Author's Note: This is one of the arcs I've been looking forward to write. I want to write this scene uninterrupted by other segments, just to emphasize how important it is. I'm going to write two more consecutively, and they'll all be titled 'In medias res', which means in the middle of things, (just for those who don't know). The first one is focused on Yamato and Mimi.

Salad Days
Chapter Twenty-one
In medias res: Act I

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"You look terrible." She said, with her arms folded across her chest. He still looked good; only, she wasn't used to the very obvious circles around his eyes.

Yamato frowned, slightly disappointed with her greeting. He expected a hug, a smile, a compliment, or something friendlier than an unwanted comment about his disheveled appearance. He's aware of it, and he didn't want to hear it from anyone, especially from Mimi. He did skip his Advanced Calculus 1 tonight for her after all, and this little greeting made him want to recheck his priorities.

"Well.. you haven't changed," he spat, copying her pose. He noticed her hair had gone an inch shorter, and her face paler and more sullen. Other than that, she was still all the same. "So, how are you?"

"Oh Yama-kun!" as if she had switched to another persona, she threw herself on him and circled her arms around his waist.

A faint red tinted his cheeks, wondered when Mimi started addressing him with "Yama-kun".

"It's been terrible." She whispered against his woolen coat. And it had been increasingly terrible since the beginning of autumn. The goings-on with Taichi would have been completely fun, if not for the complications that haunted her after their dates – despite the usual lunch together with the others, the very presence of Koushiro had only made her feel miserable.

Misery was the only emotion that seemed right to feel. "I don't have friends."

He pulled her away from him, held her on the shoulders. "You're overreacting again,"

"It's not like I can talk to Takeru or Hikari about these things.." Although, Takeru did surprise her with his subtle maturity last night. "Or Daisuke, or Miyako. And you know, Koushiro-kun.."

And Sora, despite her not attending school for the meantime, had been mostly unavailable to her. They were supposed to meet today – was supposed to meet up with Sora instead of Yamato, but the redhead made a sudden call, said something being sick, then bailed out. It was the last straw and Mimi couldn't buy the 'sick leave' excuses anymore, and had gone fully paranoid.

No, no, I am not paranoid. She just ditched me three times already, she reminded herself. And the fact that Taichi told her he'd meet up with Sora was enough for a valid reason. Although she wasn't really good at holding grudges, she couldn't pass this one up. But Sora was the least of her problems right now, and she dealt with a larger, more recurring issue.

"Still the same problems, Tachikawa?" he smirked.

"I'm sorry that my problems are not as significant as yours!" she shrieked, her arms tossed up in the air.

He let out a lighthearted chuckle, and it earned him a glare.

"Come on, let's talk about your adolescent problems over dinner," he teased. He tugged her by the sleeve, dragged her with him as they walked through the small crowd. "Where do you like to eat?"

The brunette smiled slyly from behind, put her hands over his shoulders as Yamato led the way. "Are you going to treat me?"

"It's not like I have a choice." He just couldn't let a girl pay for dinner.

"Steak."

"Uhhh.. Japanese? American? Korean?" he asked.

"Any's fine," she chirped. "Taichi had only been filling me in with ramen and I'm getting sick of it,"

"Ha ha.." an awkward laugh. Yamato wondered if there's any subtext to this. Does this mean Mimi liked being with him more than her pseudo-boyfriend Taichi? On the contrary, Taichi had been boasting about his relationship with Mimi, and earlier the guy just wanted to meet up with him tomorrow.

But like most of the time, Yamato had immediately rejected and told him to focus on his Japanese Law subject than hang out with him. It wasn't that he didn't care, or wasn't curious, though. Yamato just didn't want to hear more of Taichi whining about his college problems; and he still found it eerie when Taichi talked about Mimi like a lover.

They crossed the street, heading over to a slightly posh side of Ginza.

"How do you earn your money, Yama-kun?" she asked, her hands still resting on his back. He turned around, relieved that they were away from the crowd.

