Midnight's Offer
Ichijouji Ken strolled down the streets of Odaiba. He turned the corners casually and passed the others with his hands in his pocket. Though cloudy in the sky, the streets were as busy as ever. Cars beeped at those who tried to dart in front of them to pass. Many kids and young adults moved through the traffic on their bicycles with ease. Most, however, were caught behind in the rush of wheels. Ken and a third of the group traveled on foot. It was the most easiest, cheapest, and fastest ways to get around on busy days like this.
He passed the computer store, the store that he would usually stop in to purchase the newest item. His mind was blank; he didn't exactly know where he was going. It just felt right to walk around the streets without a cause. Maybe others walking on foot felt the same way; their minds blank, their destination endless. People laughed merrily as if this were a holiday of fun. It wasn't. It was just a normal day of which the streets were full and the stores were open. Sales… Ah yes, the stores all had sale tags in their windows. That's why everyone was laughing…
Ken stopped to look around. More than three-quarters of the population around him were girls. Girls with bags in their arms, girls with sun hats in their hands, asking if it looked okay to their friends. They were everywhere. The only time Ken saw the male quarter was when they passed by, screaming for their mommy and daddy. Where did all the older boys lead off to?
He raised his head towards the sky and scratched the back of his head. Little black … things… darted in the distant sky, dancing around each other with bird-like swoops. Some of them had long tails stretching down. Then it hit him like a bee sting in the brain. Many of the boys were flying kites in the kite battle. He shook his head and laughed at himself. It took him a day's walk just to remember why the females flooded the streets.
"Lunch hour," he mumbled after he glanced at his watch. "Note the cars," he mumbled again. A large object crossed the sky out of the corner of Ken's eye. He jerked his head up, half thinking it was a stray kite, half thinking it was a loose digimon flying to attack the towns. Another chuckle slipped through his lips when he realized it was a plane. "I have to stop staying up so late," he rubbed his eyes, "I'm beginning to hallucinate."
"Hey, Ken!"
He turned on his toes and searched the flood of people for a familiar face. The one who called his name. His eyes set upon Inoue Miyako and Yagami Hikari. It would figure that they would be here…
"Hello," he nodded to them both.
Miyako started to push him in the direction they were going. "Do you want to come to the airport with us?"
"What for? Did you book me a flight to paradise?" he asked, keeping in step.
"No, silly," Hikari rolled her eyes, "Mimi's coming for a little visit."
"Mi---mi, why do I have to go?"
"Because the entire group is going to be there and the last time we did that, you were well," Miyako's words drifted.
Ken snorted, "An enemy?"
"Hey! I didn't say it, okay? But it's the truth. Wanna come?" Miyako stopped and looked at him.
He tried to remember where he was going. He kicked himself when he realized that he didn't have a specific place to go. But he didn't really want to go to the airport. From what he heard of Mimi, she was just as whiny and annoying as Miyako.
"Well?" she tapped her foot. "Going?"
"Come on," Hikari pleaded, "it'll be fun. We're going to go to the pizza parlor afterwards. You like pizza, don't you?"
"Order a plain cheese with pineapples on the side and I'll go," he finally answered.
"Deal," Miyako grinned and began to walk again.
Shoot… Now, why was he going to see a near-complete stranger? For a slice of pizza? He must've been hallucinating again. Probably drifting into a world full of cheese pizza with pineapples on the side. And a nice, refreshing drink to go with it. Hey, free pizza, right? Besides, what harm could it do? It's just another Digidestined meeting, another chance to see the entire group, and another chance to drift away from it all.
"When is she supposed to be here?" Ishida Yamato stared at his wristwatch; "I've got to split in about two hours. And you know how much she likes to talk."
"Tell me about it," Yagami Taichi, Hikari's older, taller, but not-so-quick brother agreed. "Last time I called her, we stayed on for a long time…"
"How long?" Izumi Koushiro, another boy genius asked.
Taichi scratched his neck and laughed uneasily. "Let's just say that my dad's still counting all the zeros to the phone bill."
Another teenager approached the area. His eyes were hidden behind glasses and they reflected the words of his book that was in his hand. That was Kido Jyou, never dropping a book unless someone stepped on his toe. His hobby was to study. Kind of like Koushiro and his hobby of computers. But even the Izumi offspring caught time to watch a movie or go to a party with his friends. Jyou always missed it because he had tests, studying, or more tests.
"Jyou, seriously," Taichi pulled the book away, "you're going to see Mimi. She doesn't want to look at you and only see a blue head. Come on, just put it away for a couple hours."
