Wow, chapter 40 already! This story is so much longer than I thought it was, I'm actually a bit proud! Heh heh.

I wrote this because I was bored, so yeah, I'm updating. Not sure if this chapter is awesometacular though...

Thanks for everyone who helped me with my Japanese! I also love getting help :D

Also, thank you for reading and reviewing and all that good stuff! I love to hear about your opinions!

I don't own Kuroshitsuji, but I do own Clarissa.

XxX

Chapter 40

'Now if we can just search the first-stringers' tents, we can go home,' Ciel said while Sebastian was helping him change.

I stood with my back turned towards them trying to feel less awkward. Which was impossible, but hey, at least I tried.

'I'd planned to quietly work our way up the ladder,' Ciel went on, 'but I can't spend that much time under these conditions. I'm at my limit.'

'Personally, I'd find brute force easier than infiltration, since the reaper keeps me from moving freely at night,' Sebastian explained.

I held in a laugh when I thought about how the reaper would have kept him from moving around freely at night. I bet it was hilarious.

'The reaper's presence doesn't prove them guilty, though,' I said, crossing my arms while I hoped that they were almost done.

'Quite true,' Ciel agreed. 'Behave yourself,' he then said, clearly talking to Sebastian.

'Very good,' Sebastian said after a while, but it didn't sound like he agreed to that. He sounded like he just wanted to kill everyone and be done with it.

'The time to strike is during a show, while they're all away from their tents,' Ciel said. Then he added: 'You can look again, by the way.'

I turned around and saw him sitting on a crate next to one of the trucks, wearing dry clothes and wrapped in a blanket. I went to sit next to him on the big crate while he said: 'First I need a way to slip free of the freckled chap who tails me everywhere.'

Wait… did he mean or roommate? 'Cause that was a girl though…

Sebastian kneeled down to put on Ciel's dry socks and then shoes while Ciel said: 'If I can't go, there's no point.' Then he pulled up the blanket even more, almost as if he was trying to hide his face. 'I want to get home and eat something sweet,' he finally said, making me laugh and Sebastian smile.

XxX

That evening I was asked to help the technicians before, during and after the show, so I didn't see Sebastian or Ciel before the show started.

But then I saw Sebastian perform on stage, which was quite odd. He was performing together with Suit, but since that man refused to touch him, it wasn't really that entertaining. But then suddenly Sebastian looked down, at where I saw Beast walk out of the circus tent. When I looked back at him, it looked like he was trying to give me a sigh. A sigh I did not understand. See, this is why they should keep me updated on their plans!

'Ciel is in Beast's tent,' someone yelled inside my mind, but it sure as hell didn't sound like Sebastian.

Then I suddenly got the hint and ran towards the exit, ignoring the technicians who were screaming at me, ordering me to come back. Ai, I probably would get kicked out of the circus for this. Well, too bad.

I ran towards the private tents, skilfully avoiding Beast while she walked towards her tent, and found Ciel in one of the tent.

Ciel just looked at me kind of angry and only a little bit shocked. 'What are you—'

I grabbed him and pulled him under the bed, ignoring the fact that our bodies were pressed together even more than they had been this morning. Only seconds after that I heard Beast entering the tent.

'This is so irritating,' she sighed while I put a hand on Ciel's mouth to keep him quiet. 'I liked this one!'

I covered Ciel's eye when I saw from under the bed that she was taking her clothes off, trying to keep in a surprised gasp.

'Well, this will do,' she said softly, putting on something that looked exactly the same to me, but who was I to judge.

Then Beast walked away and I breathed out relieved.

Then Ciel said: 'Oi, let me go!' But he didn't really sound angry as much as embarrassed.

I let go of him and helped him up. 'Ah, sorry, sorry.' Then I sighed, feeling more relieved than I had ever felt. 'Found anything important?' I asked the same moment Sebastian came rushing in, looking surprised when he saw us there standing in the middle of the tent.

XxX

'I see,' Sebastian said. 'So you think the photographs are important, then?' Sebastian asked.

'Yes,' Ciel answered, handing one of the pictures in Beast's tent to Sebastian. 'Do you notice anything?'