"Gigs," he said in between huffs. "And why are you calling me 'Yama-kun'?"

"Why not?"

"Nothing.." he said all flustered. They started to walk again, heading over to the American food joint at the other corner of the street. "Sora used to call me that."

"Oh."

"Heh."

"Want me to stop calling you that?"

"Nah, it's fine."

She couldn't help but smile, liked that he allowed her to call him by his cutest, most familiar nickname. "Just so you know, I'm not your girlfriend, Ishida!"

"You call me that now? What happened to 'Yama-kun'?" he chuckled, playing along with her.

Mimi couldn't help but smile for the rest of the walk and tried to keep up with the pace of his footsteps. "It was just a phase."

"I thought so."

"I'm kidding, Yama-kun."

And when he found it really sweet of her, he just smiled ahead.

They had grown hungrier – starving rather, by the time they reached the joint. And because it was Yamato who was going to pay for everything, Mimi took this as a chance to binge.

"You're so shameless," said Yamato wryly as he watched her finish her rib-eye. He admired her lack of class; it was something that he still hadn't gotten used to. He always thought Mimi would be more reserved when it came to such behavior. "Now I can't buy myself new vinyl records this month,"

"God, Yamato, you're so awful," spat Mimi, not minding that he could see the food she was chewing. "Don't be pretentious like Michael, buying vinyl records and a gramophone when you can digitally purchase them and play them on your phone,"

"Yeah yeah.." he scoffed, getting impatient. "So, why did you want to meet up, really? I'm sure it's not because you missed me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Yama-kun," she said, popping the last slice of her steak. "Of course I missed you,"

"Mimi, just get on with it."

"I think I've seen my ex," she answered nonchalantly, still chewing.

"Ohh," he managed, blinking a few times. "Where?"

"At your bar.. I think you've seen him around, it's sort of impossible to miss him… You know, Yoshio?" He shook his head, now finding her chewing very annoying. "Ummm.. Aoiyami Yoshioka.. does that ring anything.. umm he had green hair.."

Yoshio. Aoiyami Yoshioka. SO HIS NICKNAME IS YOSHIO. "That weirdo's your ex?!"

"He's not weird! He's just very eccentric!" she disagreed agitatedly. "Have you met him before?"

"Ahh.." Yamato leaned on his seat, "Yeah.. I did…" he didn't like how worked up she was. "Did you talk to him or something? Are you going out with him again?"

"No.. No I didn't.. and I'm not." She said, shaking her head. But he did notice her expression changing. "I don't want to deal with him anymore."

He would have said, 'That's good to hear', but didn't want to sound like a controlling, overprotective brother, dad, or a jealous boyfriend. Speaking of Aoiyami, Yamato remembered that the guy's band had just changed their name again, from Icky Pantsuits to Cake Moss. He swore that regular customers of the bar now preferred bands with weird names than bands with tasteless names such as Teenage Wolves. He wondered if he should change the name of their band to something equally obscure. He was too old for anything 'teenage' after all.

They stayed for a bit at the restaurant, until deciding to go to the first park they see back in Odaiba. The temperature drastically fell. Mimi looked up at the sky, noticed how cloudy it was. The blond copied her, trying to recall details of their conversation earlier.

"Yamato, do you want to go the bar?"

Bar. Mimi. Bar. Aoiyami. Yamato gave her a puzzled look. "The last time you went there was with me and Takeru last summer."

"What?"

"The last time you went to the bar was last summer," he repeated. "With me and Takeru,"

Upon sensing Yamato had already picked up her secret, Mimi started to walk away from him, fast. She didn't know why she was running away from him, why she's embarrassed, but she was, nonetheless. He followed her, eventually reaching her pace.

"Since when have you been going there by yourself?" he asked calmly, much to Mimi's surprise.

"Ahhh.." she stopped, looked at him before answering, "Just last summer," she replied, slowing down her walk.

"With whom?"

"Just me."

"What do you do there alone?"

