A Love More Precious Than Gold: Part 3
Mimi/Sora's bedrooms *@----}----{----@*
(AN: I know it's confusing. But this is a phone conversation. So chill out.)
'I need to talk to someone about this.' Sora thought. She picked up the phone but then hung up because she couldn't think of whom to call. Then, a sudden thought struck her and before she knew it, she was dialing Mimi's number.
The phone in Mimi's room rang and Mimi stared at it for a while. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to anyone right now. 'It'd just make it harder to leave.' She thought. But then another side of her fought. 'But it's always better to talk to someone about it.' With a few minutes a hesitation, she picked up the phone. "Hello? This is Mimi Tachikawa speaking." She answered in a formal style. She tried to hide the evidence of her crying in case it was someone she didn't want to speak to.
Sora was just about to hang up when she heard Mimi's voice in the phone. 'Thank God!' She sniffed a little but no words could come out. 'What am I supposed to say? That I'm losing my apartment and I'm gonna be on the streets very soon?' She let out a few whimpers and cries at the thought of her and her mother begging for money.
Mimi was losing her patience. But then she heard the cries. 'No doubt that this person is in distress, just like me' she thought. Then she began to recognize the voice. "Hello? Sora? Is that you?" She held the phone closer to her to make sure. 'It's Sora all right. I wonder what's wrong. Maybe it's about Tai or something.'
"Yea, Mimi?" Sora said in a quivered voice. "I don't know what to do anymore."
'This is definitely serious,' Mimi thought. "Wha... what's wrong?" 'Well someone else might have a bigger problem than me at least. She's my best friend. I've got to see what I can do.'
"My... my mom and I... we might be forced out onto the streets!" Then Sora told Mimi about her conversation with her mom. When she finished, she'd began crying hysterically again. "I'm too scared. I... don't know what is going to happen to us if we don't think of something fast. And I mean, fast! Or I don't know what'll become of us. Tai won't even want to be my friend anymore."
"Oh my..." Mimi was left speechless. 'At least I have a home. I should be grateful.' "Well then I guess I shouldn't add my problems to your burden." Mimi said with a little sniff.
"Oh well, what the heck. What's wrong, Mimi?" Sora said drearily. 'She been so patient with me the whole time. I should listen to her.'
"Well, my parents want to send me to England in two days. Unless..." Just then, she thought of something. 'What if Sora's mom moved in. I mean, it'll solve the whole problem! Then Sora and I would be even closer!' "I'll call you back!" Mimi almost screamed.
"You have to go back unless you call me back?" But it was too late. She heard a click and she was left puzzled. She hung up the phone and laid back down onto her bed. She stared at her ceiling for a while before drifting off to sleep.
Sora's house *@----}----{----@*
Sora woke up to her doorbell the next morning. Getting out of bed, she fixed the sheet a little and yelled, "one minute!" Afterwards, she went to brush her teeth and clean up. She changed into a gray T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She found a note from her mother in the kitchen that said she'd already left for work.
Sora opened the door to find an extremely happy Mimi standing at the door. 'I thought she was really sad last night.' "Morning, Mimi." Sora said in a dreary voice.
"Morning, Sora. Um... Mind if I come in?" Mimi said while peeking inside.
"Oh, sorry, yea, sure. Come in." Sora said, gesturing her to go in. Mimi stepped inside and headed for the living room while Sora closed and locked the door. She went into the living room and found that Mimi already seated herself. "Do you want anything to drink? Soda? Tea? Coffee?" Sora offered.
"A coffee would be nice," Mimi replied.
"Good, because that was what I was going to make anyway. I'll be right back." A few minutes later, Sora came out of the kitchen with two cups of fresh brewed coffee. "So why are you here?"
"Well, I have the best news! You know how you told me about your problem last night?" Mimi asked as she leaned forward towards Sora. Sora could see the sparkles dancing around in her eyes.
"Well, yea but..."
"You can move in with me!" Mimi yelped excitedly, barely giving Sora time to think.
"What? But..." Sora said, still stunned and confused.
"Come on, Sora. It's a win-win situation. It's the only way you won't end up on the streets and I won't have to move. Please? I asked my parents already last night and they said that it was fine and that it'd be even better if you moved in too. This is the only way out, Sora." Mimi quickly said. Inside, she was hoping that Sora wouldn't refuse.
"Wow. That's great, Mimi! But we'll have to ask my mom first." Sora said.
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Come on!" Mimi said. Without another word, she pulled Sora out of the chair and dragged her down to her mother's shop.
The Floral Shop *@----}----{----@*
Mrs. Takenouchi sat down on her stool waiting for the next customer. Just then, her daughter and her daughter's friend ran up to her. They were both completely out of breath when they reached her and stopped to catch their breaths. "What's wrong, girls?" she asked.
"Nothing is WRONG, mom! We're going to be all right!" Sora said as she threw her mother a hug. She received the hug but was still confused.
"Of course we're going to be all right, Sora. Are you sure you're okay?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked Sora as she felt her forehead with the back of her hand. Sora took it and continued.
