8 Years Later
Megumi was strolling through the halls of his high school. He had just fought a bunch of punks who tried to gang up on him. He won unharmed, leaving them with various injuries.
'Beating non-sorcerers is easy. Why do they have to pick fights with me?' he thought, annoyed.
A sudden voice from behind him interrupted his thoughts.
"Megumi."
Tsumiki's voice called him. He turned and looked at her.
"You told me you wouldn't fight anymore," Tsumiki said with a serious face.
A bunch of students started signaling toward the window.
"Isn't that Ikezawa and his gang piled up there?" a student asked. "Let's go see!" another replied.
"Stop acting like my guardian," he said in a harsh voice. "You disgust me."
As he turned to continue his path, he crashed against a wall of flesh.
"Megumi," a serious voice cut through the air. "Apologize to your sister."
The one whom Megumi crashed into was Noroi, standing at a height of 6'1" with a toned body achieved through years of training. A serious look was on his face, his four arms crossed, looking down at the teen, his four eyes fixed on him with disappointment.
"Tch, you don't tell me what to do," Megumi said angrily, looking into Noroi's eyes.
"Your arrogance is too big, boy. You insulted your sister for caring about you, and you refuse to apologize to her." The disappointed look didn't disappear from Noroi's eyes as he observed the teen's behavior.
"Don't call me boy. We are the same age!" Megumi said, annoyed.
"If we were the same age, you wouldn't be talking to your sister like that. Now stop behaving like a brat and apologize to your sister," Noroi said, his serious expression never leaving his face.
Megumi grunted, looking at Noroi. "You want to take this outside?!" he said, his emotions flaring after Noroi's words.
"Stop, you two!" Tsumiki shouted, approaching the two teens.
"Tch," Megumi said before leaving with an annoyed expression.
Tsumiki watched her brother leave with worry.
"Noroi, thank you for defending me," she said, looking at him with a kind smile.
"Tsumiki, you don't have to thank me," Noroi said, returning the smile. "But I am worried about your relationship with Megumi," he added, a little worry in his eyes.
"Don't worry about that. I'll get it sorted out myself," she said confidently.
"Okay," Noroi replied.
As they strolled through the halls, the students stared at the two with different gazes. The boys and girls looked at Noroi with apprehension, and the boys looked at Tsumiki with blushes on their faces.
A glare from Noroi made them look away in fear.
"Noroi?" Tsumiki said, noticing the glares he was giving to the other boys.
"Yes?" Noroi said, turning to her.
"Nothing," she said, looking at him and laughing knowingly.
Noroi seemed confused by this but ignored it. "Hey, do you think tattoos would look cool on me?" he asked with a smile.
Tsumiki started imagining Noroi with tattoos. "Noooo, don't do it, Noroi!" she said, grabbing one of his arms. "If you do it, people will think you are a hooligan!" she added in horror.
"People already see me as a monster," he said deadpan.
"But you are not, so no tattoos!" she said in a scolding tone.
"Okay, Mom," he said with a huff.
"Noroi!" she said, softly punching his arm.
"Ow, I think you broke my arm," he said with a teasing smile.
She looked at him deadpan, huffed, and then started accelerating her pace.
"Hey, wait," Noroi said before walking faster to catch up with her.
After class
Noroi's POV
"I'm so tired," I complained to Tsumiki as we walked toward the school gates.
"Oh, come on. It wasn't that tiring," Tsumiki said, looking at me.
"It was—for me."
After years of receiving the same treatment from all my peers, I understood one thing: people are afraid of what's different. So I didn't judge them for their behavior. But understanding that didn't make the stares disappear.
"Oh, come on, Noroi. Are you so tired that you wouldn't go grab some coffee with me?" she asked with a smile, her arms behind her back.
"I guess I could," I said, smiling slightly.
She smiled brightly.
"Well, let's go then," she said cheerfully.
I smiled at her before resuming my walk.
After all these years, my relationship with Tsumiki was very good. We were close friends, and we could talk about everything. But Megumi… Whenever I noticed he spoke harshly to his sister, I scolded him, and our relationship worsened.
