So a (sort-of) Valentine's Day chapter to celebrate Valentine's Day!

"So what did you put down?" Rin pulled the career form off of Hikaru's desk to look at it. She blinked slowly and stared at Hikaru. "Umm…it's blank?"

"I know it is," Hikaru replied as she yanked the form out of Rin's hands.

"You know Taiga wants it in by tomorrow. It's not that hard to write something is it?" asked Rin.

"What did you put then?"

Rin shrugged and held out her form.

"Higher studies?" She raised an eyebrow at her friend. Really now?

"I can't exactly say I'm going back to a certain association now can I?" replied Rin. She threw her hair over her shoulders. "Technically what I wrote is true."

"I put the same," stated Rani as she joined Rin and Hikaru. "Well, Rin told me to so I did."

"You're going back to Egypt and going to do magus related things. What else can you call it?" replied Rin.

"I was going to say tell the truth but I feel like that is the wrong answer," replied Rani.

Hikaru had to smile at her friends. They both knew what they wanted to do once they left high school. She looked down at the career form. What did she want to do?

"Wait a second," said Rin. "You have no idea what you want to do you?" Hikaru sheepishly smiled up at Rin. Rin had to face palm at that one. "Really Hikaru, really? You're in your second year of high school, and it's almost over on top of it!"

Hikaru winced. Did Rin really need to put it like that? It wasn't like she was surprised though. Rin really was not the type to mince words. "Well remember that I didn't find out about the whole magus thing until a couple months ago…" she murmured.

"But still Hikaru. I thought it was vital for children of today to have some idea of what they want to do by this point," stated Rani. "Even if it was not related to being a magus you had to have some idea."

"Well I'm not really one of those." Hikaru sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. She grabbed her school bag and began packing up the materials she would need for tonight's homework. "I mean, I'm still thinking and all."

"You do know the magus association would be glad to take you in." Rin stepped away from Hikaru's desk as the girl got to her feet. She had thrown the career form in between her books to worry about later.

"I know," replied Hikaru. "But I'm still thinking." She shrugged. "I don't know if I want to keep training to be a magus or not…" She lowered her voice in case some of the other students that lingered in the classroom overheard what they were talking about.

"Hikaru, you have a unique power, it would be a shame to let it go to waste. A lot of good can come out of you being able to control that ability better." said Rani.

Hikaru bit her lip. She glanced down at her watch. "Oh, I should get going. It's my turn to make dinner tonight and I need to stop by the store to grab some ingredients. We can continue this talk later okay?"

"Hikaru!?"

Hikaru could hear Rin's cry of surprise but she ignored her friend as she hurried out of the classroom. She didn't stop moving until she was well out of the school gates before she finally relaxed. "Dang it," she mumbled as she kept walking in the direction of the store. It wasn't like Rin was wrong but Hikaru really had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Should she go train and become a magus?

She frowned as she thought about Archer. What about him? What would happen if she just up and left him to learn about being a magus? Would he be okay with moving? Or would he just want to stay here in Japan until she got back?

Her thoughts drifted away from Archer and onto herself. Based on the dreams she had at night and the various horrors she had seen the various versions of herself go through, would she really be okay in that world?

"I don't know what to do anymore…" she mumbled. What was the point in all this anyway? Why did she really need to figure out what to do with herself? She could barely make it through a day. How was she supposed to decide the rest of her life now?

Whoa! She was getting really depressed here! She lightly slapped herself on the cheeks a few times to help herself get out of that dark thoughts place.

With her thoughts back in line, she paused in front of the supermarket. She looked at the railing that separated the sidewalk from the street and smiled as she thought back to the War. It was here that she waited while Archer went inside to tackle the crazy housewives. She giggled as she remembered his reaction when he came out afterwards. Poor Archer. Even though he had been a Servant back then and fought other Servants without flinching, he had been freaked out by the housewives of all things! Even now he was leery to go to the store when sales were going on.

Could she really go to England with Rin and possibly leave him behind?

No.

She shook her head and slapped her cheeks again. She promised herself to not think of that right now! She needed to buy everything she needed before the sales were put up for the evening. If that happened then there was no way she was going to be able to get to the meat section at all. With that thought firmly in her mind, she hurried into the store to get her shopping done.

Hikaru finished setting the table when she heard the front door open. "I'm home," he called.

"Welcome back," replied Hikaru. "Perfect timing too. I've just finished making dinner."

"You really didn't have to wait for me," he said as he walked into the kitchen.

She rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time he had mentioned that and it probably wouldn't be the last. "Like I've said before, this is one of the few days that we actually get to eat together!" She put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks. "You are always working late and stuff!" She crossed her arms. "It's because my cooking is nothing compared to yours, that's it right?"

