For the first time, Gojo Satoru felt what it truly meant to be "powerless."
It wasn't the kind of helplessness from being unable to defeat a Cursed Spirit, nor was it the kind of helplessness from being unable to persuade Old Oranges.
Instead, it was the helplessness of clearly wanting to get close, yet being pushed away by someone.
And the helplessness of having absolutely no idea what to do.
He put away his Mobile Phone and left.
Day 5
Gojo Satoru changed his approach.
He bought a crepe, freshly made and still warm. Then he went to the bottom of the Tu Bai Apartment building and looked up at that window.
Cursed Technique activated.
He passed through the wall and entered Tu Bai Bedroom directly.
Tu Bai was still sleeping. Lying on his side, curled into a ball, his face was buried in his Rabbit-shaped Pillow, his black hair messy. His breathing was very light.
Gojo Satoru stood by the bedside and watched him for a while.
Then he placed the crepe on the nightstand, pulled a note from his pocket, wrote a line of text with a pen.
His handwriting was ugly and crooked, like that of an elementary school student.
I'm sorry, I didn't know that was your switch.
After writing it, he tucked the Note under the Crepe box, glanced at Tu Bai once more, then passed through the wall to leave.
---
When Tu Bai woke up, he smelled a sweet fragrance.
He opened his eyes and saw a paper box sitting on the nightstand. Sitting up, he picked up the box and opened it; inside were Crepes, they were still warm.
A Note was pressed on top of the box.
He picked it up to look.
The handwriting was terribly ugly, but he could recognize who had written it.
"What kind of apology is this?!" Tu Bai was so furious that he crumpled the Note into a ball and threw it on the floor.
He closed the Crepe box, got off the Bed, walked to the Kitchen, opened the Trash Can, threw the entire box inside.
Then he returned to the Bedroom and sat on the Bed, sulking.
What "switch"? That's a terrible way to put it!
And besides, Gojo Satoru actually used a Cursed Technique to pass through the wall to get in? Isn't that illegal trespassing?!
The more Tu Bai thought about it, the angrier he became, but his stomach betrayed him with a loud growl.
He glanced at the time—12:30 PM. He hadn't eaten properly these past few days, even though the refrigerator was empty, he hadn't gone out to buy anything.
He glanced at the Trash Can again.
The aroma of Crepe drifted out from the Trash Can.
Tu Bai bit his lip, stood up, walked to the Kitchen, stood before the Trash Can.
He stared at that box for three minutes.
Then he bent down and picked it up.
The box was a bit dirty, but the Crepe inside was wrapped in paper and still clean. He took it out and put it in the microwave to heat it up.
Ding!
Tu Bai took out the Crepe and took a bite.
The cream was very sweet, the Strawberry was fresh, the Crepe was soft.
"It tastes terrible.." he said softly, but then immediately took another large bite.
As he ate, tears began to fall.
He ate while crying, mumbling through his food, "Ugh, it's so delicious.. Bastard.."
After finishing the Crepe, he threw the box back into the Trash Can, washed his face, sat back down on the Sofa.
At three in the afternoon, a line of text suddenly appeared on the wall.
It was written with a Cursed Technique, the Silver-blue Light flickering on the surface of the wall:
[What flavor of Milk Tea do you want?]
Tu Bai was startled and jumped up from the Sofa.
He stared at that line of text, gritting his teeth: "Gojo Satoru! Come out and face me!"
The words disappeared.
After a while, another line of new text surfaced:
[Mango's? Or Pearl's?]
Tu Bai grabbed a Rabbit-shaped Pillow and threw it at that wall: "Stop playing these tricks!"
The Rabbit-shaped Pillow passed through the wall—the words were projected using a Cursed Technique, not physical objects.
More words appeared on the wall:
【Then one cup of Mango and one cup of Pearl each.】
"I'm not drinking!" Tu Bai shouted.
The words disappeared. The room fell silent.
Tu Bai panted, staring at the wall. After waiting for ten minutes, no more words appeared.
He thought Gojo Satoru had given up, just as he let out a sigh of relief, he heard a "thud" coming from the Kitchen.
He ran over to take a look.
Two cups of Milk Tea were placed on the Countertop, water droplets still clinging to the sides of the cups; they were cold. Next to them was a Note:
[It's cold, good for beating the heat.]
Tu Bai grabbed the Note, crumpled it into a ball, shouted at the air, "Stop using a Cursed Technique to break into my house!"
He finished shouting and waited for a while.
A new line of words slowly emerged on the wall.
This time, the characters were huge, almost filling the entire wall:
Then will you open the door and face me?
The words shimmered, appearing glaringly bright in the dim room.
Tu Bai stared at that line of text, his Finger tightly clutching the corner of his clothes.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out.
The words were still there, shimmering, waiting.
Author's Note:
----------------------
Chapter 21
Day 6, Tokyo was having a torrential downpour.
It had been raining since the morning, the raindrops drumming against the Window with a pitter-patter sound, the sky was so gray it looked as if it were about to collapse. Tu Bai sat on the Sofa, hugging a Pillow while watching television, but he couldn't focus on anything.
He glanced at his Mobile Phone from time to time—it was still turned off. Then he glanced at the Window again.
The rain was too heavy, there wasn't a single person on the streets.
Tu Bai thought that in this kind of weather, Gojo Satoru probably wouldn't come.
He stared at the words on the wall for a long time yesterday, but in the end, he didn't reply to anything before turning around to return to the Bedroom. Those two cups of Milk Tea were left on the Countertop; he didn't touch them, later, as the ice melted, a layer of condensation formed on the outside of the cups, dripping steadily downward.
At five in the evening, the rain had not stopped; instead, it had grown even heavier. The sky was as gloomy as if it were already night.
Tu Bai walked to the window and pulled it open a crack to look out.
Then he froze.
Downstairs, that white-haired figure was standing right there.
Gojo Satoru was not using an umbrella; wearing a black long-sleeved T-shirt and casual pants, he was already completely soaked. His hair clung to his face and neck, his clothes were plastered to his body, revealing the contours of his shoulders and arms. He just stood there, head tilted back, looking toward Tu Bai's window.
The rain was too heavy, Tu Bai could not see his expression clearly.
He stood behind the window, his hands gripping the curtains, his fingers turning white.
"He's gone mad.." Tu Bai said in a low voice.
Gojo Satoru is a Special Grade Sorcerer with the Limitless Cursed Technique; how could he possibly get soaked by the rain? He could clearly use his Cursed Technique to keep the rain at bay.
Unless.. he's doing it on purpose.
The term flashed through Tu Bai's mind: Bitter Scheme.
It must be a Bitter Scheme. Gojo Satoru knew he was soft-hearted and knew he would feel bad for him, so he deliberately stood in the rain, deliberately standing downstairs, waiting for him to come down.
Despicable.
Tu Bai bit his lip, staring at that figure downstairs.
Gojo Satoru remained motionless. The rain beat down on him, streaming down his hair and cheeks, splashing against the ground.
Tu Bai stood behind the window for half an hour.
During this half hour, his mind was in constant conflict.
One voice said, "Ignore him, he's doing it on purpose; he just wants you to go down there."
Another voice said, "But the rain is so heavy, he'll catch a cold."