A/N: Just a warning, sorry that I try to squeeze so much into every chapter! I like to imagine each one as a TV episode, so I try to make each one packed with good stuff. Thanks for all your support! :)
There was something comforting about the way the sun caressed her fair skin. The warmth of its rays, mixed with the cooling breeze of autumn air, had never felt so invigorating before.
Her eyes were shut.
Trying to bask in the serenity for as long as she could in her laying position, she let her arms gradually relax onto the picnic blanket beneath her. The fabric felt soft under her skin. Everything was calm. Everything was quiet.
A faint voice in the distant perked her ears. It was calling for her softly, a whisper slowly clarifying into a comforting voice. She knew his voice. And it was getting closer.
"Mimi," he whispered into her ear.
She opened her eyes.
He was smiling at her. His black orbs gazed adoringly into her hazel eyes. The collar of his infamous orange shirt crept into her line of view, and she couldn't help but smile. His head was shielding her face from the warmth of the sun, but the way he was watching her brought a different kind of heat to her body.
"You're beautiful, Mimi."
Now she was mesmerized, and she couldn't look away from his dark eyes.
"Why didn't you ever tell me, Kou?"
"I'm telling you now."
"No. Why didn't you ever tell me how you felt?"
Koushiro smiled innocently as he leaned forward. Her heart started to race. Her palms started to sweat.
He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, his lips imprinting a strange sensation onto her skin as he pulled away.
"Because you loved someone else."
They watched each other in silence as another cooling breeze tickled her skin flirtatiously.
Ironically, the breeze wasn't the source of her goosebumps.
"Koushiro…"
Her eyes fluttered shut as he started to lean in once more. The sun seemed as if it was getting dimmer as he got closer. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she felt his warm breath on her cheeks. Anticipation.
The moment his lips brushed against hers, a jolt of electricity shot up her spine with surprising pleasure. She reached her hands up to touch his face and bring his lips even closer…
Mimi's eyes sprung open as she woke up abruptly in her small bed. She gasped and instinctively scanned her surroundings with baited breath, sitting up straight as she did so. Her heart was still racing and her breaths were coming out in short puffs. Once she realized that she was still safe in her room, the cinnamon-haired girl groaned with annoyance.
Not again.
How many times was she going to dream about him?
"Mimi…?" Sora grumbled from the other side of the room. Mimi could hear her shuffling around in her bed, and she instantly felt guilty for waking her roommate.
"Sorry," she answered, lying back down onto the cushion of her mattress.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
"I-I guess you can call it that."
Sora lifted her head before rubbing her eyes. She waited for her vision to adjust to the darkness so she could see her distressed roommate more clearly. A wave of concern washed over Sora as Mimi pulled the covers over her head.
"Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"
"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm sorry I scared you, Sora. Please go back to sleep," Mimi stated ruefully, turning to her side so she could make sure Sora leaned back into the comfort of her pillows.
"Are you sure? You've been tossing and turning a lot lately."
While Mimi was always grateful for Sora's nurturing personality, sometimes she hated that her best friend was so intuitive. She knew Sora wouldn't let this go, and now she'd watch over Mimi with concerned suspicion until she finally fessed up.
Too bad she wasn't ready to divulge these dreams to anyone just yet; not when she was trying to make sense of them herself.
Luckily, Mimi wouldn't have to think of a half-brained excuse to appease Sora's apprehension. The redhead's cell phone suddenly started to vibrate on the nightstand next to her bed, and Sora immediately grabbed the device from the table.
"Oh god…"
"Who is it?" Mimi asked automatically, concern now lacing her voice instead.
"My mother," Sora announced with a grunt. She shoved the blankets off of her body and pushed herself off the bed. Mimi sat up again and rubbed her eyes as she glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
"Jeez, it's two o'clock in the morning, Sora. Just call her back tomorrow."
Mimi worried about her roommate when it came to her parents' divorce. Sora rarely talked about the ordeal, choosing to ignore it whenever she possibly could, but that didn't stop her mom from constantly calling any second she could. Mimi could tell that it was starting to take its toll on Sora, having to hear her mother bawl over the phone on almost a daily basis, but her roommate chose to handle it on her own.
Sora sighed, "No, I can't do that to her. I'll be back, Meems. Go back to sleep, okay?"
With that said, Sora trudged out the door in her pajamas, and closed it softly behind her as she headed into the living room. Mimi could hear her roommate take a seat at the dining table before she answered her mother's call.
Left only with the soft mumbling of Sora's voice in the background, Mimi suddenly realized how alone she was inside of her room. The darkness played with her eyes, so she shut them tightly and turned to her side. The sudden remnant of Koushiro's lips brushing against hers made the aspiring chef shudder under her covers, and she instantly grabbed one of her pillows in response to hug it closely to her body.
It had only been five days since the picnic at the park, but Koushiro had plagued her dreams every night since then. The dreams were starting to mess with head more than she'd thought they would. While Mimi tried to convince herself that Taichi's accidental slip of Koushiro's secret was the initial cause of these constant reveries, deep down she knew that the events from the picnic were the sole perpetrators.
How had she not noticed Koushiro for everything that he was? She'd spent months pining over Taichi—who had shown very little interest and played with her emotions—while she ranted on and on about this to Koushiro. And Koushiro sat through it all!
She pursed her lips when she realized how much pain it must've brought her good friend to hear the object of his affection whine and complain about another man. And not just any other man, but his roommate and closest friend, nonetheless! Mimi hugged her pillow tighter and groaned into its center.
The past few days had been rough. She'd replayed so many of their conversations in her mind, reeling about his words and actions that she'd simply shrugged off or taken for granted. All the sweet compliments, all the inspirational encouragements, all the adoring smiles…He had been giving her the love and attention that she was so desperately seeking elsewhere. And Mimi hated herself for that now.
