52 It Comes When You Least Expect It

Human World, Martinique, Sainte-Anne Village, Les Salinas Beach.

"Ugh, who the hell is screaming like that first thing in the morning." James said groggily. Once he got his wits about him, he looked around the room and saw the girls glaring at him. "Yup, I knew there would be a headache coming. I just didn't think it would be so soon. Hey, Akeno, wake up. We got some explaining to do."

Just before he began to shake Akeno to wake her up, James had an epiphany. With the sudden realization, James movements came to a stop. This drew curious gazes from everyone in the room. Eventually, James regained his senses, then he spoke.

"On second thought, we don't have anything to explain." James said in a solemn tone. "Before I start explaining anything, what have we done wrong?"

The atmosphere in the room froze after James' attitude changed. Once they thought over what James had asked, the girls, excluding Rias, started to ask themselves. "What does he have to explain, exactly?" Rias on the other hand was beginning to fume in anger.

"And what makes you think that you haven't done anything wrong?" Rias asked while raising her voice.

"Then, please, why don't you enlighten me, princess?" James asked in a sardonic tone.

It was obvious to anyone watching that James mood was beginning to sour. Rias was falling into her old habits. And since James was not giving into her demands, Rias' pride was beginning to take over.

"Rias, you need to..." Venelana tried to calm the situation.

"Auntie Venelana." James said, interrupting Venelana's attempt at stopping the situation from growing any worse. "I really would like to hear what the Princess of the Gremory House has to say about what Akeno and I have done."

Venelana turned to see that James did not seem to be angry. However, she could tell that things would not end well for Rias if this continued. Because of that, worry was clouding her expression. Seeing the worry in Venelana's eyes, James put on a reassuring smile and spoke.

"Auntie Venelana, this is something that should have happened a long time ago." James said before he turned his attention back to Rias. "Last time other people tried to talk to Rias about her behavior. But I as the one who it affected directly, stayed silent."

Seeing the firmness in James' gaze, Venelana could only sigh. Leona and Rhea tried to reassure her that things would be fine. Although, it was not hard to notice that they were also worried about the outcome.

"Now, Princess of the Gremory House, would you enlighten me?" James said sarcastically. "What exactly have Akeno and I done wrong?"

In front of James' intensity, Rias balked momentarily. Noticing that she had been overwhelmed by James' aura, Rias grew angrier. Clenching her fists, she shouted at James.

"How dare you speak to me like that. I..." Rias shouted but was quickly interrupted.

"No, no, no." James interrupted Rias' tirade while wagging his finger in front of her. "There are two things wrong with the way you're speaking to me, Rias. First, I have the same class as you do now. Don't forget, I climbed my way up to High-Class with an insane amount of effort. And second, I am not, nor have I ever been one of your subordinates. What gives you the right to shout at me like that?"

Once again, the atmosphere in the room froze. Even though what James said was true, no one expected him to put it so bluntly. James, the usually cheerful and accommodating boy had put his foot down. And seeing this, without exception, the girls in the room began to blush.

'Holy shit, he's so hot right now.' Mizore thought to herself. 'If I were still a youkai, my yuki-onna traits might have made me melt.'

'That's the kind of dominance a Shinso vampire's mate should show.' Moka thought while she rubbed her thighs together in excitement.

While licking her lips, Flora thought, 'Mmmm. Me like.'

'With a dominant side like this, he would definitely be against marrying in to the Sitri House.' Sona thought as she adjusted her glasses. Once they gleamed, she had another thought. 'Maybe I should hint to Mother and Father that I'd like a younger sibling.'

Simultaneously, in James' suite and in the Sitri Territory of the Underworld, Rhea and Dante Sitri sneezed.

"Are you okay?" Leona asked while pulling a tissue from her purse. "I haven't been a devil for even a decade yet, so I don't know all there is to know about devil physiology. But I didn't think devils caught colds."

"Ara, Ara," Rias said, with a smile while covering her mouth with a hand. "Don't worry about it, Leona, someone is probably thinking about me. And I'm sure I can guess who it is."

Even Rias blushed at James' domineering display. Her anger had greatly decreased as well. She was unable to bring herself to shout back. Not only that, but her rationality had also come back. Which made her realize that everything James said to her just now was the truth.

"I know you're right, James. And I'm sorry for yelling." rias said with her head lowered and flushed cheeks.

Collectively, everyone in the room had their jaws hit the floor. To think Rias would realize her mistake so soon after making it. Venelana however, had a different thought.

'So, this is what she needed, huh?" venelana's eyes began to sparkle. 'Now that I think about it... Whenever I put my foot down when she started to get out of hand, she would curl up just like this.'

"I was just... jealous." rias said, lowering her head even further. "I want the same attention that you give the other girls, but...'

