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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Even though Hatori only treated the Sohma family now, there was still a great deal of work to do to keep everything in order. Just like any regular doctor would, Hatori kept records on all of his patients and scheduled checkups periodically, even when they seemed to be in the best of health.
Hatori was doing just that the very next morning, since he’d neglected the paperwork when Shigure and Ayame had invited him to go shopping. He had papers spread out across the top of his desk with a black binder holding many more. Hatori quietly scribbled notes and prescription information onto his paperwork, the quiet ticking of his clock the only sound to accompany him that morning.

That morning was, to put it lightly, stressful for Imai; Since Hatori was preoccupied with his paperwork, he was unable to babysit Ayame as he desperately dragged Imai about her and Akito’s shared room. The family head was nowhere to be seen, likely having escaped the pair in an attempt to get some peace and quiet.
Imai stood in the middle of the room as she had the previous morning, only this time she was surrounded by innumerous stacks of fabric and ribbons in all different colors and patterns, some of them she didn’t even recognize. Ayame pinned cloth to Imai’s body, chatted loudly, pulled her hair into an impossible style, chatted loudly some more… The snake was making Imai’s head spin. She had never been handled so openly and had never had to deal with so much stimulation from one person.
Despite the early hour in which Ayame had arrived to use Imai as his personal Barbie doll, it only took a few hours before Imai simply couldn’t handle the input from the snake.
PYON!
The sound of the transformation might have been loud enough to hear from across the garden, but Ayame’s response was even louder.
“Oh! No! Imai-san, do come back!” Ayame cried out. “We’re not done with your hair!”
“B-KOK!” Imai’s innate response was, of course, to flutter to the furthest corner away from Ayame. Feathers were now flying everywhere and the sounds of frightened clucking along with Ayame’s panicked voice could be heard from just about anywhere in the main estate.
“No, don’t fly away! We have so much more work to do!” Ayame pleaded as he chased Imai, now transformed into a chicken, around the room. Imai continued to flutter away each time Ayame got close, more feathers molting from the girl’s stress over the situation. Feathers clung to bunches on Ayame’s clothing and were poking from his hair and the room was an utter disaster area.
Imai could, of course, talk while being transformed into a chicken, but the girl was so afraid of the now gigantic, flamboyant man chasing her around the room that she’d almost completely forgotten how to speak. She continued to cluck in fear, tiny chicken legs and wings carrying her from one corner of the room to another as Ayame chased her.
All I want is some space! Leave me alone! Imai thought in frustration.
Imai was mostly nervous because she had not transformed since she was a child, and the feeling was so foreign to her that she could really only panic as Ayame finally cornered her. As Imai turned to flee again, Ayame reached out to grab her but only managed to pull out a few of her feathers by force. She clucked again, louder this time, in pain.

Hatori had been able to ignore all the noise coming from across the garden for a little while, his fingers clenching tightly around the pen he held as the tip made grooves in the papers he wrote on. It was when he had to white out and correct himself for the second time that he couldn’t take it anymore.
Leaving his work and mess behind, Hatori stood and made his way down the halls toward the source of the ruckus. The door was pulled open the instant he arrived and feathers that were settling stuck to his hair and shirt. Hatori just stood there for a moment, unable to do anything but stare at the scene before him, blinking stoically.
“What’s white all this noise?” Hatori finally managed, his irritation being distributed evenly between Imai and Ayame.
It’s such a pain trying to return to what you were doing after being interrupted… Hatori thought irritably.

Ayame finally had Imai cornered and using Hatori’s entrance as a distraction, he scooped up Imai in his arms victoriously.
“Ha’ri!” Ayame responded, turning around with Imai held in both hands as if she were being taken to slaughter. “Really, she’s being so difficult! She keeps running from me!”
Imai stayed quiet and puffed herself up as Ayame held her. She didn’t enjoy being chased and she wasn’t looking forward to the transformation back, either. Imai hoped that Ayame would put her down very, very soon; she had been poked, pricked, dragged, and touched all morning and she was quite ready for it to end. It was one thing when the maids were doing it, as it wasn’t so much of a production, but it was another thing entirely when it was a noisy, flamboyant man that she had barely met.
Imai knew about Ayame but had never had the pleasure of spending any time with him; she had only heard stories about him from Shigure and even a few from Hatori, now that she was spending more time with the doctor.

