February 14, Valentine's Day.
The whole school was soaked in restless energy; every boy and girl seemed to carry a special mood.
Yukio felt the classroom's jittery air and blinked. Looks like plenty of people will laugh today—and plenty will cry.
The buzz infected everyone. Boys love a good commotion, and Class A was no exception:
they bunched shoulder to shoulder in a circle, eyes glued to their phones, hopping into club chat rooms or messaging friends in other classes to grab the freshest gossip.
"Unbelievable! She gave it—he accepted! Hamaguchi-kun and Tsube-kun from Ichinose's class are together!"
"That's nothing! I've got the real bomb: Nishikawa-san of Sakayanagi's class handed honmei chocolate to the kendo-club captain, third-year Befu-senpai—success!"
"Quiet, you two! True headline's right here! Second-year Ueda-senpai, and second-year Class 3 Shimoda-senpai both gave honmei to Nakata-senpai!"
"Whoa—that is huge! So which senpai did he pick?"
"Neither—he took Hideyoshi-senpai's honmei instead!"
"What?! A third honmei?"
"W-wait a sec—did you just say Hideyoshi-senpai?"
"Yeah, Nakata-senpai accepted Hideyoshi-senpai's hon—uh…"
Silence. The boys of Yukio's class froze, minds crashing under the news. After a beat they realized how close together they were—leaning shoulder to shoulder to swap info.
Instant chills. Goose-bumps erupted as they sprang apart.
"Back off! Don't get near me!"
"Scram! Keep your distance!"
"Three steps minimum! Anyone inside my bubble eats a fist!"
"First bloke who slings an arm round my shoulder gets judo-thrown!"
Their mutual warnings became the day's comedy routine, leaving the girls doubled over with laughter.
…
When the giggles subsided it was chocolate-giving time.
No one hid it; openly handed chocolates were giri—everyone got one. Even homeroom teacher Sakagami's haul was already in the office. Naturally Yukio wasn't left out.
"Yukio-kun, thanks for your leadership!"
"Here's yours, Yukio-kun."
"Yukio-san, we'll rely on you for the next two years!"
He accepted each with a smile, secretly impressed: Sakurajima girls really know presentation.
His arms filled with colorful little envelopes—about the size of New-Year lucky packets—each sealed with cute character stickers.
Inside every envelope lay a single Morinaga loose chocolate: the favorite high-value brand this days. One small tin held dozens— perfect for gifting the whole class.
Cheap treat or not, different-colored envelopes and adorable seals made every piece feel thoughtful. And, he noted with relief, none were honmei. They must understand his relationship with Shiina and avoided offending her.
…
After giri-time, the girls acted strangely—glancing at one another, half cheering each other on, half keeping watch. Every so often one girl, face set in let's do this determination, strode out the door—she'd clearly arranged a rendez-vous by text.
The boys weren't immune. Now and then a guy, face sour like biting a lemon, would receive a message, leap up, and practically skip from the room.
Each time, a chorus of male classmates flashed him double middle fingers, branding him a traitor and banishing him from the "quarterly new-resource appreciation" boys' circle—he no longer qualified.
Yukio chuckled. This kind of youth, these memories—everyone involved will treasure them when they're grown.
Then he thought of schools back home and could only shake his head. Celebrating Valentine's this openly? The moral-education office would have shut it down in minutes.
Parents and teachers back there had always blamed poor grades on something: first puppy love, treated like a scourge; then video games; now smartphones.
Yet education is a web of parents, schools, and personal effort. Puppy love and games are only factors—sometimes even positive ones if guided well. But people love dumping every failure onto those easy targets and pretending they themselves bear no fault.
His phone rang, shattering the rambling thoughts. One glance at the caller ID brought a playful gleam to Yukio's eyes…
...
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