Well, I hope you all aren't too sore at me for taking so long
to upload this. School work has been stressing me out a lot lately
and taking up a lot of my relaxing free time. I haven't been able
to concentrate on this, or any other leisure activity--like reading in
general--too much because of the school work. Never mind all of that,
though. Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with Digimon.
Both Toei and Bandai have those rights.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************
More minutes passed and Koushirou seemed to have been wearing a groove into the floor.
"Koushirou, stop pacing around so much! You're driving me crazy!" Jou shouted at him. "Your mother will be fine!"
Right at that moment, a person walked up behind Koushirou giggling and said, "Yeah, you should really listen to him. He knows what he is talking about."
Everyone turned to see...
"Mimi-oneesama!/Mimi-kun?/Mimi-san?"
"Hey everyone," the girl smiled.
"I'm glad you finally made it here."
"So am I! I wouldn't miss out on this big moment of course!"
"How did you know that Koushirou was here?" Jou asked.
"Miyako-chan called and told me."
"While Izumi-senpai was talking with Hanada-san, I called her on my cell phone."
"I would have gotten here sooner, but you know how it is with Yamato-san," she laughed uneasily. "He acts as if I'm going to move away whenever we have to part."
The girl sighed and got off the subject entirely as she caught herself staring at Koushirou.
"So, how is she doing?" Mimi asked Jou.
"The doctor says she's fine so far."
"That's good."
The girl looked over at Koushirou, once again, who had remained quiet.
"Hello, Koushirou."
"Hey," he said quietly, feeling a tad bit uneasy.
The older boy noticed his two younger friends acting nervous around one another and decided that maybe he and Miyako should leave the two alone to talk. He didn't know why, though. It was just a feeling that he had.
"Miyako-kun, let's go down to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat, my treat."
The younger girl shrugged.
"Okay, senpai," she agreed. She then turned towards Koushirou and Mimi and asked, "Would you two like anything?"
Both of them shook their heads.
"Come on."
She followed behind Jou towards the cafeteria, leaving both Koushirou and Mimi alone.
"So, how's it going?" she asked, trying to make conversation.
"Okay, I guess," he shrugged. "I'm just hoping for the best and that my mother does okay."
"I'm sure she'll do fine," she said in assurance. "So, other than your Computer Club keeping you busy, what else have you been up to? Lately, you haven't been hanging around with me or the others as much."
He shrugged as he stared out the window of the waiting room.
"Well, the Computer Club has been keeping me a bit busy lately and I am the President of it," he said with a half smile. "I have a lot of responsibilities now since I am in my last year. I've also been taking practice exams to prepare me for our high school entrance exams this upcoming February."
"I guess that's good. I've been studying for them too. All of the Kanji we have to learn is driving me crazy! At least the English part of it will be a breeze for me. Sora-san has been helping me prepare for my upcoming entrance exams." She then smiled a bit. "You know, when she isn't busy with Taichi-san. Have you decided on which school you are going to try and get into?"
"I had a few schools in mind, all known for their hi-tech equipment and computer oriented classes." He looked towards her. "How about you?"
"I'm going to stick with Odaiba High. They have good sports teams and I hope to excel with my volleyball and my swimming."
She walked up beside him and stared out of the window as well. The late afternoon was starting to enter the early evening.
"I was hoping that we would be able to go to High School together."
"Who knows where I'll actually end up. There's no guarantee I'll end up in either one of those computer schools. Odaiba High was the other school on my list. It is the closest and it is right here in our district. If I went to one of the other schools I had in mind, I would have to move away from here and find a new place to live."
"You mean like Jou-senpai?" she asked. "Get an apartment by yourself?"
"Yeah, but I was thinking about doing that anyway."
"I think it'll be sad if you moved away. Everyone would miss you."
"Maybe so, but I feel that I should do this. This has been a plan of mine for a while, moving out when I start my first year of High School. My parents have already offered to help me out in any way possible." He then muttered, "That would cost a bit of money if I went to a private school and if they helped to pay for an apartment for me." He then spoke up again. "But still, private school or no private school, I will be moving out this upcoming spring."
"But why are you going to move out? Why is it so necessary?"
"Why did you come back to Odaiba?"
"What does that have to do with your planning to move away?"
"Quite a bit," he told her. "Now, why did you come back to Odaiba other than your friends being here?"
"To gain a sense of independence and to show my parents that I can be responsible if I weren't around them all of the time. To prove to them that I'm not just some kid and that I don't need them to baby me all of the time."