"Taichi," he frowned and brought the book back to his hands, "I was almost done with the chapter anyway."
The beautiful Takenouchi Sora stepped up behind him. Her hair was more of a brown than red, but she was as sweet as a rose. Ken looked at her for the first time without looking at her through the screen and found out why Miyako and Hikari looked up to her so much. She may not have been the wisest, but she was certainly a motherly friend. He wondered if he would trip, if she would come by his side and hold a Band-Aid out to him.
"Jyou, are you still reading nonstop?" she asked. He didn't even look up. "I guess so. Is her plane here yet?"
"No," Miyako said impatiently. "Hey, where'd Iori go?"
"To the um, big boy's room," Taichi reported. "He got mad at me when I said that the little boy's room was down there."
She crossed her arms; "You've got to give him a break… He's the short--"
"Miyako!" his voice seemed to scream out "No short jokes, please!"
"Sorry, Io'," Miyako smiled innocently.
"There's her plane!" Ken felt a shove on his shoulder while Hikari stepped in front of him. The others gathered in front of him as well, crowding him of the gate entrance. He began to hop onto his toes in attempt to see over Taichi's head; he failed. Then he stopped. Why was he willing to spend so much time on getting a glimpse of the girl? He shrugged to himself and stood still.
He heard the sudden burst of hellos and finally, the group dispersed, only to reform around the newcomer. Miyako's eyes were wide, shining with happiness and excitement. Sora seemed to lose all her motherly features and turned into the kid she was again. Hikari was squealing right along with them as if they just found out someone was engaged.
Jyou finally dropped his book. In fact, it was right in front of Ken's feet. He knelt down and picked it up. When he stood up, he was immediately pushed forward while two other youths, his age, ran past him. He was about to yell, but then he noticed it was Daisuke and Takeru. They both jumped into the group, giving their own hug to Mimi.
"It's about time, you guys!" Miyako warned, "You should have been here at least ten minutes ago!"
"It's not my fault!" Daisuke gave his taller, blonder friend a look.
Takeru gave the same look back. "Let's race, Takeru! Let's stop, Takeru! I'm out of breath, Takeru! Hey, look Takeru! It's the kite festival! Let's go, Takeru!" He then stopped and mimicked the voice of Daisuke perfectly, "Oh wait, I forgot, we need to meet up with Mimi."
"Uh!" Mimi gave Daisuke a nudge, "Thanks a lot!"
His cheeks flared a bright red, "I'm sorry, Mimi. I was really looking forward to see you!"
Ken crossed his arms, the book gripped tightly in his right hand. He stood perfectly erect, out of boredom, impatience, and anger. He was bored because he wasn't do anything but picking up after the group. Impatient because he wanted to get his slice of pizza and leave. And angry because they excluded him out of the little welcoming party. Or maybe he excluded them?
"Is that Ken?" he heard Mimi's gentle voice asked. "I knew it!"
He felt a sudden blush when the older girl dropped her luggage and fastened her arms around his neck. She swung him to make him loosen up, but his arms still remained crossed. When she released him, he still stood like a statue.
"Nice of you to welcome me," she smirked, still trying to get his full attention.
Why was she acting so nice to him? She barely knew him. Maybe it was just the kind of person she was; always wanting to meet new people. But still… she was acting too friendly with him. His cheeks returned to the natural color, but again flushed when she hugged him again.
"Nope," she dropped her arms, "I think he's permanently stoned."
"Oh, come on, Ken," Miyako nearly hung herself off his shoulder. She didn't drag him down; he still stood still with his arms crossed. "Anyway, let's get that pizza."
"And Ken's slice of cheese pizza with pineapples on the side," Hikari added.
Boy, the airport was really different from the pizza parlor. Ken sat in the corner, his legs stretched beneath the table and his feet resting on the opposite side of the booth. Miyako sat beside him, but her back was turned. She was paying attention to Mimi. Hikari, across and to the right of Ken, sat beside Takeru and then following, Daisuke. At the end of his side, Mimi sat. The table next to theirs contained Iori and Yamato behind him. On the other side sat Sora and Jyou. Koushiro and Taichi pulled chairs between the tables and sat comfortably.
"And I couldn't believe it because I actually pulled off a B in math!" Mimi was saying, "All my friends kept saying 'I told you so' and all that junk, but I mean I pulled it off!"
"Math sucks!" Daisuke exclaimed, "I don't care if two plus two equals five."
