The warmth of snow

I can stare at this for hours. Just seeing this view can instantly relieve stress after a long day. Well on the other hand, this view could also bring feelings of dread for the day ahead. Of course, I'm just talking about the ceiling of my room. Which was dimly lit by the small amount of morning sunlight that managed to pierce through the shutters of my window. I can't speak for others on how they feel about this. Not that I would want to nor would I have the chance to ever discuss this with anyone. As I lay here I start to feel more conscious of my waking body. A warm relaxing feeling enveloped my core in contrast to the cold brisk morning chill that greeted my cheeks. Ahh! Just five more minutes please!

Normally, I would say that to myself and still get up anyway. A sudden cringe came over my body after admitting that. Curse this routine that's been drilled into the deepest part of my being! However, today was different. I wasn't in a rush and had no where important to be. Also, since the service club had just finished a request from the student council president. That meant there wasn't anything related to the club someone could use as a reason to drag me out for the day. Finally, a free day. Which meant I could sleep in if I wanted to! But, just as that thought crossed my mind. I became fully aware of my surroundings. I was standing in my bathroom brushing my teeth.

Well, now that my morning hygiene routine was done. I made way to the kitchen for some breakfast. I'm not much one for fancy breakfast foods such as waffles or French toast. Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy them from time to time. But, I personally prefer a rather simple breakfast like eggs and rice. Especially, if I was the one doing the cooking. Why should I exert more energy than is required in the morning? With that in mind, I prepared my morning meal.

"Onii-chan!" Komachi shouted as she barged into the room

Apparently Komachi was awake too. She quickly made her way towards the table and took a seat.

"Good morning onii-chan!" Said Komachi with an excited look on her face.

"Oi Komachi, it's early morning why are you so loud? If our parents didn't have to work so early I'm sure the sound of your voice just now could have easily awoken them," I said. I mean, she was loud.

A look of annoyance came over Komachi's face as she let out a small sigh.

"Onii-chan, what are you doing today?" She asked.

Hm? What's this? Komachi asking me if I had plans? Normally she would just assume I wasn't doing anything. Which isn't a bad guess by the way. I usually didn't have anything planned for the weekends since they're my rest days. Actually, I don't really make plans for the rest of the week either. Such is the life of a loner.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to," I answered.

"Well, how about I ask onii-chan where you went the other weekend? That's definitely a question I don't know the answer to!" Komachi replied with a sly grin smeared across her face.

I felt my eyes instantly widen. What made her ask that? Could she be referring to the other day I spent with Isshiki? How did she find out? Could someone have told her? Komachi does talk to both Yuigahama and Yukinoshita. They could have easily mentioned it in one of their conversations. I don't really feel like explaining myself. I mean, it wasn't a big deal. I was just helping an underclassman out with a favor. Yeah, so what if that underclassman just so happened to be the student council president Isshiki Iroha? Well in all honesty, I guess it would be interesting to hear about me being seen out with someone like Isshiki. But I still don't feel like I need to explain anything!

"I was helping someone out with a service club request," I replied nonchalantly. Maybe I could play it off? Hopefully that answer satisfies her!

"Onii-chan! That wasn't a good lie at all!" Komachi said as she slammed her hands on the table while standing up.

"But, I guess that's the best I'm going to get out of you huh, onii-chan?" Komachi said with a look of disappointment.

I'm sorry Komachi but onii-chan doesn't think it would be a good idea to tell you about Isshiki-San just yet.

With that said she left the table and made way towards the fridge. I quickly finished the rest of my meal and cleaned up.

A few hours have passed and I found myself lazing around on the couch. Komachi didn't press on any further about what she had asked me earlier. Which I found surprising since she can be persistent at times. Instead she retreated back to her room to study some more or just fall asleep staring into her books. I really hope you do your best! As I shifted from laying on my back into a sitting position, I took a glance at the time displayed on my phone which was set on top of the table across from me. It was a little past 11 in the morning.

