Satoshi instantly arrived back at the park.
Seeing a tiny figure ahead looking for something, he just walked up to her.
Mei Mei quickly noticed Satoshi.
"Where did you go, it was like you vanished!" She asked, curious.
Satoshi just replied casually, "I saw a little fox running around so I went to pet it."
"What! Where?!"
Satoshi chuckled slightly but shook his head. "Sorry, but I scared it off before I could even do anything myself."
"Aw~ I wanted to see a fox..." she pouted.
"Maybe next time. Who knows?" Satoshi shrugged, before suggesting, "We've spent enough time at the park, I think we should head home now."
Mei Mei nodded. She was getting bored anyways.
They soon left the park and went home. It was only about a five minute walk so they didn't get lost.
They lived in a modest but stylish apartment tucked away in a quieter part of Shinjuku.
Though the place wasn't large, it carried the distinct feel of a sorcerer's household — subtle protective charms embedded in the doorframe, wards etched faintly along the windows, and the occasional flicker of cursed energy lingering in the corners.
Satoshi didn't know much about his family as they weren't ever mentioned in the anime. He merely knew the identity of Mei Mei and her little brother Ui Ui which he seemed to have replaced.
They weren't part of the big three clans, however, his family seem to have some ties and connections with the sorcerer world.
As they stepped through the door, a gentle warmth welcomed them.
"Welcome back," came the calm voice of their mother from the kitchen, her presence soft but firm.
"Hey, we're home." Mei Mei and Satoshi called back.
Mei Mei kicked off her shoes. Satoshi followed suit, slipping out of his sandals and giving a slight nod to his mother as he passed. She gave him a small smile in return before turning back to whatever she was cooking.
Their father was likely out on a mission again, or working with one of the smaller sorcercer branches the family had ties to. He wasn't home much — not neglectful, but definitely distant.
Satoshi didn't really care, of course. He wasn't particularly interested in forging bonds with people he'd eventually outgrow in more ways than one.
Being over 100 years old as a curse had made him slightly distant emotionally. If it weren't for his memories of his prior life, he'd likely have lost all his humanity.
Thus, he simply was always true to himself, doing whatever whim he wanted, and whatever thought he viewed as interesting.
"I'm heading to my room," he muttered casually.
"Okay!" Mei Mei flopped onto the couch and turned on the TV. "Let me know if you wanna watch something later!"
Satoshi gave a simple wave over his shoulder before vanishing down the hallway.
—
—
—
Once inside his room, he closed the door gently behind him. The air was quiet, save for the distant hum of city life beyond the window.
He casually sat cross-legged on the floor.
From the drawer beside his bed, he pulled out a small razor blade, holding it between his fingers with a bored expression.
Without hesitation, he pressed it against his palm and dragged it across the skin.
A thin, clean line of red formed instantly — blood trickling down his hand.
Satoshi, of course, wore a plain expression as if the action had been trivial.
As concerning as this looked, this wasn't self harm.
It was practice.
"Reversed Cursed Technique..." he muttered under his breath, watching the blood lazily drip onto the floor. "As a curse, I couldn't even touch positive energy, let alone use it."
But now that he was human again — technically — things had changed.
He'd read about it in manga. Seen it in the anime. Only a select few could use it, and even fewer could use it proficiently.
He closed his eyes and focused, trying to force cursed energy to invert, to flip into its opposite.
The result?
Nothing.
Just blood. A dull sting. No warmth. No healing.
Satoshi sighed.
"Merely trying to multiply two negatives to make a positive... sounds poetic, but vague as hell. No wonder so few people can actually pull it off," he muttered, remembering how Gojo had described the process.
He tried again.
And again.
The pain wasn't the issue. It was the concept itself. The mechanics were elusive. There wasn't some guidebook on how to manipulate cursed energy on such an intricate, molecular level. It was something only geniuses or maniacs seemed to figure out.
Finally, he sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting the razor clatter softly to the floor.
"...Tch. Whatever. I'll leave it for now."
Manipulating his cursed energy, he quickly healed the wound.
The blood that had pooled in his palm quivered. Slowly, unnaturally, it reversed course — sliding back into his skin, including the blood which had dripped onto the floor.
The wound eventually sealed shut.
Not a single trace that he harmed himself was there.
Naturally, this wasn't reversed cursed technique.
After all, he had used negative energy.
However, normally only curses would be able to heal using negative energy, but Satoshi wasn't a curse anymore which would leave many people confused.
The explanation was simple.
It was simply the result of his technique.
Satoshi's abilities revolved around the concept of time.
He could manipulate it.
Satoshi had simply reversed the flow of time of his body to heal the cut.
Of course, if it was that simple, in a few seconds, he would just be cut again invisibly. After all, if time was reversed, the future would still take its course. However, he could also sever time like King Crimson from Jojo's Bizzare Adventure.
So the future of that happening had been erased.
Satoshi was not merely jesting when he said he was the strongest. He did in fact, have the ability to back those words, especially with his ability to manipulate time on a profound level.
If he was still weak despite having time related abilities, he might as well kill himself!
After all, out of all forms of magic, time was easily among the best.