Sweet Love

by Tr-8r810

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Nisekoi. This story is strictly for entertainment purposes and not for profit. Also Nisekoi spoilers! This story has spoilers of the ending of Nisekoi. I know the series is still coming out in manga, so not everyone has seen it yet. So here's your spoiler warning.

Author's Notes: Hey all, this is TR-8R810. I guess I'm supposed to say something funny about my name right? uhh... TRAITOR! Okay, let's move on.

Nisekoi is a series that has a special place in my heart, for better or for worse. One thing that never changed though was my feelings for Onodera, she was always my favorite character. But I haven't seen a lot of fan work for her. So I'd like to try my hand at making one myself.

For the record, this is my first time really writing a story. I've always loved storytelling, but I never wrote that much. So if I'm not doing it right, let me know. Sorry in advance if it's a little messy.

*Update* I've rewritten Chapter 1, due to "X readers" being against the Content Guidelines. (Sorry, I'll try to be more careful in the future) Instead this will be an "X OC." This won't affect the main story, just the perspective.

Special thanks to thatguywhowrote for taking the time to be a beta reader for this story.

Alright that's enough from me, I hope you enjoy.

'Finally, made it to the mall.' Alex thought to himself.

His coat was soaking wet from treading through the downpour of rain outside. Even so, there was always something about the cold weather that he liked, preferring to be around it rather than just shutting himself up at home. The cold wind, dark cloudy skies and the wet embrace of the rain against the ground, these were things that he found oddly comforting.

'Maybe it just reminds me of myself?' He thought. As much as he hated to think about it, there it was again.

About a year ago, Alex started having feelings of dejection and inadequacy about himself, almost out of nowhere. At first he thought he was just down, so he tried waiting it out. But as the weeks went by it didn't get any better, actually it started getting worse. But even worse than that, was that there wasn't any reason for this behavior, nothing traumatic, no big family problems. He just started feeling... depressed.

'Just thinking about that word makes me sick.' Alex shook his head. 'I'm thinking too much again.' He started moving forward into the mall. 'Don't forget why you came here in the first place.'

There was an old fashion video game store that came to the mall that he had been going to a lot recently. It was a good way to distract himself, and it kept him active.

As he was making his way there, he walked past the mall's bakery. Even though he had passed it many times over the years, he had never really paid that much attention to it, due to never being a big fan of its pastries. He glanced as he walked by but there was something different about their merchandise today. Everything looked amazing! Alex walked in to get a better look.

'The store is empty, and there aren't any customers or employees... Perhaps they're closing?' He thought to himself. He still wanted to look around, taking note of the usual simple cakes in display were now replaced by marvelous works of art made of icing. It wasn't just those either, cupcakes, cookies, pastries and even some Japanese sweets from the looks of it.

'I've never seen desserts look so good before in my life. It almost feels wrong that they're meant to be eaten.' While he was staring at all the different treats, a voice called from the back of the store.

"Oh, hello. May I help you?" A soft voice asked.

Alex looked up to see a young Japanese woman with snow white skin and beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Her dark brown hair was about shoulder-length, with one long strand of hair on the left side of her face.

"Oh, I'm just looking around, but thank you." She smiled and nodded at his response. "There's so many different things to look at, and I'd love to try one but I wouldn't know which to choose." As he was looking around, the young employee spoke up.

"Have you been here before by any chance?"

"I've come by time to time in the past." He said, still trying to take it all in. "But it's never looked this good before. Everything looks incredible."

Beyond his notice, the girl started to blush at his comment and smiled a little.

"O-oh, I just remembered." The girl said as she pulled out a small tray full of sweets. "While you're here, would you like a free sample?" She offered. The samples were rose-shaped pastries which looked just as good as the other cakes around the store.

"Thank you." He graciously accepted her offer.

"We're actually working to make this a new item on our menu, so any feedback would be helpful." She said.

"I see, alright." Alex replied.

As he was about to take the first bite, the girl nervously awaited with anticipation. When he bit into it, he was surprised by its taste...

...on how horrible it was. Despite its gorgeous appearance, there was something off about the taste. It was like eating plain yogurt; no flavor nor sweetness, just a bland cake with icing. It was something you wouldn't want from a sweets shop, let alone expect. However Alex kept a straight face, knowing that the young lady was waiting for his response. There was a moment of silence before the young baker spoke up.

"W-well, how is it?" He could tell that she was nervous.

'She did ask for my feedback, so it would be best to be honest with her. Nothing will improve if I tell her "it's great." Still, I could at least be gentle about it.'

"Well... The decorations look fantastic. But honestly, it kind of falls flat on flavor. I think it needs to be a lot sweeter before you try selling it."

The woman sighed. "I thought so, still no good it seems." There was clearly disappointment in her voice.

"H-hey wait. There's no reason to get down about it, you could still improve it." He said, trying to cheer her up.

"It's not that simple. I've-" she stopped herself.

"Are you okay? Maybe I could help." He asked.

She looked to the floor as she responded. "It's just, I've been trying to perfect this recipe for a week now, and it hasn't gotten any better. It's discouraging because this is a pretty easy recipe to make, and I still can't get it right."

"But wait. What about all these other cakes? They look just like the rose sample you gave me. Didn't you make those too?" He asked.

"No, the other bakers made those, I just decorated them. I haven't been able to bake anything right recently."

Alex stopped for a moment as he realized that she was the one who had been decorating all the sweets he had seen up until this point, making this once boring bakery into the amazing sight it is today.

"But you could bake before, right? Maybe you've just lost your edge."

She looked puzzled. "My edge?"

"Yeah. Tired of work, stuck in a rut, having unwanted memories. Anything could hinder your work mentally. But you can still decorate, right?"

"Yeah?" She answered, not sure where he was going with this.

"So you can still work and be around the bakery. If you're around helping with baking and continue practicing, you'll eventually get back into it." He scratched the back of his head. "Well... that may just be me thinking out loud."

She laughed, much to his surprise. "Who knows? Maybe you're on to something." She said as she smiled. Suddenly, a clock alarm went off behind the young baker.

"Oh! It's already six o'clock." She noted.

"Wait, seriously? Already!?" It was getting late, and Alex still had to walk back home in the rain. His body moved before his mind did and he jumped up and started running towards the door. "Sorry, I gotta go!"

"Oh, wait!" She tried calling out to him, but it was too late. He was already out of sight.

She sighed, but stopped and thought about what he said.

'Unwanted memories...' The thought made her feel a tightness in her chest. "No, he could be right. If I keep practicing and stick with it, I could get back on my feet again." She said as she placed her hand to her chest. 'I have to get past this, I'm not giving up yet.'

Just then another baker came from the back. "Hey Miss Onodera, could you give me a hand with this?" The blonde girl was having trouble with the decorations on her cake.

"Sure, I'll be right there." Onodera replied with a hint of sadness in her voice. Before she went to the back, she looked at the entrance again.

'I didn't even get his name.' She thought to herself.