6. Beauty.

                                    

                                          
The mattress of the hospital bed was softer than he imagined it was. The light's morning breeze made its way through the open window at his side, and the brightness of the rising sun gently awoke (Y/N) from his slumber. The familiar smell of the hospital wasn't strange for him, however. The calmness of the morning was short-lived as every muscle of his body ached and cramped the moment he took notice of his state and tried to get up, rendering him unable to move and forcing his body to the bed once again. The room, a small cubicle which only had a bed, a nightstand and a couple of chairs at the sides, remained empty aside from him.
"This is why I remained silent about the true nature of my power." Said the now familiar voice of the devil in his heart. "I was not expecting to unveil the secrets of my existence to you this early, but my hand was forced."
Something ached in the back of (Y/N)'s mind. "Why is that a devil like you would offer her heart in a contract with a human such as me?" (Y/N) asked.
The devil took a moment to answer. "You seemed miserable." She said, repeating the same sentence (Y/N) had told Power the day before.
"Huh, aren't you funny." (Y/N) said trying to sit in his bed. "Are you sure you're not the Clown Devil after all?"
"Silent." The voice said as every aching part of (Y/N)'s body seemed to burn. "The golden fire consumes its users. Just like a candle, the more your flames shine upon the disgrace of the devils, the more your body will be consumed by it." 
(Y/N) fell in deep silence for a moment before speaking. "Thank you." He said ultimately, looking at the burnt marks and scars the golden fire left on his arms, permanent adornments he would forever wear since now.
The devil remained silent.
The room was kept still. He tried to comprehend the magnitude of the rational use of his powers if he didn't want to die to his own wounds. He had been lucky this time. The creaking of the door at the right side of the room interrupted (Y/N)'s thoughts, and he saw Aki entering the hospital room. In his hands, he held a plate full of apples, sliced in the rough shape of a bunny. Aki looked at him, and nodded slightly as a form of greeting, to which (Y/N) did the same.
"Makima was right about you sometimes talking to yourself." Aki said, slowly walking towards the chair on the side of (Y/N)'s bed, pushing it closer to the nightstand as he spoke.
"Oh, she told you about that." (Y/N) finally sat himself in the bed despite the aching of his body and sore muscles.
"She told me quite a few things about you, actually." Aki left the plate full of apples on the wooden nightstand at the right side of the bed.
(Y/N) didn't know how to respond to that, and just stared at Aki as the latter sat on the chair, his judging gaze piercing through him, it almost made (Y/N) uncomfortable.
"Makima is pretty interested in the kind of devil that made a contract with you. The source of your powers..." Aki began, sort of an interrogation due to his tone of voice. "Would you be kind enough to share this information with us?"
"She calls herself a Fire Devil." (Y/N) simply responded. He didn't really want to address the true nature of the powers he had, nor the real name of the entity residing in his heart.
"It." Aki corrected him. "Despite all forms a devil can take, a blood starved beast is always a blood starved beast, and you shouldn't humanize them by any means."
(Y/N) tried to speak, but was quickly silenced by Aki's interruption as he continued talking.
"The only moment a devil is useful for a human is by the doing of a contract. In exchange for borrowings its powers, a devil hunter is subject to whatever the deal he made with the devil expects him to do. Devils desire the downfall of humanity, they always do. And a fiend is no different."