Transition And Restart 440 Chapter Three, 2018, What Happens In Kyoto: 3

'What am I even doing here?'

Being photographed was what she was doing. Being photographed and making whoever worked with this kind of silly thing throw her stares of despair.

'I didn't ask for this.'

And it was all Kuri's fault. Earlier, just after Noriko barely had time to send Urufu a message saying she was going to be away for a short while, she wondered if this was some kind of retaliation for taking Urufu for herself. In the end it turned out Kuri was just lonely and sulking because yet another of her promised free days turned into a working session.
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It was still Kuri's fault. She decided being clad in spring clothes outdoors in January was a proper line of work. Noriko hadn't, so why was she here transforming into an icicle when she could have snuggled closer to Urufu in a shared twosome free from prying eyes? Because Kuri didn't want to be alone was why. Which, if any G.o.ds still didn't get the unfairness of it all, made it Kuri's fault.

'And I thought models had to be tall. Must mean I'm here as some kind of comic sidekick to Kuri's beauty.' That thought popped into Noriko's mind just as a new series of photos were being taken, and the unsurprising result was yet another delivery of groans and looks of despair. 'And I probably won't even get paid for this. Sucks to be me!' Other girls might jump at the chance to play model for a few hours, but Noriko wasn't other girls.

An icy tendril of wind found itself inside whatever flimsiness made a poor attempt at pretending to be a school uniform. 'Whoever came up with this idiocy?' School uniforms were designed to last three years if the owner didn't grow. The joke Noriko wore right now wouldn't have survived a single trimester, not even the short winter one.

That was her other gripe as well. It might look like a winter uniform, but in reality it played the role of a shoddy summer one. Maybe it looked better for taking idiot photos, but it was cold, cold, cold to wear. By now Noriko was certain its only purpose was to make her skin take on a colour better matching the sad excuse for a uniform; which meant a bluish tint that signalled freezing to death rather than whatever cuteness the people here were after.

When the next icy gust of wind hit her Noriko decided to get a grip on her personal universe. She lifted her head and met Kuri's crew face to face. The reward was an approving nod from the photographer and then Noriko's world filled with an endless smattering as he threw his camera to his face and started moving in circles around her.

"Good! One step forward! Like that! Lean right! Good!"

Noriko did as told. The instructions were easy enough to follow.

"Finally! We could use this," someone in the background said.

Noriko didn't listen. She just did whatever the photographer told her. It was almost like being lulled to sleep.

"Yeah! That's it! Guess Ageruman-san knew from the beginning after all." That voice belonged to the only female in the crew.

Noriko wasn't sure what it was that Kuri knew, and it really didn't matter. The fewer mistakes Noriko made the sooner she'd get away from here and the more time she could spend with Urufu. Preferably alone with Urufu. She still hadn't forgiven Kuri for sabotaging their date.

After what seemed to be successful shots Noriko finally got to take a seat where she could enjoy the divine luxury of a heavy coat and a paper mug with steaming tea. Freezing to death apparently made you re-evaluate the concept of luxury.

"Kuri, are we done yet," she complained to the chair to her left.

Tall blonde just smiled and shook her head. Just like Noriko Kuri was draped in a coat, and she also nursed a mug with something warm.

"No joking. You crashed a perfectly good date for me." Noriko felt she deserved the right to sulk. She was probably pouting as well, but right now she didn't care. Urufu was somewhere else. Hopefully he did his share of sulking, but she wasn't certain. When faced with a problem he couldn't solve he tended to dig up another one instead.

"They promised me the rest of the trip off, but they broke that promise." Kuri managed to look a little ashamed. "I wanted someone to share the misery with." A short pause followed during which both of them sipped some tea. "I'm sorry." And then another spell of silence. "I want to be with Ryu as well."

Noriko felt a thin smile stretch over her face. Anyone wanting to spend extra time with her idiot bro needed their brain examined. She also knew there were hordes of girls in dire need of such an examination. "You've got horrible taste in men," Noriko tried. It wasn't entirely true, but Ryu had been such a pest all autumn.

"We both do," Kuri retorted, but there was no malice in her voice.

It hurt a little. Those words sounded like Kuri regretted ever being with Urufu. Still, Noriko understood that wasn't what she meant. "Urufu is a great man," Noriko said. Not that he needed any defending from her side, but it was a matter of loyalty if nothing else.

Kuri emptied her mug and made ready to continue the shoot. Coat left on her chair and clad in ludicrous flimsiness never meant for January she stood up and took a few steps in the direction the crew beckoned. Then she halted and turned. "He's a great boy."

Noriko let her own coat drop and followed Kuri into the freezing winter. For once she both understood and agreed. In ways Urufu was very much a boy and not a grown man. Fifty years didn't matter. Fifty years from now that would probably still hold true.