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My, My, Imai! Vol. I	By : VanillaToast Category: Fruits Basket > Het - Male/Female Views: 2160 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I simply want to make this clear to all of the readers of this fan fiction; this fiction, while posted as an NC-17 fiction, is not purely about sex, but is meant as a testament to the development of two emotionally stranded people, overcoming the trials and tribulations that one boy puts in their way. Sex WILL come into the relationship between these two, but it will NOT be a prominent part of the story and may not even be a part of the RP itself.

AUTHOR'S NOTES 2: This chapter has been ready for posting for over a year, but as of this moment, my Hatori has completely gone missing. For the time being, I will continue to edit the RP logs and post the chapters. I've been searching for Ha'ri-mun for almost a year-and-a-half with no sign of him/her. Perhaps if I can get a hold of Ha'ri-mun, this fiction can continue. Thanks for all of the support and great reviews; in return, I'll post brand new chapters as they are edited.

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Imai:
The days dragged into weeks, and the weeks into a month; winter had finally turned to spring and the flowers were already beginning to bloom outside. Imai's relationship with Hatori continued, but the comfort and safety she had always felt with him never once faltered, and she faithfully came to visit him every night, just as she always had, to read.

On this particular night, the air was much warmer than it typically was; hot and almost unbearably sticky and humid. It was inevitable that almost every window on the estate had been opened, and fans could easily be heard running in the various bedrooms of the estate, their combined ruckus leaving a constant but soft hum to drift to the ears of those who were already fast asleep.

All save two.

Imai lay comfortably on the cool floor of Hatori's office, finding that it kept her cooler on this warmer night than the sticky confines of his leather office chair; really, they offered a nice comfort during cooler nights, but she didn't care for how she almost literally stuck to it when she got up afterwards.

She was dressed in her summer nightclothes, finding that anything more would be unbearable to wear; a short, green yukata that still seemed stifling against her tiny frame. Her cheeks were stained the slightest hint of pink for the humidity, and her hair was still damp from her bath... But she knew she wouldn't be getting any cooler any sooner, no matter how chill and comfortable Hatori's floor was as she lounged.

Through the warm silence that had engulfed the room, as it usually did with their silent reading times, Imai softly piped up.

"That's a load of crap... Hatori, have you ever heard of a doctor actually messing up a limb transplant by accidentally putting the right leg on the left side? You've been a doctor for less time than this man, and he put a man's right leg on his left side."

Instead of a book, tonight, she had taken to reading a medical magazine that Shigure had so skillfully smuggled into the compound for her.

Hatori:
Speaking of the Devil. . .

"Did you learn that particular phrase from Shigure?" Hatori was amused nonetheless, a small trace of a smirk haunting the fine corners of his lips. To hear such word from a girl looking as delicate as Imai. "It's not impossible for such mistakes to happen. Costly, but rare. Usually it's miscommunication through the staff or failure to diagnose properly." All doctors had different ideas of what ailments they thought a person had, which was why it was strongly suggested to pick only one to see regularly.

The doctor idly turned the page of his own book he had been reading, reclined back in his chair with his tie undone and the top button of his collar loose, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Not much of a change, but something more comfortable than his jacket he normally wore. But the more he thought about it, the more he agreed with Imai. What a 'load of crap' indeed.

"Let me have a look at that."

Imai:
Imai's face flushed a bit darker due to her embarrassment, but she smirked in return nonetheless. "... Maybe I did, maybe I didn't..." It was just as strange for her to say it as it was for Hatori to hear it. But she really DID think it was a 'load of crap' for a renowned doctor to screw up something so badly.

Listening to Hatori, she only shook her head.

"I doubt it was any sort of miscommunication with the staff or even a misdiagnosis. This man messed up royally."

Sitting up, Imai folded back the pages of the magazine to hold the proper article out for Hatori.

