291 Chapter two, 2017, schism: 3 (1/2)

'A queue?' Yukio stared at the Stockholm Haven café entrance in disbelief.

He shook his head. 'So it's gone this far now. Well, means Urufu isn't there.' With that thought Yukio turned on his heels and returned down the street he had arrived on.

He'd stubbornly defended Kuri until the moment she showed up on Ryu's arm. After that, well, the less he saw of her the better. Or, if he was honest with himself, after he saw how devastated Urufu was when she did.

Halfway back to Himekaizen Yukio noticed the other half of their escort. The first tailed him half a block behind him.

'So you're headed to the Haven?' Yukio kicked at a pebble and grimaced. Kyoko wouldn't turn back at the sight of a queue. 'Damn, that's another evening gone.' Of course he respected how Kyoko stuck to her best friend, but it meant he spent more evenings than he liked separated from his girlfriend.

'And we're not even in the same class any longer.' Which sucked even more. Well, at least they shared the same wing at school.

Yukio hastened his steps and looked down. He didn't want to meet Kyoko just to say goodbye.

The car with Kyoko and bodyguard passed, and Yukio heard it stop behind him. Probably so both escorts could chat and decide how to handle Yukio and Kyoko going to separate destinations.

'Damn!' Cause Kyoko wasn't stupid. Yukio hardly had time to turn around before the sound of the car's door being thrown open reached him.

”Yukio!”

He turned fully and met Kyoko's gaze. A bit shamefacedly he waved to her. ”Here.” Like she didn't know.

”I was looking for you. They said you went to the clubroom.”

Yukio bit his lower lip before answering. ”I did,” he said. ”Urufu won't be there. I went looking for him.” Which was a lie. Besides, going looking for Urufu required a top quality bike and knowledge about where he was. He covered absurd distances on that bike of his, more so after spring break.

”Why?” Kyoko asked, but Yukio could see in her face she already knew. The queue outside the café was a dead give away anyway.

He looked at her. As always the most beautiful girl he had ever known. Hair a bit longer now. She had let it grow during her first year here, but apart from that very much the same girl he fell in love with.

”He hurts, you know,” Yukio said. ”Kuri dumped him and found herself a new boyfriend.”

For a moment Kyoko looked like she was about to blow up. ”They're adults. Both of them. Urufu just didn't behave like one.”

That was, Yukio admitted, the truth. He'd tried to make Urufu man up late that valentine's night, but to no avail. Urufu was a stubborn bastard. One who disliked getting rid of his bad habits. 'Bad habits? Hang on there.' A smile came to Yukio's lips, and he locked eyes with his girlfriend.