Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.
The Vibrations On The Floor-
"Next time, you are the one that comes with me, understood?" Joshua told Margalo as they walked, the small bird perched on his shoulder. She replied with a cheerful chirping that he was sure meant that she was all too happy to hang around him more if he wanted. She was a sweetheart like that.
What he wasn't so sure about was if the way Cheshire threw her head to the side meant she was rolling her eyes at him or not. Considering the circumstances and what he knew of her thought… it was likely. She could be mean like that.
"Yes, you can come too, girl," He said, chuckling as he felt Morag pull on his hair. At his words though, she relaxed where she stood on his other shoulder. Sometimes she got jealous like that.
"Can you focus? I can't believe we are here and all you do is… normal stuff? Aren't you seeing this?" Jeanne scolded him incredulously, to which he blinked at her. He was almost shocked that she'd been able to pull her eyes away from her camera and stop taking pictures for a bit.
"Jeanne, what are you talking about? I'm looking around too, this place is beautiful," He replied, slightly wide-eyed. He wasn't even lying, really.
Koinzan Saiho-ji, also known as Koke-Dera, also known as the Moss Temple was a beautiful place, to be sure. Everywhere he looked was covered in lively green, the moss forming a sort of carpet over everything. It was a striking sight, really. Hell, Joshua had even enjoyed the meditation they'd had to do before entering. Not that it was that much different from what he usually did while training, but still.
"I even took a few photos," He added when Jeanne continued staring at him, bringing his own camera up as 'proof'.
"How many?" She prodded.
"I took like ten, you are even in a few of them, you saw me taking them," He replied incredulously. Then that turned into confusion when he saw her sag dejectedly.
"That's it?" She said, as if she couldn't believe him.
"Yeah? What's the point of being here if all I look at is the screen of the camera? Might as well just look up pictures on the internet," He explained himself.
"I… guess," She admitted, even though it looked like she really disagreed with him.
"Come on, enjoy the sight for yourself, we don't have all the time in the world," Joshua told her, getting a reluctant nod from the teenager. Really, how ungrateful could she be? This was one visit they weren't even going to do before he'd come back from the Youkai's place.
After a short talk with Yasaka and some help from Serafall, the local leader had graciously agreed to help him give his sister a little present. Thus, Yasaka had made the visit possible. After all, the Moss Temple only accepted visits with reservation and one couldn't even make a reservation for a specific time, since those varied. That had meant that the place had been scrapped from their list of visits, since he didn't know what his schedule would look like on the job.
That had been a shame, since Jeanne had really wanted to come.
'Kunou will get the best classes I can possibly give her, that's for sure,' Joshua resolved as he looked at the awed expression on Jeanne's face. The place was a nice one to visit for Joshua himself too, really. He just wasn't as tourist crazy as his sister, evidently.
"At least Nagini is with me on this," He heard Jeanne mutter to herself, earning a hiss from the snake that was wrapped around her. Apparently, his snake familiar was rather keen on enjoying the sights. She was even encouraging Jeanne to take more pictures. That was something he hadn't seen coming, that's for sure.
He'd have expected that from Morag, but the little spider seemed content with just appreciating the sights on her own without pictures. Considering that she liked having Joshua draw like crazy, he'd half expected to have to take a few photographs for her too, but that hadn't been the case. Maybe she just liked preserving her own art instead of beautiful things in general? Food for thought.
As he appreciated the temple, however, Joshua's mind drifted the smallest bit. Jeanne really seemed to like this type of thing, that was something he'd have to note down. Maybe they could go on trips to visit places from time to time, they could certainly afford to, of that there was no doubt.
Moreover, now that they'd both quit the job at the cafe, they'd have more time for whatever they wanted. He'd been reluctant to do so, but ultimately, with this job requiring an indefinite amount of time, it was what they had to do. Joshua wouldn't forget Peter's words when they left anytime soon though.
"I'm glad that you've got your feet back under you again, Joshua. Good luck," His boss had told him when they'd last spoken. Joshua would make sure to arrange a donation of some kind through Sairaorg at some point. Peter deserved that much, at the very least.
The point was that they could travel if Jeanne wanted. Hell, he wanted to see some other places too, even if he wasn't as enthusiastic as her. However, the main thing was that Joshua suspected that Jeanne enjoyed it so much because she hadn't had that freedom before. Now, he would give it to her if she wanted.
Besides…
"What's money good for if you don't enjoy it?" His mother would usually say. "Why not use it to travel and see new places? Why would one just sit on it and do nothing? What's the point then?"
'You'd have liked Jeanne, mum,' He thought to himself, not for the first time.
"I swear to God, Joshua, if you are thinking about wards," His sister threatened and he chuckled.
