Author's Note
Hooray for finding the time to type out the next four releases.
Addressing a question my reviewer had, NTR is essentially setting up a pairing in a Visual Novel, and have one of the two characters cheat on the other one, having the other find out. There's a bit more to it, like humiliating the person being cheated on, but it's commonly used in really explicit ways in a lot of VNs. It's a really hated genre when used like that, because the readers generally get angered themselves as they're made to like the original pairing early on in the story before the NTR kicks in. Check the tv tropes page on it for more information.
Also note, a bit of Umineko fanon comes into play but there are no EP8 spoilers, so don't be concerned about that. (On the other hand, if you're not experienced with Umineko, I suggest you look up brief details of the characters mentioned in this story as they appear. Or even better, just go read the VNs or watch the terrible anime adaptation of the first four games.)
Also, might I note there is a bit of extra-explicit language later on. Although nothing too terrifying.
Suspicious Fragrance Chapter
Despite this being a short story (the word short in this case being completely subjective), please be aware that the following story has been extracted from the darkest, deepest bowls of the sea of fragments and it has not been properly compared with the user-defined truth of 1983 and may or may not contain any relevant material pertinent to the truth that is presented here. Also be aware that as this is a lost fragment's production that the material is most likely slanderous and decrepit as well as juvenile and outright demonic. This story is truly a story for witches, demons, and wizards, as well as wizard or witch hunters, to read. If you do not fall under any of these categories you are advised to avoid reading this story at the expense of potential clues pertaining to the user-defined truth.
Furthermore, the fact that this story exists to begin with is in itself a mystery. How this story came into my possession is still a mystery. I have decided to consider it a sort of miracle that such a story, as falsified as it may possibly be, came into my unworthy hands. The events that you are about to read, while being pivotal to the end result, are seemingly impossible on more than one level. But the user defined truth states otherwise. Therefore, accept them for what they are and discern the truth from the lies.
~Dr. Saturn Anne
The Pivotal Actors are as follows (Perspective character gets the bold):
Sonozaki Shion
Maebara Keichi
Furude Rika
Et Al
The Unreliable Narrator (Faceless)
Morning dawned on the Furude shrine. It was already well into the month of June and the temperature, as it always would, rose drastically. Rika was forced to deal with this heat, but at this point she had become so accustomed to it she probably wouldn't remember what a cold room felt like. After all, she hadn't seen anything but the blazing sun for well over two hundred years. But one thing that had changed was something so seemingly insignificant to someone like her but was far more damaging than the heat.
It was empty and lonely. It made her far more bitter and depressed than she ever had been before. It was so lonely, being in that period of solitude for such a long time before, but at least then she still had Hanyuu. Now it was absolutely terrifying for her. There was no one left in the world that was able to understand what she had gone through. There was no one to stand by her. No one to even vent her sadness on.
What made matters even worse was that she thought she had finally done it. She had achieved that final resolution that she had hoped for. She thought that she had truly triumphed against fate. But perhaps the solution she tried so hard to reach was impossible to hold on to after all.
It was about a month after the peaceful resolution where Takano failed to shoot Hanyuu and was arrested and put away forever. Everyone she knew and cared about was able to move on with their lives. Rena managed to patch things up with her father. Shion was able to visit Satoshi whenever she wanted to in anticipation for the day when he would reawaken. Satoko was able to live peacefully with Shion watching over her and her best friend to return home to. Keichi and Mion even started dating. Everything had been perfect.
But then August came around. And in a flash of light all of that was gone.
As she was still alive, Rika, the container of sorts of the mentally unstable Hinamizawa Syndrome, had yet to vanish completely. Irie had been working on a solution to permanently cure the psychological disease before it ever even appeared within someone. But it only took two months for his work to have been rendered all-for-nothing. Shion arrived at his clinic, having somewhere deep inside realized just what had happened to her and in a desperate cry for help went to the only place where she could be saved- carrying Mion's dismembered head.
