Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Koushirou's Search! ❯ Mimi’s Secret is Out! ( Chapter 14 )

Hi again everyone. I hope the last chapter was okay. It could definitely have been better, but I wanted to stay in the PG-13 realm, which is why I wasn't very descriptive. Anyway, now you all know why Mimi was depressed when visited by Sora and Miyako and why Koushirou was snappy with them and also why he was blaming himself for Mimi's bad mood.

 

Now, Taichi, Sora, Miyako, and Yamato show up for this chapter along with Mimi's friends and her four main admirers.

 

Anyway, for this chapter, I must apologize for it. This is definitely a lengthy one since it involves so many of the characters. I noticed that for chapters involving the other classmates or either school related parts, the chapter ends up a little bit longer than expected. Hm, as for author's notes, I don't think there'll be any, but we'll see. There may be some chapter changes, though.

 

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 14: Mimi's Secret is Out!

 

It was the next day and everyone was in their respective classes in school. Sora had called Taichi the previous night and let him know that all plans to hang out were out and how neither Koushirou nor Mimi was up to doing anything. Sora had tried to get in touch with Mimi earlier that morning, but she never crossed paths with her. The same happened with Miyako.

 

Mimi's aunt did get in touch with her sister-in-law and talked to her about Mimi, and Mrs. Tachikawa found it very strange that Mimi of all people was coming across as depressed. She asked to speak with Mimi. Even though she wasn't in the mood to talk with her mother at that particular moment, she took the call. Her mother acted frantic over the phone, wondering if she wanted to return to New York, but Mimi insisted that she was okay, and gave her the excuse that she was upset because she didn't get to do any shopping. Satoe wasn't all that convinced, but also believed that whenever Mimi was ready to talk, that she would do so in her own time, but that didn't stop the middle-aged woman from trying to get some information out of her.

 

Right now, it was almost time for Koushirou's lunch break, and he was also glad that he wouldn't have to worry about cleaning time after lunch, as they cleaned up the school earlier because of visitors, but even during that, Mimi just didn't seem to be herself. Koushirou was surprised that Mimi had mustered up the courage to come to school at all. She'd come into homeroom right at the tardy charm and just took her seat without saying hi to anyone. He closely observed her all throughout their classes, and noticed how she seemed lackluster as opposed to outgoing and cheery. She was also fairly quiet and noticed how she wasn't whispering to Ayame or Yuuko or taking advantage of the breaks in between their classes. He knew right there something was wrong and that she was still upset, and wondering how she was going to cope with lunch coming up soon where she would have to be the most social. Even during their cleaning time, she was quiet and didn't say a word to him and came across as incredibly distracted.

 

After a while, their teacher dismissed them, and everyone went off to their respective areas. Koushirou wasn't in the mood for lunch, and had left his bento in his book bag. He headed straight to the computer lab. He was too depressed to eat. He was still upset over the events that occurred the previous day, and still felt that he was at fault for what happened to Mimi. He was so concerned about himself and a “stupid school building” to notice fully what was going on. `How could I have missed all the signs? That man was hitting on her the entire time…but…I never would've imagined him doing what he did…'

 

Meanwhile, over in the lunch room…

 

“Oh, and this one is the funniest!” Yuuko said while pointing to one of the pictures on Ayame's digital camera. “Look at his hair! Yuuji-kun looked hilarious and he was literally going to try and stand on his head while playing the autoharp for you!”

 

“How, we don't know, but thanks to Chinatsu-chan, he didn't try it.”

 

All three girls laughed, expecting Mimi to laugh along with them, but she didn't even crack a smile.

 

“Mimi-chan?” called Ayame, who was seated across from her and beside Chinatsu.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry,” she apologized. She forced on a smile and looked at the camera's photo. “My, Yuuji-kun looks funny.”

 

The three girls gave one another a look, and realized something was definitely wrong with Mimi. She'd forgotten her lunch and claimed that she wasn't hungry, and all three had tried calling her the previous night but she refused to speak with either of them.

 

“Mimi-chan, what's wrong? You still haven't told us about your trip to Hikarigaoka yesterday with Izumi-kun.”

 

“It was fine,” she responded somberly. “It's beautiful place, especially Hikarigaoka Park.”

 

The three girls joined together and huddled to discuss Mimi's current state. Mimi was in such a daze, she didn't notice that Yuuko had risen from her seat beside her to join the other two.

 

“So, what do you think?” asked Chinatsu.

 

“I don't know, but it's not like her to act like this.”

 

“I know, I know!” Yuuko started excitedly. “She told Koushirou-kun that she was madly in love with him, expecting a White Day gift from him, but he didn't return her feelings and didn't give her a gift because he sees her as only a friend, and whenever she goes to Nerima, she will always avoid going to Hikarigaoka because she will only feel heartache and pain.”

 

The other two girls gave Yuuko a look meaning, “Are you serious?”

 

“Didn't she give him giri-choco like she did with pretty much everyone?” Ayame asked, her eyes slits.

 

“Oh…yeah, I think she did…”

 

“You've been reading too many romance novels and romance manga,” muttered Chinatsu.

 

“Well, sorry for being a hopeless romantic.”

 

“Hopeless is right,” murmured Ayame.

 

Finally realizing that Yuuko and the others were discussing amongst themselves, Mimi asked, “What are you guys doing?”

 

“Um, nothing,” Yuuko insisted, retaking her seat beside Mimi.

 

“We were just planning on what we should do since our spring vacation is coming up,” Ayame said.

 

“Yeah, aside from our having to go to the senior graduation ceremony at the end of the week,” Chinatsu added.

 

“Well, this is our last week as second-year junior-high students,” Yuuko cheered. “Aren't you a little excited?”

 

“Sure, why wouldn't I be?” she asked bluntly.

 

“I don't know; maybe it's because you haven't cracked a decent smile all day,” Yuuko pointed out. “What did Koushirou-kun do to you to cause your mood to be so off today and for you to miss the party yesterday?”

 

Hearing that, Mimi grew defensive. “He didn't do anything!” She stood up. She felt like crying. “Koushirou is a great friend! I would give my life for him!” She rushed off to the restroom to calm herself down, leaving her friends with looks of bewilderment upon their faces.

 

“She would give her life for him?” Chinatsu blinked. “I wonder what's going on.”

 

“He must have done something to Mi-chan and she's just covering for him.”

 

“Come on, Mimi-chan is a good judge of character,” Ayame reminded them. “Koushirou-kun is a decent person and I doubt she would've said something as serious as that if he wasn't.”

 

“Who knows how he is behind closed doors when one is alone with him! He may have lots of faults that no one else knows of or he may actually be some kind of an animal! Rawr!” Chinatsu and Ayame shook their heads at Yuuko in disbelief. “S-sorry…I just like a good scandal every once in a while. Hehe.”

 

The three continued their conversation about Koushirou and Mimi's trip, not realizing that their conversation was being listened to…

****

In the computer lab, Koushirou was surfing the net for some information…

 

`Since going back to Odaiba University is out, unless I go by myself, I'll just stick to checking out the school's webpage. I wouldn't want to put her through the trauma of actually going back there.' He typed in the webpage's address, and after the page loaded, he shouted out, “Prodigious! That didn't take me long at all.”

 

Before he was able to do remotely anything, he heard some disgruntled voices come from behind him.

 

“Hold it there, Izumi!”

 

“I knew we would find him here since he's head of the Computer Club,” the second responded.

 

“We want some answers!” demanded the third.

 

“And we want them now!”

