Disclaimer: Borrowing for a purely fictional work.
RECAP: Tsuchi saw Imani and Odagiri going to the love motel, and he has yet to make up with Imani so she can explain things. Odagiri and his father got into it and he ran away. Finally, Imani and Yankumi help him resolve the conflict with his father and now their relationship is better than ever.
Chapter 20 Perspiration
After last week's debacle with his father, Odagiri took stock of his life. He couldn't believe what a difference three months could make. Three months ago he had no "real" friends, he wasn't going to school, he disrespected his mother and hated his father, and he was working for a bunch of people of "questionable character."
Now, a mere three months later, he was back in school, he had made up with his friends and their relationship was better than ever, he was about to graduate, his relationship with his father had improved, and he even looked forward to going to school daily. All of this was due to his weird homeroom teacher, whom he had decided to trust, had helped and even wanted to protect. Who would have thought that he would feel that way about not only one teacher, but two teachers? And the other teacher would be a gaijin whom he risked his life for and with whom he entrusted his life? Certainly not Odagiri Ryo. Thanks to them, he had figured out a lot in life and had learned to trust people and resolve differences and improve his relationships with those closest to him. He owed the two teachers a huge debt of gratitude.
Now, he was desperately seeking a way to repay that huge debt. He didn't even know where to begin to thank Yankumi, but he had an inkling of what he could do for Imani. He knew exactly what Imani wanted, but he didn't know how to go about getting it for her.
It had been two weeks since the love motel date, and although he and Tsuchi were back on good terms, although slightly strained, Tsuchi still refused to listen to, contact, or have anything to do with Imani. Nothing he, nor Yankumi, nor Mariko said would get through to Tsuchi and convince him to hear her out and let her explain. Even though Imani put up a brave front and tried to be cheerful about it, he knew it was taking a toll on her. He could hear the strain in her voice whenever they talked. Odagiri was more determined than ever to resolve the situation between the two friends. He just didn't know where to begin.
He determined that he was going to do something about it that very weekend. Unfortunately, the main person that he was trying to help was nowhere to be found. He tried calling her home, her cell phone, her office phone but couldn't locate Imani. So, Odagiri decided to pay a visit to the one other person that may know where to find Imani.
Imani sighed for the umpteenth time. She was beside herself. It had been two weeks since the love motel date, and four weeks since she and Tsuchi had last been on friendly terms. A return to normalcy was what she needed the most. Her world had been turned upside down and inside out. Her life was one big lie after another.
A boy who she thought was her childhood friend turned out to be her ninja stalker whose father was responsible for her mother's death and kidnapping and abandoning her. Ironically, he was also her best and brightest student. He had also tried to kill three of her best friends. Her adopted father turned out to be her real biological father whom she had to call "Uncle" to hide their family connection. That family connection not to her father, but to her paternal grandfather, a yakuza, was the reason behind her mother's death and her kidnappings.
A lot of the questions that plagued her throughout her life had been answered. Although the majority of the answers had proved painful, it was still better than not knowing the truth. Despite the pain and grief that she had suffered as a result of knowing her past, she had gained a lot more than she had lost in her opinion. She had gained three really good friends since coming to Japan. She had finally learned who her parents were and that she hadn't been abandoned by them. She had come to know her mother through her mother's journals and by talking to those who knew her mother before she died. Finally and most importantly, she had regained her true childhood friend, one who had become as close as a sister since the resolution of Odagiri's situation.
Since then, Yankumi and Imani or Miko and Mani, as they chose to call each other, talked everyday about everything. Often they were so engrossed in their conversations that it would be near midnight before they realized it. They had lunch as often as they could. Gaining an older sister whom she had so much in common with was definitely worth knowing the pain that lay within the truth. Thus, Imani was able to move on from her past triumphantly. There was just one negative remaining, her relationship with Tsuchi.
Tsuchi still refused her calls. She'd leave messages, but he would not return her phone calls. The irony of the situation was that she was seriously considering ending her relationship with him anyway once she had a chance to explain herself. Their relationship had to end anyway, especially when she left Japan. She had come to the realization that knowing her was a dangerous encounter, and she would like to end all of her relationships before anyone was seriously hurt. She wanted to end all of her relationships, with the exception of Yankumi. She knew that Yankumi was probably the one person that it was more dangerous to know than being acquainted with Imani. She wanted to end her relationships but on her own terms.
