As I strolled through the halls of Jujutsu High, my mind drifted to the words of my brother.
"Brother…." I muttered as I left the building. Outside the building, Yuuta, Maki, Panda, and Inumaki were standing there talking.
"Noroi," Panda greeted me with a wave.
"Hey," I said, walking towards them.
They turned to me with concerned glances.
"Hey, Noroi, are you okay?" Panda asked with concern.
"Yeah, don't worry," I said with a smile.
Their gazes lingered for a while. I looked at them with a smile.
"Hey, don't worry, y'all, I'm fine. Let's go train, Okkotsu," I said, trying to cheer them up.
Yuuta nodded shyly, and we started walking towards the training grounds.
Yuuta looked at me hesitatingly while we walked, and he looked like he was going to ask something.
"Noroi…" Yuuta looked at me, then at the ground. "Can I ask something?" he asked shyly.
I looked at him knowingly. "Yeah?"
"Was that man with monk robes your brother?" he asked nervously. "If he is, why did he declare war on us? He said he was going to send a lot of curses to Tokyo and Kyoto, right?"
My expression turned serious. "Indeed, that was my brother." I sighed and stopped in front of the training grounds. "A few years ago, he adopted a… bizarre ideology," I said as I looked at them. "He thinks that non-sorcerers are the real curse and that if he eliminates all of them, the curses will disappear."
They looked at me with surprise.
"But that's impossible!" Panda said, surprised.
"How can you think of such a thing…?" Yuuta said with shock.
Inumaki was at a loss for words.
"Hmm… but you don't look anything like your brother," Maki said with a serious face.
Panda, Inumaki, and Yuuta looked at her strangely.
"What?! I was curious from before!" Maki said angrily.
They turned and avoided her gaze.
I looked at her and laughed slightly. "That's because we are not brothers by blood," I said with a smile.
"Huh?" She looked confused at my answer.
"I've known Geto since I was three. He and Gojo were like brothers to me. Apart from Akari, they were the first to look at me for what I was and not for my appearance," I said with a smile and a bit of nostalgia, remembering the happy moments I lived with all the students from Jujutsu High. "So we may not be related by blood, but we are family, and we will forever be," I said, looking up at the clear sky.
They looked at me for a while before I interrupted them.
"Well, let's start," I said, looking at Yuuta.
He looked at me shyly before pulling out his katana. "O-okay."
As we took our stance, I noticed he looked sharper.
'Hoh… Okkotsu has incredible potential,' I thought, looking at him sharpening his gaze slightly.
As we trained for hours, my mind wandered to the words of Geto.
'What is his objective? I know he wants to eliminate all non-sorcerers, but declaring a direct war on jujutsu sorcerers?' I thought, confused, while Yuuta swung his sword at my side.
'If he wanted to kill non-sorcerers, doing it without warning would have been better.' I grabbed the blade and punched Yuuta in the stomach.
He gasped and fell to the ground, exhausted.
"You are improving at an impressive pace." I looked at the gasping Yuuta on the ground with a smile.
"Thanks," Yuuta said with exhaustion.
I turned to look at Panda sitting on the stairs.
"Huh? Where are Maki and Inumaki?" I asked, confused.
"Toge left for a mission, and Maki is in the bathroom," Panda replied.
"Well, I think our training session ends for today," I said to Yuuta.
Yuuta didn't reply and continued gasping on the floor.
"I'm off to my house," I said, smiling as I extended a hand to the gasping teen on the ground.
"So early?" Yuuta asked, accepting my hand.
"Yeah, I have to take care of some things," I said, smiling.
He nodded and followed me as I approached Panda.
"Panda, I'm going home," I said, looking at him.
"Okay, see you, Noroi," he said, smiling.
"See you," I said as I left the training grounds.
Yuuta and Panda waved at me as I left.
"You think he is okay?" Panda asked seriously at Yuuta.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Yuuta asked, confused.
"When he was training with you, I noticed he was distracted," Panda said seriously.
"Huh?! He was distracted?! I couldn't even land a hit on him…." Yuuta said, deflated.
"He is not letting us see how this situation is affecting him…."
"But why? We are his friends. We could help him if he is sad," Yuuta said, confused.