"There, you have your answer. I want to do the same thing, the only difference is that I can't leave the country to do it."
"I understand..."
The girl frowned a bit.
"Don't be to upset, Mimi-san. I have been planning this for a long time now. A while before I graduated from Odaiba Elementary, actually. I felt that the sooner I go out and be on my own, the better." He then laughed a bit. "I don't know if you've noticed or not, but my parents do baby me a bit. I don't think they want me to grow up sometimes."
She laughed. She knew that this was true, especially with Mrs. Izumi.
"Any idea where you will be moving?"
"It all depends on which school I decide to try and get into or which school actually accepts me. I am studying like crazy. I am sure that I can pass the entrance exam for any school I try for!"
She smiled and was glad that Koushirou had so much confidence in himself, but she was still going to miss him, never the less.
"I wish Odaiba High was it. It'll be strange going to school and your not being there since I've gotten so used of hanging around you."
"Yeah, and your not being around would be a bit awkward for me too. But you can always visit me wherever I do decide to move to. You all can."
"Yeah, I guess so."
Koushirou turned away from Mimi and went back to looking out of the window.
"Hey, why don't you have lunch with me in school Monday? We can get a study date set up for our entrance exams. You could help me study so I won't have to always bother Sora-san or Yamato-san."
Koushirou turned towards Mimi and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He felt a bit nervous, but he didn't understand why he would have been. This was Mimi, his friend. "Why get nervous around her?" He put his thoughts aside and answered Mimi's question.
"I wouldn't want to disturb you or Yamato-san if I just showed up at the lunch table with you two."
She laughed a bit.
"Don't worry about him. My friends are always welcome to join us; especially good ones."
He smiled back at her and shook off one of his urges. He really wanted to kiss her like he had before, but he mentally punched himself for that. He felt that he wasn't supposed to think in such a fashion. Oddly enough, Mimi wanted to kiss him too but she kept herself under control. She was a lady afterall and young ladies aren't supposed to act in such a manner. Her mother was big on the etiquette thing and acting lady-like was very important to her and expected Mimi to act in the same way.
"I'm glad that you decided to come by."
"So am I."
"I apologize for ruining your outing with Yamato-san. You really didn't have to come."
"You didn't ruin it! He had other things to do anyway. He forgot that he had a band practice! That's his loss, but he did say good luck with your mother."
"Oh."
She smiled at Koushirou.
"Don't ever think that you are a nuisance or a bother to me because you aren't and you never will be!"
He nodded and stared at Mimi like he had before when they were at the Festival. Mimi was doing the same thing. The two were inching closer to one another about to kiss, instincts taking over, until the two were unexpectedly interrupted.
"Mr. Izumi?" a person called. "Is there a Mr. Izumi here?"
"What! What! What!" Koushirou shouted out nervously. "I wasn't about to do anything, Yamato-san!" He then bowed to Mimi. "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! (I am very sorry! I am very sorry!)"
The boy blushed furiously and kept apologizing for some reason. He realized what was about to happen between him and Mimi, another kiss. She already had somebody, it was wrong of him to try and kiss her, but he just couldn't help himself. Mimi didn't say anything. She looked a bit disappointed that he didn't kiss her. The two then heard someone calling for a "Mr. Izumi," once again, and Koushirou nervously shouted out.
"Um, right here, I'm Mr. Izumi!"
A nurse walked up to Koushirou.
"Good, I found you," the nurse then smiled at Koushirou, "but my name isn't Yamato."
"Right..."
"Your mother has had the baby, about 20 minutes ago actually, so you can go in to see her now," the nurse informed him.
"Really!?!"
She nodded.
"That's wonderful! What did she have!"
The boy shook his head.
"Never mind what she had! Is she healthy! Is she okay!?!"
"Calm down, Koushirou-kun," Mimi laughed, due to how cute Koushirou was acting. "Let the nurse talk."
"The delivery was a success and she had a healthy baby---"
"Great, lead the way!" Koushirou interupted.
The woman smiled at his hyperness and decided to take the boy to see his mother.
Before the nurse could lead Koushirou to his mother's room, Miyako and Jou ran back up. Miyako was complaining about how bad the hospital food was and Jou was trying his best to calm her down.
"These muffins are as hard as a rock, the Macaroni & Cheese looks like it was cooked in yellow paste, and what kind of a hospital serves Jello that requires one to have teeth just to eat it!" she complained. "Jello is supposed to be soft, not hard and gravelly, like dried over cement!"
