A/N: Hontoni gomen! It's been too long since I've updated. It's just that my computer broke down, and I lost everything: stories, music, Gokusen episodes... I couldn't get homework done either. Things still aren't really worked out yet, so it'll be hard, but I will try to update more. The bright side to all this is that I got to write out some more chapters during my seclusion. I'll put those up soon. I'm also trying to get my other stories out, but I think I might do that after I've finished this one. I'm debating it…
Thank you, Chocolatpen! I'm working on getting chapters out sooner. I wasn't so sure if people would like this story, but I hope you like everything I have planned ^^
And to KuroYume: I'm so happy you liked it :D I was thinking about having more parts from their childhood, but I couldn't really find a way to add it and make it relevant to the story. I came up with some ideas, though. I still might do the drabbles like you said, but I think those will take a while to be uploaded. Gomenasai . (And you'll find out about Taro soon.)
Inferno Caeli: I love your enthusiasm! Thank you for reviewing. I'll try to update more.
Chapter 6: Parents Are Great
After all that happened yesterday, Ryu and Hayato went off to school guarded. They had no trouble believing that Yankumi had the type of background she had, but it was still a lot to take in. This didn't change how they would treat her at all; it just gave them some more things to think about. As the Oedo heiress entered the class, looks were exchanged between her and the two leaders. For the most part, however, school was normal. The math teacher was again over zealous about her students' future plans and brought in college info and job listings. The only thing that deviated from the standard routine was Hyuuga's absence. Hearing from the others that he was working during the day, making a lot of money and not going home either, Yankumi automatically assumed that he was "involved in some risky shit". Unfortunately, she had said the yakuza slang out loud. It proved to be fairly easy to fool the dense 3D, though. Ryu and Hayato could only sit back and look on at the stupidity of their teacher and classmates.
While that was happening with the guys, Sayuri was going through a similar situation. Kujo-sensei was also particularly keen on setting his students on the 'right track' today.
"Minna-san, I know that the majority of you have already decided on what you'll do after graduation, but there are still some who are undecided. So while the others keep studying for your entrance exams or whatever you need to do, I'll have talks out in the hall with these few and finalize your decisions," the male teacher smiled at them good-naturedly. Maki turned towards Sayuri and rolled her eyes. Kujo-sensei called some girl's name who they weren't all that familiar with. Once they left the room, Maki sighed and put her head on her desk, burying it in her arms.
"I can barely decide what I'm going to do after school," the muffled words came out. "How am I supposed to know for after graduation?" Sayuri smiled sympathetically.
"Daijobu, Maki-chan. You're not the only one." The girls turned their heads. The voice had come from someone else.
It was Yamamoto Aiko, their other friend. She was part of class 3A just like Sayuri and Maki, but that was the only similarity. She was a demure girl who looked younger than her actual age… the Take of the group. She was petite with black hair that reached just above her shoulders. Her eyes were doe-like and made you want to protect her. Aiko had been friends with Maki before Sayuri had arrived. She opened up to her with ease, though. It had become known for the four girls to stick together in school – Sayuri, Maki, Aiko, and Higuchi Naomi who was also present at the moment.
Naomi was like the other two girls in that she had a backbone, but that was sort of an understatement. She was hotheaded and rash. Her temper wasn't something to mess with. She had long, golden brown locks with blond highlights. Her features were sharp and gave her a mature look. She was the outgoing one of the bunch, always ready to have fun. Although she could be loud, she was really a caring girl. She knew when to quiet down and listen to others.
"Ne, Ai-chan is right. We're all a little lost," Naomi said thoughtfully.
"Didn't you say you were going into the medical field, Naomi-chan?" Maki light haired girl let out a deep breath.
"That's what my parents want, but I'm not so sure." Naomi's family came from a line of doctors. Great grandparents, grandparents, uncles, aunts - everyone was in some way affiliated with medicine.
"That's better than them opposing what you want," Sayuri said quietly. She had a profession in mind: a lawyer. She already decided. She wanted her own law firm and to become the Oedo family's private lawyer. Of course, her mother disapproved, and even Wakamatsu didn't seem too happy about it. "He probably doesn't want me involved with the okami," she said that last part to herself.
"Huh?" her three friends all exclaimed together. Sayuri broke from her daze and cursed under her breath. She was starting to pick up on the yakuza talk from the other members of the Oedo family.
