Chapter 28: Viewpoint

What was he thinking?

He was on the run from a goddess that could end his life the very second he stepped out of hell- he was trying to find the demon lord in hope that he was not going to dismember him on the spot and kill the goddess instead- and all he was thinking about was getting laid by Shizuo? Really?

A sound rustling to the right of the barrier forced Izaya's attention away from his impure thoughts.

The mimic was what he expected to be rushing against the barrier one more time, now that the demon had left, but it was Shizuo who turned up instead.

Expression rather void of emotion, the demon merely sighed as he slipped through the barrier with seemingly no effort.

"It's done," he announced matter-of-factly as soon as his feet touched the ground and Izaya was left to blink in a short moment of stupor.

He was still quite confused where this sudden attraction was coming from and a bit fed up that he wasn't able to control his own thoughts. But even more so he was very keen on not letting Shizuo notice any of that.

"Done?" he questioned, while raising from the ground and the demon nodded. "Found the corpse. It's already dissolving."

Izaya cringed at the undoubtedly appetizing idea of that mimic's body finding a liquified end.

"Disgusting," he announced shortly and Shizuo couldn't help but snort.

"Most creatures in hell are," he agreed, while reaching for the pendant on the ground. Blood was wiped off the jewel in a quick swipe of his wrist and tossed towards Izaya.

"It's still a while off until night falls, wanna continue?"

Right.

Before they encountered the mimic they had been heading towards the mountain hosting the event called Crysteria.

Recalling how Shizuo had told Izaya about a giant crab moving that mountain further away from them with every second that passed, Izaya quickly jumped to his feet.

"You have to ask?"

A smile flashed across the demon's lips and with that they moved out of the demon made pit.

The trees grew thicker, taller and most importantly denser in their growth. Soon enough nothing but shadows were surrounding the two of them and Izaya wondered for a moment how the demon knew which direction he was heading into.

"Why is it so dark?" Izaya asked, as their surroundings had considerably dimmed from just a few minutes of walking straight.

"The sun is preparing to set," Shizuo joked and Izaya rolled his eyes at the stupid reply.

"You know that's not what I mean." The demon seemed awfully amused by his own pun and merely snorted.

"You will see in a second."

Watching his steps closely Izaya climbed across a few stems of fallen trees. In general this part of the forest seemed quite disrupted compared to the rest.

Eyes moving ahead he made sure to not let Shizuo out of his sight.

He was still in front, probably checking for any creatures nearby before they decided that Izaya would serve a delicious snack.

And suddenly it was there again. That awkward nostalgia.

Looking at the demon crossing uneven terrain Izaya somehow found himself overwhelmed by the idea that it was the wrong way round.

As if it were him that Shizuo was supposed to follow.

Why?

Sparks of pictures too blurred to recognize flared in his mind and served nothing more but an annoying headache as he sighed.

Maybe he hit his head too hard back when that arachnid creature attacked him.

He had backed into a stone after all without even noticing that his body had moved. Who was to say he hadn't just received a mild concussion?

Right.

That had to be it.

The conclusion was one he could live with and put an end to this silly idea. Just as the forest as it suddenly ran out of trees.

Face blank and brow risen, Izaya wasn't quite sure what he was looking at when he saw Shizuo approach what appeared to be a sudden wall, placed right into the middle of the forest.

And a huge one at that.

Weird patterns aligned all over and its height seemed sheer endless.

A shadow was cast by it and explained the sudden darkness that had engulfed the rest of their trip.

Closing up to the demon that had finally stopped, Izaya followed its height.

He could see the sky, painted in colors of red, purple and blue, but the end of that wall? Not really.

The ledge blurred into non-existence supporting the idea that this was much higher than the both of them could imagine.

"That's a steep wall," Izaya announced what was painfully obvious and jerked the demon out of what appeared to be his own set of thoughts.

"Ah, yeah. We were walking in its shadow, that's why it was so dark," he continued the conversation with the same amount of obliviousness and Izaya hummed.

"You knew? I thought you haven't been to this part of hell before?"

A glance followed.

A snort.

And for a second Izaya felt like he had just said something very silly as the demon grinned at him.

"What do you think this is?"

Izaya knew a trick question when he was posed one.