 

Startled, as he didn't even hear the door to the room open, he got up and turned to face four of his fellow classmates.

 

“Takamatsu-san, Hashimoto-san, Ueda-san, Tomokazu-san…”

 

“What did you do to upset Mimi-san?!” Ukyo asked the boy.

 

“We know that you're the reason she missed the party yesterday and how she was all happy Saturday before the party according to…um, our three sources we happened to overhear at lunch!”

 

Seki rolled his eyes at his cousin. “Way to go Einstein for giving out too much information!” he told him. “Those three would kill us if they knew we were eavesdropping.”

 

“If you don't tell us what you did to our poor Mimi-chan, who hasn't graced us with her beautiful smile all day, then we will find a way to get it out of you!” Misao threatened.

 

The other three boys nodded in agreement, Ukyo only partially. The four, like many others, really hated seeing Mimi upset or distressed and would always try to find the source to fix it, but it had never really come up before since it was rare for Mimi to be upset over pretty much anything. She was usually happy and outgoing whenever in school and around her friends.

 

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

 

“Stop lying!” Yuuji told him. “We know you did something to upset Mimi-chan yesterday! She even forgot her lunch today because of you!”

 

`She forgot her lunch?'

 

“She's been down all day,” Ukyo pointed out.

 

Just referencing yesterday was enough to annoy Koushirou, and these four weren't helping his mood any at all. He stood his ground. “I'm not going to tell you anything. I'm not obligated to.”

 

“Don't make us beat a confession out of you!”

 

Koushirou was surprised at the threat Misao had just issued to him. He knew of the boy, and yeah, he was pretty big and did look like the type one wouldn't mess with, but he didn't seem like the violent type or the type to resort to violence, and neither did the other three, although Yuuji was questionable. Yuuji was usually quick to lose this cool.

 

Koushirou kept his resolute composure, despite the threat. “I told you that I didn't do anything to her! We were working on our history project yesterday, now if you guys will excuse me, I have some work to do if I want to get a decent mark on it!” he snapped at them.

 

Koushirou retook his seat in front of the computer he had been working on, until he felt his collar being pulled, forcing him to stand back up. The one to pull him up, and then turn him around, was the giant Misao. He was holding his collar with both hands and was in Koushirou's face.

 

“You don't work until you tell us what you did to Mimi-chan!” He shook him slightly.

 

“No!” Koushirou shouted back defiantly to the bigger boy. “I said I didn't do anything to her for the millionth time!” He then murmured under his breath, “not on purpose…”

 

Misao kept hold of Koushirou with one hand, while bawling up his other into a fist. “I'm sorry to have to do this to you, Izumi, but we gave you a lot of chances to cooperate and come clean with us and you just ran out of them.”

 

Yuuji, Seki, and Ukyo were surprised at the serious threat. Neither expected Misao to go that far. They figured that his threats were as empty as all of theirs were.

 

“Misao-san, I don't think you should---”

 

“Quiet, Ukyo!”

 

“Seriously, stop! This isn't going to solve anything! Don't make me hurt you!” Ukyo told him.

 

“Shut up! I'd like to see you try it!” Ukyo could definitely immobilize Misao, but was very hesitant on showing off his skills in general, especially since they were in school. Misao put his full attention back on Koushirou. “I'm going to get a confession out of you whether you want to give us one or not since you didn't cooperate earlier, like I said! You'll regret causing Mimi-chan all of her pain!”

 

Koushirou closed his eyes, awaiting the punch. In some ways, he felt he deserved it. He couldn't feel the pain Mimi was in, so he figured that maybe a punch to the face would make things even. The punch started to come, but he never felt anything, as all five of them heard a light voice shout out, “Stop!” Misao stopped his punch midway to see who it was that had just ordered him to stop, and hoping that it wasn't a teacher, or even worse, their vice principal or head teacher. The other three boys looked back, and Koushirou opened his eyes to see a very angered looking Mimi tapping her foot with her hands on her hips.

 

“How dare you! What are you four doing to him!? Let Koushirou go!”

 

Misao quickly released Koushirou's collar and gave off a nervous laugh. By releasing the redhead, it caused him to fall roughly to the floor, but he recovered quickly and stood.

 

“Well, I'm waiting!”

 

“We-we were just having ourselves a little fun,” Misao insisted, his face growing hot.

 

“It didn't look that way to me! I heard you threaten him before I walked in here, Misao-kun! How dare you four try to invade my personal life and then act like this to get information about it!”

 

“Mimi-chan,” Seki begged, “don't be mad at us!” He pointed to Misao. “This was all his idea!”

 

“Yes, we're not proud of it, but we just went along with him,” Ukyo added.

 

“We didn't even know he was really going to hit him! We just thought he was making empty threats, like the rest of us were! We just wanted to scare the information out of him!”

 

“You idiot, when are you going to learn how to shut up!” Seki told his cousin in annoyance.

 

“I wasn't going to really hit him! I was just trying to scare him!”

 

“You four…just go…will you? Please?”

 

“B-but Mimi-chan,” Yuuji cried.

 

“Please…leave!”

 

The four boys frowned, realizing that they'd definitely made a mistake by threatening the computer whiz. They, reluctantly, left, so Mimi and Koushirou thought. They decided to listen through the door.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Koushirou brushed himself off and gave Mimi a questioning look. “What are you doing here anyway?”

 

“I was looking around for you and figured you would be in here since I didn't see you at lunch.”

 

“Oh, lunch! Ueda-san said that you'd forgotten your lunch!” Koushirou went to his book bag and pulled out his bento. “Would you like mine? I didn't make it, you know, like the ohagi you made for me, but I hope you like it.”

****

Outside of the door...

 

“So Mimi-chan did make him a snack,” Yuuji grumbled jealously underneath his breath.

****

“No, that's okay. I'm fine.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah, it's okay.”

 

Koushirou put the bento back into his bag. He was feeling a bit discomfited with the girl. “So, what did you want t-to talk to me about?”

 

“Well…I was wondering when…we could go back to Odaiba University and when we'll be able to go to Toudai. We're running out of time.”

 

“Wh-what? You actually want to go after…after what happened yesterday?”

 

She nodded. “Nothing happened.”

 

Koushirou noticed that the girl's voice was completely void of emotion what-so-ever. “Are you feeling okay?”

 

“I'm fine,” she told him as confidently as she possibly could. `I have to be strong for Koushirou and I have to get over this. Nothing happened! That's all that matters. I can't walk around sulking all day long. That man is behind bars and he will not be attacking or killing any other girls!'

 

Even though she was insistent on being okay, Koushirou wasn't convinced in the least. “Mimi-san, you really don't have to go if you don't want to, and given the circumstances surrounding what happened, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't.”

 

“I'm going whether you want me to or not, and that's final!” Mimi retorted stubbornly. “I do not have to worry and I want to go…”

 

“But, Mimi-san,” the boy began sensibly, “the quickest way there if leaving from our school would be by taxi.”

 

“So what? There's nothing wrong with riding in a taxi.” Mimi continued on with her farce, as if nothing were bothering her. “No sir,” her voice started to quiver, “there's nothing wr-wr-wrong with riding in a taxi.”

 

“Mimi-san?”

 

At this point, Mimi's eyes were starting to water and sting. “It's nice and quick and can sometimes cost less than the train and the bus depending on where you want to go, but you do get to where you have to go and you can always trust the driver!”

