Episode 10: Obtain happiness by your own hands!
After Yankumi reunite everyone and restore 3D's friendship, Yamato and Hinako's feelings start to change towards each other. Little did they know, they're about to become so much more than just friends…something much more…
One morning, Hinako was woken up by the sound of someone who was knocking at her front door. She slowly makes her way through her apartment and opened the door to see her friend, Izumi.
"Nani?" Hinako yawned.
"What are you doing still sleeping?! Hurry up and get dressed!" Izumi shouted as she showed her what time it was.
Hinako's eyes widened. She was going to be late for school. So, she ran back into her bedroom and got dressed in her school uniform and fix her hair. When she came out, Izumi was still standing there, just waiting for her.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"You bet." Hinako replied as she locked the door to her apartment.
The girls got to school right on time. Hinako sighed with relief as she plops onto her desk.
"I can't believe you overslept again! That's so unlike you, Hinako." Izumi said, sitting in her seat.
"Sorry, Izumi." Hinako smiled. "It won't happen again. I promise."
"All right…"
With that said, Izumi turned to the front while Hinako laid her chin on her desk and watched the 3-D boys goofing off and having fun just like every other day in Class 3-D, but then a fight broke out between Hosokawa and Ikeda. As they pushed each other, two boys ran out of the classroom to go get Yankumi. Kura and Honjo try to break the fight up. But, they couldn't.
"Stop!" Honjo shouted.
"Calm down you two!" Kura added.
Seconds later, Yankumi came running in along with the two boys.
"What are you guys up to?! Stop it! I said stop it!" Yankumi shouted as she easily pushed both the boys down, which surprised everyone else in class. "Geez, this early in the morning. What is it this time?"
"This guy ate all of my chips!" Hosokawa said.
"What?" Yankumi said.
"But only crumbs were left!" Ikeda replied.
"Are you kidding me?!" Hosokawa shouted. "The best part is when you pour all the crumbs from the bag into your mouth like this!"
"What are you guys…elementary school students?" Hinako mumbled as she facepalmed.
Yankumi sighed. "Okay everyone. Line up your chairs, desks and take your seats."
"Come to think to it!" Ren yelled out. "Why are you so strong?"
Everyone in class turned to Yankumi.
"Eh?" Yankumi's eyes widened.
"Yeah, yeah, why is that?" Ichi asked.
"Why do you ask this only now?" Yamato asked as he stretched.
"I've always wondered…" Kamiya mumbled.
"That was some crazy strength just now." Izumi commented.
"Before we knew it, it's like 'Yankumi = Strong'." Kura said.
"It sorta went unnoticed." Ren said.
"Then, let it be…" Yankumi whispered to herself so the boys wouldn't hear.
"Are you learning hand combat of some kind?" Ichi asked.
"Um…Since I love action movies, I sorta copied it." Yankumi stated as she punched the air.
"Is that it?" Kamiya asked.
Yankumi continued to explain her reasons. "Also…a little bit of self-defense techniques. You know, girls have to worry about perverts and such."
"Oh!" Everyone in class nodded as they understood.
Yankumi sighed with relief.
"But you know. Isn't that kinda pointless?" Yamato asked as he stood up.
"Yeah, right!" Ren agreed. "A pervert would never pick her!"
"She's not sexy!" Ichi added.
"No guys would ever target you!" Kura laughed.
Everyone in class laughed in agreement.
"I'm taking attendance!" Yankumi huffed.
As the rest of the class went back to playing around, Honjo lowered his voice to gathered around Izumi and the boys.
"Hey, hey, hey." Honjo whispered. "Yankumi is definitely hiding something."
"Yeah, she definitely is. Something's fishy." Kamiya added.
"By day a teacher, by night a masked wrestler." Kura said.
"Wanna investigate a bit?" Ren asked.
"What?"
"After school, let's follow her and find out the secret to her strength." Izumi added.
"Oh, I see!" Honjo smiled.
"Good." The rest of the boys smiled.
"Geez." Yamato snickered.
"Aren't you curious about her strength or where she learn to fight?" Hinako asked.
"Maybe."
As soon as school was over, the gang of eight began to follow Yankumi. They followed her by walking up some stairs. They almost got caught, but they didn't. Then, they saw her talking to a group of boxers right outside of a boxing gym.
"Boxing?" Ichi said.
"Is that why she's that strong?" Honjo said.
After talking to the boxers, she turned into the parking lot where they came from.
"This is amazing." Izumi said.
"Is she a regular?" Kura said.
When they peaked around, they see her putting a dog.
"Aw, Shouhei! You're so cute today!"
The group of eight almost fell over.
"What the heck is she doing?" Ichi asked.
"Is she Mutsugoro-san?!" Kura said.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow!" She got up and starts walking out of the parking lot.
The eight quickly pressed against the wall so she wouldn't see them. Once she walked by, they quickly relaxed.
"I guess boxing wasn't it." Hinako whispered.
"What was that about?" Kamiya said.
"Let's go." Ren said as he led the way.
They continued to walk after her. Suddenly she ran around a corner. They ran after her, but when they followed her around the corner, she was standing there glaring at the eight. They froze.
"What are you guys doing?" She asked.
The gang of eight look embarrassed because they got caught.
"Geez." Yankumi sighed. "Why are you guys following me?"
"What do you mean 'why'?" Yamato said.
"We just wanted to figure out the secret to your strength." Ren stated.
