Red and White – Doki Doki Version
I think my Dogoon V fics need a serious fluff injection. The show was, after all, a comedy (up until the last two episodes, anyway).
This is an AU story in which Doji-chan learns about Valentine's Day, her attempt to pull off the holiday, and Shouta's reaction.
Kodai Shoujotai Dogoon V, all characters, and references therein are the property of the Mainichi Broadcasting Company. No infringement is intended or implied.
Chapter 1: Seeing Red
Doji-chan strolled through the marketplace with a shopping basket on her arm. She checked her shopping list. "Green tea, jelly cups, dorayaki, rice crackers, gummy candy, potato chips, cheese curls, Pocky, and two whole cases of curry ramen? Mou, Doka-chan must have made this list." Doji-chan's attention was suddenly captured by a large fancy display of beribboned heart-shaped boxes of all sizes, all filled with tempting assortments of chocolates. As she looked curiously at the display, a salesgirl approached her and bowed.
"Hello, miss. May I help you find some Valentine's Day chocolate?" asked the salesgirl.
Doji-chan's brow wrinkled. "Valentine's Day? What's that?"
The salesgirl's mouth dropped open. "You've never heard of Valentine's Day? Let me ask you this; do you have a special guy in your life?"
Without hesitation, Doji-chan chirped, "Yes, I do! Shouta-san is very special to me!"
"Well now," said the salesgirl, "our True Blue Amore assortment would be an excellent choice for him." She motioned towards a large box that contained chocolates of various shapes, some with drizzled accents and others with delicate graphics. "If he's a very special guy, though, you may want to consider making your own chocolates."
"Making my own chocolates?"
"It's the ultimate expression of one's feelings to give handmade chocolates to the one you care about."
By this time, Doji-chan had picked up a box of the True Blue Amore assortment, but began to think, I wonder what it means if I gave Shouta-san both this box and some chocolates that I made for him? She turned back to the salesgirl. "Can you show me how to make chocolates?"
o-o-o-o-o
"Doka-chan!" yelled Shouta, who stood in the kitchen going over receipts. When he got no response from her, he stormed into the altar room where Doro-chan was putting the girls through some calisthenics. "Doka-chan, I need to talk to you!"
Doro-chan marched forward. "Don't interrupt my training session!" She tried to deliver a roundhouse kick to Shouta's head, but he ducked underneath the boot flying at him.
"Not this time," Shouta gloated, which left him open to a second roundhouse kick, knocking him out cold.
"Shouta-san!" gasped Doji-chan. She rushed to where Shouta lay and began to try to shake him back into consciousness.
"Why's he always picking on me, anyway?" Doka-chan pouted.
Dore-chan spied the receipt that dangled from Shouta's fingers and picked it up. "Maybe it's because you spent too much money on snacks again." She read the shop name at the top of the receipt. "Chocolatier Suisse."
"I've never even heard of that shop," Doka-chan complained, "but it sounds yummy!"
Doji-chan's head whipped around to look at Dore-chan in alarm and her heart began to beat faster. Oh no! I still need to keep my Valentine's Day present for Shouta-san a surprise, but I can't let Doka-chan take the blame for me! "Chocolatier Suisse?" she asked, jumping up and snatching the receipt from Dore-chan's hand. "This, er, must have come from the lady I bumped into at the market today!"
"What lady?" asked Dori-chan.
"I, um, was walking by that chocolate shop at the marketplace, and she ran right into me! She must have dropped that into my bag by mistake." Doji-chan chuckled nervously.
"Sounds kind of funny, but it makes sense," said Dore-chan.
At that moment, Shouta began to come around. Doji-chan crumpled the receipt into her fist and helped him sit up. "Are you okay, Shouta-san?"
"Ugh." Shouta sat up and shook his head a few times. "Hey, Doka-chan, I need to– " he started, pointing an accusing finger at Doka-chan.
"Shouta-san," blurted Doji-chan, interrupting him. "It wasn't Doka-chan. I was walking by the chocolate shop today, and a lady came out, and she didn't look where she was going, and she bumped into me. She must have dropped the receipt into my bag by mistake."
Shouta's eyebrow raised incredulously, but he figured that Doji-chan couldn't possibly be lying to him. "Well, all right. Just had to make sure. And Doro-chan, was that really necessary?" He rubbed the spot where Doro-chan had kicked him.
"I'll get the first aid kit," said Dore-chan.
