Oh, I'd like to thank those at Megchan's Message Board who helped me with this part unknowingly. I was trying to think up a strange dessert that only Koushirou would like and believe me, the combo is a strange one.
Oh, a warning. I find this part to be a tad bit boring. Can't say I didn't warn ya! ^^
Also, from now on, I will have a kind of "Status Report" in my Bio. It will list what fics I am currently working on and what I plan on adding on next, etc. I will update it at the beginning of each week, so if you all are wondering when I plan on putting up the next part of this particular fic or any others I may write, just keep checking my bio to see.
Now, as always, I do not own any of these characters or places associated
with the game, show, manga, etc. The creator as well as Toei and Bandai,
has that pleasure.
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Koushirou walked home from school, alone; not that it bothered him any. He was unusually depressed. He didn't want to drag Mimi off to someplace she didn't want to go. If it were up to him, he would just leave her behind, but he knew better than to do that. He wouldn't hear the end of it if he did.
He walked a while longer and finally came to a familiar looking place...his home. He walked in to see his mother watching television sipping on a cup of tea. The woman heard the door open and close. She then turned to see who it was.
"Koushirou!"
The woman got up and greeted the boy cheerfully.
"Hi mom."
"I'm so glad that you're home!" the woman said while hugging Koushirou. "I just wanted to apologize to you."
"Apologize? What for?"
"For the way I acted towards you this morning. I just wasn't myself. I am really sorry about that."
"Oh, that?" Koushirou forced on a smile. "That's okay. I figured that you were just in a bad mood or tired or something. Everyone have his or her bad days."
"I'm so glad that you understand, dear," the woman said while releasing him from her tight hug. "So, would you like a snack or anything?"
"No thanks, mom. I have to get ready for my trip tomorrow."
"Your trip? I thought we were all going to go out to the park for a family picnic tomorrow."
"We were?"
"Yes," the woman nodded. "We all decided to go to the park and have a picnic this weekend. It was your father's idea and we all agreed last Saturday that we would this weekend. Don't you remember?"
The boy shook his head.
"Couldn't you cancel your little trip just this once?" the woman asked sweetly.
"Gomen, okaasan. I can't join you two tomorrow. It's really important that I go on this errand."
The woman lowered her head and frowned a bit.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I really am," he apologized. "But, um...," he started. "Think Izumi, think," he told himself. "Well, I er, um...I promised Mimi-san that..."
The woman lifted her head up and smiled.
"Don't say another word," the woman interrupted. "I understand completely."
"You do?" Koushirou asked in surprise.
She nodded.
"I was young once too, you know."
"So you don't mind me not joining you and dad tomorrow?"
"Nope, I am sure your father will understand as well. Now go on."
The boy scratched his head, confused as to why his mother had changed her mind so quickly. After that, he went to his room. A short while later, Mr. Izumi showed up, briefcase in hand.
"I'm home," the man announced while hugging his wife.
"Hi! How was your day!" the woman asked, hugging him back.
"Pretty hectic since I spent the majority of my time worrying about you," the man said with a laugh.
"I told you that you didn't have to worry about me."
"Something smells good," Mr. Izumi said while sniffing the air. "What did you cook for dinner?"
"Your favorite, stew, but I have some bad news and some good news about Koushirou."
"Uh-oh," Mr. Izumi said, worried about what she was going to say. "His teacher didn't call again, did he?"
The woman shook her head smiling as if she were witholding vital information.
"He accidentally crashed one of the computer lab's computers again?"
"Nope."
"Then what is the problem and why do you have that smile on your face?"
"He's not going to be able to join us for our family picnic in the park tomorrow."
"Aww, I really was hoping that we would get to spend some quality time together."
"Same here."
Mrs. Izumi started to make her way towards the kitchen.
"It's not often that we spend time together, all three of us, like we did when Koushirou was younger."
Mr. Izumi followed his wife into the kitchen.
"Did he say why he couldn't make it?"
"He said that he has to take a little trip tomorrow and that's the good news," the woman said while cleaning off a few dishes in the sink.
"A trip?"
"Hai," she nodded.
"And you are okay with this?" He looked at his wife in confusion. "I don't find anything 'good' about this news yet."
"Our little Koushirou is growing up."
