Game of Monsters

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.

Don't Know How Much Time Has Passed

[Joshua Davis]

He stood there with his eyes narrowed as he watched the Fallen train, sparring between themselves. He was picking up a number of things with his many spells and he had about a dozen ideas of how to approach the next version of Project Ascension. He wasn't anywhere close to breaking down the way to give angels more wings, but he could at least bypass some of the limit.

It wasn't a solution, not at all, but it was a nice temporary fix to help them push a little further. Not unlike the way normal training spells helped him and others train, but specifically to help them push past their limit. He was very grateful that he'd gotten more than one peek into holy energy through Jeanne, Carnwennan and many sources.

'This will be a lot harder than the Phoenix Spell,' Joshua thought to himself with a wry smile. 'And that's saying something,' he added with a sigh. Cheshire walked around his back before turning to peek around his side. Absently, Joshua planted his hand on the giant white tiger's head.

"What do you think?" he asked, not only to his feline familiar but to all of them. From Margalo standing on a perch towards the ceiling all the way to Morag who had made a web on a corner with Nagini just lying curled up in between. All of them answered with varying degrees of the same thing. The Fallen were under control and doing well. From there, none of his familiars trusted them much, but Cheshire seemed to trust Raynare more than the others, or at least her desire to be stronger.

'What twisted, twisted world I live in when Raynare is the dependable one,' Joshua thought, a little amused. His eye twitched then as he felt something else other than the targets of his thoughts. He took a deep breath in then and then let it out.

"I know I screwed up," Kuroka said softly, looking subdued as she stood beside him on the other side from where Cheshire was. Her hands were clasped together in front of her, her fingers fidgeting and her head tilted down. It was a look that was very unlike her, but then again, she'd basically avoided him after her… screw up, as she said it.

As a response, he just nodded. There was no denying what she said and he had no intention of offering her easy forgiveness. She'd already been annoying before, then she'd started being a little uncomfortable to be around after he got together with Yasaka and Serafall… And then she'd done that.

Joshua so wanted to forget that had happened. He wanted to forget about those scars and he honestly couldn't wait until he got good enough with Senjutsu to fix that. There were other ways to do that, but they involved talking with other people and the fewer people knew about that, the better.

"I just… I'm sorry," Kuroka said, breaking him from his thoughts. "I didn't think… You didn't seem the type. I'd never have guessed."

"I was a very different man over a year ago," he replied, not really sure why he felt the need to reveal that. Maybe it was to justify himself in front of her, or maybe he just wanted to tell someone in the know. He'd only really talked about those things with Yasaka and Jeanne. He'd touched the subject with Serafall too, because it felt wrong not to let her know, but they hadn't really gone that deep into it.

"It's not my place to know," Kuroka whispered, going even further into the weird direction with her attitude. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry, for what I did, and for whatever happened to make you do that."

Unsure of what to say to that, he just nodded again.

"I know you don't like me much… or at all, especially now," she told him, shifting on her feet a bit. "But I wanted to tell you I'm grateful for… the opportunity you gave me. I know not many would have done that."

"You could have done a better job at showing that appreciation," he commented curtly. He wasn't looking at her, but he felt her flinch beside him anyway. "Still, your information has been good so far."

And he wasn't lying even a little bit in regards to that. Every meeting he was in for the anti-Khaos Brigade movement spoke about a thing or two that they had gotten done thanks to Kuroka. Some were directly, some indirectly, but her information had been great for an otherwise slow process. And that was with most parties involved being reluctant to praise her much, for one reason or another.

"I'm glad," Kuroka said, making him tilt his head. She seemed to mean that. Joshua wasn't sure if it was because it was convenient for her or if she didn't like Khaos Brigade much herself. He'd never quite gotten a clear answer on that through either words or sensing. It made him wonder if it might be both things.

"Your sister," Joshua said and he felt her stiffen next to him. "I'll see what I can do for you to meet her. We get along but not spectacularly, I don't think. It's difficult to tell at times. Regardless, I'll try."

"Thank you," she replied and he could hear the waver in her voice, as if she were trying not to break down crying.

"This is for her as much as you, and I really hope you don't do anything stupid. I don't know if I have the patience for anything else-"

"I won't, I promise. I'll be the best, most well behaved cat in the-" Cheshire hissed by his side, making him snort and Kuroka backpedal. "Second," she corrected herself quickly, which made it all seem silly, but Joshua knew this was important enough for her not to care. Not that it hadn't been silly without the correction. "Second most well behaved cat in the world."

