I hope this chapter doesn't seem to rushed, but I wanted to get it out before January. Why? Because for the month of January, maybe even as far as February 14th, I will not be posting on ffnet, or updating Reality Check (unless there's some miraculous act of God to prove me otherwise).
I am trying to get into Trinity University, a very expensive private college here in San Antonio. In order to get financial aid (which I need), I must get SAT scores of 1280 or higher. Last summer, my scores were just barely 1200.
I also have essays to write. Three, actually. And I have to finish reading the book written by the chair of Journalism at Trinity, so she could write a convincing letter of recommendation based on my opinons.
I have my work cut out for me. I'll do an update on New Year's but after that, I am strictly open to communication. You can e-mail me, write me (e-mail me, and I'll gladly give you my address), or even call me! I will always be accepting Jyoumi goodies for the page, and I will still be keeping tabs on all of the ficcy's posted here on ffnet. So keep up the great work! I'll try to be back soon.
In the meantime, if you must read more of my writing to hold you over, why not give The Unicorn Academy a try? As Seiitsu or Larzy-san or Liz-san or any of the 40+ people reading it...it's not bad! ^^;
I don't own Digimon. Now let me get back to my updates and essays.
Fanficcy....start!
(Seishuun Dattene...)
Chapter Ten
"It's wrong, darling. Everything about it is wrong."
Yolei was scrunched up in fron tof the TV, hugging a pillow and watching an old movie in a pout.
"Forbidden love has lost its flavor." Yolei muttered, reaching for the remote.
"Bathroom's all yours, Yolei." her brother called from the hallway.
"Yeah." she mumbled a reply, and turned off the TV. She got up from the floor, and walked into her bedroom. As she pulled out her pajamas, her phone rang. She flatly stared at it as the ringing ceased. Her thoughts went to her brother. He must camp out next to that thing. Loser.
"Yolei! Telephone!" he called her name again.
She picked up the phone, and began to walk to the bathroom. "Hello?"
"You're not still with Izzy?" Mimi teased.
"Hardly!" Yolei snapped as she closed the bathroom door behind her. "The jerk ditched me at my apartment hours ago."
"Ouch." Mimi replied. "That doesn't sound like Izzy."
"Well, believe it! He takes on a whole new air around me!" Yolei began to run the tub water.
"I bet that makes you feel special." Mimi replied.
"You must be joking." Yolei snorted.
"Care to explain what happened today?" Mimi abruptly changed the subject.
"What do you mean?" Yolei nervously smiled, peeling off her socks.
"...you and Izzy running off on your own." Mimi's voice came off as testy. "I feel a little used, here."
"..." Yolei paused. "...used?" Used? For what?
"Yeah. Used. As an excuse to get around Izzy without him getting suspicious."
Yolei nearly slipped on the floor at this, but caught herself. She tossed her socks aside. "Izzy?"
"You could've at least let me in on it, so I wouldn't have looked so desperate in front of Joe."
"Joe?"
"Enough with the one-worded replies!" Mimi huffed. She paused, and took a breath. "I felt really weird when you and Izzy disappeared, and Joe probably thinks it was all my doing now."
"Gee, that's not how I meant for it to go...I was just thinking you and Joe would've wanted us to...y'know..." Yolei looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"No, not really." Mimi replied. "Nevermind. I was just calling to make sure you got home safe."
"Safe and sound." Yolei piped. "Thanks for calling."
"No problemo. Talk to you soon." Mimi hung up the phone, and looked down at the postcard on her desk. I still don't know if I should even go...or even...if I do go, should I tell someone?
Mimi picked up her phone again, and dialed Sora's number. She couldn't think of anyone better to ask for advice.
"Takenouchi residence. Sora speaking." Sora's voice answered.
"Sora. This is Mimi." Mimi twirled the phone chord in her fingers. "Hey, can you come over or meet me somewhere or something? It's kinda urgent."
"If Tai's making you do this to drag me away from my studies, I'll clobber you."
"It has nothing to do with him." Mimi affirmed.
"I'll be right over." Sora hung up, and Mimi was condient that Sora wouldn't waste time in getting to her apartment, even at eight in the evening.
"For how long?" Sora sat backwards on Mimi's desk chair, and rested her chin on the back of it.
Mimi shook her head. "I don't know. I'd be living in their apartment while Jill recovers, so I wouldn't want to be a burden for too long."
Sora studied Mimi's depressed expression. "I never thought car accidents to be possible in a city as crowded as New York. I thought everyone used subways." She could tell Mimi's thoughts were elsewhere. "When do you leave?"
"This week. I'll leave Tuesday evening." Mimi paused. "I know it's short notice, but the sooner I leave, the sooner I'll get back."
Sora nodded. "Have you told anyone yet?"
Mimi shook her head again. "You're the only one right now. I dont know how to tell the others."
"Well, it'll sound better coming from you."
"I know. I just don't know where to start..." Mimi's voice trailed off. "I'm just kinda scared, y'know? Scared that I'll go back to America, and I'll have to face saying goodbye to them again, and go through all that, and..." Mimi looked to Sora nervously. "...i'm afraid that when the time comes to come back to Japan..."
"...you'll start to second-guess yourself?" Sora lowered her eyes, and thought for a moment. "Mimi, what's holding you back?"
