Underworld, Satan Territory, Capital City, Lilith.
After wining and dining with the other attending devils for around an hour, James noticed a black cat wandering around the hall. Curiously watching the cat, James noticed that Koneko was also following its movements with her eyes. Then, when the cat left the venue, Koneko followed it. Thinking that something was up, James grabbed Rias and followed along behind Koneko.
"So, what do you think was up with that cat?" Rias asked as they sneaked along behind Koneko.
"I'm not sure." James replied while keeping his eyes on Koneko. "But if she's following it, it might have put her under some kind of spell."
"Are you serious?" Rias asked, panic lacing her tone.
"Calm down." James said in a soothing tone. "I don't have any evidence; it was just a speculation."
Hearing that, Rias forcefully calmed herself down and concentrated on following her [Rook]. Then, after following Koneko away from the venue and into the forest surrounding it, James and Rias watched as Koneko came to a stop. When she did, they could see that she was looking up at a voluptuous black-haired woman wearing a beautiful black kimono seated on a tree branch with the black cat they were following curled up in her lap.
"Onee-Sama." Koneko muttered as she looked at the woman sitting in the tree.
"Shirone, it's good to see you again." Koneko's older sister said with a smile. Her expression turned into a frown before she continued, however. "But I was expecting to see you here alone."
Hearing that, Koneko quickly turned around. She had been so preoccupied with the black cat, her sister's familiar, that she had not paid attention to her surroundings. When Koneko turned around, James and Rias, without trying to hide their presences, came out into the open.
"Ara, Ara, if it isn't the heiress of the Gremory House, and her bodyguard." Koneko's sister said in a sarcastic tone. "To think people of your standing would be sneaking around like this."
"You can cut the act, Kuroka." James said calmly. "We all know that neither Rias nor I were sneaking. Because if I didn't want us to be found, we wouldn't be."
"Your words are quite arrogant." Kuroka said as she jumped down from the tree branch she was sitting on.
Now that Kuroka was closer, Rias and James were able to see her more clearly. She was beautiful and voluptuous, with breasts that rivaled Rias in size. She had long black hair with split bangs and golden eyes with cat-like pupils. She wore a black kimono with a yellow obi, a red interior lining, and wore it open at the shoulders, leaving a sizable portion of her breasts and cleavage exposed. She also had a pair of black cat ears and tails.
"James-Nii, Buchou, why are you here?" Koneko asked curiously.
"Just wanted to see what you were up to." James replied with a smile.
Koneko nodded in reply, then she turned her attention back to her sister.
"Onee-Sama, why are you here?" Koneko asked sternly.
Seeing the expression on Koneko's face, Kuroka was taken aback for a moment. Then, she smiled and answered the question.
"I've come to bring you with me." Kuroka said.
"No, thank you." Koneko said without changing her expression. "I am happy here. And when I grow up, I'm going to make James-Nii my mate."
Hearing that, Kuroka was surprised, Rias giggled, and James smiled wryly. Then, she looked at her sister angrily.
"You would deny your older sister for these two?" Kuroka said angrily as she pointed one of her slender fingers at James and Rias.
"Why wouldn't I?" Koneko asked, still with the same expression on her face. "Six years ago, you abandoned me, without saying anything. If Rias-Buchou's older brother hadn't stepped in, I would have been executed for what you did."
Hearing that Koneko was nearly screaming by the end of her sentence, some guilt flashed past Kuroka's eyes. But a moment later, she looked like she always did. But before she could say anything, Koneko calmed herself and spoke once again.
"So, Onee-Sama, tell me why you did it." Koneko said, with a hint of pleading in her tone. "I know you did not lose control of your [Senjutsu like the reports say. You were, no, are a genius when it comes to [Senjutsu]. I know that losing control is impossible for you."
Once again, Kuroka was taken aback. She expected a lot of things when she met with her sister again. Hatred, resentment, and many other negative emotions. However, she did not expect that she would be given a chance to explain herself. Then, she turned her head away and spoke.
"If you come with me, I'll tell you everything." Kuroka said softly.
"No." Koneko said firmly. "I'm not strong enough, now. But when I am, I will force you to tell me the truth, if I have to. And if your reason is stupid, I'll spank you for being such a bad girl."
Once again, Kuroka was shocked. At the same time, James began to laugh uproariously and Rias face palmed at the fact that her cute servant had been tainted by James' brand of crazy.
"I think you're thinking too naively." Kuroka said after getting her shock under control. "What makes you think I won't just take you with me by force?"
"Wow, you members of the Khaos Brigade don't share information much, do you?" James said with a chuckle.
Hearing that, Rias, Koneko, and Kuroka looked at James with surprise in their eyes. Then, Koneko turned her attention back to Kuroka.
"Are you really with the Khaos Brigade, Kuroka-Neesama?" Koneko asked with hope that James was wrong.
Unfortunately, Koneko's hopes would be crushed by Kuroka's next words.
"How did you know?" Kuroka asked.
"Because Bikou is trying, and failing miserably, to hide behind that tree." James said as he pointed at a tree not far behind Kuroka.
"Come on man, the show was just getting good." Bikou said as he walked from behind the tree he was hiding behind. "Long time no see, Red Dragon Emperor."
"Yo, Bikou." James said with a smile. "How's it going? How's Vali?"
"He's fine." Bikou replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "He's training harder than ever, to defeat you of course."
"Well, good luck with that." James said nonchalantly.
"Wait, this is the guy that beat Vali?" Kuroka asked in shock.
"I told you we shouldn't have come here." Bikou said. "But you were so confident. Now, we've got a problem."
"It's not like he could take us both at the same time, right?" Kuroka said with a frown. "Even if he was strong enough to beat Vali, there are two of us."
