Chapter 164.5
The unusually bright sunlight streaming into the room did nothing to wake up Tohsaka Rin. Nor did the alarm clocking, ringing and vibrating with all it's might, slowly creeping to the edge of the bed stand with how hard it was actually shaking. Clad in her cat print pajamas, all she wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep the day away, until she felt like waking up. Turning her face away from the alarm clock, she pulled the covers over head and kept her eyes closed, determined to stay asleep.
The irritating shriek of the ringing bell failed to abate, and after a few more moments spent futilely trying to enter sleep again, she grumbled and left the covers, peeling it off her body as she swung her legs off the bed to step on the cool wooden floorboards. Walking over to the alarm clock, she caught it just as it was about to fall off onto the floor, roughly dropping it back on the bed stand after she switched off the alarm.
With bedraggled hair, half-closed eyes and a listlessly open mouth, she slowly shambled into the toilet, her body moving on autopilot as it did it's best to keep her from swerving back into the inviting sheets of the warm bed she had just left. A clattering sound could be heard from the bedroom, followed by more sounds that would concern any stranger, though it was all just part of Rin's normal morning routine. It took a while, but the strange sounds stopped, and finally the sounds that one would expect to hear started appearing in sequence, the water flowing into a sink, the flushing of a toilet, gargling water.
The door creaked open, opening a smidge, before Rin pushed it again, making the gap wider since the first nudge wasn't enough. While she wasn't going to fall into the bed again, she was still far from being awake, and more work was needed to kickstart her brain into it's usual sharpness. Even washing her face with cold water wasn't enough to do so.
Her bare feet padded against the stairs, her eyes open just enough to see the steps so she didn't trip. It didn't take long for her to reach the kitchen, and she reached for the teapot resting on the counter, pouring herself a cup of tea. A fragrant herbal scent filled her nose, stimulating her tongue and mind. Already feeling more awake just from sniffing the tea, she raised the cup to her lips and sipped the murky liquid with a green tint, slowly drinking it instead of downing in one gulp some of her school acquaintances would.
The effects were immediate. When she put the cup back onto the counter, her eyes were wide-open and shining with a bright spark in her irises, her posture changing from being slightly slumped forward to instead standing straight, the commanding air she usually had once more present. Running a hand through her tousled hair, she let out a sigh.
"Time to get ready for school."
The rest of her morning routine passed by in a blur as she commenced in a most efficient manner, dressing herself, doing her hair, making breakfast and everything else a Japanese highschool girl needed to do before going to school. By the time she was done, there was still plenty of time for her to walk to school along the usual route, since running to school would be inelegant. At all times, she had to show her best self to others, maintaining her public image except to a select few.
Wearing the standard issue Homurahara Academy school jacket, she set off from her house, her shoes clicking on the pavement as the black iron gate slid shut with a clang behind her.
.On the way to school, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The weather was the same as usual, the people she saw on the way to school, though not many, were mostly people she recognized. There were no traffic accidents, exploding gas leaks or anything strange, it was just an ordinary walk to school, like the many other days preceding it. Yet she couldn't help but feel that something was off today, and she couldn't shake the feeling of having eyes on her back. She resisted the urge to turn around and look, instead continuing to walk normally, but she also felt like there were more people looking at her than usual as well, with fellow students in the uniform of her school whispering to each other.
Was something going on today?
She racked her brain over the announcements of the school, about anything regarding a special event held today, but nothing came up. Their athletic meet was already over, tests were still a few weeks off, most of the clubs having little to do after the competitive season, so there really wasn't anything she could think of that would have her fellow students acting so suspiciously. It was particularly strange that they would also look at her too, throwing her sideways glance and furtive gazes, from both male and female students, though the proportion of male students doing so were much higher, whereas most of the female students met her gaze and politely waved at her.
She was already well-known in Homurahara, and her reputation was first among all the female students, with few other people coming close. Only other students like Ryuudou Issei came close to her level of renown, and in terms of popularity she far outstripped them. So it was only natural for other students to greet her when they passed by.
