ENROBING
"A technique used to cover praline with an outer layer of chocolate"

It was the thirteenth of February, and for some reason, all of Kahoko's female friends were gathered inside her kitchen for some last minute chocolate making. She didn't mind that they had decided to use her house for their love mission (as Nami had called it), but the redhead did find it a tad bit ironic. After all, she was the only one without a love interest in her life.

"What do you mean by that?" Nao had pointed out, just having placed a new batch of her batter into the fridge for chilling. Kahoko hadn't realised that she had voiced her thoughts out loud, but did come to the conclusion that it was too late to take it back. "Out of all of us, you probably have the most interesting romance by far! I mean, dating the Ice Prince of the music department. Who would have thought he was your type?" She blushed at Nao's obvious excitement, about to correct her when Mori decided to jump in.

"He's everyone's type, Nao." The pianist bluntly corrected, taking her eyes away from the concoction that she was currently mixing. "I'm kind of more shocked that it actually happened. Tsukimori isn't exactly the type to have a girlfriend, you know? There used to be a bet in class about whether he swung the other way or not." A mental image of Len being embraced by Yunoki Azuma came to mind, and Kahoko decided that somethings were left unthought of or unmentioned. Plus, it was just plain weird that they'd think he bluenette gay. He had that mixture of appeal and aloofness to him, yeah, but it was certainly a masculine aura that he emitted. She did, however, get a kick out of imagining Len in a baby pink dress - wait, wrong time to be thinking about that!

Her friends were blowing her friendship with the other violinist out of proportion!

"He's just my friend." She answered meekly, dipping her finger into Nami's blue mixing bowl - ("Hands off the goodies, Kaho!" The journalist had shouted in response) - for a taste. It was smooth and rich if not a little too sweet. "And what is it with you guys and this violinist romance? That legend doesn't necessarily have to refer to us you know! And I'm nowhere near his type. He'd probably go for Mori-san before he'd go for me." The pianist cringed at the thought before flicking her spoon in Kahoko's direction. The redhead ducked to avoid her clothes getting dirtied.

"As much as I am honoured by that observation," Mori began sarcastically. "I'd much rather get your other friend's attention. Him I can actually see myself with."

"And I'll be there as that progresses to make sure that everyone knows that there's a pianist romance going on as well!" Nami exclaimed, causing a bright pink blush to spread across Mori's face. She cliched the wooden spoon in the other girl's direction as well, but Nami had avoided it much like Kahoko. "What? It's quite the scoop you know! And I need something to entertain me until I get an officially photo of our school's actual ace couple. You and Tsuchiura would be perfect for that role!"

"Who are you even making chocolates for, Nami?" Asked a suddenly curious Mio. "You haven't told us about a boyfriend."

"That's cause it's not for a boyfriend - ("Then what was the point of calling this a love mission?" Kahoko whispered) - it's for a friend who I promised chocolate to." Nami explained. "I sort of forgot to give him a Christmas present and he got me this really great recorder - ("Maybe he likes you. That's why he wants chocolate from you." Mori commented offhandedly) - so I told him I'd make him chocolate as a thank you." Mori, Nao, and Mio all shared knowing looks, while Kahoko lost herself in thought. The journalist had a point. Chocolates on Valentine's day didn't necessarily have to be romantic right? As a thank you, she had even said.

"Maybe I should make Tsukimori-kun chocolates after all…" She mused, earning the attention of the girls in the room. Kahoko noticed her slip up almost immediately, but was already faced with the knowing glances of her friends. "As a thank you, like Nami! He's been helping me a lot with my violin and he deserves some sort of thanks from me! It's not what you're all thinking!"

"But, Kaho, you can't possibly expect us to believe that it's just for a thank you, right?" Nami spoke up.

"And if you want to thank him, why not buy him something instead of handmade chocolates?" Mori inquired.

"Well…" Her friends had a good point. She could just buy the bluenette violinist something, it would have the same value and would save her a lot of work. Plus, wouldn't he be mad at her if they were homemade? Kahoko could imagine Len say, in his stern scolding voice, that she should take better care of her hands. What if she had injured her fingers - or something like that. It made sense to buy him a thank you present, but why didn't it sit well with her? Why did she feel like doing that would be wrong? "…I think that he deserves home made chocolate." She reasoned instead.

