Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters. They belong to Yana Toboso.

A/N: I've never been one for disheartening chapter endings, so I got to work on writing this follow-up ASAP (please say you're alive, guest reviewer!). Hope you guys enjoy this... progression chapter XD

The world faded to a surreal blend of orange and black. Soma's cricket bat slipped through his fingers, in a similar way to how he could feel himself slipping away. He fell to the floor, too weak to stand, let alone keep fighting.

Deliris looked down on him with gleaming eyes.

"This was fun. It's a shame you have to bow out now, because really the fun is just beginning. I cannot wait for your servant to come looking for you. Let's see if he's as strong as they say. Or if he's as strong without you."

Soma's heart lurched, as desperate as his lungs. No matter how much he willed himself, however, he couldn't recover enough energy to do anything, except curl in on himself and mutter what would likely be his final words.

"Agni," he croaked. "Agni… I…"

Soma opened his eyes. His blurred vision sharpened in confusion when he realised he was in a hospital ward – English hospitals looked very different to the doctors' in India. His throat felt like an unclogged drain, whilst small, weakening dots of pain resurfaced on his body. He pulled off the white bedcover and peered down the nightgown he wore, to see a few colourful bruises and minor burns spaced across his skin. Then the events of the showdown in the burning manor flooded back into his mind and he once again felt like he was choking. His hand reached up to touch his neck, then clutched at his chest. He exhaled heavily. It was alright; he could breathe again.

"Ah! You're awake!"

A smiling nurse, who looked to be about the same age as his mother, came to his bedside, a jug of water in her hands. She poured a glass before she set it down on the small table next to him.

"We've been keeping a close eye on you, don't you worry. There would be public outcry if any princes die in our hospital," she said with a chuckle. "We have what seems to be your whole entourage here too."

This made about a hundred questions at once buzz through his mind. How did I get here? What happened after I blacked out? What is my 'entourage' doing here? Did Deliris get away? Did something terrible happen?

"May I see them?" he asked the nurse.

"Well, you can get out of bed, if you want to have a wander round, but you need to stay at least a couple of nights more, dear. Stay within the building, and always knock before entering a room."

A shy knock came at his door. He sat up eagerly.

"You may come in," he called.

The door slowly opened to reveal his visitor. Mey-Rin hurried towards him, her eyes undoubtedly fearful behind her huge glasses.

"Your Highness, how are you feeling? We were so worried about you, yes we were!"

"I'm alright," Soma assured her. "Did I really make you all worried?"

Mey-Rin handed him the glass of water.

"Drink this slowly, sir. You looked awfully unwell, you did. When the medics arrived, they were worried the smoke had gone to your head. Luckily it seems Mister Sebastian and Mister Agni rescued you in time."

Soma spluttered on his water. Did they have to take on Deliris? The maid thumped his back obliviously.

"Oh, while I remember: Mister Agni told me to tell you, when you woke up, that he would see you soon."

The prince struggled out of bed, agitated.

"Where is he? I need to see him."

"Um, well..." Mey-Rin tapped her fingers together. "It might be best if you don't see him immediately, sir. The medics are still working on him, they are."

All the blood drained from Soma's face. He dashed to the door. Mey-Rin scurried after him.

"Sir -!"

"What happened to him?" The prince opened the door to see a staircase leading up a floor and one leading to a lower level. "They put servants on the lower floor, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Mey-Rin mumbled. She scuttled after him as he scampered downstairs. "But he's in a very bad way, he is. It's probably not a sight that you'd wish to see -"

They came to a corridor which served as an intersection between the communal wards. Soma pushed open the door on his immediate left.

All the servants were on one ward. While Soma's room was very quiet, down here it was chaos. Masked medics bustled around between the narrow gaps between the beds, which looked not nearly as fresh as the sheets Soma woke up under. The prince didn't know how the doctors and nurses knew who to focus on first.

One by one, he saw Ciel's staff in varied states of health. Sebastian looked to be protesting that he was fine and could get up and help. Soma wondered what sort of injuries he sustained at the time, because the medics did not look convinced, even though the butler appeared to be in perfect condition as always. Snake, like Mey-Rin, was more-or-less unscathed. Perhaps they were here because they currently had no safer place to stay, or the medics just wanted to make sure they were okay, or maybe they were keeping their friends company. The maid and footman were the only pair dressed in their standard uniforms.

