Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume7 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 2===

It was currently the break after the first period. Haruaki and the others were chatting near their seats as usual. Kana had just gone to the washroom so the people present were Fear, Taizou and Kirika. They were currently discussing the topic of "was the world history teacher, Konishi-sensei, wearing a wig?" Naturally, the most enthusiastic participant was Taizou, the one who had raised the issue.

"Definitely without a doubt. No matter what, it's too unnatural. The way the hair sticks up completely goes against the laws of physics!"

"Umuu umuu. I totally agree with you, Taizou."

"Discussing other people's physical characteristics like this isn't very appropriate... How absolutely ridiculous. But just for the record, let me offer my view as well... Is that a hair transplant?"

"Ohoh~ Immediately after you say it's an inappropriate discussion, even you are chiming in, Class Rep."

"I-I get bothered by certain things too, it can't be helped! Basically, it's his hairline! That hairline!"

Just at that moment, Kana returned to the classroom, holding Kuroe by the hand.

"I've returned&mdash;what what, a wig? You're talking about wigs? Oh how could you leave me out, Kana the wig researcher, that'd really bother me&mdash;There's no need for me to hide it. I'm the hidden mastermind who orchestrated the vice-principal's coming out at the full school assembly, resulting in the 'Diffuse Reflection Incident of May' that caused his popularity to explode&mdash;"

"Oh~ You're back? So you research wigs? I'm hearing it for the first time. So..."

Hearing Kana talk in her lively tone of voice, Haruaki turned to look at her, but the scene before his eyes filled his mind with extreme dissonance. Struck with puzzlement, Haruaki turned to to look again, as though twisting his neck off.

"Then I came at the perfect moment. You can count on me on anything related to hair... By these observant eyes of mine, I shall discern if the hair is real or fake with a single glance&mdash;"

"Kuroe? W-Why are you here?"

Holding her by the hand, Kana said "I ran into her on my way back from the washroom&mdash;" Then she started twirling Kuroe around as though they were ball dancing. Kuroe displayed her usual eyes of sleepiness while nodding and spinning. Naturally, she was wearing the school uniform, probably the smallest size available... Nevertheless, it was still not an exact fit for Kuroe's petite physique and the size was still slightly larger.

"Seriously, what are you doing here? And what's with that uniform? Did you ask Sovereignty to lend you one?"

"No, I did consider it, but the size probably won't fit. This came from the laundry shopkeeper's collection."

"Hold it right there, you people. None of that matters. The important thing is why are you at school&mdash;Ugh!?"

The classmates had discovered Kuroe's presence by now and were gathering around their seats. Whether boys or girls, all of them were saying with brightly glimmering eyes:

"Wow~ Wow~! She's that girl, right? The one who cheered for us during the sports festival! So cute~!"

"That's right, I was trying to find out about her back then! She's Haruaki's distant relative, currently staying at his house. Despite how she looks, she's actually a twenty-year-old hairstylist! Calling her a girl would be a bit too rude!"

"Were there flyers earlier? It's that shop. Uh&mdash;Remember? I even went there for a hair cut last month&mdash;"

"Remember that my family runs a chiropractic massage shop at the shopping street? Only when talking about her does my stubborn old dad make eyes like a fanboy who keeps emphasizing how cute she is. It's creepy, super creepy...!"

"Okay~ Everybody line up, line up first. One question at a time! But I hope you won't demand autographs!"

"Taizou, you're really in the way! I can't see her beautiful appearance!"

Haruaki could not help but recall the first time Fear came to school... Nothing was more noisy than this kind of affair.

In any case, he needed to find out what was happening exactly. Thinking "what a ruckus~", Haruaki approached the leisurely Kuroe, intending to question her properly. However, Kuroe grabbed his hand instead and said:

"Well~ I need to explain to you first so let's go somewhere quiet."

"It's great that you'll explain it to me, hey... Don't drag me..."

"Ficchi, I leave the rest to you! Answer whatever questions they have, even about us taking baths together!"

"Hey, how do expect me to handle things if you just toss me a hot potato like that!? Take me with you&mdash;Uwah!"

"Taking baths? Fear-chan, you must explain in detail about that!"

"Boys, back off, all of you! Anyway, please tell us about how you care for your beautiful hair!"

Kuroe was probably using Fear as a distraction. When the classmates all swarmed over Fear, Kuroe used the chance to squirm through the crowd and leave the classroom. Held by the hand, Haruaki had no choice but to follow.

Kuroe ran along the corridor and brought them to a corner of the school building. Haruaki was thinking she wanted to talk here but she ended up just looking around.

"Hmm~ Let's go in."

"Wha? Go in where... H-Hey!"

The place where Kuroe forcefully shoved Haruaki was a cleaning equipment closet at the end of the hallway. Due to the suddenness of it, Haruaki was unable to resist. His view was instantly plunged into darkness then he heard the steel door grating as it closed shut. It was very cramped inside and Haruaki had one foot in a bucket while he could feel a broom handle against his back. Then standing in front of him was Kuroe in school uniform. Her petite and soft body was pressed tightly against him. A fragrance, strong enough to ward off the smell of wipe cloths permeating this space, was exuding from her hair that was stimulating the tip of his nose all this time.

"Hey, what on earth do you want!?"

"Okay okay, calm down. Essentially, I'm an outsider, so I don't really want to be seen by teachers."

"Th-Then don't come to school in the first place...! Back to the issue, why are you here? What about work?"

"The shop is taking a break today. Because there's something more important... I need you to help me with something, Haru."

Wrapped around Haruaki's waist, Kuroe's arms exerted slightly more force. Her tone of voice sounded serious. Hence, Haruaki understood that Kuroe did not come to school simply for fun.

Frowning mildly, Haruaki looked down in the dark space to see Kuroe's head.

"...I'll listen to what you have to say first. What could actually need my help and be more important than work?"

"I want to... find... someone... Someone from this school. I know what he looks like but not his name."

"Looking for someone huh... Then why do you want to find him?"

Kuroe paused for a few seconds as though pondering something.

Then she slowly looked up and Haruaki heard&mdash;

"Uh... Love at first sight?"

What a shocking statement. It was quite concerning how she tilted her head slightly and even used an interrogative subtly. But no matter what, the statement was very shocking indeed.

The two of them stared at each other in silence.

From outside the cleaning equipment closet, the bell rang to signal the end of the break.

At this moment, the question surfacing in Haruaki's mind was "You're not going to ask me to skip class and help you right now, are you?" However, he did not say it out loud. Since he already knew the answer, there was no need to.

...Because Kuroe's slender arms were wrapped tightly around Haruaki's waist as though implying "don't even think of leaving unless you agree to my request."