In the end, Shion ended up dead after she tried to kill Keichi, but unable to do so, she killed herself. Only a few days later, Satoko came down with the syndrome- and killed Keichi. They never even could verify that he'd been killed, but his disappearance was just cause to pronounce him dead.
The bigger problem was the source. Shion had forced her way into Satoshi's room and contracted the virus from him. Satoko-from coming into contact with Shion's corpse. Of course, it was all purely psychological- Shion, having been unable to stand Satoshi being just out of her reach and Satoko, having lost her surrogate older sister.
Rika had truly thought that this was the end, and so she ended her own life to escape the cycle she wanted nothing to do with anymore.
But then, as if from a dream, that woman appeared to her as she floated endlessly in the sea of fragments. That woman with the long dress, and the half circlet completely detached from her head. That woman who did nothing but stare at her sadly and hand Rika the small fragmented object that she called "The Power of Theatergoing." She was so similar to Hanyuu Rika thought that they were the same person for a moment.
But as quickly she had phased into the sea of fragments around her after handing Rika her "prize" as it were, she disappeared entirely.
And then she awoke in another fragment. It was more of the same- Satoko's uncle had returned. Keichi- but this time with Shion at his side- killed her. The power she'd been given was likely unlimited- she could relive this cursed chapter of her life as many times as she would ever need now.
But in this universe, as with the fragments she visited with the Theatergoing Shard (as she had dubbed it) after that first one, Keichi is a fragile creature who only desires to have a purpose. Rika wasn't sure if this was closer to the final resolution she desperately desired or simply further away.
But due to this, in this universe she wasn't as alone anymore. Keichi was willing to throw himself on the line for her. She could turn him into whatever she desired. So she simply made him into a person who would succumb to her every will. He did anything she asked. She would beat him, solely to vent her own depression. She would have him fuck her, purely to let out the constantly built up tension within her. She would force her cruelty out on him in unimaginable ways. In fragments where he had already found someone else, she didn't relent in the slightest. He was her puppet in every single way. But it was all really just because she loved him so much she wouldn't ever let him go even if he hated the way he was living. She'd make him hers for all eternity. Perhaps she could live like that.
But she knew she was slowly and steadily dying. Keichi would do whatever she wanted, but could not possibly comprehend her suffering, no matter how much he had claimed to have wanted to. So her depression and loneliness still continued to the point where she simply had sex with Keichi solely for the sake of doing it. She'd faltered quite a bit after that point, going as far as to embrace Keichi out of pure affection, but in the end she'd forced Keichi to stay with her while he was simultaneously dating Shion. That fragment also ended in disaster, but in the end it really didn't matter. She just knew that fate was insurmountable.
It was this morning that she found things changing far more rapidly than she ever thought possible. This morning that was possibly hundreds of years after she obtained the Theatergoing Shard would be singly the most different thing she could ever experience. She had been praying to the shrine, hoping that Hanyuu was pleasantly resting somewhere in another world. She then decided to call Keichi, since she felt like having sex with him that morning. She decided she'd just move him in with her, since his parents would never return from their business trip.
But then she was visited by possibly the strangest person- or rather, the strangest thing- that she would ever meet.
She appeared out of what appeared to be an invisible window that she shattered through. Rika had at first thought that she was simply hallucinating given just her ridiculous outfit. It was entirely pink, with a pumpkin adorned at her waist. It was as if she planned to celebrate Halloween in June. But her face-it was so familiar; she could have sworn it was that evil woman- Miyo Takano- who was staring at her with a look of pure delight on her face.
"So this is where you were hiding, huh Bernkastel?" Rika looked on dumbfounded, although no expression appeared within her darkened eyes.
"Who the hell are you?" Rika didn't even really care that this girl had just appeared quite literally out of nowhere. She was annoying. Her voice was ridiculously high pitched. But even worse was her atitude.
How dare she. How dare she come here, smiling from ear to ear, while Rika was trapped in such a horrible place.
"That's no way to greet your best friend in the whole world!" The girl pouted.
