Hello everyone! I'm still here and so is the story! Please, a round of applause for the birth of the ultimate Victorian boy band 😂! I know, I repeat myself, but seriously... it's so hilarious! I will not keep you further from enjoying the whole process of making the group, just keep in mind a mild warning for adult scenes between Sebastian and Selina (but nothing too steamy, as they are so so busy) and... that's all. Have a nice time!😁
jingerr! Thank you so much for your comments! 😁
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or its characters. I entirely own only my OCs, arcs and ideas/themes not mentioned in any form of the franchise (manga, anime, games, movies or musicals).
Chapter 47: The Tutor, Operation Phantom5
"W-Wait... Hold on a second, my lord. Wh-what do you mean you will do exactly what the Sphere Music Hall does?" Selina felt really at a loss, this boy always managed to do that to her.
The young evil aristocrat smiled, absolutely justifying the nickname. "You yourself said that boy bands in your era are created aiming to capture the attention of the female audience mostly, and what the Music Hall presents, more or less, follows the same logic, right?" Selina nodded. "Well then, we will produce and sell to people exactly the same thing; we will create a new Victorian boy band which might not shackle people's hearts as the S4 did, but will give them a choice and with Sebastian's talents and your future insights might even become greater than the original material. That is one of the basic principles of trade; if someone else created something original before you did... then you can only improve the original idea and resell it to people as something totally new and make them believe so! That is the mentality of the masses... is it not?" He smirked glancing at his demon butler, who in return smiled back with a look that again Selina could identify as that of a prideful father to his son.
Truth is that at the moment, the boy looked once again like a young demon, excited for devising ways of teasing humans. Yes, if Selina did not know better, she would swear Sebastian had planted his seed in Rachel's Phantomhive belly and she gave birth to this little spawn! Strangely enough, she could not feel abhorred or terrified by the little creature or the idea of a devil spawn. An image of herself holding such a baby in her arms and the knowledge that it was Sebastian's flashed in her mind for a second and... she blushed!
"What the hell, girl? It's not going to happen, like never, so pull yourself together and focus!" She reprimanded herself and slapped the side of her head, twice!
"Mrs. Selina, are you alright?" Her master's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She lifted her eyes to him, and both he and demon were watching her with question in their wide eyes. "Even if you object in this course of action, you are obliged to follow my orders as my servant. Is that not one of the reasons you were sent here?" The boy asked her in a very smug manner.
"Y-Yes, my lord. I-I have no objection in following your plan; it actually is very logical to fight them with their own weapons... It's just that I am concerned for the future. Boy bands are not supposed to exist that early and what they have done might have already affected the balance of... time!"
He raised his hand in a reassuring gesture. "I understand and I am not that arrogant to desire to disrupt the flow of time. We will use this technique only for a short time, just to decrease the inflow of people enough for them to act rashly and make a mistake."
"And after we expose them to the public, people's wrath will be so great that they will want to forget everything about Sphere Music Hall and their shows!" Sebastian added very confident and excited.
Selina once again had lost the battle against these two. Christ, what a pair... and how much she loved them both and enjoyed being a part of their team! She sighed admitting her defeat and sat in an armchair in front of Ciel's desk.
"All right, young master. So how are we going to go about it?" She asked staring at him.
"I will leave the details to you two, I am sure you will figure everything out. What I want from you, Mrs Selina, is to tell me again the possible roles the members of boy bands can assume, so that I will be sure of whom to choose." His eye was sparkling, which meant he already had some candidates in mind.
"Hmm... the most usual were the strong handsome man, gentle but also a little forceful and bad boy when it came to the girl he supposedly liked; the baby face that was quite naughty underneath; the sexy nerd... umm, I mean the intellectual man that could also be very attractive; the melancho-"
"Perfect! These already cover the main candidates I have thought of. I believe we can devise new characters on the way?" He asked.
"Yes, of course. It would help me if I knew who will participate in our band." Selina said, unable to think of anyone.
"Sebastian must get their approval... only for typical reasons, but... I am thinking of Edward for the forceful yet gentle bad boy; Clayton for the attractive intellectual; Harcourt for the naughty baby face... Do you not agree, Mrs. Selina?" He finally asked, a little irritated by his tutor's reaction, since she was staring at him like an idiot and then started chuckling and her chuckles evolved to giggles and then loud laughter.
"I-I'm... I'm sorry... I-I-I'm not laughing at you... I-I..." She tried to calm down and cleared her throat, even though her body was still shaking from laughter. "It's just that I can hardly picture these boys in these roles. Of course, a different hairstyle and clothes can do wonders but still..."
"Please, do not forget that I am distributing the roles taking into consideration one characteristic they already have." The boy said and Selina could not but agree.
Edward was already too gentle to women, Clayton was a... nerd and Harcourt was so tiny, cute and innocent that could be mistaken for a girl; even Selina got confused meeting him at the cricket tournament, despite knowing Weston was a boys' school.
"However, we have three roles while the Hall has four. It could be a strain for the three boys to make it." Sebastian said deep in thought.
"Actually, I was thinking of Cheslock too, but... I cannot imagine what kind of role he could take up." Ciel said, obviously troubled.
"If I am allowed to say, my lord, Cheslock is quite unique on his own already. He is capable of shocking the audience quite perfectly." Sebastian said smiling and was followed by Selina's giggle.
"I agree! He is a Goth, he needs nothing else. Goths keep shocking people in my era too! Been there, done that, more or less!" She said with a wide, teasing smile. "Oh, it was so fun to watch the ladies coming out of the church and staring at me and my sister walking by with a pentacle this big on our blouses!" Her hands showed the said pentacle was actually covering her clothes from chest to waist. "And corpse paint!" She added almost sniggering at the thought.
