Rating: T

Disclaimer: Of course Gokusen isn't mine. How I wish, but I'm not that good. Also, I am gaijin. So forgive me, if I get some things incorrect about Japan. The characters and theme belong to Morimouto, but I own this plot.

(A/N) This story is mine and for entertainment only. I first got into the anime of Gokusen. I liked it, except the dog (sorry Fuji fans) so I started searching the web and ran across the jdorama. At first I was disappointed at how far it went from the anime, but then I saw they did a good job adapting it and really liked it. But then I found Calophi and her great site and read the manga. I wasn't satisfied with how the jdorama ended, especially with things between Shin and Yankumi. So this is my ending. The story picks up a little bit after Gokusen season 2 ends. This is about 4 years after the original Gokusen and 6 months after the second one. Note: I also like Kyou San from the manga. So I have added him into it. Although I prefer the Shinohara-sensei from the manga, using Shinohara-san from the jdorama makes more sense for the plot, as you will see later. It starts a little slow, but gets interesting at the end. This is called Yankumi becomes the Student or Sawada sensei. (A/N Kashiwagi (the other policeman))

Chapter 1 Homecoming

Yankumi was tired as she slowly trudged along the way home. She was glad that graduation was over and they were on break. This year's 3D students had been extremely challenging. She practically had to whip all 27 students in to shape, literally. Aaah, they were not like her first set at Shirokin Gakuin students. She pictured them all fondly and dwelled for a minute on one particular face, but quickly shook that thought out of her head. As she got closer to home, she started walking faster and with more energy. First, because she was excited, and second because she knew she would have at least 50 of her grandfather's loyal men waiting to great her with a bow and a "Welcome home Ojou." She wanted to have the energy to respond with a slight bow of the head and a "Thank you." When she arrived home, it was just as she expected, 50 men bowing with a "Welcome home Ojou". When she arrived at the front porch, there was a surprise waiting for her. There was Tetsu, Minoru, Wakatamasu, Sugawara, her grandfather, and a huge man with a scar across his eye.

"Kyou san" Yankumi ran over to hug the man who looked like a big scary giant but to her had always been a big teddy bear. She recalled how he had given her piggy back rides and how he had often taken the blame for what she did. Also, she recalled how he wiped her silent tears when she would cry alone at night in her bedroom after her parent's death at the age of 7, and she first arrived in the Oeda house. Tetsu and Minoru scrambled to get her bags and take them to her room. They all went inside and sat down to listen to Ojou's tales about her students, especially Kyou san since he had missed most of her tenure as a teacher. He had went to jail just before her first day of school. He was the one who told her to be strong and teach from the heart. She listened to those words and was rewarded for it.

"These were the worse students ever. There was no leader. They were not really good friends who would cover for one another and stand together. They would rather sell each other out to become the leader of the class. I practically had to appoint a leader, teach them loyalty, duty, and honor, and beat them all senseless to get them to stick together and graduate. It was so bad that Head Teacher wanted me to tell them about my background to frighten them or let the school make me resign, and then he could take responsibility and resign also."

They all laughed at that.

"But Ojou is an excellent teacher. She inspired them to do their best at the end, right?" .

Tetsu hit Minoru on the back of the head for his comment. "Of course. Ojou is an excellent teacher." Tetsu smiled at her longingly. She smiled back not seeing the gleam in his eye. "Yes at the end they pulled it off and made me proud. Each class is getting worse though every year."

"You mean they were worse than Shin and Shirokin 3D?" Wakamatsu recalled how many times Yankumi complained about Sawada and the others.

"Oh yeah. Sawada was a leader. I didn't have to fight him or beat him up to gain his respect. He cared for his friends and his sister more than for himself. He was always by my side to help me cover up my background. I wish I had a Shin in all my classes. That would have made it easier."

No one noticed how her voice changed slightly as she spoke about Shin, not even she noticed. Grandpa did notice and he finally spoke.

"Yes, having the right man as a leader is important for anything to be successful. In the kumi that is very true. In life, that is absolutely necessary. Yes, Shin is definitely the right man to lead."

That's odd he said is not was. She shrugged.

"Ojou, if you do not have someone like Shin to lead in the next class, will you stop teaching? If they are getting worse will you stop teaching?" Minoru was hopeful she would join the business and become the leader instead.

"No. The fact that they are getting worse is an indication that they need someone like me to guide them and lead them in the right direction. I'll just have to train harder." She was emphatic.

"It's good that I am back to train you for the worst then." Kyou san lifted his fist in the air to show his strength.

