Chapter 76-Don't Hide My Grace Away

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.

Don't Hide My Grace Away

[Asia Argento]

"You are doing really well," Mr. Joshua told her, which made her smile shyly at her plate. Something that didn't really help matters, considering that the man had prepared it all himself and it was quite probably the best food she'd ever had. However, at least it was better than the alternative.

Asia didn't think she'd been treated all that badly back where she came from, but things were certainly different at the Davis's house. Where she was used to calm and collected people that would, at most, give mild compliments, Mr. Joshua would make a small event out of every single thing she did. Like just now, she'd gotten to choose what they'd eat and the man had gone out of his way to make it better than his usual meals because she'd done well in their language studies.

It wasn't even that she was being treated specially in any way, really, like it would sometimes happen at the church when she did particularly well in regular duties and was praised for being the Maiden. This was the Davis siblings treating her as one more of their own. Mr. Joshua did much the same thing for Miss Jeanne or his familiars or himself. That just made it better though, because Asia was tired of feeling different.

Back at the church, she'd always be treated specially one way or the other. Either she'd be treated more strictly by those that tried to push her to be better than others because she was the Maiden, or the opposite would happen, where she was treated better than others because of who she was. Asia had found both things equally as distasteful, if she were honest, but she'd ignored it all. After all, maybe there was more going on than she realized. Maybe she wasn't understanding what happened as well as she should.

Now though, with everything that happened… Maybe all that had been tribulations set up for her by the Lord.

"Thank you, Mr. Joshua," she mumbled after a moment, realizing that she was being rude by ignoring the compliment. Fortunately, neither the man nor his sister seemed to mind that overly much. Miss Jeanne especially, since she seemed to be enjoying the Italian dish Asia had asked for. That was good, she'd been worried she was imposing on them by asking for something they didn't usually eat.

She'd been fine eating whatever Mr. Joshua prepared so far, especially since it was all very good food, to be sure. However, she'd started to miss some of the meals she enjoyed where she grew up. So… she'd decided to be a little selfish for once, especially since Mr. Joshua had made sure to stress the fact that he'd prepare anything she wanted and that she was free to ask for whatever.

"I've told you to call me just Joshua, Asia," the man told her, breaking her from her thoughts. Fortunately, he didn't look angry or annoyed by her way of addressing him. That was a relief. She just found it… uncomfortable to call him just by his name. She wasn't used to doing that, really.

"I'm sorry," she apologized nevertheless. After all, she was blatantly ignoring someone's preferences because of her own thoughts and feelings. That was so rude of her-

"It's fine, if you feel more comfortable with that," the man reassured her, moving around the water in his glass. "At least you aren't calling me Mr. Davis. That's when we'd have a problem," he added with a wry smile.

"If you don't mind me asking," Asia started, before hesitating. Would it be too personal a question? The inviting look she got from Mr. Joshua was encouraging enough to break through her doubts though. "Why do you find it so bothersome?"

"For one, because it seems so… distant. Makes me feel like people are throwing a wall between them and me, like they want to pull away," Joshua explained, before bringing some food up to his mouth as he considered his next words carefully. "Maybe that doesn't make sense, but it's how it feels to me. I know it's supposed to be about respect, but that can be shown much better in other ways than just how someone addresses me."

Asia nodded, listening attentively as the man spoke. Maybe it was because he was a teacher, but he did have that sort of voice that she'd heard from instructors sometimes. The one that told her they were telling her something she wanted to know.

And she supposed he wasn't wrong, if she thought about it for a bit. What did a name hold in terms of respect? It was like telling someone that you only respected their name and not them. Like those people that seemed more affected by her title of Holy Maiden than they were of Asia or what she could do. If that's how Mr. Joshua felt about it, then she could understand, at least the last part. She wasn't sure she got the part about putting distance between him and the speaker.

"It's also… Well, my parents died over a year ago," Mr. Joshua continued and she'd have apologized for bringing back bad memories but he seemed to see that coming. "Don't worry about it, you didn't know," he waved off before she could even say a word. "I guess people calling me Mr. Davis just… reminds me a lot of my father. He was always that, as far as I can remember. As for me, I haven't been that since I got out of school years ago."

"Don't your students call you Professor Davis?" Miss Jeanne asked then, pointing that out with a gesture of her fork.

"True, guess that's different enough," Mr. Joshua replied, smiling sadly as he turned back to his food, simply pushing it around. "I guess I'm starting to move on past that too, if slowly. That doesn't mean you can call me Mr. Davis," he added, the last part said with a hint of a joking tone as he turned towards Asia. "We are friends now and I won't have a friend calling me that."

