[V-Day] Quality

The sun was beautifully setting once again... a nostalgic smile was visible on a certain man's face, who sat at a bench up in a tall castle's veranda.

His name is Davis; a warrior in the netherworld... but oddly, he's not fond of fighting, but nor is he that weak... you could say that he's a lazy guy who became strong for who-knows-what reason.

Davis's hobby, which is landscape gazing, is somewhat odd for a demon in the netherworld... not that anyone would say that to his face unless they're willing to face the demon and his bloody axe.

"(...It's strangely peaceful today...)" Davis thought... true, the peace within the overlord's castle was quite rare; normally, he'd hear the prinnies working their butts off for their master, Etna.

But not only were the prinnies quiet, so were his allies... who are all coincidentally female...

...And speaking of which...

"Davi~s!" An energetic female's voice shouted his name, climbing the stairs.

Turning to face the one who called out to him, Davis saw a girl with short, green hair. Without the huge belt concealing her (*ahem flat*) chest, she'd be considered topless. On her bottom, she wore short tights, as well as a belt matching her chest belt. Her legs were downed with leg guards and greaves that seemed heavy, yet she walked like they were simple plastic. On her hands, black cloth, which was probably the same fabric on her shorts, wrapped her wrists and fastened by the same type of leather of her belt on her chest and waist. To add to her belt-mania, she also wore a bandana with the same leather of her belts. And with her being a warrior and all, her weapon of choice was a spear, which was resting behind her neck as she dangled her arms on the spear's pole... but not just any ordinary spear, but the mysterious 'Longinus Spear'; A Spear that somehow got a life of its own, oddly having two yellow beady eyes and even eye brows.

"Ah, speak of the devil."

"What?"

"Nothing... So, what brings you here, Stella? Thought you'd be training like usual."

The girl, Named Stella, had a smile on her face as she giggled. "I got somethin for ya." She said as she placed the spear beside her in a standing position; one would wonder how the spear could stand so perfectly without any legs to support its balance, but seeing it have a life of its own, they wouldn't be surprised with just about anything in regards to that spear.

She searched her bag, which was attached to her waist belt. Taking out from her bag was a small, daintily-made red parcel of sorts.

Receiving the parcel in his hands, Davis stared at it... "...What's in it?"

"Well, you'll have to open it to find out." Stella said, maintaining her smile.

Davis shrugged and opened the box. The content was a single brown heart-shaped... something... "...Uhhh... What is it?" Davis asked as he sweatdropped.

Stella laughed. "It's chocolate, silly."

"Chocolate? This thing?"

"Yeah. I melted it and molded it into that. Go ahead, try it." Stella said energetically.

Davis looked at the brown object a good two seconds before shrugging again. "Meh, whatever." With his lazy tone, Davis sank his teeth onto the chocolate and took one bite... which was a bit too big for a normal bite on eating chocolate; Davis shivered a bit from the sudden sweetness.

Stella lightly laughed at Davis's weird shivering. "Don't choke on it now." Stella joked.

"Haha, very funny." Davis sarcastically replied, continuing on his consumption on the sweet confectionery; this time, in smaller bites.

Stella held her giggles at Davis's quick adaptation of eating her gift.

"Will you stop laughing at me while I'm trying to eat?" Davis said, getting annoyed.

Stella hardly contained a snicker from her mouth. "Sorry, couldn't help it." Stella grinned.

Davis sighed and continued eating the chocolate... And eventually, he ate the last bite, licking his fingers clean.

"...So... How was it?" Stella asked with anticipation in her eyes.

"How... ummm..." Davis pondered. "...It was easy to chew, that's for sure. It easily melted in my mouth... probably because you melted it before... Oh, and it tasted a bit better than the ones sold by Rosenqueen. Where'd you get the chocolates to mold it with?"

Stella laughed. "That WAS chocolate by Rosenqueen." Stella said this with a wide smile. "...I just added some extra ingredients for a different taste. So, did you like'em?"

"Yeah..." Davis said with a satisfied smile... "Us, so what made you decide to give me that? Did you just feel like it like usual?"

