Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

My, My, Imai! Redux (2019)	By : VanillaToast Category: Fruits Basket > Het - Male/Female Views: 747 -:- 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 or any brands/names herein. The only character of my own making is Imai.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Hatori had gone to bed not long after Imai had bid him goodnight and woke up early the next morning to be ready a good hours before he had told Shigure to meet him. As usual, he was perched behind his desk, dark hair still damp from his shower as the morning sunlight poured through his windows.
He was not occupied by books or paperwork, however. Hatori stared out of one of the few windows not covered in rice paper. It was something that always happened in the winter—the snow and it would no doubt begin falling soon judging from the chill in the air. Hatori always became somewhat sentimental when the snow began to fall, even after so much time had passed since his time spent with Kanna.
Hatori stood and walked over to the window, opening it a crack as he lit a cigarette and watched the bustling of maids doing their morning chores.

From across the garden, the window to Akito and Imai’s shared room could be seen. The doors that led to the porch were closed, but the lights were on full blast, casting harsh shadows against the rice paper that would normally block all view.
There appeared to be a struggle in the room, though there was no screaming or banging to accompany it. After further observation, it seemed that Imai was being fitted for new kimono; since her healthy weight gain, none of her clothing “looked right” to Akito and the maids rushed to make amends. The maids assumed that Akito wanted his sister to look unhealthy, and so they struggled to find kimono that, as usual, would look too large on her. This was a difficult task, now, seeing as none of the maids’ own silks were “big enough” for Imai.
This “struggle” continued for some time and would most likely last throughout the day and even into the next.
If I have to be told to “suck it in” one more time, I might scream… Imai thought.

Hatori could see the struggle from across the garden and suddenly tensed, his eyes darkening and his brow furrowing as he squinted to get a better look at what was going on.
Akito’s hair is dark…. But not long like the maids’… Hatori thought with a feeling of relief.
Things have been going too smoothly for them to end just before the holidays. I wonder just how much longer Imai’s visits are going to last? Hatori thought, stubbing out his cigarette and walking back to his desk, not bothering to shut the window.
As Hatori sat down at his desk, he leaned an elbow on the arm of his chair and then leaned his cheek against a closed fist. He continued to watch through the window a moment more, making no more out now than vague outlines of those measuring Imai’s figure. Hatori’s blue eyes went downcast then as he let his mind carry him away, brushing through the past and mingling through the present.
Imai made me say “thank you”. Hatori thought and he couldn’t quite figure out how that had even happened.
He wanted to ask her to accompany himself, Shigure, and Ayame that morning, but had refrained as he knew Akito would never allow it.

Imai had no idea that Hatori had wanted to ask her to go along with them for their shopping trip, but Akito would, insufferably, deny the request. Imai had never seen anything beyond the gates of the Sohma Estate, though the tastes of the outside world she got from pictures and stories was more than enough to make her hunger for it. Imai had never seen a train up close, had never been to the movies or eaten at a restaurant; she knew nothing about walking crowded streets or looking into shop windows at clothing she might like to wear. Imai had also never handled money nor did she really know how it worked. She was a complete hermit.
Imai had once asked Akito if she could see the outside world, just once, but she had been severely beaten for the request and so she never brought up the subject again around him. Her only view of the outside world would always be the pictures and stories that Shigure gave her, but no matter how many times she heard stories or saw pictures, she wanted to experience it for herself.
Everyone knew that Imai might not be able to handle if she ever did get the chance, however; she would’ve been an easy target for mishaps and clumsiness because of her curious nature, and there was no question that navigating a crowded street would be a huge problem in and of itself, not to mention that Imai wouldn’t be able to get the full experience if she got frightened and transformed; erasing the memories of everyone on a crowded sidewalk if she transformed would be more complicated than just a handful of people.

