I didn't sleep that night.
Not because I was in danger—technically, I'd survived—but because my brain wouldn't shut up.
Even hours later, my body still buzzed from whatever had happened in the park. The way the stray spirit looked at me, like I was some kind of alien force wearing a human face. The way he backed down—not because I overpowered him, but because I didn't do anything.
Just stood there.
My SOUL had acted on instinct. It projected something that felt like a shield made of willpower and memory and… something deeper. Not magic. Not intimidation. Just a wall of meaning.
And it had worked.
That terrified me more than anything else.
By the time the sun rose, I'd gotten maybe two hours of sleep. But I still got up, dressed, and left the house with a fake yawn and a half-hearted smile so Hana wouldn't notice I was falling apart.
Spoiler: she noticed.
"You look like you lost a fistfight with a book report," she muttered as she shoved toast in my mouth and shoved me out the door. "Don't get expelled."
The walk to school was uneventful, which only made me more paranoid. For once, Kiba wasn't at the gate pretending not to stare at me, and Akeno hadn't materialized in a cloud of flirtation and thinly veiled threats. Even the Pervert Trio was too distracted drooling over the track team to harass me.
But that pressure was still there. That invisible weight on my shoulders. Like something was waiting to drop.
I made it to my classroom without incident. Slumped in my seat. Tried to stay awake through math, failed. Got elbowed awake during Japanese history. Ate a stale sandwich in the stairwell instead of facing the cafeteria.
And then—just after lunch ended—came the call.
A student rep from Class 2-B arrived at my desk holding a folded note.
"She said it's from the Occult Research Club."
I stared at the paper like it might explode.
There was no name on it. Just a single sentence in neat, elegant handwriting:
"We would like to speak with you. Room 3-E."
Room 3-E was at the far end of the old building—the one they didn't use for regular classes. The halls here were quieter, darker. The kind of place that made you instinctively lower your voice and walk softer.
When I reached the clubroom door, I hesitated.
I wasn't scared, exactly. But I wasn't confident either. Not after yesterday. Not after feeling just how deep this world really went.
I knocked once.
The door opened immediately.
Akeno stood there in her uniform, as serene as ever.
"We've been expecting you," she said, voice smooth as silk. "Come in."
The Occult Research Club room looked like it belonged in a different century. Polished wood furniture. Shelves full of ancient books. Ornate curtains. A tea set that probably had a bloodline longer than mine.
And at the center of it all sat Rias Gremory.
Calm. Composed. Dangerous in the same way deep water is dangerous—you might think you're floating, until you realize you've already been pulled under.
"Please," she said, gesturing to the seat across from her. "Make yourself comfortable."
I sat down slowly. Akeno poured tea without being asked, then took a seat beside her president. The whole thing felt like a performance. I was the audience. Or maybe the offering.
"I'll be honest with you, Haru," Rias began. "Your presence here is… unusual."
"Because I glow weird?"
She smiled faintly. "Because you exist at all."
There was no malice in her voice. Just calculation. Curiosity. Like I was a book she couldn't quite read.
"You're not a devil. Not a stray priest. Not a sacred gear wielder—at least, not one we recognize. But something inside you radiates energy unlike anything we've seen before. It's not holy. Not unholy. It's… raw."
I didn't answer. Mostly because I didn't know how.
"I felt it myself," Akeno said. "The day on the roof. When you dodged. When you reset time, even for just a moment. It wasn't magic. It was something older."
Rias leaned forward slightly. "And then, last night, you encountered a spirit near the park. No spell. No combat. Yet he fled."
"How do you even know about that?"
"We keep watch over Kuoh," she said. "Especially when unknown forces begin to stir."
Her fingers drummed once against the table. "Which brings me to the point."
I waited.
"We want you to join the Occult Research Club."
There it was.
The offer that wasn't really an offer.
"I'm not really the club type," I said.
"This isn't a club," Akeno replied. "It's a faction."
Rias nodded. "And you've stepped into a war, Haru. Whether you meant to or not."
I didn't answer right away. I could feel that weight behind her words. Not a threat. Not exactly. But the implication was clear: if I didn't choose a side, someone else might choose it for me.
"You said I wasn't a threat," I said.
"You're not," Rias replied. "But that doesn't mean others will leave you alone. The fallen have already started to move. If they catch wind of what you are before we understand it, they'll take you apart trying to find the answer."
"So this is protection."
"It's preparation," she said. "I'm not offering a cage. I'm offering context. Knowledge. A way to stay ahead of what's coming."
"What is coming?"
Rias didn't smile this time. "Chaos. That's what always comes."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then I leaned back in my chair and looked her in the eye. "Let's say I agree. What happens next?"
"You come to this room after classes. You help with club activities. You stay close, so we can monitor your growth—and so we can help you if things escalate."
"And if I say no?"
Her answer came quickly.
"Then you walk out of here, and I wish you luck. But I won't be the only one watching you anymore. And the next time something comes for you… you'll be alone."
There was no threat in her tone.
That's what made it so chilling.
Rias stood, smoothing out her skirt.
"I'll give you time to think," she said. "But don't take too long."
She walked to the door and paused with her hand on the frame.
"You've already been noticed, Haru. That can't be undone. The only question now is what you're going to do about it."
She stepped into the hallway, Akeno trailing behind her like a shadow.
The door clicked shut.
I didn't leave the room right away. I just sat there, alone in a room full of ancient books and velvet silence, trying to understand what I'd just walked into.
They hadn't threatened me.
Not directly.
But they didn't have to.
Because in this world, protection wasn't free.
And trust?
That was the most dangerous currency of all.