"Yuuta… I'm sure he has his reasons. Let's not mention this topic to him next time, okay?" Panda said seriously.
"Okay…" Yuuta said, looking at the floor.
"Hey, where is Noroi?" Maki asked as she approached the two.
"He just left. He said he had to take care of some things," Panda replied, looking at Maki.
"Okay," she said, nodding. "Let's train," she said, looking at Yuuta seriously.
"Haaah?! But I just finished my training with Noroi!" Yuuta replied with exhaustion.
"I don't care. C'mon," she said seriously, grabbing a wooden spear.
Yuuta hesitated before grabbing a wooden sword.
Panda smiled and sat on the stairs, watching them train.
——————————————————————-
"Sigh…" I let out a sigh as I walked towards the exit of Jujutsu High.
"Why do you have to put me through this, brother?" I said to no one in particular.
"Noroi," a deep voice called me from behind.
"Hey, Nanami, long time no see," I said with a smile as I turned to see Nanami walking towards me.
He nodded and started walking with me. "How have you been? I heard you defeated a special grade curse," he said with a serious face.
"Yeah, it was difficult. I almost died," I said as I looked at him.
"I heard about that," he said, looking at me with worry. "I'm glad you're okay."
I smiled at him. "Thanks."
We walked for a while, and as we approached the exit, we stopped, and he looked at me seriously.
"How are you handling this situation?" he said with worry.
"I'm okay, don't worry," I said, smiling at him.
"Noroi…" he said seriously, "if you are feeling down, just remember you have all of us to rely on, okay?"
I looked at him for a while before nodding. "Okay," I said before resuming my walk. At the entrance of Jujutsu High, Kenji was waiting for me in the car. "See you later, Nanami, I have to go," I said without looking at him.
He looked at me with worry before nodding. "See you later, Noroi."
As I entered the car, Kenji greeted me and started driving towards home.
'He knows that if he declares war on sorcerers, it will end in absolute failure. After all, Gojo is on our side,' I thought, looking out the window. 'Why? What are you planning, brother?'
Maybe it was the shock from hearing such words from the person I cared so much about, or maybe the training with Yuuta, but I was feeling exhausted.
"Sigh…" I sighed while looking at the cars on the road.
"Noroi-sama, are you okay?" Kenji asked, worried.
I looked at him with a blank face before turning again to the window. "Kenji… if I'm sincere, I'm feeling a bit exhausted today."
"It's because of what Geto said today?" Kenji asked, worried.
"How do you know that?" I asked, looking at him, confused.
"Gojo-sama contacted me and said that you may be feeling a bit sad about the events that occurred today at Jujutsu High," he said with a smile.
'Gojo…' I thought while remembering the words Nanami said to me.
"It's just that he comes to see me after eight years, and the first thing he does, apart from introducing me to some people he calls his family, is declaring war on jujutsu society." I looked at him, feeling a bit down, and decided to let out what I was feeling. "When I first saw him, a bad feeling overcame my body. He said he came to introduce me to our family."
Kenji listened and glanced at me a few times through the rearview mirror.
"When he said that, I thought that maybe… just maybe… I was wrong," I said, looking down at my hands. "But then he started declaring war on jujutsu sorcerers, and he claimed he was going to commit genocide."
Kenji arrived in front of the building where my apartment was, but I didn't get out of the car.
"I didn't know how to react. He was going to commit genocide, and he was aiming to kill people I deeply cared for." My voice trembled a bit. "This is overwhelming me… I know that if I try defending the ones that can't defend themselves, I could end up killing him."
"Noroi-sama…" Kenji said, looking at me. "You are too young to make these decisions. A lot of responsibility has fallen on your shoulders, and you don't know how to handle it." He looked at me with a smile. "It's normal that you can't handle it. You are only fourteen, but that's why you have a lot of people that support you and are willing to share this burden you carry now."
I looked at him, his words hitting me deep in the heart.
"You are powerful, Noroi. That's why the higher-ups appointed you as a sorcerer. And as a great man once said, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' But you are not alone, and you can share this with the people you care about. So don't worry about now or the future—that's what the adults are worried about. You are young, and you only have to enjoy your life as much as you can," he said with a warm smile.
