The morning sun filtered through the windows of Haru Tsukihara's modest apartment, casting golden rays over a cluttered desk strewn with textbooks, a cracked alarm clock, and a half-eaten melon bread. The clock blinked 7:15 AM.
"Crap—I'm late again!" Haru bolted upright from his futon, scrambling into his school uniform like a man possessed.
He barely registered the mirror as he passed it, though it reflected an undeniably handsome face—an angular jawline, ruffled black hair that shimmered slightly under the light, and amber eyes with flecks of gold. But to Haru, he was just... average.
Outside, birds chirped as he jogged down the quiet residential streets of Kuoh Town. On the surface, the city was normal. Peaceful. Boring, even. But Haru always had the feeling something was... off. Like the whole place was hiding a secret just out of reach.
He had no idea how right he was.
"Yo, Haru!"
The familiar voice came from a boy leaning against the school gates with a devil-may-care grin. Issei Hyoudou, infamously perverted and loud, waved him over with exaggerated flair.
"You're always cutting it close, man," Issei said as Haru caught his breath. "Thought you might've finally been abducted by alien babes."
"Please. I'd prefer a normal high school life, thank you very much," Haru replied flatly.
Behind Issei, Matsuda and Motohama—the other two corners of the pervert triangle—whistled and gave thumbs up to passing girls, earning cold stares and the occasional slap.
Haru sighed. "How do I even hang out with you guys...?"
"You love us," Issei replied with a wink. "Besides, you need to live a little. Get your head out of the clouds. One of these days, you're gonna thank me."
The irony of that statement would hit Haru much later.
Classes were uneventful, save for the usual stares Haru got from several female students. He never understood why. He wasn't flashy or athletic like Kiba, nor did he have the charisma of a student council member. Still, girls often approached him... only to become shy and flustered for no reason.
He chalked it up to his "weird aura," as Issei called it. Whatever that meant.
It was after school that everything changed.
Haru was walking home alone through the park shortcut, earbuds in, lost in thought. The sky had taken on a fiery hue as the sun began to set. He was thinking about a strange dream he'd had for the past few nights—floating in a void, weightless, pulled in all directions by invisible forces.
In the dream, a voice kept whispering: "Remember your name. Remember the sky and flame."
"What does that even mean?" Haru muttered.
That's when he felt it—a pressure in the air, heavy and wrong. He stopped. The birds had gone silent. Even the wind had stilled.
And then she appeared.
A beautiful girl in a nun's habit, walking toward him on the path, her blue eyes filled with sorrow.
"You mustn't go any further," she said softly.
Before Haru could respond, a blade of black light tore through the air between them.
She turned instantly, summoning a barrier of holy light to deflect a second strike. From the shadows emerged a figure with wings as black as pitch and eyes filled with madness.
A Fallen Angel.
"What the hell—?!" Haru backed away as the ground cracked from the sheer force of their clash.
"You're not ready for this!" the girl shouted to him. "RUN!"
But Haru couldn't. His legs refused to move.
The Fallen Angel raised his hand, dark spear forming. "So this is the last Tsukihara... What a joke."
Tsukihara?
The moment the name hit his ears, something inside him snapped.
Memories he didn't know he had surged through him—images of a burning sky, of gravity tearing apart armies, of golden eyes staring down gods. And a name whispered in reverence and fear across battlefields: Tsukihara.
His vision blurred. The world tilted.
And then everything exploded.
A shockwave rippled outward, sending both the nun and the Fallen Angel flying.
Haru stood at the center of a crater, panting, his body glowing faintly with silver runes. His eyes had turned gold—radiant and terrifying. The very air around him bent and warped as if space itself bowed to his will.
The gravity had changed.
"What—what are you?" the Fallen Angel hissed, staggering to his feet.
"I... I don't know," Haru whispered. "But I think... I remember now."
With instinct guiding him, Haru raised a hand. The gravity around the enemy intensified instantly. Trees snapped. The ground cracked again. The Fallen Angel screamed, pinned down by a weight no human could withstand.
But then Haru's body shuddered. Pain lanced through his veins. Mana burned away like wildfire. He dropped to one knee, coughing blood.
"Too soon..." the nun said, rushing to his side. "You're not ready to use that power yet. Your body isn't trained for it."
The Fallen Angel vanished into the shadows, retreating with a growl.
Before Haru could speak, darkness took him.
He woke up surrounded by unfamiliar ceilings—and an even more unfamiliar girl.
Long crimson hair flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall of fire. Her blue eyes watched him with curiosity, interest... and something else.
"You're finally awake," she said.
Haru blinked. "Where... am I?"
"You're at Kuoh Academy's Occult Research Club," she said with a smile. "I'm Rias Gremory. And you, Haru Tsukihara... are full of surprises."