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phxntomhives · 9 months ago

Text

"The parade of battlers" analysis

SINCE NO ONE IS DOING THIS??? WHY??? I WILL DO IT

Hopefully my wrong takes will trigger someone and you all will get a decent analysis

Eng lyrics because I don't know japanese are from the official music video! Also warning, English isn't my mother tongue.

Lost in an unacceptable tragedy

An unfading warmth quivers blue in the depth of my eyes

Stifling impurities leave keloid scars and

Even now, still mourn for days gone by, never to come back

Staking my life, spitting blood and vomit

All I want to do is lead a beautiful life

But why can't you hear

Me telling you not to stumble

Love turning on its head, fiction caught in a tangle

Say bye bye to mundane concepts

See how the compensated formless stand imposingly

Their presence is a sight to behold

Rip apart, drag and reveal

Throw away all inferiorities

Even the raw emotions of cursing someone

Take them in like an offering

Just skilled at pretending to be human

Searching for those other than monsters

Like the blue shimmer of

A star of the first magnitude

Far from having enough faith

This utterly ridiculous destiny won't retreat

Fill the air with the echo of the marching boots

Let the parade of the lonely ones begin now

Everything in this world, there isn't much

Difference between the atrocious or noble as you think

Somewhere up in the sky, someone is making selections

To ensure the cycle of birth and passing is upheld

Though we have prayed and knelt down

Our prayers have been cremated

And ignored with a "So what?"

So kind

A colorless encounter, pupils of glass

Thought they may shatter to pieces,

You laugh your head off, saying, "you must be kidding"

You give the finger as you spew poison and let it all out

Scorched, boiling and trembling

A blazing fire from the past still smolders

That remorse still within me

I'll burn and retaliate in full

There is no such thing as eternity, so

There is no ending until all turns to ash

Then why not play

With fire in a refined manner?

No more need for empty rhetorics

Such hollow, scathing criticism

Burn this ceaseless stone-throwing

The parade of the lonely ones has just begun

There's no love, no love, there's no love there

There's nothing, there's nothing, there's no truth

There's just one, just one

In this world, just one person, one person

Question fanatically and

Live the shit out of this world

ANALYSIS UNDER THE CUT BECAUSE THIS BITCH IS LONG

ALSO MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA!!!

Yana, dear, are you sure this is the intro for the Weston college arc??? And not the blue cult??? LIKE, REALLY REALLY SURE??? My comprehension of text can be lacking in more than one way and I just followed the vibe but... I don't think I am that wrong on some points? You are seeing it too, right?

I feel like the song has a mix of present, past and future along with different POVs and I hope I have been able to separate them well.

The colors are just to show the lyrics and i changed it because pretty.

What I can actually connect to Weston Arc

"Then why not play with fire in a refined manner? / No more need for empty rhetorics Such hollow, scathing criticism. / Burn this ceaseless stone-throwing" Which could very much be related to O!Ciel's pyromaniac episode lol. He didn't forget

"The parade of the lonely ones has just begun" : at this point the "parade of the lonely" could very much be the parade of the bizzare dolls considering the amount of reference there is to them. And it would be nice considering in this case the sentence is right after the stone-throwing Purple house, since the students were "transfered" in the there.

If the previous point is correct then also here, we are talking of the bizzare dolls: "This utterly ridiculous destiny won't retreat / Fill the air with the echo of the marching boots / Let the parade of the lonely ones begin now". I guess the "echo of the marching boots" could be the sound the dolls made before getting free during the midnight tea party? As for why they don't retreat well, we have seen they aren't exactly rational for now.

"Scorched, boiling and trembling / A blazing fire from the past still smolders / That remorse still within me /I'll burn and retaliate in full": this could be a description of what O!Ciel is feeling in general. His determination coming from everything that happened is still going strong.

Onestly, these are the only thing I can see strictly related to the present and this arc in particular lol. Everything else goes deeper.

Memories of the past

This part will likely make the least sense, because I am still sobbing over the whole past ok.

"Lost in an unacceptable tragedy Even now, still mourn for days gone by, never to come back": We all know the past. The safest bet is that O!Ciel is mourning, but is he? He never had the time to mourn, he moved immediately to revenge and working for the queen. So either this is just to hit us in the feeling, or maybe it's my favourite victim of this analysis: Undertaker. Could it be him? Possibly, but this being O!Ciel breaks my heart more. I am excluing R!Ciel because at the moment of Weston arc his version should not be that complex. And Sebastian is Sebastian.

"Staking my life, spitting blood and vomit /All I want to do is lead a beautiful life / But why can't you hear / Me telling you not to stumble": I feel like this either O!Ciel talking to himself, admitting that he would like to just be happy but still forcing himself to be strong and act to revenge his family. Or, high on copium, the first part is O!Ciel's wishes and the second part is O!CIel using the R!Ciel allucination make himself stronger (I doubt it, but it adds to the sadness).

"Rip apart, drag and reveal / Throw away all inferiorities /Even the raw emotions of cursing someone /Take them in like an offering": I got the epiphany after several times of reading this and yes it's about revenge hatred yadda yadda yadda. But what if, in particular, it's related to the moment when O!Ciel summoned Sebastian? I think it's the only time I remember "offering" being mentioned/relevant in the manga. O!Ciel is throwing everything away for revenge, assuming a new identity. So this could be either O!Ciel talking to himself during that desperate time. Or, just to hurt myself more, him allucinating again a conversation with R!Ciel where R!Ciel is the one that is saying all this. I will go cry now, brb.

"Everything in this world, there isn't much /Difference between the atrocious or noble as you think / Though we have prayed and knelt down / Our prayers have been cremated /And ignored with a "So what?" " : God, this section is killing me. Memories of when the twins were captured, For them and all the other children, it was an atrocious experience, while the nobles were truly thinking they were in the right, that there was nothing wrong in what they were doing. They believed to be noble enough to be above everything and ignored absolutely everything in regards to the children.

Undertarker is not being subtle. Like at all.

Somewhere up in the sky, someone is making selections/To ensure the cycle of birth and passing is upheld: here I am conflicted. Undertaker is sure making selections when he is creating the bizzare dolls "you get to be revived. you don't". But at the same time he is not uphelding anything. He is doing the opposite infact. Unless this is supposed to just describe the Shinigami's role to show how Undertaker is going in the opposite direction.

There's just one, just one/In this world, just one person, one person/Question fanatically and/Live the shit out of this world: we only really see two characters question stuff: O!Ciel with the murder of his family and Undertaker with the Cinematic record ways of working. Now, i don't really see O!Ciel "question fanatically" and "live the shit out of this world", while we can debate about how "fanatically" he is searching for the culprits, how are you telling me he is living his best life? He is surronded by trauma, has to go on a mission for the queen every other day, has to live as his dead twin and in this specific arc he has to act all cutesy and adorable when he hates it. He is far from any best life I am more surprised he didn't become histerical yet honestly. The one that IS living his best life is Undertaker (well... more or less). In the Weston Arc he did say he was enjoying being the headmaster. Plus he could make some more esperiments on Derek&co which, on top of that, were mostly successful! Do you know how much serotonin a succesful experiment gives you? A LOT. TRUST ME.

Bizzare Dolls (BD for short because I am lazy)

Well, ofc they are the protagonist of the animation, they are everywhere in the song too.

"An unfading warmth quivers blue in the depth of my eyes / Stifling impurities leave keloid scars and": Are the BD warm? Idk, but I don't think so? A body is warm when the blood is running because the heart is pumping it. Do BD have a working heart tho? I doubt the original version do, but what about the new and improved versions? Agares could have probably be our best bet but he always wore gloves (even when he was alive) so we don't really know.

Warmth aside, what I am quite confident IS a reference to the BD is the keloid scars. I did a reseach and a keloid scar is a "scar keeps growing and becomes bigger than the original wound. They are developed after a skin injury". The scars we have seen are O!Ciel's scar from when they marked him, or the BD's "surgery" scars?

Ofc it could be just metaphorical about the trauma just keep on growing in O!Ciel. Maybe it's more this one but again, I am take things directly

"Love turning on its head, fiction caught in a tangle/Say bye bye to mundane concepts/See how the compensated formless stand imposingly/Their presence is a sight to behold": cambridge dictionary say that "turn something on its head means to cause something to be the opposite of what it was before". Apparently, there are many things that are the opposite of love, depending on your source: hatred, fear, indifference. I think in this case, since we are talking of the BD, we can use indifference. They aren't moved by real emotions at this moment (Weston arc) and even later, they are probably fake emotions based on fake memories (from the orphanage children but I will not elaborate, other theories have done it better). Fear could also work since well, most people are rightfully terrified of them. Being far away from mundane concepts? I would say they fill this box. And they sure are a sight to behold, nothing against it. What confuses me is the "compensated formless" I don't have any idea of what it could mean

"Just skilled at pretending to be human / Searching for those other than monsters + Like the blue shimmer of / A star of the first magnitude / Far from having enough faith": We are looking at the current arcs here in the first lines. The one skilled at pretending to be human and searching for things is Sebastian (it can't be O!Ciel because he isn't pretending to be human). What he is searching is the headmaster, that we know being Undertaker and it ends up bringing with him, again, the BD. In particular, it specifically mentions R!Ciel. You know what is the name of the biggest star of first magnitude that is currently known? Yeah, you are correct, it's Sirius. And we have known Ciel is Sirius for a while now. As to why the star does not have lot's of faith, do I have to remind you "Dear God, why are you smiling?".

"So kind /A colorless encounter, pupils of glass /Thought they may shatter to pieces,/ You laugh your head off, saying, "you must be kidding"": Listen, I have seen a couple of people mentioning "oh it's a reference to monochrome no kiss". But I don't think that's the case, not completely at least. I think this is a parallel of O!Ciel and Sebastian's meeting to R!Ciel and Undertaker. First because one of the people involved is laughing, and Sebastian smirks but has never really laughed out loud, the one that spends his time laughing is Undertaker. Second is the pupils of glass that can shatter to pieces. I wonder if it means that R!Ciel could be using glass balls for his eyes? When we have seen his not-completed form they look pretty empty and they are made of soft tissue, so maybe Undertaker changed the "real eyes" with glass? Idk. The shattering could also indicate the fragility of the BD that are still far from perfect.

There is no such thing as eternity, so /There is no ending until all turns to ash this made me scream Undertaker's BD because we know he needs a full budy for the creation of his dolls and bringing back to life his loved ones. And we know he can't bring back Vincent because his body was too ruined by the fire. So fire IS the only ending in which a person can just die with no possible interference from a Shinigami with resurrection intent.

