Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.

In the Name of Love

"You look beautiful, Margalo," he said, looking at his familiar's new form. It had been a surprising event, to walk into Incinerate Anthem's room and almost immediately get to see an evolution again. It'd been a while, but it had also not been that long. That was the feeling he got from it, at least.

Margalo was bigger now, for one, but not by much. She still could ride on his shoulder and it warmed Joshua's heart that she might have influenced her own progress just for that. Her feathers had changed a lot from her evolutions since she was just a swift. Her dark feathers had changed and now she showed off beautiful golden feathers that had an almost hypnotizing effect with the light that the Longinus in the room gave off.

"Absolutely beautiful," he breathed out, looking at his familiar, perched on his forearm. He didn't need their strengthened bond to know that she was very happy to hear that and proud too. Just the way she shifted a little, puffing her chest while also shyly looking to the side, gave her away.

[Margalo

Title: Familiar of Joshua Davis

Race: Melody Bird

Gender: Female

Strength: B-

Speed: B+

Dexterity: B

Vitality: B-

Perception: B

Magic: B+

Life: B]

'Melody Bird indeed,' he thought, smiling as Margalo trilled a few notes. She had always been like that, never tweeting for tweeting's sake. There had to be a tune, a song, whenever she voiced anything. She liked that, just as much as he liked to spellcraft. Just like he always had project ideas, she always had song ideas.

It was how his familiar was.

It was who his familiar was.

It was nice to see that she had finally accepted herself. He could remember, after all, the times when she'd been frustrated with how weak she was. The times when she'd try and try to improve, to be able to fight beside her sisters, his other familiars. Joshua had always known she was wrong, that she could do it without having to attack or defend. Her songs allowed for that even then, when she didn't realize how useful they were.

So, it was nice to see that she'd finally realized that she didn't need to be different. She only needed to accept that she had her own kind of strength. Just like how Joshua himself might not be the strongest in a lot of things, he had his own power through his specialties and so did his familiar. All of his familiars, really.

"I'm happy for you, girl," he whispered, rubbing his free hand's fingers on her soft, warm feathers. Margalo chirped something that sounded entirely too melodious for such a short, sharp sound as she turned to press her head against his palm. Joshua guessed he needed to get used to that. "This deserves a celebration. I'll prepare food for everyone and you can show off as much as you want. What do you think?" he asked, getting an instantaneous and excited agreement from the bird.

Not that he expected differently, really.

Evolved, Margalo might have, but she was just as childish as she had been before and as his other familiars were. Cheshire might try to act mature and Nagini might be a little standoffish, but they were children at heart and he knew it. Even if they tended to try and argue that observation, like Margalo then and there.

"Ok, let's go, yeah," Joshua said, glancing towards Incinerate Anthem. He had plenty of protections and the fire seemed to be very calm so far. His familiars didn't even need to do much of anything to keep things going smoothly. So, maybe…

Margalo trilled something.

"Ah… I guess we can do that," he mumbled, letting out a breath through his nose. Smiling, he settled Margalo on his shoulder and walked up to the Longinus in the room. There, he extended his hand and let the flames latch onto him, wrapping around him like the most dangerous and weirdly wrapped scarf. Incinerate Anthem proceeded to float around his chest this or that way as if trying to hug him while keeping movement. "Almost wish you'd accepted, Margalo. It'd have made things easier for me."

That got him a sharp turn of the bird's head and an intent stare.

"Almost, but not quite," he reassured quickly, before his familiar could change her mind and accept the Longinus. He would never force her or any of the others to do something like that. "You didn't think it was for you and that's fine. I'll just have to continue looking," he added, waving his hand dismissively. Sure, it would have helped, but it didn't matter ultimately.

Idly, he called for his familiars through their bond so that they'd all meet at the living room. He'd have to prepare stuff for everyone to eat and such so there'd be some time to kill for them. Unsurprisingly, however, they didn't seem to care overly much. Instead, they moved towards the kitchen so that they could take a good look at their sister's new form.

