Chapter Nineteen: Report and Explore

Ciel fell back against his borrowed bed, wincing at the pain from his shoulder and head. With a flick from his hand, Sebastian was removing his unusual shoes and setting them aside, along with the other purchases they'd made that day.

Somewhere between taking his master's shoes off, and settling him more comfortably on the bed, the butler had managed to procure a glass of water and was pressing the medication Hatori had prescribed into the boy's good hand while he still held the glass to his lips. "Please do try to drink all the water, young master," he insisted. "It would not do to have you become dehydrated."

Ciel shoved the glass away as soon as he'd taken the pills, gagging a bit at the feel of them going down his throat. But, hopefully, they would at least ease the pain soon. He felt like throwing up again and wondered if he was still suffering from that food poisoning. He supposed it didn't really matter as he flung his hand over his eyes to shield out the light. "All right, Sebastian. Tell me what you discovered today."

Sebastian moved a chair he'd procured so that it was more conveniently close to the bed, where he could watch the boy as he gave his report, not to mention monitoring his health. He still seemed quite off from his usual. "As ordered, I attempted to follow the movements of our quarry," he began, Ciel pretending to ignore him as he kept his eyes covered.

The butler reminded himself to make sure his young master went to bed at a more than decent hour. "The trail was cold but I was able to follow it from our point of origin into the city, where it became a bit more difficult to follow. I must admit that I lost the scent several times, but, after combing around the area, I was able to pick it up again in several distinct locations."

Ciel looked up at the tone, uncovering his good eye to look at his butler's expression. "And," he prompted when he didn't immediately continue.

Sebastian's face went expressionless as he continued. "It would seem that our quarry has likely blended into society, but I found her scent most distinctive in two places, the school where Miss Tohru and the others attend, and at this abode."

Ciel sat up so fast at this that his shoulder panged and he had to wince with a hiss of air escaping his lips before settling back against the pillows from the strain. "Here?"

The butler nodded. "Yes. Her trail led to the front yard, though no further forward, and then returned back towards the town. I would like to note, however, that I found the point where master Kyo disappeared as well, and her scent was quite distinctly there as well, along with the strong hint of witchcraft having been used."

The boy stared thoughtfully ahead of him. "This doesn't bode well," he finally confessed. "It would appear that our friend has somehow become associated with our quarry. Most likely against his will." He looked sharply at his servant. "What else can you tell me about that?"

Sebastian put a gloved hand thoughtfully to his chin. "I would assume that our friend was not expecting the meeting with her. I sensed the strong smell of a particular feline presence at the area and can only guess that he was accidentally, or perhaps purposely, transformed by her, then taken prisoner, which means-"

"That our friends' attempts to recover him are likely going to be less than futile," Ciel finished for him with an inward groan. Why did his friends always have to get in the muddle somehow? Last time, it had been Tohru and Lizzy being kidnapped by a demon that had been feasting off of young women of a certain soul type. Would such atrocities never end?

Sebastian nodded. "I have had my suspicions about our witch," he confessed. "And I do believe that she may be of a type similar to my own, though not a full demon, by any means. I'm not positive on this mark, but I believe it to be entirely possible."

Ciel closed his eye again, his hand cradling his other arm in its sling. "Do you think she was looking into Kyo's connections in the area then? Or is she merely trying to hide amongst a group of large individuals?"

The butler's expression turned serious. "I believe both. I found her scent in the records room of the school, with distinct impressions on the records of those associated with the Sohma household. What her intentions are, I'm not sure. It is entirely possible that she either plans on eliminating them or using them. If she is indeed a witch of some nature, their uncanny ability to transform into animals likely intrigues her to no end. I do not now if any of the others have the same type of twisted soul that master Kyo does, though I rather suspect that they all of souls of a similar nature, considering the fate that seems to have entwined them."

The boy nodded. "We have already met a few who are of that same ilk," he said thoughtfully. "What do you think of them?"

Sebastian chose his words carefully. "I feel that those we have met, who are under this curse, have conflicted souls. There is a great deal of hurt in their hearts, and anger in one form or another. But, as of this moment, I can't say that any of them have a soul as tormented as master Kyo's."

Ciel nodded. He rather thought the same, though he couldn't sense those kinds of thing, only observe behaviors. And some things were more obvious than others, including how each Sohma chose to handle the situation they found themselves in.

