WARNING: None. =]

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

Dedication: Everyone who is continuing to read this story up to this point. I don't know how you do it. I truly don't. But thanks. :'D

Reviewers: N/A

Author's Note: None.

Rating: T

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"M-Mimi?" Tai stuttered as he stared at someone who he thought he would never talk to again.

Mimi smiled widely at Tai, "Mhhmm."

Tai scrunched his brows together and looked at Mimi apprehensively. "Why are you here?"

Mimi pretended to grab her chest. "Ohh, that hurt. Is it so wrong that I want to spend time with my real friends?" She looked around the table, her heart clenching delightfully as she recognized the familiar faces. 'Hannah, Sarah, Nick, Greg, Izzy and Joe,' she thought, deliriously happy.

Tai still looked worried. "You're not kidding, right? 'Cause so help me, Mimi, if you're just messing with us . . ." Tai trailed off, but the threat was still evident in his tone of voice.

Mimi's smile faltered, but she kept her chin up. 'It's only normal for them to think that of me,' she reminded herself. 'I left them . . . not the other way around.'

She leaned down and said, deadly seriously, "I swear, Tai, I am not playing with any of you. I've missed you guys so much." Her voice cracked on the last word and apparently that convinced Tai because he quickly jumped up.

"Meems!" He exclaimed excitedly and hugged Mimi tightly. Mimi laughed happily and hugged him back just as hard.

Joe and Izzy shared a bewildered look, but one that was also filled with a forgotten sense of longing. 'Could she really be . . . coming back?' Joe thought to himself, watching the scene unfold.

Sora stared at the scene with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Granted, she didn't understand everything that was going on, but Tai was happy . . . and that made her happy. 'Even if he does have his arms around another girl,' her subconscious thought.

"God, Mimi," Tai started. "I never thought I would see you again. After last year, you just starting drifting after Matt . . ." Tai coughed uncomfortably, before continuing. "Well, you know. I thought I had lost two of my best friends," Tai bubbled on the edge of incoherency as he pulled Mimi down next to him.

Sora felt a little uncomfortable ('I wonder if she was the girl Joe was talking about?'), but smiled widely, happy that things were finally working out for him.

Mimi nodded solemnly at her bushy-haired friend. "Yeah . . . I know. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to push you guys away. I should have kept you close, but . . . it was just so hard. At any rate, I am so, so sorry. I've missed you guys so much. Do you think . . . do you think you could ever forgive me?"

She looked around apprehensively at her old friends, bracing herself internally for rejection.

Tai laughed loudly and both she and Sora looked at him strangely. He saw their faces and laughed harder. "I'm . . . ahaha . . . sorry. But it's just . . . haha . . . so ridiculous!"

Mimi looked hurt and moved to get up. "Of course. I'm sorry for even trying. I'll see you guys later, all right?"

Tai eye's widened fearfully and he tugged her back down. "No, Mimi! I'm sorry I laughed. It's just . . . there's nothing to forgive!" Tai said heatedly.

Mimi's face slowly began to lighten and she laughed nervously, hitting Tai on the arm. "Gosh, Tai. You just about broke my heart."

He grinned at her, "Yeah. Sorry, 'bout that."

Izzy spoke out suddenly, his dark eyes shining with kindness. "Just for the record though, Mimi . . . we all forgave you a long, long time ago."

Mimi bit her lip to prevent herself from either going on a mindless rant about friendship or bursting into tears.

"I still say you should have let me beat him up," Tai muttered to himself, crossing his arms.

Mimi laughed loudly, "That wouldn't have solved anything, Tai! Though, I have to admit, it would have been fun to watch!"

Izzy, Joe, Tai, and Mimi all started laughing and Sora, the only one who didn't know what they were talking about, just sat back in her chair with a baffled expression on her face.

"I'm just glad you decided to come back to the people who really care about you," Joe said softly with a sad smile plastered on his face.

Mimi nodded. "So am I. I did meet some great people, though," Mimi admitted. She glanced around the table and grinned at the pout on Tai's face.

She ruffled his hair and laughed, "Of course, no one could compare to you guys."

Tai narrowed his eyes at her while smoothing his hair back into it's usual state of disarray. "Hey! Hands off, Tachikawa. My hair is my baby."

"Your baby?" Sora said grinning, breaking into the conversation with an amused expression on her face.

Mimi nodded to her. "Yeah, he's obsessed with his hair. It's kind of scary, to be truthful. I only know one person who's worse . . . but never mind that." Mimi bit her lip and looked Sora up and down, making the red-head blush. "He didn't tell me he was going out with someone so pretty," Mimi finally said.