"About that... Do you know what Valentines is?" Stella asked, with an unnoticeable redness on her cheeks.

"...Valen...tines...?" Davis said with a question mark above his head.

"Yeah. It's a human holiday where girls give chocolates to boys." Stella answered with a bright smile.

"Oh, a human thing huh? Kinda weird if you ask me. I mean, why do that? Is there some sort of meaning in that holiday?" Davis raised a brow.

...Stella's cheery face suddenly lightened... "...Well... it's either the girls' way of showing affection, or simply giving obligatory chocolate."

"...Oh, obligatory, huh? Well thanks. I appreciate it lots."

...Stella heaved a sigh...

"...What? Something I said?" Davis raised a brow.

"...Davis, I sometimes wonder whether you're just playing dumb, or you're just really dense." Stella said sternly.

"What? Hey, what'd I do to deserv..." Davis paused as his eyes widened with realization... "...oh... uh... R-right..." Davis stuttered as his ace turned completely red.

Content with Davis's response, Stella sighed in satisfaction... but just as she was looking at Davis's face, she noticed a bit of chocolate stuck beside Davis's lips... and a small idea came to her... Stella wiped the chocolate off Davis, which caused him to flinch a bit, then stuck her tongue out and placed the chocolate on it, as if playing with the small piece of chocolate. Taking her tongue back into her mouth, Stella tasted her chocolate. "...mmm... sweet..."

Davis chuckled. "Don't tell me you haven't even tasted your own-"

Before Davis could continue her sentence, Stella quickly closed the distance between her and Davis, pecking Davis on the cheek... Davis was in such shock that he stood still for a good three seconds, which was the same duration for Stella to distance herself from the stunned warrior.

"Ah... Wh... What just..." Davis stuttered, his face completely red.

Stella, whose face was also beet red, simply smiled and walked off. Half way to the stairs, Stella turned around... "...I think you got the picture now." Stella said with a wide smile, then walked off, leaving Davis all dumbfounded...

...a good couple of seconds later, Davis eventually got his nerve back, and faced the sky that he was engrossed on... but, despite watching the beautiful sunset, his mind was elsewhere... "...I already know that..." Davis murmured... true enough, he was already aware of Stella's feelings, seeing as how straight-forward Stella was... today was no different, other than the fact that Stella was a bit daring today...

Davis sighed... His feelings for Stella were something that would always conflict his way of thinking...

Why would he love Stella? Is it alright to love her just because she loves him? Would his LOVE be enough to equal Stella's love for him? Does he even LOVE her? Was Stella even serious with him? Or was she just simply toying with him? Or maybe it was just a simple case of puppy love?

Questions would pop into his head, and ruin Davis's mood on the spot... Davis and Stella are friends, but he didn't have the guts to respond to Stella's advances... he hated the fact that he couldn't do anything, while Stella was doing such things for his affection... he couldn't determine whether he had feelings for her or not...

Davis scratched his head in exasperation as he grumbled.

"…For a brutish blockhead, you are quite the popular man, aren't you, Davis?" a mature woman's voice suddenly spoke from behind her; right from where Stella exited.

Facing the voice, Davis found a woman with long- blond hair, tied in a drilled fashion. She wore a blue sleeveless dress with a wide skirt and a golden zipper just between her (…er… flat) chest. On her waist, she wore a big belt, much like the one Stella wears on her (…er… also flat) chest. On her arms, she wore white sleeves, which were of course not connected to her dress, with yellow cuffs on her wrists. To finish off her appearance, her ace was like that of an angel… completely unfit for the hellish netherworld… But Davis knew better… Underneath that angelic face, hid something very… scary…

"Oh, it's you… what do you want, Selena?" Davis spoke, uninterested in the woman's matter.

"…I came to give you chocolate." Selena said in a plain voice, as if it was natural.

A bit surprised, and suspicious, Davis raised a brow. "Huh? Chocolate? Wait... Don't tell me you're into this whole Valentines thing too."

"Why yes. Is something wrong with that?" Selena innocently(?) tilted her head.

Davis paused for a second… then shrugged. "Meh, nothing really."

