Author's Rant:

Yes, cheesy title; it's my speciality. Don't own this, don't own that, usual disclaimer stuff can be placed here (or wherever fit). An answer to the challenge 'Valentine's Day' and 'heart' for a LJ community, wrote this a while ago but couldn't quite decide which genre to place it under. And yes, majorly late for whatever bloodsucking day that day was.

Basically, I wanted to write fluff. Then I wanted angst. So I tried mixing the two; they're supposed to fit well together. Unfortunately, normal rules don't apply to me and this thing didn't work out quite right. I think something's wrong with my brain, but I've yet to go get it checked. Beware of sappy lines, I just decided Ryou's an automatic sap character.

And the mary-sue? What's a Valentine's Day fic without a certain mary-sue or two to show the ZOMG TRUE!12! LUV between the Bakuras? And a little random information: said mary-sue goes by the name of Kuraki Maki, two j-pop stars' names forged to one. No, I wasn't lying (nor being sarcastic) - there really is a mary-sue down there. I hope.

Warning (no, not about the mary-sue): Shifting through POVs. It wouldn't work well any other way.

Chocolate Sweetheart

Things have been quiet lately, and Ryou hoped that everything will stay that way for a while. He has no way of being sure, of course, but since the upcoming springtime has been predicted to be rather warm, Ryou decided that everything should be perfectly peaceful for a while.

And of course - there's also Valentine's Day. Ryou wasn't entirely sure if he's actually going to do anything about this certain holiday, as he's never actually given a 'valentine' to anyone asides from doing that as a school project. But apparently now that he's in junior high, he's too old for that - once in junior high, valentines are something only given to special 'someone's; and its usually the girls preparing for such an occasion. But with Ryou's shy image, it's unlikely anyone would even attempt to approach him.

With most of his classmates (he wasn't sure they could be counted as friends) participating, Ryou felt that it would be rather strange if he just ignored this holiday.

Suddenly, someone popped into Ryou's mind. He wasn't keen on deciding at first, since giving out a valentine would probably prove to be extremely risky; but after thinking about it for a while he thought it was a good enough choice.

Fair enough.

--------

Drip.

(You pour it into the container.)

Drip. Drip.

(A slight curve came to your thin lips.)

Too warm.

(You tested the taste a little by touching the thick mixture and brought it to your mouth-)

Hot.

(-Just perfect.)

A chuckle from the deep shadows.

(The chocolate surface reflected light into your eyes.)

Drip.

--------

Ryou smiled as the chocolate cooled down a little, and gently shook the bowl a little to make sure it's mixed throughout. Grabbing the heart-shaped model he just bought, he poured the chocolate into the plastic container.

There. Everything's perfect. Now, all he has to do is put it in the fridge and wait for it to harden. Then there's the lid, also heart-shaped - it's the symbol shape for Valentine's Day, after all - and with a little wrapping, it'd be ready to be given out tomorrow.

Still, Ryou felt that he had forgotten something. What was the list he came up with just now? Buy everything needed at the supermarket, melt down the chocolate, finish the whole thing...

...But of course. What kind of valentine would this be without a proper card to go with it?

--------

Dear-

(You scratch that beginning away.)

-I hope you-

(No way. Too cheesy for you.)

-feel the same way-

(And even so, you couldn't quite think of anything to say to a person like that.)

Signed,

--------

Picking up his schoolbag, Ryou reminded himself for the tenth time that the chocolate is safely in his backpack and will not go anywhere else until he gives it to it's intended recipient. 'After school,' he told himself yet again, 'I'll give it out after school.'

He took a glance at the clock. It's not enough to be late, but Ryou always had a tendency to arrive at school earlier than anyone, so as to avoid the strange looks people give him; especially those coming from older students, with bodies big enough he believes could crush a person simply by the mere weight of flesh.

Not a time to think about those thoughts. Quickly checking yet again for everything, Ryou ran out the door.

Getting inside the classroom proved less trouble than he thought. Perhaps it was the Valentine spirit - people were just too busy to notice anyone else but their own ideal valentines.

"Bakura-kun!"

Ryou turned around to face a normal, standard female student with straight pink shoulder-length hair. Besides the hair, everything else about the girl is pink as well - the hair clip, the pencil case, the pens and white-outs within were all hunted with at least a trace of pink.

Alright, maybe not so normal. But still your standard Japanese female student.

"Good morning, Kuraki-chan."

The girl - Kuraki Mika - plopped onto the chair besides Ryou. With a bright smile on her face (so opposite to Ryou's ghostly one), she asked with as casual a tone as she could manage, "So, are you doing anything after school?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Then you should go out with me and my friends! It'd be lots of fun!" Mika exclaimed while jumping up and down in her sit.

All Ryou did was smile and gave a small "Sure".

Apparently, the girl was slightly surprised at how fast Ryou replied.

"No problems at all? With Bakura-san?"

"Bakura?"

"Isn't he your cousin that's taking care of you?"

Something clicked inside Ryou's mind. Of course - when people ask him out, he usually uses the same excuse: his strict ten-years-older-than-him cousin wouldn't let him out. It saves him the trouble of thinking of better excuses, and with the fainting around him often occurring Ryou usually cuts his relationship with others to a minimum.

But this counts as a special occasion, right?

"...Um, I'm sure he'll let me out just this once..."

