My, My, Imai! Vol. I

Imai:
The day, for Imai, was spent trying to help the servants clean up the awful mess that Ayame had left; pins had been left on the floor, fabric scraps had been left as well, and mostly on Imai. It took the servants awhile to get all of the pins and fabric off of her.

Lunch, however, had been spent quite noisily. Akito had been in an irritable mood the entire day, and had already cuffed her a few times despite the fact that she had done nothing to incite it. But she was looking forward to seeing Hatori and Shigure again; maybe they would have some stories to tell her about the outside? And she was hoping that Shigure had brought back an 'early Christmas present' of a book like he had last year. She'd done her best to hide it from Akito, but he'd found it due to her carelessness and burned it, much to her dismay. She swore, this year, that she would be far more careful about where she hid her gifts.

Hatori:
Hatori had let Shigure and Ayame do all the talking as usual, serving more as a baby sitter through all the stores they went into to make sure nothing was broken or left out of place. Well, more than it already was, anyhow. Christmas time was when the most vicious shoppers came out of hibernation, and it wasn't uncommon to see people squabbling over the last of the booty.

Most of the shopping was done by them, for Hatori had long ago lost all interest in finding the 'perfect gift' for 'that someone on his mind'. It was all too overrated, he realized more through that day, simply content that he had gotten the promised coffee he was looking forward to all morning long.

Shigure:
The last place that Shigure wanted to stop at was a bookstore, possibly his favorite place to be because while he liked to write stories, he liked to read them just as much. Besides... He needed to pick up Imai's gifts.

He rifled through a few different novels, with Ayame's gums flapping loudly in his ear. He really couldn't find anything that caught his interest until he reached a section of imported books. Thumbing through a few of the titles, he came up with one that he was certain that Imai would like. He held it up to Hatori. It really hadn't been meant as a jab to Imai... Or even Hatori... But Shigure figured that Imai might like it.

He held up 'Jane Eyre.'

"Hey, Ha'ri... Think Imai'd like this? It's got to be better than reading all your boring medical books, anyway."

Despite the fact that Shigure couldn't find anything for Imai, he still had an armful of books that he could barely see over. Most of them weren't the kind of novel you'd give to a kid, either.

Hey! He had to get his inspiration SOMEWHERE, didn't he?

Hatori:
Hatori's face was as stoic as ever and he had taken to glaring at his own reflection in the clean glass of the shop's front windows until Shigure called out to him. His odd eyes narrowed, barely being able to restrain himself from cracking the corner of one of those dirty books over Shigure's head.

"I think you're in the wrong profession."

It was as he was turning back did something catch his eye, and without a word (as usual) he detached himself from the other two and stepped around book cases to get to it. He hadn't been out to get something; didn't even know if it would be liked, but it was his little secret, and he was already ditching his cousins more to go to the front counter and keep it that just as that. His secret.

Shigure:
"Hn.."

Shigure looked at the book, gave it a few second-thoughts, and put it back before choosing something else. He was certain that a story about a girl who was locked away and abused wouldn't take too well with Imai, no matter how much of an American classic it might be. So he stuck with 'Romeo and Juliet'.. Every young woman liked romance, so that was the way to go. And he knew she hadn't read it yet, and so he picked up a copy of it, with a few other books to stow away as Christmas gifts, and started heading toward the register.

He didn't see that Hatori had bought anything, for he could barely see at all for all of the books he had. He really wished these places had shopping buggies... And he knew that after this, he'd need a new bookcase; all of his were already filled up.

When the trip was over, Shigure was more than glad to meet Imai in the garden to give her the book he'd bought as an early gift in secret.

"Make sure not to lose it this time, alright? This is a classic, and very romantic; I'm sure you'll like it!"

Imai:
"Gure-ni-san... You bought me a romance novel? It's not... Like... The stuff... That you write... Is it?"

Imai knew very well the sort of things that her elder cousin wrote, and she hoped that he wouldn't give her something akin to that. But after he explained that it WASN'T a dirty novel, Imai was more than happy to receive it.

"Thank you very much, Gure-ni-san. I'll take very good care of it, and I promise not to lose it this time."

Later in the evening, Imai came to visit Hatori. Mostly to see if he had a story to tell than to read... And to thank him for saving her from Ayame, as well.

"Hatori-san..?"

She knocked softly on the door as she peeked her head around the corner of it, hoping that she wasn't disturbing him.

Hatori:
Hatori sat up straight in his chair when the knock sounded on his door, a paper bag making a crumpling sound loudly in his hands as he closed its top quickly and turned his head fast towards the threshold.

"Come in," he said a moment after making sure his composure was gathered, elegant features set back into their stony place as if nothing had happened at all.

Hatori had lots of stories to share that evening about what had gone on through their escapade through the mall, because Ayame and Shigure made every single moment of his life with them something... interesting and miserable all at the same time. Such a strange relationship they had, but even Hatori couldn't hide how much he appreciated his two eccentric cousins.

Imai:
Imai smiled wide before stepping in, shutting the door softly behind her.

