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.
[ ] = Kikuchi's thoughts
( ) = Kanzaki's thoughts
Chapter VI - If You Have to Ask...
Ever since that talk he had with Yoshikawa two nights ago, Kikuchi had seriously started exploring the possibilities of him and Urumi actually getting together in his mind. It was actually all workable now, he thought. Closing his eyes, he recalled the way she felt in his arms in their all-too brief embrace.
[Have to admit, that felt good. Felt... right, even.] He then remembered the way she had reached up and gave him a quick, innocent peck on the cheek. If she only knew how much that small, intimate moment had occupied his waking thoughts, he'd be in a whole lot of trouble.
"Blergh. Damn hormones."
[Still, the way she looked and smelled when she drew in... think about it... you were only inches away from kissing her full on the lips... or nuzzling her neck and breathing her scent in. With that, I guess we could forgive the whole thing with the coffee right?]
Kikuchi slapped his forehead. If there was ONE thing he hated about being male, overpowering, hormone-induced instinctual desire was it. Turning to face his reflection in his bedroom mirror, he started psyching himself.
[It's time. You can do this. You can pull this off. Call her. Don't forget: clear head, calm demeanor, laidback disposition. Smooth. Remember, THAT is what made you the man you are, and THAT is the same thing that'll win this.] Teeming with resolve, Kikuchi reached for his mobile and punched in Kanzaki's number. Pausing one last time before the point of no return, he pushed the button and made the call, bringing the phone to his ear. He heard the call try to connect, his anticipation building with the thought of hearing Urumi's voice any second now.
Much to his disappointment however, it only kept ringing. He tried waiting for her to answer for another ten seconds, but finally cancelled the call and pocketed his cell.
"Damn it." Kikuchi muttered to himself. He had decided that the simplest way to get Urumi to agree on a night out would be to exude confidence, forego any hoopla and simply ASK her. That had been the plan. Unfortunately as the saying goes, no plan survives the first encounter intact, which in this case meant Kanzaki not being around to answer her mobile. Wracking his head for a plan B, Yoshito took his phone out again.
[Good idea. This way, we take some of the pressure off of me.]
That same afternoon, finishing the workday week, Kanzaki found herself on the way back to her hotel. Urumi stared obliviously out the taxicab's window, her thoughts centered on the message Kikuchi had left in her phone's voicemail, and of her dream a few nights back. She had gone to a lunch meeting with a representative of Mishima Holdings and as precautionary politeness dictated, had set her cellular to silent. Checking it after business was concluded, she discovered Kikuchi's name on the 'Missed Call' list. Figuring that he would've probably (hopefully?) left her a message, she then opened her voicemail inbox. Her heart almost skipped a beat when she found out that she was spot on.
"Ey Kanzaki, it's me Kikuchi. Just wanted to say hi and all. 'Guess you're pretty busy right now. I'll just give you a call later tonight okay? Take care."
Lost in her thoughts, she was jolted back to reality by the cab driver's voice.
"M'am? We're here."
"Huh? Ahh okay." She replied as she paid the fare and handed the cabbie a few extra bills as a tip before getting off. Thanking her, he went on his way.
Urumi walked straight to the hotel elevators, the greetings of the staff not really registering in her mind. She immediately found one waiting, entered it and pushed the button for her floor. The background hum of the winch mechanisms barely audible, her thoughts drifted once more.
(I wonder why he called? Maybe... was he gonna ask me out?) she speculated, unsuccessfully repressing a smile at the idea.
"Ugh. I'm pathetic." She said to herself, snapping out of it. Urumi then turned her attention to the lit 14th floor button and pushed it some more, even though she obviously knew doing so didn't really expedite the process.
"One stupid dream and I'm flighty as a little schoolgirl. Its just Kikuchi for crying out loud."
(Uh-huh. If it's JUST Kikuchi, then why are you so...)
"Okay, stop right there. We're not doing this again." obviously referring to the extended argumentation exercise with herself the other night.
A soft chime signaled that the lift had arrived at her floor.
"Finally."
(Maybe I should call him instead.) she thought, stepping out into the 14th floor hallway and heading towards her room.
Hours pass till much later, each in their respective bedrooms, Kanzaki and Kikuchi eyed their mobiles.
[Do it. Call her. You said you would.]
(No time to chickenshit Urumi. Show some interest and meet him halfway. Call him.)
[Ask her out. Take control of the situation. Be the man!]
(Ask him out. Be forward! Know what you want and go for it!)
