chapter 2: cappuccino and texting

Seventy-three feet tall...

A powerful build, impressively muscular for his age.

A gentle face, still with a hint of the curves of childhood.

Bright but terribly naive eyes, with warm hazel shades.

Strong cheekbones, a straight, aquiline nose and full, elegant lips that were always stretching into endearing smiles.

Short hair, shaved at the nape of the neck, tousled in shades bordering on pink-gold.

If it hadn't been for the marks stretching under his eyes, he might have been a standard teenager, adorable and poignant in his candour. But there they were, two scar-like lines under his sparkling eyes, a sign of his union with the man they called the King of Scourges. How could a kid like him have ended up in such a situation?

Really, it was ugly... there was nothing enviable about his life... And yet, in terms of monumental, rotten messes, she knew quite a bit.

The young woman let out a deep sigh, sweeping the screen of her phone with her thumb, scrolling through the stolen photos she had taken of Itadori Yujii over the last few days. She let herself sink back against the back of the soft bench she'd been sitting on for the last few minutes in a café in Shibuya, throwing her head back. She closed her eyes, inhaling the pleasant smell of coffee wafting through the air, listening with a distracted ear to the murmurs of surrounding chatter. Even so, she felt slightly guilty about the way events had unfolded. The young man's colleagues were not to be trifled with. Yujii had taken a lot of heat for her ploy... She could still see the embarrassed and troubled look on the teenager's face. She had never meant to cause him any harm...

Unfortunately, she hadn't really had a choice. The opportunity had been too good! Her target, alone, without her teacher, who she knew to be overpowering, around, or her colleagues... She had decided that it was worth it! And she had been right. She had now managed to establish contact with the young man and had even obtained his telephone number. A godsend!

And running into her cobalt-eyed comrade... The icing on the cake. She had killed two birds with one stone.

She should have been delighted... However, the uncomfortable look on the demon bearer's face pinched her heart in spite of herself. She took out of her pocket the piece of paper on which the dark-haired man had written his colleague's number, looking at him with her golden eyes. She had to find a way of contacting him, of forging a link with him... And to make amends a little too... But how?

She let her attention wander over the elegantly decorated room of the café where she had sat a little earlier, observing the few other customers chatting over their scented cups and the waiters working discreetly. She'd seen this address on the internet, and it was recommended by many tourists and locals for its foam drawings. They were so cute that she had wanted to come and see them for herself.

"Excuse me... Have you made your choice, dear customer?" interrupted her thoughts as a calm male voice drew her attention.

Facing her, the stranger discovered a waiter leaning slightly in her direction, a notebook in one hand, a pen suspended in the other. He was dressed in a body-hugging purple uniform that made him stand out despite his exaggerated thinness, with short-cropped ebony hair and eyes so dark they could have been black. He must certainly have been considered attractive by some, but his mere human aura made him insipid in her eyes. Bland as lukewarm water... Nothing like the high-school students, potential exorcists, she'd met earlier.

"Yes, thank you for asking," she finally replied, a slight accent punctuating her Japanese, picking up the school map she had unfolded in front of her. "I'd like a cappuccino with three shots of espresso as well, with shibas for your foam creations. As well as... Hmmm... A slice of the cutest cake you have."

"The... cutest?" the puzzled young man repeated.

"Yes, the cutest." she affirmed with aplomb. "I'm not really hungry, but I'd like one that's a feast for the eyes. Thank you."

"Er... Or... yes, of course, dear customer. Thank you for your order, I'll bring it to you as soon as possible."

He bowed quickly before walking away under the amused gaze of the young woman. Destabilising people was so easy... Suddenly, she felt her bag move against her leg, calling out to him. She stared at it before opening it, a smile forming on her lips. Immediately, a small white head popped out, spreading its membranous, snowy wings and stretching them out.

"KYU!" the little scourge uttered indignantly, staring ruby-eyed at her interlocutor.

The latter gently scratched the top of his fluffy head with her fingertips, gazing tenderly at the cotton bat-like demon. A round body covered in immaculate hair, a triangular nose that was a little squashed, revealing sharp little teeth, pointed buttercup ears and bloody beads for eyes... If it hadn't been for the astonishing black stone adorning its forehead, the little creature could have passed for an animal like any other. But it was nothing of the sort, Kyû was indeed a scourge, completely unnoticed by humans without being able to surround them.

"Sorry, kyû..." murmured the young woman "I forgot to order you something, but I'll do it when he comes back..."

The man stared at her for a few seconds before obviously accepting her apology, pulling himself out of the bag with the help of the hooks on his wings, which he had placed on the edge of the table. Gingerly, he stepped onto the wooden surface, tapping the screen of the redhead's phone and glaring at her. She let out a slight sigh.

"Yes... I know... I've just got to work out what to say to her... It's not as easy as all that!"

"Ex... Excuse me, dear client..."

The interested party raised her head, coming face to face with the waiter from earlier, a little perplexed to see her apparently talking to herself. Alala... these powerless people didn't make life easy for her sometimes...

"Yes, excuse me" she replied with her most enchanting smile, special 'no, powerless, there's nothing suspicious about what you've just seen', leaning forward a little on her bench to let the wide neckline of her new jumper slide down her milky shoulder, deepening her cleavage outrageously.

She hit the nail on the head, a blush quickly igniting the young man's hollowed cheekbones, immediately diminishing his suspicion.

"I'll, er... I'll bring you your order." He finally resumed, his gaze drifting a good thirty centimetres below the level of his interlocutor's eyes, drawing an amused look from her.

