My, My, Imai! Vol. I

Imai:
Imai, of course, was present on Christmas morning, sitting with her brother on the very same dais as she had taken to the night before. As she had earlier, she looked as though she'd seen better days; while her hair was neatly kept and she was dressed as she typically was, she looked no more happy to be there than her brother. And only when she wished the other family members their Merry Christmas did she finally get to leave.

She did not go to Hatori's office to talk, nor did she even stay in the house. Despite the biting cold outside, she took to the garden to sit on the bench and watch the snow. God, she hated winter.

Hatori:
For the sake of everyone else's Christmas, Hatori did not show up to the festivities that morning. It had been in the early morning hours that his office lights had gone out and even then he had been restless. In a way he was thankful to know that he hadn't exactly done anything wrong to drive Imai away, but the more he thought about it and the more empty his study became. . . The more he wished that he would have remained clueless.

It was about that time Imai had retreated to the gardens after the celebration that the good doctor was just making his way back home. He was allowed to leave any time he pleased and had taken advantage of that with full preparation to deal with any consequences he might receive from Akito for skipping out on them all. --And, he was dressed in the new clothes that Imai had given to him.

There was no telling where he went, but the paper cup he held in one hand indicated that a coffee shop had not been passed up. There was just something about outside espresso that did something for the nerves and Hatori needed every ounce of the strongest stuff there to keep his tired eyes open. Why couldn't Christmas be over yet?


Imai:
Imai was praying for Christmas to be over, just as Hatori was... And as she sat down, she caught the good doctor out of the corner of her eye. She said nothing, but noted that he was wearing the clothes she'd gotten for him and that he was carrying a cup of, what she figured, was coffee of some sort.

She figured that it had been a long night with the rest of the Trio... Maybe that was why he didn't come to the festivities that morning? Imai had no idea that Hatori had been so brutally clued in by Shigure, or else she might not have even left her room that day... Or that week... Maybe even for the month. If she had known that Hatori knew, she'd be so mortified with embarrassment that she doubted she'd be able to hold in the urge to just drown herself in the tub.

After taking silent note of Hatori, her eyes turned back to the garden. Trying to keep her mind off of things, Imai idly wondered where her book had gone; the book she had recieved from Shigure as an early Christmas gift was nowhere to be found, and Imai was certain that if Akito had found it, she'd have definitely known by now.

But what she didn't realize was that she'd left it in Hatori's office the night she'd bolted out on him, and hadn't realized that she'd left it on his desk.

Hatori:
Christmas or not, Hatori didn't say anything to anyone-- Passing Imai was no exception. If he had seen her there in the garden, he didn't make it obvious. He kept on walking until he had gone right past her and back up the path that would take him to his office. Anyone else that he might have passed got the same cold shoulder.

Plopping down in his chair, the doctor kept his door shut (but unlocked as promised) and sighed out the exasperation of the holiday. It did little to help, but there wasn't much more that could be done. It was then that he took notice of the book Shigure had given to Imai for Christmas, sitting on the top of his desk as if mocking him with just its presence alone.

It would stay on his desk. Hatori rarely ever approached anyone the way he did Imai the night before let alone a second time. If it was missed, it would be collected later on. Until then, he settled back to have himself a much needed cigarette from the new pack he had picked up that morning while out.

Imai:
While the last thing Imai wanted to read was a romance play, she wanted to be sure that the book was safe... Besides... She was almost finished with it, and Shigure had once told her that the ending was heart wrenching and dramatic; Imai was a stickler for romance novels that ended in tragedy.

But where was it...? She continued to sit, taking little notice of the birds that fluttered and twittered above her head... Trying to ignore them, actually, for they sounded more like mocking laughter to her ears than anything pretty...

But she continued to sit and wonder about where the book might've gotten off to. The last she remembered... She had been going to the bath to read it when Hatori invited her for tea...

It was at Hatori's. Probably still sitting on his desk, just waiting to be picked up.

But she wasn't sure if she wanted to see Hatori again... But she had to. She just had to. If not to pick up the book, then to apologize for her earlier actions. She realized that she was being a brat... But she couldn't think of anything to tell him that would make any sense as to why she was acting the way she was. She couldn't tell him how she felt... She simply couldn't. She had confided it in Shigure, and that was quite enough confiding for one lifetime, in her opinion.

But she had to apologize, either way...

So, taking a heavy breath of chilly winter air into her lungs, Imai made her way through the gardens and toward Hatori's office. When she arrived, she timidly knocked on the door.

Hatori:
"It's open," called Hatori, who had given in to the curious urge and picked the missing book up off his desk to leaf through it.

His eyes never left the pages, long fingers curled carefully around the strong spine of the bindings. It was heavy, as was all of Shakespeare's works published in texts. The heavier the leather, the publishers seemed to think, the more authentic it appeared to be.

