Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! May yours be sweet and filled with happiness! If you've got a special someone, you are one lucky girl/guy, but if you're spending it alone or with your friends, you're not the only one!

Bitter or Sweet?

Disclaimer: Nope, not even on Valentine's Day

Chapter 13: Dear Ms. Sunny...

Every time you smile, I smile
and every time you shine, I'll shine for you

Whoa oh, I'm feeling you baby
Don't be afraid to jump then fall, jump then fall into me

Baby, I'm never gonna leave you,
Say that you wanna be with me too
Cause I'm gonna stay through it all so jump then fall

~Taylor Swift: Jump Then Fall

KAGOME'S POV

It's Saturday morning, 12:43 a.m., and my head hurts.

A lot.

Like, a lot.

Yeah, you get the point.

After I hurled in Inuyasha's car, he took me straight home, where my mom thanked him and set me in my bed. Of course, memories of the night before came to me in bits and pieces- a few glimpses here and there- but my worries were confirmed when Gramps came upstairs with a tray of Tylenol and water, as well as a note:

I've gone to take Sota to his indoor baseball game. Are you feeling better? I'll come upstairs to check on you the second I come back. I've told Izayoi to look out for you for the next two hours I'll be gone, so if anything happens, make sure to call her. Or Inuyasha. Whichever you prefer- but I'm pretty sure you'd rather call Inuyasha. And remember to thank him- he had to spend all night last night cleaning out the poor car that you signed. But don't feel too guilty, dear; I'm sure it was an accident. Don't sleep in too long!

~Your loving mother who is forcing your little brother to pose for a picture

"Feeling better, Kagome?" Gramps asks as I groan and run my hands through my hair… unsuccessfully.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the shrine?" I ask him weakly.

"Well someone's got to make sure you don't collapse."

"It's alright, Gramps. You go to your shrine- I'll be okay. After some Tylenol, that is." I know my grandfather adores our little shrine up north, and I'd feel guilty if I had to keep him away from it. "Shouldn't you get going soon?"

He tears up. "My favorite granddaughter is so selfless and caring," he says, sounding moved. "She must've gotten it from me… how touching!"

Uh, okay… "Sure, Gramps, whatever makes you happy."

After he leaves, I stretch and slump back against the headboard of my bed when my phone rings, surprising me. "Hello?"

"KA-GO-ME!" a voice wails. "You've got to help me!"

My eyes widen, and I immediately sit up straight. "Sango? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Please, Kaggie! Can you come over?" she sniffs. "It's really important."

Ayame and I look at each other, as Sango sniffles, looking all miserable and gloomy as she sits cross-legged on her wheelie chair. "…I'm so sorry, Aya-chan, Kag-chan. I didn't mean to lie to you both!"

"Do you think she's PMSing?" Ayame whispers to me.

I shrug. "Who knows?" Then I clear my throat and address Sango. "What do you mean, San?"

"Remember that time when some lame newspaper-kiddie snooped around your neighborhood and took pictures of you and Inuyasha and put them in the school paper?"

I nod slowly. "Yeah, what about it?"

"And remember when I told you and Inuyasha to not worry about it- that I had a friend on the newspaper committee who'd make sure to write that it was a rumor and blah blah blah?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Yeah…? So?"

"That's where I lied!" she howls. "I don't have a friend on the committee- I'm on the committee!"

Silence.

Ayame gives her a weird look. "Okay, so what's your point?"

"Please forgive me for being a bad friend!"

Uh… "Sango, that's not really qualified as lying, right?" I say, laughing. "Besides, we're not upset. I wish you'd told us, but it's not a big deal if it slipped your mind through all the havoc of tests and such. So that's why you called us over, having us think you were in some kind of mortal danger?"

"No," she replies, eyes pleading. "Actually, my part on the committee is kind of anonymous which is why I didn't tell you at first. I'm Ms. Sunny."

Ayame looks shocked. "The one that always has a section where she answers questions about love and gives romantic advice?"

