"This is not what I had in mind when I told you... will you slow down a little?!" Ciel yelled, trying to hear his own voice above the wind. "Oof!" He exclaimed when Sebastian suddenly came to a halt, causing him to lose his equilibrium for a moment.

"I believe you ordered me to get us to our destination as quickly as I can, sir." Sebastian said as he started walking at a normal human pace.

Ciel opened his eyes. "Well, yes. But I didn't think that the wind would be that loud." He said. He was carried on Sebastian's back, his arms wrapped around the demon's neck. "And are you feeling up my arse, demon?!"

"Absolutely not, my lord. I am on duty." Sebastian said, but Ciel could hear the smirk in his voice. "I am simply securing you. You did slip quite a bit earlier."

"You're totally feeling up my arse..." Ciel muttered. He nuzzled a particularly sensitive spot on his demon's neck, just below his ear, and then he grazed his teeth across it. He grinned when Sebastian's steps faltered as he gasped at the unexpected gesture.

"Now, who is feeling up whom, my lord?" Sebastian asked.

"Turnabout is a fair play." Ciel said and kissed the spot to soothe it. "Where are we anyway?" He looked around and saw that they were in the middle of a large field.

"We are at the border of Manchester, I believe." Sebastian said.

"Put me down. We can spare a few minutes." Ciel said, suddenly getting an idea.

Sebastian stopped walking and lowered himself so that Ciel could get off his back.

"Let's take a walk." Ciel said.

"Beg you pardon?" Sebastian was surprised. It was in the middle of the night and they were in the middle of nowhere. Why would Ciel want to take a walk?

"Looks like a good night to take a walk." Ciel said and started walking. After three steps, he turned and saw Sebastian standing there, looking confused. "Well? Are you coming?" Ciel extended his hand towards his butler, a brilliant smile across his face. "Walk with me, Sebastian."

Sebastian returned his smile when he caught the meaning of his master's words. He took off his glove (Ciel's smile widened at this) before accepting the offered hand and they walked side by side, holding hands under the moonlight.

"Let's go on a holiday, an actual holiday." Ciel said. "Just the two of us. We'll go somewhere quiet, somewhere away from everyone."

"As good as it sounds, my lord, you are quite busy at the moment, especially with the Bitter Rabbit Autumn collection coming out in a few weeks." Sebastian said.

"It's never ending..." Ciel sighed.

"You would not have it any other way though." Sebastian said.

Ciel chuckled. "No, I would not. We have the rest of eternity together. I'm sure some time in the next hundred years or so, we'd have some time to go on a holiday or two."

"Indeed, sir." Sebastian nodded.

They continued to walk, their joined hands swinging lightly between them. They talked about travelling, about the world, about where Ciel would like to go, and where Sebastian would like to take him to. After a while though, Ciel was feeling cold. While it was a summer night, they were in the middle of an open field and it was quite windy.

"I think it is time to continue our journey, Young Master." Sebastian said when he noticed that Ciel was shivering slightly.

"But the night is still young." Ciel protested. He tightened his hold around Sebastian's hand, not wanting this moment to pass so quickly.

"Even so, the night air is quite cold and you might get sick." Sebastian said. He too didn't want this walk to end so soon, but Ciel's health and well-being would always be his first priority. "If and when you wish to take a walk like this, I can take us to a secluded place. All you have to do is order me."

"Fine." Ciel reluctantly let go of Sebastian's hand.

"Would you like to ride on my back or would you prefer ir if I were to carry you?" Sebastian asked as he put his glove back on.

"I'm not riding on your back again." Ciel decided. "The wind is too loud."

Sebastian chuckled and easily picked up his master in his arms. Ciel automatically wrapped his arms around his demon's neck and turned to bury his face in Sebastian's coat. He still couldn't get used to moving so quickly and would get dizzy and nauseated if he looked.

"I prefer it this way as well, sir." Sebastian said and planted a quick kiss on Ciel's hair. "Whenever you are ready, my lord."

