Noriko waved to Kuri as soon as the golden hair was visible above the stairs. With a smirk she noted how more than a few men turned and stared at the two girls leaving the stairs. Either of them commanded attention, but tall goddess in creamy white and the very definition of Japanese beauty in a gorgeous kimono side by side was more than most men ever saw in a day.

Thank all gods I never tried winning Urufu in a competition of looks! It wouldn’t have been a competition, Noriko admitted. She was petite and cute, but against that kind of opposition ‘cute’ didn’t even give you a place in the starting field.

Once again Noriko was reminded of how lucky she had been. The sheer stupidity shared by Kuri and Urufu paved the road for her. How two people so obviously in love with each other ever arrived at the conclusion that breaking up was a good idea evaded her. Well, she didn’t complain. Urufu’s love was hers now. At least Noriko felt moderately secure it was. As far as she knew he didn’t lie outright, and he said he loved her.

“Noriko!” Kuri called out. “How’s your date with Urufu?” A gleam of joyous malice shone from her eyes.

“Better now.”

Hitomi shot them both a glare. “What are the two of you up to now?” she asked. She must have seen the glee shared by Kuri and Noriko both.

“I don’t see my boyfriend,” Kuri said.

Noriko snorted and looked down. She even covered her mouth with one hand. While she never was as obsessed with what was proper as Kyoko when they got to learn each other, a cackling guffaw in public was still too much. “He had to wash his hands,” Noriko said. This time she didn’t entirely manage to stifle that cackle.

Kuri offered her both a smile and a questioning look. “And that is bad exactly why?”

Noriko told her.

“No, you didn’t!”

For a moment Noriko had to make certain Kuri wasn’t angry. Leaving her idiot bro behind whenever he needed to visit the toilets, while great fun, was sabotaging Kuri’s date. Still, Kuri looked more amused than angry. “Sure did,” Noriko chanced.

Kuri walked the remaining steps between them and gathered Noriko up in an embrace. “I want to be with Ryu just as much as you want to be with Urufu,” she whispered in Noriko’s ear. “If my boyfriend needs a lesson then by all means teach him one.”

What’s with the ‘my boyfriend’? “You know, sometime he’s an idiot, but he still has a name you know.”

Kuri grinned. “Looking at you just now I wondered,” she said and took a place in a queue to the closest stall.

Noriko glanced at what they sold and frowned. “You sure about that?” Dark sauce and creamy white clothing probably didn’t agree with each other in a crowded place like this.

“About what?”

“That food.”

With a smile Kuri fished up a small napkin box from her handbag. “Always be prepared,” she grinned.

“Mind lending me some of those?” Hitomi said and took her place beside Kuri in the queue.

Noriko shook her head but joined them anyway. Takoyaki and cold weather definitely agreed with each other, and it was part of going to a festival of any kind.

While they waited for their turn the others joined as well, and Noriko exchanged some friendly insults with Kyoko and Yukio. She nestled closer to Urufu who had chosen to stand behind her and opened the zipper to his eye catching jacket. It wasn’t eye catching in a good way, but it was warm, and he was warm, and she felt safe with her back pressed against him with his arms loosely around her.

“Noriko,” Kyoko suddenly said and woke Noriko from her private world of momentary bliss, “shouldn’t we call your brother.”

“Mmm,” Noriko answered and slowly shook her head. She could feel her hair rubbing against Urufu’s chest. “No service,” she added without checking her phone. She added a grin to be on the safe side. Talking things out with Urufu and Hitomi convinced her the hurtful show in her classroom just before Christmas had been a brutal but somewhat effective way to hammer a message through Ryu’s thick skull. That still didn’t mean Noriko felt entirely certain Kyoko had done it all for her benefit.

“Lots of people here.” That was Yukio coming to her rescue. “Hard to get on a network.”

“Huh? I’m connected. Do you want me to call...” Urufu began behind her.

“You’re disconnected,” Yukio interrupted him. “No signal at all, man. Got it?”

“But look, I’m… Hey give me back my phone!”

“Look, out of battery. These gadgets just give up in crowds,” Yukio said and gave the phone back to Urufu. Noriko saw the black screen flashing by and guffawed. Yukio, sometimes you’re just awesomely cool!

“Dammit! Why did you shut it off?”

“Out of battery.”

“Hell it is! I have a power bank and there’s no way...”

“He said: Out. Of. Battery.” Kuri’s voice didn’t exactly invite to an applied study in relativism.

“But I… OK I get it. Out of battery. How stupid of me.”

Noriko turned in his arms and hugged him. “You’re not stupid. Just a case of bad memory.”

“Yeah, whatever. How long am I going to be out of battery?”

“Until we tell you your, what did you call it, power bank works again.” Kuri’s smile was sweet and deadly. “Now this girl needs to go wash her hands. Hitomi, feeling dirty as well?”

Hitomi nodded, and with their hands full of food both girls expertly navigated the crowd in the direction of the restrooms closest to the shrine.

Noriko smirked, and then the voice of her idiot bro told her he had found them.

“Kyoko, Yukio, I got…” He met Noriko’s eyes. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said.

“No problem, man. We’ll stay around for a bit longer anyway.”