'Ah, yes,' Sebastian said almost immediately. He put the picture down a nudge so I that it was a photo of a young Beast and kind-looking man, with round glasses and a moustache. Sebastian pointed at the ring the man was wearing. 'I've seen the imprint from this signet ring recently.'

Me and Ciel both looked at the photo confused. 'Signet ring? Imprint? You can make out details that small?' I asked.

'Yes,' Sebastian said, as if it was only logical.

'Wow,' I said, not holding back my true opinion. 'That's cool. I'm impressed.'

Sebastian looked at me in complete surprise. 'You think so?' he asked.

I nodded, not sure why he would question me. 'Yes, that's quite impressive.'

A cute, proud little smile appeared on Sebastian's face. 'Well, thank you!' he said, clearly happy with this compliment.

'Sebastian,' Ciel said, clearly annoyed. 'The signet ring?'

'Ah, yes. It matches the seal at the point of Beast's prosthetic leg,' Sebastian explained.

Ciel put a hand to his chin in his normal thoughtful pose. 'The seal, the workhouse… We need to know more about this man.'

Sebastian put the picture back and took his pocket watch out of his pocket. 'It's almost time,' he said. 'Let's stop here for today. I must free the snakes before the encore.'

'I still have Joker's tent left,' Ciel said resolute.

This made both me and Sebastian worried. 'But, Ciel…' I stuttered while Sebastian said: 'But, my Lord…'

'I should manage it if I work through the encore,' Ciel said determined. 'I'll end it all today.' Then he turned towards us. 'You two need to go back so they won't suspect us.' Then he looked over at Sebastian. 'When it's over, get back here before they do and free the snakes. Got that?' Ciel asked before running off.

'Yes, my Lord,' Sebastian said, knowing that Ciel couldn't hear him anymore.

I sighed. 'Well, let's get back then. But go ahead and do so in your superhuman speed. It will be suspicious if we arrive back at the circus tent at the same moment.'

I wasn't even finished talking or Sebastian was gone. Well, it wasn't as if I didn't want him to go, but it did make me sigh.

Then I also left the tent and went back to the big circus tent, where Suit was standing, clearly waiting for me. 'Good evening,' I said kindly, wanting him to trust and respect me so that maybe I could get more information out of him.

'I told the staff that you were going to the bathroom,' Suit said, 'they were asking where you were.'

Ah, fantastic. It did have some profits to have a reaper for a friend. 'Oh. Thank you so much. Ciel would have gotten really angry if I got kicked out of the circus now.'

Suit readjusted his glasses and shook his head. 'You are a fool. A human fool, I might add. I should've known, but I somehow expected you to be smart enough to stay away from the demon and its master.'

I frowned, not sure why he was saying this now. 'I'm sorry, what do you mean?'

Suit sighed. 'Well, I guess it is logical that unnatural attracts unnatural, but it sure is dangerous. I don't see why no one is allowed to rescue you.' He looked at me and his beautiful eyes looked scary in that one moment when he said: 'If no one helps you, you're going to get eaten.'

I breathed in sharply. 'I know,' I said, surprising the man.

'What?' he asked me, clearly confused.

'I said that I know already. But if I were to get eaten to save Ciel, even if he doesn't want to be saved, I'm fine with it. Even if he doesn't want to live for himself, he was Elizabeth to live for. And he has to live for me. I don't care if he'll hate me for saving him, but if there's a way, I get him out the demon's claws before it is too late.' Then I walked away, to the circus tent to apologize to the technicians.

'It might already be too late for that, my lady,' was the last thing I heard Suit say.

XxX

I went to look for Ciel right after the show and found him near the private tents, at the back of the circus. He was talking with the girl in white. Doll… Wait… Doll!

'Why did you help me?' Ciel asked as I walked up to them.

'You still don't get it?' Doll asked as she took of her wig, revealing the brown hair of our roommate. 'It's me?'

I stood next to Ciel as she did that, mouthed 'are you okay?' but getting no answer because Ciel was too busy staring at Doll with open mouth. 'Freckles?!' Ciel said, pointing at the girl.

