Bloody Valentine

Myriil sighed; it had become a common sound to her ears since Raigen came to Alular High. Surprising to most people, Raigen, the failing-academic, delinquent wasn’t normally the cause. He was always related, his presence ever chaotic to the student populous, but her soft exhales were normally issued to the ones making Raigen’s submersion into the school difficult.

Today, however, she had reason to sigh because of him.

Myriil re-adjusted the bag hanging from her shoulder as she started across the rooftop, letting the entrance door clunk closed behind her. The key was in her pocket, unused. No one was to be on the roof, but he never paid much mind to the rule when he was unhappy. The lock was a hefty one but Raigen managed to break it into a pile of chips and chunks; Myriil couldn’t tell how many pulls it took him to break through, but it didn’t matter too much. It was another expense she’d have to defend in Council next week, and it was a serious conversation she’d have to have with Raigen as well.

‘Not now though.’

Raigen was sitting on a large cinder block, legs stretched out and his hands pressed on the block by his side. His sleeves were rolled up, and the buttons were all undone, baring his muscles to the late afternoon sun. He swore not to wear his uniform that way anymore while on school property, so seeing him in that state let Myriil know how unhappy he was. His lips were plumped into a right-sided pout, and he was staring at the ground; whether he saw anything was unclear. He tilted his head once or twice in the time it took Myriil to reach him, and when he did, the sunlight glinted burnt amber into the air.

Myriil made no effort to quiet her footsteps but Raigen still started when she sat down at his side.

“P-Prez!”

Myriil set her bag down at her feet, hands smoothing her uniform while she turned to look at Raigen. He didn’t comply, keeping his face aimed away. She was right; he was still upset about what happened that morning. “Raigen, about earlier—”

“I-I-It’s fine, Prez!” Raigen lifted his hand and buried it deep into his hair, rumpling the short, yellow spikes until they were impossibly tangled. Red flared across his cheeks, his temperature soon feverish. “It’s like I said, I don’t eat chocolates because it’s bad for my diet and my training and it—”

“Raigen-san!” Myriil touched her small hands to Raigen’s thick wrist, her fingers cool against his heated skin. He flushed darker, flinching but keeping his hand still, afraid of hurting Myriil because she was soft-spoken and so much smaller than him. Gently, she guided his hand back to hip level, resting it on his leg. “Please let me finish.” Sunlight glistened in Myriil’s eyes, the blue-grey shade like wisps of cloud in a clear sky.

A thick gurgle clogged up Raigen’s throat but he stayed quiet, still incapable of looking at Myriil directly.

Myriil took a deep breath and let it out slowly; as she did, a smile crossed her lips. “When you told me last week that chocolate would be inconvenient for you, I thought about what I could do instead. Something more useful for you for Valentine’s Day.” Raigen’s brow furrowed at Myriil’s words but before he could react in physical or verbal form, Myriil placed a container into his hand, carefully guiding his fingers around the plastic. He recognized the type of container; it was the kind you put protein and water into and shook to mix the two together because near the top, there was an attachment that would break up chunks of powder. The liquid inside was a light brownish-red, like cinnamon, and looked recently mixed; there was a small layer of remaining powder at the bottom but nothing a quick refresh shake wouldn’t fix.

Though well-known for his slow mental processes, realization dawned on Raigen’s bright red face. “Pr-Prez, this is…”

Myriil’s smile beamed as bright as sunlight; when she closed her eyes and tilted her head, her silver hair glistened in waves over her shoulders. “Yes. I went to the gym downtown and asked some of the trainers to help me create a special protein recipe.” She opened her eyes to see Raigen tilting the container back and forth, the shock still holding him mostly frozen in place. Her heart fluttered at the sight of his smile starting to return. “Hopefully you can taste the chocolate. I used the same recipe as I always do, just with a special addition for your body needs.”

“Pro…Pro…” Raigen struggled with the word as his face lit up, like a kid who just spotted his favourite treat in the candy store window and was just told he could get it. He gawked at the container in his hand, soon reaching over with the other to cradle it like a trophy. Then he snapped, leaping to his feet and shaking the container with all the might he could, blending the drink until his arms were blurred in motion. Myriil said his name, but it drowned under his victorious yell. “Protein!”

Myriil watched in quiet bliss as Raigen downed his drink with all the fervor he showed in the ring or surpassing his record in weight lifts. She planned on telling him about the bag of the powder she still had at her house—it was much too heavy and big to wrap and carry to school—but decided to wait, allowing him to savour the gift he thought he would be excluded from that day.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Raigen-san.”