"E-eto, I meant the police. My dad wouldn't want me involved in some risk- ah. I mean something dangerous...," she stopped herself before making the same mistake her nee-san had.
"That's true," Aiko said in understanding. Sayuri smiled nervously, but the others didn't catch it.
"You mentioned law, ne?" she had talked to Maki about this before, omitting the yakuza aspects. "You won't have a problem with your grades, and I'm sure you'll convince your parents somehow."
"And you talked about being a grade school teacher," Sayuri recalled. Maki had an undying affection and tolerance for toddlers. "I think that'd be good. Kids love you," she added with a smile, thinking of Take as one of those 'kids'.
"I agree with Yuri-chan," Naomi raised her hand. Aiko nodded her agreement. "There's that elementary school by your house, too. I'm sure you'd have a shot at getting a job there."
"Or that day care center," the smallest girl chimed in.
"What do you think?" Sayuri turned to Maki. It really only mattered how she felt about it.
"Hmmm, I think I'd like to be a teacher like Yamaguchi-sensei," the girl answered. "Her dedication to her students is truly amazing." Maki had grown to admire the pig-tailed woman ever since the whole incident with that college guy.
"You mean the one from Kurogin? 3D's teacher?" Naomi asked. Having their schools so close and 3D with their far spreading reputation, the girls knew much of their business.
"She's the one that's Yuri-chan's cousin, ne?" Aiko cocked her head. They had been told the same thing as Maki and everyone else.
"H-hai," was all Sayuri managed to get out. All this secret keeping was really starting to stress her out. She should have said they weren't related instead of lying that they were cousins. With her luck, though, she probably still would have been sucked into the charade somehow. "It's always been her dream. Her dad was a teacher, too. I guess she was just born for this job," she mused.
"If only we could all be so fortunate," Maki said with a sigh. Her friends followed with sighs of their own.
"Yamamoto," Kujo-sensei called out from the doorway. Aiko looked up and gave a sad smile. Naomi put on a comically serious expression. She raised her fist and mouthed 'ganbatte' as if the petite girl were going out into battle. Aiko playfully shook her head and went off to meet her homeroom teacher. The others sat back to await their turns.
"So...," Naomi started off. "What are you guys all doing after school?" She said it to tease Maki about her previous statement and also because she was curious.
"I actually have work," the short haired girl said. "But that's not until later."
Naomi nodded and turned to Sayuri. "I'm meeting up with friends," she said vaguely.
The two girls both had suggestive looks on their faces. "Guys?"
"Take and the others," Sayuri said knowing they'd simmer down. Maki was immune to 3D now, and Naomi wasn't scared of them. She held little interest for them at all.
"You guys are really close, ne?" Maki asked. Sayuri caught something in her tone, though.
"Are you... jealous?" she had to suppress her giggles when the other girl glared at her. Naomi was less than considerate and became the next victim of Maki's gaze. "You know we're childhood friends, Maki-chan. Besides, Take only likes you." Everyone knew that there was something going on between the two.
"I didn't say I was jealous," she replied curtly.
"Riiiiight," Sayuri and Naomi teased on. Maki frowned a bit but cracked a smile hearing her friends laugh so heartily.
"What about you Naomi-chan?" she asked. Sayuri stopped laughing and turned to the light haired girl who gave a huge grin.
"I have a date." Before either girl could ask, Naomi continued, "He's not amazingly good looking or anything, but I'd say he's pretty easy on the eyes. He's out of high school and two years older than me. I met him at my grandfather's hospital. He was being admitted for a dislocated shoulder. We talked a little, and he asked me out."
"Hontoni?" Maki smiled. "That's great! He must be a nice guy." That was the only explanation she could come up with for her friend to move this quick.
"Naomi-chan doesn't seem to go for nice guys," Sayuri stated. It was true. Naomi preferred what she called 'fun guys'. They weren't always the best choice of men. Even in the small amount of time she's known her, Sayuri could tell that. "Just be careful."
"Hai, Okaa-san," Naomi said jokingly. Maki laughed. They knew the black haired girl meant well, but sometimes, she worried too much. Sayuri stuck her tongue out at the others. Yeah, and sometimes, she was just a kid.
"You're late," Hayato stated dully as the door to Café de Rovne closed behind Sayuri. The meetings had taken a lot longer than anyone had expected. She was also the last one to go and the one with the most to talk about. Slowly, she made her way towards the others and plopped down in the seat in between Take and Tsucchi.
