High School DxD: Scattered Cherry Blossoms

===First day of school===

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

A little more than a month has passed since Dante's shop, Devil May Cry, opened. In that time, not much has happened. James made sure that the proper equipment for the MMA club he planned to start was installed in the training hall he funded. The group of five also picked up their Kuoh Academy school uniforms. The thing about that to take note of was, James was roped into taking four of the five girls who are romantically interested in him on dates while getting their uniforms. This of course made Sona, Akeno, Mizore, and Moka very happy. Rias on the other hand was burning with jealousy and unhappiness. Even though she understood the reason James refused to take her out on a date, knowing the reason did not make it any easier for her to accept. Even until now, the beginning of their high school lives, Rias has yet to let the matter rest.

Early in the morning on the first day of school, James, Sona, and Tsubaki are making their way from the upscale residential area in which they live to the school on foot. As they have explored the town on more than one occasion in the three months they have lived here, they do not have to worry about getting lost on their way. Thus, the trio made their commute in good spirits. After walking for twenty or so minutes, the trio reached the Academy gates. As they arrived, they found Rias and Akeno waiting for them just outside the gates.

"Good morning, Rias and Akeno." James said with a smile. "Are you excited about starting at a new school."

"Good morning, James, Miss Sona, and Tsubaki." Akeno said in response.

"Good morning, Rias and Akeno." Sona said, also offering her greetings to her best friend and her [Queen].

"Good morning, Miss Rias and Akeno." Tsubaki also offered her greetings just like her [King].

The only one present who has yet to speak is Rias. Instead of greeting the group, she has been staring at James and Sona with squinted eyes. James, judging by the look in Rias' eyes, knew what was coming. So, he decided to be proactive in shutting this topic down before it could get started.

"*Sigh* Rias, I know what you're thinking just by looking at you." James said exasperatedly. "Until you get your engagement with Riser cancelled, the two of us won't be going on any dates."

Pouting at James words, Rias responded in a huff. "It's not fair! I want to spend time with you, too."

"Rias, you've gone to James' house every day since we arrived in this town." Sona said, adopting the same exasperated tone as James. "You spend time with him every day."

"You know what I mean, Sona." Rias whined. "I wanna spend time alone with him. Plus, I don't like the fact that my [Queen] has a head start on me."

In response to Rias' words and stare, Akeno used a hand to cover her mouth and laughed softly, before speaking.

"Fufufu. Rias, how can you say it's unfair?" Akeno asked with a slightly sadistic smile. "I'll take my time to make sure that James is... 'suitable' for you once your engagement has been cancelled."

As Akeno got to the word, "suitable," in her last sentence, she made a show of licking her index finger before continuing. Understanding Akeno's intentions, Rias pouted even harder. James on the other hand was dumbfounded by Akeno's actions. While Sona was trying hard to hold back a giggle when she saw Rias' expression. Meanwhile, Tsubaki looked down at her watch to check the time. Noticing the current time, she spoke to the group.

"I think we should get going, everyone. We need to check our class assignments and get to the auditorium before the opening ceremony starts." Tsubaki said calmly, ending the unproductive conversation.

"I guess it is about that time." James said, looking down at his own watch after Tsubaki's reminder. "Sona, you're lucky to have someone like Tsubaki as your [Queen]. It's no wonder Lancer is so taken with her."

Hearing James' comment, Tsubaki turned bright red. Although their relationship has yet to progress beyond a certain point, it is obvious to anyone with eyes that Cu Chulainn and Tsubaki are interested in each other.

Adjusting her glasses, Sona also remarked.

"Another reason for us to move on would be that we seem to be drawing a lot of attention." Sona said while subtly gesturing to their surroundings.

Seeing all eyes on them, the group decided to move away from the school gate and check their classroom assignments immediately. The girls began walking ahead, with James following them at a close distance. As he looked over them, he realized how much everyone had grown since they were kids. The tallest of the female quartet was Rias, standing at 5'8" (approx. 1.73 m). Sona on the other hand was the shortest at 5'5" (1.65 m). Then Akeno at 5'6" (approx. 1.68 m) and Tsubaki at 5'7" (1.7 m). As he looked over them James was thinking.

'Not just in height, the girls have really grown in general. I mean they make those uniforms look pretty damn good.'

All four girls were clad in the Kuoh Academy uniform for girls, a white long-sleeved, button-down shirt with vertical linings, a black ribbon on the collar, a black shoulder cape and matching button-down corset, and a magenta skirt with white accents. Matched with their beauty, it was easy to see why they drew the gazes of both the boys and the girls near the entrance.

"James, why are you walking so slow?" Rias turned back and asked, hurrying James to catch up with them.

As James rejoined the group, all eyes fell on him this time. It helped that he was easy on the eyes as well. His handsome face, long braided hair, and slim yet muscular physique made the male uniform, a black blazer with white accents over a white, long-sleeved, button-down shirt with vertical linings, a black ribbon on the collar, matching black pants, and brown dress shoes, look better than it had any right to.

James looked around as he noticed the looks he was getting.

"Is it just me, or are there a lot of glares coming from the boys?" James asked the group of girls he was walking with. "And a lot of them seem to be promising death, or large amounts of pain at the very least."

Hearing James' question, the girls looked around and noticed the same. Then, they all began to giggle in unison.

