Future.

Due to having killed Haibara, Nagi was aware that the jujutsu sorcerers would be after him. They didn't know he was dead yet, and it would take some time for them to figure it out, but when they did, he would be suspect number 1.

So, after making sure he left no cursed energy residuals for them to track him, a skill he was thankful to Granny for, Nagi jumped down into the sewers down below.

The young boy staggered through the sewer walkways and just kept walking until he was sure that he was far away from the scene of the battle.

And then some.

He had to be sure that the sorcerers couldn't find him for now.

He eventually arrived at a small opening in the wall thay was broken down either by force or decay.

It was big enough to fit a child but small enough so that it wouldn't be easy to spot unless someone was decently close.

After stuffing himself in the hole, Nagi immediately passed out from exhaustion the moment he managed to lay his head against a rock.

Unbeknownst to him, the blonde sorcerer from before had arrived at the scene of the battle not long after he left.

His expression was calm as he walked around and analyzed the area around the buildings.

"A battle took place here...hm. Haibara, what could have happened to him? Since that unassuming old lady was such a vile curse user...it would only make sense if i assume that the child was also a curse user. Maybe he can change forms just like that old lady. Shame she escaped."

The more the sorcerer saw of the scene, the more he became sure of what had occurred.

As he rubbed his hands against the destroyed walls, he had already painted the scenario in his head.

'Haibara...you must have underestimated that child. I don't know where you are, but I'll find you. As for that curse user, he will not escape.'

These thoughts passed through his mind as he turned around and followed whatever traces Nagi's inexperience revealed. He was determined to find out what happened.

Time passed by slowly as Nagi slept in the sewers. An unbeknownst amount of time later, Nagi woke up, his head throbbing with pain.

"Ugh...this hurts. How long have I been asleep?"

Since he was in the sewers, Nagi had no indication of the time of day. He could've been asleep for hours or days and he wouldn't even be able to tell.

Nagi opened his palm and caused his cursed energy to surge as he looked at it.

"I've recovered and I managed to get away for now. Sigh...now what do i do?"

Nagi, being the lazy child that he was, only thought about doing things that wouldn't require too much effort.

'Maybe I could blend in with a family and start a new life. My own mother and father, maybe even a brother, that would be good. I would be able to play video games and eat sweets all day. But...'

Nagi rustled his hair as a small smile appeared across his face. He summoned a small hourglass in his palm and stared at it with a certain bit of excitement.

'I don't think anything beats winning a fight. I just defeated my first sorcerer...it feels like heaven.'

He couldn't articulate how he really felt about it since he was young, but the feeling that victory brought spoke for itself. It was euphoric, the thrill of a battle that he couldn't predict.

That feeling could not be replicated anywhere else.

'I won't be able to give this up. Living with normal, good people...isn't for me. Staying by myself and just practicing sorcery against cursed spirits sounds better. Maybe I'll get strong enough one day to defeat Granny or that man she was so afraid of, Satoru Gojo.'

CRACK!

Nagi crushed the hourglass within his fist and a stream of cursed energy entered his body, increasing his amount of cursed energy significantly. Whatever cursed energy Haibara had left within his body when he got absorbed into the hourglass, just became part of Nagi.

This was one of the basic aspects of his technique that he immediately knew when he awakened it.

It was almost as if it was made to offset the high usage of cursed energy.

'I've only just touched the tip of this cursed technique, yet it feels so powerful. How much stronger could I get as my body grows older?'

Nagi relished in the power he felt flowing through his body. He felt as if he could defeat anyone in his current state.

Just as Nagi was about to start coming up with a plan to live on his own, he felt something coming from beneath him.

"Hm?!"

Nagi immediately jumped out of his hole and raised his guard as a cursed spirit charged him with incredible speed, almost blitzing past his senses.

BOOM!

Nagi held his guard in a X shaped pattern as he blocked the punch from the cursed spirit, but he was sent flying into the sewer walls from the force.

The spirit immediately attacked again without giving Nagi a chance, causing Nagi to start silently chanting.

The moment the spirits grotesque fist was about to make contact with his face, time seemed to slow down as Nagi made a hand sign with blinding speed, causing a swathe of sand spikes to shoot up from the ground, piercing the spirits body.

"Scrfafaaaaaa!!"

The spirit screamed in pain as it started to wilt away from being exorcised by the technique.

"Whew...why did a weak cursed spirit like that hit so hard? It's strange...Hm?!"

Nagi suddenly felt a hand grabbing his shoulder!

He tried to escape but the grip was so strong that it felt like his shoulder was about to collapse from the force.

Using all the cursed energy he could muster to reinforce his body, Nagi managed to escape out of the person's grip and open the gap between them as he turned around to face the assailant.

He expected it to be the blonde sorcerer, but alas, it was someone, or rather an entirely different group.

"Looking at your age and the amount of cursed energy you have, it would be impossible for you to defeat Haibara, but yet, look at you. Even able to resist me for a little bit."

The man who was talking seemed to be in his teens. Next to him were two young girls, one holding a teddy bear while the other stared at him with furrowed brows.

This was a strange group.

"...You're with that sorcerer huh?"

Just as Nagi was about to get into a stance, the man outstretched his hand and said, "My name is Suguru Geto. I'm rounding up potential sorcerers who have seen the true way of the world to join me. What do you think, little one?"