White Day.
Usually celebrated one month after Valentine's Day, White Day is when people give reciprocal gifts to those who gave them gifts received on Valentine's Day. Sometimes, people would perform sanbai gaeshi, which translate to triple the return in Japanese. When that happens, the return gift that the person must give must be two to three times the worth of the Valentine's gift they received.
Normally, that should not be the case for most couples in Chaldea.
However, to the men who are extremely popular with the ladies, it is complete hell for them.
And Shirou was no exception to that rule...
Shirou was walking down the hallway, minding his own business. As he did, he spotted master, who was carrying a tower of items on him.
And he was having a tough time carrying them. Soon, one of the items toppled over from how unbalanced it was and fell to the ground. "Ah!" he exclaimed as he saw the item fall to the ground. He then gently placed the items he was carrying down to the ground and headed towards to the fallen item.
However, Shirou picked up the item before he could. "Need a hand there, master?"
Ritsuka sheepishly laughed before giving his answer. "Y-Yeah. I could use some here actually."
Shirou let out a smile. "Well then, let me help you carry half of the items you were carrying earlier. Is that okay for you?"
"Sure."
Soon, Shirou went over to where Ritsuka dropped off the items he was carrying earlier and proceeded to take half of them, while Ritsuka took the other half. "All right. Where do you want me to carry these, master?"
"We'll carry them to my room."
Soon, Shirou and Ritsuka began carrying the items over to Ritsuka's room. As they were walking, Shirou decided to ask Ritsuka a question.
"Hey master, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Why were you carrying all of those items earlier? Is there something you need to work on later with these items?"
Ritsuka let out a small sigh. "Shirou, you know what White Day is, right?"
Shirou nodded in reply. "Yeah. It's the day where people give reciprocal gifts to those who gave them gifts received on Valentine's Day. There is also the tradition of sanbai gaeshi, which translate to triple the return in Japanese. When that happens, the return gift that the person must give must be two to three times the worth of the Valentine's gift they received. Why?"
"Well...March 14 is coming soon, and I need to give a gift to the girls that gave me gifts on Valentine's Day."
"Really? Who?"
"Mashu, Kiyohime, Serenity, Minamoto-No Raikou, and many others," Ritsuka replied with a sigh.
"I see."
Soon, Shirou and Ritsuka arrived the doorway of Ritsuka's room. "Anyways, good luck master."
"Yeah. It is the biggest thing that I will need right now...and a few extra hands as well. Speaking of which, you should prepare yourself for this as well," Ritsuka jokingly said as the door to his room closed in front of him as he went in.
For a moment, Shirou was confused with what Ritsuka said...until it hit him.
On Valentine's Day, Shirou received many gifts from Arturia and her counterparts, Ishtar and her counterparts, Parvati, Kama, BB and her sisters, Illya and her counterparts, Miyu, Astraea, Nero and her counterparts, Jeanne D'Arc Alter, Okita and her counterpart, and Musashi.
And he accepted all of them.
Which meant he had a lot of gifts to give...to a lot of people.
"Well, looks like I need to go shopping later..."
"Is that all you need?" the person on the counter asked.
"Yes," Shirou replied.
"Very well. Your total is 1,000,000 QP." Shirou then gave the shopkeeper 1,000,000 QP. "Thank you. Would you like a bag to carry those items?"
"Yes."
The shopkeeper then put all the items Shirou bought into a store bag. "Here you go. Have a wonderful day."
"Yeah. You too."
Shirou then exited the shop, carrying multiple bags. As he did, he let out a sigh as he saw the bags. "Wow. I can't believe that I'm celebrating White Day...and by doing so, I'm spending a lot of QP to make gifts for everyone that gave me chocolate on Valentine's Day...well, no time to stall. I've got gifts to make and give..."
Soon, Shirou began to start walking. As he did, he then came across another servant who happened to be in the same situation as he is.
Diarmuid O'Dyna.
"Hm? Oh, hey there Emiya Shirou," Diarmuid greeted.
"Hey there Diarmuid," Shirou said as he was eyeing the bags Diarmuid was carrying. "So...I take it that you're doing White Day as well?"
"Yeah. Apparently from what I heard from master, it's a tradition in his home country whenever someone received a gift from someone else on Valentine's Day, that person must also give a gift to that person as well."
"I know that. And judging by the number of bags you're holding right now...I take it that you have to give a bunch of gifts to other girls as well?"
"Yes. Last month, a lot of Chaldea's female staff gave me gifts. And for some reason afterwards, some of the male staff and servants were giving me mean stares, and I don't even know why."
Shirou let out a small sigh. "Well, that figures. Probably because of that mole of yours..."
