200 Chapter six, 2016, three schools: 6 (1/2)

It wasn't that he disliked being part of a dirty game, but he definitely disliked being partially kept unaware of what was happening.

At least that was what he had thought.

Half an hour after Urufu arrived together with Kuri, Principal Nakagawa joined them accompanied by a man in his sixties Yukio had never seen before. They more or less forced the club members to end their meeting in the inner room and after that the six of them sat down around the large table.

”This is for you,” Principal Nakagawa said and placed four documents on the table.

Yukio looked at the one given to him. It was a written permit signed by the principal to stay here far beyond any reasonable curfew. He looked up at the principal asking a silent question.

”I need you here, or let me rephrase that, we need you here,” Nakagawa said and nodded at his companion.

”My name is Noguchi Satoru, and I'm the vice principal of Irishima High. At this moment our principal and the vice principal of Himekaizen have a similar meeting with Hasegawa Ai, Takado Nao and the Wakayama twins from your school.”

Yukio nodded numbly at the unexpected information. 'What's going on?' he wondered.

”Hamarugen-san, do you recall a conversation we had here this spring?” Principal Nakagawa asked.

Urufu blinked at the surprisingly polite words, and Yukio threw Vice Principal Noguchi a look to find out how he would react. There was none.

Flipping open a laptop Urufu grimaced and looked back at their principal. ”What part of it?”

Principal Nakagawa responded with a surprisingly youthful grin. ”Good boy.” Then he turned all serious again. ”The part about a population deficiency of epic proportions,” he continued.

Yukio shook his head. He had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, and across the table he could see Kuri frown as well. At the moment he wished Kyoko was here, but she still had close to half an hour's worth of work to do, but looking at the fourth permit Yukio understood that she would be called here as well when she was done.

”Please go on, I'm listening,” Urufu said.

”Mind if I smoke?” Noguchi-sensei broke in.

Glancing at the ashtray on the table Yukio knew it was a rhetorical question, but it was the kind of polite courtesy an adult extended to another adult. Which meant Irishima High's vice principal knew something very few people did.

”Not at all,” Urufu answered, and Yukio could feel a thin string of tension stretching across the room.

”Would you like one?”

Principal Nakagawa frowned disapprovingly at the offer and stared at his Irishima High counterpart.

”I think I'll decline,” Urufu said. ”It's illegal now, both in Sweden and here. I mean for a minor like me.” He glared at Noguchi-sensei. ”Besides I needed extraordinary measures to break an almost forty year old bad habit, so I think it would be a pity to take it up again. Wouldn't you agree?”

Yukio could hear his own sharp intake of breath. It didn't matter that he already suspected that Noguchi-sensei was in he know. Hearing it stated so clearly still surprised him.

”Noguchi-san, don't you think this is enough?” Principal Nakagawa asked when the silence threatened to become oppressive.