A Soul's Tourniquet

The Devil's Heart

Shadows: *searching behind couch* Where the hell did he go?

William: Reaper Shadows, what are you doing?

Shadows: Whaah~! W-Will, wh-what're you doing here?

William: I came here to make sure that you were doing your job.

Shadows: I am doing my job! Whatever Grelle told you is a load of bull! He's only doing it so he can shirk off his own duties to mess around with Sebastian!

Grelle: *jumps up from behind the t.v* TRAITOR!

Shadows: I KNEW IT! *chases after Grelle* GET BACK HERE YOU BLOODY WANKER SO I CAN KICK YER ASS!

William: *shakes head* The board better pay me overtime for this… Shadows does not own Kuroshitsuji or its characters. All rights belong to Toboso Yana. Shadows only claims her OC's.

Grell: Gah—! NOT MY FACE!

KAISHI!

Sebastian made his way back to his Master's room. That boy oddly enough weighed heavily on his mind. Why? He was just some lowly human who would probably die within the next few years so why was he feeling so… attached to that male? The demon shook his head. Not only were his feelings confusing him but that boy's scent confused him all the more. It wasn't like most others where one could pick up traces of alcohol or tobacco and it didn't possess any qualities that would be considered male in nature. No, his scent was very feminine in nature. But why would a female purposely disguise herself as a male? Unless of course she was pregnant, but Sebastian couldn't even detect the separate scent of a child.

Once again, the black clad demon shook his head, clearing his mind of dark haired boy as he approached the bedroom door where his Master would be. Sebastian knocked on the door once before walking into the room, finding the bluenette right where he had left him.

The room fell quiet, save for the rustling of fabric and the tapping of shoes as the demon butler continued to put away his master's clothes into the armoire.

Not long after Sebastian returned did another knock sounded against the oak door.

"Come in." Ciel responded, still concentrating on the book he held instead of turning around to see who was at his door.

The soft screech of the door hinges moving echoed in the room as the door opened. Followed by the voice of the Barrymore maid. "I apologize for the lateness of the hour." Angela replied as she walked into the room, closing the door behind her.

"My young Master is about to retire." Sebastian stated, watching the disguised Angel carefully.

"Um, I have a request. Please, leave this village. You mustn't be here."

"Why not?" Ciel wondered, still focusing on his book instead of looking up to regard Angela

The white haired maid turned her head as she replied. "I can't…"

A loud howl reverberated throughout the entire manor, causing Angela to pale about three shades. "Oh, no! The Demon hound is here!" The maid's body appeared to tremble after her declaration.

The words 'Demon Hound' caused Ciel to look up from his book and over to Angela. "Demon Hound?"

Angela screamed in fear, causing both Ciel and Sebastian to look towards the window, where a silhouette of a dogs head appeared on the curtains, initially surprising the young Phantomhive. "Sebastian!"

The butler ran forward at a human speed, quickly pulling open the curtains to reveal nothing but night sky.

"What was that?" The preteen wondered, walking over to his demonic servant to look out the window.

"Young Master, look."

Ciel looked up to his butler then back out the window, catching the sight of what appeared to be a glowing dog as it ran through Houndsworth, leaving a trail of the glowing substance as it ran.

Rebecca bolted up right in her bed as a scream echoed throughout the entire estate; undoubtedly wake all of its occupants. Before she could react, the door to the room flew open as Benjamin rushed in.

"You alright?"

"Yes, the scream came from down the hall!" Grabbing her hat and shoving it atop her head, the ebony haired teen only hoped that everyone would be too distracted to notice the few pieces of hair that didn't make it into the cap as she and Benjamin ran out of the room and down the hall, meeting up with Ciel and Sebastian as they made their way outside.

Both teens ignored the feeling of the cold ground against their feet as they looked around the moonlit landscape for anything that didn't seem to fit.

Ciel kneeled next to the green glowing substance to examine it closely. Running a finger through it, the bluenette could only smirk. 'Phosphorous… such a cheap trick.' He mused to himself.

"Young Master!" Mey-Rin called out as she and the other Phantomhive servants ran outside.

"Angela!" Finni added, spotting the Barrymore maid standing near the Phantomhive butler.

"What the devil's the fuss about?" Bard asked, clutching a pillow tightly against his chest.

"The demon hound has appeared." Angela explained.

"Demon Hound? Thought those were just stories ta scare 'ittle kids." Benjamin scoffed.

