Today was Saturday and we decided to go to the karaoke to pass the day.
I strolled through the streets of Shinjuku with Gojo, Shoko, Nanami, Haibara and Utahime.
"Utahime-sempai, why are you going out with your kouhais? Don't you have friends?" Gojo asked Utahime with a mocking tone.
"Shut up Gojo! I have lots of friends but I wanted to come because Shoko and Noroi were coming!" Utahime replied, fuming with anger.
"Gojo, stop teasing Utahime-senpai," Shoko said with a smile as she watched her friend more cheerful.
Since the mission, Gojo's personality had changed. He stopped being cocky and arrogant and started being more cheerful and making more jokes.
"Utahime-san, don't listen to this blind jerk, he only wants to upset you," I say while smiling at her.
Haibara laughed loudly and Nanami smiled.
The people on the street avoided us and kept staring at me with fear and disgust, but it doesn't matter. I'm too absorbed in our banter to notice those fools.
"Any news on Geto?" I ask Gojo.
"No, the mission affected him more than it affected me," he said with a serious look on his face.
"I see…" I say with worry.
We fell silent all the way through the streets until we arrived at the karaoke.
"Yo Utahime-sempai, try not to make our ears bleed when you start singing," Gojo said while we were entering the karaoke.
"You! Let's see how you sing then!" Utahime said with rage.
"Don't fight, you two. We are in a place full of people," Nanami said with a sigh.
The people looked at us strangely. Nanami looked embarrassed and Haibara laughed nervously. Shoko was talking to the clerk.
"Let's go to the room," Shoko said as she picked the key from the clerk.
We found the room in a hall full of doors and entered.
"C'mon Gojo, show me how you sing if you are so good," Utahime said, sitting with her arms crossed and a confident smile.
"If you say so," Gojo said, picking up the microphone.
As Gojo started singing we were surprised by how good he did it. Utahime was left with her mouth hanging open.
"Now it's your turn, Utahime-sempai," Gojo said with a victorious smile, handing the microphone to Utahime.
"Hu-Huh? I have to go to the bathroom," Utahime said, panicking and trying to stand up.
"Nuh-uh," Gojo said, shoving the microphone into Utahime's hands.
Utahime looked nervous but as she started singing her voice surprised us as she sang beautifully.
"Wow Utahime-san, I didn't know your voice was so beautiful," I say with awe, looking at her.
"Well, it's one of my many talents," Utahime said, puffing her chest proudly.
"Wow," I say, clapping my hands with Shoko joining me.
She puffed her chest proudly but that pride was interrupted by some white-haired bum.
"Owww, Utahime, my ears, they hurt so much. Why did you have to sing?" he asked, faking pain.
Utahime's face fell into a frown as she tried to strangulate Gojo.
"What did you say, you jerk!" she said while shaking Gojo by his throat.
"Utahime, let go!" Gojo said with the grab in his throat, making his words come out muffled.
We approached to separate Utahime from Gojo as he was turning blue, but we all stopped, stared at each other and started laughing.
Geto's room
Narrator POV
In his bed, Geto lay staring at the ceiling with no emotion.
"Suguru Geto, what are you doing?" he said to nobody.
"Your friends invited you to hang out and yet you stayed in your room."
He started talking to himself.
"I have to leave this room. I will move forward," he said, convincing himself.
He stood up and went to shower. In the shower he supported his head against the wall, the water running through his body as he started thinking about leaving the mission's events behind.
"Yes, I can't stay depressed like this," he said to himself.
After leaving the shower he dressed up and rushed to the karaoke where all the group were singing.
Entering the karaoke he asked the clerk in what room a white-haired guy and a child with four arms were. He answered and signaled him toward a door.
As he opened the door he looked around to the sight of all his friends looking at him with smiles on their faces.
"So you came, Geto," Noroi said with a smile of relief.
"Suguru, come sit here!" Gojo called for him.
"Geto, it's your turn to sing. Come pick up the microphone!" Haibara shouted while looking at him.
"I'm glad you came, Geto," Shoko said, looking at him with a smile on her face.
Geto looked around at his friends and smiled.
'This was the right decision.'
Two years later
Noroi's POV
???
I open my eyes to the sight of the same shrine I dreamed of three years ago.
