I was enjoying myself too much. I calmed myself enough to start my club plans. I headed towards my club and greeted them with a smile. Today was beautiful. I went through the normal routine. Watch them argue or succeed in their efforts. I helped Aishi with her form. Her balance was going to need work.

"Careful Ayano," her name rolled off my tongue with ease. I liked it. She nodded and released a breath as she went to the next form. Her feet were spaced apart but it wasn't balanced. Her left leg pulled away farther than it needed to me. I approached her and she fell slightly into my chest. I smiled as I took her wrist into my hand and began to pose her. I used my leg to adjust hers. It took a second for me to realize how close she was. I felt a new heat form on my face. Her eyes meet mine and I felt my heartbeat slow.

"Budo," she looked startled. Right teaching. I stepped back and cleared my throat.

"Better." I put my teacher face on. She nodded. She didn't seem fazed at my actions. Maybe because they were accidental. I helped pose her on the next form. This one was more balanced but her weight was not being placed correctly. I noticed that she seemed to put more weight on her dominant side. I pointed this out.

"You tend to put too much weight on one side."

"Huh," she looked confused.

"You misplace your weight. If you have it placed evenly then you would have perfect balance for these forms." I took a few steps back and took a wide stance. My legs were placed perfectly apart. "Push me." She looked confused. I smiled and gave the order again. "Push me." She walked over to me. Confusion was written all over her face. She gave me a light shove. I rolled my eyes but gave an amused smile. She really was cute. I shook my head. "Harder." To my surprise, she gave me an extremely hard shove. I tipped back slightly but I kept my stance. Where did she get that kind of strength? "See." She observed me. "You try." She went back to her off balanced position.

"Okay?" I approached her and gave her a light shove. She stepped back to keep herself from falling.

"Again." She tried to mimic my stance again. I knelled down and adjusted her legs. "Do you feel the difference?" She nodded. I stood up and shoved her again but she just tilted back a little. "It's all about how you place your weight." She looked me in the eyes. Her eyes were intense. I could almost feel them burning into mine. I took a step back and wiped the sweat from my brow. "Good. Next stance." We went through each stance two more times until it was time to head to class. I decided to be a gentleman and walk her to class.

"It's not necessary."

"It's not but I would like to get to know my clubmate better," I flashed her a smile. Mina was walking with us since she was heading to the same class.

"It's not like we can't be friends," Mina joked. Ayano tilted her head and let out a smile.

"Friends. I like that," her smile made me smile. I hope to see her smile often. She seemed so lonely.

"Then it's settled," I placed my arms behind my head. "We are all friends." I felt Mina slap me on the back.

"Arms down! You smell!"

"Hey!" Both girls let out a giggle and ducked into their class. I smirked and turned to see Taro walking Osana towards me. When would they confess? Osana seemed to be in better spirits than yesterday.

"You missed us this morning," she complained before giving me a sharp slap to the back of my head.

"Hey," I shook it off. Less than a minute and I've been hit twice.

"She has a point."

"I was distracted by something important," my mind wandered to the bag burning in the incinerator.

"Must have been. You never miss meeting us up when we plan too," Taro sighed.

"I promise it was. What did I miss?"

"Well," Taro paused. "Osana made a new friend in Aishi," he joked but was quickly hit on his head. I'm glad he is the focus of her aggression. He is quite the masochist. I smiled.

"I'm glad that my student is making friends. She seemed so lonely. Plus," I started with a playful smirk. "Osana really needs more girlfriends." Slap. I had that coming. She smiled playfully.

"You guys suck," she walked into class. I noticed that Taro stared at her with a longing.

"Just tell her."

"What if she says no?"

"She would never say no."

"You don't know that," he said defensively.

"I do," I slung my arm around him lazily and began to lead him to class. "You look at her the same way she looks at you."

"You think?"

"You would have to be blind to not see it."

"I guess I'm blind then," he sighed.

"Yup," I quipped.

"Ass," he growled and shoved himself away. I laughed. "You stink."

"Comes with the territory." He rolled his eyes.

"I asked the others about a book club and they agreed."

"So you are finally doing something with your life. I'm so proud." He smiled.

"They said it was a great idea and I asked our teacher to sponsor us."

"Fantastic. Recommend me a book one day."

"Sure," we entered the room and the bell rang for class to start.