Author's Note: I don't own Digimon, and I'm very very excited for Adventure Tri. Anyway, things are going to become a bit lighter from this point on. I'd like to think this story is more of a slice-of-life. Hehe.

Salad Days

Chapter Fourteen
Saturday Morning

Memories from earlier this week had eventually died into the recesses of his mind, coming to the point he had already forgotten when the weekend came – but that did not mean he was looking forward for video game night over Taichi's later.

Koushiro sat back up from his seat as he stared at his cellphone screen. It did not take him that long to reply; he would not want his friend to feel as if he was ignoring him. Shortly, Taichi replied.

That's great! See ya later~~ don't forget to bring batteries!

How could he ever deny Taichi? They'd been friends ever since. Absentmindedly clicking stuff with his laptop, he began wondering if Taichi had already formally confessed to Mimi. Taichi will not be a bad lover, presumed Koushiro. And for sure, it was going to depend on Mimi, right?

As for Mimi – she had been trying to reach out to him since that day, but he couldn't pretend his way with her. He pushed himself away from his desk, sighing. He looked up at the ceiling, not liking that his eyes were starting to sting again. I thought I did damage control.

"Well, this is surprisingly hard and heavy in the chest, Tentomon.." he called out, much aware he was unaccompanied in his room. Just a few moments of idleness Koushiro went back to focus on his crammed browser.

If they do, then I hope things will go well.

After a few more clicks, he smiled to himself after finding out that his future was secured; his scholarship grant for college had finally been approved. Just one more year of this. High school was such a bitch.

Taichi obsessively combed his bushy hair as he waited outside the train station. He had finally managed to ask Mimi out with him. And, according to his very reliable best friend Ishida Yamato, Mimi was not a choosy date as long as she gets to eat the food she wants. Piece of cake – because he saved up his entire allowance for the past week – all for this.

It had been a while since he went out on a legitimate date; the very first one was with a random gyaru whom Yamato and Koushiro picked for him; the second was a bimbo who was two-or-three years older than him, thanks to another dare from his friends; he had lost count since then, but this was definitely a first in a long time.

"Mi-chan," he called out. Mimi turned around, saw that he was out of breath, having chased her from the fifth floor to the school gate. If not for the provoking Yamato, Taichi would not have had this spontaneous marathon.

"Taichi-kun.." she instantly felt uneasy, as Sora was just beside her. "What are you doing here?"

Panting and yearning for a gallon of water, Taichi wasted no time and said what he had to. Mimi seems to know already, after all. "I like you. I'm not asking you to like me back, but if you want to try, meet me on Saturday, Rinkai Station."

Before he knew it, he fell onto his knees, trying to catch his breath – and Mimi only told him, "I'll think about it."

Mimi messaged him the same night; after a few of her provisos, she eventually agreed. Taichi sighed as he took out his phone to message Yamato.

Man, I'm fucking scared.

He never had problems interacting with girls, but unlike Sora and the rest of the females he knew, Mimi was absolutely intimidating. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who thought so.

Ha ha. I know. Good luck.

Tch, thought Taichi, as he frowned down to his phone. Well that didn't help!

Fifteen minutes after their call-time, the brunette had arrived, in her white and powder blue dress that fell just above her knees, and yellow kitten heels. Taichi noticed she was also wearing a quaint boat hat with a blue ribbon on it. Mimi and hats.

"H-hi!" greeted Taichi as he went to hug her. She put a palm on front of her, preventing him to come any closer.

"Tai-kun," scolded Mimi. "No skinship, remember?!" It was one of her provisos.

The boy rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "What the heck, we always hug when we meet each other!"

"But this is a date, Yagami,"

"Yeah, but we're friends… so it doesn't make much difference,"

"No! You're just trying to get into my undies, this is exactly what this is all about!"

Right. After days of glorifying the new and improved Tachikawa Mimi, he forgot about the part that she can be really, annoyingly full of herself. "You think I'm so in to you!"

Mimi tilted her head to his side, frowned even more by his statement. They were arguing, and this was the first time she'd be out with Taichi alone. And here I thought Yamato-kun and I couldn't last a conversation.

