"You take the cotton and float it down the river as if you're washing away all your sins." Satako said. I put my cotton in the river and watched it float away. "I feel better for some reason…" I said, smiling and looking at my friends.

"Hey, it's Mion and friends."

I turned around to see a man with a camera and woman walking towards us. I backed up into Keiichi as the woman neared me. "Don't worry. I won't bite." The blond woman said. "I'm guessing you're the new girl that moved in a few days ago. I'm Miyo Takano." The man with the camera stepped forward as he took my picture. "I'm Jiro Tomitake." He smiled. I felt no form of danger coming from him. I smiled at him and only him. "I'm Dawn Kagami. Nice to meet you." Takano was about to say something to me, when I heard the voice.

"Hey, Dawn! I thought I told you to come home at eight?"

I walked to my mother. I knew she said midnight, but its best to not fight with her when she has a hangover. "I apologize...but, um, do you mind if I stay with a friend tonight?" She looked at me, trying to make up her mind. "Sure, sure. Just don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have to talk to the police if I don't have to." She started to walk off. I quickly went to Satako. "Satako-chan, would you mind if I stayed with you and Rika for the night?" She smiled. "I don't mind at all. I'm sure Rika won't mind either." I nodded as Satako grabbed my hand and began to walk away with the others. I glanced back at the woman I called my mother, not knowing what would await for me the next morning.

"Hey, Dawn! Wake up! Ooishi-san is here. He wants to speak with you." Satako was shaking my tired body lightly. I looked up, rubbing at my eyes to try and clear my vision. I saw Rika was gone. "Where's Rika-chan?" Satako replied as she went to the kitchen. "I'm not sure. I never saw her come in last night. And she wasn't here this morning. I'm worried…" I slowly got up and made my way to Ooishi-san's car. "Hello, Kagami-san. Do you mind sitting in my car while I ask you a few questions?" I shook my head and got in the car.

"Kagami-san-"

"Um, I would rather you called me 'Dawn' please." I smiled as he looked at me from a mirror in the car. "Okay, Dawn-san. When was the last time you spoke to your mother?"

I blinked. "Last night around eight. Why? What's wrong?" He sighed and grabbed a cigarette. "She was found dead this morning." He might as well have smacked me. My lips quivered.

"No! You're LYING!" I screamed at the big man. The cigarette he had yet to light fell from his mouth.

"She may have acted like I was a bother, but there's no way she's dead! This is a cruel joke to pull on a little girl!" I gripped my head as I screamed at him. I opened the door and fell out.

"She's too tough to be dead! She may have hated me on the outside, but deep down she loved me, and I loved her!" I was crying lightly. "Wait…do you know what time she died?" He stepped out of his car. "We think about midnight last night. Why?" I remembered Satako's words. I never saw her come in last night. I quickly stood up. "Why…why did she do that?" Ooishi walked toward me. "What are you talking about?" I ran off. I didn't care if he wanted a response. I went off to find Rika.

As I ran I thought about the two promises I made to myself. The first: I won't hurt anyone in this village. The second: I won't die. I won't get anywhere near death again. I had no clue what was going to happen in the next hour.

I ran to my house to see it off limits to everyone. Instead of tears, anger arose. I turned around and ran toward the Furude Shrine. I saw Rika sitting on the well, talking to no one. I snuck up behind her. When I reached for her head, I heard someone speak. "Rika, look out!" I grabbed a handful of hair and slung the girl to the edge of the Shrine stairs. She looked up. "Dawn! What are you doing?" I smirked. "Don't act like you didn't do anything." I started walking toward her. She got to her feet. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You killed her!"

She took a step back when I screamed. She locked eyes with me. When she saw the murderous look in my eyes, she ran.

"You can run, little Rika….but I will avenge my mother…" I watched as she went toward the school. I stood there. I couldn't help but begin to giggle. "Heh….he-he…." it soon went to full blown laugh. "Bah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You're dead, Furude! You hear me? You're DEAD!" I could hear the echo of the last word. After a moment of standing and thought sorting I went back to my house to get the one thing I needed.

I snuck past the barrier and went through an open window. Every voice that came near got me to freeze and hide.

"I'm not sure where her daughter went off to, but I would be on the look out around the village, got it?"

