A/N: This story takes place during the dramaverse only because I needed Sawada to have a sister. Timeline would probably be somewhere after ep. 8 of the first season. Disclaimer: I do not own Gokusen. I forgot to put this on my last story, so in case you were wondering, I didn't own it then, either. Hope you enjoy!

I Need a Hug

"Too early," Yamaguchi Kumiko grumbled, reaching out from under the blankets which she was currently buried in to shut off her alarm clock. Blindly fumbling around for the off switch, she ended up knocking the clock itself to the floor. She groaned at her bad luck, not at having broken the offending object as she could still hear it's annoying rant now from beneath her bed, but that now she had to physically get up in order to retrieve it to stop the seemingly endless racket.

Having achieved her goal, she dragged herself over to her closet to begin preparing for work. There's just something off about today, she thought as she pulled out a pair of jeans and threw them carelessly on the bed. She could feel it: in the way she still felt tired, though she'd actually gone to bed at a reasonable time; in the way her shoulders and limbs felt heavy and lethargic; in the way her insides felt tight and constricted.

It was going to be one of those days. She stopped in front of the bedroom mirror and looked pathetically at her bedridden reflection. With a heavy sigh, she murmured miserably, "I need a hug."

She slowly turned around, figuring her grandfather would be the best candidate for solving her problem, when she noticed the actual time displayed on her alarm clock. Unless she left the house right now, she was going to be late—and there was a faculty meeting this morning, too. "Why didn't someone wake me up sooner?" she screamed, causing the men of the house to cower in fear, save but one. He merely chuckled at his granddaughter's antics and returned to his morning paper.

The yakuza heiress barreled down the stairs a few minutes later, stopping only to slip on her shoes in the entryway, tying her hair back in her trademark pigtails. "Tetsu! Minoru!" she yelled and turned around to find them kneeling before her, heads bowed, hands on the floor, trembling slightly. "Remind me to pummel you thoroughly when I get home." They collapsed to the floor after she shouted her goodbyes and flew out of the house, trying to put on a jacket and buckle up her school bag at the same time.

"Damnit," Yankumi hissed quietly as she quietly opened the staff room door. She was late; the meeting had already started. She glanced at the clock on the far wall while she tried to catch her breath, just to see how late she was and swore again. Correction: she wasn't late, she was extremely late. She debated whether she should actually try to sneak in to join the meeting or skip it altogether when she heard Sawatari address her.

"Yamaguchi-sensei?" he inquired loudly in a nasty tone, causing the entire staff to turn and stare at her. "Whenever you're done panting like a dog in heat, could I have a word with you?"

Double damnit. Now she was in for it. She plastered on her fakest smile and made her way to what felt like her execution, quickly dropping her bag off at her desk as she walked by.

She stopped at the back of the crowd only to have the vice principal motion her to come closer. With an inaudible sigh, she squeezed herself through the maze of bodies, mumbling apologies as she went. Finally emerging relatively close to Kyoto, she straightened her jersey and tried to bring back the fake smile with little success.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, do you know what time it is?" he asked, looking at her contemptuously. She quickly glanced at the clock behind him and opened her mouth to answer, but he rushed on.

"It is well past the appointed time for the staff meeting. Tell me, Yamaguchi-sensei, do you feel that you don't need to attend these meetings?" She opened her mouth again, this time to explain that she had missed her bus, and, again, was cut off.

"This is the third time this week you have been late—and it's only Wednesday. What kind of an example is that setting for the students? Hm?" She kept her mouth shut this time, expecting him to continue raving, and was not disappointed.

She zoned out his chastising, feeling her shoulders slowly sag as the weight of her depression returned. She'd been able to ignore it up until now, what with having to run all the way to school, alone, seeing as today was not one of Shinohara-sensei's biking days. The adrenaline rush she'd been high on since she left the house was finally wearing off, bringing with it a grey cloud of misery that hung over her head, clouding her vision.

What are you going to do? You won't make it through the day like this. You're doing all you can just to stand here and keep your eyes open.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye and noticed the other two female members of the staff, both giving her sympathetic looks. Of course—they'd be perfect. She could talk to one of them, explain her problem, and be on her way to homeroom feeling good as new.

What could go wrong?

A faint ray of hope pierced through her gloom and she unconsciously sighed in relief. "Am I boring you, Yamaguchi-sensei?" Sawatari asked, his voice hardening ruthlessly. He'd been pacing while lecturing her, becoming quite animated as he pointed out the seemingly never-ending flaws that were Yamaguchi Kumiko, but stopped directly in front of her upon hearing the sigh.

