He stared at the brightly colored candy bag in front of him, particularly frowning at the crimson ribbon tied around it to safely tuck the homemade chocolates inside. The candy bag, in turn, remained unmoving but silently beckoning him to partake in the sugary treats it held within its papery grasp.

He gulped, audibly, before succumbing to his defeat and reaching for the goodies, his mouth already watering at the promised delight of chocolates made with love.

Oyamada Manta was never at the receiving end of chocolates and undying proclamations of love during Valentine's Day.

High school was cruel like that, he supposed. Just because he didn't fit the social norm - too smart, too short, too weird - the girls at school treated him as nonexistent at best and a pariah at worst. So when he was offered a bag of handmade chocolates on the day of hearts, it made him wary. It made him pause and think that maybe the world had somehow shifted in its axis and everything was suddenly crooked and topsy-turvy, like one of those children's books he used to read so many years ago.

In the end, he relented. Partly because he was curious about the whole ordeal and mostly because he trusted the person that handed him the chocolates in the first place.

Tamamura Tamao was a kind and sweet girl. The type who never swatted a mouse even when it scared her to no end. She was one of those he trusted with his life. Plus, it wasn't just Manta she had given the chocolates to, as well.

Saying so, his round eyes turned to the teen beside him, sighing softly when Asakura Yoh was too busy munching on his own chocolates while watching the television.

He would occasionally laugh at something the TV hosts said, but more often his eyes just stayed glued to the entertainment before him, his hands absentmindedly picking and then feeding himself the chocolates that Tamao gifted to him earlier that day.

In hindsight, Manta knew that the only reason Tamao had given him the chocolates was so it wouldn't be awkward for both him and her when she presented her gift to her precious Yoh-sama while leaving Manta unnoticed. Yoh would find that strange, in the first place, and Manta was sure Tamao didn't want to have to explain her feelings to her crush so brazenly.

He was the safety net, so to speak. But free chocolate was free chocolate, and Manta wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

So snack on the chocolates he did, and he savored every bite of it. Tamao was a great cook - it wasn't a stretch that she would be great with making desserts as well.

A gasp from his left had his attention. Turning, he found Yoh poking at his own candy bag and pouting when he realized that he had emptied out all of its contents.

He groaned, then looked at Manta. The shorter boy shook his head.

"My share." He said simply, when Yoh gave him a pitiful stare. He chuckled when his friend made a noise a dying moose would on a particularly brutal day. "Eat any more of the chocolates and Anna-san might get angry."

Yoh tilted his head in question.

"Why would Anna be angry?" Then his eyes widened. "You don't think she wanted some, do you?!"

Manta almost snorted.

Of course Anna being jealous never crossed Yoh's mind. Of course. It was almost comical how his friend could be so reliable as a warrior in the battlefield but so dumb when it came to the opposite gender. Manta couldn't help the laugh that did escape him.

"Maybe." He teased his friend. "You're in trouble, Yoh-kun."

Yoh was quick to grab the now-empty bag and slipping it inside his pocket. He gave Manta a thumbs up when he was done hiding the evidence.

See no evil, hear no evil. Or in this case, see no chocolate bag, hear no Anna screaming for him to share.

The two had a conspiratorial laugh together, thinking they were so good at being sneaky and with Anna of all people when the sliding door behind them opened with a bang and in came the she-devil herself, looking like the deadliest beauty that she was despite her carrying a hefty-looking plastic bag with tons and tons of boxes inside.

She raised a brow. Yoh was immediately on his feet and taking the bag out of her tiny but powerful hand.

"They're chocolates," she said oh-so nonchalantly. "The stores were selling them at ridiculous prices it was almost as if they were giving them away."

Yoh exclaimed his awe by digging through the contents. Sure enough, they were all chocolates. The teen was almost bouncing at this discovery, his headphones clanking to his every giddy jump. Manta wanted to point out that this was a pretty normal thing for Valentine's Day - the chocolates were always sold so cheap it was like living in a chocolate factory minus the killer host.

But Anna was giving him that scary stare of hers, and Manta knew that he should keep his mouth shut lest he desired a swift but painful death.

Yoh remained oblivious to their silent conversation.

"We should make chocolate animals this time!" He was beaming. "Or a chocolate Bob! That would be so cool, right, Anna?"

Anna nodded coolly. "Sure."

The two made a beeline for the kitchen, with Yoh at the lead and still gushing over what he could make with all the chocolates they had on hand. His heart, for the moment, was still set on the giant Soul Bob-shaped chocolate when Anna turned to Manta and nodded at him.

"You're helping out." She trailed after her fiancee without giving Manta a chance to retaliate.

As if he would anyway.

For one thing, Anna would murder him and then send his soul to whatever pit in hell Anna saw him fit. And the other? Well, it looked like he was going to get another batch of Valentine's chocolates after all!

And this time, from THE Kyoyama Anna herself.