So, the Mimi arc was a horrendous smorgasbord of utter chaos until now. I had all the events written out, but they were arbitrarily scrambled across six highly unorganised files that I couldn't be bothered to look over until the last minute. Now that I know what I'm writing, I've had to add five chapters to the overall fic, plus an optional side short story that I'm not sure I'll even be posting. I promise I'm not trying to drag this story out unto infinity, but I don't want to write chapters that are extortionately long either.
That being said, of course this chapter is extortionately long.
A Losing Game
Chapter 21
Sora decided Tai had been lying when he said he had a driver's licence. Nobody could have been stupid enough to pass him.
Beside her, Matt was looking out the window, one hand over his mouth, looking paler than usual. She stroked his arm to check if he was okay. He nodded slightly but didn't say anything.
"Damn it," Tai cursed as he slammed on the brakes.
Sora, Matt and Izzy all jerked forward, Matt hitting his head on the back of Izzy's seat in front of him.
"Sorry," Tai muttered.
"Where'd you learn how to drive, Tai?" Matt cracked finally.
"I just got my licence!" Tai protested irritably, turning around to glare at him. "If you're so great, why don't you do it?!"
Izzy gasped, and his eyes widened with fear as his hand gripped his seat tightly. "Tai, keep your eyes on the road!"
Tai immediately turned back around to face the motorway, though it didn't matter. They had hit traffic.
"Ugh, it would be like Mimi to make us pick her up during morning rush hour," Tai mumbled, allowing the car to jerk forward once more before the car stalled. He didn't even bother to start it up again since it wasn't like they were moving.
They had been on the road for about thirty minutes, but there was another half hour until they would reach Narita International Airport. With the addition of traffic, who knew how long it'd take? Though she wouldn't say it, Sora was annoyed that Tai opted not to take her advice to leave a half hour earlier than he wanted.
"I hope we have enough room for her luggage," Sora thought aloud, knowing her friend's tendency to overpack.
"She's only here for a month," Matt pointed out, lowering his window and taking in a deep breath.
He obviously didn't know Mimi very well.
"You obviously don't know Mimi very well," Tai said, echoing her thoughts. "She'll probably bring enough clothes to last her a year."
Izzy nodded. "Probably two years."
Sora giggled. "Come on. Mimi's impractical, not insane."
Tai grinned devilishly to Izzy. "So, I'm here because I know how to drive—"
"Hardly," Matt muttered so that Sora could only barely hear.
"—Sora's here because she's Mimi's friend and Matt's here because he's Sora's boyfriend," Tai smirked. "What made you so eager to come, Izzy?"
Izzy looked confused. "You're the one who asked me to come."
"Yeah, but you said yes."
Izzy wasn't following. "Was I supposed to say no?"
"Come on, admit it!" Tai teased, shoving his shoulder playfully. "You came because you think Mimi's cute, don't you?"
"W-what?" Izzy stuttered, his cheeks flushing. "What are you talking about?"
"It's not embarrassing," Tai assured, grinning to Matt in the rear-view mirror, who didn't smile back. "I'll admit it. Mimi's hot. She's like an eleven out of ten. Right, Sor?"
Sora didn't answer, instead feeling awkward that Tai had directed a question to her. She and Tai hadn't seen or spoken to each other since her tennis tournament a week ago. They had barely even discussed arrangements for this morning, the only form of communication a short SMS message he had sent her the night before to tell her the time he would be picking her up. She sent him a message back suggesting they depart thirty minutes earlier than what he suggested, to which he annoyingly did not respond. He then surprised her in the morning by bringing along Izzy, though she too surprised him by bringing Matt.
"She is pretty," Izzy admitted, "but that's not why I came. She's one of us."
"Yeah, yeah," Tai dismissed, waving a hand. "Matt, what would you rate Mimi on a scale of one to ten?"
"Pay attention to the road, Tai," Matt lectured, not even looking at him.
"Yes, ma'am," Tai sneered back, smirking. He made brief eye contact with Sora through the rear-view mirror, though he immediately looked away and prompted another topic of conversation with Izzy. He never once tried to include her or Matt in their discussion, which was fine with her. Obviously, it had been the point of him bringing Izzy along in the first place.
Mimi was as beautiful as ever, which Tai took upon himself to point out as soon as she ran to greet them with hugs. Sora noted that Mimi looked better after a fourteen-hour flight than she did in an hour and a half drive from Odaiba to Narita. She made a mental note to put more effort into her appearance while Mimi was here.
Excluding her handbag, Mimi brought three bags of luggage: two oversized ones she had checked in, and a smaller one she had used as her carry-on. Tai gave Izzy the carry-on, thinking he was doing him a favour.
"It's broken," Izzy pointed out as he pulled the lever to roll it.
"It's the stupid flight attendant's fault!" Mimi complained, stamping her foot. "You'll just have to carry it, but please be careful. It has all my most important essentials."
Izzy grunted as he struggled to lift the bag. "You sure do have a lot of essentials."
Mimi did not catch the sarcasm in his voice, instead gasping suddenly as they made their way to the exit.
"Where my Soy Skinny Vanilla Latte?" she demanded, grabbing the back of Tai's shirt to stop him from walking.
"Your what?"
"My Soy Skinny Vanilla Latte," she repeated curtly. "I told you to bring me one."
"I brought you a car," Tai answered pointedly.
"And I can assure you that I'm most appreciative. However, you did not bring me my Soy Skinny Vanilla Latte."
Beside her, Matt irritably set one of her enormous check-in luggages down, apparently tired of lugging it around.
Izzy too set Mimi's bag on the floor, muttering something under his breath. Sora winced piteously at him. While the check-in luggage Tai and Matt had were substantially larger in size than the carry-on Izzy had, Sora thought he still had the most daunting task considering he was unable to roll his.
"I told you a week ago that I wanted one, Tai. I reminded you of the same thing fourteen hours ago. I want a Soy Skinny Vanilla Latte!"
"You'll live," Tai said coolly, earning him a menacing glare.
A minute later, the five were standing in the long Starbucks line at the airport, though Izzy eventually excused himself to stand to the side. Sora suspected it was because he couldn't stand picking her bag up so often, especially after Mimi berated him for trying to drag it across the floor.
After what seemed like eternity, they reached the front.
