Chapter 1: His Sister, Able

        Soft snores filled the otherwise quiet, dark room, as you peacefully lay tucked under your covers, sound asleep. The door creaked open slowly, careful so as not to disturb your slumber. Red eyes peeked in, surveying the room, and once they caught sight of the still sleeping girl, the male they belonged to entered the room. The door was shut just as quietly as it was opened, and the male walked over to your sleeping form. He placed a hand on your shoulder and lightly shook it.

        “It’s time to wake up, Lady (Y/N).” Your eyelids opened slowly, revealing your tired (E/C) eyes. You yawned sat up, rubbing your heavy eyelids.

        “Sebastian? What are you doing here? And why so early?” You tiredly groaned. Sebastian smirked.

        “Oh but I’m not early.”

        “Huh? What are you talking about?” He went to the side of the bed and opened the curtains, letting in a blinding amount of sunlight into the room.

        “It’s 8 o’clock.” Your eyes widened.

        “What!?” You shouted as you shot up from the bead, only to trip and fall face first onto the hardwood floor. Sebastian, who still remained at the curtains, chuckled, which made you growl as you rubbed your head. You quickly sat up and went straight for your closet. “Why were the curtains closed in the first place!? They’re so I don’t oversleep!” You pushed away hangers of different clothes. “And now I’m late.”

        “The young lord simply wanted you to sleep in today.” You turned around to face a smirking Sebastian.

        “What ever for!?”

        “He believes it would be better for your health.”

        “Dammit Ciel!” You sighed, again searching for the right set of clothes. “That’s not for him to decide.”

        “I do agree with his decision though. Waking up when it’s still dark out to do servant’s work is not proper for a young lady such as yourself.” 

        “I do it because I want to though, so why should he care.”

        “He is only doing this for your own good, milady.”

        “For my own good my ass, and for the hundredth time you don’t have to call me that. But at this point, I know you’re just doing it to annoy me. Why do I even bother.” A small chuckle sounded behind you.

        “I’m only addressing you with the proper title, lady (Y/N).”

        “Now I definitely know you’re trying to be annoying.”

        “Oh, and why would you accuse me of something like that.” You looked at Sebastian with a raised brow and a knowing frown.

        “That’s real funny.”

        “Whatever do you mean.” You rolled your eyes at his clear sarcasm. You finally found all your clothes: a plain (F/C) shirt, some black pants, and some worn out shoes still fit enough to wear, and now hurriedly set them down on your bed. “Okay, I’m up, I slept in, can I please have some privacy to change now?” He chuckled again.

        “Oh, but there is one other thing the young master asked me to do.”

        “And what is that?” You asked slowly, suspicious of his tone. 

        “He asked me to help you dress today.” Your face turned a bright red and you opened your mouth in disbelief.

        “What!? No no no no!”

        “It is the young master’s wish. He wants for you to act more like a proper lady.”

        “Why does that include someone else, and a male at that, dressing me!? That itself is indecent.”

        “Yet it is how a person of your title should be treated.” You scoffed. Why does Ciel always do this? He knows that’s not me.

        “You can help me by not helping. Does that work?”

        “You know that is not what the lord intended for (Y/N).” You groaned.

        “Fine.” You stomped over to your nightstand and angrily pulled out a cerulean blue sapphire ring, one of two that were ever made. “Could you please only put my ring on then?” Sebastian stared at you, his brow raised in amusement. “What? Putting jewelry on is part of an outfit, and therefore a part of getting dressed. So you would be fulfilling your order, since I’m assuming he didn’t say to help with my full attire, and I won’t have to be humiliated.” He chuckled.

        “You have me there, milady, although I wouldn’t say you would be humiliated.” You frowned, but nonetheless timidly held out your right hand to the tall butler. You kept your gaze on the floor, refusing to make eye contact with him, which only made Sebastian’s smirk widen. He knelt down on one knee and slipped the Phantomhive heirloom onto your index finger. 

        “Thank you.” You grumbled while slowly pulling your hand away. “Now can I please have some privacy?”

        “Certainly.” He bowed, which made you uncomfortable, and he knew it. You had never been one for formalities belonging to the rich. They may have suited your brother, which was fine by you, but you didn’t want to be associated with that. You felt guilty when you were presented with luxuries, and so you tried to live as simply as you could. Unfortunately, that constantly caused conflicts with your brother, who didn’t believe you should live the was as you do, and that led to situations like this one. Sebastian’s piercing red eyes followed your movements as he slowly raised himself back up and proceeded to exit the room. You were lucky he didn’t try to mess with you further today.

        Letting out a relieved breath of air, you proceeded to quickly change out of your long baggy white nightshirt into the clothes you picked out. Simple and comfortable, just how I like it. You opened your nightstand and pulled out a small brush, which you used to steady your messy (H/L) (H/C) hair. Once you tamed your hair, you set the brush back down and wasted no time in exiting the room, only to find Sebastian waiting just outside your door for you. 

        “Ugh! What do you want now?”

        “I was only waiting to assure that you were properly taken care of.” You scoffed as you started making your way down the hall.

        “Sebastian, I’ve known you long enough to know you don’t actually care. So, you either want something or Ciel ordered you to watch over me.”

        “Oh, who said I didn’t truly care about your well-being?” You raised a knowing brow at him.

        “Psh, you’re hilarious, you know that?”

        “There’s a lot you don’t know about me lady (Y/N).”

        “You’re correct, but I know enough, and I have something called common sense. And again, you don’t have to address me as lady.”

        “As you’ve said plenty of times, milady.”

        “Yeah, you’re definitely still doing this on purpose.” 

        “Of course, all my actions have a purpose.” 

        “And does one happen to be annoying me?” 

        “I will admit, you’re reactions are quite amusing.”

        “Wow, you actually admit it for once. That’s quite a surprise.”

        “I’m simply one hell of a butler.”

        “Ha ha, very funny Mr. demon. Like that’s not getting old.” Before you knew it, you had arrived at your destination, an elegantly crafted door, which you proceeded to slam open. 

        Ciel sat behind his desk working on a stack of paperwork, and without even looking to see who had so abruptly entered his drawing room, sighed as you stomped up to his desk. 

        “(Y/N) please, don’t start.”

        “Oh I’m gonna start! You know full well I wake up early for a reason.” He sighed again, not once looking up from his paperwork.

        “And I ordered your extra sleep for a reason.”

        “You can’t just mess with someone’s schedule like that!” 

        “I can if it is better for you.” 

        “Well it’s not this time. You’re just treating me like a child, and you’re only a few months older than me!”

        “(Y/N), you know you shouldn’t be acting like a servant.”

        “Don’t even start on how I should be living.”

        “(Y/N)-“

        “I’m not living your lifestyle, that’s not me.”

        “(Y/N).” He lifted his head, his one blue eye piercing directly into your (E/C) ones. “Come here, please.” You frowned, but the plead you detected in his tone lured you to him. In this situation, you did feel like a child, and he the parent. But as you stood in front of Ciel, he pulled you into a hug. You were not expecting this, but this didn’t shock you in the slightest. Now you felt how you did when you both were younger, when things were different, before that night. “I only do this to protect you, and let you be happy in life.” You sighed, wrapping your arms around him in return. This was one of the few moments Ciel actually showed his most vulnerable state. Considering what you two had been through together, it was no surprise that he would share such tender moments with you. Besides, you were his sister after all.

        “I know, but I’m not such a little kid anymore.”

        “You’re thirteen years old like me.”

        “And you run an entire company as well as handle matters from the queen. It’s not like you’re living the life of a child.” IT was your turn to sigh now. “Things have changed.”

        “I know, but I still don’t approve (Y/N).” 

        “As your loving sister, I don’t care.” You smirked and pulled away from the hug. “I have to go, I’m already late enough as it is.” 

        “Indeed you are.” You smiled as you turned around, ready to leave. “Oh, I almost forgot to mention.” You turned your head over your shoulder. “I’m having a meeting today with Mr. Hughes, the authority on the history of the Roman Empire. I thought you’d be interested.”  Admittedly, you were fascinated with ancient history, and the Roman Empire happened to be one of your favorites. Ciel truly knew you best.

        “That is interesting, thanks for telling me.”

        “And Mr. Damiano is visiting tonight as well.” You smirked.

        “Oh really? That’s tonight?” 

        “Yes, so promise me you’ll stay out of the way please, and you won’t be attending dinner. Sebastian will be bringing your meal to your room.”

        “Awe come on! I never get to see the fun!” 

        “Why on earth you consider that ‘fun’ puzzles me beyond belief.”

        “It’s funny to watch!”

        “The answer is still no.”

        “It’s not like I’m going to mess anything up. I just want a part this time.” He sat there with his eyes closed, one hand holding up his cheek, the other impatiently drumming the wood of his desk. “Please?” Ciel thought about it some more, weighing all the possible consequences. He did not want to deal with this right now.

        “…You may join us for dinner only.” 

        “Yes!” 

        “I’m only allowing this so that you can grow accustomed to dealing with these people, and so you’ll stop whining about it. And no sneaking out.” 

        “Oh, sure, of course.”

        “(Y/N) I’m serious. I know you’ve seen my other dealings before, but you shouldn’t be seeing them now, or have seen any at all.”

        “I know, and I’m being serious as well.” Ciel knew you were lying. He was certain you would try and see his business, but it wasn’t like he could do anything to stop you. “See you later, brother.”

        “Will you be getting breakfast?”

        “We both know it’s already late enough as it is, I have no time for that.”

        “You really should eat.”

        “Well if only I had woken up earlier, I would have had time. But oh well, more sleep is important isn’t it?” Ciel sighed heavily as you exited the room. Sebastian bowed, dismissing himself out the door as well. Ciel rubbed his aching temples. His sister could really be a handful, a huge troublemaker, and a pain in the ass at times, but she was indeed his able sister.

        You walked down the halls of the manor with a triumphant smirk on your face. Not even Sebastian following you deterred your mood.

        “I’m assuming you do indeed plan on sneaking out tonight?” You smirked.

        “Ciel disapproves, yet hasn’t made a move to stop me if I so choose.” You glanced at his mischievous red eyes. “And to be perfectly honest, of course I’m going to watch.” 

        “Why does a young lady like yourself enjoy observing such… events.” 

        “And why are you so concerned?”

        “To be perfectly honest with you, I’m simply curious.” You hummed.

        “Who says a young lady can’t enjoy ‘such events’ in the first place?” His smirking complexion did not change. “And like I said before, it’s funny. To watch unfortunate events happen to those who more or less deserve it, and in such an ironic way, is humorous to me. Does that answer your question, Sebastian?” His smirk widened.

        “Yes, yes it does.” It was then you arrived at another door, just a bell rung. Sebastian sighed. “So much to do and he calls me now.” He bowed. “I will see you tonight, lady (Y/N).” 

        “See you later Mr. Sebastian.” He turned around and began heading back to Ciel, not without you noticing the amusement sewn into his smirk. 

        When you opened the door, you were immediately greeted with the sound of chatter from three different yet very familiar faces.

