Chapter four, 2017, petty revenge, segment one

Gods! There’s spillover everywhere. Yukio groaned silently, but at least he stayed out of the rumour mongering by the shoe lockers.

“Is it true Sugimoto-san transferred last week?”

“It’s true. Her parents are divorced and when her mom died she had to move to her relatives.”

“Was it suicide?”

“Dunno. Maybe.”

It was. Yukio knew that. He also knew Sugimoto-san’s mother had absolutely nothing to do with the rapes apart from believing the girls were at fault for getting assaulted. While disgusting it was hardly a reason for dying. Damn Urufu. I should have listened to you.

He dropped his shoes into his locker, and halfway to his classroom he’d listened to three other versions of the rumours. Rumours, because the Sugimotos weren’t the only family to have lost a member. Sasaki-san, a freshman, lost his older brother to an armed robbery that looked a lot like revenge meted out by friends of the Korean victim.

While Urufu was adamant Sasaki-san’s father was indeed directly involved the dead kid was only guilty of voicing his hatred of anything foreign to whomever was within earshot.

And in the background Kuri continued her own campaign of defamation with the open backing of Jeniferu’s father, and he in turn had the silent backing of two nations.

The stairs took Yukio to his corridor and classroom, and just as it had been since the assaults there was a silence clinging to it that had absolutely nothing to do with obedient students. Stench of fear, did you call it that?

He walked to his desk between classmates refusing to meet his eyes and sat down. Yukio barely had time to dig out his books when his name was called out over the PA system.

Visit the headship’s office? What is the pig up to this time?

Raking down his books into his still open bag Yukio stood and left the classroom the same way he had entered. After climbing the stairs to the third floor he had a moment of fleeting memories from his freshman year when he stared down the familiar corridor. Then he walked into the one connecting both wings.

He was almost at the door to the headship’s office when he heard voices from the inside. Or rather Kareyoshi’s voice.

“Your stunt with bringing in journalists again made those in charge change their mind. I’ll have you expelled for tarnishing the name of the school.”

“That’s rich coming from someone who disgraces an entire nation just by being born,” came Urufu’s voice.

There was a moment of silence before Kareyoshi spoke again. “Laugh all you want. Within a month you’re gone from here. Atrocious exam results will suffice as a reason.”

You know, you’re not really supposed to tell people exactly how you’re going to hurt them if they can react to it, Yukio thought. But then Kareyoshi hadn’t exactly displayed any evidence of a higher mental capacity. Still, for what it was worth maybe waiting in the corridor was the smarter choice, so Yukio remained where he stood and eavesdropped.

“So you’ll use my exam results as an excuse? You know I’m answering questions written in Japanese?”

“That’s hardly my problem. If you’re not able to learn a civilised language then you aren’t fit for receiving an education here.”

“You still insist on calling the canned simplifications we’re fed here an education?”

“I don’t see how you’re qualified to comment on the best education system in the world.”

“You really...” for once Urufu’s voice silenced mid sentence. “No, it doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

“I believe that’s all. By the way, you’re suspended for a week?”

“I’m what? For what reason?”

“For interfering with the investigation concerning your later expulsion,” Kareyoshi said.

“Eh, you just told me about that.”

“Which is exactly why I’m preventing you from sabotaging it. Well, that’s all. You may leave.”

Yukio quickly hid behind the door as it opened, but it turned out unneeded as Urufu simply turned in the direction of the sciences wing without looking. After waiting for the backside of his friend disappear behind the corner Yukio finally knocked on the now closed door.

“Enter!”

Yukio did as told. Inside the room he came to attention as it was the expected behaviour. “I was called here.”

“Matsumoto Yukio.”

“Yes,” Yukio answered.

“Good. You’re suspended for a week for associating with bad people.”

“I’m what?”

“That will be all. Dismissed!”

Yukio didn’t even bother with shaking his head. He just bowed, turned and left the office. Kareyoshi hadn’t said when the suspension went active, but Yukio assumed immediately, so he’d just go to his classroom, fetch his clothes and leave school.

On his way there he heard Kyoko, Noriko and Ryu being called over the PA as well, so he decided to wait for them just outside school grounds. Just outside the building he heard the PA calling for Jeniferu, Tomasu and Kuri as well.

Are the girls getting suspended for wearing panties with the wrong colour, or what will the idiot come up with this time?