"He might not be able to beat both of us at the same time." Bikou said, agreeing with Kuroka. "But he could hold us up enough for reinforcements to arrive, then we'd be in real trouble."
At that moment, Kuroka realized what kind of trouble she had caused. However, James spoke before they could discuss things any further.
"First of all, I could definitely take you both at the same time and win." James said with a smile. "More than likely, I could beat Vali without my [Balance Breaker] now."
"Your bluff is quite big." Kuroka said with a snort. "We're both at ultimate-rank. Even if Vali is stronger than us, there's no way you could beat two ultimate-rank beings at the same time."
"*Sigh* For people who practice [Senjutsu], neither of you are very observant." James said with a tired sigh. "Why don't you try harder to sense the power that I'm keeping hidden under the surface. I really don't wanna release it now. Otherwise, my surprise for the old devils on the Council will be ruined."
Hearing that, both Bikou and Kuroka snorted disdainfully. However, they did what James said and used their [Senjutsu] to check James' true power. When their analysis was over, they were both left flabbergasted.
"You get it now, right?" James asked with a smile. "Since you haven't caused any trouble, why don't the two of you get outta here."
"Are you really gonna let us go?"Bikou asked with surprise in his tone.
"Yeah, the old man hiding up in the sky would stop me if I tried to capture you anyway." James said with a shrug.
Hearing that, once again, Bikou and Kuroka were shocked. Then, when they looked up, they saw a short old monkey youkai with golden fur wearing a pair of futuristic shades, a Buddhist cassock, and golden prayer beads around his head seated on a floating golden cloud.
"Grandpa!" Bikou exclaimed with his eyes widened to a comical degree.
After that, he grabbed Kuroka and shouted.
"Kuroka, fast, teleport us outta here." Bikou shouted in panic. "If my grandpa catches us, we're in deep shit."
Understanding what Bikou meant, Kuroka wasted no time in creating a teleportation magic circle. A moment later, Bikou and Kuroka were gone. Then, the old monkey youkai floated down to the ground.
"That damned troublemaker." The old monkey youkai said with a frown. Then, he turned his attention to James. "To think I'd run into someone so strong at such a young age."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong." James said while bowing respectfully.
"There's no need for all the formality." Sun Wukong said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Who are you boy? I don't recognize you as the heir of any of the famous clans of the Underworld."
"I'm James Alaverus." James introduced himself humbly.
"Oh, I've heard of you before." Sun Wukong said after a moment of contemplation. "You're the one that saved those yuki-onna, right?"
"Right." James said with a nod.
"Well, even though I've become a Buddha, I thank you for saving those youkai." Sun Wukong said with a smile. "If you don't already have a master, how about you take me as your master."
"No, thank you." James said with a smile. "I, in fact, already have a master."
"Oh, well perhaps I should have a discussion with your master." Sun Wukong said with a smile. "We wouldn't want to waste your talents."
"Are you suggesting you could guide a student to their full potential better than this Scathach?" Scathach said, calmly walking toward the little group of people."
"Sca... Sca... Scathach!" Sun Wukong stuttered as he took several steps away from James. "You're supposed to be stuck in that depressing Land of Shadows. How are you here?"
"I believe that that is none of your concern, Great Sage Equaling Heaven." Scathach said calmly. "However, if you honestly believe you can bring out more of my disciple's potential than I, I suggest we have a fight. The winner can continue James' training."
"Yeah, right." Sun Wukong said hurriedly as he began to ascend on his golden cloud. "There's no way in hell that I'm gonna throw down with a crazy woman like you."
And before anyone could respond any further, Sun Wukong flew away as fast as he could. Then, James, Rias and Koneko all turned their attention toward Scathach.
"Master, did you do something to him in the past?" James asked curiously.
"Well, once, before he became a Buddha, I shaved his fur after he offended me." Scathach said casually. "That fur made the warmest blanket I have ever owned."
Hearing that, James, Rias, and Koneko all felt a little bad for the Victorius Fighting Buddha.
"Anyway, did something happen?" James asked, doing his best to change the subject and erase the image of a bald Sun Wukong from his memories. "I didn't expect you to follow us out here."
"Honestly, I had no intention of following you either." Scathach replied. "However, I thought it would be bad if you were not present for the beginning of the Devil Council's appearance. So, I came to retrieve you."
"Oh, I guess it is about that time." James said as she smacked his forehead for forgetting. "Thanks for coming to get us. Ri Ri, Koneko, let's go back."
"Yeah." Rias said with a nod.
"Okay, James-Nii." Koneko replied.
Then, James, Rias, Koneko and Scathach made their way back to the venue.
At the same time, Bikou and Kuroka appeared in Vali's base.
"Damn it, why was the old man there?" Bikou complained.
"Probably to make sure you don't cause too much trouble." Kuroka said casually.
"Damn it, Kuroka. I didn't even want to be there." Bikou said angrily. "This time, it's all your fault."
"What's the matter with Bikou?" Vali said as he entered the room.
"The first Sun Wukong was there." Kuroka said as she tried to wrap herself around Vali.
Avoiding Kuroka's hug, Vali nodded in understanding.
"So, how's the new guy?" Bikou asked after calming down.
"He's good. Strong." Vali said with a happy smile. "I'm sure he'll be a great addition to our team."
Just then, a tall man with silver-white hair and icy-blue eyes wearing a blue trench coat over a black outfit, Vergil, Dante's older twin brother, entered the room.
"I have no issue working with you as long as I get the chance to fight with my brother." Vergil said calmly.
"I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities." Vali said. "He's a member of the Red Dragon Emperor, James Alaverus' peerage after all." Vali said with a battle hungry smile.
"Speaking of James Alaverus." Kuroka said as if she just remembered. "He was there, too. And he's a lot stronger than when you last met."