The bottom line was that Imani was frustrated. There was only one way for Imani to alleviate her frustration, and only one person who could help her. Imani needed to fight. She needed to fight with someone who's every move she couldn't read like an open book the way it was with all of her security. She trained with them everyday and within ten, minutes, or five if she so chose, she had them subdued. So that weekend she made the call to set it up.
"Hey Miko, it's Imani. How are you doing today, and how was your week?"
"My week wasn't too bad. The brats didn't cause too much trouble although Kyoto sensei and the superintendent are monitoring them like a hawk waiting for them to mess up or get into trouble to fire me."
"Seriously Miko, just say the word, and I'll get you another job in a better school or maybe at a university."
"No, my students need me. I won't abandon them. I am the only one who can reach out to students like these. So, no, I, Yamaguchi Kumiko, am determined to face any challenge and obstacle for all students that are misunderstood and have a checkered past and teach them to become responsible adults that contribute to their society."
"Are you standing on a chair with your fist in the air?" Imani asked. She then heard shuffling noises, and the sound of a chair scrape the floor.
"N-no, why would you think that?" Imani chuckled silently knowing her sister had done just that. "Anyway, Mani, how was your week? How is it going? Have you and Tsuchi made up, yet?"
Imani let out a long frustrated sigh. "No, not yet. It feels like we never will either. I'm so frustrated. That reminds me. Do you want to get together and have a 'girls only' weekend and have fun the way we like to do it? I'm tired of waiting around for Tsuchi to stop acting like a spoiled brat and get over it. I need to move forward and work out my frustrations. Are you game?"
Yankumi inwardly cringed. "Girls only? Do you mean going shopping at the mall, getting our hair and nails done, and then hanging out at the club trying to pick up guys and stuff like that?"
Imani laughed. "No, I said like 'we' like to do it. I mean I'd like to take you up on your offer to spar. I need to work out my frustration over Tsuchi."
Yankumi breathed a sigh of relief and perked up. "You're on."
"Great, I'll be over first thing in the morning. So be ready. After that, we can go relax and eat and do whatever else we want to do. Hey, why don't you spend the night at my place tomorrow night? It will be fun."
Yankumi was elated. "Eh, a sleepover?" She had never been invited to a sleep over before since she was used to befriending guys mostly. Most girls thought she was too masculine or were afraid of her so she had trouble getting close to and befriending girls. "That sounds like fun."
"Alright then, see ya in the morning." Imani hung up.
Bright and early at 8 a.m. the next morning, Imani was dropped off in front of Yankumi's house. Since the stalker incident, Imani was not allowed to ride on public transportation without an escort or an entourage. Since her security team would be obvious, she chose to just have them drive her everywhere she went.
She walked in and saw Tetsu and Minoru. She smiled and kissed the men on the cheek. As expected, Yankumi was still sound asleep. Much to Tetsu and Minoru's relief, Imani offered to wake Yankumi up herself.
Imani quietly entered the room and shook Yankumi, gently at first. Yankumi was a heavy sleeper and didn't respond. She began shaking her violently, which failed as well. Finally, she got in Yankumi's ear and yelled as loud as she could, "MIKOOOOO, WAAAAKE, UUUUUUUP!"
Yankumi's eyes flew open in panic, startled out of her sleep. She moved by instinct and grabbed Imani in a headlock with her devil face on and stood up. She didn't know what was happening, but she was going to kill whoever it was that was threatening her.
The kumi, who had been watching from a safe distance, were startled and were going to run in there to offer assistance when the Kumichou shook his head and held up his hand, pointing to the door to watch.
Imani knew what to do. She turned her head into the crook of Yankumi's arm so she could breathe. She quickly put a foot in the back of Yankumi's ankle, causing her to lose her balance, and then she flipped Yankumi over on her back, escaping the headlock. She then quickly back flipped to the other side of the room to give Yankumi a wide berth and allow her to get her bearings.
After being flipped on her back, Yankumi was wide awake. She jumped up in a fighting stance and adjusted her eyes to stare at her wavy-haired opponent, who was smiling and waving at her. Yankumi was panting hard and took a moment to get her breath. "Geez, Imani, why did you do that? What the HELL were you thinking?"
Imani placed a finger on her chin and folded her arms. "Hm, I was thinking that first thing in the morning was ten minutes ago, and I told a certain person to be ready. Also I was thinking that if I wanted you to fight with me seriously, I needed to give you a little taste of what I can do. I don't want you to take it easy on me."
Yankumi understood and deep inside wanted to smile and hug her little sister but gave her face instead. She had a serious tone. "Okay, if that's how you want it, you got it. I'll be dressed in 20 minutes. You better be prepared."