While Yukio waited by the gates he saw them leaving the building and walk in his direction one by one. The first to arrive was Urufu who must have finished some errand before leaving school, and after him Kyoko and Ryu arrived in rapid succession.

Now that’s funny. I thought Noriko would be with her brother. Maybe she had been somewhere further away from Kareyoshi’s office when they called her over the PA, because Kuri came walking across the gravel before Yukio saw any signs of Noriko.

“If she doesn’t show soon I’m going back in after her,” Urufu growled by his side.

Yukio smirked. He’d join his friend if need be, but right now he was more interested in the journalists flocking around them. No way Kuri would miss out on another opportunity to throw dirt at Kareyoshi and the PTA.

Then Yukio saw Jeniferu walking across the school yard supported by Tomasu, and but for Yukio having seen Kuri playing he stunts too many times he’d be really concerned. As it was he understood they were putting on a show, and just as he started wondering what for they arrived at the gates and Jeniferu dropped the bomb.

“I can’t stand it Thomas.”

“He wouldn’t dare.”

“But he’s our principal and he told me he’d find other men to finish the job on me properly.”

And with those words Kuri had both freshmen seated in her car without giving the journalists a single word of her own. She didn’t need to. Outright accusing the principal for personally ordering the rapes was damaging on an entirely different level, but Yukio was certain Kuri lay behind the ugly show one way or another.

He watched the car drive away and turned his attention to the still absent Noriko.

June 24, 2040, second apology

Mornings were cold in Sweden. Summer or not didn’t matter at all.

Noriko smiled and stretched her feet. They reached all the way into the sea, and she wiggled her toes underwater.

Behind her Kyoko and Kuri had run a silent conversation, and now Noriko could hear footsteps coming closer.

So many memories surfacing again. Guess she wants to share another one with me. They were friends. Strained friends, but friends still. If this strange vacation could mend what had been broken Noriko would welcome it.

The footsteps reached her, and Noriko watched Kuri take a seat on the rock beside her. Long legs touched the surface and went under.

“Noriko, I owe you an apology.”

You owe me more than one. “Sorry?” Noriko said and pretended she had no idea what was going on.

“To be honest this is just one of several,” Kuri said and agreed with what Noriko had just thought. “I’m sorry I slept with Ulf that time. Or rather I’m sorry I hurt you doing so.”

So it was about the end of their second summer.

“I wasn’t ashamed at that time, and I apologise for that as well. Especially since you decided to help me later.”

Noriko shook her head. Her memories of what what had happened might a be a little shaky now, but she was certain the anger and pain faded long before those two girls were assaulted.

More importantly, without Kuri she’d never have won Urufu over.

“It’s fine,” Noriko said. “I don’t think there’s all that much to apologise for, but I’m grateful you did anyway.”

And yet Kuri really hadn’t understood at all. A girl in love sleeping with the boy she wanted wasn’t a reason for an apology, but Kuri had dragged Urufu into an ugly game with human lives. Noriko didn’t know if she could forgive Kuri for that even if an apology came, because Noriko didn’t know if she could forgive herself.

Chapter three, 2017, shards, segment ten

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.

Chapter three, 2017, shards, segment nine

“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.

Chapter three, 2017, shards, segment eight

With a grin Christina walked slowly through the festival streets. Very slowly. For once the goons from Vogue had no problems following her, and adding her own body guard to the duo she became exceedingly visible, which was exactly what she wanted.

Today was Sunday, and the cultural festival was open to the public, which included people from the media who were after any kind of scoop involving her stardom in the world of modelling. She planned to give them far more than they could dream of, and for this the presence of her obscenely visible body guards were vital.

A small part of her felt sorry for dragging Ko-chan and Yukio into her dirty game, but the addition of another two guards, armed with handguns to boot, ought to guarantee a devastating blow to Kareyoshi’s career.

Maybe he wasn’t directly responsible for what happened to the girls, but he was involved in a way that placed the blame firmly on his shoulders. He was, Christina decided for herself, easily one of the most disgusting persons she had ever met in both her lives. And that was a big deal, because that meant he was even worse than she had been herself in her early forties.

A transition and restart. More like redemption. Memories of her old life were far from rosy. Shards, I lived shards of a real life. A smile spread on her face, probably tinged with more than a little sadness if she had to guess, but she didn’t care. Her real feelings lined up perfectly with her plans for once.

This year she had no problems strolling around. This was nothing like the insane circus from a year ago. This year there was none of the insane chaos she remembered, but also gone were the grins and surprised shouts of glee when yet another small disaster was averted.