"Not at all, Gin-tan, not at all," He replied, earning himself a growl and punch.
It was worth it, though.
[}-o-{]
'A protective god who guarded against personal harm from wild animals or mortal enemies,' Joshua read from his notes, not for the first time. 'Known as "He Who Rescues" and "The Enchanter". He was lord of the wild animals and weapons.'
There wasn't much to be picked up about Shed, Joshua had quickly found. That was almost all that he had managed to find on the internet, and the books he'd checked didn't say all that much either, unfortunately.
'At least there's nothing saying he's bad or anything of the sort,' Joshua thought with a wry smile as he looked at the Charm that he'd left to the side on the table. If he was honest, support and all, Shed still made him more than a little nervous. Gods didn't have a reputation of being… good to mortals, at least back in his world. This world's internet painted much the same picture, but the supernatural books told the stories slightly differently…
It left Joshua not knowing what to trust. After all, supernatural books could have their own bias, right? What if those were painted better than they actually were? Even if it was a middle ground between the two, he still didn't know how much he liked his chances.
"Not gonna lie," He muttered to himself as he picked up the Charm. "The fact that you won't talk to me and that you can do… what you do, doesn't help much, buddy," He said, not wanting to talk about the system. He found that supremely suspicious. How did the God interfere? Was he the one to make the System?
That couldn't be, could it?
Except that it could, but why would Shed take him from another reality and throw him in this one? Why give him the system at all? Why go through all that trouble only to leave him to his own devices. It made no sense and it was driving him crazy.
The sense of amusement he got from the Charm didn't help.
With a sigh, he set the thing down and massaged his forehead.
'Focus on the job, Josh,' He thought to himself as he stored the notebook inside a card and started going over his notes for the wards. 'Break's over, I guess.'
"Another cup of tea?" He heard Jeanne from another room, probably having heard him sigh.
"Sure!" He called in response. Absently, he heard Nagini slithering her way towards him, but he didn't turn to look at her. This was a common occurrence already, really. "Hey there, girl," He greeted with a smile as she started climbing her way up his body and came to rest wrapped around his chest with her head hanging over his right shoulder. "Got tired of looking at pictures with Jeanne, huh?" He teased, only to receive a light smack of her tail.
Nagini and Jeanne seemed to have bonded quite a lot with their touristic ways, actually. While Joshua had to stay at home or go to the Youkai's place to work on his plans and wards, the two of them wasted no time whatsoever going around and taking as many photographs as possible. They would often take Cheshire, Morag and Margalo too, but those would usually choose between the two's outings or keeping Joshua company.
He'd told them to go if they wanted, but it seemed his feline and arachnid familiars were of the same mind as him when it came to sightseeing. As for Margalo, she liked it well enough, but not nearly as much as the serpent and the teenager. Thus, he found himself having at least two familiars with him at all times.
He wasn't complaining about that, that was for sure.
"I've missed you though," He mumbled as he laid a hand on Nagini's head. With a hiss, she pressed her nose against his cheek, making him smile. "I'm gonna make time to go out with you two again soon, I promise."
[}-o-{]
"Relax, Kunou, you are too tense," Joshua urged the little girl as she frustrated herself into failing at her attempts at magic. "Come on, again, with me," He told her and, when she pouted at him, he raised an eyebrow. After a moment, she deflated. "Close your eyes," He instructed softly and she did as told. "Take a deep breath in and then let it out, relaxing your muscles, especially your shoulders."
After that, the girl opened her eyes and looked at the cards in front of her. She hadn't progressed much through the week, really. She got some sparks of light here and there, but little else. Joshua was convinced that it was because she expected too much of herself, something that he couldn't really do much about, sadly.
"Come on, why are you so frustrated? This is a process. I'd feel kind of annoyed if you got it right away. I had to work for it too, you know?" He asked, grinning to tell her that he was only joking… sort of.
"I know. It's just… I don't like failing," The girl said and he rolled his eyes.
"Failing is part of life," Joshua told her, placing a hand over her head and ruffling her hair, much to her dismay. "Everyone fails and anyone that says otherwise is lying."
"Mother doesn't fail," She mumbled, probably without meaning to be heard.
"Even your mother must have failed at some point," Joshua told her, hoping that he wasn't insulting the woman in some way. It wasn't meant to be an insult, really. "We are here for a reason, aren't we?" He asked, waving his hand to signal the rest of the magicians in the room. He'd cast a Sound Dampening ward around them and a slight Illusion to make it so that nobody could read their lips. Call him paranoid, but he didn't want anyone knowing anything of what they talked. He was grateful for that at that moment, that was for sure.
He was sure that Yasaka could see right through all that, but she wasn't in the room so he was hopefully safe… 'Better not to think about that too much.'
