CubexCursedxCurious:Volume4 Chapter4

Chapter 4 - Not Warm / "In a sports day, the school that means her is sealed up"

Part 1

Monday—sports day. For most people, this would be a holiday but for the students of Taishyuu Private High School, that was no so. This was the very day of the long awaited sports festival. Along the usual route to school, apart from themselves, Haruaki's group could spot students all over the place, carrying school bags that were lighter than normal.

Fear looked up at the sky with unease:

"Hmm, the sky has darkened, the weather is overcast, Haruaki! What should we do? If it rains, what should we do?"

"The weather report said the chances of rain are 50%, right? ...But even if there's a little rain, the sports festival will still be held, don't worry!"

"What if it rains heavily, then what!? Damn it, you're all too slow!"

"You're the one going too fast! Even if you get there early, it's not going to start any earlier."

Although quite a lot had happened and they were facing a difficult situation, a sports festival was still a sports festival. One could hardly blame Fear for her enthusiasm... Just as Haruaki sighed, Konoha smiled as she walked beside him. It was an unbelievable smile expressing both loneliness and happy cohabitation.

"Hmm, what's up?"

"Nothing much... How should I put this? Somehow it feels as though you're different from yesterday, Haruaki-kun, or rather, you look very normal... Or perhaps, I should say you resemble Haruaki-kun from before..."

"Yeah, but I'm still confused about many things. Maybe it's better to say that I've mentally overcome certain issues after a day...? It feels like... All I can do is take things in stride. Of course, I still want to recover my memories with you all, so for this purpose, I will help in any way I can no matter what."

"Haruaki-kun, you just need to act as usual. Indeed... Taking things in stride is perhaps the correct approach. Speaking of which, do you still remember about Ueno-san?"

"Eh? Class Rep? What about her?"

There seemed to be some kind of blockage in his thoughts but he could not remember. Konoha shook her head lightly:

"Nothing... Well, I guess this might be better after all. She probably won't happy to talk about this subject anyway and it's not like she's going to bring it up on her own initiative. Don't worry about it."

"If that's what you say, I won't think about it..."

While conversing over these matters, they finally reached the school. The sight awaiting them was a great change from the school's usual appearance. Above the school entrance, there was a magnificent gate for promoting the sports festival, exhibiting a kind of grandness not normally seen. But as though this was not enough, further decorations were still being added. Standing on a tall ladder, happily at work—A maid.

"...A maid? What's going on, I have this urge to make a snide comment yet at the same time, I feel like it wouldn't matter..."

"Oh, it's Haruaki-kun, Fear-chan and Konoha-chan. Good morning~"

The maid smiled cheerfully and waved to them. Ugh—Haruaki frantically turned his gaze away.

"Hi Sovereignty, you're really energetic today... Oh my!"

"Sovereignty-san, your skirt, your skirt! Just standing in that position is already quite dangerous, how could you not be more careful!?"

"Eh? Uwawa... It's all exposed~!"

Because she turned around politely on the ladder to face Haruaki's group, Sovereignty's skirt ended up getting caught by the ladder. The surrounding male students quickened their pace and hurried to walk through the gates... Faced with such good fortune at the beginning of school, they probably would discuss this topic for the whole day.

As if supervising the maid—Sovereignty—at work, the cool beauty of a secretary was standing at the bottom of the ladder. Hyoujou Zenon. Haruaki remembered her name.

Good morning everyone—She bowed her head without smiling at all. Konoha whispered softly to her:

"Oh, Zenon-san, good morning... Sorry for calling you so suddenly yesterday, are things okay?"

"Yes. To be honest, these decorations are just for camouflage. The monitoring security cameras were just installed for their original purpose. I've always felt that there was a need for them and now came the perfect opportunity."

"...But doesn't it seem a little strange for them to be installed by the original culprit who first created a need for them?"

Fear looked up the ladder as she spoke. Sovereignty laughed "Ehehe~" in embarrassment as she scratched her head.

"Once the sports festival begins, more guards are scheduled to be stationed here—Not only that, but there will also be patrolling personnel to stay vigilant for intruders from outside. Due to the bizarre murder incident earlier, these extra measures won't arouse any suspicions."

That reason also stemmed from Bivorio—Fear muttered as though she had recalled an unpleasant memory, but immediately shook her head:

"If they came, what are you going to do?"

"I will be instantly alerted of any unusual signs whereupon I shall inform Konoha-sama immediately. I hope you will keep your cellphone by your side."

