Our Teacher is a Yakuza Princess

Chapter 35

Shin tried to stretch without disturbing the man next to him, but with his long limbs and his neighbor's portly figure, it was a futile effort. The man glared at him, then turned away. Shin rolled his eyes. Obviously the 2 a.m. take-off time, along with the ten hour flight, did not sit well with the occupant of 33B.

Looking out the window, he stared at the landscape through the clouds. If he had to guess, he'd say they were over India at this point. Or maybe Nepal. He wondered if they were going to pass near Mount Everest, and if he was on the right side of the plane to see it. He shifted again and sighed. Only five more hours until this full day and a half of hellish travel was over. He knew that it was a long way from Africa to Japan, but 33 hours was a little much, in his opinion. Shifting again, he tried to think if the flight to Africa from Japan he took two years ago had been this long. If it had, he hadn't noticed. He was probably too excited about starting a new chapter in his life to be bothered with how long it took.

Shin glanced down. He knew that wasn't true. He had been excited, but incredibly nervous and a little frightened, too. It was scary to leave everything and everyone he knew for a country that was not his own. He had wondered what Africa would be like. What kind of people he would meet. If he would make friends. If he would forget about Yankumi.

Two years later on his return trip, Shin could answer that last question very easily. No. No way in hell had he forgotten Yankumi. He was fairly certain that he couldn't, even if he wanted to. She had been ingrained in his mind too long for that to be a possibility.

He thought about her when some of the kids he was building the school for thanked him. He thought of her when the surly teenager, Chike, he was paired with either ignored him or gave him dirty looks. And he wondered if Yankumi had ever felt like stuffing him down a hole when he had acted like an annoying know-it-all. But he couldn't help think of her when, after months of subtly trying to befriend him, Chike shook his hand and gave him a rare smile.

Shin grinned thoughtfully. He had made so many friends and memories there. Kaito, who had been an invaluable mentor, looked both surprised and curious when Shin had told him he was heading home after the Bamali school was finished.

"Any particular reason why?"

He had one, but it was a little difficult to explain. "… It was my birthday last week. I'm twenty now. I've been waiting to… do something. And I think now, it's time."

Kaito had raised his eyebrow quizzically, then shrugged. "Well," he had clapped Shin on the shoulder, "good luck to you, then."

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would return your seats to their upright position so that those behind you may access their tray tables, we will be taking orders for breakfast in just a few moments. Thank you."

As he slowly ate his omelet, Shin that thought sink in. He was twenty. Two years had passed since he was a high school senior. Since he had seen Yankumi, or any of his friends, or his family. What had changed?

Before he had left, he had examined himself in a mirror, to see if his friends would still recognize him. He had filled out a bit, his skin was a few shades darker, and his hair was a few shades lighter. His blonde streaks had grown out, and had disappeared with his last haircut. He was stronger, though he didn't think anyone could tell by looking at him, and he felt more… at peace with himself.

In high school, he hadn't really cared what people thought of him, but there was always that undercurrent of anger and bitterness that grew every time he saw a teacher being despicable, or an adult being worthless. Even when he thought he was calm, that anger was always there. But Yankumi had drained it off. Being around her sapped his bitterness, his hate, until he realized that he didn't want to be angry anymore. Living on his own in Africa and realizing that no one here knew or cared about his past had helped him grow; helped get rid of the last of his anger.

He knew his friends had changed from the few emails he exchanged whenever he could find a computer. Noda had been accepted into his Art College after a year of studying, and was now happily dreaming of making his own designer brand. Uchi was doing well at his construction job, since he had gotten promoted and was talking with the manager about getting his architect license through the company. Minami managed a store part-time while going to night school for engineering, which was apparently his new-found love. Kuma, Shin was pleasantly surprised to learn, had reconnected with the girl he had saved from that gang, and from the way he talked about her, things were looking fairly serious for them. Shin had also found out that once Mrs. Kumai learned that Shin was returning to Japan and need a place to stay for a little while, she immediately offered their spare room and wouldn't take no for an answer.

And Yankumi… well, he really had no idea how or even if Yankumi had changed. Kuma, who still saw her now and again, due to the proximity of his restaurant to several high schools, had mentioned that Shirokin had been shut down (Shin wasn't that surprised), and that Yankumi was once again teaching a trouble-making class at… Kurogin, was it?

One of the more infuriating things was the fact that he couldn't ask about Shinohara, or if Yankumi had found someone else while he was gone. Even if he could, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

No, no. Stop it, he told himself. No ifs or hypotheticals. They won't help.

So he spent the remainder of the flight determinedly not thinking of Yankumi and the awful 'what ifs' surrounding his decision about her.