Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.
A Message Coming From My Eyes
[Serafall Leviathan]
"I'm alive because of them, and so are my family and my familiars," Joshua had told her when she asked if he had anything in mind for the people she was going to talk to then. "So, I'd prefer it if they didn't die." That was all he had to say on the matter, it seemed. Which was both expected and unexpected, Serafall supposed.
It was expected, because Joshua tended to be laid back about a lot of things. He simplified things that would be a great deal for most people, especially in the supernatural world. Partly, it was because he cared not for and actively wanted to avoid politics, but Serafall also knew it was part of how he was.
It was something she appreciated, after all. She knew Joshua was a nice person to vent about things that she couldn't voice to others because it'd hit her reputation, her standing. She knew that the man couldn't care less for who she was, and that was a breath of fresh air that always made her feel better after spending time with him.
However, she also knew he could be serious when it was something he really cared about. She'd seen peeks into that side of him here and there, especially regarding Khaos Brigade. She knew he'd killed, for example, which wasn't much for her but it struck her when it came to Joshua. He just seemed too caring for that to be something he'd do.
However, Joshua had even told her, almost uncaringly, how the members of the terrorist organization that had triggered and baited him before the attack at his uncle's place had died. He told her how they had been left in the middle of the forest with wards that were getting stronger the more time passed and that would ultimately kill them. Not a pretty death for them, and certainly not the kind of death she expected someone like Joshua to inflict on someone.
So, she sometimes had a hard time telling what would make him shrug things off and what would make him take things seriously. One such case was the one currently at hand, since she'd expected him to react the latter way. Evidently, she'd either been wrong or the fallen had made quite the impression on the human. Serafall, as a good friend, would have to make sure his decision hadn't been made with the wrong information.
It wasn't for any other reason, of course.
It certainly wasn't because these fallen were partly responsible for what had happened to Joshua.
Not at all…
'Who am I kidding?' she wondered to herself. She hadn't done nearly as good a job at keeping her emotions hidden. Sure, she was good at compartmentalizing her emotions, it was kind of part of the job. Separating what was appropriate and what wasn't. It was what made her a good actress and what made her good at her job as a Satan. However… there were always little slips here and there…
"Hello~," she greeted with her cheerful act as she entered the interrogation room, where the three fallen were cuffed to the table on the other side from where she came in. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting," she added, fully aware that the three of them had been there for days without being able to leave the room, without eating, without anyone telling them anything.
"We won't talk," the leader of the trio told her, sitting with her back straight, even if Serafall could tell she was nervous and afraid. Credit where credit was due, that was impressive, she'd admit. "Nothing you say-" She stopped talking then, as Serafall unleashed her power on the room.
Differently from the rest of her family, Serafall didn't have water manipulation powers. Instead, she had ice manipulation. She could do a lot more with that than just create the frozen liquid for attacks, however. She could also lower temperatures. A power that was a lot less visibly impressive than what she usually did. At that moment, however, Serafall was sure the fallen wished she'd used her ice on them instead.
After all, it couldn't be pleasant, to feel your body temperature lower to the point where a single shift, the smallest bit of strength on Serafall side would turn them into frozen fallen. She'd lowered their temperature to just before they became living statues. Every body part needed a different temperature for that, but Serafall was good at what she did. She was no Sirzechs or Ajuka, but she was still a Satan, after all.
They could thank their fallen physiology, since more mortal beings would have died with that drastic shift in body temperature.
"You are going to talk," she told them casually with a friendly smile that must have looked anything but to the fallen. "You were working with a traitor for a terrorist organization that has allied fallen, devils and angels alike. I don't think I have to explain to you how bad your situation is."
"We did nothing of the sort," the leader replied, frowning at her. "But I guess that doesn't matter to you, does it? You've already decided we are guilty."
"You are guilty. After all, one of you had this on your person," Serafall said, placing a piece of paper on the table, with a circle drawn on it. "Smart of whoever it was to leave it on the ground, by the way, even if it won't help you."
"Human magic?" the fallen asked, with barely contained disdain. The Satan had to wonder how she managed that after being so thoroughly beaten into the ground by Joshua. Regardless of that, it really grated on Serafall to see someone important to her be dismissed like that, however indirectly.
She made a conscious effort not to just freeze her then and there.
"Human magic that's connected with Khaos Brigade. A circle that we've found in many of their members. It's used as a signal, that way they can teleport close to it in case their members need help," Serafall explained calmly, smile still in place, just like her magic. She noticed, with some vindictive glee, that their teeth were starting to chatter and their limbs to tremble. "You could say I planted this, or that I made it up, but the fact is that this is the truth. Even if you don't talk, Azazel is likely to have you interrogated whenever we hand you over to him. If I were you, I'd use every chance I get to try and make things easier for myself."
