Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume2 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 5===

&mdash;Muramasa Konoha had a dream.

Caught in the narrow gap between consciousness and unconsciousness, a hazy state required to recover from abnormality.

Abnormality meant loss, being deprived of a certain something very similar to a soul or life force.

Her hazy consciousness did not understand the meaning implied. But there was no need to understand either.

Because she had already retrieved it.

Chest and hand. Warmth. Him. Troubled expression. Pulsation.  A gentle hand.

(Mmm...)

From deep within her body, something akin to a lamp lit up. Feeling its warmth, there was no need to worry anymore.

Consequently, with only the comforting feeling of a certain person's embrace&mdash;

Muramasa Konoha had a dream.



Morning lessons ended with the arrival of the lunch break.

Today's lunchbox was prepared together with Haruaki. Haruaki was responsible for the main dish, the hamburg steak, while Konoha handled the side dishes herself. It had been a while since the last time they cooked together. She was confident she did a good job and he did offer praise after taste testing.

They had brought lunchboxes to school with identical contents. She suddenly realized, what did this normally imply between people? As she took out her lunchbox, Konoha relaxed her expression. Technically, three people were involved in its preparation, but she was going to ignore that fact.

"Fufu... Ehehe."

"Konoha-chan, what are your plans for lunch today?"

"A! Uh hmm... Well, today..."

She wanted to have lunch together with him, given this rare occasion with identical lunchboxes. Furthermore, she wanted to check out Fear's condition, planning to suggest after the meal that it was time for everyone to pitch in their full effort to resolve the incident together.

Informing her friend, Konoha left the classroom. She had intended to buy a drink on her way, so she first walked towards the vending machine at the shoe locker area. Just as she descended to the ground floor&mdash;

"Eh?"

Through the glass window, she spotted Haruaki's back view outside. Having left the school building, he was walking towards the sports ground.

It was too early for him to have finished his lunch. He was not the active type who would wolf down his food to rush to the sports ground. Even though he was quite athletic and others might invite him from time to time, in those circumstances, he would always say: "Wait a bit, let me finish this tea first, okay... Hoo~" That was the type of person he was.

There were no signs of the silver-haired girl by his side. Were they patrolling separately? Or was she still having lunch in the classroom?

(Disregarding the child for now... Where is he planning on going by himself...?)

How worrisome. The doll who drained people of their life force might be roaming the school building right now. Acting alone could be risky. In any case, she had to chase after him&mdash;

By the time she had changed into her outdoor shoes, Konoha had lost sight of Haruaki. So she decided to leave the school building through the service entrance. Making her way there, she jogged across the corridor.

Naturally, everywhere was filled with the hustle and bustle of the lunch break. Passing by chatting girls, she almost collided with boys who were running out of the classrooms. There were students playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who would go line up to buy stuff, students calling out to classmates still inside the classrooms, students staring out the windows&mdash;


&mdash;At this moment, Konoha felt her world overturned.


It was like someone had grabbed her shoulder. It felt like something was being stolen, extracted from her body. Instantly, her consciousness began to fade. As much as she desperately tried to endure, her body failed to respond as if it were a puppet. Even though she was a sword. Her lunchbox, the ceiling, the floor, everything seemed to be spinning around. All she seemed to be hearing was the sound of her own breathing.

"Huh...?"

Incomprehensible. However, her hazy consciousness forced herself to scrutinize what she found incomprehensible.

Like a broken puppet, she forcefully raised her head.

Her view was dominated by shimmering and commotion. The floor. The lunchbox. What a waste. From a distance, someone called out: "Someone fainted!" It could have been nearby but sounded so far away. After that, how many minutes passed? Someone wearing indoor shoes was standing beside her. She saw legs wearing long pants&mdash;the noise of commotion intensified&mdash;then even more&mdash;


Blackout.


"!"

Konoha sat up from the futon. The dim view before her was her own room.

"...Hoo..."

She wiped away her sweat. But in addition to her forehead, her entire body was drenched with sweat. Then she realized she was naked with a fright. It can't be, perhaps...

Konoha frantically searched her recollections. In a corner of her mind, she found lingering memories from when she turned back into a sword. Due to her half-dazed state, the memories were fuzzy, but she had apparently transformed because she felt too hot to sleep. After understanding the situation, she finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

Her high fever and the sense of heaviness in her body were less serious now, but she was still somewhat exhausted. Indeed, these were signs of recovery. Having regained some mobility, she made use of the washbowl and the towel by the futon to wipe her body.

"Ah... That feels nice..."

Having just woken up, she still felt like she was still halfway in dream land. Konoha recalled the touch of Haruaki's hand when he was placing the towel on her forehead. Indeed, that felt very comfortable too. She suddenly wondered, had she requested him, would he be willing to wipe her body like this&mdash;

Who knows, but if he really were to agree, he'd definitely display a troubled expression&mdash;Surely, he would wipe gently and it would be such a very comfortable feeling&mdash;

Ah! &mdash;Konoha realized in shock what she was imagining and blushed. She shook her head vigorously to dispel the imagery. After all, on further thought&mdash;could it be possible that he disliked girls with an excessively large bust? She sighed involuntarily and continued with her wiping.

The moisture from the towel seemed to seep into her hazy mind through the skin of her entire body.

She recalled her dream. Through the scenes in the dream she corroborated her memories.

Something bothered her but she could not be certain. After all, one's sense of time within dreams was very ambiguous, it would not be surprising if other unimportant memories were mixed in&mdash;but for some reason, something felt concerning.

"Speaking of which... Why would Haruaki-kun...?"

As she puzzled with her head inclined, Konoha heard a rumbling noise coming from her stomach.

"Hmm, excuse me."

A glance at the clock revealed that it was almost dinner time. She recalled Haruaki saying he would cook porridge for her. It would be extra work if he had to deliver it expressly, so she decided to go and wait at the living room&mdash;She was definitely not trying to hurry him! That was what she argued to herself.

Putting on her pajamas, she exited the room. Walking was not too much of an exertion.

The sound of talking came from the living room. Fear, Haruaki and someone else.

(Ueno-san...?)

Was it something urgent? Konoha felt puzzled. As the voices grew clearer&mdash;

"Then there was what happened today during the lunch break. You were there, Class Rep, so you should already know, right?"

"Only up to the point when you exited the classroom."

"I had already left to patrol, so I have no idea."

"Ah, that's right. Someone had a message delivered to me, asking me to visit the sports ground, so that's why I went out there without finishing my lunch... That someone was Sovereignty. Then I had a conversation with her, separated by a fence."

I see. Just as Konoha was about to accept his statement&mdash;

The sense of inconsistency in her memory roared out:

That is completely impossible!

By the time she realized, she had already rushed into the living room.

"I-Is what you say really true, Haruaki-kun? If that's the case, it's really too strange...!"

"Woah! What's with you, Konoha? Are you alright now&mdash;"

She interrupted Haruaki and continued. What had happened seemed completely impossible.

"Sovereignty was waiting for you by the sports ground, and Haruaki-kun, you only went out after being summoned&mdash;If that really is the case, then how was I attacked inside the school building when I started following only after spotting you outside?"