"Yay!" Mika shouted, giving Ryou a quick flash of the victory sign before turning back to her own desk and starting to prepare for the upcoming class.

Ryou's least favorite - math.

--------

You wake up, looking around yourself.

(Can't find the thing you want.)

It's still dark outside, and you lie back down.

(It's been dark here since forever.)

You started to remember what you've been planning, but pushed that thought aside.

(Too much on your mind to think about that.)

You think you caught a smell of something, but it faded as soon as you noticed.

(Right inside you.)

--------

I nearly jumped to grab my things after coming in from P.E. Finally! I've been waiting for school to end ever since Bakura-kun agreed to come with us this morning. What a surprise! I totally haven't been expecting him to say yes, but when he did...Well, I was really, really, really happy.

He's a sweet boy, really. Yeah, they say he's all weird and strange things happen around him, but I've been around watching him for a while and I've never seen anything happen. Plus, he's cute. I mean, white hair that covers his ears better than any anime character could, and the soft eyes and oh, that smile! How could any girl refuse that?

Bakura-kun is also a very nice person. I'm not sure if I really like him like that or anything, but I wouldn't mind if he could be my valentine for a day. Well, probably not; but hanging around and seeing how he's like outside class will be totally worth anything.

And here he comes! I put up my best smile as I asked, "Bakura-kun! You're still coming, right?"

He looked at me with that sweet smile of his and answered, "Of course," with that smile still on his face.

That was when something tumbled out of his backpack. Something I totally didn't expect, but hey, it's actually perfectly reasonable. And now I'm dead curious.

"Say, who's that for, Bakura-kun? Your secret valentine?"

That was when he turned totally red, enough to be described as some kind of red fruit they use to describe situations like this...oh, never mind.

"Uh, well...actually..."

Now I'm even more curious. I crept up to him with the slyest smile I could put up: "Who's it for, hmmmmm?"

He's practically gaping now. He's actually even cuter when he gaps, which is probably quite unbelievable if you haven't seen it. But I have, and believe me - it's true.

"Actually...eh..."

He lowered his eyes and I suppose he's deciding if he's going to tell me, since that's what people always do when they get in situations like this. I've read enough romance novels to know at least that much...Alright, so romance novels aren't always that accurate, but they're fun and enjoyable. I'm female, after all; I dream of magical love as much as I dream of the beautiful dress with the price that has five more digit than affordable.

"Actually, it's for you, Kuraki-chan..."

Now it's my turn to gap. I didn't hear that right, did I?

"For me?"

"...Um...yeah..."

And that was when I felt warm all over. Bakura Ryou is actually giving me something for Valentine's? That means...that'd probably mean I'm special to him, right?

I jumped to him and gave him a bear-size hug. You know, the kind that you wrap your arms around the person in front of you and cuddle him to death...err, maybe not death.

"Can I open it now, then? Can I, can I?"

Alright, I'm a little more excited than I'm supposed to be. But it's Bakura-kun giving me something!

"...Sure..."

Unwrapping the neatly packed package as gently as I could, I managed to get the wrapping off without reaping it too much and finally reached for the lid. Alright, here goes-

Wow. That has got to be home-made chocolate - the top's too weird looking to be bought.

My mind registered the sight as a face.

It smiled.

I screamed.

--------

You feel something.

(Been feeling it for a while.)

You know there's something else inside your mind.

(Not something, someone.)

Wake up.

(And now it's taking over you.)

Wake up.

(You're never to wake again.)

It's all just a nightmare.

--------

Hearing the scream, Ryou nearly panicked; unfortunately, he was too trained for these kinds of things happening that all he could think of was how everything he does goes wrong.

'You can't have honestly believed I'll let you go on with this, have you?'

Ryou looked at Kuraki-chan, who had fainted and is now on the floor. He could hear footsteps running towards them, and considered himself lucky that they weren't already here; dealing with one angry spirit at a time is more than enough already.

Ryou remained quiet towards the thief.

'Hmmm? Did you think I would let you go off with your little girlfriend-' the spirit spat the words as if it's a bad language, '-and live happily forever?'

The pale boy pretended to not hear the question, knowing the thief wasn't expecting an answer anyway. Instead, he asked quietly, 'What did you do?'

'Go take a look, if you're so curious.' The spirit laughed, deep chuckle echoing in the classroom.

Ryou walked forward to pick up the fallen container. Looking at the thing within, he couldn't help but let out a gasp as a face, real with scar-like lines, wrinkles that went deep into the suppose chocolate, eyes that half-glowed with a tinge of red (blood red) met his eyes; and a mouth with twisted, almost purple lips smirked up at him.

'What did you do to...to...'

'All I did was place it inside the Shadow Realm and let a hundred years go past. Things happen in the shadows; I remember I told you that before.'

Someone entered the classroom, shouting at Ryou and picking up the girl named Kuraki Maki. Ryou wanted to reply, but he wanted even more to throw the thing in his hand far, far away.

'Now, now...Is that the way to treat a valentine I gave you?'

With trembling fingers, Ryou couldn't do anything but put the lid back on as he slid it back inside his schoolbag. All he wanted to do was run - somewhere far, far away without any shadows following him.

'Anywhere there's a light, there's a shadow.'

The face floated into Ryou's mind.

'I fully expect you to eat it, by the way.'

--------

Briefly, Ryou remembered his father's return date is tomorrow. That means he would be able to transfer...

Yet again.