Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, except for the wonderful storyline and quotes that I made up. ^^ Chip chip cheery oh! [Mwaa hah hah! Jun ish EVIL.-in my mind, anyway]



The things I do for your love



Mimi Tachikawa, a young teenage girl of 13 years stepped out into the Odiaba airport, her eyes teary as they urgently scanned the area for her friends. She swept her long dyed blonde hair with strawberry streaks behind her shoulders as she ran to the nearest exit, her footsteps making loud thuds as her Timberland boots collided against the floor.

"Come on, come on..." She whispered to herself as she jabbed the elevator button with her index finger. What had brought her back to Odaiba so soon? Problems. A lot of them. She pressed her lips tightly against each other, struggling to breathe as she reread the crumpled letter she had gotten from her best friend, Sora.

Dear Mimi-chan;

Hullo! What up in New York? I'm sure you're having a lot of fun shopping. We all miss you so! Well, seems like there's a big problem in the DigiWorld. Kiwamon is making it hard for anyone to travel back to Dw. I bet you got Hikari's letter already, haven't you? Isn't Takeru brave for standing up to Satoru? Anyway, I'll make this short. Oh, I almost forgot! Yamato-kun felt so sorry for making Jun Motomiya cry, he officially went out with her! Okay, well, I'll see you sometime. e-mail me!

Sayonara,

Sora T-Chan

She felt her throat choke up as she read those last sentences. How could he? Why would he? "Ishida...Motomiya...damn you. I won't give up," she said through her gritted teeth. God, how she loathed Jun, with her spiked hair and high pitched voice that broke sound barriers. How could anyone stand her, much less Yamato? Did Jun really make him happy? Like love happy?

Sighing slowly, she rested her head on the window of the taxi she had just called, her thoughts on only one person.

~-~-~Three hours later~-~-~

After she had dumped her suitcase at her hotel suite, Mimi immediately ran over to the concert hall where Yamato usually performed, her light winter jacket barely sustaining her from the freezing Odaiba winter cold. "Remind me to go shopping later." She murmured, shaking her head sadly. How infatuiated was she over some guy? Some guy that already had a girlfriend? "The things I do for love."

Shoving the double doors open with one hand, she entered cautiously the empty hall. Damn! I missed it! Words echoed faintly in her mind, screaming at her to turn back before she made a complete fool of herself. Mimi turned around, cursing at herself for being such a coward, when she saw Jun come in the unlighted hall, giggling loudly, sounding like nails on a cheap chalkboard. Scant, she thought angrily to herself as she watched.

"OOH Yamato!" Jun shouted cheerfully, literally bouncing off the floor as she ran towards the door leading to the backstage. She stopped as she noticed a silent figure standing by it, and her eyes glinted an obscure shade of red. "Who are you? You're not allowed back here. Yamato Ishida needs time off from you people. Get out."

Mimi had to force herself not to snarl at Jun, who had placed her hands on her hips endearingly. What did she mean, you people? Damn, she thought, I would've given the world to kick her ass right here and now. "Oh, and who are you to tell me to get out?" She replied scathingly, assuming a similar position.

"His girlfriend."

Tightening her fists, she looked up at Jun furiously, but kept her voice calm and collected. "I'm his...good friend. He knows me...longer than he's known you."

A smirk appeared on Jun's face as she stuck out her tongue. "Prove it."

Mimi was beginning to get very, very annoyed as she searched her purse for an old photograph that she had placed in it. "Here." She waved the pic in Jun's face, when Jun put on a peeved look.

"That doesn't prove anything." She sneered at Mimi, blocking the entrance to the door when, quite suddenly, the door opened, smashing Jun in the face and causing her to fall down, unconcious with a large lump on her forehead. After seeing the person who had opened the door, Mimi broke into uncontrollable laughs. Yamato looked at her, then looked at Jun Motomiya on the floor.

"Uh...did I do something?" Yamato asked, scratching his head, puzzled.

"Nope. Nothing at all." Mimi smiled reassuringly, pulling on his arm.