--"Renowned doctor and surgeon, Doctor Tsukino Fuji, is having a lawsuit pressed against him for a mistake made on the table. According to the sources, Doctor Tsukino was to transplant Mister Muramino Maku's left leg after a farming accident. 'The leg he put on was another right leg! How am I supposed to work, now?'. Investigators are still looking into the matter as to how such an accident occurred."--

Imai waited for Hatori to read the short article that was accompanied with before-and-after pictures of the transplant.

"To be completely honest, I don't think it's completely his fault. He might've just been sent the wrong leg, but he really should've double-checked before putting it on that poor man."

Hatori:
Closing the book he had been reading, Hatori leaned forward and took the magazine to look it over for himself. He wondered vaguely while Shii-chan never brought him any medical material such as this for him, but nothing was said, for it was mostly an inside joke that he'd have to torment the dog with later.

"Oh, dear. Well, I'm certainly glad that I wasn't any part of that mess. But you're right. It should have been double checked." With one last look at it, he shook his head and offered the magazine back to her before reaching for his book once again.

"What a load of crap," he confirmed, letting his sense of humor not be so completely dry for once as he found his place again.

Imai:
Imai snickered softly when she took the magazine again, a smile widening across her face as though she were attempting to hold in a fit of more powerful laughter. She really did like Hatori's sense of humor, dry as it might be, and rare too... But she liked it all the same.

Shigure:
"What's a load of crap?"

Shigure was suddenly present in the room. He'd walked right on in at the tail-end of the conversation... And he was clearly surprised that Imai was in Hatori's office.

While he'd suggested to Hatori that he keep his distance, Shigure had done so as well outside of family functions, feeling that since he had been the one to break the news to Hatori, that he'd keep his mouth shut about it for awhile.

**Weren't they not talking to each other? Maybe I should've called..? Why am I always the last one to hear about these things?**

... Not to mention that he'd gone back on Imai's trust to tell Hatori the whole thing, anyway. He'd honestly been a little afraid to confront her after that; what if she found out?!

Hatori:
"It's a load of crap that you never bring me such entertaining magazines or knock before you enter my office," said Hatori without missing a beat. Shigure and Ayame had been interrupting him for years and it was automatic fire back of sarcasm that they received first off.

Closing the book a second time, the good doctor looked over to the new arrival with his brows raised. "So, to what do we owe the honor of this visit?" he asked, folding his hands and acting as casual as ever. It was hard to tell just how much had been shared or not shared, though Shigure should be confident in Hatori's other habit of keeping out of melodrama problems after the past happenings.

Shigure:
For the first time in a long while, Shigure was at a loss for finding a smartass comment to come back with. After a moment of his mouth opening and closing like that of a beached fish, he finally gave up.

"Alright... You win..."

He dramatically huffed and shook his head before his jovial nature came back with full force, though it was clear that his mind was whirling with a million questions already.

"I just came to see what sort of horrific and bloody scenes you've been planting inside of my innocent and precious little cousin's mind, Ha'ri! Is that so bad?"

He batted his eyelashes as though he were trying to flirt with the doctor, but he finally shut the door again and invited himself to the seat that Imai wasn't occupying.

Imai:
"You make it sound like he's forcing me to watch surgery. Besides... You were the one who gave me the magazine in the first place.."

Shigure:
"Touch�, Imai-chan, Touch�!"

Imai:
"Touch� yourself... Preferably in private, thanks."

She didn't even look up from her magazine. What sorts of things were going through Imai's mind?! It really was the fact that she had been in a much better mood, a much more playful mood, than she usually was. She was still on cloud nine from a month ago, and she had yet to come down, yet.

Shigure:
"Rowr! Somebody's feisty tonight!"

Shigure grinned before looking at his watch.

"But I think it's about time for little girls to be in bed, don't you think? The bogey man might get you!"

Imai:
Imai only rolled her eyes before standing up, smirking.

"Point taken, I suppose. You could've just said, outright, that you wanted to talk with Hatori-san. Besides... I'm not a little girl, anymore."

Shigure:
"I can see that... You must've been hiding it under all those winter robes of yours."

Imai:
She wasn't going to have this conversation tonight... No matter how playful, she didn't want to hear about her state of dress-- or near undress, for she was really in her nightclothes-- with Shigure. It wasn't like Hatori hadn't seen her in her nightclothes before.

