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"How peculiar."
Haru leapt up a little at the sound of another person's voice on the roof, though if your focus was on her hair the leap would've seemed much higher. Her fluffy tresses had a way of exaggerating her movements.
"Yusuke-Kun? What are you doing here?"
"Ren informed me that you had begun growing vegetables up here. I understand it is a much more difficult task than cultivating flowers. I thought seeing life born from greater hardship would be inspiring, so I came to see the fruits of your labors." Yusuke looked off to the side for a moment, deep in thought, touching his hand to his chin. "Or perhaps it would be more fitting to call them 'the vegetables of your labors'?"
Haru had to stifle a giggle. From anybody else that would've been a joke, but she had spent enough time with Yusuke to know that it was a genuine curiosity to him. Then she noticed something translucent poking out his closed hand.
"What's that?"
"Hm?"
"In your hand."
"Oh, this?" Yusuke opened his hand, revealing a small plastic sandwich bag. "It's a bag. Why do you ask?"
"Yusuke-Kun..." The light disappeared from Haru's eyes. She was more than familiar with the young artist's poor spending habits and atrocious diet. "You didn't come up here to steal some of my vegetables, did you?"
"I beg your pardon!?" Yusuke struck a dramatic pose, again, entirely in earnest. "It's true that I did come here for vegetables, but I had every intention of asking for them!"
"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, Yusuke-Kun." Haru bowed her head in apology. "I was wrong to assume the worst of you."
"Think nothing of it." Yusuke smirked, or at least was doing the closest thing he could to it. "We are Phantom Thieves, after all."
"That's true!" Haru's usual smile returned to her face. Then it was quickly replaced by an expression of confusion. "But that's a very small bag. I don't think you could fit a whole carrot in there. Were you really planning on carrying your whole dinner with it?"
"Dinner?" Yusuke looked down at the bag. Then his looked back up in Haru in complete astonishment. "That's right! You can eat vegetables! Why did I not consider this before coming here!?"
"You're not here for food!?"
"I was simply going to request that I may break off the tip of a carrot for a color sample. I hoped a close and prolonged analysis of the orange hue back at my studio would awaken some new idea in me."
Haru was emotionally torn between wanting to laugh at the boy and scolding him. Clearly Ryuji wasn't exaggerating when he told her it was a miracle Yusuke was still alive. And when Ryuji has his life more together than you do, something is very wrong. Still, she had other problems.
"Well, whether for food or art, I'm afraid I can't give you anything. Look."
Yusuke looked past Haru to see her garden. All of the plants were dead. All the talk of eating had made him forget his initial observation from when he arrived on the roof.
"Oh, yes! That was what I found peculiar! What happened here!?"
"I don't know." Haru stared at her garden sadly. "I took care of everything like I usually do. There were no climate issues, the soil was in fine condition, I used the same amount of water as always too." Yusuke knelt down in front of the plants to get a better look.
"It seems like they were coming into their own, too." Yusuke pinched one of the withered-up leaves of the now-dead tomato plant. It snapped in half at his touch. "How curious, that they would suddenly perish under your expert care."
Haru perked up a bit at being called an "expert".
"Well, I suppose these things just happen sometimes. All I can do now is try again and hope it goes right this time."
"Allow me to assist you."
"You want to help me? Have you grown vegetables before?"
"I have not", Yusuke stated with an oddly proud tone. "However, I do not believe I would require a great deal of expertise to help you clear out this tragic display before us. I'll need some gloves, yes?"
"That's right!" Haru handed Yusuke a pair of spare gardening gloves. They proceeded to start tearing up the dead plants by the root. It didn't take too long. Destroying something is always easier than making it, and Haru's garden wasn't very large to begin with. At one point Haru left Yusuke to continue the pruning while she went to get a garbage bag. By the time they finished, the sun hadn't even begun to set yet.
"Thank you for your help, Yusuke-Kun." Haru bowed to Yusuke again, this time in thanks instead of apology. "Having somebody with me made this a lot less frustrating."
"Indeed. I have learned from Ren that there is no weight that a friendly presence cannot lift the burden of." Yusuke picked up the garbage bag of dead plants and they headed down the stairs.
"My, has Ren-Kun helped you with something as well? He's certainly a busy person."
"Quite. I've spent so long isolated in my pursuit of artistic beauty that I sometimes forget the simple beauty that comes from giving your time to others." Yusuke stared off into space for a moment, stopping in the middle of the stairway. Haru kept walking a bit before she realized he wasn't keeping up. She turned around and looked up at him.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, I was just getting an idea for a new piece." Yusuke resumed moving, catching up to Haru. "Tell me, Haru, would you mind if I came to watch you garden tomorrow?"
"Of course not! Do you want me to teach you to grow food?"
"No, I shall be bringing a canvas. We would both be plying our own trades."
"You want me to be the model for your next painting!?" Haru blushed a little. She'd often been told she was pretty, but it was usually by sycophants who wanted something from the rich heiress to the Okumura Foods fortune.
"Not 'model', exactly. I wish to observe your gardening. I believe seeing a young woman work earnestly in the soil to grow something will plant the seed of inspiration in my own mind."
Haru couldn't stop herself from giggling that time. Yusuke looked at her curiously.
"Did I say something amusing?"
"You said watching me garden would 'plant the seed' of inspiration."
"Ah, I see." Yusuke chuckled a bit. "That is amusing."
"Well, my answer is yes." Haru held the door at the school's entrance open since Yusuke's hands were full. "I'd be happy to have you along. And when the plants are fully grown, I want you to feel free to take some home with you so you have something to eat."
"That would be appreciated." They were outside of Shujin Academy now. Yusuke threw the garbage bag in the dumpster. "Perhaps I could mix whatever you grow with my bean sprouts for a delightful salad. It would have to be aesthetically pleasing, of course, so I'll have to take into account the color of the various food items-"
"Do you really only have bean sprouts at home?"
"Not exclusively. Sometimes, after buying art supplies, I have enough money for a loaf a bread. And then I can make bean sprout sandwiches for a week!"
"Oh, Yusuke-Kun..." Haru sighed. This was no way to live. "How about we go out for dinner tonight? My treat."
"Truly!?" Yusuke once again violently stepped back in shock. Haru nodded. "Your generosity knows no bounds, Haru."