Hot Mimmick (Hotto Mimikku)
by: sakuramimato (sakuramimato@hotmail.com)
Story Adaptation: Aihara Miki 'Hot Gimmick'
Characters: Akiyoshi Hongo 'Digimon: Digital Monsters'
*A/N: It's best to read this if you haven't read 'Hot Gimmick' yet. ^-^; A character guideline can be found in the end comments. (Bottom of the page.)
** Solely FANwork.
---------------------------------------------
Chapter 01
[My home is a shataku, a residence owned and managed by a company for its workers and their families to live in.]
"I'm leaving now!" a chestnut-haired girl called out as she headed for the door of her apartment number 302, entitled underneath the words Tachikawa.
"Oh, Mimi-chan, please switch garbage duty with me!" a voice called for the departing girl.
"What!? What do you mean!?" the girl halted as she pulled her book bag's strap over her shoulder after it fell from stopping at the request. "Today is your turn, Miyako-chan, isn't it!?"
"Please! Today I have to meet with my boyfriend! If I stop by the garbage room I'll be late!" Miyako pleaded as she ran into her good friend's arms, making her drop her book bag. "And today I'm not feeling so well. I don't want to go to some stinky place! Please, please, please!"
"Agh, all right, I'll do it!" Mimi sighed as she gave into the pleading.
"Wah! I love you so much, Mimi-chan!" Miyako squealed as she gave her friend another hug. 'That was easy~'
"Mimi, make sure you divide it all properly before you put it out, Ishida-san's wife makes a huge deal out of that sort of thing!" Mrs. Tachikawa called out from the kitchen as she tended to her nephew eating his breakfast. "If.. If worse comes to worse.. If we displease her or something, who knows where your father will be sent off to..."
"Yeah, yeah." Mimi sighed as she took the garbage bags into her arms along with her bookbag.
"That's an awful lot to carry." a voice observed. "Why do you have so much?"
"Etoo.. stuff for gym, and a dictionary, and.. CDs and manga to lend to my friends, anoo.." Mimi listed as she went over everything that she could see in her book bag, answering him as precisely as she could.
"With that much stuff, you won't be able to carry it all to the garbage. I'll go instead so you don't have to carry it." the blue-haired boy insisted as he began to bring his hand upon the trash bags to aid the overloaded girl.
"I'm fine, Jyou." Mimi assured him as she looked up into his eyes with a smile. "It's your break after your medical exams so rest well, Onii-chan." she turned for the door and let out an inaudible 'oof' upon hitting the door. After finally opening it with all of the bags still in hand, she turned around as she closed the door and called out, "Right then, I'm off."
The door let off a slam and Jyou stood, letting out a sigh. "Geez."
Walking through the halls, Mimi greeted some of the other apartment residents. A lady greeted her, too, eyeing the large load in the young girl's arms. "Oh my, that's a lot."
Finally making her way to the garbage room, Mimi let out a sigh and put the garbage bags down with the others. She tugged at her school bag and purse and put them over her shoulder as she let out a sigh of relief. "That was heavy--"
As she was beginning to head out of the garbage room, a loud 'BAM' from the door caused her to jump as a short boy with brown, spikey hair ran across the room in a frantic. "Ah, Tachikawa, non-burnable garbage hasn't been collected yet today, right?!" He paused and began looking from left to right upon the masses of garbage bags piled on top of one another.
"Huh?! What's wrong, Izumi?" Mimi asked as she watched her classmate rummage clumsily through the piles of garbage.
"Nee-chan went and threw it away! It's gone! It's gone, my Gundam Perfect Grade, and I spent all summer break making it!" he cried out in a frantic as the sorted piles of garbage actually began to look like garbage as he frantically went through the piles.
[Koushiro Izumi lives in my building, Block A. We grew up together and go to the same high school.]
"Hey, watch out, if you scatter it around that much.." Mimi cautioned him as the mess grew even more.
"Excuse me!! You two!"
Mimi froze at the voice, and the rummaging and clattering halted.
"What are you doing, rummaging around in that kind of place! Clean this up!! How untidy..." a distinguished-looking woman glared at the two as a group of housewives from around the apartments (who had been following the lady) showed their disapproval of Izumi's misconduct as they crossed their arms at the shameful sight.
Stuttering, Mimi bowed at the women in apology for Izumi's actions. "Uh.. y-you misundersta-- e-excuse us.."
"G-good morning, Ishida-san." Izumi greeted with fear in his voice.
"Surely you're not trying to take something out of there, are you?" Ishida-san interrogated them as she looked at them in disbelief with slight shock lingering in her eyes.
Mimi violently shook her head in opposition. "No! We were looking for something--"
"Hohoho!" Ishida-san laughed at the unbelievable response. "Of course, under no circumstances would a family member of a worker of our company do something so shameful." she turned to the housewives behind her, awaiting their approval. "Right, everyone!"
"That's so true, Ishida-san!"
'Aahhh.. my Gundam...' Izumi cried quietly as Mimi stared at the sight as she pictured Ishida oba-san upon a throne with all the housewives and their husbands bowing before her.
[This Oba-san is the most eminent wife of 'Tokyo Television Broadcast Company Housing,' and reigns at the top of all the housewives of these apartments from the three A, B, and C towers.]
[She is the ABSOLUTE RULER.]
"Narita-san, your family.. oh yes! Your father is still just the third trade division's chief clerk, isn't he." Ishida-san sneered as she snapped the girl back into reality. "You're burdened with such a large household, I thought you might be economizing by doing a bit of recycling."
Supressed laughter and giggling was coming from the housewives behind her. "Of course, that couldn't be true, could it."
Mimi's cheeks flared as she heard those demeaning words coming out of Ishida-san's mouth. 'Shit. Just grin and bear it. Bear it.'
"I.. I'm sorry. We'll clean it all up." she bowed at the scorner.
