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Sunlight poured into Amane’s room as he opened the curtains and looked outside from where he slept on the second floor. The streets were decorated with garlands and balloons in all shades of red and pink. Confetti cannons were shot from the streetsides, and sent these colourful papers drifting along the wind. Pairs of lovers were in the streets and on the balconies, so many, that Amane could almost see hearts flying around. Well, hearts were flying around, because the confettis were heart shaped.
He opened the window and saw something left on his windowsill: a tiny round chocolate in neat golden wrapping. A paper tag was attached to the chocolate. It read: “Happy Valentine’s Day, Hanako-kun!”
He flipped to the back of the tag, where in neat cursive letterings, were the words “From Yashiro Nene”.
“An obligatory chocolate, huh,” he muttered to himself, sitting down on his bed and wondering how anyone could get up so early on a holiday to deliver chocolates. He guessed that it was because when people look forward to something, they would have more motivation. Hence why there were already many couples out and about.
To people who had never dated before, however, Valentine’s Day had about as much meaning as a birthday to an old man. There’s no point looking forward to it, when the day comes you enjoy the festivities, but when the day ends you don’t really mourn for its passing.
The lingering disappointment from an unrequited love only quelled his interest in this day. He looked at the chocolate in his hand, gleaming golden under the light, and wondered who the motivation for Yashiro was to wake up so early and deliver these chocolates.
He opened the wrapping and slipped the chocolate into his mouth.
The chocolate was sweet at first, melting inside his mouth like caramel, but soon the bitterness of cocoa overflowed. He didn’t like dark chocolate ganaches before, but the bitter taste was growing on him. The taste complimented his feelings right now.
Outside, couples riding a broom flew into the distance, for a getaway trip, he guessed. There were also people, mostly girls around his age, flying around and delivering chocolates to friends, acquaintances, and the people they like.
There’s definitely someone special on their minds, he thought. He couldn’t imagine anyone buying a huge stack of obligatory chocolates without having already thought of someone to give true love chocolate to. Those people who were friendly with everyone might, he supposed, but Yashiro was not one of those hyper-social people. She was a hopeless romantic, a fact that he knew too well.
He plopped back onto his bed, waving away the thoughts that were leading to a place he did not want to think about. It’s only 8:30 in the morning, and he could sleep for another hour or so before his brother would come and forcefully remove him from the bed.
Just then, he heard someone knocking on his window.
“Hanako-kun!”
As he heard the voice that was so familiar to him, he jumped up and ran to the window. Flying on a broom outside his window was a beautiful girl with light cream hair tied up into a bun, whose red eyes were brighter than any decorations of the streets below.
“Yashiro?” he exclaimed.
In the front of the girl’s broom hung a cavan bag, and from the shape of it Amane could tell there were not many chocolates left inside. She reached into the bag and pulled out a black box decorated with red ribbons.
“This… is for you.”
The girl held out the box in front of her and looked away. Which was good, because Amane was sure his entire face must be glowing red.