Well hello there, Gokusen fandom. This is drama series 2, rare enough without splitting Akame up. But I hope you like it. If I don't get at least a couple reviews, I'll take it as a no-go and won't continue posting this here. So if you like it, please do review.

Summary: Ryu has trouble hiding something from Hayato. More specifically, he has trouble hiding his crush on Takeda.

The Protector

Takeda had that annoyingly cute way of saying Hayato that made Ryu jealous that his name wasn't long enough to be drawn out the same way. Takeda was just annoyingly cute, with his bleached hair done up with pins or hair bands, his small frame, even the way he cocked his head and smiled was cute! How, how could a boy (a class 3-D boy, mind you!) be so unbearably cute?

"Ne, Ryu, Ha-ya-to! Let's go to the arcade!" Takeda suggested to the leaders of their group. He squeezed between them and threw an arm over each one's shoulders. He was short enough that the other two had been pulled downward to accommodate for his height. Takeda wasn't extremely heavy, but the extra weight was uncomfortable on the neck.

"Alright, alright Take," Hayato said with a grin, "Now will you let go? You're breaking my neck."

The shorter boy did did, so the taller two could straighten out their backs. He skipped ahead of them, the tan purse hanging from his belt loops flopping against the back of his leg. Ryu shook his head and grinned at Takeda's immaturity. "Ne, Tsucchi! Hyuuga! I want a turn on the bicycle!" He chased after their two other friends, who wobbly doubled on a borrowed bicycle. Hyuuga stood on the foot bars and playfully swatted at Takeda, off-putting the balance even further.

"Stop it!" Tsuchiya said, looking over his shoulder. "We're going to—"

They crashed. Right into a lamp post. "I'm sorry!" Takeda apologized profusely. "Are you okay?"

"I've felt worse," Tsuchiya groaned. "Hyuuga, get your fat ass off of me." Ryu and Hayato rushed forth to help them put the bicycle upright.

"Sho's going to be mad we dented it," Hayato pointed out. "He was reluctant to let us borrow it in the first place."

"If borrowing is the word," Ryu muttered.

"Well, well, well," a deep voice said behind them. They turned to see a blue clad Ara High student. Five of them. "If it isn't kids from Kurogin 3-D. How are you doing, Yabuki? Odagiri?"

"Shibuya? Get lost," Ryu snarled. "We beat you last time. Care for another beating?"

"Ha," the Ara High punk laughed. "Last I checked, the score was in our favor. Twenty to ten or something like that?"

"You wish!" Hayato scoffed. "You want to settle the score right here, right now?" He cracked his knuckles in his fist. Tsuchiya and Hyuga jumped up off the ground, and each picked out an Ara High student to face head to head. Takeda gulped as he stood in front of a taller boy; Ryu clapped his hand on Takeda's shoulder and pushed him slightly behind.

"Nah, right here's not climactic enough," the leader replied. "Come to our gym tomorrow at four. Or do you not want us to smash your pretty faces?"

"We'll be there," Hayato snarled before Shibuya even finished. "Right Ryu?"

"Right." Ryu made a small motion with his head. "Let's go."

As the five of them walked away, the Ara high students jeered behind them.

"This situation with Ara has been getting worse and worse," Hayato complained to his friends later on. He picked up his cue and aimed it at the shooter ball. "It's been dragging long enough. We should wrap it up before graduation this year."

"Yeah," Ryu agreed with a brief nod. He glanced at Takeda, who nervously rubbed cue chalk on the tip of his own cue. He was still a little pale, Ryu noticed, and his eyes were shifty and distracted.

"Well," Tsuchiya pronounced loudly. "We should be off to take back Sho's bike. We'll see you tomorrow."

"And we'll beat those Ara High bastards," Hyuuga added, mock saluting Ryu and Hayato. "Bye bye!"

The other three stayed to shoot pool for another half hour or so. "Take," Hayato began. "You're turn."

"What? Oh." Takeda snapped out of his thoughts and took a shot, sinking the black number eight ball into a corner pocket.

"It's not the end of the game yet!" Hayato sighed exasperatedly. "Look, we've still got two solids and one stripe left!" He pointed a finger at the offending balls.

"… Sorry," Takeda muttered, yawning and pushing the heel of his palm at his eye. "I'm a little tired."

"Let's go home," Ryu suggested. "It's late for a school night." He didn't need to look to see the relieved look on Takeda's face; he never would have suggested it himself.

Hayato stretched his hands upwards. "It is late, huh. Fine, let's get out of here."

It kind of reminded Ryu of junior high school days, before they met Tsuchiya and Hyuuga, and Takeda had started becoming closer friends with him and Hayato. Even back then the two of them were close friends, but Takeda wasn't an unwelcome addition to their group. He had a way of making things more entertaining. Or wasn't it that he started out as Ryu and Hayato's gofer? Either way, it didn't matter, not now.

At the fork in the road where Ryu usually turned right, he stuck around with Takeda and Hayato and walked them to their respective apartment buildings. After Hayato bid them good night, Ryu and Takeda walked the rest of the way to Takeda's building in relative silence.

Then Ryu asked, "Are you worried?"

Takeda whipped his head towards the other boy. "Of course I'm not!" he scoffed. "Why would I be? I mean, class 3-D has some of the best fighters in town! We have you, we have Hayato…"

Ryu didn't want to press it. "Okay well, good night. If I don't get home soon, my dad's going to kill me, so…"

As he turned to leave, Takeda reached out and pulled Ryu's jacket. "Ryu," his voice quavered. "I am worried. I'm scared, I'm petrified." Ryu turned again to face Takeda as the bleached blond boy continued his rant. "I mean, look at me! I'm small and weak and puny. And you know, the head teacher has been threatening us with expulsion so much! I don't want to be expelled, Ryu. My mom didn't even think I'd make it to where I am, but now we're so close to graduating. I don't want you to be expelled either. Or Hayato or Tsucchi or Hyuuga!"

By now, tears were welling in his eyes and he was shaking. Without a thought, Ryu reached out and pulled Takeda closer to him, so that Takeda was pressed with his arms trapped between his own body and Ryu's. Takeda couldn't move except to bury his face further in the other's jacket. Ryu felt overtly aware of the boy in his arms as he tilted his head down to whisper comfortingly (he hoped) in Takeda's ear. "Sh, Take. It's okay. Don't worry about it. Leave the problem to me."

Ryu didn't come to school the next day until lunch time. "It's over," he told Hayato when he came into the classroom.

"What's over?" Hayato asked, brow furrowing.

"Ara High." Ryu was more than aware of the whole class staring at him. Even the graffitied creatures sprayed on the classroom walls leered at him. "It's over. I bowed to them."

"What?" Hayato asked again. "What?" His voice raised even louder. He stood up and pushed his desk to the side in temper. He grabbed Ryu by his jacket and tossed him into the podium at the front of the room. "Why did you bow down to them?"

Ryu sighed and looked away. "Because a duel is stupid," he explained boredly. He walked away from Hayato.

"Stupid?" Hayato was incredulous. "Don't talk nonsense!" Then he grabbed Ryu by the shoulders and punched his face. As Ryu got to his feet, Takeda and Tsucchi and Hyuuga were in his face, telling him to stop, but he was so furious he just turned around and hit Hayato right back.

That day he was expelled.