𓂃 ₓ✶ NVPTXNE 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒... 🎸🍯✨🎧 ‧₊˚

➜ ៵ ִ࣪ ۫ ּ 𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚈 𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚃𝙻𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙸 𝙳𝙾ヾ₊˚.
EPISODE ONE. part two

Shirokin district

Yankumi didn't see Nikki again until two days later. It was late in the afternoon, and she had just let out a sigh as, yet another person shook their head after being shown a picture of her student. The girl was wearing a white oversized long-sleeved jersey with that reached her thighs paired with white sweats and her usual sneakers. Her hands were shoved in her pockets and had a lollipop sticking out of her mouth, along with a faraway look on her face. Yankumi was sure the girl would have completely missed her if she hadn't called for her.

"Nikki-chan!" She called, getting the girls attention and she excitedly caught up to her with a wide smile on her face.

At the name the girl halted in her steps, allowing the older woman to catch up to her. At the sight of the woman the younger girl gave a small smile.

"Hi Yankumi," she said, taking the lollipop out of her mouth. Yankumi noticed today her hair was slicked back in a puff, allowing her to see the girls face clearly. She was happy to see the bandage was taken off of her forehead, though she could still see a long scratch where the brick had hit her, and she still sported multiple tiny scratches where the glass had stuck her on the side of her face. Nome of the injuries looked like they would scar but they weren't pretty to look at all the same.

Sensing the girl's discomfort at her staring, Yankumi quickly shifted the conversation.

"So, where were you headed?" She asked.

"To the arcade," The girl answered. "They made more room in it last year and it has some pool tables and a food court now. I've been getting food from there lately."

"Really? Why not Kuma's place?" The older woman questioned. "It's only a few doors down from you, isn't it?"

She then gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth, eyes widening "Don't tell me you two don't speak anymore!"

"Of course, we still speak," the girl rolled her eyes. "But that idiot banned me from going there indefinitely all because I ordered pork ramen there every day for two weeks."

"Nikki-chan," Yankumi chastised, slapping the girls arm. "You know that's terrible for you! Kuma did the right thing."

The girl only scoffed. "Please, it's sooo unhealthy, yet he won't teach me to cook or buy me groceries. If he's not going to offer any help, he should just mind his business," she stated stubbornly, crossing her arms.

Yankumi looked at the girl in amusement. While she had grown a lot, she could still see the fiery sixteen-year-old she met her first year of teaching.

"Just come to my house then, you know you're always welcome. At least there you can get something more balanced."

"I would, but I want to stay close to the salon, just in case those guys come back."

"Nikki..." Yankumi trailed off in warning, already knowing where the girls mind was going.

"Look," Nikki sighed, her face turning serious. "The police are useless. I know my description wasn't the best, but they aren't even being objective. They're just taking whatever highschoolers that happen to walk by the salon and questioning them. Do they not know how many high schools there are in this area? It's ridiculous."

"But still," Yankumi pushed. "It's not safe for you to do it on your own. Especially if it's you they're targeting."

"What should I do then?" The girl asked, face a bit hopeless.

After a beat of silence, the womans face lit up. "I'll help you! We can order a bunch of junk food and have a stakeout! Doesn't that sound fun?"

"It would be fun..."The girls face held a smile before it quickly dropped into an unimpressed expression. "If we were in a buddy cop movie, which we aren't," she said before flicking the woman in the head, making the woman yelp. "Focus."

Yankumi winced at the impact, rubbing the spot on her forehead with a pout, making the younger girl smile for real.

"Anyway, it looks like you're already occupied with something," Nikki said, finally catching sight of the picture in her former teacher's hand. "Who's that?" She asked, nodding to the picture.

"One of my students. Odagiri Ryu." Yankumi replied, handing the girl the picture so she could get a better look. "Have you seen him around?"