Rika's scowl grew deeper. "I have no idea who you are. Now go back to wherever you came from."
"Ah, that's right…You don't know me. Well, at least can I say I'm your number one fan?"
"I still have no idea who the hell you are. Give me your name or get the hell out of my fragment."
"Oh, I'm being rude! I'm just so excited…I'm the Senate Witch, Rank 34, Lady Lambdadelta." She smiled and held out her hand as for Rika to take it.
"..Who the hell do you think you are, having a name like that…." Rika scowled at her.
"Oh, so you figured it out already? I wouldn't expect anything less from the Witch of Miracles."
"If you're here, then you probably know what happened to me. So tell me. What the hell am I still doing here?"
"Ah, right. I almost got too caught up in our chat." Her face expressed her sudden recollection of her purpose for coming here.
"So what is it? If you don't have anything urgent to do here, then leave."
"You want to know why you're still here? Why the cycle kept going?"
Rika nodded her head without another word.
"Well, let's put it this way- the cycle ended. Rika Furude got out. But you're not exactly Rika Furude. Just like I'm not exactly that Takano woman. I'm like you- a witch. And that little game we both were trapped in finally ended."
"Game? Is that all this is? Some game?" Rika's irritation grew with each word.
"Let me put it this way. You and me- we were pieces. We were being used by our masters to play this game."
"Pieces? What, like a game board?"
"Exactly!" She seemed happy for some strange reason moments before her expression finally became serious. "But you see….The game was postponed. As in infinitely postponed. That's that cycle you got yourself trapped in."
"The cycle…Was a game being postponed? What the hell are you even talking about?"
"It's how we witches work. The only thing that can kill us is boredom. So two witches- two really nasty witches played a game, using us as their prized pieces. The witch who made this game- the Game Master- was your player. My player, on the other hand, was the challenger. It was a murder mystery game that your player set up. But something happened mid way through."
Something suddenly hit Rika. She remembered that woman who was strikingly similar to Hanyuu and the Theatergoing Shard she had given her. For some reason she believed this strange girl's story.
"And what was that?" She questions, wanting to know more.
"Your player was in love with my player. I don't want to go into the details. But she granted her a single request. She gave her a slight edge- a single advantage that was gonna make things easier for her. What was it again….? Oh, that's right. It was the…." She suddenly stopped herself.
"Go on. What was it?"
"…It was the absolute certainty- confirmed by myself- that you would be killed absolutely in every scenario once a certain amount of time had passed. It was a guarantee that even if my player couldn't find a way to kill you by the end of the game, you'd still be killed anyway. It fit in the confines of the rules she'd established for the game."
"…."
"But just by doing that, it caused a chain reaction. One of your close friends, someone who could've made it out, would find you and then be killed by default. So the number of guaranteed deaths moves from one to two. And that made the game unsolvable from your player's side. And that was the killer move- a Logic Error."
"Logic…Error…."
"So the game was put on hold forever. My player remained the victor, and she tortured you alone for centuries."
"But…Was it even…"
"Was it your fault? Not at all. You were left behind in your master's place….I, on the other hand, had failed miserably throughout the game, so I was thrown into a similar situation."
Rika understood everything she had said. She'd been a pawn of some powerful witch, who'd given into her own feelings and put herself in a position where her defeat was guaranteed, and abandoned her to suffer in her place. That was her endless June- the leftovers from some twisted game that she wasn't even supposed to be involved in.
"So you're saying that….I'm here, in this place…Because…." It all hit her like a train. She started shaking uncontrollably, clenching her fists.
"Because you were left here against your will. That's all there is to it." Her gaze fell.
"…." She was shaking a lot more visibly now.
Somehow it all made sense to her. But even though she had broken out of that Logic Error, she was still left behind, as she always had been. She still couldn't remember clearly, but she knew that in time she would remember the entire story behind this game. She'd been sacrificed to please some awful witch and had been forced to die the same way, over and over again. She'd been left to that fate forever. Sure, with the help of Hanyuu she'd been able to break out of it, but now a sense of uselessness fell upon her. Was she really that worthless that she would be left behind to suffer a fate worse than death in someone else's place? Was there really so little value in her that she was just refuse for someone to throw away?