"Anyways, judging by the number of bags you have right now...I see that you're in the same position as I'm in now," Diarumid said, snapping Shirou out of his thoughts.
"Hm? Ah, yeah."
"And let me guess. This has something to do with what happened on Valentine's day?"
Shirou sighed again. "You know about that event?" he asked as he remembered the giant nosebleeds from last month's Valentine's Day.
"Yeah. From what I heard; it took a while to get all the blood off the floor. Even Nightingale was surprised at the amount of blood that was on the floor, and that's saying something."
"You can say that again."
"Indeed. And not only that but the King of Heroes was outraged because of this event."
"I can see that..."
"Yeah. Anyways, I got to go now. I need to give all of these gifts later..."
"Me too. See you Diarmuid."
"See you Emiya Shirou."
And both went on their separate ways, each of them have a duty to fulfill...
"All right. Making white chocolate shouldn't be hard," Shirou thought as he looked at the ingredients that were laid out on the table in front of him. In front of him were cacao butter, milk powder, and white powdered sugar. There was also a double boiler and a few chocolate bar mold. "All right, let's begin."
Shirou began to chop the large piece of cocoa butter into smaller pieces. He then set up a double boiler by placing a heat-proof bowl over a pan of water while making sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the bowl by setting it over medium-low heat. He then brought it to a gentle simmer, not letting it to boil as it increases the risk of scorching and water getting into the chocolate which may cause it to seize.
While that was happening, he added in cocoa butter to the bowl to melt without scorching or reaching temperatures that are too high. During the process, he then stirred the cocoa butter to ensure that there was even melting. Once it was melted, he added the powdered sugar and stirred it well to dissolve it. Then he added the milk powder and stirred again to incorporate the two together. He then transferred the melted whited chocolate to a blender/food processor and blend to make the mixture smooth. As he did, he then poured the mixture into the chocolate bar mold and left it in the freezer to set.
"All right. Now I need to do is to wait."
(The next day...)
Arturia let out a yawn as she sat up on her bed. As she did, she then got off from her bed and readied herself for the next day. As she was done, she then walked out of her room, ready of what was about to happen today.
However, when she walked out of the room, she didn't expect Shirou to appear in front of her room.
"Shirou? What are you doing here?"
"Well...I came to give you this," Shirou said as he handed her a wrapped bar of white chocolate.
"Shirou...is this?" Arturia asked as she was starting to realize what today is.
"Yeah. It's my gift to you for White Day."
For a moment, Arturia felt happy as she got a gift from Shirou himself on White Day. "Thank you for the gift Shirou. I appreciate it," she said with a smile on her face.
"No problem Arturia," Shirou replied with a smile on his face as well.
It was then that Arturia noticed that Shirou was holding a basket that was filled with white chocolate. "Um Shirou. Since today is White Day, is all of that chocolate is for-" Arturia asked but was cut off from Shirou.
"Yes. They're for your counterparts as well. Along with the others as well," Shirou replied.
Arturia let out a sigh. This was going to be a long day for him...
And that was proven to be true when he gave Arturia's counterparts their white chocolate, which they accepted them eagerly.
Ishtar was floating in the air, minding her own business as she was heading towards the cafeteria. As she did, she noticed Shirou, who was holding a basket filled with bars of white chocolate.
"Hey there Emiya-kun," Ishtar greeted.
"Hey there Ishtar. There's something I need to give you," Shirou said.
Ishtar was amused for a moment. "Ho? You have an offering for me? That's new. So, what is it that you have to offer for me?"
"This," Shirou said as he handed her a bar of white chocolate.
"Hm? This is white chocolate, isn't it?"
"Yeah. This is a return gift from you giving me a gift from Valentine's Day last month. I hope you appreciate it."
For a moment, Ishtar looked at the chocolate Shirou was holding in front of her. Then she took it from his hands.
"Hmph. This offering may be a bit trivial...but I'm not complaining. So yeah, I accept your gift Emiya-kun."
Shirou let out a smile. "I'm glad that you like it Ishtar."
Ishtar blushed for a moment. "N-No matter. Anyways, you got stuff to do later on, right? And judging by that amount in that basket, you're planning to give them to my counterparts?"
"Yeah."
"I see. Carry on."
"I will."
And so, Shirou gave Ishtar's counterparts their chocolates, which they accepted happily.
Parvati was walking in the hallway, minding her own business. As she did, she then came across Shirou.
"Hey there senpai," Parvati greeted.
"Hey there Sakura," Shirou replied.
"Senpai? What is with that basket of white chocolate over there?" Parvati asked as she noticed the basket of white chocolate in his hands.
