Yankumi stopped in her tracks as she entered the Akadou gym where the school festival's costume party was being held.
For some reason, all the 3D – except for Kazama, Ogata and Kamiya – had come dressed in their usual black gakuran, with the addition of a messy red wig. The other three, on the other hand, didn't even wear a costume – just t-shirts and jeans.
"Nani kore?" She muttered to herself. Something told her that she should recognise their costume, but she simply couldn't place her finger on it.
"Yankumi!" They waved at her enthusiastically.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Honjo asked. Yankumi, as usual, was dressed in a tracksuit, the only difference was that it was bright yellow in colour and had a thick black stripe running down her shoulders and sides. And she was wearing a horrendous blond wig that clashed terribly with her skin colour.
Yankumi shot them an annoyed look. "I'm 'The Bride' a.k.a. 'Black Mamba' from Kill Bill!" She puffed up her chest, as if expecting them to admire her costume.
They nodded in response, finally understanding her costume, but then Murayama spoke up in confusion. "Yankumi, why is your hero a ruthless killer?"
Yankumi gave a startled gasp, as if she just realised the implications of her costume. The six students who had already found out about her family background just laughed silently and muttered 'baka'. They had told Ren the news immediately after they got back, of course; and he had pretended to be surprised.
She was spared from answering when the gym doors opened. Everyone shifted their attention to the latecomer, who was also dressed in a black gakuran and red wig. The boy kept his head down as he walked in, but it was as if everyone was caught in a trance. They found themselves rooted in their spots, unable to move or speak, except for their eyes, which were transfixed on him as he strode confidently into their midst; finally coming to a stop next to Ren.
Yankumi cocked her head. Somehow this seemed like déjà vu. Same person, same reaction, but in a different place… Her eyes widened in realization just as the newcomer lifted his eyes to meet her gaze.
"Shin! What are you doing here?" She hissed at him.
He laughed lightly. "Gomen ne Kumiko, I didn't mean to intrude. But I simply couldn't resist the temptation of meeting my little army of doppelgangers!"
"What do you talking about…" Kumiko trailed off and spun around to face her students. "Do you mean to tell me that all of you redheads are supposed to be Sawada Shin?!"
The rest of 3D, who had not heard the exchange between their teacher and the newcomer, nodded enthusiastically.
"Yankumi, Yankumi, do you know Sawada Shin?!" Honjo asked hopefully.
"Don't I..." Yankumi muttered, shooting a dark look at the 'original version'. He smirked at her.
Shin walked forward and examined all their costumes carefully. "For future references, I only wear white shirts under my gakuran." He said to them. "I mean, seriously, why in the world would you pair a neon green shirt with red hair?" He gave an exaggerated shudder. "And my hair isn't that red," gesturing at Akatsuki's flaming red wig. "It's a little more maroon." He said, pointing to his own hair.
They all nodded sagely before bursting out in unison. "EH?!"
Ren sniggered.
"Hajimemashite. I would introduce myself, but that seems a tad redundant in our current circumstances. Yoroshiku!" He winked at them.
Chaos ensued as everyone tried to talk at the same time. All of 3D was clamouring to speak to him, take a picture, or ask a question.
Yankumi was trying to quiet them down when Ren tapped on her shoulder.
"Let them have their moment, Yankumi. These guys really idolize him." He told her.
Yamato had joined in the conversation. "And he deserves it too."
"Why?" Yankumi asked curiously. "How do you guys know him?"
"I'm not sure how everyone else knows him," Yamato admitted, since he wasn't in the classroom when Honjo told the story. "But I know him from the time when this idiot almost died." His face turned sombre. "In fact, Ren might have died that night if not for him."
"Really?" Yankumi was shocked. How did she not know any of this?
"Yeah. I mean, I didn't know his name at that time, of course. He just suddenly appeared in the boathouse after Ren was struck. He made sure we didn't aggravate his injuries and stopped his bleeding and everything. He left once Ren entered the emergency room."
"He didn't leave." Ren said in a small voice.
Yankumi and Yamato looked at him questioningly.
"He visited me when I was unconscious," Ren said softly. "I… I woke up because of him."
Yankumi was the first of the two to recover from the shock. "How?"
"I felt like I was in a very deep sleep the whole time. And I just wanted to sleep forever and ever. I heard many voices trying to wake me up, but they were filled with so much pain and angst that I drifted further and further away from them. But then when he talked to me, his voice was strong and comforting, which made me gravitate towards him. He also said some things that made me want to wake up. So I began to fight the darkness… and here I am." Ren gave a small smile.
Yankumi felt tears filling up her eyes and quickly blinked them away. She watched with a surge of pride as her former student interacted with her current students. Seeing him together with the students also provided her with a fresh prospective. Ojiisan was right, he had matured indeed. It was quite difficult to see when he was hanging out with grown men like Ojiisan and Wakamatsu; but here in the midst of her students, she could see it as clear as night and day. He had an air of maturity around him compared to them. His movements were confident and deliberate, as opposed to the insecure shuffling and fidgeting among the students. There was a glimmer of wisdom in his eyes that only experienced adults possessed.
Yamato, too, was watching Shin with new-found respect and appreciation.
Ren whispered to Yamato. "It just occurred to me. If he was in the boathouse, doesn't that mean that Honjo has already met him?"
Yamato shrugged. "Yeah, but I think Honjo was too frantic at that time to notice anything. He kept blaming himself for your injury, you know. And plus, he's too star-struck right now to think straight." He tilted his head in Honjo's direction.
