Human World, Japan, Kuoh.
A week has passed since the second term began. In that week, the number of complaints about the P.E. classes increased sharply. However, as no one was injured, the school ignored the complaints. To be honest, with the devils in control of the school there is a good chance the complaints would have been ignored even if someone were injured. More than likely, they would have been healed and had their memories of the incident erased.
One thing to take note of, however. Since Scathach began teaching the P.E. classes, the students who play sports have found that their practice times have been more effective. Also, in just a week, Scathach has changed the mentality of most of the girls in the MMA Club. Although they are not seasoned fighters, their attitudes toward fighting, especially to protect themselves, has changed quite a bit. On top of that, many of those girls have begun to idolize Scathach.
"Master, are you trying to bring the warrior culture back to this era?" James asked Scathach curiously as they were leaving the MMA Hall after an afternoon of club activities. "I mean those girls are going to scare the hell out of people on the streets."
Scathach smiled slightly. Then, she turned around and began to walk away.
"Many people may think that I have gone overboard." Scathach said without turning back. "But if they give off a certain amount of pressure, any delinquents or vile characters that would do them harm would have to give pause as they considered doing anything insidious."
"Well, you're not wrong." James said as he quickly caught up to Scathach. "But with intimidating auras like they have now, it's going to be hard for them to find boyfriends, ya know."
"A man who cannot handle that aura of confidence is not worthy of anyone who I have personally instructed." Scathach said proudly.
'I get the feeling that Master is mistaking bloodlust with confidence.' James thought to himself as he maintained his smile. 'But I get the feeling that keeping that thought to myself is the right move.'
With that, James and Scathach continued to chat as they made their way back to their home. However, as they passed through one of the busier streets on their route, they saw a couple of familiar faces. Odin, Rossweisse, and a middle-aged man with black hair and beard.
"Hey, Lord Odin." James called out as he saw the trio coming out of a souvenir shop. "Wasn't expecting to see you around here."
When they heard someone call out to Odin, the trio turned in the direction of the voice. Odin and Rossweisse were pleasantly surprised to see that it was Jams, as he had left a good impression on them. The middle-aged man, however, looked at James as if he had found a lifelong enemy.
Feeling the hostility rolling off the middle-aged man, James frowned slightly. Then, he made eye contact with him. After a moment, he spoke.
"I'm guessing you either know me or know of me." James said to the middle-aged man. "But I don't know why you're looking at me like that. So, wanna introduce yourself?"
After being addressed by James, however, the middle-aged man said nothing. Instead, he continued to glare at James while leaking hostility. Seeing this, Odin and Rosseweisse were confused. Then, Odin decided to try and defuse the situation.
"James, this is the escort Azazel arranged for us." Odin said, trying not to let the situation turn into a fight. "He's one of the Cadre of the Grigori, Baraqiel."
As soon as he heard the name Baraqiel, James' eyes widened for a second. Then, a sneer appeared on his face.
"I get it now." James said with disdain. "You're pissed off because I'm doing a better job of looking after your daughter than you ever did, huh?"
With that, Odin and Rosseweisse were taken aback. They did not expect James to return such hostility when he heard Baraqiel's name. Baraqiel, on the other hand, opened his eyes wide like James did when he heard his name.
"What did you say, you little bastard!?" Baraqiel roared angrily. "Who the hell do you think you are talking to!?"
"A dead-beat dad who never showed up to take care of his daughter after his wife passed away?" James answered with a tilt of his head and an innocent expression on his face.
The atmosphere froze after James' comment. Scathach, Odin, and Rosseweisse could feel the anger rolling off both men. Then, Baraqiel began to shudder with rage.
"You know nothing, you piece of shit!" Baraqiel shouted. "I did all I could for Akeno and Shuri! It's not my fault the Himejima Clan attacked while I was away on a mission!"
"You're right." James said, nodding calmly in agreement.
Baraqiel was surprised that James agreed with him. However, James did not give him time to speak again.
"But what did you do when Akeno was wandering Japan as an orphan after that day?" James asked sharply with narrowed eyes. "At the age of ten, she traveled around Japan alone for almost a year by herself. Where were you then? And where were you when the Himejima clan found her and almost killed her?"
As James continued to question Baraqiel, his demonic power began to leak. Feeling the air begin to ripple from James' presence, Baraqiel's eyes widened. Then, his shoulders slumped after James mentioned the state Akeno was in after Shuri's death.
"And don't tell me you couldn't find her." James said angrily. "I don't know what you were doing that you put before your daughter's safety for that long, and to be honest, I don't care. But I do know that I was the one that saved her from a certain death at the hands of the Himejima Clan."
Hearing that, Baraqiel deflated even further. However, James continued.
"Usually, it's the father's right to hate their daughter's boyfriends and shit like that." James said with an indifferent expression on his face. "Unfortunately, you don't have that right. Maybe if you had been a father when Akeno needed you the most, I would have just let you vent your anger about having your daughter taken away. Unfortunately, you let her go on your own years ago."
And with that, James walked away while Baraqiel hung his head and gritted his teeth. Naturally, Scathach followed James. After James and Scathach were gone, Odin sighed. Then, he looked at Baraqiel, who was clearly depressed and shook his head.
"Well, that didn't go the way I thought it would." Odin said, then he walked toward the next place he found interesting. "Come on, let's go."
