Valentine's Day

When February came, the world was on the brink of collapse. Talent High School was still open, with students going to class and school employees showing up for work, but we were all too aware of how precarious the lives we knew were. The depressing and frightening events that seemed like they usually happened half a world away were happening in our country, and our city, so we knew it would only be a matter of time before they came to our school.

Even now, our school wasn't free of incidents. The administration had received a bomb threat addressed at the Main Course, and the culprit, a Reserve Course student a year ahead of us, was expelled. It wasn't too hard to imagine that people resented us, like they did our counterparts in Hope's Peak, but it was still disturbing to know that people hated us so much they'd want to harm us.

Despite it all, our lives went on, and we had things to worry about apart from the increasingly disturbing stories in the news. My classmates and I all had to study for the end-of-year exams, including those who knew that they had little chance of doing well. Those in the class above us were taking entrance exams to college. There was also Valentine's Day, and while very few of us were in a relationship or had anyone they were seriously interested in, it was an opportunity to give and receive chocolate.

On the Sunday before Valentine's Day, Sae and I went to a local convenience store to buy chocolate for all our male classmates.

Even on a seemingly routine outing like this, we had to take precautions. We were strongly urged not to wear our uniforms; in fact, we'd started wearing our old schools' uniforms to class. We were urged not to use last names, lest we possibly be identified as Talent High School students. We were asked to tell the teachers where we would be going and when we expected to be back.

So Sae and I set out in somewhat nondescript casual clothing, wearing long-sleeved shirts and blue jeans, and headed to the local supermarket. We saw several other girls our age, who looked like they were from a nearby high school, although they weren't wearing uniforms. There were a few other high schools in the area, whether coed or single-gender, so we weren't the only girls who were out shopping for chocolate.

Getting chocolates for most of our male classmates was a simple task. For Sakuragi-kun and Fukuda-kun, however, we had to swing by the health foods section. Since they weren't much for sweets, or any sort of junk food, they asked that they not be given chocolate. Luckily for them, Ami-chan thought of a solution so that they wouldn't be left out- chocolate-flavored protein bars, and asked the boys to give them to her when White Day rolled around.

Having gotten everything we needed, we stood in line. The cashier was a young woman who looked like she was my sister's age or a bit older, so she'd probably entered the workforce rather than going to college.

"Hello, miss," the cashier said. "Are you doing some Valentine's Day shopping?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "My friend and I are buying some chocolates for the guys we know in our class."

"That's nice," the cashier said as she started scanning our chocolates. "I'm actually a bit nostalgic for my high school days. Sure, my grades weren't very good, but it was fun to eat lunch with my friends, go to club together, and hang out after school. At the very least, it wasn't as hard work as this job is."

Even disregarding what was going on in the world, this was fairly sobering. We only had a single year of high school left, much of which would be spent studying for college entrance exams, and then we would all go our separate ways.

"But I could be wrong," the cashier said. "Maybe I'm just nostalgic for the past."

The cashier then asked us for our payment. I took out money from my purse and handed it to the cashier before receiving the change and the receipt.

"Here's your receipt," the cashier said. "Have a wonderful day, ladies."

After thanking the cashier and leaving the store, Sae and I walked back to campus together.

"Is something on your mind, Kaori?" Sae said.

"I've just been wondering how long we'll be able to go on with our everyday lives like this," I said. "Maybe there will come a time when we wish we could be back at this school, even if the troubles die down and we're able to graduate and get on with our lives."

"I think so, too," Sae said. "The woman who helped us reminds me a bit of my sister, who enjoyed school even if she wasn't very good at it. My sister still gets nostalgic for it sometimes, and wishes she'd gotten held back so she could attend school with me."

"I see," I said. "My sister's close enough to me in age that we've attended the same schools. I might just be able to get into the college she attends."

Sae nodded encouragingly.

"That said," Sae said, "even if my sister fondly remembers her high school days, she's happy where she is. She's grateful for what she has- a home, a job and a significant other, along with all the other essentials in life- so even if it isn't perfect, she doesn't have anything she can really complain about. In a worst-case scenario, if my books stop selling and the publisher decides to cut me off, I could go to work at a bookstore."

It was a bit of a harsh truth- that not all authors stayed popular forever. When Dad discouraged me from becoming an author, he pointed out that my initial success might not last, and encouraged me to find a more stable career. As such, it would be naïve to assume that Sae would be set for life just because she wrote Aiko Aizawa.

"Well, I can think of one person who will always be eager to read what you write, Sensei," I said.

