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ʚ 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 ɞ
Valentine's Day was coming up.
It has reached that time of the year for gift-giving and the sharing of chocolates to the ones you love. Different shades of pinks and reds littered stores and shops as the day of love rapidly approached, bringing warmth to the cold February conveyed.
With each day that passed, it seemed a growing sense of euphoria wedged itself into the hearts of the students at Kaibara High School. Love-filled chatter filled the halls during breaks and passing periods, with chocolate making becoming the sole topic of conversation at lunchtime. The excitement was evident.
Megumi, on the other hand, was more or less indifferent about the day. She didn't dislike it, but didn't particularly look forward to it either, unlike many girls her age. To her, it was just another day, with the added bonus of chocolates being passed around. She found the decorations beautiful and making the chocolates was a fun thing to look forward to, but she found it funny how many went overboard on the holiday–like they could see nothing but the sweet pinks that came with the day.
There was a time when she was little that the day meant everything to her, and she looked forward to it every year. But as she grew older and matured, the happiness that came with the day slowly dwindled away into nothing but a light warmth that enveloped her heart whenever she was given chocolates; a fleeting feeling that disappeared all too quickly. She did long for the childlike joy that overcame those around her when the day came, but she just couldn't seem to find it in herself. One sour experience and the whole holiday was ruined for her.
But Megumi refused to pull others down with her. She actively encouraged those around her to share chocolate and laughs, which led her to her current situation. With her back against the metal shoe lockers in the school's lobby, Megumi watched as Uo and Hana opened the pristine locker labeled with Yuki's full name as they scourged for chocolates like foxes in the wild.
"Aw, there's only one!" Uo complained loudly, a look of disdain painted on her features as she leaned away from the locker to allow Tohru, Megumi, and Yuki to peek inside the metal casing. "That can't be right. I thought for sure the Prince's locker would be overflowing with chocolates."
"Don't fret. What we are seeing here is something similar to the cuckoo phenomenon. Just as a cuckoo chick will take over a shrike's nest and dump out the eggs, each girl has tossed out the previous girl's chocolates in order to make sure her's are seen." Hana explained dryly as she gestured over the trash bin that overflowed with different colored parcels, all marked by Yuki's surname. "In this trash can lay the proof."
"Isn't that a little mean?" Uo asked as she eyed the mountain of treats with a look of mild concern for these girls' sanity.
"This d-does seem a bit more- more extreme than years before..." Megumi admitted as she laughed soundlessly, scratching at the skin of her cold cheek. This wasn't new information to her, but the magnitude of which these girls were willing to go now surprised her nonetheless. "All th-those ch-chocolates are going to w-waste now."