"Oh this? Today is White Day, and I need to give gifts to the people that gave me gifts on Valentine's Day last month, which includes you of course."
Parvati's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah. In fact, I need to give this to you now if you don't mind."
"N-No! I don't mind senpai! Y-You can give me the chocolate now if you want!" Parvati said with stutters in her voice.
"Is that so?" Shirou then brought a bar of white chocolate to give to her. "Anyways, here you go Sakura. Happy White Day," he said with a smile on his face.
"T-Thank you senpai!" she said as she received the chocolate from Shirou. "Chocolate from senpai...this is the greatest day ever!"
"Um...Sakura, are you all right?" Shirou asked, snapping Parvati out of her thoughts.
"Hm? Oh, yeah! I'm fine senpai!" she said with a tiny blush on her face. "A-Anyways, there's some chocolate left in that basket. Are there more people left?"
"Yeah. That would include your look-a likes, my sisters, Luvia, Nero and her counterparts, Jeanne D'Arc Alter, Okita and her counterpart, and Musashi as well."
"I see. Anyways, I got something to do! Bye senpai!" she quickly exclaimed as she ran away from Shirou fast, confusing Shirou.
"What's going on with her?"
And Shirou resumed to give Parvati's look-alikes their white chocolates, which they accepted them eagerly. Especially BB...
Shirou knocked on the door that was in front of him. "Illya? Are you in there?" he asked, hoping to see if Illya was in that room.
"Ah! Onii-chan! Give me a moment! I'm not done getting dressed yet!"
"All right."
Soon, Shirou waited for a few seconds until Illya opened the door to her room. "Good morning onii-chan!" she exclaimed happily.
"Good morning Illya. I've got something for you."
"Eh? Something for me? What is it?"
"Well...close your eyes and open out your hands for a moment."
Illya let out a pout. "Onii-chan..." she muttered.
Shirou chuckled. "I'm just kidding. Here you go," he said as he handed her a bar of white chocolate.
"Onii-chan! Is this a gift?!"
"Yeah. It's for what you gave me on Valentine's Day last month Illya."
Illya felt happy as she received a gift from Shirou. "Thank you onii-chan!"
"You're welcome Illya. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to deliver the other chocolates to your sisters and counterpart if you don't mind."
"Sure! I don't mind!"
"Great. I'll be going now Illya."
And thus, Shirou moved on to giver Kuro, Sitonai, and Miyu their chocolates in which they accepted them.
Astraea was humming while walking in the hallway, minding her own business. As she did, she noticed Shirou walking in the distance, holding the basket of white chocolate.
"Hm? Sherou? What is he doing over there? And...is that a basket of white chocolate I see there? Why does he have that?"
Soon, Shirou noticed Astraea as well and came up to her. "Hey, Luvia!"
Astraea nearly blushed hearing Shirou calling out to her, but still put on a calm face. "H-Hi Sherou. How are you doing right now?"
"Well, I'm doing fine aside from the walking I'm doing right now. How about you?"
"I-I'm fine as well," Astraea said with stutters in her voice.
"I see. Anyways, there's something I need to give to you," Shirou said as he brought out a bar of white chocolate and showed it to Astraea. "Here. This is for you."
Astraea blushed for a moment when she received the white chocolate from Shirou. "S-Sherou...is...is this..."
"Yes. This is the White Day return gift from Valentine's Day. I hope you enjoy it Luvia," Shirou said with a smile on his face.
Astraea blushed immediately upon seeing Shirou's smiling face. "T-Thank you for the gift Sherou! I really appreciate it!"
"No problem. Now if you will excuse me, I've got somewhere to be."
"Y-Yes!"
And so, Shirou and Astraea went on their separate ways, which Astraea blushing over the fact that she received white chocolate from Shirou.
"Hm, where is she? From what I heard from master, she usually comes here whenever she has free time. But when though?"
Right now, Shirou was in one of Chaldea's recreational rooms, waiting for a certain servant or any of her counterparts to arrive because he heard from Ritsuka that they come here whenever they have free time.
As Shirou was waiting on one of the couches, it was then he felt someone touching him on his shoulder. As he turned around, he saw the person he was looking for.
That person was Nero.
"Umu! It's nice to see you here Emiya Shirou!" she said happily.
"Yeah. It's nice to see you too Nero."
Nero nodded in reply. As she did, she noticed the basket of white chocolate that was nearby. "Oh my! Is that a basket of white chocolate I see?" she asked.
"Yes. That's because today is White Day."
Nero's face lit up in excitement. "White Day! I've heard of this holiday from master. A holiday where lovers give each other gifts one month after Valentine's Day!"
"Exactly. And speaking of which, here is your gift Nero," Shirou said as he handed her white chocolate.
