Chapter 102: Faith Is Moving Without Knowing
"No offense, but you being here is kind of worrying," Joshua commented, receiving an elbow to his side courtesy of Jeanne and making Cheshire sigh. In front of him, Griselda's eye twitched and Xenovia and Irina looked at him like he was a confusing, disturbing and insulting sight. Those were some reactions to get, but he could kind of understand.
Still though, rude.
"Is that so?"
"The last time someone strong was added to one of my visits to you, guys, it was because there was danger of attack," Joshua explained, grinning wryly. "So, I think you can connect the dots between that and now a Seraph making an appearance."
"I assure you, while this base is the most important you've visited so far, I'm not here for any safety concerns," Gabriel reassured amicably. It was relieving to hear that, Joshua would admit, but that didn't stop him from checking thoroughly with Magic and Life Sense. Sure, the angel could probably very easily keep a secret from him, but one never knew. "No, I'm here for a… social visit, if you will." Yeah, he didn't believe that for a single second. "Michael wanted to tell you that he's thankful you seem to have been treating Asia right. He was very happy when he saw her the other day."
Oh, the head Seraph had checked on Asia?
The Church had picked her up to slowly give her duties and help her be an actual part of the machine that made the Church once more. She'd basically been taken out of the equation with the mess that was that faction as of late, but that had changed now. Asia would be a more active member of it, even if it was little by little.
It was nice to know that the higher ups in there cared for her, Joshua would admit.
"It's what you paid me for," he replied simply, looking around the room he'd been directed to in order to cast some more defenses for the Church. Carnwennan had been a great addition to his arsenal, after all, and Joshua was more than happy with it. Looking after Asia, and being more connected with the Church was a small price to pay, the Holy Dagger fit him too well to pass it up, he now knew.
Even through the dimensional separation between him and the weapon that now laid in his personal Storage Spell, he felt the dagger give him what one could describe as an affectionate thanks.
"Be that as it may, you didn't have to go to the lengths you did, and for that my brother is grateful," Gabriel told him, smiling beautifully at him.
"Well, you are welcome," he replied, deciding to just let things go. No need to keep the back and forth. He was there for a job, after all. Better get on with it before someone had the time to attack them. "Now then…" he mumbled, pulling up his notebook and summoning all the circles and wardstones into the room so that he could get started setting up the arrays. Before he could do that, he paused. "Nagini, stop spooking the girl."
"I'm not spooked!" Irina squeaked from the side, standing straight and half-glaring at him. Poor girl didn't seem to realize she'd basically given herself away. "I'm not!" she protested when everyone turned her way.
"Sure you aren't," Joshua replied with a roll of his eyes. After that, though, he gave his snake familiar a pointed look. She didn't sound very apologetic, considering the hissing giggle she let out, but it was what it was. He just really hoped Nagini wasn't turning into a bully.
Her offended reaction was a little reassuring, he supposed.
"Is…" a new voice started from the side. "She feels… holy," Xenovia decided to go with in the end, looking at Cheshire who was sitting in front of the girl, in her cat form, and looking up at the Excalibur wielder. The familiar meowed up at the swordswoman.
"That's because she is," Joshua replied, gaining everyone's attention. "A holy tiger, as far as I've been able to gather," he explained.
Which wasn't much at all, really. He'd not been able to find much information regarding most of his familiars. Holy tigers, curse snakes or song birds were a mystery. If they existed in the world, then none of the people that wrote the books he checked had been aware of that. That was saying something, considering that Sirzechs Lucifer himself had provided him with some pretty obscure books that belonged to devil families more connected to animals and such.
Sure, there were some references and other creatures that fit somewhat with their descriptions and such. Lots of birds that channeled powers through cries and songs, for example. However, nothing concrete about those specific races, at least from what he'd found.
Morag, however, had rendered much better results, even if they didn't clear much stuff up.
Earth Spider wasn't supposed to be a literal name, apparently.
It was a translation.
Tsuchigumo, Yasaka had explained to him, were a race of spider youkai. Some remained in spider form while others seemed to have more humanoid forms. Morag, for her part, didn't seem to be the case of the latter. She had gotten nothing with her evolution that even hinted at being able to turn into a human.
Yasaka had given him as much information as she could in regards to her but… Well, while it made for neat reading material, it wasn't really all that useful. Morag was different enough that he wondered if the system had only put that name to her race because it was what fit best.
His scattered thoughts were pulled back to the present when Cheshire decided to shift into her biggest form, the Greater Tiger. Joshua didn't need sensing to know that almost everyone had been caught off guard. Even Gabriel's life energy seemed to twitch in surprise.
'Show off,' Joshua thought, getting amusement through his bond with Cheshire. As it turned out, after their newest evolution and the progress they'd all had with the Bond skill, he found that his familiars could understand him much better through their connection. It didn't quite work the same the other way around, but they certainly could make themselves understood much better now, even if they weren't really using words.
"Fascinating," Gabriel breathed out then, taking a few steps towards Chesire almost without thinking. "You are just full of surprises, aren't you?" she asked then, seemingly snapping herself out of whatever thought had occupied her mind before. "How'd you accomplish such a thing?"
"A bit of magic, a bit of the familiar bond and a bit of the meddling of a particular god," Joshua replied, moving to start casting his magic finally. Through the Charm, he felt Shed "grumble" something at him, which was more amusing than anything else. The other two deities seemed to agree with that too, so Joshua thought he was safe. 'Any chance of me getting another beer after I'm done?' he asked, taking advantage of the opportunity.
Nephthys replied to him with an amused and smug feeling that had Set joining Shed in the grumbling. Joshua was pretty sure the goddess was bragging, but quite honestly, her beer was good enough that she deserved to be able to do it. Not to say that she was his favorite, really. All of them brought great things to the table, after all.
And maybe she was trying to make up for the fact that most of her blessings hadn't come into effect since he was nowhere near maxing out his magic skills? The only one that had actually gone over its previous cap was Spell Modification, after all.
Suddenly, both of the male deities were the ones to be smug while a certain goddess sulked.
'Uh, sorry,' Joshua apologized wryly while he started casting.
"You said we could talk to you?" Gabriel asked him, to which he nodded, not really looking up from his work. He hadn't wanted to kick the Seraph out in her own base – room, really, but still –, and besides, he could cast just fine. It was just that he didn't want anyone interrupting more… violently, so most of the time it was better to have his guards outside wherever he was working.
Somehow, he didn't think there was quite as much danger now that one of the top angels was there to have his back.
"I heard that you got the books on Boons from us after the last time you helped one of our bases?" the angel asked, but she didn't seem to actually want an answer to that this time. This was proven when she immediately continued talking. "I've heard that your arrays have helped to find some of those that aren't… quite on our side, despite saying they are," the woman said then, sounding both unsure and hurt. "For that, you have our gratitude."
"Just doing my job," he replied simply, but not curtly. He needed most of his focus on casting, even if he could still participate in the conversation. "The books being given in advance was appreciated."
