Author's Note: It's been so hard to keep up nowadays. I really wished I could have done more (and better). I hope this suffices for now. Please leave your reviews; I love reading insights. :)
Salad Days
Chapter Eighteen
En Route
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He was good at disappearing and coming out of nowhere. The whole spring, Jyou dedicated all of himself to college and his research paper. He had successfully been included as one of the most refined researches in Todai, at least in the freshmen category.
It had been a busy spring. After finding out the family business was gradually going downhill, he had to bid his Harvard dreams goodbye for now, and started to help out with the clinic. It was at this time Jyou had completely shut himself out from friends and peers. Unlike others, Jyou had always been alone, and he was never one to brood about it – he wanted to think he was that time-traveling space-alien character of a British sci-fi show that was popular among his college peers. It appeased to his solitude, at least.
Jyou yawned, feeling rather sleepy after finishing the clinic's accounting books the whole night. He fixed the books, placed them under his bed. He then cleaned up his glasses, and put them beside his lamp. He took out his mobile phone, seeing that it was already four in the morning.
Ahh, mornings. It was reality pulling him back: that maybe sometimes, he did feel unwanted, unneeded. He knew everyone too well – Taichi, Sora, Yamato, Koushiro, Mimi, Takeru, and Hikari, would be all right without him. Sure, they'd all occasionally message him, ask him to come along with them, but his absence won't really affect them so much – at least not like the way Mimi affected them when she left for America.
He received messages from Sora and Hikari, both asking him to come over to their graduation dinners on Thursday and Friday, respectively. He smiled. It felt nice that some had remembered him.
He was looking forward for the days to come, knowing that at least he could unwind a little this summer.
He returned his phone to his bedside as he readied his sheets and stretched his too-feminine legs. Jyou looked at the clock, silently thanking that he still has three hours before his last day of his term starts. Three hours was already generous, and he was going to make every hour worth the snooze.
Morning was rather unusual for Daisuke. Despite best efforts, Daisuke failed to make a decent small talk both with Hikari and Takeru. Though the three of them sat near each other, the avoidance had not gone unnoticed.
"Is there something I don't know about? Is there something wrong," the maroon-haired asked for the sixth time. He didn't like getting left out. "Man, we can't part like this, it's graduation day in two days."
But the two remained quiet, obsessed with their little worlds as Hikari was solving a whole book of Sudoku; Takeru, finally writing on the notebook Mimi gave him months ago.
Takeru wondered if Hikari remembered anything from last night; wondered even more if she was really awake during the taxi ride. They had only exchanged their good mornings just a while ago, and it was as if she retreated in her own world – where he didn't exist. Whether she was doing it on purpose or not, his mind had already been free of obligations. He excused himself from Daisuke, told him he's going to the loo. He stood up, bringing his notebook with him. He passed by Hikari and then some of their classmates.
He let out a big sigh of relief when he was out of the room. He had said what he had to say to Hikari, and it was up to her on how she'll take it.
"Ahhhhhh.." Hikari dropped her book and pencil, as she placed her hands on her head. That was so awkward! Truthfully, she had been sleepless since she got home, when all she did was to ponder over Takeru's words. He said he likes her. But he also said he wouldn't make a move on her. She struggled, tried to detangle the polarizing tugs in her heart until dawn broke in; when she had realized Takeru had seriously out-vagued (if there was such a word) himself.
The only question now was how her relationship with the blond going to change… it was either a hello or a goodbye.. Or maybe both.
"Well someone needs to remind you to breathe," her maroon-haired friend had seen this, and he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by. Sure, getting rejected by Hikari week by week bruised his shrinking ego, but his curiosity always gets the best of him. Daisuke sat on an empty seat on front of the brunette.
"Did something happen?" he questioned with a serious look on his face.
"Ah. It's nothing.." an effortless answer which effortlessly failed. Soon enough Hikari realized Daisuke was not buying it – and he was definitely not going to let her go with her poorly-thought answer. She might as well be honest with him.