She was lost and confused. That was all she really could confirm for herself.
But suddenly she felt the strange girl wrap her arms around her. Her grip was tight, but she shook slightly at the same time.
"I know it hurts. I've been in the same spot you've been in. But it's alright. We're free now. We can finally escape. And it's all because of you."
"….?"
"Without you, I'd still be trapped in that place- I'd be stuck in that nightmare, dying over and over. Your miracle saved me-so no matter how worthless you feel, you'll still be worth something to me!" Her voice became more urgent as she spoke. It was surprisingly out of character for this girl. But Rika didn't mind too much.
The two of them simply stayed that way for awhile. Eventually, the girl suddenly remembered something else.
"But there's one problem…" The girl spoke again.
"What's that?" Rika suddenly spoke for the first time in awhile as she let go of her.
"You're still not ready to leave this place…You've only been a witch for a little while. We need to break you in."
"Break me…in?"
"Yeah, so let's get going!" The girl regained her energetic demeanor as she clapped her hands and a small whirl of light surrounded the two of them.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"We need to find you some better clothes. That sundress is a bit underwhelming for someone like you."
"Don't mind me asking, but what exactly is it that I'm so great for doing?"
"You don't remember? You saved me." Lambdadelta winked at her before the two of them disappeared entirely.
In a matter of moments, Rika was now standing in what appeared to be the sea of fragments.
"Okay, so now I'm gonna pick what you're gonna wear from now on." She smiled at her as she spoke.
Rika was still a bit baffled at this turn of events. "…Just don't make me look too ridiculous." She decided to go with it anyway.
Lambdadelta snapped her fingers and Rika suddenly was wearing a really bright, pink colored, outfit. It seemed she was wearing a tiara as well. It was somehow more humiliating than the get up the other witch was wearing.
"…What the hell did I just finish telling you?"
"Aw, you don't like it? I thought the color scheme suited you!" She pouted slightly. It seemed she'd done that on purpose.
"…You know what, can't I just pick myself?"
"….Okay, I guess so. So what I want you to do is close your eyes, and then just get and image of what you'd like to wear. I'll make it for you."
"…This is still really stupid, but whatever. I'll do what you want for now, I guess."
Rika did as she was told, and came up with an image that she thought would suit her. She was a witch, apparently. Witches were of a western orient and were commonly associated with a period of time where people were ignorant about the world around them. It was from a time period where extravagant and elegant clothing was the most common style. But Rika didn't like how long the woman's wear was. As she mulled over exactly what she supposedly was, she suddenly had the perfect image.
"You ready?"
"Yeah…Do it."
Lambdadelta snapped her fingers, and Rika was now wearing a nearly completely blue dress, adorned with a blue ribbon. But the most protruding feature was the cat tail that she'd somehow grown herself. But if anything, there was one thing that Lambdadelta could say about the outfit.
It was the single most ridiculously cute thing she'd ever seen. Blood rushed to her nose.
"…."
"What the hell are you staring for? I like cats. What's the big deal?"
"….Wow….So…."
"Alright, so we're done here, right?" Rika cut her off.
"…O-Oh, right. So now we can head back!" Coming to her senses, Lambdadelta clapped her hands.
Nothing happened this time.
"…Huh? Why aren't we…"
"Did you screw something up?"
"W-What? No, it's not me…Someone's interfering with-"
"You wouldn't be talking about me, would you?"
The two of them turned to find a woman standing far from them. It was the same woman who'd given Rika the Theatergoing Shard.
"You..!" Lambdadelta glared at her.
"I see you're breaking her into her role nicely. But you forgot she needs to remember how cruel she's supposed to be."
"You know who she is?"
"…She's the game master. She's your player."
"….So she's-"
"That's right. She did all of this to us." Lambdadelta nodded and then turned to face the woman again.
