Lion-Eating Idiots
CappuccettoRosso
Warning(s): Mild Adult Language; Footnotes; Usage of Japanese Words
Disclaimer: Gokusen is the intellectual property of Kozueko Morimoto, and its publisher Shueisha. The dramatized version of Gokusen is owned by Nippon TV. I am only borrowing the characters for my own amusement. No profit is being made in the publishing of this story.
Author's Note: This story does not take place at a specific time during the drama.
Also, the title of the story comes from the poem, Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den, by Yuen Ren Chao (1892-1982). This is a famous example of constrained writing. Written in Classical Chinese and read in Mandarin Chinese, every syllable has the sound shi, though in different tones. It's a sort of tongue twister to say and an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs.
Also, I like footnotes. :D
Summary: Why is Shin always so sleepy? The boys go out to find out…
"Maybe he has trouble sleeping…"
Minami Yoichi scrunched up his nose. He looked doubtful when he said: "It looks like he's sleeping just fine to me."
It was their lunch period and they were in the cafeteria. Since no one brought lunch with them from home—well, no one except Kumai Teruo, but he was a big momma's boy—they had wandered down to see what looked appetizing enough to choke down. They weren't eating, though; they had easily become sidetracked by Sawada Shin's ability to sit down, get comfortable and seemingly drop into unconsciousness in seconds. Not even the ruckus going on around him roused him from his sleep. It was the same in the classroom, and they weren't particularly quiet when they got up their usual shenanigans.
It was weird, and maybe a bit cool, like one of those soldiers, but weird all the same. The oddness couldn't go unremarked upon; someone had to say something because everyone was clearly thinking it.
Noda Takeshi rolled his eyes. "At night," he said pointedly. He kept his voice low, (they all were); to make sure the words wouldn't carry. Just because he didn't react, it didn't exactly mean Sawada couldn't hear. "Maybe he has trouble falling asleep at night."
Minami flexed his jaw. "Nah, that ain't it." He pointed rather boldly at Shin. He dodged Noda trying to slap his hand down. "Something is keeping him up all night."
"Or maybe someone…?" Uchiyama Haruhiko added with a salacious grin. He wiggled his eyebrows pointedly, as if they had missed the innuendo in his words. Because they were boys, teenage boys, they gave that possibility serious consideration.
Until Kamai Teruo decided to add: "It's Shin-chan we're talking about here guys."
Their musings of pulling an all-nighter with a particularly beautiful and vivacious girl (and who also had a nice pair of tits)—those snapped, crackled and popped.
"Oh yeah," Noda sighed, slumping a little in his seat. "He doesn't like girls."
"Which is also weird," Minami said drolly.
"But not something we are going to talk about." Noda raised an eyebrow at Minami, who shrugged expressively. "…again."
"Just saying…"
Uchi pinched his bottom lip. "Maybe he does."
"What…?"
"Maybe he doesn't like the girls we've presented him with." Although Uchi included himself, he pointed mostly at Noda and Minami. Noda was the one with the penchant for goukon [1]; Minami was always surrounding himself with girls most of which he eventually sent their way. Uchi, while a lady-man's himself, he mostly kept the girls for himself, rather than introduce them to the others; he liked having options. "Maybe he rejects all of them because he already has one."
"Like a secret girlfriend…?" Kuma asked suddenly. The pudgy boy lowered his chopsticks and looked rather upset at the notion. Uchi felt a flash of something that made him want to hug the big guy. It didn't help that Kuma looked like a big sad teddy bear just then. Uchi grabbed the feeling and choked it with toughness and insensitivity.
"Yeah, exactly," Uchi said rather awkwardly. Obviously, he couldn't kill the feeling; it was unconscious but very much alive. Damn Kuma…
"But why keep it a secret from us?" Kuma went on. Although callous at times, the three boys gracefully ignored the "from me" Kuma was really tagging on that question. Of all the boys in their little gang, Kuma was the only one who could claim being Shin's oldest friend. The big guy knew Shin since primary school, and had stuck with him through the years. "We're his friends."
"Maybe it's something recent," Noda offered weakly. The words fell flat; Noda winced a little.
"But Shin-chan has always been sleepy," Kuma argued, switching gears. He absently started to eat his lunch again as his confidence grew. "He used to sleep all through classes in middle school. The teachers didn't like it. One of them even thought he had that sleeping problem. Um, it's a funny word."
