Here's the next chapter, sorry if it took too long to upload. Oh right, I'm uploading two chapters in those schedule written in the synopsis! Not a translation or chinese thing!
[Chapter Start]
"Ta-da! This is your home now. Are you happy? I would like you to—"
Satoru's attempt to introduce the three was cut short as a ringing erupted from his pocket. A sharp click followed as he flipped open his phone, his face souring instantly.
What does this old man want to do now?
"Yoichi-kun, I'll leave the matter in your hands. Let me answer this," Satoru said, already turning toward the exit.
Once the door closed, Tsumiki stepped forward, a bright smile appearing on her gentle face as she took the lead.
"Welcome to our humble abode! Name's Tsumiki and here's my little brother, Megumi. Nice to meet you!"
"Yoichi Murakami. Please, treat me well," A polite response then came from Yoichi.
However, Yoichi's eyes remained fixed on Megumi with an intensity that felt like lasers were popping out, scanning Megumi from head to toe.
What is he staring at? A suspicious thought surfaced in Megumi's head as he raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"...Nice to meet you," Megumi said, his voice flat and guarded.
"Tsumiki-chan! I'll leave the dinner with you! Just a meeting with someone. I'll be back at night!"
Satoru, as irresponsible as ever, shouted through the closing door before vanishing.
A collective head shake came from the three children as they processed their guardian's sudden flight.
"There are three rooms on the second floor; please choose yours. I'm handling the lunch in the meantime."
With Megumi seeing Tsumiki's look, he couldn't help but sigh and then help Yoichi with his luggage problem.
Tsumiki!/Megumi!
Inside the Wonderspace, a violent reaction occurred. Both Mamaguro and Toji lurched toward the edge of the spiritual boundary the moment they saw their children.
Their eyes were full of longing, witnessing how brutal time had been, forcing their children to grow up without them.
...Can we meet them? Toji asked, his voice uncharacteristically small.
"..."
Hey, brat! I'm asking you! Toji roared, his patience snapping as he felt ignored by Yoichi's external conversation.
"Chill out! I just arrived, and now you are making me hurry," Yoichi blurted out.
"Who are you talking to?" Megumi asked, stopping in his tracks with a mixture of confusion and genuine worry for his sanity.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just a habit of mine." Yoichi laughed.
When they reached the second floor, Yoichi felt amazed. The dormitory looked spotless; However, the lack of other people suggested that Satoru really had done a good job of isolating and taking care of them in this private wing.
The layout was expansive, featuring two rooms on the first floor and three on the second, all draped in a quiet atmosphere.
Soon, after the unloading was finished, Yoichi turned to face the younger boy.
"So... are you ready to meet your parents?"
A tilt of Megumi's head was the only response.
From the intense gaze and the weird self-talking to this nonsensical question, a genuine curiosity arose in Megumi's mind as to whether a few screws were loose in Yoichi's head.
"Say... do you have an illness?" Megumi asked, dripping with deadpan skepticism.
"That's why you looked like a bum! Don't answer my question with another question. So do you want to or not?!"
An irritated huff escaped from Yoichi, looking at Megumi's already pitying look at him.
"I don't care," Megumi muttered, looking away. "They've been gone a long time. Practicality says you're making things up, and honestly, I have better things to do than indulge in a fantasy."
"Well, I care!"
Tsumiki's voice interrupted, appearing in the doorway as she wiped her hands on an apron.
A grumble started in Megumi's throat as he saw the hopeful shimmer in Tsumiki's eyes and the fake-ass smug plastered on Yoichi's face.
"Can you really make us meet with Mom and Dad?" Tsumiki asked, her voice small yet firm.
"Why would you even believe—"
Before Megumi could finish the sentence, a bold statement was made by Yoichi. "Of course I can! But... do you really believe it?"
Why did you even have these kinds of questions? Take them away! Toji's words felt threatening, his impatience vibrating through Yoichi's skull.
Calm down, Sensei. It's just a test for them. Your son is truly a hopeless being. Look at him! If he doesn't have hope, then everything is lost! Yoichi replied internally.
