V. I Chapter 27: No

Ciel woke up on the hotel bed, his whole body aching, vision blurry, and something wet covering his face. He couldn't move, his body refusing to listen to his wishes, so he just lay there, waiting for his eyesight to clear.

The first thing Ciel saw was blood on the wall, and painted words. He could almost hear her voice as he read them. 'Don't worry. The thing your brought was delivered safely back home without a scratch. Last night was fun, my son. Let's do it again, soon. I took my fee already, so just recover nicely.'

Ciel felt exhaustion starting to weaken him, and before he fell into unconsciousness again, he sent his location to Dr. Ishida.

.

Ishida rushed inside the hotel, running as fast as she could up the stairs. The elevator would take too long, and she wouldn't put it past that woman to have done something to the elevator to suspend treatment for her son.

Ishida ran to the coordinates sent to her, knocking on the door rapidly. "Ciel? Ciel!" She didn't expect an answer, but that told her how bad his condition had to be. "Break it down," she ordered the medical team she'd brought with her.

As soon as the door was down, they saw the result of what happened that night. There were all kinds of objects they couldn't even name strewn across the floor, chains and whips with dried blood encrusted on them, and a figure covered in a bloodstained sheet on the bed.

"Ciel!" Ishida rushed over, trying to find his injury in the mass of blood. There were several lashes on his back that had scabbed over, but the most noticable injury was on his face. "Oh, God. Quick. We need to get him to the hospital, now!"

The team put him on the stretcher they'd carried up and rushed him back downstairs and into the ambulance.

Ishida brushed back Ciel's hair as the team started cleaning him up. "Oh, Ciel..."

.

Ciel woke up in the hospital. He recognized the white walls and sound of the machine forcing air through the thin plastic tubes going down his nose into his throat.

"How are you feeling?"

Ciel recognized the voice that spoke to him, blinking once.

"Are you in pain?"

Another one blink.

"Do you think you can listen to your condition?"

Another blink.

"Multiple lacerations across the both your front and back, cut circulation around wrists, ankles, and several other parts of the arms and legs, bleeding in your throat and interior of your... anus. Your pelvic bone is severely bruised, and you are covered in hand-shaped bruises. Your trachea was also injured, cause of injury most likely being strangled. The last injuries are the most severe, and they will never heal completely. Will you listen?"

One blink.

"It's your left eye. Your left eye had been removed before we arrived, and... it was not found. The last major injury is that your right Achilles tendon was cut."

Ciel stopped breathing. He blinked twice. No. Blinked twice again. No. No. No. He had to be able to walk. He had to be able to see.

"Worthless."

He could hear her voice, see those eyes.

"Worthless. You are nothing without me. Nothing."

He couldn't walk.

"I always told you, Ciel."

He couldn't see.

"You should have listened to me."

Worthless Unwanted. Abandoned. Unclean. Unworthy. Filthy. Trash. A waste. Wretched. Useless. Despised. Nothing. Thrown out. Discarded. Alone. Outcast. Left alone. Forgotten. Deserted. Worthless. Unwanted Unclean.

"Ciel. Ciel?! Ciel, breathe!"

Ciel couldn't draw breath. He couldn't move. No. No. No. No. No.

"Put him under!"

When Ciel finally gasped for a breath, the slightly humid air he breathed in clouded his mind, results of the anesthesia. As he fell into darkness once again, the last word in his mind was "Worthless."

.

It was two days later, when the hospital had performed the surgery on his leg, giving him an artificial tendon, when Ciel vanished from the hospital in the middle of the night.

.

Laksa woke up at the office, face pressed against the pile of work on his desk, to the sound of the phone ringing. He shook his hair out of his eyes, frowning slightly as he waited for his vision to focus. Laksa reached out to pick up the phone. "Yes? This is LEO Corporation. Let me know what I can--"

"HAVE YOU SEEN CIEL?!?!"

Laksa jump, dropping the phone, almost into his cup of coffee. Warily this time, he raised the phone to about three inches from his ear. "Who is this?" he asked.

"My name is Enda, and I went with Ciel to his mother's gala. Have you seen him? I think it's been two days!"

