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The next morning at the Izumi home...
"Today is definitely going to be a tiring day for us!" Mrs. Izumi said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She then poured a cup for her husband. "We definitely need this coffee!"
"Thank you," Mr. Izumi said, accepting the coffee.
Mrs. Izumi started to sip on her coffee.
"We stayed out late last night, went to the movies, went out for ice cream, acting like a couple of children..."
"Yeah, but it was fun!" Mr. Izumi said as he opened the morning paper.
"Do you think we should've brought some icecream back for Koushirou? Since he wasn't with us, I didn't even think about it..."
"Nah," he laughed. "Koushirou likes the strangest combinations of ice cream toppings--caramel, lots of jellybeans, chocolate sprinkles, sweet cherries, avacados, and who knows what else!"
"That's definitely a strange combo! He would have to come along with us for all of the toppings he likes!"
"I always wondered where he could have gotten that from...his mother or his father..."
The woman got quiet.
"Yeah, I wonder..."
"Wow, most of these stocks are down today," Mr. Izumi said nervously as he turned to business section of the paper, trying to ease the tension by changing the subject.
"Yeah..."
"Shouldn't Koushirou be up by now?" Mr. Izumi asked, putting his paper down.
Mrs. Izumi looked over at the clock.
"Yeah, you're right! He should be!"
The woman faced the hallway which led to Koushirou's room.
"Koushirou, breakfast! It is time for you to get ready for school!" she shouted down the hall.
"I'm surprised he isn't up. He must have stayed out later than we thought after we specifically said not to!"
"But he got home before we did," Mrs. Izumi informed him.
"But we didn't check up on him last night after we came in."
"Weren't you the one who insisted on me not checking up on my little angel since you said that he is a grown boy now?" Mrs. Izumi asked while giving her husband a playful smirk.
"Oh yeah," he laughed with a sweat drop.
"Besides, his shoes were by the door when we got here. I noticed them."
"Do you think he could have snuck out?"
"No, our Koushirou wouldn't do a thing like that."
"Yeah, but who knows what's going through his mind now. He is older now. He's going to be 15 later on this year."
"I know, but I still see him as my little boy..."
"I know, I know, but a boy Koushirou's age needs his privacy. We can not keep checking up on him like he's a five year old."
"I guess you're right, but it is strange that he isn't up yet. I'm going to get him."
The woman got up and walked off towards Koushirou's room...
****
Koushirou was laying down in bed, sleeping soundly. His alarm
went off, but since he was in such a deep slumber, he didn't even hear
it. His mother heard the alarm and knocked on the door.
"Koushirou, Koushirou, dear," the woman asked, a bit worried. "Is everything all right in there?"
The boy sat up and rubbed his eyes. He finally heard his alarm going off and he also heard his mother knocking.
"Hi mom," the boy yawned and stretched.
The boy looked over at his alarm clock and saw the time and literally screamed.
"Oh no! I'm late!"
The boy hurried to get himself ready for school. All Mrs. Izumi saw was a redheaded blur zoom past her right into the bathroom. She smiled and went back to where her husband was.
"Well?" the man asked.
"He just overslept, although, that's not like him," the woman said while taking her seat. "He has always been quite punctual. What if something is wrong! What if it is the pregnancy again! What if he really disapproves of our having a child!" the woman panicked.
"Yoshie, you worry too much. I am sure it is nothing. Are you feeling guilty again?"
"Very guilty," the woman sighed as she stared down into her coffee cup. "A part of me wants to tell Koushirou about his adoption, but..."
"If we told him about his adoption, we would lose him!"
"What do you mean?"
"We would lose him," he said again. "He would go off in search of his real family if we told him!"
"But they're dead!"
"He would still go out looking regardless, maybe even feeling unwanted by us since we aren't his real family! This is Koushirou we're talking about here and knowing our luck, he would probably find some family member that was overlooked when the adoption agency was trying to place him with a family! That boy was a blessing to us, and I love that boy like he was my very own! I don't want to lose him!"
"But..."
"Let's wait a while longer before we tell him, after he has finished with Junior High and High School. I would feel better if we waited a while longer before telling him."
The woman wasn't all that thrilled of the idea, but she too felt that Koushirou was a blessing to them and she didn't want to lose him either.