"Mimi said that we can stay at her place." Then Sora began to explain everything to her mom. When she finished, a moment of silence followed.
"Will we be a bother, Mimi?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked as she turned towards Mimi.
"Of course not. You'll be doing me a favor if you accept the offer!" Mimi said excitedly. Her heart was praying to God that she'd say yes.
Tears of happiness spilled our of Mrs. Takenouchi's eyes as she hugged both of the girls. When they broke apart, she thanked Mimi repeatedly and visited her parents. They liked her very much and decided that she would be responsible enough to take care of Mimi. Also, Sora would be a nice friend to talk to.
At the park *@----}----{----@*
"Wow, tomorrow, I move in with you. Isn't it great? We can do so much stuff together now," Sora exclaimed.
"I know! Oh no. We better hurry up or they'll be cranky again. I mean, we are already thirty minutes late," Mimi said as she began to pedal faster and harder. Sora followed closely behind her and realized that biking wasn't really her thing.
When they finally got to the bench where they usually meet, a few of them were already there. Well, all except Tai was there. They began talking about all kinds of stuff while they sat and wait for about another fifteen minutes. Then Tai showed up, running the fastest he ever did.
"I... am so so... sorry. I had a game to get to and I forgot about this," Tai said between gasps for air.
"It's okay, we only arrived about fifteen minutes or so too. So you didn't look that bad," Sora explained.
"So, you're moving in with Mimi tomorrow, right?" Kari asked. The girls turned and smiled at each other. Then they nodded their heads at the same time. It's like the kind of twin thing.
"Yea. I'm so excited. You know..." Mimi was cut off by a middle aged woman with long brown hair pulled back in a pony tail. She seemed really scared and she was breaking a cold sweat.
"Have any of you seen my son?" She asked as she held up a picture of a boy about five years old with reddish brown, short, curly hair and eyes that match the hair color.
Mimi looked back at the group. All of them shook their heads. She turned back to the lady and said, "No... But I'll gladly help you look. What's his name?"
"Bobby. Thank you so much. You're so nice," the lady complimented and she headed off to look for her son.
'Okay, Matt. This is your chance.' "I'll uh... come with you, Mimi." Matt said as he got up from the bench. Mimi looked back and she nodded with a smile. Then they walked off into another area of the park.
"I will go too," Sora insisted.
"I'll go with you Sora. Wait up." He said as he got onto his feet and began running towards the direction in which Sora had gone.
"Why don't you two go," Izzy suggested to T.K. and Kari.
"Yea, Izzy and I will stay here in case the boy turns up," Joe said. "Now go."
"But..." Kari began to complain. She was cut off when T.K. grabbed her hand and they began to run away from Joe and Izzy. When they finally got to another spot, Kari wiggled out of T.K.'s grip. "What was that?" She yelled.
"You know that they'll never give up. So I thought maybe we might as well get away from their "supervision" and then split up. You can do whatever you want, but I want to help find that little boy." T.K. said as he began to turn and walk the other way.
"Hold on," Kari said. T.K. spun around and looked at Kari. She looked away and he began to turn around again. "I'll come with you. The sun is setting. Who knows what kind of whackos there are out there." She said with a smile. T.K. smiled at her and held out his hand. She gladly took it and they began walking towards the sunset.
Sora and Tai *@----}----{----@*
"Do you think any of us will find the little boy, Tai?" Sora asked Tai, who's been shouting Bobby the whole time. He stopped and turned his head to face Sora.
"Of course. With all of us we saved the world. Now all we have to do is find a little kid," Tai replied confidently. His head turned back to the road and began to yell Bobby again.
"Yea. I hope it turns out as good as I hope," Sora murmured as she looked up to stare at his face.
Tai turned his attention to Sora again. "What do you hope?" Tai asked curiously. Sora turned her face back to the ground and blushed. 'What did I say?' Tai thought, confused. 'Oh well, she doesn't seem mad. So I guess I should just drop it and change the subject.'
He looked back up and looked for a subject to talk about. This tenseness was killing him. "Um... look! The sun is setting and it's turning the sky pink!" He exclaimed as he pointed his index finger towards the setting sun. "Hey, pink! That's Mimi's favorite color. I wonder if she's watching this," he continued. Then for no reason at all, the conversation he had with Kari a few nights back popped to mind. 'Come on, Tai. Be brave. Just ask her! I mean, what have you got to lose?'
Sora let out a troubled sigh. 'So I guess Mimi's on his mind. I should've known that he wouldn't like me anyway. His target is Mimi...' She sighed again.
"What's wrong, Sora?" Tai asked. 'She can't be upset already. I mean, I didn't even ask her yet!'
"Oh, it's nothing," she replied drearily. 'Oh, nothing. It's just that I just found out that the guy of my dreams has a crush on my best friend. Nothing much, not to you anyway.'
'Just ask her! Who cares if she says no?!' One side of Tai thought. 'I care!' the other side argued. 'Just do it!' Tai took a deep breath and he closed his eyes. He stopped walking and began to inhale and exhale steadily. Sora stopped and looked back at him.