Polite students served Japanese food to polite customers. Silence and subdued words filled the air, and wherever she looked the student body of Himekaizen filled stalls and exhibitions while trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Maybe there was culture, but festival had nothing to do with what she passed through.

Not that it mattered. She wouldn’t have been out here if she’d done as told and participated in the cultural festival. None of the students who weren’t pure blood Japanese were allowed to come in contact with guests.

Back in Sweden Kareyoshi would long since have been removed from office and facing a trial, but this wasn’t Sweden, and for that reason Christina was adamant he’d end up facing that trial anyway. On the surface the laws were similar. If Kareyoshi’s ham-handed rules surfaced and brought disgrace to the school there was a possibility the application of those laws saw the light of surface as well.

And then there was that other bomb.

Christina pushed her way through, or rather her body guards did.

Thomas wanted to talk with her, and so did Jennifer. The main reason for that talk was between Thomas and Jennifer, and there was absolutely nothing Christina had to offer. Jennifer might look strong and unconcerned, but it had to be a show.

Christina sighed and followed her body guards through angry outbursts. Then she saw Yukio and Kyoko with their armed protection. From then on any show of irritation from other guests simply vanished.

“Why aren’t you working with the festival?” Christina asked loud enough for anyone to hear.

“I don’t dare,” Yukio answered according to a rehearsed script. “This time Principal Kareyoshi sent eight boys to rape the girls.”

Which was an absurd accusation, and absurd was good. Kareyoshi lacked the brains to escalate his dirt when it proved insufficient, so someone else was involved this time. But Kareyoshi also lacked the brains to cover up his tracks, so if he got flushed out Christina was certain he’d drag his associates into the open as well.

Around them people listened and gasped, and five body guards protecting three high school students made anything they said seem plausible. So Christina vented one horrible accusation after another for anyone within listening distance, and those always included members of the press.

Another four to meet. Three ahead of them and one following a bit behind her. Kareyoshi wouldn’t recognise a scripted event if you shoved it into his face, but Christina wasn’t so certain about those who supported him, so she hid her ace up her sleeve.

Just inside the main entrance Thomas and Jennifer stood waiting despite being ordered to stay out of sight, and Kareyoshi had swallowed that bait beautifully.

Just as Christina entered she heard him yell something about insubordination, and she grinned when he refused to disappoint her. In her wake a few journalists managed to make it indoors just as Kareyoshi roared something incoherent about why unclean blood should be invisible when decent people were around.

“So it’s not enough to have them raped. You need them invisible as well?” she asked with a voice she knew would cut through pandemonium.

Kareyoshi turned and faced her. “She’s unclean. No one needed to rape her. She just flaunted her foreign ways just like that Korean.”

A shadow behind her told Christina the fourth person to join the meeting had just arrived. “Are you telling me that all Koreans and other foreign women are sluts who’d sleep with anyone anywhere and anytime?”

Kareyoshi stared at her. Then he growled. “A foreign whore like you wouldn’t understand, but yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

The shadow grew closer, and then the darkness turned into a tall man in his fifties. Christina backed away to make room for him.

“Dad?”

I’m sorry for using you like this. Christina stared at Jennifer’s expression of fear and hope.

“Did you just say that my daughter and a Korean girl egged eight boys on to have sex with them?”

“Another foreigner. What are you doing at my school?”

The man met Kareyoshi’s stare. “My daughter attends this school. She was raped here. As a father I believe it is my business.”

“Who would care about what another foreigner believes.”

“In my case, quite a few I believe.”

The two men stared at each other, and Christina waited for Kareyoshi’s final blunder.

“And why would anyone listen to you?” he said and walked right into the trap.

The man grinned. An entirely predatory grin and nothing at all like Ulf’s wolfish one that still made Christina’s heart lurch. “Why? I wonder. Maybe because you just turned this into an international incident.”

“What? Who are you?”

“My name is Nathan Cooper. I’m the US ambassador to South Korea.”

Chapter three, 2017, shards, segment seven

She could feel it. For the first time Kyoko understood Yukio’s words about a stench of fear. And something was about to burst as well.

At the time being everything lay hidden beneath a blanket of forced anticipation, and for a lot of the students there was nothing forced about it at all.

Later this morning the cultural festival would open for relatives, which was the second occasion for Kareyoshi to celebrate. The first happened yesterday when the Korean, because she turned out to be Korean, rape victim dropped out of school.

