“It’s an outrage!”

“They can’t do that to us. You need to act Principal Kareyoshi.”

Ulf walked past the door. It didn’t matter that it was closed. The shouting was heard in the corridor where parts of the teaching staff stood eavesdropping, for which you merely had to be within a classrooms distance from the headship’s office.

You’re wrong, Ulf thought. They can, and they did. Or rather Christina did.

Once again Himekaizen was crawling with media people, or at least they crawled as close to the compound as was possible. A few Japanese, but as the prosecutor had opened up a case to enforce the Japanese censorship laws Japanese press was fairly absent.

Media from Seoul and the US wasn’t. Just as Ambassador Cooper had threatened the Himekaizen rapes had blown up into an international scandal.

Ulf grimaced and went for the stairs. How could you? She’s your daughter. But maybe being a diplomat was akin to being a politician. Humans were bricks in a game, even if they were relatives. Then his thoughts went to Christina who had orchestrated the entire thing, and Ulf’s mind soured.

If that’s what it takes to build I global empire then I believe you’d be better of if you never built one in the first place. Because if Christina knew what kind of strings to pull now she probably knew it before he met her as well.

I need someone sane to speak with.

Ulf walked down the stairs, walked, not ran or jumped like Ryu used to do during their freshman year here. Noriko? No, I don’t think so. Ah… Of course!

Ulf hoped Yukio wouldn’t be too angry if he borrowed his girlfriend for a while. In ways she knew more about Christina than he did himself. After all they were best friends since middle school.

“Heard about that American slut? Really think she was raped?”

Ulf backed around the corner when he heard the voices.

“She’s a foreigner. Probably likes it rough. You know what they’re like.”

After a moments hesitation Ulf decided to avoid the confrontation. He stayed out of sight while the two first year boys overtook him and continued down the stairs.

Pigs like those were everywhere. It wasn’t anything specific for Japan. The rape laws here, however, were a different matter. If the victim didn’t press charges then nothing had happened, and in this case it meant only one rape had occurred, even though the police did their best to convince Jennifer to drop her charges as well.

He came down to the entrance floor, walked to the shoe lockers, switched and just as he passed trough the doors he wrapped his jacket around his shoulders and stepped out into a rapidly cooling world.

Across the gravel Yukio and Kyoko stood waiting for him. Yukio with a face so grim Ulf could see it from where he walked, and Kyoko for once showed the same expression. Behind them Ulf saw their armed body guards standing under the line of sakura trees lining the streets embracing Himekaizen.

If she’s that angry I doubt she’ll help me. Ulf bit his lower lip. If anything she’ll help Christina instead. Which was a problem. While all the current members of the PTA suffered from archaic views on foreigners far from all of them were rabid psychopaths the way Kareyoshi was.

Thus far Christina’s rumour mongering had gotten two members fired from their jobs according to the information network Ulf trawled with the help of Amaya. Those two, as far as Ulf could discern, weren’t really bad people, and he felt unease about how things slowly spiralled out of control.

I’ll ask for her help. At least that I can do. So he walked up to Yukio with worms crawling in his stomach. What had happened to the two girls was beyond the pale, but as much as he wanted a lynch mob to take care of those involved, rationally he knew that wasn’t the way to go. So I’ll ask for her help.

“Yukio, mind if I take Kyoko for a short date?” Ulf asked.

Yukio glanced at Kyoko, but his eyes never really left Ulf’s. “I she doesn’t then I don’t.”

“She might. I’m not asking you for anything nice,” Ulf said and turned his attention directly to Kyoko as he finished the sentence.

“Is it about Kuri-chan?”

Ulf nodded at her. “The Haven is a bad place for this. I was thinking Asakusa.”

Yukio stared at him, but it was Kyoko who voiced his concerns.

“That’s across the entire city.”

“I know,” Ulf said and pointed a thumb at the body guards and the car.

“I don’t mind, but Yukio comes along as well,” Kyoko said.

“I’d really prefer if just...”

“You don’t have a say in this. If it’s about you and Kuri-chan, then you don’t get to talk with me alone,” she interrupted. “If it’s about the two of you, then it concerns the two of us.”

Ulf smirked. What could he do?

“Still want that talk or not, man?” Yukio said. “I’ll stay in the background, but if she says I’m tagging along then I’ll do as she says.”

There wasn’t anything more to do than throwing Yukio and Kyoko both a stare each filled with admiration. There was no coercion from Kyoko’s side, and there was absolutely no chance Yukio wouldn’t join.

Ulf needed to talk, so he shrugged and followed his friends to the back seat of the car. He shuffled to the right and tried to make himself as small as possible when Kyoko squeezed him into the corner to fasten her seat belt. When he finally got some free space to breathe again he saw Noriko rushing across the gravel.

Then Yukio entered, seated himself and the car drove away.

Through the rear window Ulf saw Noriko panting and staring after the car, and just as they turned around a corner his phone blared alive in his pocket.

***

Noriko swore silently and left the station. Being in love with Urufu made her brains all mushy, and it definitely didn’t make him grow any brains.