When he saw the disbelieving look on her face, he decided to switch tactics.
"Even so, nobody expects you to be just like her. Everyone's different, you know?" He told her, a soft smile forming on his face as he looked towards the books on the table for a moment. "I'm nothing like my parents, for example. And that's fine. They wouldn't want me to be just like them either way."
"... People do want me to be like her though," Kunou mumbled this time.
"They are idiots, then," Joshua told her, completely serious. "You will never be like your mother," He said, before turning to grin at her. "But that doesn't mean you'll fail. You can be just as good without being like her. You can even be better than her."
Ignoring him, the girl took one of the cards and tried again. Unsurprisingly, she only got the smallest of shines before it disappeared. She deflated again, making him sigh.
"Ok, I think that's enough for today. You are clearly too frustrated to continue," Joshua decided then. "We can work on this later on."
"No, I-"
"Kunou, it's fine," He reassured softly with a smile as he activated the illusion spell on one of his cards. "We'll continue tomorrow," He added before turning to his notes and books.
"... They are talking," The girl mumbled then.
"Hm?" He prodded, blinking before giving his attention back to her.
"One of the other magicians. He's saying that you are wasting your time. That it'll be better for them because it'll make you look bad," The girl said, fidgeting with another card as she looked at the small show in front of her.
Absently, Joshua wondered who was talking about him. His first guess would have been Doyle, but he hadn't seen the man since the interview day. His eyes darted towards the other magicians, but none stood out as a 'culprit'.
'Maybe I can see about modifying the sound proofing so that it can block them?' Josua considered them. He'd left the outer sound being able to come in case someone called for him or, admittedly more probably, Kunou. He couldn't very well completely block the outside, considering who he was teaching magic.
"It doesn't matter. I'm not doing this to look good. I'm doing this because I want to do this, end of the story," Joshua told her, pushing other thoughts to the side. "Let them talk. People will always talk, it's how they are. Besides, they are probably jealous of me. I get to have your adorable self to keep me company while they only have… each other," He explained, giving a mock shudder at the end.
"I'm not adorable," Kunou denied then, pouting in a way that worked completely against her. He gave her a half-smile before planting a hand over her head and ruffling her hair.
"You totally are," He told her with a chuckle.
"Joshua!" She whined like the child she was.
"I see you are having fun," A new voice said.
"Yasaka-sama/Lady Yasaka," A now familiar chorus of voices called then and there, clearing any doubts as to who it could be. Not that Joshua wouldn't recognize the voice of his current boss and mother of the girl he was teaching.
"Yasaka-sama, good to see you," He greeted after dispelling the Sound Dampening ward with a wave of his hand. "Things going alright?"
"As good as they can be," She replied, taking a seat next to him. "How are the classes going?"
"We are… having some troubles, but-"
"I can't make them work," Kunou interrupted then, pouting down at the display of the illusion in front of her.
"We are having some trouble," Joshua repeated, giving the woman a slightly exasperated expression. "We'll get over that. Kunou is just letting her frustration get to her."
"Is that so?" She asked, looking between the two with an expression that he couldn't read. "Well, I hope you are right. Kunou was really excited that first day."
"Oka-san!" The girl whined weakly.
"We'll get there, even if I have to stay here after the job is done," Joshua promised before pausing. "If I'm allowed to, of course."
"Hm, I'm inclined to let you," The woman told him with a smile as she looked at her daughter.
"You will?" Said girl mumbled, looking up at him with big eyes. How could he reply in any other way when that weapon was aimed at him? Simple, he couldn't.
"Of course," He replied with a reassuring smile. "If I could teach Jeanne, I can teach anybody. I'm not gonna give up that easily." The smile the girl showed then and there would have been a good enough reason to do as he said even if he hadn't wanted to before.
"Do you think we can work on it some more?"
"Yeah… no," Joshua denied then, earning himself another pout. "I said we'd wait and we'll do just that."
"But I'm relaxed now."
"Hm, are you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her. The girl proceeded to do her best to look 'relaxed' which was very amusing, if he was honest. "Still, maybe later. I do need to get some work done. So, letting you distract yourself for a bit works for both of us," He told her with a wave of his hand.
"I guess…" She mumbled then, turning to look at the new illusion playing in front of her.
"I see you are getting along with each other," Yasaka commented then.
"Difficult not to, she's adorable," He replied with a shrug and a smile.
"I'm not-" Kunou started before her mouth clicked shut when he threatened to place his hand on her head again. She glared at him through narrowed eyes at that and he could almost hear her swear vengeance in her mind.
"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it, Kunou," Yasaka encouraged then, making the girl look down the smallest bit more to hide her face with her hair. "You were very talented with Senjutsu, Youjutsu and everything we've taught you. Not everyone is good at everything."