"Hohoho, as long as you understand! Hoho." Ishida-san sneered as she her cackling continued, though it seemed to resonate throughout the garbage room. She regained her composure and looked at her with a serious face and cold voice. "I would like it if you'd refrain from disturbing the dignity of this place." Turning from the shamed girl, she spoke with more fire in her words. "And especially you, Izumi-kun, keep in mind that for the time being you are a friend of my Yamato-san!"
'Yamato..'
"Urg, um.. I'm..." Mimi turned from the two at the sound of his name, escaping in a hurry. "I'm going to be late for school, so I must be going."
"Goodbye!" Ishida-san called out.
"Tachikawa," Izumi called out after reaching her when his conference with Ishida-san had finished. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Mimi continued walking without looking back at him, shaking her head furiously as she tried to rid her mind of that name. "Sorry, that was my fault."
Mimi continued to shake her head violently at his apology.
"What? Isn't it?" he asked, confused as to why she was shaking her head. "Tachikawa, could it be--" Mimi's walking slowed.
"--that you're still afraid of Yama-kun?" At these words, she halted.
[flashback]
"Hey, you." a young boy with a harmonica called out. "What are you doing here?" A young Mimi was sitting on the floor had a microphone in her hand as her singing had stopped. She looked up at him in confusion.
"Move." he ordered, "This is the place where I play. Just because you can sing better than me doesn't mean anything."
"B-B-But.. Yamato-kun, I'm sorry! I-I.. didn't mean to do that" Fear began to fill her eyes as the boy advanced towards her. Backing her up to the top of the staircase, the sound of a slight bump was heard and the forceful shout of "MOVE!" echoed through the halls, as the playworld that lay before the young girl's eyes disappeared, and the steps on the staircase began to move up as she continued to fall.
"Itai.. O-Okasan.. itai.." the girl sobbed as her arms were bruised an gashed. "itai..." Looking up, toward the top of the staircase, the young boy's merciless smile forever scarred the young girl's eyes.
'All because I beat him in the talent competition..'
[end flashback]
'Just by hearing his name--' Mimi closed her eyes, dropping her head, "..that time, I thought I was going to die."
'--terrifies me.'
"But Yama-kun's been in Nanagawa since junior high," Izumi recalled, trying to lift her spirits up. "so lately you haven't met him at all, right?"
Mimi lifted up her clasped hands to her right cheek and sighed, with a tear forming in her eye. "Thank you, God."
"He went to Tokyo Arts Academy... people always told him he was the kind of musical genius that only comes along once in ten years." Izumi recalled with a slightly saddened tone in his words.
"My onii-chan went to Odaika*!" Mimi retorted, turning to face Izumi with a burning look in her eyes. (A/N: Odaika is short for Odaiba Ikadaigaku/Medical School)
"You were better friends with Taichi than Yama-kun, huh. You remember? The brown-haired kid from Yagami-san's house." Izumi asked, trying to change the subject. "He moved before second grade, so since then we haven't seen him, but--"
'Come to think of it, that time Taichi came to help me first.' Mimi flashed back to her weeping young self at the bottom of the staircase as a young boy went to comfort her. She smiled warmly at the memory, 'I wonder how he's doing, Taichi..'
"Eh?" Izumi turned from Mimi's daydreaming face to find a purple-haired girl in a junior high uniform on the floor, surrounded by three junior high guys. "Tachikawa! Look over there..."
"Mi... Miyako?" acting on her instincts, she ran to the side of her fallen friend. "Miyako-chan, what's wrong?! Are you feeling bad?!"
"Oh, Mimi-chan.." her purple hair friend groaned as she looked up into the brownish-red eyes of her friend's. "I thought I was going to be late so I was running and I slipped."
'She's so pale. What do I do?'
Miyako took her friend's arm and pulled Mimi toward her.
"Um... Should we call an ambulance?" one of the boys asked.
"What!?" Mimi's eyes widened after hearing those words. She had been so busy consoling with Miyako, wondering what to do, what was wrong with her friend, that she only half-consciously heard the boy's words.
"N-No.. Mimi-chan, we can't do that." Miyako begged, pulling her friend closer to her. "It's more than a week late."
"I might-- I might be pregnant after all..." sfx: crack
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"P-Pre-Pregnant.. have you...?!" Mimi questioned with fear and bewilderment in her actions and words.
"You're only in junior high--!!"
The two of them ended up skipping school and decided to go home. Miyako lay in the lower bunk bed of Mimi's room, burying herself under the covers. "You're talking too loudly! Jyou-kun is sleeping! If we wake him up we'll get in trouble." she warned, pulling the covers over her head to hide the embarassment. "I couldn't help it, there are times when we do it without putting one on..."
"'D-Do it', you mean you.." Mimi voice shook as she turned her attention away from Miyako, trying to hide the embarassed look that came upon her face.
"Oh.. Oh, yeah," Miyako came to an understanding, coming out from underneath the covers and looking at her cowering friend with a suspiscious look. "Mimi-chan, you haven't yet."
Mimi looked at her friend with a flushed face at the observation. Miyako continued, "Of course you haven't. You don't have a boyfriend, not a single one yet. What a waste, though, since you're so beautiful, fashionable, and everything a guy would want. (That is, most guys in my school would probably end up falling for you, anyways.)"
"Th-" Mimi turned away after hearing her friend's truthful words. "That has nothing to do with it! That's my issue! More importantly! The guy, is it that kid you were going out with before? What was it... Michael-kun?"
"Etoo.." sitting up, Miyako put a finger up to her cheek, deep in thought about answering the question. "It might not be. It might have been Yamamoto-kun from Higashi High school. Wait.. Or could it be-- Agh, which one? Hmmm..."
'There are still more!?' Mimi mentally screamed, falling to the floor. Standing up and regaining her composure, though her face was redder than any strawberry syrup she had ever put on her eggs, "P-People like you are..!!"
"I'll try to think of others. Anyway, can you go to the drug store and get me.."
