Our first date
by Tr-8r810
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Nisekoi. This story is strictly for entertainment purposes and not for profit.
Nisekoi spoilers! This story has spoilers of the ending of Nisekoi.
Depression is a sensitive subject to some people. I by no means want to make light of this touchy subject. Even more, I wouldn't want to trigger anyone into a depression episode. Please read with care.
Back down the alley Jess and Taylor were working their way through the route they thought Alex and Onodera went down.
"How far could they have gotten, they were just here." Taylor wondered.
"Some of these back alleys can be a bit confusing to navigate, it's why people usually don't go down them, it can start feeling like a maze after a while." Jess explained. "I can only assume Alex had a good reason for coming down here."
Taylor started feeling uncomfortable as they continued walking. "I don't like this, we're getting a little too close to where some of those gangs hang around town." Just then a thought came to her mind. "Hey... Alex isn't a part of some gang or anything right?"
"No, he wouldn't normally come down here under any circumstances, especially not with Sophia's name hanging over his head."
'Sophia? Sophia... why does that name sound familiar...' Taylor thought back to when she could have heard that name before. "Wait a minute, you're not talking about Sophia Williams are you? That brute from Santa Marcus high?"
"Nice to know word still gets around about our famous "Beast" even after she's gone." Jess commented. "She used to be friends with me and Alex before she left town."
"I went to a different school so I only heard rumors about her. But she sounded like something else, was it true that she regularly got into fights with not only female but also male students at the time?"
"She never relished that fact, but yes, she would get into brawls with just about anyone who tried pushing her or Alex around. I tell you, that woman was as strong as an ox but as stubborn as a mule, that makes one really bad combination."
Taylor stopped for a second. "So I take it with a reputation like that she has a good number of enemies around then?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Of course it doesn't help that her father-" Jess suddenly cut himself off. "Wait a second, do you hear that? It sounded like it was coming from that direction. He said looking down the east path out.
They both quickly ran down to the corner of the alley but stop when they heard what sounded like Alex talking to someone. Jess motioned for Taylor to wait a moment as he peaked from behind the corner to see three men confronting Alex and Onodera. Worse yet, he recognized the scarred man speaking with Alex.
"Oh great... this is exactly what I was afraid of." Jess exclaimed.
"What's wrong?"
"You see scarface over there?"
She took a look for herself to see what he was talking about. "Yeah, what about him?"
"He's got some bad blood with Sophia. One day that idiot was horsing around with Sophia on the road and almost threw her into oncoming traffic. In return she rammed into his motorcycle which got him into an accident. His face wouldn't have look half as bad as it does now if he was wearing a helmet, but you know, idiot."
"So I take it he wants to get even with her for it?"
"But the problem is Sophia hasn't been in town for years, so who's better to blame in her place then her best friend." Jess added. "This wouldn't be the first Alex had to clean up after her since she left."
"Well, any ideas on how we could get them out of there? I can't very well just sit here and watch Onodera and the goof get mugged or worse. I'm calling the cops." She said as she started pulling out her phone.
"You'd be better off using smoke signals down in these back streets then trying to use your phone. Reception is notoriously bad around here."
Taylor notes that he was right, her phone couldn't get a connection from where she was. "Great. So what do you suggest then?"
"If I jump in now and things turn violent they both could get hurt. Let's just watch for now in case Alex can talk his way out of this. I'll be ready to jump in if things escalate beyond what he can handle."
"Fine, whatever you say. But don't think for a moment that I'm just going to sit by if Onodera needs help, I have a few tricks up my sleeve." She said looking at the purse on her shoulder.
"Let's hope there won't be a need for whatever you're planning." Jess thought aloud.
Back over with Alex and Onodera, he was trying his best to defuse the tension between him and his former schoolmates, for he knew the answer he had for them wouldn't satisfy their thirst for revenge.
"Sorry to disappoint, but If you're looking for Sophia in town you'll just be wasting your time. She's gone, left around two years ago without a trace, and I've had no contact with her since then. You'd be better off throwing a dart at a globe and checking where it lands then asking me." Alex said with a stern tone of voice. As disappointing as it must of been for the three men to hear, for Alex it felt like a knife was being pushed into his chest, digging in deeper with every word. Alex's strong stand didn't fool Onodera though, she could feel the pain in his voice as he spoke.