"What do you mean?" Mimi blinked.
"I mean--what's keeping you from staying in America? You had a full life there. What does Japan have to offer you that America doesn't have?" Sora asked gently. "You have friends in both, so you'll have to sacrifice something."
Mimi closed her eyes, and folded her hands in her lap. "I really don't have the clarity to say."
"Are there things you need to resolve here before leaving?" Sora continued her query.
Mimi covered her eyes with her hands, and rubbed them. "It's not anything like that..."
Sora watched Mimi sympathetically.
"I don't know how to tell them." Mimi lowered her hands, and looked at them.
"I could tell them." Sora suggested. "But I think, at least for a select few...it would sound better coming from you."
Mimi looked up. "You mean--?"
Sora nodded. "I may be up to my knees in study guides, but my ears and eyes still work."
"I don't know why I would feel so nervous. Why should it upset them? It's just for a week or so."
"Right?" Sora replied. "Worst case scenario, he'll get upset, or depressed..."
"Oh, I hope not." Mimi wrinkled her nose. "A depressed Joe would just ben an overload of angst for me."
Sora blinked, and leaned forward in curiousity.
Mimi straightened. "You've never seen it, I forgot...oh, Sora, it's awful! I've never seen anything like it before." Mimi calmed down, "I'd hate to even think about being the cause of it."
"But at least you'd know he cares." Sora muttered, and caught herself. "I'm sorry. that must sound so selfish."
Mimi fell back on her bed, and sighed. "No...y'know, I don't know what would upset me more...him being upset, or him not showing any reaction at all."
"He might be doing it for your sake, though, if he does that." Sora said.
Mimi swung her legs, staring at the ceiling. "You sound so confident that he cares this huge deal. I think you've over-analyzed Joe's and my relationship again, Sora."
"And I think you're smoke-screening the entire issue here." Sora rose her voice. "You've both made it obvious more than once than you like each other, and you two keep on making excuses to yourself to put off anything."
Mimi gave Sora a cynical look.
"What?" Sora asked.
"This doesn't have anything to do with you and Tai, does it?" Mimi sat up, and folded her arms.
"Of course not! My problem with Tai is that he doesn't want to be sympathetic with my school situation right now!" Sora leaned away from the chair, a glare stuck on her cute face. "It makes me wonder if he even wants me to go the same school as him."
"Things'll ease up once exams are over." Mimi tried to encourage Sora. "They're tough on everyone."
"What're you going to do? You'll really be in a bind if you miss even a week of school during exam time." Sora's voice went soft.
"Mm..." Mimi hummed. "That is something to think about...but Jill was my first real friend in America. I have to see her."
"I know. Just tell Joe. I'll tell the others." Sora warmly smiled.
Mimi couldn't return it. "You sure?"
"Yeah." Sora stood up, and held out her arms. "You gotta let us throw another going-away party in the airport."
Mimi stood, and hugged Sora tight. "How could I refuse?"
"And I'll even bring my own tissues this time!" Sora laughed.
The two girls let each other go, and wiped their eyes.
"Thanks, Sora. It's great to have you so close around now." Mimi walked her to the apartment door.
"Remember that while in America!" Sora slipped on her shoes, and smiled, waving. "Mimi, don't hesitate. Our youths are fleeting too fast to waste time on worry."
Mimi nodded.
"I'll expect a phone call tomorrow with gate info and when you're leaving, and all that." Sora said as she walked out.
"You bet." Mimi stood in the doorway. "`Night."
"`Night!" Sora began down the hallway,and Mimi shut the door. She eyed the clock, it read 8:46. Certainly close, but it shouldn't be too late for a quick phone call.
She sat on her bed, and pulled her phone over. Dialing Joe's number, she took deep breaths as she felt her stomach turn.
"Hello?" Jim's voice answered. As usual. Good.
"Hi! this is Mimi--is Joe real busy, or could I speak to him real quick?" Mimi did the best she could to sound perky and chipper.
"Just didn't have enough of him today, huh?" Jim teased, and laughed as Mimi stuttered a bit, blushing a deep red. She heard a "Give me that!" in the background, and a bit of commotion as the phone switched hands.
"Hi." Joe choked out.
Mimi smiled immediately. "Hi."
"...Mimi?" Joe said after a moment.
Mimi's throat tightened, and she froze.
"Mimi, are you laughing?" Joe's tone got cynical.
"No! No!" Mimi jumped, her mouth dry. "I...I'm sorry, I just--"
"Mimi, are you okay?" Joe put his other hand on the receiver, and furrowed his brow.
Jim looked up from the couch, his eyes attentive. "Is everything okay over there?"
"I'm fine. It's all fine." Mimi stammered out. "I just...I--let's do lunch tomorrow. Real quick, nothing special. Please?"
"But we just--no, I'd like to! It's just, it's kinda weird--need to talk? About what?" Joe's side of the conversation made Jim get a bit concerned.
"If I could tell you, I wouldn't be asking you to meet me, would I?" Mimi wanted to get off the phone as soon as possible...
"Right. Okay. You sound upset. Okay! Okay!" Joe turned his back towards Jim. "...so what if I don't believe you? Well, tomorrow you can convince me...yeah. `Night." He pressed the talk button on the portable, and rested it back on the table.