"Why would I have a secret…" Yankumi suddenly turned around and started mumbling to herself. "Oh no! If they followed me home…my secret would be exposed!"
"Eh? Did you say something?" Ichi asked.
She turned back around and then pointed to the sky. "A flying frog!"
"Frog?" The group of eight looked. When they didn't see anything, they turned back around, and Yankumi was gone. They looked to their right to see her running away from them. They run after her…but they lost her.
"We've lost her…" Hinako panted.
"Damn, she can run pretty fast." Izumi replied as she panted.
"Why are we chasing her anyway?" Yamato asked.
"Hey! What are you guys doing?" A voice said.
The eight turned to see Kumai-san coming towards them.
"Kumai-san!"
"Um…did you happen to see Yankumi?" Ichi asked.
"Uh, no. I didn't." He shook his head. "But her house is close by."
"Do you know where she lives?" Ren stepped forward with the others.
"Yeah, I do. But…"
The gang of eight smiled at each other. After getting the directions to Yankumi's house, they ran straight there. It was a beautiful house too.
"Excuse us!" They walked in.
"Alright!"
"Hey!"
They saw Yankumi and smiled.
"Welcome!" She gave us a small smile. "What's going on guys? So, you found this place."
With that said, Ren narrowed his eyes at her. "You made it tough on us because you ran away."
"Uh, no. I didn't run away from you." Yankumi thought for a second of what to say to them. "I was just jogging."
"Jogging?" Hinako said, looking puzzled.
"What the heck?" Yamato huffed.
"This place is amazing!" Ichi said, looking around.
"It's like back the Showa era!" Kura added.
"Your house is pretty interesting, Yankumi." Kamiya said.
"What does your family do?" Honjo asked.
"What…" Yankumi said as she looked taken back by that question.
As the girls looked around, they saw two men on the left side of the room. For some reason, they looked familiar to the two girls.
"Huh?" Izumi pointed to them. "Haven't I seen you somewhere?"
"Um…You must be mistaken." The taller one said.
"Ah! The takoyaki guys." Hinako remembered.
"Ah!" The boys looked in shock and surprised. Including Izumi.
Yankumi went up to the two men.
"That's right!" She said. "Our family have been takoyaki makers for generations. These two are employees. This is Tetsu-san and Minoru-san."
"Domo." The two men smiled weirdly.
"Domo." The eight teens gave a slight bow.
"So, that shop belongs to Yankumi's family." Ichi observed.
"Oh, it's really good." Kura smiled.
"Thank you."
"But why does that say 'Oedo Family'?" Honjo asked, pointing to things on the walls.
"Hey! We're home!" Two scary-looking men walked in behind the gang of eight, followed by an older man. Yamato pulled Hinako behind him, shoving her into Honjo and Kamiya. Ren did the same thing to Izumi by pulling her behind him, shoving her into Ichi and Kura. The older man looked at the eight then at Yankumi. "Guests?" He asked.
"Yeah…" She replied.
The gang of eight ended up sitting on their knees across from Yankumi, who reveals to be the 4th generation of the Oedo Family, her grandfather is the 3rd generation boss and Tetsu-san who is loyal to Yankumi. The eight teens gulped. Tetsu-san broke the silence.
"I have a favor to ask man to man." He glanced at the two girls. "And to woman. If the school finds out about our family, Ojou will be unable to continue working there. Can you guys hold this secret close to your hearts?" He bowed his head at the eight teens. "So, I'm begging you."
"Tetsu…" Yankumi said.
"We understand." Yamato said.
"Don't worry. It's doesn't involve us." Ren added.
"School would be boring without Yankumi." Izumi smiled. "Right, guys?"
"Yeah." The others nodded.
Yankumi's grandfather turned to Yankumi. "Kumiko, you have some good students here."
"Yup." She smiled at them.
They invited the eight to stay for dinner, and they couldn't say no to that. They even a hot spot. The eight teens sat on one side while the Oedo Familu sat on the other side of the table with Yankumi who is sitting on the end. Hinako sat in between Yamato and Ren while Izumi sat in between Ren and Honjo.
"Looks yummy!"
"Eat up everyone." Yankumi said. "You're welcome to seconds."
"Okay." Minoru said.
"Not you." Tetsu said as he hit him on the head.
"Sorry."
"Well…" Ren said, looking at the others.
The eight grabbed their chopsticks. "Thanks for the food!" They dug right in.
"Yummy!"
"I like the way you eat." Yankumi's grandfather said, smiling.
"But it was shocking, I never would've thought Yankumi's family is actually…" Kura stated.
"I know." Ichi added.
"When I was 7, I lost my parents in an accident. That's when my grandpa took me in." Yankumi explained.
"So, that's what happened." Yamato said.
"This has now become my precious home." Yankumi continued to speak. "Everyone is very dear to me more than my real family."
Everyone smiled at her, except for Minoru-san, who was still stuffing his mouth with meat.
"Minoru…All you do is eat meat!" Tetsu hit him on the head again.
"When Ojou's giving a heart-to-heart speech!" Wakamatsu-san said.
"You messed it up!" Sugawara-san added.
"There won't be any meat left though." Minoru said as he swallowed.
Tetsu-san hit him again, making the eight teens laugh. The rest of the time they just laughed with Yankumi's family, expect for Yamato, who sat there and watch them with a sad look on his face. Hinako noticed Yamato's sad face. Right after they finished dinner, they left.
