I tried a new way of writing and i think it just made it look weird and kind of annoying to read :/ if so, i'm sorry, and i wont do it anymore.

My black hair flew in my face as I swung the axe back and forth hitting him in different places. Every grunt or noise he'd make made my wicked smile would grow more and more.

…

Two Weeks Earlier

…

"Hey, Mai! You gonna walk to school with us today?" Mion asked when she saw me. I looked over at her, Rena, and Keiichi. I just stared for a moment.

"Is Mai going to walk alone again? Is she?" Rena asked in the cutest way ever. I rolled my eyes with a light smile and trudged over to them. I saw Keiichi give me a weird look out of the corner of my eye.

"What, Maebara? Never seen an emo girl before?" I snapped.

Keiichi and I have never gotten along. He's always given me weird or dirty looks, which I happily returned. I don't even know why I hate him so much. That's a lie. There's a small possible reason, but its silly.

"I've never seen one like you before. You're never in any happy colors." He began walking.

"What's wrong with you? Emo's aren't suppose to wear all happy colors. Do you have a mental disease or something that makes you incapable of knowing the simple stuff?"

He stopped, and turned to face me. "I've never seen the slightest bit of white, or…or…yellow or anything other than black in any of your outfits! That's what I meant!"

I pointed at my black and yellow plaid dress. "No yellow, huh? You must be colorblind too. You know," I slung my kitty backpack over my shoulder and walked past him, "you're a waste of my time. You act like you know everything when you don't, and just because you have some girls follow you around doesn't make you sexy like you want to think it does. Stop acting like you're the best thing in the world when you're not. You're in Hinamizawa! A simple country side town! That's not where big shots live!"

"Mai-chan…" Rena mumbled as I walked.

"Kei-chan, I'm sorry for her behavior…" Mion said.

I didn't turn back. I didn't want to. I kept walking.

I put my bag next to me as I sat in my seat, in the back of the room. I looked out the window as a cicada flew past. All the children in the room were playing games and talking, waiting for Chie-sensei to arrive along with the rest of the students.

"Good morning, Mai." I heard from behind.

"You're here early today." A second voice said.

"Yeah…I pretty much ran here after a run-in with Keiichi." I turned to face Rika and Satoko. They both frowned at me.

"I know I fight with him a lot, but not as bad as you…" Satoko played with her tie as she spoke.

"Why do you hate him so much, Mai?" Rika walked in front of my desk and looked me in the eye. I shook my head.

"Not really sure, Rika…sorry. I guess it's just one of those instant hatreds." I shrugged with the last part and looked out the window again. I heard them shuffle away to their seats after a second.

"You know why you dislike him, don't you?" I heard.

I looked around the room. No one was near me.

"My name is Hanyuu. I know you can't see me, but I know you can at least hear me. I am Oyashiro-sama."

I continued looking out the window. Am I really hearing Oyashiro-sama, or I was just so tired I was hearing voices?

"Yes, Mai. You really hear me. I'm sure, if you believe hard enough, you'll be able to see me soon." Hanyuu said.

"Hey, Mai. Back there…I'm sorry. I need to stop giving you weird looks and being a jerk. Do you accept my apology?" Keiichi asked. I turned to look at him. He could see the confusion on my face. I blinked a couple of times then rub my forehead.

"Sorry, what did you say? I was…thinking something really weird."

"I asked if you'd forgive me for what happened back there?"

I nodded. "Oh…yeah, sure. Its fine."

He pulled a chair next to my desk and sat down. "Why don't we start over? Try and be friends?" He held his hand out to me. I looked from him, to his hand, and back. I shook it.

"But you must follow the rules." I told him.

"Huh? What ru-" he began, but was interrupted by Chie-sensei coming in and starting the day's lesson.

The next few days went by smoother. I walked to school with Keiichi, Mion, and Rena and barely said anything mean to Keiichi. After a week of this, when Mion and I were alone, she praised me.

"You don't know how grateful we all are that you and Kei-chan are getting along."

"Well, what was hating each other going to do but drive you all mad?"

She chuckled then went to serious mode.

"Why did you hate him to begin with? Everyone else that spoke to you, you got along with. He's the only you've hated instantly."

I went to the window and looked up at the sky. The memories came flooding back.

"He acts like Satoshi-kun…" I finally said after a minutes worth of silence.

"But you liked Satoshi-kun, so why hate Kei-chan?" She pleaded.

