Note: Okay so I kept rereading this chapter a couple of times and I just couldn't seem to fit the dramatic part into one chapter, otherwise it'll be too long. I apologize for being a derp. Regardless, I also would like to apologize for the lack of updates. Time hasn't been good to me and I've been working long hours. Now that I finally have the time, I am able to update! Leave a review, yes? No?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters besides Kira Mori and the story.
- Chapter Nine -
After spending almost two hours outside in the middle of the night, Yamato decided to send Mimi home. The pair made their way to the lobby and to the parking lot. Just as they were already seated in the car, another car stopped about a distance ahead of Yamato's car.
"God dammit," Yamato cussed, and then decided to wait for the other driver, whose car was blocking his from exiting.
But to their shock, Mimi's father stepped out of the car and her father was not alone. Sitting at the passenger's seat, was Taichi.
Keisuke slammed the driver's seat door shut and as he walked over towards Yamato's car, Keisuke pointed to Yamato and motioned to the boy to get out of the car. Mimi understood her father's actions and immediately grabbed Yamato's forearm as she was beginning to get scared.
"Meems... Whatever happens, stay in the car," the blonde told the girl.
"What? No!" Mimi gripped onto the boy's forearm tighter than before. "What are you going to do?!"
"I'll just talk to your dad, okay? Don't worry about me."
"No, no, Mato!"
Yamato stepped out of his car, ignoring Mimi's request to remain seated in the car. The girl started to panic.
Keisuke and Yamato were then standing in front of each other.
"So..." Keisuke started, placing both his hands on his hips. "You're teaching my daughter to disobey me now, Yamato?"
"Sir, it's not like that—"
"Oh really? Would you care to explain why my daughter sneaked out of my house in the middle of the night just to see you?"
"Um..." Yamato wasn't about to tell Keisuke that he had sex with Mimi in his apartment. That would be wrong. "We just hung out, sir."
"Hung out?" Keisuke crossed his arms. "Knowing you and Mimi together alone, I don't think you'll both just hang out."
Taichi sat quietly in Keisuke's car and unbuckled his seat belt to get himself prepared if anything were to go wrong. Meanwhile, Mimi was trying her best to read both Yamato's and her father's lips. She wanted to figure out what they were conversing about.
"You know, Yamato, I prefer the Mimi before you came back into the picture." Keisuke cleared his throat.
Yamato furrowed his brows in confusion. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"When you left her many months ago, she became a completely different person. Sure, she was terribly scarred by you leaving but with you gone, she knows where she stands. But now that you're back, she starts going against me and my rules."
"No disrespect, Mr. Tachikawa, I think you ought to let her go."
"You're teaching me how to discipline my daughter, now, Ishida?"
"No. I mean, it's unfair to her..." Yamato tried to pick his words carefully. He did not want to offend Keisuke and his chances of not offending Keisuke are slim. If he was lucky, Keisuke would probably spend some time to think about Yamato said, but will he?
"Of course it's unfair to her. This is some bullshit teenage love fantasy. She needs to be with a man, everything that you're not. She said so herself." Keisuke started pacing forth and back.
"She said what?" Keisuke's words were making the blonde curious. Just what did Mimi exactly say?
"My daughter, she deserves the world. She doesn't need a bad boy like yourself. She needs a real man."
"And by a real man, who exactly are you referring to, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't mind at all if she dates Taichi."
Yamato looked away and exhaled at the mention of Taichi's name. It confused him more than anything as to why Keisuke preferred Taichi instead of him. Just what did Taichi has that he doesn't?
"You see, Taichi isn't like you. I spent months with that boy and that boy knows how to take care of Mimi's heart—"
"Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think you know us; and by 'us', I mean Mimi and I."
"I don't want to, Ishida. I want you out of my daughter's life... Permanently."
"What?" The blonde could feel himself about to burst into rage. "You're being unreasonable."
"There are plenty of fishes in the sea, Ishida. Go ahead and pick one but bear in mind that Mimi is an exception."
"Why are you making things difficult for us?"
