A/N: Tadaa! Yup, I've finally updated. It's past Christmas and I hope you guys had a good one. Anyway, I'm not going to talk for long, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara.

Chapter 9 – Valentine's Day I

The February air was full of sweet scents from roses that were put on sale in all flower shops. Chocolate was being sold so quickly that it was lucky that shops were wise enough to stock up on chocolate since December. Of course, the combination of these could only mean one thing was coming: Valentine's Day, a day full of love, happiness, and chances of being accepted.

"I can't wait for Valentine's Day! It's only one day away," said Yaya with an excited expression on her face.

Rima glared at her while Tadase looked down at his food. Yaya sweat-dropped. "Um...sorry..."

Valentine's day was also a day that some people hated and wished that it never existed. An example of a person like this would be Rima. Valentine's Day was like a day made to torture Rima. She supposed Tadase might not like Valentine's Day either.

As if to prove her point, he sighed. "I'm going to need to bring a big plastic bag."

Yaya, who did not have love problems, was happily eating her lunch. "Why do you need to do that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rima said. "Fan-girls."

Tadase groaned. "I really don't want to put up with them, but I can hardly tell them to keep their gifts."

"You're too nice to them Tadase," Yaya said. "And anyway, maybe this year there won't be that many girls that are going to give you presents."

Rima rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. I heard a lot of girls talk about what they were going to give you. I'm lucky that I don't have to suffer until a long time."

"I don't know about that. Once Valentine's Day is over White day won't seem a long time away," said Tadase.

Rima shrugged. "If you say so." She placed her chopsticks on the table since she was finished. "I've never heard you complain about it before though, Hotori. What happened last year?"

Tadase grimaced. "To put it simply: I had a girlfriend."

Right. That was probably not a good question to ask, Rima thought.

"Hey guys," said Amu, walking over to the table with Nagihiko.

"Where were you two?" asked Rima.

"Sensei asked us to run an errand," Nagihiko replied.

"I wasn't talking to you."

"What's your point?" When Rima didn't answer he smirked and sat down next to Tadase while Amu sat next to Rima.

Amu looked around at her friends. "So what are you guys going to do after school?"

"I'm not doing anything," Rima said.

"I'm going to go buy chocolates!" said Yaya.

"Oh, who are you giving them to?" Nagihiko asked her.

"Huh? I was going to eat them myself." The group laughed at their friend and Yaya grinned sheepishly. "I guess I should get some chocolate for everyone."

"I have basketball practice," Nagihiko said.

"I'm taking my grandmother to the hospital," said Tadase.

Amu looked at him concerned. "Is she alright?"

Tadase nodded. "Yeah, she just has a bit of a cold."

"Oh..."

"What about you Hinamori-san?"

She played with her food. "Oh, um, I'm...it's a secret."

"What the secret?" asked Yaya excitedly.

"Well it wouldn't be much of a secret if she told us," Rima said.

Ran waved her pom-poms."Don't worry, it's not a bad secret!"

"It's a very good secret! You'll find out tomorrow-desu," said Suu.

"Shut up," Amu scolded them. But Rima guessed that the secret had to do with Valentine's day; Amu was probably going to go buy chocolate for Nagihiko.

"Hmph, well I think Valentine's Day is a waste of time," Kiseki said.

Miki looked at him. "Why would you think that?"

"Because all the commoner are wasting time giving their gifts to other commoners when they should be giving it all to me!"

"I think we get enough chocolate as it is," Tadase said, amused. "And you eat it all anyway."

"Hey! No fair, you should give some to me," Pepe said to Kiseki.

Kusu-kusu giggled."Me too!"

"Me three," Ran said.

"King's don't have to share their chocolate with commoners," said Kiseki.

"You're being selfish again," said Pepe.

The group laughed at their characters conversation. Just then the bell rang to signify that lunch was over. Yaya said goodbye to the group and left to her class. Rima, Tadase, Amu and Nagihiko left to walk to their class together. Amu walked over to Rima while Tadase and Nagihiko were talking about something else.

Amu glanced over her shoulder then whispered to Rima."Hey, are you going to give chocolates to anyone?"

"Of course not," replied Rima, surprised Amu would ask something like that. "Why?"

"Oh...no reason..." Amu said trying to act casual.

Rima looked at Amu suspiciously. "Did someone ask you to ask me?"

