CubexCursedxCurious:Volume9 Chapter2

Chapter 2 - When Will the Emptiness Be Filled? / "Before long, if they reach out to each other"

Part 1

Now was not the time to be deliberating whether to chase down Chihaya and Isuzu or not. What was stolen must be recovered—Given it was something so precious, demanding its return was absolutely imperative.

Haruaki's group decided to split up in search of Chihaya and Isuzu. For them to be dressed as shrine maidens and appearing in this kind of place on New Year's Day, they were highly likely to be affiliated with the shrine. In any case, having decided on a time to meet up again and to call one another if any new developments arose, they headed off on their separate ways. Since Haruaki had no combat ability and could not handle things even if a situation arose, he acted with Fear as a pair.

Alone with Fear, who had lost her voice, they returned to the shrine's territory.

"..."

Fear pulled Haruaki's sleeve. Haruaki followed her gaze to see the place where shrine maidens were selling talismans.

"True, might as well check it out just in case."

Fear nodded. But once they approached the vendor area to have a look inside, there were no signs of the delinquent shrine maidens, obviously. Even when Haruaki asked some of the part-timer shrine maidens, they only looked at one another helplessly and answered: "Are there girls matching those descriptions...?"

After thanking them, Haruaki and Fear turned and left. Grand festivities were scheduled for dawn on New Year's Day. Although there was still some time before sunrise, the surroundings were quite noisy. Even so, Haruaki still found things too quiet and felt a little lonely.

(Clearly it's just because this girl isn't talking...)

Was he feeling this because up until earlier, she was more noisy than usual, such as during the New Year's calligraphy and mochi rice cake making activities?

Suddenly, Haruaki recalled the scene while they were strolling in the forest. The quiet forest. But Fear instantly made the scene liven up beyond compare. He had taken hustle and bustle for granted as part of Fear's natural presence.

Clearly it was so natural...

He had once thought that "there was nothing wrong" with such hustle and bustle...

He felt that such hustle and bustle was only natural...

Yet now it was missing.

Appearing behind him was a extremely desolate emptiness. He could not settle his thoughts. Something was missing. It filled him with unease.

"...Eh, Fear?"

Perhaps due to being immersed in his thoughts, when Haruaki suddenly turned his head to look back, he was surprised to find Fear missing without any signs of her. He frantically traced his steps to seek the silver hair amidst the crowd. Luckily, he quickly found Fear who was looking this way and that in worry.

"Ohoh, thank goodness. You're here."

"...!"

The corners of Fear's lips moved down as she charged straight at him. Without slowing down, she attacked Haruaki's stomach with the crash of a headbutt.

"Woah! Hey, you almost knocked my stomach out! After using it on the superintendent last time, is this move growing on you now!?"

"..."

Fear opened her mouth wide and said something silently. Probably some kind of scolding, but Haruaki could not hear anything.

Soon after, Fear realized with surprise and hung her head with an incomparably helpless and dejected expression while she tightly gripped Haruaki's coat above where she had just attacked him with the headbutt.

One could hardly blame her. Haruaki had forgotten.

Unable to settle down, feeling unease, he was not the only one. The victim herself, who had lost something precious to her, would naturally experience these emotions as well, probably to a further extent than him. The pain of not being able to say what she wanted. The pain of losing something she had always taken for granted. She was currently suffering.

None of her words could be transmitted instantly.

Whether the joy, sadness, loneliness or pain she was suffering.

All these were very distant. Because they were distant, they were impossible to transmit. Because they were impossible to transmit, a sense of distance was produced. Feelings of emptiness, solitude and isolation were created. But if even these feelings could not be instantly transmitted to a certain someone she wanted to share them with—

(That's... right... I must help her.)

Since she felt distant... Since feeling distant was making Fear suffer—

Then he had to approach her on his own initiative.

"Hmm... Okay, Fear, lend me your hand."

"...?"

Haruaki caught her little hand and led her towards his palm. Although it felt a bit embarrassing, there was no other way.

"So—Come, try writing with your finger. This will allow me to know what you want to say. But please spare me the complicated kanji."

Finally, Fear understood what he wanted her to do. Still bowing her head with a sense of loneliness, she used her index finger to slowly write on Haruaki's palm.

Character by character, she wrote using simple hiragana.

Haruaki deciphered the sentence as: 'Don't leave me behind'—

"...Yeah, I'm really sorry."

Haruaki apologized honestly. Perhaps relieved that she could transmit her words, Fear's tense face relaxed slightly. Haruaki looked back at her and said in jest:

"I'll be more careful from now on, so please forgive me... Would that be agreeable, my lady?"

Fear's finger moved slowly over his palm.

'Very well.'

"Thank you for your boundless generosity."

After Haruaki said this with a wry smile, Fear's expression became a lot more gentle.

So—Haruaki pondered to himself. Although it was going to be embarrassing as well, now that things had developed to this point and he had promised not to leave Fear behind by herself—This was surely the most effective solution.

"Since it'll be troubling if I received another of your headbutts because I didn't keep my promise... This is for the sake of my abs' protection. Hence, it can't be helped either."