"God, are you a cop or something.." said Mimi, rubbing her arm while avoiding his eyes. It frustrated her that he could pick up so fast. "The usual."

"What do you mean by the usual?"

Of course, Mimi had no choice and eventually had to give in to Yamato's interrogation. Soon, Yamato had found out about her alcohol and smoking, and how all of this stems back to Taichi and the others. By the time they reached the park, after two stops at vending machines, Yamato had already found out that Mimi was feeling the exact opposite of Taichi.

He felt awful for him.

"Ahh. I don't know, I've been feeling sad," she said, sitting on a bench. "I feel guilty for being miserable with him."

It was just as he had predicted, and it saddened him. He sat beside her, his eyes staring off at the bark of a tree. "But you do have fun with him, right?"

"I do.. I do." She said with a reassuring tone. "But right now I don't know. School has started already and seeing Koushiro every day and then seeing Taichi most of the time.."

She sighed, before continuing on. "I don't know. It's been eating me up."

The brunette took a cigarette from her pocket, lit it on. Yamato, who was speechless, could only gander at the sight. He didn't bother to take it away from her, or scold her. "I always assumed you and Taichi will be the most optimistic and loud couple,"

"I never thought of it that way. I always thought you and I were more compatible," she said, taking a drag. "Well, I think I'm compatible with you and Koushiro the most. It's a tie,"

Huh? "You did?"

"Yeah.." she said, smiling as she breathed out the smoke. "I think you ought otherwise though."

"…"

"Come on, tell me, you had no intention of being friends with me when we were kids."

"It's not like that," he said, running a hand through his hair, and smiled sadly. "You just seem really hard to talk to.. I just didn't really think you're interested."

"Speak for yourself! You were more unapproachable than I ever was. Sure you're pretty friendly with everyone but I did feel like I was of lesser importance," she ranted, rather more remorseful. Yes, she did hold a grudge. "I'm sure Gabumon also had a hard time dealing with you. You were so moody, it was hard to get to know you without tiptoeing around you."

"And I'm sure Palmon had an easy time dealing with you," he said sarcastically. "The poor creature was more sensible than you," "And come on, Mi. You were sort of a brat. I just didn't want to get in your wrong side like Taichi and Koushiro always do."

And when Mimi only fell dead silent, Yamato could only receive an icy stare:

"I said 'were'," he emphasized.

"It's something you and Palmon have thought in common, I'm sure." She retorted playfully. "But I guess it's why I feel this way right now."

"Feel what?"

She smiled, but didn't say anything else.

"Feel what, Tachikawa?"

"I've been trying to figure it all out," she told him softly. "right now, with all the complications going on among me and our friends… I just.. I just don't feel like I'm being myself at all when I'm with Koushiro, or Taichi, and even Sora right now. I feel like I'm a different person every time I have to face each one of them," she looked up at the sky, and started to count the stars as they faintly twinkled.

"I mean, I used to be so comfortable being myself with them, you know? I didn't care so much about what they had to think of me, and I wasn't so scared of them judging me. I wasn't scared that I might lose them because that thought has never crossed my mind.. I thought it was impossible," she was going to cry anytime, but she was more eager not to. And so, she closed her eyes.

"But now.. now all of those things are happening. I thought going back here to Japan would make me feel more at peace, and that I'd be able to pick myself back up again."

But she did cry, and Yamato could only count a tear two, coming from her eyes. "So, right now.. who are you now?"

And when she opened her eyes, he could only see them glisten. "I'm Mimi. Just Mimi."

He smiled, said nothing else. There came in a comfortable, familiar silence between them, before Mimi could recover from her tears.

And when Mimi was no longer teary, she told him, "You know what, I wonder how my life would have been like, if we had become friends much earlier,"

"Mimi," he said rather sternly, "I always considered you as a friend, even if we didn't talk that much."

"What the hell, Ishida." She exclaimed, chuckling.

