Chapter 21 The Great Escape
Disclaimer: I don't own Gokusen, but I want to borrow it for a little while.
RECAP: The person who wanted revenge was finally revealed and captured after the Black Cross and Nekomata members refused to work for him and a gun-toting guy interrupted the toasts. The dancing began.
Although Shin had completed the dancing for the bridal party and was ready to take his bride and go, unfortunately for him (hence the title) Kekkon sama announced that the dance floor was now open to all guests. Not only was he inundated with a long line of dignitaries' wives, clan obasans, and clan hostesses wanting to dance with him, but there was also a line of former students wanting to dance with Yankumi keeping him from being with his bride.
To Yankumi's surprise, Odagiri was the first of her former students to ask her to dance. "Have I told you how beautiful you look today, Yankumi?" He asked shyly.
"Thank you." She responded just as shyly.
"Yankumi, I have something that I want to say to you, actually something that I want to ask you if you don't mind." He began cautiously.
"Of course not, you will always be my precious student, and as your teacher I wish to be there for you whenever you need me." Yankumi replied smiling.
"Well, about that. I would like to change that relationship." Odagiri looked her in the eyes.
"Eh? What do you mean? You were my student in the past, and I will always see you that way. How can we possibly change that?" Yankumi asked.
"Well, like how you see Sawada senpai. I don't want you to see me as a student anymore." Odagiri explained.
"Eh, like Shin?" She was confused, but then realization struck. "You mean … you mean that?" Her face went into panic mode, and she began stuttering. "That, Ryo, I am really flattered, but I'm a married woman today, and I don't think it is appropriate."
"What has that got to do with anything? I don't care about you being married. This is between you and me. It doesn't concern your marriage." Odagiri frowned.
"Of course it does. How can I be unfaithful to my husband?" Yankumi asked.
"Eh?" Odagiri replayed their conversation. "Oh, no, not like that. I was talking about you becoming my mentor. You see, I am considering becoming an English teacher, and I was hoping you could mentor me on how to reach the students and get them to trust me."
"Oh, oh, ohhhhhh." Yankumi said. "You mean you are not in love with me and want to have an affair with me?"
Ryo, looked away, chuckled, and then looked back at Yankumi. "No, not in a million years would I ask that of you."
"Eh, a million years, you say?" She spoke calmly, which meant that she was livid. "Then why did you confess to me a few years back? Have you forgotten that?"
"No, and I meant it then, but you are a married woman, and although my life could be better, I still value it. I like things like living and breathing." Odagiri responded.
"Heh? You are afraid of what my family will do to you if they found out you propositioned their precious Ojou?" Yankumi asked smugly.
"Eh, no. I hadn't even thought about them." Odagiri said. "You would think they would be the first I'd think about."
"Then you are afraid of what my husband will do to you?" Yankumi smiled when she said husband.
"No, I am more afraid of what your little sister will do to me." They both looked over at Imani who arched an eyebrow in their direction at that exact moment. "I was there when she took out her ninja stalker, remember? And you should have seen what she did to Tsuchi's stalker."
"Eh, Tsuchi's stalker?" Yankumi asked.
"Yes, from his job. You didn't know?" Odagiri asked.
"No, she never told me about it, but I'm going to find out about it right now." She smiled through gritted teeth and turned to leave Odagiri.
"Uh uh, at least wait until after our dance." Odagiri said, stepping in front of her and grabbing her hands once again. The rest of the dance she spent eyeing Imani and when she managed to grab Imani's attention she scowled at her and pointed two fingers at her eyes and then pointed toward Imani indicating she was watching her. Imani shrugged and looked at Ryo who returned the shrug. When the dance was over, Yankumi, along with a long line of men, headed toward Imani and Shin and Yabuki headed toward Yankumi. To Shin's dismay, Yabuki reached her first.
"Hey there gorgeous." Yabuki gave Yankumi the once over. "So, I guess you weren't lying about your three sizes that time when we did the mock interviews in class." He smiled.
"No, of course I wasn't." Yankumi was indignant.
"Yes, you are usually truthful. So, can I ask you a question?" Yabuki asked.
"Of course. Just like I told Ryo, you guys are always gonna be my precious students. So ask me anything." She smiled. "As long as it isn't too personal." She added.
"Okay, that time Ryo confessed to you, how did you feel about it?" Yabuki asked.
"Eh, what do you mean?" Yankumi asked.
"Were you happy about it?" Yabuki asked.
