Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume2 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 10===

The lunch break arrived.

"Fear-chan, and Akki too, time for lunch! But given the choice, I'd prefer to eat Fear-chan herself! Like this, lying on a plate, with sashimi raw fish laid on top... Teehee!"

"Fear-chan, I am truly grateful for the earlier treat! But it's a slight shame, if only Konoha-san was the partner! If that was the case, I could... Half a year! It would last me half a year!"

"To be honest, I've always been thinking, the very fact that you two were able to get into this school is absolutely ridiculous. Let's ignore these idiots, Yachi, I'm not going to lose to you today."

"Hey Fear, after we finish eating, I have something to discuss&mdash;"

Amidst the chaos of four people talking at the same time&mdash;

"I'm sorry! I'm not eating lunch today, I don't mind if any of you finish off my portion!"

The silver-haired girl rushed out into the corridor with great vigor. Taizou and Kana stared blankly at the receding image of her back as Haruaki slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

"I gave it so much thought... I even had five different proposals..."

One of those who stayed&mdash;Kirika looked at Haruaki as if she wanted to say something. However&mdash;

"Let's hurry and eat then go find her... Hmm? Class Rep, what's the matter?"

"N-No, it's nothing."

For some reason she was shrinking back mildly with her face turned away. As if trying to occupy herself, she started moving desks together to form a small island.

Then their meal started without Fear. First they had the usual cooking battle&mdash;ending in Kirika's teeth-gnashing defeat once again. In a certain sense, lunch played out exactly the same as in the past.

"By the way, I wonder if Tsucchi will be okay~?"

"Tsucchi? Oh, you mean Tsuchiya? Recently, there's been a lot of cases of malnutrition and anemia."

As soon as they began eating, Kana and Taizou brought up the subject.

Haruaki's chopsticks wavered slightly but he pretended nothing had happened and continued with his meal.

"Who knows what's going on~? I think it must be something supernatural."

Kana always looked like a dunce, but she turned out to be surprisingly sharp.

"I support the chloroform psycho theory instead. Secretly approaching students from behind, quietly smoldering them with chloroform, then satisfied with rendering them unconscious, he leaves without doing anything else... What a super gentlemanly pervert, wouldn't you guys agree?"

Taizou always looked like a dunce, but he really was a dunce to the core.

"But weren't there a number of male students amongst the victims too?"

"...Exactly because he's a gentleman, he also has interests of that sort. It's not very commendable."

"Besides, I've heard that inhalation of chloroform doesn't put people to sleep that quickly. It really is a supernatural phenomenon, maybe the ghost of a deceased male student? Rumors say that the person who discovered the fainted student today seemed to have witnessed a striking handsome youth!"

"That sounds so fake~ The Chloroform Baron should be a more of a dandy, definitely! Walking stick in hand, wearing a top hat, with a V-shaped beard of course! In other words, a veritable universal pervert<!--ターンA変態 / ∀ pervert-->!"

The two eagerly discussed the nonexistent male ghost and gentleman pervert. If that doll did end up being sighted, it would be quite troublesome&mdash;just as Haruaki watched their debate with lukewarm enthusiasm&mdash;

"Yachi, what's your opinion?"

Despite her usual "I have nothing to do with idiotic conversations" philosophy, Kirika posed a question. She was nonchalantly picking away at her lunchbox&mdash;but her gaze showed a surprising air of seriousness.

Oh no, she must have realized something? But since Haruaki was obliged to feign complete ignorance of cursed tools when interacting with Kirika, that meant he had to pretend he was not involved with anything of that sort...

"I-I have no idea! It's definitely a coincidence! But if it really turns out to be a pervert then it's troubling. Don't go off to remote areas alone!"

"Hmm?"

Kirika narrowed her eyes with dissatisfaction. Why did she react this way? In any case, it was quite scary.

"Okay, let me try the taste of this hamburg steak! Actually, the proportion of minced meat is a bit difficult to get right, today I was only able to&mdash;"

"...Hmph!"

Kirika poked her chopsticks into Haruaki's lunchbox and delivered a piece of the hamburg steak into her mouth.

"Hey&mdash;! What are you doing, Class Rep!"

"Seriously... No, this can't be helped... That said... This vexes me... Hmph, why don't you try my hamburg steak! Yeah, sorry about it being the loser's taste!"

She grumbled disapprovingly. In actual fact, Kirika's hamburg steak had already surpassed average passing standards, so she should not be getting angry over this. Haruaki was truly puzzled over her displeasure.

"Oh? How unfair! I want to eat Haruaki's hamburg steak too! That taste testing just now was nowhere satisfying enough!"

"The meat squeezed and shaped by Akki's hand with indecent motions, I want to eat it~"

"What's with you two...!"