Tragedy twins

I had no idea of these lines other than, it just fits the vibes. Until I remembered how much Yana likes to mirror the twins.

There's no love, no love, there's no love there: this one is R!Ciel singing. Undertaker may have started to work on the BD out of grief for his loved ones, but it feels like it turned into an obsession.

There's nothing, there's nothing, there's no truth: let's add some angst because this one was not enough. O!Ciel never gets to discover the truth behind the murder of his family before he dies. Maybe we, as readers, can see it. Maybe from Sebastian's eyes. But yeah, we don't have a guarantee that O!Ciel will ever know anything, he could just die with Sebastian being unable to prevent it (either because it happened due to a Shinigami, or maybe an angel or god knows what).

But of course, we can also swap them! O!Ciel was so confident people wouldn't have liked him coming back alive and so started the whole identity swap, so he could still feel like the love he is receiving now is fake, since it's built on a lie. While R!Ciel's truth could now be either the murder or the family again, or the fact that he isn't "real" now. He is a BD, his action and thoughts are based on memories that are likely not his own. He has become a fake, a lie. "There is no truth" because that is a BD similar to him, and not necessary him.

I am exhausted I haven't thought about something this much since my thesis. Yes some of them are quite the stretch, hopefully I will trigger a smart person and finally we get a good analysis. Meanwhile you have to deal with me. Feel free to add your opinions pls, I love hearing theories.

PSA: I have formatted this half on computer and half of phone so idk how weird the formatting is I will check again tomorrow, now I'm tired of rereading it.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #kuroshitsuji theory #kuroshitsuji theories #ciel phantomhive #I'm tired #I put my soul here #I'm exhausted #But it was fun

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darkdevasofdestruction · 5 months ago

Text

Chapter 13 - My Most Precious Treasure

"FIRE!!!" the wails from the residents of the Violet Wolf dormitory resounded through the whole courtyard, as dark smoke and blazing fire was slowly but surely beginning to engulf the place.

"Everyone, seek refuge outside!" Cheslock guided the students. "Hurry!"

"Sebastian, find Derek!" Ciel ordered his demon butler as the two were hiding away and watching the chaos unfold before their very eyes. "Did he come out?" Ciel watched the tens and hundreds of students of all ages rush out in waves, but to no avail.

"Not yet." the demon informed, also surprised at the missing student.

"Room leaders, do a roll-call and report to the prefect!" they could hear the instruction from up the hill.

"Violet - Raymond is missing!" Cheslock and Violet shared a look of terror, looking at the terrifying flames before rushing inside the house.

"VIOLET! CHESLOCK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET BACK HERE - IT'S DANGEROUS!" Ciel gasped at what he heard - Why hadn't Katrina left already?

"Sebastian, go save her!" the boy ordered, only to see the three students manage to stumble out of the burning building, covered in soot and ashes. Though Ciel couldn't see well the small figures, the demon could - Katrina was struggling to breathe, coughing desperately and stumbling on her feet.

"I can't... I can't... Breathe..." he could see her small form falling to the ground in violent fits of coughs, before blood emerged from her mouth - He wasn't sure if it was caused by the smoke inhalation and she had a respiratory problem, or it only worsened her mysterious underlying condition that made her vomit blood once getting hit during cricket. Either way, she was in a bad shape.

"Hang in there. Come on, look at me. Easy. Try to breathe - Slow and steady." Violet cupped her face trying to even her erratic breathing while Cheslock tried to shield them away from the public eye, putting his coat over the lady.

"You have to get better. We can't get you to do the doctors unless you want them to tell on you for being a lady." the fag reminded her, taking a ribbon out to tie away her gorgeous and long hair that was getting in the way like a crimson cascade of flames.

"I-I'm good. I'm... I'm good. Thanks, you two." once her breathing got a little better, she struggled to get up. Aided by the two, they went to a safer place, continuing to keep her away from the other students.

With Violet confirming that everyone was present and accounted for, Ciel realised that Derek Arden, nor the other transfer students, were ever inside the Purple House to begin with. What's more, he watched the other Prefects and Fags gather around Violet and Cheslock, fussing over them, and over the lady especially, and trying to make sure everything was alright. With the way they were shushing around, the P4 were definitely hiding something important about the people of concern.

Thanks to the common effort of the four Houses working together, and Michaelis using Soma's elephant, they were able to put out the fire in record time. Though Violet desperately tried to keep them from getting inside the house, Prince Soma gave a rather impressive speech about protecting people over keeping your pride. How very interesting, Katrina thought, keeping the coat tightly around her body. She wish she could help, but she feared she would actually get dizzy and faint from the smoke and effort... So she just... Sat down on the grass and watched the flames unfolding.

She knew who did this. It was no doubt about it. No incident like this ever happened to Weston. It was the Dog's hand.

With a few days passing, Ciel realised there was no way to find anything through the students, and Sebastian mentioned Katrina's off-comment about not being able to find Derek; So the only way of solving this mystery was by meeting the principal - And the only way of doing so was by being so intriguing that the principal would choose him for the Midnight party. He did want to win the tournament, yes, though he was well aware not only was he in terrible physical condition compared to the Green and Red houses, but so were the rest of the Sapphire Owl students. No matter - He was going to use his cunning to win not only the Cricket tournament, but the principal's favour also.

And thus, June 3rd came by, and it was time for the first day of the event, which was sort of a formal ball. When she was little, her brother had her attend these balls with Edgar and the Viscount - And once Edgar was accepted into Weston, she would attend as his partner. Now, however, she was a part of the House of Weirdos, and had a lot of fun dressing up, doing her make up and taking care of all the special effects, the purple smoke and what not.

Come evening, the Large dining hall was packed to the brim with people, all of them acquaintances or relatives of the very many students attending the courses of the prestigious Weston College. "I'm sorry to disturb your talk. Everyone - I welcome you to the opening ceremony of the traditional 4th of June Cricket Tournament." began the vice-president's speech. I am glad we are able to open the tournament safely again this year. Please enjoy this night-before-feast." everyone was waiting for this event more than anything in their entire life. "Now then! Will the dormitory's presenting players come forward!!" Agares called out loudly.

The rumbling of the dining hall seemed to get people cheering excitedly, knowing very well that the Green Lion house was going to present themselves. "They never let any of the other dorms overtake them in overwhelming physical ability or team effort!" the Vice-President called out the Green House, and the disciplined players, all garbed in knight-like armor and weapons pranced forward in a military position. "TOP OF THE WORLD - GREEN LION!" all of them had hard and stern expressions on their faces; Greenhill held the flamed torch of the Lions, whilst Edward, right behind, held the flag.

Suddenly, it started flowing around with red rose petals, and people started cheering for the most beautiful and elegant House. "They charm the visitors with their beautiful play." all of them wore regal outfits fitting for kings, expensive furs, heavy gold and royal velvets, all of them holding rose. "BRILLIANT EDEN - SCARLET FOX!" Edgar was holding the ornate three-armed chandelier, while little Harcourt was bearing the stindard. All the ladies were swooning over their grace and gallancy.

The lights turned off, frightening everyone to the core. Purple smoke filled the room like a mystical miasma, and spots of purple fire announced the appearance of the eccentric artists of the purple house. "They confuse their opponents with their unforeseeable tricky play." so tricky, in fact, that they didn't even use the door to enter the dining hall. All of them had heavy, dark make up and their nails painted dark and purple, their faces white like ghost, emulating the deathly look of a necromantic hermit. "GHOST LEGION - VIOLET WOLF!" Violet was leading, holding a wolf-skull staff holding a purple-fire lantern in its maw; Cheslock was holding the flag, and Katrina's own staff was flowing the violet miasma of death into the room, and she, with the rest of the players, with their hoods up, were cackling creepily for the added horror effect.

With the lights being lit up again, the hall was filled with the gentle hoots of the owl flying around, announcing the presence of the last House. "They aim for an opening to win with their game-making strategies." looking like the most illustrious scholars, the Sapphire Owl players stepped forward, raising their elbows up so the birds would perch up on their arms. "GOD ONLY KNOWS - SAPPHIRE OWL!" though they mostly looked the same, Bluewer was holding the beautiful lantern with the golden owl handle, with Clayton carrying the flag of their house. Unfortunately, nobody really cared for the ultimate loser team.

The four Prefect went to the goblet. "Light the flame of Saint George!" exclaimed the vice-principal.

"All of us, players-" Herman began.

"Vow to keep..." Lawrence continued.

"To the tradition of Weston College..." Edgar went on.

"And fight fair and square until the end." finished Gregory. Together, they lit up the large Goblet of Fire, beginning the competition. "With this I declare the 1889 school year's dormitory Cricket Tournament open!!"

As the Vice-Principal ended his speech, he fell down the stairs, bloodying himself. Katrina eyed him suspiciously - She always did think there was something wrong with him. She was sure Herman killed him - So how the hell was he alive? Her only suspicion was that, when Edgar went to Aleister for help, he used Agares as some kind of Bizarre Doll experiment; But if that were the case, why is he different than those undead freaks on Campania? Moreover, he has been around the College for quite a while, and she doesn't remember the Undertaker ever working on his corpse before. But if Agares was actually a Bizarre Doll... Was Derek Arden in the same state?

Everything around the Dining Hall was quite the mess, with the Wolves keeping to themselves, Bluewer being the center of attention thanks to his seven sisters, Herman telling everyone to take care and be strong, and Edgar and Aleister being as charming as ever. Prince Soma also became one of the Red House's most important and talented player, and Kat had to admit, the boy was in perfect physical shape and had his whole life to have fun and practice cricket, which was his favourite sport. It was going to be a tough game against the Scarlet Fox.

With not much to do, Katrina went over to the group and took her hood off, smiling casually with a casual peace sign. It was now clear, with Sebastian also there, that the Lady was also there on some kind of official business - Though it did take a bit of effort to stop Lizzy from squealing in glee at seeing her friend - Yet she wasn't happy with her clothes. So uncute.

Thanks to Lizzy's dad, they were told the story of the Blue Miracle, the only time in very long that the Blue House actually won the tournament - the Marquis was Diedrich's Fag at the time, in Green Lion - And Diedrich was always so angry with Vincent and his carefree nature, so much so that Phantomhive baited him into making a deal over who wins the tournament; Thus, the German gentleman became Vincent's Fag for life. Hilarious story.