"What is this dream?" I ask, looking at the shrine cautiously, my feet wet by the water on the ground.
The shrine is built from smooth white stone and pale wood that seems to glow from within.
Gold-lined carvings run along the pillars and beams, emitting a soft, warm light.
The roof curves gracefully upward, layered like a ceremonial temple, with delicate ornaments that shimmer with great intensity.
At the center stands a luminous altar. Intricate patterns resembling mandalas are etched into the ground around it, glowing faintly.
It was beautiful.
As I was about to step forward I open my eyes to the white ceiling of my room.
"What is this?" I ask when a sudden burst of information surges through my mind.
"Kai (Dismantle), Hachi (Cleave)… this is my cursed technique?" I say without expecting a response.
"Cutting things… It's so cool!" I yell excitedly.
"I can combine this with my martial arts!" I say, looking at my hands excitedly.
I grab my phone to tell Gojo about this. As I dial the number I start thinking about his reaction to my cursed technique.
"Yo, kid, did something happen?" Gojo asked, picking up the phone.
"Gojo! I unlocked my cursed technique!" I say excitedly into the phone while hopping down from my bed.
"Huh? Well, it makes sense. After all, you are six now," Gojo said on the other line. "Wait, I'm coming to pick you up today. I don't have any mission."
"Okay!" I say excitedly before hanging up.
I go toward the kitchen and start preparing onigiri for lunch.
Utahime-san taught me how to cook. After all, we all had multiple dinners at my house.
I tried learning from Shoko, but her explanations were impossible to decipher. I remember Shoko saying things like "puao" and "pshhh" while putting ingredients into miso soup.
After eating two onigiri, I pack the other four and wait on the couch for Gojo while watching TV. After five minutes, he opens my door with his key and steps inside.
"Yo! Kid, are you excited to try your cursed technique?" he asks me as he looks at me on the couch.
"Yeah!" I say, standing up and starting to run toward the door.
Gojo laughs slightly and follows me.
We get down to the road, and Kenji-san's car is already parked there.
"Kenji-san, I got my cursed technique!" I say excitedly to Kenji.
"It's good to hear that, Noroi-sama," Kenji replies with a smile at my enthusiasm.
Gojo and I enter the car, and Kenji starts driving.
"Are you excited to try your technique?" Gojo asks me with a smile.
"Yeah!" I say, nodding excitedly.
As we arrive at Jujutsu High, I say goodbye to Kenji, and we start climbing the stairs to enter.
We enter the biggest building and see Yaga sitting on the floor with his cursed dolls.
"Yaga-san! I unlocked my cursed technique!" I say excitedly.
Yaga looks at me and smiles. "I'm glad, Noroi-kun."
"Yo! Yaga-sensei, or should I say Principal Yaga?" Gojo says with a smile.
"Satoru, don't you have a mission to do?" Yaga says seriously.
"I already finished it, and I wanted to see Noroi's cursed technique in action," Gojo says with a smile.
"I see… Let's go," Yaga says while standing up, grabbing a cursed doll and heading toward the training grounds. "You already mastered all the martial arts at Jujutsu High, Noroi, and I am impressed by your talent," he says with a smile as we arrive at the training grounds.
"Thank you," I say, looking at him with a proud smile.
"Now, before trying your technique, tell me. What is your cursed technique?" he asks curiously.
"Well, my technique consists of slashing attacks. It has two different types of slashes. One is Kai (Dismantle), which is the default slashing attack and lets me send slashes to where I point with my finger. And Hachi (Cleave) — I can only use it when touching something or someone. Its power increases based on the target's cursed energy and toughness," I explain excitedly.
"I see… A pure offensive cursed technique, yet it is basic. Well, it will be useful in your hands, Noroi. Your mind is full of creativity," Yaga says, smiling.
"Thank you, Yaga-san," I say with a big smile on my face.
"Now let's see. Send a slash toward the cursed doll," he says as he infuses cursed energy into the doll.
"Okay," I say as I focus on the information in my brain and point two fingers toward the doll, my hand resembling a pistol.
"Kai (Dismantle)," I say as a big slash cuts through the air at great speed and cuts the doll in half.
"Huh? I didn't see any slash," Gojo says, confused.
"Me neither," Yaga says, analyzing the move while looking at his destroyed doll.
