Chapter One – A Brick

Summary: One fight was all it took to change the events in their lives in Shin, Yankumi, Kuma, Hayato and Ryu's. Going through the ordeal, the characters of the story must deal with their own notions of what it means in protecting others, and above all, being a human being. ShinKumi

Canon(s): It will be a mix match from all three, but it will be mostly of: manga!Shin, jdrama!Yankumi, jdrama!Kuma and manga!Shirokin events (only a few jdrama!events will be relevant). For any other characters, I will include a note at the beginning of each chapter to warn you of the fact. And as for Hayato and Ryu, they are from Season 2 of dramaverse.

Warning: Non-graphic noncon

Note: I am having a lot of fun writing this story and constantly reread this for my enjoyment as well. I have eight chapters already written, but am working with a beta. So, I hope to release one chapter a week on average. I cannot say what day of the week since it is entirely dependent on my wonderful beta adali.

One last thing concerning noncon, I hope to make the psychological results of the event will be realistic enough for my readers as well as for myself and beta. You are free to let me know of any out of character'ness in my story in a review. It is my goal to make the characters in character. However, that might be tricky due to the fact that I refer to several canons.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gokusen, it belongs to the right copyholders. This story is written strictly for entertainment only.

Japanese Terms:

-chou: city

-sensei: teacher

Gakuen: High School

Bancho: Boss of a gang

So, now, without a further ado, have a wonderful read!

On a cold early February night, a man lit up a cigarette with his lighter and blew out the smoke as he studied his men--no, henchmen, he thought with a smirk. Some looked rather bored, trying to make shapes with the cigarette smoke they were blowing out with their mouths. Throughout the compound, some had reached various levels of intoxication, and required the support of others to stay upright. He felt annoyed, looking at his minions. There had to be something to do around here, and nothing was providing their entertainment.

Recalling the days of his high school, and felt a jab of anger when he saw two faces at the forefront of his memory. It was because of them that he ended up this way. True, although he had hated, loathed high school, they had had something to do with their time. Whether it was playing pranks on their teachers, watching them squirm under their student's control, or claiming turf from other schools, and especially kicking their juniors around…. now those were the days. Until his first term into his third year: that was when everything went downhill. Expelled.

Something inside his mind snapped; the urge to pummel someone to death was rising.

"Goddamn it!" he cursed, startling some of the men around him as Kudou kicked an empty chair over, "Damn the Nekomata-kumi for being the cowards they were…" he muttered, inhaled his smoke and exhaled as he spoke the next lines, "I've had enough."

He looked at the notes he had collected over the past few years and smirked. He knew the one weakness of the enemy he so hated. It was payback time, that much was clear.

"Kosuke!" he barked at one of his minions.

"Yes bancho?" he asked, sitting up straighter.

"Write a letter, since you have a… history with some of the students from Kurogin Gakuen. Call them out."

"We're going to beat them up?" he asked eagerly, "Odagiri and Yabuki? I'll do that!"

He came forward and picked up a blank piece of paper and a pen, then set down to writing a letter, word for word by his leader.

"…and then, sign your name," Kudou said.

After Kosuke signed his name, he handed the letter to his boss, awaiting for further orders.

"Inozaka!" Kudou said, accepting the letter, "get some tape and a brick. You will be throwing this into class 3-D's window tomorrow."

"Yes sir!"

With a crash of the window, the classroom fell into silence, the ones near the window slouched over the side of their desks to save themselves from the falling glass.

Yamaguchi Kumiko, nicknamed Yankumi, stared at the window that had been broken. Holding her math lesson plan in her right hand, she looked at the offending item that had shredded the rowdiness of the class and the window glass. Yankumi squinted her eyes at the brick that had somehow not landed on anyone, was sitting next to Odagiri Ryu's seat.

"Is everyone all right?" Yankumi asked, scanning the boys near the window. Some wiped the glass off themselves and their desks as they said they were fine.

Odagiri stared blankly at the brick while his teacher walked up to where the brick was. She noticed that the brick had a piece of paper taped to it.

Before she could pick it up, Odagiri scooped it up, separated the note from the brick and began reading to himself.

"Hey, hey, read it out loud, Odagiri," Yankumi said, frowning.

"Uh, perhaps I shouldn't," he said, scanning the note, causing a rise out of his classmates.

"Hey! Tell us, what it's saying?!"

"We have a right to hear it too, you know!"

"Is it some school messing with us--"

"It's not," Ryu bit out. "It's addressed to me and Hayato."

"Eh?" Hayato asked, sitting up straighter. "Well, read it to the class anyway."

"We're not getting everyone involved," Ryu said, looking up from the note and staring at his teacher who promptly took the letter out of his hand, rolling her eyes.

She began reading the note out loud to the class.

"Hey Ryu, Hayato, if you know--" she trailed off, reading the rest of the letter to herself, the class silent, waiting. She scowled as she finished reading the note.

"Odagiri made a good call," she said, folding the letter into her pocket, "there is no need for the rest of the class to hear the letter. Odagiri, Yabuki, we'll discuss this after class. Now that I have everyone's attention, please keep your focus on me as we return to math..." she said with a smile that made the class start complaining about the letter.

"We won't! We're not going to sit back and let you keep the letter to yourselves!" one cried out.

"Yeah! As if we'll listen to you lecture about math!"

Yankumi glared at the class.

"When I say 'When there is no need for the rest of the class to hear the letter,' it is a serious business. You do not, and will not get involved, understand?" she asked, scanning the classroom.

Some glared at her and others turned away from Yankumi, grumbling and still others tried pestering Ryu about the letter. Some of the boys began speculating what the letter was about and tried to think of people who want to do anything with Hayato and Ryu. Yankumi sighed and resumed her lesson, amidst the speculating atmosphere.