"I guess you're right, we will wait," the woman said reluctantly.
Mrs. Izumi started to sip on her coffee again.
"I know this is wrong. We really ought to tell him that he is adopted. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to tell him when the time comes. What if he ends up hating us for not telling him earlier? What if we lose him!" the woman asked herself. She then shook her head. "No, I can not think that way. I'll just do as Masami says. If he feels we should wait, then I will have to go along with it, no matter how much I may disagree with him..."
Right at that moment, Koushirou walked in with his school books and dressed in his school uniform, oblivious to the conversation that was just discussed a moment earlier between Mr. and Mrs. Izumi.
"Hi guys! Sorry, but I can't eat any breakfast."
"But I made your favorite. Fried eggs with jellybeans and mustard."
*Note: I just found out that for the original, Koushirou says that he likes wine vinegar with his eggs in the 01 ep where everyone was talking about how they like their eggs prepared. Thanks to those at the WtW message board for informing of that. ^_^*
"I'm sorry, but I'm really late," Koushirou said while hugging his mother.
"Sit down young man!" Mrs. Izumi sternly ordered.
The boy had never heard his mother get stern with him before so he obeyed her and sat down, mostly out of fear.
"Eat something! It's not good to go to school with an empty stomach!"
"I could pick something up on the way."
"I guess..."
Koushirou noticed how upset his mother was getting, like her feelings were hurt, so he decided to eat.
"Hey, son, why are you so tired?" Mr. Izumi asked. He then laughed and said, "Don't tell us that you're sneaking out after curfew."
Koushirou thought for a moment. He had really spent the entire night trying to figure out a way to break into the Hikarigaoka Adoption Agency's database, still not having any luck or accomplishing anything. He then thought of a lie.
"I was doing some research and stayed up later than I anticipated. I am very sorry and I promise never to do it again."
"We'll let it slide this time," the man smiled. "School work is important. Now go on and run off to school."
"But he didn't finish his breakfast!"
"He'll be late," Mr. Izumi said as he took out his wallet. He went through his wallet and took out some money. "Here, take this," he said as he handed the money to Koushirou. "Buy yourself some breakfast today and if you want, you can buy lunch instead of carrying it today."
"Masami, I like making him lunches!"
"She's going through those mood swings already? I thought it would have been too early for that. If she is like this and it is just her first month, what is she going to be like weeks from now!" Mr. Izumi asked himself fearfully. He then turned to his wife and said, "Don't worry about it. Let him buy just this once. It's not often he buy his lunch anyway."
"Okay, if you say so," the woman said while standing up. "I'm going to my room now, I'm a bit tired." She then forced on a smile and said, "Have a nice day at school, Koushirou."
Koushirou didn't know what was going on and nodded. He then ran out of the house to avoid being later than what he already was.
"Yoshie, what's the matter?"
"I don't know," the woman sighed. "When you gave him that money, I just felt as if he, I don't know, didn't like my cooking!"
"Koushirou does appreciate you and your cooking! He was willing to sit down here and eat just to show you that he cares about you."
"I'm sorry. I just don't know what is wrong with me. Sometimes I'm happy and then sometimes I just don't want to be bothered."
"Maybe I should stay home from work today."
"Nah, go on. I'll be fine. Besides, I have some budgeting to do since we are going to have a baby."
She smiled and gave him a hug.
"All right! I will see you this afternoon, but if you need anything, just call me."
"Hai," the woman nodded with a smile.
The man grabbed his things and took off, leaving Mrs. Izumi at home.
****
Koushirou made it to school, just in time. The gates were
just about to close when he got there. He hurried and ran to his
class. The poor boy was fighting sleep the entire time. He
was incredibly tired since he had stayed up the majority of the night pondering
over his situation.
Right now, they were sitting through their math class with Ms. Konishi. *Sitting in the same classroom the entire day was quite boring, so that wasn't helping Koushirou much. He only had a few more minutes 'til their break for lunch and his eyelids were pretty much closed. Sleeping in class was something he definitely didn't do. Taichi, sure, Daisuke, definitely, but not him. Luckily, for Koushirou, they were on a little break since everyone had finished their lessons early. Ms. Konishi told them to keep busy while she ran off to get something, so the classroom was "teacherless" as of the moment...
