game if monsters

[Joshua Davis]

Eventually, Friday showed signs of calming down.

She was nowhere near ready for almost anything in a lot of aspects though, of course. She still got confused just as much for just as inane things. She couldn't communicate well. The living spell was still growing into herself just as much as when she had first come to be.

However, she was calmer, and that was a very nice development.

What did he mean by this? Well, she was less likely to grow uneasy or react strongly to things when she got confused a little more than usual. She wasn't distressed whenever he talked about her and someone brought up how distracted he was and if it was inconvenient. In general, she had progressed from a baby that got fussy at the smallest thing to… a toddler, probably. Maybe that was an optimistic view of it, but a little optimism never hurt anyone… probably.

Baby steps, almost literally.

"You can't ignore me forever, Joshua," an entirely too serious voice told him and he resolved to prove her wrong by continuing what he was doing. His eyes remained fixed on Raynare and her spar against Kuroka. The Fallen had a lot more power, expectedly, but the Nekoshou was a lot trickier, using illusions and other little senjutsu and youjutsu tricks to avoid most of the force her opponent was unleashing on her.

He felt his eyebrow twitch when Friday seemed extra curious about the fact that someone was trying to get his attention and he was ignoring them. Apparently, that was a new enough experience that she took note of it. He didn't blame her, he didn't often do that, at least not when he wasn't directly distracted by Friday herself. At most, he'd be teasing someone for a bit, but he wouldn't normally go for this long.

His emotions were also different from the usual. After all, if he were teasing, then he'd feel mostly amusement. Now though, while there was some of that at that moment, there was also some annoyance and frustration. Not really directed at the person trying to get his attention, but also not really not related to her, he supposed.

"Joshua," she hissed, moving to stand in front of him and blocking his view. Friday took some offense to that, but he felt Nagini taking away her focus with a mental roll of her eyes. Confused, the living spell turned towards the snake and Morag, both venomous creatures taking a moment to entertain her.

"Sona," he replied blandly as he looked into the devil's violet eyes.

"Finally acknowledging my existence?" the girl asked, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. She seemed extra annoyed by the fact that he didn't react nor did his flat expression change. He kind of understood why Serafall was a little extra over the top when it came to Sona. She had cute reactions.

"I kind of needed to, don't I? You couldn't have gotten here otherwise," he pointed out, which was extra effective considering it was true. Nobody got inside his place without him noticing and giving permission. Especially now that Friday was around, pulling his attention to anything and everything that happened.

Before, he might even have let people like Sona and such – people that he knew were good – through almost without conscious thought. The kind of action that you performed and immediately afterwards forgot about, like locking the door or leaving something on a table. No such thing had happened that day, however, he was just…

"Then why are you ignoring me?" the little sister of his devil partner asked him, eyes narrowed and he could have sworn there was the slightest pout on her face. Surely not though, not from no-nonsense Sona, right?

"Because I know what you want to talk about and I don't feel like dealing with that conversation," Joshua said with a half bored and half tired expression. Sometimes he wondered why he was the way he was. It would be much simpler if he could just deal with things in a more normal DxD way. And by that he didn't mean lewdly, but-

"You can't ignore my debt like it's not there, Joshua," Sona all but growled at him. "Furthermore, I can't ignore it, not after what you did with the Raters," she added. If he hadn't known any better, he'd have thought there was a hint of a whine in her voice. "I have to do something to repay you for these favors. Let me."

Joshua stared at her for a long moment before sighing.

"You know, when you're in someone's debt, I don't think it's nice to bother them," he pointed out, making the girl grimace. Flawless logic against DxD culture that they couldn't even argue, he loved it and he loved that it worked like a charm. Granted, something like that wouldn't work for long, since they'd still be almost compelled to repay debts, but it worked just fine to buy him some time and get rid of immediate annoyances. "Besides, I made an investment."

"Investment?" Sona asked, clearly interested in what he had to say.

