Crimson Butler: Kuroshitsuji/Shakugan No Shana Fanfic (Vol. 2)

Chapter 9: His Butler, Supremely Talented

Later on that night, Ciel and Shana were playing a card game when Sebastian reported to them that Agni snuk out of the manor. “Young master, he has made his move.” Sebastian told Ciel. “Good, let's follow him.” Ciel replied. “All right.” Shana said. “Take me with you.” Soma said. Ciel and Shana turned around and saw Soma standing at the door. “You? Why?” Ciel asked. “I know that Agni has been sneaking out after I fall asleep. I want to know what he has been up to. That is my right.” Soma replied. “Fine, you can come.” Ciel said, “But only because you are his master.” He, Shana, Sebastian, and Soma were then on there way to where Agni was headed. Shortly afterwards, they arrived at an extraordinary estate that Agni went inside. “A nice place. Who lives here?” Soma asked. “This estate belongs to Harold West Jepp.” Ciel replied, “He imports a wide range of goods from India. He also owns various stores, coffee houses, and what have you. I've met him once, he's disgustingly obsessed with his social status.” “People at one of his businesses have been found trossed up and hung upside down.” Sebastian informed, “Mr. West happened to be away at the time however, so fortunately for him, he managed to escape unharmed.” “Interesting. . .” Shana said. “Shall we have a look?” Ciel asked Sebastian. “Indeed.” Sebastian replied. Then, they snuk into the estate and secretly followed Agni and Harold to Harold's room. “Why not relax with a nice scotch? An excellent one from Justerini and Brooks. They hold the royal warrant, you know.” Harold said to Agni, “Our plan has been perfect so far. You've done well for me, Agni. I think we've done all we need to. Stringing up anyone else won't be necessary.” He then grabbed Agni's right hand. “With this “blessed hand of yours” the royal warrant may as well already be in my pocket.” he told him. “A royal warrant?” Shana asked. “That's what this is?” Ciel asked. If I carry out the plan as promised. . .” Agni said, “Then Mina-” The very moment Soma heard Agni mention Mina, he bursted into the room without a second thought. “Where is Mina?!” he asked loudly and noticeably. “What the-” Harold said. “My prince!” Agni exclaimed. Ciel and Shana were shocked by how Soma busted into the room just like that, but Sebastian pulled them out of sight. “Mr. West is almost certain to recognize us. We must stay back.” Sebastian told them. Meanwhile, Soma confronts Agni about Mina. “What is this?! You have known where Mina is all along Agni?!” he asks harshly. “I see, this intrusive young man is your master.” Harold said to Agni. “And you are the man who took Mina away!” Soma said to Harold. “Get him! Do you hear me?!” He ordered Agni. Agni was hesitating. He did not know who he should listen too. “What are you waiting for?!” Soma asked him. Meanwhile, Ciel Sebastian, and Shana were still waiting outside the room. “Let's grab that idiot prince and get out of here right now!” Ciel said. “This man will most likely notice you if he sees you, though.” Alastor said. “Then we'll need to find a way we can snatch him without being noticed.” Shana replied. “I'll take care of it.” Sebastian said. In the room, Agni was still hesitating. “Well Agni, are you going to take care of this brat for me?” Harold asked him. “Brat?” Soma asked. Unable to take anymore of this peer pressure, Agni was about to slap his own master, when Sebastian, wearing a deer head, jumped in. Harold was surprised by what he was seeing. “A deer man?! What's going on here?!” he asked wildly. “Yes, thank you for stating the obvious, I am a deer. I've come for the prince.” “He's a foregin spy! Get him!” Harold told Agni. “No, I'm simply one hell of a deer.” Sebastian replied. “Do something or our aggrement is over!” Harold threatened Agni. Agni hesitated in peer pressure. He strated to cry bloody tears and dropped to his knees. “Since I was reborn, I have had only one god and master. . .” he said with blood running out of his eyes, “I vowed that I would never swing my fist for anyone but him. I am gulity of betraying that vow. Please forgive me!” “Don't do it Agni!” Soma exclaimed. Agni ripped of the bandages on his right hand and unleashed a never before seen power. He then began to trash the room as he was trying to swing at Soma and Sebastian. And Harold was crying over the exquisite goods that he spent lots of money on. Ciel and Shana were outside the room listening to the whole thing. “Seems like we should get going now. . .” Shana said to Ciel. “Good idea.” Ciel replied. He stook his head into the room. “Hey, Sebastian! We're drawing too much attenion! Grab the kid and get out of here!” “Yes, sir.” Sebastian replied with the deer head still on. He broke through the window, and left the manor. Shana and Ciel flew out of the window as well. When they arrived back at Ciel's manor, they were having a talk about Agni. “With that kind of power, he really is no oridinary human.” Shana said. “It is a mental technique he uses called Samadi.” Soma explained, “When he gets like that, no one can touch him.” “Never heard of it.” Ciel said. “I imagine it's a type of trance.” Sebastian said, “Agni has