She was masking her nervousness, as this was the first time she'd go out on a date – with a friend – with a friend whom is akin to being my brother – with the stubborn and jolly man Taichi.

Damn, he looks so good in those shorts. And it felt rather weird to think of Taichi was attractive – in any way. She crossed her arms, ignoring that he was also wearing the shoes she gave to him. "Hmp. Then I guess I'm going to leave,"

Taichi burst out of laughter. "Okay, okay. Sorry, Mi," He reached out to grab her arm. She didn't mind his touch this time, and let him lead the way.

"Where are you taking me anyway?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

He struck the strings of his guitar, as if an experiment. With his guitar pick, Yamato had been testing the chords the whole morning, and his bandmates had grown impatient.

"Ishida, just get over with it, I'm sure we can pull something off," said Hiroyuki. He had been practicing his drumming and eventually got bored.

"Yeah, Yama-kun. The rental here's expensive, must you know," agreed Shinji. He was the one who rented the studio for today's practice – and they pretty much only had two hours left.

"No, I have something in my mind, and I'm going to make sure I get it out with this damn guitar," answered Yamato, as he obsessively picked his guitar.

"What are you looking for anyway? Maybe I can help," Keisuke picked up the piece of paper near Yamato.

'She's the type of girl who makes love – hurts,' Keisuke silently read. He bit his lip, not wanting to let out his laughter. "Let's just go unplugged with this, Ishida,"

For a long time, the blond glared at him. "No."

"Why not? This is a love song! A break-up song, specifically!" Upon hearing it was a love song, the rest of the band huddled around the faux-hawked guitarist to read Yamato's lyrics.

"I fucking well know what it is, Keisuke," replied Yamato matter-of-factly.

"Don't tell me you still want to sound loud and angry with this," warned his drummer as he held the piece of paper.

"Yes, I want to." said Yamato. Okay, but maybe not too angry, he told himself.

Shinji groaned and went back to his corner of the room, not wanting to deal any of Yamato's baggage.

"Just leave him, you know he becomes a fucking lunatic at times like this," whispered Keisuke to Hiroyuki. Yamato glared at them like he was about to devour them.

"Ugh, but dammit man, did you read those lyrics?" hissed Hiroyuki to his fellow bandmate. "It said, 'I'd rather be in love than dead, but not with her,'"

When it came to songs about Sora, Yamato had the bad habit to turn into either a mushy and cheesy lyricist or a foul-mouthed bard. This time, he managed to become both. Yamato rolled his eyes, ignoring the complaints of his bandmates. He needed to make his song worthy of a single, catchy enough for Sora to hear on the radio and probably this song will guilt-trip her – beep beep—

Frustrated, Yamato dug his hand in his pocket to get his phone. Two messages, both from Taichi and Mimi.

Mimi's too pretty. I can't do this, man.

Then he opened Mimi's.

I'm regretting that I have approved to this. This feels so incest, Ishida! (;;_;;)

Yamato let out a snicker, now getting interested how their date will go. He realized it felt rather nice to get distracted by other people's problems; he's been dead tired and beaten trying so hard to fix his own. Not to mention, Sora had not even acknowledged his presence at their lunch table. Like, what the fuck, shouldn't he be the one ignoring her? He was trying his best to stay in good terms with the ginger, but she kept acting like he was the one that broke up with her.

Now that he was single, no one can judge me if I go with Mimi later, he thought. And it was absolutely getting childish, he told himself. During his evening ritual last night, he had realized that Mimi has very much become a person for keeps; like most of his newly-found deep friendships, he relied on her. The fact that both of them technically saw each other in their undergarments was just – okay, maybe I shouldn't think about that – the point is, they're really close now.

Ha ha ha! You better tell me how it goes. So.. Umm.. wanna meet later?

Taichi won't be at home 'til evening anyway, so he might as well spend the afternoon with Mimi.

But I don't know how long this date will go!

It'll be over before you even get to say 'I love you' to him. Taichi doesn't ditch football practice.

So he's going to leave me later eventually?! Ughh.. _ okay. Pick me up then! Don't be late or I will kill you 3

And so it was set. He wouldn't have to worry killing his free time in the afternoon later. Now, if only he could get this song right.