Tanaka just looked exhausted and lay quietly asleep – the lack of movement made Soma nearly think he was dead at first. Finny and Bard, however, were in a much worse state. The gardener sobbed whilst staring straight at the ceiling. Soma couldn't tell what was wrong with him from across the room, but the lack of attention the boy was receiving sent a chill of empathy down his spine. The chef's arm and – horrifically – both legs were bandaged and splinted. If that wasn't alarming enough, his complexion was pallid and he quivered like he had been placed out in the snow.

An urgent whisper alerted the prince to the action on the far side of the room. Four medics mumbled to each other through masks whilst they bent over around another patient. A curtain was partially drawn to block the sight from everyone else in the room, but Soma didn't need to see him to know who they were trying to fix. He swallowed back his apprehension and approached the curtain.

One of the medics came to meet him.

"Your Highness, is everything alright?"

"I need to see Agni."

"Oh, I'm afraid we can't -"

"No, let him," grunted another medic. "Then this one might finally calm down."

"But -"

Soma circled round the curtain and tapped the other medics on the shoulder as a request that they move, so that he could see the full sight of his servant. The first thing he noticed was that Agni was physically strapped to his bed, with firmly-knotted ropes at his legs, over a bedsheet pulled up to his biceps. Agni's eyes were closed, his teeth clenched rigidly around a rolled-up cloth, though the occasional groan and pained whisper slipped past his lips.

"Should you really lie him on his back?" Soma asked nervously. "Only, he very recently injured it…"

The man who let him come – who Soma presumed was the head medic – gave him a smile that only vaguely masked his annoyance at being called out by someone with no medical knowledge.

"Actually, we did notice those cuts, but… oh, come round here." He led Soma to the left-hand side of the bed. His hand lifted the bedsheet, revealing Agni's bare side. "See? They're mostly healed," he said, running his finger along the end of the scratches, which looked considerably fainter and calmer than when the prince last saw them.

"Incredible," Soma breathed. How?

Agni turned his head and opened his eyes slowly. When Soma heard him trying to speak through the cloth, he removed the rag from his attendant's mouth. Agni gazed up at him under half-lidded eyes, a watery smile spreading across his face.

"My prince," he whispered, his deep voice weak. "I am… so glad… you don't know how relieved I am to see you… alive and well…"

Soma began to grin himself, then paused when he hiccupped behind his hand, his body unsure of whether to laugh or cry from relief. His emotional impulse opted for both at the same time. With a joyful choke – and without a care for the fact that they weren't alone - he threw himself forward, his hands coming to Agni's shoulders as he buried his face into his servant's front. He felt the vibrations of Agni's soft laughter through his cheek, as the taller man wrapped one arm around his back. Then Soma felt an uneasiness slice through his relief. He slowly pulled away and looked over to where the other medics gathered by his right side.

What he saw past their arms made him unable to suppress a horrified gasp.

The sight of Agni's right hand – red, raw, repulsively mangled - nearly made him sick. Soma bit his tongue to stop himself. His hand gripped the bedsheet.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, my prince," Agni said, startled. Soma looked down at him. His servant's reaction only added to the prince's shock. Agni, how can you not be screaming in agony right now?

"Don't -" the head medic said sharply, but it was too late. Agni's attention was turned to Soma's fixation.

The bodyguard stared at his hand for five long, silent seconds before his face turned a shade of green. One of the nurses loosened the restraining ropes with one hand, grabbed a bucket from the floor with her other - as if this reaction was anticipated - and held it out to him just before he threw himself sideways and retched. The medics shot Soma an anxious look, as if they thought a prince would be overwhelmed by such an unfortunate display. Soma shook his head and patted Agni's back awkwardly whilst his servant heaved into the bucket.

"Can he not feel it or something?" he asked.

"According to Sebastian, he was in immense pain immediately after sustaining the burn, so Sebastian numbed his arm. Only, by now, feeling in his hand should have returned - unless…"

Soma became aware of Agni raising his head from the bucket, his body now trembling all over. The prince began to gently rub his servant's back, in the way Agni would to comfort him.