"Really, my dearest. You make me look forward to seeing the era and culture that nurtured you, so perfectly grey!" Sebastian commented, seeing that his witch's greyness was not only due to the magic in her soul; even as an ordinary human she still would be a rare grey soul... so lovely!
"All right, but let us avoid such extremes in appearance. No religious or any other kind of symbols on the costumes. Sebastian, run to Weston as soon as you can to tell them I need them and I will announce our plan to Edward. After that, I expect you two to start working on everything else. I want everything ready in two weeks maximum." The Earl gave his orders. "As for me, I will start negotiations on buying that abandoned theatre across the Sphere Music Hall, since we will also be needing a Music Hall." He finished proud of himself for devising such a plan so quickly.
Truth is that as soon as he saw the swarm of children in his entrance hall and listened to their reasons for coming all the way... was like a window had been opened in his mind and ideas started flowing in like the wind.
"Yes, my lord." Butler and tutor said bowing, right before they depart from the boy's office.
"Lord Edward has run home to inform his family for Lady Elizabeth. He will be back for afternoon tea, so you will have to take over, my dear, as I will already be in Weston persuading the three boys to assist us. Although, I have a feeling it will not be really difficult." The demon smiled confidently as he and his companion were walking in the corridor towards the servants' staircase.
Before he realised, Selina had grabbed his tie, roughly pulled him to the shadows and kissed him hungrily as her back collided with the wall and her other arm hugged his. The demon had to place his hands on the wall, at the height of her head, to avoid tumbling over her. He was quite surprised as she kept kissing him demandingly. It was not that he did not enjoy it – actually he did quite a lot – but was not really used to his mate taking the initiative in such places or time, because she was always concerned to not give her master any reason for accusing them of letting their feelings get in the way of their work. That was why she was always resisting Sebastian when he pulled her in the shadows… or at least she tried to resist, until a couple of his kisses taking away all of her objections. The demon's eyes fluttered and closed as he responded with a very pleased groan.
After a while she released his lips with a very satisfied sigh. "I wanted to do this from the moment you were talking about the religious wars. You looked so... unique and magical! You were here but your gaze was turned to the distant past... your past!" Indeed, she looked so excited by that and the prospect of hearing more stories of the past from the demon.
"Hmm?! The little kitten is interested in the stories of an old devil?!" Sebastian teased and smiled as his heart was beginning to beat faster.
"Old devil? I don't see anyone around here!" The witch's eyes wandered playfully in the dark corridor, making the said devil chuckle and lean closer.
"Why, my dear, you do realise that your almost thirty years are nothing more than a baby's first months of life in my one thousand seven hundred years?"
Selina nodded. "Even if I had the age of my aunt Emily, I would still be a child to you, but in human years I am very much of an adult woman free to choose her man... and I don't mind my man having quite a thrilling past!" Her eyes were sparkling making the demon so light-headed.
"Is that why you blushed so wonderfully, while in young master's office and then hit your beautiful head?" He said kissing the said spot and inhaling her lovely scent.
"Eh?" Selina exclaimed and instantly blushed again. "Mm... No? I got excited by our master's plan!"
"Lie..." The demon's husky voice sent shivers down her spine as his hot breath landed on her face and his red eyes pierced through her.
"Oh, alright! I thought of how much he looked like a little devil at the moment and you were so proud, and that if I didn't know better I could mistake you for father and son..." She said and turned her eyes away, totally embarrassed and scarlet red.
"Oh... me being the father of young master! What an amusing but improbable idea! I assure you that from what I have gathered from young master's and Madame's Red stories... Rachel Phantomhive was too plain and boring for my tastes to even bother to trick her and plant my seed... However, was that the only reason for your blush? Oh, so many lies!" He finished after Selina nodded to his question.
"Tsk! I also thought I would not mind having a little devil spawn, your spawn, but that was a silly thought of the moment, I sent it away and that's all." The woman said and made an attempt to slip away from him, but failed since the demon pulled her back by wrapping one hand around her wrist and the other lightly around her throat, his fingers stroking her jaw and his body pushing her back on the wall.
"Do you love me that much that you would be willing to carry my seed if I chose to do so... and your womb could?" He asked neutrally but Selina felt like his eyes would devour her.
She did not respond; the words were afraid to come out of her mouth, for she did not know the demon's reaction, but knew she would lose all her strength if the answer was spoken outloud. He did not have to hear it as her eyes told him all he needed to know. His face showed no emotion as he still did not know what to feel about it; therefore, he dived and captured her lips in a so heated kiss that soon he had to wrap the woman's legs around his waist as she was melting in his arms.
After a while, the kisses were not enough and he pushed her skirt up revealing a pair of drawers, he positioned his thigh and started rubbing the woman's hot centre, something that elicited so delicious moans from her... but again that was not enough. His time was running short, he had to run to Weston, so he could not take her as his body and heart desired, but needed to hear her calling him in passionate desperation. He slipped his hands inside the drawers and cupped her round backside; slowly his still gloved fingers started slipping closer to Selina's back entrance until she felt them actually entering her.
She gasped as her body twitched and her arms tightened around his shoulders. "Sebastian... that..."
"Correct me if I am wrong... you enjoyed it quite a lot last time, when I taught you all about it." His voice full of innuendos as his fingers, slowly and gently kept teasing.
Selina moaned again and almost involuntarily started rubbing herself harder on the demon's thigh. "B-But... the gloves?" She managed to ask as the red haze of passion blinded her mind.