"Have you had any chance to check on them?" the angel asked curiously. She hadn't quite gotten rid of the downtrodden emotions, however, from what he could hear.
"I have," he replied with another nod. "They are fascinating, especially when compared to Wards and Hexes."
And they truly were.
It was very interesting to be able to see all three branches with a better understanding of them. They were, in a way, sibling magics, but that was something he'd already known by just looking at the two he'd already been working on. Adding Boons had added not only a third part of a picture that he hadn't been aware of before, but also thrown a few puzzle pieces on the sides that he'd once considered complete.
From what he understood, and everything pointed to this conclusion being correct, Wards were the neutral branch of the trinity. They could do just about everything, but they were average, the Jack-of-All-Trades, as it were. Hexes, for their part, were a more aggressive branch, good at dealing damage, inconveniencing and overall acting against their targets. Boons, on the other hand, did the opposite to those latter ones, being good at helping, supporting and overall acting in favor of their targets.
It was safe to say that he'd be checking on Boon information to tweak his Phoenix Spell. The branch was basically made for that kind of magic, that kind of effect. Maybe he'd be able to turn the whole thing from a Ward-but-not-really into a Boon.
Interestingly, both Hexes and Boons had more in common with each other than with Wards. Joshua had expected them to be closer to the middle ground than their opposites, but that was just not the case. If anything, the neutral variant seemed almost – but not quite – disconnected from the other two. One such instance was that both of the contradictory branches used the same concept for their foci, items whose symbolism and meanings better fit the purpose of the spell, instead of the more bland and generic wardstones.
There were many other such similarities between the two though, such as-
Cheshire meowed, calling for Joshua attention back to the present.
"Sorry, my mind got away from me," he said sheepishly. "Did I miss something?" he asked, looking around the room a bit. 'Besides casting the whole outer circle of the array?'
"Nothing much," Gabriel reassured kindly, looking more amused than anything else. Irina and Xenovia looked rather put off, but not too much. That was good, he didn't want to be put back in their shitlists. That'd be annoying. "I just said that I look forward to seeing what you can do."
"Yeah, me too," he replied with an excited grin. "I'll probably start casting in a week or two. I can't wait to start experimenting with that branch. The things I could do with it if I get it to work together with Wards and Hexes," he commented, feeling like a kid again, unable to wait to read a new book in a series or something of the sort.
As he turned back to his job though, he missed the widening of both Gabriel's and Griselda's eyes.
[}-o-{]
"Joshua, she's cheating!"
"I'm not!"
As the two children in the room whined, Joshua could only stare at them, thoroughly distracted from his work. In that moment, he wondered how his life had come to the point that it had. When had he gone from the guy that worked in a cafe and had a relatively peaceful life to… This.
"Joshua!"
"Joshua!"
He stared at Kunou and Serafall as both of them gave him the puppy dog eyes. Kit fox eyes, in the former's case, he supposed. Normally, that kind of weapon would be devastating to him, but in this case… Joshua found himself sighing.
"Kunou stop cheating," he said, giving the girl an unimpressed expression. "And yes, explaining the cards in a confusing way or not completely counts as cheating," he added when the little one went to protest. After that, she deflated, looking down. "And Serafall… Aren't you a little old to be arguing with a child?"
"Old?!" Serafall exclaimed then, eyes wide and hand on her chest.
He just raised an eyebrow at her.
"That's how you see me?! Am I an old hag to you, Joshua?!" she asked then, sounding like she was on the verge of panicking. Sighing and massaging the bridge of his nose, Joshua wondered if he should just teleport back home. He didn't think he had what it would take to deal with things as they were.
Maybe testing the now mostly finished card game Kunou and him had made had been a bad idea…
Especially with Serafall.
"You are an adult, arguing with a child, Serafall," he replied in the end, giving the two of them the most "done with this" expression he could manage. "That's what I was saying."
"Aha! So you admit that I'm a smoking hot young woman!"
"... That's… How did…?" he muttered, blinking as if trying to check if he was actually in the real world and not in some weird dream or illusion. "... You know what? Sure."
"Yay!" Serafall cheered as Joshua dragged a hand over his face.
Cheshire meowed, apparently as bemused as he felt.
"Yes, this is my life now," he muttered, placing his hand over the cat's head and petting her absently.
"What about mom?" Kunou asked innocently. "Do you think she's also, how was it? Smok-" Joshua fixed the girl with a look that made her stop talking. "What?"
"Oh, so you don't think I am?" a new voice asked.
"You are supposed to be the sensible one, Yasaka. Please don't join them," Joshua said, trying not to whine as he turned towards the woman, who was now standing by the door. "I need someone that's not a child in the room."
Cheshire protested that, scratching him a little with her claws.
"That sounds like a no," the woman commented, giving him an amused smile.
Joshua stared at her, then looked to Serafall and Kunou, both of whom were watching intently. Seeing that nobody would say anything, he sighed again. 'How many times does that make?' he thought to himself as he decided to get things over with.
"You are both beautiful young women… That should be above this sort of childishness," he said, giving them both a flat look.
"What about me?" Kunou asked innocently this time.
"You are a brat."
"Joshua!"
"It's great that you are here, Yasaka. You deal with them," Joshua said then, before anything else could happen. "I keep reading about this bit in the books on Boons and I want to see if I find more. It sounds like it'd go well with-"
"Before that, Joshua," the woman interrupted, making him blink and look up. "You wouldn't have anything to do with the handful of magicians that sent me messages saying they'd be open to do jobs for me for free?"
"Oh, they sent them already? They are fast," he replied, a little surprised. "I told them in today's class and that was… like an hour ago."
"Two," Kunou corrected helpfully.
"What did you do?" Yasaka asked him, eyes narrowed.
"I just told them that I could get them their feet on the door with you. One free job and if they did well, then you'd add them to your contacts for such things," Joshua answered, grinning. "That way, I'm not actually pulling favors and you don't have to trouble yourself with payments that only complicate things for you right now."
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have such a conversation with Serafall present, but she was a friend and a good one at that. Joshua was confident that she wouldn't spread the word around creating misunderstandings. She might act dumb, but she was far from that.
"Joshua…"
"What? Is it a bad solution? I thought it was good enough," he asked, suddenly a little concerned. He'd been sure that doing that wouldn't be a problem. After all, this way it was more him doing them a favor getting them Yasaka's attention and Yasaka giving them a chance to show her what they were worth for free. His students were young and low enough on the totem pole that they would do it too, from what he knew of them.
"No, no, it's fine," Serafall told him cheerfully. "Yasaka is just shy."
"Ah, that makes sense," Joshua replied, getting more used to the Satan's mannerisms by the day. He was pretty sure some time ago he might have found it at least a little weird to have someone call a faction leader shy.
"What was that about being childish?" Yasaka asked him.
"Turnabout is fair play," he answered, grinning at the woman. "And seriously, just take it. My students are good, as far as I can tell, and they could really use something like this to get their names out there. So, it's not like you – or I, for that matter – are scamming them or anything."
"... You are not going to cave, are you?"