After all, he tutored her without asking for much in return. He made sure she improved, and made sure that she was always at her best. He deserved something genuine and from the bottom of her heart to show that she appreciated what he did for her…right?

"So…what did I miss?"

All the girls looked up from their respective tasks and found Shouko standing underneath the kitchen way. Her cheeks were red due to the cold outside, but the green haired teenager looked slightly confused about how zoned out the older girls were. "Is everyone done?" She asked timidly, snapping everyone out of their temporary shock.

Kahoko was thankful that the issue of homemade chocolates was forgotten in the commotion that followed.

When Kahoko arrived at school the next day, she was nervous. She was twitchy, unsure, and most of all paranoid. What if he took it the wrong way? What if he didn't like them? What if he just threw them away afterwards? Inside, the redhead knew that this wasn't supposed to be as big a deal she was making it to be, but she couldn't help it. Especially when the weight of the box of chocolates inside her bag kept reminding her of what she was about to do. Maybe I should just - no, I already made them, and he does deserve them.

She hung her bag on the side of her table and released a sigh the moment she took a seat. Girls were already chattering about confessions and new couples, and the entire Valentine's buzz was just not affecting the violinist properly. Her being early to school was a testament to how nervous she was, but it ended up setting a bad tone for her day now, seeing as all the chit chat around her did nothing but aggravate her? Who came up with the rule about chocolates being a confession of love anyway? There was a reason why there were to types of Valentine's gifts! One of them was so that girls could give out chocolates platonically - as in, none romantic related. Kahoko felt like she was the only one who understood that in her class.

Especially when one of the girls (that Kahoko wasn't quite acquainted with) approached her with a giddy expression.

"So did you give your chocolates to Tsukimori-san already? I bet he was surprised!" Again, that box of chocolates in her bag popped into her mind. Damn it, and damn this stupid plan of hers. "Did he give you a smile? Did he blush? Tell me, is the Ice Prince really that cold all the time, even to his girlfriend?"

"I'm not his -"

"Nonsense." Kahoko did not appreciate getting cut off. "You don't have to hide it, everyone in the school is talking about it! You should be proud that you nabbed, he's pretty popular with the girls you know, even if he doesn't know or care. How'd you do it actually? Did he fall in love with after he heard you play? Cause that would be so romantic!"

She had no idea how red her face was (it was probably just a tad bit lighter than her hair), but she felt her cheeks burn up with every word that the hopeless romantic in front of her released. Especially more so when other girls joined in and began speculating alongside her. Kahoko, on the other hand, had learned that the rumours were getting out of hand. That one particular girl that mentioned something about a secret make-out session in the practice rooms definitely had her on edge, seeing as that never happened and she had no idea how they came to that conclusion. She'd tried to pipe out with every new theory, but another girl would beat her to it. They actually seemed to have forgotten that she was there.

"Morning, Kaho-chan!" Nao suddenly exclaimed, causing every girl in the room to fall into silence.

"Good Morning." Kahoko greeted in return, grateful that the group of girls had dispersed - for now. "How did it go this morning? Doesn't he walk you to school every other day?" Nao seemed over the moon actually, and was probably in the best mood that the redhead had seen her in ever. She still asked though, because it was obvious that her friend wanted to talk about it.

"He was so cute, Kaho!" She responded. "And he promised me something great for White Day too!"

Now if only Kahoko's interaction with Len would go that well later …

In the totally platonic sense of of course!

"So how about you? How late did you stay up making chocolate, huh?" The teasing tone in Nao's voice made it clear to Kahoko that she knew very well that the redhead had worked hard after they left. They had sort of forced the idea on her, after all. "What type did you make him? Give me all the details! No - wait, give it to me after you give them to him!"

"Nao, it's not that big a deal. It's just obligatory (giri) chocolate!" She tried to defend herself. Much like always though, her friend was already coming up with different scenarios in her mind. Apparently, she and Len were already having a winter wedding in two years and were going to have twins (a boy and a girl) that would inherit their violins from them in the future. Kahoko felt her blush actually deepen, and her stomach was filling with a sensation that both made her happy and confused at the same time. Nao only stopped talking when Mio came into the room. It was a good thing that Nami was in a different class. Kahoko didn't think she could handle the three of them.

