Chapter six, 2017, friends from far, part five

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Ulf swore when his phone came alive. He'd spent half an hour discreetly comparing notes about his old school now and then, even though there was the barrier of a world between them as well. Still, for most practical purposes it was a matter of a stiff thirty years.

Those had been thirty perfectly enjoyable minutes in the sun chatting away with an absolutely adorable Jenny, who reminded him a whole lot of his first girlfriend from back then, and her boyfriend.

Rika hovered around them most of the time as well, even though she pretended not to. In the end Ulf silently agreed to pretend flirting with her to give her an excuse to stay with them.

He grinned at the memory. Two gave them ugly glares. Noriko and Alexander.

All in all Ulf would have preferred to stay another half an hour in the afternoon sun with something almost resembling a cool breeze rolling in over the waves.

But.

His phone rang and he felt compelled to fish it up and move away from his company.

"Hamarugen Urufu," he answered when he got far enough away to at least make certain Jun and Rika couldn't hear him. Jenny couldn't understand him when he spoke Japanese anyway.

"Seaside café, behind you." came an old man's voice. Ulf was certain he had heard it before.

"Excuse me?"

"Get here young man. Nakagawa-sensei will treat you."

Ulf heard a low murmur of protest in the background. "Fine, I'll be there." He licked his lips. They tasted salty, more from sweat than any sea water by now." What is the old goat up to now?

First he returned to his company. He gave them an apologetic shrug and explained he had to take an interview, and after that he crammed his belongings into his backpack and shouldered it.

When he entered the wooden deck of the café he noticed how the teenagers had become scarce and were replaced by people in their twenties and thirties.

A quick glance told him covering his torso was probably a good idea if he didn't want to be ejected. He wrenched his backpack off his shoulder and dug up a shirt with which to cover himself.

"Show-off!" a voice to his left said.

He turned.

"At least the kid's got something to show. Wanna join us?"

The girls might have been in their early twenties, which made them his senior by at least five years in this world.

"Picking up high schoolers are we?" Ulf teased. The situation reminded him a little of the winter evenings he had spent together with Yukio in the city while they were still middle schoolers.

"High school? No way!"

"Sorry, but yes way. I'm a junior." Then he decided he didn't have time for them. "Look, you're cute and gorgeous and all that, and any other day I'd take you up on your offer, but I've got old people breathing down my neck right now."

Two pairs of hands flying to their mouths was reward enough. Ulf grinned at them and threw both girls a mock salute before he turned and searched for the old goat. Nakagawa should fit in here like the proverbial snowball in hell.

He did his search from the bar, and just as he ordered a glass of juice and a bottle of mineral water to go with it, he found the table. Nakagawa wasn't alone.

Crap! So Ina's granpa is here as well? Some new shit or just complaints because I didn't stick to her?

That was unfair. Ulf knew that, but anything Christina brought a sour taste to his mouth. Forgetting her was out of the question, and he silently cursed himself for hurting still. It was unfair in more ways than one. Noriko ate sharp jokes and comment from him just because she did what he himself hadn't done for Christina – openly and consistently told him she loved him despite his repeated rejections.

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