"Yankumi's been through a lot." Hinako pointed out.
"Yeah, she has." Kamiya said.
"But it must be fun living at that house." Honjo added.
"Yeah." Yamato nodded slightly. "They really felt like a family, huh?"
Ren and Hinako looked at him with confused looks on their faces. He glanced at them.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, it's just unlike you." Ren commented.
"No, that's not true." Yamato replied, showing a sad smile.
"Hey, hey, hey. Wanna go to karaoke now?" Kura cheered.
"Yeah, good idea!" Ichi said.
"Yay! I love karaoke!" Izumi smiled.
"Sorry, I'm going home." Yamato said. "Bye, bye." He started walking away.
Hinako said bye to the others and she ran after Yamato. When she catch up to him, she grabbed his hand. "I thought you were going to walk me home. You didn't forget, did you?"
"Course not." He gave her a fake smile. But Hinako was too smart to fall for it.
"Is something wrong, Yamato?" Hinako asked as she frowned.
"No, nothing." He quickly replied. "Nothing is wrong."
"Are you hiding anything from us?" She asked.
"I'm not hiding anything."
"Don't lie to me. I can tell when boys are lying to me or not." Hinako stated. "Please look at me, Yamato!" Hinako shouted as she grabbed his shoulder, so he would look at her.
"Nothing is wrong, alright?!" Yamato shouted as he pulled her hand off his shoulder.
When he realized that he yelled at her, he sighed. "I'm sorry Hinako…I just need to get home." He said, calmly. "Can you walk the rest of the way home by yourself tonight?"
"Yeah, sure." Hinako replied as she bit her lip. "Yamato, if you want to talk to me about anything, you can let me know, ok?"
"I know…Ja ne…" Yamato smiled as he kissed her forehead.
"Ja ne."
Hinako watched him walk off. Once he was out of sight, she walked home. Later that night at her apartment, Hinako couldn't get to sleep. She tried and tried by tossing and turning, but the image of Yamato's sad-looking face wouldn't leave her mind. Suddenly there was a loud knock at her door. It woke her, and she got up in order to answer it.
'Who could that be at this hour?' Hinako thought as she slowly made her way towards the door.
She answered it and was surprised to see Yamato.
"Yamato, what are you…"
Without warning, Yamato grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. Wrapping his arms around her and tighten his grip, making the hug tight around her. Confused, Hinako tried to break the hug, but it only makes Yamato pulled her closer.
"I'm sorry if I woke you, I know it's late, but this was the only place that I could think of." He whispered in her ear. "Can I stay here for tonight?"
"Sure."
Hinako broke the hug and led him inside her apartment. She turned on the lights and sat him down at her low coffee table standing in front of the couch. Hinako brought him a glass of water and sat on the couch and covered herself with a blanket, waiting for him to talk. After a few minutes, Yamato broke the silence in the room.
"Have you seen any more blood lately?" Yamato asked. "I mean, after seeing that car accident the other night?"
Hinako raised her head and gazed at him deeply confused. "You were there too?" Hinako manage to ask, while at the very same time her mind started to wonder. 'How does Yamato know that?'
Yamato clapped his fingers close to her face in order to get her attention back on him. "Yes, I was. Also, I'm the one who found you in front of an alley where you fainted. I managed to get your address from your bag, the one that brought you back home, and placed you on the sofa." He pause to take his breath and went on speaking without holding anything back. "Also, I'm the one who unbuttoned your white shirt and covered you with the blanket." When he was done talking to her, silence entered the room again. Although he felt uneasy telling that he unbuttoned her shirt, it just sounded so wrong to him and makes him feel like he's a pervert…
It took a few seconds for Hinako to process what Yamato said to her. With her dark-brown eyes, wide-eyed looking around in disbelieve, that Yamato touched her somewhere, where he wasn't supposed to touch when she was unconscious. Instantly she stood up and walked over to Yamato, who was still sitting at the coffee table. Hinako raised her hand and slapped him in the face.
"Whatever the reason, you shouldn't touch a girl like that at all! Especially if she has fainted or is even asleep!" She voiced at him and sat back down on the couch pulling blanket around her.
Yamato's cheek was now bright red after Hinako slapped him good, and his face turned to the left remained like that for some time now. Hinako was caught by surprise and no idea how to response. She couldn't believe that she just slapped him right in the face. Hinako sighed as Yamato was still facing the window and not saying another word. She walked off for a bit, just to come back with some ice cubes in a bag and handing them to Yamato. "Here press this against your cheek. You don't want to have a hand print on your face at school tomorrow." Hinako tells him standing next to him waiting for him to take the bag with the ice-cubes.
Yamato turned and faced her. He felt his heart racing, not only he revealed that 'little' truth to her, but fearless Hinako was now scolding him on how he should act around a girl. He took the ice cubes and placed them against his cheek. "I'm sure that this hand print will disappear by tomorrow morning." Yamato honestly tells her. Hinako sat back down on the couch and nodded her head. Now the two of them were really confused. Until then, they were always fighting, arguing, and they were so pissed with each other. But now they have these new feelings for each other, that it was so hard to deal with. So hard to understand. And the long silent made them feel more uneasy.
"Hinako, can I ask you something?" Yamato asked.
"What is it?" Hinako looked at him, curiously.
"Where are your parents?" Yamato asked.
