"Thank you for coming!" Hayato yelled politely as he pumped his fist in the air.

"What? We thought there wouldn't be any customers and came all this way," Hyuga teased. Hayato's joy suddenly vanished as he turned to them.

"Hayato-kun," Yuki whined. "That's not the right way to treat your friends."

"Well right now we're customers," Ryu corrected. "I don't think that's how you're supposed to treat them either."

"Meow!" Hyuga and Takeda cried as all of them imitated a cat pawing. Hayato responded by doing one back, but the frown stayed on his face.

"What are you guys doing?" Hayato asked with attitude.

"We came to eat," Takeda teased. "But since it looks so busy, we'll lend you guys a hand." Before Hayato could protest, Ryu took his apron from him and put it on himself.

"Don't push help away, Hayato," Yuki lectured. "It'll be more fun with the six of us anyways." He finally smiled again and they all went inside and put on aprons. Hyuga and Tsucchi took orders, Yuki and Takeda cooked in the back, and Ryu and Hayato ran to deliver. As they worked, Yuki smiled as she observed everyone.

"Yuki-chan, what are you smiling about?" Takeda asked curiously.

"Look at everyone's faces," replied Yuki. "Hayato's expression shows that he's working really hard. Same as Tsucchi and Hyuga. Have you ever seen them with those expressions? If Hayato's dad was here, I just know he'd be so proud of him. And look at Ryu serving those kids." Takeda turned to Ryu who was feeding Kuma's little brother the ramen. "I think Ryu would become a great dad one day."

"And you'll be a great mother by his side, right Yuki-chan?" Takeda teased.

"Yeah," she said as she thought of raising a family with him. "Oh stop teasing me and let's get to work!" She playfully pushed him and the two began cooking again. After work, Kuma took them to another cafe to treat them.

"You've been working in this restaurant since that age," Hayato commented. "That's amazing."

"Restaurant?" chuckled Kuma modestly. "It's a small and run down place."

"But it's amazing!" Takeda complimented.

"It must be because it has such a hardworking owner," Yuki praised. Kuma began to shyly deny and thank them for such wonderful words.

"Did you decide that from the start?" Hayato asked. "That you will make ramen?"

"Not at all," Kuma honestly answered. "I have always defied my parents and always thought 'Like I would ever run that shop.'"

"Then why?" asked Ryu.

"My dad passed away when I was still in high school," replied Kuma. Yuki put a hand on his shoulder as a sign of comfort. "That's when Yankumi told me..." His voice trailed off as he reminicsed and summarized the memory for them. "At that time, I thought the only filial thing I could do was take care of that ramen shop."

"Yankumi's one unique teacher isn't she?" Yuki asked, earning agreements from around her.

"It's a run-down place," Kuma repeated sadly. "But it's the place where my dad worked so hard for all of us." He gestured for his siblings to come over and promised to take care of them until they grew up. Yuki cooed at the sight and hugged Ryu.

"I promise to be a good father to the children you bare me and a good husband for you okay?" Ryu whispered into Yuki's ear. She giggled and nodded before promising the same back.

"Ew go get a room!" Takeda teased as Hayato threw a pillow at them.

"This is a room," Ryu pointed out and gave Yuki a deep kiss, causing the others to pretend to gag. They parted ways after they finished talking and Ryu and Yuki decided to take a different path home that night.

"Ryu-kun," Yuki muttered. "How many kids do you want to have?"

"Enough to have a baseball team," Ryu chuckled. "You?"

"That's a lot!" Yuki exclaimed as she imagined giving birth to that many. Ryu gently kissed her cheek and pulled her along. As they walked, Yuki heard some screams. "Nee, Ryu-kun, I think I hear screaming." They stopped for a minute as they listened into their surroundings.

"Someone save me!" A little voice cried.

"Shut up!" Another voice yelled back. "You little brat! How dare you look at me with those eyes?! You will be punished!" Ryu and Yuki ran to the direction they heard the voices from. They stopped in front of a small house and knew the screams came from in there. Without care, Ryu tackled the door, knocking it down.

"What's going on?!" Ryu yelled as Yuki entered the house. They gasped when they saw a man standing above a small crying child with a thin stick in his hand.

"I'm disciplining my child," the man growled. "How dare you knock down my house like that? I will have you sued!"

"My father runs the police," Ryu threatened. "And I'm pretty sure you'll have it worse when we say we knocked the door down because we heard screaming in here." The man gasped at his words and began to back up as Ryu stepped forward. "Now get away from that little girl." He raised the stick and tried to hit Ryu, but luckily he was able to grab the stick and snap it in half. Yuki slowly approached the little girl, who flinched as Yuki neared her.