Amu, giving in to Rima's stare answered her. "Okay, Daisuke-kun wanted to know." Oh right, he was that guy on the basketball team who gave her that really nice birthday present a few years ago. "I wouldn't have asked but he looked like he really needed to know."

"I'm not that close to him so I don't know why he would ask," Rima said.

Amu looked thoughtful. "Well, I don't think he thought you would give it to him. I think if he knew you weren't giving chocolate to anyone that he'd still have a chance."

"But I've already told him I'm not interested."

Amu smiled. "That was two years ago. Maybe he thought things might have changed." Well he was right about that. Things had changed for Rima quite a bit.

"You're getting chocolates for Nagihiko, right?" A second later Rima felt like hitting her head against the wall for asking such a question.

"Y-yeah I'm making some chocolate!" She turned pink. "Not just for him though, I'm making chocolate for you guys too! It's nothing special."

"If you say so," said Rima with a small smile.

Same old Amu, always too embarrassed to show that she cared.

xxxxx

Rima walked home alone today since everyone was busy. The shops on the roadside were bustling with business as people were doing last-minute shopping for tomorrows Valentine's Day. Kusu-kusu looked around at the place, giggling. "Hey Rima, let's go into one of the shops!"

"Alright," Rima agreed. She had nothing better to do after all and it was a way to pass time before getting home. It wasn't as if her mum was going to be home anyway.

The shop Kusu-kusu floated into was decorated with ribbon hangings which were pink. There was an assortment of plush toys and plush hearts and a whole lot of chocolate. The shop was full of girls, mostly teenagers. Rima recognised some of them from her school. She walked around looking at the transformation of the shop with amusement. Usually, this was where she could buy her latest gag manga.

She browsed the aisles and was looking at the chocolates that were in heart shaped containers. She thought that if things had been different, maybe she would have given chocolates to Nagihiko. Doing that now would be out of the question, of course.

"Tell me why you're getting him chocolates again," said an exasperated voice from behind her.

"Because I like Hotori-kun, you know that!" sounded a voice that was just as exasperated.

Rima turned slightly to look at the girls and they were a pair of girls from her year. More of Hotori's fan-girls, she thought.

"But you know he's not going to accept you. He never accepted anyone! I should know, I was with him in elementary school," the first girl said.

The second girl picked up some chocolates from the shelf. "That's true. But even if he rejects me, it's better to just put your feelings out there! Hey, maybe I'll get lucky."

The first girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, let's just get your chocolates and get out of here."

They left for the counter and Rima found that her eyes had strayed back to the box of chocolates. The girl's friend was right; Hotori would probably not accept anyone with what he was like now. But there was something about what the girl said...

Rima looked around to make sure no-one was looking and grabbed the chocolates from the shelf. She hurriedly made her way to her counter. She paid for the chocolates and went outside, with Kusu-kusu following her out of the shop. "Huh? How come you got chocolates?"

Rima's hand tightened around the paper bag's handle but she didn't say anything.

It's better to just put your feelings out there.

xxxxx

The Hinamori household was noisy as Amu's parents were taking pictures of her sister who had gotten a new dress. "Pose for Papa, Ami!" Amu took this chance to escape from the living room and make her way to her room. She peeked into a pink paper bag on top of her study table.

"Amu-chan, the chocolates are not going to go anywhere!" said Ran.

Amu had been up here a few times already to make sure her chocolates were okay. It might seem like she was being paranoid but her dad had eaten her chocolates once and it did not turn out well. Still, she was quite proud of how they turned out. She had made them all from scratch, with no help from Suu. She had even done the patterns all by herself.

Amu sighed and plopped herself down on her bed. "Do you think he'll like them?"

"Of course he will-desu," said Suu.

Amu hoped so. She did put extra effort into Nagihiko's chocolates to make sure that he would like them. But she was still worried. Amu flipped around so her face was buried in the blankets. "It's no use! He'll probably hate them."

"That's not true," Miki re-assured her. "You tried them yourself, and they were good, right?" True, because of her worry she had even made an extra one to taste so she would know that it would taste good.

Dia smiled. "As long as you put in your feelings to make them, I'm sure he'll like them." She did certainly try hard.

"Thanks guys, I think I'm just over-reacting," said Amu with a sigh.

Ran giggled. "Amu-chan always gets worried before Valentine's Day."

Amu ignored her and got up to walk over to her chocolates again. "I think there's something I need to add." She sat down and drummed her fingers on the table. "I know! I'll write a card to go with it." Amu brought out a pink piece of card and started writing.

