Gojo's POV:
As we returned to Jujutsu High, I looked at the brat I have to babysit for the rest of his life. Sigh, I couldn't carry the burden of letting this kid die because of me.
As he noticed my stare, he looked at me. "Thank you," he said with a smile. I looked away.
"Don't bother me too much, kid. Now follow me, I'll have an apartment arranged for you," I said while walking away.
"But… I'm not coming back with Akari-san?" the kid asked in a sad tone.
"No. Your life has changed. If you don't stay under my supervision, they will send assassins to kill you," I said seriously.
"But…" he said, looking like he was going to cry.
"No buts, kid. I made a binding vow to supervise you and to execute you if you harm someone who is not a curse user or a curse, and I don't want to kill a kid," I said while waving goodbye to Suguru and Yaga-sensei, ignoring the principal.
"What is a binding vow?" the kid asked curiously while wiping the tears forming in his eyes.
"A binding vow is a pact that those with cursed energy can make with other people or themselves. The rule is that if you break the conditions of a binding vow made with another person, you will be severely punished by jujutsu itself. However, if you make a binding vow with yourself and break it, the only consequence is losing the advantage the vow gave you," I explained calmly.
"I see…" the kid muttered sadly. "But could you at least let me visit her with supervision?" he asked hopefully.
"Sigh… Okay, kid, but only once a month," I said, annoyed.
"My name is Noroi," he said suddenly.
"Yeah, yeah," I said dismissively.
"Is your name Satoru?" he asked curiously.
"My name is Gojo Satoru, and the other guy's name is Geto. Just call me Gojo," I said without interest.
"Okay, Gojo-san," he said while walking at my side.
As I pulled out my phone to contact the Gojo family to arrange the apartment, a car stopped in front of us.
"Get in," I said as I dialed the clan head's number.
"Satoru?" I heard him say on the phone.
"Old man, arrange an apartment. I need it now," I said.
"Why?" he asked seriously.
"I'll explain tomorrow. Just arrange it. I want to go to sleep," I said, annoyed.
"Sigh… Satoru, if you want to be the next clan head, you need to learn better manners," he said in a tired tone. "But fine. Do you want it in Tokyo?"
"Yeah."
"We don't have as much power in Tokyo as in Kyoto, but go to Shinjuku, to Ichigaya Street. There should be someone there indicating the house and giving you the keys."
"Okay," I said before hanging up, before the old man started lecturing me.
The trip was quiet, the sound of the engine relaxing. After ten minutes, we arrived at the location. As I was about to exit, I looked at the kid and noticed he had fallen asleep.
"Sigh…" I sighed as I exited the car with the sleeping kid in my arms.
"Here it is, Satoru-sama." A man in a suit approached me and gave me a key. "The apartment is in that building," he said, pointing. "It's on the third floor. Door 301."
I looked at the building. The building itself was modern but understated, built from pale concrete and glass, with narrow balconies stacked neatly above one another.
I started walking toward the building, and when I got into the elevator, I noticed the kid move slightly. But when I looked at him, he was still asleep.
As I entered the apartment, I looked around. Inside, the apartment was compact but thoughtfully designed. The entrance opened into a small genkan, where shoes were left neatly by the door. Beyond it, the main living space combined a modest kitchen and a cozy sitting area. The kitchen was sleek and minimalistic, with white cabinets, a small induction stove, and metal shelves mounted above the counter.
A large sliding glass door led to a narrow balcony overlooking the city. From there, you could see office buildings in the distance and, at night, the soft glow of Tokyo's skyline. The sounds of passing trains and distant traffic drifted upward, constant but strangely comforting.
I searched for the bedroom, and after entering, I looked around again. The bedroom was simple, just large enough for a bed and a wardrobe, with a wide window at the side.
I put the kid on the bed, and as I was about to leave, I looked at him again.
"Poor kid," I muttered as I left the apartment.
The next day:
Noroi's POV
As I woke up, I rubbed my eyes before looking at my surroundings. "Huh? Where am I?" I said as I hopped down from the bed.
When I left the room, I noticed that this was the apartment Gojo arranged for me.
"It looks cozy," I said, looking around. "I should thank him again when I have the opportunity."
