A/n: Oh wow, two updates in the same year! I'm on a much awaited roll. Also longest chapter yet, yay! I know the previous chapter had a pretty cliff hanger-y ending but this is one is a bit heavy on the drama. But I still hope that you enjoy it.
Thank you everyone for reading, and special thanks to TKLF42, Scripturiens, GalanthaDreams, ixPinkRoses, Pum Pumpkin Witch, MimixIshidax, Clarity23, missyrod, Gguk, Asdfghjkliefor taking the time out to review even after such a long wait!
Six
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The first person to react was Taichi, as soon as Sora's phone touched the ground he immediately bent forward and picked it up, analysing the damage closely. All other eyes were on the auburn haired girl, all sharing the same incredulous look and all waiting for her to say something.
On the outside Sora was reduced to deathly silence but a storm was raging inside her.
It couldn't be possible, she thought, it just couldn't be possible for Yamato and Mimi to…to intertwine so easily.
Sora wanted to take a deep breath and calm down and reassess the situation as carefully as possible but her brain had made her whole body go numb and just refused to process anything beyond Yamato and Mimi's strings interlocking with each other. She wanted to sneak a glance at their hands again, just to confirm that it had really happened and was not a silly figment of her imagination, but she was warily aware of all the confused gazes locked upon her that would note any suspicious movements she made carefully. She was desperate to do something, say something to justify her strange behaviour to her friends but her brain just refused to cooperate and for the umpteenth time in the day, she was grateful for Taichi.
"Sora, it's totally wrecked, you're gonna have to get a new one." Taichi said, breaking the deafening silence. He held out her shattered phone, gesturing for her to take it and look it over herself.
Taichi's words, his actions, her brain could register. Sora's hands moved forward on their own and she accepted her phone from him silently. When her hands slightly brushed against Taichi's in the exchange, a jolt passed down her entire body, flipping a switch inside her brain that allowed her to finally take control of the situation. Once she decided on the lie, the words rolled out of her mouth without any effort, it was a bit surprising to Sora too, the more she engrossed herself in her ability the better she became at lying.
"Oh my god, I can't believe I forgot something so important," it took a bit of an effort on her side to make her voice more shrill than usual but the effect was instant. The quizzical looks turned into concerned gazes as Sora continued to speak in the same loud, desperate tone, "My mother had asked me to do something right before I left the house, and it was so important to her but I just simply forgot about it. Oh she is going to be so mad!"
Anyone who knew her was aware of her strained relationship with her mother. It wasn't rare for Sora to show up at school huffing and puffing with anger because of a silly fight with her mother. Naturally her explanation for her actions was immediately accepted and everyone present in turn offered their comforting words in broken mumbles.
"Hey relax, we can go do it right now, I'll help." Taichi immediately straightened up, a determined look on his face. Sora was almost stunned into silence again, after being treated so meanly by her for half the day and then not even receiving an explanation for her behaviour, he was still willing to go the distance for her.
In her chest Sora felt a very different kind of ache, the likes of which she had never felt before, as she continued to build upon her lie. Carefully avoiding meeting Taichi's eye as she answered, "Thank you but it… it needed to be done before I left the house…"
Sora continued to keep her gaze down, scared that if she looked at her best friend right now, either he will figure out that she is lying or she herself won't be able to keep her emotions in and blurt out everything.
"I know exactly what we need to do," Mimi's loud and clear declaration pulled Sora out of her sinking thoughts and she looked at her junior with a hopeful but confused look, urging her to continue, "We need to have a sleep over!" Mimi announced, grinning from ear to ear as if she had just cracked a difficult code.
"How does that solve anything?" For the first time that day, Koushiro wasn't mumbling to Mimi, he looked genuinely puzzled as he tried to understand her plan and probably couldn't stop himself from questioning her statement.
Mimi shot him an exasperated look, as if anyone who didn't understand her idea wasn't smart enough, but the truth was the rest of the boys also looked equally confused but just didn't seem like they were willing to challenge the brunette, and if anything Sora definitely gave Koushiro points for matching Mimi's miffed expression with a classic eye roll.
As far as Sora was concerned, she already got the hang of Mimi's plan and decided to expand on it as a favour to the guys, but the voice at the back of her head reminded her that she should take this shift of attention towards Mimi to quickly check if Yamato and Mimi's strings were still connected. As inconspicuously as she could, Sora let her gaze drift towards her friends' hands and much to her surprise, which she still couldn't categorize as good or bad, the strings were still entwined.
Mimi had returned to ignoring Koushiro and was now haughtily inspecting her nails and intentionally ignoring her surroundings. Yamato's eyes were on Mimi but not in the way Sora was expecting, it was clear from his expression that he was trying to understand the brunette, kind of like sizing her up which Sora hoped had something to do with their strings but having known the blond for so long, she was well accustomed with the current look on his face. He had been sizing Mimi up to see if she was worth his friendship or even attention and it didn't take him long to reach the conclusion that she wasn't, as he averted his gaze with a hint of annoyance.