Tai grinned as everyone started laughing, but inside he was uncomfortable. 'Yeah . . . we've kissed, but does that really make it official?' he thought to himself worriedly.

'I know who to ask,' he finally thought, smiling to himself. 'The most popular girl in school herself . . . Mimi Tachikawa.'

"Umm, Mimi, I have to go get a spoon. Come with me, will you?" Tai asked as he stood up and grabbed Mimi's arm without waiting for an answer.

Izzy's eyebrows furrowed together. He pointed innocently to the plastic spoon lying in Tai's pudding. "Tai, I believe you have a perfectly good spoon right there."

Tai stopped suddenly as his back tensed, but he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I know. But I don't like that one. It's defective," he whispered, hoping that if he acted funny people would let it go. It worked; the people at his table starting laughing and went back to their own conversations.

"Let's go, Mimi," Tai said impatiently, tugging at her long sleeved, purple shirt. He dragged her to the middle of the cafeteria where the condiments and plastic silverware were located.

Once they stopped walking, Mimi retracted her hand from Tai's grasp and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "So, Tai, what exactly do you need to talk about with me so badly? And why can't we discuss it in front of the others? Ohh, it must be juicy!" Mimi added on chattily.

Tai ran his fingers sheepishly through his large hair, "You knew?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course. I haven't been gone that long, have I?" Mimi teased, though there was a hint of real concern tucked in her words. 'I wonder if I'll get a silly answer or a serious one. You can never tell with Tai,' Mimi thought to herself.

Tai shook his head. "Nah. I should've known better." Tai's grin diminished slightly and he looked at her sadly. "What was it, though? Two years or something."

Mimi nodded. "Yeah . . . more or less. Now come on," Mimi added, eager to change the subject and get the topic on safer ground, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Oh . . . err, Sora, actually," he admitted. "I know you don't really know her, 'cause she's new here and all, but I know you would like her a lot if you did."

Mimi crossed her arms. "Somehow, I don't think you dragged me all the way over here to talk about Sora and mine's relationship."

Tai blushed guiltily. "Yeah, you're right. Sora is . . . she's just amazing, really. She's everything I've ever wanted in a girl, but more. The thing is, I don't really know what we are exactly."

Mimi held her hand up. "Slow down, kiddo. Alright, so I take it Sora was the pretty girl sitting next to you on the bench?" She waited for Tai to nod, before continuing. "Well, what exactly do you mean when you say 'what we are'?"

He sighed, somewhat uncomfortable with sharing such personal information (even if she was one of his best friends). "Well, we've kissed. Three times, I think. I don't know if that makes an 'us', though. I don't even know if there is an 'us'!"

"Do you want there to be an 'us'?" Mimi questioned softly to him.

"Yeah. No matter how corny this sounds, I really, really do. I think I can really, you know, trust her with everything."

Mimi felt her eyes widen. "Oh my God, Tai. Are you sure? I don't want to sound pessimistic, but do you think you can really trust her? I mean, what if she turns out to be another Kali?" She slapped a hand to her mouth forcefully and gazed at Tai with pleading eyes.

"Oh, Tai. I'm so sorry. I should have never said anything. It slipped out, I swear!"

Tai smiled, though Mimi noted, it seemed slightly strained. "Nothing to apologize for, Meems. It's kind of sweet to have someone concerned about my well being."

Mimi nodded understandingly at him.

"Honestly though, I really am sure. I know I can trust Sora. I can't really explain it, but I know. I'm sure, Mimi. Positive, even."

She stared at him for a minute, before blinking and hugging him tightly. "I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU, TAI!" She exclaimed excitedly. She broke off their hug and jumped up and down happily.

Tai closed his eyes in exasperation and pointed behind his happy friend. "Uhh, Mimi?"

Mimi turned around and her mouth turned into an 'o' when she saw the majority of the lunchroom staring at her. She smiled nervously.

"Umm . . . hi?"

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Matt absently stirred his food around his plate. Ever since he saw Mimi go over to their old table he felt as if he was going to be sick. 'Pretty obvious why,' he chided himself internally. 'You're just jealous that everything's working out for them . . . and not you. But whose fault is that?'

"Hey Mattie," a bubbly, high pitched voice rang in Matt's ears and he closed his eyes in annoyance.

He rubbed his nose, but smiled as he looked up at the blonde. "Hi Heather."

