how to be a human being; hirofumi yoshida

iii.

Red-rimmed, puffy eyes greeted Saki as she peered into the mirror the following morning. She had cried half the night away, mourning the loss of her mother in this private, new space. It was an unfamiliar feeling of grief that had dug itself deep into her chest and the tears had helped to subside that throbbing feeling. Losing her mother had meant losing the one who had raised her, who had sheltered her from the cold, taught her all the words she knew now, and everything about what it meant to be a human being.

And now, in her freedom, she was to be one.

Five minutes was spent splashing cold water onto her face until her eyes returned to normal. Ten was spent putting on her school uniform and smoothing it out in the mirror and carefully brushing her hair into a high ponytail. Fifteen were spend making and eating breakfast, a simple egg and toast duo from the groceries already stocked in the fridge and cabinets. At 7:30 am exactly, Saki left out of the front door of her apartment, locking it behind her, and adjusting her bag over her shoulder in anticipation for the new day ahead of her.

She made her way down the stairs, stopping at the bottom to look down either side of the street to see if her bodyguard had heeded her words or not. There was no sign of the pretty boy.

"I guess he didn't show up after all..." Saki whispered to herself, fist pumping the air close to her chest to ensure it wasn't obvious to anyone else.

"Who are we looking for?" A voice asked her as a shadow leaned over her.

Thinking nothing of the sudden question, she said back, "This guy who's supposed to be watching over me."

Only once the words left her mouth did Saki realize the voice coming from behind her did not belong to a stranger, but the one she had been talking about in the first place. Her face grew pinkish in embarrassment as she turned slowly to see Yoshida standing a couple inches away from her, a curious little smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

"You didn't really believe I wasn't going to be here, did you?" Yoshida asked in amusement. "I have to introduce you to the faculty members at Fourth East, among other things."

She wouldn't admit it out loud, but yes, she had thought he would have abstained from picking her up and walking all the way to school with her. However, she could deal with this, especially since didn't even know what Fourth East High School looked like in the first place nor did she remember the directions as confidently as she told both Makima and Yoshida she would. Maybe she could even work out some negotiations with the indifferent man beside her, the same way she had seen mobsters do in the old films her mother used to let her watch.

"We're going to be late for school, follow me," Yoshida said, sliding his own bag over his shoulder and sending her an expectant look.

Saki did as he wanted, falling in step with him. She would not back down so easily, as she placed her hands together in front of her like a businessman about to present the deal of the lifetime, keeping her gaze leveled on him and completely ignoring everything else around her. (This proved to be quite troubling for Yoshida, as he had to continually pull her out of the way of street posts and dips in the road).

"Like I mentioned yesterday before we parted ways," Saki began, allowing Yoshida to grab her by the shoulder and keep her from getting hit by a swerving car and not uttering a word of complaint as his hand remained hovering near her in case of another close call, "I want to gain understanding on what it means to be human through my own means. If I show up with you, who has the looks of a movie star, then I won't be able to build my popularity on my own. I want to become someone through my own means and not anyone else's!"

Her passionate speech did nothing to move Yoshida (mostly due to the fact he was focusing on helping her not crash into anything) and only managed to earn a smirk from the boy. Even so, Yoshida played along with her suggestion, saying, "If that's what you want, then I'll part ways with you before we reach the school, and you can talk with the teachers on your own. Although...if I was you...I would much rather be known as the acquaintance of Yoshida Hirofumi instead of the daughter of a devil."

In the middle of the street, dead center of the crosswalk, Saki stopped in her tracks and looked up at him in genuine curiosity. (Yoshida wanted to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder, and carry her the rest of the way to school if only to prevent things like this from continuing to happen, but that would put more strain on their already tentative relationship.)

"...Are you threatening me?"

Yoshida managed to get her to successfully cross the road by saying, "I am doing no such thing. The fact of the matter is that word gets around, and if not from me, then from someone, eventually."

Although Saki was not well versed in the communication methods of humans, having only ever had one other person to talk to, her thoughts drifted back to what Makima had said about attracting devils who wanted information from her. Devils who could talk to humans, humans who could gossip to other humans, a thread of back and forth that might pass along Saki's path one day, if not, any day now. 

"Fine," Saki finally relented, a stone's throw away from the corner to turn to approach Fourth East High, tightening her grip on her school bag, "But we still walk in separate. I want to see what they think of me first."

He gave an inquisitive hum. "And if they think poorly?"

"Then I never stood a chance in the first place, did I?"