:Final call for airline passengers on A2439 for New York, boarding now:

Two figures hurriedly ran to the boarding gate, panting as they moved their legs as fast as they could.

"Haah…omae no sei dai! (This is your fault!) You buying junk food in McDonalds and browsing for your magazines almost caused us to miss our flight!" Mimi accused the boy as they slumped into their business class seats.

"Hn." He grunted in reply, too absorbed in his Rolling Stones magazine while munching a french fry.

The brunette's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and she let out a sigh. 'It's going to be a long plane ride, that's for sure…why did I ever agree to this?'

'Cause you are attracted to him…' A little voice inside her sing songed. Mimi's jaw dropped. "What? No!"

"What, no, what? Are you talking to yourself again, Miss Tachikawa?" Yamato tried to keep a straight face as he surveyed the girl next to him.

"Nan demo nai! (It's nothing!)" Mimi interjected snippily, her face still tomato red. 'Baka, baka, baka inner voice! Go to hell!' She cursed inside her head before propping her head on the headrest and dosing off.

'Gaki…(brat…)' Yamato's eyes softened as he watched her innocently sleeping. 'She looks prettier when she's in a calm state. Around boys, she appeared to be like a bomb waiting to set off…ha,'

He curled up his magazine and positioned it into his shoulder bag, and then drew out his iPod. Yamato carried it with him all the time, 24/7. He rolled his fingers and music resounded into his ears.

"Could you whisper in my ear
The things you wanna feel
I'll give you anything
To feel it comin'…"

'I hear…a beautiful voice.' Mimi mused in her half-asleep condition. 'So soothing…' She paused, and without thinking she uttered out, "keep singing…mmm."

Yamato took out an earpiece and stared at her. Did he really hear what she just say? "Keep singing…" He popped back the earphone and grinned shyly. "Okay…I will."

His low voice was a lullaby charm to her ears. Slowly, Mimi smiled and drifted off into a deep slumber.

'Kirei…(beautiful…)' Yamato thought before falling asleep as well.

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He was on stage, in concert. He wore his favorite pair of baggy jeans and tight black shirt. His guitar was strapped around his shoulders. "Are you ready?" He yelled to his fans.

The crowd roared back, "Yea!"

And he sang all twenty-one songs. All the ones he wrote throughout his musical life. Yamato has never felt this alive while singing…

"Okiru, (wake up,) tofu-head…we're nearly there." A voice came from nowhere.

"Are? (Huh?)"

His eyes shot open, flashing blue. 'A dream…' He exhaled in disappointment, receiving a concerned glimpse from Mimi.

"Um…you okay?" The girl tilted her head to get a better view of Yamato's distraught face.

He waved his hand in reply. "Yea, yea, I'm fine. No worries." He ran a hand through his golden-streaked hair and sighed. 'Man…what a dream.' His expression remained stony-faced throughout the rest of the plane ride.

Mimi gazed at her butler with anxiety in her eyes. 'Yamato…why can't you tell me what's wrong?'

"Do you wake up on your own
And wonder where you are
You live with all your faults…" Yamato mumbled the words as he plugged the rest of the world out.

'I do wonder…where am I? Why did I have to lose my dream?'

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"Wah! New York is so big!" Mimi exclaimed as she turned in 180 degree circles, observing the city with her large eyes. It was her first time here, and she was making a large deal out of it.

"Yare yare, (good grief,) you act like a nine-year-old who's going to the toy store." Yamato chided as he flicked through the yellow pages.

Mimi stomped her feet impatiently. "Dewa…(well…) I can't help it! You should understand that." She griped as she stared at what Yamato was doing. "Who are you calling anyway?"

The boy looked up from the telephone booth and smiled slyly. "Some acquaintances. You'll meet them soon. I think they'll like you, since you're so feisty and all." He resumed to leaf through the thick telephone book.

'Feisty?' Mimi blushed and averted her concentration to the tall skyscrapers. 'What in heaven's name is he talking about? Stupid Ishida-san…'

Yamato at last found the number he was looking for and giddily punched in the numbers.

BRIIIIIING, BRIIIIIIING.

Someone picked up after two rings. "Moshi moshi?"

"Yo. Michael-kun, is that you?"

"Hai…who's speaking?"

The blonde snorted, scrunching up his nose. "Man, you can't even recognize my voice? It's Ishida here."

"OH. MY. GOD! What's up, Yamato!" Michael screamed heartily, causing the boy on the other line to hold the phone a few inches away from his ears.

"Jeez, you sound like a girl. Well anyway, bring the other members and meet my friend and I for pizza at the Central Perk." (A/N: Haha! Central Perk is a place in FRIENDS.)

"Cool cool, see you there in thirty minutes."

They both hung up and Yamato returned to find Mimi still gawking up at the sky.

"Oi, doofus. Skyscrapers aren't that fascinating. Come on; let's go get something to eat. I'm starved," He grabbed Mimi's wrist as he yanked her across the road.

"Mou…just admiring the view!" Mimi sulked as she grudgingly followed her butler's lead. "Where we eating?"

"Central Perk."

"Oh. Are we meeting your friends?"

"Yes."

"Sou ka…(I see…)"

After a fifteen minute walk, Mimi and Yamato arrived at the coffee shop. It wasn't lunch hour at this time of the day, (only 11:00 am) so it was quite deserted.

"Sit here," He motioned to a comfy chair. "My friends will be here any minute…" He smiled at her.

"Hmph."

As he spoke, three tall boys walked in. One boy had a mass of wild brown hair and was wearing army cargo pants and a t-shirt with words printed 'MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR'. "Yo!" He cried out happily, leaping into Yamato's arms for a hug.

"This…is Yagami Taichi. He plays the drums in The Wolves." The butler introduced.

"Nice to meet'cha!" Taichi grinned at Mimi.

Another boy with flaming ruby hair, slightly shorter, advanced towards them. He was wearing a navy blue button up polo shirt and khaki pants.

"This is Izumi Koushirou. He plays the keyboard."

"And he's the nerd of the band! Ha, ha!" Taichi added teasingly.

Koushirou shot dagger eyes at him. "And what are you exactly, Taichi? The monkey of the group?"

Mimi choked back a snigger. She was already liking Koushirou's attitude.

"Why- you!"

Yamato placed his hands on Taichi's shoulders to settle him down. "Ochitsuke! (Calm down!) And the last member of our group…" He trailed off, pointing a finger at a blonde with chin length crimped hair.

Mimi's eyes sparked with disbelief. "Mikkeru…?"

The boy with light blue eyes dressed in baggy attire snapped his gaze to her. "Mimi…is that you?"

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Was this chapter okay? There is a major cliffhanger and a lot of history involved in the next chapter. Hee! By the way, Mikkeru is the Japanese name for Michael. So don't get that confused!