"It has been quite a while; I surely do not want to hurt you. You liked their sensation too, correct?" He breathed in her ear and that was the last straw for Selina.
She moaned in agreement and kept riding his thigh harder and faster as his fingers continued pumping in and out and teasing her in perfect rhythm with her movements. Her cries were getting louder as she was getting closer to one of her harder orgasms, but thankfully was left with enough logic to attempt to muffle them in the demon's shoulder or neck, something that made him moan and gasp in turn. Finally, she released a cry of his name as waves of pleasure came crashing on her, leaving her body limp almost collapsing on his chest. His fingers retreated from her anus, lovingly caressed her globes as his lips kept planting feather kisses on her sweaty face and then surprised her by actually licking, quite provocatively, his gloved fingers from her body juices. She blushed all over again and the demon chuckled satisfied that he always found new ways of shocking her.
When she managed to collect herself and be able to stand back on her feet, she let her palm slide downwards to the man's trousers. "You too!" She said as she could feel how much he needed a release and she was getting quite excited again.
The demon kissed her deeply but grabbed her hand before things got to the dangerous side. "I would like that more than anything, my lovely witch, but we have been playing for quite a few minutes already... And I need to go to Weston, and you need to start preparations for young master's and lord Edward's tea." He said, kissed her one more time and untangled himself from her embrace.
"What?" Selina said, her eyes clearing instantly from her merely satiated lust. "Hey... you make me like this..." pointing at the mess of her wrinkled clothes and flushed face "...you make yourself like this..." pointing at his erection "...and suddenly you have to leave? Is that a joke or what? Why did you even start in the first place?" She was quite upset.
"Oh my dear, the robes of professor Michaelis will cover my discomfort until it goes away. And this time you started it, by pulling me in the shadows for such a kiss!" He responded smirking.
"Oh come on! That was just a kiss, one of our many kisses in the shadows but we don't always end up... doing it like this!"
"You lied twice, my dear. Punishment was needed." He looked so devilishly sadistic at the moment with a sharp wide grin and slit burning eyes that Selina could only stare at him with her mouth open. He kissed the tip of her nose, fleetingly licked her lips and turned to leave. "See you tonight, my lovely kitten." He sounded so cheerful.
"Oh you bet! There will be payback tonight! Be sure about that!" She called to his back and got confused, as she was not sure whether she felt hot at the sound of his light laughter as response to her anger or for some other reason.
She inhaled and exhaled a couple of times to calm herself and then started for their room; she needed to take a quick cold shower, change her clothes and then run to the kitchen. That bastard demon... he would pay!
{~}
"Huh?! M-Me?!" Lord Edward cried out utterly surprised when Ciel explained him his plan and pointed at him as one of the candidates for the new group of the Funtom Music Hall.
"You are a prefect at the prestigious Weston College, as well as the successor to the household of a Marquess. On top of that, you rank highly in athletic endeavours and you are fairly easy on the eyes. I do not believe we could find a more fitting candidate." Ciel said with an impish smile and sipped his tea.
"But dancing and singing are not-!" Edward had more objections but the Earl cut him off.
"Edward. Do you not wish to take Elizabeth back?" He asked him and that was the key phrase that shook the elder boy quite hard.
"But there is no way I can manage all this by myself..." Edward mumbled full of insecurity, but Ciel only smiled again.
"Do not worry. I already have people in mind for the other members and my scout is out working as we speak." He glanced at his tutor standing by his side in place of the absent butler; she responded with a light mischievous smile.
Right at the moment Edward was wondering about where Sebastian was, the door opened and an overenthusiastic Soma almost jumped in the room, Agni following him quite embarrassed at his master.
"I want in this Hall of yours! If my little brother Ciel is in a tight spot, then that is my cue! I will pitch in and do what I can to help out!" He announced and winked at Ciel, inviting him to lay his trust on him as he did in Weston.
"My Prince! I have told you many times not to eavesdrop at young master! I deeply apologise, master Ciel!" Agni fell to his knees and bowed deeply to the floor in front of Ciel... whose eye sparkled with Soma's suggestion.
"Mrs. Selina?" The young Earl turned to her.
The woman was in a similar state, her mind already at work. "Yes, my lord. Prince's Soma energy and enthusiasm is exactly what our bo-... our musical group needs!"
Ciel smiled satisfied and Soma could not contain himself and did a little happy dance, trying to imitate one of the moves he had seen children of the streets doing, while singing the S4's songs. He did it nicely enough for Selina to applaud him and be more certain he was indeed what they needed. In a while, Sebastian returned with the expected positive answer of the other three boys from Weston, and that they would all visit his master the following day in the afternoon, for him to explain the plan in greater detail.
{~}
That evening meant quite a lot of work for the couple of supernaturals, as they had to decide on what type of boy band they would produce; make a first layout of the characters the boys would perform; the kind of show and songs they would present to the audience appealing to certain feelings; and, of course, design the costumes needed, since an order had to be given to Nina the next morning.
Sebastian and Selina worked together for quite some hours at night until the woman started yawning, around one o'clock – she was always a late sleeper but had been forced to change habits while in the boy's service – when the demon literally ordered her to go to sleep. She indeed slept heavily for a couple of hours, but then woke up only to find the demon in complete darkness still sitting at his desk in their room, sketching and erasing trying to design the clothes... He did not expect it to be difficult; if he had seen the S4 costumes with his own eyes it would be a child's play to create something different; Selina's description, as detailed as it was, still was not enough.
He sensed her waking and getting up from bed, her fingers caressing his black hair and slender neck as she stood behind his chair. "Awake already? You need to rest." He said as he lifted his hand to caress her gold curls and let his head rest backwards on her chest. The sensation of her fingers stroking his throat was instantly relieving him from the annoyance of failing to quickly finish such a simple task.
