Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Koushirou's Search! ❯ Preparing for Departure! ( Chapter 8 )

Hi again everyone. I really don't have much to say about this chapter. There are also hardly any changes from its original version. Like the title says, it's just showing what Koushirou is doing the night before leaving and what Mimi is doing to semi prepare. Call this another “filler chapter” like the karaoke one. Oh yes, I'm sure some of you have noticed my having Koushirou refer to the Izumis as “father” and “mother”. Well, he's kind of formal with them originally and, as I mentioned earlier, in the original, he's very polite. Having him use “father” and “mother” seems to be the only thing equivalent to that.

 

Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Digimon series or franchise. Bandai and Toei have that honor, and as a reminder, here are the ages of the characters once again:

 

Jou: 16-17 (Year 10-11; First/second year of High School)

Taichi/Sora/Yamato: 15-16 (Year 09-10; Last year of Junior High School/First year of high school)

Koushirou/Mimi: 14-15 (Year 08-09; Second/Last year of Junior High School)

Miyako: 13-14 (Year 07-08; First/second year of Junior High School)

Takeru/Hikari/Daisuke/Ken: 12 (Year 06; Final year of Elementary/First year of Junior High School)

Iori: 10-11 (Year 04-05)

 

Chapter 08: Preparing for Departure!

 

Koushirou slowly made his way home from school, alone, not that he fully minded. He had left school time the clock chimed, and rushed off before Mimi could catch him. He really was a bit down, and hated the fact that he was going to end up dragging Mimi along on this venture, and was tempted to leave her behind, but he knew better than to do that. He would've never heard the end of it if he had.

 

His long walk finally came to an end as he approached the apartment complex that he and his family lived in. After walking up the few flights of stairs, he opened up the door to his home, stepped out of his shoes, and entered the apartment fully to see his mother watching television in the living room, sipping on what looked to be tea. “Tadaima,” he greeted dully.

 

Mrs. Izumi heard the door open and close, and rushed to it. “Koushirou!”

 

She had a big smile on her face, one Koushirou was grateful to see, compared to how she was that morning. “Good afternoon, mother.”

 

“I'm so glad that you're home!” She hugged the boy tightly. “I really wanted to apologize to you.”

 

“Apologize? What for?” he asked after she'd let go.

 

She looked down at the floor, a sad look about her face. “I'm sorry for the way I acted towards you this morning.” She looked back up at him. “It seems that I wasn't myself fully.”

 

“Oh, that?” Koushirou forced on a smile, which his mother obviously didn't notice, as it seemed genuine to her. “That's okay. I just figured that you were tired. Everyone have his or her bad days.”

 

The woman smiled in relief, which was Koushirou's main goal, to get her to smile again. “I'm so glad that you feel that way. How did I end up with such a wise son? Would you like a snack or anything?”

 

“S-sure,” he answered vaguely. For once, a daily after-school snack wasn't on his mind.

 

“Okay, come on now.” He followed his mother. “Right before you came in, I had just sat down to watch television after preparing a nice yummy snack for you. Have a seat.”

 

Koushirou took a seat at the table, and sniffed the air. The aroma had kind of a fried, doughy scent to it. His stomach started growling. Mrs. Izumi returned with a plate of round, dumpling confections about the size of one's hand. She set it down in front of him along with a glass of his favorite, oolong tea. “Ta-da!” she said.

 

“Wow! Manjuu! Thank you, mother! And it's so fresh! I always thought this took a long time to prepare.” At times like this, Koushirou was glad that he lived in an apartment with a decent oven, even though manjuu was a stove-top food. His mother was known for her baking.

 

“Now now, it didn't take that long. I'd planned on making it today anyway, so I started preparing yesterday by making sure I had all of the right ingredients. Enjoy!” She took a seat and grabbed one for herself. Noticing the time, Koushirou started to eat the manjuu faster. “Slow down, Koushirou.”

 

“I'm sorry,” he said after one big swallow. “I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow.”

 

“Your trip? Don't you mean our trip?”

 

“Our trip? What trip?”

 

“We were all going out tomorrow as a family.”

 

“We were?”

 

“Yes. We all decided to go to the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. Your father and I know how much you like going there.”