"No, sir, I—"

The warning bell rang, signaling homeroom was to begin soon. With a look of surprise, Kyoto quickly dismissed the faculty, encouraging them to hurry to their assigned classes, and placed a hand on Yamaguchi's shoulder before she could escape with the others.

"Don't let it happen again," he warned, squeezing her shoulder for emphasis and giving her what was supposed to be a dangerous look, but came off as more comical than harsh.

Any other day, Yankumi would have been annoyed at this, but all she could think about was snagging the English teacher and/or nurse before classes. Turning around slowly, she found the faculty room now nearly empty. Her mouth opened in dismay, allowing a small pitiful whine to escape.

Now what are you going to do?

She shuffled down the hallway, schoolbag slung over her shoulder, mumbling to herself as she tried to devise a plan. Somehow, someway, she had to get a hug. Her options were quite slim, though: she taught at an all boys' school where the majority of the faculty were men, save for the three women, including herself.

If she hugged a student, it would come off as unprofessional which could cost her her job. If she tried any of the men on the faculty, it might give the wrong impression, like she was looking for a relationship. Shuddering, she decided to try the English teacher first.

She peaked into the classroom to find every desk occupied with incredibly well-behaved students, hanging on Fujiyama-sensei's every word as she stood at the front of the room.

The final bell had yet to sound, but every student was rapt and attentive as they listened to her make small talk with a few students in the front row. Yankumi imagined 3-D ever behaving like that for her and a shiver ran down her spine. It was just too weird.

She quietly tapped on the door, gaining not only the teacher's attention, but that of the entire class. "Could I borrow you for a moment, Fujiyama-sensei?" she asked tentatively, and stepped back into the hallway to avoid the glares she received from the students. A moment later, the confused homeroom teacher joined her, closing the door slowly behind her.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, what's going on?" she asked, puzzled at having been called out like this. "Classes are about to begin. If you don't hurry, you're going to be late."

"I know, I know," Yankumi said wearily. "It's just—" She stopped and swallowed, not sure how to continue. "There's something wrong."

Fujiyama gave a quick intake of breath, her eyes widening in astonishment. "Oh, no, you poor thing," she exclaimed placing a hand gently on her colleague's forearm. Yes, this was it. She knew she'd made the right choice in coming here first. "Is 3-D boycotting you again?"

The math teacher's mind reeled with confusion. "What—No, they wouldn't—"

"Oh, thank goodness," Fujiyama breathed and released Yankumi, visibly relaxing. "You had me worried there."

She saw the English teacher in a whole new light. She'd never known anyone to show such concern for her class of ruffians, besides herself, until now. It felt good to know that someone else cared.

She opened her mouth to express her gratitude, but was interrupted. "They have a test today, and I'd hate for them to miss it," Fujiyama explained easily, popping Yankumi's small bubble of temporary delight. Her spirits sank even lower.

Their talk was cut short by the bell ringing. "See you later, Yamaguchi-sensei." And with a small wave, Fujiyama returned to her classroom, happily greeting her students as Yankumi watched her close the door.

So cold. She could only stand there, alone, silent and defeated. There was nothing left to do now but go. With a heavy sigh, she turned and trudged down the now empty hallways, on her way to see the nurse, her final hope.

"Damnit, that hurts!" yelled a student from inside the nurse's office, causing Yankumi to come up short at the looked inside to find a Junior whose name she couldn't quite remember laying on one of the beds, pant leg rolled up, sporting a rather large gash on his calf. Kawashima-sensei sat at the end of the bed, trying as best she could to clean up the injury, but not having much luck.

"That's because you won't hold still," Kawashima scolded, slapping a large bandage over the wound, causing the student to yelp. She rolled her eyes and fixed the pant leg. "I don't think it needs stitches, but I want you to come see me during lunch so I can at least replace the dressing."

He mumbled his displeasure and ungratefully left the office, passing Yankumi as she hovered in the doorway without even a glance. Normally, this would have pissed her off to no end, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. Maybe another time, she thought tiredly.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Kawashima inquired, sounding genuinely surprised as she'd just noticed the math teacher for the first time.

She cautiously entered the room, briefly eyeing the bandages and antiseptic that had been left out. "Excuse the mess," the nurse apologized and began quickly cleaning up. "Aya-kun had a skateboarding accident on the way to school." She looked to her silent friend mischievously. "Personally, I think he was showing off for the Momo girls. Ah, to be young again." Putting away the last bottle, she turned her attention to the math teacher, her brows furrowing in concern. "You look tired, Yamaguchi-sensei. Late night?"

