Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Gokusen… I just find the first two seasons fascinating… And Kazuya is kaaaaaaawaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii! –okay… enough fangirling in the disclaimer…-

A/N: Hello, my chickies! Here I am, yet again, to angstify another almost innocent series. I can't help it! There are so many potentials in these shows… It's not fair what they do to me! –rage-

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No More Cry

Chapter One: Lessons About Consequence

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"Three…" breathed Take.

"Two…" whispered Hyuuga.

"One…" gasped Tsucchi.

RING!

"Finally! The weekend!" shouted Hayato. The class sprang to life in agreement with him. Quickly, they fled the premises.

"H-hey! Wait! I haven't given you the homework…" Yankumi said, but the class was already halfway empty. She sighed. "Those rug rats… I suppose I can assign it Monday."

"That's the spirit, Yankumi," Ryu said as he passed by her desk. She watched the slender, normally quiet student leave and felt a smile grace her face. Ever since Ryu had stood up to his father and begged to go to school the boy had been much happier. He smiled more, spoke more, and interacted more than he used to. His usually quiet, gloomy demeanor had been replaced by something a little brighter. He was slowly opening the tightly sealed bottle of his emotions. Yankumi's smile widened. She silently prayed that he would continue to open that bottle.

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"Oi! We're off to the Shakku*," Take said, darting out in front of his friends and grinning largely at them. The other four stopped.

"I suppose it's been a while since the five of us really did anything together that didn't involve getting beaten to a pulp," Hayato mused. Tsucchi groaned.

"Don't remind me," he said, frowning. He opened his fan with a quick motion and gazed dramatically at the sky. "I've been the victim for much too long!"

"Says you, the tallest kid in our class," Hyuuga teased. Tsucchi promptly closed his fan and smacked Hyuuga on the head. This brought on a round of noogies and mock punches.

"Yeah, we'll go, if we don't all get arrested first," stated Hayato. He glanced to his right, leveling his gaze with Ryu's. "You in?"

"Eehh," Ryu began, but stopped as he saw four pathetic, begging faces in front of him. Finally, he sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go," he said. Hayato grinned and gave him a gentle shove.

"Then we can stuff your face so that you'll grow up big and tall like Tsucchi!" he shouted. Take grinned as well.

"Yeah, you can't stay so small and skinny forever, Onigiri*!" Take teased. Ryu smacked him on the side of the head with his book bag.

"It's Odagiri, you wimp. And look who's talking, short stuff," Ryu said, his voice neutral but his eyes mischievous. This brought on another round of laughter and friendly jabbing. Ryu let a smile linger of his face. He finally had his freedom… and he never planned on letting go of it.

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"See you guys!" Ryu said, waving to his band of crazy friends as they walked off into the night. It was just past midnight and, despite how early it still was for the 3-D students, they were already feeling the fatigue of a weary week at school. They all agreed to meet the next day and do something to make up for it.

Ryu pushed the door open and quietly entered his house. It was dark and silent, the atmosphere almost menacing. He wasn't sure why, but he felt threatened by his own home. Suddenly, he smirked. Of course he felt threatened by his own home… Only recently had his father allowed him his freedom. It'd take some time getting used to.

"What are you smiling about?" said a dark, angry voice. Ryu whipped around to face the living room. The lights suddenly flicked on, momentarily blinding him. As his eyes adjusted he searched the area for the source of the voice. His father was standing at the threshold while his mother stood silently in the back of the room, her head down. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" his father asked. Ryu blinked as he gathered his thoughts.

"I… I told you that I'd be late," Ryu said, not understanding his father's behavior. His father stood and walked slowly over to Ryu, sending chills down his spine. When the man was less than a foot away, his hand shot out and grabbed Ryu by the throat. The boy's eyes widened in surprise and he gasped for breath.

"I don't care what you told me. I am your father! You do as I say!" he shouted. Ryu's eyes looked up at him, begging for an explanation. "Don't give me that look!" his father shouted, tightening his grip on the boy's throat. Ryu gasped and clawed at his father's hand. "You went and embarrassed me in front of your friends, your teacher, your school… You are a disgrace!"

Just as Ryu's vision began to fade his father released him. He fell to his knees, coughing and trying to suck in precious oxygen. His father bent down and tilted Ryu's head up with his finger. After a moment, his hand came sailing through the air as he backhanded the boy. Ryu's head snapped to the side painfully.

"You will do as I say always! Because of your actions I have no choice but to let you attend school, but you will now pay the price because of it! And don't even think of running! I have more on you and your friends than you could possibly imagine!" he shouted. "Now, get up!" He grabbed Ryu by his hair and hauled him upward.

