Mio and Maria

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

During the lunch break, at the same time the Occult Research Club was meeting, two girls were eating their lunches on the roof of the school building. These girls, Naruse Mio and her half-sister Naruse Maria were discussing what they noticed during the first half of their first day at this new school.

"Maria, why are there so many supernatural beings in this school?" Mio asked in discontent. "I thought we came to this town to hide from the people who killed our father."

"No, Mio." Maria replied with a smile. "We came here to get protection from the people who killed our father."

"Is there a difference?" Mio asked with a frown.

"Just hiding will leave us in danger, if anyone ever finds us." Maria said after chewing a mouthful of rice. "What we need is someone to keep us safe if someone finds us."

"And why do you think anyone would help us?" Mio asked skeptically.

"That's simple Sis." maria said with a smile. "Because he lives here."

"Who?" Mio asked curiously.

"The half-devil who saved the survivors from the annihilated yuki-onna village." Maria said while gesticulating with her hands. "He's also the unofficial strongest member of the younger generation in the Underworld."

"That sounds impressive and all." Mio said with a nod. "But once again, why would he help us?"

With that, maria froze. Then, while scratching her cheek, she answered sheepishly.

"I don't actually know." Maria replied while lowering her head.

Then, Mio's expression turned menacing. Slowly she turned her head toward Maria, who was sitting next to her. Then, at lightning speed her hands shot toward Maria's cheeks. Grabbing and pulling them, Mio spoke with dissatisfaction filling her tone.

"So, you brought us here, to a place filled with devils and other supernatural beings, without a solid plan?"

"I'm sowwy! I'm sowwy!" Maria replied in a distorted tone as her eyes began to tear up. "Pwease, fowgive me!"

Mio pulled and stretched Maria's cheeks for a few more moments. Then in a huff she released her and turned away.

"I should kill you a hundred times for this!" Mio shouted. Then in a huff, she turned away.

"I don't think it's as bad as you think." Maria said while rubbing her red cheeks. "As long as we're not forced to leave Kuoh, we should be relatively safe."

"*Sigh* I have no choice but to trust you, Maria." Mio said with a sad tone.

As it turns out, Mio and Maria may be half-sisters, however, they grew up in totally different circumstances. Maria with both parents grew up in the Underworld. Mio, on the other hand, grew up as the child of two normal humans until halfway through the final term of middle school. Unfortunately, the humans she grew up with were killed by the enemies of her biological father while she was at school. When she returned home, all she found were the lifeless bodies of her foster parents.

Shortly afterward, Maria showed up just as, if not more, panicked than Mio. However, she was tasked with bringing Mio away from the house and back to their father. A tall task when dealing with a hormonal teenager who just lost the only parents she knew. With great difficulty, Maria was able to make Mio believe that she was her sister. However, when Mio asked about her biological mother, Maria was unable to answer. Simply because she did not know.

After deciding she would get the answers to all her questions from her "father," Just like that, Mio decided to follow Maria back to the Underworld. Fortunately, or unfortunately, convincing Mio took much longer than Maria expected. By the time they returned to Maria's home, everyone living there was dead. Mio and Maria's father, Maria's mother, and all the servants living in the mansion, not one survived. Unable to understand the situation, Mio was ready to breakdown once again. However, Maria, who had been through more in her life as a devil, was able to get them away from the estate.

"Don't worry, Sis." Maria said while wrapping her arms around Mio. "I've heard a lot about this James Alaverus while I was living in the Underworld. He really seems like a genuinely good person. And as a half-devil, he should be more sympathetic to our plight than most."

"*Sigh* I hope you're right." Mio said with a sigh.

"Anyway, let's finish our lunch." Maria said with a smile. "We don't wanna be late for class, right?"

With that, the sisters finished their lunch and returned to their classroom. At the same time, in a normal middle-class home not too far from the school, Dante and lady were carefully searching the house for any clues as to who the Naruse sisters are and why they came to Kuoh without informing the rulers of the town.

"Alright, Lady, remember we have to do this without leaving any traces." Dante said while looking through the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen.

"Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of amateur, Dante." lady said discontentedly as she searched through the living room.

"Yeah, yeah." Dante said dismissively. After we finish with this floor, I'll search the second floor and you search the basement."

"I think it would be better if I search the upstairs and you search the basement." Lady said while looking at Dante suspiciously.

"What difference does it make?" Dante asked with annoyance in his tone.

"What kind of creep are you?" Lady asked with suspicion in her tone rising. "Don't tell me you want to search through the drawers of high school girls that badly?"

Hearing this, Dante almost knocked over a glass that was left out on the kitchen counter. After catching the glass, Dante set it down in the exact spot it almost fell from. Then, he stepped away from the counter and looked at Lady with annoyance.

"Don't look at me like that, not with those creepy eyes, creep." Lady sai while cracking a small smile.

"*Sigh* Whatever." Dante said in resignation. "It really doesn't matter to me. I'll search the basement and you search upstairs."

"Oh, I know it doesn't bother you in the slightest." Lady said with a sneer. "But now I understand why James does this so much. It's fun."

With that Dante's eyes opened wide. Looking at the smirking Lady, Dante could only think to himself.

'Great, the last thing we need is another James.' Dante thought to himself while rubbing his head. 'There are already too many as it is.'

After that, Dante and Lady continued their search through the Naruse household. Around the time the final bell of the school day would ring, they completed their search and found enough information to start piecing together the girls' circumstances.

Around the same time Dante and Lady were wrapping up the investigation and withdrawing from their house, Mio and Maria were walking toward the MMA training hall.

