Disclaimer: I do not own Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni… (shifty eyes) Yet.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Keiichi asks as Mion holds his daughter in her arms.
There are nods of agreement.
"Did you decide on a name?" Satoko asks.
"Well, after several arguments on whether or not to keep the Furude tradition of using the character for blossom or use the character for one, we compromised: Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Furude Ichika."
"The first blossom, huh?" Houjou Shion grins. "It's pretty. Fitting for Rika-chama's daughter."
"Hey, what about me!?" Keiichi demands.
Everyone just laughs.
After their friends leave, Keiichi sits down holding Ichika.
"This name means more to you than just being pretty, doesn't it?" He asks quietly.
Rika nods.
"It's a sign of a new beginning." She says with a small smile. "For a long time, I never thought I'd see the day where I became a mother myself."
Keiichi is silent. After they got married, Rika had told him everything. How she'd been locked in a time loop for over a century, how that had changed her, even what she was willing to resort to when she'd apparently found herself trapped again.
"You'll be a good mother." He finally says, as though reading her thoughts. "What caused you to have a sour relationship with your mother won't happen again. I won't let it."
Rika stares at him before smiling again. That's the part of Keiichi that Rika first fell in love with.
"I won't let it happen, either." She says, closing her eyes. "But you know, a part of me was hoping for a boy, if only to put a stop to that silly superstition once and for all."
"Hey, who says we have to stop here?" Keiichi grins. "We can always try for a boy. Just… not now, okay? I think I got a blood clot from all the mops you threw at me."
"I only threw one at you!"
Keiichi laughs and kisses her.
"I have no regrets about the time I've spent with you so far." He says, pressing his forehead to hers. "I'm never going to."
"I thought you didn't believe in fate."
"I believe that we can beat the crap out of fate. I decided to never have any regrets on my own."
Rika smiles. It's one of the few smiles that Keiichi knows come straight from the heart. He knows that there'll be more.