"Maybe you guys are just early," the dark headed girl retorted.
"We get out later than you. You're usually the one waiting for us anyway," Ryu countered. Sayuri pursed her lips. Two against one was totally unfair.
"Gomen," she said in tired voice. Hayato didn't register the defeat in her tone, though. To him, Sayuri's compliance was only because Ryu had spoken. He sat back in his seat and pouted. He was ignored for the most part. "There was something at school."
"Nani?" Take asked while taking a sip of his drink.
"Kujo-sensei being influenced by Nee-san way too much." The others all gave questioning looks. "He was going on about future plans. I had to stay after and talk it over with him," she explained.
"You still haven't decided yet?" Tsucchi asked genuinely surprised. "I thought Yankumi would have made sure about your future before ours."
"She knows she doesn't have to worry about me," the girl told them. "I don't go around causing half as much trouble as some people." She stuck her tongue out at them like she had with Maki and Naomi. If it were anyone else, the guys would have gotten upset, but they knew Sayuri didn't mean any harm by the comment.
"Well, you'll figure out something," Take assured her. Sayuri smiled back.
"I'm sure you have plenty of options. What does your family do?" Tsucchi questioned. He was thinking that she could follow in their footsteps.
"E-eh?" the Momo student bit down on her lip and glanced over at Ryu and Hayato for help. They suddenly found their shoes very interesting and refused to look up. She was struggling for an answer when Take spoke up.
"Ne, that reminds me. How's your mom? She should really meet up with mine sometime," he suggested. "They were so close before."
Sayuri's eyes dimmed. She put on a smile though, "She's fine. I'll tell her to call your mom if she ever visits." The others all looked up at her.
"What do you mean?" Tsucchi asked confused.
"My parents aren't... together," she tried to explain. "Sakura and I came here to live with our dad." She knew it wasn't likely, but Sayuri had hoped that they would all somehow find out that detail about her life and spare her the awkward explanation. She didn't like telling people something she rarely said to herself.
"That's why we didn't see her," Hayato whispered. Luckily, only Ryu, who was sitting beside him, heard. The dark haired leader was wondering why none of them knew about this. Even if Sayuri didn't say it herself, shouldn't they have heard it from their parents or something? His mom was especially close to Sayuri's when she was alive.
"Is that why you left?" Ryu directed towards the black haired girl. She took a deep breath and nodded her head, but she forgot that Ryu could read her like a book. "It's not the only reason, though."
"I said it was complicated, didn't I?" Sayuri smiled slightly in an attempt to keep the atmosphere light. It was obvious she wouldn't tell them anymore. She got up and walked over to the bar to place an order with the owner. The guys all sighed and went back to whatever it was they were doing before their friend arrived.
"Keeping secrets is bad for your health," the old man told her lowly. She stared up at him. "They're good guys. I'm sure you can tell them whatever it is you're hiding."
"It's -"
"Complicated?" the man chuckled. He went to the back to prepare her order, all the while shaking his head.
Sayuri scratched hers and let out a deep breath. 'He's probably right.' Just then, the bell to the cafe rang alerting a new customer. It was Hyuuga, who came strolling in fully decked out with new clothes and accessories. Sayuri cringed, 'Who would sell him that?'
"Oh, long time no see," Hyuuga waltzed toward his friends. "Doing good?"
It was Tsucchi who replied, but he didn't answer the question. "Hey, hey, what have you been doing?" It had been a while since they last talked to each other.
Take pointed to Hyuuga's attire, "What is that?"
"This?" the employed boy asked while fingering his gold chain. He moved to sit in the seat Sayuri had been sitting in a moment ago. "The owner told me your value won't increase unless you wear expensive clothes." The others didn't say anything regarding this statement.
"We were worried because you weren't coming to school," Take said seriously.
"You know, I'm really busy nowadays. A night job takes a lot of effort." This was the same attitude he had used when he told them he had a job. No one liked it any better this time around. "If I work hard at it, they might make me manager. The guy I'm learning from seems to be some big shot. Obviously, working under such a guy makes me want to work even harder." There was excitement in Hyuuga's voice, but everyone could hear the hint of superiority in it also.
"You're not doing some dangerous jobs, are you?" Hayato was uncharacteristically serious like Take.