Still feeling satisfied from my breakfast earlier, I don't think I'll be in the mood for anything else anytime soon. I quickly scanned the room to look for anything interesting to keep me preoccupied before I started feeling strong waves of boredom. As a loner I never had much to do, so I sought solitude in the form of books and other activities formed for the one man armies of the world. Which wasn't much by the way. At that moment memories of playing baseball by myself flashed through my minds eye. Yes, I was sooo good at that! Pushing those memories aside, I decided to get up and leave the house. After I got properly dressed of course. I was just in sweats and a tee at the moment. Leaving the house like that in this climate would be foolish.

Dressed in black straight legged jeans, a dark grey sweater under a black winter coat, boots and a dark colored pattern scarf wrapped around my face. I made way from my front door down the street. Despite the occasional gust of cold wind here and there, it felt good to be outside. I wasn't going anywhere in particular, just leaving the house was comforting in its own way. Also I wasn't packed into a bustling crowd of people at the moment. So there's that. I continued walking and eventually found myself boarding the train. Still without a particular destination in mind, I stayed on the train for a good bit. When I got off I started walking again and eventually I came to realize where I was. Chiba Station.

I don't really know why I ended up here. I didn't need to get anything and didn't really spend much time here by myself. The last time I was here I was with Isshiki Iroha helping her plan an evening out for the future. Or, at least that's what I thought we were doing! I had no idea she would turn it into something for the student council. Oh you're so sly Isshiki-San, so sly! I kept on walking. Since I was here, I might as well check out a few things.

I kept moving, walking further down the street. Passing by various shops, restaurants and, cafes. I notice that every single one of them had some kind of special promotion for the upcoming holiday. Actually, now that I'm aware of that. I noticed all around me were either young couples enjoying their day off together or a mix of young and old single folk who look like they're searching for something amidst the pink and red engrossed stores. Bleeeh. I'm glad I didn't have to deal with any of that! No, really I am! -

Honestly, do we really need a holiday such as this one? If I had to pick, wait. Even if I didn't have to pick. I would still choose this holiday as the worst holiday. From the love confessions to the homemade chocolates. These things are so over glorified it's repulsive. Sure, there was a time where even I would be excited for those things. Clearly I was naïve in thinking so. However, now I know that these minute things only exist to reinforce the self imposed delusions people tend to develop during their youth. They walk around all day with their heads held high spewing crap about love and ignoring the broken pieces of others at their feet. The very essence of this holiday is like a violent slap in the face of loners across the world. It's as if it's societies very own way of shaming those who find comfort in being alone. Is it such a bad thing to be alone during this holiday? If it's truly about about spending time with someone you love then I don't see how that is wrong. Because, I surely do love myself!

After a few more minutes of walking, my body slowly started to shiver. I had been so lost in thought I didn't notice my fingers were hurting from the freezing winds and the top half of my face which wasn't covered by my scarf was starting to become stiff. I decided the best thing to do for now was to duck into one of the cafes and warm up a bit. Quickly, I glanced around at my surroundings inspecting every sign in front of a shop looking for anywhere that would seem remotely comforting.

That was when I saw a familiar blur of beige cross my vision. The beige blob of feminine figure had a long furry scarf wrapped across her face and fell slightly below her chest. Boots that went above her ankles but fell short below her knees which were covered by a pair of jeans. Her flaxen hair moving in accordance to the winds blowing past. It was the student council president of Sobu High and my junior, Isshiki Iroha.

Shit! If Isshiki sees me I might be dragged into yet another long day with her. Worst of all this time, I have no one to blame besides me! For the moment, it looks as if she didn't notice me. Well, honestly I'm not really surprised by that. Out of my 108 skills I would have to say my stealth skill, otherwise known as "Stealth Hikki" might be the most effective. Sometimes it even activates on its own accord with such finesse people in my immediate area could lose sight of me. Since she has yet to notice me, I decided to wait a few seconds for her to take a few more steps. Once she made a good distance from the corner of the street across from me. I beelined straight pass her. Hoping she didn't catch a glimpse of me, I kept going. Walking at a somewhat hurried pace, I saw the entrance to a shopping center so I decided to go in. Even if she did see me there's no way she would've been able to catch up and if she did, I could easily lose her here.

