Episode Nine

After our first date, Yamato and I started to change. The guys noticed it too. We were in better moods. We joked, laughed and smiled more, especially with each other. When the guys asked us why we were in such a good mood, we just said our first date. That was another thing Kumai-san helped Yamato with, cover story. So he wouldn't be teased by the others, Yamato asked Kumai-san to say we had our first date at his shop. Remembering how it was in high school, he agreed.

I was sitting in the very back behind the back row of desks with Yamato and Ren. I stretched as Yankumi walked in the classroom. She began to write on the board. It said: Let's seriously think about college and careers.

"Um, next week we'll have college and career guidance sessions," she announced handing out papers to everyone, "I hope everyone will seriously think about their futures after graduating."

"Future? Whether to graduate or not to graduate...Either way it's a pain in the neck," Ren whined.

I turned to him, "you're graduating mister."

"Say, do you wanna repeat school," Ichi asked.

Kura pointed to him, "yeah, why not? I'd want Aoi-chan as my homeroom teacher!"

"Alright," Honjo stood, "everyone, let's stay back another year!"

I shook my head as the rest of the class cheered.

"That's a bad idea," Yamato mumbled.

Yankumi frowned, "it's not the time to be joking, guys. I hope everyone tries their best to graduate by cutting down on tardiness, leaving early, and absences. Many of you have dangerously low attendance already," Murayama's crew walked in, "just as I say it, they're late."

"Sorry, sorry."

"Hamaguchi, Yamamoto, Ohira, Murayama, Yoshida! Lately, you guys have frequently been late and absent," they shrugged her off, "also, if you haven't submitted your future career survey, definitely submit it today."

"Future survey," Honjo asked, "I didn't get anything like that."

"What do you mean "get anything." I handed it out last week."

"Maybe you skipped over me," he asked.

"Honjo," Yamato called.

Honjo turned to him, "what?"

Yamato pointed to Honjo's desk. Honjo checked inside and found the crumbled up paper.

"Oh, I, uh...got it."

We laughed at him, "see!"

After school, Yamato, Ren and I hung out downtown. We went to the arcade first then decided to go to our usual place. We were heading there when Yamato suddenly turned around clinching his bag.

I turned to him, "what's wrong?"

"I just got chills up my back," he said.

Ren laughed, "what do you mean," he looked across the street, "hey, isn't that Murayama's crew?"

I looked where he was to see them running up to group of older guys.

"Who are they," I asked them.

They shrugged, "dunno."

---

The next day there was a rumor going around about two student saw the bronze statue of the founder of Akadou standing in the middle of the hall. This made the guys start telling other rumors they heard about it. I sat away from them with Yamato wondering how these guys made it to senior year.

"I heard this story from an upper classman," Ren said getting our attention, "when night comes, the hair of the bronze statue starts to grow."

"What I heard was...When night comes, the bronze statue's neck turns 180 degrees," Ichi added.

Yamato rolled his eyes, "no matter how you see it, it sounds totally fake."

I nodded, "no kidding."

Ignoring us, the guys continued telling their stories.

"But this time, a couple of juniors from the ping-pong club actually saw it."

"I heard the bronze statue walked and stood in the middle of the hallway!"

"That's really crazy," we looked at the door to see Yankumi with an uneasy look on her face, "what does it all mean? A bronze statue walking...That's too scary!"

"Huh? You're scared, Yankumi," Ichi asked.

She quickly put on a brave face, "of course not! I was only trying to add on to your story. Did you think I was serious? I tricked you guys!"

Honjo laughed, "she was definitely scared."

Yankumi tried to laugh it off, "there's no way. No way. There's no way that I would fall for such a simple childish story."

Suddenly the lights went out. I quickly grabbed Yamato's arm. Yankumi gave out a scream and ran out. The lights turned back on. We saw Kura holding up a green head.

"Oh? Did I overdo it," he asked making the class laugh giving him a thumb's up.

"Baka," Yamato mumbled before turning to me, "you can let go now."