"If he can't feel it, the nerves in his hand have been damaged. At this stage…" The head medic's brow furrowed. "It can't be determined if he will regain feeling, or have a functioning right hand, ever again. I wouldn't expect too much."

Soma was lost for a moment whilst he tried to process what this meant. A drop of blood landing on his wrist brought him back to the present. Those red tears that he hoped he would never see again dripped down Agni's face. The bodyguard's shoulders shook as he bit his lip.

"I'm sorry…" he muttered. "So sorry… I can't even…"

"Why are you apologising?" Soma asked, bewildered. "It's not your fault at all! Tell me what you're thinking. There's something else, isn't there?"

Agni looked over to him and gave him a smile that made Soma's heart snap; a smile with not a touch of happiness to its shape. The expression made his strong, sturdy bodyguard look terrifyingly fragile.

"How would I be able to serve you if I ended up permanently injured? That's what you told me."

"I – I didn't mean that seriously! It's just one of the many things I say that I expect everyone to forget about. It must be said, no one takes me quite as seriously as you do."

"Unfortunately, it's the truth. The… absolute truth…"

Something inside Agni seemed to break. He thrust his head into his left palm and started panting heavily, as if someone was now burning him from the inside too. Soma tried to reach out for him, only for someone to seize his wrist from behind. He looked over his shoulder to be met by the cold blue eye of Ciel.

"Are you quite done with destroying everything around you? Upstairs, now!"

Soma pulled away from him, only for another hand to grab the back of his nightgown and drag him backwards out of the room. Ciel glared as he pushed the door shut, his pale skin flushed. Soma scrabbled for the door handle, when Sebastian swept his arm across to block him.

"I have to help him, Ciel!" Soma begged. "He's breaking down in there and I know he won't calm down unless -"

"Don't you see? Your help is the last thing he needs right now!"

Soma felt a prickle of resentment.

"How could you know what he needs? You think you know my khansama better than I do?" His mind wondered where all this anger was coming from, but these words would find a way out of him no matter what. "I'm sorry, but you don't have a right to control our lives just because you're Ciel Phantomhive!"

"Enough!" yelled Ciel. "Once again, you are making a fine nuisance of yourself. Only this time, you're not giving a thought to hurting people in the worst way you possibly could! You'll never grow up, will you?"

If Ciel had punched Soma, it would have stung less. Soma's lip trembled as his anger dissipated into hurt. Had he not changed in Ciel's eyes since their first meeting?

"I was only trying to help," he said in a small voice.

"Well, some help you have been," Ciel retorted. "You singlehandedly wrecked what could have been our only chance to catch the culprit, all because you are an idiot who bit off more than you could chew!"

A few coughs escaped him in succession. Immediately, Soma was on the high alert and dashed forward towards him. Ciel slapped his hands away and cleared his throat as he panted for breath.

"I'm fine," he muttered between his wheezing. "It's far better than yesterday."

Ciel, you had an asthma attack because you were stressed. The realisation hit Soma like another punch. Did I trigger it?

"Anyway, we need to talk," Ciel said dismissively.

He headed upstairs. Soma looked behind him to see Sebastian ready to drag him along again. Were circumstances different, the prince might have felt terrified of the butler, but he was too pent up with other emotions to feel his usual Sebastian-phobia.

"I'm coming," he assured the butler wearily. He climbed up the stairs after Ciel.

"No one should follow their natural instinct unless they are acting on what they are thinking, rather than what they are feeling," said the young earl. "That is how everyone lost their common sense, hence we are now in this mess. My staff should have all retreated once they realised the danger was too severe to take on alone. Agni, knowing you to be the reckless imbecile that you are, should have taken you with himself and Lizzie instead of trusting you; it's a mistake to trust anyone, clearly. Even you, Sebastian, should have tried harder." He gave his servant a meaningful frown. "Next time, you will have to try harder. We also need to discuss that other rather questionable move on your part."

He turned back to the prince.

"But it was all still recoverable until you decided to act on impulse."

"My, my, Young Master," Sebastian smirked. Soma jumped back anxiously; the butler's silky tone was laced with danger. "Losing control of your pieces? I daresay that makes for a difficult game."

