Noroi's POV
Today was my second day at school, and it wasn't better than yesterday. As I was leaving the school gates, I looked around.
They still looked at me with the same looks of fear, terrified even to approach me but still whispering behind my back.
I sighed and continued on my way.
Tsumiki was waiting for me in front of the car, and Megumi was at her side with his arms crossed.
"Let's go, Noroi," she said with a kind smile.
"Okay," I said, smiling slightly at her kindness.
As I was about to enter the car, a phone ring interrupted me.
"Wait," I said before looking at my phone.
It was Yaga calling me. I was confused. Why is he calling now?
"Yes?" I asked while picking up the phone.
"Noroi, could you please come to Jujutsu High? I need to talk to you," he said with a serious tone.
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"I will tell you when you arrive," Yaga answered me before hanging up.
I was confused. What could it be?
After entering the car, Tsumiki looked at me with curiosity.
"Who called you?" she asked, looking at me with curiosity.
"It was Gojo. I need to go somewhere, but first I'll drop you home," I said, lying with a serious expression.
"Okay," she said, looking at me with a kind smile.
Her smile eased the tension I felt from Yaga's confusing call.
'I have a bad feeling about this,' I thought, looking outside the window.
As we arrived in front of the apartment, Tsumiki and Megumi left the car, and I waved them goodbye.
"Kenji-san, please go to Jujutsu High," I said seriously.
"Right away, Noroi-sama," he said as he started driving.
On the way, I felt an invisible grip on my heart, a bad sensation washing over my body.
As we approached Jujutsu High, I noticed Yaga standing in front of the gates, looking at the car with his arms crossed.
The car stopped, and I exited. "Yaga-sensei, what is it?" I asked him with a bit of anxiety.
"Noroi…" he said. His expression softened as he looked at me.
"What? Tell me!" I said nervously.
"Geto… Yesterday… he killed an entire village and became a curse user," he said, looking away from me.
"What?" I said, shocked. "Hey, Yaga-sensei, is this some type of old man joke?" I asked in disbelief.
'Geto? Killing hundreds of innocent people? Impossible. He was always protecting the weak. He would never do that,' I thought in disbelief.
"Oi! If this is some type of joke, drop it!" I said angrily.
Yaga didn't look at me. "It's the truth, Noroi. I'm sorry," he muttered softly.
"Hey, it's not funny anymore! If Gojo heard you, he would be really pissed!" I said, tired of his nonsense.
"… " Yaga didn't look at me and didn't talk.
"You're kidding, right?! Right?!" I said desperately. "Geto would never do that!"
"Please tell me this is a joke. Please," I said, tears starting to leak from my eyes as I grabbed Yaga's shirt, looking at him with pleading eyes.
"I'm sorry, Noroi," he said, still not looking at me.
"No! No. No. No." I gradually began to lower my voice as I denied the reality of the situation.
My legs weakened. I fell on my knees as tears leaked from my eyes.
Gojo, Geto, and Shoko were like older siblings to me. I knew them since I was three. How could this be? Geto, the kind-hearted guy who always helps people, committing genocide?
Yaga pulled me into an embrace.
"He left a letter for Shoko. It's for you," he muttered softly in my ear.
I looked up, tears still leaking from my eyes.
I wiped them, but they were still falling. "Please give it to me," I said sadly.
Yaga gave me a letter that contained Geto's handwriting.
'Noroi, if you are reading this, you already know what I did. I wrote this letter as a parting gift from me. I recently talked with Yuki Tsukumo, a special grade sorcerer, about how to get rid of curses. I suggested that if we eliminated all non-sorcerers, curses would disappear. At first, I was reluctant to accept this idea as the only way to get rid of curses. But in a recent mission, I noticed how non-sorcerers treat people with sorcery, so I made a decision. I made this decision to create a better world for you. I always noticed the stares of non-sorcerers toward you, but I always ignored them. Now I see the truth. Non-sorcerers are the real curse, and I must eliminate every one of them. So please live your life without worrying about me. I do this for you and for all sorcerers.
I love you like a brother, and I always will. Thank you for being my family.
Suguru Geto.'
As I read the last sentence, my heart sank, and I cried more as I remembered all the good times I had with my brother.
Yaga hugged me tightly and started patting my back.
After crying for a while, I pulled back.
"Thank you for telling me, Yaga-sensei," I muttered softly before turning to the car.
"Noroi… if you are feeling down, remember to call me, Gojo, or Shoko," he said softly as he watched me getting in the car.
I nodded slightly before the car started the engine and began moving.
On the way, I began to remember all the moments I shared with my brother.
"Noroi, remember to protect the weak and to be kind to others."
"Noroi, ignore their stares. They just fear what they don't understand."
"Noroi, you are a good kid."
Little tears formed in my eyes as I heard his voice in my mind, always warm and kind.
"I'll miss you, brother," I muttered to myself.
As I arrived at the apartment, I opened the door and began walking toward my room. Tsumiki and Megumi were in their rooms, so I didn't talk to them.
I closed the door behind me and walked toward the bed.
I lay there, watching the ceiling, my memories of Geto coming to my mind.
My eyes began closing from exhaustion.
"Brother…" I muttered weakly before falling asleep.
Narrator's POV
The door opened slightly, and Tsumiki peeked into the room.
She looked at the boy lying in his bed, sleeping without a blanket.
