Kuro Kishi : Akuma no Joō - Dark Knight: Dark Queen (A Fruits Basket x Kuroshitsuji Crossover)

Chapter Twenty-one: Even Greater Complications

The rest of the evening had gone on in rather an uneventful manner. Even Sebastian had to admit to that. His young master had fallen asleep not too long after his supper, despite his obvious alarm at the news he'd been brought, sure that the mysterious deaths reported by Shigure to the butler were somehow connected, as the demon also believed. But any investigation on the matter had been stalled by keeping his promise to socialize with those below, not that he'd learned much from the newspaper clipping he'd managed to pinch from the writer.

And now he was rousing around town once more, silent as a shadow, only a hundred times more deadly. He'd come across quite a few unsavory souls as he'd backtracked to the location the bodies had been found, a bit surprised that he'd somehow missed them earlier that day, though it was entirely possible that the incident had happened after he'd already swept the area. If not, they had some major problems.

With an almost satisfied smile, he disposed of a doctor's lab coat he'd managed to procure at the hospital morgue. He'd read the coroner's report and made a quick inspection of his own. The silly humans had put down the poor victims' deaths as due to natural causes, but he knew better. Their souls had been forcefully sucked from their bodies, and probably when they'd least expected something like that to happen, which meant their foe was far more clever than he'd wanted to give her credit. There was a slight essence of the feminine left behind, which was more than enough for him connect their original quarry to this incident.

She had to be of demon-kind, or something similar, he decided. There was no doubt in his mind, and, to be sure, he went back over the entire trail he'd traversed earlier, spending more time than he had previously, to seek out the scent, along with the interweaving of spiritual energy around certain locations. Going into more detail with this investigation allowed him a slightly more clear notion of what had transpired, and though he was still not sure who had dispersed this confusing web of decoy energy, he was glad for it else he knew more would be lost, including Tohru's other mortal friends.

He had his suspicions, of course. The energies were definitely familiar, but elusive at the same time, like they didn't mind being admired in the sunlight, but were like quicksilver the moment you tried to grasp them for a more thorough investigation. It was almost disconcerting, but since it didn't seem to mean any harm, he tried to ignore that point and thank whoever had left it for their foresight in its protective properties. He rather though certain strands were more than adequate, in full strength, to befuddle the minds of those either unaware or of weaker minds, either to their protection or damnation, though he rather thought the former was the intention.

It was upon his further investigation, following the slight trail of these younger, more virulent energies that he came across yet another scent of a familiar nature, two to be exact. He let out a loaded sigh of recognition and resignation. He supposed it was only a matter of time before curiosity got the better of certain people, and a certain Chinese Dragon Lord was one of them. Of course he'd follow after, curiosity getting the better of him, and of course he, or his companion, would remember how to get to the portal that would bring them forward in time.

Sebastian pursed his lips thoughtfully. Should he go after them? Before they got themselves into some major trouble and ruined everything? Or should he let them be and hope they continued in a bumbling, even if feigned, course throughout modern times? He shook his head. It would not do. He had to track them down and bring them back with him. With a roll of his eyes, he set himself on their trail, hoping they hadn't done anything to throw things out of the already precarious balance they were in.

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Ciel groaned in his sleep, trying to find a more comfortable position to rest his body, but didn't find any. His shoulder throbbed painfully. His headache banged against his skull like Finny with a hammer set free on wrecking something. His throat felt like it was on fire, the gland swelling as he slept, making breathing increasingly more difficult. Soon, his breathing was like someone panting for breath.