Nikki inspected the picture for a moment. The boy had a narrow face and long brown hair that reached the base of his neck. His bangs were long and almost completely covered his eyes, but she could still make out his sharp eyebrows. "I haven't seen him around," The girl said after a moment. "He's pretty though," she added, handing the picture back to Yankumi.

Hearing this, Yankumi looked surprised before a teasing smile appeared on her face. "Oh? You really have grown up huh? Maybe when I find him, I should introduce you two-"

"Don't overdo it." The younger girl was quick to reply, unimpressed, beginning to walk ahead of the woman.

"Why?" Yankumi pouted at the girl's quick rejection, catching up to her retreating figure. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Nikki only rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Just because you're not my teacher anymore, does not mean I want to talk about boys with you Yankumi."

Though that did not answer the older woman's question, actually making her more suspicious as she didn't simply answer 'no', she chose to let it go for now as she didn't want to further irritate the younger girl. She did make a mental note to ask about it at a later time.

The two walked in silence for a few moments before Nikki chose to break it, motioning to the picture in Yankumi's hand.

"Why do you have a picture of your student with you anyway?"

"Well yesterday, when I came to get the other four, he wasn't in class either. As it turns out, his father worked out a deal with the school to where he doesn't have to come, and he'll still get a diploma."

"Really?" Nikki raised her brows. "That's—"

"I know! It's ridiculous—" Yankumi huffed out at the same time as Nikki said "Convenient."

The two looked at each other before Nikki coughed awkwardly.

"But also ridiculous," she sheepishly added. "You're right. So, you're trying to bring him back?"

"Of course!" The other woman said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "If it's the last thing I do!"

Nikki couldn't help but smile softly at her former teacher's determination. She knew that if she were any younger, she would have thought what the woman was doing was unnecessary, and that she should focus on the students she already had. But she knew, if Yankumi thought it was possible to help someone, no matter who they were, she would go above and beyond.

"Well, you can come to the arcade with me then. There should be other students you can ask." The younger girl spoke casually, not even noticing the older woman had stopped in her tracks.

Turning around confused, she caught sight of her expression, causing her to stop. "What happened?"

"Nothing," The woman began and the confused expression the younger girl wore turned into one of concern as she noticed the womans voice cracking. With glassy eyes the older woman gave the younger girl a smile. "It's just, you would have never willingly asked me to come somewhere with you three years ago. It's just making realize how much you've grown up."

Th younger girl could only shake her head and sigh at her former teacher's antics. "If you're going to cry again, I'm leaving," she stated, beginning to walk ahead of the emotional woman again.

"No, no wait! I'm done!" She called, quickly wiping her tears with a cheerful smile before catching up to the young girl again.

🍯

The short walk to the arcade gave Yankumi the chance to fill Nikki in on the details she had learned from her first day (technically the second as she had not been in the classroom long enough to actually teach anything the first day). When she had taken roll again the next day the only one who hadn't been there once again was Odagiri Ryu, and she later found out he hadn't been coming to school for a while. However, when she asked the head teacher, she had only been told not to worry because his father had worked out a deal with the school.

"Why would his dad have to make a deal with the school?" Nikki questioned.

"Apparently, he's been causing a number of violent incidents since junior high. He was originally going to keep attending, but he had a fight with another one of my students a month ago."

"Which one?"

"Yabuki Hayato," the older woman answered with a sigh. "You met him the other day. He was the one with the long hair," she clarified, gesturing to her own hair.

"I see," Nikki said, recalling the boy she was talking about, as well as his attitude. "I wouldn't have expected that. They both look like they'd spend too much time in front of a mirror to even think about fighting."

"Well, looks can be deceiving," Yankumi remarked thoughtfully. "Your old classmates should be proof of that."

Nikki smiled a bit at the mention of her friends. Yankumi was right, their appearance had made her weary of them initially, but after getting to know them, she'd realized they were just idiots with big hearts. She wasn't too sure after meeting Yankumi's new students that they would be the same, but as long as the older woman still held out hope, she would let her do what she felt she needed to do.

