Chapter Text
"Welcome to Choco la Vie! How may I help you today?" a bespectacled woman with a long ponytail smiled brightly at the male customer standing across the counter.
"What flavour is this chocolate? It looks pretty interesting," he asked. Michiyo's eyes followed and caught sight of a dark chocolate square topped with a layer of green pistachio cream.
"That's one of our newest creations- Pistachio cream with a dark chocolate ganache. It's a rather exquisite chocolate with a great balance of bittersweet and complementary nutty flavours," she answered confidently.
"Sounds great. I'll have five of these and my usual tablet and éclair orders," he replied. Michiyo gave him a polite nod before preparing his order.
"Michiyo-chan is amazing, ne? I wouldn't be able to remember their orders!" Aiba Masaki commented as he observed her from the kitchen, his hand stirring a chocolate mix. Matsumoto Jun, the famous chocolatier, looked up at the newcomer who had handed the chocolates over to the man. The man gave her a charming smile and wink before leaving the shop.
"Indeed, her memory is impeccable," Jun agreed before continuing placing some nuts on top of some chocolate squares.
"Jun-kun!" Sakurai Sho called as he entered the kitchen from the counter, "I require more of those white chocolate eclairs and caramel truffles!"
"Sho-chan, gimme a minute!" Aiba said as he looked around the fridges for them.
Meanwhile, Michiyo has just finished serving the last few customers before their lunch break. She skipped to the front and hung up a sign saying that they are on a 30-minute lunch break. Just as she returned to the shop, someone followed in. Michiyo turned to see that a man had just entered the shop.
"Excuse me, sir, but we-" Michiyo started but she was interrupted by Jun's welcome tone.
"Ah! Ninomiya-san! Come in!" Jun called excitedly. "Ninomiya-san" winked at Michiyo before hurrying to the kitchen, leaving her slightly confused.
"Everyone, we have a new person on our service crew," Jun began.
"I'm Ninomiya Kazunari. But please, call me Nino," he introduced, "please take care of me."
"Good to see you, Nino. I'm Sakurai Sho, manager of the shop. Aiba Masaki here aids Jun with chocolate making. We'll have you serving at the counter with Matsuda Michiyo-chan," Sho said, "Michiyo-chan, please do lend him that list of merchandise that we offer, including the seasonal ones." Nino noted a faint blush on Michiyo's cheeks as she nodded and proceeded to get ready.
Nino's eyes grew wide as he positioned his uniformed self at the counter and looked at the large variety of chocolates. He gave Michiyo a pained look.
"Am I going to memorise all these?" he asked.
"Oh yes, AND the seasonal orders," Michiyo added cheerfully.
"Nino, don't worry about today," Sho assured, patting him lightly on the shoulder, "you'll just be in charge of the cashier jobs. You'll get used to this soon enough."
"I hope so," Nino mumbled as he tried not to think about the amount of things he'll have to memorise.
Sho went out to flip the sign back and returned, just in time to see customers flooding in again.
It was during the last few hours of his shift that Nino saw him. That face that he was sure he would not be able to forget for a long while.
He was almost the same height as Nino, with a round face and a tanned complexion. The man, with his black comfy-looking shirt and jeans, entered the shop, his soft brown eyes surveying the shop, an awed smile gracing his tanned complexion. He walked towards him, giving him a smile.
"Good evening," he greeted, his gentle voice sending shivers down Nino's spine.
"G-good evening," Nino greeted, trying not to fumble over his words, "h-how may I help you?"
Michiyo watched him from one corner of her eye in surprise and rushed over to stand beside him, greeting and serving another customer while keeping a watchful eye of him.
"Yes, I'll like to know what this is," the man said gesturing towards a brown chocolate square with a mint leaf on top of it. Nino panicked inside at his impulsive action of wanting to serve a customer without sufficient knowledge of their products. Just then, Michiyo smiled brightly at another customer, discreetly taking out a marker and post it note. At lightning speed, she scribbled something on it while focusing on the chocolate display. She then poked Nino, sticking the note quickly on the counter. Nino looked at the note with a confused expression, but regained his composure upon remembering he was still serving a customer.
"It's a mint and milk chocolate tablet. It is sweet, slightly bitter but with a refreshing mint flavour," he replied, reading the bullet points that Michiyo had provided him.
"Ahh," the man gave an interested look, "I'll have five of that, then."
"R-right away, sir! Please proceed to the counter over there to wait for your order," he directed while proceeding to prepare his chocolates. Michiyo resumed her position behind the main service counter and gave her ever-charming smile to the customers in line.
"That was a close call, Nino," Sho spoke as they were cleaning up, "but try not to take such risks next time."
"I'm sorry," he apologised, "I hope I won't inconvenience-"
"It's alright," Sho replied reassuringly, "good job today. I think we can look forward to having you around for a long while."
"Ninomiya-san," Michiyo entered the room, handing Nino her notes.
"Michiyo-chan was awesome! She could memorise all those items within the first week she worked here!" Aiba commented.
"No, no," Michiyo rebutted, her faint blush from before returning again, "Sakurai-san helped me a lot with that, so.."
"Ahh... Sho-chan can be so helpful, ne?" Aiba said, giving Sho a light hug. Sho chuckled and was about to hug him back until they were both whacked on the head with a spatula by Jun.
"Can you two lovebirds get a room and leave these two newcomers alone?" Jun mock-scolded.
"But isn't that what makes chocolates sweet, Jun-kun?" Sho argued with a light pout.
"Chocolates aren't all sweet," Michiyo mumbled as she smiled softly at the pair before returning to the store room to pack. Nino's eyes followed her retreating figure curiously before leaving the shop.
Nino felt rather relieved as he strode out of the shop with his new notes in hand.
Nino stopped at the bus stop near the chocolate shop and waited, staring up vacantly at the pitch black sky above. It was a rather tiring day. He winced at the thick stack of papers that Michiyo had given him, flipping through them nonchalantly and deciding that he can memorise them later. Presently, his bus arrived and he took out his Nintendo DS. As he settled down on his seat, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure sitting in front of him. He looked up to see the man who had been on his mind for the rest of the night. He sat there with his sketchbook and a pencil in hand, his eyes focusing on the lines that he was drawing. Nino paused his game for a moment, watching him move his deft hands to sketch out something. His eyes held an unreadable expression- a complex mixture of joy, amusement and a slight hint of wist. Mini then gazed outside while watching that man from the corner of his eye, wondering what could be on his mind so clearly that he could draw it out on paper. He could hear him flip the page over, revealing a fresh one in front of him. Before long, he recognised his bus stop just a short distance away. He cast a short glance at the man before getting up to leave, knowing that it might be the last time he would see him again. He left the bus and started walking home.
As the bus chugged off, Ohno Satoshi paused his sketching, casting a forlorn look outside the window. His sketchbook lay in his lap, bearing a side-portrait of a carefree Nino gazing out of the bus window.