Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume7 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 4===

In any case...

Fear had apparently picked up a puppy during her walk.

"Oh... I see? That's what happened..."

Haruaki smiled radiantly while pointing to a different direction:

"Put the dog back where you found it."

"What!? Are you even human? How could you be so heartless!? No way, no way, I&mdash;DON'T&mdash;WANNA&mdash;! Because this little guy is so fuzzy and soft! You've really disappointed me, Haruaki!"

Fear hugged the puppy tightly in both arms and hunched herself as though trying to protect it from Haruaki's harm.

"You... How could you just suddenly start keeping a dog?"

Konoha spoke with her hand against her temple. Like Haruaki and Fear, she was sitting at the living room table. Hearing all the commotion, she had left her room to ask what was happening at the living room.

"I-It's not like I'm asking for your opinion, Cow Tits! Like me, you're not the master of the house, so you don't have any authority to decide... No wait! Dangerous! You're very dangerous! You meat demon! Could it be that y-you wanna eat him?"

"...I'm not going to eat him."

Seeing Fear hide the puppy behind her with a worried expression, Konoha reacted with a twitch on the edge of her face. Perhaps thinking that the discussion would definitely be derailed if she blew up at Fear right now, Konoha was probably suppressing her emotions. What amazing self-control.

"However, now at least I understand why you're behaving so suspiciously. So you just wanted to get food for him... And you also fed your original stash of rice crackers to him."

"Muu... That's right. But it feels like it's not enough for him... Also, I was thinking I can't keep hiding him, so I wanted to try discussing with you..."

Fear curled herself up . Haruaki went "hmm" and examined the dog held in her embrace.

A small-sized dog with lovely colored fur. Not very knowledgeable about dogs, Haruaki did not know what breed the dog was but got the impression it was foreign. In other words, the dog looked very expensive... To think this kind of dog would be abandoned.

It was also wearing a collar that seemed to have the owner's telephone there but could not be read due to serious abrasive damage. Most likely, it was done on purpose before abandoning the dog.

"What should we do in this kind of situation? I guess we should contact the police? If we call the police, they should be able to seek out the original owner, right?"

"I dunno~"

"...If they don't help find the owner, then what?"

"Well... Probably find a new owner... But if a new owner cannot be found..."

Haruaki did not finish. As a result, even though Fear was unfamiliar with how Japan dealt with stray dogs, she still received an ominous impression. Greatly alarmed, she hugged the dog even tighter.

"I think letting him stay and keeping him as a pet is the best solution! It must be! Come on Haruaki, please, please! I'll listen to whatever you say from now on and obey any command. Even if you ask me to scrub your back in the bathroom like last time, I'll do it! It's embarrassing, but I'll bear it!"

"You clearly did that on your own without my permission!"

Completely ignoring Haruaki's retort, Fear frowned and kept pestering "Pretty please? Pretty please?" as she brought her face up close, almost touching his nose. Haruaki frantically cast his gaze to the side and happened to look into the eyes of the puppy in her arms.

Big, round eyes. Innocent look. The puppy's unwary expression displayed its trust in these three people as it tilted its head blankly as though stating that malevolence did not exist in this world.

(Ooh...)

Haruaki felt his heart getting shot by something. Argghhh, damn it, so cute~ If we abandon this little guy, he'll really be pitifully alone. On television, it was also reported that dogs at shelters only had a very low percentage of getting adopted~ Please be more kind, people of Japan. And I'm Japanese too, ahhhhh.

"Nuu... Gggg..."

"Haruaki, what's the matter, Haruaki~?"

Fear continued to ask to be spoiled while staring at Haruaki from the right, the left and down below while he was frozen, head bowed. She tugged at his sleeve like a little child. Although Haruaki did not react to her gestures, he slowly looked up after a short while.

"If we release him outside now... It'll be us who are abandoning him... Right?"

"&mdash;! Th-That's right, that's what it'll end up being!"

"Anyway, yeah, let's do it this way first. We'll try asking classmates at school first. Perhaps someone might be willing to adopt him. Before that, let him stay here for now... Perhaps... that might... be better."

"O-O-O-O-O-Of course we need to do that! We are responsible! And I get the feeling it'd be best if no one  adopts him. Rather, there won't be, but don't mind that! Before we find someone to adopt him, we must protect him!"