 

After she said, “you can always trust the driver”, Mimi burst into tears, and sat down in one of the computer lab chairs. The four boys on the other side of the door didn't know what to think. It was now obvious that Koushirou really didn't have anything to do with her mood and felt a bit bad for accusing him in the first place. Meanwhile, back in the computer lab, Koushirou was trying to calm Mimi down as best as he could.

 

“It could happen to anyone,” she wailed. “Why?!”

 

“I don't know, but thankfully we don't have to worry about that anymore.”

****

“Worry about what?” Seki wondered.

 

“Mimi-chan is crying!” Misao said in alarm.

 

“But Izumi-san isn't the one at fault,” Ukyo muttered.

****

“I am not strong,” she continued to cry. “I'm trying my best to be strong for you and go back, but I still can't! I had nightmares all last night about what could have happened to me and what would have if you hadn't have shown up when you did! I just couldn't sleep at all last night because of it. I felt dirty after I got home yesterday. I still do in fact! I bathed and I bathed and I scrubbed, but I still can't get that disgusting feeling to go away!

 

“I want to go with you, but I still feel bad because of what happened!”

 

“Mimi-san, you're one of the strongest people I know.”

 

She looked up at him. “Wh-what do you mean?” she hiccuped between sobs.

 

“You're still willing to go after all that happened. I'm sorry that I can't understand how you are feeling completely, and you know that I can't because it didn't happen to me, but…I've been feeling really bad over it too…”

 

“Wh-why?”

 

“Because it was my fault.” He turned his head and looked down at the shiny floor. “If I hadn't been so wrapped up in myself over this project and my selfishness involving my parents, it would have never happened!”

****

“What would have never happened?” wondered Ukyo.

 

“I wish they would be more specific,” complained Seki.

 

Misao grew tired of listening, and decided to peak in the room through the crack of the sliding door. When they left earlier, the door hadn't been shut all the way. The other three decided to do the same, but definitely remained quiet. They didn't want Mimi even more cross with them.

****

“It wasn't your fault.” Mimi wiped away some of her tears. “It was mine!”

 

Hearing that ludicrous statement, Koushirou sat down in the other chair, grabbed her by the shoulders gently, and looked the girl dead in her eyes. “No! This is nowhere near your fault! You shouldn't blame yourself in any way or form for what happened! You're the last person who is at fault! I can't believe you would actually say something like that!” Realizing what he was doing, he awkwardly let go abruptly and stood.

 

“But you kept trying to persuade me to go to the party and to not go along with you after we got back to Odaiba, but I went along anyway because of my stubbornness!”

 

“Mimi-san…don't. Please don't. It wasn't your fault and I refuse to let you believe that it was!”

 

“B-but you said it was your fault for not paying attention…”

 

“I should have been more observant and protective,” he told her in a soft voice, “but, it definitely wasn't your fault!” he finished up firmly.

 

Mimi slightly frowned. “Maybe we should agree that it was neither our faults.”

 

“I guess I could accept that. I-I guess it really wasn't when thinking about it. Just…bad timing I guess. Neither one of us needs to be beating ourselves up over this.”

 

“But you had good timing.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Koushirou, you know what I mean.”

 

“Y-yeah…”

 

“I guess it was fated to happen, but…it just bothers me that stuff like that happens, not just here, but all over the world.”

 

“It bothers me too. It shouldn't be allowed and I couldn't help but wonder what makes people like that.” Koushirou understood that it had to have been very difficult for Mimi to accept that not everyone could be kind. It was in her nature to try to find the good in everyone. She was also still somewhat trusting like in the past during their Digital World adventures. Aside from Daisuke, Mimi was pretty much the second one to fully trust Ken after his stint as the Digimon Kaiser, despite the fact that he'd killed and abused helpless Digimon. It was just in her nature. `Mimi-san…you really were best suited for the Crest of Purity…' he silently noted.

 

Mimi started to cry again, but wasn't wailing like she had earlier. She just continued shedding tears, sniffling every once in a while.

 

“Mimi-san, what's wrong?”

 

“I don't know. I just feel better talking to you about this now, and I guess crying is my way of letting it out. I wasn't even planning on coming to school today since I was so depressed, but realized that I couldn't stay home and have to be brave!”

 

She stood up and walked over to Koushirou and gave him a big hug. Koushirou nervously, and awkwardly, returned it, his heartbeat starting to quicken some, and his stomach getting that same strange feeling he always got whenever the girl was much too close to him for comfort. The hug was warm to Mimi, which she enjoyed. As odd as it came across, she felt safe being embraced with him in this way, and he had a pleasant scent that she just couldn't place, but it was still nice. She almost didn't want to let go.

****

`Eh!?!' all four boys gaped.

****

Without warning, Mimi leaned up and kissed Koushirou on his right cheek. The boy felt his face go incredibly red, and his heart started to beat so erratically, that it felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. He had never received a kiss from a girl before, his mother being the exception, as it didn't count, but never would've fathomed in a thousand years that someone like her would give him one.

 

The four boys stared at the display, completely mortified at the sight and didn't know what to do or what to say. They just stood there…staring…their eyes bugged out...

 

“Um…wh-what was that for?” he asked, still obliviously hugging on the girl.

 

“For being a great friend and for all you did to help me yesterday,” she told him gently.

 

The two remained embraced like that, Mimi hugging onto the boy tighter, burying her head into his chest...

****

The four boys walked off, finally, still in a bit of a stupor over Mimi's actions.

 

“She…she...”

 

“Misao, don't say it!” Yuuji shuddered.

 

“I've lost her,” Seki frowned.

 

“But technically, you never had her.”

 

“Well, you didn't either!” the boy shot back at Ukyo.

 

“Wait guys! Maybe there's still hope!”

 

“Misao's right,” Seki agreed. “It was a friendship kiss and a hug, not a romantic one!”

 

Yuuji wiped his brow. “That's a relief.”

 

The four continued on, until they were stopped by a certain history teacher.

 

“Hi there, Ishidzuka-sensei,” the boys all greeted.

 

“Hey there boys.” He put his attention on Yuuji and Seki. “Trying to get back to class early I see,” he said while staring down at his watch. “You still have a couple of minutes left until the lunch hour is over and until my history class starts.”

 

“Yeah, we were on our way there,” Yuuji told him.

 

“Yes, it's very intriguing, your history lessons,” Seki added on.

 

“Yeah, very interesting, the material.”

 

Ukyo was the only one who didn't have Ishidzuka for any of his courses, so he didn't have to worry about him, and let Yuuji, Seki, and Misao handle all of the discussion.

 

“I'm glad to hear that. I'll be right back. I have to get these papers copied off for class. It's the first part of your four-part exam. I really shouldn't be such a procrastinator,” he laughed. “I waited until the last minute to copy these. I should have known that I wouldn't have enough for your class. Heh, it's too bad that the copier in the teacher's room is down, so I have to use the student one.”

 

With that, the man strolled away.

 

“I'm glad he didn't ask too many questions,” Yuuji breathed out in relief.

 

“Yeah, same here.”

 

“Too bad we actually have a working copier,” grumbled Yuuji.

 

“I know what you mean, cuz. I wouldn't mind getting out of that exam!”

 

“I really dislike this new experimental curriculum,” Ukyo complained. “What person decided to make us take exams during this time of the year? We usually take exams like this in May and then finals in July.”

 

The other three could only shrug.

 

“It's almost time to get back to class,” Misao told the others. “We better go..:”

 

“Yeah, he's right.” The group started to walk off, when something came to Seki's mind.

 

“What's wrong,” Yuuji asked.

 

“Mimi-chan!”

 

“What about her?” Tears started to stream down his face. “She's with Izumi!”