"So… Noroi, tell me, do you like any girl?" Tsumiki asked suddenly.
"Huh?" My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden question.
"Do you like any girl?" she repeated, looking at me with a strange smile.
"Well… I don't think so," I said, remembering the looks all the girls gave me. Some of them approached me, but all of them started talking about monster fetishes, so I just ignored them. If I had to think about someone I really like…
I looked at Tsumiki. When she heard my first response, her expression darkened a little.
"Well, I think I like one person," I said with a smile.
Tsumiki's expression seemed to light up slightly. "And who is it?" she asked with the same strange smile.
"I can't tell you," I said with a smile.
"Hey, tell me. We are best friends," she said with a pout.
"No can do," I said as we arrived at the coffee shop.
"Hmph," she said, turning her gaze away from me.
I pushed the door open, and a small brass bell jingled above my head. Warm air wrapped around me, carrying the rich scent of freshly ground coffee.
We approached a table and sat down.
"Noroi, what are you going to do today?" Tsumiki asked curiously.
"Well, I have to prepare lunch when we arrive home, and after that, I need to visit someone," I said, my smile faltering for a moment.
"Well, if you want, I can prepare lunch for you," she offered kindly.
"Thank you, Tsumiki, but I have to do it. I will be taking an extra portion for the one I'm going to visit," I said, returning the smile. "And my cooking is the best in the world," I added proudly.
"Well, if you say so," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You know I'm right," I replied confidently.
She huffed a little before looking out the window.
A waiter approached us, looking a little scared.
"W-what will you order today?" he asked, fear in his eyes.
"A black coffee, please," I said, ignoring his fear.
"A latte for me, please," Tsumiki added.
"A-alright," he said before retreating quickly.
"You pay," Tsumiki said with a mischievous smile.
"Huh?! Why?" I asked, confused.
"Because you didn't tell me who you like," she replied.
My mouth hung open at the stupid reason.
"Sigh. Okay," I said, giving her an exasperated look.
"Hehehe," she let out a victorious laugh.
The coffees arrived, and we went silent for a moment, tasting the coffee.
"How do you like your coffee without sugar?" she said, looking at me strangely.
"Because I don't like sweet things," I said with a smile.
"It's coffee, even if you put sugar, it won't be sweet," she said deadpan.
I laughed a little after sipping my coffee.
"Well, let's just say I like bitter things," I said, looking at her.
She stared at me with a smile before taking a sip.
As we finished our coffee, I paid the scared waiter, and we went home walking.
"What are you making for today, Noroi?" Tsumiki asked with curiosity.
"Curry with karaage," I said as I saw our building.
"Yeah?!" she asked, excited.
"Yeah," I said, looking at her smiling face.
As we arrived home, I went to the kitchen to prepare the food, and Tsumiki went to her room to change.
I prepared the rice maker and started cutting the ingredients.
As I finished cutting the ingredients, Tsumiki approached me with another set of clothes.
She wore an oversized pink sweater paired with a knee-length skirt.
It was simple, but it made her look beautiful.
"Let me help you, Noroi," she said with a smile as she approached me.
"Okay, I will prepare the curry, you prepare the karaage," I said, looking at her with a smile.
As we started preparing the food, I noticed I was distracted by her beautiful, focused face. She was so cute when she was focused.
Before she could notice, I turned to look back at the curry.
As we finished preparing food for three people, we served our rations, and I put another ration in a tupper.
We sat at the table and started eating.
"Noroi, it's delicious," she said, looking at me with a smile.
"I told you, I am the best cook in the world," I said proudly.
As we finished the food, I told her I was going to wash the dishes and then head out.
She agreed and went to her room to rest.
After washing the dishes, I called Kenji and grabbed a plastic bag where I put the tupper.
I left the apartment to find Kenji waiting in front of the building.
"Good evening, Noroi-sama," he said. His face had more wrinkles, and his hair was gray; eight years ago, his hair had been brown. Now old age was catching up to him.
"Hello, Kenji-san, to the hospital, please," I said with a smile, greeting Kenji as I entered the car.
"At once," he said with a smile before starting to drive toward the hospital.