They stared at the business cards that they had given each other at their parting the week before. Looking at them for the past half-hour has had them inadvertently memorizing each other's numbers.
[If you don't call her after hitting her with that 'I prefer your natural eye colors' comment last week, you're dumber than Onizuka.]
(You're nothing but a tease if you don't call him up after that 'marry me' crap you pulled.)
[What the hell is the matter with you? It's not like you haven't dated other women before. Man up. Remember, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.]
(Hello! Earth to Urumi!! It's not like you haven't played this cat and mouse game before. Just do it already, give him a little something for now, reel him in when he's hooked!)
[Remember: charm.]
(Don't forget: flirt.)
That same moment in another part of town, oblivious to the brewing battle of wills, a family very familiar with both individuals gets together for some after-dinner conversation.
"So those two are finally getting together?" Azusa asked, looking at her husband while cradling her son in her arms.
"Nothing certain, but I'm willing to bet on it." Eikichi replied while making faces at his little boy.
"Isn't Urumi a little too, um, unpredictable for Yoshito though?"
"That's exactly what I'm banking on, the whole opposites attracting thing. Case in point: us." Onizuka gestured at the both of them. Shifting his gaze to the child cooing in his wife's arms, he added:
"Isn't that right little man? If daddy weren't so handsome and strong mommy wouldn't have married him huh?"
"Silly. What I meant was that isn't she too headstrong for him?" Azusa replied, smiling.
Onizuka scratched the stubble on his chin.
"Kanzaki is a strong woman, too strong for most men no doubt about it. That's why the only kind of man who'll be right for her would be someone as strong, if not stronger; someone who could keep up with her, though be nowhere near as combustible as she is."
"Like Kikuchi."
"Exactly. Like you said, Kanzaki's still somewhat unpredictable, even though she's matured with the years. That kid Yoshito would be ideal for her I think, being someone who could temper her volatile nature with his own distinct level-headedness; though by no means is he a pushover, or she'd eat him alive. 'Sides, those two have been gravitating towards each other since their Seirin days, it's just now that they're realizing it. Not without a little help from me of course, their great teacher."
"Uh-huh, and what exactly did the great teacher do this time?" she asked, playing along for now.
"Not much really, just setting the ball in motion and making sure it keeps rolling long enough for them to figure how to do it by themselves. Urumi called in the middle of the night about two or three days ago, and genius that she is, asked me if our little Romeo was the type of man who'd dive after her if she fell of a building."
"Really? Wow. Was she all right? What'd you tell her?"
"She sounded a little groggy, so I'm guessing she had a wet dream. Anyway I told her exactly what she needed to hear. Yoshito on the other hand recounted to me while we were having ramen last week that he'd already had eyes for our genius Juliet since their junior high days together; only he didn't do anything about it because she was in his words, 'nuts' back then. So I persuaded him to look her up. Remember when I got home a little late last week? That was it."
"You mean when you said that you couldn't come visit with my parents because you had to coach an extended Karate practice? Somehow you forgot to mention that part about dinner with him."
Onizuka gulped and shot his son another glance.
"Listen babyboy, this is how a REAL man should take responsibility for his actions."
Back in her hotel room, Kanzaki Urumi finds herself acting on uncertain resolve to make a return call.
(Okay Urumi, let's call him now.) Kanzaki thought to herself, reaching for her phone. Getting ready to dial Kikuchi's number, she was interrupted by her mobile ringing and vibrating in her hand. Glancing at the name flashing on the screen, it read: Kikuchi Yoshito. Clearing her throat and taking a deep breath, she pushed 'Answer.'
(Here goes nothing.)
"Hello?"
"Kanzaki? Hi there, it's me, Kikuchi. Did you get my message?"
"Hey there! I was just about to call you. Yeah I did, sorry I wasn't able to pick up, I was in a meeting and..."
"It's cool. Don't worry about it."
(Good. Flirt. Now.)
"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call, Mr. Kikuchi Yoshito? Miss me?"
Yoshito laughed.
[Playful as ever. Let the games begin then.]
"Is that a loaded question miss?"
(Decent comeback.)
"Depends on how you answer it."
"In that case, I hereby invoke my right to remain silent regarding the matter."
(Darn.)
"Anyway..." Yoshito cleared his throat.
"Yeah?"
"I was just wondering... doing anything tomorrow? I was wondering if you'd like to go out."
Upon hearing this, Urumi broke into a wide, stretched from ear-to-ear smile while her heart thumped loudly in her chest. Keeping in with the game though, she feigned a surprised gasp.
