Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume13 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 3===

After spending quite some time interacting with animals, Fear and company started to feel a bit hungry. Hence, they went for some simple food at an area lined with gift shops and restaurants. Although it was still too early for lunch, filling their stomachs was crucial because they still had not visited half the places they were supposed to go, due to going on many detours on whim.

Fear finished her after-dinner tea in one gulp.

"Hey Haruaki, you guys are going to take a break here for a while, right? Then during this time, can I go over to the gift shop to have a look?"

Haruaki was sitting before the restaurant table, sipping tea absentmindedly. Hearing Fear, he turned his head to face her. What a carefree guy he was. Come on, in order to try out all the facilities without leaving any regrets, even a single second must not be wasted.

"Sure... But don't buy things yet because it'll be troublesome to carry around."

"I know. I'm just gonna look."

Fear walked over to the gift shop near the restaurant. Inside, all sorts of goods were laid out. There were stickers, desk pads and key holders emblazoned with the logo of the Woof Meow Friendship Park. Other relatively unusual products included pet collars, leashes and dog clothing with the same logo. The targeted customers were probably the visitors who brought their own pets to the park. In addition, there were many other goods that did not seem very related to the park, but simply placed together due to relevance to cats and dogs, such as stationery, piggy banks, plush dolls...

"Muu, mumumu!?"

Fear suddenly stopped walking. Her gaze drawn to a certain location, her feet could no longer move. She crouched down on the spot, gazing intently at the massive object displayed behind a fence to prevent visitors from touching it.

One could categorize it as a plush doll. Also a cat. But no ordinary cat.

"I know... what this is. It's the park's most popular mascot, MeltyCat...!"

At all of the park's cat zones they had visited so far, virtually all the signs and buildings depicted this mascot. A lethargic in a lying down posture, drawn in an extreme version of super deformed style. Looking as though it was about to melt from heat, the cat's outline was a bit indistinct. Nevertheless, the distorted lines produced an unusual sense of adorability and comicality.

While staring at that thing, Fear slightly expanded her awareness into the surroundings. Apparently, the vicinity of this fence was the corner focusing on MeltyCat merchandise, including various things like key holders and cellphone straps. As though guarding the goods and also like the master of this corner, the massive MeltyCat plush doll, standing over a meter tall by visual estimates, was displayed prominently in the very center.

"Guh!? N-Now they've really got me&mdash;Is this a trap they set, knowing I'd be captivated by MeltyCat as soon as I laid my eyes on it!? I-I really want it...!"

Fear swallowed.

"Oooh... But, 'Not for sale, please do not touch' huh... Makes sense. As the master here, it won't be very dignified if anyone could buy MeltyCat. Even if it's for sale, I'm guessing that the price is definitely beyond the money in my purse... So it's telling me to settle for buying other MeltyCat merchandise..."

But Fear was unable to tear her eyes off the plush doll. Staring intently at the adorable yet solemn fact, she then breathed out, long and deep. At the same time, she also heard a sigh from beside her.

"S-So cute. Unimaginably cute..."

"Yeah, it's really unimaginably cute..."

The other person was probably just murmuring to himself, but Fear could not help but concur because their sentiments matched completely. She also found the youth's voice a little familiar. But because her eyes were glued to MeltyCat, Fear did not turn to look at the voice's owner. All she could tell was that the other person next to her was crouching as well, staring in mesmerization at the same plush doll.

"Sigh... How could it be this cute...? I guess it's fully of mystery..."


"The greatest thing is how it looks so furry and soft. There this mysterious sense of balance in appearance... I really wanna try touching it. Who knows what it feels to the touch..."

"Definitely furry and fluffy. Ooh, just imagining it is making me feel unbearable!"

"If I could hold it in the palms of my hands... Who knows what I'm going to do to it."

"I really wanna put it on my head!"

"When sleeping, crawling under this soft plushie to use it as a blanket... Then of course, waking up in this state would mean having MeltyCat's face dominate your entire view! Ahhh, I'd die of happiness first thing in the morning! And thus, a space even harder to leave than the kotatsu is born!"

"Oh look! The mini-plushie is labeled 'Changes color when dipped into hot water'!"

"What!? W-What if that kind of high-tech function is also installed in the master... H-Holy cow!"

Fear turned her head in surprise, intending to check out what the youth was pointing to&mdash;As a result, she finally saw the face of the person whom she had been talking to all this time. Gazing into each other's eyes, they both exclaimed in surprise at the same time:

" "Eh?" "

No wonder Fear had found the voice a bit familiar. But only just a bit, so she could hardly be blamed for not noticing instantly. Because speaking of which, he usually appeared before Fear's circle as "her" instead.

"Sovereignty, sorry for keeping you waiting. There was a bit of a crowd at the washroom...!"

"Hey~ Fear, break time's over. It's time to get going&mdash;Oh, it's you guys!"

Hearing this, Fear looked back.