 

“Yeah, I really like the exhibits involving the robots and the technology. I've always been curious how the scientists manage to get the robots to function properly.”

 

“Don't tell me you forgot.”

 

“Yes, it did slip my mind, and I do apologize for that.”

 

“Couldn't you cancel your trip just this once?” she asked him sweetly.

 

“I'm sorry mother. I really can't join you tomorrow. I have a very important errand to run.” His mother looked a bit forlorn, and went back to her drink. “I'm sorry, I really am, but, um…” he began. `Come on Koushirou, think think think…'

 

“What do you have to do?”

 

“Well, um…like I was saying…I promised Mimi-san that---”

 

The woman lifted her head and gave the boy a proud smile. “Don't say another word. I understand completely.”

 

“You do?”

 

“I was young once too, you know.”

 

“So you don't mind my not joining you and father tomorrow?”

 

“No, I don't mind, and I'm sure your father will understand it too.”

 

After finishing the last of the manjuu, Koushirou stood up and thanked his mother once again. He still couldn't help but scratch his head over his mother's sudden change of heart, but decided to dismiss it and head off to his room to prepare himself for tomorrow.

 

Nearly an hour later, a man with a briefcase in hand entered the Izumi home. “Tadaima,” he called in a tired voice.

 

The woman went to greet him. “Hi there! How as your day?” she asked while hugging him.

 

“It was pretty hectic today,” he told her with a small laugh. “We shall never spend our time staying up that late again.”

 

“Yeah. What made your day so hectic?” the woman asked, heading back to the kitchen.

 

He followed behind her. “Spending the majority of my time worrying about you,” he joked.

 

“Masami-san, I told you not to worry about me.”

 

“I know,” he said while sniffing the air. “Wow, something smells nice. What's for dinner?”

 

“Your favorite, *nikujaga, but I have some bad news and some good news for you.”

 

“Uh-oh, did Koushirou's teacher call again?” She shook her head, smiling slightly, as if she were withholding vital information. “He didn't accidentally crash one of the school's computer lab computers again, did he?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Then what's the problem, and why do you have that smile on your face?”

 

“He won't be coming with us to the museum tomorrow.”

 

“Wow, I was really looking forward to having the day off to spend it with you two.”

 

“Same here, but I guess we can plan a trip for next Sunday, like maybe an onsen trip.”

 

“You've been talking about that for a while, and I'm going to assume you want to go to the Odaiba Onsen Monogatari, right?” She nodded as he leaned up against the counter. “That'd be a nice, relaxing trip. That aside, it's not often we spend time together like we did when Koushirou was younger. Did he mention why he can't spend it with us tomorrow?”

 

“He said something about taking a trip tomorrow, and that's the good news.”

 

“A trip?” She nodded. “And you're okay with this?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

`And yet, she nearly chewed my head off for giving Koushirou lunch money.' He gave his wife a confused look. “I don't find anything `good' about this news yet.”

 

“Our little Koushirou is growing up,” she said in excitement.

 

Mr. Izumi, at this particular point, was trying to sneak a peak at the stew Mrs. Izumi had prepared. “I still don't understand where you're going with this.”

 

“You're going to be out of this kitchen if you keep trying to sneak tastes,” the woman warned playfully.

 

“Okay, okay,” the man said backing off while watching his wife scoop rice from the rice cooker and putting it into bowls.

 

“Anyway, he is taking a trip tomorrow with Mimi-chan!”

 

“Mimi?”

 

“Yes, isn't that great!”

 

“I guess it is,” he muttered, not really getting what the big deal was.

 

“Don't you get it? Our young Koushirou has finally settled on a girlfriend! He is going to be spending the day with a charming girl he's known for a long time. That must mean something, especially since tomorrow is March 14.”

 

“Maybe you're right, but what if it's something else?”

 

“Hello! March 14!”

 

“I know, I know, but I'm still just saying…what if it's something else.”

 

“Well, given the day, I don't know what else it could be.”

 

`Not if Mimi invited Koushirou out someplace and not the other way around.' He cleared his throat. “You really seem sure of yourself. Where exactly is he going?”

 

“Well, um…I…sorta didn't ask.”

