Hell's Angel | todobaku

[2]

Nothing eventful really happened, and the pair walked in comfortable silence, Shouto leading the way. The dizziness and sharp pain in Katsuki's head soon became a dull throb - nothing he could not handle.

The angel gazed at the barren terrain of the void, the powdery, red ground crunching softly underfoot. There were small bones scattered all around the outskirts of the void, and Katsuki had to avoid stepping on them, but as they got closer to Hell, however, jagged bones protruding from the ground were basically everywhere.

Which was a problem, because angels were barefoot.

~

Shouto had noticed the subtle change in atmosphere as they walked, and assumed it was because the angel was nervous, but now, it did not seem so. As much as he hated intruding on Katsuki's privacy, Shouto got the feeling the other would not willingly share the problem, and resorted to mind reading... again.

Shit, I can't go on like that, fucking bones keep coming out of nowhere-

Oh. So the problem was that the demon had thick leather boots protecting his feet, and the angel did not.

"Katsuki... I can carry you till we get to Hell?" Shouto abruptly stopped, and his words caused a confused looking angel staring at him, wondering what this was all about.

"It hurts to walk on the ground with so many random bones, no?" Shouto continued, and realisation dawned on the blonde's face.

The look was gone instantly, replaced by annoyance, "You read my mind again? You bastard-" The angel let out a string of colourful language that would surely count as a major sin, but nevertheless climbed onto the demon's back. Shouto could almost guarantee that the other was smiling.

~

Soon, the gates of Hell came into view. A massive gate of black wire and metal, sharp pointed tips, and piles of bones just off to the sides.  Beyond the gates, a bustling whirl of activity.

"Well, here we are." Shouto said as the gates opened to let them in.

It was sensory overload, to say the least. Firstly, the ground was no longer the powdery red texture of the void, but smooth dirt, without any bones. Secondly, the sounds. It chilled Katsuki to the bone, the distant screaming, clearly someone being tortured, someone in a lot of pain. It was an otherworldly sound, so raw, as if it came right from the demon's core. He looked over to Shouto and realised that the demon must have been used to it, that it must be something he heard everyday. It was clear that this was merely the outskirts of Hell, for the demons were small, and there was not much ruckus caused apart from the occasional street brawl. There was also an unpleasant, almost tangible taste of ash in the air which almost made him gag.

People made way and bowed slightly as they saw Shouto- he was Son of Lucifer, mind you- but Katsuki was sure they were staring. At him, specifically. After all, it was not everyday that they saw a angel, lest a fallen angel, but did that really make a difference? Katsuki could not help but feel very, very out of place, the only one for miles donned in a white robe, while it seemed that everyone in Hell wore black, and black only. What he was pretty sure was rumours started spreading amongst the lesser demons, although they made sure the murmuring was just out of earshot of them.

No one was foolish enough to stop them in their way, and Shouto soon led them to what Katsuki assumed was the richer part of Hell, if such a thing every existed. Here, the ground was a smooth, black quartz, cool to his touch. Buildings here were grand, as if the designed by the same architect who built Heaven, but instead with black. Towering pillars, grand arches and chambers, inscriptions of a foreign language on the bulky pillars.