Archive of Our Own

Chapter 1: An Omission

An Omission

As a twenty odd year old demon in the perpetual guise of a thirteen year old boy, Ciel Phantomhive was beginning to come to grips with the power at his disposal. Sebastian had taken great pleasure in lording his own considerable power over him at every chance he got just to prove that, although Ciel was his eternal master, he was the more powerful demon and he would remain so forever. Not that it bothered the younger demon. After all, what need did he have for ultimate power when it was Sebastian's job to protect him? Ciel had eternal youth, he had freedom and more power than any other human. That was enough.

He did whatever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to, and he'd taken to exploring places at night. It was on one such moonless night that Ciel was running across the rooftops of the city in which they were currently inhabiting, that something managed to surprise him for the first time in at least ten years.

It was raining heavily, but that didn't deter the young human turned demon. Sebastian had warned him once, after learning of his young master's penchant for scaling rooftops, that rain made the slates wet and slippery. Ciel, being young and feeling invincible of course, hadn't listened at all. He'd never fallen anyway.

...Until tonight...

As he took a particularly daring leap from one roof to another and landed, his foot slipped from under him and he began to topple from the building. Before he could even make another move though, something grabbed his hand and stopped him from falling to the ground, about six stories below.

He let out a sigh of relief, "Don't laugh, it was wet and I..." he broke off as he looked up, expecting to see his butler standing there, but it wasn't Sebastian. Not even close. "You!" Ciel exclaimed, his eyes glowing red in his surprise.

"You could at least say 'thank you', ungrateful vermin," William T. Spears sneered down at the demon hanging by the hand from his death scythe.

Ciel hadn't seen hide nor hair of the Shinigami since he became a demon, so understandably, he was more than a little surprised.

"What are you..."

"You're welcome," William said, raising his eyebrows.

"...Put me down!" Ciel struggled a second later after snapping out of his stupor.

"A human being turned into a demon...most unseemly," Will grimaced as he deposited the young demon back onto the roof beside him.

"It wasn't my choice," Ciel replied, straightening his white cotton shirt. Ignoring the fact that his dignity had long since been thrown to the wind, both because he was soaking wet and the fact that he'd just fallen from a roof and been saved by a Shinigami.

"No, it was his - your pet's fault," the Shinigami corrected.

"Neither of us chose this. It just happened."

"Mmm, and I'm surprised you're still alive. You should count yourself lucky."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your dog is on a permeant leash. One vermin can only have one contracted soul at a time. Two demons can contract the same soul, but one demon has to finish one contract before they can start another. They're not supposed to be permanent, surely you know that."

"What of it?"

"He hasn't told you, has he?"

"Told me what?!"

"Do you know just how old that vermin is? The older the demon the more work they tend to put into their...food," he sneered. "Vermin like that grow fat on ageing misery, they let it fester and then they start all over again...But he can't because of you."

"But he still...he still...eats people's souls."

"Vermin," Will frowned.

"What's your point?"

"My point is, the more time you spend poisoning a human soul, the more power it gives a demon. The stronger and older the demon..."

"The more food it needs," Ciel understood. He had come to realise that he didn't need nearly half as much 'food' as his butler did and once he'd asked Sebastian about it, but he didn't remember ever getting a straight answer and he hadn't felt the need to press the subject, now he wished he had.

"When was the last time you 'ate'?"

"Erm...about...two weeks ago," Ciel answered.

Most of the time, Ciel didn't even catch and kill his own prey. Sebastian did it for him. There was still something about tearing a soul from its body that repulsed him somewhat but he acknowledged the necessity of it, for both himself and Sebastian.

"And him?"

"Yesterday."

"Hmmm," Will sighed, "Older vermin are the worst kind of vermin. I'm counting down the days until your pet is no longer my concern, and, by default, you won't be, either. You're much too young a vermin to be able to survive alone."

"So now you want me dead too, hmm?" Ciel gave a small smile.

"Of course. You are a demon."

"Get back to the point. Why would you tell me any of this?"

"Maybe I'm in a good mood," William shrugged and turned his back.

"Or maybe you're gloating," Ciel said.

"Who knows," the Shinigami replied before leaping down to the ground, leaving the young demon boy alone again.

Hours later, around dawn, Ciel returned to the large, abandoned and isolated house they had commandeered for the last few months and found Sebastian in the rather limited library sitting in one of the large armchairs before the fire, reading a book.

"Oh, look, it's a small, drowned rat," the demon raised an eyebrow at the boy's appearance.

"Shut up," Ciel replied out of habit, "Get me some dry clothes."

"Understood," the demon inclined his head and left the room.

Ciel strolled slowly over to the fire and felt the soothing heat worm its way through his sodden clothes and cold limbs and it wasn't long before Sebastian returned, carrying dry clothes and a towel. He removed his master's wet clothes and placed them on the fire guard to try while he gently dried Ciel's pale limbs and dressed him again.

He may have have been a twenty year old demon but Ciel could still barely tie his own shoelaces even after so many years. He didn't need to; Sebastian did everything for him.

"Did you find anything of interest in your travels tonight, young master?" the demon asked him as he folded the towel onto the fire guard.

"No," Ciel said quickly and sat down in the chair opposite his butler as they settled into a companionable silence.

As the days and nights passed, Ciel began to think that the Shinigami had been talking utter nonsense. Sebastian was the same as he had always been and there was nothing to suggest even a hint of fatigue as Ciel watched him closely. He got the feeling that the older demon knew he was being watched but Sebastian didn't say anything. It was the way he smiled slyly or made the odd exaggerated movement that began to irritate Ciel. So, after a few weeks, he decided that there was nothing to be concerned about and he stopped watching. That was his mistake.

It began as a normal night. Ciel still liked to sleep, in fact, his body demanded it, but not as often as he had as a human. He slept for about five hours a night and, if needed, he could probably go without three of those. He just liked to sleep. Sebastian said that sleep was a luxury that demons rarely allowed themselves, but Ciel, having lived his first years as a human, a spoilt human, don't listen. He liked sleep, he wanted to sleep and so he would sleep. It was as simple as that.

Three weeks later, as Sebastian finished buttoning Ciel's nightshirt, the butler stood up and the young boy settled himself under the soft covers. Sebastian retrieved the candle holder from the beside table and bowed his head.

"Good night, young master," he said as was customary and turned to leave.

