Short Stories

My Valentine (Part 1)

Summary: Significant others deserve gifts, especially on Valentine's Day.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emma was staring at the calendar.

She would not stop staring at the calendar.

And it was really starting to freak Hajime, Iroha, and Nikei out.

"Is she okay...?" Iroha asked cautiously, clutching her sketchbook closer and shooting a worried glance at Emma. "She's been staring at it for a long time."

"Fifteen minutes now." Hajime corrected, crossing his arms. "I wonder what's on her mind?"

"It shouldn't be anything to worry about, it's just a calendar. She probably just forgot a date or something." Nikei said, hiding his arm under the table as soon as Hajime looked his way. "I'll prove that she's fine."

Placing the energy drink he had on the ground, Nikei made his way over to Emma and waved his hand in her face, effectively snapping her out of her trance. "Earth to Emma! Is anyone listening? Hey!"

Emma swatted Nikei's hand away playfully. "I get it, I get it! No need for this, you've proven your point!"

Nikei looked back at Hajime and Iroha victoriously, smiling. "See? Told you guys she was fine!"

"I guess so." Hajime commented. "Why were you staring at the calendar so intently anyway, Emma?"

Instead of answering, Emma picked up the calendar and displayed it for all to see. There, circled in bright red marker, was February 14th. Otherwise known as Valentine's Day.

"...Oh." Iroha spoke after a minute, then voiced what they were all thinking. "...Valentine's Day is tomorrow?!"

"Yeah! And none of us have gifts to give to our partners!" Emma said. "That simply won't do, especially for you, Nikei! You have two partners!"

"Don't remind me." Nikei groaned, continuing to stare at the calendar.

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Hajime asked, putting a hand on his forehead. "It's way too late to go ask anyone for gifts, and we can't show up to Valentine's with no gifts!"

Emma sat up a bit straighter in her seat. "That's where I come in! This is what I've been thinking about for the past fifteen or so minutes!" She said, quickly standing up and grabbing both Iroha and Nikei's arms, then beginning to drag them towards the door, nodding for Hajime to follow.

"Eek! Emma, what are you doing?!" Iroha yelped.

"What's the big idea, jackass?! Let me go!" Nikei protested.

"No time for that! Everyone to the kitchens, we're making chocolate!" Emma said, kicking the door open and heading there.

"Chocolate? Can't we just buy some?" Hajime asked, jogging lightly to catch up with Emma, Iroha, and Nikei.

"It'll all be sold out by now, you know this! And if it's homemade, it'll mean even more to all our partners!" Emma countered. "Now let's go! We don't have a second to waste!"

"Hey guys, how about we make dark chocolate for our partners?" Hajime suggested as he grabbed a bowl from the shelf. "It's the healthiest kind."

"No, thank you, dark chocolate is gross. You can make that for Shinji, but I'm not gonna torture my partners." Nikei said as he browsed the shelves, smiling triumphantly when he grabbed the cocoa powder.

"Sorry Hajime, gonna agree with Nikei there. I don't like dark chocolate." Emma said, accepting a measuring cup from Iroha and pouring the agave syrup in her bowl.