"I need to go to the toilet." Selina responded, lightly kissed his forehead and with a swift move stole his tailcoat hanging on his chair's back.
It was a relatively chilly October, especially at nights, so she slipped her arms in the cloth's sleeves smiling in a mischievous manner, seeing the demon's eyes turn red and hot, as they always did when he saw her wearing his clothes. In a few minutes, she was back in the room squeezing her way in the demon's lap and he was more than happy to accept her and let her use his body to warm herself up, even though she was still wrapped in his coat.
"Okay, tell me where you stuck." She told him taking his drawings in her hands; thankfully he had turned one lamp on for her to be easier to see.
"Well... if we decide on the main material of the costumes, I believe the rest will just click into place. The colour and everything..." He ran a hand through his hair.
Selina nodded carefully examining the designs. They had agreed to avoid the blinding sparkling and colourful style of S4 and go with something more neutral that would complement the divergence of their performers, without failing to highlight their unity as a group. However, since appearance was one key element, no matter how simple the costumes would be, they had to be designed and worn in such a way that would thrill and excite the audience... the perfect material could do that easily.
"Hmm... We aim for the total opposite type of boy band from what S4 are, right?" Selina asked and Sebastian nodded. "Okay, let's see what they are and do." She started numbering the points with her fingers. "One, they are four handsome young boys. Two, they emanate a kind and gracious aura as expected from benevolent creatures. Three, their songs are happy and encouraging; they actually congratulate people for all the good they do and greatly highlight each individual's unique worth-"
At that point Sebastian laughed a little mockingly; Selina looked at him in question. "What you describe is similar to how an owner treats his dog. The dog does either something the owner said or thinks will like because it seeks praising. "Good boy, you did good today, I am so proud of you, here is a little treat" and the necessary patting on the head that will make the animal proud of itself. In the same fashion, S4 pat their audience for doing something good that day, as they have been told." He smiled.
Selina shifted a little making the demon lightly gasp. "Okay, so what do you think we should do? We can't make the audience feel negative emotions for their bad actions or they won't be coming to our Hall."
"No, of course we cannot do that. Humans have many desires; being praised by someone important to the individual is one of them, but you and I know very well there are deeper and darker desires for which people usually need a little nudge." His eyes were flashing as his mind began finding a way out; a chuckle escaped his throat as Selina kept staring at him trying to understand where this was going. "Do not worry, my dearest, we will not be pushing them to commit sins and crimes; it would not be convenient if our audience ended up in prison. Hmm... Think of this; when I started the game of slowly seducing you... I already knew you desired me in your darkest and deepest part of your grey soul; you would not admit it but tried to resist. Nevertheless, every encounter with me left you more excited and aroused... Was it only due to my actions or because of the promise these actions held? Did you not desire to find out what would happen if you gave in and took my offered hand?"
His heavy, hot breath was showering the burning red face of Selina as they were inches apart. The wicked blond succubus almost never stopped moving and shifting from the moment she sat on the male demon's lap; more specifically, she was moving her thigh up and down for some time now 'accidentally' rubbing his already growing erection. It was a surprise he managed to make this chain of thoughts under the pressure of such a distraction... or perhaps the distraction helped him actually.
"A-also, they have the roles of stars... radiating and... and dispersing the darkness of night, but..." A deeper groan escaped him as his hips wanted to move against the thigh guilty for this situation. "But they forget that there are always starless nights too... so-so alluring and filled with promises of thrill and excitement." He said and as he could not take any more of this very pleasant, slow torture, he grabbed Selina's thigh and guided her to pick up the speed to the desired level.
Selina wrapped one arm around Sebastian's shoulders and hugged his head with the other as he leaned down and his mouth latched on her breast, obviously not bothered by the nightgown covering it. However, she did not want to lose in her own game; therefore, she resisted freely moaning as a response to the sensation his mouth on her breast and her thigh on his hardness created; she limited herself to light gasps and sighs and forced her mind to process what Sebastian said and connect the dots.
The more she thought the more she found the demon was actually right. Yes, being praised feels wonderful, lifts your spirit, boosts your self confidence and produces a euphoria that can last for some time. But on the other hand, the allure of darkness could be equal, if not stronger, since it held the promise of discovering the unknown, and that could be so exciting and arousing!
They had not realised it but the answer was ready for them, the roles they made for the boys were exactly that. Edward, the handsome bad boy promising so many exhilarating feelings if the audience accepted his hand. Clayton, the intellect who might be hiding passion underneath his shy mask of coldness and snobbishness. Harcourt, the sweet and innocent younger boy who in the darkness might not be that innocent. Cheslock... well, he was already weird enough for the era that would either scare people or invite them for closer inspection of his darkness. And finally Soma... the rich, exotic foreigner and that was quite alluring on its own.
Sebastian's cry of release pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked at him and his image sent a hot wave run through her body reaching her core. He had thrown his head backwards and his face had a light red colour, making his burning eyes more intense as they kept looking at her behind long black lashes; his lips half open, as he was still panting, allowing his pointy teeth to show in his hungry smile; the redness expanded to his throat and Selina was certain it would be on his porcelain chest too if she would rip open the white shirt, but resisted! His hands and loins were trembling still under the effects of pleasure, making Selina wanting to take advantage of his state and drive him crazy with more pleasure as he usually did to her, but resisted!
She planted a kiss on his lips, licked his sharp teeth and he responded humming pleased as his arms wrapped around her. "Black leather!" She said once she broke the kiss.