Hatori lifted a hand and clutched the bridge of his nose, sighing as he bowed his head exasperatedly. Feathers clung to his hair and clothing.
“I think,” Hatori started, taking a deep breath. “that it would be a wise idea for you two to have a short break for now.”
That way, Imai can revert back to her human form and the house can go back to being quiet. Hatori thought.
“I’ll have the maids prepare some tea.” Hatori said, holding out his arms. He meant to take Imai from Ayame so she could be set down and tucked away inside of a closed room or behind a changing screen before she turned back.

Ayame didn’t complain; he really wanted to get Imai’s costumes for Christmas and New Years done, but Hatori always had a way of keeping the snake in check. Ayame handed over the puffed bird.
“A cup of tea does sound nice!” Ayame said. “Imai-san really has nothing to be nervous about!”
Imai’s feathers flattened as soon as she was set in Hatori’s arms. She felt much better that he had come to save the day, though she did feel guilty for having interrupted whatever it was Hatori had been doing. She hoped that he hadn’t been seeing a patient when everything happened. Imai doubted that even Hatori could come up with a decent excuse as to why somebody was chasing a chicken around the main house.
No sooner had Imai been planted in the security of Hatori’s arms, however, did she transform back. It always seemed to happen that way with everyone: the transformation was always at the worst possible time.
PYON!
A puff of red smoke obscured Imai’s body for a short while, but it didn’t save her the embarrassment of her naked body suddenly being pressed against Hatori. Of course, the doctor had seen her in various states of undress during his treatment of her over the years, but this was something entirely different.

I should have known better… Hatori thought. With how long they had all been transforming, it was just like walking into a booby trap. The doctor was stoic as ever, however, his expression never changing as he held the naked Imai. Finally, Hatori got the sense to reach blindly over and pull a random piece of fabric from a chair nearby and offered it to Imai until she could get dressed.
“I’ll go get the tea,” Hatori said without missing a beat.

Imai immediately grabbed the offered cloth but found that there wasn’t quite enough to cover both sides of her body. She pulled it up to cover her front, her face blushing furiously as she feared she would transform again from pure embarrassment. Hatori’s calm, stoic nature didn’t do much to soothe her.
“Y—yes.” Imai stammered. “Thank you, Hatori-san.”
Imai’s heart raced so wildly in her chest that she was sure Hatori could hear it. She frantically scanned the area for her clothing, lost somewhere amidst the chaos of fabrics strewn about.

Hatori was confident that Imai would be able to relocate her clothes in the mess by the time he and Ayame had retrieved the offered tea. Even if she wasn’t, Hatori knew it was best to give the girl some shred of privacy seeing as she wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion.
“Coming right up. We won’t be long.” Hatori said, letting go of Imai entirely and wasting no time in moving toward Ayame and taking him by the elbow to leave the room. Hatori was just as collected as ever, as the ordeal wasn’t entirely foreign to him. He was a doctor and Ayame was a designer; Hatori himself had seen his fair share of naked bodies in his line of work, including Imai’s. This little mishap wasn’t anything different and all he could manage to do was flee from the scene casually.

Imai continued to hold the cloth to her naked body as she watched the two men depart. Once they were finally gone, Imai frantically rushed to find her clothes and fled behind a changing screen to get dressed. For a few moments afterward, she hid behind the screen and wished that she had some cold water to wash away the hot feeling in her face.
It may not have been a big deal to them, but Imai really hadn’t transformed since she was a child and it was a much bigger deal to her. Her embarrassment was mostly due to Ayame having been present to see her transform back, but Imai was a bit uncomfortable with Hatori present for it as well. Her nudity hadn’t been due to a medical emergency or checkup and she had gotten closer to Hatori as an individual as well. To her, he wasn’t just her doctor anymore, he was a friend.
Something’s changing… Imai thought, doubting that her life would ever be the same again. It’s not all bad, though. I like Hatori-san very much; he’s very kind and seems to understand me. Imai continued thinking as she finally made her way out from behind the changing screen.
Hatori was slowly but surely being held in the same high regard as Shigure was to Imai. She only feared that her friendship with Hatori would end abruptly if Akito ever found out. She dreaded that day. However, as long as she and Hatori kept their budding friendship quiet, it might never end. Imai wanted to keep things smooth and easy.
The less either of us suffer, the better. She thought.

