Everything burns.
Fumes of black smoke cloud his lungs, burning him from the inside-out. He can vaguely make out the calls of people around him as his chokes on burnt air. It is painful, yet somewhat lax, as Katsuki finds himself slowly drifting off to sleep.
"Kacchan!"
"Bakugou, breathe!"
He can't.
He can't breathe, no matter how hard he tries. Momentarily, a spike of pure hurt stabs his chest, yet until all the feeling in his bones completely dissipate. All the pain vanishes in a mere instant. Like nothing ever happened.
...What did happen, anyway? Something about...a factory explosion…?
Everything transpiring in his head disappears when someone grabs his hand and vehemently begins shaking it, shrieking out, "Oh, Katsuki-kun! Katsuki-kun, finally! I'm so glad I finally get to meet you!"
He had been dozing off in his own little world before the image of a woman appears before his eyes. Right there is a ridiculously tall woman, wearing nothing but a skimpy, black corset. It catches him off guard and immediately does he yank his arm away from her.
She giggles as he stumbles back onto the red carpet, and — wait, what? Red carpet? His fingers roll over the soft, velvet blanket beneath him.
"What the?" he says. "Where the hell am I?"
The lady beckons closer, showing off her long, golden, blonde hair. "Where the hell indeed, Katsuki-kun! You're dead! Welcome to Hell!"
He blinks.
She grins.
"Don't worry, we'll get the basics set down in a minute, but I just want to take a second and say how awesome it is for you to finally join us demons! I thought the day you die would never come!"
"Die?" he asks, almost flabbergasted. Not like he didn't believe it. He does remember choking on black smoke just a few seconds ago.
"Yup! See here," she points to a calendar off to his left. The 8th of May is circled in red marker, labeled with the caption 'Bakugou Katsuki'.
Today is the 8th of May.
"You were scheduled for today! I've been looking forward to it for years!"
As the demon rambles on about how happy she is, Katsuki stares in disbelief. He pinches himself to confirm this isn't some messed up fever dream, or a hallucination caused by the smoke. Turning back to It, his eyes finally register what she is. She has curled ram horns on both sides of her head.
"Oi. You said you're a demon?"
"Right you are! I'm actually the Secretary of Hell. The Demon King isn't here at the moment, but I could help you get settled in! Don't worry, it's much more fun down here. I hear that in Heaven, they don't even allow skin contact!"
She titters. Katsuki had prepared for whatever it took to become a Hero, but he definitely had not prepared for...this. This lady has some screws loose, already earning her a spot at the top of his shit-list, and he isn't sure who she's fooling, but there is no way in hell he is staying down here.
He was about to ask, but looking around, he's starting to think this isn't some kind of joke. Right now he's in a stereotypical office. Velvet carpet and torches ornate the place, but the most notable thing in here is the desk with a chair in front of it.
The demon lady grabs some papers off the desk, skimming through them. Katsuki can vaguely register the faint booming of...music? The fuck? He sees a window off to the right.
"Oh, take a look!" says the lady. "Some friends of mine have been waiting for you too!"
"The hell does that mean?"
"Ohhh, sorry! I didn't explain! Look, Katsuki-kun, we demons love to spy on you humans. You're the star of our entertainment! You're everything but a human, Katsuki-kun! You're the closest to a real demon than any of us!"
A blank stare is all she gets.
"Everyone will be so happy once they hear you've joined us!"
"Everyone?"
She gestures to the window. "Why don't you see for yourself?"
Hesitating doesn't get him far. He hates using complicated language, but curiosity killed the cat this time. Stalking to the window, preparing for the worst, he peers down at the source of a distant bass bashing his eardrums.
...Wow.
"Great, isn't it?"
He wouldn't say great, but...wow. There are no flames, no one screaming in pain, no pitchforks jabbing between someone's legs...just…
A party.
Hell is one big nightclub. Demons with horns, skimpy clothing, drinks, soulless eyes, and vampire teeth are partying til they drop. Katsuki can't fathom being in this environment. Fuck, even being in the same room with this weirdo for eternity might sound better than this!
He backs away from the tall demon, "I'm not joining those freaks!"
"Eh? What do you mean? Everyone's been waiting for you."
"Like I care. I don't know you damn freaks, and there's no way in hell I'm staying down here!"
"Yes you will."
"No, I'm not!"
"You will."
"I'm not!"
"You're not."
"I will!"
She smiles.
"Listen, bitch...you send me back, right now, or else I'll blow you and your friends' asses back to Heaven!"
Instead of cowering like most people do, she grins so wide her face could split, squealing and hugging herself like a girl in love.
"Aaaa! Yes, that's it! That's it! Everybody loves it when you do that!"
His fingers twitch in pure anger, how dare she get off on this? He doesn't care what status she has here anymore.
As an incoming explosion courses through his fingers, the lady's golden hair suddenly springs toward him and wraps him up in a cocoon, leaving him defenseless. He squirms in her hold, hearing a 'tsk tsk tsk'.
"Sorry, Katsuki-kun. If you were to attack me, you'd be pulled until your limbs popped off. I'm doing you a favor."
Growling like an animal doesn't help him. Her Quirk is surprisingly strong against his blasts, considering demons probably get used to fire and hot temperatures. He doesn't begin to settle down until she tells him:
"...You know, if you really want to go back that badly, you're going to have to talk to my boss, the Demon King."
He is muffled beneath her hair, "So let me at 'em! I'll kick his ass, too!"
"See, that's the problem. I don't think he has time for a while…he has tons of plans with other demons. Hell is a busy place."
"And that means!?"
Guilt climbs her spine. "...You might have to be put on hold for a few days. Or weeks."
"Excuse me?!"
Oh, that's bad. If he's died just recently, who knows how long it'll be before he gets back to his regular life? This isn't what he prepared for at all!
Just then, the phone rings.
She releases him and quickly answers, "Hello, this is Purgatory, Secretary speaking. May I help you? Yes, that's right. Yes, he's here."
Katsuki perks up.
"Oh, really? Well, I'll tell him right away. Yes. Thank you. Goodbye. Hail Satan."
The phone is hung up. She looks to Katsuki with a determined smile, yet with some doubt hidden behind her dark eyes.
"The Demon King would like to have a private talk over tea with you. Right now. He's your biggest fan of all."