Disclaimer: I own nothing of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni except the Original Concepts in the story.

Warning: This is a precaution in cause any sexual content may occur. Probably not, but people have different opinions. So its best to be safe!

Chapter One

The sun began to rise over the mountains that cradled the small village of Hinamizawa. Its brilliant orange glow mixed in with the gentle blue of the sky above. Before anything else, the mournful crying sounds of the higurashi were the first things to break the silence of the new dawn.

The date of this day was Wednesday, August 18th, 1983. It had been five days since the Mitadake High School massacre. News of the incident had been sprouted across the country, but only few knew the real truth of what had happened, and only one knew the truth about what went on behind the scenes. Although that was the least of the problems that were to arise.

There was a television running in the Irie clinic, on the screen was a news channel discussing the incident that happened in Ishimiro. The school had been shut down for investigations, analysis, and its contagiously high level of infection of the Hinamizawa Syndrome disease. Luckily enough, the school had been quarantined so that the disease wouldn't spread into the town. The last thing Japan needed right now was a pandemic.

Part of the television report was announced, the entire story was still in progress. Things were changed almost daily as more information was gathered. "Of the twenty students involved in the incident, only four survived. These students names are as followed; Shinji Yukashi-san, Rei Takimu-san, Hita Sonozaki-san, and Fuiku Eijima-san. Three of these students have been taken in for questioning, while one had left Ishimiro and has gone missing. Investigators are on watch for any sign of Fuiku Eijima."

"Awful... Just awful!" Kyousuke exclaimed as he sat at his desk while watching the report. "I can't stress enough how important this research is to me, and something like this happens!" He released a deep sigh as he adjusted his glasses so there were perched perfectly on his face once again.

"You shouldn't beat yourself up you know! You're only doing what's best for everyone else!" Replied a familiar voice from the doorway.

"Thank you Tomitake-san... I suppose you're right." Kyousuke replied as he kept his eyes locked onto the television screen. He then turned to face Tomitake as he pointed to the screen with his index finger. "Have you seen this news report yet?" Kyousuke asked.

"No I haven't. What are they talking about in the report?" Tomitake asked upon entering the room and walking up to the television set.

Kyousuke looked away as he said nothing for only a few moments. "There's been an outbreak of Hinamizawa Syndrome…"

"What?!" Tomitake said as his eyes widened in surprise. "How was it possible?"

"I'm not sure, but someone must have been a carrier… That's the only conclusion I can come up with." Kyousuke replied in a calm tone. "I've already spoken with the survivors of the incident and their parents. They have agreed to move to Hinamizawa so I can perform some tests."

"I'm confused, I thought that Hinamizawa Syndrome could only thrive in Hinamizawa's natural climates."

"I thought so as well... but it is a virus, so it must have evolved enough to adapt to a few other regions as well. My only hope is that one day I can find a cure to stop such a dreadful thing..."

"I'm sure you will. I too hope you can accomplish such a goal, for the hope of humanity." Tomitake said as he took his hat off of his head and set it back down to readjust it.

Kyousuke smiled a bit as he turned the television off and turned to his daily research papers. "Thank you Tomitake-san, that may just be the boost I need to find a cure."

"Alright, well I'm going to walk around the village for a while then. Good luck!" Tomitake said as he waved his hand and walked out of the clinic.

"Mion!!" Yelled Keiichi's voice from the highest pitch of his lungs. "What did you do to my food?!" Keiichi leaned over the table that he and his friends were sitting at, his tongue was hanging out of his mouth as he attempted to cool it down by fanning it with his hands.

"Hahaha! Is there something wrong with my Obatcha's special homemade soy sauce Kei-chan?" Mion Sonozaki, who actually is Shion Sonozaki, younger sister of the two Sonozaki twins, because they were switched when they were young, said as she grinned at Keiichi and cackled towards him. She held up a small bottle and shook it back and forth as she continued to laugh.

"You demon! Why I should strangle you right now for what you did!" Keiichi shouted as he slammed his fists on the table in front of himself. Once they made impact he glanced among his friends at the table. "Why the hell didn't any of you warn me?!"

"You know it's not nice to spill someone's secrets Keiichi." Said the blond haired boy sitting next to Keiichi. This boy that was around Keiichi's age was none other than Satoshi Hojo. Satoshi had recently been allowed to roam in public. Although he still had to make daily appointments with Dr. Irie to stabilize his condition.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Keiichi retorted. "That's not a secret! You should be warning me when she's trying to poison my food!"

