Don't Judge a Book

in the beginning

Izuku Midoriya stretched his arms (and wings, for that matter) on the top of the giant wall. He looked down at the wide miserable landscape and then turned his head to see the beautiful Garden of Eden. "I really hope they don't get tempted," he sighed and sat down on the wall, hanging his legs over the side and sighing a second time. 

"Really hope who doesn't get tempted?" a voice appeared from behind. Silky, smooth, serpent-like, and purple. Lots of purple. The serpent turned into a male much taller than Izuku and covered in stitches and scars. The feature that Izuku noticed last, funnily enough, was the horns on his head. 

"You're a-" Izuku pointed, mouth agape, not really sure if he should finish his already rude observation. 

"Yes, darling little angel, I'm what you would call a," he waved his hand around before sitting down. The word was on the tip of his forked tongue. "an angel fallen from grace," he snickered. He, like Izuku, hung his legs over the side of the wall and looked out at the miserable landscape before them. Desert, it seemed, lots of sand and heatwaves gesturing at them from the glare of the sun. 

"I shouldn't be talking to you. I should be alerting the guards you're here! You could tempt me, oh God, you could tempt me," Izuku hid his face in his hands to hide the small redness of his cheeks. His first instinct was to admire how attractive this demon was, and not to call the guards. 

"I'd consider this a mutually beneficial relationship," the demon scooted in a bit closer to Izuku, too close for comfort. "I'll tempt you, and uh, you can convert me. We'll be trying to persuade each other. If anyone asks any questions, that's the answer we can give," his charred lips curved upward in a mischevious grin. Izuku found himself weak to such an expression. 

"Oh, alright," he gave in. Angels were always telling him he was a pushover, to which he would adamantly refute, but today he was starting to understand what they meant. Just because of this demon here. 

"My name is Izuku," he introduced himself.

"Davi," he outstretched his charred hand for Izuku to grab, and he did. The two shook on their newfound friendship. Could you call it a friendship? They'd only talked to each other once. There was a shriek from behind them and a loud growl from the heavens. The two turned to see the new science experiment confused about the fact they weren't wearing clothes. 

"I guess I did my job," the demon shrugged. Davi stood up and stretched. 

"Why did you tempt them? They could've been happy here." 

"Yeah, well," he scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't want them to be like us, you know? I wanted them to have a choice. We don't have choices, you and I, but we can start." 

"Is that why you talked to me?" Izuku stood up and outstretched his wing to cover Davi from the blinding sun. His heart was touched by the purity he saw in this demon. Very ironic. But Izuku could be touched by anything, anything at all. Even the insults of his childhood angel friend were something he could be warmed by. Strange angel, he was. 

"Hm? No," Davi looked genuinely confused by that notion. "I talked to you because you were cute," he laughed and smiled, a real smile that sent arrows through Izuku's heart. This boy. Must protect. His motherly tendencies were activated. 

"Oh no," Izuku began to cry, his attention being brought back to the failed experiment. "The Lord is casting them out," he sobbed uncontrollably. "I have to help them. The poor souls. Excuse me one moment," he apologized for his leave even though the two shouldn't have had a conversation to begin with. Davi watched, intrigued, as the angel did a fabulous rendition of a scary creature before giving the new science experiment a flaming angelic sword. The holiest of weapons. 

Izuku floated back up, still crying his eyes out, but he took deep breaths and calmed himself. Davi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you should've done that?" 

"Hm? What?" Izuku thought about his actions. "Oh God! What am I going to tell her? The Lord will not be pleased by me handing off a weapon! But they looked so hopeless! I just, I couldn't leave them out there! I mean look at them!" He gestured to the male fighting off a lion miserably. He swung the sword around and the lion growled. "They'd never survive!" 

"Isn't that just...part of the experiment?" 

"Well by that logic, me giving them something is also 'part of the experiment'" Izuku defended. 

"I've created a monster," Davi shook his head. This poor angel was turning to the dark side and they'd only known each other for a day. Not even a full day. 

"No, no, don't say that. I haven't done anything wrong!" 

"As long as you believe that, you can't fall from grace. We are on the right track here," Davi breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll see you around, angel," he winked and jumped off of the wall and out of sight. 

"Wait!" Izuku whisper yelled. "When exactly are you going to see me again?" But it was too late. Davi was long gone. 

"Such a strange fellow," Izuku crossed his arms and shook his head. "I don't know why I decided to humor him. What's wrong with me. No one can be that attractive to make me lose my cool. Wait," Izuku thought about all of the angels he knew. He was wrong. Plenty of people were that attractive to make him lose his cool. "Well, guess I'm going to fall one of these days," he shrugged and made his way back to the skies.