Unable to finish her sentence, Rias began to cry softly. Seeing Rias like this, James could not help but sigh. As much as he dislikes the way she acts from time to time. She is still one of the people he cares about the most. Hurting her was never his intention.

"*Sigh* Rias." James said softly, a stark contrast to his earlier sarcastic tone. "If you want attention like the other girls get, you have to do something about your engagement."

Rias raised her head when James addressed her by name. After hearing what he had to say, she began to cry even harder.

"But... I don't know what to do." Rias said while trying to wipe away her tears. "And no one will help me."

"That's where you're wrong, Rias." James said in a gentle tone. "No one will take care of it for you. But you have a lot of people around you who would be willing to help you, if you ever asked for it."

Surprised by James statement, Rias looked around at the other people in the room. As she made eye contact with the other girls, her mother, and her two aunties they each gave her a nod to show their support. Though she was not sure why, she felt that the way she was living was a waste in some way.

"I'm... sorry... and... thank you..." rias stammered as she lowered her head once again.

The first to react was Sona, still a bit in disbelief at the way Rias reacted to James' scolding. Moving to hug Rias, Sona spoke in a much gentler tone than she would usually use.

"Rias, you have to remember. If there's something that you want, whether you want to have or do something, you must work to get it." Sona said while patting Rias' back. "Anything worth having, is worth working for."

While she was speaking, though, Sona was thinking something completely different.

'To think the overly prideful Rias would lower her head and apologize. Then with her head still lowered, thank those around her for their support.' Sona thought while shaking her head. 'I just hope this sticks from now on.'

At the same time, Venelana was looking at what had just happened and could not help but mutter. "Is this for real?"

"Of course, it is." Leona replied, puffing her chest in pride. "My baby fixed the problem your husband and son created."

"it's not like we didn't see this coming, either." Rhea chimed in.

"That's... true." Venelana said blankly. When she got her wits about her, she continued. "He really is more than Rias deserves. Maybe I should..."

Venelana came to an abrupt stop when she felt an intense killing intent coming from right next to her. When she looked for its source, she found Leona smiling at her very sweetly. That smile, however, made her feel like she had been dunked in ice water.

"Lana, what were you saying?" Leona asked softly. "Would you care to finish your sentence?"

At that, Venelana shook her head frantically. Even though she was vastly superior to Leona in terms of power, her instincts were telling her that continuing that joke was a bad idea. Rhea on the other hand, stood there completely amazed. She would have never imagined that Leona, a noncombatant, could bring forth such a dense killing aura. A moment after Venelana agreed to drop her joke, Leona reverted to her usual demeanor. At the same time, Akeno began to stir.

"*Yawn* Why is it so noisy?" Akeno asked while stretching and wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Huh? What are all of you doing in my room."

"Oh, isn't that adorable?" Leona asked with a mischievous smile on her lips. "Well, now that you're awake, I think there are some questions that need answering."

'Oh shit, this is bad.' Akeno thought. She woke up fully as soon as she heard the teasing tone in Leona's voice.

"*Sigh* We knew this was coming, but may I make one request first?" James said while maintaining his seated position in the bed with his hands in his lap.

"I'll consider it." Leona said with a big smile.

"Can this wait until we get dressed?" James asked with a smile of his own.

Just then, the girls realized that James was probably naked. Focusing their sights on him, they could see his lean muscular arms and torso. Lowering their lines of sight, they could see the bulge, produced by his morning wood, James was trying to hide with his hands.

*Gulp.*

No one was sure who it was, but at least one of the girls had swallowed their excess saliva. Noticing that her fun would be minimized with all the girls in this state, Leona reluctantly allowed James and Akeno to get dressed before she publicly interrogated them. Just the thought of it brought a smile, a very scary smile, to her face.

Seeing that smile, James could only think one thing as he shivered in terror.

'Mom, a reincarnated devil, is more like a devil than any pure-blooded devil I've ever seen.'

Eventually, Rias, Sona, Mizore, Moka, and Flora were ushered out of the suite by Leona, Venelana, and Rhea. They would be waiting in the restaurant with the rest of the group so they could have breakfast. Once James and Akeno arrived in the restaurant, Leona did not begin the interrogation immediately. Instead, because Kunou was present, she put it on hold. This, however, did not make James and Akeno feel any relief. Instead, the anxiety it brought was terrifying. They could feel that a predator was looming, watching its prey. Stalking them, waiting for the moment they let their guard down. Then, and only then, would it go in for the kill.

And they were correct. On the final night of their trip, Kunou managed to stay up later than she usually would. That night they shot fireworks and played all sorts of games until the wee hours of the morning. As everyone else was also a bit tired, as well, Leona struck. While James was carrying Kunou, so he was unable to make an escape, she asked: "So, James, Akeno, was losing your virginities everything you thought it would be?" With a radiant smile