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"Look at your plate when you"re eating! The morsels are falling off the plate!"

Fear answered yes. Again. She"d answered the same word several times already but her eyes were fixed upon the square box that was placed on the corner of the room.

"Hmmmm. I"d thought that you"d say something clichéd like, "What are those small people doing inside that box?!"."

"D-Don"t take me for a fool. I know how that thing works. This box just shows a place far from here. And the power of electricity makes it possible to record the past. It"s true that this is the first time I actually saw it but, uh, just like what I imagined. There wasn"t much surprise with it, ahaha-haha-haha..."

She let out a false laugh while making a serious face. Her fork wandered around her plate, though it was empty. The news caster on the television said, "Good morning, everyone! Let"s do our best for this day!" and Fear answered, "Yes. I don"t know you but I wish you luck," with unnecessary politeness.

"Hey, Fear, try this one out. I"ll teach you how to operate the television."

"What is that thing?"

"Try pushing that prominent red b.u.t.ton. Face it towards the television."

Fear received the remote control. She looked a bit tense as she tried to push the red b.u.t.ton just as she was told.

"Wha—! The image disappeared!"

She looked astounded as she reported what happened to Haruaki. He told her to try pushing the b.u.t.ton again.

"I-It, I mean, the image restored!"

She reported again with exactly the same expression.

"That"s the On/Off b.u.t.ton. Keep the television off when you"re not using it. There are lot of other b.u.t.tons but you don"t have to use them. The only b.u.t.tons that you could touch are the b.u.t.tons with numbers written on it. "

"Are you sure it"s alright? I"m gonna push it? You hear me, I"m going to!"

The channel changed to a different news program doing a report about sports. It was about the F1 Race so F1 cars pa.s.sed in front of the camera. Fear, being a bit ignorant about these things, shouted "It"s coming towards us! Look out!" and crouched on the floor. It was just as how Haruaki expected her to react.

"So, that"s how it is. If you push the b.u.t.tons, the channel would change. Whatever happens, the images won"t come out from the television so you don"t need to worry."

"I-I knew that! It"s just that... er... yes! It"s just that you have to be prepared for the unexpected! No one knows what"ll happen next, uh-huh."

Fear tried pushing other b.u.t.tons. Haruaki noticed that a faint pink shaded her white cheeks. She only stopped pushing different b.u.t.tons when the channel switched to a weather report. Her finger went still and her eyes stared at the television in awe.

"Is that the... sea?"

Haruaki answered affirmatively and she whispered softly, her eyes still fixed on the monitor,

"...I never had a chance to see it. I didn"t think that it would be so big."

Different shades were behind those eyes. There was the shade of admiration... and there was also a bit of disappointment.

"It looks a lot colder and darker than what I expected..."

"That"s because there are some rain clouds over there. It"s completely different in summer."

"Is that so."

"We also have that here in our town. It"s on the opposite side though. You could go someday if you want to."

Fear shook her head in a vague manner. Haruaki wasn"t able to decide whether it was an affirmation or a rejection.

The doorbell rang and Haruaki went to the front door carrying his bag. Konoha was waiting behind the door, smiling. Konoha usually went to school together with him when she didn"t have work on student council or club activities.

"Good morning!"

"Okay, let"s go."

"Hmmm... What"s the meaning of this?"

"We"re going to school. Didn"t I tell you that we have to go to school during weekdays?"

"With her?"

"Well, yeah. We"re in the same year, after all."

Haruaki finished putting on his shoes, stood up and pointed at Fear.

"I have an order for you today. It"s about your work while I"m away at school."

"...Tell me."

"First, turn the television on like I told you earlier. Watch any program that you like. When you get hungry, there is some food in the kitchen. When you feel sleepy, go sleep. That would be all. I wish you luck."

"Only that?!"

"Yeah. Hey, I"m gonna teach you household ch.o.r.es later so be patient for today, okay?"

Fear expanded her cheeks like a balloon. Haruaki was puzzled. He couldn"t think of any reason why Fear would be dissatisfied with his order. Konoha peeked over the front door, smiling like a saint.

"Don"t tell me you can"t take care of yourself alone because you"re lonely?"

"W-Why you?! Who told you that I"m lonely?! I"d be glad that there won"t be any more annoyance like you two! Oh, I"m so excited. The world on the television is waiting for me now!"

"You"ll be fine alone then. Great. Splendid. Well, let"s go now, Haruaki-kun. To the happy place called school. TOGETHER."

"A happy place you say? Hmph! I"d bet that you"ll just use those great t.i.ts of yours to flirt with him! How shameless! C"mon, go now, go! I can"t wait to be alone, you know!"

"Er—I"m kinda worried about Fear but I"ll be late for school at this rate. It can"t be helped. Let"s go, Konoha."

They went out of the gate, towards the road. Konoha moved with light steps and Haruaki scratched his head. Fear was letting out a fierce snort as she watched their backs disappear from her vision. When she felt that they were gone, she let out a deep sigh. She sat down in front of the door. It was silent. Everything around her was unmoving. The wooden ornament above the shoe rack. The patterns on the wooden ceiling. The mirror on the wall. The calendar besides it. She felt that the cold silence of those inanimate objects welcomed her—As if they knew that she used to be an inanimate object just like them.

She embraced her knees and slightly bowed her head. She looked at her silver hair as she observed it sliding between her knees, while she whispered with an empty voice.

"Fool... Did you really have to leave me alone...?"

He was used to taking up weird pa.s.sengers. It was natural since he worked in a place where different people come and go. He was a taxi driver stationed in front of the airport. In the past, he had black pa.s.sengers who used the word f.u.c.k in almost every sentence they used. He also had Chinese people who carried imitations of popular game consoles. He even had pa.s.sengers of a j.a.panese family who asked to be brought to a forest or swamp where no one else lived. If he were to think back about every pa.s.senger he had, it would take forever. But—This pa.s.senger was the weirdest among all the pa.s.sengers he had. The driver moved his eye over the back mirror to check again at the lady pa.s.senger he picked up earlier. She was a blonde Caucasian beauty who wore an elegant gown. That was normal. But, other than that, everything else about her was strange. Too strange. He wondered how she was able to board a public plane wearing THAT thing.

"I have this feeling that I am being watched."