"I guess you're right," Nikki nodded. "So that's why they didn't want him coming back to school? Because of that fight?"

Yankumi nodded. "That's right."

"But he's still gonna get a diploma because of who his dad is?"

Another nod, "Yes."

"What were they even fighting about?" Nikki questioned, curious how one fight could have more consequences than a series of incidents since junior high. What made this fight different?

"I heard from my other students that they used to be good friends, but supposedly Odagiri betrayed Yabuki and that caused the fight," Yankumi said.

"Friendship, betrayal, delinquents, fighting," Nikki listed with a sigh, shaking her head. "So much drama and it's only been a few days. I don't know how you do it Yankumi."

Yankumi only shook her head with a smile. By this time the two had arrived at the arcade and entered. From there Yankumi began asking around to see if anyone knew where the boy was. Nikki followed the woman until she caught sight of the food court. She was about to make her way over when another scene caught her attention. A few feet from the food court were the pool room and right in the middle was a familiar group of teens. Only, they had someone else with them. Three of the boys surrounded a younger looking boy with glasses and it didn't take rocket science to see they were trying to take his money.

Feeling the woman come up next to her she quickly nudged her to get her attention. Feeling her attention on her, Nikki gestured to the scene that was taking place with a sigh.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" she says with a bitter laugh, looking at her former teacher only to find her already advancing towards the boys.

Deciding her food could wait, she followed the Yankumi to where the boys stood, completely oblivious to the new presence. They hadn't realized the woman had shown up till she was grasping the tallest boy's arm that had just raised the bills of money he'd taken in the air.

"What about the IOU note?" Yankumi questioned the now wide-eyed boys. The three boys plus Hayato, who had been playing pool, attention snapped to their teacher, and then to the younger girl behind her leaning against one of the pool tables, wearing an unimpressed face.

Annoyed at the fact that they were interrupted, the tallest boy, Tsuchiya attempted to tear his hand away, only for it not to budge, making him look at her startled.

The other two, Hyuga and Takeda, looked at their friend expectantly. "Tsucchi?" Takeda called, but the tall boys eyes remained on their stoned faced teacher, her grip only seeming to tighten.

"Are you going to write an IOU note or not?" Yankumi asked. Takeda and Hyuga traded confused looks while Tsuchiya were trying to keep a straight face and not wince at the pressure being applied to his arm.

From behind them, Nikki made eye contact with Hayato, who's eyes hadn't left her since the two women had showed themselves and she raised a brow at him, the action causing the boys jaw to tighten.

"What about the interest?" Yankumi's voice brought Nikki's attention back. Breaking eye contact first, she let out a sigh before looking at Tsuchiya.

"Will you just give it back?" She asked annoyed, making the three boys look at her. "I don't think you're going to get anything today," she stated sarcastically, gesturing with her eyes between the four. Clearly the only way they were getting the money was if they put up a fight with their teacher, but even if they did and kept the money, there was no way they weren't going to get reported and then expelled before they went back to school the next day. It was a lose-lose situation.

Which the tallest boy seemed to realize, letting out an irritated sigh and yanking his hand away from Yankumi's grip. "I'll return it, okay?" He said, shoving the money in the boy's chest, making the boy run away immediately once he had the money in his grip.

"You know," a voice spoke, drawing everyone's attention to the long-haired boy leaning on his pool stick. His gaze was set back on the younger girl who only regarded him with an icy expression. "I saw that idiot of a cop bringing some guys from Akadou in. I hope they weren't there all night," he taunted, making the other three boy's snicker.

"No, just an hour," Nikki didn't miss a beat. "They had better things to do with their time than taking money from people weaker than them," she sent him a sarcastic smile, to which he returned it will a glare.

"Something you two obviously can't say for yourselves," he retorted, referring to her saying they didn't have anything better to do, before looking at Yankumi. "Watching us even after school?" He questioned, going over to the other side of the pool table to the resume the game he was playing.