While that was happening, Joshua also sent a message to Jeanne, Asia, Yasaka and Serafall so that they'd know the news. The latter two were busy with work, however, while the former was out with her kendo friends. Asia, for her part, he could feel through his spells moving back towards the house from her garden. 'And Jeanne came up with an excuse, that idiot,' he thought even though he felt proud of his sister too.

"Can you sing a nice song for Jeanne when she gets here, Margalo? She's doing something nice," he commented, getting a happy trill as if there could be any other answer. She was a sweetheart like that, after all. And besides, she was riding the high of her evolution still.

'Thank God it was just her though. I didn't feel like testing the spell preparation for a mass evolution again,' he mused idly as he reached the kitchen and started cooking. Getting off his shoulder, Margalo hopped on a seat's back and started talking with Cheshire while the feline jumped on the table.

[}-o-{]

[Sona Sitri]

"Thank you… for this," she said in between breaths, wanting nothing more than to drop where she was, curl up and lie there for a long time. Alas, she had an image to preserve, especially in front of her peerage. There was also something to be said about doing so in front of the man she was talking to, she supposed.

Sona would often forget that Joshua Davis was important.

Maybe not as important as her sister, but the fact that she had to add a "maybe" in front of that statement when Serafall was a Satan spoke for itself. It was, after all, so very easy to overlook the fact that the man had risen in the supernatural world ladder entirely too quickly. Especially considering his casual disregard for his own importance in favor of being treated as a normal magician…

As if he were anything close to a normal anything.

It made interactions with him awkward at best. After all, Sona knew very well that you just couldn't disrespect someone that important, no matter who you were. Even her own sister would be wary of doing something like that… if her situation wasn't so particular with Joshua, that is. On the other hand, not disrespecting the man included acquitting for his desire to be treated casually, which was… problematic.

"Don't mention it," the man told her, waving his hand carelessly as he continued looking at the notebook on his lap, sitting on the floor with his back resting on his snake familiar. As if he weren't doing her a massive favor by allowing her and her peerage to train under his wards and offering them different sparring partners to boot. The worst part was that…

"I kind of have to," she commented, trying to gather herself through her exhaustion. "Especially since I have nothing to repay you with for this."

"As I said, don't mention it. Doesn't cost me much and it gives me different people to train against… and for them to train against," the man pointed out, as if they were both gaining just as much and things weren't horribly skewed in her favor. "Sona, really. It's fine."

Only, it wasn't and she knew-

"Sona," he repeated, this time, turning his piercing blue eyes towards her and freezing her in place as if he had used her sister's power. "You are in my house and saying you are in my debt. If I say it's fine and you shouldn't mention it…?" he trailed off questioningly.

What a horribly infuriating man.

No wonder her sister was so taken with him.

"It's fine and I shouldn't mention it," she muttered barely above a whisper. Immediately, whatever steel had appeared in Joshua's eyes vanished, leaving the usual warmth they always seemed to hold.

"Good girl," he told her, turning his attention back to his notebook. Good thing too, because Sona did not need him to see the reddening of her cheeks. 'And I do not need to deal with this right now… or ever,' she thought, aggressively trying to calm her mind.

She turned sharply to glare at her giggling peerage members behind her.

"If you can laugh, you can continue training though," Joshua pointed out, effectively silencing the lot of them. Gulping, Sona turned to the side to see his pet Fallen Angel grinning at them and cracking her knuckles. The other two seemed a lot more disinterested but Raynare? She looked like she would fight forever if she could.

"I assure you, Joshua, we've trained plenty already," Sona said, gulping again and trying to come up with the best way to stop things from going where she thought they would. "I appreciate all the help, but I think we've taken enough of your time and-"

"Nonsense," he interrupted her, a smile tugging at his lips as he wrote down something in his notebook. "Raynare," he called and Sona saw the fallen looking like she was holding back a mad cackle. "They have plenty of energy left in them. And this time, don't stop until I say you stop… that goes for both sides."