Doji-chan jumped up. "I'll get it." She ran to the kitchen, the receipt still crumpled in her hand. Oh, that was close. She ran to the pantry, to where she had hidden her box of True Blue Amore and a bag of supplies for making her own chocolates on a high shelf and tucked the wrinkled slip of paper into the bag. Doji-chan then grabbed the first aid kit from under the kitchen sink and ran back to the altar room to tend to Shouta.
o-o-o-o-o
"Hey, Doji-chan, what are you doing?" Dori-chan poked her head inside the kitchen and gasped. The counter and the stovetop were splattered with chocolate. A glass bowl half full of chocolate on the verge of scorching sat tilted in a pot on a burner that was still on. Doji-chan stood wearing a chocolate-streaked apron, ladle in hand, with several plastic candy molds on the butcher block in front of her. The cavities in the molds had all been filled to overflowing.
"Mou, this isn't turning out like it's supposed to," whined Doji-chan. She poked a finger into one of the mold cavities and yelped when she found that her fingertip had left a dent in the still-cooling candy. "Oh no! I need to fix this!"
Dori-chan asked again, "Doji-chan, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to make chocolates to give to Shouta-san for something called Valentine's Day. On that day, humans give chocolates to those they care about, and when they give chocolates they made themselves, that means that the one who they gave the chocolates to is very special to them." Doji-chan pouted. "Why isn't it coming out right?"
"What the…?" Shouta had just come home from class and now stood at the kitchen doorway, both hands grabbing his head, surveying the mess inside with a distressed look on his face. "What the hell is going on here?" he demanded. Dori-chan immediately slipped out of the kitchen.
"Shouta-san!" Doji-chan was so startled that she dropped the ladle, spilling melted chocolate onto the floor. "Um, you're home early."
"Never mind that! Why is there chocolate all over the kitchen? This is chocolate, right?" Shouta noticed the burner that was still on and rushed to switch it off.
Doji-chan fidgeted. "It is. I was… trying to make you some chocolates for Valentine's Day." She suddenly burst into tears. "I tried to do it like the girl at the chocolate shop said, but I think I did something wrong because it's not coming out right. I wanted to surprise you, Shouta-san, because you're special to me," she blubbered. Suddenly, she remembered her True Blue Amore box. "Wait! I bought some more chocolate that I wanted to give you." Doji-chan opened the pantry door and reached up towards the shelf where she had hidden the box. Startled to find nothing there, she climbed onto a stool to get a better look. Now frantic at not finding her box of chocolates, she ran into the altar room. "Hey, have any of you seen– " Doji-chan's voice trailed off as she was horrified to see Doka-chan, Dore-chan, and Dori-chan sitting at the dining table with the True Blue Amore box open in front of them. Doji-chan ran up to the table, snatched the box away, and ran back into the kitchen with it. Seeing that more than half of the chocolates had been eaten, Doji-chan began to cry again. "Oh, Valentine's Day is ruined!"
Shouta's anger at seeing the kitchen half-covered in chocolate dissolved at the sight of Doji-chan bawling over her ruined gifts to him, as he realized the gravity of what she was trying to do. Even though he was still quite upset, he approached her. He slipped a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to gently brush her tears away with his fingers. Shouta plucked one of the chocolates from the box she held, and took a bite. The candy was a dark chocolate truffle, smooth and airy, yet intense in flavor. Wow. This is really good. Shouta rolled the chocolate over his tongue briefly before he swallowed it and popped the remainder of the truffle into his mouth. Now significantly calmer, he said, "Look, I'm, uh, sorry I yelled at you. Yeah, I'm pretty steamed that you made a mess of the kitchen, and you're going to have to clean it up, but I'm touched that you went through all this trouble for me. I guess what I really should say is… thank you." Shouta pecked Doji-chan tenderly on the cheek. He smiled as he looped the strap of his messenger bag over his head and went to set the bag onto a nearby chair. "Come on, I'll help you clean up, okay?" Shouta picked up the bowl of melted chocolate from the makeshift double boiler and sniffed it. He began to think, Why's my heart beating so fast? And did I actually kiss her just now? Shouta stole a glance at Doji-chan before quickly turning away from her, feeling his face rapidly becoming warmer.
Meanwhile, Doji-chan had picked up a kitchen sponge, wet it with hot water, and was scrubbing at the streaks on the counter. Her face felt hot and her heart still throbbed intensely, not because Shouta had been angry with her, but because of what he had just said and done. She took a peek at Shouta, who had bent over to pick the ladle up from the floor. Is it supposed to make me feel all tingly-prickly and make my heart go fast when he kisses me like that?
Lest anyone who's watched Dogoon V forget, there are at least four other girls in the house besides Doji-chan. Even though Shouta and Doji-chan are by themselves a lot over the course of the series, they still interact plenty with the other girls.
I had intended, after this, to have Shashaji, Dogu-chan, or Doro-chan make the other girls apologize to Doji-chan for taking the box of chocolates, but it contributed to the chapter dragging on aimlessly, so we'll just assume it happened.
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Whether or not you have that special someone in your life, I hope that this day is a happy one for you.