Author’s note:Hello! Thank you Shadow Kei, Madness, and Andiavas for reviewing!!! This the first chapter of ‘Girichoco’, It isn’t a BIG chapter, I mean it gives you small details, but I promise you it will be SO much better!!! I just had to write the basics, and I hate writing the beginning it’s SO boring! But later on, there’s a lot of romance, even though that Valentine’s is over, doesn’t mean I can’t write a romance story! So, bear with me and please read this chappie! ENJOY~                                                                                                      

                                                                -:- Girichoco -:-

                                                                   Part 1

                “Oi, *Okaasan [*Mother], I want lots of chocolates inside, okay?” A little girl around the again of four exclaimed happily to her mother once she saw her mother take out a bag of baking chocolates out of the refrigerator.

The mother then shook her head happily, “Oh, of course. That’s the best part. Are you gonna make the Valentine’s Day cookies?”

“Yep!”

“I need to help you though, okay?”

“Kay!”

The mother took the bag of chocolates and poured the contents inside the bowl of cookie dough and the daughter seemed to be having such a wonderful time stirring. It was that little girl’s FAVORITE holiday. She just LOVED making cookies for Valentine’s Day. She loved spending it with her mom and her friends. “I’m making the cookies right, Okaasan?” she asked cheerfully.

“Right.” The mother responded. The mother looked onto the face of her daughter whom believed that she really was making the cookies, but all she was doing was stirring, but of course, the mother gave the child the benefit of the doubt.

“Can I make a big cookie? A big heart shaped cookie?”

The mother looked skeptically at her young daughter, “Oh? And who would you make that for?”

The little girl shrugged as she was concentrating on stirring the cookie dough and chocolates inside the bowl, “I always wanted to do that.”

“Well, okay then, if you want to,” the mother then took out a cookie cutter, “now, let’s see how we are going to do this…”

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Oh, wow. Great job sweetheart!” The mother exclaimed as she took out the cookies from the oven.

The little girl started to jump up and down, “I love that one!” she pointed to the largest one in a shape of a heart.

The mother shook her head in agreement, “That one came out nice!”

The young child rushed to the bowl that was on top of the table, “I wanna bake more!”

“More? For whom? Not for you I know, you can’t even finish one”

“Uh-huh, I can too. I love cookies!”

Suddenly the sound of the doorbell filled the room. The mother gave a quick laugh, “Well, continue to stir, while I see who’s at the door” she rushed out the kitchen and to the living to greet the person at the door. The daughter started to hum a song while stirring, but had quickly stopped when the mother returned in the kitchen with a wide grin spread across her face, “Sweetie? Your friend is here”

The little girl stopped stirring and looked questioningly at her mother, then she shifted her eyes onto the small little boy that kept sticking his head out from behind her mother. “Oi, Shin!” The little girl jumped down from her seat and rushed to her friend whom seemed the same age as she was.

The little boy gave a slight smile, still hiding behind the little girl’s mother. “Shinosuke, don’t be shy. Go on, this is your house too so feel welcomed.” The mother said gently and moved away from her position, but wherever she went, Shinosuke followed behind.

“Shin you’re so silly!” The little girl giggled and Shinosuke blushed furiously. “Oh, yeah,” The little girl went to the table and took the plate with the cookies. “I made the heart shaped cookie for you, for Valentine’s Day”.

Shinosuke looked at the humongous cookie, then at the little girl, then back at the cookie, “T-that’s for me, Nemuri?”

“Yep! I made it myself!”

“Wow, really?” he asked in awe and the little girl nodded her head. The mother just smiled and shook her head. She thought that it was so cute that Nemuri had made the cookie for Shinosuke and always loved the friendship that both children held. They were always together and they’re parents encouraged the idea. It really wasn’t a big deal that they would spend every minute together (and even then Shinosuke still felt shy).

The little boy took the cookie and bit into it, “Mmm, I always loved your cookies!” he said with his mouth full, “Oh, and I came here to give you my Valentine’s gift to you, but I must ask your mother for permission to do so.” Shin turned to Nemuri’s mother and did a quick bow, “Miss Nemuri’s mommy I would like to ask you if I can present your daughter with a Valentine’s gift?”

The mother gave a quick laugh and waved her hands, “Oh, Shinosuke, you don’t have to ask me. It’s not like your marrying my daughter,” she kept laughing and then abruptly stopped, “Are you? Because I have no objections, just wait ‘till you get a older…”

“Okaasan…” Nemuri sighed.

“Okay, Miss Nemuri’s mommy, thank you” Shin bowed again and turned back to Nemuri, “I got these for you,” he extended his hand.

“Oh~ A pretty rose!”

Shinosuke blushed, “Yeah, I spent two years just to grow the right one so I can give that to you”

“Wow… thank you!”