"We will now decide the competition roster by drawing lots." Agares threw four cards into a hat, calling the four Dormitory Supervisors forward. Without a doubt, the matches were going to go exactly at Ciels wants, judging by that smile on the demon's face.

And that was how, Scarlet Fox and Sapphire Owl were going to fight in the first round, with Violet Wolf and Green Lion in the second. It was going to be a lot of fun, Kat thought to herself, leaning on her staff. The smoke already depleted. "Good luck, everyone. And have fun~." with one last smile, Kat threw her hood back one, playing around like an old hermit and returning to her House.

"Good luck, pretty boy." Kat sneaked a quick peck on Edgar's cheek before they went to his team. By now, even Soma new who she was - And though he often mistakes her name, they manage through somehow. Everyone got used to her being mistaken for a girl. Shocker.

"We don't need luck, Ka-- Uhm, Adrian!" Soma grinned confidently. "We've got it in the bag!"

"Glad to hear!" she gave them a thumbs up. "I still don't fully get this game - But it's fun at least."

Without hindering them any further, Kat went to her team, watching the game unfold. The coinflip decided the Red House will bat first, and the Blue house wears the vest. Each match comprises of 2 innings and 20 overs.

Scarlet Fox chose the Prince, or rather, the Elephant King as they call him, to throw the ball first; Kat couldn't help but gasp in admiration as Soma's throw was fantastically powerful and fast - What a lad! Poor Bluewer couldn't even see the ball, let alone hit it. Soma's next ball was hit up into the air by Clayton, only to be leisurely caught by Redmond. "Nice fly~💖." two out. The third hit also ended in a run out. It was quite tragic to watch, even for someone like Kat, who never bothered understanding the rules properly. The Blue House players were going out hella fast.

With 10 overs, the Blue house was barely able to score 21 points overall.

Finally, it was Edgar's time to play. Kat was always mesmerised by his beauty, and how he could play a sport so well while maintaining his natural elegance; And now, with his hair neatly tied up in a high ponytail, she couldn't help but blush softly and smile at the young man with the half-unbuttoned shirt, showing his charm off. Edgar and Soma were Scarlet Fox's greatest assets. She wondered how Ciel was going to scheme a win.

Despite the Blue House's meekly thrown ball, Edgar understood the strategy and took an unusual stance - He twirled into a Crimson Tornado technique, looking as though he's dancing and scoring a Boundary 6. Gorgeous as always. Somewhere a little behind the stance, Kat noticed a crowd, and realising what was going on, she had to stifle a laugh; Law was there with all his pretty ladies, and entertaining his Gambling booth. Business-orientated as always.

10 Runs, 3 Wickets. Blue still had 21 points, and Red 80. And thus, the 2-hours break commenced. As a member and player of the Purple House, she wasn't allowed to collude with the other dormitory lounge spaces, so she just lazied around, watching Violet sketch something in his sketchbook and leaning her head on his shoulder while humming absent-mindedly a tune.

The bottom half of the 2nd innings began, and Harcourt and Phantomhive were facing each other in an amical game. With Joanne being the bowler, he threw a spin-ball that surprised Ciel, unable to predict any of his throws --

Until all Scarlet Fox players, save Soma, fell to the ground, in deep agony, complaining of deep stomach pain. That evil little brat filled the meat pie with super strong laxatives. Due to Scarlet Fox's inability to continue the match, it was considered a forfeit, and the Sapphire Owl won.

Thus, while some enjoyed the break, others went to watch the interesting match between the Wolves and the Lions. Of course, nobody expected the artsy people to defeat those powerhouses. With nothing to do for the moment, Sebastian watched the match with amusement. Katrina had her hair up in a similar style as her fiance's, and she only wore a white shirt, with two buttons undone, and her sleeves up. Clearly, she had no care in the world and was crouching about with Violet while Cheslock was doing his absolute best scoring points with his Purple Burnout powermove.

At the same time though, despite not quite knowing the rules, she wanted to play - It was a game, wasn't it? And games with no stakes were supposed to be fun. Her throws were weaker but with a spin to them, the way Chelock though her, as a fellow musician; Her bat was much better, at least; Though it couldn't quite compare to Herman's paddling, she thought she did pretty damn well for herself, scoring points for her team.

Her forte was sprinting though, and she was pride in her ability to run - Though her endurance was lacking, especially after getting injured, her short-distance sprints were still top notch, and she would slide to the ground with such grace and ease that it earned cheers from the ladies watching. It only amused the Lady, who decided to show off a little, winking at them and what not, just about what Edgar usually does.

Yet what was supposed to be a fun and dandy game almost sent her into the grave, for she ended up being a ball catcher when Herman was the batter. Him, a step in the back, and she, a step in the front. With the impossible strength of his, he did a spin, hit, and in its, wake, when Kat tried to shield herself from the imminent impact, she ended up getting hit in the stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs. "D-Damn." Greenhill looked at the woman spitting blood on the ground, all because of his monstrous force and focus on the game. He knows Violet warned him this happened before during practice, but that was from over-exertion, not from getting blunt trauma and shock to such a sensitive area of the body.

The Violet Wolf house flocked around her as she struggled to get up on her knees and catch her breathing. "Wh-When are you going to stop being so strong, Herman." she chuckled lightly, only to cough a little more blood.

"Get on the bleachers. You're out." Violet helped drag her up, only to see that stupidly bright grin of hers. This girl was damn trouble.

"Thanks for the concern, but I'm fine!" she used the handkerchief in her pants pocket to wipe away the blood from her hands and chin. "Greenhill, don't worry about me, really, I'm fine!" she also turned to the worried Green Lion Prefect - She knew he would be eaten away with guilt for injuring anyone. "Let's finish this in grand style!" she winked at the Prefect, who didn't need to be told what she meant. Stupid girl doing reckless things.

"Stop sparkling, dumbass."

And true to their words, by the time the match was over, the two managed to tassle the grass under their feet so well, that the most beautiful Violet Wolf was displayed for all to see. This was the Purple House's true win.

With their game ending in 120 points for the Purple House and 213 for the Green one, it was finally time for a short break before the Grand Finale begun. This time, she joined Ciel's gang in cheering for the boy.

First, the Blue House took the Offense - And Sebastian cheered on them by conducting an orchestra. It was peculiar, yes - But Kat realised what he was doing as soon as she realised the batters had their eyes closed. They were following the beat of the music. How shrewd, Ciel truly is a force to be reckoned with when he wants to - Which only means, he truly wants that Midnight Party invitation to meet with the principal. Bad news, because at this rate, the Blue Miracle will be passed on from Father to Son.

From the Green House, only Edward picked up on the witty music trick - And he didn't want to ruin Greenhill's innocent trust in people. Instead, decided to go forward with the next throw and thwart Phantomhive's strategy. With perfect precision, Edward managed to imitate Cheslock's Purple Burnout move, earning a Bowl out. He had to work very hard to achieve everything he did - He was an ordinary person, surrounded by true geniuses, beginning with his little sister who was a Fencing genius, and continuing with the Prefects of Weston - He had enough people to look up to and learn from; It wasn't jealousy, but respect and admiration, and through hardwork and determination, Edward became the very thing that he always dreamt of being. A true genius.

"Great job, Edward!" Katrina found herself cheering on him, earning a sheepish smile from the boy who was very proud of himself.

Another peculiar thing happened, with Sebastian running away in the middle of the match - What was her after, being in such a rush? She couldn't understand that far. Did he see something? Was it another one of Ciel's orders for a new trick? She couldn't tell.

With 10 outs and 3 wickets, the Blue side had 60 points, and they had to change sides - All of a sudden, the Green hitters seemed to be slacking off big time - Why? How did they get weakened like that, all of a sudden? Even Edward fumbled - Were they getting strained and emotional? Following Edward's gaze, she realised why his face was beet red. Lau was casually sitting on the ground, Ran Mao on his lap, and around them, gorgeous ladies wearing the shortest Cheongsam dresses that barely reached low enough to cover their behinds - Flawless beauty, big bossoms, long legs, sultry smiles and enticing poses - Katrina was pretty sure this devilish plot was Sebastian's doing; She doubted Ciel was able to think that something like this would work on the Green Lions, but... With how sheltered their life is, it's no surprise, truly. Even she found herself heavily distracted by those beautiful ladies, she could understand those poor men. Undoubtly they were all... Heavily inexperienced.

But to think this strategy worked the best of Herman - Shocking, but also hilarious. If Undertaker were here, a volcano might have erupted from his laughter. Unfortunately, the Chinese group was kicked from the arena for wearing indecent clothes, and the score became 60-52.

With the start of the second round, Bluewer held the paddle, only to be criticised for holding it with a reverse grip. Interesting strategy, it seemed to be a defensive one, in Kat's mind. Protecting the wicket with the bat entirely, without swinging it. It was a strategy that would only work on the Green house, who threw balls at the maximum amount on power, thus, it would ricochet nicely. The sword in the stone. How witty. Clayton and the others, with the same technique, managed to score 105 points until the 10 overs, when they had to change sides. Very effective strategies, what a smart brat.

105-52 in Blue's advantage, and there was only Green's offense left. What will happen now, she wondered. In no time, the Green House got 8 over and 6 out - There were only 2 Overs left until the end of the game, and the Lions were heavily gaining on them, upping their game until the score almost evened, with 105-92.

Kat was excited to see Ciel bowling, and with a smirk, he made a signal, and the outfield crowded around the batsman. Ciel threw a slow ball, but it surprised the hitter as it hit the ground, and then up at his face - Instinctively, he shielded himself, and the ball ricocheted down, into Clayton's hands. Unfortunately, it was considered a Dot and had to be redone. Again and again, until people started complaining that his strategy was cheating, and not fair in Cricket. Even the audience started booing, only for Herman, with his loud, booming voice, to silence everyone.

"I won't have you lot booing during our sacred match!" his authoritarian voice made everyone shiver. "And Phantomhive, unfair? Can you all see this?" Greenhill grabbed Ciel's wrist, showing off his battered had, all bruised and injured from his excessive hard work. "This hand tells us everything - About his efforts, his commitment. Precisely throwing towards the batsman's face - Saying it is easy, but doing it is hard. He must have done some heavy training to get this far. That small boy from the physically weak Blue House would come this far - Do you understand what that means?!" Kat couldn't help but grin in joy and admiration. "The owl came to hunt the lion in earnest!" he declared, letting go of Ciel. "Is Green House so frail that we would lose over one simple trap?" no sir, his teammates shouted. "Then let's give it our all and smash them!" yes, sir! Even Kat felt motivated by his speech. "I'm glad I can see you go all out before graduating, Bluewer!" Herman smiled at his friend.