The prince didn't understand what he meant, but Ciel's warning look in response left him puzzling all the way up the stairs.

Outside Ciel's room, there was a waiting room, which had a modest arrangement of furniture consisting of a table with two chairs on either side, more chairs lines across the wall, a box of children's toys and basket of newspapers. Ciel sat at the table and gestured for Soma to sit on the opposite side. Soma's hands fell into his lap. He felt like he was about to be interviewed.

Sebastian bowed and made to leave as instructed. Just before he did, Soma called him back.

"I just wanted to thank you, khansama. Mey-Rin told me that you and Agni saved me."

The butler smiled politely and left. Soma twisted his hands together uneasily. Sebastian never held a high opinion of him and the prince wondered if he blamed him for his master's asthma attack, his friend's injury and the overall disaster at the mansion. Soma admitted that he couldn't blame Sebastian if he did.

"I don't suppose you read any newspapers, Prince?" Ciel's question snapped him out of his thoughts. When Soma shook his head, the boy sighed. "So you wouldn't know of the Cleveland Street scandal?"

"What's that?"
The thirteen-year-old gave another long sigh. He sat back in his chair to begin his explanation.

"Inspector Abberline was given a case recently, following a report by Constable Hanks, in which he carried out the arrests of two men after the police found out that they operated a..."

His lip pulled up in distaste, whilst his face burned crimson, as if he couldn't believe he was having this conversation, despite having been the one to instigate it. He made this expression a lot when talking to Soma, but this was the first time Soma received uncomfortable vibes.

"A... male homosexual brothel," Ciel finished. He squeezed his brow. "Please tell me you are familiar with those terms."

"Yes – a place where men pay the men working there for sexual favours."

Ciel sighed in relief.

"Good, I was concerned I might have to spell it out for you. Anyway, Abberline arrested them for violating – let's see, it was one of the sections under the Criminal Amendment Act 1885. Do you know of this Act, Prince?"

"I don't know much about Acts."

"Well, it is about time you started learning, then," Ciel frowned. "Here in England, it is accepted that ignorantia legis neminem excusat – 'ignorance of the law excuses no one'."

"Is that really how it is, Ciel?" It was then Soma's turn to frown. "That doesn't sound very fair."

"That is how it is: I can say that with confidence, Sebastian made me transcribe it a hundred times in one awful Latin lesson. But that's the rule all the pawns in this country follow. Which means ignorance of the Criminal Amendment Act 1885 does not excuse you from punishment should you breach it."

Soma gulped. Ciel's tone made him sound like he already thought Soma was guilty of whatever the Act entailed.

"It boils down to this," the earl continued. "The Act reinforces that all homosexual acts between men are punishable by two years' imprisonment. That is a large toll to pay by itself, but everyone knows that the real punishment is the social rejection that an offender would receive for potentially the rest of their life. They would face being alienated by everyone. That was the main fear of those in high society who wanted to keep their good name."

"That was what you had to do as the Queen's watchdog, wasn't it? Keep their names within the underworld?"

"Never mind my involvement. Tell me, Prince, do you care about those around you? Your family back in India, your friends, society in general?"

"Yes," the prince mumbled, "of course I do. You know I do." He lowered his head, his fringe falling over his eyes. "Always, I've cared for them so much it hurt."

"Then you have much to lose," his friend stated coldly.

Soma rose from his chair with a clatter.

"Ciel, I have done nothing!"

"I'm not accusing you of doing anything," Ciel replied. "I'm just telling you to bear it in mind. And you know that I am hardly leaping to conclusions here," ha added. "Sebastian reported to me that Deliris made some curious observations about you."

That eye fixed on Soma with penetrating stare, as if Ciel could see right through him. The older teenager backed away until he was against the door.

"I... I'm not feeling too well, Ciel," he stammered. "I'm going back to my room."

Without looking back, he walked away as fast as he could without running. Once in his room, he threw himself face down onto his bed. His excuse was not a lie; his 'wander round' the hospital had left him with a headache from stress and a stomach-ache from nerves. He buried his face in his sheets as he realised that this was the first time he wanted to run from, rather than overenthusiastically run to, his best friend.

"Oh? Are you alright, dear?" His nurse reappeared from the side door with a concerned expression. Soma sprang up again and fixed a grin to his face.

