Ciel’s heart began to race as they inched closer.
Their seemingly casual stroll did nothing to hide their intent in Ciel’s eyes.
He attempted to slow his breathing, remembering his training.
Know your limits, and don’t ever forget them!
Glancing sideways, he saw the woman on his street begin to rush towards him, covering ground at an inhumane speed, without making any noise on the paved ground.
Ciel pretended not to notice at first, keeping his eyes forward facing the store window.
He pretended to observe it while still tracking the woman’s movement from the corner of his eye.
He casually put his hand inside his coat, as if searching for something.
By then, the woman had covered the distance between them and quickly lunged at him.
Her arms suddenly lit up on fire, as if she was looking to grab Ciel in a warm embrace.
At the last moment, Ciel suddenly dove backwards, towards the center of the street.
While falling, he finally took his hand out of his coat, brandishing his revolver.
Of course he would bring it, he had suspected danger from the start!
The woman crashed into the shop Ciel was observing, cracking the glass window, and damaging the wall next to it.
Meanwhile, Ciel crashed to the ground and quickly rolled around aiming for the woman.
He fired quickly, unloading two precise bullets at the shop display.
However, the woman quickly scrambled inside the shop, only getting slightly grazed by the first bullet.
She vanished within, blocked by the merchandise in front.
Unfortunately, Ciel couldn’t afford to keep tracking her.
He whirled around to look back where he had come from.
Further behind him on the street, the other two men had crossed the intersection.
Like the woman their faces were almost completely covered, only revealing a thin part of their eyes.
One also rushed at him, two medium-length daggers in hand.
The metal seemed to shine considerably, as if it cast off light.
The other man revealed a pistol and took aim immediately.
Ciel scampered away, taking a diagonal approach towards the middle of the street, away from the two men.
Bang!
Bang!
Gunshots rang out in succession, chasing after Ciel.
One shot directly at him, the bullet hitting its mark and embedding itself into his arm.
Yelping in pain he stumbled and rolled forward.
The pavement below bruised his skin.
Blood began to flow freely from the gunshot wound as he moved.
He gritted his teeth trying his best to keep the pain at bay.
He rolled over by a bunch of crates laying on the other side’s sidewalk, attempting to use it as a brief cover.
Keeping his momentum, he got back up and continued running further down the street as more bullets zipped after him.
Clutching his arm and wincing slightly, he ran as fast as he could, afraid to look back.
The shooter had excellent aim, but Ciel knew the places he would target and deftly ducked and weaved to avoid them.
However, luck could only take him so far.
He knew for a fact that they were gaining on him.
They were definitely Insighted, all three of them.
Far superior in speed and strength to regular humans like Ciel.
Regardless he kept running down the street, back towards the city center.
He needed to find people.
Guards on patrol or anyone with Insight, because he stood no chance on his own.
He quickly wished he hadn’t.
They would catch him in a few seconds.
He felt like he was running in sand, his feet refusing to move as fast as they should.
He knew he wasn’t the slow one, but that did nothing to help his situation.
The woman had quickly joined her comrades in their mad chase.
Thankfully, the gunshots had stopped, since the shooter was now falling behind his two allies.
However, there was no respite, since these two speedsters also happened to be right on Ciel’s heels.
Ciel quickly fired another three rounds.
The woman dodged the first, while the man with the daggers swatted the other two away without breaking stride.
Ciel cursed under his breath.
It was hopeless.
He had no chance to even scratch them, and he would never have enough time to reach the city center.
His mind grew foggy, and his emotions scattered.
Only one last chance remained.
Just as he was entering the next intersection, a breathy voice rang out from around the corner.
“Dive!”
Ciel recognized that voice.
Without hesitation, he dove downward, scraping the pavement hard.
Before he had even stopped, he felt an intense heat roll over him.
The floor around him grew much brighter, reflecting scorching flames blasting past him.
After almost two seconds, the heat subsided and Ciel quickly pushed forward and turned the corner.