Mr. Izumi, at this particular point, was tasting the stew that Mrs. Izumi had prepared.
"I still don't get where you are going with this," the man asked while tasting.
"You're going to be out of this kitchen if you keep trying to sneak dinner early!" the woman said while smacking the wooden spoon from out of his hand. "Wait until I finish baking the dinner rolls!" She then pointed to the counter where a wooden chopping board sat, along with a various amount of vegetables. "You can finish chopping up those vegetables for the salad."
"Okay," the man said.
Mrs. Izumi put the top back onto the stew pot and went to check on the rolls she had baking in the oven.
"Anyway, he is taking a trip tomorrow with Mimi!"
"Mimi?" the man asked while chopping up some carrots for the salad.
"Yeah, isn't that great!"
"I guess," the man muttered, trying to figure out what the big deal was.
"Don't you get it? Our young Koushirou is finally noticing girls! He is taking a trip with a pretty girl that he has known for a long time! That must mean something!"
"Maybe you're right, but what if it's something else?"
"I don't know what else it could be."
"Hey, we're out of carrots."
"That's because I used most of them to bake Koushirou's dessert."
"Oh. Well, anyway, you sound very sure of yourself about this situation dealing with Koushirou. Where exactly is he going?"
"Well...um..." The woman smiled nervously. "I didn't ask."
"Yoshie!" Mr. Izumi said, nearly face faulting.
"I was so happy for him to be doing something involving a girl, I didn't bother asking."
"We'll get it out of him at dinner," the man said sneakily.
"Of course! I'm glad I baked his favorite dessert to make up for the weird way I was acting this morning. That should make it even easier for us to weasel that information out of him."
After a while, dinner was ready to be served. Mr. Izumi went to get Koushirou. Koushirou walked slowly to the table and took his seat. The boy swallowed down his stew pretty quickly, totally oblivious to the fact that his parents were staring at him. He didn't notice because he was hungry and was concentrating on finishing up the tasty stew in his bowl.
"So," Mr. Izumi started while taking a bite out of one of the dinner rolls, "your mother tells me that you will not be joining us for our outing tomorrow."
"Nope," the boy said plainly as he helped himself to some more of the stew. "I have something to do tomorrow and I can't reschedule it." He then took a sip of his tea and took a bite out of one of the rolls.
"I see," Mrs. Izumi said while adding dressing to her salad.
"So, where will you be going tomorrow?" Mr. Izumi asked.
"You already mentioned something about Mimi," Mrs. Izumi said as she started to eat her salad.
"I can't tell them that I'm going to Hikarigaoka tomorrow. They'll just ask a bunch of questions that I really don't want to answer."
At that particular moment, Mrs. Izumi got up and headed towards the kitchen.
"Son?"
"Oh, sorry for spacing out like that, dad," the boy apologized. "Did you say something?"
Before Mr. Izumi could respond, Mrs. Izumi walked back into the dining room and set a plate down in front of Koushirou.
"Here, have a piece," she smiled as she set a small, square object on his plate. "It's your favorite...Chocolate Fudge Carrot Cake Brownies with purple jellybeans and chocolatety fudge sprinkles."
"You did make something for us, didn't you?" Mr. Izumi asked in a whisper, shuddering at the thought of eating Chocolate covered Carrot Cake.
"Shh!"
The boy's eyes lit up as he started to take bites of the marvelous dessert...well, to him anyway. ^^
"Now, I was asking where you were planning on going tomorrow with your friend Mimi," Mr. Izumi said again.
"Um, well, I..." the boy started as he stuffed another brownie into his mouth. "What do I say to them?" he asked himself.
"Koushirou, don't eat so much at a time," Mrs. Izumi warned. "You may get indigestion or a bad stomach ache."
Koushirou scarfed down his fourth brownie and nodded to his mother, stalling so that he could come up with something.
"Well, um, we were all going over to the home of Taichi-san to study for our final examinations for the end of this school year."
"Oh, a study date with all of your friends?" Mr. Izumi asked.
"Yeah, even though Taichi-san, Yamato-san, and Sora-san have already taken their High School Entrance Exams," Koushirou explained, adding more onto his lie. "They still have to take end of the year exams for their Senior year at OJH for all of their courses." Koushirou finished his fifth brownie and drank the rest of his tea. "May I have another brownie, please?"