"Nani? What're you saying?" Hyuuga half laughed and half scoffed. "You sound like Yankumi."
Ryu set down the drink in his hand. "We're just worried about you."
"How about worrying about yourselves?" his tone caught everyone off guard. "You guys still haven't decided your jobs yet, right?" Sayuri had the urge to punch him and tell him to stop being such a pompous ass. Someone else beat her to it, though.
Tsucchi quickly rose from his seat and slammed Hyuuga up against the banister. "Try saying it one more time," he yelled. Take got up and futilely tried to calm down the taller boy. "Stop being so arrogant!" He continued to ignore Take's attempts. "Work's so great?"
"Stop it already," Sayuri said calmly from the bar. He was too caught up, though.
"Why don't you stop this...," he said angrily. Finally, Hyuuga and Take were able to shake off Tsucchi's hold. Hyuuga brushed himself off like his clothes were dirtied. It reminded Hayato of elementary school when he and Ryu had fought Kirishima and Tanaka.
"I'm busy, so I'm gonna go now," his tone was still haughty. He slapped down some money on the table. "It's my treat today," and just like that, he turned and left.
"Hyuuga-kun!" Sayuri called.
"What the hell!" Tsucchi shouted. "That really makes me mad." Everyone was as equally pissed. They all huffed angrily.
Sayuri frowned. Everything was going so great before. She didn't want anything to disrupt the peace they had. She grabbed her bag and ran out. "I'll see you guys later," she shouted behind her. It was too quick for any of them to react. They could only watch her leave in slight confusion.
She didn't have to go far before she found Hyuuga. She ran up from behind him and tapped his shoulder. "Yo," she grinned. Hyuuga turned back with wide eyes.
"Yuri-chan? Where'd you come from?" Hyuuga questioned.
This made the girl falter a bit. She pointed in the direction they had both come in. "I was at Cafe de Rovne with the others. Didn't you see me?"
"Eh?" Hyuuga exclaimed. He chuckled a little and raised a hand to the back of his head. "Ah, gomen." This made him seem like his old self.
Sayuri giggled. "Wow, work must really be amazing. It got Hyuuga-kun to stop thinking about girls," she faux gasped.
The boy laughed, "Not completely. I don't think that's possible." They both started walking again.
"Are you going to work now?" Sayuri asked.
"Hm, but I need to pick something up at home first," he told her. She nodded her head.
"I'll come with you," the girl stated instead of asked. She skipped ahead as if she actually knew where she was going.
"Ah, there's not much for you to see... If you really want, you can just meet me at my work. I'll give you the address!" Hyuuga suggested. Sayuri turned around and tilted her head.
"Doshite? Can't I come to your house?" He was acting evasive about the whole thing.
"My mom might be there," he mumbled. This drew a laugh from Sayuri.
"Daijobu, parents like me," she said. Hyuuga still seemed to hesitate, though. Sayuri smiled slyly. "Iie, maybe I shouldn't go. It looks like Hyuuga-kun doesn't have experience with this sort of thing," she had to turn around so that he wouldn't see her smirk. "Gomen, I shouldn't have assumed."
Almost instantly, Hyuuga's chest puffed up, he gained a defensive air. "Tch, I - " he struggled for some comeback. "Yeah, you can come," he finally said.
"If you insist..." Sayuri grinned. Hyuuga's eyebrows knitted in confusion as he tried to figure out what went wrong in their conversation. He sighed and moved forward but quickly back tracked and almost walked right into Sayuri.
The boy cleared his throat awkwardly, "It's this way." He pointed in the opposite direction and laughed. The black haired girl playfully shook her head. They both continued on, keeping up light banter. Sayuri knew that pushing Hyuuga too far wouldn't be smart. You had to be gentle about certain things. Experience taught her that. They were making their way up the stairs to his house when she got serious.
"You know the guys were just worried about you back there," she said quietly. Hyuuga took in a deep breath and nodded. "They care. You all should really sit down and talk when you're calmer."
"I went a little out of line, ne?" Hyuuga said as he turned his key in the doorknob. His face told Sayuri that he really did regret what he said. She patted his back to tell him it was okay. They both entered the house.
"Kosuke," a voice called and made them both stop at the doorway.
"Nee-san," Sayuri whispered as the woman got up from her seat. She didn't harp on the fact long, though. She quickly turned to Hyuuga's mom and bowed her greetings. "Konnichiwa, I'm Hyuuga-kun's friend, Wakamatsu Sayuri." The older woman smiled at her.
