My, My, Imai! Vol. I

Imai:
The afternoon gradually wore on, but thankfully for Imai, Akito was too tired to raise a hand to her. He had left her to her own devices after their lunch had come to a quiet conclusion, and the young woman once again found herself outside.

She rather liked it there. The fresh air gave her a mild sense of freedom, despite her caged lifestyle. She spent a good majority of her time outside, finding that the grass felt good against bare feet, and the smell of sakura drifting on the breeze made her want to climb them and sit in their branches for hours.

She still had her sucker, having promised her brother that she wouldn't eat it until after lunch. She was a good girl, and always listened to her brother... At least while he was watching.

Pulling the sucker from her loose obi, she looked at it with the same indifference that she offered everything. And only after a short while of contemplating on what the flavor of it actually was, she took away the wrapper and popped the candy into her mouth. She looked very strange with such a thing like a sucker between her lips, and the only part of it that showed was the stick.

**Cherry... I like cherry.**

Shigure:
"... I hope that was a cherry flavored sucker you gave her, Ha'ri. She really likes cherry flavored stuff."

Shigure popped his head into Hatori's office, knowing that he'd be there. The old dragon was always in his office if he wasn't on the 'outside'. He'd dropped in so unexpectedly, too. Really, he was only there for a chat... He wasn't escaping his ever persistent editor! No! Never!

How he knew about the sucker was anyone's guess... Maybe he'd seen the girl on his way in?

Hatori:
"Don't you know how to knock?" droned Hatori, already at work on his third cigarette for that afternoon as he kept tucked back comfortably at his desk.

Shigure, like Ayame, were around often enough to be called regulars at the Main House and his office.

Whatever else happened after the checkup had been given was unknown to him. Though, he was a little worried when Akito came to collect his sister from him. Hatori had almost felt offended, but it was too predictable for feelings such as those. Akito didn't care, either.

The doctor took his feet from his desk then, sitting up straight and turning it around to face the other in his doorway when the comment of the sucker was made.

"I have no idea what flavor it was; she chose for herself."

It wasn't any of his business, nor did little things like remembering a favorite candy matter to him anymore. That was just how it was now.

Shigure:
The dog smirked, stepping into the room as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Mehh.. Ha'ri... You're so terrible. Really, you could at least -pretend- to sound interested!" Shigure whined before moving over to Hatori's desk, leaning his rump against it before rifling out a cigarette of his own before setting it alight with a match.

After taking a hefty pull of the cancer-inducing stink stick, he let the smoke trail out through his lips in a lazy manner. Okay, so he -had- come to escape his dreadful editor, but he'd also come to check up on Imai. He knew she had an appointment with Hatori that day, at least that was what he'd heard... And so, he decided that, just for a little surprise, he'd come to check and see how she was doing. He was only mildly disappointed to find that she wasn't in Hatori's office anymore; it would've been nice to see the doctor check up on the precious girl at least once; he'd never seen it.

Not like it was anything exciting, but he was merely curious.

"She's so cute. Look! You can see her right through your window! She's absolutely gorgeous with that sucker hanging out of her mouth like that; she looks like she's five again!"

Hatori:
...Hatori wasn't exactly sure where Shigure was attempting to go with this, but he was already decided that he didn't like it. With his face flat and a chilly feel to the blue about those narrow pupils, he just stared at the other as he helped himself to cigarettes that weren't his.

"Don't you have a book to write?"

Hatori then went about the chore of picking up and putting away the box of stickers and cheap treats he'd left out on the desk's top, shutting the drawer with a click before crushing his own only half finished cigarette out in the tray to the left. Never once did he look towards the window, nor did he seem interested in anyone outside of business work when it came to being just a physician.

Shigure:
Okay, so his idle conversation wasn't making the cut, and his face turned mildly serious as he made his way toward the window to watch Imai.

"... Actually... I came to check up on her. I haven't seen her in awhile."

He took another pull, hot-boxing it to allow the smoke more time to enter his system before puffing it back out again. He was quiet for a moment, watching her as she sat in her mellow, indifferent silence in the garden.

"How is she? She hasn't gotten into any accidents lately, has she?"

Shigure turned to face Hatori once again, his grey-brown eyes watching the doctor. If there was anybody he could weasle information out of, it was Hatori. Even if the doctor didn't give two shits about the poor girl, he still had loads of information; he -was- the girl's doctor, after all.