"Joshua, I assure you-" Sona started, but she was interrupted by a Light Spear sent her way by the fallen. "Can't you see that-?!" she went to ask, scandalized only to continue being attacked. She didn't know what Joshua had done to those… people, but they were menaces.

Fortunately, the renewed spar was cut very short when Joshua's bird familiar flew right in the middle of the battle, spread her wings and cried.

Immediately, the fallen stopped, even when they hadn't stopped for all her orders or words. Sona was a little annoyed at that, but she supposed the familiar of the man that commanded them was as good as his own word. She also imagined none of them wanted to see what'd happen if they fought with the bird in the middle of things.

"Hm, true enough, I guess," Sona heard Joshua said. Turning her head, she was too tired to say much of anything after the second part of their sparring. "Say, Sona, you say you are in my debt, that you have to repay me," she heard the man say and the soft sound of Joshua's sneakers. She didn't like the sound of his voice then and there. It reminded her entirely too much of her sister when she was about to say or do something annoying. "And Margalo just came up with the perfect way to fix that."

"Dare I… ask?" she breathed out, looking at the man wearily.

He grinned in a very infuriating way.

"You'll do a part in Serafall's show."

Of course her sister was dating this man.

Apparently, they were made for each other.

[}-o-{]

[Joshua Davis]

"And if you change this part here with this equation," he commented, idly writing down an example of what he was talking about as he leaned to the side. "Then the illusion should transition from one motion to the other a lot more smoothly, especially-"

"Joshua, Kunou," Yasaka said in her best mom voice that made Kunou straighten where she sat and him send an amused look at the woman. "No more spellcrafting at the table."

"But mom!" their daughter whined, to which Joshua placated her with a pat on her head.

"It's fine. We'll continue later. The circle looks amazing, Kunou, good job," he told her with a smile that only widened when his daughter beamed at him. "Now, put the notebook away so we can eat in peace and your mother won't have to scold the both of us, yeah?"

"Ok, dad," the girl mumbled, closing the aforementioned item and pushing it to the side. When both Yasaka and Joshua raised an eyebrow at her though, Kunou pouted, standing up and taking her book all the way to her bag. "I still think it's dumb-"

"No arguing," Yasaka cut her off, making her pout harder. "Now eat your food, your father worked hard and it's delicious." For as much as she pointed out that Kunou loved to call him her father and that he might or might not feel the same with how much he said it, Yasaka did much the same very often, he knew. It was all around something that they liked to say, he supposed.

He wasn't sure why that was, but he knew that, for him, it was a way to make sure that everyone was on the same page. Seeing both of them smile when he called himself Kunou's father reassured him that, yes, they both thought the title fit and was ok. Maybe it was paranoid – or something like that – of him to think like that, but he liked making sure that he wasn't being presumptuous, even after so long and having had several talks on the matter.

It was a reassurance for him and, maybe, for them too.

"But I wanted to know-" the girl started.

"I heard something very interesting from your mother when you arrived, you know?" Joshua was the one that interrupted this time. "Something about homework that was done… not well."

"... It was… really difficult homework?" his daughter replied hesitantly, more of a question than a statement.

"Hm, I guess we'll have to assign more time for your tutors then," he commented idly. "Which means less time-"

"I can do it though!" Kunou exclaimed, realizing where things were going before he said them. "I don't need more classes, I can do it. I just… might have… gotten a little distracted, I guess," she started explained herself before slowly trailing off. "And now I'm gonna get scolded."

"Mhm."

"I'll hear differently next time, won't I?" Yasaka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, mom."

"I know it's boring, but even the boring classes are important, Kunou," Joshua commented, turning his attention to his meal for a moment. "I remember hating them and they are not very useful now, most of them, but you never know when you'll need them. Some of those boring classes are very useful now."

"Are they?"