"Yup," Joshua answered and he could see – and sense – how the informality of his answer grated on her nerves. "You're going to be the head of a school of devil combat-"

"Rating Ga-"

"Same thing," he interrupted her interruption with, making her eye twitch. "The point is, you're going to be helping and training powerhouses, I'm sure. Even if you don't, that's a lot of mid and high class devils that'll be in your debt, that you'll have strings attached to. If you owe me, then-"

"My power is your power," Sona finished, smart cookie that she was. "I see," she added, now thoughtful. It wasn't quite like he cared about that kind of thing, but oh well. "Same principle as what you did with House of Water," she added, grudging respect written all over her face and her half-smile. "You're a devious man, Joshua. Either that, or an irritatingly simple man that somehow wins anyway."

"It's the latter, I assure you," he told her with a grin that only widened when her annoyance grew.

[}-o-{]

[Cheshire]

Their new sister was interesting.

Granted, they were all very different, becoming even more so as time passed. Morag had entirely too many legs and eyes, nevermind the web thing. Nagini didn't have legs. Margalo had wings and could fly. Kunou was… more like Joshua, which felt to Cheshire like a major leap even from the usual differences her sisters and her had between each other.

Then again, Kunou felt like a different kind of sister entirely, so there was that.

Friday though? She was a normal kind of sister, but she was also the most abnormal of them all. She didn't have a body for one. She was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She saw everything but understood nothing. Even in the past, when Cheshire had been almost a normal cat, she hadn't been that… clueless, and she meant that in the kindest way. It was odd. Endearing, but odd.

"It's nice having a new sister," Kunou commented from where she sat. Joshua and Yasaka were talking about something entirely too complicated for their liking, so Cheshire and the rest of her sisters had gathered on the other end of the room.

She still kept an eye on Joshua, just in case he needed her special sense for something, but otherwise she remained focused on his daughter, her special sister. In a way though, Cheshire guessed Friday was a special sister too, in a completely different way. Not only because she was ridiculously different from them, but also because she actually had some of Joshua in her, something that not even Kunou had.

"I'm glad you're happy too," Kunou added, a wide smile on her face, when Friday did her wispy-energy body trick that Joshua had taught her and performed a little "dance". She was tiny, but then again, that wasn't really Friday. That was her sister's way of showing herself in a way that people could actually look at. Sensing wasn't any of their primary ways to perceive the world, after all, so she liked to use the wispy form in order to better interact with others.

Especially since Joshua and the "normal" sisters were the only ones that could truly interact with Friday otherwise. Sensing was all well and good, but communication was difficult for people that didn't share their connection. Not that any of them really cared, since Joshua and each other was the only thing they truly needed, but it could be annoying sometimes.

"It's nice to have another little sister too," she added and all four of them froze, even Cheshire. "What?" Kunou asked then, playing the innocent as if she didn't know what she'd said. "I meant Margalo… and Morag," she explained, making Nagini and her relax. The bird and the spider though, well they had completely different reactions, with the former squawking in outrage while the spider clicked her mandibles angrily.

It was fun to watch, having confirmed that she wasn't the target of the teasing, Cheshire decided.

Kunou wasn't necessarily wrong either, she guessed. Morag and Margalo were definitely the most childish of the bunch. Especially the latter, that was for sure. She'd been a baby not so long ago, after all. No matter how much she developed, she would always be that lonely, hopeless little bird she'd found, without a home and without a family.

"Oh, come on, I love you," Kunou grumbled, poking Margalo right back when the bird pecked her with her beak. "What does it matter if you're the little sister?" she asked hypocritically, as if she weren't absolutely appalled by the idea of being considered the youngest. Cheshire would know.

It wasn't the first time they have had this "conversation".

Then, almost like a swipe of her claws, Cheshire's attention was grabbed and pulled towards Joshua. Gone was the calm man that lives in his own head more than in the real world. Gone was the warm man that cared for his family as fiercely as anyone possibly could. In their stead, appeared a rare sight, the cold predator that stalked his way out sometimes, ready to tear apart threats.

