"Come on man . Feel proud instead!"

Ulf glared at Yukio . Pride wasn't exactly the word he'd use . Flattered maybe . Noriko's incessant attention wasn't harmful in any way, and it didn't exactly hurt his eyes looking at her .

He realised his way of thinking might be dated, but from what he had seen good looks still helped a lot among the young, so maybe it wasn't dated after all .

Beneath him straw gave as he moved his legs . After two years in j.a.pan he was used to sitting on the floor now and then, and being a teenager sure helped . Tatami mats . An altogether stupid construction, and yet so strangely relaxing . Ulf never could decide if he thought it was the epitome of idiocy or a superb blend of taste and function .

"So, what's the occasion?" Ulf asked .

Yukio had requested that Ulf join him in the room he shared with Kyoko .

"Dinner . "

'Strange . After pulling this one on me I could have sworn Noriko would be adamant about us two having dinner alone in our room . '

"Thank you for that one at least . "

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Advertis.e.m.e.nt "Don't thank me," Yukio said . "Noriko insisted . "

'Why would she? Ah! I'm an idiot!' Ulf said nothing . From here on he could only pretend to be surprised at what came next . Birthdays were a lot more important in Sweden than in j.a.pan . You just didn't forget them . h.e.l.l, they were even part of your ident.i.ty with your date of birth making up most of the personal number everyone living in Sweden was a.s.signed .

Well, at least for old people . Once again he wasn't certain about the young . Living among people who weren't p.r.o.ne to public outbursts of affection didn't help .

Ulf grinned at the thought of a third of their cla.s.s suddenly rising from their seats to spontaneously celebrate some poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d by singing happy birthday to you . Back home a given, but here, maybe not so much .

He recalled birthdays from his first life, and reliving old memories it took a while until he noticed Yukio tugging at his shoulder .

"Man, Earth calling . This earth . "

"Sorry . " Ulf shook his head . "Noriko huh?"

She had remembered, and when he thought about it, so had she last year as well . Whatever he might think about her advances, it still warmed when someone cared .

"Yeah, Noriko . "

"You're in on this one?"

Yukio glared at him . "Giving her a hand? Sure . She's not fooling around . d.a.m.n, she had a crush on you before you and Kuri met . "

"Well, she moved on to Nao . . . " Ulf regretted the words as he uttered them .

Yukio grimaced, and they shared a few moments of silence . When it dragged out Yukio poured two cups of tea and offered Ulf one .

"You know," Yukio began after he'd tasted a sip, "did you ever speak with him afterwards?"

Ulf had, but he wanted to hear what Yukio had to say . "Same school, so kind of hard to avoid . "

"Unless you're expelled . "

"Unless you're expelled," Ulf agreed .

"Well, expulsion rescinded . Some of us will return . " Yukio scratched his head . "Anyway, I had a talk with Nao-sempai . "

"Uhum," Ulf said and waited . He drank from his cup to show Yukio that there wouldn't be a further response .

"He never slept with anyone . " Yukio grimaced . "Well, at least not from when he first saw Noriko and until well after they broke up . "

'Break up? That's one way of putting it . ' Ulf felt something akin to physical pain thinking of how much Noriko had hurt . 'I know what happened, but what an awful way to end it . Nao's a b.l.o.o.d.y idiot!'

"He got scared," Yukio continued .

There was a dull, clack when Yukio placed his empty cup on the table . Almost as if it accused Ulf of drawing something uncomfortable out when it wasn't needed .

"Scared?" By now Ulf was forced to pretend what Yukio said came as news .

"They play in different leagues is what he said . Sure, he's a big name now, but when his looks fade Noriko will still be brilliant . "

Nao hadn't phrased it exactly that way when Ulf spoke with him . The words Yukio echoed were Ulf's . Ulf's way of helping the tall model to understand his own fears .

"Well, she's bright alright," Ulf said . 'Understatement of the year . She is brilliant . I think I'm so smart, but b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l I envy her her brains!' Ulf knew he had reasons to be proud of his head . He had a superb intellect, and he was aware of it . He was easily bright enough to grasp just how far ahead of him Noriko was, even if she still needed to grow into her own capacity as an adult .

Which meant she knew something he didn't, or otherwise she would have given up on making him her boyfriend a long time ago . If she played both body and brains, then her actions and plans made more sense . Cause d.a.m.n that brain of hers was s.e.xy as h.e.l.l .

But did she really understand him that well? Her social register was a little shaky . Empathy, not brains was his real strength . Well, unless he got stubborn and shut everything down and turned inwards in a blindness so total it was staggering .

Like with Christina .

"So, Nao didn't sleep around, you say?" Thinking of Christina was, as always, a bad thing to do .

"He didn't, and I think he was in love with Noriko to the end . "

"Idiot!" Ulf wasn't sure he meant Nao .

"Idiot!" Yukio agreed .

"So, Noriko and dinner, you said . " The conversation was going full circle .

"Yeah, man . Noriko and dinner . " A friendly fist hit Ulf's shoulder . "After that Kyoko and I want this room for ourselves," Yukio said and looked at the private outdoor bath .

Ulf followed his stare . "Nice way to spend the evening," he agreed .

"Sure is, but this year I'll spend it with just the two of us . " Yukio's face split in a huge grin . "Nice tip by the way . "

'Tip?' Ulf's confusion must have shown .

"Mixed bath . You taught us last year . "

"I did?" 'I did?' "b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l! I did . "