 

“Yoshie…”

 

“I was so happy when he mentioned it, I forgot to ask.”

 

“Well, I guess we'll have to get that information out of him for dinner,” he replied sneakily.

 

“Of course, which is why I prepared another treat for him after he went to his room. Usually, after school, once he goes to his room, he doesn't leave it until dinner time. The treat I prepared is an absolute favorite and strange dessert snack for him. That should make it even easier for us to weasel that information from out of him.”

 

After everything was ready, Mrs. Izumi set the table with a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, and the stew while Mr. Izumi went to get Koushirou. The teen walked slowly to the table and took his seat. The boy did his quick, obligatory prayer, and started digging into the meal. He was so busy eating, that he didn't notice his parents inquiringly staring at him. They just couldn't see how a boy his size could eat so fast or so much.

 

“So,” Mr. Izumi started after swallowing down some of his steamed white rice, “your mother told me that you won't be able to join our family outing tomorrow.”

 

“Nope,” he answered plainly as he slurped down the miso soup. He'd already finished off the rice, and he was now starting to devour the stew. “I have something to do tomorrow, and I'm unable to reschedule it.”

 

“I see,” Mrs. Izumi responded simply.

 

“So, where will you be going tomorrow?”

 

“You already mentioned something about spending the day with Mimi-chan.”

 

`I can't tell them that I'm going to Hikarigaoka. They'll probably ask a bunch of questions that I really don't want to have to answer.' Mrs. Izumi smiled knowingly, and headed to the kitchen. Mr. Izumi called to Koushirou. “Oh, I'm sorry, father,” he hastily apologized, “did you say something?”

 

Before Mr. Izumi could respond, Mrs. Izumi walked back to the table, holding a small bowl. She set it down in front of Koushirou. “Here, have some. It's one of your favorites, sweet onigiri with an avocado apple-cinnamon honey paste filling.”

 

Koushirou's eyes lit up and started to eat the marvelous dessert treat. Mr. Izumi wrinkled his nose over the unusual combination. He just couldn't understand the tastes Koushirou had when it came to foods. They were just downright strange. Koushirou thanked his mother as he hurried through his dinner. Once done, he started to stuff his face with the onigri. “Oh, this is so good! Thank you mother!”

 

“Anyway, back to what I was asking earlier. Where were you planning on going tomorrow?”

 

“Well, I…” He took a bite out of another one. His mother had made 10 of them. `What should I tell them?'

 

“Koushirou, don't eat so fast,” warned Mrs. Izumi, “you might give yourself indigestion or either a bad stomachache.”

 

The boy slowed down and nodded, as he was still partially stalling to come up with something plausible. “Well, we're all going to head over to the Yagami home to study for our upcoming tests,” the boy blurted out. After saying that, though, he mentally slapped himself as Sora's party came to mind, and how he could've just gone along with that.

 

“Oh, so it's pretty much a study date?”

 

“Y-yes, even though Taichi-san, Yamato-san, and Sora-san have already taken their entrance exams. Those three are going to help us underclassmen.”

 

Mrs. Izumi looked disappointed. “Well, school is important, and we wouldn't want to get in the way of your lessons.”

 

“What time are you heading out tomorrow?”

 

“First thing. We have quite a bit of material to go over, especially Kanji characters that are usually on the entrance exams. I know we have a whole year, but it's never too soon to start preparing for something as strenuous as that, so Jou-san says.”

 

“School sure seems more difficult compared to when we were young,” Mrs. Izumi pointed out.

 

“Yes, it does, but with each generation, the material becomes more challenging.”

 

Koushirou gulped down another one of the rice balls, and left three in the basket. All of a sudden, he didn't feel hungry anymore. He knew it was rude to leave his meal unfinished, well he always felt that way anyway, but he just couldn't bear it. “May I please be excused?”

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

“No mother, I'm fine. I'm just…full.”

 

“Well, sure, okay. You can go if you'd like.”

 

With that settled, the boy rose up from his seat and headed to his room, holding his now, incredibly nervous stomach. He had lied to his parents. His guilt had ruined his appetite. For the most part, he had never lied to them before…not to this extent, and it really bothered him. He tried his best to shake off the feeling, and hopped onto the computer to send an e-mail to Mimi, letting her know where to meet him in the morning.