Tetsu left to finish the preparation for her favorite hot pot. She could smell it and couldn't wait, but she was hungry now. So, she remembered that she had promised Kuma that she would stop in to see him. He said he had a surprise for her.

Although she had learned to fix packaged meals, she still wasn't good at cooking. Those meals in the school cafeteria were not that great either. Kuma's ramen would just hit the spot.

The former student walked into Kuma's ramen shop and sat down with a newspaper in front of him. His hair was cut a little shorter, but still layered in the front just above the eyes and slightly unruly. It was all dark now, too. He was wearing a cream suit with an Italian burgundy shirt, sunglasses and a hat. Although he had a lean frame, he had gotten more muscular and broader from all of the building work he had done in Africa. He still had the same bored facial expression as usual. He ordered from his seat behind the newspaper. "Oi, get me a ramen with shrimp and pork and hurry up."

"Hai," Kuma never looked up or he might have noticed his friend. He was working fast and hard because he knew his favorite teacher Yankumi was coming to visit, and he had prepared a special meal for her. He had finished preparing her meal and worked on the meal of the stranger behind the paper. Fortunately it was between the lunch and dinner rush so it wasn't that busy.

"Oi, ramen man, you are taking too long. You are as slow as someone who graduated from Shirokin Gakuen."

Kuma looked up at the man who had put the paper down and was smirking. "Shin chan!"

"Kuma" Kuma ran over to hug Shin and rub him on the head. Then he looked at his clothes and said, "Oi, Shin. You look good. What are you doing back here? I thought you were in Africa?"

"I was. I stayed there for a year, and then I met a building designer from Japan. He liked my work and the fact that I had a head for business. So after that he hired me to work on a project in the United States. Then, I studied and got a contractor's license over there. Finally, he wanted to come back home and build a school. So, I came back with him, and I'm here to get my contractor's license and help build a school. I'll tell you all about it later when you are not working, eh."

"Oh, so you are going to build a school and ask Yankumi to teach there so you can get close to her and confess."

"Eh?" Shin dropped his paper. He had not expected Kuma to know let alone guess his plan. "What do you mean confess to Yankumi? What are you talking about?"

"That day on the hill when we played kick the can after Yankumi got her job back, I heard you tell Shinohara san, Tetsu and Kawashimi that you were also rivals for Yankumi. I never said anything to you about it because you didn't do anything about it. So I figured you got bored with that, or you changed your mind."

Shin stared at his friend and decided to confide in his friend. "I didn't have a plan in my future. All I knew was that I wanted to graduate with my friends, go to Africa and work, and be with Yankumi, but I couldn't compete with the others until I knew that I could offer her something. Now, I can so I am back. I just hope that Shinohara san or Tetsu haven't confessed to her while I was gone."

"No. Shinohara san got promoted the next year and is working somewhere else. Tetsu is still afraid to speak up to her. There was this teacher that she was in love with last year, Kujo sensei, but he was like Shinohara san. He liked her but was never serious."

Shin half smiled. So I still have a chance.

"Have you seen her yet?"

"No. I thought she was away at some school."

"She was, but she returns home today for the break. Oi, she should be here any minute. I invited her over to have a special meal."

"Don't tell her I am here. I want to surprise her."

Kuma nodded, and went back to finishing her meal. Shin hid behind his newspaper again trying not to smile or appear anxious. Right on cue she walked in and went up to Kuma. He glimpsed from behind the paper to look at her. Although he had come to adore her in her two pigtails, her big dorky glasses, and tracksuits, he was glad she had on a long sleeved cotton shirt, jeans, and had her hair up in a pony tail, but the rest of it down framing her face. She wasn't wearing her glasses, and she was smiling at Kuma. That is the Yankumi he was used to and liked. At school she was cute, fun, idealistic, sometimes childish, but always passionate. When she was at home around her family, she was sweet, kind, relaxed, in control, and gorgeous, just the way she looked now. He hurriedly ducked behind the paper when she looked around to find a seat.

"Oi, Kuma where are you? I'm here. You said you had a surprise for me. Is it a girl? Did you fall in love? It is springtime, a time for love, and Kuma is so cute he should find a girl that loves him and can cook for him." Yankumi was always so goofy when she talked about love.

"Yo Yankumi" Kuma came to hug her. "I have a special meal for you." He picked up a tray with an assortment of noodles, rice, and a meat dish with vegetables. It looked really appetizing. "Taste it." He was waiting excitedly.

She tasted the meat dish with the rice and smiled. "Kuma this is excellent." She started eating more of it and more quickly.