"Ahh. We drank yesterday." he huffed, disappointed, slightly offended that he wasn't invited again. It was something he still had to get used to. But there was something more important than his jealousy – like, what did Takeru and Hikari do while drinking out? He had let his imagination gone wild. "I see.."
"We were with onii-chan and the others.." And Daisuke's mind circus had been put to a stop. He let out a sigh, relieved that his assumptions were wrong.
"I see.. so what happened?"
"I found out he likes me." Desperate, Hikari had narrated events of last night, as much as she wanted to keep it as her own secret. She was sleepless, helpless – a joint feeling that she reckoned most love-stricken teenagers goes through. She hated it, since she had thought she was better at handling these things.
"I see.." Daisuke was running out of words to reply to the brunette; as he couldn't understand his blond friend as well. Setting his feelings and jealousy aside, he put himself in Hikari's shoes.
Yep. He would probably have walked out much earlier than Hikari.
It did not take long, that Takeru returned inside, as the two scrambled to act normal and not look like they were talking about him.
Hikari returned to her Sudoku book, and Daisuke turned to Takeru as they talk about this coming season's baseball. It lasted until they were called by their class representative to head over at the ceremony hall.
The same awkwardness could be found inside Sora's class, but it was altogether different. Yamato and Taichi had entered the classroom a bit late, both seemingly hung over from last night. The unusual quiet among their area was unusually refreshing.
"This is sort of a bad thing," said Taichi from his table. "Our last day of high school… and we're wasted."
"I didn't get drunk though," said Yamato, lifting his head from his table. "But my head feels as if someone's juicing it," he reckoned it was probably him having to stay up all night.
"How are you, Sora?" Taichi turned to the ginger, who seemed surprised.
"Ah. I'm fine, Taichi." Fine, but not really. The thing about remembering a drunken night with friends and ex-lovers was that it can really make things feel more unusual. And this was just exactly what Sora felt.
Now knowing Taichi still held it against her, and is actually serious about Mimi, it felt all hope was lost. And Yamato – Yamato just sounds too attached with her best friend, and it just made her stomach feel funny. She struggled the whole night, thinking of these things.
"You should drink soup," she advised to the brunet, and indirectly to the blond. Her mother had prepared her some powder-based chicken soup last night, and it had immediately regained her healthy, sensible self despite the MSG. "It will take away the hangover."
"Hmm.. maybe." She heard Yamato reply, but was looking at his desk instead.
She was more surprised when Taichi moved his chair and table closer to hers, with a serious look on his face. Whatever he was going to say now, will definitely boggle her mind more. She anticipated for him to speak up first.
"Sora," he whispered. She gulped the lump on her throat. "I need to talk to Mimi.."
Boy, things sure move fast, she thought to herself, feeling rather crest-fallen, but unsurprised. "Why?"
"I think I may have said stuff to her yesterday.." he muttered, scratching the side of his head. "Stuff that complicates.. stuff."
"Just do it, Taichi." She croaked, forcing a smile on her face. "It's Mimi-chan. Just be honest with her."
"Ahh.. yeah.." he agreed, nodding slowly. He looked at Sora and gave his gladdest of smiles. She smiles back, admitting she finally let him go.
The morning came quite pleasant for Mimi. She had gone drunk so many times back in New York that she had already perfected the hangover remedy – which consisted of alka-seltzer and heavy breakfast. Of course, she could not credit it all to herself, when Koushiro helped her out that night.
She looks behind him, still engrossed with his favorite object since they were children. Mimi wondered if she had said anything weird to Koushiro yesterday, because it seemed to her that he was avoiding her purposefully. That, or maybe she's just overthinking things.
We did greet each other good morning earlier.. she thought hopefully as she mindlessly flipped the pages of ViVi magazine. She ran across some dresses, which she ought Sora and Cat might like. There wasn't much that suited her taste.
