The Turn of the Crew

A Gokusen fanfic where none of the characters are my own.

Please read the bottom a/n for more info about the story, if interested.
And thanks in advance for reading.

"It was a stormy night", Shin started, "and other than the howling winds that seemed like it would go on forever, everything else was quiet. I squinted my eyes open to look around the room, trying to look for any ticking clock and keeping and ear out for a dripping tap. There were none. It was way too quiet, like I was the only one alive in the house.

"All of a sudden, the grandfather clock in the living room rang loudly, signalling it was 1 am. For a short moment, the howling stopped, as if to hear the clock strike 1. A few silent minutes later, it started again... but this time it sounded different. It started to sound less like the wind... and more like an animal. A very hungry animal. Before I knew it, I was sitting up. I was wide awake, realising I might be in danger."

The 3D audience subconsciously squirmed to get closer to each other. The candles that some of them clammily held flickered quietly as they held their breath. The candlelight, intended to get them 'in the mood' whenever these horror story sessions happened, was faint to their advantage, for each of them knew that deep inside they hoped to hide the looks of fear on their faces whenever these horror stories were told. Shin's stories tend to be of the more spine-chilling sort, and his classmates patiently waited for Shin to continue.

Shin smiled to no one in particular and from the pocket of his jacket, he pressed the play button of his audio player. A song crept out of its built-in speakers as he slowly increased the volume.

If travel is searching...

The 3D audience tensed as their eyes searched around to find where the song came from.

and home has been found...

Shin smirked and continued his story.

I'm not stopping...

"At the time, I thought the best thing to do was to keep still and stay in the dark... but I knew I needed some sort of light source in case I needed to run."

I'm going hunting...
I'm the hunter...

"...so I slipped out from under my covers and tiptoed to the antique-styled cupboard near the door, which seemed like a logical place in the room to put torchlights or candles"

I'll bring back the goods...
But I don't know when...

"Suddenly a light came on, I could see it from the crack under the door. Someone was at the hallway."

You could smell it...

"I froze in place, I didn't know what to do. "

So you left me on my own...

"My mind was at the risk of meltdown when I heard creaking footsteps in the hallway, getting closer and closer. "

To complete the mission...

"After what seemed like forever, 'it' finally comes to a stop in front of my room."

Now I'm leaving it all behind...

"My heart was pounding so hard and so fast that I was afraid the thing, whatever it is, could hear it."

I'm going hunting...

"The howling sounds which I have somehow forgotten suddenly reappeared... but it was much louder now. Much angrier. Much hungrier."

I'm the hunter...

"I sprinted to the closet door and crouched down, hugging my legs and praying to every deity out there to save me."

I'm the hunter...

"I could hear the door handle move, as if someone held on to it from outside the room."

I'm going hunting...

"After a few silent moments, the door finally swung open and banged on the wall."

I'm the hunter...

"Although reluctant at first, I searched for someone, anyone, in my room."

I'm the hunter...

"I couldn't see it. But I heard it. It was panting loudly. It sounded needy... desperate."

I'm the hunter...

"Suddenly its breathing stopped as it slowly turned to face the closet."

I'm the hunter...

"Whatever it was, it lunged at the floor right outside the where I was crouching."

I'm the hunter...

"I closed my eyes and surrendered. There was nothing else I could do but accept my fate."

The song slowly came to a stop, and so did Shin.

His audience blinked for a few moments, and after they realised that he was done with the story, some of them shot up in agitation, demanding to know what happened next. He however just chuckled and got up.

"Yeah, what happened after that, Shin?," said a shrill voice, "...You can't just leave it hanging like that."

The 3D guys jumped and turned to see a small hunched figure in front of the classroom door. It was covered by a red wine-colored cloak, and it was slowly approaching the guys. Everyone including Shin was startled. What was this... this thing?