Sora wished she could've unseen this, but the reality of what she knew began to descend upon her like heavy drops of rain, stinging her skin like needles. Even if she were to somehow get Mimi interested in Yamato, getting it done the other way round would be absolutely impossible. This would leave only so many options for her friends' romantic futures, the worst one being that neither of them ever realize their romantic potential for each other and end up spending their whole lives being only half happy with people who wouldn't ever be right for them. Sora had realized what a burden her ability was long ago, but this was the first time she was feeling the intensity of this truth in such an excruciating manner.
Sneaking a look at their strings was a bad call after all, Sora thought to herself and attempted to clear out all the negative thoughts from her head so she could focus on the task at hand. And the task was, getting home so she could sleep the stress off.
"Oh Mimi-chan, that's perfect! Obviously my mother will not be able to say anything to me in front of a guest," Sora replied, in an attempt to answer Koushiro's question and help clear the doubts in the guys' head.
"Exactly!" Mimi chimed back, beaming at Sora triumphantly for having understood her supposed self-explanatory idea and continued to add, "It's not a total save, but it will push the impending lecture until tomorrow at the least."
"It will work just fine," Sora agreed with her. Firstly, this was the easiest way for her to avoid a train ride with Taichi with his piercing, soul-searching looks that would make Sora spill her guts about everything. Secondly, it would give her a chance to really understand what was happening between Koushiro and Mimi and draw a conclusion about whether their relationship deserved her help or whether she should shift her efforts into a different one... And lastly, even if Mimi were to suddenly show up at her house, Sora knew her mother would be her usual stoic self, helping her in selling the lie further and avoid any questioning about her little scene.
"So I guess you two will go back home together?" Taichi asked a bit dejectedly. Sora wondered if imagined the hint of sadness in his voice because his face had become almost unreadable. Koushiro's face however, seemed to mirror the disappointment in Taichi's voice.
"Yes. And we should leave right now to avoid giving my mom more time to seethe in her anger," Sora stated, suddenly grabbing Mimi's hand, who was quick to play along and readied herself to dash at the first sign from Sora. The tinge of guilt that Sora felt because of Taichi's tone and Koushiro's expression could just end up changing her mind about the whole situation and she couldn't afford to risk that by standing there any longer.
"Well, see you all on Monday at school, take care Takeru!" And with that both the girls turned on their heels and made a composed but quick run towards the station.
Mimi didn't even bother to say anything, she just waved at Takeru once, completely ignoring her so called boyfriend and her two seniors.
It didn't take them long to reach the station and they didn't let go of each other's hands until they were both settled on the seats inside the train, unintentionally sighing out loud together.
"Thank god, that's over." The two girls echoed in unison.
A bit taken aback by the other exclaiming the same thing, they faced each other and the moment their eyes met, they began to laugh loudly. Soon enough, they received odd and annoyed looks from other passengers on the train which forced them to turn their laughs into quiet giggles. The two girls chatted aimlessly till they reached Sora's house, after which Mimi immediately shifted into her actor mode, pretending to feel sick in front of Sora's mother and claiming loudly that there was no way she could go all the way home in this condition. Sora had to control her laughter while watching Mimi put in so much effort to convince her mother, because she knew that her mother wouldn't have cared either way. It did however make her mom leave the two of them completely alone to chatter and giggle as they cooked dinner. It wasn't until they were both peacefully settled into their futons with the lights out that they finally decided to talk.
"So what is up with you and Koushiro?" Sora asked, before Mimi could even turn to face her. It was quite dark in her room, but the moonlight flowing through the window illuminated enough for Sora to make out that brunette was stifling a groan.
"This will take so long to explain…" Mimi replied tiredly.
"Well we have the whole night because tomorrow is Sunday!" Sora grinned, and this time Mimi actually let out a groan. She fidgeted a bit with her hair before sighing in defeat and launching into the explanation.
"I told him very specifically, that this is a trial period. That I don't know how I really feel about him but I'm willing to explore that path, on the condition that we lay low and don't announce it to the world.
But he just doesn't seem to understand that. Everyone in our class knows. Apparently some guys were teasing him about me so he blurted out that we're dating and now it's like the only thing everyone in class talks about and that's embarrassing.
I want to figure out how I feel about Koushiro-kun by myself, I don't want people around me constantly making comments about whether we look good together or we don't."
Mimi paused to catch a breath but Sora didn't dare interrupt her. She knew her friend was seeking her opinion on all of this, but it just felt that this was not the right point of the story to pitch in.
