Issei yawned as he made his way downstairs for breakfast. It was the Sunday after he'd revealed the supernatural along with the broad strokes of his disappearance to his parents, and he was looking forward to just relaxing in the house with a new eroge.

When he reached the dining room he found everyone else already gathered. Bell was helping his mother serve the table while talking happily with Asia, while his father was looking at some travel brochures with interest.

It had taken some doing, but Issei had convinced Gorou to quit his job. They no longer needed the money, and Issei could definitely support himself with his own if needed. So now the Hyoudou parents were interestedly looking into doing some traveling once Gorou's two weeks' notice had passed.

Issei smiled as he saw how much more energetic his dad was simply from the fact that he would soon no longer have to be a salaryman and could just enjoy an early retirement thanks to his son.

After giving Asia a hug, which she happily returned, Issei turned to his father. "So, have you decided where you're going first, tou-san?"

The man hummed as he glanced from one brochure to another. "We're debating between Greece and Hawaii for our first trip." He said. "Your mother is interested in someplace coastal."

"Remind me to give you guys the same ability I gave Asia before you leave." Issei said as Miki started serving him his rice, giving her a smile as she did so. "It lets you understand any language, written or spoken. It's a must when traveling."

"That sounds very useful, Ise, thank you." Miki said as she continued serving her family with a large smile on her face. "Where do you think we should go?"

"I'd say Hawaii is a pretty solid first choice." Issei responded as he dug into his rice with gusto. "Just try to shop and eat at local establishments as much as possible rather than big resorts or chains. The locals depend on tourism a lot, and those big chains try to suck it all up from them. Same goes for pretty much anywhere else you go, honestly."

"Solid thinking, Ise, and a very mature outlook." Gorou said with obvious pride. "We'll definitely do that."

The happy little family was having an enjoyable time talking about the possible pros and cons of various vacation destinations when Issei and Bell both looked up and towards the front door, growing a bit tense. The others noticed, but before anything could be said the doorbell rang. Miki glanced at her son and the fairy that was essentially her daughter-in-law before getting up and making her way to answer. After a minute or so barely audible speaking she returned with a man in tow.

Just a single look at him told everyone who'd met her that this man was related by blood to Rias Gremory. While there was definitely a family resemblance in the face, the real evidence was the crimson hair that was exactly like hers but for the cut, only reaching his upper back in a more traditionally masculine style. He was wearing a black suit that looked like it cost more than Godou made in two years, and had an easygoing look on his face.

Beyond that, it was the amount of power Issei and Bell could feel he contained that cinched his identity.

"Issei, this man said he came to see you." Miki said with slight confusion.

Issei stood up and held his hand out rather than bow as he normally would be expected to when greeting someone new, particularly someone such as this. "To what do I owe the pleasure of having the Maou Sirzechs Lucifer visit my home during breakfast?" He asked with an easy smile that did nothing to hide how sharp his eyes were.

Sirzechs definitely did not miss it, though he did not seem put out, instead appearing to be intrigued and interested. "I did not expect you to know who I was right off the bat, Hyoudou-san." The devil said as he took Issei's hand and shook it firmly. There was no chance that he hadn't realized that Issei had chosen the Western manner of greeting in order to not show any sort of submission to him despite his station.

"Ddraig made sure to give me a thorough understanding of the supernatural political landscape as he was aware of it before he went to sleep." Issei explained as their hands unclasped. He then motioned to the table. "Would you like to join us while you explain why you're here?"

Miki promptly began serving another portion when Sirzechs nodded and sat down with a 'If you wouldn't mind'. He then enjoyed a bit of the food with obvious enjoyment. Issei took the opportunity to check on the others' states.

His parents looked a bit off balance at the realization that they had one of the most important beings in the world calmly having breakfast with them, though they seemed like they were handling it well. Bell seemed to be relaxed and enjoying her own meal, though Issei could easily tell that she was ready to spring into action in an instant. Asia, for her part, seemed to be a bit worried, though not out of outright fear of Sirzechs, as one would expect of one that had been raised by the Vatican.