The woman who mouthed a thin cigarette spoke in a fluent j.a.panese while she kept her view toward the window. He wondered if the woman was intentionally ignoring the "No Smoking" sign on the gla.s.s. The woman shrugged, and the faint sound of creaking metal echoed.

"Er, excuse me, miss...?"

"Oh. Not you too."

Who else was she talking about? There wasn"t anyone else in the taxi but them two. The driver trembled lightly as he thought about his pa.s.senger looking more ominous as the time pa.s.sed by. There was still some distance from the hotel that they were heading for. The driver thought that he had to make a lighter atmosphere for both of them. After all, she was still a customer despite her eerie impression.

"You speak the j.a.panese language very well. I"ve had many pa.s.sengers from different countries but you"re the most—"

"Weirdest pa.s.senger?"

The driver felt as if an icicle pa.s.sed through his body, from his mouth out to his a.n.u.s. Somehow, he was able to regain his composure and replied.

"Aside from the fact that you"re the best j.a.panese language speaker among the pa.s.sengers that I"ve had, you"re also the, um—most beautiful, ma"am."

"Hmm. I wonder if all the taxi drivers in this country are all educated about etiquette. I say it is just what you may expect from j.a.pan, the polite country. It is indeed a great thing."

It seemed that the driver answered right. He calmed down a bit hearing the soft laughter coming from his pa.s.senger.

"It"s not just a flattery, ma"am, not at all."

"Haha, I don"t really mind if it was a flattery. My favorite author said in one of his books that "You should bear in mind that a lie is the key to every happiness, benefit, reputation, and wealth." —It is an anti-social statement though."

"Er, never heard of it before, ma"am... I suppose he"s a foreign author?"

"Indeed. Marquis Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade is known for his anti-socialism."

After the pa.s.senger explained that to the driver, she started to laugh again. The driver wondered what was so funny.

"Did you come here to j.a.pan for a vacation?"

"Unfortunately, no. It is about a matter concerning my work."

"I see that you"re dedicated to your work, ma"am. May I ask about your occupation?"

The strange beauty raised her face, looked at the driver through the back mirror, and smiled. That moment when the driver"s eye met the pa.s.senger"s, all the calm that he acc.u.mulated during their recent conversations vanished. A strong need to get far away as soon as possible from this pa.s.senger made the driver kick the accelerator hard. It was, after all, just as he thought. There was no way that woman having that kind of eyes is sane. Those eyes filled with cold disdain, as if they were used to look down upon the people around her...

"Oh, my work? I came here for a little trash-cleaning."

A few hours had pa.s.sed since Fear was left alone in the house. She quickly lost interest in watching television.

"Phew, I have nothing else to do... ."

It was the same word that she said yesterday. A thought suddenly came into her mind. If she was bored inside the house, She should go outside. She wore the sandals that were left on the porch and walked around the garden.

"....boring."

Fear walked around the outside of the house a few times, making a wry face. The outer building of the house where Konoha was staying came into her view. The ground floor was covered with silver shutter. She thought that it was a garage or something. Her eyes went up to the second floor window, and she remembered what happened this morning.

"Er what can I say...Isn"t Haruaki being a little bit biased to that cowt.i.ts? That shameless brat...I also don"t like the fact that cowt.i.ts got her own proper room while I have none. Talk about being unfair. Doesn"t he even think that I also have things that I wanted to do? He always say "Don"t do this" and "Don"t do that"..."

She mumbled complaints and started to walk back toward the main house—but stopped.

"Oh yeah, he didn"t say that I shouldn"t do THAT. Hmm, I suppose there"s no problem with me doing THAT so he didn"t mention anything about it. Yes, it must be so."

Fear nodded to herself. But, there was one little problem.

"So, what should I do now...?"

Fear looked up at the sky and tried to think about what she had to do. The next moment, she realized that the answer was simple. She grinned.

She looked up again at the outer building. There she saw the vast sky...and the little window on the second floor of the outer building, peeking from the corner of her eyes.

Taizo came back from his trip to the nearest vending machine to buy their drinks since he lost in the rock-scissors-paper game. But, he came back without carrying any juice, shadowed by his dark expression. Haruaki who was having his lunch with the usual members looked up to ask Taizo what happened.

"Is there a problem, Taizo?"

"Hey, Haruaki... I know it"s not good. But I can"t help myself—I know that this line is too clichéd to use nowadays...But, I just have to say it! Tell me, Haruaki, can I say the words that are meant to be said in a situation like this?!"

"W-What are you saying...?"

Haruaki sent Taizo a blank stare. Suddenly, Taizo grabbed Haruaki by his neck.

"Why! Is it! Always you!"

"Argh, Ergh?! What do you think you"re doing, idiot! Tell me what happened!"

"Ask that to yourself, b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Aren"t you content with Konoha-san?!"

"I"m telling you, I don"t know what you"re talking ab—ooooooooogh!"

"Eeew! Gross!"

"Hey, Yachi! Something came out from your mouth!"

Haruaki forgot to apologize to Kana and Kirika. He couldn"t believe what he was seeing right at that moment. It was—a silver-haired head peeking out from the room"s rear door.

"Hey you over there! Didn"t you say you"ll tell me where...Ah, so there you are."

Fear approached him with a self-possessed calm. For some reason, she was wearing a school uniform.

"Hehehe. I came here just as you wished, Haruaki."

Fear held her head high and told Haruaki triumphantly—When the atmosphere in the cla.s.sroom became tense.

"Fear?! What are you doing here?!"

"You"re asking me why I"m here. Well, you didn"t say that I shouldn"t go out or shouldn"t come here. So, that means I can go to any place I want to."

"I didn"t tell you anything because I thought that it was obviou—argh!"

Kana who was sitting beside Haruaki grabbed his head and pressed it against his lunch box. Kana used that as a force to stand up, her eyes shining bright with interest. She went beside Fear and started hugging her.

"Wow! She"s so beautiful! How cute!"

"Er, woman. Stop touching me."

"Oh, I love how you speak! So, your name"s Fear, huh? Where did you come from? What kind of relationship do you have with Akki...uh, I mean, Haruaki-kun?"

"What kind of relationship, you say....I wonder too. Basically, I live in his house."

"Are-you-two-living-together?!"

"My old man! I mean, she"s the daughter of my old man"s friend that he made abroad! That"s why I have to take care of her in place of my old man!"