Serafall really hoped they took that bait. While she wasn't lying, she wasn't sure that Azazel would be very forthcoming with whatever he found. Considering this were his people being involved with Khaos Brigade, that meant that he was likely to try and sweep some things under the rug. Granted, she didn't think the man would interfere with their shared objective, but he'd definitely try to make things easier on his people.
"So, you admit you have no power over us," the leader replied, a smirk forming on her lips that were turning blue due to the cold. "You have to hand us over to Azazel. He'll make sure you realize your mistake. We definitely have nothing to do with-"
"Kalawarna," the blond one said, making the blue-haired one pale even more than she already was. "She was the one with the circle. I felt her use that when… things went south," the woman said, a frown appearing on her face. "You knew about all… that," she accused. "I'm not gonna go down with you."
"Mittelt," the leader tried to interfere.
"I have no idea what you want from us, but I won't go down with that… traitor," she hissed. "I'm a sensor, I might be able to tell you some things."
Serafall grinned widely at that.
"Mittelt," the leader tried again.
"Oh, please, Raynare. I know you want to look good, but this could be very bad for us. I'm not gonna risk it," the blonde said, sitting straight and managing to stop the trembling of her body for a moment. "What do you want to know? And could you please tone that down?" she asked with a wry smile.
Serafall did as she requested with a grin still in place. The other two could continue to suffer though. Especially the blue-haired one. The Satan had already picked up on the fact that Mittelt, as it seemed to be her name, was telling the truth so far. So, she made sure to toy with the apparent traitor a bit more. Going the slightest bit over the edge at times, freezing her skin in a way that was certainly not nice to experience.
Serafall hadn't had to do something so drastic since the war, but Khaos Brigade seemed to be determined on bringing the worst from people. They had done that with Yasaka, were doing it with Joshua and her and would likely do it with others. So, she felt no pity for this member of their organization.
Especially because of who they'd hurt with their latest stunt. Serafall might not be sure what the future held for Joshua and her. She might not know if some of her idle and not so idle thoughts regarding the man would get anywhere. But what she did know was that he was a friend and someone that was only getting increasingly more important for her.
So, Serafall would make sure nobody messed with him again.
If she had to set an example, then so be it.
[}-o-{]
[Meredith Ordinton]
Something had obviously happened to Professor Davis, or The Professor as some people called him. It was difficult to argue against that distinction between the man and the rest of magical teachers. How could one do that, when he was probably the only teacher that so readily spread his knowledge? Granted, he wasn't the only one, but many of the others that were generous enough weren't as highly regarded as Joshua Davis himself. Few had the achievements behind them as Meredith's current teacher did, having battled against two Longinus and having bested one of them.
Back on topic, it was difficult not to notice, even if the man himself hadn't told them that he was recovering from something which was why he was weaker than usual. Curiously, the man had made no mention as to what he was recovering from, but it had to be something serious if it was taking him long to get over it. One way or another, it was difficult not to notice even without the prior comment.
The man would usually be found walking around the front of the classroom during lectures or, at most, leaning against his desk. Now, however, he was sitting on the chair behind the piece of furniture. He looked pale, his voice was low and he moved very little, mostly just to pet his familiar, Cheshire. Meredith didn't like seeing a man that she admired so much looking so… Unlike himself.
Looking to the side, she noticed that both Karin and George were probably feeling about the same as she did. The three of them had bonded as what the others called them, Davis's star students. It had earned them both prestige and jealousy in equal measure among their peers both in the classroom and in their associations. Meredith herself was very proud of being acknowledged as someone of note, both by her teacher and by everyone else. It was especially nice after… Well, that didn't matter.
George was much more nervous with the attention it got him, but he was nervous about a lot of things. The rather shy boy had good reasons for that regarding being one of Davis's praised students though. It was great for their standings in their associations, of course, but it also painted a target on their backs, as it were. Many people wanted to be in their place, and many wouldn't mind getting there by… Well, dealing with the competition, as they saw it.
Karin, for her part, seemed to be the middle ground between them. Proud and happy but also wary of the attention they were getting. Meredith guessed that was the sensible way to see things, even if that meant she wasn't being sensible. Regardless of that though-
"Professor Davis? Could you help me with this? I'm having some trouble with this part," someone called and Meredith gnashed her teeth instantly. She'd know that voice anywhere and, with that, she knew what they were trying to do. That man had always been one of those that disrespected Professor Davis the most during classes. Not using his title was one of the lesser offenses, even if the man himself hardly seemed to care.
