On April 23rd, a Sunday, an unusually special day arrived.
In preparation for adopting Fushiguro Megumi, Asou Akiya had gone out of his way to consult auspicious dates from across the ocean.
The year was 2006, the Year of the Fire Dog. According to the lunar calendar, it was the twenty-sixth day of the third month. The almanac listed it as an auspicious day suitable for marriage, visiting relatives and friends, travel, cleaning, betrothals and engagements, transactions, forming alliances, setting up a bed, adopting children, and praying for offspring.
Asou Akiya read through the list. "Avoid opening a business, breaking ground, praying for blessings, construction work, excavating earth, and giving thanks to the earth."
He nodded in satisfaction.
"No problem. Perfectly avoided every single one."
The two of them had stayed up all night and finally found a suitable house. It was an old apartment hidden among residential buildings near a commercial district. The place had three bedrooms and a living room. Its location was close to the bus stop that Asou Akiya frequently used, and traveling from there to Tokyo Jujutsu High would take only half an hour.
After thoroughly investigating the property's ownership records, Asou Akiya paid without hesitation.
The area had complete living facilities and convenient transportation. Nearby were both a public kindergarten and a private elite kindergarten.
After considering everything carefully, however, Asou Akiya chose the public kindergarten instead of the private one.
Having finally accepted the reality that he was about to help raise his nephew, Zen'in Naoya immediately became dissatisfied.
"Megumi is going to attend school with commoners?"
As far as Naoya was concerned, money was not the issue.
"No matter how much I dislike him, I'm not going to let him end up that miserable."
Asou Akiya responded with a soul-searching question.
"Can he speak English?"
Zen'in Naoya blinked.
"?"
Asou Akiya continued, "Does he even know any English? Can he understand cartoons in their original English version?"
Zen'in Naoya stared at him blankly.
"??"
Asou Akiya continued, "Has he been exposed to horseback riding, golf, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, or international travel since childhood?"
Naoya immediately straightened with pride.
"I have."
Asou Akiya gave him no face whatsoever.
"Be quiet. You were raised as the Zen'in Clan's heir with no regard for cost. He was practically left to fend for himself by his father. If a child in his circumstances enters a private kindergarten, there's a very high chance he'll be ostracized by wealthier classmates."
Zen'in Naoya disliked having his excellence attributed to the Zen'in Clan. However, his relationship with Akiya had not reached the point where he felt like venting about the group of useless elder brothers back home. Thus, he merely replied in a cold tone,
"It's not too late for him to start learning now. The physical development of young jujutsu sorcerers is far better than that of ordinary children. He can completely keep up with children his own age."
Asou Akiya nodded.
"He'll attend a public kindergarten first. Once we see how he progresses academically, we'll consider private elementary schools later."
Then he added,
"You can teach Megumi all the aristocratic skills you've learned."
Asou Akiya was not a supporter of happy, pressure-free education.
He was the type of parent who wholeheartedly supported raising children capable of outcompeting everyone else.
Zen'in Naoya thought to himself that, at worst, he could simply spend money and hire instructors.
Then a new opportunity for mockery suddenly occurred to him.
"No way, Kamo. You're leaving this to me instead of teaching him yourself. Don't tell me you never learned any of those skills when you were a kid?"
Asou Akiya smiled faintly and openly admitted his shortcomings.
"Nope."
"I only know multiple languages, piano, and penmanship."
"I can't compare to the privileged upbringing that you and Gojo had."
In his previous life, he had come from a middle-class family. His circumstances had been comfortable, but nowhere near the level of the wealthy elite.
In this life, whenever he was away from home, most of his identity and background were little more than elaborate improvisations and fabricated stories.
Zen'in Naoya was caught completely off guard by such straightforward honesty.
He stared at the other boy.
For a brief moment, an oddly quiet atmosphere settled between them.
Multiple languages?
That was a standard subject that every member of the Three Great Clans was expected to master.
Piano?
That was optional, though more often than not the women of the Three Great Clans were expected to learn music.
As for penmanship, the Three Great Clans generally favored teaching calligraphy with a brush. As a result, even when their descendants wrote with fountain pens, their handwriting often retained a classical elegance.