Looking back at the oddly shaped wall he reevaluated what he thought he was seeing.

Rough texture.

Grey, shimmering, somewhat uneven with patterns too evenly spread to have appeared by coincidence. Nature obviously hadn't created this and so he took another guess.

"... a building?"

Laughter followed and for a brief moment Izaya found the heat of defeat grazing his face.

Damned demon.

This was hell, how on earth was he supposed to know what he was seeing?

"That's the Serpent's shed," Shizuo finally revealed, leaving Izaya to blink in mild surprise.

For a second he thought the demon might be joking, but when he looked at the wall once more he recognized the pattern of the giant snake's skin.

A shed-

A bit mindblown Izaya realized how large this serpent really was. Always seeing it from afar had served as an impressive picture, and walking in its carved path had been impressive too, but somehow Izaya had still underestimated its true size.

It was then that the demon's knee suddenly touched the ground and his eyes glittered in a moment of mischief.

"Get on."

Disbelief and pure reluctance immediately spread in Izaya's mind as he looked at the demon. The order was clear, the intention too, Shizuo wanted to carry him to some kind of destination they wouldn't reach otherwise, probably past the shed but-

Hell no.

Only having Shizuo brush his ear had made him get a boner. There was no way he was going to initiate any direct skin contact as long as his concussion served him these confusing signals.

"You are kidding," he announced, obviously presenting his reluctance to follow that order.

But the demon seemed not willing to negotiate.

"I want to show you something," he enforced, but Izaya merely frowned.

"On your back?"

A roll of eyes speaking of impatience followed as the demon groaned, "What? Afraid of some height?"

Not really.

He trusted this demon to not endanger his life willingly. After all he had saved his ass thrice by now. That was not the issue.

But there was no harm in using a pretense as convenient as this, right?

Crossing his arms he showed his best act as he agreed with a nod.

"If you drop me, yes."

Shizuo snorted. What kind of answer was that?

"A little late for distrust after drinking my blood don't you think?" he argued and Izaya couldn't quite deny the logic in that.

… this demon.

He wasn't going to budge, was he?

Chances were he was going to be stubborn about his will until Izaya gave in or just acted upon his wish.

After all he had both the strength as well as the lack of manner to proceed with anything he wanted.

Realizing what little choice Izaya had in the matter he decided he would rather do this on his own terms.

Moving over he eyed the demon with faked malice.

"If you drop me I will kill you," he announced, and the lack of fear and spades of confidence backing the statement caused Shizuo to snort.

"Noted," he chuckled, and his human finally slipped onto his back.

Arms were brought back and thighs grabbed. "Hold on tight," he announced and suddenly they were there-

Wings.

Disbelieving Izaya looked at the sudden aids of air, double his body's size.

Where the hell-?

They just suddenly sprouted from his frame as if they had always been there-

But not much more time was given to relish in his stupor as Shizuo finally moved.

Brought down in a descend of power the wings snapped to the ground and they rose-

Too fast to comprehend-

At first Izaya's hold on Shizuo had been slim and anything but firm- well not anymore.

Arms brought around the demon's neck Izaya choked the life out of him as his eyes squeezed shut in his startled moment.

But the strength exerted by Izaya was nothing to Shizuo. An amused grin spread across his lips, and within a hot second they reached a ledze in the steep rise of the Serpent's skin.

Hands digging into the shed as though it was made of jelly, Shizuo clawed into the wall.

As fast as they had moved they had come to a halt and Izaya blinked while looking for the heart that lept out of his chest.

He was a fan of roller coasters, really, but not when they appeared unannounced-

Bent in a way that served an image of a small terrace, the shed formed enough room for two people and so Shizuo dropped Izaya into their new viewpoint.

"Did I promise too much?" he asked, and honestly, had the view been anything less than absolutely mesmerizing, Izaya would have snapped at the demon.

Because he was a good damn brute.

But right now?

Eyes grazing the horizon first, Izaya found himself oddly enraptured by the sight presented.

He could see everything- the route they took on their way here, the giant forest, the chasm cut into the landscape. Bodies of water in different sizes along with what looked like a bloody ocean, coloured in dark crimson that rose in the distance.