Now, however, Meredith knew the man was calling, sounding all respectful and shit, because he wanted to bully their professor in a moment of weakness. Nobody spoke up, of course, because that would be just as insulting to their teacher, but she could see several people directing glares towards the man. Regardless of it all, Davis stood up and slowly made his way to the man, as he'd always done.
Now, however, it was almost painful to watch a man that normally walked like he didn't have a care in the world now walk like each step was a struggle. He didn't let up, however, and he managed to make his way towards the middle of the classroom where the student was sitting. There, Meredith and everyone else saw him address the concern of the man and then…
Then Davis frowned, and it was like something shifted inside the room.
Slowly, their professor turned to regard the man instead of whatever problem or "problem" he'd called Davis for.
"... Get your things," the man said then, and the words all but echoed inside the room.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"You heard me," Davis replied, unblinking. "Get your things and get out of my classroom," he said, making everyone's eyes widen.
"Wha-Why?" the man asked, suddenly looking both offended and scared. Meredith, from where she sat, grinned widely. "I was just asking a question!"
"Sure you were," Davis told him, looking just as uncaring as he had through the whole interaction. "Look, normally, I don't care about your silly games or whatever. If you think insulting me or whatever is funny, it honestly doesn't matter to me. However, I don't have the energy right now to put up with it and teach the class. So, I'm asking you to leave. There are people here that actually want to learn."
"Do-Do you know who I am? You can't just kick me out!" the man protested, standing up with a thunderous expression and Meredith readied herself to cast a spell if the idiot decided attacking Davis was a good idea. Chances were their teacher could take care of it, but he shouldn't need to. Especially when he was obviously not at his best.
"You sure about that? Because I am doing that right now," Davis asked, tilting his head. "Now, get out of here, or I'll have to talk with House of Water and get them to kick you out."
"You can't just do this! My association won't stand for this!" the man threatened then and there was a moment of silence as the man glared at their teacher. Meredith almost wished she could see their professor's face.
"What association are you from?" Davis asked then, his tone giving away nothing at all.
"Golden Dawn," the man declared proudly, grinning like he'd already won the argument. Meredith herself wasn't sure he was high enough in the association to really warrant that much certainty, but then again, she didn't know most of the other members of their association in the class that well.
"I don't know who you are, but everyone from your association can thank you," Davis said then. "You are all getting out of my class right now."
Meredith froze then, her face paling and she saw the many students from her association react in some way. Before anyone could say anything, two things happened. One, the entire room was bathed in killing intent coming from their teacher. One that made them all want to run away. The second thing was that Cheshire, usually an adorable cat and little else, was now a fully grown white tiger, growling at them in a way that by itself would have cowed them.
"You'll get out right now, or we'll have a problem. I might be weak, but I'm not helpless. You'll do as I say, the easy way or the hard way," Davis announced and Meredith felt her stomach drop. "Now, go," he growled. Nobody said anything for a long moment, before one after another, the students started standing up. "Be sure to tell your organization who to blame for this," he added, giving the original problem student a look as he paled.
Meredith couldn't imagine the higher ups would be too pleased with him once they learned what he'd caused. Professor Davis's wasn't a class she thought people would want to lose their spot on, be it the students themselves or the association behind them. And now, Golden Dawn was entirely losing their contingent in it.
She couldn't bring herself to care about that though. She was too disappointed and dismayed by the fact that she was being kicked out too. Meredith was losing one of the few things that made her truly happy and proud. Oh, she was going to find out who that student was and she was going to make her displeasure known, one could bet on that.
At that moment though, as she stood up and gathered her things slowly, she was just… hurt.
"Not you Meredith, you can stay," she heard then, making her freeze and turn. Her now wide eyes found Professor Davis giving her a soft smile from where he stood, leaning against one of the desks. "Relax, I didn't even know you were from Golden Dawn."
Almost on its own, her body let out a sigh in relief as she deflated.
"Now, I know there are some of you that think you are funny or something," Davis continued then as the rest of Golden Dawn students left the classroom. "But if you don't want to end up like that, you'll behave yourself until I'm back to normal, am I clear?"
"Yes, Professor Davis," the students chorused then, as their teacher gazed upon them. Eventually, the man nodded, let up his killing intent and took his seat behind his desk. The rest of the class was finally able to breath well again when Cheshire returned to her cat form once more. They were unlikely to forget, as if they had needed the reminder to begin with, that it was a very bad idea to get on their teacher's bad side.
[}-o-{]
[Joshua Davis]
"Am I in trouble?" he asked, leaning back against the couch he was sitting on and idly running his fingers through Cheshire's fur. "Because I'm not sorry, just to let you know."
"People are going to be annoyed, I can tell you that," Agnes replied wryly, looking out the window of her office as she spoke to him. "But it's their own fault. They should have better control over their members. Golden Dawn will whine and complain, but they'll get over it and ask to send their students back here. Probably without that troublemaker you mentioned. It'd really help if you knew their name."
