Dust and debris swirled around her feet, and the faint echo of distant, inhuman sounds made her body tremble uncontrollably.
It wasn't fear of Gojo Satoru—no, not at all. This was a primal, instinctive fear. A fear born from witnessing a power so overwhelmingly destructive, so alien, that it seemed to belong to neither human nor earthly existence.
It was like staring down a living catastrophe, a force of nature personified—a mythical being, cloaked in flesh, with the strength to shatter worlds without effort.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Nino tried to steady her racing pulse. Her small hands clenched into fists, her slender arms pressed tightly to her sides as if holding herself together.
She wanted to ask him questions:
How is this real? How is this possible?
But before she could even open her mouth, a scene unfolded that made her jaw drop, completely altering her perception of the man who had saved her life.
Gojo Satoru crouched on the ground with a branch in his hand that appear out of nowhere, poking and prodding a dismembered filth head lying before him.
He muttered to it like a mischievous child,
"Moshi moshi, can you still hear me? According to this you still alive?… but hey, it's not my fault, you filthy thing…" He slapped the head lightly with the branch, then, seemingly unsatisfied, stand up, raised his foot to give it another tap.
The sight was so absurd, so ridiculous, that Nino's lips twitched.
The same man who could obliterate monstrous beings with the flick of a finger was now arguing with a severed head, scolding it as if it were a misbehaving child. His childish, almost playful demeanor was evident in every exaggerated gesture.
At first, Nino had been completely overwhelmed by him—fear, awe, and something almost like reverence coursing through her veins. But now? Now she was confronted with a completely different Gojo Satoru. Brave, playful, and… inexplicably human.
Even a little silly.
A laugh burst out from her chest before she could stop it.
"Hahaha—!!"
The sound rang sharp and sudden in the desolate ruins.
And the next moment, she slapped a hand over her mouth instantly, her face flushing bright red.
'Why did I just laugh?' she thought.
Gojo froze mid-motion.
Slowly, he retracted his foot, turned his head, and his blindfolded gaze seemed to lock on hers.
Nino could feel the intensity of his stare (even though the blindfold was still there) , the playful resentment, the awareness that he knew exactly who had just broken composure.
"Ahem"
She pretended to cough, awkwardly, and looked away, hoping desperately that he would accept her little deception: that the laughter had not come from her.
Gojo, after a brief pause, tilted his head in silent approval.
He seemed satisfied that she had understood the subtle cues of human interaction and emotion.
Then, without further ado, he kicked the remaining filth's head with effortless precision.
Bang!
It exploded mid-air, scattering into a burst of dark energy, while the pentagram beneath it blazed brightly once again.
"Let's go, girl. I'll take you back to reality," Gojo said casually, hands in his pockets. "It's getting late. You need a hot bath and some sleep. We'll fix everything else later."
The word itself made Nino's chest swell with emotion. She had been clinging to survival, running through filth and decay, facing monsters that could erase entire buildings without a thought. And now, the man she had come to trust—was offering her a way back.
Her legs moved on instinct, carrying her toward him. Her face flushed with a mixture of relief, gratitude, and something new, something she couldn't quite name yet. She stopped a hair's breadth from him, hesitated, then threw her small arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.
Gojo's reaction was subtle—hands still pocketed, body relaxed—but Nino could feel the immense warmth radiating from him. Her pulse surged. Her heart hammered. Her face pressed against his chest, she breathed in his scent, a mixture of the faint air of power and the human warmth she had been missing for what felt like an eternity.
A faint blush spread across her face, though the dim, shadowed street prevented Gojo from noticing. And even if he had, he didn't seem to care. For him, saving her, protecting her, and restoring the balance was all that mattered.
With a fluid motion and a surge of energy, Gojo tore a hole in the boundary between realms. Light and darkness swirled violently around them as the power of the Limitless activated. Nino felt the pull of the portal, the sensation of both worlds brushing against her skin like wind and fire simultaneously.
"Be careful not to drop the charm," Gojo muttered to himself as he handed her a charm. "This is messy enough without you bringing extra complications."
Ten minutes later, they landed silently in front of her community building.
Nino blinked in disbelief, staring at the familiar streets bathed in soft streetlights. Everything seemed impossibly ordinary after the nightmare she had endured.
"This is… my community?" she whispered, voice trembling with emotions.
Gojo nodded lightly. "Yes. We're back. Everything's fine now. You're safe."
Relief flooded her, washing away the terror and fatigue like a warm tide. Her body sagged slightly, knees weak, but her eyes shone with gratitude.
Just as he prepared to leave, she grabbed his arm impulsively.
"Wait! Can… can I have your social account?"
Her voice was small, hesitant, almost trembling. Her chest tightened with nerves she had never felt before.
Gojo froze. His turquoise blue eyes, piercing even behind the blindfold, focused on her.
"My… social account? For what?"
His tone was light, teasing, but there was genuine curiosity mixed in.
"To… add you,"
Nino said quickly, her words spilling out in a rush. Her mind raced. This was the first time she had ever asked an opposite gender, for something personal. Her heart started pounded.
Gojo tilted his head, expression unreadable behind the blindfold, then let out a soft hum.
"Hmm, alright. I guess that works. But you know, it's a hassle to sign up for an account just to add me."
Nino froze. Her heart skipped a beat. Did he not understand what I meant? she thought frantically. She shook her head slightly, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
"No… I mean, you add me," she clarified, producing her phone with a glowing screen.
Gojo's lips twitched into the faintest smirk. "Ah… so that's what you meant. Clever girl."
Nino couldn't help herself. Her lips curled into a small, radiant smile, her eyes shining. She had survived horrors beyond imagination, faced monsters that could erase entire cities, and yet, somehow, in this fleeting moment, she felt the warmth of human connection again. Even amidst the chaos of her life, she had found someone she could trust, someone whose presence made her believe that perhaps—just perhaps—she could face anything.
Gojo, observing her, said nothing further. The portal to reality shimmered behind them, ready to return them both to the normal world. With a gentle nod, he signaled for her to step through. And as Nino did, she held tightly onto the last thread of courage she had, ready to step back into a world that now seemed full of hope, no matter how fragile.
...
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