Noriko’s sudden departure the day before hardly came as a surprise. Yukio telling him he was the superhero among morons, however, did.

Ulf wasn’t certain when his best friend grew that kind of backbone, but he noticed how Yukio had matured since they met.

I behaved like an arse back then. Well, it couldn’t be helped. At the time, when he realised how clumsily his words came out, Ulf decided to make it worse. Anything to get Noriko’s mind back on track again. He’d spent two weeks on a bike because his didn’t in time. Part of it never would he suspected. Idiot, you’re an idiot.

Ulf felt the gravel crunch under his loafers. He’d spent club hours at school together with his new English teacher. She was good enough to understand the difference between syntactic and semantic precision, and running an academic level conversation with her was a pleasure.

He helped her create education material that went far beyond the poor joke that served as a substitute for anything useful. The material at school made it clear to him the students weren’t supposed to learn English in the first place – they were supposed to take exams without ever understanding the language.

His teacher in turn pointed out the worst of his mistakes in his attempts at learning Japanese efficiently.

Two linguists, which made two more than the moron who held the principal’s office now.

He had part of that co-produced material in his school bag. It should come in handy during the upcoming session. One of the companies that bought his services had adapted far enough to start grasping the real meaning behind proactive responsive processes. Which mean he needed Yukio and Kyoko.

Cause you just don’t have a clue about how good you’ve become. Especially Yukio was a marvel.

A truth.

Kyoko probably was pretty good as well.

A half truth.

Ulf’s competences didn’t include visual user design, which meant he wasn’t qualified to say whether she was good or not. He just knew his customers loved her representations of his models, which probably meant she was good after all.

Halfway across the school yard he almost, just almost, admitted he’d chosen this specific job because Ryu’s natural leadership wasn’t needed, and hence Ulf didn’t have to spend time around Christina’s new boyfriend.

Damn, am I a kid, or what? But jealousy wasn’t rational, and he was very much jealous. Seeing them together made him want to puke.

When Ulf reached the bike stands he remembered that he left his bike outside the old mall. With him avoiding club hours as much as possible he’d taken up habits of old, and those included walking to school from the mall. Habits from before I met her.

That was a quarter of an hour on foot. Yukio and Kyoko would be waiting for him in the café.

He left school, walked beneath the sakura and followed the road. Soon he came to the stretch that led to Irishima High, and sure enough he met the occasional students from there on their way home.

This year they didn’t give him strange looks and giggles, but then this year he didn’t pretend to be a member of geek squad. Returning to that persona was alluring, but it wouldn’t work now. Too many knew him.

A sudden gust of wind guided him to the low wall where he got drenched together with Yukio last summer, and wasn’t it somewhere around here they met Ai the first time? Ulf briefly wondered what had happened to her. Some of the club members said she showed up at the Haven together with her friends occasionally.

Then he got to the last corner and saw the mall ahead. That sight, walking on foot, brought more memories to him. There had been a time, after he found the Stockholm Haven café, but before they finally abandoned the one in the mall, which mean there had been a time when Christina spent time here as well.

Ulf grimaced at the thought. He’d been too busy with a manhunt to give her the attention she needed, and deserved. With a smirk he corrected that thought a little. He’d been too afraid of falling in love with her, even though he already had by that time.

I really am an idiot, am I not? He sighed. Well, I pushed her into a corner, and she broke up. Any healthy person would.

Should he have told her he loved her? Probably. He never waited over half a year doing so with any other girl, or in Maria’s case, woman. Christina’s as well, if he was to be honest. And while being honest; he never left wife and kids behind before neither.

His feet brought him to the bike, and he quickly checked it for any damage, but here in Japan vandalism was all but unthinkable, and the bike was as shiny clean as when he left it in the morning.

Thinning traffic signalled the end of evening rush hour, and Ulf shouldered his bag and went inside.

The stairs he’d climbed so many times last year took him to the second floor. Yukio waved from their old table, and Ulf waved back. Then he did his usual, stupid semi circle walk towards the counter, but even though Yukio shook his head none of the waitresses showed any sign of recognition.

New staff, I guess.

They had little more than an hour before they needed to leave for a nearby office building. That should be enough time to put the finishing touches to his presentation, especially given Yukio’s scary ability to ruthlessly cut away everything non-essential.

“Ready when you are,” Kyoko greeted him.

As if by magic a waitress materialised by the table, and Ulf placed his usual order. Yukio and Kyoko were already halfway through theirs.

Ulf was about to dig up a laptop when his phone suddenly danced around in his pocket. A little bit dumbfounded Ulf grabbed it and looked at the screen.

Christina?

She hadn’t called even once since she broke up with him, and Ulf wondered what could possibly be the reason for a call now. His heart beat furiously when he took the call. No matter how grown up he was childish fantasies and wishful dreams played in his mind.

“Ulf Hammargren,” he said, and cursed himself for being so formal.

Christina’s call amounted to one sentence only. Ulf listened to it, said bye and killed the call. Then he looked up and met Yukio’s and Kyoko’s quizzical looks.

I have to tell them. “Guys, we have a problem.”