As soon as he did though, he shook uneasily for a moment, almost uneasily as his vision went suddenly blurry. He let out a quiet breath, trying to steady himself as he gripped the candelabra, his fingers denting the metal in the process. At the time, though Ciel missed it. His eyes were already closed, so Sebastian could have hid the incident perfectly, if his vision had returned to normal. But it didn't. It worsened.

It started to go black, everything was going black and Sebastian couldn't stop it. He leant over the bedside table for support, knocking it over and dropping the lit candles onto the floor. The demon fell against the wall like a dead weight with an unconcealable grimace and by now, Ciel's eyes were wide open.

The boy lept from his bed and extinguished the candles using one of the bed sheets before they could do more than lightly singe the rug; after all, the last thing they needed was attention from the city because of a mysterious fire in a supposedly uninhibited house. Then, Ciel turned to his butler who was sat against the wall with his eyes tightly shut and his breathing increasingly erratic.

"Sebastian?" Ciel frowned, "Sebastian, what's the meaning of..." he began to demand but a look from the demon was enough to silence his arrogant demand.

Sebastian's, now, open eyes were the deepest shade of red-purple he'd ever seen them and black feathers began to fall from out of nowhere, surrounding the two demons as the shadows seemed to take on form and substance, like a blanket.

It was probably the demon's most guarded secret, besides perhaps his true name, if indeed he had one. His true appearance. Ciel knew very little other than the fact that it involved those eyes and feathers...somehow. It was something that Sebastian guarded from him still and he couldn't deny that he was curious. He always had been. Even from the beginning he'd never seen the demon as it was meant to be, not really and he didn't think he would anytime soon either.

Before he could say another word, though, Sebastian fell, like a puppet with broken strings. His back collided with the floor and his eyes closed once more, leaving Ciel speechless.

He'd seen the demon perform incredible feats of strength and he could count the number of times, on one hand, in which he'd seen the demon truly injured to the point of being hindered by it. Now to see that same, capable Sebastian on the floor, unconscious, without a wound in sight, was a shock to Ciel's system.

"Oi," he muttered, "What are you doing? Sebastian...get up! I order you to get up!" he cried, pushing against the demon's shoulder to no avail.

Thankful of his demonic strength, Ciel managed to lift Sebastian up onto the bed and let out a sigh of relief as he sat down on the side of the mattress and rubbed his strained muscles. The butler was heavier than he looked, he was also very, very cold. Ice cold, in fact. He couldn't ever remember the butler ever feeling so cold before. Even through Sebastian's clothes and gloves, Ciel could feel the cold.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked quietly, not expecting an answer as he looked down at the sleeping butler. It wasn't often that he saw the demon sleep either.

Stifling a yawn of his own, Ciel moved to pick up the candles and set them back in the candelabra, lit all four of them and put it back on the beside table, settling himself for what could turn out to be a long vigil or a short vigil. He had absolutely no idea.

About four hours later, Sebastian began to stir. It was still dark in the bedroom with only the candles for light but as demons they were able to see in the dark, Ciel less so than his butler.

As to why Sebastian had collapsed as he had, Ciel only had one expiation. William the Shinigami had to have been telling the truth after all; Sebastian was dying of hunger and it was his fault.

"...You're hungry, aren't you?" Ciel asked, knowingly as he watched the older demon open his eyes.

"..."

"And it's my fault, isn't it?" the boy muttered.

"Hmm?" Sebastian hummed.

"William T. Spears said...he said you can't eat properly because of me."

"When did he say that?"

"A few days ago...I...I saw him a few days ago," Ciel said, looking away.

"Why?"

"I...fell..."

"From what?"

"...A roof...and he caught me."

"You still can't do the simplest of things," Sebastian lamented, staring across at his young master in dee humour.

"Shut up! It was wet!" Ciel defended and the older demon let out a pathetic chuckle.

"I warned you."

"Shut up," Ciel repeated.

"As my master wishes," Sebastian shrugged, "So, what else did he tell you?"

"He's planning our funerals."

"How kind," the demon replied dryly.

"He's got this idea that you're dying..." Ciel said.

"Nonsense."

"...Since you can't go looking for strong souls because of our contract," the boy finished, ignoring Sebastian's interruption.

"Do I look dead?"

"Almost," Ciel replied.

"Very funny, young master."

"Was he right?" the boy asked sternly, "And don't lie to me."

"...Yes, he was."

"You never said..."

"It wasn't important. It isn't important."

"Of course it's important! You fainted! You never faint!"

"I did not faint..." the demon glared.

"Sure, you just chose that moment to take a nap," Ciel rolled his eyes. "I see you...eat...all the time. How can you still be hungry?" he asked after a moment.

"Low grade food," Sebastian hissed, "Isn't the same. Not for a demon like me."

"And a demon can't take on more than one living contract at a time," the boy recited.

"Correct."

"...Can demons starve to death?"

"Of course. Demons are many things, but we're still living beings. We need to eat."

"Well...then I guess I'll have to try and find you..."

"You can't," Sebastian stopped him.

"Can't what?"

"You'll never need to, anyway."

"What?!"

"Find strong souls," the demon answered, "For yourself or for me."

"Other demons do, why won't I have to?"

"We don't do it because we need to, demons make contracts because it's fun. We have the choice of constantly eating to sustain ourselves or starving for a few years for one strong soul. Most older demons chose the latter because we get bored. You'll never be like other demons even when you get older, though. You don't need to eat as much."

"Why?"

"Because you were born human. I wasn't. Humans aren't supposed to become demons. Young demons are born starving and it takes centuries for them to develop their own thoughts that don't involve mindless slaughter. We have to earn our own personalities, we don't get that kind of freedom easily. For a human to be given demonic power without having to endure what natural demons do is inconceivable and Hannah made it exceptionally easy for you. She would have been killed a thousand times over if she wasn't already dead for what she did. Demons don't have many rules but turning humans into demons is taboo, regardless of contracts."

"So...when were you planning on telling me?"

"I wasn't."

"You're not supposed to lie to me," Ciel frowned.

"I didn't lie. It was an omission," Sebastian said, petulantly.

"Hmm," the boy scoffed, "That's all well and good but it doesn't solve the problem."

"There isn't a solution."

"There has to be."

"There isn't. Listen to your elders," Sebastian said.

"You want to die?" Ciel demanded.

