Just a warning that this chapter is going to be a bit slow moving. Because the Undertaker has very little to do with the circus arc I just focused a little bit more on Violet and Undertakers relationship. Sorry if the romantic aspect is moving a bit slow but I don't like writing fics where the characters fall in love within several days of meeting, it's just unrealistic in my mind. I promise to get something going on the romantic aspect of their relationship soon though!
Disclaimer:
Don't own Black Butler or it's characters. Never have, never will.
Memories
Violet was sitting cross legged on the couch next to Undertaker who was reading and she was looking at his hair.
"Hey, can I braid your hair?"
Undertaker looked up at her in surprise.
"You want to braid my hair?"
"Yes! It looks so silky and I want to see what sort of things I can do with it! I'm bored and it's been something I've been wanting to try for a while. Can I?"
Undertaker chuckled. "Be my guest."
Violet grinned and plucked his hat off, setting it on the couch on her other side before pulling a chunk of his silver hair towards her and beginning her braiding fun. After about a half out later Violet let out a triumphant call.
"Got it!"
"Did you get my hair the way you wanted?" Undertaker asked.
"No... But I finally figured out the perfect nickname for you!"
"Nickname? Why would I need one of those?" Undertaker questioned in amusement.
"Because just calling you Undertaker sounds so detached. So I thought about one that would both represent the things you do and still make sense to the name you go by. So I settled on Taker!"
"Taker?"
"Yup. Since your a Shinigami your job used to be to reap, or "take" souls. You now "take" bodies off of peoples hands and clean them up and such, you've "taken" care of me more times that I can count and you "take" all the gossip and slander and cruel names that people give you, and...and you've taken away my fear of trusting you." Violet admitted quietly.
Undertaker turned his head to look at her.
"I was actually awake that night when you came into my room. I have never had someone actually care about gaining my trust before."
Undertaker chuckled softly and placed a hand on the top of her head for a brief moment. "Taker sounds like a fine nickname to me. I believe I shall accept it."
Violet smiled and finished her thin braid. Just as was about to reach and undo it a hand blocked her.
"Leave it. It matches my other one that I did." Undertaker told her.
Violet smiled and removed her hands, grabbing one of the books off his pile on his other side and curling up next to him before diving into a new story.
Undertaker and Violet were moving the coffins and laying them out in the main parlour when the door opened to reveal Earl Ciel Phantomhive, Kira Phantomhive and their butler. Violet quickly flipped her veil down and moved into the light.
"Come to be measured for your own coffin Earl?" Undertaker cooed.
"No. I've come for information. About the missing children from the circus." Ciel said coldly.
"Well you know my price, pay me my choicest laugh!" Undertaker giggled and Violet rolled her eyes.
"Not me. I don't do humour. Come on little brother, let's head outside and let Sebastian work his magic." Kira said, moving to leave.
"Oh is the little Earl gonna give up and let his butler do his work for him, is he giving up?" Violet teased with a grin.
Ciel stiffened. "No! Sebastian I'll do it this time! You, Kira and Violet all need to leave and do come in until he laughs!"
Violet grinned and went to follow the other two out. "Good luck little Earl~."
She grabbed a basket and the shopping list from the door and headed out to do some shopping.
She came back evening. Much to her surprise Kira was sitting on a bench outside next to Sebastian and both of them were starting to look rather irritated.
"He's still at it? Why doesn't he just quit already?!" Violet said, placing her overfilled basket down next to her as she dropped down next to Kira.
"He's stubborn. You knew that needling him like that would make him do that." Kira commented.
Violet grinned. "Taker mentioned that he was curious how far Ciel old go to get a laugh at out of him. So I just gave him that opportunity."
"Taker?" Sebastian asked.
"A nickname." Violet answered.
Then they heard a soft laugh come from inside and filed back into the shop to see Undertaker giggling.
"I can't believe that the Earl would go that far. You must have nooooo pride~"
Ciel glared at the man and Violet laughed at the boy. She placed her basket down and sat town on the coffin next to her giggling friend.
"We haven't had any children bodies come through here little Earl." Violet informed him.
"What?! You lied to me Undertaker! You made me pay your price for nothing!"
"No little Earl, he didn't. What I just told you gave a important clue."
"Like what?" Ciel scoffed.
"Think little brother. If they don't have the children's bodies here that means that the kids are still alive. There's still a chance to find them." Kira said.
Ciel went silent. Then he sighed and gave a grudging nod to Undertaker and Violet before turning to leave.
"Oh Earl? Keep that soul of yours safe. You only have one of those you know~." Undertaker warbled.
The only response was the door slamming.
Violet walked through the cemetery alone, enjoying the silence. Suddenly she heard a weapon whistle past her ear and embed itself into the tree inches from her. Instantly she reacted, discarding the black overdress and handling loose a set of daggers that were made from a death scythe blade.
A black shape moved in the corner of her vision and she lunged, her teeth bared. She sliced with one blade and heard a shout of pain and the shape whipped a large knife in her direction. She jumped and flipped backwards through the air, landing in the middle of the clearing.
"Show yourself." She shouted.
The shape didn't respond but another twisted black grey blade whizzed past her. She lunged again and the two danced around each other, exchanging blows. Violet managed to avoid every blow of her opponent but landed several blows of her own.