Laksa slammed his fist against the desk. "Damn. No, I haven't seen him since before two days ago. I have no idea where he could be now."

"Are you kidding? We need to find him now! NOW!"

"Listen, listen! Calm down first. The go-to in this situation would be his doctor, Ishi--" The phone picked up on another call, and Laksa pressed the answer button. "Who is it?" he asked.

"This is Ishida, Ciel's doctor. Have you seen him?"

"Hi. This is Enda, the person who was with Ciel during the party. It looks like we both called for the same reason."

"Yes. I'm Laksa, Ciel's little brother. I haven't seen my brother for about five days, longer than you. I have some contacts I can call, but I have no idea where he can be."

"He was at the hospital until last night, but vanished near midnight. I was wondering if you'd seen him at home, or..."

Laksa felt like punching a wall. "I'm sorry, but I haven't been home in almost a week. It's been really busy at the office, and I haven't had time to go home. I'll send someone to check on the house."

"That's all I ask."

"Tell me if you find him," said Enda. "Please, and thank you."

Laksa waited for the click that the Enda person had hung up before asking, "What was Ciel doing in the hospital?"

There was a pause. "I shouldn't be the one to tell you. Once you find him, you'll see immediately. Chances are, wherever he stopped for rest, he stayed in. He's not in any condition to do otherwise." The line went dead, and Laksa was frozen for seconds, terrified to know what the doctor meant. He dialed a number. "Hello? Leslie?"

"What is it, Laksa?" she asked.

"I need you to do something for me. Please. Can you go here and tell me if you find a man with black hair and blue eyes? He's pale, and he has scars on his wrists and around his neck."

"Sure. I'll ask why later."

Laksa slumped in his chair as the line went dead, not even having the strength to hand it up on the receiver. His eyes went to the glass doors leading into Ciel's office. "Where are you?"

.

Leslie walked up to the large house, admiring the white walls with sand colored trim and accents. The style seemed familiar. Simple, yet beautiful in the simplicity. She walked up to the door, lightly tapping her knuckles against the wood, waiting half a minute before glancing around. There was probably a spare key...

Leslie's face broke into a smile as she saw the glint of something silver, the smile widening as she saw the spare key was camouflaged in the wind chime. Had Laksa not improved her perception, she would never have been able to find the key.

Leslie unlocked and opened the door, being cautious as she closed the door behind her, glancing around the layout. Ahead was a hallway leading to a flight of stairs. To the left was a dining room and a kitchen, the the right a living room leading to another room with a closed door. Leslie continued forward, walking up the steps and finding a large common area, with a smaller, less grand kitchen separated by a marble island. Everything was immaculate, clean, and again, something about the style pricked Leslie's consciousness.

Since the whole second floor was the common area, she assumed the next floor would be the one with the bedrooms. Leslie walked up the last flight of stairs, coming across a long hallway with three doors on either side and a bathroom at the end. Leslie tried the handle of the first on the left, finding it locked. her eyebrows pressed together before she moved on to the next door. This one was open, but there was no sign of a person. In fact, that room had a thin layer of dust covering everything.

Leslie moved one down, finding that one locked as well. She crossed the hallway, trying the door on the end before moving to the second door, which opened, but was completely empty except for a few boxes pushed in the back corner.

Leslie sighed as she closed the door. She moved to the last door, trying the handle and finding it unlocked. She opened he door, eyes landing on a spotless bedroom. She could see the corner of a bed, and Leslie stepped further into the room, finding a man laying on the bed, his back to her.

Leslie called carefully, "Excuse me?" When there was no answer, she moved closer, until she was almost over him. She carefully brushed black hair out of the man's face, stumbling over herself as she backed up in surprise. Leslie reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. "Laksa, I found the person you're looking for. But... this is the man I dated in middle school."

.

Jaeyline was tapping her desk at her manor with an intense ferocity. There had been no news from the Rose Branch for a week. The silence was starting to get to her. By now, Ciel should have sent her some kind of notification, at least. That was just the kind of person he was.

The phone on the desk started ringing, and Jaeyline nearly fell over herself to pick up. "Hello?" she asked.

"This is Laksa."

"What can I do for you, Laksa?"