He placed a cup and a plate in front of her, a little tense, then bowed hastily, muttering into his beard, before turning around and striding away. At least she had peace of mind now.

She let herself fall back against the comfortable back of her seat, readjusting the sleeve of the oversized black jumper dotted with rhinestones that she had bought after her meeting with Yujii to replace her soaked blouse, sniffing weakly, a little disdainfully. She finally looked at the food the human had brought her, a greedy pout forming on her face.

It was... lovely!

Her cappuccino was presented in a delicate, wide, light blue porcelain cup, the delicate scent of fresh coffee pleasantly caressing her nose. The thick cream-coloured foam on top had been skilfully shaped to create cute little heads of chubby shiba dogs, with cocoa powder deftly placed to give the whole thing even more depth. As for the cake, it was a huge slice of strawberry, sprinkled with gold glitter. The interplay of colour between the bright red of the chubby strawberries, the immaculate crème montée, the soft pastry and the golden glow of the edible bits of paper made her mouth water. Perfect.

"Kiuuuuu..."

She turned her head towards the little bat, smiling mischievously.

"Give me time to take a photo and I'll give you some cake! Strawberries, you'll love that too!"

The little scourge nodded energetically, clearly delighted with the deal. The young woman reached for her phone, turning the dark screen back on with a flick of her thumb. Immediately, a photo of Yujii reappeared before her golden eyes, surprising her slightly. Yujii... She had to find a way to send her a message... That was the whole point of her afternoon! Not to be a tourist in the broadest sense of the word... She nibbled her lip, looking at the food that was patiently waiting for her, perceiving in the corner of her field of vision Kuy who was fidgeting, obviously eager to taste the fragrant pastry. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, making her sit up straight in her seat. Two birds with one stone... Perfect!

"Wait a little longer, Kyû... I've just had a brilliant idea!"

Immediately, she turned on her camera, switching it to selfie mode, adjusting the angle so that she could capture both her cappuccino, the cake, as well as herself in her new jumper, endeavouring to display a sweet and harmless being. She made a V with her free hand, taking a series of shots to be sure of her shot. Kyû wasn't going to last much longer before pouncing on the strawberries taunting him just a few centimetres from her nose.

She checked the shots with a smile before pushing the coveted plate towards her flying companion, who finished bringing it to him with the hooks of his wings, plunging his nose in without further ado.

It was perfect. It was perfect. Cute. And with no visible sign of a long-thought-out plan behind it. She took the piece of paper with the schoolboy's number on it, typed it on her keyboard as a 'new message' before adding one of the photos that made her look her best. Then she pressed 'send' with a determined flick of her thumb, letting her digital Trojan horse attack the teenager's phone. She waited a few more minutes, sipping her triple-shot coffee at last and trying not to destroy the adorable dog faces with a sigh of satisfaction. Finally, she picked up her digital camera again, typing a new message to her new contact.

"With text is better!" She began with a winking smiley face. "It's the girl from earlier, in front of Shibuya station. It was just to show you that I'd survived our collision, I'm actually recovering quite well!"

A new one. Then she followed up with the third to drive the point home.

"By the way... My name is Kali. Pleased to meet you, Itadori kun. I hope your friends didn't admonish you again, it wasn't your fault."

And there it was, the hook had just been dropped. She put her phone back down on the table before picking up a small spoon and moving it towards the plate where the little scourge was sitting.

"At least let me have a taste, you glutton!" she whispered to the little animal, who lifted his muzzle from the cake, cream and bits of strawberry to his ears, giving her an amused smile.

"kiu!" he let out, clearly satisfied with his meal.

Kali stuck her spoon into one of the still intact edges of the pastry, taking a good piece and swallowing it in one bite, savouring the sweet taste on her tongue with satisfaction. She wasn't an unconditional fan of desserts, but she never said no, especially when they were of this quality. And the feeling of mission accomplished lifted a weight from her shoulders, putting her in a very good mood. All that remained was to hope that the school would respond to her message... But it would, she was sure. It was in his nature to be hyper sociable, she'd bet her life on it...

Soon, very soon, he and she would see each other again... She was going to have to think very carefully about how she approached the questions she had to ask... Because, as much as she could guess the profound kindness of the tender-eyed teenager... But she also suspected that the King of Plagues would not be of the same calibre...

A sudden surge of adrenalin shot through her veins, giving her goose bumps. It was probably insane... But she was in such a hurry...

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A word from the author :

M: Hello everyone, hope you're well! It's great to see you all back here!

Yujii (sweeping up the mound of turnips he'd thrown away the previous chapter): torturer...

M (throwing him one that was lying around): I told you not to make a mess, if you make a mess, you pick it up!

Yujii: Why doesn't the other guy help me?

The other guy (Sukuna, as everyone will have guessed) : What the hell, kid? It's YOUR rubbish, your stupidity... And do I look like a cleaner?

Nobara (pointing an accusing finger at the king of scourges): You old misogynist! Like Mister is too good to clean? This is the 21st century, you dusty old man, get used to it!

Sukuna : "THE... THE WHAT? Is impertinence and suicidal tendencies like the plague in your modern world? It's contagious, isn't it? Dusty's going to turn you all into sashimi, there's no shortage of that!"

Yujii: "And you say that, but I'm sure you'd look great in a little maid's apron..."

Sukuna: "Dangerous, intelligible speech in ancestral Japanese that doesn't bode well".

M: "That's enough, everyone calm down and GET ON WITH IT! Readers, we'll see you soon if we don't get beaten to a pulp! Have a good evening!