 

“Ishidzuka-sensei said that the copier in the teacher's room was broken. The student copier is in the student computer lab that the Computer Club uses. Mimi-chan is going to get into trouble if Ishidzuka-sensei walks in there to find her and Izumi hugging and stuff. They could get into trouble or something. I know that's not allowed in school!”

 

“What can we do?” asked Misao. “We can't let the perfect record of Mimi-chan be tainted!”

 

“Nothing,” Ukyo said while pointing down the hall. “He's already there.”

 

“Uh-oh,” both cousins said in unison.

 

Mr. Ishidzuka opened the door of the computer lab to find both Koushirou and Mimi sitting at one of the computers. The boys had snuck behind Mr. Ishidzuka, curious as to what was going to happen, but to their surprise, the two weren't embraced.

 

“Ah, Tachikawa-san, Izumi-kun! It's nice to see that you're looking into universities. It's never too early I always say.”

 

He saw that Koushirou had Odaiba University's webpage up. Both had broken their embrace a short time after the fearsome foursome left, but kind of stood there in silence for a short while, many thoughts running throughout their heads. When they heard footsteps growing closer, they acted as if they'd been working the entire time.

 

“Hello, sensei,” the two greeted nervously.

 

He walked over to the copier and started to make copies of his test. The clock then chimed. “You two better hurry back to class, and don't worry; you won't be marked late if you don't make it back in time.”

 

“Yes, sir,” the two obeyed, Koushirou closing out the browser window. They then started out of the computer lab.

 

“Izumi-kun,” Mr. Ishidzuka said, while staring at the boy, “is something wrong?”

 

“Wrong, sir?”

 

“Your face is red.” He laughed. “I hope you're not getting a fever before my exam.”

 

“I'm fine, sir,” he answered quickly. “I can't wait to take your exam!”

 

“Well, if you insist you're well, I guess there isn't much I can do about it. Anyway, you two better hurry along. I hope I'm not late myself.”

 

The two didn't question him and hurried themselves along. Since their talk, Mimi was a bit more calm and collected. Crying really did help her release some of the pent up stress she was holding in, and she was also glad that she had talked with Koushirou. She could tell from the previous day that he really wanted to try and help her in some way and he had just by talking things out and putting up with her crying.

 

While walking down the emptying hall, Mimi was surprised at herself. She had hugged and kissed Koushirou. The hug was so gratifying to her that she would've remained that way with him if realization hadn't set in for the two. She was still trying to figure why she had, though. She'd never given any boy a kiss before, surprisingly, and that included her friend Michael, and she considered him a very close friend, and a romantic interest at one point before moving back to Odaiba.

 

Koushirou was just as surprised at Mimi's actions as she was. He was wondering why Mimi had kissed him and why they hugged for so long. He didn't want to let go, and that's what bothered him most, and due to these feelings being so unfamiliar and intensified, it also scared him. Thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to figure out what had just happened. It just didn't “compute” to him as they continued their walk, Koushirou trying to rid himself of his obvious, deep blush as well as those, what he considered to be, unnatural thoughts.

 

When the two finally reached the classroom, both took their seats. Yuuji glared jealously at a still slightly red Koushirou as he sat, while Seki was in deep thought over all that had occurred earlier between the two.

 

When Mimi sat down in her usual spot in between Ayame and Yuuko, they noticed how she looked a bit more content, even though, in reality, she was still bothered by the past events, but was doing a better job of hiding that so far. Both girls were relieved, though. Since their teacher was, indeed, running late, Ayame pulled out her small, digital camera, and started to show photos of the four boys from the party. Mimi laughed more like her usual self, and called all of them, “cute”.

 

After school was over, Mimi asked Koushirou to wait for her while she got herself situated to go, such as stopping off by the restroom and then changing out of her school shoes. While preparing to leave, she ended up running into the sleuthing duo, Miyako and Sora.

 

“Okay, talk to us,” Miyako begged. “What was wrong with you yesterday?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You were very depressed yesterday, Mimi-chan. How come?” asked Sora, only a little less hysterically than Miyako.

 

“Oh, yeah…that…” She lowered her head. She didn't want to get back into it. She'd finally gotten out of her slight funk, partially, and definitely didn't want to have to go back to it, especially with where she was headed.

 

“Mimi-chan, we're your friends. We care about you and worry about you. When you're not acting like yourself, we can't help but wonder what's wrong and if we can help fix it.”

 

“Sora-san…” Mimi uttered.

 

“Like she said, we're worried about you. You were nice and cheerful before you went on that trip, and then you returned all down and depressed!”

 

“I really don't want to get into that right now. It would make me sad again.”

 

Miyako threw her hands into the air and whined. “Come on, you didn't even tell us what was bothering Izumi-senpai or why he had to go to Hikarigaoka in the first place! I'm growing very concerned! I'm starting to get grey hairs here from all the worry!” Mimi and Sora couldn't help themselves, and just laughed. “Okay, maybe I'm not getting any grey hairs, but I am worried about the both of you, but you more so than him right now.”

 

“I'll tell you about Koushirou later, I promise. Right now, I have to meet up with him.” She started to feel a bit anxious, but concentrated and tried not to think about Sunday. Mimi could tell by both girls' looks that they really wanted to know something, or at least be clued in. “Well, I-I really don't want to talk about it again…not now, but maybe you can check the evening news or read over this morning's paper. It should be in there. Like I said, I'm going to tell you myself, but if I did that right now…I wouldn't be able to face Koushirou.”

 

Miyako was about to protest, until Sora put her hand up. “No, Miyako-chan. If she insists, we'll just go check the paper.”

 

“Thank you for understanding.” Mimi hugged Sora. “It'll probably be a feature story, and I really could use the talk. Please call me, both of you, at around 20:00 (8:00), or maybe you could come over and stay the night. Sué-bachan always said that I was allowed to have company over, no questions asked. It's your choice.”

 

The two agreed as Mimi rushed to her locker, leaving the two, and hurriedly changed out of her shoes and stuffed them into her locker. “Well, I have to get going. I'll see you later.” The girl started to rush off, but bumped into both Taichi and Yamato.

 

“The invisible girl finally reappears,” laughed Taichi.

 

“Invisible girl?”

 

“We were all worried about you yesterday since you didn't show up for the party,” Taichi explained. “We hadn't seen you much since we went out for karaoke. It was also weird how Koushirou didn't make it either since he seemed so interested in going.”

 

“I was hoping you'd show up,” Yamato stated simply.

 

“Something kind of came up after I got back to Odaiba…” she trailed off. She wasn't going to think about it. “Have either of you seen Koushirou?”

 

“Not lately,” Yamato said.

 

“Oh, never mind. I see him. He's standing outside the school doors. I have to go. Bye guys!”

 

The girl ran off, changing out of her shoes, and then to join Koushirou, who had been waiting around for her before Taichi could get his real question out…if she'd seen Sora. Mimi and Koushirou had decided that they'd give Odaiba University another try, regardless of all the uneasiness they were currently feeling amongst one another. It was a combination of feeling awkward from the hug and kiss and the other was definitely because of what had happened the previous day…

****

Meanwhile…

 

“Come on,” Miyako urged, “let's go to the library. The librarian should have a copy of this morning's paper.”

 

“Yeah, she should. Let's go.”

 

Sora followed behind Miyako, and both ran into Taichi and Yamato.

 

“Hi,” Miyako greeted.

 

“Nice, we found you,” Taichi said.

 

“Found us?” asked Sora.

