Ginza Street, Tokyo.
"Master Suguru! This one, this one is super delicious!" Nanako pulled an almond crisp from a paper bag and fed a piece to Suguru Geto.
At this moment, Suguru Geto had Mimiko in his left arm and Nanako perched on his shoulders, the image of a perfect stay-at-home dad. He sighed helplessly while chewing on the snack.
"I am only sixteen years old. How did it come to this?"
Despite his words, Suguru was already over six feet tall and built like a seasoned fighter, looking nothing like a minor. To passersby, the trio looked exactly like a doting father with two adorable daughters.
As they walked, Suguru suddenly stopped, staring blankly at the person in front of him. Standing opposite was a powerfully built man holding the hands of a young boy and a young girl.
Toji Fushiguro looked at Suguru, then at Nanako and Mimiko. "Your daughters?"
Suguru almost lost his composure. "No. I am only sixteen."
"Sisters?"
"Not exactly. They are orphans I adopted."
Toji glanced at Nanako and Mimiko with interest. "They look like they have decent talent for jujutsu."
Suguru scanned the boy Toji was holding and his eyes widened in surprise. This aura: it was a very powerful innate technique.
Seeing this, Toji introduced him with a smirk. "My son, Megumi Fushiguro."
Megumi looked at Suguru and felt a strange sensation: this man was a sorcerer, and a very strong one. He stepped forward politely and bowed. "Hello. I am Megumi Fushiguro."
Toji then patted the head of the little girl on his right. "This is my daughter, Tsumiki Fushiguro."
"Hello!"
"Hi, I am Nanako Hasaba!"
"I am Mimiko Hasaba!"
Nanako and Mimiko replied cheerfully. Tsumiki, seeing two girls her age, immediately wanted to be friends. Toji tilted his head. "Seems like the kids have plenty to talk about. There is a cafe nearby. Want to join?"
With nothing better to do, Suguru nodded. He also wanted to ask Toji how to properly take care of two children.
If Megumi knew what Suguru was thinking, he would have told him it was a pipe dream. A dad who takes good care of kids? It was Monday: why were he and Tsumiki not in school? It was because a certain "dad" overslept and forgot to drop them off. Instead of fixing the mistake, the man simply called the school to excuse them and dragged them out for a shopping spree.
Inside the cafe.
Being the same age and having gentle personalities, Tsumiki, Nanako, and Mimiko bonded quickly. Megumi remained quiet, his somewhat stoic face reminding Suguru of his junior, Nanami.
"Congratulations. I heard you were promoted to Special Grade recently." Toji downed his coffee in one gulp, drinking it with the rough gusto of someone at a roadside beer stall.
In comparison, Suguru was much more elegant. "I should thank you for that, in a way."
"Forget it. Let's change the subject." Toji had no desire to relive the memory of being ganged up on by those three.
"Hey, Toji."
"What?"
"What is your meaning of life?"
Toji blinked. "That is a bit of a stiff transition. But if I had to say, it used to be money. Now, I suppose..." He glanced subtly at Megumi and Tsumiki. "It is family."
"Family? From you, that answer is actually quite surprising."
"What is with you? You look mopey, like you just got dumped by a girlfriend."
"What a terrible analogy."
"Gentlemen, here are your refills!" A waitress's gentle voice interrupted them.
"Thank you." Suguru reached for the coffee, but his eyes suddenly narrowed. A hideous cursed spirit was coiled around the waitress's shoulder. At that moment, everyone except Tsumiki noticed.
Before anyone could act, the waitress hurried away to attend to other customers.
"What? Need help?" Toji looked at Suguru with a smirk. Nanako, Mimiko, and Megumi had only recently awakened their techniques and lacked the ability to exorcise curses. Toji had no cursed energy and required tools. Pulling out a giant cleaver to swing at the air in public would lead to either jail or a mental hospital. Only Suguru could handle it without causing a scene.
"It is just a Grade 4. It won't hurt anyone," Suguru said nonchalantly, reaching for his cup. Suddenly, he paused.
The latte art was a sun-like smiley face, and there was a note tucked under the cup. He opened it and blinked.
"Finish this coffee and forget about the unhappy things! (^▽^)"
"Unhappy..." Suguru touched his face, feeling stuck between laughter and tears. "Is it that obvious? Have I been walking around with a bitter face all day?"
Sighing, Suguru stood up and walked toward the girl's workstation.
"Excuse me."
"Hello, sir! Is there something you need?" The girl's smile was like winter sunshine, warm and healing.
Suguru was momentarily dazed. This girl reminded him of Haibara Yu. The same overflowing passion, the same vibrant energy: a beauty that felt like it shouldn't belong in this world.
"May I ask... what is your name?"
"EH!!!" Her colleagues nearby got excited first, looking at her and Suguru with gossiping eyes.
"Has our Haruko finally bloomed?"
"Nanana! Haruko, way to go! Snagging a top-tier handsome guy on the first try!"
Haruko's face turned beet red. "You guys... stop talking nonsense! I am meeting this gentleman for the first time! He... Hello, my name is Haruko Shinohara." Haruko stole a glance at Suguru. She had only sent the "small gift" because she saw he was in a bad mood. She didn't expect him to come up and ask for her name.
Suguru felt awkward as well. He quickly used the corner of his eye to lock onto the curse on her shoulder and exorcised it with a flick of his finger. Then, he fled back to his seat like a thief.
Toji raised an eyebrow. "Hey. That is not how you chase a girl."
"Urusai!" Suguru snapped. "Exorcising a curse: I was just working!"
Toji gave a teasing grin. "Is that so? You are really bad at lying. Wait." Toji suddenly turned his head toward a group of people entering the cafe.
"What is it?"
"The Star Religious Group."