"Yes." She sounds guilty about this.

"I never thought you were the romantic type, Sango," I say honestly. "You just never seemed into all that boyfriend-girlfriend stuff."

"I'm not… I just like to help others with their problems, and anyways, I'll get to the point: Valentine's Day is coming up and I got an unexpected large amount of letters asking for help and advice. For my newspaper column, I'm going to write about the meaning of love since there's too many letters to include all, but my job as 'Ms. Sunny' includes returning all the requests I've received. As long as I hand all of them in by Valentines morning, they'll be successfully sent to each and every person: people on the staff volunteered to distribute the letters to the lockers of the students who wrote to Ms. Sunny." She takes a deep breath. "Since I got so many correspondences, I planned on pulling an all-nighter yesterday and getting most of them finished, but…"

"But you went to the party, went crazy, drank spiked coke, went home, slept it off, and now your head is killing you and you don't think you can finish the letters without help," Ayame finishes, looking amused. "I guess even the most responsible of people just let go sometimes. No worries, Sango. Kagome and I'll help you get this all done- guaranteed."

Sango looks so grateful, she could burst into tears."Aw, thank you guys!" she cries, "You're the best, best, best!"

Ayame replies with "I know" the same time I say "that's what friends are for."

We laugh.

"You know, Ayame," Sango says, voice showing disbelief, "You seem the most rational and normal right now. Didn't you go to that party, too?"

She rolls her eyes. "C'mon, guys. Did you really think that it'd be just punch or regular coke?"

So we spend the next forty-five minutes sorting out the 'Dear Ms. Sunny' stuff into three piles as Sango explains to us in more detail how it works- how first we write out all the responses and type it out later.

"It sounds like a lot of work," Ayame says, yawning. "We could use all the help we can get."

A lightbulb somewhere in my head goes off. "Rin! I'll call her and see if she's available. I'm sure she'd love this kind of thing. Seeing as she's in love and all."

Sango laughs. "That's right! How are things with her and Sesshomaru by the way?"

"Not very good. He's ignoring her calls and when she texted him, he threatened to get a restraining order."

When I ended up calling her, she jumped at the offer.

Like I said, Rin adores this stuff. That'd explain how she appeared at Sango's house so quickly. Seriously, where she gets all that energy, I'll never know. So then we end up making one more pile for Rin, although she insisted she wouldn't mind doing more. At that point, it's nearly two o'clock.

I pick up the first one in my pile.

Dear Ms. Sunny,

Am I silly and foolish and just plain stupid for wanting to ask him out? All my friends say that he's so weird, that anyone who'd fall for the captain of the chess team is an idiot. But I can't help it. He's different from the others. I think it started the day his younger sister was being beat up in the school yard after school- even though he wasn't strong enough to fight back, he protected her even though it meant he would have to suffer.

I thought it was the most brave and extraordinary thing ever. I don't know why, but ever since then, I never had interest in anyone else. I get confessions and love letters from guys pretty often. Maybe it's because I'm on a lot of sports teams? But none of them have my heart. And even if I do ask him to be Valentine, what if he says no?

What should I do?

From,

Uncertain-Girl-in-Love

I consider this. The typical response would be to go after your heart despite what others say, but… in real life high school, it's hard to just go after what you want.

Dear Uncertain-Girl-in-Love,

I'm not sure what my opinion is worth, but I don't think you're stupid, neither foolish. Sometimes you just fall in love without noticing it, you know? But I think you really love him. There are two choices here: you decide to brush your feelings off and longingly watch him from afar, or you take initiative and ask him to be yours. Many will probably look down on you. They'll probably laugh at you from behind your back, and maybe even wonder if you're simply desperate. But perhaps it's better to be gossiped about and laughed at than ignore what your heart's telling you just because the school population wants you to.

I'm no oracle. I can't tell you what to do or not to do, despite the fact that I wish I could. However, I think that if you do something and regret it, it's better than to not have done something and regret it.