"Ouch. Kinda hostile, don'tcha think?" Jim watched his little brother join him in the living room.
"Blame her. She's hiding something." Joe picked up the TV Guide, and grabbed the remote. "I hate that. I'll be going through class all morning thinking about it. I just know it."
"Must be a boring class. "Jim replied, propping his feet up on the coffee table.
"Yow! This mustard's way too spicy!" Mimi peeled off the top piece of bread on her sandwich, and reached across the table for a plastic knife.
Joe and Mimi sat in a window seat at a noisy deli about a block from the high school.
Joe watched Mimi scrape off a good amount of mustard, and wipe it on the edge of her plate. "The suspense is killing me."
Mimi put her sandwich back together, and took a bite.
"What are you going to tell me? Something was bugging ou last night." Joe hadn't touched his sandwich at all. "Did I send some wrong messages to you? If so, I'm sorry I--"
"No, not at all..." Mimi cut him off. "Joe, I--"
"Yes?"
"Stop cutting me off!" Mimi snapped, her face seriously distraught. Joe fell back in his chair, startled.
"...sorry." he peeped.
"--I'm--" she leaned over the table, gripping the edge of it with both hands. "--I'm leaving for America tomorrow."
Joe's expression remained. He blinked once, but his entire body was still. Mim couldn't even tell if he was still breathing.
"Just for a little bit!" Mimi urged. "Maybe a little more than a week, but--!"
"Why?" Joe plainly asked.
"Jill--one of my best friends in America, she--"
"I remember who Jill is." Joe coldly stated.
Mimi gave Joe a slightly confused look, and continued a litle more cautiously. "..she was in a car wreck."
"Is she dead?" Joe asked, once again coldly, expressionlessly.
"...no!" Mimi was shocked, and, needless to say, hurt by Joe's insensitivity. "She was hurt, and her parents want me to see her, so I'm going to live with them for a week."
"At least."
"Probably. Do you object?" Mimi asked, afraid to even put a hand on the table to pick up her sandwich, Joe looked so unhappy with her...
Joe closed his eyes, and casually sat back. "Hey, what place am I in to object?"
"You sound unhappy." Mimi bluntly stated.
"Really? I'm just a bit amused, actually." Joe's voice sounded more edgy as he continued. "For someone who just last night was going off about how much better it was to be back home in Japan, you sound awfully eager to hope on that jet plane back to America and make yourself right at home again."
Mimi went blank. She couldn't think of a way to reply to that. She lowered her eyes to her sandwich, trying to think of a legitamate response.
Joe paused, secretly hoping she would deny his accusations, as hasty as they were.
"I don't know how to make you believe me." Mimi quietly said. "I love America. Very much. I do miss it...but I love Japan, too. And I have made my choice. I want to stay here. Live here. But I've got to see her."
Joe nodded. "I believe you." He put his paper napkin on the table, and stood.
Mimi watched him stand. "Then what's wrong?"
"To be perfectly honest, Mimi, I don't really know." Joe stood at the table, and looked down at Mimi. "It's obviously my problem, and I'm just going to have to figure out what it is."
Mimi stood, and Joe stepped back in avoidance.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to class now."
Mimi sat back down hesitantly, and looked at her lap. "I'm leaving tomorrow at seven. I don't know what gate..."
"Yeah." Joe put on his blazer jacket, and then his suede jacket over it. "Get back to class, okay?"
Mimi didn't get eye-contact with Joe, but nodded.
Joe left without a goodbye, and without ever touching his sandwich. Mimi looked across the table at it, and she too had lost her appetite.
Matt eyed his glass as he filled it midway with coke. He looked across the table, and looked to Joe.
They were sitting in the Ishida apartment's dining room, at the tiny table. After Matt heard the news from Sora about Mimi's quick trip to America, it didn't surprise him to see Joe wandering near his apartment. The upperclassman never liked showing up anywhere uninvited, although Matt extended a standing invitation a long while back to him.
Joe's tall frame was wilted over the flimsy chair opposite Matt. He rested one arm over his lap, his collar was unbuttoned, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His legs were stretched out below the table, and his eyes were closed.
"Dude." Matt said in awe at his sloppy friend. "Hey, you aren't asleep, are you?"
"No. I'm clearing my mind." Joe's monotonous drawl emerged from his barely-moving lips. He kept his eyes closed, his entire body limp.
Matt reached over to lift his glass, and shook around the ice in it. "It's just a week, man."
"It's not that. It's deeper than that." Joe replied. "It'll come to me. I'm missing why I'm upset."
"Because you don't want her to go. That's a no-brainer." Matt sipped his soda.
"Every rational bone in my body is against that. I know she'll be back soon." Joe sighed. "I have to figure out what it is before seeing her off, or I'll go nuts."
"Love isn't rational, Joe." Matt smirked. "Anyone could tell you that."
Joe opened his eyes, and rose his eyebrows. "Sorry, but not everyone's life is a love song, Matt." He closed them again, and sunk further into his chair. "You'll have to look for inspiration somewhere else."
Matt frowned, and stood from the table. "Just so you know, we're going to see her off at gate seventeen tomorrow."