Imani shook her head. "Make it 15 minutes, or I'll start without you." Then Imani turned and walked out of the room. As Imani walked out, the entire household scrambled to get away from the door and pretend that they had not been watching the entire exchange.
"Uhm, is everything okay?" Tetsu asked, scratching the back of his head.
Imani nodded. "Of course, she's awake now. You can stop hiding. We're getting ready to spar." Imani nodded at each member of the kumi as she passed by. She stopped when she reached Kyou. "Young chief, it is good to see you again. I can't thank you enough for last time."
He shook his head. "Not at all, we owe you a debt of gratitude, Little Raven. Not just for helping us exterminate that little termite but because our Ojou has never been happier since you've become a part of her life again."
"To the contrary, I am the one who is excited to have your Ojou back in my life." She nodded and moved to address the Kumichou. "Grandfather." She kissed him on the cheek.
"Little Raven, I understand that you are going to spar with our Kumiko today."
She nodded. "Yes, Grandfather."
"Well, I hope you take it easy on one another."
She shook her head. "I'm afraid I cannot comply with your request. We intend to do our best." She bowed and headed for the yard.
They all watched her as she left with a purposeful stride. Kyou smiled and nudged Wakamatsu. "Get the camera. This is going to be good. You know she likes to put on a good show." He nodded and left. The others made their way to the yard in time to see Imani, who was wearing a t-shirt, jacket and jeans, take off the jacket and fold it neatly into a duffle bag. Then she took off the t-shirt to reveal a tank top. She finally took off the jeans to reveal some biking shots. Kyou whistled.
"Oi, Minoru, find out what is taking Wakamatsu so long with the camera. We're missing part of the show." He nodded and ran off.
To warm up, Imani began by stretching. She completed her stretching by doing a backward somersault into a split and then stretching her arms and head forward until she touched her toes with her fingers and her knee with her head. All the men sighed. Finally, Wakamatsu and Minoru returned with the camera. Ten minutes later Yankumi came down in a tank top and short shorts.
They faced each other, bowed, and got into a fighting stance. They circled each other first. Then Yankumi went on the offensive and threw the first punch at Imani who dodged it and whipped around to elbow Yankumi in the stomach. Yankumi quickly moved to dodge her and landed a kidney punch into Imani's back. Although Imani felt the punch, she had breathed in at that moment to decrease the impact and as she exhaled, she back kicked Kumiko in the ribs. They both stumbled away from each other and recovered quickly to return into their fighting stance.
Yankumi was impressed and praised Imani. "You move quickly."
Imani shook her head. "Uh uh, I recover and retaliate quickly."
"Yeah, well we'll see." Yankumi charged at Imani, launching a series of kicks at her, who easily rebuffed them with her forearms. Then Imani did a series of back flips to get out of Yankumi's reach. Yankumi being quicker stopped kicking and rushed to where Imani would land on her final flip in time to give her a blow to the solar plexus. Imani bent over double, but caught her breath quickly and then did a backward somersault, kicking Yankumi in the corner of her mouth. A trickle of blood slowly flowed down the corner of Yankumi's mouth. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and spat ridding her mouth of the salty coppery taste of the blood.
"Oh, so you want a real fight?" Yankumi asked in a serious tone.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Imani responded in an equally serious manner.
Yankumi cracked her neck to the left and then to the right. She returned to a fighting stance and motioned for Imani to come at her.
At this point Odagiri arrived. He had tried calling Imani that morning but couldn't find her. So he decided to pay his favorite homeroom teacher a visit to first of all personally thank her and secondly come up with a plan to reunite Tsuchi and Imani. He wasn't prepared for what he would see when he arrived at the compound. He walked in and noticed that no one was around at first. Suddenly, three men came and hurriedly ushered him through the house and onto the back porch. He didn't have a clue what was going on, why he was told to keep absolutely still and silent, or what had the kumi members and Kumiko's grandfather completely enthralled and entranced. He was about to ask Minoru, when they pointed out toward the back yard. He looked up just in time to see Imani charge at Yankumi with a series of kicks, landing half of them, and the remaining half being blocked by Yankumi who threw her own series of punches and landed half of them.
After that series, they both moved back smiling and dancing around each other. This time Yankumi was the aggressor, moving with amazing speed toward Imani, who was no slouch when it came to speed either. This resulted in Yankumi landing a right hook to Imani's jaw. However, it didn't have the impact she wanted, and Imani quickly stepped and spun 180 degrees to block the left that Yankumi followed with with both of her hands and then responded by flipping Yankumi by her wrist. Yankumi landed on her feet and quickly launched a front kick towards Imani's abdomen. Imani turned 90 degrees to move out of the path of the kick and grabbed Yankumi's leg and spun her around. Yankumi moved closer in to Imani as she spun her around and grabbed Imani's shoulders to propel herself in the air backward and kick Imani under the chin as she landed.
