Cracks, No Breaks-
"This is new," he commented, sitting back and glancing across the cafe's table.
"I thought you could use a change of pace," Gabriel said but it was a very blatant lie. She wasn't even trying to hide that fact either, which was interesting. He was under no delusions that he would have a hard time picking up anything his partners didn't want him to, considering the kind of people they were. Lying and spotting lies was what they lived for, considering their jobs. It complicated matters for him, obviously, but he wasn't too bothered by that.
"Wanna try again?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the angel.
"Not really," she answered, all but sighing. That alone got him very curious, because Gabriel wasn't one for expressing much unless it was something positive. Although, she did seem to be opening up a little. He loved that just as much as he did when Serafall let go of her cheerful magical girl act. "I have something to talk to you about."
"Well, that's not ominous at all," he replied wryly, a half smile on his face. All the same, he did his best to push down his nerves and focus on what she'd said, thinking. "Either I screwed up at some point or this isn't about us at all."
"It's only… tangentially about us," Gabriel said, fidgeting with and staring down at the cup between her hands. "You know how the Church has been… dealing with issues."
"Yes," was the short response he had to that, straightening on his seat and narrowing his eyes. "They haven't called in a while. I assumed things were mostly dealt with," he added, suspicious. "Did something happen?"
"Not… per se, but something is about to happen," the angel answered, taking a deep breath in and looking up at him. He wasn't sure why she looked so reluctant to talk about whatever it was that she needed though. "Most of the remaining… troublesome individuals seem to have holed up in a base that the Church lost. An attack is being organized against it."
"And they want me to help," he finished with a tilt of his head. "Is there something I'm missing or why are you acting so oddly?" he asked bluntly, because he was far from an expert at reading people like she was. On top of that, she was far from an easy person to read at all, unless she wanted to be, so that didn't help either.
So, it was better to do the opposite of any of that and just… be straightforward.
He quite liked that method anyway.
"I know we met each other through my… job, as you like to say," Gabriel said, a sad smile on her face. "But approaching you in a professional manner after we started having a relationship with each other is different. It's…"
"Hm, I think I get it," he took over when he noticed that she was struggling to find the right words to explain herself. Which spoke much about the state she was in, considering she always seemed to know what to say, much like Yasaka and Serafall…
He definitely had a type, Joshua knew, but he was always coming across little similarities between all three of them that made that exceedingly clear.
Like at that moment.
"You're missing something though," he added, drawing a somewhat surprised blink from the woman. It was nice to know that he could take his partners aback at times, despite how well they could read him. "I like helping," he said as an explanation, which seemed to make the angel look even more lost. "If you need anything, anything at all, just tell me. It doesn't matter if it's related to what you do or anything else. It's what I do, please don't feel like you can't ask me to do things if it'll help make things easier for you."
That little speech hung in the air between them for a long moment and he could almost see Gabriel's mind trying to process that. 'Is this going to be another Yasaka situation?' he wondered. Because that would suck. Making his youkai partner accept help from him had already been enough of a hassle. Not that he wouldn't do it again, but he'd rather not.
"Now," he continued, taking a sip from his cup of tea and then setting it down with a slight smile. "What do you need me to do?" he asked, his grin widening a little bit.
Then he blinked when Gabriel visibly took a deep breath in, squared her shoulders and closed her eyes for a moment. 'Is it that bad?' he wondered, curious and now a little uneasy. He'd thought most of the issue was on the asking part, not whatever it was that they needed from him, but maybe-
"You're working on something that'll stop me from Falling, aren't you?" Gabriel asked and, when she opened her eyes, she looked way more intense than he'd ever seen her. He just nodded slowly, not seeing what that had to do with whatever the Church needed from- "You really need to finish that one."
"... Oh," was his eloquent response as his mind finally realized that he was trying to connect the wrong set of dots. "I'll do my best," he said, a nervous wry smile on his lips. She was being very blatant about that those days, it seemed and it was more and more frequent too. "If it helps, I'll find a way to revert the Falling if I have to," he added, mostly as a joke, but not really.