        “Oh, that’s a good idea.” A woman declared. She was wearing a maid uniform, glasses that covered her eyes, and her red hair tied back in pigtails.

        “Right, we have to stop relying on Sebastian for everything!” A man with a higher pitched voice said. He had pinned back strawberry blonde hair, turquoise eyes, and wore a plain attire with a straw hat on his back. 

        “It’s settled then, we have a plan of attack!” A buff dirty blonde haired man with a chef’s outfit exclaimed with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

        “Yeah!” All three of them cheered. In the midst of their celebration, they noticed that you had entered the room, and all immediately ran to you and squeezed you into a group hug. “We were all so worried about you!” The three cried out, which made you giggle. It was only made worse when a small older man waddled up next to you and joined in on the hug.

        “Ho ho ho.”

        “Good morning Tanaka, and good morning everybody.” They all pulled away and each began to interrogate you.

        “Why in the heck are you so late this morning?” The buff man said.

        “It was my brother again, Baldroy.”

        “Oh, what did the master do this time?” Mey-Rin questioned.

        “Messed with my sleep schedule. He had Sebastian close the curtains so the sun couldn’t wake me up.” You grumbled while crossing your arms.

        “Master always tries to do what he thinks is best for you, (Y/N).” Finny said. You smiled at his optimism.

        “I know, but I wish he wouldn’t.”

        “Well, if I was in his shoes I’d do the same thing, knowing you.” 

        “Finny!”

        “What? I would. Even though I’m not your brother, I’d still protect you like I was.” Finny bear hugged you again, and even though his strength felt like he was crushing you, you still hugged back. Over the course of the few years these three became servants for your brother, you and Finny became quite the best friends. You felt the closest with him, especially since you both shared interests in nature and animals, and despite your temperament at times, you both had very kind natures.

        “And we’d do the same thing, (Y/N)!” Mey-Rin exclaimed, raising her fist in the air.

        “Yeah, and if anybody ever comes close to hurting you, one shot from me flamethrower’ll burn ’em to the ground!” You sweatdropped.

        “That’s a little extreme Baldroy. Awesome, but extreme, especially since no one’s gonna hurt me anytime soon at least.” 

        “Oh it’s always better to be safe than sorry, yes it is.” May-Rin smiled, but then a look of worry struck her. “Ah! If we don’t start working, Mr. Sebastian will yelling at us again! Let’s get to it!”

        “Right!” You all shouted.

***

        The sun beat down on you as you were crouched down to the ground, tending to the garden’s bountiful flowers. You used your gloved hand to wipe some of the sweat from your brows, and stood up to admire your work.

        “The white roses sure are beautiful this year.”

        “I know! They’ve all bloomed so wonderfully- OW!” You laughed as Finny sucked his pricked finger.

        “You’d think you’d be able to watch out for the thorns by now Fin.” 

        “I can’t help it (N/N)! They just appear out of nowhere!” You and Finny laughed and continued to talk and joke around with each other, carrying on as any good friends would do, unaware of the sole blue eye observing from afar.

***

        Ciel watched you from the window in the drawing room as you interacted with Finny just like you did any other day. He sighed as Sebastian poured his tea.

        “I don’t understand why she would voluntarily degrade herself to servant’s work.” Sebastian’s smirk remained as he handed his master his cup of Earl Grey tea.

        “She feels the need to reject the life of aristocracy.”

        “I wish I knew why though.” 

        “She claims she feels uncomfortable with such a lifestyle.” Ciel’s eye narrowed dangerously at his butler.

        “You’ve talked to her about this?”

        “She has admitted this to me on occasion, yes.” He looked back to the window.

        “Hm. Very well.” At the current moment, he could see you waving Finnian over to where you were knelt down. The young man rushed over and crouched down next to you, appearing to be admiring something you had found fascinating in the ground.

        “(Y/N) is quite the interesting human, isn’t she.” Again, Ciel’s eye glowered at Sebastian.

        “You could say that.” Ciel said, a threatening undertone to his voice.

        “So different, yet unique in her own way.”

        “A handful as well.” Sebastian chuckled.

        “An amusing one.” That was crossing dangerous waters.

        “If by that you mean not a bore to have around, then you are certainly right. Unless you are insinuating something else.” His eye once again fell on Sebastian’s mischievous red hues, daring him to continue any further. He heard something in his butler’s tone about his sister that he did not appreciate in the slightest. Sebastian merely did nothing.

        “I apologize if I came across that way, my lord.” Ciel knew his butler was not sincere, but let his comment slide, for now.

        “I’m hungry. I’d like something sweet to eat.”

        “You shouldn’t eat now, master. You don’t want to spoil your appetite for dinner with your guest this evening.”

        “I don’t care about that. Make me a parfait.”

        “I’m sorry, sir.” Ciel just about had it, but he chose to control his anger, since Sebastian did have a point, and it seemed he wouldn’t budge. 

        “Fine then.” He turned back to the window to see Finnian and you talking about something animatedly, then the lad messed with your hair, which made you laugh.

        “It seems Finny and (Y/N) are rather close with each other.” 

        “Yes, they get along quite well. Whenever I’m around the servants, she seems to be more drawn to him than the others.” 

        “Interesting.”

        “Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Master?” Sebastian couldn’t help but voice this out loud. As Ciel was watching you two, he noticed the way his master’s eye twitched, how his lips curled down, and the way his fingers clenched, all ever so slightly. But of course, Ciel merely scoffed.

        “What a preposterous idea. What would possibly make me jealous of Finnian?”

        “Perhaps how much time she spends with him instead of her own brother, or how they don’t seem to argue with each other as much as you do with her.”

        “That’s enough.” Sebastian’s smirk widened. 

        “As you wish, Master.” He turned to walk out of the room.

        “Wait.” 

        “Hm?”

        “The portrait in the hallway… take it down. I am Ciel Phantomhive, son of Vincent, and I am the head of the house now.” 

        “Consider it done, my lord.” The butler bowed and left the room, knowing full well that his master’s wish was out of pride, as well as a warning. The doors closed shut, and Ciel glanced back down to his sister, who had no idea of the conversation he just had.

***

        You stood up, clapping your hands together to get some of the dirt off your gloves.

        “To think, all we have to do is finish weeding, and the garden will be perfect.” 

        “Yup, and I’ve got this thing here to help us get the job done.” Finny said, hauling out an overly huge weed killer spray that seemed a little too strong.

        “Fin… I don’t think you should be using that to weed the garden. It looks too strong.”

        “Oh don’t worry (Y/N)! I swear, this’ll make it so we’re done super quick!”

        “Whatever you say…” A cough drew both your attention behind you, where Sebastian stood. 

        “Time for your afternoon lesson, (Y/N).” You nodded then waved goodbye to your friend. 

        “See you later Finny!” He waved back while holding the weed killer.

        “See you later!” 

***

        “Your attacks are still not swift enough. You must be quick on your feet, or you will never be able to land a hit on any opponent.” You panted, your hands still up in a fighting position. You lunged to the right and left hooked Sebastian, who just effortlessly dodged your attack. You launched a barrage of kick and punch combinations, all either dodged or blocked. Sebastian then lunged at you, silverware protruding from his gloves. You pulled your own two daggers from around your combat shirt and somehow blocked his swift attack. “Good.” He launched his own flurry of attacks, which caught you somewhat off guard. “Always expect the unexpected.” Eventually you got into a good rhythm of blocking and countering. With one final attack from Sebastian that you blocked, you two froze in place. Once you caught your breath you sheathed your weapons, ending your session. Sweat dripped from your forehead, and you knew you looked like a mess, while Sebastian didn’t even break a sweat. “For a human, especially a young one, you are quite the fighter.”

        “Well it must be boring for you to train a human such as myself when you’re, you know…” He chuckled.

        “Your skills have quite improved though.” 

        “Hm. I was lucky I convinced Ciel to allow this in the first place.” A couple years ago, you had expressed your interests in learning how to fight with Ciel, who had outright refused, claiming that you had no need and of course how unladylike it was. Even though you actually didn’t ask to be taught, you grew so annoyed with him you argued your reasons for wanting to learn. You had argued saying that being a lady didn’t matter, and anything could happen to you, so you needed to learn how to protect yourself. Somehow, you managed to convince him to let you train, ordering Sebastian to give you lessons every afternoon. To this day he disapproves of these sessions. “He still hates that I’m doing this.” 

        “Yes, he constantly complains how you have no need to fight.” 

        “Which is utter bullshit.” He chuckled.

        “You have such a different way of thinking, unlike most humans I’ve seen thus far.” 

        “Are you saying that because one day I’ll be able to kick your ass?” His eyes flashed fuchsia, although it was not a threat, more in amusement. 

        “You would end up dead before you could even try.” 

        “It’s what we humans call a joke. I would never actually be able to land a hit on you, I know you hold back most of your strength during our sparring matches.” His smirk widened and he slowly began walking to you. “I’m not just another stupid human.” He now stood in front of you with a smile, and ruffled your hair.

        “Good girl.” You swatted his hand away and frowned. “Your lessons are over for today. Shall we go check on how the servants’ progress is going.” He waited patiently for you to follow after him. You sighed as you caught up to him.

        “This’ll be fun.”

***

        Sebastian’s disappointed and frustrated red hues stared down at Finny’s upset form, while you watched on with your arms crossed and your head shaking side to side in a disapproving manner.

        “Now, how exactly did this happen?” Sebastian said, gesturing to all the wilted flowers that used to be white roses.

        “I thought things would go faster if I used extra-strength weed killer on the garden.”

        “I told him not to do it.” Sebastian sighed out of even more frustration now.

        “Let’s see how the others are doing then.” He said in an irritated manner. Finny followed you and Sebastian inside, looking completely dejected. You knew this was not just a simple screw up for Finny, you knew how actually upset he felt, what had happened to him in his past. You put a hand on his shoulder.

        “It’s okay Fin, you had good intentions, and you did your best. It just didn’t turn out how you expected is all.” 

        “I didn’t mean to kill them, I just wanted to do good work for once, and not destroy anything.” He mumbled the last part out, and you squeezed his shoulder a little more.

        “It was an accident. Besides, it’s not like everybody’s perfect. Everyone breaks something at some point. Like remember the time I forgot to water all the petunias? Or broke the one grandfather clock because I was trying to steal Baldroy’s flamethrower for something?” 

        “Oh yeah, I remember that. You torched it by accident when you and Baldroy were playing tug-of-war with his flamethrower.” You laughed at the memory.

        “See?” Finny smiled and blushed.

        “Thanks (N/N).” By the time Finny was all cheered up, you three arrived at the room Mey-Rin was supposed to be in, only to find her on the floor with a broken cabinet collapsed on her and a bunch of shattered tea sets all over the floor.

        “I was trying to reach the tea sets we use for guests, but I tripped and the cabinet fell.” You and Finny immediately rushed to help Mey-Rin out from the rubble. Meanwhile, smoke was coming from the next room over, and when Sebastian opened the door, he saw Baldroy covered in ash, with his hair singed into an afro, and most unfortunately for the butler, burnt food on the table.