Shinosuke seemed much shyer about the gifts than Nemuri was, that he almost forgot the other gift he had in his hands, “Oh and these chocolates. I know you love chocolates” the little quickly grabbed the heart shaped box, opened it effortlessly, and began to quickly munch on the creamy goodness. “Mmm, these are my favorites!”

“Yeah, I know, that’s why I bought them. I spent my two years allowance just to buy those candies for you.”

Nemuri stopped chewing and looked up at the boy, “Really? Thank you, Shinosuke”

“Your welcome” he smiled, “we’ll always be friends that means right, Ne-chan?”

“Of course!” she patted his back for reassurance, “Always together… forever…”

-:-:-:-:-:- Years later -:-:-:-:-:-

“Oi…” A cranky seventeen-year-old girl kicked the blankets of her; she murmured a few words lowly until she decided to finally get dressed for school. “I hate… Valentine’s Day” she thought aloud, while adjusting her collar. “It is one of the stupidest holidays ever”. She grumbled.

“Nemuri! Breakfast is ready!” A feminine voice rang out.

“Coming! I’ll be down in a minute, Okaasan,” She yelled back to her mother before running down the stairs. She slumped in the chair.

“Oi, Nemuri-san, why so down?” her mother asked her while placing a plate in front of her daughter.

“Mom… you know I hate Valentine’s Day,” she whispered lowly.

“Oh, you don’t mean that!”

Nemuri looked up at her mother, in reality she really didn’t hate the holiday, but she hated the fact that she had absolutely nobody to share it with. “Mom, today is a day of love and I have nobody”

The mother had her hands on her hips, “You have me! What am I? Chopped liver? You use to LOVE Valentine’s” Nemuri sighed at her mother’s comment and discontinued the conversation, it was something that she would never understand. Nemuri used to love Valentine’s Day, which was when she was younger, she was younger and different from her present teenage self.

After Nemuri had finish her breakfast she quickly took her book bag and left off for school. She had walked only a few steps away from her house when she froze in her tracks. She stood on the sidewalk in front of her house looking at a cute bishounen whom was standing outside his house that was next-door to hers. He held a bouquet of roses in one hand and a box of chocolates in another. His hair was the color of hazelnut, each strand glistened in the sun (and this made Nemuri imagine just how long it takes him to wash his hair). With each step he took forward, Nemuri could see his hazel eyes come into focus.

‘H-He’s coming closer to me! Eek! What do I do? What do I do?’ She blushed furiously as he continued to walk towards her and she almost fainted when he spoke, since nobody really talked to her and his words made her confused for a moment.  “Is that the most beautiful girl in all Miserareru High?” he smiled charmingly, in which he revealed his beautifully whitened teeth that seem to sparkle awkwardly. “Strike that, the most beautiful girl in the world?”

“…” Nemuri stood speechless; this was her school’s most popular boy, well, one of many. They were girls who wanted to get with him and even the guys whom seemed to want to be him respected him. This was the same boy who was talking to Nemuri and she stood frozen in her tracks.

“Well, all signs point to …’yes’!” came a voice from behind Nemuri and she quickly turned around to see, Hikku, one of the most popular girls. It was obvious now! Of course, the boy wasn’t talking to Nemuri! He hadn’t been talking to her for years now, so what made him talk to her now? He was talking to Hikku, right? Of course, Nemuri knew for sure, when the bishounen walked right past her and into the embrace of young Hikku as if he didn’t even notice that Nemuri was there, but that was no surprise to Nemuri. She was invisible to people that just how it was, no one ever seemed to notice her when she was around. When she spoke, they would say it was just wind that soundly seemed to be howling, when she walked, people would bump into her and keep walking as if they just hit another object that had been purposely on the street. So, this was no surprise, but why did she feel so mad?

Nemuri sighed when he saw them share a passionate kiss and the girl started to giggle happily. “For you babe,” the boy said and handed her his gifts. The girl gave a fake gasp, “Oh, Shinosuke!” she hugged him and kissed him lightly before giggling once more.

Nemuri flushed and started to march away from the scene. How could she watch this? ‘It’s so disgusting. Seems that these people have nothing better to do with their time.’ She mused to herself and headed to school.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Nemuri arrived in school on time. She was trying in the classroom’s door when she heard a familiar voice speaking towards her, “Oi, can you move?” the voice said very smugly.  Nemuri turned around to see the handsome bishounen she saw earlier. She clenched her jaw. Even if he was gorgeous, he had a very arrogant nature towards her and as much as she wanted to say something back to him, she held her tongue. She really didn’t want to talk him, never again. Nemuri moved away from the door and let the bishounen pass her. He was followed by Hikku whom had ignored her just as everyone did.