To that, Joshua shrugged.
"I know like three student's names. I'm really bad with those. Can't imagine none of the other students know his name though," he replied, drawing a sigh from the woman. "Good to know things won't become troublesome."
"You could have worried about that before," the Director commented with an unimpressed expression. When he didn't react, the woman sighed. "I should have known you were too good to be true. So, this is when the other shoe drops, huh?"
"Took you long enough to realize that, honestly," Joshua replied with a lazy grin. "So, anything I can do to make things easier? Something that's preferably not very annoying?"
"... That's a generous offer, but I'll do the, ugh, benevolent thing and tell you that it's not necessary," Agnes told him, giving him a grin to let him know she was joking. "Please, do try not to pull stuff like this too often."
"I mean, if they are being idiots…" he continued then, letting the statement hang there. "I like to think I'm a patient man, but I can only take so much," he added and it was his turn to look out the window. "Especially right now."
Those words earned him a thoughtful look from the woman.
"... Do you need a break from the classes? That can be arranged," Agnes offered, her expression and voice softening. "It seems you are dealing with some things, and I don't mean your sudden bout of weakness. I know you took a few days off but still…"
"I'm fine," Joshua dismissed, taking a deep breath in and letting it out. "I just need time to recover from magical exhaustion."
That, if anything, seemed to make the woman even more worried about him. If worried was the right word for it, at least. Joshua wasn't very sure about that, if he was honest.
"If you say so," the woman replied slowly, sitting straighter on her seat. "Well, if you need anything, Joshua, just let us know. Honestly, with the classes you are giving and the classes you are going to give, I don't even know what I could give you that'd be enough."
"I'm sure you can think of something," Joshua reassured with a slight grin.
"You don't make things easy, do you?" Agnes asked, shaking her head. "I do have some ideas, in all seriousness, but I guess if you aren't in a rush I have time to go over them. Wouldn't want to give you something that you don't like or anything."
There was only one thing Joshua wanted from anyone at that point and that was for Khaos Brigade to be destroyed. Sadly, he couldn't really ask that of Agnes. Serafall, Yasaka, Azazel, the Church and Heaven, all of them had to deal with the organization because they were political figures, they had people to protect. Agnes wasn't quite like that. Sure, she had her organization, but House of Water wasn't considered an actual faction. They were out of that realm, really.
Joshua could have sighed then, his hand moving to the locket that hung from his neck to fidget with it. It was a habit he was developing, it seemed. As he did so though, an idea occurred to him, making him pause.
"Say, maybe there's something you could do for me," Joshua said, turning and staring straight into Agnes's eyes, which seemed to catch the woman off guard for a moment. "Hexennacht," he told her, making her blink and stiffen. "You know of them, I'm sure."
"Witches Night, they are a Stray Magic Association," she replied, frowning. "What do you want with them?"
"Do you have information about them? Could you gather some?" he asked, taking a slow breath in to keep himself calm. Cheshire, on his lap, pressed her head against his hand to help with that endeavor. "I'd appreciate it."
"Why do you want that of all things?" Agnes asked, confused. "Getting involved with them is a bad idea, Joshua. I don't know what you could-"
"I want to destroy them," he said then, his grip on his composure slipping and making the woman widen her eyes. "They've made an enemy of me."
Because Hexennacht was somewhat related to Khaos Brigade or so his memories said. They were certainly some kind of antagonistic figure in the series, that much he was sure of. He didn't remember when or where, but he'd heard or read the name at some point. That had been the key he needed to remember that they were related to the plot.
"I… can probably get you something. They are Strays, however. There's not nearly as much information regarding them as there is in normal organizations, I'm afraid," Agnes replied hesitantly. "Otherwise they'd have been dealt with already."
"Whatever you can get me is fine," Joshua reassured her. "With that said, I think I should be on my way."
"Take care of yourself, Joshua."
"You as well," he replied. As he stepped outside, he spared a side glance towards Elizabeth, who walked past him. Her mere presence disturbed him through his Life Sense, but he ignored that. Agnes didn't seem to be so bad and, quite honestly, Joshua had bigger fish to deal with at the moment.
The woman, for her part, seemed to stiffen for a moment when he paused. He did have other things to deal with but maybe… 'Hm, something to consider,' he decided, pushing a sudden idea he had to the side. He'd have to go over that at a later time.
For the moment… He had plans to make, because Khaos Brigade had decided that they weren't done with him, evidently. That meant Joshua wasn't done with them. He wouldn't let things end like they did. The factions he was working with were doing well, from what he knew, but it was evidently not enough. No…
They were all going to die, if it was the last thing he did.
[} 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/)