The last part was obviously a writer's block. I couldn't think of anything to write, til I came up with that. Well, for the record, I wasn't at a block for this part. It's Mimicentric. All I have to do is listen to Super Girl and I can write a lot about Mimi. I love that song so much! For those who don't know--in other words, first timers to any fic of mine--that song is Mimi's second season theme. I am so addicted to it. ^_^

Anyway, as always, I do not own any of the characters or places associated with the game, manga, show, etc.
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Part 18: The Quest of Mimi!

Mimi rushed out of Odaiba Junior High, books in hand to head on to Odaiba Elementary. Just like with Miyako, once Mimi puts her mind to something, she does it!

On her way out, she ignored pretty much everyone, but she did run into Sora who looked extremely happy.

"Mimi-chan, Mimi-chan...wait up!" the older girl called to her excitedly.

Mimi stopped and turned to see Sora trying to catch up to her.

"Where are you running off to?"

Before Mimi could answer, Sora cut her off since she had such exciting news.

"Mimi-chan, it's so wonderful!"

"What's so wonderful?"

"I got asked to the dance!"

"Really?!? By who?"

"Taichi! He finally asked me! I've been waiting all week for him to ask me to go along with him! He sure did take his sweet time. I was thinking about going with someone else, but I finally decided that if he didn't ask me today, that I was going to go with the first guy who asked me today. He was lucky that he was the first guy to ask me today. He was pretty casual about the whole thing actually..."

It took the Soccer Loving Boy forever, but he finally got the nerve to ask Sora out right before lunch.

"Should I ask in a goofy romantic way?" Taichi asked himself nervously. "No, maybe I should get flowers or candy or something like that." The boy shook his head. "Okay, maybe not since that's not like me. She'll definitely know something's up if I just showed up with candy and flowers for her, but it's just a school dance, it shouldn't be that big a deal asking."

The boy, still debating on how he should ask his childhood friend to the dance, realized that his time was up.

"Oh no! I'm too late! Here she comes!" The boy then got a look of determination and courage. "It's now or never, Taichi! I just have to ask her and leave it at that!"

"Hey, Taichi," Sora said as she walked up to him while messing with her hair. She really wanted her hairpins to stand out more than what they were.

"Hey Sora," the boy said nervously.

Taichi mentally slapped himself since he felt he had sounded dumb when greeting Sora. He then decided to give himself a bit of a pep talk.

"Hold on, Taichi. I need to calm down. Sora'll never go with me if she sees me acting like an idiot."

"So, where do you want to eat lunch today?" the young tennis player asked.

"Same place as always."

"Okay," Sora said, noticing that no one else was around to eat lunch with them today, which she definitely didn't mind. Even Yamato wasn't around and he normally always ate lunch, along with other students, with her and Taichi. Taichi had asked Yamato to keep everyone away for a while so that he could ask, which he did, scoring a date for himself as well with Mimi.

The two went to the same place they ate their lunch every day. The two were pretty quiet during their lunch since both were a tad bit nervous. Sora really wanted Taichi to ask her to the dance, but he didn't seem to get it after all of the hints she had been throwing at him since they found out about the dance. It took a short while longer, but he finally got the nerve to ask her out, but he took his own advice and decided to act as he would normally.

"Yo, Sora, got a date to the dance that's coming up?"

"Nope, do you?"

"Nope, wanna go?"

"Sure," the girl smiled at him. "I thought you would never ask!"

"Cool..."

"You know what else was cute," Sora asked in excitement.

Mimi was about to respond, but Sora didn't give her the chance to answer.

"He actually noticed my hair when we were going back to class! I wore the hair clips he gave me for my 12th birthday that I sorta made a big deal over since I thought he didn't like my hat," she told her. "He said that they made me look cute. You should've seen the look on his face when he said that! It was so adorable and you could tell that he was nervous! Oh, and guess what else he said!?!"

"Um..." Mimi started, but once again, Sora didn't give her the chance.

"He said that he wanted to take me out tonight, just the two of us to hang out! Isn't that cool? This is the best early birthday present I could ever ask for! Taichi is finally seeing me as a girl and not as 'one of the guys!'"

