Erm... I got this idea for an EijiXOC fic. And... I decided to write it. And... yeah, that's basically it. I hope you all like it!

---

“Kikumaru Eiji!”

“Coming, nya!” A red-headed blur shot past me as it headed over to a long, long rope that was hanging down from the ceiling.

Today was the day I had to climb the rope. And I wasn’t looking forward to it.

I had this absolutely crippling fear of heights that kept me from going on Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and all the other good rides in amusement parks. It was so bad, I would start hyperventilating the second I hit eight feet above the ground.

“Done, nya!”

What in the world? How could Eiji-san finish climbing the rope and get back down in less than-

“Kimura Kokoro!”

My palms got sweaty as I staggered over, gulping as I looked up.

“Hurry up, Kimura. The sooner you start, the sooner it’ll be done.”

That was probably the only useful bit of information Sensei had ever given me, considering that he was my gym teacher.

I wiped my hands on my pants and got a good grip on the rope, fighting the urge to bite my nails.

Kami-sama, if I make this, I’ll be a good girl! Just let me survive this without hyperventilating!

That was my tradition before actually climbing the rope. Praying. But it never seemed to work, since I always started hyperventilating after a number of seconds.

“Kimura, hurry up. The sooner you’re done, the sooner we can leave..”

“Y-Yes, Sensei,” I whispered, clenching the rope tighter.

Here we go…

I started climbing slowly. Very slowly.

Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.

Too late. I was hyperventilating already.

I stopped and took a couple of breaths.

Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.

When I finally did get to the top, I was faced with another challenge: Getting down.

Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.

What was I thinking? Of course I’d have to look down!

At least Sensei was smart enough to have me go last. I could take as long as I wanted to get down, since gym was the last period I had.

Sometime after tennis practice…

I could barely breathe. Sensei, being the heartless gym teacher he was, had left a while ago, not bothering to help me get down. He knew I’d get down somehow; I always did.

It was amazing that I could stay up here for this long. Of course, I’d slid down a couple feet, but I guess my phobia gave me an adrenaline rush. I was still hugging the rope, hoping that someone would come into the gym and help me down.

And someone did.

“Nya, wait for me, everyone! I forgot something in the gym!”

Yes, someone’s coming! Maybe they’ll get me down from here!

The gym doors opened, and a surprised “Nya!” echoed in the gym.

“Koko-chan, you’re still up there? Hold on, nya! I’ll help you get down.”

Thank you, Kami-sama!

I looked down to smile at him thankfully. Big mistake.

“Don’t look down, nya! Look up! Close your eyes! Anything, nya!”

That was much easier said than done.

I settled for closing my eyes, since that was easier to do.

“Good! Now wait for a second, nya! Let go of the rope when I tell you to, nya!”

“Are you crazy?” I rasped. “That’s why I’m still up here!”

“Trust me, nya! Now let go!”

And you know what? I actually did… After about five minutes.

And the thing is, I didn’t hit the ground and die! Instead, I landed in a pair of arms. Eiji’s arms, to be exact.

And just when he caught me, the door opened, something that we both didn’t notice.

Right after he set me down, Eiji glomped me. “You did it, nya! I knew you could!”

And the next thing we heard were hoots, chuckles, clicks of a camera, and a “Heh, Eiji-senpai.”

“Nya?” Eiji pulled away from me and looked at the doors.

Nya? I can’t believe I still wonder why he says that, after knowing him for two years!

I stared at the people as they started talking to Eiji.

“I knew you had it in you, Eiji-senpai! So young, so young!”

“Nya, Momo! I just helped her down!”

“I don’t know, Eiji. The pictures I took look it was more than that.”

“Fujiko!!”

I started sneaking away. I almost made it, until a short guy with a cap pointed at me, and asked, “Ne, Eiji-senpai. Who’s your girlfriend?”

Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no!

“Nya, Ochibi! We’re not dating! I was just helping her off the rope!”

My face burned as I started running away.

---

Nice, Kokoro. When a guy saves you, you just run away.

I pulled my shirt over my head in the changing room and smoothed out some wrinkles. I sighed. “I guess I’ll have to apologize to Eiji-san the next time I see him…”

I was walking out of the changing rooms when I bumped into someone.

“Sorry, senpai! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!”

I looked down and saw a girl with long braids bowing and muttering more apologies a mile a minute.

I smiled down and murmured in an equally shy voice, “I-It’s okay.”

Well, I guess I wasn’t the only one having a bad day…

---

“Nya, Koko-chan!”

I squeaked and jumped about a foot in the air. “Oh, it’s you, Eiji-san.”

“Koko-chan,” Eiji had a somewhat crazy gleam in his eye. “Since you had so much trouble climbing the rope today, I’m going to help you get over your fear of heights, nya!”

What?

“Just meet me at the amusement park tomorrow!”

“E-Eiji-san?” I pulled on his sleeve pitifully, since he was bouncing up and down.