        “There was a lot of meat to be cooked for dinner, and it was gonna take a long time, so I uh, used me flamethrower.” Sebastian’s hardened glare focused on all three of the servants, while Tanaka… merely stood off to the side.

        “Oh we’re so sorry! We didn’t mean to!” Mey-Rin and Finny apologized. Sebastian seemed to be in thought for a moment.

        “Calm down, all of you. Perhaps you should try taking a page out of Tanaka’s book and start behaving like…” It was then he seemed to think of an idea. “Everyone, listen closely and do exactly as I say, understand? We must be quick about this. We might save this night yet.” He explained the plan to the three servants, and with the basics down in your head, you began to formulate your own role. 

        “Right, I’ll help clean up and find the china while you guys work on the garden. When we’re all done I’ll head over to Baldroy and help anyway I can.” Everyone nodded at you and headed off to where they needed to go. 

***

        Soon enough, Mr. Damiano arrived, and the servants were all out to give him a proper welcome. However, you weren’t a part of it, as you were to be introduced at dinner. Instead, having the finished the clean up before Sebastian left, you helped find the ingredients and tools for Baldroy, and stared working on it to give him an example of what Sebastian wanted from him. You were actually not a bad cook, having trained with Sebastian when he had to learn for Ciel. After you finished this, you went to go find the china, which was actually more difficult than you thought, since there were plenty of boxes in the attic to search from. You finally found them just as Mey-Rin returned.

        “Mey-Rin, over here! I found them!” She ran over to where you were and began picking up the boxes full of china.

        “Thanks again (Y/N). You’re really helping me out a lot.” 

        “It’s always a pleasure… uh, do you need help with all those?” You were referring to the five boxes she had stacked on top of each other, while you only had two. You wondered how she could possibly see past the unsteady tower of boxes.

        “No, it’s quite alright.”

        “Are you sure? I really don’t mind carrying a few extra.”

        “Oh, I’m sure. It’s the least I could do for you, and for Mr. Sebastian.” 

        “If you say so.”

        You and Mey-Rin were carrying the boxes down the hall when Sebastian began approaching you two, and without thinking, she started running towards him still carrying the boxes.

        “Sebastian! We found them- AH!” She tripped, and the boxes began tumbling to the floor. Luckily, Sebastian was quick enough to catch four of them on his foot and the other in his hand, while simultaneously pulling Mey-Rin to his chest before she could land on the floor.

        “Oh, honestly. How many times have I told you not to run in the manor Mey-Rin?” He asked in a gentle voice, which made you roll your eyes, although for Mey-Rin, it was like a dream come true.

        “I-I’m so sorry sir! My glasses cracked and I can’t see a thing.” Her entire head was red and her speech a stuttering mess; you were surprised that she was able to separate herself from Sebastian’s chest. 

        “These are the last items we needed for dinner. Splendid work, everyone. And now I believe you can leave the rest of it to me and relax for a bit. But I need you to do well, very well, during dinner tonight.” Sebastian said with a smile, though everyone could see there was some underlying tone to his voice.

        “He said it twice.” Baldroy whispered.

        “Ooh that’s serious.” Finny remarked ominously.

         “(Y/N), that means you too. You should head upstairs and get ready for dinner.” You smirked.

        “Don’t worry about me Sebastian, I’m already ready.” You turned around and waved back to your friends. “Now if I may be excused, I have to go wait until dinner.” Even though you couldn’t see him, you knew Sebastian was smirking. He knew what you were really going to do, and where you were actually going. 

***

        “The progress we’ve been making with the East India Company is quite astonishing. We already have the makings of a top notch staff.”

        “Bewitched by the eyes of the dead. What terrible luck. It appears I’ve lost a turn.” From outside on your ledge by Ciel’s window, you could see the annoyance flash on who you assumed was Damiano’s face. It was certainly amusing, especially since all the man wanted to do was talk about money, yet Ciel completely ignored him, and so he rightfully should. 

        “Right, now is the perfect time. We should begin expanding the company and building a strong labor force. It would-“

        “Go on. It’s your turn.” You could see the annoyance grow, but just like before, it disappeared quickly. No doubt you knew Ciel noticed this as well. 

        “Oh yes. I just spin this then.” He spun the spinner, which landed on five, and so moved his piece five spaces forward. “Okay there, five spaces. Now what I wanted to ask you. Perhaps you could contribute another 12,000 pounds to support our expansion? I believe it will be quite a profitable venture for you, my lord, and I would consider it an honor to help expand the Funtom Company.” 

        “Lose a leg in the enchanted forest. And it’s your turn again. I lost a turn, remember?” 

        “Oh, I see.” He spun the spinner again. “Right, I move six.”

        “You don’t. That’s three.”

        “What?”

        “You lost a leg, if you recall. Now you only move half the number of spaces.”

        “Oh my.” He laughed, as if he actually found the rules funny, which was actually quite annoying to you. The board game was something you played with Ciel all the time, and it was a regular board game, nothing too special about it. This man was only interested in business, so much so that he had trouble tolerating Ciel, and this is how you assumed he masked this fact. “This is a gruesome board game, isn’t it? Is there no way for me to restore my leg?” 

        “I’m afraid once something is truly lost, sir, that one can never get it back. Your body is burnt by raging flames.” You knew what Ciel was thinking about, and it struck a chord in your heart as well. Your parents were dead, and both you and Ciel knew nothing could get them back now. To make it worse, burning in flames made you think of that night, the one when your parents died. It brought back images that you would rather keep repressed. You don’t know how long you sat there, but you snapped out of it only when you heard Sebastian open the door. 

        “Pardon the interruption, but dinner is served.” Sebastian’s eyes flickered swiftly to yours then back to Ciel and his guest, but you weren’t sure if he was only acknowledging your presence, warning you to get going, or most likely, signaling Ciel that you were eavesdropping. Damiano didn’t appear to notice, but you were sure Ciel did, although you wouldn’t be surprised if he knew you were there all along. 

        “Oh, dining out in that exquisite stone garden? Shall we go, my lord?” 

        “Very well. We’ll finish the game later.” 

        “Oh is there any real need to finish it? It’s obvious I’m going to lose.” 

        “I’m not in the habit of abandoning games halfway through.” You had a feeling he might have been partially making a reference to you. 

        “How childish.” You heard Damiano mutter. Instantly you glared at him, and so did Ciel. “Oh I-I mean sometimes it takes a child’s eyes to see what’s really important. It’s a true gift. Maybe that’s what made the Phantomhives the nation’s foremost toy makers. It certainly impresses me.” Ciel nodded in reluctant and fake approval, and started heading for the door. However, your contempt for that little comment did not go away, and you kept your glare on the man as you disappeared back inside the manor.

***

        “On tonight’s menu is a dish of finely-sliced raw beef, donburi, courtesy of our chef, Baldroy.” Mr. Damiano stared down at the meat in confusion.

        “A pile of raw beef. And this is dinner?”

        “Yes, but surely you’ve heard of it? This, good sir, is a traditional Japanese delicacy, a dish offered as a sign of gratitude to someone who has accomplished great work. That, sir, is the wonder of donburi!” 

        “Oh, donburi!” He said, as if he actually recognized its name.

        “This is a token from our master, to show his thanks for all your hard work on the company’s behalf. He wanted you to know that it’s much appreciated.”

        Finny, Baldroy, and Tanaka sat in the bushes in front of the table, hidden from the others’ views, silently cheering as Sebastian pulled off his plan perfectly.

        “Now that’s our Sebastian for you!” Finny whispered excitedly. 

        “He saved the day.” Baldroy smiled. 

        “Ho ho ho.” 

        “Excellent, what an inspiring idea! The legendary Phantomhive hospitality in action!” Just then, the doors to the garden opened, and everyone turned their attention to the new figure standing in the doorway.

        “I apologize for being late, brother. I had rather urgent issues to take care of.” You could feel the silent rage directed at you by Ciel, undoubtedly because of your attire. You didn’t change your clothes at all, and someone outside of the manor would certainly have a hard time understanding why a lady such as yourself wouldn’t be wearing a dress. It seemed Ciel tried to hold back his disapproval, but nevertheless gestured to you.

        “Allow me to introduce you to my younger sister, (Y/N) Phantomhive.” You bowed slightly, all rage you showed earlier for the man seemingly vanished. 

        “Pleasure to meet you.” 

        “Ah, so you are the famous Phantomhive sister I’ve heard so much about.” He said, discomfort clearly heard in his tone.

        “I’m flattered, sir. And you must be Mr. Damiano, head of my brother’s India branch. I’ve heard so much about you as well.” You took your place by Ciel’s left side, all the while Damiano’s stare lingering on your clothes. “Don’t worry, sir. My choice of attire is for a reason. I’m not too keen on the taste almost all women have in dresses, and much rather prefer something a bit more comfortable.” Ciel’s eye traveled to yours in an emotion you didn’t care to acknowledge. Damiano quickly turned nervous.

        “Oh no, I didn’t mean to come across that way. I hope I did not appear to be staring.”

        “It’s quite alright, everybody is curious about something.” Reluctantly, everyone began to eat. The awkwardness was saved when Sebastian approached Damiano with Mey-Rin holding a bottle of wine behind him. 

        “The vintage we are pouring tonight was specially selected to compliment the flavor of soy sauce. Mey-Rin.” She refused to move. “Now, Mey-Rin.” 

        “Yes, sir!” She still didn’t budge. Sebastian leaned down and whispered something into Mey-Rin’s ear. You smirked, knowing exactly what her problem was. “Of course! Yes, sir!”

        “Hey.” Baldroy whispered. 

        “What?”

        “Is it just me or is Mey-Rin acting a little strange?” 

        Mey-Rin shakily started pouring the wine, only she wasn’t pouring it in Damiano’s wine glass, but instead right onto the table. 

        “Ah!” Baldroy whisper yelled.

        “Mey-Rin, stop it! Can’t you see you’re spilling the wine!?” 

        Damiano didn’t seem to notice yet, as he was too busy eating his bite of food. Ciel’s eye widened at the forming puddle, and Sebastian’s eyes narrowed in concentration. You watched indifferently while eating your own meal as he grabbed the table cloth and swiftly pulled it out from under the dishes and glassware, all of them barely moving the slightest. Sebastian held the bundled cloth so that the wine puddle was hidden from view, as Mey-Rin realized what she had done and quickly backed away. Damiano looked down at the table in confusion as he finished his bite of food.

        “Oh? Where did the tablecloth go?” Ciel closed his eye and a smirk fell upon his countenance.

        “A speck of dirt, most unsightly. I had the cloth removed so that it wouldn’t distract us. Think nothing of it.” Sebastian bowed low. 

        “Please accept my apologies, sir. Do continue. Enjoy the meal at your leisure.” A smile lit up Damiano’s features.

        “Oh, oh my! Lord and Lady Phantomhive, once again you have truly impressed me. What an able butler you’ve acquired.” You discreetly smirked up at Sebastian. 

        “Pay no mind. He merely acts as befits one of my servants.” Ciel answered. 

        “My master is quite correct about that. Naturally, I’m simply one hell of a butler.” 

