Chapter Text
“A few more here…a little more there…” Teruteru mumbled to himself. He was in his dorm, working away at his desk on his latest delicacy. He took a knife and began carefully running it down a white chocolate heart. Today was White Day, after all. “Aaaaand…perfection!” He leaned back in his seat to admire the craftsmanship of his work. He glanced over at the second chocolate heart that was nearly identical, minus the fact that some of the little hearts dotted on were different colors and that they both had initials written on them,
AO and copper hearts for Akane Owari.
NN and diluted blue hearts for Nekomaru Nidai.
The Ultimate Cook nodded in approval at the gift for his partners. He was sure they would love them. Along with the secret surprise inside…
Suddenly, the ground beneath him gave a shake. He held onto the chocolate hearts so they wouldn’t roll off. He quickly glanced around nervously and reached down to collect two separate tote bags, placing the giant hearts inside. He opened up his door to find a crowd of his classmates running down the hall to the nearest exit. Teruteru quickly realized why. The smell of smoke made it apparent why they were running.
Hanamura quickly rushed down the stairs to the exit on the first floor that led to the yard. Crowds of students were gathered outside, each holding different assortments of candies and gifts. He kinda felt sorry that whatever caused the smoke interrupted them. He figured he should go try to find his partners. Teruteru began wandering along the field when he suddenly heard an authoritative voice around the corner. Silently, he crept along the wall of the school, peeking his head around to see what was going on.
Nekomaru and Akane were standing side by side, both with shameful looks, as they were being scolded by the Ultimate Moral Compass, Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Next to him were Ms. Yukizome and Headmaster Kirigiri, looking equally stern. “I am expecting you to show up tomorrow for your punishment,” Ishimaru stated, writing something down on a notepad, before ripping it off and handing it to Akane. The pair turned and walked to the corner. Teruteru quickly retracted and pressed his body close to the wall with the tote bags.
They didn’t notice him when he rounded the corner, but Hanamura swore he saw something shiny being held behind Nekomaru’s back. “Ahem?” he cleared his throat to the athletic pair. They both stopped walking and turned to the cook. Both quickly rushed up to him.
“Hanamura! You’re here!” Akane greeted excitedly.
“When I didn’t see you by the exit, I thought I was gonna have to bust down every single door!” Nidai yelled.
Teruteru began chuckling, “No worries, my dears. It’ll take a little more than smoke to get me.”
Owari chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. “Well…it was a liiittle more than smoke,” she admitted.
“Oh really?” Hanamura questioned, raising an eyebrow. “And exactly what did y’all do?”
The gymnast straightened up in surprise. “Oh. You heard the conversation, huh?”
“Well, just towards da endin’,” the shorter man said. Akane and Nekomaru exchanged looks with each other and nodded. The team manager approached the chef and held out a bundle of crumpled up tin foil. “What’s dat der?” he asked.
“Your…White Day gift,” Nekomaru revealed.
“We both wanted to give you something related to cooking. Because your cooking’s awesome!” Akane cheered. “But…our’s isn’t.”
“I guess my management is more suited for the field than in the kitchen,” Nidai chuckled. Hanamura mentally agreed with that statement. “Anyways, we caused an oven to explode.”
“We're very sorry, Hanamura! We know how much the kitchen means to you! Please forgive us!” Akane bowed in apology, along with Nekomaru.
Teruteru waved his hands dismissively. “Now now! I know y'all would neva’ purposefully mean to harm me. I assure ya it's quite alright.”
Akane leaned back up and tightly began hugging Hanamura. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!!!”
“N-No worries, my sun kissed beauty!” stuttered Teruteru, as his face was nestled in between Akane's chest. Stepping back, Hanamura got his bearings and gently set down the bags. “Now, what's da gift my two lovelies made for moi?”
“Well, we said we attempted baking…” Owari began. Nekomaru came up next to her.
“The wrapping was last minute, since the fire alarm went off,” Nidai explained, holding out the foil. Teruteru slowly reached for the wrapped up foil. It was definitely some kind of pastry. The smell of burnt sugar and butter made it clear. Carefully, he unfolded the flaps of foul, uncovering his gift.
“Oh-” he gasped in surprise. It was a cookie, charred and blackened, but it appeared to have the familiar shape of his face, including his hat and scarf. His eyes began tearing up from joy. “Is dat me?” he squeaked. Both Akane and Nidai nodded in confirmation. “Ooooh, it's so charmin'! Dis is the greatest gift ya could've made!”
The athletic pair perked up. “Ya think so?” Owari questioned.
“Ya! Of course!” Hanamura replied. Then, he remembered the gifts he made. “Oh! And I also happened to make gifts for ya both too!” He reached down and picked up the tote bags, handing them over to their respected receivers.
“Woah!” Owari exclaimed, taking the giant heart out of the bag. “Is this whole thing made out of chocolate!?”
“Gahaha! This is absolutely great!” Nekomaru yelled out.
“Dat's not all,” Hanamura noted, “Go ahead and crack 'em open!”
Both of them quickly conceded. Akane cracked it open with her knee, puncturing a hole into it, and Nidai ended up headbutting it, breaking it in half. From Akane's heart, wrapped up packets of chocolate chip jerky fell out. Nidai's halves contained three bojobo dolls, one girl and two boys. Any leftover spaces in the hearts were filled with potpourri.
“S-So…what do ya thi-” he was cut off by a spine crushing hug from both of them.
“This *sniffle* is the best gift I've ever gotten!” Owari sobbed with absolute joy.
“You've really raised my spirits to the heavens today!” Nekomaru loudly said.
Teruteru intensely blushed as he was being crushed between the chests of both of his partners. Not that he was complaining. He smiled and chuckled to himself, knowing how much joy he brought to them. “Huhuhuhu~”
