424 Chapter one, 2018, Hatsumode: 9 (2/2)

”Is a damned good start,” Tomasu interrupted him. ”Wouldn't you agree. Now just be kind to the kids and spill it.”

She had spent a year and a half with Urufu and Kuri, and over half a year with Tomasu. It didn't matter. Listening to her junior telling Urufu to care for the kids still felt wrong. Professor in Japanese, was it?

”You do the spilling instead. With your academic merits and all,” Urufu said and answered her silent question.

Tomasu grinned. ”I believe we already came to the conclusion I read about things instead of doing them.”

”He wasn't here then,” Yukio protested when Urufu's eyes widened in honest surprise. ”So, man, what do we do?”

”We spend a night alone in a crowd and wonder what the hell happened,” Urufu said.

Noriko yanked his arm and gave him a furious glare. ”That wasn't her fault, and you know it!”

'Her fault? Oh, last year. Kuri never showed up.' ”I think we've done just about everything we're supposed to do,” Kyoko said. Now was a good time to take some of the heat away from Urufu.

Around them the crowd shifted a little. Families and the old were all on their way out. In their place groups like their own arrived, some of them high school students, but more and more university students. It really was time to leave.

”Should we wait for everyone to come here first?” Ryu said.

Kyoko nodded. She really wanted to say something nasty about finding him a public toilet instead, but Yukio had asked her to tone it down. ”Yes, sounds like a good plan.”

She watched Yukio and Urufu walk away to buy a last something to eat and long before they returned Kuri-chan and Hitomi joined them after having done their prayers. Kyoko waved and got waved back at in return.

”Ko-chan, where's Yukio?”

Kyoko nodded in the direction the two boys had vanished. ”Shopping,” she explained.

Kuri-chan's head turned as she looked where Kyoko pointed. Her hair billowed out and caught in the wind. A golden halo surrounded the goddess in wintry white and Kyoko grinned. 'Watch and despair, Ryu.'

Beside Kuri-chan Hitomi just shook her head and smirked. She made a small gesture as if to cover her ears when gasps and admiring shouts reached them from those who had seen the spectacle.

Ryu, while not despairing, stared at his girlfriend with a stupefied look on his face. Of the Prince of Himekaizen there was nothing left; just a lovestruck boy.

”Christina, you look stunning.”

'Urufu?'

”Did you rehearse or was that natural?”

'You loved her once. There's no need to be that mean.'

To Kyoko's surprise Kuri-chan just lit up in a childish and happy grin that detracted quite a lot from her looks but added all the life Kyoko wanted to see in her best friend's face.

”Of course I rehearsed,” she said, ”and you gave me all the time I needed.”

Urufu waved with some sticks of food he had in his hands. ”Took me some time to get. What's more in store for me?”

Kuri-chan's grin grew wider. ”Don't you wish to know?”