William and Ronald are in William's office. As Ronald waits for his superior to deliver punishment he learns of something even more confusing than before. A dark secret which ties both the Campbell House and an organization called Zion together.

Sebastian and Claude are at an impasse, both are aware that they deeply care for Alex; however neither is unsure of how to approach it. Sebastian then enquires about the phone call only to solve the mystery behind the numbers left in the account. Which is then interrupted by a text message sent by the "Undertaker".

What is it that they feel for Alex?

What happened to William to make him stare into space and what connection does the Campbell house and Zion have?

And WHY did Undertaker let Grell near his cellphone?

I hope you enjoy,

~The Dark Ringmaster

I do not own Kuroshitsuji.

Chapter 23: Confusing Emotions

Ronald looked at William and noticed the bags under his eyes, it was apparent that William was beyond exhausted and was pushing himself past the breaking point. Ronald was silent as he waited for William to say what he had intended to. "Ronald, how much do you remember of your schooling?" asked William hesitantly, he leaned back in his tall leather chair which was situated behind his mahogany desk. Ronald paused, he hadn't been in school for such a long period of time however he knew his skills were more adequate than Grell's. "A bit," he replied softly, William pushed his glasses up his nose and relaxed a little. "There was a case over 20 years ago with an organization called Zion, a group determined to raise a demon," said William, Ronald noticed how he began to look relatively uncomfortable. "They killed over 20 children and had contracted both shinigami and angels to do their bidding. It caused a massive influx when they blew apart half of Berlin," William paused, Ronald could see the pain in his eyes, "Unfortunately they succeeded…" William fell silent and gave a painful listless stare. Ronald's eyes widened it was an expression which only appeared one month out of the year and oddly it was Christmas.

Ronald didn't know why but he felt his heart breaking as he looked at his superior's listless gaze. It was as though his soul had been shattered and all that remained was an empty shell. "Sir?" asked Ronald as he reached over to touch the back of William's hand. He twitched and immediately snapped back to reality, "Mr. Knox," said William quickly. He looked at the blonde's hand which now rested on his own, "I apologize," he muttered and looked away. Ronald's eyes narrowed and he said softly, "You know, you can talk to me." The words seemed almost alien and he watched William shove his hand away and become his typical serious self. "The group which had managed to kidnap you and nearly raised that demon was the same group, however something unusual happened 20 years ago," said William as he reached into a drawer of his desk. "We went to their headquarters to find that everything had vanished all that remained was this," said William as he placed a brown leather bound volume on the desk. "A book with a note addressed to who ever found it," he said as he opened the cover. Ronald was confused, he didn't understand why the book had been so important until he noticed the name of it's owner which had been written in the cover. His eyes widened and he asked, "Why?" written in elegant script was the name Arthur Campbell Earl of Essex. "I found this note a day ago wedged in the door of my apartment," said William as he placed the envelope on the table. William's full name was written on it and Ronald glanced back to the volume, "They're identical, down to the ink," he said slowly. His hands trembled and he looked up at William, "How?" seemed to be the only word which Ronald could manage to say. William was a baffled as he was and responded, "I have no idea."

They had lost record of Helen and Arthur Campbell years ago thanks to the accident. Despite the fact that their souls weren't collected, it didn't state that they were alive either. This was impossible, even if shinigami were backed up they still managed to harvest and view cinematic records. "Do you think someone altered the record?" Ronald asked, even if it was nearly impossible Zion did have shinigami working for them. A heavy sigh heaved William's shoulders and he replied, "I'm uncertain however I will investigate." Ronald nodded and waited for the order to leave as he watched William fall into his chair. He clenched his chest and grimaced, "Sir?" asked Ronald with concern. William looked up at him; this gaze was different from the cold and indifferent gaze he was accustomed to receiving. William looked at him, his gaze was soft and tender, "… please," he muttered and Ronald looked even more confused. "What?" he asked in confusion, and he watched William slowly rise from his chair. Ronald stiffened, William looked so unusual, "Don't leave, please," he whispered before wrapping his arms around the blonde and holding him close. William was much taller than the slender blonde; he had a broad chest and a pair of strong arms. Ronald felt as though he was being wrapped in William and he was about to say something when he felt something damp on his shoulder, "Stay," he breathed.

