Bitter X Sweet
'For some reason, the dark chocolate tastes sweet'
'Ugh'
Mitsuru inwardly cringed as he passed through the halls of his high school. Irritated more than usual, he mentally notes the number of girls 'accidentally' bumping into him just so they could give him their chocolates.
And as always, like any normal day, he flat out rejects every single one of them.
And what was the occasion causing this ruckus, you may ask?
Well, it was Valentines' day- Mitsuru's most dreaded holiday, because of the unwanted attention he always seems to get from the opposite sex, plus, he wasn't really very fond of sweets, which makes things worse for him.
To be honest, he didn't know the reason why girls would constantly pester him, more so today, since he'd always make sure he'd show how uninterested he was with all of their antics. The least he could do as a reaction was give them a stone cold glare and a scoff.
To his annoyance, they just seem to keep coming back.
Mou, not that it mattered to him anyway.
Huffing, Mitsuru finally entered his classroom and made a buzz line towards his seat. Grabbing a random book to read from his bag, he peers slightly over what antics his classmates were probably doing. Amidst the unimportant faces, he could see Zorome and Miku engaging in their daily bickering over something probably stupid. On the other hand, Goro, who was also popular with the ladies, was holding a handful of chocolates while looking over Ichigo and Mitsuru's cousin, Ikuno. In the blonde's eyes were a hint of longing directed towards the tiny bluenette.
On the other side of the room, Futoshi was happily chatting with some random girl while occasionally munching on the chocolate bar he's received- probably from her as well, while-
'Hmph'
Mitsuru's deep green eyes narrow in contempt as they focus on the pink and raven haired teens doing what they normally do everyday- being overly sweet with their public display of affection. It was too sweet, it made him sick.
Up until now, he still hasn't forgiven Hiro for what he did in the past, and he has no intentions of doing so. Because of that incident, Mitsuru made sure to never expect anything from others, or else, he'd only be let down by them in the end.
What makes things more irritating, was seeing the said man, look more cheerful as the days went on, as opposed to his former, depressed self; all because the new girl with an unusual set of red horns, Zero Two, started hanging out with him.
To relieve him of the negative feelings that started to resurface, Mitsuru forces his attention back on the book he was holding. Thankfully, this helped him calm down.
However, he pauses when a pang of realization hits him.
Zorome, Miku, Ichigo, Goro, Futoshi, Ikuno, Hiro and him all knew each other since childhood, so they somehow saw themselves as a 'group. 'Squad 13' as they would call themselves back when they were younger- the reason, he doesn't know up until now.
And seeing them all together in the room, he realizes that there was one person missing.
Although, they weren't exactly close when they were kids, she was always the first to say 'Good Morning' or 'Hello, Mitsuru Kun' during these days- and he still hasn't received any of these greetings as of today.
He hasn't seen a pair of blue eyes that seem to sparkle every time they meet with his deep green one's.
'Kokoro san isn't here yet…'
Kokoro San. They've been hanging out for a while now, and although her persistence bothered him at first, he was slowly getting used to her presence around him. She was genuinely nice and had this air of gentleness around her that's calming, plus, she was his assistant secretary at the student council, therefore he had no reasons to be cold towards her.
Suddenly, a soft thud on his table knocks Mitsuru out of his thoughts. Looking up, he expects to see Kokoro san but was disappointed to see some random classmate holding what appears to be a heart shaped box of chocolates.
"M-mitsuru san..happy Valentines' day.." She blushes. "P-please accept this gift for you!" With an air of indifference, he turns away and scoffs at the poor girl. Dejected, the girl slumps back down to her seat and is immediately comforted by her friends, who were giving Mitsuru hard glances over his cold heartedness.
As if that actually bothered him.
A few moments later, his ears perk up over the soft clicking of the door. He looks up to see a girl with long, ash blonde hair and eyes that resemble sapphires enter the classroom.
Then, as if it was the most natural thing to happen, sparkling sapphire meets with smoldering jade.
As usual, Kokoro waltzes her way to Mitsuru and flashes him a small smile.
"Good Morning, Mitsuru kun."
"Kokoro san…" He responds. "Aren't you a later than usual?" Kokoro sheepishly grins.
