THEN AND NOW
By: Miguel Artadi
Disclaimer: I don't own GTO and any of the characters in it. I'd be rich if I did.
( ) = thoughts
CHAPTER IV – Revelations in 20/20 Hindsight
Urumi was confused. She found herself in a dark unlit bedroom... drawn curtains, rows of shelves filled with books, an unkept bed, the faint glow of the TV giving off nothing more than a steady buzz of static.
(This is... was my old bedroom. But I cleaned this place out before I left Tokyo.)
She bent down and picked up a stray manuscript lying on the floor and read its title.
"The Republic, by Plato"
Still curious, she picked up and scanned the covers of a few more.
(Kant, Darwin, Aquinas, Einstein...)
She sighed. It was all coming back to her. Kanzaki knew each and every single book and tidbit of literature she had here. Setting aside those she had just picked out, she stood and reached over to the top shelf; that special place where she kept her favorite volumes.
(It should be here somewhere.)
Urumi ran her fingers over the assorted book spines lined up there. Knowing each and every one by touch, she continued her prodding until she found the one she wanted, and then promptly drew it out.
"C'mon where is it... ah, there you are."
The half-inch thick volume she took was labeled '3-4' and turned out to be a sketch and scrapbook of sorts she had kept during those earlier years. She had started this when she realized that she was changing, in the few weeks after Onizuka took her on that joyride of a lifetime. Unbeknownst to many, Urumi was a skilled artist with both pencil and charcoal. That coupled with her photographic memory enabled her to re-create any single moment of her life that she wanted to on paper. She leafed lazily through the pages, smiling and smirking when a doodle or entry she saw brought her back to that particular instance in time.
"Here's one." She said to herself.
The entry she stopped at showed a rough drawing of how Onizuka looked like back in Okinawa, right after she had dropped the habu in his shorts. He was holding the rear end of the snake up with one hand while gesturing towards Azusa with the other for help. She focused on the expression on his face. It was hilarious, to say the least.
She couldn't help but laugh at the memory.
"Hah. That idiot. Serves him right I say." She added, smirking.
She skimmed back and forth over a few more pages, and paused at a full-page sketch she had done of Kikuchi reading a book on their first day under the Okinawan sun. Together they had found a relatively quiet corner of the beachfront and relaxed; him with his book, her just chilling out and working on her tan.
"He looked so handsome that day."
(Huh?!? Where the hell did that come from?)
As if they had a mind of their own, Urumi tentatively ran her fingers over the pencil sketch, hoping that some sort of texture would greet her touch. This was the moment she noticed that her hands were... odd. She pulled them closer to her face, palms up.
(My hands... they're... small.)
She set aside the scrapbook and walked over to her bathroom mirror. The reflection that greeted her took her completely by surprise: staring back was a Kanzaki who couldn't have been more than ten, maybe eleven years old.
(This was me in elementary... when I used to visit with Fujimori.)
Recollections of her subsequent betrayal filled her mind. Urumi bit her lip while tears started forming in her eyes.
Urumi never cried, much less in public. Those were her cardinal rules. Here it felt different however, she felt safe... far away from the judging eyes of others.
(How could you do that? I trusted you. I was just a child.) She thought before she started sniffling, letting salty tears roll freely down her cheeks. Annoyed at her outward show of weakness, she rubbed them dry.
"Teachers make mistakes too you know."
That voice was unmistakable. Onizuka.
She whirled around to face him, yet doing so, only saw faceless bikers decked out in gang colors lined up on either side of her, their emotionless, questioning eyes staring at her with quiet inquisition.
"Where the hell?"
Looking around, she saw that she was no longer in her room, but at the edge of an unfinished, all-too recognizable highway ramp. Kanzaki checked herself again, and saw that she was older now, halfway through her teenage years, wearing her old junior high uniform.
(This is where I fell. But where's Onizuka? This isn't right.)
"Hey look, a 500 yen coin!" it was his voice again.