"Miyako-kun, please calm down!" Jou sweat dropped.
"Hmmph, it's true!" she said, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"How about after we leave here, I take you someplace to get a real meal to make up for the one you didn't get in the cafeteria."
"Where will you take me?"
"Any place that you would like."
"No fast food places!"
The boy sighed and realized that he probably made a big mistake. He figured that Miyako was definitely going to take advantage of this situation.
"Okay, no cheap fast food places," he finally agreed.
"It's a deal!" Miyako smiled.
The older boy sighed out in relief. He was glad that Miyako had finally stopped complaining and making a scene.
"Hey, where are Izumi-senpai and Mimi-oneesama going?"
Jou shrugged and he and Miyako ran up to Mimi and Koushirou.
"Great, you're here!" Mimi said. "Mrs. Izumi has had the baby and we are going to see her now!"
"Sugoi, I can't wait to see it!" Miyako exclaimed.
"C'mon, everyone! Let's go see my mother!"
The nurse led the four to a room. When they entered the room, they saw Mr. Izumi smiling and looking at his brand new child, whom Mrs. Izumi was holding. Ms. Hanada was there too, right by Mrs. Izumi's side, shedding tears. She was quite the emotional type. When the four entered the room, Mrs. Izumi called out to them.
"Hello everyone!"
"Mom, are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you being fed okay? Are you healthy? Is the baby healthy? Did the doctor---"
The glasses-wearing boy put a hand over Koushirou's mouth, muffling out his questions.
"He has been a nervous wreck since you have been in here, Izumi-san," Jou apologized. "Please forgive him."
The woman smiled.
"I don't mind. It's nice to see you all."
"Can I see the baby!" Miyako asked, rushing over to the bed. "I want to see the baby!"
"Me too, me too!" Mimi said, joining Miyako. "I want to hold the baby!"
The two girls saw the baby and their eyes instantly glowed in a sparkly fashion.
"Kawaii!! (Pretty/Cute!!)" the two exclaimed.
"Such a pretty child, but Yoshie-san, Masami-san, you need to come up with a name for her," Ms. Hanada told them.
Mr. Izumi nodded in agreement.
"Yoshie, we never did decide on one."
Everyone in the room started to give suggestions on names, minus Koushirou. He was still a bit nervous over the entire situation. Mrs. Izumi noticed this and called him over, which silenced everyone else.
"Koushirou, dear..."
The boy jerked his head up at the mentioning of his name.
"Hai, okaasan? (Yes, mother?)"
"Don't you want to see your new baby sister?"
He nervously nodded and walked towards her.
"You should try holding her," Mr. Izumi told him.
Mr. Izumi stood up and let Koushirou take his seat. Right now, Miyako was holding the sleeping infant. She didn't want to put the child down. Mimi was the same way pretty much and wanted to hold the baby longer before reluctantly handing her over to Miyako.
"I think we should let Koushirou hold her now," Mrs. Izumi smiled.
"Um, I don't think that's such a good idea," Koushirou protested. "What if I break her or something?"
"Don't be silly," Ms. Hanada told him. "You'll be fine."
Miyako handed the baby to Koushirou who nervously accepted it.
"Wow, she's so small."
Mimi helped Koushirou out by showing him how to hold the baby correctly.
"You have to hold her gently but you can't hold her loosely either or you'll drop her," she told him.
He nodded and did as she said. When Koushirou held the baby in the correct fashion, Mimi couldn't help but smile at him. She thought he looked cute at that particular moment. She always found him cute when he seemed nervous about something.
"You're going to make one good brother to your new sister, Koushirou."
"I'll try to be a good brother," he told his mother. He chuckled a bit. "Surprisingly, I've been preparing for this exact moment and I didn't even realize it."
"We still haven't decided on a name," Mr. Izumi said.
"That's right," Mrs. Izumi responded.
"Hmm, how about the name Atsuko?" Mr. Izumi suggested.
"Atsuko?" She shook her head. "No, I don't like that too much. How about Kasumi?"
Mr. Izumi shook his head at his wife's choice of a name.
"Nah, too common. How about Aya?"
"That's a nice name," Ms. Hanada complimented.
"I'm not all that fond of the name," Mrs. Izumi said. "It is nice, but I'm sure we can come up with something better. What do you think Sui-san?"
"Um, why not...um...Hitomi?"
"That's even more common than the name Kasumi," Mr. Izumi laughed.
