Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Karing For Kisa ❯ Ayame...BABYSITTING?! ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimers: If I owned Haru and Kyo, my life would be wonderful. Unfortunately, I don't.

 

Warnings: Trying very hard to keep this PG-13, but my hentai mind left a few suggestions when they're in the shop. Kisa is a bit OOC at the end, but like any child who is excited about something, they will go on about it, no matter how quiet they usually are.

 

Notes: Thanks to Masqued, the best beta ever and Clover-chan for loving it and always wanting more.

 

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Chapter 4: Ayame… BABYSITTING?!

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Haru opened sleep-glazed eyes and sat up. After letting out a long yawn, Haru stretched out all of the kinks in his muscles. Getting up from his futon, he looked over to his still sleeping cousin. Strands of flaming orange hair were all that could be seen from beneath a large blanket. Smirking, Haru pulled a black tee over his head and groggily strode to the bathroom.

 

On his way downstairs, he passed Tohru's room, and quietly opened the door, sticking his head through the space. Kisa was still sleeping on one side of Tohru's large bed. The older girl was nowhere to be seen, so Haru crept into Tohru's room and gazed down at the angelic face. Slowly, he brought his hand to her forehead and brushed aside a few honey bangs to make room for him to plant a soft kiss. It was hard to believe that it had been nearly a month and an half since he had taken on the responsibility of being the tiger's father, and anyone could see him beaming like any other proud father.

 

Leaving the room as silently as he entered, he went down to the kitchen, his nose catching the scent of Tohru's delicious miso soup wafting in his direction.

 

“Good morning, Haru-kun. You're up early.” Tohru said brightly as she finished cooking and placed the food on the table.

 

“G`Mornin'.” Haru replied. “Um. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking care of Kisa for me for a little while after school - I have to talk to the councilor about what I'm taking next year.”

 

“Oh! I would love to, but I was going to go visit mom after school today, and then Uo-chan wanted me to go over to her place afterwards. I could reschedule it for tomorrow…”

 

“No, don't. I can find someone else to watch her. There are enough people living here.”

 

“That's true!” Tohru giggled. With seven people living under the small roof, they could easily find another person to watch the little tiger. “Shigure has that writer's conference that we finally convinced him to go to. His editor was so happy that he was going that I thought she would have a heart attack. We couldn't possibly cancel it.”

 

“I think Kyo mentioned something about going to the dojo after school and spending the night. I don't want to ask him, because that's so important to him.”

 

“Yes, I think it's managed to calm him more. He doesn't fly off the handle so easily. I believe Yuki was going to check out some new school he has been waiting to enroll in. Somehow even if he wasn't, I don't think he'd do it for you.”

 

“Yeah. He's been acting strange lately. I think he wants to move out of here soon.”

 

“Hmm…yes, I think you're right. He has been more closed off than usual.”

 

They both mentally re-checked each member of the household and their possible activities for the day. The two sat there for a few minutes, trying to think of a solution to their problem. Haru felt like he was forgetting someone.

 

At that moment the sound of gentle laughter met their ears.

 

“Ayame!” Tohru and Haru exclaimed as one. The snake gracefully entered the kitchen area, beaming at the two of them, Shigure following in his wake. “Good morning! Isn't it a beautiful day?”

 

“Yes it is, Ayame-san, are you going to be busy today?” Tohru replied, smiling at the natural happiness that Ayame seemed to exude.

 

“No, Thursday is always slow at the shop.” The snake replied to her question.

 

“Can you do me a favor, Ayame-san?” Haru asked, hoping he would have his participation.

 

“Anything for you Haa-kun! What would you like? A new outfit for Tohru perhaps?”

 

Tohru turned bright red and stuttered a bit, trying to find the words to tell the Ayaa that she and Haru were not a couple.

 

“No, nothing like that. I'm not sure Tohru would like that anyway.” Ayame pouted, upset that he wouldn't have the chance to dress up Tohru again. “I want you to baby sit Kisa for me today,” the ox requested.

 

Shigure's initial reaction was a wide-eyed expression, but once he realized that they were indeed serious with their request, his second reaction involved the tea that was in his mouth to shoot from his mouth. Luckily, no one was sitting across from the dog. As he was choking and sputtering, Tohru patted him on the back, trying to help him out, only making it worse. Finally, he gasped in a breath and said: “You want AYAA to baby sit her?! Is that a good idea?”

 

Ayame hit his lover on the arm. “I resent that Gure-san.”

