Chapter 19: Mom Talk and Body Swaps
(Or: How I Accidentally Became Someone's Son)
Okay, so I've fought monsters, trained under terrifying cultivators, and survived more life-or-death situations than any thirteen-year-old should reasonably have on his résumé.
But none of that prepared me for…
Mothers.
I opened the door to Kaito's house—still not completely used to thinking of it as home—and was immediately greeted by the warm smell of dinner cooking and the sound of a laugh track coming from the television.
There she was.
Miki Hoshino.
Sitting comfortably on the couch, eyes glued to some overly dramatic soap opera. The kind where people cried in slow motion while clutching flowers and dramatically revealing that someone's cousin's husband's dead brother was secretly alive.
She looked so…
Peaceful.
The kind of peaceful I wasn't used to.
"Welcome home, sweetie!" she called cheerfully without even turning around.
Yeah.
That hit me right in the chest.
For a moment, I just stood there like a statue carrying a bag full of emotional problems.
It had been easier before.
Pretend this was temporary.
Pretend I was just borrowing Kaito's life until Master Jin figured everything out.
But now I knew Kaito was safe.
I'd spoken to him.
Fought him.
Been insulted by him.
Watched him misuse my Sect's Arts in ways that made me question several generations of Ninja education.
He was alive.
And Miki deserved to know.
This woman wasn't just a mother.
She was Kaito's mother.
And she loved him.
Really loved him.
Not because he was talented.
Not because he was useful.
Not because he contained an Abyss creature that could serve as a deterrent against enemy Sects.
Just because he was her son.
I'd overheard enough since arriving to understand how precious Kaito was to her. She had lost two pregnancies before finally having him.
Kaito was her miracle.
And here I was wearing his face.
"Hey… Miki-san?"
She glanced over and smiled.
"Hmm? You only call me that when you're trying to be polite or when you've broken something."
I smiled awkwardly.
"Nothing's broken."
Technically.
"Much."
Her eyes narrowed.
"But I need to tell you something. And it's going to sound really weird."
She paused the television.
Okay.
Progress.
I took a breath.
"I'm not Kaito."
Silence.
Then she laughed.
"Pfft! What is this? Some prank?"
She glanced around the room.
"Are you recording me?"
"No."
I swallowed.
"I mean it. My name is Ren Kisaragi. Kaito and I somehow exchanged souls. His soul is inside my body in another world, and mine is inside his body here."
Another silence.
Longer this time.
Her smile slowly disappeared.
She looked at me.
Really looked.
Not at Kaito's face.
At me.
"…This is a joke, right?"
I didn't laugh.
"No."
"Miki-san… your son is okay."
Her expression changed immediately.
"He's safe. He's with my master and people from my Sect. I can speak to him when we sleep because whoever caused this created some kind of shared dream realm between us."
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the couch.
"I would never intentionally let anything happen to him. But I couldn't keep pretending around you."
I looked down.
"You love him too much. You deserve to know."
I expected shouting.
Crying.
Maybe she'd slap me.
Maybe she'd call the police and I'd have to explain dimensional soul displacement to someone carrying a badge.
Instead, Miki leaned back against the couch.
Her hands were trembling.
Just slightly.
Then she asked the one question that mattered.
"Is he in danger?"
I blinked.
"What?"
"My son." Her voice was quieter now. "Is Kaito in danger right now?"
I shook my head immediately.
"No."
That wasn't entirely a guarantee when Master Jin was involved, but probably not the time to mention training accidents.
"He's protected by people far stronger than me. Master Jin is with him. He's training and learning how to use my body."
I paused.
"Possibly enjoying it way too much."
Her lips twitched.
"He's safe?"
"Yes."
"And you've spoken to him?"
"Almost every night."
Miki closed her eyes.
Her shoulders dropped.
"Then…"
She exhaled shakily.
"I suppose I can deal with the rest."
My mouth fell open.
"That's it?"
She opened one eye.
"What?"
"I just told you that your son got sent to another universe and I'm a Ninja from a cultivation Sect currently occupying his body!"
"Yes."
"You're taking this way too calmly."
Miki gave me a long look.
"Ren."
"Yeah?"
"I raised Kaito."
"…Right."
