Chapter One
Mornings are never completely peaceful in a bustling metropolis such as Town K. However, there are places that come close within the city limits if one knows where to look. As early in the day as this, Park F is one such place. The gentle gurgle of its fountain; the smell of its freshly cut grass; the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees lining its pathways; all boasted of its vast tranquili-
"I'm late!"
The serene atmosphere was shattered by a young woman's alarmed shout as it echoed across the park. Others walking the park's paths comically paused midstride. Had this scene been in an anime rather than reality, all of their faces would be sporting sweat drops. As it was, they instead showed many a brief displeased frown. Causing such a commotion here was an undignified action to say the least. Disgruntled, they carried on their ways, shaking their heads over the insensitivity of others.
The woman responsible for the shout was herself currently careening down Park F's main thoroughfare at a frightening rate. Her twin black pigtails streamed out behind her like a banner as she expertly dodged her way around her fellow pedestrians. Had her actions not been reason enough, her appearance alone was the sort to make others stare as she passed by, but sadly not because of her beauty. She wore a bright red tracksuit with utmost pride, her long hair in a style suited for a young girl despite being three years past the age of twenty, no make-up, and a pair of thick bottle cap glasses to complete her distinctively odd look. No matter where she went she would assuredly stand out like a sore thumb. To describe her adequately with only one word: weird.
None of those she passed in her rush to get where she was going would have correctly guessed her profession. What sort of high school teacher dressed like that? Or said some of the distinctively not teacher appropriate words she was muttering under her breath? The truth would be thought ludicrous; simply impossible.
Today she was starting her new position at Kurogin High. It figured that she would be running late on so important of a day. She had wanted to make a good first impression on her first day. She had even forgone celebrating with her family last night in order to make sure she would get a good night of sleep in preparation of it. Though a certain someone, had had no such qualms despite having his university classes the next morning. When she got home from work this evening she was going to remind Minoru and Tetsu why they feared to train with her. Those two good-for-nothings had let her sleep in! Because the twosome had still been passed out from their exuberant overindulgence last night, they hadn't woken her up this morning in time for her to get properly ready like they were supposed to.
Her brown eyes flashed behind her glasses. All who knew her knew that look. Her past students were want to call it her "yakuza" look. It struck instinctive fear into the hearts of those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of it. Her anger spurring her onward she flew down the sidewalk toward her new high school, new class, and all of the new experiences they would bring.
In a manner typical of her, she stopped abruptly in the middle of a footbridge only a block or two away from her destination. The thought of her new class had distracted her from her thoughts of murder. Now her soul filled with enthusiasm. Together with her new class she was going to run toward the bright future in store for them. They would bond together; strive together; succeed together! One could almost hear the trumpets crescendo in the background as dramatic tears came to the corners of her eyes. Yamaguchi Kumiko was ready. Overcome with her enthusiasm, she ignored the fact she had stopped in the middle of a busy sidewalk and threw a fist in the air above her head, exclaiming loudly: "Fight-o!"
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Removed from the rest of Kurogin High School proper is a building few souls are brave enough to enter. Graffiti covered the walls of its hallways and strange noises echoed. The only class housed within, Kurogin High's infamous Class 3-D, was presently in an uproar. Not to say uproars were an uncommon occurrence for the notorious class. Honestly, they were rarely to be seen not in some form of uproar. However, today the students were behaving even more raucous. For today was the day they were supposed to finally meet their new homeroom teacher.
Rumors flew. Tanaka claimed to have overheard the Head Teacher boasting to his favorite flunky, the Japanese Language teacher Inazuka, that the new teacher of Class 3-D was a fierce man who was supposed to be an Eleventh Dan in Judo. Others loudly refuted him, saying instead that the Head Teacher was attempting a new tactic with them this time. They said the new teacher was decidedly of the female persuasion. Hadn't Misawa heard that while "passing by" the teacher's office that very morning? Whether they stood with Tanaka or Misawa, every single boy in the room paused a moment to dream of a "hottie" like Hitomi - sensei as their homeroom teacher. She would shamelessly seek to control their actions through arousing their teenage hormones.
At the back of the classroom, one boy stayed quiet while wearing an uncharacteristically serious expression that was in direct odds with the rest of his classmates varying degrees of eager anticipation. Yabuki Hayato was the unofficial leader of Class 3-D and he felt as if the weight of the world was resting solely on his shoulders. This seriousness didn't suit him. This was more in line with Ry- that one guy who's not to be metioned's personality than it was his. Yet, as the now sole leader of the class he guessed he had to do more of it. In typical "I'm a Member of Class 3-D" fashion, his uniform was out of school regulation. He leaned back in his seat in a careless manner as his brown eyes stared fixedly at the classroom door. Whatever sort of teacher this new one turned out to be, they were prepared to fight against them.
Bets had been placed on how long this teacher would last. Hyuuga had started that particular tradition after they sent their second replacement teacher packing. No one expected the new homeroom teacher to last long. None of the other teachers had. The most optimistic bet only had the teacher lasting a mere four days. His classmates were confident that this new one would be scared off quickly just like the others with limited effort on their part.
Then, abruptly all of their waiting was stopped with a bang as the classroom door slid open with a good deal more force than strictly necessary. The new homeroom teacher of Class 3-D stood before them. Hayato swore you could hear a pin drop in the first ever complete silence to fall over the class. He saw more than one of his classmates begin rubbing their eyes in a desperate attempt to clear their vision. This oddball could not possibly be…
"Good morning everyone! My name is Yamaguchi Kumiko and I will be your new homeroom teacher. Let's get along well!"
She looked like a kid herself. She had her hair in pigtails, dorky glasses that made her eyes look disproportioned to her face and a bright red jumpsuit with a white stripe down the side. She was short too, shorter by at least a head or more than most of Class 3-D. If not for the attendance book clasped close to her chest, he could easily mistake her for a high school student on her way to P.E. The situation was obviously ludicrous.
Hayato could barely keep his chin from dropping. It was his first time experiencing this sensation: he was felling utterly floored by a mere teacher. How did one react when they find out that their new teacher was some sort of escapee from a mental institution? Surely she wasn't in her right mind. No sane adult had ever entered their classroom and reacted with such maniacal, genuine cheer upon finding them inside.
"I promise you, that everyone here is going to reach graduation together!"
His chin lost the battle and dropped.
SIA NOTE:
Hello Everyone!
I know that I should have updated my Half Prince fan fiction (Half Serenity) instead, but I just couldn't help myself. Kumiko and Shin were demanding that I continue their story beyond The Restless Night. They wouldn't leave me alone until I had continued on. So, please, don't kill me everyone. I haven't abandoned Serenity. Promise.
Anywho, just to let everyone know this story is based off of the Mangaverse Canon rather than the Drama Canon. Now there may be some points of the Mangaverse that I changed a bit, but for the most part I'm going off the Mangaverse. I am changing her class 2-4 and 3-4 to 2-D and 3-D though. I like it better. Let's just write that off as artistic interpretation. ^^
So far I am doing my own editing for this story. Any mistakes you see are completely my own. However, if you let me know where those mistakes are, then I will happily fix them. :3
Thanks for reading,
SIA
Yakuza – For those of you who may not know this is the Japanese term for gangster in reference to Organized Crime like the Mafia or the Mob. Think The Godfather. XD
Park F (Fuchu-no-mori Park) – The park featured in the drama with the humongous fountain. The one that Yankumi and her students are so often seen running around in. It's a real place in Japan. Didn't want to use its proper name in the story, so I labeled it Park F. I figured that it fit right in with names like Town K. XD