The Love Life of Saiki K. [Saiki Kusuo]

💜 Chapter 10 💜

There was nothing that Kusuo sought out more than he did seeing Nadeshiko happy. He had been stepping out of his boundaries recently, and where he had usually hated doing so, he found it worthwhile when Nadeshiko was around. If his actions manifested happiness within that beautiful girl, everything made sense. It made sense to him why he existed: to make Nadeshiko forever happy.

The curve of Nadeshiko's lovely lips in a smile

aligned the stars in his lonely life.

It was hard to put the sight of her out of his head even as he laid in bed that night: Nadeshiko's expression had brightened at his words. He could deal with anything that life could throw as long as Nadeshiko was happy – the pinkness of her lips spread in a smile, the violet of her eyes shining brightly, the softness of her hand warm in his hold and her long black hair fluttering in the air.

Even if they had left in such a strange sight from their classmates, Kusuo was happy. He had, finally, become the hero in the eyes of Nadeshiko. He had rescued her away from the school, carrying her like a princess that she was as they fled to the safety of freedom. She had held onto his hand as they went frolicking down to their homes to watch the show together.

This was something that Kusuo now found himself craving more and more: to be the Hero in the eyes of Nadeshiko. He wanted her to think of him as nicely as he did of her. He wanted her day to brighten and for her lips to smile at the mere sight of him. He wanted her to be happy with him. He wanted to give her everything and more – everything she deserved.

Everything was worth it if Nadeshiko was happy.

Every inch of her happiness manifested itself in his mind every night before he went to sleep. Kusuo wanted to do good that would make her feel positively toward him. And seeing her happy made him happy. Life simply made sense when Nadeshiko was happy. And fortunately, life gave him plenty of opportunities to do that for her.

It had been a regular weekend that Kusuo had went out for a bit of shopping. He had hoped to ask Nadeshiko to come with him, but he couldn't figure out how to invite her for a grocery run. It was hard to imagine teenaged couples heading for such activities on the name of a date.

But fate had struck gold in his lap when he ran into none other than Nadeshiko by the grocery store. Kusuo had smelt the pleasant smell of her natural perfume before he saw her – there she was, her long wavy locks hanging down her back. She was dressed classily in a long dark skirt and a hefty sweater that appeared to be hand-knitted. Kusuo found her to be the most beautiful in cosy clothing. He could only imagine how it felt to hug her.

... like a crocus blooming through winter snow...

And in the moment that Kusuo took to compose himself before he approached her, Nadeshiko herself turned to look at him. He watched as her features lit up with an adorable expression as she eagerly waved to him, and the two of them moved toward one another in the aisle.

"Good afternoon, Kusuo-Kun!" Nadeshiko greeted him with earnest, a bright smile spreading across her lips. "It is so good to see you here. You must be on a shopping run as well, hm?" She held up the basket that she was holding, filled with an array of groceries.

"Good morning to you as well," Kusuo replied. He was more than happy to see her. "I didn't expect to run into you here... you are usually visiting family during the weekends, aren't you?"

"Yes," Nadeshiko said. "That is right..." She looked back at him. "My parents have gone out to visit my father's aunt for the weekend. I had a lot of homework, so I stayed home..."