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It was a week until Valentine’s day and Kaede was excited. This year she had managed to end up with not one, but two crushes and she was absolutely determined to confess to both of them. She might not have been the best cook and maybe she wasn’t too practiced at making her own chocolates, but she wouldn't let something like that hold her back. She’d thought about trying to write a song to help with her confession, but that was what she always did. This year, she wanted to push herself a little, step out of her comfort zone. She wanted to be able to give chocolates to the boys she liked!
“I’m going to do my best!” she told herself. It always helped her nerves to give herself a little pep talk and now was no exception.
“Going to do your best at what?” Ouma questioned, popping into her line of sight like a jack in the box. Kaede almost fell backwards in surprise. In all her excitement she’d nearly forgotten that she was still in the classroom, though she was sure it was empty not a moment ago. More than that, it was Ouma of all people that had caught her! The butterflies that attacked her at having her crush nearly find out her feelings before she was ready made keeping her composure that much harder.
“Oh, it’s, um, nothing really,” she said with a weak laugh. She didn’t need Ouma tilting his head as he watched her to know that her lie was weak. It didn’t help that the expression was kinda cute. “I mean, I’m just trying to keep motivated in general, you know!”
“Oh?” He leaned closer to her. He was practically sitting on her desk, he was so close to her. “Do you always sit in classrooms alone and talk to yourself?”
She couldn’t help the blush that spread across her face, but she knew better than to back down from Ouma by now. If she backed away, he would just keep pushing, she needed to push back if she actually wanted him to stop. She leaned in a bit, ignoring her own embarrassment. “Do you always come to empty classrooms looking for me?”
He leaned back, holding out his hand and staring at his nails. “Who says I was looking for you?”
“You haven’t said that you weren’t looking for me,” she countered. Kaede grinned, feeling like she was scoring a point against him even if it wasn’t true. Ouma was always teasing people so it was fun getting to tease him back. She wouldn’t deny that a tiny part of her wanted it to be true though. She wanted Ouma to have been looking for her. Maybe that was all wishful thinking for now, but she wouldn’t be discouraged so easily.
He looked up at her again, meeting her eyes, and for just a moment she thought that maybe she caught the hint of a blush on his face.
Then he smirked teasingly and the moment was gone. “Woooow, Kaede, you’re getting smarter! Keep that up and I might get you an exclusive invite to my inner circle of lackeys one day!”
She laughed triumphantly. “So that means you were looking for me! You know, if you wanted to hang out, you could’ve just—”
“Uh, no, silly, I never said that. Or maybe I did?” Walking backwards, he began heading for the door. “Anyway, I’m a super busy guy, so I’ll leave you to do your best now. Catch ya later!” With that, he spun on his heel and began heading down the hall. Under different circumstances, she would’ve rushed to follow him, but he would definitely realize something was up if they talked for any longer. Jeez, the chocolates really were the only thing she could think about right now. Her focus was as singleminded as ever.
Ok, no more distractions! She wasn’t upset in the slightest that she’d run into Kokichi, but now she had to actually get to work.
Hmm… how did you go about making chocolates, anyway? She knew that you could melt down chocolate and pour it into molds, but that was about it. Oh, what if she decided to be ambitious and fill them with something? What kinds of fillings would they like? What kind of chocolates would they like?
There was only one solution to that issue—she would just have to make a few of every kind she could think of. First, though, she actually needed ingredients and molds. She could have waited until later, since she still had a couple of days until Valentine’s day, but she wanted to get started as soon as possible. Full of energy, she packed up her things and headed out of the classroom and down to the first floor. She was about to leave the academy entirely when she spotted a familiar person sitting on a bench nearby, reading a book. Honestly, what were the chances?! First Kokichi, and now Shuichi too.