"Now I'll just say this out of precaution, but this is nothing more than obligatory chocolate; don't think of anything vulgar. Understood?" Selena lectured.

"Yeah yeah. Like you'd give me confession chocolates anyways." Davis scoffed. "So, where is it?"

Selena went for her bag behind her and took out what seemed to be a vial, containing some sort of… brown liquid.

Davis stared at it in suspicion… "…Huh… don't tell me THAT is the chocolate."

"It's customary for girls to give chocolates to boys… but it never said anything being only solid." Selena coolly replied.

Davis kept his eyes glued to the vial in suspicion… then looked at Selena… "…Alright, what's the deal? I don't remember having done something for you to give me chocolates for…"

Selena giggled. "You could say it's just something out on a whim… Oh, and also like something in return for White Day."

A question mark appeared abode Davis's head. "White what?"

"Oh? You don't know?" Sarcastically surprised, Selena sighed. "My goodness, Davis. Are the only things in your head that axe and landscape? You pretty much know nothing."

Davis scoffed and turned his back on Selena. "Forget I asked."

Selena sighed again. "…Stella would be so sad to hear you…"

Hearing Stella's words, Davis's eyes widened in annoyance. "What the heck is that su-" Before Davis could finish his sentence as he turned around, The vial that was in Selena's hands was held right in front of him.

"Try it." Selena offered… her fearsome aura seeping out.

"…What about this whole 'white day' thing?" Davis asked as he raised a brow.

Selena simply smiled. "…You'll find out in due time."

Davis clicked his tongue. "…Whatever." Davis said as he took the vial in front of him.

Opening it, Davis slowly let the liquid flow into his mouth, making sure only a good drop touched his tongue. Tasting it, Davis chapped his mouth… And as the taste registered into his mind, his face widened, and downed the brown, creamy liquid in one breath. And even though he only took the small amount of the chocolate drink, he exhaled in satisfaction. "Wow! You sure know how to work yourself in the kitchen, Selena! This stuff is great!" Davis happily complimented.

Although Selena didn't expect such a great response to her chocolate, Selena beamed. "It makes me happy to hear you say that." Selena smiled happily, showing a bit of red on her face.

Seeing Selena's reaction, Davis felt a bit warm in his chest… It was the first time for him to see Selena act this way; normally, she'd smile while killing off her enemies one-by-one, but seeing her like this made Davis see Selena in a whole new different light…

"…Seeing the drug's effect right now means my concoction is a success! Thank you very much, Davis."

…At that point, Davis's smile turned upside-down… "D- Du- Du- Dr- DRUG!"

"Oh yes. My new drug makes the consumer get addicted to whatever I mixed the drug with… oh, and it's also tasteless… But, I think I need to fix the drug's slimy form though…" Selena said with her smile still present.

"Wh- S- So you're telling me the chocolate was sli-… er… creamy texture was… because of the drug?"

"Yes… It was pretty lucky of me that it's Valentine today; I was able to hide the drug into the chocolate… you could say my chocolate wasn't supposed to be… 'creamy'…" Selena's smile turned evil for some reason.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE, YOU CRAZY PSYCHO WOMAN!"

"Now, is that a way to treat a lady?" Selena pouted. "…And what about White Day?"

"I don't care about that now! Just leave me the hell alone!"

"Hmmm… Then again, I guess I already got my White Day gift… Your body was quite honest after all…" Selena softly said with a smile as she placed her index finger on her chin. Satisfied, Selena left Davis to cool off.

"Aaargh!" Davis scratched his head in exasperation.

Meanwhile…

A punch with the left, a punch with the right, then a side kick…

Tomoe, a woman specializing in martial arts, trained within the castle yards.

Her short red hair was tied into small twin-tails. She wore what would seem to be a light battle gear, fit for an agile fighter such as herself; a one-piece that revealed her back and shoulders. On her legs, she wore leggings, to the point of almost hiding her legs completely if it had been long enough. With a small bonus, she wore yellow anklets, probably for protection during battles. On her forearms, she had guards all the way to her elbow, and on her arm, an armlet, with a pair of knuckles on each hand for combat.