Hinako was a bit shocked by the question. But she answered it.
"I don't have parents anymore." Hinako replied. "They were both killed in a car accident. I was only twelve at that time and my big brother was fifteen. For the next few years, we were happy together. Hiroki enrolled in Akadou Academy and during his first year he became a delinquent legend who took over the whole school in one month. As for me, I became a fearsome delinquent myself during my years in middle school, I was capable of martial arts after being taught and trained by Hiroki. At some point when Hiroki became a senior at Akadou, he decided to quit fighting and start studying to become a teacher."
"I see." Yamato replied. "But that still doesn't explain why you're scared of blood."
Suddenly tears began to roll down her face, Yamato's eyes widened. Because that was the first time he ever saw Hinako having tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Yamato…can I talk about that another time? I promise you I will tell you everything until the time is right. Please…" Hinako begged him as she begin to cry again.
To that, Yamato knew she wasn't stupid, Hinako was far from that. She was fearless. But, she was also hurting and very lonely. But somehow her cool act and bravery made Yamato shiver for just a second. Without thinking, Yamato realized that he was sitting right next to Hinako on the couch. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. Wrapping both his arms around her, and tighten his grip, making the hug tight around her. Hinako was confused as she tries to break the hug, so she could speak, but it only made Yamato pull her even closer.
Without warning, Yamato cut her off with his lips. At first, Hinako was shocked by this, but then she slowly closed her eyes. Somehow, she could feel all the pain and anger that Yamato was holding inside his heart in that one little kiss. They broke for air and look at each other eye-to-eye.
"Stay with me?" Hinako asked.
"Yes, I'll take your pain away…and you can take my pain away…" He whispered in Hinako's ear.
"Sounds good…"
With that said, they hugged and kissed again. The hug never broke, Yamato was hugging her with all his might just like that all night, as Hinako rested her head against his chest. Both of them close their eyes and fell asleep. They didn't break the hug up until the very next morning.
That morning, neither Yamato or Hinako said much to each other. Yamato wrote his phone number on a pink note paper. Facing Hinako, he let his fingers run through her forehead and talks to her in a sweet tone. "I won't say anything to anyone…"
"I won't either." Hinako replied.
"For me, touching you without your knowledge I'm really sorry." Yamato said as he pointed to the small pink paper. "Here's my phone number, if you need anything. You call me. I'll see you at school." Yamato bended down and kissed her forehead softly. He gazed at her one more time and left her apartment.
After that, Hinako just sit there speechless for a long time. She want to know what just happened last night, the fact that it was the first time she kissed Yamato, on the lips. And she wasn't sure if it was the long hug, or that someone seemed to care about her a lot. But for once, Hinako had no words to response at all. Facing an angry Yamato was easy, including fighting and yelling at him, she could do that easy. But facing a sweet Yamato, she doesn't know how to react to that. Though it was fearless Hinako, she could face anything what comes to her. Sighing, fearless Hinako slowly got up on her feet, took a shower, got dressed, fix up her hair, quick breakfast, and went to school.
At school, Hinako walked into the classroom and looked for Yamato, but he wasn't in there. Sighing with disappointment, Hinako sat down at her desk.
"What's the matter, Hinako?" Izumi asked, making their group of boys turn to her.
"Nothing…" Hinako leaned on her desk. "Just had a rough night sleeping."
But Izumi knew something there was something bothering Hinako. But before she could ask again, one of the 3-D boys start talking about this week, being delinquent extermination week. Izumi and the 6 boys turned to him. As they listened, Yamato walked in and sat down at his desk without looking at any of his friends, including Hinako.
"Delinquent Extermination Week?"
"What? They're doing something like that again?"
"Yesterday, we went to karaoke and a teacher from Kaitoku High preached to us." One of the 3-D boys stated.
"For real?" Izumi said as she laughed.
"How irritating…" Kamiya added.
"Hey, wait." Honjo turned to Yamato. "Yamato, isn't your dad a Kaitoku High teacher?"
The class started asking and talking about it.
"Kaitoku High?"
"That's great!"
"It's a super elite high school?"
"So, your dad's a teacher?"
"I didn't even know!" Kura said.
"Me neither." Izumi added.
Heard enough, Yamato slammed his hand down on his desk and stood up.
"Shut up!" He yelled out by glaring at them. "It's none of your business."
"Yamato…" Hinako mumbled.
He glanced at her then at the rest of the class.
"Sorry." When he walked out of the classroom, Class 3-D were stunned.
"What's wrong with Yamato?" Ichi asked.
Without another second, Hinako stood up and ran after him.
"Yamato!" He stopped and turned to Hinako. "What's the matter with you? You've been acting very strange lately."
"No I haven't." Yamato quickly replied.
"Are you hiding something from us?" Hinako asked.
"No, I'm not hiding anything." Yamato stated.
"Okay fine." Hinako said. "But you look like something's troubling you."
"Nothing is…"
"Don't lie to me!" Hinako cuts Yamato off by yelling at him. "I can tell when boys are lying to me or not…Remember? I told you that last night. Also, I know when something's up with you. Aren't we friends? Just tell me!"
"I told you nothing's wrong…" Yamato said. "Why do I have to tell you and the others anyway? Even if I did tell you guys, you wouldn't even understand." With that said, Yamato starts to walk away again. Without warning, Hinako quickly walks up to him and grabs his blazer, lifted him up and pinned him against the wall.