Yankumi, who had been looking between the two teens with mild interest in what was going to be said next, snapped out it when she realized the boy had directed his comments towards her. "No way. I'm looking for Odagiri. Do you know where he is?"

"I don't," he replied quickly, not sparing her a glance.

"How about you guys?" The teacher looked to the other three, who only turned away, pretending not to hear her, starting to set up their own pool game. Nikki only scoffed. No backbone in sight. She thought to herself, shaking her head. The three could feel the younger girls burning stare, but they didn't dare look at her.

"I heard that he was hanging out with dangerous people and working for them. You guys really don't know?" Yankumi pushed.

Hayato stopped for a moment, before standing up and facing the woman. "If you want to know so badly, I'll tell you."

At that the older woman perked up while the younger girls frown deepened, not liking how fast the boy seemed to give in. "Really?" Yankumi asked.

"He working at a club called Frentzen," he responded.

"Frentzen?" The woman repeated, only to be met with a nod. "Where is it?" She then asked eagerly.

"Take the bus headed for Umedago and get off at the last stop," the boy listed before giving the woman a smile, only making Nikki more suspicious.

Yankumi, however, did not seem to catch on. "I didn't know you're such a good guy," she said, giving him a wide smile that made Nikki want to facepalm. "You've saved me a lot of time. Thanks."

With that the woman turned to leave, giving Nikki a smile and squeezing her shoulder before bidding her goodbye. Nikki could only manage a weak smile before she watched the woman leave the arcade. As soon as she saw the door closed the smile dropped from her face and she turned back to the long-haired boy, who had coincidentally already been looking at her, as were the other three.

"Be honest with me," the boy began. "Is she really that stupid? Or is she pretending?"

The laughter she heard from the other three made her blood boil, but she didn't show it on her face. If anything, that would amuse them more.

She only rolled her eyes before sighing. "Where did you send her?"

"Frentzen," he answered innocently, going back to the pool game he was playing. "That's where she wanted to go isn't it? That's where I sent her."

"Right after you said you didn't know," Nikki smiled sarcastically. "You sure you didn't give her the wrong information?"

"Pretty sure," he replied, before stopping with a thoughtful expression. "Take the bus headed for Umedago and get off at the last stop— wait... or was it the second to last stop? The first stop?" He trailed off with a false look of concern that melted into a taunting smile.

It took a second for Nikki to comprehend what the boy had said and when it registered, her eyes widened a fraction, before cursing under her breath. "Fucking assholes," she shook her head before rushing towards the exit in a hurry.

"I'd bring a jacket if I were you," Hayato called after her, only to be met with a middle finger and the sound of a door slamming a few seconds later.

Takeda sighed looking after the younger girl. "It'd be way easier to hate her if she wasn't so gorgeous."

The boys out of the blue statements caused the other three boys heads to snap towards the shorter boy.

Realized the three were looking at him as if he'd grown two more heads, he quickly rushed to defend himself. "Come on! You can't say you didn't think the same!"

Hyuga and Tsuchiya didn't confirm or deny the statement, but they were most definitely not going admit it in front of Hayato, who only scoffed.

"Speak for yourself," Was all he said, before turning back to the pool table, but not before glancing once more at where the girl had left.

🍯

"They're assholes," she spoke with gritted teeth. "All of them, seriously."

The girl was breathing heavy and the overwhelming anger she felt was not helping her much. After sprinting out of the arcade, running all the way to her salon to grab two jackets, then racing to the bus stop with strides that would make a track runner jealous, she finally reached the bus stop, only the find out it had already left. She then mustered up the last bit of strength she could and sprinted to the next stop, thankfully catching the bus Yankumi was on, almost scaring the woman half to death with how out of breath she was. Any longer and the girl might have passed out.

