Kaori Tachibana had returned to her duties of tending to Fuyuka, but that was not to say that Asahi had been taken out of the picture completely. They still met up on the weekends, prepared meals, and ate dinner together.
Certainly, the time they spent with each other—especially sitting at the same table—had decreased drastically, but Asahi was simply delighted to be with her.
Dinner’s been feeling like it’s been missing something these past few days. Suppose It’s been a hot minute since I had it all alone.
Looking forward to every upcoming Saturday relieved him from any gloom or bitter loneliness he might’ve suffered.
The 14th of February rolled in before long, bringing with it a saccharine aroma which drifted across the classroom. The sugary scent—undoubtedly that of chocolate—caressed the nostrils of everyone present.
“Feels like Valentine’s all right,” Chiaki casually muttered, surveying his surroundings.
A peculiar atmosphere pervaded the school today. Classes had ended, but curiously enough, throngs of restless students lingered in the classroom.
As per Japanese norms, Valentine’s day celebrations chiefly consisted of women gifting chocolates to men. Hence, the boys eagerly loitered around, anxious to hear their names called out by the girls. The girls, meanwhile, were busy gathering up the courage to do so.
“Sooo... Not gonna go home early this year?” Chiaki asked, cracking a wide grin.
“Guess not,” Asahi replied.
“I see that you received tons of chocolate. Let your ol’ pal Chiaki have a quick peek.”
“I think you’ll be disappointed—there’s nothing but cheap obligatory chocolate.”
“You sure about that? Maybe someone put in the effort and got you something fancy.” Chiaki argued, peeping at the contents of his friend’s paper bag.
Although, at a glance, he could discern that the majority of them were indeed obligatory chocolates—a customary gift given to coworkers, friends, and family out of appreciation—a few items inside made their presence known with their striking wrapping.
Another smirk appeared upon Chiaki’s lips. Contrary to the obligatory chocolate sold for a modest sum of change, the elaborately packaged ones were—from what he could tell, at least—handmade chocolates. Those were often exclusively presented to romantic interests, and often a vehicle for a girl to confess her feelings.
“Always knew this guy was popular with the ladies. Who got you those handmade ones?”
“They’re not what you think they are,” Asahi quickly—and firmly—denied, averting his eyes.
“Really now? Oh well, the day’s still young. You’ll get those soon enough.”
“It’s like, late afternoon, man. I doubt anything else is coming.”
And yet a new girl entered the classroom and called upon one of their classmates. The pair locked eyes, indulging in a special moment where the rest of the world faded into the background. This, predictably, invited envious and resentful glares from the onlookers.
The two lovebirds exited the classroom. Although nobody knew what would become of the pair, chances were high that a love confession was on the horizon.
That said, racking up chocolates didn’t necessarily guarantee a love confession—not when the culture surrounding the holiday also encouraged gifting confections to friends. In cases of close friendships, chocolates—typically expensive ones—were exchanged solely between girls.
Hell, there’re a bunch of people who give chocolate to pretty much everyone... including me.
There were some things that could only be conveyed in words. The fact that Asahi didn’t understand the meaning behind the chocolate he’d been given just highlighted the idea.
Sure, maybe I got some from people who have feelings for me, but that could also be all in my head.
As Asahi mused on the enigma of Valentine’s Day, a certain girl who was dear to his heart leapt to mind. It kindled a faint expectation inside him. Despite his outwardly calm demeanor, Asahi quietly, but eagerly, waited for Fuyuka.
At that moment, the door to the classroom slammed open, gaining everyone’s attention.
The petite girl sprinted with a spring in her step, heading straight for Asahi’s general direction.
“Chii-pie!” Hinami yelled out.
“Heeey! Done handing out chocolate?”
“Sure am! Everyone was really happy!”
“That’s my girl. Bet it was worth all that trouble making them, huh?”
“Yup! Oh, speaking of which...” Hinami plopped down on Chiaki’s lap, then brought out a neatly wrapped pouch from her school bag. “Here you go, Chii-pie! Handmade chocolate prepared with lots of love just for you!”
“Let’s gooo! Aww, thanks a bunch, Hina. I’m so happy!”
“Heh heh! Anything for you, boo!” she chuckled.
“The Obnoxious Couple” secluded themselves in their own little world for a bit, Chiaki enjoying Hinami’s homemade chocolate and showering her with praise.
Despite the fact that both of them embodied a picture-perfect portrait of a happy couple, their classmates didn’t seem very amused. Boys complained with ill-concealed contempt, while girls threw jealous glares at them.
“Right, I almost forgot! You’re one of my besties, Asahi, so I got you your very own chocolate!”
“Huh, thanks,” Asahi said.
“Check it out! Didn’t it turn out, like, amazingly great?”
“Honestly, it doesn’t look any different from the ones you see lining the shelves at a store. Wow.”
“I know, right?! You can sure as heck bet it’ll taste exactly like those too! We put in loads of time practicing how to make them and everything!”
“‘We’?” Asahi parroted.
“Umm... Err, well, y’know... ‘We’ like me and my mom! She walked me through the whole thing! Mhm!”
Asahi was suspicious, but he figured he wouldn’t get a satisfactory response even if he hounded her with questions. Instead, he chose to occupy himself by opening the pouch—noticeably inferior in all aspects to the special one Chiaki had received—she’d given him.
This is still a good gift either way, of course. It’s just like Hinami to put in a ton of effort for her friends, and it shows.
Asahi sampled a piece of chocolate, all too aware that his friend was watching him like a hawk. Its elegant, sweet taste rapidly spread across his tongue. “Yup, pretty tasty.”
“Yay! Got Chef Asahi’s seal of approval!” Hinami exclaimed.
She did little to suppress her joy, completely disregarding the fact Asahi was by no means a recognised authority on preparing chocolate whatsoever; he’d simply given her his honest thoughts. At any rate, watching Hinami beam and high-five Chiaki made Asahi smile too.
“Oh yeah, Hina—have you seen Himuro anywhere? Thought she’d be with you,” Chiaki asked while eating another piece of Hinami’s chocolate.
Asahi’s ears perked up upon hearing Fuyuka’s name.
“About that... she just kinda got up and left when the bell rang.”
“What? Like right away?” Asahi asked.
“Mhm. Said she had important stuff to attend to or something.”
“I see,” Asahi muttered, unable to stifle a heavy sigh.
He’d thought there had been a chance that he’d receive some chocolate from Fuyuka today, but that wasn’t happening if what Hinami said was true.
It’s not like Fuyuka has to give me some just ‘cause I’m closer to her than others, though I can’t say I’m not a bit disappointed...
“It’ll be fiiinee, Asahi! Don’t get depressed!” Hinami tried to cheer Asahi up.
“Who put you on moral support duty?”
“Baah, don’t be like that! Everything’s gonna be fiiine, okay? Trust me!”
Have no clue what she’s on about.
“You gotta listen to my Hina—she’s spittin’ straight facts. I’m sure it’ll all be all right,” Chiaki chimed in, lightly patting Asahi’s shoulder.
“Not you too...” Asahi, who was still completely in the dark, grumbled. He did his best to smile, the aftertaste of chocolate still lingering in his mouth.