Ghost Hunt-- Bound
Title: Bound-- 1/3
Author: akinarei
Fandom: Ghost Hunt
Characters: Lin, Mai, Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji
Prompt: The Devil
Word Count: 1600
Warnings: None, for this piece
Summary: Lin had lusted after this demon for a while now-- just when he thought he'd have it, it all went to hell in a hand basket.
Notes: A trio of fics for this community and as a birthday gift to nerdish - chan.
A/N: This piece I’ve had floating around in my mind for a while, now. It’s season one only and let’s pretend that Claude never got Ciel’s soul. At least for the purpose of this piece.
The Devil is a card that represents (among many other things) misplaced priorities, lust, and greed. It is an odd parody of card six: The Lovers.
Mist swirled around them-them, him, Lin XingXu the human sorcerer, and it the demon that he wanted to bind-as they battled, will against will. The demon was infamous-he’d served the fallen noble, Ciel Phantomhive and ultimately consumed the boy’s soul. Lin wanted this demon; lusted after it. A perfect number six to his Shikigami. This crow demon, formerly called Sebastian Michealis by the Phantomhive Earl would be a fine addition.
The circle was secure, he’d known if it wasn’t. He reached his hand to the sky and the chain slithered down into his hand-as above, so below-he thought. The chain pulsed steadily against his palm, ready and eager to hold, to bind. He was ready. He could feel his will breaking the creatures and it was a heady experience.
Then, quite unexpectedly, the creature smirked. That made Lin pause. Why was this creature smirking? What reason did it have? He didn’t get the chance the chance to ask; the demon disappeared; the mist disappeared. He was back in the SPR office. What the-? He wound the chain around his arm, it was too much trouble to dismiss it and then bring it back again when he found the demon. The office, he decided, was not a good place to bring him. He knew their floor inside and out-the demon couldn’t hide for long and Lin would find it and bind it. He turned slowly around the common room, squinting at every shadow. There was nothing there. A sound in the kitchen alerted him and stalked to the doorway stealthily. It had to be there.
As he walked in, he collided with a slim brunette. The glass of water she held slipped and shattered, splashing all over him. The water felt real and cold. “Taniyama-san,” he commented.
“Lin-san! I’m sorry! I’ll just get a towel…” She turned and made her way to the sink. He followed her into the kitchenette, frowning.
“What are doing here, Taniyama-san?” he asked carefully.
She turned back to him, tilted her head to the side, and peered at him, as if wondering about his mental state. “I’m working, Lin-san. I do work here, you know.”
Yes, he did know that, but the office was empty and despite the creature’s attempts to fool him into thinking otherwise he knew the office was empty…didn’t he? “Taniyam-san, you need to leave.”
“Eh? Why? My shift just began.”
Frowning, he grasped her shoulders, careful to keep the chain tight around his arm. “Then take the rest of the day off-I won’t let it be detracted from your pay, I promise.”
She frowned at him. “Lin-san, you’re acting awfully strange.”
“I know. But the less you know, the better,” he said, releasing her and searching for his quarry.
She stood there, stubbornly and he turned back to her exasperated. “Taniyama-san!”
“I…just… let me at least get you a towel. You don’t want to get sick.”
Frustrated with her he decided to let her do this one last thing. “Hurry then, Taniyama Mai-san. You need to leave…”
He trailed off when he realized his fatal mistake- that grievous, massive mistake. The chain flew from his arm and made its way to the real Mai wherever she was. The Mai he’d run into morphed back into the demon that stood before him, smirking, and Lin stared at it, bitterly. To be tricked by that creature!
“You’ve bound her to you,” it said before disappearing.
Everything cleared; the circle vanished as if it had never been. To add insult to injury, Lin knew his spell had worked because he could feel something bound to him. He frowned bitterly; to be tricked by that creature!
………
Mai woke up gasping, feeling her throat constrict and it scared her because she didn’t know why this was happening. She clawed desperately at her neck , trying to locate the chain that was choking her; she knew it was a chain, she could feel it, but why couldn’t she actually touch the links?
