10:15 p.m. (an hour before the window).
The sun was slowly bending toward the horizon, painting the city's glass with reflections of gold and copper. The air carried with it the distant scent of the morning's rain and the nearer smell of street kitchens, mixed with the lazy hum of evening traffic. Yuji had been there for a good ten minutes already, waiting for her.
He was leaning with his back against a signpost, hood down, wearing a dark blue sweatshirt with the faded logo of the Institute beneath a light black jacket, more for the wind and the rain than for the cold. Underneath, he had on light-colored jeans with slightly worn sneakers and a shoulder bag. He kept checking his phone. Then slipped it back into his pocket. Then back to the phone again.
From a distance, he saw Aiko and the world seemed to stop breathing.
She came down the two steps at the back of the restaurant with a light yet determined stride, a short denim jacket over a simple cream-colored knit dress that left her legs bare to mid-thigh. Her hair was loose, slightly tousled by the evening breeze, and she wore a pair of beige flats.
"Sorry I'm late," she said, running her fingers through her hair as she stepped onto the sidewalk.
Yuji shook his head, shyly. "No, no, it's fine. I—" he scratched the back of his neck, blushing slightly, "I got here too early."
Aiko looked at him with a half-smile. "You sure you weren't just anxious to see some dumb movie?"
He gave a tight-lipped smile, that tender shyness tinting his ears red. "A little of that too. But mostly... to be with you."
Aiko let out a quiet sigh, then shook her head with a smile. She stepped closer, took hold of the collar of his sweatshirt to straighten it and in doing so let her fingers brush lightly against his neck. "You really are too sweet, Itadori. It's disarming."
Yuji looked as if he were about to say something in reply, but instead he just took her hand and laced his fingers with hers.
"So?" she said, twisting her wrist in his grasp. "What movie are we watching?"
"It's called Zombie Burger 3: Revenge of the Radioactive Sandwich."
Aiko stared at him. "...You did not just say what I think I heard."
Yuji pulled a guilty face. "I've been thinking about it all day."
She laughed. Loudly. "Okay, as long as you take me to eat something good afterward to make me forget the plot."
"Ramen's already booked, madame."
They took the express subway, which would get them downtown in just over ten minutes. The car was half empty; they sat side by side, their knees brushing at every turn, watching the tunnels streak past with their flickering lights and laughing at every joke.
Every now and then, Yuji glanced at her from the side, studying her profile as if it were the first time. Aiko noticed, of course. She turned to him with one eyebrow raised.
"You're looking at me like I've got two heads."
"No... it's just... you're so beautiful when you're relaxed."
Aiko looked at him. Really looked. Then she brushed his chin lightly with her finger. "And you're always handsome. Even when you're all awkward."
He lowered his head, chuckling softly. A smile that made something flutter beneath her sternum.
Once they reached the cinema, the line was short. There weren't many people around that evening. They chose two seats in the back row, far from everyone else. Salty popcorn for him, sweet for her. When the lights dimmed and the first zombie-chef appeared on screen, frying pans in place of hands, Aiko leaned toward him.
"If I dream tomorrow that I'm being chased by a talking cheeseburger, I'm deleting you from every contact list."
Yuji laughed softly, holding a handful of popcorn up to her mouth. "At worst, it'll turn into a shared dream. Don't worry—I'll save you."
Aiko looked at him with a small, sweet smile, then rested her head on his shoulder. His fingers gently stroked the palm of her hand, while on the screen the giant sandwich came to life amid the screams of the customers. In that darkness full of reflected lights, they laughed as they had at the beginning, when they watched the "Tanuki Trouble."
For them, it was something powerful. Something that belonged to them.
The theater was dark, wrapped in the flickering chiaroscuro the film cast across their faces. Aiko was resting against Yuji's shoulder, the popcorn forgotten on her lap and the laughter had long since faded. For a while now, she hadn't been following the plot. She was watching him in secret: tracing his profile, his full lips, the sharp line of his nose, his eyes fixed on the screen and the smile that occasionally touched his mouth.