"Of course," she replied, which was as much as she could say as a knot formed in her throat and her eyes started feeling like they'd start shedding tears anytime soon. 'I have friends,' was the shocking realization she came to at that moment.

Suddenly, the food was tasting much better than before, for some reason, which was saying something.

[}-o-{]

[Elizabeth Báthory]

Agnes thought she was being sneaky, pulling strings so that she'd be busy whenever her pet project was around. It would have been almost cute, if it weren't so exceedingly infuriating. The Director wouldn't be able to keep that game up for long though and, sure enough, an opportunity presented itself.

Although, it was a little saddening that it was more likely that Agnes had realized it was a futile endeavor. Elizabeth would have liked to see her start struggling and getting frustrated because of that. After all, it wasn't like she had any rush in meeting whoever this Joshua Davis was.

So what if he could modify spells? It was hard, of course, but was there really all that much to be in awe of with just that? Elizabeth hadn't heard any incredible feats pulled by said spells besides his stalemate with Annihilation Maker. The defeat of Dimension Lost had been mostly luck and lack of preparation from Georg, the fool, from what her sources had found. Even the aforementioned Annihilation Maker was more of a draw than anything, something that had likely happened because the whole thing had gone on for too long and drawn too much attention to keep it up than any merit on Davis.

So, it was only a mildly interested Elizabeth that made her way to the man's classroom. The students were already stepping outside, since the lecture should have ended already. There was a wave of mutters and conversation that was usually lacking in such classes, but that was unsurprising, really. News of Davis's willingness to spread his knowledge around like it didn't matter had traveled fast and explained that pretty well. If anyone asked Elizabeth, the man was a fool. He was basically doing away with his one advantage over other people like it was nothing, for some incomprehensible reason.

When she reached the door though, Elizabeth paused. There were three students still inside, one of which, a male, approaching Davis hesitantly. Thus, she was forced to stay out of things for a bit. Who knew though? Maybe she'd get to see something interesting.

"Two spells," Davis said after his student muttered something that Elizabeth didn't get to hear, unfortunately. "Sure, I can set something up for you to test those no problem. You don't mind waiting for a bit, right, Meredith, Karin?" he asked then, turning to the other two students who quickly shook their heads.

'Oh? He'll have the boy test spells just like that?' Elizabeth noted to herself as she watched on. That was a rather risky move to pull, considering all that could go wrong with the smallest mistake.

Those thoughts were quickly pushed away as she watched Davis move. She could have laughed when he pulled out a set of circles drawn on paper and arranged them on his desk. 'Really? This is the man that caused such ruckus in the magic community?' Elizabeth wondered, unimpressed. Who even used drawn circles anymore?

Still, she continued watching as the man pulled out wardstones. Wards were supposed to be the man's main branch, even if she'd heard whispers of other branches. That was interesting, she'd admit. Someone going into several branches was certainly something to note down. If the rumors were true, that is. For all she knew, he was just applying Ward Magic really cleverly, considering that he was supposed to be something of a spellcrafter.

Those thoughts were violently pushed aside as the man started casting his wards. One after the other, the spells washed over Elizabeth, and she felt herself tensing and sweating. She liked to think she was a gifted magic sensor, which was why she knew what was happening, contrary to the students in the classroom.

Her eyes darted around, but she obviously saw nothing, even if she could literally feel the oppressing magic. It was like being in a cage made of diamond. The wards were solid as they could be, immovable in a way that had nothing to do with one of the branch's biggest disadvantages.

It felt like one would have to fight an impossible battle just to get out of their range, even if Elizabeth knew none of them was geared towards containing people. The wards watched though, an unflinching, invisible gaze settled on anything and everything inside the wards. The borders were firm and resolute, like a wall.

And that was before the student did what he'd requested and what had Davis throwing such defenses in the first place. The first spell was attempted without a second thought, belying that the student was a very foolish person or someone that was very confident in the teacher's capabilities, or both. It still failed though, quite spectacularly at that.

Elizabeth felt it immediately, not only the wild snap of the magic before it went on to wreak havoc in the classroom, but also the shift in the wards. Suddenly, they were pulling away at the magic of the spell. Sucking it dry of any power it might have gotten from the student that had clearly failed. The abomination of magic disappeared like it wasn't even there under the unrelenting might of the wards.

When the whole thing was over, Elizabeth could only do one thing. She turned and walked away from the classroom. She'd have to go over her information about Davis again, this time with a new outlook. It wouldn't do to approach such a person underprepared. No, she couldn't afford that at all.

The gods knew, she'd likely regret such a thing.