Setting his bowl of miso soup down, Sirzechs wiped his lips with a napkin, smiling. "Delicious. I thank you for the meal, Hyoudou-san. It's been a while since I had such an enjoyable Japanese style breakfast."

Miki smiled lightly. "You're very welcome. Please let me know if you want any more."

Sirzechs smiled before turning to Issei. "Now then, to business. Issei-san, if I may call you that…?" He asked, continuing when Issei nodded. "Issei-san, I am here regarding the report I received from my sister, Rias, regarding the events involving the Fallen angels that recently gave you trouble. Particularly her description of the spell you called Salvation."

Issei let an eyebrow rise. "May I ask why you want to know?"

"First, I just need to know, does it work on devils?" Sirzechs asked in return.

"It works on anyone." Issei said firmly. "But the extent to which it does depends on several factors. For most it is simply a particularly strong healing spell that mends physical injuries. It can do greater things the more the target meets its criteria." Then he looked at Sirzechs sharply. "Who is it you want me to use it on?"

"My aunt." Sirzechs admitted. "She has been in a coma for years of a condition that has no known cure, and almost always ends in death. When Rias told me of a Holy spell that healed a girl who only very few things in the world would have been able to save, and also improved the condition of her and her peerage rather than damage them, I thought this might be something that can help. Please, tell me what the spell's criteria are."

Issei studied Sirzechs for a moment before responding. "Essentially, it depends on how good a person the target is." He admitted, much to Asia's surprise, if the widening of her eyes was any indication. "Understand, this isn't something based on my perception of the person, it is something that the spell itself determines. The vast majority of people, even the truly good ones, do not meet the spell's standards. They still have too much evil in themselves for the spell to do much more than heal them up to a certain point. For a rare few, however, it will even bring them back from relatively recent death." He took a sip of his tea before continuing. "When I want to use the spell on someone I generally focus on the target, and I simply know if it will work to full effect." After another sip he set his tea down. "Please, tell me about your aunt, so I can have some idea of if it might work or not."

"I can't imagine it wouldn't for Aunt Misla, though goodness knows she has plenty of reasons to harbor darkness in her heart." Sirzechs admitted before continuing, telling what he knew of the story of Misla Bael nee Vapula. Essentially, she had married off to Sirzech's uncle on his mother's side, the current Lord Bael, who was, to put it bluntly, an absolute bastard, but a powerful one in many aspects. When Misla had her child with him, Sairaorg, it was soon discovered that the boy had not inherited the Power of Destruction, the trademark ability of the Bael line and a source of great pride and prestige. Because of this Misla and her son were kicked out of the household and to a rather inhospitable part of the Bael holdings, Lord Bael's anger such that he refused to even allow his sister and her family to take them in.

Despite this, Misla raised her son with love and care, doing everything she could to see him raised splendidly, and despite how they were treated by their own family and even Low and Middle-class devils, taught him to be proud of his lineage and to take care of others. According to Sairaorg, she never showed any kind of anger or hatred towards her husband or the rest of the family, to the point she blamed herself for the fact he lacked the Power of Destruction. Not many years ago, however, she fell ill, eventually slipping into a coma.

"I wish she could see how splendidly my cousin has grown." Sirzechs said as he finished his tale. "He has grown strong enough through hard work and determination that he and his peerage, which is made up of other scorned or rejected devils, are now some of the strongest in all the Underworld, to the point that he has taken the position of Bael heir by force, much to his father's anger." He said with a small smirk.

At the end of the tale Miki had tears in her eyes as her husband comforted her, looking into the middle distance in a way that worried Issei. Asia, for her part, was softly praying over what she'd heard, while Bell simply looked angry.

Issei took one last sip of his drink before standing up, looking down at Sirzechs with a firm look on his face. "Take me to her."

Sirzechs smiled.

Issei was very interested in observing the differences between the Underworld and the human world, but he was unfortunately focused on his current mission. With Bell at his side he followed Sirzechs through the halls of the small private hospital for long term cases that the Maou's mother Venelana had arranged for her sister-in-law to be cared for in.

