Ciel walked in with the Kou and Yue close behind him. He waved his hands and the necessary energy crystals appeared from the spatial ring that he wore on his right middle finger. He also beckoned the angel that was loitering outside the lounge, munching on a cookie to come in. The angel enveloped Master Gin in a golden light and he instantly looked better. Seeing that his job was done, the angel gave a small wave and returned to the infirmary. Master Gin and George gave a wry smile when they saw the quirky little angel. But Ciel was more focussed on his father and breathed easier when he saw that he was looking much better.
“How did you recover so fast?” Gin asked, massaging his chest “And the twins?”
Ciel’s mouth tightened and he did not respond. It was Kou who answered on his behalf.
“Master Seki came over with the delivery of energy stones. When he found out what happened, he healed everyone and personally sent guards to watch over the house and portal. The twins have gone to see Fionn and arrange defence measures against the attack.”
While Ciel was thankful for the help his grandfather had offered, he was not happy at the look of anger and disappointment he had speared his mother with. The village had already isolated them, they minded their own business and did their best to protect the portal, protect Sanctuary… what right did his grandfather have to accuse his mother of incompetence over this attack? That was why he and the twins had used to excuse of getting the stones over to the club to leave. The twins’ moody visage mirroring his own.
“I’ll have to thank Master Seki later when I get home.” Gin’s tone was mild, as if he was not aware of his son’s resentment. “Kou, come here. We’re going to need your help as well in making sure that we can repair the barrier sooner.” He beckoned his eldest child over and proceeded to teach him the spell and procedures necessary to repair the array points.
Ciel watched the interactions between his father and brother; Kou’s face serious as he earnestly remembered what his father was teaching him. His gaze strayed over to George and he realized that the man was watching him. His intent gaze made Ciel uncomfortable and he turned away. He remembered now; the penetrating stare that had made Ciel hot all over that one time they had met… before the accident. He had buried that complicated, conflicting feelings under the pain and fear he had felt after losing his wings and most of his powers. It was easier to hate and avoid the man than to confront the surging desire that he had felt then.
But Ciel knew in his heart that he had never really hated him. He feared him; that much was true, feared the pain that he had brought him. Ciel was a sensitive person and had always hated pain; he would always avoid anything that would hurt him or cause him discomfort, leading people to think that he was shy and timid. He had happily let everyone misunderstand and leave him alone, preferring the solitude to the solicitation of others.
He had tried his best to lock away all the distress he had endured during and since that fated day. The pain from the attack, the agony of losing his freedom along with his powers, the misery of rehabilitation and healing his injuries, the complicated mix of anger and depression when he saw his scars… but there was no helping it though, when they attacked him in the middle of a lonely night, forcing the tears he had sealed away out.
It was the loss of his phoenix powers that had been the hardest. Because of that, he could not maintain his beast form. There would always be two bloody holes where his wings were, as if his dragon form could not understand that the wings were no longer there and it needed to heal and cover those holes with scales. And the wounds would reopen on his human form as well, causing intense pain over and over again. Finally, after trying and hurting himself repeatedly, Ciel gave up. He would live the rest of his life in his human form, becoming partially mortal.
Without his powers to sustain him and keep him alive, even with the help of the energy from the valley and his meagre dragon bloodline, Ciel did not see himself living more than another three or four hundred years. His family never brought it up but it was always that unspoken elephant in the room; that they would one day have to watch Ciel die. Rather than putting them through that torture, Ciel tried to live his life like he had before the accident. He tried to be cheerful, to be content for the sake of his loved ones. His father had used his contacts at the club and tried to procure elixirs, spells and cultivation techniques; anything that could raise hope and extend Ciel’s time. But so far, they had come up with nothing.
Ciel knew they loved him and it made it all the more difficult to tell them to give up. So no matter what, he would not cry or rage; at least, not in front of them. He would not show them that he was weak-willed, that he had given up living. Even though he had accepted that he was going to die, he would live and love to his fullest, each and every day. The thought of love brought him back to the intense man before him; who was watching him with hungry eyes. Could he? Should he? Would he? This was a man with a shortened lifespan meeting a man who could never die. Fifty years ago, he had decided to try; to find and fall in love; to be cherished by someone other than his family. Now, fifty years later, he was still standing at the same crossroad.
Ciel sighed and decided to put those feelings away for now. He knew that if he were to look for love, it would only be that man over there. The one standing across the room from him, cherishing him with his gaze. The one who lit a fire in him that he had yet to douse. There had never been anyone who made him feel this way then, and there had not been anyone since.