"Hmm... So you two are staying in the same house. Looks like...there are some things that need to be confirmed. As the cla.s.s representative, of course."

Kirika stood up with strange vigor. Soon, all the other people in the cla.s.s started to gather around them. Haruaki dropped his shoulder in defeat. He just gave Fear a look that said she musn"t say anything unnecessary. Fear just nodded. It seemed that people around them thought that Fear was a girl who came from abroad visiting the school because she had nothing much to do. Needless to say, news about Fear quickly spread outside Haruaki"s cla.s.s.

"H-hey?!"

Haruaki looked at the direction where that voice came from and saw pale-faced Konoha staring at Fear. She must have been on her way back to her cla.s.s from the school"s shop since she was carrying a handful of sandwiches.

"Why is she...?"

"She came here by herself. I"m going to lose my consciousness now. I"ll leave the rest to you, Konoha..."

"What do you want me to do?!"

That moment when Konoha entered the room, a boy left the circle forming around Fear. It was Taizo who changed his att.i.tude as he saw Konoha coming to their room.

"K-Konoha-san! W-Welcome to our room! Our room"s kind of sordid since half of us are guys but I hope you won"t mind! So, what can I do for you?"

Konoha answered his question with a polite smile. An idea came to her mind.

"Um, I was planning to have my lunch with Haruaki-kun... and since there"s also Fear-san, I would have liked to eat with her too but as you can see, there are too many people so..."

Taizo moved to break the circle surrounding Fear just as Konoha expected him to. He ignored all the boo-ings coming from the crowd and proceeded to sending them away. Konoha smiled her thanks and Taizo turned back, making a guts pose. Haruaki thought that he"s a type who"d be tricked by a woman in the future.

"Hm—Oh, it"s you. You needn"t have come here."

Konoha moved her lips without making a sound. She said, "You"re the one who shouldn"t have come".

"Come on, get some more tables. Two more."

"Ah, hey Taizo, we"re not..."

"Huh? You guys aren"t gonna eat with us? Is there going to be a problem if I and Kana are present?"

"A lunch, is it. Sounds good to me. I found a lunch box back at the house so I stuffed some food in it."

Fear answered without any pretense. It would sound strange now to force that they"re not going to have lunch with them. But, if that was the case, Haruaki needed to remind Fear of some important things before they proceed to having lunch together.

"I"m gonna buy some drinks for us while we tour her around the school. C"mon Konoha, let"s go."

"Yes, I"m coming now. Um, can you please hold these for me?"

Konoha handed Taizo the three pork cutlet sandwiches that she was holding, then started to follow Haruaki. Stares directed at Fear kept coming even when they were pa.s.sing through the corridor—but, that can be ignored for now.

"You there, what were you thinking coming here all of a sudden?"

"Huh? I already told you that I came here because you didn"t say that I can"t come here, haven"t I? Well, there"s also the fact that I didn"t have anything to do in the house. Besides, it would be unfair if this woman can attend school while I"d just be staying at home."

"It"s not like I started to attend school right after I became human..."

"Really...I should have told you clearly that you can"t go out yet, since you still lack much common knowledge."

"Why you! Didn"t you hear earlier that I was having a normal conversation with the people in your cla.s.s?"

"I"m sorry to inform you that I almost had a heart attack while you were talking to them since I was afraid that you"d say something that you shouldn"t. Let"s just leave that topic. What"s important now is that you should keep your setting that you don"t know much about j.a.pan since you just came here. If there was a question that you don"t know how to answer, just shut up, smile, then shake your head. That"s the j.a.panese way of solving problems."

Haruaki bought some drinks at the vending machine in front of the shoe racks. Fear observed Haruaki, seeing something unusual for her. Konoha spoke to Fear while she was busy checking the vending machine.

"I was wondering since you came here... Where did you get that uniform you"re wearing?"

"It"s obvious who"s uniform this is. The waist and the chest parts are too big and wide for me. You should get some weight off you."

"Y-you dared to violate my room?! Don"t you know the difference between things that you should and shouldn"t do?!"

Konoha drew her face near Fear"s and glared. Fear just bent her mouth into a cool smile.

"Oh...So you think you can say that to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Listen Haruaki, I found really gaudy underwear in her top drawer and—"

"No! No! No! I wasn"t quite myself when I bought that!"

"What are you two fussing about? We should go back now. I already bought the drinks."

Haruaki started to walk, and looked down at Fear.

"I heard some of your conversations...You should know that entering one"s room without permission is against the manners."

"Hmph, it can"t be helped. I at least know that one can"t enter school without wearing a uniform. Besides, I was able to come here because I asked people where is the school using this uniform."

"Weren"t you supposed to give up coming here at the point that you didn"t have any uniform...?"

"By the way, how did you enter my room? I locked the door properly."

"....? What do you mean? I just entered by the window like anyone else would."

"That"s strange. I remember locking the window also...Wait. D-don"t tell me you...?!"

Fear made a "V" sign with her hands against Konoha, who froze up in outrage.

"That"s right. I broke it."

Konoha staggered, as if she was standing on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet. Haruaki let out a soul-escaping sigh. He didn"t want to think who will pay for the gla.s.s" repair.

"...d.a.m.n. I can"t take any more of this. You wear me out. Hey Fear, go back to home when you"re done eating. I don"t know what the teachers would say if they happen to see you."

"Hmm. I still wanted to see this "lecture" thing. Can"t I stay?"

"Of course, you can"t!"

While they were having an argument, Kirika appeared from the opposite side of the corridor, walking towards them.

"Oh, it"s you cla.s.s rep. Where have you been?"

"I just went to the staff room. Be glad to hear this Yachi, and you too Fear-kun."

Staff room. That word sent a bad feeling nagging at his gut. That bad feeling hit right at its mark.

"I negotiated with the teachers and as a result, our foreign visitor here was granted a special permission to partic.i.p.ate in the afternoon cla.s.ses. No need for a word of grat.i.tude, by the way. I just did what I can do as a cla.s.s representative. Besides, we don"t get to have much chances of having inter-cultural activities. It would be a good experience for both of us."

Haruaki wanted to say that it was an unwelcome effort but swallowed the words. Kirika continued to speak with a half-opened eye.