"You think I haven't spent fifteen years expecting something strange to eventually happen to that boy?"
I had absolutely no response to that.
Inside my chest, though, something loosened.
Miki smiled again.
Not quite as easily as before.
There was still fear behind it.
But it was real.
"So… Ren Kisaragi?"
"Yes."
"Welcome."
I blinked.
"Welcome?"
"You're living in my house, eating my food, and apparently keeping my son's body alive until he comes home."
She pointed at me.
"So until then, I suppose you're my responsibility too."
Something inside me went very quiet.
"…Yes, ma'am."
And just like that…
I gained a mother.
Sort of.
You ever faced an Abyss creature?
You ever been thrown through a wall by someone several cultivation realms above you?
You ever had to explain to a determined mother that you're a dimension-swapped Ninja and that normal school life isn't exactly high on your list of priorities?
Yeah.
That was nothing compared to what came next.
After I told Miki the truth—and somehow survived—I figured maybe she'd tell me to rest.
Maybe process the whole my son is in another universe thing.
Maybe cry.
Instead, her eyes narrowed.
Her arms crossed.
And warm, understanding Miki transformed into something infinitely more terrifying.
Mom Mode.
"So…" she said slowly. "What exactly are you planning to do while you're inside Kaito's body?"
I blinked.
"Train?"
Her eyebrow moved.
"Fight bad guys?"
Higher.
"Build a group of loyal fighters and eventually take control of the local delinquent scene?"
Silence.
"…Try again."
"Eat noodles?"
"Ren."
I sighed and scratched the back of my head.
"Look, I understand. You're worried. But I'm a Ninja. School isn't exactly my specialty."
"You're inside Kaito's body."
"Yes."
"And Kaito is a student at Seika Academy."
I stared.
"Yes?"
"Do you know how much effort we put into getting him into that school?"
"…A lot?"
"A lot."
She raised one finger.
Somehow it felt more threatening than a dagger.
"And I love my son dearly, but Kaito has never exactly been an academic genius."
"That sounds accurate."
"So while you are here, you're going to school."
I stared.
"You're going to study."
"Miki-san—"
"You're going to get good grades."
"But—"
"And eventually Kaito is going to find a nice girl, settle down, and give me grandchildren."
I froze.
"…What?"
She nodded.
"Grandchildren."
"I'm thirteen!"
"You're currently in a fifteen-year-old body."
"That does not improve this conversation!"
"My friends keep talking about their children settling down."
"Miki-san, I'm dealing with a soul swap!"
"You still need a future."
"I'm trying to build a gang!"
She stared at me.
Oops.
We both went silent.
My brain replayed the previous sentence.
I'm trying to build a gang.
Oh no.
Miki's eyes narrowed.
"And what exactly is this about a gang?"
Cue the imaginary record scratch.
I did what any honorable Ninja would do when caught completely unprepared.
I lied terribly.
"Did I say gang?"
"Yes."
"Haha! Weird. I meant… games."
"Ren."
"Group games."
"Ren."
"Competitive group athletics?"
Her stare could have penetrated a Darkness Barrier.
I sighed.
"Fine."
Time to Ninja up.
"There are student gangs around here."
"What kind of gangs?"
"Mostly delinquent groups. Fighters. Turf disputes. Stuff like that."
"And?"
"And…"
I smiled nervously.
"I decided to take them over."
Miki stared at me.
"…You what?"
I immediately raised both hands.
"It sounds worse when you say it like that."
"You said it!"
"Right, but context!"
"What possible context makes taking over teenage gangs sound reasonable?"
"Training!"
Silence.
I nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes. Training."
"You are becoming a gang leader…"
"Yes."
"…for training."
"Yes."
Her eyes closed.
She rubbed her forehead.
I continued because stopping now would imply I understood how ridiculous this sounded.
"I don't have my real body. I don't have my Ki. I can't use most of my Arts. I'm weaker here, which means fighting and training against normal people actually helps."
"That still doesn't explain becoming their leader."
"Organization."
"Ren."
"Leadership experience?"
"Ren."
"And I'm trying to stop them from randomly attacking people!"
That one actually made her pause.
I continued quickly.