"Doesn't sound like he is," Serafall answered for him, looking very amused. "For once. Maybe you can use the kit fox eyes?"
Disturbingly, Yasaka seemed to give that idea some serious consideration.
"Is it so hard to believe that I just want to help my friends be happy and not, you know, struggle and such things?" Joshua said, because he wasn't sure how he'd deal with the pleading eyes of the youkai leader if she decided to give Serafall's suggestion a try. He'd resisted Serafall and Kunou before, but that had been a different situation altogether. "Just accept the help, will you?"
The woman sighed and Joshua did much the same internally.
He'd dodged a bullet there, certainly.
"You don't make things easy, do you, Joshua?" Yasaka asked him, and when he went to argue with that, she continued. "I don't think you realize how deeply ingrained in the supernatural the need to repay debts and favors is."
"Even between friends?"
"Even then."
Joshua stared at her for a long moment before massaging his forehead.
"If it makes you feel better, just add it to my tab or something and you can see about repaying me later," he told her, suddenly feeling just as done as he felt before when dealing with Kunou and Serafall. "Sometimes I forget that the supernatural is… not normal. Which, I know, makes me stupid."
"... I'll keep that in mind," Yasaka told him with an unreadable expression. It confused him a fair bit, if he were honest. Sometimes, it was a little frustrating how little he could read Yasaka and Serafall. A little unfair too, but that was beside the point.
"I feel like I'm being left out of something here," the Satan in the room commented, narrowing her eyes as she looked between Joshua and Yasaka.
"I'd offer helping you so you owe me favors, but if it's anything like doing that with Yasaka, then it's too troublesome for me," Joshua replied.
"But Joshua!"
"This is somehow your fault, Yasaka," he accused, his eye twitching. "I forbid you from asking for favors, Serafall."
"But Joshua~!"
"Domino Mask might have to mysteriously disappear, I gue-"
"I'll be good," Serafall told him, sitting straight and putting up her best innocent look. Which wouldn't have fooled anyone that knew her, obviously. It was amusing though, he supposed.
That was when the door opened.
"Fuyuko, thank goodness. I could kiss you." Joshua exclaimed, snapping his fingers to make his cup of tea appear in his hand. "Thank you," he added, emphatically.
Working so much in different projects was wearing on him, after all. He'd found himself with less and less energy through his days. Almost an unnoticeable thing but slowly, he was coming to realize that he might be burning out. 'Just need to keep it up a little bit. With the Phoenix Spell done, I'll be able to rest.'
After all, that was the only really pressing matter. Joshua knew that, at least according to canon, Khaos Brigade wouldn't become a real problem until later down the line. Same for many of the other problems that he remembered from canon. Rias' problem with the Phenex family was much closer in the timeline…
Unless the AU elements and/or the changes he'd made caused shit to happen faster? That kind of question made Joshua feel very nervous, but he had to draw the line somewhere. If not, then he'd probably worry to death.
Point was, he was fairly certain that most of his projects could wait, except for the Phoenix Spell. So, with that in mind, Joshua took the cup of tea, sipped from it and then focused on the tomes and notebooks laid in front of him. As he'd been saying before, he had found several mentions in the Boon related texts that pointed in a direction that he thought he could find something useful in to help with his healing spell project.
Now just-
Someone poked his side.
"... Do you need something, Kunou?" he asked, turning and trying not to look too tired with the girl. He hadn't quite been successful as of late in that regard, but he could still try. He blinked when the girl silently regarded him with narrowed eyes.
Then she took his arm and pulled him down.
"Kunou?" he questioned. He let her do as she wanted though, because he was curious and because… Well, she was his daughter. He could humor her with such things, he decided. Fortunately, he'd remembered to set his cup of tea on the table. It'd have been a mess if he hadn't.
"Rest," the girl told him simply as she made him lay down and placed his head on her lap. "You are tired."
"I can rest later at home when-"
"No, now," she demanded and he looked up at her amber eyes. The thing that convinced him to do as she said was the concern in her eyes. 'Maybe I've been doing a worse job at hiding how weary I feel than I thought,' he mused, letting a breath out and settling where he was.
"I guess I can do this for a bit," Joshua agreed in the end, drawing a little smile from the girl that finished convincing him that it was a good enough idea. "You feel like watching a story?" he asked, making his daughter grin wider.
"Can we?" she replied with, to which he gave a slight nod before closing his eyes.
"What do you want to see? There's this story about a boy in a world that's mostly water and that wants to be the freest person in the seas. There's another about a young man in a world of fantasy that finds a dragon egg in a forest. Or-"
"Is there one with foxes?" Kunou asked, making him chuckle.
"Well, I think I know one you'll like. So, there was this village with a big stone monument on a mountain by it. A boy lived in it, you see, and he just wanted people to acknowledge him…"
Chapter 103: My Mind's Got Its Own Plan Tonight
Joshua looked, head slightly tilted, as the spar went on.
Margalo had perched herself on his shoulder, while Cheshire stood next to him in her cat form. Nagini and Morag watched from further away, since they were too big to really stand close by without getting in the way of a stray attack or something. Besides, the bird was there more because she wanted to be close to him than anything else and Cheshire… Well, Cheshire almost always was by his side anyway. The feline seemed to have decided that it was her duty to accompany him almost everywhere at almost all times.
He wasn't complaining though, it was always nice to have his familiars with him.
At the moment though, he was contemplating other things. One of them being how to better train the Fallen trio that lived with him. They'd progressed really well so far, he'd admit in the privacy of his own mind, but there was still quite a long road to trek through for them. As it was, he'd brought them up to a level that they now could stand on even ground with Rias and her peerage, as the spar was demonstrating.
That was as far as they'd gotten in the time they'd had to train under his spells for most of their days. After all, there wasn't much else for them to do except maybe lazing around. Joshua was fairly sure that they didn't dare do much of that, if any at all, for fear of him growing tired of their slow progress or something. He hadn't bothered to ask, but it seemed to him like a fair assumption.
It was certainly fast progress for them and in general, he was sure, but it wasn't enough. He wanted them to beat Kokabiel and he was aware that it'd be difficult. There was a reason why most people thought it impossible, people whose opinions mattered to him to boot. However, he didn't want to give up that goal.
The absolute bastard deserved a slap in the face like that, if nothing else. So, Joshua wanted to give it his best to make sure he got it. Ultimately though, if he failed, he guessed being beaten by a human might be insulting enough. Not quite the same as being beaten by the sacrificial pawns that he'd used and discarded that were also trained by a normal human, he thought, but that was a matter of opinion.
'I'm getting distracted,' he chided himself with a shake of his head. 'Focus.'
So he did, narrowing his eyes as a bolt of lightning passed through his chest courtesy of Raynare. He felt a spike of fear from the woman, but it went away when he didn't react. He'd reassured them that it was fine and to focus on their spar instead of him. If their attacks went at him, Set's blessing would keep him safe and if their attacks were too strong or directed somewhere else that shouldn't be hit, then he'd cast a shield to stop them.