To my dear valentine,

Thank you for being such an amazing boyfriend. I'm so lucky to have you and I hope you like my chocolates. Happy Valentine's Day.

Love Amu.

Amu stared at the card for a few seconds. She banged her head against the table. "That's so embarrassing, did I just write that?"

"Hey, I didn't chara change you so it must have been," Ran told her with a grin.

Miki took a look at the card. "Besides, it looks good. I'm sure Nagihiko will like it."

"Okay guys, just put the card in the box of chocolates with the yellow – oh wait no, that's not Nagihiko's one – the blue ribbon, I mean," Amu said. She got up, not noticing that her charas were not paying attention and were trying to decorate the card. "I'm going to have a shower now."

After Miki was done doing the final touches she looked up to see that Amu was not there. "Where'd Amu-chan go?"

"I think she said she was going to shower-desu," Suu answered. "And umm, she asked us to put the card in the box with the green ribbon."

"Huh? Didn't she say it was the one with the orange ribbon?" Ran asked.

"I think it was the blue one," Miki said.

Dia smiled and shook her head. "I'm positive that it was the yellow one!"

"Oh, I think I did hear her say the yellow one," Suu said.

"Yeah! You're right!" Ran agreed.

Miki looked doubtfully at her sisters. "I'm pretty sure it was the one with the blue ribbon."

Ran took out the box with the yellow ribbon from the paper bag. "You're just saying that because it's your favourite colour. Besides, remember what happened the last time you messed with things that Amu made."

"That was a long time ago! Okay, fine, it's the yellow ribbon," she said, and helped her sisters put the card in the box.

XOXOXO

Rima walked through the school corridor, her school bag feeling slightly heavier than usual. A box of chocolate didn't seem like it would be this heavy. Maybe it was just her; maybe she was imagining it was heavier because she was anxious. This was the right thing to do, she thought. It might take some weight off her shoulders. Because she wasn't looking where she was going, Rima bumped into a girl.

"Hey watch where you're going – " the girl started, but stopped when she realized it was Rima. "Oh, Rima-chan, are you joining the line?"

Rima looked in front of the girl and there was a long line of girls waiting to enter Rima's classroom. She could guess what this line was for. When she entered the room, sure enough, there was Tadase with a giant plastic bag next to him already half-filled with boxes of chocolates. He had a smile on his face and thanked each girl who handed him a box of chocolate, turned red, and ran out of the classroom. She could somehow tell that Tadase was getting tired of it. She couldn't get to her table since there were girls blocking her way and walked over to Tadase's table instead, which was still a hard task.

She turned to everyone and glared at them. "I can't get to my seat. And class is about to start. I'd start leaving now if I were you."

The girls didn't dare question Rima with that cold look of hers, and started filing out of the class, though Rima could hear the girls muttering about coming back at lunch.

Tadase sighed in relief. "I owe you one, Mashiro-san."

"What are you talking about? I didn't do it for you, I needed to get to my seat." Rima took her seat while Kusu-kusu started giggling again.

Tadase chuckled. "Well thanks anyway."

A few minutes later Amu walked in with Nagihiko, she was holding a pink paper bag. Amu had probably already given her chocolates to Nagihiko, Rima thought. Nagihiko went over to talk to one of the guys, who Rima thought was also in the basketball team. Amu sat in her place next to Rima and took out some chocolates from her bag. She held it out to Rima. "I made some chocolates for everyone, hope you like them."

Rima smiled happily and undid the red ribbon and opened the box. Her chocolates were decorated with an 'R' on them for the start of her name. "Thanks Amu!"

"You're welcome," Amu said smiling back.

Rima then noticed that Tadase staring at his table, as if wanting to look at anywhere but Amu. Poor guy, she thought. She was surprised when Amu searched the plastic bag again and took out another box. She turned around to look at Tadase and Tadase quickly got rid of his lost expression and a confused one replaced it. He's getting better at acting, Rima thought.

"Oh Tadase-kun," she held out the box of chocolates to him. "I made some for you too. Just as friends, I mean."

Tadase's expression seemed to relax a bit. "Oh, of course. Thanks Hinamori-san." He took the chocolates from her and Amu turned back to look at the front.

Now Rima really felt sorry for Tadase. What could be worse than a 'Just Friends' chocolate from a person you still loved? It would have been better not to have given him chocolates at all. Tadase put the chocolates in his school bag instead of the giant plastic bag he brought.