But soon my thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
I approached the entrance and opened the door to see Gojo and Geto standing in front of it.
"Good morning," Geto said with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, kid. We are on our way to Jujutsu High, and Yaga wants to take you with us," Gojo said, annoyed.
"Satoru, be more polite," Geto said, reprimanding his friend.
"Haah?! Suguru, I'm bored. I want to go on a mission. I don't want to waste time talking," Gojo said arrogantly.
"Noroi-kun, please go shower, and after you shower, we will go to Jujutsu High," Geto said, ignoring Gojo.
"Okay," I said as I let them pass inside and walked toward the bathroom to take a shower.
After ten minutes of showering, I put on my clothes and exited the bathroom.
"Let's go," I said to the two teens.
As we left the apartment, I saw the same car from yesterday, so we entered, and the chauffeur started driving toward Jujutsu High.
"Gojo-san, thank you for giving me an apartment."
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. And drop the -san, just call me Gojo," he said.
"Okay," I answered. "Do you know why Yaga-san called me?" I asked the two teenagers.
"I don't know, but I suppose it's to explain your situation to you," Geto said.
"I am so bored! I only want to go on a mission and fight something!" Gojo suddenly shouted.
"I suppose I want some action too," Geto said.
As they said that, the car stopped, and we got off. We entered Jujutsu High and walked toward one of the buildings.
We entered and saw Yaga standing in the hall.
"You two have a mission with Shoko. She is in the basketball yard. She will explain the mission. I need to talk with Noroi," he said seriously.
The two teens nodded and left us alone.
"Yaga-san? What do you need to tell me?" I asked curiously.
"I wanted to speak with you to explain Jujutsu society," he said seriously as he opened a sliding door to an empty classroom.
"Sit down," he said while gesturing toward a desk. "I will explain the basics first: Cursed energy is formed by negative emotions, so all people on Earth have cursed energy, but not all can control it. Those who can control it are called sorcerers, and those who can't are called non-sorcerers. Non-sorcerers can't control their cursed energy, so they leak it unconsciously, and that cursed energy forms curses, twisted beings that usually don't have the ability to think rationally and attack humans. There are curses that have the ability to think rationally, but those are a lot stronger, and they mostly attack humans." He said while drawing on the board.
"A sorcerer's cursed energy is stored and flows in the abdomen. Sorcerers draw that energy from that same spot and use it to enhance their bodies or to imbue it into weapons. They can also use it to activate their innate techniques. An innate technique is an ability that all sorcerers are born with. The technique is engraved in the brain, more specifically in the prefrontal cortex."As he turned to look at me, he saw me staring at him as if he had spoken in another language.
"What is a brain?" I asked confusedly.
"Sigh… I'm accustomed to teens that already know this. I suppose I need to go to the very basics," he sighed and started explaining biology to me.
After one hour of him explaining the body, I was left amazed.
"Whoa… so many things I didn't know before," I said excitedly.
Yaga smiled slightly at my excitement. "I'm glad you understood all that. After all, how old are you? You can comprehend things kids your age couldn't even understand one word of."
"I am three, Yaga-san," I said.
"What?" he said, confused. "But you are too tall for someone your age," he said in confusion. "Is this an advantage of your body? Terrifying growth?" he asked, amazed.
"I suppose," I said, confused.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Now I will teach you how to control your cursed energy," he said while stepping toward the door. "Follow me."
I stood up and started to follow him. "Where are we going now, Yaga-san?"
Without looking at me, he answered, "To the training grounds."
As we stepped outside into the training grounds, I saw two students training there: one blonde with a serious expression and medium-length hair, and another smiling cheerfully with short black hair.
They stopped and looked at us. "Good morning, Yaga-sensei!" the dark-haired student said with a smile.
The serious blonde guy just nodded and continued his training.
"Good morning, Haibara, Nanami," Yaga said.
"Huh? Who is this kid, Yaga-sensei? He is quite peculiar," the one named Haibara asked, looking at me curiously.
"No one you should worry about, Haibara. Just a kid with special features," he said calmly.
"Ah, okay, Yaga-sensei!" he said cheerfully.
Yaga turned to me and started explaining. "Now you will release your cursed energy by focusing on your negative thoughts."
