unrevised.
/ chapter 6 /
After the discussion, Hatori said his goodbyes and disappeared. Ichika, whom was sitting in the living room area with Tohru, had learnt that he had gone to deal with her moving situation with Akito and her parents. A part of her was glad she didn't need to meet with them as Hatori was already taking care of that, but another part of her felt like she was burdening him again.
In some way, Ichika was scared with the sudden move from one house to the other. Would she be alright here? She thought to herself. Tohru was more than welcoming to her, but she had yet to meet face to face with Kyo, Yuki, and the owner of the house Shigure. Minus the stuttering habit she did in front of people she wasn't familiar with, she seemed to be doing pretty well.
It's a weird feeling to suddenly live with new people, though. After all, she spent eighteen years with little to no interaction with anyone else other than her family. She was homeschooled her entire life, so there was never really a chance to meet new people.
"Ne, Ne, Ichika-san. Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun will be home soon. Before we meet them, would you like to go shopping for a few things? We'll be sharing rooms after all!" Tohru excitedly said, gazing at her with sparkly eyes.
Going shopping meant going outside, right? She'd never been outside of the Estate before. With her current situation, Shigure's house is the furthest she's ever been. She didn't know what it was like outside and the thought of it raised anxiety.
Ichika wanted to refuse, but seeing at how excited Tohru was, she just couldn't say no to the look in her eyes.
Ichika timidly nodded in response.
Tohru beamed with a smile as Ichika nervously smiled back. Having not noticed Ichika's nervousness, Tohru hooked her arm with Ichika's and trotted straight out of the door.
The walk from Shigure's house to the town didn't take too long. It only took a mere ten minutes of walking. Along the way, Tohru had somehow managed to keep the conversation going even though Ichika was more quieter than usual. She mostly talked about her situation and how she eventually got involved with the Sohma's. It was a long story, but it was enough to fill the silence of the air before they gradually made it to the town.
When they came to a stop, Tohru dug into her bag to search for something. Ichika, on the other hand, looked around in awe. She got a few stares as a result of this which made her step a little closer to Tohru. She couldn't help to see how amazing the 'outside world' is, visually-wise, but she probably looked like a country bumpkin to the others.
"Ah! I found it!" Tohru exclaimed, pulling out a notebook and a pen from her bag.
Ichika glanced down at her neat writing. It seemed Tohru had already made a list of things to buy with her. They were mainly essential items.
Once again, Tohru hooked arms with Ichika and dragged her over to their first store. She sweat dropped. From within the store window, she could estimate how many people were inside. Before Tohru could take a step further, Ichika tugged on the back of her top, stopping her in her tracks. Tohru looked back to see Ichika's face had begun to pale and she was already breaking out into a cold sweat.
"A-Are you alright, Ichika-san?!" Tohru asked worriedly. Without waiting for a reply, Tohru quickly took her over to sit at a nearby bench.
"I'm sorry, Tohru. I think I'm just a little bit tired." Ichika replied, half-lying. She didn't want to worry her new friend any further.
"No, don't apologise! I should've been a little bit more considerate with your health," Tohru frowned. "Tell you what, how about you just rest out here while I go in to buy the things you need. Sound good?"
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.