"Thank you... Me too, Greenhill." Lawrence smiled, blushing softly at the respect he was given.

With the Green paddlers thinking Ciel would use the same strategy, he surprised them with an offside low ball - Such a nasty Cliff tactic - If you defend, it'll be caught, and if you attack, it'll be bowled. Wonderful, little man. Wonderful indeed. Ciel kept them scoreless and got two out - There was only one bowl left, against Edward, who scored 6 points. Ciel managed to keep the score at 105-97, it was incredibly. "Well done, Phantomhive. Leave the rest to me." Lawrence pat Ciel on the head like he was his little brother, before rolling up his sleeves. With incredible determination and a ton of practice to back him up, Bluewer threw the ball straight up into the sky, away from anyone's sight. Ciel truly motivated him to do his best - After only tasting last place in the tournament, it was Ciel, someone younger and significantly weaker than him, who showed him that even grail bookworms can win, if they're smart enough and prepare their strategies well and in advance. Ciel's strategy, his determination, his amazing studying skills, his analysis, his tactics, his tireless energy and hard work, all by a child - Bluewer had to step up, as the Prefect of Sapphire Owl, and prove that even his House can win. Even he wants to win, after all!

Thanks to his perfect schemes and calculations, the ball he threw out of sight ended up falling perfectly down, on the wickets, shocking everyone. He was really cool, that Law! The hunter in the dark - The Sapphire Owl, Lawrence Bluewer! What a man!

But the last batter was Greenhill, and that was a huge problem. Even against Bluewer's amazing throw, he managed to score a Boundary 6, and now the score is almost even, with 105-103. This musclehead who only ever knew sports was using that paddle as if it was a sword, or a claymore, above his head - Just like how Undertaker managed to stab Sebastian that night. Herman's Sword Excalibur was undefeated.

With one last team-encouraging, Bluewer and Greenhill both engaged in their secret techniques - Yet, once again, Herman's strength and positioning ended up injuring another player, that being, Ciel got a paddle to the head that slammed him onto the ground. While the players were running around to continue the game, Herman tried to check on Ciel - Only to see him crawling to the ball and throwing it into the wickets, making them fall.

Blue House won by a single point. The Blue Miracle returned and everyone cheered, especially the Owls and everyone supporting them. As Ciel was being thrown in the air by his team, Michaelis came out of nowhere, rescuing him. He did miss quite a lot of the match. The boy was in a tragic medical condition, but his butler was going to rescue him, clearly. With very, very great care... To sting. Not even in his room, was he safe from the congratulatory party - But it was fine. He was all free now, and Sebastian was getting a great lough out of it.

The main event of the Cricket Tournament was the winner's boat parade, for the Queen to see. As nobody was actually going to pay attention to one member of the Violet Wolves missing, Kat ran back at the dormitory and changed into a pretty dress, wiping off the make up and letting her hair flow in pretty waves of fire.

As the losing teams lit up paper lanterns in Saint George's name, Kat couldn't help but smile at the magnificent display of colours, the dark night illuminated by so many pretty colours, and... Those poor Owls, falling into the water, as they couldn't keep their balance. They didn't think they could actually win, so nobody rehearsed for the parade even a single time. It was adorable. And everyone seemed to be wearing smiles on their faces.

A single tear went down her face, looking up into the sky and seeing the gorgeous display of fireworks. She wanted to share this moment with someone dear - At this single moment, not only war Kat's heart bursting with mirth, but also... Everyone was dear to her. However, someone touched her hand, intertwining his fingers with her own. Edgar Redmond, her fiance, was smiling down at her. Bewitched by the magical moment, Kat let the moment flow as it wished, becoming malleable, prey to his own emotions. "You are gorgeous as always, honey." with a tender smile, full of love, the blond boy gently cupped her face, looking with adoration into her sparkling green eyes, just like two precious gems. "I'm always happiest when I see you smile." he said, sharing their first true kiss. "I can't wait to finally marry you."

"Yeah..." she breathed out, enchanted by his gallancy. "I am also excited to be your wife." she confessed, whispering against his lips, placing her hands over his own, and leaning in to kiss the inside of his wrist.

Throughout the night, at the festival, everyone had fun with everyone - And Kat danced with just about everyone, including Soma and Lawrence, Herman, Ciel, Cheslok, Joanne and Clayton. She danced with Bard and Finny, even with Lizzy and Mey-Rin; With Edward also, though he was a little awkward, poor dear. At the end, she finally managed to coerce her Prefect into dancing with her, to which he reluctantly agreed. Grumpy boy. Yet not once did she have the time to dance with Sebastian - Not that she could, considering how she had so much fun with everyone around.

Thanks to a coat and being about the last to leave, Kat managed to sneak inside the Purple House without much trouble - Only to be shocked at what she saw on her bed. "They say that when a beautiful flower blooms under the moon at midnight, they'll come for you." Violet grumbled softly. "You've been chosen to attend the Midnight Party." shit.

"I suppose I have to change back." Kat sighed - Somehow, she knew there was something bad going on in the middle of this mess.

Regardless, come midnight, Katrina was dressed in her uniform, her make up done worthy of the most eccentric house, and she followed the Prefect and the Fag to the meeting room. Soon, Bluewer came over with Ciel. The two shared a look - Yes, this Midnight Party was going to be huge trouble. "Welcome, Phantomhive, to the elegant -" Edgar began the introduction.

"Traditional." Bluewer said.

"High class." Herman continued.

"Bizarre." Violet ended.

"Midnight Tea Party." was it too late to run away?

She knew very well, only a student was supposed to be chosen, yet there she was also. Ciel deserved to be here. Why did the principal choose her? Was it to expel her before she could graduate? Or did he know about the Derek situation? At the long table, Ciel on the opposite ends with the Principal, the Prefects and Katrina on one side, with the Fag on the other. The Vice-Principal was standing by the principal's side. They were supposed to raise their tea cups and toast - But Ciel stopped it all. He was dead serious and not beating around the bush anymore. There it goes.

"There's something worrying me. It's about Derek Arden and his friends." he said. "I can't toast until I've met them." one side of the table was tense, while the other was simply confused. "Mr. Principal, will you hear my story?" though rude, Ciel incurred the 15th rule, about sharing your heart with your friends, and Bluewer was rendered silent.

Derek Arden, Greenson, Hardy, Isaac, Thewlis - None returned home, he said. He said he was told to persuade them to go home, but wasn't able to meet them. They transferred to the Purple house, but during the fire, they weren't there. He was pointing out Violet's choice of words, saying everyone was safe - But Derek and the rest weren't present. Was it deliberate, or a mistake?

"Violet was concerned for my well being. He ran to rescue me from the fire and took care of me despite my bad health. It is not easy for someone to care for another who can't breathe properly and is coughing copious amounts of blood." Katrina tried to defend Gregory, who just looked down, silent and afraid.

"I would rather say - They weren't in the Purple House at all. Five people have disappeared from a strictly supervised public school - This is obviously quite strange!" clearly, the principal-excuse can't work anymore. "There's a big chance that they've become involved in some large incident. Mr. Principal, I'd like you to call in the Yard!"

"That will not be necessary." Agares cut him off, pointing behind him. "That's because - They are right here. Look."

As if on cue, the door opened, and Derek Arden, looking very much alive, stepped in front of them, wearing the Violet Wolf sigil and the Midnight Tea Party flower. "The tea smells really good." he spoke, making Kat raise to her feet as well - She looked in horror at the young man who was approaching her, though his eyes were empty, devoid of any emotion. And worst of all, he was stinking. It wasn't a strong odor, but for someone like Kat who was so used to the faint perfume of death, she knew. "Ciel." Kat whimpered. "He's dead." she gulped, and in an act of counter-initiative, she threw herself at the table to grab a knife just as Derek's corpse grabbed her and sunk his teeth into her shoulder. "Die already!" she slammed the knife deep into his head, throwing him off and clinging on her shoulder. "He's a freak like those corpses on Campania. Look." everything had to be revealed now, it was no turning back. She knew it was all over, so she grabbed Arden's head, showing the autopsy scar on his forehead, as Ciel called Sebastian immediately.

"Are you okay?!" they tried to approach her, but she stopped them, keeping her hand over her bleeding shoulder.

"I'm fine. I stopped him before he could actually munch on me." she grumbled, looking at the concerned look of Sebastian. He could practically smell the guilt and bitterness radiating from her.

Ciel explained that Michaelis was actually his butler, and he got into Weston to find out what happened to Derek and the rest. He pointed his gun at the principal, who hadn't moved a single inch.

"Spit it out! What did you do to Derek?"

"I killed him." Kat rose her head, releasing her hair from the ribbon. "I killed him, when the year started."

"You killed him?" Ciel's eyebrow rose, not believing her.

"Yes. It was my fault. I instigated everyone's death, and all this mess started with me." she huffed, leaning back on the wall. "Why do you think I didn't want to tell you anything? I would have incriminated myself. I already have few months left to live - Do you think I wanted to spend all that in jail, with the Queen's hatred?"

"It wasn't your fault." Edgar spoke stepping next to her. "Derek was my fag. I should have seen what he was doing. It was my fault for not solving the issue sooner - Just like with Cole."

"And I should have noticed that the abuse inflicted on students of my own house." Violet also came to her defense.

"In the end, it was I who killed him - Because we wanted to protect." Herman sighed, looking down in shame. "The Saint that symbolises the school, Saint George - He defeated a dragon to protect the country."

"In other words, if you don't cut it off from the source, you won't be able to run from disaster. We obeyed those teachings." Bluewer continued his explanation.

"That's why we set out to kill Derek."

There was no other choice. The Prefects explained the whole murder plot and how Edgar, as Kat suspected, made contact with Druitt's associate. The Aurora Society. "I see, now everything falls in place." Sebastian grinned devilishly.

"You got it too, didn't you?" the woman looked at the demon, who only grinned. She sighed, taking the locket chain attacked to her belt, clenching her grip around it. "I, also wondered - Why would someone bother to claim they care so, so much for you. Offer you a chance to live, a shelter, take you under their wing, care for you, teach you their craft, become their most trusted person, offer countless opportunities of all kinds..." she stepped right next to the principal. "Only to end up betraying and abandoning them on the streets, homeless, alone, and without any money and support." she hissed angrily at him. "You really are the worst of the worst, breaking my heart like that, you know?" she slapped his stupid hat off, revealing his silver hair gracefully reflecting into the moonlight. "Adrian Crevan. My namesake. Undertaker."

