𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 | Fruits Basket FF

(6)

The blue-haired Sohma nodded gratefully. Tohru smiled assuringly and urged that she would look for the items as quickly as she can. That being said, Tohru hurried over to the store.

Ichika let out a sigh and her shoulders dropped. Her anxiety couldn't handle it after all. It disappointed her seeing how Tohru seemed so excited to shop with her, but just the thought of being in close proximity with so many people in a tight space made her anxiety flare.

She let out another sigh as she took notice of the stares she was getting again. This made her self-conscious. She looked down at what she was wearing. It was the clothes she had borrowed from Tohru. A white knitted sweater and a denim skirt with a pair of white sneakers. Did she look weird? Why were they staring so much?

Ichika adjusted her skirt before clasping her hands together and played with her thumbs. She avoided their eyes by staring in a different direction. That was until her eyes caught the sight of a pair of siblings chasing each other along the street.

"Catch me if you can!"

"Ruki! Stop running so much, you're going to trip over and fall! Mother and Father will be worried if you hurt yourself!"

"Nee-chan, you worry too much! I'm fine! I'm having soooo much fun!"

Ichika forced her eyes away. She inhaled and exhale before gently slapping her cheeks to disperse of the memories. She needed a breather.

She decided to remove herself from the scene and walked along the path. She wouldn't walk too far, she'd just walk to the end of the street and turn back.

Ichika silently looked around, taking in as much as she could of the street she was in. This was the outside world. There were many stores along the street, and the road on the side bustled with passing cars. People were either walking by themselves or with someone. Some were walking dogs, talking on their phones and even sitting on the benches for a bit of rest.

She didn't realise how big the world actually is. She was cooped up at home for majority of her life that didn't know there were so much to explore outside of it.

The blue-haired Sohma stopped in her tracks. A white dress laced with a blue material had caught her eye. It was set on a mannequin as display for the store. It looked very beautiful and it was nothing she had seen before.

Ichika looked down at her body before looking up at the dress. Would it look nice on her? She asked herself.

"Hey pretty missy~" An unfamiliar voice called out to her.

Ichika turned around to where it was coming from and she was face to face with a tall looking man, dressed simply with just a plain top and pants. Nothing like how properly dressed Hatori was.

Wait, why was she comparing him with Hatori?

She shook away her thoughts and gazed up at the man. He had a smirk on his face as he took a step closer to her. She stayed in her spot, unmoving. Or rather, she was frozen in her spot. She hadn't noticed until now that there was another man standing behind him, giving her the same smirk.

"Are you busy? Wanna come and play with us?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"N-No, I'm okay. I'm with a friend.." Ichika managed to say, though her quiet voice didn't seem to reach their ears.

"Come on! It'll be fun~~" The man said, squeezing her shoulder before using it to pull her over.

Before she could protest, a hand on her wrist pulled her back.

"Excuse me! She can't go with you," Tohru said, out of breath.

Ichika looked at her with relief. It looked like she had run all the way over to her but she was glad she'd made it on time before something bad happened.

"Who the heck are you?" The man sneered, glaring down at her.

Tohru took a deep breath and stood her ground. "I'm her friend. She's with me so she can't go with you." She bravely said.

The man scoffed, "Let go of her. She's coming to play with us."

"You let go of her."

Both Ichika and Tohru turned to the familiar deep tone of voice. Their eyes widen as a neatly dressed man stood before them.

Hatori! Both Tohru and Ichika thought.

Hatori glanced over to Tohru who looked at him in relief, and then glanced to the shaking Ichika. He glowered at the hand on her shoulder and reached out to clasp her wrist. As he gently tugged her over to his side, Tohru quickly made her way over to them and stood behind Hatori.

"Oi! Who do you think you are?!" The men growled.

Ichika watched as he let go of her wrist and tugged into the pocket of his coat. He pulled out some sort of card and showed it to them.

"Hatori Sohma." Hatori stated nonchalantly.

"Who?!" The man replied.

"O-Oi! He's a Sohma. Haven't you heard of them?" The man's friend interrupted, who seemed to be visibly shaken. "We shouldn't mess with him. God knows what'll happen to us. L-Let's just go."

"Tch!"

With that, the two men walked away.

Tohru turned to Hatori and bowed deeply. "Thank you so much, Hatori-san! You came just in time!" She said gratefully.

Hatori nodded. "It's best to be careful around this area. There has been a lot of harassment lately," He replied, before turning to Ichika and in a scolding tone he said, "What were you doing wandering off on your own?"

Ichika dropped her head and bit her lip.

"I'm sorry.. I just wanted to explore a little bit. I've never been outside the Estate before.." She trailed off.

Hatori felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He had almost forgotten how she was forbidden to leave even her own house. She wasn't free to move around as she pleased.

"No! It's my fault, Hatori-san. I shouldn't have left her alone." Tohru stated.

"No, I'm sorry. Maybe I was being a little too harsh. Just be careful next time. You were lucky I had some business in town to bump into you," Hatori sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Anywho, are you done with shopping?"

Tohru and Ichika nodded in sync.

Hatori's eyes softened and Ichika couldn't help but stare in awe. She was so used to his strict, stern eyes that it was almost weird to see him like that. Though, as soon it appeared on his face, it disappeared within second. Did she see correctly? or was that just her imagination?

"Alright, I'll take you girls home." He said, before turning on his heels.

Tohru linked her arms with Ichika and followed after him suit.

As she was dragging her after him, she couldn't help but feel warm inside.

A warm and fuzzy feeling.