Alright then, first a heads-up: if you read the notes for my previous chapter, you might remember me mentioning I had four Valentine's chapters. Well, I've shortened it to three. Originally there was a chapter before this one, about Gudako feeling conflicted over seeing Semiramis and Amakusa interacting but eventually being assured there's nothing between them (anymore), but it just didn't work for me.
So, bad news: one less chapter.
The good news, however, is that 'only' three Valentine's chapters means I'm not posting one after this year's Valentine's. That means I've only got a backlog of one year!
… Yeah, no worries, I'm never catching up. Anyways, with that over with, I hope you enjoy this chapter regardless!
Gudako poked her head around the corner. Left, right… no matter where she looked, there were no evil AIs to be seen. It seems that Da Vinci had been successful in keeping BB off her back. Guess magically-empowered antivirus software was, in fact, somewhat effective in keeping BB busy.
Gudako let out a relieved sigh as she held her last box of chocolates in her hands. This was it: the best out of all the chocolates she'd made, kept aside for one special person.
It had taken a lot of effort, surprisingly large amounts of near-death experiences and overcoming way too much meddling (evil AIs 'supporting' her, jealous Berserkers who could practically smell the supposed infidelity on her, general evil-aligned Servant shenanigans, etc.), but the finish line was finally in sight.
In the distance she could see Amakusa strolling around the Hanging Gardens of Babylon – which was a surprisingly pleasant place to look around when it wasn't practically flooding with chocolate.
Perhaps, normally, she'd have been nervous. While she would never admit it to the person in question, Gudako herself knew that these chocolates were far more than obligatory or friendship ones. She'd put her heart and soul into making them after all, even getting some tutoring from Boudica (Cat was far too likely to pull something if she suspected Gudako was making romantic chocolates, and Emiya had been strictly staying as far away from chocolate as possible to ensure he'd be psyched up for eating all of the likely large amount of chocolate he was going to get).
However, this was not a 'normal' situation. To get to this point Gudako had to overcome far too many adversities to let her own nerves stop her now. And so she straightened her back, looked right at her goal, and confidently walked up to Amakusa.
… Okay, maybe once she got closer some hesitation did creep its way into her heart, but by that point the Ruler had spotted her, so slinking away wasn't a possibility anymore.
"Master, I'm happy to see you," Amakusa greeted her with his usual warm smile as she approached. She could still feel fluttering in her stomach, but as always his smile seemed to have a soothing effect on her, easing her sudden bout of nerves.
"Yes, I'm happy too," Gudako returned the greetings as she smiled back. Given she was holding the red wrapped box in her hands in front of her, it was extremely obvious why she'd approached him.
And so, with the brightest smile she could manage, Gudako handed him the box of chocolates.
"Here you go, I think these turned out really well. I hope you like them!"
Amakusa's face brightened as he accepted the box saying: "Thank you. I'll be sure to enjoy them later." Gudako nodded, glad that Amakusa was one of those reasonable people who ate the chocolates after she'd left, unlike certain other Servants she knew…
"Well then," he said as he held the box with one hand while the other searched his clothing for something, "I hope you'll appreciate the return gift as much as I appreciate these chocolates." Gudako couldn't help but flinch a little at the mention of a 'return gift', still recalling how she'd let show her disappointment with his return gift from last year. The more she'd thought about her reaction the guiltier she'd felt (even though Amakusa had not appeared bothered by it in the slightest), so this year she was determined to react positively no matter what he had for her.
But perhaps her determination was showing on her face, as Amakusa chuckled: "Rest assured Master, I've reflected on my gift from last year. As such, this time I've prepared something more… sincere, as you put. Though I do feel I should point out that the cookies I gave you last year were sincere as well."
He pulled out a wooden box – about the size of his hand. Gudako held out her hands, which he gently placed the box in.
Gudako noted it resembled one of those small boxes you'd put a ring in, only too large for just one. Looking closer at it, she noticed small details had been lightly carved into the wood. Amakusa had shown her he was good with his hands before, so he'd likely made the gift himself. Did that mean he'd made the box as well?
Opening the box, Gudako found that inside of it was a bracelet made out of prayer beads. The wooden beads were smooth and polished to the point that they almost seemed to shine with the reflection of the sunlight. Upon closer inspection Gudako noticed smaller silver beads between the wooden ones. And finally, the thread keeping all the beads together was held closed by a small silver clasp.
"This is…"
"I came up with this idea after seeing how happy you were with the blessed choker Saint George gave you last year," Amakusa helpfully added. As Gudako looked up she noticed he was clearly content with the amazement that must have been showing on her face.
Holding his hand out, he asked: "Do you want my help putting it on?"
After Gudako nodded he carefully placed the box of chocolates on the ground, stepping closer to accept the bracelet and its container from her.
Gudako held her arm out towards him, and he gently fastened the bracelet around her wrist.
As he did so, Amakusa explained: "Do you remember how the choker from last year was capable of warding off ghosts and even purifying them? While this bracelet's nowhere near as powerful since it's only filled with my own prayers, I did add some functionality to it. If you ever find yourself cornered by a demon or an undead, throw this at them: it'll stun them long enough for you to make an escape. A bit like the Gandr from her Combat Mystic Code, I suppose."
Amakusa stepped back once the bracelet was secured around her wrist.
Gudako ran her fingers over the bracelet she was now wearing in admiration.
"It's… Beautiful, thank you!" She beamed at him, and for a moment Gudako thought she saw the Ruler avert his gaze, almost bashful. But then he smiled at her like usual, and she wondered if she'd just imagined it.
"If you're happy with it, I'm glad. All the effort I put into it was more than worth it, then."
The two of them shared a moment of blissful silence, and as Gudako looked into Amakusa's eyes she could feel her heart thumping louder and louder with every beat. Then-
"Well, then," he said as he picked up the box of chocolates he'd gotten, "thank you once again for the chocolates, Master. I hope you have a pleasant day, further."
"Yes, thank you. You too!" And like that Amakusa left. Gudako watched him go for a moment, absent-mindedly fiddling with her new bracelet.
And then she turned around and left as well, grinning with a blush on her face.
The more Gudako looked at the bracelet, the more subtle details she noticed in its design, the more she wondered just how much effort Amakusa put into making this, and how long it must've taken.
And the more she wondered that, the more she felt like her own gift was inadequate in comparison. She'd put in a lot of effort, yes, but it had still only been chocolates. Ignoring the quality it was the exact same gift she'd gotten him last year, whereas he'd gone the distance by making her something so beautiful.
Were Gudako not extremely happy over receiving something so precious from the guy she liked, she would've almost felt depressed over the whole thing.
Perhaps she'd have to try and bake him a chocolate cake next year…
Amakusa, in the meantime, was happily enjoying the chocolates without concern.
He'd received something delicious from his Master and got to see her delighted face, so as far as he was concerned this Valentine's (ignoring earlier incidents involving an evil AI and a chocogolem) went perfectly.
