A/N: I only know this show through the anime version and not the manga so I'm not sure how they differ. For those who haven't seen Episode 7 of Kuroshitsuji II, this might be a spoiler. Somewhat negative take on Alois but no character bashing.

First Taste

Ciel Phantomhive, the last of your kind. One would think the last of anything is worth something of value, but when you have seen as many "lasts" as I have, another merely adds to the collection of lasts and removes the term further from its intended connotations. Alois Trancy was a last of a different nature, one that existed as a bothersome speck to be rid of as soon as possible. Those around him waited to be alleviated of his burden, counted the days to his demise, imagined their world without him. And, while I was merely there to collect another soul, it had been a relatively new insight into human nature; to see how one child could be the stone that produced a ripple effect of misery and disquiet to those in his company.

Amongst other things unimportant to me (or if Michaelis and I have anything in common, us), you and Alois had that in common. But it was not that fact that made Michaelis so vehemently cling onto you. I had thought it was a weakness on his part before and it is unfortunate that I am wrong about that fact because what an advantage I would have over him if that was so.

Fear momentarily flashes in your uncovered eye. I wonder why. Isn't Michaelis armed and ready to defend you?

No, it was you all along. You and the nectar that signified your unblemished soul was the source of his obsessions and it was not until I tasted you for myself that I understood how potent you really are. I don't know if I would have done the same in the company of others but I'd found myself at a great loss of my understanding of myself. You reduced me from a calculating predictor to an impatient scavenger; desperately smearing every drop of you from my face and lapping it up in ways most unbecoming. When every speck of you was gone, I took what was due to me from Alois' lifeless body, my thoughts only of you and the sweet blood that invigorated my senses and clouded my mind.

But even his soul, the very essence that the blood merely alluded to, was nowhere near satisfying once I tasted you. He was a waste. I cannot deny the shame of that considering the disproportionate amount of effort I expend for a single soul. I believe I would have been satisfied (or at least that is what I wish to be the truth) had you not swiped your deliciously soiled hand across me and left that tingling stain.

You make pretence to move away from me. I say 'pretence' because I know it does not take any movement from your feet to summon Michaelis.

My preoccupations startled even myself. Food is too mundane and plentiful to hold the mind's attention at such lengths but, as humans experience them, so too demons have cravings. It can be a chance occurrence where we force a dying soul into a contract for immediate gratification or the result of something new, exotic, or rare. In the latter cases, the depths to which we will go to attain our goal are far beyond any machinations of human beings.

You think I missed the quick upward turn of your lips, but I did not.

There is a taste of purity in your blood but it is not the brand of pure that automatically comes to the mind. No, this is a different flavour altogether; the variety that stems from the total dissociation of the mind from the part of the self that makes you human. It is a purity derived from your detached pursuit of your goals. The image of your unreachable parents through the flames is just that, an image. It is a flag at the end of the racing track to be reached. It gives you something to see.

It also explains why you wait until the last possible minute to summon your servant. You know full well the degree of control you have over your world and you wish to push this control as far as you can. On the other hand, you may also be a sadist. Ciel. Le ciel. The sky. Your parents must have wished for you to look to the heavens as your sanctuary. Instead, you reached for hell. Pure indeed.

I wait for you to summon him because I know you will. What I do not know, is when you will do this. My purpose tonight is not to take you but to test you. Instant gratification will only lead me to failure. You continue to play the helpless victim until I leave you with nowhere else to turn. Do you not think I can see the veiled satisfaction under those layers or apprehension? You have me, it is not the other way around.

You do not believe there is nowhere left to go. You begin to lean out of the open window. You tip further still until the balance is almost out of your favour. You continue to test. You continue to cheat. And your dark blue eyes are like stone before you fall backwards completely.

I do not need to turn around to know that Michaelis is behind me. A pair of hands pulls me backwards and disappears as quickly as they take hold of me. He knows exactly where his priorities lie and you are safely in your seat before I completely fall.

You watch with no physical indication that you want to watch. But you do; that is what I have gathered from you, Ciel Phantomhive. You are in control of your world and your servant, should you command it, will be victorious.

We had clashed on seemingly uneven terms. I wielded a powerful weapon while he toyed with kitchen cutlery. Even then, our inconclusive battle was nearly matched. That will no longer be the case.

This has been a learning experience. At the cost of instant gratification, the true taste of your wellspring is well worth the wait.

The blue in your eye is not the blue of the daylight but a blue of the evening sky. You are a dark purity. Le ciel nocturne, you have me.

-End-

A/N: I hope that wasn't too confusing. I'll leave the question as to how Claude knows all of this about Ciel indeterminate. Comments of any sort will be gratefully accepted.

A companion story in Alois' point of view is posted. Please see "Last Breath."