Nero had no clue about the whirlwind of thoughts swirling in Aine's head. The only reason she'd sidled up to their lunch table? Simple—they were among the few in class who hadn't yet swarmed her with chatter. Compared to the quiet weirdos camped out at the front of the room, Aine's group seemed approachable enough.
"Sure, join us!"
The three girls, aside from Aine, looked a bit shocked, but the redhead with the short hair didn't hesitate to answer, scooting over to make room. Nero thanked her and slid into the seat, flashing a grin as she asked, "So, you guys all go way back from the same middle school, right?"
It wasn't a tough guess. A tight-knit group like theirs, formed and solidified within a month of the school year without trying to expand? That usually meant one thing.
"Yup, the three of us were in the same class in junior high," they confirmed.
As they spoke, Nero's eyes tracked a purple-haired girl slipping out of the classroom, hurrying down the hallway outside the window. Her head was down, her steps quick, like she was dodging something—or someone.
"Who's that?" Aine couldn't help but ask. The three non-transfer students exchanged glances, and the green-haired one spoke up. "Oh, you mean Takamatsu? She's… always like that."
"Like what?" Nero pressed.
"Super standoffish, I guess?" The orange-haired girl chose her words carefully, trying to sound neutral but polite. "She doesn't talk to anyone. Even if you say hi, she just ignores you."
Aine covered her mouth, nodding. "Oh, yeah, she totally blanked me earlier too."
"Right? So now pretty much everyone leaves her alone."
"Hmm…" Aine's voice trailed off, hesitant.
The others' attention had already shifted to Nero's lunchbox, curious about what a possibly aristocratic foreigner would eat. "That's… all you're having?" the redhead asked, sounding worried. "We've got gym class this afternoon, you know."
The plain-looking lunchbox held just a few dainty cakes—more like dessert than a meal. But Nero waved it off. "No worries, this'll fill me up."
Total lie. Truth was, as a half-demon, Nero could go ages without food. She wasn't a fan of cold rice or veggies, so she'd opted for sweets to satisfy her cravings.
Lunch break flew by, and then came gym class—Nero's real challenge. Not because she was underfed, as the redhead (Mai, she'd learned) feared, but because she was worried she couldn't act like a normal high school girl.
A half-demon's stamina? Way too much for these kids.
Even holding back, Nero shattered several of Haneoka Academy's records during the session, showing the class what it meant to be a true double threat—brains and brawn.
"What, does eating less make you better at sports?" Mai muttered, half-joking.
By evening, Aine was slouched against the couch in her room, the glow of the sunset filtering through the blinds and painting her face in warm hues. She hadn't bothered turning on the light, leaving the unlit corners of the room dim and moody. And from one of those shadowy spots, a strange creature—pinkish-white, part rabbit, part cat—stepped into the light.
It flicked its long ears and spoke in a human voice. "You look kinda down, Aine."
Aine glanced at the creature, letting out a sigh. "Yeah… today wasn't exactly my day."
"Oh? Spill."
"Eh." Aine paused, then turned to it, her voice sharpening. "Hey, is there a way to make me stand out more in class?"
She wasn't trying to go head-to-head with Nero, not really. But she couldn't stand being just another dim star in the daylight, invisible next to Nero's blazing sun. If Nero was the class's sun, then Aine wanted to at least shine like the moon.
It was her small, stubborn streak of vanity talking.
The creature—rabbit-cat-thing—tilted its head, answering with a question. "So, you're finally thinking about taking me up on my offer?"
This weird little being called itself "Aes." Their meeting went back to the day Aine had returned to Neo City. That night, alone on an empty street, she'd been attacked by a demon. A mysterious figure named "Samael" had swooped in, taken it down, and saved her. Later, as Aine retraced her steps to find her luggage—
There it was, perched on her suitcase.
"Talk about a close call," it had said. "Didn't expect you to survive a demon attack."
Aine, instantly on guard, had snapped, "Are you with that demon?"
"Nope, I'm its enemy," it replied. "Call me Aes. I'm looking for someone to help me take down these demons."
"Then you're barking up the wrong tree," Aine had said. She was just an ordinary high school girl, nothing special. If anyone was cut out for demon-slaying, it was Samael, the badass who'd crushed that monster.
But Aes had fixed its blood-red eyes on her. "No, Aine Chihaya. I'm here for you."
"Huh?"
"I hear the desire in your heart," Aes had said, standing on her suitcase, staring her down. "Make a wish, and I'll give you the power to fight demons. Please—become an Exosister, a demon-slaying girl."
Back to the present. Obviously, Aine hadn't taken the deal. A wish granted and the power to fend off demons? Sounded too good to be true, especially after she'd just been jumped by one. No way there wasn't a catch.
Aes, though, didn't push. It just… followed her home, settling into her room like a low-key freeloader. Unless Aine spoke to it first, it could go a whole day without saying a word.
Things had been calm lately, which had lowered Aine's guard just a bit. Still, she backpedaled. "Actually, forget I said anything."
A wish like that wasn't worth whatever crazy price she'd have to pay.