The Nine Circles (3/?) [fanfiction]
Title: The Nine Circles
Author: marinoa
Rated: T
Characters/Pairings: Germany, France, England, Romano, Japan, Russia and America. Some pairings.
Summary: Seven nations, seven deadly sins, and fellows waiting to be saved - that's already catastrophic enough, but adding to the bunch the nine circles, it's... Yes, it's hell.
The Nine Circles
Chapter three:
The First Circle
First, it was all white.
Then, there was light, cold light.
And after that, finally, shapes and colours started to show. Slowly slowly, as whiteness faded away, Ivan began to take in the scene that opened before his eyes.
Not that it was an especially interesting scene. Really, Ivan had expected more from hell.
Once the vision had cleared, there was a meadow to be seen. A meadow. Wherever Ivan looked, he saw green fields spreading around, blue sky above. Further in the fields stood a castle, but aside to that, everything seemed perfectly normal.
“Ouch...”
Ivan looked back and saw Arthur wincing and rubbing his head; apparently he had hit on his way to hell. ...And damn, did that sound stupid.
“Arthur,” Ivan stated, just to say something, for he could see no other nations around yet and the silence on the meadow started to feel quite unnatural.
The Englishman blinked confusedly, cast a look around the field and then at the Russian. “Err,” he said, getting on his feet and looking around once more. “So... we are here? In hell?”
“So it seems,” Ivan replied nonchalantly. “Or who knows. This doesn't look like too much of hell to me.”
“Right...” Arthur muttered, dusting himself off and then nervously fiddling with the belt of his uniform. Ivan found the restlessness of the Englishman rather disturbing, and somehow Arthur must have sensed that, because he stopped fumbling with his clothes on seeing the Russian's annoyed look and tightly crossed his arms across his chest instead. “Um, so, where is everybody else?” he asked awkwardly. “For what I recall, there were seven of us sent here...”
“I don't know,” Ivan shrugged and turned to look at the castle. “Perhaps they are in there.”
Arthur gave a characteristic sigh and rubbed his temples. “Well then... How about we go a bit closer? It's no use in just standing here anyway.”
Ivan shrugged again. “Okay.”
The two men began to walk towards the castle in uneasy silence. It wasn't as though Ivan specifically wanted to be silent, no. It was just that he didn't have much to say; he wasn't close to Arthur in any way and they didn't have anything in common. Then again, Ivan thought a bit bitterly, I have nothing much in common with anyone.
Arthur seemed to have same kind of thoughts, and he looked desperate to cut the heavy silence. He cleared his throat. “What,” he began, keeping his eyes on the castle, “do you think of all this?”
Ivan moved his eyes on the Englishman. “What do I think of this?” he repeated, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. Good try, Arthur, but a lame one. “What is there to think? As this appears to be real, we have not many choices but to do as we were told. It doesn't really matter what we think-”
“Ha ha ha ha ha, cool! That castle can be our base where from I, the hero, will lead this mission!”
“...if we think at all,” Ivan finished, muttering the last words on hearing the familiar annoying laughter. Arthur actually gave him an agreeing snort as they saw Alfred, Kiku and Romano approaching the castle from the opposite direction. Ivan felt, as usually, a dozen mixed emotions about Alfred within him, starting from annoyance and ending to... annoyance, but Arthur beside him visibly relaxed at the sight of the others.
“Hey!” he shouted and waved at the same time as Kiku pointed at their direction. “We're here!”
“Look, guys! It's Iggy and... Ivan,” Alfred's enthusiastic voice reached easily Ivan's and Arthur's ears; Arthur cringed at his undesired nickname and Ivan smiled on hearing the eagerness dropping in the American's voice as he pronounced the Russian's name. “I told you we would find others at the castle!”
“I take back my words,” Ivan said lowly so that the approaching group would not hear, “I'd like to hear what Alfred thinks of all this.”