"Aww, darling, and I really liked this job." the Shinigami grinned wickedly as always. "It was truly pleasant to watch your struggle from the grand tier. You've offered me the best laughs." he giggled lightly. "Hello, Earl. You're as tiny as ever, but I'm pleased to see you're doing well." he played around with the hat, gripping Kat's hand. "Did you enjoy your first experience with group life?"

"I was wondering where you disappeared to after closing up the shop. To think you started working at a school, of all places." Sebastian seemed relatively amused.

"Only temporarily though." Undertaker replied, playing idly with the girl's fingers.

"My, my, it seems our investigation got a little out of hand." the demon turned to the Prefects. "You five assassinated Lord Derek and then requested his resuscitation from the Aurora Society. What was so important to protect that you would resort to such means?"

"I'll tell you what, butler." the Undertaker grinned, pulling Kat into his lap and grabbing her face like she was a doll. "What they treasure most, of course."

They explained how the four of them became Prefect, and how Kat came soon, trying to hard to blend in, her thirst for knowledge and ambition admirable. Redmond vouched for her, integrating her in their little group, and together, the five of them became close friends and protectors of justice, in a way. Derek, however, was a reliable young man from the Marquis line, a cheerful personality, overflowing talent in everything he was doing - And because of this dazzle, they didn't see the dark show that his light cast until it was too late. For weeks on end, Derek was doing everything, all by himself, yet no progress was made on the bullying case, and they continued to receive letters and complaints --

That is, until Edgar read the poem dedicated to the Prefects, and deciphered it through the difference in ink colour and word symbolism - And when they reached the place they were supposed to find, they saw Derek Arden and his bully friends beating up on students. Katrina was also their victim of abuse and blackmail, and based on the ravished state of her closed, they must have known her secret.

Redmond thus understood the meaning of - Deprived by light - With all of his results being fake. He took other's talents through despicable means and used them to make himself shine, for four entire years. This corruption was so deep that the Vice-Principal was also involved. Not only was he blatantly overlooking this clear problem, but he wanted to expel Katrina. With desperation filling him, only multiplied by Derek's comment of becoming Prefect the next year, Herman snapped and hit him over the head with his cricket bat. As long as the corruption remained in the school, the school's tradition will continue to crumble. That couldn't happen. Tradition was everything.

With Kat and Violet blocking the exits, Redmond and Bluewer holding down Agares, Herman killed them all. When it came to putting the blame on someone, they all united - They were Prefects. All four of them. They were in this together. They tried to defend Katrina, saying it wasn't her fault she was bullied like that - She had every right to defend herself and her honour, moreover, she didn't touch the murder weapon - Though even through this, she was a clear accomplice for almost a whole year. Still, she had no idea that they were going to retort to the Aurora Society.

"Our actions are inexcusable to our relatives, but there was nothing else we could do to protect our traditional order. We didn't want to stir things up and damage the school's good name. You understand, don't you, Phantomhive?" whilst the Fags were petrified at the story being told, Undertaker was doubling over with laughter. Even the demon seemed amused.

"I was asked to investigate this incident by a certain high-ranking individual. They won't sit by and do nothing after hearing the truth of this matter - However - I'll ask them to consider the circumstances." Ciel grinned - What a liar. "Well then - That just leaves you."

"How did you evolve Derek?" Kat asked, ripping herself away from the mortician. "How did you temper with the Records this time?"

"You're wrong, dearie, but very close~!" he grinned. "What's driving them now is their yearning for a future. In their dying moments, human review their past life, and these images come and go. At the same time, they crave the future they were supposed to have - They're fragmentary, of course, but those fragments are the episodes. These are like a predictive map of the future. My self-created memories are nothing compared to these future memories - So if we stuck these to the record - Wouldn't it become complete?" Undertaker shrugged carelessly. "Well, the success rate is still pretty low. It's dependant on the quality and quantity of the episodes."

"I don't understand - Why would you do that?! What purpose does bringing back the dead serve?!" Ciel yelled at him, pointing his gun at his head.

"I just want to see what comes after the pre-determined end." the mortician explained, throwing his arms in the sky. "You've never thought about it? There might be an interesting development lurking behind the ending credits."

"That's where we differ. Exactly because Death is such a hopeless and definite End - It is beautiful." Sebastian smirked back at the Shinigami.

"THERE'S NOTHING BEAUTIFUL IN DYING!" Katrina's desperate cry rung painfully through the garden. "THE ONLY BEINGS WHO CAN AFFORD TO SAY THAT ARE YOU, IMMORTAL FREAKS, WHO ARE TIRED OF LIVING! BUT I'M NOT READY TO DIE! TO HELL WITH ALL OF YOU AND YOUR ARROGANCE!"

"Are you going to tell that to this pretty little kitten, when she draws her last breath in your arms?" Undertaker grinned, satisfied with the surprised look in the demon's eyes. "You know, don't you? Did she tell you? She's going to die a most horrendous death, you see." he cackled, getting up from the chair. "I just want to give her another chance at living, you see. You can't defy the time of death written in the Book - But perhaps there is a way to give it another go."

"Accepting what's written in the Book is akin to just accepting fate can't be changed. That's boring, is it not?" the demon refuted, only to watch the mortician turn his back at them ready to leave.

Sebastian hurried to capture the Shinigami, only to be stopped by Agares - Seems Sebastian hadn't paid attention to their story. A masterpiece filled with many episodes. All the others rose up from nowhere - Derek's friends were ready to kill them. "RUN! GET OUT OF THE GARDEN, QUICK!" Agares kept messing with the demon who was carefully eying the mortician, sitting casually on the top of the back seat of the chair. As Sebastian realised he couldn't protect Ciel, he ran at him, with Katrina going after the Undertaker.

"YOU DON'T GET TO RUN AGAIN, YOU JERK! YOU'VE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO! GET BACK HERE!" sprinting, Kat leapt on the table and used the very top of the seat to propel her to jump higher and hopefully catch the mortician's ankle as he sprung away - But it was for naught. She was so close, yet so far. Again. "COME BACK! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THIS, ALL ALONE!"

"But you're not truly alone, are you, dearie~?" he grinned from the top of the wall. "See ya~!" he disappeared into the night.

With Sebastian killing all the monsters, Ciel was discussing ways of explaining this mess to the Queen. Clearly, saying the truth would make no sense - A corpse-reviving Shinigami? Ridiculous. Kat's legs gave up and she crouched down, looking up at the starry skies, grinning. What an awful, awful night. Everything was ruined, just before graduation. How very awful. "Everyone's been safely evacuated!" Edward returned to the vacant garden, his sword tight in his grasp. The young man looked at the mess on the ground, and frowned, realising his own misdeeds. "Ciel... I'm scared. If this had continued, I might have become like these Prefects... The kind of person that mistakes the sin of murder for justice."

"Don't worry. As long as you're afraid of that, you're still normal." the boy turned his gaze as the woman. "Unlike us." she was all kinds of screwed up, just like him. Thus were those who dwelled in the darkness.

"Kat. Are you alright?" Edward's gentle voice, soft and unsure, was almost missed by the red head who was deeply lost in her thoughts. Were it not for him kneeling next to her, she might have missed him completely.

"I wrote the poem." she confessed for all three to hear. "I couldn't stand it anymore. I was weak." her blank expression drew an empty smile. "If I knew this would happen by reporting the corruption, I would let them beat me to death. I was weak. I should have just dropped out - Alas, I am a stubborn woman with far too many dreams for the little time I have left." he shoulders started shaking, small tears falling down as an amused rumble of chuckles erupted. "I'm the worst, aren't I?" she laughed, standing up on her feet. "Because of my selfishness, I got all four of them into this mess." just like in the boat, her grin was painfully wide, and she was tugging at her hair. "I only needed a few more weeks to graduate, to marry and get out of this mess that my parents made for me. Ahhhh, how annoying!" she turned her gaze to Ciel - She was gone. Far, far gone. "See you in hell, Ciel... If people like us afford even something like that, anyway."

With a peace sign, Katrina also exited the garden and went to the flower garden. She wanted to be all alone. To sing and dance, one last time. If the sentence is jail-time, if she gets reported, then she is going to take matters into her own hands and end it all. It didn't matter to her that her shoulder was still bleeding and in pain - She returned to the flower garden where she first talked with Edgar, since she came here. When she found her happiness, her freedom. Here, it will also be taken back from her. With eccentric moves holding her grace, Katrina began to sing the only poem that she was ever capable of writing herself. And it sucked, of course. It wasn't tragic - It was outright depressing.

I fall 'cause I've let go The net below has rot away So, my eyes seek reality And my fingers seek my veins

Knowing there would be no one to catch her, or scold her for anything, she cried out to the skies, as loud as her weak lungs could hold her.

PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

"My, what a sad song you're singing there, My Lady." the demon watched the woman with the empty smile allow herself to fall down on the flower bed. "Rather fitting."

"Have you come to say goodbye, Sebastian?" she hummed, getting comfortable amongst the flowers. Should she just end it all, right here, in this pretty place? Now THAT would be fitting.

"On the contrary." he knelt by her side, offering her his hand. "I am here to take you home."

"Home?" the girl laughed in his face. "What home? I have no home, Sebastian. I'm homeless. I don't have anything. Nothing at all. Not even a single coin. I only have some clothes to sell, though I'm not sure how long I can afford food and shelter with that alone."

"That may be so, indeed." he smirked mischievously. "But the Young Master is giving you a choice." Kat rose her eyebrow at him. "You can choose to fall prey to destiny and accept your death." his eyes flashed alluringly. "Or you can get another chance."

"What do you mean? When the Queen hears I killed her cousin's son, I'm done for in absolutely every way possible. There's no second chance from that." she retorted immediately.

"Not 'When'. 'If'." despite the excruciating pain in her shoulder, Kat shot up in a sitting position.

"No way."

"The Young Master intends to tell the Queen that you contributed heavily in uncovering the mystery, and having you return to work." the shocked expression on her face was so precious. "So, what do you choose, My Lady?" It didn't take long for Kat to get over her shock and throw her arms around his neck. "I told you to stop the formalities when we're alone, didn't I?"

"I will not forget again."

As punishment for what happened, the P4 were expelled, rather than serving jail time, because for them, who valued tradition above all, it was a far worse punishment. With one last month and a half remaining of the school year, Katrina remained as the Violet House Prefect with Cheslock as her Fag, and got the opportunity to graduate - But at what cost, and under what name? Was all this mess even going to be worth, in the end? She couldn't know.