"Maybe it'd be interesting," the demon shrugged.

"Well, I won't allow it. I order you not to die!"

"Oh. Is that a trace of human compassion I hear?"

"No," Ciel snapped, "But half decent servants are hard to come by," he said.

"I see," Sebastian smiled, closing his eyes again, "I'm touched. At any rate, there's nothing you or I can do. I'm as good as dead. Frankly, I'm surprised I'm still alive now."

"That's what he said," Ciel muttered, "You looked alright yesterday," he couldn't help but point out.

"You stopped scrutinising me days ago," Sebastian said, quite rightly, "And remember, I'm a hell of a butler. What kind of butler would allow his master to see his weaknesses?"

"...You knew this would happen? The whole time...right from the beginning..."

"Of course."

"You bastard," Ciel hissed at him, "How dare you keep something like this from me."

"I thought I could prolong it somehow," Sebastian shrugged, "Maybe find some kind of solution."

"You just said that there isn't one."

"I know," the demon smiled, "Living with humans for so long must be a bad influence on me."

"A bad influence on a demon?"

"Interesting concept, isn't it? Other demons wouldn't bother trying."

"Other demons aren't in the same situation," Ciel corrected him.

"There is that," Sebastian agreed quietly.

"Other demons would just kill me," the boy said, remembering what William had told him.

"...There is that," the demon repeated with a small smile.

"Could you kill me, despite the contract, if your life is on the line?"

"I don't know."

"...Would you?" Ciel asked, sincerely but Sebastian looked away in silence. "I asked you a question," the boy ground out.

"I don't have an answer," the demon replied.

"You could try."

"You sound very eager to die, young master."

"Not eager," Ciel shook his head lightly. "It just...doesn't bother me. I was prepared to die after...well, it doesn't matter anyway, because you're not dying, either."

"My master, always so stubborn," Sebastian muttered, "So young."

"I never asked...just how old are you?" Ciel asked and Sebastian smiled.

"I've told enough stories for one night, let me sleep," he replied.

"I thought sleep was a luxury," the boy raised his eyebrow.

"...You're learning," Sebastian scoffed lightly, "I'm impressed."

"You've already given up, haven't you?" Ciel asked.

"Demons might be immortal, but even immortality doesn't last forever," the demon sighed.

"Hmm," Ciel nodded, "Well, I haven't," he said.

"Fool," Sebastian muttered as he sunk his head deeper into the soft pillows beneath him.

"Are you insulting your master, demon?"

"Of course not. I'm merely stating the truth, that's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"So it is," Ciel scoffed with a smile, "You still should have told me," he said, standing up.

"Maybe, maybe not," Sebastian said stoically.

"Don't follow me, that's an order...I'm going out," Ciel said after a moment.

"Where?" Sebastian asked but Ciel didn't answer, instead, he left the room, silently. Leaving the older demon to smile ruefully and return to his sleep.

Luckily, the sky was dark as the young demon left the house and headed into the streets of the vast city before him. He sought out the most deserted alleyways and depressing slums as he scoured every inch with sharp, demonic senses.

Ciel had learned, from Sebastian, that each human emotion had a certain scent and that misery and anger and hatred were the best possible source of nourishment for a demon. He knew how to find those emotions, he could track them easily and he could bring himself to kill if he had to, what caused him the most trouble was separating the soul from the body without destroying it completely. He'd been surprised to learn that it could happen if one wasn't careful. Sebastian had let it happen the first time in order for Ciel to see just what he shouldn't do but most of the time, the butler found 'food' for his master anyway. He knew that the former human needed time to come to terms with this new form of eating and Sebastian had been so caught up in their 'adventurers' he'd been ignoring his own increasing struggle.

But that didn't help Ciel now, now that he was trying to find 'food' alone.

He knew that, as demons went, Sebastian was unusual to say the least. From what he'd learned, other demons weren't nearly so consumed by the charade their contract took the shape of. He knew that other demons would have simply killed him, after all, Claude had been much colder than Sebastian had ever been, even at his most demonic.

Perhaps it was foolish to believe even for a moment, that a demon cared, but demons did have emotions. They had their own morals. Granted, those morals were warped and twisted by human standards, but human morals looked twisted and warped from a demon's perspective too. They were two different species after all.

To a human, twenty years was a long time and having spent so much time with the demon, Ciel was forced to admit that he was not only dependant on Sebastian, but also rather attached and it wasn't merely because Sebastian waited on him hand and foot either. When he'd been human, he'd heard people comment on the easy relationship he seemed to have with his butler and the fact that said butler would, at the time, bring about his imminent demise should the time arise, didn't seem to matter. He'd made the choice and he still couldn't bring himself to regret it.

But to a demon, twenty years was nothing. Sebastian had to be at least 3,000 years old since he'd once mentioned meeting an Egyptian mummy when it had been alive. What was a mere two decades in comparison?

After about twenty minutes, Ciel came to a dingy looking public house from which he could sense strong, negative feelings. He followed them to the source and he was lead directly to a middle aged woman dressed in finery that had seen better days and slightly moth eaten clothes. Her dark hair was in disarray and she had several empty wine glasses scattered around the table she was sat alone at.

Using what Sebastian had taught him, Ciel altered his appearance, making himself look older, he brought a bottle of wine from the bar and sat opposite the woman. He refilled the almost empty glass she held loosely in her hand and talked to her with seductive eyes, bringing her hatred to the surface which she'd tried to silence with alcohol.

This woman definitely didn't posses a strong soul nor did she have the worlds' deepest loathing and hatred inside her soul, but it was the best Ciel could find that night. He couldn't spend the entire night searching. He had work to do. He had to inflame her anger as much as he could and then he'd have to lure her out, kill her and finally, take her soul. And that, he'd found, was easier said than done.

Sebastian was sleeping again when he returned in the early hours of the morning and it was that which proved how starved the demon must be. Sebastian never slept so much, he simply didn't need to.

"Wake up," Ciel ordered as he sat down on the edge of the bed, "Sebastian, wake up."

"What is it now?" the demon sighed, slowly opening his eyes.

"Here," Ciel said, holding out his hand and letting the glowing light of the woman's soul he'd caught only minutes ago.

"What's this?" Sebastian asked, tilting his head.

"What does it look like?" the boy snapped, "It's...food."

"Demons don't share their prey," the demon said, "I thought I..."