Rika turned back towards her.
"It's been a long time, my beloved miko."
"So it is true?" She spoke, disregarding her greeting entirely. "Did you really cause all of this to happen? Did you leave me here for five centuries to rot in your place?"
She nodded her head, the grin never leaving her face for even a moment. "It's the truth. I have no reason. Witches simply can be very cruel, that's all."
"…"
"So how about it, Bernkastel. Do you hate me?"
"…."
"Do you want to kill me? Do you want to turn all of your hate on me, the person who made you suffer for so long, and then refused to let you leave your torment after everything had been resolved?"
"…Do you really need to ask?" Rika spoke, the hate dripping from her words.
Wordlessly, she took a step forward. In that instant she dashed towards the woman, unsure of what damage she could do. She just hated her. But as she drew closer, she felt her hate beginning to take shape.
In a matter of seconds, a massive scythe appeared within her grasp. She didn't know or understand where it came from, but all she knew was that she could slice that woman's head off with it.
The scythe came into contact with a barrier that the woman had somehow placed between them. Rika tried with all her might to burst through it, but remained unsuccessful.
"…Ah, I almost forgot to ask…" She spoke, still struggling to get to her. "What's your name?"
"You really want to know?" For a small instant the grin vanished.
"Maybe if you tell me…I'll kill you a little faster."
"Hm." She smiled slightly, her eyes firmly shut. But when she opened them all Rika saw was sadness.
"Featherine Augustus Aurora, the Theatergoing Witch. That's my name."
"Feather….Augustus…." Rika's brute force slowly died out as she very quickly decoded her opponent's name.
"…Hanyuu…?"
"…"
Rika suddenly stopped. Her hatred vanished in a single instant. But the scythe still remained within her grasp. Perhaps it was the embodiment of her hate. But the turn of events turned her hate into confusion.
"Hey, Bern! Why'd you stop? She's gonna attack!" Lambdadelta was still ignorant to the entire situation.
"…No, I don't think she will."
"…" Featherine was silent.
"…Why?" Rika still allowed her anger to flow out into her words.
"…If you ever felt anything but hate up until now, maybe you'd understand. But I don't blame you. At all."
"Then why me? Why did you leave ME here instead of suffering yourself?"
"But I did suffer with you. Remember? How we managed to discover who was doing all of the killings? How we undid the cycle with your miracle? We did all of that together, did we not?"
"But…Why…Why couldn't you do it on your own?"
"Because I needed you, Bernkastel. I needed you and your miracles to do it. But in the process…I lost my memories." She touches the floating disc that hovered around her head. "This was broken…For the second time. It was broken once before- by humans. That was the truth behind the legends of Onigafuchi. I created this in order to prevent my memories from fading entirely, but when she broke this disc, I lost all of my memories in their entirety. And it took me all this time to remember who I was. That's the truth."
"Then if that's the truth…Then why did you send me back, even though you'd broken free?"
"You needed to understand what you were. That was why I waited for Lambdadelta to find you before reappearing myself. It took her a lot longer than expected, but now it's finally the time for you to leave this place."
Rika turned to Lambdadelta, who was still not entirely sure of what had just happened.
"…I won't thank you."
"Certainly not. Witches are only supposed to express gratitude over tea."
"…Over tea?"
"That's right, you still have to acquire a taste for tea…I'd forgotten." Featherine appeared to have overlooked what was for some reason an important detail.
"Can't I just stick to liquor?"
"Drinking too much is bad for you."
"…Eh, I guess I'll get used to it after awhile." She was more referring to this whole new situation she was in than just the tea by itself.
Lambdadelta ended up running over to them, finally realizing that the combat had ceased.
"Wait, what happened?"
"She's not a problem anymore."
"What? But didn't she-"
"She's the reason why we both got out."
"…Huh?...Oh, I see!" She nodded her head vigorously, apparently having understood the situation. "So she came back to set us free? I guess that's alright then."
"…And I heard you wasted a lot of time trying to find me, Lambda."
