Another Taste

"Oi! Amano. . . Wake up. . ." I jolted, waking up with a start. I looked around, coming face-to-face with Kashino, my boyfriend of around six months. We started dating after coming back from Paris. I blinked and smiled sheepishly.

"Hehe. . . Seems like I fell asleep. . ." I mumbled, grinning at him. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, leaning back on the counter.

"Hm. . . What are you making now, Amano?" He asked, looking down at the sweet in front of me.

"Oh. . . It's a peach cake~!" I told him cheerfully, handing him a slice.

"Want to try?" I asked, grinning as he took a bite. He swallowed slowly and looked at me with 'The Face' again. I gulped, getting ready for the criticism that was sure to come.

"It's too dense, and the texture is wrong. The icing on top doesn't compliment the cake at all." He told me, point blank. I sighed and nodded.

"Okay, Kashino. . . I guess I'll try again. . ." I mumbled, disheartened.

". . . But. . . It still tastes okay." He muttered, looking away, his cheeks red. I grinned happily again and threw my arms around him.

"Thank goodness!" I cheered. I heard him place the plate down and gently wrap his arms around me.

"Hm. . ." He mumbled, resting his chin ontop of my head. I sighed happily, leaning against him. I looked up at him and blushed slightly. Our eyes met and he leaned down slightly, pressing his lips against mine. I hummed and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing back softly, the rising sun casting a soft glow around us.

It was nearing Valentine's Day, and I had no clue what to give Kashino. I tossed and turned all night, but no ideas came. I sighed lightly and buried my face into my pillow. When morning came, I rose my from my bed groggily, barely getting an hours worth of sleep. I stumbled zombie-like across the grounds to the kitchens. After our lesson on baklava*, I headed to my two hated subjects: French and Mathematics. I sighed, not really getting anything, my mind too fogged up with my own worries. When I finally drifted off to bed, expecting another night of restless sleep, and idea got in my mind. I rushed to the kitchens and started gathering the ingrediants.

"Ne, Ichigo, what are you making?" Vanilla asked, hovering beside my head.

"Remember those chocolates I made at the Chateau Seika Valentine Party?" I asked. Vanilla nodded.

"Yeah. . . Why?"

"I'm going to make those black pepper ones for Kashino again. He told me he would like to taste them again, anyways." I chirped happily, working diligently. Vanilla laughed and smiled.

"That's good, Ichigo, for a scatterbrain like you to remember that kind of stuff~!" Vanilla praised me. I tensed and looked at Vanilla.

"Who are you calling a scatterbrain, you Pig Sprit!" I huffed angrily.

"Hmph. Look who's talking." Vanilla retorted. We kept throwing insults at each for a good two hours. When our anger finally ceased, we both shook hands and made up, smiling at each other. I went back to cooking, with Vanilla watching closely.

"Finished!" I cried, looking back to examine my work. I beamed, looking at how good the chocolate looked. I huffed in pride, gently placing the chocolates in a heart shaped box, tying it with a red ribbon. I hummed to myself, happily walking along.

"Good thing, too. Valentine's is only tomorrow." I sang, Vanilla giggling to herself. I placed the chocolates on my bedside table and hummed, falling into a deep sleep, glad that tomorrow we had the day off school.

I yawned and woke up, feeling refreshed. I hummed and stretched lightly, grabbing my box of chocolates and peeking inside to make sure they were okay. I let out a deep breath of relief, the chocolates looking okay. I retied the box and marched out the door, in search of Kashino. I looked in the kitchens first, but he wasn't there. I sighed and looked around wildly, wondering where he could have gone off to.

"Hmm. . . Vanilla do you know where Kashino might be. . .? Vanilla!" I looked around me, blinking, not seeing my partner around.

"Eh! Va-nil-la!" I called out frantically.

"Oi. Amano, keep it down. . ." A voice behind me made me jump, spinning around to see Kashino smiling at me lightly.

"What's that?" He asked, nodding to the box. I blushed and held the box out to him.

"Um. . . Some Valentine's chocolates. . ." He blinked and took the box.

"Come on. . . Let's go find a place to sit." I nodded and we moved to sit down underneath a tree. I leaned against the trunk and looked over at Kashino, watching him untie the ribbon and lift the cover off the box. He blinked, and stared at the chocolates inside.

"Are those. . .?" He mumbled. I nodded, smiling.

"Those black pepper chocolates~! I remembered you saying that you would like to try them again, so I made some more for you~!" I told him cheerfully, watching him take one and place it in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully and smiled down at me.

". . . These somehow seem better than the other ones. You must be improving, Amano." He told me. I beamed, taking in his praise happily.

". . . But tell me. . . Do the memories you have of me still taste like black pepper?" I giggled and shook my head and lay my head on his shoulder.

"No, no. . . Their much more sweeter."

*Baklava- A rich, sweet pastry made with layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts. It is sweetened with either syrup or honey. It comes from the Ottoman Empire and much of central and southwest Asia.

Hope you liked this! I got the idea from rewatching the series. ^^ Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Do you think a should make another chapter, with Kashino giving Ichigo chocolates, or should I just leave it like this? Please let me know!