        “Humph.” Humph indeed. On the one hand, you wanted to gag at his overrated catch phrase, and on the other, laugh at the fact Damiano had no idea what that phrase truly meant, and what was coming to him.

***

        “That was a thoroughly enjoyable dinner, my lord. Now then, about the contract…” You were back into hiding beside the drawing room window, listening in on the conversation.

        “Before we discuss that, we must finish the game.”

        “Ah, yes of course. I do have a pressing appointment, perhaps another ti-“

        “Children can be very demanding about their games. Surely you wouldn’t want me to get upset.” You were proud of Ciel’s indirect demand, as the look on Damiano’s face showed how he was almost at his breaking point. 

        “No, no of course not. Perhaps you would permit me to use your telephone?” He stood up and made his way to the door, which Sebastian opened at the same time. 

        “I’ve brought some tea for you and my lord.” 

        “I’ll be right back.” You noticed he didn’t even try to hide his annoyance, and you took this as your cue to follow him. 

***

        “I’m tired of babysitting this child earl. Yes, I’ve already sold off the factory. Now all that’s left is to pocket the extra cash. I’m trying to squeeze more out of the brat right now. The employees? Who care about them?” He stopped, staring at the cracked open door behind him and gasped, thinking that he saw something there. But he quickly realized it was nothing and turned around, putting the phone back up to his ear. “Nevermind. The rest of the formalities are for you to deal with. No, it’ll be easy. Please, he’s only a child.” (E/C) eyes glowed from rage. It seemed that Sebastian was already starting the fun, so you set off to start yours as well. 

***

        Damiano walked up the stairs and into the hallway, trying to find his way back to Ciel. He passed the portrait of your parents, when suddenly he stopped. His eyes widened in fear, and as he turned and looked over his shoulder, he saw a white misty face with black holes where eyes were supposed to be overtop Vincent Phantomhive’s head. He frantically wiped his eyes and looked back at the portrait, only to see nothing. “Impossible. I’m seeing things.” You could practically hear Ciel’s haunting voice. 

        Bewitched by the eyes of the dead. Damiano stopped again, then chuckled. 

        “No, that’s ridiculous.” You smirked as he continued walking down the hallway. He had absolutely no idea that the fun was just about to begin. 

        “Huh, not here either.” He said, closing the door and moving on to the next. “Or here. This manor is like a giant maze. I can’t even find the drawing room.” The floor creaked with each step. 

        Bewitched by the eyes of the dead.

        He stopped dead in his tracks, and saw a figure with the same ghost like face he saw before ambling towards him. 

        “Ah! S-Stay away from me!” Damiano stumbled backwards and ran in the other direction, screaming for his life the whole way down. The figure Damiano thought he saw moved sideways, and the light of the hallway revealed the portrait of your parents, which made you stifle back your laughter.

        “That’s odd. Was that our guest I heard just now?” Finny appeared at the rear end of the portrait, looking down the hallway curiously.

        “Hey! You heard (Y/N)! We need to move this, or Sebastian will start yelling again!” 

        “Right!” You smirked. It had been your idea to move the portrait, as you had heard Ciel wished, at this exact time so this trick could be pulled off. You slinked back into the shadows of the hallways, excited to see how the rest of the evening went.

***

        “How embarrassing! I really messed up this time!” Mey-Rin looked up gushing at the ceiling in a daydream. “Oh, but at least I was able to get close to Sebastian!” She gasped and started waving her arms around. “Oh what a shameful day it all! What kind of lecherous maid am I!?”

        Damiano was still running down the hallway, breaths coming out in short gasps as adrenaline pumped through him.

        You lose one turn.

        He heard Ciel’s haunting voice. He tripped, falling down the main stairs and severely twisting his right leg, snapping it in several places. You observed from atop the railings across the side of the stairway he had come from, as he lay at the bottom of the steps. Mey-Rin heard the commotion next to hear and rushed to him. 

        “Sir, are you alright? Ah!” She gasped from shock, covering her mouth with her hands. “His right leg! It’s twisted round. What happened to it?” Just then, Baldroy and Finny approached the bottom of the stairs, still carrying the portrait.

        “Hey, what’s wrong?” Baldroy asked.

        “Our guest! Something’s happened!” Damiano managed to open his eyes and turn his head to the side, where he stared directly at the face of Vincent Phantomhive, but instead saw that ghostly white face from before. It mouthed Ciel’s words. 

        And now you lose one leg in the enchanted forest.

“Ugh!” He grunted and clenched his teeth in pain, but somehow found the strength to start dragging himself on the floor away from the portrait.

        “Sir? Uh. sir? Come back.” You reveled in his cowardice and fear, how he scurried about on the ground, like the scum you thought he was. You snuck away again, without the others knowing you had even been there. 

        Damiano dragged himself through the hall, trying to find an escape, until he was blocked by familiar pair of black pants. His eyes widened, as he looked up, and was face to face with Sebastian, smiling innocently down at him as if nothing was wrong. 

        “Surely you aren’t leaving the Phantomhive manor yet, sir?” 

        “Ah!” Damiano screamed and tried pushing himself away. 

        “We haven’t given you the full Phantomhive treatment yet. We still have dessert to serve.” Damiano tried crawling away from Sebastian, who was now walking at a leisurely pace behind him. You almost burst out laughing right then and there. “You’ve lost a leg, remember? Now you can only move half the number of spaces. So why not just relax a bit and make yourself at home?” Damiano picked up his speed, Sebastian letting him and slowing down his own pace. Damiano came across the nearest door he could find, somehow was able to open it, and once he was shrouded in darkness he closed the door as quickly and quietly as he could. It just so happened that this was the room you were in as well, and you watched as he scrambled around, trying to search for a better place to hide. 

        “Damn, it’s too dark.” The sound of Sebastian’s footsteps got louder and louder, causing a look of panic to cross his face. Out of fear, he scooched backwards until he hit something hard. “Is this a cupboard?” He felt around for a handle, and when he did, he opened the door and crawled right on in. You saw Sebastian’s feet stop right in front of the door just as Damiano shut himself in. Sebastian entered the room, letting light in from the hallway shine on the objects inside. “Damn, these are really tight quarters.” You could hear him sniff something. “What’s this? Smells like sugar.” The space he was in began to light up, and behind him Sebastian opened a small panel, his red eyes peeking through the opening, staring at the trapped man in a condescending manner.

        “What an impatient guest we have. You couldn’t even restrain yourself until dessert was out of the oven” 

        “Th-the oven!? Open up! Please open the door!” He pounded on the metal walls, but unfortunately for him, Sebastian had put the latch down, preventing the doors from opening. Sebastian stood up and put his hand on his head in mock contemplation. 

        “Perhaps the Italians aren’t familiar with our customs. There’s plum pudding, mincemeat pie; there are many traditional desserts here in England that make use of meat. I find them all quite tasty.” Sebastian smirked. Damiano looked up at him in terror and started screaming, begging to be let out, but Sebastian merely closed the panel. 

        Your body is burned by raging flames.

        Damiano let out an ear piercing scream, and when it died down some, it revealed the sound of your roaring laughter. Sebastian smirked, glancing over at your doubled over form on the counter. 

        “I had a feeling you would be down here.” You wiped a tear that escaped your eye.

        “I couldn’t help myself. Didn’t you see his face? It was simply priceless the entire time! Besides, I couldn’t let you have all the laughs.” 

        “Oh really now.” 

        “I asked Finny and Baldroy to move the painting earlier to mess with him more!” 

        “Ah, so that was you.” 

        “Yup, and it turned out to be hilarious!”

        “So, you witnessed everything, did you?”

        “Wouldn’t have missed the show for the world.”

        “I suppose you could call it a show.”

        “Yes, outstanding performance by you, Sebastian. You were excellent as always. Oh, but let’s not forget the star of the show, who’s still screaming for his mommy! Ha!” You laughed once more, and Sebastian’s smirk only widened. 

        “You really are quite the interesting human, aren’t you.”

        “You see, for Ciel’s sake, I’m simply one hell of a sister.” You mocked his catch phrase, causing a chuckle from the butler. “Would you like me to help with the… cleanup?” Sebastian put his hand on his chest.

        “I would be honored, my lady.” 

***

        “What was that? Someone screamed.” Baldroy said worriedly.

        “Don’t know.” Finny shrugged, then noticed two familiar figures walking towards them with trays in their hands. 

        “Oh hi Sebastian! Hi (Y/N)!” You and said butler both smiled.

        “Thank you for your hard work today. As a reward, how would you like some lemon meringue pie? The sugar will give you energy.” Sebastian held out the tray of pies.

        “And we also brought you tea to go along with it. You guys definitely deserve it.” You felt hands wrap around your legs, and sure enough, you looked down to see Finny clinging onto both your knees. You saw Sebastian was suffering the same fate from Baldroy.

        “Thank you so much Sebastian and (Y/N)! Thank you!” You and Sebastian sweatdropped. Once the two boys settled down and let go of your legs, you and Sebastian set the trays down on one of their crates, and they began to happily eat their pies. You both turned to leave, when Sebastian stopped and spoke to Baldroy.

        “Oh, yes, and Bald. A workman will be coming by in the morning. When he arrives, kindly let him know we’ll be needing our oven thoroughly cleaned.” Baldroy tilted his head in confusion. 

        “Huh? The oven?” You smirked and glanced at Sebastian, who did the same to you.

        “Let’s just say it’s… pretty messy.” Baldroy and Finny nodded at your odd statement, but continued eating their pie, trusting what the both of you said.

***

        “Ugh!! Mamma mia!!!!” Ciel laughed across from you as he watched the burnt Damiano stumble away from the manor. 

        “What an unattractive scream. He sounds almost like a pig off to slaughter.” 

        “He kinda was, or at least, almost was. If it were me, I would’ve left him in there to die.”

        “Yes, but allowing him to live means he will suffer for the rest of his life. I thought that more fitting for him.” 

        “Good point, but I still wish he weren’t alive anymore.” He hummed, and looked down at the table.

        “What presumption. First he sells the East Indian Company without telling me, and then he dares to ask me for more money. Did he think to retain my trust?” 

        “And I’m a witness to it. You should’ve heard him on the phone, and when he insulted you I swear I almost jumped him several.” Ciel sighed.

        “You are so impatient, (Y/N).”

        “hey, it’s not like I actually did it, and I pulled myself together for dinner. Even you have to admit that.”

        “Your performance was acceptable. I was actually impressed, except for your attire.” You rolled your eyes.

        “I don’t wear that stuff for anything, especially dinner with a jackass who’s not even going to remember that little detail.” He smirked.

        “Yes, I know.” You chuckled.

        “You really should have come down to watch with me. If you thought his scream was ugly, you should’ve seen his face. Oh, it was the best when he got trapped in the oven!” You laughed, recalling tonight’s events, while Ciel rolled his eye. 

        “I don’t care to see such messy business like that, and neither should you.” You shrugged. 

        “That gluttonous pig deserved it, that’s what makes it funny and enjoyable to watch.” 