Urumi panicked. Alarm bells went off inside her head.
(This wasn't the way it happened!!)
"No stop! Don't pick it up! I don't want to jump!" she yelled, too little and too late.
Urumi's body couldn't move as fast as her thoughts dictated. She felt the all-too familiar bump on her behind, and before she could react, was plunging headfirst towards the unforgiving concrete below. Something else was different this time though: her teacher wasn't falling WITH her. She was dropping to her death, alone.
"No." she whimpered. Scenes from her life flashed before her eyes.
Fujimori with the strawberry cake.
Onizuka and the habu.
Kikuchi and her sharing a quiet moment on the beach.
She didn't want to die. Not like this. Not now.
"SENSEI!!!" was all that her lungs permitted her to scream.
Time seemed to slow down as the torrent of rushing air ripped her hair and uniform about in frenzy. Looking up from her free-fall, she discerned a figure jumping off the ramp towards her. It caught up with her fairly quickly, and spoke in reassurance.
"Gotcha." She heard him say as she felt strong arms wrap around her body, protectively shielding her from any and all harm. She clutched onto him for dear life. Urumi turned her head and spoke in her rescuer's ear.
"I knew I could always count on you, Onizuka."
"You silly." She heard him say before drawing back and looking at her through a pair of glasses.
It was Kikuchi.
(But how??)
The moment she felt them hit rock bottom, blackness overtook her sight. There was no pain, however. Urumi couldn't see anything, nor feel anything. It was as if she had fallen into a bottomless pit, devoid of any and all light. She groped in the darkness for any sign of Kikuchi's presence, and found none. Once more, she found herself alone.
"Hello?"
Murmurs. She could hear murmurs in the distance. Barely making them out, Urumi strained her ears.
"Moonsault dive!!!"
"Idiot! You'll die!"
(It was that day at the poolside.)
And in an instant, she found herself reliving the moment again, as fresh as if it was happening in the present.
"You've changed, Kanzaki."
(Have I? That much?)
"You used to force yourself to smile, and when you did, you usually wore a blank expression on your face."
(Even back then, you were always watching me, weren't you?) Urumi thought, inwardly blushing at the idea.
"Onizuka's really different. I mean he's stupid, simple-minded, lewd and a punk... it's hard to believe he's a teacher."
"Yeah." Kikuchi nodded.
"Me, who hated school so much, can't help coming here everyday now. It's really strange... I wonder if I owe him for that? This is the first time I've ever thought school to be fun. I hope this lasts forever."
"It will. As long as I'm here."
(?!??!)
Kikuchi sat down beside her.
(Wait a minute...this isn't the way I remember it!)
"Kanzaki. There's something you have to understand." Yoshito said softly as he gently guided her chin with his fingers until they were face to face. He leaned in closer, and Urumi felt her cheeks flush red and her heart thump vigorously in her chest. Her pulse quickened, as did her breathing.
(He's going to kiss me!!?!)
Urumi froze and shut her eyes, partly in anticipation, partly in shock at Kikuchi's behavior. When she opened them again, he was gone, and the old void greeted her once more.
"No wait, what were you trying to tell me??" she called out.
"Kanzaki!! Kanzaki Urumi! Come out!" It was Onizuka again. The blackness coalesced into another old memory: she was looking down at him and his gang in the parking lot from their old classroom. She was flanked by familiar friends: Yoshikawa and Murai on one side, and Kikuchi on the other.
Yoshito spoke up.
"Oy, teacher's calling you. What're you gonna do?" he asked in that same mocking, audacious tone he used a decade back.
(Prick. I'm not afraid of him.)
He spoke again, this time eyeing her.
"So go down and meet him then."
(Watch me. And when I'm through with him, I'm coming after y...)
Urumi stopped just before she ended her statement.
(...)
