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The Dark Path	By : zoni Category: > Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji ???) Views: 3462 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters, and do not make any money from my fan fiction.

Chapter List
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Chapter Three

Sebastian lifted a hand and knocked on the wooden door of Ciel's dorm room. It was early afternoon. Classes at the school had ended more than a half hour before. Despite the fact that they had agreed to meet immediately afterward, his young master had not arrived at Sebastian's room at the appointed time. It was entirely possible that his master had been delayed by some menial task or possibly an instructor. However, considering what he had been through the night before, Sebastian found himself reluctant to leave the boy alone for any longer than necessary. The thought of his young master winding up in another situation like that made him uneasy.

The knock on the door sounded hollow even from where he stood in the hallway. There was no answer from within. Reaching down, Sebastian placed his hand on the handle to open the door. Frowning, he realized that the door was already slightly open.

"Young master?" Sebastian pushed the door open further and stepped inside. It was completely silent. None of the students were inside. Something about the room seemed as unusual, amiss. That vague, creeping feeling put Sebastian's senses on alert. While nothing appeared to be out of order, something was definitely wrong. The demon glanced around, wary of anything that might be the cause for his feeling of unease. All of the boys' belongings stood undisturbed. The beds were made and everything seemed to be in its rightful place. Sebastian's eyes traveled to Ciel's own bed. Taking two steps, he walked over and examined it. The covers were neat and tidy. However, there was something sitting on top of them. Ciel's pillow had been propped up against the headboard. On top of the pillow case there was a crisp, white sheet of paper. There were two words printed in bold, red lettering of it:

We're waiting.

Above the note there was a small rounded square of stiffened black velvet. Sebastian reached down and picked it up. It was his young master's eye patch. The strings had been neatly folded and tucked underneath the curved material. The fabric was damp. Sebastian pulled his fingers away and looked at them. Blood.

In that instant, he knew exactly what had happened. His master was in grave danger. Concern for his young master and the chilling realization that he had not been at the boy's side when he needed him coursed through him. Why had his young master not called for him? It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the fact that something had gone very, very wrong. There was little time to act. There was one good thing about this, however. He was absolutely certain that he knew exactly where he needed to go. Turning, Sebastian left the dorm room as quickly as possible and hurried through the hallways towards his master.

The room that Sebastian had found his young master in the night before was every bit as dank and musty as it had been at that time. The air now smelled metallic, tinged with vomit and blood. Around the edges of the room, he could hear the sounds of rodents scurrying in the darkness and nibbling on the discarded furnishings that resided in the belly of the school. At any other time, he might have been disgusted with the lack of pride that the school took in their belongings. For now, his attention was elsewhere.

Sebastian had noticed the ornately carved door that seemed so out of place in this section of the building when he had gathered Ciel into his arms the night before. Now, the door stood open by nearly an inch. From inside, the faint glow of candles could be seen. The quiet murmur of voices easily reached his ears. Without a second thought, Sebastian pulled the door open further and stepped inside. The sight that greeted him was enough to stop him in his tracks.

Directly in Sebastian's line of sight was a roughly hewn wooden table in the shape of a cross. The room was larger than Sebastian would have expected, nearly fifty feet across, and the table had been placed at the front, toward the center. The table itself was of little consequence. It was what was tied to it that drew his gaze. Naked and covered with nothing more than a dingy off-white sheet, Ciel Phantomhive was tied to the wood by lengths of rope around his wrists and ankles. The rough texture of the rope dug into his skin, cutting his flesh open. If he weren't a demon, however, Sebastian doubted that he would have been able to see the cuts under everything else that covered the boy's skin.

Ciel Phantomhive was barely recognizable. Every inch of his skin was covered in blood. It dripped from his hair and coated his hands. As the boy drew shallow breaths, pink bubbles foamed up at his mouth. His porcelain skin was even more pale than it had been before. The soft surface of it was covered in cuts and gashes. Down both of his arms, deep cuts were easily visible even from the distance at which Sebastian stood. His young master looked incredibly pitiful and very fragile. The ragged sound of his breathing was as loud as thunder in Sebastian's ears. Ciel's heartbeat was very faint. Sebastian took a step forward, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight. "Young master!"

