Game of Monsters - 75 (Patreon)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Highschool DxD.

Love to the Loveless Shown

“So, why am I coming again?” Jeanne asked curiously as she walked next to him. “Not that I’m complaining, but I didn’t come last time.”

“Because Griselda said something about possibly taking care of someone for them,” Joshua explained, feeling uneasy. If his mental timeline was even remotely accurate, he had a feeling that he knew who that person was. If he was honest, he didn’t know how to feel about yet another major change to the original plot. This might actually be the biggest change he’d seen so far, if he really thought about it. “If that’s all there is to it, I want you here to make the decision with me. It’d affect you too.”

“Josh, you are kind of the responsible adult here. Aren’t you supposed to make the decisions and that’s it?” Jeanne asked, to which he gave her a look. “What?”

“I don’t want you to have to put up with decisions you don’t like. If something bothers you, I want you to tell me. This is one such case,” Joshua explained. Granted, if he was right, she probably wouldn’t have a problem with things, but it wasn’t bad to be prepared just in case.

“... Do you think it’s likely that’ll happen?” Jeanne asked after a moment of silence. He wasn’t sure how to interpret the small smile on her face, but he decided to take it as a good thing and move on. People were strange, after all.

“I mean… I’d like to say no and that they’ve learned to not be idiots. Then again, I don’t want to be too hopeful,” he replied wryly. Granted, the intervention of the angels seemed to have changed things for the Church, but… Well, he wasn’t sure how much was different and how much remained the same.

“I’m guessing that’s why Cheshire and I are here?” Jeanne asked, getting an agreeing meow from the girl. “To make sure you don’t miss anything?”

“I mean, you are not wrong,” Joshua agreed, bringing a hand up to run his fingers through his hair. The action made him grimace slightly though. Long hair was all good and well but it was starting to get annoying. ‘I might just finally get it cut,’ he mused before sighing. “There’s no need to say it like that though,” he commented, giving his sister an exasperated look, especially when she giggled at him. “You make it seem like I’m using you.”

“You only want me for my powers,” she fake lamented, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead. He just rolled his eyes at her as they continued walking. “Oh, I didn’t know this was the whole reason why I was adopted. However shall I cope with such revelation?”

“If you are done being dramatic, we are almost there,” Joshua told her, deciding to ignore her completely as they approached the store that had now become his usual meeting spot with the holy side of the three factions. ‘Maybe I could convince them to let me ward this place?’ he mused as he finally pushed the door open.

‘So, it’s as I thought, huh?’ Joshua thought, walking towards the table that the people he was meeting were already sitting at. There were more seats occupied than any other time but that was to be expected. What wasn’t to be expected was one of them in particular. ‘Sure, throw two Seraphs my way, why don’t you?’ Joshua mused as he took a seat.

“Gabriel, Griselda,” he greeted, nodding towards both women before turning to the two additions to that pair, getting . “I’m Joshua Davis and this is my sister, Jeanne, and my familiar, Cheshire, nice to meet you both.”

“I’m Michael,” the only man in the group introduced himself, extending a kind smile and a hand Joshua’s way. He shook with no problem, even if the whole thing felt surreal to him. ‘Wonder if I’ll ever get used to meeting faction leaders,’ he thought to himself, almost letting out a wry smile.

“And you’d be?” he asked the youngest member of their group. He already knew, of course, but it wouldn’t do to give that away. In a way, he’d almost prefer not to know such things. It made things unnecessarily complicated more times than it helped, really.

“Ah, um… My name… er, is Asia Argento,” the girl mumbled hesitantly, her eyes darting towards Griselda. She had a very obvious accent, which reminded Joshua of something he’d almost forgotten. ‘Right, she’s supposed to speak only Italian before being reincarnated, right? Something like that…’

“Nice to meet you, Asia,” Joshua said with the friendliest smile he could muster. If her returning, shy one was anything to go by, he at least partially succeeded. “So, I’m guessing Asia here is the person I’d need to take care of?”