“Honestly, Aya. Does there really have to be so much chaos in this fitting?” Hatori groused as he led the way down the hallways to the kitchens where he fully intended on taking his time in making tea so Imai could get properly dressed and calmed down.
At this rate, Hatori knew he wouldn’t get any work done at all. His office seemed miles away and there was no telling what Akito made of the ruckus. When Hatori was done making the tea, he carefully placed the pot and two cups on a tray. He had no intentions of sticking around, but he was going to do his best to enforce some sort of peace before he retreated back to his office to tend to the rest of his paperwork. He wasn’t even halfway through with it and had been working on it all morning long.

“She’s just so stubborn, Ha’ri!” Ayame complained. “She wiggles and squirms. Hardly speaks! She’s very polite, I’ll give her that, but she’s just so uncooperative!”
Ayame made it sound so horrible that Imai was a wiggle worm when it came to sharp objects and loud men. He only knew so much about Imai, from what he had heard from Shigure, and he only ever saw her at formal gatherings.
“She makes it seem like I’m going to bite her!” Ayame continued, grinning as he watched Hatori placed tea and snacks on the tray. “I would—she’s very lovely, I’ll give her that!”

“I think that it might have helped if you introduced yourself before you started to tear away her clothes.” Hatori said as he carefully rearranged the tray to make it tidier. “She’s only very shy.”
Hatori appeared to have recovered from his brush with nudity well enough, picking the tray up and starting back the way he and Ayame had come. He felt that Imai should have had enough time to find her clothes and get dressed in the fifteen minutes it had taken to make tea. Hatori really had nothing more to say on the matter, feeling that the rest would be up to Ayame and Imai to figure out how to work together before the holidays came. There were only a few days left until Christmas and only a few more afterwards until the banquet.

“So, I’ve noticed.” Ayame said, following after Hatori. “But, really, she’s just so different from how I pictured her from Gure’s stories! She should be a spoiled princess! Or even a model! I’ll get her to come out of her shell sooner or later!”
Ayame continued to blab relentlessly about the subject as he walked with Hatori back to Imai and Akito’s room.
Inside, Imai was fully dressed and comfortably parked in a less messy corner next to a window that overlooked the garden. She felt a little better now that she was dressed, but her cheeks were still pink from embarrassment.
Outside, it was finally snowing, and Imai watched as the flurries drifted to lightly blanket the trees and grass in the garden. She had mixed feelings about snow; while she enjoyed watching it and thought it was beautiful when it blanketed the garden, she disliked it just as much when she couldn’t sit outside to enjoy the flowers.

Hatori let Ayame talk as he knew that’s all most of it would end up being: just talk. Hatori knew firsthand as Imai’s doctor that it wouldn’t be easy to get her to do anything she didn’t want to do, but Hatori would let his silver-haired cousin find that out the hard way.
Hatori’s eyes scanned the room as he entered and he couldn’t find Imai at first. A glance toward a corner was all it took to spot the girl and he really should have expected to find her tucked away. Setting the tray aside, Hatori picked up a cup from it and poured some tea, stepping past Ayame to join Imai.
“Feeling better?” Hatori asked to announce his present, bending just enough at the waist to offer Imai the steaming cup of tea.
The chill outside wasn’t entirely unnoticed and neither were the falling flakes of snow. Hatori chose to be indifferent to them for now, careful not to allow his gaze to fall out the window to the scenery just yet.

Imai’s gaze turned up to Hatori and she smiled openly, her cheeks still flushed as she brought her hands up to take the offered tea.
“Yes, Hatori-san. Much better, thank you.” Imai said, her eyes never leaving Hatori. “I’m very sorry about all of this. It really is my fault for being so nervous. I promise to behave better in the future.” Imai lowered her head shamefully, her smile fading. “I’ve interrupted your work and that was thoughtless of me.”
Ayame was absolutely stunned; Imai had spoken no more than two words to him the entire morning and yet, here she was, chatting away with Hatori with no signs of reluctance. Ayame sensed something in the air.
If I didn’t know any better, this might be a budding friendship… Perhaps even a romance! How exciting! Ayame thought as he watched the exchange from the doorway, making no move to interrupt the pair.
It had been so long since Hatori had made a new friend. Tohru was a wonderful girl but she and Hatori hardly ever got the chance to see each other with her living away from the main estate. Somebody to keep Hatori company who lived on the main estate was quite convenient.
The only snag that Ayame could see was that Imai was Akito’s younger sister, and with that came specific and disastrous problems. He couldn’t even count the number of issues such a friendship or romance could cause on both hands; they were so numerous. But all Ayame wanted was for his friend to be happy and if Imai happened to be the one to do it, she had his full support. Ayame had a feeling that Hatori would open up more to Imai as well with due time.
Finally breaking from his thoughtful reverie, Ayame retrieved the discarded tray of tea and snacks and made his way over to the pair, sitting down next to Imai with a broad smile.
“Come now, Ha’ri!” Ayame said, gesturing for the doctor to sit down. “Come and join us for a while! Your brain will turn to pudding if you don’t take a break!”

