The night was gone, and morning came.
Sakura blinked her eyes open slowly. For a split second, her frail body tensed up out of pure habit.
Her muscles locked as she waited for the familiar, sickening scuttling sounds in the dark.
She braced herself, waiting for Grandfather to unlock the door, waiting for the rough hands that would throw her back down into the pit of worms.
But nothing came.
There was only the soft, yielding mattress beneath her back and a warm, heavy blanket draped over her shoulders. Pale morning light filtered gently through the thin curtains of the motel room.
It wasn't a dream. She turned her head against the pillow. Gojo was sitting in the exact same cheap plastic chair she had seen him in last night.
He was still there, surfing through the television channels with the remote, yawning widely between clicks.
He still had that dark blindfold covering his eyes; she truly didn't know how he was able to see the screen, but he seemed to be watching it just fine.
Hearing the rustle of the bedsheets, Gojo stopped mid-yawn and turned his head toward her.
"Yo... morning," he said casually, tossing the TV remote onto the small desk. "Did you sleep well?!"
Sakura slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and gave a small, hesitant nod. She didn't really know what "sleeping well" meant anymore.
But she had slept, and she had woken up. More importantly, when she opened her eyes, she wasn't surrounded by the squirming darkness of the pit, and she hated the pit more than anything in the world.
So, by that standard alone... yes, she slept very well.
Gojo stood up from the chair. He stretched his incredibly long arms above his head, twisting his torso until a few joints popped satisfyingly.
"Good," he sighed, dropping his arms. "I was bored to death. Come on, let's get you cleaned up. I brought some new single of clothe for you. And hot water is already in the bathroom." He grinned, pointing a thumb toward the door.
"After that, we will go outside to have something to do... hmm, like eating, playing in the arcade, and yeah, sweets, and... ahh, I don't know, we will just make plans on the way."
…
The diner was bright. To Sakura, it was almost painfully bright, and so incredibly loud.
The air buzzed with the chatter of dozens of people, the sharp clinking of silverware against porcelain, the hissing of the coffee machines, and waitresses calling out orders.
Gojo had chosen a booth right next to a large window, giving them a clear, sunlit view of the busy street outside.
Sakura sat across from Gojo. Her small hands rested quietly in her lap, her dull eyes staring down at the pristine tabletop.
She was wearing a simple, clean dress Gojo had managed to buy for her from a nearby store the night before.
He had muttered something about there being "too little he could do at that hour," promising that today they would hit a real shopping mall to buy her proper clothes.
A waitress finally arrived, balancing an absurd amount of food. She placed the plates down with a strained smile. Gojo had ordered a mountain of food, almost entirely consisting of sugar.
There was a towering stack of thick pancakes practically drowning in maple syrup, two tall glass parfaits layered heavily with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, and two separate plates of flaky sweet pastries.
Gojo slid one of the parfaits and a smaller portion of the pancakes over to Sakura's side of the table.
"Eat up," Gojo said, already digging his own long spoon into his giant parfait to show her how good it was. "You need energy, you know. Little girls need energy so they can grow up to be beautiful and all. Plus, sweets make your brain work better too."
Sakura looked down at the food. It smelled wonderful, but it looked like far too much sugar. At least, from Gojo's side of the table, it looked insane.
Seeing her hesitate, Gojo picked up the spoon resting next to Sakura's parfait. He scooped up a small, perfect ratio of strawberries and cream, then leaned across the table, floating the spoon toward her lips.
"Open your mouth, like this..." he instructed, opening his own mouth wide in a comical exaggeration to demonstrate.
Sakura stared at him for a moment. Slowly, tentatively, she parted her lips, not nearly as wide as Gojo, but enough. Gojo gently fed her the bite.
"Now eat it like that, okay?" he said warmly, pressing the spoon into her small hand.
Sakura looked down at the parfait again, her fingers gripping the cool metal of the spoon. She took another scoop on her own, and began to eat.
