Well, I thought for a moment there that this chapter wouldn't be posted today when I couldn't get into my Fanfiction account but, fortunately it was fixed in time so here we go!
Additional Characters
Erizavu~eēta - Elizaveta - Hungary
I do not own Hetalia!
Demonic Romeo Vol IX
Arufureddo and Āsā's kiss broke and they both turned toward the voice. Flanked by his three lackeys, Edo~uarudo, Toriumu and Raivis, Iwan stood with a big smile on his face. And a dark aura around him.
"Such a tender moment," he cooed, creepily. "Or would be if you weren't a demon and an angel. Tut, tut, Arufureddo. Or should I call you traitor?" Arufureddo grabbed Āsā and pulled him along with him.
"RUN!" he screamed at Āsā who did as he was told and they took to the air.
"AFTER THEM!" Iwan ordered as he flew after them, followed by his henchman and the race was on!
Arufureddo and Āsā soared high into the sky and began making for the cloud bank in the distance. If they could make it to that, there was a chance they could lose the following demons, Iwan in the lead. The flapping of their wings were getting close so Arufureddo and Āsā tried to fly faster. The cloud bank was so tantalizingly close.
Iwan was furious. He knew Arufureddo was not serious about hunting Āsā and Mashū but the idea of a love affair between the American demon and the one Iwan had picked out for himself was more than the Russian could stand and, from what Toriumu had told him, Arufureddo had no intention of corrupting Āsā. Arufureddo would be hunted now as a traitor to Hell. And when Iwan caught Āsā, he would make sure that the Brit felt his wrath as he worked slowly to corrupt the angel's soul.
The cloud bank came slowly toward Arufureddo and Āsā, too slowly for either of their liking. Arufureddo took out his gun and, without looking backwards, pointed it behind him and fired. Iwan saw the gun and flew out of the way but Toriumu panicked when the bullet flew past his hair and he collided with Edo~uarudo who was flying a little too close to him and Raivis had to stop hard to avoid flying into them both. It bought Arufureddo and Āsā just enough time as they disappeared into the cloud cover.
White mist surrounded them as they went in deep but kept changing direction rather than going straight. As the other demons flew into the clouds, their vision was obscured and so could not see their quarry but that also meant that their quarry could not see them. It would be like a game of cat and mouse. With both blindfolded.
Arufureddo held on tight to Āsā's hand to prevent him from getting lost while listening for any sounds, flapping their own wings as softly as they could without losing height, not they could see if they were drifting downward, anyway. There was a whoosh to the right of them as Edo~uarudo passed by, not seeing the demon and angel mere feet away from him and then there was the sound of a collision.
"Humph!" Raivis's voice grunted and the sound of Edo~uarudo saying, "Sorry! Can't see a thing!" Arufureddo looked at Āsā and put his finger to his lips.
"Be quiet!" Iwan ordered. "If we can't see them, they can't see us but they can hear us. Edo~uarudo, you search with me! Toriumu, fly above the clouds and Raivis, fly below them. Call out if you see them!"
Damn! They should have flown out of the clouds the moment they lost them but now above and below would be watched. They had to find a way out. Arufureddo thought hard. Down would be easier but it meant dealing with Raivis which made him feel kind like of a bully. But if they could somehow get the drop on him …..
Arufureddo pointed down and Āsā slowed the flapping of his wings, feeling gravity take hold. The mist seemed endless until clear air began to appear around their feet. Arufureddo then turned until he was face down and looked around.
Their luck held. Raivis was there but he was looking away from them. Arufureddo gauged how far away from them he was and pulled Āsā back into the clouds and began to moving toward Raivis until he was almost right above him. Signalling for Āsā to stay in the clouds, Arufureddo took another peak downwards to make sure that Raivis was still oblivious to their presence.
Raivis looked around to see if Arufureddo and his angel boyfriend had broken cover yet but he did not look up. A mistake he discovered to his cost when suddenly he was seized in a pair of strong arms and rendered immobile by Arufureddo who put a hand over his mouth.
"Come on, Āsā," he whispered as the angel appeared from the mist. Āsā pointed to Raivis.
"What do we do about him?" he asked. Arufureddo looked at the little demon.
"He'll have to come with us for now," he replied and the little group flew away from the clouds containing the other demons who were oblivious to the fact that their prey had escaped.
They left Raivis tied up but unharmed in another park and then found an abandoned church where Arufureddo could hide, not exactly surroundings that Arufureddo was comfortable in but, as Āsā pointed out, it was not a place that other demons were likely to look and beggars could not be choosers.
