Time for the thank-yous again!
Aster Selene: Kari's problem with Mimi-chan will be revealed in this chapter! Thanks for the review! You're awesome!
PrincessJaded: I'm soooo glad you enjoyed it! I hope that you'll continue to enjoy it right through to the end! BTW, I sorta copied the title of your new fic to use as the title for this chapter. I hope you don't mind. If you do, I'll change it!
Light-of-Hope-07: *blush* You really wanna copy my stuff? I'm so honored! Thank you! You truly are something special! Ya, TK was planning on proposing…shame. Fantasmic…that's going in my word combictionary! Hahahaha!!!
Alienstarship: Hey sweetie! Thanks so much for the encouraging review! Kari was pretty funny, wasn't she?
Thatswhatshesaid: Thanks a bunch for the uplifting review! I'm sure TK will get another chance to pop the question! I'm happy you like the story so far!
Shef01animetize: Really? You don't think it sucked? Thank you! Your review made my day!
LalaMae07: Ya heartbreaker Mimi! That's what they call her! Baie dankie vir die boodskappie!
This chapter doesn't have a lot of dialogue. It's mainly an explanation of why Hikari doesn't agree on Tai's choice in brides. Hopefully that doesn't make it too boring!
Chapter 2:
He's getting married
In the recesses of Kari's sleep-clouded mind did she become faintly aware of the echoing ringing of her alarm clock. As she drifted toward consciousness-painful, head throbbing consciousness-the beeping noise grew louder until it was blaring. Kari angrily flung an arm out from under her cozy bedcovers and slammed her hand over the 'reset' button to silence the alarm. That action alone sent her head on a pounding trip of exploding pain.
It was as though during the night, gremlins had snuck into her room and started hammering away at her head with tiny mallets. No. It hadn't been gremlins. It had been wine. An entire bottle of Douglas Green Pinotage to be precise. She didn't even like drinking wine! TK had warned her not to…
"Kari, you know what wine does to you…Don't you think four glasses is enough?"
"I'm a big girl, TK! Don't tell me what to do!"
Why hadn't she listened? And why didn't they put warning labels on the side of the wine bottle advising you of the eventual side effects of overdoing it? Tobacco and medicine companies did it, so why not the liquor stores?
Adding to the worst hangover in her short history of hangovers was the strange dream she'd had last night. Kari had dreamt that Tai was engaged to their childhood friend Tachikawa Mimi. Mimi was her friend. She was sweet, positively gorgeous and successful. She sounded perfect. So what was the problem? Mimi was also what 'normal, homely' girls considered a 'serial dater'; earning her the title of 'Heartbreaker Mimi'. She simply managed to make every man she came into contact with fall desperately and hopelessly in love with her, and after dating and dumping them, she left a trail of broken hearted 'dump-ees' in her wake. And Kari had dreamt that Tai was going to marry her.
Kari chuckled softly to herself at the preposterous dream while slowly easing herself up into a sitting position. Sometimes you dream the strangest things, Hikari.
She grimaced. Even soft-chuckling to oneself made the headache worse. Now to get up out of bed and go to work. That was going to be one hell of a mission. Damn this hangover! Why had she drunk so much, anyway?
Then it dawned on her. The romantic dinner with TK. The engagement announcement!! Now I remember!
Memories of last night's events came flooding back with a vengeance! Kari sat back down on the bed.
*Flashback* Once TK had pointed her out and Kari had nearly 'drowned' on her mouthful of wine, the two had gone over to greet Tai and Mimi. Perhaps Kari's suspicions were way off and it was just a friendly dinner date. Tai had been surprised to see his sister and told her he had something important he needed to tell her. With his legendary broad grin, Tai stood up and lightly tapped his fork against the side of his crystal champagne glass. Kari unconsciously held her breath as she waited for him to speak. Tai cleared his throat after making certain that he had half the restaurants' attention.
"Seeing that it's Valentines Day I'd like to mark the occasion with a toast." He raised his half empty glass high. "Here's to love and happiness; and to my beautiful new fiancée! Champagne for everyone!"