"Narcolepsy…?" Noda offered hesitantly, after a quick search on the internet.
Kuma nodded vigorously, his mouth full.
They each made contemplative noises as they mulled over that idea. Their eyes quickly examined Shin, as if to find some hint that would either support or deny this suggestion. After a short moment, they dismissed it as ridiculous.
"Nah, I don't believe it," Minami said with a scoff. "Teachers are always exaggerating shit."
"Yeah, and Shin doesn't make it a habit of suddenly falling to the floor asleep," Noda said. His eyes were on the computer screen and he hissed in pain as he watched a video online. "He definitely doesn't do this."
The other boys quickly crowded around Noda, curious themselves. Noda replayed the video. They flinched and groan in sympathy as the guy in the video suddenly went from walking to collapsing on the ground seemingly asleep [2]. The fall looked painful. "Right…"
Noda closed the active window; the others sat back down in their seats.
"So it has to be a secret girlfriend," Uchi finally said. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared steadily at Kuma when the other boy frowned. "He doesn't have a job."
"How would you know that?" Kuma demanded mulishly. "He could have a secret job."
Uchi sneered. "That's stupid. Why would you hide a job?"
"Why would you hide a girlfriend?" Kuma shot back.
"Maybe she's a taken girl."
Kuma straightened in his seat, indignant. "Shin-chan would never do that!"
"Yeah, he has more honor than that!" Yankumi said forcefully, slamming both of her hands on the table. The action made a loud bang, which caused all of them to freeze and glance over at Shin worriedly.
The dark-haired teen snorted, mumbled something and then went to sleep again. They stayed quiet for several more moments, just to be safe, before they leaned in to hiss at their teacher.
"Yankumi what the hell," Noda whispered harshly.
"Keep quiet stupid," Uchi spat under his breath.
"We don't want to wake him," Kuma said, pulling one of Yankumi's pigtails in reprimand.
Yankumi ducked her head, apologizing very quietly. "Sorry, sorry."
"And stop popping out of freaking nowhere, will ya," Noda added. "It's annoying."
They settle down again and even made room for Yankumi when she dragged a plastic chair from a nearby table.
"They're right though," Minami piped up then, pulling their attention back to the main conversation. "Our Shin is better than that." He shot Shin a secret look, full of admiration. Shin remained obviously to the world.
"Fine," Uchi snapped at them, though he shot his sleeping friend an apologetic look. Shin huffed quietly and rubbed his face into the crook of his arm a little. The fuzzy feeling from before woke up again and it wanted Uchi to reach over and pat Shin on the head for being so cute. Uchi looked away, a large part of him horrified that he was becoming all mushy and shit. He seriously needed a fight, and a good one. That would surely knock some manly pride into him. Uchi made a mental note to piss off one of the Meibi boys. They were usually filled with bad feelings they desperately wanted to express through their fists. "So he doesn't poach on other guy's property, okay.
"But that still doesn't mean he doesn't got a girl," Uchi insisted. He settled his jaw, determined to stand by his guns.
"But why—"
"She could be an older woman," Uchi suggested carelessly. He stopped and mulled over that thought. He tried to picture Shin dating an older woman. Everyone else did, too. Both Minami and Kuma looked a little horrified; Noda nodded contemplatively; Yankumi looked scandalized.
"I can see that," Nado murmured, and he could, considering he was in a similar situation himself. Minami gaped at him.
"He ain't you," Minami blurted out.
"Oi! What is that supposed to mean," Noda demanded with a frown.
"Sawada is no fukesen [3]"
Kuma ignored the arguing duo beside him and focused on Uchi on the other side of the table. "I still think he's got a secret job." His own jaw was firm.
Uchi sighed loudly, looking very exasperated. "Baka yatte'n ja ne yo! [4]. Why would you hide the fact you have a job!"
"I don't know."
"You don't, 'cus there is no reason to," Uchi said rather testily. The fact that Shin didn't have permission from the school to work wasn't even a valid argument. They were delinquents and they constantly did shit that the school wouldn't approve—holding a secret job was the least of their misdemeanors.
"Unless your job ain't legit," Yankumi suddenly interjected. Her eyes were wide behind her glasses; they narrowed when she focused her attention on Shin.
