Rias Gremory's crimson eyes calmly swept the room, her wings slowly folding behind her. She repeated the question, her voice as smooth as silk:
"Which one of you summoned me?"
Without hesitation, Yuuji's hand shot out—pointing directly at Issei.
"He did."
"WHAT?! You traitor!" Issei barked, nearly jumping back. "You're the one with magic glowy hands!"
"I carried your bloody corpse here, man!" Yuuji snapped back. "If anything, I deserve a reward, not a demon-summoning accusation!"
"Oh yeah?! Then why'd you glow like a damn Christmas tree back at the park?!"
"It wasn't my idea!"
Rias, still smiling faintly, watched the back-and-forth like one might observe wild animals in a zoo. Her head tilted slightly. "Are you two always like this?"
They stopped mid-bicker, turning to her with matching expressions of sheepish awkwardness.
"Uh…" Issei muttered. "No?"
"We barely know each other?" Yuuji added.
With a light sigh, Rias stepped toward Yuuji's bed and gracefully sat, her fingers laced in her lap. The room somehow felt colder and heavier now, just from her presence.
"Do either of you understand what's happening?" she asked plainly.
Both boys shook their heads without hesitation.
Rias nodded. "Then let's take this from the top. What exactly happened before you summoned me?"
Yuuji and Issei exchanged a quick glance before launching into their explanation—stumbling over words, interrupting each other, occasionally backtracking. Issei spoke of his date with Raynare and her sudden transformation, while Yuuji described finding him bleeding in the park, the strange voice, and the burst of golden light that closed his wounds.
Rias listened in thoughtful silence, her gaze sharp as she absorbed every word. When they finished, she closed her eyes for a moment as if compiling data.
She opened them slowly, first looking to Issei.
"You… possess a Sacred Gear. A very powerful one, at that."
Then she turned to Yuuji, staring longer this time, her expression unreadable.
"You're… something else entirely."
Yuuji stiffened. "That supposed to be comforting?"
Rias smiled. "Not necessarily."
She clapped her hands together lightly. "Regardless, I've made a decision."
"Wait, decision?" Issei asked, eyes narrowing.
"What kind of decision?" Yuuji followed.
Rias stood, her presence suddenly commanding. "You'll both be joining the Occult Research Club—starting tomorrow."
Both boys stared.
"…What?"
"Come again?"
Rias smiled brightly. "Welcome to the world of the supernatural."
—
The Next Morning.
Yuuji walked to school with his hands in his pockets and his headphones hanging loosely around his neck. He hadn't even turned on his music. His thoughts were too loud.
Demons. Angels. Fallen Angels. Sacred Gears.
And magic. Real, actual magic.
He looked at his hand, still half-expecting some spark of light to crackle out of it. Nothing. Just fingers. Skin. Normalcy. Or the illusion of it.
Rias Gremory—the beautiful, mysterious upperclassman every guy whispered about in the halls—was a devil. And apparently the head of some supernatural faction within their school, hiding in plain sight behind her Occult Research Club.
Yuuji groaned to himself. "Great… Freaking great."
He could've walked away. He should've walked away. But seeing Issei bleeding out like that, dying in the grass… what kind of person would walk away?
Even if he regretted it a little, he didn't hate himself for what he'd done.
Still… it didn't mean he wanted to be involved any more than he had to.
As he crossed the bridge leading to the front gates of Kuoh Academy, a familiar voice called out to him.
"YO, YUUJI!"
He turned to see Issei jogging toward him, looking far more alive than he had any right to be given everything that had happened. He grinned wide.
"You actually came to school. Didn't think you'd show."
"I considered running off to the countryside and starting a new life," Yuuji said dryly. "But I figured I'd at least get some answers before I go full hermit."
They walked together toward the entrance.
"So," Yuuji started, "you still remember everything from last night?"
"Every second. Still freaks me out."
"Good. Thought I was going crazy."
Issei glanced around. "You know what is crazy though? Nobody remembers her. Raynare. My girlfriend—well, fake girlfriend. Even Matsuda and Motohama. I brought her up and they acted like I made her up."
Yuuji blinked. "Seriously?"
"Dead serious. It's like she never existed. Except I have bloodstains and trauma to prove otherwise."
"Mind-wiping magic…?" Yuuji muttered.
Issei shrugged. "Has to be. Or the supernatural has a really good PR department."
They walked in silence for a moment before Yuuji spoke again.
"Well, either way, we've got that club meeting after school. Rias said she'd explain more."
"Think she'll answer all our questions?"
Yuuji looked toward the school building with a frown. "I think we're going to get more than we asked for."