Joe didn't reply. Matt noticed, but didn't say anything. He walked over to the entertainment system, and sat in front of the CD case.
"It'll be beyond weird if you don't show up this time around."
Joe opened his eyes halfway. "Oh?"
"Yeah. I'd have to say it'd be pretty darn shallow of you." Matt's tone got a little coarser by the end of the sentence.
"I don't remember asking you." Joe retuned the tone.
"Fine. Keep pouting." Matt sighed back.
"I'm not pouting. I'm being lonely." Joe crossed his ankles.
Matt smirked, and stood. He returned to his seat across from Joe, and leaned on the table. "Us lonely guys are supposed to have it easy."
"...yeah, well..."
"...I think the hard part comes when we realize that it's time to give up the lonely life." Matt eyed Joe with a knowing smile. "Don'tcha think?"
Joe looked across to Matt, his soft dark eyes being penetrated through by Matt's sharp blue, almost clear eyes.
Matt shrugged, and made an easygoing smile. He laughed, and walked back to the table. "Hey, I didn't neccessarily mean right this second, though." He held up his glass of coke at the top rim. "Wanna enjoy your last night of loneliness?"
Joe sat up, not smiling, but being agreeable. He picked up his glass of ice water, "Why not?" They harshly tapped their glasses together over the table. "To never-present fathers."
"And annoying-as-hell brothers."
"Who don't have nearly the amount of girl problems we do." Joe said before bringing his glass to his lips. "Bless their hearts." He sarcastically slipped.
Matt snorted a laugh. "Feel better now?"
"A bit, yeah." Joe set down his glass. "For a little while, at least."
"Well, I hope you figure yourself out before tomorrow. I'll hang you by Tokyo Tower myself if I have to face another disappointed departure on Mimi's part."
Joe nodded. "Yeah."
The two young men sat across from each other without an exchange of words for a good amount of time. Matt leaned back, and folded his arms. "You aren't seriously considering a no-show, are you?"
"What?" Joe rose his voice an octave.
Izzy pushed the door open to the Ishida apartment with his side, both of his arms being full with grocery bags. "I have arrived!" He trumpeted his enterance with the motive of receiving some assistance.
Matt left Joe alone for a moment to help Izzy with the groceries. He took a bag, and spoke in a hushed tone. "Thanks."
"Why the whispering?" Izzy followed Matt into the dining room, and looked to Joe.
Joe sat up, and a smile crept onto his face. "What's this?" He stood, and met with Izzy in the middle. He peered into one of the bags, and then gave Izzy a cocky grin. "Went over to the Inoue grocery store, hmm...?"
Izzy tightened his grip on the grocery bag, and pulled away from Joe. Haughtily, he walked over to the table to set the bag down. "Don't even joke about that."
Mat snickered, and leaned on Joe's shoulder. "How was your date with Yolei yesterday?"
Izzy pulled out a bag of chips, and set them on the table.
"Hmm?" both Matt and Joe blinked in curiousity.
Izzy slowly looked up to the two older young men, a morbidly dark glare on his face. "Horrible." He said in a deeply dangerous tone.
Joe and Matt both tensed, a little shaken by Izzy's delivery of his answer.
"...that bad, huh?" Matt sweatdropped.
Joe laughed a bit, and timidly walked to the table. He picked up a bottle of soda, and a bag of snack-sized chocolates. "What's this stuff?"
Matt pulled up another chair to the table, and took a seat. "Just some snacks to get us through the next hour."
Joe cracked another sideways smile, and shook his head. "You're kidding me."
Izzy grinned, and opened one of the soda bottles, "The Joe Kido Support Group, at your service!"
Joe laughed. "You guys are too much."
"And you still love us!" Matt gave Joe a hearty slap on the back, to which Joe flinched a bit, but grinned through it.
"We're not going to let you leave this apartment until we can rest confident that we'll be seeing you at the airport tomorrow." Izzy held up his index finger, and shook it at Joe a few times.
Joe sat with the other two, and shrugged. "...of course I'll be at the airport tomorrow."
The two watched Joe open a bag of chips.
"...what would be accomplished by my not being there?" Joe casually put a chip in his mouth. "Last time wasn't on purpose, and I certainly wouldn't do it again on purpose."
The three spent an hour at the table talking about various things--filling Matt in about the predicament Izzy found himself in with Yolei, particularly.
Izzy didn't bring up the phone conversation between him and Joe. He wanted to know if he should've bet with them at the park, but it was a question to ask in private.
"Eath to Izzy! We've lost contact!" Matt waved a hand in front of Izzy's face, and Izzy snapped to attention.
Joe smiled good-naturedly. "Something else is on your mind, I see."
"...oh...?" Izzy blinked, and straightened up. "Oh! What?"
Matt had been standing by Izzy's seat, and put a hand on his waist. "I'm kicking you two out, I'm afraid. Dad'll be home soon, and I haven't started dinner yet."
Izzy stood, and Joe had already packed up the grocery bags.
"My, my! What a grand housewife you'll be, Matt!" Joe teased.
Matt forced a laugh, and led them to the door. "Out, out..."
"Homemaker of the Year!" Izzy teased along, supressing a laugh.
"Ha, ha, guys. See you tomorrow." Matt kept the door open a crack. "Seven o' clock. Gate seventeen. Be early."