 

“I'm sorry, Ayaa, but I can't see you taking care of a child even if it is just for a day.”

 

“There's no one else. Everyone else is busy today, or will be away overnight.”

 

“I'll do it! I'll take her to the shop, and Mine can dress her up! We'll have so much fun!” Ayame stated enthusiastically, clapping his hands joyously.

 

“Thank you so much. I'll make it up to you somehow.” Haru promised.

 

“Don't worry! We'll have an excellent day together!”

 

That problem finally solved, the members of the family that had already assembled in the kitchen began their morning meal. A few minutes later, Kyo stumbled down into the kitchen, holding Kisa by the hand.

 

“Ohayo, Kyo-kun, Kisa-chan. How did you sleep?” Tohru asked, setting empty bowls down in front of them.

 

“Fine.” Kyo's sleep roughened voice spoke. “Kisa's was good also.” In the month that Kisa had been living with her new found family, she had slowly made progress; speaking softly in simple sentences, and was painfully shy. She had developed a strong attachment to nearly everyone in the family, the exception being Yuki. Not even the soft gentleness that Kisa had (practically mirroring Tohru's attitude), could break through the stoic teen.

 

Sitting down at the low table, Kyo served Kisa, and then made up a bowl for himself. “Mmmm… looks good. Right Kisa?” The little girl just nodded her head, and gave Tohru a small smile, her mind still a little blurry from sleep.

 

“Kisa.” Haru said, making sure that he had her attention. “Oji Shigure-san (1) won't be able to watch you today while I'm at school, so I've asked oji Ayame-san if he would mind taking you to the shop with him today.”

 

Kisa looked at him than at Ayame with wide eyes. He was sitting beside Shigure and saying something to Tohru that made her turn a funny shade of red. She liked Ayaa's bouncy happiness, but wasn't sure if he should be the one to care for her. She looked back at Haru, apprehension plainly visible in her light brown gaze.

 

“It's all right. Mine will be there too. You'll be fine.” Haru reassured her. “There's nothing for you to be worried about.”

 

Kisa looked back at the snake one last time; he had stopped teasing Tohru, and was finishing off his breakfast in a civilized manner. She turned to the ox again, and saw that he trusted Ayaa, so she figured she could too, and nodded her head. “Okay.” She whispered bashfully behind her arm.

 

“Great. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun.” Haru smiled at her, and got up to take his dishes over to the sink. “I have to go now. I'll see you later.” Bending down, he hugged Kisa, gave her a small kiss on the top her head, then left for school.

 

XXXXX

 

Kisa walked into the shop with Ayame and looked around, curious to know what sort of things he sold. It was like a little girl's dress up box dream come true. There were racks upon racks of frilly dresses and costumes, each different in colours. Pink, blue, red, green, white, black… all the colors of the rainbow and more! And, all of the colours were in lots of different shades and textures. Lace, velvet, fur, ribbons, fringe and beading all decorated the luxurious fabrics, making each piece more attractive and eye pleasing than the last.

 

Going up to a soft pink dress, she ran a small hand over the satiny smooth fabric. It had short sleeves that ended at lace cuffs, pink ribbon perfectly matched to the dress threaded through the loops in the lace and tied in a tiny bow. More ribbon and lace went around the neckline and hem.

 

“Isn't that pretty?” Ayame asked her. “It was a special order for a customer.”

 

Kisa could only nod, eyes still attached to the shiny-ness, her hand caressing the dress softly, as though she was petting it. Reluctantly drawing back her hand, she wandered around the rest of the shop. There were lots of wedding dresses and school girl uniforms. `What a strange store,' the little tiger thought.

 

“Come to the back and meet Mine. She'll just love you,” Ayame said cheerily, walking towards the other room. Kisa followed, and was greeted by the sight of even more costumes, some of which were still in the process of being made. It seemed all of the necessary odds and ends were being attached as the finishing touches of a few as she passed through the aisle behind Ayame.

 

A young woman in a maid's outfit turned upon hearing them enter. “Ohayo Sohma-sama!” She cheerfully greeted her boss. “Oh! And who is this dear little creature?” She asked, catching sight of Kisa.

 

“This is my cousin, Kisa Sohma. I'm watching her today for her…father.” Ayame explained. It was a bit difficult seeing as Haru was both her cousin and now her father, but he couldn't tell Mine all that.

 

“That's wonderful! It'll be lots of fun having her around!” Mine said going over to the young girl. “Hello. My name is Mine, and I work here at Sohma-sama's shop.”