***

Despite everything she had promised herself, calling Ulf still made her heart race.

Christina stared at her phone after their minuscule conversation. Well, conversation in as much as a couple of phrases counted as one.

You’re the one with the magic problem solving skills. That thought was a false hope. She knew that, but Ulf really had managed to come through one way or another. Touch and go a few times, and twice he scared the living daylight out of her.

“What do we do now?”

Christina looked over her shoulder. It was Kichirou who had asked the question. “Well, school doesn’t require us students to pick a club.”

“But club activities go into the report,” Fumiko said.

There was that, and Christina moved her gaze from Kichirou to the girl who made their problem clear. “I can’t help you with that. For me, personally, I’ll officially join the go home club.”

“Officially?” Hideo’s voice carried more than a little concern in it.

“Yeah,” Christina said. She downed the last of her coffee. “I don’t have any plans to drop the cultural exchange club. School can’t even take away our club room, because it’s here in the Haven.”

“But Ashiga-san might not want to support us now when we’ve been dissolved.” That was, what was his name again? Seiichi Imai, yes, that was it. One of the last to join before they created 9:1 out of the blue.

Christina looked at James. She already knew what he would say, but the rest of the members didn’t know anything about arrivals and that other world.

“Ashiga-san will continue to support the club,” James said with a dry smile.

Christina nodded at him. Like the rest of them, or at least every club member present, they were all crammed inside the inner room. For the first time it became apparent that their old classroom was in fact a lot larger.

Well, I guess it was bound to happen. And it sure seemed Kareyoshi’s finally had it. Maybe as a result of her taped interview last night. She had given the green light to send him a copy before it aired tonight. Not that he could stop the broadcast. By now a few million people should have heard how Himekaizen was run by a misogynist racist who condoned bullying.

“I’ll stay on as president for another year,” Christina said, but her thoughts were elsewhere. I’ll destroy you!

She even made certain he was properly named. Anything to bait him into dragging her to court for slander. If he did she’d throw in libel for small change as well. By now she had enough dirt on him that if he went public she’d drag him down to hell.

“Don’t you think defying the principal is dangerous?”

“Principal?” Christina said. “Wasn’t it the student council that pulled the plug?” Officially it was, but everyone knew Kareyoshi had the council in a tight leash. I’m starting to understand why you wanted the two of us to run for the council last autumn, Nakagawa. Not doing so turned out an expensive mistake. Well, with her work schedule she’d be unable to do her duties as a council member anyway.

“I’m out,” Saki said.

The Kyoto girl with an ego more overblown than me. Good riddance!

“Me as well,” Sho added.

Both students left the room, and Christina watched the door shut after them.

We’ll lose more of them. They’re afraid. “Anyone else?” she said. Making it into a dare game should keep them from dropping out immediately.

The door opened.

“If it’s unofficial then it’s not affiliated with Himekaizen, is it?”

Christina stared at the girl who had entered. She wore an Irishima High uniform. Ai’s friend?

“No, no I guess it isn’t,” Christina said when the silence became oppressive.

The girl’s face split up in a grin. “Then we’re joining. I heard two spots opened up anyway.”

We?

Another faced peered inside.

Oh! Yeah, Ai’s friend.

“And you would be?”

“Ogawa Nana.”

Jirou grinned and very dramatically opened up a laptop. “Then I’ll add her to the club, president?”

“Eh, yeah, do so,” Christina answered.

Around her the room was stirring with the sound of surprised murmur.

“We, you said ‘we’,” Jirou said, and Christina silently thanked the senior.

“Hasegawa Ai, 4 – 2, Irishima High.”

“Good girl. Class and school and everything,” Jirou said. Irony twinkled in his eyes.

No wonder Sango fell for you, Jirou. You never showed that side before.

“Nana’s my classmate,” Ai said. “For your record I mean.”

Jirou grinned. “Sango would be angry with me it it really was for my record,” he said.

“I didn’t mean it that way, senpai.”

“You do know we only use first names in the club?” Christina broke in. One of the good things Ulf had enforced. Sure, most still added an honorific from time to time, but last names were a distant memory.

“No, but that’s not a problem. We’re not that formal among friends anyway.” This time it was Ai who spoke.

Good to see some of that spunk returning. I hated watching you grow so small after you broke up with Ryu. “But Ryu’s mine, just saying,” Christina said. That test was important. Ai wouldn’t be able to spend time with them if that topic was taboo.

The girl flinched, but not much. “Keep him until I want him back. Then I’ll take him from you,” she returned.

Nice one! “You can try.”

“Was that just a declaration of war?” Hiroyuki wondered.

How do I handle this one? “No, rather...”

“War? Over a boy? Don’t be silly!” Ai interrupted Christina.

It’s all acting, but it’s damned good acting. I respect you. And Christina felt she did. Stupid, why did you let Ryu go? Do you even understand how good for him you were?

“So, club activities?” Nana said and broke the stalemate.

Christina stared at the girl. Yeah, I should have guessed you got that kind of friend. “Walking talking,” she said.

“Sounds fun, what is it?”

Christina answered the question.

Nana paled.