transpicuous —she didn't understand his motive for helping her and he wasn't one to say what he thought out loud.
[ yoshida hirofumi x asano kura | first meeting ]
****
The shards of glass lay on the ground, its broken pieces buried under dirt and plants that used to live inside the jar. Some isopods crawled away, leaving Kura crouching and gazing down at them while biting back her tears.
She lost another terrarium.
And this time, the jar she used came from expensive cookies her aunt won’t buy again because it tastes awful. She couldn’t speak about the cookies, but the jar was beautiful. It’s just the right thickness for her to be able to see everything inside, it has smooth flower vines engraving near the bottom, and since it’s fancy cookies, the jar has a tight cork lid she doesn't even need to fiddle with.
But now it’s gone just like that. All of them, months of her hard work scattered on the ground.
Maybe she shouldn’t put her terrarium in school anymore. The area around the field has the perfect sunlight, but perhaps it'll be better if she puts them inside her room, maybe on top of her wardrobe or something. She’ll find a way not to lose them anymore.
Kura pulled up her mask, making sure it covered her nose fully. She should clean up the glasses before lunchtime ends.
Still crouching, Kura grabbed the trash bag leaning on the garden shed, and started picking up a piece of broken glass and throwing them inside. As it fell inside, it hit the remains of a terrarium already in there.
The school garden is empty aside for Kura and the various flowerbeds grown and taken care of by her clubmates, who must be enjoying their lunch right now. Kura sighed. Last week the Screen Devil she hunted down managed to escape and she didn’t get her lunch money, so for now she’ll just have to hold her hunger for this afternoon until she can track it down again.
As Kura was starting to get lost inside her mind, footsteps approached her from behind.
The girl flinched and her body went tense. They should’ve been gone by now, she told herself. They shouldn’t have come back again today. So why are they here again?
Kura held her breath, expecting screeching laughs and fake pity thrown at her, but the voice that spoke to her was a masculine one, someone she had never heard of before.
“Senpai, do you need any help?”
She turned to face the voice. Standing tall behind her was a boy wearing her school uniform, one hand inside his pants pocket and one behind his left ear. Kura, who had never had piercings, was astonished by the rows of black piercings lining his left helix. His messy hair and bangs covered most of his eyes, but she still could see his eyes gazing at her with an emotion she didn’t know the name of. A smile adorned the boy’s face, but she couldn’t tell if it was a polite or genuine one.
Having never seen him before, all she knew about him was that he was her underclassman, but nothing about why he was here. The gardening club wasn’t the most popular one, and it was hard to believe someone with—she couldn’t deny—such a handsome look wanted to come and see a run-down club like this.
He glanced at Kura’s hand. “Please don’t handle shards with bare hands, senpai, you’re going to get yourself hurt.” His voice was stoic, yet it was edged by a soft tune from his smile.
“It’s fine,” Kura said. She adjusted her mask and looked back inside the trash bag. It didn’t contain anything besides broken glasses and food wrappers. She didn’t know what the boy wanted, but she didn’t have time for it.
She picked up another piece of glass under a resting worm, but just by luck, she touched it at the wrong angle and a sharp pain immediately pricked her finger.
Kura pulled her hand back, not even fazed. Her thumb was now grazed with the red of her blood, of her foolishness. It didn’t hurt, but it’s still a bummer.
“I told you,” said the boy. He crouched beside Kura, his gaze directed at her finger. “You should wash it off.”
“It’s fine,” Kura repeated. “I’m used to it.”
The boy put his hand under his chin and hummed. “Hmm, you’re used to them breaking your things?”
Kura froze. He saw, then. He saw them coming here and watched. He waited for them to go before coming here. Sweat started running down her back.
“What do you want?” She blurted out, her body repressed a shaking. “Are you their friend?” Her dull gray eyes focused on her boy as her heart pounded.
“No,” he answered without hesitation. “I’m here to see if you need help, senpai. I told you already.”
Help her? Him? Wasn't he afraid of them? Of what they would do to him if he ‘helped’ her? Didn’t he know who they were?
“Why?”
He picked up the glass that pricked Kura and put it away. “Because you’re also a Devil Hunter, aren’t you?” His smile changed a bit.
“So what you’re saying is Devil Hunters should stick together?” Kura scoffed. In the three years she worked alone as a Devil Hunter, all she ever met were people who played territory and those unwilling to kill a devil together because they didn't want to share the bounty. That's also why she didn't bother joining the Devil Hunter Club. No one liked her there.
The boy picked up another shard of glass. “All I’m saying is I wanted to help,” he said, “because you look like you need one.”
“But you’re also picking it up with your bare hands.”
“I’m more careful than you, senpai,” he hummed, throwing the glass inside the trash bag. “Because I don’t clean them up while crying.”
“...touché,” said Kura. She wiped her tears away before continuing to pick up the shards. She has never been good at holding her tears and somehow talking to him made her even worse at it.
The two worked in silence for a few minutes, with Kura still wondering what the boy's true intention was. His words didn’t sound particularly malicious, but his presence did feel intimidating. A thought filled her head. He must be a strong Devil Hunter, unlike her.
After all the broken glasses had been thrown away and the stray plants returned to be planted on the ground, Kura stood up and wiped her hands on her skirt, looking at a job well done. Then, the bell announcing the end of the break rang right on time.
The boy looked up at the school building before standing up and clean his hands by dusting them together. “Well then, I should go back,” he said. “See you later, senpai.”
But before he could walk away, Kura grabbed his sleeves.
“Wait,” her voice almost wavered.
He turned back to face Kura, a smile still plastered on his face.
“Thank you for helping me,” said Kura. No one had ever helped her voluntarily before. So no matter what the boy’s true intention is and whether he wants something from her or not, she’s still grateful for his help.
“You’re welcome,” he answered.
“So, um, what’s your name?” Kura asked as casually as she could. “You might know already, but I’m Asano Kura. Third year.”
“Yoshida Hirofumi,” he said, “first year.”
“Nice to meet you, Yoshida-san, and listen, um,” Kura paused, searching for the perfect words while fiddling with her mask, “if you don’t mind, maybe you could come back here again? Only when you’re not busy and when want to just chill out with plants or something. I-I won’t make you do any gardening, I promise!”
She wasn’t close with anyone in school, and she thought if this boy will always be nice to her like this, maybe he could be her friend or at least talk to her. She was already lonely enough as it is, and she won’t let a potential friend like this go without her saying anything.
After she finished talking, silence.
Kura balled her left hand, as much as the absence of her middle and ring fingers could let her. Was she too forceful? Were her words too harsh? She swallowed her saliva. But before she could ponder for too long, Yoshida let out a chuckle, catching Kura off-guard.
“It’s okay, senpai, I’ll come back tomorrow.” Yoshida smiled even brighter than before. Her heart kept beating faster as he tilted his head slightly, staring at his numerous ear piercings.
Her eyes almost watered again. He… he didn’t refuse.
Kura bowed in a flash. “T-thank you very much! Please only come when you’re free!”
“Mmm, it’s no problem at all,” said Yoshida.
Kura stood straight again and met his eyes, sparkling with the same emotion as before, something Kura couldn’t recognize. He started to walk away again, but this time, he waved at her, which she quickly returned.
“See you tomorrow, senpai. Please take care of yourself~”
“See you tomorrow, Yoshida-san!”
As he disappeared behind the school building, Kura could only think about how lucky she was to know his name, and how maybe the terrarium she lost today brought some luck to her. She hoped.