The girl calmed down and realized that she was acting more like Mimi when it came to giving off news than Mimi was. As a matter of fact, she was acting a lot like Miyako.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away like that," the girl smiled nervously.

"That's okay," Mimi smiled. "I'm glad that you got asked out by Taichi-san. I had a feeling that it was him that you were hoping to ask you out."

"Really? How?"

"Just by the small things you would do or say to get his attention, but I can't think of any of them right off. Besides, I have to get going anyway."

"Where to?"

"Odaiba Elementary."

"How come?"

"Misayoshi-san used to teach at Odaiba Elementary before she died," Mimi reminded her. "I'm going to see what I can find out about her."

"Oh, okay, but where is Koushirou-kun?" the girl asked while looking around for her red-headed friend.

"I don't know and right now, I don't care!" the girl said angrily.

"Let me guess...the two of you had an argument."

The girl's annoyed expression was the only answer Sora needed.

"What happened?"

The girl explained everything to Sora and how Koushirou had acted irritable towards her.

"That's not like him," Sora said, feeling a bit concerned for Koushirou. "Something must be bothering him. I mean, you said that he is really curious about his mother, yet he doesn't want to go to the one place that could have a lot of information about her. As he would say, 'that just doesn't compute.' I also doubt that your going to the senior dance has anything to do with it either."

"Yeah, same here. I don't think my going with Yamato-san is a problem," Mimi agreed. She then smiled a bit. "He is a nice guy afterall."

"If he has no incentive to go to Odaiba Elementary, then what's making you?"

"I guess I'm just hoping that I find something out on Misayoshi-san, like a photo, to cheer him up. He really blew up when he couldn't get one when we were at Odaiba University. I'm sure that it's depressing him. He's a walking dead person. Everyone we've talked with, all said the same thing; that Koushirou looks like his mother. The lady at the adoption place said that he was the splitting image of her with his red hair and I agree, even though I've never seen her. I saw his father; they aren't too similar in looks; except for the build and the serious expressions that they both wear."

"I guess that would be a bit creepy, but is that really the only reason you're going?" Sora asked. "Are you sure there isn't more to it?"

"No, that's it," the girl said plainly. "What other reason could I possibly have to go? I'm going to get something on Misayoshi-san to help cheer up Koushirou. Also, this project is a part of my grade too!"

The girl wasn't so sure if Mimi was being completely honest. Miyako had caught her before she ran into Mimi and told her about the kiss.

"He even dropped his article about their deaths."

"Really?"

The girl handed Sora the article who read over it, while still walking of course.

"Wow, this is terribly depressing. Do you think that this could be the reason for his bad mood today?"

"Who knows," the younger girl shrugged.

Mimi took the article back and put it back into her pocket.

"For once in my life," Mimi sighed, "I don't know if I want to interfere or not."

"Why not? He is your friend, why wouldn't you?"

"I just feel as if I'm being a nuisance worrying over him so much. I feel as if I am nothing but an annoyance to him, which is why he was so cross with me."

"I sincerely doubt that. You are just acting like yourself, which he should be used of since he is your friend. You are unselfish and you are putting others before yourself. You were the crest bearer of Purity and what you're doing now is really showing off how pure you really are." Sora then gave her a reassuring smile. "You were really best suited for the Crest of Purity."

"I guess you are right," Mimi smiled back. "Here I am living up to what my crest originally stands for and I didn't even realize it."

The two girls finally came to the end of the walkway they were on.

"Well, this is where I go," Sora said, about to turn off. "Call me when you get home."

"Okay. See you later!"

With that, Mimi continued her walk to Odaiba Elementary. It didn't take her too much longer for her to get there. When she got there, she didn't know where to go since the thought hadn't even crossed her mind.

"I guess I could try the library," she muttered to herself.

She walked in the direction towards the library, but she came to the computer lab first. She smiled thinking about all of the good times she and the others had in Elementary school and thought of the time she and her family came back for a visit and met Miyako, Daisuke, and Iori for the first time.

"Mimi-san?"

The girl turned at the calling of her name and saw a boy a little smaller than her with short brown hair along with the same energetic friend Hikari had met at Sora's party standing along with him.

"Iori-kun?"