"My oh my Kikuchi, are you asking me out on a date?" Urumi teased.
[Nice try, not falling for this one. JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION WILL YOU???]
"I didn't think it could get any more obvious than this, Kanzaki." He replied drolly.
"Awww you're no fun."
[Fine, MAKE her answer it then.]
"How can you say that when you haven't even said yes yet? Don't knock it 'till you've tried it sweetheart." He countered jokingly.
(Ooohh he's flirting baaack...) Kanzaki thought, feeling all the more giddy.
"Haha. Yes. I'd love to go out with you Kikuchi. What do you have in mind?"
(You'd LOVE to? Easy with the 'L' word.)
[Phew. Mission accomplished.]
"How about we meet up at Inokashira park around 5pm and take it from there?"
"5pm sounds good. Where exactly though?
"Remember that old bench beside the lake?"
(How could I forget? That was where you took me after I blackmailed Onizuka to get me sweets all the way from Nagoya. Heh, good times.)
"Of course. 5pm at the 'ol lakeside bench it is then."
"Cool. It's a date then. Take care in the meantime all right?"
"Certainly. You too y'hear? See ya."
[Now one last jab before I go.]
"Oh yeah, one more thing."
"What?"
"Leave the snakes."
Urumi chuckled.
"But, but... what if you were to take advantage of me?" Urumi responded in that sweet, endearing tone of hers.
[You're so cute when you do that.]
"Then I'm sure you'd have no problems coming up with a way to make me spill hot coffee all over myself." Yoshito replied.
"Haha. Smartass."
"Yeah, yeah. Take care all right? Bye!"
"Bye."
Kikuchi thumbed 'Disconnect' and slowly set his mobile on his desk to focus on his breathing. He set his eyes on the clock and placed two fingers under his jawline, checking his pulse.
[Bad hormones, bad hormones!! Slow down, it's over. She said yes already.]
Over the course of the next sixty seconds, Yoshito willed his pulse and blood pressure to subside to normal levels. This was when he noticed that he was sweating.
[Great. How the hell am I supposed to be cool and confident if a single two-minute phone call already has me sweating like a pig?]
Urumi on the other hand was giddy like a schoolgirl. She grabbed her pillow, leaned back on her bed, buried her face in it and wrapped her arms around it; all the while kicking her legs in the air.
"He asked me out!" she squealed in delight.
(And you didn't even have to call him. Now, when you're done celebrating, let's start focusing on knocking his socks off okay?)
That stopped her mid-revelry. Peeking out from over the pillow, she bit her lip and said to herself:
"Now what the hell am I gonna wear?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N:
Thanks to everyone who took the time out to read and review: Jon-Uriel-Kaden, animegeek1001, Allence of the Weed, Seth7, mikethebigW, Prizz, Cattleya Glory, mingtsai, Dargon Sheinto, duh-hikki-zealot, and Rijuji.Raicho!
Jon-Uriel-Kaden, animegeek1001, Prizz, duh-hikki-zealot: Great to hear you're enjoying the story! Hopefully as much as I am writing it. Stay tuned! There's more on the way. And I'd wager to say that there's a possibility the next one (or the one after that) could be more... um, "intimate." COULD be. I'm still debating with myself how to work that in.
Seth7, Cattleya Glory, mingtsai: Good to hear you liked Onizuka's dream =) You gotta love the way his mind works. Oh and I definitely plan to take it to the next level (or I wouldn't really be writing this) =P Thanks for the great comments!
Allence of the Weed: Thanks for the kind words, my bad if I wasn't able to explain the Latin phrase the first time I posted the chapter. Glad you liked it!
MikethebigW: re the dirty old man thing. I couldn't agree more. I think that Onizuka stopped maturing at about say... 17 or 18 yrs of age. Reminds me of myself. Heh. Oyea, sorry if the 5 or 6 years comment by Kikuchi to Yoshikawa in chapter5 threw you off; he meant that it's been 5 or 6 years since Uehara Anko left Yoshikawa and went on her self-imposed exile. The story itself is set around 10ish years from the end of the anime.
Dargon Sheinto: Yea I've read summaries of the manga on the net. Shame they didn't work a couple more of the storylines into the anime. But I THINK that they purposely left the anime more open-ended, maybe for the possibility of an OAV? Hmmmm...
Riyuji_Raicho: Glad you liked the dream sequence in chapter 4. Hope you also got to see the original chap5 before I had to redo it. Thanks for the props!
Till the next chapter! Ja ne =)
By: Miguel Artadi
Disclaimer: I don't own GTO and any of the characters in it. I'd be rich if I did.
