Trapped Behind Words: InuOkko

Chapter 13: Yuji

Megumi lay asleep in his bed. It was a calm, uneventful night. His body was heavy until he fell asleep with a book in his hands. However, his slumber was disturbed by the piercing ring of a cell phone.

It rang once. Why would someone be calling so early in the morning? The sun hadn't even made it into Megumi's eyes, yet someone insisted on calling rather than texting. It wasn't his sister. Her ringtone was her favorite song. It rang a second time. Then he remembered, that wasn't the sound of his phone.

"Itadori," Megumi squeezed the name from his tired throat with his eyes closed.

There was no response other than the phone ringing again.

"Itadori!" Megumi shouted, increasingly annoyed.

Not even a grumble was the response, just silence until it rang a fourth time.

"Damn it, Itadori!" Megumi shouted.

He opened his eyes to see no one next to him. Where was Itadori? Did he go back to his place and forget his phone? The previous night, Itadori stayed the whole day after. Megumi assumed Itadori would be tired of seeing him quickly after their first drink together, but the pink-haired man never left. Until that morning, of course.

Megumi picked up the phone to end the call when he saw it was coming from his own phone. How was that possible? Was he dreaming?

Megumi answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Fushiguro! I was trying to get us breakfast before work today, but I took your phone instead of mine. I was going to use ePay, but this is our phone, so I can't really do that," Itadori responded.

Megumi was still half-asleep, "Just use mine, and you can pay me later. My password is "D1vineD0g$" got it?"

"Oh, okay. If you say so," Itadori said.

"Bye," Megumi said before hanging up the phone and tossing it to the side of the bed.

That was nice of Itadori. What a good guy. Then, Megumi scrambled. If Itadori was awake, surely the spiky-haired man had overslept. Itadori was the last out of bed the morning before. Megumi had time to make a pot of coffee and go on a jog before Itadori had begun to stir.

Megumi jumped out of bed, pulling the dirty pants he had worn the day prior over his legs. He opened the closet to find a button-up shirt that he had pressed earlier in the week; it was a pale robin egg blue. It was only when Megumi fiddled with the first button that he noticed the sun had barely risen.

The room was still dark. Itadori was gone. The only evidence that the pink-haired man had visited were the headprint in his pillow and his cell phone. Their phones didn't even look alike; how did Itadori confuse them?

Megumi fell back onto the bed, half-dressed, ready to dream again. What was the dream he was having even about? An island maybe? Yes, that was it - an island alone with Itadori.

A warm paper bag knocked the air out of Megumi as it slammed against his abdomen. He opened his eyes to see Itadori standing over him in streetwear with a smile. There was no telling what would come out of Itadori's mouth next. It could have been something insightful, or it could have been nonsense.

"Half-naked? For me?" Itadori snickered.

It was something stupid. Megumi pulled the bag from his stomach, setting it to the side and sitting up. The sun had risen slightly, but it was going to be a long Tuesday. His eyes were fuzzy with tiredness, yet he could still see Itadori fairly clearly. The pink-haired man was holding another bag, but it was from an unfamiliar store name.

"Hurry and eat; I need your help getting ready before work," Itadori said.

"I'm not eating in bed," Megumi said.