Game of Monsters - 153 (Patreon)

I Will Be Home

A day later, his confusion still remained.

The system seemed to be back, at least… sort of. Joshua had tried to call for the Altered Status screen, but all he’d gotten was more glitches. Everything else seemed to be fine though, with only the odd flickering in certain places. After thoroughly looking through them – mostly because he had nothing to do as he recovered –, he’d narrowed down a list of which particular screens were affected.

Not that it told him much, but it was a nice way to waste some time.

Well, that and spending time with his familiars and Kunou. His rest period was certainly turning out to be a rather enjoyable affair if only just because of that. Normally, Kunou had classes and he was busy with… a lot of things, but then and there? She was free and so was he, so they could spend some more time together.

The same went for his familiars, really. While there was always at least one of them with him everywhere he went, that didn’t really equal a lot of actual interactions with each other. He loved their company, of course, but there was a difference between walking next to each other and actually playing and talking.

So, that’s how he found himself quite happy, leaning against Nagini while Kunou giggled, riding the top of the giant serpent’s head. Margalo had decided to join in her own way, flying around his daughter and singing her most joyful songs. As for Joshua himself, he had Cheshire napping on his lap and Morag to his side, weaving something with her threads. Idly, he wondered if that was his equivalent of him watching the kids play in the backyard.

He guessed it was a fitting enough comparison.

“Couldn’t we be training?” a voice asked and he rolled his eyes.

“No,” he answered flatly, turning to give Raynare an unimpressed expression. “We were just attacked. I’m still not back to hundred percent, not even close,” he said, pausing after that to catch his breath. His body was… not quite in bad shape after his overuse of divine connections, but he found himself tiring easily and the smallest effort ended with his limbs feeling heavy and weak.

“Do you think they’ll attack soon?” she asked and she sounded almost excited about the prospect.

“With their track record? No,” he answered, because that was the truth. His encounters with Khaos Brigade had never been what one would call frequent. The closest to that was his drawn out stand off with Annihilation Maker back after he’d dealt with Georg. Now though, it seemed that the user – Leonardo? He wasn’t sure he remembered it well – had finally found a way to completely break through his defenses.

And Joshua was going to find a way to stop that.

However, he also needed to do more than just that. Because as it stood, he was fairly sure that Khaos would have more tricks under their sleeves by the next time. He needed to be more prepared, try and stop their tricks before they worked instead of reacting to them. ‘How do I do that against Annihilation Maker? The guy can make whatever the fuck he wants,’ Joshua thought.

Furthermore…

“But I don’t want to be overconfident,” he added, drawing a click of Raynare’s tongue. She didn’t argue with him, which was more what he expected. Really, she seemed so eager to listen to everything he said that he was slightly surprised she’d even questioned him, minor as it had been. “I’m weak right now, we are all recovering. It’s better to keep our guards up as much as possible and get our feet under us,” he explained, taking a deep breath in and starting to pet Cheshire.

Predictably, the fallen wasn’t too pleased with that. She was a doer. Sitting and waiting wasn’t in her nature. Especially when she couldn’t train to get stronger. So, Joshua tilted his head and considered options. It was better to keep her happy with him, even if he doubted she’d betray him. If nothing else, it’d keep her mind clear and prevent any mistakes from restlessness.

“We did get Kokabiel,” he made a show of thinking out loud. Immediately, he had Raynare’s full attention. Not that it was far from that before, but still. “I guess I can have Yasaka squeezing him for info to help you get better on top of about Khaos Brigade,” Joshua commented idly and he didn’t need any spells or special senses to see the excitement in Raynare. “For now, I think you pass the time getting used to Incinerate Anthem.”

Speaking of, he wondered if the reward for that Quest had been delayed together with the other? He’d expected to get both at the end of things, but instead he’d gotten neither. That was a little frustrating, he’d admit.

“Sparring?” she asked, eyes all but sparkling. She didn’t even react when Kuroka giggled at her from where she sat.

