A New Friend

Tsubaki entered Hutch’s imp shop for probably the third time that week. While she had initially dreaded coming to this place, she found that Hutch, like many others, made for a good business partner of sorts. They would pay her well if they needed help in a pinch, such as when they needed help collecting more imps or if any got loose. Even small things like maintenance and feeding. The two got along well; Hutch had a good personality so there was nothing about them that caused her disdain of the place, but more so the imps themselves.

Well, at least that was the case. Because there was one imp in particular that kept approaching Tsubaki whenever she visited, always rubbing up against her leg and following her around. She didn’t want to admit it, but Tsubaki was starting to become attached to it and looked forward to seeing it whenever she came.

“Tsubaki, there you are!” Hutch greeted with a smile. The Furdin imp that had captured Tsubaki’s attention came running to greet her as well, rubbing against her legs.

“Hey Hutch,” Tsubaki returned the greeting, then knelt down to scratch the Furdin beneath the chin. “And hey to you too, little fellow.”

“You know, you’ve really changed from the first time you came here. I remember the look of disgust on your face when you first saw all the imps.” Hutch chuckled. “I’m glad that I was able to help you see the value of these little guys.”

“I am too,” Tsubaki admitted, “It was hard for me to see them as more than pests before. It’s been that way for so many years, hasn’t it? But things change, and I needed to adapt to the times. You showed me that imps can, indeed, make great pets.” She looked down at the Furdin she was still scratching. “This one is so affectionate… is there a reason no one has adopted it yet?”

“You could say that,” Hutch chuckled, kneeling down beside her to stroke the imp. “Believe it or not, this one is standoffish with others. It seems to have select people that it likes, such as you and I, but it can’t be bothered to tolerate most others. Even when offered treats, it won’t take them from someone it doesn’t trust.”

“I suppose that makes sense… though I wonder why it decided to trust me so quickly, even back when I didn’t like imps.” She stared into the imp’s eyes as she thought deeply.

“Imps are smarter than you think. It could sense that you’re a good person.” Hutch smiled. “And honestly? Another reason it hasn’t been adopted is because I’ve been holding onto this one. Something tells me that you two would both be pretty sad to not see each other again.”

This was enough to cause Tsubaki to freeze. Hutch was right; she didn’t think about it before now, but she’d be terribly sad to come back and see this Furdin gone. “I think… you’re right. Hutch, could I… could I adopt this one?”

“I thought you’d never ask!” Hutch grinned.