Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume5 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 3===

Getting out of the washroom predicament was admittedly a good thing, but the situation did not improve as much as hoped. Kirika was still holding Haruaki's hand that he kept behind him, which they finally decided to conceal by covering up with a towel. Then to prevent the towel from being seen by bystanders, Fear and Konoha walked while sandwiching Haruaki between them.

"S-Sorry, Yachi. I'm really sorry about this."

"Ah&mdash;Well~ This can't be helped! It's not your fault, Class Rep, just blame the collar!"

"Even so, what should I do? This... is really too embarrassing..."

Blushing red completely, Kirika murmured with her head bowed. According to what Haruaki had heard from her explanations, Kirika was still suffering from intense feelings of solitude. The curse made her legs lose strength, caused her to feel a chill that compelled her to hug her own shoulders, and produced an illusion that made her feel as though her body would be torn apart by the pain of loneliness. But for some unknown reason, her symptoms would subside whenever she touched other people, especially Haruaki.

"Very likely, the loneliness has its basis in abandonment. Consequently, it requires touching a member of the opposite sex in a tangible manner, that's probably it... I-It's not because you're particularly special, absolutely not. Hence... Ahhh~ Anyway, I'm very sorry for things to develop into such absolute ridiculousness..."

"Kirika, there's no need to apologize. A cursed tool is to blame, it can't be helped. But it must be tough for you, being forced to stick close to this shameless brat! You must be suffering a lot!"

"Uwah! Ouch ouch! Why are you hitting me!?"

Unable to control her short temper, Fear began to hammer Haruaki using the doll in her hand. Naturally, they had already examined the doll on sight to confirm that it neither held the key nor the bomb.

Meanwhile, from time to time, Konoha furtively glanced at the towel that concealed the sight of Kirika and Haruaki holding hands together.

"Hmm&mdash;It can't be helped, that's right, this cannot be helped. There's no need to feel wistful or envious. If I returned to my true nature, we can also touch legitimately all the time. Ahhh~ But holding hands like this is fun in its own way... If only I could wear the collar instead...!"

She kept muttering to herself. Although Haruaki could not quite understand her, luckily she did not seem like she would put her feelings to violent action like Fear.

"A-Anyway, please don't worry about me. After all, this is not life-threatening and the current situation does not give us the leisure to care about this. Yachi, have you contacted Houjyou-san?"

"We contacted her already just now. She said she'll send someone to confirm the situation at the school gates. Also, she's willing to help us. Naturally, checking the school gates includes looking for Pakuaki and Un Izoey... Although I don't really think they'll show up. I also asked her to check if anyone takes the dolls out of school."

Finally tired of beating on Haruaki perhaps, Fear nodded with her silver hair swaying and said:

"But those guys probably won't leave normally through the school gates. At least, it's better than not looking out for them, however."

"Furthermore, we should gather all the dolls we find at the superintendent's office. It's better to keep an accurate count. She also said this should solve the problem of the bomb... Although it would require considerable skill."

"Also, she'll take responsibility for areas where we can't enter, such as the offices of teaching staff or preparation rooms. After all, it's possible that Pakuaki and Un Izoey are unscrupulous enough to place the dolls in locked or inaccessible locations."

When Kirika nodded and said "I see," Fear suddenly rushed forward hastily. The place she ran towards was the entrance to the haunted house. Beneath the desk that acted as the reception, the doll they discovered earlier was still there. Of course, Shiraho was no longer sitting there and under the suspicious gaze of the unfamiliar girl, Fear picked up the doll.

"Great, here's the third one. Okay, I'm gonna open it..."

However, it was empty inside. Four sighs overlapped together at once.

"Damn it, I knew it wouldn't be that easy to find..."

"Yachi, it's fortunate that we already knew this doll's location&mdash;But next, we need to find the dolls in unknown places. Shouldn't we split up and find them separately?"

Perhaps an unconscious gesture, Kirika spoke while gripping his hand hard.

"Yeah I know that... But with Ueno-san in this state..."

"We really can't let you act alone. Maybe it's better if Kirika goes with the shameless brat while the rest of us search independently... But without the two of us by your side, even with a towel covering your hands, you'll definitely draw unwanted attention. Umm, if you don't mind other people jumping to the wrong conclusions while you walk and hold hands like this, well, I won't mind at all either!"

Fear was angrily casting her gaze to the side for some unknown reason. Kirika frantically released her hand.

"We're not going to, okay, it will definitely cause problems! So, umm... Let's do it this way!"

Kirika stretched both arms forward against Haruaki's shoulders, resulting in a posture of pushing his back while they walked.

"Th-This should be better, more or less? This also alleviates the strange feelings produced by the collar as a result of contact with Yachi."

"This makes it look like I'm being taken somewhere unwillingly... Doesn't that make people misunderstand and think I've done something bad instead?"

"Th-Those are minor concerns!"

In the manner of a centipede race, Haruaki heard Kirika's voice from behind. However, this was much less embarrassing than holding hands together... Perhaps... Probably. Even so, it was still quite weird.

Fear and Konoha nodded lightly and exchanged glances, then sighed as if they gave up on something.

"Whatever, this can't be helped."

"And the confines of the school must be searched. Looks like splitting up is the only way."

"Very well, then let's decide on who's responsible for which areas and clear them thoroughly, one after another. Otherwise, searching the same places repeatedly would be a waste of time."

Then they swiftly assigned areas to one another and even made a few decisions. Even if the dolls discovered did not include the target doll, they should take the dolls with them. Once there were too many to carry, they would then deliver them to be kept in the superintendent's office. Finally, they decided on time allotment and to gather at the superintendent's office when the time arrived.

Now that all the necessary decisions were decided, what remained was actually taking action.

Looking at one another, expressed "Time for the real show to begin" and sharing their determination to find the target doll no matter what.

Then just as each person was setting off to their assigned area, Konoha and Fear looked back as though they had suddenly thought of something.

"Ah, Ueno-san! How should I put this, uh&mdash; ...P-Please take care! If anything should happen, I believe that even if you resorted to violence, it cannot be helped!"

"That's right! The shameless brat is very shameless, so who knows what kind of shameless act he might commit. For example, he might very well say 'Are you feeling lonely? What am I going to do with you...' then proceed to embrace you tightly... Then you shouldn't hesitate in that case and give him a good look at hell!"

"Understood. I'll handle things properly."

"Hey, you three, what kind of person do you take me for... Y-You're all kidding, right?"

Speaking with his eyes half-closed, Haruaki could see Fear and Konoha smiling. Although he could not see Kirika's face, somehow he got the feeling that she was making the same expression.

"Obviously... Just kidding."

"Indeed, because we all believe in your character."

"This is impossible, absolutely ridiculous."

For some reason, none of the three girls' voices sounded like they were laughing.