'I could tweak the training spells up a bit, but that might be too much. I don't want to break them while trying to train them,' he mused with a hum that went unnoticed with the battle that was going on at the moment. 'Is there some other spell I could try? Some adjustment that I haven't thought of, maybe?' he wondered.
Some ideas did come to him, but those weren't going to achieve what he wanted. At most, they'd improve things a little bit. Furthermore, he was noticing something concerning in regards to his plans for the Fallen trio.
Their magic wasn't growing like it had before.
Sure, Joshua knew that any progress would slow down. It had happened to him too. Training and such had yielded much better results when his stats had been low. As time passed, getting stronger was more and more difficult.
What was happening with the Fallen was different though. There was something making that climb much harsher for them and Joshua wasn't sure what it was. It was slightly annoying, because it was happening with all of them and he had no idea what it could be. They were healthy and they were dedicated enough, if only out of fear.
And yet, they were reaching a point that made Joshua wonder if they'd stop getting better altogether.
Then his eyes narrowed as he watched them sparring. More specifically, he looked at Kalawarna as she pulled up to dodge an attack by Kiba, flying for a moment before dropping to the ground. Joshua didn't focus on any of that, however. No, he looked at her wings instead.
'Do those have something to do with their power level? A cap for Fallen with fewer wings? Maybe even Angels in general?' he wondered, narrowing his eyes as his mind started working. He knew that Kokabiel was supposed to have… more wings. He wasn't sure if the guy had six or eight or ten or whatever. He hadn't thought that important besides the fact that it seemingly marked him as an old Fallen or something…
But maybe there was more to it than that. Did the number of wings have more meaning than just that? Was it like a visual measure of how strong they were or how strong they could get?
He might have to look into that, with spells and senses, but also with information. He'd already gone through Fallen information to make the wards he was using to train them at the moment, but he'd have to re-check in case he missed something. If he hadn't, then… Well, there were things he might be able to do to get more information. New analysis spells, look more deeply into them with his sense now that he had something else to look for and…
'I might need to contact Azazel,' Joshua thought with a half-smile on his face. Before that though, maybe he should brush up on his Sacred Gear related spells. He was sure he could give the man something that would make it worth his while to give potentially dangerous information to Joshua.
Difficult but doable.
'Story of my life,' Joshua thought, his smile going the whole way and turning into something that gave the three Fallen, still sparring, pause.
[}-o-{]
[Aika Kiryuu]
"I just… don't know," she said, for what felt like the thousandth time in quite a short while.
"Understandable," Davis told her with a kind smile that reminded her of some of her favorite teachers. "You were quite roughly thrown off the deep end and told to make a decision on how you'd prefer to swim. Or, at least, that's how you feel, but it's not the case, Kiryuu."
"Feels like that," she repeated, feeling a weight that hadn't quite left her since Gremory had spoken with her and Issei. As for her boyfriend… Well, he was sitting with her, learning all that Davis taught them, and he was doing his best. Occasionally, he'd show as much commenting on something that even she might have missed.
However, she knew his faults very well and not being a great student was one she was very aware of, especially then.
"But it's not," Davis repeated in kind. "You have all the time in the world to decide what you want to do and all the freedom too."
"It's… Issei showed his Sacred Gear the other day at the Occult Research Club," Aika told the man then, growing even more nervous. "Boosted Gear, it's-"
"A Longinus, I'm aware," the man told her calmly, as if she hadn't dropped a bomb on him.
"It's… We've looked into it with Gremory's help. Boosted Gear wielders never live peaceful lives."
"And that might be true," Davis agreed easily with a nod, still looking like there was nothing wrong going on. Aika shared a confused look with Issei, her boyfriend even showing some hurt. It didn't take a genius to know why either. Issei looked up to Davis a lot and the man was treating the potential dangers and tribulations of his life like they were nothing. "But that doesn't mean you should feel pressured or in danger."
"And why is that?" Issei asked then, deciding, for once, to speak up himself instead of letting Aika do the talking.
"Because there's people in your corner, Issei. Gremory and Sitri are important, and they are invested in your well being," Davis explained calmly, but Aika frowned.
"That's only if we decide to join one of them," she pointed out and then Davis grinned.
"True," he conceded, still looking perfectly fine. It was getting a little infuriating. "But I'm also in your corner," he added then.
"You?" Issei asked, not understanding. Aika could relate.
"I'm a human magician, no Sacred Gear and no hero ascendancy whatsoever," Davis told them, which wasn't very encoura- "But I have friends in high places, several of them. I also have plans that would get me even more. I can pull the strings to keep you safe, Issei, for as long as you need to make a decision."
"You can?" Issei asked then, like a man that had finally been thrown a lifeline right before drowning. Aika could relate to that too, as she hung onto the man's every word.
"I make no promises, but I can tell you that I'll try. And not to brag, but I think I'm decent enough at the things I set out to do," the man told them. It was then that Aika noticed that his calm, friendly expression had shifted at some point. Instead, his blue eyes had frozen, turning cold and steely as they looked forward. His warm smile had become something sharper, meaner, more dangerous.
Suddenly, Aika could very well believe that this man was a big deal.
The kind of big deal that could threaten to make someone disappear and deliver on that threat.
"Thank you, Joshua-sensei," Issei said, visibly relieved.
"Anything for one of my best employees," Joshua replied, his entire being shifting back to friendly cafe owner seamlessly. "Now, I know you guys are stressed, so how about I prepare us some snacks and drinks?"
"I'd love that, but-" Aika said quickly before the man could stand up. "You said… You said you could help me learn magic, get me books and such, is… Is that offer still there?"
"Sure, is there something specific you want to learn or-?"
"Astrology," she answered before the question was over, making the man blink and tilt his head. "Is… Is that an option?" she asked hesitantly then. "I want… I always thought divination was fascinating, learning about the past, the present and the future, possibly finding out things that shouldn't even be possible to know about, I just…"
"Yeah, you definitely got the passion alright," Davis told her then, grinning… Not excitedly, but something like that, she supposed. "I'll admit I'm not overly familiar with divination magic branches, but I've heard some things. I'll look into it, I can tell you that. If there's books on it, I'll get them for you. If there's a teacher, I can get one for you too."
"I… thank you… But a book would be alright. I'm sure a teacher would be expensive and I don't have that much-"
"Nonsense," Davis waved off then. "You are Issei's girlfriend and if I can help the guy stay out of trouble by helping you get a handle on things, then all the better."
"Divination isn't all that… battle oriented though," she mumbled then, unsure if she should pick up something more apt for use in a fight.
"My main magic is defensive in nature. Placing defenses over an area. I've managed to do well enough for myself, even in combat," he told her, grin still in place. "All magic is dangerous, Miss Kiryuu. Especially those that don't seem to be. Those are the ones that will take people off guard, after all."
"You sound like a teacher."
"I should. I am a magic teacher," he commented, now looking amused. "Now, with a clearer head and less worries. Anything you guys want to learn about in specific?"