'Hey, that's not a very nice name to call me!' she said, clearly insulted. Then she looked at me. 'Also, hi, Whisper. I should've known that you were also involved in this.'

Wait… involved in what?

Ciel still looked shocked. 'Y-You're a bloke who wears dressed onstage?' he asked.

I laughed and put an arm around his shoulder. 'She is a girl… though?' I said, smiling mockingly, then frowning. Why was Ciel breathing so strangely?

'You're very rude! I'm a genuine maid, I'll have you know! Whisper knew it!' Doll said. Then she frowned. 'So, what were you doing there? They must've told you it was dangerous.'

'Well…' Ciel started, clearly not sure how to defend himself. Just as I opened my mouth to cover for him, he threw himself on the ground in a rather heart-breaking performance. 'I'm sorry! But I swear I haven't stolen anything today! I promise! Please don't chase me out!'

I repressed a smile Playing thief, huh? Smart plan. I played along. 'I'm sorry. He always does that. That's why so many masters have fired me over time. Because my little brother can't keep his hands of treasure. I went to search for him because I was scared that he was stealing again.'

'I know I shouldn't steal, but I just can't shake old habits!' Ciel added desperately. His performance was pretty impressive, I must say. 'I have always been with my sister! If the circus turns me out, I have nowhere to go!'

It was quiet for a while, but I saw Doll's expression soften and sighed relieved. We were save. 'You swear you didn't take anything?' she asked.

'Yes!' Ciel said loudly. 'I swear to God!'

Doll sighed, but believed him. 'Well, all right. It's fine. I owe you one anyhow. We've all got our secrets, right? So what I did earlier was wrong…'

I frowned. What had she done earlier? Did it have anything to do with him being all wet?

The smile on her face was so sad but honest that it made me feel really bad for lying to her all the time. 'So I'll keep this quiet. Now we're even. But no more sneaking about!'

'Right!' me and Ciel agreed. Then I decided to ask the question. 'Say… if you are a first-stringer, why are you sharing a tent with us?' I asked.

'Well, I don't like staying by myself,' she answered. 'I sleep better when someone's with me.' Then she looked worried. 'But you guys will still rook with me even though I'm first-string, won't you?'

I gave her a soft smile, but it felt fake and horrible. 'Of course,' I said friendly.

'Yes!' Ciel said, clearly back to his horrible acting skills.

She sighed a relieved sigh. 'Good. Then, what happened here stays between us,' she said, handing Ciel her hand. He shook it kindly, but I saw in his face the fake promise.

I could see his face and almost hear his thoughts in my head.

Words are cheap. Humans lie without a second thought. Including me, of course.

Then Doll walked off and soon after that, Ciel started to cough, making me frown a worried frown again. He was also quite red and even sweaty. Which was really strange considering that it was freezing cold out here. 'Are you sick, Ciel?' I asked. 'Did you catch a cold?'

When I reached out with my hand to help him, he smacked my hand away. 'I'm fine,' he said, still coughing. 'We need to get to Sebastian's tent. I need to speak to him.'

I nodded and we started to walk.

The walk didn't help him though, he kept coughing until we reached the tent and opened it. 'You knew I was still there when you freed the snakes, didn't you, you bastard?!' Ciel said to Sebastian as soon as we entered the tent. He coughed after those words, clearly not ready to speak yet.

When I heard that I crossed my arms and looked at Sebastian angry, waiting for his response.

'Yes,' Sebastian said, smiling humoured. 'You did order me to return before the first-stringers and free them. Problem?'

Me and Ciel both glared at him angry. I was trying to hold myself in, because I really wanted to punch him in the face. But I knew that wasn't going to do much.

Sebastian still smiled amused. 'What are you glaring at me for?' he asked. 'Rest assured, my lord, I won't let you die while our contract holds. But you may encounter some non-fatal suffering if you give me the wrong orders. You knew as much. Every game needs its thrills. You're such an avid player, I assumed you shared my opinion.'

My fist landed in his face before he could even finish the sentence, surprising everyone in the room, including myself. I was more surprised that the fact that Sebastian looked actually hurt when he looked at me. 'You—you—you—You low vile monster! No one should even breathe the same air as you!'

