193 Chapter five, 2016, days of waiting: 10 (2/2)

Yukio shook his head in despair. Ryu was a hard one to understand.

”Something to drink while we think about it?” he suggested. While Urufu had disgusting taste in clothes he did have a keen eye for what was comfortable, and some of it had rubbed off on Yukio by now.

Kyoko gifted him with a grateful smile, and Yukio led her to a café that didn't look too expensive. They weren't like the other four who never had to think about money.

'And that's unfair of me. Kuri had a hard time earlier.' Still, since summer the other four spent money in a way that was foreign to him.

A waitress arrived and took their orders, and Yukio decided to push his thoughts aside. They had a tinge of envy to them, and given what Urufu and Kuri had endured the last six months, envy was the last that came to his mind.

Yukio shot Kyoko a glance when she looked out the window. 'You're beautiful,' he thought. 'And there's no one trying to break us apart.' He grabbed her hands on the table and looked at her when she turned her face to him.

”I love you,” he said.

Kyoko cradled his fingers in hers and smiled. ”I love you too.”

Making sure the other guests didn't look in their direction he leaned over the table and kissed her.

When he leaned back to watch her reaction he saw a small TV mounted to a wall. The sound was off, but he could read that a police investigation concerning systematic harassment was taking off. It didn't say Red Rose anywhere, but Yukio suspected that Kuri's smear campaign slowly bore fruit in a more serious way.

”Kyoko, behind you.”

She turned and watched the news-feed together with him.

”Afraid?” she asked when it was finished.

”A little,” he admitted.

”Do you think she'll pull it off?”

Yukio leaned his head to his shoulder and grimaced. ”I hope so, or it's going to be very bad for her.”

He could see a slight shiver running though Kyoko's body.

”I'm afraid it'll be bad for her even if she pulls it off,” she said.

There wasn't any good reply to that. Yukio shared her sentiment and fears, but for whatever it was worth their attack on Red Rose had gained a momentum where they could no longer abort it.

”It was her decision,” he said. ”I don't think she could have avoided it even if she wanted. There was so much hate and rage in her after they attacked Urufu.”

Kyoko closed her hand over his. ”I know. What do you think of it?”

'What do I think of it?' ”I don't know. I guess our days of waiting have come to an end. That's what I think.”