Human World, Japan, Kuoh, Alaverus Estate.
After James caught his stalker, Ayame, he returned to the front of his house with her in tow. Unsurprisingly, they were surprised. Kunou even hiding behind James when she recognized Ayame from the attack at the karaoke bar. With his spear ready to attack, Cu Chulainn was the first to speak.
"James, what the hell is she doing here?" Cu Chulainn asked while pointing his spear at Ayame.
"*Sigh* Dude, if what she said is true, then I'm just as confused as you are." James said with a tired sigh.
"Huh, what did she say, James?" Mizore asked, her curiosity piqued after seeing James' reaction.
"For all intents and purposes, Ayame here, wants to become my personal ninja. Or something like that." James said while massaging his temples due to an incoming migraine. "Moka, can you call Rias and Sona? Tell them something came up and we should have the study session at our place."
"Of course." Moka replied, concern in her tone.
Shortly after that, James and his peerage brought Kunou back into the house. James flopped down on the sofa in the living room. Curiously, Leona looked at everyone returning early with curiosity. Then, she caught sight of the bespectacled, silver-haired girl with monkey ears who fell to one knee in front of James and could not help but ask.
"James, who's this pretty lady?"
"Sarutobi Ayame, a ninja who tried to kidnap Kunou last year." James said tiredly.
"What?" Leona shouted as she shot to her feet. "If she's an enemy, then why is she in our house?"
"Mom, could you please keep your voice down?" James asked, almost pleaded. "I have one of the worst headaches I've ever had right now."
Eventually, Moka finished her phone calls and entered the room. When she saw how miserable James was, she walked behind the sofa and began to massage his temples.
"Thank you Moka, that feels so much better." James said as he relaxed slightly.
"Don't mention it." Moka replied with a smile.
'I was in here first, why didn't I think of that?' Mizore said to herself while chewing on her thumb nail.
After a few minutes, the entire study group plus Koneko and Gasper arrived at the Alaverus mansion. When they saw Ayame, like all the others, they were taken aback. Before they could start questions, James spoke first.
"Before we start the explanation and the Q&A session, Koneko, Gasper, would you mind hanging out with Kunou in her room?" James asked, not quite as tired thanks to Moka's massage. "We'll fill you in on anything relevant later."
Without a fuss, Koneko and Gasper nodded. Kunou seemed to be worried, but she eventually agreed to leave as well after she saw James smile at her warmly. After the youngest members of the group had gone into Kunou's room, James turned his attention back on Ayame. With a solemn expression, he asked his first question.
"The last time we met, you were on the side of Lady Yasaka's opposition. So why are you here claiming that you wish to swear your service to me now?"
"As all ninjas wish to do, I have come to take a worthy lord." Ayame said, beginning her explanation. "The last time we met, I simply accepted the request from Lady Yasaka's enemy. There was no enmity. To put it simply, the price was right."
"If you came to accept him as your lord, then why did you stalk James for so long?" Rias asked while tilting her head cutely.
"Well..." Ayame hesitated to answer while fidgeting. "Because ever since I began watching Alaverus-Sama and he noticed that he was being watched... His cold and disgusted gaze... *Pant* *Pant*"
Ayame began to pant like an animal in heat once she started thinking about James angry glares whenever he felt her watching him over the last several months. Seeing this, the rest of the group was taken aback. Everyone except Akeno, who looked like she found a rival. Noticing the glint in Akeno's eyes, James felt he needed to cut off those thoughts immediately.
"Akeno!" James said, raising his voice to make sure he would get Akeno's attention. Once she was paying attention to him, James raised his hand and pointed at Ayame. "Do you think I would be happy if you turned into 'that'?"
Ayame was affected the most by James' outburst. Hearing James treat her as something less than a person and seeing the disgust in his eyes, she became so aroused that she was unable to stay kneeling. Instead, she fell to one side and began writhing in pleasure. Watching Ayame's display, Akeno gave up on competing in masochism with her. Although she liked to be dominated, Akeno had no desire to be mistreated.
Akeno was not the only one to be put off by Ayame's display. Everyone, without exception tried their best to distance themselves from her, if even by a little. After a minute or so, Ayame was able to reign in her arousal. Noticing her current position, she quickly returned to kneeling in front of James, and acted as if nothing was wrong.
"This chick is a real piece of work." Cu Chulainn whispered to Tsubaki.
"I know." Tsubaki whispered in reply. "And I get the feeling whether he accepts her fealty or not, she won't let him be."
Even though James could not hear Tsubaki and Cu Chulainn's conversation, he was thinking the same thing. Although he did not want to do it. To reiterate, he really did not want to do it. But he had to choose the lesser of two evils. The two evils being to either turn this high-level pervert away, which would grate on his sanity knowing that she was always watching or keep her by his side. In the latter case, at least he would know that her stalking was meant to protect... He would hope it was meant to protect. He doubted there was anything he could do about the extreme masochism, though.
