A Song Of Creation: Issei Hyoudou

   A Song Of Creation: Issei Hyoudou

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Commisioned by Blue Flaming Wings

Wordcount: 1250

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The kitchen is clean and prepared for an evening dinner party. The stainless-steel appliances are practically aglow beneath the pure, whitish tint of the lights. The marble countertop of the kitchen island is covered with various dishes for self-service. The air is filled with the sound of upbeat, modern hits lacking any offensive slurs whatsoever. Drinks and additional plates are ready to be served by Homunculi maids standing properly in the corners of the room.

And, it has all been ruined because you’re alone with the only guest that was invited.

“So, is Celeste-chan always like this?”

Hyoudou Issei asks you the question you’d feared he’d ask since you invited him over to the home you share with Celeste. You’d hoped to apologize to him for Celeste’s antics, and you’d intended to save Celeste’s reputation by having him see her as a normal individual, but the night developed the moment he walked through the door.

You knocked out the Aspect of Creation during dinner, and put her to bed for the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow and for several nights thereafter she shall be punished with the sofa.

However, for now you must nod to Hyoudou’s words, and affirm his thoughts and feelings, as well as try to salvage what you can of the night.

“Wow. You’re very lucky. She loves you so much that she can’t contain yourself.”

You almost choke on your soup as the words the leave Issei Hyoudou’s mouth. You barely manage to cough and rid your lungs of the very pleasant soup you'd prepared, while waving down one of the maids and Hyoudou in the process, after the words unexpectedly strike you down.

Most who you interact with, you tell Hyoudou, worry about you being harmed by Celeste’s antics. Some of her own family commiserate with you in regards to being with her. A lot of it is friendly heckling, but sometimes you see the concern in their eyes. They fret and worry that she’ll drive you away. They want you to stay with her, and not feel off put by her actions, so they good naturedly commiserate with whatever ails you regarding her behavior.

However, the words you wished they’d say about Celeste never left their lips.

That you were fortunate to be loved by someone like Celeste.

Yet, it has left the lips of a young Devil you met just yesterday.

“Well… it’s probably because they know her too well. I think she’s the sort of person that changes when she’s really in love. They think the new Celeste is weird and strange, so they’re afraid that you’ll find her strange too.” When Hyoudou speaks again, you can’t help but blink again and again. The reasoning he gives has almost no basis. It’s entirely a hypothesis about individuals he’s never met. However, it all sounds correct. “But, you know, they’re not chasing you away, right? They want to make sure you stay with her… because they can see that she’s practically drunk off of life, now.”

Drunk off of life.

The phrase isn’t new. You’ve heard it a few times. However, you never attributed the phrase to Celeste. Still, the moment you compare the girl who rescued you with the young woman who accepted your confession, the difference is like night and day.

Celeste Thomas, the Inheritor of Heaven, was utterly differently from just Celeste.

You almost feel ashamed for nearly thinking ill of her family and never considering the point of view that Issei presented.

“Don’t be. Really, we usually don’t get things like that until we lose something.” Though you’re struggling with your newfound revelations, you would have to be blind to not see the sorrow on Hyoudou’s features. Though he smiles, it doesn’t reach his warm, soft gaze. Instead of a smile, you feel as though you ought to be seeing tears. However, they do not appear. “Trust me. Just trust Celeste, be with her, and stay beside her. Never let her think that you don’t love her. I’m sure that you’ll be happy forever, if you do.”

You can’t help but want to help Hyoudou Issei after those words.

So, you ask him why he walks the path he does now.

A Devil instead of a human, who is fastidiously collecting money despite not being a stray and having the ability to claim restitution and insurance. What sorrow moved him to the point that he chose to abandon his humanity, despite all that he has learned from being human and the wisdom that he gained in his mortal life?

You’ve long held your humanity in high regard, perhaps in too high of a regard, so you ask this young man who has proven more emphatic than the best people you’ve met.

“I… I died. During the last Incursion, the start of the war, and before the Cradle went up. I was in Tokyo when Typhon came. I lost a lot of friends and family that day… but I was lucky to have a friend who wanted to keep me alive, even though she could’ve saved more.” Hyoudou hesitates multiple times beneath your gaze, but her preservers and answers your question without anger. He understands. Somehow, this young man in nondescript clothes, with plain brown hair, and plain features understands your concerns and is forcing himself to say what he must, despite the discomfort it brings him. “I don’t know if I would have chosen to stay human, if Aria found me half-dead, but I know that I don’t regret that she saved my life. I… I would never blame my best friend for saving my life, Li Song.”

You’re very nearly tempted to ask him if he’s been seduced, but the look in his hazel gaze is familiar. The pain of losing family, friends, and even love is apparent in the depths struggling to meet your own. His shoulders are tight, his body is trembling, and he bites his lower lip in an attempt to not sob. It is a familiar face, because you remember seeing it on the surface of water whilst you wept for those you lost while you remained with the Tuzi.

No.

The answer to that question is a firm, outstanding no.

And, when you decide that answer… for the first time, you question the notion of paradise. If people such as Hyoudou, if his friend who saved his life, did not deserve paradise, who did? Why were Devils to never be allowed to die and venture into Heaven? How come their fates are to be burned into nothingness until their essence withstands time long enough for them to somehow be human.

What you see right now is a young man who suffered, who is picking up the pieces of his life, and is enduring loss by becoming a better person and supporting himself and others. There’s no sign of the damned, mortal enemy of Heaven before you. You met Lucifer, he was inside your head, and there is no doubt in your heart that Hyoudou Issei is not Lucifer’s creation. And, you suspect that if you peer closely into Hell, you’ll find that much is the same for the rest of the Devils.

They’re people.

Different people, but still people.

Knowing this, you promise to yourself that you’ll speak to Celeste when she awakens in the morning, instead of ignoring the issue and letting it fester.

However, for now, you had to fulfill your duties as a host.

And, perhaps in the future, your duties as a friend.