44 A New Member in the Family

Human World, Japan, Kuoh, Alaverus Estate.

"Hey, Ddraig." James said, seemingly to no one as he did maintenance on his swords, Ochiru Sakura and Mangetsu no Shita de.

"[[What's up, partner?]" replied Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor, who's voice emanated from a green glow on the back of James' left hand.

"Have any of your previous hosts ever manifested you as a subspecies?" James asked out of curiosity.

"[Hmm... No.]" Ddraig replied with certainty. "[Why, what's up]"

"I'm just thinking that, maybe I have?" James replied, raising Mangetsu no Shita de after wiping it down with an oiled cloth.

Raising the blade to eye level, James closely examined the edge for any chips. Not noticing any chips or hairline fractures on the blade's edge, James nodded in satisfaction then sheathed the blade. Afterward, he picked up Ochiru Sakura and unsheathed it to repeat the process.

"[Partner, I admit you're pretty special.]" Ddraig said with appreciation in his tone. After a brief pause, he continued. "[Although the gauntlet has changed, to match your fighting style better, none of my abilities have changed.]"

"Are you sure?" James asked in confusion.

"[Instead, let me ask you a question.]" Ddraig said without answering James' question. "[What makes you think that you have developed a sub species?}"

"Well... From what I know, the [Boosted Gear] is supposed to boost a wielder's power in all aspects every ten seconds, right?" James asked to verify what he knew.

"[Yes, that's right.]" Ddraig replied.

"That's what I thought. Now, I know I don't use you much. Something I apologize for, by the way." James said while nodding his head. He then continued. "So, when I do use you, it seems like only my offensive output is boosted. After noticing that, that's why I thought that I had manifested you as a sub species."

Ddraig was silent for a few moments. Realizing that Ddraig was looking back on all the times he used the [Boosted Gear], James remained silent and continued wiping down his sword. Just as James had rubbed in the oil on the entire blade, Ddraig finally broke the comfortable silence.

"[Hahahahaha!]" Ddraig laughed uproariously for a few moments.

"What the hell is so funny?" James asked with a frown on his face as Ddraig's laughter began to die down.

"[Ha... I am sorry. Haha... But... Ha... The answer I came up with is hilarious.]" Ddraig said between intermittent laughs.

"Oh, and what answer did you come up with?" James asked in annoyance.

"[Before I answer that.]" Ddraig said, finally getting his laughter completely in check. He then continued. "[When are the only times you ever summon me to fight?"

Without having to think about it at all, James answered. "When I'm training with Master, why?" James asked with an expression of confusion.

"[Well, Partner.]" Ddraig said in a serious tone before continuing. "[Every time you let the accumulated boosts explode, that crazy woman would hit you even harder in spots that have more pain receptors. She would just make you feel that many times more pain to offset the boost in defense.]"

James fell silent after hearing Ddraig's reply. With his eyes wide open and his mouth agape, James could not believe what he was hearing. Instead of having a sub species of the [Boosted Gear] that is focused totally on offense, he had a sadistic master who just hit him harder in more painful places when his defense increased? Once he came to his senses, James could not help but roar out at the injustice.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" James threw his head back, roaring to the sky.

Once his roar ended, there was an eerie silence in the surroundings. Before it could settle in for too long, James heard an angry voice from downstairs.

"Watch your language!" Leona shouted. Her volume rivalling James indignant roar. "Or are you trying to corrupt little Kunou?"

"Sorry, Mom!" James shouted back.

Sheathing Ochiru Sakura, James leaned it against the wall next to his bed with Mangetsu no Shita de. He then flopped down in depression while thinking how cruel this cold world could be.

After James returned from Flora's house the night they were attacked outside the karaoke bar, James and the gang decided to rest. Sona and Rias were in charge of reporting to the Underworld. The following day, James and Cu Chulainn took a trip to the Land of Shadows. Surprisingly, James did not ruthlessly throw Cu Chulainn to the mama lion that is Scathach by exposing the mistake he made when fighting the dog-eared assassin, the night before. Well, to be more precise, he did not have to. So nervous that James would expose his shameful display, Cu Chulainn let it slip himself. That of course led to him losing the nights of his entire summer break to one of Scathach's refresher courses. Perhaps in a bid to make James feel included, Scathach decided to spar with James for two full days to assess his progress and beat any bad habits out of him as well.

As James was thinking about the hell he had gone through for the last two days, the doorbell rang. Wondering who it could be, James sat up and began to exit his bedroom. Just after opening the bedroom door, he saw Kunou running toward him.

"Hey, Kunou." James said with a smile as he crouched down with his arms open. "Who's at the door?"

Seeing that James had readied himself for a hug, Kunou smiled brightly then dove into his arms. Once she was securely in his grasp, James stood and carried Kunou toward the stairs.

"Flora-Oneesan is here to see you." Kunou said, wrapping her arms around James' neck. "She said it was important."

"I guess she's here about that, huh?" James said with an awkward smile.

