Archive of Our Own

There's something in the air...

Chihiro has to admit, he is not exactly "socially aware". According to most people around him, he is not very attuned to social cues and stuff like that... Not that it bothers him, he's fine like that.

But even for him, it feels like there's something different today. As he makes his walk to school, trying to mind his own business, he can't help but notice. All the girls seem to be giggling, with blushed cheeks and pretty smiles.

Are you really going to, says this one, and the other hits her friend with her bag to tell her to shut up. I spent all night yesterday doing it!, says another, and her friend groans with the annoyance of one that has heard too much about it already. I am so nervous I'm literally going to explode, if this doesn't go well I WILL kill myself, a third one mutters, and Chihiro gets worried about her.

The boys, too, seem to be acting strangely. Elbow nudges and raised eyebrows, with some "shut up!", "cut it off!" and "man I wish that as me" in between.

There's definitely something going on. Chihiro can't tell what it is, but he tries to rack his brain in search for an answer. Is there any school activity that he is forgetting? Is there any special event today?

When he gets to school, as he steps to the other side of the school gates, he gets it. He hears some giggling and, despite knowing that it's rude to stare, he involuntarily gazes that way and- Bam!

There's a couple full-on making out in the middle of the school yard, poorly hidden behind a three. The sight stuns Chihiro for a few seconds, and he stares in disbelief, as his face burns from the embarrassment. They are... k-kissing...! In public...!

"Heeeere. Yu-kun~!" The girl takes something from a small box, a ball of something brown-ish, and puts it in the boy's mouth, who accepts it gladly. "Is it tasty!?"

"Your chocolates are the best, Sena-chan! I am so lucky to have a girlfriend as cute as you!"

"Mooou, Yu-kun! Don't say it like that~! You're making me blush!"

"But it's true! You're the cutest, Sena-chan! I love you so much!"

And then they kiss and keep making out shamelessly.

Chihiro looks away the moment he comes to his senses, his face red with embarrassment after witnessing such a passionate display of love. Wh-why are they doing that in public...!? He hastens his pace, trying to get out of there before a teacher comes to scold the couple.

He gets to the lockers, where he can see that a lot of guys gulp nervously and send a prayer to whatever higher being might be listening before they open theirs, most of them getting disappointed, but some celebrating wildly as they find a small present or a cute envelope waiting for them. Some of them are crying. Chihiro is a bit weirded out by that. Why are all boys his age so weird?

As he changes his shoes, he ruminates about what he has been witnessing through the morning, but it isn't until he remembers a certain word that it fully makes sense to him.

"Chocolate"... Like the chocolate that Sena-chan was feeding Yu-kun.

Ah, that's it. It's Valentine's Day.

...

Chihiro has nothing to gain from this realization, so he just shrugs, puts his shoes in his locker, and starts making his way towards class.

It makes sense to him why everyone seems to be so giddy today. For him, it's just another day... Maybe he'll get some friendship choco from Iori, but that's it; he thinks. He doesn't talk with that many girls in his class, so there's no reason for him to be gifted chocolate. And, even if he did talk to them... Well, he doesn't think he likes anyone, or that anyone likes him that way.

So no chocolates for him, most likely.

He opens the door to his class expecting nothing, and immediately gets startled by a version of his name being shrieked from the back of the class. Before he can recover from it, a missile impacts against his body... Or, well, that's just Hakuri running very fast towards him.

"Chihiro!!" His white-haired friend screams his name, again. The volume almost makes Chihiro's ears ring. Hakuri is always so enthusiastic in the mornings... But, today, more than usual. "G-good morning!"

"Good morn-"

"H-happy Valentine's Day!"

"Um-"

"This is for you!!"

Hakuri bows as he extends his arms towards Chihiro, presenting to him a small package. Chihiro looks at it, very confused about what in the world might be going on, and reads the label that says it is "90% Cocoa Dark Chocolate".

Chocolate... wait, Hakuri is giving him chocolate...? Why?

"...?" He looks at Hakuri in confusion.

From the back of the class, something catches Chihiro's eye. Iori, gesturing wildly at him to accept the damn chocolate instead of standing right there like a stickbug. Uh, right. It would be rude not to...

"Thanks..." So he takes the package, turning it in his hand to take a look at it from every direction, as if expecting it to grow legs all of a sudden. "Uh, why..."

"Sorry it's not hand-made!" Hakuri comes up from his bow, looking at Chihiro with bright eyes. "I really wanted to make proper Valentine's chocolate, but Soya wouldn't allow me to do it... He got very creepy about it." Ah, Hakuri's older brother. Chihiro really hates him. "So I could only buy some from the store... Ah, but I know you don't like sweets, so I made sure it's one of the bitter ones."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." He does, even when confused. A gift from Hakuri is always a good thing. Chihiro had found the boy's very enthusiastic friendship a bit overwhelming at first, but after the months they've spent together, even if they're few, he now really enjoys his cheerful attitude... And he hopes that Hakuri doesn't mind him being a bit more taciturn. "But, can I ask... Why are you giving me chocolate, Hakuri?"

"Well, because it's Valentine's Day!" He says it as if it was obvious.

"I guess." Chihiro thinks about it. But aren't girls supposed to be the ones giving chocolate...? Well, it probably doesn't matter. He is happy to receive Hakuri's feelings. "Thank you for the friendship chocolate... I'm sorry, I don't have anything to give you in return."

"Friendsh-!?" Hakuri bites his tongue. Don't be so obvious, you fool! Of course Chihiro would assume it's friendship choco...! "I- I mean, yeah! Y-yeah! It's fine, d-don't worry about it." He scratches the back of his head, while he feels his face burn. "I just... wanted to do something good for... my friend! My good friend. Y-you're my best friend."

