Hayato and Ryu we able to drop Yamaguchi off without any further excitement. Hayato felt that he had plenty to think about. The events at the hostess club had driven all thoughts of Take's brilliance away. In the year he had known her, he had only seen the edges of the Oedo family's Ojou. Tonight he had seen the casual way she dished out punishment to people who caused trouble in her territory. There were no warnings, and no second chances. What he really hadn't liked though was Yamaguchi's fragile expression when she had realized that they were watching.
"I wonder who hurt her?" Hayato was more thinking out loud than expecting an answer.
"You know…" Ryu said quietly, "despite how much she talks about friendship… have we ever met a friend of hers?" Hayato swung his head around. "You've spent more time at her place then I have."Ryu continued, meeting his eyes. "Did you meet any of her friends?"
"No." Hayato was horrified. "I've only ever seen her with her students, her family, or other teachers. No one from her own school days, or university." How could he have not realized that? They walked in silence for a couple of minutes.
"Kumai-san might know a little more about her." Ryu suggested. "He's known her longest."
Hayato glanced over. "I'm feeling a little hungry." Ryu merely nodded. They changed their route slightly and arrived at Kumai-san's restaurant a few minutes later.
"Omira!" Kumai-san greeted as they walked in.
"Is it too late for food?" Hayato asked.
"Not for you two. Just give me a minute." They nodded and sat down.
"Hai." It didn't take long for Kumai-san to bring out two pork ramen. "What's up?"
"Kumai-san. Have you ever met a friend of Yamaguchi's?" Hayato asked, grabbing his chopsticks.
"Eh?" Kumai-san rubbed his head. "You mean outside of other teachers or her family?" Ryu nodded, slurping his noodles. He was careful not to look too interested. It always cracked Hayato up when Ryu got like this. Every so often, when Ryu was really interested in something, he'd look away and ask about it. One of the funniest times was last Valentine's Day when Ryu had been very interested in who Yamaguchi was giving chocolate to, and had asked her about it repeatedly. Listening to her talk about Kujo-sensei that time had ticked them both off, so they had left her their bills. Not very mature, but… Maybe it should have been obvious then that they liked her. "No I haven't." Kumai-san shook his head. "She told me once that she was really happy when we gave her the nickname Yankumi since the only nickname she had had before that was kumichou."
"Kumichou!" They repeated. Well, it fit, but…
"Why?" Kumai-san asked. They were spared answering because just then the door opened again and six high school guys walked in.
"Yo, Kumai-san. You mind if we grab something?"
"Omai-tachi (you guys!)" Kumai-san's relaxed reaction led Hayato to suspect that these were Yamaguchi's new students. The guys spotted Ryu and Hayato's suspicion was confirmed.
"You!" They exclaimed, pointing at Ryu. Introductions then had to be made, and tables pushed together to make room for everyone. Kumai-san disappeared into the back to get some more food.
"We heard you guys are getting ready for the sports festival?" Hayato asked, once the new guys were settled.
"Well, it's pretty late to be joining, but we thought we'd give it a shot." Ichi replied.
"Yankumi was super excited about it." Kura commented.
"It doesn't feel right not to try." Honjo explained.
"We were careful today when we were practicing not to wear her out." Kamiya assured them.
"Someone stayed close to her the whole time." Ren added.
"Man, I thought Yamaguchi was going to go crazy when she realized what we were doing." Yamato said with a laugh. That was pretty easy to imagine.
"Crazier you mean?" Hayato teased. The other guys laughed.
"It's next week, right?" Ryu asked.
Yamato nodded. "We're going to hang out over the weekend and practice."
"One day really isn't enough." Ren commented.
"I can't believe you guys are still in touch with Yankumi!" Kura exclaimed, shaking his head.
"We heard a little about what happened from Take." Ichi expanded.
"So she's got you calling her Yankumi?" Hayato chuckled.
"We just started yesterday." Honjo said.
"She was crazy happy about it though." Kamiya smiled.
"How's it going with Yamaguchi?" Ryu questioned.
"Hena (Weird) senko (teacher)." Was Kura's opinion. Hard to argue that.
Before anyone else could voice their opinions, Kumai-san came back in with a tray, followed by a very pretty young woman. The guys halted their conversation to stare. Not as striking as Yamaguchi had been tonight, or as the hostess, but definitely attractive. Who was she? The sudden silence drew Kumai-san's attention. He glanced at them, then seemed to realize why no one was paying him any attention.
"Ah! This is my fiancé, Ami." Kumai-san introduced. She bowed prettily.
"Nice to meet you."
Everyone bobbed their heads awkwardly in reply.
"Eh? You're engaged?" Hayato asked.
"Since when?" Yamato wanted to know.
"Does Yamaguchi know?" was Ryu's question.
"Wow, Kumai-san, you've got great taste in women!" Ren complimented.
"What's the secret?" Kura asked eagerly.
Kumai-san and Ami-chan shared a look and laughed.
"What can I say? It's 'cause I'm such a great guy."
Ami-chan laughed and touched his arm tenderly. "He saved me when I was in high school." She told them. "My boyfriend had run away when we were attacked and left me behind. Kumai-san ran in to save me even though I had refused to date him. I was very touched."
Kumai-san shrugged. "I loved you. I wasn't going to let you get hurt."
"Hai." She smiled lovingly.
"Eh! You lovebirds!" Honjo joked.
"That was the first time Yankumi called me a man. I was barely conscious and couldn't stand, but I felt ten feet tall. A compliment from Yankumi makes you feel amazing, eh?" Kumai-san shook his head remembering.
"Yeah." Hayato found himself agreeing. Ryu met his eyes with a smirk, but didn't demur. Hayato didn't ask the new students any questions about Yamaguchi because he didn't want them intruding into her personal life and learning things that could get her in trouble. He was fairly sure Yamaguchi would have mentioned it tonight if any of her new class had learned about her family. They seemed alright, but Hayato had no intention of inconveniencing her just to satisfy his curiosity. Since Kumai-san didn't know any more than they did, they'd have to try a different approach. Listening to the new students talk their adventures with Yamaguchi was entertaining, but Kumai-san had been closing when they came in, so they didn't stay long.