When she reached the school, the strangeness increased even further. She could practically feel the tension crackling in the air, but her magical senses didn't detect anything amiss. If there was anything wrong, it was most likely of mundane origin instead of mystical, but again she couldn't tell what was wrong. The teachers didn't seem to be very bothered, but almost all of the students seemed to be nervous in one way or another, with some barely casting a glance at any one else to speed walk straight into the school, others excitedly chattering with their friends while walking as their eyes danced around on various people. In particular, there were a lot of people carrying an extra bag today. Was there some special event she had forgotten about today?
Racking her brain, she still couldn't come up with anything, and her frustration grew. Had she missed an announcement in class? But she had been attentive from dawn to dusk in every school activity, and there was no way she could have missed something school-related.
Also, it seemed like there were a lot more people heading to school early like her.
Walking through the gates, she cast a glance at the teacher standing at the gates, one Fujimura Taiga. For some reason, unlike the other teachers, she seemed to be incredibly agitated, aggressively accosting the students that showed even the slightest hint of being rowdy, checking the bags that students brought, and being a pain in the ass in general. Nobody dared to speak up against her though, despite the more casual relationship she had with her students when compared to her fellow colleagues, and none of the teachers came to tell her to tone it down either. Rin smiled wryly to herself at the sight of the shinai clutched in the short haired teacher's hand, the likely culprit for the lack of interference of her shameless behaviour harassing the students.
Still, why was she acting like that? Did she not get enough to eat for breakfast perhaps?
Deep in thought, she passed Taiga after giving the teacher a greeting, and trod into the school, heading towards her shoe locker to exchange footwear.
The moment she opened her locker, it all became clear.
Stuffed to the brim, from wall to wall, ceiling to ceiling, crowding the space until her indoor shoes couldn't even be seen, were boxes of fancily wrapped gifts, some of them with cards, others without.
Her eyebrows twitched once, then she calmed herself.
Reaching into the cramped space, she delicately pulled one out, taking care not to imbalance the rest and cause an avalanche of boxes to tumble out. She pulled out the card placed under the decorative ribbon of the box, a pleasing thickness with a wavy texture over the card. The rest of the box was a deep crimson, while the card itself was pure white. On the face of the card, there was a stylized heart with the words 'with love' written in cursive font below it. Steeling her heart, she flipped open the card to read its contents.
"Tohsaka-san,
I've been enamoured with you for a long while now. Ever since I saw you standing on the first day of school, twintails waving in the air as you exuded an air of…"
She skimmed through the entire card, then placed the box and the card back into the locker and pulled out another one.
"Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
My heart is yours,
But do you love me too?
-Toda Kasumi"
At least this one was short. She tucked it back into the heart shaped box it was attached to, and then proceeded onto the rest.
It took her some time, but she managed to read, or skim through all of them before the bell rang, and since she didn't have enough space in her bag to take them all, she just left them in the locker, deciding to borrow a plastic bag later to take all of them home.
She was unsurprised to find that her desk drawer was also occupied, though not as full as her shoe locker, where it was brimming with chocolates. The ones placed in her drawer were much smaller in size, though they were no less inferior in quality than the ones in her shoe locker.
"T-tohsaka-san!"
A girl ran up to her desk, thrusting a carefully wrapped gift box in front of Rin's face.
"Please accept this!"
Without missing a beat, Rin stood up and graciously took the chocolate out of the girls hands, a smile plastered on her face as she tried to link the face of the girl to a name.
"Thank you, Ha──ruichi-san."
Though she wasn't from her class, it wasn't too hard to memorize most of the people in her grade. Not just her grade, but most of the students in clubs and in important positions too, she had them all memorized. It was another part of what cemented her place in the school, the effort she'd put in to stand at the top of the social hierarchy.
As if motivated by the first girl, others joined in, a flood of girls streaming to Rin's seat to give her chocolate for Valentine's Day. In fact, all of the chocolate she received in the locker and the desk drawer was from her fellow female students.