 

“I was looking for you, but you rushed right off after class,” Taichi explained.

 

“Miyako-chan and I wanted to catch Mimi-chan so that we could ask her about yesterday.”

 

“What's going on with her anyway?” asked Yamato curiously. “She said that she missed the party yesterday because something came up after she got back to Odaiba. Where did she go?”

 

“Mimi-sama and Izumi-senpai spent the entire day in Hikarigaoka yesterday.”

 

Sora gave Miyako a look, meaning that she was giving off too much information.

 

“Mimi-chan and Koushirou went to Hikarigaoka…alone…yesterday? Like a date?”

 

Yamato crossed his arms coolly and shook his head. “I doubt it. There's probably more to it.”

 

“That's because there is,” Sora confirmed. “Something did happen. When we went over to her place after we split with you guys, she seemed to be incredibly down.”

 

“Hm, so it's like you said. She spent the entire day with Koushirou,” Yamato muttered while taking in the information. “Why did she have to go to Hikarigaoka with Koushirou?”

 

“Isn't it obvious! It's a date! I mean, she was on her way to meet up with him when she bumped into us.”

 

“Wrong again,” Sora laughed. “Both of them are working on a school project that's due at the end of the week. Mimi-chan is paired up with him, so there was something that Koushirou-kun had to check out in Hikarigaoka and Mimi-chan tagged along. They both just got back to Odaiba late, and were unable to come to the party.”

 

“Something seems off about that since Hikarigaoka is a little over an hour away from here, meaning they would have had to go out of their way to miss the party…”

 

“Aww, Yamato-kun…”

 

“Let's hurry to the library. She said that she didn't want to tell us what happened and to just look it up!”

 

“Alright, calm down, Miyako-chan. Bye Taichi, Yamato-kun…”

 

“Wait, I thought you said that she was with Koushirou working on a school assignment.”

 

The two girls left and headed off to the library, not even hearing Yamato. Taichi just kicked at the floor in annoyance.

 

“So, why didn't you ask her?”

 

“She's obviously too busy.”

 

“You have to ask her sooner or later before someone else does.”

 

“Like who?!” Taichi looked worried.

 

“Well…maybe me, for instance…” Yamato slightly blushed.

 

The look of worry left the soccer player's face. “Yeah right! This is kind of difficult, you know? We've never had this type of school function before and the girls seem more excited about it than anything else. There are a lot of people nervous about this dance thing that Mimi-chan came up with, and speaking of her, why haven't you asked her along yet? You had the perfect opportunity just now and you blew it.”

 

“She's been pretty busy herself…and, it's like you said, it's a bit nerve-racking since this dance stuff is new. It's a formal thing and the boys are supposed to ask the girls to join them for it. What in the world was she thinking…”

 

“Well, it can`t be too bad if the PTA agreed to it.”

 

“Yeah, I guess,” the blonde murmured.

 

“Anyway, at least you don't have to worry about anyone else asking Mimi-chan since she's a second year. The dance is for third-years only, but then again, there probably are some boys in our year who aren't too shy about asking her to the dance, especially since it was her idea.”

 

“I was thinking about doing that yesterday at the party. Mimi is one of the few girls at this school besides Miyako-chan and Sora, that I actually don't mind hanging around with. Neither of them treats me like a celebrity and they give me attention because they're my actual friends, not like some crazed fan who hangs onto my every word and would go along with anything or everything I say no matter how unreasonable or stupid it is. Hm, well, I guess Chizuru-san is okay too.”

 

“Inoue Chizuru?”

 

“Yeah, I've always shared classes with her, but didn't really know much about her until a few years ago after Miyako-chan was chosen. She treats me like her sister does, like any other student, but there's the possibility that she's been asked already.” He sighed. “Who knows, I may just offer to have my band play the entire time and not worry about it at all…that is if the other guys are up to it.”

 

“Good idea.”

 

“Thank you for all of your support,” Yamato sarcastically responded with a sweat drop.

 

“Glad to have helped.” Taichi didn't even notice the cynicism in Yamato's voice, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I better head home. I'll call Sora and try to ask her again later.”

 

“Well, okay, but before you go, whatever happened with Hikari-chan? You never told me.”

 

“Nothing much, really. She told me that she wasn't feeling well and that Daisuke offered to take her home, and on the way, she started to feel better, so the two hung out at Venus Fort and went out for snacks. I also think I remember her mentioning something about going to the arcade, even though it's almost impossible not to at Venus Fort…”

 

“That almost sounds like a date to me.”

 

“Hikari isn't old enough to date yet! I won't let her! Who knows what's going on through the minds of some of these crazed boys?!”

 

“Taichi, you're being way too protective of her!” Yamato knew that Taichi always wanted what was best for his sister, but this time seemed different from the other ones. He could see Taichi being worried over her health and well-being, but who she chooses to hang around with? `Something must be going on.'

 

“W-well, what if a mugger or murderer tries to attack her just because she's a pretty girl?! What then?!”

 

“T-Taichi…what are you talking about? Why are you thinking like this all of a sudden? You've never worried like this before. Where is this all coming from?”

 

“This morning, my father was reading the paper and one of the main stories was about some guy being caught. He was known for attacking young girls, and yesterday he went after some girl and he was about to…do stuff with her,” he told his friend awkwardly. “Luckily, someone called it in and actually fought the guy off and saved her. I was just thinking, what if something like that happens to Hikari?”

 

“Only those who have issues do that type of thing and I doubt that Hikari-chan would get into that kind of trouble. She has friends. If it isn't my brother or Daisuke, then others will probably be around. I'm sure the person who attacked the girl is being punished. Did they say what her name was? I hate just calling them `the girl' or `the guy' and stuff.”

 

“From what I remember, they're keeping it quiet. The girl is keeping her identity secret and wants to remain anonymous, and the person who rescued her is also remaining anonymous.”

 

“I wonder why…”

 

“Yeah, I was wondering that too…”

 

“In a way, I can understand why the girl might not want the attention, but her rescuer? The person must be a genuine Good Samaritan.”

 

“Who knows, but I'm out of here. No practice and I plan on relaxing! Bye, Yamato.”

 

“Yeah, bye, good luck with Sora.”

 

`Feh…I can play my best in front of this entire ward, but I can't ask out Sora. Does she even like me? She only gave me giri-choco last month for Valentine's…just like she did for Koushirou, Yamato, some of the guys from our clubs and of our year… I just have to get the nerve to ask her before somebody else does, like Yamato said.'

****

Over in the school library…

 

“Feature story, feature story, feature story,” Miyako muttered while thumbing through the newspaper. “One thing I always hated about the newspaper is that there could be more than one big story. Like there's one here with this man here.” She looked at the picture and frowned. “He doesn't look like he can be trusted.”

 

`Typical of Miyako-chan to judge someone by looks.' She took the paper. “I'm sure that it'd probably make front page news if it's a big story.” Glancing through the paper, she decided to try her luck. “I think I found it.” She read the title, “Attacker Finally Captured!'

 

“Attacker?”

 

“That's the most emphasized story on the page. The guy was `caught and apprehended' yesterday over near Odaiba University.”

 

“Hurray…a burglar,” Miyako yawned. “That can't be the story.”

 

“No, it's not a burglar,” she told her while skimming the article. “It's something much worse!”

 

“A bank robber?”

 

“No, seriously! This guy, apparently, targets and attacks young girls, defiles them, and then normally kills them once he's done with the girls. There was actually a large reward offered for this man's capture.”