absolute faith in his master. Consequently from that faith, he is able to produce superhuman power. His skills arn born of something we could never understand, the power of complete love and trust in another person.” Shana was looking at Sebastian with uncertainty in her eyes. There's no doubt about it, Agni must be a denizen. . . she thought to herself, Sebastian must be one too. . . “But, this betrayal. . . why would he do it? WHY DO THE PEOPLE CLOSE TO ME ALWAYS LEAVE?!?!” Soma yelled. Out of anger and frustration, he smacked Ciel's teaset off the table, causing it to break. “Prince Soma!” Ciel yelled. Soma was trembling with despair. “All of them. . . but why?” he asked with tears running down his eyes. He then stormed out of the room crying. “Poor guy.” Shana said softly. “Oh, just look at the exquisite tea set I ordered.” Sebastian sighed, “It very well suited my master. Children. . . it seems that this one in particular requires some personal disciplining.” Soma was sulking in his room when Sebastian went to go talk to him. He took off a blanket that Soma had over him. “You careless pig!” he exclaimed. “I'm the careless one? You are in England at the estate of my master, Lord Phantomhive. You have no right to give me any orders here. You're just an ordinary brat. You're a helpless child who can do nothing without Agni on his side. And now your pillar of strength has left you.” “You're right. . . I've lost everyone. . . everyone who mattered to me now. . .” Soma said softly with tears in his eyes. “Lost? You're more than a child than I thought.” Sebastian laughed, “You haven't lost anything, prince. Don't you understand, you can't have lost something you never had to begin with. Status from your parents. . . a palace from your parents. . . a servant from your parents. . . Never before in your life has something actually belonged to you. . . Isn't that right?” Soma did not want to believe what Sebastian was telling him. “It is not. . .” he said bitterly.” “Some part of you must have known the truth about Agni.” Sebastian told him, “But you were too much of a coward to face the truth, weren't you.” “You're wrong. You're wrong! You're wrong!!! YOU'RE WRONG!!!” Soma yelled as he tried to escape the room. Sebastian blocked the doorway so he wouldn't leave the room. “You know I'm not wrong. You're finally seeing the truth. And now you want to play the tragic hero. What a hopelessly pathetic brat you are.” Sebastian told Soma. Soma dropped to his knees. “They said that they would be with me forever. . .” he said with a crying voice. “And you actually believed that?” Sebastian asked, “You're so naïve. Why on earth would they stay if they have nothing in return? That's something even 3-year olds would understand. Time to face facts, no one ever loved you.” Soma was shocked by what Sebastian was telling him. He did not want to believe it for even a second. Then Ciel and Shana entered the room. “That's enough, Sebastian.” Ciel said. “Master?” Sebastian said as he looked over to him. “Who knows? I could have ended up the same way as him. . . if it hadn't been for that month. . .” Ciel said. “What are you talking about?” Soma asked him. “My family, they were killed and my home was burned down. . .” Ciel explained, “I was treated worse than you would treat any animal. I was helpless. . . just a child. But I came back. . . to make the people who did all that to me suffer the same humiliation. And I will find them. My parents were killed for a reason. If I remain the family head and make myself a nusiance to the people who hurt them. . . they'll target me. . . that's what I'm waiting for. Someday, they'll come to take my life too.” Soma and Shana were surprised by Ciel's words; they have just found out about his true intentions. “But why? Why do it?” Soma asked. “Yeah, why?” Shana asked as well. “Because the alternative is grief. And melancholy.” Ciel replied to them, “If I stand still I might as well be dead with them, but I'm alive and still standing. Moving on my own two feet. I'm going to die someday and I'd rather do it without regrets. I'm not going to pretend I'm doing anything noble. This is no grand revenge. It's just a game. I'm waiting to see who wins. However far I fall, as long as there's so much as a thread left of me, I will use it to climb. I'll take hold of it, and refuse to give up. I am still human I can do that much. But every person must decide on his or her own wheter or not to grab it. Enough of this idle talk. Sebastian, we need to talk about West now. Come.” “Yes.” Sebastian replied. Ciel, Shana, and Sebastian walked out of the room. Shana was wondering about Ciel's true intentions. “Hey Ciel,” she said to him, “you know, I know that you-” then Soma came out of nowhere. “Ciel!” he called. Ciel turned to look at him. “I am 17 years old, but you're right, compared to you I am nothing more than a child.” Soma said, “I'm nothing more than a spoiled brat. I know that there was something that had been bothering Agni. But I did not bother to ask, did I? Now, I want to know, I want to see them in person and ask why they left me! I'm begging you! Let me come!” “I don't think so. . .” Ciel replied, “You're a naïve idiot, I don't want to chaperone you. Of