Nobody's POV
"And how would Valentine's day be going about for you?" Y/N asked towards his computer, or rather the person presented within it.
"Incredible!" came her reply. As described by the screen, the background was that of bedroom, charmed with a femine touch so it included things such as stuffed animals and lots of framed photgraphs. The general colour scheme was that white with a smooth layer of rossy pink to make for a relaxing atmosphere with some romantic potential. However, that occupied by a fraction of the screen, the elephant in the screen was the face of a beautiful girl, around fifteen, with silver hair and crystal blue eyes that seemed to have the potential to trap any man's heart within them for all eternity.
"Tell me about it," Y/N coaxed while getting up to turn off the lights before opening the blinds to make way rays of indiscreet sunlight to filter through, brightening the room naturally. He was slightly sleepy, a side effect for getting up so earlier, but that was a small price to pay for the conversations he had with friends and family around the globe. When he checked the time on the digital clock, it revealed that he had spent the last three hours engaged on skype and other of said communicative devices.
The room itself was a lot more messy than usual, his school bag was settled lazily upon the floor, only remaining semi-upright due to the support offered by his bookshelf. The bed itself was unmade, although there was objectively very little to make up, with a few annoying folds and positioning from the blanket and pillows. It was really starting to get on his nerves, not to mention the dust he felt underneath his feet.
"Well, to be with," Sabina began. "Immediately, after I arrived in school, I was met by five to six guys who proposed to me with chocolate and flowers!"
"I see," he said, returning to his seat. "I heard from Libby that they taste wonderful, the flowers were roses...right?"
Sabina's eyes immediately lit up in response to his questioning. "Oh my...y-you actually bothered to find out about me!" She seemed to evict herself from her wheeled-chair before doing a self-congrajulating dance on the spot to celebrate her supposed "miracle".
"Now, now, let's not get our hopes to high," he chilled, inclining her to sit down. "But, anyways, did you accept any of the proposals?"
"Nope," she replied casually. "No one but Y/N L/N is for me!"
"Oh, stop," he commanded, hiding his own embarrassment. "You and I already have more than ten thousand kilometers between us and you are still that adamant about going out with me?"
"If a girl cannot even stay loyal to her love...what value does she have?" Sabina countered. "My adamantness is a display of my loyalty and love for you, Y/N. So please, please, please go out with me when you visit..."
She even decided to strike a begging pose as if it would hold volume in convincing him. "Prehaps," he replied with a comedic type of strain.
"Prehaps?!" she cried. "What is that suppose t-"
"Goodbye!" he exclaimed, closing the tab and shutting down his computer. He took a long breath while staring the black screen. There was something on his mind, or rather, something in the air.
Hailing from a bloodline of hidden aristocrats, control was tight when it came to who he could meet, talk to, go out with (at one point, his parents had actually banned him from leaving the house on Valentine or White day)...while it was certainly fustrating at times, he could see their reasoning to do so. While his family no doubt had their fame hidden from the general public, with a little bit of digging, collecting of information, and some luck...one could rather quickly conclude that his family was, by no means, normal. Said financial treasures and wealthy secrets and levers made them a frequent target of blackmailers or terrorist who saw them as potential ATMs, said enemies didn't seem to have a limit as to what they would and wouldn't employ. It didn't matter whether they were using elderly women, young kids, teenage girls, as long as said method opened the possibility for infiltration, it was almost certain they would turn to it.
Because of such, he had never actually experienced a true Valentine or White day outside what what portrayed in TV shows, or based on description provided by his friends. But that was quite different now, with his parents dead, he could actually go out with someone to celebrate with millions across the globe.
His heart was beating so fast in response to his excitement that he almost wondered just how much of an idealist he was seeing how all that hype could be generated from staring at a black computer screen. Eventually he decided it was probably best to tsake a shower, hence he walked over to his closet to pick clothes without any particular order to match.
Timeskip- During math
"I wonder where Y/N-san is," Lisa beckoned. "Only he could help me make sense of this stuff."
"Well, wherever he is...he isn't here, at school," Yukina replied bluntly. "And since he isn't here yet, although it is already the second period, its unlikely he will be showing up."
"I know, I know," Lisa replied lazily. "But...I guess I just hoped that he would show up today, you know, it being Valentine's day and all that. I wonder if he is doing alright..."
"Hmph, I think you shouldn't be worrying about him as much as you are," Yukina scoffed.
"You say something like that Yukina-san," Lisa began, but leaned inwards to finish her sentence, "and yet you spend time daydreaming about him."