[ ] = Kikuchi's thoughts
( ) = Kanzaki's thoughts
Chapter VI - If You Have to Ask...
Ever since that talk he had with Yoshikawa two nights ago, Kikuchi had seriously started exploring the possibilities of him and Urumi actually getting together in his mind. It was actually all workable now, he thought. Closing his eyes, he recalled the way she felt in his arms in their all-too brief embrace.
[Have to admit, that felt good. Felt... right, even.] He then remembered the way she had reached up and gave him a quick, innocent peck on the cheek. If she only knew how much that small, intimate moment had occupied his waking thoughts, he'd be in a whole lot of trouble.
"Blergh. Damn hormones."
[Still, the way she looked and smelled when she drew in... think about it... you were only inches away from kissing her full on the lips... or nuzzling her neck and breathing her scent in. With that, I guess we could forgive the whole thing with the coffee right?]
Kikuchi slapped his forehead. If there was ONE thing he hated about being male, overpowering, hormone-induced instinctual desire was it. Turning to face his reflection in his bedroom mirror, he started psyching himself.
[It's time. You can do this. You can pull this off. Call her. Don't forget: clear head, calm demeanor, laidback disposition. Smooth. Remember, THAT is what made you the man you are, and THAT is the same thing that'll win this.] Teeming with resolve, Kikuchi reached for his mobile and punched in Kanzaki's number. Pausing one last time before the point of no return, he pushed the button and made the call, bringing the phone to his ear. He heard the call try to connect, his anticipation building with the thought of hearing Urumi's voice any second now.
Much to his disappointment however, it only kept ringing. He tried waiting for her to answer for another ten seconds, but finally cancelled the call and pocketed his cell.
"Damn it." Kikuchi muttered to himself. He had decided that the simplest way to get Urumi to agree on a night out would be to exude confidence, forego any hoopla and simply ASK her. That had been the plan. Unfortunately as the saying goes, no plan survives the first encounter intact, which in this case meant Kanzaki not being around to answer her mobile. Wracking his head for a plan B, Yoshito took his phone out again.
[Good idea. This way, we take some of the pressure off of me.]
That same afternoon, finishing the workday week, Kanzaki found herself on the way back to her hotel. Urumi stared obliviously out the taxicab's window, her thoughts centered on the message Kikuchi had left in her phone's voicemail, and of her dream a few nights back. She had gone to a lunch meeting with a representative of Mishima Holdings and as precautionary politeness dictated, had set her cellular to silent. Checking it after business was concluded, she discovered Kikuchi's name on the 'Missed Call' list. Figuring that he would've probably (hopefully?) left her a message, she then opened her voicemail inbox. Her heart almost skipped a beat when she found out that she was spot on.
"Ey Kanzaki, it's me Kikuchi. Just wanted to say hi and all. 'Guess you're pretty busy right now. I'll just give you a call later tonight okay? Take care."
Lost in her thoughts, she was jolted back to reality by the cab driver's voice.
"M'am? We're here."
"Huh? Ahh okay." She replied as she paid the fare and handed the cabbie a few extra bills as a tip before getting off. Thanking her, he went on his way.
Urumi walked straight to the hotel elevators, the greetings of the staff not really registering in her mind. She immediately found one waiting, entered it and pushed the button for her floor. The background hum of the winch mechanisms barely audible, her thoughts drifted once more.
(I wonder why he called? Maybe... was he gonna ask me out?) she speculated, unsuccessfully repressing a smile at the idea.
"Ugh. I'm pathetic." She said to herself, snapping out of it. Urumi then turned her attention to the lit 14th floor button and pushed it some more, even though she obviously knew doing so didn't really expedite the process.
"One stupid dream and I'm flighty as a little schoolgirl. Its just Kikuchi for crying out loud."
(Uh-huh. If it's JUST Kikuchi, then why are you so...)
"Okay, stop right there. We're not doing this again." obviously referring to the extended argumentation exercise with herself the other night.
A soft chime signaled that the lift had arrived at her floor.
"Finally."
(Maybe I should call him instead.) she thought, stepping out into the 14th floor hallway and heading towards her room.
Hours pass till much later, each in their respective bedrooms, Kanzaki and Kikuchi eyed their mobiles.
[Do it. Call her. You said you would.]
(No time to chickenshit Urumi. Show some interest and meet him halfway. Call him.)
[Ask her out. Take control of the situation. Be the man!]
(Ask him out. Be forward! Know what you want and go for it!)