Both Ms. Hanada and Mr. Izumi kept discussing names while Mrs. Izumi looked at Koushirou. The baby had awakened and looked up and Koushirou, smiling. She thought it was surprising that the baby didn't cry and was really surprised that the baby seemed to be smiling. Koushirou was smiling back and talking to the baby. Jou, Mimi, and Miyako smiled at their friend. They were glad that he had finally calmed down and seemed more comfortable around the baby.
"Hi there. I'm your new brother. You can call me oniisan or whatever it is you would call me. I'm new at this older brother stuff and I'm learning as I go along so if I do something completely stupid, I didn't mean to."
Right at that moment, the nurse and the doctor entered the room.
"How are you feeling Mrs. Izumi?" the doctor asked.
The woman sat up in her bed a bit more and smiled.
"I'm doing okay."
"We have to get a name for the child now, Izumi-san," the nurse said while writing up a paper. "Have you two decided on one yet?"
"I'm afraid not," Mr. Izumi admitted.
"Well, you have to come up with something so that we can finish writing up the Birth Certificate," the doctor told them.
"I like the name Aya," Mr. Izumi said.
"I think the name Hitomi is nice," Ms. Hanada said.
"Why not Ai!" Mimi suggested. "That's a pretty name and it symbolizes love!"
"Hmm, I think the name Rio is nice," Miyako chimed in.
Jou scratched his head and said, "Atarashii Taiyou..."
"New sun?" Mimi asked.
"What kind of a name is that?" Miyako asked.
"Oh, sorry," the boy laughed nervously. "I was just thinking of
that song Taichi sang a while back. That song is quite catchy."
****
Tentomon: No it's not! That's not why the song title was thrown
in there just now!
Gomamon: Okay, why was it throw in then?
Gabumon: (Sarcastic tone) Yes oh honorable knowledgable one...
The insect type Digi ignored Gabumon's obvious sarcasm and answered.
Tentomon: RP-han is just listening to the song, which she really likes, and typed in Atarashii Taiyou by mistake, which is the song title of the 02 theme of Taichi-han.
Agumon: Ooh! Do you think she could get Agumon Ondo in there someplace?
Gomamon: What about Muteki na Bataashi, my song!
Gabumon: Daijoubu, my song, has a catchier tune than your two songs!
Tentomon: Oh brother. -_-
****
"Um, how about the name Umi?" Jou suggested.
Yoshie sat there, considering all of the suggestions. She then smiled and looked over towards Koushirou who was still holding the baby.
"Why not let Koushirou choose?" she said.
"Koushirou?" everyone asked in surprise.
"Me?!?"
"Yes, I really feel that you should choose the name." She then turned to her husband. "Whatever he chooses, we go along with it."
Mr. Izumi nodded in agreement. The woman then turned back towards her son.
"Is that okay with you, Koushirou?"
The boy nodded nervously.
"I suppose so..."
"So, what will the name be?" the nurse asked.
The boy sat there, thinking. He didn't know anything about naming children. He barely knew how to associate with them. He was still in the "learning stage" in that sense.
"What do I name you? The name has to have some kind of a meaning," he said, deep in thought.
He then looked down at the baby and still spoke to himself.
"You look like a thinker and I bet you'll be very smart when you get older." Koushirou looked around at everyone and stared at Ms. Hanada. "I know she is really enjoying this. I bet she is going to tell you stories about my biological mother and her love for Chess like she does with Kimiko-kun. She's actually trying to teach her how to play."
Koushirou looked back down at the nameless baby.
"I wonder if you'll be a good Chess player since I know for a fact that Sui-obasan will teach you how to play," he said out aloud.
Ms. Hanada smiled at that. She loved the idea of teaching children how to play Chess.
"I bet you will be," he said in assurance. "I know you will grow up to be a smart, responsible person." He then said slowly to himself, "Just...like...my...mother..."
The boy looked up.
"Miki!" he said. He looked over at his parents and asked, "Can we name her Miki please?"
"Miki?" Mr. Izumi asked.
"Miki is a wonderful name," Mrs. Izumi said with a nod and a smile. "I like it a lot."
"I do too," Mr. Izumi agreed.
"So, Izumi Miki is the name you choose for her?" the nurse asked.
Mr. & Mrs. Izumi nodded.
"Okay, got it," the nurse said as she wrote down the information.
After the Nurse got the information, she and the doctor left.
The baby was now sleeping and Koushirou was still holding her.
"Hi there, Miki. I am Koushirou. I hope you're okay with the name I chose for you. He then whispered to her, "It's a very important name to me."