"... That's what Joshua said before," Kunou mumbled.
"Oh?"
"He said that everyone fails," The girl clarified and Joshua had to wonder if he was going to get in trouble for what he'd said. 'Maybe I should have thought that through better…'
"Well, he's not wrong," Yasaka confirmed then. "Even I have failed before. I failed to keep you safe before, didn't I?"
"But I'm fine," The girl argued.
"If I had succeeded, you wouldn't even have been as close to danger as you were, Kunou," The mother told her with a sad smile. Joshua, for his part, felt like he was kind of in the middle of a conversation he had no business being in. "Just keep trying and I know you'll succeed in the end." Then, she turned back to Joshua. "And I'm sure Joshua will help you get there."
"Sure will," He confirmed easily.
"Now, with that said, I did actually have something to do here besides checking on Kunou," Yasaka informed them. "I was just given your request. I'd like to hear more about that."
"Ah, the illusion defense?" Joshua asked, realizing where this was coming from. When she nodded, he continued. "I'm guessing it's a problem?"
"Some of my advisors think it is. An illusion that can even fool Senjutsu is not something we can accept that easily. It could just as easily be used against us, after all," The Youkai leader explained and he nodded. However, he also noticed that she hadn't said what her opinion on the matter was.
"So, do I scrap that idea then?" He asked, not wanting to assume anything.
Yasaka remained silent though, as her eyes moved towards Kunou. Joshua knew exactly what was going through her head at that moment. She was wondering if this one defense could be the difference between Kunou and danger. What if she denied it and her daughter couldn't be saved?
"Is there something I can do to make you believe me when I say that I'll never use this against you and that I'll keep it away from everyone to the best of my abilities?" Joshua asked then, earning a hard stare from the woman. He let her think that over then, turning towards Kunou on his other side, who seemed properly distracted by the illusion in front of her. A snap of his fingers made the show change ever so slightly into a different one.
"Would you make a Magician's Oath?" Yasaka questioned him, which made Joshua pause.
A Magician's Oath, or an Oath of any kind was a serious thing. It wasn't like he remembered from fiction, where you could throw those around like they were candy. An Oath had to be taken as seriously as you would take your own life, because often it could spell your doom. A Magician's Oath, in this case, would leave the person without magic at all if their word was broken.
What made Oath's tricky was that they worked just as much on intention than it did on wording. If you swore to never do someone harm directly, you had to mean it. If you ever tried to go against that using the loophole of doing it indirectly, you had to make sure it worked. It also was near impossible to trick someone with a loophole, really, since the intention was taken from both, the person swearing and the one that was sworn to. A slight mistake could have the magic think you'd broken the Oath and you were done for.
'Oh God, I'm an idiot,' Joshua thought with a grimace, as his eyes found the girl next to him once more.
The illusion was showing her a miniature forest with a small golden fox running around, exploring, chasing even smaller animals and the like. Joshua had made that particular card a few days prior, just for Kunou. His eyes then found her awed expression, with her eyes shining with childish glee that she often hid behind a mask of propriety. He quite liked seeing her break through the princess persona she'd developed.
At that moment, it was Joshua's undoing though.
After all, how could he not do his best to protect her. He found himself asking himself the same question he'd guessed Yasaka had. Could he live with himself if something happened to Kunou when he could have placed that extra defense? He'd barely known her for a week, but she was a child. What kind of person would he be if he just left her to her fate?
"I would," He agreed reluctantly. The Youkai leader didn't reply immediately though, instead staring at him for a long moment, as if judging something. Eventually, she let out a surprised sound.
"You truly would, wouldn't you?" She asked then and he gave her a wry smile.
"Against my better judgement, I would," Joshua told her. "It depends on the Oath wording and what you expect from me though."
"Naturally," She nodded easily, still looking at him strangely, like she couldn't understand him. "You care about her. Despite not having known her for long, you do."
"I do," He agreed, because what point was there in denying it? "I guess I have a weak spot for people that need help."
"And I guess I've found why you are here in Shed's name," Yasaka mused at the same time that a wave of… something came from the Charm. "We'll see how this goes, but the fact that you would consider taking the Oath at all means much to me and my people, Joshua. I want you to know that."
He simply nodded at that, looking once more at his 'student'.
"Do you wanna see one of our 'classes'?" He asked then, drawing a smile from the woman and making the girl next to him perk up. 'Was she eavesdropping?' He wondered with a grin.
"I would."
[} Chapter End {]
(AN:Please remember that this story is not mine and will never be mine. Make sure to give thanks to the original author on fanfiction.net https://m.fanfiction.net/u/11459794/)