A/N: In light of the recent Nisekoi chapters, I wanted to put my frustration into writing. Onodera deserves better. Much better! So here is m lovechild with depression/anger. It may feel rushed, because I was in a rush to do this and it's pure emotion so expect grammatical errors as well. I hope y'all like it! Team Onodera forever!
My name is Suzuya Owada.
I am 17 years old and I currently attend a prestigious all-male school in the outskirts of a province in Japan.
I'm just a normal guy, standing at 180 cm with cropped jet black hair, healthy complexion and a sturdy, athletic body. I'm not a genius but I rank pretty high on the lists. I want to be a good veterinarian in the future after all.
And just like any normal high schooler, I'm interested in a girl. Well, if you call watching a girl for two years, interested.
She works at a shop that sells Japanese sweets. She has a fragile body, pearly white skin, short chocolate brown hair and gleaming hazelnut eyes.
The first time we met was unforgettable. It was around the end of my first day in High School. I was walking home from school when I decided to walk a longer route since we had such an exciting day and I needed to get fresh air. There was this old man I always bought candied sweet potatoes from and I had a unusually strong craving at that time. When I reached his stall, a girl was walking away from the old man who had apparently bought from him. The old man had on a silly smile and a vivid blush as he gave me my potatoes. Maybe the girl was cute? I shrugged. There's a lot of cute girls in the world.
On the way back to my apartment, I would always pass through an old playground that stood even before my mom was born. It was a sanctuary for me since nobody ever visits that playground. One can imagine my surprise seeing a girl, who was surrounded by dogs, cats, birds and other various animals, sitting in one of the swings. I squinted my eyes and noticed that she was feeding all the animals that flocked to her with candied sweet potatoes. Ah, she was the girl earlier.
It was mystical. The pink and orange hues of the incoming sunset painted her surroundings so expertly that it would bring any world-class painter to shame. Falling cherry blossom petals also added to the gentleness of the scene before me, like I was watching a well-directed movie. At that moment, she seemed to be the most beautiful girl in the world. I only realized that I was gawking at her when she turned to my direction. We held each other's gazes for a brief second before her face turned to the colour of tomatoes and she quickly ran away, leaving the candied sweet potatoes for the animals to devour.
I brought my right hand to my face as I watched the dust from her heels quickly settle on the ground. Eh? What's this? My face is warm. I could feel the blood rushing to it, and my heart pumps crimson liquid so harshly on my chest. My breathing grew erratic as I held onto the stone fence for support. It took a few minutes before my faculties returned to their normal function. And then I found out, it was already nightfall.
After that day, I kept on seeing her face everywhere. Every night that scene replays in my dreams like a broken record. It was insanity. I fell in love with a girl I barely knew. I had hoped the feeling would just go away after a few days of not seeing the girl, but it didn't. What's more strange is the feeling just got deeper and I wanted to see her even more! I didn't have time for this boyish fantasies. I need to focus on my studies. I have to get good grades so that I would be recommended to the best school in the country. This feeling is just a pebble on the road to my dreams.
Ugh! This is exactly why I chose an all-boy school instead of a co-ed. I didn't have any interest in relationships or girls before, why did it start now? No matter, I'll forget about that girl sooner or later. Well, sooner would be fine since I have an incoming evaluation and I have to be at my best. And not a thing in this world could help me accomplish that feat but my favorite anko manju, a soft, steamed cake with sweet red bean filling. A friend who has exquisite taste for Japanese sweets happened to suggest a shop that was close to my apartment.
"Welcome to Onodera's Japanese Candies!"
And… I saw her again.
Her name is Onodera Kosaki. For the past two years I've been visiting their shop three to five times a week, of course at different intervals. I don't want her to assume that I was stalking her. That's the last thing I want her to think. With each visit sometimes I greet her, sometimes I don't. Sometimes she talks to me about the sweets that I bought for the day. And every day for the past two years, I grew more and more in love with her. Aside from her obvious beauty, she has a pure, innocent soul. She is kind to everybody she meets, and does her best in everything she puts her mind to. For me, she is the ideal girl.
As the days passed by, little-by-little, I found that it seems I wasn't the only one who thinks of her this way. And what's worse… she thinks of him as fondly as he of her. Onodera introduced the guy to me one time when he was working part-time at the shop. His name is Ichijou Raku. An acquaintance of mine mentioned that he was the heir of a yakuza clan. I knew the instant I laid eyes on him that he won't do. He won't do at all. I should've confessed to Onodera earlier, but I've already planned to admit my feelings to her after I pass my college entrance exams. I want to secure my future—our future. But, this guy had to appear in our lives and ruin my carefully thought out plan. Onodera's younger sister, Haru, did tell me that her older sister liked this guy years before. She liked him when they were in middle school. That many years and he still hasn't confessed? Is his love for her truly genuine? I hoped we would've met at middle school instead. Would she fall for me first?
Raku Ichijou, the callous bastard. He has a girlfriend already, and he still flirts around with Onodera! Not only that, he has a hoard of girls always surrounding him. How dare this guy hurt Onodera's feelings? If it were me, I would treasure Onodera every day of my life. I would've transferred to Bonyari High School right now if I weren't thinking about our future. Would you please wait for me Onodera?
It's painful. At each major event/holiday, I can only watch at the sidelines as Onodera and her friends create their memories. I want to be with Onodera, spend time with her, create my own memories with her… but, I can't. We are schools apart, and we're not even close. I'm just a frequent customer. Heh. I'm so pathetic. What should I do to be with her more?
An opportunity presented itself when the schools in our region formed an alliance. To celebrate this newly created friendship, our schools will be participating in an exchange student program wherein a representative of our school would take classes in the opposite school for 6 months. With luck and a bit of strings being pulled, I became the representative for the exchange student program.
Bonyari High, here I come.
Two months in and I finally got in the loop of things. Ichijou and Kirisaki are in a fake relationship because of their warring clans. Although, I am sensing that Kirisaki truly likes Ichijou and the guy also has feelings for her in return. Tachibana, Onodera, Tsugumi and even our homeroom teacher Yui Kanakura also has feelings for the guy. No wonder every male in our classroom hates him. All the beautiful girls are going for him. I did get some confessions from other girls during my stay here, but I make sure they know that I like somebody else. I do understand why the girls like Ichijou. The guy is overflowing with kindness; but he is spineless and not that strong really. I would've given up Onodera if only I didn't know that his love for Onodera is not that secure. He likes Onodera but he also likes Kirisaki. And I know that if you love two people at the same time, it only meant that your love for the first one is superficial. I don't want Onodera to face the inevitable. I don't want to see her suffer because of that miscreant. If only I can spend one day with Onodera alone, I would show her what it means to be loved with all my heart.
Oh, I almost forgot... It's going to be my birthday tomorrow.