Title: Stumble and Fall

Author: Avelynn Tame

Disclaimer: I do not own Gokusen.

Summary: A new teacher has arrived at Shirokin, and he's not bothering to hide his attraction to the homeroom teacher of a certain delinquent class. 3-D greet him with their usual kindness and warmth, but Yankumi is far more interested in the reaction of one Sawada Shin…

Author's Notes: Er. So, this chapter is a little bit late. Or, to be more accurate, a lot late. (Somewhere, miles away, my old English teacher just had a stroke.) To make up for it, I am going to do two things – first, I'm going to give some love to my wonderful reviewers (see Author's Note at the end), and second, I'm going to work extra hard to get the next chapter up soon.

How's that? Do you love me now? (Say yes, you know you do…)

One additional note: Um, most of this chapter was not actually supposed to happen. But after some consideration I have played around and extended things a bit, which is at least partly to do with why it's up so late.

Chapter Seven

Shin sighed as he lay back on the very comfortable, very inviting guest bed.

Ah, well. He'd had a good life, all things considered.

It was a shame it was going to end so soon, and so violently, but he supposed he'd brought it upon himself. After all, a man could hardly go into the bedroom of Yamaguchi Kumiko, sit on her bed, kiss her on the cheek without warning, and expect to survive.

He rolled his eyes. What the hell had he been thinking? Or had his brain been completely disengaged from the very start?

Abruptly, he whipped out the pillow from underneath his head and held it above his face, wondering if he could successfully smother himself without waking anyone up.

To tell the truth, he was a little surprised that she hadn't hurled him to the floor and beaten the living shit out of him. He was still waiting for the thump-thump-thump of footsteps that would indicate his impending death-by-Yakuza. Presumably the delay was only because her henchmen were having trouble believing that anyone could be stupid enough to try it on with the fourth generation heiress, in her own house, while her family slept only metres away.

Personally, Shin was struggling with the concept himself.

He replaced the pillow beneath his head, wondering with pointlessly false flippancy whether Maruyama had ever visited this house. Did he even know about the Kuroda group? Did her family know about Maruyama? And – most importantly – if they did, what did they think of him?

Shin huffed and rolled onto his side, annoyed with himself.

This kind of stuff wasn't supposed to matter. She'd said that she didn't want to go out with Maruyama, and that ought to be the end of it. But Shin trusted Maruyama about as much as he trusted that the battered shack down the street from his apartment building really was just an innocent 'Health Emporium' offering relaxing, healing massages for a low, low price.

Maruyama clearly wasn't going to give up, and Shin wasn't in the habit of taking the path of least resistance. Which meant that he needed to start making things clearer to Yankumi – soon.

The question was, how much clearer would he have to make it before she finally got a clue?

For a number of years, Yamaguchi Kumiko had survived very well without a man in her life. Shinohara-sensei, when he had been around, had been the object of her affections – but she'd never once thought that she couldn't live without him.

The men of her family had taken up her heart for a long time, and her unrequited loves had been sufficient to fulfil her occasional yearnings for a romantic life. She hadn't yet reached the point of wanting to settle down and have a family. So the fact that few men had shown an interest so far wasn't something she spent a lot of time contemplating.

And now that there appeared to be two of them – simultaneously – she found herself somewhat distracted, to say the least.

It was mainly the persistent invasion of her personal space that was giving her a headache.

"Kumiko-san," said Maruyama, appearing over her shoulder in the staff room, "may I talk to you?"

Given that she knew what he wanted to talk to her about, and that they had an audience, she felt understandably reluctant. "I'm a little busy right now," she replied guiltily, shuffling papers in front of her. "Maybe later?"

His shoulders slumped. "Sure."

It had been almost a week since he'd asked her out, and so far she'd avoided giving him an answer. He often seemed frustrated with her, but she knew he was trying to be patient. She couldn't stall much longer; she just needed to find the right way to say it.

Unfortunately for her, the simple act of thinking was becoming complicated and stressful. Her mind was displaying a startling tendency to flash back to certain events at inconvenient moments. Namely, her star student's apparent penchant for cornering her and…

She shook her head wildly, startling a number of nearby teachers.

This was really getting out of hand now.

She didn't know what Sawada was playing at – whether he was trying to mess with her head, or had a bet with some of his classmates, or even – for some unfathomable reason – actually believed himself to be interested in her.

Whatever it was, she needed to nip it in the bud. Preferably before he took it too far and did something that she could get fired for. However, every time she managed to find a chance to speak with him alone, he would stand close and tower over her in that daunting way of his, and she would forget what she had planned to say.