"Right, well, if we're done talking about my maturity, now, I'd rather leave the adults to talking. Good-night, Gure-ni-san.."

She moved in to hug her elder cousin, allowing Hatori to see her eyes roll for a second time. Really, Shigure grilled her too much! When she pulled away, she offered Hatori a warm smile and a slight bow of her head.

"... Good-night, Hatori-san.."

Hatori:
"Oyasumi nasai, Imai-san," said Hatori back. Though he didn't smile, there was a distinct kindness in his eyes as he watched her teeter out, letting her escort herself.

And when she was gone, the door closed, and the two of them alone, the good doctor sat up in his chair and put the book aside for good. "The only boogie man here is you, Shii-chan," he felt compelled to inform, reaching for his lighter and a pack of cigarettes and pulling one for himself before offering to the dog of the Zodiac. "What did you really come here for?"

Shigure:
"Oh! The love my family gives me is more than I can bear!"

Dramatic as always, Shigure lifted his hand to his forehead, feigning a swoon before taking the offered cigarette. He was clean out, and he was glad that he didn't have to 'steal' one from Hatori. Lighting it up, he took a drag and smiled.

"Well... I originally came here to tell you something, but with these new developments that I haven't heard about.."

He gave a pointed stare to the doctor before continuing.

".. It makes the information much sweeter, I think. But before I get to that, why don't you tell me what's going on? I thought I told you to give her some space... Now everything's back to normal. Do you know if she's sorted things out with herself, yet?"

Of course, he had no inkling of what had truly happened; he would have rather stayed completely out of it since he felt he'd done too much already.

Hatori:
He lit his cigarette first, then tossed the lighter in Shigure's direction before leaning back once more in his chair to get comfortable. It was a wonder his back hadn't gone stiff with as much time as he spent in it, but that's what good posture was for. "I supposed you could say something like that."

Honestly, the subject of either of them being in love with each other hadn't been brushed upon since the night they came to an agreement on keeping their friendship. "I believe she would have come to tell me even if you hadn't." Hatori closed his eyes, taking a long drag and slowly exhaling, letting the nicotine keep him calm. "There's not much more to it. She's determined and I'm still. . . Unsure."

Even a month didn't feel like enough time, and Hatori wasn't ashamed to admit it. It had been years since Kanna and that too was something he had yet to conquer. "I keep thinking about things."

Shigure:
Shigure lit his cigarette and took a long pull from it. He was surprised that Imai had come to Hatori to confess, but he was even more surprised at the fact that she and Hatori still seemed to be getting along with it just fine. At least that's what it appeared to look like on the outside.

"I didn't think you'd actually be unsure about it, Hatori. I was certain that you wouldn't feel a thing for poor Imai... That you wouldn't even think about it. She's much younger than you are... She's still a child, no matter what her physical appearance is."

He'd probably change his tune about her maturity if he'd heard the details of the conversation that she'd had with Hatori. He was still picturing her crying on his shoulder as though she were a toddler who'd skinned her knee. It had taken him quite a while to calm her down, and it had taken a great deal of his willpower not to cry himself. He had never liked to see a girl cry.

But he hadn't been privy to the details of the conversation. He would have definitely changed his tune.

Hatori:
"That had been one of the more major concerns I had before, but. . . It's all a little beyond me. All I know is that I've been feeling-- What's that word? Oh, yes. Happy."

So happy, that his sarcasm was on full blast. Though, really, he was feeling better now with the chance to be able to talk to Shigure about it. Normally such a private person, this sort of confusion of the heart had been hard for him to handle alone the first time. Why should a second be any different? "I'm still not too sure of what to do. There's so much outside cons that override the pros. Not to mention, I feel like I'm being unfaithful with even considering."

The doctor watched the smoke slither up from his cigarette in a moment of silence before he sighed again and looked wearily over to his friend and cousin. "Was I this difficult back then, too?"

Shigure:
"Just as difficult. You've always been difficult, Hatori, but on matters like this, you'd make a mule jealous."