It was announced that Derek and his friends died in a boat accident and had their bodies buried in secret - The four Fags were sworn into secrecy, and had to begin their last year at Weston, as Prefects, with dread plaguing their hearts.

In the end, Ciel did tell the Queen about the resuscitation of the dead ploy, and forged up some kind of story about Katrina's involvement into all this - Of course, they weren't lies, she did do all that, in a way - Thus, the Queen's Fox was back in business. How she would be able to perform going further, she wasn't sure. No school to go to, no Undertaker, no mortician work - It was going to be weird.

Katrina was laying on her bed one evening, bored out of her mind, but keeping herself occupied with a medical text she found recently. There wasn't much to do, and most of Ciel's lessons were just old stories for her. Perhaps she should ask Sebastian to tutor her also, or her mind's going to fracture itself from boredom. She was wasting time for no reason.

The room was dead silent and rather eerie, were it not for the candle light by the nightstand and the light of the moon peeking through the window. It must be getting late, she thought, though there was no way she could fall asleep any time soon. Thankfully, her door opened, revealing the demon. "Done for today, huh?" she snapped the book shut and scooted over to the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to her.

"Yes. Thankfully, although I have overindulged him with sugary desserts, he was able to sleep faster than expected." the butler hummed, blowing candles off. "But the Young Master is still just a child. You do not seem to be anywhere close to attempting to sleep."

"What can I say. I have a hard time sleeping." she shrugged, placing the book on the nightstand and getting comfortable. "Well, what is it? Do you want to have a conversation? Or are you just going to stand there and stare at me through the darkness - Again."

"Forgive me for making you uncomfortable." the demon chuckled, placing the lumiere onto the table before taking off his blazer, neatly placing it on the chair. "I did have a curiosity, if you do not mind me asking." he continued, discarding his vest and gloves also, receiving a hum of approval to go on. "You mentioned wishing to marry Master Redmond. Was that true?" he approached the bed, sitting on the edge of it.

"Yes, sort of." she answered after a few seconds of pondering. "I know I do not look the type, considering my haughtiness, but... I am a woman, like many others, and I also dreamt of falling in love and marrying one day." she admitted lightly. "I don't care for children, though I know that's an unfortunate must in a noble family." she scoffed, looking out at the moon. "I don't know if it's a teaching from the family out of society's need to manipulate everyone into obeying, or it is just something that girls do since they are little... But I think you would be very amused to know that I and Lizzy, although we behave differently, are alike in many ways."

"I would have never guessed." the demon looked at her in intrigue, enticed by the way the sheer material of her white gown revealed her alluring silhouette through the silver moon. Kat smirked tenderly, turning on her side to look at him - She looked like a masterfully painted masterpiece, Sebastian thought, drinking her in. "There is a little difference between Lizzy and myself though - And that is the circumstances of us loving our fiance." she chuckled lightly.

"Lizzy and Ciel are cousins. They knew each other since they were children. They have always been close, yes - But do they love each other, in the true, romantic sense of way? I am not sure. I always suspected that they just found this situationship very convenient and turned this cousin-love into a marriage. Lizzy took it seriously thought - She's hell-bent on protecting Ciel, you saw that yourself, didn't you. But that's the thing. She doesn't have a reason why she loves him - She just does. It's pure and innocent, and very much induced." she explained, reaching out her fingers to touch his own.

"That means you have a reason for the feelings you have for Master Redmond?" she hummed in approval.

"He indulged all of my whims, ever since we were children, you see. I fell for him because he saw me for who I was, and he accepted me like this. I never felt a complexed for being better or worse than him at something. I didn't feel bad that I wasn't always wearing high heels, doing my make up or wearing overly cute clothes. He didn't scold me for being interested in science instead of coquettery. And he made me love all the arts that my parents made me despise. He showed me beauty and gentleness where there was only ugliness and hatred." she rose up slowly, holding his hand in her own, playing idly with his fingers.

"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to get in the Purple House through my talent. I wouldn't have had a safe haven where I could see that painting wasn't evil, that performing music wasn't tainted and that embroidery wasn't corrupted. I ended up loving all the things that I hated, and more." she looked up at the demon, a smile so beautiful and bright, pure, and so loving, that Sebastian thought he saw a Seraph glowing not from the moon, but from her own divine aura. "He helped me love myself."

"I see. That is quite the feat. I long since suspected Master Redmond was nothing like his uncle, and that only reinforces that thought." he hummed, still pondering over this human emotion displayed so raw in front of him, yet he wasn't sure what to do with it, nor could he properly process it. "Then, I wish you a happy marriage, My Lady."

"Silly demon. Are you jealous?" the girl teased him softly. "We both know I'm not going to get my wedding after what happened." she said, kneeling behind him on the bed, whispering in his ear.

"With Edgar's expulsion, mother broke off the engagement. She most likely realised there will come no good business deal from selling me off to a disgraced son." she kissed his temple. "Oh, right, I asked you before if you were jealous, didn't I? And you replied - You said you were... Territorial - Right?"

"You have quite the golden memory, Kitten, though I cannot help but wonder at your intentions." the demon turned around, pinning her to the bed - It seems he played into her wishes, for she looked rather smug.

"My intentions, you say? You already know that, also." she replied shamelessly. "I want everything." she stated simply. "You see I only ever liked four men in this life, but only one was ever in the romantic sense." she teased, like the innocent little thing she was. "I loved Undertaker for being my mentor, my confidant. He took care of me when nobody else did." she said, intertwining her fingers with his own.

"I loved Edgar for showing me tenderness, when I only knew discipline. For showing me that I should love and cherish myself." she reached out her hand to cup his face. "I loved Lau for how carefree he was, yet even though he doesn't show it, there is a lot to learn from him, a rich culture, and a lot of fun on the way." gently caressing his cheek, she trailed up into his raven hair. "But Sebastian, you were always different. Was it because you're a demon? Or simply, who you are? I'm not sure." she said softly. "I tried, for months, to understand what I felt for you, and to this day, I don't know what it is - Yet, even in my confusion, there is one thing I am certain of."

"And what is that, My Kitten?" holding her hand over her head, the butler placed his arm under her, holding her body against his own, in the most intimate way.

"I am happy whenever I see you."

The demon's eyes widened slightly at her comment - It was completely genuine, and so angelic, that he couldn't resist; She was simply such a beautiful specimen, so human, so true to who she was, and filled with every possible emotion existing, many that even he was unaware of. In turn, whether he knew so or not, Sebastian also had a smile most mellow and precious; A smile so ethereal that probably nobody ever witnessed such grace before. He leaned down, capturing her lips into a loving kiss, so tender and soft, yet filled with so much care and worship. Women he seduced, he only ever knew one thing, and that was bringing their high and extorting information out of them - He, himself, needn't anything else. Humans weren't all that interesting nor satisfying to toy with, for the most part - They break too easily, there's hardly anything to do with them, after all.

Yet now, he didn't think of such a thing. Somehow, though tainted, he wanted to worship and preserve the bright light of her soul, to show her the gates of heaven, only to hold her back in his arms. Every twitch of her body was a miracle, and every thrill of her voice was a blessing. That glazed expression of her, lost in pleasure in delight, was everything he needed, and nothing less. "I always thought that there were few things more precious than seeing a woman's pleasure." his sinful words as his hand gently trailed up her neck made her gasp, gripping onto him, her head leaned down from the intense pleasure reaching its peak. "Now I know." he cradled her body carefully in his own, drinking in her sweet cry as she comes undone. "Your smile of joy is my most precious treasure."

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#demon standards #black butler #black butler x reader #black butler imagine #black butler x oc #kuroshitsuji x oc #kuroshitsuji imagine #kuroshitsuji x reader #kuroshitsuji #sebastian michaelis x reader #sebastian michaelis imagine #sebastian michaelis x oc #sebastian michaelis #sebastian michaelis x katrina raymond

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snakies-sideblog · 8 months ago

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Tips for interacting with the Kuro fandom:

1. If they're into dadbastian, hate Sebaciel, or are a grim reaper blog, especially Grell fans, then they most likely antis, but it doesn't hurt to check.

2. If you come across a Sebaciel shipper or someone who ships them, then 99% of the time, you are safe. It doesn't hurt to check, though.

3. Dadbastian isn't canon, but I think it's a valid interpretation.

4. There's nothing you can do about Sebaciel shippers, nor should you try. We are here to stay and have been since the start. You can either block us, ignore us, welcome us, etc. but do not harass or bully us. In fact, expect a revival/increase due to the new season and Brighton Arc.

5. On the flipside, don't harass antis either. They don't like Sebaciel. This applies across the board for other characters and ships, too!

6. Soma isn't whitewashed. The color they actually use is closer to his original skintone.

7. Everything involving Drocell, Pluto, Ash/Angela, and the ghosts is NOT canon. The entirety of season 2 isn't either, but everything after is.

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, -> Book of Circus -> Book of Murder (two parts), -> Book of Atlantic (movie), -> Book of Weston aka Public School Arc

#snakie's sideblog #kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji fandom #you don't have to follow all or any of these #enjoy your time here! 🫶

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everythingwillsurelybealright · 7 months ago

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OOPS don't mind me, it's a frantically written unhinged Black Butler theory post

IMAGINE.

IT'S THE PRESENT DAY.

BLACK BUTLER SEASON 4 IS PARTWAY THROUGH AIRING.

I know nothing about what happens in the manga but THESE THOUGHTS WILL NOT LEAVE ME ALONE.

AND SO: A POST

I present to you; WHAT'S GOING ON AT WESTON COLLEGE, as pieced together entirely by the parts of the Intro that haven't shown up in the show yet.

LET'S SEE WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE

(1) The lake, and something blood-like coming out of it

(2) A tree growing out of the courtyard, and something rising up out of the ground

(3) The Undertaker's medallions show up several times

(4) Imagery of recreating bodies

(5) The Zombies at the end

SO WHAT COULD THIS MEAN? LET'S TAKE A WILD STAB IN THE DARK.

Put these together and I would guess that the Undertaker is 100% involved in the mystery behind the missing students, but also that it's a direct continuation of what he was trying to do on the Worst Boat Trip of All Time. Ie, he's trying to perfect his process of bringing people back from the dead - not just as zombies like last time but as actual functioning people.

Let's add more screenshots to the recipe!

