Dance! Monkey, Dance!
CappuccettoRosso
Beta: None
Rating: PG
Universe: Drama
Pairing(s): None
Genre(s): Humor; Crack; General
Warning(s): None
Disclaimer: Gokusen in the intellectual property of Kozueko Morimoto, and its publisher Shueisha. The dramatized version is own by Nippon TV, and the movie version is own by Nippon TV, Toho Ltd and J-Storm. I am only borrowing the characters for my own amusement. No profit is being made in the publishing of this story.
Author's Note #1: Written for the CottonCandy_Bingo prompt: own bed.
AN #2: This story is understood to take place post-Season Three and post-Movie. Sawada Shin finally does his cameo, which he should have done, along with the other guys from Season One...*grumbles*
Also, the Elephant Song is not mine.
Summary: Sawatari made his own bed, now he has to lie in it. Or more like, wear it and sing it, while everyone watches...
Don't know about the people,
But all the scarecrows are crooked
-Issa
"A promise is a promise, Sawatari-Kouchou."
"Yes, but…"
"You're not backing out, are you, Sawatari-Kouchou?"
"No, of course, not, but…"
"You made a promise, and as a man, you have to honor it!"
"Yes, yes, I know, but…"
"I knew you were a coward."
"I know, but…what…?!" Sawatari did a double take. Yamaguchi continued to smirk at him. She crossed her arms and took a step forward.
She jutted her chin out. "You heard me. A real man wouldn't hesitate in honoring his word. But you…" She left the sentence hanging, but the message was clear.
…Coward…
Sawatari scowled furiously, his face twisting into an ugly expression. "Yamaguchi-sensei, you are treading on dangerous ground. I would remind you to whom you are speaking to."
Yamaguchi was far from intimidated, even as he matched her and took a menacing step forward. She raised an imperious eyebrow at him. "Well, then, if you do what you promised, I will humbly apologize for my forwardness and vow never to insinuate otherwise."
They fell into one of their usual staring contest; a silent battle of wills that usually left them with dry-eyes. The rest of their colleagues watched from the sidelines with only mild amusement. They were used to their antics.
"Fine," Sawatari said after a long pause. He nodded stiffly, even as he gathered himself for the challenge ahead. "I will do this, because…"
Sawatari looked up, trying to look majestic. He continued: "I am a man of my word."
Of course, that the cue for his sycophants, who immediately clapped.
"I knew you wouldn't back down," Yajima-sensei said earnestly.
"Kouchou-sensei is such an inspiration," Hatoyama-sensei said, with a little sniffle.
Sawatari nodded at them and then spun on a heel and left the room. Yamaguchi watched him leave and once out of the room, she squealed. "This is going to be great!"
"I still can't believe Sawatari-Kouchou agreed to do such a thing," Ayukawa-sensei said, a bemuse smile on her lips. Takano-sensei nodded fervently beside her.
"I know I wouldn't have done it," Takano-sensei added.
"I can't decide whether this is the bravest thing he's done, or the stupidest."
"Myself, I would go with funniest," Yamaguchi said cheerily. "Now, I'm going to get a proper vantage point." With that, she practically skipped out of the room. They watched her go, traded looks and ran after her.
"Wait, Yamaguchi-sensei!"
When they got outside of the main building, they were very much surprise to see, not only class 3-D gathered, but other young men no one other than Yamaguchi-sensei and Baba-sensei recognized.
"Oh! What are you guys doing here?" Yamaguchi asked, "You're not Akadou alumni."
Not only had both generation Akadou students come to see, but word had gotten around that her batch from both Kurogin and Shirokin had come, too. [1] Her current Akadou students were mixing with their sempai, and mostly getting congratulated for getting Sawatari to make an ass of himself.
Hayato scoffed. "Like we would miss out on Monkey-Man make a fool of himself."
"I brought my brand-spanking new camera," Noda said, holding up a professional looking camera.
Kazama waved a small camcorder around. "I'm recording the special moment for posterity, and to show it to anyone who couldn't make it."
Reita nodded toward the device. "Maybe you should put it up on YouTube, so everyone in Japan can see it."
"Good thinking, Kouhai."
"Thank you, Sempai."
"Bring out the monkey, Yankumi!" Kuma shouted from where he stood next to Sawada. Yamaguchi did a double take, seeing Sawada there. She smiled brightly, feeling oddly pleased to see him so obviously well. He nodded and she returned the gestured.
"He'll be out when he's ready," Yamaguchi said, answering Kuma's question. "Hopefully."
"Oh, I think he's coming out!" Takano-sensei suddenly squealed. The teachers quickly joined the students, both former and current, and watched with baited breath the front doors.
Yamaguchi found herself standing next to Sawada.
The doors opened and everyone leaned closer. Sawatari shuffled out and stood staring at them. There was a moment of silence as everyone stared, and then: a great cheer went up as everyone started jeering at the man.
"So, how did you trick him into dressing up like a monkey?" Sawada asked quietly, not looking away from Sawatari-sensei.
The man was dressed in a furry suit, with round little ears and long thin tail that was supposed to make him look like a monkey. There was a cute little hat on top and in his hands were a pair of cymbals. Sawatari had never looked more miserable. It was sweet.
"I made him an offer he couldn't refuse," Yamaguchi said mysteriously.
Sawada eyed her from the corner of his eyes. "You told him 3-D could do something seemingly impossible, and the idiot couldn't help himself, and immediately contradicted you. You slipped in the bet, the idiot fell for it, and you used that to spur your students on, since no one who knows Saruwatari would miss the chance to make him do something like this," he waved toward the spectacle that was the headmaster in a monkey suit. The man had begun striking the cymbals together and singing the Little Elephant song [2], though the lyrics were changed a bit. "So what was the bet based on? High scores on their English or Math final, or staying out of trouble for a whole semester?
"Why isn't he singing a monkey song instead?" Kuma asked idly.
"He doesn't know any," Yamaguchi answered absently. "That's the only song he remembers from his childhood, which is kinda sad, you know?" She stared up at Sawada, a little shocked. "And it was stay out of trouble for a whole semester. But, Sawada, how did you know that's what happened?"
Sawada sighed, sounding long suffering. "You two are too predictable. Now shut up and enjoy the show."
Yamaguchi blinked and turned back to hear the Kouchou singing:
"Little elephant, little elephant, who do you like best in the world? Well, I like 3-D best in the world~!"
[1] Class 3-D that came out in the third season was one class; the one in Gokusen: The Movie is a completely different one. Since both are still based in Akadou Gakuen, I considered them first and second generation Akadou Class 3-D
[2] The Little Elephant is a cute little rhyme that I found on the internet. I've changed a verse of the song for the purpose of this story. You can hear it [here]