"Hiss—" Gojo Satoru inhaled sharply.
It wasn't a hard bite, but Tu Bai's teeth were quite sharp. Gojo Satoru could feel the subtle sting of his skin being pierced.
He could have activated Limitless. At the moment Tu Bai bit him, his body's instinctive reaction should have been to activate automatic defense.
But he didn't.
Why?
Tu Bai bit for two seconds before snapping out of it and quickly letting go. Two rows of clear teeth marks were left on Gojo Satoru's wrist, with a slight seepage of blood.
I-I'm sorry!" Tu Bai panicked, "I didn't do it on purpose, it was just sudden—
It's fine," Gojo Satoru said, his tone unexpectedly calm, "A stress response? Can you not touch your ears?
Tu Bai blushed, his hand reaching toward the top of his head. He froze completely when he touched the fuzzy ears: ".. They've come out?"
Mm." Gojo Satoru watched those still-trembling ears, his gaze focused, "Quite cute.
Tu Bai wanted to pull his ears back, but his Demon Power had only just stabilized, he couldn't control it. He could only pull up the pillow to cover his head: "You're not allowed to look!"
Gojo Satoru laughed. "What's wrong with taking a look? It's not like you can touch it anyway~"
That was true, but he didn't reach out again. He simply kept his eyes fixed on the bulge under the Pillow, as if using his gaze to touch it instead of his hands.
After a while, Tu Bai fell fast asleep. Gojo Satoru gently placed him back on the bed and covered him with the Pillow. His rabbit ears were still peeking out, twitching slightly with every breath.
Gojo Satoru sat by the bedside, looking at his wrist.
The bite marks were no longer bleeding, but the marks remained. With his Reverse Cursed Technique, such a minor injury could be healed in an instant.
But he didn't heal it.
He stared at the Bite Mark, the scene from moments ago replaying in his mind—at the exact moment Tu Bai bit him, his Limitless had not automatically activated.
This wasn't the first time.
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that every time there was physical contact with Tu Bai, he would subconsciously turn off Limitless. Placing an arm around his shoulder, ruffling his hair, shaking hands, or even last night when I grabbed Tu Bai's hand from behind to conduct an experiment.. he never once had it active.
Why?
Because he felt there was no need? Because Tu Bai posed no threat?
Or was it because.. in his subconscious, he had already allowed this person to touch him?
Gojo Satoru frowned. He couldn't understand it.
Even breathing sounds drifted from the bed. Tu Bai was fast asleep, his ears drooping softly. Gojo Satoru watched him for a while, then stood up and walked out of the Bedroom.
In the Living Room, that Mushroom-shaped Sofa was still emitting a faint glow. Gojo Satoru walked over and tried sitting down—it was unexpectedly quite comfortable.
He lay down, his height of over 190 centimeters making him look particularly cramped on the sofa, with half of his legs hanging off the edge. But Gojo Satoru didn't mind.
He grabbed the Pillow that Tu Bai usually used—it had now been turned into a Rabbit-shaped Pillow. The Pillow still retained Tu Bai's scent, faint and reminiscent of sun-dried grass, with an indescribable sweetness.
Gojo Satoru buried his face into the Pillow and took a deep breath.
It was Tu Bai's scent.
He paused for a moment, realizing that this behavior was a bit perverted. But on second thought, it didn't matter; no one was watching anyway.
It didn't matter anymore.
He curled up on the glowing Mushroom-shaped Sofa, clutching the Rabbit-shaped Pillow, closed his eyes.
---
In the middle of the night, Tu Bai woke up.
He had been woken up by the urge to urinate. He sat up in a daze, the ears atop his head twitching, while his tail swayed behind him.
His Demon Power had already stabilized. Although he couldn't retract his ears and tail for the time being, at least his body no longer felt uncomfortable. He threw back the Pillow and got out of bed, but as soon as his feet touched the floor, his legs went weak—
Thud!
His knees hit the floor, the pain made him wince.
Almost at the same second, there was a noise from the Living Room. Gojo Satoru rushed into the Bedroom, his hair a mess and his sunglasses lost somewhere, his ice-blue Six Eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice still raspy from just waking up.
.. I fell," Tu Bai said embarrassedly. "I wanted to go to the bathroom..
Gojo Satoru walked over, the lights off, sized him up by the moonlight filtering in through the window. His gaze lingered on those rabbit ears for two seconds, then he bent down and picked Tu Bai up in a bridal carry.
"Hey—!" Tu Bai exclaimed.