[}-o-{]
[Joshua Davis]
"That was faster than I thought," he commented, walking and looking around. The place he was being led through was a lot different from what expected. Then again, after House of Water, he hadn't been all that quick to come up with assumptions of how his destination would look like.
Still, he'd thought Grigori would look… different.
Not that there was anything really wrong about the place, just that it looked pretty normal, and Azazel didn't seem to do very well with the word. Evidently, Joshua didn't make a very good prediction there. Or, maybe and more likely, Azazel hadn't had much to do with the design of the base he was visiting.
"Lord Azazel was very eager to meet with you," the woman by his side told him. Penemue, she'd said her name was, Chief Secretary or some such was her role in Grigori. He wasn't sure how high up that was, but she did pull on some long lost memory of the series in his brain, so he imagined she was important enough to at least be mentioned.
Considering the rather… considerable size of her breasts, he was pretty sure that was a fair assumption, but he'd learned a thing or two about making guesses. It was also rather sad, that he could tell if someone might be important in the plot just considering how big their boobs were. Very sad indeed.
"I'm sure he is," he replied wryly. After all, he was sure Azazel had wanted him to get in contact sooner so that he could get access to more Sacred Gear spells and such. Unfortunately for the Fallen, he hadn't really been in much need of help and such before that moment.
He'd have said something else as they walked, but there was no need for such things. Sure, the silence was a bit uncomfortable, but he knew all about quiet and awkward moments. It was better to let them be instead of trying to fill them with even more awkward conversation.
"Joshua!" Azazel exclaimed as Penemue led him through one last door. "I thought you'd never contact me again. I was getting nervous."
"I'm sure you couldn't wait," he replied blandly, having his suspicions all but confirmed.
"You joke, but it's the truth, my friend," the Fallen Angel Governor said, making Joshua smile wryly. He wasn't sure he could consider the man a friend, after all. Sure, they'd had some good interactions regarding each other's projects and such but still… "Your contributions to my research have been incredible, I'll tell you, and you say you can give me more spells?" the man added immediately, a greedy glint in his eyes. "More information?"
"I can, but I need information myself for a project of my own," he said. Azazel's expression didn't really die, but there was a shift from excited and happy to something more… placid. The greed also turned into a knowing look that was quite… curious, Joshua would admit.
"Ah, those Fallen you picked up are reaching their plateau, huh?" the Fallen Angel immediately commented, making Joshua's eyes widen slightly. "I imagined it'd happen, but not quite so fast. You are either a very good trainer or they were better than I expected. I'll bet on the former though. I might need to ask for your method."
Unsurprisingly, he didn't seem very interested in that. Azazel was all about Sacred Gears, after all. Joshua could relate. Magic as a whole was all sorts of interesting, but he had a special fondness for Wards, Hexes and Boons.
"So, it's true?" Joshua asked, following the man into his office and taking a seat across from the desk. Somehow, it reminded him of some chats he'd had with Agnes. He wasn't sure how the woman would have taken that, however. "I'd read a few things that pointed in that direction, but I wasn't sure that was the case."
"The fact that the number of wings is more than just a symbol of how old an angel is and how strong?" Azazel supplied without a care. "That's hardly a secret, but I'm guessing you want more than that."
"I do."
"As far as I'm aware, both kinds of Angels can climb the power difference between wing numbers," the Governor told him, leaning back and talking freely as if he weren't telling Joshua things that he was pretty sure must have been some kind of secret. Or maybe he was wrong about that? Either that or Azazel was confident he wouldn't be spreading that information around. "However, it's much more difficult. About as difficult as a human climbing to the level of high ranked members of the three factions… Although I'm sure that's not a good example to use with you."
Joshua ignored the last part tilting his head. So, he was getting what Azazel was trying to say, even if he wasn't so sure of that comparison. The point was that a low number of wings worked as a negative modifier to their training after some point. That was annoying, but-
"Also, as far as I know, the only one that can grant an angel more wings is… Well, I'm sure you can guess," Azazel told him with a grin and a shrug. 'God, of course,' Joshua thought with a sigh.
"Well, that's disappointing," he replied then, shoulders dropping as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I'd still like as much information as you can give me on the subject. All the differences having more wings imply and such."
"And lose the opportunity to have a trade with you? With the things you are offering? No way I'll say no," Azazel told him, laughing as if he were scamming Joshua… Which immediately got him thinking, especially when he considered how open he'd been.
"You know what I'm gonna do."
"Of course I do," the Governor replied, sounding almost offended. "I'd be a disappointment of a fellow researcher if I didn't."
"You told me all that and are ready to share that info with me because you want me to do this."
"Why wouldn't I want you to?" Azazel asked, his grin widening even more, which Joshua hadn't thought was possible. "And it's not like I won't pay you a whole lot if you succeed."
"... This is why you were fine with me having the three of them, isn't it?" he noted then, making Azazel's eyes widen. Even then, the Fallen's smile remained firmly in place. "You are lucky I don't get offended easily. That was manipulative enough to irk me a lil' bit, not gonna lie."
"But you get your information, so everything's fine."
"Yeah."
"Good luck finding a way to give a Fallen Angel more wings, Joshua."
"Luck's got nothing to do with it."
[}-o-{]
[Unknown]
Kuoh was a town that was… interesting.
In some ways, it almost seemed like a city. In others, it barely reached town level. And above all else, it had an interesting and very much unexpected level of supernatural activity. It was also a somewhat new development, because people didn't know at what point, but she knew that Kuoh hadn't been the supernatural hub that it was now in the past.
Regardless, as the woman walked in the shadows, taking full advantage of the night, she wasn't considering any of that. Her mind was focused on a single objective and that was all she cared about. There were a number of things one could pick up in Kuoh and what she wanted was certainly far from the top, but that didn't matter either.
She had her priorities, after all.
The Satan siblings were interesting and somewhat easy targets, but she wasn't there for them. There were also a number of other interesting characters in their peerages and even some out of their peerages too, but most of them weren't important enough. Joshua Davis, for his part, hardly was found in the place, let alone late at night like it was the case.
Speaking off, as the woman continued on her way, she felt the wards wash over her. Not for the first time, however, since one had to pass through them long before reaching the town. Every step saw her stepping deeper under that trap and she'd admit to being nervous. The woman had made the trip several times already, but it never got easier.
The wards loomed over her like an indestructible dome. Walking through those was like being given entrance in a high security vault, somewhat exhilarating, but with the threat of the door closing behind her. The spells watched them for every step, like walking through a hallway that was covered in security cameras. Unnerving, but one had to do their best to ignore their presence, else she appeared more suspicious.
Then there were the hexes, sniffing around like beasts following a trail. Occasionally, the woman would feel them twitch, as if they were hounds barking at something that caught their attention. Adding onto that frightening picture was the presence of the non-detection oriented spells though. While the wards felt like a cage, a steel trap, the hexes felt like a pack of beasts circling around them, watching for a mistake, a reason, an excuse to jump forward.
She was still safe, whoever.
Her preparations and abilities worked well against those.
She knew how to hide, if nothing else.
