Gokusen Fan Fiction ❯ Yakuza ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

After Shin graduates from Shirokin, he joins the Ooedo clan.

Yakuza

Kumiko Yamagushi stood at the door to her home, glaring at the boy, the young man, standing in front of her. A gentle nightly breeze played with his red hair as he stood ready, having made his final decision.

"Go home Shin," Kumiko, nicknamed Yankumi by her students, spoke in a harsh angry voice. If anyone else would be standing in front of her instead of Shin and they did not react to her tone, she would have been surprised. However Shin's apparent indifference didn't surprise her at all. He did not give up easily.

"Go home now," she spoke slowly, emphasizing every word. She had that look in her eyes, the same look she had when Shin discovered her secret. Back then he had said that she looked like she was going to kill him. The thought did cross her mind, but she was certain that deep down she wouldn't allow herself to do such a thing.

Shin had been student and there he stood ready to throw away his life. A promising young man, a genius perhaps and all he aspired to become was a yakuza. "I won't allow you to do this." He still stood silent as the cool night breeze continued. It was as if he was waiting her out of her strong will, or at least trying to. "Go home!" She screamed.

Fuji woke up with a jump. He was having a rather pleasant dream of fighting side by side with Ojou. The dog rushed in the direction of the sound, but his alarm died down when he smelled, then saw, Shin Sawada. It was just one of Ojou's students coming to visit, or rather ex-students since he had already graduated.

Fuji approached curiously and sat next to Shin. The red haired young man acknowledged the brown dog's presence and patted his head. Fuji was taken by surprise by the gesture, but made no effort to protest. He felt himself start to wag his tail, the pink bow Kumiko had tied on it waving left and right. He never stopped to think how other dogs may see him with that pink bow on his tail and the red jacked he always wore. His life was dedicated to protecting Ojou and helping her in any way he could, that was all the canine thought of.

Yankumi shook her head. Shin Sawada was certainly stubborn. She had a feeling that if she didn't let him in, he would stand there all night and catch a cold. She knew by personal experience how bad a strong cold could be and she certainly didn't want him to catch one.

"Are you done playing with my dog?" She tried to sound as angry and irritated as possible, to make up for her initial expression when she first saw Shin arrive. When that happened she had smiled and had to use all her will power to stop herself from welcoming him as if he were a lifelong friend.

She wasn't sure why, but she had sadly assumed at first, that after graduation, she would never see any of her ex-students again, or at least not as often. Sure most of them lived near by and, truth be told, with their grades, except for Shin, they probably wouldn't make it into college, so they didn't have that as a reason to leave.

However they were still capable of finding jobs and staying out of trouble. Yes, they were capable of doing that, but they most likely wouldn't, so Yankumi made sure they did after realizing she would see them more often than she thought.

Then there was Shin, that enigmatic boy. He was the first to figure out her secret. In the time between that incident at the warehouse, when the boys came to her rescue, and their graduation day, things weren't exactly quiet and they soon found out her secret as well. Not all of them knew, but more than she thought would find out. Kuma, Ushi, Noda and Minami knew and kept her secret now, just as Shin did.

For Shin, Yankumi had assumed he would be off to college in some far away city and while the rational side of her hoped that he did follow that plan, a well hidden portion of her hoped he stayed. Even so, she was still his teacher, not officially anymore, but in her heart she would continue to be and it was her duty to stop him from making a mistake.

"Don't throw away your future, Shin. You're the smartest student to graduate from Shirokin, maybe even the smartest in Japan. Go to college, get an education and live a good life," Yankumi insisted.

Shin stopped petting Fuji, who looked a bit disappointed but quickly regained his serious expression, with a hint of curiosity as to what Sawada would say. "I am going to college."

Yankumi knew full well it was not time to sing victory yet. Shin still had that confident look in his eyes. He was as determined as one can be. He wanted to join the Ooedo clan and he had not given up on that goal yet. "Then why are you still here?" Yankumi inquired.

"Can't I visit?" Shin asked.

A small moment of silence passed. Yankumi knew that wasn't all there was to it. She thought about her possible answer. The Ooedo clan was probably not the best place for Shin to hang out, but at the same time, she did not want to make him feel unwelcome in her home. The complicated part was that the Ooedo clan was her home. "You can visit, but you can't join."

"Why not?" Shin asked calmly.

It was a simple question, yet the answer was very complicated, but Yankumi tried to keep it as simple as possible. "You're going to college."

"Yes, I am," Shin assured and after a short pause he continued. "But that doesn't mean I can't be here. I won't move out of the city, there is a good college near by I can attend. Besides, just because I'm in college doesn't mean I can't accomplish whatever duties I am given by the clan. You're the Ojou and you're a teacher. You can handle both your job and the Ooedo clan. What makes you think I can't handle being in the clan and going to college?"

"I don't want you to, damn it! I don't want you in this world. I don't want you risking what you worked hard to obtain. Get out of here you idiot! I told you before and I'll tell you again, don't mess in my business, moron!" Yankumi's screaming was more than enough to get the attention of the other people in the residence. Tetsu, Minoru and Kyotaro listened to the argument without being noticed.

"Kumiko, what is going on?" A calm business-like voice was heard, as a serious looking elderly man joined her at the door.

"Grandfather," Yankumi frowned. "It's nothing, just a stubborn idiot."