I looked at him for a while. The exhaustion in my body went away as he said those words, then I laughed. "Thanks, Uncle Ben," I said jokingly, but then smiled at him warmly. "Thank you a lot, Kenji-san. You helped me a lot."
He laughed a little at my joke and nodded. "I'm glad, Noroi-sama."
I got out of the car and said goodbye to Kenji.
I started walking towards my apartment building and got in the elevator to reach the floor.
"Life is full of hard choices, and all of them I will regret. That's why I'll make sure to pick the one I regret less," I muttered as I arrived at my floor.
I got out of the elevator and entered the apartment.
It was empty. Megumi and Tsumiki were about to finish school, so I'll just clean up the house until they come home.
As I started cleaning the kitchen, I thought of today's dinner, and my thoughts of the Geto situation drifted away, replaced by the image of Tsumiki's beautiful smile.
I cleaned the whole house in an hour and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch for Tsumiki and Megumi.
"Having four arms is useful," I muttered while cutting the ingredients.
As I finished cooking lunch, the door made a click, and Tsumiki and Megumi entered the apartment.
"We are home," Tsumiki said with a warm tone.
As I started putting the plates on the table, I looked at them with a smile. "Welcome home," I said as I put down the last plate.
"How was your day, Noroi?" Tsumiki said, approaching the table, followed by Megumi.
"It was okay," I said dismissively. "How was yours?" I asked the two of them.
"Fine," Megumi said, sitting at the table after leaving his bag on the couch.
"Great," Tsumiki said as she sat at the table at my side after doing the same as Megumi.
We ate together and talked a bit about our day.
As we finished, I helped Tsumiki wash the dishes, and Megumi went back to his room.
"Where are we going to eat tonight?" she asked with a smile, looking at me.
"It's a surprise," I said with a smile, trying to sound mysterious.
She giggled at my attempt. "Okay, surprise me then."
As we finished washing the dishes, we sat on the couch.
"What do you want to watch?" I asked her, looking through the channels.
"I don't know… maybe a romance movie?" she asked, looking at the movie on the screen.
"Seriously? A romance movie? I think I'm going to fall asleep," I said, looking at her.
She pouted at me. "Hey, they're not that boring."
I looked at her, then sighed. "Okay, okay… but don't blame me if I fall asleep," I said, looking at her.
She looked at me with an intense gaze before letting out a little hmph and turning her attention to the TV.
I put the remote on the table and laid down on the couch.
Tsumiki hesitated for a while before laying on me.
I looked at her in surprise, and she looked at me with an expectant gaze.
After a moment, I decided not to say anything and just watch the movie.
She smiled before leaning on me more and focusing on the screen.
As we watched the movie, I reached a conclusion: I paid no attention to it. Having Tsumiki so close was taking a toll on me.
Think about puppies… puppies, yes, that's it, I thought, while cold sweat gathered on my forehead.
I could feel various… attributes pressing against my chest.
Tsumiki had a voluptuous body, and having her so close while being a teen going through puberty made it difficult for me to control my excitement.
I decided to look at the movie for a bit, and as soon as I focused on the TV, a wave of drowsiness hit me.
After watching for five minutes, I fell asleep.
———————————————————————
"Noroi," a soft voice sounded in my ear.
I started opening my eyes to see Tsumiki leaning on me, gently shaking me.
"Noroi, it's eight PM. We fell asleep," she said gently.
"Huh? Oh, we need to prepare to go out," I said, still a bit drowsy, trying to sit up.
Tsumiki sat up and looked at me with a smile.
"I'm going to prepare myself," she said before walking toward her room.
"Okay," I said, rubbing my eyes a bit.
After a while, I got up and went to my room to change.
I took a black kimono with gold carvings in the shape of flowers, a pair of white hakama pants I normally used, and a pair of zōji with white socks. Finally, I put on a crimson hakama.
"Well, I'm ready," I said, finishing dressing and putting on a bit of perfume before leaving my room.
As I left, I prepared a note for Megumi with 10,000 yen so he could order food.
I placed it on the table in front of the couch. Tsumiki came out dressed in a beautiful black dress that embraced her figure perfectly. She wore a pair of black heels that matched her dress. She didn't have makeup, but she didn't need it; she was beautiful as she was. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with spiked ends; her bangs framed the sides of her face, and she had a soft smile.
