Chapter 6

A/N: I'm sweating, and it's hot af. I don't have air conditioning. What I'm getting at is... I wrote a chap but didn't feel like editing. Sorry if there are any blatant errors. Might fix them later if I'm feeling spontaneous.

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Tap. Tap. Tap.

An index finger rapped upon the metal surface of an armrest running along the side of a hospital bed. Seated there in silence, a young man beheld his reflection in a mirror at the other side of the room. His finger tapped unceasingly while his pupils slowly contemplated the facial features reflected in the glass. 

Suddenly, the tapping stopped. 

"So… it's this kind of thing," The young man mumbled to himself. Now that he was far removed from the previous accident, his mind calmed down enough for him to accept his current predicament.

Turning his head to a window situated in the wall at the right of his hospital bed, he gazed upon the sunlit sky dotted with clouds. From his view several stories up, he could see much of a populated city sprawling out below. On the ground, he could see uniformed students passing by on the streets. He saw some cars and even a distant train. All in all, it was a normal view of a modern city.

Ken narrowed his eyes at the scenery. Far above the city buildings, he saw something akin to a bird rocketing across the sky. The blue lines on it informed him that the creature was a Tengu who was cloaking itself with magic meant to deter the recognition of normal humans. Like when he encountered Rias Gremory, his eyes conveyed a powerful concept to him. 

{Illusions of a lower dimension cannot deceive the eyes of a being from a higher dimension.}

Although those words were not specifically spelled out in the blue lines and symbols, that was how his mind interpreted the spectacle. His eyelids quivered and itched while the concept transferred to his mind. His eyes still burned a little thanks to the previous event, but they mostly recovered after a full night of sleep.

A sigh slipped from his lips. 

"I'd really rather not live in this world. I blame you, Tim."

Lips rising into a conflicted smile, Ken fell silent while reminiscing about his old friends. In particular, Tim was a notoriously outgoing Otaku who was obsessed with DxD. Many arguments arose between them due to Ken always stating that DxD was a terrible world to reincarnate into. 

"Good times," Ken mumbled. Then, he brushed a finger along the bandages on his arm and added, "But I was definitely right, Tim. This world is going to be the death of me if I'm not careful."

Ken shook his head and let himself fall back into the admittedly uncomfortable cushion of his reclined hospital bed. His pale eyes scanned across the blue lines and symbols visible only to him. A few seconds later, he closed his eyes and folded his hands in front of his chest. Many thoughts and plans fluttered about in his mind, but he failed to fully settle on one for the time being. 

Eventually, he opened his eyes again. He quietly read into the runes hovering around his hands. Although many things about his body structure and history came to mind, there was only one thing he focused on.

'No magic power. Not even a speck.'

Every other person he read into with his eyes on the streets outside had at least a hint of magic power inside them, but him? Nothing. A void.

He breathed deeply through his nose to calm the hints of anxiousness rising in his heart. One of his fingers gently traced the outline of his eye socket. Trapped within the confines of a world of devils and dragons, he wondered how well these eyes of his would fare.

A sliding door interrupted his contemplations. When he turned his head to see who his visitor was, he smiled.

"Hey, Naru. Good to see you again."

The girl's hand stopped in half-wave, and her cheeks puffed out a little.

"Not funny, Ken-kun."

"Hehe."

"Hmph."

Behind Naru, a middle aged couple entered the room. When Ken saw them, he immediately recognized the similarities in appearance between Naru and them. 

The man looked similar to the man Ken saw with his mother in the pictures back at his house. In fact, the symbols told him that this man was related to his current body by blood which confirmed his suspicions. The man wore a simple outfit of khaki pants and a white polo shirt. Ken's eyes read into the man's name as Narusegawa Juriko. 

On the other hand, the lady looked more like Naru with lighter brown hair and eyes. Although a bit pudgy, she had a wide smile that gave off a friendly and homely impression. A white sundress added to that comfortable impression. Ken's eyes gave him the name Narusegawa Naruru when he focused on her.