Sincerely,

Ms. Sunny

Feeling satisfied with my answer, I continue on to the next one.

Dear Ms. Sunny,

OMG he is sooo hot and I absolutely, positively, freaking love him! But, the thing is… kya, it's so embarrassing to even write about it! I swear, like, my cheeks are literally heating up right now… So anyways, we're totally in love and all, but he's kinda… well, pressuring me into doing stuff that's not really my style. As in, I'm kinda more virtuous than most people think. Well, not a lot more innocent, but, you know. So, what do I do?

From,

Virgin_Vixen

Um… "You guys, I need a little help with this one."

Rin raises her hand like a kindergartener, face all eager and bright. "Ooh, ooh, pick me! Pick me!"

I smile. "Sure. Uh, this girl's very certain she and her boyfriend are madly and deeply in love but he wants her to have a more sexually intimate relationship with her—to which she disagrees—but she doesn't want to ruin her relationship with him. What should I tell her?"

"Give me that." Rin snatches the paper, scribbles something down, and hands it back to me with a proud smile. Arching an eyebrow suspiciously, I read it.

Dear Virgin-Vicky-or-Whatever,

If he wants sex even though you've told him 'no' then he's not in love with you and you're an idiot.

Much love,

Ms. Sunny

Alright then—onto the next one!

Dear Ms. Sunny,

Honestly, I can't even believe I'm writing to you… I don't usually do stuff like this. But things have come to the point where I'm out of options, and to tell you the truth, I'll do anything to get answers. My friends—at least, the ones who actually care about me—have told me that you were the best person to come to in situations where one has love troubles. So here I am.

We met in freshman year. I think it was because of the drama club or something like that. We just… hit it off right away. Back then, I had a lot cleaner of a reputation- not the dirty, messed up one I have now. I was smart, pretty, lovable—nobody expected me to start dating a guy who was a part of a gang; a guy who was dark and dangerous. But despite his rough attitude, he's actually very sweet and knows how to make me laugh. Whenever he walks into a room, my heart pounds and I melt. I truly love him.

But obviously, he doesn't love me as much as I do, because I notice that lately, if I don't agree with him, he lashes out at me physically, and now my arms and legs and, hell, even my ass is always covered in scratches or light bruises. One of my friends began to suspect physical abuse and wanted me to report him, but I made her swear to not tell anyone, and she agreed on the condition that I seek help.

Please tell me what to do. I can't stand to be hurt anymore, but fuck it, I love him too much to break up with him or tell him to stop. People say I sleep around, that I'm a slut and that I have no self-respect. But that's not it. I'm not masochistic, nor am I a whore. I've simply fallen in love with the wrong man. And I have no idea what I'm going to do about it.

From,

Love-Sucks

I never suspected that there were cases like this at our school. Maybe it's because I'm still only fifteen, but I figured everything was black and white. Reading this person's letter was like a slap to the face by reality. Unlike the previous, stupid question, this person actually loves him- loves him to the point where she even let him raise his hand against her. Realizing that this girl's life may be on the line, I write back carefully.

Dear Love-Sucks,

I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry you fell in love with a guy who obviously doesn't know which lines a man should never cross. I'm sorry you don't have enough sense to tell him it's over. But who am I to judge? You love him- that part's made clear. However, to be in a relationship, both partners should be willing to meet halfway. If your boy can't even do that, then he isn't in love with you.

But if he is—if he actually genuinely cares about you—then if you ask him to go to rehabilitation, he'll say yes.

Sometimes, due to stress or problems that have occurred in one's life, a human may lose himself/herself without realizing it. Sometimes, it's not too late to change back. Maybe your boyfriend is one of the lucky people who haven't reached the point-of-no-return. Perhaps his underlying love for you will turn him back into a healthier state.

