I've been a fan of Higurashi for a long time, but only now have I begun to truly appreciate its magnificence. Getting into the mind of insane Sonozaki Shion is by no means easy, it's hard and terrifying, but I empathize a lot with the poor girl and wish she didn't have to commit murder. But she's the most unstable character (bar Takano) and Rena and is very much the most terrifying of all of them.
She fucking kicked Takano's ass, nearly figured her out that she didn't die, destroyed all of the targets, killed Rika before Takano could do the job, probably disappointing her, and died, leaving none of the main cast to die and be gassed with the rest of the village.
Best of all, she took her destiny in her own hands and fought back with all her might.
Meakashi-hen and Watanagashi-hen are fun, fun arcs. Also, is it just me or is Shion unstable all the time? Even in Tatarigoroshi-hen, she's unstable. Even in fucking Minagoroshi, she slams a desk on Keiichi's head!
Shion is a prime psychopath.
Check under your bed for Shion; she just eviscerated Freddy Krueger and is holding his head in the air. She'll laugh as she bashes your brains in. I'm sure.
Not with a bang, but a whimper, does Sonozaki Shion snap, and the end results are not pretty.
The first time, it was all Satoko's fault. She screams for her Nii-Nii until Shion has had enough and throws her into the wall, throwing books at her, telling her to shut up, get over her ego, stop crying.
Crying won't solve any thing in the world, it will just make people think you are weak.
"Grow up, you little brat! I hate people like you, you're burdening Satoshi-kun! Die! Die! I wish you weren't here!"
She lifts up the desk, but then Satoshi, Rika and Rena betray her.
Why?
What did she do wrong?
All she did was teach a little brat to not be a little brat. Perhaps she went overboard.
But crying doesn't do anything. It doesn't get you anywhere, it makes you a burden of the world.
Shion knows this from having cried so much as a child, about being torn away from her sister and thrown into hell to rot.
About being whipped by the nuns while they tell her she's a sinful girl for not believing in God and that she will go to hell someday for the sin of not believing.
About being torn away, sentenced to death, imprisoned from her sister, having her own nails torn off just for daring to fall in love.
Shion does not have anything. Mion, Satoko, Rika, they all have everything.
And Shion? Sonozaki Shion has nothing, dammit and she wants something to call her own.
It is there, she thinks, as Satoshi glares at her, that for the first time, she feels a twinge of envy-anger, despair? She doesn't know.
But for the first time, Hinamizawa Syndrome sinks its fangs into Shion's heart.
The second time, Mion is eating lunch with her.
After pretending that she didn't stand by and allow Shion to get her own nails lopped off-and even telling her to shut up and deal with it.
"Kei-chan is good. Have your nails...healed?"
Shion notices that Mion is lying.
Mion is a lying, deceitful person. She doesn't care about Shion, only about her position and that having a weak, willful sister like her will weaken her duties as the head ruler of the Sonozaki clan.
"...They're fine."
"I...wonder where Satoshi-kun is..."
Her heart stops.
Why the hell would you say that? Her heart screams.
"Honest, Baa-chan doesn't know!"
She throws her chair aside, throws her whole body weight on top of Mion, her fingers locking around her throat, ready to kill.
"You're lying, you're lying! You had something to do with it!"
She screams and screams and screams.
Still, Mion smiles like the idiot she is and says she had her own nails torn off, too.
And Shion forgives her.
Except she doesn't, really. The seeds of envy have already been planted. They just need more moisture to grow.
Which it does.
The third time, is accidental, really.
"Didn't you hear, Tomitake-san and Takano-san died?" Mion hisses, up in her face.
This is not her Mion, this is a demon.
Shion electrocutes her.
'Satoshi-kun, I now know what you need me to do.'
"Who is it?"
That old witch. She's going to die first.
"Are you pretending to feign sleep?" She says, before burning her.
"...Oh, she died. She died without apologizing to him! I cannot forgive her!" She says, lashing her, just as she had lashed her heart.
Time to dump her.
"Mion, that's...Grandma. What are you doing?"
"Dumping her," She says with a sneer, "After all, she's dead. And deserved it."
"Shion...is this revenge? For Satoshi-kun."
"You...know, Mion, I think I lied. I always wanted her dead. It's because she LIED! You yourself said, 'Sonozakis have nothing to do with it!'"
"But I-"
"LIES! LIES, YOU'RE A LIAR!" Shion cried, before kicking the old lady. How does that feel?
"BRING HIM BACK, BRING SATOSHI-KUN BACK!"
She pauses. "Sorry, Mion. But if you were lying, you know what happens, right?"
She bursts out laughing.
The fourth time, Kimiyoshi innocently oversteps himself.
"That Hojo brat deserved to die, but Shion-chan can be forgiven."
He isn't expecting 'Mion' to taser him, nor for him to be imprisoned in the dungeon where he belongs.
