Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

Author's Note: This is a Michi fic that I intend on continuing. I want it to keep on getting better in hopes that the readers can enjoy it to the fullest, so feedback would be awesome! This is rated K+ for now but probably will be rated higher for later chapters because of slightly more serious themes. Thank you and enjoy!


Delicate

Chapter 1

Bound

Hands on hips, elongate the neck, bend one leg inward to make an angle, give a subtle smile and stare the lens down with her hooded eyes. The camera flash went off and Mimi rotated into the next position as the photographer cheered her on enthusiastically ("Beautiful my darling, that's gorgeous right there!"). Her flowing, sangria red dress complimented her body's slight feminine curves that had become her signature, if you will.

Mimi had been spotted on the streets of Tokyo by a modeling scout at the age of eighteen, shortly after she left school. The scout brought her back to an agency and soon after offered her a contract. All those around her seemed to incessantly scrutinize and nitpick, obsessing over miniscule details. She built a portfolio and visited designers. She hated that - standing almost nude in a room with other girls while being told: "Lose ten pounds and come back". It was horrible. She would cry now and again because of the rejection but never in front of other people. She considered herself a strong person now... and those types of people don't break down and give up, do they?

She found fortune when she booked a campaign for a well known swimsuit and lingerie company. It's popularity boomed and in what felt like no time at all, Mimi was strutting the runway for legendary designers, featured in 'up and coming models' lists and mingling with celebrities at glamorous parties in enormous, luxurious condos. She couldn't believe her luck. Aside from the paparazzi, she felt like all the criticism and hurt had ultimately paid off.

Of course, Mimi had to leave her Odaiba life behind. Her family went on as normally as they could and Mimi got back to see them whenever she could (and even this was every five or six months). Her peers had turned into a distant memory. They had all moved on to different things: Jyou with his medicine, Koushiro with his computer technology and Hikari and Takeru with their teaching preparation and writing (to name a few)

.

She sometimes reminisced. Foggy thoughts of sunshine-filled days where she walked through parks barefoot with the sensation of the fresh grass in between her toes and drinking soda while perched atop the fountain statue. It was good but there was nothing like that now. Sandwiches at picnics were replaced by cocaine in nightclubs. Mindless chatter about pointless topics was the new version of the sound of simple, unadulterated laughter.

Mimi had not a lot of time for relationships. There was the constant plague of fear that a man she had gone out with would run to the tabloids and claim false information about her. It had happened to plenty of well known people before her and Mimi did not want to be humiliated. But something had changed lately and no one was more shocked than Mimi herself. Right now, she was seeing a male model by the name of Takeo. He was handsome but not arrogant or an egomaniac. He was level headed, sweet and thoughtful albeit somewhat over-protective; they'd been together for over six months, which was surprising considering Mimi's track record with men.

She had had one other boyfriend before in high school and they had gotten on well. Mimi would daresay that she was falling in love (looking back, she felt foolish after thinking that). However, they both ended up wanting different things and with Mimi's modeling career taking off, she could not provide suitable attention to him and their being together.

It ended with one explosive argument. Mimi said things that she did not mean and she hoped that he did the same (considering what he said). She stormed out and never spoke to him again. She wondered what would have happened if she were still with him. Would she still love him?

Would she still love Taichi?

She made sure that she would prove herself after that. All almost everybody had seen of her was an adorable ditz with a heart of gold and a fashion sense to boot. It wasn't fully her. No one took her seriously. But did she really want it to be like this? Did she want to be a twenty-year-old supermodel that was wanted by all... but not for the right reasons? What would happen when she was no longer attractive? Who would want her then?

Mimi eyed the complimentary bottle of champagne on the studio table in front of her carefully. She didn't want to get drunk after all this nostalgia; she'd probably go on gabbing to strangers about her personal life. Plus, her agency and publicist – Haru – here in Tokyo would rip her to shreds if she ended up in the magazines appearing blatantly wasted. She sighed, stood up, picked up her purse and made for the building exit.

The streets were full of people. None of the faces were familiar. Mimi began to walk, moving fast to keep herself warm. She heard someone gasp as if they recognized her, but she turned the corner before she could be spotted. People constantly approached her. The paparazzi were not following her tonight. Not that they did all the time, but when something dramatic happened in her life, they were sure to be there. You could always count on them to disturb the hell out of you. From nowhere (or so it seemed at the time), a voice called after her. But it didn't sound like someone seeking an autograph…

"Mimi?"

She swung around.

It was him.