"W-What?" Yukina managed, face flushed.
Lisa gigled before leaning back into her chair so they wouldn't get caught talking. "Come on, Yukina-san, its not like it was a secret or anything~"
"I-I don't-"
"Oh, come on, Yukina-san," Lisa said exasperatedly. "You need to be more open to him, while you always act all stoic and cold towards him...we know you secretly worry, especially when you'll ask Marina-san about how he's doing everytime we pra-"
"Okay, okay," Yukina responded in quick succession, her pale face how riddled in crimson. "But it doesn't matter if he doesn't feel the same way."
"But you don't know that, do you?" Lisa countered rhetorically. "What's important is that-"
"Imai Lisa, that is the third time this week!" the teacher cried, turning with disappointed annoyance glinting in her glassed eyes.
"I'm sorry miss," Lisa responded feebly, turning away from Yukina and towards her shadowed notes.
Timeskip- To lunch
"Do I really love him?" Yukina asked inwardly. It was the question that had been undoubtedly plague her since she had first laid eyes and spoke with Y/N, however, the conversation earlier with Lisa seemed to have rushed it to the front of her mind as the single, most demanding, question that needed an answer in spite of everything.
She allowed the spoonful of the grey, spotted, grainy excuse for soup the canteen offered. She gulped the trikle down forcefully, its slimy texture with plain flavouring made for a combination that caused even her to shudder. She unconciously pushed the bowl away, causing a little to tip over and spill onto the table. She tried to clear her mind by focusing on the silent complains of her stomach, but the nature of her atmosphere was sufficient to derail even that primal desire.
Girls all around her, it didn't matter whether they wereseated on the same table, or across the room, their tippy, squeak-filled, conversation seemed to have a way of getting towards her. Whether it was a word, or a whole phrase, it was all about the same topic: Valentine's.
Most of the overheard conversations amist the sea of white noise was those regarding advice as to how best express their love. Purchasing cookies, or making chocolate? Kiss on the lips, or pinic with one on the cheek? They were discussing all of it around her as if it was the next, or current, big thing. It was curiously effective on raising anger within her. Or was it envy? Envy that all of those nameless girls had been able to be true to themselves, had been able to befriend, had been able to confess.
Yet what did she, the great Minato Yukina, have to show for herself? An occassional conversation here and there, a few seconds of close proximity and handful of shared presence? "Pityful," she thought. It seemed that it wasn't until all the cards were laid bare did she notice just how much of a plague Y/N was when it came to her internal dilemma.
"Yukina-san, I understad that you aren't really a talktive one but...is there anything wrong?" Sayo asked, looking at her from across the table.
"No-I," she began, but stopped in face of the lost for words.
"Don't worry about it Sayo-san," Lisa said, caving in by putting an arm over Yukina's shoulders. "Yukina-san was just thinking about a special someone~"
"Really?" Sayo asked with an urgency for what the reply would reveal. "Yukina-san...I never thought of you as the person who would-"
"That's because I don't," she replied more harshly than she intended.
"Aww, don't be like that Yukina-san," Lisa coaxed. "You need to be honest with yourself or else he might end up with someone else."
Her face immediately erupted in rossy red which caused a semi-drastic action resulting in spillage of that poor excuse of a soup all over her, at least that gave her the excuse to leave.
Timeskip- After school
"Well, prehaps I should've attended school today," Y/N thought. Of course there were certain reason he didn't go, namely because reorganisation and restocking of household supplies was the main concern. Not that it mattered much, though, everything they could teach he knew, but deeper.
He shoved his hands lightly into his coat's pockets in response to the breeze of wind that ran past him leaving a silver of coldness. He shivered lightly in response to this. All around him he saw couples present, regardless whether they were adults or teenagers, all had a jolly smile pasted onto their face to express their excitement for the companionship they had been receiving.
He had been right to dress for the relatively chilly weather, a white t-shirt underneath incase he got hot, with navy blue jeans all nicely, sealed up by a black coat. ranted it made him look a lot older than he really was, it had recently become apparent that he was oddly lacking in the winter clothing department. Hence his earlier purchased.
A few paper and plastic bags held onto his arm that have become angular in form as per his walking stance. Taking a deep breath to allow cool air to freeze and dry up his body, he came to understand just how thirsty he was...thank goodness he spotted a cafe a few blocks forwards. Smiling inwardly as silent thanks for his luck, he walked a little faster in anticipation.