Imani fell face first to the ground, but quickly flipped over and into a crouching position. She then swung out her leg to sweep Yankumi off her feet and stand up. Yankumi also turned over and got up quickly. Then she kicked at Yankumi's knee who blocked it with her own kick and quickly kicked at Yankumi's leg who also blocked it. Imani back flipped to kick Yankumi in the face, but Yankumi caught one of Imani's legs. Imani smiled, swiveled around on her hands and kicked Yankumi with the free leg. Yankumi fell back and Imani completed her flip and jumped up. So far, neither young lady had managed to obtain the advantage over the other one and 45 minutes had already passed. They returned to their fighting stance, looking at each other and panting.
"I suggest we take this to another level." Yankumi spoke once she had caught her breath.
"Weapons?" Imani asked.
"Oh, yeah." Yankumi responded and motioned for one of the kumi to bring two wooden staffs.
He brought them to Yankumi, who threw one to Imani. Imani caught it with one hand and spun it over her head, then in front of her and finally caught it under her arm and placed it at her side.
Yankumi smirked. "Show off. Now, bring it on." Yankumi got into a slightly crouching fighting stance.
Imani returned her smirk. "Gladly." Imani charged at Yankumi with the staff over her head and brought it down quickly, slicing at Yankumi's right shoulder. Yankumi easily blocked it with her own as the sticks clicked together. They went at it for a while with a series of clicks as their two wooden staffs met time and time again. Finally Yankumi sliced left and then right as Imani blocked them and then turned 180 degrees and moved her staff over her head to block Yankumi's next blow from behind and then back kicked Yankumi at the same time as blocking the blow from above. Yankumi recovered quickly, but not before Imani turned around to sweep her staff under Yankumi's feet. Yankumi jumped over the staff and unleashed a glancing blow to Imani's shoulder. Imani stumbled backwards, but instead of falling she turned and did a somersault in the air with no hands, landed in a split and put the staff over her head with two hands to block Yankumi's next blow. To that move all of the spectators responded with an appreciative "aaaah."
After 30 minutes more both women were tired, sore, dirty, disheveled, perspiring, and panting hard. They bowed to each other, indicating the end of the fight.
"So?" Imani inquired.
"I'd say it was a draw." Yankumi replied.
Imani nodded. "I can live with that."
"We'll just decide it next time." Yankumi went over and put her arm around Imani's shoulders.
"Agreed." Imani smiled and hugged Yankumi.
Kyou nudged Odagiri. "Kid, I don't know what you came for, but I suggest you make yourself scarce. I don't think either lady would appreciate it if they knew that you were a spectator in the crowd. That goes for the rest of you guys too." By the end of the fight, a considerable crowd of onlookers from the neighborhood were looking over or through holes in the large wooden fence into the backyard.
Odagiri nodded and began to leave. He then turned back sheepishly and began rubbing the back of his neck. "Uhm, how can I get …?"
Kyou nodded in understanding. "Just leave 2000 yen, and I'll see that you get a copy." Odagiri took out some notes and passed them to Kyou. Kyou smiled and took the notes as Odagiri turned to leave. Kyou grabbed his arm suddenly. "Oh, whatever you do, don't ever let Ojou know you have that or else." He made a slicing motion across his neck. Odagiri swallowed and nodded. "That goes for the rest of you guys." They all pulled out money and quickly left. Kyou just smiled.
Meanwhile, Yankumi and Imani walked into the house laughing and discussing the fight.
"I thought I had you when you back flipped, and I grabbed your leg." Yankumi told her.
"Yeah, that's a ploy I use when I need to get close to my opponent without getting hit. You have a longer reach than I do so it is hard to get close enough to hit you before you can hit or block." Imani noted.
"Maybe, but your assaults have more impact and are more brutal. There's a lot of power behind them, but you still manage to throw them quickly and precisely." Yankumi praised her.
"Oh please, you are much quicker than I am." Imani responded.
"Only by about a half of a second." Yankumi scoffed.
"Yeah, but that counts a lot." Imani rubbed her tired arms and laughed.
They bathed, changed clothes, went to eat, and spent the rest of the weekend at Imani's talking and having a good time. It was just what Imani needed to take her mind off of Tsuchi.