They stared at the business cards that they had given each other at their parting the week before. Looking at them for the past half-hour has had them inadvertently memorizing each other's numbers.
[If you don't call her after hitting her with that 'I prefer your natural eye colors' comment last week, you're dumber than Onizuka.]
(You're nothing but a tease if you don't call him up after that 'marry me' crap you pulled.)
[What the hell is the matter with you? It's not like you haven't dated other women before. Man up. Remember, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.]
(Hello! Earth to Urumi!! It's not like you haven't played this cat and mouse game before. Just do it already, give him a little something for now, reel him in when he's hooked!)
[Remember: charm.]
(Don't forget: flirt.)
That same moment in another part of town, oblivious to the brewing battle of wills, a family very familiar with both individuals gets together for some after-dinner conversation.
"So those two are finally getting together?" Azusa asked, looking at her husband while cradling her son in her arms.
"Nothing certain, but I'm willing to bet on it." Eikichi replied while making faces at his little boy.
"Isn't Urumi a little too, um, unpredictable for Yoshito though?"
"That's exactly what I'm banking on, the whole opposites attracting thing. Case in point: us." Onizuka gestured at the both of them. Shifting his gaze to the child cooing in his wife's arms, he added:
"Isn't that right little man? If daddy weren't so handsome and strong mommy wouldn't have married him huh?"
"Silly. What I meant was that isn't she too headstrong for him?" Azusa replied, smiling.
Onizuka scratched the stubble on his chin.
"Kanzaki is a strong woman, too strong for most men no doubt about it. That's why the only kind of man who'll be right for her would be someone as strong, if not stronger; someone who could keep up with her, though be nowhere near as combustible as she is."
"Like Kikuchi."
"Exactly. Like you said, Kanzaki's still somewhat unpredictable, even though she's matured with the years. That kid Yoshito would be ideal for her I think, being someone who could temper her volatile nature with his own distinct level-headedness; though by no means is he a pushover, or she'd eat him alive. 'Sides, those two have been gravitating towards each other since their Seirin days, it's just now that they're realizing it. Not without a little help from me of course, their great teacher."
"Uh-huh, and what exactly did the great teacher do this time?" she asked, playing along for now.
"Not much really, just setting the ball in motion and making sure it keeps rolling long enough for them to figure how to do it by themselves. Urumi called in the middle of the night about two or three days ago, and genius that she is, asked me if our little Romeo was the type of man who'd dive after her if she fell of a building."
"Really? Wow. Was she all right? What'd you tell her?"
"She sounded a little groggy, so I'm guessing she had a wet dream. Anyway I told her exactly what she needed to hear. Yoshito on the other hand recounted to me while we were having ramen last week that he'd already had eyes for our genius Juliet since their junior high days together; only he didn't do anything about it because she was in his words, 'nuts' back then. So I persuaded him to look her up. Remember when I got home a little late last week? That was it."
"You mean when you said that you couldn't come visit with my parents because you had to coach an extended Karate practice? Somehow you forgot to mention that part about dinner with him."
Onizuka gulped and shot his son another glance.
"Listen babyboy, this is how a REAL man should take responsibility for his actions."
Back in her hotel room, Kanzaki Urumi finds herself acting on uncertain resolve to make a return call.
(Okay Urumi, let's call him now.) Kanzaki thought to herself, reaching for her phone. Getting ready to dial Kikuchi's number, she was interrupted by her mobile ringing and vibrating in her hand. Glancing at the name flashing on the screen, it read: Kikuchi Yoshito. Clearing her throat and taking a deep breath, she pushed 'Answer.'
(Here goes nothing.)
"Hello?"
"Kanzaki? Hi there, it's me, Kikuchi. Did you get my message?"
"Hey there! I was just about to call you. Yeah I did, sorry I wasn't able to pick up, I was in a meeting and..."
"It's cool. Don't worry about it."
(Good. Flirt. Now.)
"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call, Mr. Kikuchi Yoshito? Miss me?"
Yoshito laughed.
[Playful as ever. Let the games begin then.]
"Is that a loaded question miss?"
(Decent comeback.)
"Depends on how you answer it."
"In that case, I hereby invoke my right to remain silent regarding the matter."
(Darn.)
"Anyway..." Yoshito cleared his throat.
"Yeah?"
"I was just wondering... doing anything tomorrow? I was wondering if you'd like to go out."
Upon hearing this, Urumi broke into a wide, stretched from ear-to-ear smile while her heart thumped loudly in her chest. Keeping in with the game though, she feigned a surprised gasp.