"Yes, mom!" both boys chimed as Matt shut the door with a grumble.
Izzy and Joe were quiet for about five minutes from Matt's apartment.
"I think you need to be asking if your date went well." Izzy warmly opened up a conversation. He looked to Joe, who seemed to smile for a moment, but it abruptly faded.
"It wasn't a date."
"No?" Izzy rose his eyebrows, and looked up to the sky. "Oh."
"Believe me, I--"
"I believe you."
"..." Joe paused, and then finished his sentence. "I'll tell you if it's ever a date."
"Why the 'if'?" Izzy held onto the grocery bags with both hands.
"...I just don't know, Izzy. I'm still not clear on this entire thing. About tomorrow...about yesterday. Or today." Joe sighed. "After today...I don't see how I can look at her."
Izzy furrowed his brow. "That bad?"
Joe shook his head. "Not her. Me."
Izzy looked forward. "Mmh..."
The two were quiet again. They made their way to the Kido apartment. Jim and Mr. Kido were both absent from the household, so they had the apartment to themselves.
Izzy noticed Joe pause by the kitchen, and heard him sigh softly as he took a lingering look at the sink full of dirty dishes. Joe shook his head, and headed back to his bedroom.
Izzy followed him back, and rested the groceries in the doorway. Joe stood in front of his bed, where there stood a stack of laundry. He picked it up, and set it on top of his desk. He pulled out his wallet, and put it with his cell phone next to his clothes.
Izzy sat on Joe's bed, and saw resting against Joe's desk chair an empty briefcase. He saw a pile of textbooks scattered on the floor with a spread-out bunch of papers and dull pencils.
"Seeing Matt and me..." Joe casually said, counting the shirts folded neatly on his desk, "...must make you grateful to have a woman in the house."
"I can't say I envy you." Izzy sympathetically smiled.
Joe sighed again.
"What are you thinking?"
Joe looked up from his shirts, he could've sworn he heard Mimi in his thoughts. He turned around, and saw Izzy looked at him. "Did you say something?"
"I asked you what you were thinking." Izzy repeated.
Joe turned back to his clothes, and mentally scolded himself for being so high-strung. "I was thinking what the different results would be of my actions..." he looked up, and smiled. "If Is howed up, I would probably directly shun her, and publically embarass her."
"Why would you do that?" Izzy asked.
"I don't know. I just can't understand myself right now..." Joe smiled bitterly to himself. "I see what's happening, and I don't like it. I don't like how I'm feeling, how I'm reacting. I want to be better than this."
Izzy frowned in concern.
"...I can't face her when I'm where I am at right now. I've got to change myself--this self who wants to get mad at her. I won't let her go to America with her image of me like this."
"He's not going to come."
Yolei's eyes were wide in shock as she heard Mimi's soft words from across her room.
"I can feel it. I upset him way too much." Mimi rolled up a pair of khaki pants as tightly as she could, and packed it against a pair of rolled up jeans in her suitcase.
"Really, Mimi." Kari was standing at Mimi's vanity, putting Mimi's makeup in a separate bag, She put a bottle of foundation in carefully, and set a tiny box of loose powder next to it. "Shouldn't you exercise a little more faith in Joe? I mean, we all get upset sometimes."
"I know that, but..." Mimi held up a lavender ribbed turtleneck, and pulled one of the sleeves across the length of her arm. "...I can't say I'd blame him. I'm only going for two weeks--not even a month! Right?!" She rolled the turtleneck up, and put it in her bag. "He's so busy with college, he probably'll have some big project to work on or something."
Sora pulled out a nightgown from Mimi's chest of drawers. She looked to Mimi, and made an aggressive frown of disapproval. "But it's different this time. You're going all the way to New York by yourself."
"So? I've traveled enough, I'll be fine!" Mimi laughed. "I'm not a baby anymore!"
Sora watched Mimi stuff the turtleneck into her bag.
"He sure could've handled it better, though." she mutered, keeping her eyes lowered on her packing. "He should be sympathetic."
Yolei hadn't said a word the entire time. She looked over to the digital clock on Mimi's bedside table, and quietly stood.
The other three girls looked up.
"Yolei?" Kari gently asked.
"..." Yolei paused, looking to the floor. "I should head home." She said with an unusually sedate tone.
Mimi blinked. "...of course. Thanks for helping."
"I'll show myself out..." Yolei bowed briefly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mimi..."
The girls silently watched Yolei leave the room, and Mimi didn't wait a second longer before speaking.
"Poor Yolei--I'm only visiting, why's she so bummed?" Mimi kept her voice low.
"It's not that." Sora brought Mimi a stack of pajamas and undergarments.
"Yolei feels like she failed because you and Joe are fighting, when she trid so hard to set you guys up yesterday." Kari still sounded calm and serious, and then she realized her slipup. She quickly turned back to Mimi's makeup bag.
"Kari, you knew?!" Sora rose her voice and Mimi started laughing before the youngest could answer.
"Is that all?!" Mimi laughed louder. "Poor girl! That's not it at all!"
"You know how it is with Yolei." Sora knelt next to Mimi, and helped her with her suitcase. "She just can't leave anything until it's fixed to her ideal."