After class, when the next teacher came in to teach Japanese, Yamaguchi-sensei excused two of her students to discuss about an important matter. She left the room, followed by Yabuki and Odagiri and made her way to an unused classroom. After ensuring that no one was following them, she took the letter out.

"What's this about, Ryu?" Hayato asked, taking the letter from Yankumi.

"Just read it," Ryu replied.

Hayato studied his friend for a minute and then read the letter to himself.

Hey Ryu, Hayato,

If you know what's good for you, come see me at warehouse #81 tonight at 9 pm. Do not bring anyone else, or you're dead in a heartbeat. And that's no joke either. I would like to pay back your kindness from last year, with interest. I understand that I caused a bit of a commotion among your classmates, but this is to show you how serious I am, don't bring anyone else.

See me, or I will hunt you down, with the rest of your class.

Kosuke

"Damn that bastard!" Yabuki growled, crumpling up the paper in his left hand.

"So, who is this Kosuke?" she asked, crossing her arms as she sat down on a table.

"Last year, before he graduated, we got into a fight," Odagiri started, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "The school found us innocent."

"Really? I wonder how you managed that... so, they found Kosuke guilty enough to be..."

"Expelled, yeah," Yabuki said, "but I wonder why it took this long for him to get back at us."

The three looked at each other in silence and Odagiri shrugged.

"Well, with guys like him, they may not need a real reason," Odagiri said.

Yankumi stared at Odagiri and sighed, "What are you two going to do about tonight?"

The two boys didn't reply, Yabuki buffering their nails uninterestedly and Odagiri shrugged again.

"I don't know," Odagiri said a few moments later, "but when he says something like that, he will carry it out. So, we have to go to him."

"Let me take care of it," Yankumi decided, standing up.

"No Yankumi," Yabuki said, standing up as he tightened his fist.

"They're expecting you, right? So, I have the element of surprise," she said, narrowing her eyes at him in challenge.

Yabuki frowned. "At least let us go with you."

"I can't do that, not to my precious students."

"Shut up," Odagiri said, standing up as well, "this is our business. If you hadn't been reliable, unlike other teachers, you wouldn't be going at all because it's none of your business."

"Why you..." Yankumi started and stopped. She shook her head and sighed, "I understand where you're coming from, Odagiri. So, let's meet at Kuma's after school to talk strategy."

Later that day, the three met up outside Kuma's Ramen restaurant.

"Yo," Yabuki greeted Yankumi, "you treating us?"

"No," Yankumi replied and Hayato groaned, muttering how unfair it she was being.

The three entered the place and seated themselves in a corner away from the stoves.

"Yankumi!" Kuma said, walking up to them, "it's been awhile, how have you been?"

"Good Kuma. I'll order the usual," she said, smiling back. "How about yourself?"

"Good, good, the business is actually booming. I'm slowly introducing Chinese food to the menu, just one on the menu," he replied and turned to the boys. "And how about you two?"

"The pork ramen," Yabuki said, slouching down in his seat.

"What do you have on your new menu?" Odagiri asked.

"Fried dumplings with rice," Kuma replied.

"Hm, I'll have those then," Odagiri said.

"Excellent, the orders will be ready in about ten minutes," Kuma said and then left them alone.

The three stared at the table in silence, thinking about what was going to happen that night.

"So, do we just show up at the appointed time?" Yabuki asked after several minutes of silence.

"That's one of the thing we will do," Yankumi agreed, "but you two will go in there alone and try to sort it out yourselves. I will be nearby watching. So, if anything gets out of hand, I'll step in."

Yabuki looked at Odagiri and then back at Yankumi, "I guess that is the best we can do. What about a plan B?"

"Plan B?" she repeated and shook her head, "There will be no plan B; don't you have confidence in my skills?"

"It's not that, Yankumi," Yabuki said, "just… you know there are a lot of factors that could go wrong."

"Well, all plan B's of mine have always been retreating. So, if anything goes wrong, we run like hell."

Yabuki stared at Yankumi as their dinner arrived.

"Run like hell from where?" Kuma asked, setting a plate of dumplings and rice in front of Odagiri.

"Well, I suppose he could be Plan C…" she said to herself and then smiled at Kuma. "From warehouse eighty-one."

"Eighty-one? Hum, well, be careful, Yankumi," Kuma said as he set the last plate in front of her. "When will you go there?"

"We're to meet at nine tonight," Odagiri answered, digging into his dinner. "Mmm, good stuff."

"Thanks, well, give me a call or something if you get out okay."

"Excuse me, waiter," a customer called out.

"Ah! Well, enjoy your meal; coming sir…" Kuma said, leaving the three alone again.

"Good to know that we have a plan C if the shit hits the fan," Yabuki said, slurping his noodles.

Yankumi smiled and dug into her ramen. The three spent the meal discussing various things in their lives. They stayed there with Kuma until it was a quarter after eight at night.

"Well, we better go," Yankumi said, standing up. "Thanks for the meal, Kuma."

"Anytime. Be careful, you hear?"

"Of course, d'you think I would allow myself to become a damsel in distress?" she asked, and laughed with Kuma.

"You're right, you won't let a hand land on you," Kuma said and waved goodbye to the three, "I'll be expecting a call around nine-thirty."

"Sounds good," Yabuki said and the three left.

As they walked there in silence, each left to their own thoughts. Yankumi thought of her family, and wondered how they were doing in Osaka. She was glad that she didn't have to go home right after school because, currently, she was the only one staying in Kamiyama-chou. After the first night alone, she had felt disconcerted from not seeing anyone this morning. She hoped they would come home soon.