'He's probably just daydreaming about Mimi again,' she thought as she looked down again. They stood there for a few minutes. Tai with his eyes closed and thinking of how he could ask her. Sora staring at the floor thinking how much Mimi is better than her. (AN: What ever happened to finding that little boy, you two?)
Then, Tai took one last deep breath. Then he opened his eyes and walked up to Sora. Hearing his footsteps, Sora also looked up and stared at Tai. 'Come on, just say it, Tai. You prepared a whole speech, remember?' a voice inside his head told him. Then, he told the voice, 'No...' He heard the voice sigh desperately. 'Then just say what you think. I mean, don't spoil this chance.' "Okay, you can do this." Tai whispered outloud accidently.
"Do what?" Sora asked. 'He's acting kind of weird today...'
"Um... Sora... I was wondering if..." Tai blurted out. 'Come on, just a little more.' He encouraged himself.
"You were wondering if..." Sora asked looking into his brown eyes.
Tai couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed her shoulders with two hands and pulled her in. His face slowly leaned towards hers and she moved her face up. It was a reaction to Sora, like she was mesmerized. Before closing their eyes, they were lost in them for a few seconds. Then, their lips gently met and they shapes fitted perfectly. Sora slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. They stayed in that comfortable position for a while. Everything around them was silent. The road was clear and the sun was sinking into the horizon. Their hearts were melting away.
When they broke apart, still in each other's arms, they pressed their foreheads against each others and stared into each others eyes, smiling. Then, after a couple of minutes, Tai opened his mouth to say something. But he was cut off when Sora gave him a kiss instead.
When they broke apart, he held her hands and stared down at them. Then, he looked at her and said, "I'll take that as a yes." She giggled, let go of one of his hands, and turned towards the way they came from.
"Let's go, they probably found Bobby already," she said and they walked back, except this time hand in hand.
Mimi and Matt *@----}----{----@*
They screamed out from the top of their lungs in unison. "Bobby! Bobby! Where are you?!"
"Phew. This is something that my singing coach from America would totally disagree with," she giggled a bit at the thought of her strict female instructor yelling. "It's fun to break the rule again."
"I say we take a break," Matt suggested. Then he spotted a bench and he led Mimi over there and sat down. When they settled down, they just stared forward for a second. Then Mimi got up. Matt began to get up and follow, but Mimi gently pushed him back down onto the bench.
"Stay here, I'll be right back," she said, and she began to walk and disappear around the corner. Matt was staring at her the whole time he could see her from his seat.
'Matt! You decided that you're going to ask her and you're going to ask her now!' He thought. Just then, he saw her walking back with two bottles in her hands. She ran up to him and sat down beside him. He could feel his heart beating faster the closer she got.
She handed him a drink and she opened her bottle and began drinking from it. He did the same and tasted it. It felt good against his throbbing throat. It helped him revive from all that screaming. "This is good, what is it?" he asked.
Mimi giggled a little. "You can read, can't you? Try looking at the bottle," she teased. Matt blushed a little and did as she said.
"Honey-lemon tea. This is pretty good stuff. I didn't think that tea is popular in America," Matt said as he read the words from the bottle.
"Not as popular as they are here in Japan. But I drink this everyday after my singing lessons. It sooths your throat," Mimi explained.
"Don't you get tired of it? Everyday?" Matt asked.
"Of course! But coach told me that it's good for me. I'm sure she knows what's best for me." Mimi replied.
"So, do you still play the harp? You were pretty good at it," Matt said, trying to get off the serious subject.
"Of course. Sometimes I sing along with it. I've heard that you play the guitar now and you've got a band. I heard that you guys are pretty good and popular," Mimi said as she beamed a smile at him.
"Yea, we're all right," Matt said as he blushed. He began to change the subject because his band was a sensitive subject. "Look, the sun is setting. Isn't the view so breathtaking?" He asked as he turned towards the sunset. 'But nothing as breathtaking as you, Mimi' he thought. He still couldn't get the courage to ask her yet. 'If only you can lend me your crest, Tai.'
"Most guys don't like thinking about stuff like this. You're one of the few." She said as she placed her head on his shoulder and admired the sunset in front of them. 'Yea, not most guys are as perfect and romantic as you, Matt.'
She began to rub something at the end of her gold chain. Matt gently took her hand away and it revealed a gold angel playing a harp. She took her head of his shoulder so she could see his face. "You still have this?" he asked as he stared at her. He still had the angel in his hand. They turned sideways a little to face each other.
"Of course, you gave this to me for my birthday a few years back. I wear it almost everyday," she replied as she took off the neckless. She placed it in his hands to examine, but his eyes locked on her delicate features. She blushed and looked away as she said, "it's really beautiful. And plus, it reminds me of you."
'Does it mean that she likes me??? Oh my gosh, maybe there's hope afterall. Ask her now, Matt! Don't spoil the moment.' Matt reached in his pocket and took out a small, flat, square wrapped gift. "Then I think you might like this," he said as he handed her the gift.
