DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters.

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Hadn't expected this chapter so soon, right? XD

Just like Ruka and Yuda remembered, the demonic snakes tasted as horrible as you'd think they would. Actually, they probable tasted even worse. Forcing himself to swallow another bite Ruka looked at Rei. The purple-haired angel appeared to be having even more trouble with it. No wonder, considering the fact that he had a great sense of taste. It made him an amazing cook, but it also became a bit of a disadvantage when being forced to eat inedible creatures. Right now, Rei seemed to be trying his hardest not to spit out the piece of meat he had just bitten off.

"You two seriously ate this every day when you were in Hell?" Gai said, staring at the cooked demonic reptiles with a clear look of disgust.

"It's better than not eating anything, so you'd better just try not to taste it," Yuda replied. Rei looked up at that, and remarked; "Yeah, if you can manage to pretend it's even possible not to taste it."

Somehow, dinnertime went by and eventually they all sat in a half circle, using the cave-like walls as support. Shin still kept that piece of rock against Yuda's burn, though Rei had re-iced it once when the layer of ice had been melted too far to still be useful. And it still seemed to help, to judge by how relaxed Yuda was leaning against both the wall and Shin's side. The blue-haired angel had his free arm wrapped around Yuda's shoulders, careful enough not to aggravate the bruised shoulder.

While the others were chatting a bit, Shin just couldn't manage to chat along. Yuda didn't either, he quietly stared at the floor. "Yuda?" Shin asked, almost in a whisper. It wasn't like it'd be any better if all their friends would hear it, and would start sending them worried glances. Besides, whispering was enough to make Yuda look back at him. The blue-haired angel couldn't help but to stare for a moment. Yuda's face was still paler than usual, if anything it had only gotten more pale, and he looked exhausted. Quickly, Shin forced himself to think rationally. Of course Yuda was exhausted, after healing so many burns. It didn't necessarily mean that his injuries were that energy-absorbing.

"Shin? Is something wrong?" the taller angel asked, copying Shin's volume.

"No. I was just wondering if the ice is still doing its job," Shin replied, feeling a bit embarrassed by spacing out like that. "So… is it still numbing the pain?"

"It is. I barely feel it anymore."

"Good." A silence followed, neither of them having anything else to discuss. For some reason, Shin felt a bit listless. Like he should be doing something, but didn't. Maybe that was because they were so close to their destination already. Part of him really wanted to get through the next circle right now, and then instantly go on to whatever evil lurked after the ninth circle. The sooner it'd be over, the better. At the same time, though, he knew it wouldn't be that easy. Especially with Yuda injured, they might not even survive. Which left him between wanting to hurry, and wanting to be as slow as possible. Being used to always think logically, he almost never felt that way. And it didn't feel good at all.

"Shin?" Yuda's voice suddenly startled him from his thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

"Eh… Nothing in particular," Shin lied, unable to look at his angel. He felt Yuda looking at him, though. "I was just thinking about how close we are to the deepest point of Hell already. And I don't know whether to see that as a good or as a bad thing."

"I guess it can count as both," Yuda responded, a bit unsure. "But maybe it'd be better not to worry about that right now. In case you haven't noticed, it's getting pretty late." At that, Shin looked around to see most of their friends already asleep, except for Rei who had the first turn to be guard. Indeed, it'd be better to get some sleep.

Still, it was easier said than done to make your own thoughts stop. But it might help to concentrate on something else for a while. So he silently started combing his fingers through Yuda's hair, earning a somewhat surprised look from his angel. "You're a good distraction," Shin simply explained, feeling his cheeks heating up slightly. Luckily, Yuda didn't comment on it. Instead, he rested his head on the smaller angel's shoulder and closed his eyes. Smiling softly without even realizing it, Shin watched his beloved one falling asleep.

Silently, Rei stared at the ground for a while, after all his friends had fallen asleep. Being the first one to be guard had the benefit that it meant he wouldn't have to wake up in the middle of the night, or get up earlier than everyone else. He didn't count it as a good thing, though, when he felt so tired that he barely managed to keep his eyes open. Especially after watching his friends falling asleep, he had to stop himself from relaxing too much. So far, nothing had happened yet during the night. Which was also the reason why no one bothered to mention, that their original plan had been to have two guards at a time, during these deepest circles. But he couldn't shake off the thought that if he would happen to fall asleep, something finally would attack them during the night.

Which was probably for the best, because that thought currently was the only thing keeping him awake. Yawning, he leaned back against the rocky wall a bit further. Only about half an hour left, then he'd have to wake up Shin. And after that, only a few hours left before they'd have to enter the last circle before the deepest point of Hell. Which demon was the main threat in the ninth circle? He remembered reading about it, but he didn't remember anything specific. After so many books, everything had just kind of blended together in his memory. Shin probably remembered, though. Maybe he'd ask him tomorrow before going into that circle, if no one else brought up the subject.

After half an hour of staring at either the floor, the walls or his friends, Rei carefully woke up Shin. "It's your turn to be guard," he explained softly, when his friend looked up at him sleepily. Shin just nodded, and then looked at Yuda. The red-haired angel still lay asleep against his side. As far as Rei could tell, he didn't seem bothered by his injuries. "If I have to re-ice that rock, just say so," he remarked.

"Thank you, but I think he'd better off without that right now," Shin replied. "It might wake him up if I push something against the burn while he sleeps."

"It'll be his turn to be guard after you, right?" Rei asked. When his friend nodded, he said; "Just wake me up if the burn needs to be cooled then. It only takes a second to freeze a rock."

Shin smiled gratefully. "I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

A silence followed, in which Shin watched Yuda sleeping, while Rei went back to his spot by Ruka's side. "Goodnight, Shin." He drifted off to sleep before his friend had the chance to reply.

