The doorbell rang, just a short chime. On the other side of the door came the click of the chain and then the rustle of footsteps on the carpet. The lock turned and the hallway filled with Aiko.
The little black dress hugged her waist, tracing her hips and highlighting them with an almost stubborn precision. The fabric, soft and alive under the warm light of the corridor, gave her beautiful contours. The thin straps left her fair, delicate shoulders bare, while the deep neckline revealed her naked back, with smooth, luminous skin that invited the gaze to follow its curve all the way down.
Her blond hair was as shiny as silk and fell long and straight, following the line of her back until it touched her hips. When she moved her head, her hair moved too, in slow, almost hypnotic waves as she paused in the doorway.
She looked up. Two glacial blue, shining eyes stared at Yuji until he was mesmerized. He held his breath, as if the air had suddenly become too thick.
She stood there, motionless, but her eyes shifted slightly, sliding from his face to his mouth, then back to his eyes again, unsure of what to look at first about him. The silence between them grew heavier, as if each of them could feel the other's heartbeat.
Yuji swallowed, feeling the heat rise to his ears. There was no need to touch her: just looking at her was enough to understand that, from that moment on, it would be impossible to look away.
He stopped breathing for a moment. He was wearing dark jeans, a red sweatshirt pushed up to his elbows, his hair a little tousled; tall, broad-shouldered. He searched for a line that wouldn't ruin anything. "Hi." It came out low. "You're…" He paused. "You're a vision."
Aiko barely smiled, just at the corners of her mouth.
"Hi, my love", she replied. She looked at him a second longer than necessary, as if to file him away. "Red looks damn good on you."
He blushed all the way to his ears. "I wore it because... I know you like it."
"I like it." She reiterated. Aiko turned in profile with a calm gesture; the dress followed the movement, the hem moving slightly against her thighs. She looked back at him.
"Wait a second." She took a half step back, grabbed her keys, her phone and some lip balm from the shelf under the mirror. A quick touch to her mouth, then back to the doorway. "Okay. I'm ready."
Yuji looked down at her hands, slender and clean, then took one of them. Aiko's fingers intertwined with his easily. Her scent—shampoo, skin, a hint of vanilla—made him dizzy.
"Shall we go?" she asked softly.
"I'll lead the way." He took a half step back to let her pass, but without taking his eyes off her. "If I'm walking too fast, tell me and I'll slow down."
Outside, evening was coming. They closed the gate with a soft creak. The wind lifted the hem of her dress slightly, enough for Yuji to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling too much; Aiko's hair brushed his forearm and he suddenly jumped, excited by that light touch.
"Nervous?" she asked, without malice, squeezing his hand calmly.
"A little. But mostly, I'm happy." He adjusted his sweatshirt over his shoulders and took a breath. "If I'm going slowly, it's only because I want to look at you."
"Look at me", Aiko conceded, her voice low but confident. "I'm yours."
Yuji drew in a breath, then pulled himself together. "This way."
He led her toward the little street that opened onto the path, trying to match his steps with hers. Every few meters he glanced at her from the side—the profile, the cut of her eyes, the line of her shoulders—as if trying to memorize every frame before the darkness fell.
The path opened up between ferns and tall grass, the ground damp but passable. Yuji took her hand again and almost unnoticed, led her to the drier side, away from the tufts of hair brushing her ankles so she wouldn't get dirty.
"Don't worry, I'm fine", Aiko said with a brief smile, her thumb caressing the back of his hand.
"I know", he replied, looking down to check where she was stepping. "But… I really don't want you to get dirty."
They walked like this for a few more minutes: the wind lifted her hair. Two fallen trunks lay among the trees, long since downed and worn away by time. Aiko sat on the larger one, her legs slightly slanted, her hands at her sides for balance; then she raised her chin toward him.
"Come here."