Yankumi thought for a while before she answered. "Of course I was happy. Anytime anyone develops those feelings for you and confesses to you, you will be a little bit happy. Considering how Ryo felt about teachers at first, hating and distrusting them, I was even happier that he could develop feelings like those for teachers. But I was also surprised that he had developed those feelings for me and especially since I was his teacher. I was sure that he felt that way about Imani and not me. So, it surprised me when he confessed to me. But I also was not surprised since students and teachers spend so much time together, and students learn to trust and rely on teachers. It is not uncommon that students began to look to their teachers and develop those types of feelings for them, especially in their adolescent years."
"Is that all? You weren't unhappy or angry?" Yabuki prodded.
Yankumi thought. "Yes, I guess that is true too. I guess I did feel a little unhappy since I could not respond to his feelings or properly consider them since we had a student teacher bond. And that bond is not to be forsaken."
"Then what is all this? Weren't you and sempai in a teacher-student relationship at first?" Yabuki asked.
"Yes, but I when I think back, I don't think I ever taught Shin anything. Not only was he super smart, but he was always teaching me things. So, it has always been Shin as the teacher and me as the student. That is why it is okay, and that is why I can respond to his feelings, and that is why I can be his bride and let him teach me even more." Yankumi nodded and smiled.
Yabuki arched one eyebrow, wondering if Yankumi was aware of the connotations of her statement. "So you feel both happy and unhappy, surprised and not surprised, when a student confesses to you?"
"Don't forget angry." Yankumi reminded him.
"Angry? Why?" Yabuki asked.
"Well, in Odagiri's case it was because he took advantage of the situation to steal my precious kiss. He knew that I was already confused by Shin's confession and upset over the events with Hyuuga, and then he has to up and confess to me. To top it all off, he steals a kiss from me. So, yeah I was angry." Yankumi began to raise her voice and frown.
"Geez, calm down Yankumi. We're at your wedding, one of the happiest days in your life, remember? You should be smiling." Yabuki smiled at her.
"Oh, oh, yes." She smiled.
"One more question for you." Yabuki began. Yankumi nodded. "How would you have felt if I confessed, say the same day or maybe before your wedding?"
"You?" Yankumi looked shocked. "But you're a playa'. I would think you were toying with me."
"What if I were serious?" Yabuki gave her an intense look.
"Well, if it was that day, I probably wouldn't have taken you seriously. I probably would have uppercut you." She stated after thinking. "If it was the day before yesterday, I would have definitely knocked you down with an elbow to the face, stomped on your gut, and then put you in a headlock until you passed out from oxygen deprivation because five confessions in the same day is the maximum I can stand before I go postal."
Yabuki cringed. "Then I guess it is a good thing you will never hear a confession from me." He bowed to Yankumi and left as the song ended. Oh well, I should have already known the answer. So, I don't regret not confessing.
At that point Shin looked for his bride, but was curtailed by his father introducing one of the foreign dignitaries' wives for him to dance with as Yankumi was scooped up by Baba Sensei. In fact for the next 30 minutes Shin was constantly barraged with dance requests from foreign dignitaries and the clan obasans and aneesans, which was unfortunate for him because it allowed Yankumi to be pursued by former students, not to mention former potential rivals including Baba sensei, Kujo sensei, Kashiwagi san, and other members from other clans who also admired Ojou's strength.
When Shinohara asked Yankumi to dance she was slightly hesitant at first. "Yamaguchi sensei, may I have the honor of a dance?"
Yankumi arched one eyebrow. "Yamaguchi?"
"Eh, no, that is Sawada sensei. May I?" He held out his hands, and she accepted cautiously. "I want to apologize for my behavior the other day. I am sorry for the way I behaved and if I made you feel uncomfortable."
"You should be sorry. What if Kikuno found out? How do you think she would feel?" Yankumi asked looking over at Kawashima sensei.
"She wouldn't believe it. She still has a hard time believing that you managed to snag Sawada considering how inept you are. Her words, not mine." Shinohara hurriedly explained.
"She does does she?" Both Shinohara and Yankumi glanced over at Kawashima sensei who caught their eye at that moment, and she smiled and winked at them. Yankumi smiled back at her through gritted teeth.
"But I'm not surprised." Shinohara captured Yankumi's attention once again.
"Eh?" Yankumi looked at him puzzled.
"That that kid pursued you that is. I am not surprised since he told us his intention that day we played kick the can after you returned to teach at Shirokin. He was one of four rivals who declared their intentions that day." Shinohara said.