"It seems your slashes are invisible to the human eye," Yaga says, looking at me.
"But I saw it. Didn't you?" I ask, confused.
"You are the only one who can see your slashes, Noroi," Yaga says, looking at me seriously.
"How strange… My Six Eyes couldn't see the slashes," Gojo says, pondering.
"Now show us Hachi (Cleave)," Yaga says while grabbing the head of the cursed doll and giving it to me.
"Okay," I say as I grab the head of the cursed doll.
"Hachi (Cleave)," I chant. Multiple slashes cut through the doll's head, leaving nothing behind.
"Such a powerful technique…" Gojo says, looking at where the doll's head was moments before being cut.
"Impressive, Noroi. You will be a great sorcerer in the near future," Yaga says with a smile.
I smile at him and at Gojo.
"But don't forget, we will still train your technique proficiency so you can improve it in multiple ways," he says seriously.
"But not today," Gojo interrupts with a grin that suggests he is planning something.
"Why, Gojo?" I ask him, looking confused.
"Because you are going to move to another house," he says with a smile.
"Seriously?" I ask, confused. "Why now?"
"Because you are going to get two roommates," Gojo says cheerfully.
"What?!" I say in confusion.
"Yeah, they are the same age as you, and I want you to have friends your age and not go out with people who are twelve years older than you," he says with a mischievous grin.
"But…" I begin to complain.
"No buts! C'mon, there are three rooms for the three of you," he says cheerfully.
"Okay," I say, deflated.
"There are people grabbing your things, so you don't need to go back. I will take you to the house first, and then I will go search for the other two," he says.
"Gojo, Noroi, take care," Yaga says, going back to the principal building.
"Goodbye," we say at the same time to Yaga.
"Let's go, Noroi," Gojo says while walking toward the exit.
"Oh, by the way, I registered you at the school they are going to, so you will all go to school together," Gojo says with a smile.
"To school?" I say, remembering the things Aoi told me about school.
"I see…" I say as we arrive in front of the car.
We enter and start driving toward the house, my mind swirling with the possible reactions to my appearance from my new roommates.
As I am lost in my thoughts, I don't notice that we have stopped.
"Noroi?" Gojo asks, looking at me.
"Coming," I say while getting out of the car.
As we enter the building and get into the apartment, I look around to see the place where I will be living from now on.
The apartment is modest in size, yet carefully composed. Designed for three people.
The heart of the apartment is its combined living, dining, and kitchen space.
The kitchen, compact but efficient, runs along one wall like a tidy corridor of steel: two burners, a narrow sink, cabinets. Opposite it, a small table gathers three chairs close together.
Light filters through sliding glass doors that open onto a slender balcony just wide enough for drying laundry in the open air.
The living area holds little more than a low table and a modest sofa.
With one last look around, I start to inspect the rooms.
The bathroom is divided with practicality: a separate toilet room; a small sink and mirror; and beyond a watertight door, a bathing area where one washes carefully before sinking into a deep tub.
"Well, it seems comfy," I say to Gojo.
"Of course it is. Only the best for my favorite kid," he says, smiling and giving me a thumbs-up.
"Thank you, Gojo," I say, looking at him with a smile. "I know you are trying to let me socialize more with kids my age. Thank you," I say while looking at him.
He smiles softly. "No problem, kid," he says, looking at me. "Well, now I'm going to get your two roommates," he says, starting to leave. "Feel free to look around. It's your home," he says as he leaves.
I sit on the couch, my mind swirling with negative thoughts. 'What if they think I am a monster?' 'What if they don't like me?' I think anxiously.
After thirty minutes of being deep in my thoughts, I hear the sound of the door unlocking, so I stand up straight and wait for Gojo to enter the living room.
"Noroi! Here are your two roommates!" he says cheerfully.
As I look at them, I notice a boy and a girl. The two have dark hair and dark eyes. The girl is a little taller than the boy.
The boy looks at me strangely for a moment before putting on a serious expression, and the girl looks surprised for a moment before smiling kindly.
"Introduce yourselves!" Gojo says excitedly.
"My name is Megumi Fushiguro," the boy says seriously, with no emotion in his voice.
"My name is Tsumiki Fushiguro," the girl says with a kind smile on her face.