Rebecca nodded in agreement with Ben, deciding to not speak for the moment. She didn't believe what the female servant had just said to them. Things like Devil's and Demon Hounds were just stories to scare little kids, right?

"The demon hound is real… It brings calamity upon the village. Those who defy my master are punished by the demon hound. That is the law of this village." Angela explained to them.

Rebecca stared at the white haired servant. Something about her… wasn't normal. 'Anyone who defies her master…? That sounds like something a pig headed noblemen would do just to stay in power.' The teen mused.

"Angela…!" A male voice called, causing everyone to turn in the direction of the large mass of people walking up towards the smaller group.

"Please tell Lord Barrymore that the demon hound has come." Another replied, holding up a torch so he could see.

Angela walked forward to meet one of the men half way. "Who's been punished?" She questioned, her voice full with worry.

Ciel kneeled next to the body of one of the villagers they had seen earlier that day. His body covered in bite marks and blood and his clothes nearly torn to shreds. The bite marks on the male's body were definitely that of a dog's, but whether they were made by a demon hound or just a normal dog was unclear to the Phantomhive.

Rebecca turned her head, not wanting to see anymore than she already had. No doubt that this would cause her a good amount of nightmares for at least a week or two. The ebony haired teen began rethinking her idea of staying here wasn't a good choice. And since the young Earl Phantomhive had told his butler AND Lord Barrymore that she and Benjamin were sent by Her Majesty, all options of leaving this village had quickly vanished.

"That's awful." Bard stated, imagining how the male might have actually died. The only thought that came to mind for the ex-soldier was that he bled out to death.

Ciel lifted the corpses hand to examine one of the bite marks. "I see."

"Don't touch!" Came a gruff male voice, causing everyone to turn and face Lord Barrymore. "So James was the bad dog?"

"Yes. Apparently he broke the five-dog rule and kept a sixth dog." An older gentleman replied, explaining to Lord Barrymore which rule the boy had broken.

"I see. Then this was inevitable."

"Inevitable…? Someone was just murdered an all you can say is that it was inevitable?" Rebecca hissed, keeping her voice as masculine as she could make it as her anger rose.

Barrymore glared at the ebony haired teen. "This village has laws I have decreed. Those who break them are punished by the demon hound who protects the Barrymores!"

"That's still murder!"

"Rebe—Ho-Horatio, just ferget 'bout it 'fore ya get us killed." Benjamin warned, grabbing onto the females shoulders incase she decided to punch Barrymore in the face. "S-sorry 'bout m' brother." He apologized. Personally, Benjamin wouldn't have cared if Rebecca actually punched the guy in the face. His ego needed to be knocked down quite a bit.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the two teens. From the way the dirty blonde male addressed his companion, it was obvious that he was trying to keep something from slipping out and that the others actions could cause whatever it was they were trying to hide to be forced out into the open.

The large group of villagers began to chant as two other males walked over to the body and picked it up, ready to transport the corpse to its final resting place.

"I was sure the outsiders would be its prey…" Barrymore stated, watching as the group followed the body towards the graveyard. "You've had a narrow escape…" He said towards Ciel and the Phantomhive servants. "Consider yourself lucky."

Rebecca glared at the noble as he walked away, knowing that his last remark was directed at her.

Benjamin released his breath after holding it in for what felt like ages. Rebecca's temper was going to be her demise one of these days. His hands slid off her shoulders once he was sure that she wasn't going to chase after the noblemen that more or less just openly threatened her.

"Bloody bastard." She spat.

The dirty blonde male groaned, shaking his head.

After returning to the Barrymore manor, hardly anyone, save for possibly Ciel and Sebastian, got any sleep. The noble's words weighted heavy on the servants and teens mind.

Rebecca and Benjamin sat outside not far from Bardroy and the other Phantomhive servants. Those three appeared to be depressed ever since they got up, and not because of last night's events.

"What a horrible trip." Bard groaned.

"Yes, yes." Mey-Rin agreed.

"What d'ya thinks got 'em down?" Benjamin wondered, keeping his voice to around a whisper so as to not draw any attention.

"Not sure." Rebecca shrugged, keeping her voice around a whisper as well.

The sound of walking immediately caught the attention of both teens as they looked up to see Sebastian walking over to the group.

"What's the matter? You were so enthusiastic on the drive here."

"Yeah, well…" Bard didn't say anymore. It was obvious what he was trying to get across.

