A/N: Thanks everyone for waiting! To be honest I'm feeling some burnout from a lot of things IRL but when I do get a chance to write, it's a wonderful feeling. And the support from you wonderful readers is amazing. I feel the love, y'all.

The way this fic is going, we might end at 9 chapters.

Thank you everyone for your reviews and for supporting me always! You guys are the best. Hope you enjoy this chapter and hope I won't make you wait as long for the next one. xoxoxo

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Chapter 6

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Even when he woke up on Sunday morning, Yamato couldn't believe the night he had. He enjoyed himself the whole day through going to karaoke and shabu shabu with his friends, but it was the ride home with Mimi that seemed to replay in his mind over and over.

Yamato wasn't sure when the car stopped, but by the time he and Mimi noticed the angry honking from the driver, he gathered that it was time to bid Mimi goodnight. If only he had been able to ignore the loud, harsh sound of the car horn, then he could have kissed her longer like he wanted to. Certainly, Mimi wouldn't have minded either, not when her hands were moving around his back, and her lips readily moved against his as though she kept coming back for more…

"Ow!" Yamato cried out after walking into the doorframe between his bedroom and bathroom. He was immediately brought back to the present.

He tried not to let himself stay too distracted that day since his plan was mostly to help his father out with chores and finish his homework. But his father had noticed the change in his mood.

"I thought you hated karaoke," Hiroaki said over lunch.

"I do," Yamato replied. "Most of the time."

Yamato was never descriptive with Hiroaki; he would usually keep his side of the conversation brief, and Hiroaki was lenient enough to spare him with questions. Even so, Hiroaki was perceptive, and understood his son more than he realized.

"Ah, that's right. A group outing. Only Mimi would get that plan to work."

Yamato coughed over the bite of his food. He knew nothing got past his dad. And even if he tried to hide it, he was hopeless in his attempt, regardless, especially that evening when he received a text message from Mimi before he was about to vacuum the living room.

"I've got a surprise for you for tomorrow. I know you'll like it. [heart]"

Whatever it was, Yamato couldn't stop smiling.

"Hey, 'Lover Boy' - it's getting late," Hiroaki said. "Hurry up and finish the vacuuming."

Yamato spent the rest of the time wondering how to respond back.

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"How long are we going to wait here?" Taichi asked impatiently.

"At least, until Mimi gets here," Yamato replied. The two of them sat towards the bottom of the staircase at the front of the school, watching as the other uniformed students arrived and walked up the steps. A car occasionally arrived at the curb to drop someone off, although as each car came and left, Taichi grew more aggravated.

"Nobody asked you to wait with me, you know," Yamato added.

"Yamato!" Sora shouted, and hurried up the steps to them. "Mimi told me what happened!"

"'Hi' to you, too, babe," said Taichi, raising his brow.

"Ah - Hey, Taichi - But Yama, it's so great that your feelings are out in the open! She's been waiting, you know."

"Wait, she has?" Yamato asked.

Taichi turned to look at him. "Even I could tell. But I'm proud of you for making the move. Now the only thing left to do is ask her out."

"Right…"

That was something that Yamato couldn't argue with. Going out with her along with their friends was one thing, but he still needed to go out on a date with her alone. It was a group date, anyway.

"Don't push him, Taichi," said Sora. "He already got his feet wet last weekend, right?"

"That wasn't even a group date!" Taichi said. "You and I were the only couple, anyway."

Yamato watched Sora press her lips together, and before anyone could respond, Taichi looked at his phone and yelped suddenly.

"I gotta stop by my locker before class. I don't wanna be late!"

"Taichi-!" Sora called after him as he hurried up the steps, then she let out a sigh. "That boy."

Yamato stood up to face her. "Hey, Sora, it was a group date, wasn't it? I mean, granted that Takeru and Hikari were there, and so were..."

Sora shrugged. "Sure. But you still have to ask her out…" Her voice drifted as she looked toward the curb. "Well, speak of the Devimon."

Confused, Yamato shot her a look. "Did you have to reference that?"

Sora smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Taichi rubbed off on me. Anyway, I should catch up to him."

Yamato waved at Sora as she ran up the steps, then he turned to walk down towards Mimi's car. The driver had already walked from the driver's seat to the passenger door on the other side, where he opened the door to help Mimi get out.

She was already smiling when she met Yamato's gaze. "You were waiting for me?" she asked. "I'm already spoiled enough."

Thoughts of how to respond spilled into his mind:

I just wanted to see you first thing.

You look beautiful this morning.

"Well, yeah, I wanted… to wait for you."