Mimi had to give Taichi the credit for taking her somewhere that wasn't as boring as the places where Sora and Jyou took her. They were at the Tokyo Sea Life aquarium, and much had changed since the last time she had been here. It was still as large as it was before, but it looked cleaner and fancier now. The aquarium was more colorful too.

She wasn't as nervous around Taichi as she was days ago though, thanks to Sora's.. blessing.

They were heading for the new cat café downtown, meeting up with Hikari and Inoue Miyako. In silence, she waited for the redhead's reaction. Sora was a few feet on front of her, and none of her behavior or facial expressions seemed to give anything away. Fearing Sora might get angry or sad, Mimi braced herself for the worse. Mimi skipped her way to catch up with her best friend.

"God, what has gotten into Tai-kun," she exclaimed nervously. "Seriously, he's being weirder and weir-"

"Mi-chan," the ginger cut her off, and the brunette was surprised to see her smiling. "You should give Taichi-kun a chance,"

What? Is Sora being Taichi's wingman?! The brunette thought. The ginger chuckled at Mimi's gaping mouth and scrunched brows. "Oh come on, Mimi! Taichi-kun's been wanting to get you on a date for weeks now!"

"Are you okay, Sora-chan?" Mimi asked, putting a palm over Sora's forehead.

"I am," chuckled Sora as she put down Mimi's hand to her side. They continue to walk as they talk about their male friend.

"But It's Taichi-kun," debated Mimi. She ran a hand through her long hair. "He's like a brother to me,"

Sora bit her lip and looked up. "Well.. if you don't want to, you can decline,"

"But Sora-chan. It's Taichi-kun. I'm feeling a whole lot awful.." she drifted. She was becoming anxious again, tempted to take the single leftover cigarette from her wallet.

"And you know.. What about Kou-kun?!" She needed her sugar, immediately.

Sora frowned, remembering Mimi's story. "Ehh.. it seems that he has no plans in pursuing his feelings for you."

She snapped out of her mental train when Taichi poked her shoulder.

"Haha, look Mi, that looks like a Dolphmon," he pointed at the Digimon-like creature that bore its battle scars. The dolphin was set apart from the pod of dolphins that swam in the same direction. "It seems like it was rescued,"

Mimi stared at the creature, as if trying telepathy. She turned her head to look at Taichi, who was leaning very closely against the glass.

"Do you miss Agumon?"

The question startled him. Boy, he did not see that coming. He grinned. "Yeah, I do. But I'm sure we'd meet again,"

She smiled at his optimism; getting distracted from her nostalgic feelings for Palmon. "Maybe we can ask Kou-kun to open the gate for us or something," she suggested.

"Nah, we kept trying to open it two years ago, but somehow the gate doesn't budge anymore," he replied. He pulled himself away from the glass and faced the girl. His cheeks turned pink, still uncomfortable with the fact that the entire set-up was a date. Whatever what was happening, he had to keep the conversation flowing – at least that's was one of Yamato's essential pointers to him. "Do you still have your Digivice?"

"Yeah. I hid it somewhere," answered Mimi. They start to walk, following the pathway. If she was in anyway attracted to Taichi, she would have enjoyed this date. Surprisingly, he turned out to be far gentlemanly than she expected, even fetching her a bottle of water when she got thirsty.

He glanced at the very feminine figure beside him. It had already been hours and he still felt jumpy. He did not want to screw up this chance, but Mimi just seemed to be too good for him. She was more composed and casual than he was, and she probably notices, he thought. With a sigh, Taichi looked away, facing forward.

His eyes widened at the sight of his sister being accompanied by two familiar boys he had a love-hate relationship with.

"Mimi!" he hissed, hiding himself behind her back. They were about five yards away from the three.

"Wha-what is it?!" she exclaimed as well, wanting to find out what the fuss was all about. The boy behind him pointed to the three kids who were reading the information plaque for deepwater stingrays.

"Oh!" Mimi's frown turned into a grin. "It's Kari-chan! With Dai-kun and Takeru-kun," she added. Taichi scowled at the mention of the boys.