The temples Shizuo had mentioned and which they stayed at, were spread awfully symmetrical, serving peaks of light and safety like a lighthouse in the dark.

Albeit darkness was an arbitrary term, because the entirety of hell was illuminated.

All forms of vegerations and living beings seemed to illuminate the ground.

It was as though Izaya was looking at a sea of emeralds.

And the sky was nothing but a brilliant reflection as its stars mirrored the same beauty.

A few streaks of clouds mimicked ivory in the distance and circled the sun like a spiral of glitter, making the scenery the most captivating Izaya had ever seen.

"It's just a view, nothing to boast about," he whispered quietly, to answer Shizuo's question, but the demon noticed the way Izaya's eyes glittered. And somehow Shizuo felt proud of the fact that he managed to impress his human.

"It's really a shame," Izaya suddenly said and Shizuo blinked at the negative connotation.

"What is?"

Nodding towards the pretty sight ahead Izaya sighed, "Hell is so pretty, but its residents…" he faded out.

Shizuo snorted at that.

"Should I be offended?"

Izaya laughed, "Not you, idiot."

Standing up Izaya touched the surface of the Serpent's shed. The scales were awfully pretty too.

Smooth to the touch, nacre in color. They reflected every bit of light presented like soap bubbles.

"Even this guardian of yours. The way it gobbled up that creature seemed utterly disgusting, but its scales are gorgeous," he continued and Shizuo turned to look at the scales as well.

"Some demons use them for their armor. Mostly because of their sturdiness, but I think they like their appearance too."

Turning his head Izaya looked at his demon that seemed awfully lacking in any clothing that would actually guard his body.

"You were talking about armor earlier too," Izaya remembered and wondered whether the clothes Shizuo wore were sturdier than he thought. After all, they survived being roasted by fire, that accounted for something, right? "Do demons have a society? Work? Kids?" he asked,"So far I have only met you. I'm having a very hard time grasping the way your kind lives."

Sparing a thoughtful glance the demon looked towards the skyline.

"We don't differ from humans as much as you might think," he mumbled, arms crossed and voice somewhat reluctant. "Some demons work together, some enough to create buildings. The shrines you saw for example. Or armor. They usually trade with whatever they have on hand or fight over their goods with the winner receiving everything they own."

So they were living as a society after all. It made sense considering he saw hints of infrastructure. The temples foremost of all. Their construction, the way they worked, their appearance- all of that hinted towards a larger group of demons working together.

And yet, the way Shizuo described those interactions of trade he figured it was only the weakest that even thought about wasting their time by cooperating.

"Seems pretty harsh," he added, and seemed to have hit the nail on the head as the demon snorted.

"It is. And believe me, most of the time when demons meet it doesn't end well."

Eyes leaving the gorgeous sight, Izaya trailed towards Shizuo. He seemed quite lost regarding the topic, but even more lost when it came to himself.

Losing his memory- it wasn't like Izaya was off any better, but at the end of the day he at least remembered his own actions. His personality, his life, even if the people were cut from it, losing even that had to be quite disturbing, even for a demon.

"Is that why you left?" Izaya asked, knowing it would be wiser to steer clear of the topic, but his curiosity got the better of him.

Hesitation marked Shizuo's attitude, but he answered nonetheless.

"Part of it, yeah."

Izaya wanted to know more about this demon.

About what he was doing, why he was doing it.

All these years, these opinions, his actions of caution and care- they were too unsuitable for someone that was supposed to be a cruel entity.

Losing his memory was one thing, but somehow Izaya found himself doubting he was any different before his memory loss.

Which led to a question Izaya wasn't sure he should voice.

Had someone made Shizuo lose his memory?

It seemed awfully likely.

After all, Shizuo was strong, stronger than probably most residents in hell. When it came to strength he was probably admired by most demons living here, but what about his ideas? His soft side for humans? His reluctance to fight?

Beating Shizuo one on one seemed highly unlikely, so what if Shizuo had traded his memory himself?

For a purpose?

One that he didn't remember of course.

It was just an idea, a silly little conclusion Izaya had drawn and yet the moment he did he felt as though he was sitting on coals of fire.

Something about the idea seemed awfully convincing despite not even having received any hint supporting it.

to be continued~