She could just pass by, pretending like she hadn’t seen him. Or she could say hi and then leave. But that would make her feel bad! It wasn’t like she was doing anything wrong, per se, but walking past felt… sneaky. There was no harm in stopping for a quick chat, right? She could ask him what he was reading, what his plans were for the weekend, that sort of thing. He’d never even get to ask her anything about herself, and there would be absolutely no chance for her to accidentally spill the beans.
Keeping a secret from a detective and a master liar was really hard, huh.
Steeling herself, she headed toward him, calling out, “Hey, Shuichi! How are you?”
She felt bad when he jumped slightly, startled by her voice. Luckily, it didn’t look like he lost his spot at all or else she’d feel even worse about it.
Quickly he turned towards her. “Ah, Kaede?”
She stopped in front of him, giving him a small smile. “Sorry if I startled you.”
Shuichi glanced at his book briefly. “I-It’s fine… I was just reading….”
Trying to peek at the cover, she asked, “What were you reading?”
She could already feel that the conversation was going to go a lot further than originally planned, but what was she to do? She could really talk to Shuichi forever.
“Ah, it’s nothing really.” Shuichi started to nervously pick at his cheek. “It’s just a mystery novel.”
“It must be really interesting.” As much as she wanted to get to work on those chocolates, she couldn’t help but urge him on. She loved hearing him talk, even if it took some work to get him to that point. “Do you have any culprits in mind?”
“I… try not to think about it too much, but I do have some theories.”
She couldn’t help the fluttering feeling in her chest as Shuichi’s expression turned thoughtful and serious. Seeing him do detective work was always interesting, and she could never help the adrenaline rush she got from watching him solve a case- even if it’s something as simple as the plot to a novel.
“It would be easy to say that the wife did it because she was closest to him and had a clear motive, but I don’t think the evidence is leading to that. Rather, I believe that the motive really was just a crime of passion done to keep him from finding out something. For this reason, I think it was actually his daughter who was revealed to have a secret lover who he wouldn’t approve of.” After he finished his deduction, he sunk into himself a bit, nervously fiddling with the pages. “Of course, that’s just a hypothesis. I’m, ah, not that far into it yet ....”
“That’s amazing, Shuichi!” She smiled wide, excitement and adoration bubbling in her chest.
His face went completely red in what she was sure was an embarrassed blush. “Y-You really think so?”
“Of course I think so!” She had to hold herself back from just confessing right there and then. She had a plan and she wanted both her crushes to be there for it.
Shuichi looked down, but she could still see the small smile he wore. “Thank you.”
Kaede could swoon. But not right now! She was a busy woman with only one thing in mind: making chocolates for two people she would love to see, hopefully, swoon in return.
She waved at Shuichi, chirping happily, "I hope your theories are correct, Shuichi! I have to get going now, though."
Shuichi nodded at this then gave her a small wave. Kaede made her way to the academy gates uneventfully before making her way to a nearby specialty store that sold various baking supplies from ingredients to equipment one might need to create a baked delight.
A small bell tinkled above her when she opened the door, announcing her entrance. She made her way through the different aisles. It was a bit of a tight fit in the shop but she managed to check out the abundant products she could potentially use. Kaede was rather overwhelmed with choices at this point, and was very grateful for the shop owner stepping in and asking her what she needed.
The elderly lady was passionate enough with baking and cooking that she shared her vast knowledge with Kaede. She was able to guess what Kaede had in plan, given the date and all. The shop owner told her to grab the ingredients and equipment she would need as she printed out a fool-proof recipe the student could use.
Kaede did as she was told, having fun picking out a little bit of everything: some sprinkles, gold dust, some food coloring (for white chocolate she was planning on coloring), wrappers, ribbons and a couple of boxes (she hasn't decided on the presentation just yet), and of course, the molds. For some reason, she wanted to grab a bear mold from the shelf but decided heavily against it. She instead picked out a mold that had various musical notes and symbols, being heavily drawn to them.