        “(Y/N), understand that I not only wish to protect you, I wish to protect your mind, your soul. It’s not proper for-” 

        “I wish I could protect yours.” Ciel’s blue eye widened, shocked. He slowly looked up from the table to see you staring out the window, your head resting on your palm, a forlorn expression adorning your usually playful complexion. Silence passed, neither of you saying a word. He finally closed his eye and sat his elbows on the table, putting his hands to his lips in thought.

        “I’m afraid once something is truly lost, one can never get it back again.” You smiled bitterly.

        “I know.” Ciel again looked up at you. “Hey look, he’s still trying to hobble around out there. You should see this!” But Ciel did not even speak; he merely observed your change of emotion, contemplating your response. You could truly be a mystery to even him sometimes, but at this moment in time, he knew exactly how you felt. It was written all over your face. He knew you felt sorry, sad, for him, yet at the same time acceptance and happiness. You knew it was his choice, and you accepted this, and you were willing to be happy despite this. He figured this is how you got along with Sebastian so well, despite knowing his fate. As Ciel looked at your smile as you pointed and laughed out the window, managing to hold these feelings in not only for him, but for yourself and everyone around you, he knew you really were his able sister. 

        (A/N: Here it is, a whole actual chapter. In case you couldn’t tell by the dialogue, this story won’t be different from the anime except with the addition of your character. I know there are differences in the manga it’s just I haven’t read it so yeah. Anyway, it’s been almost a week since the last day of school, but they’re already making me go back for senior pics, where they’re gonna shove me in an outfit then a white cap and gown, freaking white for Pete’s sake! But besides that, hopefully updates are quicker than they have been, and look out, I’ve still got a lot more to publish. With that, I’ll see y’all laters 🙂 )

Overview:

Found hurt and abandoned by the Phantomhive mansion, you were taken in as an adoptive child, and adoptive sister to Ciel Phantomhive. You were both always happy, and Ciel and his parents loved you as if you were their own. But after the fire, you and Ciel disappeared, only to come back with a mysterious man, the one and only new Phantomhive butler, Sebastian Michaelis. Since you were there during the kidnapping, you knew of Sebastian’s nature and what he was, and being Ciel’s sister, he would make sure Sebastian protected him as well as you, the only other survivor of the Phantomhive fire, the only close family he had left. So naturally, you three were the closest, tightest group anyone could get, and, no one could separate you three. Where Ciel went, you and Sebastian were not far behind. But, among such closeness, there are bound to be consequences…

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Black Butler and its original plot, only your character’s own contribution. I do NOT own any pictures I use unless I say so

WARNING: Cussing ahead

 

 

Prologue:

 

 

      The air was unusually cool this dark night on the outskirts of London. The full moon seemed to glow eerily, shining upon the paved street, illuminating its details perfectly. It was nothing much, just a gray stone road surrounded by grass and a few scattered trees here and there.

        The clip clop of horse hooves could be heard trotting on the stone, cutting into the silence of the night. Two horses, one bay stallion and one bay mare, were pulling a black carriage along the seemingly deserted road. Inside this carriage sat a handsome man and a beautiful woman, who was currently staring out the carriage’s window. The man sat there, admiring the woman before him, yet wondering what was on her mind. The woman let out an audible sigh.

        “Vincent, do you think Ciel is faring well?” The man, Vincent, smiled and lightly chuckled.

        “You worry too much Rachel. I am sure he is perfectly fine with Angelina. They get along so well, and she treats him as if he were her own.” The woman, Rachel, sighed again.

        “I know.” She uttered softly. It was silent for another moment. “It’s a shame she can’t have her own child, she would’ve made an excellent mother.” Vincent smiled once again.

        “I think that’s why your sister loves him so much, he’s like the son she’s always wanted.” Rachel beamed.

        “Oh, just imagine though, if Madame Red could have her own. Wouldn’t that be lovely?”

        “It would. She would be truly happy again. Plus, Ciel would have someone else to grow up with.”

        “That’s all I’d want for her.” The sound of thunder and droplets of rain hitting the carriage and the ground outside drew the couple’s attention to the windows.

        “That certainly came fast.”

        “Yes it did. Such tremendous force too.”

        “I believe it’s a sign to get home as soon as possible.” Suddenly, something caught Rachel’s eyes.

        “Stop the carriage!” She shouted, and the horses immediately stopped their clip clopping. Victor became worried at his wife’s sudden panic.

        “What’s wrong dear?” She ignored his question and swiftly opened the door, rushing outside with Victor following not too far behind. That’s when he saw what caused his wife’s state of panic. There was a small child, a little girl no more than five years old, covered in scratches and blood, stumbling around like a zombie. When she reached the edge of the road she collapsed, her now soaked hair covering her face. “Oh dear.” The couple ran to the girl and crouched down to her level. Victor checked her pulse, and when he couldn’t feel anything, put his head over the girl’s heart.

        “Is she alive?” Victor stilled for a moment, but then suddenly sighed in relief.

        “It’s faint, but she has a heartbeat.” Rachel searched the area around her, looking to see if anyone, specifically people who might be her parents, were there.

        “I don’t see anyone else nearby. She’s alone.” Victor stood up and scooped the child into his arms.

        “We have to get her out of the rain and get her some help immediately. Angelina can treat her. Come on.” The two raced back into the carriage with the child in hand.

        “Step on it! Hurry, please!” The horses instantly picked up speed, galloping on the wet road as fast as they could without risk of slipping.

***

        “Madame Red, when will mother and father return?” A little boy, with short bluish hair and dark blue eyes, asked a woman with short crimson hair styled in a bob cut and matching crimson eyes.

        “I’m sure they’ll be home soon dear, don’t worry! But come on, let’s play some more before they get back!” The little boy nodded his head, and smiled along with the red haired woman. A crack of lightning and the sound of thunder drew their attention away from each other and to the ceiling. “My, it sure is coming down hard. I hope Rachel and Vincent don’t have too much trouble with this.” She glanced at the boy and quickly tried to dismiss what she had just said. “B-But I’m sure it’s actually nothing! They’ll just be traveling slower to avoid slipping is all.”

        “Are you sure they are going to be okay?”

        “Of course I am!” A knock drew the pair’s attention to the front door. “I’m sure that’s them now! Let me go open the door for them.” However, both hadn’t realized juts how frantic that knock was. Madame Red went to the door and opened it, only to find her sister drenched with a look of worry on her face, holding something bloody in her arms. Victor was right behind her. “Rachel, what-?”

        “Angelina, please! You must help her!” That was when her sister revealed the unconscious, wounded child in her arms. Madame Red gasped.

        “Oh my! We have to get her inside, quickly!” She grabbed the girl from her sister and rushed inside, Rachel not far behind.

        The boy watched his mother run into the house, and happily tried to skip over to her, not noticing how distressed she appeared.

        “Hi moth-” He stopped when she paid him no mind and watched as she ran right past him. His father came running by as well, and he tried calling out to him as well. “Father?” Victor ran past him as well, leaving Ciel behind wondering what was wrong. He followed his parents.

        The two women ran into the bathroom and set the girl in the bathtub. Immediately Madame Red felt for a pulse, and thankfully she felt a faint beat. She reached for her tools.

        “She’s still alive, but barely. I have to patch her up quick though, she’s lost too much blood already. If these injuries aren’t sewn then she’ll bleed out. I’ll have to check for internal injuries later.”

        Ciel caught up to his parents only to see his mother and aunt in the bathroom, huddled around the bathtub, and his father standing in the doorway.

        “Father, what’s going on?” Victor looked down at his son and smiled reassuringly as a way to try and dismiss any worry. He knelt down to his eye level and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

        “It’s okay Ciel. Someone just needs our help is all.” Ciel didn’t understand what he meant, but he showed no sign of confusion. “Now whatever happens, you need to stay out here, alright?”

        “Yes father.” Victor smiled, and stood back up, staring at Madame Red as she continued working. Ciel could hear the voices of his mother and aunt, but he couldn’t decipher any of what they were saying. All he could do was be with his father and wait.

        “From the way these injuries look, she was attacked by something, or someone. Did you happen to see anything?”

        “No. She was limping on the side of the road before collapsing. That’s all we saw, there was no one else around.” Madame Red hummed in thought as she continued stitching all of the open wounds. After a few more minutes of tense silence, she finished the sutures and began bandaging the injured areas.

        “She’ll live now, she just has to rest.”

        “We have a spare bedroom that she can stay in for the time being.”

        “Good, let’s get her there quickly.”

        Ciel stood with his father the whole time his mother and aunt were tending to whatever needed their attention. Even when they were finished, his father blocked his line of sight of the two women so that he couldn’t see what they were carrying. He went to follow them to see what it was, but his father stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. Ciel looked up at his father with big innocent and curious eyes, which his father smiled at. “Ciel, I think it’s time you go to bed tonight.”

        “But, I wanna know what-“

        “All in due time, son.” Ciel’s face fell, his sad blue eyes staring down at the floor. “Come on, how about I tuck you in.” Ciel looked back up to his father, and nodded. Victor grabbed a candle from the hallway, took Ciel’s small hand in his own, and led him to his bedroom. The little boy climbed into bed while his father held the candle out so that he could see.

        “Father, why won’t you tell me what mother and auntie were doing?” Victor sighed and sat on the bed as well.

        “It’s very complicated. We just need to sort things out first, then we’ll tell you. Is that alright?” Ciel nodded. A moment of silence passed. “You want to know something?” Ciel looked up with newfound curiosity. “I don’t know too much either. In fact, none of us do.” Now Ciel was beyond confused.

        “What do you mean?” Victor smiled at his son’s expression.

        “It’s been a very long night for all of us. How about you get some sleep.” Victor stood up and walked to the doorway. “Goodnight Ciel.” He blew out the candle, encasing the room in darkness, and closed the door. Soon, Ciel’s racing thoughts exhausted him, and he eventually succumbed to sleep.

        “Do you have any idea who this child is or who her parents are? Do you recognize her at all?” Madame Red questioned Rachel and Victor. They both shook their heads no.

        “I’ve never seen her before, and I don’t know of anyone who could be her parents.” Rachel said while looking to her husband, who was just as clueless as her.

        “Angelina, when do you think she will wake up? Perhaps she could tell us herself.” 

        “It might be a while, a day or two give or take.”

        “Then she should at least stay the night, and meanwhile we’ll go to Scotland Yard in the morning to see if they can do anything, at least spread the word that there is an unidentified injured child. If they can’t do anything, then hopefully she will wake up and be able to tell us who she is and what happened to her.”

        “I will head home tonight and ask around myself. Send for me if something goes wrong, or if you find something out.”

        “We will. Thank you for everything sister.”

        “No problem. Good luck.”

        “Good luck to you as well.”

        Two days passed, and Ciel found that he wasn’t any closer to finding out what had his parents and aunt so fascinated. His father and mother didn’t allow him in the bedroom where the mysterious thing was, and they still refused to tell him what had happened the other night. Constantly he would walk by the locked bedroom and wonder what was behind those doors. Sometimes he would see his parents go in, and even his aunt on one occasion. If he tried to open the door, his father would always stop him, saying ‘not yet son’. On the second night, he went to see his parents in their bedroom, but part of their conversation caught his ears.