"Come off it." The man with the scars said not buying Alex's story. "You don't actually expect us to believe those rumors that she could just get up and leave with the influence her family has. They would know where she ran off to in a heartbeat if she tried doing that."
Onodera was confused by what the man was saying. Besides being a childhood friend of Alex's and her reputation of being a violent person she didn't know of any important social status that Sophia or her family might possess. However Onodera didn't have the time to think it over at the moment.
The more sinister of the three men then remembered something. "Come to think of it a number of rumors have been running around saying she left town as well, but this gives them more weight. If I remember right, someone once said her father was trying to arrange her to marry someone and she flipped out and almost beat her father to death and was kicked out for hurting his precious image."
"Well it wouldn't surprise me if the beast killed someone and had to get out of town before she got caught." The other man replied.
Onodera looked at Alex who had a dead look in his eyes. It must of been painful to be reminded of Sophia's absence as well as having to hear these three men drag her name through the mud in front of him.
"Alex..." Onodera took a hold of his hand trying to comfort him.
He took another deep breath, thankful to have someone like Onodera beside him before he replied to the three men. "Believe what you want, but the truth is far less exciting then any of that. For all her flaws, she was never that kind of person." He said while taking a firm hold of Onodera's hand.
"Well that Beast you call a friend almost ruined my bike. I was originally going to try twisting her arm to pay for the damages, but if you don't know where she's at then it looks like I'll have to ask you instead being that your soooo willing to stick up for her." He said with a sarcastic tone.
Alex made a scowl in response. "Oh come on, that bike of yours was basically totaled in the accident, you think I have that kind of money just lying around?"
"That's not my problem, if you don't like it then just call up that Beast over here and have her deal with it instead." The man with scars shrugged, not believing that Sophia actually left. "If not then-"
"Excuse me!" Out of nowhere, Onodera spoke up. "Were you not listening? Sophia is gone. You may be rightfully angry from what happened to you, but Alex has nothing to do with that. If you want compensation for your accident then take it up with her father or something, and stop harassing people who aren't involved!"
Onodera herself didn't know what came over her, she was just getting sick of hearing these three idiots. Between them rubbing Sophia's absence in Alex's face and basically trying to rob him over Sophia's actions made something inside her snap and blurt out the first thing on her mind, albeit against her better judgement.
When she composed herself she was surprised to see that all of the thugs were taken back by her words, almost as if they were... scared or frightened over something. But even more surprising was that Alex standing beside her also had a fearful expression hearing her suggestion.
Down the alley even Jess was trembling from what Onodera said. "Ohhh boy... that girl really isn't from around here, is she?"
Taylor looked at him in confusion. "I don't get it. What did she say that was so bad?"
"She probably doesn't even realize herself the weight of her words. That idiot Alex only told her about Sophia, he probably didn't warn her about Sophia's father."
"I take it he's not good news?"
"Well... let's just say her suggestion is closer to a death wish."
Back with Onodera and Alex the scarred man began to speak. "I can't tell if this chick with you is really ignorant or really stupid. Either way she should learn to keep her mouth shut."
The threatening man from before started shifting his attention to Onodera as well. "And here I thought you decided to make a trade up from that beast, but it looks like this rose has thorns as well." He added as he started to approach the two of them. "She at least seems like quite the catch compared to that brute. Not someone I'd expect to see with you of all people though. Bit of a shame for such a fine looking woman to be wasted on a lousy dog." He said getting uncomfortably close to her.
Onodera made her hand into a fist feeling mixed emotions as she felt disgusted, frightened and frustrated by his comments. It wasn't enough that he insulted her taste in men, but his belittling remarks against Alex knowing everything he's been through with his depression filled her with anger again. She didn't even pick up on his attempts to complement her.
She almost wanted to speak up against him, but Alex beat her to it by pushing him by the shoulder away from Onodera. "Keep your comments and your hands too yourself, snake. Don't even think about touching her, got it?" Alex looked him dead in the eyes like a tiger ready to attack.