She was simply that popular, idolized by both the male and female population of the school.
"Tohsaka-san, h-here, I made some chocolate for you."
Yukika's face was adorable as she looked away, a slight blush on her cheek, while handing the handmade chocolate to Rin.
"Ah, thank you so much Yuki-chan. You can call me Rin-chan you know."
"I-I'm still not used to it yet, but I'll try my best."
"Where's our chocolate Yuki-chan? How come she gets it first, eeehhh?"
Kaede pressured the timid girl, with Kane sticking herself between the two in order to save Yukika and calm down Kaede. Of course, Kaede wasn't really serious, and was just teasing her friend.
"Well, it's not like I don't have anything for you though. Here you go Rin-chan."
She promptly dropped a four bar Kit Kat onto Rin's desk, the green wrapping advertising the matcha flavour with double filling.
Rin stared at the treat on her desk, then looked back at Kaede.
"You bought it this morning at 7-Eleven didn't you."
"Wha-I don't know what you're talking about! I properly bought it a day before you know?"
"I don't think that's the problem here."
Kane butted in as well, her indifferent voice refuting Kaede as she munched on the Kit Kat Kaede had given her earlier.
"The fact that you prepared a Kit Kat bar says a lot about how much thought you put into this."
Kaede narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, though she knew that Kane was right in that she'd just bought this on a spur of the moment decision after remembering the date.
"At least I bought chocolate for you guys! I didn't get anything else at all for anyone besides you three. Come to think of it, you haven't given any giri-choco yet have you Kane-chan?"
Standing up at her full height, she wasn't really that tall, but she still towered over Kane seating down. Seeing Kaede getting fired up, Rin interceded for the two of them.
"Ah, I don't really mind it at all, I like the matcha flavoured Kit Kat bar as well. I'm happy that Kaede-chan chose something that I liked, it's really thoughtful."
It was true that though Kaede had given little thought to the affair, she had at least made the effort to pick something that the three girls would probably like. She knew Rin liked tea based on her daily routine and drink of choice when eating with them, so she picked matcha flavour. As for Kane, she chose the dark chocolate version of regular Kit Kat, and Yukika received strawberry flavoured bars.
"I'm also glad, Kaede-chan. You picked something suitable for each of us separately after considering our tastes. You really notice a lot of things."
Yukika's gentle smile made Kaede's previous grumpiness at Kane's rebuke evaporate, her energetic grin returning.
"Of course, I spend most of my time with you three after all. I'd have to be blind to not know a thing about your favourites!"
"I suppose the Kit Kat is quite nice."
Kane's monotone reply only made Kaede smile wider.
"As for my giri-choco, here you go."
Kaede's jaw dropped when she saw the transparent box with curving lines and motifs resembling flowers and vines wrapping the outside. The box was exquisite in it's own right, with a deep vermillion blending with painted greenery on the inside of the box as the background, but the chocolate was the real eye-catcher there. It was artisanal, but it looked delicious as well, an array of patterns on various chocolates, with varying shades of brown, white and other colors inhabiting the alcoves that housed the delightful sweets. Just looking at it was enough for them to salivate, with Rin picturing a rainbow made of chocolate, all the flavours of the world's cocoa distilled into each piece of chocolate in the box.
"My parents insisted that I give my friends the best, so here."
Unbeknownst to the three of them, her parents had done no such thing. Instead, she had gone overboard in her enthusiasm in making chocolate, and ended up making exactly none after becoming overzealous and shooting too high. The ingredients were all ruined, and in the end she simply snuck some of her handmade chocolate into the box, and prayed that they attributed the weird taste to the variety.
"Th-this is-this-Kane-chan!"
Kaede gaped at the box, oozing with luxury and elegance.
"Kane-chan, are you sure? It seems like a lot for us."
Yukika's worried face leaned next to Kaede's shocked one as she stared down at the box in Kaede's hands, wondering if it was alright to take such a precious, not to mention expensive, giri choco.
