I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 74: Falsehood

After breakfast, Sasuke took Naruto aside and finally asked his question. "How did you do it?"

It took Naruto a few seconds before he realized what Sasuke was referring to. "With Watanuki's help, I contacted Cain. Cain said he hadn't done that to Hisoka but he was able to guess how Itachi had done it to me. Hisoka, through Kyu, told me that I could tap into the chakra and use it to Henge into Itachi. He said it would be better to use the clone just in case doing this caused any side effects. He also said that depending on how much chakra Itachi sealed in the crow, I could do this multiple times. But it seems that Itachi didn't use a lot of chakra for the crow."

"He knew he was going to fight me," Sasuke said. "He didn't want me to catch on to his plan." Naruto nodded while Sasuke frowned. "You saw it. Since it was your clone, you got his memories."

Naruto shook his head. "I didn't. Whatever went on between you and Itachi stayed that way. As soon as Itachi's conscience took over, it became his clone. All I saw was the before and after."

"I see," Sasuke nodded. He was thankful that the time he spent with Itachi was his and Itachi's alone. It had been the best birthday gift anyone could, and probably would ever give him. The reminder that it had been a birthday gift caused Sasuke to look up. "How did you know it was my birthday?"

"I… uh…" Naruto began. "Watanuki told me. I asked him how long we were away from Konoha and he said we'd been gone for about twenty-eight days. I did the math and that's July Twenty-Third, your birthday."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Something about the way Naruto's voice cracked told him that the blond was lying. He didn't know why Naruto would lie to him. He was tempted to question Naruto further, but he decided against it.

Naruto didn't know why he lied to Sasuke. The thought about telling Sasuke that he'd been checking on his friends somehow felt wrong. It made no sense. They were his friends, how could it be a bad thing to check up on them? Naruto's hand flinched slightly as the pain reminded him of the cost. Cutting his hand and giving Watanuki didn't faze Naruto. He knew he'd heal since Kurama would always make sure Naruto was in top shape. So why did his hand still hurt? Sure he'd done it again before breakfast while he washed up, but that shouldn't have mattered. He had healed faster before. The only times he didn't heal so fast was when he used Kurama's chakra and it burned him. But that was before he and Kurama came to an agreement and Naruto broke most of the seal. Naruto saw Kurama as a friend and he trusted that the fox wouldn't hurt him. It wasn't the first time he'd felt pain in his hand long after it healed. It had caused him to cut his finger while cutting ham. He chalked it up to a mix of tiredness and stress left over from his fight with Sasuke. Naruto's eyes flickered to his hand before he put it in his pocket. He's put the pain on the back burner for now.

Sasuke's eyes managed to catch the twitch and the pocketing of Naruto's hand. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Whatever it was, he was sure Naruto or the Kyuubi could handle it. He checked his bracelet and confirmed that this would be their last day in this world. He was surprised that no one found out that Naruto and Sasuke didn't belong on this ship. They were not on the passenger manifest and if anyone found that out, Sasuke was sure they'd be kicked off. Their biggest problem was Sophie and the others. Sasuke and Naruto's disappearance was sure to cause them problems. Sasuke didn't really care, but he knew Naruto did. Naruto hated causing problems for others, especially those he called friends.

Sasuke packed his things, not paying attention to Naruto who was doing the same. Naruto was trying to figure out if he should just tell Sophie the truth about him and Sasuke or come up with another lie. Naruto swallowed. He was on a roll with all of the lies he was telling. Once he was done packing, he took out a piece of paper and began writing a letter to inform Sophie of his and Sasuke's sudden departure. He used the excuse that there was an emergency that needed both of their attention.

Sasuke finished his packing and stood up, stretching. Seeing the DVD player reminded him of that show he wanted to watch. He didn't bother to tell Naruto where he was going. If Naruto needed him, he only needed to look at his map. Sasuke made his way to the mall area, dodging several women who wanted to gain his attention. He ended up nearly running into David and Shirley who simply apologized before moving on. It looked like Shirley had her mind set on something and David was being dragged around. Sasuke continued on and found Cindy, Will, Keith, and Helena sitting outside a cafe. Helena laughed at something Keith said, causing Cindy to smile. Sasuke didn't linger any longer as he finally arrived at the shop he was looking for.

"Sasuke!" a voice called. Sasuke turned to see Sophie and Richard walking towards him. "Where's Naruto?"

"He's in our room," Sasuke said.

"I see," Sophie said. "Are you here to buy something for your new DVD player?" Sasuke nodded. "There are some movies I could recommend to you."

"I'm looking for a show called Code Geass," Sasuke said.

"Code Geass?" Sophie asked. "Isn't that an Anime?" She looked around. "They have an Anime section over there." She linked her arm with Sasuke's, much to Sasuke and Richard's displeasure. She nearly dragged him over to the Anime section. It was in alphabetical order. Sophie found the entire Code Geass collection including the movie and the OVAs of Akito the Exiled. Sasuke freed himself from Sophie and told her that he had to get back to Naruto quickly. He bought the entire Code Geass collection before saying goodbye to both Richard and Sophie.