The feeling fled abruptly and she blinked. Tentatively, she explored her neck, searching for anything that might give her clues. Nothing; there was absolutely nothing there. Sighing, she laid back down, wondering just what that had been. The feeling that something beyond her control and indeed, beyond her understanding, persisted; it got her into trouble in her math class, earning her a dismissal from the professor. She sighed miserably. What was wrong with her? She was never that flighty. Sure, math wasn’t her best subject and she wasn’t very good at it, but she normally paid attention! Seeing as her concentration was shot to hell anyways, she might as well go into work early. Maybe she could talk to Naru… no, Lin was the one she needed to talk to. She stopped when she realized that she wasn’t supposed to work today. Still… it wouldn’t hurt to go in and see if she could talk to Lin-san, right?
Right?
………
Lin rubbed his tired eyes and with a wave of his hand, canceled the scry. He wasn’t going to learn anything new from it. The sorcerer conceded that he’d bound something to him- someone, he amended. Lin had the nasty feeling that it was Mai who’d been spelled. Scrying had been a waste of time, he thought, disappointed. He hated to waste time; he hated to waste power. He’d struck out twice now-third time should be something, but good or bad, he didn’t know. Probably bad, he told himself. Tugging a drawer open, he pulled out a barely touched bottle of brandy and poured a solitary snifter.
“How odd,” Naru commented from Lin’s doorway.
Oh, if only you knew, he thought grimly, knocking the brandy back and feeling the alcohol burn and seethe down his throat. If you only knew. “It wasn’t the best of nights,” he answered.
Naru could see that. He took in the water bowl; the extinguished candles that sent up plumes of fragrant smoke. Five candles in all in a specific pattern. One extremely fat black candle, one purple, one blue, one fat white taper, and one orange finished the circle. “You’ve been scrying,” he commented.
Lin laughed incredulously. He never thought he’d see the day! “Thank you for stating the obvious.”
Naru glared at him. “You scryed. Why?”
Lin sighed. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your problem and there’s nothing you can do to help.”
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
The sorcerer shook his head. “Noll,” he said in English, “I don’t trust me. I tried to bind another demon, one I’ve lusted after for a while.” He rubbed his eyes again. “It failed miserably, so I need to find it.” And who I bound, instead, he added silently. He looked at his charge curiously. “Where are you off to?”
“I have a meeting with a professor at Tokyo University.”
“Ah, yes. Well, have a good appointment.”
“You’re not going to join?” That was weird. Lin was normally a shadow.
The sorcerer shrugged. “I wasn’t invited,” he said simply. “But one of my Shiki should be enough to keep you from any attention.”
Curiouser and curiouser. “I’ll… be back soon, then.”
Lin was amused. “Don’t worry about me. I do know how to hold down the fort. I suspect you’ll be bored to tears, anyhow. Or frustrated. One of the two. Go,” he commanded. “It’s not polite to keep your guest waiting.”
With a final glare at his assistant, Naru turned on his heel and marched out of the office.
Finally alone, Lin began to contemplate other methods of gaining information. Scrying had failed royally. Where had that demon gone? And if he’d bound Mai like he thought he had, what options did he have? The normal time for undoing a binding was an entire moon cycle. Would he have that same amount of time?
The shop door opened, surfacing him from his thoughts violently. Had he not been preoccupied, he’d have realized that it was his newest acquisition instead of a customer. “I’ll be right with you,” he called. “Take a seat anywhere.”
Resigned to having to greet and interact with a potential client, her pulled himself from his chair and pulled his suit jacket on again. With a careless look around, he shrugged. It wasn’t as if anyone was going to see his office.
Famous last thoughts.
When he entered the common room, he saw Mai standing there, shuffling her feet nervously. Their eyes locked and he nearly groaned. This day had gone from bad to worse. His other Shiki circled around her-creatures that she could now see; she jumped visibly. Lin shooed them away. “Taniyama-san, I think we need to have a talk. Step into my office.”
