Kenji was a man living in a world of ghosts. Not the spectral, rattling kind, but ghosts of form and flesh that flickered at the edge of his vision, ethereal and achingly beautiful. It had started a month ago, after the accident in the university's advanced optics lab. A misaligned particle accelerator, a flash of ozone-scented blue light, and a week of migraines had left him with an impossible, unbelievable gift. Or curse. He still hadn't decided which. He possessed a form of X-ray vision, a perception that allowed him to see through the mundane veil of the world. It wasn't the stark black and white of a medical scan; his was a world of soft light, of warm, living shapes glowing beneath the superficial layers of fabric and convention.

And the brightest light, the most captivating ghost in his new reality, was Aiko. She was an art student, all graceful movements and a smile that could coax color back into a monochrome world. He’d been nursing a silent, hopeless crush on her for two semesters, content to watch her from a distance. But now, that distance was both agonizingly vast and impossibly intimate. When his gaze fell upon her, his strange new sense would flare to life, unbidden. The simple cotton of her summer dress would dissolve into a translucent mist, revealing the delicate architecture of her lingerie, the gentle curve of her hips, the soft swell of her breasts. His X-ray gaze would trace the lines of her body, a secret adoration that felt like both a sacrament and a sin.

He sat in the campus library, pretending to read a dense tome on quantum mechanics, but his attention was a captive satellite orbiting Aiko, who was sketching at a table across the aisle. Today, she wore a soft, lavender sweater and a simple white skirt. To Kenji, it was a shimmering haze over the true masterpiece beneath. He could see the thin straps of her camisole, the whisper of lace that trimmed her panties. He saw the elegant line of her spine as she leaned over her sketchbook, the subtle shift of muscle in her shoulders. This intimate knowledge was a heavy secret. It filled him with a profound sense of wonder, but also a deep well of guilt. He wasn't a Peeping Tom; the thought repulsed him. What he felt when he saw her with his X-ray perception was closer to reverence, a physicist's appreciation for perfect, beautiful form.

He tried to control it, to force his vision back to the mundane world of opaque surfaces. He would squeeze his eyes shut, focus on the equations in his book, but the moment his mind wandered back to her, the X-ray effect would return, soft and insistent. It was strongest when his emotions were heightened, and his feelings for Aiko were a constant, simmering tempest within him. He longed to know her, to hear her voice directed at him, to see her smile meant only for him. He wanted to earn the right to see her, not steal glimpses through a strange, radiological power.

One afternoon, as fate would have it, she dropped her portfolio. Pages of charcoal sketches scattered across the library floor like fallen leaves. It was his chance. His heart hammered against his ribs as he got up, his movements stiff and awkward. "Let me help you," he mumbled, kneeling down. As he gathered the papers, his hand brushed against hers. A jolt, electric and warm, shot up his arm. His vision flared, intensely. For a breathtaking second, he saw everything. He saw the warm flush of her skin through her sweater, the rapid, gentle beat of her heart, a delicate pulse in the hollow of her throat. His X-ray gaze saw her as a living, breathing sculpture of heat and light.

"Thank you," she said, her voice like chimes. She looked at him, really looked at him, and he felt his cheeks burn. "I'm Aiko."

"Kenji," he managed, his own voice sounding distant. "I... I like your work. The use of light is incredible."

Aiko beamed, a genuine, radiant smile that made his controlled world tilt on its axis. "You think so? Most people just see lines on paper."

"No," Kenji said, more confidently than he felt. "I see the form beneath the lines." He didn't realize how true that statement was until he'd said it. She tilted her head, intrigued by his intensity. That was the beginning. They started talking, meeting for coffee between classes. Kenji learned to master his ability, to turn the X-ray effect on and off with more precision. He used it sparingly, as a secret indulgence. He’d watch the way the muscles in her legs shifted as they walked across the quad, the way her chest rose and fell with laughter, seeing it all with a clarity that felt almost spiritual. She, in turn, was fascinated by him. She told him he had the most intense, focused eyes she'd ever seen. "It's like you're looking right through me," she'd once said with a laugh, sending a shiver of panic and pleasure down his spine.

He finally worked up the courage to ask her on a proper date. They went to a small, quiet Italian restaurant downtown. The low light and intimate atmosphere made his senses hum. Across the candlelit table, Aiko was a vision of loveliness in a simple black dress. Kenji found himself activating his X-ray perception, not out of a voyeuristic urge, but because the sight of her filled him with a profound sense of peace. He saw the elegant, matching black lace of her bra and panties beneath the dress, a secret beauty known only to him. He saw the warmth pooling in her belly as she laughed, a soft, internal glow. This unique X-ray power allowed him to appreciate her on a level that was almost painfully intimate.

"You're staring again," she teased, a soft blush on her cheeks. "What are you thinking about so hard, Kenji?"

He took a deep breath. It was now or never. "I'm thinking about how beautiful you are, Aiko. More beautiful than you know." He decided to take a risk, a huge one. "I love that little mole on your left shoulder blade. And the way your skin is so perfectly smooth over your collarbone."

Aiko froze, her fork halfway to her mouth. Her eyes widened. The dress she was wearing completely covered her shoulders and collarbone. There was no way he could have known about the mole. "How... how could you know that?" she whispered, a flicker of confusion and perhaps a tiny bit of fear in her eyes.

Kenji’s heart pounded. He reached across the table and took her hand. "Please, don't be scared. Can you trust me? Can you come back to my apartment after this? I have something to show you. To explain to you." His gaze was so earnest, so full of adoration, that her fear slowly melted away, replaced by an intense curiosity. She nodded slowly, her fingers lacing with his.