"Yo, Izumi, wake up!" a person shouted at Koushirou.
"Huh, what!" the boy said in alarm, jerking his head up. He then turned to see who had addressed him. "Oh, Ueda-san," he yawned sleepily.
"You nodded off and I couldn't hear anything that Konishi-sensei was saying over your snoring," Yuuji joked.
"Yeah, whatever, sorry," Koushirou muttered, not really paying attention.
"Seriously, though, what's wrong?" Yuuji asked, a bit concerned.
"Oh, I am fine," the boy said, trying to come up with something to tell Yuuji so he would leave him alone. "I'm just a little tired from hanging out at that karaoke bar last night."
"A karaoke bar?" Yuuji asked in shock. "You!?!"
"It wasn't my idea to go."
"Who asked you to go, then?"
"Mimi-san."
"Mimi!?! What about me!?! She didn't invite me!"
While Yuuji sat there and complained, Koushirou had tuned him out with his own thoughts...
"America? I was born in America? Did the Izumis know that when they adopted me? Why was I never told? I feel I have a right to know of my true birthplace!" Koushirou then sighed. "Why are they keeping all of this from me anyway? It just doesn't compute..."
"Izumi?"
"Oh, sorry."
"What is the deal?" Yuuji asked.
"Deal with what?"
"With you and Mimi?!?"
"Deal with Mimi-san?" Koushirou asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, Izumi. What's going on with you two!?!"
"Going on with us?"
"How long have you and Mimi-chan been a couple!"
"A what!?!" the boy shouted loudly.
All of the students looked over in Koushirou's direction, which caused the boy to blush nervously from the attention he was receiving. He then lowered his voice to talk with Yuuji.
"A couple?!?" Koushirou asked again in surprise. "You are joking, right?!?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I do not like Mimi-san in that way. We are only friends and nothing more." Koushirou then gave an exasperated sigh. "Why do people always think that anyway?"
"Probably because you two hang out together so much."
"If that isn't the dumbest thing I have ever heard," he muttered.
"Well, you two do hang out quite a bit."
"We are friends, that's all. Anyone else who thinks otherwise is obviously blind."
With that, the boy got up and left the room. It was almost time for their lunch break anyway. When Koushirou was walking out, his math teacher was walking back into the classroom.
"Izumi-kun?"
"Um, I need to be excused to go to the restroom," Koushirou lied.
With that, he left the petite sized teacher, who looked at Koushirou in a confused manner.
"Okay everyone, class dismissed. Enjoy lunch," the woman announced after Koushirou had walked out.
All of the students rushed out of the classroom to the lunchroom.
Koushirou had made his way there as well.
****
Mimi was sitting down with her usual group of friends in the lunchroom,
but was unusually quiet and was staring at a certain redheaded computer
genius, wondering and thinking of how he acted that previous night.
She hadn't noticed his behavior during class. Their seats weren't
all that close to one other, but she did hear him shout out in class,
but she didn't think anything of it.
"Koushirou, what's wrong with you?" the girl asked herself while staring at Koushirou. "Why won't you confide in me or the others?"
"Mimi-chan, Mimi-chan," a girl called, trying her best to get Mimi's attention. "What's wrong?"
"Huh, wha?" the girl asked, her thoughts being broken. "Oh, gomen, Ayame-chan. I didn't mean to space out like that."
The girl was sitting with her good friends, Ayame, Yuko, and Chinatsu. They were all in the Volleyball Club with Mimi and were pretty much with the popular crowd.
"Is something wrong, Mimi-chan?" Chinatsu asked.
"No, I'm fine," Mimi said, playing with her food. "I was just thinking of something."
"Or should we say someone," Mimi's friend, Yuko, teased.
"Na-nani?" Mimi asked nervously with a slight stutter.
"I saw you staring at that boy!" Yuko taunted.
"I was not staring at anyone," Mimi said in defense, with a nervous look.
"Yes you were!" Ayame said, vouching for Yuko. "You were staring over in that direction and the only person over there is that Izumi boy!"
Koushirou was sitting down at a table to himself eating his lunch. This was pretty much the normality for him. Mimi had offered for him to sit with her and her friends, but he always refused her. The same applied with Koushirou when anyone else would ask him to join them for lunch.