Mimi didn't quite understand why they still had to go to school, since the teachers just usually give their papers and projects back to them. There were no lectures or tests anymore, too. Sighing, Mimi breathed deeply, turned around to face the redhead.
He didn't seem to take notice of her, so she cleared her throat. "Kou-kun, are you nervous?"
She realized he really didn't notice her after all, since his eyes seemed surprised to see her. "Ahh.. Is there a reason to be?"
"Well.. it'll be just the two of us now at high school," she said, hoping to fish out an answer she will like.
"Takeru-kun and Hikari-chan will be, too.." he replied nonchalantly, his eyes going back down to his laptop screen. She was about to make an obviously disappointed expression in her face, and he'd rather not see it.
"Well.." she didn't expect she'd run out of words that easily. "I just hope we can still be classmates.."
"I don't know," he paused, then looked back up to her again with a friendlier expression on his face. "I hope so, too."
It wasn't what she was hoping for, but it was enough. Mimi smiled back, then turned around, back to her magazine. It'll take a while to mend her relationship with Koushiro, but at least she knew he was also trying.
She took out her phone as she felt it vibrate from her breast pocket, her hands turning sweaty as she read the preview of the message:
Meet me at the rooftop now.
It was from Taichi.
Mimi sighed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. It was incredibly windy that it was hard to keep her skirt in place.
"What do you want from me, Yagami?" she demanded in good humor. She pretended she wasn't afraid of whatever the brunet on front of her had to say. Though, Mimi pretty much already had a good idea what it could be about.
"Mi," he signaled her to come over near the edge. Hesitantly she did, and took a few inches away from him.
"So.. what brings me here?"
Taichi sighed, running a hand through his hair. He inhaled, then exhaled deeply, and broke into a laugh. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaah. This is so hard!"
"Taichi-kun!"
"Do I leave you breathless right now?" he teased carelessly.
"Why yes you do, you're about to say something to me and it's keeping me in my toes," she replied rather harshly, now crossing her arms. Taichi felt she was really pissed, then sighed again, mustering the courage he had left.
"I'm sorry," he said, scratching his nape. He was looking down at his shoes, pretty interested at the dirt they had. "I'm sorry for everything."
And perhaps, this was not what Mimi actually expected, and suddenly felt guilty for him. She stepped forward, reaching out for his arm. "Why are you apologizing…"
He turned to face the scenery, where some iconic parts of Tokyo could be seen. From there he could see the train station. It reminded him a lot of Sora, where he and Sora will usually eat lunch together when Yamato was busy with his band members, and they'll count the number of times they will see a train pass them by. I'll miss this place a lot.. "I.. I made things.. complicated.."
"Between you and me.. between you and Sora.. between you and Koushiro.." he added. And in an instant, Mimi could feel her tears winning her over. "I'm just sorry it became this complicated, Mimi-chan."
She turned her head to the scenery as well, and did not speak. Taichi had said everything that made her exactly feel nowadays, and it hurt her for him to say it. She was unaware of the feeling until he gave words to it. Everything, everything, was complicated since she got back here.
"But Mimi," he continued, now lightly placing his hand over hers. He turned her around to look at him. His determined eyes meeting her sad ones. He felt bad that she just had to get involved. But he was just never one to back out.
The school bell rang. It was lunchtime already.
"Mimi," he repeated, as his other hand was placed over his heart. He took a big gulp, his sweaty, rough hand slightly slipping its grip on hers. "I promise I will do everything I can to prove to you that my feelings are real."
They are real, Taichi could say. There was nothing to doubt that he does like her, and that he could love her – just as, or maybe more than he loved Sora. Maybe? Maybe. "I know what you're thinking, that I'm just replacing you for Sora, but I do like you, truly.."
"I'm not pressuring you right now, or tomorrow, I just want you to know I'm here, and that I like you, and I will wait for you,"
Since when was Taichi such a smooth talker? she thought to himself. All messed up with her tears and her hair, she couldn't help but nod vigorously, buying Taichi's words. She wiped her face with a handkerchief he lent to her, and then brushed her hair with her fingers. Her glistening eyes glared at him playfully.