I quickly dropped his arm, "gomen."

"I didn't know you were afraid of the dark," he said rubbing his arm.

"Yeah," I didn't meet his gaze, "it's a long story. I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Oh, okay."

I could tell he wanted know more, but I just didn't want to talk.

"Sai-chan," Kamiya waved his hand in front of my face, "did you hear me?"

I shook my head, "no, sorry."

He explained that everyone was coming back to the school that night so they could find out if the legend of Akadou was true.

I sighed, "you have got to be kidding."

Ren put his hand on my shoulder, "don't worry Heza, you don't have to come since you're scared."

I glared at him, "I'm not scared."

He laughed, "please, I know you. You've been afraid of the dark ever since we were kids."

"So," I turned to Yamato, "are you going?"

"Wasn't planning on it, but if you want me to..."

I turned back to Ren, "I'm coming."

"Alright!"

That night class 3-D met in our classroom. Everyone brought their own flashlight. I stayed near Yamato who was sitting on the front desk as the others gathered around Ren.

"Is everyone here," they nodded, "are you ready," they nodded again as Ren turned to Yamato, "hey, Yamato. Don't get scared and run away in the middle embarrassing yourself in front of Heza."
Yamato jumped up, "who would be scared?"

"Shhh!"

Yamato lowered his voice, "alright, let's go."

Ren put the flashlight to his face, "operation Akadou Legend Investigation! Fight-oh!"

"Oh!"

We walked out of the classroom and down the hall. I walked behind Yamato holding the end of his jacket. He laughed.

"What are you laughing at," I whispered.

He glanced behind him at me, "has anyone ever told you that you're cute when you're scared?"

I blushed, "has anyone told you not to mess with a girl when she's scared?"

He laughed again before turning back around. We finally got to the front where the bronze statue was, but it gone.

"Is this real," one guy whispered.

"It's really gone," Ichi whimpered.

Honjo gulped, "does that mean that the bronze statue walked somewhere?"

"No way, that's impossible," Yamato said trying to make sense of the situation.

I pointed to the where the statue was suppose to be, "then how would you explain it?"

Suddenly there was a loud bang behind us. We turned. I gripped Yamato's jacket harder.

"What was that just now," Honjo wondered.

Kura whined, "it couldn't be..."

We slowly made our way towards the sound. Yamato kept a protective hand on my hip the whole time. We turned a corner and crowded together. The bang became footsteps, and they were coming our way. We crowded closer together waiting. When a foot came around a corner, I almost screamed, but it was only one of our classmates.

"My bad, my bad," he laughed, "I drank too much juice so I went to the restroom. Then, I couldn't stop going. It was like the juice was going right through me."

We yelled running up to him and hit him on the head for scaring us. I sighed in relieve, but it was too soon. We heard another bang. This one led us to the office. We crowded around the red door. We were about to open it when someone opened it on the other side. When that person saw us, he/she let out a scream making us yell. We stopped when the person ran back in the office.

"Didn't that scream sound familiar," I asked running into the office.

The others followed shining their flashlights on the person, who was crouched down behind the teacher's desks.

"Yankumi?"

She turned to us, "you guys! What are you doing here at this time?!"

"We came to see the walking bronze statue, that's what," Ren explained.

"It's just a rumor," she yelled at us.

"But the bronze statue is really gone," Ichi said.

Yankumi turned to us with a scared look, "what?"

Yankumi joined us in walking down the halls of the school looking for the bronze statue. Thinking I would be safer with Yankumi, I walked beside her in the back of the group, but I was wrong. The whole time she was trying to convince herself that the rumor wasn't true.

"A walking bronze statue? No way, no way. It's impossible."

We heard footsteps behind us. Yankumi and I turned. They were coming from around the corner that we just passed. We slowly walked towards it. I made sure Yankumi was in front. We peaked around when the bronze statue face suddenly appeared in front of us. We screamed. Yankumi wrapped her arms around it head and flipped it. I could hear the guys running back to us.

"Heza!"

"Yankumi!"