"You do, you catch mine for me all the time," Ciel interrupted him.

"That's true, but I am your butler."

"Yes, you are. So I order you to take this," the boy ground out.

"...Understood," Sebastian acquiesced. He removed the glove on his right hand with slow movements, revealing black nails and the dark seal on pale skin. Reaching out with spread fingers, the demon absorbed the miserable soul and the light was drawn into his fingertips. Once it was completely gone, the demon let out a quiet breath.

"Well..." Ciel began reluctantly, "Did I do it right?"

"You are fully aware that you did," Sebastian replied and the boy nodded once in approval. "It was very kind of you," he grinned.

"It wasn't kindness!" the boy cried, "You can't do your job if you're sleeping all the time," he added childishly.

"I see."

"Don't let it happen again. Do whatever you have to do, just don't let it happen again."

"Is that an order?"

"Yes," Ciel said simply.

A.N. I figure after so many years together, Sebastian and Ciel would have a more relaxed relationship as master and servant. I get the message that Sebastian is different from other demons, since we get told that no other demon would go through so much trouble for one soul now would they be so devoted to the human they're going to eat. So, I suppose most contracts would be short lived and he seems to appreciate human things more than others. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but this is my world here, so, meh, whatever.

Chapter 2: A Demon's Choice

A Demon's Choice

Atop a cliff overlooking a stormy sea at dusk, a small boy stood staring at a demon. A true demon in all its dark glory. Not a demon on a leash or even enchained; a demon suddenly free do to as it pleased for the first time in fifty years. And the small boy knew he should fear for his life, but he didn't.

The demon emitted a dark aura around itself with feathers floating around and dark shadows which seemed to take on a life of their own. Its limbs were long and dark and two eyes stood out admits the blackness as the same colour that Ciel had seen before; a swirling purplish red with black, catlike pupils.

Sebastian had carried Ciel to the cliff top after they'd escaped from a particularly curious and powerful demon whose last hobby had been to find other demons with contracts and nullify them, thus freeing the demon in question and killing their master to eat their souls while the demon watched before, finally, it killed them too. It was a selfish, cruel hobby which Sebastian appreciated, as a demon. What he didn't appreciate though, was another demon trying to steal his property from him. It had happened once before and he refused to let it happen again.

He had killed the demon but not before his long standing contract with Ciel Phantomhive had been nullified and made void. He had felt the very instant the seal had left the child's eye and it had made him admittedly uncomfortable. It had been there for over fifty years, after all. Even though to him, fifty years was nothing more than the blink of an eye, the demon had ever had something stay the same for more than a few mere years. Perhaps he'd grown too attached to the child. That wouldn't do at all.

"So...at last I get to meet the real you," Ciel smiled, "What's your name?" he asked. He'd never truly seen the real form of his demonic butler before. He'd seen the red, glowing eyes, he'd seen glimpses of black shadows and smoke but he'd never seen such a brazen display of otherworldliness from the demon.

"My name is Sebastian," it said in the same voice that the boy had heard for so many years. Except this time it had an eerie echo to it.

"Your real name," Ciel shook his head.

"My real name," the demon chuckled darkly, "Why do you want to know?"

Ciel lifted a hand and removed the ever present eye patch and held his cold fingers over his now, normal eye. "Feels strange," he muttered, "Not right somehow...I'm not your master anymore," Ciel said.

"Correct," the demon breathed.

"You don't have any obligation to me at all now."

"Correct," he repeated.

"You could kill me if you wanted to and take my soul."

"I could kill you," it breathed, quite cheerfully.

"If you're going to, I'd at least like to finally know your real name," Ciel added.

"Fool!" the demon growled, his hand shooting out to grasp the boy's throat and lift his feet from the ground. Ciel's small feet dangled uselessly in the air while the demon gripped his throat with long, dark fingers with a toothy grin. "Why don't you struggle?" it asked.

"This was...what...we agreed in the first...place," Ciel managed to say.

"So? Don't you desire to live?"

"A...deal's...a deal..."

"Interesting," the demon scoffed, "And so very stupid," it added, loosening its grip on Ciel's narrow throat. "But...unfortunately..." he trailed off and dropped the boy onto the ground like a rag doll.

"What are you..." Ciel coughed as he rubbed his throat, which surprisingly didn't hurt at all, and he took a moment to stand up.

"I can't eat you," it said heavily.

"Why?"

"You may still have many human-like traits, but you are a demon now...we can't eat demon's souls. It's the ultimate irony. I could try...but you wouldn't taste very good. Not anymore. I couldn't eat you because the contract bade me protect you until the end, but even now, at the end, I can't. Your soul was lost to me, in more ways than one, the moment that Claude took your memories all those years ago."

"That doesn't stop you from killing me now," Ciel said.

"For what purpose?" the demon asked quizzically, "I'm not a young fledgling ruled by blood lust. My time of mindless and senseless killing ended millennia ago. If I have nothing to gain and no command to follow, what purpose does it serve?"

Without another word, the same hand that could have strangled Ciel, reached out again and the tips of its long, dark fingers came to rest on the skin around his now very human, deep blue eye. "...Strange...you said," he mused, "Hmmm. It's gone...completely...no trace left," he said quietly and slowly began to lower his hand and took a few steps back.

"I didn't think it was possible," Ciel remarked, "I didn't think you could break a contract."

"You can, but it wasn't broken. It was nullified...overruled by a demon of high rank. A rogue demon of high rank," the demon said and took a deep breath. "So, what will you do now, young demon?" he asked after a moment, "You've no servant to attend you. You are alone, like every other demon in hell."

"You're still here, aren't you?" Ciel raised an eyebrow and gave a small smile. "You didn't need to protect me back there once the contract was gone but you did."

"Your point?"

"I'm not alone," Ciel answered simply and the demon scoffed.

"Arrogant child," it sneered, "I could kill you easily in a thousand different ways."

"So go ahead, I couldn't stop you," the boy shrugged.

"No, you couldn't," it agreed haughtily, slowly moving towards him again in a predatory manner.

"Then kill me."

"I should, if only for your insolence, young one," the demon hissed.

"And not for all the years of making you, a powerful demon, act as my butler and follow my every order?"

"I was under a contract of my own choosing no matter the course it took. Your arrogance of presuming a familiarity irks me more. I am your superior in every possible manner. I've lived through more years than humans can count. I've manipulated royal families like puppets and I spread the Black Death through Europe...And you dare to challenge me?" he demanded.