"We'll see about that. I'd be happy with you stopping the flirting game and being a little calmer," he told her, running his fingers through his hair. He wanted to stay mad at her, he really did, but it just sounded tiring. She had screwed up and been annoying, but it wasn't like she'd done the former on purpose and the latter was just how she was… So, in the end, he just wanted to be calm once more.

'I miss the days when I was just a semi-normal guy studying wards and working in a cafe,' he thought. That is, before pictures flashed in his mind of Kunou, Yasaka and Serafall. 'Guess it's not so bad…' he added with a smile as he brought his hand up to his locket.

"It wasn't a game, you know?" Kuroka told him, making him blink in turn. "I might have gone about it in the worst way and maybe for the wrong reasons… but I wasn't just playing," she explained, to which he felt his eye twitch again for a completely different reason.

'Did I really become an oblivious character in a harem anime world?' Joshua thought, sighing as he dragged his hand over his face. It made him wonder who else he might have missed. On the other hand… he also wasn't sure he actually wanted to know.

"Be that as it may-"

"You are not interested. I think I got it," Kuroka interrupted with a slight smile. "Still, can't say it's not a shame."

Joshua grimaced then, drawing a giggle from the woman.

"I think I see it now. A little late, but it's good to know."

"I don't think I want to know."

She giggled again, this time joined by his familiars.

[}-o-{]

"I don't know if to be grateful or annoyed," Gabriel commented, making him turn to give her a grin. "I really don't," she added, shaking her head as she looked at the field ahead of them. It was the training grounds, which he'd added an training array to while he set up the defenses for the base he'd visited that day. "This wasn't in the deal."

"Are you going to make me take the array down? That'd be annoying for me," he commented lightly, placing his hands in his pockets and holding his flannel shirt open and showing the white one underneath. He kept his eyes on the angel though, waiting for her answer. "What'll it be?"

"How is it that you are forcing me to receive free services?" she asked him, looking both confused and annoyed. "That's not how things usually work."

"I've been told I don't do things the normal way all that often… or ever," he answered her with a lazy smile. "On that note, I was thinking I should go to the previous bases and do an update to their arrays. Shouldn't take too long," he commented, trying to sound casual. It wasn't a lie though. He'd made a lot of progress since the first set up he'd done for the Church. He could do a much better job by then.

He also wanted to add training arrays for them too, but that was beside the point.

"Are you trying to get us in your debt, Joshua? Because it's working," Gabriel told him with a slightly uncomfortable expression. It made him sigh. He knew the woman and her factions were in a difficult position. They couldn't really afford to be in debt, but still…

"Don't think of it as me doing a job for you. I'm doing this for myself. If you are in a better situation, it means more work is done against Khaos Brigade. I don't care for payment as long as you continue helping deal with them, honestly," he told her, his expression turning serious. "I don't think you or anyone realizes how much I want them gone."

"That's fair," Gabriel replied with a slow nod. Then she glanced towards her people, who were testing out the new training wards. Obviously, nobody had been told that those weren't supposed to be there, but Gabriel was there so it was all obviously fine, right? It was a little amusing, Joshua supposed, to consider all that. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, honestly. I told you-"

"Still," the angel interrupted, turning towards him with the same gentle expression on her face. There was steel in her eyes though. Somehow, that fit her, even though they were very much not the usual kind and gentle. "Our faction is going through hard times. My siblings and I have to see them struggle every day, so… It's nice to get to see something like this. Things going well without a price, for once, is a gift we will not take lightly."

"You are thinking too much, Gabriel. I've told you, this is for myself too. I find that it's better to give than to receive," he told her, glancing towards the exorcists and others around the training area. Off to the side, Jeanne, Xenovia and Irina were having a very light spar testing out things. It was funny, seeing them like that. They looked like children that had been given a new toy to play with, or at least the exorcists did. Jeanne was used to this kind of set up, really, but she seemed to have fun guiding the other two.

He might have sounded very saintly with what he was saying, but it wasn't like that. Or, at least, he didn't think so. If he gave others the tools to stand in a better position and a reason to think favorably of him, then he'd have less things to worry about. Not only from them, but also from mutual enemies and dangers.

It was just a great way to improve his situation without having to get involved in more dangerous things himself.

"That's…" Gabriel breathed out and Joshua turned to look at her, only to see the woman looking at him with wide eyes as if seeing him for the first time. When he hummed in question, she seemed to be snapped out of her thoughts. "Sorry, that's just… It reminded me of something someone else said a long time ago."

