Valentine’s Trio.

Today is February 14th.

Commonly known as “Valentine’s Day.”

By the way, according to my questionable knowledge, there is no event called Valentine’s Day officially recognized by Christianity. Apparently, in the West, it’s a “day to send cards to lovers and close acquaintances.” Though, I’ve heard that since Westerners exchange cards and small gifts all the time anyway, Valentine’s Day isn’t considered particularly special or celebrated as intensely there. Furthermore, I’ve also heard that this day marks “the day some saint or other was massacred.”

However, upon coming to Japan, it transformed into “the day girls give chocolate to the boys they fancy.” It’s generally rumored that this was “promoted as a sales event by confectionery manufacturers.” It’s shocking to hear that nearly half of Japan’s annual chocolate sales occur on this single day.

I’ve hated this day since middle school.

The reason is obvious even if I don’t say it: “I never get any chocolate.” On this day, from the crack of dawn, the girls are all giggly and hyper.

“Who are you giving yours to?” “How many are you handing out?” “When should we give it to 〇〇-senpai?” “I wonder if △△-kun will accept mine?” and so on.

Then, the guys who are popular get them by the dozens, while guys who aren’t don’t get a single one. There is no other day where a guy’s popularity is exposed so brutally to the light of day. Girls in high spirits, popular guys grinning with pride, and the unpopular guys spending the day holding their breath, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Naturally, I belonged to the third category.

Depending on the year, I’d occasionally receive a “courtesy chocolate” (giri-choco) from a girl I was on good terms with, but that was rare. Moreover, when I’d find out that a “girl I thought was cute” or a “girl I thought I was close with” had ignored me to give chocolate to another guy, it always left me feeling somewhat pathetic.

For those reasons, I hated Valentine’s Day.

I used to think that whoever thought up this event should be deported.

But this year, the situation was different.

I was feeling gloomy from the morning, though in a different sense.

Ding-dong.

The intercom rang.

Presumably, the cause of my gloom had arrived.

Reluctantly, I opened the front door.

““Good morning!””

One voice was energetic; the other was still a bit shy but trying not to lose.

Two beautiful girls jumped into my view, standing side-by-side.

“Right, let’s go play!” Honoka said.

“We can stay together until evening today, right?” Meika-chan asked.

I tried my best not to let my exasperation show on my face.

“Got it. Let’s head out then.”

I said as I left the house.

The contact had come yesterday around noon.

I had received a message out of the blue from Toko-san: “Honoka and Meika-san said they ‘want to hang out with Yu-kun’ on Valentine’s Day. Sorry, but could you keep them company?”

“Ehh?”

When I saw that, I spoke the word aloud without thinking.

On Valentine’s Day, isn’t it normal for a couple to meet first?

I replied immediately.

(Yu): Is Toko-san coming along too?

(Toko): I’m still busy. So I can’t go with you.

(Yu): But we haven’t met at all this past week, have we?

I typed out my complaints.

Yes, for some reason, I felt like Toko-senpai had been avoiding me all week. Every time I reached out, she simply insisted she was “busy.” And despite tomorrow being Valentine’s Day, she wouldn’t say “let’s meet.” I had assumed we would at least be together tomorrow! On the contrary, telling me to “go play with my sister and her friend” was just too much.

(Toko): I’m sorry. But it’s almost over. Can you bear with me?

I let out a sigh of disappointment.

Since she put it that way, I had no choice. I just had to wait until Toko-san felt like meeting me.

“Where do you want to play?”

I asked the two girls walking ahead of me.

“Wherever you like, Yu-san,” Meika-chan said.

In contrast, Honoka answered:

“How about an arcade for now? The three of us can play together.”

In that case, would it be near Kaihinmakuhari?

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

We headed for Kaihinmakuhari Station.

There’s a large arcade right in front of the North Exit. There’s another arcade in a large shopping mall a bit further away, but we headed to the one in front of the station first.

First, the standard video games.

I’m good at these, but Honoka didn’t seem to be. She got bored quickly.