"Eh…Well I-wait, did you just call me Lambda?"
"Yeah, so?"
"But that's against the rules! You have to say the whole thing! I'm the great Senate Witch, rank 34-"
"I'm going to call you Lambda. All of that is too tiring to say over and over again."
"But you haven't even said it even once yet!"
"Do I look like I care?"
"…Well, if it's just you, Bern, then I'll let you call me that." She smiled.
"…Very well then, it seems that we are done here. Lambdadelta, you should take her somewhere. Somewhere she can find herself something to drink." Featherine prepared to depart.
"Oh, right! We'll go find someplace to get some tea. We'll make it a welcoming party, jus the two of us."
"A party, eh…?" For some strange reason Rika actually liked that idea. A post-game wrap party. The end of this chapter of her life and the start of a completely different one.
"…I'll do it, but there's something I want to do first."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"You can still take us back to the fragment we were just in, correct?"
"Um, yeah, it should work now that Featherine is gone."
"…Take us back." Rika suddenly had a very twisted idea. A twisted yet fun idea. And for someone who had been faced with the exact same fate for hundreds of years- a once in a lifetime opportunity.
It all suddenly came to her. Her newfound sadness and…No, it was completely bitterness now. She didn't even feel the once plauging sadness anymore. The sudden changes within her, and her complete hatred for the world she'd been forced to slave away in for centuries led her to this conclusion.
She was a witch. She was supposed to be cruel. And factoring all of these aspects of her new self, she realized there was one thing she always wanted to do, no matter how cruel.
No matter how much she'd once loved them- or rather no matter how much Rika Furude had loved them- she'd still wanted to, for the first time in her extended life-
"I've realized I never got to do any of the killing myself."
"Oh…?" Lambda's face was practically beaming with delight- a bit twisted, but delight none the less.
"Well then…" She spoke with a low voice. "You can go have fun. Happy Birthday, Bern." She smiled at her before she clapped her hands and the two vanished.
"Rika, I'm here."
Keichi walked into the shrine's main room, where Rika…Or someone who appeared to be Rika was sitting. She was dressed strangely, and at her side was a huge scythe.
"…Oh, there you are. Tell me something, Keichi. Do you like Mion?"
"D-Do I like Mion….? Wait, do you mean?"
"I mean do you want to go out with her and do perverted things to her?"
"Eh…Why do you ask?"
"Answer the question."
"Uh…" Keichi rubbed the back of his head as he searched for the best answer. "Well….I suppose I would… If I ever had a chance."
A smile flashed across her face. "Well then…I guess you can still skull-fuck her if you want."
Rika reached behind her and rolled something across the floor. Keichi was unable to register what it was until it reached him. It was Mion's head.
"W-What the hell..! What is this?"
"It's Mion's head. What does it look like?" Rika had begun to laugh at his look of shock.
"R-Rika…Did you…Why did you…"
"Because I'm bored as hell around here." She stretched and yawned. "And then I remembered- you'll do whatever I want you to do." Her smile was near devilish at this point.
"B-But…!" He took a step back. But Rika had reappeared behind him. She lightly pulled him against her.
"You're trying to disobey me? That's a really bad move, you know. I killed Mion with one slice of this scythe. Imagine what I could do to you."
"…"
"So this is what I want you to do. I want you to bring me to Satoko's house."
"B-Bring you?"
"You have to carry me. Bridal style. While passing Rena's house and the Sonozaki estate."
"I-Is that all?"
"For now. Now, take me away." Her voice was almost seductive as she said that.
Keichi did as he was told. He lifted Rika- who seemed to weight the average weight of a seventeen year old girl.
The entire walk to Satoko's house was pure hell- at least for Keichi. Rika had apparently worked out the time schedule so they would pass in front of both of the requested houses just as residents of both- namely Shion and Rena- were walking out. And when they met Rika's eyes, she would force Keichi into a kiss. The demented look on Rena's face was pure delight for her. She'd been planning on confessing to Keichi today in this fragment. Shion gave her a death glare, as in this fragment she would temporarily decide to pursue Keichi due to his resemblence to Satoshi. Rika spit in her general direction afterward.