That Joshua coming out almost definitely meant one thing and one thing only. Yasaka and him were talking about the group of idiots that insisted on making an enemy of them. Cheshire felt a growl climb inside her throat. She almost wanted to turn into her biggest form and let it out. She felt the urge to claw at something, cutting and tearing.

Through their connection, she felt Nagini picking up on things while the other three continued being distracted. Or, at least, for a few seconds they were. Friday picked up on Joshua's change of mood almost instantly. Margalo and Morag followed suit a second later, but they decided to pull their new sister's attention back to Kunou and away from the coldness and the wrath.

Joshua didn't want her to be tainted by the world just yet, so they'd do their best to keep her that way. She'd learn about that side of things in time, but for now, she was innocent, childish and warm. They wanted to protect that almost as much as Joshua did without any prompting anyway.

Turning, Cheshire stalked towards Joshua.

"Are you sure?" she heard Yasaka ask. "We're doing plenty."

"Plenty, but not enough," Joshua replied, his voice sharp as the edge of his blades. "I'll throw as many wrenches as I can into their plans," he added, taking a deep breath in as he tried to keep his most ruthless side under control, like always. "Khaos Brigade will see success over my dead body."

They already knew, Cheshire already knew, but hearing it simply reinforced an old resolution, every time. Someone had dared come for her family, for their family, and they'd make them pay. Only Nagini and herself were paying attention at that moment, but that was enough. The two of them were the strongest of the sisters, the most ready to do what they'd have to do.

Morag had it in her if she needed to, but she was an artist first and a fighter second. Margalo would support them to the best of her ability, but she was too nice. Kunou was never going to see a battlefield if they had any say in the matter. And last – but not least, of course – was Friday, who wasn't anywhere ready to face the world on her own, nevermind their enemies.

No, Cheshire and Nagini would take care of this Khaos Brigade that was intent on making an enemy of them. They saw Joshua and saw only the calm man and the warm man, but they were wrong. The predator was there and Cheshire and Nagini would follow right behind.

Both sisters hissed, through their connection and outwardly too.

[}-o-{]

[Nagini]

Joshua didn't speak to them.

At least, not with his mouth and while they were on the hunt. Instead, he reached through their connection and "spoke" to them that way. Like at that moment, when he allowed them to jump into it and start hunting. Nagini preferred communicating like that, quite honestly. It felt closer. There was something more to the feeling of Joshua and her sisters and the reminder that they were linked in such a deep, personal way.

Her sisters charged in, determined and almost excited, and she could feel it.

None of them were even close to feeling like Nagini though, because this was what she did, this was her thing. Cheshire was just as great when it came to fights and hunts, she'd admit, but Nagini enjoyed those things. There was nothing for her quite like slithering towards prey, especially prey that had earned to be hunted and hurt, to suffer for what they did.

Nothing quite like unleashing the darkest parts of her being on those that deserved them.

Nagini slithered inside the building that Joshua had pointed them towards through a window instead of the entrances. Morag helped her get inside undetected with some webbing and tricks, her specialty. The glass gave way almost without sound and then the two of them were inside.

Some unfortunate man was in the room though and it didn't take him long to notice their entrance despite their stealth. It made no difference, however, as Nagini froze him with a glare. She reached through her eyes, formed a perverted connection, similar but at the same time entirely different from the one she shared with her family. With that in place, it was child's play to push further, to grasp the man's energies with her own and twist, turn, squeeze, stretch and tear.

Nagini had come a long way from the snake that could barely disturb energies or freeze targets.

She was more than that, and she had become that because of Joshua, her sisters and her own twisted desires. Her family's enemies would learn to fear that snake and her eyes. Either they would do so in time to try and escape her, or they would learn it once she had them.

Either was fine by her.

'There's many more,' Morag told her through their connection with Joshua, but Nagini didn't let go of her first prey. Instead, she continued to stare, and then she stared harder. She disturbed his energies as much as she could, seeing how much damage she could do without so much as touching him.

As it turned out, she could do a lot.

