Chapter 29: Flicker of memories

"... you good?" Shizuo suddenly asked, and Izaya realized he had remained quiet for longer than adequate for their conversation.

"All good," he sighed, "I was just-"

But his sentence wasn't meant to be finished.

Bright, orange and red, flames of an unknown kind sudden rushed past their faces-

A shriek sprouted from the crooked neck of what looked like a flying beetle five times the size of a human. Sharp legs spiked with needles were directed towards Izaya and he jerked in his stance-

A mistake.

Too fast to react, too unpredicted to see coming, two events took place at the same time.

One, was centered around Shizuo, taking a deep breath and roasting the bug midair at once. It took not more than a second and a confident approach before the disturber of silence met his end and his body took on the shape of roasted coals.

The second was one that caused Shizuo's sight to be blocked and when he turned- Izaya was gone.

As for the second event- The beetle, as disgusting as it had been, hadn't scared Izaya at all, because Shizuo was there, because he was definitely going to take care of it, and compared to all kind of creatures they had seen so far this seemed more than laughable.

But his body jerked nonetheless in short surprise and his leg moved away- to make room, to create distance. It was a natural response- a reflex- and so was the missing friction of Izaya's shoes and the scales beneath his feet when he slipped-

Fast-

His guts sank-

Unrestrained air slapped Izaya's face as he fell-

His arms reached for the Serpent's scales, but smooth as they were they found no creak to hold onto-

Too fast to realize what had happened, Shizuo's head merely jerked around as he spotted Izaya, rushing down towards the tips of massive trees.

Trees that were beautiful, they caused no harm other than blocking sunlight on a nice day, but right now those very trees presented nothing but a cruel death trap as their tips were aligned like a bed of needles, ready to pierce what dared to approach.

A mere second had passed, maybe another half- and even quicker than before Shizuo's wings unfolded as he rushed down.

He was fast- always had been- but was he faster than Izaya?

Wind flew by his ears drowning out every sound, a short heap of panic befell his mind-

Too slow-

He saw the trees, he saw Izaya's eyes meet his own- and he saw the speed he was approaching the ground with-

Catching him was no option- too slow to take away from the impact-

And so he reached out-

Closer, closer-

The trees, as well as Shizuo raced for Izaya's body-

And Izaya squeezed his eyes shut-

Hard, loud- the shed of the Serpent cracked as if it were screaming in protest and Izaya gasped at the force that crushed his back.

The fall had stopped- and the wall of the shed turned into his newest destination.

Eyes slipping back open Izaya looked at the trees, only a few meters below and his heart skipped a beat-

He had been this close to having his guts pierced.

Shizuo had reached him in time, pushed him into the wall, to stop the fall with as little injuries as possible.

Leg between his own, waist circled and arms embedded into the shed he towered before Izaya, breathing harsh intakes of air.

Izaya's heart was racing against his ribcage.

He thought he would die-

He really thought that's it-

That's his fate-

Skewered by a fucking tree-

Quick breaths, and relief mixed with adrenaline as he reminded himself of the current reality.

He didn't die. He was safe.

Shizuo had made it in time.

Eyes made of guilt met Izaya's for a second as the demon realized he had broken the promise he had given.

He said he wouldn't drop him- and he couldn't even keep that.

"Sorry-" Shizuo hurriedly apologized, his eyes full of guilt as he looked at his human. "Did I hurt y-"

And suddenly Izaya's glance met his own, and Shizuo's question stuck in his throat.

They were close.

Close enough to almost have their noses brush and for a second Shizuo's breath stilled.

Izaya was okay.

He could tell as much from the lacking smell of human blood and the expression he held on his face. He was fine- He should be relieved, and yet he suddenly couldn't think straight.

Memories, or something resembling some seemed to sprout in the back of his head. Quick, strong, but fast in the way they appeared and even faster as they vanished.

Gushes of emotions with no reason or memory to hold onto seeped into his mind.

Anger.

Passion.

Thrill.

An odd sense of nostalgia, stronger than any feeling he had ever felt overwhelmed the demon as blurred pictures of unrecognizable shapes filled his mind.

The memory left as quick as it had appeared, but the emotion that came with it stayed as he looked into Izaya's eyes.

His heart was still beating from the scare of accidentally having his human killed, and yet now there was a second emotion screaming from the back of his mind.