"If I'm stronger than them and they listen to me, I can set rules. No attacking civilians. No bullying weaker kids. No dragging families into fights. They can fight each other if everyone agrees to it, train, compete—whatever."
Miki looked like she was trying to decide whether this was surprisingly responsible or completely insane.
Possibly both.
"And before you ask," I added, "Earth isn't as normal as Kaito thought it was."
Her expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
"There are supernatural things here."
She stared.
"Like what?"
"Magicians. Martial artists. spirits. magical creatures. Demons from another world."
Her mouth slowly opened.
"My Sect already knew Earth had a hidden supernatural society. Ordinary people just aren't supposed to know about it."
I pointed at myself.
"And I met a Magical Girl almost immediately after arriving."
"A…"
Miki blinked.
"Magical Girl?"
"Frilly outfit. Sparkles. Magic. Healed my hand."
She stared at me.
"You're serious."
"Unfortunately."
I scratched my cheek.
"I thought I was hallucinating at first."
Miki sat back.
"So your argument is that because secret magicians and Demons apparently exist…"
"Yes."
"…you need to conquer teenage street gangs."
I smiled.
"When you put it like that, it sounds extremely efficient."
She stared at me for a very long time.
Then sighed.
"Why couldn't you just become obsessed with video games like a normal teenager?"
"Video games don't make Kaito's body stronger."
"Somehow I knew you were going to say that."
"Building a network gives me information too. If weird things happen around the city, more people means more eyes."
That actually made her think.
"And I promise I'm not trying to become some criminal mastermind."
"That's comforting."
"I'm just trying to become a delinquent king."
"Less comforting."
"Fair."
Miki sighed again.
"You're still going to school."
"I figured."
"You will not sell drugs."
"I wasn't planning to."
"You will not steal."
"Obviously."
"You will not extort people."
"No."
"And if you get arrested…"
She pointed toward the door.
"…I am not bailing you out."
"Reasonable."
"Also, wear a helmet."
I blinked.
"What?"
"A helmet."
"Why would I—"
"Because you've already come home bleeding once, and if you lose any more brain cells, I'll have to homeschool you."
I stared.
"That was mean."
"It was maternal."
"Those aren't the same thing."
She smiled.
Then her expression softened.
"Just…"
Her voice became quieter.
"Be careful, alright?"
I stopped joking.
Miki looked down at her hands.
"I lost two children before Kaito."
I swallowed.
"And now my son is somewhere I can't reach him."
She looked back at me.
"And you're standing here wearing his face."
There was no anger in her voice.
That somehow made it worse.
"So whether you're Kaito or Ren or some impossible combination of both right now…"
Her eyes softened.
"…I don't want to lose another child."
That hit harder than any weapon ever had.
My mother had died when I was born.
I had never known what it was like to have someone look at me like that.
Not as Ballom's Vessel.
Not as a Ninja.
Not as something dangerous that needed monitoring.
Just…
A kid who should come home safely.
"I'll be careful," I said quietly.
"Promise?"
I nodded.
"Promise."
Miki smiled.
"Good."
She stood.
"Now wash up. Lunch is in twenty minutes."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And Ren?"
I turned.
"Yes?"
"School starts again soon."
My shoulders dropped.
"I know."
"And about the marriage thing…"
"No."
"I haven't even finished."
"No."
"I made a list."
My blood ran cold.
"…A list?"
She cheerfully reached toward the table and picked up a pink notebook.
I stared at it like it contained a forbidden sealing formation.
"Potential girls."
"YOU WHAT?!"
"Good grades. Nice families. Responsible personalities."
"Miki-san!"
"You can never prepare too early."
"I'M NOT EVEN YOUR ACTUAL SON!"
"You're borrowing him."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE THIS BETTER!"
She laughed as she headed toward the kitchen.
I stood there in horror.
I had faced monsters.
Killed enemies.
Survived Ballom's power leaking through my seal.
Fought gang members carrying weapons.
And somehow…
this was the real boss battle.
Ren Kisaragi—Ninja of the Veiled Moon Sect, Foundation Establishment cultivator, Vessel of the Master of Death, aspiring king of local delinquents—
went to wash his hands before lunch because his temporary mother told him to.
Some battles just weren't worth fighting.