Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.
Like I Didn't Care
"God, there's two of them," Jeanne commented, dismayed.
"I know, right?" Kunou asked, much more enthusiastic. "Azazel is weird though," She added. She seemed to find it supremely amusing to say that every chance she got.
"You sure you should be saying that?" Jeanne pointed out hesitantly as she looked between the little girl and the Fallen Angel Governor.
"No, she shouldn't," Yasaka answered calmly as she brought her cup of tea to her lips.
"Joshua agrees!" Kunou argued, as if that were all the reason she needed to say what she did. Joshua, meanwhile, heard his sister facepalm and almost chuckled.
"Of course this is his fault. Why am I surprised?" The teenager grumbled. "You are supposed to be a good influence, Josh!" His sister chastised him and he turned his gaze up from the book he'd been reading. One of the ward books that Azazel had gotten him as part of their deal. "Don't give me that look."
"I'm a good influence though," He commented, sharing a conspiratory look with his fellow tinkerer, him over his book and the Fallen over his notebook. "Kids have to know when someone's weird so they can stay away, right?"
"Too right," Azazel agreed with a sage nod, as if they weren't talking about him. Maybe even because they were talking about him. "You are a good man, Joshua," The man added solemnly.
"See?" Joshua asked, turning towards the women. Two of which rolled their eyes at them and the remaining one giggled. "Anyway, how goes the reading?" He continued, turning towards the Fallen Angel.
"I have no idea how you came up with this," Azazel said, gesturing to the notebook in his hands with a baffled expression. "Honestly, what I wouldn't give to see how your mind works, Joshua," The man commented, which brought pause to the human.
'Is that it?' He mused, remembering how the other magicians seemed in awe of his work. How everyone seemed to act like he was some kind of big shot. He'd always thought he couldn't be that good. He hadn't even been working on things for a year, Game System or not. 'Does my mind work differently?'
It was a possibility, he supposed. He was from a completely different world. His thought process being different was hardly a thing to be surprised about, all things considered.
Instead of commenting on Azazel's words though, Joshua simply shrugged and continued reading. The old ward information wasn't the most useful thing ever, but there were things that he could take note of. Old things that he could see why they had been changed over the time. It taught him about how things had worked in other ways too, if maybe not as effective or efficiently. 'This could help with the ever changing magic,' He mused, stopping in one place and noting something down on a notebook by his side.
"Joshua?" He heard then, making him turn to see Kunou had moved to sit right next to him. It seemed that she'd learned well that the best moment to distract him was when he was in the middle of doing things. Like then and there, after he'd paused reading and was done writing notes. "You are going to stay here for Christmas, right?"
"... Where did that come from?" Joshua asked, blinking in bemusement. After all, the Youkai weren't Christian. They were from the Shinto pantheon. He didn't even know they cared about that festivity.
"I was just… wondering if you'd stay here or if you'd move somewhere to celebrate," Kunou asked, poking her fingers together shily. He gave her a slight smile that wasn't really happy.
"I'll probably be here, yeah," He confirmed, turning his eyes to the book but not really reading. "I might leave for a day though," He added, his grin vanishing as quickly as it had come. "But that'll be about it."
"Do you have to?" Kunou asked, deflating where she sat. He guessed her disappointment made sense. For as long as he'd stayed at Kyoto, he could count the days he hadn't seen her at all with one hand.
"Sorry, but there's something I gotta do in December," He said, giving her an apologetic look, "I'll be here for actual Christmas though."
"Ok," She said, giving him a smile that changed into a curious look. "What do you have to do though?"
"There's just some stuff I have to do," He waved off. "Also, I gotta buy presents, you know. Jeanne would be sad if I didn't get her a stuffed animal or something."
"Hey!" The teenager protested, looking positively scandalized as her face turned beet red. Kunou, though, just giggled behind her hand. Even Azazel barked out a laugh. "If you give me a stuffed toy, Joshua, I swear to God…" She left the threat hanging, but he simply gave her an innocent smile.
"Will you get something for me?" Kunou asked, her eyes big. He raised an eyebrow at her attempt to look cute. As if she even needed to try.
"I don't know, will I?" He shot back with an amused half-smile. "I wonder."
"Joshuaaaa!" The girl whined.
"Where'd be the fun in telling?" He asked with a chuckle.
"I wanna knooooow!"
"I'm sure you do," He replied with a nod, still grinning from ear to ear. "But I'm not gonna say."
"Mooom, Joshua's being mean!" She protested, under the amused gaze of basically everyone else in the room. As if Joshua wouldn't get her a present. He shared a glance with Yasaka and he was pretty sure she was asking him not to go overboard.
He just smirked at her, to which the woman shook her head.