"I'm fine, just my usual self," he said. If he didn't seem happy and healthy, he would be watched over all night, which wouldn't be helpful if he was to carry out the plan he just thought of.

The nurse smiled.

"Anything I can get you?"

"Oh… actually, yes. If you don't mind, there's a couple of things I'd like for this evening."

Long after nightfall, Soma pushed the servants' door open with one hand, as quietly as he could. He poked his head through the opening to survey the room. He held out his candle in front of him and tiptoed around the beds. The prince took a deep breath to calm himself.

I'm not doing anything wrong or suspiciously close right now. I'm just setting my mind at rest.

He crept over to his first target, Ciel's gardener. Soma took in the blond boy's sleeping face for a moment. Finny had very little to call his own, but whenever he received any gift or compliment, he was overjoyed and grateful. Nearly every time Soma saw him cry, he was almost immediately smiling again. He was shorter, slighter and a year or two younger than the prince and in a far worse condition, yet he had to get by with much less. The eighteen-year-old set the candle down on the floor, before he took out the handkerchief he stashed up his sleeve and placed it next to the gardener's hand.

Beside him, Ciel's chef snored, his mouth wide and empty. Soma slipped his hand further into his sleeve, to pull out a box of sweets that were designed to look like and hopefully replace cigarettes. Smoking was apparently partly a habit to calm nerves, which Soma realised must have been important to the ex-solider. The prince still didn't know Bard's story; when it became apparent that Bard was only going to mention his past in an occasional jokey comment or analogy, Soma originally assumed he just had a past that didn't really need mentioning because there was no great mystery. Now, however, he respected - and understood - that some stories are safer in a closed book.

The servants all slept like the dead, which surprised Soma – as the Phantomhive guardians, he thought they would be ready for action at the sound of a leaf crunch. A hopeful spark lit up inside him as he realised that this worked in his favour, for what he was about to do. With slightly more relaxed steps, the prince collected his candle, padded over to the curtained-off area and slipped around the fabric wall.

Soma couldn't see Agni straight away in the dark, but from this distance he could hear his quiet sniffling. When the prince moved his candle closer, the flickering flame lit up his servant's features. He shivered when he saw the bloody tears still weeping from Agni's eyes, but he urged himself to hold it together.

After all, how often has he had to be strong for me?

Soma set the candle on the bedside table, before he climbed up onto the side of the bed and gently shook Agni's shoulder. Agni looked over and gasped on seeing his master.

"My prince!" he whispered, bolting up. "Please, if anyone finds you here -"

Soma pressed his palms against his attendant's chest and pushed him back onto his mattress.

"If I turned in for the night without making sure my khansama is in good spirits," he declared, paraphrasing Sebastian with a proud grin, "then what kind of master would I be? Anyway, not that it would really matter if they were, but no one else awake."

"They added a draught to everyone's meals this evening, to send us to sleep easier," Agni explained. He closed his eyes again. "Only I wasn't hungry. Highness, I don't want you to get into trouble. Please, I've caused you enough already."

"Agni, I won't be caught, and if I were, I'd just say I came down because I was worried about you, which is the truth," Soma said firmly. He shook his head. "Just… sometimes you care too much to worry about what people might say, you know? My priority is definitely you."

Agni gave a shuddery sigh. When he blinked, more tears made red tracks down to his jaw.

"So, what is the main thing that's scaring you?" Soma asked, as he took hold of Agni's good hand. It was surprisingly cold, so he rubbed it between his own to warm it.

How long had it been since that self-defence lesson, when Agni's mere touch threw him off focus? It felt to Soma like it was years ago. Still, now they were more-or-less alone together, and he wasn't doing anything else except holding his hand for the sake of holding it, those merged feelings of warmth and attraction resurfaced. The only feeling that dwelled fainter was confusion. By now, he was fully aware of the forbidden truth.

He realised Agni still hadn't answered his question.

"Too many things to say, huh?" He gave a short, dry laugh. "I understand. If someone were to ask me what I was afraid of right now, I'd have to admit pretty much everything."