And Gabriel seemed to realize that too, because her intense look returned with a vengeance.
"You're not going to be more careful with what you say, are you?" she asked, a smile on her own lips. "Then again, I don't know if I want you to be."
"Those are some mixed signals you're sending my way."
"How about this?"
And the way their smiles met wasn't confusing at all.
[}-o-{]
"Thanks for having us," Sirzechs Lucifer himself said, what looked to Joshua like a practiced smile on his face. He was getting better at spotting those, spending so much time with three people that had to don similar expressions often. Not that Yasaka, Serafall and Gabriel used those with him – much –, but witnessing the switch so often was teaching his socially challenged ass how to notice them.
It helped that he was in his home, so absolutely filled with spell arrays that it was difficult to miss something unless he didn't understand what was going on. Even then, there was always Cheshire to fill in the blanks with her supernatural intuition. Speaking of, he grinned at the new arrivals and petted his cat's head where she was perched over his shoulder.
She'd woken up clingy that day, apparently.
"Pleasure is ours," Joshua replied as easily as he could with someone that he didn't really know well. He'd decided he was going to try though, so that's what he'd do. "Between you and me, Serafall thinks I need more friends, so you're helping me out here," he added, hearing an exaggerated gasp from behind him. He was more focused on the fact that Sirzechs' smile seemed to turn the smallest bit more honest and Grayfia's lip twitched into what he thought might have been a hint of amusement.
Maybe he was wrong on both accounts though. It was brief enough that it could have been his mind playing tricks on him. Nevertheless, Joshua seemed to have woken up in an optimistic, social mood himself, by some miracle. So, he just grinned a little wider and decided to think the best of the situation.
"You said you needed more friends!" Serafall defended herself, moving to his side and poking him rather harshly with her finger. "And hello, Grayfia, I hope the two haven't been too troublesome."
"I manage," the strongest maid in the Underworld replied, almost flatly.
"Between you and me, Grayfia thinks I need more friends too," Sirzechs commented idly, a hint of wry humor in his voice that had Joshua chuckling. Maybe he could do the socializing thing, at least that day. That was great. On a more familiar and comfortable note though, there was an excited, shaking little person between the two older devils that was kind of demanding attention, if only because of how much his eyes were sparkling.
Still though, that didn't mean Joshua had to address that quite that moment.
"Well, a mutually beneficial arrangement if there ever was one," he replied before moving on to even more fun. "Now," he started leadingly, glancing towards the child and then back to his parents. He saw, without a shadow of doubt, that they could very well see what he was doing. And they approved. "I know we said this would be fun, but there was a small bit of business I thought we could get out of the way before-"
""No!""
There was not one but two very disappointed and desperate voices that protested, interrupting his words. Joshua almost burst into laughter then and there. Somehow though, he managed to turn and raise an eyebrow at Kunou at the same time that Sirzechs and Grayfia did.
"Millicas," was all the Strongest Queen said, but it was enough.
For his part, Joshua had to be a bit more eloquent.
"Kunou," he said, testing the effectiveness of her method all the same. It seemed to work well. Maybe he'd have to practice it. In the meantime… "You haven't even greeted our guests, I'll remind you."
The child grumbled something that could be assumed to be a "sorry" before shuffling to her feet from where she was on the sofa. A moment later, she was standing to his side with what Joshua recognized almost fondly as the "child meeting the parents' friends" look. He'd know it, considering how much he'd worn that himself. His mother was friends with literally everyone in town, after all.
"Hello," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "It's nice to have you here," she added, almost half-heartedly, getting a similar mumbled answer from the redhead child. Joshua was happy that his daughter had tried, even if he knew Yasaka – and Grayfia with Millicas – was probably appalled. To save the two children the scolding for the moment though, he decided to get a word in.