His breathing was slow, almost measured. But his heartbeat—she could feel it beneath the fabric of his sweatshirt—was racing faster than it should. Yuji tried not to move. Or maybe he was trying to do exactly the opposite. Aiko tilted her face slightly toward his, her lips just a breath away from his jaw.
"Love...?" she whispered.
He turned his head just slightly, his eyes glinting in the half-light. "Hm?"
She didn't respond immediately. She simply ran her palm over his thigh, very slowly, letting her fingers rest at the hem of his jeans. Then she continued, brushed his privates, and stopped right there. Yuji straightened slightly and swallowed. He smiled softly, almost embarrassed.
"This... isn't in the movie."
Aiko smiled at him. That sly, slightly provocative curve she used when she really wanted something. She started moving her hand again, slowly, massaging his privates, panting softly.
"The bathroom on the far right isn't either."
Yuji looked at her for a moment, then turned his gaze away—only to return to her, as if he couldn't help himself.
"Do you... want to go?" he asked softly, his voice caught somewhere between nerves and desire. He bit his lower lip.
Aiko stood up, straight and resolute, smoothing her dress without looking at him directly. Then she whispered:
"In three minutes, I'll be waiting for you behind the door."
The flickering light from the screen cut her face into shadow and gold. After that line, she said nothing more. She only gave him a quick glance—one of those that left the blood too close to the skin. Yuji's eyes followed her as she walked away along the row, one hand on her hip, her slender legs moving with certainty through the dark. His stomach tightened. Three minutes. She had said she would be waiting behind the door.
He counted to a hundred.
Then he stood up, trying to look natural, even though every fiber of him screamed with awareness. He slipped into the carpeted hallway, passed the snack machine and stopped in front of the bathroom door.
She was there.
Leaning against the wall, one leg bent, her dress rising and falling with each breath. She looked at him without a word, but her gaze had already said everything. Yuji swallowed the air as if it were heavy. "You're really here."
"I told you three minutes." Her voice was a whisper.
She seized his hand firmly, wasting not a single second and pulled him into the first open bathroom. The door closed with a soft click, then she turned the key. And before he could say a word, Aiko moved closer and kissed him. A full, warm, decisive kiss.
Yuji returned the kiss with an intensity he didn't know he had, his hands searching for her everywhere as if he were afraid she would disappear. He grabbed her hips and gently slammed her against the wall, trying to hold her still. He moved on to kiss her neck passionately, while with one hand he cupped her breasts under her dress.
"Oh... Aiko... I want to fuck you right here..."
Aiko spread her legs. Yuji picked her up and pinned her against the wall. He buried his face between her breasts, his breathing short and deep. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, her breath catching his. Yuji unzipped his jeans and pulled it out with one hand, while he devoured her with kisses and throbbed with pleasure.
He pushed aside Aiko's panties, already completely soaked, and entered her. He grabbed her buttocks and began thrusting, deeper and deeper. Aiko had her hands buried in his hair, sucking him with kisses. She moaned, looking up at him with shining eyes. He was clinging to her, his face covered by her hair, panting softly.
Suddenly, time snapped like a taut string. After a few minutes, a breath. Then another. But the next moment no longer belonged to Yuji. Time: 11:15 p.m.
Sukuna opened his eyes inside that body the way a door swings wide open. No trembling, no blush, no hesitation on his face. No black markings framing his features.
Only warmth. And movement.
But...he looked into her eyes. Longer than necessary. Aiko threw her head back, moaning softly, panting with pleasure. He squeezed her buttocks even tighter, and his movements became more violent and deep.
He was panting, his eyes never leaving hers.
He moaned softly too, but the sound changed to something lower, more guttural. His hands on her grew firmer, stronger.
And yet—no sign.
No black lines on his face. No shy smile.
"Yuji, sit there...I want to be on top." Aiko said, panting.
Without a word, the King of Curses obeyed. He let himself fall onto the seat, his body relaxed and yet taut with restrained power. Legs spread, torso leaning slightly forward, his gaze heavy with anticipation.
She followed him, approaching with slow, deliberate movements. She settled on top of him, her back to him, letting their bodies find their own rhythm. His hands rested on her thighs, squeezing them lightly to maintain balance. Each movement was slow but deep, calculated, and the air around her seemed to vibrate with each gesture.