She sensed, through the energies, how the organs started to give, how he battled to get everything in his grasp as it had been before and failed, how his efforts only made things worse. The pull from both sides only stretched the energies, far beyond what was normal or healthy. Then she felt the force give, the energy surrendering to her as he lost his strength. Nagini didn't stop, continuing her onslaught without a care.

If anything, she was gleeful, because anyone that did what these people did to her family deserved nothing but suffering and to be destroyed.

'Sister,' Morag urged her and she nodded. There were plenty more prey and if she didn't get a move on, then Cheshire would ruin the fun that much faster. Nagini liked to open things up with a little extra though, get a good taste of things before having to rush it.

'Let's go,' she replied, following the spider through the door towards the rest of the prey. She could sense the battles going on all over the place, but at least Joshua had left things to her and her sisters. The now four winged Eager and the human cat, Tricky, were being held back together with Jeanne. Apparently, Joshua wanted to give her and her sisters a chance to show off and spend some quality time with him on the attack.

He was great like that.

Nagini knew that it was mostly for her benefit too, which made it all the better. After all, Cheshire might enjoy a good hunt, but she was fine without one too. Nagini was the only one that really looked forward to hunts and Joshua knew that. So, he could say whatever he wanted, but they all knew it was for her.

'Enjoy yourself,' she felt, almost freezing her as she grabbed the energies of yet another prey. 'Cheshire is holding back,' Joshua told her, the "voice" in her head feeling even closer than her sisters. It was warm and nice, reminding her of when she'd been a normal snake, barely aware of much of anything. It reminded her of times when she'd been small enough to wrap around him, sharing his warmth and enjoying the company.

Through their connection, Nagini poured her gratitude for the gift and her appreciation of Joshua and her sisters.

'Don't mention it,' Joshua replied as best he could, intentions and emotions instead of words like any connection message. What he wanted to say was clear all the same. That was followed by his own appreciation of Nagini and his love for her and her sisters.

Feeling almost like she was once more wrapped around him, warm and content, Nagini continued her hunt.

It wouldn't do to ignore the magnificent gift she'd been given.

[}-o-{]

[Joshua Davis]

He had to juggle entirely too many things.

That wasn't new, not at all. It was a thought that crossed his mind a bunch of times every single day. He had projects and duties and things he just wanted to do, and not at all enough time in his days to do all of them to the degree that he'd have liked. If he even had time to do them at all, that is.

Why did this thought cross his mind this particular time?

Well, because it wasn't rare for him to have to push a thing or two to the side in favor of others. Such was the case of Project Spring, for example. The other three projects had been used, tested already but he'd never quite gotten around testing the one that was probably the most interesting of them all, funnily enough. He wasn't too surprised that this happened, however. Joshua had taken on a bunch of other, much more pressing, more important projects.

Now though, he finally got around going for a test run of the spell project.

Khaos Brigade raids had been something that he'd tried to go through as efficiently as possible before. He didn't want to be overconfident or anything of the sort when he started. Then he'd been flooded with things to do and he didn't feel like wasting time in attacks such as those. However, now?

Now he'd closed off a bunch of projects. Even when new ones had made an appearance, Joshua had found them much less time consuming, at least for the moment. Thus, he found himself with some extra time in his hands. Time that he'd rather use with friends and family – he never did feel like he spent enough time with those latter ones, nevermind the formers –, for sure, but also time that he could spend on going through the finishing touches of smaller projects.

Such as Project Spring.

Thus, he found himself there, standing at an open area outside the Khaos Brigade base they'd raided. That his familiars had raided, to be precise. The whole thing had been wrapped up already, a little slower than usual, but that was mainly because Nagini had taken her time and her fellow familiars had indulged her.

"Thanks, girl," he said, a soft smile on his face as he scratched his snake familiar under her jaw, right at the spot that she loved. She hissed something, a pleased feeling bleeding to him through their bond. "Remind me to spoil you a little extra later, yeah?" he added, his grin widening when she hissed again. "In the meantime," he finished with, turning away and fixing his attention to the man that Nagini had frozen in place.