"How do I look?" she asked, grabbing one of her arms and looking at me.
I looked at her, flabbergasted. "You look… so beautiful," I said, looking at her like she was the only thing in the world.
She giggled a bit and approached me. "Let me say goodbye to Megumi, and we can go," she said with a smile.
"Don't worry, I left a note with money so he can order takeout," I said softly, looking at her.
"Okay," she said before linking her arm with mine.
I looked a bit surprised but smiled and walked toward the entrance.
As we left the apartment, Kenji was waiting for us.
"Noroi-sama, Tsumiki-sama, you two look lovely tonight," he said with a smile as he saw us walking toward the car.
"Thanks, Kenji-san," Tsumiki said with a smile.
I nodded and smiled, and we entered the car.
He started driving toward the restaurant I had chosen.
As he drove, I looked at Tsumiki. Her beautiful face was turned toward me with a big smile.
We stared at each other all the way to the restaurant.
Kenji stopped in front of an elegant restaurant filled with people in formal suits.
We left the car and approached the entrance. An older man, whom I assumed was a waiter, looked at us with a judging gaze.
As his eyes fell on me, his face contorted in disgust.
"What may I do for you?" he said, barely hiding his disdain.
"I had an appointment under the name of Noroi for two," I said with a smile. I didn't care about his gaze or the others. Tsumiki was the only thing on my mind tonight.
"Follow me, please," he frowned but guided us to a table.
As we approached, I ignored all the glances and sat down with Tsumiki.
Another waiter approached, barely hiding his fear, and waited for us to order.
"What would you like, Noroi?" Tsumiki asked softly.
"Well, I'll have the tuna tartare as a starter and the beef tenderloin for the main course," I said, looking at the menu.
She looked at the menu, then at the waiter. "For starters, I'll have the same as him, and for the main course, the oven-baked turbot," she said with a smile.
The waiter nodded and left for the kitchen.
"Since when do you go to fancy restaurants?" Tsumiki asked with a smile.
"I've never been to one. This is my first time. I wanted to do something special for today's dinner," I said, smiling at her.
She smiled back. "So this is a date?" she asked teasingly.
I looked at her for a moment before replying with a smile, "You could say it is."
Her smile widened, and she let out a little giggle.
"Noroi, have you heard of the Yasohachi Bridge?" she asked curiously.
"Not exactly. What about it?" I asked, confused.
"They say it's cursed and that people get lost there," she said, trying to sound like a horror movie narrator. "I went with a few friends last week, and the rumors were fake," she said dismissively.
"Why did you go?" I asked, confused.
"Well, curiosity… but my friends insisted," she said, drinking a bit of water.
She grimaced and set the cup down. "Did they put lemon in this?" she asked, looking at the cup strangely.
I looked at my cup and drank a little. They had.
As I set the cup back, the waiter brought our food.
We ate while talking and laughing until the end of the night.
We stood up, and I paid for the meal.
"This time I had to pay. You paid last time" she asked, frowning.
"Don't worry about that," I said dismissively.
As we left, we decided to stroll through the streets of Shinjuku.
It was cold, so I gave my haori to Tsumiki. It was too big for her, reaching her thighs.
We walked for a while, enjoying Shinjuku at night, arm in arm.
We stopped in a park, admiring the dark sky and the moon.
She stood in front of me, smiling.
"You liked the place?" I asked, smiling.
"Yeah," she said, circling her finger on my chest.
"But I didn't have dessert," she added, smiling.
"I see," I said, smiling at her.
We stared at each other for a while before our faces drew closer.
As I leaned in, I felt her breath on my face, her perfume carrying a flowery aroma.
She leaned closer and kissed me. It was a bit clumsy, but I could feel the affection in her kiss.
We kissed for a few seconds before pulling back.
We looked at each other; she giggled softly, looking at me with affection.
Today was the happiest day of my life, and nothing could ever change that.
As she laughed, I noticed her legs falter and her breath hitch.
"Tsumiki?" I asked, and the next second she collapsed.
Before she could hit the ground, I grabbed her and held her in my arms.
"Tsumiki?! Tsumiki, are you okay?!" I panicked.
As I looked at her, a strange mark appeared on her forehead.