Chapter 9

In the center of the messy room that looked like a tornado had gone through it, two people tumbled around trying to wrestle each other to the floor. Both panted while trying to gain dominance, though one of them held back. When putting Ken in a headlock or even when tackling him, Naru tried not to exacerbate his injuries from the other day. Honestly, even though he was taller, Ken struggled to hold her down in a hold for much longer than a few breaths.

In the end, the two of them laid on the floorboards intertwined with each other. Well, perhaps 'intertwined' was a generous word. 

"So, how long do you plan to hold me like this?" Naru grumbled while only making a token attempt to escape from his arms and legs. Her voice muffled due to being held tightly against Ken's chest.

Chin resting on top of the girl's messy hair, Ken chuckled and asked, "Do you still want to hit me?"

"Maybe a little more than before."

"Then a little longer."

"Hmph. Stupid."

Chuckling, Ken commented, "At this rate, we'll be wrestling all night."

"Can you not make perverted jokes?" Naru chided.

Feeling another pinch on his arm, Ken sighed before retorting, "That one wasn't a perverted joke."

"If you say so."

"So, are we done for now?"

"I guess. I'm really wondering, though, how does that sight of yours even work? You seemed like you could see me the whole time."

"Dunno, really. I can just see things a little differently than others, I guess. Like, not being fooled by illusions and whatnot. Can also see some outlines of objects through these bandages."

"How long have you been able to do this?"

"Not long. Still getting used to it, to be honest."

Naru stopped trying to wriggle out of Ken's judo-esque hold. After a brief hesitation, she asked, "Has it been ever since uncle and auntie died?"

Ken raised a brow, but refrained from answering. He decided silence was the best answer at the moment. If Naru wanted to form her own conclusion, he figured it worked as a good enough explanation for the ability without having to explain that gray wasteland to her. That bag of worms would be better off left alone for now.

"I see…" Naru mumbled while forming her own conclusions as expected.

The two remained silent for a bit until Ken asked, "Wanna just cuddle like this until dinner? It's kinda nice."

Happy she could hide her reddening cheeks against her cousin's shirt, Naru quietly retorted, "Is that what they call wrestling now?"

"Nah. Wrestling is more intense."

"...That one was definitely a perverted joke."

Suddenly feeling a pinch on his arm, Ken smiled wryly. At least she didn't pinch him hard enough to leave a bruise. 

At this point, Ken loosened his hold just enough for Naru to move away if she wanted to. Upon recognizing this, Naru hesitated for a few seconds, but then crawled out from within his arms, pulled her red Salem sweatshirt back down to cover her belly, and readjusted her wrinkled knee-length skirt. After fixing her clothing, she sat down on her bed. In those few seconds, her cheeks maintained a steady pinkish tint.

Rolling up into a cross-legged sitting posture, Ken quietly observed her. Although he could not see clearly, he still noticed subtle movement in the outlines around her face that indicated multiple shifts in her facial expression. 

"Ken. Is what happened yesterday normal? Like, do magic fights happen a lot without anyone remembering or knowing?"

In response, Ken rubbed his chin. Since he did not recall smaller details about the DxD series from back when his friends made him watch it with them, he simply answered, "I don't think it's an everyday occurrence or anything, but it's definitely often enough to be wary of."

"Are there, like, any police or anything who can handle the aftermath?"

"Not that I know of."

"Oh…"

Resting his chin on his fist, Ken's mind wandered while he muttered, "Honestly, our main options for staying safe are to either hide away from everything, become allies with one of the most powerful forces, or become one of the most powerful forces ourselves. As we are, the first option is temporarily the most feasible, but that would always leave the potential scenario of some random powerhouse turning us into slaves or something. I'd like to have enough power to prevent that possibility. I just need to find the best way to achieve that first."

Listening to the brief monologue, Naru blinked a few times while looking at her cousin. Although she did not fully understand supernatural things at the moment, she commented, "I'm not sure I've ever seen you like this except for when you were building custom lego sets when we were younger. You must've put a lot of thought into it."

Mildly amused that the him of this world also built custom lego sets, Ken raised a brow. In reply to the rest of her statement, however, he merely shrugged. 

If he was being honest with himself, he felt that, if anything, he hadn't put nearly enough thought or planning into his survival yet. Unfortunately, he lacked information about what he could achieve or counteract in the supernatural side of this world. 

'First thing I need to do is figure out my eye ability. Second thing is to strengthen my body. Both can start tonight. Other plans can wait. I'm not sure how much of the DxD story will come into play here, but I should have some time to prepare regardless.'

Since dinner would be ready soon, Naru decided to pull out some Uno cards to pass the time more quickly. During the game, she asked a few more questions about the supernatural world to which Ken gave superficial answers. Hoping that the information would help her avoid danger as much as possible, Ken described some of the major factions he could recall who would be wise to watch out for as well as certain groups or individuals to be wary of.

Naru had all sorts of questions.

"Angels and Fallen Angels? So the catholic church down the road isn't just full of hot air?"

"Youkai actually exist?"