"Stop over reacting. It's nothing harmful, you shouldn't be worrying so much. Onee would never harm you like that." Mion's sister, who is the real Mion, but because of the switch years ago is now known as Shion, said in the defense of her twin sister.

"She's right Kei-chan... I'd probably do something more torturous to you instead, like pushing you off the edge of a cliff!" Mion said, interjecting her own words back into the conversation.

"Everyone, stop fighting! Please!" Rena cried from the other side of the table. "Now isn't the time to be fighting… We should be friendly and respectful to each other!"

"What's gotten into you lately Rena?" Keiichi asked as he looked over towards her with a questioning look.

"Manager's been very upset recently..." Rena replied quietly.

"Huh? What's wrong with Manager?" Mion asked. "Did something happen?"

"No, no! Manager is just fine!" Rena said as she beamed a smile on her face.

"Then I don't see what the problem is. Why is he upset?" Satoshi's younger sister, Satoko, asked from next to her brother.

"I don't know, but he's been working a lot harder lately because of it." Rena replied.

"Don't worry Satoko." Rika said from the other side of Satoko. "You and I can go visit Manger after school. Then we'll ask him what's wrong."

"Okay Rika." Satoko nodded back in response as the group finished their lunches.

The principal at the Hinamizawa branch school began to ring the bell for the end of classes. Everyone began to pile out of the classroom as Rumiko Chie, their teacher waved goodbye to each of them.

"Well, it looks like we won't be doing much today with Satoko and Rika at the clinic." Keiichi says to the group as they all walk out of the classroom. Keiichi was walking in the front of them all as he lead the way outside.

"No! Please, don't mind us!" Rika said as she stepped in front of them and flailed her hands into the air. "You all should still perform a club activity without us!"

"Well... I guess..." Mion replied as she rubbed the bottom of her chin with her palm. "Well then!" Mion shouted as she raised her hand into the air. "Of the club members who are left, you'd best be prepared to get your bikes, because we're going to race!"

"All right then, you're on!" Keiichi shouted as he grinned in Mion's direction. His blood was pumping and he was ready for today to be a challenge.

The two of them raced off as Shion and Rena followed behind quickly. Satoshi stepped up behind Rika as she around to face him.

"Tell Hanyu we feel sorry about her being sick an all." He said to Rika, then he walked off to follow the club members.

"Huh? Hanyu's sick?" Rika said out loud as she looked a bit worried.

"She never told you?" Satoko asked Rika from behind as she stepped up next to her friend.

"Told me what?"

"Hanyu said she wasn't feeling well this morning, so she stayed in bed. How did you not noticed that she hasn't been at school all day?"

"I guess it must of slipped my mind is all... As long as Hanyu is feeling better then there's nothing to worry about, right?!" Rika replied as she flashed a smile on her face. "Come on, let's go see how Manager is!" She turned and started to run off towards the clinic.

"Hey! Rika, wait for me!" Satoko shouted after her, Satoko was lagging behind Rika a little as she ran.

Rika and Satoko arrived at the clinic a little while later. There was a vehicle parked out in front, it puzzled them a bit, but they just shrugged it off. Standing at the front door was a figure around their height, and by appearance, their age. They approached the front doors as the figure turned to them, quickly turning their face away.

"Hanyu! Hanyu!!" Rika shouted as she ran over and wrapped her arms around the girl.

"Hanyu, you said that you were sick this morning. You shouldn't be outside right now." Satoko said as she walked up to them.

"Well, I was feeling a little better so I decided to take a walk." Hanyu replied as she smiled a bit. "I saw the others on the way and they told me you'd both be here, so I figured I'd meet you here."

Rika let go of Hanyu as she walked inside the clinic. "Come on you two!" Rika said as she walked in towards Kyousuke's office. She was the first one to arrive outside the doorway since she was in front. Rika stopped outside the office and saw the door was shut. From inside she could hear people talking, there were three distinct voices, each of them were men.

"What's going on Rika?" Satoko asked as she walked up behind her and stood in the hallway, right next to Rika's position.

"I don't know..." Rika replied as she pressed her ear to the door. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but something didn't feel right to her. "I can't tell what they're saying at all..." She whispered.

