3rd Person
Haruto's Shrine
A woman strolled through the corridors of the shrine while the morning sun passed through the windows, a strange smile on her face. As she walked past multiple doors, the stench of a body caught her attention. Without saying a word, she followed the smell that led her to a room in the shrine. As she opened the sliding door, an intense smell of death attacked her nose.
The woman entered the room to find a decaying body that seemed to belong to a monk. The monk's face was disfigured and bloody. The woman looked at the corpse with interest, the smile never leaving her face, and muttered,
"Interesting…"
3 Days Later
Akari's House
In the living room, Noroi and Akari were talking quietly.
"Noroi-kun, I need to go to the market to buy food," she said with a smile on her face. "Would you like to come with me?" she asked, her tone filled with warmth.
Noroi frowned for a moment, thinking about the looks of the villagers. "I don't know, Akari-san," he said, afraid she might discover his appearance.
A frown of worry appeared on Akari's face. "You could help me carry the food home," she said, trying to get Noroi to know the town better.
Seeing Akari's worried expression, Noroi couldn't help but accept. "Okay…" he answered in a deflated tone.
Akari laughed slightly at Noroi's tone. "C'mon, let's go. It will be fun, and you need new clothes," she said, trying to cheer the child up.
Noroi sighed and helped Akari get to the door.
1st Person – Noroi
As we strolled through the market, the sellers and villagers looked at me with fear. When I fixed my gaze on one villager, he flinched and started to run.
"Why do they look at me like that?" I asked myself. "Is it because I'm different?" I thought, feeling negative thoughts gather in my mind. But as I started to get lost in my thoughts, a voice interrupted me.
"What would you like to eat tonight, Noroi-kun?" Akari's gentle tone calmed me down. I looked at her; she didn't know about the stares people were giving us.
"I want meat," I said, my tone brightening a little as we spoke about food. Since arriving, Akari's cooking had been the best, and I enjoyed it a lot.
As we arrived at the first vendor, Akari asked,
"Good morning, I would like 250 g of pork and 250 g of beef," she said gently to the vendor.
The vendor looked at her. "Of course, ma'am, right away." But as his gaze fell on me, fear filled his eyes. I looked at him and put a finger close to my lips, signaling him to be quiet like I did with Akari's neighbor.
After seeing this gesture, the man hurriedly put the meat in bags and gave it to Akari.
"How much is it, young man?" Akari asked gently.
Still scared to talk, the vendor looked at me. I nodded, and he answered,
"It'll be 1500¥," he said in a frightened tone.
Akari paid for the meat with a confused expression.
As we continued buying ingredients for the week, receiving the same reaction from all the vendors, we stopped in front of the clothing shop.
"This is the clothing shop, Noroi-kun," she said gently.
"Yes," I replied, looking at the clothes displayed through the glass. We entered the store.
"Good morni—" the clerk stopped mid-sentence when his gaze fell on Akari and me, his eyes full of the same fear I had seen in the other villagers.
"Good morning, young man. We're looking for clothes for this child," she said calmly.
The clerk looked at her and then at me, his gaze filled with uncertainty. "Y-yes, of course. Look at the shelves; there is everything you need here," he said nervously.
"Thank you, young man," she said kindly. "Noroi-kun, look at the outfit you like the most and pick it up," she said warmly.
"Are you sure, Akari-san?" I asked uncertainly. She had already spent enough money on ingredients.
"Of course," she said in a tone that made all my doubts fade away.
"Thanks," I said as I started searching for clothes that could accommodate my four arms. After looking around for five minutes, I decided to buy a black haori that, although it had only two sleeves, could show my abdomen mouth and could be worn on my shoulders, and white hakama pants in my size.
"I'll buy this one," I said as I approached the clerk, who looked at me with fear.
"O-of course," he said, putting on a professional tone.
After paying, we exited the store and started walking toward our home.
"Our home…" I thought warmly as I repeated those words.
When we arrived, Akari started preparing lunch while I went to the little yard she had.
"Now… how to release that energy?" I mumbled, trying to remember the sensation of the energy that had made me stronger in the shrine.
"It triggered when I felt negative emotions on a large scale…" I continued mumbling as I tried to recall the sensation.
"It felt cold—not in a temperature way, but as an emotion," I said while falling deep into thought.
"Let's see," I said, closing my eyes. As I closed them, I started remembering Haruto's abuse, the looks of the villagers, and the deep hatred I felt for Haruto.
My face frowned as my body began to expel that blue, dark energy on a large scale.
3rd Person – Town
"What was that?" a man thought as he saw a pillar of cursed energy erupt from the center of the town.
The man had brown hair and sharp blue eyes, his face contorted with panic.
"That amount of cursed energy… a special grade?! In this little town?!" he panicked as he grabbed his phone to contact the higher-ups.
This man was a Window—a person who could see cursed energy but was not a sorcerer. Windows contacted the higher-ups so they could dispatch someone to the location of the curse.
Akari's House
As Noroi opened his eyes, he seemed surprised by the energy that covered the entire yard and extended upward like a pillar of light.
"Whoa…" he muttered, fascinated by the energy coursing through his body. But as soon as he spoke, the energy dissipated instantly.
He frowned, looking at his four hands.
"So I need to focus on negative thoughts as I condense it," he said curiously.
As he was about to try again, a voice called him.
"Noroi-kun, come eat!" the old lady called softly.
Noroi headed back inside the house. "Coming!" he said as he jogged toward the table, a smile on his face as he began eating with Akari.
Jujutsu High
In a classroom, Yaga explained the mission to his two best students.
"In Minobu, a special-grade curse has appeared, and you two are going to exorcise it. Satoru has the strength of a special grade, although he is officially grade one, and you have strength comparable to him, Suguru," Yaga said seriously.
"Ehhh, Minobu? That's too far. It will take two hours to get there by train," Satoru Gojo said arrogantly.
"Don't complain, Satoru. A special grade is serious," Suguru Geto replied to his friend.
"What are you saying, Suguru? It will be easy. After all, we are the strongest," he said confidently.
A vein popped on Yaga's forehead. "Stop complaining and prepare for your mission!!!" he exclaimed angrily.
"Yeah, yeah, don't shout, old man. I heard you," Gojo said dismissively as he started walking out of the classroom, Geto following him.
As they exited the classroom, Geto spoke to him. "Satoru, since we started first grade, you've been saying that we are the strongest every time you talk. You sound like some chunibyo," he said, slightly annoyed at his friend's antics.
"Hahhh?! What are you spouting, Suguru? I'm not a chunibyo. I'm telling the truth," the teenager answered arrogantly.
Geto sighed and ignored his friend, heading toward the train station.
"Oi, Suguru, don't leave me behind!" Gojo shouted as he jogged to catch up with his friend.