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

[( )] = Collective thoughts

Warning: The first third of this chapter is mildly descriptive though still falls under the PG-13 guidelines of fanfic.net: i.e. "Rough or persistent violence is absent; sexually-oriented nudity is generally absent; some scenes of drug use may be seen; one use of the harsher sexually derived words may be heard." Those among you folks who aren't into that, just hit Ctrl-F (to search the page) and stick in "Gundam." Start from that paragraph =)

Chapter VIII - Pillow Talk

"You taste like strawberries." Kikuchi remarked, smiling as he broke the kiss and licked his lips. Apparently, this comment ushered in another round, one ALOT more passionate than before.

"Mmmmm..." they murmured in near-unison as their hands, lips and tongues did their talking for them, the continuous sheet of rain on their skins adding to the sensuality of the moment. Kanzaki reached up and repeatedly clutched at her date's back, while Kikuchi gently cupped his high-school crush's head; one hand caressing her cheek and the other at her nape.

[You're so beautiful.]

(You feel so good.)

Barely breaking the liplock, they clumsily made their way into the house: dripping rainwater all the way and making a beeline towards Kikuchi's bedroom; breaking one vase,

"aww shit. whoops"

nearly tripping thrice,

"whoa! Easy..."

and bumping into furniture more times than they could count.

"oooh! Ouch!"

They made it as far as the stairs. Collapsing, Kikuchi ended up on top of Urumi, their bodies entangled with each other's. Propping himself up on his arms, he looked straight into her twin blue and browns, while Kanzaki in turn reached up and took his glasses off, setting them aside on the edge of the step.

(I want to see YOU.)

Yoshito flashed a wry smile.

"Sorry to disappoint, but mine are nowhere near as deep as yours."

Leaning in, he added: "I wish I could swim in them."1

(SIGH) Urumi blushed a deep crimson and grabbed him by the collar, intensely kissing him once more.

"Mmmmffff"

[Thank you Hollywood.1 Now I wonder...]

Their little 'dance' continuing, Kikuchi started exploring; kissing and nibbling around her neck and ears, wondering if she was one of those people who were extremely sensitive in those areas. He didn't have to wait long for an answer as a sharp intake of breath accompanied by the arching of her back confirmed his hunch.

(Baby...)

[That's a good girl.]

Finally, Yoshito spoke up.

"We should get out of these wet clothes."

Kanzaki cocked an eyebrow.

"You might catch a cold, of course."

[(Riiiight)]

Slowly and deliberately, they started unbuttoning each other's shirts; him first, then her. The sight of a toned, glistening, rain-soaked chest and the view of pert breasts resting in soaked lavender brassiere released another rush of already-intoxicating hormones.

[(Yowza.)]

And so like two teenagers on prom night, they fooled around for the better part of two hours.2

Later that evening, Kikuchi ransacked his mother's closet for something comfortable for Kanzaki to wear while her clothes dried in the bathroom, ending up with a pair of gray cotton drawstring pants and a simple white round neck shirt. He was tempted to throw in some Gundam T-shirt he got as a giveaway last Christmas, but decided against any sort of taunting for the moment, choosing instead to relish the newfound closeness they had just experienced. Their hormones having burned out for the time being, they cuddled together in silence, resting in each other's arms and reflecting on how the day's events could possibly affect or change anything and everything.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Yoshito glanced down at Urumi and smirked, again those eyes of hers seeming to gaze straight into him.

"Nothing really. See, us normal geniuses still retain the capacity to turn off higher brain functions." he replied, teasing her.

Kanzaki giggled.

"Dork. Hey wait, so what time do your parents get home? Though I'm sure your mom and dad will remember me, I doubt they'll appreciate me reintroducing myself in this position."

"Hmm? Oh they're still on their European tour. They won't be back till a week or two."

Urumi pretended to gasp as the realization dawned on her.

(Why you sneaky little...)

"Oooohh you naughty, naughty little boy... you brought me here knowing that they weren't gonna be home!" She said, waving her finger and mock-scolding him.

"Hey now, tell me straight up that you didn't particularly enjoy the outcome and I'll take you back to your hotel pronto." Kikuchi replied, grinning.

(Heh, can't argue with that.)

"Grrr. Geek."

"Psycho."

For both geniuses, it was a day of firsts. True, both had been in relationships before, but each had always known in advance that they were merely ill-considered attempts at living a normal life; half-hearted undertakings done so as to try and re-create for themselves some substitutionary semblance of normalcy. A normalcy that they always saw in the people around them, but never themselves quite experienced. This however, they both knew was totally different. As for once their hand contained too many wildcards for either of them to accurately calculate the outcome as they did with the others. Admittedly, the unknowns simultaneously proved intriguing and uncomfortable.

Kanzaki continued to stroke back and forth across Kikuchi's chest, while he in turn played with her hair, twirling and re-twirling it around his fingers.

"Yoshito, there's something I want to ask you."

[Eh?]

"Yes Urumi, though it's way too early in my opinion, I'd be willing to try a threesome with another woman in the future."

(Very funny.) That comment earned Kikuchi a pinch to the gut.

"I'm serious. Look, back at the park, right when I arrived and you were well... you know... it wasn't a lame joke. I'm pretty sure of it."

[Stupid flashback.]

"And how did you come to that conclusion?"

(Do I have to spell it out?)

"You were sweating like a pig Kikuchi. Which, in weather like this likely meant that you were in a state of agitation. The other possibility, that you gave me an Oscar-worthy performance, is pretty unlikely."

[Damn this.] He knew she was onto him.

"..."

(Why does he keep dodging the question? Let's try another tactic.)

"What was wrong back there? Hey c'mon, you know you can trust me right?" Urumi cooed; her brown and blues suddenly looking all misty and doe-eyed.

