him. He just appeared to be like any other normal human being that existed. The way he seemed to hold himself was like all the other human males with inferiority complexes. Even though it was obvious he was a servant. Benjamin was the same way at times, but only when he was purposely trying to show off or act like he knew what he was doing when he clearly did not.
Stretching her arms over her head, the ebony haired teen stood from her perch, starting to unbutton her vest. It had been a long day already and she couldn't wait to finally get some sleep.
Just as she was about to undo the last button on the garment, a loud knock resonated throughout the room. Both teens froze momentarily, looking between each other and the door that the sound had come from. Another knock sent Rebecca scrambling for her cap, shoving as much hair as she could into it, and rushing to re-button her vest as Benjamin opened the door to greet whoever it was that had knocked.
Ben did a double take upon opening the door. The last person he had expected to see was the servant that they had seen in town earlier in the morning. "Uh… can I help ya?"
"Please, forgive me for interrupting you. I am Sebastian Michaelis. My young Master has requested that I escort you and you companion to the Barrymore Manor." Sebastian replied, bowing to the two as he introduced himself.
The dirty blonde male quickly turned to Rebecca, both exchanging the same confused look. He mentally PRAYED that the ebony haired teen knew something that he didn't. When she simply shrugged, he knew that she didn't even have the faintest idea of what was going on. Turning back to Sebastian, Ben could only nodded and answer with a simple 'Okay'.
Angela glared down at the male who was currently BEGGING at her feet. She did not particularly care whether or not some human child was sent by this lands Queen to take Houndsworth in her name. She couldn't even care if that butler was in fact a demon tied down by a contract. Her only objective was to find—and hopefully cleanse—a human girl by the name of Rebecca Mason, before the girl falls into the devil's awaiting arms.
When the girl was born, news about a HUMAN becoming a mate to a devil had quickly circulated throughout the Districts of Heaven. Though it seemed to become more common for devil's to take human mates, none of the Angel's were happy about the child's fate. Angela included.
Several of them had decided to merely observe the girl while the other's quietly disregarded her, mentally fuming that yet another of their Father's creations would be dragged into the depth of Hell. During the time they watched over the child from a distance, several other humans had also become mate's to devils, causing their population to grow. While the devils population was considerably small to begin with compared to the Angels and Humans, even the slightest increase worried many of the Angels that had taken part in the battle.
Angela was determined to cleanse the human girl before something occurred. Even if she didn't care about the humans as a whole.
The Angel was snapped out of her thoughts at the muffled sound of a voice just outside Lord Barrymore's. That maid from earlier must have followed her. Not that Angela cared. Perhaps she could order that demon hound to kill this disgusting pig of a man.
Benjamin and Rebecca arrived at the Barrymore Manor shortly after dark. Neither knowing what to actually expect. The ebony haired teen hadn't been around another noble in months and she knew that her etiquette was lacking, and her companion had never been around PROPER noble in his entire life. A sense of dread began to fall over Rebecca as the black clad butler led them through the manor to a room on the second floor.
Sebastian knocked on said door twice and waited for someone to answer.
From the opposite side of the door, a muffled high pitched male voice graced the trio's ears. "Come in."
Once permission was granted, Sebastian opened the door and walked in, stepping to the side to allow the others into the room.
"Pardon the intrusion my Lord… Allow me to introduce my young Master, Earl Ciel Phantomhive."
Ciel looked up from the book he had been reading to pass the time, only to inwardly smirk at himself upon seeing the two teens from that morning. "Sebastian, see to it that Lord Barrymore makes the appropriate accommodations for their stay. I am sure they would prefer separate rooms instead of sharing one."
"Of course." Bowing once again, Sebastian left the room closing the door behind him. He was glad that Ciel had ordered him to do something else other than stay in the room. The darker haired boy made him feel… Possessive? Ever since spotting those two on the side of the road earlier in the morning, the demon couldn't help but feel that something was entirely off with that boy. And himself.
The bluenette waited until his butler's footsteps disappeared down the hall before speaking. "I must say, I do not believe I have ever met a female that insists on dressing as a man." Ciel could no longer hide his smirk. For his BUTLER to actually MISS something like that sparked his curiosity to burn even more.
"H-how did you—"
"Males your age should have some build to them. Especially if they are of middle-class."
The ebony haired female blushed lightly. This boy was more observant than she gave him credit for. "Forgive me, Earl Phantomhive. I over estimated my guise too greatly." Rebecca bowed, deciding against taking off her cap encase the butler returned to the room.
"Actually, your guise is most impressive. You WERE able to fool my butler with it after all." The bluenette replied, gesturing to the two chairs next to him.
Both teens momentarily hesitated before taking their seats instead of standing. Ciel watched them carefully. Especially the girl. From what he had observed from her already, she wasn't someone raised by middle-class standards. Her posture when she sat down, though not how any woman Ciel knew sat, and the way she spoke was clearly evident of a noble upbringing. Her companion on the other hand was definitely someone from middle-class. From the way he sat to remaining silent while his friend did the talking.
"If you do not mind my asking, Earl… what was your reason for inviting us here?"
Ciel was silent for a moment. He highly doubted that either of these two would believe that his butler was a demon, and that his only reason for sending his butler to bring them here was only to confirm a suspicion he had. "I am currently looking into hiring more help at my estate and, judging by the state of your clothes, I am right to assume that you have no permanent place to stay. You'll be paid weekly and given a permanent quarters. Naturally you will of course be given separate rooms."
Luckily for the young Phantomhive, both teens seemed to believe everything he just told them.
"Gettin' m' own pay don't sound too bad. Betta' than waiting fer yer parents ta send us money every week." Benjamin admitted, turning to Rebecca for her opinion.
"Yeah…" She nodded and turned her attention back to the young Earl. "Very well, Lord Phantomhive, we accept your offer."
"I am glad to hear. You will be assigned a position once we return to my manor after completing the task here. Oh, I do not believe you have given me your names." If Ciel's hunch was right, then hiring at least the girl was going to make things that much more entertaining at the manor.
"B-Benjamin Sommers." Ben introduced, appearing slightly intimidated.
"Rebecca…, actually, Rebecca is just fine."
The bluenette nodded, quickly committing their names to memory. He was about to question Rebecca as to why she did not give him her last name, but of course, a certain black clad demon had to walk in at that moment. He would have to ask another time. Ciel stood from his seat, looking at his demon butler briefly before turning to address the two teens. "Sebastian will escort you to your rooms for the evening. We can continue our conversation in the morning."
Rebecca and Benjamin nodded in agreement with the Earl and stood from their seats. Neither teen could wait to just crawl into bed and drift off into a peaceful sleep for the night. Coming to the Barrymore Manor on the Earl's request had only lengthened the already long day.
Once the butler escorted them to their OWN rooms for the evening, both teens fell onto their beds, not bothering to change from the clothes they currently wore, welcoming the peaceful sleep that was slowly enveloping their bodies.
If only the peacefulness had lasted longer than ten minutes.
Woohoo! I got this done a lot faster than I thought I would^^
I honestly had a blast writing a good portion of this chapter. Especially the part with Angela.
I meant to post this yesterday instead, but FanFiction refused to allow me to log in, so I decided to post it now.
Please please please review! If you review, the sooner chapters come out, and the sooner chapters come out, the happier you are. Right? It's a win-win situation.
Until next time~