Other than the outward appearances and names of the couple, Ken's eyes picked up something unusual on Narusegawa Juriko.

{Hints of past Devil contract. Contents: Heal sick wife and provide a better job in exchange for siring and handing over a human offspring with better witch potential than firstborn child.}

His eyes stung after reading that much from the symbols, so he stopped. The lines faded. Even without straining his eyes to read more into the subject, those few lines of information gave him more than enough to draw some conclusions about the results. 

Forcing himself to smile in an attempt at not showing a reaction to the unsettling information, Ken barely held back a twitching eyebrow before he said, "Hi Uncle, Auntie. It has been a while."

Naru's father gave a rueful smile, nodded, and replied, "It would have been nice if it was under better circumstances, but we are happy to see you alive and well nonetheless."

"Yes, yes. How are you feeling, Ken-kun?" Naru's mother, Naruru, asked.

"Fine. Maybe a little sore."

Juriko nodded and said, "In that case, we'll ask them to check your condition before dismissing you."

"Okay."

Juriko left the room to follow up with a nurse. Meanwhile, Naru and her mother approached Ken's bedside. However, upon seeing a bandage with two spots of pus on it sitting on Ken's lap, Naru frowned.

Pointing at the bandage, Naru asked, "Is that supposed to be on your eyes?"

"It was, but they feel fine now."

"Stupid. The doctor put it on you for a reason."

Ken simply shrugged. The moment he did, however, Naru jerked forward, yanked the bandage off his lap, and tried to force it around his head. 

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Ken exclaimed while forcing a hand in between his face and the bandage. "That thing has pus on it! Leave it alone!"

"It's for your own good, Ken-kun! You'll thank me later!"

"I won't!"

Nearby, Naruru giggled at the antics of her daughter and nephew. To her eyes, they simply got along as splendidly as ever.

After a brief struggle, Naru gave up and pulled the bandage back. 

"Fine. I won't force it, but you better keep it on if they put a new one on," Naru grumbled. 

"Sure. Whatever."

A nurse entering the room prevented them from continuing the conversation. Naru's father followed the nurse into the room as well.

The nurse checked Ken's vitals, but then called in a doctor to check his eyes. Upon seeing that Ken's eyes were still a little bloodshot, he applied a fresh bandage and advised to wear bandages over his eyes for a few days to let them rest. 

Ken raised a brow but refrained from saying anything. Although he knew his eyes only got strained again from reading into Narusegawa Juriko's history, there was no way he was going to tell the doctor that. Instead, he observed the outlines of his surroundings using the blue lines and symbols. 

'May as well treat it as training,' He mused.

After that, the doctor recommended having somebody look after him for the next three to five days so long as his eyes were no longer bloodshot. The doctor then left the room to let them figure out how they wanted to handle it and asked a nurse to prepare dismissal papers.

"I can stay with him for a few days," Naru immediately volunteered after the doctor left the room.

"Are you sure, Naru?" Naruru asked. "You still have school, so he can stay with us."

Naru frowned and narrowed her eyes. Her jaw moved back and forth as though pondering something for a few seconds. Then, she hesitantly suggested, "I might be able to convince the dorm mother to let him stay with me for a few days…"

"Naru, you live in a girl's dorm," Juriko stated in a firm tone. "He can just stay with us."

"I'm fine on my own, honestly," Ken interrupted.

"Absolutely not," Naru instantly retorted, which made Ken press his lips together due to not knowing how else to convince them.

Naru whipped out her cell phone to call her dorm mother. One quick phone call later, she smiled and said, "The dorm mother gave permission if it's only for a few days!"

Behind his bandage, Ken narrowed his eyes. The symbols on the phone while Naru spoke with her dorm mother changed in a weird way. 

'Although superficial, this dorm mother of hers also seems to have something to do with the supernatural.'

Although he knew he would be fine on his own, he decided to follow Naru to make sure her living conditions were safe from the dangers of the supernatural side of this world.