"I think that's enough teasing," he commented with a grin, planting a hand on top of Kunou's head and ruffling her hair, getting another whine out of her. "Good to see you again, Millicas," he added.
"It's great to see you too, Mr. Davis," the child replied, the name coming out of his mouth like he was saying some foreign word he didn't know if he was pronouncing well. Joshua guessed that, in his mind, he was just Domino. Joshua Davis barely existed in his mind, and he kind of could relate to that. He felt much the same way about some movie and series characters and their actors.
"Now, before either of them burst from impatience, how about we move to the main event," he commented, gesturing behind him to where the TV was set up. Eagerly rushed words came from both children who seemed to try and fail not to run to pick their seats. He looked at the two with a raised eyebrow and then shared a look with Millicas' parents. "Anything I can offer you, something to drink? Snacks?"
"Coffee would be great," Sirzechs answered, his smile definitely looking more honest, especially with how fondly he looked, glancing at his son.
"I'll have the same, if it's not too much trouble," was Grayfia's response, accompanied with a slight bow that almost brought the awkward out of Joshua. He soldiered through though, especially when Satan Lucifer spoke again.
"Between you and me," he said, once more repeating his words back at Joshua. "Grayfia has a rather strong sweet tooth."
If looks could freeze someone to death, the Underworld would have needed to look for a new Satan.
Joshua ignored that with all the ease his newly cheerful mood afforded him.
"Say no more," he replied instead, moving to get things for them. "The children are too focused, so I imagine they don't want popcorn-"
"Dad!"
"No!"
Oh, the playdate was off to a great start.
Maybe he should have reached out to be friends with Sirzechs and Grayfia much sooner.
[}-o-{]
"I think that was a success," Joshua commented, drinking from his cup of tea during breakfast.
Off to the side, on the other end of the table, he could see and hear Kunou and Morag speaking animatedly about the binge watching of Serafall's show they had gone on the previous day. He could also hear them mention Millicas' name here and there too. So, all in all, he did feel like the playdate had been a success. 'Although, admittedly, it was supposed to be for both us adults and the children,' he mused to himself.
All the same, it wasn't like it had become all about the kids. For as much fun as Kunou, Morag and Millicas seemed to have had, Joshua had had a good time just talking with Sirzechs and Grayfia. Both of them were easier to get along with than he'd first assumed. Although, that might have been all due to how good a mood he'd been in.
"Indeed," Yasaka with her own beverage in hand. "How're you dealing with the aftermath of socializing?"
"I feel like I want to stay in my room and sleep for a week," Joshua answered, drawing a soft snort and a smile from the youkai. He was only half-joking though. It had all gone well and he'd had a good time, but the toll on his social battery had left him exhausted all the same.
"A day to take it easy then?" his partner asked and he made a halfhearted shrugging motion.
"Not really. I made sure Ravel cleared my schedule, but I feel like my soul's finished recovering. And yes, I've felt this way for days, I was just making sure," he explained, preemptively answering the follow up question he was sure she'd make. "So, I'll make sure I'm fine and then I should be able to tackle some things with the Egyptians' help."
"A busy day instead, that's one way to try and recover from exhaustion," Yasaka pointed out and she didn't even need to put any criticism in her voice or words for Joshua to feel like he was a disappointment. That was some next level guilt tripping, he knew. All the same though, he grinned wryly at her.
"How about just a busy couple of hours? I have the entire day free and the kids had plenty of fun yesterday," he said, leaning back and taking a sip from his cup of tea. He'd almost finished it, he noted idly before turning his attention back to Yasaka. "We could go somewhere after we're both done, provided you're not a hypocrite that has her schedule full too."
The look the youkai leader sent his way probably would have scared anyone else.
Joshua just grinned at her.
"Anywhere in particular?"
"Hm, I'm thinking about that restaurant you liked, what was it called? The cozy one with the warm colors and spicy food," he answered with, frowning and snapping his fingers trying to remember. Much as his Japanese skill had improved a lot, his inability to remember names was twice as bad when it came to Japanese ones.