Miyako had decided to let Mimi in on another secret a couple days ago, now that the cat was out of the bag (Miyako's own words, of course). Miyako admitted that Koushiro had changed is entire look for Mimi, after feeling like she'd never notice him. Dear Miyako, who had no idea Mimi was going through this emotional rollercoaster in regards to the reserved computer genius, didn't think that divulging this information to her roommate would cause any more harm.
She was totally, totally wrong.
Koushiro changed his appearance for her?! And Mimi had definitely noticed this at the time, but she would have never guessed that the reason for this was because he had wanted to get her attention. Well, it had worked, but…
But Koushiro was just her friend! Friend. That's it. He was just a good, loyal, sweet, cute friend.
Cute.
When did she start thinking he was cute?
Mimi groaned again and turned to her other side, squeezing her eyes even more in the hopes that sleep would befall her like magic. She didn't understand why she was torturing herself with all of this anyway. There were no real feelings for Koushiro, were there? The dreams were just messing with her head. They had to be. There wasn't any spark or excitement with him, right? She never felt butterflies around him, and that was a big deal for her because Mimi could convince herself of anything else. Literally. But not butterflies.
Self-deception was nasty habit she'd developed for handling difficult situations. Maybe this whole thing was a coping mechanism for losing Taichi. Maybe this was just a desperate need for attention and affection from an easy source. Maybe she did have genuine feelings for her adorable friend now. Honestly, she could convince herself of any of these things. But if there was one thing Mimi had learned in her lifetime, it was that she couldn't convince her body to make those stupid butterflies on command.
That's why she was so keen on paying attention to her bodily reactions. It was the only way to distinguish what was real and what she'd concocted in her mind. So, where did that leave her now?
With Taichi there were butterflies flapping around left and right, diagonally, even vertically. There was no doubt in her mind that she had been in love with him. Call it a childish puppy love, but it was still real. So real that she'd been heartbroken severely when she'd lost her chance to be with him.
There were even butterflies with Michael. The fact that he was bad for her sometimes made it exciting. She loved the thrill of being with him and annoying her parents, but even in their most intimate moments, those butterflies flapped around elatedly. He was her first love.
But Koushiro? There were never any butterflies. Never. Although she hadn't really seen much of him since the picnic…
Something had happened that day, and it changed her whole outlook on him. The way he worried about her grilling for everyone by herself, the way he commended her spirit…no one had ever said anything like that to her before.
"I don't think we appreciate you enough after everything you've done."
Mimi was gazing at him in a peculiar way, her cheeks tinged with pink from, what Koushiro had guessed, the heat radiating off of the grill. She cleared her throat before turning her focus back onto the buns.
"I haven't done anything," she admitted softly.
Koushiro smiled, "You've brought us your relentless spirit. That's more than enough."
Mimi's heart raced as she thought about his words. How did he see her in such a positive and beautiful way? Thinking about the glint in his dark eyes got her heart racing nowadays…but there still weren't any of those darn butterflies.
Mimi's final decision for the night was that if Koushiro ever caused her to experience an elated, excited, flappy feeling in her stomach, then she'd worry about what to do. If there were absolutely no butterflies in the next few days, then she'd convince herself that she was being desperate and get over all of this nonsense.
The door of the room opened slowly as Sora made her way back towards the bed. Mimi quickly glanced at the clock and raised her brows apprehensively, glad that she could now focus on her distressed roommate and not on her internal dilemma.
"You were gone for almost an hour, Sora. Is everything okay?"
Sora jumped up in fright for a quick second before clenching her chest, "Mimi, you scared me! You're still not asleep?"
Mimi stiffened instantly.
"N-No, I was worried about you," she recovered.
Sora bought this and slid under her covers effortlessly, facing Mimi on her side so she could speak to her best friend properly.
"And how many times do I have to tell you to stop worrying?"
Mimi could hear the forced indifference in her voice, and instantly gazed into the darkness with trepidation, "I know you're not okay, Sora."
She didn't say anything in return. Mimi sighed as she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling solemnly. All she wanted was for Sora to confide in her, yet Mimi hadn't revealed her predicament, either. Albeit, Mimi's problem was nothing compared to what her roommate was going through, but the fact that neither of them had opened up to each other yet made Mimi feel uneasy.
She sighed again softly, "Don't keep this inside, Sora. Speak to Taichi if you have to, but please don't act like you're fine."
There was another moment of silence before she heard Sora shuffling around in her sheets.
"I don't want to bother him. He's been really stressed out because of work," she admitted softly. This made Mimi scoff and smile.
"Like he wouldn't choose you over his job."
"He shouldn't have to. Either way, I have this all under control," Sora insisted again, the strain even more present in her voice than before. Mimi could here her shuffling again. It wasn't until, however, she heard soft sniffling that Mimi quickly shot up from her bed to made her way over to Sora. She pulled her best friend into a sitting position before wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.
Sora wasn't sobbing, but she sniffled as a few tears streamed down her tired face and onto Mimi's shoulder. Her heart ached for Sora, and she shut her eyes tightly as Sora slouched even more into her arms. Poor thing was going through something real, and Mimi had spent the last hour grueling over a man. She hated herself for that.
"I love you, Sora…"
She sniffled one last time, "Love you too, Meems."
If you had asked him what he'd be doing on a Friday morning two hours before work, Takeru's answer would have probably been sleeping and cuddling with his beautiful girlfriend. However, this was not the case. Across from him, seated at a 24-hour fast food restaurant, was Yamato Ishida.
His brother had finally contacted him after weeks of being absent, and the tone of his voice was more than unsettling. Takeru could tell that he was tired and stressed out over the phone. Yamato wasn't doing his best to hide it, either.
Now, here he was across from him at a dingy booth at a fast food joint that was probably the only thing open at this hour. He had only ordered an orange juice as he took another long pull from his newly lit cigarette. Takeru noticed how his usually styled hair seemed frazzled, and the bags under his eyes seemed out of place on his usually perfect face. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
But Yamato wouldn't mention a word of his problems.
"I'm sorry for disappearing on you again, Takeru. I know you called me a few times in the past month."
Takeru smiled comfortingly, "Yeah, I could've used your help."
