40 Let's Celebrate

Two and a half months have passed since Kunou came to live with James and his family. In that time, unfortunately, there have been no communications between the youkai in Kyoto and the Alaverus Estate. This has, of course, left Kunou uneasy. However, Kunou is not the only one who has found herself uneasy about the situation. James, Rias, and Sona believe there is more going on than they are being told. Because of that, James was making plans to put into motion once summer break starts at school.

That of course leads to perhaps the most anticipated time of year for students around the world. Summer vacation will begin at Kuoh Academy at the end of the day after tomorrow. As for today, final exam scores will be posted. That morning, James, Rias, Sona, Akeno, Tsubaki, Kusaka Reya, and Flora Nanadan have gathered around Reya's desk, as they often do, discussing the scores that will be posted later on today.

Human World, Japan, Kuoh, Kuoh academy.

"So, which of you three will take first place this time?" Flora asked with a bit of dejection in her tone. "It was Sona at midterms, right?"

Over the two and a half months since transferring, Flora had fully integrated into the group of the smartest students in the class and probably the entire year. Even if she is not as gifted academically.

"Yeah, it will probably be Sona again." James said with a nod. "I wouldn't be surprised if I fell from second place this time, either."

"What do you mean?" Rias asked with a tilt of her head.

"Well, I don't try nearly as hard as the rest of you." James said while looking out the window. "Well not when it comes to studying, anyway."

Nodding her head in acknowledgement, Sona spoke in understanding. "That's understandable, you have quite a bit on your plate as it is."

"Maybe if you weren't drawing two manga at the same time, you would have more time to study." Kusaka said, cutting into the conversation.

Ever since Kusaka joined the student council, she has spent more and more time hanging out with James and his group of girls. During that time, Sona has focused on evaluating her personality and character. Eventually she determined that Kusaka would be a wonderful addition to her peerage. And shortly after Final Exams ended, Sona succeeded in convincing her to join her peerage as a [Bishop].

{A/N: While doing some research about Sona's peerage, I realized I made a mistake. Kusaka Reya Is supposed to be a year younger than Rias, Sona, and the rest. But it's too late now and this is an AU. So, I can only apologize to the sticklers for timeline.}

Gaining a hint of mischief in his eyes, before allowing his expression to change to a troubled one, James exhaled a huge sigh before speaking.

"You're right, Reya." James began in a tired tone. "I should probably put one of my books on hiatus."

Hearing that, Reya shuddered.

"Or maybe both." James continued, looking like he had been carrying the wait of the entire world for far too long. "That way I can focus..."

Before he could continue any further, Reya interrupted.

"James-Kun, no, James-Sama, you know I was just kidding!" Reya said while waving her hands frantically. "Let's not say something we'll both regret in the future, okay?"

At Reya's rather extreme reaction to the word "hiatus," the group began laughing. While James let a teasing smile show. Seeing that, Reya finally realized what was going on.

"You tricked me!" Reya shouted while pointing a finger at James.

"Yup, and your reaction was priceless." James said with a satisfied smile on his face.

Hearing James admit it so boldly, Reya pouted, crossed her arms, and then looked away.

After getting the laughter out of her system, Flora finally opened her mouth to ask a question.

"So, when are you guys gonna tell me the names of James' manga?" Flora asked with a pout. "I'm the only one who doesn't know, right?"

Without missing a beat, Akeno replied with, "Because you talk too much."

"If we tell you, before lunch, everyone in the class will know." Rias continued from where Akeno left off.

"And if that happens, James will get even more attention than he usually does." Sona followed up while adjusting her glasses.

"But if everyone knows, some of the hate might go away, too." Tsubaki said, playing the devil's advocate. So to speak.

Once Tsubaki's words ended, Rias, Sona, and Akeno leveled some pretty intimidating glares on the bespectacled beauty.

Flora was left at a loss when she heard the reasoning behind why she was being left out of the loop. She then pouted and clung to James. With her arms around his neck and her body pressed tightly against his, she spoke in a coquettish tone.

"James, could you please tell me?" flora said while looking at James with upturned eyes. "I won't tell anyone, I promise~."

At that moment, James' mind crashed. Hearing her sweet voice. Feeling her breath against his skin. Feeling her softness and curves pressed against his body. Seeing the look in her eyes. With all these things in combination, James' mind could not process all the stimulation at the same time. However, even though the software that is James' mind had crashed, the hardware that is James' body was still operating at its optimum.

Shortly after James froze, Flora felt something hard pressing against her abdomen. After a moment of confusion, she realized what it was. With a light blush on her face and a seductive smile on her lips, she whispered in James' ear.

"If that's a problem, do you want me to help you with it?"

Hearing that, James snapped back to his senses. Embarrassed that he had completely lost control of himself at school, James turned away and quickly made his way to the classroom door.

"What... Just happened?" Reya asked innocently. "And what did James-Kun stuff into his pants before he left.?"

Hearing Reya's innocent question, the rest of the girls blushed furiously. The girls who were interested in him were even worse. Everyone except Flora, that is.

"He probably needed to go to the bathroom." Flora said then licked her lips and watched James' retreat like a predator.