Archer chuckled and lightly flicked her forehead. "Of course it is nothing like that. I just don't want you to starve because you were waiting for me."

"Oh please. I have will power," replied Hikaru as she absentmindedly rubbed the spot on her forehead where he had flicked her out of habit. "Anyway, I made salisbury steak. I'll bring it over to the table. You go get washed up and stuff."

Archer complied and once both of them were settled in their relative chairs, they began to eat. "How is the seasoning?" asked Hikaru after Archer had taken a bite. "I tried something different today. Does it taste fine?"

"Of course it does. You made it. It does taste fine…." He chuckled as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine, fine. You could add a little bit more salt next time. The mix of spices is pretty good and balances everything out but there needs to be a little something else…maybe lemon juice-why are you writing this down?"

Hikaru looked up from the notepad she had pulled out of her pocket just for moments like this. "What? I need to take notes on how to make this better? You're the chef in training and all. You are the best person to tell me how to make my own cooking better."

"I'm not a chef in training."

She rolled her eyes. Archer cooked for a restaurant. That counted as being a chef. It didn't matter if he went to a school for it or not.

"Anyway, how was school today? You didn't fall asleep in any of your classes did you?"

"That only happened once! Why are you still holding that over me!? And that only happened because I was stupid and decided to fight a final boss of a game near the time I usually go to bed. How was I supposed to know it was going to take two hours to beat him?" She shivered as she thought of the smack that Taiga had given her with a textbook because of that. "Anyway, today was the same old, same old. Although we did get career forms today."

"What did you write on yours?"

"Nothing so far. I'm still thinking." She shrugged sheepishly. "I never thought of what I wanted to do in the future you know? I mean, now life has gotten ten times more complicated with the addition of the magus things too."

"Do you want to go back with Rin to England?"

Hikaru winced. Of course Archer would get right to the point and come out and ask her about that. "I'm really not sure," she admitted. "I mean, since I am a magus, it would make sense right? But…" She looked down at her half eaten steak.

"But?" prompted Archer when she didn't continue.

"It's just my memories-well, memories of the other versions of myself. Just seeing their pasts, seeing how much they suffered because they are maguses…I really don't know if I want to enter a world like that."

"It's not all bad," stated Archer. He reached across the table and gripped her hand in his own. "Trust me, it isn't all bad. There are some things that you can only do as a magus. Your amazing healing power is one of them."

She forced a small smile on her face to show that she appreciated Archer's comments. "Yeah, maybe I will continue my magus studies but I still need to think about it you know? Deciding my future here and all." She laughed but to her own ears it felt hollow and forced.

"Well whatever you decide, I will support you on it."

Hikaru swallowed. Did that even include her leaving to go to England? From all she knew about his job here, he was having a ton of fun being a chef and cooking. He seemed happy living a normal, non-magus life. Did she really want to uproot him like that? No way! She couldn't do something like that to him.

"I don't like that look on your face. What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing!" replied Hikaru quickly. Her eyes drifted over to the calendar on the far wall. "So, what kind of chocolate do you want for Valentine's Day?"

Archer almost dropped his fork in surprise and glanced at the calendar as well. "I forgot that was coming up," he murmured. "Damn…"

Hikaru tilted her head to the side in confusion. Was it a problem that Valentine's Day was approaching? "What kind of chocolate?" she prompted again.

"Any kind is fine," he replied with a smile. "Aren't I not supposed to know you are giving me chocolates in the first place?"

Ugh. Archer could be so difficult at times. It would be so much easier if he just gave her a type of chocolate to make. Ah well, it was probably best to just go with milk chocolate. If he didn't like it, it would be his own fault. "Well I am your girlfriend. It would be weird if I didn't give you any chocolate," she pointed out. "I mean, I guess it would make sense if I couldn't cook but baking is my forte more than cooking is so yeah. You're working that day right?"

"Yeah, I tried to get off but there's no way they can spare me. It's definitely going to be a 'couples night' that day so I'm probably going to get home late."

Hikaru frowned. Dang it. That probably meant she wouldn't be able to give him chocolate on Valentine's Day like she planned to. Dang it, dang it, dang it. What was she going to do?

"Hikaru?" asked Archer. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine." She waved his concern away. Dang it, she needed to stop being so readable. "I'm just a bit sad that we won't get to spend Valentine's Day together, that's all."

"I'm really sorry about that but we are bound to have many other Valentine's Days in the future. Next year, I promise we will be able to spend time together."

"Okay then." Hikaru said slowly. She looked down at her food. This was their first Valentine's Day. She wanted it to be special. Aw well. At least they had Christmas together right?

"Hey…are you sure you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied with another smile. "Don't worry about it."

"Hikaru. You are probably wondering why I called you here today."