Yamato nodded solemnly, taking another pull before running his fingers through his beautiful blond hair. He leaned back into the cushion of his seat while he shot his younger brother a curious look.
"How's everything with Hikari?"
"Good. We're working on fixing things," Takeru answered, taking a sip from his coffee in order to suppress a yawn.
"Fixing things?" Yamato asked with a raised brow.
"It's a long story," his younger brother admitted with a sigh.
Takeru didn't mean to make his brother feel even guiltier, but Yamato's face was painted with remorse, nonetheless. Yamato was a professional when it came to hiding his emotions, so being greeted with faces that were other than stoic worried Takeru even more.
"Yamato," Takeru started with concerned eyes, "What is going on? You look like a mess," he admitted.
He took another long drag before putting out the cigarette in his orange juice. Takeru knew he wasn't going to drink it, anyway.
"We broke up."
Takeru furrowed his brows, "You and Hitomi?!"
"No," Yamato chuckled dryly, "My band. The Wolves…we're over."
Takeru leaned forward instantly, his eyes widened with shock as he gazed at his brother. Now his absence made so much more sense. That band was Yamato's only source of income, and only real career. He loved being a part of it.
"What happened?!" Takeru gaped.
"I don't know…it all happened so fast," he paused as he drummed his fingers on the table with thought, "We just aren't on the same page anymore."
Takeru waited for his brother to continue, not knowing what to say or do. Yamato picked up on this and let out another sigh.
"Yutaka and Akira had wanted to change our style ever since we dropped down in popularity. Takashi didn't want to be a backup singer anymore. All three of them were constantly bickering about completely changing our sound—"
"What about you?" Takeru quickly cut in.
Yamato sat in silence for a few more seconds before drumming his fingers again. Takeru could tell that he was itching to pull out another cigarette, but, at the same time, he wasn't expecting the look of pain in his older brother's cerulean eyes.
"Of course I didn't want to change anything," he paused again to pull out a cigarette from his carton anyway, unable to resist, "They all can't stand Hitomi," he added randomly.
Takeru raised both of his eyebrows, "…Why?"
"Her father became our manager after our last record company dropped us a few months ago. Hence, she had a lot of influence and authority over our band, especially since we were married," Yamato lit his cigarette effortlessly and took a hasty pull, "She started putting her two-cents into a lot of our discussions with her father, and it royally pissed everyone off. Of course, they blamed me for it."
Yamato used his free hand to rub his forehead slowly. Takeru's heart ached for him as his older brother gazed at the table, deep in thought. While he wasn't surprised that Yamato was having difficulties with his band due to their falling popularity, the fact that they'd completely called it quits was a curveball that he would've never expected.
"Hey," Takeru called to get his attention, "Everything will be okay. Now you have a chance to launch your own solo career," he encouraged with a smile.
Yamato wasn't as ecstatic, "I'm nothing without them, Takeru."
"That's not true! You were the face of that band, Yamato. Without you, there wouldn't have been 'The Teenage Wolves' to begin with."
Yamato didn't say anything. He continued to smoke his cigarette in silence, and it made Takeru slump down into his seat. He wasn't sure of what else to say, how else to appease his brother. This was a horrible situation, what could he possibly do to make the predicament any better? Takeru sighed before taking another sip of his coffee.
"I've been thinking about leaving her…"
Yamato's statement almost made Takeru spit out his coffee right then and there. Had he heard his brother correctly? Was he being serious? Takeru gaped as he searched Yamato's face for any kind of clue.
"Excuse me?"
Yamato sighed and closed his eyes, "You heard me, Takeru."
"B-But it's only been three months! What happened?! I thought you were—"
"I don't know, I just—everything's been so different now that we're married and," the older blond paused to place his head into his hands, "We'd been on and off for three years before I proposed—I-I don't know."
"Are you sure you're not blaming Hitomi for your band's breakup? Maybe that's why you feel this way—"
"Look, all I know is that I'm not happy. Something has gone terribly wrong, and ten years down the line, I-I don't want to end up like mom and dad," Yamato confessed, pulling his head away from his hands to take another drag of his cigarette.
Takeru froze as he processed Yamato's last words carefully.
"Then go to therapy, Yamato. Do something to make this work…don't just leave her without trying to fight for your marriage," he stated softly.
Yamato knew that Takeru was right, but deep down he felt as if all the attempts would be futile. He'd tried so hard to make sense of the way he was feeling, but nothing made more sense than to separate. He wasn't happy. He'd lost everything.
"I'll help you," Takeru chimed, "I have some great contacts back at work. I can help you find the best marriage counselor in the city—"
"I'd like that," Yamato interjected, putting out his cigarette in the orange juice again. Takeru could tell that he wasn't completely sold on the idea, but at least he was willing to give it a shot.
Takeru took hold of Yamato's hand and looked his brother straight in the eye.
"Promise me that you'll give your marriage a chance; that you'll fight for Hitomi. If you don't want to end up like mom and dad, then you have to at least try to make it work," Takeru pleaded. His brother offered him a small smile in order comfort him.
"Okay."
"Thank you," Takeru returned the smile, "and if worst comes to worst, then you're more than welcome to stay with me while you figure it out."
Yamato sighed, "I hope it doesn't come to that, but thanks."
The older blond gazed at Takeru with a sense of painful pride before running a few more fingers coolly through his hair.
"I'm so sorry that I haven't been there for you, Takeru." Guilt was written all over his pretty face. Takeru smiled reassuringly.
"Stop apologizing. Once you're better, we can work on it," Takeru grinned, trying to ease up the situation. He watched as Yamato forced a smile onto his face.
"I promise we will."
"Are…they…serious?!"
Instead of having an alarm clock wake up the two roommates, Sora and Mimi's eyes fluttered open at the sound of Miyako's shrieking voice from the living room. Sora groaned instantly, and used her pillow to cover her ears.