"James you're so cute." Akeno said as she shifted her position to James' side, simultaneously shifting Rias away. She then linked her arms with James and continued speaking. "They're just jealous."

As everyone was watching the surrounding crowd, they noticed the boys' darkening expressions the moment Akeno latched onto James. Everyone except Rias, that is. Right now, she was glaring at Akeno with the same level of intensity that the boys are using to glare at James.

Seeing the situation, Sona and Tsubaki could not help but start to giggle. While James could only smile wryly.

"Akeno, at least keep your sadistic tendencies hidden at school." James said in a faint voice. "I know you like teasing Rias, but you need to pay attention to the T.P.O."

Hearing James slight reprimand, Akeno smiled sweetly then moved to her previous position with Rias between her and James. And with that, Rias' pout softened, though she was not over it completely. As she was not allowed to be that intimate with James due to her current engaged status.

While walking through the school grounds and chatting animatedly, the group made it to the board that displayed the classroom assignments. Next to that was the student rankings according to the scores on the entrance exams. Deciding to look at that later and To save time, they each looked at a different class roster. Eventually, they found that they were all in the same class.

"I found it." Tsubaki said calmly. "We're all in Class 1-A."

Hearing Tsubaki's report, Rias, Sona, and Akeno smiled happily. James on the other hand, stared at Rias and Sona skeptically. With James' blatant stare, the girls reacted in opposite ways. Sona, knowing why James was staring like that, blushed and lowered her head. Rias, however, puffed her impressive chest with pride and responded as shamelessly as James would.

"I know I'm hot, but if you stare like that I'll blush." Rias said with a big smile on her face.

Akeno responded to Rias' shameless reply by covering her mouth with a hand and laughing.

"Fufufu. That brings back memories." Akeno said with a nostalgic smile. Noticing that Sona and Tsubaki seemed out of the loop, she explained. "When James saved me from the pursuit of the Himejima Clan, he used [Senbonzakura] to stop a bunch of spells aimed at me. When I stared at him in disbelief, he said what Rias just said, to me."

After hearing the explanation, Sona and Tsubaki giggled. James, having stopped paying attention to the girls, noticed that the one who placed fourth on the entrance exams was in their class.

"If it wasn't for us, the one who placed fourth, Kusaka Reya, would have been the top scorer on the entrance exams." James said while stroking his chin. "She must be pretty impressive."

Sona's eyes lit up after hearing James' statement. She then grabbed James' sleeve, and in a quiet voice she implored.

"You and Rias already have so many members in your peerage. If she's suitable don't fight over her with me, okay?" Sona asked with upturned eyes.

Smiling in response, James patted Sona on the head and answered her request. "Don't worry, Sona, I'll keep my hands off her. You'll have to convince Rias yourself, though."

"Sona thanked James, then the group made their way to the auditorium. Along the way, the boys' jealous glares continuously stabbed into James. This being the first time He had attracted this many negative emotions, he started to get uncomfortable. Outwardly though, his bright smile never left his face, which drew the gazes of many of the surrounding girls. As the boys noticed this, their glares intensified.

After making it to the auditorium, it did not take long for the seats to be filled. Meanwhile, Sona made her way onto the stage, as she would be giving a speech as the representative of the incoming class of students. James, Rias, Akeno, and Tsubaki took seats near the center of the stage in the center rows. A good place to make funny faces when Sona was giving her speech. At least that's why James said he chose those particular seats.

Shortly after the students and teachers filled the seats in the auditorium, the opening ceremony began. And like most ceremonies, the higher ups who spoke must have had sleep magic enchanting their words, as many students were fighting sleep by the end of the principal and vice-principal's speeches. On the upside, Sona's speech was interesting, it gained her a standing ovation among the students. By the way, James did make those funny faces he talked about. Luckily Sona paid him little attention.

"It looks like she's gonna get along just fine with the other students." James said quietly.

Rias, Akeno, and Tsubaki nodded in agreement.

After the end of the opening ceremony, the students made their way to their assigned classes. When James and the girls made it to their classroom, class 1-A, the first thing they noticed was the seating arrangement. Rias, Sona, and Akeno found themselves disappointed with the seating arrangements as none of them were seated near James. Tsubaki on the other hand was not particularly interested in where she would be seated. Whereas James liked his seat, second row from the back next to the window. The so-called protagonist seat.

Shortly after James and the girls arrived in the class and found their seats, their homeroom teacher entered the room.

"Alright everyone, please take your seats. I will be your homeroom teacher, Nekonomiya Shizuka." The bespectacled blond woman said in a bubbly tone as she addressed the classroom full of students.

'We're in Japan, Shinto territory, So I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see a youkai working as a teacher.' James thought to himself, as he detected his teacher's aura. 'She's a nekomata if I'm sensing correctly... Wait... she's another crossover character.'

After explaining what the students should expect in the upcoming year, Shizuka asked the students to do introductions. As the introductions were ordered by student number, which followed the entrance exam rankings, James was looking forward to the fourth introduction.

When it was Kusaka Reya's turn, James turned his attention to her. What he saw was a pretty, brown-eyed girl with a slim figure, long brown hair that ended in two short braids, and bangs that covered her eyebrows. A blue hairband completed her look.

After the introductions were over, homeroom continued until the bell rang. As today was the first day of classes for the year, The students were allowed to go home. The normal school schedule would start tomorrow. With the day ending, James and the girls walked together to the school gates, then separated into two groups and headed home.