"Okay," I said as I closed my eyes and started focusing on my negative thoughts. My cursed energy formed a pillar as I released it without control.
When I opened my eyes, I found the bewildered gazes of Yaga, Haibara, and Nanami.
Yaga focused and explained to me, "Now try lowering your output. Imagine that your abdomen is like a piping system with a valve, and imagine yourself trying to close it."
"What is a piping system with a valve?" I asked, confused, as my energy dissipated.
"Sigh…" Yaga sighed, not accustomed to someone who knew so little.
As he started explaining to me what a piping system was, the two teens began talking.
"Did you see that, Nanami?" Haibara said, still surprised.
"Yes," Nanami replied, his mouth slightly open.
After five minutes of explaining, I understood what it was.
I released my cursed energy again, noticing that I did it more easily this time.
"Now try to visualize it," Yaga said seriously.
As I began to imagine the piping system as my cursed energy system, I visualized myself closing it.
As I started to close it, the pillar of cursed energy decreased in size, but halfway through closing it, it dissipated.
"Huh?" I asked, confused.
"It seems you can't control your emotions," Yaga said seriously. "To use cursed energy, you need to focus on negative thoughts, but to fight with it, you need to keep the negative thoughts in your mind and still be able to think normally," he explained.
"I see…" I said as I looked at my four hands, getting lost in my thoughts.
After trying for hours in the training grounds, I finally managed to control the output and move around while using it.
"Yeah!" I said excitedly as I accomplished this feat.
He mastered those two concepts in just a few hours, and at his age… he is really talented, Yaga thought.
"Okay, Noroi-kun, today's training ends now," Yaga said seriously. "Tomorrow Satoru and Suguru will come to pick you up so you can train again."
"Okay, Yaga-san," I said, nodding cheerfully.
As we were about to leave, I saw Gojo, Geto, and a brown-haired girl with short hair enter the training grounds.
"Yo, kid, how have you fared?" Gojo asked.
"Gojo, I can control cursed energy now," I said excitedly while approaching him.
"Huh?! So fast?!" he said, surprised.
I nodded proudly at his reaction.
"That's surprising," Geto said.
The brown-haired girl nodded and approached me.
She crouched to my height. "My name is Shoko. What's yours?" she asked with a smile.
"My name's Noroi, Shoko-san. Nice to meet you," I said with a smile.
"Ahh! So cute!" she said as she embraced me.
"S-Shoko-san?" I asked, confused, looking toward the two teens.
"Shoko, leave the kid alone," Gojo said, noticing my confused gaze. "Oi! Nanami, Haibara! We are going to eat ramen. Do you want to come with us?!" he shouted so they could hear him.
"I am always up for ramen!" Haibara said excitedly as he began walking toward us.
Nanami nodded and followed Haibara. As I was about to leave Shoko's embrace, she lifted me into her arms.
"Shoko-san?" I looked at her as she lifted me.
"No kid should walk so much," she said with a smile.
I smiled. "Thank you," I muttered softly.
"Let's go," Gojo said as we all walked toward the ramen restaurant he wanted to visit.
After ten minutes of walking, we stopped in front of a traditional ramen restaurant.
"This is it," Gojo said, entering the restaurant.
As we entered, a waiter led us to a table for six.
"What do you want to try, Noroi-kun?" Geto asked me.
I looked at the sign that had all the food. Without knowing how to read, I searched for the one that looked the tastiest. "This one," I said, pointing at what I wanted.
"Very well," Geto said and explained my choice to the waiter.
"Spend all you want, Noroi. After all, Gojo pays," Shoko said softly.
"Haah?! When did I say I was paying for all of us?" Gojo said, annoyed.
"Do you want to try the yakisoba, Noroi?" Shoko asked, ignoring Gojo.
Haibara laughed slightly. "Thanks for paying for the meal, Gojo."
"Haah?! You too, Haibara?! I thought you were the most innocent of us!" he said.
Nanami smiled slightly. "If you are so insistent on paying for my meal, Gojo, I will not deny it," he said in an amused tone.
"You too, Nanami?!" he shouted, confused.
"Don't yell, Satoru," Geto reprimanded.
I looked at them, at their warmth and how they were bickering so amiably, and I felt a sense of comfort washing over my body.
I wish this were forever.
One year later.