She walked in, grabbed a blanket that was lying on the table, and covered Noroi with it.
She approached Noroi's face and, with one hand, caressed it.
"Noroi…" she said, noticing the dry tears on his face. "You are suffering so much," she said in a worried voice.
"You are so kind, but so many bad things are happening to you," she said as she started running her hand through Noroi's pink hair.
"Let me help you," she said, pulling back and starting to leave the room.
She questioned Megumi about how their classmates treated Noroi and already knew the burden he was carrying without telling her.
"You are a beautiful person, Noroi, and you are important to me," she said, looking back at him.
With a last glance, she left the room and closed the door.
Next day
Noroi's POV
As I looked through the wagon window, I started thinking about today.
I decided to skip school to visit Akari and tell her about my troubles. Gojo agreed to go with me, and we were now waiting to arrive in the town.
"Noroi… I'm sorry," Gojo said suddenly, looking outside the window.
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"If I had noticed the change in Geto's attitude, I might have been able to get him out of it, but I didn't notice until it was too late," he said, his voice full of guilt.
"Gojo… you don't have to be sorry for anything. I didn't notice his change in attitude either," I said sadly. "It was Tsukumo Yuki who is at fault," I said, my voice turning serious with a little hint of anger.
"Huh? What does Tsukumo have to do with all this?" he said, confused.
"In the letter Geto gave me, he described that after a conversation with her, he started thinking of a way to eliminate all non-sorcerers to remove curses from the world," I said seriously.
He looked at me, shocked, and then his expression turned serious. "I see…"
The rest of the travel we spent silently staring through the window.
As we arrived, Gojo accompanied me through the town. The villagers didn't change a bit, their stares the same as every month.
We arrived at Akari's house and knocked.
Akari opened the door, and before she could ask, I spoke.
"It's me, Akari-san," I said with a smile, looking at the old woman.
"Noroi-kun, I'm glad you are here," she said with a kind smile before approaching to hug me.
As always, I hid my two extra arms and embraced her.
"Come inside, little one. I made tea," she said brightly with a warm smile.
"Okay," I said as Gojo waved me goodbye.
Gojo never entered Akari's house and was always wandering around the town while waiting for me to call him.
I entered Akari's house, following her to the familiar kitchen and smelling the tea she had just prepared.
We sat down and started talking.
"Well, Noroi-kun, how are you faring?" she asked.
"Well… Akari-san, a close friend died a few days ago, and a friend I considered a brother became a criminal," I said, pouring my heart out to Akari.
Akari gasped in horror and, with a worried face, spoke. "Noroi… I'm so sorry," she said in a sad tone. "I'm sure you are suffering greatly." She stood up and approached me, probing with her hand to see where I was.
I took her hand and signaled where I was.
She hugged me warmly. "…" I didn't say a word as two of my arms hugged her tightly.
We stayed like this for a while before pulling back.
"Thank you, Akari-san," I said, smiling slightly and wiping a small tear that formed in my eye.
She smiled. "You don't have to thank me, Noroi. It is natural for me to cheer you up when you are feeling down."
I looked at her, but my mind wandered to Geto's plan.
'Kill all non-sorcerers… what about Tsumiki and Akari?' I thought in horror, imagining the person I considered my brother killing the people close to me.
'No, if the day comes, I'll talk to him. He is my brother. He would hear me,' I thought, determined but sad.
I spent the day with Akari, sipping tea and talking about topics we liked.
"So you are telling me you have two new roommates?" she asked with surprise.
"Yeah, one is a kind girl named Tsumiki, and the other is a serious boy named Megumi. They are siblings," I said, looking at the tea in my hands. I didn't like the flavor of tea, but gradually I started liking it.
"Oh-ho~ so a kind girl, yeah?" Akari said with a mischievous tone.
"Yeah," I said in a confused tone.
"I see… you are still too young to be flustered by this kind of thing," Akari said with a sigh.
"What things?" I asked, confused.
"Nothing, Noroi. You'll know eventually," she said, smiling.
"So did you start school?" she asked with a smile. "Three years ago, you were so excited to go to one."
My smile disappeared from my face.
"Well, I had some trouble making friends," I said in a deflated tone.
"Well, Noroi, you only have to talk to them and be yourself," she said softly. "You are the kindest kid I've ever met."
"Thank you, Akari-san," I answered, my smile returning to my face.
As we ended our tea, a knock sounded on the door.
I knew it was Gojo. He had missions to do and couldn't stay long supervising me.
"Akari-san, I have to go. I'm sorry," I said with a sad smile.
"You don't have to be sorry. I know your disease is strange and that you need constant treatment, so don't worry about me," she said, her tone a little sad.
"Okay," I said softly as I opened the door to see Gojo standing there.
"Well, I have to go, Noroi," he said in an apologetic tone.
"Okay," I said, looking at him. "Goodbye, Akari-san," I said as I rushed a bit toward her to hug her.
After the hug, I followed Gojo outside and closed the door behind me.
Akari stood in the room with a smile on her wrinkled face.
"He is so sweet," she muttered quietly before grabbing her walking stick.
"Cough… cough…" she coughed into her hand.
"Well, I spat some saliva into my hand. How gross," she said calmly before searching for paper to clean her hand. A slight taste of copper filled her mouth as she coughed again.
8 Years Later