“Not quite,” Joshua answered, making her shoulders drop. “Don’t look so down. I think it’s time that you train something other than your power,” he commented, stretching his back a little before getting Cheshire off of him and standing up. After that, he paused and stretched some more.

Alas, nothing he did would get rid of the stiffness of his limbs at that moment. Just like nothing would get rid of the weightless feeling that overcame him at times. It was just something that’d go away with time… if slowly.

“Nagini,” he said, patting his serpentine familiar on the side and making her lower her head, and Kunou with it, to be in front of him. “Thanks, girl. Now, Kunou. Can you cast some Illusion cards for me?”

“Sure thing! A show or a normal card?” his daughter asked enthusiastically.

“I was thinking we could use some of your originals,” he answered, making her eyes widened as she started bouncing on her feet.

“Really?! I’ll go look for them!”

And with that off she went.

Meanwhile, Joshua gave a confused Raynare a smile.

“You are going to copy those illusions with Incinerate Anthem, just to let you know,” he explained to her. Right off the bat, the fallen didn’t look all too excited, but that was before she truly processed that. He’d told her, after all, that this was for her to train something other than power. So this would, hopefully, help her get a better handle of her new Sacred Gear.

He hoped it’d go well.

And if not, then Kunou would at least have some fun.

It was all wins, really. He was a genius.

[}-o-{]

“Well, this is unexpected,” he commented wearily, taking a seat at the island in the kitchen and his hands wrapped around the warm cup of tea set in front of him. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the visit, but still.”

“I understand,” Gabriel told him, smiling her usual friendly, warm and soft smile across from him. She had her own cup of tea too, but she didn’t seem to be paying it any mind. “However, I do hope you do see me as a friend more than an ally, Joshua, just like I do you.”

“Well, I try not to be presumptuous,” he replied with a grin of his own. “And once again, I appreciate this. I imagine you must be more busy than usual.”

“Indeed… but things are also slowly starting to get better,” she told him with a nod. “Your help has pushed our efforts to finish this inner conflict. Khaos sets us back, of course, but it could have been much worse than it is. Because of that alone, paying you a visit is more than warranted,” the Seraph explained to him, making his smile turn a little amused.

“Thus, your real colors are showing, huh?” he asked playfully. “To think a Seraph of all people would lie to me,” he added dramatically. He was definitely spending too much time with Serafall. Still though, that got the cutest of reactions from the angel. He’d almost dare to say she was pouting.

His amusement died a quick death when a sharp finger poked his side, making him wince.

“No flirting,” Kunou grumbled under her breath, and she was definitely pouting. “I’ll tell mom.”

For a moment, Joshua considered telling her that no, he wasn’t flirting, and that he was just being friendly. However, thinking about it… He guessed he could see how it could be interpreted like that. After another moment, he brought a hand to his face and rubbed it tiredly.

“I must be more out of it than I thought,” he mumbled before turning his attention back to Gabriel. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Think nothing of it,” the angel reassured him with a wave of her hand. “I’m glad to see that you are in good spirits, if – as you said – a little out of it,” she added, looking more amused than anything. At least she wasn’t insulted or anything of the sort.

Then again, she had called him a friend, so… Maybe he could afford to loosen up a little. ‘Am I getting better at socializing? Somehow, that’s the most surprising thing that’s happened to me so far,’ he thought to himself, a little in awe of that fact. He imagined the Joshua of back in his old world would have been a mess in that situation, with a little girl that saw him as her father to his side and a literal angel calling him a friend in front of him.

“Thank you,” he replied, smiling a relieved smile. That is, before another sharp poke made his expression twitch and Gabriel giggle. “My daughter is so mean to me,” he lamented, only to receive a lighter poke that he barely felt and a huff from the little girl. Doing away with the dramatics, he smiled and planted his hand on top of Kunou’s head before addressing Gabriel. “There’s no need for you to feel guilty, by the way.”

