Chapter 45-Out Of My League

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.

Out Of My League

"Joshua Davis," A voice called and he could only sigh as he looked up. It was a magician, that much he knew. He remembered him from somewhere, although he couldn't quite place his face. Joshua was fairly sure that he was from Golden Dawn… maybe. The rest of the other gathered magic users were watching keenly from the sidelines too, which was interesting.

Also interesting was the fact that over the last week, several more magicians had left due to the threat of Khaos Brigade hanging over their heads. Which was fair, really, since many had escaped by the skin of their teeth. It seemed that Annihilation Maker's user was getting better faster than the magicians could improve their defenses. Which was weird, since Joshua thought that the last attempt that had been made on him had been kind of easy.

"Yeah? Need any help…?" He started asking, trailing off as he failed to remember the guy's name.

"Alastor Doyle," The man supplied, looking very annoyed for some reason. 'Oh, isn't he the one from the first day?' "I'm here on behalf of Golden Dawn."

"Ah, I remember that," Joshua nodded. "What can I do for you?"

"We've noticed that you hold up to these latest… attacks, rather well," The man explained, sounding like he had to force the words out of his mouth. Regardless, Joshua listened. It wasn't like he could afford to just ignore a magician association. "We were curious as to how you manage to do that."

"Ah, um, I'm a warder. I think you should know that. Everyone was given the files about what we are working on around here?" Joshua asked, confused. He'd been given information about the defenses that every magician was working on to check them out and he'd given a report of his own to be given to everyone else. He hadn't gotten much in the shape of feedback, but he supposed that was because the others saw him more as competition than he did them.

"We do know that. However, the attacks get more and more difficult to stop as time passes and the Annihilation Maker creations adapt," Alastor told him, making Joshua close his notebook for the moment, to give the man his whole attention. "We are curious as to how you managed to keep them away from you thus far. Of course, we are prepared to pay for the information," The man added, as if it were a given. "I've gotten permission to offer a place within our organization too."

"Hm, that's nice," Joshua replied blandly.

Being honest, he cared little for joining an association. He'd heard good things about them though. They were supposed to have massive libraries full of magic books and whatever else their members could possibly need. That part was more than enticing. However, members didn't have access to everything. They needed to raise up the ranks and what not to do so, which was less than ideal. They also could be called at any moment to do jobs like this one in the name of the association.

Joshua already didn't feel like doing most of the jobs that had been thrown his way. The last thing he wanted was to have someone force more jobs on him, honestly. Having the backing of more magicians would be nice, but he thought he'd been doing rather well for himself. Besides, with the devils, the youkai and possibly the fallen angels… he thought he had a nice enough backing too.

"I just… modify my wards to cover for the holes they might try to take advantage of," He added after a little pause with a shrug. Really, there was no great secret to his defenses. They were wards that he changed according to the attacks. It felt like a battle of adaptability between Annihilation Maker and himself.

"Are you saying that you adapt your own wards to the attempts that they make on us and yourself," Alastor muttered, eyeing him like he was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. The other magicians had also started muttering.

"Yeah. It'd be fun if it weren't for, you know, the life or death situation. I rather enjoy spell modification," Joshua said with a half-smile as he absently tapped on the notebook under his hand. "Isn't it?... Actually, what's your favorite part of magic?" He asked after a moment, realizing that other people might have different preferences.

"I'm… more interested in the politics of being a magician myself," Alastar answered slowly, still looking at him strangely.

"Can't say that I understand that. I hate politics," Joshua groaned. "So, yeah. Dunno what you want me to say, man. Maybe I can help you guys set extra defenses? I'd like to know how you are adapting your own, honestly."

"Maybe," Alastor muttered. "For the time being, I'll have to consult with my superiors."

"That's fine," Joshua agreed with a nod. "Really, that's why I don't like the idea of joining an association. No offense, they sound nice and all, but I like to, you know, do what I want when I want. Resources are more limited like this, especially regarding knowledge, but I like the freedom."

"I see," The magician replied vaguely. "Well, have a nice day."

"Have a nice day yourself," Joshua waved as the man nodded and retreated. "Ah, you got that, right, guys?" He asked, looking at the other magicians. "If you want to trade ideas and such? Just ask."

"Hmph, already getting more students?" A new voice asked, making a few of the other magicians tense up. Turning, Joshua could only chuckle lightly at the puffed cheeks of Kunou.

"Just offering some advice to get some back myself. No need to get jealous, Kunou," He said, chuckling to himself as he waved at the space next to him.

"Idiot," She grumbled, but took the seat even as she avoided looking at him. "I'm not jealous."

"Sure you aren't. Just remember, you are my only student," He reassured, giving her a smile and placing a hand on top of her head. "Now, did you get any practice done while I was away?"