"A PREGNANCY TEST?" sfx: crack Mimi's eyes shot open at the sound of those words as she began to retreat. Miyako lay back down in the bed and added, "It might be a false alarm. If I'm not pregnant, then that's lucky, right?"
"I.. I don't want to." Mimi admitted, lowering her head in defeat. "It's too embarrassing. I should ask Okasa--"
"No!" Miyako shouted, quickly sitting up in the bed and resting herself next to Mimi. Her pleading eyes looked deeply into her friend's as she began to grovel for her help.
"I can't, it's impossible. If someone saw me buying it--"
"It's better than me buying it, though. I'm a junior high schooler, I can't, right! Right!?" Miyako asked, begging her friend. Tears had begun to form in the corners of her eyes. "Please!! You're the only one I can depend on, Mimi-chan!"
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'How is this?! Like a Gal?! Is it like a Gal?!' Mimi thought to herself as she was dressed up in a platinum blonde wig, micro mini-skirt, a knee-high boots with 5-inch heels. 'Do I look adult!? Like someone who habitually uses pregnancy tests?!' Through all of the worrying about whether or not she looked like someone who uses pregnancy tests often, she returned back to reality. "Why can't I refuse to do this?"
'I have to hurry,' she thought to herself as she entered the drug store across the street, "before someone from the apartments finds me.'
"Hey! Hey, look over there!" a girl called out.
Mimi froze, 'Oh, no! I've been caught!!' she gasped as her heartrate began to rise.
"That person!" the same voice continued.
"That poster is so cute. I want that lipstick." another replied. Mimi sighed in relief, assured that they weren't talking about her.
"What are you looking for? Can I help you?"
A young man with brown her approached the fake Gal, and mentally, she answered, 'Yes?!'
'Who is that?! Do they know me?! Do they know it's me?! Could it be someone from the apartments?!' Fear filled Mimi's eyes as she panicked in her thoughts, "U-Um.. Why do you ask??"
"I mean, you look like you're in trouble." the guy said, looking earnestly at her.
'What's the deal, freaking me out like that?!' she thought to herself as a vein popped. She turned around and began walking away from the guy. "I'm fine!! That was kind of you, but I'm okay!"
'Whew, as long as it's not someone from the apartments, I don't care. And I've never seen anyone that cool-looking, who could he be..?' noticing that she had begun to fall away from her "mission", she shook her head violently for being so absent-minded. 'No, I can't be distracted, this isn't the time.'
Running through the aisles, Mimi became more wary of the people around her as she searched for the pregnancy tests. 'I found it! All right! Now to the register--' Quickly taking the box into her hand, she quickly walked toward the check-out line, 'Yes!! A woman! Hurry up, hurry up!'
"I'm sorry, just a moment. I'll go check the price." sfx: crack
'What?!'
"The next person in line please!"
'This voice is..' Mimi felt herself sinking to the ground when she finally turned to the register. 'Agh!!'
"Please, this way." the voice suggested.
'A- a young man?!' she dropped the box face-down into the counter and turned away, waiting for him to give her the check.
'No, you're wrong, it's not mine.'
While scanning the box in, the young man looked at Mimi with a slight bit of suspicion as he handed her the bag. 'What a crazy outfit.'
'I'm not boasting but I still have nothing to do with this kind of thing!' Mimi thought, thinking that she had said it aloud as she left the store with her face burning red.
"Thank you very much~!" the employees called out.
Mimi ran into the bathroom and quickly changed out of the pathetic Gal outfit, closing the door behind her and heaving out a sigh of relief. 'I did it! I've got the pregnancy test!' A smile spread across her face as she celebrated her victory, running back to the apartment complex with joy. 'I bought it! I bought it, and no one saw me!! All I have to do now is quickly take this, take this, take this and--' she stopped in front of the elevator doors. "--use it. What'll we do if she's pregnant?! If our parents find out, if they find out.. What was I so happy about, just buying the test? I'm so stupid, this is no time to be worrying about things like that!'
sfx: DING!
'..What do we do?'
The elevator had opened and Mimi, still lost in her thoughts, unconsciously moved forward to enter. Unaware, she ended up bumping into a person, dropping the bag with the pregnancy test in it. "Ah, I'm sorry." she looked up at the person with a smile, though her eyes were shut. "Excuse me--"
Noticing that the person hadn't moved, she slowly opened her eyes and froze. A tall, blonde-haired young man around her age stood before her, with his cold blue eyes staring her down. Mimi quickly turned around at the sight of this. 'I-Ishida! It's him!! Yamato!! I... I haven't seen him here for ages, and yet--
"S.. S.. S- S- S- Sorry for running into you." she stuttered, shutting her eyes tightly. 'I can't believe I ran into him, how stupid of me.'
"I was just thinking it's been quite a while since I've seen you, and what do you know," Yamato took a small, boxed package into his hands and turned it over, scoffing, "turns out you're pregnant. Hmmm.."
"Y-You're wrong!" Mimi faced him, her face burning at his words. "It's not me, it's Miya--"
[...!...]
"Is that so... isn't she a junior high school kid?" he asked, standing up.
'Oh no..' Mimi clenched her hands and looked down to the ground, closing her eyes tightly.
"Your friend, I mean." Yamato continued with a cool voice.
'I'm such an idiot!'
The pregnancy test was dropped on the floor, and Yamato walked past her. "It's crazy, that sort of thing is springing up everywhere, huh? Pretty scary. It seems really thick-headed." He paused, letting his cool, one-sided conversation set into her mentally for a second. "Wait, I was wrong. It's not that you guys seem thick-headed, you are thick-headed."
Mimi knelt down after hearing his words and admitted defeat. 'No. This isn't the time to be angry. If he tells someone about what just happened, if it becomes a rumor or something, it's my fault.' She pursued her offender, running down the flights of stairs until she reached ground, catching up with Yamato as the gate clicked upon by his hand. Struggling to open the heavy door, she called out, "W.. Wait." Yamato paused and turned to see the helpless girl squeeze herself through the door.