"Eh…?"
Noda and Minami stopped arguing and stared at Yankumi in confusion.
"Think about it," Yankumi whispered harshly. She lowered her head and they leaned in without prompting. Her voice had gained a husky quality. Something dark glittered in her eyes. They were riveted. "For all we know he could be working with an agari [5] as an otenkinagashi [6], or be working the Ginza area as a sewanuki [7].
"And we would have never suspected," she said slowly, practically glaring at Shin. She had certainly worked herself up, forgetting completely about her audience. And she was doing that thing again, rolling her 'r's' [8]; she always did it when she was seriously worked up. None of them could place the accent, but it reminded them of those yakuza movies. "The little bastard, thinkin' we wouldn't figure out his game. Quick search him for an oisore [9]—"
When she made to lunge at Shin, they snapped out of their daze and grabbed her before she could touch even a strand of Shin's mane. Unfortunately in the commotion, Shin woke up. He wasn't remotely happy.
His hair was mussed and the glare he gave them was equal parts sleepy and furious. Uchi knew that if they'd been the ones glaring all sleepily like that, then the look wouldn't have had much of an impact. Considering it was Shin doing the glaring, it worked perfectly and they froze under the look. Personally Uchi thought it made Shin look like a sleepy lion, dangerous even when half awake and eyeing them as if measuring their worth as food.
"Fucking, pieces of shit can't keep your fucking voices down and let a man sleep," Shin snarled under his breath. The lethargy was slowly seeping out of his muscles, and his eyes were beginning to clear. The lion was about to pounce. They were so dead.
Uchi may or may not have whimpered.
Around them the school chime rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. They were up and out of their seats by the first note; out of the cafeteria by the end of the sequence.
"OkayShinwe'llseeyouinclassbye!"
Shin stared after them in confusion.
"What the fuck…?
After narrowly escaping having their collective asses chewed out by Shin, the boys mostly forgot about the conversation. Mostly; because they were treated to Shin's dirty look throughout the remainder of the school-day. The rest of the class had noticed, obviously; the temperature had dropped noticeably, no bullshit, and well, Shin wasn't making no bones about it. However, since it was Shin giving them the stink eye, everyone kept mum and instead kept to themselves, huddling in small groups for warmth. Class 3-D breathe a sigh of relief, though, when the final bell rang and Shin prowled dangerous out of the room; only then did they stopped walking on egg shells and immediately pounced on Uchi and the others, and badgered them for answers.
To say that Class 3-D made a mental note to be more considerate when Shin-chan was napping would be a great understatement. They had protocols in place now, especially for cases of emergency.
Now, Uchi and the others would have dropped the issue all together if not for Yankumi. She obviously wasn't content to leave the discussion so vague, and was more than determine to get to the bottom of it. To that end, several days later, she called each of them and had them meet her later in the evening. Under normal circumstance, none of the boys would have bothered answering the summons (they enjoyed being contrary); however, since these weren't normal circumstance:
"How the hell did she convince us to do this shit with her?" Minami demanded to no one in particular, glancing around the area. They were standing in a random street corner in the residential district near the city center. It was 20:00 [10] in the evening and Minami could seriously be doing better shit than standing around in an empty street. Yet here he was…. "Damn it!"
"Dunno," Kuma mumbled belatedly and absently kicked a pebble. The small rock skid on the pavement but fell short of reaching Noda's shoes. The other boy was standing a ways away, under a lamp post, talking animatedly into his cell phone.
"Who is he talking to?" Minami asked absently. He leaned against an iron fence encircling a pretty swanky house; he peered into the shadowy front lawn.
"Dunno."
Minami sighed. "Do you know anything…?"
"I know that you're making a racket and if you don't shut your trap, he's going to hear us," said Yankumi right in his freaking ear. Minami yelp in a very manly way.
"Why do you do that?" Minami should really get used to it, but it freaked him every time Yankumi seemingly appeared out of thin air.
"Dunno," Yankumi said, imitating Kuma listless words. She smiled cheekily when Minami scowled.
He gritted his teeth. "You enjoy watching us freak out, don't you?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her before she could respond: "Don't answer that."