"With that, I"ll get more time to have conversations with Fear-kun. There are still some things that need to be confirmed—Like the fact that although he"s living together with his cousin, they"re still man and woman in their sensitive ages...Who knows what kind of unwanted accident might happen between them...!"

Observing from the dangerous gleam in her eyes, this was obviously the main reason why she had a negotiation with the teachers about Fear.

(Ohh d.a.m.n, from where should I start complaining?)

In the end, Haruaki just dropped his shoulders and gave up opposing. It was clear that any complaint coming from him wouldn"t be heard after all. At least, he knew that much.

"I didn"t get much of your conversations, but does that mean that I could partic.i.p.ate in the lecture? Kirika, was it? You"re a nice person!"

One of the reasons why Haruaki gave up complaining was the fact that Fear looked happier than he expected.

After handing a tip to the bellboy who was educated enough to make a forced smile, she hurried to unpack her baggage. Those trunks which she received from the front desk were sent sometime ago from her country in advance. She proceeded in her confirmation of the contents of the trunks while she enjoyed her cigarette. Those things she needed were all there. There was no apparent problem.

"....? I have a feeling that there is an excess among the baggage..."

The last trunk, which was shaped like a guitar case, was not familiar to her. She drove the almost finished cigarette into the ash tray, then opened the last trunk. There she saw—

"This is..."

A strain formed on her cheeks. It was the form of deep hatred and wrath. She shut the trunk hard. The momentum from the banging revealed a note from inside the trunk. She picked up the note, read it, and crushed it inside her hands.

"Oh, this is none of their concern, absolutely not...b.i.t.c.h!"

She a.s.saulted the trunk and sent it flying across the room. The expensive-looking flower vase which decorated the suite shattered aloud.

"What an ill-omened way of beginning a mission... Ahh, I need to calm down, I just have to—"

She walked around the room for a while. Later, she grabbed the cigarette case on the table. She sunk deep into the sofa and started to smoke. One stick was consumed. She went on to her next stick. With her third, she started to retrieve her calm. After she finished her third stick, the cellular phone that was included among her baggage rang. The voice that came from the opposite side of the line was a girl"s.

"I am the Auxiliary who was a.s.signed to aid you in this particular mission. This is my initial contact."

"How kind of you. I arrived here safe and sound...I had this feeling of being observed since I came to this country...I suppose it was you?"

"I affirm. I"ve started to support you. Since your first step in this country. It is just usual for the Auxiliaries not to show themselves."

"Of course. It would be a shame for a Knight if it happens that his Auxiliary will show himself in the battlefield. Since I"m the one sent as a front-line, there is absolutely no chance of that happening though...Oh, and one more thing. Are you responsible for this unnecessary trunk that was included among my baggage?"

".....? I do not understand what you mean."

"I"m talking about this s.h.i.t equipped with an indulgence disk. It seems like you"re not responsible for it. If that was the case, there isn"t any problem. I"m glad that a fracture didn"t occur between our relationship as a team from the very beginning of this mission—Well, come on now my faceless and nameless Auxiliary. Let us move on toward our parting without ever revealing our faces or even our names."

"I understand. Let us begin the mission."

With that, the voice coming from the phone stated the current location of their target. She was glad that an efficient Auxiliary was allotted to her. After she was done with their conversation, she smiled and whispered while she looked at the smoke that acc.u.mulated at the ceiling of the room.

"I must go now. Off to eliminate that eyesore-b.i.t.c.h."

They were at the rooftop after the cla.s.ses. The wind blowing from the faintly cloudy sky felt chilly against their naked skin. But despite that, Fear looked down at the school ground below looking cheerful as ever.

"It"s so high up here, and it feels great...Come to think of it, I should have seen the view of the ground from the airplane when I came here. That was a mistake."

Then, she smiled at something that she remembered.

"By the way—that lecture thing sure was fun. I still remember the look on their faces when I spoke in English. I think that anyone could speak fluently with two days of studying though."

"Our basic capabilities are very different from your kind so don"t compare us with you..."

Haruaki muttered as he dropped his shoulders. He felt as though he experienced a mental torture while they were having the afternoon cla.s.ses. Fortunately, there hasn"t been a fatal mistake—but, thanks to the order to give Fear a tour around the school directed by some meddlesome teachers, his mental condition wasn"t fully recovered even after the cla.s.ses were finished. Beside Haruaki was the tired-looking Konoha leaning against the fence. Fear was also accompanied by Taizo and others at first but they eventually parted because of their club activities and student council duties. In the end, Only Haruaki and Konoha were left.

"Hmm. Looks like that ball game below is about to end. I noticed too that people are becoming fewer."

"It"s about time where most of the club activities are wrapping up for the day... Can we go home already?"

"That"s a wonderful idea. Let"s go home and have something to eat."

Fear heard them but made no motion of letting go of the fence.

"I guess you two are right. But...a little bit more. I want to stay here...a little bit more."

Haruaki looked at Fear"s back for a while. Finally, Haruaki let out a sigh of defeat and said that she had 10 more minutes to stay there.

"Hey Haruaki, Don"t you think this place is—nice?"

"Is it? There"s no people or anything around here. It"s not much of a view."

"I wasn"t talking about the view. I meant this place called school...Its very lively and there are an unbelievable amount of people. Every one of them is kind of happy in their own way. Really, I never saw a place like this."

She said with a soft voice, making a bitter smile.

Haruaki heard a clicking sound. He looked at Fear and saw that Fear was playing the Rubik"s cube with one hand while her view was still fixed at the ground below. He thought that he saw a hallucination where there was no one else here in the rooftop aside from that girl. He thought that she"d stay here even if they left her alone. Just like seeing a painting of a solitary girl from outside of the frame.

"This kind of school was just recently made...It"s just natural that this place would seem rare to you."

Konoha"s words stopped his hallucination. There was a feeling of consolation in her words. Haruaki wondered if that consolation came from understanding of Fear"s feelings.

"The city that I pa.s.sed on my way here was just as rare. After all, they are the same—There are a lot of people and it"s noisy there. Haha, I wanted to ask them what there was that all of them have to talk about."

"Was there only few people from where you came?"

"Where I came, you ask..."

"—Er, there"s no need to answer if you don"t want to."

It was only then that Fear looked at Haruaki"s face. She was smiling. Her cheeks were slightly relaxed, her big eyes turned into slits, and her well-formed lips were faintly raised up. But, for some reason, he thought she looked like she was about to cry.

