Dead Sirius (Black Butler)

Chapter Twenty Four

~Sirius' POV~

I looked to the strange man with the odd mechanical contraption curiously as he flipped through a rather normal looking leather-bound book. "Now what are you doing?" I sighed emphasizing my impatience.

"Ahhh! I knew it! This one's dead already." Ronald exclaimed as he found whatever he had been sifting through his book for.

"Who is that?" Ciel asked his demon butler curiously while eyeing the strange man with the two-toned hair suspiciously. I saw him scowl at my close proximity.

"Just your everyday run of the mill homicidal weirdo." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey!" Ronald protested with a cute pout, "I don't want to hear that from you, little Shinigami." He smirked.

I threw him a glare; why did he call me that?

Ronald turned his attention to the corpse of the girl's mother, "Ah, this one still has a soul." He shifted his odd mechanical weapon as if he were going to attack the corpse.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed as I swiftly grabbed hold of his arm to keep him from butchering the woman's corpse, "Have you no respect for the dead?"

He turned his acidic green eyes to me. "I can't believe you're this oblivious." He smiled slyly, "It's kind of cute." His hand lightly fell atop my head patting me like a child, "Watch, I'll show you something really ne-."

I slapped his hand away from me, "Don't patronize me."

"Get your hands off of her, Grim Reaper." Ciel barked his tone crisp and his single revealed azure eye narrowed into an icy glare.

Esme and Emile stood back surveying the scene before them looking from Ciel to Ronald as if they couldn't decide who they disliked more. Emile locked his deep rose-colored eyes on me and I found myself entranced in his gaze. I could suddenly feel his warm embrace comforting me and hear his voice as if he were whispering in my ear, 'You need only utter a single word and I'll vanquish them all.' A shiver rolled down my spine at his words and the solemn vow behind them. Fear gripped me as I realized he was something much more sinister than any other being aboard the ship.

"Eh? She's holding onto me." Ronald protested as I was still gripping his arm in an unbreakable grasp keeping him from desecrating the woman's corpse. He drew me back to the present and away from the surreal subconscious interaction Emile and I had shared.

"Because you're going to do something weird to a corpse." I snapped regaining my cool composure.

Ronald chuckled, "Watch and learn little one." Rather than break my hold he twisted his arm and pulled me forward. I fell into him with my back pressed tightly against his chest. As I was about to elbow him in the gut he placed his free hand onto his weapon and raised it with ease.

I watched in awe as he slashed it over the woman's corpse and gasped as thousands of cinematic strands shot from her body. My gaze flit through each panel of the cinematic strip and I stared in pure wonder as each panel began to play out. It was absolutely miraculous. Somehow, I was watching the woman's entire life play out. It was a constant beautiful stream of memories. Time appeared to freeze around me as Ronald held me against him and we watched the woman's life span out before us from birth to her final agonizing moments.

"What is this?" I breathed as I realized everyone else around us was practically frozen in time.

"A cinematic record." Ronald grinned. "It's what we do. We reap souls."