Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume7 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 6===

Then the next day, Sunday, the breakfast table was more lively than usual.

"Good doggy, so obedient. Eat eat, have some more. Ufufu, she keeps eating nonstop."

"On further thought, it's quite lucky that we weren't eating Hamburg steaks last night~ Just the thought of you feeding her in secret sends chills down my spine."

"How so?"

"Dogs cannot eat onions or else they'll get poisoned."

"Haha, what stupidity coming from a shameless brat. Why are you making such an unfunny joke?"

"..."

"...It's actually true?"

"Look here, Guillotine-chan, there's tasty food over here too~"

"Nuu, Cow Tits! I won't let you steal a march on feeding her!"

"This is not stealing a march. Since we have decided to keep her, I will make sure she does not become Haruaki-kun's burden. I shall take very good care of her."

"Guillotine, c'mere, that girl there could very well say dangerous things like 'However, you look even more tasty, woof!' Seriously, 'woof' this 'woof' that, it's totally disgusting."

"Uwaaaah... Erase it! I demand that memory be erased!"

Fear and Konoha bickered with each other as usual while handing edible-looking morsels of rice and side dishes to Guillotine. The puppy kept wagging her tail happily and running about beside or under the table.

(Hmm&mdash;It's quite chaotic... I wonder what it'll be like if Kuroe returns.)

Recalling another resident who was not yet back from her travels, Haruaki felt a sense of heartwarming due to Guillotine while he ate breakfast. Ahhh~ What a healing feeling.

But at that moment, the news on television reported "Up next, a recent problem of frequent thefts of high-class pets..." To think that there were people who went to such lengths. In just a day, the Yachi household had already grown so attached to Guillotine&mdash;were a longtime pet to be stolen, what a huge blow would be dealt to a family.

Just as Haruaki was thinking "we'd better be careful too"&mdash;

"Okay, she's full! Haruaki, let's go for a walk! A walk!"

"Yeah, let's do a bit of shopping along the way... Are there any pet shops nearby?"

The trio quickly cleaned up the dishes and prepared to go out. The dazzling sun was high up in the sky, seeming as though it were blessing the Sunday it had not seen for seven days. The weather, so uncharacteristically hot for autumn, was making everyone begin to sweat.

"Is it okay without a leash? Although we'll buy one at the pet shop."

"Should be okay, right? She seems to be quite attached to us already... Hwah~"

"Ohoh~ What a massive yawn. You must have slept little, playing with Guillotine instead?"

"It's him who's not letting me sleep. As soon as I go to bed, he keeps licking my ears and neck, leaving me no choice but to hug and stroke him. Fufu, despite being awake, it makes me feel like I'm in a dream."

"...So jealous..."

"Hey, you forgot to add 'woof,' Cow Tits."

"How much longer are you going to keep bringing that up?"

Conversing like that, the trio left the house. They noticed there seemed to be a shadow behind a nearby utility pole.

It was a man who was wearing a trench coat with a soft hat pulled down low despite the hot weather. Although Haruaki's group found him intriguing, staring at him would not be polite. As soon as Fear released Guillotine on the ground, they set off.

Despite their worries, Guillotine did not dash off out of sight. Instead, she took steps one by one at her own pace. The trio followed her while talking:

"Wow, so hot. How could that guy dress like that without fainting from the heat?"

"Maybe it's on his own insistence? Because yesterday as well, he was wearing the same thing."

"...Yesterday as well?"

"Yeah, when I was taking a walk, he was walking around in the area. I saw him a few times."

"&mdash;Really? I see."

Relatively quiet during this time, Konoha spoke with a voice as cold as a glacier for some reason.

"I would have thought that one would only say this in a movie or a comic book, but apparently not. Fear-san, Haruaki-kun, listen to me quietly without looking back&mdash;We're being followed."

"What...?"

Haruaki was just about to look back nervously but he managed to suppress the urge. Suddenly, his feet felt heavy and difficult to move.

"W-Who is it? For what purpose?"

"It should be the trench coat man we were just talking about."

"No way? Are those people from the Frontline Gathering Knights Dominion chasing after me again?"

Fear's voice sounded stiff. Konoha shook her head and said:

"Shouldn't be them. Also, this guy's skills in following are very poor."

"Then why else would he do this? I can't think of any other reason for us to be followed..."

"But we are definitely being followed. By that suspicious man who could whip out a gun from inside his coat at any time."

In that case, there must be a reason. Haruaki racked his brain to figure out why&mdash;

Then he recalled something he had heard earlier.

"Fear, let me ask you something... How exactly did you discover Guillotine?"

"Hmm? I saw him wandering around, so I reached out to pet him, then he started sticking to and following me. So I thought I might as well bring him home... Is there a problem?"

"Eh&mdash;He wasn't abandoned in a cardboard box or anything like that?"

Fear was tilting her head as though she did not understand what a cardboard box was. Haruaki made a sideways glance towards Konoha and said:

"Gah, I knew it... Konoha, do you remember what the news said just now? About high-class pets frequently getting stolen recently."

"Oh... Could it be that she was not abandoned but ran away on her own after being stolen, maybe...?"

