Lying on the grass at Kuoh Academy were three boys. One of them was bald, with eyes almost always half-closed and ears so large and monkey-like that they stood out even more when he made certain... disgusting expressions, making him look even more like a monkey. Another had his hair neatly parted and wore glasses with lenses so thick that his eyes were never visible. He had perfectly white, straight teeth, which made him look a bit unsettling when he gave a mischievous grin. The boy in the middle had spiky hair and was the least ugly of the three... that is, when he wasn't letting his excitement get the better of him—his nostrils flaring and his face turning strangely gross.
Together, these three were Ishikawa Matsuda, Kusanagi Motohama, and Hyoudou Issei.
Infamously known as the Perverted Trio, they were the most unpopular boys at Kuoh Academy. Of course, that wasn't what they wanted—but their hobbies, the shameless way they expressed their desires in public, and their constant attempts at peeping into the girls' changing rooms had made them the sworn enemies of most of the female student body.
— Ah, I just wanna squeeze some boobs, — Issei sighed, staring at the sky.
— Co-ed school activities! — exclaimed Matsuda, raising his fist high, clearly indicating the kind of "activity" he had in mind was very much perverted.
— Don't say that. It just makes us sound even more pathetic, — muttered Motohama, arms crossed, adjusting his glasses with one hand.
— Motohama, Matsuda! Can you tell me why the hell we chose this school? — asked Issei, sitting up and then standing as he looked ahead.
— Our school changed from an all-girls school to a co-ed one, — replied Motohama, sitting up as well. — Plus, the number of girls here far exceeds the number of boys. There are even beautiful foreign students!
— Because of that, boys are like rare items! Even if we stay silent, girls come to us! — said Matsuda, standing alongside his friends. — It's an all-you-can-eat buffet!
— What awaits us is a life full of boobs, — Matsuda added beside him.
—In other words... a harem! — declared Issei enthusiastically, striking a pose.
Motohama remained silent, striking a more reserved pose while internally finding all of it bitterly ironic. He had regained memories of one of his past lives... and in that life, he had been the apprentice of an incredible Enlightened woman named Abra Stone—a woman with psychic gifts that surpassed even her late mentor, the legendary Danny Torrance.
Motohama—or rather, his past self—had learned from her how to control the ""shine"," that psychic energy which granted abilities like mind-reading, telepathy, clairvoyance, and even a primitive form of telekinesis. He remembered how, under her guidance, he trained to silence the minds around him and listen to the whispers of the spirit world. He recalled the unmistakable feeling of shifting his consciousness away from his body, of sensing the life energy of others like flickering candles in the dark.
But now... in his current life, all of that felt like a distant dream.
The memories came in flashes: the scent of autumn leaves, Abra's soft voice guiding his focus, the afternoons spent learning to manipulate the "shine" to soothe restless spirits or detect hidden intentions... But in this life, his powers were dormant, atrophied. Motohama couldn't even make the energy flow properly. As if that talent belonged to someone else... and maybe it did.
He often reflected on this: the memories of his past lives felt more like films he had watched through someone else's eyes than memories of his own. It didn't feel like he was the same man, or even the same soul — they were fragments, echoes, disconnected from who he had become now. Maybe that was it... or maybe it was because, unlike Danny or Abra, who awakened their gifts as children, he had only recovered those memories as a teenager — far too late for his mind to fully develop those abilities.
As someone who had reincarnated many times, Motohama began comparing the fictional version of the world he'd seen in one of his past lives with the reality around him. He realized just how unusual his current family was. Descended from a follower of Abe no Seimei, his lineage bore the name Kusanagi, inherited from one of the three sacred treasures of Japan.
Since childhood, he had received basic exorcist training, but unlike in his other lives — including the one where he mastered the "shine" — in this one, he was incredibly weak. He had failed to master his family's spiritual techniques, had barely any talent for swordsmanship, and even less for Western magic.
For the past six months, ever since regaining his memories, he had been training intensely, trying to reawaken the abilities he had once possessed as Abra Stone's apprentice. He practiced meditation techniques, tried to force his mind to reopen the old psychic "window." But unlike in that life — or even Danny's — his connection to the "shine" was too faint... as if the world he now lived in was less receptive to that kind of power. Perhaps it was because humans in this world had one of the lowest magical affinities of any reality he had reincarnated into.
Many claimed that anyone could learn magic if they just "did the math," but Motohama knew that was a lie. Just like the "shine", magic required a natural affinity—an energy not everyone had... or in his case, had seemingly lost.
