InsaneJournal

Inferno, SMT:Nocturne/Shadow Hearts (Yuri)
Title: Inferno
Author: dogmatix
Rating: PG-13?
Warnings: Bit of gore, bit of language
Word count: 942
Prompt: Shadow Hearts/Shin Megumi Tensei Nocturne, Yuri: overwhelmed - There were too many beasts, he couldn't keep his own under control.
Summary: He's burning up, burning out.

Inferno

It's hot, so hot he's burning, and around him the blood-soaked sand is littered with feathers and flesh, bones peeking starkly from mauled red.

He feels his feet touch down on the sun-baked ground as he's handed off from singing light to roaring fire and he realizes. Something’s wrong. Rage and bloodlust retreat just a fraction, lets him think.

His body is singing with energy and power, but. His head feels foggy, disjointed, and he has to struggle to piece himself together. He’s Yuri, and he’s dead. Or at least he’s fairly sure he died. The Mistletoe’s gone, at least, thank fuck. He still has his demons though, and isn’t that a kick in the pants; stuck with his demons even in death.

'Yuri. Back with us?' says the fire in his mind.

Fides. His Fire. 'I'm here,' he answers shakily.

'Good. Had to call Puera to handle the angels.'

There's apology and relief in Fides' words where they flow into Yuri, and how wrong is it that his demons are worried about him? 'Yeah.'

Also, angels. He doesn't remember any angels in the building, so it looks like they're just in the desert. He's just glad it's not more Dark demons.

He's moving, but it's not him doing the walking. He struggles back to himself as Fides takes them away from the carnage, which will attract scavengers pretty quickly.

It’s quiet. It’s almost never quiet here, even in the desert, one fight after the other keeping his demons active and furious, eating away at him. He doesn’t know where ‘here’ is, but it’s probably a circle of hell – the sun never sets, floats in the middle of the world, which curves around it like the inside of an eggshell.

There’s no time to think when he’s fighting, no time to shore himself up, and the raging white sun burns in his blood, their blood, like an inferno. How long has it been…?

It’s more difficult than it should be, to remember, to think clearly. His demons are loud, all so loud now, and the only reason he can think is because Fides is wrapped warm and quiet around his psyche, his soul.

His Fire and Light demons handle the burning sun better, maybe because of their affinities. Fides is in control as much as they can manage, only trading off if he absolutely has to. Yuri can feel the others behind Fides, made restless and eager by the full impact of the sun overhead.

Looking down at gigantic gauntleted hands, he feels marginally in control for the first time in too long. He starts to push all the demons back, wanting his human form again, needing it like air, but Fides rises up and holds him still, whispers, ’Wait. You did that before, try to remember.’

Oh. Fuck. Fucking hell, he does remember. The demons here, they hunt him when he’s human. Every fucking monster within some ridiculously large radius descends on him like flies every single damn time he’s tried to reclaim a minute as a human. He sobs through fire and metal, angry and scared.

He doesn’t know how much longer he can hold out – there’s nobody here to watch his back, to anchor him; no Alice or Kurando or even Karin or Gepetto. Hell, he’d settle for Anastasia or that damn airhead. He knows he’s slowly losing himself in the fights, the demons, and he keeps himself together with the same stubbornness that's kept him going all his life, but even that is slowly failing.

He leans into Fides for a moment, open and defenseless, needing rest, trusting his fire not to fry him to a crisp and that’s not anything he’d have dared to try before he died.

Physically, he’s vaguely aware that he/Fides is swaying gently, sword held loosely and tip to the sand. They’re in the marginal shadow of a building’s doorway, the building itself too featureless and tall to be real, not like anything Yuri’s familiar with.

It’s no time at all before the break is over. He hears a group approaching, fairly large by the sound of it. Damnit. He considers running for a second, but no, it’s better to face these things head on – running only means you’re weak, and weak things don’t survive here.

Shit, the group is larger than he’d thought, must be at least seven of them, when he’s used to seeing maybe three or four. He’s been spotted, the group of demons dividing effortlessly into fighting formation.

'Ready?' Fides asks.

'Bring it on,' Yuri grits out and he’s bringing his sword around, wondering if he can get off a Magma or two before they rush him, fire starting to ignite in his blood. His other demons go quiet in anticipation, biding their time.

Yuri’s surprised, as much as he can be, when a kid steps out from between the demons, but the glowing lines on him means that he’s as much a demon as the black horse-thing.

“Wait. I’d like to talk to you.” The demon kid even holds his hand out, open and upturned, a gesture of peace.

Yuri realizes with a shock that it’s the first time someone here has spoken to him. He hesitates, but the lure is too enticing. “Why?” he manages to croak out.

The kid shrugs, a small lift of the shoulders. “Why not?”

It’s such a human answer that Yuri can’t think of anything to say for a second. Fides likes the casual strength the boy is displaying, and Yuri’s gut is telling him to go with it. “Yeah. Yeah okay. I’m Yuri.”

The kid grins. ”Naoki. Pleased to meet you.”

FIN