Birthday, first his, and now, a week later, hers .

Kyoko wondered what Yukio had planned for them . Unlike his birthday this was a school day, so they only had a few hours, with exams coming up and all . Of their freshman year only remnants remained .

She looked across the cla.s.sroom to the desk, second row from the door and one seat from the front, where Kuri-chan sat since their last seating change . While her best friend had regained some of her composure, Kyoko saw how all life had gone out of her .

It hurt . It hurt watching her best friend hurt .

"Kyoko, h.e.l.lo, Earth calling . "

She flinched and looked up at the face speaking to her . "Oh, Noriko, sorry . Yes?"

Behind Noriko Ryu stood smiling at them both . "I'll leave it to sis . "

"When was the last time you didn't?" Noriko retorted .

'You two . You are always so bright . ' Kyoko looked at Kuri-chan's backside . 'And so were you . Please Kuri-chan, come back to us!'

"Happy birthday!" Noriko said and reached out with both hands . A small paper bag with nothing inside .

"OK, thank you," Noriko said and accepted the gift . She quickly looked inside . It wasn't empty after all . An envelope lay inside, together with a chewing gum .

"For school break," Ryu explained . "We asked your parents, and they agreed, both of your parents . "

'Now what on Earth did you two come up with?' "Should I open?"

"Actually, no . Open it together with Yukio when you're alone," Noriko said and smiled mischievously .

'OK, now I'm really curious . ' Kyoko said nothing but returned Noriko's smile with a nod .

Self-study home-room ended, and Kyoko grabbed her bag . On her way out she paused by Kuri-chan to see if she wanted company, but she just shook her head with those lifeless eyes of hers .

'I want to help, but you're not allowing me . ' "OK, see you tomorrow," Kyoko said and left . 'More like I'll get to watch you sit by your desk avoiding everyone for another day . '

Her best friend, but now more a modelling machine than anything else . Kuri-chan worked and studied and did very little else .

On her way down the stairs Kyoko's phone spat out the default signal .

Unknown caller?

She stopped briefly between two floors, and looking out the windows she picked up her phone and took the call .

"Takeida Kyoko . "

"We'll get you good this time . " A male voice .

And the call was closed .

Kyoko stared at her phone . What she felt wasn't what she had expected . 'f.u.c.k you! Kyoko, language! f.u.c.k language!'

She returned up half a floor and took the long corridor to the left wing .

'Sick of this . I'm so sick of this s.h.i.+t!' To her surprise that thought made her grin, and by the time she entered the left wing stairwell she was laughing . It had a slightly hysterical ring to it, but she still didn't feel the paralysing fear that would have come naturally to her just half a year earlier .

Kyoko climbed the stairs and beelined directly for 6:1 . If they wanted to give her the evil eye she'd just glare back at them . She entered and didn't even bother with walking to his desk .

"Urufu, I just got a phone-call from someone who didn't think my one knife-wound was enough . "

Any glares sent her way when she entered vanished immediately .

"You and Yukio, come with me . I'll have your company to the haven . "

Both boys stared at her in incomprehension, but before they had the chance to respond, half a dozen other boys rose from their seats . One of them bowed .

"Takeidsan, you'll have ours as well . "

Kyoko was too angry to be surprised . "You know we're talking the kind of people who start waving guns?"

That made three girls rise and join the boys as well . A fourth tried to pull one of them back into her seat, but she shook herself lose and gave her friend an angry scowl . "She's a girl . It's wrong using weapons on girls . "

'But it's fine gunning down boys? Are you for real?'

Dysfunctional brain or not, Kyoko felt a wave of grat.i.tude stream though her .

"Kyoko, this is no laughing matter . Called the police?" Urufu said . Always the sensible of them when he wasn't busy playing the insensitive moron .

Kyoko shook her head . "Caller unknown . "

"Caller unknown, my a.r.s.e . That's just caller id not being sent to your unit . Phone company has it, or they couldn't deliver the call in the first place . "

'Urufu, really! Speak j.a.panese!' "Non geek here . You were saying?" She smiled at Yukio, who stared at her with open admiration in his eyes and slapped Urufu's back with one hand .

"Man, hear her? That's my girl . "

"Yukio, you join her to the café . Guys, I'll take you up on that promise . Please stay with her until I arrive . " Then Urufu looked at her, and there was something in his eyes that did make her afraid . "I'll handle this," he said . It came out more a growl than anything else .

's.h.i.+t! But I wanted him angry . Careful what you wish for, Kyoko, it might come true . '

The first to join her was Yukio, and he quickly slipped his hand into hers . Then he leaned closer . "Happy birthday," he whispered in her ear . "No matter what happened, happy birthday . "

They filed out of the cla.s.sroom, and Kyoko could see how some of the students already had phones glued to the sides of their faces . When they reached the shoe lockers there were over a dozen of them .

'Easy way to play heroes, I guess,' Kyoko thought . This time what surprised her was how callous she had become . 'You're the best,' she added in her mind to make up for her earlier cold a.s.sessment .

"Isn't she friends with that model?" one of the girls asked .

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"Matsumoto-san's girlfriend," another voice answered in a defensive tone, and for the first time since Kuri-chan broke up with Urufu, Kyoko felt she had regained a little of her reputation in 6:1 . It warmed some .

'Urufu, don't do anything stupid!'