All too soon, morning came. As soon as Yuda woke, all he wanted was to go back to sleep. His shoulder felt too sore to even move it, his back only felt a little less bad. The burn on his side was the only thing which seemed to have gotten a bit better, but that illusion vanished as soon as he moved. And of course, when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Shin's beautiful face. That was a good thing, but the worried look on his angel's face wasn't. And after their conversation from last night, Yuda couldn't exactly just tell him that he felt fine.

"Good morning," Shin said softly, while caressing some strands of hair away from Yuda's face. "How are you feeling?"

"Good morning to you too," the red-haired angel replied. "Everything still hurts, but it's manageable." Carefully, he moved a bit closer towards Shin, and then kissed him. "Don't worry too much about me, you'd better take care of yourself when we get into a fight."

The look in Shin's light golden eyes seemed a bit happier now, than it had before that kiss. Still, his voice didn't sound any less concerned when he responded. "The demon who guards the next part, is Judecca. And it's the place where traitors to benefactors go." A short silence. "I'm not completely sure what falls under that category. But since you and Ruka rebelled against Zeus, it might mean that you'll get attacked with some unpleasant memories again." Another short silence, and Yuda could tell from the look on Shin's face that he was over-thinking things again.

When his angel didn't say anything else, Yuda couldn't help but to ask what he had been thinking about. It earned him a slightly uncertain look, but Shin did reply. "Well, all six of us rebelled against Zeus together at one point. I wonder how much of an effect such memories would have on us. If the demon can indeed cause us to relive those memories, all six of us might be in trouble."

"Then, all six of us will have to manage not to give in to the memories." That sounded way easier than it was, but at least that reply seemed to comfort Shin a bit. At least, the blue-haired angel smiled at him for a moment, before Rei announced that 'something that wasn't worth to be called breakfast' was ready. Honestly, Yuda would rather skip breakfast, than to eat those demonic snakes again. But then again, battling one of the most powerful demons on an empty stomach sounded even less appealing.

After a less-than-pleasant breakfast, he decided that maybe that second option would've been better after all. It was probably just due to the stress that his injuries caused his body, but those demonic snakes actually made him feel slightly sick. One glance at Shin made him decide to not let that show, though. The blue-haired angel looked nervous enough already. Actually, no one looked particularly calm. And the more he concentrated on the feeling of nervousness, even fear that hung in the air, the more stressed he too started to feel.

The only positive thing he could think of, was that at least he probably wouldn't have to be the leader all alone. Not with these injuries. Either Goh or Ruka would definitely take the lead, if Yuda would get too much of a disadvantage from his injuries.

In silence, the six angels stood up and started walking towards the end of the passage. As Yuda had hoped for, he wasn't the only one walking up front. Goh walked right beside him, sending him a reassuring glance. Grateful, Yuda smiled at him. Then, they reached the end of the passage, and they saw what this circle looked like. Or… not looked like. It was black. Just black. Shadowy darkness all around them, and even when he lit up an energy orb, the glow didn't show anything else than their own bodies. Even the floor just kept black.

"How are we supposed to know where we're going?" Rei asked, his voice even more quiet than usual. No one had an immediate answer, but they all followed when Yuda carefully walked on. At least the ground was flat and steady so far, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be traps here. Or that they wouldn't suddenly run into the demon. "Shin." Rei's voice again. "Do you remember which demon lives here?" Oh, right. Shin had only talked about that with Yuda. While Shin told the others about what the books had said, Yuda tried his best not to listen or think about it. Physical attacks were bad enough, but the emotional attacks had proven to be a lot worse so far. He'd only make himself more vulnerable if he'd be stressed out even before they'd encounter Judecca.

"Too bad we don't have sticks or anything," Gai suddenly remarked. "Then at least we could poke around to feel if there are any holes in the ground, or unexpected walls ahead."

"Yeah," Goh agreed. "But can't you try something with your power over rocks? If you just make them shake a little, the sound might tell us if there are walls." "Just be careful not to be too rough," Shin added. "We don't know how strong the walls and roof are." Yuda hoped Gai had actually listened to that warning, because already the floor started to tremble. There was a sound of small rocks falling from walls on either side of them, but the way ahead kept even more quiet than the way behind them. At least he didn't hear any rocks falling further than the floor, which hopefully meant that there weren't any holes.

"Sounds like it's just a long cave," Ruka said. "But it's strange that we couldn't even see it in the light of that energy orb."

"I think the shadows somehow swallowed it," Shin responded, nervousness audible in his voice. "I'd just wish that there would've been more information about this circle in the books. It didn't say anything about the shape in which lesser demons are present here. So they might be the shadows."

"Or maybe the shadows are doomed souls," Goh said. "If they were demons, they'd probably have attacked us already. No reason to wait for so long."

No one disagreed, though Yuda wasn't sure if they were all just a bit too eager to believe that the shadows couldn't attack them in any way. Well, as long as the shadows kept acting like shadows, he wasn't planning on considering the other possibilities. At the moment, their biggest problem was the demon who ruled this circle. If the walls were on either side of them, the demon could only be in front of them. But how far away? Or how close by? The tension in the air was getting worse, the more the six angels wondered about that.

And then, so unforeseen it was almost funny, the shadows lifted. For a moment, the glow from lava blinded them, then the centre of the ninth circle became visible. And Yuda felt how fear took over them all, as they finally saw the demon.

So… I hope this builds up the tension a bit. I felt the story was getting a bit boring, being mostly about them eating or being guard at night ;^-^
Please review if you liked it/didn't like it/got any other comments ;)

I'll update as soon as I can ^-^