Fear's index finger was still on top of Haruaki's palm.

Hence, very easily, Haruaki held Fear's little hand. Then holding her hand, he began to walk.

Fear showed surprise on her face for only an instant before switching to a pout and using her free hand to hammer Haruaki's shoulder. She was probably protesting: "Don't treat me like a child, I'll curse you!" However, Fear did not persist in her attack. Neither did she shake off his hand. Sensing her body warmth transmit through her hand, Haruaki instantly felt as though the sense of emptiness had shrunk slightly.

However, this definitely could not be allowed to persist. Absolutely not—

Haruaki looked around in the shrine's confines and resumed his search for Chihaya and Isuzu. Originally stuck with only the option of tugging Haruaki's clothing timidly, Fear was now starting to write on his palm whenever she had any questions to express her thoughts.

'Is that her?'

"What, over there!? Oh, it's just someone with black hair as well. Not Isuzu."

'What a shame.'

"I know right... Okay, let's check out that place over there this time."

Making rounds everywhere, they still could not find any signs of Isuzu or Chihaya. To be honest, Haruaki was starting to feel exhausted.

At this moment, Fear suddenly gripped his hand tightly while pulling on his sleeve with her other hand.

Forced to confront this silence, Haruaki looked into Fear's eyes. She seemed to be communicating something with her eyes as though insisting there was no need to write on his palm. Even without words, her thoughts were coming through vaguely. This was perhaps quite invaluable.

"Yeah... Let's take a break."

Fear smiled faintly, proving Haruaki's hunch correct.

After buying nostalgic marble soda at a nearby stall, they headed to the resting zone which had been occupied by noisy drunks earlier, finally finding seats for two with some difficulty. Fear tilted her head back and gulped down the soda. Viewed from the side, she was displaying far less of her usual domineering airs.

Haruaki did not intend to let this situation continue for long. Although Isuzu's motives in stealing Fear's voice were unknown, this behavior was absolutely unacceptable and action must be taken. Whether convincing her verbally or otherwise, Fear's voice must be returned to settle the matter. That said—Something needed to be done to relieve the current boredom.

(Letting her write words with her finger is not a bad solution... But is there a better way to communicate to each other more easily...?)

Haruaki wondered in distraction as he finished drinking his soda. How much time had passed since they started searching? Only when he took out his cellphone to check the time did he suddenly realize. This method also existed.

"By the way, Fear, although we're in the middle of this situation, let's have our first lecture of the new year on basic everyday knowledge."

"...?"

Fear tilted her head in puzzlement and reached out with her index finger, tickling Haruaki's palm as she wrote: 'Now is not the time for this kind of thing.' Haruaki smiled wryly. This could very well be the last time for him to experience this sensation from her finger... This thought prompted an unbelievable reluctance to part with the feeling. This was because he had come up with a better solution for communication.

Haruaki waved his cellphone lightly.

"This lecture will teach you how to type on a cellphone. Email and texting are basically the same... If you memorize it all, I don't mind lending my cellphone to you, at least for all of today."

"......!"

Fear pondered for a moment then smiled radiantly. Then her finger moved to write:

'That's wonderful! Not a bad idea but it'll be really time consuming and bothersome╤§♨☂÷♪ζ√☠！'

"You're writing too fast towards the end so I can't figure it out at all! Calm down, I'll teach you slowly."

Fear shook her silver hair and looked at the cellphone as though saying: "Then hurry up and start!"

It was very quiet for quite a long while.

At a distance close enough to feel each other's breathing, above the cellphone, their faces were pressed tightly together.

Under this silence, Haruaki taught Fear how to type, character by character.

The emptiness created by panicking unease seemed to shrink substantially. Surely it would shrink even more once Fear memorized how to type. However—

It will definitely not vanish completely. So long as this continued, it absolutely will not.

(Isuzu and Chihaya, I will definitely find you...)

Haruaki steeled his determination once more and clenched his fist. During this time, he finished explaining how to enter text. He could feel Fear taking the cellphone in apprehension and beginning to tap the buttons using just her index finger.

Finally, Fear looked up with a grin and brought the cellphone close to Haruaki's face.

On it was written:

'By the way, delicious. If only eaten with crunchy food.'

"...No matter what, a shrine like this one isn't going to sell rice crackers. Is eating all your can think of on New Year's Day!?"

Haruaki knocked the silver-haired head lightly.

Fear pouted with displeasure and entered her usual catchphrase into the cellphone.

Part 2

As the words implied, the back of the shrine's mountain was literally her own backyard.

After escaping from the interlopers in the forest, Chihaya pushed her glasses while exhaling deeply. Having sprinted all the way, her body was red from heating up but her exposed thighs still felt rather cold. Of course, even so, she still could not possibly approve of this outfit. As usual, she was simply agitated and impatient.

"...Why did you do that?"

"By that, you mean~?"

"Of course the kiss. If you don't get what I'm saying, let me put it another way. In other words, kissing, smooching, exchanging saliva through lip to lip contact and entangling each other's tongues. Pick any description you want."