Jeniferu, however, refused to become a third.

Kyoko couldn’t understand where Jeniferu got her strength from. Whenever asked she candidly responded that she had indeed been raped and that she hoped all eight boys and whoever lay behind it died horrible deaths. Unsurprisingly Jeniferu got called to the principal’s office on a daily basis, but for whatever reason she never broke down.

Right now she sat beside Kyoko scrubbing toilets. It felt just as demeaning as it was supposed to be, but Kyoko grit her teeth and kept scrubbing. The silence, however, was more than she could bear.

“Do you hate Japan?” she asked, not certain where the words had come from.

The silence was only broken by the sound of brush against porcelain, and Kyoko had just about given up the thought of a conversation when Jeniferu suddenly spoke.

“I hate what happened to me, but why should I hate this nation?”

“But… you know… the toilets...” The words felt clumsy and Kyoko let them peter off.

A giggle made her look up.

“The toilets are fine.”

“Huh?”

“In fact if it had been back home I probably would have refused.”

Kyoko shook her head and changed water in her bucket. “Why?”

Jeniferu laughed. “Everything is clean here. We’re scrubbing toilets that are already clean. I don’t even want to tell you what they would look like where I come from.”

So maybe it was true after all. Both Kuri-chan and Urufu were adamant things were cleaner here compared to Sweden. Maybe people in Japan were clean freaks.

“Does it bother you? That we’re overly neat I mean?”

“Are you stupid?”

Kyoko stared at Jeniferu. “No. I don’t think I’m stupid,” she said.

Jeniferu grimaced, and in her eyes Kyoko read an honest attempt at finding the right words. “I like clean. I like how Japan is clean. When I’m here I can see how people just don’t care back home.” A long sigh told Kyoko there was more to come. “It doesn’t mean I like everything with Japan,” Jeniferu continued. “It’s clean because people here care, but it’s also clean because no one dares.”

“Dares what?” Kyoko wondered. These were words strangely echoing of Urufu’s thoughts, and Kyoko desperately wanted to hear them voiced in a different way.

“People are selfish in groups here,” Jeniferu began. “So they lie in groups, but I prefer when people are selfish for themselves and lie alone.” She met Kyoko’s eyes. “I am myself. I’m responsible for myself. I don’t want to hide behind friends, or a school class, or a family. I want my strength to be my own; not something I borrow.”

It wasn’t what Urufu, or even Kuri-chan would have said, but it was very close. It was as if the similarities between Sweden and the USA were greater than the differences.

They switched toilets and finished the last ones in silence just in time for the festival to open.

Kyoko tagged along after Jeniferu to dispose of the buckets, and after that it was time to meet up with Noriko and a Chinese girl to start carrying out garbage. They weren’t really allowed to, but Noriko didn’t feel safe working outdoors in pairs after what had happened, so Kyoko decided it was worth a later scolding as long as Noriko felt better.

The incinerator lay behind the gym as well, and Kyoko shot Jeniferu a worried glance as they left the school building through a side entrance. The girl might not have said anything, but what did she think about going near that place? Would she even go there at all?

Gravel bit into Kyoko’s soles and a gust of wind tore through her cardigan. For a moment Kyoko regretted she had left her blazer in their classroom, but now it was too late.

Halfway to the gym they met the other pair, and Kyoko’s stomach churned at the instant relief in Noriko’s eyes. It wasn’t right. No one should feel that kind of fear going to school. At a loss for words she looked at Jeniferu to see how she felt.

“You know,” Jeniferu said as if she had read Kyoko’s intentions, “of course I don’t like going there, but we have a job to do so let’s get I over with.”

By Kyoko’s other side Noriko stiffened, and Kyoko wondered about her reaction. Ever since the two girls were assaulted Noriko had shrunk and started looking over her shoulder with something haunted in her eyes. From what Yukio had said, and from rumours about Red Rose Hell Kyoko put together a jigsaw puzzle she didn’t want to watch.

From the attack on Kuri-chan, through Yukio’s frightened words at the festival a year earlier to what had just happened. Kyoko always thought it began with Kuri-chan, but of course Yukio’s words pointed at a time before that, and the look in Noriko’s eyes just added to it. One way or another Red Rose Hell had survived. If not as a school then by seeping its ideals into Himekaizen, and behind that rot; Kareyoshi.

And with that Kyoko finally understood, and her legs buckled under her, and the stench of fear was the stench of something rotting in the school she had loved going to just half a year earlier.