Shigure didn't often get to see Imai, to be honest, but with how loyal he really was to Akito, he was just as loyal to Imai as well. It was like a package deal when it came to the two beanstalk siblings; if he was loyal to one, he was loyal to the other. Though he had never given thought to the idea of who he'd really choose if Imai, for once, actually stood up for herself.

Hatori:
Hatori felt like being difficult, because that was just the way that he was. With his back flat against the chair, he watched Shigure move across the room to his window, then finally let his gaze wander to the topic of their conversation for the first time. It made sense now why she had the sniffles if she sat out there like that in the colder weather without proper dress.

"Patient files are confidential," he said, not missing a beat.

But, as soon as the notion came to be a brat, it left just as suddenly. Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes and turned his stoic face away.

"She has a bit of a cold, but that's not as bad as the stiffness in her neck, or the large bruise on her leg."

Hatori did care in his own way, though it was no different from how he treated any other member of his family. He wasn't so completely cold and withdrawn that he couldn't sympathize with the others suffering after the ordeal he'd been put through that time ago.

Shigure:
"Hn."

It was all Shigure offered as a response before he walked over to Hatori's desk to stub out his cigarette. It wasn't often that Shigure was serious, but on certain matters, his jovial moods often went down the drain entirely. This was a matter he could barely be jovial about.

"He's been beating the Hell out of her since he was six.."

Shigure huffed a sigh before shaking his head.

"That's all she got away with? I'm a little surprised... Usually she's in a cast by the third of the month, another by the fifteenth. With just a bruise and a stiff neck, it's a little strange, don't you think? Maybe Akito's getting tired of hurting her."

That was a joke. Even if Shigure didn't live at the Main House anymore, he knew that the beatings weren't simply out of 'good fun' for Akito. He'd been present for many of those terrible beatings she got, and while the head of the family got great joy out of watching her, and everybody else, suffer... He knew that Akito was simply trying to make the girl pay for something she hadn't done. What a farce. It made him sick to his stomach to think that Akito was still breaking her fragile bones and marring her pretty skin; it was a sad waste to see a precious girl like Imai rot away like a caged animal.

Hatori:
"It's none of my business. I only treat the aftermath."

As sad as it might have been for Hatori to say something like that, there was really no other choice. Shigure should know that by now, though the doctor really didn't have to say it in such a listless manner; having his own reasons or not.

"If you came to see her, why are you in here with me?"

Surly if he were that close to the girl, he could get all the information he wanted without having to violate doctor's codes. However, he meant this in good humor, and there was small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips afterwards.

"I've no more to tell."

That had been the closest thing to a smile Hatori had cracked in months.

Shigure:
Shigure had been about to reply when he caught the smirk on the doctor's face. He grinned and waved his arms dramatically.

"Because I need to get inspiration for my next novel! You know I've always wanted to write a story about a doctor and his patient! You're all the angsty inspiration I need, Ha'ri!"

What an ass!

"But I can hold that story for later, I think. I've already got the last ten pages due on my other one..."

His final words were mumbled before he changed topics completely.

"But, alas! If you don't want me here, I guess I'll just go find my comfort in the arms of the beautiful girl in the garden! Ahh! She's such a dream!"

And he was such a pervert! But, after offering his final farewells, he tossed Hatori a wave before leaving for the garden. He'd gotten his information from Hatori, and now he needed to pay a visit to Imai.

Imai:
She was happy to see him, once he'd finally arrived, but she still showed such indifference to the matter that the tentative hug she offered the dog paled in comparison to the welcome Hatori had offered him. She sat with Shigure in the garden, talking with him for what seemed like hours before he ushered her back inside.

Shigure:
"You really should talk with him more often, Imai. You might like the company once you get used to him."

Imai:
"He's my doctor, Gure-ni-san, and... 'He' won't approve of it."

Shigure:
"You can always fake an injury..! I'm positive that Hatori loves it when cute girls walk into his office in a dramatic way!"

Imai:
"He'd notice. And I'm not dramatic, either. No thanks. I've had my fill of his poking around for the month... And it's not nice to talk about somebody like that. Not to mention he's almost ten years older than I am."

Shigure:
"So am I! We've never had a problem!"