Although Odagiri was unable to accomplish what he had set out to do, he felt that the weekend was definitely one of his best. He smiled as he recalled the fight. That was more than worth the 2000 yen he spent. Now all he had to do was to figure out a way to reunite Tsuchi and Imani.
As for Tsuchi, although he had gotten used to not going to Imani's house over the weekends, he still felt as if something was missing from his weekends. As a result, he walked around aimlessly and listlessly trying to figure things out and put all the hurt and anger that he felt away. He wanted to start over with Imani again, but couldn't help pushing her away every time he saw her because he kept picturing her and Odagiri together. Tsuchi couldn't imagine anything that could erase the images burned into his memory of Imani and Odagiri together. He couldn't figure out how to get past those images, to forgive her, and to move on from the past.
Fortunately or probably unfortunately, situations arose that would solve that problem for him.
Prison Interlude
Ren had taken a beating by the yakuza. As bad as that felt, it was not as bad as knowing that his one and only true love had betrayed him or had she? Maybe that Odagiri guy and his yakuza friends had forced her to help them because I'm a member of the Black Cross gang and we're proving a nuisance in Tenkai's territory. That has to be it. He was pacing and thinking when he heard his name being called.
"Ishikawa Shoichiuro. You have a visitor." He looked up and saw that it was Junpei, the leader of the Black Cross group.
"Junpei, thanks for coming to get me. I'm sorry about all this."
Junpei sat down across from him. "You know, I was thinking about that, and I'm thinking that I should leave you here."
"What, why? You need me. You need me to make sure that the operation is a success. Without me, you can't run this operation. You'll fail for sure."
"See that's just why I think I should leave you here because you seem to be confused about just who the leader of the Black Cross is." Another boy with spiky blonde hair in the back perked up when heard those words. "Also, you jeopardized our operation by going against my direct orders so close to the time to put our plans into action. Why shouldn't I leave you here?"
"Because you can't succeed without me. Do you really think that those other idiots can pull this off alone?"
"We're not the idiots that you think we are. We're not the ones so obsessed with a teacher that we would get thrown into prison right before pulling off the biggest operation of our life. Which reminds me," he rubbed his hands together. "With you out of the picture, I get her all to myself."
"You piece of trash. Don't you touch her! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Ren raised his voice.
"Why do you care so much about this gaijin teacher? After all, isn't she the reason that you are here now, because she betrayed you?"
"Shut up! It's not true. She didn't betray me. At least she didn't on purpose. She was forced to betray me by that Odagiri Ryo guy. If I ever see him again, I'm going to make him pay for forcing her to betray me." The spiky-haired blonde in the back ears perked up again at the mention of that name.
"Whatever. Well, see you around." Junpei flashed the peace sign, smiled, got up and left.
Ren called after him. "Junpei, mark my words. The Black Cross is nothing without me, and your little operation will never succeed without my help." Especially since I betrayed you and told the yakuza all about it, and only I have a way out to make it successful even though the yakuza know about it already. He had an evil smirk on his face as Junpei left. Ren was thinking when the other blonde spiky-haired boy came over to him.
"What do you want?" Ren asked suspiciously.
"I think I can help you."
"I don't need your help or anyone else's for that matter." Ren responded.
"Oh yeah, then why are you still in this place?
"I can leave any time I want to."
"What are you waiting for then?"
"I need someone on the outside, a plan, and a place to lie under the radar."
"See, I think I can help you with all of those." He smiled.
"Why would you?" Ren was suspicious again.
"Because you said three things that interested me and two things that we share in common."
"Yeah, what's that?"
"One, you're part of the Black Cross group. I'm the leader of the Nekomata group. We have a similar goal, but in different territories. Two, I'm here because of some teacher also. And three, I also have a debt to pay to Odagiri Ryo and some of his friends."
Ren held out his hand. "Maybe we can come to some mutually beneficial arrangement."
He put his arm around Ishikawa's shoulders. "By the way, I'm Kudou." He shook Ren's hand.
"They call me Ren."
(A/N) Forgive me for taking so long to update, but I had to figure out how to rewrite the existential beginning of this chapter. That, and I keep getting caught up in watching dramas. Originally I was not going to have a chapter like this, but I thought it would be nice to have a "chick fight" between two women that can really fight. I know Imani did a lot of back flips, but that was to lull her opponent into thinking that is all she could do. The next chapter is interwoven into the final episode of Gokusen II, graduation. I hope you enjoy my version of it.
Preview: "I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, not only was she bait to get you guys here, but she is also payment for a friend that I met in prison."