For The Sake Of Your Smile - Chapter 7

“Alright, let’s get this party started! I’ll tear these nails off for you!”

Suzuka’s joyful voice echoed throughout the room.

“Stop! Please stop!”

Koji closed his eyes tightly and covered his ears with both hands.

“Kiyaaaaaaahhhh!”

As soon as it was torn off, a warm liquid shot out from Kasumi’s crotch with great force.

Bl00d dripped from the tips of her fingers.

Kasumi’s mouth opened and closed rapidly, overwhelmed by excruciating pain.

On the other hand, Suzuka…

“Hehe!”

An innocent smile appeared on her face.

“Koji-san, Koji-san! Did you see it?”

“Ah… yeah…”

Biting his lip, Koji nodded.

H-How did it end up like this?

Where did I make the wrong choice? He thought, regretting his own weakness.

Kasumi’s face contorted with pain as she breathed heavily. Suzuka, smiling with satisfaction, gently stroked Kasumi’s cheek.

“Your nails are gone… but don’t worry. From now on, your fingers will be gone too.”

Saying so, she pointed the pliers toward Koji.

“Koji-san, can you do me a favor?”

“…”

Koji, having received the pliers, stared blankly at the floor with vacant eyes.

“Koji-san.”

“…”

“Koji-san!”

Startled by the strong tone, Koji weakly lifted his face.

“S-Suzuka… I can’t…”

Seeing Koji hesitate, Suzuka openly showed her displeasure.

“What’s wrong now? Are you telling me you can’t do it?”

At Suzuka’s piercing words, Koji frantically shook his head.

“Koji-san, you told me you’d do anything for me… Was that a lie? Was I foolish to believe you?”

“Th-That’s not…!”

“I thought I could trust you, so I opened up to you… Who could understand something like this? That’s why I kept it to myself and suffered alone.

I was satisfied with my life with Koji-san. Even if I was a false version of myself, you loved me… that’s why I was happy. I thought I shouldn’t ask for more, so I held back my desires. Yet, you…

It wasn’t what you wanted, Koji-san! You wanted to see the real me! You wanted to love the me without lies! You’re the one who wanted to make my happiness a reality!”

Tears glistened in Suzuka’s eyes.

Koji was panicking.

“I trusted you, Koji-san! I was overjoyed to meet someone I could trust for the first time in my life!”

“S-Suzuka…”

He placed his hand on Suzuka’s shoulder, but she shrugged it off and shook her head.

“I knew it… I shouldn’t have believed… Now I understand. I was foolish for thinking I had met someone who would truly understand me…”

Saying this, she wiped her tears away and laughed bitterly.

“I’m sorry, Koji-san. If we stop now, it might not be such a big crime. Even Kasumi-san might forgive you… Koji-san, you can still go back. You can start over.”

Amid the excruciating pain, a single ray of light shone in Kasumi’s mind.

No matter how much one loves someone, there is always a line that should never be crossed. Right now, Suwa-chan is struggling at that boundary.

With just one more push, I would be free from this nightmare. That thought was strong in her mind.

“Suwa-chan… It’s true, I’ve been through horrible things… I was kidnapped, restrained, and even had my nails torn off… But if you help me now… I won’t press charges. I promise…

I said earlier that I have someone I like. But if you help me, Suwa-chan… I’ll surely fall in love with you… Because you will become my prince who’s saving me…”

“Kasumi-chan…”

“Koji-san. Everything can go back to how it was. We can go back to the calm, peaceful days we had before we met.

You’ve become friends with Kasumi-san… Hehe, if I disappear, everything will work out. It’s really a happy ending, isn’t it?

I’m sorry for the little birds. I’m sorry for Sora-chan… But… you might not believe me, but… I truly loved you with all my heart… So… Thank you, Koji-san…”

She said that and smiled.

He was stunned by that smile.

He was saved by Suzuka.

Suzuka healed his heart, which had given up on everything and hated everything.

That’s why he wanted to see Suzuka’s smile. He wanted the assurance that she was truly happy.

That’s because her happiness was his happiness as well.

Even though that was what he intended.

—How could he make her show such a sad smile?

The person who accepted him for the first time in my life.

The person who loved him.

She even saved the writer, Hazaki Soichiro, who had fallen into a dead-end.

She erased the deep darkness that existed in the very depths of his heart.

She extended her hand to the essence of him, which even he hadn’t noticed.

The truth that he had hated himself.

She said that she wanted him to accept and love himself.

Those words were what he had longed to hear from the bottom of his heart.

Those words were what he had always wanted someone to say to him.

At that time, Suzuka saved both Hazaki Soichiro and Suwazaki Koji at the same time.

And yet.

To Suzuka, who trusted him and opened up to him.

Is it okay to make her wear such a face?

This is not something Suzuka started.

He was the one who started this.

That’s right. This is what he wanted.

What good would it do to go back?

Don’t make Suzuka carry this burden.

This is not Suzuka’s sin, it’s his cross to bear.

That’s what he thought.

He stared at the pliers he was holding.

He smiled.

“…I’m sorry.”

Suzuka gently shakes her head.

“It’s okay… return to the world you came from…”

“The world I desire… is one where I can smile together with you…”

“Eh…”

“Eh…”

Suzuka lifts her head.

Kasumi looks at them with eyes full of despair.

“I’ve always wanted to see your smile… I wished for you to feel happiness. That’s what I thought, but before I knew it, I was making you bear the cross alone, clinging to a false sense of justice…

I don’t need something like that… What I need is you, your smile. So, my choice is… this!”

Saying that, he took a deep breath and walked towards Kasumi.

“Koji-san… is it really… okay… can I really believe in you…?”

“Yeah. I… I’m sorry, Suzuka.”

Suzuka embraced Koji from behind. His shoulder became wet with her tears.

“Suzuka. We don’t have time to cry. I’m going to do my best for your smile.”

“Koji-san…”

“Come on, Suzuka. Smile.”

Wiping her tears with her finger, Suzuka smiled happily.

“Suwa-chan… I swear that I will love you forever… I swear to accept, forgive, and support all of you… So please, help me…”

“Kasumi-chan… Ah, I’m really happy to hear someone I liked to say that… even if it’s only for survival, I’m really happy you said that…

But… what I need is Suzuka, only Suzuka! So, I’m sorry!”

He clamped Kasumi’s ring finger with the pliers.

“Gyaa… gaaahhh!!!”

Koji squeezed the pliers with all his strength.

Suzuka gazed at him with a look of pure ecstasy.

Then, Kasumi.

With pain and despair in her eyes.

Let out a bl00d-curdling scream.

A little while later.

Kasumi’s finger turned into nothing more than a lump of flesh and rolled onto the floor.

“You did it, Koji-san.”

Suzuka gently stroked the back of Koji, who was breathing heavily.

“Ah… ah… It was tough, but I managed.”

When he turned around, Suzuka’s blissful smile greeted him.

That’s it. This is what he’s always wanted to see.

He swore he would give everything for this smile.

Suzuka, are you happy now?

I’m so… incredibly happy!

In front of the unconscious Kasumi, Koji and Suzuka held each other.

Then, they pressed their foreheads against each other.

And laughed together.

Chapter length 3569 characters.