Hatori stood up straight when Ayame came over with the tray of tea and snacks, closing his eyes and shaking his head at the offer.
“Thank you,” Hatori said. “but this has been my break. If you don’t mind, I have a lot of work to do, still.”
The weather was mostly to blame, and Hatori knew that Ayame would understand the most why he wanted to be alone when it started to snow. Hatori hadn’t expected it to come so soon, but it was routine; the first snowfall of the season Hatori kept to himself, locked away in his office with work of any sort to keep his mind from drifting to Kanna. Hatori watched the flakes of snow begin to gather outside for only a few more moments before he turned and left the room. He didn’t want to hear any further protest on the matter.
With as much as Imai had opened up to Hatori already, there was still a lot of work to be done before he could do the same to her. Unless it was Shigure or Ayame, Hatori was a difficult nut to crack.

Ayame understood Hatori’s tone and offered a jovial good-bye wave to the doctor before turning back to Imai. Imai understood almost as easily as Ayame did; she could tell from the tone in Hatori’s voice and the unusual tension surrounding him that he simply wanted to be left alone. Imai resolved that she would try not to bother Hatori until the Christmas season had passed.
I feel so bad for Hatori-san, Imai thought as Ayame chattered beside her. If what happened to him happens to me, then I never want to fall in love!
The rest of the day was spent as casual restraint between Ayame and Imai. Ayame seemed to be just as energetic as before, but he also seemed to be trying to quell his excited urges instead of ignoring them completely. Imai was steadily getting used to Ayame’s outspoken but natural charm. He was nice and Imai resolved that if Hatori and Shigure trusted him, then she could as well.
With the success of Ayame’s better behavior and curbed enthusiasm, Imai’s costume was nearly finished. It was well into the evening when Ayame decided that it was finally time to stop. He held a half-finished dress up to Imai’s shoulders.
“Hold, please!” Ayame said, pulling the edges of the dress downward around Imai’s form until he reached her feet. “Oh! You’ll be the spotlight this year!” Ayame exclaimed, his face beaming up at Imai. “I’ve waited for so long to make you my ultimate vision of beauty!”
“Do you really think it will go over well, Ayame-san?” Imai asked, looking down at the snake uneasily. She had never worn anything except a basic kimono or yukata, and mostly in drab colors and patterns. She wasn’t used to being considered fashionable.
“Oh, stop fooling yourself!” Ayame said, standing up to gather the half-finished garment in his hands before reaching out to curl a finger around a small bit of Imai’s hair. “Nobody will be able to keep from staring at you! This green will really bring out your hair and your complexion is so smooth you won’t need much makeup at all!”
Ayame paced through the room as he started to tidy up the disaster he’d left behind, still complimenting the rooster as though she were being modest.
“I have the perfect hairstyle in mind for you, too. I’m almost jealous of how pretty you are!”
“Th… Thank you, Ayame-san.” Imai muttered, still unsure of what to make of so many compliments. Sure, Shigure often told her she was beautiful, but he was like an older brother to her—of course he would tell her she was beautiful!
Between Imai and Ayame, the room was cleaned up in no time. Despite their rocky first meeting, Imai was starting to warm up to the snake and his constant chatter. He was very flamboyant and Imai found it amusing. She could only imagine what it must be like to have Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori in one room together. Imai had a feeling that she would probably die from laughter.
The evening passed by at an excruciatingly slow pace for Imai. She wanted to read while she sat in the bath, but she had left her book in Hatori’s possession and she felt that reading wouldn’t quite hold the same charm as it normally did if she wasn’t with Hatori. Imai spent her time in the bath, and when she felt she couldn’t take the hot water anymore, she took to the kitchens to make some tea and snacks. She tried to sleep, knowing that Ayame would be back bright and early the next morning to finish her dress, but she did nothing but toss and turn.
Imai felt so strangely empty, as though her night had been far too lonely.
I must be spending too much time with Hatori-san. Imai thought, laying on her futon and looking up at the dark ceiling. Without reading with him at night, I feel a bit lonely. I hope I haven’t been bothering him with my company all this time.
Imai tossed and turned for nearly an hour before slowly pushing herself to a stand and walking to the door that led to the porch of her and Akito’s shared room. She donned a winter robe before quietly slipping outside and puttering around the outside walkways that connected some of the larger houses. Imai hoped that a brisk, nighttime walk might convince her body that it was time to go to sleep.