"You didn't have to..." Mimi said as she unwrapped the gift. She gasped and then covered her mouth with one hand as she saw the gift sitting still on her lap. It was a matching brooch for her necklace.
"I... I wanted to give this to you the day you told me that you're moving to America. But when I found out, I didn't want to give you this to drag you behind. It would've been much harder to move on." Matt said. "I've kept it hoping that one day you'll come back and when I give it to you, you'll be here to stay. I guess my hopes came true, thanks to you."
Mimi put it on and admire it as both the brooch and the necklace shined right next to each other from the shining sun. Then she remembered something. She reached inside her handbag and took out a box wrapped in golden wrapping paper. It was about the size of two hands. She held it out to him with two hands and said, "Here, this is for you. I wanted to give it to you the day I told you I was going to America. But then I never did."
He stared at her for a second and then started unwrapping the gift. He gasped at the sight of the golden watch. "I really can't..."
"Of course you can," Mimi said as she took the watch from his hands. "It fits you really well." She smiled as she handed it back to him. He handled it with care as if it was going to break any second. "Open it."
He looked over at her and she nodded with a smile. He smiled also and opened the watch. Waves of music rushed our from it's cage and flowed gently and swiftly into Matt's ears. He stared at it in disbelief and all he managed to say was wow. Then, he felt something on the bottom side of the cover. He lifted it into the light so he could see clearly what the words said. "To Yama-chan, from Mimi with love always." He whispered. He looked over to Mimi who blushed and looked at the ground smiling to herself. 'Well, at least you got it over with, Mimi.' She thought as she brushed some of her brown hair from her face.
"This is the best thing I've ever gotten, thank you," he said as he gave her a huge hug. "And I was wondering. Will... will you... go out with me? You know, like as my girlfriend?"
Tears of joy spilled from Mimi's eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands. "I... I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to make you cry. Um..." He stuttered out as he searched all his pockets for a tissue or hankerchief. But before he could finish his search, Mimi threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She slowly nodded as a reply and Matt instantly smiled and picked her up from around her waist. They twirled around and around on the park road until both of them got dizzy.
They sat admiring the stars which appeared in the dark sky. Mimi rested her head on Matt's shoulder and he rested his chin on her head. He had his arm around her shoulder and they were holding each other close. "You know, all these years I kept fixing the watch and made sure it's in mint condition. That's because I believed that as long as the watch keeps ticking, I'll still have hope of finding you one day and telling you how I feel."
"And I'll guard this with my life from now on. After all, it is my forth most important possession," he said. Mimi lifted her head.
"Forth only?" she asked, disappointed.
"Yea," he said, staring into her troubled eyes. "My third important is you, my second most important is my love for you, and my most prized possession is your love for me. Afterall, gold I can buy, but our love is priceless." Instantly, her eyes sparkled with delight.
"And this goes the same for my brooch and necklace." Feeling relieved, she laid her head back on his shoulder and relaxed.
Then all of a sudden, from the bushes, they heard a muffled, silent cry. It came from the bushes and it sounded like a little boy. Mimi grasped onto Matt's shirt as they approached the bush. Then, with a quick and swift motion, Matt moved some of the leaves of the bushes and it revealed a little boy, all bound up.
They took the gag off the little boy and Matt asked, "Is your name Bobby?" The little boy nodded and he began crying softly.
"Well, everything's alright now, Bobby. We'll bring you to your mom, okay?" Mimi said softly yet reassuringly. He nodded as he slowly wiped the tears from his eyes. Matt picked him up and held him as they slowly walked back to Joe and Izzy. Matt held Mimi's hand in one hand and holding the little boy in the other. Anyone who didn't know them would've thought that they were a very happy family.
Joe and Izzy *@----}----{----@*
"How can they possibly take this long?" Izzy asked impatiently.
"Don't worry. Hey, here comes Sora and Tai right now!" Joe said as he pointed towards two figures running towards them.
"Hey," Sora said breathlessly. After both she and Tai caught their breaths, she continued. "Did anyone find the little boy?" Joe and Izzy looked at each other then shook their heads. Sora and Tai sat down with a sigh.
"Where's my sister?" Tai asked.
"She went off with T.K. Actually, T.K. kind of dragged her with him." Joe said.
"Hey, you guys!" A familiar voice said. They looked towards the direction in which the voice came from. They saw Matt holding Mimi's hand and a little boy.
"You guys found him!" Sora exclaimed as she got up and ran towards him. Then, from down the path, Bobby's mother ran quickly towards them.
"Bobby!" She cried as she took the child from Matt's arm. She hugged him and thanked them all dearly. Then, they disappeared into the darkness as they walked down the road.
"Where's my brother?" Matt asked.
Joe opened his mouth to answer, but Tai interrupted. "Your brother dragged my sister away somewhere."
"O. Go T.K.!" Matt cheered. Everyone looked at him, puzzled. So he told everything T.K. told him. When he finished, Tai told everyone what Kari told him...