"Something you might find interesting to note," Sebastian said, breaking into his thoughts, "there was another scent of potential equal strength surrounding both the school and this house."

The boy looked up sharply. "Oh?"

The butler nodded. "Soul strands, purposely left behind, if I am not mistaken, to confuse anyone considered an enemy of the owner. They surround this house like a ward, and the school more like a trip wire. I would also like to note that they are very similar in taste to someone we were in company with for a good part of the day."

"What?!" Ciel struggled to sit once more, ignoring the ache of muscles and spasms of pain that sent him gasping.

Sebastian leaned forward to gently press his master back against the bedding, watching as his face went more white behind the already pale skin. "The human, Saki Hanajima, who was with us, Miss Tohru's friend, the psychic. I would not be at all surprised if she had abilities beyond just reading people's auras. And it would not surprise me if she knew my true identity."

Ciel pursed his lips, ignore another bout of nausea that filled his stomach and throat. "That could prove problematic," he mused through clenched teeth.

"Indeed," his butler agreed. "Another point, young master, should we inform at least Miss Tohru of our suspicions in regards to master Kyo and his whereabouts?"

Ciel shook his head slightly, swallowing back the bile he felt in the back of his throat. "No. I want to know more about what's going on before we say anything to her about it. I'm guessing that you can't, with one hundred percent certainty, say that is what happened to him, can you." He stared intently with his blue eye.

Sebastian sighed. "No. That I cannot, though I would say it's close to ninety-five percent, but I do believe I see your point." Tohru was the least likely to rush into a situation of the two, as Kyo had proved when it had been his friend who had been abducted, but he didn't know if she would tell the others of the household and what they might do about the situation, including her friend, Miss Hanajima. "Nor can I tell you where she is residing, at least not the exact location."

Ciel raised a brow. "Oh?"

Sebastian cupped his chin in one hand once more. "Though I tried to be as thorough as possible, I was unable to find any one place that seemed likely to be her current base of operations. There was, however, an area of about a five-mile radius near the industrial section of the city that seemed to have some kind of ward surrounding it. My guess is that she's hiding somewhere in that area."

Ciel nodded slightly. It seemed logical. If it weren't for his pounding head and shoulder, he'd head over that direction right now, but he knew he was in no condition to go off traipsing about. He could, of course, send Sebastian, but, at the moment, that might be too suspicious looking, though he wasn't sure if anyone else was home just yet, leastways anyone who was an adult. He wasn't sure if Yuki would notice what was going on or not. Of course, Sebastian could come and go without detection. It was the in-between that worried him. Tohru may remember his true nature, but no one else in the area should know about it.

Lau ambled seemingly aimlessly through the trees on the Phantomhive Estate. He'd only been to this part of the woods once, that one time he'd helped escort Tohru and Kyo back to their own time. For a moment, he stood in musing, absent-minded silence as he stared in fixed fascination at a particular branch on a tree.

Ran Mau stood a few feet away, silent and ready for whatever might happen, arms at her sides. She remembered the route a bit more so than her other half did, perhaps, though she knew he never did anything without any real reason, even if it was appearing vague and opium clouded. His mind was actually as sharp as a pin, his body quite capable of whipping any decent fighter in a fight, but why bother with that when she was more than willing to do that for him?

Lau suddenly turned to her. "You know, I wonder what it's like over there," he said thoughtfully. "Do you think they'd mind if I brought over some opium, perhaps? What if it's an entirely different culture? Aren't the prospects exciting, Ran Mau?" His face lit up with the idea.

She stared impassively around her. It didn't really matter what she thought. She'd go along with whatever he wanted, so long as it didn't put his life into danger. She blinked at him when he caught her eye and gave her equivalent of a shrug.

Lau half sighed as he turned back in the proper direction. "I suppose musing about it won't help us find out, now will it?" He already knew what her answer to that would be, even if she wouldn't so much as verbalize it. When it was just the two of them, and he wasn't truly clouded by opium, there was no real need for words between them, let alone the pretense of vaguery.

"Well, then, let's see what we shall see, right, Ran Mau?" He turned a coy smile as he looked back, arm out for her to wrap around.

Side by side, they walked towards the small clearing that both knew was there. And, just as they'd expected, there was a slight shimmer in the air like there had been last time. "Ready?" He glanced a bit nervously at his companion, though there was decidedly more excitement there than any kind of misgiving. At the nod from Ran Mau, they both stepped into the shimmering void and vanished.