"I'm worried about you!" Hinako shouted. "But if you don't know what to tell me then fine just…do whatever you want!" Yamato's eyes widened as she continued to yell at him. "If you don't want me to not come near you, then I won't! If you don't want me to talk to you, then I'll never talk to you again! I don't know how long you want this to go on, but I don't care if it's until we graduate or even after!"
At that moment, Yamato didn't know what to say… "Are we done here?" He asked, plainly.
"Yes…we are…" Hinako nodded as she let go of Yamato's blazer.
With that said, Yamato sighed and walked away. Hinako felt tears coming down her face, suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see Ren.
"I don't know what happened out here just now, but don't you worry Hinako I'll go talk to him."
"Thanks Ren…" Hinako gives him a small smile.
Ren handed her to Izumi, who came into the hallway as well and went after Yamato.
Hinako was silent for the rest of the day. Right after school, Izumi and the four boys took her to their usual place where they wait for Ren and hopefully Yamato. Few minutes later, Ren walks in with a very pissed off Yamato, who walked to the other side of the room. Ren quietly tells the others what just happened. Ren was talking to Yamato while at the same time playing some pool until Yamato's father showed up and make things. Then, Yamato end up punching his father.
Seconds later, Yankumi ran in and looked at Yamato.
"Ogata, what's the meaning of this?" She asked.
"I'm at fault, for provoking his dad." Ren said as he stepped forward.
"That has nothing to do with it." Yamato quickly replied. "It's a problem between my father and me. It's all my fault."
"What?" Yankumi said.
"It's my fault that my family has fallen apart." Yamato stated as he continued to explain. "My dad told me that a guy like me could never be happy. It doesn't matter what happens to me! Leave me alone!"
Hinako froze when she heard that. It all makes sense to her now. Why Yamato looked so sad when he was watching Yankumi's family eating together, and why he came to her apartment in the middle of the night.
'Why didn't I push him to tell me?' Hinako thought to herself.
"Don't say stupid things! It does matter!" Yankumi shouted as she went up to him. "Running away like that won't solve anything. Especially at a time like this, you've got to face the problem head on. Listen, Ogata. There's no one who hasn't been hurt before. People all overcome difficulties and carry on living."
"Shut up." He glared at her and then walked out of the room not saying anything else. Then, Hinako run right after him, right out the door as well.
"Why didn't Yamato say anything to us about this?" Ichi asked.
"We've been together ever since we were freshmen." Kamiya stated. "I didn't even know."
"Isn't it okay to at least tell your friends?" Honjo sighed.
"How sad…" Kura said.
"Yeah." Izumi agreed.
"It's because you're friends." Yankumi said.
"What?" Izumi and the 5 boys turned to Yankumi.
"Ogata is the most thoughtful of his best buds, right?" Yankumi said. "If he showed his torn heart to you guys, he thought you would worry about him. He's that kind of guy."
"Yeah, he is." Izumi smiled.
"Let's go look for him." Ren puts his hand on Izumi's shoulder. "Oh! And Hinako too. I bet she's following Yamato right now. So, let's go look for them both." With that said, they all ran out and split up into groups of 2, 2, and 3.
Elsewhere, Hinako was still following after Yamato.
"Yamato wait…please wait!" Hinako yelled out as she kept running after him. But he doesn't stop, until Hinako grabbed him from his blazer making him stop. She turned to face him with a very serious look on her face. "What is wrong with you? You know Yankumi was right of what she said back there. You're making everyone worried. Including me." Hinako spoke her mind out loud again as usual and she turned to face Yamato with a serious look on her face. "And I know how you feel…you have an older brother, right?"
"What?"
"What's your brother's name?" Hinako questioned.
"Yuuichi." He answered.
"Let's see…Yuuichi…abundant first-born son, ne?"
Suddenly the air between the two was getting tense at the mention of Yamato's older brother Yuuichi. Hinako paused for just a moment and glanced at him with a curious look on her face, but Yamato avoids it, by looking to the side.
"It's no fun, right? Coming after a successful older brother…just living under his own shadow…"
Yamato could feel his jaws clenching together painfully at Hinako's words.
'How the hell did she…?' Yamato thought to himself. "I never said that!" Yamato forced himself to speak but Hinako wasn't being fooled. The two stared into each other's eyes for a tense breath before Hinako could speak again.
"You didn't have to. I could tell by the look of your face and eyes." Hinako stated.
Yamato was left speechless at Hinako, not quite sure how to respond to her comment. He didn't deny or even confirm her assumptions, but Yamato could see by the look on Hinako's face, she didn't need any response from him, she was assured in herself and what she observed about Yamato. He was left to wonder, how was it that he could only barely figure her out, but she could read him like a book after reading a few words?
"Just leave me be!" Yamato shouted as he simply pushed her aside and starts walking away again.
Hinako felt more tears roll down her face as she began to drop to her knees, but she was eventually caught by Izumi.
"Are you okay, Hinako?" She asked.
"Yeah…" Hinako stiffed. "I'm fine."
"Come on, I'm meeting up with Yankumi and the boys at the park." Izumi stated.
"Hai…"
"Let's hope they found Yamato." Izumi makes a hopeful face.
"Me too." Hinako nodded.
When they got to the park, the girls saw Yankumi and their boys.
"He's nowhere around." Honjo said as he panted.