 

“I guess you were jumping to conclusions,” Mr. Izumi said after Koushirou had left, while finishing up his meal.

 

“I guess so. I was just so sure that he and Mimi-chan were going to have a romantic day together.”

 

“I guess Koushirou isn't ready for a girlfriend yet due to how serious he is about his school work,” the man plainly stated. He finished his meal. “Yoshie, as usual, this was delicious.”

 

“Thank you.” Mrs. Izumi was almost done with her meal too. When she finished, she cleared the table, putting the remaining onigiri into a container for the next day for Koushirou to eat, and took all the dishes to the sink for washing.

 

Mr. Izumi joined her. “I'll help you.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Mrs. Izumi was grateful for her husband. He wasn't the stereotypical one, and actually helped her on occasion whenever he was home early, but she felt he was really being more helpful because of her pregnancy. While washing the dishes, she looked to be deep in thought. Mr. Izumi waved his hand in front of her face. “Hey, is something wrong?”

 

“I'm sorry, I just don't get it.” She handed the clean dish to her husband to dry. “I just don't get it.”

 

“Don't get what?”

 

“I just can't help but feel that Koushirou is keeping something from us. I'm also not sure if he was telling the truth about spending his time over at the Yagami place tomorrow to study.”

 

“I'm surprised at you! Why would he lie about something like that? Koushirou isn't the type to lie.”

 

“I don't like this feeling, but I can't help it. It's the way he was talking when he first got home. He said something about a promise and it has something to do with Mimi-chan. Why is a promise about a study date important? The way he was talking made it sound as if it was something important, and he also sounded very serious about it.”

 

“Well, I feel you're making a big deal out of nothing.”

 

“Maybe I am,” she sighed. “Maybe I feel as if I'm being shut out of his life more and more everyday and I'm just desperately trying to find my way back in. I know he isn't my little boy anymore, but I sometimes wish that he still was. It's like I want him to grow up to become a respectful, responsible adult, but at the same time, I want him to remain the little boy we grew to know and love, forever…”

 

“I'm sure all parents have those types of moments.”

 

“I guess you're right,” the woman murmured as she scrubbed out the last dish.

 

“Of course I am. It's probably very natural to feel this way. I'm sure at some point in all parents' lives they feel as if they have grown slightly apart from their teenage son or daughter as they have more friends and activities going on in their lives. The only thing that's unfortunate with us is that Koushirou started to grow slightly apart from us at a younger age.” He dried the last dish and put it away. “Now, let's get out of this kitchen and watch some television to get your mind off of everything. I'm sure a nice drama is on that you'd probably enjoy. You could definitely use the rest and relaxation.”

 

“I'm actually growing a bit tired and I am sleepy from the lack of sleep I got last night, as you know,” she said with a knowing smile, “so I'm going to head in, but what really caused it was sorting through all those papers so that I could do the budgeting. Everything was out of place.”

 

“That's odd.”

 

“Yeah, but nothing to worry about. It took most of the morning to straighten all of it out and to reorganize it, but it's fine now.” She yawned.

 

“Alright then.” He gave her a kiss. “Good night, and have a nice rest.”

 

“Good night…”

****

Over at the Nishimura household…

 

“Yes, that's right. There's a chance I might not make it, Chinatsu-chan,” Mimi told her friend over the phone. She was currently sitting on her bed on the cordless. “Miyako-chan told you?” Mimi laughed. “No, I don't plan on missing the entire party….Wait, Miyako-chan told you I might be going out of town tomorrow?....No, my aunt and uncle don't have anything planned, and I'm going to the Nerima ward to visit Hikarigaoka…..I was invited to go along, that's why I have to go….I know you want to know why I'm going, but I really can't tell you since I'm not entirely sure myself.” Mimi laughed again over Chinatsu's dramatic crying. “Chinatsu-chan…that was terrible! Have you been getting lessons from Yuuko-chan?....Well, I could tell because she never sounds convincing when she fake cries either. Anyway, how come neither of you guys brought up the party to me?” Chinatsu went on to explain how she figured Mimi would've heard about it through “Sora-san” or “Taichi-senpai”, and didn't think to bring it up.