"Hmm?" The demon was still so light-headed and under his witch's spell.
"I said that the perfect material could be black leather! Black leather trousers, jackets, vests, gloves! It can look so... sexy when worn by some bad boys!" She smirked mischievously and Sebastian arched a brow as her one hand was running across his forearm and her one leg was rubbing his calf; exactly where black leather was visible in his true form.
He truly did not care for which of his forms Selina was getting more excited and aroused, because to him they all felt the same, one more part of his body just dressed nicely, but could not deny he felt a warm sensation spreading in his stomach every time she was equally fascinated by his true form. Could she be more perfect for him?
He took the pencil, quickly noted 'black leather' on one of the sketches and drew arrows pointing to trousers, jackets, vests and gloves, just like she said. "That is for tonight!" He announced and got ready to attack Selina's chin and jaw with kisses and nibbles but she stopped him.
"These costumes look too Victorian; if we want to shock everyone we must do something so different, and..." She exclaimed as an idea came to her... although Sebastian had the suspicion she had already thought of it. "I know how you can get ideas." She attempted to loosen the demon's hold.
"Is it necessary to do that now? Can it not wait for tomorrow? I need you... so much!" He almost moaned the last part as his hot tongue traced the line of her collar bone.
That left her panting a little. "I-I would like that more than anything, my lovely demon, but we have been playing for quite a few minutes already and we must have the designs as ready as we can for Nina tomorrow." She said mimicking his tone from earlier.
Sebastian looked at her quite astounded and then a sharp devilish smile bloomed on his lips as laugh shook his broad chest. "You held your word that I should pay for earlier, my most beautiful, little imp." His arms squeezed her lovingly.
Selina returned the hug and her face almost sparkled as her lips curled in a totally feline manner. "And you love me exactly for that impish side!"
The demon nodded. "And so many more sides of you!" He said staring at her intently.
It was the closest to an "I love you" he had ever said, other than his so detailed confession when he chose her and... on how he came to desiring her so much. Selina was left astounded staring him back, and felt so mesmerized by his eyes... until she felt his naked fingers slipping underneath the seam of the nightgown and then under her underwear, caressing her buttocks closer and closer to...
"Hey! We still have work to do, do not distract me with such tricks!" She slapped the exploring hand away and finally squirmed herself out of his lap.
The man sighed like he was about to go through one of the worst tortures, but could not go against the will of his torturer. "I had to try!" He shrugged surrendering.
Selina giggled as she brought the leather bound spell book out of her bag with the tools of her craft and flipped the pages to a part of the book, obviously rarely used. Sebastian approached and took a look at the spell she was pointing.
"There is this spell devised by grey witches generally..." She started blushing again as she shyly looked at the demon, intriguing him more. "It's for when we find our forever mate, the only creature that will willingly accept our greyness fully and love us unconditionally. So, this is a way for us to share as much of ourselves with our mate."
"Meaning?" Sebastian asked really interested.
"Meaning that this spell can create a path, a connection of minds between the couple, through which memories and experiences can be shared. Of course, I will have complete control, so there won't be any overwhelming rain of images and emotions from my entire life, but only what I choose. In short, I can show you what you need to know about boy bands in my time and you can... absorb, in a way, the images and sensations I have experienced." A bright smile bloomed on her lips, pleased that she could be truly useful to her husband and their master.
"Interesting, most interesting." Sebastian responded rubbing his chin. "However... What is the catch? Oh come on, dearest. I find it hard to believe that the cautious, natural born grey witches, having been hurt and betrayed often in the past, were not prudent enough to create a safety net to protect their emotions, the most vulnerable part of a human, even a magical one... Otherwise, you could have done this, show young master and me your past, instead of narrating everything." He said with smug smile, seeing the slightly offended furrow on Selina's brows. Oh, how he loved challenging his little kitten to outargue him with her wit.
"First of all, as I said, this is a spell meant for the grey witch and their mate, not their master or lover. So, it wouldn't work on young master either way and at the time you were simply my lover, not my mate. Why would I share my feelings with you, so that you could trample over them, if you refused me?" She said with arms crossed on her chest and a superior look in her raised eyebrows.
"True, true!" The demon said, obviously enjoying their little spar.
"Also, there is no actual trap, because we don't see it as a means or tool to blackmail or manipulate our mate, but as an ultimate bonding experience of a forever couple... Therefore, it is a mutual sharing and absorbing of each other's experiences." That made her blush considerably as the thought of indeed having the chance of seeing and feeling parts of her demon husband's long life excited her; the thought of the crusades he mentioned earlier crossed her mind again. "Anyway, as the situation we find ourselves right now, demands immediate action... I cannot wait or force you to promise you will open up yourself to me - as you normally should - that is why, I will take the initiative and open up this certain part of my mind to you."
With that, maintaining her superior air - as a noble lady would - Selina climbed in bed, under the covers, with her spell book still in hand and invited her husband to join her.
The demon chuckled, utterly amused by how she still struggled to cover her deeply emotional side - the one making her dying with curiosity to know him better - with practicality. Under the pretext of the case they worked on, she introduced him to this ultimate bonding experience, she gave him a nudge but still let him free to decide how far and deep he would accept her. He removed shoes, vest and tie and made himself comfortable next to her.
"It says here that the first time might be hard and draining for the witch, so... I might pass out. Don't be alarmed." Selina said seriously and Sebastian nodded.
The witch placed the palms of his hands on her temples and two of her fingers at the centre of his forehead, chanted part of the spell that opened the path for their minds to link, and then removed them and went on with the rest of it.
