Mellow sunlight illuminated all that was outside the window; after the
cold had finally dissipated, the first day of March had finally arrived,
starting the season with a celebrated warmth.
Toujou Basara and Takigawa Yahiro were seated opposite one another
on a table in a café; Basara appeared to be hesitating, wanting to say
something but not knowing if he should, wearing a rather grave
expression on his face—something that caused Takigawa to let out an
unrepressed sigh.
"Oh, come on. You're really going to put me up to the burden of
listening to you talk seriously? I'm here to relax, you know."
Basara shrugged, beginning to explain with the same leaden
expression. "I know, and I'm sorry. Still, this is something that I really
can't talk to anyone else about other than you."
Takigawa's eyebrows creased together. "Whoah, whoah, you're going
to ask me for a favour again? Even after the whole fiasco with the Demon
Realm's come to an end?"
"What do you intend to give on White Day?"
"Huh?" Takigawa didn't know when he opened his mouth, before he
looked at Basara's serious expression once again.
He then knitted his eyebrows and clutched his head with his hands;
his body shivered for a moment before he hugged his stomach and burst
into an explosive fit of laughter.
"Seriously, White Day? You wanted to talk to me about White Day,
Basachi?"
And he laughed so hard that tears started to pool onto the corners of
his eyes.
"…Damn, I thought I was gonna die laughing, you know."
Ten minutes had passed; Takigawa had since calmed himself from his
outburst of laughter, wiping away the water that reflexively spilled from
his eyes.
"Well, I didn't expect you to laugh that hard, but I understand why
you did." Basara said, taking in a deep breath. "Be that as it may, though,
I really haven't the slightest idea what to give on that day. I didn't have
any relationships that warranted celebrating such a day last year, after
all."
"And now you've become the master of the Toujou harem," Takigawa
said, looking somewhat amazed as he took a sip of his coffee. "Still, I
don't see why not. I'm down for giving you some advice on the
situation. We're good buds, after all. On one condition, though—"
The cheery expression that he maintained up until some time ago
suddenly disappeared, and he suddenly shot a cold, piercing gaze at
Basara; he now spoke to him not as Takigawa Yahiro, but as Lars, a
member of the Demon Realm.
"You'll have to listen to what I have to say too. Give and take, you get
what I mean?"
"What?"
Paying no mind to Basara's more cautious state, Takigawa cut to the
chase.
"I got some chocolate too."
Basara could only blink at Takigawa's revelation.
"I…I see. Is it someone you know well at school? Or is it from a
childhood friends of y—no, to my knowledge you don't have anyone
like that. The Demon Realm doesn't actually celebrate Valentine's Day,
after all."
"Ah, yes, that's right. That was how it was supposed to go, until I
happened to receive chocolate from a certain older sister…from
Leohart's older sister, Liala-sama."
"Wh—"
Basara couldn't find the words to speak. He could feel a chill run
down his spine and could not stop the fear from taking over him upon
remembering her.
Liala was the elder sister of the current Demon Lord, Leohart;
contrary to her gorgeous and tender appearance, however, she appeared
to possess some dubious power and aura with such unknown limits than
what her looks might suggest.
"I have no idea what went on in her head back then," Takigawa
clutched his forehead. "Was it a threat for me to never double-cross her?
Or did she have something else in mind? Did she put some weird magic
that even I couldn't detect in those things?"
Basara could only look at the distressed Takigawa with pity.
"I don't know what's worse. Having to eat one-of-a-kind chocolates as
scary as the ones she gave, or not eating them."
"…I guess you should eat them."
Basara knew it was very rare for Takigawa to appear this scared of
anything.
"Well, that said, I've been concerned about how exactly I should be
repaying her too. This is a matter of life and death for me here."
"I feel bad for you, really." Basara really sympathized with Takigawa
for his ordeal.
"Sigh…I just hope I can just pass with a White Day sweet or
something like that and settle this peacefully." Takigawa grumbled,
standing up from his seat. "Well, I guess we should get going. We're
now two guys looking for a present for White Day."
"Yeah. I'll be counting on you." Basara followed suit and left his own
seat, as the two stepped out to fight a battle that they have never
experienced before.