 

“Did you make all of these?” Kisa asked softly, wonderment overpowering her shyness.

 

“Oh no! These are all your cousin's creations! I just help put them together.”

 

“I like it here, oji-Ayame. It's pretty.” Kisa told the older Sohma.

 

He laughed, “I'm glad you like it! Mine, do we have anything she could wear?” he asked his assistant.

 

“Hmm...Someone returned a number of dresses from a wedding that was cancelled. I think the flower girls dress was one of them. Remember the one where the bride ran off with the best man a month before; and the groom turned around and proposed to the maid of honor, whom he had been having an affair with since the beginning?”

 

“Ah yes. I remember that. We don't usually do that sort of thing, but if I recall correctly, both the father of the bride and the father of the groom were excellent customers - still are actually.” Ayame laughed, and tossed his long silver hair over one shoulder.

 

She went over to one of the many racks and started searching through it. Near the end of the long line, she found what she was looking for; it was a beautiful white dress, with lots of lace and little flowers of pale pink adorning it. (2)

 

“Here it is! Come over here and let's see if it fits.” She took the dress and Kisa's hand and led her over to a dressing room. Mine helped her into the lacy confection, and then turned her around so she could see it in the mirror.

 

Kisa's large honey eyes widened in surprise as she took in her reflection. That couldn't be her, could it? It fit like it was made for her and the colors were pure and simple - just like her.

 

Going out into the main part of the shop, she stood there with a delicate red flush on her cheeks as Ayame and Mine gushed on and on about how cute she looked. Suddenly noticing the time, Ayaa clapped his hands together and announced “Time to get to work ladies!”

 

Mine and Ayaa bustled around the shop, making sure everything looked perfect for their customers, while Kisa trailed after, lending a hand where she could. After about half an hour they received their first customer for the day. He was a man of medium height and came in and looked around, as if he was afraid of getting caught there by someone.

 

“Welcome!” Mine greeted, “Is there anything I could help you with?”

 

The man looked around nervously before clearing his throat. “I-I…Ahem. I'm looking for something for…my anniversary. My wife, she…she likes to, ah, dress up.”

 

“I'm sure we can find something that both of you will like. Let me show you the uniforms over here.” The assistant said as she led him away.

 

Ten minutes later, the man had found what he was looking for and a little redder in the face than when he had walked in; he left with his beautifully wrapped nurse's uniform.

 

“One of our biggest sellers,” Ayame was telling Kisa when their next customer walked in. “Of course, it can't compare to the school girl uniforms. At certain times of the year, they just fly off the shelves, and people put their names down on a waiting list! That's how popular they are.”

 

Kisa just nodded at this strange bit of information, and went to see what Mine was helping their customer with.

 

This man was much younger, wearing all black and had green hair in short spikes all over his head. That wasn't the only spiky thing though. What looked like a dog collar was around his neck, and Kisa wondered if he ever accidentally stabbed himself with the sharp spikes. Curiosity overrode her shyness once again, and she decided to interrupt the debate he was having with Mine over whether or not leather or fur handcuffs were best for first timers.

 

“Do they hurt?” She asked, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention.

 

Looking down, the man was surprised to see a little girl in this sort of shop. “Does what hurt, sweetie?” He asked in response.

 

“The spikes on your necklace. Don't they ever stab you?” She clarified.

 

Laughing, he bent down to her level. “No. Here, feel them. They just look sharp. They don't stab me at all.”

 

Reaching out, she felt the end of one with the tip of her finger. He was right. They weren't all that sharp. “Oh.” She said, seeming almost disappointed. Ayame came over then. “I'm sorry. She's not bothering you is she?” He apologized.

 

“Not all. She's a cute kid. Yours?” The green haired man asked, standing back up to his full height.

 

“Oh, no. She's not mine. Kisa is my cousin. I'm watching her today for her father. Who's also my younger cousin.” He explained, glad that the customer wasn't finding it a problem that she was there. You could never tell who would make a fuss and who wouldn't.

 

“I think it's great that you would do something like this.” The other man told Ayaa.

 

Fifteen minutes later, an exchange of names and phone numbers, and promises to convince their lovers that it would be fun, the spiked man left with his leather handcuffs and strawberry kiwi lube.

 

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Customers came and went all day, including the man who had ordered the pink dress Kisa had first admired that morning. She trailed along after Mine, lending a hand or suggesting which color she liked best to customers who couldn't decide - they usually went with her choice - or helping Ayaa as he chose colors and materials for his next magnificent creation.