It’s for the better, anyhow. Hatori mused. He didn’t enjoy erasing one person’s memory, let alone half the memories of those in the city; he wasn’t even sure he’d be able to do it. Ayame would be enough to provide all the mischief one man needed in a lifetime in just five minutes, anyhow, and Shigure would double the handful.
Speaking of Shigure, he was running late. Hatori turned away from the scene across the garden and took to glaring at the clock, icy hues narrowing as the minutes ticked by. Though, while he glared, he grabbed another cigarette and lit if. Any longer and Hatori would lose all interest in going out at all. Such a public outing in the middle of the busiest time of the year wasn’t exactly his cup of tea.

No sooner than Hatori lit his cigarette, Shigure showed up at the door with Ayame in tow. Shigure was dressed conservatively, as always, with a winter coat and scarf. He looked nice.
Nice and late.
Ayame, however, while dressed warmly was also in the brightest colors possible. The red and gold hues of his winter changshan practically screamed LOOK AT ME!
“OH! THE TRIO IS FINALLY TOGETHER AGAIN! THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST FUN!” Ayame proclaimed, a large smile beaming across his features.
“Sorry we’re late. Aya had to fix his hair.” Shigure said, offering a soft chuckle.
“Well, I have to look my best, you know! I am the representative of my shop! If I looked dreadful then nobody would come in for the holidays! I’d lose all of my business!” Ayame grinned, flipping his long silver hair over his shoulder for emphasis.
“I don’t think there’ll be a shortage of customers any time soon, Aya. Besides… I do try to stop in every now and again, don’t I?” Shigure reassured Ayame, turning his face to give the snake a sneaky, knowing look.

The suggestive looks that Ayame and Shigure shared would have driven anyone bugshit in little time, but Hatori was absolutely used to it and didn’t even flinch. He calmly continued to smoke the cigarette he had lit, comfortably tucked in his chair with no intention of getting up. Hatori was going to smoke his cigarette all the way through. They had made him wait, so now the tables were turned.
“Boisterous as ever first thing in the morning, I see,” Hatori commented idly, his chair creaking as he leaned back to relax for a few more moments before charging off with his friends into the wild holiday rush.
“Where’s my coffee?” Hatori demanded, needing all the energy he could get in order to get through the day with those two.

“Well, we thought that catching a bite to eat first would give us more energy to shop,” Shigure offered, seeming only a little apologetic. “I’m sure you can last twenty more minutes without coffee. No worries, though, breakfast is on me.”
“It really is too bad that we couldn’t stay to enjoy Tohru’s wonderful breakfast! It’s such a crying—OH!” Ayame’s words were entirely cut off as he rushed to the open window that overlooked the garden. “They’re doing it all wrong! What kind of measurements are those women trying to take?!”
“Every year you get your panties in a wad over what the maids do with the clothes.” Shigure warned, turning a frustrated look toward Ayame before continuing. “And every year I tell you… Over and over again… You can dress anybody else however you want to, but you can’t touch her. You’ll contaminate her!”

“Take credit for your own dirty work,” Hatori said casually after a long drag of his cigarette, a hand outstretching to offer one to Shigure as he addressed him.
If anyone, it’s Shigure that does all the contaminating in this family. Hatori wryly thought.
“Maybe Ayame should be able to do something. She looks more than a little uncomfortable with what’s being done to her now.” Hatori continued, not having any objections to the idea. He had seen Ayame’s handywork enough time to know that he was capable of producing beautiful clothes, though if he made anything for Imai, it would have to follow some guidelines. Clothing didn’t have to be revealing to be the main attraction, after all.