Honjo was staring wide-eyed at Shin, like a kid who just saw their favourite superhero.
"Should we tell him?" Ren asked.
"Hmmm. Depends on how he treats us in the future. If he's nice, we'll allow him to live in blissful ignorance; but if he's mean, then we'll tell him how offended Shin was that he had failed to recognise him the first time." Yamato said quietly.
"Remind me not to cross you. You're downright evil."
"You already did your fair share of crossing me earlier this year. You've pretty much exhausted my quota of evilness towards you." Yamato said with a straight face. Ren just grinned at his nemesis-turned-best-friend.
"While I'm really honoured that you guys think so highly of me," Shin was saying. "I must confess that some parts of the so-called legend are not 100% true."
There was a staggering pause in the audience. No one wanted to believe that the legend was untrue.
Honjo started the ball rolling. "Well, we know that you can put people into a trance with your aura – we experienced it ourselves."
There was a quiet murmur in agreement.
"I guess that's true," Shin said. "Although it's not done intentionally."
"Okay, is it true that during your third year, you've never lost a fight?" Ichi asked. Apparently that was the question in everyone's mind as everyone was holding their breath for his answer.
"That's one of the not-so-accurate ones." Shin laughed. "We won pretty often, but there were also a few instances where we were almost beaten into a pulp... The reason we 'won' every fight was because we had a nosy homeroom teacher who would come rescue us and help us kick butts."
"Hey!" Yankumi growled at him.
"What? It's true! I know for a fact that the top 5 delinquents for the past 4 years has consistently been your former students!" Shin teased.
"What top delinquents?" Yankumi asked confusedly.
"There's a list that comes out after graduation every year. It lists the top 30 delinquents in the Shirokin district. But most people only care about the top 10." Honjo explained eagerly.
"Huh? Where's this list? I want to take a look at it!" Yankumi exclaimed.
Honjo rummaged through his bag and found the piece of paper he initially brought to show to Kamiya.
"Top Ten Delinquents in Shirokin District, 2012." Yankumi read aloud. "Number 10, Ogata Yamato." She turned around and glared at the named person, who was currently trying to make himself very small.
"Oh is that you?" Shin asked. "That's quite impressive though, to already be in the top 10 before graduation! Yankumi, you should be proud of him!"
Yankumi sighed. She hated it when he was right, but he usually was; even back when he was her student. "I suppose there's nothing wrong with being top delinquents. It would be hypocritical of me to say that I don't mind you guys being delinquents if I don't support you being at the top of the list." She ruffled his hair. "Good job, Ogata!"
Yankumi began scanning the list for names that she recognised. "Number 7, Youichi Minami. Number 5, Uchiyama Haruhiko. Number 4, Tsuchiya Hikaru. Number 3, Odagiri Ryu. Number 2, Yabuki Hayato. Number 1…" She trailed off, glaring accusingly at Shin. He shot her a smirk.
"You weren't even in Japan!" She half-questioned, half-commented.
"Oh, I've been on the top of the list for the past 4 years. You see, the list is compiled based on reputation, not fights, although those two are often interrelated. What happens is that whoever who wants to vie for a spot on the list must give full disclosure of how many fights they have been involved in, who were involved in those fights, and more importantly, who won the fights. Where there is a group fight, the victory counts towards the leader's personal score." Shin explained.
"That's why Minami has a spot on the list, you see, despite being one of the shittiest fighters I've ever met. It's because he was deemed to have defeated Watanabe from Ara High, although it was actually you who won the fight. It seems that no one wants to admit that they received a beating from a female teacher. So in reality, you are the one who should be top delinquent, Yankumi!" Shin teased.
Yankumi leaned forward to punch his shoulder; but Shin, who knew every trick in her book, just grinned and skipped away before the punch connected.
The 3D students didn't miss the action. So the part about him being fast was true then.
"How do they know that the candidates have disclosed all the necessary details truthfully?" Yankumi asked after recovering from the frustration of her air-punch.
"They don't. It's more or less based on good faith. But if a candidate is found to have failed to disclose any relevant information, they risk being struck off the list forever; and of course, receive a beating from the offended party. So despite being absent for more than 3 years, I have stayed on top of the list for two reasons – one, because no one can claim that they have defeated me; and two, because no one dares to displace my ranking in fear of a confrontation."
Shin addressed the students. "So with Yankumi on your side, you guys have a good chance of getting a high enough score to make it into the top 10!" The students broke into a loud cheer.
"But," Shin's voice turned serious. "Do not get involved in fights unless you absolutely have to. And if I find out that you guys are deliberately causing trouble for Yankumi…" He left the sentence hanging, but the implications were crystal clear.
"Shin! Stop threatening them!" Yankumi slapped his arm lightly.
"I mean it, Yankumi." Turning to face the students, he continued. "I'm sure you guys have been given the talk about the difference between fighting and violence." The students nodded. "Always keep that in mind. But if you guys still find yourself in a rough spot, then don't hesitate to ask us for help."
Yankumi looked at him approvingly. "But how did you know they were going to dress up as you anyway? Even I didn't know that."
Ren squirmed uncomfortably, although no one apart from Yamato noticed it.
Shin grinned. "Ahh, Yankumi, I see that you need some history lessons from Honjo!"
Everyone was shocked. How did he know about what Honjo had told them?
"It's true then. You have eyes and ears everywhere." Kura whispered. Shin just grinned mischievously at them.
"Don't worry, Kamiya, a doubter is better than a blind believer." He called out to the aforementioned person.
Kamiya winced sheepishly. Shin just grinned smugly.