"Uh..Um... P-Please.." she bowed. "D-Don't tell anyone what just happened. It's not true, it's a misunderstanding. I didn't make it clear, and-- please, I beg you, don't tell Ishida-san."
Her eyes never met his and she continued to face her attention toward to ground. He looked at her with his blue eyes, showing no compassion and reveling at her stupidity. "..Are you that afraid of my mother?" Mimi's eyes widened a bit as she cringed at him mentioning of Ishida-san. He smiled with satisfaction, adding a laugh. "Everyone always yields to her and tries to act pleasant, it's so idiotic. Almost like they'd lick your shoes if you told them to."
"S-" Looking up, her face was flushed red and her eyes burned with hatred. 'Screw you! Screw you, we can't help it that your mother makes us act like that!'
She closed her eyes after hearing herself say those words. 'If I said that, I could feel so much better, so much better," She turned away, feeling the tears forming in her eyes, "but I can't..I can't.'
Yamato saw this and averted his eyes, looking at the ground. "All right. I'll keep quiet for you."
The tears stopped and Mimi turned to look at him with disbelief.
"But--" he added with a smile upon his face, contradicting the deceitful look in his eyes, "you'll have to be my slave. After all, I've been wanting a slave I can do it with when I feel like it."
"Wh..?" her eyes followed him as he opened a side door.
"C'mere. My mother will find us here." he held the door open for her, coaxing her to come in. "It's not a big deal, is it? It's not like I'd tell you to be my girlfriend or go out with me or something."
'Not a big deal?' confused, she scratched a finger on her head, wondering what he meant by it. 'It's not a big deal?!' beginning to realize what he meant, panic was overcoming her, 'No, it has to be a big deal!!'
She had unconsciously begun to walk toward Yamato's place at the door, and he pulled her arm, leading her through the door and backing her up against the wall. "For now," he whispered, resting his hand upon her chest and giving her a squeeze, "How much have you got?"
"Ehh.. a.. Wh-What are you doing, stop it!" she pushed him away with all the force she could and crossed her arms around her. "Don't touch me. Don't touch me."
'I'm scared.'
"Don't touch me. I don't want you to. Don't touch me."
'Is this his form of revenge?
"You want me to keep quiet, don't you?" he asked her, losing the smile that he had on earlier.
"I.." she began, 'Just because of that?'
"But if you don't want to," he began, fixing a strand of hair that had fallen out of place. "I wouldn't mind. So? (heheh)"
'He's enjoying this. The jerk is enjoying this.' Mimi looked down as her cheeks flared up, trying to find a way to get out of this mess, "A.. all.. right.."
"You mean 'I understand, Master' don't you?" Yamato scoffed, forcing himself onto her once again, wrapping his hands around her wrists so she couldn't fight back once again, "You are a slave who will listen to whatever I say, after all."
"You've gotten so much older, and yet you're still playing doctor, Yamato-kun?" a voice asked from below the staircase.
'What!?' Mimi's eyes widened at those words. She and Yamato turned their attention to the speaker below as he continued.
"Or maybe you can't grow up because all you ever did was worry about your music and your hair?" the young man turned his attention toward Mimi. "What do you think, Mimi?"
"Huh?" she looked at him in confusion. 'He called me by my first name.. How would he know?..'
"What? Oh.." looking at him again, she recalled, 'It's the guy from the drugstore.'
"Why are you..?" she began, 'here?'
"Same goes for you." Yamato scoffed, "..You haven't changed a bit. You still piss me off, Taichi."
"Ta- Taichi?" her eyes widened at the name.
"Quit teasing Mimi," the new-comer grinned, "you self-centered little shit."
'It can't be.' Mimi gasped, raising a hand to her lips.
"Guess what, my old man says he's coming back from his overseas transfer, and I'm coming back here next week, too." Taichi announced with a grin, putting his foot up on the step before him. He shifted his attention from Mimi, "If you try to do anything to Mimi, I won't let you, Yamato."
"It.. It's really you, Taichi..."
"Yep. I'm back, Mimi."
[Chapter 01 End]
Mimi: 3 (Kyaaa! Welcome home!) -^.^-
Yamato: "..." (This girl pisses me off.) -.-;+ vein pop
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A/N: So, what do you think? ^^;; I know.. for those of you have read the 'Hot Gimmick' manga, it's practically the same with some things switched around. T_T I'll try to add more changes in upcoming chapters, but wow~ this was a long one. ^^; Here's a little character guideline just for reference~!
Tachikawa Mimi - 16 years old. Second-year student at Odaiba High School (private). Lives with mom, dad, Inoue Miyako, younger cousin Hikari (male), and Tachikawa Jyou (you'll see what's up with the strangeness in the future.. no, they're not married -_-; Did it say Jyoumi?).
Tachikawa Jyou - 19 years old. Attends Tokyo University, studying medicine/to become a doctor. Mimi's "onii-chan".
Inoue Miyako - 14 years old. Third-year student at local junior high (public). Transferred from northern Tokyo and is living with the Tachikawas. Shares a room with Mimi (top bunk) and is in her boy-crazy stage. Idolizes Mimi.
Koushirou Izumi - 16 years old. Second-year student at Odaiba High School (private). Still a computer nerd and top of his class. Has had a crush on neighbor Tachikawa Mimi since junior high.
Ishida Yamato - 17 years old. Third year student at Tokyo Arts Academy (private, elite). Lead singer and bass guitar player of his [popular] band. Lives with step-mom and dad is usually out at work. (Father became the president of his television company.) Jealous of Mimi for being more talented in singing than she is (junior high competition, second place).