"I promise we won't hurt you," Yuki cooed. "Just come over to me. I promise to take you away from this place."

"No!" The girl screamed. "You'll hurt Sakura too! Stay away!" Yuki's heart broke as the little girl scrurried further into the corner and began sobbing.

"What have you been doing to this poor child?" Yuki asked the man.

"Poor child?" The man scoffed. "If you knew what that runt does, you'd think this is suitable too. That brat always embarrasses me and never cooks, cleans, or takes care of the house."

"She's just a child!" Yuki exclaimed angrily at the man. Ryu raised a hand up.

"I'll give you 100,000 yen for your daughter," Ryu stated.

"What?!" The man laughed. "You're bluffing! You couldn't possibly have that much!" He was silenced as Ryu pulled out a stack of money from his bag.

"Why do you carry that around in school?" Yuki asked dumbfoundedly, but was ignored.

"A brat for 100,00 yen?" The man repeated, and Ryu nodded. "It's a deal! Take that brat! I don't care for her anyways!"

"How can you say that as a father?!" Yuki demanded.

"Yuki, take the girl and bring her outside while I have a moment with this guy," Ryu commanded. Muttering bad things about the so-called father, Yuki gently led the little girl outside.

"What's your name and how old are you sweetie?" Yuki asked as sweetly and motherly as possible.

"Sakura is seven years old," she answered in third person, making Yuki giggle and raise her hand to rub her hair. But she stopped when Sakura flinched, so she lowered her hand back down.

"Well Sakura, I'm Yuki, and the man back there was my boyfriend Ryu," Yuki introduced. "And starting today you're going to live with us, where you won't be abused anymore okay?" Sakura nodded slowly, still not trusting her.

"Let's go," Ryu's voice came. Yuki turned to see a satisfied Ryu walking out with a red fist.

"This is Sakura," Yuki repeated. "And I guess in a way, she's our daughter now."

"No!" Sakura protested. "You may have saved me from that man, but you are not my parents!" Ryu lowered himself down to her level.

"I don't expect you to trust us soon," Ryu said calmly. "But even if you won't see us as parents, we will protect you like true parents would." Ryu took her by the hand and the three of them walked home. That night as Yuki nursed Sakura, she winced seeing how many scars and marks Sakura had on her body.

"We need to protect her and make sure she never faces this kind of abuse again," Yuki whispered to Ryu, who nodded. The next day Ryu and Yami skipped school to be with Sakura since they couldn't get a babysitter just yet. The others met up with them after school at Kuma's ramen shop, where Ryu and Yuki promised to treat Sakura to whatever she wanted. Yuki felt sorrow when she saw Sakura carefully eating the food, as if it may be poisoned.

"She's so cute!" Takeda cooed.

"Can you say uncle Tsucchi's name?" Tsucchi asked as he fanned himself.

"I'm not a baby you idiot," Sakura retorted. "I can speak just fine." The group laughed as Tsucchi blushed from getting insulted by a seven year old. Suddenly Yankumi entered the shop.

"Everybody's checking up on me," Hayato sighed annoyed.

"Everybody?" Yankumi asked confused.

"Yankumi!" The group called and waved to her.

"Everyone!" She cried. "And who's this little cutie?" Yankumi began to coo at Sakura just as Tsucchi had earlier.

"Get away from me you old hag," Sakura muttered and began eating her ramen again.

"Sorry," Yuki apologized. "She really doesn't like people."

"So why is she with you two?" Hyuga asked. Ryu and Yuki began explaining last night's events, about rescuing her, taking her home, the wounds on her back, and wanting to adopt her as their child.

"So later today, we're going down to city hall to get the certificates," Ryu added at the end. Suddenly the mood worsened when a group of men came in.

"Welcome to the bad tasting ramen shop!" The men insulted as they opened the door. They rudely pushed Hayato out of the way, causing Yankumi to yell.

"Hey, what's with you guys?!" Yankumi growled. "If you want to interrupt with business, then go somewhere else." Yuki took note of Kuma getting nervous when the men came in.

"What'd you say?" One of the men asked in a threatening tone. Kuma came up and held Yankumi back.

"Such an authorative woman," a man commented as he stepped in after. "Is she your girlfriend?" Before Yankumi could answer, Kuma pushed her aside.

