Black Butler: I Never Asked You

I Never Asked You: Chapter 13

*watch the Lizzie video at the end. Most excellent but not my video.*

After some talk Sebastian learned the Shinigami's name was Kimura. "What do you make of this?" said she, indicating the flower bulbs. "You say you found them hidden under her duvet? Her handlers didn't know about them. Otherwise why would they be hidden?"

"She was in too much of a hurry to take them when they left," the black butler said.  "Which is understandable. Things were a bit chaotic." He was thinking of the carnage he himself had wrought.  "So, how did you hear about Flower?"

Kimura did not answer him. She was rummaging in her kimono and waist pouch. "I seem to have dropped my mirror."

Sebastian produced a small mirror which Kimura accepted gratefully. She took a few minutes to carefully reposition and adjust her kanzashi. When she was finished she looked very striking. Sebastian thought that with her long neck and flowing sleeves she looked a bit dragonesque or serpentine.  It was not a bad look.

"Where did you meet Flower?"

"At a ninja dojo. I hung around there a lot because at the beginning of every training class there a quite a few souls to reap. One year there were three times that number. I never really paid attention to the killing side of it but I got curious. That day I peeked in the door a child was facing off with a man."

"There wasn't any order to his attacks and there wasn't any order to her defense. I don't know much at all about combat. It just looked like chaos. Finally he was wearing down. He had already fought more than I had ever seen a human fight. He moved forward to stomp on her but she spun away from him. Then my eyes were opened and I could see the delicate patterns she traced on the floor. Little footprints. Little handprints as she spun away from him. So tiny.  And that's when ..." Her composure faltered.

"When ... ?"

"When she pierced him, of course. And he died. What else did you think I was going to say? Her mask returned. "When word spread of his death, the rest of the village descended on the school. They were going to murder her. I thought she might be helpful to me, so I took her."

"She could see you, then. Not surprising given her penchant for blood." I might like this child, thought Sebastian. He continued. What of her parents? Did she kill them, too?"

"No. But I assumed the form of her human mother. She was a fairly well-known tayuu who died from opium addiction."

"How terrible," said Sebastian. How trite, he thought. "What about the father?"

"Patience, demon. Her father lived in this country.  It has taken me years to track her this far.. I found out he was a famous scientist working on a secret project."

Ah, thought the demon. Now we are getting somewhere.

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Lizzie went to bathe and emerged refreshed. The secret blend of salts to ease her soreness was an old Midford family recipe. But it did nothing to soften skin. For that, the young woman reached for a bottle given to her by Miss Sullivan. When the stopper was pulled it was as if live flowers bloomed in the bath. 

Sieglinde .. my friend. Lizzie decided to pay her a visit. When I'm done. She slid completely into the perfumed water.

Lizzie arrived at the cottage and knocked on the door. She admired the bouquet of roses from her family's garden. She had chosen each one herself. The colors were quite marvelous, if she did say so herself. Lizzie knocked again. Usually Mr. Gelzer answered before the first knock was over. She heard the tnp tnp of Sieglinde's metal legs. The door opened and Sieglinde smiled coolly, practically posing.