White Day. Reiko, did in fact, give chocolate to some boys and girls on Valentines Day- but it was all friendship chocolate. So yes, she got some chocolate in turn. Though part of her wishes she had known someone to give 'proper' chocolate too on Valentines day.
She was sitting on the bench outside of the school taking inventory in her bag. Yeah she has enough chocolate for a while now.
Little foil wrapped hearts and other such things. Someone was thoughtful enough to buy her chocolate shaped like sea-fish!
She taps the side of her chin as she thinks.
She smiles just a little as she sits on that bench in front of the school- after school.
She did not particularly expect anything from Haru. Afterall-- she didn't know him before Valentines Day to give him anything and-- you have to give to get!
...that's how it works. Right?
Maybe not!
As Reiko's taking inventory, she might hear a chuckle. If she looks up, she might see a familiar face approaching. It's Haru! Obviously it's more than just his face approaching, he's walking towards the bench she's sitting on. He smiles as he sits down on the bench next to her. "Was your chocolate harvest a bountiful one this year?" he teases with a smile.
"More seriously, I'm glad I managed to find you, otherwise I might have been late." Haru pulls his school bag onto his lap and starts fiddling with the buckles. Then he pauses. "I have a gift for you, but do you want me to give this to you here? It'll probably start rumors. Mind you, I don't care. People already talk about me, so adding another thing for them to talk about is no big deal."
Reiko Touyama looks up at the chuckle and blinks. "Haru!" she says with a wide smile! Ohhh yes, is she happy to see Haru. No more happier than she is to see any of her friends, but still. She looks down into her bag and sighs a bit. "Well..." she says. "I gave a lot of chocolate to my friends so I got a lot back!" she giggles a little bit.
She blinks wait. Wha?
H-haru. Got her something!? But this isn't how this works! There's already a forming blush on her face that she'd be able to shake off it Haru also didn't follow it up with 'it may cause rumors'.
She gives a scandoulus gasp! Her! Caught up in a rumor!? With a boy!? Reiko could lie and call this horrible. But not it isn't not to her. hohohoho! Besides, Ayana-chan already thinks she's in a relationship with two different boys and a girl. Not like there's anything you can do to make that bonfire worse.
"H-here's fine, really!" she smiles.
Haru nods. "If you're sure," he agrees. He opens his school bag and extracts something from it. It's a round box about six inches across from one side to the other and about two and a half inches deep, covered with sparkly metallic orange paper. It's not wrapped like a present, no; the orange paper is the decoration on the box itself. So it can be easily opened.
And if Reiko does open it, she'll find a few things inside. Firstly, more orange! There's gift paper in there. And there, nestled at the bottom, are two small koi fish, arranged in a circle as if they're swimming while following each other's tails.
They're not real koi, no-- they're made of chocolate. One is white and the other is orange. The white chocolate koi has an orange spot on its back, and the orange one has a white spot on its back. And both of these mismatched spots are shaped like hearts!
Reiko Touyama looks at the round box and it's colored orange! She ohs! and ponders what's inside. She imagines--- flowers? No.. you don't put flowers in boxes like this this- right? Long and thin you do! Unless it's a big round flower? Or maybe it isn't a flower at all and maybe it's something just like chocolate.
She opens the box and more orange! and koi! Chocolate koi, done up fancily and colorful and 'ohs!'. This looks very specialized and in fact, nothing like the mass market foiled wrapped chocolate she has in her bag. This is something /special/ and probably /expensive/. She can see why it'd cause rumors.
She doesn't particularly care right now.
"Haru-kun... these are really pretty... I don't even wanna try to eat them at all!" she says softly. "How did you get something like this? D--did you make it?" she asks softly. She finds it that unique, yes.
Haru seems tense all of a sudden as Reiko opens the box, and seems to be holding his breath a little. Maybe he's worried about her reaction? He seems to relax when Reiko's reaction to the gift is apparently postive, and smiles broadly. That makes it all worth it.
As for whether he made it? Haru shakes his head. "No. But my family knows a chocolatier. Roses and chocolate, you know... classic combination for Valentines Day. Florists and chocolatiers teaming up isn't unheard of. She's very good. I asked her if she could make chocolate koi." He'd also gotten an employee discount for it, but he's not going to point that out. Not supposed to ask or tell the price of a gift, after all.
Reiko Touyama looks back down to the two chocolate koi and keeps that blush- nrg- are you supposed to eat something so pretty!? She could keep it in the fridge but...then her parents might find it and talk to her for a change. She hasn't even talked to Grandpa about boys yet! Ugh!
Well.. Haru wouldn't had given her chocolate unless she didn't intend to eat it.
"It's so pretty... I'm not surprised it's handmade. I've never seen anything like this before..." she says softly. Oh heck no, she isn't asking how much this cost. She knows better! Besides--- it's not about the money.
It's never about money with her. That'd be her parents.
"Ahaha--I almost don't wanna eat them..." she says softly.
She gingerly picks one up carefully- using her finger tips as not to cause her body heat to melt the chocolate or ruin it. She places it down and blinks. Oh right!
"Thank you, Haru... these are so nice. I didn't expect anything at all because.. I didn't know you until a few days after Valentines Day..." she blushes.
"I didn't think it was very imaginative to just buy a box off a shelf," Haru replies. "That seemed... I don't know, impersonal? Something I could do any day of the week. This seemed a little better-suited to the occasion." He chuckles at the mention of almost not wanting to eat them. "They are pretty, aren't they? I was pretty pleased with them when I saw them the first time."