Onodera had seen this look in Alex's eyes once before, when that one man was hitting on her at the restaurant a few weeks ago. Though Onodera hated violence, she couldn't help but feel comforted that Alex was standing up for her in this stressful situation.
The man was slightly surprised that Alex had this much fight in him, for Alex pushed him with far greater strength then he was expecting. "Look at this, the dog gets off his masters leash and suddenly thinks he can win his fights without her." His comment didn't budge Alex for a second, he continued staring him down directly in the eye.
You could feel the growing tension between the two of them, one wrong move could set either one of them off. Alex's biggest problem was that if either one started a fight, there would be no way Onodera could get out safely before one of the other men would catch her. He couldn't take that kind of risk with her safety. But one thing he noticed was that the man in front of him left the alleyway open when he stepped out to speak with Onodera, making a clear exit for the two of them. But the problem remained, how to put some distance between them to get away?
Before he could think of an answer he saw something from down the alley headed straight towards himself and the other man. He didn't even have time to react before some sort of rock hit the man he was confronting in the head, knocking him out cold.
In shock everyone turned their attention down the alley to see Taylor standing at the corner with another rock in her hand.
Alex was completely caught off guard seeing her. "Taylor! When did she get here?!"
"What are you two waiting for, a written invitation!? Get your butt's over here!" Shouted Taylor.
The other two thugs didn't even have a chance to think before Onodera and Alex began to run as fast as they could towards Taylor. But they quickly gave chase after them. The man with the scars was rushing right behind Alex, there was no chance of over powering him in a straight up fight, but all Alex wanted was to slow him down. He quickly pulled off his backpack turned and swung it low at his attacker's ankles. To the brawler's surprise the backpack had a shocking amount of weight behind it, throwing him off balance when he got hit caused him to fall over.
The other man who was behind Onodera had almost caught up to her until Taylor threw another fast rock towards his head. He saw it coming and quickly try to dodge it, but lost his footing and fell beside a garbage bend. He shook his head in a daze and started to get back up.
"Hey, hold this for me will ya?" Alex said throwing his backpack towards him as he ran by.
"Whaaa!?" The man fell back down again by the sudden weight thrown at him.
With all three of them off their backs for the moment Onodera and Alex quickly joined up with Taylor and Jess as they all ran back the alley again.
"I don't know what you're doing here, but thanks for the save Taylor." Said Alex.
"You call that a save?! I call it being stupid and reckless!" Shouted Jess in frustration.
"Well it worked didn't it?!" At least I actually had a plan of action instead of sitting on my butt and hoping everything turned out okay!" Taylor yelled.
Onodera was feeling winded as she ran. "Could we save the arguing for later. Those... those guys could still be behind us."
Alex looked behind and saw that she was right, the two from earlier had gotten back to their feet and were catching up to them. 'Darn it, at this rate they'll be right on us in no time.'
Jess looked back to see the two men giving chase before turning back to Taylor. "Any chance you have any more rocks in that purse of yours?"
"It wouldn't help now, I can't hit a target while running like this. We'd just be wasting time if I tried. And they aren't rocks, this is what Onodera's baking looks like on a bad day."
"T-Taylor!? Do we have to bring this up now!?" Onodera shouted in embarrassment.
Jess looked back again. "Well then someone better think of something quick because they're gaining on us."
They came to another corner in the path that they all turned down, but when they did the black car Alex and Onodera were trying to get away from earlier was sitting in the middle of the alley with it's motor running blocking their path.
Jess was surprised by the car being in the worst placement it could be. "For the love of... If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny..."
"A-Alex, this isn't good. Those people from before will be here in no time." Onodera said standing right beside him.
The car's engine then shut off as the passenger side door open. The man inside stepped out, he was tall and slim with a laidback demeanor, looked like he was in his late 20s or early 30s. His hair was wavy and spikey with a striking scarlet color. He wore a dark navy dress suit and pants with a white shirt underneath with the collar unbuttoned. He didn't look all that intimidating, he seemed mostly tired like he was nodding off.