"Haruaki. Do you really want to know?"

".....what?"

"I"ll be the one to ask now. Do you want to know about me? About where I was, what I did, or what I was in the past? Do you really want to know all of that?"

She was still smiling. And it was harmless question. But, there was a strange tension in the air around them. Haruaki swallowed his saliva. He felt that something might happen if he answered Yes or No. He had no idea what it could be. He just knew that whatever it was, there would be no backing off once she told him about herself.

Konoha just looked at Fear"s face with serious expression. Fear kept her sad smile. Both of them were waiting for his answer. He licked his lips, inhaled some air, then opened his mouth to answer—

"I"ll tell you the first answer to your question, about where she had been staying. She was lying inside a hidden chamber of a dungeon inside a castle remains for hundreds of years. That was the reason why she was able to escape our attention for so long."

A voice coming from the rooftop"s entrance stole Haruaki"s words. What she said WAS an answer to his question. And, just as he thought, that triggered the incident that could never be undone. Ever.

It was a woman who donned a dress much like those n.o.bles wear. Her blonde hair was slightly curled, and held between her s.e.xy rouged lips was a cigarette which was unbecoming for her aristocratic demeanor. But, her most outstanding trait was her arms—which were covered by a black armor from the tip of her fingers up to her shoulders. That big, thick armor was worn in a candid manner, and it gave a rustic impression. The armor also covered the back of her hands and her wrists. The shiny black plates were held together geometrically, and the equipments was as thick as her torso. There was only one word to describe her appearance: Deformed. It was as though an armplate of a giant or a part of great armor was detached from its body and was forcibly attached to her arms. Naturally, this made her look like a balancing toy.

"Wh...who are you?"

Haruaki spoke to the woman even though he was overawed by her strange vigor. Hearing this, the woman giggled.

"You don"t have to use terms of respect to me, boy. I came from an organization called the "Frontline Gathering Knights Dominion"...and my name is Peavey Barowoi. Some people call me by the name, "Balancing Toy"."

Her armor-covered arms grabbed the tip of her skirt and she made a graceful bow. She did it with an almost absurd politeness and exaggeration.

"Huh....? I don"t get what you want to—"

"Strange, you don"t seem to recognize my name—In that case, let me confirm one thing. Your family name is Yachi, no?"

"Er...well, yes. It is."

"Then, let me explain. We, the Knights Dominion, are taking a stance against Yachi Honatsu. All started with the discovery of the location where THAT thing behind you was kept. We sent an investigation team the moment we got hold of the information but we were forestalled. Usually, they don"t leave traces but this time they did, since that thing is much different from the usual items. Somehow, we were able to get hold of the information where that thing was sent—and, here I am now. Need I say more?"

That. Thing. Where it was sent...and, his father"s name. They meant only one thing.

"Y-You"re after Fear....? But why?"

"A silly question. The discovery of that thing is a matter of concern for all the organizations that go after a cursed item—which we call a Wathe. But, our purpose is different from that of other organizations, namely, Lab Chief Yamimagari Pakuaki"s Nation, the Draconians, and the Bivorio family. We"re different from Yachi Honatsu too. It"s simple. The Frontline Gathering Knights Dominion does not approve of the existence of Wathes. It is something that should not exist within the human world. Therefore I—"

A long trail of smoke came out from the end of the cigarette she held between her lips. She spoke cheerfully.

"Shall destroy that—that "Fear-in-Cube," top on the list of all Wathes."

An understanding of who she meant by that word came easily to him. Haruaki looked back at Fear and saw that she had her head bowed, with her face pale. Peavey spoke again.

"The Marquis de Sade wrote in one of his works; "Their ground of argument about the justification of the pleasure earned by cruelty came from the following reasoning: We all desire for something that could move our hearts. That is exactly the reason why men are absorbed in seeking pleasure, and we desire to have that pleasure in the most active manner". Though I am a woman, I am moved, deeply so, by those words! By the cruelty that shall take place here and now!"

Words suddenly switched into action. She fluttered her dress and made a dash toward Fear.

"—! Haruaki, run!"

"Haruaki-kun!"

Fear pushed Haruaki away, which caused him to stagger. Konoha moved to s.n.a.t.c.h him away from Peavey.

"That prudence is worthy of a praise! A pig like you shouldn"t involve anyone in this!"

It was a simple attack. She raised her gauntlet-shrouded fist—then brought it down with all her might. Fear evaded the attack by performing a side-roll. Crashing noise signaled the end for the ground where Fear was standing. Peavey spat the almost-finished cigarette out while her body layed in a low position, just like a beast. —It was another action which didn"t look good with her dress.

She withdrew her arm which was stuck on the concrete, and remains of the rooftop floor dropped from her gauntlet. This made the caved-in condition of the floor visible, and it looked like a crater made by a meteor crash. Impossible—that was what Haruaki thought. He couldn"t think of a way for a woman to inflict that kind of damage. A possibility came to his mind.

(That gauntlet.....could it be a Wathe?)

The hunter, donning a dress and heels, made a simple attack once again. Fear desperately evaded the a.s.sault. She barely got away from having contact with Peavey"s arms but in exchange for her, the concrete floor beneath her broke. The steel fence got crushed. What used to be a bench now scattered around them as broken pieces of wood. A side of the water tank was pierced with countless holes.

Eventually, Fear was cornered. In front of her, Peavey who blocked the way, moved her arms and the gauntlet creaked. It was as though she was preparing for the kill.

Peavey made a decadent smile while she licked the drop of sweat that rolled off from her temple.

"Strange. Why are you just running...? It isn"t like you to hold back, [Fear-in-Cube]. From what I"ve heard, you"re not supposed to be that way."

Fear looked-up in surprise and spoke with a forced voice.

"S-Stop....Don"t say it"

Peavey raised a brow. After a moment, the dawn of understanding caused her shoulders to shake in laughter.

"This is amusing, indeed it is! Could it be that the boy over there do not know the details about you? Let me tell you the rest of the answers for your question a while ago then!"

She opened a part of her gauntlet which seemed like a clasp. She drew out a cigarette and started to smoke. Together with the acc.u.mulated smoke came out a voice filled with ridicule and teasing.

