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Tanuma finds him with his back pressed to a tree, close-eyed but not sleeping – not yet. It’s been a day and then some since he’s last had the chance to relax like this, and he likes the rough texture of the bark against his back and the thin fabric of his shirt. He’s still dusty and scratched-up after a long morning of running all over town, but it’s fine. He’s satisfied. He’s ready to soak up the contentment for a moment or two – then sleep.
“You’re not going to class?”
Natsume opens one eye and smiles faintly. “I guess I should, huh?”
“Not if you’re still too exhausted,” his companion sighs, choosing a spot to sit down in the grass beside Natsume. “Was it bad this time?”
Natsume turns his head to get a better look at his friend. He buries the lie in his eyes when he answers. “Yeah, I had a lot of homework. It’s kind of counterproductive to miss school for that, though.” He laughs shortly.
Tanuma smiles forlornly at him. “You had to do it, right?”
“I wanted to. It’s important – like a lot of things.”
He really means for that to sound pointed, though not with an edge that might hurt.
“Can I help?” Tanuma wonders suddenly, and Natsume feels himself stiffen before he can remind himself to relax and think it through. “With studying, I mean,” his friend adds, forcing another quick smile; he might as well be able to see right into Natsume’s mind, right into the pitch of fear and hesitation.
“Ah – thanks,” Natsume manages. “But –”
“I’ve been studying,” Tanuma continues, quick and uncompromising. “You don’t know that anything’s going to happen until it does, anyway.”
“Hey,” Natsume stammers back, hand half-raised in something of a peace-making gesture. “I thought we were talking about school.”
Tanuma looks disappointed, but he sighs, anyway, and rises to his feet. “I guess so,” he agrees blandly. He turns and is about to go when the little voice in the back of Natsume’s head gets the better of him – he reaches after his friend, eyes wide and hurting for attention.
“Wait – Tanuma.”
Stay.
“Yeah?”
“I – I’ve never been great at math,” Natsume mumbles. “Maybe tonight?”