Yuji approached Aiko, he knelt behind her and embraced her firmly yet gently, crossing his arms over her chest. The scent of her skin—clean, warm—stirred heat in him; he lingered a moment with his eyes closed, savoring it. Yuji felt Aiko's breathing slow against his forearms, then deepen.
She leaned her head against his shoulder, her blue eyes half-closed, a slight but true smile. Her fingers rested lightly on his forearm and she raised her eyes to him. They looked at each other a moment longer.
"I crave his hands—their gentle weight on me…on my breasts…" Aiko thought.
A moment later, her voice came out low, confident.
"Yuji…give me your hands…"
She took his hands, intertwining his fingers with hers. Then she moved them to her breasts, large and free of her bra.
"Oh… Aiko… since I saw you…I…" he whispered in her ear, panting.
"And I'm without anything underneath, just like you asked…" she replied, half-closing her eyes, turning toward him. She opened them again and looked at him. He stopped, staring at her for seconds. He didn't look away, his heart skipped a beat.
Aiko turned and stepped closer, sliding a hand behind his neck and pressing the sweetest, most tender kisses to his skin. He sighed softly, his hands resting on her hips as a shiver ran down his spine. His touch slid over her thighs through the dress, gentle, almost reverent—as if he were afraid he might break her. She opened her legs before him and he saw her. She was completely naked, open and wet.
"Aiko…" His voice trailed off, the pleasure so intense that Yuji froze.
"Do you see her...Yuji? Do you see me?" She asked. He blushed and looked away, then quickly turned back to her with a nod.
"Don't be afraid...Yuji. This is yours, I'm all yours. You can touch me as much as you want..."
With both hands, Yuji lifted her dress to her waist, exposing her entire body. He could see a trickle of liquid slipping down from her vulva, falling like a raindrop to the ground. He spread her legs even wider, making room with his fingers and dived between them. He kissed her hungrily, gathering all her juices and then immediately inserted two fingers inside her.
"Oh my God… this is so sweet…" Aiko thought, writhing under his tongue. Her breath grew deeper, faster. Her body shook and with one hand, she caught Yuji's head, drawing him toward her.
"Oh, Yuji… I can't take it anymore, put it in me… please…"
She told him in a small voice, almost a plea trembling on her lips. Yuji stared at her for a moment, then returned to her with feverish dedication, as if every movement were indispensable.
Aiko moved without restraint, one hand lost in her hair, the other at her lips, teeth grazing her finger to stifle the sounds rising in her throat. Her eyes narrowed, her breath ragged, the sensation coursing through every fiber of her being—stronger than anything she had ever felt.
Meanwhile, Yuji gripped by the same wave of tension, had already let his jeans slide to the floor. His body, tense and vibrant, betrayed how much he was experiencing that moment with her.
He rose, still on his knees and moved a few steps forward, one hand steadying Aiko at her side. Now in front of her, he paused, breath caught, his gaze drifting from her eyes to her mouth and back again, as if committing her to memory. He swallowed slowly, his fingers still on her wrist.
Aiko touched his hand, a gentle nod. "You're beautiful", she murmured, without irony. "Like this! Don't stop looking at me."
Yuji blushed, lowering his gaze in shy submission. Then he lifted it again, meeting her eyes—and nodded.
With one thrust, he was completely inside her—urgent, ravenous. Aiko placed her palms on the tree trunk just behind her back and sat down. He was in front of her. Yuji had begun to move slowly, at first. He sought her mouth, her neck, her nipples and nibbled her shoulder. Then, strangely, he began to tremble. That day, Aiko noticed something else too: Yuji was moaning more than usual.
She stared at him, amazed. That lost, distant look of him. Another moan rose in his throat, his head tilting back; beneath her, a shiver ran through him.
"I like… seeing you like this…'" Aiko said, meeting his eyes as she took him in completely.
Yuji continued quickly, moaning so much, those beautiful moans.
"Don't stop, my love..." she whispered.