"Does that mean you'll let this go?"

"Not at all," she answered instantly, making him deflate. "We'll find a way to repay you this, Joshua, you can be sure of that."

"I'd rather no-"

"With that said, thank you, again," she continued, completely ignoring him. "This means a lot to me, to all of us," she said, giving him a very warm smile. "And I can assure you that you won't get away with not getting compensation for it."

"Isn't there something in the bible about not expecting payment for favors or something. Fairly sure that's a thing."

"And you aren't expecting anything from doing this, but it's fine for me to do so out of my own volition," Gabriel told him, grinning widely.

"Wow, you work fast, Joshua, I gotta say," Jeanne commented, approaching from where she'd been with Xenovia and Irina. He didn't like the look on her face as she looked between Gabriel and him. At all. "Didn't have en-" she was interrupted by a chop to the head. "Ow, why'd you do that?"

"Because you are being an idiot and idiots need to be made aware of that fact," he told her with a flat expression and tone. "Now, don't be silly and go keep those two from accidentally stabbing each other, yeah? They are getting enthusiastic without you there to keep an eye on them."

"But I'd rather see the show here, looks much more fu-" Another chop was swiftly delivered to her head. "Ow, would you stop that?" she grumbled, swiping his hand off.

He just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Fine, ruin my fun," she grumbled before turning and leaving. Cheshire seemed to decide to join her, leaving his side and moving to follow his sister.

"Sorry about her. She's… a handful," he said, shaking his head at Jeanne's retreating form before turning back to Gabriel. He was a little taken aback by the light dusting of pink on the angel's cheeks, but he guessed that made sense. She must have been very embarrassed by the implications there, even if she didn't know about Yasaka and Serafall, which wasn't a sure thing.

Surely that was it. Because if Jeanne was right, then he might just give up on logic. 'Either I'm going crazy or the world is. Might even be both,' he thought to himself, bringing a hand up to massage his forehead.

"Think nothing of it. Children can often speak without thinking," Gabriel reassured him, waving everything off. There was an odd tone there though. 'No way, right?...' Joshua thought, not even sure how to feel about the possibilities there… "So, about payment-"

"Yeah, how about no?" he interrupted then, happy for the change of subject.

"Joshua!" she exclaimed and he grinned at her. It almost sounded like she was whining, which was actually kind of cute.

[}-o-{]

"Protective spells have a higher level of variance in their magic energy channeling than they do in the actual magic usage when they are modified?" Meredith asked, hand raised. Smiling, Joshua pointed at her and made a "sort-of" nodding gesture.

"You are both right and wrong," he answered, waving his hand to dispel one of the illusion displays he'd created in front of the blackboard and making it disappear. Instead, he slowly created a new one. "While most of what you said it's true, a modification in type of damage can vastly change the energy requirements of a spell. After all, a basic shield, for example, needs a lot more energy to block a fire attack than it does a water attack of the same strength, purely because of how much more destructive fire is in nature."

He looked around and saw most of the students quickly taking note of what he was saying along with the display he'd created. Even those that weren't doing that looked like they were taking note of things mentally or at least paying attention. He was glad to see that, honestly.

It had been a while since a student had been confrontational or openly disruptive and Joshua was very happy to note that. Maybe it was the last big example he'd made out of an idiot, with Golden Dawn suffering quite a bit for a short while. Maybe it was because time had passed and he'd become more respectable in other magicians' eyes. Maybe it was a number of other reasons.

Either way, he was glad to see his class going well, for himself and for the students. 'Never thought I'd like this so much, but here I am,' he thought to himself, sharing a look with Margalo who was perched on his desk. 'Life is really full of surprises.'

"Now, any other examples of predictable changes in general settings?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Area coverage spells like wards needing more energy?" a student answered hesitantly, hand half raised. He was in his Ward Magic class, predictably. Joshua replied to that much in the same way he had Meredith.

"Also both right and wrong, can anyone tell me why?"

"Because area coverage isn't everything? One has to account for surface, not area, which varies depending on structures and other things that might increase surface or get in the way of the spell's energy," another student answered, making Joshua grin.

"Couldn't have put it better myself, Mr. Levi," he said, drawing a pleased smile from the young man. "Anyone else?"

"... There are no generically accurate predictions of changes?" a woman asked, making him grin at her.

"Exactly. You can try to predict how modifications will affect the spellwork and how you might have to adapt a circle properly to account for that, but the more generic you try to make it, the more problems you start running into," he explained, taking down another illusion display and setting up another. "No modification is the same as any other, no matter how similar you might think it is. There's always a difference in details here and there that can mean the difference between much more efficient usage of energy and depleting your reserves… Or the difference between having a spell work or explode on your face."