Noda sauntered over, apparently done with his call. "So, Yankumi, what's the plan and where are we…?" He gestured around the area. The houses were sizeable and the air around them screamed 'rich people live here.' Minami wanted to know too; he had personally never been to this side of the city, and for good reason: Minami could practically smell the money in the air
It was Kuma who answered: "Shin's house that way." He pointed down the street. "About eight houses down, I think."
They stared into the gloom, and then turned to Yankumi. She was nodding and she cupped her chin with a hand.
"Right, this is the plan," she began, looking rather serious. "I've been trailing after him for the last few days—"
"Wait, wait, wait a minute!" Minami cut in rudely. He stared at her incredulously. "You were trailing him, for days…? Isn't that sort of stalkerish…?"
Yankumi looked offended. "I wasn't stalking him!"
"You just admitted to following him around, making sure he didn't see you. I call that behavior stalkerish."
"Stalkerish is not a word," Yankumi pointed out peevishly.
Minami scoffed. "It's good enough to describe what you're doing."
A thought suddenly occurred to Noda. "Wait, we were out with Sawada two nights ago…Does that mean you were stalking us, too?" Noda tried to remember if they had done anything that could get them in trouble. His friends were equally disturbed.
"Oi!"
"You take your job way too seriously!"
"How are you going to get a man if you spend your nights stalking your students?"
"Enough!" Yankumi said loudly; too loud for a sleepy residential area. Her voice travelled a good distance in the still night. Down the street, a light turned on in one of the windows and a cat yowled, setting off a dog into frantic barking. Yankumi winced, and then shot them a look of frustration. "I'm not stalking any of you and we are getting off track," she said in a lower tone of voice.
She continued: "The point is I was trying to learn his patterns but I kept losing sight of him—"
"You're not a very good stalker, are you?" Minami said with a sad little shake of his head.
"That's so sad," Uchi murmured.
"—so I thought four extra pair of eyes is better than one," Yankumi said with a nod.
"Do you understand? Good, come on!"
She turned on her heal and walked away, not waiting for them to respond. They watched her walk away and then reluctantly followed.
"It's just pitiful that a grown woman would resort to stalking her own students," Minami said, not bothering to be discreet.
"The least she could do is stalk someone her own age," Noda added.
"But isn't it sort of flattering to be stalked by a girl?" Kuma wondered.
"If she was cute, sure," Uchi agreed, "but it's Yankumi." There wasn't a need for further explanation. Kuma hummed contemplatively.
Up ahead, Yankumi's shoulders were bunched up. "For the last time I'm…not…STALKING YOU!"
Noda cocked his head. "Honestly, Yankumi, be more considerate of hardworking people living around here and don't be so bothersome."
Yankumi threw her arms up in exasperation and kept walking. The boys continued their conversation, though this time, they kept Yankumi out of it. Instead, they considered who they would like stalking them, and the four boys agreed almost unanimously: they would all prefer Itoh Misaki [11] shadowing their every move.
They manfully ignored Yankumi's cackling up ahead. Sheesh, she even laughed weird…
They were rounded a corner, having long since moved from the quiet residential streets onto busier ones, only to see Shin meters in front of them, coming out of one of the buildings. They froze for a second—they hadn't expected to bump into him so suddenly—before Yankumi yanked them back around the corner, out of sight.
"Shit, Yankumi," Noda hissed as he was more or less pressed against the wall. Since it was still fairly early in the evening, there were a fair amount of people around; they gave their group a wide berth and some glanced over. Minami and Noda smiled apologetically at some of those askance looks.
Yankumi peered around the corner, Kuma pressed behind her, straining to look as well. Shin was standing on the sidewalk, looking around him idly. He was wearing a suit, nicely cut and tailored made most likely, it fit so well. His hair was swept back, held back by pins. The other boy looked very dashing.
"Do you guys remember the plan?" she asked after she had her fill of ogling her student.
"You know, Yankumi, I don't think it's going to work," Uchi said then. The teen didn't even bother pointing out that she hadn't exactly told them what the plan was, only to follow her. He scratched the back of his head and shrugged helplessly when Yankumi shot him a look. "I just have a very strange feeling. Maybe we should go back."
"Nonsense," Yankumi scoffed and then peaked around the corner. "No come on."