"Two plus two equals four, Daisuke," Takeru corrected. The group laughed while those two started to bicker. Ken looked at the painting that hung above Hikari on the wall. Pink chrysanthemums in a blue vase with a faded background. Pink… Pink… Ken turned his head and saw enough of Mimi's shirt to realize the chrysanthemums were the same shade as her shirt.
She was also wearing blue pants with pink flowers on the bottom. Even her sandals were pink! Then he remembered about her frenzy of pink and mentally kicked himself. He didn't own anything pink. Nor would he want to. Pink was for populars, girls, popular girls. The only thing he owned that was pink was his crest. The Crest of Kindness given to a boy of the dark. Why did he get such a thing like that? It's … pink.
He then decided that he didn't like the color pink.
"Forty-nine, serving forty-nine. Forty-nine, your order is ready."
"That's our pizza!" Taichi jumped up. Ken thought he was thinking about the pizza the entire time rather than listening to Mimi. He disappeared around the corner and Ken went back to looking at the painting. Blue. All that pink was in the blue vase. It reminded him of Mimi; her wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans, that is. His eyes blinked a couple times before he caught himself from drifting into a thought.
"How many friends do you have!" he heard Miyako burst.
"Mm! Tons! I swear, in America, you can pass the pedestrians and befriend them in an instant!" Mimi turned to talk to Miyako while the others broke off in their own discussion.
Ken couldn't help but listen to their conversation:
"I just had a party a week ago and my house was full!" the older girl was saying.
"Oh! How wonderful… So many people--so many boys!"
Ken rolled his eyes. How Miyako-like.
"I've never been this popular at school before…" Mimi's voice was drafty.
Ken shifted in his seat. She wouldn't be so cheery if she lived his life. He wasn't even sure if his friends were true friends or if they just befriended him because he appeared on television so much.
"And everyone knows my family, we're like a friend to the community type of family."
His family was well-known… …He is a genius… his brother was… However, his mom and dad weren't too well known. Ah, who cares about being the community type?
"My life could only be better if I were back home with you guys."
Miss Perfect. He spat in his mind. She made his life seem so dark and gloomy while she sat on her throne, throwing friends off the stairs here and there. He wondered if she had any enemies. If she had any flaws, any annoying qualities, any piece of bad history that was worth hearing after all of this 'goody-goody' stuff.
Taichi came around the corner with two trays of pizza. Koushiro followed with another tray of drinks.
"Mimi! Don't you have anything bad to say about yourself?" Miyako asked as if she were reading Ken's mind.
There was a moment of silence while everyone reached for their pizza. Finally, Mimi answered, "I don't think so…"
There was yet another moment of silence while the original eight Digidestined exchanged looks.
"You seem a little full of yourself," Ken muttered. But because of the silence, everyone heard it.
"Uh!" Mimi glared harshly while the others laughed.
"Nothing bad? Nothing bad!" Taichi chuckled, "I wanna siiing you a sooong!"
"Gah! Taichi! Shut up!" Jyou fell over on his seat dramatically.
Taichi stopped and added, "Oh wait… you know what would look good with me singing this song?"
"Hmph!" Mimi crossed her arms. "You're so immature, Taichi."
"At least we have errors and we talk about them naturally. You act if everything needs to be perfect. Maybe you should get a blemish sometime. Then you won't be as perfect as you make yourself out to be. Be normal, Mimi," Koushiro voiced before taking a bite into his pizza. That eerie silence made his eyes search for Mimi. After he swallowed the bite of pizza, he felt a strong shove on the back of his chair, causing him to fall forward onto the ground.
"A zit! Ha! I'd never even think about having a zit…" Mimi huffed, "You shouldn't either!"
"She is full of herself," he groaned and pushed himself off the floor. There was a big pizza stain on his T-shirt. He didn't say anything, but he sighed and grabbed another slice of pizza.
The rest of the time at the pizza parlor was just like that, full of insults, laughs, and memory flashbacks. Ken never participated in any of it, he watched the sun begin to set through the window and found it more interesting than hearing Mimi's giddy voice all day. He found it so 'interesting' that he didn't notice that over half of the group had left. Iori left for his Kendo lesson, Jyou disappeared to study; Koushiro wandered to go home to his laptop. Even Miyako had to leave, though pouting and whining half the time. She left with Daisuke.
Ken raised his head when the sun vanished from the horizon and noticed everyone was standing, preparing to leave. He, too, stood and waited for them to move. His leg was asleep. It was reaching the tingly part where it hurt to step onto it. Trying to ignore it, he followed Mimi out the door. At the door, he collapsed because his sleepy leg couldn't take the pressure.