"Maybe we should come back another time Rika." Satoko said as she grabbed her arm and tried to pry Rika away from the door.

"No… I have to know what's going on!" Rika shouted as the door opened.

Two of the men were standing there as they were starting to walk out of the office. They waved to Kyousuke as they left and bumped into Rika on their way out.

"Thank you Dr. Irie, please let us know if…!" The first man said as he bumped into Rika. He turned to her as he gasped in surprise. "Rika?!"

"Akasaka?! W-What are you doing here?" Rika exclaimed as she stepped back. Her eyes were wide in surprise, Akasaka's appearance was nothing she had expected.

"What's this? You know them Akasaka?" The other man with brown hair asked.

"I do... but it's alright Fuji, it's nothing to get over excited about." Akasaka replied to him. He knelt down to Rika and patted her on the head. "I'm going to be in town for a while. My partner, and my family are staying with me in a hotel in Okinomiya. So don't be surprised to see me around for a while." He rose up and stepped passed her as Fuji followed behind him.

"Rika, is there something you needed?" Kyousuke asked from inside his office. He was sitting at his desk with his television turned off and a few work papers laid out in front of himself. He readjusted his glasses back on his face as started writing onto one of the papers.

"Yes, we'd like to talk to you." Rika said as she walked with inside Kyousuke's office with Satoko and Hanyu following her inside.

Mion glanced between the other competitors. She, along with Keiichi, Satoshi, Shion, and Rena were each behind the imaginary line on the ground in front of them as they sat on their bicycles, ready to race. The race was agreed to be one lap around the village, those who were not in the top three would have to face the penalty game as punishment. Mion also allowed sabotage to another player during the race. Any attempt you could to get to the finish first was essential.

"On you mark!" Mion shouted, her eyes locking on to Keiichi. "You'd best make sure you have your training wheels on Kei-chan!"

"Just call it!" Keiichi yelled back, his hands had a hard grasp on his handle bars. He set his foot back as it stuck itself onto one of the pedals of the bike.

"Get set, go!" Mion yelled as she darted off first, her tire ran through a puddle on the pathway as it shot water and mud right onto Keiichi before he had a chance to pedal away from the start.

"Gyaah!" Keiichi shouted as he fell over his own bike. His face lay in the mud that was presently covering the ground. He jumped up and hopped back onto his bike as he pedaled after Mion with extreme speed. "I won't let you get away for that!" Keiichi screamed as he zipped passed the others and started battling for first place against Mion.

"Not so fast Keiichi!" Satoshi yelled as he pedaled up next to him. "You still have to get passed me you know."

"You're right my friend…" Keiichi replied as an evil grin grew across his face. "But remember what Mion said about the punishment game..."

"What's that exactly?" Satoshi said as the two of them were now battling for second.

"We can make the two losers do whatever we want... So if Mion and Shion lost, think of pour possibilities!" His face was now covered by the shadows of his bangs as he lowered his head. "We could force them to do anything we wanted..." He lifted his head once again and looked at Satoshi with that same crooked smile as before. "Are you in?"

"Hmm... Anything?" Satoshi said to himself as he slowed down a bit. His train of though had blocked his competitive edge and he was now vulnerable.

"Satoshi! Look out!!" Shion yelled from behind him. Although, her timing was too late as both of their bikes crashed into one another, and they both crashed onto the dirt below themselves.

The two of them crashed with a few cuts and bruises as their bikes lay on the road in need of repair. They had been eliminated from the race due to complications.

"Don't worry Satoshi!" Keiichi shouted as he turned his head back to them. "Your sacrifice will not be in vain!" He continued to pedal after Mion as to his surprised Rena passed him by own her own bike.

"Hi Keiichi! Bye Keiichi!" She yelled as she passed him by. Her speed was increasing by the second, it was so incredible, sparks began to fly from her tires because of the amount of friction she was producing.

Mion glanced back and saw that Rena and Keiichi were catching up. "Not on my watch…" She told herself, pulling out her air soft pistol, she shot it at a nearby tree. The bullet flew through the air and knocked a bird's nest from the tree it had been resting in.

Keiichi wasn't going to be last this time. He kicked his legs harder and his bike began to fly around the road. He quickly passed by Rena and was now on Mion's tail. Yet as he pedaled, he felt a soft, yet heavy object land on his head. He decided to ignore it and continue to pursue Mion, when from the sky a bird launched downward and attacked his head. "What the hell is this!" He shouted as he began to pedal harder than he ever had before.

