Hey there everyone!! This is my new story, though I haven't given up on my otherI've been watching Gokusen a lot lately and have been inspired to write this fanfic. I have no idea how long it is going to be, but I can promise you it will be good. Well, it is a ShinKumi fic with UchiOC later on, but a bit of ShinOC. Don't let that sway you, I am a dedicated ShinKumi lover.

I hope everyone enjoys the first installment. Read and Review!!!

It's been a while...since the last time I saw your smile

It's been a while...since the last time I heard you laugh

It's been a while...since the last time I breathed in your perfume

It's been a while...since the last time I touched your hand

It's been a while...since the last time I tasted you lips

Sawada Shin, quiet and revered member of the former class 3-D, sat at the table of a café, sipping his coffee, mind muddled by thoughts. It has been a while since he has stepped foot in Japan, having been overseas for the past 3 years. Why is he back? Well, Natsume contacted him with good news. Shin's little sister was going to be a mother. He had missed her wedding, but got plenty of pictures of the ceremony, courtesy of his mother and Yankumi.

Yankumi…..Yamaguchi Kumiko, the homeroom teacher of his class. She was an odd thing. When she taught his friends and him at Shirokin Gakuen, she always wore some type of track suit, had her hair in pigtails, and wore dorky glasses. Everyone made fun of her at first, but began to warm up as time passed by. If it wasn't for her, their class would have never graduated. Before any of them had realized, Yankumi became a confidant, a companion….a friend to each. She saved them all in their time of need, rescuing them from violent situations, and giving those speeches about friends and loyalty that made them think.

As said, if it wasn't for Yankumi, where would they all be? Uchi now had his contracting license, as he had wanted, and worked at one of the best construction companies in the country. Noda became a fashion designer, making clothes for the best models in the business, and on occasion, his friends. Kuma kept his word and turned his late father's ramen shop into a Chinese restaurant. Business was so well that he was able to move his family and the restaurant to a larger building. Minami is currently in college, pursuing a degree in accounting, thanks to Yankumi's great influence.

Yankumi….Shin hasn't seen her since the day he left. He could remember how she chased after him at the airport. After he had said goodbye to everyone, he began to walk towards the gate……

"Sawada!!!! Shin, wait!!!"

Shin stopped walking and turned around, only to be knocked down to the ground by Yankumi.

"Yan…ku…mi…" he stuttered as he realized she was crying into his shirt.

"Shin, good luck over there and be careful. We'll miss you, you know?"

"I know."

Yankumi slowly got off of Shin and sat beside him….in the middle of a busy airport. He rubbed his back as he stood up, reaching a hand out to Yankumi who readily accepted it. Still holding hands, they watched each other, subconsciously memorizing everything.

"I'll come back…eventually."

"When?"

"Don't know."

"Well, when you do, give me a call and I'll have Minoru and Tetsu whip up a welcome back dinner for you."

"Sounds good." He assured her, a smile resting on his face.

"Take care Shin." Yankumi sniffled, hugging him to her tightly.

"You too, Kumiko."

As Shin pulled away, he contemplated something. One of the main reasons he wants to leave is so that he could get over this infatuation with the woman in front of him. She had consumed his thoughts for quite a while and he can never seem to get her off his mind. He loved her, he knew that, but she was in love with Shinohara-sensei. Even if that was so, he wouldn't be able to leave without doing one thing. As Yankumi smiled up at him, eyes tight and mouth so tempting, Shin leaned in and stole a kiss.

To say that Yankumi was surprised by that was an understatement. As his lips brushed against hers, something erupted in her chest. A fluttery feeling came over her, causing her now wide eyes to flutter close and her lips to push back against his. Now it was Shin's turn to be surprised. The two shared a simple yet satisfying kiss at the gate with the others watching flabbergasted.

"Last call for flight 341 to Africa, last call for flight 341."

Shin pulled back, satisfied yet sad. Yankumi tried to hold back her tears as best she could and smiled softly up at Shin.

"See you soon."

"And you too, Kumiko."

And Shin gave her one last kiss before turning away and walking though the gate.

Thinking back on that made Shin smile, he had missed her while he was away. As the saying goes "Distance makes the heart grow fonder," that was definitely how it was in his case. Despite being away for 3 years, he still loved her….and silently hoped that she felt the same. He knew that nothing came out of the relationship between Yankumi and Shinohara. They never went on the dates Yankumi dreamt of, never shared the fantasies she imagined, nothing. Shin knew it was because of him and the silent promise they made that day at the airport.

Taking a sip of his now cold coffee, Shin wondered how he was going to surprise her. The best idea he had was to show up at her house while she was still at work and be there waiting when she got home. He was looking forward to the look on her face when she would see him.

"Shin? Is that really you?" he heard to his right, the voice being that of a female.

Turning, he gazed at the person staring at him wide-eyed. She had thigh-length black hair streaked with pale pink and purple. Her eyes sparkled blueish-green, indicating that she wasn't one-hundred percent Japanese. A crescent shaped scar adorned her right cheek, just below the eye. The outfit she wore was a low-cut, sleeve-less, pale pink tee-shirt with black flares that hugged every curve. Glasses sat at the top of her head, reflecting the light of the café. Shin's eyes widened considerably when he recognized who she was.

"Mitsune?"

"So I was right, it is you. Well, your mother wasn't wrong when she said you were coming back."

"I thought you went to England?"

"I did, but came here to see Natsume. I'm very sad you missed the wedding. It was beautiful."

"So you were the mysterious woman that mom kept snapping pictures of."

"That's me. How have you been?" She asked as she sat across from him.