"Damn it," he swore to himself, not really wanting to get up, but had to. Someone's hand reached down in front of his face. At first he thought it was Hikari, so he gladly took it and pulled himself up. Instead, Mimi stood with a smile, the other four already left.
"You okay?" she asked, that smile never drifting away.
Ken blinked, wondering why she even bothered to help him up. "Yeah, fine." He pushed himself out the door then turned around to look at her. "Thanks," he added and continued to leave.
Later that night, Ken sat in his bedroom, reading a book with no sign of drifting to sleep. Normally, nearly anyone who would be reading a book near midnight would start to blink and nod off. He seemed rather satisfied with the book he was reading. A knock came onto his door and he didn't bother to answer to it.
"Ken, honey? Are you still awake?" his mother questioned, not opening the door.
"Yes," he mouthed while reading, voiceless.
"Oh, I guess not," her voice ended there.
He heard his parents' bedroom door shut at the same time he closed his book. Only fifteen minutes left until twelve o'clock dawned. His arms stretched over his head and he slipped off his bed, fully dressed though he had no where to go. When he came home, he was too lazy to change out of anything, or do anything for any matter.
A yawn flew out of his mouth as he walked to the balcony door. He pressed his forehead against the cool glass and then his hands. He wasn't completely sure why he hadn't gone to sleep, or why he was standing where he was. His eyes caught the moon and didn't let go. How could such a plain, crater-filled object become so fascinating now? Every highland, the light areas on the moon, reminded him of how much Mimi tried to get to him; she hugged him twice and helped him off the floor; she didn't push or tease him back when he make the little remark of her being full of herself. And then the dark, lower areas reminded him of how far back he was from the group. The only thing he said at the gathering was his insult towards Mimi and "I just want cheese pizza with pineapples on the side."
Ken absentmindedly left his bedroom and headed towards the door. His hand rested on the doorknob then jerked it open. Why was he going outside? Where was he planning to go? Not even the genius could answer his own questions. But he ended up on the sidewalk in front of his apartment building, still not sure where he was heading to. And just as he absentmindedly left his home, he absentmindedly left his block and street.
His feet hit the ground solidly, but not harshly. It was more of a pace than a walk; he lackadaisically strolled down the sidewalk to Nowheresville with his hands in his pockets. Only minutes after he walked, he heard echoing footsteps. Instincts kicked in and he slowed his walk, the other footsteps did as well. He stopped and pretended to sneeze while the steps neared him. When he heard them an arm's reach away, he turned in his steps, flinging his arm out at the same time.
His fingers wrapped around a thin neck. Big, scared/surprised/amazed eyes stared into his fierce, unmoving blues. He soon realized his mistake and dropped his hand.
"I-I'm sorry, Mimi," he stepped back to dim the blush on his cheeks. "I didn't know it was you."
She rubbed her neck, her eyes only calming a little. "You're very… um… quick."
He turned back around and started to leave again. "Yeah, you learn stuff when you're an enemy to many people. It's nothing someone like you can come across."
"What died inside of you?" she frowned and walked beside him. "Why do you act so cold towards me? I mean, I didn't do anything to you. And what do you mean 'enemy to many people'? As far as I know, you're a part of the team. So grow up and act like it!" She gave a little laugh to tell him she was just joking.
"Why should you care?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Stop making yourself feel good."
"Stop pushing me away."
"I'm not, I'm being myself."
"You are so and I know that's not you. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Ken!"
"Mimi."
"Ken!!"
"Mimi…"
"Ken!!!"
"Mimi?" he gave her a questioning look. Both cracked a smile, but Ken quickly shook it off. "Why are you trying so desperately to get to my feelings?"
She shifted from foot to foot. "Well I---don't really know. I guess I don't like seeing people so upset?"
"Don't guess, give me an answer."
"Ken, just give me a break okay?" she crossed her arms. "I know you probably have something better to do…"
No he didn't.
"And you probably don't want to listen to me ramble…"
Not really.
"But I think I know what's bugging you so much."
Aside from your constant nitpicking?
"Have you ever given the thought of maybe you're… jealous of those around you?"
"What?" he blinked, turning against the moonlight.
He heard her shifting again. "Well, I kind of noticed how you avoided everything good at the pizza parlor… but you joined in on making fun of me." She smiled, "Maybe you just can't face the fact that people are different."
"I can accept anything I want," he replied roughly. Well, not all the time. "I'm not jealous, I don't care for how many friends you have and how less of enemies, either. Stop trying to be a friend."