Mimi/Sora's bedrooms *@----}----{----@*
(AN: I know it's confusing. But this is a phone conversation. So chill out.)
'I need to talk to someone about this.' Sora thought. She picked up the phone but then hung up because she couldn't think of whom to call. Then, a sudden thought struck her and before she knew it, she was dialing Mimi's number.
The phone in Mimi's room rang and Mimi stared at it for a while. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to anyone right now. 'It'd just make it harder to leave.' She thought. But then another side of her fought. 'But it's always better to talk to someone about it.' With a few minutes a hesitation, she picked up the phone. "Hello? This is Mimi Tachikawa speaking." She answered in a formal style. She tried to hide the evidence of her crying in case it was someone she didn't want to speak to.
Sora was just about to hang up when she heard Mimi's voice in the phone. 'Thank God!' She sniffed a little but no words could come out. 'What am I supposed to say? That I'm losing my apartment and I'm gonna be on the streets very soon?' She let out a few whimpers and cries at the thought of her and her mother begging for money.
Mimi was losing her patience. But then she heard the cries. 'No doubt that this person is in distress, just like me' she thought. Then she began to recognize the voice. "Hello? Sora? Is that you?" She held the phone closer to her to make sure. 'It's Sora all right. I wonder what's wrong. Maybe it's about Tai or something.'
"Yea, Mimi?" Sora said in a quivered voice. "I don't know what to do anymore."
'This is definitely serious,' Mimi thought. "Wha... what's wrong?" 'Well someone else might have a bigger problem than me at least. She's my best friend. I've got to see what I can do.'
"My... my mom and I... we might be forced out onto the streets!" Then Sora told Mimi about her conversation with her mom. When she finished, she'd began crying hysterically again. "I'm too scared. I... don't know what is going to happen to us if we don't think of something fast. And I mean, fast! Or I don't know what'll become of us. Tai won't even want to be my friend anymore."
"Oh my..." Mimi was left speechless. 'At least I have a home. I should be grateful.' "Well then I guess I shouldn't add my problems to your burden." Mimi said with a little sniff.
"Oh well, what the heck. What's wrong, Mimi?" Sora said drearily. 'She been so patient with me the whole time. I should listen to her.'
"Well, my parents want to send me to England in two days. Unless..." Just then, she thought of something. 'What if Sora's mom moved in. I mean, it'll solve the whole problem! Then Sora and I would be even closer!' "I'll call you back!" Mimi almost screamed.
"You have to go back unless you call me back?" But it was too late. She heard a click and she was left puzzled. She hung up the phone and laid back down onto her bed. She stared at her ceiling for a while before drifting off to sleep.
Sora's house *@----}----{----@*
Sora woke up to her doorbell the next morning. Getting out of bed, she fixed the sheet a little and yelled, "one minute!" Afterwards, she went to brush her teeth and clean up. She changed into a gray T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She found a note from her mother in the kitchen that said she'd already left for work.
Sora opened the door to find an extremely happy Mimi standing at the door. 'I thought she was really sad last night.' "Morning, Mimi." Sora said in a dreary voice.
"Morning, Sora. Um... Mind if I come in?" Mimi said while peeking inside.
"Oh, sorry, yea, sure. Come in." Sora said, gesturing her to go in. Mimi stepped inside and headed for the living room while Sora closed and locked the door. She went into the living room and found that Mimi already seated herself. "Do you want anything to drink? Soda? Tea? Coffee?" Sora offered.
"A coffee would be nice," Mimi replied.
"Good, because that was what I was going to make anyway. I'll be right back." A few minutes later, Sora came out of the kitchen with two cups of fresh brewed coffee. "So why are you here?"
"Well, I have the best news! You know how you told me about your problem last night?" Mimi asked as she leaned forward towards Sora. Sora could see the sparkles dancing around in her eyes.
"Well, yea but..."
"You can move in with me!" Mimi yelped excitedly, barely giving Sora time to think.
"What? But..." Sora said, still stunned and confused.
"Come on, Sora. It's a win-win situation. It's the only way you won't end up on the streets and I won't have to move. Please? I asked my parents already last night and they said that it was fine and that it'd be even better if you moved in too. This is the only way out, Sora." Mimi quickly said. Inside, she was hoping that Sora wouldn't refuse.
"Wow. That's great, Mimi! But we'll have to ask my mom first." Sora said.
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Come on!" Mimi said. Without another word, she pulled Sora out of the chair and dragged her down to her mother's shop.
The Floral Shop *@----}----{----@*
Mrs. Takenouchi sat down on her stool waiting for the next customer. Just then, her daughter and her daughter's friend ran up to her. They were both completely out of breath when they reached her and stopped to catch their breaths. "What's wrong, girls?" she asked.
"Nothing is WRONG, mom! We're going to be all right!" Sora said as she threw her mother a hug. She received the hug but was still confused.
"Of course we're going to be all right, Sora. Are you sure you're okay?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked Sora as she felt her forehead with the back of her hand. Sora took it and continued.
