The first mail arrived a bit after lunch. The twentieth less than ten minutes later. When Ryu checked his on-line waterholes they were ablaze with the news.

'Kuri, jeez!'

At three in the afternoon he grabbed a bit to eat in what was supposed to be a trendy place in Sapporo. Around him young people talked about the event in Tokyo earlier that day.

'Feels strange,' Ryu thought as he gobbled down his sandwich in silence. 'Where I come from people gossip about Kuri and me. Here I'm a nobody.' He rose and went for another round from the soft-drink bar. On his way there he flashed a grin at the girls filling up their glasses and was rewarded with long, admiring stares. 'OK not a nobody if I make an effort.'

When he sat down again he noted, not without some satisfaction, that at least one table ran two topics while they stole glances at him. But Kuri didn't even need to be here to take centre stage.

Ryu fought a childish urge to stand up and do some advanced name-dropping. 'They might even believe me, but that's not the point. The point is that I feel doubly lonely up here when she's down there.'

For the first time he felt locked away. He had looked forward to the trip north, even knowing he wouldn't see her for some time, but he hadn't expected to hear about her wherever he went. Or watch. Pictures and videos spread like wildfire, and the net ran crazy with images of her. Images of an almost otherworldly beauty planting her banner in central Shibuya and claiming it for her own.

By nightfall she made it to the major media. It wasn't big news by any means, but late in a TV-newsreel Ryu saw her face flash past again in a short story about noteworthy commotions in Tokyo.

In the middle of the news-downpour he almost missed the really big news. Noriko called him after he failed to respond to her mails. Kyoko and Yukio had finally removed their blindfolds and become a pair.

He mused on that piece of news after they hung up. 'Lucky bastards! Twice lucky. After Kuri's public stunt you'll be left alone.' It suited them better, Ryu guessed. He would have flaunted his girlfriend to the world, but those two were more grounded. More solid. They made perfect wingmen and were both loyal to a fault. Yukio even dared facing off against Ryu when he suspected an intrusion on Urufu's turf. Ryu respected that, and he felt genuinely happy for both Yukio and Kyoko.

'Does that leave us as the comedy duo, Noriko? Never happened before.' But strangely enough he only felt lonely. There was no jealousy when he thought of Kuri and Urufu. Ryu might be in love with her, but they were two of his closest friends. 'We are the same sis. I see you laughing as well when you pull your pranks on them Noriko. It doesn't hurt as much anymore, does it?'

The Wakayama twins. The bond they shared stretched thin but not broken by the distance between Tokyo and Sapporo. 'Obon, and after that I'm back home again.'

***

Three days later Ryu received a mail from Urufu in the morning. It was terse and to the point: "Found him. Done."

That started a nightmarish ping pong game of messages which forced Ryu to re-evaluate his friendship with Urufu.

"What do you mean with 'Done' more exactly?"

Two hours later the answer arrived. "Police. Dead."

"Whoa! Urufu, what did he do? Dead, did you two get into a fight? Was he shot?"

Ryu ate a late lunch when Urufu finally responded. "Worked in restaurant. Married. Prison."

"Urufu! Please more information!"

And that information waited until three in the afternoon to materialise. "Prey married after school. Pregnant wife. Found him in restaurant. Called police."

"Urufu. I understand the police part, but what do you mean with dead?"

Ryu deserted his mother in the middle of their late dinner when his phone beeped next time. "Nakagawa nullified marriage. Prey to prison. Killed himself."

"Urufu! Did he suicide? That's too much. I need to understand what happened."

The last message didn't arrive until after Ryu had fallen asleep, and it was the first thing in the morning that he noticed. "Lost family. Suicide when fetched by police. Good riddance."

Almost a day it took. Ryu answering more or less immediately when he received a message and Urufu waiting for hours before he sent one back.

Ryu decided against answering the last message. Instead he called his sister.

***

"Mom, something bad happened in Tokyo. It..." Ryu felt uncertain how much he dared involve his parents. 'What can I tell her? She'll call dad if I say too much.'

His mother must have sensed that something was awry because she put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Friend in trouble and you can't tell me all about it?"

Ryu nodded gratefully. 'You're the best.' "He needs me." Ryu averted his eyes and stared at the sliding doors to their room. On the other side lay a corridor feeding the entrance and outdoors cars passed by, the sound of their engines muted by two walls.

No matter how much he loved his parents this wasn't the kind of problem high school students were supposed to have. He couldn't possibly tell his mother that Urufu had been involved in the death of another person, even if indirectly.

"Is it that bad?" The grip on his shoulder tightened. Ryu had to look back.

"Yes," he admitted. He didn't know what else to say.

"One day we'll talk about this. Promise?"

"Promise." She would hold him to that.

"For now you're needed elsewhere. I'll change your ticket and call father. Good friends deserve good friends. Go and be one!"

Ryu just nodded back. She really was the best.