Heather grinned widely back at him as she took a seat next to him, either ignoring his obvious annoyance or oblivious to it. "You going to the party tonight? It's supposed to be awesome," the tan blonde girl gushed while running a finger up Matt's forearm.

Matt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm sorry Heather, but please remove your finger." He glared at her sharply until she awkwardly pulled it away while giggling nervously. "And no, I'm not going to the party. I'm doing something with my brother."

"Ohh," Heather breathed in disappointment. She perked up. "Well, that's okay! You can just do something some other day."

"Yeah," Matt replied absentmindedly as he watched Mimi and Tai slowly make their way back to their table. They were laughing and talking and Matt couldn't help the spark of jealously that was slowly making his way through his body.

"Why are you smiling, Matt?" Heather questioned, following Matt's gaze. She laughed loudly as she saw who Matt was looking at.

"What?" Matt snapped harshly.

Heather smiled at him, "Are you thinking about what happened a few years ago? That was so funny! I never thought he would actually say it. And it was all thanks to you!" She added on, as if he should swell with pride at the thought.

"Shut up!" Matt snapped at Heather as his face started to turn red from rage.

He spoke calmly, though the ice lacing his words were enough to make Heather scoot away from him slightly.

"It wasn't funny. Not at all. That was the cruelest, sickest thing you and your friends - if you can call them that - ever did."

Heather smiled at him, albeit shakily. "Ohh, come on, Matt! You were in on it, too! Who needs them anyway?"

Matt's blue eyes narrowed in rage, but his voice kept the same cold, calm tone to it. "I do. You ruined my life."

She nodded her head sympathetically, reaching her hand out so that she was stroking his calf. His lips narrowed and he grabbed her hand, throwing it off of him.

"Just leave me alone," he finally whispered, leaving angrily for the bathroom.

The whole cafeteria was watching the scene with a kind of sick interest and the attention didn't divert until TK ran after his brother. Slowly, the conversation starting slinking back at the tables thought most people were talking about what just happened. After a few minutes, a upset looking TK slunk back to his table.

"He's finally getting what he deserves," Mimi started, though she couldn't stop the queasy feeling that was slowing creeping up in her stomach.

Almost everyone nodded, but Tai looked at the boy's bathroom with clouded eyes. "D-do you think he's alright?" He finally asked timidly.

"Why would anyone here - especially you - care?" Izzy asked calmly, genuinely interested in his bushy-haired friend's answer.

Tai pursed his lips together. "He just seems so . . . upset."

Joe shrugged, growing uncomfortable of where the conversation was going. "Oh well. What can we do about it anyway?"

Tai frowned thoughtfully. "I think . . . I'm going to go talk to him." Tai stood up hesitantly and he quietly retraced Matt's steps. 'What am I doing? Why should I care what happens to Matt? It's like my brain is shutting down,' he thought miserably, though his steps never faltered.

"What?!" His tablemates exclaimed angrily. "Tai! Get back here, you idiot!" He never even looked back and no one took the initiative to actually go up and try to stop him.

Mimi slowly turned towards the others. "Tai's not serious, is he?"

Izzy shook his head mutely in the direction of his friend. "I don't know what's going on in his head, but I think he actually is."

Sora's eyebrows furrowed and she bit her lip. "I don't get it, you guys. What happened to make them hate each other so much?"

The blue-haired boy smiled slightly at Sora. "It's a long story, Sora. You do deserve to know, though," Joe said.

"And she will. When Tai's ready to tell her," Izzy interjected soundly.

"Did Tai get hurt or something?" Sora pressed.

"More than he'll ever admit to," Mimi replied. "But we have to believe that he can take care of things himself. Tai might be a little slow, but he's definitely not an idiot - especially in matters such as this."

Mimi flipped her hair back as she smiled brightly. "So, we should probably start talking about other things. What have you guys been up to? I have been so busy lately," Mimi started, ignoring the groans that both Izzy and Joe emitted.

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Yolei Inoue watched Davis, Kari, and TK talk while bitterly stabbing at her green beans. 'I don't know why I'm getting so worked up.' She bit her lip. 'Okay, so maybe I do. But, I should be happy for him, right? I mean, he's smiling! That's a good thing,' Yolei tried to reassure herself unsuccessfully. She grumbled and continued watching.

"Hey, Yolei, are you okay?" Ken asked sweetly as he took a seat next to her.

"I'm fine," Yolei snapped, unnecessarily harshly.

