Karilovya101- Good evening, I actually finished up editing chapters 2 & 3 tonight. I decided that these two chapters would be combined instead of the last time where it was in separate chapters. This was more of a creative choice, and it felt like the chapters would be too short. For these chapters, I changed some details as well as deleted some descriptions that I felt were no longer needed. I also changed a bit of the format. The essence of the two chapters remains the same, but for fluidity, I changed the details of some events.

I do not consider this my best creative work by any means. However, it is fun to create, and I do hope you enjoy it. I love to read any comments about what you like, suggestions, or some constructive criticisms. As I said, if you happen to write a flaming or hateful comment, I will delete it or report you.

Thank you!


August 30, 2013

Tokyo Airport

Noon

The day was gorgeous, and the weather was mild. The sun was bright and there was no cloud in the sky. It is the perfect weather for flying into Japan, for Mimi Tachikawa had finally arrived in Tokyo!

She had shipped most of her belongings to her apartment building and they had put it in storage for her as well. Though, she did have to pay a pretty penny for it.

Damn storage fees! Oh, my goodness, I forget how massive this airport is! Oh, dear lord. Let's try not to get lost! Sora is meeting me, right?

Mimi was a little unsure who was picking her up after Sora gave her a vague answer as to who was picking her up. Mimi sighed to herself as she slowly looked at the signs in the airport for the baggage claim. She could find where her bags would be thanks to signs in the airport. She walked over there and….

A day before Mimi's arrival, Koushiro got a call from Sora.

"Hey Kou, it seems like I can't take Mimi to her apartment when she gets here tomorrow. Can you pick her up?" Koushiro had sighed and looked at the calendar. He at least wrote down the day she was coming in since they planned a big get-together later that same week. He saw that he was free since he wanted to work remotely that day.

"Yeah. Sure."

"Oh my god! Thank you Koushiro! You saved me!" Sora cried in the phone and Koushiro just sighed.

"Hey plane lands at 11:30 in the morning, not night. Remember that!"

"Okay, I got it." After that, they said their goodbyes and Koushiro returned to what he was doing on his computer. He decided he wanted to try to create new software the only question was of what. What would be cool to do and interesting at the same time. Something that can keep him busy since he was drained from all the business parties he had to attend to. He hated going even though he found them enjoyable. They were just incredibly exhausting. There was one tonight too, but he decided to stay in and do some extra work. He smiled to himself happy with how things were going. It helped that the day was just as beautiful and even though he doesn't do so often he decided to work on his laptop outside on his veranda.

Once it reached close to midnight, he thought it would be a good idea to go to bed. After all, tomorrow was going to be a long day because he is optimistic that Mimi is going to want to hang out longer than him than only dropping her off at her apartment. Koushiro is usually the one who drives Mimi around since every time she visits, he tends to be the one asked to pick her up. This meant that Mimi would want to go shopping, and that meant he needed to conserve energy.

Of course, he really did love hanging out with her since she was quite fun, but sometimes he wants to sit in his room and be on his laptop. Mimi of course is the type to want to keep a conversation going, but there are times when they've been together, and he was on his laptop, and she just watched TV or took a nap. The last time that happened though was about two years ago when Mimi came to Japan for a wedding, and she decided to go his place to get away from family for a bit. She had said that it was because he was the closest to where she originally was and that meant he was the one to go to since she didn't want to go all the way to Sora's.

The next day, Koushiro woke up early and got himself dressed. He is wearing what he normally wears to work, which usually consisted of a nice button-down white shirt with black pants. He rolled up the sleeves since it would be hot during the day. He didn't mind wearing the black pants since they were light, and he'd rather wear pants over shorts. Ever since college he started to dress more and more like a businessman. He stopped wearing T-shirts and sweatshirt and rarely ever wore shorts. He did wear jeans occasionally, but that's usually to casual events. Today, he could have done just that, but he wanted to look clean-cut today.

Hopefully Mimi doesn't say anything about this outfit. She usually says something.

Looking back on the times when he was so interested in fashion and impressing her, it brought a nostalgic smile on his face. He never did get the chance to tell Mimi when she returned to the U.S. after they graduated high school. She had decided to go back to the U.S. for college because she wanted to start her fashion career in New York City. Thinking on this now, made Koushiro realize that he was thinking about fashion this morning and he hoped it was just because of nostalgia more than actual feelings arising yet again. He shook his head and looked at the clock. He had an hour to get to the airport. He left early and went to the car garage to get his car. He was thinking about using public transportation, but she will most likely need to a car for all her suitcases.

He arrived at the airport about thirty minutes ahead of schedule. He figured that he would wait by the luggage claim and grab a drink from a vending machine. He went to sit down and just went on his laptop.