Shigure took another drag. Thinking over what to say next as the smoke puffed out through his lips. He leaned back in the chair, attempting to get comfortable; he had a feeling it would be a long night.

"Well... I wouldn't expect you to be angry over something like this, but it's definitely odd that you're feeling happy. Though, I guess if I had a girl like Imai chasing after me, I'd be pretty happy, too!"

He laughed a bit, which came out as more of a bark; his laughs always came out like a bark.

"As for feeling unfaithful... I don't really know what to say to that, Hatori."

He didn't want to sound cold by saying 'I don't think Kanna will really mind! She don't remember SHIT!'... Or anything to that effect on any level. But that was how he saw it. Hatori couldn't be unfaithful to Kanna by considering anything, for the poor woman had been mind-wiped of the love she'd shared with Hatori.

".. But... I think a great man once told me.. 'For something you really want, sometimes sacrifices and chances are made'. Even if you weren't considering it, would you take a chance? Would you sacrifice something?"

Hatori:
"Don't you see?" asked Hatori in mild exasperation. "That's the irony of it all. I have done that before, and it's what put me in the middle of this mess."

He suddenly didn't feel as if the cigarette could help him any more, rubbing just the lit, ashy end of it out in the tray to save the rest for later. "The last thing I wish to do is erase another memory, least of all hers. If I did do something of that sort, I want to be of all the suffering she'd been put through." And that's where another part of the problem came in. Hatori let his shoulders sag uncharacteristically in that moment as his tone became soft. "Of all people, she chose me to bring happiness. That's ironic in itself as well."

Shigure:
"I don't know what to tell you, Hatori... I really don't. A part of me wants to say to go for it and never look back, but that got you into a huge mess of trouble with Kanna-chan. Another part of me wants you to push Imai as far away as possible.. To spare her the pain she'd feel if something messed up. Of all people, it had to be her and you."

He stubbed out what was left of his cigarette after smoking it to the filter. It hadn't helped his own nerves, any, but he'd never been one to waste those precious cigarettes.

"I can't tell you what you should do; I'm just as hopeless in these situations as you are... No matter how much I could try and play at Match-Maker, I don't think I'd be able to steer you in the right direction. I don't think that anybody can."

He thought for a moment, digging into his memory for something that had been itching at his brain for quite some time.

He didn't think that there was any sort of record of two cursed members ever actually 'getting together'...

Not to mention he'd heard a rumor, quite some time ago, that the curse could be broken if someone outwardly defied the Head of the Family. He knew that it was next-to-impossible for anyone to defy Akito in a brazen and outward display, but a part of him wondered if Akito's time was coming. That the tyrannical man-boy would get his come-uppance if a romance blossomed between two of the most scarred members of the Cursed Circle.

Hatori:
"Of all people-- Do you think I enjoy taking away memories from those who are not our family? If I had my way about it, I wouldn't be responsible of robbing any one of any remote source of happiness. I know what it's like."

It was in that instant that Hatori came to a decision and Shigure was the first to hear it. "It'll stay just like it is now. It will be easier to tend to a broken limb than a broken mind, especially when you can't take anything you remember yourself away."

He moved to stand up then, feeling too restless to keep in one spot. He ended up by the window, but instead of watching snow fall, it was Sakura petals; both seeming to be just as ominous. "Someone once said, too, that if you loved something you had to let it go."

Shigure:
He didn't like to hear Hatori talk like that. While a part of him was jumping for joy at the fact that Imai wouldn't have to go through the pain that Hatori had... A part of him was direly disappointed. He might have actually wanted to see Hatori in love again with a girl like Imai, and he might have wanted to see Imai at the happiest she'd ever been.

But he didn't want to see her mind erased, that was the only catch. No matter how he played it over in his head, Akito was the snag in the perfect romantic cloth. He hated to wish it... But he wished that Akito didn't exist. It pained him deeply to think of that wish, for he was direly loyal to Akito.

... But he was just as loyal to Imai, perhaps even more so.

He decided that it was due time to change the subject.

