Title: The Sport of Kings
Author/Artist: MK
Pairing: Sawada Shin x Yamaguchi Kumiko
Fandom: Gokusen
Theme: #7, Superstar
Disclaimer: I don't own Gokusen, but I bet Shin would really like it if I did. 
Yankumi on the other hand might be a bit upset at first.

	Shin stepped into the main entrance, toed off his shoes and stepped up 
and into another world, calling out "Sorry for the intrusion," as he wandered out 
to the back of the house.  

	"Ooh? The Red Lion has returned!" Kyo lumbered out of the kitchen, 
hands deep in his pockets and shoulders pushed forward in a classic Yakuza 
stance.  Shin wondered for a moment if he would have to walk like that, then 
shook the ridiculous thought aside. Besides, Oji-san walked perfectly normally.  
"It's 'I'm home', not 'sorry for intruding'!"  Kyo slapped him hard on the back and 
Shin nearly stumbled before recovering. 

	"Aa."  He was smiling too much lately. These people were too good at 
making him look goofy. It was bad for his image.  He loved it.  
	Training continued.  It was repetitive, but effective; he could see each day 
that he was improving, dodging more naturally, coming closer to a direct hit. 
 
	"What'd you do to Ojou yesterday?" Kyo asked, and Shin felt a little peeved 
that the older man wasn't even out of breath.  

	"Told her to kick your ass," he replied, ducking low under a sharp kick. 
 
	"She pissed about...that?" 

	"Guess so." 

	Kyo was simple, when it came right down to it.  He liked Ojou, the Ooedo 
group, and people who proved themselves worthy. He liked women and 
gambling, too, but first and foremost were the people he saw as worthy of loyalty, 
and Shin had somehow made it onto that list.  

	A punch a fraction away from his jaw and Shin re-focused, sunk his mind 
into the fight again.  There was how fighting had been before Yankumi (fierce, 
fast, painful), fighting with Yankumi (desperate, painful, emotionally draining) 
and fighting with Kyo (in preparation for Kumiko).  This was new, fresh, and a 
step in the right direction.  It was like meditation, except that his face kept hitting 
the dirt.  

	
	Eventually, his focus stretched and loosened and he came out of it just in 
time for Kyo to pull a hit just short of his face.  Yankumi had arrived on the back 
porch in her casual clothes again, hair back in the pigtails.  "You..." he panted, 
paused to gather his breath, "...going somewhere?"

	Yankumi nodded and pointed at the two of them.  "Different training. 
Today you will enjoy the Sport of Kings!"  Kyo groaned and Yankumi had a tricky 
expression on her face, something he couldn't quite read.  He shrugged and she 
tossed him a bottle of water.  "Wash up, Red Lion.  You're off the hook for today, 
Kyo-san."  Kyo visibly sagged with relief and gave Shin a look of pity.  He had the 
feeling that he was in for something interesting.
  

	Children. He was surrounded by what looked to be the members of three 
separate children's birthday parties.  Shin looked at his watch; it was seven thirty.  

Yankumi had been waved through by the girl at the desk without any question of 
money coming up, but no one had bowed or called her Ojou. Something was up, 
and that something involved... bowling.

	"Yankumi, we went bowling two months ago."

	"Ah, but at that time everyone else was there, too! This time around, it's 
serious!" She clenched her fist upright in front of her face and he had to hold back 
a laugh.  

"Yamaguchi-san, your shoes are ready!"  The kid behind the counter had a 
seriously weird expression when he looked at her, and Shin didn't like it.  He 
glared at him before grabbing his own shoes and following her to their lane.  
And then he got a good look at just what kind of footwear they had been 
provided with.  Had they been this bad last time they were here?  Yes. Now that 
he thought about it, they really were.  The shoes were bright red and blue, with 
overly large Velcro straps holding them in place.  Shin felt like he was in grade 
school again. 
 
Oh well. At least no one other than Yankumi would see him in them, and 
she was hyped up about the "sport of kings".  She was already settled in at their 
station, typing in nicknames at the top, and Shin noticed that their timing had 
actually been pretty good. The birthday parties were breaking up, but it was too 
early for people more his own age.  

"Alright, Sawada! Prepare to have your ass kicked!" He twitched, stayed 
silent, but picked up his ball. He glanced up at the screen. 'Yankumi vs Red Lion?'  
She was taunting him.  She was giving him the first shot.


"I can't believe you got us kicked out! I've never been kicked out of that 
place!"

"You're the one who challenged me! 'I'll let you taste the Kuroda style of 
bowling'?!"

"And I kicked your ass!"

Shin scowled. "This time, maybe. But next time-" And Yankumi burst out 
laughing.

"Next time," she teased, "We'll have to find a different bowling alley!"  And 
what kind of person honestly bowled for four hours straight without paying?  And 
then threw her shoes at him? He'd had no choice but to retaliate, and of course it 
had escalated into a full out war, ending when the staff had finally taken their 
shoes away and request they leave.  

"How about dinner?" She spoke up after a moment.  

"Aa, sounds good," and it honestly did. He hadn't eaten since lunch earlier 
that day.  


"Didn't you say 'In preparation for married life I can't neglect my cooking'?"
  
"Ah, did I say that?"

"Yeah. The night you made that burnt thing."

"It was charbroiled macaroni au gratin!"

Shin snorted. "Your husband is going to wind up a better cook than you!" And he 
was. After all, he was getting trained practically every day on how to cook her and her 
grandfather's favourite foods.  "But I wouldn't worry about it," he added.  She looked 
like she was actually thinking of learning to cook, and he could imagine just how painful 
that would be not only for whoever had to eat it, but also for he and Tetsu, who would 
likely be there the whole time.

She had said "dinner", but what she had meant was a noodle stand. Not that he 
was complaining - his stomach certainly wasn't. 
 
They dug in.  Noodles had never tasted so good, he was sure, but he ate a little 
more slowly than he would have liked.  


Of course, on the way home it began to rain, and he had to drag her under the 
awning of a closed shop.  She was rubbing her arms, just like the time they had lost Uchi 
on that field trip.  Back then the thought of her like this had been in the back of his mind, 
hovering, but it hadn't been overwhelming like it was in recent months.  She was 
infecting his brain, he thought.  He took off his jacket, wet, but at least long sleeved, and 
handed it to her just as she sneezed all over his hand.
Well, infecting something at any rate.

	Eventually, when it became clear that the rain would not let up, they made a run 
for it. It wasn't exactly far, but it wasn't exactly close, either, and by the time they stood 
in the door way dripping, they were both shivering with the cold. 
 
	"Tetsu! Minoru!" Soon enough they both had hot baths, warm, soft clothes and 
had handed their old, wet sets off for washing.  Kyo sat opposite them at the low table 
while Tetsu got drinks, and fixed his eyes on Shin.  

	"So? Did Ojou show you her Sport of Kings?"

	"I won, Kyo-san!" Yankumi spoke up.

	"She threw her shoes at me. We got kicked out."

	Yankumi sneezed. "You threw yours, too!"

	For an evening with Yankumi, maybe the Sport of Kings was worth a few smelly 
shoes to the face.

	"Next time, I'll throw some nasty old man's shoes at you, then we'll see who 
wins!"

	"Ah, no fair!"