She reached the luggage claim and she saw Koushiro sitting by the luggage claim on his laptop. She chuckled to herself and went up to him.

"You know, you really are obsessed with technology, aren't you?" Mimi said teasingly to Koushiro.

"Whoa! Mimi! Did you just get here?" Koushiro didn't see her come up to him, so when he heard someone talking to him, he jumped.

"Why yes!" Mimi smiled at him then said, "We should get my luggage now. Sorry, but I have quite a lot."

"Yaaay." Koushiro drawled as he rolled his eyes. Mimi chose to ignore his apparent 'enthusiasm' and went to grab her belongings.

"Be a dear Koushiro and help me pick these up. My bags are quite heavy." Koushiro shook his head and just went a grabbed her three bags as they came. Mimi didn't even have to help he just grabbed them for her on his own before she ever got the chance. He put them on a luggage cart and Mimi just stood there watching him do it all.

"There you go, now let's get to the car." Mimi nodded.

"Wow, thank you Koushiro!" Koushiro slightly blushed and just nodded. With Koushiro in the lead, they headed towards the car in a comfortable silence as Koushiro was concentrating on making sure he didn't crash the luggage cart or have anything fall off it. Mimi followed behind him smiling that he was being such a gentleman. He always was like this, but when you get the treatment firsthand from him it felt incredible.

Such a gentleman! Taichi and Yamato need to learn from him!

Koushiro opened his trunk and put all the luggage in. Mimi tried to help this time, but Koushiro shooed her away. Once finished, they went inside the car.

"Do you want to get lunch?" Koushiro asked as he drove out of the airport parking garage.

"That sounds lovely! I'm famished! Of course, tired too, but food sounds amazing!"

"Awesome, I know a café close to where you're going." Mimi had given him her address once they got in the car. Koushiro nodded knowing exactly where he was going, and Mimi didn't think much of it.

"Really? Awesome! You definitely know the area then, don't you?" Mimi smiled up to him.

"Well, yeah. I actually live in the same building as you by the way."

"What?! Really? Huh, well I guess I'll be seeing you a lot!"

"Uh, maybe, I tend to work a lot."

"Oh, well, I can understand. What floor are you on?"

"Penthouse, the second penthouse on floor 45."

"My god, I forget sometimes that you come from a rich family." Mimi laughed as she looked at Koushiro in admiration for living in such a nice apartment. She really wanted to see his place but decided to ask to later. She did after all need to get settled in her own apartment.

"Yeah, well, yeah. I guess so." Koushiro said, he saw he look at him with sparkling eyes and didn't know what to make of it. He chose to focus and get to the café because he was also hungry.

"Here we are." He pulled up to a small café on the corner and Mimi brightened up instantly.

"Adorable!" Mimi walked inside quickly while yelling, "You're okay if we eat outside, right?! It's just too cute!" Koushiro just nodded and she squealed with joy. She asked to be seated outside and they finally where seated.

They both had a quiet lunch together since Mimi was tired and Koushiro isn't exactly the most talkative between the two. Mimi felt that she just wanted to have a relaxing lunch and have some peace and quiet. She thought that it was lucky she was with Koushiro because at least he was good about noticing those kinds of things.

The two of them are relatively close and they've been getting close since they were 16. One thing Mimi always remembers about is that time when Sora had teased her about Koushiro and his little crush on her. Mimi did know about it. It wasn't as well of a hidden secret as Koushiro may have thought it to be. Mimi has noticed throughout the year since then that he has grown more mature not just physically but emotionally as well. He has become so much more attuned to others as well.

They finished their lunch and they headed to the apartment complex. Once they got there, Koushiro parked his car in the garage and popped his trunk to get her things. Mimi went to help him, but by the time she got out of the car he had everything out. Blame her for being clumsy getting out, she had some difficulty with the seatbelt for some reason.

"Thank you Koushiro!" Mimi said. Koushiro just nodded and smiled.

"Come on, let's get you squared away. You're probably going to like this place. At least, it's definitely a place you would like." Koushiro said.

"Eh? Really? Good, I'd rather it be that way anyways. Thank you so much by the way for helping me get everything to my apartment. "

They went to the front office to get Mimi's keys to her apartment. Once she finished, they last of the paperwork she met Koushiro outside and headed to her apartment. They security guard nodded to them and said a small hello to Koushiro. They finally reached her room. Mimi opened the door to reveal the empty apartment, it became apparent to Koushiro that Mimi would need a lot of necessities.

"Alright! Koushiro you can leave my baggage in the living room. My goodness, I really have so much to do to liven up this apartment."

