Commandments of Capturing

Chapter 10 – Making Bonds

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ and Date A Live/デート・ア・ライブ

Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki & Tachibana Koishi

Written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: An AU world where 'Date A Live' & 'The World Only God Knows' happens simultaneously.

Author's Notes: Thank you, bowpurity for the beta edit!

..

'I'll see you tomorrow then, Tohka.'

Keima answered patiently to Tohka as the taller girl looked pitifully at Keima while wriggling her body from side to side. If his eyes were not fooling him, the hair ribbons on top of her head were also flopping about in sync with her wriggling. Like how he had mentioned earlier, due to Tohka's inexperience and naivety to the norms of human culture and behavior, her innocent and expressive expressions and movements were disgustingly adorable. They were clearly formidable enough to cause even Reine to lose focus when faced with such an adorable sight.

Keima imagined that if Tohka was gifted with a pair of dog ears and accompanied with a tail, she would no doubt be waving her tail to match. If that happened, even Keima would have to pause at that adorable sight. Thankfully though it did not materialize and Keima simply treated her like how she looked like and petted her head reassuringly like how he would to a puppy.

An adorable puppy, he might like to add, even if that was still a mean thing to describe a person.

However, as mentioned before, Katsuragi Keima was the Capturing God after all, and since Tohka was not his heroine, nor was she a 'target' and was simply a person that he 'saved', it was just business as usual for him.

To save the sheep that needed to be saved and guided was his duty as God after all.

'B-But...'

Tohka gave her the patented puppy-eyes that showed how attached she was to him, and to be honest, it had been a while since Keima had been subjected to such an 'attack'. The last time it had been executed against him was from Nakagawa Kanon, the Top Idol of Japan, and if he had not been taken out by that attack then, he was certainly not going to be affected by Tohka's attack.

'Be good and stay with Reine-san. Just like how I wouldn't want to worry you, I hope that you don't make me worry about you as well. I'll definitely see you tomorrow, Tohka.'

Keima ruffled Tohka's hair a little more gently before pinching Tohka's cheeks lightly.

'You're stronger than that, Tohka. You are, aren't you?'

Keima tried searching for the proud girl that had disappeared into the abyss of Tohka's fragile heart in order to break Tohka from this 'separation phase'. It was silly, but he didn't think that Tohka would be so clingy and insecure. He supposed that she was still worried that AST would try to get their hands on him.

'Mm mm... I am, I am... so, please don't worry about Tohka. But I worry about Keima...'

Tohka pouted as she unleashed yet another derey-derey attack straight at Keima. Clinically, Keima also noted that Reine was now slowly moving away from Tohka with her hands pinching her nose, probably in an attempt to stop a nosebleed at the diabetic inducing 'sweet' aura that Tohka was creating around her.

How clingy and derey-derey can Tohka get anyway?

..

'Tohka... if we keep on dragging this, I'll have to spend the night here.'

Keima remarked with a sigh and this time the image of Tohka wagging her tail eagerly was reinforced in Keima's mind as Tohka hurriedly latched on to Keima's arms eagerly.

'Then stay, Keima! Stay! I'll be happier and I won't need to worry about you! Keima won't need to worry about me too! I promise to protect Keima from all those mean people.'

Tohka gave a confident smile even as Keima remained unmoved, moving only to scratch his head slightly as he reminded Tohka about 'common sense'.

'Not everyone is there to hurt me, or you, Tohka. The people in Fraxinus are busy preparing your room so you could rest well. They aren't about to hurt you.'

'I-I know that! I'm not stupid after all!'

Tohka retorted even as she blushed, one hand pressed against his hips in annoyance at Keima's insinuation.

'Then you should stop talking about how you need to protect me, Tohka... people would find it suspicious. We are high school students after all. That's what you wanted right?'

'Ughhh... I... I don't really understand why I need to go to school...'

