My first Higurashi fan fiction! Yay! I got the idea for this story from two things, a story called "Untouched," by silver sniper of night, based off of the Twilight Story. Amazing story, suggest you should read it if you're a fan of the series. My second inspiration, episodes 25 and 26 of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Rena's affliction with scratching her wrists made me do it! Please enjoy and go easy on me, as this is my first Higurashi fan fiction!

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Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni: Anrui (Silent Tears)

Prologue:

"Filthy, completely and utterly filthy. How sickening, you weak, miserable child."

"I'm sorry,"

"Disgusting. Nauseating. Just looking at you… reminds me of that man…"

"I'm sorry,"

"You dirty child. You need to be cleaned!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm--"

The sound of a slap resonated in the dark observatory room. Tears ran down the child's cheeks as she hit the floor. A woman, towering above her, glowered at her in disgust.

"Get up, you weakling!"

The rain hit the glass windowpanes harder, thunder shaking the house. The girl made a squeaking sound as she shuffled to her knees. The scream that escaped her lips when the woman grasped her by her hair was piercing. Dragging her down the hallway, the woman threw the child into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Waiting inside, a steaming, hot bath beckoned the child.

"Remove your clothes."

The girl squeaked again, nervous, scared. The woman scoffed and grabbed the girl by her hair, dragging her again, over to the tub and shoving her head inside of it. After several seconds under the hot water, the woman let her up, watching her gasp and scream.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please stop, it burns! It burns!"

"You soiled child! Devil's spawn! Bitch!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry--"

Throwing her into the scalding water, the woman grasped a bar of soap and a bottle of bleach nearby.

"Filthy, filthy, filthy child…"

"I'm sorry!"

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The feeling of the car hitting a pothole shook Yuriko out of her slumber. The car, a rusty, old truck, rumbled down the earthen path. She sighed and looked out of her window.

'I wonder if we're almost there… Hinamizawa…"

She glanced at the driver, noting his silence. Makoto looked in his mirror, watching her as well.

"You said something again…"

Yuriko blinked and looked back out the window. Makoto sighed and looked at the steering wheel.

"You said you were sorry again. Why do you keep saying that?"

"You know why…"

Silence. Yuriko let out another soft sigh and rubbed her wrist with her right hand, scrubbing furiously as if to scratch something off. Makoto looked at her through the mirror again.

"Stop that."

She stopped immediately and looked up at him, startled. Makoto looked back at the road and smiling.

"We're almost there. You see, it's not all that bad. You'll get used to it-- the fresh air, I mean. You've never seen the countryside before, have you? You'll like it a lot, I know you will. My mother and I used to live here, but we left when I was a little boy. I always remembered the fun I had, playing in the junkyard and going to the Cotton-Drifting Festival, it was loads of fun. There are some kids around your age here, you know. You should try to make friends, you know, look normal. People usually reject outsiders for a while, so warm up to them okay? This is Hinamizawa, not Shibuya."

"Makoto-san, you've seen my kind of normal."

Makoto chuckled uncomfortably and glanced back at her.

"Well, just try and act like a normal kid for once, okay? Don't go and show off your talents, you tend to get pretty cocky."

Yuriko smiled tightly and tightened her grip on her drawing pad. She admired his bravery, he had actually tried to hold a conversation with her. Makoto looked back at the road and smiled.

"This will be good for you, I know it will. You need the fresh air. God knows you do,"

As the silence entered the car once more, Hinamizawa welcomed them.

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"Wow…"

Makoto opened the car door for Yuriko and headed for the van behind them carrying their belongings. Yuriko sniffed the air and smiled contentedly to herself.

'Fresh air… smells nice.'

"Yo! Welcome to Hinamizawa!"

Yuriko turned around to face the owner of the shouting voice. A boy, around her age, sauntered up the dirt path waving. Makoto grinned and shook the boys hand.

"Makoto Kitazawa, nice to meet you!"

"Keiichi Maebara, the feeling's mutual. Nice to have a fellow newcomer around!"

Yuriko reddened and rubbed her wrists unconsciously, not knowing what to say.

"This is my daughter, Yuriko. Yuri, say hello to Keiichi, he lives down the street."

