The wind was strong around him as he stood straight and tall on the edge of the roof, his longish hair blown in his face. His tie and jacket were whipping around him and his heart was loud in his ears and he could feel the blood rushing along his body. This is it, he said, Now's the time to show them that I'm a man. I'm not afraid. I can do this!. He planted his feet firmly to the ground - well, tried to anyway...

"Hey Kouji," said Onizuka, tightening the ties around the young boy's ankles, "Are you sure you want to do this? You look scared."

In affirmation he patted the boy's trembling feet.

"Yeah Kouji," Kunio grinned, "We don't want ya peeing in your pants in front of the girls down there."

Kusano stood nearby, also grinning at Kouji's nervousness.

"Shut up!" said Kouji, glaring down at the blonde teacher at his feet, "Are you done yet?!"

Onizuka chuckled, "Okay, okay. If you're so excited about it you can jump now."
Without a warning the teacher gave a push that sent Kouji falling down the building screaming.

Kouji could practically see his life flashing before his eyes in that traumatic fall - images of the people who has made an impression in his life one way or another; okaa-san, otou-san, sensei-Onizuka, sensei-Moritaka, Kunio, Kunio's okaasan, Miyabi and especially on the image of a young boy with a charming smile, his crudely short cut hair sticking up in a mussed-cute look. Kusano...

He didn't have time to wonder why Kusano's image sticks in his mind more powerful that the rest because his mind has suddenly frozen as he neared the ground. It took him only a moment to realise that instead of the concrete ground in his view, it was the ugly face of the sensei-Fukuroda which was contorted to surprise. Both screamed as Kouji came near and Fukuroda crouched down in an act of fright, his hands above his head in a pathetic attempt to save himself.

Then the rope reached it's stretch limit, snapping back Kouji towards the air before the gravity pulled him back. It continued like that, Kouji being snapped back and forth in the air like a human yo-yo, the boy giggling and crying deliriously at his near-exprience with death.

He could hear Onizuka's voice from the roof-top, "WAHAHAHAHAA!! I told ya it was fun! Now you know the excitement of bungee-jumping!"

"Wohoo!" cried Kouji, still feeling the adrenaline rush.

"Alright, Kouji!" Kunio called out. Kusano laughed.

Suddenly an angry voice with a hint of trembling bellowed out to them, "What do you think you're doing?! Who's up there?! Onizuka! Is that you?!"

The girls who were in their PE session stared at the bouncing boy for a moment before they turned their disgusted looks upon Fukuroda. It seems that they consider finding out about their teacher's gross action more important than seeing a boy dangling from the school building with a rope tied around his feet.

Kouji panicked as he began to swing to and fro and he heard Onizuka curse, "Shit! That's Fukuroda! Quick! Help me pull him up!"

It took less than a minute for Kouji to be pulled up to the roof-top and his fingers frantically tried to pull of the ties from him ankle.

"C'mon quick!" Onizuka commanded, running towards the door.

"Wair for us, sensei!" pleaded Kouji while Kusano helped him out with the ties as Onizuka was already out the door with Kunio behind him. Kouji and Kusano followed suit and they were running along the windowed corridor when they heard Fukuroda yell at them again when he saw them from the field outside. Kouji automatically crouched down, not much sense really since he was already known but he did so anyway, and grabbed Kusano without thought to pull him away from the corridor and into a classroom.

Kouji slid the door closed after he and Kusano were in, both boys taking great gulps of air trying to feed their starved lungs. After a while they looked at each other and laughed hysterically.

"Oh man!" Kusano said, "That was hilarious! Did you see the look on Fukuroda's face when he saw you coming at him?"

The boy with the shoulder-length hair choked, "How could I not? His ugly mug was inches from my face!"

Kouji laughed some more before Kusano spoke up, "You enjoyed that did you? So what did it feel like? I'm the only one left who haven't tried it out."
The boy with the spikey-hair sat at the edge of the table watching his hyper friend with a smile.