Ciel closed his eyes. "Ready."

And they were off.

"Damnit!" Ciel cursed, but the sound was muffled by the gag in his mouth, which also meant he couldn't call for his demon. He relaxed his jaw and tried to work his mouth, trying to ignore the taste of the cloth. He didn't mind the rope, but he hated being gagged.

"Se... Seb..." Ciel tried, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the entire name out. Instead, he gagged and ended up coughing, which was very uncomfortable and soaked the cloth with his own saliva, which made it even more disgusting.

'Why the hell did I give him such a long name?' Ciel thought. He tried again and this time, he managed to get the whole name out, although it sounded nothing like the demon's given name. Ciel finally gave up and just sat there, waiting for his captors.

They were on a case and had split up. He had ordered Sebastian to check out the other side of the town. Ciel himself was walking along the streets when he was grabbed. A sack was placed over his head and he was dragged into a carriage, where someone tied his hands behind his back. He didn't struggle, knowing that he was outnumbered and a struggle would be futile. Once he was secured, they removed the sack and gagged him. Just another day for Earl Phantomhive, he supposed.

While waiting, Ciel thought about the case. He had been summoned to investigate a series of kidnappings. The victims were young men, aged sixteen to twenty. Ciel sometimes wondered how on earth he managed to fit the victim profile for most of the cases that they had to deal with. Why couldn't the victims be male in his mid to late twenties? Then Sebastian could play the victim for once. That way, his butler could set himself as a bait, infiltrate the kidnappers' base, and take care of them, all by himself, while Ciel only needed to sit back and drink his tea.

Not long after, Ciel could hear footsteps outside of the door. Then the door opened and two men came into the room.

"Oh, look who's awake?" One of them said.

Ciel couldn't reply, not with the gag.

"Oh, right. That must be uncomfortable. Now, if you promise not to scream, I'll take out the rag." The man said and Ciel nodded. It was very uncomfortable and he would have to rinse his mouth multiple times after this to wash out the taste. The man reached and pulled out the gag and Ciel couldn't help but cough as air rushed into his lungs.

"Who... Who are you?" Ciel asked, still coughing slightly. "Where am I?" He knew he had to play the part of a frightened and confused victim.

"Never mind that. Now, let me look at you..." The man grabbed Ciel roughly by the chin and titled his face up. "A pretty one, aren't you? That eye patch though..."

"What do you want with me?" Ciel asked, feigning fear. He had a lot of practice.

"Oh, it's not us that you need to worry about, lad. We don't want you, per se, but you'll sure fetch us quite a sum of money." The man said.

'Typical.' Ciel thought. So it was yet another human trafficking ring. But he needed to pry more. These two couldn't be the ring leader. They were just the henchmen. "Are you going to sell me?"

"A smart one, aren't you? But then again, even with that pretty face, you might not sell well. Not sure if those snobs would pay for a one-eyed runt like you."

Ciel was offended that they had called him a runt. "Then can you let me go? I just want to go home."

"Nah, the boss would want to look at you and he'll decide what to do. Now, sit tight." The man was about to put the gag in again, but Ciel tried to negotiate.

"No, please don't put that in my mouth. I'll be good. I won't scream, I promise." He'd be damned if he let himself get gagged again. The taste was truly disgusting and it prevented him from calling his demon.

"Hm... Alright, but if I hear a peep from you, then I won't only gag you but knock you out, you hear me?"

Ciel nodded his head repeatedly. He concluded that they were in remote area if they were not worried about him screaming for help.

Then the two men left and Ciel relaxed.

Ciel knew Sebastian must be agitated by now. The demon had grown so much more protective in the recent years, which was understandable, seeing that Ciel wasn't just his master anymore. He wasn't protecting Ciel just out of duty or contract, but also out of his instinct to protect what belonged to him. 'My overprotective demon...' He mused.

