Disclaimer: Digimon: Digital Monsters is copyrighted by Akiyoshi Hongo and produced by Toei Animation, Saban, and TOKYOPOP. The plot is the only thing made by me, and no profit is or will be made in any way.


Clear As Crystal

A Present Wanted

While Mimi, Sora, and their Digimon headed toward the Takenouchi Residence, Kari, Tai, and their own Digimon partners walked the opposite direction toward their own home. Their house was much closer than Sora's, about three-quarters of a mile closer, to be exact.

They were both currently walking along tin the middle of the Odaiba district. The streets and sidewalks were not as crowded, making the walk tranquil. And the street lamps had turned on because of lack of sunlight (from their perspective, mostly). Then again, neither the Kamiyas nor the Digimon could care less, especially since they felt all warmed up after playing at the soccer field today.

But if there was only one thing that could distract them…

"When can we eat, Tai?"

…It was the growling of a bottomless pit. Preferably, it was Agumon's bottomless pit.

"We'll eat when we arrive, Agumon," replied Tai with a smile.

"I hope so," said Agumon and looked at his stomach, "because I'm getting pretty hungry."

"Don't worry, Agumon," replied Kari, who was walking a few feet in front of them. She was twirling the soccer ball with her right hand and was holding Gatomon with the other. "When we get home, you'll get quite a filling dish. Preferably sushi, pasta, and some other things if you want."

Agumon smiled, and nothing more was said until they arrived at their residence about fifteen minutes later.

"We're home!" called Kari as she opened the door to their apartment.

"Hi, Kari!" answered Yuuko's voice from the kitchen.

"Where's Dad?" asked Tai as he and Agumon walked down the hall and into the living room.

"He's on his way home," replied Yuuko's cheery voice. "He should be back soon."

"Thanks," said Tai and went to the bathroom to wash up.

As he did so, Agumon sat on the couch at the kitchen-side of the living room and sniffed longingly. "Something surely smells good," he said with a smile and licked his lips… if he had any.

"It's quite a good dish, Agumon," said Yuuko. The back of her head could be seen from the living room. "It's about ten minutes away from being finished. Then, I have to wait for it to cool down for a couple of minutes."

"Why is that?" asked Gatomon as she and Kari sat on a chair in the back of the room.

"While it's someone's perspective as to doing so or not, it's not usually a good idea to eat anything immediately after it's cooked," said Kari while sitting on a chair. She put the soccer ball on the floor near the couch before sitting down. "If you do, you're likely to burn your mouth; so, you should always wait until it cools a little."

"Oh," said Gatomon with a nod and turned to Yuuko. "So, what are you making?"

"Soba," was Yuuko's cheery reply.

"Soba?" wondered Gatomon.

"It's a form of pasta," answered Tai as he arrived in the living room.

"I see," replied Gatomon. "Looks like I still have a lot to learn," she mumbled with a chuckle.

"You're not alone," agreed Agumon after hearing what Gatomon said, and the two Digimon laughed.

As for Yuuko, she was stirring the soba with a wooden spoon, so the pasta would not stick to the bottom of the pan.

"That shall do it," she thought and put the wooden spoon down on the counter. She then looked at the timer on the microwave. There were only one-and-a-half minutes left before the pasta would become fully cooked. "Now, I just have to wait for the timer to ring."

She would not have to wait for long, because 90 seconds later…

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

…The clock hit "zero," and the timer rang. The soba had finished cooking.

"Looks like the noodles are cooked," observed Tai as he and Agumon walked to chairs of their own.

"And at just the right time, too," said a new voice from the hall.

The Kamiya children and the Digimon jumped at the voice and turned to the dark hall. What they saw was the silhouette man in a black trench coat, a rarity in the warm springtime. While they could barely distinguish the body due to the dark hallway, they recognized the outline of the face and his voice easily. Their father, Susamu, had just arrived.

"Evening, Dad!" said Tai with a small wave of his left hand.