"Do you think I liked math?" he asked, turning towards her and raising an eyebrow. "Because I can tell you I didn't, but I'm very thankful that I didn't have to start from scratch when I started spellcrafting," he explained, getting a very dejected sigh from Kunou as she stabbed her food as if it were its fault that she had to take classes she didn't like.

He rolled his eyes as he turned towards Yasaka, who was smiling as she looked at the both of them. It was always a little overwhelming to see that. At first, it had been because he thought he was stepping over some limit. By then, it was because he realized that he was doing something important, for her, for Kunou, for himself, and it was overwhelming because there was nothing else he wanted to do a good job at than that.

He turned towards his meal with a smile on his face.

Maybe, just maybe, Yasaka's expression meant that he did a good job.

"What if the teacher sucks too?" Kunou asked, making him pause and blink.

"And does he suck or do you think he does because of the subject?" Yasaka shot back with that patient tone that only mothers seemed to be able to use. "Because we won't be changing tutors all the time-"

"He said-" Kunou started sharply, making Joshua blink again, this time accompanied by Yasaka. "He said… that I spent too much time acting out, wasting time with illusions and giving mom trouble," she mumbled, stubbornly staring at the plate in front of her.

"Well, he does sound like he sucks," Joshua said, drawing a shy smile from Kunou. "You sure you aren't exaggerating or anything?"

"That's what he said. He didn't think I was hearing," Kunou mumbled. "He said… That this was da… My father's fault," she finished and Joshua had to strain himself to hear her.

"I see," Yasaka replied, her tone cold and scary.

Good.

"You'll get a new tutor, Kunou," Joshua continued from there, because he'd argue with Yasaka if he had to. He didn't. He knew he didn't have to, but he would have if that were the case.

"I… It's fine if you don't want to. I know he's good, I just-"

"No, we want to and we will," Yasaka reassured soft and firm at the same time.

"He wasn't talking about Joshua," Kunou mumbled then, pushing her food around her plate.

"It doesn't matter," Joshua told her, moving his hand to push some stray locks of her blond hair out of her face. "What matters is that he upset you and we won't allow that."

[}-o-{]

[Yasaka]

"That teacher is from the East," she said, which explained everything to her but nothing to Joshua, she knew. Kunou had gone to sleep and Joshua's familiars were all keeping her company except for Nagini. Even Jeanne had gone to read her some stories and use illusion-making swords on them like Joshua would.

It had been a good hour since Kunou told them about her teacher and Yasaka was still angry though. Her mind raced, pointing out where she'd made mistakes, overlooked things. She could only think about how she'd failed Kunou again, just when she thought she was doing be-

"The other branch," Joshua replied with a nod, impassive. There was no glare or frown on his face. There was no growl or snarl in his voice. There was nothing even in his eyes. Instead, all Yasaka saw was his mind working.

"Nurarihyon's Faction, yes," she confirmed, pursing her lips. "They've always disliked the fact that I'm the leader of my faction. Especially after…"

"After Kunou's-"

"After my last partner," she interrupted, because the last thing Yasaka wanted to hear was Joshua referring to someone else as Kunou's father. It had been bad enough that she'd had to hear the girl – her daughter – suffer through saying that herself. She wanted to burn that teacher. "Yes," she said, stiffly.

"I hated hearing her say that," Joshua said, some of his emotions finally bleeding into his expression now that his mind was working less. She could only wonder what he'd thought of before and she could only hope that it wasn't any of the things she feared. "She was in pain and I hated that."

"I know," Yasaka replied, gulping. Because she did know. She felt the same.

"Why are we hiding this, Yasaka? I need to remember," Joshua asked her and that was not where she thought he'd go.

"There are many reasons," she reminded him, recovering quickly. "We've discussed it a lot. For me, because it could make things more difficult-"

"I can help smooth things over. We both know I can, if you let me," he pointed out, staring straight into her amber eyes with his blue ones. "What else?"

