Chomp3r

Subaru returns from the convenience store and doesn't get isekaied. He goes to sleep isolated in his room like normal.

He wakes up the next morning to a random guy asleep in bed next to him.

And Subaru freaks out. That's what makes a Subaru a Subaru.

Rein is just as baffled and wary. He's on guard checking for threats, including this weird boy in front of him, who reeks of miasma. Subaru is so busy freaking out that he doesn't notice Rein's suspicion.

Yep, while not being isekaied, the Witch Factor was still implanted in him.

Rein gets convinced fairly quickly that this guy is not a threat, at least voluntarily. He's just so...loud about everything. He doubts he could lie to him even if he tried.

Eventually things calm enough for them to start talking, but not for long because then Kenichi walks in.

By this point, Subaru has realized this guy is a special kind of Not Normal. They were sitting next to each other on the bed talking things out. When Subaru finally realizes that this guy is not some weirdass cosplayer that broke into his room with a real fucking sword to cuddle with him, he's ecstatic and all up in his face, chatting excitedly and Rein has no clue what to do about this rush of innocent friendliness and just freezes.

Kenichi walks in on his son leaning in close to this random red-haired boy on his bed with a look of utter joy on his face.

If Kenichi and Naoko didn't think their son was gay before, they're convinced now.

Showing Rein to Subaru's parents goes surprisingly better than it could've for a variety of reasons: 1) Rein's knightly politeness and genuine friendliness grows on them 2) Subaru isn't freaking out anymore and is instead making up a story on the spot of Rein being a foreign exchange student he met on his first day in school and that he was just checking up on him 3) That look on Subaru's face when he was looking at Rein in excitement was the liveliest Kenichi saw his son in months.

Naoko: Where are you from, Reinhard? Subaru:...Europe. Kenichi: Where in Europe? Subaru: North...Europe.

Rein tries his best to follow Subaru's lead as they try to talk to him directly. Subaru is trying to coach him through it in the most convoluted series of charades ever over his parents' shoulders.

Reinhard is amused and tries to use his DP of Telepathy to ask Subaru questions in the middle of this. It...doesn't work?

Somehow, they (seem to) get away with it. And going off his name, believe that Rein is a foreign exchange student from Germany that snuck into Subaru's place to "check up on him."

They compliment his great Japanese and Subaru is just like "Yes, and he just wants to talk in Japanese, while he's here. No German!"

The minute they're able to get away from them, Rein tries to test out various DPs. Sure enough Telepathy, Empathy, and Airdashing don't work. His speed and senses are still pretty sharp, but much slower and duller than what he's used to, something he noticed upon waking up but was hoping would adjust back in time.

Rein: *Tosses a stick to Subaru* Subaru: *Catches it* Rein: *Turns around* Try to hit me, if you would please. Subaru: HAAAH?!

Conclusion: While his battle prowess and muscle memory are uncompromised, the intuitive triggers of his DPs of First Sight and Second Coming did not occur.

They continue to experiment with this for a while, and Subaru starts to learn about DPs from Rein. This is his first real flag that Rein isn't just some run-of-the-mill Arthurian knight.

Subaru is able to flesh out more of a cover story for him: Rein isn't going to school anymore because his mother is sick, and he needs to get home (Rein makes a face at that, but Subaru decides not to pause and question it), but there are understandable issues with the costs of doing so as well as program cancelation fees, and his family back in Germany need time to get the money to bring him back. Subaru pitches it to his parents: Since he isn't in a school program anymore, he has no dorm to stay in, and he doesn't have much on him anyway. He's a minimalist so please can he stay for a while? Maybe a few months at most?

Surprisingly, this works, but Subaru's parents insist on him staying in one of the guest rooms and not with an extra futon in Subaru's room. Subaru is confused but doesn't ask them why.

And so that's their arrangement for a while. Rein and Subaru talk, find a routine together, and Rein just goes back and forth between a sense of intrigue and fascination with Subaru, the world around him, and Subaru's family and being more withdrawn and awkward as if he's trying not to call attention to himself. Subaru starts to suspect he may have a complicated family life, but it's none of his business so he doesn't pry.

Subaru makes it very clear that if he does have special powers, to not show them. There's no magic in this world and stuff like that could get him taken away by the government. Rein is alarmed and confused but ultimately does as he's told.