"Who said I was challenging you?"

"...You are not afraid?" the demon asked with a tilt of its dark head.

Ciel considered the question which had been asked in a mix of amusement and irritation. Was he afraid? He'd really never needed to fear the demon before because he knew that he couldn't hurt him, not really. The contract had forbade him. But now? Sebastian was unchained and free to do as he chose and he could easily kill the younger, less, powerful demon without lifting a finger, but if he wanted to, wouldn't he have done so already?

"No," he answered honestly, "You won't kill me."

"Are you sure?" the demon asked darkly, his eyes narrowing and the dark shadows moving to surround the small boy.

"I'm sure," Ciel gave a small smile while the shadows swirled at his ankles and hands, "You'd have done it already."

"In all my years I've never once met anyone as frustrating as you," the demon scoffed.

"I find that hard to believe," the boy said as he turned his back and meandered across to the edge of the cliff. He sat down and let his small legs hang off the side as he childishly swung his feet, staring out at the sea. "So...what are you going to do?" he asked.

"Hmmm," the demon breathed as it took slow steps towards the small boy, dwarfing him in stature and power increasingly, with every step.

"Maybe you're not my butler anymore," Ciel said, "But we don't need to be enemies either."

"Enemies?" it repeated, puzzled at the connection of the two words in the boy's mind.

"Don't demons see each other as enemies?" Ciel asked. Every time he'd seen two demons come into contact with one another, it seemed to strike a deep, mutual hatred in both parties.

"In a way...we repel each other."

"I'm not a normal demon, though," Ciel remarked.

"No, I suppose you're not."

"So, we're not enemies?"

"The term implies that you threaten me in some way and you are no threat to me, little demon," the demon chuckled.

"I see," Ciel mused, "Then, if we're not enemies...are we friends?"

"...Friends?" it repeated, the word sounding foreign on its demonic lips.

"I never did have many friends," the boy remarked.

"Demons don't."

"Even when I was human," Ciel breathed, "Haven't we both been master and servant at some point since this happened? The roles haven't been so clear cut for a while now, have they?"

"No," it agreed.

"I don't have anything to offer you this time," Ciel said, "You can't eat a demon's soul and I've nothing to revenge against. But I guess I'd rather not spend eternity alone if I don't have to."

"All demons live their lives alone. We are independent predators by nature."

"Doesn't it get lonely?"

"It becomes tedious, if nothing else," the demon replied.

"...And strange things always happen to us, don't they?"

"The human world has an infinite capacity to surprise," chuckled the dark shadow.

"So you're...not...going back to hell?"

"I don't think so, I've seen all that it has to offer. Humans are far more interesting than demons, after all."

"I've not seen hell at all," Ciel muttered.

"You'd be killed in an instant if you went there. I've already told you that."

"I don't even know how to get there anyway," the boy shrugged and let out a deep sigh. "At least now you won't starve to death, right?" he said after a moment.

"That's true."

"How do you know when someone summons you? How did you know to come to me that day?"

"Why do you ask?" the demon said, "Are you looking to form your own contract? If so, I warn you; you lack the strength for such an endeavour."

"It's not that, I'm just curious."

"...I heard it; your resolve. I could almost taste your hatred. If it's strong enough, we can sense it over anything else."

"But people are angry all the time," Ciel said, "I can see it everywhere."

"Not all of those angry humans would willingly barter their soul. Not all of them experience true despair and lose all hope of redemption...like you did," he added slyly. "The difference is, that one is alluring enough to call us forth from the deepest, darkest pits of hell and the other isn't."

"How can you tell the difference?"

The demon frowned at the question and at the curious face staring across at him. He'd never had to explain such a thing before. Demons didn't teach others to become demons. It wasn't the way that things worked; this was something that had to be learned over time, by oneself. But by then, demons were strong enough and powerful enough to follow through with those contracts right to the very end. Ciel wasn't and he seemed genuinely curious about it for the first time.

"I have tried to explain this to you before and you didn't care to listen. Why do you want to know now?" he asked.

"If I've got to find my own 'food' from now on, I need to know the difference. You've always done it for me. Now you won't."

"Hmmm," the demon hummed. "Do you remember the first cup of tea I ever made for you?" he asked suddenly.

"Wha..."

"You said it was terrible."

"It tasked like brown water," Ciel nodded, "But what does that..." (*1)

"And what about the last?"

"The last..." the boy furrowed his brow.

"The last cup of tea? Was it better or just as bad?"

"It was better of course, but..."

"That's the difference."

"So they taste different, but how do you know before that? How can you know which soul is worth making a contract for?" Ciel asked again.

The demon reacted like the lighting that had begun to strike the sky around them. He once more raised Ciel from the ground, this time with the shadows at his command. They wound around each of his narrow limbs like coiling snakes, raising his eye level up to the taller demon's glowing ones.

"If the tea isn't right, you can smell it. You can see it just as I can see their hatred. I can smell their deep despair. It's reflected in their eyes..." the demon said and with one long nailed, black hand he traced a line down the side of Ciel's face. "It's marked across their souls and it's impossible to ignore," he added, "Once you start looking for it...once you find it, you'll understand, you won't know the difference until then. For now you'll have to be content with...brown water, with inadequate tea."

"So...all these years...you've been eating...brown water?" Ciel asked.

"It's enough to survive on, but it's hardly gourmet dining. I'm old enough to appreciate the difference. And since you haven't had to go through centuries of blood lust like other demons before they realise that, you'll appreciate it too. It's not easy to find the first time though. You'll have a tough time." the demon said, realising Ciel from the captivity of the shadows, lowering him with much more care than before.

Ciel said nothing else as he felt his feet touch the ground again and watched the demon shift gracefully over the cliff top like a dark mirage. In the silence, the thunder provided the only noise and the lighting continued to strike, illuminating the sky in a dance of flashing light.

Without warning, one particularly strong bolt of lighting struck the cliff, surprising both demons who'd settled into quiet thought, and shaking the rather unstable rock on which they stood. It made little difference to the graceful, older demon but Ciel, who was standing right at the edge where 'Sebastian' had left him, was jostled around as the cliff shook dangerously. A second later, the very edge of the cliff started to crumble away and the boy fell with it, his cry of surprise barely distinguishable from the sounds of thunder and loud crumbling, tumbling rocks.