Along with the paper cup of coffee purchased from outside the house, there was an empty mug ringed at the bottom inside with the smallest remains of a Christmas present that had been given to him. The maids hadn't bothered him since he didn't show up to the festivities.

Hatori was lounging, tucked comfortably in his chair again with his feet propped up on the edge of his desk. He'd be comfortable physically if he couldn't emotionally.

Imai:
With the voice on the other end of the door, Imai steeled herself, took another deep breath, and opened the door. Slipping slowly inside, Imai shut the door behind her, backing herself against it for a moment as if hoping to keep every other person in the house out of Hatori's office.

She felt the strange feelings well up inside of her again when she saw him so comfortably lounging... With her book in his hand and his new clothes on his person. Only she knew what the strange feelings meant, now, and while she was still afraid of them, she let them fill her for a brief moment; they felt too good to deny now that she was getting a small fix of her new addiction.

"... Hatori-san... I..."

Imai swallowed, blinking hard for a moment before taking another breath; she resolved to try and not let it get to her...

".. I came to pick up my book... I left it here the other night."

But before he could say anything, she continued.

"... And... I'm very sorry for how I acted last night at the party. It was very rude and highly uncalled for; I just... Haven't been feeling like myself lately."

Hatori:
"Indeed."

Taking a moment longer with the book, the then slapped it closed softly and set it down on the top of his desk, giving it just enough of a push to send it sliding across it to the opposite edge.

Digging into his pocket, another cigarette was sought out followed by a pack of matches taken from the cafe he had bought himself breakfast in that morning. That was all he said, filling the room with the pungent smell of sulfur before a fresh bout of smoke from the first exhale. It was just like it had been before they became friends and Hatori wasn't letting on to how much he knew while still giving Imai the space Shigure suggested.

Imai:
Imai looked away with his curt reply... Sure, she had wanted Hatori to break her heart so she could get over it, but she had never voiced such a thing. She figured that he was still angry with her, and it stung to think that he was. She had never heard of Hatori being an angry man, and the hurt she felt showed in her expression.

She took another breath to steady herself, afraid that she might very well cry if she stayed in the same room with him for much longer. He was angry with her, she knew it! And by thinking he was angry, she wanted to run away still.

**Let him be angry... God, just let him be angry with me forever! Then... We won't have to talk, and I won't have to feel.**

With a slightly shaky step, Imai moved to take the book with as equally a shaky hand, only raising her eyes once to his own before lowering them again. Her voice went soft once more.

"Thank you... For holding onto it for me."

Hatori:
Unfortunately for Imai, Hatori was far from even being remotely angry at her. If anything, he was still confused over everything that had taken place and there was distinct feeling of awkwardness where peace and tranquility had once been. It was too strange, but what could he say about it?

"You're welcome."

He watched her as she moved to pick up the book, eyes half-lidded through the curtain of hair he kept combed over his useless one. And it was through another puff of gray smoke did he dare to pose a harmless question.

"Should I expect you not to visit tonight, or should I wait up?"

Imai:
She still looked as though she were about to cry, but she was confused, now... He'd been curt with her, and yet he was still wondering if she would come by that night, despite the strangeness between them, now. She wondered if he wanted to talk to her about something... But if he did, she knew he would have simply told her instead of posing it as an inviting question.

She weighed her options... She could come and see him again... Perhaps to try and break down the icy wall that was still slowly building between them. If she did, she might not be able to handle it... But she knew that he felt nothing for her, and she would get over it eventually. If she didn't come to see him, she may never get the invitation again because of the wall that had risen between them; she'd be throwing her chances at a good friendship--and a shot at sanity--out the window.

Her thoughts could clearly be seen in her eyes, how she weighed the answer in her mind and how she was visibly contemplating it.

Finally, she came to a conclusion.

"I.. I'll come by... After my bath.."

Hatori:
"The door will be unlocked," said Hatori again like the party before the one he skipped out on, finally taking his eyes away from Imai to fix out the window and onto the falling snow.

No more and no less was said, for there wasn't anything more to it than that. Imai would come if she really wanted to, though it did cause a distinct sting from somewhere deep inside him at the hesitation she took to answer his question. That stretch of silence had spoke volumes on its own.

Hatori snubbed out his just started cigarette seconds later and set about meddling through his drawers to find something to distract himself until the time of the promised visit.

Happiest time of the year-- Hatori sneered inwardly at that load of rubbish as the cold shell seemed to double in layers about him.

Imai:
Imai left after that, noting that the wall of ice between them was only growing thicker the longer she stayed... She hoped that after awhile of clearing her head and straightening out her thoughts, she would be able to work things out with Hatori.