Bang, bang, bang!
I put my muffin down and went to the door. I opened it to see most of the gang. The two that were missing were Rika and Keiichi.
"Kagami Mai! You are to come with the members of the Club to the festival!" Mion shouted at me. I blinked at her smiling face. Her twin sister, Shion, stepped out from behind her.
"I'm sorry, Mai. Mion's a little excited today." She placed her hands on Mion's shoulders and pulled her back some. I grabbed my house keys, and shut the door as I walked out.
"Well, if we're going to the festival, we better get going, right? We'll need time to do anything and everything!" We all gave a cheer of excitement. Rena and I grabbed Satoko's hands and began running, while Mion and Shion held hands behind us and ran. Halfway there, I saw Keiichi. The anger I had towards him began to build.
"Hey, you guys!" He greeted. I knew I couldn't allow my hate to show just yet, so I smiled and waved. We all gathered, joked on Keiichi, and begun the days activities. We played, ate, and walked everywhere we could.
"Oh crap, the performance! Kei-chan, c'mon!" Mion started walking quickly to get a good view. I stood on one end, while he stood on the other. I shot a glance at him. He and Mion were whispering about something. He looked me straight in the eye. Mion glanced over her shoulder, and then shifted her eyes to the stage as Rika came out. I watched my not-so-innocent friend do her performance.
"Rika!~ that was amazing!" I sang as I hugged her. She smiled happily at me, glad she had a good performance.
"What are we gonna do now?" Keiichi asked. "The festival is over."
"We go home. Well, I am at least. I'm so tired. I stayed up really late then couldn't sleep because I was thinking too much." I started walking backward as I spoke to them. I didn't go very far before I felt a strong presence then bumped in to someone. I turned to see Takano. She gave a fake smile that seemed to fool everyone.
"Ah, Mai. You have to be careful when walking backward. You could bump in to people." Her tone had a certain charm to it that made her seem completely innocent.
"Hey, it's Keiichi and his gang of girls!" I looked behind her to see Tomitake-san walking toward us. I smiled wildly. He was my favorite adult ever since my father passed. I went running and shouting to him.
"Tomitake-san! I've missed you!" I hugged him tightly when I reached him. I felt him ruffle my hair. The others walked to us.
"I've missed you too, squirt. We should set a date to hang out. Don't you think so?" He smiled, raised his camera, and took a picture of me. I nodded afterward. We all spoke for a minute then I took off back home.
Once I got home, I changed into my formal black and red dress. I grabbed my backpack, packing up a white dress for later and a note I had prepared earlier for my friends. I walked out of the house, leaving the door wide open. There was no use in closing it since I wouldn't be around much longer to even care if something was taken. Taking one last look at the house I had grown up in, I walked slowly through the village, humming to myself.
When I had gotten to my first destination, I saw Mion with Keiichi outside of her home. I hid behind a near-by tree to listen to their conversation.
"….died a few months ago…" Mion said.
"That's not an excuse." Keiichi replied.
"But Keii-chan! Wouldn't you be weird, too, if the only two people you deeply cared for vanished and died?"
Things fell silent. I knew exactly who she was talking about. I felt as though my knees would give way, bringing me to the ground. I heard Keiichi question who she meant. I regained myself and brought myself into their view.
"My father…and Satoshi-kun…" Saying his name brought the weak feelings back.
Both of them jumped back slightly in shock. They glanced back at each other nervously, then to me. The nervous glances were probably due to the fact I had my axe in my hands. They didn't speak.
"So, 'Keii-chan'," I mocked the nickname, "I'm weird and over-dramatic?" I put a foot forward.
"N-no! Why….would I say that?" He took a step back.
"Kya-ha-ha-ha! I never said you said it! You just ratted yourself out! But what about you, Mion? Don't lie…" Another step.
"I never agreed with him! I swear!"
"LIES!" I shouted.
They both began backing up until they hit the concrete wall surrounding the Sonozaki Estate. Slowly did I creep toward them.
"There is no need to lie to me. I know all that was said that day. Oyashiro-sama may have taken my attention some, but I heard you. I know the truth." I stopped in front of them.
"I'm sorry, Mion, but you broke my rule, and my trust. You should've just told him the rule when he said that. It would've saved you." I raised the axe and brought it down to her head. She fell over, the fresh blood pooling under her head. The dry ground quickly drank, becoming stained in crimson. Keiichi tried to run, but in one swift movement, I caught his lower leg, bringing him to the ground with a grunt.
