It took a lot of tears and cajoling to dig Noriko out of the hole she had dug herself into. The tears were Noriko’s and Christina did the cajoling. Ulf could only watch in helpless impotence, and impotence was just a little too close to the reason for the entire situation.

Pressing urges from his teenage body was one thing. The hurt look in Noriko’s eyes when he refused her childish but eager attempts at seduction was another.

Bloody hell, Yukio, couldn’t you have waited another day? And Kyoko had helped him as well. That astonished Ulf, and it also underscored how very, very wrong Ryu was.

But still, just another day.

Crap, she’ll hate me! He gave Noriko a worried stare. One, he admitted, probably was full of well deserved guilt. He knew, but she didn’t. Tomorrow they’d both be called to Kareyoshi’s office where he planned to play what he believed was his ace up his sleeve.

It was long since defused. Tomorrow Christina’s long war ended. Just like Ulf she had her own digital waterholes. She had shown him numbers he was perfectly capable of reading, numbers he just hadn’t bothered to read, because his world was one of making people become better people. Hers one of global domination.

Where he once gathered the data needed for the next contract she threw a net collecting the information needed to guess in what direction the economy of a nation was headed.

Japan’s was going down, which he knew. She had made it go down a teeny weeny bit faster, which he didn’t know.

Himekaizen an international scandal, the US ambassador to South Korea directly involved, both China and South Korea warning their inhabitants from travelling to Japan, and all of a sudden already wary foreign investors suddenly pulled out and placed their money elsewhere.

Kareyoshi could have been perfectly innocent, but with all that trouble pointing in his direction he would have been sacrificed anyway.

And all of that mattered nothing at all right now when Christina and Hitomi finally were let inside Noriko’s room. Ulf chose to sit, back to the floor, outside her door. He was old enough to understand she needed to talk it out with the girls first. He was also in love enough to hate being left out.

He was, he supposed, a fool. At the moment a fool who had to sit outside the room where the girl he loved sobbed in the arms of her friends.

Come tomorrow she’d be a wreck, and it was all his fault. As much as Ulf wanted to blame Yukio for it the only decent thing to do was to thank the best friend a man could possibly get.

Ulf had heard the rumours. Yukio and Kyoko both hung themselves out to dry to save Ryu from Ryu and Noriko from losing her brother. Their reputation was in shreds because Ulf hadn’t manned up enough to confront Ryu harshly enough.

Damn, I suck!

And still.

Yukio, your sense of timing. Ulf shook his head. The best friend he had ever had, doing exactly the right thing at exactly the wrong moment.

The girls inside would need some more time. Ulf put his palms to the floor and pushed. He got up on his feet, and as silently as possible he took the stairs down. He’d have to search his way through cupboards until he found something to drink.

A smile found his its way to his lips. In the future he’d come visiting here more often. Often enough not to look like s stranger when he wanted to make some tea for his girl. Noriko deserved better.

He rummaged through the contents of a kitchen he’d seen less than half a dozen times. In the end he found the tea he was looking for as well as a water boiler. During his search he happened upon some cookies and biscuits, and they made company with four cups, as many teaspoons and a few clementines. The latter, Ulf assumed, were probably satsumas, this being Japan after all.

He poured water over teabags and left for the second floor with everything on a large cutting board that had to service as a tray. Back again by Noriko’s door he chanced knocking on it. It opened inwards he knew, so balancing everything on one arm shouldn’t be all that much of a risk.

It was Noriko who opened. Her way of telling him they were done inside.

Ulf brought tea and snacks inside and placed it on a low table that he guessed doubled as her study place. Her room lacked a proper desk even though it certainly was spacious enough to house one. It was larger than Christina’s old flat.

Given Yukio’s and Kyoko’s outburst earlier that day Ulf couldn’t avoid glancing at Noriko’s bed. A girls bed.

She must have noticed him doing so, because she coloured and averted her eyes. Behind her both Hitomi and Christina shot him smug smirks.

Crap!

Noriko looked at him. “It’s all your fault,” her eyes accused him.

Ulf looked down. “Tea anyone?” he murmured.

“We should go,” Hitomi said.

“Yes, tea will be fine,” Christina said.

“But?”

“Because tonight would be a bad idea,” Christina said, and Ulf understood why she had prevented Hitomi from helping him and Noriko to get some time on their own.

“I wouldn’t want to, not in anger,” Ulf agreed. “Christina, she knows,” he added and nodded at Hitomi.

“She knows?”

“About us and the upstream world.”

“Oh?”

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“She deserved it. I apologise I didn’t ask you first.”

“Don’t worry. I trust your judgement,” Christina said in a much softer voice.

Why would anyone trust my judgement. It stinks! Ulf threw Noriko a guilty stare.

She gave him one full of questions in return.

They drank their tea. It was bland and nothing like the wonderful memory from late summer.