"Sure, go right ahead," the woman said dissappointedly. "Eat as many of them as you would like."
Koushirou picked himself up another brownie.
"School is important and we wouldn't want to get in the way of your lessons so go right ahead," Mrs. Izumi told him.
"Um, okay."
"What time were you planning on leaving to go over there?" Mr. Izumi asked.
"First thing. We have quite a bit of material to cover," he said, feeling a bit nervous.
"School sure seems a lot harder than when we had to go," Mrs. Izumi said, recalling her school days. "Too much testing!"
"Yeah, it does seem more difficult, but with each generation, school gets a bit more difficult and challenging."
The boy pushed his plate away, leaving his half eaten brownie.
"May I be excused?"
"Is something wrong?" Mrs. Izumi asked.
"No, I just ate a bit too much and I'm a bit full."
"Okay, go ahead," the woman said.
With that, the boy got up and went to his room, holding his incredibly nervous stomach. He had lied to his parents. He had never done that before; well, not to this extent anyway. Sure he told the occasional white lie, but not one like the one that he had just now. He hated keeping secrets from his parents. It really bothered him. He shook off the feeling and got onto the computer. He sent Mimi and e-mail telling her where and when to meet him....
"I guess you were jumping to conclusions," Mr. Izumi said after Koushirou had left.
"I guess so," the woman frowned. "I was so sure that he was going to say that he had a date with Mimi. A date date, not a study date with her and the other children."
"I guess Koushirou isn't mature enough for girls yet."
"I guess so," the woman muttered, a bit disappointed. Mrs. Izumi then stood up and started to gather up the dinner dishes. "Well, I better get all of this put away."
"I'll help you."
With that, the two cleared the table and put everything away for the night.
"I just don't get it!" the woman said while washing a dish. "I just don't get it!" She then handed the dish to her husband.
"Get what?" Mr. Izumi asked while drying off the dish he had handed her.
"I can't help the fact that I feel Koushirou is keeping something from us. I am also not so sure if he was telling the truth about going over to Yagami's to study tomorrow."
"Yoshie, I am surprised at you! Koushirou is not the type to lie!"
"I'm sorry, but it's true. That's the way I feel. It's the way he was talking when he first got home. He said something about making a promise and it has something to do with Mimi. Why is a promise about a study date so important? The way he was talking, he made it sound as if it were something important and he sounded very serious about it."
"I think you are making a big deal out of nothing."
"Maybe I am," the woman sighed. "Maybe I feel as if I am being shut out of his life more and more everyday and I just want to find my way back in. I know he isn't a little boy anymore, but I sometimes wish he still was. It's like I want him to grow up, but at the same time, I want him to remain the little boy we grew to know and love, forever..."
"I'm sure all parents go through this."
"I guess you're right," Mrs. Izumi said as she scrubbed out the last dish.
"Of course I am. I bet it's natural for you to feel this way. I'm sure at some point in every parent's life, they feel as if they have grown slighty apart from their teenage son or daughter. Unfortunately, with us, we started to grow a bit apart from Koushirou at a younger age; before he even became a teen." He dried the last dish and put it away. "Now let's get out of this kitchen and watch some television and get your mind off of everything. You could use the rest and relaxation."
"You go on ahead. I'm a bit tired. I didn't get much sleep last night, as you already know, so I'm going to head in early. If you want, you can help yourself to some Chocolate Chip Cookies. I baked them since neither one of us are all that fond of Chocolate Fudge Carrot Cake Brownies with jellybeans and sprinkles on top."
"Thanks a lot. I will never understand where that boy gets his taste for these kinds of foods from. He makes up the strangest sounding combinations!"
"Yeah, he does," the woman said slowly.
"Well, good night and have a good rest," Mr. Izumi said, giving her a kiss.
"Good night..."
****
Over at the Nishimura household...
"Yes, Chinatsu-chan, it's true!" Mimi told her friend on the phone. "There's a chance I might not make it to her party."
"No, not you! When Miyako-san told me, I was incredibly surprised! I was like, no, it can't be true! Mimi-chan never misses a party!"
"I don't plan on missing the entire party."