"Four rivals?" Yankumi asked.
"Yes, that kid, myself, Kashiwagi, my partner at that time, and Tetsu." Shinohara relayed.
"Eh, Tetsu?" She shook her head and chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous, Tetsu is like family. You must have misunderstood. He probably meant that he would protect me as the clan ojou from suitors."
"No, you misunderstood his feelings for you all this time." Shinohara shook his head and then nodded over in Tetsu's direction
Yankumi followed Shinohara's gaze to see Tetsu being fussed over by Shiratori sensei while staring longingly in their direction as they danced.
"See?" Shinohara commented looking at Tetsu and then back at Yankumi, who turned to look at him flustered. "He is looking at you longing to be in my shoes."
She then smiled and shook her head. "No, he is just wishing that he could use his legs and dance in your place that is all. He doesn't have feelings for me, at least not those types of feelings."
"Okay, as you say. But that kid definitely had feelings for you then as you can see. But I was surprised that you reciprocated those feelings. I thought …" He paused. Yankumi looked up at him confused. "Well I thought at the time that you had feelings for me. That you were attracted to me."
Yankumi considered for a while before answering. "It is true that at that time, I was attracted to you. And the last time you came to warn me and my student about the gambling ring owner wanting revenge also, I was still attracted to you at that time. You are still an attractive man, but attraction and love are different. Attraction is only face value, literally. But love is deep within. It is what makes you see a boy and former student as a man." Yankumi looked at Shinohara seriously. "Attraction means you like to look at that person. Love is what makes you look at and for that person and always watch that person even if they are not watching you." Yankumi looked over at Shin who was staring right at her. She smiled dreamily at him, and he winked at her.
"What if I were to tell you that I was watching you, although you were looking at him at the time?" Shinohara asked.
"Then I would say that by that time, it was too late for you and me. But it isn't too late for you and someone else." She looked over at Kawashima sensei again. He followed her gaze and nodded. "Besides, Yuuta needs a father, and you and he get along well." Yankumi turned back to Shinohara as they danced. "She's been watching you all along." Yankumi smiled, and then frowned. "Speaking of which, there is someone else I am supposed to be watching right now." She looked over at Imani, who was talking to Kurogin 3D at a table. Imani shivered involuntarily and looked on the dance floor to find Yankumi glaring at her. At that point, the song ended, and Yankumi turned to leave, but Shinohara grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him.
"Thank you for the dance Sawada sensei." He bowed. She returned his bow and went to find Imani, but Odagiri approached Imani to dance as Uncle Tenkai asked Yankumi to dance. He tripped as he bowed to her, and she caught him, which forced her to dance with him as a result.
Odagiri pressed the back of Imani's knees with his own causing her to lose balance momentarily. She turned around on alert ready to defend herself only to find Odagiri smiling at her. She shook her head. "Would you do me the honor of a dance little white riding hood?" He added at the end as she nodded, and he grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor. "So, I take it that you and Tsuchi made up?"
Imani arched one eyebrow quizzically. "What makes you think that there is a reason for us to make up?"
"Because if I were your boyfriend, and I saw what happened on the video tape, even though I know that it was fake, and it saved my life, I would still have a hard time forgetting the scenes at the karaoke bar, in the elevator, and on the bed in the love motel." Odagiri looked down at her.
"You don't think he would be able to forget or let the memory of the stalker with a knife to your throat cast aside all other memories?" Imani asked.
Odagiri shook his head. "Case in point." He turned her head toward Tsuchi's direction to find him ignoring the girl he was dancing with and staring in their direction instead.
Imani waved at Tsuchi, winked, and blew him a kiss. Tsuchi smiled and turned his attention to the young lady finally. Then she turned back to Odagiri. "I see your point."
"So, I guess I can forget about those two dates, then huh?" Odagiri asked sounding dejected.
"Eh, why is that?" Imani asked.
"What, are you oblivious?" He turned her back to look at Tsuchi who was smiling but still watching them.
"What's he got to do with anything? I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. I don't care what anyone says or thinks." Imani voiced her determination.
"Well, I do care, especially what Tsuchi thinks. So, I'm alright either way." Odagiri expressed.
"Well, it's not alright with me. We're going on those two dates." Imani paused and then continued. "But, we may have to have a third person attend." She hinted. "Especially considering the looks that I am getting."
Odagiri laughed. "I can live with that."