Imai:
"Goodnight, Shigure..."

She offered her elder cousin a curt goodnight. She wasn't one to have conversations like this one... Especially when they were having only a few feet away from Hatori's office door.

She watched the dog retreat after an overdramatic sigh. Shaking her head, she shuffled her way down the hall and past Hatori's door. She was a bit tired tonight, and a good night's rest might do her well. Besides, the medicine was still working, and she wanted to be asleep before it wore off again.

Hatori:
"...Idiot."

Of all people to try to 'set him up' or encourage pursuit, Hatori was sure Shigure and Ayame would know the best. The doctor could have strangled him if the incident hadn't already been over and the both of them on their way. That was that and no more would come.

The doctor didn't leave his study for some time, though when evening encroached, he became thirsty for tea. For such a simple chore, he didn't bother the maids for it and made his way through the Main House like a shadow, hands tucked into his pockets with his eyes down cast and appearing closed. He could probably walk around blind without running into things (and he had done so before).

It was quiet, and the only noise he made was the boiling of water in a kettle and the clink of the dishes as he took them from the cupboard to prepare for serving.

Imai:
Imai had just been about to drift off into sleep when she felt her medicine begin to wear off. Just her luck that she should just be getting to sleep when the stiffness in her neck returned in full force. She typically didn't mind the pain, but she was looking forward to getting a decent amount of sleep that evening.

Shifting her head, she looked across the room at her brother. He was sound asleep already, and it was no surprise due to the fact that he'd been utterly exhausted all day. She felt sorry for him, and to keep from waking him (and thus waking his ire), she decided to merely fetch some tea to take with her medicine. Besides... Hatori said that it might help her, anyway, and tea always did make her sleepy.

She padded through the house, only a few minutes behind Hatori while he made his own way to the kitchens. Thinking she was alone, Imai hardly bothered to hide the gigantic yawn as she entered the kitchen. Imai's bed robe, haphazardly donned, drooped from one shoulder. The hem of it dragged behind her noiselessly, and she looked like a tired princess on her way to a shabby wedding.

"*Yaaaawnn...* So tired..."

She mumbled, raising a hand to rub at weary eyes. She hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary in the typically empty kitchens, for her mind was too fogged to hear the sound of water, and her eyes were still being rubbed.

Hatori:
"Being awake this late at night won't help that any," said Hatori, standing in front of the girl now with a cup of tea closed in his hands.

He had heard her when she first came in the doorway, yawning as she did.

He had only made enough tea for one, but the cup he had was offered out to her as watched with those dragon eyes, for he could always easily make another cup for himself. The lights in the kitchen were dim to keep from disturbing any others, yellow lights casting shadows on the place and strong features of Hatori's face; curtain of bangs making them darker on the side of his most useless eye. Hn, having a run in three times in a single day.

"Not feeling well?"

Imai:
His words, so suddenly spoken, startled her. And despite her lack of expression most of the time, she offered a more surprised one, now. Imai's golden eyes grew wide as she pulled her hands from them, her thin lips going slightly agape at the sudden appearance of the doctor. She looked from him, to the tea, and then back again.

He couldn't have known she wanted something to drink; he was clearly offering her the tea he'd made for himself. Politely, she put her hand up to signify that she could, just as easily as he, make her own.

"The medicine wore off. I just came to get something to take with the redose."

Tired eyes watched him before she stepped aside to allow him to exit if he wanted. She was, for the most part, a polite girl. She'd been brought up by her brother, who had taught her manners the hard way; but she'd learned, and learned well.

"You should get some rest, Hatori-san; you have an appointment tomorrow."

How shocking that she'd indirectly mention her brother in front of somebody she barely trusted.. Barely knew. But she was tired, and wasn't herself. She, too, had put up with quite a deal that day. While she hadn't suffered the wrath of her brother, she was still a bit sick.. Not to mention she'd had to put up with the appointment with Hatori. Her dislike of them wore her out to no end.

Hatori:
"In due time," was his only reply, taking the refused tea to the table to drink himself.

That was all that was said and the doctor let the girl go about her business as she pleased, paying not mind to the company or soft noises of stirring in any way.

The appointment wasn't until later the next morning, but he didn't seem to notice her mentioning Akito, or just didn't show that he did if otherwise. Hatori was like that. He minded no one's business but his own, eyes closed as he sipped quietly at the freshly made tea.