"I know which one you're talking about," she replied with a beaming smile that told him he'd picked right. Few things filled him with more pride than making such correct decisions when it came to his partners. "I'll look forward to that."
"Same," he replied, cracking his neck and then sighing after finishing the last bit of tea that was left in his cup. "For now, I'll take the kids to school. I know you'll be busier than me today," he said as he stood up and leaned down to peck her on the lips. There'd be time for more later in the day.
Besides, everyone was still around.
"Very mature, Jeanne," he commented when the girl made retching sounds. "I'll remember that the next time I see you and Kiba," he added and the girl blanched.
His sister wasn't very smart, as it turned out.
Around an hour later and back at home with only the company of his familiars, Joshua took a moment to gather his thoughts. The silence of the room felt eerie, for some reason, and also uncomfortable. He supposed he'd gotten used to the noise. All the same, he'd need the quiet in order to better do what he was about to set out to.
'Let's do this,' he thought, taking a deep breath in.
If he thought about it too much, he'd just keep himself going in circles. The spells were ready and Friday was extra ready if the giddy energy he was getting from her was anything to go by. It was better to just get to it. 'Let's do this,' he repeated, this time for the deities on the other side of his connection instead of himself.
They responded almost as eagerly as his living spell familiar, funnily enough. Or, at least, some of them did. Others were more dignified, admittedly. However, all of them were very decisive and incredibly intense. Not a single one of them felt like slacking when they'd come across an affront to their domain in Valerie.
Every god and goddess with a soul connection wanted him to step up because of that and they were more than ready to help him.
They were resolute.
So, he felt his soul stretch to accommodate them. Funnily enough, he felt it more than ever, since they were giving him a much better, almost instinctual, capability to sense and understand souls. He felt their divinity permeate his very being, which strained but withstood all the same.
He was recovered, evidently, but that didn't mean he was any better at channeling them than before.
All the same, it was time to experiment and learn.
[}-o-{]
[Griselda Quarta]
She worked calmly on some paperwork.
The dreadful sheets had started piling ever since things with her faction had gotten extra complicated. She'd take any moment she could to get some of it out of the way. For that, she was almost grateful for the delay in their meeting. Almost being the operative word there, because the complaining officials around her were getting on her nerves.
"Why do we have to wait for an outsider of all people?" one of them mumbled under their breath and she almost rolled her eyes. The least they could do was speak out loud instead of in hushed tones with their closest allies and friends. Alas, the Church's situation meant that they had to make do with some subpar agents here and there. Their already rather small numbers had taken quite the hit with the Civil War that had broken out. "We should finish this on our own!"
The whole thing couldn't be over soon enough, if anyone asked Griselda.
Which meant it was good that they were there to discuss how to proceed to achieve that.
Now, if only their guest could get there already, that'd be great.
"How reliable can they be anyway?" a woman across the huge table from her commented, and the only thing she commended was the fact that she said that quite loudly compared to everyone else. Other than that though, she was impressed by how narrow-minded and outright ignorant what was said actually was. "Magicians are not only an affront, but they aren't even that-"
'They aren't even that strong,' was what Griselda imagined was going to be the wording there. Alas, they never got to hear the end of that because the woman was proven wrong in that very moment. Which was probably a good thing. Nobody was stupid enough to actually think that, surely. They were words spoken out of annoyance instead of actual belief, or so Griselda hoped.
All the same, a new presence teleporting into the base they were at cut through it all like a hot knife through butter. 'That's out of character,' she noted to herself, because she didn't even remember if she'd ever been hit by his full presence at any point in all the time she'd known their guest.
Yet, they were all getting blasted with the entirety of Joshua Davis' aura like the man was trying to have them all feel it.