"You asked "What she did in the past". The answer is simple. She slaughtered people. That thing shamed them, forced an end to their life, craved for grievances, drank their blood, and just killed them! Tens, hundreds, thousands of them! Sinners, non-sinners, men, women, children, the aged, commoners, n.o.bles, slaves, scientists, farmers, merchants, priests, mid-wives, and even the knights!

"No.....no...no...no...."

"You killed them all equally like a G.o.d, without any discrimination, didn"t you? Shamed a wife and driven her into insanity in front of her husband? Ripped the womb of a pregnant woman and took out her child, ending its life along with its howl? Gave food to the starving vagrant, ripped his stomach open and enjoyed the scream of agony he made while you slowly killed him?"

"Stop it.....stopitstopitstopitstopit! I-I was, I, ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Fear"s whole body was shaking. She embraced herself with a pale face.

"Y-you"re wrong....wrong. I, didn"t, do it, with my will. I, was just used. I didn"t do it because I wanted to...!"

"How could you be so low! You"re trying to reason your way out even though you"re just a thing. But, it"s a fact that you killed them, is it not? After all, that was the reason why you were cursed. Oh, how you disgust me. To tell you the truth, just talking with you like this makes me want to vomit!"

"Shut up, shut up....just...shut...up!"

"Like h.e.l.l I will! Think about it once more. About what you really are. Wait, I was mistaken. I should be the one to tell you what you really are, shouldn"t I? After all, there"s still the answer left for your question, "What she was in the past".

Don"t say it. Whispered Fear. Haruaki thought the same. But, that didn"t stop the word from coming out of her mouth.

"[Fear-in-Cube]. It was developed during the period when the pagans were being hunted down. She—that thing—is just an multipurpose torture-execution instrument."

"Stoooooooooooop!!"

"I can"t help but to burst out laughing at that wonderful scream. C"mon now, you"ve committed sins. You sinned by executing countless innocent people with torture. That curse which made you personify is the vindication of your sins. You have to take the punishment as you should, don"t you? You have to be silent and accept the fact that a thing like you should be destroyed when you became unnecessary."

Haruaki clenched his fists. He just can"t accept those words. He wanted to say something. He wanted to ask her if she knew the strong determination needed to accept the fact that they"re not just a tool anymore and live with the curse that was branded to them. To accept their unfortunate fate that they have to feel the pain of what they did in the past.

"If you have no intention of resisting, that is also fine with me. Just the thought of destroying another hateful Wathe is a pleasure in itself!"

Peavey raised her arms. There was too much distance for Haruaki to move in between them. But, that moment, he heard a faint whisper of rustling dress behind him.

"Stay here, Haruaki-kun."

The brown-haired girl jumped in with inhuman power. Beside Haruaki stood a girl. A girl who like him, felt a surge of anger against Peavey. Maybe, her anger was greater than his.

She jumped over the few meters of distance between them with ease. She made an attack from above which was almost at a right angle, her uniform fluttering. The woman in a dress quickly turned over and evaded the tegatana that was meant for her—while Konoha landed between Fear and the woman in a dress, her eyes blazing. Peavey made a quick look down at her slashed skirt and made an exaggerated gesture of spreading her arms wide.

"Oh my, oh my! Why is it that no one told me there was another disgusting garbage here? I never noticed. Although it"s not part of the mission, I could destroy you if you are going to interrupt me from accomplishing my first priority. What do you say?"

"Don"t misunderstand my intention. I have nothing to do with the infant behind me. Please take my action this way—I got irritated with what you"ve said so I attacked you. After all, I"m one of the ill-tempered youth these days."

Those words were spoken gently. It almost sounded like a joke. But, her eyes were still overbearing.

"If you don"t want to get hurt, I advise you to leave now."

"....Hmph. I like you, girl. You look cool-headed and unyielding—but, that"s what makes me want to put you to shame. What did they call this wonderful expression of oppositions? Was it tsundere?"

"I wouldn"t know!"

Konoha raised her palm and formed a blade with her hands while covering the distance towards Peavey. The lady in a dress raised her heavily armored arms and deflected Konoha"s attack with ease. Peavey countered with a hook that attacked the whole body. Konoha hastily raised her arms in defense, but the difference in their ma.s.s resulted in Konoha being thrown away.

"You look pitiful for someone who sounded energetic just a while ago. Poor, is the only word that can describe you right now. I do not know what tool you are, but half-hearted attacks won"t do any good against me, you understand?"

Konoha had sunk-in against the nearby fence. Seeing this, Fear let out a shout against her.

"Y-You too...this has nothing to do with you. What do you think you"re doing...!"

"—You"re right. Didn"t you hear what I said a while ago? What I"m doing doesn"t concern you so just let me be."

Konoha tried to loose herself from the fence. While she was at it, she spoke to Fear without glancing at her.

"By the way, it"s something that doesn"t have anything to do with me. What are you planning to do? You"re cursed. That"s a fact. You"ve been through a past that caused you to be cursed. This too is a fact. Your life"s being threatened because of it. Another fact. What are you going to do to face those facts?"

"....I wouldn"t be troubled right now if I knew the answer to that..."

"You"re saying that you"re giving up and you"re going to let her destroy you?"

"...I wouldn"t like that..."

"Then, you have to fight. You have to fight in order to protect yourself. That"s the natural way things go. But....I say, knowing how you feel sure is a pain."

"What...and how do you know anything. About how I feel."

Konoha whispered. her eyes were directed at her front.

"I understand how you don"t want to hurt anyone. I understand that you do not want to fight. I know that the harder you try to forget, the more it comes back to haunt you. That causes you to hesitate, even if your life was in the line... Really, I feel as though I"m looking at my old self, I can"t really describe how I feel right now."

Konoha stood up, took a deep breath and rushed towards Peavey. She got thrown away again but this time, she did not crash against the fence. It was because another person that appeared in front of Fear caught Konoha"s back.

"Both of you, sorry. I was kind of confused and that took me some time."

"Haruaki-kun...."

"Have you gone mad...? Get away from here! Hurry and run!"

"Er, I don"t think I"ll be much of a help but I suppose I could lend you my hand."

Haruaki turned away from astounded Fear and faced Peavey.

"Look here boy, what you"re trying to do is a foolish act. Although I could not actively kill a person, I might not be able to help you if ever there was an unfortunate accident. And, if it comes to you trying to help out those b.i.t.c.hy tools.... Well, won"t you change your mind?"