Aiko cupped her breasts, opening her legs even wider to welcome him completely. He felt harder than usual that day.
"Ah... yes... like that... I love it... don't stop..." Yuji increased his pace, grabbing her by the neck, not squeezing. Just to hold her still.
She slowly massaged her clitoris with one hand, still looking straight into his eyes.
A small twig snapped beneath Yuji's knees and he slowed for just a couple of seconds, his eyes widening. Then he came back to her, his moans growing hoarse and hot, Aiko smiled. She loved those moans like crazy.
"Let me feel... more, Yuji..." she murmured and he couldn't hold back any longer.
He tried to cover his mouth with the back of his hand, but Aiko pushed it away, laughing softly.
Suddenly, while she was still smiling, she felt it: Aiko felt the wave of pleasure shooting from the center of her chest, a sharp blow that took away her voice and her smile. She trembled, pressed her thighs against him, she arched her back.
Yuji gave a sudden jolt, stiffened. His breath caught and he leaned forward, his head almost touching her breasts. He gripped her hips with his hands and exploded inside, trembling like a leaf.
***
The clearing slowly returned to its shape with the high rustle of cicadas, the wind stirring the branches. Aiko adjusted her dress with measured gestures, pulling the hem down, smoothing the fabric over her hips. Yuji draped the red sweatshirt over her shoulders to cover her; his fingers trembled slightly as they brushed against her collarbone.
They remained like that, sitting on the fallen log: her leaning against his chest, his arms wrapped around her waist. The scent of her clean skin, mixed with the resin, still clouded his head. Their breathing, uneven at first, finally found itself breathing together.
"Are you okay?" he murmured, still a little out of breath.
"I'm good", Aiko said softly. She touched his wrist with her thumb. "And you...? Rather loud, today."
A smile appeared in Yuji's eyes. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize." She kissed him lightly on the jaw. "I like it."
A moment later, the skin on Yuji's sternum shifted. First a tension beneath the dermis, then a line of ink that drew itself, curving, spreading. A mouth opened between his collarbones: black lips, thin teeth, a smile that promised nothing good.
"Curious", said Sukuna, his voice dry. "With a weapon honed to perfection at hand, you settle for a kitchen knife. Tell me—why chain yourself to him, when you might wield so much more?"
Yuji stiffened his arms. Aiko touched his wrist—calmly—and turned her pale eyes toward the black line. She spoke without raising her voice.
"Because the blade without a sheath cuts even the table", she replied. "I choose tools that stop when I ask them to."
A hint of a smile in the crack. "I don't stop."
"Exactly", Aiko said. "You're not suited to fine work."
Sukuna watched her in silence for a heartbeat. "You delight in winning by subtraction… but men break. And when your vessel shatters, tell me—what will you cling to then?"
She paused for a second, her fingers on her chin and her eyes squeezed shut:
"On what I build", she said calmly. "Certainly not on your Domain."
"I do not tremble, unlike him", Sukuna said, his voice dropping to a low, almost mocking whisper. "And today, every shiver of his betrayed you with each breath."
Aiko tilted her head slightly. "The trembling is a signal, not a defect. It helps you to stop when I say stop. That's what you also lack: restraint."
His mouth paused for a moment, as if testing the word. "Measure", he repeated, amused. "What a small word for a great hunger."
"Small words are the ones that hold", said Aiko. "They always work."
Her sternum quivered a little. "Elegant answer", Sukuna conceded coldly. "And useless when hunger rises above your head."
"Then learn to swim", Aiko replied. "Or stay out of the water."
A diagonal silence. The ink seemed to smile. "I like you… because you don't crawl away. Keep your little pet, then. I can wait. Patience—unlike mercy—is something I have in abundance."
Aiko didn't look away. "Wait where you are: on the threshold."
The black line burst into laughter and trembled like a taut wire. Then it slowly retracted, leaving only a dark spot on Yuji's skin that pulsed once. The forest began to make its noise again.