 

Chinatsu truly adored Taichi a lot. She looked up to him and had a great respect for him. She pretty much idolized him for his athletic abilities and, at times, he had actually helped her prepare for a couple of her volleyball matches, and volleyball wasn't one of Taichi's areas of expertise.

 

“That's true. I really wish I'd known about the party sooner, though, then I might would have turned down going to Hikarigaoka tomorrow…..I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I might do a little shopping while there….Yes, you are so right! That's our motto! If the trip is going to be a downer, then definitely find a way to make the best of it….Okay, I'll talk to you later….You, Ayame-chan, and Yuuko-chan are going to Venus Fort to look for boys?...Oh, I'm sorry, Ayame-chan and Yuuko-chan are. You're only slightly less boy-crazy than them.” She laughed again. “Have fun. Sorry I can't come with you to help Ayame-chan pick out something new to wear for the party since I am, apparently, your fashion consultant…..I'm babysitting my cousins. My aunt and uncle decided to go out for a while since he was able to get home from work early tonight….Alright, talk to you later. I have to check on Ton since it sounds like he's crying.”

 

Mimi put the phone back on the hook, and went to tend to her younger cousin. It turned out that the boy had wanted something to eat. After she fed and bathed him, she sat him down in the living room to play with his toys while she sat down on the couch to look through a fashion magazine. “Hmm, which should I get next once I have the extra money…oh, that skirt looks kind of nice, and it's the latest fashion!” She circled it with her pen. “I wouldn't mind wearing something like this to the party tomorrow….oh, and that blouse would go perfectly with it!”

 

“Neechan!!!”

 

Mimi looked up from her magazine to see an energetic Isako stop in front of her. “Oh, Isako-chan, I see you're finally finished watching television.”

 

The girl slumped down on the couch beside Mimi and frowned. “What's the matter?”

 

“I'm bored!” she complained with a whine. “Can't your friends come over and play?”

 

“I don't think they'll be able to come over just to play with you on such short notice,” she logically told the girl.

 

“I like your friends. They're fun! I want to be just like you and them when I grow up!”

 

“They're probably all hanging out just like most everyone else since we're going on our last week of school. Why don't you play with your brother?”

 

“Ton is boring! He's just a baby!”

 

“You have to show him how to have fun,” Mimi said while trying her best to humor the girl.

 

“But babies can't learn how to have fun.”

 

“Why do you say that? Of course they can learn how to have fun.”

 

“No they can't!” the girl insisted. “Babies aren't as smart as us big kids.” Mimi could only sigh, and give up. “Neechan, what are you doing?”

 

“I'm looking through a fashion magazine.”

 

“Ooh! I always like your clothes, neechan! They're always really pretty!”

 

“Thank you. I'm trying to get some ideas on an outfit for the dance our school has just started sponsoring for the third year students, and since I'm going to be a third year student soon, I need to plan ahead for mine. I just hope the upcoming one goes over well so that there will be one for next year since dances aren't common here for public schools, then again…Odaiba Junior High runs like a private school. Back in America, we had them all the time and I really enjoyed them, which is why I suggested it to the student council.”

 

The dance idea was Mimi's. Not only was the girl popular amongst her peers, but she seemed to have a bit of an influence. As mentioned, dances in Japanese schools was out of the ordinary, then again, OJH was no ordinary school in general. It seemed to be very student focused, as the faculty was always open to suggestions to make the school run more smoothly or ways to keep the students focused and happy. They took the harmonious thing to the extreme, but wasn't too against handing out punishments when it was called for.

 

Back in October, Mimi had been talking to her friends about the school dances she'd been to in America, and how much fun they were. She really wanted to share that with everyone at OJH and actually brought up the idea of having a school dance to the student council. After considering it, and not fully minding the idea, the student council went to the faculty to argue Mimi's case. Her argument was that students will work even harder on their tests and exams if they knew they were going to be rewarded in the end with a big celebration. After it was approved by both the faculty and the PTA, the planning for it went underway.

