When I was a child, I had vivid dreams about this man. I couldn't see his whole face but only his handsome smile as it was blurred out. I kept asking mom and dad about it, but they told me that it's not important yet it kept recurring over time. Each dream had different scenes as it was placed in the olden days of Japan. However, the weird dreams stopped once I hit puberty. But it didn't stop my family from asking questions about it during my teen years. They were really curious at that time because it's the stage where I can comprehend and interpret whether it meant something or not. Yet I still couldn't give them an answer. No matter how hard I tried, it always drew blank.

Also, I recalled mom biting her lips whenever it was brought up. She always wore a guilty expression for some reason, but I never had the courage to ask her because it looked like I was going to open up old wounds. Dad, on the other hand, didn't comment about it. I couldn't tell what dad felt about the dreams through his off-putting face. I say that because his mouth would smile but his eyes weren't. It's like he's ready to kill with those sharp blue eyes of his. Whereas Naozumi just sadly smiled, close enough to where it looked like he was going to cry. I really couldn't understand any of their expressions nor could I bring myself to ask them. It felt like a secret which I'm not supposed to learn about so I just pushed it aside to focus on my sorcery duties during my teenage years.

Nonetheless, what piqued my curiosity was when Naozumi asked if I had any boyfriends during my teenage years to now. He always had anticipation written all over his visible face. I really couldn't understand what went through his mind, but I always shut him down with 'no'. I had no time for relationships when I'm the only person in the family who holds mom's power. Unlike my other siblings, they only received half of mom and dad's technique but I'm the full package.

I'm 21 years old and I don't have much going on in my life except fighting curses and going on business trips.

Right now, I had to attend a small family reunion with my parents and brothers. I dreaded going there, not because I don't love my family but because Taishiro—what mom calls him: dad's carbon copy—always brings home random girls, claiming that they're in a relationship but ends up breaking up within a week because he's unfaithful. Mom claimed he got it from his dad. I don't understand why he brings girls if they aren't going to last long. This wasn't a weekly show and tell gig.

Knock knock knock

I knocked on my parents' front door as mom and dad greeted me.

"Emiyo!! It's been so long since I last saw you!" They hugged me tightly, sending their unconditional love to me. They were great parents while raising me. Mom tried her best not to put pressure on my shoulders since I'm the only child with her ability with both the divine cursed energy and the cursed eyes of petrification. I don't brag about this, but I'm the prized child because I'm the only offspring from mom's dead clan. If I said this to my siblings, they would chew me out of jealousy. In spite of that, mom and dad loved us all equally.

"I know! I've been on business trips left and right! I don't have time to relax like I used to." I laughed, feeling a bit drained. I never knew how many sorcerers needed my ability. It still scared and surprised me that sorcerers wanted mom dead when she was pregnant with me and my brothers. If we fast forward to our current time, these sorcerers would be in hell if they were to kill me, my brothers, and mom. I'm so glad mom took action. Although, I don't know the full story of it, she only told us snippets of it here and there while growing up.

"If it weren't for your mom, Emiyo, these sorcerers would be crying in their graves for letting your mom get executed!!" Dad shook his head, still recalling his younger years. I never knew how much it really impacted my parents and Naozumi. I don't even want to know what was going through their heads or what they were feeling either. I'm just glad that we're all alive.

"Of course! They aimlessly followed them," mom clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Like you really gonna kill a pregnant woman?! How low are you people?!"

Then my two brothers: Naozumi and Yuudai came rushing to greet and hug me.

"Hey little sis! How's it going?" Yuudai asked, giving me some space after hugging me.

I smiled brightly at my two brothers. It felt so great to see them after many months of being busy with life. "It's going... Very tiring too!" I chuckled, pushing my raven hair back behind my shoulder.

"So..." Naozumi spoke up through his husky voice. "...you got a boyfriend yet?"

I don't know how many times he asked me this, but it feels like a constant question whenever we meet up. A big frown appeared on my face as I folded my arms. "Are you for real?! Is that how you're supposed to greet me after not seeing me for a long time?! Why are you so obsessed with my love life?! Why don't you go find yourself a partner since you're still a single virgin!!" I popped off at him, projecting most of my irritation that built up from the last few years. He never asked how my day was or how life was going—only about my love life, which was very annoying.

"Well, how do you know if I'm still a virgin, you virgin!" Naozumi sassed back.