Imai:
Thankfully, it didn't take Imai very long to fix her tea, and once she was finished, she made her way to the table with it, along with a piece of bread. She faithfully took her medicine, using the bread as a means to trick her throat into allowing her to swallow it. Once taken, she sipped idly at her tea.

She looked utterly whipped, for lack of a better term. Her eyes showed little glimmer, even less, now, than before. The bags under her eyes only solidified the idea that she'd been losing quite a bit of sleep due to that stiff neck of hers, but she was looking forward to sleeping peacefully tonight with the help of the medicine.

She didn't look at Hatori as she sat across from him at the table, quietly drinking her tea between delivering cool puffs of air to it; it was still quite hot, but it numbed her throat, at least.

**"You should really talk with him more often, Imai. You might like the company once you get used to him."**

"You don't sleep much, do you?"

It was a reach. A long one. But she felt very awkward, sitting there in perfect silence with her doctor... With her cousin.

Hatori:
Hatori gazed up at her when she sat down idly, a brow lifted in mild curiosity as she chose to join him instead of returning to her room. Unexpected, but not exactly unwelcome. The real surprise is when she attempted conversation.

"It depends."

Short replies, but at least he was making some sort of effort to talk back. The doctor had sheltered himself in nothing but his studies since the sorrowful day, and letting anyone even this close hadn't even be thought of. Close... Even just table's width apart was something that wasn't often done unless it was for business matters like checkups. Hatori took another short sip of his tea.

Imai:
"... I don't sleep very well at night, though I don't ever wake up after sunrise."

It was something half-expected of her. She -was- the rooster, right? At least she didn't wake everybody up with her. But how she managed to stay up so late at night and be awake and functioning, even just a little, at sunrise was beyond anybody's comprehension. It was the simple fact that her body had gotten used to running on so little sleep, it was a possible reason why she was always so listless.

She took another sip of her tea, wondering why she was even attempting conversation with Hatori. He was curled up in his own mind, just like she was. She found it hard to look him in the eye when she spoke to him... Found it hard to look him in the eye, period. His eyes were almost cold, and they looked very empty.

**It's no doubt, really; he's been through such a horrible mess. I don't see how he can stand to even live... Day-in and day-out... Knowing everything that he knows. Of all the stories I've heard and read in books, I've never known one so tragic as his. I feel sorry for him.**

Hatori:
Hatori was wondering the same thing himself, coincidentally. Of all the members of the family, the only ones that ever took this step up was Ayame and Shigure. Not that it was something completely foreign, but just a little strange to have something way of 'the norm.'

Eye contact wouldn't be made, and the doctor sat quietly in his chair for a long moment, sipping his tea and wishing that smoking was allowed elsewhere in the house other than his just his office.

"If you want," he finally spoke, low voice cutting off the silence almost suddenly,
"I can give you something to help you sleep more."

There was a rustle of fabric and a soft 'shhff' sound as the doctor crossed one leg over the other, leaning back as comfortably as one could in a seat that was wood and unpadded. Nothing more was said, for Hatori was only one to say only what needed to be.

Imai:
Imai closed her eyes after lowering her cup to the table once more from taking a drink. Tiny, pale fingers curled around the cup as though seeking warmth from the insulating china that held the warm liquid. She was so very tiny, and had been so since birth. It was said that her father could hold her in one hand when she was born. Listless and half-empty eyes trailed their way to his own, the gold clashing silently with the deep, chilly, grey-blue of his own. The silence had been so heavy, that she was glad to hear the deep silk of his voice hit her ears from across the table.

"Thank you, Hatori-san. I'll come to you tomorrow if that's alright; taking something tonight may not help much."

Despite her lack of book-smarts in anything pertaining to medical business, she was at least logical. At the particular hour, if she took something and didn't sleep in, she'd be even more listless during the day. She was a zombie enough, as it was.

But she was healthy, at the very least; she didn't have those nasty complications that her sibling did. It was only a miracle that she'd survived the nasty birthing process her mother had to go through.

She was just so abnormally small in stature and weight that a sneeze could knock her over and a stiff breeze could break her body in half. Of course, it was an exaggeration, but it wasn't all that far from the truth.