She felt like a weak-hearted idiot, letting herself be drawn in by him. He's a boy, she reminded herself daily. Most of his actions were probably hormone-related.

Yet it was hard to convince herself that he was a boy when he stood so near, and his dark eyes locked with hers, and her heart tried to leap out of her chest. At times like that, she could only see him as a man.

No, she thought sharply. This has to stop.

She would talk to him as soon as possible. Preferably with a desk or something similarly sturdy between them.

Unfortunately for her, that discussion would have to wait a little while.

For the last couple of days, she had noticed a young-looking student – maybe a first year – hanging around outside her classroom. He was short, with messy black hair and a shy, awkward face. He kept peeking in and then running away, and any time she made eye contact he would squeak and disappear from sight.

At first she'd assumed that he had some kind of crush on one of the 3-D boys – it wouldn't be the first time, after all – and had elected to leave things as they were. If the kid wanted to say something, he would; it wasn't for her to interfere.

But then she'd caught him skulking around outside 3-A's classroom while she was teaching them the previous afternoon, and she'd begun to wonder if there was something else going on.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore; the next morning she was putting 3-D through their paces – while studiously ignoring Sawada's relentless stare – and she glimpsed a movement out of the corner of her eye. "Maruyama-sensei, I need to go to the staff room," she lied. "Can you watch the class for a few minutes?"

If she'd been less distracted she might have noticed the way that Maruyama looked suddenly wary and uncomfortable, and the fact that Sawada was no longer staring but glaring at her – but she didn't.

She slipped out of the classroom in time to catch sight of the boy disappearing around a corner. She grimaced as she took off at a sprint; really, the kid ought to just give up now, since she was going to catch him anyway. It would save both of them a lot of trouble.

He started flagging pretty soon after he hit the stairwell, trying – foolishly – to head up towards the roof, and she finally caught up to him when he collapsed in a heap two floors up. "For crying out loud, kid," she muttered, sitting down next to him, her back against the wall, "use your head once in a while, will you? If you've got something to say, say it!"

He was panting heavily, his face burning bright red – whether with exertion or embarrassment, she couldn't tell. "Sorry," he managed eventually. "I just…" But he couldn't seem to finish his sentence.

"What's up?" she asked. "Got problems with one of the brats in my class, or something?"

"No, no –" he began hastily, but she cut him off.

"Because don't get me wrong, I love my students, but I'm not blind – I know they don't make life easy for other classes. So if you want to talk about it…"

He shook his head frantically, unable to meet her eyes. "It's not that. Yamaguchi-sensei, I wanted to talk to you."

She blinked. "To me?"

His voice was small, but not as timid as she'd previously suspected – he was worried, she realised. "It's my older brother," he explained. "I think… No, I know he's involved with a really bad crowd. And I don't think he can get away from them."

She ought to put it on her resume. 'Expertise in stealth tactics and low-level espionage.' Maybe add, 'Able to corrupt a multitude of impressionable young people with minimal supervision' and 'Skilled in combat techniques, including specialist moves used to beat the crap out of little kids.'

Really, it was a miracle anyone had hired her to start with.

Next to her, Shin shifted restlessly. "How long are we going to sit here?"

"As long as it takes," she snapped irritably. "I'm not exactly having a party here, either, you know."

He glanced at her, surprised. "What's up with you?"

She sighed, and closed her eyes, tipping her head back against the cold brick wall. "Sorry. It's nothing… I don't know."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. The night air was chilly against the exposed skin of her face, and her breath was visible as little puffs of white mist. The only sound was the not-too-distant laughter of the teenagers messing around in the park some distance away. On the edge of the group, she could see one boy looking awkward, hanging back from the others. He fit the description of Tennouji Ryu, Tokihisa's older brother.

She couldn't hold back a scowl.

"All right," Shin's voice was louder and clearer this time, and she looked up to see that he'd shifted closer to her. "Out with it. What's bothering you?"

"It's late." She gave him a pointed look. "Go home, okay? I can handle this."

"I never said you couldn't."

"And yet you invited yourself along anyway." She glared at him. "Don't give me that 'I need the exercise' crap – admit it, you think I need a… a bodyguard, or something."

He elbowed her sharply; she realised that her voice had risen sharply and the boys were looking around for the source. She and Shin huddled low, mostly hidden by the unwieldy metal structures of the kiddies' playground. She only exhaled when the group seemed to lose interest and go back to what they were doing.

