(-- --)

Chapter 11

Chocolate Cosmos

Minato felt like being lazy that Sunday afternoon. He didn't want to study, he didn't want to play video games, he didn't want to spend the afternoon in the city, and he didn't want to go to Tartarus that night. He lay on the couch in the lounge, a book over his face. He was just starting to drift off to sleep when a sweet, yet heavy smell reached his nose. He pulled off the book, and sat up.

Mitsuru, who was sitting in one of the chairs when Minato fell asleep, was now gone. Minato looked around and following the smell, he found the origin in the kitchen. He found Yukari, Fuuka, and Mitsuru working together to make chocolates. Yukari was the one carrying most of the work, and he knew why: Fuuka was a terrible cook, and Mitsuru probably has never made chocolates before in her life.

He didn't want to disturb them. He returned to the couch, and read his book again until he passed out.

(-- --)

-February 4, 2007, Sunday

Takeba Residence

Daytime

Yukari tentatively placed the chocolate in her mouth. She frowned and set the batch aside. She went back into the kitchen, pulling out more ingredients for a fresh batch. Mrs. Takeba was passing through when she saw her daughter making more chocolate from scratch.

Back when Mrs. Keiko Takeba was in high school, she was known to be a reputed beauty with her long brunette hair and amber eyes. She was a tall girl and was graceful due to ballet. Twenty years later, her hair was shorter and her eyes continued to sparkle in the same light. Her husband always joked that if Yukari never got his determination and spirit, no one would have believed that she was his daughter – that is how much Yukari resembled her mother.

"Another batch, Yukari?" Mrs. Takeba asked incredulously. "That is your fifth one today!"

"The last four weren't good enough."

Her mother walked over to the four batches on the dining table. She ate a piece from each one before turning to her daughter. "They taste just fine. The first one is not quite sweet. The second has an amazing texture. The third is very sweet and soft, and the fourth is very plain."

"Exactly." Her daughter replied. "They aren't good enough."

"With whatever high standards you have, you won't be able to make a batch that will be acceptable." Her mother replied. She grabbed her purse and her jacket. "I'll leave you to making your chocolates. I'm off to have lunch with Hotaru." She knew. She knew what was driving Yukari to make the "perfect" batch of chocolates. Maybe her daughter didn't know what her drive was yet, but she was bound to find out what it was going to be sooner or later.

Yukari looked up at her mother and said, "I won't waste any of them."

"Oh no, dear, I know. But if you run out of ingredients, you'll have to buy them on your own."

(-- --)

-February 4, 2007, Sunday

Chagall Café

Afternoon

"So is Yukari making chocolates for Valentine's Day this year?" Mrs. Arisato asked. They were having lunch and coffee at Chagall Café. They would have liked to eat at the restaurant at Port Island Station, but it was routinely filled with people on Saturdays and Sundays.

"Yes. Funny you should mention that." Mrs. Takeba replied. "Just as I was leaving, I found her making a fifth batch of chocolates. She said that none of them were good enough."

Mrs. Arisato took a sip of her coffee. As she laid it back on her saucer, she smirked. "Oh ho, that reminds me of someone who did that." She insinuated.

Mrs. Takeba blushed and angrily said, "D-don't refer to me, Hotaru!"

The other woman smiled innocently. Just like how Yukari was the image of her mother, Minako was the image of hers. Both Hotaru and Minako Arisato were shrewd, cunning, and showed their innocence when giving out hints. "Tee hee, whatever could you mean Keiko?" She asked with a smile. "I wasn't hinting at you…unless you want the person I spoke of to be you."

"Don't be devious with me! You're talking about that one Valentine's Day from when we were in high school."

"But I haven't said a word about it!" Mrs. Takeba frowned at her friend. She was enjoying herself immensely.

In fact, Mrs. Arisato did know what her friend was talking about. About twenty-one years ago, when Mrs. Arisato was Hotaru Fujimi, and Mrs. Takeba was Keiko Sawamura, there was an incident that happened in their second year of high school. Hotaru was in the Science Club with Koji Arisato and Echiiro Takeba at the time. She never reprimanded them for their science pranks, but was always glad to amuse herself with watching. It would take several more years before Hotaru and Koji to get into a relationship.

In her second year of high school, Keiko Sawamura was failing physics. Her teacher got her a tutor: Echiiro Takeba. Kaori was the most popular girl in school, and she could have had any guy she wanted. From that first tutoring session, she was taken with though she did not know why. Maybe it was because he had a certain charm. She never liked a "geeky" guy before. With Echiiro's help, her grades became better. Valentine's Day rolled around and to show her affection and enamor, she struggled to make the "perfect" batch of chocolates. Hotaru didn't know the full details of what happened with the chocolates, but on the day of love, Koji and Hotaru spied on the pair. Keiko presented Echiiro with chocolate and there was silence in conclusion. Needless to say, that kiss was what sealed their relationship for twenty-one years and counting.

"Though, it always made me wonder why you chose Echiiro instead any some other guy. Many of them wanted you." Mrs. Arisato replied.

"See? I knew you were referring to me!"

Mrs. Arisato chuckled. "Now, the way I see it, your story is moving down a generation." She replied.

"Oh, you've noticed it as well?"

"When someone likes another that much, everyone else can tell but those two in question."

"I wouldn't mind them together." Mrs. Takeba commented with a contented smile.