"Ah, it seems so..yesterday's been pretty busy at the flower shop." She says as she crosses her arms and put on a thoughtful expression. "...I wonder why.."
Before Mitsure could answer, Kokoro got hugged from the back by Miku. Pulling her away, Kokoro manages to flash him one last smile, before telling to meet her at lunch later on.
A faint tightness looms over his chest but he chooses to ignore it as he readies himself for the first subject.
Making his way through the corridors, evading any girl's attempts of giving him Valentines' chocolates, Mitsuru finally enters the student council room and finds Kokoro fumbling through her bag, her bento neatly place on her lap.
"Kokoro san" he calls out to gain her attention. Kokoro flinches at the sound of her name, but before she could react, Mitsuru has already grabbed a seat beside her.
Although he came off as cold and uncaring, she can't help but revel in the warmth his body emits beside her. It was oddly comforting.
They ate together silently, with the occasional small talk coming from Kokoro. Mitsuru would just hum in response, sometimes giving her his opinions on topics she has started.
However, when Kokoro started talking about wanting to make sweets on her free time, a simple thought entered his mind. 'What would Kokoro san's chocolates taste like?'
Would she make them super sweet? Or would she consider his own preference of adding some light bitterness to it?
Because of that, he can't help but to also ponder whether Kokoro had plans on giving anyone something this Valentines' day.
'Impossible, she hasn't approached anyone yet since this morning…'
However, he couldn't shake off this uncomfort over Kokoro giving chocolates to another man. Unless..
Another absurd idea enters his mind. 'What if Kokoro san gives me chocolates?'
Mitsuru freezes. 'What the heck am I thinking? I don't even like Valentines.' He mentally berates.
But still, why did he feel something was bubbling deep within him? Was it anticipation? Or perhaps, disappointment?
Well, whatever it is, it was irritating him non-stop.
It was already fifteen minutes till dismissal. Mitsuru would be going home early since there wasn't much to do at the council room today.
The whole class was just preparing themselves for dismissal, yet, here he was still being bothered over his previous thoughts of Kokoro san giving him chocolates.
Or better yet, Kokoro san NOT giving him any chocolates this Valentines'.
He has noticed Kokoro's lack of mentioning anything that would pertain to this holiday, nor did she seem to be hiding anything from him or anyone at all. She seemed just the same as always.
And this made him feel even more frustrated.
The only thing to be easing his frustration, however, is the fact no other girl has approached him after lunch to pester him with their Valentines' gifts. 'Seems like they've given up.' he smirks to himself.
Finally, the bell rings. Mitsuru slings his bag on his shoulders and find his feet taking him to Kokoro, who was just finishing saying goodbye to Miku and Futoshi. Mitsuru grimaced a bit when he thought about Futoshi. To be fair, the big guy was a nice person, a big contrast to Mitsuru, but it irks him to no end over how Futoshi was overbearingly devoted towards Kokoro.
The guy just wouldn't stop glorifying and babying Kokoro whenever he had the time. He had a feeling it made the girl slightly uncomfortable, but she was just too kind to reject any of Futoshi's advances. In fact, Mitsuru felt a little sorry for Kokoro since he can somewhat relate to being treated on such a high pedestal.
With the time he has spent with Kokoro, he knows that she may appear to be kind and docile, she was actually fully capable of handling things herself.
Said girl sees him looming near her and fully welcomes his presence.
"Shall we go, Mitsuru kun?" she smiles and her eyes are soft. He looks away.
'There it is again. That goddamn smile of hers.'
Looking forward, he says "Let's go."
Walking home together has been a natural occurrence between the both of them ever since they started hanging out. For Mitsuru, it wasn't much of a nuisance since his home was just a mere 10 minute walk away from hers. Kokoro wasn't also the type to cling unto him like some people he's seen. She knows how to set a comfortable distance and he respects her for that.
"Ne, Mitsuru kun, a lot of girls seemed to hang with you earlier huh?" There was a hint of teasing in her voice.
Breaking out of his thoughts, he turns his head to see her big blue eyes staring at him with curiosity and a hint of amusement.
"So it seems" He said and she chuckles.