Noriko sent Yukio a thankful thought for pretending nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Uhum, guys. I don’t see Kuri. Know where she is?”

“Ladies stuff,” Jeniferu offered. She and Tomasu had joined them just before Urufu’s phone… went out of battery.

“Ladies stuff?”

“Washing her hands,” Jeniferu explained.

“Ah, maybe I should wait for her. Where did she go?”

Jeniferu pointed her fingers at the restrooms closest to the stairs.

***

Not funny you guys. Not funny at all!

There was a long line to the ladies restroom. Twenty minutes long. Ryu had timed it. That was quarter of an hour ago, so he was confident Kuri had never gone here in the first place.

This just has to be sis, or Urufu. Giving it another round of thought Ryu accepted it could be Yukio’s or Kyoko’s doing as well. They really, really disliked his tampering with Urufu and Noriko. Ryu grumbled, used the men’s restroom as a precaution and left the area.

Around him the crowd showed no signs of thinning out. People left and more people arrived. They’d do that for the rest of the day and the following day as well. Three or four days, depending on how you defined it, and the one time of the year when you’d expect to see men in kimono.

Grumbling again he went in search for his friends, even though he felt ready to redefine the very word ‘friend’ right now. He couldn’t fully understand why they were so cross with him. Noriko was his sister. Didn’t he have a responsibility to do what was best for her?

Another part of his mind nagged a little; ‘hubris’ it said, but it did with Urufu’s voice, and Ryu firmly shoved it away.

Morning had turned into afternoon, and with the sun slowly setting the overcast day slowly left the morning blue behind it and took on a more yellowish tone. As the day turned over so did the people visiting the shrine. There were less old people and more students coming here in groups that had gathered before climbing the stairs to the shrine. With different people came different voices. Muted talk gave way to laughs and a the cleaner timbre that goes with youth.

Now, or even a little later, was when they really ought to have shown up. When afternoon merged with evening and lanterns were the only thing abolishing the darkness both lightning and people would change once more as university students and those who still spent their days settling into new jobs replaced middle and high schoolers.

That didn’t give Ryu all that much time. If the rest of the gang planned to abandon him whenever they had the chance Hatsumode was bound to become some sick joke.

He grumbled a little. As if it wasn’t already. Determined not to sample too much of what there was to drink Ryu went in search for Kuri. While he did stop by a few stalls he made certain he only catered for his hunger. Strangely enough he enjoyed himself despite being alone. It gave him time to think and experience his surroundings rather than being part of a large group where people were more interested in each other than what was around them.

Is my world growing? he thought. Is it me growing? That was more disturbing in a way. Ryu felt perfectly happy being a child who never agreed to being one. It gave him both the freedom he wanted as well as the right to be needy.

A winter grey Tokyo sky accompanied him from stall to stall, and occasionally a biting gust of wind reminded him he was outside rather than inside an old style shopping mall. Snacks made company with traditional fast food lunch, and after some time Ryu forgot he spent hatsumode alone. He aimlessly walked the temporary street, sampled some more snacks, bought himself a fortune slip and read it while waiting for his turn to make his prayers.

Medium luck, it said, and after pocketing it Ryu decided upon something equally medium important to wish for. After tugging the bell rope he lefts to make place for the people behind him and went in search for some amazake. By now the chilly weather won over his wariness against getting caught in the men’s room again. After all he’d run out of luck finding the others anyway.

Just as that thought brought a frown to his face he caught a glimpse of a golden halo. Ryu quickened his steps, and after negotiating the crowd he finally caught up with Kuri.

“Kuri, sorry I’m late,” Ryu said and tried to make it sound like he hadn’t been on the receiving end of an elaborate prank.

She turned, half a head taller than most men around her, and made her coat, or whatever it was, swirl. “Ryu, finally! See, I’m really waiting for my boyfriend,” she said to someone Ryu couldn’t see.

“Aww, come on, he can’t be that good,” came the faceless reply.

Ryu took another step, came up beside Kuri and tried to see who had spoken. “She thinks I’m good enough for her. Isn’t that enough?” he said in the general direction of faces staring at the girl by his side. It usually ended any kind of argument like this in school, and he felt confident about the result here as well.

“Of course she got herself a looker,” someone said.

“Wow! That’s just unfair. Those looks and that boyfriend,” another added. This time a girl’s voice.

“You look absolutely fantastic!” Ryu said to Kuri. He didn’t have to pretend. She did, just like she always did whenever she made anything even slightly resembling an effort with her appearance.

“Why, thank you!” Kuri leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “You’re stunning as well.”

Ryu hugged her back. He had no reason giving her an answer. He couldn’t aspire to her heights when it came to looks, but he knew very well what kind of impression he made among mere mortals.

“Where are the rest?” he asked to change the subject when he was sure Kuri’s admirers had given up.

She pointed a few stalls ahead, and of course she just had to flit her fingers through her hair so it cascaded into a golden flower. Sis is right. Kuri really is a stage monkey. But then again that was how she made her living.

He followed her outstretched hand with his eyes and saw Hitomi ahead of them. “And sis?”

“She is,” Kuri began and managed to give him a smile both predatory and beautiful, “looking for as restroom I think,” she finished with just an inkling of menace in her voice.