People filled the classroom further, with girls form other homerooms entering to call for the boy they harboured affections for every now and then. The violinist took notice of a couple of popular guys getting called multiple times, but was not prepared for when Ryotarou ran into the room - sliding the classroom door behind him. Kahoko heard the girls calling for him from the other side of the door, and had to stop herself from laughing when she saw her friend's terrified expression. As a pianist and a soccer player, it wasn't a mystery why he had so many admirers.

The clean rectangular white box with the green ribbon in his hand didn't escape her hazel orbs however. She wondered if -

"Oh, it looks like Mori's hard labour is already paying off!" Mio excitedly whispered from behind her. "I wonder if he accepted her feelings too! Cause there was no way he'd believe that was obligatory chocolate, right? They're not that close, and he mainly knows Mori through you." Kahoko felt herself get nervous for her accompanist.

Male classmates laughed (or complained in spite and jealousy) at Ryotarou's pain, and the green haired pianist didn't pay them any mind. Instead, he released a relieved breath when he noticed that the pushing on the door decreased significantly. Kahoko felt for him, so she decided to move forward and give him a helping hand. He looked up at her in panic at first, but seemed okay enough to come to the conclusion that she was not one of his fangirls. The redhead helped him stand up and steady his feet.

"Please tell me you don't have any chocolate for me." He sounded almost desperate.

"Sorry, but no." She answered, small smile playing on her features. "I could ask one of those girls to come back if you want one though."

"Funny." He snared back. "Hilarious, Kaho. I'm rolling on the floor and my gut's about to burst."

Ryotarou moved to his assigned seat beside Kahoko and practically fell onto his chair. He offered greetings to Nao and Mio, with Nao offering him a box of obligatory chocolate that he accepted with a nod and a curt thanks. He seemed to be calming down - at least until Mio suddenly brought up the other box of chocolates that was in his grip.

"Who are those from, huh?" The redhead found it pleasantly surprising that Ryotarou blushed and placed the white box on the table. There was a light green note stuck to the ribbon that was tied on both ends of the box. He whispered the name they expected to hear (with Kahoko getting just a tad bit giddy due to Ryotarou's demeanour) before reaching for the piece of paper. Kahoko, Nao, and Mio all began to scoot behind him to get a better view, but the pianist had read their movements and hunched his back forward to hide it. They, of course, booed in retaliation.

He read the note rather quickly before stuffing it into his coat pocket. Ryotarou then made good work of opening the box. There were milk chocolate hearts inside, with little intricately carved notes on each one of them. When Kahoko looked closer, she noticed that the notes were actually from a piece composed by Chopin called 'Nocturne'. She noticed her friend smile at the realisation as well. Mori always had been witty and creative (which was probably why she got along with Nami so well) in everything she did.

"So…" Kahoko began. "What are you planning to do."

Ryotarou popped a piece into his mouth in response. "I'll tell you when you give yours to the ice cube."

Kahoko blushed. And she had just gotten rid of her nerves too! Thanks a lot, Tsuchiura-kun.

School ended a lot faster than she would have liked, and her friends were in on the plot of making time for faster. They refused to talk to her after class (instead urging her to head on to violin practice with a certain Tsukimori Len) and had been adamant about having things to do. Even Ryotarou, who she had thought would be the one person to help her delay her inevitable fate, had told her that he had somewhere to be that didn't quite involve her. So Kahoko embraced her fate and began her trek towards the music department practice rooms.

As expected, he was already there. She didn't even need to enter to know that he was. Sound proof as the room was, Kahoko had this internal signalling system that allowed her to detect when Len was playing the violin. It started around after the time she had heard him perform Polonaise Brillante. When she finally did go into the room (as quietly as she could so she wouldn't disturb him), Winter by Antonio Vivaldi entered her system. Once again, performed to perfection by her teacher. It was almost surreal to watch him - the way his fingers moved over the strings, the way he controlled the bow, and even his calm expression as he played such a strong piece and yet made it his own. Kahoko felt her eyes fall shut.