"O-Oh, hello Keiichi-san."

Keiichi gave her the look over before smiling and walking over to her.

"Hey there, Yuriko! Mind if I call you Yuri?"

Yuriko held back a scowl. The lack of formality was rude, unwelcoming to her tastes. She did, however, let the grimace come back as Keiichi reached out to shake her hand. She reeled back, her hands trembling and her eyes wide. Keiichi himself stumbled back a few steps, not knowing what he did.

"I am so sorry…"

Yuriko spat out her apology and spun on her heels, heading up to the house with haste. Keiichi blinked and looked back at Makoto, who was also staring at Yuriko solemnly.

"Sorry about that Keiichi, Yuriko has a thing about… being formal. She doesn't like shaking hands, she'd rather you bow instead. Please don't take it with offense, it's nothing personal."

"Yeah, of course. I'll remember that."

Inside the house, Yuriko stood in the foyer, glancing nervously around the room.

"Bathroom, bathroom, I need to find the bathroom."

She surveyed everything around her and paled.

'Dusty, filthy, unclean! Everything is dusty! Dusty, dusty, dusty.'

She ran up the stairs, her gloved hand gripping the walls. She let out of relieved sigh after spotting the bathroom. She ran inside and closed the door. She let in a sharp intake of breath, her body quivering with fear.

'Dirty walls, floors, sinks… I can't use this bathroom. It's filthy…"

She dug into her pocket and fished out a pack of disinfecting wipes, pulling out of few and wiping off the countertop and sink. Yuriko smiled and folded the sanitary wipe, placing it on the now immaculate counter. She turned on the faucet and let it run for a few minutes.

"Clean, fresh water. I need clean, fresh water to wash my hands. So dirty," she shuddered and looked in the grimy mirror, her reflection looked dirty compared to her pale, white skin.

"I'm covered in filth. I was outside too long. I let the dirty people contaminate me again… well, almost."

She pulled off the gloves and placed them neatly beside her on the countertop, her wrists exposed. Deep red marks scarred her perfect, ivory-colored wrists. She let a finger trace over the lines before going through her bag again and pulling out a box of soap.

"Time to get cleaned."

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Makoto let out a grunt as he placed the heavy cardboard boxes on the floor. Keiichi walked in beside him, carrying twice the load. Makoto laughed and rubbed behind his head.

"You know, I can't believe the strength you kids have these days!"

Yuriko peered down the staircase at them, watching them laugh. She glowered at Keiichi before descending downstairs.

"Makoto-san, where are my belongings?"

"O-Oh, hey Yuriko. I just brought them in, a little heavy, might I add."

"Good. Thank you, but I'm going to clean first, then I'll start dinner. Please change your clothes before then, you know how I am about that."

"Yes ma'am!"

Keiichi and Makoto snickered, to her chagrin. Nothing was funny about personal hygiene. Yuriko's eyebrows furrowed and she walked off, looking for her box.

"Keiichi-san, could you tell me where the nearest stores are? I need to pick up a few things."

"Eh, the nearest store would be in Okinomiya. I could pick up whatever you need, if you want?"

Yuri nearly groaned. It was horrible enough that he tried to touch her hands but now he wanted to contaminate her belongings too.

"No thanks."

Keiichi gave her a hard stare before shrugging his shoulders. Yuriko smiled smugly, happy that he'd given up on being nice to her. She liked it better when she was alone. That's why she encouraged Makoto to quit his busy job in the city. That unclean, filth-filled city was what truly irked her. The smell of exhaust fumes and dirty people made her gag. Makoto was right, she needed the fresh air. The city life was killing her slowly, choking the life out of her and contaminating her skin. She never left the stuffy little apartment without a long sleeved shirt or jacket, gloves, a handkerchief, wipes, soap, hand sanitizer, bug spray, pepper spray, and a switchblade. Out of all the items she had in her possession, the switchblade was her favorite, the smooth, cold metal and the tough leather handle excited her whenever she held it. Yuriko smiled and picked up a dusty box, listening to the rattling noise of its contents.

"Makoto-san, are these my personal items?"

"Uh, I think so. I made sure to wrap the fragile things and I put that little bag in there like you wanted."

