Chapter 3-Falling into Place

"I certainly didn't expect to see you here."

That was a lie. The night before, being a dutiful principal, she had been glancing over her paperwork, and noticed something very strange: the transcript of a new student. That itself was nothing out of the ordinary, but there was something different about that particular document. It had been perfectly handwritten with no flaws or mistakes. All the proper paperwork had been signed, not a single initial out of place. Yes, everything was completed just perfectly...

...And Hannah knew something was wrong.

She had been impersonating school officials for decades, sometimes as an assitant or a teacher or even serving on the board of education, but no matter what profession her alias held there was a common trait that linked them all...People's horrible script.

Each day and every night she could be found making call after call to various parents and teachers. She wasn't sure why, but humans seemed to have developed an incredibly flawed system of filing. There was always some kind of error, an imperfection that sullied the document, but in the first moment she discovered a perfect file, she knew hell must be at work.

She knew that only the devine, or the demonic, could have submitted such elegant paperwork. It was in a demon's nature to perform their tasks perfectly for fear of being caught or displeasing their master and running risk of defiling the contract. And when she had seen his signature, the curving, sinful sweet script could belong to none other than Sebastian Michaelis.

"We could very well say the same, Miss Annafellows."

"It's Annebella Harvey now. We demons must adapt to keep our identities a secret, forced to wear guises and go by unfamiliar names, less we are discovered and must suffer the consequences. However," she said,"I see you still use the Michaelis name."

"Just recently actually, we were known as Johanathan and Alexander Clemmans in our most recent life. Isn't that right, Young Master?"

There was silence.

"Young Ma-"

"I want to leave."

"Excuse me? But sir we've yet to-"

"I said I want to leave! Get me out of here, Sebastian! That is an order!"

The demon was taken back. All throughout his years of servitude, the decades upon of slavery under their contract, Sebastian had rarely seen Ciel raise his voice. Even now, as a demon like himself, he had known him to keep an even mind and a cool temper. He had often suspected his cold nature to be a biproduct of their contract, the sinful darkness surrounding him, blocking his icy heart from the warmth of the sun, and now as a full demon his mannerisms grew colder as his soul inched ever furthur into the darkness. So to hear him yell, was quite a shock.

"A-As you wish, Young Master."

Hannah watched as they left her room with a knowing smile. Sebastian may be in the dark as to why Ciel reacted the way he did, but she knew all too well. Deep inside of her, she began to feel his spirit move and was over come with a sense of pure joy. She grinned.

"My dear Highness, you've paid your old friend a visit, I see."

"Certainly didn't expect that bloke to be here."

"Yes, I suppose it has been a while since you two last spoke, but you were never truely apart. Isn't that right, dear Highness?"

"I guess you weren't lying Hannah. You really did know they would be coming."

"I would neve lie to you Master. I love you," she said with a smile.

The boy could feel a blush crawl across his ghostly cheeks. Even after all this time he still wasn't used to those words, or perhaps they were just so strong one could never get used to them. That is what Alois Trancy believed, or if you'd prefer, Jim Macin. He had gone without those few, sweet words for such a long while, and he couldn't fathom how anyone could ever grow accustomed to such.

Ever since Hannah first uttered those wonderful words, Alois vowed to never take them for granted. He would cherish each and every syllable for all of eternity just as he would cherish Hannah and Luca and all their days together. Even now, he was bombarded of nightmares and memories of his past. His parents' deaths, the loss of his beloved little brother, his time at the Trancy mansion, Claude's betrayl, the horrid way he had treated the only person who cared for him, these thoughts haunted his mind and little gave him the peace he so desperately needed.

But every time she said those three, beautiful words all the nightmares would disappear and happiness would flow throughout him. He was able to focus on Hannah and Luca and the joyful life he had obtained through his Contract with her. Though true, in exchange for those words there lay a heavy price...his immortal soul. The gates of paradise would forever remain out of his reach, but for the time being he had his happiness. Besides, Luca had made the same exchange and Hannah was a demon automatically sentenced to the firey darkness, and if they were in Hell it must not be so bad, he thought.

However, even with his happiness some things hadn't changed. He still wished to constantly be entertained, and his dear brother could only do so much. Hannah was of little assitance. While his soul was trapped within her body she could few things for her beloved Master, and he was beginning to grow bored. They say idle hands are the devil's work, but for Alois it was a bit different. An idle mind was his undoing, and whenever he grew bored he would also grow mischievious.

And he had been bored for quite a while.

"Hannah? Do you remember the story you told me?" he asked.

"Which one Your Highness?"

"The one about how the Angels fell from Heaven and became the pawns on the Devil's chess board, but they still have the abilities they possessed before?"