Between Jeanne and Kunou, Joshua wasn't sure who he wanted to spoil more with presents, honestly. He'd have to think about that a whole lot. 'Something to do while I take my mandatory breaks, I guess,' He mused, turning his attention back to his studies for the moment.
'Christmas…'
[}-o-{]
[Elliot Francis]
Things had spiraled out of control too fast.
That was the summary of the situation at the moment, for the magic associations that had been contracted to help the youkai. Not only had such a big job appeared out of nowhere, but it'd also gotten dangerous really quick. Several magicians had disappeared to not be heard again when Annihilation Maker had been unleashed on them. Several of them had only survived attacks because their defenses had bought them enough time to teleport away. Some lucky ones had gotten reinforcements before anything could happen to them.
In the middle of all that was Joshua Davis.
He'd been a nobody at the start. Nobody knew him, and how could they? He was an unaffiliated magician. He'd been a bit of a joke to the rest of them when they'd first heard.
How could he not? Unaffiliated magicians were nobodies. The lowest of the low in the supernatural world, barely above mundane humans. After all, if you had no one to back you up, to help you improve, how were you to grow? Where did one get the books to learn new magics? The teachers to help one learn faster? The resources that some magics needed? Some grew under other types of relationships, like with devils, but even then. How was an unaffiliated human to get such attention in the first place?
Apparently, Joshua had done so on his own. That should have been their first clue, but they hadn't managed to piece things together just yet. They'd still thought little of the man.
That had changed quickly, however. When they'd traded advice and corrections, the man had given everyone a run for their money. He had lots of things to say about their work when they could barely offer scraps in comparison. When the attacks started, not only did he survive the very first one with no warning, but he consistently came out unscathed. If one were to believe what they saw and heard, Davis barely found the attacks annoying. What was worse, sometimes he even seemed to find them fun. As if they were an entertaining challenge and not a danger to his life.
That had certainly gotten their attention and, once the reports started being given, the associations'. However, Davis seemed to hold no interest in what they had to offer. The man, for whatever unfathomable reason seemed content to be on his own. They couldn't understand. If he'd gotten to where he was on his own, what could he do with their backing?
And yet, he didn't care for that.
At first, they'd thought he was just playing mind games with them. Waiting for them to offer more or something of the sort. Maybe being offered higher ranking, or better privileges, or even just some reward for joining. Several associations had sent people forward to see if they could decipher what he wanted. They would have given whatever it was for him to join, if they were honest. After all, the man already had the attention of several factions by himself.
However, that's when they all hit the wall that was the reality of it all.
Joshua Davis really didn't want to join the associations.
'The absolute madman,' Elliot couldn't help but think to himself as he looked at the man working in the same room as the rest of them. Most magicians were already finishing their projects, if they hadn't already and were just checking. Meanwhile, Davis continued improving his works.
Elliot was sure he was witnessing someone that would be important in the future. One of those names that you simply couldn't not know in the supernatural world. After all, no magician could just take a spell and tweak it as he pleased. Making modifications was a big deal. Some magicians asked their would-be apprentices to do a minor change to a circle. To raise in ranks inside an association you could custom a spell to a major degree.
And then there was Davis, who took apart spells like it was no big deal. It was like seeing someone look at a piece of art and simply… wave a hand, making the colors and shapes shift to whatever it was that he preferred them to be. Improving on things that had taken generations of magicians like it was nothing.
Elliot wondered if he'd tell his grandchildren in the future, that he'd worked with Joshua Davis. If someone had told him he'd think that at the start of it all, he'd have laughed in their faces. There he was though, quite sure that it would happen eventually.
He'd probably omit the part where he'd been sent to try and see if he could get an idea of how to make the man join his association. It had been for naught, a useless attempt, he realized almost instantly. Just like the rest of the associations that approached him, some Davis didn't even seem to register as attempts to recruit or test him. The man didn't seem to care about the associations at all.
It was madness, honestly.
"Joshua-sama," One of the youkai servants assigned to the magicians said. Everyone knew the yuki-onna was strictly Davis's attendant. If that didn't tell everyone who was the important one in the room, then nothing would. Not that they needed the blatant reminder to begin with, considering who sat next to him. "It's time for your break," The servant told the man, making him snap from his "trance", as the magicians started calling it.
"Can we see another illusion story, Joshua?" Kunou, the youkai leader's daughter, asked excitedly. Some of the magicians in the room twitched at that. What they wouldn't have given to just… have someone that important pay attention to them.
And then there was Davis, who had all the attention he could possibly want from people in very high places and… Did nothing. All that power, all those possibilities and yet, the man didn't use them. He simply sat there and humored the girl with a smile.
"No sense whatsoever," Someone said to Elliot's side.