(6) The four elements of Alchemy show up in the intro - Earth, Air, Fire and Water

(7) The four house colours merge together to make a shining new fire - like they did for the cricket competition cup

(8) The shot of a body turning to ash and a shining soul hovering above the remains

So add these to the mix and I'd guess that the new theory of resurrection is based on where the failure in the old one was. Previously, just altering someone's Cinematic Record wasn't enough to really keep them alive after death, as their body kept moving but the soul was gone.

This time it looks like the process might revolve around destroying the old body altogether (ie, turning it to ash), capturing the soul, and building an entirely new body to house it.

ALSO throw into the mix that the four house colours combine into FIRE, since in Alchemy the soul is associated with the idea of Combustibility

Extra symbols for this could be:

(9) The Whole Diamond in the intro which is then split four ways -

leaving a separate smaller diamond to the side (which would be the soul, captured and kept separate from the four elements that make up the rest of the body)

(10) The diamond is present again when the tree is growing in the courtyard, where the implied undead bursts out of the ground

(11) The newly recreated body looking like it's breathing fire, notably against the same backdrop of the school that was present when the diamonds split apart in the first place

Anyway! This new body should in theory be free of the limits of the Cinematic Record (since the old body is already gone), and because the soul is still intact it could freely return to the new body and function normal.

I suspect the Alchemy theme might also be the conceptual connection behind the old body burning (leaving behind the pile of ash) and the new body (or maybe just the soul itself?) being made of fire, like this:

(12)

So that's what I think happened to the students! They were tests to see if the process worked, hidden by the prefects - who may or may not have even known what the process was for or even if it worked.

Either way, with the reappearance of Derrick at the end of Episode 8 I would say that it does indeed work.

But! Also! The mystery of the headmaster.

He's clearly not really there, or not really alive. This could be for a number of reasons but for now I'd guess that (a) he's partway through the process, so his soul is technically around but his new body isn't finished yet, which is why he never speaks and vanished completely when Sebastian tried to grab him, or (b) the process failed on him, but they're keeping him around as a convenient figure head while the prefects run the school instead.

AND ONE MORE THING?

There's always a hovering question mark over what exactly happened to Ciel in his big dark secret backstory that I assume we learn later, but this OP in particular is giving me a few ideas that are probably hugely wrong BUT CONSIDER

(13) In the courtyard the undead rising up out of the ground is in the middle of the frame, and the VERY next shot is of Ciel in the same place

COINCIDENCE? Yes probably! But also:

(14) The shot of Sebastian holding his cloak protectively over Ciel, who flashes briefly as a skeleton

WHICH IS INTERESTING? Ciel is often depicted as dead or dying, I would assume in reference to Sebastian taking his soul in the future. BUT WHAT IF?

It makes me guess that PERHAPS perfect resurrection has already been performed and potentially it was used on Ciel.

Which would also match the brief sequence when the body burns to ash and leaves behind a ghost, the fire seems to come FROM Ciel

(15)

Which is wild and I don't understand whatsoever. Was Ciel resurrected? Was his soul kept and put inside a new body (and maybe that's why he's so short? He's not growing?) Or did Ciel raise someone else from the dead? Or is there some other mystery behind Ciel's identity that just hasn't been hinted at yet?

EITHER WAY THERE WE ARE. BRAIN WORMS: EXPELLED. ENJOY.

#I reserve the right to be COMPLETELY WRONG AT ALL TIMES #And I'm enjoying it greatly #black butler public school arc #Nick also talks about other things #Black Butler #send help

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ash-and-books · 2 months ago

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Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

From Ashley Pines and Eden Emory comes a queer dark, smutty thriller set in world where the rich pay handsomely to watch the live-streaming event of the year. The desperate sign-up to play a game with life-changing rewards and life-ending consequences.

Cam

Legacy. A word I reckon I’d heard a hundred times more than my own name.

It’s what I am, who I am. The product of generations of greatness.

And now, I was the Weston’s last chance to score big inside the arena.

It should’ve been like shootin’ fish in a barrel. But the moment I saw her, winning didn’t mean a hill of beans.

Was the Lord testin’ me? Punishin’ me for questioning the Ranch?

Or was I looking down the barrel of a gun right at my future?

Ain’t no way I was leavin’ without her.

Aubrey

I came for one reason and one only.

To kill the person that made my life hell.

But when things don't go as planned and a certain thembo cowboy catches my eye, they are suddenly all I think think about.

All I want.

And for them, I'd do anything. Kill anyone. Even if they punish me for it.

Better yet, I hoped they'd punish me for it and I couldn't wait for everyone to watch.

This is the second book in a series of interconnected stand alone novels. While they can be read out of order, it is recommended to start from Hide n’ Seek. This is a dark book with many triggers, please see the TW on the authors' website before continuing

Review:

A deadly tournament filled with killers all looking to make a name for themselves, win money, and take home glory.... and in this year's tournament a vicious girl looking for revenge finds herself teaming up with the heir of a famous farming family who also happens to train the best killers ever... can they find a way to survive or will they kill each other to win it all. Cam is the heir to a famous farmer/killer family, all they wanted to do is complete their father's legacy, win the competition, and finally free themselves. Trained to be the best killer ever yet Cam has no desire to kill, in fact they'd like to avoid it if they could during the competition but then they meet Aubrey. Aubrey has worked hard to curate the perfect image, to get fans, to finally exact revenge against the girl who stole everything from her.... and the last thing she needs is to fall for a hot thembo cowboy. Aubrey's first instinct is to kill but something about Cam makes her want to be a bit vulnerable. This was such a fun read, it's got hunger games vibes but with modern day vicious romance and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT, I can't wait to read the next book. If you like Jennifer's body, if you like unhinged romances with very obsessive killer lovers, give this one a go, it will be perfect for you.

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

#book review #bookish #lgbtq reads #rat race

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specificpollsaboutbooks · 29 days ago

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(Unverified yet) submissions for couples from books (polyamory ships will get their own tournament too later) :

Other :

Magnus Chase/Alex Fierro (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard)

F/F :

Rosethorn/Lark (Emelan)

Blue/Red (This Is How You Lose the Time War)

Dellaria “Delly” Wells/Winnifer "Winn" Cynallumwynsurai (The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry)

Kyoshi/Rangi (Chronicles of the Avatar)

Sarah Bishop/Emily Mather (All Souls trilogy)

Maud Blyth/Violet Debenham (A Restless Truth)

M/M :

Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish (The Raven Cycle)

Naolin/Brennan Sorrengail (The Empyrean series)

Henry "Monty" Montague/Percy Newton (The Montague Siblings series)

Simon Snow/Bazilton "Baz" Grimm-Pitch (Simon Snow series)

Jesper Fahey/Wylan van Eck (Six of Crows duology)

Aristotle Mendoza/Dante Quintana (Aristotle and Dante books)

Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood (Ths Shadowhunters Chronicles)

Robin Blyth/Edwin Courcey (A Marvellous Light)

Jack Alston/Alan Ross (A Power Unbound)

F/M :

Part 1 -

Blue Sargent/Richard Campbell Gansey III (The Raven Cycle)

Sophie Hatter/Wizard Howl Jenkins Pendragon (Howl's Moving Castle)

Abdullah/Flower-in-the-Night (Castle in the Air)

Lettie Hatter/Wizard Suliman a.k.a Benjamin Sullivan (Castle in the Air)

Lady Amalthea/Prince Lír (The Last Unicorn)

Schmendrick/Molly Grue (The Last Unicorn)

Christine Daaé/Vicomte Raoul de Chagny (The Phantom of the Opera)

Jonathan Harker/Mina Murray Harker (Dracula)

Linh Cinder/Prince Kai (The Lunar Chronicles)

Scarlet Benoit/Wolf a.k.a Ze'ev Kelsey (The Lunar Chronicles)

Winter Hayle-Blackburn/Jacin Clay (The Lunar Chronicles)

Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa (Six of Crows duology)

Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbrair (The Folk of the Air series)

Puck Connolly/Sean Kendrick (The Scorpio Races)

Laia of Serra/Elias Veturius (An Ember in the Ashes series)

Evie/Lend (Paranormalcy)

Margaret Welty/Weston Winters (A Far Wilder Magic)

Emily Wilde/Wendell Bambleby (Emily Wilde books)

Lucivar Yaslana/Marian (The Black Jewels trilogy)

Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games)

Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)

Isaac Bell/Marian Morgan (Isaac Bell Books)

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase (Riordanverse)

William "Will" Herondale/Tessa Gray (The Infernal Devices)

Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee a.k.a Ani or Isi/Prince Geric (Goose Girl)

Anne Elliot/Capt. Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion)

Finlay Donovan/Det. Nick Anthony (Finlay Donovan)

Francesca Stirling/Micheal Stirling (Bridgerton)

Matthew Clairmont/Diana Bishop (All Souls trilogy)

Penelope/Odysseus (The Odyssey)

Romeo Montague/Juliet Capulet (Romeo and Juliet)

Patricia Delfine/Laurence Armstead (All the Birds in the Sky)

Part 2 -

Nancy Drew/Ned Nickerson (Nancy Drew series)

Princess Buttercup/Westley (The Princess Bride)

Pepper/Blue (A Closed and Common Orbit)

Matthias Hevlar/Nina Zennik (Six of Crows)

Jane Bennet/Charles Bingley (Pride and Prejudice)

Lucy Carlyle/A.J. Lockwood (Lockwood & Co.)

Kell Maresh/Lila Bard (Shades of Magic)

Marisa Coulter/Lord Asriel Belacqua (His Dark Materials)

#spab #book couples #book ships #specific polls about books #organization #submitted works #not polls

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bapydemonprincess · 1 year ago

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Public School Arc but with Ash and Angela

Heyyyyyy so happy new year ect ect I made this sloppy drabble thing and I have done what I could, but also had to stop because I'm muddy headed trying to reach the conclusion I wanted but like, having to work up to it.. So, just being honest, this ends in cliffhanger territory and idk if I'll continue immediately.

Also spelling might be in shambles because IDC I am too tired and this is no professional fic grhrtdjyfkugyl

So enjoy what I managed, the sebash, the angelamey, and the hints of sebamey... And the rare MeyAsh...????? If you can call it that!

Ash and Angela stay with the servants as the Earl and Sebastian Michaelis go to Weston College.

It's nothing of consequence. A school of miscreant youthful boys, and the cursed boy and the demon going in to look for a missing student in particular.

...

Plus Mey Rin is still with them.

Angela wins all arguments as always.

And so the time passes and passes and because the infamous Earl and Queen's Guard Dog is missing no intruders arrive.

And things are calm and boring and Angela is happy with Mey Rin and Ash is moping but behaves and sees no reason to cause a scene.

