Disclaimer: Yana-sama and Jun-sama owns them (except my OCs, obviously)

A/N: I have to warn you for the curtain for a certain Boy's love had been raised. I can't imagine a little boy agreeing to that in real life. Oz is around my little brother's age and I have a boy cousin who's around Ciel's age (and who is really too short for an eleven-year-old). Goodness. Dumdumdumduuum! Daddy Vincent and Uncle Diederich, plus my cutie Undertaker will take the stage!

Chapter XIII: The Cradle of Comfort

Just by looking at Ciel's frightened face, Oz already knew that the boy had suffered from a nightmare. His heavy breaths and pool of sweats indicated the intensity of his dream. In order not to put any more pressure on the boy, Oz gently entwined his fingers between Ciel's trembling ones and gave him a reassuring smile.

Ciel looked up at him; a teardrop trickled down from his left eye. "O-Oz…?"

"It's only a dream," Oz whispered. "It's not real." He took the damp cloth from the basin and used it to wipe the face of the boy. Ciel struggled a little, but soon let the lad do what he intended to accomplish while keeping his mouth shut for a good period of time.

"I had dreamt of my older sister," Ciel finally said. "We were playing with our parents."

Oz remained silent for a while upon hearing what the boy had said. For a nightmare, that one was ironically nice. Did something happen at the end of the dream? "Isn't that nice?" he asked, forcing a smile. "I didn't know that you have a sister."

"Her name is Echo…"

"Echo? You mean like a voice? What a cute name. I bet your sister is as sweet as you."

Ciel nodded. "She always tells me how much she loves me. I love her more, though. She's the one I want to marry."

This time, Oz chuckled. "You know, marrying your sister will cause your parents' death. I'm sure of that." He admitted that he found it eccentric, but as a whole he saw it as something cute for a child like Ciel to say.

"W-Why?"

"You can't wed your sibling, unless if the two of you are the only ones left in earth. People will call you indecent. Do you like that?"

Ciel shook his head; a faint red color was visible on his cheeks. He was embarrassed, but deep inside he couldn't fathom the mentality of people—if one can marry a cousin, then why not his or her sibling? Wouldn't that be easier if they do it instead? Oz, on the other hand, stared at Ciel with amusement. He knew that the boy was probably wondering by now. "For an innocent child such as him… why does that thing have to happen to him?" He brushed off the serious thoughts and remained joyful in front of Ciel. He had to play along, of course. Surely, the fever had already gone through the boy's head. "You know what? I also have a sister. She's younger than me, but I'm afraid she's a lot taller than me now." Oz chuckled once more. He just suddenly remembered his sister, Ada, who was now a 17-year-old teenager. Upon his mention, Ciel gave him a puzzled look, as if asking how that was possible. "It's a long story. Now, you shouldn't talk anymore. You still have a fever, see?" Oz checked his temperature and then slipped a hand under his nape, asking him if he could sit. He helped him up and then let him leaned on his chest for support. "How's your throat? Here's a mint tea Isabel prepared. This will help you—"

"Isabel?" Ciel asked as he looked up at Oz.

"Ah, you were half-unconscious a while ago so perhaps you didn't notice." Oz explained everything from the beginning until to the current situation, as Ciel began drinking the tea he had offered.

"I wish to thank them…"

"You can, after your fever subside. Is that alright?" Ciel nodded. Oz was about to tuck Ciel under the covers once more, when he suddenly landed on his knees after an intense pain hit his chest. He grabbed the blanket with his other hand and used the other to clutch his left chest. "U-Ugh! Not now."

"O-Oz! W-What's wrong?"

Oz's silent groans alarmed Ciel, which urge the latter to jump down from bed and grabbed the older lad. With adrenaline rush, he was able to unbutton the lad's shirt in a swift movement. When he did so, a startling image made his eyes widened from shock.

Alice fell on the cold floor and almost fainted when lightheadedness struck her. Good thing Break and Sharon were there to help her stand on her feet to move her to a nearby couch.

"Miss Alice, are you alright? What happened?" Sharon asked as she locked her hands between Alice's.