Now currently, she was sitting in an oversized leather jacket, ranting to the older woman about the circumstances that brought her to this situation. Her edges hadn't stood a chance, and they had puffed up again, no evidence they were ever slicked down in the first place, but the girl was much too exhausted to worry about it currently.

From next to her Yankumi patted her back with sympathy, nodding along with the girls' words. "They are definitely acting like it," she responded understandingly, not necessarily wanting to call her students assholes, but also not wanting to invalidate her former student's feelings, because the way they acted was in fact, out of line, and she'd never be someone to act like it was. She could care about her students and call them out on their wrongs at the same time.

"I mean," Nikki continued, "What did they want me to do? Did they want me to tell that cop 'Yes, it was them who did it. I may have never seen them in my life or know why they would want to do something like almost kill me, but yes, it was definitely them?' Do you see how stupid that sounds?"

Yankumi nodded quickly. "Absolutely."

"I think them being younger than me makes it worse," Nikki then said in realization, eyes widening. "Like, if we were all nineteen it'd be fine, because guys can be assholes like that, but I don't know, them being younger specially makes this irritating, like—"

"Who do these little shits think they are?" Yankumi asked, a knowing smile on her face that completely contradicted the crude words coming out of her mouth.

"Exactly!" Nikki exclaimed, thankfully not gaining the attention of any of the passengers, as the two women were the only ones left on the bus. The only witness to this odd conversation was the bus driver who was subtly trying to listen to what the two women were talking about. Call him nosey but he rarely got the chance to hear entertaining conversations like these when the bus was full.

"I don't see how you're not more upset about this," Nikki then said. "They basically told me they lied to you. I mean, have you seen this club at any of the stops we've been to?"

"Look, I know all too well how terrible guys their age can be, but I also know many of them have good sides to them as well. I don't want to write them off just yet. Who knows, they might have said they were lying to send you on a wild goose chase. They probably didn't think you'd catch up to me so fast."

Nikki sighed, but only gave a small shrug. She didn't want to tell her former teacher she was wrong, having done it many times and ended up wrong herself, but she also couldn't help but think the woman should be more objective. What works for some people may not work for everyone, and no matter how caring and understanding you were to others, they would only accept if they wanted to. She hoped her teacher was right, and that her new students really did have a good side to them, but she wouldn't be surprised if that turned out not to be true.

Giving Yankumi a small smile, she nodded slightly. "I hope you're right."

"Me too."

🍯

"Well, that was fun," Nikki stated jokingly, trying to lighten the current mood. There was a sharp chill in the air and it wasn't just because of the sudden drop in the temperature as the sun had set.

"It's not here no matter how you look at it," Yankumi growled out, teeth gritted similar to how the younger girls was earlier. She hugged the coat Nikki gave her closer to her, knuckles practically turning white.

Nikki glanced at her sympathetically. "Sorry, Yankumi He played you after all. This day has been giving me serious Deja vu."

Nikki was never one that liked saying 'I told you so,' because one, she didn't like to punch down, and two, she knew she was not immune to Yankumi's wrath, so she dared not say it out loud. When the bus approached the final stop all the two women could see were grassy fields and a single statue, not to mention the dip in the temperature as the sky went from pinks and oranges to deep blue approaching pitch black. After halfway recovering from the shock (on Yankumi's part), the two women began to walk back the way the bus came. It was when the two started to see people and buildings again that Yankumi exclaimed again.

"That Yabuki!" Yankumi hissed, paying no mind to the girls attempts to lighten the mood, still too angry to pay attention to what the younger girl was saying. "There was nothing but a jizo there."

"Exactly!" Nikki nodded along enthusiastically. "You should punch him."

That snapped Yankumi out of her anger as her head snapped towards the younger girl in shock. "Nikki!" She said in a scolding tone.

"What?" She asked innocently. "It worked with Noda, Kuma, and Uchi— wait did you ever punch Uchi, or was that Noda I was thinking of again?"