"You're quite a difficult man to find Alex. You're not trying to make my job harder right?" The man said in a joking tone.
At seeing the man Alex looked ecstatic. "Grant! Boy am I glad to see you."
Onodera and Taylor look puzzled by Alex's excitement prompting Kosaki to ask. "Wait, you know him?"
"Yeah, we go back a ways." Alex then turned back to the man by his car. "Grant could you give us a hand? We've been caught up in one of Sophia's loose ends and could really use your help."
By this time the two thugs had made it to the corner. "That's It punk, now you're... y-you're..." The scarred man stuttered in fear at seeing the man that stepped out of the car.
The man named Grant turned his attention towards the scarred man. "Oh, hey road rash, It's been a while." He then looked at Alex. "Let me guess, he's harassing you for money, right? Heh... don't sweat it." He walked past Alex and the others towards the two man. "Hey guys, I know you're probably still mad at Sophia and all, but could you lay off the kid? I'd really rather not have to make a report about this to Mr. Williams. He's such a busy man as is, so could we like just drop it?" He asked in a laidback tone.
The two men looked horrified at his words and quickly turned tail and ran as fast as possible. "I-It's won't happen again!" Was all that could be heard from them as they ran away.
"Huh... still as frightened as ever. Oh well." He turned back to Alex and the others. "You're all okay right?"
Alex looked at Onodera who was a bit out of breath. "It's okay... I'm alright."
He nodded in response. "That's good to hear. I think everyone is alright, thank you for your help just now."
However, Onodera had a blank stare at Grant. Although she had never met him before she was getting an odd vibe from him. Like she was getting the feeling of Déjà vu, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
Taylor on the other hand was stunned by what just happened. "What the... What was that? Those men were clearly out for blood and then this guy comes in and just about makes them soiled themselves. Am I missing something? Who is this guy?"
Jess leaned over to her. "His name is Grant, he works for one of the local gangs in town. You could call him a debt collector of sorts for them, and one really good at his job. Let's just say if you like the feeling in your fingers, you won't make their leader Mr. Williams wait too long for a payment, otherwise you'll be getting a visit from him."
Grant walked up to Jess overhearing the conversation. "Hey, come on now. You're making me sound like the bad guy. I'll have you know most of my work recently has been done calmly and peacefully, it's been ages since I've had to get physical with anyone."
Jess gave him a dubious look." Sure... that wouldn't have anything to do with you scaring everyone else by sending that one guy to the emergency room, right?"
"Oh details, details." Grant dismissively shrugged off.
Something was bothering Taylor though. "Wait, Williams? Isn't that also the name of that Sophia person?"
"Huh...?" Hearing this caught Onodera's attention.
Alex sighed. "I take you've heard of the name 'Sophia the beast' before then. Well, you've probably already guessed, she's Mr. Williams' daughter."
Onodera's eyes widen hearing all this, her head racing as it was becoming clear why she was getting a weird feeling from Grant.
Grant continued from Alex's thought. "Mr. Williams try's to keep a low profile to avoid suspicions in the line of work he does, to which she has caused him quite a bit of trouble for over the years what with all the ruckus she was making at your old school. Mr Williams has a cover image to keep up after all."
Alex gave a frustrated eye roll in response. "And he still wonders why she left..." he muttered to himself.
Grant Shook his head. "Anyway, I had a point coming here so I'd better get to it. Alex can I have a word with you, alone."
"Huh? Wait Is that why you've been following us the last couple of blocks? You're going to give someone a heart attack stalking them around like that. Don't you have my number? You could have called if you needed to talk."
"I'd prefer if nobody knew we were even having this conversation, it could cost me if I slip up now."
Alex groan feeling irritated. "Oh... it's about that. Don't tell me you're chasing after dead ends again. You and I both know that it's a waste of time."
"So you keep telling me. But one of those loose ends lead me to you, so I might as well give it a check. I'd appreciate it if you at least humored me for saving your butts just now. There's a building nearby being renovated, it should be empty enough for us to talk there."