"What are you doing here, Yankumi?" the Kurogin boy asked completely ignoring the other two.
"I came to speak to your mother because you seemed a little weird lately," his teacher explained.
"Huh? There's nothing weird. I have a job that's all," Hyuuga made his comment sound nonchalant.
His mother looked up, "Job?"
"You haven't told your mother yet?" Sayuri asked in a reproachful voice from beside the boy.
He still tried to play it off as nothing. "I was planning to tell her when it was official. And then I'm going to live on my own." At this, his mother whipped her head up.
"Hyuuga, why don't the three of us talk this through? And tell your mother about your work properly, too." Yankumi nodded her head at Sayuri giving her the sign to back out.
"That's too much trouble," Hyuuga said before the girl could open her mouth to take her leave.
The pig-tailed teacher ignored him, "Mrs. Hyuuga, if that's okay with you."
"You know," Hyuuga shouted angrily over the woman. "High school isn't mandatory. I'm over eighteen now. An adult. Parents have nothing to do with it anymore."
"They do," Yankumi said calmly.
"They don't," the 'adult' answered in child-like defiance.
His mother got up. "It's okay, I won't force you if you're unwilling." Hyuuga looked over at her and Sayuri could have sworn she saw disappointment in his face. He didn't want to get off so easy?
The yakuza heiress was losing patience. "Sit down," she told her student. She put her hand on Hyuuga's arm to guide him to the couch, "Talk to your mother."
He shook her hold off and shouted, "That's too annoying!"
Sayuri couldn't hold her tongue anymore. She struggled to keep her voice composed, "What do you mean? You have to tell your parents these things."
"Sensei," the woman pleaded with Yankumi to stop. She gave Sayuri a look that asked her to do the same.
Hyuuga rudely yelled, "I told you it's annoying! Don't interfere in everything I do." Sayuri's fist clenched as she felt the urge to punch her friend for the second time this day.
"Gomen," his mother nodded. "I know."
"Mrs. Hyuuga, you call yourself his mother?" Yankumi asked fed up. "Why are you trying to be so accommodating with your child? Whether he hates his home or school, it's a parent's job to make their child obey." Everyone bowed down their heads at her words. "When children are walking down the wrong path, shouldn't you go to any length to get him back on track?"
"You were the one who told me to decide my future," Hyuuga spoke up. "I'm trying to find a job and become independent," he turned to both women. "Don't complain now." Before anyone could say more, he turned and left.
"Hyuuga-kun!" Sayuri called out but was only met with a slamming door. She sighed and turned back to see his mother bowing her head.
"Sumimasen," she said. Both Yankumi and Sayuri assured her it wasn't her fault. She moved dejectedly back to her seat. "Children turn to adults when we're not looking. Not too long ago, he was following me around yelling, 'Okaa-san, Okaa-san.'" The other two frowned at this. Raising a kid sure is hard.
On arriving home, Yankumi did what she always did when she had student troubles: she consulted her grandfather. Only this time, Sayuri was with her.
"I can't believe he said his mother was annoying," the girl complained in frustration. She poured sake for them while they drank since she wasn't old enough.
"As if he became an adult all by himself," Yankumi continued for her. "Even if he gets a job while he's like that, we'd be worried." Sayuri nodded he head vigorously with a pout.
"Is it really true?" Kuroda asked in a patient voice. Both females looked at him with expressions that told him to go on. "Being eighteen is the borderline between adulthood and childhood. It's a difficult age," the old man turned to Sayuri and smiled. She looked down. "Your student is probably in the middle of finding out what he can and cannot do right now." The Momo high student unconsciously nodded her head in agreement. The Oedo boss grinned. "For now, he leaves his parents, goes into the world, deals with various people, messes up sometimes… Through this he gradually understands things. I think that's how people discover what they really want to do in life." Neither person said anything as they thought over what he said.
'We still worry, though,' Sayuri sighed to herself. She curled her legs towards her body and rested her chin on her knees. "Anno...," she began. "I think I'm serious about becoming a lawyer." Kuroda and Yankumi looked over at her. "I know that Otou-san and Okaa-san don't really like the idea of me getting involved with yakuza matters, but I'd like to be able to take care of the Oedo family's legal affairs... When I'm qualified that is."