"I-I'm not sure, but this always happen whenever Oz—" Alice was interrupted when Gilbert entered the room; horror was seen on his pale face. "Seaweed head looks tired as well…"

"It's Oz… the hand of his seal moved!" Gil informed. "It means he's still alive and is around here somewhere. We really need to find him."

"It's because he used my power without consent!" Alice shouted back, angrily, although the tears leaking down from her eyes indicated her apparent anxiety and fear. "H-How… could he. I-I never want this to happen. T-The more he used it, the more his… life… is…" she wasn't able to finish her speech when she burst out crying like her usual way of having a tantrum. Sharon rubbed a hand on her back and tried to soothe her. Gilbert, however, didn't move from his post and just remained silent.

"What's with this depressing aura?" Break butted in. "Come on. Oz is still alive. No use crying over spilled milk. What's done is done. What good you can do now is to move out and bring him home."

"Break's right, guys. We have to go and find Lord Oz," Sharon said in approval. The other two individuals stopped from sulking and hurriedly head out again to find their friend.

On the other hand, Vincent tried his luck for the second time as he and Diederich went to consult with the Scotland Yard. Lord Randall welcomed them with his usual stern attitude. "Earl, I assure you that you won't get anything from me. The Queen's loyal dog should stop sticking his nose on other people's business."

Vincent clicked his tongue in annoyance, though he didn't show it. "Lord Randall, I am not a mere dog who just came passing by to sniff at someone's rubbish. I am here to gather something useful. Now don't tell me to leave for I am certain that this incident has much got to do with me rather than you."

Lord Randall shot him a look of suspicion. "And how well are you sure of that? Don't get too cocky just because you're some high Lord favored by the queen. You're nothing but a spoiled, carefree lord."

"I have enough of this!" Vincent banged his hand on the table. It was not like him to get carried away by anger. "My son has been missing for three days now and that is no coincidence anymore! Now, if you're not going to tell me who the leads were, I'll assure you that you'll settle this with the Demon, instead!"

It was now Lord Randall who grunted from annoyance. "Noblemen… always does what they want," he whispered. "Just this morning, we were able to track down the criminals. They were residing outside London…" Vincent waited, rather impatient. "It's the Viscount Aleister Chamber and his associate Baron Kelvin."

Vincent felt a strong pain on his head upon hearing the name. The one he thought wouldn't show his fangs, was in fact the one who already bit him without him noticing. How could he let a vermin in his own home? That level of stupidity and carelessness was unforgivable. "Tell me… the exact address. I'll deal with him myself."

"There's no need for that anymore. We went there immediately after relocating their whereabouts. What we saw is not something to celebrate upon either."

"What do you mean? Where's my son?"

"There were no children, Earl. There were no sign of his men as well, only two disheveled corpses." Lord Randall almost threw up upon remembering the image they saw. He just managed to remain on composure in order not to show any weaknesses to his number one enemy. "Now, I've told you everything. You can leave now. We're still on the search."

Vincent didn't say any more words as he and Diederich strode out from the station. Instead of returning home, they dropped by at the most suitable place where they could find more leads.

"Undertaker, we're sorry to intrude. Are you here?" Vincent called. Diederich gave out a disgusted look when Undertaker went out from a coffin.

"My, if it's the Earl and his German do—friend. A good day, gentlemen," he greeted with his trademark chuckle. Diederich glared at him while Vincent remained from his serious self. "Looking for coffins?"

"We're not here for that. It's work, Undertaker," Vincent answered. "Surely, you know what it is."

"Ah, so serious…Very well, it was murder… a very brutal one, that is." Before Undertaker resumed, he offered a seat, some tea, and biscuits, which they took gratefully except for the food offering. "Now, where are we? Ah, the Viscount and the Baron were murdered. The Baron's body was slashed two times, that only a few flesh held the body together. The Viscount suffered the same fate, however his was much brutal for his body was torn to shreds." The two men's eyes widened from shock, that the information had rendered them speechless for a good period of seconds. "They gave me a very hard work, indeed. I have to stitch them together in order to make them appear beautiful for their burial."