"One tall Skinny Vanilla Latte, please. Soy," Mimi ordered in a sweet voice. She looked to them. "Anybody else want anything?"
"That," Tai requested, pointing to a berry scone in the display.
"Actually, he'll get the almond croissant," Mimi corrected to the worker.
Tai frowned. "I want the scone, Mimi."
She didn't yield. "The croissant tastes better, I promise."
Tai looked slightly annoyed but did not protest further.
Sora, thirsty, picked up a bottle of water, which Mimi immediately snatched out of her hand to add to her order. She then asked for a Caramel Frappuccino.
"That'll be ¥825."
Mimi looked to Tai.
"What?"
"She said it's ¥825."
He stared at her. "You're making me pay?"
"That's what you get for not having it when you said you'd have it!"
"Are you serious?!"
Mimi didn't respond with words, instead choosing to glare at him.
Then, to Sora's surprise, Tai grumpily reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Even though Mimi had essentially forced him to pay, he was agreeing to it with very little convincing done on her part. Even when they were on better terms, Tai rarely ever paid for Sora.
Once her drinks had been made, Mimi took them and pranced over to Izzy, holding out the Frappuccino to him. "Izzy, look what I bought you!"
Tai grumbled under his breath, looking unsatisfactorily at his croissant.
"Thanks for the water," Sora said to him.
He looked at her with an expression that implied he had just now noticed she was there beside him. "Er, yeah, no problem." He then walked away to join Mimi and Izzy.
She frowned as she opened her water bottle, then turned to offer some to Matt. He had not talked much all morning due to his carsickness and now, Sora guessed, his impatience. He was looking at his mobile, appearing quite irritated.
"We're about to leave now," she promised to uplift his mood, to which he immediately fixed his frown and insisted he was fine.
Sora looked back to the other three to see if they were ready. Tai was holding out his croissant for Mimi to take a bite, and she managed to tear most of it off, leaving him a tiny piece. He said something to her with a frown, to which she laughed, but it turned out his anger was feigned, as he ended up giving her the small, leftover piece too with a grin.
She felt a slight annoyance kick in. He was so nice to Mimi, in a way he had never been with her.
Mimi shrieked as Tai threw her suitcase with very little care into the boot of his car.
"Sorry," Tai said in a very unapologetic way.
Matt was more cautious when he loaded the bag he was carrying, then he held out an arm for Izzy's.
"It's heavy," Izzy warned, his forehead slightly damp from sweat.
"It's fine."
Izzy handed it to him, and Matt, underestimating the weight, nearly dropped it.
"Jesus Christ," Matt hissed. "What's in this thing?"
"Move aside, Matt. Let a real man handle this," Tai boasted. He took the other side and struggled too when Matt let go. "Mimi! What the hell?!"
"It has all the stuff that was making my check-in bags overweight," Mimi explained. "They don't check the weight of carry-ons as often."
"Why do you need so much crap? You're only here for four weeks," Tai growled.
"I already know how long I'm here for, but you two better not scratch that! It's Louis Vuitton!"
Tai scowled. "What the hell does that even mean?"
Mimi's expression mirrored his. "It means it's worth more than both of your lives combined, so be careful!"
Tai rolled his eyes, then he and Matt counted to three before lifting it high enough to put into the car.
"Aw, look how cute you two are," Mimi teased playfully. "Best of friends."
"Yup, that's us," Tai agreed, in a way that was to humour her. Slamming the door to the boot shut, he took the car keys from his pocket and walked towards the driver's side. Matt blocked him with an arm.
"I'll drive."
Sora looked at him curiously. She didn't know he knew how to drive.
"Do you even have a licence?" Tai challenged.
"Obviously I do if I just offered to drive."
"What if you wreck it?" Tai asked cautiously. "My dad will kill both of us if you do."
Matt snatched the keys from Tai's hand. "Believe me, if anybody's going to wreck this car, it's going to be you. I've never been that carsick in my life."
Tai looked offended but agreed, and Matt slid into the driver's seat.
"You can have front, Meems," Tai offered with a smile, opening the door for her.
Again. He was being so nice to her again. The uneasy feeling of aggravation returned once more, but Sora chose not to dwell on it. With Matt driving and Mimi in the passenger seat, it meant she and Tai would both be in the back. The only way to avoid sitting next to him was to have Izzy between them, but she didn't know how to ask him to have the uncomfortable middle spot without appearing rude.
"Izzy," Tai said loudly, interrupting her thoughts. He was standing beside the car, holding the left backseat door open. "You're younger than us, so you get the middle seat."
"Yeah, no problem," Izzy agreed with a shrug, not seeming to mind at all.
Sora let out a discreet sigh of relief, silently thanking Tai's authoritative nature. For some reason, it sounded much less rude when he said it.
With the seating arrangements assigned, they were off. Sora immediately noted that Matt was a much better driver than Tai.
"So, what do you want to do, Mimi?" Tai asked, leaning forward to hold the back of Mimi's headrest. "You're the guest, so we can do anything you want. You name it!"
She yawned, stretching her arms out in front of her. "I'm too tired to do anything. I just want to unpack and catch up with you guys."
He chuckled. "How surprising. And here I thought you'd force us to the shopping centre straight away."
She lowered the sun visor to check her appearance in the mirror, smirking. "Believe it or not, Tai Kamiya, my life isn't all about shopping."
"You're right," he quipped, talking to her through her reflection. "I don't believe you."
"Well then," she said, snapping the sun visor back in place. She turned her head to face him directly. "Maybe you should get to know me a little better."
He hadn't been in Sora's room for a long time, but the first thing he noticed when he stepped inside was that it remained largely unchanged.
Interestingly, there was the photograph of their old soccer team in her room, but none of just her and Matt. He was pleased by this observation.
Mimi had brought them gifts, individually wrapped in pink paper and decorated with heart stickers and lacy ribbons. The packaging was horrendous, though he had to admit the presents inside were thoughtful. Matt got a stack of rare vintage records. Izzy got memorabilia from Columbia University.
"A smartphone," he said flatly once he opened his own gift.
"Yes, so now you have no excuse not to call me!" she explained excitedly. "I'll show you all the best apps to download later, but they're probably already on there because it used to be my boyfriend's—well, I guess he's my ex-boyfriend now. The jerk. Anyway, he just got the new one that came out, so he gave that to me. It's a good thing I think the colour is ugly, because now it's yours! Aren't you happy?"