"Yeah, I got it to work… mostly, I think," The girl nodded enthusiastically, giving him a grin that he returned. Then she pulled a card from her little deck. "This one, let me show you. I think I can manage if I just…" She trailed off, glaring at the card as she concentrated.

[}-o-{]

"That was fun," Jeanne said, smiling from ear to ear and making Joshua roll his eyes. There was no need to point that out. He'd learned pretty quickly that visiting places and basically being an overly enthusiastic tourist was Jeanne's idea of a good time.

"We know," He replied, getting an agreeing meow from Cheshire, who was walking next to him and a chirp from Margalo on his shoulder. Nagini hissed at them from where she was resting around Jeanne's neck. The serpent and his sister had really bonded well over their love of sightseeing, it seemed. "Have you been taking time off of that though?" Joshua asked.

"I have," She answered and this time it was her turn to roll her eyes, apparently. "You think I go out to sightsee all the time when you are working?"

He remained silent, staring at her as he raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, I go out a lot, but it's tiring too," She grumbled, looking away from him. "I usually stay here and relax with whoever doesn't go with you," She told him as she let herself fall on the couch in the living room. "Sometimes I call Kuisha and Cori over. But you already knew that."

Joshua gave her a wry smile at that. He did know. His wards picked up almost everything that went on inside them, after all. Most of the time he wasn't paying that much attention, but he certainly noticed if someone entered or left. It was a good thing that Jeanne had told him and also Yasaka in advance, or he suspected things would have gotten messy whenever the devils decided to drop by.

"I mean, I know you are out most of the time," He said, not feeling very comfortable with that.

"There's always at least a few youkai around and you know that too," Jeanne shot back, giving him an exasperated look. "And you gave me those Switch circles too. I'll be fine."

"I know, it's just… I worry," He sighed out, taking a seat next to her and leaning back against the couch.

"And that's your job as a brother, I get it. It's still a bit much," She said, giving him a light punch on his arm.

"Anyway, what do Kuisha and Coriana have to tell? Anything interesting going on with them?" Joshua asked, ready to change the subject. No need to worry himself more than he already was.

"Well, we talk about a lot of things, but I'm sure you don't want to know about most of them," Jeanne commented, making him grimace. Yeah, maybe that topic was a bad idea. "And they don't have much to tell in general. They just kind of train a lot, like you when you aren't being unlucky."

"I have a feeling that you are calling me boring," He commented with a flat tone.

"What? I would never," She replied, the twitch at the corner of her lips giving her away. "But if you really wanna know, Kuisha was telling me about this idea she had-"

Whatever idea the Devil had had, he would find out later, it seemed, because his phone started ringing. Pulling it out of his pocket, he read the only name that was likely to call him. With a sigh, he hit the answer button after shooting Jeanne an apologetic smile.

"Griselda," He said as a way of greeting. He wasn't even sure what he was supposed to say, really. Hello? Felt a little casual. Good afternoon? He didn't even know where she was calling from.

"Mr. Davis," She said back, immediately making him grimace. Off to a great start, it seemed.

"I've told you to call me Joshua, please," He stressed. Maybe he'd get through to her this time, he could only hope.

"... I'll keep that in mind," She replied, which wasn't a yes, sadly. "We've learned of the current situation with the youkai. We wanted to offer some assistance."

"That's neat, but I don't know why you called me instead of the youkai," Joshua told her, narrowing his eyes as he tried to make sense of that little fact.

"Because the only one that'll get that information is you," Griselda explained, taking him off guard for a moment. "We are sending information of a previous Annihilation Maker holder that worked for the Church. It's classified information, so we'll only give the information if you are the only one to get it. We'd also appreciate it if you didn't share it with anyone."

"I can do that," He agreed easily. Honestly, getting information about a Longinus sounded like a pretty nice deal, especially if it was useful at the moment and especially if the only condition was secrecy. It would be a little… weird, but he wouldn't complain. "When should I expect to receive this information?"

"A messenger should arrive tomorrow with the file and will give it directly to you," Griselda told him, making him nod, even if she couldn't see him.

"Good to know. I'm guessing you've already told the youkai about this or is this another message I need to pass on to them myself?" He asked, frowning. He wasn't fond of politics, but he guessed just telling Yasaka about that next time he saw her wouldn't be too much of a pain, fortunately.

"It'd be appreciated if you could inform the youkai about this yourself," She answered, which was a little annoying but not too much. So long as he wasn't forced to make decisions because of politics, he could put up with some of them. With some luck, this would be as much as he would have to delve on that from that moment on.

It was a bit of wishful thinking, he supposed, but he had to hold on to hope.

"I can do that too," He replied with a sigh. He didn't know what just yet, as usual, but he sure wanted a good payment for this.