"Because you made it almost impossible for my little girl to survive when you left."
The boy hugged himself and his gaze shifted from Keisuke's eyes and to the floor.
"For your information, Yamato," Keisuke added. "I don't hate you. I just hate what you did. Did you know how long it took for Mimi to get back the smile on her face? She almost dropped out of school. Her grades got from bad to worse and it was all because of you and although she already has graduated, I suggest you take a step back from my family and leave her alone. I don't want you near the Tachikawas ever again, do you copy?"
The blonde wanted to fight for his relationship with Mimi, but at the same time, he felt that it's not worth fighting for. Keisuke is Mimi's father, after all, and it was no point if Yamato kept debating over this issue. For as long as Mimi is still under Keisuke's care, Yamato had no say.
"Oh, and one more thing..." Keisuke's eyes showed dead seriousness. "If I find out you and Mimi are still in contact behind my back, you better watch out. I can be nice, I can be mean. Take your pick. Now I want you to go back to your car and tell Mimi to get into my car. I'll be waiting."
Keisuke spun on his heel and headed back to his car, leaving Yamato standing there in frustration but the boy did as he was told so he turned on his heel and stood by Mimi by the window.
"Meems, I need you to go back with your father," Yamato told her.
In return, he got the look of disbelief.
"Mato, what happened there? What did my father say to you?"
"Nothing you should know. Please just... Go." The blonde pulled the passenger seat door open to let Mimi out and once the girl stepped out of the car, the look of disbelief was still on her face.
"Mato. Don't lie to me. He must've said something. What's with the attitude? Why are you chasing me away?"
"I am not, Mimi."
"Well, newsflash, you are."
"I'll see you at your boss's office later in the morning, alright, Meems? You need to go back." Yamato glanced at his watch on his left wrist to catch a glimpse of the time. "It's almost three in the morning." His gaze drifted back up into the girl's eyes and flashed a weak smile.
Still with the look of disbelief on her face, Mimi stormed off, away from Yamato's car and pulled the backseat door of her father's car open and slid into the car, slamming it shut. The girl crossed her arms and then finally focusing her attention on Taichi in the car.
"What are you doing here?" Mimi asked Taichi rather bluntly but Taichi didn't take Mimi's rudeness to heart.
"I'm here because your father called me." Taichi responded coolly, as if Mimi being with Yamato never bothered him since the start.
"What?!"
"I don't need your attitude right now, Mimi." Taichi said, still not making any contact with the brunette sitting at the back seat. "I'm only here because your father called me. You're the one that sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night to see Ishida for god knows what reason."
Mimi grunted and looked away from Taichi.
Yamato observed as Keisuke sat in his car, and then focusing his attention on Mimi, who appeared to have a sour look on her face. He knew she was mad; mad at him for not telling her what went on between him and Keisuke.
The blonde kept his eyes fixed on the car until it was out of sight.
The next morning, when Mimi exited her room to leave for work, she bumped into her father, who was sitting at the dining table drinking his coffee and reading the morning papers. From the corner of his eye, the older man noticed his daughter passing through so he placed the newspaper down and gave Mimi his full attention.
"Tachikawa Mimi," he called, as soon as Mimi was about to grab the knob of the front door. She sighed and headed back to the dining room.
"Yes, Dad?"
"Are you going to continue to ignore me?" Keisuke asked.
"I am going to continue to ignore you, yes, for what you did last night."
"What makes you think that what I did was wrong?"
"You didn't have to humiliate me like that, Dad!"
"How did I humiliate you?"
Mimi kept her mouth shut. She didn't know what to tell Keisuke.
"Tachikawa Mimi, you sneaked out in the middle of the night just to see the boy that broke your heart, the boy that I do not approve for you to be with and you're saying I humiliated you?" Keisuke stood up from his seat and placed both his hands on his hips. "For your information, Mimi, you are my only child. It's my duty as a father to protect you. What makes you think it is easy for me to just let you go like that, hm?"
Mimi bit her lower lip. Her eyes looked upset. Her father just had his ways to make her feel guilty each time they argue.
