The Fairest of Them All

Special Chapter 4!

Once upon a Valentine's Day

A 13-year-old Ayato stood before his desk, his hands in his pockets while wearing an odd expression. In front of him was a heart-shaped present, tied with a black ribbon over a lovely, red wrapping. The floral scent radiating from it almost made his nose fall off.

Another one, huh... Ayato suddenly recalled earlier this morning, where a certain black-haired woman was behaving very sceptically. She was unusually secretive, not wasting a moment to chase him and the others out before they even land a foot into kitchen. A few more hours dragged by, and eventually, she went out of the pantry, pushing a trolley with silver cloches towards her room.

The fresh fragrance of chocolate also went with it. Ayato couldn't supress his grin, however, his giddiness died when she stepped into the limousine empty-handed, nothing more than a slight whiff of chocolate on her. He could also sense some of the others' mood deflate, though no commentary was made.

So, he had reached a conclusion, that when he return to the mansion, a special surprise would await him. This brought him to the matter at hand. Is there even a point in receiving these gifts? After all, the best one, he believed, was already waiting for him.

The current one at his desk was, how should he describe it? As if the owner dumped the whole perfume bottle over the gift. It was too nice, too...flowery for his taste.

Still, something stop him from tossing it away.

Ayato looked at the classmate sitting next to him. "Do you know who placed this here?" he asked, pointing at the gift.

The person shrugged, equally as clueless.

Was it just some random fan? Ayato reluctantly picked up the gift, appearing in deep thought. It was at that exact moment that Laito sauntered into the classroom.

"Ah. Ayato," he melodically greeted, his trademark smirk on his face. A few lovestruck girls were at his tail.

His eyes paused on his own desk. "Oh my, it's already this piled up? But it's only been a few minutes..."

The girls around him squealed, some proudly confessing that the presents were theirs. However, Laito tuned them out when he realised that Ayato not once acknowledged his presence. The redhead didn't even seem annoyed.

Laito silently observed him. "You're unusually invested in that present."

Ayato was once again unresponsive, tossing the ribbon aside and began ripping the packaging.

"It's this thing," he finally responded, searching for something beyond the heart-shaped chocolate box. "I don't know who it's from. It has no name either."

At his behaviour, Laito tilted his head. "Maybe the owner doesn't want to be found out. It's not uncommon, you know?"

"Yeah, but I get a weird feeling about this one."

Laito picked up a torn wrapping and sniffed it. His eyes widened.

Ayato gave him a look. "What?"

"No, it's just...what a coincidence. I happen to have one with the exact same scent."

Ayato stared dumbly.

"See that?" said Laito. Behind the chocolate box was a small, beige sheet of paper. "Mine had a note as well."

"What the—oh, it says something." Ayato picked up the note. "'Für Elise.' What the hell does that mean?!"

"You don't know Beethoven?" Laito asked, slightly shocked. He then fished out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I assumed it was a name, but mine says, 'the fifth letter', so I doubt that's the case."