"You're wrong!" Kuma denied. "She's just an ordinary customer." Yuki and Ryu exchanged glances, both confused as to why Kuma was acting that way. The guy that appeared to be the boss gasped when his gaze fell upon Yuki.

"You," he barely whispered. "You look so much like her."

"Who?" Yuki asked worriedly.

"Mitsuki Ichijoji of the Minamoto clan," the man whispered. "Is that really you Mitsuki?"

"How do you know my mom?" Yuki asked. Instead of answering, the man continued to approach her. The silence was broken by Ryu pushing his chair out and standing in front of Yuki protectively.

"Don't you take another step closer to Yuki," Ryu threatened.

"We'll meet again," he said.The men left after a few more words and a threat. Once the shop was closed, they walked with Kuma to a random direction. Once she found the courage to speak, Yankumi asked if the men from before were loan sharks. They all put two and two together and realized it was the laon sharks that had beaten up Kuma before. She began to scold him for not going to her for help. What they didn't expect was for Kuma to burst out at Yankumi and yell at her to leave him alone. He took off running as they watched helplessly, unable to help him. As Yankumi began doubting Kuma, Hayato yelled out and showed his belief in Kuma.

"Hayato," Ryu called out. "You know something don't you?"

"Yabuki," Yankumi pleaded when he wouldn't answer.

"They came yesterday too," Hayato finally answered. He summarized what happened when they were approached by the loan sharks and Kuma was threatened to close down his shop.

"That idiot," Yuki whispered. "He sure knows Yankumi would get herself involved. But he should've also knew that it doesn't matter if she's no longer his homeroom teacher like before!" They discussed a bit more about Kuma's problems before going home. The next day Ryu and the guys went to Kuma's shop again while Yuki and Sakura were to go home, to protect them from danger.

"What's that sound?" Sakura asked suddenly as they were walking. They stopped a bit and heard footsteps.

"Sakura, go hide in that bush over there, if something happens, I want you to run to Ryu and tell him what happens okay?" Yuki asked as she hid Sakura behind the big bush. Sakura was hidden just in time before three men ran out and attacked Yuki. A van drove up and Sakura watched in horror as Yuki was thrown into the van. As soon as they drove away, Sakura dashed from her hiding place and went towards Ryu's location.

"What are you guys planning to do?" Yuki asked harshly as she kicked the one that tied her up.

"Now, now, a pretty girl shouldn't be using violence," the man taunted. "Our boss just wants to speak with you." The rest of the ride was quiet, making Yuki extra nervous when they reached their destination. She was led into an office filled with men and one single man sitting a desk in the back. "Sir, the target has been delivered." The boss waved the other men out of the room before Yuki's cheek, causing her to try to bite him.

"Fiesty, just like your mother was," the man said grinning.

"What do you want with me?" Yuki hissed as he tried to touch her again.

"Your mother," the man answered. "We were to be married to join our two clans, but she left me for some useless man!" He roared and slammed his fist on his desk.

"My father is not a useless man!" Yuki cried back. "And my mother left because she didn't love you!"

"Shut up!" The yakuza boss ordered in a roaring voice that could compete with a dragon's. "If I couldn't have your mother then I shall have you!" As he reached for her, Yuki screamed a high pitched scream that pained his ears. "Shut up!"

"Boss!" A man timidly cried.

"What?!" He asked back annoyed. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?!"

"I'm sorry sir," The man whispered. "But Kumai's shop deed has arrived." As he handed the paper to the yakuza boss, the boss smirked.

"Looks like we'll be having visitors soon," the boss said to Yuki. "You're lucky for now, but once those fools are taken care of, I'll have my ways with you." Without warning, he hit Yuki's neck, sending her into darkness.

~~~Sakura~~~

"Ryu-san!" Sakura cried as she approached the group. Yankumi was now running off and didn't notice the child.

"Sakura!" Tsucchi excalimed.

"Where's Yuki?" Ryu asked worriedly. "You two were supposed to be together!"

"Some men kidnapped her!" Sakura cried. "You need to save her! One of the men who attacked her were one of the men from the other day!"

"Watch her," Ryu ordered and took off running in the opposite way Yankumi ran. Ryu arrived at the Oedo house and begged for help as Hayato caught up with Kuma and the two entered the bulding of the loan sharks together.

Hayato and Kuma were shocked to find Yuki tied up on the boss's desk.

"Let her go," Hayato demanded. "And give us the deed to Kuma's shop." With just those words, a battle began.

~~~Yuki~~~

Yuki groaned as her eyes fluttered open. Hey sight started as just a blur until she took in her surrounding. She gasped as she saw Hayato and Kuma beaten up and on the ground with Yankumi in the middle of the room.

