Kuroshitsuji Fan Fiction ❯ Commodities ❯ Chapter 2: Have You Forgotten? ( Chapter 2 )

Commodities: Chapter 2

Sebastian could feel Ciel's frail body convulse against him in agony. Even in the quasi-unconscious state he forced him into couldn't stop the body from rebelling against the torture. The boy's feet slid helplessly against the dirt as if trying to break away from the demon's embrace as his clenched and unclenched with each death wave.

The demon had to admit, it felt very good to hold Ciel in his arms as he died. His soul was so thick, like a rich broth studded with morsels of fine meat and delicate vegetables. His essence was twisted and bitter, yet compassionate and innocent. It was a heady cocktail he would savor for hours to come, take in slowly. Ciel was a rare wine to his palette, complex and yet thoroughly enjoyable in every way. There was just so much to him, cloaked in a velvety wrap of pain and despair.

He pushed closer against his victim, bringing one leg to rest on the bench while the other steadied him on the ground, half straddling the boy. He wrapped both arms firmly around his small body, pressing close as he tucked Ciel's head beneath his chin. If there had been anyone to pass by, the scene would almost have looked protective; a young boy sheltered by his guardian. Only the fluttering bird-like movements of the boy would warn otherwise. The shivers of pleasure from the demon would go unnoticed, unless someone got really close.

Sebastian could feel his arousal tight against the fine fabric of his trousers. It was normal for him to get hard while devouring a soul, though when it pressed insistently against the naked chest of his young dying master, it seemed very vulgar and classless.

He tilted that part of himself away momentarily, trying to focus on just the sweet feelings he was getting from the boy's essence, but found himself pivoting back to where he was, relishing in the physical contact. There was no one to see him there, no one to witness how his basest and most inappropriate desires manifested. It wasn't even a lust for Ciel's body; it was just a side effect of devouring his soul. He couldn't get close enough, couldn't enjoy him enough, it was intoxicating.

When it was over, Sebastian pulled away from his former master's body regretfully. The bloodlust high he had thrown himself into began to ebb, leaving a dark calm in its wake. He assumed the sensation was something like human loneliness, or regret. But he couldn't be sure. Unlike humans, demons were not beings of emotion. Those that found attachment to such things generally perished. It was an affliction that did irreparable damage to the mind, impairing judgment and demolishing the need for self preservation. It was a death sentence.

It was not impossible for such a thing to occur though. Sebastian knew that if given enough time, he could have found emotional attachments to Ciel. Luckily he had been savvy enough to know the boy would not live long enough for that to be a danger. Seekers of revenge, in his experience, cut to the chase as fast as they could with the hatred still hot in their veins. Ciel had taken awhile longer than most of the humans he had made such contracts with for revenge, but his age and general fragility accounted the slow hunt.

He knelt in front of the boy, carefully buttoning the now crumpled dress shirt he had ultimately died in. Each clasp was like a lock to his heart, hiding Ciel's body from his eyes as much as it closed away each memory they shared. He wouldn't ever say the memories meant nothing to him, but they would never have the same meaning as if the boy had shared them with a human. Memories, like emotions, translated differently to his demonic mind. They were much more flitting and brief because of his immortality. The last four years were like months to him, maybe less. It was a short stay in the human world, posing as a human. Would his next contract be that way? It was always such a mystery before he was summoned.

He touched the boy as if he was made of snow, mindful that a heavy touch would melt him away. He didn't want that just yet. It was why he hadn't completely devoured the soul. He wanted a few more minutes before committing him to Hell, just one more fleeting memory to add to his collection, just a little longer to watch the flickering candle flame known as Ciel's existence burn in quiet repose. In Hell, he would not be so peaceful. His soul would twist and writhe eternally, flame burned and consumed by flame; Paradoxical, but terribly accurate.

He gently pressed the round brass buttons of Ciel's coat back into place, straightening the lapels so that they folded evenly against the boy's chest. He wished there was a white rose to place in the breast button hole. It would have been fitting. Since there was not, he lifted the silken black tie from where it had fallen to the ground and adeptly tied it around Ciel's neck. It was not the usual bow that his former master chose when Sebastian dressed him every morning, but the long kind. Sebastian wondered if Ciel had chosen it to match his own, “What a silly thing to do, young master. It does not suit you.”

Sebastian sat down beside his lifeless master, pulling the boy's body over until his head rested against his thigh. It was not the same as sleep, but for a time he figured he could pretend it was. The sun reigned down peaceably, lending light without sparks of heat. The breeze hallowed through the ruins gently, lending a soft sort of music in the absence of bird songs. The island was a strange place between worlds; alien to both Earth and Hell in its timeless feel. Like both worlds could go on while it stopped here. No birds, no bugs, just the sandy shore with no waves, the trees that did not whisper in the breeze, and the stoic ruins. It was as if only the wind knew the truth of it, sailing from one world to the next and back again. It knew, but it wasn't going to tell anyone.

The demon gently ran his fingers through Ciel's silvery hair. It was unlike any human hair he had ever encountered in his long existence. It was as fine as spider silk and so soft that even as his fingers carded through the tussled locks he wasn't sure he was touching anything at all. He guessed Ciel had gotten his hair from his mother. It looked very soft in the paintings he had seen of her. Not that it mattered now. The boy would never pass that trait or any other on to children, no one would. As the last of the Phantomhive clan, his soft hair, his lovely blue eyes, and his refined features would be forgotten with him.

Elizabeth his cousin, though beautiful in her own right, did not have any of the fine qualities his master did. His master? No, he wasn't that any longer. He was another human soul, fallen prey to the collection of the demon Sebastian. A small, damaged soul that had been savored and would soon be condemned to Hell.

“Demon,” a voice called, “Have you forgotten your debt to me?”

A scowl rippled its way across the demon's face. How dare that woman tread here, interrupting the final moments of his contract. It was so classless, so common. Sebastian turned his head up to the crumbling wall top, following the voice back to its emanation.