He was a little dumbfounded. Mimi had harassed him over his refusal to upgrade to a smartphone for years, but he didn't think it had actually bothered her.
"You gave me your ex-boyfriend's phone so I could call you more often?"
"Yes, and that's a nice one too," she said, not catching the disbelief in his voice. "I hope it'll work in Japan…"
He thanked her for the gift, though he didn't think he would use it. Call him old-fashioned, but he liked his 2G mobile phone.
"And this is for you, Sora!"
Mimi pulled out a rather large box from one of her luggage bags and set it happily in front of Sora. The three boys, all curious due to the size of it, looked over as Sora opened it, only to be disappointed that it was just clothes and cosmetics. Sora, on the other hand, seemed to love it as she hugged Mimi. Mimi promptly began to explain everything that was in the box, speaking in a language none of the males could understand.
"And you simply must try this mascara!" Mimi squealed, taking out a thin, silver box. "It's like the best mascara in the world, and you can't get it here in Japan. Plus, your eyelashes are kind of short, so you need the help!"
Tai felt that Mimi had somehow just insulted Sora, but she didn't seem to mind, instead thanking her. He also saw Matt frown at Mimi's comment.
Mimi then looked back into her luggage bag before closing it again, smiling mischievously. "Actually, I have one more thing for you. It's wicked, but I can't show you what it is in front of Tai and Izzy." She winked. "For your eyes only, Sora. Oh, and I guess Matt too if you two are far enough along your relationship."
Matt and Sora turned red. Tai and Izzy looked away awkwardly, both a little pink as well. Tai could feel anger and jealousy brewing with his embarrassment, and as much as he tried not to let it get to him, he couldn't.
He stood up.
"Well, this has been fun, but I have to get going."
"But I just got here," Mimi griped, looking at him wide-eyed.
He forced a grin. "And I'm very, very excited about it, but I have to train for soccer and work off that croissant I didn't actually get to eat. I'll see you tonight at your dinner, okay?"
Sora stood up as well and, for the first time in a week and a half, properly addressed him. "You're leaving to play soccer when Mimi just came to Japan for the first time in a year? Really, Tai?"
"Yes, really," he answered, ignoring the danger in her voice. "I'll see you guys tonight."
Under normal circumstances, Sora would have reprimanded him further, but given the fragile status of their relationship, she didn't. Instead, she turned her head to face Matt, most certainly to express her frustration to him.
Surprisingly, Mimi too did not scold him for leaving. "All right then. Bye!"
"Bye!" he copied with forced enthusiasm, catching her friendly wave with his hand and shaking it to make it appear his mood had not just turned bitter.
It was once he left the presence of his friends that he gave up on the effort, allowing his lips to fall into a frown.
He had never really thought about Matt and Sora getting intimate, preferring to put that thought aside entirely. Leave it to Mimi to put such a disturbing thing in his mind, and now that she had, he couldn't help but wonder. He told his mind to stop, but it started to calculate and reason without his permission anyway.
Matt and Sora had been dating for a little less than two months. If this were him, he would have tried to do something by now, but he didn't know if Matt would. He didn't think Matt had ever had a real girlfriend before, though that didn't really say anything. Matt had started dating before Tai had, and it wasn't like a girlfriend was required for experience in this day and age.
As for Sora, he knew her a lot better, but that wasn't saying much either. People acted differently around friends versus significant others. He couldn't ever remember a time when she was dating someone, and he liked to think she was conservative, but who the hell knew?
Oh God, what if they had—
No, he wasn't even going to think it. He told himself a week and a half ago that he was going to get over her, and this time he had meant it.
But just because he was going to get over her didn't mean he could stop himself from thinking that they'd eventually do the inevitable.
He shook his head to clear it. He wanted to stop thinking about it. How was he supposed to stop thinking about it?
As if answering him, his mobile went off. It was an SMS from Izzy.
You shouldn't have left like that. You aren't getting any brownie points from Sora.
He put his mobile back in his pocket, not bothering to answer. He and Sora were already awkward. It wasn't like a couple of brownie points were going to save him this time.
Sora glanced at the time.
"Mimi," she said again. "We're going to be late. You look fine."
Mimi didn't look up from Sora's vanity, twisting another lock of already-curled hair into her curling iron. "Just a couple more minutes."
Across the room, Matt looked irritated. Sora winced as she walked over to him, and he replaced his annoyed expression with a normal one. He reached out to put an arm over her shoulder.
"Gross, you two. Nobody wants to see that," Mimi said playfully, watching them from the reflection of the mirror.
Matt withdrew his arm and put it back to his side.
Mimi smirked at him. "I was joking. Touch away."
"We're going to be late," he repeated.
She continued to curl her hair. "If you're so bored, why don't you read a book or something?"
Sora looked up at her boyfriend to see if he was offended, but his expression showed no change. He caught her eye and gave her a small smile. She smiled back.
"Done!" Mimi announced happily ten minutes later, standing up from Sora's vanity.
"Finally," Sora heard Matt mutter under his breath before saying, "All right, let's go—"
Mimi interrupted him with a dismayed gasp.
"Sora, you aren't planning to go to my dinner looking like that, are you?!"
Sora blinked, confused. She was wearing the dress Mimi had brought her from the United States. Her jewellery had been Mimi-approved from an earlier shopping trip. Her shoes were borrowed from Mimi's collection, even though they were a painful size too small. Her hair had been styled by Mimi herself an hour prior.
What on Earth was she gasping about now?
"Sora, Sora, Sora," Mimi repeated, shaking her head. "You have such a pretty face. Why don't you just enhance it with a little bit of makeup? Believe me, everyone looks better with makeup on. Even me!" Mimi closed one eye to show off a shimmery pink eyeshadow she had dusted over her lid. "See how pretty that is when it catches the light? I could do it for you too."
"We don't have ti—"
Sora quieted Matt with a touch to his arm. "But Mimi, I am wearing makeup."
Mimi looked shocked, then stepped forward to more carefully examine Sora's face. A little mascara, a bit of blusher, the tiniest hint of gloss.
"Oh, you're right," Mimi confirmed, stepping back with a smile. "Wow, Sora! You're so good at pulling off that natural, cavewoman chic look! I couldn't even tell you had any makeup on! Well then, I'm just going to run to the toilet really quickly, and then we can go!"