Just as James left the room, Nekonomiya's voice could be heard.

"Alaverus-Kun, where are you going? The bell is gonna ring soon." Nekonomiya shouted after James.

"Sorry Sensei, my stomach is killing me. I need to go to the bathroom." James shouted back, growing more embarrassed as he had to shout that in public.

===Lunch break===

Halfway through the lunch break, while James and the girls were enjoying their lunches in the classroom, one of their classmates pulled the door open with some force then addressed everyone in the classroom.

"The test scores have been posted on the main bulletin board!"

Hearing that, most of the students in the classroom stood immediately and made their way out of the classroom. James and the girls, however, calmly finished their lunches then leisurely made their way to the main bulletin board to see how they did on the final exams.

Around the bulletin board, the students were crowded together. The voices of multiple groups discussing their results could be heard. As James and the girls arrived, other students made way for them to see the board. Rather they made room for the girls to see the board. James was allowed to pass simply because he was walking with them. At least that is what the boys who were jealous of his situation were telling themselves.

"Huh?" A surprised exclamation could be heard from Flora when they approached the bulletin boards.

"What's wrong, Flora?" Akeno asked in a teasing tone. "Do you have to go to summer school or something?"

Flora did not respond to Akeno's joke. When the group noticed, they looked in her direction. On her face, they saw shock and excitement. Following her gaze, they saw.

14. Flora Nanadan

"Congratulations, flora." Reya was the first to recover and speak.

"Congrats, flora." James said with a smile.

"I guess studying with the six smartest people in the grade paid off." Flora said with an excited smile.

"You shouldn't discount your own hard work." Sona said while adjusting her glasses in a way that caused them to gleam.

After a round of congratulations for Flora, the atmosphere around the other six began to change, subtly. Their competitive spirits warped the atmosphere around them. At least that's what it felt like to all the onlookers. After letting the atmosphere build for a while, they all turned their attention to the top of the board at the same time.

1. James Alaverus

2. Shitori Sona

3. Shinra Tsubaki

4. Rias Gremory

5. Kusaka Reya

6. Himejima Akeno

Once they looked over the scores, Sona and Reya deflated a bit. That was to be expected, Their ranks had dropped, after all. James and Rias on the other hand, were full of smiles. With their ranks going up, they had achieved something. Lastly, Tsubaki and Akeno showed neither joy nor sorrow. As they had maintained the same rankings since the entrance exam, things were as they expected.

"Haha! This is the first time I've ever beaten you in something academically, Sona." James exclaimed loudly while laughing boisterously. "I feel like I can do anything now. Even beat you in chess."

At that moment, both James and Sona froze. Then, they both blushed.

'Damn, I forgot what beating her would mean. I do want to beat her though for more than just that reason, though.' James thought to himself as he calmed himself.

"Well, if that's the case, I look forward to your challenge." Sona said quietly with a soft smile while the blush remained on her face.

Once again, Flora was confused. Tsubaki and Reya were happy with the development as they knew how much Sona wanted James to beat her in a game of chess. Rias and Akeno were quite jealous, though. As they also knew what it meant for a man to win against Sona in a game of chess.

"Why does it seem like I'm always the only one out of the loop?" Flora said as she looked at the expressions of her friends.

Snapping out of his thoughts, James patted Flora on the head and apologized, before walking away from the board to return to class.

"Sorry, Flora." James said sincerely. The chance for you to know all our inside jokes and whatnot may be coming soon."

As they all followed James back to the classroom, other than Flora, the other girls looked at James in surprise. Not giving the girls the chance to ask any questions that should not be asked, James changed the subject.

"Since the last day of the term is in two days, we should celebrate after school that day." James suggested as he looked at all the girls. "What do you think?"

"I'm in!" Flora was the first to agree.

"Sounds good to me." Rias followed shortly after.

"Fufufu." Akeno laughed in her signature way before she replied. "I also agree."

Sona adjusted her glasses once again and asked. "What do you have in mind, James?"

"Hmm." James rubbed his chin while considering an activity. After returning to the classroom, James' eyes lit up and he answered Sona's question.

"How about karaoke?" James asked excitedly.

"Sounds good to me." Rias and Flora answered in unison.

"I'm okay with that." Sona also agreed.

"In a dark room with the lights dimmed? I would love to accompany you, James." Akeno said with a chuckle.

Although James rolled his eyes at Akeno's innuendo, the girls, with Rias and Sona being the worst, blushed. Tsubaki was the first to come back to her senses. She adjusted her glasses to hide her embarrassment then answered.

"Well, if everyone else is going..." Tsubaki said before she was interrupted by James.

"That's a good idea, Tsubaki." James said with a devious grin on his face. "Why don't we get Mizore, Moka, Kunou, and Lancer to come with us, too?"

Hearing the extra emphasis James put on Cu Chulainn's nickname, Tsubaki turned red like a boiled lobster.

"Sona then asked Reya.

"How about you, Reya?"

"I'll be there, too." Reya said with a nod.

"Good. Now that that's decided, I'll let everyone know when we get back home tonight." James said excitedly.