"By the way, it's quite suspicious to begin with to think that such an expensive and adorable puppy would get abandoned&mdash;And now, we have an extremely suspicious guy following us. Hmm, I'm more and more convinced that we're involved in something troublesome."

An escaped pedigree dog. A theft group trying to recapture her. One's imagination easily connected foul play without any trouble.

"Although I'm totally lost by the conversation, that means the man behind us is a bad guy? Muu."

"What should we do? There are many solutions at hand, but it depends on whether we draw him to a deserted place? Or do we just turn back home?"

Hearing Konoha, Fear clenched her fists and said emotionally:

"Your ideas are too mild! Anyway, that guy's target is Guillotine, right? Then let's just ask him immediately what he wants!"

"Ah... Hey, hold it, Fear!"

Before Haruaki could stop her, Fear had already turned around and rushed off. Noticing her action, Guillotine barked and chased after her. Reacting a step slower, Haruaki and Konoha had no choice but to follow.

Just as they saw at their home entrance, the man was still hiding behind a utility pole. Perhaps scared by the approaching strange silver-haired girl, he jumped all at once.

"Hey, what are you trying to do here!?"

"..."

Instantly, the man tried to escape but Fear's severe glaring halted his movements. Due to the soft hat that was worn low, his expression still could not be seen.

Soon after, the man swiftly reached into the inside of his coat&mdash;Then he stopped.

He can't be allowed to take that hand out&mdash;This strange thought filled Haruaki's mind.

At this moment, the two sides observed each other's intentions. The tension left no room for a breather while time kept flowing away.

Then the first to break the balance was&mdash;

"Woof!"

Guillotine had been wagging her tail all this time. After perking her ears and barking once, she suddenly ran to another place.

"...Ah! What's the matter, Guillotine?"

Although Fear displayed concern for the man's movements for an instant, in the end, she chose to chase after Guillotine. Baring her fangs to threaten the man, she swayed her silver hair and ran forward.

"Ah... Wait up, you!"

"Konoha, let's chase Guillotine first for now! It'd be bad if something happens to her!"

Although the man was concerning, he had not done anything of ill intent. Even if they captured him, he could simply play dumb. Haruaki chased after Fear while glancing back. The man still had his hand in the trench coat. Standing in the same spot, he seemed to be shaking his body as though hesitating on his next move. It looked like the worst case scenario of him using the opportunity to attack was not going to happen.

Guillotine did not slow down and even ran with leaping steps. Despite possessing physical capabilities surpassing ordinary humans, Fear and Konoha still could not catch up to him.

"Huff, hoo~ W-What on earth is happening...?"

"No idea! ...Hey, wait up&mdash;! Guillotine!"

Although already numbed to the feeling, Haruaki still found the name quite weird. And for a striking girl like Fear to be yelling that name desperately in the streets&mdash;Haruaki prayed for her not to attract too much attention while running as hard as he could through the quiet residential neighborhood. Just as the chased Guillotine down a fork in the road and rushed up a long and narrow slope&mdash;

"Oh, it's a dead end...?"

There was a building on the right hand side while a concrete-reinforced cliff stood on the left. Extending further ahead, the road ended abruptly with a lower area where the tops of trees with red leaves could be seen. Acting as a fence, it would cause Guillotine to stop there&mdash;However, concluding that would be premature.

"Woof woof!"

"Eh?"

Contrary to what Haruaki expected, the situation got even worse. Using her running speed to take a leap, Guillotine jumped onto the branches of the trees. Although Guillotine's unsteady steps looked quite precarious, she still managed to walk from one end of the branch to the other end.

"Ah, it's dangerous, Guillotine! Wait up, I'll also&mdash;"

"Hey Fear! You definitely won't make it! The branch will snap!"

"A-Anyway, go down first!"

"Then let us get down there quickly!"

"Uwah, don't drag me... Ooph!"

Fear forced Haruaki to jump down as though carrying him on her shoulders. Instantly, the impact of hitting the ground was transmitted directly to his belly. However, now was not the time to be complaining.

This was a place resembling a long and narrow park. A fence in front of them was facing the platform where they had jumped down from. On the other side of the fence was a river roughly two irrigation canals wide where a large volume of water was flowing. On the edge of the park and with branches extending to the very limit was the tree where Guillotine had jumped to.

Guillotine was standing near the front tip of the branch and staring forward. The flexible branch and the leaves swayed in the wind. The way the branch looked like it could break any moment was increasingly worrying.

"Hey, Guillotine! It's dangerous there, hurry and come down!"

"Maybe she isn't able to come down on her own...?"

"That'd be bad. If only there was something long, like a wooden plank or something... Uh..."

"I see, so that's why she jumped onto there. In that case..."

Konoha surveyed the surroundings while she spoke. Fear nodded vigorously in sudden realization then reached into her pocket&mdash;What she took out was her emulated form.

In accordance to her will, the Rubik's cube emulated her original form. Emulation start&mdash;The giant steel cube appeared for only an instant&mdash;

"Mechanism No.19 gouging type, spiral form: «Human-Perforator»&mdash;Curse Calling!"