She darted away; Noda and Minami followed her gamely. Kuma hesitated for a second, looked at Ucchi, and then followed as well, curious despite his better judgment. Ucchi sighed to himself and started after them. They trailed after Shin for a while and nearly lost him in the crowd as they moved toward the entertainment district.
It was pure chance that Uchi saw him dart into one of the local businesses with the flashy signs.
"Hey, we went over there."
They approached the place, unexpectedly following a small crowd of older woman, who were also heading in the same direction, to the same establishment. The women were talking excitedly, some giggling behind modest hands and they entered with obvious enthusiasm. Uchi eyed the place, a foreboding feeling creeping up his spine.
They lingered outside the front doors, which were tinted to hide the interior, to get an idea of the place. It was Noda who first spotted it, what had him almost choking on his tongue.
"Oh, my god…"
The others weren't far behind him, and they had similar reactions.
A display case on the wall featured the face shot of over two dozen young men. Bare light-bulbs arranged around the case illuminated their attractiveness to their full potential.
They stared for a long moment and then: "Oh, shit, Sawada is a host!"
"No!" Yankumi shouted in denial. "No!" She looked about to faint or charge gun-ho into the club.
"Well, he does have the face for it," Minami said rather pragmatically. He flinched when Yankumi shot him a narrow look. "What!? It's true; he's always been popular with the ladies." This, he admitted with only a small degree of bitterness.
Uchi sighed. "He's so lucky…"
"No!" Yankumi shouted again, and then raised a fist to the club. "I'll go in there, right now, and save Sawada from those…those…she-devils! Preying on one of my precious student!"
She was about to storm the place, when Kuma made a surprise sound.
"Yankumi! Wait, look! Over there, it's Shin!"
They spun around and glanced in the direction Kuma pointed. Sure enough, they managed to catch sight of Sawada's head before the density of the crowd blocked him from their sight.
"Wah! How did he get over there?!" Uchi gaped a little.
"Who cares, come on!" Yankumi cried out and ran after Sawada.
"Shit!"
As the pursuit progressed, Ucchi grew more and more interested. Sawada gave them slip several times, seemingly entering one place, only to spot him meters away, sometimes in the opposite. At one point, they had seen him entering a cleverly disguised soapland [12]. Yankumi had freaked out a second time, imagining her innocent student forced to service women in such a way for money. The boys had to restrain her from tearing the place down. Luckily, Minami spotted Sawada in the crowd again, and they were off once more.
Eventually, they followed Shin to a pricy looking hotel. The building towered over them and the front entrance was all crystal clear windows, fountains and chandeliers hanging overhead. They were standing just across the street and it was easy for them to see Shin approach the front desk and lean in to talk to one of the pretty girls manning it.
They spoke briefly, the girl obviously pleased at having Shin's attention so focused on her. Of course, it could also be because Shin was smiling so charmingly at her, something they rarely, if ever, witness their friend do, to anyone, much less a girl. The conversation they had was very short, just long enough for the girl to greet him, smile and point at something across the room. That something turned out to be someone; an older woman, slim with an elegant bearing and very attractive.
Five jaws dropped in astonishment; five pairs of eyes bugged out and stared as the woman and Shin greeted each other warmly. They hugged each other briefly and then she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek.
"You know, when I said it could be an older woman, I was just kidding," Ucchi said through numb lips.
"Me too," Noda admitted quietly.
They watched as the unknown woman threaded her arm around one of Shin's. The pair made their way to the bank of elevators and disappeared into one when it arrived. It was only after they lost sight of their friend that the spellbound feeling lifted.
They looked at each other; they all looked poleaxed. Yankumi's expression was harder to decipher—she looked bemused, though furious, and something else that underlined it all and made her really quiet.
"We have to find out who that woman is," Yankumi said, and the tone of her voice made them blink. She sounded so serious, though not with the same seriousness they were used to hearing from her. That tone was usually underlined with a healthy dose of determination, of righteousness and the need to see justice done. Now, while the determination was there, there was no righteousness to it. It was personal, more personal than it had ever been before, like it would be a personal insult if she didn't get the truth.
"I'm going in."
She was gone before anyone had the presence of mind to respond. Yankumi strode away briskly, moving easily through the crowd and joined those crossing the boulevard.
"We really should go after her," Noda said quietly.
"Yeah, she looks like she's gonna hurt someone," Uchi said with a shiver.