Joe had left Izzy in his bedroom to answer the door. It was a bit early for the Chinese they ordered to be here, so he took the responsibility to see who it was.
His throat tightened when he saw a tired-looking and teary-eyed Yolei in his doorway. "Yolei? What are you--"
Yolei stepped towards him, and he backed further into his apartment with a gasp. Yolei clasped her hands together, and stepped into the apartment.
"Promise me you'll be there tomorrow!" she exclaimed loud enough for Izzy to hear her from the back.
Joe sputtered in surprise, and turned away form Yolei with an uncomfortable blush.
"Mimi's convinced that you're so mad that you won't show up tomorrow!" Yolei was on the brink of sobs, which wasn't surprising for such an emotional girl.
Izzy got up frm Joe's bed, and crept down the hallway to eavesdrop on the two.
"You should leave." Joe gently put a hand on Yolei's shoulder, and began to usher her out.
Yolei shrugged away in a rush. "Why do you make it so difficult?! I was told that you got braver growing up! I don't see it!" Yolei rose her voice louder. "You still hide behind your glasses! You're still a wimp!"
Izzy furrowed his brow, and watched the two stare each other down for a moment.
"...are you through?" Joe calmly asked, not using a demeaning tone at all.
Yolei's angry, twisted face softened. She lowered her fists. "...yeah. I guess so." She put a hand to her forehead, and turned around to face the door.
"I had already come to that conclusion on my own, Yolei." Joe put a slender hand on his apartment door, and leaned on it. "Go home, you have a full day tomorrow."
Yolei took off her glasses, and wiped them. "I just had to get that off of my chest."
"Yeah, well..." Joe drifted off, looking behind his shoulder to look for Izzy. "G'night."
Yolei nodded as Joe shut the door. She rubbed one of her eyes, and slipped her glasses back on. Dragging her feet, she passed by the elevator to take the stairs.
Joe sighed, and leaned on the door for a moment. He straightened up, and walked over to the kitchen, to the dirty dishes. He turned on the water, and held his hand under the tap. He let it run over an unpluged sink for a moment, and walked back to his bedroom.
"No sign of the Chinese food yet." Joe said as he entered to a vacant room. "...wh..?" He looked around of Izzy, and passed the unlit bathroom in the hallway as he made his way back to the living room. "Izzy?"
He looked around the kitchen and living room, and stopped when he saw the door hanging open. "..." He walked over to the door, and smiled as he took the handle. "Crazy." He muttered as he pulled the door shut. He walked back to the kitchen, and half-wittedly stuck his hand back under the running water, not taking any notice to the steam wafting from the tap.
He made a wild yelp, and clutched his wrist, pulling it away from beneath the scalding water in a panic. He backed away from his sink, jamming the back of his ankle into the cabinets behind him.
He crouched over now, balancing on one foot and wincing in pain. He straightened up, and in a frustrated outburst, slammed his hand down on the faucet, shutting off the water. The pile of dishes shook and clattered in reaction to the force he used, and Joe let out a pathetic sigh as a few dishes toppled over each other. He leaned over the sink, resting his arms on the rim.
Even in the 50-degree temperature, Yolei felt as though her face had been horribly sunburnt. She sniffed every few seconds to keep her nose from running. She had just walked outside of Joe's apartment building, and she was going to go home. She had done alls he could do. All she could think of, anyway. That was legal.
Yolei's thoughts were cut short when she walked face-first into someone facing opposite her direction. It was a pretty rough hit, and she was disoriented as it was, so it didn't take much to push her over. She fell back on the paved sidewalk, and hissed. She looked up, expecting a hand to help her up, but the air was void of such sentiment.
Yolei looked up further still, and saw Izzy looking down at her in disapproval. "Izzy! Of all people!" She frowned, and let herself up. She dusted off her pants, and tried to huff her way by. "Excuse me, I'm in no mood to freeze this evening."
Izzy stepped in front of her, and frowned harder. "You're selfish."
"Excuse me!" Yolei tried to dodge the other way, but Izzy stepped aside to block her still. "Let me by, Izzy!"
"You have got to be the most self-centered person I've ever met! Where do you think you were headed, going off like that with Joe?!" Izzy's characteristic arch in his brow appeared as he managed to just barely tower over Yolei.
Yolei tried to stiff upper-lip and not show any intimidation by Izzy's persecution.
"He feels lousy enough without you hovering over him like some vulture!" Izzy extended an arm, his hot breath forming clouds with every word.
"What about the long-term effects?!" Yolei spouted out. "What'll happen when she comes back?!"
Izzy lowered his arm, his face appearing to be a bit more inquisitive than upset now.
Yolei's eyes began to water again, and she lowered her face to hid any signs of vulnerability. She blinked them back the best she could, and spoke again. "They'll be worse off than they were when they first met...and you know I'm not being ridiculous!"
Izzy noticed a tear fall onto the cement, but he still spoke with a hardness that was unwavering. "We can't force them into doing anything that would make them uncomfortable."
"I thought...if I could just make one of them go out on a limb for the other--it'd all work out!" Yolei looked at her palms, and they begant to blur as her eyes watered more. "...but neither of them want to even talk about the other...!" Yolei quickly took off her glasses, and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "It makes me so mad!!" She said that in a murmer, and sniffed again.
