All in the Golden Afternoon (Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler fanfic)(Sebastian x Ciel)

Prologue

All in the Golden Afternoon:

Prologue:

1882:

London, England:

A figure clad in black licked the last vestiges of the soul he had just consumed off his lips and stretched his mouth into a heinous smile that was fitting of his nature, considering he was a demon.

He glanced at the grove of cherry blossom trees surrounding him with their petals floating in the wind. He had chosen this secluded location carefully to end his contract with the human that was currently lying still at his feet underneath one of the cherry blossom trees, her blood soaking into the roots. The deathly pallor of the girl's skin completed the picture beautifully along with the cherry blossom petal that had just landed on her cheek.

The demon had not expected to find such a quiet and secluded place in London, a city that had become greatly industrialised of late and was teeming with masses of street urchins, carriages and factories breathing smog into the once fresh air. The aesthetically pleasing location made it much more enjoyable to consume souls, although this one had tasted a little bland- the girl had never been consumed by despair and hatred to the extent that would have made her soul taste rather delicious.

His sharp ears picked up the unexpected sounds of approaching footsteps so he grabbed the girl's corpse and climbed up the nearest tree. It would not do for the body to be discovered in this area and have the grass and flowers trampled over by idiot peelers and gawkers.

A small boy walked into view. The demon judged him to be around seven years of age and from an upper-class family if his finely tailored sailor collared shirt, shorts and shoes were any indication.

The demon was prepared to wait for the boy to leave before he disposed of the body and went in search of a new soul to make a contract for. However, an unprotected event occurred right there and then.

The blood that had been slowly flowing from the girl's body dripped down from the tree and landed as two splatters on the little boy's cheeks and the boy looked up at the tree and their eyes met, freezing both the human and demon in shock.

After a moment, the demon recovered from the shock and jumped down from the tree with the girl's body under one arm to knock the boy unconscious with a jab to the pressure point on the back of the neck and caught him as he fell.

No one had ever witnessed him in a situation like this and he needed to make a decision before the boy woke up. The options were kill him or make a contract with him. The second option was not a particularly desirable one due to the fact that the boy did not reek of any despair instead it was quite the contrary, he seemed to be loved and well cared for which did not make for a mouth-watering soul.

As he waited for him to wake he absently stroked the small boy's pale skin and fine blue grey hair, admiring the softness, a clear sign that he was from a rich family. He also rubbed off the splatters of blood. He watched the boy's eyelids slowly open to reveal clear cerulean blue eyes which first looked blank and then confused upon noticing that he was lying in the arms of a stranger. The demon waited for him to start screaming for help which he did not.

Instead he stood up and looked around.

"I am sorry, did I faint...?" he asked puzzledly. "Thank you for helping me."

The demon's eyes widened, the boy did not remember anything of what he had seen.

"Are these cherry blossom trees? They look beautiful," the boy continued on, unaware of the dead body lying behind the tree where the demon had hidden it in a hurry.

"Do you like them?" the demon enquired with a smile. "Do you know that a corpse is buried under every cherry blossom tree?"

"A corpse?" he gasped.

The demon decided to have a little fun with the boy, even if he had forgotten about seeing the body for the moment, he might remember at a later date so he was going to have to kill him. A Japanese legend that he had heard regarding the colour of cherry blossoms provided the inspiration. He picked one of the blossoms and held it out for the boy to touch.

"There is a reason behind why they bloom so beautifully, it is because of the corpse underneath the tree," he crushed the blossom in his hand and allowed it to float away on the wind. "The blossoms are white in reality, they are only pale crimson because they drank the blood from the corpse underneath the tree."

He found himself being thrown off again by the boy's response. Tears formed in his eyes and his displayed his innocence by asking,

"But does that hurt the person underneath the tree?"

The demon raised his eyebrows, the pure were fun to corrupt and taint. This boy was going to be more fun than he had initially thought.

He bent down so he could get closer to the boy.

"I will make a bet with you," he said. "If we ever meet again-"

As he spoke the wind blew loudly meaning that the boy was left completely in the dark about what the bet was about.

"-but today I will let you go..."

Following that he knocked the boy unconscious again and swiftly left the scene with the body and disposed of it down a dingy alley on the other side of London.

***

Five years passed until he encountered the boy again. The situation was ironic considering that the boy had summoned him, in a fit of anger and hatred, a complete contrast to their last encounter.

"Oh?" he smirked widely. The boy had changed dramatically since their last meeting, although his height was still around the same. "What a tiny master this is. The fact will not change in all eternity and the sacrifice that has been made will never return. Make your choice."

The newly applied pentagram on the boy's right eye glowed and with great force he shouted,

"I command you! Kill them all!"

A definite change from the innocent boy five years ago. Waiting for his soul to become delicious was one of the best decisions that he had made in his long life. But, for now he had an order to fulfil and within seconds he had efficiently killed every other living person in the room. They did deserve it, partially because the cult had summoned him to grant them eternal life without thinking of the consequences and for laying their soiled hands on his prey.

He led the boy out of the cage and decided now would be the time to ask one of the most important questions.

"What is your name?"

"I am Ciel. Ciel Phantomhive. The successor to the title of Earl Phantomhive."

The demon smiled to himself. His prey was quite the catch. He had guessed that he came from a rich family, but it was a surprise that he had been raised to become an Earl. He would have to choose his form carefully and ensure that it did not resemble the face he had been using when they had originally met.

"I see. Very well. Then I must take a form befitting the servant on an Earl," he paused to merge into a human form. "Command of my anything you wish... my little lord."

***

The part about cherry blossoms being pink because of blood is really a Japanese legend which provided the inspiration for this fanfic.