"T-That sort of thing… who do you think could do that?" Diederich asked.

"Ah, I'm certain that the person is not an ordinary one. You see, you need a huge, sharp weapon in order to accomplish such task."

"By a weapon, you mean a sword… or an ax?"

"Oh no, it would be very messy to use an ax. You need bigger and sharper… a scythe, for example." Undertaker moved a step closer towards the Earl and whispered, "A demon might be able to do it… or more accurately, the Blood-stained Black Rabbit and its deadly scythe."

Vincent gave him an inquiring look, for surely Sebastian or Charlotte wouldn't do such a thing without his orders; plus who would have thought that the Undertaker knew something about them, especially the chain he had just mentioned. He was about to give a comment when Diederich stood up and pointed a finger at the silver-haired man. "What do you mean by demons and some rabbit owning a scythe? What terrible humor you have! It makes me want to roll on the floor laughing!" he said, adding huge sarcasm on his last words.

Undertaker's laughter sent a mortified reaction on the black-haired man. "As they say, laughter is the best medicine. Whether you had delivered the joke appallingly or not, it would still remain as a form of humor," he said, placing a finger at Diederich's forehead. "Demons or Faeries… Surely, they do not exist in your head. Germans wouldn't appreciate these beings."

Diederich yanked the hand away and glared at the eerie man in front of me. "Might I just correct you… the English did not invent such fairy tales."

"They just made it Children-friendly, alright. But do not forget that they were the ones who made it popular in the eyes of many."

"Seriously, you two… Stop arguing about who invented these Fairy tales," Vincent butted in as he stood up as well and faced his friend. "Diederich, don't forget what we came here for."

"Yes, yes… I know. So, what about the children?"

"For the past two weeks, no children had been delivered here," answered the Undertaker. Vincent and Diederich exchanged glances. Undertaker doesn't take lying as his pastime—that just meant that the children were somewhat save.

"Do you know where Ciel and the others are?"

"I'm afraid not. There is no guarantee that they are still alive."

Vincent sighed. That was the last thing he wanted to hear from the man. "It won't kill me to stay in the bright side, now will it?" he turned away and walked towards the door. "Thanks for your time, Undertaker." Diederich followed behind him.

"My… I wonder what will be the Earl's reaction if he finds out about little Ciel's adventure," Undertaker said to himself as soon as the two men were out of his haunted-looking shop.

Ciel stared at the clock-like image on Oz's left chest; the needle had at least reached the bottom and completed half of its face. It was something Ciel could only picture out in that book his sister once read to him. "W-What… is… happening? O-Oz… Are you…"

Oz faced his back. He never wanted to show that seal to anyone. That only reminded him of his dreadful past, which he was trying so hard to forget. His life would remain normal by now if it wasn't for those red-hooded freaks. "This is… nothing. I'm fine now." He fixed his shirt and heaved a deep, long sigh. The pain had ceased entirely.

Of course, Ciel wasn't convinced. That was definitely not worth nothing, especially now that he realized that the names and whole personality of his new friend and the main character in that book were actually the same. "Y-You're him, aren't you? Ten years ago you were dragged into that place… and that rabbit-looking monster is called a Chain. I-It's all real… I can't believe it."

Oz sighed for the second time and whispered, "How come you know that story?" Ciel told him everything that he knew and how he managed to know everything from the start. Oz pursed his lips, disappointingly. Whose insane man would document his life story that carelessly without even asking for his permission? Hiding his irritation, he looked back at Ciel and placed a hand over the boy's head. "Now that you know all of that… I think it's better if you stop being friends with a sinner like me. I'm sure the emissary of the Abyss will come and get me again after what I did for killing those bastards."

"No!" Ciel cried, giving the plastered teen a sudden embrace. "T-They won't! You're not bad… I like you… and you're the one who saved me. They… they are the one who's bad. I hate them!"

"U-Uh…" Oz didn't see that coming. Who would have thought that Ciel would react like that? "You really do think like that?"

