11:47 p.m. — Aiko's room
The bedside lamp was soft. Aiko had just taken a shower and removed her makeup; her hair was loose, her pajamas a simple oversized T-shirt and short shorts. The phone rested on the pillow beside her, and the light vibrations made her heart tremble more than her fingers.
Incoming call: Yuji 🐼
She answered right away.
"Hey, little spoon–kunai…" she murmured, her voice low, end-of-day.
"Hey, you," he replied, just as softly. There was a rustle of sheets on the other end, and the distant hum of a fan. "You okay?"
"I'm… at peace. Tired, but… good. You?"
"Same. I can't sleep, I was thinking about you. Then you said 'I'll be waiting,' and boom—heart racing."
She smiled in the dark, stroking the seam of the pillow.
"I was thinking about it too. I thought about it all day. About you," she said.
A pause. A held breath.
Yuji was the first to break that charged silence. "Can I tell you something?"
"Always."
"Today, every message from you made me… react. Like… more than I expected."
"React…?" Aiko's voice was soft, almost a whisper.
"Yeah. Like… if I'd been alone, I don't know how it would've ended."
She laughed quietly, the sound muffled into the pillow. "Are you telling me I distracted you from becoming a respectable person?"
"Totally. And without remorse."
Silence. Then Aiko lowered her voice even more.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Tell me."
"Ever since you told me that… those calls turned you on, well… I've been thinking about it. Not about them, the women, but the calls. About… if I were the one to make it."
"…Aiko…" Pause. "Are you sure?… Do you feel up to it? I mean… you just made my head spin more than a hundred spells. And you don't have to do anything that doesn't come naturally. But knowing you thought about it… makes me feel like I'm the only one in the world right now."
Another pause. Then:
"Yes, I want to… even though… it's my first time… like this… on the phone," she added.
"I don't care. Tell me anything you want."
A second of silence. Then Aiko spoke.
"My hands are shaking."
Yuji smiled. She could hear it.
"Mine too. But if you're comfortable, I… I'd like that. You don't have to overdo it. Just… stay with me."
Aiko closed her eyes. She began to speak in a very low voice.
"So... imagine me completely naked in front of you. Right now. Just out of the shower. I'll look you in the eyes, smile at you, and bite my lip."
"O...ok..."
"Then, after I'm dry, I slowly put on the underwear I'm wearing now..."
"What underwear are you wearing?"
"Black bra and thong..."
"Uh... my favorite..." Yuji replied. His breathing intensified. "And...and what would you do if I saw you...like this?"
A short pause.
"Mmm... let's see... let's say maybe I'd open my legs... in front of you... and let you lick my nipples... softly... while you touched my hair."
"Oh... yes...?"
"Mh-hm," Aiko replied, running a hand over her panties.
A pause, longer than the previous one, in which only the deep breathing of both of them and a few low moans could be heard. Then:
"Are...are you...touching yourself?" Yuji asked, whispering.
She moved her panties aside and slipped two fingers inside, without hesitation.
"Yes..." She gasped.
"Oh, Aiko... please don't say "yes" like that again..."
Aiko stepped in front of the mirror and spread her legs again.
"Are you horny, Yuji? I know you are… like me..."
"You…have no idea how fucking horny you make me..." he replied through gritted teeth.
A brief pause from both of them, during which the moans deepened.
"I'm touching myself...even my breasts...thinking of you...now...and my left breast is exposed..."
"Ah...Oh, Aiko...Continue..."
"I'm massaging them... just for you..."
Yuji was panting.
"Now I'm caressing my...thighs..." she continued.
"How I wish I could...pinch your nipples..." Yuji whispered.
"Now my right breast...is exposed too..." Aiko added, cupping her breast with her hand.
"I wish...I could touch you, now...Take it all off...for me..." Yuji panted, touching himself too.
"Okay... I'm taking it all off, slowly... mmmh..."
She undressed with almost disarming elegance: "Now I'm touching myself...my pussy is completely wet...You make me so wet..."
"Mmmh... I wish I could see it..."