It is said that human beings have a handful of flawless, perfect moments of clarity scattered throughout their lifetime. Instances where for one shining split-second, one purely immaculate moment, all the pieces of an elusive puzzle fall neatly into place. For Kanzaki Urumi, genius extraordinaire, this flash of inspiration lasted a small eternity.
"You silly."
"... used to force yourself to smile..."
"... I wonder if I owe him for that..."
"It will. As long as I'm here."
"... teacher's calling you. What're you gonna do?"
(That's.... it. How could I have missed it all these years??? Kikuchi... he's been watching me, looking out for me since day one! If it weren't for him and that slighting remark of his aimed at my pride, I... I wouldn't have gone down to meet Onizuka's challenge. Which means that I'd still be...)
Kanzaki couldn't believe this revelation. It was all so clear now! She was however, unprepared for the implications it presented.
(But wait... so does this mean that I owe him, and not Onizu...)
That was Urumi's most coherent thought before waking up to the familiarity of her hotel room, the oversized shirt she had on soaked in her own sweat. She sat up, brought her knees in close and buried her face in her pillow, still feeling the slight swelling of her eyes from the crying she had apparently done in her sleep.
"Stupid dream. I owe HIM?!??"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks everyone for the reviews! Riyuji.Raicho, mikethebigW, Prizz, Angel-wing2, GreatLight432, Allence of the Weed, Reika, Luna Stop Swearing, and Seth7.
mikethebigW: I tried to liken it more to a boxing match. Urumi would be a George Foreman type power-puncher, Kikuchi would be the sneaky jab-crazy counter-puncher.
GreatLight432: Sometimes the juices flow not at all, other times I have trouble sleeping if I don't write my ideas down. Good thing I'm on vacation.
Reika: Thought about that (former lovers and such). I'm still juggling the ideas in my head. I think it's still too early in the story to bring that in though, perhaps MUCH later.
This and half of the next chapter was the result of a single, sleepless night infront of my PC. I hate it when that happens. Ruins my sked for the next day. Bleh.
'Till the next time! =)
11 April - Corrected typos (again).
By: Miguel Artadi
Disclaimer: I don't own GTO and any of the characters in it. I'd be rich if I did.
( ) = thoughts
CHAPTER IV – Revelations in 20/20 Hindsight
Urumi was confused. She found herself in a dark unlit bedroom... drawn curtains, rows of shelves filled with books, an unkept bed, the faint glow of the TV giving off nothing more than a steady buzz of static.
(This is... was my old bedroom. But I cleaned this place out before I left Tokyo.)
She bent down and picked up a stray manuscript lying on the floor and read its title.
"The Republic, by Plato"
Still curious, she picked up and scanned the covers of a few more.
(Kant, Darwin, Aquinas, Einstein...)
She sighed. It was all coming back to her. Kanzaki knew each and every single book and tidbit of literature she had here. Setting aside those she had just picked out, she stood and reached over to the top shelf; that special place where she kept her favorite volumes.
(It should be here somewhere.)
Urumi ran her fingers over the assorted book spines lined up there. Knowing each and every one by touch, she continued her prodding until she found the one she wanted, and then promptly drew it out.
"C'mon where is it... ah, there you are."
The half-inch thick volume she took was labeled '3-4' and turned out to be a sketch and scrapbook of sorts she had kept during those earlier years. She had started this when she realized that she was changing, in the few weeks after Onizuka took her on that joyride of a lifetime. Unbeknownst to many, Urumi was a skilled artist with both pencil and charcoal. That coupled with her photographic memory enabled her to re-create any single moment of her life that she wanted to on paper. She leafed lazily through the pages, smiling and smirking when a doodle or entry she saw brought her back to that particular instance in time.
"Here's one." She said to herself.
The entry she stopped at showed a rough drawing of how Onizuka looked like back in Okinawa, right after she had dropped the habu in his shorts. He was holding the rear end of the snake up with one hand while gesturing towards Azusa with the other for help. She focused on the expression on his face. It was hilarious, to say the least.