The boy stood up and handed the baby back to his mother.
"It means so much to me that you are here, Koushirou, and I am glad that you named her," she smiled proudly at him. "I'm sure that both your mother and father are very proud of you right now."
Mr. Izumi put a hand down on Koushirou's shoulder and proudly said, "Good job, son."
Koushirou smiled nervously and nodded.
"Well, I better get going," he said. "I should let you rest up."
"We all should probably go," Jou said. "I'm sure we're over the limit."
"Over the limit?" Miyako asked.
"I'm sure that Mrs. Izumi has too many visitors at one time," Jou explained.
"Oh." She then turned to both Mr. & Mrs. Izumi and said, "Congratulations."
The two thanked the kids and they all walked out. Ms. Hanada left along with them.
"Hanada-san, why did you leave?" Mimi asked.
"This is more of a family moment," she told her. "Besides, I should really go home and see how Kimiko is doing with the other children she was hanging out with today."
"What are the children doing?" Jou asked.
"Kodomo-tachi wa kooen de asonde imasu. (The children are having fun on the playground)."
"Cool."
"Well, I'm out of here. I will see you all later."
Before the woman left, she turned to Koushirou and smiled proudly.
"You did a good job today. You and Miyako-kun. You ought to be proud that you got Yoshie-san here in time."
"So am I," Koushirou sighed out in relief.
"I'm also sure that Miki-chan and Hiroaki-san would be very proud of you. That was sweet of you to name your new sister Miki."
Koushirou smiled a bit. He was glad that he had done so also. With that, Ms. Hanada left.
"I'm glad that's over with," Jou said. "I was starting to worry about Koushirou there."
"You weren't the only one," Miyako said in agreement. She then gave Jou a smile and said, "I hope he doesn't act that bad when I have my first child."
The boy looked over at Miyako who laughed a bit. She only spoke loud enough so that he could hear her. No one else heard what she had said.
"Hey, Jou!"
Jou turned to see a tall boy with long, dark hair.
"Yo, Eijiro," Jou greeted back. "What are you still doing here?"
"I never left. Me and a couple of the others were helping out the nurses for extra credit. Our instructor set it up." He then frowned a bit. "There wasn't much for us to do--especially since they were all male nurses, that evil instructor--so we're all leaving. We were on our way out until I saw you over here. Want to come hang out with us?"
Eijiro then gave Jou a nudge and a sly smirk.
"We're going to meet up with Malissa and the other girls that were in her group." He then laughed. "It'll make up for us having to work with male nurses."
Jou blushed nervously.
"Malissa, huh? She's very nice."
"Um, sorry for interrupting, but what about my dinner!"
"You know what, I think I will take you up on that offer!" Jou told his friend.
The boy started to run off with Miyako running behind him, who ended up tripping in the process. He didn't let that keep him down, though, he talk got right back up and resumed running away from the younger girl.
"You owe me a dinner, senpai! You promised and you have the Crest Trait of Sincerity too! You're supposed to live up to your promises!"
"Now this is a funny scene," Eijiro laughed. "Another girl after Jou and he just doesn't seem to notice it."
Mimi laughed too. When she was younger, she acted the same way around Jou, but she was never romantically interested him. She was slightly attracted to him when they were stuck together in the Digital World, but that was about it.
"Hi there," Eijirou smiled, noticing Mimi.
"Hello, Eijiro-san," she greeted back.
"Why not join us for the evening," he pretty much flirted.
The girl looked over at Koushirou who was just standing there.
"No thanks. You have Miyako-chan. I'll hang around here for a while, but thanks for the offer."
He nodded and said, "okay," and took off after Jou and Miyako. He was better at taking hints now; besides, he knew about her and Yamato dating. His sisters were crying when they found out since they were such "Rabid Yama Fans" and thought it was "unfair." He just shook his head at his younger sisters and always wondered why he was cursed with having so many of them. He would personally trade all four of his sisters for his cousin, Eiji, any day of the week.
As for Yuko, Ayame, and Chinatsu, they were all pretty much shocked when they found out that Mimi had started dating Yamato. They never really said anything, but even they thought that Mimi would have ended up getting with Koushirou eventually, especially since Mimi finally told them why she was upset on the day of Sora's party. Whenever they would ask Mimi, what drew her to Yamato, she would pretty much only say, "He's nice." Yuko was slightly jealous of Mimi since she had gotten with the hottest boy in "all of Odaiba," but she didn't hold it against her.