Thinking back to the night he told Flora about the supernatural world; James could not help but remember the passionate kiss they shared at the end of the evening. Until then, he knew he liked Flora. He did not, however, realize how much he liked her before that kiss, though. He really enjoyed her energetic personality and the drive she showed to improve in her martial arts and studies. But he thought it was just friendship, a form of admiration for someone who strove to be better.

At the same time, he did know how Flora felt about him. She had made it painfully obvious. As much as she said she liked to be around boys, plural. The only boy she ever spent her time with, at school anyway, was James. She had even told him in no uncertain terms that he was her "target." So, the kiss did not really surprise him. What actually surprised him was how passionately he had reacted. By now, James has had many kisses stolen from him. And the first from each girl generally resulted in him freezing up. Then before he could react, the kiss was over. This time though, he reacted instantaneously. Then he made sure to dominate the kiss. As if he was marking her as his own.

Thinking about the differences in how he reacted to Flora and the other girls' kisses, James arrived in the living room while carrying Kunou. He then set Kunou down, who ran off to play with Mizore, and then made his way over to Flora.

"Hey Flora, how's it going?" James asked with a casual smile.

"Great!" Flora said with a bright smile before standing and hugging James. "I've made my decision."

James nodded his head, having expected that to be the reason for Flora's visit. He then looked into her eyes and waited for her to inform him of that decision. Judging from her attitude though, James thought he could guess what she decided to do as well.

"I want to join your peerage." Flora said as she broke the hug with James. "I don't know what the future holds, but I know my martial prowess will improve by staying with you. And staying with you will make you open your heart to me more and more as time goes by."

To Flora's declaration, James smiled wryly. At the same time, Leona had a mischievous smile on her face while Mizore and Moka smiled bitterly.

'Damn. Shes' really going hard.' Mizore thought to herself.

'Maybe you have to be that bold when dealing with James.' Moka thought, remembering how he had responded better to the confidence she showed when she stole that kiss after the sportswear shopping trip.

"I'll only ask this once." James said with a solemn tone. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I'll ever be." Flora said with a smile. "Honestly, if you had asked me to go back and think about it some more, I might be more hung up about not being human anymore."

James chuckled at the overly honest response. Still, he knew what he had to do right now. Raising his right hand, palm up, two [Pawn Pieces] appeared floating just above his outstretched palm. Grabbing the floating [Pieces, James pressed them into Flora's chest. James then stepped back and waited for her physiological changes to finish. Once they were done, a pair of bat-like wings sprouted from her back, and she opened her eyes.

"How do you feel?" James asked as he watched Flora check out the changes in her new form.

"I don't feel much different than before." Flora commented.

"Well, when you go outside, you'll feel a little drained." James explained, knowing how devils are not exactly compatible with the sun's rays. "You'll get used to that soon, though. As you get stronger the sun won't affect you as much."

Before anyone else could speak any further, Leona stood and walked over to Flora with a serious expression. Once she was standing in front of the girl, she stopped and stared her in the eyes, maintaining that same serious expression the entire time. Seeing this, Mizore, Moka, and Kunou stared apprehensively. After a few moments, even Flora started to feel nervous. As the time passed, James rolled his eyes at his mother's antics and spoke up.

"Mom, would you stop scaring Flora, please?" James said exasperatedly.

"Huh?" Flora exclaimed in confusion.

In response to her son's words, Leona pouted. But as soon as the pout had appeared it was replaced with a smile.

"Welcome to the Alaverus family, Flora." Leona said as she pulled Flora into a hug.

Seeing the outcome of the stare down, Mizore, Moka, and Kunou sighed in relief. At the same time Mizore and Moka had similar thoughts.

'Now, I see where James got his teasing personality from.'

If Leona could hear their thoughts, she would widen her mouth and eyes to a comical degree. Then she would protest strongly. As everyone who has known James since he was younger than six years old knows that he changed. And in doing so, he has changed a lot of the people around him and made them more mischievous.

After that thought passed, Mizore and Moka walked over and joined Leona in hugging Flora.

"Congratulations, Flora!" Moka exclaimed happily. "Welcome to the family."

"Congrats, Flora." Mizore said excitedly. "Now you'll be one of the sisters."

James smiled happily as he watched the ladies have fun. He then sat down on one of the sofas next to Kunou, who wasted no time climbing on to his lap to watch the ladies talk animatedly.

Once there was a lull in the conversation, Flora broke away from the group and made her way over to the sofa James was sitting on. Instead of sitting down next to him, Flora bowed her head and spoke.

"Thank you for accepting me into this family with everyone else." Moka said sincerely with a happy smile.

Seeing that James smiled along with her. Once Flora raised her head again, James finally spoke.

"Don't worry about it." James waved dismissively. With the same bright smile he usually has on his face, He continued "Besides, I doubt you'll be thanking me for long."

"Huh?" Flora said confusedly. "What do you mean?"

"With his smile widening, James answered Flora's question excitedly.

"Now that you've joined the team, It's time for the summer training camp arc. Oh, we can't forget the bikinis on the beach issue, either."

As he spoke the last sentence, James ran his eyes over Mizore, Moka, and Flora. Then with a bright smile, he spoke once again.

"Yup, I'm definitely looking forward to that last part."