Surrounded by Doubt | Kuroshitsuji

Chapter 9 - Conversing with the Devil

Ciel woke up with a distinct pain in his lower abdomen, the demon had held quite the grip on him yesterday and it was showing through some bluish skin.

His plan to escape had ended rather pathetic as he didn't even manage to reach the door, not to mention that he actually fell asleep while bathing. He was feeling slightly embarrassed at the thought of what had occurred the night before but shocked it off at the sight of light making it past the drapes.

Was it already morning? Then he must have woken up before Sebastian was going to wake him.

... Ah Sebastian.. Right..

His mind had been so clouded by fear last night that any thought of handling the demon disguising as a butler had been made through impulse.

Though none of these impulse decisions had actually been of any help. Now that he was alone he could think things through, he still needed the demon for the purpose of dispatching any one who'd wronged him and there was no point in running away as the seal in his eye would always lead Sebastian back to him.

Yet this uneasiness creeping up on him every time Sebastian came to mind was eating on him from the inside.

Weren't demons designed to deceive and cheat in order to get what they wanted, regardless of what method was deemed necessary?

Sebastian would enter through those doors any minute now, he needed to decide on which direction things were going to go now. He still had the upper hand as long as the demon kept his word. It would probably be easiest to pretend everything was as usual, that could hopefully bring down the demon's guard and allow me to uncover any ploy he has Ciel thought while staring at the wall with a blank expression.

He glanced at the door, a knock could be heard and he already knew whose presence was behind it. Sebastian entered, their eyes met and the butler released a heavy sigh yet his features indicated he was more relieved if anything.

"Ah my lord, it would seem you've woken up early for once" He said with a devilish smile and a hint of taunt in his voice before continuing.

"Though I would have wished for you to get some more rest considering how your.. outburst yesterday left you with little or should I perhaps say no energi"

Sebastian had barely been in the room for a minute and yet he so effortlessly made Ciel's blood boil, the boy turned his head.

"Guess I should be considered lucky as the demon beside me didn't go for the free midnight snack.." It was probably not the brightest of ideas to provoke his butler as he was fully capable to launch at him at any time but Ciel felt like without a response it could be considered forfeiting this invitation to a battle of words.

He could feel the butler's gaze on him, despite that Ciel didn't revert back to looking at Sebastian, instead he waited for a response as silence had started to lay itself in the room.

"Hm.. Is that how you currently view me, master?"

"Currently? Isn't a beast always a beast, no matter how you look at it?" He felt himself regretting his choice of words since the demon had sounded slightly hurt just a second ago. But how that creature felt was not of importance he thought. There was absolutely no reason for him to feel guilty, the boy still tensed up everytime Sebastian attempted to come closer yet having said that, it still had him sense a slight wave of culpability.

"Then can I assume you fear me, young master?" Ciel's gaze met with his butler's as he almost choked at the assumption the demon spewed.

"Fear?" He snorted "See it as me taking precautions"

Sebastian smirked, his features indicating to Ciel that he wasn't convinced by this statement.

"Why would I fear you when you are my dog?" The boy quickly added, shaking in his voice.

The demon looked away, raising one arm and putting his hand over his mouth, the former smirk turned into a devious smile before he turned to the boy again.

"My. I would say 'dog' is quite harsh to be called but after all, if my lord sees it that way, I won't argue"

Before Ciel had a chance to comment on what the butler just said, Sebastian continued expressing his thoughts with a voice calmer than previously.

"And I do hope the terms and conditions you yourself decided on help soothe that cautious mind of yours, if you remember them that is."

"Don't be preposterous, of course I remember"

Never lie to the contractor.

Obey the contractor's commands without question.(Only applies if the contractor says "I order you.")

Protect the contractor without betrayal until his revenge comes to fruition.

Ciel would never forget about the rules that made their arrangement possible, without them as pillars, surely the demon would have devoured him through unseen loopholes or other mischievous ways not long after establishing the contract.

Though he wondered why Sebastian had chosen to bring up the past now, was there something he wanted to confirm? Or maybe he was just playing mind games with him? He started feeling dizzy, actually the urge to throw up made an appearance as well, Ciel swallowed hard to keep from allowing anything to go up.

A loud growl echoed through the room, Ciel placed one hand on his stomach. When was it he had last eaten again? He practically felt ravenous, he looked down on where he'd placed his hand before shifting between passing a subtle glance at the butler standing up and the sheets covering his lower body.

"Forgive me my lord, you have not eaten anything since yesterday morning and must be starving. I'll prepare something light since you are still on bedrest"

Ciel didn't say anything, Sebastian seemed to take it as his que to leave.

The boy's headache came rushing back again, it really hurt but what was more annoying was that he couldn't do anything to fix it and lying in bed felt like a waste of time.

The butler returned shortly, a tray filled with different small foods to choose from. To Ciel's surprise, the butler only left the tray with him before excusing himself to do other chores around the mansion.

What had been most peculiar though, was that Sebastian forgot to close the door after leaving. Instead it was left wide open so Ciel could see the hallway outside but was it really necessary for him to think a minor slipup like leaving the door open had anything to do with the demon's vicious plans?