What's the point if Sebastian isn't there to shut him up?

Exactly.

....

And then they all receive a letter (Well, it's addressed to Tanaka..) from Sebastian himself, giving them all a full report on the progress at Weston, and that currently, they are preparing for an annual cricket tournament.

"Although it is in your best interests to protect the manor at all times, one or two of you could come to see the event if you so wish. The young master is going to be playing in this tournament as well after all."

Thus there is a big discussion next on who should go and who should not.

...Except almost everyone WANTS to go.

Everyone except for..

""We won't mind staying behind at all, if need be, to watch the manor," Emily says.." Snake pipes up hesitantly, ""schools have always been quite intimidating for us.""

And thus the rest happily approve and agree and prepare for the trip.

And Angela is nagging her Other the whole time they pack.

"It'll likely be a one day affair. The trip to get there will be long, then a few hours of cricket, then we'll be returning."

A few hours is enough. Give me at least this much. It has been.. FOREVER since I have seen him...

"And yet.. you know he will be busy with whatever he and the boy have been doing all this time.."

Angela.. j-just LET ME HAVE THIS..

"...And so you resort to a tantrum finally," She huffs, snapping their suitcase shut.

Back out of the room Mey Rin is seen, fiddling with a cute little hat for the trip in a hall mirror.

"Ready to go?" Angela purrs, forgetting her irritation (with the sobbing voice in her head) completely.

"O-Oh yes, I think I am, I do!" the maid chirps, whirling about and fiddling anxiously with her long dark maroon skirts.

"I can't wait to get to Weston, no I can't.. I hope young master and Sebastian are doing okay so far! I-I mean from the letter it appears so, but.. I just.. I.. um.."

Mey Rin reddens, smiling in embarrassment, unable to look up at her angelic love.

"Sorry, Angela, I'm just happy to get to see Sebastian again, I am, I-I can't help it.." She admits timidly.

The angel sighs but certainly doesn't look put out. How can she with Mey Rin?

"You and Ash both," she simply replies, and gets a giggle for her trouble.

...

And Ash quiets down for now.

Good.

______________________

Now at Weston, and on the sidelines of the cricket tournament's field, all the servants are a buzz.

Especially Ash...

Where is he?? Do you see him, Angela?? Where is he, I can't see him from here, is he not going to be out here with the rest? He said he was a Professor of one of the Houses. Blue House. But I don't-

"Is.. e-everythin' alright, Angela?" Mey manages to somehow interrupt Ash's long barrage of griping.

They are both settled nicely on the picnic blanket set up for them via the chef, sitting side by side together to watch the match, and the maid takes a moment away from observing the goings on to place a hand gently on the other woman's.

"...It could be better," Angela admits as their head throbs thanks to Ash as well as the rowdy crowds of excited humans around them.

Angela especially prides herself on being up to snuff on socializing in public when need be.

But this is pushing it...

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I am. M-maybe we shoulda stayed back with Snake, we should.."

The sweet maid takes Angela's hand fully in both hers and squeezes it, as if to make up for not being able to hold the other woman here and now.

Angela's delicate high cheeks flush, as they are known to only do because of Mey Rin.

"Maybe, but even then we likely wouldn't have.. It was inevitable that we'd all bustle here to see these events.. and those we miss."

Once again the little mortal woman flushes up to her ears and looks down bashfully.

Angela swaps their hands so she is squeezing the maid's.

The match goes on and the best most of the servants can make out is the Blue House's team is losing..

And then somehow the American chef Bardroy comes through to explain what is all going on.

And also that he made a special meat pie for the occasion.

As Mey and Finny begin to openly fret over the young fiancee of the Earl sitting among them being poisoned by the chef's meat pie, the angel suddenly senses...

Sebastian???

"Huh? Is Sebastian here??" Mey asked, perking up from her worry and looking over at Angela.

Angela blushes, a hand over her lips.

You've made me slip up.

But Sebastian is-

SHUT UP.

"F-forgive me, I.. thought I saw him, but no, it was merely one of the more fancier dressed nobles up there, in those upper-class seatings.."

She points in the location described..

...And then realizes she also senses another non human presence from EXACTLY that location!

Is that... a grim reaper up there..?

What in God's name is going on at this cricket tournament.

______________________

The second half of tournament becomes quite peculiar too, when during one round, the Red Team seem to all abruptly come.. under attack?? No.. Poisoned?? No... Sick from something they ate..

And thus the Scarlet Fox House forfeit and the Sapphire Owl House wins.

Most of the Sapphire Owl House themselves seem baffled by this.. All except the little Earl Phantomhive, smirking away.

While most of the Earl's servants are confounded, the angel Angela shakes her head, lilac gaze looking out, directly at the boy, with judgement as usual.

______________________

Another break arrives.. and somehow the chef's meat pie has been changed.

A perfectly made pie is in its place, with arrangements that look and smell very familiar- if unconsciously -to the servants.

As usually the angel doesn't need to eat..

But...

A small piece is offered, from the maid's own fork.

Angela is ready to apologize and deny the offer, when-

Ash dives in, snarfing the piece from the presented fork, and chewing like a man whose starved of hunger for ages.

We cannot taste food as a human.

We never have.

We do however taste well prepared ingredients at their core

And sense the energy of the one who prepared this food.

The demon..

"I-Is... it good?" Mey asks, as before her Angela's closed eyes start to... weep.

"Y.. yes," Ash's familiar deep voice answers at first, choked up, and then as a hand goes up to rub at their drowning purple eyes, Angela's voice chokes out next, trying to answer normally, "I suppose it is, for.. a ah.. pie of meat."

Mey Rin simply giggles and offers a napkin.

"Between us, I think Mr. Tanaka some'ow got a meat pie from Sebastian, he did," she whispers to the angel.

And is met with a shaky sigh and laugh.

"..We think you might be onto something," Angela whispers back, dabbing at her eyes.

______________________

The Green House defeats the Purple eventually, and so it is down to Green vs Blue.

And while things are starting up in the last round, the audience anticipating a grand and interesting last event...

The angel is bored.

Starting to question if this was worth it, only to see the mischievous little Earl Phantomhive and his Blue House pull little trick after trick to get through this...

And...

There has been no sign at ALL of the demon!!!

Mey Rin blinks, as suddenly Angela flops down, head in her lap.

"A-Angela??"

The woman's eyes close.

And she openly pouts in a way very unlike her.

"We want to go. This wasn't worth it. Who cares about hitting a ball repeatedly..."

It's Ash's voice.

Mey Rin is stiff, uncertain...

Ash and her are on agreeable terms and even at times amiable.

But.. if Ash is in a mood this bad that he is griping through Angela...

Mey carefully puts a hand on the crown of white hair in her lap.

"I'm sorry you think that, Ash. It has been a long day, it has, but I'm sure once the cricket tournament is over proper.. we can see young master and Sebastian right away! ... A-at least.. I hope so too..."

Overhearing the sad and dour crack in the mortal woman's voice, Ash opens their eyes and slowly rolls over to face the maid.

She isn't looking right back, though.

Mey Rin appears also quite down, eyes away, distant, uncertain and emotional.

Her lips quiver but she tries to keep up the tiniest sad smile.

Ash's eyes widen, and the angel feels this familiar sting in their chest.

Of.. of regret...

Not in the way he has in times past; pulling off a stint of foolish proportions in order to gain attention and then proceeding to regret it when the attention gained was anger and yelling and unfortunately not sex and then a punishment of being left alone to think of what they've done.

But some kind of deeper regret, of just unknowingly not thinking- not realizing- something...

And although this is Angela's body still, Ash and she both move arms to wrap around the woman's waist, and hug her firmly.

"It'll be alright, Mey," Angela coos.

"... I hope so too," Ash murmurs.

Again Mey Rin's little hand is in their hair, stroking soft white locks.

Suddenly, a band across the field starts to play...

There has not been music this whole tournament, but suddenly someone has decided to start something up.

And it's something fast and very upbeat and Ash and Angela grimace...

While they distantly hear the maid gasp for some reason.

"I-Is that... 'Old on now.." She mumbles, and fumbles with her spectacles.

And then GASPS again!

"IT'S... THAT'S... IT'S SEBASTIAN!!!" She cries, over the loud roaring music.

"WHAT??"

Both Ash and Angela's voice cry in unison, and the angel shoots up from the maid's lap to look around urgently.

"There!! Look!! The one conductin' the band!!" Mey shouts again, one hand on their shoulder and one pointing in the proper direction.

And finally the angel sees.

The demon.

Across the way.

In front of a musical band of students, turned away, in some kind of robe or cape.. (i-is that a..) ...snapping his hand around in the air briskly to the beat of the music with a conductor's baton.

"Ohhh, Sebastian's so talented, he is!!" They manage to make out Mey Rin squealing, "Who knew he could conduct music, too!!"

"Yes, quite a feat," Angela manages distantly to answer, almost honestly...

And yet why is he do this...

But that answer becomes clear as they catch on that every clash of cymbals, one of the Blue Team hits a ball.

But before the angel can roll their eyes at this new gimmick, it's already ended, the Green team having still outwitted them, and also..

The conducting demon is gone..

Leaving behind the band standing there in confusion and a young fellow student holding the baton now.

....

"What??? Why did he leave so fast??"

"....Hm, maybe to plan another tactic."

"But... then why... what was the POINT.. that.. THAT STUPID DEMON, I AUGHT TO FIND HIM AND-"

"He was wearing a ferraiolo cape..."

".....What."

Ash's voice had snapped out from Angela's lips harshly at this observation his Other had made.

And yet he could not refute it, for he too knew what it looked like, and it and he had been wearing all black from top to bottom, and he had said in his letters he had become a professor and...

Weston College was known to hold a long standing history of... Catholicism...

"The demon... dressing not only as a teacher but as... a.... p-p-p... priest...."

Ash was uttering in a low voice.

"...I do think I saw a rosary 'round his neck at one point, I did,"

Mey Rin muttered.. behind her hand. As if she herself was afraid of what her sharp eyes had managed to see.

"Th..... That..... that......."

"A-Ash.." Mey hesitantly warned.

"That.... damned...... DEMON."

Angela's form was standing, and storming off in a flurry.

And Mey Rin promptly covered her eyes.

"Oh dear.. This is probably why he didn't want all of us to come, he didn't.."

???? The End/ To Be Continued ????

#kuroshitsuji #sebastian michaelis #mey rin #ash landers #angela blanc #sebamey #sebash #angelamey #my writing

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