"Have you forgotten? We came to a resort." Sebastian smiled, holding up a picnic basket and bathing clothes.

Immediately, their moods brighten at the implication.

"Resort?" Ben questioned, looking from Sebastian to Rebecca.

The ebony haired teen shrugged. Frankly, hearing that Houndsworth was a resort surprised her just as much as it did Ben.

"Of course, you are welcome to join us if you wish." The black clad demon added, looking over towards the two teens. Particularly 'Horatio' as the boy Benjamin had called her after the small disagreement with Lord Barrymore. The demon had to admit that the girl had talent if she could fool him AND the Angel.

~Earlier that morning~

Sebastian walked down the hall from his Master's room after getting the boy ready for the day. If only the little brat hadn't ordered him to wake the other two. The demon's feelings were still a confused mess and it was starting to irritate him. And the cause was that ebony haired human, adding insult to injury in Sebastian's head.

The black clad male groaned mentally as he continued towards the two rooms the teens had been placed in for the evening. He wanted to avoid that Horatio boy as much as possible until he could sort out just what was wrong with himself, but alas, such was not the case. Sebastian shook his head, deeming it best to wake the boy up and get it over with instead of putting it off.

The demon walked up to the door said male was staying in and was about to knock when a voice reached his ears from behind the closed door. More notable a female's voice.

"I hope that bloody pigheaded man dies before the next moon!"

"Can't disagree there… Just b' more careful 'round 'im Becca. If Barrymore killed 'at James kid like ya think 'e did, e'll probably keep true ta his threat." Benjamin warned.

Sebastian couldn't keep the smirk from forming on his lips. Granted he was annoyed that some human, a female no less, was able to hide their identity from him by just changing the way she dressed and the way she sounded, he couldn't help but be impressed. That girl was quite the trickster to not only fool a demon, but also an Angel as well.

The question of why this human had such an effect on him immediately surfaced in the forefront of his mind. He had been around human females before and none of them had ever caused his feeling to turn into the state they were currently in. What exactly made this one human so different from all the rest then? A thought briefly passed through his mind but he quickly shot it down. There was absolutely no way in the deepest corner of Hell that this particular female could be his mate.

Shaking the thought from his mind, the demon knocked on the door of the room, causing both occupants to stop talking and fall silent.

Rebecca sat on the beach next to Angela, watching Bard, Finni, and Ben as they ran into the lake acting like little kids. It was still fairly warm for September, but it didn't appear that anyone was complaining about it.

"Wow, who'd've guessed it was so comfortable? The water's not even cold!" Bard exclaimed happily.

Finni smiled, shaking some of the water from his hair. The strawberry blonde male turned towards the changing hut that Mey-Rin was still in. "You come out here too, Mey-Rin!"

The red haired maid poked her head out from behind the curtain, obviously embarrassed for some reason. "I can't, it's just too embarrassing, yes!"

"Chances like this don't come every day! Hurry up and get in!" Bard shouted.

Mey-Rin groaned, pulling the curtain even closer to her body.

Rebecca rolled her eyes, watching as Ben grabbed Bard from behind and pulled him down into the water. "Men…" She scoffed, keeping her voice at a whisper so hopefully no one would hear her.

This morning had been too much of a close call for her to be even remotely comfortable around anyone at the moment. She had a strong feeling in the pit of her stomach that the butler had already found out she was only masquerading as a male. The ebony haired teen hoped to GOD that wasn't the case.

"Are you not going to join them?" Angela asked, her voice in Rebecca's opinion sounding sickly sweet.

"N-nah, I can't swim anyway." She lied.

The white haired maid only nodded. She saw through the girl's façade, Angela wasn't stupid. It had fooled her at first, but not like the girl's guise fooled other humans. Frankly, the fact that she had been tricked by some human irritated her to no end. No doubt that the Phantomhive's demon was finding great amusement in Angela's sudden distress. She'll be so glad once that Barrymore idiot is out of the picture and she can complete her assignment.

Rebecca glanced over towards the Phantomhive Earl and his butler, noticing them conversing about Lord knows what. 'The Queen's Guard Dog huh? Father did say that the previous head's son had taken over after that fire… I never thought that he would be so young though.'

The ebony haired teen couldn't help but feel bad for the boy. He couldn't be no more than twelve and because of a freak accident that killed his parents, Ciel practically lost what he had left of his childhood in an instant. She turned her attention away from the boy, focusing it back on Benjamin and the three Phantomhive servants with him. Rebecca could honestly say that all of them looked like little kids, splashing water in each other's faces.