She couldn't help but laugh at the memory.
"Hah. That idiot. Serves him right I say." She added, smirking.
She skimmed back and forth over a few more pages, and paused at a full-page sketch she had done of Kikuchi reading a book on their first day under the Okinawan sun. Together they had found a relatively quiet corner of the beachfront and relaxed; him with his book, her just chilling out and working on her tan.
"He looked so handsome that day."
(Huh?!? Where the hell did that come from?)
As if they had a mind of their own, Urumi tentatively ran her fingers over the pencil sketch, hoping that some sort of texture would greet her touch. This was the moment she noticed that her hands were... odd. She pulled them closer to her face, palms up.
(My hands... they're... small.)
She set aside the scrapbook and walked over to her bathroom mirror. The reflection that greeted her took her completely by surprise: staring back was a Kanzaki who couldn't have been more than ten, maybe eleven years old.
(This was me in elementary... when I used to visit with Fujimori.)
Recollections of her subsequent betrayal filled her mind. Urumi bit her lip while tears started forming in her eyes.
Urumi never cried, much less in public. Those were her cardinal rules. Here it felt different however, she felt safe... far away from the judging eyes of others.
(How could you do that? I trusted you. I was just a child.) She thought before she started sniffling, letting salty tears roll freely down her cheeks. Annoyed at her outward show of weakness, she rubbed them dry.
"Teachers make mistakes too you know."
That voice was unmistakable. Onizuka.
She whirled around to face him, yet doing so, only saw faceless bikers decked out in gang colors lined up on either side of her, their emotionless, questioning eyes staring at her with quiet inquisition.
"Where the hell?"
Looking around, she saw that she was no longer in her room, but at the edge of an unfinished, all-too recognizable highway ramp. Kanzaki checked herself again, and saw that she was older now, halfway through her teenage years, wearing her old junior high uniform.
(This is where I fell. But where's Onizuka? This isn't right.)
"Hey look, a 500 yen coin!" it was his voice again.
Urumi panicked. Alarm bells went off inside her head.
(This wasn't the way it happened!!)
"No stop! Don't pick it up! I don't want to jump!" she yelled, too little and too late.
Urumi's body couldn't move as fast as her thoughts dictated. She felt the all-too familiar bump on her behind, and before she could react, was plunging headfirst towards the unforgiving concrete below. Something else was different this time though: her teacher wasn't falling WITH her. She was dropping to her death, alone.
"No." she whimpered. Scenes from her life flashed before her eyes.
Fujimori with the strawberry cake.
Onizuka and the habu.
Kikuchi and her sharing a quiet moment on the beach.
She didn't want to die. Not like this. Not now.
"SENSEI!!!" was all that her lungs permitted her to scream.
Time seemed to slow down as the torrent of rushing air ripped her hair and uniform about in frenzy. Looking up from her free-fall, she discerned a figure jumping off the ramp towards her. It caught up with her fairly quickly, and spoke in reassurance.
"Gotcha." She heard him say as she felt strong arms wrap around her body, protectively shielding her from any and all harm. She clutched onto him for dear life. Urumi turned her head and spoke in her rescuer's ear.
"I knew I could always count on you, Onizuka."
"You silly." She heard him say before drawing back and looking at her through a pair of glasses.
It was Kikuchi.
(But how??)
The moment she felt them hit rock bottom, blackness overtook her sight. There was no pain, however. Urumi couldn't see anything, nor feel anything. It was as if she had fallen into a bottomless pit, devoid of any and all light. She groped in the darkness for any sign of Kikuchi's presence, and found none. Once more, she found herself alone.
"Hello?"
Murmurs. She could hear murmurs in the distance. Barely making them out, Urumi strained her ears.
"Moonsault dive!!!"
"Idiot! You'll die!"
(It was that day at the poolside.)
And in an instant, she found herself reliving the moment again, as fresh as if it was happening in the present.
"You've changed, Kanzaki."