"You are actually very popular!" He shrugs in response, knowing that the girl beside him was far more popular than him.
'She's got a whole flock of boys waiting to kiss her feet.'
He sighs. Just the thought of these men pestering Kokoro to no end this Valentines' made him want to regurgitate any of the food he's just ate.
Speaking of Valentines'...
It dawns on him that up until now, he's still bothered Kokoro hasn't mentioned anything about Valentines'!
That dreaded tightness in his chest started coming back. 'Damn it!'
The rational side of him knew it was selfish of him to expect anything from Kokoro and he knew expecting anything from anyone in general is a sign of weakness, but even so, it doesn't erase the fact that he's feeling slightly disappointed over the situation because even if a hundred girls would offer him chocolates of highest quality, it still wouldn't matter since they weren't different like Kokoro.
Yes, Kokoro was indeed different. She was soft spoken- timid at most; but she's also passionate and extremely kind. Never had she had any ulterior motives trying to know him, nor had she forced him to open up to her. With the friendship she's been offering, all Kokoro was doing..was just being Kokoro.
And although he wouldn't admit it out loud, that was probably the reason why he couldn't bring himself to keep her away from him and vice versa.
"Mitsuru kun?"
"Huh?" "We're here, thanks for bringing me home." Kokoro bows and smiles. "See you Tomorrow then.."
'Tomorrow..'
All of a sudden, he is hit with a surge of courage to call out to Kokoro just before she gets inside her home.
"...Today's Valentines huh…" His voice is unintentionally soft for his liking.
Waiting for any kind of response, Mitsuru sees Kokoro turn to him with a confused expression adorning her face. "Va..valentines?"
Realization seems to dawn on Kokoro as her whole face slowly turned redder than a tomato. "Oh no! I've completely forgot!" Clasping her hands together, she bows in front of him, her head almost touching Mitsuru's chest. "I'm so sorry Mitsuru kun!"
Now it's his turn to be confused. "Sorry? For what?"
"I wanted to give you something for Valentines'-" She began slowly. "B-but..it seems I got caught up with all the customers yesterday at the shop.." Kokoro looks down in embarrassment.
All of a sudden, the tight feeling Mitsuru's been feeling all day in his chest disappeared. Instead, an unfamiliar, warm feeling began spreading through his whole body.
Why did he suddenly feel all warm and tingly? Was he actually happy over knowing Kokoro wanted to give him something all along?
It wasn't something he'd normally feel, but...it wasn't exactly that bad either.
Well, whatever it was, he wouldn't let Kokoro see right through him.
As nonchalant as he could say, he tells her "Well, it doesn't matter at all to me anyway."
He doesn't notice, but for a fleeting second, Kokoro's posture droops, but she instantly covers her feelings up with a smile.
"Even so, I'd make sure I'll give you something tomorrow!" She beams. Kokoro then waves goodbye at her friend and finally enters her house with plans of making her post-Valentines' gift for the boy who was still standing outside. Later on, her grandma would tease her for making chocolates late for Valentines'.
Meanwhile, Mitsuru couldn't help but look forward for what tomorrow may bring him.
The next day, there were still some girls trying to give him their chocolates, but as usual, he just walks past them, not bothering to give them a glance.
However, he stops dead on his tracks when a familiar voice calls out to him. Looking back, he finds Kokoro waving at him with one of the brightest smiles he's ever seen on her face.
When Mitsuru fully faces her, she grabs his hand and places a small green box on his palm.
"Happy Valentines Mitsuru kun!" I made dark chocolate just for you!" Kokoro beams with a light blush on her face.
Expecting him to reject her like every other girl, almost everyone there were left flabbergasted when Mitsuru, the boy everyone thought had a stone heart, sported a slight blush on his face as well.
"Thanks." He whispers just loud enough for her to hear.
And when her lips curve into a toothy grin, he could feel the tingling warmth come back to engulf his whole being.
It didn't matter whether Miku would tease him or whether Futoshi would later confront him because for now, he is contented.
And later, as he pops a piece of chocolate in his mouth, his left wondering how such bitter chocolate could still leave a sweet taste on his tongue.
And for once, he didn't seem to mind at all.