Eventually they reached Satoko's house. It was relatively early in the morning, so both Teppei and Satoko would be at home still.
"Alright, good work. Now I want you to go by that payphone and call their house."
"…And say what?"
"I want you to tell Teppei that he's got to drive down to the station to sort out some stuff about Satoko."
"…Alright."
Keichi did as he was told.
Three hours later, Teppei emerged from the house and got on his motorcycle as he prepared to drive to the police station.
But on his way down the road, Rika's scythe appeared in his path. He screamed as loud as he could before he was suddenly cut off by his head coming clean off his shoulders as the scythe cleaved his head while the rest of his body continued down the road with the motorcycle. The head was sent in the opposite direction, landing further up the road. Rika walked over to it before lifting it by the hair.
"Keichi…I want you to pick the lock on Satoko's door."
Again Keichi did as he was told without a word. The door was cracked open easily, and Satoko, having heard the noise, was already in the living room.
"Rika? Nii-nii?" She asked, somewhat confused.
"Mii…Satoko, you don't have to be so scared!" She spoke in a perfectly normal voice. Keichi stared at her in complete shock. She loved that face. So much.
"R-Rika, what do you mean?"
"You don't have to worry about your mean uncle anymore!" She smiled sweetly as she lifted Teppei's bloodied head. "Nipah!" She finished, a look of pure and innocent delight on her face.
Satoko screamed in horror.
"Come on, Satoko…Don't be so scared…" She pouted.
Satoko kept screaming. She didn't show any signs of stopping.
"Satoko…Stop screaming…." Rika continued to whine in her innocent child voice.
But she didn't stop.
"Satoko…I said…." Rika's eyes suddenly went wide. "Stop screaming!" She roared as she swiftly swung the scythe, cleaving Satoko's head from her body in one stroke.
"Ah….That's much better….Oh, is something wrong, Keichi?"
"…You…"
"Hm?" She asked, her face clearly illustrating she already knew what he was going to say.
"You're…You're a monster!" Keichi then turned and ran.
Bad move.
Rika's reach with the scythe was rather long. Long enough to snake around and cut his body in half. His lower abdomen tripped and slid off the stairs. Keichi's upper half landed near Rika's feet.
"Oh Keichi….You're so stupid, you know that?"
She brandished a wicked grin.
"But it doesn't matter. I love you all the same…."
Rika returned to the shrine. It was roughly around that time.
The Yamainu operatives pulled up to the shrine in the white van. They all got out simultaneously, and one of them gestured towards her. They quickly walked towards her and pushed her to the ground. She pretended to scream.
"It's nothing personal, so sorry about this." One of them spoke. The others drew out knives.
"Oh, so you're not going to have your way with me?"
They all stopped for a moment.
"…No. We are not. We are simply here to kill you."
"Why, because that whore told you to? How much is she paying you lot anyway?" She asked in a bored voice.
"….Enough to ignore your banter."
"Ah, but see you're just going to kill me like she wants you to. But did she ever tell you I could fight back?"
"….I'm not sure what you're getting at-"
In that instant an axe came down on the man's skull. Lambda stood behind him, a look of demented glee on her face. She haplessly swung the axe in every which direction. Eventually all six of the men were scattered about the ground, most of which were missing two or more limbs.
"Thanks, Lambda. I guess bringing you along was a good idea."
"Hehehe! You're welcome Bern!" She latched onto Rika's arm.
"So now there's only one thing we have to take care of. You up for it?"
"Ah, that? Alright. I'll tag along." The two of them laughed as they disappeared entirely.
Takano stood in horror. She had received a report from Okonogi that all six of the men that she had sent to kill Furude Rika had been killed. But as for why- she never could've predicted how they had all been slain.
"Ah, it's good to see you, Oyashiro-sama."