Timeskip- In cafe
The two of them were seated in a table towards the back of the cafeteria. It was a relatively small-squarish wooden table illuminated lightly by the yellowish bulb from above. Lisa was commented by a small cup which mixed apple juice with vinegar and honey, a healthy approach. Yukina, on the other hand, sat with he cup of milky-coloured coffee, which, beneath the brown surface laid numerous spoonfuls of dissolved white sugar meandering happily inside the allowance provided by the cup's ceramic walls.
"Alright, fine...I confess that I do like him," Yukina said, basically forcing the words out of her lungs.
"Excellent!" Lisa exclaimed, clapping her hands lightly together as if to celebrate the moment. "You're finally true to yourself, Yukina-san, so...what's you plan?"
"Plan?"
"You know, for today-Valentine's day," Lisa responded.
"I...I need to prepare something?" Yukina asked, apparently oblivious.
"Of course you do!" Lisa cried, although she remained indful of her noise level. "Why do you think every girl has been fussing about today? After all, what better way to express love than a token, be it physical or otherwise."
Yukina didn't reply, nor did she meet Lisa directly in the eye. When she did, all explaination were provided.
"You...didn't prepare anything, did you?" Lisa inquired, already knowing the answer.
"Well, I wasn't expecting to have to actually give anything out," Yukina replied, the stench of guilt clear in her words.
"But you should always be prepared," Lisa rebuked. "You never know when you might get an oppur-"
She was completely derailed by an abnormally loud sound of bells ringing joyfully rich. Most people didn't even bat an eye when the door swung gracefully open, however, due to her nature, Lisa turned to examine the newcomer. It wasn't who she expected, but it certainly did help convenience.
"Hello, sir, may I know how may people to seat?" came a teenage-looking waitress, nearby the door, asked while carrying a menu.
"Ah, only me," he replied, smiling.
The waitress blushed lightly. "R-Right this way, sir."
"Thank you," Y/N said.
"Y-You are welcome," the waitress managed, she spotted the waitress fiddling with her hand behind her back where Y/N was blind to, a clear sign of nervousness. "When you order, l-let me know, I'll personally note it down."
"Alright," Y/N responded, flipping a sheet up to being in specting the menu. "Actually, I've already decided...I'll take a cup of Earl Grey and some almond biscuits. Thank you."
"R-Right away, sir," the waitress finished, scuttling away.
Lisa immediately turned to look Yukina in the eye just after the scene finished. "Well, he's all alone now...are you going to make a move?"
Yukina pulled an embarrassed expression. "W-What? How am I suppose to-"
"Just go," Lisa said, assuring Yukina by taking her pale hands in her own, "just go and tell him the truth."
"The truth?"
"You know," Lisa began, a smug smirk drawn deeply into her pale features, "the truth that goes, 'I love Y/N-san'~"
"W-What?" Yukina muttered helplessly.
"Come on, already," Lisa said with noticeble annoyance. "Just how much encouragement do you need to confess. I guess that's what you've been so reflective about, right?"
"Y-You're wrong?!"
"Nope! That's not the case! Its so obvious to me!" Lisa cried. "Since Y/N is now hardly at work, even less so at school, you haven't been able to see him for a while. Hence, that's why you've become more and more earnest about him day by day, whether you constantly pester Marina about it, or ask Sayo, or anyone who has seen him recently."
Yukina remained silent throughout Lisa's declaration. Seeing the current emotion state her usually "cool" friend had been thrown in, she evidently softened her tone. "Please...you should tell him properly, convey your feelings honestly."
"That...isn't it-"
This time, Lisa simply glared at her intimidatingly, slowly breaking through her many-layered system of denial.
"F-Fine," Yukina managed, after a few ageless seconds. "O-Only because it couldn't be helped."
"Okay, try your best," Lisa finished encouragingly. However, when Yukina finally left the table to cross the cafe in order to approach her goal, Lisa muttered: "Yes...if you don't say it properly...your feelings...will really not be conveyed..."
"Ah, hello, Yukina," Y/N greeted cheerfully. "Fancy meeting you here, please, do sit."
"T-Thank you," she managed.
Y/N chuckled lightly. "What are you thanking me for? I haven't done anything."
Yukina shook her head, her silver hair free-flying in the air in reference to her quick swipes. "No...you have done, a lot for me."
"Please, its nothing-"
"No!" Yukina cut in. Taking Y/N's hands in here's after plotting herself down. "Y/N has done a lot for me. I-I'm grateful."
"Well, I'm touched," Y/N replied smiling. "Ah, my hands."