With his very existence acting as a massive butterfly effect, Yoichi was determined to ensure the "Potential Man" would actually reach his potential.
After taking several deep breaths, Tsumiki spoke up. "I believe you! Please, can we see Mom and Dad now?"
"Nee-san!" Megumi exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"Well said. What about you?" With the smile of a demon, Yoichi turned his focus back to the boy.
Looking into those confident golden eyes, a heavy sigh escaped from Megumi's lips.
"...I believe you."
"What? I couldn't hear you."
"I believe it!" Megumi shouted, feeling so annoyed that he considered if this was a scam, he might actually unleash Big Raga right then and there.
Standing up, Yoichi took both of their hands in a firm grip. "Let's go then!"
Soon, the Akashic Records shone with a blinding light and the Wondergate emerged in the center of the room, a swirling vortex that sucked the three of them inside in an instant.
"What is... where are we?" A gasp escaped from Megumi's mouth as he stumbled, his eyes darting around the verdant horizon.
"Megumi... look," Tsumiki whispered, her voice trembling.
Standing just a few meters away, the shimmering mist parted. Two figures stepped forward, their radiant faces breaking into looks of such pure, agonizing love.
Tsubaki, with her gentle eyes that mirrored Tsumiki's own, and Akio, whose soft features held a warmth that seemed to push back the shadows of the world.
Both Mamaguro, the parents who had been ripped away too soon, now stood as solid as the memories they left behind.
"Tsumiki... Megumi..." Tsubaki's voice drifted toward them like a warm breeze.
A sob broke from Tsumiki's throat as she sprinted across the golden floor.
She collided with Tsubaki, her arms wrapping around a form that felt both like spirit and solid memory. A torrent of tears followed as Tsumiki buried her face in her mother's shoulder, all those years of forced maturity finally crumbling away.
Akio moved in tandem, wrapping her arms around both of them, her presence a silent, protective bulwark.
"We're here, my sweet children. We've always been watching," Akio whispered, filled with emotion.
Megumi stood frozen. He looked at the parents he barely remembered, his stoic mask cracking bit by bit.
But then, his gaze shifted to the side.
A tall man with a jagged scar on his lip stood leaning against a pillar of light, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.
Toji Fushiguro looked exactly like the man Megumi had seen in his darkest nightmares and vague bitter memories.
"So..." An awkward voice emerged from Toji.
"You grew up. Still got that messy hair, I see."
"You..." Megumi's hands balled into fists at his sides. "You're the one who—"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm the guy who left. The guy who sold you out. I know the list," Toji interrupted, eyes shifting away.
"I'm not gonna apologize and say I was some saint. I wasn't. I lived like a dog and died like one too."
"Then why are you here?" Megumi asked, shaking with a mixture of rage and desperation.
"Because that brat wouldn't stop nagging me," Toji grunted, nodding toward Yoichi, who was standing back and giving them space.
Nice, lying to yourself again! Yoichi thought.
Toji took a tentative, heavy step forward.
"And because... I wanted to see if Zen'in got their hands on you. It seems that the kid is right and Gojo's been doing a decent job. You look... nourished. Better than I ever was."
"Is that all you have to say?"
An awkward silence ensued. Toji rubbed the back of his neck, his muscles tensing as if he were preparing for a fight he didn't want to win.
"I don't have advice for you, kid. You're a sorcerer; your life is gonna be a mess of blood and shadows," Toji said, finally meeting Megumi's eyes with a look of hidden pride. "But don't call yourself a Zen'in. You're a Fushiguro. Remember that."
"Toji, be nice!" Tsubaki chided gently, reaching out a hand toward Megumi while Akio gave a supportive nod.
A reluctant sigh escaped from Toji's mouth.
He reached out, his large, calloused hand hovering over Megumi's head for a split second before he awkwardly ruffled the boy's spiky hair.
It was a rough, even clumsy gesture.
The only way a man built for killing knew how to show affection.