"Oh, I want it… all of it…" she whispered. "Spread your legs a little wider, love… yes, just like that… let it all the way in."
Sukuna obeyed again, driving his hips forward so she could take him deeper, so she could feel all of him.
Then he let his head rest against the wall, his breath steadying. His hands clamped down on her hips with a firmer, hungrier, more brazen grip—different from all the other times.
She leaned slightly forward, her body sliding against his, her hands clutching her thighs as if searching for a balance more fragile than she had expected. Her blond hair tumbled down her back, long and silky, shifting like a veil with the rhythm of her hips.
Sukuna remained still for a few moments. He watched everything.
The curve of her hips. The way every muscle worked, tense yet fluid. And the trust with which she surrendered, completely unaware that it was no longer her precious Yuji touching her. Unaware that the gaze behind her had changed.
A sharp gaze, almost curious. The gaze of a predator that does not strike, but studies.
There were still no lines on his face, no marks: the illusion was perfect.
Sukuna slowly raised a hand and placed his fingers on her waist, where the skin was softer. He felt her shiver. But not out of fear.
His fingers tightened just slightly, as if to draw a boundary only he knew.
"Is this the kind of normality that makes you tremble? "He thought.
As he looked at her from behind, a cruel smile spread across his face—a smile carved in pure malevolence.
"Oh, Yuji, touch me...", she grabbed his hands and brought them to her breasts. "Take me, Yuji... take me and fuck me...hard..."
Sukuna's face changed. He squeezed her breasts hard enough to almost hurt, moving beneath her with a force totally different from Yuji's. He felt Aiko smile:
"Oh yeah, so Yuji...all...all inside...me..."
He grabbed her hips forcefully, roughly pushing her toward him. He stood up, still inside her, and pushed her against the wall, leaning forward.
Sukuna immediately sensed that Aiko was about to cum. But just as he wanted to make her explode with pleasure, the real Yuji came back to himself and stopped. He was breathing heavily and he pulled out, instantly.
"Yuji...why did you stop?" Aiko asked, turning toward him, panting.
He pulled back, his gaze shifting. "He was... Here. Now." Every word was painful, as if it were scratching his throat from the inside.
"What? What are you saying, Yuji... I don't understand."
"That... it wasn't me... the one you were with..." His voice was almost a whisper, broken, as if he'd just emerged from the water.
"You're...you're kidding...I hope...you're...." she replied, incredulous.
He lowered his gaze. Aiko approached him, gently taking his arm:
"Yuji...it's not your fault...it's not..."
"Yes, it is!!" He interrupted her, but his voice trembled. "I was with you...then I wasn't there anymore...And he...It's all my fault. I should have known better, should have been more careful" He stopped, clenching his hands until his knuckles whitened. "I can't stand it."
Aiko approached, cupping his face in her hands. "You came back. Right away. That's what matters."
"You didn't see anything? I mean, you didn't notice anything?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.
"Absolutely not... I had my back turned... I didn't see..." A pause. She placed a hand on her heart, as if to calm its ferocious beating. "I'm sorry..." she added, lowering her gaze.
Yuji closed his eyes for a moment, as if he wanted to believe those words... but when he opened them again, they were filled with guilt. "I can't..." He shook his head.
"No, Yuji... don't leave me...Don't break up with me..." Aiko grabbed his arm.
"I can't risk it..."
"No.. Yuji..." she approached him, trying to stop him by holding his arm with a slightly tighter grip. "Don't go away...don't leave me like this...not like this...I love you..." Aiko whispered, her voice faint.
His movements stiff, he pulled up his sweatshirt as if to shield himself from something only he could feel. He broke free from Aiko's grasp.
"Yuji..." Her voice cracked, but he didn't turn.
"I'm sorry." A whisper that sounded more like a sentence.
He took two steps back. Then three. The door closed behind him, leaving in the air the sound of a void just opened.
Aiko remained still, her hands still warm from his face, but with nothing left to hold. She felt her heart pounding hard, too hard, as if to fill the silence. She cried in secret, without a sound.