"Gure-ni-san didn't cause much trouble, did he? You guys were out all day.. I hope you had enough coffee to survive."

Bared feet pattered across the flooring as she went to take a seat on the floor next to his desk, looking up at him as though very excited to hear about whatever stories he might have. Sure, he might not talk much... But it was merely the way that he told her things that kept her interest; he could be talking about the funniest thing that had ever happened to him, and he would keep a straight face through it all. That was what made it better for Imai... The fact that Hatori was so stoic that it was sometimes funny.

She hadn't mentioned anything about the book that Shigure had bought her, but only for the simple fact that Hatori had been with them. It would be a waste of breath to tell him about something that he already knew! But she still looked like a young child at Christmas; she'd been so excited about the new book that as soon as she'd gotten the chance, she'd snuck it into the bath with her to start reading!

Hatori:
"...You can pull up another chair if you want," said Hatori slowly, looking down at the girl on his floor with raised eyebrows.

He wouldn't bite at her like Akito for sitting with him and interacting like human beings did. Most of them, anyhow. Hatori wasn't exactly high on the socializing ladder himself, but has proven to have better skills in that area than some.

That was all that he said for a moment, casting his gaze down to the bag he still held closed before it was settled on her.

"All went well enough. There were no casualties, no police at any point... And, we actually got things done. And I got my coffee."

He seemed to be thinking something over when he stopped speaking, eyes not making their usual contact with her when they were chattering.

"It's only about four days until Christmas?" he asked suddenly through his mountain of thoughts.

Imai:
Imai stood up with a smile, bringing a chair up so she could sit diagonal to Hatori as they continued their conversation. She chuckled softly.

"No police? No injuries? And actually got everything done? Wow! I guess it really was a good day, then! I'm glad you got your coffee, too; you're practically made of it!"

She giggled softly, drawing her legs up to hug her knees to her chest.

"Yeah... Only four more days. It doesn't feel like it, really, but I guess it's because we haven't gotten snow just yet."

It was then that she noticed that Hatori was holding a bag, her eyes falling on it before smiling again, resting her chin on her knees.

"Did you get something for yourself? Gure-ni-san always told me that it's nice to get a gift for just yourself, sometimes."

Hatori:
There was no answer verbally to that. The doctor stewed for a few moments more as he seemed to come to a decision.

"Merry Christmas."

The bag he'd been holding was then slid across his desk, hand staying pressed on top of it for a moment even after the motion had stopped, and his dragon eyes came to rest upon her finally.

Hatori was like that. Cold and standoffish in the beginning, but then he ended up developing a soft spot for you if you worked on him well enough. Imai had done just that with her innocent intrigue with his line of work and collection of books, most of which he'd obtained through years in medical school. He could only hope that he wasn't giving the wrong idea or being too forward.

Imai:
Imai looked a bit startled at the sudden well wishes for a Merry Christmas, and continued to be perplexed when he slid the bag toward her. But her face flushed, and she finally smiled.

"Hatori-san.. You really shouldn't have..."

She felt almost bad that he'd given her a gift, and yet she was unable to give him one in return. That was the whole deal behind Christmas, right? You gave and recieved; she was going to be sure to send Shigure out soon to get Hatori something FOR her. Otherwise, she'd feel too guilty about it!

But she reached for the bag anyway, fingers barely brushing the doctor's hand as she pulled it closer. Leaning in as she opened it, Imai peered inside before reaching her hand in and pulling the gift out.

Hatori:
It wasn't anything too impressive really, but Hatori refrained from being corny and saying that outright like everyone seemed to do when watching the person open their present with a certain degree of uneasiness. And even when it was pulled out from the bag, he still said nothing right away as he watched her reaction carefully through his curtain of bangs.

It was a coloring book of flowers, complete with a small set of colored pencils to be used inside.

"The cover had flowers from the garden outside here on it. Inside, there should be information of each printed next to the picture. I figured you might like to know what you're looking at while you sitting out there in your free time. You can match them and color as you please."

Simple, but it was a feat in itself. Hatori hadn't given a single gift since the time he spent with Kanna.

Imai:
She hadn't colored in a coloring book since she was a child, and so she was just as excited about the coloring book, and the information it offered inside, as she was about the book Shigure had bought her. It was something from the norm, and it had been very thoughtful of Hatori to get her something for Christmas; she knew he rarely bought things for others... Especially after Kanna.

"Thank you so much, Hatori-san... I love it!"

With a broad smile, she set the book and pencils down before moving closer to the good doctor and wrapping her arms around his neck. It was something she hadn't done to anybody save for Shigure, and even then, it wasn't very often.

She wasn't sure just why she'd given him a hug; perhaps it was that she was so excited to have gotten a gift from Hatori... A gift that she really did like, somewhat childish or not... That she hadn't been able to help herself.

She resolved to call for Shigure tomorrow, in hopes that he'd help her get a return gift for Hatori. She wasn't exactly sure of what he liked, but she had a vague idea of what she wanted to get him.

She already had plans in her head to go out to the garden the next morning to color a picture!