Sebastian was completely shocked. Shock, however, did nothing to override the sharp stab of fear and concern that shot through him at the sight of his master's broken body lying on the table. He had served the boy for three years under their contract. Never once in that time had he ever failed to protect the earl as thoroughly as he had failed him now. What he felt was not fear of losing a meal, or even the shame of deviating from a contract. He was genuinely afraid for his master's life. Fear for his young master would not help him, however. He needed to deal with the situation at hand, and deal with it he would. Swiftly, Sebastian looked around and took notice of what was going on in the room around him.

Standing in a semi-circle around the table, a large group of people in heavy black cloaks watched the dying boy with interest. From them, Sebastian could hear the soft sound of chanting. The words were unclear and meaningless as they observed the ritual what was happening in front of them. The ritual was far from just beginning. Edward Crowley stood at the front of the room and held a large silver dagger in the air above his head. Blood dripped sluggishly from the tip of the blade. His eyes flicked to the doorway the moment that Sebastian appeared. Crowley smiled. However, it wasn't Edward Crowley that Sebastian was staring at.

At the head of the cross-shaped table, a tall and pale wraith of a man hovered over Ciel's broken body. His lips were barely an inch away from the earl's own. Even from Ciel's flimsy description, Sebastian could recognize him and knew him for what he was. Fury coursed through Sebastian at the thought of another person, another demon, daring to lay their hands on his master. Sebastian's eyes narrowed threateningly as Basil Rosier's tongue flicked out, licking blood off of Ciel Phantomhive's cheek. Crowley raised his knife. Sebastian flew.

The sound of Sebastian's fist connecting solidly with Basil Rosier's jaw resonated through the room, echoing off the stone as chaos erupted around them. Rosier flew backwards, hitting the floor with an audible crack. Turning, Sebastian knocked the silver dagger from Edward Crowley's hands. Then, he grabbed the boy by the throat and threw him bodily against the wall. The silver dagger skittered across the floor and into the seething crowd of cultists, who were now shouting. Edward Crowley hit the wall with a sickening crunch. Sebastian turned to look at his young master, but his attention was pulled away by the sensation of two powerful hands wrapping around his throat.

"Sebastian Michaelis," said a low growl of a voice. "It's such a shame, but we haven't been formally introduced yet. We have been waiting for a very long while to meet you, you know."

"I take it that you are Basil Rosier. I've been hearing quite a bit about you," Sebastian said, bringing an elbow back to deliver a sharp strike to Rosier's torso. Sebastian twisted in the other demon's grasp, thrusting a hand forward to put it through Rosier's body. He missed. Basil Rosier was incredibly fast.

On the floor, not more than fifteen feet away, Edward Crowley was crawling toward the group of cultists that were seething in the darkness. They hadn't approached yet. Sebastian saw Crowley. He was surprised that the boy was even alive, let alone that he was able to move. Sebastian took a step toward Crowley, ready to finish him off. He couldn't risk Crowley getting a hold of the knife and trying once more to kill his master. Sebastian's path was blocked by Basil Rosier.

"Sadly, I cannot say that I've heard much about you. Your little master has said quite a few things, but your name really hasn't been one of them. He's very interesting, you know. However, his voice definitely isn't his finest asset," Rosier said, laughing darkly as he stood in front of Sebastian. His sharp features were twisted in the dim candlelight that glowed from the edges of the room. Running his tongue across his lips, he said, "Though, admittedly, it can sound quite lovely with the right motivation."

Sebastian growled. Rosier struck out with both hands, his fingers connecting with Sebastian's stomach. Black claws shot out through his cotton gloves, ripping through the fabric of Sebastian's suit and twisting into his flesh. Sebastian was furious at Rosier's words. He barely flinched as the other demon dug into his torso, pushing deeper with his fingers. Sebastian reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of perfectly sharpened pencils. Smoothly, he shoved four of them into Basil Rosier's chest. "You will keep your hands away from my young master."

The pale man hissed, pulling his hands away even as Sebastian turned toward where Ciel was laying on the table. The fight was dragging on far longer than Sebastian was comfortable with. If much more time passed, his master would be beyond help. He looked towards Ciel's body once more with concern, far too aware of the blood that was dripping off the edges of the table. Rosier pulled the pencils out of his flesh and spat on the ground. "You have a fine prize in your master, Michaelis. But, I think my pupil can offer you a better deal. For you and your master. A feast for you and endless power for him. What do you think? A demon cannot ask for more than what my student has to offer."

