Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume15 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 2===

After sitting herself down hard on the cushion in the veranda, Fear angrily crushed rice crackers between her teeth.

"Seriously! That guy is outrageous as always!"

"Hmm. Although things have changed, it also seems like nothing's changed as well. But it does come as a relief to me that another lively scene has returned to this home at last."

Kuroe sat down lightly in formal seiza posture on the cushion beside her, holding a teacup in both hands while sipping tea, commenting with a faint wry smile. Thinking "how carefree!", Fear frowned but ultimately picked up another rice cracker without saying anything.

While listening to the crisp crunching sounds coming from her mouth, Fear suddenly recalled what Kuroe had just said.

Changed, yet nothing had changed as well.

"..."

That must be it. Whether Haruaki or Konoha, something must have changed along the way back to this home. Although it looked like nothing had changed as a result, Fear believed that there was still a dramatic change on a mental level, because something that even a bystander like her would consider "only natural for that to result" occurred right before her eyes.

So, for herself who had watched ''that'' unfold... Did anything change?

"...Ahem."

Fear deliberately coughed then glanced to the side. In a mumbling voice, joking in an intentional manner to hide her embarrassment, she said:

"By the way, Kuroe-no-suke, may I have a private word with you?"

"Yes, my lord! What is it?"

Playing along, Kuroe responded appropriately in an instant. Still sitting formally in seiza on the cushion, she rotated herself by ninety degrees, pointing her knees towards Fear as though acting out a historical drama.

Fear suddenly relaxed her expression. Kuroe had apparently noticed the feelings in her heart and was thus someone whom Fear could consult confidentially. Fear felt very fortunate to have someone like that by her side.

"...Honatsu said something about a birthday, right? I'd like to ask about that."

"Yes, it's Haru's birthday, I believe. Do you know exactly which day and month it is?"

"No idea."

"Uh... It happens to be exactly ten days from now."

"Weird, I get the feeling there's something planned already. Something very important as well."

"Oh... Speaking of which, Ficchi, you guys are having exams soon, right? I remember Haru's birthday is on the day after exams are over."

Now that it was mentioned, Fear was certain. Although she was starting to feel bothered by exams now, she decided to put the issue aside for now.

"I see, now I know the date. So, I wanted to know something else..."

Naturally, back when she first arrived, Fear did not know the significance of birthdays. But by this point, Fear had already lived in Japan for quite a long while during which she had seen many classmates celebrate their birthdays. As a result, she knew that birthdays were important events for modern Japanese people with major celebrations.

However, the issue was&mdash;

What about for Haruaki?

"Now that I think back carefully, I've never heard that guy mention this. Did he simply forget?"

"Ah~ ...You're right. If anything, Haru doesn't like holding noisy parties when his birthday comes around... I guess?"

Fear was a bit shocked. Weren't birthdays meant to have parties? A chance to celebrate spectacularly and go wild? Something like Christmas.

She leaned forward to inquire from Kuroe the reason in greater detail&mdash;

The reason turned out to be very simple.

From what Kuroe had heard, the reason why Haruaki did not enjoy lively celebrations of his birthday stemmed from his childhood when it was the only day that his father was guaranteed to hurry home from his travels. Things were fine up to the end of elementary school, but after entering middle school, Haruaki began to resent the feeling that he was forced to accommodate his father's attempt to fulfill obligations, which was why he wanted to spend his birthdays as ordinarily as possible. At first, it might have been nothing more than a rebellious phase, an attempt to defy his father, but Fear could empathize. She also heard that Kuroe and Konoha would not do anything more than giving him presents on that day.

Fear could not help but feel demoralized.

"Really...? No party, just giving presents?"

Why would she feel this way? Fear found her own feelings quite unbelievable.

Basically&mdash;Right. Because she had already decided as a matter of fact that a grand and lively celebration was in order. Because she looked forward to seeing what kind of expression he would make if a party were to be held. A shameless expression just like the one he made last Christmas. If possible, she wanted to make Haruaki show that kind of face. She really wanted to see it. She wanted to stay by his side, experiencing that uplifting feeling&mdash;

She began to think deeper. Was she feeling depressed because she had decided on her own to hold out hopes which were now dashed? Currently, she felt a bit weird. Why were her thoughts so impetuous and prone to jumping to conclusions?

(...Am I... impatient?)

Yeah, I guess I'll admit it. Existing inside her heart was definitely an irritable sense of impatience.

The reason? She knew it too.

It was due to Konoha that time. Because she had watched her do something like that at close range&mdash;After confessing her love, Konoha had even kissed Haruaki's lips.

What happened then had not only affected Haruaki and Konoha but also brought change to Fear's feelings inside. Hence, simply recalling the scene like now was making her heart pound uncontrollably. It was producing a feeling of "I must do something to compete." Like an obsessive-compulsive disorder, something in her heart was violently urging her&mdash;Hurry, hurry, hurry and do something! Make him feel aware of you!

Of course, the first method that occurred to her was to repeat what Konoha had done. However, merely the thought of herself doing that&mdash;

(Nu... Nuuuuuuuu...!)

Her head felt like it was about to explode. Consequently, she decided to shelve the idea. Originally, she wanted to hold a grand celebration for Haruaki as a sort of prelude to occupy her thoughts in the meantime, but as soon as this idea took off, she was met with a heavy setback.

But this could not be helped. It would be totally not worth it if she did something he disliked and got hated for it. Slumping her shoulders, Fear said:

"Sigh... Perhaps he might even get annoyed if I gave him a present...? Would it be safer to skip the present...?"

"No no no, Ficchi, you're overthinking things! You have to give a present at least!"

"Really~?"

"I don't think Haru hates receiving presents either. We give him presents every year too. If you skip on the present, Ficchi, you won't be able to draw attention to your presence! The present is absolutely necessary!"

"Hmm... I guess that's true, if you say so. I need to give a present at least, yeah!"

Having said that, Kuroe exhaled as though greatly relieved. Then the remaining issue was&mdash;

"What should I give as a present? This is killing my brain."

"I'm racking my brain, trying to think of what to give this year too~ But there's always the last resort, just tie a ribbon around yourself."

"What's the meaning of that?"

"Hoho... This cannot be explained by the lips of your humble servant. You shall understand eventually one day, my lord."

Kuroe returned to her historical drama tone of voice and snickered malevolently. How mind-boggling.

"Anyway, you must figure out what to give before that day arrives. Hmm, I guess there's always the method of asking him directly what he'd like."

"Hmm..."

Fear started to eat rice crackers again, spacing out while staring at the garden ahead.

Haruaki's birthday. Exams. All sorts of random things. There was so much to think about.

It looked like these troublesome days were going to persist for the next while.