That Butler, New Face

That Butler, Encounters

End of the nineteenth century—as the Social Season was coming to a close... There occurred a serial murder case that shook Great Britain to  its core. The victims were all prostitutes. Every one of them was discovered chopped into pieces, their wombs stolen right out of their bodies. Because of the hideous state in which the victims were found, the killer became known as—

'Jack the Ripper.'

{The next night, London's East End}

"It's cold..." Chêne and Ciel said, rubbing their arms as they shivered. It might be summer, but the nights were still rather cool, and the all the rain they had the other day, had turned out to be the precursor for a small cold front. It was probably not the best night for a holding a stakeout in a dark alley.

"Oh, C-Ciel, d-did you want my c-coat?" Chêne asked him. She was shivering and her teeth were chattering due to the cold, despite the fact that she was wearing a tan trench coat. Ciel sweat-dropped. While Chêne was a pro at handling hot weather without a sweat—literally, she hardly ever sweated during the English summers since they were so mild compared to the hot and humid summers of Louisiana—she was positively weak to the cold. She even called it her 'kryptonite.'

"It's not that cold, and you look like you need it more..." Ciel said. He noticed Sebastian was smirking at him. The demon butler knew Ciel was just acting tough out of concern for Chêne, not that Ciel would ever admit it. "Anyway, if your teeth chatter any louder than that, you'll alert the killer to our presence!" Ciel said, coughing to hide his embarrassment.

"R-Right, sorry, I-I'll chew some gum to stop it," Chêne said, pulling a small pack of Funtom's cinnamon flavored bubblegum out of her coat pocket, and popping a gumball in her mouth. "Want one?" she asked, offering some to Ciel.

"I'll pass for now," Ciel said, sweat-dropping.

"Though your usual garb would have stood out In the East End... you must be feeling a slight chill in those clothes? It looks like it might rain as well," Sebastian said, moving to unbutton his coat so he could offer it to Ciel. Ciel had donned the outfit of a 'newspaper boy' as Chêne had called it. Chêne was also disguised as a boy, and she was wearing a similar outfit to Ciel's, only her hair was tucked up under a bowler hat instead. And unlike Ciel, she actually owned a coat that wouldn't stand out too much on the streets... not that it really seemed to be doing her any good... To be honest, they had tried to leave her behind, but Chêne had just followed them anyway.

"Wearing that will make me stand out just as much, so I'll pass," Ciel said.

"But what if you catch a cold, Ciel?" Chêne scolded him. "Come here, if you won't wear Sebastian's coat, then share mine with me," she said, holding her coat open so that she could wrap it around both of them, and share the warmth.

"..." Ciel said, staring at her. "... You're certain he'll make an appearance if we keep watch here, right?" he asked Sebastian, deciding to ignore Chêne's generosity. There was no way he was doing something that embarrassing. Chêne flinched in shock at the rejection, and pouted as she began re-buttoning her coat.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me later when you have the sniffles..." Chêne muttered, sulking.

"Yes. This is the only entrance, and... this is the only path that leads to it," Sebastian said, smirking in amusement at Chêne.

"And you're positive the next target will be Mary Kelly, who lives in that tenement?" Ciel asked, peeking around the corner to look at the next Ripper victim's home.

"Yeah," Chêne said, rubbing her arms for warmth. She honestly didn't understand how Ciel could stand to be out here without a coat.

"I think I have told you as much numerous times? Though, the three of us lying in wait here makes us stick out like sore thumbs..." Sebastian said.

"Ah, that's true..." Chêne said, sweat-dropping. They were probably the only ones out on the street at this time of night.

"Quite... In addition to the murdered prostitutes 'lacking internal organs'... There is still another 'commonality," Ciel said.

"You're welcome," Chêne said, giving him a brilliant shit-eating grin. After they had finally decided to listen to her, and check into the prostitutes' backgrounds, they finally made some real progress. Sebastian just seemed to find the whole thing rather amusing, and he had even said that if Ciel hadn't ordered him to specifically 'narrow down' the list of suspects, then he could've included Chêne's criteria in the search. Sebastian had admitted that Chêne's theory for who and why were probably correct, but he hadn't bothered to investigate them, because rather than 'narrowing down' the list of suspects, it 'widened' it. Ciel was not amused. Ciel sweat-dropped and avoided Chêne's gaze.

"But... what makes killing them necessary for him?" Ciel asked. "Moreover, I..." Chêne tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ciel, I think we've lost Sebastian..." Chêne said, pointing to where the demon butler was kneeling down in the street, playing with a rather friendly stray cat. Well, Chêne couldn't really blame him. It was adorable.

"... Hey, are you even listening to a word I'm saying, Sebastian!?" Ciel demanded, vein mark throbbing on his forehead, as Chêne kneeled down beside Sebastian, and began scratching behind the cat's ear. The cat purred and meowed happily as it snuggled up against the two servants.

"Aaaaaww~!" Chêne cooed, entranced by its cuteness.

"Ah, excuse me. I could not resist," Sebastian said seriously with a gleam in his eye. "As She is a rare beauty, I..."

"How cute..." Chêne said, blushing slightly out of happiness, as the cat cuddled with her.

"We're not keeping it! We already have a cat, don't we!? So put it back!" Ciel yelled, scolding them, as a vein throbbed on his forehead.

"Very well.." Sebastian said reluctantly as he and released the stray back into the wild streets of London. "But she is so lovely..." he said regretfully. Chêne nodded in agreement, sadly waving goodbye to the cute kitty.

"If you don't cut it out, I'm telling Jasper that you cheated on her, Chêne," Ciel said bluntly, crossing his arms as he stared down mercilessly at the older girl.

"Nooooo!!" Chêne cried in dismay as she jumped up and grabbed Ciel. "It's not what it looks like—I swear! Jasper I and Jasper II will always be the first felines in my heart!!"

"I was just joking!" Ciel shouted, managing to escape from Chêne's bone-crushing hug. Sheesh..." Ciel said, sweat-dropping, as he sighed in exasperation. 'Just who is the adult around here...?' Ciel wondered, chagrined.