 

Waving goodbye to Mine as they locked up the shop, Ayame and Kisa walked home, her old clothes in a bag as she wanted to show off her new dress to everyone.

 

Entering the house and discovering that neither Haru or Yuki were back yet, the others being away until tomorrow, Ayaa decided he should order take away for them. Leaving the choice up to Kisa, the tiger picked one of the best restaurants in town, knowing that they made excellent Niratama - her favorite dish (3). Kyo phoned them then and told the snake that he would be home for dinner because he had school tomorrow, and couldn't stay over at the dojo. They ordered, making sure they got something without leeks for Kyo, on Kisa's insistence, and went up stairs so she could change into something less formal for dinner. Coming back down, she heard the door opening, dashed down the rest of the stairs, and threw herself into Haru's arms.

 

“Whoa! Hey, nice to see you too!” He laughed as he stumbled back with the girl in his arms. “Did you have a good time with oji-Ayame today?”

 

“Yeah! It was so much fun! Guess what?” She burbled excitedly.

 

“What?” Haru asked, smiling at her enthusiasm. She was usually so shy and quiet; this was quite a change - especially for just one day.

 

“Okay. I met Mine, she's oji-Ayame's assistant, and she said I was just like a little doll. And I got a new dress, and they said I could keep it. Is that okay?” She asked, continuing when Haru nodded that it was. “And then there was this man, and he had green hair and spikes on his necklace, but they weren't sharp, cause he let me touch them. And I got to help Mine when she was with the customers and I helped oji-Ayame pick out colors and stuff for the next costume he was gonna make, and it was so much fun!” She ended, a little out of breath in her excitement.

 

“That sounds like a really great day.” He said, smiling as she grabbed his hand.

 

“Yeah. Can I go back tomorrow?” She asked hopefully, turning her best pair of doe eyes up at Haru.

 

“I don't think tomorrow is good, but you can go another day.” Haru told her with a smirk.

 

“Okay.” She replied, looking a little upset.

 

Before he could reassure her, there was a knock at the door. Dinner had arrived, followed closely by Kyo.

 

“Kyo-kun! Guess what I did today?” Kisa said, once again ready to tell her tale.

 

“Hey. Can you wait to tell me? I need to shower before dinner, I probably smell bad.” The teen said.

 

“Yeah, you do smell funny.” She told him, stepping back out of the hug.

 

Laughing, the cat went upstairs for his shower, and Ayame got Kisa to help him set up everything for dinner. In a few minutes, everyone was sitting down around the table, listening to Kisa talk about how much fun Ayame's shop was, and how she couldn't wait until she could go back. Kyo told them about the sparring matches he'd had after school at the dojo, and Haru told them about something that had happened at school during lunch, involving several silly girls, exploding bathrooms, and lots of water.

 

Later, they found a movie to watch and before long Kisa was curled up against Haru's side, honey brown head resting on his lap, fast asleep. Kyo, sitting on her other side, noticed and gently picked her up, carrying her to the room she shared with Tohru. Haru followed, stripping her of her clothes, making her more comfortable in her undershirt and shorts.

 

They stood there watching the little angel sleep, until it became tense and uncomfortable after a bit. Kyo stared at his cousin for a moment, looking at him strangely, then quickly turned away and after a moment, Haru heard him vault onto the roof. Shaking his head at the usual odd behavior, he only briefly wondered what had gotten into him before going back downstairs to finish the movie with Ayaa.

 

XXXXX TBC XXXXX

 

In the last chapter of vol.5, Kisa uses `oji' when she's referring to Hatori. I put it in here when she's talking to Ayame mostly, and the mention of Shigure.

For a visual reference to the dress I'm talking about, it's in volume 5. I think it's the chapter divider right before the part when Haru brings her that letter from her teacher and Yuki's all nice to her. Anyway, it has Kisa in this really pretty dress and Haru's sitting behind her.

I couldn't remember what it said in the book about her favorite dish, so I Googled `Japanese recipes using leeks' and found a site that said nira was a type of leek. That made me think it was Niratama, which sounds really familiar. I tried an online dictionary, and typed `tama' and got: soul, spirit, ball, sphere, bullet, shot and shell. So unless it's a ball of leeks, I'm very wrong. Oh well, can't say I didn't try.

 

*I was later told her fave dish is steamed leeks. Yay me for being wrong.