She was in trapped inside a snow globe, that was her first thought. For there was no way that such a beautiful scene existed in the real world. The ground was covered with a blanket of white, while snowflakes continued to fall from above her. There were no dead trees around her, no hibernating animals or ice paved roads. Instead, what she saw was a frozen lake that was calling out to her accompanied by a warmth that seeped into her despite the chill that the music was sending up her spine.

Kahoko snapped out of her trance the moment she realised that Len had stopped playing and was staring at her with a mix of confusion and amusement.

It sort of brought back a fond memory of Len playing Ave Maria with her looking in through the window. He'd seen her then too, and had always been observant despite his focus on playing. It was almost unfair to her that he was just so perfect in that aspect. He was cold, and uninterested, and a lot of choice words that Ryotarou probably had an entire deposit box full of - but he was also amazing, and that was something that nobody could deny. That conquer win was undeniably Len's from the start.

"You're late." He said sternly. "But when are you never?"

She would have preferred the removal of the jab, but apologised (again) as she always did. The redhead then set aside her school bag and began preparing her violin. Len would usually take a break from practicing as she did this, slowly looking over sheet music and pieces that he deemed either suited her or challenged her. Normally, afterwards, they'd begin practice without much of a fuss. She would play the piece, he would give her tips and advise (if not scold her altogether) and fix her posture and hold if ever need be. The tingle of his fingers on her elbow proved to sometimes be the actual cause of her mistakes, but Kahoko would never admit that. Not even to herself.

Today was different however, seeing as her bag just wouldn't stop bugging her.

The plan had been immensely simple. Attend practice, act natural, then walk to the school gates just like any other day. Then give him the chocolate as a thanks before parting ways. It wasn't rocket science, and it was the best course of action. But after messing up enough times (more so than normal) Len's patience was wearing thin. She could see it in his face, even if he still hid behind his stoic mask. It was plain obvious to her that he was getting frustrated, so it didn't surprise her when he told her stop.

"What's wrong with you?" The bluenette asked seriously. "You're out of it…more than usual."

Oh great, that's all she needed to hear. To find out that he had noticed that she'd been spacing out during practice more often than not on the previous days. It really wasn't like she could explain it (well, this time, maybe she could but that was beside the point), and it sure as hell wasn't like she wanted to when he could damn well be the cause of it.

"Uhm…ugh…It's nothing." Len raised a brow. Yeah, she didn't he'd believe it either. "Really, it's nothing. We can talk about later, and I really want to finish this piece so…why don't we continue…?" He was not buying it one bit. His posture was stiff, and he looked at her with expectance and a bit of accusation. It was a bit hard to just continue when he was scrutinising her every move and muscle twitch, and knowing this caused her to sigh. Really, the plan would have worked so well. Damn that school bag and those chocolates.

"You're really not gonna let this go, are you?" Len didn't need to answer for her to know. "You're just gonna think it's silly."

His brow twitched again. This time it meant one thing and one thing only. Try me.

Great, Kahoko thought as she stood from the piano bench and set her violin back inside her case. She could feel Len watching her and following her movements. He seemed almost confused when she grabbed her school bag and made her way back to the seat. Kahoko placed it on top of the piano's surface and took a breath. She opened it, and the blue box greeted her and made her blush - along withe cute red bow and note on top of it. Her hands clamped onto her bag and hid it away from her view once again, her hazel orbs meeting Len's golden ones. His were confused, while hers were probably frantic. Kahoko then began talking a mile a minute.

"Uhm…don't take this the wrong way, okay - wait, no, that sounded wrong. I mean, what I'm trying to say is that this is for thanks and it's not for anything else - but that's not to say that you're not worth the other thing…just…yeah, well, yeah." Len seemed more confused then the time before she spoke. Kahoko sighed. "Look, this is to say thanks okay? For all of this - (she motioned to the violin, the piano, and the practice room and general) - and for putting up with me. I know I probably stress you out a lot, so I thought you deserved something - not that I don't think you received a lot already." The last part was said in a whispered voice and was more for herself than for the bluenette.