Arthur grinned faintly at his words. “We already know that. He thinks this is one huge adventure and he's the hero of it.” He shook his head. “Blessed are the simpletons.”
“No one is blessed in hell,” Ivan said matter-of-factly, and Arthur didn't have a retort to that.
Eventually the two groups met one another, not so far from the castle. From that distance the nations could see that there were seven gates in the stone wall, but not a soul was spotted in the castle or around it - including the two still missing nations.
“Where is Ludwig?” Kiku asked, and, ignoring Romano's angry 'As if we even need that potato bastard here!' added, directing his words mainly to Arthur, “And Francis?”
The Englishman scowled. “Why the hell are you looking at me? How could I know?”
“Dude, relax,” Alfred snorted, rolling his eyes.
“Oh yes, I should relax. We're merely in hell.”
“Are you sure this is not heaven after all? Look around - it's a meadow on a bright day,” Ivan, just for the sake of it, suggested, which earned him a roll of eyes from Alfred. “Right, and Dante simply erred.” The American's voice was practically dripping sarcasm - something he had learned from Arthur.
“Don't tell me you are gullible enough to believe everything that a passing spook feels like claiming,” Ivan said with a pitying smile on his lips, and Alfred's face started to turn angry red.
“Um, I see Ludwig coming with Francis over there,” Kiku intruded before a bigger fight between the two huge countries would emerge.
Ivan looked in the direction pointed by the Japanese, and true, the two figures of the named nations were approaching the rest of the chosen seven. Ludwig's lips were forming a thin line and the dark circles around Francis' eyes were more visible than before.
As soon as the two groups met, it was clear that none of the nations was truly co-operative. Everybody's mood left much to be desired, and who else could you blame for everything but others involved?
“Stupid wurst-head!” Romano yelled at Ludwig as soon as the man was close enough to hear him properly but not quite in the right distance to reach. “Look where your stupid meeting took us to!”
There was only that much yelling that Ludwig, already strained enough, was ready to take in such situation. He stepped forward and attempted to grab Romano's shoulders, but the Italian squeaked and hid behind Kiku, who stood the closest to him. Francis placed his hand on the German's arm in order to calm him down. “Now, now. I share your desire to lay my hands on him, but we all need to think rationally and calm down a bit.”
“Oh, look. The voice of sense is speaking.”
“Arthur, shut up. Will you stop picking on me for one damned moment?”
“As soon as you stop being a goddamned pervert.”
“I did nothing to you!”
“You two are totally impossible,” Ivan said and gave a small chuckle. Even in hell, the two bickering nations managed to amuse him.
“Look who's talking,” Arthur snarled, and Ivan lifted amusedly his eyebrows at him. He was well aware that most nations were at least a bit afraid of him, so it was always refreshing when somebody had enough guts to tell him back - save for Alfred, because Alfred did it all the time.
“You are all fucking idiots!” Romano yelled at all of them, still hiding behind Kiku's back. “Have any of you actually read Divina Commedia? We are in hell, for heaven's sake, and I'd very much like to get the hell out of here!”
“Nice choice of words,” Alfred laughed, and Arthur elbowed him in his side.
“Romano has a point,” Ludwig said, looking mostly calm again. “We need to make a plan.”
“True,” Alfred said, suddenly very seriously. He motioned for everybody to come closer to him. “Listen guys, I have an idea.”
“Not sure I want to hear it,” Francis muttered with a roll of his eyes and earned a frown from the American.
“So here's the deal, Iggy, Kiku and Ludwig, you'll back up my right side. Francis, Romano and Ivan, you'll secure my left side. Meanwhile I get us out of here and we can save the others!”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “What a risky plan,” he said sarcastically. “Both Francis and Romano on the same side means that that side will give in in no time.”
“Oh, right. Ludwig and Romano can switch places.”
“I vote for another plan,” Ivan said calmly over the verbal fight that had emerged between Arthur, Romano and Francis.
“We don't have another plan!” Alfred snorted with his best how-stupid-are-you -face.