“... What…?” she went to ask, eyes widening. Then she stopped, her expression shifting into a defeated smile. “How…?”

“I’m weak, not blind,” he answered before she could even finish and he was sure what he said showed on his weak grin. Still, he wasn’t lying. He was weak, but he had eyes, he could still use his Sense skills and he still got the feedback of his spells. Sure, it was all tiring and it scattered his mind even more, so he didn’t use the latter two much, but he could if he felt like it.

“I see. You have a way of making everyone underestimate you, has anyone ever told you?” Gabriel asked him, both amused and slightly exasperated. He just grinned wider, because that was truly something that happened a lot. He was almost surprised it wasn’t a Perk, quite honestly.

Then again, the DxD world was just wired to underestimate humans, he supposed. They were the lowest of the low. Sacred Gears evened the scales a little, but they were few and far between, in terms of numbers. Furthermore, even Longinus had to be lucky to reach their full potential. So, ultimately, nobody expected anything from humans, even those that stood out. Even if, by some miracle, a human reached far, their lives were so depressingly short that most supernatural beings would outlive them anyway.

Well, that mark in supernatural culture worked in his favor though, so he wasn’t complaining.

By all means, he was only human in name, really. That last encounter had cleared it up more than any other. After all, he’d used Appraisal in Cao Cao during it. What he’d seen was a sad C+ Life, the others were around A ranked and then, the last stats: S ranked Speed, Dexterity and Perception.

Now though…

‘Status.’

[Joshua Davis

Title: Ward Authority

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Rank: S-

Strength: S-

Speed: S-

Dexterity: S-

Vitality: S

Perception: S-

Magic: SS

Life: A+]

‘It’s not enough… but I’m getting there all the same,’  he thought to himself, determined.

“I can’t help it, I guess,” Gabriel said, bringing him back to the present. He reigned in his frustration immediately, but his drifting thoughts were something he was getting used to… the smallest bit. He still couldn’t wait for things to go back to normal. “With all that my faction and I owe you, to not be there in your time of need…”

“It’s not your fault,” he waved off, almost rolling his eyes. “You didn’t ignore us or anything. Khaos got in the way and made a nuisance of themselves, like usual,” he reassured, his expression darkening as he thought of the accursed organization. “They’ll get what’s coming to them.”

“Because they are meanies,” Kunou chimed in, immediately dispelling his anger. She was just too adorable, especially with that confident smile and her cute little nod. Seriously.

“Because they are meanies,” he agreed, drawing a giggle from Gabriel.

[}-o-{]

“Actually pretty good,” he commented, taking another bite from his meal.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Serafall told him with a very insulted pout. “I told you I could cook. What do you take me for? A liar?” she asked, eyes narrowed and expressing the fact that he better choose his words wisely. Which was why he did the exact opposite.

“I thought it’d be edible at best,” he replied with a grin, drawing a whine from the woman. “This is great though,” he praised again, smiling and looking down at his plate. He was already halfway through it, somehow, and if that wasn’t a crying shame, then he didn’t know what was. It was always great to eat something homemade and prepared by someone else. It had a different feeling to it, especially when he’d been there while she prepared it. “I definitely want to try this out again.”

On top of all that, it was just nice to just sit there with someone he loved and share a homemade meal. They were alone, but that was mostly by choice. He didn’t know what had gone on, but Yasaka and Serafall had made some kind of agreement and now he was having a date at home with Serafall… for some reason. He imagined there’d be another the next day with the Youkai leader.

“Kunou’s right, you are a meanie sometimes,” Serafall said, pouting and making him snort.

Still, his mind was on a bit of a roll there. Maybe it was the condition he was in, or maybe it was the atmosphere… or maybe both. The thing is, he couldn’t stop himself from appreciating it.

The point was that it was nice to just… be there, see Serafall cook and chat idly to pass the time. There was something soothing and warm to just sitting across each other with a homemade meal and nice company. It reminded him of eating with his family – which felt like a lifetime away –, if a little more intimate, sort of.