"Sorry, I can"t do that. This girl came to our place, relying on me. I just can"t say no and drive her away, can I? Besides, j.a.panese people are a merciful lot.... Oh, and one more thing. I got irritated by the same reason this girl wearing gla.s.ses got irritated with you. So, right now I want to make you take back all the things you"ve said. I"m not fond of fights, though."

"That"s funny. Would you mind telling me how you"re going to do it?"

That was the problem. He looked down at Konoha, who stared right back at Haruaki.

"You...fool...this is my problem and..."

Haruaki twisted his lips as he heard those words.

"She"s mumbling awful things at me. Is trying to protect her such a bad thing?"

"Though I"m not at complete disagreement...I think you"re being your usual self."

"I"m not sure what you mean. Hey, I hate to ask you this since you hate to do it, but it seems that we"re at odds with our current situation."

Instead of answering, Konoha just smiled and took a step. When her eyes met with Peavey, the smile was already gone from her face. The only thing left on her expression was an earnest determination.

"If you"re not satisfied with half-cooked attacks, I"ll turn back into myself. For a reason, I"m trying to avoid shedding blood but I won"t be responsible if it would hit you bad. I just wanted you to understand that."

"I see, so that"s how you"re going to play your game. It"s fine with me. Oh, I forgot to ask your name, miss garbage. I"m going to need it in my report later."

Haruaki placed his hands on Konoha"s shoulder. In a moment the clothes Konoha was wearing fell off the floor and—

The only thing left on his hand was a long inorganic-substance. Its blade was covered with a black sheath. It was abnormally thin and hard. It was as though the blade was coated with a thin black metal...and, it was sharp enough to be called a sheath-blade.

Words were spoken by the cursed Katana.

"My name is Muramasa Konoha... But, I hate to be called by my surname."

She caught the heavy blow with the katana. The terrible impact pa.s.sed through Haruaki"s arm but it wasn"t enough to throw him away.

"Relax your body like you always do...! I"ll take care of your body movement!"

Haruaki replied to the voice coming from the katana that he was counting on her. Konoha, the demon blade, took over his body movement and made a step forward. The almost-weightless blade flashed, aimed towards the enemy"s body, slashing diagonally from below. Peavey frowned at the great speed of the blade but she was able to block the slash using the elbow of her gauntlet.

"That was a good one. Now, I"m starting to have fun...! By the way, why don"t you draw? I heard that the j.a.panese blades were awfully sharp. Am I wrong?!"

"Like I"ve said earlier, I despise bloodshed.... Don"t worry, even if its just the sheath, it"ll be really painful!"

The sheath-blade and the gauntlet crossed each other countless times. Hi-pitched sounds coming from the clashing steel was starting to hurt his ears.

"It"s too hard... Is it possible that something could be that hard?!"

Even though his body was being moved by Konoha, that didn"t mean that he wasn"t feeling exhaustion. His breathing was becoming shorter. Konoha took note of his condition, and jumped backwards as she saw the enemy"s fist sinking into the rooftop floor to put a distance from her.

"Are you alright, Haruaki-kun?"

"Yeah, I can still....w-whoa!"

One careless moment and a concrete-floor fragment was flying toward his head. The katana smashed the fragment down. Haruki thought with a shiver that he"d be already dead if Konoha wasn"t moving his body.

"However, we might lose if this keeps up."

"I have an idea. If we"re going to lose at this rate, why don"t you try that one? The one you used once before...the [交叉法 -Kousahou-]. Though, I suppose you"ll hate to do that more than you hate being back to this form."

"Oh, okay....I"ll try. I think there won"t be a problem, I"ll just have to be careful."

"It"s not the time for you two to be having a cozy talk. You boy, helping out those garbages! You"re an eyesore so I"ll be really glad if you"ll just die right now!"

The awkward, but symmetrically aligned balancing-toy joyfully started her bloodl.u.s.t.

Konoha parried the blows as she did earlier. But, she started to take a new action. She changed the mark of her actions within herself. It was not an attack and it wasn"t a defense either.

She started an a.n.a.lysis.

What was needed was complete concentration. She had to direct all of her thought on trying to find a flaw in Peavey"s movement, using all the non-existent braincells to concentrate on every single action made by her opponent. Her breathing. The line of her sight. Her posture. Her movement. Which attack would come based from which precursor. She made a law out of them. At the same time, she made an a.n.a.lysis of the gauntlet"s structure based from the resistance taken from the blade. Where was its weakest spot, structure-wise. Where was the [core] which supported the whole structure of her gauntlet. Unbelievable amount of concentration was needed to figure all of that out.

The other thing needed was the chance. She had to join the faint precursors together, make a forecast on when the attack would come, and wait for the moment when the effect would come to agreement with it.

(Not yet. She"s still....)

She evaded the attack. Waited once again. Impatience was out of question. The law she made was constructed upon the territory within herself, between unconsciousness and instinct. It would easily disappear the moment her concentration was broken. She felt the gradual loss of the forecast she had made so far. But, she wasn"t impatient. And—

(——!)

This was it. An attack which came from a certain direction and speed according to the conjecture she made from the countless precursors. That moment was a future that she knew well, coming from her past. That was why she was able to make a pinpoint aim for the gauntlet"s [core]. There, Konoha threw away the law and conjectures she had formed and let out an attack coming from her body and soul— Konoha turned Haruaki"s hand which held the katana, and moved the unused left hand to hold its sheath. She instantaneously shifted weight, and at the same time drew the blade, as though it was a manifestation of its true nature.

"—Sword-Kill Counter!"

The clashing sound of the blade and sheath vibrated through the air surrounding them. The silver edge that came out from the sheath-blade flashed for an instant, just like lightning. Now, the blade was already returned to its dark sheath, making the opponent think for a moment that the flash of light she saw was just a hallucination. The counter attack made by the katana used all of the force coming from the enemy"s heavy blow, destroying the structural core of the gauntlet. Therefore, only a single blow was needed to put an end to the gauntlet.

There was no movement coming from the blade, which stood in a posture of follow-through. For a while, silence reigned through the air—and after a few seconds, the insensitive steel finally recognized its death and started to fall into pieces, as the last cry of inorganic gauntlet resounded around them.