"W-wait! Dad, I'm sorry! Please, stop!" he said, trying to pull away. Instead his father tightened his grip on the boy and slammed his head into the wall. Ryu squeezed his eyes shut as stars danced behind his lids. All the while his mother did nothing. His father growled and brought his foot up, kicking Ryu hard in the ribs. His breath left him in a whoosh and he doubled over, struggling to breath. And then, suddenly, the beating stopped.

Slowly, his breath ragged, Ryu looked up at his father, a high ranking police official, and saw the true monster that was always latent. His father had been biding his time, awaiting the chance to emerge. The man took a step towards Ryu, who sucked in his breath and scooted backwards until he hit the wall. His father laughed a menacing laugh.

"That's right, Ryu," he said, kneeling down once again. Ryu leaned his head away and closed his eyes, expecting to be hit again. Instead, his father brushed Ryu's wispy, coppery bangs out of his face and gently stroked his cheek with his thumb. "Through these important lessons you will learn how to pay the price for what you've done. You will come to respect my decision." He stood. "Today's lesson is over. Go to bed, Ryu. You'll need to rest up for school on Monday." And with that, he left his battered son gasping on the ground.

Ryu watched as his father departed. Now his mother came to him. She knelt down and looked at him with a strange expression he didn't recognize. "I think its best you go to your room, Ryu… You should use tomorrow to rest. Best not anger him." That was all she said. She just stood and walked off, leaving him. Ryu coughed and winced as he pushed himself upright. It was slow going and painful, but he finally managed to make it to his room. That was it, though. As soon as he entered he collapsed to the floor. His side was in too much pain and it hurt to breath. He just couldn't get the oxygen he wanted. Slowly, his world faded out and he fell into a numb blanket of merciful unconsciousness.

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"Hayato, just caaaaalllll hiiiimmmm…" Take whined. The fearsome foursome was waiting in their usual hangout. Take was lying on the couch with his head hanging off the edge, Tsucchi was slowly fanning himself as he surveyed the room in a bored manner, Hyuuga was swirling the ice in his soda, and Hayato was staring purposefully at his cell phone.

"I don't get it. We agreed to meet here, yeah?" he asked, finally caving in a picking up his phone. Tsucchi snapped his fan shut.

"He probably forgot. That or he overslept. You know him; he's not used to going out and running around so late. He's probably still tired. He doesn't have any muscle anyways… At least, not like mine!" he shouted, striking an Apollo pose. Hyuuga flung an ice cube at his head.

"Quiet, he's making the call," he said, ducking as Tsucchi chucked the ice right back at him. They grew silent as Hayato waited patiently for Ryu to answer his phone. Finally, after when seemed like an eternity, Hayato brought the phone from his ear and stared at it. "Well?" Hyuuga asked.

"He… didn't answer," Hayato replied. Take sat up and leaned close.

"Try again. Maybe he just didn't hear it or has it on vibrate or something," he suggested. Hayato nodded and pressed send twice. The others came closer and tried to listen in on the conversation. Just as Hayato was about to end the call, the ringing stopped.

"Eh… Hello? Ryu?" Hayato asked. There was silence on the other end. "Hellooo…"

"Hayato."

Hayato's eyes widened slightly. Ryu didn't sound right… It sounded as if he was having trouble breathing. "Hey, where are you? We've been waiting for an hour now…"

"I'm sorry, I won't be coming. Have fun without me. See you at school Monday." There was a soft click. Hayato slowly lowered the phone.

"Well?" Tsucchi asked. Hayato frowned and closed his cell phone.

"He says he's not coming. Said to go on without him and he'll see us Monday," Hayato replied.

"Whaaat!?" Take, Tsucchi, and Hyuuga said in unison. "Is he really gonna ditch us!?" The three began rambling amongst themselves as to the reasons for Ryu's absence. Take leaned towards Hayato. "Hey, do you think he's alright?" he asked. The other's quieted down. Hayato's eyes darted back and forth as he quickly made up his mind.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's fine. I bet he's just tired. We'll all have to give him a hard time Monday and rub it in his face about all the fun we had. Deal?" he said, grinning at his comrades. They all returned his grin with enthusiasm and gathered their things.

"Off we goooo!" Take shouted, leading the way. The friends left their little hangout, Hayato bringing up the rear. His grin faded as his thoughts swirled. Something was off with Ryu… and he sure as hell was going to find out what.

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NYAAA! Okay… once again, my warning to you all is that this is a dark fic… because I can't resist angstifying people… It's a weakness! Anyways, when Take calls Ryu Onigiri (which means rice ball), well, that was from when I first watched the series and I thought Yankumi said Onigiri instead of Odagiri. XD Oh, and Shakku is what I dubbed their little hang out… Yup! Reviews encourage writing!