Tohka gave a sad whimper even as she looked pitiful all over again. From the preliminary knowledge test that Tohka had gone through, it was determined that she knew almost absolutely nothing except for language and some basic knowledge that was consistent with a ten year old. How she knew all that was unknown to her, she definitely didn't learn that from someone, that was sure. It was like they born out of nowhere. What he was concerned about was how there was apparently someone who could match up with Elsi in being a ditz. That comment did cause Haqua to be quite upset with Keima for obvious reasons.

'I'm a high school student, to spend time with me, you would have to attend school. Plus, attending school would definitely integrate you into human society faster, Tohka.'

Keima explained patiently for the umpteenth time today without missing a beat. Normally people would have gotten frustrated at this point, and even Keima's patience was wearing thin at how Tohka was behaving.

She was behaving just like a kid!

'I... I understand... but Keima, won't you just stay with me? Just for tonight? Please?'

Tohka was stubbornly clinging on to Keima. It seemed that even with all of his efforts to try and placate Tohka, he would not be able to get out of this, at least till his phone rang and he excused himself to take the call.

..

'Hello?'

'Ah, Keima-kun... where are you?!'

It was his mother, Katsuragi Mari, and she was extremely upset with him for her scream over the phone was enough to make Tohka flinch.

'I found someone who needed my help and I was with her.'

Keima's answer was as truthful as could be, perhaps it's a little too blunt for it made Tohka gave a startled cry in surprise. Reine on the other hand had given up utterly and was now squatting while mumbling incomprehensibly to herself. Keima's blunt answer had the intended effect for Mari too gave a startled noise of surprise before falling absolutely silent.

'K-Keima, who was that? Was it those mean people? What are you doing now? What is that?'

'My mother called.'

Keima answered patiently even as he thanked his lucky stars that Mari had called him. The news was enough to cause Tohka to go catatonic as she simply clung on harder to him without thinking about the repercussions of what might happen due to her act. Namely, how her well-endowed body was pressing against him even as Keima struggled to keep his calm.

The remaining and hidden member that was in the teleporter room was Haqua and the demon girl was rolling her eyes at what was happening again. After all the things that she had witnessed so far, she told herself to not get too worked up over every single thing that Keima did. Haqua had finally seen the light so to speak, it was useless to dwell too much on Keima's action and what he would get himself to as common sense does not apply to him. So why bother? In any case, getting worked up for nothing would be bad for her health in the long run.

'So, Keima-kun, let me get this straight.'

Mari sounded like she was nursing quite a headache even as Keima waited patiently for her.

'You found someone who needed your help.'

'Yes, just to make things clear, it was a girl.'

'…'

Keima knew that the suspension of belief was not swinging in his favor, but since it was already quite unbelievable, he might as well go for broke and make it as unbelievable as possible from the get go. That way he would save the trouble of explaining everything all over again later on.

'Keima-kun found a girl who needed your help.'

Mari tried again and when Keima agreed that was the case, she continued on.

'And so you helped her, right, Keima-kun?'

Mari sounded both apprehensive as well as proud, the former probably due to disbelief and the latter due to, well, him actually doing some good for once.

'Yes, I did what I could.'

'… You didn't get hurt did you? Did you hurt the girl? Did both of you get hurt?'

'No, we didn't get hurt.'

Mari sighed in relief before she got to the most important point.

'And you're still with her, why?'

'Because she still needs my help.'

Keima answered evenly and there was another long pause before Mari sighed deeply over the phone.

'You're not lying to me, are you?'

As a rule Keima doesn't lie to Mari, he just comes up with convenient excuses or 'forgotten' to inform her about several details within what he told her. It wasn't her fault that she didn't ask him in more detail, like now.

'No, what I said earlier was the truth.'

'T-That's good. I'm glad for you, Keima-kun, and I'll forgive you for being late for dinner today... so when will you be coming back home? It's starting to get late, and there was a spacequake earlier in the day... be careful okay?'