"Taichi.. you idiot," she croaked in between her hiccups. "you didn't have to say sorry for this at all,"
She wouldn't say anymore, and just let it go naturally as it could – whatever she and Taichi are.
He laughed, relieved that they were okay.
"I'll see more of you this summer then," he noted. Mimi just smiled. He buried his hands inside his pockets, and put a very wide grin on his face.
"Okay. Now let's get lunch. I'm hungry."
They climbed down the rooftop hastily, and ordered their food before joining the others at their lunch table. Mimi ought Taichi will not want to miss this last time they'd all sit together. Things were changing pretty quickly, and it made her dizzy.
"Mimi-chan!" Mimi was glad that Sora had called her out. She reckoned Sora saved a seat for her, since the spot was empty. She sat beside her, as Taichi sat beside Koushiro.
"Where did you two go?!" mumbled Yamato angrily as he chewed from his ricebox. "Yagami, we have practice later and you're loitering around god-knows-where with Tachikawa, you sly fox,"
"None of your business, Ishida," Taichi was back to his playful self as he ate his noodles. It made Mimi think twice if it was really Taichi that she was with earlier. The two continued to banter as usual, as Koushiro silently ate in between them. Sora watched the three of them, and wondered if Koushiro will miss them.
"Kou-kun," she said, just after swallowing her roll of sushi from her bento. "do you want to come to my graduation dinner tomorrow?" offered Sora.
"What about me, Sora-chan," cued in Mimi, not wanting to be left out – but also ensuring she and Sora were okay.
The redhead giggled. "Mimi-chan, of course you're invited, silly,"
"Hey, what's this," butted in Taichi as he overheard the girls' conversation. "I have a graduation dinner too, you know."
"So do I," spoke Yamato. Although from the look of things, it seemed likely that both Koushiro and Mimi will prefer to go to Sora's. Maybe I'd invite Jyou, he resorted.
"And are we – Mimi-chan and I – invited to this?" asked Koushiro indifferently.
The two other guys replied in unison. "Yes."
"Well now, I think we'll just see who goes to whom," replied Sora coolly. "Of course, I think it's obvious Mimi-chan will go to mine. And Jyou-senpai already accepted my invitation,"
With that, Koushiro had decided to come over to Sora's instead, but he chose to be silent; he'll just go over to her house and surprise her with her favorite chocolates as a congratulatory gift.
Well, there goes my idea, said Yamato to himself. He concentrated in eating his rice instead.
"Sora," Taichi mumbled in his gnawing. "Sora. You're scary. And cool. Ugh. I guess I'll invite Daisuke over."
Mimi and Sora could not help but giggle at Taichi's ridiculous face of respect and admiration. "Thanks.. I guess?"
Mimi looked around, savoring this last time they'd all seat together. She wondered if they'd ever get to see them together like this again. Taking a huge bite from her tuna roll, she turned to Sora, eyeing her from her hair to her skirt.
"Sora-chan," Mimi frowned. "Where's your ribbon?"
The redhead looked onto her uniform, then back at Mimi. "I gave it to a junior from tennis club,"
"But.. but why!" she really wanted the ribbon to herself. It didn't matter if she was a girl asking for a ribbon – it was Sora's.
"Uhh.. he asked?"
"He?" emphasized Koushiro.
"Mhmm."
"I thought you don't do buttons or ribbons," growled Taichi. "I was asking for yours!"
Sora glared at the brunet, hoping Mimi will not misunderstand. She groaned at how insensitive Taichi could be. "Well, we wouldn't want to upset Mimi-chan now don't we, Taichi-kun? H-hey Mimi-!"
Sora was cut off when Mimi suddenly tugged a button from her coat and kept it to herself. Quite shocked with the turn of events, Sora stared down at her now three-buttons coat, and then looked at her friend, who had already changed the direction of her interest to someone else.
"Yamato-kun!"