The glowing demon's eyes widened in surprise and though he knew he was under no obligation to save the child, his first, instinctual reaction was to leap off the cliff after him. He was definitely getting too attached. Even though he couldn't sense any contract warning him that Ciel was in danger, it still sent chills down his spine.

Ciel couldn't fly. He could jump incredible distances, but he couldn't fly. He'd tried to teach the boy, but so far he'd failed. Flight was instinctive to all demons, but Ciel had been born human and bound under the human laws of physics. It would time for him to both mentally and physically, dispel those laws. The fall alone wasn't likely to kill the young demon, they both knew that, but it would certainly hurt.

It didn't take the demon long to catch the falling child, holding him safely in his arms as he had done many times before, over the choppy sea below. "Even after all this time you're still no good for anything other than being captured or falling from great heights. It's pathetic," the demon sighed dramatically.

"That wasn't my fault!" Ciel cried.

"No, it never is. You really wouldn't last a single day alone."

"Che," Ciel scoffed, managing to cross his arms somewhat awkwardly as the demon began to fly them through the sky. It was several minutes before Ciel calmed down enough to notice that they were moving. "Eh...wait...where are we going?" he demanded.

"Away from the storm," the demon answered, as though it was obvious.

"You're taking me with you?" Ciel asked, confused.

"I could hardly condemn my only source of entertainment, could I?"

"But you don't have to...I mean...you said you weren't..." the boy said, stopping when the demon's black hand moved to cover Ciel's right eye, his cold palm lying flat over the blue eye. "Hey, what are you..." he began but he broke off when a sharp stabbing pain consumed him, emanating from his eye and all he could do then was scream.

His small, pale hands clawed at the black forearm and fingers, trying to pry them away from his skin but to no avail. The demonic seal, which was the hellish equivalent of a coat of arms was engraving itself once more onto Ciel's eye as the boy continued to cry out. To him it seemed to take an age before the demon's hand fell from his face and wound around his body instead, but in reality, it was less than half a minute.

Ciel clutched the side of his head as tears of blood ran through his fingertips and down his face. "What was that, you bastard? What did you do?" he growled.

"It's not a contract. I can't do that if I can't eat your soul, but at least this way I'll know if you do something foolish," the demon answered simply.

"...I don't do foolish things," Ciel muttered, rubbing his eye slowly as the stabbing pain receded.

"Of course not. Consider it insurance then, that someone else doesn't do anything foolish in your presence."

"You could have warned me...asked me."

"I told you; it's not a contract. I don't need your permission to keep track of you, little demon."

"Hmmm..."

"Want me to take it back?"

"No!" Ciel cried quickly, before he could stop himself, his hand tightening over his face.

"Then stop complaining," the demon chuckled.

"...When did it become okay for you to give me orders?" Ciel grumbled to himself.

"If you really need me to answer that, then you truly are a lost cause," the older demon replied sarcastically and the boy stared up at him in a mix of frustration and embarrassment.

"...Maybe it's a bad idea to spend eternity with someone who's just going to insult me all the time," the boy muttered under his breath, looking away from the amused demon's piercing eyes.

"I'm sure the young master...no...I'm sure Ciel," the demon emphasised the use of his name, "Will learn to adapt."

Ciel's eyes widened at hearing the demon who, for so many years had called him only 'young master', refer to him as anything different. It was strange.

"If I'm not 'young master' anymore and you're not 'Sebastian' anymore..." the boy scoffed.

"Oh, still curious, are you?"

"I don't care," Ciel answered quickly, "I was just..."

"Liar," the demon replied and the boy stiffened, guiltily. "...Mephistopheles," it said after a moment.

"Huh?" the boy blinked, snapping out of his stupor.

"My name," the demon explained, "Should you still wish to know, is Mephistopheles."

"...Like in Faust?" Ciel furrowed his brow, listening to the demon laugh, "That's real?"

"Of course it's real...to some extent, at least."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?!" the boy demanded. "Which do I call you then? Mephistopheles or Sebastian?" he asked.

"Whichever, I don't particularly care; names lose all meaning after a while," the demon shrugged.

"I can hardly call you Mephistopheles in public," Ciel said with a frown.

"So call me Sebastian then. I think I'm rather attached to that one."

"Whatever," the boy shrugged, attempting to appear uninterested while Sebastian let out a quiet snort of amusement.

(*1) Mentioned in a manga chapter, I can't remember which. It showed how Ciel had to teach Sebastian how to be a butler and Sebastian taught him how to be an earl.

Chapter 3: As Always and Forever

As Always and Forever

One of Sebastian's first acts in leaving Great Britain was to take his young master to America to a particular city in which he'd found that, for the right price, ones identity meant nothing. No questions were asked. It was a policy that drew in a manner of all sorts of creatures; humans with darkness in their hearts or even demons. It was a bubbling cauldron of debauchery, sin and greed and all of the delicious, dark desires that decay within the human heart.

For the first few weeks, he made sure that the young demon had adequate control over his new abilities, but it seemed that it was not necessary for him to be too concerned. Hannah appeared to have made Ciel's transition extremely easy for him. Ciel was nowhere near as strong as normal demons, so he didn't have the same capacity for destruction but he could sill devastate a city if he chose to. Despite that fact, the young demon knew that Sebastian would not allow that to happen and Ciel trusted the older demon - as much as it surprised the both of them on occasion.

It was late at night in the luxurious hotel they were currently residing, under false pretences of course, and Sebastian was dressing his young master for bed. The young demon would forever insist that he wanted to sleep more than he needed to and Sebastian had long since given up on commenting.

"Sebastian?" Ciel began curiously as the butler fastened the last button on the boys' nightshirt.

"Yes, young master?" the demon spoke.

"Do demons have families?" the young demon asked. He'd been pondering the question for hours after he'd seen a family enjoying their evening meal last night. Ciel wasn't sure why the image wouldn't leave him alone.

"...What an odd question. Why do you ask?" Sebastian asked as he stood up.

"Just curious," Ciel shrugged, "Are you going to answer me or not?"

"No."

"No what?"

"No, demons do no have families of any kind," Sebastian elaborated, "We are not born as humans are."

"Then how?"

"We are creatures of destruction and hate. It's how we are created."

"Through anger?"