He looked at her once more. You deserve better. I’ll try to live up to my promise from back then. Because he had trampled on her feelings. If he wasn’t careful they’d turn bland as well.

***

The dreaded day when Kareyoshi brought in her parents was here. Noriko knew that what was at stake was far more serious than the thought that kept nagging at her mind. Still, that tiny thought never left her. What about Christmas? I can't see him during Christmas. It was a small minded thought, selfish, girlish and utterly unworthy of her.

They were gathered in the principal's office. He, seated behind his desk, her parents sitting in chairs facing him, and the four of them standing at attention behind her parents.

She stared at her father's back. He's going to be so angry, and mom, are you disappointed in me? It was going to start any second now.

“Welcome Wakayama-san. I'm sorry we had to call you here on such short notice.” Noriko noted how Kareyoshi only talked to her father. It was as if her mother was an insignificant accessory to her husband. Urufu, I understand now. I wished I had listened to you earlier.

“Yes, we're sorry as well. Both of us.”

What was that? Noriko chanced a glance at Urufu. Yes, there was a knowing smile there, so she had heard a sharp edge in her father's reply.

“I'm sorry to inform you that both of your children are having improper relations.” Apparently Kareyoshi wasn't as perceptive, because nothing in his words showed that he had noticed the coldness in her father's voice.

“You're sorry? Is that so?”

As to confirm what she suspected, it was Noriko's mother, not her father, who turned and faced Ryu. “Son, for how long?”

“We've been together since spring term,” Ryu answered.

The following silence told all of them that the answer had been insufficient.

“She's asking how long we've been improperly together, stupid,” Kuri answered in his stead.” Then she faced Noriko's mother directly. “I've loved your son with my heart for more than half a year, and with my body for four months.”

Gods, she'll explode!

“Is that so? What would you know about love?”

The two women locked eyes.

Kuri's ten years older than mother. She probably knows more than mother, but I can't tell anyone that Kuri isn't a teenager. Then something in how the two women exchanged stares told Noriko that, somehow, her mother knew anyway, and understood.

“After graduation I'm willing to prove it to you. Both of you,” Kuri let go of her stare and looked at Ryu instead. “If you want to.”

Did she just propose?

Ryu blushed like an idiot and nodded numbly. Oh yeah, she did. Then Noriko felt herself blushing as well. Gods, and he just accepted!

Still facing Kuri and Ryu, Noriko's mother smiled warmly. “You might want to keep that promise a secret. Or… are you as bold as to...”

“Wear a ring of betrothal?” Kuri said. “I love him, I'll show that love as long as he agrees to it.”

Closest to the window Kareyoshi fidgeted. It was clear the meeting hadn't gone in the direction he had anticipated.

And then it was her father's time to turn. Noriko stared into his dark eyes, waiting for the inevitable question. It was one thing for a son to have a sexual relation with someone, but she was their daughter.

We actually haven't, yet, she thought before the question came. But not because I don't want to, she admitted to herself.

“Noriko?”

“Not yet,” she blurted out before she could stop herself. Her legs gave way when she realised what she had said. After that she felt herself sitting on the floor in shame.

“We've been a pair for a few months only,” Urufu said as he reached down to help her up on her feet again. “I fear the esteemed principal may have jumped to conclusions.”

Urufu and her father exchanged glances. There's something fishy going on here.

“What made you arrive at that thought?”

“He probably had too much on his mind to think things through. After all he doesn't have all that much experience with an occupation entailing this kind of responsibility.”

Kareyoshi’s face was deep red with rage. “How dare you?”

Urufu continued as if he hadn't heard anything: “Siphoning funds must have cost him some of his attention. Finding the right people who would rape your daughter for money probably required the rest of his competence.”

“Shut up you insolent...”

“When he tried to bribe her parents to silence, he clearly left his limited amount of competence far behind him,” Urufu finished as if he and her father had been silently sipping a cup of coffee each. He turned to her. “I love you. I'm happy to wait.”

He didn't propose. I'm disappointed. I'm happy he's not as scatter-brained as those two. I'm still disappointed. He's a grown man, and I'm only a child in his eyes.

“Now, mister Kareyoshi,” both her parents were facing the principal. “I and my wife both have a background in this school. If you had cared to make your homework properly you would have found out that we were fairly famous.” Her father looked at her mother to invite her to continue.

“Legendary would probably be more apt,” she continued. “We haven't acted until now, because I had to make certain that no school...”

“…would ever accept you as part of their staff...”

“...and that we would feel safe knowing that you would face a very, very long...”

“...and extremely humiliating...”

“...prison sentence.”

“You don't have any evidence!”

“Damn!” her father swore and reached for his wallet.

“Told you so,” Urufu grinned and accepted the offered coin.

“That's an unprecedented low-score as far as competence goes...”

“...which warrants the full thousand yen of your bet,” her mother finished, the last few words pointedly directed at her father who dug out another coin.

Noriko shook her head. What’s going on?