Oh... That touches Chihiro's heart. A best friend... He has never considered such a concept, but it feels appropriate for Hakuri. He smiles, softly, warmly, in that way he does. Chihiro's smiles are so rare. The moment Hakuri sees the small curve of Chihiro's lips, he almost gets blinded by its radiance.

"You're my best friend, too."

An arrow goes through Hakuri's heart. Best friends... Yes...! He wants to cry from happiness... He almost does, really, and he has to stop himself from bawling, trying to keep his emotions at bay as Chihiro walks past him, patting his shoulder lightly when he starts making the way towards his own seat at the back of the classroom and next to the window, as it couldn't be any other way.

"Good morning, Chihiro!" Iori greets him, now properly. He nods in acknowledgement. She and Ikura have been watching the scene from their own desks. "Did you have a good rest last night?"

"Yeah." He nods once again, as he leaves his school bag in place.

"Yo, Chihiro!" Ikura greets him with some... Weird gesture. Chihiro isn't sure what to make of it. It's supposed to be some kind of secret handshake, he thinks, but he isn't shaking anything and the thing is so secret that even Ikura might not know what to do, because he swears it changes every day. "Did you get any chocolates in your locker!?"

"Not really..."

"Shucks! Me neither." Probably girls are just... Too shy. "But Iori gave me some!"

"She gave some to me, too!" Hakuri has finally recovered from his heart attack and after having done several happy dances that weirded out the other students in class, he joins the group.

"Neither of you get any funny ideas, alright?" She says, puffing her cheeks. "It's friendship chocolate, alright? Fri-end-ship!"

"It makes me so happy that you consider me a friend!" Hakuri answers to that with a smile that is nothing but... pure. This time, it's Iori's turn to be blinded by his radiance.

Chihiro looks at her, not knowing if he should say anything about it or not... Well, it would be rude, but... If both Ikura and Hakuri got chocolates, then she must have some for him too, right?

They have been friends for a long time, after all. Since their families were pretty close, they used to visit each other's houses and play together as children a lot. They went to different middle schools and grew a bit more distant then, but Chihiro still considers her a good friend, even if the two of them are... A bit different now.

Iori catches him staring, and she makes another pout.

"What?" She says. "What are you looking at me for?"

"Um..." Chihiro feels bad. Staring is rude... And he doesn't want to put her in an awkward position if she doesn't want to give him chocolates.

"You want some chocolate, too, don't you?" She says, teasing him about it. Now Chihiro is the awkward one. He doesn't know what to say, because he doesn't want to make it sound as if he was demanding them from her.

"Sorry..." Instead, he just apologizes, avoiding her gaze.

"Ah, fine!" She gives an exaggerated sigh. "I guess you can have some, too."

She goes to search inside her bag, from where she recovers a small wrapped bag that she hands to Chihiro. He takes it, looking at the wrapper, that has been drawn on to customize it. Are those... small goldfishes swimming around? That's cute... He has liked them since he was a child, so it's nice that Iori remembers.

"Thank you." He says, with one of those smiles of his, that also stabs Iori's heart. Ugh...!

"J-just make sure to give me something back on White Day!" She can't help but smile a bit, too. Success! Her plan of giving chocolate to Chihiro has been a success... And the fool doesn't suspect a thing!

"Hm?" Hakuri takes a look at the bag of chocolates, tilting his head to the side. "Hey, you got a different wrapper than Ikura and I. Also, it looks like you got more chocolate than us!" He makes an indignant sound. "Iori, you're showing preference!"

"What!?" Her cheeks immediately light up. "Shut up, I don't... W-well..." Agh, Hakuri! You're going to ruin this!! What if Chihiro finally realizes...!? "I-I know that he doesn't like sweets, so I made special chocolates for him that have less sugar.. So that's why...!"

"Oh, you hear that, Chihiro?" Ikura, already in the know about Iori's true feelings, winks an eye to him and nudges Iori with an elbow. "Iori made special chocolates for you! Isn't that nice? You should thank her with a da-"

"Shut up." Iori, hearing Ikura's words, awakens as Seiichi Samura's daughter... And grabs him by the collar of his uniform with full strangling intentions, iai be damned. "Ikura. Shut. Up."

"She is so considerate!" Ignoring the murder attempt happening in front of him, Hakuri says that, and Chihiro nods in agreement.

Luckily for Ikura, the first period is about to start and Iori doesn't want to commit homicide in front of a teacher, so she forgives his life and lets him go. All of them return to their seats, ready for the school day.

And so the day passes, one lesson after another, without nothing of remark in between them. Chihiro pays diligent attention to his teachers, taking notes, but even he can't resist the temptation of looking out the window at least a few times. Especially when he catches the sight of someone trying to climb the school gates... Uh-oh. He recognizes the uniform, someone from Hishaku High, but the most obvious clue about who this trespasser is might be the pink hair... Oh, well... Guess they're doing this again...

When the bell that indicates the end of the current class and the start of the lunch break makes its annoying noise, Chihiro gets up from his chair and does some light stretches before grabbing the bamboo sword that he always carries in with him. Since he's in the kendo club, teachers don't give him much trouble for it, even on days when he doesn't have practice, like today. He started carrying it around everywhere after meeting this guy...

"Aren't you having lunch, Chihiro?" Iori asks, after turning her desk around to push it against Ikura's, expecting Hakuri and Chihiro would do the same too.

"In a second." He takes the sword out of his bag, taking a look to make sure it's in good condition. "Hiruhiko is here. I just saw him climbing the school gates."