"Nikki," Yankumi groaned, covering her face in embarrassment. "I've grown and matured so much since then. If I want to get through to my students, all I have to do is talk to them."

"Right, right, sorry," the girl replied, putting her hands up in surrender before placing them in her pockets. "You can do the talking, and I'll do the punching."

"Deal," the older woman replied absentmindedly still looking at the bright colored lights on different buildings in an attempt to find what she was looking for. Realizing what she said, her eyes widened, quickly turned to the smirking girl. "Wait! no—"

The other girl shook her head, waving off the formers pleads. "Nope, too late, you've already agreed."

"Nikki! -" The woman goes to scold her again, but she's cut off by the glow of yet another sign but this time, it's finally the sign she had been waiting to see.

"There it is!" Yankumi exclaimed, pointing to the building, getting the younger girls attention.

At the sight of the club the girl let out a sigh of relief. "Finally."

The two headed towards the entrance only to be stopped immediately by the usher at the front.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let the two of you go in. These clothes..." His eyes glanced over the two women's outfits in slight distaste, making Nikki raise her brows.

"Huh? We can't?" Yankumi asked, bewildered.

"Really, a dress code?" Nikki asked incredulously.

"Yes, a dress code," he answered, unbothered by the girl's questioning. "As well as an age limit," he added pointedly.

"Excuse you-" the girl is quickly held back by Yankumi, who gave the man a polite smile, before bowing and bidding goodbye. She quickly led the girl away and the younger girl did hesitate to give the usher a glare before she was led away. As if they don't have highschoolers working there. She thought in annoyance.

The girl was not surprised to see Yankumi had led them to the back of the club instead of leaving completely.

"When all else fails, use the back door," The woman stated as the two walk down the dimly lit alleyway in search of the back door.

The younger girl was about to sarcastically asked where the woman had learned that trick from, but she was interrupted by a door opening, making the two women turn, revealing the very boy Yankumi had been searching for.

He hadn't seen them at first, his slim frame gliding straight past them and to the pile crates containing bottles across from them.

"Odagiri-kun?" Yankumi called gently, making the boy turn to them for the first time.

Upon seeing his face Nikki discerned he looked exactly like his picture, only his hair was a bit longer and he was clad in a bartender's uniform instead of a school uniform. Still very pretty though. She couldn't help but think.

"Who are you?" he asked bluntly, face guarded as he looked between the two women.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Yamaguchi Kumiko," She introduced before gesturing to the girl beside her. "This is Nikki."

His eyes slid over to the shorter girl, and she only gave a small nod of acknowledgment, well aware the boy in drone of them could probably care less. Which proved true, as his eyes left her as quick as they landed.

"My nickname is Yankumi," The older woman spoke again, as enthusiastic as ever. "It's nice to meet you."

The two women had taken a seat on the back of the parked car outside as they watched the boy move crates back and forth.

"What do you need from me?" He asked after a few minutes, continuing to move the crates.

"I was wondering..." She trailed off, standing up and moving closer to him. "If you could start coming to school starting tomorrow?"

"School?" He questioned. "I was told not to go to school."

If I heard that I think I'd cry of happiness. The younger girl thought to herself.

"So, you're not going to school because you were told not to? You're very obedient then." Yankumi smiled.

The boy obviously didn't take this as a compliment. When his hand went to grab her collar, Nikki stood straight, in case she needed to step in.

"You're trying to start a fight with me?" He challenged, gaze hardening.

Yankumi didn't waver. "Unfortunately, I don't try to start a fight with someone who's weaker than me."

Though his face didn't show it, Nikki could tell he was debating whether or not the take the woman seriously or not. Letting go of her collar, he backed away. "You two should go home," he said, going back to loading bottles into another crate.

"I don't know what happened, but are you okay with things as they are?" Yankumi asked. "School isn't a place for the Superintendent and Head Teacher to do as they please. It belongs to the students."

