“OK, so!” June stood before a whiteboard set up in the living room. On it, six words were written: Consideration, Patience, Humility, Honesty, Generosity and Prudence. “Here are the virtues...”

Ciel raised his hand. In their temporary living room school, he sat cross-legged on the carpet. “Miss teacher, aren’t there supposed to be seven virtues?”

“...I forgot the last one... And don’t call me that!”

“Huh? Huh? You just... forgot?”

“Yes, now please shush! I was like 4 years old when my mom told me them!” June said, flustered. In all honesty, she really did forget, and it was a little embarrassing having to admit that, considering she was the one supposedly teaching. June sighed and rubbed her forehead, turning back to the whiteboard. “So... we’ve got this one down...” She crossed out ‘Consideration.’ Then she stared at the rest of the words blankly. What... what now??? I have no idea how to teach...

A rustling sound caught her attention, and she turned back to find Ciel had gone to the kitchen and returned with a bowl of popcorn.

“H-hey!” She yelled.

“Hmph? Whawt?” Ciel said with a mouthful of popcorn.

“It hasn’t even been 5 minutes and you- you! Ok.” She circled a word on the whiteboard and pointed at it. “We’re starting here.”

In crisp black marker, she had circled ‘Patience.’

“Wha? I’m plemy payshumt-!” Ciel started choking on his popcorn.

“You didn’t even wait to finish chewing...” June sighed. “Ok, um... I have to leave for school soon, so how about this...” She left the room to gather some supplies.

Ciel sat on the couch, still coughing, his eyes beginning to water. Something black flashed in the corner of his blurry vision, and he swiveled his head to look out the nearby window. Nothing was there. He got up to look out the window but still, no sign of life.

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“Ok! I’ve got it!” June was back, setting something up on the coffee table.

Ciel glanced once more out the window before making his way over. “What’s this whole setup?”

“It’s my idea for how you can train while I’m at school, see!” On the table was a square of cardboard, and next to that was a small paint container.

“...You aren’t actually going to make me?”

“Yep! I am,” June said, smiling so proudly. “To practice your patience, you can watch paint dry!”

“...” Ciel gave her a look. “Really? Really? Seriously?”

“Mhm! Ok, bye now! I’ve gotta get to school!” June hurried out of the apartment, doubling back only for a second to grab her bag.

Ciel stared at the task laid before him feeling empty. But... he couldn’t exactly not do it. If he didn’t make any effort to at least try and learn another virtue, he’d probably never get to see heaven again... And besides, it WAS a part of the contract he and June had made during that soul-binding thing as well.

He hadn’t wanted to, but as part of his punishment, the Heavenly Court ordered that he must create a soul-bond with whoever his mentor is, so that not only will they not be hurt by his powers, they also can more easily assign tasks to him. Soul-binding is a more extreme form of basically signing a contract; it connects you in multiple ways, but mainly it connects you through a promise. Ciel’s promise was that he would learn the Seven Heavenly Virtues, and June’s was to teach them to him. To break a soul-bond improperly wouldn’t be great for either of them.

Heaving a sigh, Ciel sat down, painted the cardboard square, and then watched. Come on, beige? Did she have to pick such a boring color? He couldn’t help but think. After only 15 minutes, Ciel’s eyes were feeling heavy. It felt like hours had passed...

Ciel was jolted to full wakefulness by a crash sounding out behind him. He slowly turned around to a shining silver sword pointing at his throat.

“H...hello?” That was the only thing he could think to say under these circumstances.

The black cloaked figure holding the sword simply made one sound. “Tch.”

“Tch”? That’s not good, probably... With that last thought, Ciel was snatched by the figure, who bolted back out the window to the rooftops outside.