Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume7 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 4===

Haruaki and Sovereignty proceeded to the large department store in front of the station. The two of them were checking out a clothing store inside. As usual, Fear and company monitored them while hiding on the side. Haruaki and Sovereignty were barely within the trio's earshot.

"Let's see... Wow, that's so expensive! Girls' clothes are really quite expensive~ You can actually stomach these prices?"

"Hmm&mdash;Today I'm just going to try them out. But the next time my salary is paid out, perhaps I really might!"

"Oh right, you are receiving a salary after all... Oh, lemme go to the washroom. You'll still be in this section, right?"

"Yeah, I'll probably be trying on clothes when you return. Just call to me when you're back&mdash;"

Hence, Haruaki left the clothing section. Fear and her companions brought their heads together to strategize.

"Indeed, this place seems likely for shameless acts to happen again."

"...I remember you saying the same thing back at the ice-cream stand."

"Shut up, Meat Girl! Why don't you just monopolize all the meat from that vendor and be happy by yourself!? To think you'd casually fill your own stomach without concern for others. Don't you understand the situation at all?"

"Ooh... B-But it couldn't be helped. Because it really looked too delicious..."

Konoha stammered in embarrassment. On the other hand, Shiraho shrugged helplessly and sighed, saying:

"Let's stop arguing about that for now. So, what do you expect to happen? That said~ I can pretty much guess... Thrice a week, that child falls over because she did not put her skirt on properly."

"That's really useful information. It really raises the chances of an incident... Trying on clothes takes place over there with the curtains, right? That's too dangerous. She might go something like 'I can't fasten this~' and pull Haruaki inside, or, if like Shiraho described, she could accidentally fall over while she's changing and end up rushing outside in her underwear. If Haruaki were present..."

"That would be the worst. Even a death sentence would hardly pacify my wrath. He must suffer torture and punishment that puts an end to the cycle of reincarnation...!"

"Th-Then what should we do now?"

Fear once again examined the interior of the store. Sovereignty was standing at a display rack by the wall, comparing clothing. The fitting area had three stalls and all the curtains were open. In other words, they were all vacant. Fear began to giggle.

"I feel sorry for Sovereignty but... We have no choice but to make her give up trying on those clothes."

There were three stalls in the fitting area and they had three members in the group.

The numbers were just right, were they not?



"Eh, they're all occupied?"

Standing before the stalls, Sovereignty tilted her head in puzzlement while recalling that they had all been empty just moments ago. How strange~

"Hmm... Then I'll go over to have another look for more clothes?  Yes yes, I've wanted to find a unisex hat for quite some time already&mdash;"

Then she quickly turned her back to the fitting area and returned to the interior of the store while humming happily.

Of course, she did not mind whoever was inside the stalls.



After going to the washroom, Haruaki returned to the store. Looking inside, he could not find Sovereignty. She probably went to try on clothing?

The three stalls in the fitting area were all occupied... Although it was quite embarrassing, Haruaki saw no other course of action apart from calling out. He started with the one on the left.

"Sovereignty?"

"C-Cough cough... You've got the wrong one, try another... No wait, please try another one."

Perhaps due to a cold, the answering voice was very hoarse. Despite how bizarre and out of place the voice sounded, Haruaki decided to forget about it and try the next one. This time, he stood in front of the middle stall.

"Excuse me, anyone there?"

"U-Umm&mdash;Ohoho, it's occupied. S-Sorry..."

A fake voice that was obviously put on deliberately. Still scratching his head at the sense of dissonance, Haruaki remained puzzled, but since he had confirmed that Sovereignty was not inside, he finally turned to look at the stall on the right. Since she was not in the previous two, she must be in this one.

Then just as he was about to call out lightly to the curtain&mdash;Something completely unexpected happened.

"Uwaaah?"

Someone pushed him hard from behind.

Due to the suddenness, Haruaki could not help but topple forward&mdash;falling towards the curtain of the stall.

(D-Dear heavens&mdash;!)

Perhaps his forced attempt at stabilizing himself was not quite right, Haruaki ended up pulling the curtain off from its rail. Along with the detached curtain, Haruaki fell towards the inside of the stall as though he were trying to push down the occupant. The end result was completely different from his expectations. Sovereignty was not inside.