Nagihiko headed over to his seat and Rima tensed slightly as he smiled at Amu. She was now very conscious of the chocolates sitting at the bottom of her bag. No changing her mind now.

xxxxx

Tadase had finished his lunch and returned to the empty classroom and sat at his place. One reason was that he wanted to escape the girls that were pestering him during lunch, though there was something else as well. He looked through his school-bag and took out his chocolates and stared at the box.

"Are you going to open it?" Kiseki asked him quietly.

Tadase clenched his hands. They were just chocolates after all. It shouldn't be this hard to open a box of chocolates. After hesitating for quite a while, Tadase finally undid the yellow ribbon and opened the box. He was surprised to see a piece of card in there. He took it out and started reading it.

Tadase's heart nearly stop. The letters words echoed in his head. Suddenly he felt sick. Was this Amu's idea of some kind of joke? Because for one moment just as he read the letter he had a felt a crazy moment of happiness. Even though the words weren't true. And he knew it.

I made some for you too. Just as friends, I mean.

Friends...that was what they were now. And as a friend Amu wouldn't do something like this. He tried to clear his head and think logically. This card was accidentally put in his box. It was meant for Nagihiko. He looked over at Nagihiko's table and smiled bitterly. Somehow Tadase could not bring himself to hate Nagihiko. It was Tadase's own fault for not being there.

Tadase walked over to Nagihiko's table. He would put the card in Nagihiko's bag, since it was meant for him in the first place. Suddenly Tadase had a bad thought and a small voice whispered in his mind. Why not keep it? It's not like Nagihiko would miss it since he hasn't seen it yet. He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. He bent down and was about to open Nagihiko's bag when he heard Amu call out his name.

He looked up and saw her eyes focus on the card he was holding.

"Oops, I think we put the card in the wrong box," Ran said, looking over at the box on Tadase's table.

"I told you it was the one with the blue ribbon," said Miki.

"Um, yes, I think you accidentally put this in my box," Tadase said attempting to sound casual.

"Did you read it?" Amu asked him her face turning slightly pink from embarrassment.

"Yes...but I didn't know it wasn't supposed to so...I'm sorry..." Tadase tried to smile but he thought it probably came out as a grimace. "Anyway..." He walked over to Amu and gave it to her. "I was just going to put it in Fujisaki-san's bag but since you're here you can give it to him yourself."

Amu looked at the ground. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Tadase tried to assure her, though he didn't really believe it himself. "It was just an accident." Amu nodded though she didn't say anything. "I've got to go to my locker. See you later, Hinamori-san."

Tadase walked past Amu with Kiseki floating beside him. Tadase stopped walking a after a while and turned to see Amu still standing near the classroom.

It was an accident...just like we were.

xxxxx

Rima stood in front of Nagihiko's locker, holding the heart-shaped box of chocolates. She had been standing in front of his locker for about five minutes. She really didn't know what she was waiting for. She already knew his locker combination (due to her asking Kusu-kusu to find it out for her) and she had written a note to him. She knew it off by heart, because she planned it in her mind before writing anything down.

Dear Nagihiko,

I don't know why I'm giving you these. I just feel like I have to. You might not like them and you can throw them away for all I care. I still had to give them to you. Oh, and don't bother trying to find out who I am. I won't tell you and I won't say anything else.

Love...well, it doesn't matter, because you won't be hearing anything like this from me again.

She had made her writing messy so that he wouldn't recognise it as hers. But even if he did, why would he think she wrote it? He thought she hated him. Which she sometimes did.

Rima took a deep breath. This was it. She slowly reached her hand up but froze when she heard someone call her name. Her eyes widened as her heart started to pound. Why was he here? She asked Kusu-kusu to make sure the coast was clear and if it wasn't to distract Nagihiko.

"Rima-chan?" Nagihiko looked at her and then to the box she was holding. She tightened her grip around them. "What are you doing here?" She looked down at the ground, not wanting to answer him.

Nagihiko's eyes widened as well. "Wait, are those...for me?"

...

...

...

...to be continued.

A/N: Okay, I know, I know, that was a major cliff-hanger...I couldn't help it xDDD I'm excited for the next chapter. So what do you guys think? Will Nagihiko find out about Rima's feelings? And if he does...what will happen? Dun, dun, dun! Oh, since I've updated this story it means that I've updated every single ongoing story I have this month. That's a record for me 8D Hehe, please review x3