"I told you not to see that boy again unless it's work-related, remember? You heard me loud and clear, princess. Now I know you're going to see him at work later again, but that I don't mind because work is work but outside of work, if I ever find out you're still seeing him, I'm going to break Yamato's pretty face."
The brunette's ears perked up at Keisuke's last statement. She didn't know how else to react so she dashed to the door, put her shoes on and then made her way down to the lobby and to the car as fast as her legs could carry her.
The clock struck noon and it was already lunch time. Mimi hadn't seen Yamato all day and it worried her. Yamato did not answer her boss's phone calls and it infuriated him.
Mimi and Kira were in Kira's office. Mimi sat at the seat across her boss and watched him grunt over and over again.
"Mr. Mori, do you need me to call Yamato for you?" Mimi asked carefully. She didn't want to offend her boss in any way possible.
"If I can't reach him, then neither can you," Kira slammed a stack of papers onto his table and brushed his fingers through his hair. "What went on with him last night? I mean, what exactly did he do? Don't tell me he drank so much last night again."
"What?" Mimi couldn't believe her ears. "Yamato drinks?"
Kira nodded confidently. "Yes, he does, but occasionally... As far as I know, that is." The boss sighed and leaned backwards. "He's supposed to have a second photo shoot with us today. Where the hell is he?!"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Mimi turned over her shoulder and Kira's eyes immediately darted at the person standing at the door.
"Ishida Yamato!" Kira called out, relieved. "Thank god you're finally here!"
Yamato strolled into the office. "I'm sorry I'm late. I couldn't pick up your calls. I was at the hospital..."
"Hospital?" Worry was written all over Kira's face. "Was it a serious situation?"
"Apparently, yes," Yamato replied. "It is a life and death situation. My brother got into a car accident this morning."
Mimi stood up from her seat. "Takeru..?" She whispered to herself.
Yamato added, "my brother managed to regain consciousness. Things are fine, for now, at least. I'm sorry, Mr. Mori for–"
"No, no, no, don't be!" Kira placed a hand on Yamato's shoulder. "I should be sorry. I hope it all goes well for your brother."
Yamato flashed a small, weak smile before Kira started speaking again.
"Yamato, I don't mean to change the subject but we're here on business, right?" Kira cleared his throat as the blonde nodded. "You caused a delay and the photographers, the editors are all out for lunch. Maybe you should go and grab some lunch first. Maybe have lunch with Mimi or something. I have to go up to the main office to do some paperwork. Be back in about an hour, yes? If let's say you need to go to the hospital at the last minute, do let Mimi know so she'll inform me and I'll inform the staff involved in your shoot. I will explain to the staff everything later. Excuse me."
The boss grabbed his coat that was hanging on his chair and rushed out of his office.
Meanwhile, Mimi immediately rushed by Yamato's side. "Mato, I want to see Takeru!"
Yamato's sapphire blue eyes stared deep into Mimi's hazel eyes. "Takeru cannot have visitors as of now. Not even my parents and I could enter yet. He's in ICU."
The young girl let out a sigh of worry. She adored Takeru. Takeru was like a brother she never had and knowing Takeru was involved in a fatal accident, she was not going to keep herself calm about this issue.
"Mato, once Takeru is allowed to have visitors, I want to see him."
"Meems, you can't. If you see him, I'll be around and you know you aren't allowed to meet me anymore unless work is involved."
"I don't give a shit what my dad says anymore!" Mimi crossed her arms, and then buried her face in one hand. "I just want to see Takeru..."
Yamato gently grabbed the side of Mimi's arms to reassure her. "He'll pull through, Meems. He will be fine. Takeru's a fighter. My mom is in the hospital right now. Whatever happens, she'll update me. Let's go have lunch now, alright?"
Mimi nodded, then lifted her face from her hand. Her tears were streaming down her face, smudging her mascara.
"Baby, I think you need to do a touch up on your makeup. Your makeup is ruined. We can't let you walk out of this office looking like this. People will start talking."
She sniffled and walked towards the full-length mirror her boss had on the wall in his office. With her fingers, she wiped her tears and the smudged makeup.
