An hour earlier
he pulled open the doors to their clubroom to swap radios and almost
smashed into a girl standing by Ryu.
Yukio did swap
radios in the end, but he also swapped places with Ryu. Thus it was
he found himself on the ground helping guests leave through the
service gates with Kyoko holding his hand with one hand and waving
frenetically to the rooftop where Ryu and that girl stood looking
down.
The festival was
all but over. The gym closed for the day and the guests inside poured
out onto the school grounds. Left inside half a dozen students
prepared it for the closing ceremony while Uniclo personnel
dismantled their equipment.
This last rush
with guests leaving the school was exactly what he needed to stop
thinking of Urufu. To keep busy.
“Thinning out?”
he asked Kyoko. Stupid question. She couldn't see anything more than
he.
“No, I don't
think so,” she said. Somehow she must have known he needed to keep
the conversation running.
“Fine, I'll
call it in.” Yukio did so for the umpteenth time and only received
a tired 'OK' and 'over and out' from Noriko for his efforts.
Also with them
were Rie-sempai, the student council president, who insisted on being
on a first name basis with him. She stood a bit further away. The
assault on Urufu shook her back to a reality where she no longer
played the parody part of a love triangle, and she once more behaved
like a person he could respect.
With most of the
insanity a memory belonging to the past two days the remaining work
was of a kind the festival committee had planned thoroughly before
the festival. With the help of the rooftop surveyors they closed off
section after section of the school grounds as the mass of guests
thinned out.
On the other side
of the gym Yukio saw students carrying chairs and tables. Probably
the food plaza being dismantled.
That was what he
saw but not what he thought of. Only the presence of Kyoko by his
side prevented him from running to wherever Urufu had been taken.
She pulled at his
arm and he moved with her. A few steps later they came up to
Rie-sempai and together the three of them helped the security detail
through the worst of the exodus.
Then the mass of
people suddenly thinned out, and the school loudspeakers blared that
the 2016 Himekaizen cultural festival was at an end and all remaining
guests should head for the gates. Last came the mandatory 'we hope
you enjoyed your stay and welcome back next year' line that was empty
of meaning just because it had to be said.
Yukio sighed and
left the gates. Security could handle the last guests leaving through
the back entrance and close the gates when they were done. At the
moment more people were needed for dismantling the outdoors café
before the finishing ceremony, and after that classes and clubs
gathered together for a short self-congratulatory celebration until
the traditional folk dance around the bonfire.
With the
exception of the Himekaizen Cultural Exchange Club. He doubted there
would be much in the way of celebration for them, which was grossly
unfair.
“Yukio, we're
done here,” Kyoko said.
She led him to
the main school yard, en route the confession stands which made him
grimace a little and her fidget, and they took up positions by the
main entrance and directed people to the main gates.
In less than half
an hour only students milled around taking down parts of the stalls
and everything inside. The festival committee finally had a chance to
shine and Yukio could focus on cleaning out the food plaza.
The grills would
have to cool down before they could dismantle them, but stalls,
tents, tables and chairs mad their way indoors with stunning speed.
They were more or
less done when a loud blare announced that both Uniclo trucks were
ready to depart. Yukio called for the main gates to open again, and
shortly afterwards he heard the heavy engines roar to life. Above the
remaining stalls he saw the glittering trucks leave the school.
Yukio grabbed
four chairs and watched Kyoko take another two.
“Let's get
inside,” he said.
She nodded and
followed him through the main entrance. Inside a festival committee
member checked off six chairs on a list and told them to head for
5:1.
Yukio doubted
that was coincidence. 5:1 was next door to their club room, and he
suspected they were both deliberately let off a bit easier. A silent
way to thank members of the club for doing work the last two days
that in all fairness belonged to the student council and its attached
festival committee.
Kyoko only nodded
and carried her chairs to the left wing stairwell and started
climbing the stairs. Yukio followed her a few steps below. He could
see her up and ahead of him and admired the view to the fullest.
“Perv,” she
said without turning as she turned the corner to the last half flight
to the third floor.
“Indeed,” he
answered. “Want me to stop peeking?”
Kyoko entered the
floor and turned. “Don't you even dare. Peek at me, and me only!”
With that she danced the first steps towards 5:1 so that her skirts
lifted a bit.
Nice view,
he thought and laughed. “Yeah, I'll peek.”
“Uhum.”
“Pink panties?”
“Uhum.”
You're less
flustered these days. “Cute.”
“No. You're
supposed to say sexy.”
“Fine, cute and
sexy,” Yukio said. That August field trip sure got us closer.
“I love you.”
Kyoko stopped and
turned. The colour in her face wasn't as much a blush as a sign of
anticipation. “How much?”
He didn't say
anything, but when he came up beside her he let go of his chairs and
pulled her face to him. The taste of kissing you. I'll never get
enough. There was no need
telling her. The way she met his kiss he understood she knew.
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