“None is better than yours.”
“My plans are always the best!”
“You're in hell for thinking just that.”
“You're in hell for wishing you could think just that!”
“I suggest we all think over the whole situation and gather all the information we have about hell at the moment,” Kiku tried to say over the voices of the other nations, but it seemed that only Ludwig heard him. He looked at the Japanese with a small frown, as if having just realised something, and then forcefully clapped his hands. “Attention!”
Either all the nations were still confused about the whole situation, or they were just tired of fighting, but for once everybody actually dropped their arguments and paid attention to Ludwig. The German seemed to be almost startled at such obedience, but quickly pulled himself together and cleared his throat - an old habit he had developed every time he was about to speak. “As we all agreed on abandoning Alfred's plan-”
“Hey!”
“...I figured the following. I'm under the impression that though Divine Comedy is known by all of us, we have not actually read it - except for Romano, am I right? Thus it would be only logical that Romano would guide us through this place.”
The words were followed by stunned silence. Ivan glanced at the Italian in question, who seemed the least enthusiastic about the whole idea - which was quite a lot said. It wasn't encouraging that the guide would be a bad-tempered, cowardly Italian, but on the other hand, Ivan realised that Romano probably had the most knowledge about inferno. Besides, Ivan was ready to agree to almost anything as long as anyone but Alfred was in the lead.
“Don't get it wrong!” Ludwig hurriedly added. “Romano wouldn't be taking care of anything. He would just guide us through here. The ones... capable of doing things will complete whatever tasks we may face.”
Romano looked being torn between feeling relieved and offended, and Ivan smiled. How come he was in much better a mood in hell than he had been in the 'real' world just moments ago?
“Sounds like a plan,” Arthur said flatly and shrugged.
“Okay, but I'll be the one who completes the possible tasks,” Alfred said, a little bit sulkily.
“Whatever, but just because the rest of you are ignorant bastards,” Romano muttered.
Ludwig's face twitched at such unenthusiastic response, and Kiku hurried to say how good the idea sounded. With that, the not-quite-a-plan was accepted, and all gazes turned on the poor Italian.
“So, what should we do?” Francis asked.
“Where should we go?” Kiku added.
“Where are we now?” Arthur asked, completing the questions. Romano's cheeks flushed and he crossed his arms across his chest, angrily eyeing the other nations.
“We are in the first circle, Limbo, as you are too daft to see,” he all but spat.
“Wow, how did you know that?” Alfred stared at the Italian with amazed eyes. Shaking his head, Romano merely pointed at the castle near them without uttering a single syllable. Alfred didn't seem to get what he meant, for he just lifted his eyebrow, unimpressed. “Err, fine. Okay, this circle is seen and found boring. Next, where to?”
“To the second circle, of course.”
“Cool. How?”
Probably everybody could see how Romano's eyes averted Alfred's, who had asked the question. “I... don't know.”
“Romano,” Ludwig half pleaded, half threatened.
“Please,” Kiku added.
“Dammit, I said I don't know!”
Ivan lifted his eyebrows. “Are you sure?” he asked, using that particular tone that was sweet on the surface but ominous beneath it. It wasn't like Ivan really enjoyed hurting others, but it was sometimes very practical having others believing that he did.
Romano paled in moments. “I-I- Fuck it, fine! To get to the second circle we have to find Minos!”
Ludwig sent Ivan a grateful glance before turning towards the Italian. “Minos?”
“Don't you fucking know anything?” Romano yelled, hugging himself; obviously he was more than afraid of that Minos. Ivan started to become curious. “Minos is the guy here in hell with a snake-like tail. He tells each sinner which circle they are sentenced to. If we find him, he can- he can send us lower.”
“So where is he?” Ludwig asked. Romano squeezed stubbornly his lips together tight enough for them to turn all white, but his eyes betrayed him by glancing in the way of the castle.