Yamato continued to have a blank look on his face for a few more seconds, when he came to a clear thought. "Hey!" he exclaimed joyfully, "Mimi, you're back!" He swept her up into a long hug, and Mimi smiled widely.

"Of course. D'you think I'd stay in New York and let you guys have all the fun?" She whispered into his ear, hugging him tightly.

"Come on, let's go get a coffee, there's lots of things I want to talk to you about...." Yamato said, releasing her from his hug and walking out of the door. Mimi hung on to his arm, and for the moment, he felt...warm. And not at all sorry he had left Motomiya lying there on the floor, little swirlies in her eyes.

~-~-~-~

She sipped her coffee slowly, cherishing the relaxed moment, Yamato facing her, a preoccupied gaze on his face. Mimi cleared her throat loudly, drawing back his attention.

"Oh...sorry, I was just...thinking." Yamato apologized quickly, his fingers tapping the mug.

She looked at him curiously. "Of what?"

He glanced away, a small tint of red creeping up to his cheeks. "It's....nothing. Nothing important."

"Oh." How come she felt like she could only talk in two worded sentences? This is stupid, she siad to herself. Why am I here? Why am I trying to get Yamato to talk to me, when he doesn't love me? She forced herself to give adequate conversation. "So," she began, fingering the handle of her cup, "how's your band?"

"It's great." He replied evasively.

"How's your life?" Another useless question.

"It's okay." Another useless answer.

What did you expect, Tachikawa? She asked herself bitterly. "I'm an idiot." She murmured inconspiciously, making Yamato raise his eyebrows.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing." She resumed her staring at the coffee mug for a few more minutes, the silence suddenly becoming tense and strained. God damn, I can't hold it in much longer! "Wait. it's everything." She broke out, her voice crackling with emotion.

He looked up at her, his eyes wide. "Everything? Everything what? What's wrong?"

"You." She whispered, her gaze connecting with his. Heavy silence rested so precariously as they continued to stare at each other. "...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," she said softly as she stood up from her chair and grabbed her coat.

"Hey." Yamato stood up quickly, and grabbed her arm with a gentle touch. "Don't...don't leave."

Her gaze lingered on his eyes a bit more, before she shook her head. "No...what I said...it's true...but I can't deny the fact that..." She gave a slight grimace as she shook her head again, her hair curling about her face in tiny strands. "Motomiya."

He remained silent, his look piercing and questioning as she said Jun's name. "Is that why...? Why you came back...? To see me....?" Mimi gave him a remorseful smile.

"And I still don't know why I did come here...but, yeah, I'd say that." She replied in a small voice. She headed for the door, leaving a stunned Yamato standing in the cafe.

~-~-~-~

"I don't want to talk to you, Jun." Yamato Ishida sighed wearily as he inhaled a deep whiff of air. "Seriously, leave me alone."

"Aww...come on, Yamato-chan." She wheedled at him, waving her fingers much like the way mothers wave to small children.

"Don't call me that." He told her sternly, getting slightly annoyed.

"I want to." Jun said, her eyes gleaming mysteriously. Yamato looked up from his sheets of music, fixing her with a glare.

"Why are you here?"

"Because..." she said, waggling her fingers, "there's something we need to talk about."

"What about?"

Jun sat next to him, and Yamato could feel a certain amount of exasperation enter his mind. "I think we should...do something about our relationship."

He swung his head to look at her incrediously. Our relationship?!? We have none! "Like what?"

"Like..." Here, she cleared her throat importantly, and began wheezing out a couple of tunes in a scratchy old voice. "Duun duun da dunn...dun da da dunnn..."

Yamato could barely contain his laughter as he inched farther away from her. "What the hell was that?"

"You know," Jun tried coaxing him, "like flowers, a big cake, rings, bells, suits, dresses?"

"Suits?" He choked out, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. She can't be serious! he thought rapidly, his eyebrows reaching the tips of his hair. What kind of crack is she sniffing at night?

"Yes! Exactly!" She said proudly, "Then of course we need to get the wedding chapel picked out, and invitations, a nice limo, a honeymo-"

"Wait, wait, HOLD UP!" He said loudly, disbelief mirrored in his azure eyes. "Wedding chapels? Invitations? A limo?" She's only what, 17? She doesn't expect me to do that, does she?! He began backing away from her, heading for the exit as discreetly as he could. "Listen, Jun I don't think there will ever be...a wedding. Not for us."