Sae laughed, whether due to my comment or hearing me call her "Sensei" for the first time in almost a year.

"I'm glad to hear that, Kaori," Sae said. "I should be done with Volume 13 by the start of next year, so I'll make sure it doesn't disappoint you."

We returned to campus safely and let everyone know we were back. Once we got back to our dorm room, Sae took a look at the receipt and handed me enough for the chocolates I'd bought for her, telling me to keep the change, before we parted ways for the moment.

I took a moment to look over the chocolates (and chocolate-flavored protein bars) I'd bought. None of them were all that expensive, but it was the thought that counted. None of our classmates were ungrateful enough to complain about the chocolate they were going to receive, even if they knew this was only out of obligation, so Sae and I, along with the rest of the girls, could be sure that our gifts would be well-received.

That evening, Sugiura-san held a class on chocolate making in the evening. Only one other person showed up, the last person I wanted to see... Sae. It was a bit of an unfortunate stroke of luck that none of our five classmates, nor any of our female senpais had enough interest in any prospective romantic partner to make chocolate themselves. At the very least, none of the heterosexual girls had to worry about the object of their affection seeing them learning how to make chocolates.

"Um... this is awkward," I said, and Sae hesitantly chuckled in agreement.

Sugiura-san scoffed. She hadn't cast aside her polite facade, but the cracks showed when she was in a bad enough mood.

"Because I know you're making chocolates for each other?" Sugiura-san said. "Honestly, Miura-san- I think everyone here knows about you and Edogawa-san."

"That's not it," I said. "I was planning on this being a surprise for Sae."

"The same goes for me," Sae said. "Not that I was going to give you chocolate, since I think we both always knew that, but how it would taste."

Sugiura-san paused to think for a moment.

"How about this?" Sugiura-san said. "I'll show you two the ropes, and you can practice on your own so you can see who improves the most by the time Valentine's Day rolls around."

Sae and I nodded.

"It's a deal," I said.

"That's good," Sugiura-san said. "Let's get started."

Sugiura-san taught us the basics of making chocolate, and we made and ate a batch together. She then gave us the ingredients and told us to make some ourselves.

Once her lesson concluded, Sae and I walked back to the dorms.

"You know, Kaori," Sae said, "it does seem a bit odd that we're concerned about something like that."

"I know," I said. "Before, we could say that it was a sign that we were sheltered enough that our only concerns were 'first world problems,' but now, I suppose it proves that we can't stop thinking about the silly things, even in times like these."

I'd once asked Iwasawa-san about life in her village, and she'd explained that even though life was harder in her farming village, that didn't mean that the residents were all about hard work all the time, especially not the children. Younger children played tag, hopscotch and other old-fashioned games, while the teenagers our age often thought about winning over their crushes. Iwasawa-san didn't have anyone she was interested in among the boys of our class- either they didn't appeal to her or they wouldn't be willing to live in her village- but she had to admit that she, too felt the desire to find a boyfriend, and eventually, a husband. Whatever happened with Iwasawa-san's village in the future, I believed that the next generation of young farmers would be no different.

"Quite true," Sae said. "At the very least, I believe that Valentine's Day will be something to look forward to, rather than yet another thing to worry about."

We hung out for a while, talking about Valentine's Day of years past, since while we couldn't forget about the rising unrest in Japan and the rest of the world, we couldn't do anything about it.

On the evening of February 13, I borrowed the kitchen and went to work on the chocolate for Sae. Sae had told me that she would use the kitchen in the afternoon in order to avoid scheduling conflicts with me or anyone else.

Even after what I'd been taught, I was still a bit nervous of how it would turn out. I'd only learned how to make chocolate mere days ago, and was doing so myself for the first time. It didn't have the same finesse and quality as what a master chocolatier would make, nor was it of even the same quality as that which a chocolate factory churned out every day. Perhaps even the similarly inexperienced Sae had done a better job than I had, although that wouldn't be a completely bad thing.

I took a bite, and noticed that the chocolate tasted good. I wasn't a connoisseur of sweets, so I couldn't describe the various textures and nuances in the chocolate, but I could say this- I would be happy to receive the chocolate, and I felt a small sense of accomplishment for having made it.

Having had a taste of my chocolate, I packaged the rest into a heart-shaped box, and then returned to my room for the night.

On Valentine's Day, I handed out my store-bought chocolates to my classmates, as well as chocolate-flavored protein bars to Fukuda-kun and Sakuragi-kun. They were my classmates, so I felt I owed them that much, even if my heart would never belong to any of them.