"Will you get to the point?" He stated, clearly getting impatient.

Kahoko opened her bag once again, shakily reaching for the box and gently clutching it before taking it out. It was probably her imagination, but she could have sworn that she heard him catch his breath. She avoided Len's golden eyes as she began walking towards him, halting only when she was in front of him. Her face was burning and her stomach was threatening her by churning her lunch around in a very unpleasant way. The redhead was twitching and shaking badly, her knees weak and her voice uneven and uncontrolled.

She extended the blue box towards Len accompanied by a bow, a loud "Happy Valentine's Day!" escaping her as she did.

She refused to look up at Len and find out his reaction. Kahoko had managed to embarrass herself in one day, she thought, and just seeing his bewildered expression was probably more than she could take. A few tense seconds passed before she felt Len take hold of the box, a soft "Thank you" accompanying the movement. She still didn't look at him, instead choosing to turn around and walk towards her violin to pretend and busy herself. The sound of the bow being unknotted and the note being read made her heart beat like a drum in her ears. Kahoko wouldn't give in though. She wouldn't look…she wouldn't look…she wouldn't look - and then she heard him opening the box and turned around so fast that she was amazed she hadn't fallen over.

What. Is. Going. On?!

His face was not what she expected. He wasn't confused, heck, he didn't look like he was fazed. If anything, the redhead thought that Len looked curious. There was no way that this was his first time receiving Valentine's Day chocolate, that was a certain, but yet he looked like he was holding something that he couldn't quite understand and make out.

Len gently moved aside the red paper and pulled out the clear case of handmade chocolates inside. The world probably turned upside down without Kahoko knowing, because Len's feature morphed to that a small, and yet, amused smile. "Thin Mints?" He inquired, looking up at her with that same expression. Kahoko was this close to asking him if he was an alien, or at least an alternate dimension's Len - because her Len never looked like that. Ever.

"Uhm…Dark Chocolate ones, yeah." She answered.

"Hmm." He released, setting aside the box and opening the clear case to take a piece. He placed it into his mouth without a second thought, and that made the girl blush harder for some reason. It also gave her the need to defend herself, seeing as Len never really clarified if he liked dark chocolate (or chocolate at all) in general.

"You don't look like the type who would enjoy anything sweeter…so…I thought dark chocolate thin mints would be a safe thing to give." She honestly had no idea what possessed her to blurt out the next words out of her mouth. "Do you like them? I can make you more next year if you want."

Goodbye cruel world, she said to herself. Hand covering her mouth to prevent her from ever saying anything like that again.

The small smile didn't disappear. "Does this mean I have to get you something for White Day?" He asked bluntly.

"What? No…I mean, I wouldn't mind…but you don't have to! This is a thank…you…after all."

Len set aside the clear case of chocolates and moved back to the sheet music. His posture was less stiff, and he seemed like he was actually in a better mood than when they had started. Kahoko was now the one confused - gobsmacked was actually the proper word to use. "Now that, that's over with. Let's get back to this piece."

Kahoko couldn't find it in herself to argue.

ENROBING
"A technique used to cover praline with an outer layer of chocolate"
Just like how Kahoko covers up her true feelings with those of friendship

HI THERE! First up, I would just like to say that this is a one shot collection centred around the theme of Chocolates on Valentine's Day and White Day. I'll post one shots when I'm inspired, and have them be in the exchanging POVs of Kahoko and Len. They can be in random periods of their lives (depending on what I'm actually in the mood to write), so don't expect like an actual story flow and just read them as they are.

This story is dedicated to my friend! Let's call her Gabsy for some anonymity! She's a really awesome friend who's obsession with chocolate inspired this FanFic! Hopefully it convinces her to watch this anime, cause I know she'll love it! She will also probably tease me about my ship, seeing as I am a HaruRin shipper and Kaho and Len's hair are sort of the same symbolic colours. To finish this off, I would just like to tell you, Gabsy, that NO I AM NOT A ROMANTIC AND NEVER WILL I BE.

I own what I own, nothing more and nothing less.
Excuse errors and typos for now, point them out and I'll edit.

HASTA LA BYE BYE
~REIGN~