Yuri nodded and ran back up the stairs, eager to put the box in her room. Keiichi stared at her, wondering what she was doing.

"What the heck is in that box that got her so happy?"

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The smell of cold metal enthused her. The feeling of leather aroused her. The color red-- excited her. Yuriko was twisted in the eyes of others but normal to herself. The contents of the box would of startled any normal person-- her trusty switchblade (in its case), an assortment of boot knives, pepper spray, bleach, disinfecting sprays, a cellular phone, radio, and a spare key to Makoto's truck. Yes, she had an extra made, but only in case there was an emergency and she needed to escape. Yuriko sighed happily, closed the box, and put it beneath her bed.

"This room needs to be cleaned again. I just cleaned it and look at all this dust!"

The immaculate room was actually looking quite shiny, the sun of Hinamizawa shining through her window. She put her hands on her hips and sighed.

'Looks like I'll have to finish cleaning the room tomorrow. I'll go to Okinomiya first thing after school… oh god, I completely forgot about school!'

Yuri spun around and exited her room, running down the stairs to look for her school supplies. She liked to organize everything and get it ready before the first day.

"Maebara-san, what's the school here like?"

"Oh, it's okay. It's an all grade, one classroom kind of thing. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Yuriko inwardly cringed-- just hearing that made her sick. She could never get used to that. She'd rather be home schooled than have to sit in a stuffy, hot classroom with over twenty kids, drooling and crying and contaminating her air. Yuri forced a smile and walked stiffly towards another stack of boxes wrapped in plastic.

"Yuriko-san, I was wondering… where exactly did you come from?"

Her hands froze, fingers trembling. He had asked that dreaded question. 'Of all things to ask, why that and why now?' Yuriko whispered under her breath. Makoto glanced in her direction before putting a hand on Keiichi's shoulder.

"Yuriko lived with me in Shibuya for a while. We lived in a small apartment complex close to the Hachiko Exit at Shibuya Station."

"Oh… but you said a while, so where did you two live before?"

An eerie silence filled the room. Keiichi gulped with anticipation. Yuriko's hand clenched tightly then unclenched.

"I-I lived up in Torishima…"

"Torishima… you mean 'Bird Island' right? Wasn't that place deserted and turned into a research center?"

"… Yeah…"

Keiichi glanced at an opened box full of reference books and picked one up.

"Did you like bird-watching? You have quite a lot of books on them--"

"DON'T!"

Yuriko snatched the book from his hands and held it to her chest protectively. Keiichi flew backwards and fell to the ground, startled.

"Don't… touch those. These are very special to me…"

Tears streamed down Yuriko's face, splattering little wet spots on the cover of the laminated book. Makoto rushed to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her tightly to his chest.

"Maebara-san, it would be best if you left. I thank you for all you've done to help, but I think that will be enough for tonight. Come on Yuri, lets bring your books upstairs. You can even--"

Yuriko pushed herself away from him and scurried over to the books, ignoring Keiichi's dumbfounded look as he sat on the ground.

"Take deep breaths. Calm your nerves, you'll only do stupid things if you let it get to you…"

Keiichi grunted and dusted himself off as her got up to leave. He glanced back at Makoto, then stared a while at Yuriko, who was still clutching the bird book to her chest as she grabbed the box and put it underneath her arm. She dropped the box, spilling her precious contents. Keiichi watched as she dropped to her knees, ignoring the dust, and hastily scooped her belonging into her arms.
"I'm really sor--"

"JUST GO!"

Keiichi flinched at the suddenness of her scream. She breathed deeply and stood up.

"Please go away Keiichi-san. Just… go."

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Getting a little dramatic, don't you think? First chapter and already, there's a huge mystery behind Yuriko's background. Growing up on a deserted island that was turned into an ornithology lab, painful memories, those books, and all of her afflictions-- Yuriko is one messed up girl! Oh and by the way, Torishima is a real deserted Japanese island. The whole place is a volcano and was deserted after all its inhabitants were killed. The volcanic island is really used for bird research and it can only be visited by researchers, ornithologists, and small tourist groups interested in bird watching.

Comments are appreciated! Ja ne!