"I'm sure you can. What man wouldn't like to go on a date with two women?" Imani teased.
Odagiri nodded and then looked up in shock. "Eh, two women? What do you mean? I thought you were talking about Tsuchi, or are you going to have him cosplay?" He pictured it and cringed.
"No! Of course not. I'm talking about the other person giving me looks." This time Imani turned his head to face Yankumi who was giving her evil looks.
Odagiri frowned and then recalled. He smiled and then commented nonchalantly. "I wonder what that could be about."
Imani shook her head. "I don't know. I wonder if she found out about China."
"I'm sure that is not it." Odagiri said sheepishly.
"Come to think of it she started giving me evil looks while she was dancing with you." Imani asked. "Did she mention anything when she danced with you?"
"Noooo, not about China." Odagiri commented. "We had other things to discuss."
"Speaking of which, did you tell her about your teaching internship?" Imani asked.
Odagiri was relieved that she had changed the topic. "Uhm, somewhat?"
"Somewhat? You did tell her where you would be teaching, didn't you?" Imani asked.
"I told her that I would be teaching, but not where. We have to leave some mystery for the first day of school." He smirked. (A/N Watch the Gokusen movie.) Shortly after that the dance ended.
Yankumi headed for Imani, but was stopped by Yoshiro. "My lovely Kumichou, would you do me the honor of a dance?" He kissed her hand. She giggled, blushed, and nodded. Shin was seething and about to go over there to interrupt when his father introduced him to yet another dignitary's daughter to entertain. Shin was perusing Yoshiro's actions closely.
"So, I take it your h, ano, Sawa, er no, Shin." Yoshiro was not ready just yet to acknowledge Shin's relationship with Yankumi. "That is, I take it he's preparing to take on his role as your protector."
Yankumi frowned confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that Shin stepped in and filled his role by your side admirably back there for a first time, or do you wish to convince me that that so called event that occurred during the toasts was really a play?" He smirked at her.
"O-of course it was j-just …" Yankumi stammered until Yoshiro placed a finger on her lips to interrupt her.
"Now, now, this is Yoshiro kun, your childhood friend you're talking to. I know when my Kumichou is in a real situation and when she is not. I just wanted to say that Shin handled the situation admirably (pause) for his first time." Yoshiro let his words sink in as he led Yankumi around the dance floor.
Yankumi shook her head. "I don't understand what you are trying to say."
Yoshiro smiled and pinched Yankumi's cheek. "Ah, Kumichou as clueless as ever, I am trying to pay a compliment to your … your Shin about how he stepped up to protect you, or did he only do that because it involved his family?"
Yankumi smiled slightly and shook her head. "Yoshiro kun, Shin does not only stand up for his family, he stands up for all those he cares about and anyone who is weak, even if he doesn't know them." She thought back to the incident in middle school of when he hit a teacher for bullying a student and not apologizing for falsely accusing the student of stealing. "And as far as his role as my protector, that is not his first time. Since we met, he has always been by my side, even when I didn't want him to or know that he was there. He has always been watching me and over me." She smiled dreamily and thought of all the times that he had come to her rescue. "I guess this is a role he had been preparing to fill for years. It was only a short while ago that I acknowledged him and let him take his proper place by my side."
Yoshiro had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Is that so?"
"Yes, I remember that one time when I tried to save a student who fell off the roof of the school, but I lost my grip, and he caught both of us. And then there was that time …" Yankumi went on to recount several times when Shin saved her as they danced.
When the dance ended, Yoshiro leaned down and laid a lingering kiss on Yankumi's cheek. "Goodbye, Kumichou. Thank you for the dance. It was quite enlightening. I guess I have to leave you in the hands of your husband." He smiled, nodded his head at Shin, and left.
Shin strode up and grabbed his wife's hand. He had closely monitored their dance and bristled at the intimacy Yoshiro was displaying toward his wife. So when the dance ended Shin decided he had had enough. He strode over toward his wife ignoring all of the people trying to waylay him from his objective. He arrived just in time to see Yoshiro leave but not in time to stop him from planting a kiss on his wife. Shin grabbed Yankumi's hand possessively and strode over toward Kekkon sama. He felt that he could no longer wait for the reception to be over to be with his bride. So, he put a plan into action. "Kekkon sama, what is left for the bride and groom to do before we can go to our honeymoon suite?" He asked her directly.
