CrowsXGokusen FF – 2,911 words (about)

Everything happens for a reason

Part 9: Enlightenment At Last?

Kumiko would have been willing to bet a considerable amount of money that, had he been in any condition to do so, Kirishima would have dragged her bodily back to the room and demanded an immediate explanation. However, as it was, her classmates were barely able to make it inside the building themselves, let alone drag anyone else with them. In fact, there was irony in the fact that she found herself to be the one half-carrying their beaten leader across the schoolyard, into the building, and up the stairs to their classroom. While no more difficult to Kumiko than lifting a desk, this was no small feat by normal standards and so the veil of uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the group following Rindaman's departure remained palpable to everyone.

After depositing Hiromi as gently as possibly in his usual seat at the back of the classroom, Kumiko took a moment to catch her breath and waited as Pon and Mako filed in after her. Their injuries weren't nearly as severe as Hiromi's, but she was sure a few of Pon's ribs were broken from the way he was carrying himself, and she suspected Mako might have a sprained wrist. He held his forearm uncomfortably, as though trying to lessen the pressure. It was the only time she could remember seeing emotion flicker across his usually stony face. Closing the door behind them so that they wouldn't be interrupted, she could sense his confusion was he turned back to face the group.

After a moment of silence in which a dropping pin might have sounded like a bomb going off, the usually explosive Pon mustered the strength to speak. His voice was steady despite his obvious frustrations.

"I know I speak for Kirishima as well when I ask, what exactly happened out there Yamaguchi?"

Silence pervaded once more as Kumiko struggled to come up with an acceptable explanation that wouldn't betray her secret. Realizing after several long minutes that there just wasn't one, she decided that divulging parts of the truth was going to be necessary to conceal the whole of it. Wondering how to begin, Kumiko fiddled with the sweatshirt still clutched tightly in her hands.

"Last night I was out, and I ran into some trouble." Pon made to say something but a look from Mako silenced him once more. Nodding her thanks, she continued, "There was a fight, and in the scuffle I bumped into Hayashida-san. He helped me out a bit and afterwards we got to talking. I must've left my jacket behind when we parted…" Her voice trailed off and she looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "It was very nice of him to bring it to me. And he couldn't have had better timing. I wasn't really struck with any genius way of getting that asshole off of Hiromi."

There was silence once again, but only briefly before—

"Hayashida-SAN?" Pon screeched. Mako winced in annoyance and Kirishima glared at him through the swollen slits that were his eyes. Although it looked more like he was merely squinting, the boy sensed his leader's meaning loud and clear. With a grunt of disapproval, he crossed his arms violently across his chest, wincing as they brushed his injured ribs. Spitting some blood from his mouth, Kirishima cleared his throat and turned to face Kumiko.

"Because of his interference on our behalf, the entire dynamic of this war has shifted, not just today's battle." He paused for a moment and readjusted in his seat. "It's possible that 2C won't accept our victory and will claim that Yugihara was technically defeated by Rindaman and not us. Another possibility is that they will think Rindaman is one of us and join up. They could join us regardless. On the other hand…" Hiromi looked uncomfortable and glanced at Mako. The stoic boy grimaced and nodded. "It's possible", he continued carefully, "that the other factions within Suzuran are already talking about whether or not Rindaman has joined our side."

At this time, the usually silent Mako interjected to disclose that, "They already have started to wonder where he stands. The exchange with Yamaguchi was highly unusual."

"Just what exactly is your relationship with him?" Pon snapped, clearly feeling that his opinions in this discussion were far overdue. "You seemed awfully friendly for having only met him once!" Kumiko shrugged.

"Well, I did talk to him in the bathroom once. He seems cool to me." Even Mako had trouble hiding his shock at that comment, and Kumiko wondered if she might have said too much. Pulling himself together, Kirishima got to his feet, albeit wobbly, with support from the desk nearest to him. After testing his weight on first one foot, then the other, he slowly turned to look down on Yamaguchi who still lounged casually on her chair. He spent a few seconds taking in the boy's appearance, noting that he had not a scratch on him; even his clothes were perfect.

Hiromi knew that he hadn't spent any time watching Yamaguchi fight, but from what he had observed of his classmates' reactions post-battle, he felt sure that it was as impressive as usual, if not more. Still, pulling Rindaman into the mix at this stage in the game had not been part of Hiromi's plan. Furthermore, he had fully expected that they would need to defeat Rindaman in order to conquer the school. Having him join them of his own accord was something he could never have imagined. If that's even how things stand… he mused. Deciding that for the time being he could cut Yamaguchi loose, he shrugged nonchalantly as if the matter was no longer of interest to him.