None of the four said it out loud, but from the looks they shot each other, they knew they more than meant Shin.
They ran to the crosswalk, only to have the traffic light change. There were too many cars on the street for them to ignore the law and jaywalk to the other side. They weren't that careless with their lives. Still, they stood impatiently on the corner, silently urging the light to switch and watched helplessly as Yankumi made it to the front entrance of the hotel.
"Come on, let's go!" Minami cried out when the light finally turned green. They ran to the other side, and down the street, practically bursting through the double doors. Yankumi was already stepping into an elevator. Uchi saw the stainless steel doors slowly closing and didn't think twice about bodily throwing himself forward.
Uchi lost what little breath he had in his lungs when the doors closed, him wedged between them.
"Uchiyama Haruhiko, get out!" Yankumi snapped, for once using his entire name.
The doors sprung back automatically and he almost fell to the floor at his teacher's feet. "Wait, Yankumi…"
"Move!" She tried to shove him out of the elevator, but his desperate act had allowed the others to catch up. Minami and Noda pushed from behind, with Kuma adding his own not insubstantial weight to the force. They toppled inside and Uchi did fall to the floor at his teacher's feet, his breath rushing out of his lungs for a second time that night as his friends fell on top of him.
The elevator closed with a cheery ding.
"Oi! Get off of me!" Uchi snarled from beneath the pile. "Kuma! I'm gonna kill you!"
"I'm the one that is going to kill you four," Yankumi snapped. She took a step back and crossed her arms. She watched them with a scowl as they awkwardly untangled themselves. "You guys should have gone home."
"What!" Minami exclaimed. He jumped to his feet and flicked his hair out of his face. "You were the one that brought us here in the first place."
"Yeah, well, you should go back now." She made to press the down button, to take them back to the ground floor. Uchi slapped her hand away and met Yankumi's glare with a glare of his own.
"No, we've come this far. We are going to see this through, all of us, until the end," Uchi said firmly, not backing down an inch, even though inside he was silently begging Yankumi to stop glaring like she was ready to rip his face off. She stared at him levelly for a long moment, and then dropped the unfriendly expression. Uchi sighed in quiet relief.
"You annoying little brats," she muttered her lips quirking up just a little at the edges. The mildly annoyed look in her eyes was reassuring in its familiarity.
The elevator opened with another cheery ding.
Yankumi gestured for them to follow and they did, a little hesitantly. The hallway they've stepped into was large and there were several large double, doors down the corridor. It was disturbingly quiet.
"Do you know where we're going, Yankumi?" Noda asked, after a moment of silence.
Yankumi nodded, not turning to look at him. She was looking around avidly, searching for something. She must have found it, because she began jogging down to the left in an instant. They hurried after her.
"She said they were using one of the large conference halls," Yankumi said over her shoulder.
She came to an abrupt stop in front of one these large double doors. They crowded behind her, looking nervously around. She made to open the door. Minami grabbed her hand, stopping her before she could.
"Wait, you mean Shin and the woman he was with…" Minami began, completely confused. "Why would they need a conference room? I mean, would it be better to take one of the rooms above, especially if they were, you know, hooking up," he said.
For the first time since they set off on this little misadventure, Yankumi looked unsure. She obviously didn't want to think badly of her student, despite what she had seen so far. Appearances could be misleading sometimes, and assumptions, without knowing the full story, could do more harm than good. Still, she needed more information, and this was the only way.
She opened and closed her mouth several times and then took a deep breath.
"I know, and I'm not going to think badly of Sawada-kun, not without proof. I still have to find out what's going on," she said firmly, and then turned the handle and pulled. Immediately, noise washed over them and into the hallway, leaving them reeling a little under the sudden onslaught.
"Wow, props on the soundproofing."
Inside the large hall, a great amount of people had gathered to celebrate what became painfully obvious, was a wedding.
Beautifully decorated tables and chairs were arranged around the room, each of which was occupied by equally elegantly dressed people. In the distance, they could make out the happy couple. The bride looked radiant and utterly euphoric; the groom couldn't look away from his beautiful bride.
"Shit, Yankumi, where did you bring us," Minami hissed. Embarrassment was spreading hard and fast, making his shoulders tight.