Alex gave a deep sigh in response. He looked over to Onodera who was standing beside him a bit confused on what they were talking about. "Kosaki... I hate to ask this, but could I take care of this real quick? Old "lazy flame" here isn't the kind of person who likes taking no for an answer."
"What!?" Taylor yelled out beside them. "You can't seriously ask that of her after what you've already put her through toda-"
"Sure, that's fine." Onodera said cutting Taylor off.
The blonde baker went dead silent dumbfounded at her response. 'Onodera... you're too forgiving for your own good...'
"I'm sorry, I can explain everything in more detail later. This shouldn't take too long, if you guys want you could head to that restaurant of Kosaki's and I can meet you there, just to get away from this neighborhood."
Taylor crossed her arms. "Well, you won't hear any arguments from me, the sooner we leave this place the better."
"Alright. Uh, Kosaki... I'll see you in a minute." After this Alex turned to follow the other man down another alleyway to speak in private.
After they left there was a moment of awkward silence between the two bakers and music shop owner. Taylor was the first one to start speaking.
"Onodera I can't believe you, after all that crud he put you through just now with those three guys, you're going to let him treat you like that and walk away?"
"..." Onodera didn't have a response for her. But she turned her attention towards Jess who was standing beside Taylor. "Jess, do you know much about that man, Grant? Like his relationship with Alex?"
Jess then stepped up. "Not too much. But I know that he, Sophia and Alex all knew each other long before I knew any of them. I heard him and Alex had a bit of a back and forth about Sophia around the time Alex's mother was in the hospital after her stroke. Ever since then they've had a somewhat estranged relationship."
"I see... I had a feeling she had something to do with this." Onodera said to herself before she started walking down the same path Alex and Grant went. "I have something I need to do, if you guys want to go on ahead you can." She said without looking back.
"H-Hey Onodera! Where do you think you're going?" Cried out Taylor. "You're not thinking of following them are you? That guy is a gangster, he's probably the last kind of person you'd want to anger."
As Onodera walked she turned back to Taylor. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. This isn't the first time I've dealt with someone like him." She said in an unusually calm tone before she disappeared down another alleyway.
Like Grant mentioned before, there was a building under renovation not far from where they were. Being it was the weekend all the workers were nowhere to be found, it should be well enough for them to discuss the details in secret. Past the caution tape inside, there was a number of pieces of lumber lying around on the ground as well as several walls that were removed and under repair. There were also some exposed electrical wires hanging from the ceiling up above their heads as they walked by. Some of these elements made it feel somewhat dangerous to walk around but as long as they watched where they were going and didn't touch anything it should be safe. After walking through some hallways under construction they found an open area they could speak at.
"Alright this should be far enough." The red haired man said as he turned his attention back to Alex.
"Okay, so what's the 'big lead' you got now?"
"No beating around the bush I take it." Grant noted. "Around two days ago I had a word with a woman who owns a flora shop. Recently when she was helping a customer she said she could hear Sophia's voice at the shop. The lady's old so it could have been nothing, but she knew Sophia well while she was growing up so she'd know what she sounded like. So I looked into it. When I looked over some surveillance videos Sophia was nowhere to be seen, not surprisingly. However, around the time the old lady said she heard her voice, a woman who I couldn't identify can be seen on her phone fairly close to the owner. I can't get a lead on our mysterious woman, but if that was Sophia on the other end of the line then she could still be in contact with someone in town."
"Hold up. You called me all the way out here, interrupting my date over something like this? Dude, you're grasping at straws at this point, isn't it about time you accept that you won't find her?" Why would she even be interested in what's happening here anyway? She's always hated it here."
"I have two guesses. Either she wants to know what her father is up to in case she wanted to avoid him, which I find very unlikely. Or, because of you."
"I never thought you would be one for humor Grant, because that's hilarious." Alex scoffed.
"You don't seem to take my suggestion seriously."
"Of course not. Sophia gave up everything when she left, she doesn't care about anything back here anymore including me. Why on earth would you think she still cares about me at all?" The volume in Alex's voice quickly started to rise as he spoke.
Grant waved his hand dismissively. "Calm down, you know she isn't like that. You're still the closest friend she's ever had. After all this time I'm sure even she would start to wonder about how you're doing."