"Well I think we've all had more than enough for one day," Kirishima said aloud. Kumiko jumped up excitedly but both Pon and Mako eyed their friend, not fooled by his relaxed aura. Giving them both a subtle nod that clearly meant they were to let Yamaguchi go without protest, the 2B leader smiled at their prize fighter, his false grin cracking the bits of dried blood on his face.

"Awesome!" Kumiko cheered, oblivious to the tension around her. "I'm gonna head out early then guys. See ya tomorrow!" With a quick wave, she hurried over to the door, opened it, and nearly fell backwards as a pile of her classmates stumbled through the doorway, their support having suddenly vanished. With an exasperated chuckle, she jumped over them and dashed down the hall, eager to get home. She still had a lot of energy left over from the fight, and she knew that if she hurried, she could catch Minoru and Tetsu just as they were getting home from school. I think it's training time, she thought to herself with a satisfied smirk.

Back in the classroom, Kirishima was unsurprised to see the mountain of students who had apparently been eaves dropping at the door, hoping to hear a hint of explanation. With an amused snort, he waited as they cleared a path for himself, Pon, and Mako, to exit the room after Yamaguchi. Before they started out of the building, he turned back and looked over his class, some of them still with guilty expressions plastered on their faces, and all a little worse for wear.

"Good job today guys," he said gruffly. "The rest of the day is yours." With a salute, he turned and the three wandered leisurely out the front door and then out the front gates. No one tried to stop them from leaving, but that was typical.

"Let's find a place to eat. I'm starving!" Pon whined. Mako nodded in agreement and following Kirishima's lead, the trio turned right and headed east into town.

It wasn't the safest area to hang around, that was for sure, but in their current state, Hiromi figured they would blend in rather than attract attention. The district was densely populated with small eateries, one or two stores, more bars than they could count, and a whole assortment of hostess, and even host clubs. People were everywhere, buying and selling wares on the street and from small, temporary stalls they had set up themselves. It was almost a chore to wade through the throng of bustling bodies pushing in on them from all directions. Everywhere they looked there were all manner of individuals: skinny women with glittery skirts and too much lipstick, dangerous looking men squatting on the ground playing with dice, and old people hunched over from years of labor.

Kirishima pointed in the direction of a small diner up ahead of them and the three friends slowly made their way inside and to a booth. Sitting carefully and wincing slightly, Pon and Mako quickly ordered the first thing off the menu, too hungry to care what they ate. Hiromi asked for a glass of water and seemed content to sip it quietly while his comrades shoveled back mouthful after mouthful of food. When they finally appeared to be slowing down, he cleared his throat to get their attention.

"We need to strategize here," he announced sharply, not that the other two were surprised. "Yamaguchi's actions have completely blown our previous plans and assumptions to shit. With Rindaman on board, we could be unstoppable-"

"But we don't even know for sure that he is!" Pon interjected sourly. "This could truly be as innocent as Yamaguchi seems to think it is." He seemed satisfied with this, but Mako was shaking his head.

"Something's not right. I've been saying it from the beginning. You don't really buy into the idea that Yamaguchi just happened upon Rindaman and they got to talking, do you Hiromi?" he asked incredulously. The leader looked thoughtful.

"I'm not sure…" he muttered. "I don't think Yamaguchi has bad intentions toward us, and Rindaman has been a loner until now. I doubt he'd go along with another person's plan so easily."

"But how well do we even know Yamaguchi?" Mako insisted solemnly. "He could be anyone."

"Yeah, like who?" Pon jeered, sniggering at his usually silent friend. "He's a total badass, that's for sure, but generally good-natured, don't you think?"

"I have to agree," Hiromi concurred. "Whatever his deal is, Yamaguchi is not an enemy. And if Rindaman is friends with him, it can really only help us. The opposition is gonna think twice about standing in our way if there's even the slightest chance it'll upset that monster."

"We don't even know if there's anything between them at all," Mako clarified. "We need to get more information before making our next move."

"Still," Pon deliberated, "the results of today's fight should be enough to tip Kamiya in our favor. Even if you take Rindaman out of the picture, Yamaguchi was like a demon, man!" The noisy youth laughed as Kirishima stared blankly at him.

"I was with him for part of the fight," Mako said quietly. Intent on hearing this first-hand, Hiromi subconsciously leaned in so he could catch every word. "He seemed distracted at first," Mako continued as the other two nodded, remembering, "but then he really threw himself into things and practically turned the whole battle around by himself. We would have been destroyed Hiromi," the boy added. Realizing for the first time how close a call the match had been, Kirishima shuddered slightly and silently thanked the new student.