“See?!” Ayame exclaimed, turning to Shigure and pointing at him dramatically. “Ha’ri thinks that my work is beautiful! I’m going to go talk to those ladies right now! I’ll be certain to have Imai-san’s outfits done far before the banquet and Christmas!”
With that, Ayame practically stormed out of Hatori’s house and was across the garden to the main house in no time. Despite the fact that Shigure was, quite possibly, the largest pervert to have ever walked the planet, he was starting to feel sick to his stomach thinking about the things Ayame might come up with for Imai. The rooster was like a little sister to him in a way, and just as he would think if he had a little sister, he didn’t want her parading around with anything hanging out. Besides, Akito would absolutely lose his shit.
“Thanks, Ha’ri…” Shigure muttered glumly, taking the offered cigarette and lighting it while giving the dragon the stink eye through the corner of his eyes. Despite his misgivings about Ayame getting his hands on Imai, it still gave him a little bit of time to talk privately with Hatori. Ayame didn’t know Imai very well and it really wasn’t any of the snake’s business.
“So…” Shigure started, taking a long pull of his newly lit cigarette. “… Since you so rudely hung up on me last night—” Shigure threw his hand to his forehead dramatically, faking a swoon before grinning at Hatori. “—Why don’t you tell me about this whole deal with Imai-chan reading at your house?”

Shigure had nothing to worry about; Hatori wouldn’t let Ayame go overboard with whatever project he had in mind anymore than Shigure would, so Imai would be saved as far as dignity was concerned. Ayame simply had a better taste for colors and small details that could make Imai stand out the most at the ceremonies, that was all.
Hatori didn’t answer his cousin right away, lazily pushing out his arm to tap the ashes from his cigarette into the ashtray to keep them from going everywhere.
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” Hatori said. “She wanted to read and so I let her.”
It really had been that simple. Though Imai had been forbidden to socialize, her reading in his office could hardly be called that when the pair simply sat in a room together and didn’t exchange a word—until recently, anyhow.
“Why does it matter so much?” Hatori continued, “I’m prepared to take responsibility.”

“You make it sound as though you let young women into your home every day, Ha’ri.” Shigure smirked over his shoulder at Hatori as he leaned against the dragon’s desk. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Shigure paused a moment before continuing. “But, really… If you two get caught, this little loophole you’ve made for yourselves won’t matter to Akito. She told me the other day that he choked her recently and that she nearly blacked out. If you get caught…” Shigure paused again, sighing before tapping the ashes off of his own cigarette. “I’m afraid he might do more than just hurt her.”
Shigure’s head lifted when he heard a yelp, but before he could rush to the window to check on Imai, he heard Ayame’s boisterous voice follow. Apparently, Ayame was already taking over the costume plans for Christmas and New Year’s and was rushing about trying to figure out a game plan.
Then, something clicked in Shigure’s head as he turned around to stub out his cigarette in Hatori’s ashtray.
Maybe if Aya actually does get Imai’s costumes together, it’ll be too inconvenient for him to run back and forth to his shop all the time for supplies. Maybe… With that excuse… Akito might let her out for once. It’s a slim chance, but I’d like for her to see the outside before too long; she’s already rotting in here.

“Oi.” Without warning, Hatori leaned over and flicked Shigure between the eyes. “Stop thinking.” He said, “It can’t be anything good.”
Shigure was notorious for crazy ideas and Hatori had grown to know that scheming expression of his after years of experience. Nothing good ever came of Shigure’s wild plans and Hatori wasn’t about to give whatever this newest one a chance. There was a lot to consider in this particular situation, including being punished ten times over for even suggesting anything to Akito.