Alex crossed his arms while looking away from him. "Get to the point, what is it you want from me, Grant?"
"I just want to know if Sophia has made any attempt to contact you, however small it may be. Calls, texts, over social media, anything at all could help."
Alex was confused by his question. "No, I haven't heard a peep from her in two years. Why do you even have to ask?"
"Are you sure? Think hard just in case you may have forgotten something. Even the smallest detail could be-"
Grant stopped in response to Alex tossing something at him. He quickly grabbed it to find out it was Alex's cell phone. "If you don't believe me, then check for yourself."
"...Very well." Grant took a minute searching through Alex's phone until he came across the messages between him and Sophia, the last message was from Alex about a year ago, which was one of many messages he sent trying to tell her about his mother being in the hospital and reaching out to her, with no replies. He went looking back trying to find the last time Sophia sent a text. As he did his eyes glanced back to Alex at being reminded by the old texts of how different he looks now compared to when his mother was in the hospital. That boy who was an emotional wreck seems but a memory now.
He then found the most recent text from Sophia... which was sent about two years ago. All it said was a simple "Later" at the end of their last conversation.
He then went back to look at any recent or missed calls. Most of them were towards his parents, Jess and recently a good number to someone named Kosaki Onodera, which also had a photo of the same woman that was with Alex earlier. However there were a number of calls he wanted to question him about.
"Just wondering, who's this Harold that you've been calling the last couple of weeks?"
Alex awkwardly paused for a second. "He's just a d-doctor I've been seeing recently." He tried not to dwell on the subject as Dr. Harold was a therapist he had been going to.
Grant shrugged and continued. "Very well. What about these random miss calls? Any idea what they're all about?"
"A while ago I kept getting a number of telemarketers and scammers calling me, sometimes they wouldn't even talk when I answered. So nowadays I don't pick it up anymore unless I recognize the caller."
"Hmm... well that clears up some options. Thanks for your assistance Alex." He said tossing his phone back to him. Alex's actions alone gave Grant a good Idea that he was telling him the truth from the start, clearly he wasn't holding back any information from him by giving him his phone to nosy through.
"So... I take it that's all you got? With the way you were acting I thought you would've had something a little less vague."
"I don't have the luxury of being open about my leads anymore." Grant explained. "If someone really is in contact with Sophia, any hint I give out openly could reach her ears and turn into a dead end again. I haven't even told Mr. Williams about this yet. Anyway, I'll probably have to go back to my search for this mystery woman again and try to find a lead there."
Alex crossed his arms again after putting his phone away. "Sure, whatever, but do me a favor and keep me out of it. I've told you everything I know already, you don't need me for your searches anymore." Alex's voice was mixed with frustration and sorrow, making his point pretty clear that this was draining for him to talk about.
"...You know I can't make any promises while working under Mr. Williams, in case he ends up wanting me to speak with you. But as for me... I'll try keeping it to myself from here on out." He said while walking past him back the same way they came from. While standing in the doorway out he turned back to and spoke up to Alex. "By the way... I'm glad to see you and your family are doing better after... well everything that's happened."
"..." Alex had no response for him.
Grant hung his head down a little before he left, not wanting to add anymore damage then he's already done for him. "Well... you take care." He said as he walked out.
Alex took a deep sigh now that everything had finally calmed down a bit. Between those three jerks from early and Grant reopening old wounds, Alex was having an uncomfortable blast from the past of memories that came rushing back to mind, mentally sending him back two years ago. He placed his hands against his temples feeling a growing headache coming.
But worst was the fact the he unintentionally endangered Onodera with those goons. Even though everything turned out okay, it was way too close for comfort. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Grant wasn't there.
'...But, what if something like that happened again? Sophia still has a good number of enemies in town, I may be used to the occasional jerk or two giving me a hard time for it... but the idea that it could put Kosaki in danger like that... it makes me worry-'
'If it's really a good idea for her to be around you?' His depressive thoughts started showing their colors again.
'No, Stop right there. I'm not going to entertain ANYTHING you have to say ever again. Nothing you say can be trusted, go crawl back whatever dark corner you came from.' Alex thought to himself fighting back against his negative tendencies.