"Again!?" She sighs. "That guy never learns! How many times will you have to beat him until he gets it?"

"Are you going to fight him again?" Ikura is the only one that still gets excited whenever this happens. "That's sooo cool! We can go watch, right?"

"Do you want me to go fetch Hiyuki-senpai?" Hakuri's question is answered by Chihiro shaking his head.

"I'll try to resolve it before she can get involved..." Any time the School Prez gets anywhere near Chihiro, they end up butting heads. She seems to have some personal issue against him, and Chihiro doesn't particularly like her either...

Just as they finish their conversation, the door to their class snaps open with a dramatic rattle!

It was actually opened already, but Hiruhiko closed it so he could open it dramatically.

Dramatic entrance!

"Chihiro Rokuhira!" Hiruhiko screams the name from the top of his lungs. Everyone in the class turns to him, but noticing that it's just this guy again, they go back to their own things. Hiruhiko doesn't mind them, for the only one he cares about is Chihiro, and his eyes fixate on the boy, a wild look on them to accompany the wild smile on his face. "I...!"

"Yes, yes, you're challenging me to a duel." Chihiro sighs with exhaustion. He wants to be able to enjoy lunch, so better deal with this quickly... "Let's just get this done with."

"Wha- No!" Hiruhiko frowns. Is he... this predictable? "I came to give you chocolate!"

Now all heads turn in his direction, interested in the sudden turn of events. An excited girl whispers something about enemies to lovers.

Chihiro stares at him in shock, almost unblinking. By this point he has already walked almost to the door, so they stand barely a metre away from each other, locked in a staring contest. A few seconds pass like this, until finally Chihiro gives the only reaction that he is capable of giving to this information.

"...?"

"Chocolate!" From ¿somewhere?, Hiruhiko produces a whole heart-shaped pink chocolate box wrapped with a big bow, which he offers to Chihiro. "It's Valentine's Day, after all! And since we're fated rivals, that means we're soulmates, which means that we should go on a date!"

What is... With this guy.

Chihiro has never met a creature as confusing to him as Hiruhiko. They met back in last year's kendo meet, when Chihiro went against his school's team... He knew the team captain of his school, Kuguri, from going against him in the past, since the two of them are well-regarded in the local kendo scene. Last year Hiruhiko appeared as an ambitious newbie that had taken up the sport apparently because he had nothing better to do (which seems to drive Kuguri mad). After seeing his match against Kuguri, Hiruhiko had requested Chihiro to fight him... And then he lost three times in a row.

Since then he has been in this "fated rivals" nonsense that Chihiro doesn't know how to feel about. It's a bit annoying how this guy keeps popping up to challenge him to a duel whenever. He doesn't even use proper kendo technique, he just swings his sword around however he pleases. Honestly, it's exhausting.

"... First of all." Chihiro takes a deep breath. "I am not your "fated rival", Hiruhiko." What does that even mean? "Second, I want to have lunch, so please go back to your own school. You can't be here."

"The teachers don't stop me anymore when I come in!" He smiles widely, as if that was some kind of accomplishment.

"Well, they should." Chihiro frowns, sad. What is with this school... "Third and last, what do you mean by "a date"?"

"A date is a date! That's what Toto told me people do on Valentine's! She and Kuguri are being all lovey-dovey today. It's nauseating to see." He fakes gagging, putting two fingers in his mouth. He extends the chocolate box towards Chihiro again, shaking it a bit. "So, c'mon! Let's go on a date! Where do you want to go? The cinema? The arcade? Oh, we can go watch a play!"

"You will go nowhere!" Iori appears out of nowhere to stand between the two boys, with her arms extended in front of Chihiro. Hakuri also comes running to grab Chihiro from behind, as if that would stop him from being stolen away. "Go back to your school, you pink freak!"

"Yeah, go back!" Hakuri cheers.

"You two nuisances..." Hiruhiko clicks his tongue. "Out of my way. Chihiro is destined to be mine!"

"People cannot be owned." Chihiro remarks.

"Y-yeah, totally they can't." Hakuri swallows hard. What? Chihiro gives him a weird look. What does that mean? Hakuri realizes then that he is basically hugging him so he lets go, almost as if the touch burned. "S-sorry..."

"I'm down for the arcade." Ikura says. He is in Iori's corner, so he can't allow this weirdo to steal Chihiro away, either. "Which one are you going to?"

"Who even are you!?" Hiruhiko looks at him with big round eyes. Honestly, he's a bit offended.

"I'm... Ikura?" They... They have met before, right? In the hotel lobby back at the kendo competition...

"Whatever! You're not invited, moron!"

"Hey, don't call him a moron!" Iori is now doubly angry with him.

"I'll call him whatever I want."

"That's rude." Chihiro points out. "Apologize."

Hiruhiko clicks his tongue. Why does he have to be nice to any of these people... He only cares about Chihiro! He is the only one, in his eyes. His fated rival, his soulmate! The rest of the people here can rot.

"Yes, yes..." He sighs to express his annoyance. "I'm soooo sowwy, Ikeda."

"It's Ikura."

"Whatever. Hey, I apologized!" He looks at Chihiro with bright, shiny, round, bug-like eyes. "Can we go on a date already?"

"No." Chihiro shakes his head. "I'm having lunch now. Go back to your school, I won't tell you again. I won't play with you anymore if you keep breaking the rules and annoying me, Hiruhiko."

"I-it's not playing, we're fighting to the death...!"

Chihiro's flat tone and his intense stare have an effect on Hiruhiko. He looks pissed... And he looks so handsome like that... Ugh, but Hiruhiko doesn't want to make him angry enough so that Chihiro really won't play- Uh, fight to the death with him... So he ends up giving up.