"…Well well, you sure are a hard-worker." A female's voice spoke.

Pausing to find the voice, Tomoe found Selena with a smile on her face. "…And what makes you say that now? This isn't the first time you've seen me train… More like, why aren't you in your archery today?"

"Oh I simply just decided to give myself a break for today. It IS Valentine's day, after all. And it's not every day I rest from my archery." Selena softly said.

"…Valen- what?" Tomoe raised a brow.

"Oh, come now. Don't tell me you didn't know. It's no wonder you've been training hard on such a romantic day..."

"There's nothing wrong with training. And Sleep during the night is all the rest I need, thank you… And what do you mean by… romantic?" Tomoe said sternly… but quickly changed to discomfort with her last sentence.

"Valentine's Day is the day for girls to give chocolates to boys, silly." Selena giggled.

"…Is that all? What does this have to do with me training?"

Selena facepalmed as she sighed. "… Don't tell me Davis's density is contagious."

"Stop mincing words and get to the point."

"I'm saying is…" Selena paused for a good second before continuing… "…Don't you have any plans on giving Davis chocolate?"… Selena smiled innocently, which hid her mischievous intentions.

Although not obvious, Tomoe's cheeks turned red… "…I-I don't need to do something so pointless… it's just chocolate…" Tomoe coolly(?) said, inwardly praying that Selena wouldn't notice her stutter.

Selena cooed… "…Well then… I guess you wouldn't mind if Stella and I were to give Davis our chocolate…" Selena said in a seductive voice as she turned around to walk away.

At Selena's sentence, Tomoe's eyes widened. "Wh-wait, what?"

"Oh, I'm sorry… I forgot that we can't give Davis chocolates…" Selena said as she placed a finger on her chin.

Hearing that, Tomoe almost sighed in relief. "….Why is that?"

"Because we already gave him some." Selena's smile widened.

"Whaaat?" Tomoe (unintentionally) shouted and covered her mouth.

"My my, Tomoe. Why the exclamation?" Selena asked as she faced the badly blushing Tomoe.

"Uh- I- Ah…" Tomoe stammered. "I- I was just surprised that you of all people would give Davis chocolate." Tomoe said; a nice save on her part.

Already knowing how Tomoe's mind runs, Selena faked a frown. "…Is it truly surprising that I'd give Davis chocolate?"

"…Seeing as how you'd always love toying him… yes." Tomoe said in a sweatdrop.

"…Hmmm, true… Then again, I can safely say that I only gave him obligatory chocolates…" Selena said with a smile.

"…Obligatory…?"

"Yes… simply giving him chocolate as a sign of friendship of returning a favor."

Completely relieved, Tomoe sighed. "…Why didn't you say that earlier?"

"All I said was that Valentines is the day to give chocolates to boys; I didn't say it was a sign of love or anything." Selena said with a mischievous smile.

Contrary to Tomoe smile of relief, an angry vein popped onto the side of Tomoe's head. "…I see…"

"…So, Tomoe… are you going to be giving love chocolate to Davis?"

"I'll think about -"Before Tomoe could say that last word, she turned red after rerunning Selena's question in her mind. "-giving him OBLIGATORY chocolates…"

"I see, I see…" Selena said, keeping her giggles from escaping her lips, and walked off, leaving Tomoe alone once again.

Tomoe sighed.

Back up to the veranda, where Davis is…

Davis continued to grumble at Selena's antic; the taste of the delicious liquid was still present on his mouth… "(…Darn drug still won't wear off… Stupid Selena. Stupid Valentines. Stupid…)"

"…Davis?" A nother woman's voice called out to him.

"What?" Still grumpy, Davis inadvertently lashed out at the voice. Turning around, Davis found Tomoe with a slightly surprised face. "o-oh, uh… s-sorry 'bout that…"

Tomoe sighed. "I hear Selena gave you chocolate?"

"…Any drugs?" Tomoe said with a sweatdrop.

"…You hit the nail on the head."

"…Figures…" Tomoe sighed again. "…So how was it?"

…Davis raised a brow at Tomoe's question. "…How was what?"

"The drug."