"You're doing okay, Megumi," Toji muttered, voice barely audible. "Just... keep doing that."
Megumi didn't move and hug him back, but the tension in his shoulders finally snapped.
He let out a shaky breath, head drooping low as a tear escaped and hit the ground.
Haibara and Riko stood off to the side, their eyes glistening with tears as they watched Tsubaki and Akio embrace their children.
It was the kind of heartwarming scene that made the cold reality of their own deaths feel a little further away.
However, on the other side of the forest, a different energy was brewing.
Jin Itadori looked as though he were vibrating with sheer jealousy.
Beside him stood Kaori, her expression unreadable but her presence heavy.
You heard it right, the Itadori's here!
"Yoichi-kun! Please!" Jin's voice erupted as he rushed toward Yoichi. "The Fushiguros got their moment... please, what about Yuji? I need to see my son. Is he okay? Is he eating well? Is he... is he lonely?"
"Don't worry, Jin-san. We'll have time for that. I promise," Yoichi placed a hand on Jin's arm, trying to steady the man's erratic energy. "Yuji is doing fine. He's growing up to be a good kid. Stronger than you'd think."
Both of them continued the discussion, with Jin desperately asking a million questions a minute while Yoichi acted as his sole anchor of consolation.
Kaori stepped up, placing a hand on Jin's back to soothe his nerves. She spoke soft supportive words, even though a strange distant look remained in her eyes as if she weren't entirely sure what Jin was talking about when it came to their son's current life.
Kenjussy really did a number on this guy's life...
"Hey! Since we're doing requests!"
Haibara butted in, his usual energetic grin stretching across his face. "Can I see Nanami soon? I want to tell him he's doing a great job! He looks so serious all the time now, he needs a good laugh!"
Amidst the chaos of voices and frantic requests, Yoichi standing at the center of it all. He looked less like a weird boy earlier, and more of an innkeeper of souls, fulfilling deceased one's desires.
A faint, genuine smile appeared on Megumi's face as he watched the scene.
...
...
...
Inside a traditional room thick with the sharp, fermented scent of booze and sake, Satoru stepped through the sliding doors.
"Spit it out, old man," a sharp command was issued by Satoru with an air of bored impatience.
"Get straight to the point. My students are waiting."
Naobito poured another cup, the liquid sloshing rhythmically.
"The Zen'in clan is an institution of tradition, Satoru. But even traditions must adapt when a new... variable enters the equation. I have two girls—twins to be exact."
"They are currently languishing in the compound, wasted on chores that don't suit their potential. I believe they would benefit from the 'progressive' environment of your ideology."
Satoru paused for a second, his Six Eyes processing the hidden layers behind the request.
Color me impressed! If the old guard is actually thinking this far ahead, it's going to be a long year.
In his mind, the play was transparent.
Sending the sisters proved two points.
First, they would act as surveillance for Megumi. The Zenin's priority remained keeping eyes on the Ten Shadows, even if those eyes belonged to sisters the clan usually deemed pitiful.
Second, and most importantly: the political marriage. Naobito wanted Yoichi to acclimate to them, perhaps even develop romantic feelings for one or both.
As long as a union bore fruit, a child carrying the blood of both the Zen'in and whatever demonic lineage Yoichi possessed, nothing else mattered.
It was a two-birds-with-one-stone tactic.
"Why should I babysit again?" Satoru stated, his voice flat. "I'm a teacher, not a daycare center for clan rejects."
"It wouldn't hurt to add another two to your roster," Naobito countered. "These children are talented in their own right, even if their own clan is too blind to see it. Think of it as a gesture of... mutual interest."
Cupping his chin, Satoru let a small, knowing smirk appear through his face.
The potential for chaos was too high to pass up.
"Fine. I'll take them," Satoru agreed.
But, as irresponsible as ever, his mind was already shifting the burden.
He had no intention of actually managing the drama himself. Yoichi and the others could handle the new arrivals; it would be a "learning experience" for everyone involved.
_________
Did I hit the misogynistic timing or nah?