To make things worse, the supernatural wasn't nearly as secret as it should've been. For decades now, humanity had undeniable proof of its existence—not just from legends, but from solid facts: vampires exposed in Romania, angels stopping terrorist attacks, mermaids destroying a ship to rescue one of their own… The world had changed. And yet, Motohama couldn't even use what he once wielded effortlessly.
He felt... pathetic.
His most notable ability was the "Three Sizes Scouter," the power to analyze a girl's measurements. Motohama had trained that power until it evolved into "Analysis," allowing him to gather basic information about people and objects — something that resembled one of the more trivial uses of the "shine" — but it was nothing compared to what he had once been capable of.
While his friends dreamed about harems, Motohama could only laugh bitterly inside. He knew what it meant to truly have power... and to lose it. He knew what it felt like to be special... and to fail.
Until one day, something strange happened.
—Kyaa! Kiba-kun! Kurogane-kun!
Motohama's attention was drawn by the girls' voices as they ran toward two boys walking and chatting together. One was blond with blue eyes and fair skin; the other had black hair, blue eyes, and equally fair skin. Both were handsome enough to be hated by the rest of Kuoh's male population!
One of them was Kiba Yuuto, a second-year student famous for his athleticism, intelligence, manners, kindness, and stunning looks. He had even secretly earned the nickname Prince Charming.
The other was a recent transfer student named Kurogane Sato. He had only been at Kuoh Academy for less than a week and was already known among the girls as one of the school's three princes — specifically, The Dark Prince of Kuoh. Unlike Kiba, he apparently had no qualms about dating, and was enjoying himself far too much for the other boys' tastes. Motohama and his friends had even started spreading rumors about Kiba and Kurogane out of sheer jealousy... and to soothe their hatred for their rivals.
— What are you doing later? Want to come to karaoke with us? — one of the girls asked hopefully.
—Sorry. I have club activities, — said the blond, prompting the dark-haired boy to shake his head, clearly having heard this response before.
—Apologies. I truly appreciated the invite," he added politely.
— And you, Kurogane-kun? Will you come have... fun again? — another girl asked, blushing furiously.
— I'm sorry. I've got something I really can't put off today, — said Kurogane, placing his right hand on her head and gently stroking her hair. — I'll make it up to... all three of you next time.
— H-Hai... — the girls replied, blushing and shifting their legs nervously.
Among the recent transfers, Kurogane Sato, in Motohama's opinion, was someone who really seemed like a protagonist. He excelled in academics, was fluent in several languages, and mastered various styles of swordsmanship — enough to join the Kendo Club alongside the other transfer student. He was also rapidly growing close to the Student Council, being well-liked by everyone. It was as if something made him naturally attractive to women no matter where he went. Worst of all — he had achieved everything Motohama and the other boys dreamed of... in just three days!
To everyone else, Kurogane was just a charismatic guy making friends — especially female ones — wherever he went. Though Motohama didn't like the other popular transfer student either, he instinctively felt that Kurogane was the bigger threat. That was strange, because Motohama had sensed some natural animosity toward the boy who joined his class... but between the two, it was Kurogane that made him feel more cautious.
That day, Motohama felt something was seriously wrong with Kurogane. He focused his Analysis on him... and what he saw left him breathless:
Name: Kurogane Sato
Race: Hybrid (Human/Hollow)
Sacred Gear: ???
Description: A transmigrator connected to a deity...
Kurogane's level was so far beyond his that Motohama couldn't even gather enough information.
Then, Kurogane's gaze briefly fell on Issei... and a chill ran down Motohama's spine. A deep, primal instinct awakened, as if the old chains that bound the "shine" within him had finally snapped.
A glowing golden card appeared before him, floating in the air.
Motohama read it, his heart pounding.
— This... is my Unique Skill? — he thought, feeling more fear than relief. He didn't know if it was a blessing... or a curse.
[…]
Hours later, kneeling on the ground, Motohama could barely keep his eyes open. The blue glow in them faded, and he collapsed beside the lifeless bodies of Issei and Matsuda.
Despair consumed him.
He, who once trained under a master like Abra Stone, who used the "shine" to heal, protect, and fight... now lay weak, powerless, watching his two best friends die — unable to stop any of it.
As darkness closed in and the cold of death approached, he thought:
—I... I don't want to die... I still have so many dreams...
But reality was unforgiving.
And the "shine", which once lit his soul like a blazing fire... now flickered like a dying ember.