"Miyako-san said something about your having to go out of town tomorrow."
"She did?"
"She didn't say why or where, though. Your aunt and uncle planned an outing for the entire family or something?"
"Well, yeah. I'm going to Hikarigaoka tomorrow."
"Wow! How come?"
"Well, I was invited along to go and I have to go."
"Okay, I guess you have your reasons for going." The girl got quiet for a while, hoping that Mimi would say more. "C'mon, tell me why! I can't take it!"
"I would, but I really can't."
"Okay, I understand," the girl said while crying. "I'm just one of your best friends, you don't have to tell me anything," the girl said with a sniffle.
"You've been getting lessons from Yuko-chan, haven't you?" Mimi laughed.
"How could you tell?"
"Because she never sounds convincing when she fake cries too," Mimi said, still laughing.
"Can't get anything by you," Chinatsu laughed along.
"How come you guys didn't tell me about the party earlier?"
"We just assumed that you already knew. We got our invites during our Volleyball Club meet earlier this week. The one you missed, but we just figured that you would've known about it early anyway since you're such good friends with Sora-san and Taichi-senpai."
Chinatsu truly adored and admired Taichi a lot. She looked up to him and had a great respect for him. She pretty much idolized him for his athletic abilities and at times, he helped her before her Volleyball matches, even though Volleyball wasn't one of Taichi's specialties.
"True, but they assumed that you all would've told me. I really wish I would've known about this earlier then I would've turned down going to Hikarigaoka tomorrow."
"So, what are you going to do in Hikarigaoka?"
"I dunno yet, actually, but shopping is definitely on my list!"
"Yeah! If the trip is going to be a disaster, why not make the best of it!"
"That's our motto," Mimi smiled.
"Well, I better get going. I'm going to hang out with Ayame-chan and Yuko-chan tonight. We're going to catch a movie and then we're going to hang out at the mall for a while, hoping to meet some cute guys there..."
"You three are hopeless!" Mimi laughed. "You three are always boy hunting...you less than them, though."
"Hey, just because almost every boy in school, minus Izumi, has an interest in you doesn't mean we have to give up looking!" Chinatsu laughed.
"Good point."
"So, do you want to come with us? You could help Ayame-chan pick out something for the party tomorrow. Every boy in school is going to be at the party so you know everyone wants to look nice! You're our fashion consultant."
"As much fun as that sounds, I think I'll have to pass."
"Aww, you're supposed to be no fun tomorrow, not today."
"I'm babysitting right now."
"Oh."
"I'm like the live-in babysitter here. I don't mind too much, though. I get extra cash for it."
"Well, at least you're getting something out of it!"
"Yep, sure am!"
"Okay, see you later then!"
"I have to go anyway. Ton is crying."
"Bye bye, Mimi-sodate."
*Note: That pretty much means, Baby-sitter Mimi...if I did that right. ^^'*
The girl hanged up the phone and went to tend to her younger cousin who wanted something to eat. After she fed and bathed him, she sat him down to play with his toys while she sat down on the couch, looking through a clothes catalog.
"Hmm, which outfit do I want," Mimi said while going through the catalog. "Ooo, that skirt looks kind of nice," she said while circling items in the catalog. "I could wear it to the first dance of the new school year along with that cute blouse..."
"Neechan!"
"Hi Isako. I see you're finally finished watching cartoons."
The girl slumped down on the couch beside Mimi and frowned.
"Isako-chan," the girl asked while putting her catalog down, "what's the matter?"
"I'm bored," the younger girl complained. "Can Kou-chan or Take-chan or Hika-chan or Miya-chan come over?"
"I don't think they'll be able to come over just to play with you, Isako."
"I like your friends. They're fun! I want to be just like them!"
"They're probably hanging out tonight just like everyone else. We're going on our last week of school, afterall. Why don't you play with your brother?"
"Ton is boring! He's just a baby!"
"You have to show him how to have fun," Mimi said, trying her best to humor the girl.
"Babies can't learn how to have fun."
"Why do you say that?" Mimi asked. "Of course they can learn how to have fun."
"No they can't! Babies aren't as smart as us big kids!"
Mimi sighed and gave up.
"What are you doing?"
"Just looking through a catalog."