course, it's not like I'm going to go through the trouble of locking you in here.” Soma then gave Ciel a hug. “Thank you!” he exclaimed. “Get off!” Ciel yelled. “I am sorry I lost my temper earlier and broke your teaset. Please forgive me.” Soma said. He looked back and saw Sebastian standing there looking at him. He got a little scared. He went behind Ciel's back. “Oh yeah, and you too. I am very sorry.” He said to Sebastian softly. “It's allright,” Sebastian replied, “I find you entertaining.” They went to the living room to have a conversation about Harold West. “I didn't realize west was after a royal warrant.” Ciel said, “Though, given his obsession with status it does make sense.” “I was wondering, what exactly is a royal warrant?” Soma asked. “It's an endorsement bestowed by the royal family upon their favorite vendors.” Lau said, “Royal warrant holders are official proveyors to the crown.” “Yes, Indeed.” Sebastian replied, “And in one week, a curry exhibition will be held as part of the festivities at the Crystal Palace. I'm told it should be quite the event.” “A curry exhibition?” Shana asked. “What's more: from what I heard, her majesty, who was widely known to be a lover of curry will be in attendance that day.” Sebastian replied. “Nothing more than a rumor,” Ciel said, “ever since her husband Prince Albert has passed away, her majesty rarely condensents to make any public appearences.” “So then, what do the curry exhibition and the recent crimes have to do with each other?” Shana asked Ciel. “The connection is the curry, the specialty at West's coffee house.” Ciel replied, “If he obtains the royal warrant for his curry, his sales are sure to increase dramatically. My guess is he was using Agni to target specific men. They were probably his rivals for the curry exhibition. When he hanged the men, he included notes that were insulting to the English. That was done to make it seem as if the attacks were carried out by a bitter Indian. Likely, Mina was West's bait. She's probably the only reason Agni got involved. I'm guessing he did it all for you, Soma.” Soma's eyes widened as Sebastian handed a note to Ciel, and then passed it to Soma. “You worship Kali, a goddess who is depicted with her tounge sticking out.” Ciel said to Soma, “Agni worships his god along with Kali. The connection seems obvious. He clearly signed those letters as a way of apoligizing to you.” “He may indeed have left, but everything he does is still for you, no one else.” Sebastian said to him, “Agni lives only for you. He is a fine butler. . .” Soma took a close look at the letter. “My! My! My! I do love a happy ending!” Lau exclaimed, “It looks like everything is all wraped up no need to get more invovled! I'm sure the Yard could handle this.” “Wait, no!” Soma exclaimed, “There's Agni and Mina! What will happen to them?” “We know that the criminal underworld isn't involved in this, which means it has nothing to do with us.” Ciel replied. “You're right, this is my problem. I need to be strong and find a way to handle it on my own.” Soma replied. “That's the right attitude.” Ciel replied, “And it affords me the liberty to look after my own agenda. I was called to the city this winter for this idiotic case. I think I deserve to be compensated for the inconvenience, don't you? Thanks to West, the competition at the curry exhibition this year will be considerably slimmer than it would normally be. So perhaps the Phantomhive company should enter its own curry. We would only have to beat west. Then the royal warrant will have to fall in our hands.” “What?” Shana asked with a surprised look on her face. “I was already considering expanding into the food industry anyway. Winning a royal warrant for our curry would generate some buzz. It would be an excellent way to get started.” “But you only have a week before the contest. Can you find an adequet curry chef and gather equipment in time?” Lau asked Ciel. “I don't think that would be necessary.” Ciel replied, “Right, Sebastian?” “If I couldn't make a good curry for my young master, then what kind of a butler would I be?” Sebastian asked, “I shall secure the royal warrant.” “Impossible!” Soma called out, “There is no way you can win! They have Agni cooking for them. And his hand was blessed by the goddess Kali.” “Yes, I'm willing to admit that Agni is a good fighter,” Ciel said, “but this is a cooking competition, not a combat.” “That is what I am saying, none of you have even glimpsed Agni's true power yet. You don't know real curry.” “What is this real curry?” Ciel asked. “The key to curry is a mixture of spices. The possiblites are infinite.” Soma explained, “Choosing the right one is a very difficult task. It is like. . . trying to find one truth in a vast universe! But Agni can do it. He creates words out of nothingness. His power is on the same plain as the gods. That is why he is known as the godly right hand of Kali. Never in my life have I tasted a bowl of curry that could even begin to compare to his.” “So Agni's true power is creating the curry of Kali. . .” Shana said. Lau then obnoxiously laughed at the fact. “Well, what do you think?” Ciel asked Sebastian. “Fascinating indeed.” Sebastian replied, “Sounds like a challenge. . . .”