Just as George had been watching Ciel, it was the same for the latter. He had watched the knight climb up and overcome the fear and prejudice the others had for him; watched him enjoy the simple pleasures, like the music his mother played; watched him be like a big brother to his siblings, watched him put his body on the line again and again as he protected the barrier. He had selfishly used fear as his biggest excuse but it was not that he feared being hurt by him; he feared the feelings he was developing, he feared losing him when he faded away, he feared that he would be forgotten when he was gone.
There was another rumble and this time Gin gave a stuffy cough, even though he had just been healed by the angel. Ciel looked up in time to see his father stagger and Kou grabbing his arm to steady him. Now was really not the time to be thinking of love, he chided himself.
“Take him to the sick bay, the angel can look after him.” George instructed Yue and Kou. After that, meet us in the central lounge”
“I’ll come with you.” Gin was struggling to stand, using Kou to prop himself up.
“Father, you’re the one keeping the central array going. If that array falls, then Sanctuary will fall.” Ciel coaxed. “Believe in us, we’ll take care of the array points, so all you need to do is reserve your strength and keep the barrier up. We’ll handle the rest.”
Master Gin looked at his son in silence. He finally nodded, and called Yue over. “Help me to the infirmary. Kou can go with Ciel and George first. You can join them later.” the look in his eyes brooked no argument and Yue quietly complied. Ciel guessed that his father had some things he wanted to say to the man in private. They spilt up and Kou followed after, worry painted all over his face.
“Can I really be of help?” he couldn’t help but ask.
Ciel who had swept up the energy crystals and divided them into several spatial bags smiled. “The arrays here are special in that you have to be blood related to the club owner to be able to modify or repair them. This is to prevent tampering or sabotage. Since you’re related to father, you share his blood, even if it’s somewhat distant. So we need your help.”
Hearing Ciel’s explanation, Kou finally understood and nodded. Ciel felt bad for lying but since his memories had been sealed, they could not tell the truth as it might overstimulate him. Souls were delicate yet resilient things; Kou needed to find the truth out by himself or he would not be able to withstand the shock.
They reached the lounge and saw staff running back and forth with looks of seriousness while Fionn and the twins were barking instructions at them. There were weapons surrounding them as regular staff also came forward and armed themselves. While they did not handle security, most of the staff at Sanctuary were still magical or mythical beings who could be relied on to defend the club in a pinch.
“How bad is it?” George asked as he approached, his face as intent as the rest of them.
“Pretty bad. They’re attacking all sides at once. I’ve sent two teams to cover each entrance.” Fionn said, his voice grim.
“Can we hold them off?” George asked as he equipped himself. Ciel was surprised to see him pick up a revolver and several clips. He had never seen him use modern firearms before.
“We’re not sure. The important thing is that we’ll need to start the repairs as soon as possible. The barrier and father might not hold on for long.” Blanc responded.
Ciel had distributed the magic bags to his siblings. The all nodded and moved them into their own spatial accessories. It would be less clumsy when they wanted to remove the crystals and they would also prevent any theft or other untoward accidents towards them, as the accessories only responded to their owners. He was ready to head out and begin repairing the array points but it would be foolish to rush headlong without a plan.
“If the barrier can hold, you two stay here first. Ciel and I will head out the east entrance and Yue and Kou can take the west.” George said. He continued before the twins could protest. “The creatures will most likely aim for all of you who can repair the array first. It’s fine if the barrier holds but if there’s a breach, we’d be overwhelmed. I want Fionn’s team to go with Yue and Kou and I’m taking my team. You two need to stay here to lead everybody else.”
What George said was reasonable so Ciel added his own opinion “Father might need some support as well. He wasn’t looking too good when the barrier was hit. The two of you combined should be able to take it if we need to transfer the control of the barrier from father to you.”
George could see that while the twins had accepted his reasoning, they were not too happy about it so he continued as he ruffled Blanc’s hair. “The both of you have always worked together so we can’t split your team. So you’ll wait on standby until we finish. There needs to be a chain of command while Fionn and I are outside and, depending on whether your brother or Kou needs rest or if Master Gin requires support, you two would be available. We can’t have all teams out and worn out without any backup. You know that very well."
It was the best proposal. Two teams on the field while another two on standby. Even without his phoenix powers, Ciel had better control over magic compared to the twins, who mostly focussed on strength and agility based attacks; it would require both of them to be able to match Ciel in terms of magic power. Kou had also had his memories sealed and Ciel wasn’t sure how much of his latent powers could be used because of this. Seeing how it was, Ciel had a feeling that most of the repairs would be his responsibility. It would be the most efficient division of duties so he just mentally prepared himself to shoulder the burden. Seeing Yue had already returned to the lounge, they briefed him on what needed to be done and went their separate ways, in a race to fix the array points before Gin’s strength ran out.