"Understood. When the time comes, we'll rely on your help to divert bystanders and lead the enemy to remote locations and trap them there. But it's really going to be difficult."

"No, making the sports festival a success if part of my job. Since suspicious parties might be making an appearance, I will handle things with full force."

Although Haruaki did not quite understand, Zenon appeared to be a reliable ally. Indeed, they could neither let other students get caught up in the troubles nor allow their safety to be at risk. It was imperative to handle matters cleanly by themselves.

Sovereignty apparently finished her task at this moment and slowly climbed down the ladder.

"So~ Haruaki-kun... I've heard about it. So you've forgotten me too?"

"Eh... Uh, umm, sorry."

"How could this happen..."

She lowered her gaze in grief and held Haruaki's hand tightly.

"Haruaki-kun, you're the one who saved us! And that's how we became friends. I never would have thought you'd forget... It feels... so lonely..."

Probably a spontaneous motion—Sovereignty's gentle fingers slid across Haruaki's hand back and forth. Haruaki experienced what felt like the body temperature of a soothing yet embarrassed girl. Then that temperature began to gently entwine Haruaki's fingers one by one. Clearly only his fingers were being touched but Haruaki felt as though his body was being embraced by her. Slowly and tenderly, she closed her eyes halfway and continued to caress Haruaki's fingers without special meaning.

Unused to this type of skin to skin contact, Haruaki wondered if he should push her away? But that felt kind of rude, so what exactly should he do? Just as Haruaki grew frantic—

"W-We're going to be late, Haruaki, let's hurry~!"

"Oh dear, I suddenly feel so dizzy! Why can't I stand steadily!?"

"Uwah!"

Fear and Konoha crashed into Haruaki's back simultaneously. After the impact, by the time he regained his senses, Haruaki found himself dragged along their way with the two girls grabbing each of his arms respectively.

Walking in this manner, the two girls made a look of confidence and turned their heads towards Sovereignty.

"Don't worry, Sovereignty-san."

"That's right, this guy will be back to normal by tomorrow—That said, his shamelessness will remain unaffected."

"U-Uh... Yes. If you need any help, please let me know."

Bye bye~ The maid waved goodbye to them. As they walked towards the school building, Haruaki asked the two girls beside him:

"...That girl just now, what's her relationship with us?"

"She's the secretary's assistant at the superintendent's office."

"The first time we met her, you allowed her to sit straddled on your body. You were even happy about it."

"She's lovers with a girl named Shiraho-san. By the way, she's actually a boy."

"Your eyes looked unusual when you were staring at her belly button."

"I don't get what the heck you girls are talking about!"

How strange... Surely he was not that excessive of a pervert? But try as he might, Haruaki could not remember. He slumped his shoulders dejectedly.

For sure, he needed to retrieve his memories as quickly as possible. If this continued, he could not even trust himself anymore... But at the very least, he probably did not harbor any impure thoughts towards a boy, did he?

Part 2

The sports festival started. All the sights and scenes were quite new and refreshing for Fear. All the students were dressed in either gym clothes or tracksuits. Colorful arches were laid out on opposite sides of the sports ground while simple tents were set up around the track. There were also many parents dressed in casual clothing with their cameras prepared. Although it was not because someone was watching her, Fear somehow still felt nervous and avoided looking in that direction. School on a holiday, school without lessons, school that was like yet unlike school, all this contributed to an incredible feeling.

The opening ceremony. Having everyone do warmup exercises together felt stupid but happy. "The superintendent's speech"—Delivered by the man in the gas mask, it really was quite strange. Perhaps to avoid attracting undue attention, he instantly retreated out of sight into the VIP tent. In contrast to the students' nonchalance, the tumult in the parents seemed quite amusing.

Soon after, the competitions began. Despite the unfortunate, overcast weather, the students still showed great enthusiasm. Fear heard live cheering she had never heard before, stirring up a sense of eagerness in her heart... But Fear did not forget.

(Who knows when Abyss or Bivorio might show up. Although Zenon is keeping watch, I can't be too careless...)

Glare, glare—Fear's gaze patrolled the surroundings. No matter what, finding a way to take care of those people is the top goal. Compared to the competing in events, she must prioritize staying vigilant. Sorry, everyone, please don't rely on my in the sports events, do your best... Thinking that to herself, Fear went over to where she had to stand by for her first event.

Then—

"H-Haruaki Haruaki! What's going on? The white team's points are the lowest! But I clearly got first place!"

"That's because it relies on the points from all the members. Isn't this only natural? Besides, the sports festival is only halfway through. This is my first time to see someone getting so serious about it!"