        “Nothing’s turned up at all, Victor. Not even from the police.” Ciel stopped in his tracks and pressed his back against the wall and tried to listen in on what they were saying.

        “I know Rachel, I don’t think we have a choice anymore.” He heard shuffling that was approaching his hiding spot, which he took as his que to leave. He ran back to his bedroom as quietly as he could, where he closed the door and sat on his bed, just in time as he heard someone knocking on his door.

        “Ciel? Are you in there?”

        “Yes Mother.” His parents stepped into the room, leaving the door open. Both exchanged expressions Ciel didn’t understand. “I-Is everything alright?” His father looked back to him with a gentle smile.

        “Come on, we have something to show you.” Ciel nodded then hopped off his bed, His father took his hand and led him out of his bedroom. They made their way through the halls, and as they rounded a corner and began approaching the forbidden locked door, his heartbeat sped up. When his father stopped him in front of it, his mind was racing. Finally, the room he spent so long trying to get in, trying to find out what was behind it, he was now going to see what was in there. His father turned the key and pushed the door open slightly. As Ciel entered, it seemed to just be another spare bedroom, but something caught his eye, and he immediately understood what made this room so special.

        There, resting on the bed, was a girl no older than he was. She was covered in white bandages, from the whole right side of her face to her chest, and all on her left arm with some on her other arm. He could still see other features, like her (S/C) skin and her (H/L) (H/C) hair sprawled on her shoulders. To Ciel, she looked so peaceful. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to meet his father’s eyes.

        “Who is she?”

        “We found her all alone and very hurt, so we brought her home to have your aunt heal her.” His mother answered.

        “…Oh.” Ciel was stunned silent, he didn’t know how to respond. All this time they were handling a person! He couldn’t believe it. “Is she okay now?”

        “Yes, she’s way better, but she’s been sleeping for awhile now.” Victor explained.

        “But what does that mean? I thought you said she was okay.”

        “She is, but she was hurt so much that her body needs more time to rest. That’s all.”

        “In fact, your aunt says that she should be waking up very soon.” His mother assured. Suddenly, they heard a small noise coming from the bed, making them all go silent. All three looked to see that the young girl was stirring.

        With a little groan, (E/C) eyes fluttered open, with nothing but bright light in their view. Her head ached all over, and she wanted nothing more than to get the brightness out of her eyes. Her head turned on its own, and her eyes landed on two taller figures, both peering down at her. When her vision cleared, she saw the features of a smiling man and a woman, but she didn’t recognize them. Their faces seemed to hold warmth and kindness in them; she didn’t feel scared of them.

        “Hello dear, how are you feeling?” The woman asked. The little girl blinked.

        “Fine.” She whispered, although they could still hear her, as their smiles widened.

        “That’s good.” The man spoke. “Do you remember your name?” Her mind was blank, nothing came to mind, but after a moment her head started to hurt, and a name came to mind.

        “(Y/N).” Her hand travelled to her aching head out of reflex, and she rubbed it to try and stop the pain.

        “Does your head hurt?” The girl nodded. “Do you remember what happened to you?” This time, the girl shook her head.

        “I don’t remember anything before now.” The two adults exchanged concerned looks, which only made the girl more uncomfortable. “Who are you guys?” They looked at each other knowingly, then turned back to the girl.

        “We’re your mom and dad.” The man said. The two adults felt Ciel’s surprise behind them, but said nothing on the matter. Silence passed.

        “Oh.” Their answer seemed weird to the girl, but it didn’t necessarily feel wrong, and they seemed like really nice people. Their faces brightened up, and her heart felt much lighter. The girl smiled too. They then moved to show a blue haired young boy who looked to be around her own age. His blue eyes were mesmerizing, and she found herself locked on his gaze.

        “And this is your brother, Ciel.” The woman said.

        “Hi.” The girl said in almost a whisper.

        “H-Hi.” He said back.

        “My name’s (Y/N).”

        “A-And my name’s Ciel.”

        “You have really pretty eyes.” A small blush appeared on his cheeks, and he turned away out of embarrassment.

        “T-Thanks. You have pretty eyes too.” She gave him a close eyed smile, and his blush deepened.

        “I like you.” He turned his head away.

        “You seem very nice.” She beamed.

        “Aww, thanks! Say, what do you like?” Ciel looked back up to her, and she could clearly see the bright red on his cheeks.

        “Huh? O-Oh, uh, I-I guess I like playing, and candy and desserts.”

        “I like sweets too! Especially cake! What’s your favorite flavor? Mine’s chocolate!”

        “Ooooo I love chocolate!” Ciel was now at the edge of the bed, looking up at the girl now with a much more relaxed visage, and propping his cheeks up with his hands on the mattress.

        “I also like animals, do you?” Ciel pouted a little, and crossed his arms over the bed.

        “I do like dogs, but I get allergies from cats.”

        “Awwwee! But cats are so fuzzy and clever! And dogs are fluffy and playful, so that’s good that you like one of them then.”

        “Do you have a favorite animal?”

        “Don’t ask such a hard question silly! I love them all! It’s easier to say what my favorite color is.”

        “What’s your favorite color?”

        “That’s easy, its (F/C)!”

        “My favorite’s blue.” She pointed at him.

        “Ha! I knew it! Your hair and eyes are blue, so I knew your favorite color had to be blue!” He blushed, but smiled nonetheless. He then climbed up on the bed and continued to talk with the girl, both becoming oblivious to the two adults still present. They smiled at each other, and quietly left the room. An older man in a black suit stood outside the door. 

        “Tanaka, would you watch the children while we go inform Angelina of the girl’s condition?” Victor asked, and the butler bowed.

        “Of course, sir.” 

        The two children conversed throughout the evening under the supervision of Tanaka, as Victor and Rachel immediately went to Madame Red with the information they had gathered from the girl, which was unfortunately only her name. They had felt bad for lying to the girl, but if they simply introduced themselves as strangers, they figured it would have scared the girl more. Unfortunately, Madame Red still couldn’t turn up any news about the girl even with the new knowledge; she couldn’t even figure out a last name. It was almost as if the girl hadn’t existed before.

        When the two adults came back to the room, albeit disappointed, they found the two children sound asleep, side by side each other. They smiled, and left them be, closing the door quietly behind them. They had no choice but to make a decision, that they would go along with the lie they told the girl.

        You were now officially (Y/N) Phantomhive.

        From that point on, you and Ciel grew up as close and as happy as any siblings could be. You both played together, learned together, even took baths with each other, when your parents made you of course. Ciel never told you the truth of where you came from, and neither had anybody else. His parents explained everything to him, but even still, you were the best friend Ciel could ever have, blood related or not, and that was more than he could ever ask for. It seemed like nothing would ever tear your family apart.

***

        Flames erupted all around the mansion. Tears poured down your cheeks as you stood alone in the burning hallway, trying to find anyone who could help.

        “Mom! Dad! Cie-” You coughed from the large amount of smoke entering your lungs. Your body shook as you forced yourself to keep moving down the hallway. You opened a door you knew well, but the sight made you freeze. You held your hand up to your mouth, as you saw the bodies of your parents and dog, Sebastian, lying on the floor, flames dancing across their backs. “No! NO!” You looked to your left and to your right, and that’s when you found the shadow of a figure you recognized well. You rushed over to Ciel and hugged him. “Ciel!” He seemed surprised, but immediately hugged you back.

        “(Y/N)! You’re still alive!” You sobbed into his shirt as his own tears dripped onto you.

        “Mom and Dad! They’re-” You started coughing, and Ciel took your hand.

        “Come on sis, we need to go!” He ran with you following behind him.

        You both ran down the hallway as fast as you could through the scorching flames while dodging falling chunks of ceiling. When the two of you rounded a corner, you ran into the legs of a tall man. You gasped, but as you both looked up you were met with the distressed countenance of Tanaka. At seeing you two, he pulled you both close to him.

        “You two are alive! I need to get you two out of here now-” The words stopped coming from his mouth as he covered his stomach, now soaked with blood, his blood. His eyes glaze over as he collapsed to his knees and continued holding his gut. You and Ciel took a few steps back, as the knife that had been used to stab poor Tanaka was withdrawn. The man it belonged to smiled sinisterly and began taking long steps towards you. Both you and Ciel turned around to run, but the man grabbed you two and threw you over his shoulders. You beat at his back, screaming for you and Ciel to be let down, but the smoke from the fire caused you to feel more and more weak, and before you knew it, you passed out.

***

“These two are rare ones indeed, and worth a lot of coin, more than four children.” You and Ciel sat tied up in a cage, watching as the transaction took place.

        “Alright, I’ll take ’em from you.” The man dropped coins into your kidnapper’s hand and shoved them in his pocket. You scooted closer to Ciel out of fear, and he in turn did the same to you. Both of you were uncontrollably trembling, knowing full well what may lie in store for you two. The man who ‘bought’ you chuckled and smirked at you.

        “You two are perfect.”

***

People in masks held you down, pressing your stomach against the hard cold floor, as they brought out a brander. You whimpered and struggled against your chains.

        “Settle down, we have to mark you. You’re both such noble beasts, after all, and what’s a beast without its brand.” Your breathing quickened, and you began to cry. “Now hold still.” You sobbed as you felt them lift your shirt up. You struggled even more, but one of the masked men shoved you down and then you felt a huge burning sensation on the middle of your back.

        “Ahhh!!” You squirmed and writhed in pain as your flesh burned.

        “(Y/N)!! No- ah!!” You heard the singe of flesh being burned.

        “Ciel!” You struggled harder, wanting desperately to save your brother, only to have one of the people push you down with their foot.

        “You lot need to learn your place.”

***

You and Ciel sat in your consecutive cages, back to back against the bars that touched the other’s cage. Your knees were pulled up to your chests, and your bangs covered your saddened expressions. Both you and Ciel were completely drained of energy, and overall defeated. You were in dirty rags, chained around your ankles, and beaten with wounds covering your entire bodies.

        “I wanna go home so badly.” You whispered shakily.

        “Me too. I want to see Mom and Dad again.” You heard a tear drip onto the floor.

        “But, Mom and Dad are, are…” You sniffled, then felt something poke your back. You turned around to see Ciel’s hand pressed against the bars, and you did the same, squeezing his fingers with your own. It was the closest thing to contact with each other you two had.

        “I know.” He sniffled as well, and his tears joined yours as they fell to the ground.

        Feet stomping on the tiled floor alerted you two to the masked people who were now approaching the cages. You squeezed Ciel’s fingers tighter, and he did so to yours in reassurance, as well as fear. They laughed as they drew nearer to Ciel’s cage. One pulled out a set of keys and began to unlock the door.

        “Your turn first, boy.” You drew Ciel’s hands as close to you as possible, but it was no use, as they opened the door and effortlessly dragged Ciel out, causing your hands to let go of the other’s. You went to the front of your cage and gripped the bars, watching as they strapped Ciel to the ritual table. You banged and clawed at the bars, trying your best to bust out of them and save your brother, but your efforts only ended in vain. You saw them bring out a knife, and you beat on the bars even more. Ciel cried out as one of the masked men impaled his stomach.