"I'm going to try to find a way to fix this," Āsā promised. "There must be some way of protecting you from the other demons. If there is, someone in Heaven must know of it!" Arufureddo took Āsā's face in his hands.
"I should be protecting you," he said and lightly kiss the angel. Āsā moved into Arufureddo's embrace.
"You can't fight all of Hell," he replied. Arufureddo realised something.
"My friends!" he exclaimed. "Iwan will accuse them of betraying Hell too. They'll be in danger, I can't leave them to face the music alone." He went to leave but Āsā stood in his way.
"Every demon will be looking for you," he warned. "You go into Hell, you'll be dead before you even find your friends." Āsā thought for a moment then he snapped his fingers.
"I'll go see Rutovu~ihi and his grandfather," he said. "They should know a way to at least warned them. I'll go now!" Arufureddo grabbed Āsā.
"Iwan's looking for you too!" he stated. "You don't expect me to let you go out there alone, do you?" Āsā took Arufureddo's face in his hands this time.
"Arufureddo, Arufureddo, Arufureddo!" he said. "Have you never wondered how we angels get to Heaven?" He lightly kissed the demon and let him go. Then he walked up to the derelict altar with the dusty cross stood on it, stopped and held his arms out to the sides. The cross began to glow and bathed the guardian angel in light and Āsā turned back to look at Arufureddo.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised as the light was sucked back into the cross, taking Āsā with it. Arufureddo stood, stunned at the vision that had happened in front of him. When the light disappeared, taking his love with him, it felt almost unbearably dark and desolate. He wanted to leave to find and warned his friends but he realised Āsā was right. He would be found and killed before he could get near.
He looked at the altar, wondering if he dared and then thought, What the Hell! He had nothing to lose and maybe it would help. So he knelt down before the altar and prayed for his friends, Mashū, Āsā, in fact, for everyone he loved.
Even if Heaven was unlikely to listen to a demon!
Āsā hurried to find U~Orufugangu and Romyurasu, time being of the essence. He did not find Romyurasu but he found the most important one, U~Orufugangu, who was talking to his grandson.
"U~Orufugangu," he said, urgently. "We have a problem. The Soul Thief found out that Arufureddo's been meeting with us. He's been declared a traitor and every demon in Hell will soon be looking for him."
"Mashū's demon brother?" U~Orufugangu asked. "Does Mashū know?"
"Not yet," Āsā replied. "I haven't seen Mashū yet! But we need help!" U~Orufugangu shook his head.
"I've already told you," he said. "As much as I might want to, without a soul, we can't bring a demon into Hell." Āsā waved that away.
"That's not the problem," he told him. "I've found a safe place for Arufureddo for the time being. The problem is Arufureddo's friends. They don't know either and the first thing Iwan will do is declared the rest of The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto traitors as well."
"Girubāto!" Rutovu~ihi realised. U~Orufugangu went pale.
"There must be some way we can warn them!" Āsā plead. U~Orufugangu thought for a moment.
"There's one way," he said. "As blood relations of Girubāto, we could contact him but we're lacking one thing."
"What?"
"We need a focus point," U~Orufugangu replied. "Something of Girubāto we can concentrate our thoughts through. But we don't have that." Rutovu~ihi put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the iron cross.
"Girubāto gave me this tonight," he said and Āsā and U~Orufugangu began to feel hope.
Girubāto's head was filled with thoughts of his awesome Birdie as he made his way through Hell, looking for Ansonī. He had given Arufureddo a hard time about his feelings for Āsā but here he was, doing the exact same thing. Was that not irony at its very finest!
'Girubāto!'
Girubāto looked around to see who had called his name but none of the surrounding demons were looking his way. Deciding he must have misheard someone, he continued in his search for his Spanish friend.
'Girubāto!' a different voice said. 'If you can hear us, don't say anything! You're the only one who can hear us!' Girubāto recognised the voice as Rutovu~ihi's.
'Concentrate and think to us," Rutovu~ihi advised. 'Großvater is here too. We need to tell you something!" Girubāto focused on Rutovu~ihi's voice.
'Can you hear me?" he asked.
'Just about!" Rutovu~ihi replied.
'Guten Abend, mein Enkel (Good evening, my grandson),' U~Orufugangu's voice sounded in his head.
'Großvater!' Girubāto exclaimed.
'It's good to hear your voice, Girubāto,' U~Orufugangu replied. 'I wish it was for a better reason now listen carefully. Iwan's found out about Arufureddo's involvement with Āsā and Mashū. He'll have Arufureddo declared traitor the moment he returns to Hell and he'll probably be gunning for you and your friends too. If you and your friends are in Hell right now, get out before Iwan returns! Get out now!"