[}-o-{]

[Yasaka]

"You," She started, looking incredulously at Joshua, who had just told her about a little something. "Got the Church to give you information about one of their previous agents? A Longinus wielder?"

"I mean, I wouldn't say I got anything," He replied blandly. "They just called to say they would give it to me and that they wanted me to tell you about it. There's a difference, I think."

Yasaka stared at Joshua for a long moment, wondering if he really wasn't aware of the play that was happening around him. Even the Church, even if not present, seemed to be well aware of the political scene that Joshua was building around him. The good relationships he had with the Devils, the ones he was building with the Youkai merely due to his interactions with Kunou, nevermind herself and the help he provided her people, and the ones he seemed to be walking towards with the Fallen.

The Church surely saw how that kind of ally and, more importantly, that bridge between Fallen and Devils, would affect them. They had to want a piece of Joshua, if only to keep him from being the thing that united their enemies. The Church had been known to react more drastically to less.

Furthermore, Joshua was a warder, which was rare, and he was one that had taken out Dimension Lost, which was basically the bane of all warders. If that hadn't put Joshua in everyone's sights, then it was because they weren't even trying to know what was going on in the world. Yasaka was sure of that as much as she was of her own name.

'Maybe I should be thankful for Kunou making this so much easier for me,' She mused. Yasaka almost felt bad about how easy it had been to make Joshua an ally thanks to her daughter.

"Yasaka, everything alright?" Joshua called her, making her blink and focus back on him. "I'm the one that's supposed to space out, you know? You can't just steal my schtick."

"I apologize," Yasaka replied, smiling at him, which he easily returned with an amused look. "Regardless, I thank you for this. The Church might not even have decided to do this if not for you." They most certainly wouldn't have, but she knew Joshua wouldn't believe it. She'd have to look for a way to pay him back for that though.

Actually…

"Seriously, don't mention it. I'm sure I had nothing to do with that."

"Hm, well, Kunou was going on about having some questions for you regarding the illusion circles," Yasaka decided to say, appearing to want to change the subject. "Maybe you'll be able to answer them over dinner at our place?" She asked then.

"Circles? I thought Kunou didn't want to build her own circles, just cast. Yeah, I can do that, no problem. Can Jeanne come too?" The man replied, and Yasaka saw how his mind drifted off to circles and magic, just like she'd wanted. The man completely missed the fact that she'd invited him to dinner at her and Kunou's home. Maybe it wasn't much of a payment, but it would certainly count as a thanks to Kunou, at least. One at a time would be good enough, Yasaka supposed.

[}-o-{]

[Kunou]

This could actually be great, she thought excitedly. Her mother had asked Joshua home. She had done it, and not Kunou. The girl had certainly not expected that to happen, she could admit that. The fact that her mother had invited the man for dinner was even more of a surprise.

Then Kunou narrowed her eyes as something occurred to her.

"Man, wish I could cook this well," Joshua commented, looking down at the food in front of him.

"I mean, you are pretty good yourself," Jeanne added on top of that, before looking at her own meal. "But yes, this is great. Thank you for inviting us, Yasaka."

"It was no problem, I assure you. This is the least I could do, really. Joshua has been going above and beyond with his work," Her mother replied easily with a smile. Kunou knew better though. Never had her mother invited someone for dinner unless she absolutely had to. She liked saying that she prefers eating with just Kunou.

'Maybe…' Kunou thought, her eyes darting from Joshua to her mother.

"Well, I'll make sure to let them know you enjoyed the food," Her mother said. "It seems your familiars did too," She added, looking to the side, where the strange group of animals was gathered enjoying meals of their own. Margalo, as the attention turned to them, chirped something and flew until she landed on Kunou's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. The bird was the girl's favorite for a reason, after all.

"Thanks for letting me bring them here too," Joshua added, looking at Kunou with a smile that made the girl want to return the gesture. Which she ended up doing, if shyly. "I know some of them can be a bit…"

"Uncomfortable to be around?" Her mother finished with a tilt of his head. "For others maybe, but youkai are much closer to nature than most races, especially animals. Your familiars are actually rather nice to have around. Anyone that can feel Life Energy can sense your bond and it's a rather pleasant feeling. Nevermind how friendly they seem to be."

That was true. Kunou guessed that was one reason that she'd taken to Joshua so fast. Those bonds practically screamed that he was nice and she had always been taught to trust what life energy said. It never lied, especially about such things.

"Huh, I hadn't noticed that," Joshua mused out loud as Cheshire made her way up to him and sat next to him. He then placed a hand over her head, not unlike he would Kunou sometimes, which almost made her pout. "Maybe it's because I'm part of the bond?"

"That might have caused you to overlook it, but you should be able to feel it regardless," Her mother explained, and Kunou contented herself with absently petting Margalo while just watching. This could actually, really be great.

