CHAPTER SEVEN: DISCOMFORT

The luminescent figure of Hanyuu contorted as she was reshaped by the power of the Witch's Alliance. Bernkastel and Lambdadelta finally opened their eyes and beheld the product of the dark mingling of holiness and magic. Before them stood a new being. A being powerful enough to defy even the power of the absolute.

"I have tainted myself for you, Rika. I have shamed myself in the eyes of my pantheon and become the Holy Witch. Now will you reconcile my lost innocence by saving this world? Or will I forever wander here in darkness?" Hanyuu demanded of Bernkastel, her tone noticeably colder.

Bernkastel appeared melancholic. Lambda wondered for a moment whether her sentimentality had gotten the better of her and halted her march toward destruction, but deep down she knew there was nothing warm left in the soul of the cruel witch. Rika Furude had died countless eons ago at the hands of Miyo Takano in a deserted frame of time. The being sitting before Lambdadelta was nothing more than an otherworldly shadow of the child who had once enjoyed life in Hinamizawa. She knew nothing but bitterness and hatred. Lambda both loved and loathed her.

Bernkastel finally made her response, "I will not lose this last spot of hope, this Hinamizawa where happiness can finally flourish. Now, Hanyuu, let us smash this witch's evil dreams to pieces!"

The ragtag group that had amassed at the Sonozaki house appeared to be trapped there for the night. The rain was falling in sheets, flooding the already precarious path to the mountain estate. Mion and Rena watched the rain fall through a picture window in the back of the house, both feeling a bit unsettled by the night's events.

"Rena-chan wonders if maybe Satoshi-kun has lost his way in the rain." Rena said sadly. Mion turned to Rena slowly, wearied by her troubled mind. She regarded her long time friend for a long time, wondering how a girl who'd seen so much tragedy could seem so innocent. She often considered the possibility that Rena had trouble opening up to others after what had happened to her in Ibaraki. The thought made Mion shudder.

"Mi-chan?" Rena was looking back now, concern filling her eyes. Mion let out a sigh and turned back to the sight of the downpour, listening to the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof.

"Do you remember when things were kind of weird between Satoshi and I?" Mion asked, seeming detached from the situation.

"Yes. You had a little outburst at school and scared Satoko-chan. Satoshi wasn't happy." Rena answered. She shifted a little, looking uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.

"Well… to make a long story short, it was Shion who did that. Those little moments you can recall that I forget aren't really mine to forget, they're Shion's memories. She fought for Satoshi for so long… and he never really knew who she was. It's quite sad really." Mion replied, leaning back in her chair. She untied her hair and closed her eyes, letting the feeling of emptiness brought on by the darkness be vanquished by the cleansing sound of the rain, "I sincerely hope she finds happiness this time. I've got everything I want here, without sacrifice, but Shion has nothing after working so hard. It's not right."

Rena stood and walked to the door, "Sometimes the world can be a mean place."

Keiichi and Rika sat alone in the front room. Satoko and Shion had gone to bed and Rena and Mion had gone to talk in the back. Keiichi stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling weak for his inability to do anything to remedy the Satoshi problem.

Rika stood and walked to the door. She pressed her head against it and held it there for about thirty seconds before turning back to Keiichi. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Keiichi-kun… there's something outside." She told Keiichi nervously. The boy got up and stood next to Rika, listening to the sound of the falling rain. . He could hear them, footsteps circling outside, taunting him through the cracks in the old walls.

Keiichi looked around the room and spotted a coat holder standing at the back. He grabbed it in both hands and approached the door slowly. He carefully took each step, sure not to make a sound. Finally he reached the door and held his breath…

BANG! "Who the hell's out here?!" Keiichi demanded. He brandished the coat holder like a spear, daring any who trespassed upon his sanctuary to challenge him.

"No need for that. Killing you wouldn't solve much, now would it?" answered a voice unfamiliar to Keiichi. It was a smooth, male voice with a hint of pretension that he didn't much care for.

"Who are you? Where are you?" Keiichi shouted into the rainy abyss, swinging the coat holder about himself menacingly.

A man stepped out from the trees surrounding the house. He wore a frilled top hat that was slightly too wide for his head, and thus hung down jauntily over his eye. Short, platinum hair protruded out from beneath the hat and he wore a long black cloak.

"I am Virgil of the inferno. You may consider me a denizen of this region. Or not. That depends on your interpretation I suppose." He chuckled.

Keiichi clutched the coat holder tightly, "What are you talking about? How come I've never seen you befo-" Rika tugged at Keiichi's shirt insistently, snapping him from his barrage of questions. "Perhaps we should let Virgil-san come in out of the rain?" she queried.

Keiichi gritted his teeth.