"Pease allow me to join the Ooedo clan," Shin spoke to Yankumi's grandfather. He bowed and continued, "I will do a good job in the clan and while I'm here, I'll also attend college just like Ojou wanted me to. I will do well on both areas, you have my word."

Mr. Kuroda shook his head slightly. "That is not my choice to make. To join you need permission from my granddaughter." He turned to go back inside, but stopped when he heard Shin's voice again.

"If Ojou allowed me to join, would you approve of that?" Shin asked.

Kuroda turned to face the red haired young man, who still bowed his head. "Look at me." Shin raised his head to look at Kuroda, who had a serious expression, as he did most of the time. "I can see the determination in your eyes. You do not give up easily. Those are characteristics vital to a member of the Ooedo clan. If and only if Kumiko allows you to join, then you will have my approval to be here as a part of the Ooedo clan. If it is her decision that you should not join, then you will not have my approval to be here as more than a visitor. I leave this choice in the hands of my granddaughter. I will agree with whatever choice she makes."

Yankumi didn't look too satisfied with her grandfather's answer, yet at the same time she was. She was happy that he trusted her, although some backup would have been nice. Shin appeared to like the answer that he received. "Thank you."

Yankumi glared. She didn't like the way Shin thanked Kuroda, as if he was already in. "You're out," she said firmly.

"Don't be so quick to decide. Think about it Ojou, you don't want me to become like Carlos was, coming here to ask to join all the time," Shin applied a little pressure.

"So you know about that," Yankumi's already deadly glare turned deadlier. "It's Miss Yamagushi to you, not Ojou."

"I thought Ojou would be more appropriate now, but I can call you Miss Yamagushi if that is your wish." As Shin spoke, Yankumi continued to glare at him. "Chill out, you look like you're gonna kill me." The light grin that adorned his face when he said those last few words was both pleasant and annoying to her.

Yankumi shook her head and displayed the scariest look Shin had ever seen. "Fine, you win this time. But I'm warning you, this won't be easy and you better keep your grades up in college." Yankumi stepped aside to allow Shin to enter.

Shin smiled, satisfied with how things worked out. "Don't worry. You know I'll ace everything."

"Cocky bastard," Yankumi muttered as she led him to a room. "You can sleep here for now. Don't expect fancy accommodations. Hopefully, the guys won't mind having you as a guest until your room is prepared. I'll put a sleeping bag in the corner for you for now."

"Isn't it easier if I just sleep on the couch or something?" Shin could offer to live at his apartment, it wasn't that far away. But if for some unknown reason Yankumi had assumed that if he joined the Ooedo clan, he would be living there, he certainly wasn't going to contradict. Maybe it was her way to try to keep him out of trouble and make sure he kept his word.

"That's were Fuji sleeps these days," Yankumi replied. Shin got the feeling that she was just trying to make things a little bit harder, but it wasn't working very well. They walked around the house in silence until Yankumi placed a sleeping bag for Shin where she had said before. "It's late, go to sleep. You're getting up early tomorrow." She did not mention why he needed to get up early the next day, which was a Saturday, nor did he ask.

"Good night Yankumi," Shin simply replied.

Perhaps Shin was in a good mood because he celebrating, too early for Yankumi's liking, his victory of being accepted into the Ooedo clan. At least he wasn't calling her Ojou. Although maybe in time she could get used to it, right now coming from Shin, it still felt unfamiliar. She did not reply but instead departed towards her room.

Soon after, feeling tired from her long day, Yankumi went to bed. Her nice warm bed was the most welcoming place in the universe, as exhausted as she was, even if she didn't look it. Leaving her glasses on the night stand, she turned the lamp off and the room was invaded by the darkness. Her pillow felt exceptionally soft that night, yet she didn't fall asleep right away.

Yankumi couldn't help it but to think of Shin and wonder how things would be with him around. He would probably be in college all day, just as she would be working at Shirokin the entire time, but what about when they both returned home? She decided not to think about it too much and just let things flow naturally when the time came. Shin had always been different from her other students and very different from her adopted younger brothers. Yankumi appreciated them all and cared for them very much, but Shin held a special place. "Good night Shin," she whispered to no one in particular.

"Good night Yankumi." She nearly went through the roof when she heard the voice answer. Yankumi was supposed to be alone in her room. She slammed her finger into the button to turn the lamp back on and directed her deadliest glare at Shin.

"Don't kill me," he said half joking. "It's just that Tetsu snores too loud and you said I needed to get up early tomorrow." Shin had moved his sleeping bag to the floor in a corner of her room.

Yankumi mentally kicked herself for not hearing Shin come in and not seeing him in the darkness of the room. She sighted hopelessly and declared this one of those extremely rare occasions, in which she thought it was best to give up. "Fine you can stay there."

Shin got as comfortable as possible and appeared to have no trouble falling asleep. Yankumi watched him for a moment. She had turned the lamp off again and it was hard to see in the darkness, but the clouds outside had shifted, being carried away by the wind, and the light of the full moon that was uncovered behind the curtain of clouds, was finally beginning to enter the room by the open window.

This was where Shin wanted to be. It was his choice and Yankumi knew that even if she could give him advice and guidance, in the end it was his choice to make.

End

Disclaimer, I do not own Gokusen.