They staggered backwards as the figure continued to get closer to them. Before they knew it, they reached a corner of the classroom, and those standing nearest to the figure, now a few feet away, freaked out as they tried to squeeze their way into the crowd. Those standing behind them pushed them back to the front to protect themselves. They wriggled like worms in a heated can as the figure made its way towards them.

Panicking, Uchi whispered to a couple of guys next to him and a few seconds later, Shin was forcefully pushed out of the squished mob... and fell right on the figure.

Everyone except for Shin and the 'thing' gasped.

Some of the guys squeezed their eyes shut, some of their jaws dropped, and some of them cover their faces with their hands and squealed.
But Kuma didn't do any of these. In fact, he went "huh?".
To this, everyone looked to see what happened.

And everyone screamed "EHHHHH?" in unison.
Because what they found was Shin on top of their Yankumi-sensei
(And the guys didn't realise, because they were looking from behind, was that his lips landed on hers.)

The blushing Shin, suddenly aware of what was happening, knew he was gonna get his sorry ass kicked by his sensei if he didn't act quick. He stumbled backwards and towards the door to run out of the classroom, leaving his flushed and round-eyed teacher still on the floor.

The atmosphere in the classroom was tense and everybody was still quiet. The 3D guys know the stillness only means that a storm is brewing, something bad will happen. They started whispering to each other to escape, and just when they were about to tiptoe out the class, Yankumi appeared at the door, carrying a large stick, softly hitting it on her palm numerous times.

"If you don't bring me Shin, you'll experience exactly what happens next in his story... and remember, I know all of your addresses", she smiled darkly.

The guys squealed and stumbled outside in a desperate search for the soon-to-be-pulverised Shin.
…who, a few minutes later, conveniently re-enters the classroom through the other door. He grinned at Yankumi on the other side.

"Nice plan, eh?", he smirked.

She growled, annoyed. Subconsciously she rubbed the back of her head.

"Ah... right... that.", he started. "Sorry about that, the guys pushed me forward, and..."

"Yeah yeah I know. Still, it hurts."

"Okay, well, class is over in 5 minutes so why not we go to that new cake place nearby? My treat."

"Better be.," she muttered.

Shin turned to his desk and started packing his things.

"Oh yeah, good timing by the way, I thought you-", he turned around "-were gonna arrive late". Confused, he looked around, seeing nothing but classroom objects. He frowned and scratched his head, when suddenly he heard someone running towards the classroom.

Panting, Yankumi-sensei burst inside, grabbing onto the door frame to prevent herself from falling.

"Sumimasennnn! *pant* Last minute teacher's meeting! *pant* Am I late?", Yankumi said while gasping for breath.

Shin just stared at her.

"You okay? You look like you just *pant* kissed a ghost or something," she chuckled.

"But... but you were here before...," he managed to force himself to say.

This time, Yankumi stared back, worried.

"And... and the kiss?", he asked with confused, narrowed brows.

"Eh? *pant* What kiss?"

"The... kiss? After I fell on you?"

"Uh... I don't remember any kiss Shin... *pant* and what do you mean you fell on me? *pant* Are you okay? *pant* And where did everybody go anyway?", she crossed her hands and cocked her head to look around the room

And with that, Shin fainted.
…without realising that it was April Fools' day, and that his classmates were snickering as they witnessed the whole scene from behind the curtains and doors.

~ The End ~

Author's Notes

The story title is a twist from The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. I figured I should make a story that is for the general public this time around, but with a horror flavor to it. I used to read a bit of horror stuff while I was growing up (think R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike, lol), but I've most definitely outgrown them. Sorry if the story isn't that spooky, I tried hard to make it scary. Haha.

Also, the lyrics are from Bjork's 'Hunter'. I'm not particularly into her music, but that song is pretty nice to listen to, in a haunting way.

I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you didn't know already, I'm a ShinKumi fan and I was squealing when I decided to put the kiss scene.

Comments, favs and whatnot are very much appreciated.

Much love and have a great day/week/month/year ahead,
~zster