So, the woman continued walking, getting closer and closer. Her goal was so close… Just a bit closer, so that she could get a good look and then she'd run far away from Kuoh. Far away from the imposing presence of Davis' spells, that's where she preferred to be.
And then, it happened.
It was subtle, like the click of a door closing. It was also loud, as if it had happened in a completely silent space. A new ward, small, unnoticeable for her until it triggered. The effect was anything but subtle though. All the spells came alive then. The wards blared like an alarm going off, the already firm feeling walls solidifying even more. The hexes seemed to come alive even more, the stalking beasts that they were suddenly charging for the kill.
The woman wasted no time before she started running away like the devil was on her heels, and she would know about that.
The hexes and wards ate away at her energy without a pause, like birds pecking at her reserves and needles sucking at her forces. She didn't stop, however, she couldn't, every second counted and every second could mean the end. The spells worked relentlessly, mercilessly, and in a matter of seconds she was almost without strength left in her body.
Fortunately, she was no weakling.
She was almost out of town, way before the spells finished her off.
Except, it wasn't that simple, because before she could leave, an invisible wall rose in front of them. Her fist flew forward instantly, crashing against the Shield Ward and cracking it. A second blow made the web-like fissures spread further. The spells were not weak, however, and they were repairing the damage immediately with their own power.
A third strike broke through the wall, and good thing too, because they were almost out of energy already.
'Just have to get away. Just a bit more,' she thought as she rushed.
It was not going to be that easy, however. A second wall appeared, just as suddenly as the last one and this one she didn't even feel before she crashed face first into it. The woman tried to strike through the barrier like she had done before, but her reserves were drying up and this one Shield was even stronger than the last one.
'So, that's it, huh?' she thought weakly, a self-deprecating smile on her face.
The defenses didn't stop there. More of them slammed down around them. More walls, more energy being taken from them, more force being applied on top of them and pushing them to the floor. A strong sense of dread filled her, telling her she shouldn't be where she was. The wards and hexes loomed menacingly over her, whispering that she should stay away, and she couldn't, because she was trapped.
Deterrent spells on a caged target, Davis was a bastard.
"Well, this is a surprise."
Speak of the devil…
She turned to regard the man as he walked up to her, just outside the cage. The blonde looked at her with a tilted head and curious blue eyes. He looked… vaguely interested more than angry or annoyed, but she wasn't sure that was a good thing.
"Nothing to say?" he asked then, seemingly genuinely wanting an answer. When she remained silent, he let a lazy half-smile form on his face. "Cat got your tongue?"
"... That was terrible," she replied, drawing a chuckle from the magician.
"Well, good thing we have other things to talk about besides my non-existent sense of humor, right?" he commented, running his fingers through his hair even as he kept his eyes firmly on her. "Kuroka?"
Chapter 104: Follow Your Heart and Nothing Else
Joshua had been upgrading, re-setting and generally going over the defenses of Kuoh for a while already. After all, part of his life was there now with Jeanne and Asia going to school there and him having his cafe in the town. So, much like he did with his own home and the Hunter's House, he kept the defenses as good as he could make them. A bigger place stretched things a lot more though, so it was expected for Kuoh's defenses to be a little weaker, at the least.
Which is why he tried to pay special attention to them.
That's how, one day, he'd noticed something odd. Not really something that was detected by his wards, but it was still weird. Like looking at a wall that had a little paper figure of the same color stuck to it from a distance, he supposed now that he had more information. It was like there was something there but also not. So, it piqued his curiosity a little bit.
He'd almost thought it was nothing, or if it was something, then it might just be irrelevant. Joshua had still gone for it though, because if nothing else, it made for a fun challenge. Thus, he'd added more and more spells in place to try and discern what that might be.
And finally, he had his answer.
He wasn't sure how to deal with his situation now though.
"So, when are the scary devils coming for me nya~?" Kuroka asked from across the table, where he'd shackled her, the same place where Kalawarna had been contained before. The little "nya" was faked, he knew, from his first interaction with her as much as what he was picking up now that she was fully under his senses and spells. She was trying to act calm, but she was worried, afraid.
Not as much as he thought she would or should be, but still.
"I haven't called yet," he answered with a shrug, trying to decide what to do. Calling Serafall and Sirzechs was an option. He owed Kuroka nothing, and while he enjoyed spending time and training with Koneko and… almost could consider her a friend, maybe, possibly… The point was that just because he got along with her sister didn't mean he had to cut Kuroka any slack.
She was part of Khaos Brigade, after all.
That was the huge problem for Joshua, in the end. He could care less for her crimes in devil society. If he remembered the details of her background and Koneko's somewhat right, she'd been more or less justified. He'd have done the same had Jeanne been in danger as he recalled Kuroka's sister being.
Joining Khaos Brigade was another thing entirely, however. No matter how much the source material tried to paint Vali's team in a semi-good light or something of the sort, Joshua wasn't seeing it. You don't join madmen and monsters like fucking Khaos Brigade being good. He'd seen enough of their shit to know that.
There was no excuse to do something like that unless you were an absolute moron or you had no other choice.
Now, was any of those the case with Kuroka though?
"Nya~ You are scary~," she said, and he flexed his spells to shut her up, because that speech thing was annoying him to no end. Maybe it was supposed to be cute, or make him lower his guard, or something. Hell, maybe it was supposed to actually annoy him. In that case, it was working.
"I'd be very careful," he told her calmly, giving her a bored look. "Make a single mistake, and I will be calling the devils. I have some contacts that I can call on."
"The wee little Satan sisters it is then nya~?"
"I was thinking more Serafall Leviathan and Sirzechs Lucifer themselves," he answered, and she stiffened ever so slightly. "Surprised? Did you think you'd have somewhat of a chance if you had to deal with Rias because of your sister?"
She flinched at that, if it was because he was right or just because he knew about Koneko, Joshua wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter. Now she knew that she was screwed, because he was sure that she could tell he was 100% truthful there. He was closer to the Satans – at least in Serafall's case – than he was Rias and Sona, so there was no point in not going to her with this mess. He was sure she wouldn't be too mad at him…
Maybe he could have some snacks ready to bribe her with though, just in case.
"Now that we are on the same page," he continued then, leaning back against his seat as he considered what to do. He had some idea, but Kuroka's situation was… complicated, at best. "Why did you join Khaos Brigade? And I don't think I have to tell you to be truthful, do I?"
She didn't answer immediately. To his slight surprise, she didn't even look like she was thinking over her answer. Instead, she seemed to have her attention taken by something else, blinking and tilting her head to one side. She remained like that for a long moment, to the point when Joshua started considering threatening her again.
"... Huh…" she mumbled, almost inaudible for him. "I see…" she continued, confusing the hell out of Joshua. "I didn't have many options, as one of the most wanted criminals of the Underworld," she answered finally, and he found himself surprised by how direct that answer was. "Eventually, Khaos Brigade found me and… Well, they offered shelter in exchange for some work. So, I took their offer."