Serves him right.
The fifth time, Keiichi catches her off guard with his acuity.
Shion just laughs into the phone. Let him think she is insane, she is just ridding the world of these impurities.
One at a time. They will all disappear.
This was all too fun.
A snicker could be heard emanating from the lips of one Sonozaki Shion as she hung up the phone, having just trolled one Maebara Keiichi into submission and actually-he figured her out now, did he? Knew that she was lying now, did he?
She didn't care.
Shion didn't fucking care about a thing-this madness, or insanity, or whatever it was, was addicting, it was like riding a roller coaster ride and never wanting to get off. This new way of thinking was amazing. She loved it.
"My whole life has been nothing but a joke, twisted up by Onibaba and that stupid sister of mine. I'll make them suffer for what they did." She growled, slamming her fist into the wall.
Now, who should she make suffer first?
Oh, yeah, there was that one-Mion, oh, brave, haughty, strong Mion! Everyone in her family adored her, to the point where Shion just wanted to throw up. And what of poor, insignificant Shion? Just cast aside, left to rot in the dirt, like poor, defenseless Satoshi-kun!
She opened the door of the Saiguden and came in-as usual Satoshi-kun, no whatever it was came following behind her. She almost swore she heard a voice like a little girl talking, but ignored it, not important-as she headed to where her sister was, huddled up, curled up in a ball.
"Here's your food for today, Onee." She said sarcastically, sliding it in. When Mion didn't budge, she frowned. "Did you die already? How sad, here I was going to make you watch as I killed all of them."
Mion was staring up at her with contempt in her features. Then again, when hadn't she?
"Shion, please...let me out of here. Let me out! I had nothing to do with what happened to Satoshi-kun, I..."
But she would not hear any of it.
'Stupid arrogant, little bitch! Ever since we were little, Mion has always gotten everything and I nothing! Nothing but scorn, nothing but hatred, nothing but disgust! Satoshi-kun suffered because of stupid Onee and all she's been doing is suffering-'
"Yes, I know, Onee. And I'm truly sorry."
Mion looked hopeful.
Ooh, time to crush that hope right away-how delicious it was.
Shion grabbed the bars of Mion's prison (for dramatic effect) and flailed her body against them, screaming at her, all to set the mood for this play and what was to come, "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU COULD'VE SAVED SATOSHI-KUN! WHY! WHY DIDN'T YOU! IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE MION, YOU COULD'VE SAVED HIM IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE! BUT YOU DIDN'T!"
Mion quivered at Shion's rage, tears falling down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
But Shion wasn't done yet. One more little thing to do to set her off.
"You know, since you're alone down here, I might as well invite your friends."
Mion's head jerked up at that, fear filling her emerald irises as she processed that.
"What...? Are you gonna let me out? I can see Kei-chan, Rika-chan, and Satoko-chan again, and Rena-"
Shion pressed herself up against the bars.
"No, Onee, something far more entertaining; you're going to watch as I torture them all to death in front of you. First, how about adorable little Rika-chan? Then maybe to Satoko-"
"NO, NO! LET THEM GO, KILL ME INSTEAD, SHION! YOU'RE NOT SHION, YOU'RE A DEMON! STOP IT, STOP IT!"
Mion had started frantically clawing at the bars, desperate to escape. "I'm going to tell the authorities-"
"And then what?" Shion said gleefully, "The Sonozaki are evil, according to Oishi-san. What makes you think he'll listen to you? No one will believe a word you say this time. You're going to join all of them once I'm finished."
"Shion...please..." Mion moaned, falling to her knees.
Shion started laughing, over and over.
Oh fuck, who the hell cares. This was the best day of her life.
"Onee, why don't you wait here? I'll bring them all down for you."
The Furude brat wanted spices, huh? May as well indulge her spoiled little fantasies-
How her eyes burned! Did that fucking brat just-
Shion found herself on the ground, writhing in pain as Rika stood over her, preparing to inject her with something! What was that, some kind of drug to goad her into forgetting about Satoshi-kun?
She threw some newspapers at the little bitch and brought out her taser as it shone, brightly. "What do you think you're doing? This is my house, you know, you can stop fooling around!"
The girl looked at her with an eerie calmness in her eyes just before Shion kicked her to the ground, and continued kicking her.
"What the hell is this stuff? You'll be my test subject, let's test it on you!"
Before Rika could protest, Shion injected it into her arm.
"Ha! Look at your face, this is fucking hilarious! Say, why don't we change this location to the fun, fun, underground torture chamber? We can watch all of that fun."
To her surprise, the little shit got back up and glared at her. "Sorry, but I'll have to refuse that offer, you torture fiend. As it is, I'm going to have to leave."