"Fiiiiiiine... I'll go back..." Or he'll just hang around Chihiro's school until classes are over and steal him away after school. "Will you at least take my chocolates?" He extends the pink box towards Chihiro once again. "I made them myself, Toto helped me! I know you don't like sweets, so I didn't add any sugar."

"Uhm, I think you should put at least a bit of sugar in there..." Hakuri mutters.

"Um, okay..." Chihiro is now a bit worried about how edible those are, but he still accepts the box. "Thank you..."

"Of course!" Hiruhiko shows him a wide, radiant smile. "I would do anything for you, Chihiro! After all, we're fated rivals! Soulmates! And I am truly, fully, in lo-!"

"Byeeeeeeee!" Iori slides the door closed, so the next words Hiruhiko pronounces are unheard by Chihiro. What was he saying? "Gee, what a weird guy, huh?"

"He was saying something..."

"Don't worry about it!" Hakuri grabs Chihiro by the shoulders to start pushing him towards their desks again. "He's probably nonsense, that's the only thing that comes out of that guy's mouth!"

"Totally!" Iori nods in agreement, also going back to their seats so they can have lunch, finally. "Also, you probably shouldn't eat those chocolates. Knowing the guy, they might be laced with poison!"

"I don't think he would go to that extreme..."

"Man, those guys are brutal." Ikura mutters, mostly to himself. "And Chihiro is not very sharp, huh..." At least, not when it comes to social cues, it might seem.

With Hiruhiko out of the picture (Chihiro doesn't see him climb the doors out so he gets a bit worried about him still hanging around somewhere ready to drop from the ceiling to get him in a sneak attack), they can have a peaceful lunch, hopefully.

They do, a wonderful meal in which they chit and chat about this and that, but soon after they've finished, a bit before classes are set to start again, they start hearing some ruckus from outside the class.

A lot of the girls start squealing, excited about whatever might be happening. The guys get strangely stiff, murmuring between themselves with a mixture of 5% hope and 95% delusion. From the hallway, the sound of excited screams can be heard...

"It's Hiyuki-senpai!" A girl says, hastily getting up from her seat. "I-I need to give her the chocolates I made for her!"

"Oh, I made her some, too!" Her deskmate also starts digging in her own bag. "I-I hope she likes them."

"Hiyuki-senpai is here!?" Even Iori gets excited, going to search her own bag. "I also wanted to give her some chocolate..."

"... Why are people so excited?" Questions Chihiro, already frowning at the mention of the girl.

"Because it's Hiyuki-senpai!" Iori says that as if it was an answer. "She's so cool, and handsome, and... cool!"

"Do you have a crush on her?"

"WHAT!?" Iori screams so loud that the whole class turns to look at her. With an embarrassed blush painting her cheeks, she decides to lower her voice, as she plays with her bangs in a nervous tick. "W-why would you say that!?"

"I mean, you look so excited about giving her chocolates..."

"So he's stupid." Ikura silently contemplates this fact, still finishing the last bit of rice on his meal.

"Wha..." Even Iori seems taken aback. "How can you... And you didn't even..." She sighs. "Uggggh, just, let's just give her her chocolates..."

"Wha- Huh?" As he says that, Iori starts tugging on his arm to lift him from his chair... "Why do I have to go, too?" Dang, she's stronger than she looks...!

"'Cuz I'm shyyyyy...!" She says that, but she's smiling too much for a shy person. "C'mon, just do it!"

"Oh, I'll go too!" Hakuri also stands up, going to the other side of Chihiro to take his other arm. Wait, why is he doing that for?

"I'll stay here." Ikura crosses his arms solemnly. "In case someone wants to... Talk to me..."

"I- I will talk to you." With the combined strengths of Iori and Hakuri, Chihiro is hoisted up his chair. "I want to stay, I don't want to- Please stop dragging me away, this is humiliating..."

But in the end, he is dragged in Hiyuki's direction.

She stands cooly on the doorframe, leaning against it while she thanks and smiles towards the number of girls (and even some guys!) that line up to give her chocolates. As she sees the trio approaching, an evil glint gets in her eyes.

"Thank you so much, cutie." She says, accepting yet another chocolate box. The girl that just gave it to her mumbles something unintelligible. "Well, well, well; if it isn't Chihiro Rokuhira..." She stands a bit taller, a devious smile on her lips. "Came to give me chocolate?"

"No." Chihiro feels a vein throb in his temple. He considers himself to be very gentle-tempered, even with people as annoying as Hiruhiko is, but something specifically about Hiyuki manages to always piss him off.

Is it her often-aggressive demeanor? The fact that she can't go three sentences without screaming? Her stupid face? Maybe all of the above. In any case, Chihiro dislikes this woman, and he is pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

"I did!" Ignoring Chihiro's disdain, Iori takes one step closer to Hiyuki, offering her a small bag of chocolates. "Thank you for everything you do for us, senpai!" She extends the chocolates with a smile. "Tafuku-senpai, I also have some for you too."

Of course, Tafuku is also here; for he and Hiyuki seem to be an indivisible unit. He stays just behind Hiyuki, carrying two bags that are already filled with chocolates... That's way too much chocolate, woah.

"Thank you, Samura!" Hiyuki accepts Iori's chocolates, putting them in one of Tafuku's bags, with the other set of chocolates that Iori hands Tafuku going to the second bag. It seems like they're pretty matched in terms of chocolates... "I'm sure a lot of people will be jealous when they learn I got chocolates from a girl as cute as you."

Iori mumbles something that is half a giggle, red in the face. Chihiro gives her a deadpan stare... Is she sure she doesn't have a crush on Hiyuki?