"Are you seriously screaming so early in the morning?!" Mimi yelled, grumbling as she tried to find another comfortable position in order to fall back to sleep for a little longer. Both she and Sora had woken up in the middle of the night to deal with their issues, so any ounce of sleep that could be salvaged would be useful.
"I'm going to kill them!" Miyako announced loudly again as her footsteps drew closer to their room, "Guys, come out here. You're not going to believe this."
Sora peeked an eye open to look at pajama-clad Miyako in the doorway. The spectacled woman seemed furious, her cheeks red as she huffed into their room. This instantly made Sora sit up in bed and rub the sleep out of her eyes. Momoe's figure made it's way into Sora and Mimi's room as well, and she didn't look so pleased, either.
"What's going on?" Sora croaked with a morning voice, her eyes still squinting from exhaustion.
"Why don't you come take a look," Miyako glared as she marched back out into the living room with Momoe following closely behind her.
Sora groaned again before taking one of her pillows and chucking it over to Mimi's sleeping form. The cinnamon-haired girl whined before refusing to get up from her comfortable bed, so Sora sighed as she marched out of their room herself.
The scene in front of her instantly shocked the sleepiness out of her system. Their living room was filled with multi-colored balloons, so many that the floor was barely visible until you entered into the dining area. What the heck was all this? There must've been hundreds of them.
"W-What…?" was all Sora could spit out, rubbing her eyes again to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"It seems as if someone has played a prank on you three," Momoe stated matter-of-factly, crossing her arms in a disapproving fashion.
Miyako rolled her eyes, "Really, Momoe? I wouldn't have guessed!"
"I do not appreciate the sarcasm, Miyako."
"I do not appreciate the ocean of balloons in my living room!"
"Well, they're your friends," her sister retorted, heading back into Miyako's room with a disappointed sigh.
"Jeez, what's with all the screaming—" Mimi stopped in her tracks as she entered the living room, her mouth still agape in mid sentence, "…Oh."
Miyako squinted her eyes when she noticed that one of the balloons had a dark object inside of it. Quickly, she picked it up and brought it closer to her face so she could get a better look. Recognition dawned upon her as she let out a loud groan.
"Mimi, your lipstick is in here," she informed. Both Sora and Mimi shot their heads in Miyako's direction before stumbling through the sea of balloons to reach her. Mimi grabbed the balloon out of her hand and shook it so she could get a better glimpse inside. Sure enough, there was her favorite tube of lipstick.
Sora picked up another balloon and glared into it. Within it's belly was what looked like a cone of mascara. After quickly scanning the mass of balloons, realization quickly hit the young fashion designer with a painful pang.
"Guys, I think all of our makeup is in these balloons…"
"What?!" Mimi screeched with wide eyes.
"Oh my god. I'm going to kill them!" Miyako exclaimed before stumbling to the bathroom. She opened up the cabinet under the sink and grunted loudly, "Yup, all three of our makeup bags are in here, but they're all empty!"
Mimi groaned again before staggering through the balloons clumsily, heading towards the dining table. This had to be a nightmare. She suddenly noticed that there was note lying on the table, so she hastened her pace. Snatching the paper into her hands, she read the note with a whimper.
"It was Taichi and Daisuke," she announced as she held up the note, "I should've known! Koushiro warned me that they've been on a pranking binge."
"What does it say?" Sora asked, too lazy to worm her way through the mass of balloons.
"'Have fun looking pretty today, ladies'," Mimi paused to roll her eyes, "'Yours Truly, Taichi and Daisuke.'"
"I'm going to kill them!" Miyako declared again, huffing as she made her way back out into the living room. She popped one of the empty balloons out of anger with her foot.
"Please say it one more time, Miyako," Mimi stated grumpily, still wincing from the loud pop. The lavender-haired woman glared at her friend in response before crossing her arms angrily.
"How did they even get in here? I thought you took away all their keys, Sora," Miyako proclaimed, turning her head in the redhead's direction.
"I did! I took them away forever ago—" Sora stopped herself as she realized something. She quickly slapped her forehead with annoyance before stating, "Taichi."
Her two roommates waited expectantly for her to answer, and Sora immediately shot them both an apologetic look.
"I'd forgotten my keys there a few days ago because I was in a rush to get to work. I picked them up from Taichi later that day, but he must've made a copy."
"Would he really go through all that trouble?" Miyako groaned.
"Yes," both older women responded instantly.
Momoe stepped back out into the room with a new change of clothes in her hands. Her hair was wrapped in a towel as she headed towards the bathroom silently, and she didn't say a word as she closed the door behind her. Miyako glanced in that direction before glaring at both of her friends.
"Did they really have to do this while she was visiting? I'm not gonna hear the end of this."
"Yeah, this is ridiculous," Mimi trudged her way back over to her roommates by stepping on whatever free space she could find, "And how did they do all of this anyway? Sora and I were up till three o'clock and there definitely weren't any balloons."
"Taichi wakes up at five for work. He and Daisuke could've planted all of this any time after," Sora explained, rubbing her temples slowly.
"Well, they must've pretty worked fast in order to accomplish all this in three hours," Miyako spat as she placed her hands on her hips to survey the area, "So what do we do now?"
"I am not going to work with a naked face. I'll lose half of my usual tips," Mimi grumbled, crossing her arms defiantly at her chest.
"Well, then we better start popping," Sora stated, squeezing the balloon in her hand that had the mascara in it until it burst. The object flew a little bit as it was released, and it took Sora a few seconds to fish it out from the sea of balloons on the floor.
Miyako groaned, "No, this is gonna take forever! I'll ask Momoe if we can borrow her makeup for now, and Hikari must have her makeup bag in Takeru's room so we can use that."
Sora and Mimi nodded in agreement before pushing some of the balloons out of their way. There were a ton of empty balloons, as well, so fishing for all of their makeup would have taken up way too much of their time. Mimi accidently stepped on one of them, causing it to pop loudly, and she jumped up with a squeal. Sora couldn't help but laugh, and Mimi instantly groaned loudly once again.
"That's it, we have to get them back," she declared.
