Chapter 3

Standing as still as a dead log on a street corner, Ken stared blankly at the golden arches propped at the top of the fast food restaurant across the street front the train station exit he and Naru just walked out from. The only problem was that the arches were upside down. Ken's eyelid twitched at the sight.

"Something wrong?" Naru asked while adjusting her glasses after noticing Ken's disturbed expression.

"No. Just thinking about what I want to order there," Ken lied to hide his actual thoughts. 

Shrugging at his answer, Naru started crossing the street. Ken followed. 

Along the way, however, his eyes flickered back and forth at the hundreds of pedestrians milling about the city sidewalks. He noticed it on the train before as well, but his eyes picked up varying amounts of dull symbols and lines on each individual. Unique patterns on every person garnered his curiosity, but the moment he tried reading into the lines, the entire city lit up like a miniature sun in his view. 

Inhaling sharply, Ken halted his steps and shut his eyes tight. His head pounded from the massive amount of information that poured into his brain in that single moment. Without hesitation, he shut off the ability for the time being and resumed following Naru while ignoring the lingering pain throbbing in his frontal lobe. Once again, the symbols faded into obscurity, looking like no more than transparent hairs in their deactivated state. Like this, only people with an unusually higher density of symbols around them would be noticeable to him.

Sighing, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and inwardly noted, 'I guess I might have to slowly get used to using this ability. Considering it came from that giant skeleton, I wouldn't be surprised if it was never intended for human use in the first place, but it's still an advantage I'll need to learn how to use regardless.'

Briefly, he glanced at Naru's back again. He noticed it before, but far more lines and symbols surrounded her compared to other people he had seen so far today. Although curious about the reason for that to be the case, he set the thought on the backburner for now.

Not long later, Ken and Naru ordered food, grabbed some seats near one of the large front windows, and started eating. During the meal, Ken figured that now was as good a time as any to dig for information about his current circumstances.

"Hey, Naru nee-san."

Halting her hands with a burger halfway to her mouth, Naru responded, "Hm? What is it?" 

"Is there a reason that you come over to help me buy groceries?"

"I live the closest to you now that I'm staying at Hinata Sou, so it's more convenient for me to do it than for my mom to come all the way over here."

"That's not really what I meant," Ken replied in a purposefully despondent manner. He acted out poking a fry onto his tray without bringing it to his mouth for a few seconds and broke eye contact with the girl.

"Um, well…" Naru fumbled over her words a little and set her burger back down on her own tray. Then, she took a deep breath before saying, "I know you can probably buy everything yourself, but my mom, dad, and I all want to do our best to make sure you're not lonely or anything since auntie and uncle, well, you know…"

The girl then turned her gaze outside and scratched her head awkwardly. Ken felt a slight amount of guilt for placing some emotional weight on her.

"Thanks, Naru. I couldn't ask for a better cousin."

Cheeks reddening ever so slightly, Naru avoided his gaze and replied, "It's only natural. We're family, after all."

"Haha. Right."

Ken fell silent and took a few bites of his food, which then prompted Naru to follow suit. 

After allowing the awkwardness to pass somewhat, Ken asked, "You mentioned Hinata Sou. Was that an inn or something?"

"I think I messaged you about it when I moved there a few weeks ago, but I guess I didn't say much about it, huh?"

"Dunno. Don't remember."

"Well, I don't blame you with everything that was happening back then."

"Mhm."

'I guess it might not have been too long since mom passed in this world, then,' Ken conjectured.

"Ah, sorry to remind you of it again. Er, anyway, yeah. It was an inn before, but now it is a womens' dorm. There aren't many girls living there right now, though."

"Hm. I guess it'd be a better environment for studying, then."

Gaze drifting off into the distance, Naru rested a chin on her palm and thoughtfully replied, "Yeah. My grades are good, but to get into Tokyo University, I still need to push myself."

"Tokyo University, eh?"

'All of this is starting to sound a little familiar for some reason.'

"Yeah. If you want to go there with me like you promised, you'll need to pick your grades up," Naru responded with a subtly playful smirk.

'University again? I'd honestly be better off starting my own business once I'm old enough since I already finished studying in my old world. These eyes of mine would make starting a business a lot easier to do once I figure out how to use them properly, too.'

"Hm."

Frowning at Ken's seemingly disinterested response, Naru stared quietly at her burger without saying anything.

Upon seeing her reaction, Ken smiled ruefully and explained, "To be honest, the only reason I would want to go there is to go to school with you. Otherwise, I might just be better off building up capital to start my own business."

Forehead wrinkling a little, Naru looked back at Ken through her foggy glasses and replied, "If you're worried about money, don't forget my dad said he'd help pay for your tuition, so you don't need to worry."

"You want to go with me that bad, huh?"

"Tch. That's not it," Naru immediately retorted while crossing her arms.

"Haha. Well, Even if I go through with starting a business or something, I'll still attend some classes with you."

"...Stupid."

Chuckling at the girl's slightly red cheeks that she tried to hide by adjusting her thick glasses, Ken resumed eating again. Although he wanted more useful information, he didn't feel like prodding this girl too hard for any more information. As a wise man once said, doing bad things to good people was bad for the soul.

Setting aside information gathering for the time being, he grabbed more fries to eat. However, when he looked out the window again while bringing them to his mouth, the edge of his gaze caught a surplus of translucent lines and symbols all coalescing on two individuals. Even with his ability deactivated, he could not ignore that mass of intersecting lines even if he tried. It was like looking at a mesh of cracked glass. 

With this being his first time seeing such a thing, he craned his neck to get a better look at the two people walking out from the train station across the street. Although somewhat far away, he saw two young girls crossing the street while absorbed in conversation. Based on their relatively younger appearances, he figured they were a year or two younger than his current fifteen year old self. 

One girl had long bright red hair and bright blue eyes. A frilly white dress made her look cheery and bright in the bright spring sun even though it looked a little tight around her chest area already despite her age. 

The other girl had long black hair tied in a ponytail. In contrast to her companion, she wore a simple white blouse and blue jeans. 

Although the girls were pretty by a general standard, they were well below the age that Ken would find attractive. Thus, he only frowned. His eyes focused on the warping lines that crisscrossed on and around them. Ever so carefully, he focused on his eyes and activated his newfound ability as little as possible. The lines glowed and fed a flurry of information into his head.

A moment later, the fries slipped out from between his fingers. Then, instinctively switching back to English, he complained, "You've gotta be kidding me. I think you cursed me, Tim."