Not only were the girls heartbroken over the hottest new couple, but the guys were as well. Mimi's main admirers were happy that she didn't end up with Izumi, but flat out gave up--some of them--when they found out she had accepted Yamato and dated him. Every guy was jealous of Yamato for having the honor of dating such a great girl.
"So, what are you going to do now?"
Koushirou shrugged. He didn't know what he wanted to do. All he knew was that he was going to be home by himself that night. His father said a while ago that when Mrs. Izumi went to the hospital that he would stay by her side no matter what and that he would stay in the hospital with her if she ever had to stay overnight.
"Let's go out someplace, just the two of us, to celebrate the birth of your new sister!"
Koushirou gave her a look, wondering what she had in mind.
"If-if you insist, but what could we do?" he asked nervously.
The girl stood there and decided to scheme a bit. She wanted Koushirou to offer to take her someplace. She wanted him to pick.
"I really don't know," the girl said. "What do you want to do?" she asked innocently. "It doesn't matter, your choice."
"Ima nan-ji desu ka? (What time is it now?)"
"A little after 5:00."
The boy "hmmed" and thought for a moment. His subconscious was pretty much taking over and his subconscious--not to mention romanced crazed and brave side--wanted to ask Mimi out. The same went for Mimi, her subconscious wanted Koushirou to ask her out and her subconscious self was definitely going to accept the offer if he did. She smiled at the thought. Ever since she had gotten to the hospital, she hadn't been herself.
"Ano...Mimi-san... (Um...Mimi...)"
"Hai?"
He got a nervous blush and asked, "Konya eega ni ikimasen ka? (How about we go out to the movies tonight?)"
The girl was surprised that Koushirou actually had the guts to actually ask, yet she was happy.
"Of course!" she pretty much cheered. "I'd love to and I don't care what's playing either! Let's just get going!"
"Su-sure."
The girl grabbed Koushirou's arm and linked hers with his. It was like she couldn't control herself right then and there. She was too hung up over Koushirou to even care. Koushirou did stop her, though. He had to inform his parents on what he was planning.
Just as Koushirou had expected, his father was planning on staying overnight with Mrs. Izumi and that Koushirou was going to have the place to himself. He was okay with that.
After he finished with his father, he went back to a waiting Mimi.
The two ended up leaving and both went out to the movies. Nothing
happened in the "romantic sense," but the two did look as if they
were on a real date.
****
Miyako got tired of chasing Jou, and grew tired of Eijiro's accussing
her of liking Jou. Due to all of that, she decided to head on home.
She called the Izumi home, but didn't get an answer, which didn't surprise
her. She then called Mimi and found out that she hadn't gotten home
either and that she was out with a friend, according to her uncle.
She didn't think too much of it.
"Mimi-chan goes with Yamato-san now. She wouldn't be out with Izumi-senpai, would she?" she asked herself.
She knew that Yamato was still practicing with his band, due to the time. She was now wondering who Mimi was hanging out with, but decided to dismiss it. She knew that Mimi wouldn't try anything with Koushirou if she had Yamato...she hoped.
Miyako decided to call Hikari to see how she was doing and to tell her about Mrs. Izumi's baby.
Hikari had been dating Takeru just as long as Yamato had Mimi. Takeru and Hikari had been a bit quiet over their dating one another, in the very beginning, but they were open with it now-a-days. Everyone was okay with Takeru getting together with Hikari, even though Taichi was quite skeptical over it. He knew that Takeru was a nice boy and that he wouldn't hurt her in any way, but he still had a difficult time accepting the fact that his baby sister was dating in general. She was still his sister that needed him to watch over her to him.
The only person that was a bit upset over the two dating was Daisuke. He still liked Hikari a lot, even though he had calmed down with his obvious crush on her, tremendously. He was a bit jealous of Takeru since he had gotten with Hikari but shrugged it off when anyone asked him he felt about it. There wasn't much he could do to get her to like him the way that he liked her. He wasn't mad nor was he sore at Takeru and still saw him as a friend and that was important to him.
"Hey, Hikari-chan!"
"Hey, Miyako-san. What's up?"
The older glasses-wearing girl started to tell Hikari about her day
with Jou and Koushirou at the hospital, causing Hikari to laugh at every
detail...
****
Later on that evening...
"That was a fun movie to watch!" Mimi said in a cheerful manner.
"Yeah, it was. It wasn't Sci Fi, but it was okay."
"I know, I know, you're the Sci Fi fanatic," Mimi said. "I hope you didn't mind watching a romantic comedy."