I watched as some of the guys tripped over the statue and fell. Suddenly a light shined in our face. It was the school cop.

"What's wrong, Yamaguchi-sensei?"

He shined his light at the ground. Not only did we see the bronze statue, but a man wearing black. He had the statue tied to his back. Another laid on the ground under the guys who fell. The guys got off him. Yankumi looked closely at the two men.

"Who are you?"

The next day was wonderful. Sawatari called the whole class to the office. There he gave Yankumi a letter.

"This is a thank you letter from the police department," he explained.

Ren grabbed the letter out of Yankumi's hands so we could see it better.

"Wow!"

We decided to take a picture. Ren moved me in between him and Yamato, and gave me the letter to hold towards the camera. We smiled. We were so happy, but of course Sawatari had to ruin it.

"You guys. Why were you at the school at that time," he asked.

We paused.

"Um...Well, we came to...," Yamato pushed Ren foward to explain.

"...pick up our cellphones," he said copying Yankumi's excuse.

Sawatari interrigated us further, "and all of you came?"

"Yeah," Ren pointed to Yamato, "I guess you could say that..."

Yamato nodded, "yeah, yeah, that's right."

The class quickly agreed, "yeah, yeah."

Yankumi stepped in between us and Sawatari, "head teacher Sawatari, the school can pass on giving a reward."

"There's no reward," he walked away.

So instead of the school giving us a reward, Yankumi bought us some food and drinks, and we celebrated. We raised our cups.

"Cheers!"

Suddenly the door slammed open and in walked Murayama's crew.

Ichi smiled, "hey, the late bunch."

"What's this," they asked.

Ren took the letter and showed it to them, "ta-dah!"

"Don't get shocked when you hear this," Kura smiled, "yesterday, we caught a burglar at school! Yay!"

"It sorta happened without warning," Yamato said glancing at me.

I pouted. I knew that he was teasing me for screaming louder than Yankumi when we saw the bronze statue. He's been doing it ever since last night.

"This is the greatest achievement for Akadou," one guy said.

Ren pointed at them, "you guys should've been there too."

Honjo nodded, "seriously, it was really fun!"

"Too bad you guys missed out," Kamiya patted one of their shoulders.

Murayama interrupted our cheering, "either way, we don't really care. We're not kids, you know."

The guys started glaring at them, "what's with that tone?"

Ichi and I stepped in trying to keep peace.

"Now, now, now," I smiled at Murayama's crew, "let's toast for now."

Ichi tried to give them a cup of juice, but they didn't take it.

"I don't wanna," Murayama said.

"It's Yankumi's treat," Ichi said pushing the cup to him.

Murayama slapped his hand making the cup fly to the floor, "I said, I don't wanna!"

Everyone paused. Kura was the first to step foward.

"Why are you guys turning on us," he asked.

"We aren't lashing out," one of them said, "it's just that you guys are getting carried away."

Honjo stepped forward, "don't be sensitive just because you missed out."

Murayama threw his bag down and got in Honjo's face, "who's being sensitive! You bastard!"

Yamato pulled me out of the way as they started pushing each other. One of them pushed Kura to the side making him jump in. Everyone tried to get them apart. One of the guys was shoved into the desks that had all our food on it making it all go to the floor. Yankumi came running in.

"What are you guys doing," she began pulling them apart, "stop! I said stop! What part of stop don't you understand?! Break it up," she got them apart and stood between Murayama's crew and the rest of us, "I said break it up! What're you doing? Explain now!"

"Like I know," Honjo yelled.

"Ask them," Kura said.

Yankumi turned to Murayama's crew, "what's wrong with you guys! If you have something to say, say it now. You're all friends in this class, right?"

"Friends," Murayama rolled his eyes, "it's only until graduation anyway. We have other people that we call friends."

They walked out. Honjo kicked the front desk.

"Damn it!"

"They vented their anger as they pleased," one guy yelled.

"I don't get it," Ichi said.

I looked down at the scattered food. Our wonderful mood was now ruined.