"What could he have gone?" Hinako said as she looked around with a sad look on her face.
"Don't you worry, Hina-chan." Kamiya said as he pats Hinako's head with some comfort. "I'm sure he's alright. We'll find him."
Yankumi and the 7 teens ran off again to look for Yamato, until they came to a bridge where they saw a bunch of people surrounding a cop car. They overheard some of the people who were looking at the scene and were talking about a fight.
"What happened?"
"It was a fight."
"Looks like there's a guy bleeding."
"Hey, it can't be Yamato, right?" Izumi asked.
Hinako didn't want to wait for an answer. Without a second thought, she run towards the crowd with Yankumi and the others right behind her. Hinako pushed her way to the front and looked around for Yamato. She saw him being forced into a police car.
"Let me go!" He yelled out.
"Yamato!" Hinako called out to him. Yamato looked up as his friends ran to him.
"What did Yamato do?" Ichi asked.
"Why are you taking Yamato in?!" Kamiya demanded to know.
"Please stand back." The cop said, trying to push them back.
"He is my student." Yankumi stepped forward. "Please let me speak with him."
"If you want to talk, please come to the precinct." The cop informed her.
With that said, he pushed Yamato into the police car. As they drove off, the 7 teens ran after the car with Yankumi right behind him.
"Yamato!"
The next day, Hinako didn't sit at her desk. She sat at Yamato's desk and didn't want to talk or even look at anyone. Of course, no one said anything to her. Hinako just sat there looking all depressed until two boys ran in the door.
"Bad news! Yamato's dad has brought a withdrawal letter!"
Everyone in their seats were shock by the news.
"What's the meaning of this?" Ren said as he stood up.
"Didn't Yamato say that he didn't do anything?" Honjo said as he and Kamiya stood up.
"Why does he have to withdraw from school?" Kura added as he and Ichi stood up as well.
"Does Yamato…really have to quit school?" Ichi mumbled.
Without warning, Hinako quickly got up and began to walk out of the classroom, but she was stopped by Izumi, who was calling out to her.
"Hinako, where are you going?" She asked.
"I know Yamato didn't anything wrong." Hinako said as she turned to the class. "So, I'm going to go out and prove his innocence! I want all 30 of us to graduate together! And I want to tell you that I…love him. So, who's with me?"
Everyone froze, but then they smiled at Hinako.
"Alright!" Ren shot up. "Let's go guys! Let's go prove Yamato's innocence!"
"Count me in!" Izumi added as she shot up from her seat.
"Me too!" Honjo added.
"Me too!" Ichi added.
"Me too!" Kura added.
"Me too!" Kamiya added.
"Let's do it!" Hinako cheered. "3-D's Operation proving our friend's innocence! Fight-oh!"
"OH!" The rest of 3-D shot up.
Class 3-D ran out of the school and went straight to the area where Yamato was arrested last night. They went around and asked every person they've saw to see if they saw something or anything from the fight last night. Hinako and Izumi walked up to an elderly lady and bowed to her.
"Excuse us ma'am." Izumi first spoke. "Did you happen to see a fight last night here in this area?"
"If you have, can you please tell us?" Hinako added.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't." She shook her head.
"We understand." Izumi sighed. "Thank you, ma'am."
"Yes, thank you very much." Hinako added as she and Izumi bowed.
The girls went to person after person, but so far…nothing.
"What are you guys doing?"
Hinako and Izumi turned to see Yankumi. They went up to her, with their five boys.
"If we can prove Yamato's innocence, his withdrawal can be retracted right?" Hinako quietly asked her.
"We want to be with Yamato a while longer." Izumi added.
"You guys…" Yankumi looked behind the seven at the rest of her students who were busy asking for a witness. "Alright, let's split up."
The 7 teens nodded and resumed their search. After a while, two boys that are in junior high came up to them. They explain that Yamato protected them from a group of punks who were trying to take their money. As they run away, they witness the fight by hiding behind some trash cans. One of the punks tried to hit Yamato with a metal pipe, but he dodged it and hits one of his friends instead. After that, the punks run away leaving Yamato to take the blame.
"Shall we all go to the police together?" Ren asked.
The two boys nodded. They started to walk when a group of punks stepped in front of them.
"I can't allow that." The leader said as his group surrounded them. Hinako and Izumi kept
"You guys keep quiet and let it blow over." The leader ordered.
"So, it was you…" Ren growled. "You framed our friend!"
"And what if we did?!"
The group ran at the five 3-D boys. The girls quickly moved the two boys away from the fight, but one of them grabbed Hinako from behind. She quickly punched him, making him drop to the ground. She and Izumi punched and kicked every guy who would come near the two boys.
"Put an end to this right now!"
The girls smiled at the sight of Yankumi. It was all over for the group of punks now.
"Who the heck are you?" The leader walked towards her.
"I'm their homeroom teacher." She said, plainly.
"Teacher?" They laughed.
Yankumi got into her serious mode. "How dare you guys give my student a bad rap."
"It's just a teacher. Are you stupid? Get lost!" Yankumi took down one of the punks.
"If you look down on me just because I'm a teacher, you're in trouble!" She lectured them.
"Bastard! Don't get too cocky!" The leader run towards her.
Of course, Yankumi took him down as well. "If you still wanna go, I'll take you on." She said. "But be prepared, in order to protect my precious students, I won't go easy!"
"Let's go!" The leader yelled, as he run off along with his buddies.