She blushed slightly at his directness. "Well, there is the bouquet toss by the bride and the garter toss by the groom. I guess that is all. We will sort out all of your gifts and cards and the bride and groom have to say thank you to all of their guests in attendance."
"Is that all? Well then, let's get this over with or would you like to risk having to make up a third play?" Shin stated looking at his watch.
"Definitely not. The sooner it is over the better. I – I mean the better it is for you to start your life together." She nodded and consulted with her staff via hand phone.
Then, Kekkon sama once again went to the stage as the song ended and called for everyone's attention. "Excuse me. May I have everyone's attention? Now it is time for another western tradition, the bridal bouquet toss. So I need all of the single ladies to move to the center of the dance floor, and the bride to come to the dais."
"Hey Shiz, are you going to join in on this too?" Kikuno asked.
Fujiyama sensei sighed. "I think I have done enough for this wedding already. I'm sitting this one out."
"For those of you unfamiliar with this tradition, the bride will toss her bouquet. It is said that whoever catches the bouquet will be the next to get married." Kekkon sama explained.
Both Fujiyama sensei and Kawishima sensei rushed on to the dance floor elbowing some of the other young ladies aside. "Move out of the way." Fujiyama sensei pushed.
"One side, please." Kawashima sensei also pushed her way through until they were in the center as did some of the other ladies, including Shiratori sensei and the nurse at Aikido.
Yankumi looked around until she found Imani, who was standing at the side of the dance floor out of the way. She then turned around facing away from the crowd. "Okay, ready, 1 … 2 … 3 go." Kekkon sama counted off as Yankumi got ready to toss the bouquet. She tossed it high in the air toward the area where she had last seen Imani. All of the women watched it and moved to where they thought it would land. Just as it began its initial descent, Mariko backed up and stretched out her arm over quite a few of the women.
"Being tall has its advantages." Mariko remarked as it seemed to fall into her outstretched hands.
"Sorry Mariko, but Yuuta needs a father, and I am not getting any younger. I'm catching this bouquet. Besides being short also has it's advantages." Kawashima sensei remarked as she pushed Mariko from behind and took her place waiting for the bouquet to land in her arms. Just as the bouquet was about to fall in her hands, she was kicked in the stomach by Fujiyama sensei, who moved in her place to catch the bouquet.
"Sorry Kikuno, you've been married before. Give others a chance." Shizuka smiled as the bouquet reached her arms, but before she grasped it, Shiratori sensei hit her arm from underneath causing the bouquet to volley up and over Fujiyama sensei's head. "Leave this to the young girls who aren't past their prime." It kept tumbling over the hands of many ladies as they all tried to reach out and grab it, only causing it to continue on its volley through the crowd.
Shirokin and Kurogin 3D, with the exception of Kuma who was getting more food, were all standing close to each other watching and enjoying the melee. "Who wants to take bets on who ends up with the bouquet?" Noda asked.
"Oh, my money is that Imani will come out on top. She's just biding her time." Minami stated taking out some bills.
"I don't think so." Uchi said nodding toward Imani who was standing on the other side of Tsuchi also watching with amusement.
"Eh, Imani? Why aren't you in there?" Hyuuga asked.
"Yeah, with your skills, I'm sure you would totally dominate the crowd." Minami asserted.
"Yeah, I'm sure your boyfriend would also like to know that answer." Yabuki said putting his arm around Tsuchi who had a questioning expression on his face.
"Not that it's anyone's concern, but I don't consider myself single. Or, am I wrong? Should I consider myself unattached and join the fracas?" Imani asked glancing at Tsuchi.
Tsuchi smiled and shook his head. "Not on your life." He went over and pulled her into his arms, hugging her from behind. Imani smiled.
The others turned back to watch the tussle.
"It looks like this won't end any time soon." Noda said sitting down at a nearby table.
Meanwhile, the bridal bouquet was still being volleyed around the crowd of women following it and trying to grasp it until one of the youngest members of the clan girls acted. She took one of the longer tables with the food, placed it front of one end of the dance floor, and then just at the strategic moment, she moved into the center of the crowd to hit the bridal bouquet high in the air toward the direction of the table. She then hurriedly made her way to the back of the crowd and pushed the three ladies in the rear of the crowd forward, who fell into the next row of ladies. They all fell row by row like a series of dominoes until the front line of ladies ran into the table. She ran around to the front of the table and caught the bouquet as it landed on the other side of the table. Everyone clapped as the young lady smiled showing the bouquet. She ran over to a young man with dark sunglasses in a flashy blue suit wearing an open-collared, button-down, gold shiny rayon shirt. He had three thick gold rope chains around his neck. His hair was slicked back into a ponytail.