Kuma smiled and told her, "The shop is finally doing well enough so that we can get someone part time, and I can go to culinary school part time thanks to you." She jumped up and tousled Kuma's hair excitedly.

"Congratulations, I knew you would eventually live up to your dream Kuma. I couldn't be more proud of you. I'm sure your mom and sister and brother are also proud. Your dad would have been proud, too." She spoke softly mentioning his Dad.

"Eat up," he said. "I have to get back to dinner preparations." Then he motioned to Shin with his head to go over there.

Shin moved right behind Yankumi unnoticed. Kuma yelled from the kitchen, "Oh yeah, there is one more surprise for you."

"Eh, Kuma what is it? Did you find true love?" Yankumi asked.

Then Shin touched her cheek and said "Baka." She recognized the voice without turning. She looked around and yelled, "Sawada". Then she grabbed him around the neck and hugged him tightly. He put his arms around her waist to return the hug and breathed in her scent. How he longed to do this for so long. He didn't want to let go, but she pushed him away to look at him. He blushed at the way she was looking at him.

"Sawada, you are looking good, so handsome and muscular. What are you doing here? I thought you were thousands of miles away in Africa or America? Tell me all about it. I can't wait to hear it. I can't get over how nice you've grown and how good you look either." She was surprised at how warm she felt. Looking at him the way she did, she begin to blush because she no longer saw the rebellious teen leader but a handsome, strong man. She shook her head to get her thoughts together.

"I was in both." How did she know about America he thought. Was she checking up on me? He then smiled and said, "I'll be glad to tell you all about it over dinner some time, my treat." There, he asked her out on a date just how he planned. He had taken four years to get to this point, and he didn't want to waste any more time.

But Kuma chimed in before she could respond or think anything about it and said, "That would be cool. I'll call Uchi, Minami, and Noda, and we can all get together for a reunion meal."

Yankumi had turned to look at Kuma, and Shin glared at his friend. Kuma noticed the glare, and said "Oh sorry Shin, were you going to confess.."

"Eh, confess?" Yankumi looked puzzled. Then she said teasing Shin and tousling his hair, "Oh, so you do have a girlfriend? I bet it's a gorgeous model. Are you going to invite her to the dinner and confess in front of all of us? Oooh, how romantic" she said elbowing him in the ribs and smiling. She also felt a strange feeling like a slight tear in her chest at the thought of him confessing.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said quickly. "That is not what Kuma meant to say." He looked at his friend with a glare, flustered and quickly moved back to the dinner. "So are we all on for dinner? Kuma will make all of the arrangements and get back to us right?" He commanded more than asked. Kuma bowed more than nodded and left. Then Shin said, "is there a special person you want to invite Yankumi, what about that cop Shinohara san?"

Yankumi blushed and turned away with a pained look on her face, and said, "No. Shinohara san was promoted and left to go to another station. Alas, I am a failure as a woman in that battle. I don't have what it takes to win that fight and have not been trained for that battle appropriately."

Shin rolled his eyes, sighed, half smiled, and took her by the shoulders, turned her around and told her, "There you go again. You don't learn the lessons that you teach. If one of us needed help extra help to learn, what would you tell us?"

"Easy. I'd tell you to go to someone who knows about it and get some tutoring. I would tell you to come to me or one of your friends and ask for help. I would tell you to practice until you get it right." Yankumi looked at him, smiled, and lectured. She was aware of his touch and thought it was nice. Then she stopped herself from smiling at him and looked around to finish eating. "Oh." She realized what he was trying to tell her. "But where can I find someone to help me like that?"

"Come on." He said taking her arm. "Thank Kuma for the food and let's go. Let's talk about it. I'll walk you home."

She nodded and told Kuma goodbye, thanks for the meal, that it was excellent, how proud she was, and that he would make an excellent Chinese food chef. She was looking forward to seeing him and the rest of the guys for the reunion dinner.

She walked home with Sawada arm in arm and reflected about how nice it was. She thought to herself that she couldn't get over how good he looked. He always had, but now there was a maturity and wisdom about him that added that much more to his features.

"I can't get over how good you look. How handsome and strong you have grown to become. I wonder if the others are as handsome as you are. I can't wait for Grandfather and the others to see you. They were just talking about you today and how you make a great leader. Oh, and I can't wait for you to meet Kyou san. He just returned. I think you and he are a lot a like. Both of you are strong leaders who care for your friends and family."

Shin was enjoying walking with her arm in arm but he stiffened when he heard the name Kyou san. Could this be another suitor he had to compete with, he thought?

"Kyou san?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow and trying not to sound irritated or annoyed at the jealousy he felt.