"Kyah!?"

"Wawa... S-Sorry, I'm really sorry!"

Haruaki's face turned white as a ghost. Although the scream just now sounded familiar, now was not the time to be paying attention to that. Furthermore, due to being covered by the curtain, he could not see the other person's face&mdash;But that was not important either.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Y-You're such a pervert! Pervert! Pervert! Pervert!"

"I'm going to back off immediately... Gwah! P-Please don't get violent&mdash;!"

Haruaki frantically tried to get up but the person beneath the curtain kept struggling, making it even harder for him to free himself. Finally with much difficulty, he managed to make his upper body upright, but in the next instant&mdash;

"Go&mdash;and die!"

"Gwah!?"

A completely merciless slap came flying from under the curtain, striking Haruaki directly on the cheek.

Due to the excessive force of the impact, Haruaki flew straight out of the fitting area stall just as he was trying to stand up. Not far away, a mannequin happened to block his path&mdash;

"Woah, oh no..."

Due to having lost balance, the mannequin ended up falling unsteadily. Worse yet, there was a customer crouching before a display rack with her back towards the situation. Just as she finished comparing clothes and was about to stand up&mdash;

"Yes, this is the one! Okay~ Lemme go try it on... Yawawa&mdash;!"

The mannequin fell on her from behind and pinned her to the floor. Naturally, that person turned out to be Sovereignty.

"Ehhhh? W-Who is it? Is this a sudden act of courtship? Umm, I'm very happy about your feelings but I'm already taken. So umm... Sorry&mdash;! Help&mdash;!"

Pinned down and struggling by waving her arms and legs, Sovereignty did not notice it was a mannequin. Perhaps embarrassed by the situation, she kept her eyes shut tightly. Due to her desperate struggle, her skirt was curled up to her thigh. When she accidentally touched the mannequin's hand with her body, she even moaned seductively, saying "Mmm! Don't... Let go now..."

(Woah... This makes it very difficult to rescue her!)

Watching this scene blankly at a loss, Haruaki suddenly noticed that all the fitting room stalls had emptied behind him. Putting aside the girl who had just slapped him, even the other two were gone.

"I was originally planning to apologize properly... By the way, who pushed me?"

Although Haruaki did not think that he was deliberately pushed towards the stall, the person who collided into him should have said sorry. How rude.

After a big sigh, Haruaki began to head over to rescue Sovereignty. By this point, there was probably no need to regret missing the chance to apologize to the girl in the fitting area.

This was because what followed was that he had to apologize profusely to the people in the store, so many times that he became sick and tired of it.



"Tsk, looks like I underestimated Haruaki's skills in shamelessness...! Who would have thought that even though Sovereignty clearly wasn't inside, he'd still intrude!"

"One false move and it would have ended up as a criminal act! I must punish him properly once we get back home...!"

"I'm the biggest victim here. As soon as I imagine what if I were actually changing back then, the terror chills me to the very bone...!"

Taking advantage of the turmoil to escape the store, Fear's trio regrouped, wiping sweat off their brows as they returned to their task of surveillance.

Haruaki and Sovereignty were desperately apologizing to the sales staff and finally managed to obtain their forgiveness. Miraculously, the only harm done was the detached curtain and the toppled mannequin. Had any merchandise been damaged, the store probably would not have let them off so leniently. As much as this mess was blown far bigger than imagined... Haruaki did not think that he was to blame, probably.

Walking out of the store, Haruaki and Sovereignty scratched their heads as they continued on their way.

"...How should I say this? It feels like this commotion got blown way out of proportion. Maybe we haven't kept our cool enough thus far&mdash;Should we first observe for a while? Let's try hard to resist our urge to prevent indecent events."

"Yes... Well, resisting a little should be okay. Believing in others is important too. Sovereignty can't possibly run into indecent mishaps one after another without end, right?"

"Normally speaking, believing in others should come first, right...? Oh well, whatever."

Hence, the three girls decided to change their approach and observe before intervening. Then they restarted their tailing operation.