Nero let out a smile. "Umu! I gracefully accept this gift my praetor!" she said as she took the white chocolate. As she did, she unwrapped it and took a bit of the chocolate. "Umu! This is delicious! I'm sure my counterparts will love this!"
Shirou let out a smile. "Well, I'm glad that you liked it."
And Nero resumed eating her chocolate. Later, her counterparts arrived and received the chocolate too.
As such, their reaction was the same as their counterpart.
Jeanne D'Arc Alter was grumbling as she was walking down the hallway. "Tch. That woman...she was extremely smug today for some reason...and I don't know why...well, either way, I don't care. Even though her smug face pisses me off..."
As Jeanne D'Arc Alter was walking towards her room, she encountered a guest she didn't expect to see today.
That guest was Emiya Shirou.
"Hm? Oh, hey there Jeanne D'Arc Alter," Shirou said as he noticed her when he turned around.
"Tch. What do you want Emiya Shirou? I'm in a bad mood today."
"Oh, I'm here to give you this," he said as he handed her a bar of white chocolate.
"Hm? This bar of white chocolate? But what for?"
"Well...today is White Day, and since you give me a gift on Valentine's Day, I gave you a gift back as a thank you gift," Shirou explained.
For a moment, Jeanne D'Arc Alter didn't say anything after hearing Shirou's explanation. Shirou thought she didn't like the gift because of the silence.
"Um...Jeanne D'Arc Alter, you don't like the gift? If so, then-"
"This gift, while white chocolate may not be my favorite, I take it in consideration of your efforts at least to appreciate me," Jeanne D'Arc Alter said as she cut off from what Shirou was about to say.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Now get out of here before I change my mind."
"Y-Yeah," Shirou said as he proceeded to move on, leaving Jeanne D'Arc Alter alone. As she was alone, she unwrapped the white chocolate bar and took a bite out of it.
"Hm...not bad...I can see why that woman was acting so smug lately..."
As Jeanne D'Arc Alter kept eating her white chocolate, two other people were watching the scene with a smile on their faces.
Those people were Jeanne D'Arc and Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily.
"Oh my. Guess my little sister can be a sweetie on the inside," Jeanne D'Arc said.
"Yeah. And she keeps saying she's evil," Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily said.
"Phew. I've worked up quite a sweat," Okita thought as she sat down on a bench in the training room. Right now, Okita was resting as she was done with her usual training routine.
As she was wiping off the sweat she was receiving from her usual training, it was then that she heard a certain voice.
"So, this is where you were."
Okita turned around to see Shirou, who was holding a basket and a white chocolate bar in his hands.
"Ah! Shirou-san!" she greeted.
"Hey there Okita," he said as he sat down next to her.
"Shirou-san. What are you doing here?"
"Hm? Oh, I came here to give you this," Shirou replied as he gave her a white chocolate bar.
For a moment, Okita was confused for a moment. "Um...Shirou-san, what is this? Why are you giving me a white chocolate bar?"
"Well, it's my thank you gift from what you gave me on Valentine's Day."
Okita was surprised. "Really Shirou-san?!"
"Yeah," Shirou replied with a smile on his face.
"Very well, I accept your gift Shirou-san!"
Shirou let out a smile. "I'm glad that you like it Okita. Speaking of which, where is your altered counterpart? I don't see her around here."
"Hm...I think she's in the cafeteria again. Try searching for her over there."
"I see. Thanks Okita!"
"No problem Shirou-san!"
And Shirou left searching for Okita Alter. Soon, he found her, and gave her the white chocolate.
As a result, she enjoyed it.
Musashi was humming to herself as she was skipping down the hallway, minding her own business. As she was happily skipping, it was then that she encountered Shirou in the hallway, who happened to be looking for her.
"Ah! Shirou-kun!" Musashi said happily.
"Hey there Musashi," Shirou greeted.
"Hey Shirou-kun, what's with the basket?" Musashi asked as she looked at the basket.
Shirou let out a small sigh. "Musashi, have you ever heard of White Day?"
"No. I've never heard of it."
"Well, you remember the gift you gave to me on Valentine's Day, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, what happens on White Day is that since you gave me a gift on Valentine's Day, I give you a gift as a means of saying thank you."
"Really? That's how White Day works?" Musashi asked with interest.
"Yes. And speaking of which, here is your gift," Shirou said as he gave her a white chocolate bar. "I hope you like it."
Musashi let out a smile. "Of course!" she said as she grabbed the white chocolate bar. "Thank you Shirou-kun! I appreciate the gift!"
"No problem Musashi."
And that's how Shirou's White Day turned out...