“I see,” Ludwig sighed. “Shall we get going, then?”
xXx
Previous >< Next
Author: marinoa
Rated: T
Characters/Pairings: Germany, France, England, Romano, Japan, Russia and America. Some pairings.
Summary: Seven nations, seven deadly sins, and fellows waiting to be saved - that's already catastrophic enough, but adding to the bunch the nine circles, it's... Yes, it's hell.
The Nine Circles
Chapter three:
The First Circle
First, it was all white.
Then, there was light, cold light.
And after that, finally, shapes and colours started to show. Slowly slowly, as whiteness faded away, Ivan began to take in the scene that opened before his eyes.
Not that it was an especially interesting scene. Really, Ivan had expected more from hell.
Once the vision had cleared, there was a meadow to be seen. A meadow. Wherever Ivan looked, he saw green fields spreading around, blue sky above. Further in the fields stood a castle, but aside to that, everything seemed perfectly normal.
“Ouch...”
Ivan looked back and saw Arthur wincing and rubbing his head; apparently he had hit on his way to hell. ...And damn, did that sound stupid.
“Arthur,” Ivan stated, just to say something, for he could see no other nations around yet and the silence on the meadow started to feel quite unnatural.
The Englishman blinked confusedly, cast a look around the field and then at the Russian. “Err,” he said, getting on his feet and looking around once more. “So... we are here? In hell?”
“So it seems,” Ivan replied nonchalantly. “Or who knows. This doesn't look like too much of hell to me.”
“Right...” Arthur muttered, dusting himself off and then nervously fiddling with the belt of his uniform. Ivan found the restlessness of the Englishman rather disturbing, and somehow Arthur must have sensed that, because he stopped fumbling with his clothes on seeing the Russian's annoyed look and tightly crossed his arms across his chest instead. “Um, so, where is everybody else?” he asked awkwardly. “For what I recall, there were seven of us sent here...”
“I don't know,” Ivan shrugged and turned to look at the castle. “Perhaps they are in there.”
Arthur gave a characteristic sigh and rubbed his temples. “Well then... How about we go a bit closer? It's no use in just standing here anyway.”
Ivan shrugged again. “Okay.”
The two men began to walk towards the castle in uneasy silence. It wasn't as though Ivan specifically wanted to be silent, no. It was just that he didn't have much to say; he wasn't close to Arthur in any way and they didn't have anything in common. Then again, Ivan thought a bit bitterly, I have nothing much in common with anyone.
Arthur seemed to have same kind of thoughts, and he looked desperate to cut the heavy silence. He cleared his throat. “What,” he began, keeping his eyes on the castle, “do you think of all this?”
Ivan moved his eyes on the Englishman. “What do I think of this?” he repeated, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. Good try, Arthur, but a lame one. “What is there to think? As this appears to be real, we have not many choices but to do as we were told. It doesn't really matter what we think-”
“Ha ha ha ha ha, cool! That castle can be our base where from I, the hero, will lead this mission!”
“...if we think at all,” Ivan finished, muttering the last words on hearing the familiar annoying laughter. Arthur actually gave him an agreeing snort as they saw Alfred, Kiku and Romano approaching the castle from the opposite direction. Ivan felt, as usually, a dozen mixed emotions about Alfred within him, starting from annoyance and ending to... annoyance, but Arthur beside him visibly relaxed at the sight of the others.
“Hey!” he shouted and waved at the same time as Kiku pointed at their direction. “We're here!”
“Look, guys! It's Iggy and... Ivan,” Alfred's enthusiastic voice reached easily Ivan's and Arthur's ears; Arthur cringed at his undesired nickname and Ivan smiled on hearing the eagerness dropping in the American's voice as he pronounced the Russian's name. “I told you we would find others at the castle!”
“I take back my words,” Ivan said lowly so that the approaching group would not hear, “I'd like to hear what Alfred thinks of all this.”
Arthur grinned faintly at his words. “We already know that. He thinks this is one huge adventure and he's the hero of it.” He shook his head. “Blessed are the simpletons.”