"My rule, Keiichi, was to avoid an insult. Can you guess what insult really irks me?" I smiled and crouched down to get a better look into his eyes. His soul was gone. His faith, his hope. Gone.
"Freak. Weird. Odd. Anything like that is a no-no. You messed up. In your next life, please remember that not everyone is doing as they say. Watch your words."
I took the axe. I lightly rested the blade on his head. I smirked. I raised the axe once more and swung it down. My black hair flew in my face as I hit him with the axe. My wicked smile grew more and more with every sound he made. When I finally finished, I dug out my white dress, and began to change.
I made my way onto the school roof in my white dress. I sat on the edge and waited for the crowd to form. I looked out to a forest. There, walking, was Takano. Satoko was being dragged behind her. I squinted and realized the splash of color on her clothes was blood. Takano must've killed Satoko. I knew I had to tell Rika and Hanyuu.
"Kagami-san! Please, come down!"
I looked down, being pulled out of my daze, to see a large crowd staring up at me. Ooishi had a megaphone in his hand. Like he really cared if I was up there or not. I saw Shion, Rena, and Rika break through the crowd. Shion snatched the megaphone away from him.
"Mai, please! Don't do this! I'm begging you!" I never looked at her. I kept my eyes on Rika. I decided to tell Rika now instead of after our deaths.
"The only one I wish to speak to right now is Rika Furude!"
I watched as Ooishi pat her on the back and tell her to come up to me. A minute or so later, she and Hanyuu were on the roof with me.
"Mai…why? Why are you up here?" Rika asked. I stood up. I could hear murmurs of worry and panic amongst the crowd as I trudged to Rika.
"Rika…I used to be pure…pure white, if you may. But now…I have realized I've sinned for awhile. My most recent sins are the murders of Sonozaki Mion, and Maebara Keiichi. I…d-don't even remember why I killed them…I can't remember at all." The wind slightly blew with the last sentence.
"Kagami Mai. Your sins can be forgiven." Hanyuu reassured.
"NO THEY CAN'T!" I screamed at her. I gripped my head as I continued shouting at her.
"My sins can NEVER be forgiven! I've lied, killed, and let my two dearest people die and disappear! Had I done more to safe them, both my father and Satoshi-kun would still be here! Don't tell me my sins can be forgiven when they CAN'T!" I felt the tears run down my cheeks, to my jaw line. I went down to my knees.
"Mai…" Rika mumbled.
"I can't do it! I can't do it anymore, Rika! I'm sorry, but I just can't!" I cried out.
"Mai!" I was slapped as they both called out to me.
"Don't speak like that! You must keep fighting on! In the next Hinamizawa we will fight together, alright? I'll fight for Hanyuu, and you can fight for her too! You will fight for me, for Kasumi, Dawn, and your father! Even for Satoshi!" Rika encouraged.
"Sa…toshi…kun…." I mumbled out. I looked Rika in the eye. Her lavender eyes were determined and fierce. My tears stopped. I stood once more and faced them a smile.
"You're right…"
"Come then, Mai." She held her hand out for me to take, a smile painted on her face. I hesitated, but took it. Cheers erupted from the crowd.
"By the way, I saw Takano…she killed Satoko." I informed them. Rika gasped.
"Takano! D…do you think she could really be an enemy?"
"Au, au! Takano doesn't seem like one!" Hanyuu whimpered out.
"I don't really know. Um, Rika-chan?" I asked.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry." Before either of them could respond, I tightened my grip on Rika's hand, grabbed her arm with my other hand, and slung us both off the roof top.
Everything slowed down. Rika was below me, eyes wide with shock, fear, betrayal. All the people that had once been cheering were now screaming. I looked toward Rena and Shion. They were screaming the loudest. For a moment I thought I saw Satoko, Mion, Keiichi, and Satoshi with them. My attention was taken from Rika hitting the ground. The second before I hit, I took one last look at our friends. It had returned to being just the terrified Rena and Shion.
SPLURT!
-!Authors Note!- so, some of this might not make sense. it's probably because i tried to write all of this down during school. haha ^^" but, anyway, please rate and review this chapter! the last chapter will be posted soon after this one! thank you~