Still oblivious to Fear and the others, Haruaki and Sovereignty were casually browsing through the department store. At the home appliance corner, Haruaki looked at the latest washing machine model while going "Hmm... Wouldn't life be a lot easier with these types of functions~ I'd really love that." This comment, atypical of high school boys, caused Sovereignty to giggle spontaneously. Other than that, they also visited the CD shop to check out prices without buying anything and tried on matching moustaches at a party goods outlet.

The most problematic person, Sovereignty, did not get into any further mishaps, causing the trio to spend their time simply watching the two of them shopping. Logically speaking, this should be a satisfactory result but for some reason, there was an inexplicable sense of sadness, as though isolated in a different world.

"What the heck... Where there's a will, there's really a way..."

As though trying to chew apart the sense of discomfort on the spot, Fear murmured. However, the situation deteriorated in a nosedive at this moment.

Someone was picking a fight with Haruaki and Sovereignty.



"Yo! It's you! You're the bastard who's disrespectin' our gang, ain'tcha? How dare you!?"

"Huh?"

The sudden voice caused Haruaki to look back. Standing before his eyes were a couple of men who looked like gangsters. The intimidating sight caused Haruaki to back away slightly and reply:

"U-Umm&mdash;Excuse me, perhaps you've mistaken me for someone else...?"

"Stop playin' dumb, foo'! ...As if anyone's mistaken! Didn't you just act all cocky and shit, tryin' to pick a fight with us? I ain't gonna take this lyin' down like some chicken shit mofo. Anyway, git yo' ass right over here!"

"No, wait...!"

Without waiting for Haruaki's explanation, a man grabbed his arm. Haruaki had no idea where they intend to take him but surely it was not going to be a happy place. Reflexively, he stood his ground and secured his stance. Just as the gangsters clicked their tongues with displeasure&mdash;

"You guys&mdash;! He already said you mistook him for someone else, violence is not allowed&mdash;!"

Using both hands, Sovereignty shoved the man on his chest. From her perspective, this was probably a light "push"&mdash;But since she was no ordinary human, the man was sent flying a couple meters by her push, falling flat on the ground.

"Oh no..."

"Tsk... Y-You damn kid...!"

"Th-This isn't good! I've no idea what's going on, but let's run away first!"

Haruaki pulled Sovereignty's hand and ran. Naturally, the men chased after them with great alarm on their faces. One of them even used his cellphone to call for reinforcements&mdash;

"W-What did we do?"

"Apart from pushing that guy over just now, nothing at all!"

The two of them ran desperately inside the department store. Going upstairs would only end up getting stuck in the crowd, so they decided to run downstairs. Although they were just talking about leaving the place, never did they expect they would be rushing to the exit at full speed like this. Dashing down the stairs, they switched to the escalator as soon as they discovered an ambush, then traversed the next floor to find another staircase to descend.

"Very good, we're almost there...!"

"Hold it right there, bastard!"

"Woah~ They're chasing from that side too&mdash;!?"

The stairs to the ground level were just before their eyes but a group of murderous thugs were appearing from the side. Would it be possible to reach the stairs before the pursuers caught them? After all, it was so close!

But just at that moment, something fell over right by the gangsters' feet. This was a statue of a white-haired, white-suited elderly gentleman that originally stood before a shop's entrance. The men were tripped over as a result.

"Thank you, Colonel Sanders<!--literally, Kentucky State no oji-san-->...!"

It almost seemed as though someone had timed perfectly to kick the statue flying, but there was no time to question the matter. Haruaki and Sovereignty rushed down the stairs and dashed outside without waiting for the automatic doors to open fully.

Thinking they were free at last, it turned out to be short-lived joy because a noisy clatter of footsteps instantly came from behind. Those gangsters still had not give up yet. Haruaki really wished they could devote some of that vigor towards contributing to society.

"Haruaki-kun, this way! Let's hide first!"

"Oh okay!"

Sovereignty was pointing to a narrow gap between two buildings, less than a meter wide. Hiding into there with their clothes rubbing against the walls, however&mdash;

"Gah, this is too narrow! Let's hide somewhere else&mdash;"

"We have no choice now that we've reached this point&mdash;! S-Squeeze in, squeeze in!"

