A/N: Hey guys! Don't get confused with this next bit here, I'm bringing everything into focus within this chapter, and also introducing the Writers. Dun. Dun. Dun.
Disclaimer: I do not own. (this gets tiring after a while!)
Chapter 20: That Which Lies in the Future
It was cold as the young man cloaked in black kneeled before his lords, his unruly black hair curling as it rested on the stone as shadows casted through the huge pillars behind them. The his golden eyes were shut tightly, awaiting the verdict of his test.
"Be this some joke young squire?" The first lord bellowed.
There were mumbles of agreement at the High Lord's question as they glared disapprovingly down at the young man before them. Said man shook as his fist pressed into the marble beneath their soles.
"If I may be so bold as to ask," the young man bravely spoke, "How have I displeased thee?"
"You dare speak before spoken to-?"The second lord began before being disrupted by the third.
"Calm Mars," the lord dressed in calm lavender stated, "He means no harm."
"Silence Pluto," Mars growled, his robes a dark red, "You hold only peace in this court!"
"And you only an advisor!" The High Lord snapped and returned his glare to the boy trembling below them.
Mars closed his mouth, his jaw taut with displeasure.
"My apologies..."
The High Lord motioned for the young man to rise, which he did immediately. His hair fell in front of his eyes slightly, long and graceful. The obsidian locks represented his overall wealth and status as a potential Shard Harvester; the highest position next to the Lords themselves.
"You're a disgrace to your family line," The Lord seethed, "Not being able to accomplish such a simple task; a family of Shards in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by mountains and valleys, with no connection to the outside world. The task was so simplistic I wouldn't be surprised if that red-headed fool you take as a partner could accomplish it!"
The man's head snapped up, his golden eyes burning angrily.
"My Lord, I retrieved three of the four Shards you asked me to harvest."
"Yes, but why could you not bring yourself to harvest the fourth?" Mars interrupted once more, "Were they too strong for you? Don't tell me you took pity on them?"
The young man gazed almost pleadingly at Pluto, the most forgiving of the three, but found in the kind lord's eyes only silent apologies and sorrow. The man's daze darted back to the two feral lords.
"The fourth was a mere child!" he tried to defend himself, "Barely having reached three years of age, I could not bring myself to-"
"You're weak." The High Lord hissed, "I'm disappointed, such a fool you are to even kneel here knowing you'd failed your test."
"Perhaps we are being too harsh," Pluto tried, "He was only being merciful, a trait that Soul Harvesters or Death Gods look for when searching one's cinematic record-"
"A trait that makes him weak!"Mars spat.
The High Lord was thoughtful for a moment.
"Very well Pluto," He stated and the calm Lord brightened slightly as the young man below brimmed with hope.
The High Lord threw one of the Shards towards the young man, who caught it easily in his grasp. It was in the form of garden hedgers, a death scythe. The young man's eyes widened in horror and despair at what the High Lord was suggesting.
Mars growled and threw a small scroll to the lad too, the young man barely grasping it with shock written across his face. There was only one name at the top inscribed in bright red.
"Until you complete this test and kill the boy to retrieve the Shard," The High Lord decreed, "You will be below most of your fellow peers. Sink below to the level of your blithering friend by becoming the leader of one of those foolish Soul Harvesting dispatches."
The young man couldn't speak, so instead he nodded as his body quaked at the response; his life was over because of one boy. One stupid mortal child with no family to call his own destroyed the young man's eternity.
"If it is any help," Pluto fiddled the hem of his robes between his fingers, "The boy will be reincarnated into a new body. It is possible that the body he uses in his next life will not contain a Shard."
"I thank you for your presence my Lords. I greatly apologize for having disgraced you so." The man's voice cracked. The young man exited the large building with his head hung low. His strands of obsidian hair blew in the wind like leaves. It was peaceful; clouds moved overhead as the sun beat down upon him.
The young man laughed before reaching for his new tool that he would use to reap souls. Its cold mechanical handle was trash compared to what it felt like to hold a fresh Shard in the palm of your hands. He laughed before reaching behind his head to grab the longest of his flowing tendrils; the hair that symbolized his pride, his name, his position in the world of Death. It was snipped away as he heard the rusty click of the shears coming together.
The long strands fell to the ground beneath him, a few slipping away in the wind while most remained. He suddenly felt an overwhelming cold spread through him and he began to laugh. A cold crazed laughter that would make people frightened.
It was over. It was funny. His life would be devoted to working with scoundrels of the middle class.
Xxxcxxxcxxxcccxxxxx
William sprang up from his bed panting as sweat dripped down his neck, pooling on his shoulders and seeping through his nightshirt as his chest heaved. He hated the familiar dream that let his past haunt him daily. William's head pounded and he winced as his clock ticked by to signal each second.
William frowned and his eyes turned to the framed parchment on his wall, the single name taunting him with its obnoxious red color. Below it was his death scythe, becoming more rusted with each year. William wondered whose soul had been reaped to receive the Shard used to make it.
His hair was choppy and short, but remnants of the long obsidian tresses remained in a small box below his bed, telling him to hurry up and complete his task. After all, the Lords wouldn't wait forever; and it had been approximately two decades.
William slammed his fist against the wall beside the framed scroll, his golden eyes burning with shame and deep hatred.
"I will find you," William vowed, "You will be Harvested by my hands soon;
Cain Summet."
Xxxcxxxxcccxxxxx
"Well, it seems it was a crow after-all." Felix murmured as he discovered the black bird's corpse beneath his bed.
The poor bird's neck seemed to have been snapped, the animal's eyes still wide open in shock. The black beady gaze sent chills up the publisher's spine. Something was coming for them, something dangerous.