Hikaru blinked slowly as she tried to comprehend why Taiga had her elbows on the desk with her hands covering her face like and why she was talking in a deep, mysterious voice. She looked around the teacher's room as the other teachers of the school went on with their work. None of them seemed bothered by Tagia's strange behavior. Or was this also completely normal with her?

"Ummm, just a little," replied Hikaru when she realized that Taiga was waiting for a response.

"Well, it is because you are the only one in the class who hasn't turned in your career form. I know this stuff can be hard but it has been over a week."

Dang it. She had stuffed it into the bottom of her bag and refused to think about it ever since the day she got it. "I…I still don't really know what I want to do," she admitted.

Tagia sighed. "Hikaru, this is not a matter of life or death. You really have no idea of what you want to do once high school is out?"

She shook her head. "I really don't. I'm not really good at many things. I do have a chance to study higher education abroad but I dunno. I'm just thinking about my boyfriend and his reaction to that and-"

"Wait. You have a boyfriend!?" Taiga looked like she was going to cry. "Damn it," she murmured.

"Huh?" Hikaru was not expecting that kind of response at all.

"Oh nothing," said Taiga quickly. "Anyway, why are you limiting yourself because of your boyfriend? I mean if the guy likes you enough then it shouldn't matter right? He'll wait for you and all that? Insert other romantic notions here."

Did Taiga actually sound annoyed? "Well, I know he would…" Would Archer? After all they've been through, after all he went through with the other version of her, he would be willing to wait for her to get back right? She didn't want to drag him to England when he was doing fine here. However that made Hikaru think of all of the bad experiences that the other versions of her went through because they were maguses...

"Well then there's your answer!" said Taiga. "Go off, have fun, study abroad, learn new things."

"I…I still need to think about a bit more," admitted Hikaru. "Sorry..."

"Well, I'll put higher studies on your form for now," said Taiga. "Cause even if you aren't going abroad, you can always study around here if you aren't up for traveling."

That was true. "Thanks." Hikaru got up and walked out of the room and into the hallway. It was late and only the people attending clubs would be around the school right now. "Do I want to have a job related to my magus skills?" she asked herself. Ugh, this was so hard.

After she grabbed her schoolbag from the classroom, she headed back home as she wrestled with the problem in her mind. Really, what did she want to do? What was there to do?

Ack! She just remembered that she needed to buy supplies to make the chocolates for Archer tomorrow! She quickly turned and headed for the grocery store to get everything she needed.

Daisuke let off a very long and depressing sigh. Archer didn't even glance over as he pulled his stuff out of his locker. Daisuke sighed louder again.

"Okay, what?" snapped Kenji.

"Thank you for final acknowledging my pain," whined Daisuke.

"Cause you won't shut up otherwise," murmured Kenji.

"Guys, Valentine's Day is tomorrow and you know what this means? Chocolate from the ladies! But I'm not going to get any from the cute waitresses here thanks to someone."

Archer could feel Daisuke's eyes bore into him. "Uh…what?" he asked slowly.

"Just ignore him. Daisuke is being an idiot like always."

"Oh come on Kenji! You know exactly what I mean! Gah!" Daisuke ran his fingers through his short brown hair. "I do have my good looks but how the heck am I supposed to compete with him! He doesn't even try! I'm so happy you don't work floor! You would reduce the amount of numbers I get. Heck you already did!"

Kenji massaged the bridge of his nose. "Seriously. If the boss catches you…"

"That's why you don't tell!" replied Daisuke. "Plus I see how the girls drool over you and your stupid I'm-in-a-band look!"

"That's because I am in a band…"

Daisuke ignored Kenji's comments and lightly hit his head on the locker before he pointed at Archer. "You! How many chocolates do you think you'll be getting on Valentine's Day!"

Damn. Archer thought he would be able to get out of there before Daisuke got him. "Uh...one?"

"One? One!?" Daisuke face palmed. "Hear him Kenji? Do you hear him? Just one. Pfttt. Yeah right."

"Dude, calm down." Kenji rolled his eyes.

Archer massaged the bridge of his nose. It was getting late and all he wanted to do was go home and go to sleep. Daisuke was still going on about Valentine's Day tomorrow and Kenji was half listening to him. If Archer tried to leave, Daisuke would corner him.

"But seriously Archer, you need to understand that-"

"I have a girlfriend."

"Yeah! You need to understand that you have a girlfriend…GIRLFRIEND!?" Daisuke almost fell over in shock. Even Kenji looked surprised.

Maybe it was a bad idea to mention her. "Well, I'm going now," he said.

"Whoa! Whoa! You're not leaving now after saying something like that!" Daisuke ran over and blocked the door out. "Details now! Who is she!? Where did she come from!? When did you start dating!? Why does a player guy like you get a girl and not me!?"