Zen'in Naoya sneered.
"Your Kamo Clan is obsessed with bloodlines and cursed techniques. You hold yourselves in absurdly high regard, claiming to be the legitimate descendants of the Onmyōji of the Heian era. The clan always carefully selects the most outstanding women to become the principal wife and bear the heir. So how is it that the education of your legitimate sons is this lacking?"
"Honestly, it's not even as good as some third-rate family in ordinary society."
"At least those families respect the purity of their descendants' bloodlines..."
Asou Akiya completely ignored Naoya's insults toward the Kamo Clan. His expression remained calm as he glanced at the time displayed on his phone.
"It's nine o'clock sharp."
"I've rented a business van."
"We'll change into formal clothes and get ready to leave."
The two of them were similar in height and build.
As for these so-called "formal clothes," the reality was simply that Akiya had borrowed a kimono that Zen'in Naoya had never worn.
The Zen'in Clan's servants were always available at a moment's notice. Their job was to deliver whatever was requested, not to question why Young Master Naoya suddenly needed two brand-new sets of clothing.
After bathing at an upscale bathhouse and changing into their attire, the two emerged looking every bit like refined young noblemen.
Zen'in Naoya found himself speechless at Akiya's astonishingly good temper.
Even as he insulted the Kamo Clan, Akiya never got angry.
So had he been insulting the wrong target all this time?
For perhaps the first time in his life, Zen'in Naoya engaged in a moment of self-reflection, determined to improve his ability to verbally break people's defenses in the future.
Then he happened to glimpse the memo app on Asou Akiya's phone.
Expense +1
Expense +1
Expense +1...
Zen'in Naoya: "..."
In Saitama Prefecture, the Fushiguro household was well known throughout the neighborhood as a blended family.
Both husband and wife had entered the marriage with a child of their own, forming a second-marriage household together. After marrying into his wife's family, the husband frequently disappeared for long stretches of time, leaving his son entirely in his wife's care.
Asou Akiya gathered this firsthand information and, in the process, made sure that Zen'in Naoya learned more about the situation as well.
Naoya's face was full of disdain. His blond hair only amplified the naturally punchable quality of his expression.
"So she's not the original wife."
"I was actually curious about what kind of woman could have captivated Toji enough to make him willingly leave behind a descendant carrying Zen'in blood."
The scummy young heir asked, "So how exactly are we adopting the kid? According to the normal procedures, does one of us have to marry that woman?"
Already giving careful consideration to his future marriage prospects, he continued with his usual sharp tongue.
"If she were Toji's original wife, then a woman who gave birth to a Ten Shadows user would at least qualify to become my concubine. But this remarried woman is obviously nothing more than a nanny Toji picked out. I wouldn't let her step even half of her foot through the gates of the Zen'in Clan."
Expressionless, Asou Akiya uttered a single word.
"Get lost."
The feudal mindset was far too strong with this one.
As if Zen'in Naoya would ever get the chance to become Fushiguro Megumi's stepfather. Megumi himself wouldn't agree to it, so who gave Naoya the right to start entertaining such absurd fantasies?
Naturally, Zen'in Naoya was not the type to storm off over a single insult. In fact, his ability to withstand pressure had improved dramatically. Looking around curiously, he followed behind Asou Akiya into a chain fruit store.
As everyone knew, one of the common stereotypes foreigners had about Japan was that fruit was expensive and that Japanese people couldn't bear to eat watermelon casually.
Asou Akiya purchased gifts suitable for a house visit: a watermelon, longan fruit, and a boxed assortment of grapes.
"Done."
After carefully recording the expense in his accounts so that none of his spending would go untracked, he handed the gift boxes displayed at the register to Zen'in Naoya.
Naoya's objections were completely ignored.
Depressed and unwilling, he spent the day serving as a temporary attendant to a member of the Kamo Clan.
After leaving the fruit store, Asou Akiya said to him, "You'll be responsible for informing them of Fushiguro Toji's death as his uncle. The two of us will work together to take Fushiguro Megumi with us. I'll handle the issue of his household registration. Can you do that?"