Considering Sovereignty was present next to her in male form, then most naturally&mdash;

Sovereignty's lover Shiraho must be standing behind. As soon as Shiraho spotted Haruaki's group, she backed away repeatedly in surprise and alarm.



Such a stomachache, and a convulsive one at that.

(Urgh...)

Fear and Sovereignty were currently side by side, crouching on the roadside inside the park, petting and playing repeatedly with a large dog, laughing happily. Standing behind the pair, Konoha was craning her neck, looking eagerly at the same dog. She looked like she really wanted to pet the dog as well, but she was having difficulty bringing it up because of her sense of pride in front of Fear.

Although this was clearly a heartwarming scene that should naturally bring a smile to one's face&mdash;

What Haruaki heard from beside him was irritated tongue clicking.

With trepidation, he glanced to the side&mdash;Her attitude had remained unchanged since a while ago. Arms crossed, a scowl on her face, she kept tapping her fingertips against her elbow.

"By the way, Kuroe-san sure is taking her time at the washroom."

"Yeah, she should be back soon&mdash;Woah!"

"I'm back&mdash;"

Fear and the others were taken aback with surprise when Kuroe happened to return at this time. Despite clearly wearing normal clothes before going to the washroom, for some reason, she had returned in what appeared to be a loose-fitting dog mascot costume.
[[image:C3 13-170.jpg|thumb]]

"Wow~! Kuroe-chan, what's that? It's so cute&mdash;!"

"It seems to be pajamas~ I found a shop selling this kind of stuff when I was coming back from the washroom. Unable to resist the impulse, I bought it."

"If it's pajamas, can't you just wear it at home? There's no need to put it on immediately, right?"

"No no~ I have to put it on ASAP to publicize my cuteness! This is my mission as a mascot!"

"I've no idea what place's mascot you are, muu, but these pajamas are really quite nice. Apart from the MeltyCat merchandise, there's so much I wanna buy... What a dilemma!"

But, it's really so cute~ Sovereignty patted Kuroe on the head, dressed in the mascot costume pajamas. On the side, Shiraho's breathing quickened as the speed of her fingers tapping on her elbow gradually accelerated.

Thinking it would be a bad idea to stay silent, Haruaki gulped and spoke up:

"B-By the way, what a coincidence. Fancy coming to the same place on the same day to have fun&mdash;"

"We are not here for fun, human."

A terrifying voice. Shiraho simply turned her eyes sideways to look at him. That gaze resembled that of emotionless insects, almost enough to freeze people on the spot. Someone with a bad heart might probably get a heart attack immediately&mdash;

"We... Are... Here... On a date. Do you understand...?"

Haruaki could feel goosebumps rising on his back nonstop. She had deliberately fragmented her sentence, delivering her words slowly with a great sense of pressure, as though the grim reaper was riding upon her words, scythe in hand, hovering in approach.

"I-I get it...! Umm... How should I say this? This is really unfortunate, I feel very sorry for you two as well..."

"Oh really... You get it? Then I hope you can answer me, human. Because I haven't had a chance to go on a date with Sovereignty lately, I was thinking we must go on a date on this day, beginning preparations from a very long time ago, making plans, resolving to spend time alone together, just the two of us. Indeed. JUST. THE. TWO. OF. US, spending a most happy day together, having as much fun as possible, allowing the body to replenish the kind of happiness element that resembles narcotics yet surpasses narcotics, in other words, the Sovereignty element, to an overflowing degree. Given my plans, what do you think is the proper method for me to deal with insensitive, cruel, irrelevant, meaningless and aimless interlopers getting in my way?"

One step, another step. Like a ghost, Shiraho exuded a cold aura that was antithetical to the concept of life, finally approaching Haruaki. With a sneer that resembled a smile but was definitely no smile, she approached him.

"E-Eeek..."

"Okay, hurry up and tell me, human. What level of punishment can you accept? By the way, my lower limit is somewhere in the area of abandoning corpses or destroying corpses."

"So you've taken murder for granted as a matter of fact!? No wait, calm down, I said that this was just an unfortunate coincidence, we have absolutely no intention of getting in your way&mdash;"

"Regardless of intention, the fact is you have already succeeded in obstructing us! Seriously, as expected of a low-level human who only possesses intellect on the level of maggots...! I really hope you can die immediately and reincarnate into maggots matching your intellect, then gathering upon your own corpse to help me eliminate the evidence of abandoning the corpse. In this sense, it would be quite a perverse form of masturbation, rather fitting of your style. Does it feel good? Does it feel good? Then by the logic that I am making you feel good, I definitely won't be accused of committing a crime, then I shall murder and destroy the abandoned corpse without worry, and after that&mdash;"

"Shi~ra~ho~!"

While slowly approaching Haruaki and exuding murderous intent from her entire being, Shiraho was saying things that were definitely bad enough to require calling the police. At this moment, Sovereignty hugged her shoulder from the side. Rather than stepping forward to rescue Haruaki, Sovereignty was simply talking to Shiraho while using the opportunity for intimate contact as usual.