"What's with those guys," I whispered.

Yamato wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "don't worry about it."

I looked at him, "but their our friends, right?"

He nodded, but I could see that he was unsure.

We went to our usual place after school. We just sat there. No one said anything for a while.

"Those guys probably won't be coming to school any time soon," Ichi said breaking the silence.

"They probably won't come back at all," Kamiya commented throwing a dart at the dart board.

"There must be a reason," Yamato said.

"Even if we knew, there's nothing we can do," Kura growled.

Ren stood, "are we going to let them be, then?"

"It was them that started the fight," Honjo pointed out.

I sighed, "and? Only a few months ago, you guys were starting fights with each other everyday, and now look at you. You're friends. You fight for each other instead of against. Do you think you would be like this if you gave up on each other just because the other person started a fight with you," they didn't say anything, "just think about it."

---

The next day, Murayama's crew didn't come to school. Everyone sat there. Yankumi walked in.

"Ohayou," she saw the empty desks, "they didn't come, after all."

"Of course they wouldn't," Kura said.

The class agreed. I rolled my eyes. I guess someone didn't think about what I said last night.

Yankumi walked to the front desk, "I have a favor to ask. The guys that Murayama's crew is involved with now...If you've heard any stories about those guys or if you have any information about them, please tell me. At this rate, they might quit school. I want them to come back to school at least one more time."

Kamiya spoke up, "they won't come back."

"Anyhow, we seem to be their friends only till graduation," Ichi added.

I stood up, "did any of you listen to me last night? They're still our friends."

"But high school isn't required. It's up to you if you wanna go to school or not," one guy in the front said, "it's your own responsiblity."

Honjo glanced at me, "it's okay if we leave those kind of guys alone."

I slammed my hands down on my desk, "those kind of guys?! You guys were those kind of guys, remember?! Thinking that you weren't friends or comrades at all, that you just were in the same class, that's it."

Yankumi stepped forward, "Saitou is right, so how can we leave them alone! Like you guys, those guys are my precious students! Some may say that after graduation each has their own life, and it's no big deal to have been in the same class with someone in high school. But the time spent here together can't be experienced anywhere else! The friends that you've made here might become your lifelong treasures," Yankumi turned to Honjo, "Honjo. When you were in trouble, didn't they work part time jobs tirelessly to make money for you?"

He shifted, "shut up."

She continued, "during the Akadou festival, didn't they help fix things when the classroom was a mess? You can fight with your friends all you want. People you always hang out with aren't the only friends you have. You might argue with some, and end up developing a deep relationship with them."

"Um...," Akatsuki-kun stood, "I...It's something that Murayama's crew told me not to say. When they went to get employment information from Kanpachi Contractors, it seemed like they only said bad things about Akadou."

He told us that one of the workers said it was useless for someone from Akadou to apply for a job. I sat back down. That bastard!

Yankumi sighed, "I see...Someone said that to them."

"This has nothing to do with it," Kura said.

Kamiya agreed, "we're used to that kind of thing."

"They're acting like spoiled brats," one guy yelled.

Yankumi went back to the front, "it's just as you say. The attitude they took was wrong, but haven't you guys also been in a situation at least once where you wanted to run away to a different place? You guys might have been part of that group."

Without another word, she walked out leaving us with our thoughts.

Yamato sighed, "I...sorta understand what Yamaguchi is saying."

Ren nodded, "me too."

I nodded thinking about the day I lost my parents, "me too."

Once school was over, I went with Yankumi to convince Murayama's crew to come back to school. They just walked on by us, not listening to anything we had to say. They didn't come to school the following day. Everyone went back to talking and playing around, except me and my guys. We just sat there staring at those 5 empty desks. I didn't talk to anyone the rest of the day. I was too worried. I went with Yankumi again. This time instead of walking past us, they got in our face.

"You're two are really irritating," Murayama growled.

Yankumi smiled, "they say that a lot, right Saitou?"

I nodded, "yeah. Come to school tomorrow."

They walked past us.