"Who's that?" the girl beside Iori asked.

"Eiji-san, this is Tachikawa Mimi-san. She goes to Odaiba Junior High and is currently a second year student there."

"Nice to meet you," Eiji greeted.

"Mimi-san, this is my friend Tezuka Eiji-san."

"Hello," Mim smiled to them. She then thought for a moment, recognizing the family name of Eiji. "Do you have any older brothers, Eiji-chan?"

"Nope, I'm the oldest of my immediate family."

"Strange, I met a boy a few nights ago by the name of Tezuka Eijiro, but never mind that. The name Tezuka is quite common."

"Wait, what did he look like?"

Mimi described Eijiro to Eiji who smiled.

"That sounds like my older cousin!" the girl exclaimed. "His father and my mother are brother and sister. I have their family name but my younger brothers have my stepfather's name."

"Wow, what a small world," Mimi said.

"Yep, sure is."

"Mimi-san, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, just doing a little research on an old teacher."

"Research?" Iori asked. "What teacher?"

"An old teacher. She passed away a long time ago."

"Now who would want information on an old teacher?" Eiji asked.

"Surprisingly, I do."

"You could try asking one of the older instructors here," Iori suggested.

"I guess that would make sense," Mimi nodded. She then smiled at the two. "Arigatou, Iori-kun! Sayonara, Eiji-chan."

The girl walked off, leaving the two younger children.

"She sure is a pretty girl, I bet lots of boys give her attention," Eiji said. She then muttered quietly, "Unlike me, I'm not pretty like her or Narumi-chan."

"Did you say something, Eiji-san?"

"Oh no, not at all," the girl lied with a nervous grin.

Mimi kept going and made her way to the school office. A lot of students were hanging out since school had let out and they were pretty much goofing off. They all were surprised to see a student Mimi's age there. A lot of the rising seventh grade boys were gawking at her.

When she got to the school office, she ran into...

"Fujiyama-sensei!"

The man turned at the mentioning of his name to see who had called him.

"Mimi? Tachikawa Mimi?" the man said in surprise, walking up to the girl. "Wow, I haven't seen you in years! You look like a little adult now!"

"It's nice to see you again too, Mr. Fujiyama. I'm surprised that you still remember me. I just moved back to Japan this past year."

"Moved back?"

"I moved to America a few years ago with my parents. I moved back, but they're still there."

"I guess that explains why I rarely saw you visit the school, like the others. I remember most of you fairly well anyway. I mean, how could I forget you and Taichi and Sora and Koushirou and Jou and Yamato! You were the only ones who chose to go to another city than to go home when we closed up Summer Camp early almost five years ago, but never mind all of that. What brings you here?"

"How long have you taught here at Odaiba Elementary, Fujiyama-sensei?"

"Since the mid 80s. I was fresh out of college when I started teaching here. Why do you ask?"

"I was trying to 'obtain some information on a past instructor who used to teach here until her unexpected expiration back in April of '90.'" the girl explained. "Now why does that sound so familiar..." she asked herself.

"A past instructor? A deceased one?" The man thought for a moment, trying his best to think of an instructor. "I don't know of any teachers that died after you left here..."

"April of '90, Fujiyama-sensei."

"Oh, I didn't hear that. Well, the only person I can think of is Misayoshi-san. She was a first grade teacher here back then. She was very young. I wasn't very good friends with her or anything, though. We were pretty much just acquaintances."

"That's the person!" Mimi exclaimed. "Do you know anyone here in this school that can give me some information on her? She had to have had at least one good friend out of all of the teachers on the staff!"

"Hmm, let me think for a moment..."

The girl crossed her fingers.

"Man, who did she hang around with!" Mr. Fujiyama muttered as he tried to remember. "She was pretty quiet, but she had a real knack for teaching."

"That's okay, sir, if you don't remember," Mimi said in disappointment.

"No, wait, I remember!" the man nearly shouted. "Hanada Sui-san, the fourth grade teacher. She has been here just as long as me and she was good friends with Misayoshi-san before her death. She took her death worse than anyone else here. They were like the best of friends!"

"Do you know where I can find her?"

"Either in the Teacher's Lounge or the Library doing her planning for the upcoming school year."