 

“That's awful! I hope he stays in jail for a long time!” Miyako thought for a moment. “Wait, what does that have to do with oneesama?”

 

“I'm not sure, but this does seem to be the main feature story.”

 

“There must be another story that has something to do with her.”

 

“Who knows,” Sora shrugged, as she started to read bits and pieces of the article out loud…

 

Attacker Finally Captured!

 

Yesterday, at about 16:15 (4:15), Doppo Fumio, age 36, was finally caught and apprehended. He is known for targeting young school-aged girls and killing his victims if either provoked by them or when he's “done with them”. Doppo Fumio attacked again, only this time, he was unable to carry through with the horrendous attack. A girl, who wishes to remain anonymous, was attacked by the man. She owes her life to a young man who “sensed something was wrong” and contacted the authorities before investigating himself.

 

“He got there just in time,” says police officer, Tsuya Masuyo, lieutenant at the Odaiba Police Station of its Special Investigative Team. “We would not have gotten there in time if it weren't for this young man. He saw what was happening and attacked, saving the girl's life. We do not advise one to approach a person, as it's very dangerous, but in this case, we are grateful that this boy did.”

 

When asked about what the rescuer was thinking at the time of the assault, the boy responded, “I wasn't thinking. I just knew that I had to help somehow. He was about to hurt her and who knows what else.” The boy, who also wishes to remain anonymous, didn't care about the reward and actually turned it down, seeing as how he was more concerned with the victim getting to safety…

 

Sora stopped reading and gasped. “Oh no…”

 

“Oneesama was the girl and…”

 

“…Koushirou-kun was the boy who saved her,” Sora finished up, shedding a few tears. “He wanted to remain anonymous. That's why that police officer was at his home yesterday. It must was this Lieutenant Tsuya person.”

 

“How could she be attacked? It was still light out! People are usually out.”

 

“According to the rest of the article, he doesn't care whether it's day or not and seems to like girls who have long hair. Once he's found a girl he wants, he abducts the girl, takes the girl to a location, keeps the girl there and does unspeakable things to her. It also mentions that it's rare that he pursues a victim who has someone else with her.” Sora shuddered over the thought. “Both Mimi-chan and Koushirou-kun could've been killed yesterday. The two must have ended up separated somehow. I now understand why she didn't want to talk about it.”

 

“Should we tell her aunt and uncle about what happened and why she was so down yesterday?”

 

“No, let Mimi-chan do it. It's not our place to.”

 

“I guess you're right, but I hate it when people act like that!” Miyako said angrily. “I would make sure that he never sees daylight again if I were judging him so that he never attacks another girl again!”

 

“I agree, and I don't feel I could judge objectively due to the seemingly overwhelming evidence stacked up against him, and his attacking someone close to me. I now wonder how far he'd gone before Koushirou-kun showed up…”

 

“You mean…you don't think…” Sora nodded. “No, it couldn't have gotten that far! She probably would've missed school today if it had.”

 

“You're probably right. She probably would have been much worse off if he had. I really can't imagine something like that happening.”

 

“But why didn't she talk about it with us when we came over yesterday?”

 

“Maybe she was still in shock.” Sora stared down at the photo of Doppo Fumio, which was a mug shot and, ironically, the photo Miyako had openly complained about earlier. “Both are going to have to testify to this, since they're both directly involved, and I have this strong feeling that Koushirou-kun is once again keeping this away from his parents.”

 

“I wouldn't be surprised if he was too. He's been keeping secrets a lot lately. He lied about his history project to the Izumis and they didn't know that he was in Hikarigaoka yesterday.” Miyako smiled slightly, as something came to mind. “Do you think that if Izumi-senpai were to get married, that he would tell them about it?”

 

“I should hope so,” Sora laughed. “It would be very strange if he were to show up with a wife and a family and their not knowing about it.”

 

“Yeah, that's true.”

 

“I guess we'll just have to wait for Mimi-chan to fill us in on everything else dealing with the attack. I wonder where those two were going this afternoon anyway. They should be studying.”

 

“Maybe they already know the material, but yeah, I wonder where they're going. Either way, now that we know, we can go now.”

 

The two girls walked away from the library.

 

“Sora-san, don't you have to get prepared for Saturday night?”

 

“Oh, that dance thing. To be honest, I'm really nervous about it. It's supposed to be formal, almost ball-like. We girls are supposed to wear gowns and the boys should be dressed in suits or tuxedos.” Taichi, Koushirou, and Yamato dressed in tuxedos flashed into mind. She felt that all three would look handsome if dressed in such a fashion. “I know everyone was psyched about it, but I've noticed how tense it's getting for some of the other third years. I am going, I would like to…somewhat, but according to Mimi-chan, with those types of dances you're supposed to have a date or an escort.”

 

“But shouldn't you be getting ready for it?”

 

“It's only Monday, and I haven't been asked by any boy yet…sort of.”

 

“Why don't you ask a boy to go?”

 

“W-well, um…I'll just worry about that later.”

 

The two girls changed out of their school shoes, and headed home, glad to know Mimi's secret, and at ease understanding why her mood was so disheartening…

****

A while after class let out…

 

“Come on, let's go practice,” Chinatsu urged, already in her gym clothes.

 

“I don't feel like practicing today,” Ayame yawned.

 

“Yeah, we don't have any club meetings at all this week since we're spending it studying for all those exams and then having to take them!”

 

“I want to be one of the best senior members of the Volleyball Club! Others are practicing,” Chinatsu argued. “What's wrong with that?”

 

“We'll have to practice during our spring break anyway, since it's mandatory,” groaned Yuuko. “There's nothing wrong with wanting to practice, just go practice by yourself. We're leaving.”

 

The three girls were sitting in the school gym in the top bleachers. Chinatsu had asked Ayame and Yuuko to meet her there and to bring Mimi with them.

 

“What I want to do is relax,” Ayame said while standing up. She stretched. “Let's go, Yuuko-chan.”

 

“Hey look,” Chinatsu pointed, “the boys are playing basketball!”

 

“You know, we really should practice,” Yuuko said while sitting back down, staring at the basketball players.

 

“Yuuko-chan!”

 

“Aren't they cute,” she said, hearts in her eyes.

 

“I knew that would get her,” Chinatsu snickered.

 

“You know, sitting around watching wouldn't hurt,” Ayame began, also retaking her seat just to stare at the basketball players.

 

`So much for my idea, they'd rather watch the boys play.'

 

“Ooo, you see that boy over there!” Ayame pointed. “I think he's the co-captain of the Boys' Soccer Club!”

 

“That position is going to be open pretty soon since he is a third year,” Chinatsu explained. “The position of captain is going to be open too, but I'm not sure if any decisions have been made. The current captain is Yagami Taichi-san and he is leaving soon. I wonder who will succeed Taichi-senpai…”

 

“That person there I think is the star player of the Boys' Tennis Club!” Yuuko drooled.

 

“I bet he's about to go out and practice! He has his tennis gear with him!”

 

“Ayame-chan, we should probably go out to the tennis courts too!”

 

“Here I am wanting to improve my game, like the other members of our club are doing, and you two want to sit around and gawk at the boys here.” Chinatsu crossed her arms in annoyance. “Besides, we have more important things to discuss anyway.”

 

“Like what?” Yuuko asked while keep her eyes glued to the third-year co-captain of the Boys' Soccer Club.

 

“Like Mimi-chan, for one. Where is she and what happened after lunch? You never said.”

 

“She acted as if nothing had bothered her at all,” Yuuko told her. “She laughed at the pictures Ayame-chan showed her. As for where she is now, she said she had to leave, and took off before we could question her about it.”