Finni turned his gaze from Bard after a moment towards the shore. From the way he acted, Rebecca wondered just how close the boy had been to his mother considering that he doesn't tend to act his age. At least in her opinion since meeting the Phantomhive Gardener.

The strawberry blonde smiled at the two females. "Angela! Horatio!" He waved.

Angela and Rebecca both waved back in acknowledgement.

"He is quite adorable, that Finni." Angela smiled, watching the Phantomhive butler from the corner of her eye as he left. Perhaps now would be the perfect time to actually figure out why this girl was hiding herself, and if possible, from what.

Rebecca shrugged. Angela did have a point, but if she answered the maid, it wouldn't really fit a male's perspective on others of the same gender.

"If I may ask, how long have you and your companion been traveling together?"

The ebony haired teen glanced at the Barrymore maid from the corner of her eye. The smile Angela was giving her sent a cold shiver down her spine. This maid wasn't normal by any means. "The first assignment we've been on ta gether. 'Er Majesty thought we'd be perfect fer 'elpin' Earl Phantomhive." She smirked, deciding to stick with the story Ciel had told Barrymore just on the off chance the maid was there at the time.

The white haired maid simply nodded. This wasn't going to be an easy task of getting the girl to admit to who she was.

Benjamin hesitantly took a bite of one of the sandwiches Bard had offered him.

Rebecca rolled her eyes at the male's hesitation. "I ain't gonna kill ya Ben." She scoffed, taking a bite of her own sandwich.

Both teens had been surprised by the amount of food the Phantomhive butler had made for their little picnic on the beach. Everything from cake, to sandwiches and biscuits.

"Yer butler's a 'ell of a cook!" The ebony haired female grinned.

"Yeah! This is betta 'en what mum makes." Ben agreed, grabbing a biscuit from the small basket they had been placed in.

Finni smiled, turning to Angela when he noticed she hadn't bothered to eat anything. "Have some, Angela."

"Are you sure it's alright for me to share?" Angela asked nervously.

"Of course! And Sebastian's packed lunches are delicious, yes!" Mey-Rin replied happily.

Angela was about to reply when the group heard someone shouting, causing them all to turn and momentarily forget about their lunch.

"He's been caught! The bad dog's been caught!" A young male shouted as he and four others ran by the lake.

"It's James's dog! The punishment is about to begin!" Another yelled, spotting the group on the beach.

"What punishment?" Rebecca questioned, her voice slightly wavering in pitch.

"I will explain it all when we get there. We must hurry!" Angela stated, quickly standing up off of the blanket they were sitting on.

The town's church bell rang, once again signaling the hour as it did every other day. A large mass of villagers had congregated in a small open area with a Stone wall inclosing about half of the clearing.

Ciel and the other's were the last to arrive at the 'punishment', watching as several dogs were let off their chain's and attacked another that had been tied down against the stone wall. The group of eight watched with horror as the mass of villagers cheered at the brutal sight.

"How barbaric…" Rebecca said in a small voice, unable to comprehend a large majority of the situation. She was stunned stiff at the sight of the cheering villagers and the dog that was being mauled to death.

Finni painfully watched the event unfold before him. Memories of the days he had been held down and injected with some unknown substance at the experimental facility flashed through his head. Parts of his life that he desperately wished had never happened.

"Stop…" His voice was small, only loud enough for those around him to hear what he spoke.

Rebecca and Benjamin turned, looking over their shoulder at Finnian whose hands were clutched together over his heart.

"You can't do this…"

"Hey Finni,…" Ben worried, noticing that the strawberry blonde male was starting to tremble.

"The poor thing!" Finni shouted angrily, taking everyone by surprise.

The mass of villagers watched with shock as the Phantomhive gardener ran over to a large wooden post and ripped it out of the ground.

"Stop it!" He shouted again, the pain of his memories seeping into his voice. Finni swung the large post, knocking all of the attack dogs away from the other with a force that caused everyone's jaw to fall slack.

One of the elderly females that had attended the punishment shrieked before passing out and falling into the arms of another behind her.

"Finni!" Bard and Mey-Rin shouted, running up to the friend with Ciel and Tanaka.

"Yer crazy!" Rebecca yelled, following after them with Benjamin behind her.

"Bloody 'ell! Yer gonna get us killed!"

Recovering from their shock, the mass of villagers immediately closed in on the seven who now stood before them.