Still walking at a very fast pace I made my way further into the shopping center. To others it might of seemed like I was rushing to get somewhere. It's a little passed 1 in the afternoon, the center was packed but not as nearly as it was during the Christmas season. If it was any more crowded I would've surely smacked into someone already. The entire area looked like as if some strawberry color bomb detonated coloring all the shops and stands with shades of pink and red. Soft pop music was playing overhead in contrast to the noisy public. I think I might be sick.

Tired out from the power walk, I decided to stop my haste. I slowed down to a casual walk. I carefully listened for any excessive footsteps from behind me. None that sounded out of place could be heard. Looks like I lost her. Well, only if she had seen me and then decided to follow me of course. I very well could have just been walking like a mad man for no reason!

"Oh, Well you're the last person I would have expected to see here," said a cold voice.

I froze in my tracks. I turned my gaze up front from the side where I had been previously looking. My eyes, which I've heard to resemble those of a dead fish were met with a pair of cold and intense blue ones. Seeing that, I immediately lost all warmth. Her eyes were perfect and beautifully complemented by a small amount of make up. Her long raven black hair fell well beneath her shoulders. She had on a white coat with a black scarf loosely wrapped around her neck. She wore a pleated skirt with black tights that perfectly befitted her legs and long boots. It was none other than the service club president and ice queen herself. Yukinoshita Yukino.

"Ah, am I now?" I answered back with a question still a little out of breath.

"Well if we take several facts into consideration. For example, the fact that you have no friends. Then, yes. You are the last person I would have expected to see here,"

Tch. Does she have to remind me of that every time we see each other?

"Why are you here?" She asked looking honestly confused.

Oi, is it that weird to bump into me out in public? Wait a minute, despite the fact what she said being completely true. I remembered we ran into each other quite often. There was that one time at the dogs and cat show. Also some other time at another shopping center too!

"Do I really need a reason?" I asked slightly irritated. Even though I didn't really have one. Hey, she doesn't need to know right?

Besides, What is she doing here?

"No, of course not. I'm not really interested in why a person like you would leave their natural habitat. I'm pretty sure whatever the reason may be, it's unsavory." She said in a teasing tone with a slight smile.

"Oh please spare me the insults woman. I don't have the time for it today," I answered sharply.

I usually didn't mind the insults and would usually trade insults of my own back and forth with her for a good while. It was to the point where Yuigahama would have to stop us every time. But, for today. I just don't feel up for it. The atmosphere in the building combined with the slight fatigue from walking so fast had managed to put me in an irritable mood. Also, something about seeing Yukinoshita here bothered me too.

As if she just thought about what she said. A sudden look of surprise followed by a look of concern appeared on her face. It was then I noticed that behind Yukinoshita was a big red heart shaped balloon floating around from side to side. It was attached to a stand a little further back behind her but it looked to be perfectly floating above her head. I felt an ache in my chest where my heart would be.

"Oh..," she said in a soft voice.

Oh no please Yukinoshita don't take it the wrong way. I'm just really aggravated by all this Valentines day bullshit!

A few moments passed and the mood became somewhat awkward. Shit. I'm going to have to break this awkward moment being since I was the one who caused it.

"So, uh. What are you doing here?" I asked. A stupid question was the best I could do.

Yukinoshita, after hearing my question. Took a quick glance down at the bags in her hands then back at me. The bags which were of small sizes looked to be full of baking materials. What is she planning?

"I noticed I was lacking a few baking materials so I decided to come pic—,"

"SENNNNPAIIII!"