Verdammt! Girubāto knew this was not going to end well. He had to find Ansonī and Furanshisu quickly. If they were still in Hell when Iwan returned to break his little piece of news …...
'I'm looking for Ansonī and Furanshisu now,' he said. 'The moment I find them, we're out of here! Do you know where Arufureddo is right now?"
'Āsā has him hidden in an abandoned church,' Rutovu~ihi replied after a moment. 'When you're away from Hell, think to us! We're using your necklace as a focus and one of us will be wearing it at all times!'
'Will do!' Girubāto promised. 'I'm off to find my friends!" And he broke contact, urgently looking for his fellow Bāto- tatchi- karutetto friends.
"Now all we can do is wait," U~Orufugangu declared as Girubāto's thoughts left their heads. Both he and Rutovu~ihi were holding on to the iron cross necklace and U~Orufugangu let go, allowing Rutovu~ihi to put it around his neck. "Rutovu~ihi, I want you and Āsā to go to the church and wait with Arufureddo. When Girubāto has found his friends, he'll need to be guided there and protected until we can find a safer place for them all. I'll find Mashū and let him know what's happened."
"Ja," Rutovu~ihi agreed and turned to Āsā. "Let's go!" Both angels left while U~Orufugangu prayed to Higher Power for his demon grandson.
Arufureddo did not know how long he had been praying or even if it was doing any good but he continued anyway. He did not see the shadow in the old rotten and broken pews as he continued to ask for protection for the ones he loved.
"A demon praying at an altar for the protection of the souls of angels is not something you see every day," the shadow said, causing Arufureddo to spin round. The shadow moved into what little light there was and Arufureddo saw an old priest who seemed even older than his years. Arufureddo wondered how the old man could even see him when he was in his invisible demon form while he waited for words of condemnation to fall from the priest's lips for daring to defile this holy place. Instead the old priest smiled at him.
"How can you see that I'm here?" Arufureddo asked.
"At my age, I see many things," the priest replied. "What is your name, my son?"
"I'm called Arufureddo," Arufureddo replied. "Aren't you going to shoot fire and brimstone at me and tell to get out of this church?"
"I'm not the 'fire and brimstone' type," the priest replied. "And I'm somewhat curious as to why you're here, praying to something, some would say, had rejected you!"
"Nothing left to lose," Arufureddo shrugged. "I'm a traitor to Hell, I don't know if my friends are safe and my brother and …... someone else are two angels in danger from a very dangerous demon and I'm powerless to protect them. Heaven might not listen to me but if it does, it might do something to protect two of its own, at least."
"You pray for them," the priest replied. "What of you?"
"What of me?" Arufureddo said. "Heaven won't protect a demon so why bother?"
"Are you so sure?" the old man persisted. "You're the most unusual demon I've ever heard of. Why did you fall in the first place?"
"My brother," Arufureddo replied. "He was terminally ill and I was offered a chance to chance to cure him by selling my soul. Foolish, I know but the demon I sold my soul to kept his word on that score."
"I sense a 'but'."
"About the time my brother was supposed to die, he was kill in a car accident," Arufureddo said. "The demon carefully worded our contract so it said Mashū would be cured of his illness."
"But not that he wouldn't die," the priest nodded, understandingly. Arufureddo nodded.
"Mashū's an angel now," he said. "I was killed the day of his funeral and went to Hell. I didn't give in easily." He pointed to his hair. "I used to be blonde. Now I'm damned." The priest put his hands on Arufureddo's shoulders.
"A soul that would sacrifice everything for the love of a brother," he said. "And fight for the souls of angels could never be damned. Have faith, my son! The universe has a plan. Heaven has not abandoned you yet!" The old priest turned and walked toward the door.
"Who are you?" Arufureddo asked. The priest turned and smiled at him again before turning back to the door and left, leaving a perplexed demon behind him.
Girubāto flew over Hell, desperately trying to find his two friends before Iwan and his henchmen returned and condemned them. They had yet to come back but that happy state of affairs would not last so Girubāto had to find Ansonī and Furanshisu fast.
He finally spotted them across the punishment pits, stood apart from every other demon, talking. He landed and ran up to them.
"Ah, mon ami!" Furanshisu greeted. "We were wondering when you would get here. Is Arufureddo with you?" Girubāto grabbed both of their arms.
"No, he isn't," he replied, dragging them out of sight. "Something unawesome has happened. Iwan knows!" Both Ansonī and Furanshisu went as white as a sheet.
"Sacred Bleu," Furanshisu breathed. "Is Arufureddo all right? Iwan didn't get him, did he?" Girubāto shook his head.