The next day, Ciel was in his office with Shana talking about what he had told Soma last night. “Listen, Ciel.” Shana said, “I feel very sorry for you that you had to go through such pain, I do. But maybe you should consider an alternative.” “Like what? The grieving and melancholy? Forget it.” Ciel said. “No, but moving forward with your life.” Shana replied. “What are you talking about, Shana? I am moving forward with my life.” Ciel said. “Then why are you bent on finding those who slaughtered your parents?” Shana asked. “Because I'm going to make them suffer the same humiliation they inflicted on me.” Ciel replied, “And like I said, it's not revenge, it's just a game to see who will win.” “If it's for your parents, then it's definetely for revenge.” Shana told him. Ciel couldn't believe what she was saying; he thought that it wasn't for revenge, it's just a game. She took his right hand and held it with both of her hands. “Listen, I said it myself.” Shana said, “I am your friend. I am here for you. I want to help you. Be happier and life a happy life so that you wouldn't have to have your parents to live happily. Because that's apparently why you're not happy as much as you were when you were younger; you had your parents and you were happy, but when you lost you them you stopped smiling and became this emotionless avenger you are today.” Ciel's eyes widened. “Do you really think killing these people will bring back your parents?” Shana asked him. “I never said that!” he replied harshly as his hand yanked out of Shana's. “Really? Because to me, that's what it seems like!” Shana yelled. “You know, you're one to tell Soma about moving forward, yet you're still dwelling on the death of your parents. At least Soma has the willpower to even smile despite all the pain of losing Mina and Agni. You on the other hand, you don't have the willpower to even smile because you lost parents. You just want to avenge them. And if you do, then what will happen? Is that denizen butler of yours going to consume your power of existence? Don't tell me that Sebastian is not a denizen, but he must be! He can consume your existence like how other denizens could. And that vampire butler as well.” Ciel then got really ticked off by Shana's words. “THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH WITH YOUR NONSENSE!!!” Ciel yelled. He got up from his seat, walked over to her, and grabbed her by her shirt. “I'M THE HEAD OF THIS MANOR AND YOU HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO LECTURE ME WITH YOUR RUBBISH!” He yelled. Just when he was about to slap Shana, Sebastian walked in. With a slice of Choclate Cake. “Pardon me, but for today's tea we have gateau au chocolat.” Sebastian said. “I'll need proper dress for a royal audience.” Ciel told him. “You insist she won't come, but you dress up anyway. How amusing, the queen's guard dog is certainly a well-trained little puppy.” “Have you made a curry better than Agni's yet?” Ciel asked. “No,” Sebastian replied, “according to Soma something's still lacking.” “Then get back to the kitchen and stop wasting time making cakes. You have more important things to do.” Ciel said. “Yes, I understand my lord.” Sebastian replied. “And by the way, I'm not in the mood for chocolate right now. Put it in the curry or something.” Ciel said. “Yes, my young master.” Sebastian replied. And he walked out the room. “Listen Ciel, just forget about your revenge, let it go, okay?” Shana told Ciel. Then she walked out of the room as well. She rubbed her eyes. They were tingling a little as if she was about to start crying. Ciel. . . She tought, please be happy. . . you don't have to be happy for your parents, but be happy. . . at least for me. . .