"I think we should leave," Noda said slowly. Everyone nodded.
Before they could inch back, the clear, beautiful sounds of a piano rang in the air, drawing everyone's attention, including the five at the door. A baby grand piano had been set out near the head table. The lights dimmed overhead, leaving only those directly over the piano. The black lacquered wood gleamed under the light and the pianist at the keys, in his impeccable tuxedo, shone, too. It was such a captivating sight. More than that, it was a feast for the senses, especially when the man began to sing. The man's voice was smooth and resonated through the room, carried easily on the crystal notes. The tenor of his voice molded the words, added warmth and sheer feeling to the words to the love the song implied.
They watched, mesmerized for what seemed like a long, as the guy played one song and then another. So intent their focus was on the guy, that it slowly dawned on them that the man on piano looked very familiar.
He looked an awful lot like Shin…
"Oh, shit, that's Shin," Noda breathed.
"I didn't know he could play the piano."
"Since when does he sing?!"
"Is that a love song…?!"
They turned to Kuma for answers; the large boy only gaped at the sight of Shin. When he noticed their stares, he shook his head vigorously.
"I didn't know! This is news to me, too!"
Yankumi tried to get them to shut up before they drew unnecessary attention from the guests in the room; however, she was, too, still in shock to do much than mumble in their direction. Not that it mattered; someone had already spotted them.
"Excuse me; are you guests of the bride or the groom?"
They froze, belatedly remembering there were supposed to be sneaking around and not be noticed. A middle-age woman, dressed in a smart dress suit. There was the hotel's insignia on the lapel of her jacket, denoting her as part of the hired staff.
She offered them a professional smile, even as she eyed them with suspicion. Understandable, considering they were hardly dressed for a wedding; the boys were still in their uniform and Yankumi was in a pair of jeans and plain t-shirt.
"I, uh, you see," Yankumi stuttered. "We're not, uh…we have the wrong room! Yes, that's it! We are so, so sorry. We apologize for our intrusion. Come on guys, let go!"
The boys, fortunately, played along with her and added their own apologies, inching back through the doorway again. The woman's gimlet stare followed them out; it wasn't until the doors closed with a muffled noise that they felt they could breathe again.
"Wow, that lady was intense," Minami said with feeling. Uchi, Noda and Kuma laughed nervously. Yankumi looked like she agreed with them, too, but wouldn't admit it out loud.
"We should go," Kuma finally said, after a short beat of silence.
The boys quickly agreed; they had seen more than enough to answer the immediate questions. Yankumi hesitated, but didn't argue as they began heading back to the lobby. In sharp contrast to her behavior earlier, she lagged behind them and seemed to have fallen into a sort of daze. She hardly registered that they had reached a small playground, several blocks away from the hotel. It wasn't until Uchi gave her a friendly push while she was on the swing, (when had she sat down?), that she finally came to.
"Oi! Wha…!" she sputtered, grabbing onto the chains. She glanced at her surroundings, utterly confused. "Where are…? When did we…?"
"We've been here for over an hour," Noda said distractingly. He was on his phone again, texting with someone. "We were just waiting for you to snap out of it." Over at the carousel, Minami was trying to get Kuma to spin him as fast as he could, with limited results.
"Oh."
"You know, you guys could have just asked, right?"
Sawada's voice startled them all, and after a quick look around, they found him sitting innocuously at the very top of the slide.
"Sawada! What…when did you get here?" Yankumi demanded, for once looking startled.
Sawada smirked at her and pushed off; he glided down the slide, uncaring at the possibility that he may have ruined the seat of his pants. He gained his feet easily in the sand.
"You're not the only one that can skulk around without being noticed, Yankumi," Sawada said teasingly.
Yankumi sputtered; Sawada ignored her and raised an eyebrow at his friends.
"So, have you seen enough for tonight?" he asked, his tone innocent enough.
Common sense told them to tread carefully, but curiosity got the best of them, and their mouths. Everyone started hurling questions, asking since when did Sawada sing, and play the piano, and who was that woman he was with at the hotel…?
"That's my mom," Sawada said blandly. "Or didn't you see the family resemblance?"