Author: akinarei
Fandom: Ghost Hunt
Characters: Lin, Mai, Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji
Prompt: The Devil
Word Count: 1600
Warnings: None, for this piece
Summary: Lin had lusted after this demon for a while now-- just when he thought he'd have it, it all went to hell in a hand basket.
Notes: A trio of fics for this community and as a birthday gift to nerdish - chan.
A/N: This piece I’ve had floating around in my mind for a while, now. It’s season one only and let’s pretend that Claude never got Ciel’s soul. At least for the purpose of this piece.
The Devil is a card that represents (among many other things) misplaced priorities, lust, and greed. It is an odd parody of card six: The Lovers.
Mist swirled around them-them, him, Lin XingXu the human sorcerer, and it the demon that he wanted to bind-as they battled, will against will. The demon was infamous-he’d served the fallen noble, Ciel Phantomhive and ultimately consumed the boy’s soul. Lin wanted this demon; lusted after it. A perfect number six to his Shikigami. This crow demon, formerly called Sebastian Michealis by the Phantomhive Earl would be a fine addition.
The circle was secure, he’d known if it wasn’t. He reached his hand to the sky and the chain slithered down into his hand-as above, so below-he thought. The chain pulsed steadily against his palm, ready and eager to hold, to bind. He was ready. He could feel his will breaking the creatures and it was a heady experience.
Then, quite unexpectedly, the creature smirked. That made Lin pause. Why was this creature smirking? What reason did it have? He didn’t get the chance the chance to ask; the demon disappeared; the mist disappeared. He was back in the SPR office. What the-? He wound the chain around his arm, it was too much trouble to dismiss it and then bring it back again when he found the demon. The office, he decided, was not a good place to bring him. He knew their floor inside and out-the demon couldn’t hide for long and Lin would find it and bind it. He turned slowly around the common room, squinting at every shadow. There was nothing there. A sound in the kitchen alerted him and stalked to the doorway stealthily. It had to be there.
As he walked in, he collided with a slim brunette. The glass of water she held slipped and shattered, splashing all over him. The water felt real and cold. “Taniyama-san,” he commented.
“Lin-san! I’m sorry! I’ll just get a towel…” She turned and made her way to the sink. He followed her into the kitchenette, frowning.
“What are doing here, Taniyama-san?” he asked carefully.
She turned back to him, tilted her head to the side, and peered at him, as if wondering about his mental state. “I’m working, Lin-san. I do work here, you know.”
Yes, he did know that, but the office was empty and despite the creature’s attempts to fool him into thinking otherwise he knew the office was empty…didn’t he? “Taniyam-san, you need to leave.”
“Eh? Why? My shift just began.”
Frowning, he grasped her shoulders, careful to keep the chain tight around his arm. “Then take the rest of the day off-I won’t let it be detracted from your pay, I promise.”
She frowned at him. “Lin-san, you’re acting awfully strange.”
“I know. But the less you know, the better,” he said, releasing her and searching for his quarry.
She stood there, stubbornly and he turned back to her exasperated. “Taniyama-san!”
“I…just… let me at least get you a towel. You don’t want to get sick.”
Frustrated with her he decided to let her do this one last thing. “Hurry then, Taniyama Mai-san. You need to leave…”
He trailed off when he realized his fatal mistake- that grievous, massive mistake. The chain flew from his arm and made its way to the real Mai wherever she was. The Mai he’d run into morphed back into the demon that stood before him, smirking, and Lin stared at it, bitterly. To be tricked by that creature!
“You’ve bound her to you,” it said before disappearing.
Everything cleared; the circle vanished as if it had never been. To add insult to injury, Lin knew his spell had worked because he could feel something bound to him. He frowned bitterly; to be tricked by that creature!
………
Mai woke up gasping, feeling her throat constrict and it scared her because she didn’t know why this was happening. She clawed desperately at her neck , trying to locate the chain that was choking her; she knew it was a chain, she could feel it, but why couldn’t she actually touch the links?
