AFTER DARK | naruto

44 | Valentines Special! love and friendship!

"These chocolates are from the dollar store." Lee suddenly commented, examining the box front to back. "I wouldn have put much more effort into it, my love. I know you don't like simple chocolates from the dollar store--but are a fan of [candy]!' He threw the chocolates into the air for no apparent reason as he got close and held your hands. "I will be right back. I cannot believe I forgot it was valentines day, but I will never make the mistake again!" He vowed before running off.

"Not to fast, Lee! You're still recovering!" You called out to him.

"Oh, right! Forgive me!" He called back, only dialing down the speed by a second.

Neji caught the chocolates on their way down and stared at them. "Oh, they are from the dollar store..." He opened the box and ate one. "Could be much better.... Considering what little money you have."

"Who said you could eat my valentine chocolates?" You sweatdropped, grabbing them out of his hands--he didn't offer much restraint when you did. "You could be considerate of what little money I have and leave it for me!"

Neji didn't answer you for a few seconds, swallowing the chocolate before speaking. "Checking for poison." He excused, slow blinking--his straight face could have convinced you if you didn't know the Byakugan could tell for poison with a glance. "No poison. Though they are bad quality. Clearly, they're not keen on spending money."

"You're a cheapskate yourself, Neji. Because... Oh... I'm getting a salad since the Hyuga have a sense of modesty." You mocked his voice, eyes closed--and since your eyes were closed, you missed his grimace. "Not because I can't handle spicy foods."

Neji grimaced, narrowing his eyes at you. "Food preferences have nothing to do with being a cheapskate." He was probably right, but you didn't really care. "If I were to give into valentines traditions, I'd give them something far more valuable than dollar store chocolates."

"So... You're actually a hopeless romantic?" You asked him, looking up from the letter you reread for the thousandth time.

"No." He quickly denied. "It's just a what if." He crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "A what if I have no care for."

"Yeahhhh.... Whatever." You narrowed your eyes suspiciously. "Do you have any clue who would have sent this?" You asked, looking back at it. Neji looked, as well.

"There are a few dunces I know who'd write this way." He opened his eyes, looking at the letter again. The word dunces was a slip of the tongue. He was working on the accidental name calling.
Those dunces he suggested were Lee, who clearly denied it given the effort put in. Naruto, who you could see writing so badly, but then Neji commented that he was always an idiot, not just around you. He said Kiba wrote like a dog, but also said there'd be at least a single dog hair on it. On the subject of cowards, he suggested Hinata--but denied that because he told you that you'd definitely tell if that girl had a crush on anyone. Ino would probably gift something like flower, similar to Sakura. And the lack of effort could definitely mean it was from Shikamaru, but even then, this was too much effort for him.

So then, who!?

They sure seemed socially inept, too.

If they were able to slip that into your bag without Neji noticing with his Byakugan, then they were pretty damn sneaky. Or had a Jutsu of sorts. That didn't exactly leave any answers.

You had to go out onto the streets to get any ideas. Naruto was at Ichirakus with Sasuke and Sakura--and it seemed Naruto was complaining about not giving or receiving any valentines while Sasuke got a handful of them.

Ino was at the flower shop with a forced visit from Shikamaru and Choji because of their parents, Shikamaru kept saying things about how much of a drag Valentines Day was, and Choji was listening. He said it wasn't to bad since chocolates were a common theme during the holiday.