3rd Person POV
Kazuki and Asia walked side by side along the street, with the latter humming a song under her breath and wearing a bright smile. She seemed much more enthusiastic than she had been earlier.
"You seem happy," Kazuki said. "I told you, I just want to express my gratitude. Don't expect me to buy you a souvenir or something. I'm broke."
"Hehehe~" Asia chuckled. "It's okay. Sister Ray-Ray wouldn't ask for that. I'm just happy that I've made a friend and reunited with you."
"A new friend?" Kazuki tilted his head. "Oh, yeah. You can't go back to our orphanage anymore."
He paused, realizing what he had said.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of that."
"I'm okay." Asia smiled. "But that new friend of mine also wears the same uniform as you."
"Oh..." Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "What's their name?"
"Hmm..." Asia thought for a moment. "Issei Hyoudou, if I remember correctly. He helped me look around Kuoh when I first arrived."
She tilted her head.
"You know him, Kazuki? Since you're in the same school."
"No, I don't." Kazuki answered bluntly. "I've never met him or even heard of him."
"I see..." Asia lowered her gaze, her smile fading slightly.
Kazuki quickly noticed.
"But..." he added. "I'll look for him when I'm at school. He seems like a nice guy to hang around with."
Asia's eyes practically sparkled as she nodded enthusiastically.
Maybe this was a good opportunity for Kazuki to make some new friends too. He had always been a little introverted, even when they were children.
If he could become friends with Sister Ray-Ray and Issei Hyoudou as well, perhaps Kuoh wouldn't feel so lonely for him.
Asia smiled brightly at the thought.
Then...
"But, Kazuki," Asia began, tilting her head. "Is it okay for you to miss classes? Won't your teacher punish you by spanking you with a wooden stick, just like the Sisters?"
Kazuki twitched slightly as a nervous sweatdrop appeared on his forehead.
"Of course it's not okay, and I don't think the teachers would do that."
He paused.
"But somehow, I can imagine three people who would."
Kazuki's mind immediately conjured images of Akeno wearing her usual closed-eye smile, Murayama resting her shinai against her shoulder, and Souna Shitori adjusting her glasses.
All three were staring at him with unmistakable disappointment.
"...I'm probably going to die when I get back."
Kazuki muttered the words under his breath, making sure Asia wouldn't hear him. He didn't want to worry her.
The two continued walking.
For a while, their conversation continued as they slowly drifted farther and farther away from the busier parts of town.
Then, somewhere along the way, Kazuki felt something strange.
He couldn't quite explain it.
It was barely noticeable at first, a faint sensation crawling across the back of his mind.
He shook the feeling off and continued walking beside Asia.
"Alright," Asia suddenly said as she stopped and pointed ahead.. "Here we are!"
Kazuki followed her gaze.
In front of them stood an abandoned church.
Wild grass and overgrown plants had swallowed much of the surrounding area, creeping up the walls and spilling through cracks in the old structure. Several windows were broken, their remaining shards glinting faintly in the daylight.
The walls themselves were cracked and weathered, with patches of old stone and plaster visibly deteriorating.
There was no sign of regular maintenance.
It was immediately obvious that this was not a church people visited anymore.
Kazuki stared at the building for a few seconds.
"...This is where you live?"
"Yep!" Asia said, placing her hands on her hips. "I know, I know, it's not a great place, but Sister Ray-Ray wants to reopen this church for service. So she needs more helping hands."
Kazuki nodded.
Considering Asia had been forbidden from returning to the Church, establishing a new one seemed like a reasonable plan.
At least, on the surface.
Still...
It was almost too convenient for Asia's circumstances.
Kazuki couldn't help but wonder about the person Asia kept calling Sister Ray-Ray.
Just who was she?
Before he could think about it any further, Asia suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the entrance.
"I'll show you around!"
"Whoa—wait!"
His thoughts were pushed aside as Asia happily dragged him along.
As they approached the door, it suddenly opened.
A familiar lavender fragrance reached Kazuki's nose.
He froze for a moment.
"...Akeno-senpai?"
But the person standing before him was someone completely different.
A tall, buxom woman with brown eyes and long navy-blue hair stood in the doorway, her hair partially obscuring her right eye. She wore a nun's habit similar to Asia's, though her mature appearance made her seem more like a senior member of the Church.
Her eyes widened when she saw Kazuki and Asia.
"Asia?" she asked calmly. "You're already back? I thought you were going to spend some time exploring Kuoh. What happened?"
"Ah..." Asia stopped alongside Kazuki. "Sister Kalla. Sister Ray-Ray said I could explore more, but I met my friend here from the Church orphanage, so I thought I could introduce him."
Sister Kalla's gaze shifted toward Kazuki.
She looked him up and down, seemingly examining every detail of his appearance.
For a moment, her eyes lingered on him as though she were trying to deduce something only she could understand.
Then she sighed.
"If you're looking for Sister Ray, she already went into Kuoh Town," Sister Kalla explained. "She's buying groceries and handling the paperwork needed to reopen the church with Father Freed."
"Eeeh...?" Asia's shoulders sank in disappointment. "It's a shame. I wanted to introduce you to her, Kazuki."
"No worries," Kazuki said. "We can meet another day."
"Young man." Sister Kalla's voice suddenly made Kazuki straighten. "Weren't you supposed to be at school?"
She glanced at his uniform.
"That is the Kuoh Academy uniform, isn't it?"
"Ye-yeah..." Kazuki answered nervously.
"Wouldn't it be better if you went there now?"
Sister Kalla reached behind her habit and pulled out a wooden stick, causing Kazuki's face to immediately pale.
The sight awakened a very unpleasant memory.
"U-um, yeah..." Kazuki said nervously. "I'll go to school now. Just don't hit me with that."
Asia's shoulders sank even further.
"Ehh... But I wanted to show you around."
"Sorry, Asia." Kazuki gently ruffled her head. "Maybe next time."
Asia pouted before suddenly spreading her arms.
Kazuki tilted his head in confusion.
"You want me to hug you?" he asked. "What are you, still ten?"
Asia stomped her feet while continuing to pout, making Kazuki chuckle.
"I'm joking."
Kazuki then pulled her into a hug.
Asia immediately wrapped her arms tightly around him, almost as though she were afraid to let go.
Six years of separation had passed since they had last seen each other.
After being taken in by the Cathedral, Asia had spent much of her time feeling alone.
Even after she was expelled, only Sister Ray-Ray and her group stayed by her side without calling her a witch.
Now, with Kazuki standing in front of her again, she couldn't help but cling to the familiar warmth of someone from her childhood.
For a moment, she simply held on.
"Excuse me..." Sister Kalla finally said. "I don't mind keeping quiet about this, but we don't want any sweet drama here. We still have a lot of things to do."
Asia immediately pushed Kazuki away, her face bright red as a tomato.
She hurriedly fixed her hair and adjusted her nun's habit before taking a few deep breaths to regain her composure.
Then she smiled at Kazuki.
"We can meet again, right?"
"Of course." Kazuki smiled. "We'll meet again, Asia."
Kazuki then turned toward Sister Kalla and bowed his head.
"Please take care of Asia, Sister."
"Just go..." Sister Kalla sighed. "Unless you want to end up missing even more classes."
Kazuki immediately straightened.
"Right!"
He nodded before turning around and running as fast as he could.
"Akeno-senpai would be pissed if she found out I was missing classes..."