A/N: I feel like I didn't write enough for this chapter, but I hope you all still like it. And thanks to Chuu112 for being the first to favourite my story! It really makes me happy to know that people like this :) I feel motivated to write more and more... but since I have school, the updates might slow down. These next chapters were already typed out, so I'm uploading them one a day. After that, I will need some time to get the rest of the story out to you guys.

Chapter 2: You Looked Great

While Sayuri and Sakura's new morning started off with moving in their belongings, the guys had a less than pleasant start.

"It didn't even look like he was coming after us. We probably could have stopped running when we ran into her," a disgruntled Hyuuga whined.

"I know she was cute," Tsucchi said with a grin. "But you've been complaining since last night. Get over it."

"She was totally my type!"

"Who was?" This came from Hayato as he and Ryu entered the classroom through the back door. "Did you get her number?" he asked in an excited voice. Ryu just rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair.

Giving Take, who wasn't even paying much attention to the conversation, a pointed look, "I didn't exactly get a chance..."

Ryu gave a small smirk and looked over at his best friend. "That makes two of you."

Hayato pouted. "I wasn't really going to make a move anyway. Her little sister was there." Tsucchi and Hyuuga were about to ask and comment about the coincidence but were interrupted by the door sliding harshly open.

Take stood up and called out Maki's name. He was met with a slap to the face. In front of all 3D and a newly arrived Yankumi, she called him weak and told him to never come near her again. After hearing about what had happened, it was Yankumi's turn to get upset.

"I can't help it," Take defended. "Working hard the normal way, I wasn't able to get her."

"Working hard? What did you work hard at? You left everything to others and didn't do anything yourself!" The math teacher yelled.

"It's useless even if I did!" Take was equally as heated. "I'm weak at fighting and don't have any guts. I couldn't help it if I used a few dirty tricks. If I didn't do anything cheap, she would never look at me!"

Thoroughly pissed, Yankumi punched him. "Don't kid yourself! Of course it's not okay to be cheap! Stop being so spoiled! You're not good because you're weak? That's not it, is it? What's important is not how strong you are," raising her fist to her heart. "But how strong your will is. Someone who can't even face his opponent face to face, don't fall in love with someone with half-hearted feelings!" Knowing that she was right but not wanting to admit it, Take got up and angrily ran out of class.

Yankumi turned to the rest of 3D and told them that the same went for them, whether they did it for a friend or not. Hayato and Ryu just sat blankly in their seats, worrying about Take. Things had changed so much over the years, and yet, some things didn't change at all. The rest of class carried on uneventfully.

By the time school ended, Sayuri and Sakura had already finished unloading their things and were making their way towards Kurogin. They should have done it before they left the house, but Sayuri didn't call Yankumi until they had almost reached the school.

"Ah, Yuri-chan. I'm actually busy right now, gomen."

"Doshita no? Is everything alright, Nee-san? Can I help?" Sayuri could tell by her voice that Yankumi was bothered.

"Daijobu, it's just something with my student. I can handle it," the pig-tailed woman assured. "I might be home a little late today, though."

"Wakarimashita. Call if you need anything."

"Arigatou. Ja," she didn't wait for a reply and hung up.

Sayuri explained what she was told to her imoto, "We should just grab something to eat at Kumai-san's then head home." They turned back to head to the ramen shop, but stopped short when they spotted Yankumi with a man. It was Kujo-sensei, and she was relating to him about what happened between Take and Maki. The sisters caught the last part of the conversation.

"Anno, Yamaguchi-sensei, can I ask you a favour?"

"Hai."

He continued, "Just to be safe, can you ask your student to give up on her completely?" Yankumi tensed slightly. "Sumimasen, I didn't want to say this, but I'm just worried about the students considering their age and all."

Still distressed, the female teacher replied, "Is that so?"

"Thank you."

Not really agreeing to help, "Then, I'll be leaving now. I have to go search for that idiot."

"Must be hard on you," Kujo-sensei said with no malice, which somehow made it worse.

"No, he's a helpless guy. I can't just leave him alone," Yankumi tried to defend. "Excuse me, then." With that, she rushed off to begin her search. Before the girls could let themselves fully take in what just happened, they caught something else.

"Hey! Aren't those Nee-san's students... and the guys that knocked us over last night?" Sakura called out as she pointed towards Ryu, Hayato, Tsucchi, and Hyuuga, who were running off to look for their friend. "You think this has to do with what Nee-san's dealing with?" She shot her older sister an inquisitive look.

