A week swiftly passed.
They were at gathering — a somewhat casual one, though the underlying tension was hard to ignore.
With the steady rise in cursed spirits appearing around the city, sorcerers had started convening more frequently. It wasn't a major meeting like those hosted by the higher-ups, but it still brought together a decent number of sorcerers.
Satoshi and Mei Mei had come along with their family, but unsurprisingly, the adults didn't want children involved in the "real" conversations. They were told to wait outside.
So, they did.
The place they were left at was a wide courtyard behind the meeting hall — lined with stone lanterns, koi ponds, and a couple of worn benches shaded by cherry blossom trees. A breeze occasionally passed through, rustling the petals.
Mei Mei had complained at first, clearly annoyed by the dismissal, but eventually quieted. She sat on the edge of the bench next to Satoshi, twirling a strand of her white hair, occasionally kicking her feet at the gravel.
Satoshi, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind at all.
He was relaxed as usual, eyes closed, basking in the sun with an almost cat-like serenity.
He didn't need to hear the conversations.
He already had a feeling where things were headed.
It was likely something to do with the increasing number of curses.
Satoshi opened his eyes slowly after a few minutes, letting the filtered light fall over his pale silver irises. Mei Mei had grown bored enough to start poking the koi fish with a twig, giggling quietly when they scattered.
That's when he noticed a figure.
A child walked through the far side of the courtyard, his steps light. Snow-white hair shimmered beneath the sunlight, and a pair of round blue eyes looked over at where Satoshi was at.
They locked eyes.
Silver met ocean blue.
Satoru Gojo.
He stood there, tilting his head slightly as if studying Satoshi. Not out of suspicion — but interest. The kind of curiosity only children could express so shamelessly.
Satoshi, by contrast, wore a plain expression.
Gojo's footsteps were soft against the gravel as he slowly approached.
He stopped just a few feet away.
The two of them stared at each other for a brief moment more — not as children, but as beings who could instinctively recognise something different in the other.
"...What's your name?" Gojo finally asked.
His voice was calm, steady — but his eyes were sharp. That arrogant and cocky grin he'd be known for in the future hadn't yet made its appearance.
He wore a somewhat cold expression,
However, with his identity, it made some sense.
Due to being born with the Six Eyes and inheriting the limitless technique of the Gojo clan, Satoru's very existence had already deviated from the average sorcerer, much less a person.
Satoshi blinked.
"Satoshi," he replied, his voice even.
Gojo nodded once, his expression unchanging. "Satoru."
They continued staring for a moment — not with hostility, but mutual recognition. There was no need to say it aloud, but they both knew it: the other was abnormal.
They were the kind of children that bent the rules just by existing.
Gojo glanced toward Mei Mei, who was now watching the interaction with mild curiosity, before returning his gaze to Satoshi.
"You feel weird," he stated bluntly.
Satoshi smirked faintly. "So do you."
That earned a faint smile from Gojo. Though, he didn't deny it.
For someone like Satoru Gojo, things had never been simple.
From the moment he was born, he was placed on a pedestal — both revered and feared. The first in over four hundred years to be born with both the Six Eyes and Limitless.
He was a prodigy, a miracle, and a threat.
Heck, in a few years, he'd have a major bounty on his head despite being a kid.
He was four years old, and already people were either afraid of him… or planning on how to use him.
That kind of life didn't leave much room for childish warmth.
Gojo's eyes lingered on him a moment longer before he sat down beside Satoshi, legs stretched forward casually, hands tucked behind his head.
"Wanna see something cool?" he asked, suddenly.
Satoshi raised a brow. "Sure."
Gojo raised a finger, and with a flicker of cursed energy, the space between his fingertip and a floating petal bent, the trajectory distorting unnaturally and ripping the petal to shreds.
Satoshi watched quietly.
"You distorted the space," he murmured.
Gojo looked over. "You saw that?"
"Obviously."
Another pause.
"Cool," Gojo said with a smirk, this time more genuine.
Satoshi looked ahead again, leaning back on his elbows. He smirked slightly. "You also wanna see something cool?"
Gojo nodded.
Satoshi reached a hand into the air, catching a single cherry blossom petal as it drifted past.