"I don't think you need a bodyguard," Shin argued, "but you can't go into these situations alone. There are seven guys over there – I know what you're capable of, but if one of them is armed…"

She felt very cold, tired, and irritated. "Don't you think I've considered that? I can't believe I'm going to say this to you – stop talking to me as though I'm a kid."

He flinched. She could see a muscle twitching in his jaw, his fists clenching by his sides. "Funny," he ground out, his voice almost strangled in his throat. "Because that's how you talk to me all the time."

The way he said it – tight words, laced with barely restrained frustration and fury – knocked the breath from her chest.

He couldn't see, she realised, just how hard she was trying to maintain what she saw as the natural balance between them. She wasn't doing it out of a vague sense of obligation; she was doing it because it was the right thing to do, and because anything else could mean big trouble for both of them. But in her efforts, she had obviously done some damage to his pride, and potentially to their relationship as well.

Now, however, wasn't the time to discuss it.

"Six," she said abruptly.

She expected a stony silence. Instead, he heaved a painful sigh and replied, "What?"

"Six guys," she corrected him. "The seventh is the one we're here to help. And besides," she added petulantly, "it's not like I've never met an unarmed opponent before."

"Hmm." He made a vague noise at the back of his throat. "Since we're on the subject of the seventh guy – mind telling me exactly why we're stalking some random kid? I know his brother asked you for help, but… I mean, he's not even in your class."

"Exactly!" she hissed, smacking her fist against her palm. "Exactly, Sawada. He's not in my class, but he felt like he had to come to me because he didn't think his own teacher would care."

He rubbed his hands together in his lap. "Does this mean you'll be beating up Washio-sensei tomorrow morning?"

She scoffed. "I ought to. That guy gives teachers a bad name. I bet that kid was going out of his mind with worry for weeks and Washio didn't even notice."

Across the park, the group was starting to move, shuffling lazily along the rough, winding path into the thick trees. She unfurled her legs, stretching them out in front of her and wincing at the ache in her stiff muscles. Slowly, she pulled herself to her feet, and glanced down at where Sawada sat. "You coming?"

He pushed away from the wall and stood up. She couldn't help but be struck by just how much taller he was. She had to tilt her head to look up at him, and she was pretty sure she hadn't had to do that when she'd first met him.

"What are you staring at me for?" he asked suddenly, one eyebrow raised.

"I – I am not staring," she sputtered, embarrassed. She turned on her heel and stalked away from him so that he wouldn't see her bright red face. "I was just looking at you in a normal way, that's all."

"Uh-huh." A few strides and he was walking alongside her, lips quirked upwards with amusement.

She ignored him and walked faster.

They found the boys about a quarter of a mile along the path, attempting to break into what looked like a small shed. The park wardens probably kept tools and gardening equipment in there; she could only imagine what havoc the group would wreak if they were armed with spades and hedge-clippers. Once again, Ryu was standing back watching the others, his gaze skittering nervously from side to side.

She sighed. No point trying to be subtle, in any case. "Oi!" she called out, and began to approach them. "What the hell are you kids doing?"

They looked up and, on seeing her, seemed to relax a little. "Move along, old hag," said the one who was crouching next to the padlock with a bent pin in his hand. "Don't mess with us if you know what's good for you."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, kid, you look about twelve. Also," she bristled indignantly, "I am not an old hag. Now step away from there or I'll rip your arm off."

Lockpicking Kid snorted. "Whatever." And he carried on as if she had never spoken.

They had obviously judged that she was no physical threat to them, and Lockpicking Kid seemed to think that she'd go away if he ignored her. But a few of the others looked a little ruffled; probably, she supposed, because at the very least she was a witness to their attempted crime. One of them stepped in front of the rest. "Seriously, bitch, get out of here," he said, his eyes darting past her to look at Shin. "Don't you and your boyfriend have anything better to do?"

She bit her tongue to prevent herself correcting him – she wasn't going to be drawn into a ridiculous argument, even if they were making assumptions that were factually incorrect. "Let's make this simple," she said instead. "Either you stop what you're doing, or I will call the police and have you arrested. Oh, and I might beat you up as well."

This time, Lockpicking Kid did stop. He dropped the pin on the floor and stood up, swaggering towards her in what was obviously supposed to be an intimidating manner. She heard a soft step behind her and knew that Sawada was close by. "Don't get involved," she murmured softly over her shoulder. "Stay on the edge. When the time is right, grab the kid – he's the one in the red t-shirt. Don't let him go."

He made a strange noise in the back of his throat; it might have been annoyance or assent, or maybe even both. Either way, she felt a sudden burst of gratitude for his presence.