"*Sigh* Fine... I'll accept you." James said tiredly. Leaning back against the back of the sofa, he continued. "You'll have to answer some questions before I make it official, however."
"As you wish." Ayame said calmly with an excited undertone. "If I have the answer you seek, it will be yours."
"Are you aware of the [Evil Pieces] of devil society?" James asked with his arms crossed.
"Yes, sir." Ayame replied simply.
"Good. And are you aware of what it means to reincarnate with an [Evil Piece]?" James continued to ask.
"All I know is that I will cease to be a youkai." Ayame replied with what she knew.
"Although that is true, you won't lose any of your traits as a Satori Instead, you will gain the physical traits of a devil." James explained patiently. "I would assume you know of those, correct?"
"Yes. Weakness to holy magic, weakness to light, and a long lifespan. Also heightened strength and brain activity during the night." Ayame listed the traits of a devil she could remember.
"That's more or less correct." James said. "*Sigh* If you truly wish to serve me, stand up and step forward."
Without hesitation, Ayame rose from her kneeling position. A moment later, she was standing in front of James with a blush on her face. She was somewhat excited by the put off expression he was wearing. Unfortunately for James, As Ayame grew more excited, how put off he was grew. And this fact excited the pervert more as time went on. Shaking his head to remove any stray thoughts, James extended his right hand with the palm facing up. A moment later, four [Pawn Pieces] appeared over his outstretched hand. Before he could press them into Ayame's chest, though, he was interrupted.
"James are you sure about this?" Rias asked uncertainly. "I mean, she used to be an enemy."
"Honestly, I'm not sure about this." James said, glancing at Rias. "But her loyalty is not what I'm unsure about. She took a job to kidnap Kunou last year. That's all. That's what freelance ninja do."
"Yeah, but..." Rias was still untrusting of the Satori standing in front of James.
"What I'm unsure about, is how long I could put up with... this." James gestured toward Ayame with his chin as he spoke.
In front of him, Ayame was panting heavily. Apparently, she was excited by the fact that James had called her forward, then at the last moment, he changed his focus and neglected her to talk to another woman.
Seeing Ayame's current state, Rias was even more unwilling to see James accept her in his peerage. Before she could speak again, however, Sona beat her to it.
"Rias, I feel just as disgusted as you do by seeing her current state." Sona said as calmly as she could. "But I think James is choosing the lesser of two evils by making this decision."
"What do you mean?" Rias asked in confusion.
"I believe it comes down to the reason why she would always be watching him, and the mental pressure each reason would put on James." Sona explained while adjusting her glasses. "Basically, whether she's following him around as a stalker or a hidden guard."
"As expected of my fiancée." James said with a happy smile. "You understood my thoughts right away."
Sona smiled happily at the compliment as well. However, as soon as she noticed all the sweet smiles and the pout from Rias pointed in her direction, she turned as crimson as Rias' hair.
"Alright, as much fun as teasing Sona may be, I think I need to hurry and add Sarutobi to my peerage." James said while smiling wryly.
"Why? What's wrong?" Reya asked in confusion.
"Well... If I don't, I think she's going to pass out from too much stimulation from the perceived neglect play." James said while gesturing to Ayame once again.
When the group turned to Ayame, what they saw was drool leaking from the side of her partially open mouth, her eyes rolling up into the back of her head, and her legs quivering as if she had just had a silent orgasm. Before a moment could pass, James pressed the [Pawn Pieces] into her chest. When the physiological changes finished and the devil wings sprouted from her back, Ayame could finally no longer hold on to her consciousness.
Before she could fall to the floor, James caught her. Lifting her in a princess' carry, He walked up the stairs and placed her on the bed in one of the empty guest rooms. Once he was done, he returned to the living room.
"Well, since this happened, if we're going to study, we might as well do it here." James said with an awkward smile. He knew that no one would be in the mood to study after the earlier happenings, though. To his surprise, all the Kuoh Academy students produced their books and notebooks immediately after his words finished. Smiling wryly again, James forgot how competitive all the people present were. Deciding that musing about it any further would be meaningless, James also produced his study materials and joined the study session.
When everyone pulled out their study materials and prepared to begin studying, the happiest person in the room was Cu Chulainn. At first, he was not invited when the group was supposed to study at Rias' house. Now, he would get to spend the evening with Tsubaki. At least, that's what he thought initially. After trying to snuggle up close with his girlfriend, he received the sharpest glare she had ever sent in his direction. Then, taking the hint, he decided to go upstairs to protect Kunou/ play with the younger members of the group.