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The eventful winter vacation has ended, and since then, uneventful, peaceful days have continued. My assimilation with Kotone is apparently going well, but there haven’t been any conspicuous changes. I’m still me, and my Kotone-ness hasn’t changed from before.

“This is a lot to carry, if I do say so myself.”

Today is Valentine’s Day. In the past, it was customary to give chocolates to a person you liked, but nowadays, people also give chocolates as a show of gratitude to others. I am no exception, I made chocolates as well. I made a lot, though, but it can’t be helped.

“Still, I can’t not give any away either.”

There are many people I’m grateful to at school, and I have to absolutely give something back to the people who interacted with me normally during my first days as Kotone. And that resulted in this quantity. I did make it so it wouldn’t be much of a bother to keep.

“I should be all set for anything, but…”

I feel like there’s one who’d refuse the chocolate. I’m not giving that guy special treatment or anything, but the chocolate for that person will be different from the others. I put a lot of thought into it, so it probably won’t be refused. Though that guy will likely be really against it after figuring out my intent.

“Morning. Why do you have a lot of stuff?”
“Morning Kaori. It’s Valentine’s Day, after all. Here, this is your portion.”

I took out a cookie from a bag different from my usual one and handed it to Kaori. I decided on chocolate chip cookies to minimize the risk of melting due to the classroom’s indoor heating. I didn’t make the chocolates resilient to melting like the ones on the market, after all.

“I think you can be a bit more dramatic about it, you know?”
“If I don’t act quick with this, I might run out of time, you see.”
“How many people are you giving chocolates to?”
“A whole lot.”

I have a lot to give, but most of them should be quick and easy. The problem would be with those who are at a different class or at a separate place. I have no idea how much time those might take me.

“In that case, I’ll give you one, too… Why are you on guard all of a sudden?”
“Just a bit of muscle memory.”

I recalled my rogues den days, and stopped my extended hand. Whenever there was an event, there were many idiots who went wild. The boys were idiots, but some of the girls were unhinged as well.

“Regarding Ms. Isami and the others?”
“Exactly. Have you ever gotten chocolate flying from a jack-in-the-box for Valentine’s day?”
“Sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I was given a box and told to open it, when I did, chocolate flew right towards my face. I reflexively smacked it down. And then I was treated as the bad guy, so who wouldn’t find that unfair?

“Was that the only one?”
“There was also that idiot who yelled ‘Accept my love!’ and threw a baseball-sized chocolate ball at me. Sent it flying straight up with my school bag, though.”
“You didn’t send it back?”
“We were at the school yard, so it would’ve been bad if it hit other people.”

While I did do stupid stuff, I tried not to bother other students when doing so. It was probably pointless consideration, though. Without any exception, I still end up bothering others. Still, I did keep the damage to the minimum, at least.

“Did you catch it when it fell back down?”
“Like I can catch that sort of lethal weapon bare-handed, It was a solid-hard chocolate ball, you know? It made a loud thud and dented the ground when it landed.”

The moment my bag connected, I felt the weight and gave up on catching it. That thing would have needed a mitt to catch it. The students around us were even freaked out. The inside of my bag was a disaster, so I demanded compensation from her. That idiot really didn’t show any signs of remorse.

“How do I say this? That really went above and beyond my expectations.”
“There was also that idiot who yelled ‘Accept it, peasants!’ and threw a bunch of chocolates from the school rooftop. The suppression team instantly took action, though.”
“Were there any who accepted?”
“None of the regular students accepted it because they thought there might be a catch to it. It was hell cleaning up after.”

The cleaned up chocolates were disposed of by the rogues den. We stuffed the chocolates inside the perpetrator’s mouth. It was like a scene from hell. The chocolates that couldn’t fit in were distributed among the boys, and it actually didn’t taste bad. Apparently, it was home-made. If only she wasn’t so unhinged, there might have been people who would have accepted it.

“And so because of that, after that year, the rogues den’s class had their bags checked every Valentine’s Day and any chocolates would be confiscated.”
“Yeah, the school made the right call.”

I think so too. The confiscated chocolates were returned at the school gate as we were going home, so the school was probably like, “Do just what you want outside.” Who was it that complained that doing it at school was the fun part about it again?

“Just to ask. What about White Day?”
“Ratio wise, there are more idiots among the boys. You know what that means, right?”

The handicraft people really held nothing back, so I’m sure it was unforgettable for the school faculty. Who the hell brings a chocolate made to look like a time bomb to school? The teacher inspecting the bags shrieked and we immediately captured the perp.

“The teachers were scared of those days, calling it the Bothersome Valentines and the White Day of Fear.”
“It should have been happy events, how did it come to that?”
“Like I would know. It’s the idiots’ fault for acting out of line.”

Thanks to that, us so-called normal common sense people of the class had to scramble. We even set up a counter task force for the school’s sake, but none of the teachers joined us. Maybe they thought we were also pretty crazy, going around and punishing the others.

“It’s interesting to hear about, but I feel like I’d get myself more involved with Ms. Isami.”
“Are you bad with Isami?”
“Just a bit, with her energy and carefree attitude.”

Hmm, doesn’t seem like she hates Isami in particular. For as long as Kaori’s with me, Isami will be an ever looming presence. Kaori will probably get used to her eventually. Isami’s energy just breaks through people, whether they like it or not.

“I can tell that she’s a good person, but I can’t keep up with her boundless energy.”
“Most of the rogues’ den are like that, though.”

Actually, even I wonder why I ended up getting used to them. I’m pretty sure I’m someone with common sense. When I told the den about this before, they looked at me like they couldn’t believe it. Why?

“Still, it’s going to be a peaceful Valentine’s Day for you this year. After all, it’s not like there are idiots who would do that at our academy-…”
“You really think so?”
“…”

Silence means yes in this situation, damn it. While nothing happened last year, for this year, I already know a few who’ll try to do something unprompted. And Kaori has already been exposed to that person’s true nature.

“Still, you should be able to handle it. For sure.”
“Putting all this on my shoulders really doesn’t help me at all.”
“I mean, we both know that you’ll start some trouble anyway.”

I couldn’t say anything back because I knew that it was probably true. Who knows what will happen while I’m out delivering my gifts? I can somewhat imagine Kotori’s reaction, but I really can’t imagine what she’s going to give to me.

“I’m thinking of finishing my lunch quickly and handing out the chocolates during lunch, but…”
“I hope you return to your classroom safely.”
“Are you coming with me?”
“You think I would?”

Right? I know that you’re not the type to jump into the midst of chaos by your own volition. Had she been the type to enjoy events, I could have had her as my runner. Why do I have to be this bummed out for Valentine’s Day?

“Today should be a happy event, you know?”
“There are always exceptions.”

As we were talking, we finally arrived before the academy, but is it just me, or does it look more ominous today? Still, it should be better compared to the rogues den days. I have to think positively, or else I won’t be able to manage.