Just as Haruaki had his hands full with the slapstick, a male student suddenly approached.

"Yachi, someone just asked me to bring you a message."

"A message... From who? Fear?"

"No, it's a boy I've never seen before. A really handsome dude who'd probably fit right in with Johnny's."<ref>'''Johnny's''': A reference to Johnny & Associates, a Japanese talent agency famous for training and promoting groups of male idols.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_%26_Associates]</ref>

"Eh? Why does that kind of description sound so much like me? That's my splitting image. When did I send someone to deliver a message... Hoho, how embarrassing~"

Haruaki ignored Taizou's incomprehensible ramblings behind him.

"I don't know anyone who looks like that either... What did he say?"

"He wanted you to go immediately to the drinking fountain next to the sports ground."

"Immediately? Why?"

"No idea, he just said it was urgent. Well then, I've delivered the message."

Since it was about something urgent, Haruaki could not ignore the message. Covering up the lunchbox he was about to eat, he stood up&mdash;only to find Taizou and Kana's gazing at him with a serious expression.

"Isn't this a bad situation? Taicchi~"

"Yeah, really bad... To be singled out by a handsome dude, unmistakably, this must be&mdash;"

" "A love confession!" "

The two clenched their fists with excitement.

"Take care! Remember to report back with the juicy details! If possible, take a photo too!"

"Watch your ass carefully!"

"...Hey."

Haruaki glared at the two. However&mdash;

"A-Absolutely ridiculous! T-That kind of thing&mdash;I forbid it absolutely! Even imagining it is forbidden!"

For some reason, Kirika seemed even more outraged than Haruaki as she scolded the two, her face flushed red.



Changing into outdoor shoes, Haruaki came to a corner of the sports ground. A concrete drinking fountain mainly used by the sports clubs. Since it was a fair distance from the school building, hardly anyone ever came here except during club activities.

"There's no one... To think he called me out here deliberately."

Let's wait a while longer&mdash;His back leaning against the wire fencing, Haruaki surveyed his surroundings. There were no security guards visible on the sports ground. Probably because the chances of someone intruding or escaping from such a visually unobstructed location was quite low, the guards were stationed somewhere else... Either that or they were monitoring from a secluded position.

In the center of the sports ground, a group of lively boys were currently playing soccer. The noise sounded quite distant, like listening to outside bustling from a library window. For some reason, Haruaki felt a sense of loneliness as he watched.

Blankly staring out at the distant scene, just as he was thinking to himself "That goalie sure doesn't get much action~"&mdash;

Despite there being no one around him, he heard a voice.

"Greetings, human. Are you still searching for me?"

"&mdash;!"

Instantly clearing his thoughts, Haruaki suddenly backed off from the fence and turned around.

Standing on the other side of the fence was, obviously&mdash;

"Sovereignty...!"

"If you were to mistake me for anyone else, you deserve to have your eyes gouged out and replaced with glass beads, human."

Just as usual, her voice sounded like a natural phenomenon while her face was as exquisite as an artificial work of art. With stiff movements evocative of noisily creaking joints, she lifted an arm and entwined her slender porcelain fingers around the fencing.

The fence was roughly three meters tall with barbed wire on top. Impossible to climb. The only way to reach her was through words.

"Why are you&mdash;I get it now... You were the one who sent me the message? Grabbing an unrelated student, then asking him to 'Help me deliver a message to someone in Yachi's class,' is that it?"

A telephone game. All it took was passing the message through two people and the original speaker would be unknown.

"For a foolish human, you understand rather quickly."

"Calling me out here, what are your intentions?"

"Don't be so confrontational. I arranged this because it would be impossible to converse calmly if those other two kin are present. I won't harm you, human."

"Converse eh... Very well, I happen to have things to tell you too. Even though I had hoped you would appear earlier before lunch time."

"Regarding this matter, human. Listen carefully with those ears of yours, no better than hollow logs."

"This matter?"

"Indeed, I do absorb the life force of humans, but that does not endanger their lives&mdash;They will recover in a matter of days. So please, could you treat this as a flu epidemic and turn a blind eye?"

Haruaki frowned. By this point, why would she say something like that?

As if reading the doubt in his mind&mdash;

"Because that silver kin doesn't seem like she will give up and also the guards roaming about today. Though they present no significant threat, it is still quite troublesome&mdash;which is why I have come to confirm with you, would you give up and leave me alone?"

Sovereignty spoke with calm composure.

As usual, it was impossible to discern her intentions. Only one fact was clear, that she still intended to continue sucking life force within the school.

But that was immaterial. Whether or not she should be left alone was not the fundamental issue.

"My answer is... You have misunderstood. Simply that."

"Misunderstood?"