Matt turned to her once Mimi left the room, a disturbed expression on his face.
"What the hel—ck was that?"
"What was helck was what?" Sora teased.
"That," he said, pointing at the direction Mimi had gone. "I can't believe you just let her talk to you like that. She was practically insulting you in front of your face. What kind of a friend does that?"
She smiled, rubbing his arms to calm him down. "Matt, don't worry about it. That's just how Mimi is. She wasn't trying to be rude."
"'Cavewoman chic'?"
She found him cute for getting offended over something that isn't a big deal and leaned up to give him a peck on his lips. "Don't let it bother you. She means well."
He, Sora and Mimi were on their way to Mimi's welcome dinner, and while she had been in Japan for only half a day, already had already managed to annoy the living hell out of him. He tried not to make it obvious, though it was becoming progressively more difficult.
"My feet hurt."
Half the time, she repeated this in a myriad of variations. Why she wore high heels when she knew they were going to be walking to the restaurant was beyond him. It wasn't like he was complaining about the walk, and he was the one who had been assigned to carry all her unnecessary gifts for the others. Though he would have offered anyway, it irked her that she had volunteered him for the job.
She had also senselessly taken the liberty to stand right between him and Sora, essentially kicking him out of their conversation. Sora had noticed this too, but she was too nice to say anything, and he didn't want to upset Sora by being the one to point it out either.
All he could do was listen, but it was more like he was hearing noise. She talked so much. He would have thought that after a fourteen-hour flight, she would be too jetlagged to do anything. He thought wrong, as she had spent the last twelve hours updating them on every aspect of her life, right down to all the insignificant details. He knew those stories would be repeated at dinner, succumbing him to listen to them twice. He wasn't sure how Sora would survive the next four weeks living with Mimi, because there wasn't enough money in the world for him to ever submit himself to such torture.
No, that was mean. Mimi was still his friend, even though she could get annoying. He decided he could only handle her in small doses, and that twelve straight hours with her was definitely exceeding that limit.
"You've gotten so pretty, Sora!"
It grew to the point that he found every menial thing to get annoyed with, like a child who got grumpy due to lack of sleep or food. The way she worded things bothered him. Sora had 'gotten' pretty, as if she was implying that Sora had not been pretty before.
Behind Mimi's innocent features, he couldn't help but think there was a calculating, manipulative person.
Sora modestly shook her head. "No way, Meems!"
"What are you talking about? You get so many guys! First Matt here, then T—oops." She smiled tightly at the two of them. "Never mind."
There it was again.
Sora apparently hadn't caught onto it, as she laughed it off. "Mimi, I get zero guys, and you of all people should know that."
Mimi smirked. "Well, at least you were able to nab Matt here."
Sora smiled at him, but he wasn't paying attention. There had been a hint of something he didn't like in the way she had said that, though he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Tai's coming tonight, right?" Mimi asked suddenly.
"He should. Why?"
"Oh, no reason. I just really want to make sure he's there." She winked at Sora. "He's really hot, isn't he?"
Why was Mimi asking such a thing to his girlfriend when he was right there?
Sora shifted uncomfortably. "Er, I don't know if I'd say that."
"Why? It's not like you've never thought it."
Sora gave her a glaring look, to which Mimi looked ahead innocently.
He couldn't believe it.
Mimi was trying to drop a hint. Not even that. She was spelling it out for him, reminding him again that Sora once had feelings for Tai—as if he didn't already know. But why? Surely, she was not dense enough to say it just for the hell of it.
"It's a shame really. I think he likes someone."
Sora looked at her with sudden interest. "Really? Tai does? Who?"
Mimi smirked. "Well, I don't know for certain, but if I'm right, she's closer than you'd think."
"Tell me," Sora said, looking far too concerned for Matt's liking.
"Goodness, Sora, don't act so interested in front of your boyfriend! Look how jealous he's getting!"
Mimi giggled, and he felt his face grow hot in embarrassment. Sora instantly turned to face him, and he forced a smile, shaking his head good-naturedly to indicate he was not jealous, praying that he looked convincing.
She came over to him and put her arms around his torso, practically hugging him as they walked, though she did not change the subject as he would have liked her to. "I'm not interested. Tai likes lots of girls."
"I don't know, this one's pretty good," Mimi continued, twirling her finger around her hair. "It's too bad though, because if I'm right, you're the one person I can't tell."
Sora laughed. "Well, whoever it is, I'm sure he'll change his mind about her in a week."
Mimi shrugged. "I doubt it."
The two then began to talk about how hungry they were, and what they planned on ordering once they got to the restaurant.
While Sora had thought nothing of Mimi's words, he couldn't help but linger in thought. It was the way she had said it.
'You're the one person I can't tell,' she had said.
He didn't like the diction she used or the tone in which she had said it.
"We're heeeere!" Mimi cried when they finally reached the restaurant, grabbing Sora and pulling her away from him. "Let's go! I'm starving!"
"Wait a second," he spoke up. He smiled to his girlfriend. "Let me talk to Mimi for a second." Sora looked confused, so he promised, "We'll be right in."
"Yeah, go ahead," Mimi agreed, not looking puzzled by his request in the slightest as she ushered Sora inside with her hands. Once Sora had gone, she turned around to face him, smiling still.
"Matty, I didn't know you liked talking to me." She had said it pleasantly, though there was a trace of sarcasm attached to it.
Not one to beat around the bush, he got straight to it. "What are you trying to pull?"
"What do you mean?" Her eyes widened, resembling a young doe caught in the headlights.
He narrowed his eyes at her, knowing she was only faking her ignorance.
"Cut the act, Mimi. I'm serious."
She flipped a lock of her hair back, still maintaining her innocent stance. "I can assure you I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, but I don't think Sora would like it very much if she found out you were interrogating me. After all," she smiled tightly at him, "we haven't seen each other in a year."
His glare intensified. "Well, whatever you're doing, stop it. I mean it."
She twirled another lock of hair between her fingers. "Oh, Matty. You crack me up."
She began to laugh, her laughter fake and condescending. What the hell was so funny?
She stopped when he didn't say anything, smirking again. "You must really not want Sora to see you for who you are. Why not?"
He felt fury spark within him, but he didn't open his mouth, afraid he would say something he'd later regret.