Izzy watched Yolei put her glasses back on, and she sniffed some more, dabbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
"What do you think will make them make amends?" Izzy gently asked, not wanting to make her cry more than she had to.
"I dunno--! Do you think I'd be out here bawling my eyes out to Mister I-Couldn't-Care-Less if I knew?!" Yolei's voice was shaky, and her tears were now losing control in all of her annoyance.
Izzy sighed, and let his shoulders sag. "Of course I care, I just think they need to figure this out on their own." He tried to pull down Yolei's hand from rubbing her eyes, to discourage the crying.
Yolei aggressively pulled away her hand from Izzy's grip, to which Izzy drew his hand back. Instead, Yolei forcefully rested her forehead on Izzy's collarbone, and started crying.
Mimi held up a pencil, and waved it around in the air. "Last caaaall---!"
"I want something from the Museum of Art!!" Kari was giddy as Mimi entered the girl's request in her palm pilot.
"Museum...of...Art..." Mimi looked up. "Next!"
"Get a DVD of some recent American movie!" Sora clapped her hands together, "And record some episodes of 'Friends' while there!"
"Not a probby! I knew you guys could keep me busy while away." Mimi closed her palm pilot. "I'll make sure I get it all done before the week's up."
The sight Mimi took in had an eerie familiarity to it. She stood at the gate with her purse and carry-on, getting a final look of her companions before parting ways.
...but this wasn't final. Just for a week, right?! Right. Besides, she promised everyone that she'd personally bring back a souvenir for each of them.
The scene was different. There were more people than last time--her parents were being left behind on this trip to America.
Mimi didn't understand why her emotional mother was so teary-eyed, but she couldn't honestly say it surprised her.
Mimi sent an encouraging smile in the direction of Yolei, Cody, and Davis. They realized the irony of the scene--it ws repetitive of the time Mimi moved to America years ago.
Yolei was hardly appreciative of it, however, and Cody looked on with an understated look of concern.
Mimi's smile faded, and her eyes shifted back to Izzy and Matt. A grin spread across her face, and she spoke with a bubbly tone. "Hey, any idea what I shold get for Joey-boy, or should I just use my fantabulous taste?"
Both boys blinked, and looked to each other blankly. Matt shifted all of his weight onto his right foot, and stuck his hands into the pockets of his sleek thigh-length trenchcoat. Izzy leaned on his left foot, and folded his arms uncomfortably, lowering his head--either in shame or in thought, Mimi couldn't tell.
T.K. and Kari both looked to their brothers, and Kari took Tai's arm, and nudged him. "Say something!" she hissed.
Tai sputtered, and looked to his feet as he triedt o come up with something to say to draw the attention off of the obvious.
Yolei squinted angrily, and clenched her teeth to keep from talking.
The silence was getting nearly unbearable. Even Davis was at a loss for words.
"Hmm?" Mimi's eyebrows were arched, and--well, she looked downright perky.
Sora put a hand on Mimi's shoulder, and tilted her head with a shrug. "It hink he'd be happy just having you back soon."
Izzy stepped next to Yolei as Mimi laughed at Sora in reply:
"Give me a break! He's gotta want something from America! Want it or not, I've gotta buy him something!"
"How about some cologne?" Kari held up an index finger, and grinned at the light-hearted change-of-pace.
"Are you kidding? He'll give me that look he always does--" Mimi slipped on her sunglasses, and folded her arms. She looked at Kari over the rim of her sunglasses, similar to the way Joe had a habit of doing, and spoke in a dry, sarcastic tone. "What, so you're saying I smell bad?"
The three girls laughed.
"That sounds just like him!"
"How did you do that?"
"I guess spending all that time with him has me tapped into his psyche!"
"Scary..."
"Next thing you know, you'll be finishing each other's sentences!"
"Why not make the best of the situation?" Izzy quietly spoke to Yolei.
"How can I? He's not here!" Yolei hissed back. She paused, and looked to Cody. She covered his ears, and glared up to Izzy. "I'm thinking about Mimi, hre! Not a particular upper-classman with a supposedly conflicting schedule."
Izzy glared back at Yolei, and noticed that Cody watched the two of them calmly, not showing any signs of resistance. Izzy glared back up at Yolei. "Now I think it's your turn to be sympathetic."
Yolei pulled her hands off of Cody's ears, and pushed up her glasses. "You can't convince me otherwise. Joe is now lower than dirt in my book."
Izzy paused, and looked back to Mimi and the others laughing. "You act as though it doesn't upset me."
Yolei's pout faded from her face, and she grew attentive as Izzy's voice softened quieter.
"It's painful having to see this happen for a second time...Mimi cloaking her hurt like this." Izzy faded off.
Yolei lowered her eyes, and saw Izzy's fists at his side. He stuck them into his pockets, and Yolei looked back up to Izzy, whose mouth was pulled to a thin line.
"...and this time, it's almost certain it wasn't an accident."
Yolei took heed of Izzy's words, and noticed the expression on the young men's faces. Tai and Matt were the worst at hiding their displeasure. They exchanged a quick glance once, but avoided all eye-contact otherwise.
"I just don't get it...where could Joe be?" Davis whispered to Tai.