"Violet? Is everything ok?" Undertaker called as he climbed up the hill.
Violet whipped her head towards him and saw the shape shooting towards him.
"TAKER!" She shouted as she lunged and tackled him to the ground, sending them both rolling down the hill. As she faced the sky for a moment she saw his shape and used a single human steel blade and threw it. She saw it hit it's mark in the middle of the shapes chest.
A gargling wail and the shape dissolved in the air. Unfortunately the hill was a rather large and steep one and Violet was still rolling. Both her and Undertaker hit a lump and were sent airborne, crashing into a rather undignified pile at the bottom of the hill.
"Owww.." She groaned. She had ended up on the bottom of the pile and was being squished by Undertaker.
"Dude, your flattening me. Get off!" She wheezed.
The Undertaker rolled off with a groan and lay on the ground next to her.
"What was that?!" He asked.
"Dunno. I was just walking and nearly got impaled by a blade. We were fighting and you showed up. He was going for you and I reacted in instinct, tackling you. I didn't take the hill into consideration."
"I see. I don't think I'm going to allow you to walk outside alone anymore."
"What?! But I can handle myself!" Violet cried, shooting into a sitting position.
"That may be, but the only people who have any reason to attack you are your old captors. I don't want to leave you alone." Undertaker said, standing and gently pulling her to her feet.
"I- your right. I won't go out alone again." Violet said grumpily.
Undertaker and Violet walked back to the parlour together in silence, both listening intently in case of another attack. Once they get inside they locked all the doors and sat in the living room together.
"I wasn't going to pry but after this attack I believe that it would be wise for me to know what we're going up against. I need you to tell me what you came from."
"I have very few memories of my life before captivity. I remember my reaper mother who took care of me when I was sick and sang me to sleep. I remember my father who would give me hugs and swing me around when he did. I remember running to them during a thunderstorm and crawling into bed with them, being cuddled close on both sides by my parents."
"But the memory that sticks out most in my mind is the memory of my house door being blown in and a bunch of people yanking my fighting parents away. I was injected with something and that's all I remember from my home. When I woke up I was in a padded white room with a young women who had a bright smile."
"Once I was fully awake she tried to convince me that my parents were dead but I didn't believe her. After about a hour she got angry and drugged me so that I couldn't move. Then she strapped me down on a surgical table and started using needles and scalpels and doing all sorts of nightmarish things. My mind has blocked the exact memories of the things that were done on that table so all I really remember are the scalpels and needles."
"I remember screaming and crying a begging to be let up. I remember then forcing me to run in this maze for a day and a half non stop and being chased by something that growled. I was five. I remember having to stay awake for a week straight, every time I fell asleep they would shock me."
"I remember being told that no one would ever love me and that I was worthless. They tried to break my spirit but for some reason I was able to hold on. And then my chance came. The doctor wanted to make me into their very own killing machine and stopped drugging me to keep my demon and Shinigami abilities from being used. That's when I transformed into a demon and ripped up anyone I came across to tiny pieces. When they realized that I wanted nothing more than to kill all of them they decided that it was no longer safe to keep me alive. They chased me and expected me to exhaust myself but all their experiments had conditioned me and off the seventies I had twice the stamina. I burned through four different teams of demons and shinigami's and I was on my fifth one when I finally collapsed. I had turned back into a human by accident and didn't have the energy to change back to increase my speed."
"I was just about to be sliced clean through by a death scythe when I created that portal here and you found me. It's been so strange to have someone here that I could rely on. I've been alone for as long as I can remember, I was starting to believe that I was destined to be trapped and alone forever before I escaped."
Violet closed her eyes and tried to block the flow of memories from her mind. The torture she endured. She abruptly stood and went to leave, determined to go to her room and forget everything. But before she could move she was spun and pulled into a tight hug.
Undertaker had wrapped his arms tightly around her and Violet buried her face into his chest. She hadn't had a hug in such a long time, it felt so nice. She felt his hand gently rubbing her back.
"I won't let them take you back. I know that if you told the little Earl of your experience you would find Kira and Sebastian fighting along side you. Your not alone anymore Violet.
She wrapped her arms around Undertakers waist and relaxed into the hug, closing her eyes and listening to the beat of his heart. She was safe here.
Violet burst into the shop eyes wide.
"Taker! TAKER!" Violet called into the gloomy house.
"I'm right here m'dear. No need to shout."
"Baron Kelvin's estate just exploded! There were sounds of fighting and a general sense of wrongness coming from the building so I was going to go check on it when it exploded! There were screams and I've never seen such a huge fire!"
Undertaker pulled his hat on and brushed past her towards the door. "Come on."
Violet spun and ran alongside him through the cemetery towards the hill they could see the Baron's home from. Once they were standing on the too of the hill they could see the fire raging and reaching towards the skies. They could hear the crackling from their place.
The Undertaker hummed softly before speaking. "I once warned him to hold every human soul dear. One day Ciel will learn what the things he holds dear truly are, but by then it will be to late."
So what did you think? Reviews are welcome! Flames shall be laughed at, posted for others to laugh at, and then ignored as I continue the story.