Joshua was pleased to see and hear everyone taking notes once more.

"Here's a somewhat long term project for you, guys," he started, drawing some groans from the class. Still, he continued undeterred. "I want you to modify at least three spells that share one of the modifications required, be it the main one or an adaptive one." The groaning intensified. "Of course, I'll be giving you guys time for this, since it's not even a single modification. Take your time and bring your results for testing whenever they are ready. No deadline for this, take it as a challenge from me instead of homework. You can just not do it if you don't want to."

That drew some confused looks from the class, which was expected. Joshua hadn't done something like that yet. However, his class was going pretty well. He'd taught them most of what he knew. At that point, it was on them to try and get better through practice instead of him having to teach them. They all had different magics, after all, and he wasn't as knowledgeable on them.

So, he was done teaching them, really.

"After all, this is my last project for you. Classes from here on out will be me answering and giving lectures on doubts you might have. I don't have anything more to teach you," he told them, making more than one straighten up where they sat. "Once you finish this project successfully, you'll have managed all the different approaches to a spell modification I've come across that didn't require massive amounts of customizations, which is more of a personal thing that can't really be taught. So, once you've finished this, you can… graduate from this class, if that's even a word that applies here."

There was a moment of silence then before whispers broke out through the classroom. Some were surprised, for sure. Some were even excited, since this was a big step for them. It was one thing to say you were being taught how to modify spells, which seemed to be a big thing in the supernatural world, but it was something else entirely to say you'd graduated from such a class.

Some, however, seemed to be… sad about the prospect.

No guesses on who those were.

Soon, Joshua found himself wrapping things up. Not that there was much else to do though, and his students could barely pay attention with the news they'd been given. Still, he needed to actually send them away and answer some last questions and such.

Once that was done, he found himself in a mostly empty room with Margalo on his shoulder and his group of stars firmly on their seats, if with their things put away already.

He smiled at them.

"Last minute questions?" he asked.

"You know I always have questions," Levi told him jokingly, but didn't seem eager to actually get to those. Instead, he shared a look with his fellow students. "First of all though… will there be like… a continuation of this course? Some other class that will take its place?"

"I imagine the best thing to do would be to start over with a new group," Joshua answered and there was no way of missing the way they deflated. He smiled sadly at them. "You've done a great job. I expect you all will be the first to be done with this assignment, successfully at least. I'll put on an extra good word for you lot too, especially you, Levi. You guys deserve all the opportunities that can be thrown your way and I'll make sure I do what I can to make that happen. If your associations are being idiots, just let me know. I'll get you a nice cozy spot in House of Water."

"Did you join House of Water without anyone knowing?" Dion asked, sounding more curious than joking or anything else.

"No, I haven't, but I have the connections and the association owes me enough to allow me to pull a string or three if I want to," he answered, getting a nod from the woman. She was straightforward like that, he'd learned, blunt and to the point. He could respect that.

"... You'll let us know if there's another class we can take?" Karin asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Of course. What'd I do without my group of stars? Besides, there's still the Ward Magic class. That's going to be around for a while. A lot more I can teach in that, since it involves less customization and personal touches," he explained to them, getting some nods.

"Still, I'll miss this class," George grumbled before sighing. "It was great though."

"Glad to hear, man. Now, off you go. You gotta work on that project and then make a name for yourselves. And Levi, you can send me whatever doubts you have later. With that said, don't forget to give me a little credit when you are great, yeah?" he told them, mostly joking… Which was why he was a little taken aback when they nodded very seriously. "Take care of yourselves and see you in the next Ward class."

Soon, even they were out, leaving only Meredith.

"Things going well?" he asked her, leaning back against his desk.

"A little stressful. Golden Dawn and my family didn't take too… well to what happened. I'm doing my best to ignore them. House of Water has been very nice and accommodating though. Certainly makes things easier," she replied shyly, looking down at the desk in front of her and drawing shapes on it with her finger. "I… Thank you, again."

"It was literally no problem," he reassured her, waving her off. "Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help. I know I might have caused more trouble with this."

"I couldn't ask-" she started, looking up at him quickly.

"You totally can and you will," he told her firmly, staring into her eyes. "Won't you?"

"... Yes, Professor Joshua," she mumbled, pouting as she looked down.

"Good."

[} 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/. Also, Happy Chinese New Year!)