"Oh, that's right. Kyou san was in prison at the time that you came into my life. He is like my father. He took care of me when I first arrived at the house. At that time grandfather was too busy with family business to attend to the needs of a child. Although grandfather taught me to fight and be strong, Kyou san taught me how to battle, and he also taught me to teach with my heart and the students will respond. He was right."

Shin relaxed knowing that this Kyou san was a surrogate father, but he also recognized that this was an additional person he would have to win over for approval. He wandered how challenging that may prove to be. Oh well, now to put his plan into action.

He stopped walking and turned to face her. He ran his fingers through his hair before he began to speak. She smiled. I like when he does that she thought. I would love to run my fingers through his hair too. Where did that thought come from? Then she shook her head and looked away briefly to pull herself together.

"Yankumi, you know how we talked about you needing a teacher for the battle of lo…, um that other battle. I can help you with that." He couldn't bring himself to say the word because he was afraid that he would betray what was in his heart. He knew that she wasn't ready for that quite yet.

"Eh? You Sawada? How can you help me with that? You know what it takes to please a man? You like men?"

"No you idiot, I like…" he caught himself before he confessed. "I mean, I know what a man likes in a woman. I can give you the man's point of view, and you can practice with me. Besides I have traveled around the world and experienced many things. I have a different perspective now." He was irritated at her for thinking that and also angry with himself for almost slipping and confessing.

She smiled warmly, nodded, and agreed looking at him differently. "You're right. You do have a lot more knowledge than I do about that. I guess it is time for Sawada sensei and Yankumikun. I mean I haven't even kissed a man before." She covered her mouth, blushed deeply, and looked away.

Shin looked at her and smiled. He said softly, "I can teach you that too, why don't we let that be lesson one?" He looked down at her, brushed away a stray hair from her face, lifted her chin toward him and was just about to move in, when someone yelled "Yamaguchi sensei"

Yankumi's heart skipped a beat as she recognized Shinohara san's voice. She quickly backed away from Shin and almost injured him pushing him away, turned around surprised and yelled, "Shinoharasan!?"

He ran up to her and smiled. "I thought that was you." Then he turned and recognized Sawada and held out his hand to shake it and said, "Oh, you're Yamaguchi sensei's student right? Am I interrupting something?"

Sawada looked in the man's face. He had a smug look like he knew very well that he had interrupted something. He shook his hand and said, "I'm not her student anymore. I graduated four years ago." His heart was pounding from the near kiss, and he was especially annoyed that she had pulled away from him so quickly embarrassed. She seemed so happy to see the other man, his rival, that she had forgotten all about the moment and didn't seem upset or annoyed at the intrusion.

"No, nothing," she said quickly.

"Yamaguchi sensei, I need to talk to you about something very important. I have something important to ask you."

Yankumi turned around and said out loud to herself but too low for the man to hear her, "could this be it? Could he be ready to confess? Has he realized all these years that he can't live without me and that is why he has come back?"

Shin was really annoyed at how she was acting, at how the near kiss seemed to mean nothing to her and how she was falling all over herself for Shinohara san. He stood up straight, shoved his hands in his pockets, rolled his eyes and told her, "if you want to know what the man wants why don't you stop acting silly and talk to him." She looked at Shin, nodded and turned back to him.

"Sure Shinohara san. I have time. When do you need it? Whenever, I am available."

"How about tomorrow for dinner," he asked.

"Alright." She replied quickly. Then he walked off and said "See you tomorrow. I'll call you with the details."

"Tomorrow," she repeated swooning. Then she looked at Shin who looked annoyed and impatient. She stopped smiling.

"Way to play it cool." He said, rolled his eyes, and walked in front of her.

"Eh, what do you mean?" She replayed the scene in her mind and said, "You are right. I have so much more to learn." She ran up to him and intertwined his arms into hers, leaned her head on his arm and said, "I am so lucky to have you as my teacher Sawada. But you have your work cut out for you. You have to teach me everything by tomorrow night."

Shin was still annoyed at Yankumi but her head laying on his arm and walking arm in arm with her was really nice. It lightened his mood. Then he thought I could sabotage her. Then he shook his head and remembered what her grandfather had said about wanting her to be happy and make her choice even if it wasn't what he wanted. He also felt that Shinohara san probably didn't feel the same way he did about Yankumi. If he did, he surely would have reacted to seeing how close Yankumi was with him. No, he thought, I am going to win her the right way. I am going to help her get her man. What she doesn't know is that I am the man she is going to get not Shinohara san. He smiled down at her and continued walking.