"Mimi-chan likes Izumi, Mimi-chan likes Izumi!" Yuko teased in singsong
"Be quiet!" Mimi said, turning red from embarassment and nervousness. "I do not like him! He is just a friend!"
"Then why were you staring at him like that?" Chinatsu queried.
"I'm a bit worried about him, okay," Mimi admitted, quieting, calming down a bit. "He is a friend."
"What's wrong with him?" Yuko asked, putting all of her mocking beside.
"I don't know," Mimi sighed. "He's been acting weird lately."
"No offense, but I've always found him to be a little...weird," Ayame said.
"He is not weird!" Mimi said, defending her redheaded friend. "He's just a bit quite and not too social. It's just hard for him to get close to anyone, I guess."
Before either of the girls could respond, they heard someone call, "Oye, Mimi!"
"Uh-oh," Ayame laughed. "Here comes the fan club of Mimi-chan!"
"Tomokazu and his cousin, Ueda," Yuko identified.
"Yeah, and of course her biggest admirers, Takamatsu and Hashimoto," Chinatsu added on.
"Lucky!" Yuko cried. "I wish I had those many boys interested in me!"
"Hello, Seki-kun, Yuuji-kun, Misao-kun, Ukyo-kun," Mimi greeted.
"Why not have yourselves a seat," Ayame asked the four boys sarcastically.
All four boys took a seat, trying to get extra close to Mimi, who ignored them pretty much and kept staring at Koushirou. She was terribly worried about him. She just knew something was bothering him and she wanted to help him out in any way possible, but how can she help him if he wouldn't allow himself to be helped...
"Hey, he's leaving!" Mimi said to herself while still staring after Koushirou. "I wonder where he's going..."
"Mimi-chan?" Misao asked, trying his best to get her attention.
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry guys. I think I'm going to cut my lunch a little bit short. I will catch you all back in class," Mimi informed them. She then turned her attention back towards the boys. "Yuuji-kun, do you have any idea what was wrong with Koushirou today during math class?"
"Nope," Yuuji said with a shrug. "He just slept during most of it."
"Strange, that does not sound like Koushirou. He isn't the type to sleep during class, even when the subject is really boring, like History," the girl said to herself. She then turned her attention back towards her friends. "Well, thanks. I'll see you all later."
The girl got up and took her tray of food to dump. She then walked off, hurriedly, in hopes of catching up with Koushirou.
"What's with her?" Ukyo asked after Mimi had left.
"Something about Izumi is bothering her," Ayame told him.
"Izumi?" Ukyo asked.
"The computer club president," Chinatsu reminded them.
"That nerdy guy?" Misao asked in surprise.
"Yep, she's concerned about him," Ayame said with a nod.
"She's always hanging out with Izumi! How can one of the most popular girls in school hang out with someone like him! There's nothing wrong with Izumi, they just seem like they're from two different worlds. Mimi-chan is outgoing, social, and popular and Izumi is, well, not." Yuuji then started to cry. "She even went out with him to a karoke bar last night!"
"It's not like it was just her and Izumi, they had their other friends with them too," Ayame muttered with a sweat drop from the way Yuuji was carrying on.
"She keeps turning down dates with me!" Seki cried.
"I wonder why," Yuko sarcastically responded.
"Urusai omae!" Seki said, giving Yuko a slightly annoyed look.
*Note: That phrase simply means, "Quiet you!" or pretty much a rude way of saying it. It probably means "shutup you" moreso*
"Maybe you guys are just too persistent," Yuko said.
"Persistent?" Misao asked.
"You guys come on too strong, I guess," Ayame said.
"Or maybe you're not her type," Chinatsu added on.
"And how would you all know?" Ukyo asked.
"We are her best friends you know," Yuko told them. "We know these things."
"Are you saying that Izumi is her type!" Seki asked, a bit worried.
"We didn't say that," Yuko slyly smirked.
"Tell us!" Ukyo demanded. "Tell us what she likes in a guy!"
"Hmm, I don't know if we should tell you..." Ayame started, as if she were thinking about considering telling them.
"Onegai!" all four boys practically begged.
"Let me discuss this over with my pals here," Ayame told the four. She then turned to both Yuko and Chinatsu. "Huddle!"