'Look at you... You may have some new found confidence because of that woman, but don't think for a second that this gives you control over me.'
'Even if I have concerns about Sophia's past following me around, I'm not going to let that fear rule my mind. Kosaki's safety is of great importance but I won't abandon her over this, I'll do everything I can to protect her while I stand beside her.'
'And what about the Williams family? You think someone like her would want to have anything to do with someone who's best friend was the daughter of a gangster?'
As much as he hated to admit, this was a concerning matter for him. Though him and Sophia had no real ties to her father's work themselves, the fact that there was a connection at all could be troubling to some. He knew Onodera accepted him even with his depression, but in a dark corner of his mind he worried if it would bother her.
Before he could dwell on the thought anymore, a soft voice called out from behind him. "A-Alex, are you okay?"
He jolted in response and turned around to see Onodera come out from behind some of the construction material.
"Ko-Kosaki? When did... how long have you been there?"
"Long enough." Onodera said looking towards her feet feeling a bit ashamed as she held her right arm. "I could tell by the way you were talking earlier that this had something to do with Sophia, which... I know can be a sensitive subject for you." She turned her gaze back to him "I... I just didn't want you to be left alone with any lingering negative feelings."
"..." Alex stayed silent for a moment before he shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. "I appreciate the thought, but this isn't anything I haven't dealt with before. I'm... fine."
Onodera felt something troubling about Alex's response. His eyes looked weighted down, his voice almost sounded too forceful to be genuine. Even with the short time they've spent together, she could tell when he wasn't quite himself, especially when his negative side was showing itself.
She walked up beside him to speak clearer to him. "Alex... you know I won't force you to talk about something if you don't want to, but you should also remember that I'm always open to talk if there's ever anything bothering you. Even now, I don't mind."
"..." He didn't respond right away. "I... I can't. Taylor's right, I've caused enough trouble for you on our date already. I couldn't ask anything more from you after everything that's happened." He said avoiding eye contact with her.
"Alex we both know that's not true." She added causing him to look back to her. "Those brutes earlier as well as that Grant guy were only looking for Sophia, you were crossed up into the situation just as much as I was. This is why I'm worried you'll overburdened yourself if you keep bottling up your feelings like this. Please stop trying to blame yourself for things you don't have control over." Onodera pleaded as she took a firm yet caring hold of his hands.
Alex took a deep breath, trying to sort out his emotions and take Onodera's words to heart. "I... I Just... hate it when he does this. Ever since Sophia left town he's been in charge of tracking her down at her father's request, but he hasn't gotten anywhere in the last two years. Sophia must've known he was going to be on her tail because she left no trace for him to follow. But still every once and awhile he'll come over to run something by me in case I knew something he doesn't. Back then... I used to think that he might actually find her, that she may eventually turn back up."
He hesitated before speaking again. "But that was nothing but a fools fantasy. After getting my hopes up so many times, I was just sick of it. I didn't even want to hear from him anymore, all it ever lead to was disappointment." He paused. "I... I now know she's not coming back, I've come to terms with that fact. But... but..." He was having difficulties finding the right words.
Onodera could feel the frustration and sorrow in his voice as he related the repeated dashed expectations he experienced. Before he could continue she spoke up. "But even when knowing that... it doesn't change the fact that when people talk about her or you think of your past together, it digs up all those old painful feelings you thought you were over with, doesn't it?"
Alex didn't have any words to add. He simply nodded in agreement. At seeing his response Onodera let go of his hands and raised her arms up to give him a caring hug while resting her head on his shoulder.
"It's okay Alex, these aren't the easiest kind of feelings to deal with, but you don't need to fight them if you want to let it out. I'm here for you." At hearing her reassuring words he gave her a hug of his own.
They stood there in silence for some time, neither one really needing to say anything at this point. Despite what happened earlier Onodera was just glad that she didn't leave Alex alone with his depression again, she knew full well where that dark path leads to.