"That's a lot of chocolate that you have there." Says Hakuri, eyeing the two bags Tafuku is carrying.

"Just part of the Valentine's haul." Tafuku answers, raising one of them slightly. "We always get a lot of stuff this time of year..."

"You two are really popular, huh?" Hakuri is not jealous of that... Not at all...

"Well, mine are mostly all gratitude choco." Tafuku gives a chuckle. "Hiyuki is the popular one. She has everyone charmed, somehow."

"What do you mean, somehow!?" She lightly slaps his friend's arm, but she does so with a smirk. "I'm the cutest, coolest, hottest, most amazing girl in this school; of course I get chocolates!"

"You totally are, senpai!" Some girl squeals in the distance.

"Thanks!" She winks at the girl, who immediately starts jumping on the spot and making incoherent sounds while her friend shakes her. Hiyuki looks back at the small group, then. "Anyways, there's a reason we made it all the way here."

"Is it not because you're in a vanaglorious search for chocolate?" Chihiro questions, bitter as dark chocolate himself.

"Don't be rude to your senpai, Rokuhira." Approaching him, Hiyuku flicks him in the forehead, making Chihiro wince.

What's her problem... He truly doesn't understand how is this girl so popular... Tafuku, sure; he's amazing and deserves all the chocolate in the world, but Hiyuki... She is rude, and annoying, and mean, and is always bullying Chihiro, and-

"Here." Hiyuki takes his hand and puts something in there. "For you."

Chihiro opens his hand, expecting to find a dead lizard or something...

And instead he finds a collection of some small things in colourful wrappers...

He stares. Iori and Hakuri stare. The whole class stares.

"... What is this?" He asks, looking at the colourful wrappers as if they were about to detonate somehow.

"Chocolate, duh." Hiyuki explains, nonchalantly. "For Valentine's."

"Chocolate." Chihiro slowly raises his gaze to Hiyuki. "For me?"

"For you." Hiyuki nods.

"For him!?" Hakuri and Iori scream, incredulous.

"For him." Tafuku nods.

Once again at a loss of words, Chihiro is only capable of giving Hiyuki one reaction...

"...?"

"Close your mouth before you get any flies in there." Hiyuki rolls her eyes. The exaggerated reaction that everyone had is making her feel self-conscious, now, and her face feeling maybe a bit hot right now.

"But..." He still looks at her like she had suddenly sprouted a second head. "Why are you giving this to me...?"

"Because...!"

As she is about to tell her reasoning, she becomes even more self-conscious of all the stares around her. It feels like everyone in the class, in the corridor, in the whole school, has their eyes on her. The heat that she feels gets warmer and warmer...!

"B... because..." From her side, Tafuku tries to give her an encouraging nod, but Hiyuki doesn't even notice. "They were just handing them as free samples at the store! So I just grabbed a bunch to give them to the BIGGEST LOSER in school because I figured you'd gotten none! Ha, ha! Now, feel honoured that I've given you my precious chocolates, you punk! And be grateful! What's with all the staring and stuff, huh!? When someone gives you a gift, thank them properly!"

Hiyuki explodes, the words coming out of her incredibly fast, and her volume rises with each one. By the end, she's screaming, and she ends up out of breath and almost light-headed.

And Chihiro just keeps staring with a dumbfounded expression. Hiyuki really wants to poke his eyes right now.

"... Thank you?" He manages to speak out the words. They don't sound very sincere, but that's mostly because his mind is still processing... whatever that just happened.

"Whatever, we're out of here!" She says, after an indignant huff, tossing her arms in the air. "Tafuku, we're leaving."

"Are you sure?" He looks at her with raised eyebrows. Dand, this is not going well, is it? "Didn't you have something that you wanted to say t-"

"NOPE!" She tries to push her friend away, but with him being a sumo player, honestly, she'd have more luck trying to move the wall. "We're leaving! C'mon!"

"Okay, I guess..." He gives one last look at the group inside the class, then shrugs his shoulders. "You guys have a nice Valentine's, yeah?"

"Sure..." Iori, still baffled herself by the display of Hiyuki losing her cool like that, is barely able to react. "You two, too..."

Tafuku starts walking, ignoring Hiyuki's efforts to push him, and the two of them start to make their way down the hall. As Hiyuki hangs her head in defeat, the tip of her ears reddened by the shame of it all, Tafuku pats her back. There, there. She'll get him next time.

Inside the classroom, all the attention has been redirected to Chihiro now, who stands there with a hand full of small chocolates he has no idea what to do with. There is some whispering around, people gossiping about what just happened... A guy falls to his knees and rips his own shirt in half out of desperation. Another girl quietly sobs in a corner, while her friend tries to reassure her by screaming "She might be bi! She might be!".

Iori and Hakuri exchange a look. So, even Hiyuki, too...

Fortunately for everyone, and saving Chihiro from being jumped by his classmates, the bell that indicates the end of the lunch period rings, which serves to send everyone back to their seats without causing any more ruckus that there already has been.

As the trio come back to their desks pushed together, they find Ikura exactly how they left him.

"... No luck?" Iori asks, feeling bad for him.

"Hmm..." Ikura stares into the distance. Something in his eyes feels... empty. "At least... I know that Hiyuki-senpai doesn't consider me the biggest loser in school."

"Hey." Chihiro frowns at him, annoyed by that comment even more than when Hiyuki had screamed the same words directly to his face.

By the end of the day, when Chihiro is picking up all of his notebooks to put them in his backpack, he notices... That he has actually received a lot of chocolates, huh? The zipper on the bag almost doesn't close, because Hiruhiko's big box occupies too much space... And he is worried that the cute bag in which Iori put hers will get crushed by the books. Also, Hiyuki's smaller chocolates are just getting everywhere... The only one who behaves is Hakuri's chocolate bar, because it's easy to slot between the books...