"...Then it's decided."

Although Haruaki saw Konoha sigh helplessly on the side, he pretended not to see. On the other hand, Fear instantly stood up in all smiles, lifting the puppy up like a trophy.

"Waha&mdash;! Wonderful, from today on, you'll be a member of this family! Uh&mdash;Right, we need a name! We need to name him first!"

"Pooch<!--pochi in katakana--> is basically the most commonly used in Japan."

"What kind of tasteless statement is that! This guy is like family that I found. Right, so I wanna give him a name that's clearly related to me the moment you hear it... Uh..."

Fear lifted and spun the puppy for a while. The puppy barked in concert with the act. Then Fear suddenly stopped and grinned as though saying "This is perfect!"

"Yes! Your name is&mdash;Guillotine!"

"Th-That's the worst name!"

"What&mdash;You don't like it... By the way, the second candidate is Iron Maiden."

"No no no no~"

Haruaki did not even know where to begin. Just as he waved his hand before his face, Fear started to explain the meaning on her own.

"Oh~ Right, I forgot to confirm something important... Hmm, she's female. Then there's no problem. No wait, this means that the second candidate is more fitting? But Guillotine sounds more catchy..."

Holding the puppy under its forearms, Fear muttered and looked between its legs. At this moment, the sounds of a cheesy drama could be heard from the television that had been on all this time. 'Shouji-san! I love you!' 'Shouko... I'm sorry.'&mdash;Hearing these lines, Fear nodded vigorously with a sudden realization.

"I see. So Japanese names have rules of gender variations, right? Then out of respect for Haruaki, I'll follow the basic rules of this country. In that case... Let's call her Guillotine-ko."

"This name is so bad it's unbelievable! In all sorts of ways!"

"Why are you complaining so much? Otherwise, what should I do?"

"Sigh... Just call her Guillotine, it basically sounds like a French name..."

"Then why didn't you say so from the start?"

Although Fear pouted in her reply, she was still quite happy and even gave her blessing by singing "Guillotine~ Guillotine~ Guilotiiiiine&mdash;!" in her own improvised melody... Should she be stopped?

However, there was still one person present who was not pleased by the blessing.

"I cannot accept this."

"...Konoha?"

Sitting formally in seiza with narrowed eyes, Konoha continued in a calm but forceful voice:

"I understand Haruaki-kun has a heart of kindness. However, you must reflect more on your situation. You clearly have no idea how to take care of a dog and your schedule is already packed from handling household matters and school. If you increase your burdens any further... There will be a problem."

"C-Cow Tits! I'll take care of Guillotine myself, so there!"

"You want to take care of her when you're lacking in basic common sense? Don't be ludicrous. Surely, Haruaki-kun will end up taking care of the dog in your place."

This comment really sliced to the core of the matter. As much as Fear wanted to object, she clearly knew her lack of common sense. Consequently, she could only gnash her teeth while glaring at Konoha.

"No, uh&mdash;Umm, Konoha...? You should know too that we can't just throw her out, right?"

"But it is also true that we cannot afford keeping her. I'm really reluctant to say this but it's not like feeding a dog doesn't cost money. And we can't skimp on shots and vaccines, right? Our home expenses have increased ever since this child's arrival. Do we have excess cash to spend in this area?"

"Ugh!"

The very correct argument of budget issues stabbed mercilessly into Haruaki's chest. Hence, amidst the heavy atmosphere on scene, Konoha stood up slowly and looked at Haruaki and Fear coldly.

"Please allow your brains to calm down, then consider things carefully. Of course, it needs to be a solution apart from keeping the dog as a pet. I will ponder carefully during bath time as well&mdash;We'll discuss again after my bath."

Saying that without allowing any objections, Konoha walked out of the living room, leaving Haruaki and Fear to exchange glances.

"What do we do, Fear?"

"This pisses me off, damn Cow Tits! Is her massive bust our final obstacle!?"

"No, it's got nothing to do with busts."

"Hold on, I've got a plan... Fufu, my eyes cannot be deceived...!"

Haruaki watched in puzzlement as Fear clenched her fists and muttered emphatically.

Held in Fear's hands, Guillotine also tilted her head as though imitating Haruaki's posture.