Chapter Text
In the eyes of Houseki Hatori, everything is beautiful. A rock, a speck of dust, everything has its own beauty. Maybe it sounded a bit absurd and stupid, but the world seemed to look better that way. With his barely functioning eyes, Hatori tries to make the most out of them. Though as absurd his mindset was, no one has yet criticised him for it. At least, in the estate he is living in, that is. It probably has been around two years since he began thinking it through—ever since he stepped into the estate.
The bird estate, run over by a slayer called Hirabayashi Katsuhito, is an estate where they train and treat birds who will become a slayer’s companion throughout their time under the slaying corps. Hirabayashi Katsuhito might sound like an old man but he’s really not that old. Maybe the aura around him is pretty old—when you see him face to face, you’d be surprised to see just how young he is.
And Hatori was exactly the same. Though casualties aside, Katsuhito is more of a guardian figure in his opinion.
The estate has been the most beautiful place he’s ever been to. Not that the butterfly estate wasn’t pretty, it’s just that the abundance of animals—most of which are birds—that lives in the estate creates a whole new kind of beauty.
It also gives off a serene atmosphere somehow. Which is why he chose the estate instead of butterfly. It feels more like home.
His eyes stared in awe as packs of birds flew above him, one hand brought up to cover himself a tiny bit from the bright sun. The estate was never quiet and mostly lively—both from the birds living throughout the estate—
Clang!
— and the members who lived in the estate. Putting his hand down, Hatori sighs under his smile when he hears another sound coming from inside the house. An image of someone in need of help fills his mind, to which he counts as the signal to stop his sweeping and time to walk inside. To his surprise, what he found wasn’t that of a mess. Well, not as much as it usually could, to the least.
“Anyone...” mumbled a small hand buried under a mountain of pots, only being able to reach out a hand. The hand wouldn't stop twitching as if it’s begging for him to pull it out of the mountain. Hatori couldn’t help but blink and stare for a while, processing what the hand is trying to imply.
Summoning the littlest courage he has, Hatori took another step forward. Reaching out for the hand, he takes out some of the pots that he could cast away and pulls the hand so the owner would be free from the mountain of pots.
Many words made their way around Hatori’s mind but never surfaced to his lips. They only ended up drowning into the back of his head. In regrets, he cast aside any hopes to converse and just help the person by pulling them by the hand. It seemed that the person underneath felt Hatori’s movement, once their hands clasp, it felt like they only needed to do a one time pull. But they’re wrong.
It took them maybe around four pulls until the pots made their way for the figure to get out from it. The force from pulling resulted in Hatori falling on his back. Standing up straight, Hatori brushes off the dirt on his clothes as he braves himself to face the figure he just saved.
His hands reaching out, it surprised him to find out that the identity of the figure he just helped.
Hatori’s hazy steel blue eyes meet up with the figure’s emerald greens. Their expressions somehow mirroring one another, never losing their calm composure.
“Oh,” they both utter in unison. "It's you."