Yankumi stiffened at the question. "No," she hastily answered. She felt her cheeks flush as she had a feeling she knew what the nurse implied by "late night."

Her reaction seemed to amuse Kawashima as a flash of humor crossed her face. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Yamaguchi," she assured in a casual manner. "Even teachers have needs." She eyed her friend with a calculating expression. "I know just what you need."

She rushed over to her desk, much to Yankumi's disappointment, and pulled out a small bottle from the top drawer, tapping out two tablets onto her palm. "Here you go. Take two of these and call me in the morning." With a giggle, she handed them to Yankumi who only looked at her blankly.

"But I don't need—"

"Don't worry, they're just caffeine tablets. Now, I know what you're going to say," she was quick to defend when Yankumi cocked an eyebrow at her. "These are perfectly safe. You can find them at any corner drugstore, stocked out on the shelf for anyone to buy. I never give any to the students, and even if someone did steal them, the dosage is so small, he'd have to swallow half the bottle just to equal one energy drink."

"Yeah, but—"

"Why don't I just drink coffee? Honestly, I can't stand the stuff, and it's too early for soda or energy drinks. What else can I do?" She shrugged matter-of-factly. Yankumi opened her mouth, trying to get a word in edgewise, but was interrupted by a student barging into the office, hand clutched to his stomach, clearly overacting as he claimed that he was sick, throwing in a pitiful moan for good measure.

Would you like some cheese with that whine? Yankumi thought bitterly, biting down hard on her lower lip.

Kawashima didn't seem to be buying it, either. Hands on her hips, she asked in a disapproving tone, "Ryo-kun, have you ever heard of the boy who cried wolf?"

He looked at her uncertainly. "What does that have to do with anything? I'm gonna be sick here—"

"It means," the nurse interrupted, her voice heavy with sarcasm, "you need to come up with some new material. You already had stomach pains this week to get out of a history test, and last week for science, and the week before for social studies." She crossed her arms over her chest. "This stops now."

The boy's eyes widened in what the ladies thought to be surprise at being found out until he ran past them, slapping a hand over his mouth, barely making it to the sink to release his breakfast. The room was silent otherwise. After a moment, Kawashima raised her eyebrows and made a tiny sound like "Hmf."

She rushed over to him and murmured something in his ear while rubbing his back soothingly. With an apologetic grin, she turned back to Yankumi. "Sorry, Yamaguchi-sensei. No rest for the wicked, right?" After a small wave, her attention returned to the boy and she murmured some more comforting words.

Puzzled, Yankumi opened her mouth, then shut it as she finally realized she'd been dismissed. Her final hope for salvation had failed her. Feeling bereft and desolate, she turned and began the long trek to her classroom, absently bringing her bag up to her chest and wrapping her arms around it tightly.

She walked into the boisterous classroom, late, her feet feeling slow and heavy, and called out a rather weak "good morning," holding her bag to her chest as if it were a lifeline rather than an accessory. Though it offered no comfort of its own, it was all she had.

Stopping for a moment to take attendance mentally, she noticed only a certain slacker who normally sat in the back was absent. Slightly agitated, but not even remotely surprised, she briefly wondered if he was merely late or actually absent. Normally, she'd ask his friends about his whereabouts or go looking for him herself, but, again, she just couldn't bring herself to care. Maybe later.

She dropped down into one of the vacant front row desks and hunched over, laying her forehead against the cool surface. She still clung to her bag, wishing for all the world that it could hug her back in the way she so desperately needed. She closed her eyes and tuned out the background noise, willing the day to go faster.

So engrossed in her misery, she failed to hear the loud greetings addressed to the once again tardy Sawada Shin as he entered the classroom. Pausing briefly upon seeing his homeroom teacher's position, he slowly made his way to his usual seat. Dropping his bag to the floor and leaning back in his chair with his hands in his pockets, he stared at her, analyzing the situation.

"How long has she been like that?" he asked, a watchful fixity in his face.

Noda looked up from his laptop and followed Shin's line of vision. "I guess since she got here," he answered distractedly, turning his attention back to the screen.

"And how long ago was that?"

"I think she came in a couple minutes after the bell rang," Minami answered, also watching the laptop screen over Noda's shoulder.