In spite to Y/N apparent implicit request to let his hands go, Yukina actually held on a little tighter, giving a it a soft squeeze. "Please stay..."
"Well, I wasn't actually going to leave," he began. "Why do you sound so meek out of the sudden?"
"C-Could you...go to the park with me?" Yukina asked quietly, absorbing his attention with her beautiful eyes.
"Sure," he replied galiantly. "Why didn't you ask earlier?"
Timeskip- To park
"This is nice, you know," Y/N said, trying to strike up a conversation. In truth, he found it rather strange that Yukina was essentially silent throughout their journey to get to the park, even when someone screwed up within the view (whether it was falling over, or dropping something), she seemed to have muted her cold comments that were usual to the situation. It was mildly worrying. "Being able to go on a stroll..."
"Don't you do this daily," she muttered, not facing him. Instead, she was more concern on setting up a rented blanket upon the grass, a nice spot for viewing.
"Excuse me?" he questioned. "Well, I suppose I do, although-"
"So, going on strolls are more important than seeing your friends in school," Yukina raised, accusively.
Y/N remianed silent on that. Truth was, school had become very uncomfortable to him very quickly. He didn't particularily need to show up to lesson, everything they could possibly teach, he already knew tenfold more about. Simply showing up, forget all the "unorthodox" behaviours and shenanigans he pulled, was enough to send ripples of whisper and gares in his direction. He left the life of fame for that very reason, he had no plans on allowing said poison to inflitrate the life he had gone through significant trouble to rewrite.
"I assure you," he began, carefully, "My reasons for not showing up do not, by any means, hold that as a point."
"Then why?" Yukina asked bluntly. "What reason would you possibily have in mind, then?"
He was about to answer, however, a flood of thoughts seemed to have drowned the attempt right before it was excuted. Instead, he broke into a small smile and diverted the conversation. "Well, that's my secret...regardless, why did you suddenly suggest to come to the park?"
Now it was Yukina's turn to swallow her words. "W-Why? I-Is there anything wrong?"
"Not at all," Y/N replied. "Its just...how shall I phrase it, new of you to do so. As far as I'm concerned, backed up by occassional chats, you seem to be on the colder side of the personality scale."
Yukina seemed to have her heart stop, upon hearing that. Face was completely flushed, her left hand fell upon his right, giving it a little squeeze, as her gaze dropped to the stone-tiled pathway beneath them. "D-Do you dislike me...because of that?"
"I-not at all," Y/N managed, changing his phrasing on the spot in order to prevent the crisis of sounding offensive. "I suppose its more of a...interest that requires special care as opposed to complete dislikeness."
"So, I'm troublesome," she concluded negatively.
"Prehaps," he began, seemingly killing her emotionally. "Or prehaps not. How shall I know? I've met, befriended, so many people like you that I've actually forgotten any sort of glamour or custom I have to keep in mind every time we meet, its more...how shall I put this? Spontaneous, now-"
"You can drop the honeyed words, Y/N-san," Yukina said, stopping suddenly. She looked up slightly, just enough for him to catch a small view of her eyes. "I-I know you are just trying to make me feel better..."
"Maybe I am," he admitted. "But would you rather me dish you the ugly truths?"
"Yes," she replied, the next line was spoken quietly. "If you don't like a girl...at least let her know."
"What was that?"
Yukina didn't respond. Y/N sighed silently. "Well that went splendidly," he thought, "come on, say something. Don't leave me behind in the conversation."
"Why?" she asked in an ironic tone. "You were about to leave me behind."
"I don't-"
"Sit," she commanded.
And so he did as he was told. She sat upon the far right, he to the far left. They stayed silent for a moment, only watching the sadden sunlight trickle onto the vast pond ahead of them, each droplet of water was magnified in significance like the beauty and complex elegance found only in a diamond on a wedding ring.
"So," he began slowly, in a soft tone. "What's up?"
"Y/N-san..." she began. "D-Do you think its weird that I don't have anyone on Valentine's day?"
"No," he replied thoughtfully. "That was me for quite some time, actually. Why? Do you have someone in mind?"
"Yes," she answered quickly. Out of the blue, she cupped both her hands against her face as if to hide her expressions. "I'm...such a failure."
"Hey," he said, moving a little closer. "What gave you that idea?"
"I-I can't even confess-" was all she could manage.
"Well," Y/N began assuringly. "Confessing is nothing easy, don't feel discouraged if you can't bring yourself to doing it."
"But, its so pathetic," she spat. "I-I can't say a certain drop three words to the person I like."