"That's for sure. When are you getting you things? By mail?"

"Actually, I just sent my things in the mail in the US the other day, but it's mostly just miscellaneous stuff. I sold my furniture back in NYC. I didn't know if they would fit. I mean I probably could've guessed, but I figured I could buy what I need when I get here!"

"Makes sense. When are you going to do so?"

"Hmm… I was thinking maybe tomorrow. Hey! Here's an idea! Want to go with me? I could really use your help, after all, you probably know where to get what I need."

"Uh, I probably do. Well, I guess I could." Koushiro said this hesitantly. He knew tomorrow would be a long day if he went with her. After all, she loved to go shopping and just because its furniture does not mean she will be quick. She's probably going to pick things that fit her style as best as she can and that means she will be pretty picky. Koushiro didn't really mind this, but that meant he had to go to bed early tonight or else he'll have no energy for tomorrow. That also meant he wouldn't have much time to work on his laptop.

"Thank you, Koushiro! Let's meet up downstairs, let's say, nine-thirty!"

"Alright."

They said their goodbyes to each other. Mimi decided to unpack before she left to get dinner with Sora. Even though, Sora couldn't pick her up, she did promise to make up for it by getting Mimi dinner. Mimi smiled, she had a pretty good day, and while it was a long day it was also very calm. Maybe that's because she was with Koushiro all day. She smiled at this thought and was grateful that he was the one to pick her up. He really made her day, and she feels incredibly grateful that he is her friend.

The next day, Mimi woke up by seven-thirty at Sora's and she was thrilled. She was finally going to buy the necessities. She was grateful for Sora giving her this air mattress, but she really missed having an actual bed. This was the one thing she missed about New York so far, her apartment. Her old apartment was just perfect for her. It was stylized how she liked it, and it really portrayed her personality. This new apartment is more spacious than the one in New York; however, the apartment was too gray and white for her tastes. She wanted to add some brightness to her new home.

Mimi was excited to meet up with Koushiro, especially since he has a car and that makes this shopping trip so much easier. Except of course the big furniture. She might as well order that at the store and get it delivered to her apartment. She did, however, want a new bed as soon as possible. Mimi decided she needed to make a list before she met with Koushiro. After all, he's a lot more organized than her and if he notices that she has no plan, well that's not going to happen.

First, she needed to get some cooking supplies; she needs pots, pans, utensils, and more. Then she needed to go to the furniture store to buy a table, some chairs, a couch, and hopefully a bed. She might as well go to the mattress store as well and get some lamps for her apartment too. She also might as well go grocery shopping too, but she might do that on her own later.

It's a good thing her new employer emailed her about having the week off so that she can get settled, because let's be honest, Mimi would be incredibly stressed if she had to not only work, but also settle into a new apartment. As well as, changing countries can be a hassle too. All that paperwork was a nightmare moving from America to Japan. Now she knows why her parents complained so much when they moved back and forth between Japan and America. If Mimi did well at work, she was optimistic that they were going to keep her in Tokyo.

Mimi started to get dressed for the day now that she has finished her list. She decided to wear her new blue and white dress she got last week and black shoes. Mimi may like to go shopping, but ever since she started working and paying bills, she watches how much money she spends. Now, she goes to stores that have good deals and great quality. It's a good thing Sora likes to do the same, so Mimi plans to do so with Sora and maybe Miyako too as soon as she is settled.

Mimi headed up a few floors to Koushiro's apartment. Once she reached his penthouse, she rang the doorbell.

"Koushiro! I'm here! Open!" Mimi yelled in the intercom. She could hear a groan from Koushiro as he came to the door to open it for her.

"No need to yell. I knew it was you." Koushiro said as Mimi just grinned primarily at him. He let her into his apartment.

"Hold on a sec. I'll get my things and then we can go. Where are we going first?"

"Kitchen supplies!" Mimi chirped. Koushiro nodded as he grabbed his car and apartment keys. They left his apartment to head to the elevators down to the car garage.

"Thank you so much, Koushiro! It's a huge help, especially since you have a car." Mimi winked at Koushiro. Koushiro rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement.

"You're just using me as an excuse to have a car to lug around you stuff." Mimi gave him a pout as Koushiro chuckled a bit. Then Mimi smiled and once they got to the car sat in the passenger seat. Koushiro sighed as he turned on his car.

Koushiro really hated getting up early in the morning and right now it was 8:30 am. He wasn't thrilled about that, but he should be used to getting early by now. Thank God, he can take days off occasionally since he practically is the chief programmer, though not in title.