"You try so hard to act cool and tough, but we both know you're just a big old hothead." She reached up as if she was going to ruffle his hair, but he blocked her hand with his wrist. She smirked and brought her hand to her hair once more. "She can't hear you out here. If I'm annoying you, you can say it."
"You're annoying me."
She laughed again, successfully annoying him further. "That's much better. Now, if only you can act this real in front of her."
Not following her, he only glared.
"There's no reason for you to put up a fake image and act differently for Sora's sake. You're a good guy. I bet Sora would agree too, if only she could meet him."
She brushed past him to walk inside, but he stepped in front of her to stop her.
"What are you trying to do?" he demanded quietly. She was so conniving. It amazed him that he had never noticed it before.
"I'm trying to go inside. If you'll excuse me."
Without waiting for his reaction, she took the bag around his wrist and went into the restaurant. From the other side of the glass, he saw her run to greet everyone with a lively smile plastered on her face, not a single trace of evidence that she had just had a not-so-friendly altercation with him outside.
His expression read the direct opposite of hers. She always did this. After an absence of a year, she would come back and roam around as if nothing had changed, that nobody would have moved on with their lives without her. She always talked about how much she had grown up, but he could never see it. She was still just as selfish, just as spoiled, just as sheltered as she had always been. Even now, she had the audacity to scrutinise his relationship and try to teach him a lesson, as if those were things that were perfectly okay. If anything, the United States had made her even more ill-mannered than before. He thought she was irritating and dumb, and she of all people couldn't read anyone.
In any case, she certainly couldn't read him, when she didn't even know him at all.
Sora saved Matt and Mimi seats on opposite sides of her, but she noticed that Mimi walked in first without him. Instantly, the others who had not yet seen her rose up to greet her, and she excitedly rushed to give everyone their gifts, pulling them out of the bag she had brought and explaining each one.
It was during this time that Matt slipped in and slid into the seat beside her. She wondered what he had to talk to Mimi about, but she didn't ask. He smiled pleasantly to her.
It took a moment for everyone to settle back down, but soon they were all seated once again, an empty spot between Izzy and Mimi.
"Where's Tai?" Mimi asked, looking around.
"He just got out of practice and wanted to shower first. He'll be here soon," Kari explained.
As if on cue, the door opened, and Tai walked inside, dressed significantly more casually compared to the others.
"Ew, Tai!" Mimi cried as he approached them with a wave. "You're all wet!"
"I know," he said apologetically, taking the remaining seat beside her. "I didn't have time to dry my hair."
"Ugh, that is the worst fashion faux pas if I have ever seen one!" She glared at him. "Really, Tai, it's better to be fashionably late than to come to my event looking like an absolute slob!"
"I'll remember that for next time," he said indifferently, picking up the menu. "Has everyone ordered?"
"Not yet—"
"And your clothes!" Mimi continued, picking up the sleeve of his t-shirt between her forefinger and thumb. "I can't believe you came here wearing this! In case you didn't get the memo, this is a posh restaurant!"
"They let me in, didn't they?"
She scowled. "Maybe they didn't see you."
He rolled his eyes and stood up. "That's it. Davis, switch seats with me."
Davis hesitated and looked woefully at Kari, who sat in the seat beside him. "But…"
"I'm just kidding, silly!" Mimi exclaimed, pulling him back down with a tug to the arm. He smirked at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"So tell us about your fab life, Mimi!" Yolei chirped.
With that, everyone began to fill each other in about their lives, pausing only to order their food. Sora found catching up interesting, as it gave her the opportunity to learn things she didn't know about her friends she couldn't see as much. Joe, for example, had an internship for the summer, in which he was testing a new chemo drug by injecting it into mice.
"Essentially, my job is drawing blood samples from behind their eyes at certain intervals to determine whether the drug is effective or whether it's toxic," Joe explained.
"Why behind the eyes?" Yolei asked curiously.
"They have an easily accessible artery back there."
"Gross," Mimi said under her breath. "I thought you cringed at the sight of blood, Joe."
"Med school kind of whips that out of you," he said with a shrug. "I mean, I gagged the first day because I saw a headless mouse, but now it isn't so bad."
"Did you know labs often use scissors to cut the heads off mice for experimentation?" Izzy offered.
"Gross," Mimi said again.
"I think our lab uses miniature guillotines," Joe alleged.
"Guillotines!" Yolei exclaimed in surprise.
Ken nodded. "It's more humane if you think about it. I bet it's more accurate than a person's hand with pair of scissors."
"Thank goodness I wasn't assigned to do any of that," Joe said, sounding relieved. "I don't know if I can stomach killing a live mouse by chopping its head off with a pair of scissors or operating some sort of rodent guillotine."
"Yeah, I'd rather draw blood samples too," Yolei agreed with a nod. "How nervewracking though. What if you accidentally miss and poke its eye out?"
"That's disgusting. You guys are making me completely lose my appetite, and I haven't gotten my food yet," Davis muttered.
"I think that's so sad," Kari said.
"So sad," Davis agreed instantly, turning to her with a tragic frown. "Those poor little mice!"
"We have to follow regulations to ensure we minimise their stress," Joe assured.
Kari shook her head piteously. "How much can you minimise the stress of getting your head chopped off or having a needle get poked into your eyeball?"
"Well, actually, the orbital sinus is behind the eye, so we have to remove the eyeball from the socket first," Joe corrected to Kari's horror. He quickly added, "Don't worry! They're anesthetised, so they're usually asleep. They don't feel it unless they wake up."
"They wake up?!" Kari cried.
"Ew, that's so gross! Can we please change the subject?!" Mimi shrieked. She turned to Izzy. "Izzy, why don't you tell me about your girl?"
Sora, as well as everyone else, instantly turned to face him, who looked confused. "What girl?"
"That girl you told me about over the phone a while back! Remember? The one from your childhood?" She turned to the others. "Isn't Izzy so cute? He called me for girl advice."
Yolei squealed, and Tai choked on his water. As if by instinct, Mimi began to tap his back repeatedly with her fist, though her focus remained on Izzy for an answer.
"I didn't know you had a crush, Izzy," Sora said, giggling.
"Er, I don't." Izzy nervously cleared his throat. "It didn't work out."
Mimi withdrew her hand from Tai's back, bringing it with her other as she pulled a pitying face. "Oh no, why not?"
He reached for his glass, staring at it. "Er, it turned out she had a boyfriend."