Back in his small, tidy apartment, the air was thick with unspoken tension. Kenji was terrified, but he knew he couldn't build anything real with her on a foundation of secrets. "Aiko," he began, his voice trembling slightly. "Something happened to me a while ago. It... changed the way I see things. The way I see you." He explained it all, the lab accident, the migraines, the strange, shimmering X-ray vision that followed. He expected her to run, to call him a freak, a pervert. Instead, she just stood there, listening intently, her eyes searching his face.

"You can... see through my clothes?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. It wasn't an accusation, but a question of pure, wide-eyed wonder.

"Yes," he admitted, his gaze dropping to the floor in shame. "I'm so sorry, Aiko. I never wanted to invade your privacy. I fought it, but you're so beautiful, it was like trying not to look at the sun."

She was silent for a long moment. Then, she took a step closer. And another. She stood before him, so close he could feel the warmth radiating from her body. "Show me," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Show me what you see."

He slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers. He let his control go, allowing his X-ray perception to wash over him in a gentle wave. Her black dress faded into a translucent sheath of light. He saw the delicate lace of her lingerie, the soft curves of her body, the gentle rise and fall of her chest. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever witnessed. "I see..." he began, his voice thick with emotion. "I see perfection. I see the elegant curve of your hips. I see the soft swell of your breasts, the dusky rose of your nipples hiding beneath the lace. I see the gentle valley between them, and I see your heart beating, faster now."

Aiko’s breath hitched. A deep crimson blush spread across her chest, a blush Kenji could see with perfect, startling clarity through his unique sight. It was a visible manifestation of her arousal, a secret flower blooming just for him. "Kenji..." she breathed, her hands coming up to cup his face. "All this time... I felt like you were seeing into my soul. But you were seeing right through me." Instead of fear, her eyes held a spark of something new, something thrilling. She found the idea not violating, but incredibly, deeply intimate. That he, and only he, could see her so completely.

She leaned in and kissed him. It was a soft, tentative kiss at first, which quickly deepened into a passionate exploration. Her body pressed against his, and with his X-ray gaze, he could see the heat intensifying within her, a bright, golden glow centering in her belly and spreading through her limbs. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight. His hands roamed over the fabric of her dress, but his senses were far beyond that, feeling the warmth of her skin, the firmness of her flesh beneath. He could feel her, and see her, on a level no man ever could.

Slowly, reverently, she began to unbutton his shirt. He, in turn, reached for the zipper on the back of her dress. The fabric slid down her body, pooling at her feet, revealing the beautiful reality that he had, until now, only seen as a luminous ghost. She stood before him in her delicate black lace, even more stunning than in his X-ray dreams. "Is this better than your X-ray?" she whispered, a playful, seductive smile on her lips.

"Nothing could be more beautiful than the real you," he answered honestly. "But my way of seeing... it lets me appreciate every single layer of your beauty."

He led her to the bedroom, their hands intertwined. The room was dark, save for the moonlight filtering through the window, but for Kenji, Aiko was a radiant source of light. He undressed her slowly, piece by piece, his eyes worshiping every inch of her revealed skin. He kissed the mole on her shoulder blade, eliciting a soft gasp of pleasure from her. It was proof. It was real. When she was completely naked, she lay back on the bed, a perfect work of art in the dim light. Kenji activated his X-ray vision one more time, not to see through anything, but to see her in her entirety. He saw the warm blood flowing through her veins, the flush of arousal that painted her skin from within, the core of heat that was building deep inside her. This sensual X-ray was a map to her pleasure.

He moved over her, his body covering hers. The skin-on-skin contact was electric. He could feel her heat, and he could see it too, a golden aura that enveloped them both. As he entered her, a soft cry escaped her lips, a sound of pure pleasure. For Kenji, the experience was sublime, transcendent. His X-ray perception was fully engaged, and he saw not just their bodies joined, but their energies mingling. He saw the waves of pleasure radiating from their connection, a visible, pulsating light. He watched the blush on her skin deepen, saw the muscles in her thighs tighten, saw the very core of her clenching around him. It was the most intimate connection imaginable, a joining of body, sight, and soul.

He moved within her, a slow, worshipful rhythm. He whispered to her, describing what he saw, what he felt. "I can see your pleasure, Aiko... It's like a star being born inside you." His words fueled her arousal, the idea that he could witness her response on such a fundamental level was the ultimate aphrodisiac. Her body arched up to meet his, her nails digging gently into his back. The pleasure built between them, a crescendo of light and heat that only he could fully perceive. When her orgasm finally crested, he saw it. It was an explosion of brilliant white light that erupted from her core, washing through her entire body in a blinding, beautiful wave. The sight was so powerful, so overwhelmingly beautiful, that it pushed him over the edge as well, his own release a shuddering, explosive response to her radiance.

Afterward, they lay tangled together, slick with sweat and contentment. Aiko traced patterns on his chest, her head resting over his heart. "It's a strange and wonderful gift you have, Kenji," she murmured sleepily. "My own personal X-ray."

"It was just a strange power until I met you," he said, kissing the top of her head. "You made it wonderful. You made it a way to see how truly beautiful love is."

Their relationship blossomed, with his secret X-ray ability becoming a cherished, erotic part of their intimacy. It was their special game. Sometimes, when they were in a crowded place, he would whisper a description of the lingerie she was wearing, making her blush and squirm with secret delight. Other times, she would ask him to use his X-ray gaze on her from across the room, feeling a thrill at the thought of his eyes pleasuring her through walls and clothes. His power was no longer a source of guilt; it was a testament to their unique bond, a way for him to worship her beauty in a way no one else ever could. He was the physicist who had accidentally stumbled upon the most profound force in the universe, and it wasn't in any of his textbooks. It was the radiant, beautiful, perfect form of the woman sleeping peacefully in his arms.