He didn't move, his energies hijacked by the power of his snake familiar's gaze. Not quite like Project Winter, of course. What she did wasn't stopping their energy, but she ruined their control of it and wrestled it for herself, making them unable to move. It'd been an interesting bit of energy control to study, along with Project Winter.

"Now, let's see," he mused idly, activating Project Spring and focusing all his sensing power on his test subject. Immediately, magic energy started being injected in him. The man's reserves weren't full, but it was a close enough thing. It didn't take long before they were anyway, and then the energy started piling up all the same even though there was no more space.

It was interesting to see how it worked. His primary theory was that it'd overflow, kind of like with Divine Dividing, letting the energy out before it became too much. Evidently, humans didn't have that kind of mechanism to deal with the issue, perhaps understandably. Instead though, it was like the energy started being compressed, pressurized. More magic in less space, similar to the way spells that absorbed magic into their foci worked, but different, somehow.

Joshua took note of all those differences, even if they seemed to lead to the same results. It was the kind of thing that could mean the world in spell crafting. Sometimes one needed to do the same thing in a different way in order not to disturb one of the spell's parts, after all. Or two things that were basically the same would still cause a massive change for a spell.

More differences started popping up as time passed, even in the end result.

Foci collected magic like they were… a game inventory, for example. They collected magic but they were "bigger on the inside", in a way. A wardstone could be very small, but it had a lot of space to store magic. Maybe a different analogy could be a pendrive. They all were roughly the same size but could store varying amounts of data, just like foci. All of them reacted the same way to an overload though.

If the spell collected too much energy into itself, then the spell failed, with all the randomness that spell failure could mean.

If the energy was collected too much into some outside place like a wardstone, then the container would most likely blow up, but the effect could be a little different each time depending on the container.

If the energy was collected into a person… That's what Project Spring was supposed to test.

Thus, Joshua watched.

Magic continued gathering inside the man despite his reserves being full. Like all containers, there was a little give there, despite there being a clear limit. Energy started gathering slower despite the spells' best efforts. The energy in the container became more erratic. Interestingly though, a human container seemed more flexible. It was only when it reached the 125% point that the cracks started appearing.

Metaphorically and literally.

The skin of the man started splitting, cuts appearing here and there and light flashed from within. His eyes started shining too, Joshua noted to himself, going over all the things that were happening as the container collapsed. Organs started breaking apart, same with bones and muscle and skin and so on. Blood came out of the man's mouth, nose, ears and… other places. Not all the cracks in his skin bled though, because in some of those the magic burned the blood before it could get out.

Eventually, the process started getting progressively more out of control.

It was roughly at the 140% point that the body's collapse got to the last stage and the man just… disintegrated, like a mix of his body getting blown up and a fictional vampire – maybe even a real one, Joshua didn't know for sure – burning in the sunlight.

"Hm, interesting," was all he said, turning towards some other, now very cowed, Khaos Brigade members that had been left alive. "I still need some more testing, so…"

It was going to be a productive hour or so, he could bet.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

Well, first note after coming back from my vacation and I'm feeling… pretty great, actually. I'm more relaxed and such and it's very much appreciated. Things were getting tense for me before I took a break.

Now I have to deal with the part that worried me, which was getting back to things. Despite what you guys likely think of me after years of constant updating, I don't have great discipline. I've always been worried that if I stopped posting, then I'd have trouble getting back to it.

I guess we'll have to see.

About the actual chapter though, well, it's a chapter alright. Not much happened, but you guys should be used to that. Just building on things with Sona – a character that doesn't get to shine much in this fic, but it's always fun to bring extras and such to the forefront from time to time –, the familiars – which really should get more screentime, but there's so much going on… – and a magic project of Joshua's that got pushed to the side both in story and in my head.

I got a few people asking about Project Spring and how it was the only one that never got to actually happen… So, here you are, guys. Hope it lives up to your expectations.