Kari responded with a "hi," too, and Gatomon jumped to the tabletop afterwards.

"Evening, kids," said Susamu as he approached the living room, his white shirt and black pants suiting him very well. He then veered to the kitchen and pecked his wife on the right cheek before looking down at the pot on the stove. "Smells good," he said enthusiastically. "What'cha making?"

"Some pasta, Dad," replied Kari while stroking Gatomon with her right hand.

"Soba, to be exact," explained Yuuko. "It should be ready in about a minute."

"Good, sweetie," said Susamu and sniffed longingly, "because I'm starving." And as he put his coat on an empty chair, he said, "I haven't had anything since breakfast."

Feeling curious (and questioning the queasy looks from Tai, Gatomon, and Kari), Agumon turned to male Kamiya parent. "What did you eat?" he wondered.

"Olive cookies with wasabi mixed in it," replied Susamu.

Tai, Kari, and Gatomon looked like they were green in the face after hearing what their father just said.

Agumon was curious by their reactions and scratched the back of his head with his right claw. "Why are you all acting like this?" he wondered.

"I'll explain later, bud," said Tai while whispering in Agumon's tiny left ear.

Even though her back was turned, Yuuko had a feeling what was going on and sighed. "Another cooking experiment gone bad, I think," she thought, feeling minutely disappointed. "Oh, well." She grabbed a couple of potholders and carried the pot to the counter. She then let go of the main pot and lifted the strainer that was settled in it. After making sure she drained the pasta well, she dumped it in a big bowl, where a strainer-like basket called a zaru sat in it. "At least, they're gonna like this one," she concluded with a smile. "I hope."

Once dinner was served, everyone was sitting on the table, and the table consisted of a variety of cuisines. The middle of the table consisted of the zaru and the soba that was placed on it. Around it were four small bowls of udon, each topped with a little bit of green onions. For the two Digimon, each of their oval plates had huge amounts of seafood called sashimi. On the side were lots of sushi, shrimp, and two small cups of soy sauce to dip the food into.

Everyone gasped at the sight. There must have been a lot of preparation done with cooking with them.

"Talk about a lot of food," gasped Tai as he examined all the food on the table. He then looked at Yuuko, who sat on his left. "How long did it take you to cook all this?"

"Since eleven in the morning," replied Yuuko with a smile.

"Whoa," said Tai and looked at the soba. Wanting to have something to eat, he picked up his plate and used a serving spoon to put some of the pasta on the plate. He then grabbed a pair of chopsticks, twirled the glazed noodles up, and ate it. Once he swallowed it, his face brightened with a smile. "Very good," he said.

"Thanks," said Yuuko, and everyone else started eating.

As predicted, everyone did enjoy what he or she was given. The soba and the sauce that was glazed over with tasted good. Every human enjoyed it, especially Susamu. After all, what would a spicy cookie he ate for breakfast do to his appetite?

What about the Digimon? They enjoyed their food just as much as the humans enjoyed theirs.

Agumon ate the sashimi more than the others. He enjoyed the sushi, as well, but he had a personal preference as to which one he liked the most.

Gatomon's preference was otherwise. She really loved the sushi. After all, what cat – from the Real or Digital World – would not want batches of fresh fish from the delicatessen? If she could, she would steal for seconds… if Agumon had not finished his course first.

As they were at the table, all the humans conversed about things, like work, faulty cooking experiments, and schoolwork. It was as noisy vocally as the folks always were.

Although they were by their side for several years, Gatomon and Agumon never stopped becoming puzzled at the noisy commotion that was presented before them. Sometimes, they wondered how they were able to cope with all of this.

"Good question," Agumon replied as he sat, crouch style, on the tabletop. Gatomon had asked that question a million times (and vice-versa), and there was still no solution.

"Maybe, it's a way to knock themselves out from ultimate boredom," thought Gatomon, feeling very cross at the commotion, and yawned noisily to block it out. No avail, however, as it was just as exciting as before.