Ever since the disgusting parody of a cultural festival Urufu had been racking up an imposing record of absence from school.

They might not be in the same class, but when one of the stars in school asked for her famous boyfriend she got her answers. Maybe more so now when they were both part of the science track. Most of the students were supposed to continue on to university which meant good grades were a better currency now compared to her freshman year.

He played hooky more than half of his lessons, which means she saw far less of him than she craved. And now he had to vanish with Yukio and Kyoko one of the few days when she actually managed to see him at school.

One angry phone call later Noriko was on her way to Asakusa. Even though Urufu had planned ditching her for the afternoon, after that call there was no way he even dared think about it any longer. Which still didn’t make Noriko any less angry.

Walking towards the pier she became less and less certain whether she was angry with Urufu or if she really was angry with herself. When she saw the ferry she was certain the last was true, and when she finally boarded it she almost felt sorry for him.

Noriko quickly made her way through the ferry. This time of the year the open area at the aft was all but empty, but sure enough she found her friends freezing their butts off there. Opening the door Noriko understood why Urufu had chosen that place despite cold gusts of wind tearing at their clothes. The engine sound guaranteed that whatever they spoke about wouldn’t be overheard by mistake.

Almost guaranteed.

“Forget it!” came Kyoko’s angry voice just as the door closed behind Noriko.

Urufu answered something Noriko couldn’t hear. Then he said something more.

“I refuse!”

Whatever the lopsided conversation was about Noriko understood that Kyoko would have none of it.

Noriko sat down beside her boyfriend and gave Kyoko a glare. Whatever Urufu had said he hadn’t raised his voice at her.

“Sorry, didn’t see you coming,” Kyoko said, which had to be a blatant lie.

At his seat across them Yukio grimaced, but Noriko accepted that he didn’t say anything. Besides Noriko knew that he didn’t always side with Kyoko just because they were a couple. So maybe Urufu had suggested something outrageous after all.

“I apologise,” Noriko said. “I didn’t mean to butt in, but I got angry when you stole Urufu.”

This time it was Kyoko who grimaced. “Actually he stole us. All of us,” she added and nodded towards one of the body guards. The other probably drove that car to either Hinode or Hama Rikyu depending on how far they planned go by water.

“Well, I’ve asked at least. I had to,” Urufu suddenly said.

Noriko looked at him, and from the corner of her eye she saw that both Yukio and Kyoko did the same.

“Why? Why if you knew I’d refuse and get angry?”

“I had to,” Urufu said. “What Christina’s doing now is wrong, and I’d be an awful friend if I didn’t try everything to make her stop.”

Kuri is doing what? Noriko had been busy dodging attending a cram school after her results dropped. After her spending most of her waking hours being with, trying to be with or thinking of Urufu. Or, like now, doing all three of them. The side effect was that she knew less and less about what happened with the rest of them.

“Kareyoshi had them assaulted, and he had Kuri-chan attacked as well last year. You expect me to stop her?”

What’s going on?

“People who weren’t involved are getting hurt. I don’t like it, and I don’t like what it’ll make her become.” Urufu shot Noriko a guilty look. “Kyoko, I used to be in love with that girl. I still care for her and watching her become some kind of vengeance demon hurts.”

Noriko knew Urufu still had feelings for Kuri, but his saying ‘used to be in love’ only made her stomach fill with a warm and fussy feeling. Urufu was picky with words. ‘Used to’ was something in the past.

“They deserve getting hurt,” Yukio said and joined the conversation for the first time. “I’m sorry man, but I’m starting to think more and more like you used to do. Guilty by association is still guilty. They’re going down.”

Through her clothes Noriko felt Urufu shiver. “Fine, they’re going down. I hope you can live with it later.”

“Why did you change?” Yukio said.

Noriko felt Urufu shrug. “This is the real me. If anything I’m surprised how easy it is for me to use violence.”

Something in Urufu’s words rang false to Noriko. She clung to him and mulled them over. “Physical violence, you mean?” she said, still thinking about his exact words.

She had to hold on to him when he flinched. “What did you say?”

“Physical violence. Isn’t that what surprises you.” She let her reasoning run another full circle in her mind. “I wonder if you’re really as non violent as you think.”

He turned and stared at her. “What do you mean?” There was something haunted about his eyes.

“In your previous life you had power. Isn’t the application of power violence in one way or another?”

Across them Yukio’s thoughtful expression turned into a smile. “Man, she’s saying you’re just less civilised these days.”

Urufu looked like he had seen a ghost. “My teenage body. That doctor last summer said we were truly teenagers rather than adults in teenaged bodies.”

“You’re too honest to be really honest, you know.” Kyoko’s voice. “Kuri-chan is devious enough to be more honest with herself. Urufu, she’s going after adults who deliberately would hurt children, or at least look the other way.”

And there it was. Adults hurting children. Kuri was right in going after them. With that thought Noriko decided to side with Kyoko despite loving Urufu so much it sometimes hurt. Her brains going mushy wasn’t an excuse to become truly stupid.