"Stop with the nice words. All the teachers are like that," he said in a way that was meant to sound unbothered, but both Nikki and Yankumi could sense the bitter undertones. "They say nice things and act cool, but when push comes to shove, they only think about protecting themselves."

Nikki couldn't argue with that part. Before Yankumi she'd always had teachers who were accustomed to saying things they didn't mean and expecting their students to act accordingly. While teaching was a job, many tended to forget that nurturing students was part of the package. They were still kids with feelings and the broadline hatred they seemed to have with both the profession and the students stung, and it was no wonder people like Odagiri chose the paths they did.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Yankumi asking Odagiri to give her a chance, that she wouldn't betray him. She knew the woman's words were nothing but genuine, but she could also imagine the boy not believing a single word.

She's drawn out of her thoughts again when a new voice rings through the air, and a second male, obviously older than the boy is looking at the scene with a slight sneer on his face, making the boy stand up straight, putting his hands behind his back. "Ryu? What are you doing? No slacking off," he says, before leaving in the opposite direction. Nikki avoided his eyes as he walked past, trying not to gag as she caught the look he had given her, a gross smirk on his face before disappearing into the night.

"Is he your friend?" Yankumi asked, rising from the floor.

"Something wrong with that?" he asked instead, though he didn't seem as though he was saying it to defend the man. He bent back down, continuing to load the bottles.

"Not at all," Yankumi replied. "If he's a friend who seriously thinks about you. But if he isn't, then cut ties with him right now. And come to school."

The boy looked up at her curiously, his guarded expression wavering slightly, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

"I want to go to school too," he finally said after a moment of silence, standing up and going to sit on one of the kegs outside.

At this Yankumi perked up, as did Nikki, her head tilted in confusion at the boy's statement. "Don't worry," Yankumi said. "If it's about the Superintendent or the Head Teacher I'll-"

"It's not that," he interrupted. "Until I pay them back."

"Pay back?" Yankumi questioned, concern lacing her voice.

"Money," he clarified. "Until I pay back their money, I won't be free."

"How much is it?" Yankumi asked.

"None of your business."

"How much is it?" the woman asks again, firmer this time.

He seems to think about it for a moment before he answered. "300,000 yen," he said.

The woman repeats the number t herself before looking at the boy again. "If you have that much, you can cut all ties with them? And you can come to school after that?

"Yes," he nodded.

"Okay," was all the woman said, before leaving the boy sitting there, determination in her step. He looked after the woman with a confused expression, almost missing the younger girl who had stood up and come over to stand next to him.

"I'm well aware how insane she sounds," she sighed before looking at the boy again, meeting his curious eyes, a serious expression on her face as her eyes suddenly hardened. "She is being serious though. I really hope you are too."

Before he had a chance to respond she turned abruptly, not sparing him a glance as she left the alleyway behind her former teacher. "I'll see you," she called over her shoulder. "Hopefully later instead of sooner."

🍯

"You've certainly improved since last time." Yankumi said, eying the decorative nails the younger girl wore as they rode the bus back home. She remembered the girl would spend every spare moment she had doing her nails. She'd often enter the classroom with multiple unfinished nails because she'd always misjudge her time and try and do them before school. A fond smile graced her face as she recalled the girl eventually bringing all her supplies with her to school and doing her nails there. The creativity she possessed had always been there and seeing her improvement warmed her hear.

"I guess so," Nikki smiled sheepishly. "I should thank you for being my test dummy," she added, nudging the older woman.

"And you really run the entire salon now?"

Nikki nodded. "It's mine until mom gets back."

"Speaking of, where is Amanda-chan?" Yankumi questioned with a pout. Ever since she found out she would be moving back she'd been ecstatic that she was going to get to see the woman she considered her best friend.

At the question, the girl looked down, playing with her hands. "She's in New York," she said casually.

Yankumi's eyes widened in surprise. "Your hometown?"