His ivory hands contrasted against the obsidian wings of the crow, almost glowing as Felix deftly covered it with his cream colored handkerchief.
It was then that the crimson haired butler heard a very familiar scream resound through his skull. Like a tortured soul, it brought him to his knees and the crow fell back to the floor, a few feathers leaving the decaying body. Felix covered his ears as he felt the room (or was it his body?) shake with the terrible volume of the cries in pain. They were young and felt reminiscent of some previous time. The screeches of a child, he couldn't tell whether they were from a boy or a girl. For a moment, the butler swore he caught glimpse of a face, pitying golden eyes alongside terrorized irises of the same color. He looked down at his hands and was terrified to find them dripping red...red...red-
"Mr. Nhell?"
Felix flinched as he heard the familiar voice of Ciel Phantomhive behind him. The young earl halted at the doorway, curious as to why the curious man before him was kneeling before the corpse of a crow. His azure gaze lingered in confusion as he noticed Felix's eyes fixated on his hands. Whatever daze the man had been under was gone as the servant turned around with a comforting smile, though it was as faux as Grell's eyelashes.
"I a-apologize Master Ciel," Felix stated, though his voice cracked as the man once again picked up the body of the crow, "I didn't mean to drift off..."
The Phantomhive narrowed his eyes at the man, silently studying Felix as the red-head fidgeted slightly as he stepped towards the door, preparing to take his leave.
"Just a moment," Ciel ordered, "Tell Kurt that it's acceptable to take a break...every-so-often."
Felix smiled and gave a slight bow to the cobalt haired boy. He was glad Ciel was such a kind-hearted boy, despite his slightly sadistic tendencies he'd picked up from Sebastian.
"Of course."
Felix stood up straight, the familiar country-style grin returned to his expression along with his warm amber eyes, though hints of terror were still laced within.
"Lord Phantomhive, I'm glad that Kurt has found such a good friend to care for him. He really does care for you, though feels slightly obligated for his affections to be returned in some manner." Felix smiled, "As a small request of his butler, please do consider showing a bit more appreciation."
Ciel snorted, though his expression was thoughtful. He turned on his heel and stalked back down towards his parlor.
"Such foolish notions..."
Xxxcxxxxcccxxxxxcxxxx
RING-RING!
RING-RING!
Sebastian's gaze darted away from the table he was currently polishing as he heard the unfamiliar melodious tone of the house telephone. It was rare for a call to be forwarded directly to the manor itself, as almost no one knew the number.
Curiously, he picked up the heavy brass receiver and held it up to his ear.
"This is the House of Phantomhive," he stated lowly into the phone, "Who is this?"
Sebastian was surprised at the tone of the voice on the other line. It was jaded, yet young. The voice was that of a small girl's, but its tone held the impression of maturity equal to that of an adult's.
"This is S of the Choppy Enquirer." the voice replied calmly, "If this is the infamous Phantomhive butler, there is a message for you that is of most importance."
A message for me...? Sebastian thought, his eyes instinctively darting back and forth to watch for wary eyes.
Sebastian's brows furrowed with curiosity and disbelief. Why would someone of the Choppy Enquirer risk exposing them like this to deliver a message to a mere butler?
"If you try to steal our Brother, we warn you now, Demon of Phantomhive," Suddenly two other voices joined in,
"-do not underestimate the Coven of Pendragon."
Sebastian's eyes widened and his hand tightened instinctively around the receiver. His lips curled upward into a chilling grin, his eyes flickering at the challenge set before him, along with the information he'd just uncovered. His toy was more valuable than he'd dreamed for. The thought only served to drive Sebastian's will to corrupt the soul within the man's weak body. So easily could it be snapped, corrupted, tarnished, and-
"Also, you can tell cute little Ciel that we'll be visiting soon~!" One of the voices giggled, though Sebastian could depict maturity similar to the firsts beneath the cheeriness.
The butler's eye twitched at how informally his master had been addressed.
"My young lord would not appreciate-"
"That is all." The second voice, the coldest of the three, interrupted, "Now, unless you're as daft and incompetent as you're making yourself look, you will deliver this message as soon as we hang up the line. Do I make myself clear?"
Sebastian hissed, "Crystal. We shall anticipate your arrival soon."
"Good. Don't get all high and mighty thinking that Brother belongs to you now! He's OURS!"
Sebastian's smirk grew wider in realization that the mystery girls' weakness was Felix himself.
"I make no promises I cannot keep, now if you'll excuse this rude conclusion to our conversation. I bid you good day."
With that he snapped the phone back onto its hook, the light buzzing of angry voices halting on the other line. Sebastian opened his pocket watch and laughed slightly.
"My my, what perfect timing." he mused, "My master now requires his afternoon tea. What kind of butler would I be of I could not let him in on this little snippet of information?"
Leaving out the message addressed to myself of course...He thought, heading towards the kitchen, After all…
He closed the door behind him and finished his thought out loud.
"- that request is becoming increasingly impossible."
A/N: Love it? Hate it? You know the drill.
Wasn't Pluto so dang cute? Since I'm most likely basing this fic on the manga-verse I wasn't going to have Pluto the dog. Waw… I want Drocell too, but I also want Snake and that cool detective arc! Both the anime and the books are so flamazing it's so hard to choose! Tell me what you guys think I should go with, help me out here! XD
Also, I was thinking of taking oneshot requests. It would be my first time asking for requests, so it's a very happy moment for me. It can be rated T-M, because if I tried anything below that I would probably fail. Lawl. CielxSebastian, CielxKurt, Sebix, or any other pairing in Kuro is open. ^-^ It can be modern world too if you guys want! XD