Human World, Japan, Kuoh.
After the mission to rescue the yuki-onna from the stray fallen angels, James and the group finished their spring break. Now, today is the first day of James, Rias, and Sona's final year of high school. On top of everyone else moving up a year, Koneko, Gasper, and Shuna are also joining Kuoh Academy as students. Though, Shuna is joining as a second year like Mizore, Moka, Yuuto, and Issei.
Because a new school year is upon them, James, Rias, and Sona decided to come to school earlier than usual. Why? The reason is simple, actually. They want to overlook the entrance from the school's roof. With James' soul sight, it is much easier to detect [Sacred Gear] wielders.
"Did you get the report Dante sent?" James asked the two heiresses next to him on the roof.
"You mean the one about the two devils who entered the town last night?" Rias asked while looking down at the crowd of students walking through the gates.
"Yup, that's the one." James replied while also watching the crowd.
"Yes, we both received it." Sona said while adjusting her glasses. "I sent my familiar to observe our newcomers"
"So, what's their deal?" James asked as he had yet to do his own investigation into the two.
"Well, if what I've seen is to be believed, one of the two girls didn't even know she was a devil until a couple of months ago." Sona said with a frown.
"How is that even possible?" Rias asked in confusion.
"If she was separated from her parents for as long as she could remember." James replied with a frown. "If they are who I think they are, shit's gonna hit the fan sooner rather than later."
"Oh, that's them, now." Rias said while pointing at two girls coming through the front gate.
'Damn, it really is them.' James thought to himself after following the direction Rias was pointing. 'Seriously, what's up with this world?'
What James saw was a pair of beautiful girls. The first had crimson red hair that reached her waist, pink eyes, and a slim figure with extremely noticeable curves for her age. Her breasts and buttocks were very impressively sized. And the second was a petite girl with long silver hair and purple eyes.
"Hmm..." James hummed while he observed the two devils entering the school grounds. "Do you want my opinion on how we should handle them, or do you girls want to handle this one yourselves?"
"We'll handle it ourselves." Rias and Sona answered simultaneously.
"Sure thing." James said with a shrug. Then, he cocked an eyebrow.
"What's wrong, James?" Rias asked after seeing his change in expression.
"Nothing really." James replied, then he turned his head toward Sona. "But it looks like the guy Sona had her eyes on has awakened his [Sacred Gear] over spring break."
"that's a pleasant surprise." Sona said without much change on her expression. "I guess I'll make contact with him soon."
"Yeah, you should probably hurry." James said with a wry smile. "Supernatural stuff seems to be gathering in our little academy."
"You sound like you're expecting something big to happen." Rias said while tapping her chin with her right index finger.
"If it's anything like manga, when too many things that aren't supposed to be gathered gather, shit's about to go down." James said with a smile.
"Stop equating real life with manga." Sona said with a frown.
"If I'm wrong, I'll apologize, Sona." James said in a serious tone. "But truth is often stranger than fiction. Shit could go real sideways, real fast if we're not careful."
"*Sigh* I guess you could be right." Sona said, not really believing in James' manga/anime logic.
"Anyway, it's getting late." Rias said with a smile. "We should get to class. I'm sure the other girls are already waiting."
Okay, let's go." James said with a smile.
Then, before they left the roof, Sona's eyes sparkled mischievously. Then, she wrapped her arms around James' left arm and shot a playful glance at her best friend.
"Damn it." Rias said in frustration. "Just wait till I beat Riser. You'll never see me without a hand on James."
"Oh, that's a pretty daring statement." James said with a smile. "I don't know how the rest of my girlfriends will feel about that."
"Does that matter?" Rias asked with her chin held high. "I would be the strongest once I join anyway."
"That's inaccurate, Rias." Sona said with a slight smile.
"What do you mean?" Rias asked in confusion.
"Well, Lady... or rather, Yasaka is in the minor god-rank, remember?" Sona asked playfully.
"Damn it, I forgot about her." Rias said while stomping her foot frustratedly. "Well, she's all the way in Kyoto, so it should be fine."
"Oh, and Mizore is only a step away from ultimate-rank, too." James said with a proud smile.
"What!?" Rias shouted in surprise. "Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack." James replied.
The trio continued their conversation as they made their way to class 3-A where their usual group of seven will once again be classmates.
Meanwhile, in class 1-A, Koneko and Gasper were chatting quietly when they suddenly noticed two devil auras approaching their classroom.
"Ko... Ko... Koneko, who is that?" Gasper asked with some fear after noticing the two unfamiliar auras.
Koneko shook her head in response, then replied. "We'll observe, then tell Buchou and James-Nii."
"Okay..." Gasper replied nervously.
Shortly after their conversation ended, the classroom door opened. When it did, the same pair of beautiful girls entered the classroom, then looked around. When the crimson-haired girl noticed Koneko and Gasper, her eyes narrowed slightly. However, she did not dwell on them for long. The silver-haired girl, on the other hand, kept a happy and friendly smile on her face the entire time.
'I definitely need to observe those two and report back to Rias-Nee.' Koneko thought to herself as she watched the action of the two devils in her class.
Not long after that little incident, the bell signifying the beginning of class rang. Shortly after that, the teacher for class 1-A entered the room. Like two years ago, Nekonomiya Shizuka was the homeroom teacher for this class. Like Koneko and Gasper, she also noticed that two of her students were unknown devils.
