Everyone must have at least one person they appreciate or love. Talk about love, what is exactly the definition of the word 'love'? I did some research about it, and I concluded. Even though it's just a simple word, its meaning is vast and able to make a huge impact on one's life.
Okay, back to the point, in my opinion, love is a feeling we feel towards someone - not just in a romantic way, but also when we feel like we care and want to protect them. We want to make sure they're safe and well every time. When we talk about love, what comes to our mind must be anything related to it such as romantic dramas, cute couples, dating, marriage, etc, right?
There must be some of you who are thinking about that sweet event on February 14th too. Do you know what takes place on that date? It's Valentine's Day! Yup, a day to celebrate love and lovers. That's the topic that is hotly debated here, the Central. The military hunters are also no exception in that hot topic. Everyone is busy thinking and talking about presents to be given to their loved ones.
The same thing also currently happens to the Lieutenant Colonel of Central. It all started when she was having lunch with her friends at the usual spot in the park.
"Who will you give your present to, Miss Lieutenant?" Shiro voluntarily asked her with an impatient face.
Surprised by that sudden question, Kurapika didn't have much time to think about that one lucky person she would give her handmade gift. She could only shrug and apologised for failing to give her answer.
"I will give mine to everyone!" Gon jumped and raised both his hands in the air with a grin.
"Me too! I will finish my mission before tomorrow. There are still 45 pieces to bake. But wait, what are you going to give, Gon?" Shiro joined in.
Gon giggled. "Hehehe! It's a secret. You will know it tomorrow. You are going to give yours to everyone too, right Killua?".
"Yeah, maybe. But mine are not handmade. I bought them with the money we got from Heaven's Arena last year. Is it alright?" Killua answered after swallowing his sandwich.
"Of course it's alright. As long as you're sincere and hope for nothing in return, everyone will appreciate it even if it's a bought or cheap present," Senritsu replied after a long silence and pointed her index finger onto KIllua's chest.
"I'm still in progress. I don't think I'll get many presents tomorrow because yeah, I'm not that good-looking man. I'm sure the Colonel will get a lot of gifts from his fangirls. Talk about him, how are you two doing these two months? Anything special occurred between the two of you?" Leorio teased while making a face that Kurapika won't hesitate to land her fist on it.
"No, nothing special, I guess. Maybe I'll just give mine to him since I'm not that good at cooking and I don't have much money to buy presents for everyone. I finally succeeded in baking only one chocolate last night after an uncountable number of attempts," Kurapika answered.
They continued chatting and got up to go back to their office after taking a glance at their wristwatch that showed almost one and half past morning. They can't wait to wake up on a beautiful morning tomorrow.
xxxXXXxxx
Tomorrow finally came and everyone brought their beautifully wrapped presents, flower bouquets and sweets. Kurapika brought her handmade chocolate in a small box wrapped in a shining golden wrapper. She was worried about her cheap-looking present but she was certain the receiver would like it. She was on her way to her office when she ran into the Colonel who was surrounded by a lot of girls. Suddenly, she felt something light fall on her right shoulder. She quickly turned her head to her right and was surprised to see all the Genei Ryodan beside her. The one who patted her shoulder was Shalnark.
"Good morning, Miss Kurapika! Happy Valentine's Day. Wow! The Colonel sure is famous among the girls here, right?" Shalnark commented. The others nodded and Kurapika suddenly felt something uneasy flash through her. Then, she heard a very familiar voice call her name. She saw her friends come towards her and she somehow felt happy and relieved.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Kurapika! Oh, good morning Major Genei Ryodans. It's been a while since I last met all of you together. Here, I made chocolates for everyone," Shiro greeted and gave each of them a small pink box with a red ribbon.
Everyone thanked her and then Gon gave everyone his gift, chocolate chip cookies in a plastic tied with pink ribbon. "I'm sorry if my gift is not much. I baked them with Aunt Mito and Granny yesterday. I'm sure your gift is better, right Killua?".
"Nah. Mine were bought and unwrapped. But it's the only thing I can buy in large amounts. I have a lot of these at my house too," Killua replied while scratching his head. Then, he took out and gave everyone Chocobots, his favourite sweets and Senritsu gave everyone her gift too, chocolate marbles in a golden plastic wrapper.
Then, Leorio approached Kurapika and gave her a small blue box with a white ribbon. He got a slight blush on his face. "I've decided to give my only present to you, Miss Lieutenant. I'm sorry if it's cheap but I hope you'll like it,".
Kurapika received the gift and thanked Leorio with the sweetest smile she could pull. Leorio turned around while scratching his head but everyone could still see him blushing. Then, he told everyone that he had work to do and waved goodbye. Kurapika then remembered about the gift that she will be giving to the man she chose.
She then told everyone about it and brought herself in search of the man. She saw nobody on the spot she last saw him, so she kept walking and saw the one she's looking for in front of the Colonel's office after she passed the corner but backed away when she realised the Colonel wasn't alone. She peeked from the corner and saw a pretty girl was giving a gift to the Colonel. The Colonel then placed both of his hands on both sides of the girl and placed a quick peck on her forehead. The girl blushed, pushed him and then ran away while covering her face with her hands. The Colonel chased after and grabbed her. She stopped, gave the Colonel her gift and continued to run away. He took it with a disappointed face and then made his way back to his office.
Suddenly, Kurapika felt the same feeling flash through her. She didn't like it. It hurts. She placed both her hands on her chest and tried to control her respiration. "Is this the feeling people call 'jealousy'? No, that can't be. I never had any feelings towards him. Not in a romantic way. I only see him as my superior and I respect him. But why? Why am I feeling like this?".