"Wha…! No… really?" Minami tried to picture the woman again. He honestly didn't see it; she looked too young and pretty to be a mom. Somehow, Sawada must read him mind, because the look he shot Minami was eviscerating
"And the singing…?" Noda insisted, easily accepting the explanation about the woman. He had always known Sawada was like that. Sawada would never enjoy or appreciate the charm of an older woman.
Sawada shrugged expressively. "So I can sing, so what. A lot of people can sing."
"Yeah but not that good," Noda mumbled, blushing when Sawada raised an eyebrow at him.
"Thanks...I guess."
"You were great, Shin-chan," Kuma said enthusiastically, not at all embarrassed to admit such things out loud. "Can you play any other instrument?"
"The violin, a little," Sawada said reluctantly, ducking his head as he did. "I'm not that good, really. Don't go making such a big deal about it." [13]
"Wait, so is this why you're always sleeping in class? Because you sing and play the piano at weddings every night?" Uchi wanted to be absolutely sure. The night was still young; he can still go have some fun before he had to head home.
Sawada stared at him with a level look. "Is this why you've been following me?"
They shuffled nervously on their feet, refusing to meet each other's gaze. Sawada scoffed, but didn't say anything.
Yankumi stepped forward, finally finding her voice.
"Ah, Sawada-kun, it was my fault," she said nervously. "I made them come with me. So it's my fault."
She ducked her head and mumbled an apology.
Sawada shook his head and laughed. "Why am I not surprised…?" he said at no one in particular.
"Look, I do weddings, sometimes. My mom knows a lot of people and word gets around," Sawada said briskly. "Sometimes, not always, I also do OST—" [14]
"Oh, any anime we know?" Minami asked eagerly. The others look curiously, too.
Before Sawada could respond, a woman's voice cut into the conversation.
"Shin-kun, come along, we are going to be late!"
They turned to where Sawada's mother stood, waiting expectantly by the sidewalk. It was the same woman they had seen in the hotel lobby and she was much prettier up close. She smiled at them gently, nodding at Yankumi.
"I hope you're satisfied now. Ja ne!" Sawada saluted them lazily and made his way toward his mother. She immediately descended on her son and they could hear her scolding him for possibly ruining his suit. She even reached to dust off the seat of his pants, but Sawada moved away with an annoyed exclamation.
When they were out of sight, Yankumi clapped her hands. "Well, that is that, mystery solved."
She nodded her head, satisfied, and turned to face her students. She squawked when she saw them already several feet away, talking to themselves and very much ignoring her.
"Hey, you guys, where are you going!? Wait!"
"That's enough Yankumi craziness for one night!" Minami called back over his shoulder. "We are out!"
She hesitated and then waved absently at their retreating backs. "Alright, see you tomorrow at school!"
"Whatever!"
"Annoying brats."
[1] Goukon: joint party; mixer; two ore more groups esp. female and male students, combining for a party
[2] In one of my classes, we were shown a documentary about the brain and its various functions and dysfunctions. It was painful to watch when it got to narcolepsy.
[3] Describes someone that has a preference for older men or women.
[4] "Cut the crap!"
[5] the word means to "ascend." However, among criminals, this word is used to mean "cat burglars."
[6] the word means "weather criminal." What they call a look out, that keeps an "eye on the sky" while his buddies do a break in.
[7] the word means, roughly, "helping hand," and basically, it refers to those type of robbers that stalk night time streets and bars looking for inebriated individuals. They offer to help them get back home, and all the while, stealing from the drunken individual.
[8] the thing about yakuza language is that it's unique onto itself. It's very different from the standard Japanese language, and one aspect among many that make it so, is the fact that the 'r' are rolled. Ordinarily, you just tap the "r" briefly; they make it longer. I don't know if you've noticed, but in the drama, when any of Yankumi's henchmen talk, they extend the 'r.'
[9] "at a moment's notice." It's criminal slang for a sharp little knife that can be used for all type of thieving, not to mention being handy as a weapon of defense in a "moment's notice."
[10] Eight o'clock for us that use the 12 hour system.
[11] The actress that plays Fujiyama…I couldn't help it!
[12] A type of brothel in which prostitutes engage clients in non-penetrative sex by covering them in personal lubricant and massage them to orgasm with the prostitutes body. Most of the clubs are visited by male clients; however, there are a few that are specifically for female clients.
[13] This is not a reflection on Matsumoto Jun's many talents.
[14] Anime music.