Mom gave Naozumi a stank face as her nose crinkled. "Nao, stop bickering with your sister! I don't want to hear about your sex life either... and I did not raise you to be an unfaithful man like your baby brother Taishiro. You better be careful with your love life." Then her eyes shifted up to dad, giving him a blank expression. "Your dad told me that if he hadn't met me, he would be unloyal. Now look at what you did to our son! He has commitment issues because he has your genes!"

Dad looked taken back from mom's words attacking him out of nowhere. He put on a hurt face as he touched his heart. "Babe, it's not my fault that he has my handsome face." Dad proudly said in a cocky tone which ticked off mom.

Mom glared at him before staring back at me, Naozumi, and Yuudai. "See what I deal with without you guys in the house anymore? Your dad is too full of himself till this day. It annoys me. I still wonder why I'm married to this man." She smacked her lips together, creating a popping noise as she shook her head. "He's damn lucky that I'm a loyal woman, or else I would've left him for a rich dude named Daisuke Kambe. If you haven't heard of him, go search up his name."

"BABE!! I'm right here you know!!" Dad clung onto mom, not caring if she's fed up with his shit or not. "You know I have insecurity problems..." He whimpered quietly as he begged mom to look him in the eyes.

Mom could care less about dad's antics. "Mhmmm, so do I. I guess we're both on the same boat here."

Suddenly, Naozumi changed the topic. "Mom, why won't you tell Emiyo about him? She's old enough to understand. Don't you feel a bit bad that we're hiding this from her?"

"Are you talking about my dreams when I was younger—?"

"HEY MY WEAK SIBLINGS!!" Taishiro loudly announced, barging in the room as if he owned this house. He didn't even notice mom in the room but all of us including dad. "Did you miss me? I know you did! You don't have to lie! I'm the best brother—"

He's only like that because he takes over dad's technique and even sixth eye, whereas Yuudai only has dad's infinity.

"You know you're the baby right?" I snorted, wondering where his confidence even came from.

"Yeah, you were born last so stop talking." Yuudai flipped his hand at Taishiro then walked away.

Naozumi chimed in, "You can't be the best brother if you're always getting in trouble by mom...even at this age." He also retreated from the entrance.

"Satoru, he sounds just like you. He's not our son, he's your son."

"O-oh! Hi, mom...!" Taishiro squeaked, unaware of mom's presence in the room as he stiffened up. "I-I didn't see you there!" He feared mom just as much as dad feared her.

Soon after we all arrived, we were in the dining room eating together.

"Where's your new girlfriend?" Mom glanced at Taishiro who was still stiff as a rock under mom's fierce eyes.

A sweat rolled down his forehead as he cautiously answered. "Uhh... I don't have one," He nervously smiled, trying his best to suppress his accelerating heartbeat. "I'm... I'm trying to live my single life at the moment."

"Mhmmm," Mom didn't believe him but chose to disregard it. "If one of those girls comes to you with a baby in their arms, you're going to take responsibility."

"Honey, don't scare him!"

Then mom shifted her gaze to dad as he gulped. "Boy, if no one's going to discipline him then I will. He's still my child I gave birth to, but he's not a baby. He's an adult so he needs to act like one!"

While eating, I brought up the topic from earlier. "Mom, dad... Remember my dreams when I was younger? It has been coming back to me again after a long time of not occuring." This mysterious man had decided to come back and haunt me, making me curious about its meaning. Each dream feels like I'm getting closer to seeing his true face as the fog lifts yet at the same time I'm not. I'm so close but so far, it's hard.

Mom's eyes widened in shock as she quickly relaxed them.

"I know the topic bothers you, mom... But I have to know! You and dad brushed it away for many years, and I accepted it because I respected your decision. Now, I'm an adult and I should know why you feel uneasy whenever the dream is brought up!" I intensely stared at mom, begging her to tell me the truth. I know I'm not cursed because that's impossible. But this was beyond my knowledge. My parents are the only ones who can give me answers.

Dad sighed, putting a hand on mom's shoulder. He knew the jig was up as time wasn't on their side anymore. "Ena, she has to know. You've raised her to your best ability, but even we both know we can't control fate. You never mentioned his name or our past to him, nor did Nao, Megumi, or any of them. I'm just surprised she hasn't found him yet." He chuckled in a bittersweet tone, also feeling on edge.