 

The third years were very appreciative of Mimi's suggestion, and during student council meetings, the third years recruited students to form a Dance Committee Club, which Miyako's older sister, Chizuru, was apart of, and the teacher head of it was Mr. Ishidzuka. Many gave many suggestions of how the dance should be. They even asked for input from Mimi, the unofficial member, who had suggested a formal, westernized dance, where the girls dressed luxuriously and the boys handsomely. The idea was voted upon and everyone agreed that it might be interesting to do and would constantly seek out the girl for ideas or suggestions, due to her experience with formal dances.

 

“Is Kou-niichan going to get new clothes too?”

 

“I don't know what he's going to do.”

 

“Is Kou-niichan still having trouble doing big kid's work?

 

“A little bit. He seems a bit sad.”

 

“He's sad?”

 

Mimi nodded. The girl thought for a moment. “I know!” she clapped. “Let's go out for some soft-cream to make Kou-niichan happy!”

 

Mimi couldn't help but playfully laugh at the smiling girl. “How is that going to make him happy?”

 

“I don't know, but I love soft-cream.”

 

“Maybe another time, it's time for bed.”

 

“Aww, do I have to go to bed?”

 

“Yes. When you become big like me, you can stay up later.”

 

“But what about Ton? He's just a baby, and he gets to stay up!”

 

“No he doesn't. He's going to bed too. While you're taking your bath, he's going to be in his crib sound asleep.”

 

“Okay, I like that idea!”

 

“Okay, now go get your pajamas and head to the washroom, while I put your brother down for the night. I'll draw your bath after I put him in his crib, but you can rinse off already.”

 

Isako rushed off to get her bed clothes while Mimi picked up Ton, who was laying his head on her chest, falling asleep in her arms. “Looks like you're already getting sleepy,” she whispered as she gingerly walked up the stairs to the boy's room.

 

She put the boy down into his crib, who was fidgety at first, but he finally stopped fighting the sleep, and nodded off. Once done with that, Mimi went to the washroom, where Isako had just finished rinsing herself off thoroughly. Mimi drew up the bath, and sat her in to soak for a while. When done with that, she helped the girl out of the deep, Japanese-style tub, which her aunt seemed to love, despite the western style house, and Isako then washed herself and her hair. After thoroughly rinsing all of the soap off, and tying up Isako's hair, Mimi helped her back into the tub to soak one last time. Mimi's plan was to take a bath too and just relax after Isako was done.

 

The final soaking was done, so she helped the girl out of the tub, dried her off, and helped her into her bed clothes. After tucking Isako in, the girl insisted on “Mimi-oneechan” reading her a story to help her sleep. Mimi picked up Isako's book of fairytales and read a few of them off to her. It took a while, but Isako finally fell asleep.

 

“Great, now I can go take a nice, hot, relaxing bath…” Mimi did pretty much the same, and soaked in the tub. “This is so therapeutic…”

 

Once done, her hair wrapped in a towel, and while wearing a robe, she decided to head to her room to check her e-mail, but was distracted when she heard the doorbell ring. She ran down the steps and answered. “Hikari-chan, Miyako-chan, Chinatsu-chan, Yuuko-chan, Ayame-chan! Everyone! What are you doing here?!”

 

“Surprise!” cheered Chinatsu.

 

“I was starting to grow a bit bored over how quiet it was around here. Come on in!” Mimi moved aside to let the five girls in. They all headed to the living room to sit down in the comfortable chairs and on the couch. “Hold on for a moment, I'll be right back.” Mimi rushed to her room, and changed into something more appropriate than a bathrobe and a towel. She returned in her pajamas, as she didn't mind being casual around them, while brushing her long locks.

 

“What brings you all by?”

 

“We heard you were babysitting, so we decided to come over and keep you company,” Miyako told her.

 

“We also decided to visit you since there is a chance that you won't be able to attend the party that Sora-san is throwing,” Hikari added.

 

“Yeah, because you're going to Hikarigaoka tomorrow,” Ayame continued.

 

“Good thing this trip wasn't a secret!” Mimi laughed while giving Miyako a look. The glasses-wearing computer whiz couldn't help but laugh at herself. She was terrible at keeping secrets.