As much as Ciel wanted to call him now, he knew it wasn't the time yet. So he waited and hoped that the ring leader wouldn't take his sweet time. He hadn't had his dinner yet and he was quite hungry.

"A one-eyed lad, huh? Suppose you look pretty enough to make up for the loss." The ringleader said. He was a man in his fifties, short in stature, with large round belly underneath his shirt. His small piggy eyes were scrutinizing the earl and his fat fingers were gripping Ciel's chin, turning his head this way and that in appraisal. Ciel could smell tobacco and alcohol in his breath. How revolting... "Say, whatever happened to your eye? Maybe we can make up some sob story to fetch you a higher price." With that, he ripped off the eyepatch from Ciel's face.

Ciel didn't mind. With his hands bound behind his back, it would be impossible to take it off to give an order once his demon got here.

"Huh... Looks pretty normal to me..." One of the men said. "Thought there'd be a hole or something."

"But the colour is strange... And there's something on it..." The ringleader said and looked closer. "A... star? And there are some strange symbols..."

"It's a pentagram." Ciel said.

"What?"

"The shape, it's a pentagram. Not just a star. Honestly... Have some respect. It's a contract seal, not some child's drawing." Ciel said indignantly. "Now that everyone is here, let's end this, shall we?"

"What are you talking about?" The ringleader narrowed his eyes.

"Exactly what I said." Ciel said. "It's time to put an end to your operation. You've done enough damage as it is."

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Doesn't matter who I am, you won't be around to remember it anyway. Sebastian, come to me!" Ciel called.

"Who...?"

"About time, Young Master." Sebastian said from the doorway.

"Well, I had to wait until the main cast got here." Ciel said.

The men all turned to the door.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

The butler straightened up and shook his head disapprovingly. "Such foul language. I am just a butler, here to fetch my master." Sebastian kept his voice pleasant. "Are you ready to go home, my lord?"

The men looked confused.

"Very much so." Ciel replied. "I'm actually quite hungry. They didn't offer me anything to eat, can you believe it?"

"Very rude, indeed, my lord." Sebastian said.

"If you think you can get out of here, you're wrong! I don't care who you are but you're going to die!" The ringleader said and took out his gun and pointed it at Ciel's head.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed and flashed dangerously.

"Time to end the game then." Ciel said. "Sebastian, this is an order! Kill them all!"

Sebastian bowed with a hand on his chest. "Yes, my lord."

The first one to die was the ringleader since he posed a direct threat against his master. Then the demon took care of the rest of the men.

Ciel sat on the chair, watching with an apathetic look on his face. He didn't flinch when the bodies thudded on the floor. He felt not a single thread of emotion as he watched his fellow humans being slaughtered by a demon, on his order. Moments like these made him wonder if he truly had met his demon halfway.

Once Sebastian was done, he went to Ciel and made a quick work on the ropes. "Are you hurt, sir?"

"No, I'm fine. But they gagged me and that was disgusting." Ciel said, making a face. He got up from the chair and rubbed his aching wrists together. "Where are we anyway?"

"An abandoned warehouse, sir. In the old part of the town."

"Is there anyone else in the building?" Ciel asked. He didn't know what happened to the other victims.

"No. Whatever happened to the others, they are not here anymore." Sebastian replied.

"Burn it." Ciel said and walked away.

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian snapped his fingers and the flame from the gas lamps swirled up to the ceiling and started to burn the building. Ciel spared it no glance as he walked to the door, head held high, knowing that the fire wouldn't touch him. He used to fear fire, used to have nightmares about his home burning, taking his parents with it, but not anymore. He had come to terms with it, had accepted his loss and he had moved on. The nightmares were still there, but they were much easier to deal with, now that he was older and he had someone there to soothe him afterwards.

On nights like this, Ciel felt invincible and untouchable. With his demon by his side, his protector, his mate, his lover, his butler, his everything, nothing could touch Ciel Phantomhive. And if they dared to, there would be hell to pay.