I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Iroha tilted her head, revealing a playful and cute smile: "By the way, please give me ten times the amount of chocolate on Valentine's Day, okay? Otherwise, I'll never give you chocolate again!"

"Isn't that outrageous?" Yuu Tenkuji threw another piece into his mouth, chewed it, and nodded in his opinion, "It's definitely ten times tastier chocolate."

"...Senior, are you looking down on me?" After a pause, Isshiki Hachiman smiled, but uttered cold words, "Or is it that you receive a ton of chocolates every Valentine's Day, so you look down on my clumsy first attempt?"

"Of all the chocolates girls have given me, whether handmade or store-bought, this is the only one I've ever tasted." Shrugging, Yuu Tenkuji said casually, "My sister handles all the others, so I don't know if they're any good or not. Anyway, none of them are as good as mine."

"Gulp..." Iroha stared at his profile, as if she wanted to pierce through his thick skin. After a moment, she slumped her shoulders in dejection. "Oh well, that's just how senpai is... He should have just not said the second half, but he had to deliberately be annoying."

"Do you hate me?" Tenkuji Yu asked with a smile.

Like a duck's feet flailing beneath the water's surface, Isseiro slapped his shoulder repeatedly, saying irritably, "Yeah, yeah, how annoying! So annoying!"

Suddenly, she opened her mouth, took a bite of the crepe in his hand, and thoughtfully pursed her glistening lips.

"...Hmm, it's quite delicious! Senior, would you like to try mine?"

A girl's temper comes and goes quickly.

Looking at her lips, Yu Tenkuji leaned in and took a bite of the chocolate crepe.

After they finished eating and exchanging food, Isshiki Iroha said she needed to use the restroom, so Tenkuji Yu bought two drinks and sat on a bench outside to wait for her.

The straw was inserted into the cup lid. Before drinking, the girl with long black hair walked with a dignified and quiet gait through the crowd to stand in front of him.

"Tenkuji-kun, you seem to be having a good time."

"...I would be happier if you didn't interfere."

Tenkuji Yu put down his drink, his eyes as cold as hers, as they stared at each other.

"I'm no longer your 'boyfriend,' so why are you still interfering with my ability to have a normal relationship?"

With a flicker of clear, bright eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita sighed softly and slowly closed her eyes.

"You should know the reason too..."

Her once clear and beautiful voice now carries a hint of sadness and fragility.

She stood there, her back straight and unyielding, as if a gentle breeze could break her in two.

Yuu Tenkuji shook his head, his tone unwavering, still as calm as ice.

"That's your business. I have someone I like now, and I also have feelings that belong to me, feelings that will never disappear or be forgotten."

"You can come and investigate if you want, but I hope you won't appear in front of me and Ayaha."

Hearing those emotionless words, Yukino Yukinoshita bit her lips until they turned pale, her nails digging tightly into her palms.

But she took a deep breath and quickly dismissed her vulnerability, her gaze as clear as ice after snow melted, staring straight at him as always.

"I hope you won't regret it."

"I have never regretted falling in love with anyone."

"...Me too?"

Yuuki Tenkuji smiled and said, "Yukinoshita, you can tell from my voice whether I'm lying or not."

"I'm not a lie detector... If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't have been able to tell."

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but smile as she took out a simply packaged chocolate from her pocket and said frankly, "This is for you. Although I hesitated about whether to make it, during that time I... thought about giving you a special chocolate by hand. I worked hard and even studied it for a while. It would be a pity not to give it to you."

"Thank you." Tenkuji Yu accepted it. "However, I won't eat it."

"Whether you throw it in the trash or give it to Sora to eat, it's up to me." Yukino Yukinoshita shrugged, her posture strangely similar to his, exuding a carefree and nonchalant air. "Then I'll be going now. Have a nice date."

"Be careful on the road."

"By the way... Tenkuji-kun, I still like you."

"I'm sorry, I will always love Isshiki Iroha."

"I can tell." Yukino Yukinoshita turned her back to him, tilted her head slightly, took a deep breath, and said, "By the way, it's best not to drink that beverage."

Yuu Tenkuji was taken aback, glancing at the two drinks placed on the bench: "...Who tampered with them?"

"Why should I tell you?" Her voice carried an unusual playfulness and a vengeful satisfaction, and she even stretched. "We're all 'the same kind,' how could I betray each other?"

"Tsk, never mind." Tenkuji Yuu pressed his temples and sighed. "Anyway, thanks for reminding me."

"You're welcome, ex-boyfriend."

After saying this, Yukino Yukinoshita stepped into the crowd, and her slender yet dignified figure quickly disappeared.

Not long after, Isshiki Hajime returned from the restroom and waved to him.

"Sorry~ Have you been waiting long?"

"It wasn't long." Tenkuji Yuu made way for her, and when they were shoulder to shoulder, Isshiki Hatake plopped down next to him, glancing at the person next to him with a puzzled look.