She clutched the silicon mold, sighing to herself and wishing to no one in particular, "Oh, I do hope they will like it." She snapped out of her daze before she talked herself out of the surprise she was planning for two of her favorite people then walked back to the cashier where the lady was patiently waiting. She rang her up then packed all of the items neatly in a paper bag, making sure to include the recipe for chocolates inside.
Kaede thanked her for her generosity then stepped out of the little shop, now a little more confident in what she had set out to do.
Now, it was finally on to the important part - actually making the chocolate!
I should try to make an easy chocolate first, she decided, laying out all her ingredients on the countertop. She’d luckily been able to snag one of the cooking rooms for her project, double-checking and triple-checking that Kokichi and Shuichi would be nowhere near the cooking room to find out her plans.
“Step one: Melt the chocolates in a small pot,” she read out loud. Sounds easy enough. She pulled open a drawer, taking out a decently small pot and setting it on the stove.
“Now I just need to turn it on, right?”
She flicked the switch. Nothing happened.
Huh? Is it broken?
She turned it off, then tried again. Like the last time, nothing happened.
“You have to turn the gas on first,” a familiar voice said from behind her.
“Ah, Harukawa-san!” Kaede beamed, turning around. Sure enough, the aloof girl was standing there, arms crossed over her chest.
Harukawa sighed. “Hello.”
“Are you making chocolates too?”
“No, I was just passing by when I saw you standing there, trying to turn a stove on without turning the gas on first.”
Kaede laughed sheepishly. “Yeah, I guess I looked really silly, huh?”
“It’s not a big deal,” Harukawa shrugged, expression still as deadpan as ever. “I forget things like that sometimes too.”
“It’s hard to imagine you forgetting things like these, though! You’re always so responsible and mature,” Kaede said, giggling at the faint blush that spread over Harukawa’s face at the praise.
“Don’t say things like that,” Harukawa muttered, ears red. “Anyways, good luck with your chocolates. Bye.”
“Thank you!” Kaede waved as she exited, then turned back to her chocolates. Right. Need to melt the chocolates.
While she waited for the water in the pot to boil, Kaede busied herself by unwrapping the chocolate and putting it in a bowl. I can’t heat the chocolate directly, because it’d burn. Unable to help herself, she swiped a bit of chocolate from the bowl, popping it into her mouth.
Mmm…
As the chocolate settled into the bowl and began to liquify, she stirred the contents with a wooden spoon, neat squares breaking down into a molten river drifting around the bowl. When it began to bubble steadily, Kaede turned the heat off, leaving it to settle as she reached for the silicone molds.
Which one should I use first..?
The treble clef stood out as the most prominent design; being larger than any of the other notes she had gathered, it served to need the most chocolate poured into it… but could she really accomplish such a complicated design on her first try?
Her eyes settled on the quaver. It would be her test run – not that she needed it, surely nothing would go wrong.
“Step two: Pour the melted chocolate into an icing bag,” Kaede murmured aloud, eyes flittering to the items she had procured. She reached towards the icing bag, carefully wrangling it open so it wouldn’t tear before pouring the chocolate in – it drifted into each crevice, neatly expanding.
She snipped a small hole in the bag at the bottom, piping the chocolate into the quaver and ignoring the feeling of her hands becoming clammy. There was no time for cold feet, especially when Kaede knew Shuichi and Kokichi would do the same for her.
Even if Shuichi was reserved, he wouldn’t turn away from something he deemed important. It was what she liked about him – sure, he could do with believing in his abilities a little more, but once he had the correct motivation, the detective was nothing if relentless. Kokichi wouldn’t either; although he hid behind half-truths and omissions with a terrible habit of pushing other people away, she just had to read between the lines a little. It was like improvising during a piano recital!
If neither of them would turn away from the truth, neither would Kaede.
When Kaede peered down, the quaver had filled up neatly and she almost jumped for joy. Milk chocolate flowed gently around the coloured material, bending to her will.