"I see you've finally woke up," the boss spoke from behind her. She began struggling when she realized she was laid on his desk, still tied up. "Now for the grand finale." Yuki looked up to see a man sneaking up on Yankumi.

"YANKUMI!" Yuki screamed and hoped it wasn't too late. Everything went in slow motion as the man brought his stick down on Yankumi. Suddenly a hand interfered and knocked out the grunt behind their teacher.

"Grandpa!" Yankumi exclaimed. She then found her courage again and walked over the the other yakuza boss. Yankumi untied Yuki and demanded the deed back for Kuma. The leader of the Oedo clan then arrested the yakuza boss, bring peace to the neighborhood again. Yankumi and Yuki helped Kuma and Hayato out and back to the others. Yuki was greeted by a hug from Sakura and a kiss from Ryu.

"I thought I lost you!" Ryu whispered on her head.

"You'll never lose me," Yuki promised and hugged him to assure him she was there. She went down and hugged Sakura gently, making sure not to hurt Sakura's old wounds. "Thank you for your help Sakura, you were very brave." She walked over to help Yankumi fix up the two guys.

"Tolerate it a little," Yankumi teased as Hayato winced from the medicine being put on him. Yuki laughed and tried to do it more gently. As Kuma tried to apologize and thank Yankumi, she interupted him. Yankumi reminded him and the rest of them that no matter how long ago, she would always consider them her students, touching them deeply. Sakura then spoke out to ruin the mood.

"Actually, I'll never be your student," Sakura replied, raising laughter and chuckles in the group. "I'm serious, I've never been to school before."

"But you're such a bright young girl!" Hyuga yelled.

"Yeah!" Takeda added. "You were able to tell Tsucchi's an idiot!" Takeda raised more laughter, but earned a hit from Tsucchi.

"Well when we adopt you, we'll sign you up for school as soon as we can okay?" Yuki asked her.

"Let's go to city hall right now then!" Yankumi suggested.

"YEAH!" Everyone cheered together as they all got up. Hayato happily jumped on Ryu for a piggy back ride, and surprsingly Ryu went along with it. Yuki giggled and chased after the group while holding Sakura's hand.

"Welcome to the family Sakura!" Takeda and Hyuga cried as they recieved the certificate.

"Shut up, you guys aren't her parents!" Tsucchi said as he pushed them.

"Yeah! We're her uncles though!" Hayato corrected and all of them cheered. Sakura smiled a little bit and hid herself behind Yuki. They were able to get approval because they told the workers about what happened at Sakura's orginal home. Not only that, but Sakura had no other living relatives either, which allowed them to gain custody over Sakura pretty quick. "Let's go drink to celebrate the new addition!" Everyone ignored Hayato's wounds and slapped his head again while Sakura kicked his leg.

"You guys aren't of age yet!" Yankumi scolded.

"We got a kid with us too!" Takeda cried.

"I wouldn't allow any of you to drink anyways," Yuki added.

"You're a bad influence," Sakura commented and kicked him again.

The next day Hayato decided to tell his dad his true feelings.

"For now," Hayato said and trailed off. "For now I just want to be a man who can protect what's important to him."

In class, Yuki and Ryu were able to attend again since they were able to quickly find a good elementary school for Sakura. Kuma also arrived and delivered some free ramen for helping him. They congratulated Kuma since the construction plans were cancelled, which meant Kuma's shop was once again safe. Due to overhappiness, Kuma noogied both Hayato and Ryu and slapped Takeda, Hyuga, and Tsucchi on their backs super hard, causing the three to fall and drop their food.

"Alright!" Yankumi cried. "Then I'll dig in too!" However as she approached the tables, the plates were already empty, causing her to freak out. She begged Kuma to give her more, but he apologized and said that was all he brought. Ryu, Hayato, and Yuki watched in amusement as Yankumi chased them out of the class whiile pleading for them to give her some of the gyoza.

"I'm going to miss this class when we graduate," Yuki admitted

."Same," Hayato and Ryu agreed at the same time. The three turned to each other and laughed as they continued watching their teacher and classmates run around.

AN!!!!!

OY! I almost forgot this part! But the Sakura idea is not mine at all! It's from the drama I've recently watched called "Runaway: Boys on the Run". I thought the little girl was adorable and got an idea for the story later on when I was watching. So go watch Runaway because although it's not exactly the type of drama I'd like, it ended up being the best drama I've ever watched.