For The Sake Of Your Smile - Chapter 3

Suzuka.

How beautiful would Suzuka be if she smiled?

It had been a week since they started living together.

His tension and nervousness around Suzuka had faded somewhat, and the number of times he stumbled over his words had decreased.

Thanks to Suzuka taking care of the household chores, Koji was able to focus solely on his writing. He was deeply grateful.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder why such a woman of her caliber was so devoted to him.

Whenever this thought crossed his mind, Koji recalled Suzuka saying, ‘I’m a fan of the writer, Hazaki Soichiro.’

If her expectations were replaced by disappointment, she might one day grow tired of him.

With that pressure weighing on him, Koji immersed himself in his writing.

She is an angel.

She loves him and embraces someone like him.

That’s why he decided. He made a vow.

From now on, he swore to dedicate his life to Suzuka.

He will make her happy.

However, he’s never once seen her smile, a key indicator of happiness.

Why? Why doesn’t Suzuka smile?

Is she really happy with the life she has now?

He wished with all his heart for Suzuka to feel the same happiness he felt.

Could it be that her past experiences were the cause?

Abuse from her parents, bullying during her school years. Could these painful past experiences have erased the feeling of ‘Joy’ from her? With that thought, Koji began reading related books.

But he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He felt that everything would fall apart if he did.

He took her to a comedy show. The theater was filled with laughter. Koji laughed a lot too, but Suzuka didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

Then he thought, ‘Maybe music would help,’ and took her to various concerts and live performances—rock, classical, jazz. But nothing changed.

He asked Suzuka, ‘What kinds of things make you happy?’

But she only replied, ‘Being with you, Koji-san.’

When Koji pressed further, she kept rejecting him, saying that if she told him, it would make him suffer and eventually lead him to abandon her. His confusion deepened with her enigmatic words.

Then, one day, Koji pleaded with tears in his eyes.

“I—I would never abandon you! Even if you were to leave me… there’s no way I could ever hate you!

Struggles? If it’s for you, I’ll endure anything! I’ll give up everything I have for you!

Please, tell me, what is the thing that brings you the most happiness? What makes you smile?”

Suzuka looked down, her shoulders trembling.

Tears fell, one by one, dripping down.

“I’m sorry… Koji-san, you will soon bear unimaginable suffering… Is that okay with you? Will you promise me that you won’t abandon me? Will you swear it?”

“I swear! To God or the devil… I’ll swear on my life! So please, tell me, Suzuka!”

He embraced Suzuka.

Tears flowed from Suzuka as she nodded weakly in Koji’s arms.

“When I was a child… my hobby was collecting insects… it’s strange, right, for a girl…?”

“…So you liked insects?”

“Mm… yes… I liked beetles… and grasshoppers too…”

Koji felt a bit deflated by such a simple request, but thankfully, the forest behind the house was teeming with insects.

“Are you sure that’s enough?”

“Yes…”

In Koji’s embrace, Suzuka whispered with a voice full of tears.

“Don’t regret it, Koji-san… Once a stone is thrown into the pond, it can only sink….”

The next day, the two of them headed towards the forest with nets and insect cages in hand.

“Koji-san, over here! There are so many!”

The two of them spent the whole day catching insects.

At night.

In the living room, the two of them sat with an insect cage between them.

“Here’s the insect you wanted. What do I need to do to make you smile?”

Suzuka nodded, then took a grasshopper from the insect cage. Holding a stem in her left hand, she brought it closer.

“Are you going to feed it?”

The grasshopper noticed the stem and bit into it.

――Koji was shocked.

The moment the grasshopper bit, Suzuka quickly pulled its body away.

With that force, the head was ripped off, and only the grasshopper’s head remained on the stem.

At that moment.

“Kyahaha.”

Suzuka burst out laughing, her smile more beautiful than any Koji had ever imagined.

Koji trembled with joy.

At last, he had finally seen her smile.

But at the same time, a great shock and chill ran through him.

The cruel horrific act and Suzuka’s smile couldn’t connect in his head, leaving him confused.

Suzuka lowered her gaze and tears welled up in her large eyes as she looked at Koji.

“I knew it… this must have made you hate me, Koji-san… you must have thought I’m crazy, that I’m not sane…”

Koji panicked at her words.

“W-Wait, I don’t think that at all. I was just a bit surprised.

…. Actually, when I was a kid, I used to do that kind of thing too. I’d laugh, wrapping a stem full of heads around my neck, saying it was the real necklace. It’s not crazy, it’s just a harmless game.”

“Really!”

Suzuka lifted her face and stared at Koji.

“Really? You haven’t started hating me?”

“O-of course not. That could never happen.”

“I’m glad…”

With a relieved expression, Suzuka buried her face in Koji’s chest. Koji smiled and gently stroked her head.

After a while, Suzuka looked up, her face breaking into a mischievous smile.

That smile made Koji’s entire body tremble.

“Hey… Koji-san, don’t you want to try it too?”

“Is it… okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

After that, the two of them worked together to remove the heads of the grasshoppers.

Every now and then, bursts of laughter filled the room.

It was an unsettling, eerie sight.

Suzuka, holding a stem full of decapitated heads, laughed with a childlike innocence.

That smile made Koji feel that he could never live without Suzuka.

That night, the two of them intertwined fiercely and passionately. Like beasts, they tore at each other’s hair and devoured each other’s bodies.

Of course, the fact didn’t change that Koji’s member was still useless. Even so, Koji unleashed his overwhelming lust on Suzuka’s body, and she reached climax several times.

With her face nestled against Koji’s chest, Suzuka whispered.

“I think it was when I was in second grade… I had praying mantises in an insect cage. There were two of them, a male and a female.

Before I knew it, they must have mated… the female’s belly had started to swell.

Did you know? After mating, the female praying mantis eats the male. One day, when I looked in the bug cage, I found the male’s head just lying on the ground. Its mouth was opening and closing… When I saw that, I shivered all over. It was exhilarating.

That’s when it all started. The game of pulling the heads off insects… It was an incredible pleasure.”

Koji nodded silently.

“That’s right! There’s still something I haven’t shown you yet, Koji-san.”

Saying that, Suzuka pulled out a male stag beetle.

“I once tried to break a stag beetle’s horn. The pleasure I felt that time, I’ll never forget. Can I do it?”

“Yeah.”

When Suzuka gripped the horn and applied pressure, the horn and the head came off quietly, without a sound.

“Kyahaha, I did it!”

Suzuka threw the twitching body aside and kissed Koji.

Koji thought to himself, I’ve done this before, back when I was just a kid.

“Koji-san, I love you.”

“I love you too, Suzuka… For you, I’ll do anything… Your feelings are just like mine, so there’s no need to be sad. Next time, I’ll make you even happier with something even more incredible.”

“Koji-san…”

“I love you, Suzuka…”

Chapter length 3401 characters.