Craving.

Craving for what?

Awful silence rendered them both speechless for the few seconds that passed until Izaya's gaze moved.

Only shortly, but accurately, as he glanced at Shizuo's lips.

And suddenly Shizuo recognized the emotion dwelling in his guts like fire on an icy night.

Desire.

As if having been stung by a bee, he threw Izaya across his shoulder in what was honestly nothing more than an explosion of panic.

Even faster than before his wings flapped and before Izaya even got the chance to speak he had already carried him to the very top of the shed.

Brain foggy from the sudden shift in surroundings, Izaya found his legs quite weak as he was dropped without a word.

A grunt left his lips as the rough treatment as the demon turned his gaze away from Izaya.

"Sorry, I should have heard it coming," Shizuo mumbled between tight lips and- retreated.

He actually retreated.

And Izaya was quite sure he knew why.

His own mind had seemed to somehow lose its understanding of a dangerous situation.

Because all he could think about was Shizuo.

All of a sudden, with no explanation-

He knew why Shizuo had reacted that way.

He probably noticed something.

Noticed how Izaya had contemplated kissing the demon at the wall.

Internally facepalming, Izaya groaned quietly as he tried to get rid of this overwhelming emotion.

Shizuo must have thought he was crazy.

His reaction was a natural one.

Izaya wanted to scold himself for acting so goddamn stupid. He should be able to at least control his goddamn emotions-

And yet…

He still felt it, the way he was pulled towards Shizuo like a magnet.

Too strong to tear away, and stronger the closer he got.

As if he was supposed to move over and remain by his side.

Was he starting to lose his mind?

"I don't blame you," he finally voiced, taking the demon's guilt over having him fall off the shed by himself.

Honestly, it was Izaya's fault all over, he simply shouldn't have stood that close to the fucking ledge.

A breeze combed across the shed and Izaya felt his body tremble for a second as it was pretty cold. Night was nearing, wasn't it?

Eyes glazing the horizon, Izaya watched the tips of mountains regain their white hoods. Funny.

Looking at hell from this perspective seemed to make a lot more sense than down below. The shift in different vegetation, creatures and temperatures hadn't exactly made a lot of sense to Izaya.

But now?

He could see it, the way hell appeared to function in constructional order.

There were higher areas already freezing, located towards the sky, lower ones, filled with flowers and vegetation in abundance seemingly suffering by far less from the change.

It was almost as if one day in hell was made to hold an entire shift in seasons.

Spring in the morning, summer at midday, autumn in the afternoon and now that night fell it was time for winter.

The earth's rotation and how seasons were created lingered somewhere in the back of Izaya's mind and he wondered if that too, was attributed to simple physics.

Awful silence kept bothering Izaya in ways that could only be done to him as he glanced towards the demon.

Refusing to look at him, he was facing the horizon as well.

Was he angry?

No, he had apologized as though it was his fault that Izaya fell.

Guilty?

He was unharmed, there was no need to feel down for something that didn't produce negative results.

"I always thought the demon realm would be more… demonic," Izaya tried, hoping that changing the topic was going to serve him better than lingering.

"Most do. The entrance is at fault," Shizuo replied quickly, his mind far too gone to indulge in a more detailed conversation.

He wasn't angry, he wasn't feeling guilty either- if anything he was confused beyond means. The nostalgia he felt earlier refused to leave.

Did he know Izaya? No. There was no way, the human himself had said this was the first time he had come to hell. And it showed. It couldn't have been a lie.

So why?

Where was this familiarity coming from?

"Never judge a book by its cover, huh?" Izaya continued behind his back and Shizuo's eyes narrowed. Wait.

He had never been to hell. Then why was he looking for a demon? How did he know of its existence? The place it lived?

"How did you even befriend a demon?" Shizuo asked and turned around.

Surprise faced his presence as Izaya appeared to have not anticipated the sudden question.

"Huh?" he replied intelligently, and for a single second Shizuo suddenly saw someone else in Izaya's eyes. Someone he knew. Someone he could read better than he could read himself and Izaya's innocent expression suddenly pulled the wool off his eyes and his expression soured slightly.

"You sly little bitch. You lied to me-"

Izaya's expression still didn't serve any hint towards that reaction and yet Shizuo suddenly knew exactly what was going on.