Zen'in Naoya looked thoroughly dispirited.
"I can."
At exactly 11:30 in the morning, timed perfectly to arrive before lunch, Zen'in Naoya and Asou Akiya paid a visit to the Fushiguro household.
They came bearing news of Fushiguro Toji's death.
The announcement left all three members of the Fushiguro family stunned.
Before entering the house, Asou Akiya had taken the lead.
After stepping inside, however, he accepted the gift boxes, retreated into the background, and allowed Zen'in Naoya to walk in front.
The atmosphere in the living room immediately grew heavy.
Fushiguro Akiko did not have time to send her daughter and stepson away before they overheard the news of Fushiguro Toji's death.
Megumi's mind went blank with a loud buzz.
In a childish, disbelieving voice, he asked, "Toji... Toji is dead?"
Zen'in Naoya replied coldly, "I personally handled his funeral arrangements. His ashes were scattered into the sea."
"I am Zen'in Naoya, Toji's cousin."
Without mentioning anything about the jujutsu world, Naoya's gaze settled on Megumi's small face.
His explanation was brief and direct.
"He made enemies and was killed. The Zen'in Clan paid a certain price because of what happened to him. I need to take Megumi away so he can start a new life."
A husband who was rarely home had died in a fight?
A trace of sorrow rose in Fushiguro Akiko's heart, but it was quickly followed by a feeling of relief.
Someone was actually willing to take responsibility for Fushiguro Megumi.
"May I ask..." she said carefully. "Was this Toji's dying wish?"
Before marrying Fushiguro Toji, Akiko had known that his original name was Zen'in Toji.
Looking at the blond-haired teenager before her, she could immediately sense the bearing of someone born into an elite family. His arrogance and confidence were those of a young master raised among the nobility. Instinctively, she shrank back a little.
Then she noticed his eyes.
They were green, much like Toji's.
Yet the coldness lurking within them was enough to make her uneasy.
"No," said Zen'in Naoya.
Like many heirs of the Three Great Clans, he possessed the remarkable ability to remain self-righteous even when entirely in the wrong.
"When Toji was on the verge of death, I had only just arrived at the scene. He passed away without leaving any final words for me. I am Megumi's blood relative. As his uncle, I am more suitable to raise him than a woman with no blood relation to him."
Fushiguro Akiko had already been through one divorce. She quickly regained her composure.
"Will there be any death compensation?"
"No."
Zen'in Naoya's answer was immediate.
Then he sneered.
"If you want compensation, feel free to try calling the police."
By this point, Zen'in Naoya had successfully drawn every ounce of hostility in the room toward himself.
While he occupied the front lines of the confrontation, Asou Akiya quietly avoided the clash altogether.
He walked over to Fushiguro Megumi.
Then he slowly crouched down in front of the helpless child whose custody was being fought over and spoke gently.
"Do you remember your old surname?"
Megumi nodded.
Without realizing it, his brows had already knitted tightly together.
He was afraid of what was about to be said next.
"Your original surname was Zen'in. Your full name was Zen'in Megumi."
Asou Akiya did not treat the three-year-old child as someone who could be fooled with empty words. Instead, he spoke with genuine respect.
"This cousin of your father's has a bad temper and was spoiled by his family while growing up, but he isn't lying, and he would never lie about matters involving Toji. He liked Toji ever since he was little. We're the people who came to take you with us. Your father left behind a sum of money in my care for your upbringing, to support you until you become an adult."
Asou Akiya reached into his pocket and took out a miniature version of Ugly Treasure, placing it in front of Megumi.
"Can you see it? We can all see it. We're the same kind of people."
Megumi's gaze immediately locked onto the cursed spirit.
There were many monsters outside.
No one else could see them.
In Megumi's limited memories, only his father had never ignored his reactions to those things.
Using that as his opening, Asou Akiya continued,
"Your father could see them too."
A top-tier Heavenly Restriction with zero cursed energy could perceive cursed spirits. Toji had recognized his son's talent as a sorcerer long ago, which was why he had been so eager to send him back to that garbage heap known as the Zen'in Clan.
"Big Brother, what are you showing Megumi?"