Yagami Taichi - 17 years old. #1 soccer player in the nation (popular sport in their time) and is notable for his good looks. Attends third year at Odaiba High School, but is in a second year class.
by: sakuramimato (sakuramimato@hotmail.com)
Story Adaptation: Aihara Miki 'Hot Gimmick'
Characters: Akiyoshi Hongo 'Digimon: Digital Monsters'
*A/N: It's best to read this if you haven't read 'Hot Gimmick' yet. ^-^; A character guideline can be found in the end comments. (Bottom of the page.)
** Solely FANwork.
---------------------------------------------
Chapter 01
[My home is a shataku, a residence owned and managed by a company for its workers and their families to live in.]
"I'm leaving now!" a chestnut-haired girl called out as she headed for the door of her apartment number 302, entitled underneath the words Tachikawa.
"Oh, Mimi-chan, please switch garbage duty with me!" a voice called for the departing girl.
"What!? What do you mean!?" the girl halted as she pulled her book bag's strap over her shoulder after it fell from stopping at the request. "Today is your turn, Miyako-chan, isn't it!?"
"Please! Today I have to meet with my boyfriend! If I stop by the garbage room I'll be late!" Miyako pleaded as she ran into her good friend's arms, making her drop her book bag. "And today I'm not feeling so well. I don't want to go to some stinky place! Please, please, please!"
"Agh, all right, I'll do it!" Mimi sighed as she gave into the pleading.
"Wah! I love you so much, Mimi-chan!" Miyako squealed as she gave her friend another hug. 'That was easy~'
"Mimi, make sure you divide it all properly before you put it out, Ishida-san's wife makes a huge deal out of that sort of thing!" Mrs. Tachikawa called out from the kitchen as she tended to her nephew eating his breakfast. "If.. If worse comes to worse.. If we displease her or something, who knows where your father will be sent off to..."
"Yeah, yeah." Mimi sighed as she took the garbage bags into her arms along with her bookbag.
"That's an awful lot to carry." a voice observed. "Why do you have so much?"
"Etoo.. stuff for gym, and a dictionary, and.. CDs and manga to lend to my friends, anoo.." Mimi listed as she went over everything that she could see in her book bag, answering him as precisely as she could.
"With that much stuff, you won't be able to carry it all to the garbage. I'll go instead so you don't have to carry it." the blue-haired boy insisted as he began to bring his hand upon the trash bags to aid the overloaded girl.
"I'm fine, Jyou." Mimi assured him as she looked up into his eyes with a smile. "It's your break after your medical exams so rest well, Onii-chan." she turned for the door and let out an inaudible 'oof' upon hitting the door. After finally opening it with all of the bags still in hand, she turned around as she closed the door and called out, "Right then, I'm off."
The door let off a slam and Jyou stood, letting out a sigh. "Geez."
Walking through the halls, Mimi greeted some of the other apartment residents. A lady greeted her, too, eyeing the large load in the young girl's arms. "Oh my, that's a lot."
Finally making her way to the garbage room, Mimi let out a sigh and put the garbage bags down with the others. She tugged at her school bag and purse and put them over her shoulder as she let out a sigh of relief. "That was heavy--"
As she was beginning to head out of the garbage room, a loud 'BAM' from the door caused her to jump as a short boy with brown, spikey hair ran across the room in a frantic. "Ah, Tachikawa, non-burnable garbage hasn't been collected yet today, right?!" He paused and began looking from left to right upon the masses of garbage bags piled on top of one another.
"Huh?! What's wrong, Izumi?" Mimi asked as she watched her classmate rummage clumsily through the piles of garbage.
"Nee-chan went and threw it away! It's gone! It's gone, my Gundam Perfect Grade, and I spent all summer break making it!" he cried out in a frantic as the sorted piles of garbage actually began to look like garbage as he frantically went through the piles.
[Koushiro Izumi lives in my building, Block A. We grew up together and go to the same high school.]
"Hey, watch out, if you scatter it around that much.." Mimi cautioned him as the mess grew even more.
"Excuse me!! You two!"
Mimi froze at the voice, and the rummaging and clattering halted.
"What are you doing, rummaging around in that kind of place! Clean this up!! How untidy..." a distinguished-looking woman glared at the two as a group of housewives from around the apartments (who had been following the lady) showed their disapproval of Izumi's misconduct as they crossed their arms at the shameful sight.
Stuttering, Mimi bowed at the women in apology for Izumi's actions. "Uh.. y-you misundersta-- e-excuse us.."
"G-good morning, Ishida-san." Izumi greeted with fear in his voice.
"Surely you're not trying to take something out of there, are you?" Ishida-san interrogated them as she looked at them in disbelief with slight shock lingering in her eyes.
Mimi violently shook her head in opposition. "No! We were looking for something--"
"Hohoho!" Ishida-san laughed at the unbelievable response. "Of course, under no circumstances would a family member of a worker of our company do something so shameful." she turned to the housewives behind her, awaiting their approval. "Right, everyone!"
"That's so true, Ishida-san!"
'Aahhh.. my Gundam...' Izumi cried quietly as Mimi stared at the sight as she pictured Ishida oba-san upon a throne with all the housewives and their husbands bowing before her.
[This Oba-san is the most eminent wife of 'Tokyo Television Broadcast Company Housing,' and reigns at the top of all the housewives of these apartments from the three A, B, and C towers.]
[She is the ABSOLUTE RULER.]
"Narita-san, your family.. oh yes! Your father is still just the third trade division's chief clerk, isn't he." Ishida-san sneered as she snapped the girl back into reality. "You're burdened with such a large household, I thought you might be economizing by doing a bit of recycling."
Supressed laughter and giggling was coming from the housewives behind her. "Of course, that couldn't be true, could it."
Mimi's cheeks flared as she heard those demeaning words coming out of Ishida-san's mouth. 'Shit. Just grin and bear it. Bear it.'
"I.. I'm sorry. We'll clean it all up." she bowed at the scorner.