After she completed the first mold, Kaede hunkered down and filled out the rest. The stove heated away merrily at white and dark chocolate as she distributed them out, piping like a factory worker. The gold dust scattered into rose pink chocolate, coloured from the white. When she finished adding sprinkles and making finishing touches, she placed the mold into the fridge. A variety of coloured gift boxes lay before her, but she knew which colors to choose – she placed the silky purple ribbon next to the blue box for Shuichi, with the royal purple box entangled with blue ribbon for Kokichi.
Once she decided how to wrap the gifts, the pianist turned to a pair of discarded gift tags. What to write on them… She produced a pen from her backpack. Although dark ink flowed, no writing came with it. Just what would be the perfect sonnet to reach their hearts?
——
Kaede spent the next few days cooped up in the music room, shaking away her nerves through the thrumming rhythm of piano notes. Fingers glided expertly through the keys as she read across the music sheet, mind translating quavers and semiquavers into melodies flowing through the room. Time passed like she was in chronostasis, and every day she mentally marked off the calendar was enough to frazzle her nerves.
Truth be told, she hadn’t seen much of either boy; every time she rounded a corner to come across them, Kaede would duck out of the way, losing herself in the slough of students that populated the hallways. Blue and purple hair haunted her – each time Kaede caught a lock bouncing with gravity, her heart palpitated, hands sweaty enough to fill a river.
There were times where she couldn’t escape them, a moment in class where she was partnered up with Shuichi, a chance meeting with Kokichi when they crashed in the hallway (from Kokichi’s smirk, she wasn’t so sure it was accidental). It took every fiber of her being not to let the cat out of the bag, desperately trying to picture something other than a neatly wrapped bow set in their colors.
She groaned as another note struck false.
Music couldn’t come to Kaede when she was frustrated. It was like trying to play a duet with only one pair of hands. Frustrated, she reached into her bag to see how many more torturous minutes were left. Careful not to disturb the chocolates, her phone reflected back the time, close to the end of the day.
Relieved, she packed away her things, careful to leave everything as clean as she left it. The classroom neatened under her hand just as the bell tolled away, the sound of classroom congestion muffled behind the door. Kaede slipped into the crowd, knowing that both boys had their last class together.
Luck was on her side. Just as she approached the wooden door to the classroom so she could peer in, a mop of blue hair caught in her peripheral – Shuichi chatted away pleasantly with Kokichi, the latter boy gesturing overdramatically. If her nerves allowed her to feel anything other than the coarse knot of fear at her threat, Kaede would have laughed at their wild interaction.
She took a deep breath, patting her cheeks for reassurement before she approached, praying her voice didn’t sound shaky. “Hey guys! Fancy seeing you two here, heh…”
“Kaede!” The way Shuichi’s voice lit up was like a prayer, though it flickered in the wind. “We were just looking for you.”
“Nuh-uh!” Kokichi protested. “You may have been looking for her, but that doesn’t mean you can include me in your schemes.”
Shuichi looked as resigned as she felt, his dark circles prominent, though his expression told something much deeper than usual tiredness. “Is… everything okay, Kaede? You look like you’re shaking.”
Kaede had never felt Stage Fright before.
Sure, flittering nerves were typical of every big recital that the young Pianist performed at- the type of nerves that’d cause your stomach to churn and your eyes to widen. But typically, those would fade the more she played- letting the melody wrap around her like a protective blanket until her anxieties finally dissolved. As long as she had her trusty Piano beside her, Kaede knew nothing could go wrong.
But as she looked from concerned gold-green eyes to mischievous violet ones, she felt her chest tighten and her breathing hitch.
"O-oh, you were?” The pianist asked, desperately hoping that the detective wouldn’t be able to sense her nerves. “Well, how can I help, Shuichi?”
“I… don’t need your help, per se.” The Detective told her, eyes hitting the floor. “Rather… I’d like to give you this.”
The bluenette dived into his backpack, drawing out a book, the cover looking somewhat familiar.
