Our Teacher is a Yakuza Princess

Chapter 28

After weeks of indecision, Shin had made up his mind. Now, he had to go tell his family. With Yankumi's words still echoing in his mind, he ran towards his parents' house. The guard let him past with a well contained look of surprise, and he walked up to the door. He took a long breath, then knocked. His mother answered the door, and when she saw Shin, her eyes lit up.

"Shin!"

"Hi Mom," he started, then took another breath. "Is Dad home? There's something I wanted to tell you both."

"Oh, of course! Why don't you wait in the living room, and I'll go get him." She smiled at him and then headed upstairs.

He sat on the couch gingerly, trying to ignore his anxiety. A few moments passed, and then he heard footsteps from upstairs.

"Now remember what we talked about," He thought he heard his mother whisper.

"I know, I know." His father replied, then cleared his throat.

Shin didn't have much time to consider how odd that was, since by the time he realized it was strange, his father had already made his way down the stairs.

"Your mother said you have something to tell us." Senator Sawada said as he settled into his chair. Shin's mother sat beside him on the couch.

"Yes." He swallowed, then spoke as clearly as he could. "You've probably heard that I got into Waseda and Keio University."

"We did. We're so proud," His mother smiled. "Did you choose one yet?"

"Well, actually, I'm not going to either. I don't want to go to university." There was a very long moment of complete silence. Shin gathered himself, then bowed in his father's direction. "I'm sorry. Please accept my decision."

He waited.

He waited for his father to shout, to blame him, to curse at him, and eject him from the family all over again. He had worked out a great response to shout back, that involved telling his father that he was a stubborn old man who never cared about anyone besides himself, and if he kept acting this way he would lose everyone who was-

"Alright."

Shin had already taken a breath to start his rant before he realized what his father had said. He looked up in confusion. "What?"

His father let out a controlled breath. "Is there something else you wanted to do?" And while the words were tightly spoken, they sounded… sincere.

Staring, Shin blinked a few times in shock. "I… there's an opportunity to build schools in Africa. It's a six-month commitment, but… I think it'll be good. There's no pay, but they feed you and help you with the plane ticket. I've researched them and they really help people." He met his father's gaze more confidently. "I want to go."

The Senator was carefully examining the coffee table. "Volunteer work, hmm?" He took another breath and looked up. "Well, it's a dangerous place, so don't go wandering off without thinking. And we'll take care of the ticket. Don't want people to say we're taking money from a charity. When do you leave?"

"A week after graduation." He said slowly, still waiting for something to snap.

His father stood and nodded. "Well, be sure you write to your mother so she knows you're alive. Like I said, it's dangerous there, so be sure you use your head. And let us know when you get back."

Shin rose from the couch as well, feeling like this was all a bit surreal. The Senator sighed, then bowed slightly. "Goodbye." He said firmly, and nodded at Shin decisively. Shin instinctively bowed back, then watched his father leave.