"Come on man . Feel proud instead!"
Ulf glared at Yukio . Pride wasn't exactly the word he'd use . Flattered maybe . Noriko's incessant attention wasn't harmful in any way, and it didn't exactly hurt his eyes looking at her .
He realised his way of thinking might be dated, but from what he had seen good looks still helped a lot among the young, so maybe it wasn't dated after all .
Beneath him straw gave as he moved his legs . After two years in Japan he was used to sitting on the floor now and then, and being a teenager sure helped . Tatami mats . An altogether stupid construction, and yet so strangely relaxing . Ulf never could decide if he thought it was the epitome of idiocy or a superb blend of taste and function .
"So, what's the occasion?" Ulf asked .
Yukio had requested that Ulf join him in the room he shared with Kyoko .
"Dinner . "
'Strange . After pulling this one on me I could have sworn Noriko would be adamant about us two having dinner alone in our room . '
"Thank you for that one at least . "
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Advertisement "Don't thank me," Yukio said . "Noriko insisted . "
'Why would she? Ah! I'm an idiot!' Ulf said nothing . From here on he could only pretend to be surprised at what came next . Birthdays were a lot more important in Sweden than in Japan . You just didn't forget them . Hell, they were even part of your identity with your date of birth making up most of the personal number everyone living in Sweden was assigned .
Well, at least for old people . Once again he wasn't certain about the young . Living among people who weren't prone to public outbursts of affection didn't help .
Ulf grinned at the thought of a third of their class suddenly rising from their seats to spontaneously celebrate some poor bastard by singing happy birthday to you . Back home a given, but here, maybe not so much .
He recalled birthdays from his first life, and reliving old memories it took a while until he noticed Yukio tugging at his shoulder .
"Man, Earth calling . This earth . "
"Sorry . " Ulf shook his head . "Noriko huh?"
She had remembered, and when he thought about it, so had she last year as well . Whatever he might think about her advances, it still warmed when someone cared .
"Yeah, Noriko . "
"You're in on this one?"
Yukio glared at him . "Giving her a hand? Sure . She's not fooling around . Damn, she had a crush on you before you and Kuri met . "
"Well, she moved on to Nao . . . " Ulf regretted the words as he uttered them .
Yukio grimaced, and they shared a few moments of silence . When it dragged out Yukio poured two cups of tea and offered Ulf one .
"You know," Yukio began after he'd tasted a sip, "did you ever speak with him afterwards?"
Ulf had, but he wanted to hear what Yukio had to say . "Same school, so kind of hard to avoid . "
"Unless you're expelled . "
"Unless you're expelled," Ulf agreed .
"Well, expulsion rescinded . Some of us will return . " Yukio scratched his head . "Anyway, I had a talk with Nao-sempai . "
"Uhum," Ulf said and waited . He drank from his cup to show Yukio that there wouldn't be a further response .
"He never slept with anyone . " Yukio grimaced . "Well, at least not from when he first saw Noriko and until well after they broke up . "
'Break up? That's one way of putting it . ' Ulf felt something akin to physical pain thinking of how much Noriko had hurt . 'I know what happened, but what an awful way to end it . Nao's a bloody idiot!'
"He got scared," Yukio continued .
There was a dull, clack when Yukio placed his empty cup on the table . Almost as if it accused Ulf of drawing something uncomfortable out when it wasn't needed .
"Scared?" By now Ulf was forced to pretend what Yukio said came as news .
"They play in different leagues is what he said . Sure, he's a big name now, but when his looks fade Noriko will still be brilliant . "
Nao hadn't phrased it exactly that way when Ulf spoke with him . The words Yukio echoed were Ulf's . Ulf's way of helping the tall model to understand his own fears .
"Well, she's bright alright," Ulf said . 'Understatement of the year . She is brilliant . I think I'm so smart, but bloody hell I envy her her brains!' Ulf knew he had reasons to be proud of his head . He had a superb intellect, and he was aware of it . He was easily bright enough to grasp just how far ahead of him Noriko was, even if she still needed to grow into her own capacity as an adult .
Which meant she knew something he didn't, or otherwise she would have given up on making him her boyfriend a long time ago . If she played both body and brains, then her actions and plans made more sense . Cause damn that brain of hers was sexy as hell .
But did she really understand him that well? Her social register was a little shaky . Empathy, not brains was his real strength . Well, unless he got stubborn and shut everything down and turned inwards in a blindness so total it was staggering .
Like with Christina .
"So, Nao didn't sleep around, you say?" Thinking of Christina was, as always, a bad thing to do .
"He didn't, and I think he was in love with Noriko to the end . "
"Idiot!" Ulf wasn't sure he meant Nao .
"Idiot!" Yukio agreed .
"So, Noriko and dinner, you said . " The conversation was going full circle .
"Yeah, man . Noriko and dinner . " A friendly fist hit Ulf's shoulder . "After that Kyoko and I want this room for ourselves," Yukio said and looked at the private outdoor bath .
Ulf followed his stare . "Nice way to spend the evening," he agreed .
"Sure is, but this year I'll spend it with just the two of us . " Yukio's face split in a huge grin . "Nice tip by the way . "
'Tip?' Ulf's confusion must have shown .
"Mixed bath . You taught us last year . "
"I did?" 'I did?' "Bloody hell! I did . "
Chapter end
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