"Oh dear…" Sora shook her head comfortingly. "That's okay, Izzy. I'm sure there's someone better for you out there."
Mimi, on the other hand, scoffed. "That's why you gave up? That shouldn't have deterred you."
"Mimi, don't say that," Sora scolded her friend lightly.
"You can always find an upgrade," she said unwaveringly. Sora disapproved of her friend's opinion, but didn't say anything. Mimi then turned to Tai. "What about you? Are you courting anyone?"
Tai didn't look her in the eye, rubbing at his own that had turned red from coughing. "Er, no, I'm not."
She smirked. "Still just you and soccer, huh?"
Sora felt a wave of tension set over the table. She had not yet told Mimi about Tai's recent troubles, and she doubted anyone else had either.
"Yeah, it gets really romantic," Tai joked, loosening everyone's nerves.
"No girls?"
"Nope."
She smiled. "Good."
She then moved on to ask Cody to tell her about his life, but Sora found herself not listening. There was something about the way Mimi had said "good" that was a little too cheeky.
Soon, they went from having one large conversation to several smaller ones. Kari with TK and Davis paying careful attention on either side of her. An uneasy Ken and an overenthusiastic Yolei. Cody listening as Joe and Izzy once again discussed the various methods of killing lab mice.
And then there was Tai and Mimi.
"You know, Tai," Mimi said lowly, drawing closer to him. "I change my mind. I kind of like your hair like that. It's sexy."
She reached to touch it, and Tai backed up a little in surprise.
"Er, thanks," he said cautiously.
She retreated her hand but smiled at him. "You're welcome."
He smiled back awkwardly.
"Mimi!" Yolei cried from a few seats away. Ken had apparently joined Davis' conversation, so she spoke over the quieter Cody, Joe and Izzy, bringing their attention over to her and Mimi as well. "What are you guys talking about?"
Mimi put an arm around Tai's head suddenly, fingers sliding through his damp hair. "Just how sexy Tai looks right now. Wouldn't you agree, Yolei?"
He turned to her, looking at her alarmed with widened eyes. Kari, who had overheard, turned her attention to them too, which drew TK and Davis to look over as well. Tai quickly peeled Mimi's arm off him.
Yolei stiffened and looked around awkwardly as Mimi waited patiently for an answer. "Er… yeah, sure… I guess…"
"I bet you get all the girls," Mimi continued, turning to look at him once more.
He frowned, muttering lowly, "Stop it."
"You do, don't you?" She giggled, smacking his arm rather hard. "You're so modest!"
"Stop it," Tai hissed again.
Sora felt Matt tap her on the arm, and she turned to him, not having realised she had not been paying attention to him.
"Food's here," he told her, not acknowledging Mimi's antics.
"Yay," she said with a tight smile. "I'm starving."
He didn't return her attempt at appearing attentive, eyes hollow as he emptily said, "Yeah, me too."
Once the waitress had given everyone their food, Mimi's giggle drew Sora's attention to her right once more. She was holding her fork up to Tai's mouth.
"Try some," Mimi cooed. "It's really good."
"Er… I'm all right."
"Come on. I don't have cooties."
Tai glanced around to see if the others were watching, so Sora pretended to look past them to the pianist playing in the corner. When she looked back, she saw Tai taking some of Mimi's salad with his own fork, rejecting hers.
"It's good," he confirmed with a grin. Mimi giggled at his reply, even though he hadn't said anything remotely entertaining.
It escalated from there.
As the dinner progressed, they became more and more flirtatious, Tai eventually loosening up to Mimi's advances. Sora noticed that Mimi kept touching him whenever she could, and he began to smile every time. She grew annoyed, especially because he was so obviously loving the attention she was giving him.
By the time they had finished their entrées, everyone had begun noticing, giving curious, confused glances their way. It was Kari's wide-eyed look that seemed to bring Tai back to Earth, as he made a conscious effort to talk only to Izzy after that. Mimi let him be, until the waitress set down their dessert menus.
"Let's split something," Mimi suggested to him, taking him by his arm to get his attention.
Tai looked to Mimi, then over to his right, then back to her again. "You know, I bet Joe would split a dessert with you."
"Sure," Joe agreed with a shrug, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I'm not one for desserts anyway."
Mimi didn't falter, smiling sweetly at Tai. "But I'd rather split one with you."
Mimi was blatantly flirting with Tai, and it made everyone feel uncomfortable. Well, Sora couldn't be sure if every person was uncomfortable, but she certainly was. Why, even she and Matt didn't do that, and they were actually dating.
"Please?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.
Tai seemed to think it over before he sighed. "Fine, but I get to pick."
His answer seemed to satisfy her. "Of course. Order whatever you want, darling."
He went for the treacle tart, while she and Matt decided to share a chocolate cake as per their tradition. She did notice recently that Matt never really took more than two bites though.
"Here. Say 'ahhhh.'"
Mimi had picked up a piece of the tart with a generous helping of clotted cream, and she was holding it against Tai's mouth.
Tai put his hand around Mimi's wrist to stop her. "Meems, can I talk to you in private for a sec?"
"We'll have time for that later," Mimi dismissed, stuffing the contents of her spoon in his mouth. She smiled and leaned closer to him. "How is it? Good?"
He mumbled something indecipherable with his mouth full, and Mimi giggled as she dotted his lips with her napkin. He pulled away, still protesting.
"Why are you two flirting with each other?" Davis asked loudly, finally asking what the others had been thinking.
Tai quickly swallowed his food and hissed, "We aren't flirting."
"We're flirting a little," Mimi disagreed, looking unfazed by Davis' comment.
"We aren't flirting," Tai repeated sternly, shooting Mimi a look.
She shrugged, then took a bite of their tart.
"Well, whatever it is, it's grossing the rest of us out," Davis retorted, once again mirroring the thoughts of the others. "Go get a room or something."
Kari gasped. "Davis!"
"Er…" Davis struggled to save himself, though he ultimately couldn't and had to resort to apologising for his comment.
Sora didn't care about Davis' slip-up, however. She couldn't peel her eyes off Tai and Mimi as she continued to try and feed him, to which he would protest and only succeed about half the time. The other half, treacle tart would end up on his face, Mimi giggling as she wiped it away.
"Don't you want this?" Matt asked dully, pushing their cake to her. He hadn't taken a bite either.
