Work Text:
Students are getting restless, fidgeting in their seats and putting away their stationery as the teacher drones on past the end of the day's last class.
Denji slouches in his chair, dead-eyed, and scratches his ass like nobody's watching.
Asa is watching.
Yoru turns to her. Turns to the classroom's hallway-side window where Denji is framed small. Turns back to Asa again.
"We're going home."
"Just a minute."
"If you dawdle any longer, I'm taking over and walking us out of here."
Asa looks at her, weary. Then take over, she thinks.
Yoru's face is twisted in a mix of annoyance and something else that Asa doesn't dare to put a name to.
It spurs her to turn on her heel and take a long stride forward. Unfortunately, she meets an obstacle. This time not her lack of volition, but the person she bumps against, and worse, falls onto.
Asa groans. She swears this person wasn't there a second ago. Can't I go a day without the universe putting me in a slapstick routine?
Yoshida stands her back up. Asa's stomach drops. In the corner of her eye, Yoru grimaces.
"Still thinking about him?" he asks.
Yoshida's voice is level, as always, but she glimpses a spark of disgust in his eyes.
"That's no good." He pulls on her arm, leading her down the hallway.
"I'll make you forget him."
...Eh?
Yoru's jaw drops. "Ehh?"
Ehhh?!
Asa gazes down at her shoes as Yoshida starts to unlock the door to his apartment.
When she looks up, Yoru is staring at him in disbelief, nearly rubbing up against the side of his face.
"This is unexpected."
Does he like me after all? Is it why he wants me to stay away from Denji?
"He's trickier than I thought. Rejecting you was a feint, because he wants to do the pursuit? Or does he have other plans? Help me use your brain!"
I don't know what he wants! I just think he's weird.
"So are you. Humans are all so weird..."
Asa is already rolling her eyes before she realises Yoshida is holding the door open and waiting for her to go inside.
"Thanks," she mutters, going in. He follows silently.
"Rude," Yoru says.
Asa wants to hit her.
"You already beat yourself up enough, Asa."
They're standing at the kitchen counter, Yoshida pouring hot water from a kettle into their mugs filled with the same brand of instant coffee sticks from the Devil Hunter Club's room.
Asa suspects that's precisely where they're from.
Yoshida stirs Asa's coffee with a spoon, then his own, and tosses the used spoon into the sink. He takes a sip and coughs.
"It's too hot. Haha." His smile doesn't reach his eyes.
"He's nervous?" Yoru muses.
An island of coffee powder floats in Asa's mug.
"Oh, you can get another spoon from that drawer."
Asa opens it. There's a pair of chopsticks, and a carving knife. Reluctantly, she takes a chopstick and stirs.
Yoshida blows the steam off his drink.
Yoru cracks her knuckles. "Enough of this. Let's get it started."
No, stupid! You screwed this up the first time-
Asa watches Yoru lean an elbow against the counter, chin in her hand.
"So, what's this about making me forget Denji?" She flutters her eyelashes.
"I told you, I think you're right about relationships. They're a pain. Solitude works better."
Yoru nods, and giggles. Asa raises her middle finger.
"Not many people can admit it. I was surprised you did. Yet even though you believe that, you still want to be around Denji."
"Well..." Yoru trails off, inviting him to go on.
"I agree."
"...Eh?"
Ehh?
"Ehhh?!"
Yoshida clicks his tongue, but stays otherwise impassive. "That's why we need to do something about it."
Asa wants to take the wheel again, but suddenly Yoshida is leading Yoru into a room, and even from her peek through the half-open door she thinks it looks an awful lot like a bedroom.
Ehhhh...?
Shut up, Yoru mouths.
Asa blushes. Yoru looks at Yoshida with her head tilted like an owl sizing up its prey.
Yoru, you better do something if this...escalates.
Yoru is one step ahead of Asa, inside the doorway. I'm afraid I won't need to, she replies.
Asa and a Chainsaw Man body pillow lock eyes. It's propped against a wall next to a folded futon.
She and Yoru look at each other with the same dumbfounded expression, perfectly reflected.
Meanwhile, Yoshida switches on the Super Famicom hooked up to a small, battered TV screen on the floor.
"All yours," he says.
It crackles and flashes a title screen with the word 'Angelique'.
"If you get stuck on one of the routes, feel free to ask me."
"...Uh-huh."
"And if you're not feeling it, there's a bunch of manga in there." He points at a low bookshelf.
A harsh chime interrupts them, and Yoshida pulls his cell phone out of his pocket.
"Hello? ...Now?" He sighs and sneers, the first unquestionable display of emotion Asa has seen from him that day.
"Understood, I'm on the way." Yoshida flips his phone shut.
Asa nudges Yoru out of her body. "Wait, you have a cell phone?"
"Yeah."
She frowns. "Then did you..."
"Look, sorry, gotta go." He brings a hand to his neck. "Just see yourself out if you need to leave, okay?"
He rushes out, leaving her pointing at the space he was standing, open-mouthed.
Asa turns back to Yoru. She's doing the same, at cotton-polyester blend Chainsaw Man.
Yoru's mouth curls into a grin and she clenches her fists in excitement.
"This is perfect! I can use him to find Chainsaw Man! You're going to wait for him to come back. We are not leaving."
Asa rubs her eyes with her palms.
"I guess I'll have to play that video game..."
"Open one of those manga first, will you? I want to do research too."
"You just want to read manga, don't you?"
Yoru shoves her out and walks over to the shelf.
"Banana Fish?" Yoru reads the title of a volume she pulled out. "I've never heard of that animal."
Asa brings it back with her to a spot on the floor in front of the game console. She holds the cover open with one hand for Yoru, and with the other, presses 'start' to play.