(Have I? That much?)
"You used to force yourself to smile, and when you did, you usually wore a blank expression on your face."
(Even back then, you were always watching me, weren't you?) Urumi thought, inwardly blushing at the idea.
"Onizuka's really different. I mean he's stupid, simple-minded, lewd and a punk... it's hard to believe he's a teacher."
"Yeah." Kikuchi nodded.
"Me, who hated school so much, can't help coming here everyday now. It's really strange... I wonder if I owe him for that? This is the first time I've ever thought school to be fun. I hope this lasts forever."
"It will. As long as I'm here."
(?!??!)
Kikuchi sat down beside her.
(Wait a minute...this isn't the way I remember it!)
"Kanzaki. There's something you have to understand." Yoshito said softly as he gently guided her chin with his fingers until they were face to face. He leaned in closer, and Urumi felt her cheeks flush red and her heart thump vigorously in her chest. Her pulse quickened, as did her breathing.
(He's going to kiss me!!?!)
Urumi froze and shut her eyes, partly in anticipation, partly in shock at Kikuchi's behavior. When she opened them again, he was gone, and the old void greeted her once more.
"No wait, what were you trying to tell me??" she called out.
"Kanzaki!! Kanzaki Urumi! Come out!" It was Onizuka again. The blackness coalesced into another old memory: she was looking down at him and his gang in the parking lot from their old classroom. She was flanked by familiar friends: Yoshikawa and Murai on one side, and Kikuchi on the other.
Yoshito spoke up.
"Oy, teacher's calling you. What're you gonna do?" he asked in that same mocking, audacious tone he used a decade back.
(Prick. I'm not afraid of him.)
He spoke again, this time eyeing her.
"So go down and meet him then."
(Watch me. And when I'm through with him, I'm coming after y...)
Urumi stopped just before she ended her statement.
(...)
It is said that human beings have a handful of flawless, perfect moments of clarity scattered throughout their lifetime. Instances where for one shining split-second, one purely immaculate moment, all the pieces of an elusive puzzle fall neatly into place. For Kanzaki Urumi, genius extraordinaire, this flash of inspiration lasted a small eternity.
"You silly."
"... used to force yourself to smile..."
"... I wonder if I owe him for that..."
"It will. As long as I'm here."
"... teacher's calling you. What're you gonna do?"
(That's.... it. How could I have missed it all these years??? Kikuchi... he's been watching me, looking out for me since day one! If it weren't for him and that slighting remark of his aimed at my pride, I... I wouldn't have gone down to meet Onizuka's challenge. Which means that I'd still be...)
Kanzaki couldn't believe this revelation. It was all so clear now! She was however, unprepared for the implications it presented.
(But wait... so does this mean that I owe him, and not Onizu...)
That was Urumi's most coherent thought before waking up to the familiarity of her hotel room, the oversized shirt she had on soaked in her own sweat. She sat up, brought her knees in close and buried her face in her pillow, still feeling the slight swelling of her eyes from the crying she had apparently done in her sleep.
"Stupid dream. I owe HIM?!??"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks everyone for the reviews! Riyuji.Raicho, mikethebigW, Prizz, Angel-wing2, GreatLight432, Allence of the Weed, Reika, Luna Stop Swearing, and Seth7.
mikethebigW: I tried to liken it more to a boxing match. Urumi would be a George Foreman type power-puncher, Kikuchi would be the sneaky jab-crazy counter-puncher.
GreatLight432: Sometimes the juices flow not at all, other times I have trouble sleeping if I don't write my ideas down. Good thing I'm on vacation.
Reika: Thought about that (former lovers and such). I'm still juggling the ideas in my head. I think it's still too early in the story to bring that in though, perhaps MUCH later.
This and half of the next chapter was the result of a single, sleepless night infront of my PC. I hate it when that happens. Ruins my sked for the next day. Bleh.
'Till the next time! =)
11 April - Corrected typos (again).