Idly, she glanced to her side towards Lady Gabriel, but the angel seemed as at ease as she'd been before. Granted, there was no way of knowing if she actually wasn't surprised or if she was just not showing it. 'This could be part of a plan of some sort. Maybe make sure that nobody takes too much issue to Joshua?' she wondered, glancing around the room.
Where before the atmosphere had been full of nerves and annoyance, bordering on anger, there was now only hushed unease and awe in equal measure. Interestingly though, Griselda saw one person that looked excited. Not that she was surprised, really, seeing who he was.
"Joshua," Lady Gabriel greeted when the man was led through the door by staff that quickly scurried away. The angel was all smiles – smiling wider than before, actually, Griselda noted – as she stood. "You're late."
"Sorry about that, everyone," the man said, his voice more even than Griselda had ever heard it as he looked around the room. "One of my projects took too much time."
"Project was more important than us, huh?" someone all but growled in Italian, and Griselda saw the statement hit everyone in the room.
"Not more important," Joshua said then, switching to Italian with ease, even if it was slightly flawed and heavily accented. "I'll admit that much, but I imagine Sephiroth Graal isn't irrelevant."
That was one way to shock everyone out of any animosity that might have suddenly arisen.
"Mr. Davis, excuse the manners," a deep voice said, going back to English, maybe as a courtesy, and the room seemed to fall even more silent even though nobody had been speaking much. "Everyone is a little uneasy, considering the current… circumstances."
"Understandable," Joshua replied, glancing at the only empty seat at the table and letting a slight grin form on his lips. Then, he started walking up to it like a man with no pressure nor rush. "I have to say, I've wanted to meet you for some time, sir."
"Please, let's do away with the formalities, shall we?" the man said, standing up in all his considerable height and reaching across the table for a handshake. "Vasco Strada, but you can just call me Vasco."
"Joshua Davis," the magician replied with a much more present smile. Looking tiny by comparison next to the titan of a man, yet managing to look not at all weaker. A feat few could boast about all by itself, really. "And please call me Joshua, I prefer it."
And then their hands reached each other and the room was filled with a whole new level of presence. Between Joshua's still unchecked aura and Vasco unleashing his own, it was no surprise that every single human there was either frozen in place or trembling. Griselda herself felt her heart squeeze, even though she was familiar with both men.
Even the angels around were looking at the exchange with intense attention.
That made sense, however, because it wasn't every day that the two strongest members of a race met each other in such a way. Griselda almost felt it a shame that there'd be no record of the momentous event that was happening right before their eyes. It was huge, at least, in human history, and she could see that everyone – no matter what their opinions on magicians or anything else might have been – realized that.
That single second seemed to stretch for years before both men let go and sat down on their seats. There was something there, maybe in their minds or maybe actually coming across when Vasco and Joshua looked at each other. Whether from outside only or both inside and out, there was an acknowledgement of what had just happened.
The Unstoppable Priest had just met the Unmovable Magician.
[} Chapter End {]
Hey guys! How's it going?
Well, apparently it's finally time to wrap up one of the plot lines of this fic. Feels like a hundred years since the Church Civil War started, but it also feels like it hasn't been that long at the same time. At least partly because it shared space with a bunch of other storylines, I bet.
Also, Vasco, no idea how it's taken this long to meet him, considering the human adventure this is, but then again, Joshua is a hermit. Furthermore, he's very deep into other factions and never got that involved with the Church, despite everything. Wonder if that'd have gone differently had the Church made a better impression when they first popped up.
We'll never know (unless I write a spin-off, which is not impossible, I guess).
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.
As always, if you can't wait until next week for the next chapter, or if you just feel like supporting my writing, there's up to three new chapters in my Patreon (linked below).
Random Question: Does your mind hyperfocus on stuff in cycles? Like, mine will. Lately I've been tinkering up TTRPG stuff for games I've started organizing with people in the Discord server like my life depends on it. But another example is the way I seem to scour through fandoms for every single fic I might be interested in before almost completely forgetting it after I find a new one to look into. As a follow up question, if you do the same, what are you focusing on these days?