"Thank you so much... Thanks." Yamato took his food off the counter and went back to the table, where Mimi was already seated at. The blonde watched as the brunette used her fork to play with her food instead of actually eating it.
The boy reached an arm out to grab the girl's hand and took the fork from her grasp. That was when Mimi snapped out of her thoughts.
"What's wrong, Meems?" Mimi's silence concerned him. He was wondering what was going through her head.
"I... I just... I kept thinking about what my dad said to me this morning."
"Why? What did he say?" Yamato placed Mimi's fork next to her plate and started digging into his food.
"He talked to me about what happened last night." Mimi hugged herself, and then rested her arms onto the table. "He kept reminding me of how he doesn't approve you or our relationship."
Yamato sighed. "Meems, it really is okay with me if I am forbidden to see you again. It may not be what I want but to be safe, let's just listen to your father, alright? Please?"
Mimi shook her head sideways. "I want to meet you for the last time tonight."
The boy choked slightly on his food. "What? Are you kidding me?!"
"Mato, we'll never see each other again, do you hear me? I just want one last moment with you."
"We've had our moments, Meems. Why do we have to do it one last time?"
"I want to make this one worth remembering. Please..."
Her hazel eyes pleaded for him to agree. Eventually, he did.
"Fine," Yamato sighed. "One last time, and also since today is my last day working with Mr. Mori, I won't be seeing you anymore after today."
Yamato and Mimi then exchanged smiles.
Just like the night before, Yamato waited in his car at the parking lot of Mimi's apartment complex. Mimi quickly made it to Yamato's car and quickly slammed the passenger seat door shut. The moment Yamato was about to step on the gas, someone stood in front of his car – Tachikawa Keisuke.
Mimi started cussing and her heart raced. Keisuke surely didn't have the happy look on his face.
The blonde unbuckled his seat belt and Mimi grabbed his forearm, "Mato, what are you doing?!"
"I'm going to talk to your father, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to explain to him why—"
"Don't bother, Yamato! Don't! Just drive off!"
"Mimi, I am not that kind of person!" The blonde snatched his arm back and despite Mimi constantly calling out for him, he stepped out of his car and made his way towards Keisuke, who was also pacing towards the boy.
"Mr. Tachikawa, I can explain—"
Wordlessly, Keisuke threw a punch across Yamato's face, catching him off guard. Yamato almost fell to the ground, but still managed to keep his balance.
Inside the car, Mimi was screaming. She hurried out of the car and ran over to her father, trying her best to pull her father away from Yamato after punching Yamato a few times in the face. She was screaming, begging Keisuke to lay off of the blonde but the older man refused to listen to her. Unknowingly, Keisuke pushed Mimi away and Mimi fell to the ground.
Just as Mimi was about to make it back to her feet, in a split second, she saw Keisuke grabbing a handful of Yamato's hair and Yamato's head went slamming against his car's hood. Yamato's nose was already bleeding by then and the sight of blood scared the living daylights out of Mimi. She couldn't move.
Not long after that, someone came charging for Keisuke, tackling the older man to the ground to get off of Yamato. That person pinned Keisuke's wrists to the ground as two male security guards guarding the apartment complex separated the two. The moment they were both separated, Mimi managed to figure out who was the one that defended Yamato; that familiar mop of brown hair – Taichi.
Keisuke was screaming and yelling at the top of his lungs, and at the same time, he was cussing. Their scene woke the neighbours up.
Keisuke set himself free from the guards' grips and dashed towards Mimi. With both arms, he grabbed Mimi, who was crying out loud, begging her father to release her from his strong grip. Keisuke then pulled her home with him.
Once the Tachikawas and the guards were out of sight, Taichi looked over his shoulder and noticed the badly bruised Yamato lying at the front of his car. Taichi immediately took hold of Yamato's arm and placed it around his shoulder, and with Taichi's body as the support, Yamato managed to successfully get back into his car. Taichi sat at the driver's seat, then drove Yamato's car out of the parking lot.
- End of Chapter Nine -