"So, what do you guys say?" Yuko asked in a whisper. "Should we have a little fun with them?"
"Why not," Chinatsu said, willing to make the guys look foolish. "It's not like we can tell them the truth. We don't even know what Mimi-chan likes in a guy. She's never really shown any interest in a particular one."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Ayame agreed. "Okay, so let's make some stuff up to make them look silly."
"What do we say?" Chinatsu asked.
"How about we make up stuff based on her Chosen friends, which she sometimes refer to as her Digidestined friends," Ayame suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Yuko snickered.
"How come she calls them her 'Digidestined friends'?" Chinatsu asked.
"I don't know," both Yuko and Ayame said together.
"She never did say, but she did introduce us to them before and I think she mentioned that Izumi was one too, which is probably why he went along with her to the karaoke bar last night," Ayame said. "I'm surprised she got someone like Izumi to go. She told us yesterday that she was planning on having a Digidestined get-to-gether."
"I can't believe Mimi-chan is friends with Yamato-san of the Teenage Wolves!" Yuko said while getting starry eyed. "She's so lucky!"
"We'll continue our daily talk about cute boys later," Ayame said. "C'mon, break everyone!"
"Right," the other two girls said as they broke the huddle.
"Well?" Seki asked.
"Okay, we will tell you what Mimi-chan likes, but don't let on that you guys know," Ayame told them.
"And if you do choose to do this, you have to do it at the party," Yuko added.
"Okay, we promise!" Ukyo said, anxious to get the vital information. "Just tell us!!"
"Well, first you have to know how to play the...Autoharp," Chinatsu said on the spur of the moment.
"That'll be easy," Yuuji said confidently. "I'm the musician of my family!"
"While standing on your head!" Chinatsu added on quickly.
"What!" the boy said, his eyes going wide from the outrageous request.
"And you have to wear blue goggles and they have to be the round kind--not the dinky square kind--along with wild and big hair!" Yuko smiled evilly.
"Huh?" Ukyo asked, still surprised at what he was hearing.
"And she likes guys who look intellectual that wears glasses and carries around laptop computers constantly," Ayame added on
The boys gave them looks.
"Hey, you guys asked," Ayame said, trying her best not to laugh.
"I bet I'll get Mimi-chan to like me before you guys!" Yuuji challenged.
"No way!" Misao retorted.
"She's going to like me!" Seki chimed in.
"C'mon girls, let's find someplace quieter to sit so we can finish our lunches in peace," Ayame said while snickering.
"Sure thing," Yuko said, gathering her belongings.
The three girls stood up and left the four lovesick boys.
"Pathetic," Chinatsu said while shaking her head.
"But fun," Yuko smiled.
"I can't wait to see them at the party tomorrow!" Ayame exclaimed.
"This is going to be hilarious!"
****
Mimi was now wandering around in the hall, trying to find Koushirou.
It didn't take her long, but she found him sitting in the computer lab
in deep thought. She was somewhat hesitant to approach him, though.
She was starting to feel as if she was a burden to him--always pestering
him for information that he was obviously no good at giving...information
about himself.
As long as she had known him, he wasn't known to show emotion, unless it was something obvious, like annoyance, but other than that, Koushirou really wasn't the type to go around showing what he was feeling. Figuring him out was a great mystery; even a great detective like Sherlock Holmes would probably have a difficult time trying to figure Koushirou out.
"Do I approach him, or do I stand out here in the hall looking goofy?" Mimi asked herself. She then shook her head to get the guts to go in. "C'mon, Mimi, you have to do something."
"What do I do?" Koushirou asked himself. "I know what I have to do and what I'm going to do. I have to go to Hikarigaoka tomorrow! That is the only way I can find out about my real parents as well as myself!"
It took a little while longer, but Mimi finally got the nerve to approach him. She walked into the computer lab slowly. Koushirou, hearing the footsteps, shouted out, "Who's there?"
"It's just me," Mimi smiled nervously.
"I've never seen a girl that always smiles. I guess it's just her nature," Koushirou noted to himself. "Oh, Mimi-san, it's just you. You startled me."
"I'm sorry. I saw you leave the cafeteria and I was just wondering what was wrong since you looked as if something was bothering you when you left. Is it about our project?"