"Great anger. It doesn't necessarily have to be human anger, but humans are a very angry, fearful species. For example, in centuries past, when afflicted by famine or plague, some civilisations eventually resorted to human sacrifice. Do you really think any kind of 'god' would appreciate such a gesture, young master?"

"I don't know," Ciel snapped, "That doesn't explain how..."

"Of course it does. If their god doesn't receive their sacrifices, what do you think happens to them?"

"...You mean..."

"Yes. Demons are created primarily now, by humans, unintentionally of course. Wars and mass executions are other examples."

"And that's why...that's why demons are so...mindless...when they're young?"

"Correct, being made in such a way has its drawbacks, I suppose. We don't know anything else. Certainly, human concepts of childhood are alien to us; the young are not coddled, they're looked down upon because they are nothing but mindless killing machines. They have no cunning, no intelligence and no concept of time."

"I guess I should be thankful I don't have to go through that," Ciel remarked.

"You should indeed," Sebastian replied, "You, who used to be human, would not find it as entertaining as a real demon."

"Entertaining?"

"Yes. However much we complain about it when we look back as older and wiser demons, we can't deny that mindless murder is enjoyable for a time."

"Demons," the boy muttered, "Have a warped sense of fun."

"As the young master says," Sebastian replied blandly, watching the young demon settle himself under the soft blankets.

The butler then busied himself by neatly folding away Ciel's clothes, sensing that the boy had more questions still, he left the candles burning on the bedside table as he worked.

"So...demons...demons don't look out for other demons then?" Ciel asked tentatively after a moment.

"No."

"Oh," the boy breathed heavily, "Never?"

"Never. In fact, most older demons take great pleasure in hunting down the younger breeds," Sebastian commented.

"Have you ever..."

"I have killed humans, animals, demons both young and old, and even of course, a fallen angel. I do not differentiate between species."

"But you said demons take pleasure from killing younger demons. That's not the same as when I ordered you to kill that angel or the people who humiliated me...or even Claude."

"It's true, I have, in my younger years, derived great enjoyment from butchering the weaker of my own kind. But humans do the same, surely you of all people understand that, young master," Sebastian said. "We demons do not adhere to humans rules. We have a very lose concept of justice and we hold very few rules. Murder is far from taboo in hell."

"Then why not hunt me down? There's no way I could stop you," Ciel replied.

"You are my master. I must obey."

"You could disobey. There's no reward anymore for your obedience and it's not unheard of for a demon to kill their master prematurely from what you've told me, contract or not."

"That is true," Sebastian nodded.

"You were denied what was promised you. I was willing to die."

"What happened was not of my making, my lord."

"Nor mine...Is there really nothing that undo it?"

"Nothing. Why? Does it repulse you, knowing what you are and what you must do now to survive?"

"Not really," Ciel shrugged.

Sebastian walked over to the nearest sash window, hidden behind a thick curtain which he lightly pulled back to gaze out at the fledgling city of the new world with a sardonic smile.

"I am older than you could possibly imagine. I've met thousands of humans and I've killed more than I can count. There have been very few that have been worthy of my interest throughout all of those years but you are one of them. There are many demons out there, however, that would snuff out your life without a second thought," he said. "Regardless of the circumstances that lead us here, you belong to me just as I, your loyal servant, belong to you."

"Sebastian..."

"As such," the demon continued, his eyes glowing and reflecting off the darkened glass, "I cannot allow that to happen."

"Despite that...isn't there some part of you that resents what happened? You must hate the fact that all your hard work was for nothing. You can't eat my soul now after everything you did for me...if I was you I'd probably hate me," Ciel muttered.

"Would the young master rather I treated him with contempt?"

"No!" Ciel cried quickly, "But I..."

"As ever, I will not lie to you; I do desire your soul. I always will but there is nothing that I can do about it. Perhaps it is you and not Hannah and her brat that I detest but you are my young master," Sebastian turned around to face the young boy. "Your very existence shouldn't be...but I can't find it in myself to end it."

"...Because of your butler's aesthetics?" Ciel questioned.

"Who knows?" the demon smiled. "I suppose in some ways I'll always be 'Sebastian' now, but don't forget, I'm still a demon. Demons don't possess eternal, unending patience. I may change in the future whether I want to or not. Play acting as a human for a reward is fine for a while...but not indefinitely," he added.

"What does that mean?"

"I wonder," Sebastian gave his young master a warm smile, but not answering his question.

"I hate it when you do that," the boy muttered as the demon continued to smile.

"Young master, as interesting as our conversations are, I believe it's time you got some rest," Sebastian said after a moment walking towards the bed and settling the covers neatly over the small body of his master.

"Oh," Ciel hummed, "Aren't you usually the one insisting that demons don't need sleep?"

"You are were not born demon and you are young," the older demon said, "You need to rest," he added, taking a step back once his task was done. Sebastian held back a smug smile as he watched the boy try, and fail, to stifle a tired yawn.

"Alright, rest sounds good," Ciel muttered, closing his eyes and sighing into the soft pillows.

"Good night, young master," the demon bowed his head then took up the candelabra.

"Sebastian?" the boy called slowly a second later, just before the butler could open the door.

"Yes?"

"What do you do while I sleep? To someone who never sleeps at all...I bet it seems boring," he murmured.

"The young master needn't concern himself with his servants' entertainment," the demon replied. "I have my duties to attend to. Now don't think any more on it. I will be here when you wake," he said, pressing down on the door handle.

"As always," Ciel said quietly.

"As always and forever," Sebastian agreed heavily before he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Chapter 4: Death Is The Only Certainty

Death Is The Only Certainty

It was a somber day for Ciel Phantomhive, not that he wasn't used to somber days in his relatively young life, but this was the most significant one in over seventy years. The funeral of Lady Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Ferrias nee Midford. The young girl who would have been his wife, in another life. It was a horrid day for him.

There were perhaps hundreds of people at the funeral. She had been a very popular woman. She had eventually married and had two children, both of whom Ciel could see as they exited the grand church as he hid in the shadows with Sebastian at his side.

"We should leave now," the freed demon stated but Ceil shook his head.

"Just a bit longer...please," he muttered and the older demon sighed.

Ciel stared out with melancholy, mismatching eyes at the people in black as they spoke quietly, offering sympathy to Lord Ferrias, Lizzy's aged husband and to her children. One of them, her son, suddenly fell to his knees, weeping inconsolably and Ciel had to look away.