"Hohoho, as long as you understand! Hoho." Ishida-san sneered as she her cackling continued, though it seemed to resonate throughout the garbage room. She regained her composure and looked at her with a serious face and cold voice. "I would like it if you'd refrain from disturbing the dignity of this place." Turning from the shamed girl, she spoke with more fire in her words. "And especially you, Izumi-kun, keep in mind that for the time being you are a friend of my Yamato-san!"
'Yamato..'
"Urg, um.. I'm..." Mimi turned from the two at the sound of his name, escaping in a hurry. "I'm going to be late for school, so I must be going."
"Goodbye!" Ishida-san called out.
"Tachikawa," Izumi called out after reaching her when his conference with Ishida-san had finished. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Mimi continued walking without looking back at him, shaking her head furiously as she tried to rid her mind of that name. "Sorry, that was my fault."
Mimi continued to shake her head violently at his apology.
"What? Isn't it?" he asked, confused as to why she was shaking her head. "Tachikawa, could it be--" Mimi's walking slowed.
"--that you're still afraid of Yama-kun?" At these words, she halted.
[flashback]
"Hey, you." a young boy with a harmonica called out. "What are you doing here?" A young Mimi was sitting on the floor had a microphone in her hand as her singing had stopped. She looked up at him in confusion.
"Move." he ordered, "This is the place where I play. Just because you can sing better than me doesn't mean anything."
"B-B-But.. Yamato-kun, I'm sorry! I-I.. didn't mean to do that" Fear began to fill her eyes as the boy advanced towards her. Backing her up to the top of the staircase, the sound of a slight bump was heard and the forceful shout of "MOVE!" echoed through the halls, as the playworld that lay before the young girl's eyes disappeared, and the steps on the staircase began to move up as she continued to fall.
"Itai.. O-Okasan.. itai.." the girl sobbed as her arms were bruised an gashed. "itai..." Looking up, toward the top of the staircase, the young boy's merciless smile forever scarred the young girl's eyes.
'All because I beat him in the talent competition..'
[end flashback]
'Just by hearing his name--' Mimi closed her eyes, dropping her head, "..that time, I thought I was going to die."
'--terrifies me.'
"But Yama-kun's been in Nanagawa since junior high," Izumi recalled, trying to lift her spirits up. "so lately you haven't met him at all, right?"
Mimi lifted up her clasped hands to her right cheek and sighed, with a tear forming in her eye. "Thank you, God."
"He went to Tokyo Arts Academy... people always told him he was the kind of musical genius that only comes along once in ten years." Izumi recalled with a slightly saddened tone in his words.
"My onii-chan went to Odaika*!" Mimi retorted, turning to face Izumi with a burning look in her eyes. (A/N: Odaika is short for Odaiba Ikadaigaku/Medical School)
"You were better friends with Taichi than Yama-kun, huh. You remember? The brown-haired kid from Yagami-san's house." Izumi asked, trying to change the subject. "He moved before second grade, so since then we haven't seen him, but--"
'Come to think of it, that time Taichi came to help me first.' Mimi flashed back to her weeping young self at the bottom of the staircase as a young boy went to comfort her. She smiled warmly at the memory, 'I wonder how he's doing, Taichi..'
"Eh?" Izumi turned from Mimi's daydreaming face to find a purple-haired girl in a junior high uniform on the floor, surrounded by three junior high guys. "Tachikawa! Look over there..."
"Mi... Miyako?" acting on her instincts, she ran to the side of her fallen friend. "Miyako-chan, what's wrong?! Are you feeling bad?!"
"Oh, Mimi-chan.." her purple hair friend groaned as she looked up into the brownish-red eyes of her friend's. "I thought I was going to be late so I was running and I slipped."
'She's so pale. What do I do?'
Miyako took her friend's arm and pulled Mimi toward her.
"Um... Should we call an ambulance?" one of the boys asked.
"What!?" Mimi's eyes widened after hearing those words. She had been so busy consoling with Miyako, wondering what to do, what was wrong with her friend, that she only half-consciously heard the boy's words.
"N-No.. Mimi-chan, we can't do that." Miyako begged, pulling her friend closer to her. "It's more than a week late."
"I might-- I might be pregnant after all..." sfx: crack
---------------------------------------------
"P-Pre-Pregnant.. have you...?!" Mimi questioned with fear and bewilderment in her actions and words.
"You're only in junior high--!!"
The two of them ended up skipping school and decided to go home. Miyako lay in the lower bunk bed of Mimi's room, burying herself under the covers. "You're talking too loudly! Jyou-kun is sleeping! If we wake him up we'll get in trouble." she warned, pulling the covers over her head to hide the embarassment. "I couldn't help it, there are times when we do it without putting one on..."
"'D-Do it', you mean you.." Mimi voice shook as she turned her attention away from Miyako, trying to hide the embarassed look that came upon her face.
"Oh.. Oh, yeah," Miyako came to an understanding, coming out from underneath the covers and looking at her cowering friend with a suspiscious look. "Mimi-chan, you haven't yet."
Mimi looked at her friend with a flushed face at the observation. Miyako continued, "Of course you haven't. You don't have a boyfriend, not a single one yet. What a waste, though, since you're so beautiful, fashionable, and everything a guy would want. (That is, most guys in my school would probably end up falling for you, anyways.)"
"Th-" Mimi turned away after hearing her friend's truthful words. "That has nothing to do with it! That's my issue! More importantly! The guy, is it that kid you were going out with before? What was it... Michael-kun?"
"Etoo.." sitting up, Miyako put a finger up to her cheek, deep in thought about answering the question. "It might not be. It might have been Yamamoto-kun from Higashi High school. Wait.. Or could it be-- Agh, which one? Hmmm..."
'There are still more!?' Mimi mentally screamed, falling to the floor. Standing up and regaining her composure, though her face was redder than any strawberry syrup she had ever put on her eggs, "P-People like you are..!!"
"I'll try to think of others. Anyway, can you go to the drug store and get me.."