"So… so… wet… so, so wet… I wish I were there with you…Oh God…"
Pause. She heard Yuji's trembling breath. She tilted her head back:
"Now I'm touching myself…over my panties…they're so wet…How much do you want to fuck me right now, Yuji, on a scale of one to ten?"
"There's no...there's no one...to ten. Until death..."
Aiko increased the speed of her movements, arching her back.
"And...how I want to...suck it...then I want to lean forward...and take it all...I keep touching myself...imagining being fucked by you...Aaah..."
"Oh, Aiko... I'm so horny... I'm about to explode... it's so hard..."
A short pause. All Aiko could hear was his short, deep breaths.
"Now I'm taking off... my panties...Oh, Yuji... please, come here to me...Oh, I want you inside...me"
Aiko's movements became more and more intense. She got up from the bed, panting, opened the drawer at the bottom of the closet, and took out her dildo, which she used on nights when she felt most alone.
"How I want you here, Yuji... now."
She penetrated herself, arching her back and moaning softly.
"Listen to me…Aiko…listen to me while…while I come…"
Yuji suddenly exploded. He moaned deeply, those beautiful moans that only those who had enjoyed themselves like crazy could emit. Aiko, on the other hand, brought her free hand to her mouth, rolled her eyes, and began to tremble all over. She struggled to come in silence, so as not to wake anyone.
***
The call had ended a few minutes ago.
Neither Aiko nor Yuji had hung up right away. They had stayed there, each with the phone still pressed to their ear, as if the other voice might still come through, suspended in the air. As if the silence, in that moment, were more eloquent than any word.
Aiko had her cheek pressed to the pillow, her heart still snagged on a vibration she couldn't explain. She felt warm, but not only because of what they had said. It was a new, intimate kind of presence. A feeling of being seen. Laid bare. And not in the way you fear being judged, but in the way you finally feel welcomed.
On the other end, Yuji was looking at his hands. He couldn't stop smiling in the quiet. He felt awkward, incredulous, but also incredibly serene. He had never opened himself up like that. Never let himself go with someone he truly knew. And now…there was a strange sweetness, hanging from that invisible phone line that still held them together, even though "Call ended" had already appeared on the screen.
Aiko wrote first.
Aiko: Hey… are you still alive? Or did you melt?
Yuji replied right away.
Yuji: To say that I "melted" is an understatement. I think I evaporated.
Aiko: You were sweet. And funny. And a little… a little sexy, too.
It took Yuji longer than usual to reply.
Yuji: Same goes for you. Actually, worse.
(new message): I mean I miss you now. Even though not even an hour has passed.
Aiko bit her lip, her heart kicking against the sheet.
Aiko: You're sweet, Itadori. Too sweet for this world.
Yuji: Only with you. And I don't mind at all.
They stayed silent for a few more minutes, then Aiko wrote:
Aiko: Promise me one thing.
Yuji: Anything.
Aiko: That you'll never treat me like a game. That whatever happens, we can talk about it.
Yuji left the phone beside his face, then typed slowly:
Yuji: I never would. You're the first person I'm not afraid to be my whole self with. Even the weird parts. Even the fragile ones. Even this.
Aiko closed her eyes. A tear slowly traced down her cheek, but it wasn't sadness. It was the gentle weight of affection growing. Of trust being built slowly, with glances, words, and yes—also a few secrets whispered over the phone, between one heartbeat and the next.
Aiko: Good night, Yuji. And thank you. For… everything.
Yuji: Good night, Aiko. Tomorrow… I'll think of you with my first coffee.
The next morning, Aiko woke with the smile still on her face. It was early morning, the pillow was cold where her cheek had stuck after the call, and her body was curled up under the covers. She hadn't slept much, but strangely she'd slept well. A little later she got up, sat on the edge of the bed, and stretched, yawning a couple of times as she searched the little drawer by the bed for a pair of socks. As she pulled on an oversized hoodie to go down to the kitchen, she could still hear his voice in her ears. "Sleep well, Aiko." And the slow way he'd said it.
In the kitchen there was already the aroma of fish broth, and the radio was playing some old '90s J-pop.