"…Oh… Darn drug kept me itching for more; the chocolate was good… at least that's what I think the drug's making me think…" Davis said, scratching his head.

Tomoe lightly chuckled. "So it would seem that Selena got her way with you again." Tomoe said as she walked to where Davis sat; on the bench facing the landscape.

"Not funny." Davis leered. "I don't know how that woman's brain works; she's awfully nice to others, but she's dead set on pissing me off."

"Well that's what you get for walking in on her while she was changing."

"It's not like I meant to do it on purpose! And darn it, hasn't she had enough with torturing me? Is a woman's chastity really that big a deal, especially here in the NETHERWORLD?"

Tomoe chuckled as she sat down beside Davis. "If Selena heard you right now, she'd have no second thoughts of planting another arrow on your head."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I could still remember that pain on my head..."

Tomoe laughed.

"...Hmph... So what's your reason for coming here?" Davis said, changing the air. "Don't tell me you're gonna give me chocolates too-"

Before Davis could add the period to his sentence, Tomoe held a thin red rectangular object in front of him. "Yes... Yes I am..." Tomoe said with a confident smile... which sort of conflicted with the blush on her face. Fortunately, the redness on her face was well hidden thanks to the orange effects of the sunset.

...Davis sweatdropped... "Uhhh... well, THIS is unexpected."

"...It's Obligatory, so don't think of any weird ideas." Tomoe sternly explained, which also caused her face to redden even more, but was still well-hidden by the sunset.

Davis sighed, and reluctantly took the chocolate. Opening it, he found... plain, chocolate; no different from the chocolate he buys to snack on whenever Laharl would take them out on adventures... "This is it...?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Stella's chocolate were hand-made, and Selena's was-" Davis paused before he could think about Selena's chocolate. "...On second thought, never mind. Chocolate is chocolate. Thanks." After showing appreciation (sort of), Davis took a bit at the 'plain' chocolate bar... A few seconds later, Davis took another bite... then another, then another...

Oddly, Tomoe felt... happy, watching Davis eat her small gift of... *ahem* 'appreciation'...

Before he noticed it, Davis already finished the chocolate, licking his fingers for the melted chocolate. "Hmmm... I guess it's true when they say classic is best." Davis said, with a smile.

Tomoe gave a light laugh.

"Heh, let me guess... Selena got to you into giving me some?"

...At that point, not even the sunset could hide Tomoe's redness. "A-am I that predictable?"

Davis sighed with a smile. He didn't answer as he just gave Tomoe a single pat on the head.

"Wh-?"

"You know, you can be pretty cute sometimes..."

Tomoe scoffed, but couldn't usher a word of retort... after all, Davis complimented her femininity; something that nobody other than her companions know of... She just simply sat there blushing, with her heart threatening to explode.

...Davis stretched his arms upward as he gave a big yawn; a common thing for the lazy Davis... but, as his yawn was about to end, his arms, which were stretched upwards, slowly lowered down to rest on the bench's backrest... and thus, were very close to Tomoe's muscular-yet-seemingly-feminine back.

Tomoe couldn't help but stiffen.

Noticing this, Davis gave great effort not to laugh... hoping to calm her down, Davis looked up at the no-dark sky... "...The night's young, huh..."

Hearing Davis's words, Tomoe looked up, and saw the melancholic night sky... despite being still early; she could already see so many stars twinkling up above... "...It's beautiful..."

"...Yeah..." Davis softly smiled.

Calming down, Tomoe didn't even realize that she was letting Davis rest his arm on her back... a serene smile was present on her lips...

"...By the way, where's Flare?" Davis asked out of the blue.

"Oh I let her visit Aramis. She said she was going to give him somethi..."

Realization struck both of them, and thus, their sweet moment quickly died...

"...N...N-no way. Sh-she's too young to think about such things... right?" Davis said nervously.

"O-of course! Besides, I'm sure Flare is only going to give him obligatory choco... uh..." Tomoe stammered, remembering that SHE was also giving obligatory chocolates to Davis, but...

"Y-yeah, o-obligatory chocolates, right"

"Y-yes. A-and Lady Etna knows Aramis. So I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Y-yeah... you're right..." Davis said, calming down... "...Heheh... how silly of us; thinking of such things.

