Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume8 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 2===

"Damn... it... A day for... wishes to come true... What a load of rubbish...!"

Fear took the envelope containing the hard-earned wages for her part-time job and smacked it hard against the table. The sound reverberated inside the quiet living room of the Yachi residence and slowly dissipated.

Earlier, they had tried their utmost to chase after Kokoro but still could not locate her. During this time, the cake shopkeeper had been looking for them due to their sudden disappearance and happened to call. To avoid worrying the shopkeeper unnecessarily, they had no choice but to return to the cake shop to formally conclude their job. As for Zenon and Ganon who had disappeared together with their Santa outfits, they could only make up some cliched excuse to gloss over the issue.

"This is the absolute worst... Christmas. With this, Zenon and Ganon..."

"It's all... my fault. I shouldn't have asked them... if they wanted to wear Santa costumes... That's right, I'm such an idiot. Since we were planning to bait the 'Santa Hunter' into making an appearance, wearing Santa outfits naturally resulted in greater risk...! How could I have overlooked this point? Damn it!"

Haruaki clenched his fist. In front of him was a cup of tea that Konoha had brewed to help calm him down&mdash;But he currently had no mood for tea at all. Haruaki could not tolerate his own stupidity at all.

"It's not your fault alone, Haruaki-kun. Of course, I would have stopped them if I felt it would be dangerous. I originally thought that since we were working together, it would be impossible for them to be targeted and was carelessly negligent... I am responsible too."

"I just think that it's totally unproductive to point fingers and lay the blame at this point..."

"Kuroe-kun is right. Right now, we have other problems to contemplate."

Haruaki was currently thinking about two people. Zenon, who always acted calm and collected, greeting them with gentleness every time they visited the superintendent's office. Ganon, who always acted like a school physician whenever they were injured, helping them bandage and treat their wounds despite her favorite catchphrase of 'so tiring.'

"...There's nothing to think about. What we need to do is rescue the two of them. If she wants a fight, then so be it, let's go. When the appointed time comes, we must show our true power and defeat that girl...!"

"That's all we can do. For that purpose, what we must do first... is definitely not hammering the table."

"I know... We should get rested and save up our energy first."

Saying that, Fear stood up. Call me if there's anything&mdash;Leaving these words behind, she left the living room. A while after the sound of the sliding door was heard, Konoha turned to Haruaki, displaying a gentle smile that might have been made deliberately:

"Haruaki-kun, it's probably best if you go to bed now."

"But... I can't sleep, the way things are currently..."

"You must sleep even if you can't. Go take a bath first if you need to, then please lie down and close your eyes. If you're out of energy, Haruaki-kun, even with my assistance, your movements will be sluggish. Do you really want to go save Zenon-san and Ganon-san in that kind of state?"

Despite her gentle demeanor, there was a certain forcefulness that compelled obedience. Evidently, her words were very correct and strict.

"I get it... I'll go to bed. As for a bath... Never mind... for today..."

Despite feeling Kirika's gaze that seemed as though she wanted to say something, Haruaki had no energy to strike a conversation with her. Walking past Kuroe who was pondering something blankly and Un Izoey who was staring at the ceiling expressionlessly, Haruaki left the living room as well.

While walking along the corridor to his bedroom, Haruaki heard a thud from Fear's room. It sounded like she was throwing her pillow or beating on it. Haruaki halted before her door, hesitated for a moment but did not call out to her in the end.

...Because he was most likely going to do the same thing once he returned to his room.



Lying on the futon, Fear was gazing up at the dark ceiling.

She was unable to sleep. She could not possibly sleep.

However, recovering her energy was necessary. She must sleep even though she could not fall asleep. Feeling unmotivated to retrieve the pillow she had thrown just now out of extreme frustration, she casually tossed and turned. Then a certain object by her pillow side leapt into view.

Right&mdash;She remembered and smiled with slight self-mockery.

This was the sock she had prepared several days earlier. However&mdash;

(Santa Claus... Definitely won't be coming.)

It was said that he only visited people who were asleep, which meant that he was probably not going to visit her since she could not sleep. Even if he arrived, Fear would surely grab him tightly and not let go, then&mdash;No matter how great a present he brought, she would disregard it and complain to him greatly.

Complaining: This isn't what I want right now.

(Ahhh... I'm so... stupid and willful... I'm totally not... a good girl...)

Hence, he definitely was not coming. He was not visiting someone like her who was always harboring troublesome wishes. Rescuing Zenon and Ganon, lifting her curse to become like a human, seeing Aiko again. See, these were all so troublesome. Each and every wish could not be easily realized.