"Not really," Sora said quietly, turning to him. "I guess I ate too much for dinner."
Matt nodded in acknowledgement and turned to offer it to someone else. Behind her, she heard an exasperated "Mimi!" followed by more girly giggling. With each protest and each giggle, she found her patience grow thinner and thinner, until she eventually couldn't wait to go home.
When their bill finally came, she noticed that Tai paid for Mimi's dinner along with Kari's, though she had missed whether that was due to Mimi's insistence or his own voluntary action. Secretly, she hoped for the former.
Their antics continued as the group went out of the restaurant to end their reunion.
"Tai, why don't you walk me home?" Mimi suggested, slipping an arm around his, which he immediately peeled off. "I don't really remember my way around here anymore."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Mimi, you're staying with me. We can just walk home together."
"Nonsense," she said dismissively, waving a hand. "I've been the third wheel all day." She turned to Tai again. "What do you say?"
"Er," Tai shifted awkwardly. "I should walk Kari."
"TK can do that," Mimi said immediately, and she turned to smile to the younger blond. "Right, TK?"
"I can do it," Davis offered loudly before TK could answer. "You live in the opposite direction anyway."
"So it's settled then," Mimi concluded. "Davis walks Kari home, and Tai will walk me." She smiled as she raised his arm up over her head, ready to lead him away. "Come on, Tai. Let's go exploring first. If you're lucky, I'll let you buy me a coffee."
Tai was, in a word, confused. He walked back to the table Mimi had picked out in the café, setting their drinks down on the table.
Mimi smirked amusedly at him. "You know, when you wouldn't let me pick my own dessert, I thought you'd make a horrible boyfriend, but I'll forgive you since you bought me coffee."
He frowned. "Obviously, I would have let you pick your dessert if you were my girlfriend, but seeing as you aren't and I knew you'd make me pay for it—"
She silenced him with a glare, then replaced her menacing look with a sweet one once more. "I don't actually drink coffee, by the way. It'll stunt my growth, and I really want to be 165 cm."
"You had coffee this morning," he pointed out, rolling his eyes. "Don't you remember your stupid soymilk latte whatever?"
She ignored him. "You should have gotten me hot chocolate, but thank you anyway."
She reached over and gave him a pinch on the cheek.
"Mimi, what the hell?" he asked darkly, rubbing his cheek. "Why are you all over me all of the sudden?"
She smirked. "You're cute, Tai. You think I'm cute too, don't you? That's why you agreed to come here."
He frowned. "I only agreed to come here to tell you not to do it anymore."
"You don't find me attractive?"
It would have been a lie to say no. Mimi was easily one of the prettiest girls he knew, but the fact he had known her since she was a ten-year-old spoiled brat—and that she had no distinguishable hobby aside from shopping—really cancelled out any sort of physical attraction he had towards her.
"You're okay," he compromised.
She looked offended and stuck out her lower lip in a pout as she always did when something did not go her way, her thin brows pointed downwards to show her dissatisfaction at his comment.
She was older and less extreme now, but he learned long ago that the fastest way to ruin Mimi Tachikawa's mood was to disagree with her.
"It was a joke," he added to appease her sudden sour mood. "You're very pretty, Meems."
"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "As if I had any sort of interest in you. You aren't my type at all! I like really hot, really smart, really tall, really—"
Ugh. It was his own fault. He should have known better than to provoke her.
"—really sensitive, really successful, really—"
"I get it. So what's your deal?"
His asperity brought a smug expression to her face. "I'm testing something."
He narrowed his eyes. "And what would that be?"
"I don't know. I thought it'd be fun to see how people would react to us. After all," she smirked, "I did miss out on the great reaction for Matt and Sora."
He darkened, twirling his spoon in his cappuccino, watching as the cocoa powder mixed with the froth. "There was no reaction. They started dating. That was it."
She laughed, reaching for her café Viennois, even though she just said she wouldn't drink it. "It's such a shame, you know."
"What is?"
"You and her. Her and him."
Her words caught his attention, and he briefly remembered when Mimi had rang him all those weeks ago, urging him to go for Sora. He remembered his reaction too. Terror, as he thought he would have to reject her because he had thought at the time that he could never see her as anything more than a friend.
How stupid he had been.
"Who was the girl you were talking about? The one from over the phone?"
Mimi smirked knowingly at his seemingly random question, as if she had been expecting it. "Obviously you know. You're just asking me because you want me to say it. You want to hear it because you know you've lost her, right?"
He chose to avoid answering by drinking his cappuccino. He wasn't really one for coffee either, but he had paid for it.
It was extraordinary. She hadn't even been here for an entire day, yet she had already managed to make him pay for her coffee, her croissant that did not look nearly as delicious as the berry scone, Sora's water, Izzy's coffee that he ended up not drinking, her dinner and another bloody coffee. He would have paused to admire her capabilities if it weren't for the fact that he was so annoyed by the waste of his limited funds.
She sighed suddenly, and when he looked over to her, he saw she was frowning.
"You know what makes me really sad?"
"My hair?" Tai guessed dully, setting down his drink.
"Your hair," Mimi answered at the same time. Her frown deepened. "If you know it bothers me, why don't you do something about it?"
"I really don't care what you think of my hair, Meems."
"Well, you should. It's hideous!"
"You're hideous."
Her jaw dropped, looking histrionically offended for something that was obviously not meant seriously. "Excuse you, Tai!"
Her reaction made him grin. "I'm just kidding. You look very nice."
"Of course I do. I look better than you anyway," she snapped.
Tai laughed. Mimi had her moments, but he thought she was quite endearing. As conceited as she was, she never meant any ill will.
At least, he didn't think she did.
"Well then, since I am so utterly beneath you, I hope it means you'll stop making passes at me."
She leaned into her seat and played with her hair again, something he noticed she did a lot. "Maybe. It depends."
"Depends on what?"
"I can't tell you. It's too early, and you'll ruin the experiment."
He rolled his eyes. "What, are you going to scissor my neck off too? I'll tell you now that I'd prefer the guillotine."
She smirked. "I'll keep that in mind."
He finished the rest of his drink, then took out his mobile to check the time. "We should head back."
She seized him by his wrist, glaring at the device in his hand. "Why aren't you using the smartphone I gave you?! In case nobody taught you, it's rude not to use gifts that people give you!"