Player? Really now? He hadn't done anything like that in years (if it really could be called that). "She's a nice girl, I've been dating her for almost a year now and that's all you really need to know. Now can you please move?" And she's in high school and you would probably get the wrong idea if I told you that, he added to himself.

"No way!" protested Daisuke. "More details! What does she look like!? Is she cute? How tall is she? And how can she deal with a serious cranky guy like you!?"

Archer took a few breaths as he tried to justify to himself why he shouldn't unleash Unlimited Blade Works on this guy.

"Come on Daisuke. Let him go," Kenji said. "I really need to get home too and it's a bit difficult with you standing in front of the door." He pulled out his cellphone. "I do have boss's number on speed dial..."

Daisuke jumped away from the door. "Fine! But you haven't heard the last of me!"

"Oh I'm sure I haven't," murmured Archer. He thanked Kenji before he left the restaurant and headed for home. He made a mental note to prepare a list of answers for tomorrow in order to keep Daisuke off of his back.

Once he reached the house, Archer opened the front door slowly. "I'm home," he said quietly. It was very late and Hikaru was probably already asleep by now.

He noticed that a light was on in the living room. Did she accidentally leave it on when she went to bed? He thought of the last time she had left a light on when he came back late. Was she waiting up for him?

He hurried into the living room and spotted Hikaru sitting on one of the couches. Her legs were pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Her head was buried in her knees and her dark brown hair fell in waves around her.

Was she asleep? It was a weird position but he didn't doubt that she could fall asleep anywhere. "You really should stop falling asleep in places that aren't your bed," he said softly. He froze as she lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying for a long time.

"Oh, you're back," she murmured. She turned her attention to the clock on the wall. "Oh, it's that late. I didn't realize…" She rubbed her eyes and slowly moved her legs. Obviously she had been in that position for a while as she seemed really stiff.

"Hikaru, what's wrong?" Archer was by her side in an instant. He sat down next to her on the couch and pulled her towards him in a tight hug. "Did something happen at school?" If it was a person that made her cry, oh he was going to wish he had never been born, Archer would see to that.

"I'm fine. Really Archer, I'm fine…" Based on how she was tightly gripping his shirt and the fact that her face was buried into it, told him that she was anything but fine. She took a few shuddering breaths and for a couple of seconds Archer thought she was going to start crying again.

After she got her breathing under control, she lifted her head and gave him a small strained smile. "I…it's silly really. Taiga asked me why I didn't turn in my career form and after talking about it with her, I came home and well, I started thinking about stuff. The future and what not. And I guess I started panicking since I still don't really know what I want to do with my life." She laughed a little at that. "I…I realized that I really do need to decide soon, what I want to do with myself and well…it scares me Archer. I'm scared when I think about the far off future. I just don't know what to do with myself."

Damn. He didn't realize how much that talk he had with her a week ago was bothering her. She had been probably bottling up her insecurities about the matter and today it just hit the breaking point. "Hikaru. Don't worry. You fought in the Grail War, you took down an assassin by yourself. You have strength. You have the strength to fight for what you believe in. It doesn't matter if you don't know what to do with yourself now. You can always change your mind later but for now, focus on what you want to do now. Just focus on the present. You'll be fine. We're all here for you, you know? Me as well as Rin and Rani. Heck, even Nomi in her strange way. We all care so please don't keep all those thoughts inside. Just get it out." He shrugged. "We can even spar a bit if you want to use violence to get your anger and frustration out, I don't mind."

"That's unfair though. You would totally win," she murmured.

"I would let you win if need be."

"Yeah right," she mumbled. "Your manly pride would not allow that…"She rubbed her eyes and smiled up at him. "Thanks Archer. For everything."

"No problem," replied Archer.

The clock in the room began to sing to show it was midnight. "It's late and you have classes tomorrow," Archer pointed out.

"Yeah." Hikaru got up. "Oh wait! Stay here!"

Archer stayed where he was sitting as Hikaru hurried into the kitchen. She was back a few seconds later with a small pink bag in hand. "Happy Valentine's Day! Thankfully I was able to get these done before I broke down, haha."

"Why am I not surprised you did this?" Archer shook his head but he was smiling. At least she looked so much better now. Her eyes were still puffy but her happy smile was back. He accepted the chocolate. "Thank you Hikaru. You can expect some good sweets on White Day."

She grinned and kissed him. "I'm looking forward to it. Good night."

"Night."

He watched her leave and listened as she walked up the flight of stairs to the second floor. He opened the small cute bag and pulled out one of the heart-shaped chocolates. He popped it into his mouth and smiled at the rich chocolate flavor of it. "Milk chocolate huh?"