 

“Miyako-san and I were at the station. We were going out to Venus Fort too, and then we ran into Ayame-san, Chinatsu-san, and Yuuko-san. They started talking about you and how you weren't able to go to Venus Fort with them, so we all decided that we'd come over here.”

 

“Yes, we decided to leave all those hot, good-looking guys for your sake.”

 

Mimi laughed at Yuuko. “I'm really glad you guys came over. Thanks once again.”

 

The group just sat there, pretty much chatting and gossiping way, like really good friends. Miyako then suggested that they all play card games, as Mimi's uncle had a deck of playing cards. The girls played until the Nishimuras returned home. After they came home, Mimi's guests left. The girl explained to her aunt and uncle how she was going to be spending the day with Koushirou in Hikarigaoka Sunday and to go on with whatever plans they had.

 

Once done, she headed to her room, and sat at the desktop computer to check on her many e-mails from her many admirers, but her friends' messages were always checked first.

 

Author's Notes

 

Note 1: Manjuu is similar to the treat, mocchi (which is a pounded rice cake type treat). The outside part of manjuu is made with rice powder, buckwheat, and flour, while the inside can vary, but seems the most used is an azuki-bean and sugar mixture or some other red-bean paste. I've had azuki-bean ice cream before, and that's pretty sweet. Tasted okay to me. Anyway, you put in the filling, kneed the dough, fry it up.

***

Note 2: I made the comment about the oven because in Japan, most Japanese apartments lack an oven big enough for baking or roasting. I don't know where I heard or read it, but it was said that, “The Japanese don't bake!”

***

Note 3: Nikujaga is a Japanese beef-stew made with beef, onions, potatoes (sometimes people use pumpkin, to my knowledge), peppers, a sweetened soy sauce, and vegetables.

***

Note 4: In Japan, families, for the most part, share the bath water, which is why Isako had to rinse, soak, soap up, rinse, and then soak again (even though, I'm not sure if it's that extensive). It's a method used to keep the water clean for the next person who gets in. Also, the tubs/showers are separate from the toilets. In other words, they have washrooms and a toilet room (so to speak). That actually makes a heck of a lot more sense than to have the toilet and the tub/shower in the same room. At least it's not an inconvenience if someone has to use the bathroom, but can't because someone might already be in there taking a bath or a shower.

 

Fic Chapter Changes

 

The first change is the snack thing. Originally, I didn't have Koushirou eat a snack and just go straight to his room, but I decided to change that. Like I mentioned before, in the original version of this story, Koushirou, in a way, came across as kind of “emo” and “reclusive”. I wanted to do away with that as that was never my original intent.

 

The next change here is the family outing. Originally it was a picnic in the park, but I changed it to a Science Museum visit instead. That seems to suit Koushirou's character more. Also, the conversation about planning an outing that next Sunday was added in as well as Mrs. Izumi's idea of making it a family onsen trip.

 

The Izumi dinner was changed a bit. The stew thing is the same, but the side dishes were changed to rice and miso soup, which is something traditionally served with nikujaga. I originally had bread (rolls) and salad. Koushirou's strange dessert was changed as well. I changed “chocolate fudge carrot cake brownies with purple jellybeans and chocolaty fudge sprinkles” to the onigiri with the avocado apple-cinnamon honey paste filling. Either way, the combination remained a strange one. lol

 

I added in brief dialogue to explain Mrs. Izumi's having to reorganize the contents of the box of documents that Koushirou disorganized. It didn't hit me when originally writing this how having not one person reference this would seem odd.

 

Mimi's phone conversation with Chinatsu was changed. I only showed Mimi's side of it, where as originally, I showed both sides of the conversation. I'm sure everyone can get the gist of it, though, so I felt that it wasn't necessary to include and just dropped it.

 

I added more information about the dance thing. In Japan, they don't have dances or social events like that in school. At the time I'd originally written this, I had no idea that they didn't.

 

I changed the order a bit of when Mimi's friends came over. Originally, I had them show up right after Mimi had put Ton down for bed. She was surprised by her friends, told them to come in and make themselves comfortable while she helped Isako in the bath and then read to her. I then had Mimi take a bath herself, but originally, she never did. Either way, I felt it would be better to have her do all that stuff before being surprised by her friends.