There had been all-round applause from the patrons and happy smiles directed at a blushing Mimi. Kari was in shock mode. How did Mimi manage to bewitch Yagami Taichi? The most eligible bachelor in Tokyo? What was he thinking?! Overwhelmed; Kari's line of vision became narrow and hazy. Her legs folded in and she fainted. The waiter carrying a tray of champagne went crashing to the ground after tripping over Kari! The champagne showered Mimi and the couple at the opposite table in the process.
Reaching for a napkin Mimi wiped the drops of liquid off her face and quickly dabbed at the wet marks on her silk red dress. The expression on the model's face when she got splashed must've been priceless. TK had helped his girlfriend up.
"Are you ok? Aren't you feeling well?" Tai had asked with genuine concern in his voice when Kari opened her eyes a moment later.
"Oh, yeah! I'm great! It must've been something I ate…I'm sorry about that, Mimi. Wow! This…is wonderful news!" Kari lied and pasted on a smile after Mimi accepted her apology with a nod.
And so if you fast forward the having dinner with Tai and Mimi and drinking a couple more glasses of wine part you'd arrive at this mornings' sordid outcome…
*End flashback*
"What a day this is gonna turn out to be…" The daunting task of getting through a day at the office with a hangover coupled with this latest 'engagement' dilemma lay before Kari like a looming mountain.
~*~
"Mimi? He's going to marry Mimi? Our Mimi? I didn't think of her as Tai's type. But I guess the heart wants what the heart wants." Rena shrugged and added some brown sugar to her coffee and stirred. It was a pleasant afternoon and the two friends had met up for lunch at the corner café near the Embassy. It was a welcome break from the chaos of work.
Kari massaged her temples with her finger tips. The painkillers she'd taken earlier for her headache was finally kicking in.
"Tai doesn't know what he wants! You know how impulsive he is! He's going to get his heart broken and I'm not going to stand by and let it happen."
"Come on, Kari. Just give her a chance. She is our friend after all." Rena said soothingly and ran a hand through her straight shoulder length blond hair.
"Do I have to remind you of her reputation, Rena? Remember all the guys she left emotionally scarred? Remember Jyou?" Kari thought back after taking a swallow of her black coffee.
Poor Jyou. He'd taken their breakup badly. They were barely an item for three weeks before Mimi broke up with him, saying she needed space.
"How could I forget? He was devastated. Didn't he fall off the deep end and actually streak through campus at Tokyo University of Medicine when Mimi left him?" Rena banished from her mind the mental picture of the reserved medical student running wildly around the campus garden stark naked; shouting and laughing deliriously.
"And let's not forget Koushiro. He and Mimi were kind of cute together. It's a shame they were only a couple for two months. She told him it wasn't working out. Koushiro had an emotional breakdown. Remember the pink sock puppet he made? He called it 'Mimi' and used to talk to it all the time." Kari had felt sympathy for the intelligent Koushiro who was a wreck without Mimi. Wrenching that sock away from Koushiro had been no easy task for Tai and Matt. He had fought tooth and nail for his 'precious'. Thankfully he was back to his normal sane self now.
"We won't even get started on Yamato and Michael." Kari stabbed the air with her plastic coffee spoon.
Then there had been the ever cool Ishida Yamato. The two had dated for six months. The day Mimi told him it was over was the day that man showed true emotion. He'd wept as he strummed his guitar and sang the blues about the girl he'd loved and lost. On the international scene there had been Michael. Within seven days it was over. Michael recovered from his crushed heart with the help of a good therapist.
"At least they got through that with all of our friends' support. I think Tai needs somebody who can take care of him like I do, you know? Not someone with the potential to cause him heartache." There was a moment's contemplative silence before Kari continued.
Of one thing Kari was certain… "My brother will not be another man to add to her list. Mimi is not the woman for Tai. I can't let him marry her."
All she had to do was figure out how to stop him.
~*~
It was a sunny Saturday morning and Kari was feeling better about things today. She let the breeze caress her fair skin while she took in the sights of the city from her apartment balcony. Her copper brown and black cat Figaro brushed up against the back of her legs affectionately. Now that she could think clearly, she could get started on dissuading Tai from making the biggest mistake of his life. Yep. Today was going to be a good day.
There was a knock at the door.
Kari answered it with a cheery hello and a beaming smile on her face.
~*~
Five minutes earlier…
Tachikawa Mimi dodged a photographer trying to get a picture of the local celebrity walking into an apartment building. With tentative footsteps, the slender woman walked down the brightly lit hallway until she found the right apartment door.