"I agree," Miyako shouted, "There's no way they're getting away with this!"
Both girls turned to face Sora, waiting for her reaction and hoping that she felt the same way. The redhead shot them both a toothy grin before straightening out her pajamas.
"Well then, ladies, it looks like we're going to war."
Koushiro sighed as he walked out of a small bakery near his work building. His lunch break didn't give him as much time as he needed to complete his missions for the day. The first one was to quickly pick up some chocolate-covered strawberries for Keiko. It was their three-month anniversary today, and even though they both would be spending most of their time at work, he wanted to make her day just a little more special. She deserved nothing less.
Glancing at his watch for a quick second, Koushiro swore under his breath and quickly paced his way to his next destination. He held the bag from the bakery tightly in his hand as he bustled through the crowds on the sidewalk, praying that his delicate treats would remain unscathed.
Koushiro was on his way to Mimi's restaurant to see her at work next. Something about her demeanor had been odd lately, and against his better judgment, he'd decided to make sure that everything was okay. The aspiring chef had become one of his really good friends, and after spending quality time with her for over a year, he could tell that she was acting strangely.
Against his better judgment, he needed to make sure that she was alright.
Of course this wasn't Koushiro's responsibility, but he couldn't help that he cared about her. Feelings or no feelings, this was Mimi Tachikawa, his very good friend. And as history had shown him, Mimi needed to vent out her problems. The fact that she was acting strangely and hadn't reached out to Koushiro yet was alarming; he was starting to wonder if she was angry with him about something.
The picnic from the previous weekend had really piqued his interest. Mimi had been so obviously trying to wiggle her way out of conversing with Koushiro. Not only that, but she kept zoning out on him. Something serious must've definitely been on her mind…had he really done something to upset her? Was there some grave situation that she needed help with?
Surely, the source of her odd behavior didn't have anything to do with Taichi this time around. Koushiro was sure of it because Mimi definitely would've come to him for advice by now. Besides, he was almost positive that Mimi was trying to get over her feelings for his roommate so that Taichi and Sora could be happy. So if Taichi wasn't the source of her strange behavior, then what was? Was it her parents? Had her father tried to contact her?
Mimi had never opened up about her parents to Koushiro before, though he was quite certain that all the other girls were clued in on that situation. Maybe that's what the issue was; maybe this was a familial dilemma. Either way, Koushiro wanted her to know that he'd be there for her if she needed. No matter what, Mimi could trust him and he hoped that she knew that.
Koushiro slowed his strides instinctively as he came to terms with his train of thought. He wasn't adamant about being there for Mimi because he still had feelings for the cinnamon-haired woman. No, that wasn't it at all. Just because he'd never had a chance to be with her romantically didn't mean that he ever wanted to lose the friendship that they'd developed. Just because he didn't want to be with her in that way anymore didn't mean that her positive spirit and childish laugh ceased to bring a smile to his face.
The fact that she might be angry with him made Koushiro realize that no matter what, he always wanted Mimi in his life. She'd helped him realize that there was more to life than just a computer screen. She'd been the first woman to ever force him out of his shell, even though he'd been completely fine within it. He didn't want to lose her, not while he was still so grateful. Especially after watching her grow so much in the past few months.
No matter what, Koushiro was determined to fix whatever it was that was going on.
He swiftly walked through the doors of the small restaurant with a recognized ease. Koushiro had visited Mimi at work on numerous occasions, so the small business had become quite familiar to him. His eyes instantly scanned the array of tables and faces until they landed on his beautiful friend. Mimi smiled gracefully as she took down the order of her current customers seated at a booth by the window. As she finished writing in her notepad, he watched Mimi recite a few words to her customers before walking towards the back door to the kitchen. Koushiro bustled through a few people in order to reach her.
As he called for her, Mimi turned around automatically at the sound of her name. He noticed how her eyes widened a little bit before she completely froze in her place.
"Koushiro!" she chuckled nervously, "What are you doing here?"
"I thought I'd come catch you on your break, but it looks like you're still working," he explained, a small smile gracing his lips. The cinnamon-haired woman pursed her lips as she fidgeted with her notepad.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's been so hectic here today."
"I see," he stated solemnly, glancing down at his shoes, "Well, I'll see you at the apartment then—"
"You know what?" Mimi interjected sheepishly, "I can ask someone to cover for me for a little bit. Hold on a second."
With that, he watched as his friend whirled around effortlessly to catch one of her coworkers. Koushiro wasn't sure what had suddenly made her change her mind, but he was definitely grateful that she had. Now more than ever, he wanted to know what was making Mimi act so strangely. He was usually greeted with surprised squeals or an ecstatic hug…today all he was greeted with was a nervous laugh. Something was definitely odd.
Mimi returned with a weird smile on her porcelain face.
"So, do you wanna sit at the usual spot?" she asked awkwardly.
"Of course."
He followed her over to a small booth way at the end of the restaurant. It was usually empty because of the location, and Koushiro and Mimi usually spent most of their time there whenever he came to visit her. The fact that she had to even ask to sit there was unusual, too.
"So…" Mimi started as she sat up straight in her seat, "What brings you here?"
Koushiro was caught a little bit off guard by the strain in her voice. Did she not want him here?
"I—um…" he trailed for a little bit, trying to gather what to say, "I just wanted to make sure that everything was okay."
Mimi cleared her throat, running a few stiff fingers through her hair, "O-Of course, everything's fine."
"Are you sure?"
He could tell that Mimi was contemplating what to say. She was chewing the insides of her mouth, and Koushiro knew that meant that she was formulating something proper to say to him. He knew her too well.
"Yes," was all that she lamely said.
"I can tell when you're lying," he chuckled.
Koushiro knew that the small smirk on his face made Mimi purse her lips tightly.
"I'm not lying."
"Yes you are. Your voice always goes up a few octaves when you're lying."
Mimi glared instantly.
"That's not true," she squeaked.