'I quite agree with that,' Suit said, who was sitting on the lower bed reading a black old-looking book.

Ciel seemed to gain some strength from the fact that I had hit Sebastian. 'Ha! You have a sickeningly bad taste in games, demon.'

But Sebastian had already regained himself and just smiled. 'You flatter me.'

Ciel frowned. 'Never mind. I found a letter in Joker's tent that mentioned my name. Luckily, there weren't any photos, but it's still suspicious.' He coughed and walked over to the bed, leaning against it as he had clearly trouble holding himself without his walking stick. 'It had my rank, the location of my estate and even a biographical sketch. The sender—'

'You, there!' Suit suddenly said, poking Ciel with his stick.

'Ouch!' Ciel said, jumping away from the stick.

'You were three centimetres into my territory,' he told Ciel, who looked at him angrily. I now noticed that he was wearing all black now, no purple or yellow. 'If the master can't abide by our agreed-upon boundaries, he's as bad as his dog.'

Ciel looked at him annoyed before coughing again. I got worried again, but it didn't seem to bother Sebastian one bit. Argh, I could just kill him!

'Let's go outside,' Ciel said, walking outside while being followed by us.

We walked towards the big crates stalled on the other side of the big circus tent. Ciel leaned against one of those crates, arms crossing. He kept coughing now and then and the more he coughed, the more worried I got.

'The sender used the name "Tom, the piper's son",' Ciel told us.

Hey, I had heard that name before! But where?

'A mother Goose character,' Sebastian said, clearly only to fill me in.

I breathed out heavy and noticed that my breath looked like mist in the cold, flying up in the air and disappearing in the cold dark night.

'Yes,' Ciel agreed, 'though I do not know why…' – his words were interrupted with another cough – 'and the sealing wax shower a crest with a horse and the initial K.' The grip Ciel had around himself tightened and that little gesture made me believe he was in pain. I tried to give Sebastian a sign, but he either didn't notice or didn't care.

'Then it's the same as the one I saw,' Sebastian told Ciel. 'Signet rings are generally engraved with a motif and initial that represent the bearer or his family. Which means To the piper's son has a coat of arms featuring a horse. Would a horse mean someone awarded a knighthood, or perhaps a soldier?'

Ciel coughed as I asked: 'You know we live in the 21st century, right?'

And I got ignored. Again. 'Not necessarily, but philanthropy is probably impossible without a certain degree of status.' He coughed again and this time it sounded worse than before. I wanted to help him, but I was too afraid he wouldn't let me. 'The heraldic authorities have all coats of arms in their registers. We have enough criteria to narrow it down so that however many they have…' – another cough and this time, Sebastian narrowed his eyes, finally noticing that there might be something wrong with his master. '…you should be able to find the one.'

Then Ciel seemed to be suffocate in his own breath, but he just kept talking. 'The missing children, the circus, Tom the piper's son, and me—'

'Ciel, stop talking!' I said the moment he there up and fell to the ground, coughing and breathing as if he was dying.

'Young master?' Sebastian asked surprised while I screamed 'Ciel!' while sitting next beside him, trying to keep him conscious. But it was too late. Ciel was already gone.

XxX

Don't worry, he's not dead. Probably. It would be kind of ironic if did actually did kill him. That would be what Sebastian deserved, it would just suck for Ciel.

Word of today: love. Because, you know, Valentine's Day is coming up. In Dutch love is 'liefde' and in Japanese it can be 'koi' or 'ai' depending on the use and stuff. So yeah, that was the word of today! See you next chapter!

Silver Moon Fairie: Hmm, that would smell good. And yeah, you can find funny what you want ;) It didn't get much better for Ciel in this chapter though... sorry about that...

justaislinn: thank you for your research, I really wasn't sure, so thanks a lot!

Effervescent Ocean: Haha, yeah, sorry about that. I just thought the title was too long, so yeah. And thanks!

promocat: You have no idea how much that means to me! And I one hundred procent understand everyone that loves Ciel and Sebastian together, that's why I adress it in the story. I'm not really a shipper of anything, but Sebastian and Ciel is at least a ship I completely understand. :D