Ronald instinctively wrapped his arms around his superiors shaking shoulders. Even though this was usual oddly enough he felt relieved. "Sir," he whispered tenderly as he felt the shoulder of his suite become damp. "I can't lose another person I care about," he mumbled as he nuzzled his head into Ronald's neck. The night at the Glass Factory invaded his mind and he realized how upset William had been. "I'm here," said Ronald and William gave him a squeeze.

Night had slowly swept in and there was nothing but the sound of waves as they rolled in. Nestled in one of the wicker chairs was a small woman, her eyes were closed and she shivered. Slowly a taller figure entered the room and draped a blanket over her. His golden eyes glistened in the light of the moon as he adjusted the blanket. "It's rather cool tonight," said a familiar voice in the door way. He turned to find his crimson eyed lover looking at him. "It is," replied Claude and Sebastian noticed the blanket which she had draped over her. "Shouldn't we move her to bed?" asked Sebastian as he approached. Claude paused, he had planned to move her, however he wanted to watch her sleep a little longer. "Yes," said Claude and Sebastian paused next to him. She looked so calm and a small smile curled Sebastian's lips, "Perhaps a little later," he whispered and looked at Claude.

"She doesn't scream in her sleep anymore," remarked Sebastian after a moment. Claude paused, they had been watching over her at night from a far for the past few months. Both had expected her to have nightmares and yet she didn't. Which worried the both of them; she didn't even seem frightened after the incident. A normal person would have gone into shock or started crying hysterically, yet she didn't. Her art work for the past few weeks showed her distress, which had in turn made her famous; however it also raised many questions. These questions could cause a potentially hard time for them. "Do you ever get the feeling that she's softly sobbing when you look at her," whispered Sebastian. Claude looked up, he noticed an expression of sadness on his face, "Sometimes I feel like my heart is breaking when she looks at me," he replied. Sebastian looked up at him; those crimson orbs were in turmoil. Claude could tell that even Sebastian wasn't sure of how to handle this. "Sebastian, what do you consider yourself as when you look at her?" Claude asked slowly. It was a question which he hopped that with Sebastian's answer he might figure it out himself.

Sebastian slowly looked at Alex's sleeping face; he noticed how sweet it seemed. "I'm not sure, I just want her to smile and not see tears lacing her eyes," he said finally, even though Sebastian's answer was indecisive it brought a little comfort to Claude. He was well aware that Sebastian had been feeling odd around her too, yet he couldn't pin the emotion down. Claude knew that Sebastian actually loved kids, even if he didn't show it. The pair had even contemplated having a child; however neither could find the time to raise one. Claude looked down at the sleeping girl and slowly picked her up, she was still wrapped in the blanket. "And you? When you look at her, what is she to you?" asked Sebastian, his voice was soothing and curious. Claude looked at the girl and replied sincerely, "I love her but I don't know just how much," Sebastian stiffened, and Claude realized that Sebastian had been thinking about what would happen if he fell in love with the girl. "I know one thing, I will always love you more, it took me centuries to catch you," he whispered, his golden eyes met crimson ones. Sebastian seemed comfortable with this as Claude carried her off to her room for the night. He opened the door for Claude and was quick to pull the covers on the bed back as Claude gently placed her on the bed. They were both aware that she wasn't their actual child, and that in truth she wasn't even the same species as them, yet they saw her as such. Claude adjusted the pillow under her head and Sebastian slowly tucked her in, his hands carefully tucked the light blanket around her and he pressed a kiss to her temple, "Good night," he whispered. Claude placed a large hand on her head and pressed a kiss to her cheek, "Sweet dreams," he said softly before pulling away. The demons stood quietly watching their angel sleep.