"I didn't mind going to see the movie. It was quite amusing," he said. "I'm glad you invited me along."
"I didn't invite anyone," Mimi said, getting a mischievous grin. "You did."
"Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?" he asked, putting his hand behind his head bashfully.
She smiled and nodded as they continued their walk home. They were coming up to Koushirou's place since it was closer to the movie theatre.
"So, what do you want to do now to end our...evening?" she asked.
"Probably go on home. There isn't much more to do. I would also like to check up on my mother to see if she's doing okay."
"Are you planning on calling her?"
"Yeah, when I get home. If you would like, I could walk you home since it is getting a bit late."
"Since we're already at your place, we might as well hang out here for a while."
"Okay."
The boy invited Mimi into his home.
"Have a seat. Would you like anything to drink or eat?"
"No thanks."
She patted the seat beside her.
"Why don't we talk for a while," she smiled.
"Sure."
He took the seat beside Mimi nervously.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
"How about us?"
"Us?"
She nodded.
"For the past few weeks, we haven't talked as much and this time is the perfect opportunity to."
"Yeah, I guess, but what's there to talk about?"
"Well, I think we should spend some more time together," she blushed slightly.
"You do!?!"
"Yeah, we rarely do anymore."
"But what about Yamato-san?"
"What about him? We are friends and friends should hang out together."
The girl then blushed a bit more.
"Besides, I like to spend time with you."
Koushirou laughed in surprise.
"I always felt that I bored you."
"That's silly. You don't bore me."
"Surprising..."
"I was just wanted to get everything set up."
"Set what up?"
"Our study date, of course. I was serious. I want to study with you. You can help me with all that boring stuff, and I can help you improve your English a bit more."
"Um, okay. If you insist."
"Of course!" the girl said with a smile. "Now, let us get everything set up, like when we will study and all of that other important stuff."
"Okay."
The two started to plan out when they could study together to help prepare for their upcoming entrance exams. They were right around the corner.
After they finished planning that out, Koushirou left Mimi to call the hospital to see how everything was going with his parents. He got through and his father answered. He pretty much asked how Koushirou enjoyed his movie, while Mrs. Izumi took the phone from him, asking how he was doing and if he could handle being by himself an entire night. Koushirou shook his head at the way the two were acting. They were doing exactly what he wanted to get away from, their babying him every chance that they got.
After Koushirou assured them that he would be okay by himself, Mrs. Izumi insisted that Koushirou have someone stay with him because she didn't like the idea of him being at home alone. Koushirou, once again, assured her that he would be okay.
While Koushirou was on the phone, Mimi was on her cell, calling up her family to let her know where she was. She also mentioned this time that Mrs. Izumi had had her baby.
"Mimi-san," Koushirou called after he had gotten off the phone with his folks.
"Oh, hey again," she asked nervously, not knowing why exactly. "So, what's up?"
"The usual, pretty much."
"The usual?"
He nodded.
"My parents acting over protective. Even when they're not around, they baby me. They insisted that I have someone stay the night. Pretty silly, aren't they?"
He decided to get off of the topic and get Mimi home.
"Well, it's getting a bit late. Would you like for me to walk you home?"
"I'm not so sure," she said, getting an "I have an idea," smile.
"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.
"Why not let me stay the night!"
"NANI!?!" the boy asked, nearly having a heart attack.
"Izumi-san said that she wanted someone to stay with you, so why not have me stay overnight since I am already here."
"Um, I'm not so sure that is a good idea," Koushirou responded, still surprised at what she had suggested.
"Why not?"
He wasn't sure how he would react around Mimi if she stayed the night and was pretty scared of accidentally embarassing himself in front of her. It wasn't like they were children stuck in the Digital World together anymore where he never really had such adult-like thoughts. He also wasn't sure where things would have led if she stayed over there. If it was easy for them to almost kiss one another, who knows what else could happen without anyone around to interrupt things, even though he, himself, wouldn't allow himself to.
"Um, what about your aunt and uncle. I am sure they would disapprove of such an arrangement."
"No they wouldn't. They like you and the Izumis. Besides, they trust me and this is the perfect test for me to show my true independence!"
All Koushirou could do was shrug. He didn't want to argue with the girl.
"So, can I stay over?"
"I...guess...so," he said slowly.
"Great! Let me call my aunt back and let her know that I plan on staying here with one of my best buddies! We can catch up a lot this way!"
"Um, yeah," he said uneasily.