 

“I don't know what she did after she left us at lunch, but she seemed really different when she came back to class with Koushirou-kun.”

 

“Izumi-kun?”

 

“I guess she went to see him after leaving us,” Ayame concluded.

 

“So, I guess whatever happened to her yesterday has been fixed if she was acting more like her usual self after lunch,” Chinatsu said.

 

“I guess so and I was really glad for that. I hate seeing Mimi-chan all depressed.”

 

“Hey, whatever happened to her main four admirers? It just hit me that they weren't bugging us today over where she was during lunch earlier,” Yuuko realized.

 

“Hey yeah, you're right,” Chinatsu nodded. “They almost always insist on eating lunch with us to try and weasel information out of us.”

****

“We have to do something to get Mimi-san to forgive all of us!”

 

“But how?”

 

“How about a present?”

 

“She doesn't seem like the type who likes presents to me…”

 

“SHOWS HOW MUCH YOU KNOW! MIMI-CHAN WOULD FORGIVE US IN AN INSTANT IF WE GAVE HER A NICE GIFT!”

****

“Well, what do you know, there goes our favorite four supporters of Mi-chan now,” laughed Yuuko. “Yuuji-kun is so loud, though. I wouldn't have noticed them if it wasn't for his big mouth.”

 

“Sounds like he said something about forgiveness,” noted Chinatsu. “I wonder what happened.”

 

Ayame smirked. “There's only one way to find out.”

 

Yuuko caught on, a sneaky look finding its way to her face. She cupped her hand over her ear. “This is the best way.”

 

The other two did as Yuuko, and tried their bests to listen in on the boys' conversation.

****

“I feel really bad that we upset Mimi-chan during lunch today,” Yuuji sighed.

 

“Misao-san, this is all your fault.”

 

“My fault?! What do you mean it was all my fault?!”

 

“It's just like Ukyo said,” Seki scolded. “It's your fault that Mimi-chan is upset with the four of us.”

 

“You were too convincing!” Yuuji yelled to him.

 

“I really thought you were going to hit him,” said Ukyo.

****

“I wonder what they're going on about,” Yuuko muttered.

 

“I wonder what Misao-kun did to upset Mimi-chan.”

 

“It couldn't have been that bad since you two said she came back to class feeling much better than what she was when leaving us at lunch.”

****

“Don't blame me because I have great acting abilities,” the boy smugly responded. “I'm in the Drama Club, which obviously pays off!”

 

“At what cost, though!” cried Yuuji. “We lost Mimi-chan because of you!”

 

“I'm surprised at you three. We've known each other for a long time. You know I'm not violent and that I'm not a fighter. I was only trying to scare him!”

 

“Too bad Mimi-chan didn't see it that way,” Seki bluntly stated.

 

“Why don't we all just face the facts and admit that we, as well everyone else in our club, have lost our chances with Mimi-san,” sighed Ukyo.

 

“No, we can't give up yet!” Yuuji came across as a coach trying to inspire his team to play better or play well. “We are not quitters!”

 

“Oh come off it! Mimi-san came into the computer lab, defended Izumi-san, and then asked…no…told us to leave! We all found out that whatever was causing her bad mood didn't have anything to do with Izumi-san when they were out together yesterday after they came back to Odaiba. We might as well give up. You heard what she said and you saw what she did!”

****

“Ooh,” Yuuko nearly squealed. “I love juicy gossip!”

****

Seki crossed his arms, and sat back a bit. “I'm with Ukyo. There really isn't much we can do now,” he responded slowly. “Like he said, you saw what she did with Izumi.”

 

“I'm no quitter! I'm going to get back in good with her again!” Misao insisted stubbornly.

 

“Me too!”

 

“That's good and all, but let's just face the facts here. She has no interest in either of us, or any other boy, seemingly, in a romantic sense; it's all platonic,” Seki explained. “We should have never threatened him, and you, Misao, shouldn't have pretended to get ready to punch him.”

****

“Wow, there was almost a fight…and I missed it!”

 

“Yuuko-chan, that's not important,” Chinatsu chastised, wishing that, for once, the girl would calm down. “They pretty much said that they made empty threats. What I want to know is what she did to make them all so gloomy.”

****

“You guys just watch,” Ukyo cautioned wisely. “This time next year, Mimi-san and Izumi-san will probably be an item. I can actually picture those two walking around together, Izumi-san maybe having his arm around her shoulder, or the two walking hand-in-hand.”

 

“No!!” Yuuji and Misao shouted out in fear.

 

“You two are delusional!” Seki argued. “She's already hugged and kissed him and they're just friends! If Izumi doesn't fall for her after that, then he just isn't right!”

 

“Can we hope that he just doesn't like girls?” asked Yuuji hopefully.

 

“I'm all for it being true!”

 

Seki and Ukyo gave Misao and Yuuji a look of disbelief.

****

“Ehh!?!” all three girls said in surprise after hearing the news.

 

The three ended up falling over, and landing down to where the four boys were.

 

“What do you three want?” asked Yuuji.

 

Yuuko picked herself up quickly, grabbed Yuuji by his shirt and started to shake him. “Did you say Mi-chan and Koushirou-kun kissed?!”

 

“You're…choking…me…” Yuuji gagged.

 

“Hey, stop eavesdropping in on our conversation!” Misao told the three.

 

“That's why we came to the gym since it's kind of noisy in here,” Seki said.

 

“What you're doing is technically an invasion of privacy. How do you know that we weren't speaking of something confidential?” asked Ukyo.

 

“We could say the same about you four!” Chinatsu pointed accusingly. “We overheard you and we were listening in, since we heard you mention Mimi-chan and Yuuji's yelling didn't help, but how did you know that Mimi-chan and Izumi-san were on a day-trip yesterday away from Odaiba? We never mentioned it to you or anyone else for that matter. Only a few of us knew what her plans were for Sunday and what she was really up to because she told us, and that didn't include either of you.”

 

Yuuji, who was still rubbing his neck, trying to recover from being choked by Yuuko said, “Hey, we were not purposely listening in! We were just listening when we weren't supposed to!”

 

The other three boys nearly fell over. Seki smacked his cousin in the back of the head. “Baka!”

 

“So you were listening in on our conversation during lunch!”

 

“And the reason we didn't see either of you rejects earlier was because you were off threatening Koushirou-kun for the bad mood Mi-chan was in!”

 

“You idiots!” Chinatsu yelled at them. “See what happens when you jump to conclusions!”

 

“W-well, you were thinking the same thing!” Misao argued back. “We heard you say that you thought Izumi had something to do with her bad mood too!”

 

“Come on now, everyone. We're all friends here.” Yuuko stood and clapped her hands, hoping to regain the peace somewhat. “I just want to know one thing…is it true about what you said about Mi-chan and Koushirou-kun in the computer lab? You all were standing right there when it happened?”

 

“No, we were watching from the hall. They thought we left, but we were curious why Mimi-chan was so upset.”

 

The three girls gave the four death glares, while the boys gave Yuuji a disapproving look. “You definitely talk too much,” Misao muttered. `He's way too honest.'

 

“Anyway,” Seki began, “she started to cry because of something that happened yesterday, and, apparently, Izumi was feeling really bad for her and was blaming himself for whatever it was that happened. The two came to a mutual agreement that neither were at fault.”

 

“Mimi-san also mentioned something about wanting to go to Odaiba University and the University of Tokyo, but Izumi-san was hesitant on going and didn't seem to want her to go along with him. Either way, after mentioning both places, that's when Mimi-san started to cry.”