Agni's fingers wrapped around the side of Soma's hand and pressed their palms together, a small gesture of support. Soma raised his eyebrows. It's amazing how quickly our roles switch around, so that he's comforting me instead of the other way round. He straightened up. Well, I've learnt that relationships work by a balance of giving and taking. I won't make the same mistake by only taking. Just let me give to you…

"Earlier, you said something about not being able to serve me. You aren't thinking I would dismiss you from my service because of this, do you?"

"But -"

"Because it would take quite some master to do that. I can't even imagine Ciel dismissing a servant whose hand was burnt beyond repair after they saved his life -"

"It isn't that, my prince!" Agni blurted out. Soma heard gasps rise in his companion's throat. "I know you wouldn't - you're too kind, just far too kind to me. But I wouldn't be able to serve you, not without my right hand. That was originally why you took me into your service." His voice jutted from his crying as he spoke. "Without my hand, I won't be able to make you or anyone else curry that matches your standards -"

"Curry is the least of my cares at the moment," Soma dismissed, whilst he ignored the way his stomach gave a sorrowful growl, as if it could already feel the loss.

"Yes, the biggest of our cares at the moment is the extremely mighty demon at large, which I – without my hand, I – I won't be able to protect you from! My prince, I -!"

Soma's hand clapped over his mouth. The prince hushed him whilst his muffled cries subsided slowly.

"They really will hear us if you don't calm down," he hissed. He listened out for any footsteps or stirring, but the only sound in the room came from themselves. "Breathe, okay?" he commanded in a gentler tone. "You'll make yourself ill otherwise, and that won't do."

Agni's eyes focused on him as he inhaled deeply. When he exhaled, Soma moved his hand from his servant's mouth. He hesitated for a moment before letting it fall again to cup Agni's cheek. The bodyguard glanced at Soma's hand nervously and swallowed a few times. Soma knew he was trying to hold back his tears so that he didn't stain his hand. The prince smiled and began to stroke his face with his thumb.

"Perhaps you won't serve me quite as efficiently as before," he said softly. "But so long as you want to work for me, I'm keeping you by my side. Regardless of what sort of questions it might raise," he added, when Agni opened his mouth in quiet protest. "They can only ever be questions, after all. And plenty of nobles like myself don't pay attention to gossip at all."

His gaze fell to the wrecked hand before it drifted back to Agni's face.

"Your power isn't the reason I value you, though. It's everything else about you. There is no way you could be anything less than perfect to me, no matter what you think. You're loyal and loving and thoughtful and gentle and I – I can't stop myself from being drawn to that. You're so special, you realise that, right?"

Agni blinked his damp eyes in response. Tears rolled from the corners, but they were crystal clear.

"Maybe I'll be kicking myself tomorrow," the prince continued. "But... I've never been one to hold back the truth."

Soma's free hand circled to wrap around the back of Agni's neck. He leant closer to his companion, closer than he ever dared, until his forehead rested against Agni's.

"I think you know what I can't say," he whispered with a sad smile.

Soma pulled away to kneel up again, only for his attendant to pull himself up and wrap his good arm around the prince's body. Soma laughed quietly and hugged Agni close to him. His heart crashed against his ribs, up against his servant's ear. He took a deep breath to steady his tone and the silly, impossible urge to get even closer to the one in his arms.

"I said I'd protect you no matter what," Soma reminded his companion. "So whatever the problem, we'll get through it. I don't know how yet, but there will be a way. There always is."

"You're right."

Agni finally smiled again. His grey eyes shone with a look Soma recognised as adoration, though it was a different kind of adoration from the worshipping expression he had when the prince first granted him a new life.

"Now I need to find my way back without getting caught or going into a ward for contagious illnesses," Soma grinned. He slid off the bed and collected his dripping candle. "Get some rest. Tomorrow we'll probably hear from Ciel and Sebastian, about what we're going to do about Deliris. They spring back quickly, those two."

"Jo Aagyaa," Agni breathed softly. His eyes drifted shut and within a minute, he fell silent and still.

Soma paced into the corridor. He waited for the anxious feelings to pounce on him again as he walked, but instead, satisfaction and elation settled through him like a coating of sugar. There was still much weighing down on them, of course, and perhaps Ciel was right, perhaps he caused problems whenever he did anything, yet he couldn't feel any fear.

Not when he so strongly felt what he couldn't say.