The feeling fled abruptly and she blinked. Tentatively, she explored her neck, searching for anything that might give her clues. Nothing; there was absolutely nothing there. Sighing, she laid back down, wondering just what that had been. The feeling that something beyond her control and indeed, beyond her understanding, persisted; it got her into trouble in her math class, earning her a dismissal from the professor. She sighed miserably. What was wrong with her? She was never that flighty. Sure, math wasn’t her best subject and she wasn’t very good at it, but she normally paid attention! Seeing as her concentration was shot to hell anyways, she might as well go into work early. Maybe she could talk to Naru… no, Lin was the one she needed to talk to. She stopped when she realized that she wasn’t supposed to work today. Still… it wouldn’t hurt to go in and see if she could talk to Lin-san, right?
Right?
………
Lin rubbed his tired eyes and with a wave of his hand, canceled the scry. He wasn’t going to learn anything new from it. The sorcerer conceded that he’d bound something to him- someone, he amended. Lin had the nasty feeling that it was Mai who’d been spelled. Scrying had been a waste of time, he thought, disappointed. He hated to waste time; he hated to waste power. He’d struck out twice now-third time should be something, but good or bad, he didn’t know. Probably bad, he told himself. Tugging a drawer open, he pulled out a barely touched bottle of brandy and poured a solitary snifter.
“How odd,” Naru commented from Lin’s doorway.
Oh, if only you knew, he thought grimly, knocking the brandy back and feeling the alcohol burn and seethe down his throat. If you only knew. “It wasn’t the best of nights,” he answered.
Naru could see that. He took in the water bowl; the extinguished candles that sent up plumes of fragrant smoke. Five candles in all in a specific pattern. One extremely fat black candle, one purple, one blue, one fat white taper, and one orange finished the circle. “You’ve been scrying,” he commented.
Lin laughed incredulously. He never thought he’d see the day! “Thank you for stating the obvious.”
Naru glared at him. “You scryed. Why?”
Lin sighed. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your problem and there’s nothing you can do to help.”
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
The sorcerer shook his head. “Noll,” he said in English, “I don’t trust me. I tried to bind another demon, one I’ve lusted after for a while.” He rubbed his eyes again. “It failed miserably, so I need to find it.” And who I bound, instead, he added silently. He looked at his charge curiously. “Where are you off to?”
“I have a meeting with a professor at Tokyo University.”
“Ah, yes. Well, have a good appointment.”
“You’re not going to join?” That was weird. Lin was normally a shadow.
The sorcerer shrugged. “I wasn’t invited,” he said simply. “But one of my Shiki should be enough to keep you from any attention.”
Curiouser and curiouser. “I’ll… be back soon, then.”
Lin was amused. “Don’t worry about me. I do know how to hold down the fort. I suspect you’ll be bored to tears, anyhow. Or frustrated. One of the two. Go,” he commanded. “It’s not polite to keep your guest waiting.”
With a final glare at his assistant, Naru turned on his heel and marched out of the office.
Finally alone, Lin began to contemplate other methods of gaining information. Scrying had failed royally. Where had that demon gone? And if he’d bound Mai like he thought he had, what options did he have? The normal time for undoing a binding was an entire moon cycle. Would he have that same amount of time?
The shop door opened, surfacing him from his thoughts violently. Had he not been preoccupied, he’d have realized that it was his newest acquisition instead of a customer. “I’ll be right with you,” he called. “Take a seat anywhere.”
Resigned to having to greet and interact with a potential client, her pulled himself from his chair and pulled his suit jacket on again. With a careless look around, he shrugged. It wasn’t as if anyone was going to see his office.
Famous last thoughts.
When he entered the common room, he saw Mai standing there, shuffling her feet nervously. Their eyes locked and he nearly groaned. This day had gone from bad to worse. His other Shiki circled around her-creatures that she could now see; she jumped visibly. Lin shooed them away. “Taniyama-san, I think we need to have a talk. Step into my office.”