Sebastian had time only to gasp once, surprised at the new sensation of being pulled inside his mate's mind; for a moment, it was like he was taking a dive into the deepest ocean, but the next he found himself standing in the middle of a delirious crowd - consisted mostly of young females - cheering for the handsome young men performing on stage. Beside him, he spotted an adolescent Selina, perhaps even younger than young master, being encouraged by the girls around her to "be alive". The demon chuckled sensing how awkward she felt, dragged there probably by her friends since, she "had already chosen darker musical paths" herself. However, when a song came up that she declared she liked... soon she had little difference from the rest of the crowd.
For the next few minutes - not exactly sure how many - images kept changing, bombarding Sebastian with everything he needed to know - and perhaps even more - about the future industry of boy bands. A truly profitable industry, exploiting the instinctive and hormonal needs of young people and the ambition and dreams of others. The demon was surely impressed by human greed and ingenuity... unless a demon was moving the strings backstage, not at all improbable.
The visions stopped when Selina's head fell heavy on his chest, signifying her energy had indeed reached its limits. Sebastian was quick to hug and gently lie her back on the soft pillows of their bed; he placed her as comfortable as possible and covered her with the blankets, letting her have the much needed rest... Even if he was a little disappointed for not having the chance to tease her about what she showed him. He got out of bed, stored Selina's spell book back in her bag and since it was still early, he returned to bed after picking up papers and pencils; he redrew the costumes, as well as made various notes on things they could do to boost people's interest and... young master's riches at the same time. All thanks to his precious witch from the future.
He looked at the sleeping woman beside him and smiled quite lovingly, for a demon. Without realising, he almost thanked the obnoxious reaper that sent her in the past and in his arms, as well as the lunatic silver haired reaper whose experiments made her presence here imperative. Leaning even closer, he kissed her so softly and tenderly that the woman stirred in her sleep and smiled happily, obviously due to the demon's deep emotion this small act carried. He also smiled watching her and stayed by her side for a little longer.
{~}
The next morning the demon visited the tailor shop of Nina Hopkins and placed an order after showing her the designs. She got really excited upon hearing the basic idea was Selina's but got quite disappointed that Sebastian had finalised the designs; they were "so detailed, innovative, charming and bold for Mr. Stiff to have thought" as she commented and Sebastian chose to just smile instead of throttling her. Despite all, she was more than happy to work on the Earl's order and the fact that the models were around the age limit she preferred, made things easier for her.
When Sebastian came back to the town-house, the real estate agent managing the selling of the abandoned theatre across the Music Hall was leaving and his eyes were sparkling quite satisfied. The butler found his young master and the blond tutor in the office, currently discussing the costumes, although the boy did not seem really interested in the details and his lack of imagination in such things made it difficult for him to picture them.
"My lord, do you want a demonstration?" Selina was asking quite excited, the moment Sebastian entered the room.
"Ho, that would be quite an interesting sight, my dear. You did not tell me last night you have such costumes in your possession." He said and his eyes flashed with a secret meaning towards the woman.
"Seriously, Mrs. Selina, why would you dress yourself like that?" Ciel said looking at her a little horrified.
"Because such clothes are cool, but I have to clarify, the ones I have and prefer are not like the ones for the boys. These are way too flashy for my taste... So, young master, would you care for a demonstration that might give you some idea on what to expect?" She asked again and her eyes sparkled under arched brows.
The boy kept staring at her with a trace of horror still in his eye... for some reason the image he had in his mind for this woman was constantly changing lately. Not that he disliked her for that but... deep inside he hoped he had finally found a serious person with whom he would be able to cooperate properly; now he was seeing she was serious when needed but also very goofy when she wanted, exactly as she was right now... and the things he was learning for her era terrified him in some way. He turned his gaze to Sebastian for advice but the demon - who had also undergone a change when it came to the woman - was staring at her, most probably already imagining her in such clothes. Selina seemed to have felt his eyes and returned the look with quite a mischievous smile full of promise and playfulness.
And that made him decide. No! He would not humour them and allow them to literally keep drooling over each other, like Selina did over Sebastian in Nina's shop and the demon was doing right now! He was too young to be forced to witness adults acting so foolishly... and lewdly!
"I think I prefer to see Nina's final product, I have great patience." He announced as coolly as he could and felt a little satisfaction at the disappointed looks of his servants; they both looked like saddened cats. "Sebastian, explain your plans to me and afterwards I would like to work a little, since the others will arrive in the afternoon."
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian said, bowing with hand over heart, completely collected.
He went on explaining how merchandise worked and how it could be achieved with the means they had in their era. After that, he talked about the sound systems that would bring even better results, but were really expensive and some even in a very experimental stage. Selina was left speechless at the fact that the demon was actually describing a surround system with huge loudspeakers and amplifiers, as used in the 20th century, and in her question of how they would find something it did not exist yet, Sebastian expressed his ultimate belief and trust to Lady Sullivan's inventiveness in engineering.
"Plus, whatever she might fail to create I trust our... abilities to be able to cover any gaps, especially in performance." He smiled at the wide eyed woman.
"Well yes, but we are talking about microphones, amplifiers, projectors and lights... all these are creations of science and-" She tried to object again for fear of greatly disrupting the natural flow of history. She really did not mean for Sebastian to get that far after looking at her memories... Perhaps the spell was a bad idea after all?
"My dear, I have already told you, when all this will be over, there will be no evidence for people to remember... But if you still fear, a Lethe spell will solve the problem. Do not worry, I will gladly help you in widening your spell's range to a bigger crowd than usual." He smiled at her, totally satisfied that they would work and practice a little magic together.