"Y-You're my first… friend outside home. My s-sister said that it's only natural for …a friend …to act like …this," Ciel said, getting interrupted by sudden burst of coughs.

"I see. I'm glad. Thank you, Ciel." Oz rubbed a hand on his back to relieve his coughing as he breathed in and out a bag full of air. "Why do I have the feeling that I just said something wrong and got rejected in a nice way? Did my mind just get the wrong assumption?"

A fleeting silence fell between the two as Ciel let his own thoughts wander into the endless maze of his experiences. The boy closed his eyes and momentarily let his mind explore the scenes. He stirred uncomfortably when he remembered the horrible acts done to him. Fear and tears abruptly returned. He pulled himself away from Oz for he was disgusted at his whole being—body and soul. It was like everything came back, with the torturous touches remaining on his skin and his whole consciousness.

"W-What's wrong? D-Don't you like it when I touch you like that? I'm sorry, I—" Oz's confidence momentarily left him when Ciel pushed him away. A bag of concern filled his whole demeanor.

"I-I… am… I'm filthy," Ciel began. Oz shot him a confused gaze. "I… could still… feel it. T-Those touches… I-It's just too… h-horrible." He placed both of his palms on his face and began to sob. "I-I d-don't understand why t-they have to do that. M-My… mouth could still feel… t-that awful t-taste. I-I don't want to remember it anymore."

Remembering the dreadful acts the Viscount and the Baron commenced made Oz's blood boil at the highest degree. It was too unforgivable that even he wants to forget it once and for all. He wanted to help Ciel erase the horrible memory, but he was no wizard who could change the past anytime he wanted. "Ciel, you know how much I wanted to help you… but I'm just an ordinary human. There's only one thing I can do for you." Ciel stopped weeping and looked up at Oz. "I can… make you forget... or more like replace the feeling, but this is something you'll find very unreasonable. Y-You might even hate me for this."

"I don't care, Oz. Anything… will do."

Oz looked straight into Ciel's pleading eyes. His reasons were confusing him as well at that very moment. It was not like he felt something for the boy already; his top priority was just to help him. Unfortunately, what he just thought of was just something a guy would do to the girl he likes. He might be going insane to think of doing that to a little boy. "Anything? Then… I-I… I'm going to… to… kiss you," he said, stuttering, "…on the lips."

Ciel's stare was replaced by shock and confusion. "Kiss? W-Why?"

Oz felt like exploding from embarrassment as he began explaining why he had thought of doing it. "T-The Viscount did that to you many times… so I just thought that if I do it again… instead of remembering that bastard, whom you'll remember is this, m-more like you'll think of me. I'm going to erase his taste from your mouth."

Of course, Ciel was embarrassed by the offer, but if that was the only thing which could help him then he was willing to do it; although it was not like he haven't done it before, but when it comes to other people, a vague sense of nervousness bothers him. "W-Will it work?"

"I-I don't know. We'll know after we have done it." Oz gently scooped Ciel's cheeks and stared at him with serious eyes. Ciel wasn't moving, just firmly offered back the stare of the older lad. Oz moved his eyesight down on Ciel's lips. That little opening, parted by those soft, sweet-looking lips, seemed to pull Oz closer and closer. He knew it himself; he would only dream of kissing cute girls, but for some reason, he was beginning to get attracted to the blue-haired boy's lips. He stooped his head down and gently placed a chaste kiss on Ciel's awaiting ones. At first, it was just more like a peck, until he began to move his mouth, initiating the said gesture. He didn't go any further than that, though, too afraid that it would only add up to Ciel's fear. When the kiss ended, he released the boy and immediately averted his look. There was a very short silence before Ciel decided to speak, although he didn't manage to do so for the door of the room suddenly open, revealing a smiling Isabel.

"Is Ciel awake? I thought I heard—" She stopped upon seeing the position of the two. "U-Uhm… What happened? Why are you both on the floor?"

Oz was too startled that he just managed to speak when Ciel almost blurted out what they had just did. He immediately halted the boy by covering his mouth and smiled nervously at Isabel. "N-Nothing. I-I just fell… and Ciel was just trying to help me even though I told him not to went down from bed."