Koushiro smiled knowingly as Mimi blushed with realization. She knew that he was right and crossed her arms defiantly at her chest, anyway. For a second, neither of them said anything, so Koushiro cleared his voice.
"Well, did you like the present Taichi and Daisuke left you all this morning?" He asked with a chuckle, trying to make small talk in order to relieve the uncomfortable tension. Obviously it wasn't the way to go, because Mimi glared spitefully.
"That wasn't funny," she stated tautly.
"I agree. That's why I did not participate."
"Well you could've warned me!" Mimi glared again.
This time Koushiro tightened his lips, ready to end this topic as it was clearly angering Mimi and making the whole point of his trip counterproductive. Koushiro cleared his voice again before straightening his back.
"Have I done anything to upset you?" He blurted.
Her eyes softened automatically.
"No…" she sighed, as she searched his worried eyes, "No, you haven't."
"But you've been acting so strangely. Ever since the picnic—"
"I-I'm just really stressed out with classes and work, Kou," Mimi cleared her voice obviously as she heard it's high-pitched tone, "I'm sorry that you felt like I was angry with you," she finished slowly.
Mimi was obviously trying to be careful with the pitch of her voice now. Consequently, Koushiro could tell that she was lying again, and he narrowed his eyes slightly to analyze her face. Mimi cowered under his stare.
"Is it your parents?" he asked cautiously.
This made Mimi sit up even straighter in her seat, and for some reason she was shooting Koushiro a strange look.
"Yes."
She was lying again. When would she learn that she couldn't get away with lying in front of him? He knew her too well. The way her eyes avoided his stare was enough for Koushiro to drop the subject. Clearly, she didn't want to let him in on whatever was bothering her, so he didn't want to pester her for any longer.
"You know you can tell me anything, Mimi," he ended with a reassuring smile, just in case.
Mimi's hazel eyes slowly locked with his again, and for some peculiar reason, Koushiro couldn't read the curious expression written all over her face. Why was she looking at him so strangely? When her beautiful eyes refused to let go his, Koushiro immediately peeled his eyes away to reach into the bag that he'd brought from the bakery.
He pulled out a small container and handed it to his friend with a generous smile. This only made Mimi raise an eyebrow at the object, and then lock eyes with him again.
"It's a cupcake," he stated shyly, "Whatever it is that's bothering you, I hope that this makes you feel a little bit better. I know how much you love them."
With one last smile, Koushiro stood up from his seat and made his way out of the restaurant, leaving behind a very surprised Mimi. While he made his way back to work to surprise his girlfriend with a box of chocolate covered strawberries for their anniversary, Mimi was left sitting desolately at the booth by the window.
With her cheeks flushed, and her heart racing a mile a minute, Mimi Tachikawa opened the container slowly to reveal a red velvet cupcake, perfectly handcrafted and frosted.
Her favorite.
But it wasn't the cupcake that really made Mimi's mind reel with euphoria.
It was the butterflies in her stomach.
Those darn butterflies.
Taichi and Daisuke had been expecting retaliation from the girls. After sneaking into their room last night—thanks to a copy of Sora's key courtesy of Taichi—both men were surprised at how well they had pulled off the prank. They'd spent most of the evening before blowing up the empty balloons, trying to convince Koushiro to help them, but their kindly rigid roommate obviously refused. After sneaking into the girls' apartment at around five o'clock in the morning, the two roommates quickly confiscated all of their make-up, stuffed each item individually into balloons, and dumped all the inflated objects into the girls' living room, including the previously blown empty balloons.
The whole process had taken about three hours if you included the time Taichi and Daisuke had taken to blow up so many balloons that previous evening. The end result had been so worth it, though. Taichi had to hand it to Daisuke: compared to his previous pranks, this one had to have been the most devious yet. He was proud.
However, the minute Taichi returned home from work at around eight o'clock in the evening, a very concerned Daisuke and a very amused Koushiro greeted him as he walked through the door.
"Oh no," Taichi stated swiftly, "What did they do?"
The bushy-haired man didn't even get a chance to put down his briefcase and stacks of folders as Daisuke bustled to his side.
"They took our beds, man," Daisuke informed with a groan.
Taichi raised a brow, "What do you mean?"
"They confiscated your mattresses, comforters, pillows…well just about everything that was on your bed frame," Koushiro explained with a bemused smirk.
His smirk transformed into a grin as Taichi's eyes widened with shock. Taichi, still clad in his business suit, quickly stumbled over to his room to survey the situation, and Daisuke followed promptly behind him. He was greeted with an otherwise untouched room, but a completely barren bed frame. No mattress, no sheets, nothing…
"Oh, and they left a note, too," Koushiro called from the living room. Taichi scoffed as he shoved Daisuke aside accidently to head back over to his redheaded friend. Koushiro, who was now sitting at the counter with another amused grin, handed Taichi the paper without a struggle.
"'Have fun sleeping tonight, gentleman. Sweet dreams. Sora, Mimi, & Miyako,'" Taichi mumbled as he read the words perfectly off of the note before crumpling it into his hands.
"Quite humorous, isn't it? The similarities between your note and theirs," Koushiro laughed, earning him a glare from his best friend.
"How did these girls carry out both of our mattresses?! And when did they even do it, weren't you guys home after work?" Taichi asked incredulously, loosening his tie as he took a seat next to Koushiro on the counter.
"Well, Koushiro was on a date with Keiko after work for their anniversary," Daisuke started, scratching the back of his head as Taichi waited for him to continue.
His mentor looked at him expectantly, "And…? What were you doing?"
"Hikari distracted him by taking him out to dinner," Koushiro replied, shooting his younger friend a knowing look as he held in his impulse to laugh. Daisuke blushed and darted his eyes back to Taichi.
"It was a cheap move! She knew I wouldn't deny quality time after everything that happened," he defended.
Taichi glared, "Did you seriously fall for that?"
"I didn't think Hikari would be in on this! We didn't even prank her," Daisuke explained, crossing his arms in defense. This only made Taichi scoff loudly, again, and hit Daisuke upside the head.