"Leave? You're welcome to try, but this is my house now!" Shion said wickedly, brandishing the taser at her threateningly. You're my animal, you're my puppet now, "Besides, you can't even move. What makes you think you can do anything, for that matter?"
Rika glared at her, before she grabbed a knife.
"You're right. Goodbye, torture fiend." She said with a smirk on her face as she propped the knife up against the wall and started smashing her neck against it as the knife dug into her skin and (red oh, how lovely, how much red how much fun we're having now crimson came flying all over the walls, all over the world, as Rika did her dance of death, stabbing herself over and over and over.
She then looked at her and then uttered one single syllable, "Hanyuu."
Before she fell to the ground, the actress has left the stage. Dead, dead. She's dead, oh god she's dead. This is all my fault, I killed her-
What is this?
This lovely, red stuff.
She killed herself.
She killed herself.
I made her do it, I did it, I did it.
Shion realized that she had made her do it.
But who the fuck cares? She burst out laughing, an insanely chilling laugh that would terrify anyone as she screamed. "I'VE WON! I KILLED EVERYONE WHO ANTAGONIZED SATOSHI-KUN, MISTREATED HIM AND HURT HIM! ONIBABA, KIMIYOSHI, RIKA-CHAN, THEY'RE ALL DEAD!"
"Wait..." She paused in her thoughts. "...There's just one factor now. That little crying bitch. Satoko. If I take care of her, everything will be perfect."
"Oh, Onee, Rika is dead...would you like to see her body?"
The quivering figure told her her answer. Her eyes were rimmed red from crying. "Oh god, why? Why did you kill her?"
"She killed herself. What a coward, I was hoping I could have some fun with her-"
"Shion, you monster! You psychopath, how could you? She was my friend!" She sobbed hysterically.
"Monster, am I?" Shion said, having gone still.
Mion froze. "Sorry, I..."
"Mion, if I recall correctly, you had me rip off three of my fingernails, just for falling in love with Satoshi-kun. You stood by and let me suffer, all due to Sonozaki laws. Does that not make you the true monster and then does that not make this true justice? The way of the Sonozaki family is, those who oppose us die, right?"
"Shion, you're wrong, Obaa-chan had nothing to do with Satoshi-kun's-"
"LIAR! LIAR, LIAR, LIAR, LIAR! LIES, LIES, EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS A GODDAMNED LIE!" Shion screeched, her eyes burning like fire. "...But that's why...say, Mion, what would you say if I invited over another guest for your party?"
"Another...guest?" Mion muttered, then paled, "Oh god, you don't...mean-?"
Shion grinned wickedly. "Watch me have some fun with her. You can have her remains if you like!"
Mion was screaming as she closed the door, screaming boring shit like spare Satoko! Spare Satoko!
What the fuck had that useless little bitch ever done? All she had to do to win pity was cry, cry, cry, cry! Then her big brother will save her, then her aunt and uncle are bad people for wanting her to have some manners and stop being so spoiled!
It was unfortunate indeed, that Satoko was abused. But Shion, being in her insanity-filled state, did not realize that Satoko didn't mean to act that way. She was simply desperate for love, just as Shion was in that moment.
Desperate for love, desperate for acknowledgment. Perhaps that meant that Satoko and Shion were all too similar.
"Tch, the second I think that brat deserves forgiveness is the day Satoshi-kun comes back, it's never going to-"
What had she just said?
Satoshi-kun would definitely come back. Despite what Oishi told her. Despite what Mion told her.
No, no, no! She would not let Satoshi-kun down!
She would get rid of that pathetic excuse of a human being who just makes Satoshi-kun suffer.
It was all too easy to knock Satoko out and tie her to the cross.
"Wakey, wakey, Satoko..." She teased, slapping her a few times until the little brat woke up.
"Where am I?" She cried.
"You're with me." Shion said, chuckling.
"Y-You, Mion-san, what is the meaning of this? Unhand me this second, this is a bad prank and I, the trap master, will!"
"Oh, you won't be doing anything." Shion said, "You're receiving a punishment."
"SATOKO! OH MY GOD, SATOKO, IS THAT YOU? RUN AWAY, SATOKO, RUN AWAY!"
Satoko jerked her head over. Was that Mion-san, alone and in that cage over there? And over there was old man Kimiyoshi, hanging from a rope! He was...he was. She fought to hold back tears from her pink irises.
"You...you m-murderer! Shion-san, how could you!"
Shion paused for a second. So the little brat did know her.
"Ah, but didn't you know? I'm a demon."
"Where's Rika? What have you done with Rika?"
"Oh, she had a little accident with a knife. She went stabby stabby and died. Pity you weren't there."
Satoko's eyes widened. "How dare you do that to Rika!"
"Oh, no, she killed herself. I merely urged her to. She didn't have to, you see, I could've hurt her more."
"You're horrible! Horrible!" Satoko screamed. "What are you going to do to me?"