Lights shone bright behind the windows and doors of Hatori’s home, even at such a late hour. Sleep was the farthest thing away from Hatori as well. His desk was an organized chaos, still, with papers and notes from Hatori’s planner scattered. Hatori, however, was settled in his desk chair on his back porch, a blanket wrapped warmly around his shoulders. Snowflakes drifted over the cedar rails and decks of the main estate and it was so cold that Hatori couldn’t feel his toes or fingers anymore, though it wasn’t enough to drive him back inside. Winter always did strange things to him whether he realized it or not and the first snow of the season was always the worst.
Hatori’s eyes closed and the busy day and excessive thinking he had tried not to do caught up to him all at once. His chair creaked as he leaned back further and tried to relax as best he could. In the end, Hatori ended up falling asleep like that, covered only by the depression he couldn’t ward off and the blanket around his shoulders.

Imai finally decided that it was time to head back to her and Akito’s room before she caught her death outside as it was much colder than she had assumed. Before Imai could make it back, however, she chanced a look over to Hatori’s house as she passed the garden he shared with the Main House. Imai was a bit shocked to find Hatori sitting outside in the cold.
That little blanket won’t keep him warm! He’ll catch his death out here! Imai thought, noticing that Hatori was entirely still and suspected that he had fallen asleep.
Imai glanced from side to side as though she expected Akito to jump from the bushes and tackle her, and when she found that nobody was watching, she made her way across the snow-covered garden toward Hatori’s house. She didn’t care that her feet would get cold, she just didn’t want Hatori to freeze.
Once Imai’s cold, wet feet touched Hatori’s porch, she slowly and quietly snuck inside to retrieve a heavier blanket from Hatori’s closet. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to move him back inside on her own, and she didn’t want to wake him from his nap, so she figured she could at least get him a warmer blanket. Quiet as a mouse, Imai went back out to the porch and laid the warmer blanket across Hatori’s sleeping form before brushing a few strands of stray hair from his face.
“Good night…” Imai whispered with a smile. She hoped that Hatori wouldn’t sleep the entire night outside, but she hoped that the warmer blanket would keep him from freezing to death.

“Mm… Good night, Kanna.” Hatori muttered in his sleep, pulling the added blanket closer around him as the snow continued to fall.
If it hadn’t already been clear why he had spent the rest of the day alone, it was in that single moment. It was inevitable and Hatori had been thinking about Kanna all the while he was sleeping.
Hatori didn’t stir awake at least, not even as Imai began her trek back to her own sleeping quarters. With as much progress as Hatori had made over the stretch of time since the incident, there was still an immeasurable amount of pain still lingering over his broken heart.

Imai paused a moment as Hatori spoke in his sleep, and it broke her heart to hear the words.
I don’t ever want to fall in love only to lose it to my brother. Imai thought, frowning at Hatori’s sleeping form before turning and heading back to the Main House. Hatori-san, I’m so sorry. I wish it had been different for you.
When Imai finally got back to her and Akito’s room, she made sure to remove her wet socks and replace them with something warmer before getting back into bed. She felt no more tired than she had before, however, and when she finally did fall asleep it wasn’t restful. The mixture of Romeo and Juliet, Hatori’s depression, and what little she knew about the details of what had happened between Hatori and Kanna haunted Imai’s dreams. Through the rest of the night, Imai’s dreamed were filled with a faceless lover being taken away by her grinning brother. It was the worst nightmare Imai had ever experienced, but she knew that it paled in comparison to the reality of what Hatori had been through and it only strengthened Imai’s secret pity on him.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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)