He did not look back at his assailants again.
Escape was the only thought on his mind.
Around the bend, a gathering of officers from the Leichren Watch were settled around, as if waiting for something.
Turning back around he saw Aurore taking his place, still engaged in battle with the three Insighted.
A few police officers ran past him, going to meet Aurore in her confrontation.
One of these officers stopped to address him.
“Lets take you somewhere safer,” he said calmly.
Wordlessly, Ciel nodded, his mind still vividly alert.
He grimaced as he clutched his arm that was still bleeding.
The police officer noticed this and silently placed his hand over Ciel’s.
The pain quickly lessened, not only in his hand, but even in the scrapes around his body.
Within a few seconds, it had almost vanished altogether, leaving his body only slightly numb.
Ciel was dumbfounded, “You can do that?” he asked in shock.
“It seems like it,” the police officer said coolly.
“I’m Sergeant Besson, and starting today, we’ll be watching over you until you get to the Academy. It seems you’ve been getting into too much trouble lately.”
Ciel gave him a long look, unsure of what to say.
His thoughts were still thoroughly scattered, but he managed to regain his voice.
“Leo? What happened to Leo?”
Behind him, Ciel heard an answer.
“He’s fine. They were better prepared over there. It’s you that was more problematic.”
Turning around, he saw Aurore, who had snuck up behind him at some point.
She had a worried look on her face, despite her assurance.
All of a sudden, a wave of fatigue rolled over him, as if he had been sapped of all of his energy.
He lost his balance, and his vision faded to black.
***
When Ciel finally opened his eyes, he was met with a familiar ceiling.
His vision remained blurry, and his thoughts came slowly.
My… bedroom?
How did I… Ciel groaned.
There was clearly a gap in his memories, My bedroom…
Abruptly Ciel snapped to attention.
He sat up and scanned the room.
Goosebumps appeared on his skin, and his heart raced.
His eyes seemed to try to absorb every small detail in the room, but there was nothing out of order.
Why am I so afraid of my own room?
Still this sense of unease lingered within him, until he was startled by a knock on the door.
Outside, a voice called out to him.
“Young master Ciel, are you awake?” The voice belonged to his valet, Pierre Colbert.
“Yes, I’m fine.” After a short pause, he asked, “Where’s Aurore?”
“She’s currently away,” Pierre said quietly, his voice partially blocked by the door.
“However your parents have asked you to meet in the dining room.”
The dining room?
Now?
Unsure, Ciel quickly affirmed that he would go, and made his way out of his room.
Outside, Ciel was surprised to see Pierre in front of two other men wearing Leichren Watch uniforms.
One of them was extremely tall, maybe one of the tallest men Ciel had seen.
The other had a more modest frame, but his cold gaze made him seem just as fearsome as his partner, if not more so.
They both radiated a sense of stability, like they would never break.
These might be Masters, no, maybe even Elites!?
He followed Pierre, nodding at the guards subtly before making his way out.
The guards simply stood there, as if they naturally belonged there.
Their presence was both invisible and oppressive.
Pierre led Ciel down the corridor, and the two men came in tow.
Inwardly, Ciel was in a disarray.
He had just had a near death experience searching for Aurore, just for Aurore to be the one to save him.
He had so many questions he didn’t know where to start.
Why did Aurore leave in the morning, despite the impending questioning?
Why did he feel so pressured to find her in the first place?
Why did he feel so uneasy about being in his own room?
And most importantly, why were three Insighted trying to kill him?
It was clear to him it was a targeted attempt, not some unfortunate accident.
The planning was far too meticulous, from the inconspicuous tracking to the clearing out of the street.
Ciel desperately hoped his parents could provide him some answers.
Or is there another reason they’re calling me?
Before long, Pierre arrived at a set of ornately decorated white double-doors and knocked.
“Master Ciel is here,” he said in the same soft tone.
“Come in,” a female voice echoed from within.