"Why are we going to the training hall?" Mio asked in confusion.

"Well, I think we should join the club." maria said with a smile.

"Why should I join a fighting club?" Mio asked angrily. "If I don't like your answer, I'll kill you a hundred times!"

"Calm down, Sis." maria said while raising her hands disarmingly. "I'm not saying you should join as a member. I think the roll of manager would be more fitting for you."

Hearing Maria's suggestion, Mio took some time to consider. Then, Maria continued.

"Besides, if we spend more time around him, we'll be able to figure out if he's someone we can trust, faster and more easily."

And with that, Mio was convinced. She agreed to at least check out the club, reluctantly. When the girls reached the training hall's entrance, they saw James, Flora, and Shuna speaking together. While they spoke, James and Flora greeted the other members who entered the training hall.

"If my information is correct, the boy is James Alaverus, Captain of the MMA Club." Maria said while pointing a finger in James' direction. "The brunette standing next to him should be Flora Nanadan, the Vice Captain of the Club."

"And who's the girl with the pink hair?" Mio asked curiously.

"I'm not sure." Maria admitted honestly. "I'm sure we'll find out if we ask, though."

Meanwhile, while Mio and Maria were approaching the MMA hall, James, flora, and Shuna were discussing her role in the club. Although Shuna had little talent in hand-to-hand combat, James' idea for her was similar to Maria's idea for Mio. Shuna would be entering the club as a manager. With the duty of handling a lot of the administrative work, her presence would free up more time for James and Flora to help the other members improve.

"It looks like the new devil sisters are coming." Flora said while glancing at Mio and Maria from the corner of her eye. "I wonder why they're coming here, though."

"At the very least, they are coming to learn as much as they can about James-Sa... I mean, Senpai." Shuna said as she grew embarrassed with her verbal slip up. Then, she noticed that James had lifted an eyebrow while his gaze fell on the sisters. "James-Senpai, is there something wrong?"

"Not really." James said while shaking his head in response. "But the redhead is half-devil, like me. Which makes this more interesting."

"On top of that, her hair looks a lot like Rias', doesn't it?" Flora asked with a smile.

"Sure does." James replied with a smile similar to Flora's. "Sona said I was letting all the manga I read get to my head. But I get the feeling big things really are going to happen soon."

Hearing that, Flora and Shuna began to giggle. Even though they are aware that James has no issue distinguishing between fiction and reality, sometimes James does get a little too into his manga reading hobby. However, this time it seems like his hunch is most likely right.

"Anyway, we can talk about that later." James said with a smile. "It's more important to greet the new students who are interested in joining the club."

"Right." x 2

As they brought their conversation to an end, Mio and Maria had just reached a comfortable speaking distance.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" James asked with a smile. "A couple of fresh faces on the first day of the new year. How can I help you ladies?"

"Hello, Senpai!" Maria said energetically. "I'm Naruse Maria, a first year. And this is my sister, Naruse Mio, also a first year."

"It's nice to meet you, Senpai." Mio said with a polite bow and a neutral tone.

"Hi, I'm James Alaverus, a third year and the Captain of the Mixed Martial Arts Club." James also introduced himself in a friendly tone with a smile.

"And I'm Flora Nanadan, also a third year and the Vice-Captain of the MMA Club." Flora said, also while smiling in a friendly manner. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"Good afternoon." Shuna said with a polite bow. "My name is Onigawara Shuna. I just transferred to Kuoh Academy and I'm a second year. I just applied to become the manager of this club."

Hearing that Shuna was trying to be the manager of the club, Mio and Maria froze for a moment. Not missing the minute change in their body language, James asked the girls about it.

"What's wrong?" James asked with concern in his tone. "You two don't look so good all the sudden."

Hearing James' question, Mio and Maria glanced at each other for a moment. Then, Maria responded to James' question.

"Well, you see..." Maria began with a slight blush. "The whole reason we applied to this school is because I heard about the MMA Club with state-of-the-art facilities."

"Understandable." James said with a nod while the other two also nodded in agreement.

"The thing is, my sister and I wanted to be in the same club, but Mio's not really into martial arts." Maria said while poking her index fingers together.

"I see." James said while nodding in understanding. "So, she wanted to apply as a manager instead of a normal member, I take it."

In response, Mio and Maria both nodded.

"But now you think that isn't possible because of Shuna being the new manager, right?" James asked.

"That's right." Mio and Maria replied in unison.

"Well, I guess you ladies are in luck." James said with a smile. "Because I finance this club almost single-handedly, I have a bit more freedom in how it operates."

"Does that mean?" Maria asked with her eyes sparkling.

"Yes, it's exactly as you think." James said while maintaining his smile. "Mio, Maria, do you mind if I call you two by name?"

"No, not really, Senpai." Mio replied.

"Nope!" Maria said energetically. "Since we're both surnamed Naruse, it makes it easier."

"Good." James said with a nod. "Then Mio, Maria, welcome to the club. I'll have to get you to both fill out club applications. And Maria, I'll need you to get a parent to sign a permission slip since this is a sports club."

"Yay!" Maria exclaimed excitedly.

"Thank you very much." Mio replied neutrally.

"Well, let's head inside." James said with a smile. "Flora, would you mind getting them started? I have to instruct the underclassmen."

"Not at all." Flora replied with a smile. "You two, follow me. Oh, and make sure you watch out for one of the second-year boys. He's kind of a pervert. Okay, that's wrong. He's a big pervert. But he's harmless. And if he goes too far, tell me or James. We'll put him in his place."

With that, Mio and Maria followed James, Flora, and Shuna into the MMA training hall and the two-way character observation began.