Tai shook his head. "Stuck in traffic? I dunno..."
T.K. watched his brother's behavior with keen interest, his soft expression one of understanding.
Cody listened to Izzy and Yolei converse, not really letting on how much he was really listening.
"The difference between us is--I can forgive him."
Yolei brought her attention back to Izzy.
"I'm not in his situation." Izzy added.
"So you're saying you would've done the same." Yolei rose her eyebrows.
"Possibly."
Yolei huffed. "Then you're both dipwads." She growled.
Izzy looked ot her in the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry."
Yolei slowly turned her head to look at him, but his eyes were back on the three girls giggling together, as though Mimi was going on an exciting dream trip.
Mimi noticed the line at her gate breaking up. "I better get on before I miss out here."
"Have a good flight, Mimi!" Sora hugged Mimi cheerfully (and tearlessly).
"Sure I will! First class all the way!" Mimi made a fist, and as Sora pulled away, Mimi bent down to pick up her carry-on. She looked to the group, and smiled wider. "See you in a week!"
Kari waved. "Send postcards!"
"You betchas!" Mimi called over her shoulder as she briskly walked to the gate's door.
"...there she goes..." T.K. sighed.
"Yup." Matt seconded.
Mimi handed the steward her ticket, and smiled to him. As it was being checked, she looked back to the group, her eyes searching the crowds for a lanky teenager in a sports jacket, trenchcoat, and nice leather shoes. She saw none of the kind, and looked back to her friends to look at them one more time before turning her back on them, and step closer to her American voyage. She flashed them all a smile, and she turned back to the steward to thank him as he handed back her ticket stub. She walked into the terminal, and stopped again, risking her dignity to see one last time if Joe had really "stood her up". Slowly, she looked over her shoulder, praying that he would show up at the last moment...his pale face flushed a bright red, his perfectly combed jet-black hair in a wind-blown mess, hanging in his eyes...
His jacket would be unbuttoned, his trenchcoat brushing the back of his knees. The ties would be uneven, hanging loosely at his sides. The sleeves would have wide cuffs reaching the first knuckle of his thumb--he would be running--and trot to a stop at Matt's side, panting for breath. He would've made it at the last second, and of course she'd be angry. But the arguement would wait until she got back. She'd smile to herself, and spend her time in America daydreaming about how it would go when she got back...their arguement. They'd bicker a little, not seriously, of course. Just enough to make him apologize. then they'd admit how they're both glad that she's back in Japan, and things would be simple again.
No such luck. Joe, as she suspected, was no where to be seen. Things like that usually happened when she hoped too hard. She turned back around, and walked onto the plane, flooding her mind with memories of America. The stores, the restaurants, the atmosphere...
...aah...the beautiful, richly romantic atmosphere...
"If Mimi smiled any harder , her face would've cracked." Matt muttered.
"That's just her way." Tai shrugged.
"Quit it, guys. Let's try to leave with a positive attitude." Sora scolded.
"Sure. I'm positive that it was intentional." Tai took a final glance at the gate before turning around.
Kari took her brother by the arm, and pointed at the window. "Let's watch it go off, big brother."
"..." Tai shrugged, and walked over to the window with the whole group.
Yolei kept a straight face watching the plane back out. Izzy's expression wasn't terribly different from Yolei's but his displeasure was a little more hidden.
Cody sighed as the place began to accelerate in the runway. "Airports must be one of the saddest places on earth." He quietly muttered as he was accompanied at his side. He looked up, his eyes going round.
"Joe!" Izzy quietly said as the other chosen children all noticed his silent arrival.
He watched the airplane lift into the air with the others, his hands casually in his coat pockets.
Yolei looked to him. Everything looked perfectly in place--not a thread, not a hair off. She frowned, her temper boiling. "Where were you?!"
"Yolei--!" Izzy quickly restrained Yolei by taking her shoulder.
"Let her talk." Tai folded his arms. "I bet she's got plenty to say."
"Tai!" Kari hissed to her big brother.
"You just missed out on your chance to say goodbye to Mimi!" Yolei pulled away from Izzy, and stepped towards Joe. "You just blew your chance at a happy resolution!"
Joe looked at Yolei with a solumn face. "I won't say 'goodbye', okay?"
"You're so selfish! Do you not see why what you're doing is wrong?!" Yolei's pitch rose, and she stopped in mid-breath. She looked to Izzy, the words having a familiar ring.
Izzy's arms were folded, his expression a little surprised, and, actually, impressed.
"I don't see how you can fix this, Joe." Matt calmly took over for Yolei. "Mimi was pretty hurt."
Joe looked up to Matt, his face a bit remorseful. He took his hands out of his pockets, and held out his right hand, a stub of paper sticking out from in-between his fingers.
"But I'm catching the next flight out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was going to end it here. But nooooo...some little Larzy-san had to go and start this whiiiiiiining thing...so there will be more. I just dunno when.
My goal--20 reviews! Please tell your friends about this story! I would like more reviews to spur me onward with my writing! It's your reviews that keep me writing! And be detailed! Give me favorite scenes, lines, etc! And do you guys like the Kouyako in it? ^^ Review, please!
Until February (whee! February 18th is my 18th birthday! Mark calendars!!! ^.-)
~Mimi-chan