Chapter 89 – A Day Dyed with Crimson Hearts and Roses

 

I was sitting at a table.

 

My eyes were focused on the table as I waited for something.

 

Suddenly a bite-sized piece of chocolate appeared. It was merely an ordinary piece of chocolate without any design printed on it.

 

Quickly, I picked it up and put it in my mouth. Contrary to my expectations, it was tasteless, rather, the taste made me feel strangely uncomfortable. Three more chocolates appeared and I had to experience the same thing thrice.

 

Bang!

 

A sudden impact startled me, I looked up by reflex and saw Arina, wearing an apron while standing across the table. Everything else was pitch black, only the table, the plate and Arina were not. It reminded me of a buggy video game.

 

She was staring at me with a glare that could kill.

 

“Why didn’t you eat my chocolates?!”

 

I was clearly eating them! Wait, they were yours?!

 

She seemed upset and my reaction worsened her mood. The girl leaned forward, put up her knees on the table, then she moved her face closer to mine. 

 

“Why didn’t you eat my chocolates?!”

 

Too close! Too scary! What was happening?!

 

This was the first time that I tasted a chocolate this tasteless. What kind of magic did you use to make something like this, even?!

 

I tried to speak up to placate her, but I found out that I couldn’t move my mouth properly. What was happening? What was going on here?!

 

As I was stuck in this dilemma, an unsettling noise echoed and another piece of chocolate dropped into the plate. Then, suddenly, chocolates poured out of my mouth like a waterfall. I didn’t even feel sick, but the chocolates kept coming out, ignoring the law of physics.

 

My vision was filled with chocolate as I sank into the sea of chocolate that came from my mouth.

 

Just as I was wondering how deep this sea would go, Arina appeared in front of me and hugged me. I screamed.

 

“I’m going to die!!”

 

Everything made no sense. Who was I talking to? Why would I die from this? I kept asking that question, but it was futile as I would be dead soon.

 

Arina hugged me tighter and tighter to the point that my limbs started to ache. Seriously, if you keep doing that, I’ll die! Mom, please, save me!

 

That was when it happened.

 

“I love you.”

 

*   *   *

 

I woke up.

 

It was all a dream.

 

Everything was a dream, but it felt like reality. Human’s mind was so silly, I mean, it was obviously a dream, but why did I treat it as reality? I shoulda been able to realize that the moment I started vomiting chocolate out of nowhere.

 

I noticed that half of my body was sunk in the gap between my bed and the wall. Who did this to me?

 

Myself, of course.

 

“Shut up! You’re disturbing the neighbors!”

 

I heard my sister’s familiar voice coming from behind me.

 

I hadn’t heard the sound of knocks on the door, but I heard it was being slammed open by her.

 

Seriously, I kept telling her that she had to knock properly before entering a teenage boy’s room. This was written in the Constitution. What kind of Japanese citizen were you?

 

“Ugin, help… What’s happening to me?”

“Eh…”

“Please tell me what’s going on? Will I die?”

“Um…”

“Just be honest with me, please. If I really am going to die I want it to be as painless as possible… Give me some cr*ck…”

“Just hurry up and eat your breakfast!”

 

I heard the door closing. So I was abandoned. I begged her to come back. Seriously, I didn’t want to die! I got money for you, please come back! I had a daughter and a wife! I had a promise I hadn’t fulfilled, please! Don’t leave me!

 

*   *   *

 

As I was busy feeding my brain with the optical information emitted by the TV, Ugin roused the air around me and shook my eardrums. In other words, she called out to me.

 

“Seriously, what happened to you? How did you end up in that position?”

“I don’t know! When I came to, I was already like that. I don’t want that to happen again, ugh. My ribs are deformed now for sure. They’ll come out of my chest and I’ll turn into an alien.”

“You should visit the doctor.”

 

Well, in any case, I got out of that situation at least, but still, what the hell was that dream? Was it because today was Valentine’s Day? What did that have to do with Arina, though? And why did I say that I liked her?! I was a believer of Akakusa-sensei supremacy, dammit!

 

“Here.”

 

Ugin threw me a small rectangular gift box. It spun around in the air before falling into my hands.

 

“My my my… What is this, I wonder?”

“It’s the last year for real.”

 

I opened it and found one of the legendary Ugin’s chocolates inside.

 

I was deeply moved.

 

She was an angel, purifying my rotten heart. The excitement from receiving this chocolate shook my heart, which was trembling like a majestic pipe organ. This was all I ever wanted.

 

Picking up the shiny, jewel-like chocolate, I stared at it intently. The surface was as smooth as a baby’s skin. If the reflection of a certain guy wasn’t in there, it would have been more perfect.

 

How pretty. Its beauty was out of this world. I didn’t want to eat it, it would be a waste to do so…

 

“Quickly eat it. It’ll melt if you just hold it in your hand.”

“Thank you. I promise I will make you a statue comparable to the Statue of Liberty. I’ll let the whole of Japan know about Sakaki Ugin’s greatness!”