As she turned to Kari, she noticed that the Child of Light was eating a little more slowly than usual. While she was being polite as she usually was, she ate a lot more sparingly. The udon soup was still sitting, untouched, and the glazed soba was only half-eaten.

"Anything troubling, Kari?" asked Gatomon worryingly, temporarily ignoring the other humans.

Kari snapped out of it and turned to her partner beside her. "Mm-mm, it's nothing," the replied the thirteen-year-old and shook her head. "I'm just taking my time while the noodles cool." And she looked down at her plate again. What she said about the noodles was only half-true. Yes, Kari preferred eating food that were either lukewarm or cold, but she was thinking about something else. Something… awkward. It was a feeling that she had never felt before. And for some reason, it caused her cheeks to become slightly pink.

Gatomon noticed this and was concerned. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

Kari snapped out of it once more and gazed at her Digimon partner again. "Sorry, I was thinking about something."

"If you say so," said Gatomon skeptically and jumped down, where she would soon jump on Kari's bed and take a nap.

Kari continued eating, although the pink tint on her cheeks did not disappear until she finished her meal.


Due to her age, Kari was no longer using the bunk bed and was given a room of her own – the room closest to the balcony. On one side of the room, there was a queen-size bed, and it was covered with a pink sheet. Two fluffy pillows were smoothed out, and magenta pillowcases covered them. In addition, a lavender blanket draped over the mattress, looking clean and spotless. And Gatomon and Miko were both sleeping on the pillows.

A shelf was placed on the far wall near the door. Several plastered and stuffed dolls lined from left to the center of the wall. A clothesline hung underneath, various pajamas dangling comfortably from the hangers. Opposite the bed, a dresser with four drawers sat there, looking spotless from wood polishing. A black-framed television was placed on top of the dresser, and the square-shaped remote control was placed in front of the television.

The door to Kari's room was open ajar, and it was a good thing, too, because of Miko and Gatomon sleeping on the bed. They would either have to walk, eat, and attend to other extracurricular activities during the night.

Speaking of Kari, at around eight o'clock that night, the light flickered on, and the door was slowly pushed opened. The female Kamiya child, after eating quietly for about an hour and a half, walked inside the room and softly sat down on the edge of her bed. Like before, her face showed confusion, but it showed worry, as well.

Although the plop was soft, it was enough to disturb Gatomon out of her sleep, and she perked her head up to see her partner's bewildered face. "Are you okay, Kari?" the Digimon asked as she got to her feet.

Kari turned to Gatomon on her right. "I'm fine, Gatomon," she replied nonchalantly.

Gatomon was skeptical. "Are you sure? Because your expression doesn't show that."

"Don't worry, Gatomon," said Kari persistently. "I'm fine."

Gatomon shrugged her front paws. "If you say so, Kari," she yawned and went back to sleep.

The moment Gatomon returned to sleep, Miko yawned her head off and raised her head. The little feline turned her attention towards her "Mistress," and she noticed Kari putting her left hand on her temple. The orange and white feline could sense something was up. She did not know what, but she could see it from her Mistress's posture.

Miko stretched to let the blood flow through her body, and she walked towards Kari, where she would rub Kari's dangling right hand and meow.

Kari, who was still rubbing her forehead, snapped out of it when she heard Miko's meow. "Hello, Miko," she greeted the cat and scratched behind her ears with her right hand. "Didn't recognize you waking up."

Miko gazed at Kari and gave a soft meow back, but she did not purr. Usually, whenever Kari – or anybody, for the matter – scratched "one of the spots," she would purr loudly and indefinitely. This time, she did not.

Kari noticed this. "Are you doing okay?" she asked.

"Don't worry, Kari," soothed Gatomon, maneuvering Kari's attention to the Digimon. No sooner than when she went back to sleep, Gatomon woke up again and noticed Miko's out-of-character action towards Kari. Unlike Kari, however, Gatomon understood the reason behind Miko's actions. "She's just concerned about you, that's all."

"She is?" asked Kari.

