Transition And Restart

While her world broke down just a little more Christina surprised herself by honestly feeling happy for Ulf . Bitter, yes, angry, yes, hurting yes, but happy still . She hurt him so much, and whenever he was in pain it hurt her as well .

She stared at Noriko . No, the midget didn"t gloat, but in Noriko"s eyes Christina saw a determined flame . The girl was ready to take even her on if she tried to get Ulf back .

"I like you Noriko . I like your guts . You"ll be good for him . "

But still it hurt .

"I"m happy you found someone to love," she said . Then the words registered in her mind . "What am I saying? I broke up with him . How petty a human have I become?"

"I"m not . Not him . I"ll never agree to it . "

Christina looked at Ryu in surprise . She knew how he felt about his little sister"s crush on Ulf . She hadn"t expected him to come clean about it though .

"Ryu?"

"And why is Yukio getting involved?"

"Yes Yukio?"

"Shut the h.e.l.l up! Good thing Noriko"s your sister and not your property . Agreeing with it, blah! s.h.i.thead!"
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"Look, she"s my . . . "

"Shut up you moron!" Ko-chan said all of a sudden . "Agreeing with it? Are you stupid . None of us care if you agree with anything or not . "

"You don"t have the right to . . . "

"And neither do you, idiot bro . "

"If you don"t break up with him immediately I"ll . . . "

"Tell mom? Please do . Or dad? That would, if possible, be even more stupid . "

"Noriko, I"m you"re brother . You have to . . . "

"How tainted did you become . How much of Red Rose is part of you?"

Christina didn"t have to look twice at Yukio and Ko-chan to see the open disgust in their faces . That Noriko shared it stunned her, but what scared her the most was the burning contempt in Ulf"s eyes .

"I expected more of you . " Ryu"s disapproval was more understandable than what the rest of them believed . "Ryu, I"m also over fifty," Christina said .

She searched his eyes and received a nod of understanding .

"I know, but that"s different . "
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"Is it? How?"

"Well, I"m a guy and . . . "

"You really don"t want to go there," Christina said . "Especially not with me . " She probably sounded more irritated than she was . j.a.panese gender values were very different from those in Sweden, but at least she hoped her friends understood there wasn"t a trace of racism in Ryu"s anger .

He backed down, just as she had expected .

"I still don"t like it," he said and entered the spa .

She waited for him to make it halfway to her .

"You don"t have to like it . I disagree with you, but no one can force you to like it . "

Ryu smiled at her and Christina saw exactly the wrong kind of hope in his eyes .

"That still doesn"t give you the right to control your sister," she added to shoot him down as firmly as possible . Everyone was ent.i.tled to their opinions, but acting on them was a different thing .

"She"s still my . . . "

"She"s not your anything . " Christina glared at her boyfriend . "While she"s a minor your parents have the right and responsibility to make decisions for her . You, none at all . "

He pouted . Ryu actually pouted . "You"re just taking his side as always," he said and glanced at Ulf .

"d.a.m.n, sometimes he"s just a kid . " Christina was too angry to feel uncomfortable around Ulf and Noriko despite what she had done just days earlier .

"No, I"m taking Noriko"s side . "

"Tell us when you"re done . Listening to the two of you makes me sick," Yukio suddenly blurted out and stepped out of the pool .

Ko-chan kept her silence but followed him . Christina was sure she saw her shoulders rise in frustrated rage .

Noriko stretched uncomfortably from where she had nestled under Urufu"s arm as if to seek shelter from the verbal onslaught . The discomfort however, Christina noticed, had nothing to do with being naked so close to someone else . If anything Ulf was Noriko"s only safety here, and that hurt in more than one way .

"Look," Ulf said, "we"ll let you and Ryu talk things over . " He gave Noriko enough room to sit up properly . "I"d like some tea anyway . "

"Ulf, please . . . "

"Christina, you did nothing wrong, but sometimes you"re dumb as a post . "

Christina thought for a moment if she would get angry or not . Ulf verbally insulting her was so unusual she didn"t have the luxury of an instinctive reaction, and in the end she was glad she didn"t .

"Explain," she said .

Ulf was halfway to the doors, and Noriko had already gone inside . "They"re still kids . I see what you tried to do, but it was too little too late . "

"Ulf?"

"Until he apologises," Ulf pointed his index finger at Ryu who by now sat beside her, "they"ll never understand that you only tried to partially cover for him . " Ulf shot a glare at Ryu . "You"re an a.r.s.e kiddo . Grow the h.e.l.l up!"

Ryu half rose . "You don"t have the right . . . "

"As your friend I can only wonder if you"re a moron or not . " Ulf suddenly grinned and shook his head . "Telling Christina and Noriko what is right or wrong for a woman . How b.l.o.o.d.y stupid can you get?"

"This is j.a.pan . . . "

"And I"m trying my best to get the h.e.l.l out of here, but they refuse to hand me a pa.s.sport . Don"t ever try that s.h.i.t on me again!"

Christina shuddered despite steam rising from the spa . Rapidly becoming infatuated by the boy by her side didn"t lessen the fear of Ulf suddenly deserting her at all .

"Ryu, he said he wanted some tea," she said in an attempt to defuse the situation .

"I am . Have a nice chat . " Ulf turned and headed for the doors . Almost there he turned once again . "Don"t forget homework . Summer"s almost over . "