He takes a good look at the interior of his bag, and purses his lips. That's. Too much chocolate for him to eat.

He... doesn't really like chocolate. Even if it isn't super sweet. It just isn't his thing. But he shouldn't be ungrateful... He'll eat them eventually.

Closing the bag as best he can, Chihiro gets out of his class and out of school, after waving goodbye to his friends. Hakuri always goes straight home as fast as he can, apparently his family is really strict... And Iori has club activities today, so she can't hang out, either. Ikura... Stays right at his desk, still staring into space oh-so-casually. Iori wants to tell him to give up, but Hakuri puts a hand on her shoulder and slowly shakes his head. Sometimes... You have to see the battle until the end, even when you know you're losing...

So Chihiro exits the school alone. He was honestly half-expecting Hiruhiko to jump him, since it wouldn't be the first time he tries to ambush him outside the school gates, but the pink-hairer guy is nowhere to be seen... Perhaps he was caught by someone and brought back to his own school?

Since he doesn't have kendo practice today, Chihiro is left with a weird space of free time to fill... His house is so far away than even the closer bus stop leaves him at a 20 minute walk from it, and the bus itself only passes twice a day through there (once in the very early morning, to pick up people town; and once in the late evening, to bring them back), so it's better for him to just wait around until Shiba gets off work to pick him up and take him home.

And the best place to wait for that to happen... Is Café Haru Haru, of course.

The bell at the top of the café's door chimes cheerfully when Chihiro steps in. He opens his mouth to mutter some greeting to Hinao, but before he can a small object is launched at a high velocity towards him... Which is to say, Char jumps out of a chair to run up to him.

"Chihiro!!" She collides against his legs with maybe too much strength. Oof. If she keeps doing that when she's older, Chihiro'll have his knees broken at some point. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

"... Hello." Char's sudden attack manages to stun him for a few moments, and he looks at the child in surprise. Char, for her part, gives him the biggest smile she can make. "Thanks. Uh... Happy Valentine's Day, too." He still isn't sure if this is the kind of event that he should be greeting people for...

"See, I told ya he'd come by." Hinao talks from the counter, leaning on the wood and smiling as she sees Char hugging Chihiro's legs. "Hi, Chihiro! Did you have a good Valentine's?"

"I guess so..." He pats Char's head, asking for permission to move, since he's still at the door and that's awkward; and after Char allows it, they both walk so they can get on two of the barstools in front of Hinao. "My friends gave me some chocolates..."

"Your... friends?" Hinao raises an eyebrow, noticing the big flashy heart-shaped box sticking out of Chihiro's bag. "You didn't get any love-choco? No love confessions? No cute kouhai handing you a letter on the school rooftop?"

"In what kind of manga fantasy do you live?" Hinao laughs at his disbelief.

"Hey, I did that once when I was in highschool, you know! Aaah, young love..." She closes her eyes and lets out a dreamy sigh. "I wonder how that guy is doing... We dated for a whole two months before I grew bored of him and dumped his ass. The idiot never put any effort into the relationship, bah."

"What a dummy!" Char commiserates, nodding empathetically.

"Right? And then he was the one who chased me down even after I told him we were done- Ugh. Boys, am I right?"

"You said it!" Char nods again, as if she was a renowned expert on the topic.

"Anyways, so no love confessions?" She turns her attention to Chihiro once again. If this man genuinely thinks that whoever gifted him that heart-shaped box did so platonically... Yeeesh. She feels bad for them.

"None of that." And Chihiro shakes his head. Hinao sends a mental prayer for the poor soul, maybe even the multiple souls, that had to get a crush on the thickest man on earth. "Only friendship choco..." He thinks back to Hiyuki, and her weird... burstout. "I think I might have gotten some hate choco?"

"Hate choco?" Hinao's eyes open wide in surprise. "Wazzat, like, putting salt instead of sugar?"

"Hinao, Hinao!" Char reclaims her attention by banging on the table, to which Hinao responds with an annoyed look. She has told her not to do that so many times already. "Give me the thing, give me the thing!"

"You could ask nicer, you know?"

Hinao sighs, but obeys Char's command, picking up something from below the counter. Chihiro watches with curiosity, until Char tugs on the sleeve of his uniform with maybe too much strength.

"Wait, no! Close your eyes!"

"Okay...?" He knows better than to question Char...

So he closes his eyes, trying to figure out what that rustling sound is... Not that he has a lot of time, because after just a few seconds Char is tugging on his sleeve again and telling him to open his eyes.

"Ta-daaah! Happy Valentine's!"

When he opens his eyes, Char is handing him a small plastic bag. Through the semi-transparent plastic he can see that inside there what seems to appear... a bunch of cookies!

"For me?" He asks, incredulous.

"Yes!" Char smiles brightly, a happy blush to her cheeks. "They're chocolate cookies! They're my Valentine's gift to you, Chihiro!"

"Much better than a love confession, huh?" Hinao mocks, although she also smiles. It's cute how much Char adores Big Bro Chihiro!

"Thank you so much, Char." Chihiro accepts the bag, careful not to squish the precious cargo inside. "Did you make them yourself?"

"Weeeell, I had a little help." She admits, with a giggle. "But I did most of the work, okay!?"

"I believe you..." Sometimes, you just have to humor kids.

"C'mon, eat one!" Char urges him. "I promise they're super tasty!"

Chihiro is peer pressured to eat some of the cookies. They're... really good! He might prefer the cookies to actual chocolate, since the sweetness doesn't stick to him as much.

