Chapter 3- Kingdoms

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Inside the decorative room, Izumo paced, thumb pressed against her mouth. She chewed on the nail in a rare show of anxiety, crimson eyes darting to the paneled window every few moments. It was her first conscience sight of Gehenna, of the place where the twins ruled, and it did not surprise her that it was a land blanketed in ice.

Sloping hills of white blanketed her vision, shards of ice sticking out in spiraled fractals. They reflected like sharp glass, casting rainbows of light across the barren terrain, only interrupted by a green-looking monster and a carriage made of bone. The sight of the carriage made her shiver, especially when she saw that it was made of human bones. The demon was currently bouncing through the snow, chasing its arrow-tipped tail and flying into snow dunes at random. Despite the situation, the monster's playful demeanor brought a smile to the girl's lips— until it started to gnaw on the carriage's bones.

"Paku, just where are we?" Izumo breathed, turning back to look at the quiet brown-haired woman.

"Hmm? Gehenna, of course."

She sighed. "That's not what I meant. Surely there's a name for this place. Something other than Gehenna, I mean."

Paku chuckled. "Oh, you mean what capital. Let's see… if I remember correctly, there are eight capitals based on domains. The five that make up the regular demonic elemental chart create the points of a star. Fire is in the north, Rot is to the east, Air/Spirits is to the southeast, Earth is to the southwest, and Water is to the west. The remaining domains make a triangle in the center, surrounding the head capital of Gehenna. They are Insect, Time and Space, and Light. Rin and Yukio, however, run a domain separate from everyone else. They are north of the domain of Fire, in the land of Death and Ice. They are known as Ice Kings or Reapers to everyone else, as they are not allowed to travel freely in Gehenna despite their high ranking."

"I see… wait, why can't they visit any of the other capitals?" Izumo questioned, searching the room for writing utensils. Eventually, she rummaged through an expensive drawer, finding an inkwell, quill pen, and blank sheet of paper.

The brown-haired woman shook her head. "I don't know the details— the god of Gehenna has forbid them to travel anywhere since they came here."

Izumo paused, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean 'since they came here'? Were they born somewhere else?"

"You don't know? When they were just infants they were taken from Assiah to Gehenna via a Gehenna Gate. Their mother did not survive."

The leering demon king handed Rin the sword before reclining in the plush sofa. He waved his hand dramatically, motioning to the demon beside him.

"If you broke your sword you could even dethrone Amaimon."

A flash of annoyance showed on the green-haired demon's face, but quickly faded at the sharp glare Mephisto gave him.

Rin looked down at the scabbard, slowly removing the blade. In moments, he erupted into bright flames, a sudden rush of power swimming through his veins. His eyes narrowed to slits, he caught his reflection in the blade and grimaced.

This is who I really am. A monster that will burn anything in its path.

Wordlessly, he sheathed the sword, feeling the energy seep out of him. To his horror, the sudden loss of power felt almost debilitating; his body craved the flames.

"It wouldn't be that simple, would it? I'd become like you guys, right?" He spoke bitterly, unable to look even Yukio in the eye. For a moment, as fleeting as it was, he actually wanted to break Kurikara.

Mephisto chuckled at the sentiment. "Who knows? Your human heart could survive. You could be the same as you are now, but stronger. Or," he paused, a malevolent glint in his orbs, "You could become a beast without a conscience. But, on the bright side, you'd probably gain some shards of a conscience in a millennia or so— just look at Amaimon."

The twins turned to the Earth King. He was the youngest of the rank of Baal—not including Rin and Yukio. He was still a teenager in demon years, even if he was over ten-thousand years old.

"Hmm?" He questioned, biting on his nail absentmindedly.

"You can control yourself somewhat, right? It wasn't like when you were just a child and killed everything— even those in your domain."

"…I guess." He shrugged, moving from the sofa.

"I'm going to go play outside." The Earth King pointed to the door, sliding out the door.

The purple-haired demon sighed. "He just can't sit still, can he? Oh well, there's nothing in your domain to kill, so he should be fine."

Rin and Yukio both shared a nervous glance.

Back in the guest room, Izumo sat on the ornamental bed, watching the quill pen sweep across the paper. Paku's gaze remained fixed on the looping words, brown eyes furrowed in concentration. Five minutes later, the girl pressed the final word, 'Gehenna' into the map.

"Here you go, Izumo-chan. This should help, right?" She handed the map to the purple-haired girl who nodded graciously in return.

"Thanks, Paku." Taking the map, she studied it fervently, memorizing the landmarks with the compass in mind. Her eyes followed the path from the Kingdom of Death and Ice to the Kingdom of Time and Space. When she felt that she had studied the map long enough, she placed it into the intricate weave of laces that peppered her waist.

"Do you mind if I go use the restroom?" She asked suddenly, sitting up from the bed.

The brown-haired girl nodded, pointing to the door. "There's a bathroom right across the hall. I'll check to make sure it's safe before you go."

Izumo nodded, following behind the ghost obediently. Pulling out the key from the folds of her dress, Paku inserted the key, opening the door. As soon as she pulled the key out the violet-haired girl lunged, snatching it up. Giving Paku a quick shove which landed her to the floor, she locked the door, shutting it behind herself.

