Chapter one, 2018, Hatsumode, segment five

Noriko waved to Kuri as soon as the golden hair was visible above the stairs. With a smirk she noted how more than a few men turned and stared at the two girls leaving the stairs. Either of them commanded attention, but tall goddess in creamy white and the very definition of Japanese beauty in a gorgeous kimono side by side was more than most men ever saw in a day.

Thank all gods I never tried winning Urufu in a competition of looks! It wouldn’t have been a competition, Noriko admitted. She was petite and cute, but against that kind of opposition ‘cute’ didn’t even give you a place in the starting field.

Once again Noriko was reminded of how lucky she had been. The sheer stupidity shared by Kuri and Urufu paved the road for her. How two people so obviously in love with each other ever arrived at the conclusion that breaking up was a good idea evaded her. Well, she didn’t complain. Urufu’s love was hers now. At least Noriko felt moderately secure it was. As far as she knew he didn’t lie outright, and he said he loved her.

“Noriko!” Kuri called out. “How’s your date with Urufu?” A gleam of joyous malice shone from her eyes.

“Better now.”

Hitomi shot them both a glare. “What are the two of you up to now?” she asked. She must have seen the glee shared by Kuri and Noriko both.

“I don’t see my boyfriend,” Kuri said.

Noriko snorted and looked down. She even covered her mouth with one hand. While she never was as obsessed with what was proper as Kyoko when they got to learn each other, a cackling guffaw in public was still too much. “He had to wash his hands,” Noriko said. This time she didn’t entirely manage to stifle that cackle.

Kuri offered her both a smile and a questioning look. “And that is bad exactly why?”

Noriko told her.

“No, you didn’t!”

For a moment Noriko had to make certain Kuri wasn’t angry. Leaving her idiot bro behind whenever he needed to visit the toilets, while great fun, was sabotaging Kuri’s date. Still, Kuri looked more amused than angry. “Sure did,” Noriko chanced.

Kuri walked the remaining steps between them and gathered Noriko up in an embrace. “I want to be with Ryu just as much as you want to be with Urufu,” she whispered in Noriko’s ear. “If my boyfriend needs a lesson then by all means teach him one.”

What’s with the ‘my boyfriend’? “You know, sometime he’s an idiot, but he still has a name you know.”

Kuri grinned. “Looking at you just now I wondered,” she said and took a place in a queue to the closest stall.

Noriko glanced at what they sold and frowned. “You sure about that?” Dark sauce and creamy white clothing probably didn’t agree with each other in a crowded place like this.

“About what?”

“That food.”

With a smile Kuri fished up a small napkin box from her handbag. “Always be prepared,” she grinned.

“Mind lending me some of those?” Hitomi said and took her place beside Kuri in the queue.

Noriko shook her head but joined them anyway. Takoyaki and cold weather definitely agreed with each other, and it was part of going to a festival of any kind.

While they waited for their turn the others joined as well, and Noriko exchanged some friendly insults with Kyoko and Yukio. She nestled closer to Urufu who had chosen to stand behind her and opened the zipper to his eye catching jacket. It wasn’t eye catching in a good way, but it was warm, and he was warm, and she felt safe with her back pressed against him with his arms loosely around her.

“Noriko,” Kyoko suddenly said and woke Noriko from her private world of momentary bliss, “shouldn’t we call your brother.”

“Mmm,” Noriko answered and slowly shook her head. She could feel her hair rubbing against Urufu’s chest. “No service,” she added without checking her phone. She added a grin to be on the safe side. Talking things out with Urufu and Hitomi convinced her the hurtful show in her classroom just before Christmas had been a brutal but somewhat effective way to hammer a message through Ryu’s thick skull. That still didn’t mean Noriko felt entirely certain Kyoko had done it all for her benefit.

“Lots of people here.” That was Yukio coming to her rescue. “Hard to get on a network.”

“Huh? I’m connected. Do you want me to call...” Urufu began behind her.

“You’re disconnected,” Yukio interrupted him. “No signal at all, man. Got it?”

“But look, I’m… Hey give me back my phone!”

“Look, out of battery. These gadgets just give up in crowds,” Yukio said and gave the phone back to Urufu. Noriko saw the black screen flashing by and guffawed. Yukio, sometimes you’re just awesomely cool!

“Dammit! Why did you shut it off?”

“Out of battery.”

“Hell it is! I have a power bank and there’s no way...”

“He said: Out. Of. Battery.” Kuri’s voice didn’t exactly invite to an applied study in relativism.

“But I… OK I get it. Out of battery. How stupid of me.”

Noriko turned in his arms and hugged him. “You’re not stupid. Just a case of bad memory.”

“Yeah, whatever. How long am I going to be out of battery?”

“Until we tell you your, what did you call it, power bank works again.” Kuri’s smile was sweet and deadly. “Now this girl needs to go wash her hands. Hitomi, feeling dirty as well?”

Hitomi nodded, and with their hands full of food both girls expertly navigated the crowd in the direction of the restrooms closest to the shrine.

Noriko smirked, and then the voice of her idiot bro told her he had found them.

“Kyoko, Yukio, I got…” He met Noriko’s eyes. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said.

“No problem, man. We’ll stay around for a bit longer anyway.”

Noriko sent Yukio a thankful thought for pretending nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Uhum, guys. I don’t see Kuri. Know where she is?”

“Ladies stuff,” Jeniferu offered. She and Tomasu had joined them just before Urufu’s phone… went out of battery.

“Ladies stuff?”

“Washing her hands,” Jeniferu explained.

“Ah, maybe I should wait for her. Where did she go?”

Jeniferu pointed her fingers at the restrooms closest to the stairs.