"Try the pancakes too, they're really good," Gojo encouraged through a mouthful of his own food, having firmly established a baseline for what he considered delicious.
Sakura cut a small piece of the syrup-soaked pancake and put it in her mouth. It was warm. It was overwhelmingly sweet.
Suddenly, a phantom memory brushed against her mind, it tasted like something from a lifetime ago, back when Mama used to make breakfast for her and Rin in the bright kitchen.
She chewed slowly, her hollow eyes widening just a fraction of an inch, a reaction so small almost no one would have noticed.
She took another bite. Then another. And then another.
Across the table, Gojo indulged in his massive pile of sweets as if he hadn't eaten in a lifetime, tearing through the sugar with unmatched enthusiasm.
…
The next item on Gojo's impromptu itinerary was clothes shopping. It didn't take very long. Gojo had debated between a small store or a shopping mall, but settled on a quiet clothing store where the friendly owner happily picked out dresses for Sakura.
There were dozens of options, but Sakura simply stared at them. She didn't point to anything, nor did she show interest in any particular color or pattern.
Unbothered, Gojo just took charge, picking out a few pairs of very comfortable, warm clothes and some soft nightwear for her to sleep in.
After dropping the shopping bags off, Gojo dragged Sakura to the loudest place he could find: the arcade.
Electronic music blared aggressively from rows of massive machines. Colorful cabinets flashed with blinding, erratic neon lights.
The moment they stepped through the doors, the sheer volume of the place hit Sakura like a physical blow. She flinched, shrinking back and instinctively hiding behind Gojo's incredibly tall frame to shield herself.
Gojo glanced down over his shoulder. "Never been to one of these before, right?!" he asked over the noise.
Sakura didn't know if she had ever been to one before the basement, but her memory of the outside world was so fractured she couldn't be sure. She just shook her head.
"Hahahah, then you're in for a treat, young girl!" Gojo declared loudly, pointing a thumb at his own chest. "Because... you're staring at a champion. Watch and learn, I will be winning you lots of bears and stuffed animals today."
He confidently marched over to a large glass crane game packed to the brim with various stuffed animals, bears, rabbits, lions, hippos, tigers, and a few birds.
Sakura stood quietly beside his leg, watching as he dropped a shiny coin into the slot. Gojo grabbed the joystick. He aimed the metal claw carefully.
He tapped the button, narrowing his eyes behind his blindfold, aiming with a bizarre level of focus as if his very life depended on this single arcade game.
The claw dropped. Instead of aiming for the body, the metal prongs perfectly snagged the small, looped string of the price tag attached to a soft, round, pink rabbit. The crane lifted it effortlessly and dropped it into the prize chute.
Gojo crouched down, retrieving the bunny, and immediately imparted his wisdom. "Most people try to grab it by the body. But I'm not gonna be wasting my money on that... so you have to aim for the price tag. That traps it, making it harder to fall. You have to remember these things so you don't fall for these cash grabs."
He handed her the pink rabbit, but then he held up his empty hand, showing her his palm.
"But look," he whispered with a sly grin.
He pointed a single finger at the glass of the crane game. Instantly, inside the sealed box, four other stuffed animals began to violently shake.
They floated up into the air as if they were dancing together, floating completely, before simultaneously diving straight into the prize hole.
Gojo put a finger to his lips. "Shush. Don't tell anyone. It will be our little secret."
He walked over, crouched down, and pulled all the "won" stuffed animals out of the chute. He grabbed a stuffed monkey with huge, long arms and placed it directly on top of Sakura's head.
"There. A prize for the Master," he said, handing her the remaining three stuffed animals.
Sakura reached out and took them into her arms.
They were incredibly soft, even softer than the warm blanket she had slept in last night. She squeezed the bundle of plushies tightly against her chest, terrified of dropping them.
She didn't say a single word, but she gave a tiny, subtle nod, careful not to dislodge the monkey sitting on her head, silently agreeing to keep their little secret.