“Please don’t! It’ll be embarrassing!”

 

I took a big bite. Very good. Now, this was life.

 

*   *   *

 

Today was Valentine’s Day, the day of judgment. Only on this day would the boys dress up properly. Yes, they did it to attract the opposite s*x.

 

Though, I found it was a dumb thing to do. Girls would have someone in mind already at this point, there was no point to try to curry their favors anymore. Hoping that they would change their minds and give their chocolates to you? That wasn’t hoping anymore, but coping. The day’s significance was higher on the high school students than grade school students, because at this point in their life, they were starting to get conscious of the opposite s*x.

 

I tried to act like a bystander, but I actually was quite nervous about today.

 

It was because of Arina. When would she give me her chocolate? Would she just stuff it inside my shoe box? No, calm down, putting food in that kind of place was just gross. See? There was nothing in there.

 

I walked to the class and saw some boys standing in the hallway holding a cardboard box. There was a paper on the box with ‘Give mercy on us pitiful dudes’ written on it. Those guys were shouting ‘Mercy!’ in unison while doing it.

 

Well, that was the end of the line for them. No one could save them anymore. I bet that they would continue to beg for chocolates even after the human race went extinct.

 

As soon as I entered the classroom, Makoto jumped at me.

 

“I GOT IT!!”

 

There was a cute little paper bag on his bed. He received the thing properly from Ruka it seemed.

 

“Good for you.”

“You were right, Sui!”

“I told you. Have more faith in her, seriously.”

“Mhm! Well, I’m sorry, Sui~ I hope you’ll also get one!”

 

This guy was such a pain in the…

 

I swear if he ever invited me to his wedding, I would pee in front of him at the ceremony.

 

“I mean, my sister already gave me one.”

“Does that count?”

 

Oi, what the hell? Was he making fun of Ugin’s chocolate?

 

Alright, change of plans. I’ll get naked and dive into the wedding cakes. I’ll become a snowman!

 

Then I’ll confess to the bride and start a shuraba.

 

Anyway, attempting to communicate with this guy was a pain, so I brushed him off and left him alone. Looking around, I noticed a different kind of tension among the boys.

 

They made the kind of face that one would make when looking at the result of a lottery. Or at least, that was the air they were exuding.

 

“Good morning~”

 

Niwatari Tsuru greeted me as usual, but there was this strange feeling I got. I decided to take my daily lycopene intake to cool myself down. I slammed my tomato juice on my desk.

 

“Are you seriously gonna drink something cold in this kind of weather?”

“I have to, it’s necessary for me.”

“Just drink water like a normal person.”

“For me, tomato juice is as necessary as oxygen and water. If I don’t have enough of it, I’ll die. Mentally.”
“What a troublesome constitution you have… Anyway, the boys are acting strange, seriously, why are they like this?”

“It is what it is. I mean, have you seen those guys holding that cardboard in the hallway?”

“Yeah, they did it last year too, didn’t they?”

“Yes. You know, I’m wondering what would happen if a boy were to put a chocolate inside. It would be interesting, wouldn’t it?”

 

Tsuru laughed while flapping her hands. Man, I wanted to try it. Should I also give a wink when I do?

 

I reached for the can on my desk, but Tsuru took it away. She then placed a bag of pancakes in its place. That caught me off guard, so I instantly froze.

 

“I wonder what is this?~”

 

Asked Tsuru with a nasty grin.

 

That size, that color, I knew what exactly this thing was.

 

“TNT bombs.”
“Wow, amazing, you sure know your chemical substances.”

 

No way. She really gave me pancakes? Now I’m scared.

 

“Thank you, Tsuru. This actually makes me feel happy…”

“You’re welcome. It’s because we’re friends, okay? There’s nothing deeper than this. I want to say it’s obligatory, but you’ll feel depressed if I do, right?”

“Got it, I’ll eat it when I get back home.”

“Feel free~”

 

I carefully put it in my bag.

 

“Look forward to White Day.”

“Oh, definitely.”
“I’ll ask my sister to teach me.”

 

Tsuru then went back to her seat.

 

I felt elated. Sorry for thinking of you as a mere chicken, from now on, you will be a beautiful crane in my eyes.

 

In any case, the atmosphere in the school was tense. The boys weren’t as wild as usual. They seemed to be lying dormant for now.

 

To fuel the atmosphere, there were posters all over the place, courtesy of the journalism club.

 

The posters had a western touch on it, definitely not because of the words ‘I GIVE YOU MY CHOCOLATE’ plastered on it in angular Gothic English font. This was obviously the handiwork of Toma. There was also a small recruitment notice on the lower right corner of the poster. That guy really would stop at nothing to secure more members for his club. 

 

I was too busy staring at the poster to notice Arina standing beside me.

 

She was also looking at the same poster as me.

 

“Is this guy gay?”

“He’s just trying to recruit new members, don’t think about it too much!”

 

Oh cr*p! I could feel my heart pounding.

 

TL: Iyo

ED: Dodo