"I'm telling you we shouldn't be here!"

"I know, but it's my lucky Shinai!"

"We can buy another one!"

"It can't replace all the lucky notches on it Murayama!"

"I just don't like being here after school hours Katase!"

The two students continued to whisper argue against each other as they sneaked through the old building.

Both of them were students of Kuoh Academy, with the two of them being members of the Kendo Club as well. It was a very physically taxing club, with their exercises and training pushing them to their physical limits.

And with their club often being the main targets of a few certain Perverts in their school, it was also very mentally taxing as they found it their duty to chase away and beat them up whenever they caught them doing their usual antics.

Unfortunately, an earlier chase had caused them to chase those Perverts all the way towards older buildings of their school. It was different from current massive main building, it was a simple wooden building that in normal circumstances would seem homely or comforting.

Right now, with the setting sun as the background it looked rather haunting.

"Come on, it can't be that bad!" Katase tried to reassure her friend as they continued onwards "I mean Gremory-sama's club is in the old building isn't it?"

Murayama "It's the Occult Research Club Katase," she hissed "Even if it's Gremory-sama, it's still a club that tries to learn and probably summon Devils."

"Shhhh" Katase hushed her quickly, her eyes shutting tight as she tried to avoid thinking about the implications "It's fine, it's fine!" She looked around frantically. Damn it, now she was starting to freak out "I just need to find it and we can leave."

"I still think we shouldn't be here," Murayama mumbled as they moved in closer.

It was so eerily quiet. The only sounds were their footsteps and the sound of wind whistling past the leaves and branches of the trees that had been planted.

They came across the main building and the duo retraced their steps in the morning, until finally.

"There it is!" Katase excitedly screamed as she spotted it.

Lying underneath an open window was her bamboo sword. It looked so sad, without her to hold it and swing at either practice opponents or those Perverts.

Quickly she rushed towards it, causing Murayama to complain as she was almost left behind. She caught up and watched with slight irritation as the brunette seemed to cradle the Shinai.

"There you happy now?" She asked with a huff.

"Yup!" Katase looked at her friend "We can go n-"

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard footsteps.

Very large and very heavy footsteps.

It came from inside the building that they two of them were right outside of, and the two girls couldn't help but look at each other as their eyes asked the question simultaneously.

'Do you hear that?'

The heavy footsteps continued, and to their panic the noticed that it was approaching at the very window that they were at.

The two of them quiet dove towards the wall, pushing themselves against it as much as they could. Hoping that whoever or whatever was inside wouldn't see them.

The heavy footsteps continued, each step seemingly shaking the whole building and causing the two girls to grew more and more fearful as it drew closer and closer.

Until finally they heard it stop right behind them.

Katase had her hands covering her mouth as she tried to not to squeal. Murayama tried to keep her eyes staring forward, her hands twitching against the ground.

A hot breath of air suddenly blew out the window, the sound almost resembling 'sigh'.

Despite her better judgement Murayama found herself pulling out her cellphone. She flipped it open, and angled it just enough that she could see what was behind her.

Her heartrate spiked when she saw quarter of a massive face reflected on the screen. A single scarlet eye, white hair, and what looked like a horn growing from their head.

Katase looked down, and her cheek bulged as she tried even harder not to scream.

Then after a while, the face seem to disappear. Murayama didn't hear the footsteps or movement, but the face seemed to vanish.

Neither of them moved for quite a while. But when they felt like it was safe, the two of them shakily got to their feet.

Katase grip on her bamboo sword had tightened to the point where her knuckles had turned white, while Murayama stared at the reflection of her phone even as it was angled away from the window.

They took a few steps forward, and seemingly out reflex, looked behind them.

In the shadows of the old, creepy, wooden building they saw a pair of red eyes floating in the shadows. That itself would be bad, but the eyes hovered well over their heads meaning whoever those eyes belonged to, it had to be massive.

Silence and frozen in fear, the two of them could do nothing but make eye contact with something that could definitely place a curse on them.

Then the eyes moved towards them, and in the faint sunlight they could see it.

A massive figure with a pair of horns that curved upwards.

A Devil.

The two of them shrieked in horror when it tried to reach out for them, and without looking back they ran as fast as they could.

[Scene]

"ah." Asterios' hand flinched back when he saw the two students run away from him. He let out a sad sigh as they stumbled and ran.

"Who was that?" At that moment Koneko walked up towards him, her usually disinterested eyes looking out the window. She spotted the two girls running away from the building "Oh."

"i thought i heard something," He explained "heard whispering and footsteps, so i went to check." He pointed a finger towards the running girls "saw them hiding under the window." He paused and then turned to Koneko "are they trouble?"

"Nah, they're just regular students," Koneko explained to the giant "I think they got lost or something."

"oh," he turned back to the window and let out a sigh "they screamed and ran when they saw me, so i thought they were bad."

Koneko looked up at the stoic face Asterios and tilted "I think you just look a little scary Asterios."

That earned a sad, but affirmative, grunt from him "i know."

Koneko averted her eyes, shame in her heart for a moment, before she focused them back on the giant "How about you try smiling?"

"smile?" Asterios asked, looking confused at her suggestion.

She shrugged "Could make you less scary?"

He paused for a moment at the idea. A moment later he took her suggestion, and lips pulled back for a grin.

It took every ounce of self-control in her body to not immediately bolt and hiss at the sight of teeth that was bared in her direction like predator waiting to pounce.

Seeing her subdued reaction, Asterios stopped smiling and quickly looked away embarrassed "sorry" he muttered "don't know how to smile."

After her heart stopped beating in her chest and her instincts stopped telling her to flee or die, she shrugged with a casual "Eh." She looked at him with narrowed eyes and stated "You show too much teeth."

She gestured for him to bend forward, which he did, until his face was directly in front of her. Both of her hands moved to his cheeks, and gently pushed them up into a small smile.

It was still stilted, but it was better than the look he had just given her moments before.

"There," she looked him in his eyes "Just move your lips a little. If you can't, use your fingers."

She pulled her hands away, and the smiling face turned stoic once more.

Asterios stood back up to his full height, and looked down at the small girl that was waiting for him to apply her lesson. Carefully he put his fingers by his cheek and pulled his cheeks back for a 'smile'.

"Better." Koneko nodded "Keep practicing."

Asterios lowered his hands, his face returning back to it's neutral position, and nodded his head "Okay. I'll keep practicing."