This was getting difficult.

"Right?"

[Blergh. No fair, you're cheating.]

"I know. But I'm asking you to trust me too. Look, both of us, you and me, we've all got our own things to deal with right?"

(That's easy for you to say, you've been reading me like an open book since who knows when.)

"Of course, but I want to get to know and understand you more, the same way that you already know so much about who I am and my past. I mean there's got to be more to Kikuchi Yoshito than the laidback, underachieving computer genius that he is."

"I was under the impression that women liked the strong and silent type."

Kanzaki narrowed her eyes and glared, her way of telling him to start taking this seriously.

[Oh man.]

"Look, we've all got our own issues Urumi. Myself included. Given time, you'll get to know more of me I promise, same way that I'll get to know more of you. Which means... one day you can tell me what happened with this."

Kikuchi turned her hand over to reveal the scar on her wrist,3 the sight tugging at his protective instincts.

"A reminder of my early, misspent youth is all." She replied, looking away.

"True, but there's much, much more buried beneath the surface right? The how's and why's behind it."

"Useless details."

"Wrong. It's usually the minute specifics that give the bigger picture life. Take for example the Mona Lisa's smile, or the constellations in the night sky... or the color of your eyes. Urumi, trivialities are seldom really trivial, since usually it's the bigger picture that comes first, followed by an acute understanding and appreciation of the intricate details." Kikuchi continued, confident that his excellent line of reasoning would seal the argument. Kanzaki however, wasn't one to give up so easily.

(Good stuff Yoshito. I have to admit, I never thought you'd be smooth as hell, but sorry, you lose this round.) she thought, preparing her coup de grace.4

"You're right I guess. So, what's YOUR bigger picture?"

[Oh... shit.] It dawned on Kikuchi that he had talked himself into a corner.

"Well?"

"This is different." Lame as it was, he had to try.

"Bullshit. Not after that whole trivialities-and-the-bigger-picture garbage you just spouted."

Yoshito sighed. [Maybe it IS time to trust once more. Taking that chance with Yoshikawa never made you regret it.]

"Fine. But you have to promise, and I mean swear on all that you hold dear that you will never, EVER tell anyone else about this... or hint at, or anything along those lines. Understand? Not even Onizuka knows about this."

"I promise. Trust me." Kanzaki said as she intertwined her fingers with his.

Gathering his thoughts, Kikuchi closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"I... I lost someone close to me in Inokashira park, back when I was in elementary. Today just seemed to remind me."

Urumi remained silent, the shock of Kikuchi's 'confession' leaving her at a complete loss for words. Finally, she came up with two.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I've pretty much dealt with those old demons."

Kanzaki stretched up and kissed him soundly.

"I had no idea. Sorry for prying." she apologized, now feeling sheepish from pressing the topic so hard.

"Don't be. I wouldn't have told you if I didn't want to."

She smiled. "Thanks for trusting me."

"Mmmm-hmmm. That trust comes at a price though."

"Uh-huh, sure. And that would be...?"

"This!!!" With this Kikuchi wrapped his arms around her and rolled over, effectively reversing their positions, now leaving him on top. Choosing to exercise the dominance his placement afforded him, he started tickling her.

"Aaaaaaahhhh!!!! Nooooo!!!! Not there!!! Stop!!! Aaaahhh!!! Anyplace but there!!!!" Urumi squealed in between fits of laughter, kicking her legs out without much effect. Yoshito on the other hand, had no intentions of stopping anytime soon.

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1 - this line was taken from some Hollywood movie that I seem unable to recall at the moment. Some film set in Italy I think.

2 - No, they did not go "all the way."

3 - From what I understand, according to the GTO manga, Urumi was the kind of person who'd slit her wrist just for kicks.

4 - Coup de grace basically means final or finishing blow.

'Gomen' to the regular readers that this update took longer than usual. I have about two chapters worth of text that I didn't use, since they just didn't feel too right. The version you see here is probably the 4th version of chapter8.

Of course, many, many thanks again to those who took the time out to R&R: Seth7, SILENT TROWA, Millie-chan, Allence of the Weed, mikethebigW, sq1993, Prizz, Dargon Sheinto, Hermionini, Odd Tailor, rabid lola.

Seth7: You were right on the money this time buddy.

SILENT TROWA: I've got some plans for Yoshikawa. But that's another story. Oyea dude, I'm pretty sure of the PPC definition, I was a BattleTech and MechWarrior geek as well (still am, btw) =)

Millie-chan: Glad you found it interesting!

Allence of the Weed: I just played it by the numbers. I googled both Inokashira and Inogashira and came back with more hits from the Inokashira spelling... so I just used that one instead =P

mikethebigW: Maybe it has something to do with myself being a huge Gibson fan. Heh. Anyway, no going for the kill... yet. Too soon for that methinks. Oh and great job you're doing with Behind the Mask. Keep the updates coming bro. Glad you still dig the story!

sq1993: I THINK you got to read the corrupted version of chap7. I found that a few days after I uploaded it, it had a few lines missing at the end. Check it out. And don't worry, I've Kikuchi's 'issues' all figured out ;)

Prizz: I hope this chapter answered your questions =P

Dargon Sheinto, Hermionini: Personally, I've found that those are the best type of dates, where you just let things flow. So I couldn't help but stick that in here. Heh. Glad you folks liked it!

Odd Tailor: It's something that just hit me when I questioned how the hell this guy could've been that laid back and in control at such a young age. I guess we'll never really find out, so I just had to make it up. Thanks for the props!

rabid lola: No worries, I can understand taglish perfectly ;) And hell yeah Onizuka's a helluva cool guy. I wish I had a teacher like him back in high school too =)

Stay tuned everyone! Till the next chapter!

ja ne