Though he had allowed the children to take the day off from school there was no end to the work of a head teacher. Souji had spent most of the morning planning future lessons and organizing finished projects. Afternoon forced him to rest (as he had been doing more and more of late) and by evening reserves of work had run dry. Souji tugged the ivory ribbon out of his hair and let it tumble free to his backside, signifying that he was off-duty for the night. Soon after he discovered Dan's note. There had been one word that was a bit difficult to decipher but Souji was used to reading the messy handwriting and erratic structure of children's school-work. A fist of warmth squeezed his belly at the endearing gesture. One of his favourite things about Dan (though there were many) was his consideration of others. The elder man understood the weight of catering to people specifically.
The young samurai had not been expecting the lovely sight which awaited him in the garden. When he passed over the threshold he stopped and stared for a moment with eyes made even larger by delighted surprise. Recovering himself, Souji clapped both hands together as he always did when excited. He could clearly detect the melding of cultures and thought it rather complimented both. "Amazing! It's beautiful!" He hurried toward Dan and wrapped both arms around the elder man's waist in a tight but not uncomfortable hug, ducking his head a little to avoid the cigarette. Souji was rather fond of touching Dan. Physical affection was generally frowned upon between adults where he hailed from.