"What are you guys watching, anyway?" Uchi asked, throwing aside the manga he'd "borrowed" from an underclassman. He came up on Noda's other side to get a good look and his jaw dropped. "Dude, why didn't you tell me you were watching this?"

"I know," Noda said with intense pleasure. "I found this site last night. Nothing but girls. I mean, check out this one's legs. Nice, huh?"

"This one's better." Minami clicked on the mouse, much to Noda's dismay, bringing up a new screen. "Damn! Her rack is huge!"

They began to quarrel over which was better, causing Uchi to lose interest. He took a seat on top of Shin's desk, blocking the class leader's view of their teacher. "You worried about her or somethin'?"

"Or somethin'," Shin mumbled, only moving his eyes to look up at his bothersome friend, feigning boredom.

"She's just being weird again. Maybe they canceled that lame yakuza drama she likes; or maybe she's just sleeping off a hangover, ya know?"

"I know a cure for that," Minami said without taking his eyes off the screen, much to everyone's surprise, not so much that he was listening, but that he was an underage student who knew how to cure a hangover. Shin made sure to store that little bit of information away to explore later.

"Or maybe she was dumped," Uchi exclaimed, his face brightening at this realization. "Yeah, I can totally see her going all out like this. Extreme overreacting, right?"

"Poor Yankumi," Kuma said sadly from the desk in front of Shin. He'd just finished his sweet bun and was wiping his fingers on his jacket. He turned to his best friend and leaned forward so he could see around Uchi. "Do you think we should do anything?"

"Are you crazy?" Uchi blurted out. "She's been dumped. What are you gonna say?

"I don't know...Wait, why do I have to talk to her?"

"'Cause you're the one who brought it up. Good luck, man." Uchi slapped him on the back. "I'll be sure to say something nice at your funeral."

"Eh? No way! I've been hit by her once already, and it hurt like a motherfu—" Before Kuma could continue arguing, the bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. The students cleared out, making their slow journey to the soccer field for P.E. Shin decided to skip. It's not like any of the 3-D class participated anyways. He had something more important to take care of.

Don't you mean someone?

He shook his head slightly and heard Kuma call from the doorway, "You coming, Shin?"

Again, Shin only moved his eyes in the direction of his friend. "I think I'm just gonna head up to the roof and hang out for a while. Probably get some shut eye myself."

"Need some company?"

"Nah. Your mom would kill me if she found out I let you skip class." With a chuckle and a wave, Kuma took off.

Shin turned his attention back to Yankumi. He'd never seen her like this before. Though his friends failed to see it, he could tell that something was obviously wrong, and he didn't like it. And, as much as he hated to admit it, Uchi had hit the nail on the head: Shin was worried. If any of his other friends had been acting like this, he'd have been worried about them, too. Not that he'd ever admit it, of course; he'd never hear the end of it.

So, do you only consider her a friend?

Lately, he'd been having odd thoughts like that, thoughts that implied he wanted more than just a student-teacher relationship with her. Maybe more than just friendship. Even now, his pulse quickened at the idea of any kind of romantic element involving her.

He rolled his eyes. He knew she'd never go for it. She made it quite clear quite often that he was her student and she was his teacher. Though I'm pretty sure a teacher shouldn't show up on her student's doorstep looking to prepare dinner for two; or ask a certain student to help baby-sit a fellow teacher's son at her house. His mouth twisted wryly. It would have to be enough just to be there for her when she needed him.

For now.

He sighed and slowly got up, scraping his chair noisily against the floor, getting Yankumi to jump slightly at the sudden noise, though she still didn't lift her head. At least now he knew she was awake. He'd heard stories from Tetsu and Minoru about their daily suicide missions to wake their Ojou, and, humorous as they may be, he really didn't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath.

"Don't you have class?" he asked as he gently closed the door. He thought it best to try to keep out any passers-by that might misunderstand, especially ones with big mouths. He only wanted to talk to her, nothing more.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

She mumbled something that sounded like "Don't you?" except it was quite muffled as her head was still down. He pulled a chair over and straddled it. "Late night?"

Wrong question. He heard her growl, giving him just enough warning before her fist lashed out at his face. Surprising both of them, he actually caught it. She turned her head to the side to find him smirking at her, brow cocked arrogantly.

"Brat," she murmured and closed her eyes, the fight going out of her. He lowered her hand to the desk and lightly uncurled her fingers to find two pills nestled in the palm.

"What are these?" The question was gentle, not intrusive. He picked them up to get a better look.