“She is,” Gabriel was the one to answer as the girl seemed to try and draw into herself. “I know it’s much to ask and we normally wouldn’t do this but…” the angel said before pausing and looking at the other one. As Michael traded a look with her, he nodded, making the woman smile sadly. “Things have been… messy on our side. I trust you’ll keep this to yourselves, but the church isn’t as unified or under control as we thought it was.”

“So much so that there’s no one you can trust with her other than someone you’ve basically just met?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at them and getting a grimace from Griselda. The angels, for their part, simply looked sad, resigned even.

“We need to prioritize what we do with the few people that are reliable,” Michael explained with a grim smile. “Miss Argento is loyal, very much so, but with the changes that our side is undergoing… We can’t guarantee her safety.”

“There’s also the fact that our faction has been… less than welcoming of others. We have a tenuous alliance with other pantheons at best,” Gabriel continued, sighing. “So, yes, we are coming to you for help. We also hoped that we could… solidify a better relationship with you too, Joshua.”

Maybe he was getting a little paranoid, but it seemed that the Egyptians weren’t the only ones that were trying to pull strings on him. If he were honest, Joshua was getting progressively more annoyed with that. Especially coming from a faction that had already slighted him before. At least Shed and his people hadn't done that. ‘It wasn’t their fault though, apparently,’ he reminded himself.

So, the church was now confirmed to have internal trouble, as he’d suspected before.

“I don’t honestly care,” Joshua started, leaning back against his chair, only then noticing that there was a cup of tea in front of him. He hadn’t noticed anyone leaving it at any point and he hadn’t been that distracted, so it was likely the angels were flexing on him. He’d have been annoyed but he appreciated the drink, really. “But are you expecting me to do this for free? Because that sounds kinda rude.”

Next to him, Jeanne snorted, which made him turn to look at her.

“Nothing, just… enjoying a bit of irony, is all,” she waved away. Fortunately – although Joshau didn’t know for whom – Gabriel chose that moment to talk. However, he was fairly sure he saw her lips twitching up a little.

“Nothing like that, Joshua, I assure you,” the female angel told him, smiling kindly at him. It almost made him feel like he’d done something wrong in some way, even though he was sure he hadn’t. “However, I want to say this before I give it to you. This is a compensation for what happened before, a reward for giving us an alliance against a common enemy with other factions as much as for helping on this… And with the risk of insulting you, this should cover more than all that.”

“Oh?” Joshua tilted his head. He wasn’t insulted, really. How could he be, if he didn’t really know what she was talking about? She could be right about that. She was an angel too, which he was fairly sure meant she couldn’t lie… He might have been wrong about that though. “And what would that be?”

Instead of answering, Gabriel waved her hand over the table. From literally nothing, there appeared a dagger. He was kind of impressed with that, if he was honest. There hadn’t been a magic circle or anything as far as he could see. Maybe she had been the one to make his tea appear? Neat trick, he’d have to learn it if he could.

Immediately, he cast Appraisal on it.

[Carnwennan

Rank - ?]

“Carnwennan,” Gabriel presented as he frowned. That name sounded familiar to him, but where had he heard it? “The dagger wielded by King Arthur himself.”

To that, his eyes widened and he looked at the two Seraphs intensely. Now he knew they wanted something from him. They couldn’t be giving him this and not want to hold it over his head later on. And that, that he wouldn’t let happen.

Jumping on the table next to his cup of tea, Cheshire meowed. Yes, he knew there was something fishy going on without her input this time. It was good to have confirmation.

“No, thank you,” he said with a grimace of a smile.

“Excuse me?” Griselda asked, as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying. To her, it must have been quite the shock that someone would deny what was probably a great treasure to her faction. Granted, it was no Excalibur, probably not even on the level of an Excalibur fragment in terms of value if not power. However, the price that came with it wasn’t something he wanted to pay.