"That's right," answered Gatomon, and Miko meowed in agreement. "You've been acting strange since dinner, and we're concerned. What's going on?"

Kari shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

"Not from how conservative you're acting," interjected Gatomon. "You don't really keep yourself too quiet than from your younger years, that's for sure." She then added in thought, "Thank Miko for that."

Kari turned her head away, dragged her left hand to her cheek, and said nothing.

Gatomon tried to look at her face, but her face was hiding in her left palm.

Miko had a feeling what was up and jumped down to the floor. She then walked to where she can see Kari's face. What she saw, she noticed that Kari's right cheek had a pink tint in it. Noticing this, the family cat jumped back on the bed and gave Gatomon a couple of meows, as if trying to communicate with her.

Sure enough, Gatomon got the message. "According to Miko, you have a crush on somebody."

Once she said that, Kari gasped and flinched. In addition, her cheeks became even redder.

Gatomon did not see the blush, but Kari's other reactions were enough proof for her.

"It looks like I was right, after all," said Gatomon slyly. "You do have a crush on someone, don't you?"

Kari flinched again, and her cheeks reddened even more.

"Again, just as predicted," said Gatomon slyly, and Miko meowed in agreement. "You can't hide it anymore, Kari, so you're going to have to tell sooner or later."

While the cooing was merely brief, it was enough for Kari to be driven "over the edge," so to speak. "Okay, Gatomon and Miko, you two win," she said exasperatedly and turned around to face them. Her cheeks were bright red out of embarrassment. "Yes, you are both right. I do have a crush on someone."

"On who, then?" asked Gatomon.

Kari sighed and revealed her secret. "On Mimi."

"On Mimi?" asked Gatomon.

"Mm-hmm," said Kari and turned away again, her face full of concern.

Gatomon spotted her face before she looked away again. She was no longer in any mood to be mischievous; besides, it would only upset Kari more. "How long have you had this crush on Mimi?"

"I have had it only recently," she replied as she looked back at her Digimon partner.

"Then, why are you concerned?"

Kari sighed. "Because she might end our friendship, that's why," she replied.

"And why would she end your mutual friendship with you?" asked Gatomon once again.

"Because she might think that my crush on her would gross her out," she said. Her response was flat, but it was full of concern, too.

"Oh," said Gatomon and drooped her ears.

Miko felt sorry for Kari, also, and meowed sadly. She wanted to cheer her Mistress up, but how?

Of course! Why did she not think of this a few seconds ago? This was going to be the perfect way to brighten Kari's spirits, and she was going to do that now.

Like before, she walked a few steps towards Kari, rubbed her head on her dangling right arm, and purred loudly.

Kari felt Miko rubbing her and looked at her cat. She smiled and, like before, stroked the back of her ears with the same right hand.

Gatomon smiled at Miko's actions and had a guess as to why she did that. "Apparently, Kari, she's telling you not to worry about this," the cat Digimon explained, earning Kari a small gasp. "And I have to agree with her all the way."

When Kari turned to Gatomon, the feline Digimon continued her say in the matter. "Mimi's your friend. She's not going to stop being friends with you, even if she doesn't have the same romantic feelings for you."

Miko, even though she was looking at Kari, heard her and meowed in agreement.

Kari had to smile at them for their actions. "Thanks, you two," the Child of Light said. "It made me feel better, although I do wonder when the right time will be for me to tell her that I fancy her."

Gatomon shrugged. "Whenever you feel comfortable," was her simple answer.

Nothing more was said as Kari changed into white pajamas, turned out the light, and went to sleep.


Sora's bedroom looked like a quiet, peaceful haven for anyone who preferred to have some time alone. Her bed was covered with a fluffy red quilt with designs of various birds on them. The same went for her two pillows. The bird designs stood out from the dark crimson pillow cover. Her clothes and pajamas were folded in various drawers in a dresser on the other side of the room. There were two lampposts in the room. One was near the dresser, the other was beside her bed; and they were both off, giving the room a dark presence. And the wooden floor was covered with a white carpet. Rightfully so, too – the wood was weathered and splintered, and the carpet was made thick so the splinters would not penetrate through the rug.