Mimi, so excited to receive such useful information, hugged the man.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Fujiyama-sensei!"

The girl ran off towards the library before Mr. Fujiyama could get the chance to ask why she wanted to know about Ms. Misayoshi to begin with.
****
Odaiba Elementary School's Library...

"It's getting more and more stressful every year when it comes to teaching, don't you think Sayuki-san?" a stout woman asked.

"No kidding!" Ms. Sayuki laughed. "I actually had three students come to class tardy after lunch today!"

"How?" the woamn asked while setting up a game board. "They eat in their classrooms."

"I have no idea! The children seem a bit more disruptive lately."

"I bet it's because school is almost over," the woman said, writing up a few notes. "So, Sayuki-san, want to play a game of chess?"

"Nope, sorry, can't. I have to get out of here today. I have to take the kids to their father's place for dinner." The woman rolled her eyes slightly. "They insisted."

"Another feeble attempt to try and get you and your ex husband back together?"

"What else?" the woman sighed. "They just can't see why our not being together is better than our actually being together, especially my oldest daughter who insists that I must've done something wrong for that ex of mine to act the way that he did. If he wants to go with all the women he possibly can, let him. I don't want to go with someone that is constantly unfaithful. I stayed with him for years, hoping that he would change, but I'm not taking it anymore and if they can't see that, too bad."

The woman stood up.

"I'll talk to you later, Hanada-san" Ms. Sayuki told her friend. "I'll give you a call tonight when I get back from this disasterous dinner."

"Okay, see you!" Ms. Hanada called to the woman. She then sighed sadly and muttered, "Miki-chan would have played..."

The woman left Ms. Hanada at her seat. Right at that moment, Mimi ran into the library. She knew of Hanada, but didn't know what she looked like. She had never had her as an instructor when she was there. The only person she saw in the library was the librarian behind the librarian's desk reading the paper and a stout blue-haired woman sitting at one of the tables with a chess set in front of her, looking a bit gloomy. Mimi wasn't sure if she wanted to approach this woman or not, but something told her to do it.

"Konnichiwa, atashi wa Tachikawa Mimi desu," she bowed. "I need a bit of help."

The woman looked up and forced on a gentle smile.

"What's the matter, young lady?"

"Well, I am sorry for bothering you, but I am looking for a Hanada Sui-san. I really must speak with her."

"Well, you've found me. What do you have to speak with me about?"

"I am very glad. I am working on a school project and some of the research concerns an old teacher that used to teach here. I asked around and I was told that you knew her best."

"Who exactly are you referring to?"

Mimi nervously handed her the news article.

"The woman mentioned in this article...Misayoshi Miki-san. She used to teach here a long time ago until she passed away."

Ms. Hanada got quiet as she looked over the article, trying her best to hold back tears.

"Gomen nasai," Mimi apologized, wondering if her going there was a bad idea.

"That's okay," the woman said quietly, handing the article back to Mimi. "Follow me."

The girl followed the woman who led her to her classroom. Ms. Hanada shut the door behind her and took a seat behind her desk. Mimi took a seat in one of the student desks. They seemed quite small to her now.

"Miki-chan was a great teacher and a great friend. It is a real shame that her life was cut so short."

"So...you and Misayoshi-san were very good friends?"

"The best of friends," the woman corrected.

"Oh."

Ms. Hanada sighed as she started to tell Mimi about the deceased Misayoshi Miki...

"We grew up together, went to Elementary, Junior High, and High School together. We even went to college together and came here to teach together. I started teaching here first, though, and then I suggested that she should start teaching since she gets along with children so well. She wasn't so sure if she should. There was an opening here at this school for a new first grade teacher. It took a bit of persuasion, but it finally worked."

She started running her hand through her short shoulder-lengthened blue hair.

"We had a lot in common, like books for one. She loved to read, which was a good thing because Miki-chan was a dreamer, very imaginative. She could have made a great writer. She was always pondering and she was always hoping for the best. She was very optimistic and saw good in everything, even though she never had a real family, until she found Hiroaki-san."

She tried her best not to cry, made herself continue on.

"One of our favorite things to do together was to play chess, even though I was a terrible player. She loved the game. She was always a good strategic thinker."