“I’m going to take you to ride a Ferris wheel, and a roller coaster, and a…”

“E-Eiji-san?”

“And then we’ll have cotton candy and go to the arcade once you’re not scared of heights anymore, nya!”

Is he really doing this for me, or as an excuse to go to the amusement park?

“Eiji-san?”

“Nya?” He stopped bouncing around and looked at me curiously.

…I really do have to find out why he says that…

“I… I don’t…” I played with the hem of my skirt. “I…”

“We’ll have to fix that stuttering of yours, too!”

I flushed. “I-I don’t… want to go...”

This caught him off guard. “Why not?”

There’s no “nya”. Is he really that shocked?

“I… I-I… Sorry!” I flushed even harder and ran away.

At least I apologized…

---

I sighed in relief and sank down on my bed. “I hate being shy…” I moaned, digging through my bag.

Kaa-san knocked on my door and came in with a plate of cookies. “Someone’s here to see you!” She winked at me and left.

“Nya, Koko-chan! You just ran away from me!”

My eyes widened when I saw Eiji standing in my room, pouting like there was no tomorrow. “E-Eiji-san?”

“We still have to get rid of that stutter! And that fear of heights, nya!” He reached over and helped himself to a cookie.

“B-But-“

“No buts, nya! Maybe if we get rid of that stutter, people won’t make fun of you!”

That bit was true… People noticed me, all right. But they only teased me endlessly. I was only on relatively good terms with Kawatta-chan and Amatsu-chan, even though we never talked much.

And as I opened my mouth to protest, he shoved the cookie he was holding into it. “Since there’s no school tomorrow, I've decided that I’m taking you with me right now! Fujiko’s going to, and I think he’s bringing someone with him!”

What have I gotten myself into? I’d rather be stuck on that rope again!

---

“Kawatta-chan?”

The girl looked surprised (and a bit pleased) to see me. “Kimura-chan? You’re the person Eiji’s supposed to bring?”.

“I take it you’re coming here with Fuji-san?”

She scowled at Fuji, whose smile seemed to grow wider. “He dragged me over here,” she hissed. “I’m supposed to be at work right now… I was going to have Mitsukai-chan come with me to make it bearable, but she had to go home.”

I suddenly felt much better about my situation.

“So why did Eiji drag you here?”

I blushed and looked at the ground. “H…He wants to help me get over my fear of heights.”

“And get her to stop stuttering, nya!” He glomped me and nuzzled his face against my hair. “She’ll have more friends then!”

Kawatta-chan rolled her eyes and muttered something about idiots under her breath. “Do people ever use their brains these days?” She scowled over at Eiji. “She’ll stop stuttering once she warms up to you.”

“Nya, Koko-chan, is this true?”

My cheeks got redder as I nodded.

He grinned at me. “Then I’ll just have to be friends with you, nya!”

---

I sighed in relief as Kawatta-chan started dragging me to the exit. “Thanks…” I murmured.

“Don’t mention it. I wanted to go away, too.” She scanned the crowd for Eiji and Fuji, and dove into it. “Stay close to me, and start talking. We’ll have to blend in with the crowd to get away. And take off that bright green shirt, it’ll blow your cover.”

I undid the pink bow and slipped out of the green shirt of Seigaku’s uniform The white one underneath really did make me less noticeable.

“Now tie your hair up with the ribbon,” she muttered. “And if you have makeup, put it on.”

I didn’t have make-up, so all I could do was tie my hair.

When I looked at Kawatta-san, she was wearing a hat and a shirt she’d snatched off one of the booths.

When did she do that?

She smirked when she saw my clueless look. “I have to blend in, too. That stupid uniform would give us away in a second. And put these on,” she handed me a pair of sunglasses and a jean jacket she had conjured out of nowhere. “And aren’t you supposed to talk? We have to look like people who just had a good time at the amusement part, you know.”

“How do you do all of this?”

Her smirk grew wider. “This? This is nothing. You should’ve seen what Mitsukai-chan and I did the other day when we got detention.”

When we got through the exit, we went separate ways.

Five minutes ago…

“Oy, Fuji, Eiji,” Kawatta-chan looked bored. “Can you get me a drink at the vending machine? Oh, and Kimura-chan wants some cotton candy.”

I looked at her, puzzled. I never said I wanted cotton candy! And they were on different sides of the amusement park!

Eiji left immediately to get “my” cotton candy, while Fuji glanced at Kawatta-chan suspiciously and left to get her drink.

“Come on,” she hissed, grabbing me and leading me off in the direction towards the exit. “You want to go home, don’t you?”

I giggled when I remembered that moment. “Are Eiji-san and Fuji-san still at the amusement park?”

---

Did I use too many "nya"s, or was it just enough to keep Eiji in-character? Enlighten me. And to those who were wondering who Kawatta was, check my other PoT story, Head Over Heels.

As always, flames are accepted.