"We'll both be waiting," Yankumi yelled after them.

I watched them walk away, "they'll come, right Yankumi?"

She put her hand on my shoulder, "I hope so."

The next afternoon, I went to the office to meet Yankumi. I overheard the other teachers saying it was useless to talk to Murayama's crew. There's that word again. Useless. It wasn't useless. If it's for your friends, it's never useless. Sawatari said something about how we would be gone in a few months anyway. I was about to walk in and give them all a piece of my mind when Yankumi spoke up.

"That's exactly why we need to teach them now, isn't it? If we let them loose now, it's obvious that they'll go down the wrong path. That's why there's still a lot that I have to teach them while they're in school."

I smiled. Yankumi really was one of a kind. She came out of the office and smiled at me.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded, "yeah."

We walked out of the school and to the place we've crossed paths with Murayama's crew for the last few days. On the way we stop by a takoyaki stand. Yankumi disappeared somewhere with the two workers for a few minutes before coming back. I guess they were friends.

"Where to," I asked following her.

"The Shirokin Town warehouse."

We started heading over there when Yankumi's phone started vibrating. She answered it.

"Ogata?...What?...What?..."

She hung up and started running. I ran after her.

"Matte, Yankumi. The warehouse is the other way."

I followed her to the Shirokin Tunnel. We met Yamato and Ren when we got there. We ran inside, and found our entire class on the ground beaten. We ran to them. I knelt down beside Ichi.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded.

Honjo groaned, "they...took them."

I looked around. Murayama's crew were the only ones missing.

"We tried to bring them back," Kura added.

I helped Kamiya sit up.

He hissed, "Murayama's crew protected us from them."

Ichi nodded, "those guys are bad news."

"Damn it," Yamato growled.

"They'll pay," Ren yelled.

Yankumi stood and ran. As soon as the others were well enough, we ran after her, but we lost her.

Kura panted, "where could they be?"

I took a deep breath then remembered, "they're at the Shirokin Town warehouse."

"Are you sure," Ren asked.

I nodded, "it's where Yankumi and I were going before Yamato called."

"Let's go," Yamato yelled.

We ran all the way to the warehouse. When we got there, the other gang wasn't there, and Yankumi was knealing in front of Murayama's crew, who were badly beaten. We ran and circled them asking if they were okay. I knelt down beside Yankumi.

"Take a look," she said to them, "these guys got beat up like this for your sake. Everyone was worried about you guys. With all their heart. You get it," she stood and began looking at all of us, "listen carefully. What's awaiting for you in life won't be all good. There may be things that break your heart. At that moment, remember it. That you have friends that would put themselves on the line to help you. That you have friends that would rush to help you, when you're in trouble. You guys have in your hands lifelong treasures."

Murayama's crew began to cry, "gomen."

We stood and held out our hands for them. Each took someone's hand and stood. They leaned against the person beside them smiling. I smiled at the sight. Everyone was back together. Yankumi turned to me. I gave her a thumb's up She smiled.

---

I smiled as Murayama's crew walked in the classroom. Everyone gave them a huge greeting.

Yankumi sighed, "Geez. You made me a bit nervous. But finally everyone's together again," she went behind the front desk, "alright, everyone listen! Listen, okay? You're just barely standing at the starting point. From this point, push your way towards your big future!"

"Oh!"

"A big future is good, but before that, shouldn't we graduate normally first," Yamato smiled.

Ren laughed, "he has a point, huh?"

"I was about to say that," Yankumi walked up to us, "alright, guys..."

I interrupted Yankumi, "let's all graduate together."

"Oh!"

Yankumi huffed, "I was going to say that."

Everyone laughed at her until Kamiya raised his hand.

"Speaking of big futures, I have a question for the couple of the year," he turned to me and Yamato,

"I've been wondering this for a while. Have you two had your first kiss yet?"

"Baka," I stood up and started chasing him around the classroom, "don't go asking questions like that?!"

Everyone laughed at us. Everything was finally back to normal. Well, as normal as it gets in class 3-D.