‘I could get used to this,’ he thought with a soft smile before bringing his fork up to his mouth.

“Something in your mind?” she asked, curiously but still showing off that child-like joy on her expression that seemed almost permanently etched in her features. “You are stariiing~”

“Sorry, it’s just that you are beautiful,” he replied with a widening grin. Serafall reacted much the same, visibly pleased with the compliment, simple and straightforward as it had been. “And I just… really like this, all this,” he added, waving his hand vaguely. Not that he knew very well how to express himself.

“This?” Serafall asked, tilting her head as if she were a confused puppy. It was actually very cute, which must have shown on his face somehow, because she seemed happy all of a sudden. Maybe he was more expressive at the moment too? It was a possibility, he supposed.

“It just feels very… home-ish,” he answered, his voice low but not too much, almost as if he were talking to himself instead of to Serafal. “Reminds me of my own home, but different, does that make sense?” he commented, not really waiting for a response to that. “The same but with more… love, I guess. Or maybe it’s better to say with a different love. Yeah, that,” he mumbled, not sure he was getting what he wanted to say across.

It was something he was sure he’d have struggled to explain in normal circumstances, so maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut, he supposed. Still though, it was a little too late for regrets… Not that he did regret it. He was just worried he might have not made himself very clear. To his own ears, he just sounded like he’d said a bunch of nonsense.

“I’m… so glad to hear that,” Serafall said and, when Joshua looked up, his eyes widened. He wasn’t sure she’d ever looked that beautiful, or beautiful like that. He’d seen her happy, excited and even moved. There was something different in her soft smile now, her blue eyes seemed to shine brighter than ever and there was a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks. “I love you too,” she added, showing an uncharacteristically shy side of herself as she focused on eating her own part, fidgeting with her fork and failing to control her smile.

“You are being unreasonably cute, you know that?” he asked, staring at her, his food long forgotten. That is, before he got a kick to the shin under the table. “Hey!”

“Shut up,” Serafall told him, blushing much more noticeably than before.

“You aren’t really helping your case. Just to let you know,” he pointed out, because she had to know that, right? Then again, despite being who they were, Yasaka, Serafall and even others of similar… situations, hardly acted the part one would expect of them. It made him wonder a lot of things, but that was neither the moment nor the place to go on that tangent.

“I said shut up,” she mumbled, pouting.

“Yes, dear.”

“That’s more like it,” she replied, unable or unwilling to hide the happy smile on her face.

[}-o-{]

“You seem to be doing better,” Yasaka commented, bringing her cup of tea to her lips. Joshua was still, sometimes, taken by how… dignified she made the action look. It was a very minor thing, in the grand scheme of things, but she somehow made it look impressive.

Also kind of made him feel bad for being basically a barbarian next to her.

“Am I?” he asked, holding his own cup with one hand and bringing it to his lips. ‘Yup, nothing like that,’ Joshua thought. Not that he was trying, but it left him self-conscious to do it that way right after noticing Yasaka’s technique. Alas, he wasn’t affected enough to actually go for a more proper way.

Why bother? Especially when he wasn’t feeling all that well.

“Because you aren’t really telling me much and it’s kind of annoying,” he commented with a wry tone and an even more wry expression. Maybe it sounded curt, and even rude, but he really wanted to know what was going on. “I know you are trying to help, but not knowing is killing me here,” he added, somewhat apologetic but still firm.

He’d barely been told anything about how things went after the attack. Yasaka and Serafall – Hell, even Gabriel – had seemingly made an agreement to tell him as little as possible. He was almost impressed by how little they actually told him without outright refusing. Mainly though, he was annoyed and worried.

“I guess it can’t be helped,” Yasaka said, sighing and deflating. “You just can’t help but worry, can you?” she asked him, giving him a fond, if exasperated, look. He was kind of used to those, even if that was probably not a good thing. “Cao Cao, Kokabiel, Katerea and Shalba were all captured, as I told you. They are currently enjoying a very good time together with Walburga and Georg,” she told him.