A little girl gathered her courage and walked over.
"Nothing."
Asou Akiya smiled gently.
"I'm just showing him a magic trick. Right, Megumi?"
Megumi cooperatively nodded.
"Mm."
Asou Akiya reached out and lightly ruffled Megumi's sea-urchin-like hair before quickly withdrawing his hand.
"Sorry, it's just that your hairstyle reminds me a lot of your biological mother. That made me want to pat your head."
His biological mother?
A faint spark of light appeared in Megumi's green eyes.
Asou Akiya coaxed him softly.
"When you were very little, it was always by your side. Do you remember Ugly Treasure?"
At Asou Akiya's command, Ugly Treasure expanded to its larger form and coiled itself around Fushiguro Megumi, repeatedly calling out,
"Megumi— Megumi—"
The monster's voice immediately triggered Megumi's instinctive fear response. His pupils contracted to pinpoints.
Yet Asou Akiya calmly told him, "Megumi, calm down. Feel it carefully. Doesn't it seem familiar to you?"
Megumi's face turned pale. He abruptly looked toward the other two people in the house.
Fushiguro Tsumiki wore a completely bewildered expression.
His sister couldn't see it.
Under the natural sense of danger that cursed spirits inspired, Megumi held his breath and forced himself to calm down.
Gradually, his fear began to fade.
Ugly Treasure was not harming him.
Instead, it kept calling his name.
More powerful than human words was the call of a monster.
"Your father used to carry it with him," Asou Akiya said, "Your father was its master."
Step by step, he guided Megumi toward forgotten memories.
Fushiguro Toji had always kept Ugly Treasure close at hand. There was no way Megumi had never seen it before. If there was ever a chance for those memories to resurface, it was now.
"Don't be afraid. You are its little master."
A strange sense of familiarity suddenly welled up inside Megumi.
Summoning his courage, he reached out and touched Ugly Treasure.
Its skin was soft.
Its body felt cold.
Everything about the creature conveyed gentleness and obedience.
It was completely different from the monsters outside that attacked people.
Fushiguro Tsumiki could not understand what her younger brother was doing. She only felt as though she had been separated from the conversation by an invisible barrier.
Asou Akiya spoke gently.
"Tsumiki is a good girl. Being unable to see these things is a blessing that can last a lifetime."
Megumi raised his head.
"Then why can I see them?"
Asou Akiya answered, "Because this power is a gift that Heaven gave to you."
"On the day you were born, your mother asked your father to choose your name."
"Toji regarded you as the blessing Heaven had bestowed upon him."
The name Megumi literally meant "blessing" or "grace."
The child who had not shed a single tear upon hearing news of his father's death softly repeated the word.
"A blessing?"
His voice carried a trace of uncertainty.
"I was his blessing?"
"As I said, you were the greatest blessing of Toji's life."
"He was thinking about you even at the moment of his death."
"Even the pet he raised remembers your name."
"Your name is Megumi—the Megumi in 'blessing' (恵)."
For years, neighbors had often mistaken Megumi's name for a girl's name.
At that moment, all of Fushiguro Megumi's carefully suppressed emotions finally collapsed.
His biological parents had not given him the wrong name.
His name came from the blessing his father believed he had received.
And when he was born, his father had remembered perfectly well that he was a boy.
Asou Akiya pulled Megumi into his arms.
"I know it's hard for you to accept this."
"You've always thought that Toji was a terrible father."
"I won't deny that."
"He didn't know how to be a father."
"Other than your mother, no one in this world ever truly loved him."
"He loved you."
"He was just unbelievably bad at showing it."
"Terribly, hopelessly bad at it."
Toji had done far too many awful things in his life. Simply praising him would never earn Megumi's acceptance.
Asou Akiya understood exactly where the knot in Megumi's heart lay. By helping him curse Toji's failings instead of defending them, he finally managed to touch the child's emotions.
Megumi was still young.
He had never received proper guidance.
Nor had he yet suffered the double abandonment of being cast aside first by his father and then by his stepmother.
Because of that, the walls around his heart were nowhere near as severe as they had been in the original timeline, when six-year-old Megumi first met Gojo Satoru.