"Correct."

"But why?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

Nikki only shrugged. "She needed a break. She had some friends she hadn't seen in a while, so I said I'd run the salon while she's away."

"And she accepted it? Just like that?" Yankumi asked, confused as that sounded like the exact opposite of the woman she had to physically pull away from work in order to get her to relax. "I know she didn't accept it without a fight."

"She didn't know she was leaving until her bags were packed outside and the cab was waking up the whole neighborhood," Nikki explained, making Yankumi chuckle.

"Well, I'm happy she's getting the break she deserves, and you're getting even more space in the back now."

"Well, about that..." She trailed off. Yankumi only encouraged her to keep going.

"A bit before the incident happened, mom called and said she'd saved enough to get us an apartment. There was enough for a down payment and a few months' rent. I was supposed to have moved in two weeks ago, but this thing has had me way too stressed to even think about it. Every time I go back there it's nothing but boxes," the girl finished with a sigh.

Yankumi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving her a wide smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get this fixed real soon, and then I'll help you move in! We can even shop for decorations!"

The girl chucked at the woman's enthusiasm but appreciated it all the same. "Sure, Yankumi. Whatever you want."

By this time the two women had made it back to their original bus stop and were now walking in the direction of the nail salon.

"So," Nikki spoke after a while. "What do you plan to do about your student? Do you even have 300,000 yen lying around?"

"I'm sure I can scrounge up enough of my savings," Yankumi answered.

"Yankumi..." Nikki trailed off, finally deciding to bring up what had been bothering her since they'd left. "Do you really think that guy was telling the truth?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... do you really think he needs all that money to stop working there? 300,000 is a lot. I mean, how does a highschooler rack up that much debt in such a short amount of time?"

"Maybe the money is coming out of his paycheck," Yankumi theorized.

Nikki sighed, but once again didn't say anything. Time and time again Nikki witnessed Yankumi be doubted only to wind up being right. Nikki did not want to be the one to doubt her after all the times her intuition had been right, but she simply could not shake the feeling that this time was different. "All I'm saying is," she eventually decided to say. "Not everyone deserves your kindness. Some people just want to take advantage of it."

In true Yankumi fashion, she only smiled patiently at the girl. "While that is true, if I thought like that about everyone, never giving anyone a chance, there would be a lot more people I'm letting go on the wrong track."

Nikki still looked unconvinced. She could tell her teacher really did believe the boy, and while she didn't want her to lose that mindset, she also didn't want her to be hurt either.

Sensing the girl's inner turmoil. Yankumi put a hand on her shoulder. "Look, if it turns out the be a lie, it'll be no one's fault but mine. But at least I gave someone who might have needed my help a chance. And I'll be content with that. If I judge him now, and it turns out he really needs help, I'd never forgive myself."

"Alright, the girl relented, and the older woman smiled, putting an arm around her shoulder and the two arrived at the nail salon. Yankumi did her best to ignore the very obvious hole where part of the window had been.

Approaching the door and fishing her keys out of her jacket pocket, the younger girl turned to say goodbye to Yankumi.

"I guess I'll see you soon."

The woman nodded quickly. "Very soon!"

Giving her a small smile, she unlocked the door, heading inside. Just before she closed the door, she heard the older woman call her name. Sticking her head out of the glass door she looked at the woman expectantly.

With a cheeky smile the woman walked closer to the younger girl, cupping a hand around her mouth as if she were telling the girl a huge secret. "Did you at least think he was cute in person?"

The sound of a door slamming, and a woman's laughter were the last two noises that filled the streets before everything calmed down for the night.

authors note

i started college last month but I promise i didn't forget about this story i'm going to try and update more consistently once i have a good routine.

another long one but episode one is almost finished ✨
how are y'all liking the dynamics so far?? which ones are you most excited to see??

votes and comments are appreciated and thank you for reading <3

word count: 6639

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