You can't bargain if you have nothing to lose.
An Ansatsu Kyoushitsu fanfiction
Even before he wakes up, he knows something is wrong.
For one thing, it's way too cold. Whatever was underneath him was even worse; it literally felt like he was lying on a slab of ice.
And...why was he lying down in the first place?
He opens his eyes and he sees black, polished black and it takes him a while to realize he's lying on the floor. It...he doesn't recognize it. He gingerly pushes himself up into a sitting position and finds that he can't see anything else. There's a fog surrounding him, thick enough to block out the entire area, and it's even hard for him to see his own hand through it.
"Where...is this?"
"Awake already?" The question seems to echo his own and the unexpected input makes him pause. He's more awake now, enough to recognize the danger of his situation.
And there's a person, someone standing right in front of him.
When did he...?!
"Who are you?"
"One at a time", the voice says, snickering a little, "Which question d'you want me to answer first?"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Karma."
Something faintly clicks in the back of his head. Where has he heard that name?
"...Where am I?" He tries again, because honestly that was the more pressing thing right now. Not that both the unknowns weren't more than a little alarming, considering-
"You're in Hell."
In the silence that follows his question, he can make the figure out of the person standing before him.
And he wonders how he missed the wings protruding from the man's back, bat-like and glowing with a strange kind of heat that's so alien in this cold.
"You're in Hell, Shiota Nagisa." The devil says with a grin and Nagisa can see sharp fangs and cold eyes, "And you're supposed to hand over your soul to me now. So wanna get on with that?"
"He...ll?"
Hell?
This was Hell?
"...I thought there'd be fires in Hell."
"There are, technically." The devil informs him, "And we're not actually in Hell."
"...Which is it?"
"We're at the starting point. Where all souls go once they're damned."
"Why am I damned?"
"You should know."
"...I don't."
"So you're one of those people?"
Nagisa squints at him, "I don't know what you're talking about but...I really can't remember."
The devil cocks his head, "Dunno what kind of life you lived, but I'm told that making a deal with the devil is usually pretty easy to remember."
"I'm...pretty sure I would, too." Nagisa agrees, "But right before I died, I may have...well."
"Hm?"
"I'm not the one who made the deal."
The devil's smirk widens and Nagisa feels something crawl up his spine, sweat drenching his back.
When did the room stop being cold? It felt positively humid now and even the fog was starting to clear up.
It had cleared up enough to see the red of the devil's hair and the night sky in his wings.
"Is that really what you're going with?" He asks and his voice is low. There's the sensation of fire licking at Nagisa's wrist, scalding. Unforgiving.
"This is a mistake." Nagisa tries again, and to his credit he sounds calm.
"Humans make mistakes on loads of things." The devil says smoothly. His wings flare outward and Nagisa swears he can see constellations in the sunset orange there, "And I don't know what you've heard about demons but-"
Nagisa only has a second's warning before the devil is right behind him.
Talons claw at his chest.
"I'm not the understanding type."
There's a hot gust of wind and the tearing of fabric. The warmth of blood.
And the demon blinks as he grips empty air.
"What-?!"
The devil jumps out of the way and it hits the ground with the sound of bells.
The knife made not of metal, but of a starry night sky.
"A magic knife made of the stars," The devil murmurs to himself and there's recognition in his eyes, "A very distinct trademark."
Nagisa's standing a distance away, breathing heavily.
Through the hole in his shirt, the black ink of a flower tattoo is visible. Directly over his heart.
"You're a Hanatsuki."
Nagisa seems to flinch a little then, but keeps his battle stance. Bringing his other knife to face level.
"I'm with the Shiota family." Nagisa says lowly, "I didn't ask to be one."
"I don't think anyone wants to be contracted with the King of Death." The devil says with a shrug, "And I didn't even think a Hanatsuki would be able to sell his soul to me."
"I-I...wanted a way out."
"You wanted to go up against Death?"
"Yes."
"Why would you? You have all the power you want."
The knife in front of him flares suddenly and the devil leans back as the knife is pulled back into Nagisa's other hand. "You can even do neat little tricks like that."
"My mother..."
"Hm?"
"Nothing." Nagisa meets his gaze and there's not a hint of fear there. Only foolhardy determination.
"I can stay here and fight you. Until I win or lose, I don't know. But if you can help me...please. Help me."
"Why should I? I've already claimed your soul." The devil says simply.
"Then...!"
"But I'm not in the mood for a fight now. I'll just incapacitate you and leave you here until I do."
Nagisa grits his teeth and leaps out of the way again as the devil moves towards him.
But the devil grins and he's right in front of him and-!
"I do like a challenge, though."
The feel of fire in his chest and his eyelids are heavy. As the human soul slumps over, the devil catches him in his arms.
"For now, go back to Earth. And remember this, Hanatsuki." The devil whispers in his ear.
"Even if you're awake, you can't run away from me."
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Hanatsuki-Of/with the flower
This concept is actually based off an old manga I read: Hanatsuki Hime. If you have the time, please go read it! It's got a neat story.
i did for like. um. the nth time and i was still on the shoujo high when i started this and i was like 'what if nagisa was a hanatsuki' and then karma automatically became a devil and then it just took off from there
this whole thing was an excuse for devil karma honestly
yeah
thanks for reading!
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