“This is indeed more than enough to pay for what you would need to, and that’s the problem,” Joshua explained, looking at them. “If I take this, I’m giving you a chance to make me do something, something that maybe I wouldn’t do. I can’t give you that.”

“Then it’s good-,” Gabriel said, seemingly unbothered with what he’d said. “-that we don’t plan on doing that, isn’t it? We swear that you’ll be allowed to decline any favor that we ask of you in payment for this artifact.”

“Just like that?” Joshua asked, narrowing his eyes. “That’s basically giving it away.”

“Just like that,” Michael agreed, pulling his attention away from the female angel. “We believe, Mr. Davis, that you won’t betray our trust like that. Gabriel and Griselda here vouch for you and the information we’ve gathered implies as much too. We believe this is the right call on our end.”

“Things are changing, Joshua,” Gabriel took over again then. “Inside and outside our faction. We can no longer afford to keep to ourselves. We need to start making moves. This is merely the first one of many.”

Joshua leaned back then, taking a sip from his drink and trying to process that. The two angels seemed to be fine with him doing that, and while Griselda looked like she wanted to say something, she remained silent. As for poor Asia, the girl seemed to be struggling to even keep up, which made sense. She didn’t even really speak the language.

Looking towards his familiar, he saw her tilt her head and stare back. Through the bond though, she explained as best she could with what little they could communicate through it. It was enough for him to get what she was getting at and that was what counted.

“You should go for it, Joshua,” Jeanne said from his side, staring rather intently at the other side of the table. “And yes, that’s a common agreement.”

“Good,” Joshua replied before sighing and resting his cup on the table. “Guess we are going for it,” he added, taking the dagger. It felt just like holding one of Jeanne’s daggers but also nothing like it. It was powerful, just like Setan Kober, but contained, peaceful. There was a tinge of something though… Something quiet. With a nod, he stored the weapon before sighing once more. “Good luck on your side of things.”

“We appreciate that, Mr. Davis, and also you giving us a chance,” Michael said.

“Call me Joshua, please,” the man replied with a tense smile. He was doing it, yes, but it didn’t mean he liked it. It felt like he was slowly walking more and more into the dark, not knowing what awaited him. It made him nervous, if nothing else. It was what he needed to do though. He figured he wouldn’t be able to bury his head in the sand forever even if he tried.

“Of course, Joshua,” the man said, smiling a little wider than before. “If you would give us a minute with Asia, just to make sure she understands, since her English could use some work still.”

“Sure, no rush,” he reassured with a wave of his hand. “God, I think I need a beer instead of tea,” he grumbled.

“You drink?” Jeanne asked, surprised.

“Not usually, but I do like a cold can of beer once in a while. Or… used to, at least. Haven’t really drank since… Since a while ago,” he replied. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t drunk anything other than the can that Nephthys had given him since the accident. Then again, it was something he used to do with his father, he hadn’t been a fan of drinking alone most of the time and he certainly hadn’t felt like spending money on it after that… event.

“Huh, I wonder how that tastes.”

“You won’t find out in a few more years. Legal drinking age in Japan is 20, just to let you know,” Joshua pointed out, making her pout. Then again, it wasn’t like he had waited for legal age himself, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Hm, Mr. Davis, Miss Davis?” a little voice called from their side and they turned to look at Asia, standing before them and looking very small, even if she was supposed to be around the same age as Jeanne. Next to him, his sister beamed at her, probably because she called her “Miss Davis” and Jeanne seemed to love that.

“Just Joshua and Jeanne is fine, Miss Argento,” he reassured softly with as kind a smile as he could give her. He’d always been sort of a fan of Asia, not because she was a particularly interesting character or because she was powerful, but because she was good. At times, she seemed too kind for the world she was part of.

“Ok, I…” the girl started before hesitating. “My English is no good, but I’ll… try,” she said to which he chuckled, making her blush. “Ah, sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,” he reassured her, still smiling. “If you have trouble understanding, just tell me,” he added, careful to speak a little slower than normal to help her along. When she nodded, he returned the gesture before looking towards the angels and Griselda. “Well, I guess we’ll take it from here. Call if you need anything.”