"What?" the blonde flatly murmured from his food.
"I want your second button."
"Why are you asking his button, when you wanted to return mine!" complained Taichi. He was really getting suspicious of Mimi's favoritism. But then again, maybe Mimi just wanted souvenirs from the three of them. Sora awkwardly turned to her food; Koushiro copied her.
"I don't do buttons, dear." replied Yamato coolly. Although, he was now starting to reconsider when she kept pleading for his button – she even attempted to forcefully remove it from his coat. It took Taichi and Sora to restrain Mimi.
"You're insane, Tachikawa," he said, frightened at the girl.
"But.. I have Taichi's.. and I have Sora's.. yours is the only one missing now!" It continued for a while, Mimi taking several attempts to get Yamato's second button. But to no avail, the blond just did not cater her wishes, and she eventually gave up.
Maybe I'll try later.. thought Mimi to herself. She was convinced that with a little more force, Yamato would eventually give in.
The girls stood up from their seats, having already finished their light lunches. Mimi followed her best friend faithfully, admiring her from behind. Mimi knew every girl in her class, and had spent time with them, but time with Sora was her favorite. She was going to miss her a lot, and school was definitely not going to be the same without her. She was feeling extra clingy and touchy-feely, but knew Sora will find it weird.
"Sora-chan," she was leaning beside the cubicle that her friend was in. "do you think we can still spend time together?"
"What are you talking about, Mi-chan," Sora's voice echoed inside the cubicle. "Of course we can,"
"Am I still going to be your best friend?"
Sora couldn't help but giggle. "You're the one and only, Tachikawa Mimi!"
"Huuuuu.. I better be the only one! Do we still get to have sleepovers?"
"Of course."
"Do we still hang out after school?"
"Maybe? I will try my best!"
"What about on weekends? You have to promise me we still have our weekends!"
"Ehh.. I'm not sure about that, Mi. Sorry."
The brunette made a sound of frustration. "Do we still talk a lot even if you're very busy in college?"
The ginger giggled again. It was definitely a strange feeling, somehow having to part with Mimi for the second time. But the difference this time was that they're in each other's reach now. And that alone was enough. "Yes, Mimi-chan."
Mimi smiled, contented with her friend's answers until she remembered the most important one. "Sora-chan,"
"Yes, Mimi-chan?"
"I've been meaning to ask, but I keep forgetting," Mimi toyed with her hair, quite unsure how to put her question to words. "What are you taking in college? And which college are you going to?"
She opened the door, and looked at her clingy friend, somewhat wishing Mimi had the answer for the question she kept asking herself.
"That, I don't know."
The queue for the graduates was cut off in to nine different lines, students arranged in alphabetical order. Takeru peeped from behind, looking at Hikari who was at the other line, and fourth to the last of the entire litter; then to his left, two persons away from him was where Daisuke is.
The roll call had started, starting from A. There were a lot of students whose last names started with A's. In fact, they were the populous ones, according to Takeru's personal observation. It had been quite a day, and he was getting hungry.
"Takaishi-san, where are you going to high school?" asked a female schoolmate. She had jet-black hair and green eyes.
"Odaiba, Shiguhara-san." He grinned politely. He saw a rather disappointed look on her face, and tells him something about her preferring to go a school somewhere in Ginza. Unable to keep up the small talk and niceties, he did not reply anymore to her, and just gave her an "Ah" and an unmeant smile.
It worked. Maybe if he was in a different mood, he could have entertained her.
The whole time the practice had gone over, he thought of his future with Hikari and Daisuke. They will be joining Miyako soon in Odaiba High School, but he knew it was an entirely different world – probably not so much of a big deal like college – but it was still a different world that even he just got familiar with, thanks to those abundant shonen and slice of life mangas he had read for the entirety of his life.
Will it be like that shoujo manga, where he might find a new prospective lover while still being best of friends with Hikari? Or will it be something rekindling of his former fancy? No.. 'former fancy' was not the right term. The unnatural rhythm of his heart upon thinking her name proves that he still likes her.