"Oh, I understand." Jun said sweetly.

"Really?" He gulped; Jun would never let go this easily.

"Of course! I know you're too young, so we'll wait...for, oh, say, a year?"

He could've gagged right then and there. "NO! Jun, I'm never EVER going to marry you! Not even if I live to be 120 years old!"

Jun burst into tears as she gasped out, "How...could you be so mean? We were meant to be together!"

"No, we were not! Stop lying to yourself, Jun. I don't know if you were just pretending that you didn't notice, or if your thick hair prevents any information from seeping into your thick skull!" He shouted angrily at her, "I don't like you! I thought I had given enough hints, but obviously YOU DIDN'T GET IT!"

He left in a fury, and as he slammed the door behind him he could hear Jun asking in a loud voice, "Does this mean we don't get married?"

~-~-~-

She looked at her watch, her eyes straying towards the airport entrance distractedly. I wish...I wish Yamato could at least come see me off... she thought sadly to herself. She had left him a letter on his doorstep before her plane would fly her back to New York, telling him when she was going to leave. Inwardly, she kicked herself for never having enough courage to tell Yamato straightfoward.

"This is a bunch of bullshit." She cursed, waiting for the airport to announce her flight. She looked on at the mass of travelers curiously, feeling a great void in her heart. "Christmas time is coming so soon, and I don't have anyone to share it with," she whispered.

"Flight 460, Continental Airlines, please begin boarding at Gate 8. Repeat, will all passengers please begin boarding at Gate 8." A monotonous vocie blared out of the speakers, as Mimi picked up her light suitcase and entered the airplane.

"Ticket please. Thank you very much, miss." The stewardess nodded cheerfully as she checked Mimi's ticket. I don't see what there is to be happy about... She settled into her comfortable seat, her fingertips tapping her chin thoughtfully as she glanced out the window.

A few minutes passed, and then the pilot's vocie said, "Thank you. We will begin takeoff in about 10 minutes. Will all passengers please remain seated."

Lost in a daze, she began a vivid daydream, until a loud argument interrupted her. "Excuse me-! I have to get through-!" "No, you cannot begin boarding now! You don't have a ticket!" "No, please, I need to see someone-!"

"That voice..." Mimi half-whispered to herself, partially opening her eyes to find Yamato struggling against three stewardesses to reach her seat. She jumped out of her seat, her eyes wide. "Yamato-kun! What are you doing here!?"

He stopped struggling, long enough to look her in the eyes. "I know I made a mistake when I went out with Jun. It was really stupid of me, and I want you to forgive me for that."

"You're making a scene," she hissed softly in his ear, and dragged him out of the plane, leaving her suitcase behind.

"But--Mimi, you're missing your plane." He protested as she led him back into the waiting area of the airport.

"I know." She stopped pulling him, and sat down in one of the flimsy plastic chairs. She stayed quiet until Yamato took a seat beside her. "Can you tell me what that was all about?"

He took a deep breath, and said ruefully, "I meant what I said. I didn't like Jun at all, and I still don't like her. You made me realize that even more, when I saw you again and talked with you. I know that...you're the one for me."

She looked at him in a placid shock, her fingers clenching and unclenching.

"I told Jun how I really felt about her, Mimi." He leaned over to give her a small kiss on the cheek softly, his warm breath on her cheek making her dizzy with emotions. "Now let me tell you."

"...Tell me what...?" She murmmured, a smile creeping into her face.

"I want to be with you, forever and a day." He grinned shyly. "I can't...say the three words you're probably hoping to hear right now, because I need to be sure of that, one hundred percent sure. But I do know that I want you to give me a chance."

"I think I can live with that." Her lips twisted into a smile. "And I won't say those three words to you either, until I feel ready. And yeah, I will give you a chance. Starting now." With that, they hugged each other tightly, a real girl/boy hug, not just friend/friend hug. I guess I found my Christmas present after all, she thought to herself as they went home.