“You as well, Joshua,” Gabriel told him, before handing hima folder. “This is information you might need in regards to Asia’s case too,” she added, giving him a very pointed look. ‘Oh, they want me to see if the devils will do something about Diodora, huh?’ he mused, giving the file a look before turning towards the angels and Griselda. The three of them gave him a nod before they disappeared. ‘No circle again. I really want to know what’s up with that,’ he thought to himself. Before he could get distracted though, Cheshire patted his leg.

“Right, let’s go,” he said, before turning and walking out of the store. As he did though, he took out his phone and sent a quick message.

[}-o-{]

“We didn’t have these before, did we?” Jeanne asked, looking curiously at the books on the table and Joshua grinned. “What did you do?”

“Just sent a quick message to Rias to get this for me,” he answered with a shrug as he picked up the first book he found and opened it. Sure enough, it was exactly what he asked, as he imagined the rest were. Books to learn Italian, as well as books to learn English and Japanese. “This is to learn English and Japanese,” he spoke out loud for his sister and their guest’s benefit, pointing to the piles that held said books. “I thought you’d like to get better at it, since you'll be spending time with us here in Japan.”

Asia didn’t speak her reply, but she did nod meekly.

“Don’t worry about it. Learning languages is difficult, but I’ll be learning Italian myself, so I guess we can struggle together,” he told her, making the young nun perk up and look at him with big, surprised eyes. “So, what do you say?”

“I’d… I’d like that, Mr.- Er, Joshua?” she replied, giving him a weak, nervous smile. It was fine. Jeanne had been skittish too, once upon a time. Joshua resolved to help this girl in much the same way, or at least try to.

“For now, do you want a cup of tea, coffee? You didn’t drink anything back at the cafe, I noticed,” he asked then, making her fidget with her clothes for a bit.

“A… tea, please?” she answered hesitantly and he nodded. “Jeanne, can you go and warn Morag and Nagini? We don’t want them scaring poor Asia.”

“Oh, right, I’ll go do that,” he heard his sister say before the sound of her footsteps reached his ears.

“Morag, Nagini?” Asia asked when he came back.

“My familiars,” he replied, making the girl look at Cheshire. “I have four,” he told her, walking towards the table and setting her cup in front of a chair and taking a seat himself. After a moment of doubt, she followed his example. “Cheshire here,” he started, making his feline familiar jump on the table and preen. “Margalo, the bird, Nagini, the snake, and Morag, the spider.”

“Snake… spider?” Asia asked, suddenly looking downright afraid.

“They won’t do anything to you,” he reassured her with a slight chuckle. “They are big, and scary looking, but you should be fine,” he told her, drawing a hopeful look from the girl. God, she was adorable. ‘This is going to be like having two Kunous around.’

He was screwed, he already knew.

This had to have been Heaven’s plan all along.

Crafty bastards.

[}-o-{]

[Kunou]

She narrowed her eyes and frowned at the girl sitting in front of her. Needless to say that she hadn’t expected Joshua to bring a girl with him to their class/workshop, even less so if that girl wasn’t Jeanne. So, to say she’d been caught off guard was a bit of an understatement.

He’d explained, of course, but that didn’t really make her feel any better. It was also a bit of a confusing moment for Kunou, if she was honest. She was upset, yes, but she couldn’t quite point out why. Sure, the girl being there stole time with Joshua from her, but that couldn’t be it, right? She never got annoyed when he said he was going to work at the cafe or something of the sort. Well, a little, but this time was different though!

It reminded her of that annoyed feeling she got with Serafall when she was near Joshua, in a way. However, it was also different, which was the part that really confused her. Besides, Kunou was sure that whoever this Asia girl was, she was too young for Joshua to be interested in… For the moment, at least. So, that wasn’t the problem here…

Kunou’s eye twitched as she looked at her dad leaning over to look at something the other girl was asking and start to explain things to her. She took a deep breath in and took the cup next to her to sip a bit of tea. She really would like to know what was going on, honestly.