"Mimi said that we can stay at her place." Then Sora began to explain everything to her mom. When she finished, a moment of silence followed.
"Will we be a bother, Mimi?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked as she turned towards Mimi.
"Of course not. You'll be doing me a favor if you accept the offer!" Mimi said excitedly. Her heart was praying to God that she'd say yes.
Tears of happiness spilled our of Mrs. Takenouchi's eyes as she hugged both of the girls. When they broke apart, she thanked Mimi repeatedly and visited her parents. They liked her very much and decided that she would be responsible enough to take care of Mimi. Also, Sora would be a nice friend to talk to.
At the park *@----}----{----@*
"Wow, tomorrow, I move in with you. Isn't it great? We can do so much stuff together now," Sora exclaimed.
"I know! Oh no. We better hurry up or they'll be cranky again. I mean, we are already thirty minutes late," Mimi said as she began to pedal faster and harder. Sora followed closely behind her and realized that biking wasn't really her thing.
When they finally got to the bench where they usually meet, a few of them were already there. Well, all except Tai was there. They began talking about all kinds of stuff while they sat and wait for about another fifteen minutes. Then Tai showed up, running the fastest he ever did.
"I... am so so... sorry. I had a game to get to and I forgot about this," Tai said between gasps for air.
"It's okay, we only arrived about fifteen minutes or so too. So you didn't look that bad," Sora explained.
"So, you're moving in with Mimi tomorrow, right?" Kari asked. The girls turned and smiled at each other. Then they nodded their heads at the same time. It's like the kind of twin thing.
"Yea. I'm so excited. You know..." Mimi was cut off by a middle aged woman with long brown hair pulled back in a pony tail. She seemed really scared and she was breaking a cold sweat.
"Have any of you seen my son?" She asked as she held up a picture of a boy about five years old with reddish brown, short, curly hair and eyes that match the hair color.
Mimi looked back at the group. All of them shook their heads. She turned back to the lady and said, "No... But I'll gladly help you look. What's his name?"
"Bobby. Thank you so much. You're so nice," the lady complimented and she headed off to look for her son.
'Okay, Matt. This is your chance.' "I'll uh... come with you, Mimi." Matt said as he got up from the bench. Mimi looked back and she nodded with a smile. Then they walked off into another area of the park.
"I will go too," Sora insisted.
"I'll go with you Sora. Wait up." He said as he got onto his feet and began running towards the direction in which Sora had gone.
"Why don't you two go," Izzy suggested to T.K. and Kari.
"Yea, Izzy and I will stay here in case the boy turns up," Joe said. "Now go."
"But..." Kari began to complain. She was cut off when T.K. grabbed her hand and they began to run away from Joe and Izzy. When they finally got to another spot, Kari wiggled out of T.K.'s grip. "What was that?" She yelled.
"You know that they'll never give up. So I thought maybe we might as well get away from their "supervision" and then split up. You can do whatever you want, but I want to help find that little boy." T.K. said as he began to turn and walk the other way.
"Hold on," Kari said. T.K. spun around and looked at Kari. She looked away and he began to turn around again. "I'll come with you. The sun is setting. Who knows what kind of whackos there are out there." She said with a smile. T.K. smiled at her and held out his hand. She gladly took it and they began walking towards the sunset.
Sora and Tai *@----}----{----@*
"Do you think any of us will find the little boy, Tai?" Sora asked Tai, who's been shouting Bobby the whole time. He stopped and turned his head to face Sora.
"Of course. With all of us we saved the world. Now all we have to do is find a little kid," Tai replied confidently. His head turned back to the road and began to yell Bobby again.
"Yea. I hope it turns out as good as I hope," Sora murmured as she looked up to stare at his face.
Tai turned his attention to Sora again. "What do you hope?" Tai asked curiously. Sora turned her face back to the ground and blushed. 'What did I say?' Tai thought, confused. 'Oh well, she doesn't seem mad. So I guess I should just drop it and change the subject.'
He looked back up and looked for a subject to talk about. This tenseness was killing him. "Um... look! The sun is setting and it's turning the sky pink!" He exclaimed as he pointed his index finger towards the setting sun. "Hey, pink! That's Mimi's favorite color. I wonder if she's watching this," he continued. Then for no reason at all, the conversation he had with Kari a few nights back popped to mind. 'Come on, Tai. Be brave. Just ask her! I mean, what have you got to lose?'
Sora let out a troubled sigh. 'So I guess Mimi's on his mind. I should've known that he wouldn't like me anyway. His target is Mimi...' She sighed again.
"What's wrong, Sora?" Tai asked. 'She can't be upset already. I mean, I didn't even ask her yet!'
"Oh, it's nothing," she replied drearily. 'Oh, nothing. It's just that I just found out that the guy of my dreams has a crush on my best friend. Nothing much, not to you anyway.'
'Just ask her! Who cares if she says no?!' One side of Tai thought. 'I care!' the other side argued. 'Just do it!' Tai took a deep breath and he closed his eyes. He stopped walking and began to inhale and exhale steadily. Sora stopped and looked back at him.
