Kami-Jutsu: The Yakuza's Son is Aware-Chapter 4: Something Like a Pet

After they showed me what they had to, I told them to follow me.

I walked into the living room—with the visitor.

"Ara? Who’s that?" Mother tilted her head, amused.

I brought him before Grandfather, Father, and Najima.

"This... is my new pet," I said, gesturing toward the white, unfamiliar face.

"Wait, is that a wolf?" Father squinted at him.

"No, it’s a dog," I said.

"Woof!" he barked, helpfully reinforcing my claim.

Mother peered outside through the curtain. "But what about your friend who came to visit?"

"He’s a schoolmate," I said. "Dropped the dog off and left in a hurry."

"Hm. But shouldn’t we check the dog for bombs or hidden devices?" Najima asked, now gripping a knife she hadn’t been holding a second ago.

"I don’t think that’s necessary," I said, waving it off.

"Ohoho!" Grandfather laughed. "Let him be. This is the first time Ken-chan’s ever brought something like a pet home."

"I suppose it’s fine," Father added. "Welcome to the family, uh..."

He looked to me.

"Oh," I said. "He doesn’t have a name yet."

"I don’t care who Onii-sama brings home," Najima muttered, sliding the knife away. "As long as they don’t steal my time with you, there’ll be no bloodshed."

I left them to their chatter and went up to my room. I shut the door, locked the windows, then—

"Now, speak," I said to the wolf.

*

Earlier, outside, I’d realized the visitor waiting for me was the same wolf I’d seen on the roof of the Spiders’ hideout.

Only now, he was standing like a man, as the family were absent.

And talking.

Strange things had been happening lately. Too many, too fast. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Was there a connection?

That was what I wanted this wolf to explain.

"Wow, the Kurosawas are actually nice people when you talk with them," he said, leaping onto my bed and wallowing in the sheets. "But calling me your pet so casually... I guess I have no choice but to allow it—"

"Hey, wolf," I cut in. "Who... no. What are you?"

He turned to me. "Ah—sorry, sorry. Of course you wouldn’t recognize me like this."

He sat up properly and faced me.

He smelled faintly sweet. Like vanilla... but not quite. Almost medicinal.

"I used to be Hulin Kenvernd," he said, "a high-ranked Kami-Jutsu user in the Balance Faction of the mage world."

I blinked.

Kami-Jutsu?

Mages?

Wait—

"Is that what I was doing?" I asked. "Manipulating those strange particles—is that Kami-Jutsu?"

"You catch on fast," he said, nodding. "Yes. It is. And I was the one who awakened you the other day."

"Hm? Have we met somewhere?"

"Of course we’ve met before. In that alley in Kabukichō," he said, stretching. "When I was murdered."

He flopped over dramatically on the bed. "Yikes. Slashed to death in a filthy alley in a foreign land. And then some middle-schooler kicked my corpse in the balls."

Ah...

I remembered now.

He was that ghost I met two months ago, when I first became aware of these particles.

I wanted to apologize for hitting his groin, but saying it out loud was harder than I thought.

When I finally did, he brushed it off like it was nothing. Said what shocked him more was me ripping his heart out.

Apparently, after his death, Hulin—the wolf’s name—went to visit some old friends who owed him favors. He had them turn him into a familiar so he could continue his guardian duty.

"Every chosen one has had a Guardian," he said. "Except they all died after fulfilling their role as emissary of the particles."

"Hm? But you returned?" I asked.

"Yeah. I don’t want to stay dead. The world’s too interesting," he replied with a straight face.

What amazed me wasn’t just what he said, but how he could make facial expressions like a human. Even the way he twisted his limbs was oddly man-like.

To blend in and avoid drawing attention from my family, I had him stick to one color. Otherwise, he shifted between black and white, with one eye glowing blue and the other red.

Now, though, he appeared as a white wolf with red eyes, standing upright like a man.

"Alright, before I rant any further," Hulin said, crawling toward me with the gleam of an annoying nephew in his eyes, "Name me!"

Sigh.

As irritating as he could be, his existence was crucial right now. I knew little to nothing about this Kamijutsu ability, and he was my only reliable source.

But I had a feeling he was going to be outstandingly annoying.

"What kind of name?" I asked.

"A strong name! Or a flashy one!" he beamed. "If a familiar likes you and acknowledges you as their Master, naming them binds you in a pact—stronger than blood."

"If that’s the case, then no thanks. I can’t have that with you." I raised a hand to stop him.

"Hm? That so?" He grinned, smug. "Then I’ll just take my leave and accidentally spread the word that the Yakuza’s son was behind the massacr—okay I’m kidding, put the knife down!!"

I ended up giving in and named him.

The moment I did, I felt something shift—like a part of me extended outward and hooked into something else.

He wasn’t exaggerating. The connection was real. I could feel it in my core.

It was like a message whispered directly into my mind:

{Kurosawa Ken is now the Master and Lord over the Divine Beast, Myriad Fenrir.}

Said "Myriad Fenrir" was now visibly displeased, managing to pout despite his lupine features.

"Hmph! I asked for a flashy name, but are you sure you weren’t just being whimsical? How am I supposed to go around calling myself ’Ferrari’!?"

"What? You’re not satisfied?" I asked. "It even sounds like ’Fenrir.’"

"Now he’s mocking me! At least let people call me Ferry for short!"

Tsk. This beast is going to be obnoxious. And loud.

I glanced at him, already plotting: I better take what I need from him quickly, before I dispose of him.

Suddenly, his expression shifted to horror, and he bowed low. "Forgive me! Please don’t abandon me!"

Ah...

(You can hear my thoughts?)

(Yes sir. Loud and clear.)

Ugh. This just got even more unbearable.

Ferry went quiet for a while, then suddenly started demanding food.

He felt personally insulted when I told him I didn’t have any dog food.

Now, he was happily slurping ramen with chopsticks like a natural-born human.

That felt like the right time to question him.