Chapter 1:

"Don't worry Shion," Satoshi gently pulled her through the bustling festival. "Everyone is going to be so thrilled to find out. I know Satoko was. I hope she'll remember to meet up with us at the festival."

"Don't, she'll never miss an opportunity to mess with Keiichi," Shion teased. Every year the group would reunite at the festival, no matter what. Mion even suffered through crowing to go. Shion was happy to get to see her friends, but she couldn't help remember the horror of the thought of Satoshi dead. Even though it had been ten years since the last killing and Takono's puppet mastering, she couldn't help but fear that the same thing was going to happen this year. She just put her hand over her stomach and pressed on.

"Shion!" Rena waved from a distance. "Me and Rika are over here!"

"Coming!" Shion, still gripping Satoshi's hand, skipped as fast as she could. The two smiled and hugged.

"Oh you remeber my fiancé Kazuo Rokurou?" she smiled.

"Not for much longer," he nuzzled her neck. Both Shion and Satoshi didn't like Kazuo, he was a creep, he was a little older than Rena and smoked, but neither had the heart to tell her.

"Oh stop," she teased back.

"Oh that's…" Shion started to lie.

"Kenji! Stop picking on your brother!" Mion's voice sighed. "You're lucky you even have a brother, with all the pain I had just having one of you."

"But mom…" the little boy's voiced whined. "He started it!"

"I don't care who started it I'll finish it!" Keiichi hollered back.

"Shhh Keiichi, you're making Kyou cry!"

"Here," he picked up the screaming boy and put him on the back of his shoulders.

"No fair, Kyou always gets treated better than I do. Just because I'm older." Keiichi covered his moth but both Mion and Shion had heard what he'd said. Even he wasn't older enough to known what was going on Kenji knew what he had said was wrong. "I'm sorry mamma." He tugged at her yukata. She just smiled and tasseled his hair. She looked up to see Shion smiling.

"Hey sis," Mion smiled back as everyone else wandered off to give those two time to themselves. "How's life treating you? You look so tired. I bet it's been going that good." She winked.

"Well actually…"

"That dirty little bi…" Keiichi yelled hanging upside down from a tree by a rabbit snare.

"Dear! The kids!"

" I don't care. It's been ten years! When is that little brat gonna grow up?"

"When taunting you loses its appeal!" Satoshi did her signature laugh as she emerged from a bush.

"Really Satoko?" Rika sighed as she followed. "Can't you give an old man a break?"

"Hahaha very funny , I know I'm old. NOW help me down!"

"Here," Satoshi cut him lose sending him crashing to the ground. Kenji gave Satoko a high five.

"I can't be my own flesh and blood would betray me!" Keiichi faked cried.

"Oh get over it," Mion ignored him. "Why do we get some food? It's easier to talk over a meal."

"Agree then we can have are signature takoyaki eating contest!" he cheered.

"Why do you even bother?" Satoko teased. "You're gonna lose like you always do."

"We'll see about that!"

"We tried to warn you," Mion sighed as Keiichi was throwing up into a trash barrel.

"Shut up!" he barfed. Everyone was laughing, even Keiichi. It reminded them about there younger days.

"Here," Rika handed him some napkins.

"Mom is daddy going to be okay?" Kyou asked.

"Relax, your daddy's as tough as a cockroach," she giggled. Shion didn't know when to interject her news to this conversation. It was so much like when they were kids she didn't want to spoil it. Of course Mion told about her pregnancy at the festival two years ago without a hint of fear (mostly because it was impossible to hide at that point.) Shion decided to just enjoy the evening and pretend that nothing mattered.

After an hour it was time for Rika's usual performance. Even though it creped everyone out a little bit it was still breathe taking and amazing to watch. Except for Kazou.

"Hey Mion or which every one you are," he grabbed her wrist. "I need to talk to you."

"Ok," she waved at Satoshi to let him know she was leaving. He jerked her towards the forbidden temple. "Wait, we can't…" Before she could finish Kazou kissed her on the mouth.

"Oh you're so much more pretty than Rena," he moaned as he stuck his tongue in her mouth and grabbed her boobs. "Rena doesn't have your sheer sex appeal." Shion was trying to scream but his kissing suppressed it.

"Stop it!" she pushed him away. "I'm a married woman!"

"Oh c'mon, marriage is a very loose term." He slowly pursued her but she kicked him in the knee. "Why you dirty little bitch!" He slapped her in the face. As soon as she hit the ground he got on top of her.

"Stop," she cried. "I'm pregnant." To her surprise it didn't stop him.

"Don't worry it adds to the thrill," he smiled with a sheer look of animal lust.

"Please god save me," she prayed in her head bracing her mind for the worst. Just as she finished her thought, something took his head clean off. She screamed as the once whole body collapsed on her. She jolted up and ran away, only to trip over a tree root. Someone was behind her; she could feel the killer aura all over her spine. A hard blunt object smacked her in the stomach sending blood shooting out of her mouth. Shion shrieked out in pain.

"What the hell was that noise?" Satoko questioned when the sound of someone in distress hollered from a distance. It took everyone a second to realize whose voice it was.

"Shion!" Everyone yelled in unison.

"Mion, Satoko, Rika, stay with the kids," Keiichi ordered. Satoshi was already running into the forest. "Satoshi wait!" He ran after him followed by Rena.

"Wait," Rena fiddled through her pursue and tossed Keiichi a flashlight. "Here" He flicked it on and continued after the speeding Satoshi. It was long before they reached the horrific sight. The headless Kazou was spread on the ground like a broken puppet and Shion was covered in blood curled up in the fetal position.

"Shion?" Satoshi ran to her side.

"Something's wrong!" she cried out to him. "Something's wrong." Satoshi froze only to be awakened by the sobbing Rena.

Later after going to the hospital everyone was waiting outside Shion's room. The doctor left her room, Satoshi gave him a look of hope but the heavy hearted doctor took him aside to tell him the sad news. Satoshi fell to his knees and cried.