"Mimi-san..."
"Yes?" the girl asked eagerly. "Could he finally be confiding in me? Is he finally going to tell me what is bothering him?" Mimi wondered to herself.
"I know that you are my partner for this project, but I have to do a little research first."
"Um, okay, but what kind of research do you have to do?" Mimi asked, not really understanding. "It is a project about your parents, what else is there to research that you haven't already?"
"You'll see. I promised that I'd let you in on everything."
"That is true..."
"So, if you really want to know what is going on, you'll come with me tomorrow..."
"Go with you tomorrow? Go with you where?"
"Hikarigaoka..."
"Hikarigaoka?!? That's so out of the way! Why do we have to go there?!?"
"You will see...I promise to tell you everything since I don't have much of a choice," Koushirou said while walking towards the door of the computer lab. "Besides, it would make me feel better to tell this...to get this information about myself off of my chest..." He then muttered in thought, "Even if it is a bit embarrassing, but, would Mimi-san think of me as strange or unworthy to be her friend because of it? Would anyone?"
"But why Hikarigaoka?"
"Because the answers I am looking for can only be found there, about who I really am."
Mimi was more confused than ever. She really didn't get it. All the girl could do was nod.
"Our lunch break is over, we should head on back to class before we are counted tardy. We only have one more subject left for the day."
"Um, yeah..."
The girl didn't know if she had made any progress or not. Koushirou was still acting mysterious about what was wrong with him. She was starting to get exasperated over the entire situation, but she figured, what's one more day...
The two walked back to class for History, but they were tardy. Mr. Ishidzuka let them slide since it was their first time ever being tardy from lunch and Koushirou used the excuse of working on their history project. That excuse worked pretty well because Mr. Ishidzuka liked the fact that Koushirou was getting into the assignment. Mimi just smiled weakly and went along with everything Koushirou had said.
After Ishidzuka had dismissed them, they both took their seats. Koushirou, back to his seat beside Yuuji and Mimi back to her seat towards the back of the class with Yuko and Ayame. Chinatsu wasn't in the same class as them.
They, of course, questioned her when she took her seat.
"So, what happened!" Yuko whispered after Mimi sat down.
"What do you mean?"
"What happened with Izumi?" Ayame asked.
"Did you say that you're madly in love with him!" Yuko teased.
"Wh-what!" Mimi asked while turning slightly red from nervousness in the face from the accusation. "That's the most ridiculous thing ever! Why on earth would you think such a thing!"
"Because you're blushing," Yuko pointed out with a knowing smile. "Besides, you worry about him way too much, so you must be in love with him!"
The tan haired girl smiled at Yuko. She knew how Yuko always exaggerated things.
"Well, I guess I can't hide anything from the two of you," Mimi smirked slyly.
"What!" Ayame asked.
"I do love Koushirou! I love him a lot!"
"What!" the two girls' jaws dropped.
"I love him, just like I love you guys."
"Huh?" Yuko asked.
"I don't get it."
"I love him, just like I love you two," the girl smiled sweetly. "He's my friend, I love all of my friends."
The two face faulted from Mimi's statement.
"Shinohara-san, Sasaki-san," Mr. Ishidzuka called.
"Yes sir?" both Ayame and Yuko asked while standing up.
"Is there anything the matter back there?"
"No sir," the two responded.
"Good, now if you don't mind, get back to work. Finish reading chapter 10 like the rest of the class is doing."
"Yes, Ishidzuka-sensei," the two bowed.
Both girls sat down. Mimi giggled at the both of them.
"That was a mean trick!" Yuko said, giving Mimi a look.
"But it's the truth," Mimi smiled, trying to calm down with her giggling. "I do love all of my friends."
The day dragged on and since it was the last day of the week, there were also no club meetings that day. While going to her locker, Mimi ran into both Sora and Miyako.
"Hi, guys," Mimi said while changing out of her school shoes.
"I"m so glad we bumped into you," Sora said.
"How come?" the girl asked while putting her school shoes into her small shoe-sized locker.
"Sora-san is having a party tomorrow and she's inviting everyone!" Miyako told her. "Since you missed your Volleyball Club earlier this week, we weren't sure if you had gotten the invite or not."
"Is it a Chosen party or an all out one?"