"Motomiya Daisuke,"
He watched Daisuke climb up the platform, obviously unhappy to be there. Daisuke was cheered by some members of the football club and tennis club. Takeru wondered too if he and Daisuke will remain friends – his maroon-haired friend might find someone better, someone more tolerable than his own smarty-ass, and it scared him a bit.
"Takaishi Takeru,"
When Takeru's turn came as his name rolled off of the principal's tongue, a loud scream of fellow school girls and hollering from the boys echoed the hall. He feigned a friendly smile, not wanting to look too snobbish or whatever, and this pleased them. He thought of doing a little personality makeover himself once he gets into high school. Probably become slightly less friendly; the people-pleasing had taught him loads. He stepped down the platform, then resumed to his place in the queue.
They had finally reached the last line; each mention of a name had gotten Hikari closer to him. He looks at her, gives her a reassuring smile.
She smiles back. But that wasn't all.
"Takeru-kun," she said, bursting with enthusiasm. "I think I understand what you said yesterday."
Surprised, he narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"It's a self-preservation kind of thing, isn't it?" she answered in a playful, but inherently sarcastic manner.
"I think you missed the point, Hikari-chan," he smiled, trying to maintain an amicable conversation since other students could hear them.
"Hmm.." She looked up, pretending to think. He realized soon enough he wasn't able to assure her. "Like you said.. it's not a big deal."
He could not help but glare at her, despite knowing this was entirely his own doing. But then again, it was the price of telling the truth.
Things will change.
"Yagami Hikari,"
First Day of Summer
.
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Mimi stared down at the item on her palm, having mixed feelings about it. "Ishida Yamato, is this a confession?"
"Maybe," The blond snickered as he leaned on the railings; they were at the same spot that overlooked Rainbow Bridge. He didn't really know why he kept dragging her here; it just went by instinct. His smile widened when he noticed the blush on Mimi's cheeks.
"And this button, is very, very, late!"
"I would have given it to you if you had come to my graduation dinner last night," he said in a fake-gloomy manner, since she chose to go to Sora's dinner instead.
But in the end, Mimi was always immune to his charm. Her eyes shot up to his. "You're terrible. You're teasing me. I hate you,"
"What. You asked for it, I just gave it to you." He said, dropping his act.
"I was joking!"
"You were whining why I won't give away any of my buttons," he explained, feigning innocence in his voice. Mimi had been stalking him around the campus a day ago, even attempting to grab the button of his coat when he was walking on the hallway.
"You even attacked me. You seemed to be the one interested in me, and not me on you."
"But I feel like you're only giving this to me because you can't give it to Sora-chan," she dramatized as she leaned on the fence. It mattered greatly if the button was really meant for her or not.
"Now you don't want it?"
"I want it! But.."
Yamato could not deny he enjoyed torturing Mimi's funny emotions. And so, he went on: "Well.. I would have given it to her if.. if we were okay."
"I'm crying inside."
He laughed at her sulking face.
"I wanted your button because I feel like I deserved it!" Mimi made a pose as if she'd break into a song at any moment, and Yamato couldn't help but retaliate and avoid being part of her musical.
"Can't you see, Yamato-kun, years ago we barely exchanged a syllable, and now look at us – sharing a selfie, even." Mimi pointed out to her phone, showing a photo of her smiling, and Yamato frowning.
Yamato unconsciously copied the frown. "Delete that, Mimi. I look terrible there."
But she ignored him and went on. "You have to admit, this is the best friendship you had since Taichi. Hell, I'm better than Taichi."
"You're crazy."
"I can't accept this half-meant button!"
"Get over it," he hissed. "You should feel lucky, you have Taichi's too." It was actually this little detail which made him succumb to Mimi's silly antics. But Mimi felt not even a tad bit lucky, as she knew the reason behind Taichi's button. She didn't say anything back, and eventually accepted Yamato's trinket.