2
Basara and Takigawa no longer felt worried; a department store
featuring a special corner for White Day was set out before them.
"Well, there's that, for starters. Hey, Basachi. You've received
chocolate from folks apart from Naruse and the others, huh? Sinful,
aren't you?"
"They were obligatory. I'd say I've been more on the receiving end
when it comes to favours recently, though." He remembered the
conspicuously written words of "It's Obligatory!" written with Rikka's
heart and soul on the chocolate ganache she gifted him.
A variety of goods related for the occasion was now set out before
them; there was a wide selection of confectionery, daily necessities,
clothing and other items for them to choose from. Regardless, this made
it all the more difficult for them to decide on a gift, before the two put
their attention to a particular corner decorated with a theme of blue and
white.
"How about some macarons? Those are quite standard, aren't they?"
Basara said, pronouncing the particular subject with difficulty.
"Those are too substantial, don't you think?"
"So you're looking for something a girl would want to eat?"
The duo crossed their arms and thought hard.
"Well, Basachi, I guess I'll go for name brand chocolate. Doubt it'll go
wrong, right? There's gold on it, after all, which is quite coveted in the
Demon Realm."
"No, I don't think I'd use it personally…"
"You hold nothing back."
The two guys continued to argue among one another.
"Besides, don't you think we'd be overdoing it if we returned an
obligatory Valentine's gift with name brand chocolate of all things?"
"I know it sounds unexpected, but that's exactly why I'm choosing it.
It's more likely to invite gratitude or obligation if we give such an
expensive present."
"A cake would have a tough expiration date, huh. I wouldn't want to
bother anyone with that."
"I see you're still attentive to such minor details. I guess that means
cookies aren't exactly a good choice either."
"You're quite picky when it comes to how filling a particular food is,
huh?"
"I simply value practicality. I suppose a deluxe item would suffice?"
Takigawa said.
The two had been wandering aimlessly around the particular corner
for tens of minutes; even so, the two had only managed to criticize and
pick on the available choices and had yet to properly decide on a gift.
"I thought you'd be more dependable when it comes to things like
this. You have experience, after all." Basara muttered reflexively.
"…No, apart from the fact that what you said was just plain rude,
don't you think it's weird that you're saying this to a Demon of all
people?" Takigawa said with a sour expression.
"…Sorry. I just didn't know what to say." Basara said, reflecting on
his mistake as he went about in search for different goods.
"Hmm?" Takigawa muttered, his gaze turning toward the bookstore
they passed by earlier.
"It's not like either of us came here with enough information in mind
in the first place, right, Takigawa?"
"I guess that's a good way to put it, Basachi. True enough, that's one
way you can judge our situation."
The two then headed toward the bookstore; naturally, the two went to
read a magazine publishing a feature on White Day within a corner
where they were the only two male customers among a sea of more
common female customers.
"We saw a lot of different types of sweets earlier."
"Aren't those things the best option for the occasion?" Takigawa
nodded, turning a page. "'Fashionable Sweets White Day: Host a Private
Party in a Cake House'. …Now that's expensive!"
"In other words, it'd be like renting stores or restaurants for a
birthday party. Celebrating White Day in a hotel or something like a
White Day tour is also an option, I guess."
"Well, good for you, isn't it, Basachi? You could host a harem party
and be done with it, no?"
"Well, for one, we're talking about a party for high school students
here."
"In your case, Basachi, you've got the folks at your place and from
school as well, huh…considering you're not really interested in being
repaid, you'll have quite the burden on your hands. Still, I don't see why
you shouldn't just go with it, problem solved. Just go with a harem
party. Thinking about it any further's just a pain in the ass."
"You're right. What about you? Do you plan on inviting that older
sister of yours to a party?"
A moment of silence passed before the two let out a simultaneous, dry
laugh.
"Well, let me put it this way. I guess these will do the trick, huh?"
Takigawa casually picked up something and placed it upon Basara's
head.
Basara stared at Takigawa with a pair of white cat ears on, evidently
puzzled; Takigawa splurted as he pointed at him.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror provided inside the store,
Basara finally realized what Takigawa had done to him.
"No, this just looks plain weird on me."
"I think it suits you quite well, Basachi. Pfft!"