Santa Claus was not coming, neither was anyone going to fulfill her wishes. In that case&mdash;

She could only count on herself.

Fear gripped the Rubik's cube in her hand even harder as she glared viciously at the ceiling.

Glaring at the ceiling where Santa Claus was not going to descend.



Returning to the guest room with the Japanese sword's incarnation, Un Izoey found the room in the same state as when last night's intruder was repelled&mdash;with a large hole still in the ceiling. This is also because of me&mdash;Un Izoey thought.

She could hear the Japanese sword sigh lightly behind her. Clearly now was not the time for this&mdash;That sort of sentiment was being expressed by that sigh. Thinking from her standpoint, indeed, compared to monitoring Un Izoey, she would rather rest properly in preparation for the battle tomorrow.

However&mdash;This was all meaningless.

Un Izoey remained in one spot. Without getting into the futon that was laid out on the tatami floor, she simply stood.

"...What's the matter?"

"My question: I ask if that boy has already slept?"

"He should be sleeping in his room... What about Haruaki-kun?"

Perhaps because the conversation was related to him, the Japanese sword behind her answered in a stiff tone of voice.

"Then I judge that I need not worry about him anymore. My wish: please allow me to do an action. Please permit me to do ''pamakupeya''."

"Pama... what did you say?"

"...I have no knowledge how to express correctly in Japanese. I don't know if this concept exists or not. However, if I had to say it&mdash;indeed&mdash;"

What was the right word that could describe the act she should be doing next? Un Izoey searched for a similar term. She knew the word for doing the same thing under sunlight, so substituting the idea&mdash;

"Should be moonbathing."

"What... In terms of Japanese, I'm not sure if it really exists or not... Whatever, I get it. If it's just briefly, I'll let you do it."

"Much thanks."

Un Izoey nodded lightly and left the room. Naturally, the Japanese sword followed behind her. Opening the glass door leading to the veranda, Un Izoey walked barefooted into the garden without putting sandals on.

"Ahhh, seriously... Please remember to wipe your feet before entering the house. By the way, why do you need to be concerned about Haruaki-kun's whereabouts when you're moonbathing&mdash;"

What strange words she's uttering&mdash;Un Izoey thought to herself. ''I do have some sense of shame at least''.

Next, Un Izoey stood in the center of the garden, in that space illuminated by the cold moonlight&mdash;

Then she began to strip.

"Wha... Hold on...!?"

She could feel the Japanese sword's incarnation watching her uncomfortably while paying attention to the direction of the boy's room from time to time. Meanwhile, Un Izoey took off all her clothing, rendering herself completely nude. The wind, colder than anything she had ever felt in her birthplace, brushed against her naked skin.

She gazed up at the night sky above. Just like in her homeland, the moon was giving off radiance. Spreading her legs slightly, she stood on the ground. The land remained firmly composed just like in her homeland. Closing her eyes, she experienced everything.

The cold wind caused her hair to sway lightly. The atmosphere embraced her chest. She focused all these sensations into her navel. Similarly, she felt the ground's texture beneath the soles of her feet. The grass' breath and the earth's presence rose up along her feet. Covering her ankles, moving along her thighs, gently caressing her lower abdomen, the world's energies were reaching her navel.

Circulation followed by acceptance. She believed this was necessary.

She believed that having become weak, she could only rely on these things.

For the girl who was watching this scene, from those girls' perspectives, this was probably impossible to understand. They probably considered it a primitive ritual without actual effect. That was fine. It simply implied that to them, this was a type of unknown.

The man, who had told her about the struggle between the known and the unknown, surfaced in her mind.

He had not rejected the tribe's rules and rituals. He had said: Just as my knowns are your unknowns, your knowns may also be my unknowns. How very interesting. Perhaps there really is a power there. So long as there's an unverifiable unknown, I will never 
reject your perspective&mdash;
[[image:C3 08-186.jpg|thumb]]

Precisely because she had heard him say that, she was doing this now. Even if only just a bit, she hoped to obtain power.

Facing the pure moonlight, Un Izoey spread her arms wide.

Ahhh.

I am ''cursed''.

Although she did not wish to remember that particular instant which had been carved into her mind, she still recalled it. She had entered the battle as a warrior while the Lab Chief's younger sister had mustered everything she had to fight back, doing ''that'' for the sake of victory. This was the curse she had bestowed. Nevertheless, Un Izoey did not hate her for that. It was only natural for a warrior to make use of everything to secure victory. She could only blame her own carelessness.

Everything stemmed from the fact of her being cursed. Her entire pace had been ruined because of that. In her current state, she probably could not even catch an elderly rabbit. So weak. Her cursed self was so weak.