The various doctors and nurses showed Sirzechs proper deference as they passed, though they gave Issei and Bell understandably confused looks. Before long they'd arrived at Misla's room and entered, finding the woman being tended to by a nurse.

Misla Bael was an exceptionally beautiful woman, as most devil women were, from what Issei could tell. Her beauty was the sort of gentle, motherly kind one might expect to see in devoted caretakers of all kinds. Her long, brown hair was carefully brushed to the side, exposing her face. Despite that, Issei could see the signs of bodily atrophy due to so much time there, which said quite a bit about her condition considering the kinds of techniques and magics devilish doctors must have.

The nurse looked up as they entered, surprised. "Maou-sama, I'm sorry, we weren't aware you were coming to visit." As she spoke she glanced at Issei and Bell a bit warily, as they had approached the bed to study the unconscious woman.

"This wasn't planned. Would you please vacate the room for the moment?" He asked with a gentle smile on his face.

The woman hesitated before nodding. One didn't exactly refuse a Maou. "Yes sir. I'll be right outside if you need me." With that she left, closing the door behind her after one last look.

Sirzechs turned to Issei. "So?"

Issei turned to the man with a smile. "I believe this should work." With that he turned his attention back to the woman.

"Don't forget to remove one this time, boss." Bell said. "I'm not carrying you back."

Issei nodded before closing his eyes and breathing deeply. "Water Seal: Release!" With that command there was a pulse of bluish energy around his body as he tensed up, gritting his teeth as Sirzechs could feel more power surge through the teen's body in a raging torrent. It was an honestly impressive boost, and it definitely drew the devil's attention.

Once the surge passed Issei relaxed and let out a breath. "I hate doing that." With that he refocused on Misla, closing his eyes briefly before opening them and smiling gently at the woman in the bed, holding a hand out towards her. "Misla Bael, it is time to get up. Your son misses you, your family grieve for you, and there is still more for you to see and do. For the love you have given and inspired in others, it is past time you received SALVATION!"

Sirzechs watched as the holy energy surged out of the hand Issei had been holding out, filling the room with a blinding radiance focused on Misla. He had been keeping his senses open, but they were nearly overwhelmed, especially as he could feel the effect it was having on him. Just like Rias had reported, for one brief moment he felt perfectly comforted, his mind's eye filled with images of his family and friends. For that moment he felt like something greater than himself was enveloping him, letting him know he was safe and cared for. Then the feeling passed, and he felt a lingering longing to have that feeling back.

Issei stumbled back, falling back into a nearby chair while breathing heavily, Bell helping him down. Then the door burst open and the nurse entered, panicked. "What happened! What did you-!?" She was interrupted when there was movement on the bed, all eyes shifting to watch as Misla Bael slowly shifted before carefully opening her eyes, her purple irises taking in the room before she slowly sat up, gazing around in confusion before they locked on her nephew. "Sirzechs? Where am I?"

Sirzechs strode lacrosse the room and sat on his aunt's bed before pulling her into a hug, absently noting that all signs of atrophy were gone. "Welcome back, auntie. Sairaorg is going to be incredibly happy."

Misla hugged him back, still obviously confused but happy to have her nephew in her arms. "He's okay? My Sairaorg is okay?"

"More than okay. You'll be so proud of him." Sirzechs responded.

As the nurse rushed forward to start checking Misla over after this miracle, Issei smiled tiredly as Bell sat on his lap.

"This feels good, doesn't it, boss?" Bell asked with a gentle smile on her face as Sirzechs quickly started getting his aunt up to speed.

"Definitely." Issei said with a nod of agreement as he rested, feeling content in having been able to reunite a family.

"Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you, and I'll do everything in my power to provide it." Sirzechs said some time later as he took Issei back home after they were kicked out of the hospital so the doctors could properly check Misla over.

"I'll keep that in mind." Issei assured him. "I would say I'm just happy to have helped, but I'm not stupid enough to throw away a favor from a Maou. Not when my life has been getting more exciting than I'd like of late." Issei said with a smile. "Though, I do want you to keep what I just did, and Salvation itself, to yourself."