Even if Keima had earlier said that he wouldn't want Tohka to spend the night at his place, if he was going to give any debriefing to Elsi and Haqua, he would have no choice but to break that rule for once. He didn't like it and he certainly didn't approve of it. But it was the most efficient and effective way to deal with Tohka now, especially since it was getting late.

'It all depends on when she would let me leave. She has ran away from home and has no place to go.'

Keima answered evenly and his words caused Tohka to look up at Keima, her puppy-eyes trying to tempt Keima again. Out of the corner of his eye, Keima saw Reine looking up sharply from her squatting position in confusion.

'Ah, so that person ran away from home... Well, if she had asked Keima-kun for help, that means she can't go to her friends' house right? … It's really getting quite late... I guess it can't be helped.'

Mari gave another sigh before cheering up significantly over the phone.

'It's ok, bring her home, Keima-kun. We'll let her stay at our place today. We can't allow a girl to sleep outside after all.'

That was the reply that Keima and perhaps Tohka was waiting for as he agreed to Mari's suggestion.

'We'll be right back then.'

..

'Ah, ah... I-I'm Tohka!'

Tohka bowed nervously to Mari even as the older woman smiled warmly at the runaway Spirit in front of her. Behind Tohka was Keima with a bored expression on his face, his eyes back to focusing on his PFP even as Elsi came running to the front door as well.

'You're back, Kami-Onii-sama! Ah, ahh! Who's this?'

Elsi gave Tohka a welcoming smile too even as Mari introduced herself.

'I'm Katsuragi Mari, I'm Keima-kun's mother. I've heard all about it from Keima-kun, don't worry and welcome to our home.'

Mari coaxed and welcomed Tohka in even as Keima opened the door to allow Haqua in as well.

'This is a long day, Katsuragi.'

Haqua yawned slightly and her shoulders sagged in disappointment when Keima said that it wasn't over just yet. The real battle begins tomorrow.

'But what are you going to do about Tohka? She is... a Spirit after all. Even if she's all over you at this point.'

Haqua made a face as she said that, but Keima didn't care like always even as the two of them headed to the living room where he asked Haqua whether she would like some tea.

'Ah, don't mind if I do. Thank you, Katsuragi.'

'We'll talk later on that... but right now, the sooner that I can shake Tohka of my tail, the better.'

Keima admitted without any emotion even as Haqua shook her head at how cold Keima could get, even to a girl who was obviously in love with him.

'Sadly, I'm not sure that is really the case here. As to whether it is truly love or rather an admiration for a savior... we would have the chance to determine that in a later time.'

Keima's answer made Haqua frown even as she nodded in agreement. Keima would no doubt explain himself in due course. Right now, all she could do was to reorganize the information she had and to give a detailed briefing of what had been going on in the shadows behind their backs. Especially the conversation that Kotori had with the Rounds.

..

'We should get you cleaned up a little. Do you have any spare clothes?'

'N-No... I don't!'

Tohka might seem to be a little cold at the start, but Mari instead associated her like a startled animal being caught in a trap. Her eyes were constantly darting about frantically and her heart went out to her. Whatever had happened to her, she was still very traumatized by it.

'Don't worry dear, we'll lend you some clothes. Elsi-chan, could you lend her one of your pyjamas and some clothes too?'

'Of course! I'll get them right now!'

'And a towel please dear!'

Even as Elsi hurried off, Mari took the time to access the situation again as Tohaka was looking curiously at her this time while being ushered into the bathroom for her to take a quick bath.

'M-Mari-san?'

'Yes, what is it Tohka-chan?'

'W-Why... are you so nice to me... why is everyone, so nice to me?'

Tohka's question made Mari pause before she gave a big smile in return.

'There's no reason why people are kind or nice to others, Tohka-chan. As for me, I just want to help Tohka-chan.'

Mari guessed that Tohka probably had very low self-esteem, and seeing how she was so frightened most of the time, she was probably right. The cause was probably whatever happened to her before she sought out Keima for help. That son of hers was surprisingly dependable at situations like this, just like his father.

'T-Then... it's the same as how people doesn't like me then?'