"Hey, where's the drink?"

"A bug flew in, so I threw it all away. I'll buy a new one later." Looking at her innocent and adorable expression, as if she knew nothing, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but smile and said softly:

"Just now, Yukino came over and said a few words to me."

"..."

Isshiki blinked, and the expression on her face slowly disappeared.

She slowly lowered her face, her pearly teeth gently biting her lip, her face shaded by the falling strands of hair.

"Why did you have to say it yourself, senior... I was planning to pretend I didn't see it."

Tenkuji Yu smiled and gently patted the back of her hand, which was clenched tightly on her knee: "There's nothing wrong with saying it, right? I'm the kind of person who wants to clear up any misunderstandings as soon as possible."

"Is that all there is to it?" she asked in a low voice.

Tenkuji Yu shook his head: "Most importantly, I don't want my most important junior to feel wronged, pretending that nothing happened, and then go back home and be so worried that he can't sleep."

"..."

Suddenly, Isshiki Hatake raised her head, her round eyes staring straight at him without blinking, as if she were in a daze.

"What's wrong?" he asked, puzzled.

After a long silence, she suddenly blurted out:

"……like."

Bonus Chapter: Valentine's Day x Valentine's Day Tragedy (Part 2)

"...Huh?"

So suddenly, he couldn't help but make a strange sound.

Isshiki Hatake blinked slowly, as if only now coming to her senses. A blush gradually rose on her face, and she waved her hands in a flustered manner.

"Uh...no, well...actually I..."

Tenkuji Yu looked at her and nodded tentatively, "Actually..." that's not what I meant?

After hesitating for a moment, Isshiki Hatake slowly lowered her hand, slightly pouting her soft, light pink lips, and muttered as if giving up.

"Actually... I really like you, senior, and I like you in a way that means I want to date you."

Yuu Tenkuji was speechless: "...That was really sudden."

"There's nothing I can do! When it's time to speak, I can't help it. Who told you to be so slow, senpai!" Iroha tapped his arm in frustration, then casually tugged at his sleeve.

"...Even if it's sudden, it's serious, you idiot senpai."

Tenkuji Yu fell silent.

He stared somewhat dazedly at the petite girl who was slowly lowering her head. The rosy blush on her fair ears was like a red plum blossom blooming in the snow, so beautiful it made his mouth dry.

"Senior... what are you thinking?" After not receiving a reply for a long time, her delicate voice became somewhat weak as she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Coming to her senses, without even thinking, Tenkuji Yu solemnly replied, "I will make you happy!"

"Huh?"

On the contrary, Iroha looked up in surprise, revealing a cute face with fair skin and rosy cheeks.

"You just agreed like that? And saying 'happiness' directly is too heavy a tone!"

"Otherwise what?" He raised an eyebrow, smiling as he watched her slightly flustered appearance.

"No... well, I thought that since he's such a popular senior, he'd at least consider it..."

"We've already held hands and hugged, what else is there to consider? Aren't we just waiting for who will make the first move?" Tenkuji Yu rolled his eyes, forcefully grabbing her small hand and holding it firmly in his palm. "I just didn't expect you to confess first... If you're not satisfied, how about we go to the Ferris wheel and I confess to you again?"

"Aha……"

She opened her mouth as if dumbfounded, stared at him blankly for a few seconds, and then her pretty face blushed even more deeply, as if she had applied rouge.

Isshiki Hatake quickly turned away her shy expression, her heart pounding and her whole body burning as if it were melting, but she still stubbornly refused to admit defeat.

"What?! Senior's flirting skills are too proficient! Is this a seasoned con artist who's good at stealing women's hearts? It's so unfair that she's being paired with this battle-hardened player, even though she's his first love!"

"Hey, who's a veteran of countless battles...?"

"Don't talk back! Listen to your girlfriend!"

“…Okay.” After a moment of hesitation, Tenkuji Yu couldn’t help but laugh. “You have to listen to Iroha.”

He pressed his forehead against hers, their warm skin touching, his gentle gaze encompassing the two of them so close, as if that was the whole world.

"Oh no, it seems like my senior likes me too much. Will my burnout phase come early?"

After speaking in a troubled tone, her apple-red face couldn't help but break into a sweet, radiant smile.

This smile belonged only to Isshiki Yu, as if it wanted to fill the depths of his heart.

"Well, as long as I like you more, senpai, it's fine, right?"

Making such a casual conclusion, she suddenly opened her slender arms and wrapped them around Tenkuji Yu's neck.

Then, turning her face to the side, she exhaled warm breath, and for a brief moment, her secret, adorable voice gently chewed on his earlobe.

"I'll like you even more than you like me... So get ready to date your junior, senpai~"

She's coquettish and languid, sweet and innocent, with a touch of cunning at times.

It is composed of sugar, spices, and all things beautiful; this is the existence called Iroha.