"He and Āsā got away," he said. "But Iwan will be back soon and when he comes back, he'll condemn us all as traitors to Hell. We have to go before he returns! We don't even have time to gather our things. We have to leave now!" The three demons took to the air and headed for Hell's portal.
The portal to Hell was, quite simply, a massive curtain of red fire, blazing with the heat of a volcano and as they approached it, the flames began to turn yellow, an indication of a returning demon. Not knowing who was coming through the portal, Girubāto grabbed his two friends and pulled them into an alcove.
Good thing too. The yellow flames parted and Iwan, accompanied by Toriumu and Edo~uarudo and holding a still tied-up Raivis, burst through the portal, spreading dark aura everywhere.
"I'll kill that traitor and the rest of The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto," he promised. "And when I finally get Āsā, I'll make an example of him before I corrupt him, to show what happens when you go against HELL!" He flew past The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto's hiding place. He turned to his lackeys. "Spread the word about those traitors. I want every demon hunting for them!"
When they were out of sight, Girubāto, Ansonī and Furanshisu disappeared through the portal and made good their escape.
Arufureddo turned to the light that suddenly filled the church to see the cross glowing again and Āsā and Rutovu~ihi appeared in the church. Arufureddo was happy to see Āsā back and he was even glad to see the arch-angel.
"What's happening about my friends?" he asked.
"Rutovu~ihi has a way to talk to his brother," Āsā replied. "We've warned him and he's warning the rest of your friends. We're just waiting for him to contact Rutovu~ihi to let us know that they got away in time. Then we'll guide them here."
"And then what?"
"Großvater is looking for a safer place for all of you," Rutovu~ihi said. "This church is safe for now but it's not guaranteed that you won't be found here." Suddenly Rutovu~ihi froze and look as if he was listening to something he could hear.
"They made it out of Hell just in time," he told them. "But Iwan's in Hell so your transgression is known. They'll be hunting for you now."
"That was inevitable," Arufureddo replied. Rutovu~ihi continued to listen to his brother as he walked to the door."
"I'll guide them here," he said and left Āsā and Arufureddo alone. The same thoughts was running through both of their minds. They were hunted now. Āsā had the sanctuary of Heaven but The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto's situation was less secure. Āsā would take them all into Heaven, even the pervert, if it meant Arufureddo was safe but the demon quartet could not enter Heaven. How could they ever be together?
Arufureddo wrapped his arms around the British angel he had come to love, holding him close as if he would be torn from his arms at any moment. He had nothing to offer Āsā. He was a demon being hunted by his fellows, without a home now, not that Hell was much of a home to him to begin with. He had pulled Āsā, Mashū and his friends into this dangerous situation and if anything happened to any of them, Arufureddo did not think he would forgive himself.
"What will we do now?" Āsā hoped Arufureddo would know the answer for what he had no solutions for. Arufureddo hugged Āsā tighter.
"We'll figure something out," he promised and kissed the top of Āsā's head. "But, in the meantime, I want you to stay in Heaven. You'll be safe, Iwan can't touch you there."
"So I spend the rest of existence in hiding!" Āsā replied. "Not exactly how I envisioned spending my afterlife. I'm an guardian angel! What about my ward?"
"It's too dangerous now," Arufureddo pointed out. "For you and for him. It might even be dangerous now! Iwan won't hesitate to use Rōman against you and you against me now that he knows about us. Mashū will need to stay away too for his and Ferishiāno's safety. Heaven will need to assign new guardians to the Vargas Brothers."
"But..." Arufureddo put his finger on Āsā's lips.
"I know you want to protect them," he said. "But, right now, the best way to do that is to stay away from them." Āsā sighed and nodded.
"You're right," he agreed. "I'll tell Romyurasu and U~Orufugangu that the presence of Mashū and I is now a danger. They'll assign someone else." Arufureddo smiled, glad that Āsā was seeing sense.
"But I'm not staying away from you," Āsā promised. Arufureddo began to protest but Āsā cut him off before he could start. "We're in this together. We'll see it through together." Arufureddo smiled at his stubborn lover and kissed him, passionately.
"You never told me about this," Ansonī's voice cut through the couple's romantic moment. "No wonder Iwan's making Hell freeze." They looked round to see Ansonī staring at them, Rutovu~ihi looked just as surprised as Ansonī. He knew Āsā had gotten close to Arufureddo while the demon was meeting his brother but he never suspected this. Girubāto and Furanshisu, of course, were less surprised.
They were interrupted by the light of the cross glowing and Mashū appeared out of it. Girubāto's face lit up with a grin as he ran across the church and engulfed Mashū in a bear-hug, making Rutovu~ihi's eyebrows disappear into his hair. Which was slicked back.