She sat down too; she was quiet in her seat and stared at the couples that were in her classroom. There was of course Shinosuke and Hikku, then some girl name Ami and some boy she didn’t pay attention too, since he didn’t pay attention to her. However, to put it simply, everyone had someone, everyone except Nemuri. She didn’t care for anyone, so what was the point of being with someone? What was the whole point of Valentine’s Day when she had no one to spend it with? Her teacher had come into the room and interrupted her thoughts. “Ohayoo Gozaimasu ~“ he chirped happily.

“Ohayoo…” the class responded dully.

“Today is Friday, only two more days until Valentine’s Day, isn’t that exciting?!” The teacher asked and Nemuri said “No,” but of course, like always no one paid attention because like always, no one ever noticed she was there.

The teacher began again, “So, like every year we will be doing a ‘Secret Valentine’” Nemuri groaned at his words. Last year she had some boy give her rotten fish for her present, the last year after that some bishounen gave her his dead turtle…etc. So, of course she would groan in disappointment like that. It was only natural to hate Valentine’s Day now. However, she discontinued her thoughts so she can hear the teacher’s speech. “Now, you students know the rules, write your name on a piece of paper and I’ll bring my hat around so you can drop it in here,” he took a top that was on top of his desk, “Come now, hurry, hurry, I want this to be done as fast as possible. We have a long day ahead of us now”.

Nemuri slowly took out a piece of paper, she took a pen and was about to begin to scribble a name. Not, her name of course. After those horrible Valentine’s gifts from her fellow classmates, she began to think of writing someone else’s name so no one would pick her. Brilliant! It was brilliant! She looked around the room trying to see whom to write down. It wouldn’t matter, would it? Maybe that person would get double the gifts. She then thought of whose name to write down and she quickly scribbled the name, Taikou Shinosuke.

The teacher had finally arrived at Nemuri’s desk, waiting for the paper to be dropped into his hat. He gave a long stare at Nemuri before he asked, “Who are you?”

Nemuri sighed as she heard her classmates giggle slightly at the teacher’s question. “I’m in this class. I’m Akai Nemuri…” she said lowly. The teacher’s eyes widen in understanding, “OH!~ You’re that girl?”

“Yes… I’m that girl”

“Oh, well I didn’t see you there…” the teacher scratched his head in wonder.

’Yeah, just like everybody else’

 “So sorry about that really…” he stated to the teenage girl.

“Whatever…” she whispered and was, about to throw the piece of paper with Shinosuke’s name inside, but the teacher had stopped her from doing so. He grabbed the piece of paper and unfolded it, as if he knew that Nemuri had done something wrong.

The teacher arched his eyebrow, “You had told me your name and it wasn’t ‘Taikou Shinosuke’, was it?”

Nemuri blushed furiously and lowered her head when she saw Shinosuke looking at her with question. She knew he thought that she was scribbling his name, because she liked him or something along those lines. She was being paranoid and she started to blush, that was a normal response, right? Right.

“Uh, Nem—uh,” the teacher was ready to give her a lecture, but seemed to be stuttering her name.

“Nemuri…” she reminded him.

The teacher nodded his head, “Yeah, Nemuri, I’m sorry it’s just your name is quite hard to remember…”

Nemuri looked up at the teacher in disgust, not only did the teacher not notice her, but he forgot her name, even after she had just said it. He wasn’t even old enough to forget that easily, so there was no excuse!  ’It’s not that hard, It’s only three syllables, only someone that dumb cannot say that...’ Nemuri wanted to say, but she held her tongue.

“Well, young lady, I don’t except someone else’s name other than your own.” He waved a finger at her, “So you better write down, Nem—Ne---erm…”

Nemuri grinded her teeth in frustration, “Nemuri, perhaps?”

“Oh, yes, yes, Nemuri, of course…” he nodded, “So, I want your name written on the paper”

Nemuri sighed and began to write her name on the paper while trying to ignore all those whisperings that were being passed from classmate to classmate and she did a marvelous job at it. After all, she had been practicing on ignoring hurtful comments for years now.

She dropped the paper inside the hat and looked hatefully at the teacher as he continued to collect the other student’s names.

Nemuri stood quiet awaiting her destiny. The teacher stood quiet shaking the hat and handed it to the first person in the row. It took a while for the hat to reach Nemuri (since she was in the last chair in the last row), but when it finally did, she hesitated for while, but managed to put her hands inside the hat. They’re only one paper left. So, she drew out a paper and unfolded it. What she saw next made her stomach churn. The name Taikou Shinosuke was written on it. The name that she wanted to forget… but never could.

Author’s note:  -_-‘ I really HATE this chapter, but do you? Please review… But I’ll promise you that it will get SOOOOOOO MUCH better… okay? So continue you reading and I know you will enjoy this, trust me ^_~