Those inorganic eyes of hers displayed signs of doubt. Haruaki looked her straight in the face. Indeed&mdash;weren't they searching for her in order to inform her of this?

"Your curse can be lifted. In fact, my family has always been helping out in this area. Both the silver-haired little lady and the glasses girl are living at my house, gradually lifting their curses."

"..."

"You have misunderstood. Shiraho's father did not send you to the superintendent to have you destroyed. Naturally, we do not intend to destroy you either. Shiraho wants to see you again and has been looking for you. She wants to apologize for having failed to stop her father. So&mdash;there is no need for you to escape. Running around and affecting others with your curse like this helps no one."

Indeed, this was for the sake of Sovereignty herself.

"Would you like to come to my home to lift your curse? I don't think you enjoy draining people of their life force, right? Your curse might be a bit more troublesome, so perhaps it cannot be treated the same way as the others&mdash;but I promise you, we will surely do everything we can to lift your curse in the most painless manner possible. Trust me!"

The few seconds spent waiting for her response felt like eons.

Her slender fingers, white as porcelain, separated from the fencing. Those long lashes of hers fluttered as she blinked. The wind blew and scattered her beautiful hair. Then she straightened her back and spoke:

"Human, I have only one thing to say."

More like a doll than ever,

More emotionless than ever,

More beautiful than ever&mdash;

She smiled.


"Curses&mdash;Do you truly believe that everyone wishes for their curse to be lifted?"


"Eh&mdash;"

What did she just say? Haruaki could not comprehend.

During this time, Sovereignty closed her eyes at one point then opened them again and resumed her usual cheerless demeanor.

"If you still don't understand, let me be blunt. I have no intention of going to your place, human."

"W-Why!? Your curse can be lifted! I know that your kind are cursed involuntarily, so you have no wish to harm people with your curse! Tell me why...!"

"I have already spoken. That does not apply to me. Humans are truly foolish."

"Do you really not care about humans? If you really believe you'll be destroyed, I guess you can't help distrusting humans. But please&mdash;Shiraho wants to apologize to you. She doesn't want you to harm humans anymore! Of course I feel the same way! Maybe I have no right to say this, but even if you continue doing this, what would you achieve?"

"Who knows? What might happen eh~"

"..."

Haruaki clenched his fist so tightly his nails dug into his palm. Why!? Why would this doll not want her curse to be lifted even when she now knew a way to do so...?

(Are you that disappointed with humans? That's just so...)

At this moment.

Behind him on the sports ground, the group of people originally playing soccer were even noisier than before. Apparently some new teammates had joined up with them. Without listening on purpose, Haruaki overheard their conversation&mdash;

"Really? Another one!"

"I just took a look, there's a whole crowd gathered!"

"Great, that means I won the bet! Now taking bets on 'more people will faint starting noon onwards,' who else?"

"Me me me! Hehe, thanks!"

Haruaki looked back at Sovereignty in shock.

"Could it be... That you attacked another student before you came here?"

A few seconds later, the reply was&mdash;

"&mdash;Well, why don't you see for yourself? Human."

In the end, she simply responded with her usual attitude. Then moving away from the fence, still dragging one limping leg, she turned around and started to leave.

"W-Wait!"

Haruaki frantically grabbed the fence. If only these hands were as sharp as swords&mdash;gnashing his teeth he made his final protests&mdash;

"Why only in this school!? What is your purpose!?"

Looking over her shoulder, she cast him a glance&mdash;

Without saying a word, she disappeared before Haruaki's eyes.



He was unable to climb over the fence. Even if he took the long route through the school gates, she would be long gone by then&mdash;Furthermore, even if he caught up to her, he had no ability to subdue her superhuman powers by himself.

In any case, he decided to contact Konoha by cellphone first. Although there was a ringing tone, no one picked up. Did she leave it in her desk...? Fear also had no cellphone so there was no easy way to meet up with them. Well then, what should be done&mdash;pondering, Haruaki then thought of the fainted student. If all the other bystanders failed to show compassion and the student was still collapsed at the same spot, Haruaki would take it upon himself to carry him or her to the infirmary.

Inquiring the soccer group, he found out the location was apparently the hallway on the first floor in the school building, near the service entrance. And the description of the student was&mdash;

"...!"

The instant he heard, Haruaki immediately sprinted as fast as he could. He had no choice but to run.

Traversing the sports ground he rushed towards the school building.

Panting and out of breath, he entered the hallway through the service entrance and looked around. Beyond the crowd he could spot a figure lying on the floor.

The instant he saw who it was, he felt his heart beat intensely.

Thump thump.

His heart which had already been racing from his sprinting&mdash;

Haruaki felt as if his heart was jumping out of his chest.

The people at the sports ground had said,

"It was a girl wearing glasses, with two pigtails and an especially impressive bust."


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