Alex hated that the day went the way it did, in his mind ruining their date. But the fact that Onodera cared enough to stay with him in spite of everything that happened was in itself comforting. For the most part everything turned out okay and no one was seriously hurt. He could be glad for that much at least.
"I-I'm sorry, kosaki, about those jerks, about Grant, about everything. You don't deserve a first date like this." Alex lamented.
"Don't beat yourself over it. It's okay. Besides, you make it sound like as if the day is over."
Alex pulled back away from her yet still in her arms. "Kosaki?"
"It also depends on how you feel, but I'm more then willing to continue our date. We've still have plenty of time for it." She said with a glowing smile.
Alex was a bit in awe of Onodera's positive behavior despite recent events. However he was still troubled by a concern in the back of his mind. "There's just one thing I wanted to ask you about, do you really feel okay being with me with the whole... Sophia thing?"
"Huh?" Onodera tilted her head a bit confused. "You mean... about how she has people around town that still doesn't like her?"
"Err... not exactly. I was more referring to her father being a crime boss. I should've mention something about it earlier, but I guess I kind of forgot to bring it up whenever we talked about her. Even if I don't have any connections with him, some people didn't want to have anything to do with him, even being friends with his daughter could be a turn off to people if they know who her father is. So... I just want to know if you have any problems with that."
"Huh? I don't understand... why would Sophia's dad being a gangster be a-" Then it suddenly came to her. 'Oh wait a minute, I didn't tell him about Raku and Chitoge did I? Ooooh no... I get it now.' She thought to herself realizing that from Alex's point of view, she was just a normal girl who didn't have any connections to any gang activity, hence why Alex was so anxious.
"Alex, I appreciate that you're looking out for me, but Sophia's father is of no real concern to me. The fact that you haven't talked about him in all the time we've been together shows me how distant you two are. So no, it doesn't bother me."
"R-really?" He stuttered, finding it a little weird that she seemed to have no objections or even really surprised about Sophia's father's true nature.
"Yes, really."
Her overly calm response only fueled his confused feelings. "I just thought... you'd be more shocked by his questionable line of work is all. This wasn't exactly the response I was expecting."
"Well, umm..." She felt that she had a few things to go over for Alex's sake. She didn't think too much about having friends involved in gangs, but it obviously was a concern for him. "I guess I've just kind of gotten used to it over the years is all." She replied a bit unsure of what his response would be.
Alex had a blank stare at her. "Wait, what?"
"Ha... I, uh... there's something I should probably tell you about..."
Author's Notes: I'm still trying to get my motivation together to hopefully update faster then three months... but oh well.
This chapter had quite a bit of time dedicated to Sophia and her family's true identity, being something familiar to the Nisekoi series akin to Raku and Chitoge. But details on her and her father's relationship is vague and unpromising at best. I can't add much beyond this for now.
One scene I liked in the manga was during the final part of the Marika arc when Onodera's baking problem was used as a plot device to help the heroes(?) face off against the guards at Marika's wedding. Taylor using Onodera's failed sweets as a weapon against the three thugs was a bit of a homage to that scene.
In addition to this chapter is the laid back debt collector Grant, a somewhat Tsugumi style character in relation to Sophia though more lazy in nature and not as strongly tied to her. He's mostly a minor character in the grand scheme of things, but an important one to show that Sophia's decision to leave home has not gone unnoticed to her father's attention. His design was inspired by the likes of Reno from Final Fantasy 7, while his name comes from Alan Grant from the original Jurassic Park movie. ...no real reason for it, I just thought it sounded cool.
Speaking of which, one part I really liked in this chapter was when Onodera followed after Alex and Grant despite whatever danger awaited her. Being she somewhat used to those involved in gang activity she's more willing to take her chances with them then someone like Taylor would, slowly showing the growth of her character using her past experiences to become more mature and bolder in her actions.
In this line of thinking, Alex also puts up much more of a fight against his negative thoughts then he did before the parking structure scene from Sweet Love, though his depression is still a struggle for him to deal with. But the relationship between Onodera and Alex helps them both grow as characters despite their shortcomings as they start to lean on each other for support.
Which Onodera may put to the test with what she's planning to tell him at the end of the chapter.