"Izumo! Izumo, don't do this! You'll get hurt!" The brown-haired girl cried, standing up to beat against the door.

"Sorry, Paku…" She breathed, taking one last glance at the door before sprinting down the hall.

The four demon kings (Amaimon had returned from his 'playing' with Behemoth only moments ago) had just entered the study room when they heard Paku's cry.

Mephisto frowned. "Is something going on, Rin, Yukio?"

"N-no! That was one of our servants. She probably just… fell." Rin finished lamely, realizing how ridiculous it sounded.

"I'm gonna go check on her. I'll be right back!" The demon sprinted out of the room before anyone could respond.

Yukio gave his usually warm, characteristic grin. "Now, didn't you two want to see a map of our territory?"

Running down the spiraling halls, Rin cursed, willing himself to run faster. He had made it to the parlor when the sound of neighing alerted him to the window. He could make out the shivering figure of the violet-haired woman as she stepped into the demon carriage, swatting Behemoth away with her foot. The hobgoblin growled threateningly as it tried to snap at her heels. Cursing, the miko shoved it away one final time before closing the carriage door, nearly catching its head in the doorway.

"Damnit!" Rin yelled, wrenching open the door. The snow whipped around viciously, shards of ice cutting into his skin as he ran towards the moving carriage. He caught one final glimpse of the shivering girl before the demon horses turned from a trot to a run, disappearing into the raging snowstorm in a series of loud neighs.

It was then that Mephisto, Amaimon, and Yukio made it to the foyer. Mephisto gave a wry grin, clapping his hands happily.

"What a show, Rin-kun~! I'll have you know that if you broke the sword you would have been able to catch up to the carriage."

"I smell a human…" Amaimon observed, calling for Behemoth to come back to him. The demon trotted back happily, a single white shoe in his mouth. The Earth King gave the hobgoblin a good scratch behind its horns, picking up the shoe absentmindedly.

"So it was a girl." He said, handing the slobbered heel to his older brother. Mephisto took it with a grimace, trying to keep the drool off his ungloved hands and fanciful attire.

"You've got a lot to explain, you two~!" The demon said in a chipper voice, eyes narrowing.

"Now, was that a human I saw? Surely my eyes must be mistaken— but Amaimon smelled her. What do you have to say to that, Ice Kings?" He goaded, peridot orbs trained to the intimidated faces of his two youngest brothers.

Inside the carriage, Izumo slumped back against the plush seat, letting out a few cold breaths. Despite the heavily lined interior of the carriage (a rich, dark velvet), the girl couldn't stop the shivers that wracked her frame. Intent on distracting herself from the freezing temperature, she pulled the map from her waist.

The crumpled up paper was still readable to her relief, as the hobgoblin had not put its teeth into it. Unraveling the map, she studied the road between the two kingdoms, wondering just how the carriage operated. Sighing, she looked out to the left, noticing the line of trees. They seemed stretched towards the moonless night, swaying pitifully in the snowstorm. The horses seemed to react to her thoughts, she realized, when she studied the trees.

The carriage had lurched to the left, towards the canopy of bare trees just as the thought crossed her mind, fueling her hypothesis. If I think of the Kingdom of Time and Space, then…

To her relief, the carriage straightened out, returning to a steady path. The horses continued to gallop forward, the neighs breaking in through the continuous howl of the wind. Everything seemed to be going according to plan— until the beasts made a sharp curve, barely missing the equivalent of an ice tornado.

Still, it wasn't enough to miss the entire onslaught of snow. The shards of ice pierced through the carriage, just missing the miko's throat. One of the horses neighed painfully as it was skewered on a single stalagmite-sized ice shard. The carriage came to a startling halt, throwing the young woman against the door. It opened against her weight, causing the girl to tumble into the storm.

The snow felt akin to concrete as she rolled through it, ice digging into her cheeks. Blood invaded her vision as she rose shakily to her feet, towards the only shelter in the surrounding area: the forest of dead trees. She wiped blood from her eyes as more shards of ice bit into her skin, ripping into her white-beaded dress.

Every step ached, but she continued forward, willing herself to remain calm. I have to make it to the kingdom! I need to know that Tsukumo is safe! Clinging to the thoughts, she repeated them like a mantra in her head until she made it into the safety of the forest.

Settling behind a towering tree, the young woman gritted her teeth, feeling the deepest of her wounds pooling against her hands. Her abdomen was bleeding from shards of ice which had dug deeply into her skin. With only the howling of the wind to comfort the cold, bleeding girl, she closed her eyes. The tears that trailed the contour of her cheeks froze upon contact with the open air, appearing like jewels against her alabaster skin. Eventually, due to exhaustion and the freezing wind, Izumo fell asleep with the fear of never waking again.

A/N: For the placement of domains, I basically just copied from the demon elemental chart in the manga (just search it on google and you'll probably find it). I dunno, it seemed like a plausible way for Gehenna to be arranged XD Sorry for the delay again, but I hope this chap was enjoyable :3 What will happen to our darling Izumo now?

Review?

-Isis