[}-o-{]

[Serafall Leviathan]

"Falbium is being lazy about the whole thing," she complained, because who better to do that to than with someone that wouldn't use that information against her and would also actually listen? "Not that I blame him, of course. Sirzechs is already having enough of a headache trying to maneuver around this mess to actually do stuff. But I need them to, otherwise Heaven and the Church are gonna get pissy, even if the thing was as much their mess as ours."

"I mean, yeah, I get it. But it's Ajuka's brother, isn't it? I'm not very into that kind of stuff, but it has to be problematic on many levels," Joshua commented, not looking up from the notes he was working on as Serafall continued swaying from side to side with a pout on her face across from him. "And people think it's weird that I want to stay away from politics."

"It's not weird, it's just… People usually just can't do without them, Joshua. You are weird because you can, and I'll have you know that it's because other people are willing to deal with that for you," Serafall pointed out, narrowing her eyes at him.

"People like you, I know," he replied, grinning like the ungrateful man he was. Why did she put up with him? "And I'm eternally grateful, which is why I'm working on this as a favor to you guys, isn't it? I guess it's more of a favor to Sirzechs though, so maybe you can get something out of him."

Huh, well, that answered her question quite decisively, yeah. He was nice in a way that he had no right being, really. How many people would throw the political power of having a Satan owe them a favor just to make up for help that really didn't actually mean all that much? Unless, that is…

"You realize that I'd have to deal with that anyway, right? It's not actually your fault or for you or anything, Joshua," Serafall clarified for him, because sometimes the man just didn't seem to realize such things, even if they were obvious. "My job is to deal with these things, really. Helping you just happens to be good for us."

She didn't like saying that so bluntly, but it needed to be said, really. Joshua was a friend, he deserved better than to think she was doing him a favor when she really wasn't. However, she couldn't leave it at that. It made it seem like their entire friendship was hanging on her profession.

"I wouldn't mind doing a favor or two though," she added, beaming at the man. Maybe she didn't need to clarify, considering his still calm expression. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"I guess," the man replied with a half-grin before looking down at his notes again. Oh no, that just wouldn't do.

"I guess? That's all I get from that? Joshua, you meanie," Serafall complained, pouting at the man as he chuckled.

"Right, sorry, and yeah, that's what friends are for," Joshua agreed, nodding as he straightened on his seat a bit. "And as a friend, I'm allowed to do you a favor, which means that my previous statement stands," he added mock-seriously before chuckling again, shaking his head and then turning back to his work.

"You are too good for your own good, Joshua," Serafall pointed out, softly this time, pulling away from her usual mannerisms the smallest bit as she relaxed on her seat. "You can be a little more selfish, you know?"

"I could, but do I need to?" he asked her then distractedly as he continued working. "I don't really need more than I already have, really. I've got all I need… Well, with the exception of Khaos Brigade being dealt with, but that's in process of happening anyway," he said with a shrug before frowning at his notebook. After a moment, he nodded. "Ok, I think that's enough. I'll do a little more testing and then we are done for today," he told her standing up to look through the drawers of a nearby piece of furniture.

"It's strange, you know? That you don't want power, or money, or anything like that," Serafall told him.

"Is it? I just want a comfortable life, which I already have, and for the people I care about to have one too," Joshua answered, returning to the table with a handful of wardstones. Then he gave her a smile that almost reminded her of an angel's, except without the uneasiness of the Heaven member's presence, that is. "That includes you, so if I can make your life easier, I will."

Stupid Joshua.

"You should be careful saying things like that, Joshua, people might think you are trying to court me or something," Serafall pointed out to him, only half joking. She knew very well that there were a lot of people that had gotten in trouble for "harmless" comments such as that one.

"They should know that I have no chance and I'm very aware of that," Joshua replied with a laugh as he started setting up his next ward array. Serafall remained silent then, to consider his words as much as she did to give him the time to calmly do his job. She knew that human spells could fail much more easily and catastrophically than a devil's, after all. "And that's that," the man muttered then, before casting the spells and closing his eyes.

Then he tilted his head. As he went through the process of examining the phoenix tear Serafall had brought with her under his wards, the Satan looked at him. It was difficult to understand how she'd gotten so close to the man so quickly. A lot of things were like that when considering Joshua though, she guessed.

Regardless, as she considered what they'd talked about, Serafall could help but smile wryly as the man obliviously continued to work.

'You really don't make things easy, Joshua,' she thought to herself.

[}-o-{]

[Fuyuko]

She was a very happy youkai, if she was honest. First, because she was one of the servants that attended to specific requests from her assigned person. What for others might have been the worst job was a privilege for her and those that worked at the West Youkai Faction's main building. Furthermore, there were times when those people that were assigned to Yasaka-sama herself would envy her too.