The girl took out her cell phone and called her folks back. She explained how she wanted to stay over at the Izumis for the night. Her uncle was the one to answer the phone and he said, in a stern manner, "No!" She tried to reason with her uncle into letting her stay, but he still refused to let her and her aunt agreed with him. Mimi sighed and acted "adult" about it and decided to go along with them on their decision. Mimi didn't even bother asking why they wouldn't let her, since she felt that it wouldn't help her case out any.
Her companion noticed the look on her face and figured that they dissapproved, just like he had assumed they would. No matter how much they may like a guy, no normal parent or guardian would let their pretty teen-aged daughter--or in the Nishimuras' case, niece--spend the entire night, unsupervised, with a teen-aged boy with raging hormones.
"They're being stubborn!"
"That's okay, Mimi-san," Koushirou smiled in relief. "Maybe some other time."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I should probably walk you home now."
"Yeah, okay."
The girl headed towards the door, a bit dissapointed. Koushirou walked behind her, relieved over the fact that she wasn't staying. He didn't want either one of them to end up doing something that each would regret. The two exited the apartment and headed towards the Nishimura home in silence, pretty much.
"Here you are, home safe and sound."
"Yeah, here I am," she muttered, still a bit cross over her aunt and uncle's decision.
"Thank you for visiting my mother in the hospital. I am sure she really appreciated it."
"No problem," Mimi said with a forced smile. "I was glad to come by."
"So, I guess I will see you in school Monday."
"Yeah and you shall join me for lunch."
He smiled timidly.
"Yep, I suppose so, but if Yamato-san doesn't want anyone else around, I will leave."
"Don't worry about him. If he was sick of all of our friends," she laughed, "he would have kicked Yuko-chan, Ayame-chan, and Chinatsu-chan away a long time ago."
"I suppose that's true."
"You're more of a friend to him than they are."
"That is true also."
She smiled at him.
"Stop worrying. I don't know why you of all people would fear hanging around Yamato-san."
He shrugged, about to say something, but the front door was opened and startled by that of a tall man. "Welcome home," the man told the two.
"Hi there, Uncle."
"You better get in the house now," he told her. "It's getting a bit late."
"Yes sir."
She turned to Koushirou and gave him a smile, one he always loved.
"I'll talk with you later, Koushirou-kun. I can't wait until your mom gets home with the baby!"
"Yeah, I'll see you later too, Mimi-san. Good night, Nishimura-san."
The two waved to Koushirou as he walked off, his hands in his pockets. As he walked away, he stared up at the sky and chuckled to himself lightly. He then said to himself, "I guess that means Mimi-san is still with Yamato-san, no matter how much I am against it."
He stared back at the Nishimura house and sighed.
"Oh well, that's fate for you," he muttered out aloud.
He then smiled a bit, forcefully.
"If this is what Mimi-san wants, then this is what she deserves. If she is truly happy, I shouldn't interfere, and when she is happy, I'm happy...I suppose."
He looked up at the window of Mimi's room.
"Oyasumi, Mimi-san," he thought. "I wish you the best of luck with Yamato-san and will have to accept the fact that I have officially lost you, even though I never officially had you. I just wish I wasn't so shy to tell you how much I really liked you."
He then turned and headed home...
"You're back!"
"Yep, we sure are," Mrs. Izumi said. "How did you manage all by yourself?"
"It was okay, but how are you feeling? Do you need to rest? Do you need to lie down?"
"She is fine, Koushirou," Mr. Izumi laughed. "Stop worrying."
Mrs. Izumi was sitting on the couch holding the baby when Koushirou walked in. Koushirou walked over towards his mother and looked down at the baby.
"She's still so tiny," stated.
"She's going to be like this for a good while, so you better get used to her," Mrs. Izumi smiled.
"Would you like to hold her?" his father asked.
"Yes, I really could use the practice since I am now officially her brother."
The boy sat down next to his mother, who handed the infant to Koushirou. He remembered what Mimi and Miyako had told him about how to hold babies so he didn't need any help this time. The baby was awake this time and smiled when she saw Koushirou holding her.
"Miki must really like you," Mrs. Izumi said, noticing the smiles she would give him. "She keeps smiling every time you are around. That's kind of odd for a child that young."
"I guess he must be special to her in some way," Mr. Izumi said.
"Or maybe she knows something special about Koushirou that we don't."
Both Mr. & Mrs. Izumi smiled as they all huddled around Koushirou, admiring the new addition to their family, living happily ever after...
