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Occult Research Club Room
It was late Tuesday afternoon, the rain had already cleared, and the sky was bright in the city of Kuoh. Inside the club room, walls adorned with scarlet velvet curtains filtered the sunset light into soft shades of orange and crimson.
The members of Rias's Peerage were gathered. Akeno, with her mysterious smile, observed everything with half-closed eyes. She had just finished serving tea to everyone present and stood beside Rias, who was seated at her desk. Koneko nibbled on a cookie, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, while Kiba maintained his impeccable posture, arms crossed, but with a clearly intrigued expression.
Issei Hyoudou, newly arrived in the group, glanced from one to another, not quite understanding the reason for the heavy mood, though the tension was impossible to ignore.
On the other side of the room, as if it were an unofficial meeting between leaders, stood Sona Shitori and Tsubaki Shinra. The student council president maintained her firm and calm demeanor, while the vice-president, serious and meticulous, remained silent, ready to report any information.
The sharp sound of Rias clapping her hands on the desk broke the silence like thunder.
"How do you mean Kazuya dropped out of school?!" Her voice sounded more indignant than worried, though anyone who truly knew the Gremory heiress would know that concern came first.
Sona sighed, as if she had anticipated this reaction.
"That's exactly what I said, Rias," she replied, adjusting her glasses with a restrained gesture. "Yesterday morning, he came to the school, requested a meeting with the principal, and formalized his withdrawal. He submitted all the paperwork and left."
"But why?!" Rias took a step to the side, as if she needed space to absorb the information.
Akeno, with her usual calm, poured a bit more tea into her cup, her violet eyes gleaming softly as she followed the conversation. Her gentle smile never left her face, even amidst the growing tension in the air.
"It was very sudden, even for someone like him," her voice came out soft, almost melodious, but with a subtle hint of oddity that few would notice.
The truth was that Akeno had always had a certain interest in Kazuya. It wasn't just his otaku and aloof demeanor, which, to her, held a curious charm, but there was a calmness in him, a way of staying apart from the daily chaos of the school, that caught her attention more persistently than she cared to admit. Moreover, he was very handsome and had an incredibly attractive physique—any woman with good taste would feel drawn to him, and she was no exception.
As reserved or peculiar as he was, such a sudden disappearance, without warning or trace, didn't align with the impression Kazuya left. This contrast, this abrupt break in pattern, made Akeno mentally furrow her brows. What are you hiding, Kazuya-kun?...she wondered, bringing the cup to her lips with a faint smile, while her curiosity grew beneath the surface.
Issei cleared his throat.
"Uh… shouldn't you try calling him to get the details or something?" he asked, his voice more hesitant than he'd have liked, as everyone's eyes turned to him.
For a moment, Issei felt ridiculous. But it wasn't just for speaking too loudly or at the wrong time. In fact, something had been stuck in his throat since the start of the conversation, something he'd been trying to ignore—a fragmented, uncomfortable memory. On Saturday night, shortly after his life turned upside down when he was betrayed by Yuuma and pierced by a spear of light, he could swear he saw a figure with white hair appear in his vision.
At that moment, the searing pain and fear of death had overwhelmed his mind, and Issei had dismissed the vision as a hallucination caused by shock.
But now, as Kazuya's name was repeated and suspicions about his sudden disappearance piled up, the memory came back with force, like a piece of a neglected puzzle.
Could it be…? Issei felt a shiver run down his neck but swallowed hard and kept his thoughts to himself. Even if it were true, what would it mean? And why would someone like Kazuya be there during an event tied to the supernatural? The doubt gnawed at him, but he chose not to risk saying anything for now.
Kiba offered a friendly smile.
"That's a good idea, Ise-kun…"
The voice of his future husband snapped him out of his reverie, and he nearly had an orgasm seeing his crush speaking to him and smiling… His life was a dream now!
He quickly pushed all his thoughts aside.
"Yes!" Rias quickly agreed, pulling out her phone, only to notice that Kazuya's contact photo was gone. She sent a message and saw it wasn't delivered. Frowning, she murmured, "He changed his number…?"
Sona adjusted her glasses with a slight movement and commented serenely, "Hyoudou-san's suggestion was indeed valid. However, as you've noticed, we already tried that approach, and it seems he changed his number…"
As her words echoed, she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to recent events. It all seemed like too many coincidences. A few days ago, Kazuya had started acting subtly differently compared to his first week after transferring. Perhaps it was just an impression, a natural result of spending more time with someone, which inevitably reveals their true personality. But… there was something more.
He had changed his address without notifying the school administration, something that was mandatory by regulation. He notified his withdrawal during a period when she wasn't assisting with academy management and it was in the principal's hands, then changed both his landline and personal phone numbers and vanished in an almost meticulous manner, as if each step had been calculated to avoid drawing too much attention while ensuring it would be difficult to track him.
As she mentally pieced together the puzzle, an unsettling idea began to take shape—a hypothesis as disturbing as it was dangerous. What if it wasn't a series of coincidences? What if, from the start, every gesture, every carefully chosen word, every measured slip, was part of a larger plan, something beyond ordinary comprehension? She recalled the moments she observed him interacting with other students and, above all, with members of Rias's club or the student council. There were no excesses, no obvious mistakes… and that, in itself, was suspicious. It was as if he knew exactly where he could step and which boundaries he shouldn't cross to remain unremarkable yet indispensable.