There was a brief pause. "You haven't heard from Ciel in awhile, have you?"

"No. It's been at least a week since I've heard from him. Why?"

"Can you take care of the Rose branch for me? I have to go home for a family emergency. And you're the only one I trust with his work."

Jaeyline frowned. "I will, but can you explain a bit--" She wanted to throw the phone as the line went dead. Damn those brothers. They never told her anything! Jaeyline was grumbling as she got ready to go, still fuming when she got into the car and was driven to the Rose Branch.

.

"Thank you for coming here," said Laksa as he opened the door to the house, finding Leslie standing by the stairs.

"Your brother's name is Ciel, isn't it?" she asked.

Laksa nodded. "It is. How do you know him?"

Leslie turned her bright blue eyes on him. "I told you I had one date with a boy I loved, and that's when I fell into a coma, right?"

"Yes."

"That boy was Ciel. He's the boy I've been wanting to find."

Laksa's fingers curled into a fist. "How is he?" he asked.

"Unconscious. I examined him very briefly, and he has bandages over one eye, along with many over the rest of his body. The ones around his eye and that side of his face look the most serious." Leslie glanced away.

"Let's go up and see him, then." Laksa started up the stairs, but was stopped when Leslie grabbed his sleeve.

"I don't recommend going up there unless you're prepared," she said.

Laksa gulped. If it was that bad, then what condition was Ciel in? "All the more reason for me to hurry, now, isn't it?" he asked, more to himself than Leslie. Laksa took the stairs two at a time, Leslie at his heels, as he made his way to the third floor. Laksa rushed to the door, but hesitated as he held the doorknob.

Steeling himself, he opened the door, striding in. Laksa saw Ciel's figure on the bed, covered with the blankets. He slowly walked forward, until he was hovering over Ciel.

Ciel's hair was covering one eye, but Laksa could clearly see the bandages wrapping around his head. Laksa closed his eyes for a brief moment before reaching down and yanking the covers down. What he saw made him want to throw up. Layers of bandages, going all over his body. His arms, legs, back, neck, almost his whole body.

"I swear I'll make that woman pay," Laksa snarled. "I swear I'll destroy her!"

"Foolish."

"Ciel, are you okay?!" Laksa gasped, crouching down and grabbing Ciel's hand.

"Ugh, careful, please, little brother," Ciel said, voice barely audible. "I'm not in the best condition now, so I'm going to have to ask you to be a bit gentler with me."

"Ciel, how are you feeling? Are you feeling okay?"

"Well, I'm hurting all over, to be quite truthful. My throat burns." Ciel laughed, both bitter and loathsome. "I mean, that's normal after it being used as a sex sleeve. My waist aches, and my back. My neck, too."

"How about your face?" Laksa asked, though he knew the answer.

"Yes, that, too. I'm sorry I can't see your properly, since I can only see out of this eye, but you look tired. You should take a rest," said Ciel.

Laksa felt tears rise in his eyes. Even in all the pain, Ciel was still worrying about him. "Don't worry about me. I'll take a rest when you do."

Ciel's eye unfocused, his lips moving, though no sound came from his mouth.

"It's okay, Ciel. Just rest." Laksa waited until Ciel's unfocused eye closed and his breathing deepened as he fell asleep. Laksa gently reached over, removing the bandages around Ciel's arm, fist clenching. "These are hand prints." He rewrapped the bandages, this time reaching toward Ciel's face.

But even in his sleep, Ciel's reflexes were astounding, grabbing Laksa's wrist before he could unravel the bandages around Ciel's face.

Laksa grit his teeth, but just smoothed back Ciel's hair before standing. "Go back to the guild. I need to spend some time with my brother."

Leslie nodded, striding out of the room without a second glance.

Laksa punched the wall as he walked out of Ciel's room. No matter how much he wanted to make that woman pay, Ciel was right. It was a foolish mission. He didn't stand a chance against her, and going would be suicide.

Laksa ran a hand through his hair. He was torn. No matter how much he wanted to get revenge for Ciel, though, he would never be able to forgive himself if he died during it, leaving Ciel all alone.

Laksa would just have to wait, until someone strong enough came along to help.