"They got in the way." One growled, holding up his weapon, ready to attack.

"They interrupted our holy punishment." Another hissed angrily.

"They're more bad dogs!" Several chanted.

"Punish the bad dogs! Punish the bad dogs!"

"Punish? Are you bloody mad?" Rebecca growled angrily. "What give you 'he right ta kill a poor animal!"

The mass parted as Barrymore made his way up front, glaring down at the ebony haired teen. "As I have said before, little German Sheppard, this village has laws that I have created and are enforced by the demon hound."

"Yer nothin' but a coward 'idin' b'hind some fairytale!"

The sound of the slap reached her ears before she felt the sting on her check and the ground against her side as the force sent her to the ground, knocking off the messenger boy's cap from her head in the process.

A few gasps resonated throughout the mass of villagers along with several whispers as Benjamin ran over to help his friend up.

"I told ya ta b' careful, but yer too thick 'eaded ta listen." The dirty blonde male scolded, grabbing Rebecca by the arm and helping her to her feet.

A wicked grin spread across Barrymore's face. "Well now, it would seem that the little Pit bull is nothing more than a Pomeranian." He chuckled. "Tie them up. The girl and the Earl Phantomhive are to be chained."

Several villagers did as Lord Barrymore told them, tying the Phantomhive servants and Benjamin to one of the posts while Rebecca and Ciel were chained to the stone wall.

"You look pathetic, Maltese."

"Master, I beg you, please forgive these people!" Angela begged.

"True, the Pomeranian and the Shih Tzu are the Queen's messengers. Depending on what they say, perhaps I'll let them go. Pull out of this village and advise Her Majesty never to touch it again!"

Ciel smirked, looking Barrymore dead in the eye. "You'd go that far to protect your tiny little kingdom? You're the very dictionary definition of 'obsession'."

"I agree with th' Earl!" Rebecca shouted, glaring at the male.

Barrymore's face faltered as anger began to consume him. "The learn for yourself what happens to bad dogs who defy me! Sick 'em!" He hissed.

Several more attack dogs were released from their leashes at the command and bolted towards Ciel and Rebecca.

The ebony haired teen shut her eyes close tightly, not wanting to see what fate held for her. At the moment, her future looked more and more like a black abyss.

The young Phantomhive watched the charging dogs without so much as batting a lash. He knew that there was nothing to worry about. And knowing Sebastian, he wouldn't show up until the last second like always.

Benjamin watched along with the other Phantomhive servants as the dogs closed in on both Ciel and Rebecca. The chances of them somehow escaping became bleaker and bleaker with each passing second. As the canine's launched themselves into the air, the dirty blonde haired male knew that everything was over and that he would have to watch his friend die before him. Benjamin turned his head away, not wanting to see what lay ahead for the two nobles. That was until he heard several yelps.

"What the—!"

"You're late." Ciel sighed, watching as Sebastian stood back to his full height and adjusted his gloves.

"My apologizes, my Lord." Sebastian replied.

Rebecca's eyes snapped open at the sound of the black butler's voice. 'Wh-where did he…How did he…?' The teens thoughts raced through her head as her gaze was focused on the back of the butler's head. He hadn't been with them when they arrived at the 'punishment arena', so just where on earth did he come from?

"You dare interfere, Garm?" Barrymore shouted, unable to comprehend just where in the hell the butler had come from. "What are you waiting for? Kill that one too!" He ordered.

The dogs that stood before Barrymore lowered their heads out of fear. Unlike their human masters, they could sense that something was clearly wrong with the man they were being ordered to attack.

"Oh, what noisy, coarse voices. This is why I hate dogs." Sebastian sighed, clearly irritated. His usual russet colored eyes flashed a demonic red, causing the dogs to lie on the ground and whimper.

Rebecca stared at Sebastian before quickly shaking her head. From where she was currently chained the ebony haired teen could only make out half of the male's eye, but she could have sworn that just now they changed to a poisonous pinkish-red.

And that is where I will leave off for this chapter^^

I had a hard time trying to figure out how I was gonna have Sebastian find out that Rebecca was by all means a girl, but in the end I thought him eavesdropping would be kinda funny.

Thank you I Am Pandora, watergoddesskasey, and moonbunny81 for reviewing^^ It means a lot to me. And thank you everyone who's added A Soul's Tourniquet to their favorites.

The more reviews I get, the sooner I update!

Ciao for now^^