After classes ended, the corridors filled with every sort of mood.
Some students left the room positively glowing, smiles bursting with impatience and happiness; some hovered by the door, faces wavering in hesitation; others didn't care at all, making a beeline for the dorms to dive straight into video games.
One glance at their expressions told you who had found love this Valentine's Day—and who had not.
Yukio stood and stretched. "Time for student-council duty," he announced, then shot Shiina a deliberately wicked look. "If you're planning to give me chocolate, now's the moment—otherwise it'll have to wait till tonight."
The hint was obvious. If she didn't hand it over before he left, she wouldn't catch him again until evening.
Shiina sighed in mock defeat, slipped her arm through Ibuki's, and headed for the door. She paused, looked back at Yukio, then finally walked off.
So that's their game. Yukio followed at a leisurely pace. The campus path was almost empty, sunshine bright on the pavement. His eyes were full of warm expectation as he watched the two girls—waiting for them to produce their Valentine gifts.
"W-what are you staring at?" Ibuki broke first, cheeks flushing. Apparently giving chocolate to Yukio felt humiliating.
In Ibuki's worldview, handing a boy Valentine chocolate meant admitting you really, really liked him. She did like him—no denying—but she refused to let him see it so plainly! If he knew how much she liked him, what if he took advantage and made unreasonable demands?
Yes—so the chocolate couldn't be surrendered too easily, especially when he was smirking like that. She had to maintain at least a little reserve, let him know her affection wasn't boundless.
"I'm looking for my chocolate," Yukio said artlessly, eyes drifting to their schoolbags— the likeliest hiding place.
"N-none here. Hiyori and I didn't bring any," Ibuki muttered. She kept her voice low—she knew how much Shiina adored this romantic setup.
"Pfft." Shiina, amused, patted her own tote. "Mio, if you won't hand yours over, I'm going to give him mine."
"Eh?" Ibuki grimaced. Did you have to expose me that fast? At least stall for a minute!
Perhaps reading her mind, Shiina added kindly, "Everyone's so keyed-up today—I don't want to drag this out. If you wait too long, the day loses its meaning.
"It's like loving someone—you should say it sooner rather than later." She smiled. "Yes, giving honmei chocolate in front of the whole class is nerve-racking, but there's nobody around right now—I don't want to hold back any longer."
Say it sooner, huh… Ibuki blinked. True enough—if Shiina hadn't made those little moves at the celebration party, Ibuki might have seized the lead.
With that thought—changed as she was these days—she at last took a blue gift box from her bag. But instead of handing it over she turned away, eyes averted.
"L-listen! D-don't get the wrong idea!" She reddened deeper. "It's not like I really wanted to give you chocolate. It's just that, well—this school year you did look after us a lot."
"Our private points, class points—everything went up because of you. S-so this chocolate is my thanks, that's all."
Still refusing eye contact, she thrust the box toward him.
Yukio and Shiina burst out laughing in perfect unison.
"Pfft." Yukio couldn't help it. As he accepted the box he ruffled Ibuki's short hair, fingertips brushing the soft strands. "You really are tsundere, Mio."
"Exactly," Shiina giggled. "If only you could be just a bit more honest~"
"Y-you two!" Ibuki's blush spread like fresh paint on a red canvas. "I am not tsundere! Don't make things up!"
"Come on, Hiyori—your turn," she huffed, eager to change the subject.
Unable to resist, Shiina produced a silver-gray package and placed it in Yukio's hands. "If it doesn't taste right, you have to tell me, okay, Yukio-kun?"
"I trust your cooking, Hiyori." Both of them knew each other's skills well—cooking, baking, sweets, the works. A mere chocolate could hardly go wrong. If he had worries, they were about Ibuki's box—please don't be too bitter, warrior princess…
"Actually, Mio's chocolate is safe too." Shiina stood up for her friend. "She's worked so hard these past ten days. Our flavors are almost the same."
"All Yukio has to do is taste the love inside~"
"W-what love, Hiyori?!" Ibuki flared again. "I… I just—"
"Right! I always put my best into things, whether it's martial arts or chocolate, that's all!"
Yukio and Shiina knew better than to argue further—lest Ibuki decide the "old married couple" were ganging up on her. Yukio simply moved closer and resumed the head-pat, voice gentle.
"I'll eat every last piece of your chocolate, Mio."
"I wasn't there to watch you learn, but I know it can't have been easy. I'm sure you made plenty of little mistakes at first."
"I like it—including all those tiny mistakes."
"Exactly," Shiina chimed in from the other side. "Mio wouldn't want all her effort eaten casually, would she?"
Between their soft voices and warm words Ibuki's heart fluttered. Embarrassing or not, Yukio's affection and Hiyori's kindness were real. At last she gave a tiny nod.
"Mm."
It was the perfect image of the modern poet's line: Most tender is the moment she lowers her head—like a lotus bending shyly in the cool breeze.
...
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