After dinner, everyone threw a birthday party for me. Birthday parties were nothing major; simply serving up a cake and singing "Happy Birthday," while some of the birthday boy/girl's friends gave presents. I had a small slice of cake, since it wouldn't be my only dessert that night.

During the party, Ami-chan briefly mused that it seemed a bit unfair that I'd have to give out chocolates on my birthday, but I said I was fine with that. For girls, giving out chocolates on Valentine's Day is partly an act of love (or obligation, as the case may be), and partly done in hopes that the favor would be returned. For me, luckily enough, the favor would be returned far sooner than it would if I had a boyfriend.

After the party ended, I went over to Sae's room. She'd left after the first few guests had started leaving but before everyone was gone, in order to avoid being overly conspicuous, although everyone probably knew we were in a relationship by this point.

"Happy birthday, Kaori," Sae said, as she gave me my gift- the first entry in a well-regarded murder mystery series.

We gave each other our chocolates and ate them.

"It's good," Sae said. "You seem like you've gotten better since Sugiura-san gave us a lesson."

"So have you, Sae," I said. "I'm glad we could spend today together."

Sae nodded.

"I've been thinking about what you said the other day," Sae said. "Yesterday, I woke up, worried about what sort of news would show up on my phone's feed, or whether our school would be the site of the latest tragedy. But today, all I thought about was making sure that you had a happy birthday and we could enjoy Valentine's Day together. Maybe it's shortsighted or self-centered to feel happy even with everything else that's going on, but that's how I feel."

"... and how I feel," I said. "Even in the best of times, I'd probably worry about things like our entrance exams, or what our parents might think about their younger daughters going out, but all the same, I'm glad for times when I can forget all that."

Sae and I spent the rest of the evening in her room before retiring for the night, forgetting about our worries and our fears for the future. Even as the world continued its decline, and we were forced to seal ourselves in the school, we'd cherish this memory as long as it remained in our minds.

Author's Notes

Since Hope's Peak was sealed at the end of Class 78's first year, it's likely that the world was nearing collapse by the time February rolled around (the Japanese school year ends in March).

One unfortunate consequence of having this cast was that no one appears to have a romantic interest in any of their classmates, apart from Miura and Edogawa, much less any potential love triangles. You could chalk it up to most of the characters being more focused on developing their talents than falling in love, or how most of the close friendships are between heterosexual students of the same sex.

Sugiura's more polite during the time they're at Talent High School, since she still keeps up her facade

The omake shows an alternative future, while also poking how Absolute Despair Girls and Side: Despair feature extras with colored silhouettes (although the ones in the latter have clothing).

Omake

Edogawa's POV

I stood behind the counter at a local bookstore, waiting for the customers to come in. I wore a white button-down shirt, dark slacks and a green apron, the uniform of customers in here.

Several years had passed since Kaori and I had graduated from college together.

A woman approached the counter. Her face was completely indistinguishable from the other throngs of customers, since it was a pink silhouette, but I could tell she was a woman in several ways. She had chin-length hair, a modest bosom and wore a pink skirt suit with a white blouse.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," I said. "How may I help you today?"

While Shinichi-kun had once told me that some American women detested being called "ma'am," it was the safest choice here. It was the most respectful way I could think of to address a female customer whose name I didn't know (after all, I didn't even know her face, so I couldn't recognize her if I saw her again), just like how Father used "ma'am" on the civilian women he encountered on duty... including the suspects he ended up helping to arrest.

The woman bought a book on creative writing. Perhaps she was an amateur who wanted to get better, perhaps she was an aspiring pro, or perhaps she was buying something for her child or a friend- I couldn't tell. In any case, she reminded me a little of myself.

The next customer was a blue silhouette of a man in a suit... as was the one after that, both of whom bought manga volumes for their children. Luckily for me, I didn't need to tell them apart, and simply calling them "sir" sufficed.

After a lull, I saw a customer I recognized very well- my wife, Kaori. Since my popularity had already declined, we'd had a private, albeit unofficial, marriage ceremony.

"Hello, dear," Kaori said. "Are you almost done with work?"

"Just a minute, darling," I said. "I just need to wait for someone to cover me at the cashier, and then we can go home together."

Suddenly, I heard a beeping sound, which happened to be my alarm, and I was a bit disappointed to realize that this was only a dream. It wasn't a perfectly happy life, since I did want to write Aiko Aizawa as long as I could, but because it was imperfect, it ended up being more believable. I could only hope that even considering the state of the world, that this- a happy and modest life with the one I loved- wouldn't be too much to ask for.