“Ow!” Shigure yelped as he snapped out of his bubble of thought as if it had been a rubber band stretched too tightly. He rubbed his forehead and gave Hatori the stink eye again. His eagerness to help Imai experience things had clouded his mind into forgetting the consequences behind the very idea of it. He resolved that he would find a way—any way, but that he would have to be a little more cunning in his way of doing it.
“No, I suppose not.” Shigure said, a frown pulling at his features. “I was just trying to figure out some sort of way to get Imai off of these grounds. She’ll rot here, you know; no matter how much better she might seem like she’s getting, she’ll lose her mind one day because of this place.”
Shigure heaved another great sigh before rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
“Well,” He said, “Come on. Let’s get this shopping over with. Any excuse to get Aya away from Imai! He’s probably scaring the life out of her!”
Imai wasn’t particularly scared of Ayame, but she was extremely flustered; she had met him several times but had spent no significant amount of time with her, so the snake’s boisterous attitude was something foreign to her.
Imai was currently being measured, had several pieces of fabric pinned to her for Ayame’s color references, and she’d had her bosom handled more than she cared for.
“Ayame-san… I… I don’t think. Ow!” Imai exclaimed.
“Hold still, now! I’m trying my best not to prick you, but you keep squirming!” Ayame retorted as he pinned another scrap of fabric to her chest before pulling away with a thoughtful look.
“Green! Yes! Definitely the green!” Ayame cheered happily, clapping his hands together in excitement. He had all but kicked out every maid that had tried to get in his way as he rushed to take measurements and look at available color palettes.
“Now…” Ayame continued, smirking suggestively at Imai. “Do you want a low cut or a high cut? Really, your breasts are magnificent! To accentuate the bosom, you should really wear a low cut.”
Imai’s face turned almost as red as her hair, from neckline to hairline.

“It should be a higher cut”, Hatori said, his voice cutting through the chaos that Ayame had singlehandedly caused in only a few minutes. Shigure trailed behind him, not looking terribly happy that Ayame was mentioning Imai’s breasts.
Poor Imai wasn’t having any luck at all, but at least her heroes were well experienced with this sort of rescue mission and would have her out of the eye of the storm in no time.
Hatori’s jacket was slung over one shoulder, the hooked finger of a single hand holding it while the other hand was tucked away in the front pocket of his slacks. It was the same outfit he wore every day, just different colors; Hatori always looked his profession, even when he was going out.
“Let’s leave this task for later and get on with what was originally planned,” Hatori said, his eyes closing as he quelled the urge to rub his temples. “I still haven’t had my coffee.”
None of them seemed to realize how essential that little detail was when it came to Hatori starting his day. Hatori said nothing to Imai, as he didn’t feel that there was anything to be embarrassed about. He and Shigure were the most used to Ayame’s fashion fury, anyhow.

Imai’s face was still flushed as Ayame pulled away from her and made his way to Shigure and Hatori.
“A turtle-neck might suit her best. Long sleeves, maybe? A ski-mask, too.” Shigure, as much of a pervert as he was, felt no need for Imai’s assets to be shown off just yet. “She shouldn’t show too much skin, she’ll freeze her pretty little toes off!”
“Oh, Shigure!” Ayame whined, “You just have to ruin my fun on this one, don’t you?”
Ayame turned to Imai, pointing a slender, pale finger at her and winking.
“We’ll continue this tomorrow!” Ayame said, smiling widely. “So be up bright and early! We’ve got a lot of work to do!”
Despite how mortified she felt that Hatori and Shigure had walked in at such an embarrassing moment of conversation, she was quite frankly downright grateful that they were taking Ayame away.
At least until tomorrow… Imai thought.
She wasn’t sure how it had even gotten started, but she was a tad uncomfortable with Ayame handling her. She still had difficulties with Hatori handling her and he was her doctor. The only person Imai felt truly comfortable with physically was Shigure.
“Y-yes… Of course.” Imai stammered. She said nothing to Hatori, but the look she gave him was one of silent gratitude. It was clear that she had been uncomfortable and he had swept in to save the day.

As Imai’s eyes were filled with thanks, Hatori’s were full of apologies. It was mostly his fault that Imai was now in this crazy Ayame situation, though he hoped that she would learn to trust Ayame to some degree. Ayame really was wonderfully talented with what he did.
“I like the green.” Hatori said softly before turning on his heel to start back out the way he had come in. “Let’s go.”
As Hatori walked away with Ayame and Shigure in tow, he wondered if there would ever be a normal morning again now that Ayame had made it his personal mission to be Imai’s designer.
This probably means that we’ll see a lot more of Shigure, too. Hatori thought. What did I do?
- 4
- 5
- 6
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

My, My, Imai! Redux (2019)