Red and White - Shinken Chartreuse Version
Okay, enough of the angsty Dogoon V fics for now. I'm going back to some fluffy cuteness with Chiaki and Kotoha. Here, in another post Act-49 story, the couple celebrates Valentine's Day and White Day, despite their distance. For an explanation of how the Japanese celebrate Valentine's Day and White Day, please check out the intro to my fic "White Day Blues."
Those of you who have read my Dogoon V fic "A Date With Doji-chan" know that I got a bit carried away with the Shogo Suzuki crossover love; it continues here, but no dead ringers for Suzuki-kun in this story. That would just be too off the wall.
Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, all characters, and references therein are the property of the Toei Corporation and TV Asahi. Chi Chai Monchan and Hello Kitty are the property of Sanrio Ltd. PlayStation 3 is the property of Sony Computer Entertainment. No infringement is intended or implied.
Chapter 1: Red-Rimmed Eyes
Chiaki unlocked the door to his apartment and kicked off his tan skate shoes. "I'm home," he called to his roommate. He hung his keys on one of the hooks by the door and went to his room to drop off his messenger bag.
Chiaki's roommate, Kouta, wearing a blue pub worker's uniform, looked up from his PlayStation 3 game. "Welcome back. You got a package. It's on the kitchen counter."
"Thanks." Chiaki went to the kitchen and found a medium-sized box wrapped in white paper on the counter. His heartbeat accelerated when he noted the return address. "Oh wow. This is too cool." His fingers trembled as he tore the paper from the box. He lifted the lid on the box to find a large pink envelope sitting on top of a smaller box. Chiaki picked up the envelope and opened it to find a card with Chi Chai Monchan and Hello Kitty dancing on the front amidst floating hearts. Inside, the card read:
"Happy Valentine's Day, Chiaki. I hope you like the chocolates. Onee-chan helped me out a lot with making them. I miss you and can't wait until the next time we can see each other again. I love you. Kotoha."
Chiaki removed the lid from the smaller box. Inside was an assortment of chocolates in different shapes. A few of the candies had tiny pockmarks from air bubbles, and the centerpiece of the box was a large chocolate heart on which was unevenly drizzled "Chiaki" in white chocolate. Chiaki smiled; it was the first time in his life that he had ever received honmei-choco, and he couldn't think of a better person to receive it from. He brought the box out to show Kouta. "Check it out! My girlfriend made me some chocolates for Valentine's Day!"
"I figured that that's what was in the box when the postman brought it and I saw that it came from Kyoto." Kouta set down his game controller and looked over at the box Chiaki showed him. "Pretty cool. No honmei-choco for me today, but a few girls from some of my classes did give me some giri-choco."
"Yeah, I got some giri-choco today, too. Oh, man, this is pretty sweet, no pun intended." Chiaki set the box of chocolates on the dining table and took out his Shodophone to snap a picture of it. "Have you ever gotten honmei-choco before?"
Kouta answered, "Couple of times in the past. Unfortunately for the girls who gave it to me, I wasn't into them and I had to let them down easy. I mean, it was flattering, but I didn't want to string them along, you know?" He checked his watch. "Aw, man, time to go to work," he announced. He saved his game, switched off his PlayStation 3, picked up his backpack, and got up from the couch.
"Good luck," said Chiaki. "You think you guys will get some good business tonight, for Valentine's Day?"
"Are you kidding? We don't even really get much business, even on White Day. At least the place makes enough so that Master can keep the place afloat." Kouta went to pull on his black canvas slip-ons.
Chiaki went to the fridge, opened the door to see what there was to eat, and frowned. "Hmm. I probably should have gotten some groceries on the way home. Maybe I'll stop by Kame-chan later and grab a bite or something."
Kouta nodded. He hefted his backpack onto his shoulder, lifted his keys from the wall hook, and walked out the door. "See you later."
"Later." Chiaki shut the fridge door, then went back to the dining table to look at his honmei-choco from Kotoha. He sat down at the table, drew his Shodophone from his pocket, and dialed a familiar number. When the person on the other end picked up, Chiaki purred, "Hi Kotoha."
Kotoha's voice was sunny upon hearing Chiaki's. "Hi Chiaki! Happy Valentine's Day. Did you get my package?"