Yamato had feared this. Even now, he didn't like how he had treated her before, claiming to be her friend, and yet he was out of sight. But one thing was for sure – "I know it doesn't make sense, but I did. And I cared for you just as much as I cared for everyone,"

She threw him a playful yet sarcastic look, not quite convinced. "You don't have to say these things, Yama-kun. But hey, if we did become closer before, I do wonder how it'd make a difference.."

"If we had become closer earlier, you wouldn't be smoking." He said wryly. "I won't be saying you should quit but I bet your mouth tastes like nicotine right now,"

What? "Yeah, it's totally your fault, Ishida." She joked, masking her discomfort. She wondered if he was actually thinking of kissing her. Which, of course, would be absolutely weird.

"I'm sorry that I was a terrible friend," he said, with a very apologetic smile. He realized that only now had he truly meant this. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed it reassuringly, "but I'm here now."

Oh, God this boy! she told herself, and anytime soon she'd break into tears again. Like magic, she could genuinely say she felt much better, happier – freer. She could just hug him right now.

"Ahh. Enough about me, what about you?" she asked, throwing off her cigarette and putting out its light. "How's college?"

"Ahh.." Yamato arched his back, before leaning on his seat. He crossed his arms and legs, tried to look calm. "It's been an uphill battle. I'm barely keeping up with it."

"Why chose that major in the first place then?"

"Sora."

"Ohh.." she said. "Did she want you to take Physics?"

"Ahh.. no.. it's not like that at all," disagreed Yamato, shaking his head. "Well, I never really expected Sora and I to fall out, you know. So.. other than the fact that going outer space is cool, there really isn't much reason for me to be here.."

He remembered that promise to her very well. And while he wanted nothing more than to keep it, he felt sad that this act meant nothing now. "And I only applied to Todai, so yeah, for now I don't have a choice."

"You can find a new reason," she encouraged, trying to uplift him. "Like, you know, build a real-life gundam… get a star named after you or your college girlfriend."

"I don't have time for a college girlfriend," he said. "Actually, a gundam sounds nice,"

"Koushiro actually mentioned he'd want to team up with you someday. And build a gigantic fighting robot." The brunette laughed off, missing her old relationship with Koushiro at the back of her head.

"Like sentai shows then?" he played along. "Haha. But you know, I think I'm almost at my limit. I might just drop my subjects and change a major."

"Like I said, you can find a new reason to keep going," she cheered. "Or you can do that, too. Study Music, Yama!"

It was always a very tempting idea to Yamato, but no. "Hmmm."

Mimi leaned over, wanting to see his eyes that were directed towards the grass for too long. She longed for him to show her his wounds just so she could treat them; wanting him to confide to her just as she does to him. "What is it really, that made you take Applied Physics? What about Sora?"

He glanced at the girl beside her, somewhat finding it uncomfortable on how interested she is. "Back then, I promised Sora that I'd be reaching the end of the sky." It was simple as that. "Cheesy huh?"

"Weirdly, it is," she agreed, playfully punching his shoulder. "Never thought you're a romantic in the first place."

"I hide it very well." He said. "How is Sora anyway?"

Mimi was rather unsure how to answer it, having not seen Sora for quite a time now. But this was another problem she'd want to worry sometime else. "She's still not in college.. that, I know."

"I see." He always assumed Sora would take Economics, and be at the Liberal Arts college with Taichi. "What do you plan for college, then?"

"I don't know yet," she answered simply. "But I like to be on the telly."

"That is typical of you."

"Yama-kun," she said, mustering all her courage to ask, "do you still love her?"

God, this woman and her bluntness! thought Yamato. She really does have a way to make him fall off of his seat.

"I don't know.. I don't think so anymore." At least when he said it, he could believe that it was true. It was all that mattered.

"Well that's good for you," she said, smiling sadly. She bent over to get a three-leafed clover that was just beneath her shoe. "I'm having a hard time forgetting."

"I don't think you have to forget, Mimi," he said, watching her. "I think you just have to accept that it's a part of you now."