"I told him we shouldn't go to the live, because so many people from school would be there so I would not be able to enjoy it and he agreed to this. Then this morning I get a call from him, begging me to change my mind about the live because he'd already told Taichi-san that we would be coming and he didn't want to back out now.
So basically he lied to me when he agreed to not go on flashy social dates in the beginning. Which is fine, if I wanted to, I could move past this. But it's like he's using me to win points with his friends and that I can't forgive."
Sora noticed that Mimi's hands were now balled into tight fists so she reached out her own hand to cover them and hopefully help in calming the brunette who was now almost on the verge of tears as she continued to speak.
"On our way to the venue, I asked him to list 5 things he likes about me. He instantly replied that he liked that I was pretty and cute and then total silence. I had to stand and watch my boyfriend contemplate about the qualities he liked about me that weren't based on my appearance," and now the tears were actually falling so Sora quickly moved forward from her own futon to wipe away the tears.
"I made a huge mistake Sora-chan, I never should have…"
Mimi didn't need to finish her sentence for Sora to understand. She moved as close as she could to the brunette to comfort her, putting an arm around her as she continued to weep. It wasn't yet the right moment for Sora to butt in with what she thought so she continued to comfort Mimi silently. She hoped that the fates had made a note about the fact that Mimi herself had called her being with Koushiro a mistake and Sora had nothing to do with that. But she was definitely going to set Mimi on the right path now that she knew that Koushiro will never be able to understand Mimi.
Mimi was the kind of person who had her own ideals and was always striving to meet them, if something didn't fit, she would work hard to mould it so that it would start to fit. In her ideal world, her relationship with Koushiro was meant to be a strong friendship but Koushiro couldn't acknowledge that and wanted more. So Mimi moulded her own self to meet Koushiro's ideal, only to find out that they both wanted very separate things from the relationship.
Any doubts or hesitations that Sora had been trying to battle since evening about wanting to interfere with her two juniors completely vanished. Instead she started to wonder if Yamato could ever fit in Mimi's ideal. He was cold and distant and totally not the type that would charm Mimi, but he could pose a challenge of a kind that the brunette had never faced before and conquering challenges was what she was best at.
So, Sora decided, it wouldn't hurt to give just a slight push, enough to pique Mimi's interest in the blond but not intensify it enough to lead to complications, and right on queue the brunette asked her the million dollar question Sora had been waiting for.
"Sora-chan, what should I do now?"
Sora adjusted her face so she could meet her junior's teary gaze, "You have to be honest with him Mimi. There is no point in dragging something that is hurting you so much, on for long. But…" She trailed off intentionally, hoping that Mimi would play into it.
"But what?" Mimi asked impatiently, she had mostly stopped crying and was slowly moving on from whatever pain she had been feeling because of this. Her caramel eyes showed a glint of determination as she waited for Sora to continue.
"But, since your class already knows about it, they will definitely talk just as much about the break-up. Will you be able to handle that?" Sora wanted to pose this as a challenge to Mimi, she wanted Mimi to think that her she didn't think Mimi was up to the task, knowing very well that only something like this will push the brunette to take the next step.
"I can handle it." Mimi replied confidently, after pondering for a while, "I mean it can't be worse than dating someone you have no feelings for," she added jokingly, making Sora break into a wide smile.
"Do you need me to be there with you when you talk to Koushiro..." Sora posed her question despite knowing how the brunette will answer.
"I think I can handle that too, though I may need to see you right after." Mimi smiled in reply.
"And let's have lunch together every day till things settle down in your class." Although Sora herself had never been the centre of any gossip in school, she could imagine how targeted it could make a person feel and wanted to help Mimi avoid that altogether.
"That would be great, but are you sure Taichi-san will be okay with this?" Mimi asked her in a teasing tone.
Sora hoped that the dim moonlight hid the blush forming on her face as she replied, "Why would Taichi care?"
"Oh please! Did you see his face today when you said you would go home with me? He looked like a puppy who had been abandoned by his owner!" Mimi let out a squeal as Sora playfully punched her shoulder at that statement.
"It's not like that, you know me and Taichi are not like that," She sighed but the brunette didn't seem to want to let it go. Seeing that Mimi was now in a good enough mood to tease her, Sora shifted slowly back to her futon and settled herself for sleep with Mimi following suit slowly.
"I think he has feelings for you, and you just don't want to accept that!" Mimi pouted at her before burying her head inside the cover, and Sora could only chuckle in response.
She wished she could be truthful and tell her friend that it was not like she didn't want to accept it but she could see with her own two eyes, that Taichi was not connected to her.
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A/n: I feel bad for Koushiro but this is a Mimato fic haha. Also I have had the biggest writer's block with Mimato for the past few years so I cannot guarantee another quick update. But I can promise another scene with Sora and Mimi having the 'Meiko' talk.
Thank you for reading, reviews are always appreciated! Stay safe and wash your hands!
