By lunch time, news had spread throughout Kurogawa. The Young Master Red Lion had indeed returned; and even better, had taken up the role of Yondaime.

Yamaguchi Kumiko, better known as Yankumi to her students and Ojou to the people in Kurogawa; was returning from her conference when she noticed the excitement in town.

'I wonder what is happening?' she thought to herself. 'Oh, I know, they must be welcoming me back after my outstation trip! How lovely of them!'

She ran into the town square and greeted everyone happily. "Tadaima!"

"Ojou! Okaeri-nasai!" They greeted her spiritedly.

It was then that she noticed that drawings of lions had been put up all around the town square. A lion with a red mane, in fact. There were flags and banners and posters – every kind of decorations.

"Oh, how pretty! Who drew those?" She asked a local villager, Ayama.

"Everyone did! We are so happy that Young Master Red Lion is back, so we wanted to welcome him as well as to show him our support!"

"Young Master Red Lion?" Yankumi asked. "Who is that? Is he running for elections or something?"

"Ojou! You're so funny!" Ayama giggled. "I really shouldn't delay you any longer; you should go celebrate with Kuroda-sama and the Oedo family!"

"Hai. Ja ne!" Kumiko replied, thinking that Ayama meant that they were celebrating her return home.

"Tadaima!" She called out as she approached the Oedo compound. 'Oh? There seems to be a lot of shoes out here. Awww, has everyone come to celebrate my return?' she thought to herself, smiling happily.

'Eh, why didn't anyone respond when I said 'tadaima'? Normally at least Tetsu or Minoru will greet me at the door, even if Ojiisan is busy!' Yankumi entered the house and realized, with that volume of noise, no wonder no one heard her! 'The noise seems to be coming from the main meeting room. I wonder if they are throwing a party for me in there?'

It was weird, however, because the main meeting room was never used for informal occasions. Even formal meetings were rarely conducted in the main meeting room unless it was an induction ceremony or an inter-clan meeting.

She tiptoed to the door and tried to eavesdrop on what was going on inside. It wasn't an easy task, despite the high volume. Because everyone was shouting at the same time, it was difficult to actually catch a coherent phrase.

Suddenly, a group of men exited the room, begging leave from the rest of the occupants. Out of habit, Yankumi hid behind a pillar, as she used to when she was little.

"Trust Kuroda-sama to pick out the cream of the crop as his successor! The Yondaime looks as formidable as, if not more than Kuroda-sama!" The first man said.

"Hai, hai. I heard he was sent overseas for training for three years! To inherit the Oedo family is really no simple feat!" Said the second.

"I was a little sad when I heard that Ojou did not want to take over the family business at first, but now I think Oedo clan will flourish even more than before!"

Yankumi felt a mixture of emotions as she stood hidden in the shadows. Well, it definitely wasn't a welcoming party for her. But more importantly, a Yondaime?! Ojiisan never told her that he was going to appoint someone else as his new successor! Why didn't he at least mention it to her? She felt a little angry and hurt at the thought. Moreover, if the rumour was to be trusted, this had been at least three years in planning!

But on the other hand, this Yondaime seemed to be an impressive guy; based on what the guests were saying. And furthermore, now she would not have to feel guilty about not taking over the family business.

'Alright, think positive Kumiko! Let's go congratulate Ojiisan and pay respects to the new Yondaime!' With that in mind, she hurried upstairs to her room to change into a formal Yakuza outfit. She chose a black and white kimono with pink sakura petals falling down the sleeves. She also put on a layer of make-up, making sure that it wasn't too much. She had been quite embarrassed the last time Shinohara-sensei laughed at her.

She paused for a moment as she checked herself in the mirror. The last time she had dressed up like this was when she had to represent Ojiisan to meet with Tanukibara-kaichou and the Kakita clan leader. Shinohara-sensei, her crush at that time, had shown up later that night; and had completely failed to recognise her. But the next day, Sawada Shin had asked her if she was the 'lady gangster' that he bumped into.

'Ah, Sawada.' She reminisced. 'Somehow he always recognises me. And he always knows what I'm thinking.' She never mentioned anything so as not to show favouritism, but he was definitely her favourite student. 'I wonder how he's doing in Africa?' She mused to herself.

Yankumi made her way down to the main meeting room. The noise had grown considerably less, although there still seemed to be a few guests remaining.

She slid the door open and bowed to the group inside. She tried to spot the Yondaime from the corner of her eyes, but there were too many people crowding at the head table, blocking her view.

Once Kuroda spotted her, however, he smiled at her.

"Everyone, thank you very much for dropping by today. Soon we will host a formal inauguration ceremony for our Yondaime, all of you will of course be invited." Kuroda announced.

Knowing that it was a signal for them to leave, the men started excusing themselves. There was a flurry of movement as the crowd said their goodbyes to both the Kumichou and the Yondaime; as well as to her as Ojou.

Yankumi bade all of them goodbye, and was surprised to see that Ojiisan made a move to leave the room as well.

"Don't be too hard on him, Kumiko, I wouldn't have chose him if I thought he wasn't ready." With that, Kuroda left the room.

Yankumi cocked her head at his words. 'Why did Ojiisan say that? Of course I wouldn't question his judgment.'

She turned her head and met a most familiar pair of eyes, and then all hell broke loose.