"I remember it well Highness. Why do you ask?"

The boy smiled.

"We're going to pay Ciel a little visit."

"As you wish my Dear Highness."

As the two spoke of their plans, two others were watching as theirs began to take shape. The Strangers listened closely to their conversation and grinned a knowing smile that the next phase would not be far behind. Things were going perfectly, just as they had been set, but there still much more work to be accomplished before their mission was through.

"I think we might be able to accomplish this," one said.

"I told you such. We merely needed to wait, an action you're quite hesistant to engage."

"I wait for no one. Our Task knows no time frame, but I do. The window of opportunity is quickly being shut, and unless we are able to succeed before the alotted time the slim chances of their Redemption will be forever lost to the sands of time."

The other smiled at his partner's pessimissm.

"You have melancholy expectations for our mission, Dear Friend. I must question why. You know all things are accomplishable with Him as our guide."

"Yet many continue to lose their way, and not all things are accomplished. I do not have a sullen outlook, merely a realisitic one. We are up against powerful forces, and I will not underestimate them."

"But in doing so you underestimate the power of our King. Besides, have we ever failed before?"

Silence followed his quiry.

"Exactly," he said.

Outside the Principal's office, Ciel and Sebastian continued to wait for the arrival of the Welcoming Comity. However, neither had the topic on their mind. Sebastian continued to wonder what had caused his Master to react in such a way, and Ciel couldn't get the reason out of his mind.

He had felt him...

Heard him...

Seen him...

Alois Trancy...

He recognized that sickening feeling instantly, the feeling of his body being invaded by an unknown spirit, yet Ciel knew his spirit well. For hours they had shared one body, their souls melded as one. Throughout the experience the boy had done well dealing with the invasion, but even the memory brought back a feeling of repulsion. Never before had Ciel Phantomhive felt such unease, having his body taken over by the likes of that pauper Jim Macin was nearly more than he could take. It was because of him that Ciel's fate had been decided without his consent. It was because of him that he forced to live the life as a demon, locked in an eternal limbo between life and death, a pawn of Dark King.

"How dare he," Ciel whispered.

"D-Did you say something?"

"Miss Lydia, you'll need to ignore my dear brother for the time being. He's lost in thought and without a trail to follow."

"Oh, w-well that's alright. Ivy should be here soon. She's our President, a-and she's much better at welcoming others than I am."

Lydia's name was shouted from down the hall.

"That's her! I-Ivy," she called,"we're over here!"

Ciel could see nothing but the flash of a chesnut hue, zipping down the hall like a madwoman, and before he was able to identify the spectrum before him stood a young lady with bright timber eyes.

"You must be the new student! Oh, it's so nice to meet you! My name's Ivy Collins. You've already met Lydia, and that's Dasan and Warren and our very pretty, very, very nice teacher assitstant Miss Violetta Cromwell!"

Both Ciel and Sebastian scanned the group of smiling faces and found them a rather varying bunch. The tallest of them was Dasan, a dark skinned boy with silky hair, black as coal and eyes to math. Then Warren, a lanky pale lad with green hair and bright blue eyes. Next came the young woman who over saw the group. She was a thin and porcelin-looking creature. She seemed as if the smallest crack would shatter her delicate frame. Even her purple hair seemed too soft and her eyes too bright.

Though Ciel was focused on the girl before him. There was something about her that struck a chord within him, and the feeling of familiarity he sensed around Lydia came back with a vengence. Her stood there studying her features, her rosey cheeks, her gleaming eyes, and brown hair strung back with a crimson bow. He had never see another like her, yet he couldn't help but think he had met her somewhere before.

"So who are you?" she asked.

"Wh-What?"

"Well I know you're the new student Silly, but what's your name? It's didn't say on the paperwork."

"Ciel Ph-...Michealis," he corrected,"My name is Ciel Michealis."

"Ciel? What a nice name! And who is this?"

"This is my brother, Sebastian."

"Well it's nice to meet you too! Will you be joining us on the tour?"

"Tour? You say? Well, I don't have to report to work for a while longer. It would be a pleasure Miss Ivy."

"Well that's wonderful! Now come on you two, we've got a lot of work to do! I have to introduce you to the teachers and the cafeteria workers and of course we'll have to get to know eachother better! Come on Team Welcome, let's make sure they feel like they belong!"

They watched as the young girl grabbed them by their collars and dragged them down the hall, her comity following behind. The two smiled and the woman's fear of unaccomplishment began to wither and die as she witness the plan fall into place, piece by piece. Perhaps she could learn to be patient...Then again, they did still a time limit.

"Well," she said,"time to start Phase Two."