Mom closed her eyes as she put down her eating utensil, collecting her thoughts together. She reopened her amber eyes and flashed it in my direction, across the table. "Emiyo... I never told you this because I didn't want you to believe you were chained to your written fate. I wanted you to have freedom and be carefree in this world because it wasn't going to last long. Once you find out who this man is, life isn't going to be the same. Whether you remember your past life or not, that's up to the core of your spirit to decide." Mom looked extremely disheartened and bothered by what she's about to tell me. What surprised me was that she bottled it up for 21 years. She's a strong woman to do it for my sake.

"Look, let me take you back to the Kita Clan's history..." Mom told everyone about the tragic love story between a Kita woman named Nozomi and a fallen sorcerer named Sukuna. Every detail of their secret love ached my heart and for some reason, when mom told the story, I saw the images flashing in my head as if it actually happened to me. The realistic flashbacks felt so real and alive. I felt their fired and tense emotions swirling in the air. It's as if he's my actual lover in this case.

"Sis, why are you crying?" Taishiro snickered as he couldn't understand the heartache and tremendous pain of being separated from your loved one when he hoed around.

I didn't realize I was crying, so I wiped my eyes dry.

Taishiro continued speaking with his unfiltered mouth, "It's sad but not that sad. You're so weak hearted, you crybaby—"

"Emiyo is the next Nozomi," Mom's dooming words had Taishiro choking on his food while me and Yuudai were surprised by this revelation. Naozumi didn't look fazed as if he knew this all along. "Unfortunately, it was a time where brother Yuji became a vessel for Sukuna. It didn't help that I had Nozomi's face and soul in my body. Long story short: dad's dead friend—which is a long story for another day—somehow put her soul into my second pregnancy AKA when I had you three."

Then dad added to mom's story. "He still wanted a happy ending with you, so he chose to die in order to be reincarnated in the next lifetime. That's basically it, if we're keeping it short. Because I can tell you, Sukuna was very crazy for your mom..." Dad gave a sour expression to us, showing how much it still irritated him till this day.

"At least he's loyal unlike Taishiro right here." Yuudai let out a snide comment, purposefully attacking Taishiro's bad trait.

"HEY!!" Taishiro growled.

"You two quit it," Mom said in annoyance, feeling her head pound from her two boys almost engaging in an argument. "Yeah, so I told Sukuna that I'm not going to tell my daughter about you because it feels wrong to force my child into this when she should have a choice whether to fall in love with him or not. If your past life remembers Sukuna then great! However, if you can't remember him then I don't want to force you to like him. Those are my main reasons for not telling you this back then, but now that you're an adult, you can do whatever you want with this information."

"All we ask is that you're happy in a relationship you want to be in," Dad smiled at me, lessening the pressure building in my heart.

"I'm glad to hear the truth, and I know your intentions were only for me to choose my own life rather than sticking to the one that was given to me at birth. Nonetheless, I don't resent you for giving me life. Whatever happens in my love life, I'll take it lightly and openly." After hearing the love story, it only made me more interested in meeting this Sukuna man if he's popping in my dream. I believe it's my soul trying to remember him since they made a promise back then.

Knock knock knock

"Oh, it's the flower man!" Dad jumped on to his feet.

"The flower man?" Mom looked confused as she didn't know he did something without her knowledge.

"Yeah, I bought some flowers to decorate the house and give some to Emiyo to take home."

When dad was explaining to mom about his doings, my guts were telling me to open the door first before him. I had someone or something waiting for me behind the door, and it had to be me. My guts were really trying to push me to move forward and go. My heart raced in anxiety as I contemplated. People say to trust your guts, so that's what I'm going to do. If I don't, I might not have this chance and feeling again.

I quickly got out of my seat and rushed to the door.

"Emiyo?!" Dad said in confusion as he's the one who's supposed to get the door.

"What if it's Sukuna?" Naozumi suggested, giggling to himself.

"Oh no... Not him posing as the flower man! He's going to seduce her!" Dad cried out loud, chasing after me.

My hand hastily grabbed the doorknob and turned it, revealing a tall man with slick back black hair holding a clipboard in his hands. He was very handsome as the big smile on his face resembled the one in my dream. Immediately, there was a connection stemming from my soul as my mouth blurted out words before my brain could comprehend what I just said. "S-Sukuna!!" I quickly covered my mouth, realizing what I had done.

Flashes of old memories from my past life poured before my eyes like the credit scene from a movie. My heart and soul felt so sad and broke yet relieved. I didn't know how to control these swirling emotions as tears were dripping from my eyes.

"So after 21 years, we finally meet as humans." My fated lover, Sukuna lifted my chin as he wiped my hot tears away with his thumb.