Yukio took Kyoko's hand in his and grinned . He grinned at Noriko rus.h.i.+ng ahead across the gravel as if she had forgotten all her pain . He grinned at how much Kyoko had grown the last year . He grinned at how much their love had grown, and at this very moment he grinned with relief when he understood that he still shared feelings of friends.h.i.+p with the idiot who just received a bundle of pure joy in his arms .

'Urufu, make her happy! She deserves it . ' Then Yukio laughed silently . 'Noriko, make him happy! He deserves it . '

Beside him Kyoko squeezed his hand, and when he glanced at her he saw tears forming in her eyes .

"Kuri-chan, you idiot!" Her voice was soft and silent, but Yukio heard the words anyway .

"Maybe Ryu's good for her," Yukio tried .

"I hope so . I hope so for all four of them . "

The squeeze got firmer, and Yukio tightened his grip on her hand . "At least they helped us two find each other . Has to count for something . " His voice was a little more shaky than he had expected .

That made the tears leave her eyes . "Oh Yukio! It means the whole world for me! Of course it counts . "

And he knew why her tears mixed sadness with joy . Those who had given the two of them so much happiness broke their own apart .

"Man, you hold on to her this time, or I won't forgive you," Yukio shouted when he saw the usual signs of awkwardness in Urufu . "You made her cry . You comfort her . " He'd be d.a.m.ned if he let Urufu get a chance to wriggle out of it this time . If he had no feelings for Noriko, well too bad, but Yukio didn't believe that was the case .

Noriko's back expressed her grat.i.tude for Yukio's words . How she managed that while she clung to the man she'd hunted for months Yukio didn't know, but she did .

"Urufu, we'll leave the two of you alone for a while," Kyoko said . Then she pulled at Yukio's hand . "I can't even begin to express how angry I am with you, but I'm not Noriko, so what I think doesn't matter . " She pulled harder, and Yukio followed her down the street in the direction of what looked like a derelict school .

Advertis.e.m.e.nt

Just as he was about to sigh with relief a voice from behind called to them both .

"It doesn't work that way . We'll tag along . I have too much to apologise for, and not only to Noriko . "

'Man, what a bother!' Yukio played Urufu's word in his head again . 'We, at least he said 'we' . ' "Sure . Noriko you can bring your boyfriend . "

Kyoko's body went rigid beside him . Yukio could feel it through her hand . Looking at her he saw how she held her breath just like he did .

There was no response .

There was none .

Just the sound of feet following them .

This time Yukio didn't even dare to glance at Kyoko . He stubbornly stared straight ahead of him and hoped the street would lead somewhere reasonable .

A gust of wind carried a faint scent of fresh water .

Another the sound of some lonesome cicadas .

"They're frogs," Urufu's voice said from behind his back . "When I was a kid I thought they were crickets . "

With that weeks of worries ran off Yukio's shoulders .

'He'll give it a try . He'll give her a chance!'

"Tell me more," came Noriko's subdued voice .

Then the footsteps caught up with them, and a little later Yukio saw Urufu and Noriko pa.s.s him and Kyoko hand in hand .

'They look like a couple . '

"Yukio knows just about all of it, and I'll just bore Kyoko . " A slight hesitation . "I'll tell you as much as you want to listen to later . " Another moments hesitation . "When we're alone . "

Yukio finally dared to let out the long sigh that had waited inside him . By his side Kyoko did the same .

"Now what?" he said .

They were under a canopy of bamboo before Urufu answered . "We'll get something to drink by the old school . "

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www . webnovel . com for visiting .

After that the four of them walked in silence until they had left a rice paddy behind them and crossed another narrow street . It was Noriko who eventually broke the silence just before a can of soda slammed into the bottom of the vending machine .

"Urufu . I'm curious, but did you have any siblings?"

'Huh? What kind of question is that?' Yukio looked down at Urufu who was busy picking up the can .

"Yeah . Two older sisters and one younger . "

"And your mother, or father? Whoever is from here?"

"Yeah . My aunt . "

Yukio watched a wide grin spread on Urufu's face .

'Oh! Man, that's some quick thinking!'

"And he or she moved to Sweden and got married in this world as well?"

"Yeah . Mom did, but I was never born here . "

"And your father worked in construction?"

"How did you know?"

'How could anyone not know?'

Three of them burst out in laughter . Only Urufu stared back with a nonplussed expression in his face .

"That arrogance . You sure got it from your father," Noriko said, and brought another round of laughter to the three of them .

"Huh?"

"Your aunt's house . It should never have been built in j.a.pan . Like never ever even in your dreams . "

"But . . . "

"That it still stands and looks like it does is testimony to your father's skills . He must have been very good . "

Urufu fed a few more coins to the machine and Yukio watched how he picked up drinks for all of them .

"He was . He's retired now, if he's still alive . " Urufu stared back up in the direction of the alien house . "Archipelago construction . He always said it'd last longer than the neighbouring houses . "

"How old is it?" Noriko asked .

Urufu scratched his head . "I wasn't born yet . Say a little over fifty years old . " He grinned sheepishly . "I always thought it looked strange inside . It's very j.a.panese you know . Not the facade, but the inside . Dad said it had to be or it would start to rot . "

Yukio shook his head in wonder . Urufu's words about change and adaption weren't his own after all . He'd inherited them . From both sides of his family given how his j.a.panese side had decided to erect the visual insanity further up the hillside .

"Urufu," Noriko said, "your sisters . They're alive in this world as well?"

Urufu nodded . He bent his head backwards and gulped down half his soda . "That's why this feels a little like home . " The can went to his mouth again . "My aunt thinks mom is my grandmother, or at least she pretends that's what she believes . " He took two steps and discarded the can into the recycling bin .

"Urufu, we need to talk," Yukio said .

"I know . Let's get another bottle each and head back . Could as well introduce you . "