“No one is blessed in hell,” Ivan said matter-of-factly, and Arthur didn't have a retort to that.
Eventually the two groups met one another, not so far from the castle. From that distance the nations could see that there were seven gates in the stone wall, but not a soul was spotted in the castle or around it - including the two still missing nations.
“Where is Ludwig?” Kiku asked, and, ignoring Romano's angry 'As if we even need that potato bastard here!' added, directing his words mainly to Arthur, “And Francis?”
The Englishman scowled. “Why the hell are you looking at me? How could I know?”
“Dude, relax,” Alfred snorted, rolling his eyes.
“Oh yes, I should relax. We're merely in hell.”
“Are you sure this is not heaven after all? Look around - it's a meadow on a bright day,” Ivan, just for the sake of it, suggested, which earned him a roll of eyes from Alfred. “Right, and Dante simply erred.” The American's voice was practically dripping sarcasm - something he had learned from Arthur.
“Don't tell me you are gullible enough to believe everything that a passing spook feels like claiming,” Ivan said with a pitying smile on his lips, and Alfred's face started to turn angry red.
“Um, I see Ludwig coming with Francis over there,” Kiku intruded before a bigger fight between the two huge countries would emerge.
Ivan looked in the direction pointed by the Japanese, and true, the two figures of the named nations were approaching the rest of the chosen seven. Ludwig's lips were forming a thin line and the dark circles around Francis' eyes were more visible than before.
As soon as the two groups met, it was clear that none of the nations was truly co-operative. Everybody's mood left much to be desired, and who else could you blame for everything but others involved?
“Stupid wurst-head!” Romano yelled at Ludwig as soon as the man was close enough to hear him properly but not quite in the right distance to reach. “Look where your stupid meeting took us to!”
There was only that much yelling that Ludwig, already strained enough, was ready to take in such situation. He stepped forward and attempted to grab Romano's shoulders, but the Italian squeaked and hid behind Kiku, who stood the closest to him. Francis placed his hand on the German's arm in order to calm him down. “Now, now. I share your desire to lay my hands on him, but we all need to think rationally and calm down a bit.”
“Oh, look. The voice of sense is speaking.”
“Arthur, shut up. Will you stop picking on me for one damned moment?”
“As soon as you stop being a goddamned pervert.”
“I did nothing to you!”
“You two are totally impossible,” Ivan said and gave a small chuckle. Even in hell, the two bickering nations managed to amuse him.
“Look who's talking,” Arthur snarled, and Ivan lifted amusedly his eyebrows at him. He was well aware that most nations were at least a bit afraid of him, so it was always refreshing when somebody had enough guts to tell him back - save for Alfred, because Alfred did it all the time.
“You are all fucking idiots!” Romano yelled at all of them, still hiding behind Kiku's back. “Have any of you actually read Divina Commedia? We are in hell, for heaven's sake, and I'd very much like to get the hell out of here!”
“Nice choice of words,” Alfred laughed, and Arthur elbowed him in his side.
“Romano has a point,” Ludwig said, looking mostly calm again. “We need to make a plan.”
“True,” Alfred said, suddenly very seriously. He motioned for everybody to come closer to him. “Listen guys, I have an idea.”
“Not sure I want to hear it,” Francis muttered with a roll of his eyes and earned a frown from the American.
“So here's the deal, Iggy, Kiku and Ludwig, you'll back up my right side. Francis, Romano and Ivan, you'll secure my left side. Meanwhile I get us out of here and we can save the others!”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “What a risky plan,” he said sarcastically. “Both Francis and Romano on the same side means that that side will give in in no time.”
“Oh, right. Ludwig and Romano can switch places.”
“I vote for another plan,” Ivan said calmly over the verbal fight that had emerged between Arthur, Romano and Francis.
“We don't have another plan!” Alfred snorted with his best how-stupid-are-you -face.
