53. His Butler, Final Match

His Butler, Final Match (その執事、決勝, Sono Shitsuji, Kesshō) is the fifty-third episode of the Kuroshitsuji anime, and the seventh episode of Kuroshitsuji: Public School Arc.
==Summary==
Sapphire Owl's orchestra strategy falls apart when the music suddenly stops. Ciel tells Lawrence and Clayton that Sebastian went to the lavatory; in reality, Sebastian left to chase after the headmaster. However, when Sebastian reaches the balcony where he spotted the headmaster earlier, he has already left to chat with some spectators by the field. Sebastian immediately rushes after him again.
Meanwhile, Ciel is confident that they can still win this game and moves to the next tactic: After Ciel gives the signal, Lau and his girls position themselves next to the field, and Ran-Mao and the other girls begin to flaunt their exposed legs. When the Green House players set out to bat, they get distracted by the girls and become incapable of hitting the ball properly which allows the Blue Team to catch the ball and get them out.
Sebastian devised this plan, and though Ciel initially questioned its success rate, he is pleasantly surprised to see that it worked. Green Lion loses batsman after batsman to this scheme. When Edward bats next, he is affected by the "indecent group" too although he is the first and only one who understands their purpose. To Ciel's surprise, Sebastian's plan works the best on Herman who does not even manage to hit the ball. It ends right afterward, however, when Maurice realizes what is going on and gets his revenge on Ciel by snitching on Lau and his girls. Lau is then dragged away by a warden.
Elsewhere, Sebastian reaches the place where he last spotted the headmaster, only to see that he has since left and is now at the other end of the field. Sebastian hurries there at once.
In the second innings, Lawrence protects the wicket by shielding it with his cricket bat. The "Sword in the Stone" strategy circumvents the Blue House players' need to hit the ball themselves; when the Green Lion players throw the ball, it ricochets against the bat and flies far due to the Green Team's strength. This tactic brings the Blue Team many points. Now, with Green Lion batting, Sapphire Owl needs to do everything to stay ahead. For that reason, Lawrence sends out Ciel to bowl.
While Elizabeth, Soma, and the Phantomhive household cheer when Ciel is sent out, Cheslock is surprised that the Blue Team would bring out the "shrimp" at such a crucial moment. Then, the other Blue House players surround Green House's wicket and batsman, further baffling everyone.
Inside Weston College's main building, Sebastian discovers the headmaster walking up a staircase. He wonders whether he can detect his presence and decides to stop hunting him like a human. With his demonic powers, Sebastian jumps up the stairs and swiftly reaches the headmaster, but when he grabs him, the headmaster vanishes into thin air, leaving only his coat and top hat behind. Sebastian holds his clothes for a moment in disbelief before he heads back to the field.
There, Ciel throws the ball and nearly hits the batsman Heinz's face. Heinz then raises his bat to protect his face, and when the ball hits the bat, it does not fly far which allows a Blue House player to catch it. While everyone initially believes that Ciel simply made a mistake the first time, the second time it happens the Green House players realize that Ciel deliberately targeted Heinz's face. Enraged, they accuse the Blue Team of "breaking the rules." Although Ciel quickly nullifies their argument, the audience still begins to chant "It's Not Cricket!" at Sapphire Owl's way of playing.
The chant is silenced by Herman who steps forward and shows everyone Ciel's wounded hands. He tells everyone that Ciel worked hard, as did the other Blue House players. They might be weak, but they have trained hard to "hunt the lion in earnest" and their efforts should be respected. Herman is also delighted to be able to have a serious battle with Lawrence before they graduate.
The game subsequently resumes. The next batsman, believing he now knows Ciel's strategy, gets ready to hit the high-flying ball. To his surprise, Ciel aims low this time, and the batsman does not manage to hit the ball. Ciel's strategy, "Over-the-Edge Tactics," works by adjusting the throw according to whether the batsman is about to defend or attack; in both cases, he will be unable to hit the ball and be bowled out. Edward bats next and is, however, able to hit the ball because of his "strength of mind and kinetic vision." Ciel anticipated that his scheme would not work on Edward and, thus, factored it in.
Lawrence then takes over Ciel as the bowler. Declaring that he will win this year, Lawrence throws the ball straight skyward which stuns everyone. When the ball comes down, landing right on Green Lion's wicket and knocking it over, the crowd erupts in baffled cheer, as they are unable to comprehend what has just happened. Because Ciel did not want to accept that Blue House would definitely lose the cricket tournament, Lawrence found the strength to devise a tactic of his own, "Hunter in the Dark." He made use of his mathematical abilities to calculate the perfect trajectory for his throw.
Herman is the next one to bat and declares that there is no ball he cannot hit when he steps on the field. He proves himself right when Lawrence uses his "Hunter in the Dark" throw again which Herman effortlessly counters with his "Excalibur" technique. It works so well that the ball flies off the field and damages part of the stands.
Because Ciel serves as the wicketkeeper right now, he sees first-hand how close Herman's technique brings his bat to Ciel's head. Therefore, when Lawrence loses slight hope, Ciel persuades him to use "Hunter in the Dark" once more, even if Herman could hit the ball the last time, and presses a ball into his hand. Encouraged by Ciel and with the rest of his team having his back, Lawrence sets out to bowl as instructed. This time, however, when Herman uses "Excalibur," he knocks over Ciel with his bat.
This horrifies everyone, Herman included who forgets about the game to help Ciel. Just when Herman turns around for him, Ciel drops his charade and stops writhing in pain. He quickly grabs the ball and throws it at Green House's wicket, toppling it over and securing Sapphire Owl's victory.
The match ends 105 to 104 for Sapphire Owl. It takes a moment for everyone to realize that a second "Miracle of Sapphires" has come to be, but when they finally do, everyone begins to cheer and clap for Blue House. Lawrence, Clayton, and the rest of the Blue Team rush to Ciel and hug him in joy and celebration.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
* Edward Midford
* Clayton
* Ciel Phantomhive
* Lawrence Bluewer
* Sebastian Michaelis
* Johann Agares
* The headmaster
* Herman Greenhill
* Paula
* Elizabeth Midford
* Ran-Mao
* Lau
* Maurice Cole
* Koward
* Heinz
* Mey-Rin
* Soma Asman Kadar
* Finnian
* Tanaka
* Baldroy
* Cheslock
* Gregory Violet
* Joanne Harcourt
* Edgar Redmond
* McMillan
* Aleister Chamber
==Navigation==
Category:Episodes
Category:Kuroshitsuji: Public School Arc