She turned. There wasn't anyone with her in the room a moment ago. She didn't hear the door open or anything. So why were the Furude girl and some strange looking woman were in the room with her?
"What…How…Who is…"
"Aw, you don't recognize me?" Takano wasn't sure what to think of the odd looking girl beside Furude. Lambda pouted before walking up towards her, roughly grabbing her chin.
And the sudden death glare and maniacal smile made Takano very, very afraid of this woman.
"You haven't looked in a mirror recently, have you? Too afraid you'll be too ugly for words?"
"…!"
"You're the worst kind of person. I can't believe you turned out this way. What our beloved grandpa would think if he saw you now…"
"S-Shut up! Don't talk about-"
"Bern, can we kill this bitch already? I'm tired of her ugly face ruining my mood."
"Alright. Should we just slit her throat or should we go with the plan?"
"….Go with the plan. I want to see her face when we do that to her."
Rika grinned, much the same way Lambda was. "Alright…You can come in now."
Takano stared in shock at who had entered the room.
"J-Jirou-san?"
"That's right….Oh, wait, he's supposed to be dead, right? Well, I brought him back for the occasion."
"W-What are you talking about?"
"Lambda, strap her into that chair there."
Lambda complied almost immediately. Takano was strapped into a chair and was being forced to watch the scene in front of her unfold.
"So here's the plan." Rika began.
"We're going to make you watch us kill Jirou-san here over and over again." Lambda finished.
"W-What…? No, please…Don't!"
"Too late." Rika swiftly kicked Tomitake, who didn't react in the slightest.
Lambda chopped off his head the first time.
Rika slit his throat the second time.
Lambda cleaved his body completely in half the third time.
Rika shoved a knife down his throat the fourth time.
And the cycle went on.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
The eighth time, however, Lambda decided to cast an illusion on Takano. Takano was forced to watch a simulation of Tomitake with several other women she knew, including the children from her old orphanage. Each one stabbed him in a different spot until he fell over and at the very end Lambda destroyed his mangled face by stamping it into the ground with her foot, effectively crushing his skull in the process.
"Stop! Stop! Please, I'll do anything. Please, no more!" Takano was brought to tears.
"About time you decided to break. We could've shown you much worse."
"So can we finish this off now?"
"Sure, why not?"
Lambda turned to her, a look of pure sickening delight on her face.
She broke both of her arms. She broke her knees and legs as well. She ripped her clothing to pieces with her various jabs with the axe and brought the axe down on her stomach. Rika actually winced at this. She'd already done far worse-especially to Rena a few hours before- but she could recognize Lambda's pure hatred for this version of herself.
Takano bled out, but not before Lambda snapped her neck.
"…And we're done. That was a good show." Rika was actually impressed with the result.
"Ah, thanks so much, Bern! I'm glad I could make you happy on your birthday!" Her malice had vanished completely. It seemed that despite her nature as a witch she somehow adored Rika. Loved her, even.
"Yeah…Thanks…." She shut her eyes for a moment. It was finally over. She was finally clear of Hinamizawa. It would all be put behind her.
"…Now, let's go find some tea. I'm thirsty."
"Ah, right! Let's go!"
And the two witches disappeared entirely, into the sea of fragments that was limitless to them.
Rika had found completion in her rage. She was finally whole again.
Without a doubt
She was Bernkastel, the Witch of Miracles
And the cruelest witch
Of them all.
Suspicious Fragrance Chapter Result:
Rena Ryuugu- Death by pure, yet completely adulterated joy
Sonozaki Shion- Missing. It is said that she died shortly after the incident, however.
Sonozaki Mion- Death due to boredom.
Maebara Keichi- Dead because of his own fear.
Furude Rika- Currently happily living in a world with all of her friends.
Frederica Bernkastel- Searching for entertainment and grade A tea.
Lambdadelta- Living with her beloved Bernkastel in a very lax lifestyle.
Featherine Augustus Aurora- Location Unknown. She may have gone off to play another game.
The Unreliable Narrator (Faceless)- Currently deciding whether or not this story is too demented.