"Devils? Is that different from Fallen Angels?"

Honestly, Naru's pointed questions impressed Ken a bit. Simply telling her the basics about a faction led her to follow up with multiple relevant questions. 

'Smart cookie,' Ken inwardly commented midgame.

Time passed quickly, and Naru eventually won thanks to drawing multiple draw fours. Meanwhile, Ken stared in a deadpan fashion at the two dozen number cards left in his hand at the end with not even a reverse in sight. Naru raised her nose proudly and giggled at her cousin's misfortune.

After finishing the game in such a lopsided manner, Naru grabbed Ken's hand and led him toward the kitchen. Even though he told her that he could see outlines, she still thought that his eyes needed to rest for another few days and acted accordingly. 

"Let's continue this conversation later," She said while leading him downstairs.

"I don't mind, but there isn't much else I can tell you about with my limited knowledge."

"We can still talk about it."

Ken rolled his eyes and mumbled, "If you want to spend more time with me, just say so."

In response, Naru tightened her grip on his hand, avoided making eye contact with him, and pulled him at a quicker pace down the hall.

The moment they entered the dining room, a few heads turned to look at them. Although he could not see their current expressions nor what they looked like, Ken could almost feel their gazes poking holes through him. 

"Hi again, Ken-san!" Kaolla Su happily greeted with an overly animated wave.

"Hello, again, Su. Or Kaolla? I don't know which one is better."

"Wow! You pronounced my name right! Either one is good!"

"Gotcha."

"This is your cousin, Naru?" A calm and collected feminine voice asked.

Based on the outline he could see, Ken noticed kimono-like garments, long hair, and… a bamboo kendo sword? 

'Why bring a bamboo practice sword to the dinner table?' He couldn't help wondering.

When he looked a little closer, the symbols informed him that the girl practiced some form of supernatural sword arts, but he did not bother delving deeper at the moment since only reading into a little of the arts strained his eyes a little. 

Having experienced the sensation of his eyes squeezing and twitching a few times now, he noticed a subtle pattern to the pain. 

'The more supernatural or powerful it is, the harder it is to look at.'

He made a mental note of that while listening to the continuing conversation.

"Yeah. Due to his injury, I'll be taking care of him for a few days," Naru answered the long-haired girl.

"He can't see?" The girl asked as a follow-up while staring at the gauze taped over Ken's eyes.

Ken chuckled and responded,  "I'll have these bandages on for a bit, so sorry if I inconvenience any of you. I'm thankful that the landlady gave permission for me to stay here temporarily, so I'll try not to bother anyone while I'm here."

"Hm. I see. So you're not necessarily a pervert, then."

"Excuse me?"

Ken's brows raised involuntarily as he did a slight double take.

"Nothing."

"We don't need to bring up what happened earlier, okay?" Naru asked in a stern and no-nonsense tone. 

The long-haired girl widened her eyes at the frightening aura that suddenly surrounded her friend. Following her instinct, she nodded immediately.

Narrowing her eyes, Naru mumbled, "Good." 

"Um. My name is Aoyama Motoko. Nice to meet you, cousin of Naru," The girl quickly introduced herself in order to change the subject.

"Hm. Narusegawa Ken. Nice to meet you, too."

After his introduction, another voice spoke up after finishing off a bottle of sake.

"Hic- So, this is yer cousin who Grandma Urashima mentioned, eh?" The woman commented with a hint of inquiry.

"Yes," Naru hesitantly answered.

"I'm Konno Mitsune. Nice to meet you, kid."

"Mhm. Likewise."

Nodding absentmindedly, Ken silently observed the lines and symbols around this third woman. With short almost silver hair, the woman looked back at them through slitted eyelids. Her figure showed the most maturity among the ladies here, as well as the largest breast size, of which her loose bathrobe left very little to the imagination even for Ken's current lack of detailed vision. However, since he could only see outlines at the moment, two strange blue symbols quivering around her attracted more of his attention. 

Not even a second later, he sucked in a short but sharp breath. His eyes stung a little, but he was able to focus long enough to figure out what the symbols meant. Dormant bloodlines flowed through the woman's veins unbeknownst to her, but Ken's eyes effortlessly pierced into the well-hidden secret of her ancestry. Some other less noticeable symbols conveyed that a spell concealing her heritage to others rested on her body. 

'Is it even possible to mix the lineage of a half-Angel with a fox Youkai? Not to mention it's mixed with mostly human ancestry. Bullshit. Can the angels here even procreate without falling? Tim would probably know, but I have no idea. Sheesh. This must be a den for special humans or something. I already thought Naru was special due to the symbols identifying her higher-than-normal mana capacity, but these other three are even crazier. I'm glad I found out about this place. Wouldn't be surprised if that old landlady is gathering them here.'

Inundated by new information he never expected to find here, Ken quietly sat down beside Naru who took a seat next to Mitsune. He barely registered the next few lines of the conversation happening between them. He merely closed his eyes, sighed, and decided to go with the flow. This would absolutely be a very normal dinner like any other.