Satoru Gojo's girlish heart

What?

I already took my panties off, and this is all you show me?!

No, this has to be an attempt to make me lower my guard!

Then I heard... "Come on, little girl. What kind of woman do you like?"

"??? Do you happen to know someone named Aoi Todo and someone named Yuki Tsukumo?"

"Hmm? Nope~" Before the voice had even faded, something cold touched my cheek.

I shouted into the empty air, "[Explosion]!"

"Aah-!"

The ethereal female voice suddenly turned shocked. "You can actually hurt me! You're a Cursed Speech User!"

As those words fell, the gloomy street brightened again, as though a fog had lifted. Only then did I realize I had already reached the end of the street.

Before me was a cursed spirit that had begun to take human shape. It had lost one hand, and black blood kept streaming out. Seven or eight men lay at its feet as it sat atop a pile of white bones.

Human bones, I confirmed.

Those men looked like the people in Chinese storybooks whose vital essence had been sucked dry by monsters. Their bodies were shriveled and wrinkled, like hundred-year-old men on the brink of death.

Yet they were still crawling at "Lilith's" feet in strange poses.

"Little girl, are you angry?"

For some reason, I could make out a mocking half-smile on that cursed spirit's face, even though it had nothing but a mouth.

Before I could speak, the cursed spirit continued its monologue. "But they're all vicious criminals." It kicked the man who had clung to its calf.

"This one, for instance. Not long ago, he raped and murdered a little girl. Is the death of someone like him worth your anger?"

I didn't want to answer that question, or even think too deeply about it. Don't you dare shake my resolve!!!

"[D..." The word had already begun to slip out, but then I remembered Xiao Ba was still asleep and swallowed the Cursed Speech back down.

"[Soul Sealing], [Suffer Severe Injury]."

It immediately "looked" at me in terror, its mouth stretched wide to expose two rows of sharp teeth, yet it couldn't make a single sound. Countless bloody fissures began spreading outward from inside its body.

"Hit me. Let me see what you've got." As I spoke, I took its attack head-on. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, but I acted as though I couldn't feel the pain.

Fueled by panic and rage, "Lilith" unleashed even more cursed energy and attacked me in a frenzy. Meanwhile, I was like someone using a health-lock cheat, my nearly depleted health bar instantly returning to full every time.

After who knew how many rounds, I took stock of what I had learned and gave an approving assessment. "Good work. Keep it up."

"Roooar-!"

Enraged, "Lilith" gathered all its strength into a single strike.

I remained standing where I was, expressionless.

"Cursed Technique Reversal, [Red]."

A dazzling red light flared. As the words, edged with anger, fell, the cursed spirit before me was instantly reduced to ashes.

Before I could process it, I turned toward the person who had used the technique, puzzled. "Gojo-sensei? What are you doing here?"

Looking at the girl's innocent eyes, Satoru Gojo felt his anger surge. "If I hadn't come, were you planning to just take that hit?!"

With that, he forcibly hauled me away.

Inside the car

Staaare-

"..."

This atmosphere was so stiff. I'd never seen Gojo-sensei this serious before...

Like a little grade-schooler being scolded by her homeroom teacher, I sat obediently with my legs together and my hands on my knees.

"...Edano, don't you think you owe me an explanation for why you keep getting yourself hurt so badly?"

Aha, straight to my name. He wasn't even referring to himself as my teacher anymore. Gojo-sensei really was angry...

"Um, I have Reverse Cursed Technique, so I won't die..." Under Satoru Gojo's scrutinizing gaze, my voice lacked conviction.

"And what if you do? What if one day you don't use Reverse Cursed Technique in time?"

"I won't..." Probably.

Satoru Gojo gripped my wrist hard. "Don't lie to your teacher. Tell me the truth. Before this, including that time at the Juvenile Detention Center-why did you do it?"

Satoru Gojo's grip was so strong that I felt as though my bones were about to shatter. "...Because this is the only way I can get stronger. By constantly facing the fear of death head-on."

I felt the hand around my wrist suddenly tighten, but he quickly realized it and eased his grip.

"...Why do you want to get stronger so badly?"

"Because I want to protect the people I care about. I want to stand at the same height as you, too, so you'll see me whenever you turn your head."

I don't want anyone to call you a monster anymore. I don't want you to be all alone.

Satoru Gojo's heart gave a violent thump. He wanted to say something. He wanted to tell her she didn't have to push herself so desperately just to stand beside him, but his lips moved without a sound.

In the end, all those words became a sigh. He pulled me into his arms, and then his muffled voice came from above my head. "Then you'd better work hard, Edano. You can't stand beside your teacher when you're this weak."

Before I could get angry, he hurriedly added, "Of course, safety still comes first. If anything happens to you, Edano, your teacher can't promise what might happen."

...Like plowing the ground with [Blue]?

Pah, he really was a scumbag. Principal Yaga would cry his eyes out if he did that!

Afterward, we spent two days having fun in Lighthouse Country, visiting all sorts of attractions and taking loads of pictures. It more or less made up for the two vacation days we'd lost to forced overtime.

As soon as we returned to Jujutsu High, Satoru Gojo headed straight to the Infirmary to find Shoko Ieiri.

"Bang!"

The door was kicked open, and the gust of air that swept in scattered the reports on Shoko Ieiri's desk.

"..." Shoko Ieiri clenched her fists hard. If that scumbag didn't keep Limitless active every second of the day, she would have punched him for sure.

Then, because she had held back for that one moment, she was forced to listen to the entire boastful tale from her former classmate, who had practically been surrounded by pink bubbles before he even entered the Infirmary.

"...Get out, you scumbag!"

At last, having poured out the secrets of his girlish heart, Satoru Gojo was successfully kicked out of the Infirmary.