'He's probably just daydreaming about Mimi again,' she thought as she looked down again. They stood there for a few minutes. Tai with his eyes closed and thinking of how he could ask her. Sora staring at the floor thinking how much Mimi is better than her. (AN: What ever happened to finding that little boy, you two?)
Then, Tai took one last deep breath. Then he opened his eyes and walked up to Sora. Hearing his footsteps, Sora also looked up and stared at Tai. 'Come on, just say it, Tai. You prepared a whole speech, remember?' a voice inside his head told him. Then, he told the voice, 'No...' He heard the voice sigh desperately. 'Then just say what you think. I mean, don't spoil this chance.' "Okay, you can do this." Tai whispered outloud accidently.
"Do what?" Sora asked. 'He's acting kind of weird today...'
"Um... Sora... I was wondering if..." Tai blurted out. 'Come on, just a little more.' He encouraged himself.
"You were wondering if..." Sora asked looking into his brown eyes.
Tai couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed her shoulders with two hands and pulled her in. His face slowly leaned towards hers and she moved her face up. It was a reaction to Sora, like she was mesmerized. Before closing their eyes, they were lost in them for a few seconds. Then, their lips gently met and they shapes fitted perfectly. Sora slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. They stayed in that comfortable position for a while. Everything around them was silent. The road was clear and the sun was sinking into the horizon. Their hearts were melting away.
When they broke apart, still in each other's arms, they pressed their foreheads against each others and stared into each others eyes, smiling. Then, after a couple of minutes, Tai opened his mouth to say something. But he was cut off when Sora gave him a kiss instead.
When they broke apart, he held her hands and stared down at them. Then, he looked at her and said, "I'll take that as a yes." She giggled, let go of one of his hands, and turned towards the way they came from.
"Let's go, they probably found Bobby already," she said and they walked back, except this time hand in hand.
Mimi and Matt *@----}----{----@*
They screamed out from the top of their lungs in unison. "Bobby! Bobby! Where are you?!"
"Phew. This is something that my singing coach from America would totally disagree with," she giggled a bit at the thought of her strict female instructor yelling. "It's fun to break the rule again."
"I say we take a break," Matt suggested. Then he spotted a bench and he led Mimi over there and sat down. When they settled down, they just stared forward for a second. Then Mimi got up. Matt began to get up and follow, but Mimi gently pushed him back down onto the bench.
"Stay here, I'll be right back," she said, and she began to walk and disappear around the corner. Matt was staring at her the whole time he could see her from his seat.
'Matt! You decided that you're going to ask her and you're going to ask her now!' He thought. Just then, he saw her walking back with two bottles in her hands. She ran up to him and sat down beside him. He could feel his heart beating faster the closer she got.
She handed him a drink and she opened her bottle and began drinking from it. He did the same and tasted it. It felt good against his throbbing throat. It helped him revive from all that screaming. "This is good, what is it?" he asked.
Mimi giggled a little. "You can read, can't you? Try looking at the bottle," she teased. Matt blushed a little and did as she said.
"Honey-lemon tea. This is pretty good stuff. I didn't think that tea is popular in America," Matt said as he read the words from the bottle.
"Not as popular as they are here in Japan. But I drink this everyday after my singing lessons. It sooths your throat," Mimi explained.
"Don't you get tired of it? Everyday?" Matt asked.
"Of course! But coach told me that it's good for me. I'm sure she knows what's best for me." Mimi replied.
"So, do you still play the harp? You were pretty good at it," Matt said, trying to get off the serious subject.
"Of course. Sometimes I sing along with it. I've heard that you play the guitar now and you've got a band. I heard that you guys are pretty good and popular," Mimi said as she beamed a smile at him.
"Yea, we're all right," Matt said as he blushed. He began to change the subject because his band was a sensitive subject. "Look, the sun is setting. Isn't the view so breathtaking?" He asked as he turned towards the sunset. 'But nothing as breathtaking as you, Mimi' he thought. He still couldn't get the courage to ask her yet. 'If only you can lend me your crest, Tai.'
"Most guys don't like thinking about stuff like this. You're one of the few." She said as she placed her head on his shoulder and admired the sunset in front of them. 'Yea, not most guys are as perfect and romantic as you, Matt.'
She began to rub something at the end of her gold chain. Matt gently took her hand away and it revealed a gold angel playing a harp. She took her head of his shoulder so she could see his face. "You still have this?" he asked as he stared at her. He still had the angel in his hand. They turned sideways a little to face each other.
"Of course, you gave this to me for my birthday a few years back. I wear it almost everyday," she replied as she took off the neckless. She placed it in his hands to examine, but his eyes locked on her delicate features. She blushed and looked away as she said, "it's really beautiful. And plus, it reminds me of you."
'Does it mean that she likes me??? Oh my gosh, maybe there's hope afterall. Ask her now, Matt! Don't spoil the moment.' Matt reached in his pocket and took out a small, flat, square wrapped gift. "Then I think you might like this," he said as he handed her the gift.