And I apologize to have to tell you this, but not everyone is that fortunate. There is the option that he just isn't human enough to know what a monster he's becoming. And if this is the case, for the sake of not only your life but the lives of everybody who cares about you, you'll end your one-sided love.

Please, consider what I'm telling you seriously.

Hoping for the best,

Ms. Sunny

I put down my pen for a bit and look at my friends sitting around me, all looking very focused on the letter they're currently working on. Maybe none of them had gotten ones like I have. Almost wincing, I reach out for yet another letter.

Dear Ms. Sunny,

I'd never thought life was fair. But I never knew it was that cruel.

I'm so angry at him for having to move across the world. That's why I'm not talking to him.

And before you tell me, I know it's selfish of me, and that it's unfair to him. I'm not stupid enough to not know that. But maybe it's better that way. I don't want to miss him when he goes away, so I'm trying to fall out of love with him. But it's hard because I always assumed we'd be together, and because he's just too kind.

Even though I'm being mean to him, even though I'm ignoring him, he still smiles at me every morning and every afternoon before I go home. He still talks about me to his friends with an adoring voice, and he even told me that it's completely fine that I'm angry—that it's not my fault for feeling that way.

How can he do that to me? It's like he's unconsciously making me fall deeper in love. How is that even possible? I already love him too much for my own good.

This is the last Valentine's Day I'll be able to spend with him, and I don't even know if we'll spend it together due to my cold shoulder. Yet despite all the voices in my head telling me that I have to try to move on, I want to be able to be as close to him as I can while he's in Japan, to be able to tell him how much he means to me- that he is (or was?) my first love, before finally letting go.

But will I even be able to let go at all?

From,

Heart-Too-Full

This time, I don't even have to think about it.

Dear Heart-Too-Full,

I'm going to tell you what you already know but you're trying to convince yourself otherwise. You're not going to fall out of love that easily. You love him—I can tell you do—but you won't stop loving him by forcing yourself. Eventually, you might, but if so, it will fade with time, not by ignorance and defiance. Accept that you still care deeply for him—that you're sad he's leaving, and that you'll miss him. Let him know, as well. When he does leave, you want it to be on a happy note—one where both of you are able to look at each other with a smile.

However it's never good to feel weighed down by a relationship. If you feel it's necessary to say goodbye for good because a fresh start is what you need, then do so. Make the most out of your last romantic holiday together—make some beautiful memories. Then, either let it all go with a smile, or continue believing in each other even though he's miles away. Trust me, not all long-distance relationships die out.

Love is sad, happy, ugly, beautiful, fleeting, everlasting, and more.

You're so lucky you know what it feels like to be in love, even if it was lost.

Remember that.

Happy Valentine's Day.

From,

Ms. Sunny

If I've learned anything from this pre-Valentine's Day fiasco, it's that love take many different forms. Kind of like that saying… what was it? Oh, yeah: "beauty is in the eye of the beholder?" Right. Everyone's definition of love is different: to some, it's positive, and others… negative.

Yet despite that… I really want to experience love.

To want to constantly feel someone's arms around me.

To want to hear his voice, his laughter 24/7.

To melt in the knees every time I see his face.

To always want more of him.

That'll probably happen, like, fifty years though. I'm only fifteen.

It's not like I'm going to fall in love anytime soon.

AN: So, what'd you think?

Wait, actually, I know what you're thinking: "Where's the romance? Where's the InuKag?"

Actually, this chapter was meant to be non-fluffy despite the fact that it's revolving around Valentine's Day.

It's just supposed to be a short drabble about the different kinds of love.

It had virtually no action with the actual characters, yet I enjoyed writing this chapter. Hope this made at least some of you smile?

Hugs and Kisses ^.^

~Nyony

(PS: How are you all going to spend you Day of Love? Let me know!)

Daichi: You know what? This was a beautiful chapter even if it wasn't InuKag. Honestly, I feel like Kagome and it's kind of a coincidence that we're the same age (at least in the story). I can really relate to Kagome. REVIEW this wonderful chapter you guys!