Haru's smile becomes a little sheepish at the thanks. "Well, that's true." Of the fact that they hadn't known each other before Valentine's day. "True. But if we had, I'm sure we'd have exchanged at least friendship chocolates." He chuckles. "Besides, I've never been one who exactly adhered to societal norms." He raises his hands in an almost helpless shrug, indicating his own weirdness.
'At least friendship chocolates'. Wait. So. This.. isn't that? Wait. Of course it isn't. This is special chocolate, specially made, and not off the shelf or anything!!! Well that's what she thinks anyways. This causes her to just sit there with that awkward blush still. Se's so awkward and stammery, possibly in an adorable manner.
"W--well thank you so much!" she says. Indeed, it's a very pleasent surprise! She finally picks one of the koi again, less carefully and---here it goes-- into her mouth! Nomf!
"Oh that's so smooth and pleasent!" she says. Indeed, it's possible Reiko's never had 'expensive chocolate' in her life.
Then she blinks and blushes and reaches over and breaks off the tail end, carefully and holds it up. "Here..." she says. "Share with me...?" she asks softly.
Haru is at least polite enough not to bring attention to Reiko's blushyness and stammeryness. Besides, he does find it rather adorable. And it's not like he's not a little embarrassed too. He's absurdly pleased she likes the koi. It's really hard for Haru himself not to blush in this situation!
Her compliment on the consistency of the chocolate brings a little of that suppressed blush to the surface. And he diverts attention to the maker! He nods. "She really does make some of the best chocolate I've ever tasted," he agrees.
Then Reiko's holding up the tail of one of the koi to him. He blinks. "Are you sure?" he inquires. He did get it for her. But he's not going to look a gift koi in the mouth!
Reiko Touyama grins. "Well. I'm saving the other one for later and I don't see why not~" she says softly. She smiles. "It's still lovely regardless..." she says. "I've never 'made' chocolates before..." she says thoughfully.
"I'm not really sure cooking is my thing though..."
"...I wonder if I might be able to make an intresting mold... sculpting isn't really my speciality but..." she taps her chin in thought!
"It is something I can do..." she says looking at the body of the koi-- because Haru has it's tail and she already bit it's poor head off~
"Hrmmm... maybe I'll try something really basic..first." she says.
"Before I try something like this!" she says with a smile.
Haru does indeed accept the chocolate koi tail when Reiko assures him that it's all right. And it is as good as he'd thought! "Mm. Edna outdid herself," he says thoughtfully, at the taste of the chocolate. "Could get addicted to that." A chuckle.
Then Reiko starts talking about making chocolates? Haru tilts his head. "Well, confectionery and cooking are different," he notes. "Like baking and cooking. Close, but two different animals. There's a number of ways you could go. If you can sculpt, maybe modeling chocolate is your cup of tea?" he suggests. "You could start with decorating the tops of cupcakes with little swirls made of modeling chocolate."
Reiko Touyama blushes. "Maybe.. just to begin to learn it-- but.. I think it'd be neat to make more elaborate things with a mold..." she taps her chin. "I think I'm getting an idea..." she finishes her chocolate, and carefully closes the box and puts it, upright, into her own bag. She zips the bag open and bites her lip.
She stands up and brushes her hands down her school uniform to smooth it out. She clears her throat and thennnn attempts to give Haru a hug! It's a soft hug, not very tight- but it's an attempt. She clearly feels adorably awkward still.
"Thanks a lot Haru... This is a really nice and caring surprise!" she says with a soft smile!
Haru nods. "Depending on what you're doing, the modeling chocolate can be an even more complicated and artful thing," he notes. "There was this one lady on television who made a cake to look like one of those travel show hosts. She made animals out of modeling chocolate to decorate the cake with." Though the mention that she's getting an idea gets a look of perked interest. "Oh?"
Reiko stands, and Haru smiles. "A surprise, hm?" And then suddenly, there is definitely a surprise! A hug! The first thing in Haru's mind is that he's so very glad that the mechanics of a hug necessitate that she can't see him. Because he is suddenly blushing SO MUCH! Nonetheless he does return the hug! Not only because he's glad to receive a hug from Reiko. But because he needs a minute to get that blush under control.
When she draws back, he has mostly managed to get it under control, though enough of it still lingers to be able to see. He smiles in response to her words. "I wanted to make sure the occasion was observed," he says, half-teasingly. "I'm glad you liked it."
Reiko Touyama doesn't seem to notice Haru-blush, it's because she's used to blushing herself that maybe she cares more about the fact she's still blushing. You'd think /she's/ Prism Keeper Red with all of it,s heesh.
"T--thanks still! I'll have to remember.. for next Valentines! To be sure!" she says with a nervous giggle. "or before then....!"
"Maybe.. next week! Or---"
"Not!" ahahahahah nervous smile.
"I-- better get home now Haru-kun... thanks so much again!" she says as she begins to jog away! "Gotta get home in time for dinner!" she says as she wavvvvves off into the distance.
Haru laughs quietly, the stammering his still funny. And cute! Even if he's still nervous himself. He hears the note of next Valentine's Day, and smiles. "I'll be looking forward to it. If you're looking for a guinea pig for confectionery experiments, call me." He winks.
If he notes the nervous running off for what it is, he doesn't mention it. He just raises a hand to wave as she starts to jog away. "Take care, Reiko-chan!" he offers as she's jogging away. Once she's out of sight, Haru takes a steadying breath, leaning back against the bench as he exhales. That seemed to go well! He'd have to tell Edna that the chocolate was appreciated! Though she'd probably never let him hear the end of it...