"Mhmm…"she toyed around the clover. To forget; she just couldn't do it, even when she tried.

"What about you? Do you still love him.. That guy?" he asked.

She looked at Yamato, made a long pause before answering. "Though the memories run around my mind everyday.. I like to believe that I no longer do."

He breathed deeply, gave a small smile. "That's good enough."

"But.. I.. Taichi.. and Koushiro.. Sora.." she continued, now flicking off the clover from her fingers. "I don't know. It's so complicated.. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I don't want to get hurt."

"Listen to me," he said, adjusting his position to face her. He was a bit taken a back how miserable she looked, and wondered if the same look was on her face when she thought of them. "You know who I am. You've seen me when we were kids. I used to punish myself,"

Mimi had only downwards, not really sure how to take his advice. But Yamato continued on. "I think you should be happy.. You deserve to be happy. And if Taichi makes you happy.. reward yourself by receiving that happiness wholeheartedly, and give that happiness to him in return."

She glanced at him, quite amused and impressed how good that advice was. Coming from Yamato, it was quite unexpected – but then again, he is Mr. Friendship. "And Koushiro? Should I be polyamorous now or what?"

"I know Koushiro's important, but you have to know that you're not responsible for everyone's pain. That's just being arrogant."

She fell silent, bent forward as her hands rested on her cheeks as she smiled at him. "Anything else, sensei?"

He chuckled, and copied her posture as well. "Even now, I never regretted risking my friendship with Taichi for Sora."

For some reason, Mimi felt her cheeks warmed up. Maybe it was because their faces were so close to each other, or maybe because the park was just humid. Whatever it was, she found his blue eyes extra attractive tonight.

"That's really nice to hear," she whispered, leaning back. "But I don't believe you, Ishida. Last spring you were just like any other teenager going through the greatest break-up of a lifetime!"

He leaned back too, now annoyed at her for breaking his mood. Rarely did he feel wiser. "You're such a kid. Why am I wasting my time with a high-schooler at this hour?! Really now, Mimi."

The brunette laughed, now being reminded how thankful she is for becoming friends with him. She'd reach out to him for a hug, followed by other sugary, flattering words, but held back as he might think of the gesture as something else.

"That song for me,"

"What song?"

"You know what song!"

"What about it?" he asked, blushing. He wondered if Mimi would ever shut up about that song. He was now half-wishing he didn't write that song in the first place.

She took out her player, put one of the earphone plugs on hers, and the other on Yamato's. Soon enough, the familiar bass, the subtle strumming, the soft drums, and his own baritone voice, created the melody that filled in her right ear – the left one in his.

He wasn't quite sure if it were the sappy love songs or the American movies he grew up with, but he couldn't resist but idealize the scene they were in now.

Two of us, alone, in a flowery park, with a nice soundtrack to go by.

It was too perfect, too romantic; it was a dream which his twelve-year-old self would have loved.

Only now had he realized they were holding hands – she might have just slipped in her palm in his earlier without noticing - her hand was cold and small, and he wondered how Yoshio or Taichi entwined their fingers on hers perfectly – if there was even such manner.

"This is really beautiful. You should make this one a single!" She said, giggling. "And then I'll star in the music video."

He slightly tilted his head, just enough to get a glimpse of her face. She started to sing along, surprisingly perfectly in-sync with the song. He wondered if Taichi could taste the hint of the cigarette off of her mouth, or if he just gets hypnotized by the sweet smell of her hair, unaware of the bitterness she held.

And somehow, for the first time in a very long time, Yamato had found himself wondering how it'd be like if he could kiss her.

Autthor's Note: Yaaaay another update! I've been quite free and I've been really looking forward to write this, you know. I remember my beta, saying "Finally some real Mimato stuff!" at the end. I'd love to hear you all out, Mimato fans! I know the story focuses more than just Yamato and Mimi, but this is still their story in all its heart. If you have any questions or anything to say to me about the story/chapter or to me, just drop by a review!