If she were strong, there would be no problem. In order to shoulder her responsibilities, she had only one course of action. Namely, to retrieve her mighty strength. Even if she started now, could she still make it in time?

No, she had to make it in time. There was no choice but to make it in time.

Hence, hence&mdash;



(Ahhh seriously, hurry and put on some clothes. If Haruaki-kun were to wake up, then what...!?)

Konoha monitored Un Izoey for quite a while, her heart racing in trepidation. After a while, Un Izoey slowly turned to face her once again. Standing in a natural posture over there, her dark-skinned body was laid completely bare and exposed in full view under the moonlight, unconcerned with Konoha's gaze. At least cover up with a hand or something&mdash;Just as Konoha thought that, she suddenly came to a realization. Un Izoey's eyes were originally devoid of emotional fluctuation but looking at them now, they seemed to be seriously trying to convey a certain message.

"I understand your wariness. However, I judge the current situation is not a situation to be concerned with that. My danger: the fact enemy is targeting opportunity. Therefore&mdash;"

Maintaining eye contact, she continued in a calm tone of voice:

"My demand: please return weapons."

"I know what you're trying to say. The Draconians' targets include you. In order to engage the enemy, you need weapons. Nevertheless&mdash;I'm sorry but I still cannot trust you completely."

"I vow: even after getting weapons, I will not attack your side, this kind of vow."

"I already said no, even if you say that..."

Un Izoey exhaled. Then Konoha heard it.

A sincere voice, filled with determination.

"Then&mdash;if no matter what, you won't believe me, use your sharp blade to kill me now is fine. As you can see, completely unguarded state right now. I gladly accept."

"What!?"

"My judgment: that Draconian is very strong. The next time attacked, unarmed will lose without a doubt. Since turning into corpse happens eventually&mdash;Turning into a corpse here right now is the same."

"...Are you serious?"

The gray hair shook up and down. Konoha shrugged and sighed in shock.

"I really hope you're just spouting Japanese that you don't understand completely. It's not like you're Ueno-san, to think you'd utter such stupid words, truly incomprehensible. Putting that aside, your complete nudity is starting to make me feel embarrassed instead, so hurry up and put your clothes on&mdash;"

While speaking, Konoha made a thrust with her knife hand without any warning at all.

She aimed straight for the vital among vitals, namely, the heart.

Un Izoey still did not dodge. Completely motionless.

At the very last moment, Konoha bent her fingers and did not allow her barehanded thrust to complete its mission of gouging the heart out. A red line appeared on top of that dark-skinned bulge. Because she did not wish to see it, Konoha did not look. Rather, she returned Un Izoey's gaze that was focused intently on her&mdash;Then she sighed.

"...I understand now. After all, these are exceptional times."

"Very thankful for your understanding."

"However, I must still warn you not to try anything reckless. Even with your weapons returned, we won't be defeated so easily by you. Also, although it shouldn't be necessary to state explicitly&mdash;Should you dare think of doing anything to Haruaki-kun..."

Konoha slowly opened her tightly clenched fist then traced her fingertip lightly across the shallow incision she had just made. The dark-skinned curve shook slightly and a groan was heard.

"''I shall murder thee. Thou shouldst know very well the sight of an disemboweled beast, uncivilized hunter?''"

"...Affirmative."

Good grief&mdash;Konoha reduced the pressure in her glare and stepped back. "Anyway, put your clothes back on first." After she said that, Un Izoey obediently picked up her clothes and put them on... Although it was completely unimportant, Konoha wondered if those panties felt uncomfortable, buried deeply between her butt cheeks. As soon as Un Izoey was dressed, Konoha took out the knife, elastic bowstring, handcuffs and key that she kept in her pocket at all times and handed them back. Un Izoey returned the knife to the holster beneath her skirt and wrapped the bowstring around her left big toe with great familiarity, then applied the handcuffs to one hand only.

"I really couldn't keep the darts with me so I hid them in my room. Follow me."

"...Entering the house is double waste of effort. I decide to give up."

A double waste of effort? Konoha pondered the meaning of those words. If entering the house was a waste of effort, it meant that Un Izoey still had other things to do outside. That would be&mdash;?

As Konoha finally realized the meaning, Un Izoey sprang into action at the same time. Click, she snapped the other side of the handcuffs to the second hand. In other words, she was back in the combat stance she last displayed at the cultural festival&mdash;

"Very unfortunate, I judge this is a very naive judgment."

A dark-skinned thigh lifted up as she drew something out from beneath her skirt.

Despite being of one color, the flash of solid silver flying forward did not meld with the moonlight.