Shadows [Ayando]

The Courtyard

~Ayano's POV~

Ayano was crouched behind the saukra tree nearest to the fountain, gazing at her senpai. Only, she wasn't gazing at him with affection. She was gazing at him with concern.

Did she really just kiss Budo? What was she thinking?! Ayano peeked over at Taro again. She remembered the countless days she'd spend sitting in this exact spot, longing for the day that she would confess to Taro, hoping that he'd accept her confession. But something didn't feel right. What is going on?! Didn't being within her sweet senpai's aura make her feel all of those emotions that she'd never been able to feel as a child? But for some reason, Ayano didn't feel empty anymore, and she knew it wasn't because of her senpai.

It hit her like a thousand trains slamming into her body all at once.

It was Budo.

Ayano's palms began to sweat. All this time stalking, thinking, and dreaming about her senpai was for nothing? She shook her head. No, not for nothing. She turned back to look at him. He was flipping through the same old pages of his dully colored book, his eyes scanning the page like a machine, darting back and forth along each line. The light bouncing off of the fountain water reflected on his eyes, making them shimmer. Yet Ayano didn't feel the warmth and and affection she would always experience when she gazed on her senpai. In fact, he wasn't even deserving of being her senpai anymore. He was just plain old Taro Yamada, blending into the crowd, a loner, rarely socializing, and certainly not deserving of being the center of a girl's attention.

Then there was Budo. Ayano's eyes relaxed as she thought about him, the way his black, feathered hair would blow gracefully in the wind, the trailing ends of his bandana swaying just above his shoulders, his dreamy, daring, sparkling grey eyes....she knew he was the one for her. Budo Masuta....her new senpai.

Something rustled behind her, and she stood up suddenly, spinning around. There was no one there. Funny. No one's ever caught me stalking before, she thought. The sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway caught her attention, and she ran for the door, peering down the hall. She held her head in her hands, her eyes widening as she stared at the figure dashing down the hallway.

It was Budo.