"Ooh! I like your clothes, neechan! They're always pretty!"
"Thank you," Mimi smiled at her. "I'm trying to find me a new outfit for the dance that's coming up when I become a senior later on this year."
"Is Kou-chan going to get new clothes too?"
"I don't know what he's going to do or what he's doing or why he's acting the way that he is..." Mimi frowned.
"Is Kou-chan still having trouble with his big kids work?"
"Yeah, a little. He seems a bit sad."
"Kou-chan is sad?"
Mimi nodded.
The younger girl thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to cheer "Kou-chan" up.
"I know! Let's go out for ice cream to make him happy!"
"How is that going to make him happy?" Mimi asked, laughing at how cute Isako was acting.
"I don't know, but I love ice cream!"
"Well, it's getting late. It's time for you to take your bath and go to bed."
"Aww, do I have to?"
"Yep. Children your age need a lot of sleep. When you become big like me, you can stay up later."
"But what about Ton? He's just a baby and he gets to stay up."
"Oh no he's not. He's going to bed too. While you're taking your bath, he's going to be in his crib sound asleep."
"Okay," the girl said. She then smiled. "I guess I like that idea."
"Now you go get your pajamas and head on to the washroom while I put your brother down for the night."
"Okay!"
"Isako, don't run the bath yourself. Wait until I come in there so that I can run it for you."
"Okay!"
The girl ran off. Mimi picked up Ton who was falling asleep in her arms.
"Looks like you're getting sleepy."
The girl played with Ton a bit, who laughed playfully. She then put him down in his crib. The girl was about to go run Isako's bath, when she heard the doorbell. She ran to answer it.
"Minna! (Everyone!)" Mimi said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
At the door were Hikari, Miyako, Chinatsu, Yuko, and Ayame.
"Surprise!" Chinatsu cheered.
"I was starting to get bored to death sitting here by myself," the girl said, grateful for the extra company. She then remembered her cousin. "Hey, come on in and have a seat. I'll be back in a while. Help yourselves to anything you want, but don't talk too loudly. I just got Ton down for the night."
The girl ran off to tend to Isako before they could even respond. When she got to the wash room, Isako was all ready to get into the tub.
"Sorry for taking so long."
"Was that the door?"
"Yeah, but let's not worry about that," Mimi said as she started running the bath water. "Time to get in and take your bath."
The girl hopped into the tub filled with bubble bath. After a while, the girl finished bathing. Mimi helped to dry her off and got her into her pajamas.
"Neechan, can you read me a story before I go to bed?"
"Sure thing!" Mimi said in a rushed, yet still outgoing manner. "I would be happy to, but how about a short story?"
"Okay."
Mimi followed Isako to her bedroom where she hopped into bed. Mimi then chose a book from off the shelf. The thinnest one there. It was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Isako had heard the story lots of times, but she didn't mind hearing it again since Mimi was the one reading it to her. After the story, Mimi hugged Isako good night. After that, she went back down to her five unexpected guests.
"There she is!" Hikari announced.
"She's finally back," Ayame smiled.
"I'm sorry guys. You just caught me at a bad time. I was giving Isako her bath and I then had to put her to bed."
"No problem," Miyako told her. "We knew you were babysitting when we came over."
"So, why are you guys here anyway?"
"We just decided to hang out here since you said you might not be able to go to the party of Sora-san."
"Yeah, because of your having to go to Hikarigaoka tomorrow," Ayame added on.
"Good thing this trip wasn't a secret!" Mimi laughed while looking over at Miyako.
Miyako laughed with a sweat drop. Miyako was terrible at keeping news to herself.
"We also came over since you couldn't hang out with us at the mall since you were babysitting," Chinatsu explained. "We just decided to come over to keep you company."
"We skipped the movie," Yuko added.
"Miyako-san and me were at the mall and we ran into those three," Hikari explained. "They told us how you were stuck at home."
"Thank you, everyone, for coming over," Mimi smiled.
The group just sat there and talked about everything, like really good friends. They also played cards until Mimi's folks came back from their outing. Everyone then went home. After discussing with her aunt and uncle about her assignment and how she had to go to Hikarigaoka that next day, she headed on to bed herself, but she checked her many e-mails from her many admirers and friends first...