Yankumi opened an eye to see what he was talking about. "Caffeine pills," she responded tiredly. "Guess I forgot to throw them away."

"And why do you have them?"

"Kawashima-sensei gave them to me." He stared at her, searchingly, waiting for her to continue. She groaned and slowly lifted her head, easing a crick in her neck. "She thought I'd had a 'late night' and said they were good for a quick fix. Just like coffee." Letting out a heavy breath, she muttered "I don't need coffee."

"What do you need?"

"I need—" Pausing, she gazed at him speculatively. A tumble of confused thoughts and feelings assailed her as she weighed the pros and cons of asking him.

Casting her eyes downward, she stirred uneasily in her chair. She'd already decided it was too risky to ask any of her students, and that included Sawada. "—nothing from you." She obliviously squeezed her schoolbag.

One corner of Shin's mouth pulled into a slight smile when he caught this, resisting the urge to chuckle as understanding finally dawned on him. Just like Natsume. Pocketing the pills to dispose of later, he rose in one fluid motion and gestured for Yankumi to do the same.

Reluctantly, she obeyed, whimpering as he pried her only source of comfort from her grasp and dropped it to the floor. So absorbed in her loss, she barely noticed as he put a large hand to her waist and easily drew her closer, wrapping the other arm lightly around her shoulders in a warm embrace.

Mind spinning with bewilderment, Yankumi tried to take in what was happening even as the heaviness within slowly began to ease. Confusion flashed through her, then embarrassment—but also something much stronger: a sense of safety. He was warm and solid and somehow she knew he could be trusted. She felt him bend down more, allowing the hand that had been resting on her hip to snake around to the small of her back where he began to gently rub away a seemingly unreachable itch, putting an end to her confused thoughts as she simply gave in.

Her lids slipped down over her eyes, becoming relaxed, sinking into his cushioning embrace, reveling at their closeness. She brought her own arms up to mirror his, winding her lower arm inside his jacket and around his back. It felt so good just to lay her head against his shoulder as she let out a sigh of pleasure. For the first time that day, she actually smiled.

Her fingers began to absently weave through his hair, occasionally brushing against the back of his neck, upsetting his balance. He knew it had been risky initiating this, but had decided to chance it anyway, figuring he could handle it. Up until now, they'd been keeping it borderline proper, but he could feel his own control slowly slipping. Just her nearness alone was making his senses spin.

He tried to move away, knowing it was the right thing to do, but her grip on him tightened. "Just a little more," she whispered, her breath tickling his ear, sending an involuntary chill through him, clouding his better judgment. Why do you want to stop this again?

"Yankumi." She felt almost drugged by his clean, soapy scent and a delicious shudder heated her body at the sound of his throaty voice. Her eyes flew open in shock and a soft gasp escaped her. That did not just happen.

Forcefully, she began to disentangle herself from him, as if her body was not yet ready to let go. She took a step back, her hand unintentionally caressing the side of his neck as she pulled it away, sending a rush of pink to both their cheeks.

She cast her eyes downward, focusing on any random patch of floor she could find as she tried to calm herself. That was the great thing about the floor. There was always one there to look at if you were trying to avoid an awkward moment.

Chewing on her lower lip, she stole a glance in Sawada's direction, only to find him also taking great interest in the floor. A small smile tugged at her lips. He was so cute when he was embarrassed. Her eyes widened in alarm and she quickly looked away. Where had that thought come from?

She briefly closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and forced herself to settle down, forbidding her voice from trembling as she somehow managed to face him. "So, how did you know?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her a subtle look of amusement. "It works for my sister when she's feeling down, figured it might work for you." As an afterthought, he added, "She claims hugs are the best medicine."

"She sounds like a Hallmark card." She offered him a small, shy smile. "Seriously, though. Thanks, Sawada."

He shrugged minimally and said with forced blandness, "Whatever." He headed towards his desk to grab his bag, trying to keep her from seeing the grin that overtook his features. It was almost embarrassing how happy her words had made him.

"Damnit!" she exclaimed and he turned back to find her staring wide-eyed at the clock. "I do have a class to teach! Why didn't you tell me it was so late?"

Sawada rolled his eyes as she quickly gathered her bag and started for the door. She paused and looked back at him. "Dinner? My house?"

"Back entrance after school?"

"It's a date." She rushed off before Shin could tease her about her departing double-entendre. He chuckled and made his way up to the rooftop. Never a dull moment with Yankumi.