I clenched my necklace some. Ooishi's voice…what the hell? Why does he think I need to be found…? Oh, forget it…after this, I most likely will be wanted… When the voices faded I went to my mother's old room and grabbed her pocket knife. The blade was at least three and half inches long. I put it in my small front pocket and jumped back out window to go to the school grounds.

I pressed my back to the door when I heard voices in the next room.

"So, Dawn thinks you had something to do with her mom's death and now she's after you…?" Mion asked.

"Yes, and I know she's being serious about this. The look in her eyes…it was proof enough." Rika responded.

I got my pocket knife and edged closer to a corner. I could still hear them talking.

"Maybe if she really is going after Rika-chan, we should split up and make sure she doesn't come here…" Rena suggested.

"Yeah, I think Rena's right with this one. Let's each go to different rooms and scope out the area." Keiichi said.

I heard the shuffle of feet. I pressed my back against the wall as much as I could. I watched as Keiichi ran right past the corner I was hiding behind. I smirked and went to the room they had been in previously.

"Hanyuu…today is the day isn't it?" Rika asked into the air. I looked at her, thinking she was insane. Just as I thought that, though, a purple haired girl with horns appeared. She was transparent, as if she were a ghost. I listened to her as she spoke to Rika.

"I'm afraid it seems that way…but at least I can bring back to another Hinamizawa." the girl I assumed was Hanyuu looked out the window with Rika.

"In this one….the new girl, the reincarnation of Kasumi, has reached insanity within three months of being here. I never would have assumed she'd crack and blame someone for her mother's death…" Rika gazed into the sunset. My demon awoke as she spoke. I stepped up to her and whispered in her ear.

"You think I'm insane?"

She and Hanyuu both jumped and turned to look at me. Rika backed herself against the wall. She was speechless.

"Bah-ha-ha-ha! If you want insane, I'll show you insane!" I raised the pocket knife to her as I spoke. Her pupils got small and I neared her. She grabbed my wrist.

"So, you want to struggle, eh? I guess there's nothing wrong with a little fight before hand!" I went to punch her, but she got my other wrist before it hit her face. While she was busy with my wrists, I kicked her as hard as I could in her shin. She released me and fell to the ground. I sat on her, raised my arm and stab her. She yelped in pain. I could feel my lips curl into a smile as I stabbed her more.

I stood up when it was over with. I stepped back. I dropped the knife. I started shaking in disbelief. I heard the Hanyuu girl in the corner.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Rika, I'm sorry…"

"H…Hanyuu…what have I done? I just killed Rika…." I shook my head. I looked at my knife. I slowly reached for it. Hanyuu looked at me.

"Dawn…what are you doing?" Her voice was filled with concern.

"I can't live with myself after this….I broke my own promise!"

I stood up, knife in hand, than stabbed myself in the temple. An enormous amount of pain ran through my body. I continued anyway. I went on until I knew I was out of Hinamizawa.

I looked around. There were crystals everywhere. They weren't on the ground though. They were floating. I walked forward a little bit.

"Dawn…nice to see you."

Rika? What is this place? Why are we both here?

I turned around to her. She looked like Hanyuu with a purple gaze over her whole body. I looked down at myself. Purple and ghostlike.

"Rika…where are we? What's going on?"

She calmly walked to me.

"We were both killed in this Hinamizawa. Hanyuu is Oyoshiro-sama herself. I'm a reincarnation of her, and for hundreds of years, at this time in June, someone goes insane and kills. Hanyuu has had the power to recreate a new Hinamizawa and bring me and the others back. You were in our last Hinamizawa, but as sixteen year old girl named Kasumi. In this one, you kept the soul, but somehow managed to look and be a different person."

I just looked at her. Hanyuu had appeared sometime in the middle of Rika's explanation.

"If I've already changed once….what's going to happen to me now? Hanyuu's taking us to a new Hinamizawa, right? So what's going to happen?"

I knew I was freaking out, but I wanted to keep some of the memories I had with me. I didn't want them disappear, to most likely never be remembered again.

"There's a chance you'll come back as yourself, Kasumi, or another person…there's even a small chance that you won't be there at all…" Hanyuu said.

Rika grabbed a crystal that floated down in front of her.

"No matter what, Hanyuu will remember you, and she'll tell me about everything that has happened like she always does. So, with that, let's see what happens in our new world." She held the crystal out. Hanyuu put her hand on it. They both looked at me.

"Let's hope for a better world…" I smiled, put my hand on the crystal and disappeared in the flash of light to the next awaiting Hinamizawa.