"No way, it's really not working!"

Although they did everything to squeeze in, it really was quite cramped. At this moment, the idea of entering sequentially suddenly popped up in Haruaki's mind had he known earlier, but it was already too late at this point. No matter what&mdash;

"Damn it, where those mofos escape?"

"Split up and chase them down! You guys go that way!"

"Gotcha!"

Although Haruaki could catch slight glimpses of the group of men, fortunately, they did not look into the gap. Their clattering footsteps could be heard receding into the distance.

"Phew... Who knows what'll happen next...?"

"No idea&mdash;They'll probably give up after a while. Let's endure this a bit longer."

Just as Haruaki replied "okay" simply, he noticed the current situation.

Packed like sardines.

That was the only description Haruaki could think of. After all, since the two of them had entered this narrow gap simultaneously, this was hardly unexpected. But their bodies were packed tightly together, almost as one.

Their faces were in extremely close proximity. As for their lower bodies, the four legs were crossed together. Simply turning his body would mean touching Sovereignty's thigh through her skirt. The situation with their upper bodies was even worse. A certain volume possessed by Sovereignty&mdash;soft, warm and elastic&mdash;was being flattened between their two bodies&mdash;

Sovereignty smiled demurely and looked up at Haruaki.

"Umm... S-Sorry, this is getting in the way, right? A little smaller would be better..."

"N-No, nothing of that&mdash;sort. Rather, how should I say this? Whether big or small, it's just a personal characteristic, at least I'm not going to criticize anyone because of that... Wait a sec, I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore, uh&mdash;"

Seeing Haruaki rambling incomprehensibly, Sovereignty laughed lightly and said:

"Ahaha, I wasn't talking about personal preferences but the problem of size instead. But I see now. I've gained some valuable information&mdash;Yes, this feels quite fair to me. Excellent."

"Fair?"

"Oh, pretend I never said anything just now. Just pretend and forget about it. Uh&mdash;What I mean is that there'd be more space if it were smaller, making things easier. Basically that."

"Oh okay~ That's true, but what on earth..."

At this moment, Haruaki recalled a fact. Like Fear and the others, Sovereignty was a little different from ordinary people. Hence&mdash;in her case, the size of her chest could be adjusted.

"I was thinking 'it'd be nice if things became less tight~' But then there's a problem."

"What problem?"

"Uh&mdash; ...Growing in size is easier but shrinking is a bit harder. Umm, because I can't do it simply by yelling 'transform' to get an instant change."

Haruaki met gazes with Sovereignty whose cheeks were blushing and&mdash;

"...Physical stimulation is needed. And right now, my hands can't really move so Haruaki-kun, I can only ask you to help me rub&mdash;"

"Denied&mdash;!"

What kind of nonsense was this child talking about?

"I-I don't mind! I don't find the current posture uncomfortable, so there's no problem at all! Okay, let's just gossip while waiting for things to calm down!"

"Is it really okay? I really hope so..."

In any case, Sovereignty was apparently persuaded. Although this did not change the fact that those soft things were pressing against him, Haruaki tried his hardest to not think about that area and quietly waited for time to pass. After a while, they could no longer feel any signs of those men out on the streets.

"How troubling. It should be fine to go outside now, right?"

"Yeah. Well, the final and main thing I wanted to buy, can we go get it now? It's not located downtown, so I think those people won't find us there."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Ehehe... Actually, it's a Shinto shrine."

"I'd never guess that your main goal would be that weird a place. I don't mind at all."

Hence, the two of them prepared to exit the gap. Although Haruaki tried to slide his back out, the friction with the wall was hurting like hell. He tried to withdraw his leg but for some reason, seductive moans of "Ah..." could be heard. Even if he wanted to move his hands, there was nothing to grab onto.

"I'm sorry, could you exit first?"

"Heave-ho... N-No good. I can't move."

"...I can't move either."

This meant there was a huge problem.

Neither of them could get out.

Silently, they looked at each other for a while.

"Looks like there's no choice but to... rub?"

"Denied&mdash;!"