Everything could still be changed.
The child was only three years old.
His personality had not yet completely taken shape.
Asou Akiya gently stroked Megumi's back.
Hearing his father being criticized did not make the boy happy.
Instead, precious tears began to fall one after another.
Looking at the human and cursed spirit who both gave him a sense of warmth and familiarity, Megumi said through his tears,
"I hate Toji..."
"But Toji can't come back anymore, can he?"
"I want to hear him tell me himself that I was his blessing."
Leaning close to the child's ear, Asou Akiya whispered,
"Hold on to hope."
"Perhaps this world won't disappoint you."
Then he hooked his little finger around Megumi's.
"Let's make a Binding Vow."
"We'll search together for a way to make your wish come true."
"We'll make a list of every bad thing Toji ever did."
"And then we'll make him apologize to you."
"The liar has to swallow a thousand needles."
Megumi had not yet awakened his cursed technique.
He possessed only cursed energy and the faint instincts that came with his natural talent.
Yet even so, he instinctively reached out and hooked his little finger around Asou Akiya's.
A child's promise had been made.
He could not sense the formation of a Binding Vow.
Yet the cursed energy of Asou Akiya and Fushiguro Megumi intertwined, forming a promise between them. The untamed instincts possessed by a child sorcerer made Megumi trust Akiya's words even more.
Zen'in Naoya stared at the two of them in shock.
In such a short span of time, the two of you actually formed a Binding Vow?
Megumi began to sob.
An orphan who had lost both of his biological parents now faced a choice regarding his future family.
He could remain in this blended household, enduring the cold indifference of his stepmother.
Or he could go with blood relatives who belonged to the same world as him.
The answer was obvious.
Once the gentleness surrounding his heart had pried it open, Megumi threw himself into Asou Akiya's embrace.
Asou Akiya lifted him into his arms and successfully earned the trust of a child.
"How about I take you to school?"
"You'll meet lots of friends."
"You'll get a nice school bag and new textbooks."
"You'll be cared for by your real uncle."
"Naoya knows horseback riding, speaks English, and likes watching anime and movies in his spare time."
Zen'in Naoya immediately blurted out, "How do you know I watch anime?"
Asou Akiya shot him a helpless look.
"Everyone knows your father is a veteran otaku of the Zen'in Clan. He loves video games and attending anime conventions. Are you seriously going to claim you never watched cartoons when you were a kid?"
Naoya clicked his tongue in disgust.
"My old man is embarrassing. I'd never watch something like Sailor Moon!"
Asou Akiya felt that both father and son were equally embarrassing. Their family relationships were twisted beyond belief.
Lowering his voice, he continued introducing Megumi to his future relatives.
"Naoya's father is also your great-uncle."
"If fate allows, you'll meet that old man someday."
"Okay."
Megumi buried his face against Asou Akiya's shoulder, avoiding the astonished gazes of his stepmother and stepsister.
He no longer wanted to stay behind and continue being an unwanted burden.
This time, he chose...
Family.
...
Asou Akiya paid six months' worth of child support to redeem Toji's son and successfully whisked away the little sea urchin.
Correspondingly, Zen'in Naoya found himself drowning in debt. The moment they got into the van, however, his attention shifted to another matter.
"Toji left you child support money?"
The business van was spacious, and Megumi sat quietly in the back row, listening in on the conversation.
Without a word, Asou Akiya reached into Ugly Treasure's stomach, pulled out bundles of cash, and tossed them onto the rear seats.
The action itself proved that the money existed.
At the same time, it served as a silent expression of contempt toward the penniless Zen'in Naoya.
"Fifty million yen."
"It's part of the inheritance I found inside Toji's pet."
"Every last yen belongs to Megumi."
The crushing weight on Naoya's finances instantly vanished.
At that moment, beneath a shower of ten-thousand-yen notes scattered throughout the vehicle, Fushiguro Megumi felt as though he had finally escaped poverty.
Ahead of him awaited a new family.
—
Author's Note:
The auspicious-date information for April 23, 2006, is real! Quan Quan also feels that it's an incredibly lucky day! A perfect day for adoption!