That was all that was in Sora's room. But if that was all, then why was there a sleeping bag adjacent to Soa's bed? Hey, would it be polite to have a close friend sleep on the couch? Mimi was sleeping in the sleeping bag. The equipment was green, and it stood out (somewhat) in the middle of Sora's dark bedroom. She was sleepng peacefully, her head on a spare red pillow.

She would not be sleeping for very long, when her head started telling her to wake up. She tried to fight it, because she was feeling comfortable sleeping in that bag; but her conscience was persistent. It was not going to give up unless Mimi woke up and stayed up.

Finally, the Child of Sincerity gave in to her conscience, and she opened her eyes. Ironically, waking up was easier than usual; the eyelids were not heavy, meaning that she was ready for a completely new day. She yawned widely but quietly and sat up, exposing the pink pajama shirt and pants that she borrowed from Sora.

Mimi yawned and rubbed her eyes with her right hand. She stood up and walked to the lamppost next to Sora's bed. When she turned it on, she noticed that Sora, Biyomon, and Palmon were not there. "Where did they go?" she thought before noticing a small note on Sora's blanket. Mimi picked it up with her right hand and read it. A smile quickly etched on her face. "Looks like I'll visit Sora soon," she said to herself and folded the note up like it was a scroll.

She then changed into her usual clothes, turned off the light, and walked to the living room, where she saw a usual comrade.

"Good morning, Mimi," greeted Palmon as she held a bottle of mineral water in her left hand. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

Mimi looked at the clock on the Video Cassette Recorder, which read "9:00 AM" on the bar. "Indeed," she replied with a smile and sat down beside her.

Palmon noticed the paper in Mimi's left hand. "What's that piece of paper in your hand, Mimi?" she asked.

Mimi looked at the paper and unfurled it. "It's just Sora telling me that she's in her flower shop downstairs," the Tachikawa child said. The paper had this message in it: "Mimi, if you're wondering where Biyomon and I will be, we'll be down at the flower shop. And is it okay if you can come down a little after you wake up? Hope to see you soon, Sora."

Palmon read the message from top to bottom. "I remember Sora telling me that. It happened about a half-hour before you woke up."

Mimi folded the paper once more. "Well, there's some time to kill before I'm on my way," she said and stood up. "Wanna come to the flower shop, too?" she asked at Palmon's direction.

Palmon nodded in response, and moments later, the duo packed their things and went to the Takenouchi Flower Shop, which was located near the apartment complex.

Like every flower shop, it was just as colorful and beautiful. In the front of the shop, the words "Takenouchi Flower Shop" were translated in the usual Japanese alphabet, and the sign was blinking in a gorgeous ruby red color. The front had three glass panes on them. One was for the door (which was in the center), and two were for the sides. But the sign nor the windows were not the main part of the shop, the flowers were what the store was about. Behind the two glass windows, flowers of all kinds sat there, absorbing as much sunlight and warmth as they could… for the time being.

Mimi had exited the apartment complex and walked about 100 yards to her left, where she found herself in front of the shop. Clearing her throat, she went to the door and pushed it open. The bell that hung from above rang the moment the doorframe hit it.

"Coming!" called a familiar female voice from the background.

The background consisted of, of all things, a wooden desk. A cash register sat on the right, and the word "Takenouchi" – translated in the Japanese alphabet – was engraved on a black nameplate in front of the desk. It was like an office desk, except it was transferred to a flower shop.

Like most flower shops, the back also had flowers. Various types of ivy, cacti, and night flowers hung in several areas of the ceiling. Although Mimi could not tell by their actions, she had a feeling that the hanging plants were happy right now.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" called the same voice once again. The person stepped through the door behind the desk and in its place was Sora. She was wearing a brown long-sleeve shirt, black pants, and white shoes. On her head was a crown made out of the petals of white cherry blossoms.

