188 Chapter five, 2016, days of waiting: 5 (2/2)

”I know as little as you do. A week, maybe two if how he acts when we visit is any indication,” Nao suggested.

”That's November,” Noriko said. ”I feel bad for him.”

”He'll make a full recovery. Let's be happy about that.”

As usual Nao focussed on the most important, but in this case he didn't have all the information needed. He didn't know that Kuri was on a vengeance rampage, and Noriko made sure he didn't have a clue about how she had agreed to help Kuri when the dirty affair blew up in the face of the Red Rose board of directors. And Kuri had promised that it would blow up nastier than anything they had ever experienced before.

Noriko sighed silently. Promises were just promises, or that's how the real world usually turned out, but with Kuri… With Kuri you barely had time for a snarky comment before she delivered on her promise and then some.

'What was it you said again? Don't mistake me for the Empress of Japan. Think of Caligula or Nero instead.' Noriko shivered at the memory. 'What made you say something awful like that?'

Until lately it had never occurred to Noriko that Kuri maybe was loved, or at least desired by many, but that she all too often loathed herself.

”You're silent,” Nao said, stating the obvious.

Noriko turned and dragged him in the direction of a café. ”Sorry.”

”It's my treat,” he said.

She didn't bother protesting. He could afford it, as could she. Eating out barely made a dent in their respective wallets, and she had long since learned to be careful when going out with her friends. With Nao, however, she didn't have to.

”You know,” she said when they came indoors, ”it feels like we're just waiting for something to happen.” It was as close as she could afford telling him something big was coming down on them all.

”6:1 to get their students back?” Nao said.

Noriko knew he was referring more to the two other victims of the car accident than to Urufu. Both were slated for discharge within a few days.

”Two coffee and two vanilla ice cream,” Noriko said to the waitress and made certain she returned out of earshot. ”No, I'm thinking of how uneasy 9:1 is,” Noriko said and tried to make it sound as if she had heard rumours about that class. Well, the students in 9:1 should be uneasy given that they were involved in covert warfare with their hated, old school.

”9:1, you say. I don't hear anything apart from what's said in the club, and with midterms coming around the corner nothing much happens anywhere.”

”No other rumours?” Noriko asked.

”Sorry, but we're talking about freshmen here. It's not like we juniors gossip a lot about you.” Nao made a grimace in an attempt to show her that he meant no offence.

'We have to change that. Kuri wants the rumours to spread out of control.' ”Oh, I didn't know. So you only talk about Kuri?”

Nao blanched. ”It's not that bad, but there are not all that many freshmen who are well known among us.

With a sweet smile that made her stomach crawl Noriko looked at her boyfriend. ”I see. Well I guess it can't be helped,” she lied.