“You, um… seemed curious about my book the other day,” Shuichi explained, a faint blush creeping across his pale complexion. “So… I bought a copy of the first book for you! I… hope you like it.”
Kaede took the book from the boy, smiling and tracing the thin golden letters and striking front cover with her finger. However, the thing that captured most of the Pianist’s attention was an extra piece of paper sticking out from among the pages. Curious, she pulled it out, her heart almost stopping upon finding out what it was.
A letter.
Carefully placing the book on a desk beside her, Kaede opened the letter with shaky hands. The handwriting was impeccable- line after line of inky blue ink filling the page with compliments and affectionate words towards the Pianist. However, what most stuck out to the Pianist was the letter’s final line. Seven words, but seven words that held the impact of a novel.
“Will you be my Valentine- Kaede Akamastu?”
Tears pricked the corner of the young Pianist’s eyes, mind unable to quite process the words on the page. The bluenette detective immediately shot back with a jolt, anxiously gazing at the girl.
“Kaede…? I’m sorry, did I-”
In an instant, Kaede pulled the detective in, showing no signs of letting him go. Instantly, her nerves dissolved, like dust getting wiped away from an old piano. A weight seemed to be lifted from the other’s shoulders as well- as Shuichi buried his head into the crook of the other’s neck.
“Actually…” Kaede began, nervously dipping into her bag and retrieving the deep blue box. “I have… something for you too.”
The bluenette took the box graciously, unwrapping the ribbon and expecting its contents with a warm smile. “Kaede… these are beautiful… I… don’t know what to say…”
Shuichi opted to show his gratitude with another hug, pulling the Pianist in with a grin. Kaede couldn’t help but grin back, feeling like she was on Cloud 9.
“Welp, I better not interrupt the romantic moment.” Kokichi eventually cut in, hints of deject visible in his voice as he headed for the door. “So, I better get going-”
“Ouma-Kun. Wait.” Kaede said, diving into her bag once more to retrieve the other box. “These… are for you, too.”
Kokichi paused, closely inspecting the box in the girl’s hands before blurting out laughing.
“Oh, Kaede! You almost got me!” The purplenette spluttered. “Honestly, you really could join my secret organization- you’re too good at this!”
“Ouma. I’m serious.” Kaede stated, a warm smile crossing her lips. “Please… take them.”
For once, the Supreme Leader found himself lost for words. He removed a chocolate from the box, turning it in his hands. He chuckled slightly, looking at the Pianist with a grin.
“Can I… tell you two something?” Kaede asked, the nerves beginning to bubble up inside her once again.
“After this? Of course not, how dare you!” Kokichi replied, eyes glaring directly at Kaede, before closing with a smirk. “I’m just lyin’. Go on, Piano Girl!”
“I…” Kaede began, desperately trying to swallow the anxiety burning inside her throat. “I… really like you both. For a while now, actually. And, um… I was wondering… would you both maybe… want to date me?”
Shuichi and Kokichi looked at Kaede, then one another, then at Kaede again. After a slightly awkward pause, the pair nodded, smiling from ear to ear.
“I think this Supreme Leader has room in his heart for two,” Kokichi affirmed. “What about you, Shumai?”
“I… do as well. I’ve… always kind of liked you both.” Shuichi admitted- the gentle blush across his face growing brighter. “...Thank you so much, Kaede. We’re so glad you feel the same…”
The pianist’s heart immediately glowed in delight. She felt like she’d received a standing ovation from the whole of Japan- looking at the Detective and the Leader, smiling sweetly at her. She held out her arms, pulling them both in for a hug and pressing a tender kiss to each boy’s forehead.
The moment was like chocolate- warm, sweet, and comforting. And the more the group held each other, the more at ease Kaede felt- the most beautiful of symphonies filled her mind and soul as she held her two partners like there was no tomorrow.
Kaede’s first love would always be the piano. But if Shuichi and Kokichi always remained by her side, cheering her on note-by-note…
Then she knew nothing could ever go wrong.