Edward Crowley was on his feet once more. The silver dagger was held tenuously in the air over Ciel's frail body. Crowley was starting directly at Sebastian as he began to pull the blade down towards the boy beneath it. Sebastian felt Rosier's hand on his arm as he started towards his young master. With barely a thought, he threw the last of the pencils toward Crowley. The pencil struck the blade of the dagger, knocking it from the boy's grip. It sailed across the room and hit the stone wall with a resounding clang. Crowley glanced toward it and looked up just in time to see Sebastian struggle out of Rosier's grip and come towards him. Sebastian's hand wrapped around Crowley's throat and he held the boy into the air, coolly watching the anger that built in the teen's brown eyes as his grip tightened. "No, thank you."

"Perhaps another time, then." Rosier appeared seemingly out of thin air behind Crowley and pulled his pupil out of Sebastian's tight grip. Swiftly, the tall demon turned and began to walk away. Sebastian followed, intending to finish them both, but his way was suddenly blocked by a mass of people dressed in black cloaks.

The cultists were nothing but humans, but there were so many of them that they were overwhelming. The mass managed to block Sebastian from seeing clearly or moving forward. It was as if they were everywhere at once. Sebastian's hand ripped easily through the soft flesh and fabric of his opponents. His skin and clothing were covered in blood and tissue as he pulled them apart. He barely noticed as they fell one by one. They offered him no real resistance. The last of them fell. Then, the room was still. Basil Rosier and Edward Crowley had managed to make their escape as Sebastian had been fighting. Body parts and blood covered the ground around his feet, threatening to soak through the black leather of his shoes. The only sound in the room was the continual dripping of blood off of the wooden table in front of him. No heartbeat. No breath. Ciel Phantomhive was dead.

"Young master." Sebastian's eyes were wide as he walked over to the side of the table. Ciel's eyes were open, staring lifelessly at the darkness above him. His entire body was covered in blood. Sections of his skin were checked by lines of short, shallow cuts. It was as if someone had played with a knife on every inch of his skin. Bruises marked what little skin was left uncovered. Thick gashes trailed down each arm from the elbow to the wrist. It was something of a miracle that he had survived as long as he had. The cuts looked hours old. Whatever it was that Edward Crowley and Basil Rosier had done to his young master, they had been working at it since morning. Reaching up, Sebastian severed the ropes that held his master's body to the table. Bending over, he gently gathered Ciel's body into his arms.

Sebastian had seen a lot of death in his very long life. It had never bothered him. After all, he had frequently been the cause of it. Likewise, he had also lost masters before. Humans were so incredibly delicate that the slightest injury or illness could kill them, and there wasn't much that even a demon could do about that. However, he had never really been effected by that. The intense concern that he had felt earlier at seeing his young master tied up so pitifully on that table and dying was still there. only now it burned, a slow and cutting pain that he could only count as the feeling of loss. He brushed his fingers through Ciel's hair, ignoring the damp layer of blood that coated most of it. He had failed.

A light laughing sound shattered the silence, completely out of place in the glowing dimness of the candlelight. Sebastian's eyes snapped up to the doorway of the room. Framed against the blackness behind him was the vivid outline of Grell Sutcliff. In an instant, Sebastian had set Ciel back down onto the table. The demon then placed himself between the shinigami and his master's lifeless body. Grell stepped further into the room, brushing a few strands of his hair back over his shoulder. He took several steps toward Sebastian, pouting when he finally caught sight of the body of Ciel Phantomhive behind the demon. Swinging the chainsaw up so that it rested on his shoulder, he sighed dramatically. "Oh, what a shame! It looks like I'm a little bit late. He's already dead."

"His soul is mine," Sebastian said, voice dangerously low.

"Oh, you must be talking about that silly little contract of yours," Grell said, swinging his chainsaw forward. The blade squealed against the stone underneath of it. Leaning forward, the red-haired shinigami grinned brightly and batted his eyelashes at Sebastian. "Unfortunately, that contract is between you and him. It has no bearing on us shinigami. The most we do about it is put a note in his file. I do have a job to do, you know, Sebas-chan."