"A PREGNANCY TEST?" sfx: crack Mimi's eyes shot open at the sound of those words as she began to retreat. Miyako lay back down in the bed and added, "It might be a false alarm. If I'm not pregnant, then that's lucky, right?"
"I.. I don't want to." Mimi admitted, lowering her head in defeat. "It's too embarrassing. I should ask Okasa--"
"No!" Miyako shouted, quickly sitting up in the bed and resting herself next to Mimi. Her pleading eyes looked deeply into her friend's as she began to grovel for her help.
"I can't, it's impossible. If someone saw me buying it--"
"It's better than me buying it, though. I'm a junior high schooler, I can't, right! Right!?" Miyako asked, begging her friend. Tears had begun to form in the corners of her eyes. "Please!! You're the only one I can depend on, Mimi-chan!"
---------------------------------------------
'How is this?! Like a Gal?! Is it like a Gal?!' Mimi thought to herself as she was dressed up in a platinum blonde wig, micro mini-skirt, a knee-high boots with 5-inch heels. 'Do I look adult!? Like someone who habitually uses pregnancy tests?!' Through all of the worrying about whether or not she looked like someone who uses pregnancy tests often, she returned back to reality. "Why can't I refuse to do this?"
'I have to hurry,' she thought to herself as she entered the drug store across the street, "before someone from the apartments finds me.'
"Hey! Hey, look over there!" a girl called out.
Mimi froze, 'Oh, no! I've been caught!!' she gasped as her heartrate began to rise.
"That person!" the same voice continued.
"That poster is so cute. I want that lipstick." another replied. Mimi sighed in relief, assured that they weren't talking about her.
"What are you looking for? Can I help you?"
A young man with brown her approached the fake Gal, and mentally, she answered, 'Yes?!'
'Who is that?! Do they know me?! Do they know it's me?! Could it be someone from the apartments?!' Fear filled Mimi's eyes as she panicked in her thoughts, "U-Um.. Why do you ask??"
"I mean, you look like you're in trouble." the guy said, looking earnestly at her.
'What's the deal, freaking me out like that?!' she thought to herself as a vein popped. She turned around and began walking away from the guy. "I'm fine!! That was kind of you, but I'm okay!"
'Whew, as long as it's not someone from the apartments, I don't care. And I've never seen anyone that cool-looking, who could he be..?' noticing that she had begun to fall away from her "mission", she shook her head violently for being so absent-minded. 'No, I can't be distracted, this isn't the time.'
Running through the aisles, Mimi became more wary of the people around her as she searched for the pregnancy tests. 'I found it! All right! Now to the register--' Quickly taking the box into her hand, she quickly walked toward the check-out line, 'Yes!! A woman! Hurry up, hurry up!'
"I'm sorry, just a moment. I'll go check the price." sfx: crack
'What?!'
"The next person in line please!"
'This voice is..' Mimi felt herself sinking to the ground when she finally turned to the register. 'Agh!!'
"Please, this way." the voice suggested.
'A- a young man?!' she dropped the box face-down into the counter and turned away, waiting for him to give her the check.
'No, you're wrong, it's not mine.'
While scanning the box in, the young man looked at Mimi with a slight bit of suspicion as he handed her the bag. 'What a crazy outfit.'
'I'm not boasting but I still have nothing to do with this kind of thing!' Mimi thought, thinking that she had said it aloud as she left the store with her face burning red.
"Thank you very much~!" the employees called out.
Mimi ran into the bathroom and quickly changed out of the pathetic Gal outfit, closing the door behind her and heaving out a sigh of relief. 'I did it! I've got the pregnancy test!' A smile spread across her face as she celebrated her victory, running back to the apartment complex with joy. 'I bought it! I bought it, and no one saw me!! All I have to do now is quickly take this, take this, take this and--' she stopped in front of the elevator doors. "--use it. What'll we do if she's pregnant?! If our parents find out, if they find out.. What was I so happy about, just buying the test? I'm so stupid, this is no time to be worrying about things like that!'
sfx: DING!
'..What do we do?'
The elevator had opened and Mimi, still lost in her thoughts, unconsciously moved forward to enter. Unaware, she ended up bumping into a person, dropping the bag with the pregnancy test in it. "Ah, I'm sorry." she looked up at the person with a smile, though her eyes were shut. "Excuse me--"
Noticing that the person hadn't moved, she slowly opened her eyes and froze. A tall, blonde-haired young man around her age stood before her, with his cold blue eyes staring her down. Mimi quickly turned around at the sight of this. 'I-Ishida! It's him!! Yamato!! I... I haven't seen him here for ages, and yet--
"S.. S.. S- S- S- Sorry for running into you." she stuttered, shutting her eyes tightly. 'I can't believe I ran into him, how stupid of me.'
"I was just thinking it's been quite a while since I've seen you, and what do you know," Yamato took a small, boxed package into his hands and turned it over, scoffing, "turns out you're pregnant. Hmmm.."
"Y-You're wrong!" Mimi faced him, her face burning at his words. "It's not me, it's Miya--"
[...!...]
"Is that so... isn't she a junior high school kid?" he asked, standing up.
'Oh no..' Mimi clenched her hands and looked down to the ground, closing her eyes tightly.
"Your friend, I mean." Yamato continued with a cool voice.
'I'm such an idiot!'
The pregnancy test was dropped on the floor, and Yamato walked past her. "It's crazy, that sort of thing is springing up everywhere, huh? Pretty scary. It seems really thick-headed." He paused, letting his cool, one-sided conversation set into her mentally for a second. "Wait, I was wrong. It's not that you guys seem thick-headed, you are thick-headed."
Mimi knelt down after hearing his words and admitted defeat. 'No. This isn't the time to be angry. If he tells someone about what just happened, if it becomes a rumor or something, it's my fault.' She pursued her offender, running down the flights of stairs until she reached ground, catching up with Yamato as the gate clicked upon by his hand. Struggling to open the heavy door, she called out, "W.. Wait." Yamato paused and turned to see the helpless girl squeeze herself through the door.