"Kuroe-chan is back now, so let's continue to the next location?"

Shiraho's transformation was excessively fast and overly natural. Making a tender smile of happiness towards her lover, she murmured softly with gentleness and loving affection, almost enough to melt someone.

"Fair enough, let's be on our way. However&mdash;"

"Umm, Sovereignty..."

Haruaki could not help but interrupt. While Sovereignty turned to look at him, Shiraho hissed and glared viciously at him, giving off an aura like that of underworld deities. Uh, hold on, I'm speaking up because I'm trying to help!

"Haruaki-kun, what's up?"

"Uh... You're on a date with Shiraho today, right? It's just coincidence that we're here, so it's not good if we get in your way... So how about we move separately?"

"Yes, Sovereignty, let's do that! This is the suggestion the foolish human came up with by racking his brains of maggot intellect. He'll end up being so pathetic if you don't accept the suggestion!"

"Eh~ It's a rare chance so wouldn't it be nice to walk around together?"

However, Fear failed to read the mood and objected. Caught in the middle, Sovereignty hunched her neck slightly and said:

"Ah, yeah. Uh... What should we do? I'm actually fine either way..."

"If either way is fine, then let us follow our original plan. We'll tour the place on our own, just the two of us. Then next up is... This place, the aviary."

"The aviary? We're planning on going there next too. Since our destinations are the same, we can go together."

"&mdash;That was the original plan, but let us change our route, Sovereignty. In fact, I don't like birds very much. If I were to see an owl turning its head a 180 degrees, I might be tempted to forcibly twist it another revolution or two. So for the sake of the owls' lives, we shall skip the aviary."

"B-But I really like owls! Not only are they fluffy but cute as well... Say, Shiraho, you don't have to hate Fear-chan and the others so much."

Shiraho sighed deeply.

"It's not that I hate them but I do find them obstructive and don't want to encounter them. That's all."

"Since today's supposed to be a date with you, Shiraho, I was basically planning to go around the place with you alone... But changing our route just to avoid running into them, that's going a bit far... Just keep things the same as usual. If we run into them, then just say hi or chat for a bit, there's actually nothing wrong with that&mdash;"

"No. In any case, I don't want to. Okay, Sovereignty, let's go!"

"Wahhh, Shiraho, don't drag me&mdash;! Uh, so that's what's happening, I'm sorry! If we run into each other later, let's say hi again~!"

In this manner, Shiraho dragged Sovereignty and they disappeared into the distance. Seeing that, Fear cocked her head, utterly baffled and said: "Umuu... I really don't get why Shiraho is in such a bad mood... Did we do anything wrong?"

Of course, rooted to the spot, Haruaki and the others could only exchange glances, shrugging helplessly.



Then they resumed what they were doing before encountering Shiraho and Sovereignty, resuming a leisurely tour of the park&mdash;As much as Haruaki wanted to say that, however...

"Ohoh, they're bunnies! Bunnies! White ones! Red ones! Fluffy ones!"

"Eh!? Where, where's the red bunny? Is it like a Char-custom!?"

"No, I mean the eyes. Oh it's you, Sovereignty? We meet again&mdash;"

"Okay, let's go, next location. Also, Sovereignty, no touching bunnies today, apparently!"

As soon as the group reached the bunny square where Shiraho and Sovereignty were already present, Shiraho strode forward, pushing Sovereignty's back. Of course, at the same time, she was glaring at full power towards Haruaki's group like laser beams as though saying "Don't follow us, or else I'll kill you all!"

After spending lots of time appreciating the rabbits, Haruaki's group moved onto the next location. However, they ran into Shiraho and Sovereignty again. Despite deliberately walking in the opposite direction, they ended up meeting again for some reason. The same thing happened the third time, then the fourth. Every time, Shiraho would click her tongue hard, forcibly interrupting Sovereignty's conversation with Fear and the others, and either pushing the back or pulling the arm of her lover, she would continue their journey of escaping, just the two of them.

"Is their luck that bad or what...? We really have no intention of stopping them from having time alone together."

"Hmm... They should simply give up and just tour the place with us. Sheesh, that damn Shiraho, I can't believe she's keeping Sovereignty all to herself... Oh, another encounter."

Noticing something, Fear stopped walking. Within the park were a number of athletic grounds for dogs to run around. Next to one of these grounds was an area resembling a resting zone, with rows of benches and a few mobile vendors. Sovereignty was there. But unlike all the times earlier, Shiraho could not be seen anywhere nearby.

"...?"

Haruaki suddenly felt a sense of dissonance. Of course, Shiraho's absence was one of the reasons, but Sovereignty's attitude also seemed a little different from before.

His eyes, staring blank towards the dogs running on the athletic grounds&mdash;

Seemed slightly lonely, slightly sad and slightly in pain.

Such were the complicated emotions residing within those eyes.