"I believe I can guess why. You'd be swamped with requests for healing in seconds." Sirzechs said in understanding.

"Along with the fact that very few people I'd be asked to heal would qualify for Salvation's full effect." Issei added. "I don't want people getting angry or accusing me of either playing favorites or just holding back. Or worse, getting their hopes up only to have them come crashing down."

Sirzechs nodded. "Understandable. I will only inform my fellow Maou, as they already have Rias's report, along with one other. Otherwise, nobody will know."

"May I ask who the one other is?" Issei asked as he watched Bell in the house telling his family about what had happened while he and Sirzechs remained outside to speak privately.

"My wife." The redheaded devil responded easily. "I'm not stupid enough to keep unnecessary secrets from her, and she can definitely be trusted."

Issei nodded in understanding. "Makes sense to me." Then he turned and offered his hand to Sirzechs again. "Have a good night, Lucifer-san."

Sirzechs smiled, amused by Issei's continued desire to avoid showing him unnecessary deference. He did wonder what the source of that was, but let it slide easily as he took the younger man's hand. "After this, feel free to call me Sirzechs."

"Then feel free to call me Ise." Issei said as his own smile widened a bit. The two shook before Sirzechs let go and stepped back, a teleportation circle appearing under his feet before he disappeared. Issei observed the spot for a moment before stretching and walking inside as the shadows began to lengthen.

This wasn't how he'd been planning for his day to go, but he honestly couldn't find it in himself to complain. He would never be unhappy about helping someone that needed and deserved it.

He hoped Beth was proud of him.

Update, get.

It took me the longest time to even get started on this chapter, despite being excited to do it since the idea came to me a few weeks ago. Then I started writing it today, and finished it within hours.

I know I said this would be the beginning of the Yakitori Arc, but when the concept of doing this here, and the ways it suddenly opened and set things up later on, came to me, I knew I had to shuffle things around. I hope no one minds, but it really does help me with some future plans.

I sprinkled some hints about Issei here and there, but nothing too overt beyond that last line.

Not much else to say here. What you see is mostly what you get with this chapter, so I guess it's time to get to my usual reminders.

As I've stated previously my best friend and their roommate have a biweekly podcast. Yes, I know, everybody and their mother has a podcast these days, but I beg you to hear me out. It's called 'Two Idiots and a Dog', and they talk about pop culture in general with different shows for different topics. So far they've done 'Idiots on Film', talking about classic or important movies (or movies they just like), and another one called 'Idiots Unleashed', where they just take a topic their Discord members vote on and talk/argue/rant about it without a filter. Their latest episode of 'On Film' was on the 'Sisu' movie, while their latest 'Unleashed' was a rather spicy one, 'It's Always Been Political', about the complaint of 'When did so and so media get political?' and how it's a dumb one. So if you're interested, that's 'Two Idiots and a Dog' on most podcasting resources, including Youtube, now. Please check it out. For me? *puppy dog eyes*

Secondly, I am, as always, truly grateful for those of you who are willing to send a buck or two my way out of the kindness of your heart. I relied on all of you when I wasn't working, and it definitely still helps even now that I'm gainfully employed. Thanks to you I have more of a cushion to get things I still need or pay essential bills. Like Final Fantasy XIV. (Speaking of, Ryuma Hyurinmaru on the Coeurl Server, Crystal Datacenter, North America, Astral Prime FC).

I used to have a poll on what to update there to incentivize donations, but I recently realized that part of the reason I have trouble motivating myself to write is that I've been letting others dictate what I write, so that's no longer a thing. I apologize, but as of now, I don't have anything to really reward patrons with other than my gratitude.

If you'd like to send a few cents my way anyway, I'm at Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis. However, if you'd rather donate a one-off amount rather than a monthly sub, I also have a Ko-Fi. That's ko-fi dotcom /athanmortis78653 .

I think that's all I have to say, so I'll go ahead and sign off. Thank you all for reading, and your patience, and I hope to see you all next time!