'Two unknowns, huh?' Shizuka thought to herself. 'I should report this to Lady Yasaka.'
Outwardly, however, Shizuka showed no signs that she was suspicious of the two new girls.
"Now, I think it would be a good time to introduce yourselves to the class." Shizuka said as she interacted with her class enthusiastically. "But first, I'll introduce myself. I'm your homeroom teacher, Nekonomiya Shizuka. It's nice to meet you all."
After that, the class replied with "It's nice to meet you too, Sensei." Then, Shizuka led the class into their own individual introductions. And just like it was when James and the gang were first years, the introductions were done in order of entrance exam rankings. First to introduce herself was the crimson-haired girl from before. It turns out the girl's name was Naruse Mio, and she had just moved to Kuoh with her half-sister after her parents died in an accident.
'Something about that seems suspicious.' Koneko and Shizuka thought simultaneously.
After Mio's introduction, Gasper and Koneko introduced themselves in that order. After them, there were two ordinary students. The sixth to introduce herself was the silver-haired girl who entered the room with Mio. She introduced herself as Naruse Maria, Mio's half-sister.
'I guess James-Nii will commission Dante or Lady to investigate the real reason behind the two of them showing up here.' Koneko thought as she listened to the other students' introductions.
At the same time, in class 2-A. Mizore, Moka, Yuuto, and Issei were in their assigned seats. Before the introductions began, their homeroom teacher, a balding middle-aged man, was telling them that there would be a transfer student in their class.
"You can come in." the teacher said in the direction of the classroom door.
Shortly after, the door was pulled open. Then, in walked a slender girl with pink hair, Shuna. When she reached the side of the teacher, she was prompted to introduce herself. Then with a polite bow, Shuna spoke to the class.
"Good morning, everyone." Shuna said with a smile. "My name is Onigawara Shuna. It's a pleasure to meet you all, and I hope we all get along."
With her introduction finished, the class clapped for her excitedly. At the same time, Mizore was the loudest among them.
"Shuna-Chan, I'm glad we ended up in the same class!" Mizore shouted.
"Mizore-San, so, am I." Shuna replied with a smile. "Moka-San, Yuuto-Kun, and Issei-Kun it's good to see you again as well."
"If I didn't know the truth, even I'd think we hadn't met just yesterday." Issei said while whispering to Yuuto who was seated in front of him.
"Yeah, I guess all that training as the princess of a tribe comes in handy in all kinds of situations." Kiba whispered in return.
At the same time, on the opposite side of the classroom, Tomoe was watching Yuuto and Issei whisper to each other. As she did, she pinched her nose as she began to breathe faster. Seeing that, Momo and Tsubasa could only sigh at their perverted classmate/friend. Eventually, the class made it through all the introductions, and the teacher talked to them about what would be expected of them as second-year students.
===Lunch Break===
In the Occult Research Club room, which was located in Kuoh Academy's old school building, Rias and her peerage were having their lunches together.
"So, Koneko, Gasper, how is your first day going so far?" Rias asked her two youngest servants with a smile. "Is going to school like what you expected?"
"It's a little scary." Gasper said nervously. "There are so many people who look at me."
"it's because they think Gaspy is cute." Koneko said in a teasing tone.
'*Sigh* I really need to thank James.' Rias thought as she looked at the more expressive Koneko. 'No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get her to open up like this.'
While Rias was thinking of how she would thank James, Koneko continued to tease Gasper while the rest of the peerage watched them with smiles on their faces. To an extent, everyone knew how devoid of expression Koneko had been. Yet, in the four years since James returned from his first long-term training with Scathach, he was able to return a smile to the cute cat girl's face.
"Oh, yeah." Koneko said as she remembered what she wanted to talk to Rias about. "Buchou, there are two unfamiliar devils in me and Gaspy's class."
Hearing that, the rest of the ORC stopped what they were doing and turned their heads toward Rias, who calmly took a sip of the tea Akeno had prepared.
"I know." Rias replied calmly after setting her teacup on the saucer. "We noticed them when they entered the gates this morning."
The group was impressed at how quickly the information had been gathered. As her peerage's admiration was building for Rias, her [Queen] giggled mischievously and put an end to that.
"Fufufu." With her signature giggle, Akeno shattered the illusion of wisdom Rias was building. "Why do I get the feeling that it was James that noticed and informed you?"
For an instant, Rias showed an expression of shock. Then her expression returned to normal. However, the devils of her peerage all happened to notice the quick change in expression. And at that moment, they remembered that their [King] was a huge lump of pride, that was slowly improving.
Knowing that she had been seen through by her entire peerage, Rias exhaled a sigh an told the truth.
"Yes, it was James who found out about them first." Rias admitted without a fuss. "He'll be commissioning Devil May Cry to investigate who they are and why they're in Kuoh."
Hearing that, everyone's expressions became solemn. As they did, Rias spoke to Koneko and Gasper.
"Koneko, Gasper, since they are in your class, I want you to take the opportunity to befriend them if possible." Rias said seriously. "Even if you can't become friends with them, I want you to try and understand as much as you can about their personalities, understood."
"Understood." Koneko replied firmly.
"Un... Un... Understood." Gasper replied with a nervous stutter. "But talking to new people is scary."
"*Sigh* I wish James could have fixed that, too." Rias said while resting her head in her hands.