About a year later.
"It's these dilapidated churches!"
"Thanks, Misato!"
Yuanfang took the map from Misato Kuroi and began studying it carefully.
"Whatever you do, be careful. You're the only family I have left now!"
Misato Kuroi ruffled Yuanfang's hair, her face full of concern.
After spending all this time together, she had begun to understand Yuanfang. She knew he was no ordinary child and could handle many things, but she still couldn't stop worrying.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine!"
Having his hair ruffled like that always felt strange to Yuanfang. He gave Misato Kuroi a reassuring smile while shifting his head away.
"Hehe..."
Misato Kuroi chuckled at his reaction. Rather than make an issue of it, she turned away to do the housework.
"Angel, you'd better wait for me..."
After muttering those words to himself, Yuanfang said goodbye to Misato Kuroi, opened the door, and set off.
Two days later.
"Could the story not have started yet?"
Seeing the church completely empty, Yuanfang was filled with confusion.
He vaguely remembered that in the manga's original storyline, Suguru Geto was close to turning evil, and Satoru Gojo would go looking for Megumi Fushiguro.
Hana Kurusu, who was trapped in a church by a cursed spirit, would follow Megumi Fushiguro's dog out and appear behind them.
That meant Hana Kurusu had to be trapped in some church at this point in time.
Yet he had visited almost every abandoned church in Japan without finding her.
He was beginning to wonder whether his memory was wrong.
"Sigh, whatever. There are three left. Hopefully I'll find her!"
If he couldn't find Hana Kurusu, carrying out his plan would probably be difficult.
After spending several hours in a car, Yuanfang finally arrived at another church.
Looking at the ruined church ahead, he felt a spark of hope rekindle, even though he hadn't expected much.
He had only taken a few steps when the corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.
He could already sense cursed energy. This was very likely the place where Hana Kurusu was trapped.
As he drew closer, the presence of cursed energy grew increasingly strong.
Before long, Yuanfang entered the church and saw a pink, humanoid cursed spirit four or five meters tall, its facial features twisted and distorted.
It was holding something unidentifiable and offering it to the children in front of it.
Although the light was dim, Yuanfang spotted the blond-haired girl at a glance.
The grin on his face was suddenly harder to suppress than an AK's recoil. He quickened his pace, swiftly approaching the cursed spirit.
Yuanfang's domain could conceal his cursed energy perfectly.
So even when he came up behind the cursed spirit, it failed to notice him.
The children with their backs turned did notice Yuanfang, however, and their eyes filled with confusion.
Faced with a monster like this, they couldn't run away fast enough, yet this little boy was approaching it of his own accord. They found it utterly unbelievable.
Boom!
After a thunderous crash, a huge hole appeared in the cursed spirit's chest, and its body began slowly dissipating.
The children's eyes went as wide as saucers. They could hardly believe what had just happened before them.
The little blond-haired girl stared particularly hard at the boy before her, as though trying to see right through him.
"Forget everything that happened today. There's a taxi up ahead. Follow the driver out of here!"
Upon hearing Yuanfang say they could go home, the children didn't hesitate. Like arrows released from a bow, they immediately sprinted in the direction he pointed.
They couldn't stand living like this any longer. They longed to see their parents and eat a proper feast.
Before long, only one little girl remained.
"Why aren't you leaving?"
Smiling, Yuanfang looked at the little blond-haired girl in puzzlement, though inwardly he was overjoyed. I hadn't even figured out how to coax her into coming with me. This makes things easy.
"I'm an orphan. I don't have a home!"
The little girl lowered her head, looking sad.
"What's your name?"
"Hana Kurusu!"
"From now on, I'll be your big brother. Would you like that?"
Having confirmed that she was Hana Kurusu, the person he was looking for, Yuanfang no longer hesitated. He was ready to take her home.
"C-can I really?"
Hana Kurusu stared with wide, round eyes, her face full of disbelief that happiness could come so suddenly.
"Yes!"
Yuanfang nodded, his smile as warm as a spring breeze.
"Big brother!"
With his answer confirmed, Hana Kurusu hesitated no longer and immediately threw herself into Yuanfang's arms.
Where she couldn't see, the corners of Yuanfang's mouth lifted again.
A night later.
"Who is this child?"
Misato Kuroi looked at the timid little blond-haired girl behind Yuanfang, utterly puzzled about what he had been up to.
He had actually brought a little girl home.
"She's an orphan. I've taken her as my little sister, so she's part of our family now."
Like the head of the household, Yuanfang settled the matter without even asking Misato Kuroi's opinion.
"Come on, say hello to your big sister Misato!"
Yuanfang pulled Hana Kurusu in front of him as he spoke.
"B-big sister!"
Hana Kurusu was frightened. She didn't even dare look Misato Kuroi in the eye, terrified that she wouldn't like her, and even more afraid that she wouldn't let her stay.
"Hehe, come on. Let your big sister give you a bath and get you into some clean clothes!"
Looking at the grubby little girl before her, Misato Kuroi couldn't help remembering what Riko Amanai had looked like as a child.
Tears welled faintly in her eyes, and she took Hana Kurusu toward the bathroom.
Seeing that Misato Kuroi hadn't rejected Hana Kurusu, Yuanfang finally felt relieved.
He turned and went to the kitchen to cook, planning to win the little girl over with delicious food.
At Jujutsu High, Suguru Geto sat on a bench with dark circles around his eyes, looking utterly exhausted.
"What kind of woman is your type?"
A tall, blond-haired woman struck a pose as she asked Suguru Geto the question.
"Who are you?"
Instead of answering the woman's question, Suguru Geto asked one of his own.
"Yuki Tsukumo, special grade sorcerer. Heard of me?"
With a playful smile, Yuki Tsukumo sat down beside Suguru Geto.
Suguru Geto paused in surprise. He hadn't expected someone like her to come looking for him.
"I didn't expect it to be you!"
"So you know your stuff! Come on, tell me!"
Yuki Tsukumo immediately looked excited and pointed at herself, inviting Suguru Geto to tell her what kind of person he thought she was.
Unfortunately, Suguru Geto couldn't take a hint. Not only did he bring up plenty of her embarrassing history, he went into great detail.
Yuki Tsukumo's excited expression instantly darkened.
After chatting for a while, the two began discussing cursed spirits, jujutsu sorcerers, and non-sorcerers.
"I've seen a few cases where Heavenly Restriction reduced someone's cursed energy to an ordinary person's level.
But he's the only case in the entire world of someone having absolutely zero cursed energy. And that's not the only interesting thing about him..." (I don't think there's any need to write too much about the original story, or everyone will think I'm padding the word count.)
Before you continue