Haruaki explained to Fear who had come running to tug his shirt. This resulted in—

"What are you talking about, Haruaki? Without halfway, how could there be any results!? You should learn from Fear-chan's serious motivation instead! Fear-chan is our role model for the white team to reflect on, Fear-chan in the mirror! Woo!"

The idiot classmate, namely Taizou, was supporting Fear with astounding vigor. Haruaki frowned:

"You seem to be in even higher spirits than usual..."

"And you, Haruaki, are acting just like an old man as usual!"

Yes—Fear nodded with heartfelt agreement. Taizou grabbed Haruaki by the shoulder:

"Listen carefully, I have gambled my life on this sports festival but for one purpose, victory!"

"Eh... Although I can understand your passionate enthusiasm, this really isn't something worth gambling your life over."

"...Haruaki, you couldn't have forgotten? Didn't the superintendent just say? He is offering a luxurious prize to the winning team to express his modest goodwill!"

"Eh? Did he say that...? Also, isn't a luxurious prize kind of contradictory to modest goodwill!?"

"Stop worrying about those little details, this is a display of Japanese subtlety! According to my prior investigations, the prize apparently consists of tickets to a certain entertainment facility... Hoho, do you realize what this means?"

"No idea." "No idea."

Fear and Haruaki shook their heads at the same time. Taizou laughed eerily in a profound manner and clenched his fist:

"In other words... It gives a legitimate chance to invite the girl you like on a date! 'Given this rare opportunity, would you like to go together?' With just this one question, just by asking this one question... She won't suspect any ulterior motives, thus allowing me to succeed in asking her out on a date! The cliche of 'I happen to have an extra ticket' is out of fashion nowadays. If you say something like that, anyone would know what your intentions are, right? So things have to be natural. Precisely because everyone in the winning team already has a ticket, it will be natural... Hoho, obviously I am going to ask Konoha-san, together with Konoha-san... Then... Then! If only there'd be a warm water pool available on that day! Kukuuheehee!"

"Scary!" "Scary!"

In any case, wouldn't your ulterior motives become instantly exposed... Haruaki thought to himself but did not voice his remark. This was out of consideration as a friend.

"Tickets huh... I don't quite get it, but it's something expensive?"

"Probably, Fear-chan. It must be something cordially designed so that those without courage can still redeem them for cash!"

"Oh... Oho... Cash huh... That means I can buy something I like to my heart's content? Who knows how many bags I could buy...!"

Smiling profoundly, Fear and Taizou exchanged glances and—

"Taizou, the war begins now! We must work for victory!"

"Fear-chan in the mirror!"

As if reaching some kind of understanding, the two shook hands firmly. Watching these two, Haruaki sighed, thinking at the same time—Ahhh, indeed, she's really getting along with the crowd.

Indeed, this was the first time for "his current self" to witness the way she got along harmoniously with Taizou. It gave Haruaki a sense of what the times spent with her were like. She must be quite used to this, getting along with others albeit noisily. Perhaps there were still many issues but she was definitely trying hard, no mistake about it. Just as Haruaki savored this sort of feeling that carried both happiness and loneliness—

"Fear-kun and Taizou, the next event is the borrowing race. It's about time you both head over to the standby area to get ready."

Kirika appeared with the programme schedule in her hand. Due to her roles as the class representative and membership in the executive committee, she also had to manage the competition participants from her class.

As usual, she was dressed from top to bottom in a long-sleeved tracksuit. Although she was not the only student wearing these clothes, people felt hot from exertion as the sports festival progressed and there were very few people who remained dressed in this manner.

Watching Kirika send off Fear and Taizou, Haruaki stared at her involuntarily and thought... Doesn't she feel hot? Did the saying, cool minds naturally result in cool bodies, actually work? Who knew how Kirika was interpreting his gaze, but she blushed and approached, saying as she brushed past him:

"...W-What's with your staring? I'm not taking it off unless you're the only one watching, that much is obvious, right?"

She whispered swiftly as though she were sulking slightly yet extremely shy at the same time.

To think she would say something like that.

"...Eh?"

Kirika walked past without turning her head, her ponytail swaying. What? Was there some sort of deeper meaning in what she said just now? Haruaki felt like he was about to remember—But in the end, he could not recall.

This was terrible. Extremely terrible.

Sure enough—Am I really that much of a pervert? Furthermore, it seemed as though I were a pervert in all ways to an unimaginable extent. I'm the worst.

Part 3

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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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Part 9

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Part 10

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Part 11

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Part 12

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