He held it delicately between his fingers for a moment, examining it.
Then, slowly, cursed energy began to seep into his fingertips.
The petal trembled in his grasp, its color subtly beginning to fade. The edges browned, curled inward, and then, it disintegrated into dust.
Gojo's eyes widened slightly.
"You... sped up its time," he said, his tone less playful. "That's not something kids are supposed to do."
"Neither is distorting space," Satoshi replied coolly, brushing his fingers off.
The two sat in silence again.
Two strange children.
Two monsters-in-the-making.
"You're interesting," Gojo finally muttered with a smile, glancing at Satoshi sideways.
Satoshi didn't reply right away. He just leaned back, closing his eyes once more, as if the whole thing had been nothing more than a fleeting trick.
But a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"You're quite interesting, too."
And for the first time in a long while — perhaps ever — Satoru Gojo didn't feel like he was alone.
There was another singularity which existed in this world...
Someone who saw the world in the same perspective as him.
With just this short interaction, the two quickly became friends.
Eventually, the adults finished whatever it was they were doing.
Their expressions had been a mixture of calm and unease — a strange duality that told Satoshi the situation was slowly slipping from their control, even if they didn't want to admit it.
After saying goodbye to a kindred spirit, being his new friend Satoru, Satoshi soon left.
—
—
—
Later that day, Satoshi was walking the quiet streets alone.
Ordinarily, letting a four-year-old wander unsupervised would be a glaring case of neglect. But in this case, it wasn't that anyone let him out.
Satoshi had simply left without anyone knowing.
After walking for a few minutes, Satoshi felt a presence sneak up on him.
He didn't react outwardly. Just a small glance over his shoulder, his senses already discerning the identity of the presence.
There was no malicious intent so he let it approach.
With a rustle in the grass, a familiar black-furred creature slinked up beside him, its scarlet eyes gleaming softly in the moonlight.
The five-tailed fox let out a happy noise, then bumped its head gently against Satoshi's leg.
"So you're still following me, Noir." He smiled faintly.
Satoshi had lazily named the fox Noir simply because of its black fur.
The fox nodded in response.
Satoshi knelt down, his fingers brushing along the creature's soft fur.
Despite its status as a first-grade curse, Noir leaned into his touch like a pampered pet, tails swaying rhythmically behind it.
"Don't sneak up like that next time. I nearly vaporised you out of habit."
She let out a soft whine, as if to say "my bad."
Satoshi chuckled quietly.
Truthfully, Noir had proven rather useful over the last week.
Its ability to manipulate perception, bend light, and create minor illusions made it the perfect scout — and while it was a cursed spirit, it was also obedient to a fault.
Mostly because it was scared to death of Satoshi.
Satoshi continued walking through the streets.
Eventually, he stumbled on an interesting place.
"Hoh? Yukihira? This place actually exists in this world?"
Satoshi was intrigued.
He stood in front of the modest but well-kept restaurant, its wooden sign swaying gently in the breeze. The aroma drifting from inside was mouthwatering.
Ever since his system told him to seduce women from various animes, he had wondered what it meant.
He had thought perhaps every time he used reincarnation magic, it would send him to another world.
Now, he realised it wasn't that. This world likely had a convergence of different realities.
"It's a shame I have no money. I wouldn't mind trying some food at this place." Satoshi sighed.
This place was in an anime which revolved around cooking, and one of the people inside this place was basically a world class chef.
Satoshi soon left with a bit of reluctance, feeling a bit hungry now.
However, as he was walking, that was when a notification from his system popped up.
[New mission: Save the damsel in distress!]
"Huh?"
Satoshi was slightly confused at why he randomly got a mission, but looked at its contents.
[Reward: 100k yen, +20 favourability]
"Money and favourability?"
Being his first time getting a mission, Satoshi was a bit surprised, however, after a moment, he simply spread out his senses to try and find a disturbance.
It wasn't long before he sensed a girl — likely around 17 or 18 — being cornered by a group of shady-looking men in a nearby alley. The scene played out like one of those cliches, where the damsel gets harassed until the protagonist swoops in to save the day.
And, naturally, that protagonist… was Satoshi.