The day was going by fast; Mimi knew precisely what she wanted. Koushiro only found her pickiness to be a bit annoying, especially since she wanted to get all these things in different colors. As Mimi kept repeating, 'They need to be the right shade!' That made certain parts of the shopping a bit tedious. It made the day go a bit slower, but he was glad it was about time lunch. Mimi was beginning to run out of steam, and she was starting to feel hungry.

The only thing that was a bit awkward, for the both of them, was that at the last store they went to, they found this elderly lady telling them how kind of a husband Koushiro was. Mimi was slightly embarrassed by these comments and whenever she said that she isn't with him like that, they kept on giving her this knowing smile. Then this one elderly lady at this store. while checking them out, would not give up on Mimi and Koushiro being together. This made not only Koushiro blush and die inside of embarrassment but Mimi as well.

"Ma'am, thank you for the compliment, but he and I are really not together." Mimi said as she tried to stay calm. This lady was incredibly stubborn.

"Oh, please! I know a couple when I see one! When are the kids?" This made Koushiro blush over the edge and it starting to get really annoying for him. Who was this lady to ask about such personal questions? Especially about a relationship that is not even existent. Yeah, Mimi and he were close, but they were not dating. Even if they were, this elderly lady was being way too invasive.

"Again, ma'am, please understand we are just friends and no I'm not having kids right now. Now, may I please buy what I need?" Mimi said as politely as possible. This lady was starting to make her angry. She's been trying to buy her damn bed sheets for the last twenty minutes and it didn't help that there was now a line behind her.

"Oh, alright if you say. That will be 22,000 yen. Have a good rest of your day." The elderly lady said, and she winked at the two of them. Mimi and Koushiro just shook their heads. Koushiro sighed in relief once they go in the car while Mimi sat in the passenger seat to the left of him smiling in relief and closing her eyes. She finally relaxed. Now it was time to get lunch after that whole ordeal.

"Do you mind going to the café on the next corner?"

"Sure!" Koushiro just nodded and started to look for a parking spot.

They went to this tiny little Japanese café, mainly a soup café with some pastries. It was an attractive little café since it had various foods from European to Asian delicacies. They had a lot of French pastries, which brightened Mimi's mood significantly. As they ordered, they heard a voice behind them yell out their names.

"Mimi! Koushiro!" Mimi looked up to see who it was, and she found it to be Kari and T.K. They both were together holding on some bags from the shop next door. Mimi smiled broadly at them as she waved to them. Koushiro just smiled as Kari and T.K. came and Mimi gestured them to sit with them. The waiter came by to ask if they would be eating with them, and they nodded to the waiter.

"I'm so happy to see you both! You guys out shopping as well?" Mimi said excitedly.

Kari laughed at Mimi's excitement and said, "Yes, I don't have any classes today and T.K. has a lunch break from work at this time so we figured we'd go here. It's actually rather close to where we live."

"Where you live? I thought you lived pretty far, Kari." Koushiro said to Kari, and he was right to be confused. T.K. lived nearby, but not Kari. Kari has been residing with Taichi for a while now. Everyone has always known that Kari and T.K. have been together ever since they entered college, but that statement threw Koushiro off a bit. Mimi looked at Kari equally as confused.

"Actually, Kari moved in with me this past week." T.K. explained, he figured by both of Mimi and Koushiro's faces they did not hear about this.

"We didn't want to tell anyone as of yet due to them teasing us. Taichi of course knows since Kari was living with him. Before you ask Koushiro, yes, I asked permission about it about 4 months ago with Taichi. He finally gave me the okay a couple weeks ago." T.K. said with a sigh. Kari smiled at T.K. and nodded. Mimi started to smile brightly as well. She looked to Kari and grabbed her hands saying her congratulations.

"I see. Well, I guess it was bound to happen eventually. You two have been together for quite a while." Koushiro stated.

Kari nodded, "Yes. We've wanted to do this for about a year now and we finally got the big brothers approval. My god that was a ride with him."

Kari and T.K. both laughed and smiled towards each other. Mimi was just filled with joy. She loves to see couples happy like them, mainly because they clearly were very much in love with each other.

It would be nice to date someone. Mimi thought to herself.

"Oh, I'm sure Taichi was just a joy getting him to say yes." Mimi joked and Kari laughed.

"Oh yes, he was thrilling! Not! My god, he became so protective. I mean he always has been, but never with T.K. I mean come on, but at least he finally gave the okay." Kari said smiling.

"How's Yamato taking it? I mean there were even talks about you, T.K., moving in with him." Koushiro asked.

"Yes, well, Yamato decided he wanted to try to get Sora to move in with him instead. I mean I think they are together, right?" T.K. answered.

