[5 Minutes earlier.]
Fubuki had co by like she often did. As usual, Shinji's front door was unlocked.
Nearly every ti she visited, there was soone else in his ho. But this ti, she ca mainly to make sure he was safe, since she still didn't know the outco of his battle with the so-called Cosmic Overlord.
The mont she stepped inside, she saw the very Cosmic Overlord, sitting calmly on the sofa.
Seeing the figure of destruction and chaos itself, her whole body froze in shock.
"Hm?" Boros turned his head toward her and spoke with calm. "Well, hello there~. You must be Shinji's friend? Co in and sit."
Ugh…!
Just that look from him drained the color from Fubuki's face.
She could never have imagined that the sa alien emperor who planned to destroy Earth would be sitting in Shinji's house.
Because she had been under the Infinite Tsukuyomi's influence earlier, all she had seen was Boros's Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon tearing through the planet's surface. She hadn't witnessed what happened afterward, when Shinji dragged him into the Primordial Sphere. So she had no idea how things ended.
From her perspective, it looked as if Shinji had been gravely wounded or forced to flee, with the Cosmic Overlord chasing him down to finish the job.
When Boros casually referred to her as "Shinji's friend," Fubuki beca even more certain that he was here for revenge.
No one in their right mind would have guessed the truth: Boros hadn't just lost the fight, he had ended up as Shinji's companion.
Although panic rose in her chest, Fubuki kept her composure. She knew there was no way she could resist Boros, and running was impossible. So, forcing herself to act, she sat stiffly across from him, her movents awkward and restrained.
Boros noticed how frightened she seed and was just about to explain when Shinji happened to return.
"Fubuki…?" Hearing his voice, she turned quickly and lit up with relief.
"Shinji! You're alive!" She darted behind him like a startled rabbit, clutching his sleeve.
"Did he co here to kill you…?" she whispered nervously.
"No, you've got it wrong," Shinji said with a laugh. "He's my friend. His na is Boros."
"Eh? Friend…? Why?!" Fubuki blinked in surprise. Just a short while ago, the two had been mortal enemies locked in a life-or-death battle. How could they suddenly be friends?
"You two… weren't you fighting to the death just now?" She raised a brow.
"The battle is over. I lost to Shinji, but he didn't finish off. So now… we're friends." When Boros said the word "friends," his voice hesitated noticeably. Clearly, the concept was still foreign to him.
After all, ever since he had beco the Cosmic Overlord, he had never once shared an equal bond with anyone. The only reason he could now was because Shinji chose to treat him that way. In reality, Boros already followed Shinji's lead in almost everything.
"I see…" Fubuki finally relaxed a little, though she still stayed close behind Shinji.
"Fubuki, what brings you here this ti?" Shinji asked.
"Nothing much. Earlier, for so reason, I saw the battle between you and the Cosmic Overlord, so I ca to check if you were safe. But instead, I ran into him..." Fubuki explained, then glanced over Shinji carefully. "But looking at you now, you don't seem injured at all?"
She couldn't hide her shock. The scenes she had witnessed were nothing short of world-ending, a destructive force beyond imagination. Yet Shinji didn't even have a scratch on him... Not even his clothes were torn.
In truth, his original clothes had been destroyed. During his transformation into the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, he had manifested the Six Paths cloak. That cloak had been damaged toward the end, but it could repair itself, which was why he now looked perfectly untouched.
"Not exactly. I just recovered, that's all," Shinji said vaguely. He had no intention of explaining Izanagi. Well, he had no reason to disclose any of his powers to anyone! He wasn't in so kind of comic where he would explain his powers and reveal his weakness.
"I see..." Fubuki nodded slowly.
"Well, since you're safe, I'll head back now." She turned to leave. Her sudden change in attitude, without the usual insistence on staying, caught Shinji off guard.
"You seem different all of a sudden. Or… are you still afraid of Boros?" he asked.
"No…" She shook her head gently, lowering her gaze. "This whole situation made realize the truth. You're no longer that B-class hero. You're soone who defeated the Cosmic Overlord. There's no way you'd ever look twice at our Fubuki Group. It would be like recruiting an elephant for the ant army."
Until today, she had never truly grasped the full extent of his power. Only after seeing the scale of his clash with Boros did she finally understand how far beyond her imagination he stood.
Shinji stayed quiet for a mont. "...That's not the issue. It was never about looking down on you. I've never thought less of any of you. I just don't like attaching myself to any organization. I prefer to walk my own path, free and independent."
At least he was glad she had finally co to terms with it. That much, in a way, was thanks to the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
"I understand now. Anyway... thank you for putting up with my stubbornness all this ti..."
It was clear Fubuki had realized the vast gulf between her and Shinji, and how patient he had always been with her.
Her tone was so sincere that Shinji actually felt a little unaccustod to it.
"It's good that you've thought it through. But there's no need to thank . If you ever run into trouble in the future, you can always co to for help." He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Mm..." A faint glimr of relief softened her sorrowful expression, as if she had found a small comfort.
At that mont, Boros, who had been quietly watching, suddenly spoke. "Are you two having a couple's quarrel? I can leave to have so husband and wife mont?"
As an alien, his understanding of such things was simplistic.
In his view, a woman visiting a man's ho, with a bond that seed close, naturally ant they were husband and wife. He just didn't know why the two appeared to be at odds.
"...Huh?" His blunt question left Shinji stunned.
"Eh...? Husband and wife?!" Fubuki froze as well, utterly dumbfounded.
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