As we arrived, I dismissed him and entered.
"Good evening, Noroi. Have you come to see her?" the receptionist, who I had known for a few years, asked me.
"Yeah," I said with a smile.
"Okay, you have one hour," she said with a little smile.
"Okay," I said before heading toward the elevator.
As I got in, I glanced at the mirror.
"I think tattoos would look cool," I muttered before arriving at the floor I was going to.
As I got off the elevator, I saw a lot of patients looking at me with fear, and the doctors who already knew me just waved a little before continuing with their jobs.
I walked toward a room and opened the door.
"I said I don't want that horrendous food!" a voice of an old woman sounded through the room.
"Are you sure you don't want my tasty food, Akari-san?" I said with a smile, looking at the woman in the stretcher, surrounded by machines and a radio.
"Noroi!" she yelled, looking at the source of my voice. "Come here so I can hug you," she said, smiling.
I approached her with a smile before crouching to hug her carefully.
"Oh my god, you grew up good," she said with a smile as she hugged me.
"I still remember when…" she started but stopped before ending the sentence.
"When…" she said, struggling to remember.
I looked at her with a little sadness before cutting her off.
"I brought you delicious food, Akari-san," I said, looking at her.
"Oh my god, you are my salvation. The food they do here is horrendous," she said with a happy tone.
I took out the tupper from the bag and grabbed a plastic spoon to feed her.
"Today I made curry and karaage," I said, taking a bit of the curry with the spoon.
"So you remembered my favorite food," she said, smiling brightly.
"Always," I said before starting to feed her.
I still remember when I found out Akari passed out in her house. I remember the feeling of dread that came over my body, but luckily Gojo was there and helped me when we went to the town doctor.
When he told me she had lung cancer, my heart dropped. But Gojo decided to take her to Tokyo so she could be treated with the best resources. I will always be grateful to Gojo for that.
She is now getting chemotherapy, but now it seems she is more lively now that she is close to me. This was one year ago, and the previous month, the doctor said she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
As she finished the food, a nurse entered the room.
"Akari-san, you have to ea—" she paused as she looked at me feeding her food; the doctor said she couldn't eat.
"Noroi!" the nurse said angrily. "You have to stop feeding her food. She isn't eating the hospital food."
"But…" I tried to say.
"No buts. Because of this, you can't stay any longer," she said with a scolding voice.
"But I want Noroi to stay," Akari said, looking at the nurse.
"He can come tomorrow, but for today, you are finished here," she said to me.
"Okay, okay, don't shout," I said as I stood up to leave.
Akari looked at me sadly. "Noroi, please come tomorrow," she said with a pleading tone.
"I was already thinking of doing so," I said with a reassuring tone.
"But no more food from the outside," the nurse said to me.
"Okay," I said before heading toward the door.
"Goodbye, Akari-san," I said, looking at her one last time.
"Goodbye, little one," she said, smiling.
'Little one? I am 6'1", I thought as I left through the door.
As I was about to head toward the elevator, a ring sounded from my pocket.
I looked at the phone and noticed it was Gojo.
"Gojo? What's the matter?" I asked while picking up the phone.
"Noroiiii," he said with a sing-song voice. "I made quite a discovery, ya know," he said mischievously.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused by his antics.
"I just met an interesting kid. The higher-ups are calling him a cursed child. Do you believe that those old geezers are scared shitless by a kid? He reminds me of you, but he is a shy guy, and you were an asshole when you were little," he said with a teasing tone.
"Who are you calling an asshole?!" I yelled into the phone with a frown.
The people around me grimaced in fear and started running away.
"Well, tomorrow you are coming to Jujutsu High to meet him, so be grateful I'm letting you skip classes," he said, ignoring me.
"Well, if you say so," I said, getting in the elevator.
"By the way, what's the name of this kid?" I said curiously.
"Hey, he is one year older than you. Who are you calling kid?" Gojo said mockingly.
"Just tell me the damn name," I said, exasperated by his antics.
"Don't be so grumpy, old man," he said, his mocking tone irking me to no end.
"Well, if you are so curious, his name is Yuuta Okkotsu."