"Just like Koushirou," Mimi said to herself. "He's a great strategic thinker, but I don't think he knows how to play chess..."

"I sit around, sometimes, with a chessboard set up, hoping that one day she will come back and play a game with me, but I know that's just wishful thinking," she laughed nervously, feeling slightly foolish.

Ms. Hanada had some newly fallen tears streaming down her cheeks, but wiped them away before continuing on.

"She would always play as the black pieces, never the white. She would never go first. She likes to watch what her opponent's opening move is and start to formulate a plan to counter it from there. She was such a remarkable player. I have never seen her actually lose."

Mimi continued to listen attentively. The girl felt sorry for the lady. She still was upset over the death of her good friend and still mourned over her. Mimi remembered what she saw when she entered the library; Ms. Hanada sitting in front of a Chess board, ready to play a game.

"The one thing Miki wanted more than anything was a family, a real family. She loved children and it really showed. I knew that she would make a great mother if she ever became one and she told me, 'Sui-chan, if I ever have a child, I want you to be the godmother.'

"Then it happens one day. Her and Hiroaki-san were blessed with their first child. I wasn't around when she had the child because her and Hiroaki-san were out of the country. When they came back, I got to see the baby. He was so adorable. He looked like a mix of both his mother and father, but that red hair of his stuck out tremendously. It's just so tragic that she and Hiroaki-san died! The only one that survived was their son. I was willing to adopt him, but I couldn't get him because I wasn't a blood relative and my being Little Koushirou's Godmother was never legalized and no paper was ever signed saying that if something were to happen to her or Hiroaki-san that I would have to take care of him and become his legal guardian.

"After that, I was never informed on Little Koushirou's status or if he found a good home or not. Growing up in an orphanage is quite depressing. Poor Miki-chan did. We were both orphans, but I was adopted, she wasn't and stayed in many foster homes. We still remained friends, though, and she would always go to the same school as me even though the school was out of her way. We promised back when were six years old that we would be friends forever."

The woman then lowered her head sadly.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye..."

After that, Ms. Hanada broke down and cried. Mimi got up and handed her a kleenex from out of her purse, trying her best to calm Ms. Hanada.

"Thank you," the woman sniffled, accepting the kleenex and wiping her tears away. "I am sorry about that. I am still upset over her death. I still haven't really coped with it."

"That's okay, I understand."

"Why are you so curious about her?"

The girl was wondering what she should tell her, but decided to stick with the truth.

"I know of her son."

"You know where Little Koushirou is!" the woman asked in shock. "You know him!?!"

"Yes," she nodded. "As a matter of fact, he is a friend of mine and for the past so many years of his life, he has always wondered about his real mother and father. We started this search a few days ago and we found out a lot about Fukami-san, but not too much about Misayoshi-san. He was starting to get discouraged since he hadn't found out much about his mother."

"Oh my gosh! He is alive and well!?! Little Koushirou is okay?!?"

"Yep, he sure is," Mimi smiled.

"Where does he live?!? What school does he go to and what schools has he been to?!? Has he even seen his parents? Details!! I need details!!"

The girl smiled and answered all of her questions.

"Here!?! He went to this school!!"

"Yes, only his family name was changed after he was adopted. It is now Izumi, not Misayoshi, and he has never seen a photo of his mother. We couldn't find one."

"I would love to see him again. I too always wanted a family, but I was never blessed with the ability too. Adoption is my only option, unfortunately."

"Excuse me, Hanada-san, but I really must go," Mimi said, noticing the time. "Thank you for everything you have told me," she bowed. "I really appreciate your time."

The girl started towards the door.

"Tachikawa-kun, wait a moment."

The woman opened up her desk drawer and took out two pieces of paper. She then handed them to Mimi.

"I want you to give these to Little Koushi," the woman instructed. She then sniffled a bit. "That's what Miki-chan used to call him."

The girl nodded and accepted the two small papers, but looked them over first.

"Please, tell him that he was wanted and that I would have taken him in."

Mimi nodded as Ms. Hanada told her some more things and then left. She smiled. She had a feeling that what she was about to tell and show Koushirou would cheer him up tremendously...