For Gojo, that tiny nod was more than enough. He smiled a genuine, bright smile.
For the next two hours, they wandered through the noisy arcade. Gojo dragged her along to watch him play racing games, shooting games, and eventually, the fighting games.
Sakura just stood by, clutching her plushies, watching as Gojo completely humiliated a group of local kids in a fighting game.
When the kids angrily threw their hands up, accusing him of cheating, Gojo just laughed directly in their faces, mocking them and calling them weak.
Several other adults in the arcade turned to stare in utter disbelief at the tall, blindfolded grown man mercilessly trash-talking a bunch of ten-year-olds over a video game. Gojo couldn't have cared less.
…
The streets of Fuyuki were bustling with afternoon traffic and pedestrians.
Sakura was no longer walking on the ground. She was sitting high up on Gojo's broad shoulders. Her small hands were tightly latched onto his thick white hair to keep her balance.
The mountain of stuffed animals they had won were completely stuck to her back, held perfectly in place by a faint, invisible application of Gojo's Limitless technique so she didn't have to carry them.
"Don't worry, I won't drop you," Gojo had laughed when he first hoisted her up.
He held her dangling legs steady with his large hands, walking down the pedestrian sidewalk without a care in the world.
He was loudly humming a catchy pop song, completely unbothered by the stares of the people around them.
A few passersby actually laughed softly, smiling at the ridiculous, endearing sight of the blindfolded giant carrying the little girl with a mountain of plushies magically clinging to her back.
From up here, Sakura thought, the world looked completely different. It looked so wide. So expansive. Just like it used to, back before the dark... back when her mother used to hold her up like this.
They turned the corner onto a wider sidewalk near the shopping district. Suddenly, Gojo's rhythmic footsteps slowed down. Then, he stopped completely.
Sakura blinked, looking down at the top of his head. He wasn't looking ahead at the stores anymore. His head was turned slightly, facing two people walking from the opposite direction.
One was a woman. She had striking, long white hair and bright crimson eyes. She wore a thick, elegant winter coat, and she was looking around at the mundane storefronts with wide eyes, possessing an almost childish curiosity that vaguely reminded Sakura of Gojo in the arcade.
But it was the person walking slightly ahead of the white-haired woman that demanded attention. It was a young woman with bright blonde hair tied up in an impeccable, tight bun. She was dressed entirely in a sharp, pitch-black men's suit, complete with a dark tie, looking very much like a strict, disciplined butler.
The blonde girl stopped walking the exact second Gojo did.
She turned her head, and her vivid, piercing green eyes locked directly onto Gojo. In a fraction of a second, her entire posture shifted.
It was an incredibly subtle movement, her shoulders squaring, her center of gravity dropping just a millimeter. It wasn't an overtly aggressive move, but it was the undeniable stance of a warrior who was ready to draw a blade in an instant.
"Saber?" the white-haired woman asked, stopping and looking at her companion in confusion as she followed her gaze across the street.
"Irisviel, be ready for an attack..." the blonde girl said, her voice low and tight, her vivid green eyes never breaking their lock on the impossibly tall man.
Across the pavement, Gojo returned the stare. Because of his blindfold, neither Saber nor Irisviel could tell exactly what he was looking at, other than the fact that his face was pointed directly at them.
Unlike the blonde girl, Gojo didn't take a serious stance. He didn't raise his guard, nor did he make a single defensive measure. He just stood there, completely relaxed, casually swinging Sakura's little legs back and forth with his hands.
A slow, arrogant smile stretched across his face, widening as if he had just found the most amusing toy in the world.
"Well, well, well..." Gojo muttered, his voice loud enough for Sakura to hear over the street noise. "Looks like we ran into some interesting tourists."
…
A/N: New chapter guys. Dont forget to comment as to how it was and all. Looking forward to your comments.
If there are any mistakes or anything you can comment on that paragraph. See you all in the next chapter.
Questions are welcome here:-