"Ciel," his sister said, getting her brother up of the ground as she ignored her own tears.

"Ciel..." the young demon repeated, "She named her son...after me."

"...So it would seem," Sebastian said.

"I...I want to leave now," Ciel said to him, "Get us out of here."

The older demon, not bound to acquiesce to any of the boy's orders, not for some twenty odd years now, suddenly felt a sickening moment of sympathy. He placed a hand on Ciel's shoulder and using the shadows of the oak tree under which they stood, made them vanish, like a magic trick.

They reappeared some miles away, in a deserted alley which was dark and gloomy. There was a quiet dripping sound and faint voices but Ciel didn't care. He didn't care that the ground at his feet was dirty or wet as he threw himself against a crumbling wall and sat down.

"She was the last person," the boy muttered, sadly, "They're all gone now," he said and indeed, he was right. He had seen all of his employees pass on; Tanaka, Bard, Finny and May Linn. His manor lay empty now and he had made sure that no one would be able to buy it, dismantle it or even live in it. He'd let it stand there and rot for all eternity.

"I have told you before," Sebastian remarked, "This is why demons do not become attached, ever. Humans live such short lives."

"Hmmm," the boy hummed, resting his elbows on his knees and then resting his head on them.

"I advised you not to return because of them. It would have been wise for you to have severed all ties, completely."

"Hmmm," Ciel reiterated.

Sebastian let out an exasperated sigh. What more could he possibly say? He had more than once told Ciel not to become emotionally involved with humans, at all, ever. But of course, that was slightly hypocritical. Here he was, a freed demon, not bound by any contract, acting as a gloried babysitter to this boy before him. He, the great Mepistopheles, who had even devoured Faust in the end, of whom he had also been quite fond, was at a loss to comfort a small, grieving demon. The disturbing throught was that he wanted to comfort the small, grieving demon. Demons did not comfort. It simply wasn't done. They didn't understand it. They had no use for it, they didn't even have a word for it in their own language.

"Ciel?" he questioned.

"Hmmm..." the boy simply repeated.

"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?"

"Hmm..."

"I'll take that as a no...well, in that case, I'll just leave you here since you've no objection?" he waited for a moment for a response, but got none, so he continued. "Also, I've decided that I'm going to dress up as Santa Claus for the next depressed soul I find and offer them presents rather than a contract."

"Hmmm...wait, what?!"

"Ridiculous. That's the one that gets your attention?" Sebastian shook his head, dramatically. He leaned back against the wall next to where Ciel was sitting, now looking up at him, his eyes glistening with un-shed tears.

"Demons don't cry," he said to the boy after a moment.

"I'm not crying!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes and slid down the wall so that he was crouching on his haunches next to the boy. He refused to sit and get his clothes dirty. "She...lived a long life...for a human," he remarked slowly.

"Guess so," Ciel muttered with a sniffle, "But it's not like you care."

"I know better than to care," the older demon declared, glancing at the boy. He knew he was lying of course. He'd long since admitted of himself that there was one being he cared for but he still couldn't explain why. "But...I did know a demon once, a very long time ago," he began, "Who did care."

"...What happened?"

"She died," Sebastian shrugged.

"How? What did she care about?"

"A city," the older demon answered, "The humans in it. The city was destroyed, she tried to save it, but she couldn't. So they all died."

"But not you?"

"Not me. No."

"What...what city was it?" Ciel asked, wiping his eyes.

"A Roman one. Nothing of consequence, really. I had a contract with a woman there at the time. A volcano erupted. It seemed too much work to save both her and the people she wanted revenge against and then to orchestrate that revenge so I simply killed her and ate her soul and I was preparing to leave when I saw her. The other demon. I'd known for some time that she was in the city but she wasn't particularly strong, she didn't pose any threat so I hadn't made a move against her."

"What did she do?"

"She tried to stop the volcano from erupting and she failed. She was obliterated," he replied, emotionlessly.

"...What was her name?"

"I never knew," Sebastian said.

"She...cared about people?"

"She even asked me to help save them," he scoffed. "Humans are more than us, she told me. She was a fool," he added, darkly.

"Could you...stop a volcano, I mean, if you wanted to?" Ciel asked.

"I've never tried," Sebastian shrugged.

"But could you?"

"I don't know. And after seeing what happened to her, I'm not really all that keen to attempt it," he answered, dryly. "I think she was young, by demons standards. Perhaps she'd only begun to form her own personality and she was too caught up in the play acting of living with humans. We learn the stupidity of doing that very early on. She obviously hadn't had that chance."

"I never knew there were demons like that."

"She would have changed, given time," Sebastian assured him.

"But still...I thought demons were always...detached."

"It's in our own interest to be so," the older demon said. "And besides, human emotions...their way of thinking...they're not things we can ever fully understand. I never understood why she gave her own life in an attempt to save theirs."

"And...you don't understand why I'm sad now...do you?" Ciel inferred.

"Not completely. You knew Lady Elizabeth was going to die eventually. Why come back every time someone you used to know dies?"

"Well, I won't need to come back again...there's no one else," the boy replied. "And you were right...I shouldn't have come. I know that but...they were all I had left of when I was still human. I don't expect you to understand, just..." he sighed and leaned his weight against the older demon. "Stay here for a bit," he muttered.

Sebastian, rather than laughing, furrowed his brow in confusion. It was moments like this that he really didn't understand. Why was Ciel so trusting of him? As the older, unchained demon he could choose to kill Ciel at any time, he should be constantly on guard, a real demon would. Ciel had surprised him yet again. Over time, Sebastian thought that Ciel would begin to show more demonic traits and then in turn, his own life would become easier, but it didn't. Ciel was as human as ever and Sebastian was just as confused and occasionally, amused. He wasn't amused now though.

Ciel had moved closer to him, he was practically sitting on him, as he cuddled up into Sebastian's black overcoat. His left arm was rendered useless because the child was snuggled up to his left side and all he could do was hold his hand awkwardly in the air out of the way.

Sebastian pursed his lip, still unsure of what to do when he saw a tear fall from Ciel's eye and onto his own shirt. "Oh, it's raining," the older demon remarked and Ciel nodded. The boy didn't want to admit that he was crying so he was at least grateful that Sebastian wasn't teasing him or lecturing him about the hindrances of emotion.

"Mmm-hmmm," he mumbled.