Come on, Mahoraga, come out. I know you can…"
— Va-vava-va.
I stared into my shadow, which kept growing longer as the sun sank toward the horizon.
— Vavava-va…
"Still nothing…
Looks like my technique hasn't awakened yet, or maybe it requires hand signs.
At least I have access to cursed energy – and it's incredibly obedient.
Thanks to reinforcing myself with it, I can think this actively without blacking out every few minutes.
But the headache just keeps building up. I should probably stop soon."
Mamaguro – or just Mom to me – was lying nearby on a futon with a Polaroid, watching my attempts to speak with fond amusement.
Over this time together, we had formed a special bond between mother and child.
— Va!
She immediately sat up, smiling as she picked me up and opened her chest to me.
I wasn't particularly fussy and rarely cried.
Most of the sounds I made were just for developing speech – and to keep Mom at ease.
If I babbled a lot, it didn't mean anything.
But if I made a sound just once, it meant I needed something.
And somehow, she always got it right on the first try.
Maternal instinct – that's the only explanation I have.
*Creaaak*
— I'm home.
— Welcome back, dear.
That's roughly how I imagine their dialogue sounds, because I don't really know Japanese.
I mostly watched anime dubbed, and only occasionally with subs – usually ongoing shows or some old niche stuff. Even then, I only picked up a few random words.
So yeah… I'd sulk about not knowing Japanese when no one was looking.
Meanwhile, Mom led her husband into the kitchen.
Toji washed up at an old, worn sink – scratched and battered, yet polished to a shine.
Glancing around, he noticed something different about the apartment for the first time.
They lived in a small semi-basement apartment they had bought together with their savings.
The bare concrete walls, once stained and dull, were now decorated with handmade paintings in painted foam frames, and the space was filled with warm colors.
"Guess the guys at the construction site were right…
A man provides shelter, and a woman turns it into a home.
And there's more greenery now, too."
Turning toward the table, he saw her carefully tending to the orchid he had bought for their anniversary.
Originally, he had planned to buy a regular bouquet of roses, but the flower shop granny had somehow gotten curious about his personal life.
It had annoyed him back then – that she managed to sell him a pot with some random plant.
Remembering the awkward moment when he gave her what felt like a weed for their anniversary – and seeing her now…
She still wore that same smile.
— Toji! Sit down already!
He snapped back to reality, already seated at the table, with a bowl of hot, thick broth in front of him – filled with battered fried chicken and vegetables with the rice on the side.
— If you want seconds, don't be shy. I can boil more noodles and add mushrooms with chicken!
Seeing his focused gaze on the bowl – and the thin trail of drool slipping from his mouth – she smiled in satisfaction, hands on her hips.
As he began eating, he remembered he had already had a solid meal at a cheap food stall.
But even if he had been completely full, he would have still eaten everything.
Because it had an unbelievably rich taste and aroma.
And more importantly – it filled not only his stomach, but something he had never felt in his entire life.
Every bite and every sip made him tremble slightly, as something deep inside him—dry and lifeless—began to soften.
Meanwhile, in the next room…
"I'm tired.
I'll think about this when I can at least clasp my hands together.
Good night… shikigamis.
If you don't show up soon, then I… well, what can I even do? Probably just get disappointed.
Man… life as a newborn reincarnator isn't easy.
Guess all that's left is to plan world domination… or at least profit off future knowledge…"
(From Author: Hello, here we can chat, if I'm not lazy enough.
But to main point – what name we should give to Mamaguro?)