Mimi stood so close to him that Yamato was certain that she noticed his cheeks turning an obvious shade of embarrassment. She giggled and held up a bag that appeared to be full.

"Remember the surprise I mentioned yesterday?"

Yamato took a closer look and recognized it as the bag she usually stored her lunch in, and he noticed the bag stretched out into a boxed shape that was taller than it usually was.

"Wait. Did you make me lunch?"

"Ding, ding, ding! That's right! I promise you, it's going to be way better than your pork buns."

"I wouldn't doubt that."

Mimi smiled, and at that moment, Yamato caught sight of the tinge of pink on her cheeks.

"Wanna walk me to class, then?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied.

Mimi started up the steps when Yamato realized that she was carrying her textbooks in addition to double the weight of lunch in her bag. Other than his own school bag and his guitar case on either of his shoulders, his hands were free. Wanting to help Mimi, he called for her to stop walking.

"Yes? Oh…"

Turning to face him, Mimi looked down at her hand, and Yamato froze, realizing that he had also grabbed her hand to keep her from taking another step.

"Let me help you carry your books. You're carrying enough already…"

"Sure…"

When Mimi passed her books over to Yamato, he held them at the hook of his free arm. They let go of each other's hands, but it seemed to happen at the last possible moment.

"You really are spoiling me," Mimi added.

"I'm sure you're enjoying this," Yamato retorted.

She giggled and turned around to continue walking. But, should he let her? He wanted to hold her hand, but what if…?

Yamato was hesitating, but he was starting to get tired of letting moments like these go to waste.

"Mimi," he called.

"Hmm?"

Taking those few steps to meet her at her side, Yamato reached for her hand to hold once again.

"Shall we?"

This appeared to catch Mimi by surprise. Her mouth parted slightly, although no words came out.

"If this isn't…" Yamato added, ready to slip his hand away.

"No…" Mimi held his hand back, and a smile formed on her lips. "I like this." She took her other hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, with her cheeks showing more pink as she smiled.

Yamato wasn't used to seeing her bashful like she was as they walked up the steps together, hand in hand. But he found her adorable.

He wasn't used to holding her hand either, but it was one thing he knew that he wanted to be.

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"So, you and Mimi, huh?" Touma asked at their band practice that afternoon.

"Yup. Me and Mimi," Yamato replied.

"I guess she wasn't into me, after all."

Touma joined the other bandmates to tune and warm up their instruments, just as Yamato had begun doing for his bass.

"I thought you'd be more bothered by it," Yamato added while he plucked a string and let the bass reverberate through the amp.

"Nah, she seemed more into you, anyway. You're my bandmate, and one of my best friends. I know when to step aside."

"Thanks, man."

There was maturity in Touma after all, Yamato thought to himself. He smiled at Touma and they exchanged a fist bump handshake.

But the exact words from Yamato's thoughts rolled off of Akemi's tongue moments later, causing Touma to cry out in defense while Yamato and Kota laughed.

"Don't think I'm too down about this," Touma said. "There's already a cute girl in class that I've been eyeing. She's got long, black hair. She wears glasses and she doesn't talk much, but, man…"

"A moment of maturity doesn't mean he's actually changed all that much," Yamato retorted.

Touma continued to talk, and Yamato and the others decided to humor him while they tuned and warmed up their instruments. Touma fiddled with the strings of his electric guitar all the while, and he paused his rambling whenever he heard an off-note to adjust his strings.

"Alright, enough of this chatter," Yamato commanded, and he followed with a bass lick from what was normally the intro song of their set. "Time to rehearse for the gig on Friday. Let's make it count."

"You got it, leader," Touma replied, playing a melody in response.

By Wednesday, the majority of the school had learned about Yamato and Mimi, and it was not hard for Yamato to notice. As he walked through the hallways with Taichi and Sora, Yamato found that there were less interruptions from his conversations with his friends, and more of him listening to the two friends bicker like an old couple.

Mimi had made him another bento box which he indulged in during lunch at their usual spot, and Yamato made a promise that he would make her some next week when his band took a break after their next gig.

"Can I pick the things that I want you to put in them?" she asked him.

"Well, if you did that, then it wouldn't be a surprise," Yamato argued. "I already know your favorites."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Yamato. I think you have delicious taste in food on good days-"

"What do you mean by 'good days'?"

"-but a girl wants to choose what she thinks is the best, most nutritious meal for the school week."

Yamato stared at her. "Do you have to be so picky?"

"Can I choose? Please?" Mimi stared at him, her brown eyes a little wider and her lips wearing a small pout.