"Would you rather have him reject you?" Y/N asked rhetorically.
"W-What?"
"I mean, how shall I put this?" he continued. "If you have your hopes so up high that he will accept your confession...have you considered that he might do the opposite?"
Yukina seemed to think it over. While her hands had long since been removed as a mask, her eyes were indiscrete and distant from Y/N's. "N-No."
"There," Y/N said, smiling. "That's some advice for you, take some more time to prepare yourself prior to your confession, ensure that you can handle rejection."
"T-Thank you," she whispered.
"Don't mention it," Y/N responded. "I just want to spare to the pain..."
"What?"
"Did you honestly think I've never been rejected myself?" he asked cheekily, but the sadness was apparent.
"I-I see," Yukina replied. She suddenly felt a hard pang of guilt against her chest, she was whining and groaning, about events that were still hypothetical, to someone who had actually tasted the sour fruits of rejection.
"But that's all in the past," he said mildly. "I wish you the best in your confession." And with that, he rose in preparation to bid farewell. "I guess I'll be in school tomorrow-"
"Wait!" Yukina cried, lungin up to grab his hand. "Please!"
Evidently this surprised Y/N by a considerable degree. "What is it? Do you want me to send you home? Call a cab?"
"No, no," she said, stubbornly shaking her head before looking deep into his eyes. "D-Don't leave..."
"Alright," Y/N said uncertainty, reseting himself. "What's up?"
Yukina took a condensed breath. "A-Are you currently e-engaged to anyone?"
"I-no," Y/N answered. The technicalities of his answer, that could easily tip the not-so-clearly-define line between telling the truth and lying, was kept silent.
"D-Do you have...anything against getting one?"
"Not at all," he replied with a small smile, the direction of the conversation. And with that, he gathered some confidence to lean for until their faces were only about three inches apart...before he finished without an anti-climax.
Yukina was stunned to the point of immobility. She certainly wasn't expecting that. It seemed that she only came alive when Y/N wraped an arm around her neck to pull them closer to one another until no notable gap between them existed.
"Happy...V-Valentine's day," Y/N whispered, thirsty for air. "So, are we in this now? Together, I mean."
But Yukina couldn't look him in the eye, instead, she turned away in shame. "A-Are you sure you want this, Y/N? I mean-"
"Absolutely," he affrimed, holding up her hand in both of is until they were in between their chest. "Why would you think otherwise?"
"Its Valentine's day," Yukina began, forcing the words out. "I-I should have gotten y-you chocolate, or flowers, or something-"
"Don't trouble yourself on that," Y/N dismissed.
"Y-You're not upset?" Yukina asked, taken back by his casual reply.
"About what?" Y/N laughed.
"You know..." Yukina said in a self-depreciating manner, "me not fullfilling my obligations-"
"And what "obligations" would there be for you to fullfill?" Y/N questioned. "You haven't even answered my question, yet. Oh, and if Valentine's bothering you...just know that, according to the customs I follow, I was suppose to get you something."
"Then...we are even?"
"If you'll call it quits, I'll do the same," Y/N replied with a smile.
Yukina's expression became one of heavy sediment, hence her suddenly lunging forward to wrap Y/N up in her warm embrace in response to the chilly wind running around them.
............
"Why does it hurt so much?" Lisa thought. She knew that she shouldn't be doing this-stalking her friends at a distance. She clutched a box of chocolates towards her chest that hurt so much.
It was an ironic situation she had found herself in. While she had consistently tried to get Yukina to confess to Y/N, it was out of care for her. So, shouldn't she be happy that her friend managed to pull it off? Not exactly, a deadly pang of jealously wa sinstead fostered within her heart.
She couldn't resist the propect in letting Y/N, her secret crush she hadn't come to admit t herself yet, be stolen away by anyone before he even had the chance to know of her feelings. She bit her lower lip and crouched a little lower so the bush could better obsure her presence. She watched as Yukina leaned near Y/N's ear to whisper something.
"I love you," were her words.
Lisa's fist unintentionally clenched as she tried to shake herself from her selfish thoughts. "Yukina-san has worked so hard to get Y/N-san, its only fair if she can keep him," she muttered softly to herself.
But it was all useless, her heart and resolve stubbornly refused to admit it. She looked out again to spy upon Y/N's smiling face and wished that she had the courage to tell him.
End.
A/N: Glad to see you finished the chapter. Personally this chapter felt like a drag to me, I'm not so sure any more.
If you did spot any errors (grammar, spelling, etc.) or have a suggestion for the sequel chapter, please do comment :)