"Yes, they are together. That makes more sense for them to live together after all they've been together for years now." Mimi said. Kari nodded and T.K. smiled in response.

"Well, as long as the two of them don't break up again like a couple years ago."

"No kidding, they can be such a rollercoaster ride. " Kari said.

"They really can be, but you know they do love each other. They tend to have misunderstandings a lot, but they always tend to pull through in the end. As long as they communicate, they should be fine. Honestly, it might even be good for them to live together so that the silly misunderstandings that usually happen to them may end. I mean it's not as though they won't have fights ever again if they live together, but at least they will feel more secure with each other." Koushiro said. T.K. looked at him with wide eyes and just nodded.

"Wow, Koushiro, I never thought you knew so much about their relationship." Kari said.

"Well, sometimes Yamato comes to me instead of Taichi, especially if it's about Sora. I mean come on we all know the drama between the three of them. It was like a living love triangle. " Koushiro said exasperatedly.

"It was a living love triangle. Try living with Taichi during all of that drama, my god! But enough about the two of them, why are you two out here together?" Kari asked suspiciously.

"Oh, Koushiro is helping me shop for my apartment. He has a car and we figured it'd be easier to do so. " Kari just nodded.

They got their food and they all started chowing down. T.K. decided to pay for the whole meal mainly as a welcome back gift to Mimi, but of course Koushiro was grateful and said he'll buy him lunch sometime as a thank you.

The two pairs said their goodbyes and they walked away from each other in opposite directions to their cars.

"T.K., don't you think they'd be a good couple?"

"Uh, Kari, don't be getting any ideas. " Kari pouted towards T.K.

"But I mean! Look at them! They act like they are together, why not get them actually to be official!"

"It's not that I disagree, but Mimi might not feel that way about Koushiro. We shouldn't mess with something that might never happen or might fail miserably."

"I know! I wasn't going to actually matchmake them, but I think they would complement each other well. I mean they both help each other out and their faults really complement each other. Even when they argue they don't stay mad at each other for long and always end up forgiving each other quickly. Even quicker than us! We don't even argue that often too." Kari said to T.K. hoping that he would agree. She knew that he did, but Kari felt that it should be mentioned. After all, she was talking with Sora yesterday about how cozy Koushiro and Mimi seem to be with each other whenever they see each other.

"I'm not gonna deny they'd be perfect for each other. I've noticed how they gravitate towards each other during out friend outings, but Kari, if they did get together, they would probably take it real slow. "

"You know, you're right. I hope they do. It'd be great!" T.K. laughed and nodded in agreement. Kari leaned up to give T.K. a quick kiss and then linked arms with him as she laid her head on his shoulder as they walked to the train station. She really loves T.K., and she felt so happy they are together, even happier that they finally live together. She can finally commute to school in a shorter distance, and she'd be able to go with T.K. Kari had to admit she was happy right now. Now to get Mimi and Koushiro together, Kari thought slyly.

Mimi finally arrived back to her apartment with a mountain of work to do. She was incredibly grateful to Koushiro for helping her bring her stuff up to apartment. She was so happy that they accomplished so much today. She has her furniture ordered and they said they'd come in about two to three days. That was amazing, especially by her standards, usually it took about a week or longer, but this store was relatively close, and tomorrow was their big shipping day, so things are working out quite well for Mimi.

Mimi smiled as she thought about how Koushiro was so calm today, especially at lunch. When they talked about Sora and Yamato, Koushiro had a mature outlook on their relationship. She was glad she wasn't the only one who thought the same. Though, she may not have said much during that conversation, she was delighted she let Koushiro talk about it. It had shown her a new side of Koushiro and that he understood relationships a lot more than people give him credit for. Although, how he executes his knowledge depends, she wished Koushiro would get himself a girlfriend. It would be good for him, and Mimi smiled at that thought. She wanted him to be happy as most of her friends.

Oh, I forgot to call Meiko!

Meiko and Mimi were slowly becoming closer as they emailed each other quite often when Mimi moved back to America. She realized she hadn't contacted her much and that she should get dinner with her. Tonight was Sora's night, so maybe tomorrow she'd get Meiko to go get dinner with her. As Mimi kept thinking she slowly drifted to sleep still working on her apartment.


Kariloveya101- This was fun to edit, I must admit. If I had more motivation, I would completely redo the entire thing. However, I mostly want to complete it. I am thinking of also combining chapters 4 & 5. This will make the story a shorter chaptered story than I originally had planned when I first wrote the story. However, I think this is a better outcome. There will probably be some mistakes here and there. Please let me know of them and where they are. I edited all of this by myself, and it is very possible I missed something.

Please, R&R! I look forward to reading everyone's comments! Thank you!