"Don't say that while you're laughing your tears out! Well, why don't
you put it on and send a picture to that dear older sister of yours, why
won't you?"
Basara took another pair of cat ears and attempted to put them onto
Takigawa's head; in response, Takigawa stopped by clutching his arm
with a movement faster than the eye can follow.
"Come on, put it on, Takigawa."
"Not a chance. You won't make me do it, Basachi."
Both of their eyes were starting to look a bit serious; they appeared to
be evenly matched.
"If you think it looks good, here's a cat tail, Takigawa."
"Oh? Well, good for you, huh? You can just put it on and let the girls
enjoy a spectacle of you meowing for them. What do you say, Basachi?"
Basara glared at Takigawa at very close proximity.
"Come on, Basachi. Are you really serious about this?"
"We agreed that it was going to a joke, right? So why don't you just
follow through with it already?"
The atmosphere between the two was nearing bloodthirsty levels by
the minute.
"Basa…ra…?"
Basara and Takigawa turned toward the united voices that addressed
the former with their cat ears still intact.
It was Naruse Mio; and beside her, Maria was present as well. Mio
had seen the two of them in a situation she couldn't believe, while Maria
was taking pictures of Basara and Takigawa with her cell phone on
continuous shooting mode. Diverting her line of sight, Mio quickly
snatched away Maria's phone and promptly deleted the photos the latter
had taken.
"What in the world is going on here—!? There are many explanations
I can come up with for this scene right here!"
Mio wordlessly stared at Basara beside the shrieking Maria; as he
anticipated, she turned away from him a moment later.
"E-Even if you're doing something like that….I understand
completely, so keep at it…" Mio murmured, her cheeks tinted with red
and her eyes downcast.
"What kind of misunderstanding is that!?"
"Basachi! Are you gonna follow me or what?" Turning around, Basara
discovered that Takigawa was about to run away ahead of him.
"Takigawa!"
"Seriously, Basachi, follow me!"
Before he could stop him, Takigawa had already disappeared; he had
definitely made a run for his life.
There were no more outs for Basara, who was still wearing his set of
cat ears; in his arms was also another pair of cat ears and tail that were
left behind.
Taking a fleeting glance at Mio, he saw that she appeared to be
extremely guilt-ridden.
"No, really, it's really not like that." Basara could not look any more
horrible as he said so.
3
"…I do wish you had just discussed this with me from the start,
though…" Mio could only give Basara a wry smile.
Basara, Mio and Maria were heading home after leaving the
department store.
"You don't exactly discuss about a present with its recipient." Basara
said, embarrassed.
"I understand how you feel, but…you've always been so considerate
when it comes to us, so why can't you rely on us at times like these?"
"I did end up having to rely on you after all."
Basara was holding a paper bag he got from the department store;
within it was a beautifully decorated and tightly sealed box of
marshmallows. The marshmallows within came in a variety of colours
and flavours that were added to them.
"You're not me, after all, Basara," Basara could not find himself
refuting Mio in the face of her prideful expression as she puffed up her
chest. "Still, the truth is—" Mio's expression suddenly changed to that
of an innocent one, as if she were a child that was hiding something. "I
was also confused as to what to get you for Valentines at the exact same
spot, too."
"Is that so? You seem to appear as if you're used to making choices
like that today, though."
"Well, I'm the recipient in this case. That's different." She said,
looking toward the box of marshmallows Basara was holding, "Besides, I
had advice from someone else when I was picking out your gift. That's
why you don't have to feel bad, Basara."
"…So that's how it is." Basara said, narrowing his gaze. "Still, I
appreciate it."
"Mmm. Me too." Mio leaned in close to Basara, feeling slightly
embarrassed. "Thank you for your return gift, onii-chan." She gave off a
dazzling smile as she looked upon her brother with upturned eyes, as
Basara gently stroked her head, making a ruffling sound on her hair.
"By the way, Basara-san, just what kind of aphrodisiac would you like
to put in those marshmallows? I'm always available for consultation!"
"I guess I can leave the leftovers to you." "Oh, come on, now that'd
just be mean."
The coincidental timing of which the two siblings' voices' overlapped
one another's was a fine spectacle.