Sebastian glowered at the shinigami, spreading his arms slightly to block Ciel from his view. That was not something that Sebastian had anticipated, even after seeing his master dead. "Regardless, I will not let you touch him."

"When I saw his name come up on the list, I personally requested the assignment, you know. Even if it did come with thirty-seven extras. Will nearly had a fit," Grell sighed dramatically, completely ignoring Sebastian's words. He straightened up a little and brushed some of his hair over one shoulder. Glaring at the pile of body parts that Sebastian had left on the floor behind the table, he huffed. Then, Grell looked up at Sebastian and smiled brightly. "I wanted to see you again, Sebas-chan! The two of us together again in this romantic candle light is amazing! Isn't it wonderful? Though I am a little surprised."

"Oh?" While Grell ranted, Sebastian looked for other ways out of the room. His eyes glanced over the stone walls. There was a chance that he could still revive his young master. However, first he would have to get away from the shinigami that blocked the doorway. The room offered little help. There were no windows and there was no secondary exit. All things considered, it was a wonder that the humans who had been using this room hadn't smothered themselves with all of the candles. The walls were solid stone. The only exit was directly in front of him, through Grell.

"I thought that you would have certainly eaten him all up by the time that I got here. That's a little bit disappointing. Now I'm going to have to do more paperwork! What's the matter? Lost your appetite?" Grell practically purred at him. Lifting the chainsaw to his shoulder once more, he took a couple of steps forward and blew a kiss at Sebastian. "I can give you something that tastes much better than him, you know."

"Do not say such disgusting things." Sebastian stared at him. He didn't even blink. If going through the shinigami was the only option, that was the one he would take. Turning slightly towards the table, he said, "If you will excuse us, my master and I must be leaving."

"You're no fun," Grell pouted. Then, his tone turned serious. "It's not too late, you know."

Sebastian paused. He arched an eyebrow. Cautiously, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"You can still eat his soul. Or save him. Whatever you want, Sebas-chan. I know you have the power to do that. It's not too late, so long as his soul is still in his body. I won't tell a soul," Grell smiled at him. He raised a finger and pressed it to his lips as if to shush someone. "I can fudge the paperwork. I'll tell the higher ups that he was revived before I got here. Such a shame, don't you think? Dying that young. He isn't gone yet. Such a young life. A heart breaking tragedy! It's just like something out of a play! I don't have a problem with him, Sebas-chan. My business is with you. Help me out, though, and you can take him and leave me to my paperwork. They probably won't give me any trouble at all if I tell them it was a filing error. They happen all the time."

Sebastian reached into his pocket and fished out another handful of pencils. His patience with Grell was running thin. Butter knives weren't readily available, but they were at a school. The pencils had seemed a reasonable alternative. "Or I could simply eliminate you and save you the trouble of having to fill out any paperwork in the first place."

"Oh, I'm quite sure that a big, strong man like you could handle me," Grell said, running a hand down his own chest, "but what would you do about the others?"

"Others?"

"Well, even I have time limits for my assignments. If I don't finish my paperwork on time, someone will notice. If I don't show up at all, they'll miss me! Even Will isn't so cold-hearted that he wouldn't notice that I was gone." Grell flashed a sharp grin. He took several more steps forward, coming to stand only a few feet away from Sebastian. "As backed up as the collections department is, it could be months before they looked into souls that weren't collected. However, a missing shinigami is another matter entirely. They would definitely send someone after me. Probably a few someones.

"I have no doubt that you could defeat all of them. The question, could you do so before they took his soul, Sebas-chan? I can help you out."

Sebastian's glare darkened as he considered Grell's words. Shinigami usually left him alone when it came to completing his contracts. When humans cared so little for their own souls that they were willing to give them away, the shinigami usually didn't care either. It was less work for them and it only created a small aberration in the thousands of souls that they collected. He had only run into trouble with them once or twice, and never because of a single contract. However, Sebastian also knew that Grell was correct. If the red-haired shinigami wanted to, he could create a problem that even Sebastian would find difficult to solve. If he took the time to fight additional shinigami, there was a chance that one of them might find a way to go ahead and complete their judgment. That was unacceptable. Just as unacceptable as the fact that he had already failed his master.