Hinako and Izumi turned to the boys. "You two all right?" Hinako asked.
They both nodded. "That's good." Izumi smiled as she patted both the boys' heads.
The rest of the class ran up and help Ren and the other boys stand. After that, they went to the police station, and the two boys told the cops what 'really' happened last night. Class 3-D stood at the front gate waiting for Yamato. Izumi turned to her and smiled. Hinako looked at her, curiously.
"What?"
"So…you're in love with Yamato, huh?" Izumi nudged her as Hinako blushed. "Are you going to tell him your feelings?"
"Yeah…maybe." Hinako smiled a little bit, still blushing.
"Aww! That's so sweet! How romantic!" Kamiya shouted as the rest of the boys cheered.
"Oh, shut up!" Hinako yelled out at the whole class.
They all laughed, including Izumi. But they quickly went silent as the front door opened. Hinako smiled even more when Yamato walked out and looked at them.
"Yamato!" Ren yelled out.
Everyone in 3-D cheered and waved at him. Yankumi stepped out from behind him and started talking to him. After she was done talking, they all ran up to him.
"Geez. Don't make us worry." Ren laughed.
Yankumi lightly pushed Yamato to them. He slowly walked down the stairs to them. Some of the 3-D boys started clapping as he was coming down.
"I'm sorry." Yamato said as he looked at them all.
"What are you saying?!" Ichi nudged him.
"Don't be so distant." Kura smiled.
"Aren't we friends?" Honjo asked.
"That's right, Yamato." Kamiya nodded.
"Right?" Ren smiled.
"Yeah." Yamato smiled. "Thanks, everyone."
He went up to the boys and they started cheering and laughing. Hinako and Izumi stepped back and watched them. Yamato was smiling and laughing. Hinako was so happy to see his smiling face. Yamato stopped once his eyes met with Hinako. He makes his way towards her.
"Go get him…" Izumi whispered as she lightly pushed Hinako to him.
"Hey." Hinako smiled at him.
"How…how can you still smile at me after everything I said to you?" He asked. "I was a total jerk to you."
"It's okay Yamato…"
"No, it's not. I'm worse than scum." He quickly replied. "When I saw tears rolling down your face, I was devasted. I didn't know what to say. But now I know what to say to you. And I want to say. I'm so sorry Hinako…"
"You know, it's always like this." Hinako replied.
"Huh?" Yamato looked puzzled.
"I would never understand what you're feeling or what you're thinking, so I ended up just speaking my mind out loud, as usual." She stated. "But now I know I want to apologize to you too. So, I want to say…I'm sorry, Yamato…"
"Hinako…" Yamato mumbled.
"I'm not finished." Hinako cuts in. "When my older brother Hiroki and I lived together, we went through some hard times. But we got through them, somehow. Please share the weight that you're carrying…with me."
"Hinako…I…"
"Don't belittle me, Yamato." Hinako said. "I really mean it! I want to always share your happiness, your sadness, and your hardships with you. No matter how much we understand each other, we're still different people. So, I can never tell what you're thinking, and you can never tell what I'm thinking either. But that's why now I want to share so much with you!"
"Hinako…"
"I love you…Ogata Yamato…"
Yamato's eyes widened when he heard that. "Y-You love me?"
"Yes, I do." She smiled. "Look, Yamato, you've spent a lot of time worried about others with their lives, and not enough at your own life. Well, I'm looking at your life right now, and here's what I see. A wonderful person, with so much to share and sharing it with no one. So much to say, but with no one to talk to. A person who's running as fast as he can, to get away from your troubles. That he needs someone in his life. Let me be the person in your life, Yamato. I'll keep all of your secrets, your happiness, your sadness, and your hardships. I'll guard them as jealously as you do. Please, Yamato. Just…let me…in."
Suddenly without warning, he pulled her into a tight hug. "You know, there's something I've been wanting to tell you too. The night that I've spend with you, it was the greatest night of my life." Yamato broke the hug and looked at Hinako right in the eyes. "Now, I know I can be happy because I have you by my side. I love you too, Takaishi Hinako."
"Yamato…"
"Hinako…"
Yamato and Hinako kissed making everyone in Class 3-D cheer for them. They pulled away and smiled at each other.
"I saw the first kiss!" Honjo cheered.
"No, you didn't." Kamiya smiled at them. "From the way Hina-chan was glowing yesterday, I would say that they've already kissed with a few other things as well."
"What do you mean by that, Kamiya?" Izumi looked at him and then her jaws dropped. "NANI?!"
Izumi thought she was gonna faint, but she eventually caught by Ren.
"Come on." Yamato grabbed Hinako's hand. "I'll introduce you to my mom."
"You guys head back to school." Hinako added. "We'll catch up."
He pulled her away as Izumi cried on Ren's shoulder saying that about her best friend wasn't being honest with her anymore. Yamato led Hinako to his mother.
"Mom." She turned to him. "This is Takaishi Hinako."
"It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Ogata." Hinako smiled as she bowed.
She smiled back and bowed as well. "It's nice to finally meet you, Hinako. My son has told me a lot about you. Especially telling me very beautiful you look."
"Mom…" He groaned. Hinako looked at Yamato to see that he was blushing.
"Why don't you come over for dinner tonight?" His mom insisted.
"Oh…um…is that ok?"
"Yes, of course." Ms. Ogata replied. "His father shouldn't be coming home tonight, and if he does, just ignore him."