        “Ciel!” Blood spurted from his mouth and he arched his back from the pain. You rammed the bars with your shoulders twice, but when they wouldn’t budge you stopped, your shoulders hurt too much to pull that off again. You could only grip the bars and watched as your brother writhed in agony, unable to do nothing to stop it. You cried as his screams grew louder and you lowered your head, not wanting to see Ciel’s torture. You wished for someone, something, anything, to save you, to free you and Ciel from this hellhole. Please. Someone… help.

Suddenly, a flash of black brought your attention back up to the ritual the men were performing. Your eyes widened as you saw a black shadowy figure just in front of the ritual table, blocking your view of Ciel. The figure’s black wing like limbs were outstretched, and you could see its claws and… the sharp heeled stilettos it wore. You didn’t know what kind of creature wore shoes, or what kind of creature it was in the first place, but you were too mesmerized by its otherworldly appearance and strong dark aura to be concerned. You didn’t even pay attention to what the masked people were now doing.

        After a few moments, the black figure seemed to kneel in front of the table, revealing Ciel’s now stone cold expression. A scream pierced the room, and you recognized it as Ciel’s, making you once again pull on the bars. Then, out of nowhere, something exploded, and the force of it slammed you on the back of your cage. You rubbed your head as you sat up, only to see the whole room engulfed in flames. You panicked, but your eyes landed on Ciel sitting up on the table, and the figure still kneeling in front of him. Around them were the bodies of the masked people, laying in their own pools of blood. You didn’t know what to feel, disgust or relief that they would no longer harm you. Although, the intensity of the flames ravaging the room quickly distracted you from this, and as you looked back up to Ciel, you saw him turn and point at you, the figure as well turning its head to reveal glowing fuchsia eyes, staring right into your own frightened (E/C) ones. The smoke from the flames caused you to cough violently, keeping you from focusing on Ciel and the figure. Before you knew it, you were out cold.

***

You slowly awoke with a splitting headache, and you put your hand on your head in an attempt to stifle the pain. It felt as if you were walking, but oddly, your legs weren’t moving. In fact, you didn’t even think you were upright; it felt like you were pressed against something. As your vision cleared, you could make out that what you were lying against was a black suit. White gloved hands held you bridal style, and as you looked up, you saw a face with pale white skin, short black hair, and blood red irises. Those eyes traveled down to rest on your tired (E/C) ones, but you quickly averted your gaze below, where you saw Ciel walking just a few feet ahead of you with bandages wrapped around the right side of his head. You looked back to those glowing red hues that still stared at your form.

        “You, you’re that demon.” You whispered. You got no response from the man, he merely continued walking. You looked over his shoulder at the building you recognized as the one you and Ciel had been trapped in, only now it was covered in flames. The sight made you smile. Finally, you were free. You pressed your head against the demon’s shoulder and closed your eyes. “Thank you.”

        Sebastian watched as the little girl in his arms once again fell unconscious. He found it interesting that you figured out what he was, but even more so the fact that you felt grateful toward him. He didn’t expect a child to think a demon as their savior, then nestle into him as if he were a true protector. This child was certainly strange, yet amusing, and that made him smirk. He was certainly looking forward to the future adventures to come.

        (A/N: Here’s another story for ya guys! Black Butler time, let’s go! Although, I haven’t watched it in a year… time to binge!! I’ll see y’all laters -D-)

 

 

Chapter 4: Closer and Closer  

 

        “Desine! (Stop!) Desine!” The demon’s pointed blue snout stopped just short of your hand. “Ea est cum meā! (She is with me!)” The demon’s red eyes narrowed slightly, but nonetheless it halted. Slowly, it closed its mouth and stood straight up, and a divine feminine voice spoke.        

        “Stultam feminam (Foolish woman). Tu debes esse plus responsabilis! (You ought to be more responsible!) Paene interfeci eam. (I almost killed her).” You laughed sheepishly.       

        “Me paenitet (I am sorry). Oblivisci te habere hīc. (I forgot that you lived here.)” The demon huffed.         

        “Wow.” You turned around to see Rin gawking at the demon with a look of pure awe in her eyes. “She’s so pretty.” You smiled, then smirked back at the demon, who merely huffed again. You turned back to Rin, took her hand, and slowly led her towards the demon, the entire time not showing any sign of fear. I guess traveling with three demons means she’s gotten used to other demons too… when they’re not trying to kill her at least.    

        “Rin, this is Kaekilla. She’s a water demon. Kaekilla, this is Rin, a new traveling companion of mine.” Kaekilla locked her eyes with the enlarged brown ones of Rin. She flicked her dark blue serpent-like tongue out and huffed slightly.        

        “Est voluptatem congregare te.”        

        “She says nice to meet you.”          

        Just then, Kaekilla swiftly raised her head to something behind Rin, and as the little girl turned around, she smiled from ear to ear.         

        “Lord Sesshomaru!” Said demon looked upon Kaekilla with a subtly questioning look in his yellow orbs as Rin sprinted from the river bank all the way to Sesshomaru and jumped on his pant legs. He paid no mind to her, instead focusing on Kaekilla, while Jaken kept trying to pry Rin off of Sesshomaru.         

        “Qui estne illem daemonium, (Y/N)? (Who is that demon, (Y/N)?) Esne secunta eum circum sicut canem? (Are you following him around like a dog?) Non scivi esse delicium. (I did not know that you were a pet.) ”        

        “Hey! Quid Infernale!? (What the hell!?)” The water demon chuckled.         

        “What are you two saying?” Jaken screeched, momentarily stopping his attempts at trying to sepearate Rin from his master, and raising his staff in anger.  Here we go. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t speak in secretive gibberish in front of Lord Sesshomaru!?” You rolled your eyes.         

        “She doesn’t speak our language, imp. She only speaks Latin.” Jaken crossed his arms, and ‘humphed’ in irritation.         

        “And where did you learn to speak such a language.” You shrugged your shoulders.   

        “I don’t know. I kinda just picked it up.”        

        “Who is she.” Sesshomaru suddenly questioned, or rather demanded an answer.        

        “She is the water demon of this river.”         

        “A water dragon demon.” You turned to look at Kaekilla, puzzled by his statement.     

        “Yeah, I guess she is. What’s so important about that though?” But you got no answer in response, from either the dog or water demon. They stared at each other as if having their own silent conversation, but what they were thinking, you had no idea. After a few minutes of this, Kaekilla broke the eye contact and looked down at you.        

        “Amica tua sinit bibere aquam. (Your friend is allowed to drink the water)” You nodded.         

        “Hey Rin.” At the sound of her name, she turned her attention on you instead of Sesshomaru’s pant leg, where she was still clinging to. “She says you can drink the water if you want.” Her smile grew tenfold, and she bolted back to the water bank. Sesshomaru turned on his heel to leave, but not before giving Kaekilla one last look that you couldn’t quite decipher. He then disappeared through the brush, followed by a still fuming Jaken as Rin continued to drink. Kaekilla huffed, drawing your attention to her.        

         “Non vere oblinda est meam tam facile. (You really shouldn’t forget me so easily.)”         

        “Whatever you say.” Your smile soon turned into a frown. “Quid eratne omnem illum de? (What was all that about?)”         

        “Erat nihil. (It was nothing)”        

        “Vere? (Really?)” Kaekilla’s red eyes remained locked on yours, telling you that she would not answer. The only thing that could be heard was Rin happily splashing the water in the background. You wouldn’t try to force the answers from your demon friend, you knew it would get you nowhere.         

        The orange and pink glow in the sky alerted you to the sunset over the horizon, and you decided it was time to take Rin back to the campsite so that you all could rest. “Come on Rin, it’s getting dark out. We should head back to Sesshomaru, and I’m sure Ah-Un misses you too.” She nodded her head and stepped out of the water, waving at Kaekilla as she did so.        

        “Goodbye miss water demon!”        

        “Vale! (Goodbye!)” You called over your shoulder as you led Rin to the bushes. Kaekilla bowed her head.

        “Vale nam nunc. (Goodbye for now.)” Her body sank back into the river, disappearing with the water, as you and Rin entered the forest.         

        By the time you reached the campsite, the sky was almost black, with only a tiny bit of sunset colors staining the horizon. Rin immediately ran to Ah-Un, who still sat tethered to the tree you tied him to earlier. Sesshomaru was standing at the top of the hill you had been at with Jaken was sitting near him. You decided to collect some wood to start a fire, which didn’t take long, as there were plenty of scattered branches around the field. You dumped them all in a pile, very quickly got a fire started using two of the sticks from the pile, then made your way over to Ah-Un and Rin. As you approached, you heard Rin chatting excitedly about something with Ah-Un.        

        “And then this big huge water dragon came out of the water, and she almost got me, but Miss (Y/N) saved me! The demon spoke some kind of weird language… what did Miss (Y/N) say it was again?”        

        “It’s called Latin, Rin.” You said sitting down, gaining the attention of the little girl. She smiled up at you, and Ah-Un seemed like he was doing the same thing.        

        Welcome back (Y/N).         

        “Hey Ah-Un.”         

        We heard what happened.        

        “Did you now?”        

        Yes, Rin was just telling us all about it.        

        “So I heard.”        

        She didn’t even need to tell us though, we knew what happened as soon as you ran off earlier.        

        “And how did you do that?”         

        It is an ability we have, of course. Rin sat there puzzled, wondering what Ah-Un was talking to you about.        

        “What is Ah-Un saying to you?” You hesitated, looking down at Rin’s large curious eyes.        

        “Just how you were so brave back there, and that we’ve had a long day.” Rin giggled. You glanced at Ah-Un, who casually swung his tail, unreactive to the lie you just told to the little girl.        

        “That is true, and I’m pooped.” It was silent for a minute, as the last ray of sun disappeared under the horizon, and was replaced with a black sky littered with stars. Crackling was heard as the fire you started picked up. “How about I get us some food to eat?”        

        “Really? I usually get it myself.”        

        “Oh really?” You shot a glare towards Sesshomaru. Of course you’d make a child fend for themselves. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that tonight. I’m actually a pretty good hunter.”         

        “As if, human.” You glared at Jaken, whose back was, fortunately for him, facing you.        

       “For your information, imp, I’ve been hunting and gathering food for myself for years.”  

        “Years? How long have you been in these forests?” Jaken questioned you with a scowl.         

        “For a long time, but that’s none of your business.” He humphed.         

        “How long have you lived here?” Rin asked softly. Your frown turned into a slight smile.        

        “Like I said, for a really long time. Years and years.”        

        “With no parents?” Your eyes widened at this, caught off guard by her question. You did your best to try and suppress your discomfort.        

        “Nope. Just me.” Rin seemed to be pondering something, deep in thought, but about what, you didn’t want to find out. You pat her back. “Now how about I go get us some meat. Is that okay with you?” She nodded her head without another word.         

        “Good luck finding any creature about tonight.” Jaken commented, which made your frown return.        

        “Then luck will be on my side. I know I can find something.” You turned on your heel to leave, not before noticing the empty space on the hill where Sesshomaru had been, and made your way into the forest.        