"Are they yummy?" Char asks, almost shaking with excitement in her chair.

"Super yummy." Chihiro assures her.

"Yaaay!" She does some kind of... happy dance, then extends a hand towards Chihiro. "Can I have one?"

"Hey, weren't those a gift?" Hinao scowls at her. "You can't ask for a gift back, Char!"

"I don't mind sharing..." As he says that, he puts a cookie on Char's extended palm, and the child gives Hinao a smug look.

"Aha, I see..." Seeing that smugness, Hinao transforms into... Evil Hinao! She quickly steals a cookie from the bag. "Then I'll have one, too!"

"What!? Noooo, you can't! Those aren't yours!"

Hinao laughs diabolically at Char's despair. In the end, all is forgiven when she gets the other two some drinks to compensate for the stolen cookie. With that, they spend some time simply chatting, with Char speaking excitedly about how her own day went, until the chiming of the door interrupts her.

"Helloooo." A woman walks in, a smile on her face and several shopping bags in her arms. "I'm back. Ah, Chihiro, you're here! Did you like the cookies?"

"Kyonagi-san." He greets the woman with a formal nod. He figures that she must have been Char's "helper" when making the cookies. "Yes, they're delicious."

"I'm glad then." Her smile brightens a little bit more. "I know they're from Char, but consider them a bit of a gift from me too as thanks for always taking care of her!"

"Jeez, mom, you don't have to say it like that!" Char jumps down from her seat, to approach her mother. "He is not "taking care" of anyone, we're "hanging out"! I'm not a little kid anymore, I don't need to be taken care of!"

".........................." Hinao, who has had to babysit Char so many times already and has put up with so many of her antics, would love to disagree, but she bites her tongue not to burst her bubble...

"Oh, yeah?" The woman arches an eyebrow at her daughter. "Then, since you're so grown up, you're going to help me carry the groceries home, right?"

"Of course!"

She makes a big deal out of rolling her sleeves up, and then takes one of the bags... Okay, that's heavy! But she can do it!

With Char doing an amazing show of strength that totally won't deflate the moment they turn the first corner, she and her mom exit the café after a short goodbye, leaving Chihiro and Hinao all alone. Hinao grunts loudly, and Chihiro only shakes his head as if to agree with her, "Can you believe that girl?"

Without Char here, Chihiro can finally get himself seated in one of the café's booths and take out his books to get started on some homework. Sometimes he feels bad about loitering like this in Hinao's café, even more so when she insists on bringing him a drink or some snack... He isn't sure what kind of agreement she and Shiba have to make it so that she would let a strange kid hang around here for hours every week just because he asked for it as a favour. In time, Chihiro had endeared himself to her enough so that it became less of a favour and more of a, in Char's words, "hangout".

This week's hangout gets interrupted at the same time as usual when Shiba walks through the door stretching and yawning loudly.

"'Elloooooooo." He greets, half a yawn still in his voice. He still wears his work uniform, which makes him look much more serious than he actually is. "This is Shiba from Shiba Transports. I'm looking for a Chihi...! Is there any Chihis hereeeeee?"

"We only serve coffee here." Hinao answers, as deadpan as possible, not amused at all by Shiba's antics. "Chihiroooo, some weird man is looking for you!"

"It's okay, I know him..." Chihiro pokes his head out from the booth he is in, to take a better look at the weird man. "Um, just give me a second to finish this math problem..."

"Ugh, maths." Shiba makes a repulsed face, hearing the word. "Don't worry, I'll just keep Hinao company..." He leans on the counter, smiling at the woman, who rolls her eyes. "I see the place is as empty as always..."

"I don't have to talk to you if you don't make a purchase." And she turns her back to him.

While Chihiro finishes his math problem, Hinao goes to get him a parting gift. When he gets up and ready to go and gets presented with a to-go box with a slice of the café's signature (?) chocolate cake, he doesn't know what kind of face to make. People keep giving him chocolate... And it's not like he doesn't appreciate it, but...

"T-thanks." He almost doesn't stutter as he accepts a slice of cake that he knows he won't be in the mood for eating anytime soon.

"It's my Valentine's present!" Hinao explains, with a wink.

"Where's mine?" Shiba asks, amused about Chihiro's not-so-subtle panicked expression. Poor boy.

"Here, take out the trash for me on your way out, yeah?"

Shiba hangs his head dramatically, but actually does take out Hinao's trash before he and Chihiro get into the car. On the passenger seat, Chihiro is still looking at the piece of cake as if it was a dangerous artefact that will curse him if he makes the wrong move.

"You should try to act more happy when a girl gives you chocolates on Valentine's!" Shiba mocks him, giving him a side glance for a second, before focusing back on the road. "Did you get a lot of them? I see your bag is packed."

"I got some from my friends at school..." Finally, he lifts his gaze from the cake, instead looking out the window at the streets passing by. "Then Char gave me some, and this from Hinao..."

"Aha, looks like you're really popular, huh?"

"Well, I'm not the only one." Chihiro takes a peek towards the back seats, where he can see several small packages piled up. "I thought this was the kind of thing that went away after you finish highschool..."

"Not when you're as charming as I am!" Shiba offers a wide, dumb smile. "I'm one of the more coveted bachelors at the office, didn't you know?"

"Eeeeeeh? Really?"

"Why do you sound so surprised!?"

"I guess people have all kinds of tastes..." If Shiba is that popular, then how come Chihiro has never known him with a girlfriend...?

"They have great taste, excuse you!" He huffs in mock indignation. "Every year, Azami and I make this competition to see which one of us can get more chocolates on Valentine's..."

