In the end Noriko got her fair share
of Christmas carols. She even got to listen to them together with
Urufu. They didn’t go to Asakusa as Kyoko had suggested, but rather
Urufu brought her to an amusement park an hour’s ride or so away
from the city centres of Tokyo.
Something about a
memory, he said, but when they arrived he just stood gaping at the
insanity. Noriko had nothing against illuminations, but this was
taking it a little too far. About a galaxy too far or so.
The entire park
was lit up like a fairy tale version of fantasy land, but the sheer
amount of coloured lamps dispelled any remaining magic.
A little bemused
she shared the first half of their date with him surrounded by people
and illumination competing for winning this year’s prize for
outstanding vulgarity. Urufu was, as usual, a close runner up with
strange taste in clothes.
They were already
on the train back from bling hell when Noriko both voiced those
thoughts in her head and immediately regretted them.
She nudged closer
to him as if to apologise by means of sheer proximity. He stood, one
hand firmly gripping a support and the other protectively on her
shoulder to prevent her from falling whenever the train took a curve.
In ways he always stood firm, and Noriko guessed that was what first
attracted her to him – that he always took a stance and stood by it
until convinced he was wrong. Now, that was the second thing with him
that attracted her; that he admitted when he was wrong.
Just like he had
done now. When their date at the theme park promised to become a
disappointing disaster he simply suggested they leave and leave it to
him to find something else to do.
It probably
wouldn’t involve a restaurant, since those were booked full weeks
earlier, but she trusted him to come up with something.
They left the
train at Shinjuku and Urufu dragged her to the circle line and
shortly afterwards Noriko found herself at the grand Shibuya
intersection.
What’s he up
to now? she wondered as she was dragged inside a shop. A bag with
winter’s clothing later, one she had refused he pay for, she once
again found herself on a train but none the wiser.
They left at
another station, Urufu quickly bought something in a rather strange
shop, or rather a lot of somethings which all made their way into his
backpack. His eye-destroying backpack. After that they were bound for
Shinjuku once again and a long walk later, one he prepared by forcing
he to change shoes, Noriko grinned as she recognised the park in
front of them.
“Urufu, you’re
cute, but you should have checked first,” she said. Let’s see
him wriggle out of this one.
“What? Oh, oh
shit!”
Opening hours
weren’t the same in December as in summer, and Noriko watched in
fascination how Urufu’s face turned sour and thoughtful with just a
few seconds in between.
“Train,” he
said and dragged her back in the direction of the station.
Any other girl
would have kicked your shins and left you by now, Noriko thought.
She didn’t. Albeit a disaster this date turned out to be a rather
merry one. With the kind of company her parents kept around them
fancy restaurants never made it into her wish list. Whatever Urufu
had planned, he’d done so for her, and she was curious about how
he’d manage to make up for the illuminations she honestly hadn’t
wanted to see in the first place.
Not that she
would tell him.
When they left
the train at Harajuku she had her answer. Yoyogi park didn’t have
opening hours the way
Shinjuku
Gyoen
did.
They
left they cityscape behind them and entered under bare trees making a
futile attempt at hiding the overcast sky. Winter left the park
mostly empty, and Noriko swallowed the laugh that bubbled up inside
her when Urufu beelined straight for a table with two benches.
No, he isn’t!
He was.
The strange
things he had bought was some kind of outdoor kitchen, and the
hissing sound of burning gas was soon accompanied by water bubbling.
In the meantime
all the winter’s clothing he had forced her to buy came to good
use. He even pulled out a foldable cushion he must have hidden away
in his backpack. It was flat and not very soft, but it did keep the
cold away.
Soon a small
feast appeared on the table, but before that Noriko enjoyed the
luxury of something sweet and hot to drink that Urufu prepared for
her.
Among the crazy
assortment of food and drink a Christmas cake suddenly appeared, and
Noriko couldn’t suppress her laughter. It ran out of her together
with feelings of happiness and love, and she didn’t stop until
Urufu kissed her.
“Merry
Christmas,” he said.
“Merry… oh.
Is that for me?”
“Of course. I
couldn’t really forget your Christmas present, now, could I?”
Noriko put her
cup of warm luxury away and unwrapped her present with some
apprehension. Urufu had expensive tastes, too expensive in her
opinion.
I wonder.
An oblong paper box lay on the table and hid its contents from her.
He didn’t!
He did.
She burst out in
laughter once again. “Urufu, I love you. I really really love you.” Noriko guffawed, but she allowed herself to fully enjoy being
caressed by the thick scarf she wrapped around her neck. I don’t
even want to know what he paid for this. It lay on her shoulders,
snuggled in between coat and neck and protected her from the winter
afternoon. He knew I’m cold. She felt herself warm up inside
as if he had embraced her, and when she met his eyes Noriko suspected
her feelings for him could be read like an open book.
“It was Yukio’s
suggestion,” Urufu admitted.
Of course it
was! This time Noriko made no attempt at stopping her laughter. She was warm, and in love, and Urufu was just as stupid as dear to
her.
“Urufu you
idiot, I love you.”
He blushed a
little and smiled back. “I love you as well.”
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