He Said, She Said
by Trish


"I'm not asking you to say anything. I just want you to listen."
-Quistis (Final Fantasy VIII)

iv. pink haired girls

Matt hadn't come to work for three days straight. Maeda let him get away with it only because he worked overtime so often. But since Matt was gone, Maeda had me do all the things he usually did when he was here.

Understandably, I grew to... Not quite hate him, exactly... But I was beginning to fantasize about assorted heavy objects falling from the sky and smashing him into the pavement. His friends came by more often. They asked me questions about him; assuming that since we worked together I would have some special insight. I didn't really know what to tell them. I was tempted to confide my 'Matt-loving-Mimi' suspicions, but since they were all just hunches right now, I decided it would probably be better not to put weird ideas in their heads.

Then, on Wednesday, a girl I'd never seen before showed up at the arcade\restaurant. I'm pretty familiar with all the kids in the area, but this girl's face was new.

She had pink hair, which was definitely the kind of thing you would remember seeing, even in this day and age. The girl was exceptionally pretty and had amber eyes and a warm smile. She craned her head this way and that as soon as she entered through the sliding doors, clearly looking for someone. Either that, or she was trying to find the new Bloody Rage IV arcade machine (in which case, she was going to have to wait until it arrived next week).

"Can I help you?" I asked.

The girl was startled and shook her head, "No, no... I'm just looking for someone. He works here." She seemed extremely nervous, "You'd probably know him, uh... Ishida Yamato?"

I laughed, sardonically, "Oh sure, I know him."

The bitterness wasn't lost on her, "O-oh... Are you his... ex-girlfriend?"

I didn't know whether to laugh or be sick. Who asks a question like that? "No. Oh God no... He just works most of the same shifts that I do." I couldn't help but tease her when I saw the obvious relief on her face, "Why? Are YOU one of his ex-girlfriends?"

She blushed furiously, shaking her head, "Oh, no! No, I'm just... I'm a friend, and I'm concerned for him. There was this party he was supposed to be at and he never showed..." She trailed off, "Sorry," she apologized, "I know you weren't asking or anything..."

"It's no problem," I insisted, "If something's wrong with Yamato I'd like to help if I could."

She stared at me for a long time, as if trying to figure out something. I think she was determining whether or not I was a threat to her and her feelings for Matt (whatever they might be). "Well, I don't know myself." She said, finally, "I suspect that we're no
longer friends, though." Her eyes cast downwards, and I suddenly felt a rush of sympathy for this girl I didn't know.

I mean, ouch! It would be just like Yama-kun to do... To brush off a girl so obviously in love with him.

"Oh, sorry," she said, bowing slightly, "I've been rude. I'm Tachikawa Mimi." She held out a hand for me to shake, but at the time all I could do was stare at it.

So this was the infamous Tachikawa Mimi?