410 Chapter six, 2017, Christmas carols: 9 (1/2)
In the end Noriko got her fair share of Christmas carols. She even got to listen to them together with Urufu. They didn't go to Asakusa as Kyoko had suggested, but rather Urufu brought her to an amusement park an hour's ride or so away from the city centres of Tokyo.
Something about a memory, he said, but when they arrived he just stood gaping at the insanity. Noriko had nothing against illuminations, but this was taking it a little too far. About a galaxy too far or so.
The entire park was lit up like a fairy tale version of fantasy land, but the sheer amount of coloured lamps dispelled any remaining magic.
A little bemused she shared the first half of their date with him surrounded by people and illumination competing for winning this year's prize for outstanding vulgarity. Urufu was, as usual, a close runner up with his strange taste in clothes.
They were already on the train back from bling hell when Noriko both voiced those thoughts in her head and immediately regretted them.
She nudged closer to him as if to apologise by means of sheer proximity. He stood, one hand firmly gripping a support and the other protectively on her shoulder to prevent her from falling whenever the train took a curve. In ways he always stood firm, and Noriko guessed that was what first attracted her to him – that he always took a stance and stood by it until convinced he was wrong. Now, that was the second thing with him that attracted her; that he admitted when he was wrong.
Just like he had done now. When their date at the theme park promised to become a disappointing disaster he simply suggested they leave and leave it to him to find something else to do.
It probably wouldn't involve a restaurant, since those were booked full weeks earlier, but she trusted him to come up with something.
They left the train at Shinjuku and Urufu dragged her to the circle line and shortly afterwards Noriko found herself at the grand Shibuya intersection.
'What's he up to now?' she wondered as she was dragged inside a shop. A bag with winter's clothing later, one she had refused he pay for, she once again found herself on a train but none the wiser.
They left at another station, Urufu quickly bought something in a rather strange shop, or rather a lot of somethings which all made their way into his backpack. His eye-destroying backpack. After that they were bound for Shinjuku once again and a long walk later, one he prepared by forcing her to change shoes, Noriko grinned as she recognised the park in front of them.
”Urufu, you're cute, but you should have checked first,” she said. 'Let's see him wriggle out of this one.'
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”What? Oh, oh shit!”
Opening hours weren't the same in December as in summer, and Noriko watched in fascination how Urufu's face turned sour and thoughtful with just a few seconds in between.
”Train,” he said and dragged her back in the direction of the station.
'Any other girl would have kicked your shins and left you by now,' Noriko thought. She didn't. Albeit a disaster this date turned out to be a rather merry one. With the kind of company her parents kept around them fancy restaurants never made it into her wish list. Whatever Urufu had planned, he'd done so for her, and she was curious about how he'd manage to make up for the illuminations she honestly hadn't wanted to see in the first place.
Not that she would tell him.
When they left the train at Harajuku she had her answer. Yoyogi park didn't have opening hours the way Shinjuku Gyoen did.