'… Who said that to you, Tohka-chan, how could anyone not like you?'

Mari asked cautiously for she was sure that this would was a topic that would eventually lead to a landmine if she wasn't careful. Her initial assessment of Tohka was that of a very adorable but desperately nervous girl. If she didn't know the circumstances behind Tohka being here, she would have thought that she was a girl coming to visit her boyfriend's family for the first time!

But Tohka's question made Mari even sure that something had gone terribly wrong with her for her to actually ask such a terrible question.

'Many mean people said that to me... they said... that I should die... that I shouldn't be here... Even if the people on the ship said that they don't feel that way, I, I ju -'

Before Tohka could continue on, Mari had hugged her, pressing Tohka into her chest even as she patted Tohka's head softly and gently to reassure the confused Spirit. Tohka wasn't bitter or sad about what happened between her and the AST, she hadn't known what was going on then and had fought back to save herself. Even after she had been saved by Keima, the most she had felt was nervousness as well as confusion about what would happen to her now that she was saved. She was of course afraid for Keima and what would happen to him due to her, but in general she wasn't as bothered or concerned as she was curious about how the humans would treat her.

Of course Mari didn't know that and she believed that Tohka only said that because she had been abused, bullied and perhaps even abandoned by her parents for something that wasn't her fault. Without knowing it, Tohka had earned even more points with Mari as she continued hugging her to give her comfort.

'Don't ever say that again, Tohka-chan. You shouldn't believe what those mean people say, you're a nice person Tohka-chan. No one should ever say so terrible things about you without knowing you better.'

Mari explained but then she had to give an awkward chuckle when Tohka pointed out that Mari didn't know her as well.

'I just know. Because Keima-kun believes in you, since he knows more about you and trusts you, I'll trust you as well.'

'… Keima does... Mm, he said that he'll save me. He saved me from those mean people. I'm really happy he did that, Mari!'

Tohka gave a happy chuckle even as Mari nodded her head in agreement. Her son has done some real good today by saving Tohka from those people that was harassing her.

'After we're done with the bath, let's get you something to eat, okay?'

'Eat...? O-Okay! Okay!'

Tohka cheered even as Mari turned on the hot water even as Elsi knocked to hand them a set of towels.

'Why don't Ohka-sama take a bath with Tohka-san? I'll help prepare my room for Tohka-san~ Okay, Ohka-sama?'

'Mm... why not? Is that okay, Tohka-chan?'

'A-Ahh... I... I don't... I-It's my first time...'

'Kyaa~ Tohka-chan is so cute!'

As the sounds of splashing water, giggling and struggling started to fill the bathroom, Elsi closed the door and told herself that she shouldn't get involved.

'Ohka-sama is sure excited over cute things.'

Elsi remarked cheerfully to herself even as she made her way to the two who were waiting for her in the living room.

..

'So Kami-Onii-sama was able to make a Spirit fall in love with you?'

Elsi posed the question as innocently as she could even as Keima answered in affirmative while he continued his gaming. Haqua too seemed resigned, or perhaps more amused at how Elsi could take it so easily.

'But Kami-Onii-sama... that's not like Capturing Weiss, you don't deal with the spirits by making them fall in love with you to fill the gaps in their hearts like with Weiss!'

Elsi's words made Haqua choke in surprise and in amusement, Keima himself also paused at Elsi's words before shaking his head, hand-waving the incident away.

'That might be the case, but since it happened, we should focus on what happens next.'

'That's true... but Kami-Onii-sama, would Tohka-san be staying with us for a while? Ohka-sama seems to have misunderstood what happened to Tohka-san. I think so, she was trying to comfort Tohka-san just now!'

Elsi reported even as Keima shrugged dismissively at her question.

'It would be too much of a hassle for us to get involved now. We'll let Tohka handle it, at any rate, she might be a match for you when it comes to common sense...'

'Match... for me?'

'Never mind that, do you have anything to report about what happened earlier on, Haqua?'