 

        (E/C) eyes stalked the ground below them, watching for the slightest movement of any creature to catch their attention. At night, most creatures didn’t stir from the homes, sleeping the day’s activities off, but you knew that wasn’t all true. Owls hooted and crickets chirped, but from your position up in the trees, there was nothing big enough to sustain everyone at the camp.         

        A rustle of leaves suddenly made you turn instinctively towards the sound. On the ground, just barely noticeable, a group of raccoons scampered about. Luck really was on your side. Crouching low, you stalked ever closer on the branch you were perched on, and just at the right moment, you pounced. As you acquired your kill, you were not aware that you yourself were being watched by a pair of calculating golden eyes.

       

        You returned to the camp, your face radiating with pride as you carried with you your victory trophies. Rin was sitting across from Jaken around the fire, and Ah-Un was lying down next to Rin, both heads resting on the ground. When they heard you coming, Rin turned her head over her shoulder to look at you, Ah-Un lifted his heads up slightly, and Jaken did nothing but look at the ground with his usual scowl.        

        “Back already human? Did you already give up?” Your smug smirk only widened.         

        “I don’t know Jaken, does getting a whole bunch of raccoons count as giving up?” Jaken’s eyes widened, especially at the sight of you holding up the three raccoons you killed.         

        “H-How did you get those so fast? Wait, how did you even see in the dark? You’re a human!”         

        “Told you I was an expert hunter, imp.” Jaken eyed you suspiciously as you walked over to Rin and sat down next to her. He was more than a little curious of how an average human as able to catch animals in the dark. You, however, ignored his glaring and pulled out a makeshift knife, and began skinning one of the raccoons for Rin. If she hadn’t been fending for herself before, you were she would have fainted at the sight instead of happily watching you until you were done. You held out the meat to Rin, inviting her to dig in, but she only appeared disgusted by it. Confused, you pulled it away from her and looked down at the meat, seeing nothing wrong with it yourself. You heard Ah-Un laugh, and you looked to see he was indeed almost smiling through the muzzles he wore.        

        Most humans need to have their meat cooked before they can eat it. Your brows creased with even more confusion.        

        “You need it cooked?” Rin nodded her head, disgust still present on her face.         

        And gutted too.        

        “Gutted too? I’ve always eaten it completely raw.” You shrugged your shoulders. “Okay then, let’s gut and cook these things, I guess.”         

        “I’ll help skin the rest, Miss (Y/N).”         

        “It’s okay Rin, I’ll take care of it tonight.” You began gutting the raccoon, and once you were done you stood up and walked over to the trees, searching for sticks to use to hold the meat over the fire. Finding a few large ones, you stuck the meat you had already prepared onto one of the sticks and returned to your spot at the fire. As you placed the raccoon cabob over the flames, you began skinning the next one for yourself.          

        “Say, Miss (Y/N)?” She asked, tugging on your pant leg as you worked.         

        “What is it?”        

        “How did you meet Kaekilla?” You chuckled.        

        “Well, it was a lot like how you did at first.” Rin tilted her head in puzzlement, and you noticed out of your peripheral Sesshomaru appeared to be listening to you as well, as he had his left ear slightly leaned towards you. “Well…”

***         

        Water. Just a little drop was all you needed. You had gone days on end without it, wandering the forest for ages it seemed, and not a trace of any lake, river, stream, or even a puddle. There hadn’t been rain for weeks; you were running out of options.         

        Just as you were about to give up for the day from exhaustion, you happened to push past a bush and stumble upon a small river. The sight of the flowing water filled your chest with joy. Without a second thought, you sprinted towards the bank, cupped some water into your shaky hands, and drank greedily. You didn’t even stop to consider how contaminated it was, where it was flowing from, or even if there was something else that lurked in the water. You were just so parched, so tired, that this most primal need clouded your judgement.         

        You didn’t see it coming. Only when you heard something below the water’s surface did you begin to back away, and not a second to spare, as something arose from the water. Droplets rained on your entire body, and the water parted reveal a large creature with a long scaly figure, its most concerning features being a long snout full of razor sharp teeth and terrifying glowing red eyes. It growled, and you rolled out of the way as the creature lunged at you, its long maw snapping and claws slashing. The creature missed, but immediately shot a stream of scolding hot water at you, which you barely dodged. However, some of the water grazed your shoulder, sending searing hot pain down your arm.        

        What you now knew to be a demon growled in front of you as you clutched your injured shoulder. For a second, you thought you could make out jumbled words, but you had no time to ponder this as you dodged another shot of broiling water.         

        “I didn’t know this river was your territory! I’m sorry!” You yelled, trying to calm the demon down, only to end in vain. You heard it again, the words, only this time you could make out what the feminine voice was saying. Although, they were words not native to your tongue.     

        “Foeda humana! (Filthy human!) Decede! (Leave!)”         

        “Me paenitet! (I’m sorry!) Non ego ausa sum inruere! (I did not intend to intrude!)” The words came out of your mouth before you even had time to think about them. The demon stopped in, presumably her, tracks, staring at you with those narrowed crimson eyes.         

        “Intelleges meam (You understand me.)” You didn’t know how you could understand her, much less speak her language, but you found yourself nodding anyway at the demon’s question. Her long, slender, serpent-like form further emerged from the water, and you noticed now that she resembled a giant water wyrm. “Quid estne tua nomine? (What is your name?)” You slowly began to approach the demon, who now did nothing to stop you.         

        “(Y/N)” You stopped just in front of her jaw.         

        “Mihi nomen est Kaekilla. (My name is Kaekilla.)” You bowed out of respect, acknowledging your new friend, staring into those glowing red eyes as she did the same into your (E/C) ones. A connection had been born.

 

***         

        “After that, she allowed me to use her river, and I’ve basically known her ever since.” You said while finishing the rest of your raccoon, which you had decided to cook so as not to disgust Rin.         

        “Wow, so she tried to eat you too.”        

        “Sorta.”         

        “Do you have anymore stories?” You raised your brow at the sudden change of topic, while also thinking about other ‘exciting’ events in your life.          

        “Perhaps, but maybe tomorrow night. It’s getting pretty late, and you should get some sleep.”        

        “But I’m not sleepy.” You smirked at her tired tone and the way she was rubbing her sleepy eyes. She yawned, and you raised a rather sarcastic brow.         

        “Oh really?” She paused.          

        “Maybe just a little.” She yawned again.          

        “That’s what I thought. Well, I’m tired too, so how about we all hit the hay.” Rin whined, but you assured her it was for the best. “Jaken, could you douse that fire for us?” You said quickly as you walked over to the tree Ah-Un was still tethered to.         

        “Do I look like a slave to you?”         

        “Thanks!” You said, before he could yell at you anymore. You could hear him fuming, but nevertheless, he did eventually douse the fire. At the tree, you jumped from branch to branch, until you found one high enough with a good view of the moon. You slumped down on the branch and put your hands behind your head as you leaned against the trunk.         

        Staring at the moon, you began to get lost in your racing thoughts. So much had happened to you in the course of a day. For so long you had been on your own, barely any other contact with anyone, human or demon. Now you were traveling with three demons and a little girl, an unlikely situation you could have never predicted in your lifetime. Rin was a little sweetheart, Jaken was just fun to mess with, Ah-Un was a great friend albeit very stubborn when discussing matters around you, and Sesshomaru…         

        You glanced down at the hill to see him there, back from wherever he had disappeared to earlier. He was odd, quiet and reserved, and not a demon of many words. He was more bite and no bark, ironically befitting a dog demon, and this was demonstrated by the scratches he gave you this morning to prove a point, whatever it was. Speaking of your shoulder, it had healed a while ago, of this you were certain, but you still found it hard to believe that his apparent poison had no effect on you. If it was so deadly, why were you not dead right now?         

        Lifting up your cape, you saw the white cloth Rin had given you this morning wrapped around your shoulder, where dried blood still caked its surface. You unwrapped the cloth to reveal no scars, scratches, dried blood, nothing to show that there had been three deep claw marks there just this morning. It came as no surprise to you though, you knew your wounds would heal quickly, that’s how it had always been if you had any kind of injury. But you wondered what this truly meant if a demon like Sesshomaru was so interested in that fact, and you began to wonder if he knew something you didn’t.         

        You found yourself gazing back down at Sesshomaru, who was staring at the moon as you were, and you then began to think of the mysterious business he had at Mount Hakurei. There was nothing you could think of that he would want, and you doubted he would even fathom telling you. Whatever it was though, at least he allowed you to travel with his group. They really started growing on you, at least Rin and Ah-Un did. Jaken… not so much, but it was still such a break from the loneliness you had grown so accustomed to that it didn’t seem as bad to you anymore.        

        Sighing in content, you stared up at the many stars that littered the sky. A yawn slipped past your lips, and your eyes began to droop, wishing to close right then and there. Wow, I really am tired. You chuckled at yourself, then wrapped yourself up in your cape as you did every night, and drifted off to sleep.        

        Little did you know, you had not been the only one wondering about the topic of yourself tonight. Just as you had been eyeing Sesshomaru, he had been eyeing you as well. His golden orbs were currently locked onto your sleeping form, and just below he saw Ah-Un curled at the bottom of the tree directly under you, with Rin huddled in his lap, sound asleep herself. He recalled the odd way his dragon was acting around you as well. The attachment the dragon demon held to you was unusual, even more so the fact that you could understand him somehow. In fact, he was surprised you spoke an ancient language, the one you used to speak to the water dragon demon, yet you claimed to have never officially learned it. He had also listened to your story of how you befriended the water demon, as well as observed your hunt of the raccoons.         

        To him, you seemed less a human and more of an animal, but it was not in the same as how he viewed other humans. It wasn’t that he was necessarily, albeit somewhat, disgusted by you, but you truly acted as if you were not human, rather something else more wild. By far though, the strangest thing about you was how you were unaffected by his poison claws. Nothing before had stood a chance against them, even the vapor was deadly to whoever was unlucky enough to smell it. But when he attacked your shoulder tis morning, it was almost as if the poison disappeared on contact with your skin, despite having practically melting the tree right behind you. He had absolutely no explanation for that, and he also had none for why your injuries from your first encounter with him had all but disappeared in the short span of a night or how you a human such as yourself survived that many number of serious injuries. Even the marks he inflicted you with this morning had stopped bleeding in a matter of minutes. It was clear to him you were no ordinary human, and as he stared back at the moon, one question ran through his mind. 

        Who truly was this human, and where did she come from?

 

        (A/N: Wow, I banged this out in mostly a day, that’s the first time that’s happened in a while! Ha! Well, look, I’m getting my updating together now that it’s the last week of school. All we have are finals the next two days ((which are half days and honestly nobody cares about)) then the last day of school which is also a half day. After that, it’s summer break! I’ll have much more freedom, which is weird because all I’m thinking about is how I no longer have a crapload of homework. Also, I’m gonna publish some other stories that are already partially written so that you guys can read them and see what you think. I will say, most of them are not fanfics, but I don’t wanna give too much away about what they are just yet >;) ((no, they are not lemons don’t even get any ideas)) . And with that, I’ll hopefully see y’all laters X) )