"Hi, Sora," said Mimi and walked towards her. She then looked at the crown of flowers on her head. "Nice headwear you have on your head," she added and pointed at the crown with her right hand. She had never seen one of those before, so she did not know what to say about the flower crown.

Sora gave a quick glance above before explaining to Mimi. "This is just a crown of flowers. I just used various cherry blossom leaves that I found in the park and made a crown out of them."

"I see," said Mimi and scratched her chin while looking at it.

"You made them, you said?" asked Palmon as she walked to Mimi's side. The plant Digimon looked at the flowers near the windows while Mimi glanced at the plants that hung from the ceiling.

"That's right, Palmon," replied Biyomon as she walked next to Sora. "She found them, washed them up, then made a crown out of them."

"Wow," replied Palmon.

"I made a few more, if you're wondering," interrupted Sora politely, veering Mimi's and Palmon's attention from the crown. "I'll show you after we're finished placing the flowers and plants outside. That is… if you don't mind helping out."

Mimi shook her head. "Of course we don't mind. Besides, we could kill a little bit of time right now."

Sora and Biyomon smiled at Mimi's acceptance, and one minute later, the four were placing flowers outside the shop and onto various pedestals.

"Whew!" Mimi panted and wiped the sweat off her forehead with her left hand. "I never knew that rearranging flowers would be hard work."

"Tell Mom about that," retorted Sora, wiping sweat off her own forehead. "She's used to this."

They had worked in the flower shop for what seemed like an hour. Picking up the vases were painstaking for the four, especially Mimi. She was not used to carrying heavy objects, and the transferring of the vases made her physically exhausted.

It was not easy for the others, either. Sora might be the strongest, but she also sweated her head off from carrying the heavy vases. Not to mention she, Mimi, and the Digimon did the best they could to water the flowers and plants so that they would not dry off and die.

"Well, the best thing is that we're finished," sighed Palmon and sat on the floor near the desk.

"Yeah, until the customers arrive," countered Biyomon and sighed. "Man, my wings are tired."

"We all are," agreed Sora as she and Mimi walked to the Digimon by the office desk. "Do you want some water? I have some in a refrigerator in the back."

The others did not object to Sora's offer.

Sora grinned and walked to the back. A minute later, she arrived holding four paper cups in her left hand and a wine-shaped glass bottle of spring water in the other. "Here you go," Sora said as she poured equal amounts of cold water in each cup.

"Thanks, Sora," said Mimi and took one of the cups.

Everyone else took their own water and had a drink or two. Heavens, did the water ever refresh them, and at a time as perfect as it was right now. Suffice it to say, Sora's timing was perfect.

"Much better," said Mimi after finishing her drink of water.

"I agree," said Palmon, who finished her own glass. She turned to Sora, who finished her one and only glass. "May I have another one?"

Sora nodded with a happy hum and poured more water in Palmon's paper cup.

"Thanks," said Palmon and resumed drinking.

Once she did, Biyomon tapped Sora's elbow. "May I have more water, too, please?" she asked.

Sora did just that, and the bird Digimon continued drinking.

As the Digimon drank the water, Sora put the bottle down on the desk and put the cork on it.

That was when Mimi thought of something. "Yesterday, when you and I had our talk about my crush on Kari, you said that I should tell Kari about my crush on her whenever I'm ready, right?"

Sora nodded.

"Well, although I'm not totally ready, I like to give her a present… just in case," said Mimi, trying to word her sentence correctly.

Sora understood what Mimi was talking about and nodded with a smile. "So, what would like to have?"

Mimi looked at the flower crown on Sora's head as a result. "If you have two similar flower crowns, I wouldn't mind having those."

Sora shook head. "Not at all, Mimi," she said and walked to the back once again. She returned one minute later, holding two flower crowns in her left hand.

The sight of the crowns made Mimi gasp. They looked beautiful, she had thought.

Sora detected her thoughts immediately. "You like them, don't you?"