Tomoe giggled. "Yes..."

The two laughed their worries away. And thus, the two's moment continued.

...

True, Flare, Tomoe's pupil, who was only 912 years old (or 9 in demon years) and was thus too young to think of romantic thoughts. And Aramis, who was once under Etna's care, never had any romantic thoughts for Flare, thus, Tomoe and Davis had nothing to worry about...

Meanwhile, at Aramis's house, by the door...

"Arami~s! Yooho~o!" A young girl's voice, belonging to Flare, playfully called out.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming." The one called Aramis replied, wearing simple, green garments, earrings that looked like bells, and a huge collar on his neck, as if he was a slave, despite being as free as a bird; one could say it was a fashion statement, despite his weird tastes.

Opening the door, he saw a little girl, dawned in a robe with white frilly outlines, having long red hair with a white ribbon tied to the side of her hair, and wore pearl earrings. On her face, was an energetic smile; a generic expression of any energetic girl... And like any girl on Valentine's Day, on
Flare's hands, was a small red box, wrapped with a green ribbon. "Ooh! Valentine chocolates?" Aramis beamed.

"Yep! Obligatory of course." Flare said, sticking out her tongue.

"Yeah yeah. No prob. Chocolate is chocolate." Aramis said, giving no care in the world as long as he got something to indulge on; like any child, he'd happily go for chocolates any day.

As Flare gave Aramis the chocolate, Aramis quickly, yet carefully, untied the green ribbon and took off the top lid, revealing multiple small round-shaped brown balls. Picking up a piece, Aramis nimbly popped one into his mouth.

"Well? How is it? Is it any good?" Flare asked in anticipation, with confidence in her handmade creation.

"It's good!" Aramis complimented as he popped another one into his mouth.

"Yay!" Flare cheered as her creation was a success.

It was such an adorable sight for two kids giving with each other (although it was one-sided)… Despite being demons, it was such a heart-warming sight to see for kids, who were supposed to be raised as heartless monsters, turn out nicely with the guidance of proper adults; she has Tomoe and the rest to thank for that…

Yes, such a sight was simply adorable, but also nothing unsafe; they were young, and Aramis had no lingering affections for Flare, so Tomoe and Davis had nothing to worry about… but…

…As the two started walking for Aramis's room…

"Aramis? That you?" a young boy's voice called out, with his head popping out of Aramis's room. His orange eyes were wearing a small pair of spectacles, resting just above his nose. The white-haired head, downed with some sort of hat that resembled that of a… monster…? More like a skull of sorts, with dark, swirls for eyes on it with stitches on its maw, probably to resemble teeth. On the upper-side, was a bit of extra cloth with a brown ring of sorts with yellow linings… the hat's ears? Speaking of ears, the boy wore a pair of brown orb earrings with yellow linings, much like his hat's accessory. "Oh, hey, Flare!" The boy kindly greeted.

Davis and Tomoe had nothing to worry about in regards to Flare and Aramis… but they never knew of another boy's existence in Flare's life…

"Oh no! I completely forgot!" Flare suddenly exclaimed, surprising the two boys. "I'm so sorry, Will! I only made chocolates for Aramis. I forgot to make you some." Flare said sadly.

"Oh, i-it's alright, Flare. You didn't have to." The boy, named Will, kindly comforted Flare.

"…But…"

"It's alright. It's only a human thing anyway. Thanks for the thought though. I really appreciate it." Will smiled, hoping to ensure Flare.

"Will…" Flare softly said, feeling Will's kindness.

Will, the timid one among them between friends, was never the one to ask for anything, nor was he the kind to expect anything. That thought alone made Flare want to reward Will for his kindness; much like when guys getting the urge to protect the weak little girls for the sake of ensuring their purity… it was just frustrating that Flare forgot to give Will chocolates since he deserves it.

Aramis sighed. "…If you really want to give Will some chocolates, why don't you go on ahead to the kitchen and whip up something for him." Aramis offered, a bit reluctant to offer his house's stuff.