He couldn't help but agree with that.
[}-o-{]
[Joshua Davis]
"Do you mind if I join you?" Someone asked, and when he turned, Joshua was met with Yasaka, standing there with her usual smile. There was something wrong though, he noticed quickly. He couldn't quite point out what it was, but he got the impression that she was doing her best to keep everything from looking different. Like she was putting effort into looking as she always did.
"Not at all," He replied easily, giving the woman a smile as he nodded towards an empty seat to their side. He would have gestured, but his hands were occupied keeping up with the illusion show he was orchestrating. He didn't really need to do that, but he found that moving his hands and fingers this or that way helped him keep his concentration on the spell.
"Mom," Kunou whispered, even though he'd basically paused the show. "We are on the last part of the story and it's awesome!" She continued excitedly, making an effort not to raise her voice for… reasons, he supposed. "They escaped from a bank on a dragon," She told her mother, her eyes practically shining.
"I'll have to see this story from the start one day," Yasaka commented, her smile regaining a little life as she looked at her daughter. Joshua could relate, Kunou was so adorable that she made even weariness go away. "Getting only the highlights is a little lackluster."
"Joshua, could we start from the beginning with mom one day?" Kunou asked then, turning her big, adorable eyes towards him. He shook his head amusedly.
"Sure we can. We'll just have to see when we can organize that," He answered, getting a cheer from the little girl.
With that out of the way, he started the story again. As it played out though, he kept an eye on Yasaka. Whenever Kunou wasn't looking, her smile would slip away and reveal how tired she looked. He wondered if she knew he could see her. Fortunately, it was just the three of them in the room. Well, and the servant that stood over in a corner, but their view was impeded by the illusions, so they were safe on that front. He didn't think the youkai leader would want people to see her like that.
Eventually though, the story ended.
"That was awesome," Kunou said, still awed even when the illusions were long gone. "Do you have other stories like that?" She asked excitedly.
"I have a few, yeah," He replied, already making a mental note to write some of them down so he wouldn't forget. "Now, you, young lady, have work to do," He pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
"Fine," She mumbled as she turned towards the notebook.
"We'll see what story we start later. Don't make that face," He told her with a roll of his eyes as he planted his hand on her head. The girl simply grumbled some more as she started going over her notes. "So, everything ok?" He asked, trying to keep his tone strictly curious as he addressed Yasaka.
"Everything is well, yes," She replied with a nod, her smile firmly in place. "Much quieter now that most magicians are going back to their associations."
"Nobody cared to stay, huh?" He asked with a wry smile. He wasn't surprised, really, but he was a little disappointed.
"They did what they were hired to do and only that. It's how the world works," The youkai leader answered. It made sense, of course, but it still felt wrong.
"It's not like you wouldn't have paid them for the extra work," He said, justifying his question and unvoiced opinion.
"Nobody wants to stand in the way of a Longinus, Joshua," Yasaka told him. "I honestly wonder why you do. To me and everyone else, you are the weird one."
"I guess I am," He mused. They had no idea how right they were, of course. Still, he'd captured Georg relatively easily, even if it had been because he was underestimated. It hadn't been the case with Annihilation Maker and he was still standing no trouble. He heard the woman sigh then and he blinked. Looking around, he noticed that the servant had left the room. "Again, everything ok?"
"Just tired," She answered, waving off his concern. "Dealing with the magicians, the associations and their payment took more than I thought out of me. That is all."
"So, you are taking your own break, huh?" Joshua asked, somewhat amused.
"I guess one could say that. I'll have to go back to working soon. Being a leader is a lot of work," She explained with a tired smile.
"I can imagine. Why do you think I prefer to avoid politics if I can?" He asked with a grin. Then he decided on something. "Now, how about I help you relax a little, yeah?" He asked, waving his hand and making an empty grass field and clear sky over them. The illusion was only for the two of them though, contrary to how the previous one had worked.
"That would be… appreciated," She said, looking around with a glint in her eye that reminded him of Kunou. "However, this is a little…"
"Empty?" He finished for her, still smiling widely. "I guess. But you get to fill this with whatever you want, just tell me."
"Hm," She hummed, her shoulders relaxing as she took in the sight before them. "Can you bring Kunou into the illusion? I know she's in the middle of classes but-" Before she finished, Joshua waved his hand and the girl appeared beside them.
"Huh?" Kunou voiced, confused.
"It seems your break is being extended. You can thank your mother," Joshua informed her, as she started looking around.
"What else, what else?" The youkai leader wondered out loud. "I guess some flowers would be…" She trailed off then, as every kind of flower Joshua could think of appeared all over the field. Her eyes started all but shining as her daughter looked around in awe. A grin spread over both of their faces and Joshua thought he could count that as a very well deserved victory.