"It's your choice. I'd personally be glad to have you," the third generation boss told the girl. She smiled gratefully at him.
"It'd be better for you if you could convince them, though," Yankumi voiced her opinion. "Don't you want their support in this?" She herself wouldn't have made it this far in her career without her grandfather's support.
Sayuri stared down at her feet. "I want a lot of things I can't have," she almost whispered. She got up suddenly. "I guess I'll just have to figure it out somehow." Her face showed determination. She turned and smiled at them, "I should go to bed; I have school in the morning. Oyasumi." With a polite bow, she went off.
Sayuri spaced out all day the next day. Her mind was preoccupied with everything that's been happening and all her own problems. Ojii-san's words from last night still rang in her ears. She didn't take part in the conversations with her friends and barely heard about how great Naomi's date had been. There was something about his friends being obnoxious, but her brain didn't let her fully process that. She made her way to the regular spot straight after school and got some time to herself before the guys came.
When they did come, they told her about what had happened in school. Yankumi had yelled at them after hearing about their fight with Hyuuga. She basically told them what she was told. Sayuri agreed with her but didn't think saying that would benefit anyone's mood. They all became pensive thinking about the situation.
"I wonder if Hyuuga-kun's going to stop coming to school," the sole girl asked from next to Ryu. They were now all around the foosball table.
"I understand what Yankumi's saying," Take said quietly. Sayuri looked up at him. He was always more understanding than most guys.
"Can't help it," Hayato exclaimed.
"Eh?" Sayuri said prodding him to explain.
"He's unable to see what's around him right away," he said in a knowing way.
Take smiled, "Right, and he hates to lose." Sayuri nodded her head while grinning at this.
Tsucchi leaned against the wall, "And yet, he forgets things right away." They all laughed at their friend who wasn't there.
"He said he was an apprentice, right?" Ryu suddenly asked. Sayuri answered him with an 'hm'. The others all turned towards his direction. "Isn't it strange that they're paying him so much for that?"
"Maybe night jobs have high pay," Take offered. Sayuri shook her head. She was pretty sure that that wasn't how it worked.
"Doshita no?" Hayato asked the silent boy.
Ryu answered skeptically, "It's too good to be true."
"You guys, no matter what you say, you're still worried about Hyuuga," a new voice stated happily. The guys all nodded their heads but whipped back to stare at Yankumi. Sayuri remained unfazed. She had known that the woman was there.
"Yankumi!" Take shouted.
"Why do you always show up so suddenly?" Tsucchi said slightly irritated.
His teacher ignored his question, "I feel a little at ease after hearing you guys say all that." Sayuri smiled. What did she expect? They were all friends. Nee-san must have to know what that means to these guys.
"Well, we don't want him to quit school," Hayato said backing up Sayuri's thoughts.
"We can't help it," Ryu added trying to sound indifferent. They were friends alright.
The group relocated to the only table in the cafe. Everyone sat down and drinks were ordered. They were about to reminisce of Hyuuga's less than glorious moments (there were quite a few) when Yankumi's phone rang. Hyuuga's mother had somehow followed him to his work place and was intent on bringing him back. Ryu heard the name of the joint, though. It was known to be a shady place involved in illegal gambling. This got the whole group up and out of their seats. They quickly made their way to Michael on Sumire Avenue.
'Baka,' Sayuri thought to herself. They had every right to be worried. This is what happened even after they worried. If they hadn't even bothered to care... She wouldn't let herself think like that. They all sped up.
When they got to the club, though, no one was waiting in front, and only one worker was inside. Sayuri didn't waste time. She grabbed the guy and got a location out of him. She ran ahead to the parking garage nearby with the others following right behind her.
"Get away from him!" she yelled once she had come to a stop. Three guys were beating up Hyuuga with that Tatsumi-san watching over. She could also see his mother on the ground not too far off. Yankumi moved to push the young girl back. Sayuri obliged but only by a foot.
"Yankumi...," the boy called out from the ground.
"We have that cute teacher now," Tatsumi walked forward with a cigarette in hand. He barely took barely took notice of the high schoolers behind the woman. All his lackeys laughed hearing that Yankumi was a teacher. It's always a stupid mistake to underestimate your opponent, though.
"Please return my precious student back to me," the pig tailed woman requested calmly.