"That other night," Yamato pulled himself away from the bar, motioning Mimi to walk with him. She followed him without question. "You told Taichi I was your type,"
It didn't take any hesitation for her to answer. "I did."
So blunt, he thought, rolling his eyes to the side.
"You're not in love with me, right?" he prompted. The question almost made Mimi trip. She adjusted her left shoe, which she almost left behind.
"What the – hell no! I said that because technically you're a band dude, Ishida." she snapped, her hands resting on her hips as her foot regained balance. Her lips form a pout, her hazel orbs eyeing his blessed height. "God, your ego is the size of a cathedral,"
"Just checking," said Yamato coolly as he continued walking. "Takeru thinks there's something between us."
She hastened her footsteps, trying to match his speed until they were side by side again. "He always thinks something's between us. You should get used to it until you find yourself a girlfriend in college,"
"Yeah.." Maybe it couldn't be helped, he thought. Merely putting Mimi beside him was enough to make people assume they're an item. Yamato then realized that he never saw them together on front of a mirror yet – and front-cameras on phones just don't count.
"Hmm…" Mimi tucked a lock of her hair on her ears, carefully picking her words. "Say, Yamato-kun.."
He did not look over her direction, allowing her to speak up whatever that was on her mind. But of course, he did not expect what she had to say next.
"Do you think we'll still be as close as we are once you go to college?" The question sent electricity in his entire spine, still not used to her honesty. "Do you think we can still hang out together?"
He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to keep the icy exterior and not give into her sentimentality.
"Tachikawa, you really scare me off with your bluntness," he said, taking a deep breath.
"I can't help it.. I'd die knowing!" she moaned. He glanced at her, finding her grimacing face funny.
"We will be.." he said in a lower volume as flashbacks of shared experiences together came to him. This year has been proving quite tough on him; he thought he had only managed because of his really good friends – and Mimi… Mimi, Mimi, Mimi, Mimi, dear Mimi, was one of the most important additions to his surprisingly short list of good friends.
He wondered for a bit, what could have happened if she wasn't there, or if she didn't trust him – if things from four months ago remained status quo.
"I promise." When he said those two words, Mimi could not help but smile so widely. Her cheeks warmed up, and so did her heart.
This friendship with him was one of the best things that happened since she came back to Japan. With all the drama with used-to-be-closer friends like Taichi and Koushiro, Yamato filled in their shoes. He often kept her from being reckless – and when she does become so, he looked out for her.
She reached over to the calmer character beside her, and locked her arms around his waist, since going for his shoulders were hard due to his tall physique. She could not help but cry out of happiness.
It caught him off-guard, but he couldn't help but feel delighted at her outright genuineness; so he returned the gesture back, and almost felt teary. Almost.
He pulled away, playfully messed with her hair as they both resumed walking, heading over to Takeru's house for his graduation dinner.
"So Yamato-kun, what do you think is the weirdest thing that has happened to you this year so far?" she asked out of nowhere.
"Umm.." There really wasn't much 'weird' going on in his life so far, just a lot of 'sad'. But if there had to be one –
Yamato continued, "Umm.. I met a band named Icky Pantsuits?"
"Ehh." she stuck her tongue out, repulsed. "Okay, yeah. That's not weird. That's just a very terrible choice of a band name." She said making a face. She was sort of hoping he'd answer 'being friends with you, Mimi', and he didn't; she lost interest and changed the subject immediately. "So, Yamato-kun, I was thinking of going to the beach with everyone this summer,"
He watched the girl beside him talk about her summer plans with them, getting lost in his own head. He couldn't help but let out a heartily laugh which confused her. Soon, they entered the train station, both growing hungry from all the feet exercise.
"Gah. Yamato-kun, let's stop by a vending machine later," she said, sitting on an empty spot on the train. "I need Pocari Sweat or something,"
He stood on front of her, a single hand of his clutching the handle. He admired their camaraderie, their closeness, now only realizing that finally she was in his life.
"You're weird." It felt good to be in hers, too.