"Just what....did you do? Yes, I"m mildly surprised...you b.i.t.c.h, b.i.t.c.h, b.i.t.c.h. I never thought that you would insult me this way."

Konoha"s blade destroyed only the weapon of her opponent. The gauntlet that covered one of her arms broke, falling apart in a chain reaction. The damaged gauntlet was left now with a big hole, exposing its inside.

There was an arm.

Naturally, there was an human limb inside. It was revealed then that the gauntlet was covering flesh and not some artificial arm—However, there was a possibility that the gauntlet might have been the artificial arm.

Her whole arm was distorted. Its skeletal frame was abnormally crooked. Her skin looked as though it was suffering from necrosis, discolored with shades of black and purple. There was also traces of fresh blood here and there.

"What, the h.e.l.l, is that....?"

"You"re questioning me what happened to my arm, although you"re the one who did this. I"d say its just natural that bare flesh covered with an ordinary gauntlet would be distorted like this if you repeatedly beat it with force strong enough to crush concrete."

"You"re saying it was just an ordinary gauntlet, and not a Wathe?"

Peavey raised an eyebrow at Haruaki"s question.

"I wouldn"t dare to touch those filthy things! I"d rather bite-off my tongue. Though, there are some within the Knights Dominion who prefer to use those. But, I do not. That"s why I"m armed with this gauntlet. To add further..."

She stared at her discolored arms with teary eyes.

"I just adore this, this pain that I receive from battle. It"s very convenient indeed since I"m satisfied s.e.xually when I feel the pain while I crush my enemies with my hands. Don"t you think it"s wonderful?"

"You"re insane..."

"Oh my, what a tactless remark that was. I"d say that People have different tastes and therefore you have no right to judge me. In fact, you shouldn"t insult my tastes since it occurred naturally, and you can say that it"s a sin caused by natural causes."

Haruaki was taken aback by the woman standing in front of him. She was plain crazy. Suddenly, he noticed that the katana he was holding was becoming heavier every minute. He tried to ask Konoha what was happening, trying not to move his mouth. Konoha answered with a groan.

"Get hold of yourself! The blood is caused by her madness! It"s not your fault!"

She replied this time with an emesis. Cold sweat covered his face as he remembered that Konoha"s curse was almost lifted. The blood-thirsty demon blade was starting to lose its longing—which meant that Konoha was now repulsed by seeing blood, enough to cause nausea when she saw it. They succeeded in destroying their opponents weapon, but that only brought them this dest.i.tute situation. Haruaki shuddered and raised his head, only to see Peavey closing the distance between them. It seemed that the gauntlet left on her other arm was enough to crush them. She struck with a rough blow. Haruaki raised the heavy blade by reflex, and miraculously blocked the punch....but—

For a moment, he wasn"t sure what was wrong. Something caused him to look down. There he saw that something was protruding from the side of the gauntlet. It was a hidden blade which was thin and long. It reflected light towards his face.

"Eye for an eye....as the wise men say. Pretty clichéd though."

Haruaki wondered what was the red liquid pa.s.sing through the blade. He also wondered where it came from. He traced back where the liquid was coming from. Then, he knew where it was coming from...It came from his arm. The time that he realized the blood was coming from him, his brain finally registered the pain—

The howl that came from Haruaki resounded through the rooftop. That cry caused two things to awake within Fear....and it was fear and nostalgia.

She felt that something was pulsating within her. It was something that should not awaken, at any cost. The cry of pain was nostalgic. She was disgusted with herself for reminiscing those cries. But, those vague memories which resembled a faint dream caused a definite change within her. (that scream) (which I thought I"d never hear again) (It was the same scream from that moment—)

There was a master of an ancient castle. In there was an underground chamber which was a realm of madness. There was herself, sleeping in that chamber. She was still inanimate back then, but her master was pleased with her. Therefore after her master was done with his [enjoyment] every night, he made his footman clean her up. The footman was the only sane person left within that castle. Even though he vomited every time he cleaned her up, in the end she"d be shining like a brand-new appliance. And for that, she used to like the footman very much. The footman often talked to her while he cleaned her up, complaining about the work which he hated to do but was forced to out of need for money.

"I don"t know what got into my master"s head...I"m sure that this box would be happier if it was just left alone. Oh G.o.d..."

—One day, one of the maids heard the footman and the gossip about the footman"s words spread within the castle in no time. Naturally, the master of the castle who heard about the footman executed him in the torture chamber. Consequently, She was used to torture the footman. The scream was caused by her own hands. It was a scream coming from someone she knew, from someone she liked.

"Aaaaah. Aaaaaah. Aha.......haha, ahahahahahahaha"

It pulsated. The her of THAT time pulsated. She remembered. During that time, she was still inanimate. The reason for an inanimate object"s existence was to be used. That was why she was happy. While she heard the footman"s scream, she felt that certainty within her. Because the footman"s scream certified the reason of her existence. It made her long for more screams—

"Aha—You"re wrong—ahaha—shut up. Stop laughing—ahahaha—shut up, stop laughing, I said stop! I"m different now ahahaha different! I"m not thinking of those things aha haahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Fear tried to stop the laugh that flowing from her mouth, punching the concrete flooring below her with a distorted expression. But, the laughing did not stop. When she held her head, the laugh resounded through her head, instead of ceasing. She heard Haruaki"s repeated screams. When she raised her face, she saw that Haruaki had dropped to the floor. The blade he was holding lied heavily down, and she knew that it won"t be moving for some time. Someone whispered in Fear"s head that he would be killed. But, she refused to become what she used to be because she did not want Haruaki to see what she really was. It was too disgusting, and too soiled....But, if she didn"t do something, Haruaki will surely die. Fear asked herself what she should do—

That moment, Fear noticed the Rubik"s cube that fell out from her pocket. She stared at the katana held by Haruaki once again. And, she remembered that Konoha fought even though she was in human form.

"A tool which was cursed enough to achieve the human form could still use some of the characteristics as a tool, even when it was in it"s human form...."

It was the same for her. She had not tried it yet, but she knew she could. Therefore she needed to.

"I... have to do it....."

She tried to convince herself. It shouldn"t be that bad. She still hated what she used to be. She was just going to use a little power, while maintaining her human form. It didn"t mean that she was going to betray her decision on trying to lift the curse away from herself—

Fear did not