After a heated debate on the topic, both parties no longer wanted to speak. Kaien would rather do something productive, instead of indulging in an argument based on pure theory. Yasaka no longer had comments on any of Kaien's questions, her well of tolerance drained dry. She herself knew that Kaien's theories were accurate, but all of them were invalid.
They did, however, come to a plausible conclusion as the sun leaped to the west.
As they kept debating, the grey head remembered the promise he made last week, convincing the arriving group to come with them. He didn't need to say much. Mei had already emphasized the importance of their daily visits to the two Yokai.
He still had to wrestle with the fact that Delta was a Yokai in this world. He was barely winning the fight, mostly because he was still disoriented.
Kaien—along with everyone else—had to travel a few blocks to his destination. The twins held Kaien's hand tightly, and the one in question had to endure the throbbing pain of their grip. As if his day couldn't be more annoying, some idiot approached the group.
"Hey kids, would any of you like some candy?" a man with a burly beard said, a smile that would charm any young mind.
With a straight face, Kaien stared up at the man without bobbing his head. Enough light sipped through his grey irises, revealing the hidden pupil. When the man stared into them, he was slightly irritated by the lack of emotions.
'Is this kid even human?'
Pulling a phone from his pocket, the toddler kept walking along with his peers. "Follow us, and this will become an attempted abduction."
The youngest of the group teared up. Who would pass on free candy llike nothing?!
They left without a word. The man did not have to think twice. He would rather not get into trouble for a larger collection.
Kaien wondered if this was truly the world of DxD. Taking a glance at the golden-eyed girl, she spoke yet again, "So you'll tell me what to expect here in Kuoh?"
She blinked, and then answered. "Of course."
With a follow-up question, the blue-eyed blonde abruptly exclaimed, "What's it like in Kyoto?"
Seeing how the younger kitsune was curious about their home city, Yasaka puffed her chest in pride. Naruko never blinked, humouring the fact that she feared she would vanish before she answered.
"The greatest city one could ever visit. The peace, the quiet. It's all I can ever ask for. At least my home is."
Naruto asked skeptically, "Then why are you here? You wouldn't be if that were true."
For the first time, something stirred with Kaien. It wasn't ridicule nor scorn, it was something else. Like a parent seeing his child growing up, tears glistened in his eye. The kid was growing up—that's a score! The only thing he couldn't understand was...
'How?'
Picking up the tone of doubt from him, a smile stretched across her face. Poor kid didn't know the greatness of Kyoto. She wouldn't blame him though; if anything, she geared up ways she could prove it without arguing. Words are just not as enticing as seeing is.
"I did say that I just wanna see what the world outside looks like."
Naruto begrudgingly accepted it, while Naruko huffed at her words. She was no fun, acting more like a hag that spoke in vague meanings. Even Kaien thought he was seeing a different being altogether, the image of a grey haired woman overlapping with Yasaka.
His expression became unreadable, but the pounding in his chest sounded like a drum.
'That woman was always cryptic!'
Delta's huge eyes stayed on Kaien's figure, an attempt to decipher a puzzle.
Seeing her, memories of his own pet flashed, a tear narrowly escaping from his eye. He placed his right hand over his left eye before it could trickle down his cheek.
He recalled the first day she was brought back home, how he excitedly ran toward the rather cute puppy. She was a shy girl, trembling at the sight of him when they first met. He was sure to take good care of her, and he meant that wholeheartedly.
At first, he was happily doing just that. He would come back home and feed her, watching her eat from the yellow bowl with her name on it. The smile stretching ear to ear as she chased after him in delight, rushing down the grassy plain and tossing coins in a pond.
His greatest wish? To live happily with his family.
Alas, just a month after his little puppy had been brought home, he buried her. In his grief, a realization—one that made him mute for most of that lifetime—raised multiple red flags he got to discover.
Of course, it was already too late though.
...
Stepping into brilliant lighting, their eyes caught glimpses of a lavish interior. Muffled footsteps sounded, Yasaka walking ahead of the group with gentle steps.
Before they could take any step, Kaien felt something in the room change. Even though the room remained untouched, the air vibrated with an odd tension.
"Someone else is here..." Yasaka whispered.
A cold hiss slipped through the cracks of Kaien's composure, before he could put the mask back on. There was not a day Mei did not have a customer, new people walking in this particular hotel.
They all needed a roof over their heads, but the problem? There were so many visits that she had to build separate branches, this hotel included.
'Nothing was wrong, so why do I feel this way?'
His brain geared for a solution, but one was at the forefront. It knocked on his mental doors relentlessly, his heart racing uneasily.
At this, all his muscles tensed up like silent warning alarms going off. He had to turn around, because moving forward was dangerous. He was not special. He didn't need power like theirs to notice it. There was something he may not want to encounter up ahead.
He was weak, and the realization was eating him from the inside-out.
He was on edge, scanning the area as he moved despite his instincts protesting. He had will, but it was like a drop to a pond for an ordinary human. What did it amount to in the face of supernatural adversity?
It raised a lot of doubts.
"Why walk into a dangerous zone again?"
With a lightning-fast response, Naruko replied with an intensity she could never manage in his presence, "Mei could be in trouble."
Kaien blinked slowly. He stared at the porcelein door in front him. How many times had he sighed? He lost count but this one was probably the loudest one. His hand was on the handle, turning it slowly.
'Yeah but... I feel like there is something wrong here.'