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"Hey, Yamada."
Taro blinked and lowered his head to regard the person that wanted his attention. The first thing he noticed was the headband tucked under black stands of hair on the man's forehead and how the ends fluttered along in the breeze. Taro then locked his eyes onto the other's and watched as an easy smile spread on his face.
Oh...
He bowed his head in greeting as Budo's smile grew. "Masuta."
Budo motioned toward Taro's empty hands with a cock of his head. "Did you finish your book already?" At the confused look that crossed Taro's face, Budo pursed his lips and rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed laugh. "Uh...the one you were reading yesterday."
Taro furrowed his brow and turned his focus to his hands as he shrugged. "I lent it to Osana when she asked about it."
"Oh." Budo let his hand rest on his shoulder for a moment and rose his brow. "I'm not going to ask to borrow it if that's what you're worried about. Actually, you looked like you were enjoying it and I just wanted to ask what it was about."
There was a small, minuscule shift in Taro's expression but it was enough to know he wasn't put off by where the conversation was heading. If he had to be honest, he was pleasantly surprised that Budo wanted to know what the contents of the book were. Though it wasn't like Budo was all brawn and no brain, which would just be ridiculous and stereotypical overall. After all, Taro liked to read but that didn't add up to him being a genius when it came to book smarts.
It just meant he could sit around for long periods of time and let the day slip by while reading.
However, the same couldn't be said in Budo's case, as his hands started to fidget with the desire to blow off whatever excess energy he had.
Taro lifted his head and offered up a small smile. "I can do that."
Budo blinked, surprised at the assent and felt his lips part on a grin. "Really?"
"Mhmm." He gestured to the empty spot beside him and watched as Budo plopped himself down with a grunt. "I don't know what you'll be expecting but -"
"Hey, don't worry about it." Budo waved his hand to dismiss the uncertainty that began to creep in at the edges of Taro's voice. "No expectations, all right? Just give me the bare bones of it."
"If you're sure..." Taro trailed off then cast a glance toward the door over Budo's shoulder, finally taking note of two of the Martial Arts members peeking around the threshold. "Masuta," He returned his attention to Budo, whom was sitting patiently and waiting for him to continue with, what seemed like, trepidation. "Don't you have club duties today?"
"Ah, well..." Budo ducked his head as he turned to face the school lockers, elbows pressed to his thighs and fiddling with his hands. "I figured we could take today off. Let me guess, they're staring at us...?" A flash of color rose to his cheeks as Budo rose a hand to scratch at his cheek. "I guess Sho and Mina want to know why since I usually don't leave the door shut."
"Why did you decide to come here?"
"Because I wanted to talk to you." Budo paused and jerked his head up with wide eyes as he whipped his head around to stare at Taro. "Not - not that I couldn't have waited. I just - Najimi is usually nearby or...well. Or you're talking to your sister." He ruffled up his hair subconsciously and averted his gaze. "It's just..."
Taro furrowed his brow before he gave a placating smile. "It's fine." He tipped his head back to look up at the sky once more and linked his fingers together. "Did you still want me to tell you about the book?"
Budo heaved a relieved sigh, his shoulders falling lax and laughed as he placed his hands on the edge of the fountain to keep from falling in as he leaned back. "Yeah."