428 Chapter two, 2018, field trip: 2 (2/2)

Kyoko looked up as if their new principal had suddenly popped into existence by their table.

”Saw him,” Hitomi confirmed. ”The rumours are true.”

'OK, give a little more!' ”Yes?” Kyoko said and hoped her irritation didn't show in her voice.

Hitomi just smiled. Then she blinked and opened her mouth. ”Short. If he's a hundred and sixty I'd be surprised.”

That was short indeed. Urufu and Kuri-chan aside, that still counted as a shorty in Japan.

”Still makes me uncomfortable,” Hitomi added between two bites. Since she became one of the closer friends she had discarded just about any trappings of being a princess. ”He reminds me of my dad.”

'Behaving like your dad is bad?' Knowing about Hitomi's family was one thing, but experiencing her coldness towards them first hand was another.

Hitomi gulped down her tea before saying anything more. ”He's not a bad person the way dad is, but he still gives me the shivers. Dangerous.”

”Dangerous?” Yukio's voice cut in. ”How?”

”Look, the creepy guy from down there is bad like my dad, but in difference from dad he's dangerous all by himself.”

The creepy guy from down there had to be the friend of Noriko's parents. Kyoko could understand why anyone would label him as dangerous. Urufu had said he came from a very different Japan, and by different he didn't mean the upstream world. A long time ago this had been a much more violent society. Kyoko grimaced. A long time ago. That depended on whom you asked. Maybe eighty years wasn't all that much time for some.

”Why does she go for someone like him?”

Hitomi growled and Yukio joined her. Kyoko just shook her head at the comment from two tables away.

”Maybe because she has a good eye for men,” a loud response came from yet another table away.

That brought a smile to Kyoko's lips. After a year and a half with Yukio she wasn't all that much concerned by competition, but anyone badmouthing Yukio still ired her. For that very reason praise filled her with warmth. Besides, if Hitomi had indeed decided to make a pass at Yukio it did indeed mean she had a good eye for men. They didn't come any better than Yukio.

Then, suddenly, Hitomi rose and turned in the direction of whoever had voiced that last comment. ”I wouldn't stand a chance,” she said loud enough for anyone to hear.

Kyoko stared at Hitomi and felt heat flaring up in her face as she blushed from neck to hair line.