Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume3 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 3===

The warm water from the shower flowed down along and beneath the leather. This familiar sensation that had persisted over a good number of years already. Very likely, it was going to continue to the end of her life&mdash;This was Ueno Kirika's way of bathing herself.

She slipped her soap-covered hands between her skin and the leather. Detaching herself slightly from the leather like this was not enough to trigger the curse&mdash;

"To what extent could it be pulled off?" She had never confirmed the limits. After all, it would be a life-risking experiment.

As if performing machinery maintenance or some kind of meaningless ritual, her hands began to move.

Indeed, to be honest, taking a shower was completely meaningless. «Gimestorante's Love», which covered her body, was equipped with self-cleaning functions and was capable of maintaining the skin's cleanliness at a certain level. Nevertheless, she still bathed daily&mdash;psychological satisfaction without tangible benefit, or perhaps it was simply meaningless resistance against certain matters. Kirika was self-aware of this.

As Kirika left the bathroom after her shower, a faint smell of wet leather entered her nostrils. A sense of displeasure towards this had already become her daily habit. That said, the smell would dissipate swiftly as a result of the self-cleaning effect.

Putting on a shirt over the bondage suit, Kirika sat down on her chair and coldly looked down at the notebook computer on the desk. She had gone to the bathroom and showered for a change of mood, so the document file remained open on the screen. Its title&mdash;"Report Number 41."

Sighing, Kirika began to play a symphony of typing sounds. This too, was performed like a ritual, beneficial to no one, an extremely dangerous balancing act of mutual deception. No problems, no noteworthy changes&mdash;Glancing over the file filled with notes of "nothing," she replied through email. Then she sighed again.

"Sigh... Absolutely ridiculous, how absolutely ridiculous..."

Her long hair hanging half-wet and scattered, she powerlessly dragged herself to bed like a corpse, lying down and staring blankly at the ceiling.

"It always feels... So exhausting..."

Her shoulders felt so heavy. Perhaps part of it was due to psychological factors&mdash;Kirika wondered in introspection. Her days had become quite hectic recently. Since class representatives were required to take part in the executive committees of the school's sports and cultural festivals, she had to take care of a mountain of work every day in preparation for the upcoming sports festival taking place several weeks later. After finishing that pile of work and crawling home exhausted, she had other unpleasant "work" waiting for her like today.

She could feel her body enveloped by fatigue and the lingering heat from the shower. The sensations of the familiar bed brought her a sense of sleepiness. Precipitating amidst this mixture of vague consciousness, questions escaped her lips in her haziness:

"Why... do I... have to do this? ...For what... reason..."

The serious class representative. A member of the Lab Chief's Nation. Her personal wish was for the latter title to be discarded like rubbish. But fact was fact, personal wishes were meaningless. Consequently, she possessed both identities but was neither at the same time. She simply went with the flow, playing the required role on demand, acting without purpose. What she wanted to do, what she hoped to become in the future, none of these prospects were certain&mdash;

She raised her arm to display white skin and black leather. Machinery maintenance. Indeed, she considered herself akin to machinery, simply a turning gear. Never moving forward, merely a part of the machinery, spinning in one place. A tool that does not move on its own, immortal machinery...

A youth's face surfaced in her mind at this time. The face of the excessively nice guy, the fellow classmate who did not mind whether she was a tool or a human, always smiling stupidly at her.

Phew... Kirika had barely relaxed her cheeks&mdash;as if waiting intentionally for this particular moment, the cellphone on her desk began to ring. Could it be... She hastily got up and grabbed the phone. How could this be? It would feel rather miraculous for him to call the instant she thought of him, but this sort of thing was&mdash;

Impossible, obviously.

"Hi, my beloved princess, how are you doing?"

Kirika hung up immediately without answering. This absolutely worst timing was annoying her. Soon after, the phone rang again.

"Hanging up so suddenly is really terrible, isn't it, Kirika? Zero marks for manners."

"...What business do you have, Himura?"

"Isn't it obvious? Of course I want to hear the voice of my beloved woman&mdash;"

"I am going to hang up."

"Oh no, I'm just kidding. I have received certain communications... Wait, you're going to hang up if I keep beating around the bush, aren't you? Let me stop with the jokes. This is neither a notice, a report, a discussion nor a request, but simply this&mdash;An order. Listen carefully."

"You're saying it's an order?"

In terms of position, Himura and Kirika were equal partners. Naturally, this superficial equality stemmed from her identity as the lab chief's younger sister. In actual fact, Himura's seniority as a researcher was undeniably beyond hers&mdash;Nevertheless, their relationship did not allow for either party to issue orders to each other on their own. For Himura to say this expressly, it implied special significance.

"The content is simple. Listen well, ''absolutely do not get involved with the Bivorio Family''."
[[image:C3_03-044.jpg|thumb]]

"The Family...?"

Kirika frowned and murmured. She had heard of the name before... In other words, her knowledge of them was limited to their name only. This was the consequence of her attempt to live her life as far removed from that world as much as possible.

"Why?"

"The reason does not concern you."

"I have never come across that organization. Asking me not to get involved with them implies... An incident where I could encounter them is about to happen, right? Rather, in other words, the Family intends to do something to those people&mdash;"

"You may speculate as you wish. But let me repeat myself, do not get involved with them."

Gulping, Kirika reexamined her own rules for herself. What was her first priority? The answer came immediately. Hence, her answer for Himura was already determined.

"...I am not obliged to listen to you, right?"

"I knew you were going to say this. But just this once, the princess is not allowed to be willful. Although it's a bit of a waste, I will use a precious trump card in my hand."

Cackling laughter could be heard from the receiver, as if someone were breathing hot air against her ear. Kirika felt instinctively disgusted. Although she really felt like throwing the phone against the wall, she restrained herself.

"...What trump card?"

"''Blackmail material''. To be honest, I really don't want to do this, but you leave me no choice! Simply stated&mdash;Princess, if you don't want your prince to know about ''that'', then act obediently!"

Kirika was struck by sudden dizziness. That... That... He discovered it? It was not entirely impossible, but how did he...

"Naturally, it won't happen as long as you listen to my orders. Your secret... That ugly, disgusting, terrifying secret will be safe from the simple youth&mdash;"

"...Shut up!"

Feeling cold sweat break out from all over body, Kirika roared angrily. She really wished she could kill this man.

"So this is the situation. Provided you continue to lead your life as normal, nothing will happen and the secret will remain a secret forever. Well then, please do your best preparing for the sports festival. As a teacher, I will cheer for you, Ueno-kun."

As soon as the call ended, Kirika finally had a chance to put her feelings into action&mdash;naturally, it was the chance to throw the cellphone at the wall with all her might.

"Hoo... Hoo..."

Completely incensed, she glared viciously at the resilient cellphone which was rolling on the floor unharmed. The meaning of her pounding heart beat gradually shifted. From the distinct fear of her secret being exposed to&mdash;

"...What utter nonsense...!"

Clenching her fists tight, Kirika felt something other than fear swirling in her heart. Rage, shame and regret. Damn it! Only that particular matter cannot be revealed to that person, absolutely! She was helpless. But... Damn it...!

Amidst a vortex of emotions, a droplet of rebellious intent surfaced in her heart. This was a rebellion directed towards her useless self who had no choice but to yield to threats.

If only... Indeed, speaking of what she could accomplish by herself, there was&mdash;

Bleeding from clenching her fingernails too tightly in her fists, just as the contemptible curse healed her wounds&mdash;

Kirika's heart was consumed by nothing but single-minded determination.