"She's one of the girls! Did you really think they wouldn't use her as a prop to distract you?" Taichi groaned. The comment made his protégée's cheeks tinge with pink, so he quickly pursed his lips before heading to the fridge to grab a beer.
Taichi took out two bottles and knowingly threw one over to Daisuke. The younger boy caught it perfectly before opening the bottle and taking a seat next to Koushiro at the counter.
"So, what's our next plan of attack?" Daisuke asked Taichi, taking a swig from his beer. Taichi leaned on the table as he looked at Koushiro and Daisuke from across the counter.
Right as Taichi was about to back, there was a knock on the door as Sora walked into the their room with a grin. Dressed in yoga pants and a tight V-neck shirt, Sora bobbed her eyebrows knowingly at the men in front of her.
"You know, you guys should really start locking your door. We didn't even need a copy of your keys to get in," she explained wryly, walking up to the counter with a smirk and crossed arms.
Koushiro sighed, "I've been telling them that for months."
Both former goggle-heads turned to glare at their roommate instinctively.
Sora laughed before she motioned to Taichi with a knowing look. She reached out her hand and opened her palm expectantly, "Alright, hand over the key."
"What key?" he asked with a feigned innocent look that definitely wasn't working on Sora.
"I know you made a copy, Tai. Hand it over," she demanded, a hard look now plastered onto her face.
"Don't give it to her," Daisuke mumbled under his breath.
Sora turned to glare at the younger boy before shooting Taichi another serious look. The tired businessman glanced at his girlfriend apprehensively before sighing in defeat. He opened one of the drawers by the sink, retrieved the copied key, and threw it over to Sora knowing that she'd catch it.
"Whipped," Daisuke coughed, trying to be as discreet as possible. It didn't work, and he received glares from both of his friends accordingly.
Sora turned back to Taichi, "By the way, your lack of a bed doesn't mean that you can sleep with me. You're on your own tonight, buddy."
"Didn't want to sleep in your room, anyway," Taichi countered mockingly as Sora made her way towards the door. She shot him a playful smirk before exiting the room with laugh.
"Dude, seriously? Without that key we can't get them back!" Daisuke whined, gulping his beer again.
"Maybe that's a good thing," Koushiro stated, "This was starting to get out of hand."
"Okay, first of all, did you really think I wouldn't make more copies of Sora's key?" Taichi grinned slyly before presenting another counterfeit between his fingers, one that he must've pulled out of the drawer moments before, "I'm not an amateur."
Daisuke almost choked on his beer at the sight of the gold object in Taichi's hand, and Koushiro slapped Daisuke's back instinctively.
"Why am I not surprised," the redhead stated to his older friend as Daisuke's coughs ceased.
"Dude, you're my hero!"
"Look," Koushiro spoke up again after Daisuke's remark, "As for your sleeping arrangements, I'm going to be staying at Keiko's apartment tonight, anyway. One of you is free to use my bed—"
"Shotty!" both Taichi and Daisuke declared at the same time.
"The other one," Koushiro continued with a sigh, "can sleep on the couch. I have some extra sheets in my closet so that should suffice."
"Daisuke, you get the couch because this is your fault."
"Oh, come on!"
"And please stop with these pranks. I really don't want to get roped into this anymore," Koushiro added as he started walking over to his room to pack his things for the night.
Taichi and Daisuke glanced at each other as their roommate left the room, and instantly started sniggering quietly. Like hell they were going to stop. When Taichi was sure that Koushiro was shuffling around securely in his shared room with Daisuke, he motioned for Daisuke to move in closer.
"So, I have an idea of what to do tonight. We'll wait for Koushiro to leave and the girls to fall asleep," he explained, finally opening up his own beer and taking a swig.
Daisuke grinned, "What's the plan?"
"Well, I can't stay up too late or do anything too time consuming tonight," Taichi started before taking another sip, "I gotta go into work tomorrow."
"But it's a Saturday tomorrow," Daisuke murmured with concern.
"I know," Taichi sighed, "but trust me. I know a quick and easy prank."
Both men waited a few more hours so they could go ahead with their plan. Kousiro had left for Keiko's place after receiving his usual teasing remarks from both Taichi and Daisuke. Once he'd left, Daisuke went to the couch to watch some TV as Taichi worked on a few assignments he'd brought home from work. After a good five hours, Taichi came out into the living room dressed in casual clothes only to find Daisuke passed out asleep. He quickly woke his younger friend and dragged him up off of the couch.
The prank was simple, really. Nothing extravagant like the prank from the night before. In fact, Taichi had pulled it on a few girls back in his college dorm building. All it consisted of was replacing the girls' shampoo bottles with mayonnaise, and snatching all of their towels so they would be left with nothing to dry themselves with. Of course Taichi had done it back in college, being the little man-whore that he was, hoping he'd have girls running around naked in the halls. The mayonnaise was just to piss them off. It was ingeniously cruel.
Both Daisuke and Taichi tiptoed across the hall outside of their apartment, and they pressed their ears against the girls' door quietly. Taichi couldn't hear any voices, nor could he hear a hum from the television set. For a Friday night, it sure was quiet. Lucky for them.
Taichi carefully inserted the new key into the lock, and slowly opened the door with caution. It creaked loudly as it became fully ajar, and Daisuke jumped a little bit in his place. This earned him a 'shh!' from Taichi, as well as a reprimanding nudge. Both men tiptoed slowly over to the bathroom across the apartment.
Taichi tried not to snigger at the few balloons left lying in the corners of the living room; the girls had probably gotten tired of popping them all. Daisuke must've noticed them too, because he clamped his palm over his mouth in order to conceal his laughter. Clearly, both of them were having a little too much fun with this.
As they made it to the bathroom, which was much smaller than he'd remembered it, Taichi instantly searched around for the shampoo as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Turning the light on would be too risky. Once he found them, Taichi handed his partner one of the bottles of shampoo.
"Start emptying it," he ordered.
Daisuke glanced around the area with a raised brow, "…Where?"