Mion looked back again and saw the Maebara boy zooming by. "What the?!" She screamed as he passed her by easily. She snarled as began to pump her legs so she could catch up to him.

"Get this crazy bird off me!" Keiichi yelled as he tried to steer and swat at the angry bird at the exact same time. Although, he lost his balance and went flying away from where his bike had crashed. The bird still followed him even though the nest had fallen off of his head, it chased his body and started to angrily peck at his head until there was a loud screeching sound that scared it off.

Mion and Rena caught up as they halted on their bikes. Keiichi looked up to see a bike tire in front of his face, and a figure who was shadowed by the gleam of the sunlight sitting on that bike. Satoshi and Shion walked up from behind the others as they each were walking their bike to the scene.

"Hey guys! It's been forever hasn't it?" The kid said as they stepped off their bike and set down the stand so they could approach the others.

Keiichi stood up and looked at the figure. Once the sun was out of his face, he could see the boy with blond hair and a set of glasses on his face. Strangely enough, he noticed this kid was wearing a blue outfit that looked like a school uniform.

"It can't be..." Mion said under her breath as she glared angrily in the kid's direction.

"Fuiku?" Rena asked as she stepped off her own bike and glanced at him.

"Yup! I just moved back to Hinamizawa!" He exclaimed as he hopped on his bike once again. "I saw you guys so I decided to drop by and say hello! Well, see you later!" He turned his front tire and pedaled away as he was still be glared at by Mion.

"Who is that guy?" Keiichi asked as he turned to his friends.

"Nobody... Let's go..." Mion said as she pedaled away. "The punishment game is canceled."

Later that night, Mion woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She got up and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" Mion asked as he placed the receiver to her face.

"Mion, it's me your cousin... It's Hita."

"Do you realize what time it is?"

"I know, I'm sorry.. I just want to call you and let you know that I'm moving to Hinamizawa. I told Shion earlier, but I don't think she was too concerned by it."

"Why are you moving back? I thought your parents wanted a break from Hinamizawa and the family…"

"I can't explain any of it now... I'll tell you about it when I get there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?! Why tomorrow?"

"It's urgent... Forgive me for waking you up, I just thought you'd like to know... I'll just go now."

The phone was then hung up on the other end of the line as the dial tone was played from the receiver. Mion shook off some of the thoughts she was getting in her mind as she went back to sleep.

The next morning, the group was sitting in class as they were whispering things around. Each of them was worried about a different thing, and that really didn't help their conversation much at all.

"How was Manager yesterday Rika?" Mion asked as she sat down.

"Manager told me that he was just worried about something he saw on television and that I shouldn't worry about it... He didn't seem like he wanted to talk at all. I'm starting to feel worried now." Rika replied as her eyes were locked onto the floor.

"Don't worry Rika, I'm sure everything will be fine." Hanyu said as she sat down next to Rika.

"You're right, things are going to be just fine!" Rika said as her face beamed into another smile. "Although... I wonder why Akasaka has come here, its not like him to work around here that often."

"Actually, on my way home yesterday I bumped into Tomitake-san. He didn't want to chat though, he just rushed off in a hurry after apologizing." Keiichi said as he shook his head.

"I'm sure its nothing to worry about. We should just get our work done so we can get ready for club activities later today!" Rena said as she tried to lighten the mood.

"Settle down class!" Rumiko shouted, trying to get the class to quieten as she walked in with a notebook under her arm. "I have an announcement to make. Apparently you all have some new transfer students."

"Transfer students?" Keiichi asked the others as he looked over to the instructor. This wasn't news that he heard every day, and the Hinamizawa school was smaller than most so it had interested him.

"I never heard anything about any transfers.." Satoshi replied as he too looked over towards the teacher.

"Please welcome, Shinji Yukashi, Rei Takimu, Hita Sonozaki, and Fuiku Eijima..." Rumiko announced as the four students walked into the room.

Each of them glanced among the small classroom. Unlike the others, these four were all wearing the same uniform, this didn't bother Fuiku, but Shinji, Rei, and Hita were both slightly embarrassed and slightly cautious of their new surroundings.

"You may take your seats, anywhere you like…" Rumiko said invitingly. "Now everyone, let's welcome our new classmates to Hinamizawa!"