The bar owner threw his cigarette down and stepped on it. "I'm just teaching this ignorant brat how strict this world is. I can't let him go yet," his tone had an ominous air to it, but it didn't succeed in scaring off the two females facing him.
"I agree that he's still a brat," Yankumi started. "But he's still thinking about his life in his own way." The Kurogin boys seriously listened to their teacher's words. "You guys have no right to trample on his feelings. It's because of people like you that a lot of kids walk the wrong path."
"Shut the hell up!" the three underlings shouted as they charged the woman. She took them out with ease. Although she wouldn't have needed the help, Sayuri cut in when one of the guys picked up an empty wine bottle. She twisted his arm and tossed the bottle into Tatsumi's hands.
"You still want to continue?" Sayuri asked in a bored voice. There was only one outcome to all this, and it wasn't in his favour.
Tatsumi smiled and walked away. The sleaze turned around, though, and went for an underhanded swing at Yankumi, but she was too quick and skilled for him. She dealt him a blow to the gut, and Sayuri opted to break the wine bottle with her bare hands to scare him for further measure. He slowly got up in a state of shock and with his men made a quick exit.
Everyone else immediately ran to Hyuuga's side. The guys helped the boy up, and his mother got out her handkerchief to wipe at his cuts. He shirked away from her, though.
"Don't come to a place like this," he said lowly. His voice got louder, "Don't try to act so lame!"
Sayuri angrily walked over to the boy and slapped him. She had been holding in too much. "What do you mean by lame? You're the lame one here! Who makes their parents do all this?" The girl was getting thoroughly pissed, but her words evoked guilt and emotion from the others. "You were able to grow up because you had parents that worried about you. You don't even understand that. You think you're independent? Don't act like you came this far by yourself!"
Yankumi stepped forward to calm the girl down. Sayuri huffed but quieted. "All parents struggle to raise their children properly," the woman continued the lecture. "Even though it's their own children, they can't recognize them at times. Even so, they do their best to try to raise them. You might make more mistakes in life from now on, but if you do, it's okay to start all over again. You guys have a lot of time." She then turned to the boy's mother. "Mrs. Hyuuga, please take him home," she said softly. "You will, ne? Because you're his mother." The older woman slowly walked over to her son and firmly grasped his arm. He tried to shake her off, but her hold was strong. Eventually, his shirks lost their force.
"Let's go home, Kosuke," she told him soothingly. "Let's go home." Hyuuga nodded his head in consent. His mom bowed and turned to help support him out of the garage.
"Hyuuga," Yankumi called out before they could leave. "See you at school tomorrow," she said cheerily. The boy's lips twitched upward.
Hayato made his signature bunny ears. "Don't be late."
"Make sure you come," Tsucchi added with a reprimanding finger.
Take waved cutely, "We'll be waiting." Both Sayuri and Ryu opted to just smile and wave at their friend.
"Yeah," Hyuuga breathed with a full out smile across his face. He waved back at the group and turned to go home with his mother.
"Parents are great," Sayuri said quietly with an adoring smile. The others were also grinning and didn't oppose her statement either. They all watched on as Hyuuga leaned against his mother and the two slowly disappeared.
"You were pretty cool back there," Sayuri said in a teasing tone to her nee-san. She nudged her on the side. They were currently walking home now. The math teacher had sent all her other students home not long after Hyuuga had left.
Instead of acting abashed like she would have under someone else's praise, Yankumi got over-confident. "I was, ne?" she asked while stroking her hair. The younger girl just laughed at this.
"This will probably be all over the headlines tomorrow," she predicted. They had actually called in an anonymous tip to the police station reporting the illegal gambling at the teacher nodded her head.
"But they won't know any of us were involved," she said happily. She loved the fact that her students would be getting off for this. There were no benefits in having their name linked to it. People would just unnecessarily blame them for things that weren't their fault. "Tadaima," she called out as they came into the entrance of the Oedo household. Sayuri followed behind her quietly.
"Nee-chan!" Sakura ran up to her older sister and hugged her. She only ever did that when she was bothered by something.
Sayuri's eyebrows came together. "Nani?" she asked in worry.
"Sayuri," a voice said in a manner full of authority.
The high school girl's head whipped up. She knew that voice. That voice wasn't supposed to be in Tokyo right now, though. "Okaa-san?"
I thought that it was time that I officially brought her into the story. Sorry, for the sort-of-cliff-hanger... Review please!