"Really?" Flare's energy returned to her, hope returning to her eyes. "Aramis, thank you thank you THANK YOU!" Flare repeated whole-heartedly as he lunged at Aramis and hugged him.

"Whoa! Careful!" Aramis said as he almost lost his balance with Flare's weight on him.

Without even wasting time, Flare quickly went for the kitchen. Opening the fridge, Flare began scanning the insides of the fridge for chocolates… but found none; only some leftover chocolate cake.

"Hey! There's no chocolate in here!" Flare complained aloud, but fell on deaf ears. Flare thought that Aramis might've forgotten that he ate the last bit of chocolate cake and only remembered about the leftover cake, thinking it was a whole slice at least. "Darn it, Aramis!" Flare childishly cursed as her hopes of giving Will chocolates were easily crushed…

…But…

…Flare's crafty mind wasn't done yet… Valentines is the human world's holiday where human girls give chocolates to human boys, be it for love or simple obligation. The latter was in Flare's thought since she felt 'obliged' to give to his friends; forgetting to give some to Will was just too cruel for her to do… Not to mention will was too nice to be hurt about such things… making her want to give some to him all the more…

Pondering, Flare thought… "(…Valentine's Day is when girls give chocolates, be it for obligation, or for love… but… it didn't say what kind of chocolates to give…) Hmmm…" Pondering still, Flare slowly thought of the leftover chocolate cake in the fridge… the amount was small; Flare could finish it in two to four bites; clearly nothing compared to the amount she gave Aramis… But... "(…They also didn't say how much to give…)" At that point, Flare thought of going for 'quality over
quantity', but she didn't know how she'd turn leftovers into something more extravagant than what she made for Aramis. She already did her best with Aramis's chocolate; attempting to outdo her own work won't be easy…

…But… an idea came to her mind… and it somehow made her blush… "(…W-wait… what if… Will he even… Oooh…)" Just thinking about it made Flare blush profusely… "(Oh forget it! If it's gonna be like that, then I might as well get it over with!)" Stelling her resolve, Flare quickly grabbed the small plate of leftover chocolate cake, took a spoon from the cupboard and returned to Aramis's room, where Will was simply reading a book, titled "The French".

Aramis was nowhere in the room; probably busy with creating more zombies…

"Hm?" Hearing footsteps, Will turned to face the steps and found Flare with a plate in hand; her face was red, but it wasn't obvious enough for will to notice. "…What's that?" Will asked as he saw the small plate on Flare's hands.

"…Chocolate cake." Flare replied… "…Only leftovers though…"

"Oh. Okay then." Content with Flare's simple answer, Will smiled and returned his attention to his book.

Flare's heart almost ached at seeing Will smile innocently like that, making her resolve strengthen…

Using the spoon, Flare collected the chocolate icing of the cake… "…Will, I got you some chocolate…" Flare said while looking down, hoping to hide her embarrassment.

"Really? Where?" Will beamed, quickly closing the book he was reading.

"…Close your eyes…"

Finding it a bit odd, Will tilted her head… And as he noticed that Flare was looking down, Will looked at where Flare was facing. He saw the cake stripped off of icing; the spoon that Flare held hand all the icing. A lightbulb lit up above Will's head, signifying an idea of what Flare was thinking. Will chuckled at the thought; Flare was so sweet as to think of every measure just to give him chocolates, despite it only being obligatory.

"…Alright…" As he was told, Will closed his eyes… but also opened his mouth. "A~ah…"

Hearing Will making a sound, Flare reflexively looked at him, and found him with his eyes closed and his mouth hanging open, clearly expecting to be fed something.

Flare's lips formed a smile as she did her best from letting Will hear her laugh… and thanks to that, Flare's tension quickly receded. "…Close your mouth, silly." Flare said, a giggle escaping her mouth.

"Okay." Will complied, but held his hand as if expecting something to be given to him.

Flare's giggling grew. "Bring your hands down too."

At that point, Will pouted. "Then how am I supposed to get the chocolate?"

