'Why? Why did I hurt him that way? It's not his fault that I'm interested in Hamarugen-san . '

Shame ran through her veins .

And anger .

She ripped the hateful letter to pieces and threw it away . Then she changed back to her indoor shoes .

Of course even the tall geek had a crush on Kuri-chan . He was male after all . Well she wouldn't be alone feeling hurt . Ryu-kun's midget sister had fallen hard as well .

'She's worse off than me,' Kyoko thought . 'Far worse . I'm really only interested in the guy . OK, and angry with him being the same as the rest . '

"He's more your type," Kuri-chan had said . Well, that opportunity was in flames now . Kyoko had poured petrol over it, struck fire on the matches and set it ablaze . And then she had added dynamite to it all just for good measure . 'Aww, I won't even be able to apologize to him for at least half a year after this . Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'

And he had been kind of cute .

'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'

And very polite .

'Moron! Moron! Moron!'

And after she had mauled him his first thought had been to help his friend .

'I hate myself!'

And even though she had seen his shoulders shake when she went indoors, he had still stood by the bikes to give her time to get away alone .

'Kyoko, Kyoko, Kyoko, how often do you think you'll meet a guy like that?'

She climbed the stairs to 3:1, and when she told her friends about the confession, with Hamarugen-san's part carefully censored out, they helped her understand the sheer extent of her epic stupidity . As if she needed help rubbing it in .

At least she hadn't helped Hamarugen-san confess to Kuri-chan . The lazy coward could do that in person if he deemed it important enough .

But Kuri-chan saw right through her as if she was made of gla.s.s . For the second time in one single lunch break she was called out . And this time by her best friend .

"What happened?" Kuri-chan asked her after she had dragged her to the stairwell between second and third floor .

"Told you . "

"Ko-chan!"

Kyoko found her own feet infinitely interesting to study . "I rejected him . Badly," she added when shame overtook her once again .

"There's no way you'd behave that way even if he looked like an ogre . Did he do something bad to you?"

And that was when Kyoko broke down . Her legs lost their function and she sank down on her knees .

"I'll kill him!" Kuri-chan said, misunderstanding why Kyoko had collapsed .

"No, no please don't!"

Kuri-chan sat down and looked at her . "No?"

Kyoko spent some time pulling at her skirt hem . "I hurt him . They were awful and I hurt him . "

Kuri-chan leaned back against the wall . "Ko-chan, I don't understand . Please tell me everything that happened!"

"I believe," Kyoko started when pieces of a puzzle finally came into place in her mind, "that he's a loner . People in the windows were bullying him, pretending to help him confess to me . "

"You mean shouting stuff so he would be too embarra.s.sed to go through with it?"

"Yeah . "

"But he did anyway?"

"Yes, and he was so gentle," Kyoko whispered .

"Do you have any idea how much bravery that takes?"

Kyoko met her friend's eyes . She hadn't thought of that . "I feel so bad for him . He was crying when I left, but I was so angry . "

"Angry because he confessed to you? You don't make any sense . "

"No, he gave me a letter from Hamarugen-san to you, and I got so mad at him . "

"Oh, Ko-chan! I told you that geek was bad news . "

"I know . I tore the letter apart and threw it away . I'm sorry . "

Kuri-chan smiled . "Don't worry . If he wants to confess to me he can do so directly instead of sending his friends . "

"And if he does?" Kyoko still felt a bit jealous .

"The geek?"

"Yes . "

"He'd better do something very special for me not to shoot him down to kingdom come . " Kuri-chan grinned . "I hate people who can't run their own errands and hurt their messengers instead . " Then Kyoko found herself in a warm embrace . "Let's see what we can do about that messenger of yours . If you want of course . "

There was a slight tingling in her chest . Relief mostly but also something else . It was a bit embarra.s.sing . Rather than answer Kuri-chan she changed the topic . "Something very special, you said?"

Why? Why did I hurt him that way? Its not his fault that Im interested in Hamarugen-san . Shame ran through her veins . And anger . She ripped the hateful letter to pieces and threw it away . Then she changed back to her indoor shoes . Of course even the tall geek had a crush on Kuri-chan . He was male after all . Well she wouldnt be alone feeling hurt . Ryu-kuns midget sister had fallen hard as well . Shes worse off than me, Kyoko thought . Far worse . Im really only interested in the guy . OK, and angry with him being the same as the rest . Hes more your type, Kuri-chan had said . Well, that opportunity was in flames now . Kyoko had poured petrol over it, struck fire on the matches and set it ablaze . And then she had added dynamite to it all just for good measure . Aww, I wont even be able to apologize to him for at least half a year after this . Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! And he had been kind of cute . Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! And very polite . Moron! Moron! Moron! And after she had mauled him his first thought had been to help his friend . I hate myself! And even though she had seen his shoulders shake when she went indoors, he had still stood by the bikes to give her time to get away alone . Kyoko, Kyoko, Kyoko, how often do you think youll meet a guy like that? She climbed the stairs to 3:1, and when she told her friends about the confession, with Hamarugen-sans part carefully censored out, they helped her understand the sheer extent of her epic stupidity . As if she needed help rubbing it in . At least she hadnt helped Hamarugen-san confess to Kuri-chan . The lazy coward could do that in person if he deemed it important enough . But Kuri-chan saw right through her as if she was made of gla.s.s . For the second time in one single lunch break she was called out . And this time by her best friend . What happened? Kuri-chan asked her after she had dragged her to the stairwell between second and third floor . Told you . Ko-chan! Kyoko found her own feet infinitely interesting to study . I rejected him . Badly, she added when shame overtook her once again . Theres no way youd behave that way even if he looked like an ogre . Did he do something bad to you? And that was when Kyoko broke down . Her legs lost their function and she sank down on her knees . Ill kill him! Kuri-chan said, misunderstanding why Kyoko had collapsed . No, no please dont! Kuri-chan sat down and looked at her . No? Kyoko spent some time pulling at her skirt hem . I hurt him . They were awful and I hurt him . Kuri-chan leaned back against the wall . Ko-chan, I dont understand . Please tell me everything that happened! I believe, Kyoko started when pieces of a puzzle finally came into place in her mind, that hes a loner . People in the windows were bullying him, pretending to help him confess to me . You mean shouting stuff so he would be too embarra.s.sed to go through with it? Yeah . But he did anyway? Yes, and he was so gentle, Kyoko whispered . Do you have any idea how much bravery that takes? Kyoko met her friends eyes . She hadnt thought of that . I feel so bad for him . He was crying when I left, but I was so angry . Angry because he confessed to you? You dont make any sense . No, he gave me a letter from Hamarugen-san to you, and I got so mad at him . Oh, Ko-chan! I told you that geek was bad news . I know . I tore the letter apart and threw it away . Im sorry . Kuri-chan smiled . Dont worry . If he wants to confess to me he can do so directly instead of sending his friends . And if he does? Kyoko still felt a bit jealous . The geek? Yes . Hed better do something very special for me not to shoot him down to kingdom come . Kuri-chan grinned . I hate people who cant run their own errands and hurt their messengers instead . Then Kyoko found herself in a warm embrace . Lets see what we can do about that messenger of yours . If you want of course . There was a slight tingling in her chest . Relief mostly but also something else . It was a bit embarra.s.sing . Rather than answer Kuri-chan she changed the topic . Something very special, you said?