Mitsune, childhood friend of Shin's and personal confidant. The two of them grew up together, her mother being the high school friends of his mother. Mitsune's mother is half-Japanese and half-Irish, and her father is half-Japanese, half-English. How they ended up together, Mitsune would never know because they had died when she was only 4. Her mother's younger sister adopted Mitsune and that is how she met Shin. Hinata, her aunt, was next door neighbors with the Sawadas.

When she was younger, she would visit Hinata and play with Shin, the two of them stuck together like glue. After her parents' death, Shin became like a brother, protecting her and comforting her when ever she needed. They attended primary school and junior high together, but were separated when Shin went to Shirokin. The year before Yankumi came to Shirokin, Hinata died. Mitsune was still a minor so she needed a guardian.

The officials asked her paternal grandfather to take guardianship of her. He did so immediately. Mitsune loved her grandfather and was happy to be able to live with him, but was saddened by the death of her aunt and fact that she was to be separated from Shin. The day before she left, she spent as much time with Shin as she could, her grandfather having told her they would be leaving for England soon in order to see her late grandmother's sister who was on her deathbed.

They fought that last night together, a fight so brutal it left a rift between them. They were 16 at the time. Now, four years later, at the age of 20, they are reunited again.

"I've been fine, just got back from across seas. What about you?" he asked, interested in what she had been up to, as well.

"Did some traveling of my own. I went to quite a few countries with grandfather, lots of business associates throughout the world. When did your plane land? Neither Natsume nor your mother knew."

"About an hour ago. I just came here to calm myself before I went to see everyone. It has been 3 years."

"Well, for us, it's been 4 years since…that night."

"I'm sorry Mitsune." He reached across the table and gently took her hand. "I'm sorry we fought that night and haven't talked to each other. I don't know what happened. We were fine one minute and then started to bicker completely out of nowhere."

"I'm sorry too, Shin. I'll forgive you if you forgive me." She smiled at him, the smile reaching her eyes.

"Deal."

Just outside the café, a group of young men were walking by, talking adamantly about different things. The one in the lead suddenly stopped and pointed at the window. The one's behind him followed where his finger was pointing and saw Shin with a young woman laughing and holding hands. They were surprised. Hurriedly, they went into the café and confronted them.

"Shin!!" exclaimed the one in the front, a blonde, round young man in a red shirt.

"Kuma! Noda! Minami! Uchi! What are you guys doing here?" Shin demanded, releasing Mitsune's hand.

"We should be asking you that. We thought you were overseas."

"I got back an hour ago. I was about to go see you when I ran into someone."

Uchi eyed Shin for a moment before facing the young woman currently looking out the window. She didn't face them and tried to hide her face.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

"Baka." She mumbled, loud enough for all of them to hear.

"What did you call me?"

She turned around and gazed up at him, a large smile on her face.

"Nice to see ya, Uchi-kun."

"Mit…Mitsune."

"Ehhh!"

The boys all turned to face her, shocked to see that it really was her. Hopping up and out of her seat, Mitsune hugged them each in turn: Noda, Minami, Kuma, and, lastly, Uchi. Uchi swung her around, a smile on his face. In the short time that they had known each other, they became really close friends, almost as close as her and Shin, and Uchi harbored a secret crush on her.

"So, how are all of you?"

They friends conversed for a little more then an hour. Throughout the conversation, Mitsune kept hearing the name "Yankumi". She wondered who this Yankumi was and why the boys held her in such high revere.

"Who is this Yankumi? Why do you guys talk about her so much?"

"Well, she is our old homeroom teacher and Shin's girlfriend."

"She is not my girlfriend."

Okay…she is his lover."

"What? Knock it off guys." Shin blushed slightly and faced away from them.

"Oh really, and when can I meet this Yankumi? I want to see the girl who has taken hold of the heart of my Shin baby."

"Shin baby?" Noda asked, thinking the nickname odd.

"Don't ask." Shin muttered, glaring at Mitsune.

"I'll tell you guys another time." She whispered, smirking in Shin's direction.

"You know Shin, Yankumi still teaches at Shirokin. The new 3-D class is nowhere near as bad as ours, but they're a handful, according to her. Why don't we go pay her a visit?" Uchi recommended, winking at a giggling Mitsune.

"Sounds like a plan." Minami agreed, everyone nodding along.

"Why not?" Shin smiled, happy to be able to see Yankumi again.

Less then 20 minutes later, the former 3-D boys walked down the staircase towards their own room. They could hear the new class yelling and Yankumi trying to get their attention. Turning the handle, the five boys stepped in, Mitsune following right behind. Everyone went quiet and Yankumi faced the new ground. Her eyes widened considerably when she saw Shin.

"Shin! You're back!" She exclaimed, jumping at him and hugging him fiercely.

The entire class laughed at her antics and so did everyone in the group. Mitsune clung to Uchi's sleeve as she peered around at the class. Some of the boys were staring at her and the hungry look in their eyes made her slightly uncomfortable. Uchi noticed and placed his arm around her shoulders. Smiling up at him, she looked at Yankumi. As the teacher pulled back, Mitsune's jaw dropped.

"Miko-chan?!"

Yankumi turned at that nickname. Only one person calls her that and that person was the girl leaning against Uchi. Mitsune smiled, as did Yankumi and the two girls hugged each other, laughing and chatting at a million words a minute. The boys watched this, confusion growing in their minds.

"Sune-chan? What are you doing here? How do you know them?"

"Shin's my old friend and I knew the other's in high school. You're Yankumi? I wish they would have told me your full name, then I could have prepared myself."

"Wait a minute." Shin and Uchi said in unison. "How do you two know each other?"