 

“It was so upsetting hearing her cry, but she did calm down enough, saying something like crying helped to get rid of her stress, or something,” Yuuji continued.

 

“She then did the most unthinkable…” Misao shuddered.

 

“…the most unspeakable thing after cheering up!” Yuuji frowned.

 

“She kissed Izumi!” both cried.

 

“How did he react to it? Do not leave out a single detail!” Yuuko instructed.

 

“First, Mimi-san hugged him, and then she kissed him on the cheek, and then seemed to go back to hugging. He seemed a little nervous, and I remember his face being kind of red.”

 

“No wonder she was so happy after lunch today,” Ayame said.

 

“It was a friendship kiss,” Misao interjected adamantly. “It was not a romantic one! It was just on the cheek!”

 

“I wonder if it would be considered one in America given the situation…”

 

“Shut up, will you Seki! Stop telling lies! Mimi-chan lived in America for a while and has even visited there during school vacation before! She knows the customs, and kissing is one of them…I think.”

 

“Hey, don't blame me for you and Misao's stupidity! Ukyo and I are moving on. You two, and countless others, are the ones after a girl who is obviously taken, even if she doesn't realize it yet!”

 

“Unless it turns out Izumi doesn't go for girls,” Yuuji said again hopefully.

 

“I seriously doubt that,” Ayame said, her arms crossed. “Just because he doesn't act interested in girls doesn't mean that he isn't.”

 

“He's just inexperienced when it come to girls, just like how you four are when it comes to brains!” Chinatsu reprimanded.

 

Yuuko started to rub her hands together greedily. “Ooo, who to tell first!”

 

“No one! If Mimi-chan didn't tell you, Ayame-chan, or even me about what happened with Izumi-kun, then why would she want the whole school to know about it?”

 

“Yeah, try to keep your mouth shut, for once, Yuuko-chan!”

 

“Couldn't I tell Miya-chan at least?”

 

“You mean the first year, Inoue Miyako-san?” asked Chinatsu.

 

“Yeah. We get along very well.”

 

Ayame rubbed her chin. “Well, only if you're discreet about it. Maybe you could hint around, and if she already knows, then go ahead. If it's obvious that she doesn't know, then don't say anything.”

 

This pleased Yuuko. “Bingo!”

 

“Aww, because of our talking all of this time, we don't have much time left to practice since all the areas of the gym are being used. I have to go home and study for the third part of Ishidzuka's history exam! How Mimi-chan has time to not study is beyond me.”

 

“Wow, your class is already on the third part of the exam?” Ayame asked in amazement.

 

“Yes, since our class has been finishing early, he's allowed us to take two parts each day, so that we can finish sooner,” Chinatsu explained. “Takamatsu-kun can attest to that, since we have the same classes. Ishidzuka-sensei seems to have a lot of confidence in us, and is very positive that we will all receive passing marks. I really hope so. I would hate to come back here and find out that I'm still a second-year junior-high student, even though I don't think that can actually happen.”

 

“That's not why your class is ahead! Your class ranks high when it comes to tests! We're technically all in competition with each other,” Yuuko pointed out. “You have a lot of brainy people in your class!”

 

“We just finished up the second part of his exam,” Seki said. “Hey, since we're all in the same boat, would you like to study together at my place?”

 

Yuuko, who had started to admire Seki more so since he'd pretty much come to his senses about Mimi, eagerly agreed for everyone. The surprising thing about her admiration of Seki was that for the longest time, she'd always had a slight romantic liking towards Yuuji, but would never admit to it. Hanging around Seki, even as just a friend, who wasn't going on and on about Mimi would be nice for a change.

 

“Having a study group would actually be a good idea, especially since most of us have the same instructors,” Chinatsu said.

 

“Let's see, I have Konishi-sensei and Hayashibara-sensei,” Ukyo said, “which means that tomorrow, I have a math exam to take and my English language one.”

 

“English class is so hard sometimes,” Ayame complained. “I'm studying a lot! The only person I know, who's not a natural born brain and isn't studying for the tests is Mimi-chan. She has a really high score for all the tests she's taken for that class.”

 

Seki laughed. “She has an advantage since she lived in America for a few years and actually used English in everyday situations, unlike us, who can only stick to book exercises.”

 

“No kidding! Mi-chan is making us all look bad!”

 

“Misao, Yuuji, are you guys coming with us for a study session?”

 

“Nah, I'm going to go home and try to think of a way to get Mimi-chan to like me again,” Misao told him. `Besides, I already know the stuff. No need to study.'

 

“I'm with him!”

 

“Suit yourselves then, but you do know that apologizing to both her and Izumi is on the top of the list, right?”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Misao muttered.

 

“You know, I have this feeling that Mimi-chan isn't really mad at you four,” Ayame pointed out.

 

“Yeah, after lunch, Mi-chan saw our photos of you from when you were at the party, and she mentioned how cute you all were,” Yuuko smiled mischievously.

 

Stars formed in Yuuji's eyes. “Wow! She called me cute!”

 

“Nice, nice, but I'm still going to try and think of a way to get Mimi-chan to like me!”

 

Seki and Ukyo sighed and shook their heads. They just couldn't believe that the other two didn't understand that Mimi was already taken and that no matter how hard they tried, she'd never see them as anything more than friends.

 

The group exited the gym, and headed to their lockers to change out of their school shoes. Once done, they exited the school to head over to the Tomokazu home, Seki leading the way.

 

“Wait a minute, what photos of us?” asked Ukyo, after realizing what they'd said earlier.

 

The three girls just looked to one another and giggled, as they continued the walk to the train station…

 

 

Fic Chapter Changes

 

First change is that I wrote that Sora had tried calling Mimi and tried to catch her that morning, but ended up missing her. I also added in that Miyako tried. Also added in a brief description of what Mimi's conversation with her mother consisted of. Originally when writing this, I'd forgotten that I had written Sué calling Satoe to help her regarding Mimi's mood.

 

I added that Koushirou brought lunch from home and I wrote in that Mimi had forgotten her lunch. Originally, I had that she bought lunch, but didn't have an appetite and was playing with the contents of her meal.

 

I added more to the conversation between Koushirou and Mimi in the computer lab.

 

I had Miyako actually tell where Mimi went to Yamato and Taichi, whereas originally, I just had her mention that she'd spent the previous day with Koushirou. I cut out the jokes made by Taichi about how spending an entire day with Koushirou would make anyone depressed. I did have something like this originally, but Sora scolded Taichi, who insisted that he was only kidding. I also added in Taichi insinuating and assuming that the two had gone out on a date together.

 

I tossed in Taichi and Yamato discussing the dance a bit more, and how nervous they were about it since it was literally “new” to them. I also added in Taichi thinking about whether or not Sora liked him. Originally, the only thought going through his mind was how he was going to ask Sora out. Of course I added in the chocolate thing. For Valentine's the girls give boys chocolates. There are two types: Giri Choco and Honmei Choco. Giri Choco = Obligation Chocolates, the types that girls may give to their male friends, classmates, co-workers, etc. Honmei Choco, or “homemade choco”, is usually given to guys of romantic interest. Giri choco is usually store-bought, too, where as the Honmei choco is more than likely made, hence the name. They sell kits over there to prepare it.

 

I cut out Miyako's getting distracted by other stuff in the paper while searching for the “feature story”. I felt that it would've been out of character for her. Once Miyako is determined, she usually goes through with it…sometimes overboard. lol