"I did. Thank you." Chiaki admired the array of chocolates in front of him. "They're beautiful. And you made these?"
Kotoha mouthed "it's Chiaki" to Mitsuba before she retreated to her room for some privacy. "I did. It took a lot of trying, but I wanted them to be perfect for you."
"They look amazing," said Chiaki. He picked one piece out of the box and took a nibble. The extra creamy chocolate melted quickly on his tongue, its rich flavor thick and smooth. "Oh wow, and they taste as good as they look!" Chiaki set the piece back into its paper cup in the box and quickly licked melted chocolate from his fingers. "Thank you, Kotoha. Damn it, but I miss you so much."
"I miss you, too." Kotoha hugged Kuroba-kuma, the plush bear that that Chiaki had given her the day he went to Kyoto to confess his feelings to her. "I wish I could have gone to give you your present in person."
Chiaki smiled. "That would have been awesome, but I'm totally cool with this. I feel like the luckiest guy on Earth to have you as my girlfriend."
"Chiaki, that's so sweet." Kotoha felt tears filling her eyes. "I… I feel like I'm the lucky one. You're so smart and cute, and you're so wonderful to me. I'm so lucky to have you as my boyfriend." Her voice quavered slightly on the last sentence.
Chiaki propped his chin up on his hand. "Aw, Kotoha, please don't cry," he sighed. He suddenly felt his heart breaking for not being able to hold Kotoha in his arms and wipe her tears away. Chiaki's own eyes began to get misty. "I…damn it, now you've got me crying."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."
"No, no, it's not your fault," reassured Chiaki.
I don't want to cry," Kotoha protested, wiping her eyes with a tissue.
Chiaki wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Me neither." He sniffed and looked around for something to blow his nose on.
"I just miss you a lot. I wish I could hold you right now."
"I know how you feel. I miss you so much it hurts sometimes." Chiaki closed his eyes. "But you know what? I'm always holding you. Whether we're with each other or miles apart, I'll always be holding you. Can you feel me holding you now?"
After a short pause, Kotoha answered in a whisper, "I can."
"Don't ever forget that. And I can feel you holding me."
Kotoha had to smile. "I'm sending my love to you through Kuroba-kuma."
Chiaki chuckled. "You are just so cute. Anyway, I'll try to come see you this coming weekend, okay? Until then, remember that I'm always holding you. Please don't cry anymore."
"Okay, I won't." Kotoha hugged Kuroba-kuma more tightly than ever, imagining Chiaki's arms around her. "I love you, Chiaki."
"I love you, too, Kotoha." Chiaki sighed. "I don't want to hang up."
"Me neither," giggled Kotoha.
"Okay, on the count of three, we'll both hang up together. One… two… three." Chiaki could still hear Kotoha on the other end of the line. "You didn't hang up," he teased.
"Neither did you!" Kotoha pointed out.
"Okay, okay, let's do this again. I love you, Kotoha. I'll call you again later."
Kotoha nodded, as if Chiaki could see her do so all the way from Tokyo. "Okay. I love you, Chiaki."
"One… two… three." Chiaki winced as he disconnected the call. "Crap. I so did not want to do that," he sighed aloud. He looked at the box of chocolates that Kotoha had made for him, picked up the piece that he had taken a bite from, and finished it off, savoring its flavor and smoothness. He thought for a moment. It would have been awesome if she could have come to Tokyo to deliver the chocolates herself… hmmm… that gives me an idea… Chiaki put the lid back on the honmei-choco and put the box in the refrigerator. After stepping back into his skate shoes, he grabbed his keys from the wall hook, and ran out the door.
Chiaki's roommate here is based on Shogo Suzuki's bit part in the J-drama "Dosokai: Love Again Syndrome," which aired early in 2010. Kame-chan is the izakaya, or Japanese pub, where Kouta works. "Dosokai: Love Again Syndrome" is the property of TV Asahi.
For once, I'm drawing a little inspiration from my own life. Chiaki's "I'm always holding you" line comes directly from my boyfriend. Yes, he does actually say that to me. *cue "awww" track*
Next chapter: It's White Day. What does Chiaki have planned? Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day to all!