Elsi had been briefly brought up to date on the situation and she now knew that they were probably going to face some difficulty from the higher-ups in New-Hell for directly getting involved in this mess. Even if it was authorized by Kotori, it was also a matter of fact that Keima actively accepted and took initiative for that role. Perhaps he wasn't the only person who wanted this entire fiasco to end, or it was plainly because Keima wasn't sure whether Shido would ever be able to capture the Princess after that devastating setback and failure of his to account Tobiichi Origami into the equation.

It was certainly going to be awkward tomorrow, but before the conversation could continue, the doorbell to the Café rang, causing everyone to look at each other in surprise before Elsi hurried over to see who it was.

'Who could that be? Could it be Reine-san or Kotori-san?'

Haqua asked casually before Keima told her to be quiet and to watch what she was saying. Haqua was of course affronted by the rude way that he was ordering her around, but then he explained that she should not have known those people at all.

'Since you weren't introduced to them at all and I'm not the kind to gossip, you do not know them at all.'

Keima tried to press home the point a bit more till Haqua shook her head and chuckled awkwardly to try and cover up what Keima had been saying for she recognized the person who had dropped by to visit.

'I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend, Katsuragi, but why is a girl here so late at night?'

'I am not Katsuragi's girlfriend. I am already taken.'

The visitor didn't smile at the joke Haqua cracked even as she strode purposefully to Keima with a steely expression on her face. Behind her, Elsi was unsure what to do even as Keima sighed after seeing who that was.

It was Tobiichi Origami, talk of the devil indeed.

..

'Good evening, Katsuragi.'

'Good evening... or night, Tobiichi-san... and welcome... may I ask what is the purpose of your visit?'

Keima answered even as he poured a cup of tea for Origami even as Elsi sat beside him nervously. Haqua on the other hand was hovering over at the living room uncertainly. She really did want to excuse herself to get some rest for tomorrow, but it was perhaps a good idea to just hang around for a while to see if fireworks and fur fly.

'To determine whether Katsuragi has a brain or common sense.'

Origami was as blunt with her words like Katsuragi, and the comment made Haqua dive down to hide her snickers at having his flaws being pointed out in his face. Well granted the former was probably too much, but the latter was definitely true.

'That depends on who you are. As God, I believe we exist in different planes, in that regard, you have no right to comment on my views as well as my common sense.'

Keima's reply made Origami pause for a moment and she visibly fought very hard to sigh deeply, giving up in the end and proceeded to ignore what Keima said earlier for the sake of her own sanity.

'If you are truly hell bent on calling yourself God, why are you still sheltering the Princess? You had seen what she has done and what she is capable of. What has she done to deserve your fanatical protection?'

'It seems that you are very worked up, Tobiichi-san, please do calm down... I am not fanatically protecting Tohka, but it is true that I have no intention of letting you or your organisation hurt her.'

'… You have no idea who she is, Katsuragi. I, we, do not care what you feel for her, or what she has told you, but the fact remains is that she should die for being a threat and danger to us all.'

Origami was still fixated on that point, something that Keima was actually glad to witness, for it meant that at least she was consistent with her words and back-story, not to mention that by admitting this outright to him, she was not shying away from what he had witnessed earlier.

Even if Tobiichi Origami's route was not one that he should meddle or take part in, Keima felt that it would give a clearer picture of what and who Itsuka was for so many parties to take interest in him.

'I trust her.'

'You are putting your family and yourself at risk by doing so. She is nothing but a monster.'

Origami stressed to Keima, but was unable to continue further when another voice told her to stop.

'That's enough.'

It was Mari, and she looked very upset and angry even as Tohka clung onto her clothes behind her. Even if Tobiichi Origami didn't quite flinch or react to the angry voice behind her, she did hesitate while Keima sighed.

This was out of his hands now.

'I think it's time for you leave, Tobiichi-san...'

Author's Notes: This is actually the most action packed day so far. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Thank you for your guy's support! Really appreciate it!