There was a very mean and cold tinge to her voice when she said “very good time” and it was paired with a very menacing look on her face. That was very surprising, he’d admit, but also kind of… hot, actually. Maybe because Joshua wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment and Yasaka had always been a hot woman by default, really.

Tangents aside though, he wished he’d have a shot at those himself. Maybe he wouldn’t get there in time to interrogate them, but he could pull some experimentation. Kokabiel had been, after all, the sole reason why what little of his original family was far, far away at the moment. Then there was Cao Cao, who had attacked Yasaka and Kunou. Furthermore, all of the new captures had been involved in that attack, actually, even if those that had gone to House of Water had been sort of only indirectly responsible.

Then again, that was more of a Kalawarna situation, he supposed… Eh, he’d leave those to Yasaka. Kokabiel and Cao Cao were fair game though. It’d be interesting to test some spells on a fallen and a Sacred Gear wielder in a situation where he didn’t have to care about… damaging them.

“Azazel has been getting in contact with House of Water, same as Serafall. They were attacked by members of their races, even if they were what we’d call strays. There’s also the matter of the Vanishing Dragon,” Yasaka continued informing him, pulling him out of his thoughts. “That’s as much as we’ve heard, but Gabriel expressed interest in the True Longinus. Extracting a Longinus isn’t quite the same as a normal Gear though. Not even Azazel wants to meddle with that just yet.”

Joshua hummed at that. All that she was saying made sense, he supposed. It wasn’t quite what he’d wanted to know, but… ‘Eh, maybe I can try my hand at that? Would a modified draining spell work? Maybe a spatial one? Maybe a mix?’ he wondered curiously. God, as if he didn’t have enough projects already…

“Khaos pulled away, but that’s hardly surprising. We don’t know if they’ll try their hand again, but we rather doubt it. They lost very thoroughly. We didn’t come out unscathed, but they are definitely the ones that got worse off,” Yasaka explained, bringing her cup of tea to her lips. “My people have been working on our defenses, but it’ll take time for them to be set up once more. Even longer to return to them to what they were. House of Water seems to be doing fine though.”

Well, all that sounded like what he’d expected, really. No surprises anywhere… which he didn’t know if that was good or not though. On one side, it meant that he hadn’t really been left unaware of any complications and such. On the other, it meant that they didn’t know enough to not be worried.

“Do you feel better now?” Yasaka asked, eyebrow raised and he gave her a weak smile.

“Not really.”

“And that’s why we didn’t tell you,” she replied with a nod, as if she had just confirmed that she was right all along… Which she kind of had, he supposed. Didn’t mean he had to like it though. “We have things well enough in hand at the moment. What you should focus on is your recovery, your health. Kunou is worried.”

He knew she just added that last part to really twist the knife, but he had to admit it was effective.

Still, what a ruthless woman.

“Geez, throw salt in the wound while you are at it,” he mumbled, taking a sip from his tea. He grimaced, noticing that maybe more time than he’d expected had passed. The drink was getting cold. “My mother would have liked you,” he added and he was sort of surprised that the comment wasn’t accompanied by pain or sadness… Or, at least, not much. It was more like the slight itch of an old scar than a wound tearing itself open.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Yasaka told him, smiling beautifully. “Now, I think that’s enough business talk, don’t you?”

“Yes, dear.”

She didn’t deign that with a response, other than a small, smug smile and a raised eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes at her.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

More recovery time and some sweet interactions. I had fun writing this. Fluff is my preferred way to do things, in case it wasn’t obvious. So, this kind of calm and warm moments are kind of what I do my best at, I feel.

I’m sure nothing will happen to break this flow.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Not feeling all that good today and brain isn’t braining, so… Anything you wanna tell me in regards to the story?

See you.