Next, rhythm games.

Conversely, Honoka was great at these. I’m not very good at rhythm games and have very little experience with them.

Then, the crane games. Both Honoka and I were good at these.

Only Meika-chan seemed to struggle.

Meika-chan handled both video games and rhythm games reasonably well. Her best game was air hockey. In that game, neither Honoka nor I stood a chance against her. I knew she was fast since she’s in the track and field club, but her reflexes were also incredible.

After spending about two hours at the arcade, we moved to the nearby shopping mall. It was well past noon, and we were getting hungry.

“Want to eat something?”

When I asked, Honoka made a move to separate.

“Okay, from now on, let’s take turns for an hour each. Meika goes first, right?”

“What do you mean by that?”

I asked, and Meika-chan replied.

“En-chan said we’d probably want some time to talk one-on-one. So she suggested taking turns to be with Yu-san for an hour each just for lunch.”

“Yeah, you guys have things you want to talk about, right? We can’t do that if all three of us are together the whole time. So I talked it over with Meika and we decided to do it this way.”

Saying this, Honoka gave a light wave.

“I’ll wander around here for a bit. Oh, the next hour is lunch with me, so Isshiki-san, don’t eat too much!”

With that, she walked away quickly.

I looked at Meika-chan.

“So, what do you want to eat?”

“Whatever you like, Yu-san.”

In the end, we entered a fast-food place.

Given the “switching with Honoka in an hour” situation, wasting time looking for a restaurant felt like a loss, and I’d have to accompany Honoka for a meal right after anyway.

We ordered a drink and a burger each, then sat at a table.

“Yu-san, um, this…”

What Meika-chan pulled out was a box about twenty centimeters square.

“A-ah, thank you.”

I accepted it awkwardly.

“Should I open it here?”

Meika-chan turned red and waved her hands.

“Please don’t! Open it when you get home. It’s homemade, so it’s embarrassing!”

“Really? This is the first time I’ve received something homemade, so I’m happy. What is it?”

“A chocolate cake. It’s my first time making one, so…”

Meika-chan looked away shyly.

However, once it was just the two of us, conversation felt difficult. Meika-chan seemed to feel it too; she was being much quieter than she had been a moment ago.

“But I was surprised the other day. I could imagine Honoka doing it, but even Meika-chan saying something like that…”

Stuck for conversation, I tried to bring up the topic anyway.

“I apologize for troubling you by saying that so suddenly. But those are my true feelings.”

I felt like Meika-chan’s eyes flashed for a second.

“Yu-san and Toko-senpai don’t look like a couple. That’s not just my opinion; my brother thinks the same.”

“Well, we used to be senior and junior, so the atmosphere wouldn’t change immediately—”

“Then there’s still a chance for us. En-chan was the one who said that to me.”

Cut off, I lost my chance to say anything.

“I was surprised when En-chan told me she had ‘come to like Yu-san.’ But when she said, ‘Friendship is friendship, so let’s both attack fairly and squarely,’ my mind was made up. Whether the opponent is En-chan or Toko-senpai, I don’t intend to lose!”

She stated it clearly.

It seems Meika-chan has gone into full battle mode regarding this matter.

…Come to think of it, Ishida did say that Meika ‘looks quiet but is competitive and strong-willed’…

It seems she’s the exact opposite of Ishida, who has a scary face but a gentle heart.

“But look, I’ll say this because I don’t want to give you false hope: I love Toko-san.”

She nodded while looking me in the eye.

“I understand that perfectly. I think it’s only natural for the person you love to love someone else. But whether or not I give up is a separate issue, isn’t it?”

Then she looked away sadly.

“It can’t be helped that Yu-san loves Toko-senpai. But if you could understand my feelings, and if that leads to you liking me even a little bit…”

The conversation stalled again for a while after that.

Looking up, I saw Honoka standing outside the shop.

When our eyes met, she smiled and waved. Meika-chan must have noticed her too.

“Ah, an hour has passed already. It’s time to switch with En-chan.”