Kouji grinned, his eyes holding a sparkle of excitement as he relived the moment, "It was awesome! You fall down and you see your life flashing before your eyes! You can feel the blood rushing along your body and when you snap back before you hit the ground you feel so exhilirated at having that brush with death that you feel as if you're powerful and strong!"

He didn't know that during his ranting he has moved closer towards the other boy, that his knee was touching his friend's.

"You feel so... so... alive!" Kouji finished. Then he suddenly realised that he was practically leaning towards Kusano, their bodies so close that he could feel the warmth even through his uniform.

At that moment of silence, Kusano was also beginning to be aware of how close they were but he didn't do say or do anything. Instead he stared at Kouji's dark eyes, his heart beating fast as he could feel Kouji's warm breath fan his face. And he didn't even move when Kouji pulled his chin up with two fingers and gave him a kiss.

At first it was a brush of the lips. Then they akwardly but eagerly experimented on an open-mouthed kiss that leaved both of them breathless when they pulled away for a moment. The next kiss was more heated as Kouji claimed Kusano's lips again while his hands slid under the boy's jacket to better feel the slim body beneath him. Kusano groaned in his throat, clutching at Kouji's shoulder not knowing what else to do.

When he felt Kouji slipping open one of the buttons of his jacket, Kusano panicked, suddenly pushing at Kouji, forcing the long-haired boy to stop.

"Yamatte!" gasped Kusano, trying to stand up but his feet were trembling so hard that he had to lean on the table behind him for support.

"What...what's the matter?" asked Kouji bewildered, is own breathing as ragged as the boy in front of him.

"I... I... I don't understand this...," said Kusano, his shaking hands pulling at his tie before they tried to button up his jacket but they were shaking so much that he stopped, embarrassed at his weakness, "Shit!"

Kouji quickly gathered himself, raking his fingers through his dark hair and sighed. He stepped back and sat on the edge of one of tables himself.

"Sorry," said Kouji softly, "I guess I got a bit carried away from that jump."

Kusano looked at Kouji in disbelief, "That you kissed me?"

Kouji's face coloured, "Lame excuse, eh?"

The spikey-haired boy nodded emphatically.

Kouji was annoyed. "You weren't protesting any more than I did," he pointed out.

"Hmph! You were the one who stuck a tongue in my mouth!" said Kusano, his face as red as Kouji.

Kouji crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, "Oh please! As if your tongue wasn't anywhere near mine."

Kusano sputtered, obviously horrified to where this conversation has turned to. He attacked his jacket button again, relieved that his hands were already steady in his midst of anger.
"Let's just forget this has ever happened," Kusano mumbled, his face down, trying to push the stubborn button through the hole. Suddenly warm fingers brushed his away and they did the task with ease.

Kusano looked up to see Kouji's eyes boring into his. "Can you do that?" Kouji asked, his voice husky as his hands slipped down to hold Kusano on the hips.

The spikey-haired boy found himself unable to speak as Kouji's hands slid away in a lingering carress. He was still motionless when the long-haired boy stepped away to walk towards the door and pushed it open.

Kouji turned around and gave Kusano a wink, "See you tomorrow, Tadaaki."

And then he was gone, leaving Kusano in a state of confusion and ... something else which made his heart beat so fast it hurts. Excitement? Iie, that couldn't be it, Kusano denied shaking his head. Sure, when he first met Kouji he thought that the boy was cute and they match each other's personality - both cheeky, smart, daring and crazy. So does that make him crazy to want Kouji this way? Kusano shook his head furiously again, I do not want him!

But Kusano couldn't help but remember the shivers that came over him when Kouji called him by his first name. Damn you Kouji, he cursed but without any malice in his thoughts. Actually he was very nervous about tomorrow when he would have to meet with Kouji again face to face in class.
Letting out a deep sigh he stood up to exit the room. What comes, comes.

~The End