Gifts of Tradition by preety_lady_serenity

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Aya Nakahara.

Risa Koizumi lay sprawled on her couch. The room was dark, the only source of light coming from the open television. It was March 14th, White Day and she was alone. No, she wasn't single. She did have a boyfriend. He was short, pompous, easily irritated and out of town.

Atsushi Otani was a newly appointed student teacher in Kyoto. That was not bad actually because Kyoto was only forty minutes from Osaka so Otani travelled between the two cities every day. Yet, that evening Otani had a parent –teachers meeting. Therefore that year Risa had to spend White Day all alone.

Risa sighed. Every year she did not expect anything for White Day. After all it seemed that she was cursed to never have a proper Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day calamities seemed to hit one after another. For Valentine's Day, last month, she planned to make something extra special for Otani. A triple-chocolate heart-shaped cake. The very centre was going to be white, then the outside was going to be made out of milk-chocolate and the icing was going to be made with dark chocolate. This cake was supposed to be rich and heart-warming. Risa had spent the last month buying good quality ingredients and she even baked a small version of the cake just to make sure she could make it. Yet, on Valentine's Day calamity stroke.

An hour before she would leave work Mimi called her in a state of utter panic. Mimi was still the terror of showbiz but when she reached the age of twenty-four she decided to stop being a top-model and open her own model agency. Truth to be told Mimi could still work as a model if she wanted to, but she had said something about leaving modelling while she was still on top. It was vain but for a peculiar reason many model novices followed her in her new business.

Mimi, that evening, had managed to close a business deal with a big magazine company but her stylist called to say she had broken her leg. Furthermore, half of the clothing selection she expected was not delivered. The opportunity of a life-time had just turned to a nightmare.

Risa did not know why she did it. It may was the fact that they were once rivals in love. Or, it may was the fact that however annoying and spoiled Mimi was she seemed to grow on her like a zit. Mimi, of course, could say the same for Risa. So Risa just took her stylist kit and hurried to Mimi's photo-shoot.

By the time the photo-shoot was done it was too late for her to bake that cake. Risa wanted to cry. She really longed to prove to Otani that she could give him chocolates properly for a change. Otani just shrugged and politely commented that he did not mind the absence of cake at all, as he unpacked two boxes of chocolates some students had left on his locker.

So she did not expect anything for White Day as she had not given anything. Nothing equals nothing. It, however, was upsetting to know so. She did want a lovey-dovey evening with Otani, even if it was expected by tradition. Instead of this, it seemed she was celebrating Black Day.

The doorbell echoed in the dark room startling her and making her drop the remote control. Who could be at that time of the night? She was in her pjs and had chip-crumbles on her top. She stood up and turned the lights on. She looked through the peephole and saw the top of a head. A top of a head she knew well.

She opened the door immediately and instantly regretted it. If she had been a normal woman she would have wore something better. She wouldn't have opened the door in her blue pjs. She did so, nevertheless, and now stared at Otani, who stood there with a bouquet of wilted flowers in his hands.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he answered back, "Umm, these are for you. I bought them from Kyoto before the meeting, so that's why they are a bit....Here they are!" he mumbled shyly and protruded the flowers.

"Thank you."

"Are you going to let me stand in the doorway?"

She moved aside quickly and he passed inside.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"What do you mean why am I here? It's White Day isn't it?"

"But-but I didn't give you anything o n Valentine's Day."

"What kind of a stupid reason is that? Do I need to get something to show you my love on White Day?"

"Your love?" she said with a bright smile.

"Shut up Amazon!" he scoffed in embarrassment, "I did that by mistake. I though you had given me something on Valentine's Day."

"Thank you," she smiled at his annoyance, "I'm going to put these in a vase."

"Hey Amazon," he said abruptly, pulling her down for a French kiss, "Happy White Day to you.

Author Notes

White Day(March 14):In Japan, Valentine's Day is observed by females who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a male, as an expression of love. The handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the receiver, because it is a sign that the receiving male is the girl's "only one". On White Day, the converse happens: males who received a honmei-choko or giri-choko(on Valentine's Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts, usually more expensive. Traditionally, popular White Day gifts are cookies, jewellery, white chocolate, and marshmallows. Sometimes the term sanbai gaeshi ("thrice the return") is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the cost of the Valentine's gift. (Wikipedia source)

Black Day (April 14): A South Korean informal tradition for single people (to get together and eat Jajangmyeon (noodles with black bean sauce), sometimes a white sauce is mixed for those who did not celebrate White Day. The idea is that those who did not give or receive gifts on Valentine's Day (February 14) or White Day (March 14) can get together and eat Jjajangmyun, white Korean noodles with black bean sauce (hence the name), to celebrate their singledom.(Wikipedia Source)