Highschool DxD: Heres Caeli

Chapter 3: Devil, Magic, Supernatural

"Hey, man, are you okay?"

Hasegawa asked directly as he stared at his friend's face, his eyes particularly focused on the slightly heavy dark bags, the dark coloration clearly showing that lost hours of sleep were the main culprits for their somewhat unusual appearance on his friend's face.

They were in the schoolyard, during free time, which was earlier that day, thankfully. At that moment, the two classmates were enjoying the fresh air and grass while finishing an assignment that was supposed to be done at home. Getting it out of the way now would leave more free time later. It wasn't even that difficult, which is why each of them was sitting with a notebook in hand, following the questions to answer them one by one.

"I... I couldn't sleep last night, I had a weird nightmare," Kenta replied with a tired yawn, shortly before rubbing both fingers between his eyes to try and shake off some of the sleepiness.

"Hey, don't do that; you'll damage your eyesight." His friend gave him a light warning tap on the hand.

"Sorry, sorry..." Kenta removed his hand from his eyes.

"What did you dream about, Tachibana?" The question was inevitable, but at least he paused his curiosity to correct a bad habit.

"Something was chasing me, something like that." Honestly, Kenta didn't really feel like talking about all the bloody events he witnessed the previous night, and he didn't fully understand what had happened either.

"Classic." It's a fact; everyone has had that kind of dream. That's why those few words were enough. "Try to get a better rest tonight."

Kenta nodded slightly, stretching his arms above his head in a big yawn, trying to wake up. He had tried to counter the sleepiness with coffee that morning so that he could stay awake despite being so tired. He didn't want to sleep; every time he closed his eyes, the images replayed in his mind, a constant reminder of what he had seen.

He's not stupid; he knows very well that it wasn't just a dream. There were several reasons for that—the tired eyes showing the effects of sleepless hours, the bloodstained pants with a tear the next day, and certainly the most significant of all; he could still feel that presence following him around along with the voice whispering in his mind.

For a while, he thought he was going crazy; no one else seemed to hear her voice except him, as if it echoed only in his mind. But honestly, if that voice exists, he knows very well that the apparition is also real; none of this is just in his head. At least that's what he wants to believe.

On a scale of which is worse, being literally followed by a ghost or having a disorder that makes you hallucinate a ghost? In the end, the difference isn't that big; in both cases, you end up in an institution and then die. What changes, maybe, is the cause of death.

Both options are horrible, and just having to choose between them is cruel as hell.

Because of his tiredness, Hasegawa spent the time helping his friend keep up with today's material. It wasn't really that difficult, but when your mind is slow, everything becomes harder to follow. It's something Kenta finds curious—Hasegawa isn't overly serious, nor would he say he's hyper-competent in school subjects...

But, despite his passionate love for his hobbies, his performance is decent enough to show that he's paying attention in most of the classes. Kenta has seen groups of students with similar habits, but far from achieving the same academic results.

"Hasegawa, there's something I've been meaning to ask you..." Kenta paused his writing in his notebook, having just finished an equation, and started the conversation.