"I guess…I felt like you guys were replacing Satoshi-kun with him. Like when a person replaces a lost pen they couldn't live without, ya know? It just hurt to have him disappear, and then to have Keiichi come and be the louder, brunette version of him was just too much. I'm really trying to tell myself that they're different people, and that Satoshi-kun is going to come back. I really am. That's why I promised Keiichi I'd try to get along."

I could feel her shock settle into happiness.

"By the way," I looked over my shoulder at her, "you must tell him my rules. If he doesn't know soon, it could be fatal for him." I warned.

She nodded quickly. "Y-yes, I planned on telling him today with the others at the club meeting. If you could pretend to go to the bathroom at one point, we'll tell him then."

I nodded once. I heard her leave the room. I continued looking at the sky.

"Satoshi-kun…are you proud of me? I'm becoming better. And, are you proud of Satoko? She's grown up, physically, mentally, and emotionally. She's almost an adult." I thought aloud. I sighed heavily, grabbed my bag, and went to the next room to wait for the club meeting to start.

I slammed the cards down.

"It's no fair! I can't come last in my own game!" I cried out, looking at the score board. I was tied with Keiichi for last place. I sighed and stood up.

"I'm going to the bathroom. I need to rethink my strategy…" I walked out in the hall to listen to the conversation that was to happen.

"I don't mean to trash talk, but what is wrong with her? She's so dramatic." Keiichi said. Silence followed those words.

"Well, what do you guys think? Don't you agree?" He finally asked.

"Well…y-yeah, she is kind of dramatic, but-" Mion started just for him to interrupt.

"But what? She's a freaky weirdo. I'm glad we get along now, but she's freakier then your punishments, Mion."

My heart skipped a beat when I gasped. Instead of pain, anger filled within. Where did he have the right calling me weird or freaky? Just because I word things differently, or don't speak as much as he does, doesn't mean I'm weird!

"Mai, please. Calm down some. Keiichi is just in one of those moods today." I heard the familiar voice say. I turned around to see a lavender haired girl with horns. She was floating and transparent. I could see through her to the water fountain on the other wall.

"I'm sorry…I'm Hanyuu." She said with a smile that was as sweet as day.

"I doubt he's in a mood. He thinks that way, I know he does…" I mumbled out. She began to talk again, but I ignored her and walked back in.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I forgot I had something to do." I didn't realize it, but I had spoken in a mono tone voice. Rena stood up.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"Yeah. I just got a little sick all of a sudden." I lied. I grabbed my bag and glided out before anyone could say anything else.

I fell off the couch when the phone rang. Though I knew I was alone, I looked around hoping no one saw me. I sat up and answered the phone.

"Kagami residence. Mai Kagami speaking." I said, just as I was taught by my late father.

"Mai? It's Rika. I have to talk to you about something."

I looked at the clock before replying. "Rika, its almost midnight. Why are you still up, and what's so important that it can't wait 'til tomorrow?"

"Hanyuu."

"Wa….wait…you've seen her too?"

"I've always been able to see her. Mai, please believe me when I say there is more then one Hinamizawa."

I stayed quiet while I processed her words. She patiently waited.

"That…doesn't make sense though…how do you know that?" I asked completely dumbfounded.

"Hanyuu is Oyashiro-sama, of course, and for hundreds of years we've all been victims of the curse that takes place after the Watanagashi Festival. Hanyuu has been able to rebirth us, along with a new Hinamizawa every time most or all of us died."

I fell back into the couch as Rika told me of the deaths and the two past lives of mine.

"I don't get it though. How could I have been a cute sixteen year old girl in one life, and then an abused ten year old in the next? It makes no sense to me, Rika."

"We don't understand either. We're still in the progress of finding out why your soul has been split three times." I heard Hanyuu in the background bustling around in confusion.

"Do you know how much time is left in this world, or who is to die this time?" I skimmed over my calendar as I waited for an answer.

"….No. Unfortunately, we have no clue. Some scenarios have been the same, so we've gotten a small hint before, but this time we're clueless." Everything fell silent. Even Hanyuu's worried whimpers stopped.

"Its late. We should both try and rest. Besides, you have the festival tomorrow. Goodnight, Rika-chan. Hanyuu-sama." I hung the phone up and shuffled to my room. I stopped at the window and gazed at the stars.

"Satoshi-kun…please, come back soon…Satoko needs you. I need you. We'll be waiting as long as you need us to." I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I walked away and got in my bed. I slowly cried myself to sleep with the memories.