"My oh my Kikuchi, are you asking me out on a date?" Urumi teased.
[Nice try, not falling for this one. JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION WILL YOU???]
"I didn't think it could get any more obvious than this, Kanzaki." He replied drolly.
"Awww you're no fun."
[Fine, MAKE her answer it then.]
"How can you say that when you haven't even said yes yet? Don't knock it 'till you've tried it sweetheart." He countered jokingly.
(Ooohh he's flirting baaack...) Kanzaki thought, feeling all the more giddy.
"Haha. Yes. I'd love to go out with you Kikuchi. What do you have in mind?"
(You'd LOVE to? Easy with the 'L' word.)
[Phew. Mission accomplished.]
"How about we meet up at Inokashira park around 5pm and take it from there?"
"5pm sounds good. Where exactly though?
"Remember that old bench beside the lake?"
(How could I forget? That was where you took me after I blackmailed Onizuka to get me sweets all the way from Nagoya. Heh, good times.)
"Of course. 5pm at the 'ol lakeside bench it is then."
"Cool. It's a date then. Take care in the meantime all right?"
"Certainly. You too y'hear? See ya."
[Now one last jab before I go.]
"Oh yeah, one more thing."
"What?"
"Leave the snakes."
Urumi chuckled.
"But, but... what if you were to take advantage of me?" Urumi responded in that sweet, endearing tone of hers.
[You're so cute when you do that.]
"Then I'm sure you'd have no problems coming up with a way to make me spill hot coffee all over myself." Yoshito replied.
"Haha. Smartass."
"Yeah, yeah. Take care all right? Bye!"
"Bye."
Kikuchi thumbed 'Disconnect' and slowly set his mobile on his desk to focus on his breathing. He set his eyes on the clock and placed two fingers under his jawline, checking his pulse.
[Bad hormones, bad hormones!! Slow down, it's over. She said yes already.]
Over the course of the next sixty seconds, Yoshito willed his pulse and blood pressure to subside to normal levels. This was when he noticed that he was sweating.
[Great. How the hell am I supposed to be cool and confident if a single two-minute phone call already has me sweating like a pig?]
Urumi on the other hand was giddy like a schoolgirl. She grabbed her pillow, leaned back on her bed, buried her face in it and wrapped her arms around it; all the while kicking her legs in the air.
"He asked me out!" she squealed in delight.
(And you didn't even have to call him. Now, when you're done celebrating, let's start focusing on knocking his socks off okay?)
That stopped her mid-revelry. Peeking out from over the pillow, she bit her lip and said to herself:
"Now what the hell am I gonna wear?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N:
Thanks to everyone who took the time out to read and review: Jon-Uriel-Kaden, animegeek1001, Allence of the Weed, Seth7, mikethebigW, Prizz, Cattleya Glory, mingtsai, Dargon Sheinto, duh-hikki-zealot, and Rijuji.Raicho!
Jon-Uriel-Kaden, animegeek1001, Prizz, duh-hikki-zealot: Great to hear you're enjoying the story! Hopefully as much as I am writing it. Stay tuned! There's more on the way. And I'd wager to say that there's a possibility the next one (or the one after that) could be more... um, "intimate." COULD be. I'm still debating with myself how to work that in.
Seth7, Cattleya Glory, mingtsai: Good to hear you liked Onizuka's dream =) You gotta love the way his mind works. Oh and I definitely plan to take it to the next level (or I wouldn't really be writing this) =P Thanks for the great comments!
Allence of the Weed: Thanks for the kind words, my bad if I wasn't able to explain the Latin phrase the first time I posted the chapter. Glad you liked it!
MikethebigW: re the dirty old man thing. I couldn't agree more. I think that Onizuka stopped maturing at about say... 17 or 18 yrs of age. Reminds me of myself. Heh. Oyea, sorry if the 5 or 6 years comment by Kikuchi to Yoshikawa in chapter5 threw you off; he meant that it's been 5 or 6 years since Uehara Anko left Yoshikawa and went on her self-imposed exile. The story itself is set around 10ish years from the end of the anime.
Dargon Sheinto: Yea I've read summaries of the manga on the net. Shame they didn't work a couple more of the storylines into the anime. But I THINK that they purposely left the anime more open-ended, maybe for the possibility of an OAV? Hmmmm...
Riyuji_Raicho: Glad you liked the dream sequence in chapter 4. Hope you also got to see the original chap5 before I had to redo it. Thanks for the props!
Till the next chapter! Ja ne =)