Slumped shoulders found the back of the chair as she leaned back in a lazy fashion, hands still outstretched to hold her cup. She was nursing it, for she never ate or drank in excess. Probably a good reason that she weight little more than a hundred pounds when soaking wet.

"Is tomorrow evening alright with you, Hatori-san?"

Hatori:
"Yes."

There was no change in his expression, tone of voice, or posture. Like a cold, mound of ice, he sat there and didn't seem to melt from the hot tea he was sipping out again.

Though, Imai should feel a smidgen accomplished for getting Hatori to udder more than three words to her (and in a single sentence, for that matter) as the sat together 'round the table in the dim light of the kitchen. If someone were to drop a pin from the furthest room of the estate, it would probably be heard from where they were. However, unlike Imai, he was perfectly comfortable in the atmosphere that wasn't at all heavy to him.

Imai:
Yes, it was true that Imai was slightly uncomfortable, but only for the fact that if Akito found her conversing with the good doctor, she might very well get a good beating for it. To Akito, it was bad enough that she was close to Shigure, even worse that she had the audacity to refer to him as though he were her older brother... It would be too much for her to get too close with Hatori, especially since she had the ability to see him every day if either so desired.

Imai's mind drifted with the silence like a raft with the tide, going further and further away from the moment. She was so plagued by her fear for Akito, that she found it difficult to get by on many an occasion. He'd used her as a punching bag even before Yuki had left the Main House, and since the young rat had left, she'd been the main target for Akito's rage. It really was quite sad.

She loved her brother. Loved him with every ounce of her being. But she feared him more than the devil himself. The Main House, for most, was like the seventh layer of Hell, and there was no escape.

Imai shuddered, but easily played it off as a shiver when she finally pulled her eyes away from Hatori's. This poor man was just as trapped as she was, and no matter what he did, he couldn't escape. Even if it wasn't his duty, as a doctor, to stay and care for Akito... He still wouldn't have been able to escape.

She swore she heard a pin drop when her thoughts were finally reeled back into the present.

"... I'm sorry."

Hatori:
That was the first time since they sat down that Hatori's face changed. With a simple raise of his brows, he managed to look somewhat puzzled by the sudden apology.

"For what?" he had to ask, for he couldn't think of anything that had happened that day, the one before, or any other time that required such a thing from her.

Though 'trapped', as it was concluded, he hardly had the energy to feel too much of that sort of remorse for himself; his life was now centered around the people that was his family whom he took care of. Even that sort of caring was limited with the withdrawn and reclusive habits he harbored. It was hard to figure.

Imai:
"... ... ..."

She could believe she'd just said that. Honestly, she wasn't sure if it was the medicine or the exhaustion... Or even both that had caused her to act so unbelievably out-of-character. But she was trapped into finishing her apology, just as she was trapped by her family. Just as he was trapped.

She said nothing as she got up and disposed of her drink, feeling too sick to her stomach to drink the rest. A sad waste of good tea, but she felt nothing for it. At least it was able to escape the travesty of the Main House, no matter how inanimate it truly was. She walked past the table, stopping at the doorway of the kitchen without looking over her shoulder to finish.

"... For my brother."

It could have been meant in many ways. She could have meant what he'd done to Hatori, what he'd done to the family, that he was sick, that he was going to die, that he was just as trapped by himself as anybody else..! But she'd truly meant that she was sorry FOR him, apologizing in his stead for everything he'd done to the family, including Hatori.

Heaving a soft sigh, she disappeared around the doorjamb like a ghost, leaving behind only the strangeness of her final words.

Hatori:
Needless to say, Hatori was a little surprised with that hasty apology on Akito's behalf. Really, even if it had come from Akito himself, it wouldn't have mattered any more or less. His heart was numb to all that had happened at this point and he had long ago accepted what was to be and not. Though, the thought behind it was nice enough and did not go unappreciated. It was just too late.

The good doctor finished up his tea and let Imai go off as she pleased. Silence fell around him and that was how he spent the rest of his night: alone. The lights in his study didn't go off until the early hours of the morning; perhaps three or so before the sun was due to come up. He had been reading, though retired early enough to be up at his normal time and awake to fully function as the house's doctor.

Everything was like a routine and Hatori never fell out of step. From how many cubes of sugar he put in his morning coffee, to the squeak of his study's chair when he sat down inside it at nearly the same time every day.