"See Hiroshi. You said you needed a sign to show you that we should get married. Well, I caught the bouquet. Now, there is nothing stopping us from getting married." She looped her arm into his. He stood stoic, although the flush in his cheeks gave away his true demeanor as some of the senior members of his clan snickered in the background and elbowed each other.
"Now it is time to toss the garter." Kekkon sama announced. "Can I have all of the single gentlemen move to the center of the dance floor? Just as with the bridal bouquet whoever catches the garter is supposed to be the next to get married." The men hesitated eyeing each other until Kyou cleared his throat and reached inside his jacket pocket. Then the men hurriedly gathered to the center, with the exception of Tsuchi who stayed by Imani's side possessively. "But before that, we will need the groom to retrieve the garter from the bride's leg."
Yankumi blushed furiously as Shin led her to a chair in front of the dance floor, set her down, and sensuously rubbed his hand up her leg and thighs to retrieve the garter, and even after he had his hand on it, he continued his northward climb causing Yankumi to gasp and grow even redder. Shin winked at her and deliberately took his time removing her garter. He then stood up, but instead of turning around to throw it behind his back he tossed it purposely in Noda's direction and landed it directly in his front pocket. Noda smiled as everyone congratulated him. The young lady who had caught the bouquet pouted, hoping her boyfriend would catch it, until Kekkon sama announced that she would be dancing with Noda.
She looked in his direction and squealed in delight. "Oooh, he's cute." She went over and put her arm around Noda. Her boyfriend glared over at the two.
Shin smirked, winked at Noda, and mouthed the words. "Good luck."
"Before we continue with the dance, the bride and groom would like to say a few words." Kekkon sama handed the microphone to Shin who smiled.
"I would like to thank everyone who was able to come today to share in this very special day with us. We know that many of you had to travel a great distance to join us, and we really appreciate it. We thank you for tolerating the many surprises that we planned for today, including the two plays. And we especially want to thank you for your warm wishes, your loving thoughts during the toasts, and for you taking out time from your busy schedules to participate in our expression of love." He looked at Yankumi who blushed. He kissed her on the cheek and handed her the mike.
"And we really want to thank all of our family, friends, and business associates who had a hand in putting our wedding together. Without you, none of this would have been possible. We woulda had to elope. One person we really owe big." Yankumi turned towards Kekkon sama. "Words cannot express how we fill about Kekkon sama and all that she has done for this wedding, but we would like to try. So, I want to call on my little sister to do it for us. She will also express our thanks to the wedding party for us. Mani, what are you waiting for?" Yankumi hurriedly invited her up and passed the mike to her.
Imani took the mike. "Well, I thank you two for entrusting me with this task first of all, and I hope I will live up to your expectations. Before I begin, let's have a round of applause for Kekkon sama and her staff who have worked tirelessly and made this wedding seem effortless." Everyone applauded. "And while I extoll Kekkon sama's virtues, she wanted me to inform you that the staff will be coming around passing out small thank you gifts to each and every guest who attended the wedding today. Please be sure to take the wedding couple's token of appreciation. Now, without further ado …"
Imani made sure that everyone's attention was either on her or receiving their token of appreciation while Shin led Yankumi out of the reception hall. As soon as the door closed, he scooped up his bride and headed toward the elevator. He did not want to waste another moment. Unfortunately for them, there was one person who was not easily distracted. He was waiting for them at the elevator.
"A moment of your time, Sawada san." He requested. "I believe we have some unfinished business."
And with that, Yankumi and Shin's great escape ends here, and so does this chapter.
(A/N): Normally, I would apologize for taking so long before posting, but I cannot do that this time. It took me a long time to get this chapter just right, and I don't apologize for taking so long to do that. It was difficult figuring out how long to make this chapter, what to include, and how to end it. Originally, the dancing was all supposed to be in the previous chapter, but that would have made that chapter too long, and this one too short. I also had planned to call this chapter Bridal Bouquet Royale and had described the fight over the bridal bouquet in more detail. I decided to summarize that and really focus on Yankumi's feelings for Shin through the conversations during the dance. The reason for the title the Great Escape was Shin and Yankumi trying to escape from the dance and to their honeymoon. However, they were stopped. I wonder by whom. Well, stay tuned and find out what the next event is and whether it is unfortunate or not.