Glancing back at Ciel's body, Sebastian wondered what the best course of action to take would be. He could bring Ciel back, yes. He had considered doing just that for several reasons. The main one being that he had not completed the contract between himself and his master. Not only had Ciel not achieved revenge, but part of the contract was that Sebastian would keep him alive. He had brought Ciel back from the dead once before. He could do so again. He had never gone that far for any master before. Now, he wondered if he was only telling himself that the contract was the reason for it.

The sight of his master's body lying on the table caused his heart to constrict painfully. For some reason, the thought of his young master ceasing to exist disturbed him greatly. He knew that he cared for the boy, but his young master was just that. His young master.

It was unlikely that the shinigami would decide to go after a soul if the person had revived. However, in this case, it was possible that they would consider the methods suspicious. It would be troublesome if he were to bring his young master back from the dead only to have him pursued by shinigami. Even so, he would do whatever was necessary to take care of his young master and see the contract through to the end.

Regardless, bargaining with a shinigami was out of the question. He had not yet fallen to that level. On top of that, it wasn't as though making a deal with a shinigami would lessen the chances of another shinigami coming to collect his young master's soul.

"No, thank you. I do not require your assistance." Sebastian took one step forward and, in a single smooth movement, snatched the chainsaw out of Grell's grip. He started the blade, bringing it up to hover only a few inches from Grell's neck. "Even if I gave in to your demands, your interference with the paperwork would only serve to present the same problems. Once someone discovered your trickery, we would still be pursued. I believe I can save you the trouble."

"Wait!" Grell squeaked, taking a step backward. The blade still hovered dangerously close to his skin. "Wait, wait! That's not true at all, Sebas-chan!"

Sebastian lowered the chainsaw. Slightly. "Oh?"

Even with only a few more inches to breathe in, a nervous smile returned to Grell's face and he batted his eyelashes at Sebastian. When Sebastian raised the chainsaw again, Grell quickly explained. "You need me!"

"No, that I do not."

"I can take him off the list all together!" Grell shouted. "His name won't come up again, not for years!"

"How?" Sebastian asked, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"When someone's continued existence is beneficial to mankind, we can let them live."

Sebastian arched an eyebrow sharply. Even so, he lowered the chainsaw. "My young master's existence has never been what anyone would consider 'beneficial to mankind'. He is not a philanthropist."

"Oh, but there you are wrong," Grell said. "He's done a good deal more than you realize. You've even helped.

"We've spared warlords for similar reasons, you know. His repeated eradication of people who would or could otherwise eliminate vast numbers of innocents has managed to save more lives than either of you seems to realize. The two of you have killed so many people that you've wound up saving lives. Ironic, isn't it, Sebas-chan? It's not like he's saved enough lives to completely change the face of the planet, but enough that it has earned the notice of our office. There's an entire note on it in his file, you know. He might not have been doing it on purpose, but the fact remains that it's happened. And if he lives, he's likely to continue doing so." Grell licked his lips and leaned forward, close enough that Sebastian could feel his breath on his skin. "Take my offer, and I'll spare him. Even Will can't argue with that. You need me, Sebas-chan."

"Be that as it may, preventing death would not outweigh the fact that he summoned, and entered into a contract with, one such as myself," Sebastian pointed out, voice flat. He raised the chainsaw once more.

"No, you're quite right!" Grell took another step back, putting his hands up defensively. "As I said, there's a note in his file about that. If he were, for some reason, to die and be collected he would definitely be damned! But that doesn't mean he has to die now, Sebas-chan! I can help, and I'm not even asking much!"

Sebastian was very quiet as he considered Grell's words. Killing the shinigami would be messy, if enjoyable, and it would leave the problem of shinigami that might follow and finish the job. Reviving his young master without that particular difficulty was the ideal situation. Cautiously, he asked, "What do you want?"

"You."

To be continued...

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Author's Notes: I would like to sincerely apologize for the lack of updates over here on AFFN. A lot of people read my stuff on FFN, so they know what's been going on, but I'll go ahead and say that the uploader for AFFN absolutely hates me. It takes me hours to get anything formatted right. So, updates over here are slow as all get out. I have limited internet time, so what little time I have is usually spent updating my stories on other sites. I'll continue to update here, but be aware that it may be slow. I am so sorry!
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The Dark Path