Sophie stared after Sasuke wondering why he left so quickly. She shook her head as she decided to look through the DVDs herself. She wasn't a big Anime fan, but that didn't stop her from observing that section. Richard had gone off to find himself something to buy. Sophie continued looking until her eyes fell on a certain series located under the N part of the Anime section. She grabbed a DVD and stared at it. Her eyes widened as a picture of Naruto smiled back at her. The blond on the cover was clearly younger than he was now, but older than when she'd first met him. Sophie turned the box around and began to read the summary. She then grabbed the next box set and was rewarded with a younger looking Sasuke. She couldn't believe her eyes. Naruto and Sasuke were characters in an Anime. Sophie turned around, ready to call out to her father when she froze. She looked down at the two box sets before she put them back. She wasn't sure how Richard would react to this information. As far as he believed, fairies and other mythical creatures didn't exist. Besides, it was clear that Naruto and Sasuke wanted to keep their existence a secret. Sophie silently promised to keep their secret.

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The Sandman saw what Sophie saw and instantly called upon the Tooth Fairy, Dwarf, and Nixie. The four of them discussed what to do. Dust suddenly ran into the room to inform Sandman of the change in Sophie's world. Sandman and the others moved into his room to watch as Naruto and Sasuke stood with their bags. A green light surrounded them and they were gone. Sandman instantly moved his telescope to see Sophie reading a letter from Naruto. Sophie knew that the letter was a lie, but she understood why. Sophie turned to her father to inform him that they'd probably never see Naruto and Sasuke ever again.

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He cursed as the pile of paperwork seemed to grow bigger by simply staring at it. He grabbed a piece of paper and brought it closer to himself to read. On it was a picture of a young girl. She had been missing for nearly a year. He grabbed a few more papers, each with a picture of a different person on it. They ranged from ages six to seventeen, male and female. They had gone missing within the last year from all over London. It didn't matter that some were poor or didn't have family. It was clear that this really upset the Queen.

"Sebastian," Ciel called. The man was already there. "Have you found anything out?"

"It seems that the victims were taken when they were alone," Sebastian said. "The only exclusion is this boy." Sebastian pulled out a piece of paper from the stack and placed it on Ciel's desk. "His sister claims a black shadow kidnapped him."

"Do you think it could be another demon?" Ciel asked.

Sebastian raised his hand to his chin. "I doubt it. A demon wouldn't care if a child saw them, especially such a young one. But if you'd like, I can see if I can find traces of a demon."

"Alright," Ciel said. He pushed his chair backwards and stood up. He walked over to his window. "We can't let this be a repeat of what happened with the circus. The Queen was too saddened by what happened."

"Do you regret your decision?"

"No. I'll never regret that. I don't have time to."

"Then I'll be going My Lord." Sebastian bowed. Ciel nodded, his eyes watching the sky darken.

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Sebastian made his way through the streets, careful not to be spotted. He stopped in the alley where the latest victim had been last seen. It was a boy nearing twelve, a year younger than that other boy with the sister who saw a black shadow. Sebastian's eyes roamed the alley for any hints as to whom was behind this. 'I don't see any trace of a demon. This means a human is behind this.' He bent down and ran a finger over the ground. He rubbed at what had gotten on his glove. 'Blood. Not enough to say that someone died here. That means the boy could still be alive.' He straightened. 'I'll ask around.'

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Sebastian found Ciel on the floor with the paperwork scattered around. His eyes fell on the papers. "Did you find something?"

"All of the victims have gone missing in the last two years starting with a couple," Ciel motioned to a piece of paper that had a picture of two people on it. "It says that the woman was pregnant."

"Do you think that has something to do with the other victims?" Sebastian asked.

"Possibly," Ciel said. "What have you found out?"

"It seems the little girl isn't the only one who saw something. A few… ladies saw her," Sebastian picked up a piece of paper. "...suddenly disappear. They said they saw shadows surrounding where she stood. If I had to guess, the culprit is at least two people."

"That's correct." Ciel grabbed two pieces of paper. "These two were taken at the same time."

"I see."

"There's a pattern. After the couple, the next one taken was a girl, then a boy, and then a girl. It continued in this pattern."

"But the last two that were taken were both male."

"That's what's strange. There hasn't been any reports of another girl going missing since…" Ciel looked at the two pieces of paper. "Robert McLennan. Also, Aaron Lawrence was taken only three days after Robert was. The time in between is usually at least a week."

Sebastian thought back to the blood he had found. "Something must have gone wrong with the kidnapping of McLennan. There was some blood on the ground in the alley he had been taken from."

"That was my guess." Ciel let the pieces of paper drop to the floor before standing up. "I want to see the alley for myself."

Sebastian glanced at the window. "My Lord, it is going to rain soon."

"So what? Rain isn't going to kill me." He grabbed his jacket. "Are you afraid of a little water?"

"Certainly not." Sebastian was at Ciel's side, handing him his hat and cane.

"Then let's go." Without another word, Ciel left his office. With one last look out the window, Sebastian followed after his master.

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Grell and William sat on the roof of a building as they watched the town below. "How much longer do I have to wait?" Grell asked.

William looked down at his pocket watch. "Three days."

"Three days?" Grell yelled. "Why did we get sent here so early?"

"Because the higher ups said there was going to be an anomaly," William answered.

"Oh?" Grell smiled. "Do I get to see Bassy so soon?"

"I don't know if a demon is involved," William said.

"Hmm…" Grell's grin widened. "Well either way, I'm going to have some fun!" William rolled his eyes, but said nothing. His mind was too focused on his meeting with the higher ups when he got this case. They had warned him to be careful as someone or something unknown was going to get involved. They didn't know what or who it was, but they did know that it was going to be dangerous.

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In a dark room, a man with silver hair laughed. "It looks like something interesting is going to happen. Right, Lord Ciel Phantomhive?"