"There's a guy missing from last night," Sayuri thought back to the incident and guessed who the unnamed face was. Take..., she thought to herself. He always stood out with his smaller frame and almost childlike looks.

"You're right. They're probably looking for him."

The girls gave each other knowing smiles and ran in the direction the others had headed towards. They checked out some hangout places and searched the parts of the city they knew for Take.

"Sumimasen," Sayuri whipped around and bowed. She had run into a group of boys that seemed to be in their late teens and early twenties. In most situations, it would usually be the girl that fell, but Sayuri had knocked down one of the younger guys.

"Oi!" he yelled from the ground, and his friends followed with shouts of their own.

"Sumimasen," Sakura bowed with her onee-chan. Their anger simmered once the girls lifted their heads. "Daijobu?"

The guy on the ground got up. To describe how he looked, you could say that he rivalled Ryu and Hayato. However, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the group. He nodded his head and made some grunting nose that was supposed to mean yes.

"Iie," one of his friends said while slinging an arm around his shoulder. "I think you hit him pretty hard... shouldn't you make it up to him?" The rest of the group snickered.

Sayuri's face went rigid. She was suppressing the instinct to fire back some sarcastic remark. "It was an accident."

"Aw, c'mon. We're nice guys," a different one said as he walked towards the girls with open arms. "We don't mind young girls either," he grabbed Sakura's wrist. Sayuri was about to punch the guy that was holding onto her little sister when the first one spoke up.

"This is stupid," he said with a bored sigh. He had his hands in his pockets and was turning to walk away. "Let's go."

The others frowned slightly but all followed after whistling, winking, and blowing kisses at the girls. Sakura had to hold onto the older girl to keep her from pouncing on the losers. Once they were out of sight, though, the girls continued their search. They wandered around the downtown area. As they turned a street corner, Take ran past them in the opposite direction.

Yankumi was standing a few yards back and yelling, "Takeda! Come to school tomorrow! Everyone's waiting!"

"Nee-san...," Sayuri said softly as she and Sakura stepped forward.

"You guys...,"the surprised teacher answered in the same tone. While walking home, they explained their run-ins with her students, the conversation they heard, and how they figured out the basics of the problem. Yankumi filled them in on the details of what happened from yesterday to just now.

"Baka...," was all the girls could say.

"Maybe he just didn't want to start something," Sakura suggested. Take had also walked into his own group of troublemakers. No one spoke of the other situation because they all knew he was in the wrong.

"It's not like I wanted him to fight those guys," the older woman said. "It's just..."

"There's a difference between being too scared to fight and knowing when not to fight," Sayuri finished explaining for her.

'That idiot,' Sayuri thought. 'When will he learn?'

That night, Yankumi told the same story to her ojii-chan while seeking comfort and guidance, which she got from the wise old man.

"He has a weak will, but he's really kind," she said thoughtfully.

"Then, he'll be fine." Seeing the confused look on Yankumi's face, the yakuza boss elaborated, "He should be able to turn his kindness into strength." Wakamatsu and Sayuri looked on at the scene of grandfather and granddaughter warmly.

"Nee-san will get through this," the girl whispered confidently. Wakamatsu smiled and patted her head. "She can be a little clumsy sometimes, but she always pulls through when it matters. She'll be able to help him."

"It's late, and you have school tomorrow. Get some rest," was all her otou-san said.

In the morning, Sayuri headed out with Yankumi. Sakura had to take the bus to get to her school, so she went on her own. The Oedo heir was uncharacteristically quiet during the walk. She was still worrying about Take. Sayuri welcomed the silence, though. She knew that she couldn't give out advice like Ojii-san.

The school day didn't hold much interest for anyone. The only things worth mentioning were that Take still hadn't come back and that Sayuri was placed in Kujo-sensei's homeroom. She hadn't really formed an opinion of the male teacher yet and decided that despite not liking what he requested yesterday, she should probably give him a chance. After all, he couldn't be so bad if Nee-san liked him, right?

"Everyone, this is Wakamatsu Sayuri. She just transferred here from Yokohama. I know it's a little late in the year, but she'll be in this class starting today," the teacher said cheerily.

"Please take care of me," Sayuri bowed.

Kujo-sensei smiled, "There's an empty desk by Mizushima. That's your seat." He pointed to a space by the window. Sayuri instantly recognized the girl from the other night, and from what she was told, she guessed that this was Take's Maki.

"Ohayo. I'm Mizushima Maki. Nice to meet you, Yuri-chan."

Sayuri smiled at her friendliness. She could tell why someone would like this girl. "Nice to meet you, Maki-chan."