After an hour of watching her sleep, Claude and Sebastian were sitting on the patio. The salty sea air caressed Sebastian's face and he asked, "What was that phone call earlier about?" He should have known that the mysterious call would not go overlooked, after all Sebastian always did know when Claude was hiding something. "Damian called, remember the account that had been opened in Richard Campbell's name?" asked Claude as he took a seat in front of the smaller demon. "A string of numbers had been left in the account, however the funds don't exist," said Claude. This was the most unusual thing he had heard, "How many numbers?" he asked. Claude pulled out his cellphone and replied, "12 total, it's odd." Sebastian held one of his hands out for the phone and Claude slipped the rather large Galaxy III into his hand. "How many digits is a country code again?" asked Sebastian. Claude shook his head and replied, "It varies there isn't a standard." Sebastian scowled at the number and then pulled a pen from his pocket. Claude watched curiously as he watched Sebastian place dashes where they belonged. After a moment he held up his hand and said, "I think it's a phone number." Claude had tried everything else, the numbers were too long for a GPS location. "41, that's the code for Switzerland," said Claude after a moment. It had been a long time since he had dialed an international call himself. Sebastian felt his phone vibrate and he pulled it from his pocket, "Since when does the undertaker have my number?" asked Sebastian slowly.

Claude looked as confused as Sebastian was as he opened the text message and asked, "What the hell is this?" There was an edge of discussed in his voice, Claude noticed the messages of Grell at the bottom standing in a pink bathroom with his leg up. "Erase it now," said Claude sternly and Sebastian pulled the phone away from his reach. "Apparently Grell got a hold of his phone, however the message actually is important," he paused as he looked over it, "I think…" Claude sighed with irritation nothing that shinigami did made sense. "The Undertaker has been looking around an interesting letter plastered to the door of his apartment. Apparently there is an auction of mystic goods to go down, it was written by one of the warlocks, he is inviting us all to look over premium summoning tools," said Sebastian as he looked over the message. Claude's golden eyes narrowed and the moon light set a glare off his glasses, "Summoning tools, is it possible that he would have another scrying piece?" asked Claude. Sebastian shrugged and continued to scroll down the message. "The auction is to be held in Switzerland this December prior to the New Year," he continued, "From the looks of it another auction will be occurring there as well, an art one." Claude took his phone and began searching online, "Yes from the looks of it a collector is selling a majority of his pieces at that time," he commented. Sebastian got a sinking feeling from this information, something just wasn't quite right. "I think we should attend," said Claude after a moment as he looked at the hotels in the area. "It would be good to gain some publicity out of this, after all you and I are worth a fortune," he continued. Sebastian closed the text message and muttered, "True, but you have something else in mind, don't you?"

Claude swallowed hard, the truth was he had been dying to fuck Sebastian in the cold of winter after a long day skiing. "No," he replied nervously and adjusted his glasses. A smirk curled the corners of Sebastian's lips and he replied, "It's all right, I was thinking the same thing after all." Claude grinned deviously, as Sebastian took a seat on Claude's lap. "So lewd," he whispered as he licked Sebastian's neck. He heard Sebastian's deep chuckle as he replied, "Well I did get to see you in those tight pants all day." Claude smiled as he took his glasses off, "They just scream take me off," whispered Sebastian. Claude's hands wrapped around Sebastian's back, "Oh? And your pants didn't?" he asked. Sebastian had been wearing a tight pair of white jeans all day. They were loose around the lower legs but tight where it really mattered. Claude was able to see his perfect ass through his pants and admire his trim waste. They were low and simply hugged his waist; they had been teasing Claude all day. Sebastian's soft lips brushed Claude's and they quickly hardened as they grew more aggressive. Their tongues tangled around each other and Sebastian moaned as Claude's tongue explored other parts of his mouth. He pulled away and looked at Sebastian, whose eyes were half lidded and his cheeks were pink. His lips were parted and he began panting. "You really are irresistible," whispered Claude.

I'm in the process of fixing my computer so don't hate me. I'm waiting on the part to arrive so bear with me as I post using the collecge computers.