"Man… I just wanna know how he does that!" Pon remarked bitterly. "If I could throw guys twice my size thirty feet like Yamaguchi, I'd never stop- Oww!" He yelled as Mako whacked him none too gently upside the head. Behind them, a woman at the counter glanced disapprovingly in their direction before turning back to the magazine in front of her with a shake of her head. The larger boy looked condescendingly down at his friend, but then relented.

"I have to admit, I'm also curious as to how he can be so strong. He certainly isn't very big, and his technique is better than any I've seen since Genji." Kirishima nodded in agreement and Pon, though still disgruntled at his mistreatment, also bobbed his head.

Kirishima sighed and turned to stare disinterestedly out the large window that framed their booth. Across the street, two sketchy looking workers were installing a window in the side of a sandwich shop under the strict direction of a mean looking guy in long dark pants and a silk shirt. As the man turned and his face became visible, Kirishima noticed a wicked scar across one eye that seemed vaguely familiar. All at once, it was like a light bulb went off in his head.

"Guys!" he whispered excitedly, turning back to the other two, who were picking at the remains of their lunch. They looked up and took-in the man Hiromi pointed to through the window.

"Looks like Yakuza," Pon remarked hesitantly. "What about him?"

"Yeah, I saw him with Yamaguchi!"

"WHAT?" Pon and Mako cried out in unison, food flying from their mouths. For the second time, the woman at the counter glared in their direction, this time staring pointedly at them until they lowered their voices.

"I spotted Yamaguchi walking out of this district on his way to school a couple times, and each time he was with someone who was unmistakably Yakuza." Mako and Pon looked at each other, not quite sure what to think. "What's more," Kirishima continued, "is that they seem to really respect him. The one guy I saw bowed as Yamaguchi left, and he seemed especially close with this one." He nodded his head once more in the direction of the fierce man on the other side of the glass.

As the three boys sat in silence to ponder the meaning behind Yamaguchi Kumiko's apparent network of underworld connections, the diner owner began chatting with the woman at the counter. Their voices carried easily across the room, and soon all three found themselves distracted by the ladies' conversation.

"But you must have been terrified, Nakamura-san! I mean, what did you do?" the proprietor was asking earnestly.

"To be sure, it was a blessing that Hayashida-kun was the one working that night! He stood right up to them, and you know how big he is…" the woman, Nakamura-san, confided animatedly.

'Well yes, but he was able to get rid of all of them? I heard there were at least six of them!" the owner asked, sounding skeptical.

"Before too long, Oedo showed up and that's when they started damaging things. Hayashida-kun told me to hide in the back until it was over, so I didn't see everything that happened, but when I came out the front window had been shattered." Looking out the window again, Kirishima quickly realized that Nakamura-san must own the sandwich shop across the street where they were replacing the window. Turning back to his comrades, he was about to relate what he had deduced, when Mako uncharacteristically cut him off.

"Did she say 'Hayashida'?" he asked quietly so that the two women wouldn't overhear him. Hiromi felt as though his brain was working overtime trying to put together all the possible connection to what they had just heard.

"And Oedo?" Pon chimed in. "They're one of the biggest Yakuza syndicates in the city, right? I hear they completely dominate the East District." The two boys waited as their leader appeared temporarily lost in thought. Finally, Kirishima slammed his fist down in the center of the table, startling his friends, and stood.

"We need to get to the bottom of this," he stated plainly. "Clearly, there is more going on here than Yamaguchi cares to explain, but I'm tired of being kept in the dark." Throwing a few yen down on the table to cover the meal, Hiromi led the way out of the shop. As the trio stood bunched in the doorway, still unsure of their next move, opportunity so happened to jump up and smack them in the face.

In one brief moment, a flash of familiar black dashed past them, only to stop a few feet away from where they themselves stood. Clearly oblivious to their presence, they watched in collective silence as Yamaguchi Kumiko struck up a conversation with the scar-eyed Yakuza across the street. Although out of earshot, Hiromi, Mako, and even Pon could all tell that the two seemed to be discussing something serious. But the conversation was short, and with an informal wave of his hand, Yamaguchi ran off again down the street, leaving the man behind to continue yelling at the two installing the window.

Acting quickly, Kirishima darted out into the main stream of foot-traffic and took off after their classmate, his friends right behind him.

"Here's the plan!" he shouted to them over his shoulder, all the while moving as quickly as possible after his target through the heavy crowd. "We follow Yamaguchi, and we get answers." The other two nodded to show that they understood, and together the three started tailing their friend.

Sorry Yamaguchi, Hiromi apologized silently, but this is the only way. If you can't trust us, then we can't trust you. Weaving around one obstruction after another, they were just barely able to keep the boy in their sights, but little did they know what manner of surprises would be waiting for them once they finally caught up.