The two girls talked and became friends fairly quickly. When Sayuri got a call from Yankumi telling her not to wait and go home first, Maki told her to come visit her at work.

"The principal asked me to meet him after school. He's probably going to lecture me about the rules of this place," both girls laughed at this. "I can drop by when I'm done, though." Sayuri had guessed that the 3D teacher was going to look for Take again, so she thought it would be a good idea to at least check where Maki worked. They promised to meet up and parted ways.

The talk with the principal hadn't really lasted as long as Sayuri anticipated, so she had rushed and almost caught up to Maki. Seeing Kujo-sensei, however, she hid herself and eavesdropped on the two.

"Mizushima, it's about the Kurogin student," he started.

"I don't want to talk about that."

"I asked his homeroom teacher so...," he was interrupted by an exasperated Maki.

"I don't care anymore." She said it as she turned around, and Sayuri had to quickly duck behind a tree to remain undetected. She turned back around and kept going.

"Mizushima, wait."

Just then, an enraged Yankumi flew out of the Zest Cantina with Ryu and Hayato close on her heels. Tsucchi and Hyuuga trailed behind saying something about how the guy was a really strong boxer and Take didn't have a chance.

Hearing Tsucchi and Hyuuga's comments, Maki paled, "Don't tell me." She ran after them with Kujo-sensei following her. Sayuri followed suit still unnoticed.

Everyone stopped at the riverside, where they saw the sight of Take being beat up. Yankumi wouldn't let the others jump in stating that this was his fight.

"Doshite? I told him never to approach me again," a dumbfounded Maki said.

Frustrated for his friend, Ryu exclaimed, "Why don't you understand? He's doing it for you."

Even more confused, "For me?"

"Takeda is fighting for you," Yankumi followed up. "He's trying to protect you."

Ryu continued, "Take couldn't forgive him for deceiving you and wanted that guy to cut ties with you. That's why he took on this challenge."

"Deceiving me?"

"He has other girlfriends beside you," Hayato told her.

"Even though there's no way Take would win against that strong guy," Tsucchi said.

"This is about his limit," Hyuuga added. They all watched on as he fell but still refused to give up. The cocky weasel kept taunting him and throwing punches. When he was about to deal the final blow, Yankumi finally stepped in. She easily blocked his fist, made him back off, and caught Take as he fell.

"I couldn't win," the beaten boy said in an almost anguished way.

"You did well. You looked great," his homeroom teacher assured him with a smile. "Sorry for hitting you yesterday."

"Yankumi," he grinned.

The guys rushed to Take's side while their homeroom teacher got fired up by the blockhead's comment about her having weak students. "He took on a challenge that he had no chance of winning for the girl he likes. Which part of him is weak? Even though he's not a strong fighter, he did his best and didn't run. His will is really strong! He's much stronger than you!"

Hearing Yankumi's impassioned speech, Maki stepped forward past the college idiot and in front of Take. She handed him her handkerchief, "Daijobu?"

Smiling like a dork through his injuries, he took it, "Maki-chan."

"Gomen ne." Take shook his head telling her he was alright. His friends took this as an okay to tease him.

Sayuri had watched the whole thing, at first, with unease. Now she was grinning wholeheartedly at the scene. After hearing Kujo-sensei say that he wanted to support the two students also, she turned her attention to the brute that was stalking away.

Deciding that there was nothing left to see here, Sayuri followed him. She told herself that it would be wrong to let him walk away like nothing happened. Her sense of justice wouldn't allow him to go unpunished.

"Anno...," she called out. "I just moved here and need help moving my things." She bit down on her lip and acted innocently dense. "You look strong..." It took all Sayuri had to keep from rolling her eyes at the conceited look the jerk got.

Guys were guys, though, and her plan went without hitch. Once she had lured him into an alley way using the 'assets' she inherited from her mother, she proceeded to hand his ass to him using the fighting ability she got from her father. Like when she was little, people often underestimated Sayuri's strength due to her looks. Although she wasn't on the same level as Yankumi, she had no problem fending for herself. The years have also only helped her improve.

With a huff, Sayuri stood up straight and brushed her bangs out of her face. "Who's the weak one now?" She hadn't roughed him up enough to cause any serious injuries, but he wasn't any better off than Take. It was enough to hurt his pride and scare him a little, too.

"Who...," the guy had a lot of questions. Who was she? What did she want? Why was she doing this?

Sayuri glared down at the punk and smirked. She didn't feel like explaining everything to him. "Guys like you have no right to go around judging others." And just like that, she turned around and went home.