"Awesome to see you again, Birdie," Girubāto said and pecked Mashū on the lips, making the shy angel blushed. Again!
"Mein Gott! It's spreading," Rutovu~ihi muttered. Girubāto smirked at his brother as he wrapped his arm around Mashū's shoulders.
"Why so surprised, bruder?" he asked. "He's cute, I'm awesome! And cute! We're a perfect couple!" Mashū went brick red.
"Oh maple!" he groaned.
"Mon Dieu!" Furanshisu exclaimed, looking at the dilapidated church. "This is where you expect us to stay!" Āsā crossed his arms and scowled at the French demon.
"Would you rather be where Iwan can find you, you Hell-bound Frog?" he snapped. "It will be while before Iwan would even consider that you might be hiding in a church. By then, hopefully, we'll have a better safe house."
"Until then, we just lie low," Arufureddo told the others.
For the next week, Iwan's lackeys and other demons from Hell searched for The Bāto- tatchi- karutetto or 'the traitors' as they had been imaginatively dubbed. Iwan had also given orders to find either Āsā or Mashū as well, to use them to draw out Arufureddo and his friends but neither hide nor hair was found of either the demonic quartet or the angelic duo. As predicted, the demons did not approach any churches.
Iwan's mood grew fouler with every failure. He wanted those traitors and The Uncorrupted in his hands now but his henchmen did not look like they were going to find them soon so Iwan decided to use another tactic and called Raivis to him.
The little demon stood, quivering in the presence of the Russian demon, waiting for him to address him. Iwan turned his gaze on the little Latvian, causing him to shake harder.
"Now Raivis!" Iwan smiled his disturbing smile. "I want you to tell me everything you know and saw of Arufureddo's dealings with those angels."
And in Iwan's threatening presence, Raivis related everything he knew while Iwan sorted through the information for something he could use.
Rōman was grumpier than usual and Ferishiāno was not his excessively happy self as they made their way to the restaurant. Neither Ansonī nor Rutovu~ihi had been near for days. Rutovu~ihi had been there in angel form but Ferishiāno did not know that. Other angels had been assigned to the Vargas Brothers and they followed them to the restaurant. Rutovu~ihi was waiting for them when they arrived.
"Any problems?" he asked Feliks.
"No," the green-eyed blonde replied. "The trip here was, like, totes peaceful. Well, except for, like, Rōman's potty mouth."
"Ferishiāno a little sweetheart though," a brown-haired female angel commented. Erizavu~eeta looked like a sweet young lady but she was a fierce fighter when necessary. A good choice for protecting the brothers.
Rōman unlocked the door and he and Ferishiāno went in, followed by the angels. Rutovu~ihi, Feliks and Erizavu~eeta sensed it right away.
"DEMONS!" Rutovu~ihi shouted as, suddenly, figures leaped from the shadows to overwhelmed both humans and angels.
Outside, people walking near the restaurant were suddenly thrust into a nightmare of flying glass and fire as the restaurant exploded.
Noooooooo! All Hell is breaking loose! Iwan's out for blood and WHAT HAPPENED IN THE RESTAURANT! DDDX Find out in the next chapter!
To Scarlet Phantom – Yup! Iwan knows and he's not a happy demon. I really have to check out The Grey Garden. As for what will happen to them, that remains to be seen (which is code for 'I don't know yet!' ;P) Ah yes! 'Screw what they say, we're eloping' is all very well if 'they' are not hunting you down D: 6:10 AM! I'm still comatose then! (-_-)zzzzzzzz
To themusicalcat – Yep! But the fun's over! This is where it gets serious! O.O
To ArtemisIsis13 – The Evil Cliffhanger Queen strikes again! (Muhahahaha!) I know! Sound so innocuous, don't they! If only Rōman and Ferishiāno knew! All the good-natured teasing was fun, I could just imagine Rōman making Ansonī help in the kitchen and the idea of Rutovu~ihi falling in love might be a source of endless amusement for Āsā and Mashū XD And everyone smiles around Ferishiāno :) Ah, Iwan! He'd have to be charming to get so many to sell their souls to him (except Āsā, of course!) Indeed, the calm before the storm! And a fire storm at that! And Rutiano and Girishu it is! And were you ready for this cliffhanger? ;P
(P.S. I've been having that problem too, I only got access to my account yesterday!)
I had planned for the next chapter to be the last but it might stretch over two, we'll have to see but a battle is looming and lives are in danger. Let's see if love triumphs over Evil!
Till next week (fingers crossed!)
Hasta la Pasta!