“None is better than yours.”
“My plans are always the best!”
“You're in hell for thinking just that.”
“You're in hell for wishing you could think just that!”
“I suggest we all think over the whole situation and gather all the information we have about hell at the moment,” Kiku tried to say over the voices of the other nations, but it seemed that only Ludwig heard him. He looked at the Japanese with a small frown, as if having just realised something, and then forcefully clapped his hands. “Attention!”
Either all the nations were still confused about the whole situation, or they were just tired of fighting, but for once everybody actually dropped their arguments and paid attention to Ludwig. The German seemed to be almost startled at such obedience, but quickly pulled himself together and cleared his throat - an old habit he had developed every time he was about to speak. “As we all agreed on abandoning Alfred's plan-”
“Hey!”
“...I figured the following. I'm under the impression that though Divine Comedy is known by all of us, we have not actually read it - except for Romano, am I right? Thus it would be only logical that Romano would guide us through this place.”
The words were followed by stunned silence. Ivan glanced at the Italian in question, who seemed the least enthusiastic about the whole idea - which was quite a lot said. It wasn't encouraging that the guide would be a bad-tempered, cowardly Italian, but on the other hand, Ivan realised that Romano probably had the most knowledge about inferno. Besides, Ivan was ready to agree to almost anything as long as anyone but Alfred was in the lead.
“Don't get it wrong!” Ludwig hurriedly added. “Romano wouldn't be taking care of anything. He would just guide us through here. The ones... capable of doing things will complete whatever tasks we may face.”
Romano looked being torn between feeling relieved and offended, and Ivan smiled. How come he was in much better a mood in hell than he had been in the 'real' world just moments ago?
“Sounds like a plan,” Arthur said flatly and shrugged.
“Okay, but I'll be the one who completes the possible tasks,” Alfred said, a little bit sulkily.
“Whatever, but just because the rest of you are ignorant bastards,” Romano muttered.
Ludwig's face twitched at such unenthusiastic response, and Kiku hurried to say how good the idea sounded. With that, the not-quite-a-plan was accepted, and all gazes turned on the poor Italian.
“So, what should we do?” Francis asked.
“Where should we go?” Kiku added.
“Where are we now?” Arthur asked, completing the questions. Romano's cheeks flushed and he crossed his arms across his chest, angrily eyeing the other nations.
“We are in the first circle, Limbo, as you are too daft to see,” he all but spat.
“Wow, how did you know that?” Alfred stared at the Italian with amazed eyes. Shaking his head, Romano merely pointed at the castle near them without uttering a single syllable. Alfred didn't seem to get what he meant, for he just lifted his eyebrow, unimpressed. “Err, fine. Okay, this circle is seen and found boring. Next, where to?”
“To the second circle, of course.”
“Cool. How?”
Probably everybody could see how Romano's eyes averted Alfred's, who had asked the question. “I... don't know.”
“Romano,” Ludwig half pleaded, half threatened.
“Please,” Kiku added.
“Dammit, I said I don't know!”
Ivan lifted his eyebrows. “Are you sure?” he asked, using that particular tone that was sweet on the surface but ominous beneath it. It wasn't like Ivan really enjoyed hurting others, but it was sometimes very practical having others believing that he did.
Romano paled in moments. “I-I- Fuck it, fine! To get to the second circle we have to find Minos!”
Ludwig sent Ivan a grateful glance before turning towards the Italian. “Minos?”
“Don't you fucking know anything?” Romano yelled, hugging himself; obviously he was more than afraid of that Minos. Ivan started to become curious. “Minos is the guy here in hell with a snake-like tail. He tells each sinner which circle they are sentenced to. If we find him, he can- he can send us lower.”
“So where is he?” Ludwig asked. Romano squeezed stubbornly his lips together tight enough for them to turn all white, but his eyes betrayed him by glancing in the way of the castle.
“I see,” Ludwig sighed. “Shall we get going, then?”
xXx
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