"Well... Imai's birthday is coming up on the fourteenth of this month..."

It was February, by this time. Imai's birthday was on Valentine's Day; how ironic.

"... And I'm taking her to the lake for three days."

Hatori:
Hatori let out a breath of a laugh through his nose at that, brows furrowing down as he turned around to face Shigure in disbelief. "A lake? For three days? You couldn't get Akito to let you take her out for three nanoseconds. Have you finally lost it completely?"

Though, Hatori honestly wished that there was a slight glimmer of a chance that Imai would be able to see the world like the rest of them-- To be outside in the fresh air that was not part of the Sohma gardens.

Shigure:
"Not just ANY lake... THE lake. The lake house, three days, with you in tow."

Shigure held up three fingers with a wink. Had he completely lost his marbles?!

"Akito told me to take you along with us, just in case she gets hurt. We're leaving first thing in the morning on Monday and we'll be back on Thursday morning."

How he had possibly managed to convince Akito into letting Imai out of the estate for any amount of time was his little secret... But he decided that he'd let Hatori in on it. He just couldn't hold it in!

"I told him that I needed a bit of research for my newest novel, and that Imai was going to be my biggest point of inspiration. Convincing him that the lake house was the perfect place to do the research, away from everyone else, was a bit tough... But he agreed on the terms that she was back before he woke up on Thursday. A little ass-kissing gets you pretty far in life, don't you think?"

He looked like a fox that'd gotten into the hen-house.

"Do you know what this means, Hatori..? He's letting up on her... He's getting too tired, anymore; I know you've noticed it. He's starting to lose his grip on her just like he did with Yuki. Before you know it... She might be the fourth member of my household.."

Hatori:
"You fight dirty, you know that?"

Hatori was turned back around again towards the window, hands against the sill as he leaned in close enough to it to feel the coolness of the glass against his skin. He had no chance in this matter to say no-- No way that he could even weasel his way out of it given the circumstances. This was too rare of a chance for Imai and he would not be the one to ruin it by not agreeing to tag along.

Honestly, even with the 'letting up', the doctor doubted that everything would be as easy as that. Akito always managed to keep a sort of tension around the whole family no matter what, and it was just a matter of stepping on the right button to set him off.

This was out of his hands, however.

Shigure:
Shigure laughed again, and it still sounded like a bark.

"Ha ha ha! Yes, yes, I know I'm good! Come on, you have to give me SOME credit... I dare to say that this will be the best birthday she's ever had. Just think... The very day she turns nineteen, she can wake up and go swimming, or take a walk through the woods, or actually just sit in the grass to look at the mountains. I'd have liked to wake up like that on MY nineteenth birthday!"

Shigure moved to stand up... He'd told Hatori what he'd originally come to tell him, and the hour was getting very late.

"Should I still keep to my plan... And tell her that the trip's from you? Or should I tell her that it's from me?"

He paused at the door with his final words, grinning inwardly. He knew that Hatori wouldn't be able to resist Imai for very long... And if his hunch about Akito's grip was anywhere on the money... He knew things would turn out just fine.

Hatori:
Hatori couldn't keep from rolling his eyes, tipping his head back between his shoulders before he stood up straight and pushed away from the window completely.

"Do what you want. I have a feeling that you will, anyhow." Because, Shigure was always like that-- Always making things more complicated than they had to be if there happened to be a slim possibility for everything to work out. Sometimes not even that had to be there.

Shigure:
Shigure grinned, only offering a thumbs up to the dragon as he hung halfway out of the door, still leaning inside to give his final words.

"Then I think Imai's going to love your birthday present for her. Remember: Monday, first thing in the morning. You fly, I'll buy! Ja ne!"

He would definitely make it up to Hatori by buying him coffee at the very least. Besides... Shigure drove like he'd gotten his license from a bento box, not to mention he hadn't driven in years.

Shigure's grinning face disappeared as he left and shut the door. Excellent! Hopefully, things wouldn't be so bad. Three days with Hatori and Imai away from the Main House would prove to be interesting.
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My, My, Imai! Vol. I