In his silent response, Yamato took a bite of his food.

"Yamatoooo~"

"Fine."

Mimi squealed and threw her arms around him.

"I'll probably have to start preparing on Sunday, after me and the band play that gig."

"Oh, yeah - it's on Friday, isn't it?"

"It is. Think you can make it?"

Mimi scoffed. "Do you have to ask? Of course I'll go!"

Yamato chuckled. "There's always a party after. It's usually at Touma's house."

"Well, as long as you, Sora, and Taichi are there, I'll go, too."

He turned to Mimi to give her a smile, but he noticed that her smile in return was not as bright as it was moments ago.

But then, a thought crossed his mind. And it was followed by Taichi's words:

"The only thing left to do is ask her out."

"Hey, Mimi," Yamato began. "You know, on Sunday…"

"What about Sunday?"

"Maybe…"

"Maybe…?"

Yamato felt Mimi's eyes watching him, waiting for what he would say next. He could feel his heart pounding with his hesitation looming over him.

"Maybe you can come over and watch me prepare your bento? You can help me choose, if you want to."

Mimi giggled at him. "Really? I'd love that! I guess I'll be seeing my rockstar chef in action soon."

Yamato felt relieved that she accepted the idea, but he also felt surprised now that she was going to visit him that weekend. He wasn't even sure what his dad's plans were, but he imagined he would be subject to some teasing the next time they saw each other.

Regardless, he decided to ignore those worries for the time being.

"I'll still eat whatever you make me," he said as he continued to eat Mimi made for him.

Mimi beamed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

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Her mood changed again, however, the moment they stepped back into the school building. Yamato held hands with her as they approached her classroom, and the cheerfulness in her eyes had disappeared.

"What's wrong, Meems?" he asked.

"Haven't you noticed?" she asked back, her voice softer. "It's like everyone is avoiding us."

When Yamato looked, he caught the eyes of a group of classmates who normally smiled and greeted him as they crossed paths. This time, they diverted their eyes from him quickly. He had noticed that people were talking approaching him less, but only then started paying closer attention.

"I guess they are," he replied.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"I thought it was a different atmosphere lately, but it doesn't bother me. I don't mind being left alone, either way."

"Oh, I see. That's right."

They parted ways once they arrived at Mimi's classroom, but Yamato noticed, by her silence and the tightened grip of her hand on his, that the atmosphere was bothering her.

Yamato did his best to pay attention to the teacher for the rest of the day, but Mimi remained in the forefront of his mind. Although she was usually upbeat around him, he had been noticing her troubled expression at school more often.

"Are you alright?" Yamato asked in a text message that he sent with his phone hidden from the teacher's line of sight. "It seems like something's bothering you."

"I'm okay. Really, Yama," she replied. "Thank you for checking on me. [heart]"

Once again, Mimi declined to tell Yamato what was troubling her, and the longer she was going to do this, the more Yamato knew it was going to worry him.

"Want me to walk with you after school?"

"I'm hanging out with Sora today. How about tomorrow?"

"Okay. :)"

At the sound of the bell that signalled the end of the school day, Yamato met up with Sora at her desk while Taichi parted with them for soccer practice. Since Sora had planned to meet with Mimi at the bottom of the stairs, Yamato joined her to walk with her on the way, and Sora told him where they planned to go and what they were going to do.

"That sounds like you ladies will have a lot of fun," Yamato said. "Hopefully it'll cheer Mimi up. She always seems down when she's at school."

Sora's smile faltered, as though she knew exactly what he was talking about. "Yeah. I hope so too."

They were a few steps away from the second-year classroom when they heard a sudden shout of a name. Stopping at the sound, both Yamato and Sora watched in startled confusion as a student rushed out of the door, her long, caramel-colored locks flying as she turned a corner.

Yamato had a bad feeling, but he didn't know for certain until a girl with long, black hair jumped out of the classroom, shouting the name more clearly:

"Mimi! Wait!"

"Girl, let her run," came another voice as a different girl emerged from the classroom. "She's not worth it."

"Excuse me?" Sora said, crossing her arms with discontent.

The girl who spoke last looked to Sora, and then she closed her mouth as though she hesitated to speak any further. But her expression worsened once she realized that Yamato was standing next to Sora.

Although Yamato was connecting the dots of the situation before him, he had a sinking feeling that grew as he knew Mimi was running further and further away. He thought to ask the girl questions then and there, but he figured that Sora would handle that part, especially since the anger that rose within him seemed to match with Sora's face.

"I'm going after Mimi," Yamato told Sora. Then, he immediately broke off into a run before she could say anything else.