"You will… Just… wait…"

"…Okay…" Complying, Will waited a good three seconds… then… he felt hands placed on both his shoulders; they felt small and fragile to him… Then, something touched his lips… They were… soft… "Mm? MM?" Will's eyes bolted open, and found Flare's face so close to his. Any idiot would know that this is clearly a… kiss…

Will turned tense… but feeling Flare's hand on his shoulders to be so light was somehow surreal to him, causing his tension to lift, and he eventually left himself in nirvana of Flare's lips; subconsciously, his hands crept into embracing the little girl in front of her.

Oddly, Flare was calm in giving Will his… chocolate… despite her first time kissing a guy…

She lightly lathered her lips using the chocolate icing, and gave it to him in a way that only certain guys could get… 'A kiss'… after all, a kiss from a girl, especially from someone who's inexperienced, is something you don't get every day. That alone proves the 'quality' of the chocolate…

…Nothing strong, nothing fancy; just a normal peck where they simply stuck their lips together… They were just kids after all…

…for a good half-minute, their lips eventually parted; the two basked in the afterglow of their experience…

"Ahhh… Sooo… Ummm… H-how was it?" Flare shyly asked with a satisfied smile on her face; this time, the blush on her cheeks was very obvious to Will.

"Ah… um… I… Uh…" Will stammered.

Flare simply giggled. "I'm guessing it was a success." Flare grinned.

Will couldn't stop stammering; nothing coherent was coming out of his mouth.

…At the corner of Flare's eye, she noticed the clock hanging on the wall; the hands read '8:15'. "Oh, it's already this late! I gotta get back home." Flare said as she stood up. As she walked to the door, Flare faced Will again. "…Tell Aramis that I went on ahead… And I hope you enjoyed your chocolate." Flare said with a cheerful smile… and with that, Flare left without even waiting for Will's reply.

Will just sat there, with his face still wide from the event that just unfolded… slowly, his fingers ran across his lips; chocolate was still left on his lips… His tongue licked off all the chocolate left.

"Hey, guys. I just finished my… uh… Will, anything wrong?" Aramis, who was too busy with his own business, suddenly appeared by the door.

"…Uhhh…" Will didn't reply… at least, didn't coherently reply…

Without giving much thought, Aramis just shrugged and entered his room; he didn't bother continuing with bragging about his new zombie since Will was clearly in no condition to listen.

Upon entering, Aramis saw the small plate with the cake, which was now bare of icing. "Ooh! The cake!" Aramis said happily as he was about to eat the cake… then, realization struck… "Uh-oh… I forgot that I ate up the chocolate cake just now… Will, did Flare give yo-"Before Aramis could continue his sentence, he noticed the small bit of chocolate on Will's lips. "Oh, you missed the spot." Aramis pointed.

"Eh? EH?" Seeing Aramis point to his lips, Will suddenly licked his lips clean.

…Aramis sweatdropped. "…I'm guessing you got your Valentine's Day chocolate."

"Uhh… yeah…" Will replied… something coherent at last.

Aramis raised a brow with suspicion… but simply shrugged afterwards, clearly not caring how Flare gave Will his chocolate… or HOW she made it for that matter... "…Whatever… So, if it's any good, what are you gonna give her for White Day?"

…Will blinked twice… "…White day?"

"You don't know? It's the sister holiday of Valentines; it's a month away. If girls give chocolates to boys on Valentines, we give gifts to girls on White Day, usually thrice the quality of the chocolate we got."

…As if in reaction to the word' thrice', Will blinked three times… then his eyes bolted open. "WHAAAT?"

"What. Was Flare's Chocolate that good?" Aramis said, getting more and more curious of Flare's chocolate to Will.

"I…I…I…I…" Will's incoherency returned.

…Aramis sighed… "…I think you need to be left alone for a bit… I'll be in the basement if you need me." With Aramis's last piece, he left the room and closed the door.

Alone once again, Will slumped…

"…White Day… huh…" Will thought aloud… "(...What could I possibly give her that would equal…)" Will thought, doing his best not to think of anything profane…

Hoping to clear his head, he picked up his book and began reading… but… oddly, thanks to the book he was reading, he might've just gotten an idea on what to give Flare on White Day…

"…French… huh…" Will thought out loud…