The Love Life of Saiki K. [Saiki Kusuo]

💜 Chapter 12 💜

Ever since the day Riki had taken Kusuo, Nadeshiko, Shun and Kokomi to that shady Ramen shop, Kusuo had not seen the love of his life. Nadeshiko had left from amongst them rather unexpectedly, informing them that her parents were coming to pick her up and that she would be heading out of from there ahead of them. All Kusuo had remembered was the flutter of her long dark hair move in their natural waves as she left the establishment, the curiosity in him growing tenfold.

That seed of curiosity continued to fester inside his brain as he continued to think about what could possibly be wrong with her. He had not seen her since that day, and that had been over the weekend. It was Monday today, and she had not attended school, and Kusuo wondered if he should muster up the courage to text her about her whereabouts and if she was doing alright.

My Tsureai

Have you arrived back in Tokyo yet? You left
in a hurry. I was wondering if everything is
fine. If there is an emergency, let me know.

Delivered: 15:06PM

It was the first time that Kusuo had ever found himself texting anyone about their whereabouts and their wellbeing, but he had noted that the Minamoto Family had not been home over the weekend. He had never imagined that he would be texting something of this sort, but this was Nadeshiko. Kusuo could shift the entire universe on its axis just to make sure that she was doing alright.

On Monday, Kusuo found himself walking home by himself, and he felt a strange sense of loneliness without Nadeshiko with him. Normally, the gentle voice of Nadeshiko flowed like a melodic hum as they walked together, talking about anything and everything that caught the girl's attention that day. But today, there was no one to accompany him. The silence was terrible.

Even school, which was already terrible to begin with, was absolutely intolerable without the lovely presence of Nadeshiko. He had stared at the seat to his left and frowned throughout class, missing the girl who would sit in that chair, and whenever their eyes would meet, she would pass him that dazzling smile of hers that force the cupid's bow deeper and deeper into his chest.

There were times that Kusuo wished that he would catch Nadeshiko's attention in its entirety. He wanted to hear Nadeshiko speak his name all day long. He wanted her to call out to him in a way that was only reserved for him. He wanted her to speak his name completely unreservedly. Kusuo shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts out of his mind.

"This cat is super cute!"

"Come here, you pretty-whitty kitty!"

In front of Kusuo were two girls, crouching in front of a cat as they patted him all over his head. Kusuo pursed his lips as he watched, wondering what sort of reaction Nadeshiko would have given this cat. He knew that she loved animals, but he did not know her to have any pets. He never asked her what she thought about cats, either.

People almost always asked whether one was a cat person or a dog person. Kusuo wondered that about Nadeshiko as well – she gave the feeling of a luxurious cat, not unlike ones he had seen in animated cartoons (he thought of Duchess from Aristocats), but her energy was like a puppy's (she was always out to help and cheer others). Kusuo sighed at how beautiful Nadeshiko was.

But if it came for Kusuo, he had no idea whether he was a dog person or a cat person. He could car less about such questions, regardless of how 'pretty-whitty' the animal was. It wasn't helpful, the question, given that Kusuo could only see them down to their bones. He had no regard upon such topics.