After all, Joshua Davis didn't have to – or even want to – deal with the important meetings that a faction leader did. Even if he did participate in such events, like whenever Satan Leviathan visited or in similar instances, he never expected her to act in any way differently from the usual. It was quite refreshing, really.

The only thing she had to do was to make sure that he got a cup of tea at… Well, at most times. If he was feeling anything particularly strong, he especially wanted the drink then. It seemed to help him calm down, or concentrate or overall deal with emotions. As far as habits to deal with as a servant went, that was about as tame as Fuyuko had ever heard.

There was also the fact that being Joshua Davis's servant had turned her into a pretty important person between the other servants. After all, they were all very aware of the change that had happened in Yasaka-sama's family. They could act as much as they wanted and Joshua could throw up as many illusions as he wanted, but the servants knew them and could very well notice the changes even if they weren't evident or spoken out loud.

Fuyuko knew, very well, that Joshua Davis was much more than little Kunou's magic teacher. Even the girl's servants had confirmed the fact, when everyone talked about it, behind closed doors that is. There was not a single person that spoke badly of the girl having an actual father figure in her life though, nor of Yasaka-sama for allowing that to happen, or even encouraging it. If anything, they were pleased with that development.

They also knew that if anybody out of their circle found out, things could easily take a turn for the worse. One needed to know the family as they did to be able to ignore the political aspects of such things and just know that Kunou was a girl that needed both parental figures, especially with Yasaka-sama as busy as she was with her duties. They also knew that the woman they all ultimately worked for needed the peace of mind that knowing her child was taken care of brought with it.

And, in a way, Fuyuko thought that Joshua benefited from the arrangement about as much as the other two. She knew, if not in detail, that he was a man that struggled in the social aspects of life and having such strong bonds was a blessing that he needed. And the man appreciated it, which was the important part. Never did he seem like he'd take advantage of what he'd been given, if anything, he seemed to take it as something to motivate himself to do better.

"Relax," Joshua stressed as he spoke to Kunou, Fuyuko and several other servants watching from the side. The man's soft smile directed at the child as he patted her head, making the girl that had once been a hollow mask at best pout before relaxing under the attention she was given. "You'll get it soon enough, no need to get angry. I thought we were over this after you got better at illusions, honestly."

"Sorry, I just… I wanna do well. How come she's doing so much better?" the child asked, pointing at the most recent addition to her classes with Joshua. The poor nun, for her part, watched on in confusion but knowing that something she did had somehow upset little Kunou.

"That's because Asia is surrounded by people speaking Japanese now," Joshua explained patiently. "That helps better incorporate the language. Pretty sure it's an established fact that one learns faster when they are surrounded by a language than just studying it on the side."

"You sure?"

"I can check if you want, but that's for later. Now, how does it go?" Joshua asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl as she groaned.

"Take a deep breath in," Kunou grumbled, but did as she herself said. "Let it out slowly," she continued then, her expression clearing. "Relax your muscles," she mumbled, rolling her shoulders a bit. "Breath in, and out," she repeated. "Happy?"

"I don't know, are you more calm?" Joshua asked, before receiving a nod, even if Kunou was still pouting slightly. "Great, now apologize to Asia. Even if she was doing better, that's no reason to complain about it. You don't have to always do as well or better than others."

"I'm sorry," Kunou mumbled, her Italian coming out stiff and maybe a little butchered. It was enough for the nun, even if the poor girl still didn't know what Kunou was apologizing for.

"Good," Joshua said then, after Asia had done her best to reassure the younger girl. "Now back to working on this and then we'll help Asia with her Japanese. If you get annoyed again though, we are switching faster."

"I know," Kunou grumbled.

Fuyuko traded a look with the other servants around. Really, maybe they could pass it off as Joshua being now a friend of the family or something… if it happened sometimes. However, when it happened all the time, it was a little – a lot – more evident what was really going on. Especially given the looks that Yasaka-sama would send their way when they acted like such… Father and daughter, which was the only way to call that, quite honestly.

"I might actually get diabetes, even if I literally can't," Fuyuko heard someone to her side whisper, making her snort. That about summed things up, really. If there was one thing the servants were happy with, it was Yasaka-sama and Kunou being happy too, which hadn't been the case for very long, especially for the latter. Now, with the addition of Joshua to that little group, things were going much better.

'Now, if only Yasaka-sama and Joshua could stop dancing around each other,' Fuyuko thought to herself, moving to go look for three cups of tea for the small class. It'd be even better if it happened closer to her bet instead of Minako's though, if she was honest. The woman would be insufferable if she was the one that won.

[} 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/)