“Everything ok?” Joshua asked, and she almost jumped. When had he moved to her side? “You look upset, is something wrong?”

“Yes, I mean, no, I mean…” she stammered before pouting as he chuckled. After taking a moment to calm herself, she spoke again. “Yes, everything’s fine,” she said. Good, that was good. At least she’d managed to say that without stumbling on the words and it sounded believable enough.

“Ok then,” Joshua nodded, turning towards his work once more. That lasted for a single second, however, before looking at her and raising an eyebrow. “Now, really, what’s going on?”

“I said it was nothing,” she grumbled, glaring down at her notes and faking working on them. She could barely think straight as it was, let alone actually do anything with her spellcrafting. “Doesn’t Asia have anything else she needs help with?”

“Is that what this is? Are you jealous of Asia?” Joshua asked and she looked up to glare at him. He was such an idiot, of course she wasn’t jealous. Honestly, of all the silly things her dad could say, why say that? She blinked then, as he looked around for a second and snapped his fingers, a circle forming and casting a spell around them. “You know you are my daughter now, right? There’s no need to be jealous,” he reassured, placing a hand on top of her head. “Asia is a guest at my place and I’m helping her with some things, that's all.”

“I know that,” Kunou mumbled.

“I’m helping her a little more than expected because… Well, she’s a nice girl and she was with less than nice people before,” Joshua explained, still petting her hair, which was nice, but that was still unfair! “I’m sure you two can get along fine if you give her a chance. I promised that you are stuck with me, didn’t I? I’m sure there’ll come a time you’ll wish I’ll leave you alone.”

“I won’t though,” she denied, shaking her head and all. To that, Joshua chuckled.

“Yes, you will, probably in a few more years. That’s fine though,” he told her, still laughing as he brought her into a hug. Joshua wasn’t one to hug too often, so it almost surprised her. However, she took the opportunity as quickly as she could and hugged him back. His pats were nice but a hug was much better. Especially right then and there with how weird she was feeling. “Even if you don’t want me around, I’ll still be a call away. If you ever need anything, just say so and I’ll do my best to help.”

“You promise you’ll be around?”

“I promise,” he replied without a moment’s hesitation. She smiled into his chest before feeling him pulling her away and looking into her eyes. “Is everything fine? Because I can definitely keep the hug up until it is.”

“It’s fine,” she said truthfully. “I wouldn’t mind a longer hug though,” she mumbled then, looking down and feeling her cheeks heat up.

“Maybe some other time, ok?” Joshua told her with a kind smile. “The illusion is safe enough, but I’d rather not risk it. You’ll get all the hugs you want during the next outing, does that sound good?”

“Ok,” Kunou replied with a nod. That sucked, a little bit, but hugs later was better than no hugs. And he was right that they could be caught if they kept it up. As much as she wouldn’t mind everyone knowing that he was her father, she knew it could be troublesome depending on how it happened.

That sucked too, but she’d put up with it. Joshua was her dad now, and she just needed to remind herself of that whenever she felt bad about something. Even now, as he checked with the girl, Asia, to see if he’d missed something while under the illusion…

“You promise that you’ll be around?”

“I promise.”

Yes, everything was fine.

Then she narrowed her eyes.

… Maybe Kunou could get some more time if she worked on whatever Asia was working on though. That wasn’t a bad thing, was it? Yeah, that’d work.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

So, we finally introduced Asia to our boy, Joshua. Also, as usual, shit is happening in the background. Man, I think I might need to pull away from Joshua for a chapter or so to show a bit of that, because there’s quite a bit… Thoughts for next chapter.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: What languages do you speak? My mother tongue is Spanish but I’ve learned English as a second language… obviously. I’m not sure how well I speak it, but yeah, that’s about it. I’d like to learn French, but that’s unlikely to happen.

See you.