"It'd shift the political picture, especially if your relationship with Serafall-"

"The political picture is already shifting. The Egyptians are rising through me, the Devils are a mess as it is and there's a lot more going on that you probably know better than I do, or probably know when I don't," he said, undeterred.

"The East Faction-"

"I'll deal with them myself if I have to. I can and I will," he told her. "I'm the Egyptian's Pharaoh. I'm very good at what I do and I'll have Incinerate Anthem if I need it. I'll raze that faction to the ground if they give too much trouble. So… why, Yasaka? We had reasons, but I can't think of one that would take priority over never having to make Kunou say someone else is her father."

She remained silent after that, a knot in her throat. Yasaka knew why she didn't want to do it. It was because of all of those things, but also not. It was because of what they would bring. It was because of what they could cause together with the matter itself.

"Is this because you think I'll run away too?" he asked, his anger bleeding out, leaving only a soft, comforting voice behind. She had to wonder when he'd gotten that good at reading people, or maybe just at reading her. He could be very bad at that kind of thing, she knew, but she also knew that, at times, he could also be very good. She wondered if it was a good thing that the latter seemed to be the case then and there. "Is it?" he asked, reaching forward to grab her hand.

"I'm sorry, Joshua. I know you are not him, but-"

"You don't have to apologize," he interrupted, giving her fingers a subtle squeeze. "I understand. It's something that happened and you have all the right to be afraid, as far as I'm concerned. Especially because it's not only you that would be hurt," he reassured with a sad smile.

"It's not fair to you," she said, unable to look him in the eyes. "You are nothing like him."

"I'll take that compliment then," Joshua told her. "Would an Oath help, because I'll give you one if you want to."

"I appreciate it, but you've already given me one, if you remember."

"... Is it bad that I did forget?" he asked and she let out something halfway between a sob and a laugh. Of course he'd forgotten his Oath. It changed nothing for him. He would never hurt Kunou, so the Oath was basically irrelevant.

Sometimes Yasaka wondered how he could make her feel so much with so little effort.

"Can we do something, Yasaka? You are the smart one here," he told her and she wanted to correct that. She wasn't the smart one. She was just the knowledgeable one, in this particular topic. However, before she could even start opening her mouth he continued. "Can we?" he repeated, catching her eyes when she looked up at him once more.

"We can," she said, swallowing her fears. This wasn't about her fears. This was about Kunou. Joshua wouldn't hurt Kunou, she could trust that. And that meant that she was… That meant that she could, maybe, trust him not to hurt her. 'It's too late for me anyway,' a corner of her mind whispered unhelpfully.

"Great, so what can I do to help?" he asked her, not eager but certainly determined. "And please tell me that it involves smacking that teacher… and maybe his Faction."

Yasaka couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at that moment.

"I love you," she told him, for the first time. Neither had seemed concerned to voice the words before. Yasaka might have wanted to rush other things, but there was something different about saying that.

She couldn't remember the reasons for that at that very moment, so she just said it.

"... I love you too," he replied, seemingly both surprised and not at the fact that he meant that. It was like he hadn't thought about it, just like how he hadn't thought about his Oath for so long he'd forgotten.

It was a given.

Gods, Yasaka loved Joshua Davis.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

Believe it or not, I'm quite happy with this chapter all around. Even the romance there at the end doesn't really concern me. I think I did, at worst, a decent job. I'll take that, thank you very much.

The only part that I feel a little off is transition between the three parts. It feels a little awkward. However, I guess that's just how it is. Sometimes, what you do at one point in a day is nothing like what you do at another. Not that these necessarily happen on the same day, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

As always, if you can't wait until next week for next chapter, there's up to three new chapters in my Pa tre on:

P a treon . com (slash) AdrianKing

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Do you follow any of the standalone Fables stories I've started posting as of late? For those not in the know, they are Departure (a RWBY fic), Magical Routine (a Fairy Tail fic) and Crabbe and Goyle (a Harry Potter fic).

See you.