She wasn't lying, as far as he could tell. Joshua then looked to the side, towards Cheshire, and his familiar gave him a nod. It was then that he noticed that Kuroka had looked in Cheshire's direction before. Nothing had happened, however, everything felt fine through the bond. His familiar was still regarding their new "guest" with suspicion and all.
"What, exactly, did you do for them?" he asked then, turning back towards Kuroka.
"Do you want a list in chronological or alphabetical order?" she asked back, raising an eyebrow. Her expression was calm, none of that fake playfulness she'd displayed before. There was no fear either. She seemed calm, collected… Weird. Or, at least, out of character from what he knew of her.
"Chronological will work," he answered. Maybe he could get something out of this besides just one less enemy, albeit a dangerous one. Any people that Khaos Brigade could nothave in their numbers was a win in Joshua's books, but one as strong as Kuroka? He'd really lucked out.
Now, if this was going where he thought it was going…
And then Kuroka started talking and Joshua made a notebook appear in front of him and started taking notes.
[}-o-{]
[Serafall Leviathan]
"Are you sure? Absolutely sure?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Joshua. For once, she didn't dare be playful about things, because this was serious. Not only in regards to the mess this could cause in the Underworld, but also on several other fronts.
She'd expected a number of things when Joshua called her that day. She hadn't dared hope much, but maybe he'd called for a friendly meeting. They'd had some of those. Maybe he'd called for a small favor that would be a nice excuse to spend time with him. Maybe he'd called for a not so small favor too, which she wouldn't have had much problem at least listening to.
A frightened part of her considered that maybe he'd called with another emergency like what had happened with the Fallen.
Instead, Joshua had called her to tell her that he'd caught one of the most wanted criminals of her people. Not only that, but Kuroka was also one of the most troublesome ones too, since Serafall was well aware that there was something fishy going on there. All the Satans were, but they couldn't very well search too deeply or they risked angering the Pillar Houses.
And now, Joshua was forcing their hand on the matter. Not only because he'd caught Kuroka, but also because he was vouching for the woman. He'd made Serafall hear the woman's story, told her that the nekoshou was cooperating and had given him a lot of information about Khaos Brigade…
Which would make Serafall have to open a whole can of worms that she'd have rather not.
On a different note entirely, although no less important if anyone asked her, she also wasn't happy with the way Kuroka was looking at Joshua.
At all.
"You are not just doing this because she's making eyes at you, right?" Serafall asked, eyes still narrowed. She knew that Joshua was taking her words as a joke, but they were anything but. Sometimes her playful act/self worked against her, unfortunately.
"Believe me, Serafall, she has as much of a chance with me as I have with Gabriel right now," Joshua commented with a deadpan expression.
Serafall, meanwhile, could only think that the statement was very obviously not as reassuring as the man thought it was. Especially after some of the comments she'd heard the angel make during meetings in regards to Khaos Brigade. Seriously, as if Yasaka wasn't enough. At least she knew that little Rias and Kuisha had next to no chance of getting anywhere.
Small mercies and all that.
Serafall sighed.
"If it makes you feel better," he said, smiling wryly. "I can try and make things easier for you. I don't know how, but I'm sure you can think of something."
Well, there was that, she supposed. She could think of several things he could do to help her smooth things over. For one, there was his Phoenix project. Once that was completed, Serafall was sure they could get the Phenex House to bend over backwards in order not to lose almost the entirety of their worth in the supernatural world as a whole. That was some major power to hold, and that was saying something coming from her.
Then there was the pull he was starting to get around other circles. Heaven, the Church, House of Water, the Egyptian Pantheon, half the Youkai Faction… All of them were big names and Serafall could very easily use that kind of power. Hell, she wouldn't even need most of that to make Kuroka's case not that much of a problem to deal with.
And then there were some of the other strings Joshua was unknowing starting to extend around. If she hadn't known better, Serafall would have thought he was really good at politics. But she did, which meant that she also knew Joshua was quickly becoming a political powerhouse with the power of being nice.
It was both impressive and annoying, if Serafall was honest.
"And you are sure that the information is good?"
"No?" Joshua answered, raising an eyebrow. "I told you that I wanted everyone to look it over and see if it was before doing anything with her," he added then, blinking. "Weren't you listening?"
She might have been a little distracted by the look Kuroka was sending him, but she was pretty sure she'd been paying attention. Then again, the nekoshou had been very intense a moment after they'd gotten talking about the situation and… Ah, Kuroka had realized how important Joshua really was, huh? Right, she'd forgotten how annoying Senjutsu truly was when it was used by a master. Yasaka was a lot less annoying than she could be, and she was more or less the only person that could truly be on that level.
Until Kuroka, that is.
Serafall sighed. How many times did that make?
"Guess we can bring it up with the Fallen, Heaven and the Youkai," she decided then, deflating a little. Her eye twitched at the way Kuroka's tails excitedly started waving around as she looked between Joshua and her. She really wasn't liking this woman.
Why couldn't she have been an actual, heinous criminal?
"I'll keep an eye on this one in the meantime. Not like she can do much under my strongest spells," Joshua reassured her, which didn't really mean much. Serafall was sure that the woman wasn't really thinking about escaping or killing anyone at the moment. If anything, she was more worried about her because she thought she wanted to be there.
"Nya~ Will you punish me if I'm a bad gir-?" the nekoshou started before the magic around the place twisted and she was sent face first into the ground. Serafall tried not to let on how much that pleased her.
"Yes. Yes, I will," Joshua replied with an unamused expression. Serafall knew she liked him for a reason. He was smart enough not to get involved with a hussy like th- "As if I'd fall for that act."
Ah, he was just being oblivious as usual.
Well, at least that worked in Serafall's favor, for once.
[}-o-{]
[Agnes Waterhouse]
"Huh, well… I can say this is a surprise," Davis said, looking over the files she had passed him that day after his class was over and she called him to her office. She watched him intently, trying to discern if following Báthory's idea had been a good decision or not. She'd kind of very reluctantly agreed that the other woman might be right, but doing anything together with her felt like a mistake.
"So, what do you think?" she asked in the end, when she was reasonably sure that he wasn't annoyed by their actions.
"You are really giving me all this?" Davis asked, evidently having reached the page with their loot of the Hexennacht base. Agnes was particularly happy with that part, actually. Their findings had been very good, even if she was sure that Báthory had stolen som- "What'd I even do with half of this stuff. Hell, most of it, really."
Agnes blinked.
"How about we do this? You take everything," he said and she all but choked on air itself. Was he for real or was this-? "If there's anything on wards, hexes or boons. I'll take it… Oh, and foci for those too, I guess. Anything else you can have, honestly."
"..." Agnes wanted to say something to that as she watched the man continue reading, flipping over the pages of treasures like they were inconsequential. Instead, all she could do was stare, unable to comprehend what was happening. She looked to the side to see an equally as baffled Báthory.
"Actually, you have anything on Astrology? Divination?" he asked and she narrowed her eyes. That didn't seem to be anywhere close to his usual delvings. "I found a potential magician that's interested in that, so I want to provide them with some material to get started."