"Can you actually do that? Boost my energy so much? How?" She got really curious as it was something quite unknown to her.
"I told you, dear, one of the main accusations against witches... not always a lie, they insisted." He smirked so suggestively, seeing a blush exploding on the woman's face as she remembered their specific discussion.
"Besides..." Ciel's authoritative voice brought them back to order. "How can you be sure that the actual inventor of the systems in your era, was not in the audience of our Music Hall, saw what we presented, got the idea and started working on making them reality?"
"Honestly, how the hell do they do that?" Selina wondered as once again she could not go against the demon's and the boy's logic; her arguments had been defeated and she could only sigh and nod in agreement.
"Good! Sebastian, if you have nothing else to report, go and prepare something for our guests. I would advise you to bake Clayton's favourite cake, as he is the one who might get scared and get back on his word." Ciel said and dismissed both servants.
{~}
As planned, the group was gathered later the afternoon; Cheslock seemed to agree with Ciel's plan but expressed a strong doubt of whether everyone would be able to make it, and seemed to question Clayton's abilities mostly. The truth is, it was hard to imagine the strict and stern intellect, always well combed with a very specific hairstyle, in any different way, but that was until Sebastian, with a comb in hand stepped in and, literally, transformed the young man, showing how handsome he could actually look. Without the glasses and a thoroughly dishevelled hairstyle he looked so different that the other four boys' jaws dropped open in absolute surprise. They kept teasing poor - almost blind without his glasses - Clayton until Sebastian's loud clap calmed them down.
Ciel announced their shows would begin in two weeks and the butler distributed them the files with their respective roles. Everyone got quite shocked on them and Cheslock could not understand why he was the only one who would not play a certain role... Of course, Sebastian's explanation and cheerful encouragement to keep being himself, seemed to anger the young Goth even more.
"Um, I do not fully understand this description. "A bit of bad boy and forceful?" What exactly am I supposed to act like?" Edward asked visibly troubled.
"Sebastian, if you will..." Ciel ordered, joining a really amused Selina watching the... show.
"Yes, master." Sebastian answered and headed towards Edward with a smile.
With a sudden movement, he slammed his palm on the wall behind the boy at the level of his head surprising him quite a lot. The butler's finger slid on the boy's throat until it reached his chin and made him tilt his head upward, so that his eyes met the half lidded ones of the man. In the meantime, Sebastian had leaned closer supporting his forearm on the wall where his palm had previously landed.
"Oh, quit acting so innocent... You have been begging for this the entire time, have you not? My precocious, little kitten..." He said in a so charming and seductive tone that not even the teenage boy could not help but blush, even though he obviously felt seriously harassed by the butler's 'advance'.
"Wh... What?! You want me to act like that?! Girls will feel absolutely threatened!" Edward said, trying to jump away from the butler, who immediately retreated with an innocent and amused face.
"For the past few days, we have been taking surveys from random passer-bys. According to those results, women have a tendency to be attracted to slightly more forceful men." Sebastian explained.
"Also, my lord..." Selina moved forward, glancing at the butler with a look saying "When did these surveys happen?" quite suspiciously. "...if you do it right, girls will not feel threatened, on the contrary." The boy stared at her clueless and she sighed rolling her eyes. "Do you mind?" She said to the butler.
"With absolute pleasure!" He responded with a smile.
The tutor took the place the boy had, in front of the wall. "First of all, while on stage singing and dancing you will be making eye contact with girls and women in the crowd, who seem to get really crazy about you. These will be your targets for the act of bad boy, so you will have to look and smile at them very charmingly, to make them wanting to meet you later... but of course, without pushing to the point of making them un-" Selina was saying, when a loud slam on the wall beside her made her instinctively jump.
She turned and saw Sebastian staring at her with his totally seductive look, the one he showed her when getting really naughty ideas. Slower than what he did with Edward, resumed the previous position, forearm on the wall, finger under her chin, face inches from hers and eyes pinning her without allowing escape. He repeated the words, only in a huskier and heavier voice.
"Oh, my lord, what are you talking about?" A blushing Selina said innocently, looking at him with doe eyes.
"You know very well... While on stage I could feel your eyes on me, never leaving me. They were so hot I was afraid I would get distracted." Sebastian went on, gently caressing her chin.
"You are exaggerating, my lord!" She kept the act and lightly tried to push his fingers away from her chin, so that she would lower her head and eyes modestly; but her fingers were captured by the butler's, he kissed them so gentlemanly and then his lips came hovering over her own.
"Not at all... I felt like they were about to devour me and that made me-" He was saying when the warm fingers of the woman's other hand landed on his lips, sealing them and pushing him a little away.
"And this is the red line you must never cross, my lord." She said smiling innocently to Edward. "Up to the hand kissing is alright, but you must never get so carried away and literally corner the woman in such an intimate manner. Use some compliments to make her feel comfortable and beautiful, but tactfully retreat when she is obviously trying to escape, like when trying to break eye contact with you and doesn't attempt to steal glances of you anymore." She kept explaining, trying to ignore the hot and wet tongue discreetly licking teasingly her fingers still resting on the man's lips.
All five boys kept staring the entire exchange between butler and tutor with cheeks burning from the blushing and were quite confused, not knowing up to what point the couple was pretending! Even the innocent Harcourt felt the need to loosen his tie a bit, as he suddenly felt very hot.
"Or in case you fail to do this tactful retreat, it is imperative to apologise in a way that you show how ashamed of yourself you are for making your 'friends' uncomfortable in any way." Sebastian said back in his usual cool way. "Dear Selina, we really thank you for this so detailed demonstration." He smiled at her, holding both her hands in his.