"Same here. Quite the couple they would make. They are only fourteen though. I shall give them several more years before a kiss will seal the deal." Mrs. Arisato added.

"A kiss, hm? When they are ready, we should fling them together. I'm sure their friends and Minako would be ready to help. We can lock them in a closet or push them out to sea in a boat."

(-- --)

-February 4, 2007, Sunday

Takeba Residence

Afternoon

Yukari stared dumbly at the kitchen counter. After the fifth batch of chocolates, she had realized she no longer had enough ingredients to continue anymore. Her mind was focused on cooking, but she didn't pay attention as to why she was working so hard. The distraction was gone, and her mind traveled to another subject.

Why did the chocolates have to be so perfect?

As long as Yukari could remember, she gave away homemade chocolates to her father, Minato, her male classmates, and her friends. More years passed on, and Yukari realized that there was a special meaning to Valentine's Day. She stopped giving away her chocolates to her male classmates. But whenever she made these chocolates, she didn't care how they turned out, just as long as it tasted delicious. It only took two batches to make her satisfied for the people she was giving. So why was it that she was bordering on making a sixth set?

His face flashed in her mind, and the blood rushed to her face. Her body grew unusually warmer, but this warmth was separate from what she felt from the house's heater. Yukari grabbed her head and shook it, trying to erase his face. The perfect chocolates were for him! No way! He's just a friend! Little did she know, somewhere deep, deep, deep down in her heart and mind was a voice that was asking her to stop being so deluded.

"Oh, forget it. I need to go to the store." She said to no one in particular. She grabbed her wallet and her jacket.

(-- --)

-February 4, 2007, Sunday

Grocery Store

Afternoon

Yukari shivered as she ran into the store. Some customers gave her a curious look. It was cold outside still, and she was more than happy to in a building with a heater. She picked up a basket and began hunting for her ingredients. She had just enough cocoa beans to last her one more batch. She had to make this one count. She grabbed a couple bags of sugar and several cans of condensed milk. As she made her way to get some mint, someone pushed past her, almost causing her to drop the basket.

The person's head turned around slightly and said, "Sorry." Yukari took a closer look. The person had navy blue hair the same length and cut as…

"Eh? Minato?"

The boy turned around completely, and Yukari started blushing once more.

"Huh? Yukari?"

They stared at each other, dumbfound. "What are you doing here?" They asked at the same time.

Minato held up his own basket. "My sister is making me do her grunt work by buying some components needed to make chocolate."

"Oh, funny. I was here buying some more ingredients as well. I kept messing up the chocolate." Well, she was only half-lying.

Minato suddenly looked confused. "Huh? You kept messing up? You rarely mess up when it comes to cooking."

Yukari laughed uneasily and said, "Yeah, well, it is just one of those days…"

The navy haired boy checked his watch and sighed. "I better go." He said. "You know how Minako is when she is left waiting."

He began walking away when Yukari called after him and said, "You spoil her too much!" He waved back at her as an acknowledgement. With a bounce in her step, Yukari paid for her items and ran all the way home. She had some chocolate to make.

(-- --)

-February 14, 2008, Wednesday

Adachi Middle School, Class 8-C

Early Morning

"Here is one for Junpei, and one for Minato…" Yukari muttered as she took out boxes filled with chocolate from her bag. With six batches of chocolate made, she had a lot to give out. Two batches were divided evenly between Yukari's friends. One batch was going to be given to Akihiko, Miki, and Shinjiro to share. Junpei got his own batch, as did her dad. Minato got the sixth batch of chocolate. The sixth one was the best out of all, and Yukari made it quite special as well.

"Wow, this is a lot of chocolate, Yuka-tan!" Junpei commented, looking at the box.

"I thought you messed up on your chocolates." Minato pointed humorously.

"I didn't mess up-mess up." She said huffily. "They just didn't turn out as well as I wanted them to." Okay, that one was the truth.

The door to the classroom opened abruptly and Taniguchi-sensei walked inside. All the students scrambled to take their seats as the teacher said crossly, "Enough with the commotion. I know it is Valentine's Day, but you girls can give out your chocolates during lunch!"

The lesson proceeded. Occasionally, Yukari would slightly turn around to look at Minato. The box never left his desk. At one point, she watched him open up the box. When he smiled, she smiled and turned around. The sixth batch of chocolate really was the best. It was special.

It was in the shape of a chocolate cosmos.

(-- --)

"Minato!" Yukari called, shaking the boy awake.

"Hrm?" Minato pulled the book from his face and saw Yukari standing over him with a plate of chocolates in her hand.

"Mitsuru-senpai, Fuuka, and I made some chocolates! Do you want one?" She asked.

He sat up and in a low voice, he asked, "Does it taste good?" She smirked and said that it did. It was the only batch that didn't taste terrible. He took one and put it all in his mouth. Yukari was right. It didn't taste bad. It was sweet and it melted just right in his mouth.

I felt a lot of inspiration for this chapter, which is why I was able to write it so quickly. This chapter is for Valentine's Day, even though Valentine's Day was two days ago. So...HAPPY BELATED VALENTINE'S DAY! Haha. More Minato x Yukari fluff, and if you know Japanese culture, White's Day is in March, so guess what is going to be next chapter! The title of this chapter is "Chocolate Cosmos". There is a flower by that name, and apparently, it has the faint smell of chocolate. That is all I have for now. Thanks for reading! And thank you in advance for reviewing (if you do)!