A person scouted by Davis himself? Now, Agnes was no genius but surely that could only lead to someone remarkable, even if their talent were lacking. Being under the wing of a powerful magician was the dream of many young students. With Davis? An actually caring teacher? Many experienced magicians would give an arm to be in the shoes of whoever this person was.
"We can sort through our findings for what you would be interested in."
"Thank you," Davis said, as if she were doing him a favor by taking a great deal of their Hexennacht loot. Was the man for real or was it all an act? Agnes sometimes wondered. "Honestly, why'd they even need all that money and treasure for anyway?"
To pay for services they couldn't provide for themselves. Magicians from other associations – other strays in this particular case – mostly, but sometimes one needed a particularly specific power set from a pantheon or such. On top of that, money could always be used for something. And the mere fact that one had a lot of it could mean influence by itself.
Evidently, Joshua Davis cared very little, if at all, for money, however.
'Good to know, I guess,' Agnes thought, holding back a grimace. 'Even if it makes my job harder.'
"Well, this was definitely a good idea for repaying me, I can tell you that," the man said then, looking up from the files. She resolutely ignored the smug look Báthory was giving her from the side and instead focused on the man. "Anything I can do to make you keep going?" he asked then.
This time, both Agnes and Báthory had to hold back their reactions. As it was, a single base was very little in the face of all she'd gotten from other associations in order for them to attend Davis' classes, nevermind her own students in said lectures. Now that he was giving her the majority of the loot though?
This was more like her paying only the interest without actually getting rid of the debt.
"Nothing of the sort, Joshua," Agnes told him, forcing a calm smile on her face. "This was just the initial payment, we are nowhere near done just yet."
"That's great to hear," the man told her, grinning widely. "You can go ahead and just skip this whole meeting thing if you want. I'm sure you have more important things to do than report to me," he added then, looking back at the file before placing it back on her desk instead of taking it. "I appreciate the effort though."
"You won't be taking it to see that everything's there?"
"Nah, I trust you," he said, with that same easygoing expression of his, as if this were nothing. Or as if they were close friends or something. "If that's all?"
"It is, have a nice day."
"Have a nice day yourself, both of you," he said, giving a nod to both her and Báthory.
Then the two women watched him leave.
"The most frustrating part about this is that we can't actually try to scam him off of some things," Báthory groaned then, to which Agnes snorted. Indeed, her less than good comrade would have loved to have that chance.
Unfortunately for her, Davis might be a trusting person, but he was also decidedly not an idiot. If they tried taking anything, he'd have picked up on something immediately. Whether through his spells or his senses, which were both quite perceptive.
On top of that…
Both Agnes and Báthory stiffened as they felt a presence wash over them, as if a reminder to behave.
As if they needed Nephthys to tell them that crossing Davis was a bad idea.
[}-o-{]
[Yasaka]
"I miss when your hair was longer," Kunou commented and she had to hold back a giggle at the sight of her daughter and Joshua. Apparently, the young one had felt especially clingy that day, because she was sitting on the man's shoulders, idly playing with his hair. "Can't you-?"
"No," Joshua denied before Kunou could even finish the question, making the girl pout. "You know I cut it because it was annoying. I prefer short hair. Much easier to deal with."
"Hm, I guess," Kunou mumbled, clearly not convinced. "But if you let-"
"No," Joshua interrupted again, making the girl whine.
Yasaka simply watched, taking a sip from her drink as she looked at them. Occasionally, she'd look down at her paperwork, dealing with this or that issue. Things had started looking up, fortunately, once she got the ball rolling with Joshua's help. There was still much to do, but she tried to refrain from commenting on that.
Joshua would have continued on his efforts to help her and she couldn't have that. Not because the potential misunderstanding bothered her or anything, far from it, but there were other issues on that. For one, she wanted to deal with her problems by herself and it wasn't a huge pain to do so, especially after the initial part was more or less done with, as was the case now.
On top of that, Yasaka herself wasn't quite sure how to deal with the misunderstanding in terms of how it affected her. Because even if she knew it wasn't the case and it was just Joshua being nice, there was the little voice at the back of her mind telling her that 'maybe, just maybe, he was doing it on purpose' and it was… Distracting, and annoying, she had to admit.
Moreover, she also didn't want Joshua thinking too much on "the misunderstanding" else he put even more distance between them in his mind to make up for that. She couldn't have that. Yasaka was doing just fine with the slow, ever so slow progress she was making.
It was a deliberate thing, however, just like she and Serafall had agreed.
'Soon though,' she thought.
"Dad, can you-?" Kunou asked, making Yasaka's heart do a little flip at the call and how Joshua responded immediately, not even needing the full question. The man lifted her daughter's cup with a caring smile that the girl couldn't see but still mirrored.
It was scenes like that which made the wait more difficult than it needed to be.
Not that Yasaka was complaining.
"So, things are going well then?" Joshua asked her, looking up from what he was working on. She was fairly sure that it was the Phoenix project again. Some of those notes looked familiar, at least, from what she'd picked up during their shared times as they worked on their things in that room.
"They are," she told him. Not really lying, but not really telling him the whole truth. Yasaka knew, picking up on it through Senjutsu, that Joshua knew she was hiding something. He didn't press her though, and she appreciated that.
She didn't need a knight in shining armor, after all. She just needed someone to share her life with, someone to stand beside her. Or, in this case, someone to sit with and spend a quiet afternoon together as they dealt with their things.
"If you say so," Joshua replied with a shake of his head and a smile, confirming her suspicions, even if there was no need. "Just tell me if something important comes up, ok?" he asked her and she smiled her best smile at him, because she appreciated the thought behind it.
"I will. I'm not quite that stubborn, you know?"
"I mean, you are Kunou's mother," he pointed out.
"And you are her father," she shot back, quite glad that she could hide how much she enjoyed saying that. It'd be quite childish, since she did so about as much as Kunou herself enjoyed saying that kind of thing herself.
"I guess I walked into that one," Joshua commented with a chuckle. 'If only he could be her actual father,' Yasaka thought with no small amount of bitterness, but that didn't matter. Every day, it became less important, because Joshua had never seemed to care about that, taking to his new role swiftly and without a problem. Kunou herself seemed to have jumped on the idea too.
Yasaka, in the meantime, had taken longer to grow used to him basically being Kunuo's adopted father, which she supposed was understandable. Soon though, she would stop caring about the "adopted" part of the equation and that moment couldn't come soon enough, as far as she was concerned. Although, she wouldn't mind changing it for a "step", but that was for further into the future, hopefully.
As it was, she just had to wait a little longer. Then, things could finally move, at the very least, the smallest bit faster. For one, because Joshua was a complex person, socially speaking. He dealt with family, allies and work relationships much easier than he did friends. Romance seemed to be on a whole other league of its own, so Yasaka knew that needed to be tackled carefully.
On top of that, the man had a lot on his plate at the moment, so she didn't want to hinder him. Once he freed himself a little though, things would be different. And Yasaka could be patient, there was no risk on that front, after all. Not even with that new nekoshou that he'd mentioned before.
Truly, Serafall worried too much.