"Oh, you mean exchanging saliva through lip to lip contact and entangling each other's tongues just now~"

"Are you toying with me?"

"What~?"

Isuzu smiled and tilted her head while Chihaya clicked her tongue. Whatever, who cares what she wants to call it. "Continue explaining!" Chihaya urged using her gaze.

"Because it is a necessary act~ If it made you unhappy, let me apologize here~"

"Why is it necessary? Will your body heat up from arousal without end or something like that? ...Whatever, I've absolutely no interest in your sexual orientation. Anyway, I've decided. From now on, you'll stand outside the room whenever I'm changing. So—an oracle appeared before that. What did it say?"

"Well... Yes..."

Pressing a finger to her lip, Isuzu pondered for a while. Then tilting her head again, she said:

"Please allow me to say in fear and trepidation, I hope you'll permit me to keep it a secret~"

"Are you kidding me?"

Chihaya pinched Isuzu's ear and twisted hard, completely mercilessly, because Isuzu was absolutely forbidden to hide anything from her. Isuzu was probably in enough pain to feel as though her ear were about to fall off, yet she maintained her smile. This further aggravated Chihaya who proceeded to grab her other ear.

"...You're still not telling?"

"Please allow me to say in fear and trepidation, ouch... But I still can't tell you~ This is for your sake, Chihaya-sama, do please understand~"

What do you mean, for my sake? This girl is my tool. Errand girl, flunkie and slave all in one. Insubordination cannot be tolerated at all. Did I fail in her training? Or ear twisting alone is not enough? Maybe I should simply pinch those tips of her excessively large breasts as well?

Chihaya entertained the thought half-seriously but did not put it to action in the end. With one forceful twist, she released Isuzu's ears.

"Seriously... Whatever, it doesn't matter now. After all, we did lose those people for sure. It's not like they can intentionally search the entire mountain for us."

"...True, so long as that is the case!"

Isuzu nodded calmly as usual. Somehow, Chihaya felt as though her reply held further meaning but could not read Isuzu's true thoughts. However, Chihaya did not let herself be bothered and simply dismissed it matter-of-factly with "so be it, in any case."

After all, ever since meeting this girl, Chihaya had never been able to guess her true thoughts at all.

Part 3

After reaching the appointed meeting location, Haruaki and Fear converged with Konoha and the rest of their group inside the shrine's confines. Judging from the fact that nobody called the cellphone he had lent to Fear, Haruaki knew that no one's search succeeded.

'Did you search properly!?'

Typing these words on the screen with an impatient look, Fear thrust the phone in front of Konoha's face. Sighing as though saying "when did you learn how to enter text on a cellphone?", Konoha replied:

"I did search properly. I know that being unable to speak is very serious, but trying to vent your frustrations on me won't help... Ah, hey, hold on!"

As though saying "Did you search properly!? Did you!? You didn't!", Fear rubbed the cellphone hard in Konoha's face. Not satisfied with that, Fear even went as far as to shove the cellphone together with the "Did you search properly!?" message in between Konoha's cleavage.

"Kyah... Hey, stop it right now! U-Ueno-san and Kuroe-san, how did your searches go?"

"We came up emptyhanded as well. Unfortunately, the search area is too wide."

"Yeah, if only we had some sort of clue... Haru, did you try asking the shrine maidens who are selling the talismans?"

"I did, but none of them recognized the descriptions."

At this moment, Fear dropped her gaze and stared at the cellphone, typing something. The screen she then showed to everyone said:

'bcuz they r jst smallfry! shrine maidenz boss shld no!'

"What excessive typos, I've never seen anything like 'shld no' before. Say, do shrine maidens have a so-called boss...?"

While saying that, Haruaki suddenly realized. Although a so-called shrine maidens' boss probably did not exist, there was someone in charge of managing the shrine maidens. They probably should try asking that person.

"Yeah, anyway, let's first try to find that person. But who knows where?"

Even if they conducted an undirected search all over the place, Haruaki did not think that would bear fruit. Hence, he tried his luck by asking one of the shrine maidens at the talisman vending area: "We have important matters to discuss." As it so happened, it was the shrine maiden's turn to have a break and she was willing to pass the message along. After a short wait—

The person who appeared was—naturally—this shrine's chief Shinto priest.

"I am Hayakawa, this shrine's chief priest... Are you the people who wanted to discuss something with me?"

The man was over fifty with a fair amount of white hair. His slender physique was clad in a white outfit. Haruaki gulped and inquired as politely as he could because this man might be completely unrelated to the two girls.

"Yes, we're really sorry to make you come out specifically for us. Uh, what I'd like to ask about is... Umm, is there a shrine maiden here called Chihaya with dyed hair? Also, is there someone else named Isuzu?"

Hearing these words, the Shinto priest instantly frowned. Then after glancing at his surroundings, he lowered his voice and said something exceedingly relevant.

"My daughter... Chihaya, has she caused you any trouble?"

Part 4

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Part 5

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Part 6

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Part 7

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Part 8

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Translator's Notes and References

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