As the conclusion solidified in her mind, a faint chill ran down her spine. Her fingers discreetly tightened around the frame of her glasses, and her expression, for a fleeting moment, lost its usual impassive tone. He planned all of this… It was no longer a supposition. The evidence, though scattered and subtle, pointed in the same direction. Kazuya had orchestrated his exit from the school like someone who saw every move on the board before others even realized they were playing a game. This placed him in a category apart, someone who wielded intelligence as their primary weapon, manipulating others' perceptions with such natural ease that it barely raised suspicion. Such a figure was, without a doubt, the most dangerous of all.
She felt a slight pallor take over her skin but kept those thoughts to herself. It wasn't the time to share suspicions without proof. And more than that, part of her didn't want to admit out loud how much this possibility unsettled her.
No one seemed to notice the change in her expression.
On the other hand, after hearing Sona's words, Rias remained silent for a few seconds, her expression blank but her eyes betraying the whirlwind of emotions swirling within her. To others, it might seem like just another whim of the Gremory heiress, but for her, it was much more than that.
He's mine, she thought coldly, her chest tightening with an uncomfortable sense of impending loss. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but her obsession with him had grown silently and steadily, with every exchanged glance, every subtle reaction, and Kazuya's reserved demeanor.
Thus, hearing about his sudden departure, the breach of protocol, the change of number, and the unnotified address change, something inside her screamed in protest. It was unacceptable. Without hesitation, a decision formed in her mind, firm and unquestionable. Turning to Sona, her voice cut through the air, laden with determination and possessiveness disguised under a calm tone.
"I'm going to his house. I want to know what happened to make him decide this. Something's wrong."
Before she could grab her coat, Tsubaki intervened with a firm voice.
"That won't be possible, Rias-sama. We went to the apartment provided by his sponsor. The place was completely empty. No sign of where he might have gone…"
The news hit Rias like a blow. She bit her lower lip, her gaze wavering between concern and frustration. More than losing the chance to recruit someone so rare and promising—a Longinus, no less—she felt powerless for not even being able to locate him.
Sona let out another sigh, her eyes serious.
"I doubt he left the city so easily. I'll handle this investigation personally…"
Rias didn't respond immediately. Her blue eyes fixed on nothing for a moment before she clenched her fists.
"If he's still in Kuoh… I'll find him…"
The tension hung in the air like a storm about to break, a certain weight settling in, the kind that presses on your lungs, as if the entire room were holding its breath. Neither the delicate clink of porcelain in Akeno's hands nor the sound of Koneko nibbling her cookie could ease the strain.
Sona adjusted her glasses again, a nervous tic if anyone paid close attention, and cast a final glance at Rias, who seemed on the verge of exploding.
"Either way, it's very likely that your brother will investigate this as well. So, we'll have news soon…" declared the student council president, her voice as firm as ever. "For now, the student council will search for any clues in the city center and the commercial area…"
After saying this, she gestured to her [Queen]. Tsubaki, always a discreet shadow, merely nodded, acknowledging the implicit order.
Without another word, the two left the room.
The door closed behind them with a discreet click, but to Rias, it sounded like the clang of a gate shutting.
The redhead ran a hand through her hair, frustrated, her eyes still fixed on where Sona had been. Then, she took a deep breath and turned to her own group.
"Alright… we're not going to sit idle. I want you to investigate any clue about where Kazuya might have gone."
Akeno smiled, as if relishing the air of mystery.
"Of course, Buchou. It's been a while since we've had something interesting to hunt around here."
Kiba nodded, his gentle smile more about keeping the mood light than genuine calm.
"Understood. I'll start around the school. Maybe someone saw something."
Koneko stood, stretching her arms lightly.
"If he's got food, I'll find him," she muttered in her usual apathetic tone.
Issei, who until then had been trying to understand why everyone seemed to treat this missing student like some urban legend when, to him, he seemed quite normal, blinked in confusion.
"Uh… and me?"
Rias crossed her arms, her expression softening slightly. She knew well Issei's poorly disguised feelings for Kiba, and if there was one thing the Gremory heiress excelled at, it was using the right pieces at the right time. If securing Issei's loyalty meant bringing him closer to someone he trusted completely, there was no better choice.
"You'll go with Kiba. It'll help you get used to the club's routine… and who knows, maybe learn something useful."
Issei turned red instantly, looking away, visibly unsure where to hide his face. Kiba suppressed a slight smile, more out of habit than from enjoying the teasing. He was used to that kind of reaction—the admiring looks, the stammered words, the shy gestures. Issei wasn't the first, and he doubted he'd be the last to feel that way.
Still, Kiba didn't mind. In fact, there was something comforting in Issei's clumsy affection. It was honest, unpretentious, quite different from the annoying, noisy group of girls who constantly tried to worm their way into his life. If it meant having someone minimally decent to talk to between missions, he saw no issue.
And it seemed Rias wanted him to secure Issei's loyalty by pairing the boy with him on this task. She must have noticed his feelings and decided to use them. So be it, he thought, maintaining his impeccable posture and cordial expression. In the end, his loyalty to Rias came before anything else. And if that meant dealing with the confused feelings of a boy with raging hormones, he'd do it with the same ease as wielding a sword.
Kiba gave a reassuring pat on Issei's shoulder, his expression kind and his voice free of any trace of irony.
"I'll take good care of him…"
Rias then looked at Akeno and Koneko.
"You two cover the residential neighborhood and the area near the temple. Any lead, let me know immediately."
The two nodded. Akeno finished her tea in one gulp, as if preparing for something fun. Koneko grabbed two more cookies before heading to the door.
Rias waited until everyone had left, remaining alone in the silent room. She walked to the window, watching the sunset paint Kuoh in shades of gold and orange.
The city seemed peaceful, but that only made the bad feeling in her chest tighten further.