3rd Person POV
The Occult Research Club.
To most students, it was simply a gathering place for those fascinated by myths, urban legends, and the supernatural.
A place where they could discuss stories of ghosts, angels, demons, dragons, and countless legends that blurred the line between history and fantasy.
However, the truth was quite different.
The club existed for a far more specific purpose.
It served as a meeting place for a select few whose lives were deeply intertwined with the very beings most people dismissed as nothing more than fiction.
Behind the clubroom door, Rias Gremory sat gracefully on one of the sofas, a porcelain teacup resting in her hands as she patiently waited for the last member of her peerage to arrive.
The silence lasted only a few moments before a gentle knock echoed through the room and the door slowly opened.
"President," Yuuto Kiba greeted politely as he stepped inside. "My apologies for keeping you waiting."
Rias looked up from her tea and smiled faintly.
"Not at all, Kiba. You're right on time."
After taking the seat across from her, Kiba's attention drifted toward the stack of documents resting on the table.
Noticing his gaze, Rias slid the top file toward him.
"It's about a first-year student," she explained. "Kazuki Sakuragi."
Kiba accepted the file and quietly read through its contents.
His expression remained composed until his eyes reached a single line.
Raised in a church-run orphanage.
His fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around the paper which Rias noticed the subtle change immediately.
"...I apologize for bringing up unpleasant memories," she said gently. "But I need your opinion."
Kiba looked up.
"Do you believe this orphanage could have any connection to the Holy Sword Project?"
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Kiba lowered his gaze to the document once more before slowly shaking his head.
"...I don't know," he admitted honestly. "There were many churches throughout the country. Simply being raised by one isn't enough to draw that conclusion."
"I thought as much." Rias folded her hands together. "The reason I ask is that Akeno sensed something unusual within him. We still don't know whether it's a Sacred Gear or something else."
Kiba's eyes returned to the file.
"...Then perhaps," he said quietly, "the mystery is..." He looked directly at Rias. "Kazuki Sakuragi himself."
"...Would you confirm it, Kiba?" Rias asked. "I'd like you to evaluate both the orphanage and Sakuragi-kun. If there are traces of the Holy Sword Project, you're the one most qualified to recognize them."
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Kiba closed the file before slowly rising from his seat.
"...Understood."
He paused just before reaching the door.
"If there's anything unusual, I'll report it immediately."
With that, he quietly left the clubroom.
The soft click of the closing door echoed through the room.
Rias lowered her gaze and let out a weary sigh.
"...I'm really making him shoulder another burden."
She gently swirled the tea in her cup.
"My only hope... this time, it doesn't reopen old wounds."
Far away from the quiet concerns of the Occult Research Club, the subject of their discussion remained blissfully unaware.
Kazuki Sakuragi simply walked through the school corridors, wondering whether he should finally pay a visit to the mysterious club whose flyer had been sitting in his bag.
........................................
Kazuki's POV
Answering Shitori-senpai's questions was... exhausting.
Not because they were difficult.
There were just so many of them.
Thankfully, she let me eat while we talked.
Maybe that was my reward?
...I don't know.
One of the Student Council members even went to the cafeteria to pick up my free lunch and drink before bringing them to the Student Council room.
...What was his name again?
Ah...
I forgot to ask.
"Hey! Bring those three perverts onto the field!" A girl's voice suddenly echoed through the corridor.
Curious, I turned toward the commotion and saw a group of girls marched past, dragging three miserable-looking boys behind them.
At the front, several girls were carrying what looked like a... bamboo sword?
Ah, it's a shinai.
I'd almost forgotten the name.
So, those girls are members of the Kendo Club.
Still...
"What exactly did those three do to deserve being dragged away like criminals?"
"They were peeking at us while we were changing!"
"..............."
Alright.
Go get 'em, girls.
I'll just pretend I didn't see anything in case Shitori-senpai asks whether I witnessed the incident, I'll simply answer,
"I don't know."
Yeah, sounds about right.
Kendo, huh?
I still remember when one of the sisters chased me around with a stick after I pulled a prank together with the other children.
After getting beaten up enough times, I figured the best solution was to learn the way of the stick.
...It didn't help.
She still beat me every single time.
A little traumatic experience but also some of my fondest memories.
Maybe I'll stop by the Kendo Club after school.
Just to reminisce a little.
Small Timeskip
The final bell rang before I knew it.
After packing my bag, I left the classroom and followed the signs toward the gymnasium where the sports clubs held their activities.
The sound reached me before the building came into view.
"Hyaa!"
"Men!"
The sharp shouts were followed by the unmistakable crack of bamboo striking bamboo.
Clack!
Clack!
Clack!
The door to the dojo was already open.
The moment I stepped inside, the dojo fell silent.
Every girl turned toward me.
Judging by the looks they gave me, you'd think I'd walked into the wrong changing room.
Why are you all looking at me like I'm some kind of trash?
Was there an invisible "No Boys Allowed" sign I somehow missed?
A girl with brown twin tails and golden eyes stepped forward. She wore a white kendogi paired with a neatly tied black hakama, a shinai resting comfortably in her hand.
Judging by the way the others instinctively gave her space...
She was probably the captain.
She stopped right in front of me before raising her shinai until its tip hovered inches from my face.
"What do you want?" Her voice was calm. "Most boys who come here are only interested in one thing."
She narrowed her eyes.
"They either come to stare at girls or satisfy some disgusting fantasy over girls training and sweating."
The tip of the shinai remained fixed on me.
"Are you one of them?"
"No." I raised both of my hands. "I'm simply interested in kendo. That's all. If you don't mind, I'd like to have a match."
"Hoh..." she said, planting the tip of her shinai on the floor as she looked at me with interest. "At least you're honest enough to ask for a match instead of making excuses just to stare at girls."
"I see..." I lowered my hands. "Sounds like you've had a hard time dealing with people like that."
"You're right," she sighed. "What's your name? I'm Kaori Murayama, the captain of the Kendo Club."
"Murayama-san, then. I'm—"
Before I could finish introducing myself, a pink-haired girl hurried over and whispered something into the captain's ear, causing her to nod.
"Kazuki Sakuragi-kun, right? The only male student here on an academic scholarship."
She gestured toward the pink-haired girl.
"And this is..."
"I'm Shiori Katase," she introduced herself with a polite smile. "We're in the same class, Sakuragi-kun."
"Oh, right... Katase-san." I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "I remember..."
Not really.
We'd never actually talked before.
So... I didn't really remember her at all.
"Now then," Murayama-san said, bringing the conversation back on track. "About the match you requested..."