Mimi looked at him before giving up. She walked ahead and turned around. "I'm going over to the Yagami's for Taichi's movie marathon. Koushiro will be there, so I'm guessing I could invite someone. Do you want to come?"
"No," he muttered.
"Oh, come on, do you have anything else to do?"
"No…" he repeated, finally gazing into her eyes. They were still warm and welcoming, unlike his.
"Well," she fiddled with the fabric of her shirt, "if you want to come, you can."
Ken stood still, his hands in his pockets, his eyes on Mimi. She waited a couple more seconds before grabbing a hold of his arm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he exclaimed, trying to pull back.
"You're just stubborn… You're going to watch the midnight movie marathon and be happy, dang it!" she told him, tugging on his arm over and over.
"You never give up!" Ken said stiffly.
"No, not without a fight," she finally managed to pull him along.
After a few steps, Ken walked on his own, pushing her hands off of his arm. She walked ahead of him by at least two feet. Maybe she was right, maybe he was being just jealous. In fact, he hated the way so many people gloated about how lucky they were because he had all the bad luck. A normal life was anything but his. He was jealous… Of course he couldn't tell Mimi that, his own pride wouldn't let him.
As the Yagami apartment block neared, Ken froze in his steps. This caused Mimi to freeze as well and she turned around.
"What's wrong now?" she gave him a look of impatience.
"I don't think I want to go," he replied. "Besides, I haven't told my mom about any of this. If she gets a strange feeling and goes to check in on me…"
"Stop being such a… a…"
"A what?" he wondered. Mature kid?
"A you!" she sighed. "Why don't you act your age?"
"I will as soon as you do." He crossed his arms, insulted that she cared about him.
Mimi put her weight on her right foot. "Ken, I just want you to have fun. I heard Daisuke talking to Takeru about how much fun you had in the soccer field. Why won't you have that so-called 'fun' around me?"
"I don't take kindly to strangers," he lied. "Look, you don't have to act so friendly towards me, I know that all you want to do is make another friend to brag about."
Ken turned away but Mimi caught his hand. "That is not true!" she gave him a good stare in the eyes. "And you know it. I just want to be a friend because you're a part of the team."
He watched her eyes shift away and down to her hands. They were gripping onto Ken's tightly, as if he were going to disappear. She slowly let her hands drop and took a step back.
"Well, if you want to go…" her voice drifted.
Ken blinked a couple times before saying something, "Is it because I'm a part of the team that you want to be a… friend? Or …is there something else you want to tell me."
She laughed a little and felt her cheeks blush. "I feel like we're on Jerry Springer."
"I beg your pardon?" Ken raised a brow.
She laughed again, "It's an American talk-show… They, well, they go on the show to tell some deep, dark secret or something and then everyone gets into a big fight."
"How fascinating," he said dryly, "really."
"So if I did have a reason to befriend you…" She fiddled with her clothing again, "Would you want me to tell you?"
"I have a right to know."
Mimi glanced down, "Funny, I could talk about anything but I trip over the rope when it comes to this."
"What?"
"I just can't say what I'm trying to say."
Ken picked up a stick on the ground and held it out to her lips. "Mimi, you're on a television show in the Americas. You're about to tell a deep, dark secret to a person you've only known by other people. What do you say?"
"I say… that I like you," she brushed her fingers over her lips in embarrassment.
"No, no… We're past the 'I want to be your friend' part. Move--" he then realized what she meant and his hand released the stick in shock. They stood for a long minute or two, or three, maybe even four. Ken's hand never actually dropped back to his side, instead it froze, just like his mind, in front of the girl. "You do?" he blushed, finally getting the words processed in his mind.
"I-I-yeah," she covered her blush with a laugh. "Now let's turn into those soap opera scenes where you laugh at me and run away."
"Or we can move into the traditional touching cartoon scenes of which I can say the same thing to you," he returned.
"Huh?"
"I can't say for sure, my mind's a blank," he flashed a smile, "but I suppose I… well, return the feeling."
"You have complex ways of saying 'I like you'," she giggled. "So do you want to go to the Yagami's? Midnight movie marathon…"
At last, Ken's hand dropped back to his side. "Sure," he answered. Mimi began to walk again, this time, Ken wasn't lagging behind. They walked towards the street corner and as they turned, Mimi's right hand slipped into his left.
The End
Geh… I was hoping it'd turn out a little better. But I suppose it did okay. ^-^ This is my first Kenmi for Asuka. Hope you liked it. ^-^;