"My pleasure!" She responded similarly.
The boy Earl cleared his throat drawing the attention back to him... and fighting the blush painting his cheeks too. "If we merely stick to singing and dancing like the S4, that would make us nothing more than a lame rehash... a copy. Even if we could match their skills by mimicking them, we still would not win. We must focus on our originality and each individual persona! That will be crucial!" He explained.
"But can we really defeat the S4 by simply doing that?" Clayton asked full of doubt.
Ciel smacked his hand on his desk very authoritatively. "Quit whining before even trying it out. In the end, victory will depend on each one of you standing here, on how well you can personally market yourselves and raise your own value." He looked at them threateningly enough to make them shiver a little.
"There is no need to fret, for I will take full reigns and give you all a very thorough lesson." Sebastian stepped in, in his full professor mode; glasses on, horsewhip already in hand and his characteristic vicious smile on lips.
The shiver got stronger running up and down the boys' backs and Prince Soma felt the need to try and hide behind the shorter and petite Harcourt for protection; only when Selina jumped in and said she too would help, he seemed to calm down and the others took cue from him.
{~}
And that is how it came that for the rest of the two weeks the boys spent most of their time in the Phantomhive town-house, perfecting or acquiring the skills needed for the very promising performances of the Phantom Five in the Funtom Music Hall. Acting, music, singing and dancing became their new routine and under the tutelage of Sebastian and Selina... and Ciel's assistance in the role of the 'fangirl' – although he failed quite majorly in the role and Selina ended up taking it up permanently, something the boys preferred too, since it was easier for them to act like that before a woman – they kept evolving and doing "fairly well", as Sebastian informed his master one night.
"Master Soma in particular is showing exceptional talent for this line of work. He shows no signs of bashfulness, and he memorises dance moves after just one lesson." The butler smirked. "He says it is because in his country they express their emotions through various outlets such as dancing!" He laughed lightly.
Ciel followed him. "If he did not have the emotional age of a pre-teen, then he would be almost perfect, would he not...?" The boy asked a little amused.
"Sadly, that single trait domineers over all the positives..." The butler sighed as if worried for the Indian Prince. "Master Edward is also absorbing the lessons one after the other. His honest and genuine admiration towards the others is fuelling his enthusiasm to learn."
The Earl nodded and then passed some papers to Sebastian. "I expanded some of your merchandise ideas and designed plans for a couple of new services and shop ideas for the grand opening." The butler took a look at them and nodded. "By the way, how is the investigation on the blood progressing?" The boy asked, remembering that too.
"It seems we still have not received any news." Sebastian informed him and Ciel nodded.
{~}
The few last days went by and before they knew it, the night of the grand opening came, on the 23rd of October, and it was literally... a blast! Phantom Five took over the Sphere Music Hall's stage and after calling frauds and fake stars the S4 - who were quite shocked to see their ex fags dressed and acting like that, so boldly - they invited people take their hands and join the true rulers of London's night. Most people were left speechless, not knowing what to think, not knowing whether this was part of the show or not, but some of them were curious enough to follow Edward's advice, go out of the one venue and enter the other one across the street, the Funtom Music Hall, were they could dance all night until their legs give out.
The first night, as well as all that followed, were quite a success; the boys were pretty excited - Prince Soma maybe a little more than the others - and the sinister mastermind pleased to the maximum, as his plan seemed to be going perfectly. He could not shackle people's heart but could give them a choice and let them choose which side they liked best; the blinding light of the stars or the so mysterious and alluring darkness of night. Now, all he had to do was sit back and wait for Blavat Sky to make a move, make a grave mistake.
Yes! And the show begins! 🎉✨
Alright, I promise I will not delve too deeply in the performances because... I think it would be too much and quite boring to do so. Those pages were quite overwhelming in the manga and I think that, even if I wanted to, I would not have any idea how to put these images into words. However, characters will comment on the show for continuity's sake and... simple fun! 😄
Selina and Sebastian working on the group: Since the whole thing with the boy band is a huge stretch (okay, canonicaly we know close to nothing about demons, so Sebastian could know about boy bands all on his own) I thought of how to minimize that stretch, so having Selina actively participating in forming the group and sharing her own knowledge and experience felt quite natural to me. However, I would love to hear your opinions too! Is it a little more convincing than how it's presented in the manga? I, in no way, am saying Toboso did it wrongly, since... it's quite obvious she did it for her own fun and she has every right to do so, but... if my version was part of an original story, would it be convincing enough?
Sebastian's analysis of S4: That part was quite hard to come up with, I admit! But considering the so opposite appearances and themes between the two groups, I tried to figure out how S4 would look to Sebastian's eyes and... this parallel with the dog came to me! I resisted and didn't take it too far and parallel Phantom Five to a cat in Sebastian's mind, but... I think you get it... Right?
Selina's mind-connecting spell: That was kind of a last minute idea to cover up the gap left by another idea I decided to use differently (those memory orbs Selina mentioned to Ciel, if you remember). I think it's also quite a sweet way for the couple to get to know each other even better and... it's a very very convenient excuse for future one-shots where they explore each other's past, don't you think, dear readers? 😉
Last but not least... Comforting Darkness has still 20 chapters left! I can't believe we have reached so far! I really hope I'll continue being here, sharing this story with everyone and reading your comments, reactions, opinions! You totally make my day when commenting, people!😍
Next chapter is a little surprise. Normally, it should have been published last week to fit the atmosphere, but, as in the manga, it is incorporated within the storyline (more or less) and I did not want to ruin that... on the contrary I incorporate it even more! 😁
Till next time (whenever that might be)! Bye!