Kurapika inhaled and exhaled before walking towards her office. She hesitated to open the door at first but she mustered up her courage to enter and forget about what she saw. The Colonel had both his hands covering his face and looked depressed but the moment Kurapika closed the door, the Colonel lowered his hands and pulled up a smile. Nonetheless, Kurapika saw a bit of sadness in his eyes.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Lieutenant. I'm sure your day is great. Let's forget about work and have fun. Just for a day," the Colonel said, then walked towards her and reached out his hand to pat Kurapika's head but she brushed his hand away. The Colonel was surprised by that and moved a step backwards. Kurapika interrupted him when he was about to open his mouth. She just couldn't let her question remain unanswered.
"Who was that girl?".
"Who?".
"Stop playing around. You know who I'm talking about. The girl who was with you in front of our office just now. Who is she?".
"Oh! That girl. She's just a friend of mine. Nobody special. Why?".
"Why did a 'nobody special' get a special gift from you?".
"What do you mean a special gift?".
"A kiss! Why did she get a kiss from you?".
"So you saw us. Why do you ask? Are you jealous?".
"Jealous..? I'M NOT!".
Kurapika covered her mouth with both hands. Surprised by what she just said. She never yelled so loud like that. Never in front of her respected one. "Excuse me,". She said then ran out of the office. The Colonel was about to chase her but he didn't. It's best not to make her feel worse, he thought. So, he got back to his seat and thought about how to solve this problem. One false step would lead to an even worse problem. How can he tell his beloved Lieutenant that he wasn't kissing the girl, but he planted a 'nen spell' wishing for the girl to meet her life partner.
xxxXXXxxx
Kurapika entered one of the toilets, locked the door and squatted with her back on the door. She regretted what she did just now and couldn't stop crying. It's been a while since she last cried like this. She couldn't face her superior with her current condition. She was surprised when someone knocked on the door but relieved when she heard a calm voice belonging to no one other than the Music Hunter, Senritsu.
"Kurapika, is that you? Why are you crying? It's okay. Come on out. Share with me. I will hear everything,". Kurapika wiped her tears and opened the door. Senritsu opened her arms and Kurapika hugged her. She continued sobbing on Senritsu's shoulder while Senritsu patted her back lightly, calming her down. Then, Kurapika backed away and told Senritsu about what she saw and what happened between her and the Colonel.
"I see. So that's what happened. You were jealous, weren't you?".
"I don't know. But I felt this weird feeling every time I saw the Colonel with another girl. I don't want to admit it but I feel somehow jealous? I don't know. I don't know how to apologise to him. I'm sure he's still mad at me. What am I supposed to do?".
"Kurapika, what makes you think he hates you?".
"Eh? I asked something sensitive and yelled at him. How does he not hate me?".
"Throughout my experience working under him, he's not the type of the man who holds a grudge and hurts others' feelings, even the feelings of a woman. I'm sure he will forgive you. As for the part where he kissed a girl, I'm certain he wasn't kissing her. He probably did something else but was always being misunderstood by others. Like that one time, we saw him kiss Shiro's forehead and then she slapped him. We saw him tell Shiro something that made her bow in apology afterwards. Shiro told us that he only placed a 'nen spell' to wish good luck for her this year,".
"So, he did the same thing to the girl? Placed a 'nen spell'? Not kissed her?".
"Yes, I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt your feelings. He just didn't know how to explain it to you. He must be very troubled now. As far as I know, he is a kind-hearted man who will forgive anyone who apologizes to him,".
"Thank you so much for listening to me, Senritsu. I feel a lot better now. Just like you said, he is a good man and won't hurt anyone's feelings just for fun. I will go and apologise to him now. Thank you again, Senritsu,".
"Don't mention it. Good luck!".
Then Kurapika rushed out and went back to her office but she didn't see the Colonel anywhere. She walked in and saw something on her table. A bouquet of white peonies, her favourite flower. "I never told anyone about this, yet how..?". Her attention landed on a piece of pink paper that fell from the bouquet after she took up the bouquet. She took the paper and analysed each word. One by one.
'I bought this bouquet of white peonies for you. You must be wondering how I know you love white peonies, right? Well, I did say I did some research on you. Do you still remember that? You did write about it in the favourites column in your form. I'm sorry if my actions have been considered invading your privacy. I'm sure you already know the truth from Captain Senritsu. It's not your fault... I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. But worry not! I already forgive you. I'm sorry again. I've been keeping this up since the first time we met, but I just couldn't say it... I...
I love you.'
The last three words kept repeating in her mind. She couldn't hold her tears anymore. "You fool,". She said in sobs. She didn't know the Colonel was watching her this entire time outside the slightly open door. He could only smirk and then made his way to the cafeteria to fix himself with a cup of freshly brewed cappuccino.
"Maybe I should buy one for her too,".
Konnichiwa Minna-san!! I'm sorry for being absent for almost a month! Ah! I miss you all so much. School just started after almost half a year of lockdown... That's why I didn't have much time to write. I'm so sorry...... :( I made this special chapter just for you! The longest chapter I ever write:)))) I'm sorry if my story seems weird because I only write about what I usually see when they celebrate Valentine's Day in anime and TVs. I don't know much because I don't celebrate it but don't worry! Haha! Everything's under control. Don't forget to vote, share and comment ya! Love you so much! <3
(Mon, 15 Nov 2021) oh yeah, happy birthday, Sir Colonel Lucilfer XP