"Uh..Um... P-Please.." she bowed. "D-Don't tell anyone what just happened. It's not true, it's a misunderstanding. I didn't make it clear, and-- please, I beg you, don't tell Ishida-san."
Her eyes never met his and she continued to face her attention toward to ground. He looked at her with his blue eyes, showing no compassion and reveling at her stupidity. "..Are you that afraid of my mother?" Mimi's eyes widened a bit as she cringed at him mentioning of Ishida-san. He smiled with satisfaction, adding a laugh. "Everyone always yields to her and tries to act pleasant, it's so idiotic. Almost like they'd lick your shoes if you told them to."
"S-" Looking up, her face was flushed red and her eyes burned with hatred. 'Screw you! Screw you, we can't help it that your mother makes us act like that!'
She closed her eyes after hearing herself say those words. 'If I said that, I could feel so much better, so much better," She turned away, feeling the tears forming in her eyes, "but I can't..I can't.'
Yamato saw this and averted his eyes, looking at the ground. "All right. I'll keep quiet for you."
The tears stopped and Mimi turned to look at him with disbelief.
"But--" he added with a smile upon his face, contradicting the deceitful look in his eyes, "you'll have to be my slave. After all, I've been wanting a slave I can do it with when I feel like it."
"Wh..?" her eyes followed him as he opened a side door.
"C'mere. My mother will find us here." he held the door open for her, coaxing her to come in. "It's not a big deal, is it? It's not like I'd tell you to be my girlfriend or go out with me or something."
'Not a big deal?' confused, she scratched a finger on her head, wondering what he meant by it. 'It's not a big deal?!' beginning to realize what he meant, panic was overcoming her, 'No, it has to be a big deal!!'
She had unconsciously begun to walk toward Yamato's place at the door, and he pulled her arm, leading her through the door and backing her up against the wall. "For now," he whispered, resting his hand upon her chest and giving her a squeeze, "How much have you got?"
"Ehh.. a.. Wh-What are you doing, stop it!" she pushed him away with all the force she could and crossed her arms around her. "Don't touch me. Don't touch me."
'I'm scared.'
"Don't touch me. I don't want you to. Don't touch me."
'Is this his form of revenge?
"You want me to keep quiet, don't you?" he asked her, losing the smile that he had on earlier.
"I.." she began, 'Just because of that?'
"But if you don't want to," he began, fixing a strand of hair that had fallen out of place. "I wouldn't mind. So? (heheh)"
'He's enjoying this. The jerk is enjoying this.' Mimi looked down as her cheeks flared up, trying to find a way to get out of this mess, "A.. all.. right.."
"You mean 'I understand, Master' don't you?" Yamato scoffed, forcing himself onto her once again, wrapping his hands around her wrists so she couldn't fight back once again, "You are a slave who will listen to whatever I say, after all."
"You've gotten so much older, and yet you're still playing doctor, Yamato-kun?" a voice asked from below the staircase.
'What!?' Mimi's eyes widened at those words. She and Yamato turned their attention to the speaker below as he continued.
"Or maybe you can't grow up because all you ever did was worry about your music and your hair?" the young man turned his attention toward Mimi. "What do you think, Mimi?"
"Huh?" she looked at him in confusion. 'He called me by my first name.. How would he know?..'
"What? Oh.." looking at him again, she recalled, 'It's the guy from the drugstore.'
"Why are you..?" she began, 'here?'
"Same goes for you." Yamato scoffed, "..You haven't changed a bit. You still piss me off, Taichi."
"Ta- Taichi?" her eyes widened at the name.
"Quit teasing Mimi," the new-comer grinned, "you self-centered little shit."
'It can't be.' Mimi gasped, raising a hand to her lips.
"Guess what, my old man says he's coming back from his overseas transfer, and I'm coming back here next week, too." Taichi announced with a grin, putting his foot up on the step before him. He shifted his attention from Mimi, "If you try to do anything to Mimi, I won't let you, Yamato."
"It.. It's really you, Taichi..."
"Yep. I'm back, Mimi."
[Chapter 01 End]
Mimi: 3 (Kyaaa! Welcome home!) -^.^-
Yamato: "..." (This girl pisses me off.) -.-;+ vein pop
---------------------------------------------
A/N: So, what do you think? ^^;; I know.. for those of you have read the 'Hot Gimmick' manga, it's practically the same with some things switched around. T_T I'll try to add more changes in upcoming chapters, but wow~ this was a long one. ^^; Here's a little character guideline just for reference~!
Tachikawa Mimi - 16 years old. Second-year student at Odaiba High School (private). Lives with mom, dad, Inoue Miyako, younger cousin Hikari (male), and Tachikawa Jyou (you'll see what's up with the strangeness in the future.. no, they're not married -_-; Did it say Jyoumi?).
Tachikawa Jyou - 19 years old. Attends Tokyo University, studying medicine/to become a doctor. Mimi's "onii-chan".
Inoue Miyako - 14 years old. Third-year student at local junior high (public). Transferred from northern Tokyo and is living with the Tachikawas. Shares a room with Mimi (top bunk) and is in her boy-crazy stage. Idolizes Mimi.
Koushirou Izumi - 16 years old. Second-year student at Odaiba High School (private). Still a computer nerd and top of his class. Has had a crush on neighbor Tachikawa Mimi since junior high.
Ishida Yamato - 17 years old. Third year student at Tokyo Arts Academy (private, elite). Lead singer and bass guitar player of his [popular] band. Lives with step-mom and dad is usually out at work. (Father became the president of his television company.) Jealous of Mimi for being more talented in singing than she is (junior high competition, second place).
Yagami Taichi - 17 years old. #1 soccer player in the nation (popular sport in their time) and is notable for his good looks. Attends third year at Odaiba High School, but is in a second year class.