After all the times she'd been there for him, this was the least he could do.
[}-o-{]
"Honestly, Joshua, with all the things you've done helping here, teaching Kunou and the trouble you've had to deal with because of Khaos Brigade-," Yasaka started, looking at him like he was being an idiot. Which he supposed was fair, but completely uncalled for. "-letting you do other things besides working and teaching here is no problem at all. You should have said something before."
"Yeah, well, honestly? I'm prone to just… getting distracted with things and forgetting others if they aren't, you know, urgent," Joshua admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"I hadn't noticed," Jeanne commented sarcastically from the side, making him shoot her an unimpressed expression. "Are we going today?"
"Yeah, yeah, let's go. I wanna update the house's wards," He nodded, ignoring the teenager's roll of eyes. Joshua knew that was the least important part of their little trip, but it was a necessary one. Even if it seemed that they'd hardly visit their old house, it was still theirs, and he wanted to have it as well protected as he could manage. "And then we can see where we go, yeah?"
"Sounds about right," Jeane agreed easily.
"See you around. We should be back in around a week or so," Joshua said, looking at Kunou mostly, since he'd spoken about this with Yasaka already when asking if he could take some time away from Kyoto.
"You are coming back, right?" The little girl asked, looking down and poking the ground with her foot. "I'll have the homework you left done in no time so, you better come back quick."
"Well, we don't have many friends, so we could end up coming back earlier," Joshua said, making a smile appear on Kunou's face.
"Speak for yourself," Jeanne grumbled from the side, and now it was his turn to roll his eyes.
"You can visit your friends whenever you want. You've been on vacation ever since we came here, really. You are a terrible friend for not visiting sooner," Joshua pointed out, making his sister sputter indignantly.
"I'll have you know-"
"Anyway," Joshua interrupted, giving a grin to a giggling Konou and a clearly amused Yasaka. "I guess we better get on with it. The sooner we go, the sooner we can get stuff done to come back."
"I'll be waiting," Kunou told him shyly.
"See you soon," He waved, before the circle Serafall had helped him get installed flashed to life and Jeanne and him were teleported to the house. 'Hm, I should start working on that. That and a hundred more quality of life spells, I guess. Teleportation is a bit more necessary though, I guess.'
"Well, I guess we should get started, yeah?" Jeanne said as they took their first steps inside their house in a while. She looked subdued though, which… he understood, he supposed. Joshua found himself looking around the house, as if seeing it for the first time. "Feels different, right? Or is it just me?"
"Like it's emptier?" He asked, getting a smile from his sister.
"Yeah. It's weird, because I can't tell why it feels like that. It's not like it's quieter than the one at Kyoto or anything like that," She said, walking around as if searching for the reason for the feeling.
"We haven't been here in a while," Joshua commented. "And we've been mostly in Kyoto, going about our lives there. We don't have jobs here anymore, and anything we do here we could be doing back in Japan… So, it feels lacking… That's my guess, at least."
"Hm, makes sense," She mumbled. "It doesn't matter, I guess. We'll be leaving here for good after this trip, right?"
"Unless something pulls us back here, I don't see why we wouldn't," He said with a shrug. "So, you going to start getting our things ready? Setting the wards shouldn't take all that long."
"And then we visit Kuisha and the rest?"
"I'm pretty sure it's more Sairaorg's place than anything else, you know," Joshua pointed out with a half-smile.
"Same thing. As if she didn't have to take care of most things while he trains," Jeanne waved off easily, to which he rolled his eyes. He had it on good authority that Bael wasn't like that… much, at least. Friend or not, Joshua would admit that the devil had his training maniac moments. "Are we gonna visit Rias and Sona?" She asked then, turning towards him curiously from where she'd been checking a drawer.
"Kiba, you mean?" He asked, chuckling while she sputtered denials. "We should visit them, yeah. I never got to finish with the wards there. I want to add a few layers."
"You know, not everything is about wards in life."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Joshua commented with a grin. In all honesty, he wanted to set those wards for much more than that. He'd probably already sent ripples through the entirety of the plot, so he'd feel better if he could at least cover some bases, like having Kuoh better guarded, if not protected.
Freed had been taken out before he could even become a problem, but that meant that the Fallen Angels might behave differently from canon with just that. On top of it all, he'd gotten in the way of Khaos Brigade in several instances, which would probably affect things everywhere in the world. 'Besides,' He mused as he started making his way to where he'd set the wards to start making the changes he needed and adding some other defenses. 'Half the reason Serafall is so friendly is probably because of Sona, so I gotta keep her safe for that, if nothing else.'
Honestly, more than a break, it felt like he'd left to do even more work.
[} 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/)