"You mean like how you took your ex's gift and gave it to me?" he asked flatly.
"That doesn't count!"
"I'll use it later," he lied.
She huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest, but he stood up to indicate he had meant it when he said he wanted to leave.
"Why so soon?" Mimi asked, apparently forgetting that she was angry with him. "Do you have somewhere to go?"
"Yes, my bed."
She looked disappointed. "But it's so early. Do you have somewhere to be tomorrow?"
"No, I'm just knackered." He put his right arm to his left shoulder and massaged it to attest his point.
She frowned. "Tai, I just travelled halfway across the world. I'm knackered, not you."
"Then you should go to bed too," he concluded. "Come on, get up."
She didn't move. "But I didn't even finish my coffee."
He took her hand and pulled her out of her seat with little effort. "Well, it's a good thing you don't drink coffee then, isn't it?"
She spread her arms wide when he dropped her off at Sora's.
"This is how Americans say goodbye," she explained, moving her hands to signal him to hug her.
"I'm not American," he said dryly.
She instantly scowled, crossing her arms across her chest. "You are so rude, Tai Kamiya."
He grinned, amused that she was so easily offended. "Good night then."
"Bye," she huffed haughtily before she began marching away.
He chuckled and called after her. "If you want a hug that badly, I'll give you one."
She turned around to glare at him. "No, I don't want one, especially from you!"
"Come on, I'll give you one!" He followed her up the steps to give her a friendly hug from behind. She shrieked dramatically, and he laughed as he let go. "I missed having you around, Meems."
She turned around, looking significantly happier. She was so easy to please.
"Really? What did you miss about me?"
"How pretty you are," he joked, grinning.
She slapped his arm.
He rubbed at his arm though it hadn't really hurt. "It's a compliment."
"It isn't when you aren't being serious!" she snapped, though he could tell from her expression that she hadn't hated his answer.
"Go inside," Tai told her, feigning a yawn to give her a hint.
"Fine, fine. I'm going. Ugh, so rude."
He grinned. "Good night, Meems."
"Good night." She walked up the remainder of the steps leading to the entrance of the complex, then turned to him once more. "You know, you may not be my type, but Sora was right about you. You grew up nicely."
She reached down to give him a pat on his head, like an owner would do to a pet, then disappeared inside.
It was with gestures like this that Tai could see how much she had changed—how westernised she had become. Mimi no longer treated him with the respect one would give a person who was older, and while he was never one to be strict with such idiosyncrasies himself, it did take some getting used to when Mimi had first disregarded it. He let it slide with her because she was obviously submerged in a culture that did not always mesh with his own.
That, and he couldn't be bothered to get caught up in cultural protocol when the last thing Mimi had said struck a chord.
"Sora was right about you. You grew up nicely."
He had tried hard in the last week and a half not to think about her and what could have been, but just this once he allowed himself to wonder if Sora had said those words about him before or after she started her relationship with Matt. And just this once, he let himself be pleased by the implication.
It wasn't like she had been counting the minutes or anything, but it had been well over an hour since she got back from dinner that Mimi finally came home.
"Where did you guys go?" Sora asked, trying to appear nonchalant.
"Oh, nowhere." She giggled, going to her side of the wardrobe to pick out something more comfortable to wear for bed. "Tai has gotten really handsome, hasn't he?"
Sora felt her face grow warm. She was already flustered by Mimi's obvious flirting with Tai for essentially the entirety of their dinner, and her giddiness was only exacerbating the issue. There was one question on her mind, but she didn't know how to tactfully ask.
So, she disregarded tact altogether and blurted out, "Do you like Tai?"
Mimi giggled again. "I don't know. You don't mind, do you? Now that you're with Matt…"
"No, of course not. I just…" Sora tried not to frown. "He's clueless, you know. He probably won't pick up on anything."
Mimi smirked as she changed into what Sora thought looked awfully impractical for clothing that was meant for sleeping. "Sora, please. You know me. I'm not subtle about anything." She winked. "Besides, I'm only in town for a month. It's just a bit of fun while I'm here. It's not like I'm going to marry him."
"Right," Sora played off.
"Well then, I'm going to take a bath!" Mimi announced before leaving the room again for the bathroom.
For some reason, it bothered Sora immensely that Mimi was showing interest in Tai, even though she knew it shouldn't. She told herself it was because she couldn't casually date the way Tai and Mimi could. Tai once said that casual relationships were the best relationships, while Mimi was constantly updating her on new boys she would "date" while on break from her on-and-off boyfriend. Being with someone with no strings attached wasn't Sora's style, so in her opinion, what they would be doing if Tai bit the line—and she knew he would—would be unacceptable.
Inside, she knew it was a bogus excuse. In reality, she couldn't stand the thought of Tai and Mimi together because it was Mimi and it was Tai. Even if it would mean nothing to either one of them, there wasn't a single thing about the two of them together that was okay with her.
That Tai Kamiya. She could slap him for being so easy. Not that it mattered anymore, but evidently she had wasted her time trying to get to know him as a person in the years she spent having a crush on him. All she had to bloody do was shamelessly flirt with him in front of the world like Mimi did.
What bothered her most, however, was that Mimi knew she had once liked him. It hadn't even been that long ago, yet she had waited less than a day of arriving in Japan to have her target set on him. She didn't want to think that Mimi was a bad friend, but a part of her couldn't believe Mimi couldn't see that she was treading on dangerous ground. Wasn't there some unwritten girl code that frowned upon this sort of thing?
She told herself she was being unreasonable. Even if such code existed, surely it only extended to exes, and Tai was not her ex-boyfriend. Not even close.
Still, she couldn't help but think that Mimi was playing with a fine line, and it was difficult for her to believe that Mimi was completely oblivious to that fact.
Okay, let me just be the worst Taiora fan ever and say that in the past year or so, Michi has really grown on me. I know, the betrayal and horror! It's just that with Sora, I can only see her with Tai, but with Mimi, I think she is compatible with every guy in the first season. I'm not too much of a traitor, however, as I can only enjoy Michi fics provided that Sora has absolutely no role in the story.
I'm not completely sure if I made Mimi in character, but I did need a conniving person, so she was it. I think I went a bit heavy with the filler dialogue, but believe it or not, I took a large part of pointless drabble out before I uploaded this, haha. I think it's so obvious which chapters were written back in 2008-2009 because they're always full of them.