Only Rin was unruffled, gently prying the box from Kaede's frozen fingers and inclining her head towards Kane.
"Thank you so much for this gift Kane-chan. We'll savour every bite of this."
Placing the box on her desk next to her lunchbox, she discreetly poked the two girls in the back.
"Ah, y-yeah, we'll take good care of it!"
"We'll clean it thoroughly!"
Faced with such an amazing gift after giving out their own humble ones, they couldn't help but reel in shock, but Rin's fingers at their backs managed to snap their minds back to the present, accepting the gift as Kane intended.
The four continued their usual banter, along with a session of sampling some of the chocolate as the lunchtime continued, the chatter of fellow students surrounding and enveloping them in these ordinary days.
In the students council room, Shirou and Issei stared at the pile of chocolate they had both received. Well, it was mostly Issei's, with only a few girls giving gifts to Shirou, but it was still surprising that he had received that much.
"Are you going to eat all of that?"
Issei sighed.
"I made sure my lunch box had less today to accommodate for this, but I have to say I didn't expect this amount."
"You should be happy right? It means you're more popular than you thought."
Shirou attempted to console his friend in front of the small hill of sweets.
"Popularity is more trouble than it's worth. I'd rather be respected than be popular."
Is that so different?
Shirou wondered, but he decided to focus on the problem at hand.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, I suppose I'd have to find someone to help with it."
Faced with such an amount, he admitted that he needed some assistance. And a plea for help was something an ally of justice couldn't ignore.
"I guess there's no helping it. Let's dig in."
The two of them sat down and started picking at the pile as they tried to make a dent in the hill of boxes and wrappers.
Some distance off, in a mapo tofu store located in the shopping district of Mount Miyama, a large man wearing a cassock loosened his collar as he forced steaming red liquid down his throat, steady helpings of tofu and minced meat following the spiced sauce.
"How amusing. Such a dish, made with little thought to balance, instead focusing one taste to the extreme. I suppose it's a good fit for your taste, mongrel."
Opposite him, a golden haired foreigner sat there, casually lounging in his seat as he flicked a piece of chocolate into his mouth.
Kirei paused in the middle of eating to reply.
"There is no other taste that makes me feel anything. I have nothing to compare the taste to, and so when comparing something with nothing, it would seem obvious to choose that which has something."
Saying so, he downed another gulp of mapo tofu, his forehead already breaking out in sweat as he savoured the taste of the Chinese based delicacy.
"Not even the sweetest of chocolates will sway your heart. I suppose it's useless to give any to you on this modern custom of 'Valentine's Day'. Yet rejoice, for this King has all the treasure of the world stored within his vaults, and there is nothing you desire that you cannot find within my hoard."
Saying so, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a shiny dark pack and chucked onto the table.
Out of curiosity, Kirei took it and looked at the big red letter in bold, with flames surrounding them.
"MAPO TOFU CHOCO! ONLY THE WORTHY MAY PARTAKE AND LIVE! PRANK YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WITH THIS!"
"Take it, for I am charitable today. For a man to receive nothing on this day is pitiable. I am the sole exception, for I have already received everything the world has to offer."
Gilgamesh left with an insufferably arrogant smirk as he strode out of the restaurant, leaving Kirei behind with his mapo tofu and mapo tofu flavoured chocolate.
"Hm…"
He ripped open the pack with ease and placed a square of the chocolate into the mapo tofu, eating it together with the sauce.
As he thought, the spiciness was dulled, his senses no longer coming alive as when it was undiluted.
Somehow though, it was a familiar taste.
A woman wrapped in bandages appeared in the forefront of his mind, a weakened body that was always on the verge of perishing.
Then it was gone, and he went back to eating mapo tofu.
Far away, over the seas and through mountains, Caren smiled contentedly as she ate her roommates chocolates, savouring the rich texture with each bite as she devoured every single speck until there was nothing left.
As she thought, chocolate eaten in the pursuit of bringing misfortune and despair on others was the sweetest.
Sorry, late valentines special chapter