The cube transformed while Fear called out. The cube's components of countless mechanisms instantly shifted and rearranged themselves to manifest a drill extending from her palm and connected to a chain of cubes. Fear took a brief look at it&mdash;the object that was only used to harm humans in the past&mdash;

Then she forcefully extended it towards Guillotine on the tree.

"Okay Guillotine, come over here! D-Don't be afraid."

"What a sec, your words and actions are very contradictory! It's quite ridiculous!"

"Didn't Cow Tits say that something long is needed!? Jeez, otherwise, do I change it to «A Hatchet of Lingchi»?"

"What difference would that make? What are we going to do if someone sees this? Hurry up and put it away!"

Konoha spoke frantically but luckily, there was no one else in the surroundings and it looked like the strange torture tool had yet to be discovered. However, just as Fear was muttering, intending to turn the drill back into the Rubik's cube&mdash;

Perhaps scared by the shiny drill or for some other reason.

Guillotine suddenly jumped away.

Using the intensely shaking branch as the jumping point, the puppy traced out a beautiful parabola.

Guillotine thrashed her four legs in the air while flying over the fence, finally falling into the river beside. However, the river was flowing rapidly. Despite her desperate attempts to swim doggy style, the puppy began to sink into the current repeatedly.

"Ahhhh!"

"See, it's your fault for scaring her with that thing!"

"Y-You're being noisy! I only did it with good intentions, you have no right to criticize since you did nothing! ...Are you okay, Guillotine? I'm going to save you straight away&mdash;!"

"W-Wait up, Fear! I remember you can't swim&mdash;"

Before she could hear Haruaki, Fear had already leapt over the fence, falling into the water with a great splash. However&mdash;

"Gurgle gurgle glug glug!"

"Didn't I say so already!? Konoha, hold onto these for me... My cellphone and wallet!"

"W-Wait... Dear heavens, why am I getting an annoying sense of deja vu?"

Haruaki ignored Konoha's remark and also went over the fence, jumping into the icy cold river.

Fear's situation was even worse than Guillotine's. Gulping down water repeatedly, she was getting tossed around in the river. Perhaps due to her desperate struggling with her arms and legs, she did not sink suddenly. That said, it felt like it was only a matter of time.

Haruaki carefully caught up to Fear without letting himself sink and placed himself under her shoulder.

"Hey, don't act so rashly!"

"Haruaki, just support me like this! Just a little closer... Nuu, ku... Great!"

"Woof!"

"Hey Guillotine, don't move about... Fufu, it's okay now&mdash;Relax and entrust yourself to me&mdash;glug glug!"

"Eeek! Hey Fear! Even if you don't know how to swim, at least use your arms to paddle! If you don't do anything, you'll sink 100% for sure! Because you're super heavy!"

"Shut up! My arms aren't free, this can't be helped! Also, calling me heavy is not allowed, dummy&mdash;!"

Fear devoted her full effort to kicking her legs to avert the crisis of sinking. However, this did not change the fact that they were facing a life and death situation. Two people and a dog were bobbing up and down as they struggled with buoyancy while being washed downstream in the river. If this continued, their stamina was going to run out.

Just at this moment, Konoha's voice was heard coming from somewhere.

"Fear-san, you should release Guillotine first! That child should have some level of swimming ability!"

"How can I do that!? And it's not guaranteed that she'll be able to reach the shore!"

"Even so, getting everyone drowned is not a solution... Ahhh~ Seriously, if that's the case, I have no choice but to do this!"

Next came a loud, crashing noise. Haruaki looked back desperately to see Konoha standing on the shore, having chopped with her bare hands. In front of her was a newly severed tree stump where the trunk had fallen towards the river. This formed a bridge that happened to be waiting for Haruaki to flow towards.

"Haruaki-kun, grab onto this first! I'll pull you guys up immediately!"

"Oh okay, yes!"

Haruaki reached out desperately to grab onto the tree trunk that was not too far above the water. Perhaps because his hand was too wet or Fear in his arm was too heavy, his hand immediately slipped off.

"Woah!"

Two people and a dog flowed along the current under the trunk. This could not be helped. But in the that instant&mdash;

"Mechanism No.14 raking type, beast's claw form: «Cat's Paw»!"

Cradling Guillotine in one arm, Fear used her other hand to take out the Rubik's cube, which transformed into a torture tool resembling a massive rake. Then she instantly swung the hooked claws at the tip towards the tree trunk.

She almost caught it, but was an instant too slow. The claws only scratched the trunk, shaving off a thin later of bark.

Konoha screamed and Fear began to swear. Haruaki reached out wistfully towards the lifesaving bridge that gradually became further and further away&mdash;

Right then, he felt a powerful impact.

Looking up, he saw someone standing on the trunk, reaching out to grab Fear's weapon.

The man in the trench coat.

"...Ugh! H-Hurry and come up, the two of you!"

Did it fly off because he rushed over hastily? The soft hat on his head was gone. However, Haruaki could guess the reason why he kept his hat pushed down low.

Because the furtive middle-aged man was bald.