The Selective Mute (Fruits Basket Fanfiction)

Chapter 47

Aimi's POV

Sunday soon arrived, the day Yuki and I were going to visit Ayame's shop. The two of us followed the address he had given us, soon making it to a building with a door, with a closed sign on it.

"A closed sign? Is this the right place?" I questioned, unsure if we had maybe made a mistake on our way here, and if this really was the right place.

"It should be. You know, I'm getting a really bad feeling about this. Well a worse one than I already had anyway." Yuki said, not feeling good about this.

"No, don't worry. I'm sure its going to be fine. The storefront looks so lovely, don't you think? And the sign out front has such a charming little design too." I said, trying to be optimistic, while giving Yuki a bright smile.

"Charming? More terrifyingly inaccurate. That thing is horrid." Yuki said, looking at the sign near the door, before walking towards the door, continuing speaking. "Let's go in."

"Okay." I said, following after Yuki as he opened the door and entered Ayame's shop.

"Is this, a crafts store?" Yuki asked, unsure as to what kind of store this was supposed to be, as we both saw the various supplies all around the shop.

"Sorry. Uh, but I'm afraid we're closed for the day." A unknown female said, presumably an employee here, as she sat in the shop. I visibly tensed due to her being a stranger, already reaching for my notebook in my bag I had brought, in case she spoke to me, but I was hoping she hadn't noticed my presence here. 

She then got up, looking at Yuki and I, and coming closer, giving us a view of her outfit, which was a maid costume. Once she was a few feet away, she stopped, and said, "Are you-?"

The woman was cut off by Ayame, sticking his head out of a nearby door, and saying, "Mine! Could you give me a quick hand with this hem?" Ayame then noticed Yuki and I were here, and charged out from behind the door, saying as he came closer, "Yuki!"

As Ayame ran out, I quickly noticed his outfit. It was a wedding dress. And to top it off, as he ran out, he was carrying a bouquet of flowers. After Ayame had finished with wearing the dress, he had put it back onto a mannequin, and changed into his own clothes. Ayame had led us to a place to sit, in the room he had previously came from.

"Do forgive me. You walked in just as I was adjusting the hem of this dress for a client of mine." Ayame said, explaining his reason for wearing the wedding dress earlier. 

"You can use a mans measurements for that?" Yuki said, confusion in his tone.

"What else would I use? It was a man who requested this after all." Ayame said, clarifying his reasons behind his use of his measurements.

"But that's, a wedding dress." Yuki said.

"Indeed it is. We all have our private inner gardens to tend. Even you must have a secret or two or three that you'd like to keep hidden." Ayame said, walking over and taking a seat on the couch across from the one Yuki and I were on.

"I'm confused now. What exactly do you sell here?" Yuki said, still a bit confused about Ayame shop.

"What's there to be confused about? It's quite simple. We sell materials for the making of handicrafts, and we also cater to individuals who are in the market for tailored made garments. And naturally, as the proprietor, I handmake the requested clothing personally. No style is too daunting for my needle and thread. My creations are many and varied. This is but a small sample." Ayame said, pulling out two outfits as he spoke the last sentence, showing us a small sample of his work.