"Megumi, come eat something first!"
Fushiguro Tsumiki brought a fruit plate to Megumi, who was diligently doing homework.
"Thanks, Sis."
Megumi smiled, taking the plate and setting it on the table.
Although they both had the surname Fushiguro, the two weren't blood-related.
Megumi was the son of Toji Fushiguro and his late first wife. Tsumiki was the daughter of Toji's current wife and her previous husband.
Even so, Megumi and Tsumiki had a very good sibling relationship.
Ding-dong—
"Coming! Just a moment!"
Hearing the doorbell, Tsumiki called out as she walked to the door.
Peeking through the peephole, she was shocked to see Toji Fushiguro standing outside.
However, he was bruised and battered, with bandages wrapped around his forehead, looking quite disheveled.
After hesitating for a moment, Tsumiki still opened the door.
She looked at Toji with the indifference and curiosity one might show a stranger.
"D-Dad...?"
Toji nodded slightly in response, not upset by his daughter's distance.
Ever since marrying into the Fushiguro family, he rarely stayed home and seldom saw Tsumiki.
Although they were nominally father and daughter, they had never developed any father-daughter bond.
"Uh... please come in!"
Tsumiki stepped aside in a daze, clearly not yet used to Toji's presence.
Toji scratched his head, showing a rare embarrassed expression. "Thanks."
"Sis, who's there?"
Megumi's spiky hedgehog head poked out from his room.
The moment he saw Toji, disgust and dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes.
"You still know how to come home? Looking at you, did you lose a bet, couldn't pay up, and got beat up?"
"..."
Toji felt annoyed.
Damn you, Souma Gojo. He healed everything else but deliberately left the facial wounds.
What sick hobby!
"This... it's a work injury."
Toji explained, then paused, wondering why he was being so patient today.
"!"
Megumi was even more surprised.
This was the first time his deadbeat dad had directly responded to him, even speaking a full sentence.
But years of accumulated resentment made Megumi's words sharp.
"Work injury? Collecting debt for the mob and getting beat up?"
"..."
Toji rolled his eyes. His large hand reached out, covering Megumi's head and ruffling his hair vigorously.
Megumi's already wild hedgehog hair instantly transformed into a sea urchin.
"You bastard! Let go!"
Megumi struggled, but his strength was useless against Toji.
This feeling... isn't bad.
Toji thought, unconsciously laughing out loud.
"Hm???"
Megumi froze completely seeing the corners of his cheap dad's mouth curve up.
Something was wrong! Extremely wrong!
Did Dad get beaten stupid?
Toji then let go, walked into the room on his own, and lay sideways on the tatami mat, beckoning to Megumi.
"Hey! Get me a beer!"
"...Get lost!"
Megumi snorted coldly and stormed back to his room.
Tsumiki looked at Megumi, then at Toji.
Finally, she sighed and got a six-pack of beer from the fridge for Toji.
"Uh... thanks."
Facing this daughter with no blood relation, Toji didn't know what attitude to have.
But Tsumiki was sensible and obedient. What father wouldn't adore such a daughter?
Days passed.
Toji settled in, bickering with his son, chatting with his daughter, occasionally cooking on a whim, and even quitting his favorite gambling.
Megumi and Tsumiki gradually adapted from their initial awkwardness to life with an extra father figure.
That day, Megumi opened the door as usual to clean up Toji's empty beer cans.
Suddenly, he noticed something strange on Toji's body.
It looked like... a large, black-purple maggot wrapped around him.
Megumi froze for a moment, thinking he'd seen wrong. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
Feeling the bright gaze from behind, Toji turned curiously. "What's up?"
"Your body..."
Megumi pointed at the Inventory Curse, his expression incredulous.
"Hm?"
Toji raised an eyebrow, pointing at it. "You mean this?"
Megumi's eyes widened. "Huh? You can see it too? This... this is real?"
Toji grinned. He had already realized his son's situation.
Technique Awakening!
"Looks like it's time you learned some things... Hey, Tsumiki, come here."
Although Tsumiki had no jujutsu talent, they were family living under one roof. There was no point hiding it, and Toji didn't mind her knowing.
Then, Toji explained cursed energy and techniques to Megumi and Tsumiki.
After finishing, he took a sip of beer to moisten his dry throat.
As he anticipated their reactions, Tsumiki blinked.
"Dad, do you have a fever?"
"..."
Fair enough. To normal people, this really was fantasy talk.
But Megumi remained silent.
If he hadn't seen the Inventory Curse, he would have thought his dad had gone insane.
But he could see it, and he could clearly feel the cursed energy emanating from it!
"There's some fever medicine in the room. Wait here, Dad. I'll get it."
Toji covered his face, stopping Tsumiki.
To prove he wasn't crazy, he took her to the courtyard and demonstrated some sci-fi level feats right in front of her.
Watching Toji leap over ten meters in a single bound, Tsumiki finally believed.
Her eyes sparkled with stars. "Then Dad must be super strong in the jujutsu world, right? What do you do?"
"Uh, I'm a curse... cough cough!"
Looking at his innocent, kind daughter, Toji abruptly changed his words.
"I... count as a hired bodyguard."
Toji said guiltily, then, wanting to establish a fatherly image, continued:
"As for strength, of course I'm very strong. In the jujutsu world, the number who can beat me doesn't exceed one hand!"
"Wow~"
Tsumiki looked at him with admiration.
Megumi snorted beside her, scoffing. "A few days ago you came home black and blue, calling it a work injury. Clearly you got beat up and lost your job!"
Toji rolled his eyes. "That was because I ran into three people..."
"Didn't you say you're super strong, and only a handful can beat you?"
Megumi interrupted. "So those three were exactly that handful?"
Toji: "..."
You might not believe it, but damn right they were!