Tenth floor, number 6… Looks like this is the one. Ok, deep breath Mimi… Mimi had an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach. Were these nerves? Why should she be nervous about knocking on Kari's door? They might not have been the closest of friends growing up, but they were friends none the less.
Mimi brushed a stray strand of silky hair from her pretty face with the back of her hand. Squaring her shoulders, Mimi knocked on the door.
~*~
The door swung open and Mimi was greeted by a warm and bright hello.
"Hi Kari! I see you're in a good mood today!" With golden brown eyes sparkling, Mimi returned Kari's happy greeting.
Kari's eyes rounded with astonishment. The brightness in her features dimmed.
"Mi…Mimi! Hi! What a surprise to see you! Did Tai come along? I hear the two of you are inseparable lately! 'Joined at the hip' as the saying goes. Which is really funny because you're going to be joined in marriage too!" Kari rambled on nonsensically like she always did when she was uneasy with a situation. Mimi disregarded it with a light hearted laugh.
"That is pretty funny! You and Tai share the same sense of humor! He should be up in a minute. He's busy with a few…things. Which is what brings me here." Mimi entered the chicly decorated apartment when Kari gestured for her to come in.
Turning around to face her future twenty-one year old sister in law, Mimi's expression turned serious.
"Um, Kari, I need to ask a huge favor of you…Would it be alright if I stayed here with you for a couple days? The water pipes in my condo burst and the apartments are experiencing a little flooding." She pinched her thumb and index finger close together to indicate the little-ness.
"I'd stay with Tai but he's going on a business trip. You're my only hope!" Mimi pleaded with hopeful sincere eyes.
Kari was floored. She stood there silent. Saying yes would be like handing your enemy a gun and letting them shoot you.
"Think of it this way. We'll get to know each other a little better before the wedding! Just us girls! Won't it be fun? What do you say?" Mimi added with a surge of excitement which was so like her.
"I…I suppose…" The dark brunette stammered. Fun? Sure. And I don't need to get to know you better because there won't be a wedding!
A loud thud coming from the doorway made Kari jump.
"Where do you want these bags?" A sweaty and out of breath Tai asked after hauling three of Mimi's suitcases up to Kari's home.
Author's notes:
This chapter might've been slow… But I can guarantee the next chapters will get interesting, especially now that Mimi and Kari are going to be in the same apartment! Please know that I wasn't Mimi bashing in this chapter-it's only Kari being over protective of Tai so it makes sense for her to see the worst in somebody. I really do hope I know what I'm doing with this fic, and to make sure I write my best for everyone, updates might take longer! Sorry! XD. Please review! I love love love love reviews!!Some authors were kind and sweet enough to advertise my fics after their chapters. Sooooo…I've been inspired to start a little something called 'the top 10'. This is a list of ten great fics to check out and review! The list is in random order.
TOP TEN FICS
The year everything changed – Light-Of-Hope-07 A completely brilliant fic! Also read Cinderella, will you be mine? It's amacredible!
He's getting married – PrincessJaded Any and all of her fics are awesome, so go read them!
Doctor Ken – emotionlessrobot Oh so very creative and original.
High school Rush – alienstarship Excellente! Check out the new fic, A spellbinding tale, it's gonna be fawesome!
Trust is not to be broken - Aster Selene incredibly imaginative work.
Happy Campers – Potgenie This is sure to be a popular one! Totally splendorific!
Touch my hand – Papermoon Princess If you like a suspense filled romance, then this Mimato won't disappoint!
Love Story – thatswhatshesaid A great michi in the making.
Digimon Legend – Ultlifeform A wonderfully well written OC centric fic.
Be my Valentine? – Ramenette A sweet Mimato oneshot. So cute!
There are so many amazing fics and these are only 10 of them! THEY ARE MUST READS!!! If your fic isn't on the list yet, don't be sad, don't cry coz every update will bring a new top 10 list of great fics! Yours will get a chance too! Note that the list will contain mostly stories that don't center around the digimon themselves. Eish…I talk way too much…
My own adverts! I've started a site for anime fan art and put up a few illustrations from my own story, 101 Kisses! If you've read it, why not go take a look at the pictures? The homepage link is on my profile if you're interested! Be warned, I'm out of practice with the drawing!