"Hm, I'll have to keep that in mind next time I practice," Joshua commented with a nod. Kunou would have preferred for the topic to be a little lighter than what seemed to be awfully close to training, and from the look on her face, Jeanne agreed. Joshua wasn't the most sociable person though, funnily enough. Kunou supposed it was what it was.

"I'm curious though," Her mother started then, sounding like she was about to change subjects a little. "How did you meet them?" She asked, and Kunou perked up. Both because that sounded like a story she should already know but didn't and also because it seemed like an actually rather nice conversation topic.

"Well, the first one was Cheshire," Joshua started, smiling down at the cat sitting next to him. "I was just minding my own business, walking back to the place I was staying at and I found her there, wounded on the street while everyone else ignored her. I just… couldn't leave her there though, so I brought her with me and treated her wounds as best I could."

"So, picking up strays from the very beginning, huh?" Jeanne asked from the side, a soft smile on her face that contradicted the joking words.

"I have a weak spot for strays, I guess," Joshua nodded with a half-smile. "After that came both Morag and Nagini. That was a… rough night, I guess is a way to put it," He continued, his smile growing tense while the mentioned familiars made their ways to him either slithering or jumping.

"Why though?" Kunou asked curiously.

"Because a magician hunter came after me," Joshua answered bluntly, making her blink before the implication sunk in and she paled. "He had Morag and Nagini, who I took in after I got away from him."

"Does this person have a name?" Her mother asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Yes, but I just call him Hunter," Joshua replied, adding a sly smile. "He's been dealt with, don't worry."

Meaning that he was dead. Was he trying to water down the story for Kunou? That was an annoying… and slightly nice gesture, she supposed. She'd still prefer he didn't though, but she'd hold back the pout she wanted to express. That'd just be childish.

"Then came Jeanne, who Cheshire found on the streets after she ran away from home," Joshua continued, giving the aforementioned teenager a smile that she returned. Kunou found that surprising. She knew they weren't actual siblings, but she'd just thought they were cousins that lived together, maybe old friends or something like that. "There was a long while between that and Margalo, who Cheshire picked up since her parents… weren't around anymore."

"Now that I think about it, Cheshire was there for all of us, wasn't she?" Jeanne commented, making the man chuckle.

"Maybe she's the one that has a thing for strays. She was always the one to urge me to help you out," Joshua pointed out, picking up the feline and placing her on his lap.

"Somehow, I doubt you needed much convincing," Yasaka joked, which made Joshua laugh again.

"Yeah, I guess that was in me anyway, but she certainly was very bossy about it," Joshua replied with a shake of his head.

"Any plans for new strays to be added?" Her mother asked then.

"Not for now, I don't think. I did have a deal that was supposed to help add another familiar, but that fell through with Margalo's arrival. It was for the better. I don't think it'd have been the same," The man explained. "And now I have my hands full with a rather stubborn student of mine."

"Idiot," Kunou grumbled instantly. "I told you not to offer help to those other magicians," She added with a grin, making him snort.

"That's not nice, Kunou," Her mother said though, but Kunou for once didn't apologize. Simply smiling innocently.

"I mean, they do ask some idiotic questions sometimes," Joshua agreed, getting a narrow-eyed glare from Yasaka. "Seriously, they deserve to be called out on it. Those are obviously to mock me, with how easy they are," He continued with a roll of his eyes. "But yes, I suppose that's not very politically correct of me to say, is it?" He added with a grimace.

"Indeed, it's not," Yasaka answered, although she had a strange look on her face that Kunou couldn't quite place. "But I guess it's not too bad to say, in private," She said, adding the last part directed very obviously mostly at Kunou, who pouted at her.

"Guess I'll have to keep an eye on her too. We don't want Kunou to become mean, do we?" Joshua agreed with a solemn nod.

"What, me? But you-" The little girl protested, sputtering indignantly before being interrupted.

"Yes, we can't have that," Jeanne nodded along.

"I'm glad you two agree," Her mother said, getting a betrayed look from Kunou herself. "Truly, educating children is a struggle," She said, and the girl almost missed the joking undertone in her voice.

Having done so didn't stop her from pouting though.

"Ok, none of that," Joshua said, grinning at her. "Yasaka said something about you wanting to know about circles?" He asked, making the gears in Kunou's head shift.

"Yes!" She announced. "I want to know more about that. Maybe we can make circles together after I learn. Then we can work on those projects-"

"Projects?" Jeanne said, suddenly looking dismayed for some reason. "Oh no, what have you done, Joshua?"

"Don't know what you mean," The man replied, looking entirely too proud as he turned towards Kunou, which made her beam at him. "And yeah, sure we can do that. Now, as for the circles thing-"

[} 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/)