"That feels scummy." Shiba agrees with a dubious sound. "So who won this year?"

Shiba's face gets sour. His grip on the steering wheel tightens.

"I'm going to turn up the radio for a while, yeah?"

The rest of the trip is made with the sound of sappy love songs playing on the radio. Shiba hums along to some of them, but Chihiro doesn't know most... They're too old for him. For some reason, though, he gets an earworm from one of them... He keeps humming the melody all the way from the car to the house.

"I'm home!" He announces, after the door closes, when he is trying to figure out how to take off his shoes with his hands occupied.

"Oh! Welcome back! I'm in the kitchen!"

"Hopefully not cooking..."

"How rude you are, Chihiro!"

Chihiro rolls his eyes only for himself, but the smile in his lips betrays the fondness that the small exchange installs on him.

Just as promised, when he arrives at the kitchen, his dad is lounging in there, looking bored as he sketches something in a notebook, trying to brainstorm new ideas... And not having too much success, apparently.

"Oooh, whatchu got there?" Seeing the small package on Chihiro's hands, Kunishige gives a big smile. "A present?"

"Not for you." Even if he still isn't sure he'll be in the mood to eat the cake, he isn't letting The Human Vacuum That Inhales All Of Chihiro's Snacks get anywhere near it. "It's from Café Haru Haru. Hinao gifted it to me as a Valentine's gift."

"Ooooh, yeah, today's Valentine's Day, is it not?" Chihiro gives him a deadpan look. Just like him this morning, his dad has no idea of what the date is... This is what being an almost-hermit in the mountains gets you... "Hey, did anyone confess to you? Did you get any love letters? Did you get a girlfriend!?" Seeing the unamused look on Chihiro's face, he slowly raises his eyebrows. "Or a boyfrieeeeeend...?"

"Cut it out." Chihiro frowns. He puts the cake on the kitchen counter, and then starts rumming through his bag to try and fetch the rest of the chocolates. "No, I didn't get anything like that... Just a lot of friendship choco."

"Is that so?" Kunishige gets up from his seat to get next to Chihiro, scratching his head when he sees Chihiro taking more and more chocolates out of his backpack... "Woha, Chihiro, you sure are popular, huh? Good for you!" With how taciturn the boy is, sometimes he got worried that he might have difficulty making friends at school... But apparently, he's doing just fine! "Ah, this brings back memories... Back when your old man was in school, Azami, Shiba and I had this thing where we tried to compete to see which one of us could get more chocolates..."

"You don't say." So they have been doing that since they were kids...

"Azami won most of the time..." He frowns a bit as he makes the admission. "He was always a pretty boy..."

"Hmmm..." Or maybe it's because he's the least obnoxious out of the three of you...

"But in the end, I ended up meeting your mom and having a kid as cool as you! So who is the real winner, huh!?"

Kunishige laughs loudly. Chihiro feels a little bit embarrased... Being called cool by his father... How cringe.

... But he'll let him have this one.

He finishes up the array of chocolates in front of him, and takes a good look at them.

Hakuri's chocolate bar... It looks very fancy, but the 90% on the label makes it intimidating... Isn't that too bitter? Like, aren't you supposed to use that kind of chocolate for cooking only?

Iori's chocolates are the cutest, with the personalized bag with the goldfish wrapping... And those are hand made, so even though Chihiro might not be a fan of chocolate, he is kind of looking forward to seeing what they taste like.

Hiruhiko's is also very cute, with the heart box and the big bow, but... The fact that he said that he didn't put any sugar in there is very worrisome. Is that going to be edible at all?

Last but not least, Hiyuki's several, smaller chocolates... Hm, maybe yes "least", in this case. She did say that she grabbed them from a free sample spread... And she called Chihiro a loser while giving them to him... They feel more like an insult than an actual gift.

To the side, there stand both Char's chocolate cookies and Hinao's cake...

Chihiro blows air as he contemplates all the chocolates.

"That's a LOT of chocolate." His father puts his own thoughts into words, putting his elbow over Chihiro's shoulder to lean on him.

"Yes..." The cake he'll have to eat quick so it doesn't spoil... The cookies will last a bit longer, but if he waits too long they might get chewy... And the rest of it...

... That's too much chocolate for just one person.

"Are you planning on eating it all?" Kunishige asks, knowing of his son's distaste for sweet things.

"I mean... I have to, right?" He would feel terrible if he didn't eat them... They're gifts, after all. "It would be rude not to."

"Sure..."

Kunishige takes a good look at the chocolates, too. Call it intuition, call it the Rokuhira eyes, call it common sense because c'mon that's a big pink heart with a bow; he has the feeling that some of those chocolates are... special.

"Chihiro, are you sure that these are all friendship chocolates?" He questions, giving his son a worried look. He isn't that dense, is he? What kind of emotionally insensitive person has he raised?

"Hm? Well, yeah." Chihiro looks back at him. "They're from my friends."

In Chihiro's eyes, there's not the slightest bit of doubt that what he just said is the plain truth. He hasn't even considered that the boy who bought him expensive chocolate, the girl that made a special bag just for him, the guy who boxed everything in a big obvious heart and the person whose face almost exploded whilst giving him chocolate ; might have some deeper feelings for him that just mere friendship.

Kunishige stares at his son blankly. He smacks his lips.

"I see!" He says. He gives Chihiro a good pat in the back. "How lucky you are, Chihiro, to have so many wonderful friends!"

"... I guess so."

A smile forms on Chihiro's smile. He looks back at the chocolates. True, he doesn't like chocolate that much, and he doesn't like sweets, but...

But the sweet feelings that come with all of those chocolates, he can appreciate, and he'll treasure them.