"It's a combination of both," Sora explained. "It's an end of the Schoolyear party and I'm inviting the younger kids too--Iori-kun, Ichijouji-kun, Hikari-chan, Takeru-kun, Daisuke-kun. Taichi is responsible for getting a hold of them. Once Taichi tells Hikari-chan--which he probably already has--she can let Takeru-kun and Daisuke-kun know, who'll let Iori-kun and Ichijouji-kun know and they can invite any friends that they would like." Sora thought about what she had said and turned to Miyako. "You know, to save Taichi the trouble, you could've done that. Takeru-kun and Iori-kun live in your apartment building!"
"Oh yeah, that's right," Miyako laughed, realizing that Sora was right.
"Oh well, never mind that," Sora said.
"So, what are you wearing and what time will you be there!"
"Miyako-chan, why do you want to know what I'm going to wear?"
"So I can try to find something that's nearly as nice as your outfit!"
Mimi laughed.
"The party starts at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon," Sora informed her.
"Cool!"
"So, when are you going to get there?" Miyako asked again.
"I don't know if I can," Mimi said while closing her locker door.
"What do you mean you might not make it!" Miyako asked in shock. "A party isn't a party without you!"
"I can't..."
"How come?" Sora asked.
"Because I have to go to Hikarigaoka, tomorrow," she sighed.
"Hikarigaoka?" Miyako asked.
Mimi nodded.
"What's happening there?" Miyako asked.
"I...promised to go there with Koushirou, tomorrow."
"I know this is going to sound dumb, but why is he going and why do you feel so obligated to go?" Miyako asked.
"It's for our assignment."
"That history project you guys are working on?" Sora asked.
The girl nodded.
"He told me, '...the answers I am looking for can only be found there, about who I really am...'"
"Um, that doesn't make much sense," Sora said. "What kind of a project are you two doing, anyway?"
"We have to do some type of a project about our families, but since my parents aren't here, Ishidzuka-sensei asked if I could work with Koushirou since he's never been too good at assignments like these. I, of course, said yes," the girl smiled proudly.
"But going to Hikarigaoka to find answers? Why doesn't he just sit down and talk with Mr. and Mrs. Izumi to get the information he needs? Not only will you be saving time, but you'd be saving money too!"
"I don't know, Sora-san. I'm awfully worried about him and he promised to tell me what's going on with him if I did."
"So that's why you're going!" Miyako said with a smile. "To figure out his secret!"
"I wonder what kind of a secret he has..." Sora said.
"You know, maybe you could talk Izumi-senpai out of going to Hikarigaoka so that you both can come to the party. You know, postpone the trip til further notice."
"I don't think he'd go for that," Mimi said. "Besides, our project is due this upcoming Friday and this is our last free day before this school year is over."
"Oh, that's right," Sora recalled.
Mimi noticed the sad look that Miyako currently had.
"What's the matter, Miyako-chan?" Mimi asked.
"I guess I'm feeling a bit left out," she sighed. "I'm just wondering why he isn't really saying anything to me. I always felt that I was his close friend too."
"Maybe it's because Koushirou-kun sees Mimi-chan more than you now," Sora pointed out. "They have the same classes and everything. You guys only had the Computer Club."
"Hmm, good point, but it still wouldn't hurt for him to pick up the phone, or in his case, turn on the computer and leave me a message."
"Don't worry, Miyako-chan, I'm going to find out what's wrong with him."
"I still wish he would let me in on whatever it is that's bothering him," Miyako muttered while crossing her arms.
"Sora-san, how come you're just telling me about this party now?"
"I sorta forgot to tell you guys," the girl said with a short laugh. "Everyone else already knew about it. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it from your friends."
"So am I."
"So you've been planning this for a while?" Miyako asked.
"Yep," Sora nodded.
"Cool! Well, I better get going. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, but I will try to make it to your party! I like them too much to turn them down!"
"That's our Mimi-chan!" Sora laughed.
he girl then walked off, leaving Sora and Miyako and headed on home. She had to get a few things together if she wanted to go to Sora's party.
Note 1: In Japan, the kids don't change classes, the teachers do, as far as I know anyway. It's like that in other countries too, like Argentina. That's the other country that comes to mind for me. ^^' (Click here to go back to where you were)