"Oh… I see," Isabel answered and then knelt down in front of the two, scooping Ciel from the floor. "How sweet of you, but you still have a fever so you should just stay on bed." She helped the boy back under the covers and put another piece of wet cloth on his forehead.

"Miss Isabel," Ciel called when the girl had just finished what she was doing and was now helping Oz. Isabel turned around with a question on hold. "Thank you for saving us and for taking care of us."

"It's a pleasure, little darling." She smiled again and then walked towards the door. "Well, I just want to inform you that lunch is served. I'll bring one for you two. Excuse me for a minute."

Oz was able to heave a sigh a relief when Isabel left the room. "T-That was close… I don't want to ruin my image in front of a cute girl." He walked towards the bed and sat at its edge, reaching for Ciel. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Better…" Ciel smiled and closed his eyes for a moment. Oz felt relieved despite the terrible idea he just came up with. He laughed after Ciel said, "Although I'm afraid you'll get sick too."

"It's fine, as long as you're feeling better now." Ciel opened his eyes this time and asked Oz why he had covered his mouth a while ago. The blush on Oz's cheeks returned after remembering how close he was to being hated. "L-Look, Ciel… That thing we just did… I-I think it will be better if you refrain from telling anyone."

"Why? It's only a kiss. A lot of people always do that in front of others. Even my parents do… and whenever I do that with Echo, nobody seems to mind," Ciel said with a sudden change of perception towards the matter. Oz had just realized how indecisive Ciel's coping mechanism was. Sometimes, the boy was too innocent and would just cry without warning—exactly like a kid should behave during restless situations; but sometimes, he would just randomly talk about intellectual analogies, spilling out more of his unparalleled logic—more similar to how educated men should behave. The way he plays with people's reasons was very amusing on Oz's part, although he didn't expect that there would be much more to that child's innocent, yet genius mind.

"W-Wha—you… with your sister?"

Ciel nodded, saying that it was a habit already. Oz turned around to hide the shock on his face. If kissing someone was just that easy and wouldn't create such a ruckus, he had probably done it numerous times now with Sharon or Alice. Well, it was not like he and Alice hadn't done it already; that one was just a very different thing, considering that it was an important gesture for completing the contract. He couldn't even call it romantic. He brushed off the thought and faced Ciel once more, though he was again welcomed by another shocking proposal from the boy.

"You know, I even saw one doing it in front of the altar. If it's that immoral, then the church should just forbid it, don't you think?"

"W-What? No! That would be too much," Oz protested. "A-Anyway, it should be a secret between the two of us only. You do understand, right?"

"Okay," Ciel said and raised his hand, which Oz gladly took. "If something like that happen again… will you comfort me?"

Oz smiled and placed a light kiss on Ciel's hand. "Of course… If something is bugging you, just tell me. I'll erase the bad memories for you even if it takes me forever for it."

A/N: F-O-R-G-I-V-E -M-E. I couldn't help it anymore. I wanted to at least make Oz kiss my cute shota. Don't hate me for it. By the way, about the book at the first chapter, it was quite obvious that it was the story of Oz's adventure down the Abyss and to what had happened before and after he was dragged there. I didn't alter any of it. Just to remind you that Oz is Oz, himself—not Jack, not a plush bunny, but he does have some connection with Black-Rabbit, which I will reveal, if not at the next chapters, at its sequel. Ah, about Undertaker, I do believe I didn't portray him well. T_T Poor me. I didn't make him ask Vincent and Diederich to bestow him a heavenly laughter for the sole reason that he didn't need it. As you all know, Undertaker was once part of Vincent's group (Right? Right? As far as I saw and read on the manga…), so since I made Vincent as the Earl that just means that Undertaker still works for him; I didn't see the need for him to ask the Earl something like that. He just willingly gave him the information that he wanted as a sign of their alliance, although, being the usual Undertaker, he still got something else hidden under his sleeves. It was obvious that he knows a lot from the incident but only gave the Earl a few details to maintain his somewhat mysterious character.

I hope you like it! Tell me what you think of it if you have time. :)