Don't move." Gojo Satoru carried him out of the Bedroom and toward the Bathroom, "If your legs are that weak, you should have just walked; you would have fallen and killed yourself.
Tu Bai shut up. Being held in his arms, he could feel the strength of Gojo Satoru's grip and the body heat radiating through his clothes. His ears perked up uncontrollably, his tail curled into a tense ball.
Gojo Satoru placed him in front of the toilet.
And then he didn't leave.
Tu Bai looked up at him: ".. Then go out."
"Can you stand steady?" Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow.
I can stand steady!
"Oh." Gojo Satoru still didn't move, his hands still resting on Tu Bai's waist.
Tu Bai blushed: "I need to go to the bathroom!"
Go ahead," Gojo Satoru said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It's not like I'm going to stop you.
How can I go up if you're standing right here!
Gojo Satoru stared at him for a few seconds, then laughed: "Alright, alright, I'll wait for you outside."
He finally let go, stepped out of the Bathroom, closed the door. However, he didn't walk far, instead leaning against the wall outside the door.
Tu Bai heard him say from outside, "Let me know when you're done."
.. I got it.
After Tu Bai finished taking care of his physiological needs, he flushed the toilet and washed his hands. Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw that his rabbit ears made him look incredibly stupid. He tried to channel his Demon Power to retract them, but his once-steady energy began to fluctuate again, scaring him into stopping immediately.
Forget it, it'll have to do.
He opened the door. Gojo Satoru was still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed; seeing him come out, his gaze drifted back to the top of his head.
Can't be taken back?
.. I can't pull it back in for now," Tu Bai said in a low voice, "It'll be fine by tomorrow.
"Oh." Gojo Satoru walked over and picked him up again.
I can walk by myself!
If you fall again, I'm not helping you.
Tu Bai fell silent. He accepted his fate as he was carried back to the bedroom and placed on the bed. Gojo Satoru covered him with the Pillow, his movements unexpectedly gentle.
Go to sleep," Gojo Satoru said. "I'll cook porridge for you tomorrow.
You know how to cook porridge?
I'll learn it once I start," Gojo Satoru said, raising an eyebrow. "Looking down on me?
.. No.
Gojo Satoru smiled. He reached out, this time instead of touching his ear, he gently rubbed Tu Bai's hair: "Sleep."
Then he turned and walked out of the Bedroom, quietly closing the door.
Tu Bai lay in the darkness, listening to the faint sounds of Gojo Satoru returning to the sofa in the Living Room. His ears twitched above his head, catching the sounds coming from that direction.
It was a long time before he fell back asleep.
---
In the Living Room, Gojo Satoru lay on the Mushroom-shaped Sofa, staring at the ceiling.
The Bite Mark on his wrist had already faded, but the traces could still be felt. He repeatedly rubbed that spot, his mind still dwelling on that question.
Why didn't he use Limitless?
Why did he allow Tu Bai to bite him?
Why.. didn't he hate this feeling?
He closed his eyes, burying his nose in the Rabbit-shaped Pillow, took another deep breath of Tu Bai's scent.
Then he realized—
It seemed like he really was a bit incorrect.
Chapter 15
Tu Bai was woken up by the fragrance.
It wasn't the usual smell of instant noodles or fast food; it was.. the aroma of rice porridge, mixed with a hint of the fresh sweetness of Carrot. He opened his eyes in a daze, the rabbit ears atop his head twitched first, catching the source of the sound—the kitchen.
His tail swayed along with him, he only realized that he hadn't retracted his ears and tail from last night when they brushed against the bedsheets.
Tu Bai sat up, rubbed his eyes, tried to circulate his Demon Power. It was much more stable; although his ears and tail were still there, he could at least control them to move. He took a deep breath, focused his mind, tried to retract them—
Pfft.
The ears disappeared.
The tail also "swished" back into place.
Tu Bai breathed a sigh of relief. He threw off the Pillow and got out of bed; his legs were still a bit weak, but they felt much better than they had last night. He walked to the Bedroom door and poked his head out to look toward the Kitchen.
Gojo Satoru stood with his back to him in front of the stove, wearing an apron—it was pink with a Cartoon Rabbit pattern, a Birthday Gift that Tu Bao had given him last year, Tu Bai himself had barely ever worn it.
The apron strings were tied behind Gojo Satoru's waist in a crooked knot. He held a spoon in one hand and steadied the pot with the other, looking down at the bubbling contents within.
Tu Bai walked over: "Senpai.."
Yo, you're awake?" Gojo Satoru turned around, his sunglasses off, his ice-blue eyes looking very bright in the morning light. "Perfect timing, the porridge is ready.