"Okay then. I would love it!" Hinako smiled. "What time should I come?"
"I'll send Yamato to get you around six."
"Okay, thank you ma'am…" Hinako bowed.
After that, Yamato and Hinako went back to school where Yamato's mother took care of the withdrawal letter that his father had brought to Akadou earlier today. Then, everyone returned to school where Yankumi speaks to them.
"Listen, everyone." Yankumi starts to speak to the whole class from the front desk. "From now on, you won't know what kind of trouble lies ahead. But you guys have the strength to overcome it and friends that'll support you. Never forget this fact." After that, Yankumi went to the middle of the classroom with a smile on her face. "With that said…to celebrate Ogata's return, let's play kick-the-can!"
Hinako rolled her eyes. "What is she thinking…?" She mumbled.
"Here we go again…" Izumi mumbled.
"Oh…" The 3-D boys said, weakly.
"Alright, guys." Yankumi cheered. "Are you ready?!"
"Oh!" The whole class cheered.
Later that evening, Hinako was so nervous. She was changed into another outfit for the third time when there was a knock at her door. When she opened it, she was greeted by a very well-dressed Yamato. He was wearing an opened white buttoned shirt with a red, black, and white button-up checked flannel shirt, along with a pair of light brown pants and black boots.
"My mom made me wear this." Yamato said as he looked down at his clothes.
"Well, I like it! You look very handsome in that outfit!" Hinako smiled. "So, what do you think of my outfit? Do you like it?" She did a spin.
Hinako was wearing a pretty long-sleeved white turtleneck top that doesn't show too much along with a white knee-length lace skirt and a pair of white high heels.
"You look…beautiful."
"Thank you darling."
Hinako closed and locked her apartment door. Yamato took her hand and led her to his house. When they got there, Hinako's jaws just dropped. Yamato's house was huge. He laughed at the expression on Hinako's face before leading her into his house. His mother greeted her and tells Yamato to set up the table and then she went back into the kitchen.
"Do you need any help? Because I be happy to help you out." Hinako asked as she noticed Yamato pouting about setting the table.
"No, you're a guest." Yamato smiled. "You can look around in the living room if you want."
Hinako walked into the living room and looked at all the photos on the walls. Most of the photos were mainly of Yamato when he was little. She heard footsteps right behind her, thinking it was Yamato she turned to see, but it wasn't. It was just an older man that she has never met before.
"Oh, hello." Hinako said.
"So…you're the girl that Yamato's been seeing…" He said by looking at Hinako from top to bottom with a very disgust look on his face. "So not only he chooses his friends poorly, but he chooses his girlfriends, poorly as well."
"You must be Yamato's father…" Hinako said as she ignored his comment. "Kinda funny, I was expecting someone who looked a little happier."
"Nani?" He narrowed his eyes at her.
"I'm just saying." Hinako shrugged. "You know, for a man who lectures others about being happy, you would think that he was happy himself. But let me say this, Yamato doesn't need a lecture about being happy from the likes of you. I'll have you know that he is very happy. Because he has friends who will never abandon him or turn their backs on him, a mother who supports him and loves him dearly, and he has someone who loves him for who he is…that's me."
"You call that happiness?!" He shook his head. "That boy will never be…"
"That's not true!" Hinako yelled. "That boy is the love of my life, and I will not stand by and let you belittle him like he's nothing. He is the bestest friend that a girl could have, and I promise he will become a better man than you'll ever dream because unlike you, he has love! I love him from the bottom of my heart! And that's real happiness!"
With that said, Mr. Ogata froze and didn't say another word. He slowly turned and was about to leave when Yamato walked in.
"Yamato…" Hinako mumbled.
"Get out of here." Yamato said as he glared at his father.
Mr. Ogata didn't say anything else. He just walked out of the room. Once the door was closed, Yamato leaned against the door frame and smiled at her.
"You heard all of that, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did." He nodded. "And you know what?"
"What?"
Yamato slowly made his way to Hinako. "It makes me love you even more."
"Oh, really?" Hinako playfully rolled her eyes.
That night Hinako had dinner with Yamato and his mom. They laugh together, they joked together, and had a good time together. Yamato decided to take a picture of himself and Hinako together with his phone. After dinner, he walked her home and kissed her goodnight.
"I know I've said this already, but I love you." He smiled.
"I love you too." Hinako smiled.
Later Yamato arrived back home and made his way upstairs to his room. He stepped inside and closed the door right behind him. Not that his door was closed, he plopped down on his bed with a sigh. He realizes how exhausted he was.
"What a day…" He said to himself. "And what an evening I had…"
Still laying on his bed, Yamato goes from staring at the ceiling of his room to digging his pocket pulling out his phone. Flipping it open, Yamato scrolled through it for a moment before he finds what he's looking for and stops at a picture. It was the picture that he took of himself and Hinako. He smiled at the picture and went to bed.
~Author's Notes~
Hello! Thank you so much for reading! Thank you to those of you who followed, favorited or even commented on my story! It really does mean a lot to me.
In the next episode, it will be focusing on Izumi. So, you better get ready!
~Cultural Notes~
Ojou: literally means "queen" or "princess", but it can also be a title for a noblewoman in a very high position.
Yakuza: the Japanese mafia.
Mutsugoro is the nickname of a famous Japanese naturalist/animal lover, Hata Masanori.