Rosseweisse followed James with her eyes, but she was a little moved at how James grew so angry for his girlfriend's sake, even if it was against her father. Baraqiel, on the other hand, followed Odin and Rosseweisse, as his expression kept switching from anger to guilt and back to anger again.
Meanwhile, James and Scathach walked back to their house in silence for a while. Eventually, James broke the silence.
"Damn it!" James said angrily. "I think I stuck my foot where it doesn't belong. But when I think about everything that Akeno went through because he went ghost for so long, I lost my cool."
"It is understandable, my disciple." Scathach replied. "If you could remain calm in front of someone who treated someone you care about like that, that would be more concerning."
"I know what you mean, Master." James said, still with a frown on his face. "But, this time, I think I went too far. At least, I need to talk to Akeno about what happened."
"I agree." Scathach said with a nod. "I believe you need to talk to her as soon as possible."
James nodded as he was thinking the same thing. Then, without hesitation, James pulled his smartphone from his pocket and dialed Akeno's number.
*Ring!* *Ring!* *Ring!*
"{Hello, James.}" Akeno said, with a smile.
"Akeno, are you home right now?" James asked in a solemn tone.
"{Yes.}" Akeno replied in a nervous tone after hearing James' tone. "{Is there something wrong?}"
James fell silent for a moment after hearing Akeno's question.
"*Sigh* Yeah." James said tiredly. "I need to talk to you about something important. I'm walking back home from school now, I'll come to Ri Ri's house before I go home."
"{Okay...}" Akeno said in a tone that had some fear mixed in.
"I'll see you soon." James said, not noticing Akeno's tone.
"{See ya...}" Akeno replied before ending the call.
James put his phone back in his pocket just as he and Scathach reached the neighborhood their house is in. Then, a few minutes later they were walking past Rias' house.
"Alright, I'll go see Akeno." James said as he stopped in front of Rias' house.
"Alright." Scathach replied with a nod.
Without stopping, Scathach continued toward the Alaverus mansion. Then, after taking a deep breath, James walked toward Rias' house and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Koneko opened the door. Then, she smiled when she noticed that it was James who rang the doorbell. However, after seeing his expression, her smile disappeared and was replaced by a worried expression.
"Hey, Kitty Cat." James said with a forced smile. "I need to talk to Akeno. Is she in her room?"
In response, Koneko nodded absent mindedly. Nodding in return, James stepped into the house, took off his shoes and put on a pair of slippers. Then, he walked into the house and toward Akeno's room. Meanwhile, Koneko stood by the door and watched James with worry on her face. In the six or so years that she has known him, not once has she seen James wearing a forced smile like that.
"Koneko, is something wrong?" Rias asked as she saw Koneko just standing at the door. "Who rang the doorbell?"
"It was James-Nii." Koneko answered absent mindedly. "Something was wrong, and he wanted to see Akeno-San."
Rias was surprised to hear that James had come by without telling her beforehand. However, what surprised her even more was that Koneko was not smiling happily like she usually does when James stops by.
"I wonder what's going on?" Rias said as she looked toward the stairs to the second floor.
James on the other hand was walking down the hallway on the second floor. A moment later, he arrived in front of Akeno's bedroom door.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Akeno, It's me, James." James said, announcing his presence.
A moment later, James could hear Akeno approaching the door. Then, the door was opened, and James was thoroughly surprised.
Akeno, who was standing in the doorway, had red puffy eyes. It was obvious she had been crying.
"Akeno?" James asked in surprise.
"James, did I do something wrong?" Akeno asked with tears beginning to drip from her eyes.
"Huh?" James' confusion grew after hearing Akeno's question. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know why you're breaking up with me, but I promise I'll fix whatever is wrong." Akeno said as she sobbed.
Once again, James fell further into confusion. Because of that, he froze completely. At the same time, Rias approached Akeno's room, curious why James was visiting. When she did, she saw James standing silently outside of Akeno's bedroom while Akeno was crying in the doorway. On top of that, she heard the last thing Akeno said. So, without hesitation, she rushed over to the two of them.
"James, what the hell is going on!?" Rias asked angrily. "What are you doing to Akeno!?"
Hearing Rias' angry questioning, James was snapped out of his stupor. Then, he looked at the tear-filled face of Akeno and the angry momma lion look on Rias' face. Then, he exhaled a huge sigh. After that, he flicked each of them on the forehead.
"Ow!" x 2
After James forehead flick, both girls had teary eyes and glared at James while covering their foreheads with their hands.
"First of all." James said while he looked Akeno in the eyes. "I never said anything about breaking up with you, did I? You're jumping to conclusions."
"But when you called..." Akeno said with surprise in her tone.
"I said I had something important to tell you, because I have something important to tell you." James said. "But breaking up is not the only possible important thing I could have to say to you, right?"
James smiled wryly as he spoke. He never even considered that his tone would give Akeno the idea that he was going to break up with her. However, he then turned to Rias without removing the wry smile from his face.
"And you, Ri Ri. *Sigh*" James said before shaking his head along with the sigh. "You didn't even think to ask what was going on before accusing me of doing something wrong. I'm getting flashbacks of my fourteenth birthday. I'm not gonna get slapped again, am I?"
As James spoke, his tone turned playful. Rias on the other hand was blushing in embarrassment. She also realized that she might have overreacted after seeing Akeno crying.
"But since you got so angry for Akeno's sake, I'll let it slide this time." James said with a smile while patting Rias' head. "Anyway, I really do have something I need to talk to you about, Akeno. Let's go inside your room and talk."