Lockpicking Kid stopped in front of her. "You have a death wish or something?"

She grinned at him. "Nope. I just want you to go home like a good little boy. You can do that, right? I mean, you know how to walk and everything…"

He grabbed her by the collar of her jacket. "Listen, bitch –"

That kind of did it for her. She'd been called worse, but one of her pet hates happened to be people who grabbed her clothing. She paid good money for it, after all. She reached up and pulled the guy's hand away, her fingers crushing his wrist in a vice-like grip. "Don't do that again, okay?"

He stared at his hand as though it were possessed. Then his fingers curled into a tight fist and he drew his arm back, his face contorted with rage.

She darted out of the way at the last minute, letting him stumble forward before she caught his outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back. His free arm reached back to grab her, but she pulled it all the way back, hyper-extending it and forcing him to groan with pain. "Let's try this again," she said, and kicked him in the back of the knees.

He fell to the floor instantly, and she let go of his arms. "Go home," she said very clearly, "or I'll do that again."

One of his friends, a heavily tattooed guy with far too much muscle for his own good, tried to catch her by surprise from the side, but she saw him and turned, swinging her leg up to slam her foot into his groin. The colour drained from his face and he whimpered as his hands flew to the front of his jeans.

"Third time lucky," she muttered, and made very deliberate eye contact with the remaining five. "Do you guys really want to stick around, or do you want to take this opportunity to run away?"

One or two of them looked as though they might try their luck, but the others were already backing away; she advanced as they retreated, stepping on the head of Lockpicking Kid, who had looked on the verge of leaping up. "You know what?" she said thoughtfully. "Maybe I ought to call the police anyway. Since you were, you know, breaking the law and all."

Of course, she would no more call the police than she would kiss the principal on his shiny, bald head, but they didn't need to know that.

The five of them took off at a sprint, and she gestured to Sawada, who followed in hot pursuit.

As she'd suspected, Tennouji Ryu, who was weedier than the others, wasn't particularly fast. He fell behind, and Sawada caught him easily, dragging him back to her by the scruff of the neck like a mother cat with a wayward kitten (although, she reflected, he probably wouldn't appreciate the comparison).

She left Lockpicking Kid and his tattoed friend behind, and as soon as she'd put some distance between them, they made a speedy escape, shrugging unapologetically at Ryu as they abandoned him to his fate.

"Great friends you've got there," she muttered. "I can see why you'd want to hang out with them instead of go to school."

"I didn't do anything," Ryu spat, "so you've got nothing on me. Go on, call the police if you want." He started to puff out his chest, a cocky smirk on his face. Then it slid away, replaced by a confused frown. "Wait. How'd you know I'm not in school?"

"Because, you idiot, you're making a lot of people worry about you." She sighed. "Come on. It's too damn cold to discuss this outside. Let's go to the café."

Author's Notes: OK, here goes.

Many, many thanks to: Iriel, Vine Verrine, sharo-cam, Naoko, blueprincess16, renagrrl, ducks-rule-world (cool name!), Astral Fancy, mmm.kai.mmm, DimLight, babs08, lilyoftheval05, Princess of the Rogues, dead2self, Valmarien, TESHii-KOiiBiiTO, ivy Avalon, gthistle, CrazySakuraBlossom, Mizuki hikari, rainbow-kitten91, Angry Girl, elebelly, Aya, decktable, Amber Laing, NausicA, Left Hook, Cabba, Ihotshot83, Solo, Obsidian Tigress, Mittelan, hevava, Grey, xladykittyx, White-Lily-Blossom, Doriana, Ieatfeet (another cool name), Green.On.Black, onigiri18, mysterygal02, Kechia, DarkSmile, ImmortalSoull, DelusionCafe (how do you put hearts in reviews?!), Lita of Jupiter, LonelySoul828, Li, dark, Junipertree, Komichi, Reader One, Calindy, konARTISTE, kk, Jazz, Kirehsei, operator13, Spiel, Real Dream Nirom, Inirini (next chapter of Resolve will come soon, yes?), KAT-TUN Lover, froggy, Sleepy Mangos, MsLessa, Houseki, meatbun66 (hey, I don't think I'd realised you had an FFNet account as well – hello! Waves), Amber, Rayne Hunter, SheCool, MizBermy, Monki-Neko, Tani Barton, CM, gatogirl1, -w- easy enough, entity.unknown, shooting star 0160, Shortshorty, Duke-of-Spades, Miranda, Noona, VBee, and finally, Angel'sMystery.

Phew. Okay. I need to lie down now. Next chapter up soon. Please review. Passes out