Mimi replied with a nod.

"Good, because they will cost you 350 Yen."

"WHAT?" thundered Mimi. To think that her friend would make her pay for the things she wanted infuriated her. How could she do something like that? Mimi was cross, very cross.

To Mimi's surprise, though, Sora wound up laughing from her shocked yell. "I'm just kidding, Mimi," the Takenouchi child chuckled. "Here, you can have them." And she handed the crowns to Mimi.

"Thank heavens," sighed Mimi and accepted the offering, feeling much better after the initial shock moments ago. "I thought I was gonna have to pay for it."

Sora decided not to respond to Mimi's quip and semi-changed the subject. "So, you want to give one of them to Kari, right?"

"Yes," nodded Mimi and carefully put the crowns in her bag. "Whenever I feel fully confident – and if Kari has the feelings as I do – I will give Kari a crown as a present."

"How sweet," said Sora.

"It's the best that I can do," replied Mimi. Then, she thought of something. "Do you know what time it is?"

Sora looked at her watch on her left wrist. "It's about 10:30," she said and looked at Mimi again. "Why did you ask?"

"Because I'm hoping that Kari's home, and that she can meet me in an area, like a restaurant or something," said Mimi and took out her cellular phone.

"Very nice of you to do that," said Palmon, who finished her drink of water about a minute ago and was fully intent on listening to the conversation between the two humans.

"Thanks, Palmon," said Mimi as she dialed the phone number to the Kamiya household and put the receiver next to her left ear.

After two dial tones, she received her answer. "Hello?" Mimi asked. "Hi, Mrs. Kamiya! I'm wondering if I can talk to Kari for a second, please." A moment later, the Child of Sincerity's face looked serious. "Oh. Thanks, Mrs. Kamiya. Bye." She closed the lid of her phone. "Kari and Gatomon left about a half-hour ago to do some shopping for Miko," she announced and sighed.

"But you can still bump into her along the way, right?" asked Biyomon; she just finished drinking her own glass of water, as well.

Mimi put her left hand on her chin. "I didn't think of that, Biyomon," she said.

"Then, that means you still have a chance of seeing her," encouraged Sora and put her cup in a garbage pail near the desk.

Mimi's spirits brightened considerably. "You're right, you two. There is still a chance that I could see her." She grinned as she grabbed her shopping bag and got to her feet. "Well, I best be on my way." She put her cup in another pail near her own chair and turned to Palmon next to her. "Are you ready, Palmon?"

"I'm ready when you are," replied Palmon and leapt to her feet.

The two said "good-bye" to Sora and Biyomon, and they left the shop.

Mimi and Palmon turned left after exiting the shop and walked down a quiet city street. Well, it was as quiet as any of the streets to a marketplace. Cars bustled down the pavement, and people of all sizes and ages walked up and down the sidewalks.

"So, where are we going, Mimi?" asked Palmon while looking at Mimi.

"Well, I plan on going to Aqua City today," replied Mimi.

"Why?" asked Palmon.

"Well, one reason is that I wanna buy more thread for sewing," Mimi answered and took a peak at her embroidery hoop in her shopping bag. Despite its obscurity, she could see the design, or designs, on it. Before going to bed last night, after telling the two Digimon about her crush on Kari (hence their acknowledgement about it), she decided to do some work on her secret project. So far, her schedule was going according to plan; if not, a little more: In the span of 90 minutes, she completed about one-seventh of her project.

"You're quite eager on finishing your project, aren't you?"

"Mm-hmm," nodded Mimi as she looked at Palmon on her right. "And I hope to finish it soon."

"If you need help, I don't mind," replied Palmon, eager to help.

"I wouldn't mind that at all," said Mimi.

After a "thank you" from her partner, Mimi looked ahead. "Not to mention," she thought, "there may be a small chance that Kari might be there."

But as she walked a little further, her chance came sooner than expected.

To be continued…
Did you like it? If you did, read and review to tell me. No flames, please, and I'll see you next time.