Her mother was peeling carrots and potatoes, and on the cutting board beside her there were already cubes of celery ready. Her father was arranging crates of just-arrived tomatoes, the ones to take straight to the restaurant a little later. As soon as they saw her, they both shot her a quick look, their eyes fixed on her like people who'd had something to say for too long and couldn't wait to say it.
"You look good this morning," her father remarked. "Did you sleep, or were you up late with your books?"
Aiko smiled, dipping her spoon into the cup of tea. "Somewhere in the middle."
Her mother, in a more practical tone: "Remember, the new boy starts at work tonight. Kazuma. He's on the second shift in the dining room. Give him a hand if you see him getting lost."
Aiko nodded, unbothered. "Okay. What school is he from?"
"Across town. He's interning in the kitchen, but he asked to work the floor too. Says he likes talking to people. Seems nice."
"We'll see if he can keep up," Aiko said, already thinking about how to organize the tables.
A few hours later, as she was heading out to class, a message came in.
Yuji: You alive? 😴 I'm wrecked. I can't look at my hand without thinking of you. P.S.: I can't even look at a landline now 😂
Aiko laughed softly, squeezing the phone between her fingers. She answered right away: Your fault if phone calls have now become improvised weapons. 😳 Ah, I'm working tonight. A new guy's starting at the restaurant. First try, floor shift.
There was a short silence.
Yuji saw it.
But he didn't reply right away.
She waited a few seconds, then slipped the phone into her jacket pocket and headed out.
It was only in the school hallway, as she pulled her water bottle from her backpack, that the thought settled on her.
It was strange. Usually Yuji would have asked, "What's he like?", "Do you trust him?", "Need help with the knives?"… something.
Instead, nothing.
Just that green dot that said "seen."
But Aiko shrugged. Maybe he was just stretching between one training session and the next.
Or maybe… no, better not to think about it.
They had just discovered something beautiful.
It couldn't crack already.
Aiko calmly combed her hair, gathering it into a high, soft braid that fell over her shoulder. She'd chosen a cream-colored shirt with the sleeves rolled up and high-waisted black jeans. Nothing new, but something in the way she looked at her reflection said that, tonight, she wanted to feel… put together. Simple. But present.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. No new messages, just emails.
She shrugged, slipped on white sneakers, checked that she had the order pad in her backpack, and left the house.
***
At Tramonto Rosso the air smelled of basil rubbed between fingers, fried fish, and a wood-fired oven that had been burning for hours. There was also the scent of pizza yeast hanging in the air—the kind of smell that drove Aiko a little crazy. The glass at the entrance was slightly fogged with condensation, the tables freshly polished with Aiko's usual patience, the warm light making even the salad bowls look lacquered.
Aiko's mother moved between the tables with a crate of little pots: tiny daisies, sprigs of rosemary, a couple of red carnations "because they bring good luck." She rotated one by a couple of degrees, then stepped back to check the whole effect—eyes more like a restorer's than a restaurateur.
In the kitchen, her father kept the rhythm: "Broth one up! Grill two ready! Aiko, floor check! Kazuma—oh right, Kazuma isn't here yet, so Aiko double round!" He really did seem like a captain, and the pass-through the bulwark of his ship.
At seven sharp, the bell jingled.
The new guy came in, nudging the door open with his elbow, a duffel slung across his shoulder and a smile that said, "I can handle myself." Tall, lean, straight-shouldered, with well-defined muscles. Dark hair, neatly combed but not stiff, down to his shoulders; black glasses with a slim, understated frame. Shirt sleeves rolled to his forearms, black server trousers, and spotless sneakers. In short, the kind of guy who felt familiar the instant you saw him.
"Kazuma, right?" Aiko said, wiping her hands on her apron as she went to meet him. "I'm Aiko. Welcome to the battlefield."
He gave a bow that was half serious, half theatrical. "Honored ground, commander." His voice was warm, kind, wry without overdoing it.
From behind the counter, Aiko's mother was already watching the scene with a smile that said, "I like this one." She nodded and motioned her husband over so he wouldn't miss the details.