"What am I going to do? Why do you assume you're tied up like this? It's not just a party. I'm going to...kill you." She said, wickedly grinning.
Satoko gasped.
"NO, NO, STOP IT! DON'T KILL SATOKO, I'M SO SORRY, KILL ME IN HER PLACE!"
"You're begging me to spare lives now? You didn't do that for Satoshi-kun. That's your sin."
Shion aimed the knife down at Satoko's arm. Satoko let out a pitiful, pathetic cry as blood spilled.
How disgustingly infuriating.
"LET HER GO, I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME, JUST LET SATOKO GO!"
"You are begging like I did then. No matter how much you yell, I will ignore all your pleas. You can't help her, you can't save her, you just sit there and relish in her suffering!"
Another cry from the pathetically weak girl.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Mion cried out pathetically.
"Okay, then," Shion said, taking the knife out, "Count to one thousand and say you're sorry. A thousand times. If you can do that, I'll let Satoko live."
Ah, give her some hope.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
She stabbed Satoko again.
"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!"
How maddening. She was truly Alice and this was her fucked-up, warped version of Wonderland.
Satoko was crying again, so stunned that anyone could ever hurt such a pure, sweet angel.
Shion threw her head back and laughed. "Crying is what you're best at, right? Think that if maybe you do it enough, your precious brother will come save you?"
She dug the knife in deeper. Satoko let out a cry and fell silent.
"Satoko, can you hear my voice?"
The little brat was ignoring her.
Furious, Shion slapped her.
"Hey, brat! Do you know what sins you have accumulated? How difficult you made life be for Satoshi-kun?"
The child sniffed and let out a pathetic whine. Make her shut up, please. "Nii-nii. Nii-nii."
"That's right, your brother." Shion reminded her. "All you had to do was cry and squeal like a pig for your brother, and he'd come to get you. But you know, you put an awful lot of stress on him! Satoshi-kun wasn't your hero and he wasn't immortal-just like you!"
And with those words, she sunk the knife in again. And again, and again.
"What's the matter, you can't use your right arm? Let's go for your left arm!"
Another sickening squish, Satoko went limp.
"What's wrong? You think you can defy me by not resisting? Well, that will take the fun out of all of it!"
"Yes, I thought so at first, too. That Nii-Nii disappeared. I made him do it. I wasn't able to stop hurting him."
"That you've realized your sin is very...unexpected." Shion said, suddenly unsure of what to say or do.
"Nii-Nii will come back! I'll show him I'm mature and that I don't need to hide behind him!"
Shion laughed, "It would be nice if he came back!"
"Nii-nii will come back! I'm going to wait until he does! I want to tell him just how sorry I am! I'll show him that I can endure every blow you throw at me!"
Her mind shuts down. What, what is going on here?
"Stop it, brat!"
"If you enjoy stabbing me so much, then stab me all you like! Never, ever, ever!"
Time to silence the little brat, silence her forever.
"Look how strong I am, Nii-Nii! Look at how strong I am!"
She can hear her idiot sister blubbering in the background...but she doesn't care.
"No matter what you do, I will not give up."
Silence.
The little brat is finally dead, so what is her problem-
It's him. He's here, he's here, he's here!
She drops the knife.
"Satoshi-kun, I've been waiting, ever since our last conversation!"
It dawns on her.
She is holding the phone.
"Mion, I leave Satoko for you to take care of. When I'm gone."
She froze.
What had she done?
She started crying as she heard Mion blubbering.
'I forgot Satoshi-kun's final wish!'
She screamed.
'Satoshi-kun will never come back to me after this!'
The more she heard her sister crying, the more irritated Shion became. Until it receded into a calm. An eerie calm.
She threw her head back and laughed.
'Oh, what the hell. You see, I've always known, always known that this side of me was a demon, for the longest time! That doesn't change a thing.' As Mion sobbed, Shion laughed her ass off.
Nothing mattered anymore. This was just the tale of a demon. Demons can't think, they do not feel, they only kill everything in sight and inside. Demons are methodical, calculating, cunning. In that laugh, every decent part of Sonozaki Shion was killed and replaced with pure, cruel insanity.
She was finished.
She feels the knife go through Keiichi's chest.
"You're foolish, I warned you!" Shion cackles as Keiichi bleeds out. What a fool. Believing she could ever change.
"Mion, you will go to where Satoshi is and apologize!" She says.
"Shio-" Is all she says before she is silenced forever.
Mion's ghost won't leave her alone.
"Shion, you should have died..."
"GO AWAY, MION!"
Can she never be free of her sins?
Here the tale of Sonozaki Shion ends, it ends, it ends, it ends.
"I'm so sorry for being born, everyone. I'm so sorry."
Not with a bang, but with a whimper, does Sonozaki Shion meet her end.