Perfect timing! thought Mimi. "Let's go wi—"

"No!" hissed Taichi, already in stealth mode. "Come, they should not see us,"

"What are you talking about? Are you ashamed that they might see us together?!" she raised as she put her hands on her hips. He slapped his palm against his forehead and grunted. Now that she mentioned it, it wasn't that he was embarrassed – but he knew if Hikari found out, she'd never let him get away with it. Of course, Mimi will not understand any excuse he'd make right now.

"We should follow them," he insisted. The three were now aweing at the stingrays. He saw Daisuke simply putting his hand on his sister's shoulder. And Takeru – that Takeru! – was not respecting any personal space.

"Why? Feels weird to see Hikari-chan all grown-up, eh?" teased Mimi. She actually found Taichi's worrywart behavior cute. "Which team are you in for anyway? Team Takeru or Team Daisuke?"

"I am – Team Hikari-You-Are-So-Dead-Later," he answered. He was glaring at the trio, as if hoping one of them would get shot. Mimi giggled. She found it definitely cute. This could be fun, she thought.

"Let's make a tally on who will have the most skinship," she suggested, now taking out her phone to make a note out of it.

He looked at her in horror. "Mimi!"

For the rest of the time, even when they ate lunch, they tailed his sister. Thankfully, she and Taichi were remained unnoticed by the three. By the end of their date, Daisuke won Mimi's record with 25, while Takeru with 24.

Much to the band's dismay, they did not get to practice decently at all, thanks to the very uncooperative vocalist. On the bright side, Yamato had finished composing his song.

"Well, that was a waste," complained Shinji as he jabbed . The next band to use the room was already inside, setting up their equipment. Soon enough, the other band was already testing their instruments and practicing songs. Yamato thought they sounded familiar.

"Wait," he told the band. They were already on the exit. "Let's give them a listen,"

Hiroyuki grunted and closed the door. He leaned against the wall, with his arms crossed. The rest followed his gesture, trying to control their temper.

"I think I know this song," said Keisuke to Yamato. The vocalist was singing in perfect English, almost perfect and as if he was a native speaker of the language. "It's one of the weird English songs you keep singing," Keisuke added.

Yamato nodded, highly impressed as well. He wouldn't say that though, especially when his ego has been teensy-weensy, slightly bruised by this other band. The vocalist did not look Western, and he was very much Japanese. He was skinny, and had electric blue hair.

The band did not finish the song, as the presence of Yamato's own ring distracted them. The vocalist looked at them, puzzled why they haven't left. The blue-haired boy went over to them.

"Hi," he greeted nonchalantly. Yamato returned his greeting upon noticing that the boy was an inch shorter than him.

"Is something wrong?" the boy asked in very formal Japanese.

The blond shook his head, smiling coolly. "No, we just got interested because you sang in perfect English,"

"I reckon you guys went overseas for some time?" asked Shinji.

The other vocalist smiled back, anxiety disappearing from his face. "Thanks. And umm.. yeah? Sort of. I grew up in America. We're sort of new around here."

That explains the English, thought Yamato.

"We're the Teenage Wolves," introduced Yamato as he gave a nod to his band. "I'm Ishida Yamato. You can call me Yamato,"

"We used to be called Wax and Wane, then Psycho Moon, then to Narcobears.." he listed, counting on his fingers. "Right now we're the Icky Pantsuits,"

Yamato inwardly grimaced. For real?

Hiroyuki nudged Keisuke by the elbow as they snickered. Though the members of Teenage Wolves weren't eloquent in English, they did understand some English words, and they couldn't take the other band's name seriously.

The vocalist of Icky Pantsuits offered his palm for a handshake. Yamato accepted the gesture. "I'm Yoshioka Aoiyami. Just call me whatever."

Yamato let go of his hand. He did not know how to take his joke (or was it really a joke?), but he did feel somewhat insulted by his chill vibe. Here he was, trying to be friendly, and then this guy just becomes rude to him. I even offered him to call me my first name! he thought.

But maybe this Aoiyami was just too foreign to Yamato, he did mention he was from Ameri – no – Yamato was definitely insulted. He adjusted his guitar case over his shoulder and opened the door. "Okay, whatever. See you around."

Author's Note: the lyrics that Yamato wrote is actually from This is the End by The Maine. I don't own it. Your reviews will highly be appreciated :)