"You didn't have to..." Mimi said as she unwrapped the gift. She gasped and then covered her mouth with one hand as she saw the gift sitting still on her lap. It was a matching brooch for her necklace.
"I... I wanted to give this to you the day you told me that you're moving to America. But when I found out, I didn't want to give you this to drag you behind. It would've been much harder to move on." Matt said. "I've kept it hoping that one day you'll come back and when I give it to you, you'll be here to stay. I guess my hopes came true, thanks to you."
Mimi put it on and admire it as both the brooch and the necklace shined right next to each other from the shining sun. Then she remembered something. She reached inside her handbag and took out a box wrapped in golden wrapping paper. It was about the size of two hands. She held it out to him with two hands and said, "Here, this is for you. I wanted to give it to you the day I told you I was going to America. But then I never did."
He stared at her for a second and then started unwrapping the gift. He gasped at the sight of the golden watch. "I really can't..."
"Of course you can," Mimi said as she took the watch from his hands. "It fits you really well." She smiled as she handed it back to him. He handled it with care as if it was going to break any second. "Open it."
He looked over at her and she nodded with a smile. He smiled also and opened the watch. Waves of music rushed our from it's cage and flowed gently and swiftly into Matt's ears. He stared at it in disbelief and all he managed to say was wow. Then, he felt something on the bottom side of the cover. He lifted it into the light so he could see clearly what the words said. "To Yama-chan, from Mimi with love always." He whispered. He looked over to Mimi who blushed and looked at the ground smiling to herself. 'Well, at least you got it over with, Mimi.' She thought as she brushed some of her brown hair from her face.
"This is the best thing I've ever gotten, thank you," he said as he gave her a huge hug. "And I was wondering. Will... will you... go out with me? You know, like as my girlfriend?"
Tears of joy spilled from Mimi's eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands. "I... I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to make you cry. Um..." He stuttered out as he searched all his pockets for a tissue or hankerchief. But before he could finish his search, Mimi threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She slowly nodded as a reply and Matt instantly smiled and picked her up from around her waist. They twirled around and around on the park road until both of them got dizzy.
They sat admiring the stars which appeared in the dark sky. Mimi rested her head on Matt's shoulder and he rested his chin on her head. He had his arm around her shoulder and they were holding each other close. "You know, all these years I kept fixing the watch and made sure it's in mint condition. That's because I believed that as long as the watch keeps ticking, I'll still have hope of finding you one day and telling you how I feel."
"And I'll guard this with my life from now on. After all, it is my forth most important possession," he said. Mimi lifted her head.
"Forth only?" she asked, disappointed.
"Yea," he said, staring into her troubled eyes. "My third important is you, my second most important is my love for you, and my most prized possession is your love for me. Afterall, gold I can buy, but our love is priceless." Instantly, her eyes sparkled with delight.
"And this goes the same for my brooch and necklace." Feeling relieved, she laid her head back on his shoulder and relaxed.
Then all of a sudden, from the bushes, they heard a muffled, silent cry. It came from the bushes and it sounded like a little boy. Mimi grasped onto Matt's shirt as they approached the bush. Then, with a quick and swift motion, Matt moved some of the leaves of the bushes and it revealed a little boy, all bound up.
They took the gag off the little boy and Matt asked, "Is your name Bobby?" The little boy nodded and he began crying softly.
"Well, everything's alright now, Bobby. We'll bring you to your mom, okay?" Mimi said softly yet reassuringly. He nodded as he slowly wiped the tears from his eyes. Matt picked him up and held him as they slowly walked back to Joe and Izzy. Matt held Mimi's hand in one hand and holding the little boy in the other. Anyone who didn't know them would've thought that they were a very happy family.
Joe and Izzy *@----}----{----@*
"How can they possibly take this long?" Izzy asked impatiently.
"Don't worry. Hey, here comes Sora and Tai right now!" Joe said as he pointed towards two figures running towards them.
"Hey," Sora said breathlessly. After both she and Tai caught their breaths, she continued. "Did anyone find the little boy?" Joe and Izzy looked at each other then shook their heads. Sora and Tai sat down with a sigh.
"Where's my sister?" Tai asked.
"She went off with T.K. Actually, T.K. kind of dragged her with him." Joe said.
"Hey, you guys!" A familiar voice said. They looked towards the direction in which the voice came from. They saw Matt holding Mimi's hand and a little boy.
"You guys found him!" Sora exclaimed as she got up and ran towards him. Then, from down the path, Bobby's mother ran quickly towards them.
"Bobby!" She cried as she took the child from Matt's arm. She hugged him and thanked them all dearly. Then, they disappeared into the darkness as they walked down the road.
"Where's my brother?" Matt asked.
Joe opened his mouth to answer, but Tai interrupted. "Your brother dragged my sister away somewhere."
"O. Go T.K.!" Matt cheered. Everyone looked at him, puzzled. So he told everything T.K. told him. When he finished, Tai told everyone what Kari told him...