"In the sink!" Taichi whispered loudly, rolling his eyes at the younger boy, "Don't turn the water on too loudly."
Daisuke nodded obediently as he turned the sink on quietly and started pouring out the contents of the shampoo bottle. The bathroom was so small that both men were almost touching, back to back, as they did their work. Taichi quickly handed him another bottle, and motioned for Daisuke to give him the newly emptied one so he could fill it with the mayonnaise that was in his hands.
Daisuke, as he tried to juggle the empty bottle and the new shampoo bottle with his now slippery palms, stumbled as he went to hand Taichi the empty carton. He accidently dropped the completely full bottle onto the floor, and it clamored loudly as Daisuke watched it slip from his hands with horror.
Both men froze.
Taichi's eyes widened as he leaned over Daisuke to turn off the sink. He listened for any kind of shuffling, and waited a few more seconds to make sure no one had heard their clattering. Once Taichi was positive that the coast was clear, he picked up the slippery shampoo bottle off the floor and shoved it back into Daisuke's hands.
"Be careful," Taichi declared lowly, "and watch out for that shampoo on the floor, now. All I need is for you to slip and get a concussion," he whispered with a glare.
Daisuke grinned sheepishly, stepping over the blob of shampoo that had poured out of the bottle near his feet. He started emptying out the new contents as Taichi filled up the first bottle with a weird smelling mayonnaise. The older man couldn't help but grin as these antics brought him back to his college days. Maybe that's why he was wasting so much time with Daisuke doing all of these childish things. Man, was life so much easier back in the day.
As Daisuke went to hand Taichi the newly emptied bottle, the bushy-haired man was already on his way to motion for it. This unison of movement, and the lack of proper lighting, caused Taichi to stumble a little bit, and he quickly went to clutch onto Daisuke's shoulder. Unfortunately, Taichi's movement had caught Daisuke off guard, as well, and the younger man instantly stepped into the shampoo that was blobbed onto the floor.
With horror, Taichi watched as Daisuke lost his balance and stumbled onto the ground, crashing into the small trashcan that was located next to the sink. While the clanging wasn't as loud as Taichi had expected it would be, the noise had startled both of them, nonetheless. He quickly turned off the sink, and motioned for the moaning Daisuke to be quiet as he ran to the door and peered out anxiously.
Taichi could hear someone's bed creaking, and he instantly panicked. He held his breath for a few moments as he listened for footsteps because only then would they be in a lot of trouble. After a few minutes of surveying, Taichi let out a sigh of relief when none of the girls had legitimately woken up. They'd shuffled around a little bit, but no had awoken. Thank god.
"Damn," Taichi whistled as he made his way back over to Daisuke, "These girls could sleep through an earthquake and not even know it," he chuckled.
Taichi noticed that Daisuke was still on the floor, and he quickly raised a concerned eyebrow, "Daisuke, are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
Still nothing. No answer.
A wave of fear swept over him. The bushy-haired man quickly panicked and turned the bathroom light on to make sure that his friend was still conscious. Had he hit his head on the sink while he fell? When Taichi's eyes landed back onto Daisuke, he almost let out a frustrated sigh at Daisuke's clearly conscious face.
"Daisuke, what the hell!" he whispered loudly, "You scared the hell outta me. Are you okay?"
As Taichi went to crouch down to Daisuke's level, he was met with a horrified expression. Daisuke was wide-eyed, glancing at something in his hands with utter shock. Taichi followed Daisuke's line of sight and his face paled immediately.
"Dude…" was all the younger man could breathe out.
Clear as the day, clutched tightly in Daisuke's clammy hands, was an empty box with the words Pregancy Test boldly printed on the outside. Taichi had to blink a few more times to make sure that this was real…
Pregnancy Test.
He roughly snatched it from Daisuke's hands and held it to his tanned face.
Pregnancy Test.
It was definitely real.
"I-I found it on the floor after I knocked over the garbage can on my down," Daisuke explained.
Taichi instinctively looked inside the box hoping he'd find the test inside. His heart dropped as he was met with emptiness. Instead, his eyes frantically searched the rest of the rubbish on the floor for any glimpse of the actual test. When his eyes weren't helping enough, he started fingering through all the garbage frantically.
"Tai, what're you doing?" Daisuke whispered loudly.
"What does it look like?!" he snapped quietly, shooting his friend a hysterical look, "We have to find that test."
Daisuke gaped, "Dude, you do know that girls piss on that stuff, right? Don't use your bare hands—"
"Daisuke!" Taichi grabbed him by the collar of his shirt with a hard glare, "There is a fifty percent chance that my life might change forever. I have to know the result."
Realization dawned upon Daisuke's face as it occurred to him that of the four girls in the apartment, either Sora or Hikari could have easily taken the test. Taichi watched as Daisuke started to understand his direness, and swiftly released his friend.
"You check whatever's left in the can, and I'll keep searching the floor," Taichi stated. Daisuke didn't say a word as he grabbed the can next to him and dug feverishly.
At first, nether men had any luck finding the plastic object, and Taichi was starting to get frustrated as he combed though used paper towels, tissues, floss, and other items that weren't so pleasant. It wasn't until Daisuke flinched in triumph that Taichi's head shot up to his friend.
"I found it—!"
Taichi snatched the plastic object loosely wrapped in toilet paper from Daisuke in the blink of an eye, holding it disgustedly and carefully as he observed the item. His heart started beating even more rapidly when he noticed the result.
"It has two lines. What do two lines mean?!"
"I don't know, why are you asking me?!
"Check the box!" Taichi exclaimed in the most hushed voice that he could manage. God forbid if any of the girls woke up now, they'd be in such deep shit. Daisuke grabbed the box from near Taichi's knees and quickly scanned the side panel for an answer. After a few seconds, Daisuke's face completely lost all of its color.
That wasn't comforting to Taichi.
"So?!" he asked impatiently, "What does it mean?"
Daisuke turned the box so his good friend could read it.
"…It means that it's positive."