The friend Izaya was supposedly looking for didn't exist.

he had never been to hell before.

Never saw a demon either most probably.

But how? How did he lie without the smell of burning ashes?

He could see the truth in Izaya's words when he said he was looking for someone attending Crysteria.

"Is bitch an improvement to bastard?" Izaya asked, not bothering to cover up his mistake. He didn't know when exactly he had fucked up or what about his words had given away his true intentions, but he figured some external reason given by hell or hos it functioned finally delivered the final blow to his facade.

A soft groan was given and the demon rubbed his temples before directing his gaze towards Izaya once more.

"Why do you want to attend Crysteria?"

Hesitation marked Izaya's expression before shifting into a grin.

"The real reason?"

This little-

Giving a face that called for truth, Shizuo glared just lightly and Izaya snorted.

"I'm joking, you don't need to look like that."

"Then tell me," Shizuo announced, arms crossed and Izaya swallowed.

Tell, huh?

About what exactly?

The goddess? And how she was trying to kill him? He wasn't too sure whether that was a wise move. Shizuo was a demon. An awfully kind one too.

It wasn't even that he doubted he was going to change anything about his promise to lead him to Crysteria.

But with a goddess at his heels-

He still had no idea why that gruesome woman was chasing him. Why had she gone out of her way to resurrect him in another world if all she wanted appeared to be his death and demise?

Because that seemed to be her main goal.

To kill him.

Each and every action so far spoke of nothing but immediate murderous intent.

Something about this whole story didn't add up. And as long as Izaya didn't know who that woman was and why she was doing what she did, he wasn't going to reveal his predicament to anyone.

But Shizuo was waiting for an answer.

A truthful answer.

And so he gave what he was willing to reveal.

Eyes serious and his lips void of their usually taunting grin, Izaya met Shizuo's in earnesty.

"I have to find the demon lord."

Silence, along with a breeze of even colder air brushed across the top of the Serpent's shed and for a moment nothing but surprise seemed to mark Shizuo's face.

He searched for lies, searched for an intentional way to missword what it actually was that he was looking for, but this time the answer seemed to be genuine.

The demon lord… huh?

Now it made sense why Izaya had said he wanted to attend Crysteria, and that his friend was definitely going to be there. A Crysteria without a demon lord was unheard of, so his deduction and belief that he needed to go there to meet him had been both correct and believable.

But-

"... what for?" Shizuo whispered, hoping for answers to his many questions. He expected a face of smiles, another joke maybe or a crafty way to worm his way out of the conversation.

But not this time.

"I don't really know," Izaya sighed, and this time he seemed fairly frustrated in his answer.

Shizuo's face scrunched in both anger and confusion.

"How can you not know what to ask when visiting a demon lord?" What kind of answer was that supposed to be?

But his human remained unfazed and his eyes were not afraid of Shizuo's mood.

"I have certain issues. A problem that needs to be solved, but I don't know whether the almighty lord of evil will even listen to me."

Mood souring only further Shizuo grit his teeth in a mixture of confusion and anger.

"You think he can't?" he spat, and Izaya realized that he was probably insulting the one person every demon was looking up too.

"That's not it, but he has no reason to. I'm a mere human. Probably less than scum in his eyes. He would probably kill me just upon my sight or eat me."

A short grunt left Shizuo's lips as that, which Izaya interpreted as affirmation to his conclusion.

"Then why not find someone else to solve your problem?" Shizuo spat, and for a moment Izaya regretted telling as much as he did.

He was mad.

He could tell.

Shizuo wouldn't just abandon him in the midst of hell, he was pretty sure of that, but he could tell he was treading areas he wasn't supposed to.

And so he sighed.

"Because he is the last chance I have."

And somehow, something about that answer seemed to have been the key.

Expression freezing for a second, Shizuo looked at Izaya.

Emotions of various kinds displayed on his face as he turned towards the human and his previously felt anger and annoyance dissipated into thin air.

Walking over, Izaya braced himself for force, a show of strength made to show a comparison as to how much stronger the demon lord was compared to Shizuo.

But none of that happened as Shizuo merely crouched down in front of Izaya and his voice dropped to a low timber of unknown sobriety.

"What kind of trouble are we talking about?"

to be continued~

Now you are asking the right questions, Shizuo xDDD