Ken flinched back slightly at her tone, but shrugged to himself. After all, it wasn't as if he wasn't upset seeing Davis act like nothing happened. Apparently, they just handled themselves in different ways.

The bluenette hesitantly took her hands in his and smiled at her reassuringly. "I know you're worried, Yolei," he started, "I am too. He's my best friend. Right now, though, he's happy there. So, for the time being, I guess we should try to be happy for him, too. Right?" Ken added on, not sure whether or not his mini speech made any sense.

Yolei nodded slightly as she pushed a lavender hair out of her face.

"Yeah, I guess."

Ken smiled softly at her. "Then we should give him space for awhile. It's obviously what he wants. In a few weeks, if he still won't talk to us, we'll . . ." Ken paused, ". . . we'll think of something," he finished lamely.

Yolei nodded, letting out a deep sigh. Why did Ken have to have all the answers when she felt like she was drowning in questions?

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Davis snorted loudly, "Oh please! Basketball and soccer aren't similar at all, dude!"

TK crossed his arms, appearing smug. "Well, let's just see," he stated cockily. "Both have one goal; to get the ball into the basket and/or goal."

"Yeah, like almost every other sport on planet earth," Davis piped in sarcastically.

TK continued, pointedly ignoring the burgundy-haired boy. "Both are team sports."

Kari smiled sweetly. "Again, like almost every other sport." She shared a smile with Davis.

The blonde glared at her, but continued. "And both are wildly popular," he finished.

Davis and Kari shared an amused look, before Davis blurted out: "Wow, man! You're points suck!"

Kari started giggling as Davis broke into laughter. TK tried to remain strong, but his defense started to waver and he started to laugh with them as well.

"I know," he gasped between laughs, "In the middle of my speech, I realized that even though they have some similar points, they're more different than similar. I had to roll with it, though."

After the three had contained their laughter, Davis spoke. "Man, this is great! With Ken - my best friend," he supplied helpfully, "I always lost the arguments. He's such a genius that I can never win! The only sport he knows anything about is soccer, anyway. He's amazing at soccer, but give him a basketball or a baseball and he'll just stare at you blankly." Davis snorted with laughter, recalling some of his attempts to help Ken with the other sports.

Kari giggled. "You don't have to worry about TK being super smart, Davis. He's mediocre, at best," she piped in.

"Hey! I think someone just shrunk my ego," TK replied, playfully poking his girlfriend in the nose.

Davis smiled at her encouragingly. "Good job. His ego is too big as it is."

TK narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't be talking, Daisuke," he teased.

The other boy huffed haughtily. "Ohh, shut up, Takeru."

'I can't believe I even told them my real name. I hate my name! What's gotten into me?' Davis thought to himself.

TK's face reddened slightly, but he stuck out his hand as a sign of truce. "How 'bout we just call each other . . . I dunno . . . something else?"

"Like what?"

TK pursed his lips. "I could call you, ahh . . . 'Suke!"

Davis smiled. "Is that like a . . . nickname?"

The blonde boy raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, yeah."

"And you gave it to me?"

TK looked at him strangely. "Well, no duh."

Kari smiled to herself. 'This is easier than I thought. I knew TK was overreacting.'

"But don't friends do that?" Davis continued.

TK rolled his eyes playfully. "No duh. You're my friend, idiot. Gees, 'Suke. Is there anything going on up there?"

A grin overtook Davis's features. "Okay! I'll call you . . . 'Keru then!"

TK nodded. "'Keru," he repeated, testing the word on his tongue. "It's cool," he finally amended.

"Awesome!" Davis exclaimed, extending his hand for a high five. TK slapped his hand back and laughed.

Davis looked at his lunch distastefully. "I'll be right back, you guys. I just have to throw this away," he said, already heading towards the trashcan.

Kari smiled to herself. She really liked Davis, but it was nice to have some - even if it was only a little bit - of alone time with her boyfriend.

''Keru! That's so cute,' Kari gushed internally.

"Hey, 'Keru, can you can over here?" Kari asked.

TK smiled underneath his shaggy blonde hair. "Sure." He slid over and put his arm around her. He bit his lip thoughtfully for a second, before:

"Hey, honey, would you mind not calling me that? It's just for some reason it feels like that's important to Davis. You were right, anyway. He's not bad."

Kari nodded, slightly hurt by his blatant refusal. She leaned into her boyfriend, but her thoughts drifted. 'I don't know why it hurt so much when he didn't want me calling him that. It's not like I don't understand; I do! It's just . . . will TK still spend as much time with me now that he has a guy friend he can hang out with?'

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