Hinamizawa Hell

Arc 1: "Stained Souls Chapter"

Ch.9- Crucifixion

A month devoted to a unique man's birth nearly 2 thousand years ago, going by the Christian calendar, was supposed to be a holiday of cheer and joy. In Japan, however, this holiday was celebrated with cake and good tidings to one another, not really as traditional as American countries. This holiday regarded few parties with friends and outings on these days of days…

But this month marked something else; one which anyone in Hinamizawa would never forget.

Rika awoke the next morning after departing with Komoto from their sojourn to Hinamizawa's lookout point. It was nice at least to get away and see it all from up there, but still, she found her sleep restless; pondering over every one of his words. She was worried something was on the horizon soon, as if her wisdom of many years was telling her that evil overshadowed the village once more.

Waking from a meager sleep, Rika noticed that her companions, Satoko and Hanyuu, were already up and about, making breakfast for the long day ahead. With a usual routine, and after getting dressed for another winter day, Rika managed to finish her homework before 10 a.m., and had decided for a moment that watching t.v. for the rest of the day would have been worthwhile. However, just as she was about to turn the set on, a knock came at the front door of their home. Hanyuu looked over to Rika, questioning who it was. Curiously, Rika got up and walked over to the door, at first, letting in a gust of wind that chilled her to the bone, and the next, being confronted by a rather round, later-aged man. It appeared to be none other than Detective Oishi, and, next to him, Rika's long time friend Akasaka.

"Akasaka! Detective Oishi! What are you two doing here?" she asked, surprised. She hadn't seen Akasaka for some months, so she outwardly ran into him and gave him a loving hug. However, the feel of it all felt cold, not because of the winter weather, but of something else.

"Rika…everyone…we need to talk…" said Oishi, half-heartedly and with remorse in his voice. Rika looked up to him, not understanding why he was so dismayed. Had something happened?

Akasaka helped her sit down on a nearby chair, upsetting Rika and the others a bit. The two older men looked at each other, almost communicating without words to take the right steps in whichever direction they were heading with this sudden event.

After a few moments, Akasaka cleared his throat, and calmly spoke to Rika.

"Rika…there's been a murder today in Hinamizawa. A body was found early this morning in Hinamizawa's central area, displayed in a grotesque manner. Rika…I'm sorry we have to do this, but…the body is someone you may have known. We need you to identify who it is…" he asked.

Rika and Hanyuu's minds and hearts stopped for what seemed like ages. Another murder, another killing, and another tide of evil and mystery had appeared in their lifetimes. It was their worst fears, to have to undergo another cycle of fate to determine a puzzle and possibly save another's life.

Rika's eyes looked downcast, not wanting to witness any of this event before her. She thought that it was over; that only peaceful days would reign again in Hinamizawa. That, now, seemed like a distant promise to her and her companions.

With whatever set mind or courage she had, Rika nodded in agreement to what Akasaka wanted of her.

"Please…look at these pictures. If you can't identify Rika, then I don't want you ever thinking about these images in your mind ever again. Please, I don't want you to…" Akasaka was interrupted by Oishi, hoping to save time by getting to the heart of the matter.

"Rika, whatever happens, please, don't bear this on your mind. Now, please, look at tell us if you can." His old wisdom and choice of words were neither hurtful nor demeaning, but in the form of calm speech for the young girl.

Akasaka sighed, and pulled out three photos, all from different angles of the crime scene.

It was tears that Satoko gave in spite of the pictures. Hanyuu held her head lower, crying at the sight before her. But for Rika…

"NOOO! THIS CAN'T BE! KOMOTO-SENPAI!!!!!! NOOOOOOO!"

Rika went into a fit of rage, screaming, tears, and dismay. She thrashed the pictures off the desk, and beat Akasaka's chest in terror. He tried his best to calm her down, but nothing was there to hold her back; nothing to calm the anger and pain that she now bore in her heart.

"Rika, please, calm…"

Akasaka's words held none of his usual calmness. He tried his best; his usual best to make any situation stable again, but not this time. Rika balled her fists, and ran out into the cold morning day of winter, all without any proper winter clothing, rushing to the place where Komoto's body was found.

For the pictures that now lay on the ground, surrounded by four people holding their heads lows for a few moments, hearing Rika's dying screams as she ran outside through the snow banks and trails to a scene of death, were pictures of not just a murder, but a crucifixion.

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The pain in her chest from breathing in the cold air was nothing compared to the pain she bottled up inside her heart. Someone she had hoped to spend more fun days with; someone who she hoped could finally find peace in a cruel world was nothing but a lifeless body now to everyone…except her.

Her breathe fumed out in clouds of heated air as she ran for what seemed like ages. It didn't matter how many times she fell, or how cold her body was becoming, as she pounded her feet as hard as she could through the cold snow, and facing a direct head wind that was going against her. Eventually, she reached her destination, marked off from a distance by police cars and crime scene investigators.

She ran past the caution tape like it was invisible to her, as she ran up to what seemed like a horror to everyone. What was once just a normal water mill had now become a wheel of blood and death. Blood-stained snow engrossed an entire area, indicating what could have been a slow and elongated death. Three rusty, long nails were spiked into the outer wheels of the water tumbler, signifying a crucifixion like pose for what had been Komoto's body. Torn pieces of clothing and what seemed like even flesh from a recently deceased body now lay on the ground, spattered with blood.

But what caught her eye the most were a pile of empty syringes on the ground, which now were being photographed by an investigator.

Rika stood at the sidelines, soon being pulled away by a nearby supervisor.

"Little girl, you shouldn't be here! What are you doing past the caution ta…"

Rika didn't even listen to him. She just broke away from the man and ran up to the scene, taking in every detail and clue she could. She pushed past the photographer, and picked up what appeared to be one of Komoto's adrenaline suppressors. However, it was different, and was labeled with something else: AS (Adrenaline Stimulant).

*Komoto-sempai…what happened!? Why…you had suppressors, not these…who even did this to you…?*

Rika's thoughts rushed through a thousand ideas of what had occurred. Had Komoto encountered an enemy, used the stimulants to fight, and somehow lose? Had this been another plot by the Tokyo Corporation to restart the dam wars? What or who could gain, if anything, from Komoto's death?

Suddenly, Rika's arm was pulled very harshly by one of the attending crime scene supervisors, and from that, she came face to face with a furious adult.

"Just who the hell do you think…"

"Let her go RIGHT NOW!"

Rika looked behind to find Akasaka frowning in such a way that terrified the supervisor. Oishi was behind him, making sure that Akasaka didn't kill the other guy for treating Rika that way. They traveled by car, intending to bring her back home.

The attending supervisor grit his teeth and let the girl go, making sure Rika didn't further corrupt anything at the crime scene in regards to evidence. She walked in such a daze towards Akasaka that he realized she had gone into what seemed like shock. She stumbled past him, and knelt down into the soft snow, her eyes glazed over.

"Oishi-san, we need to get her to Irie's Clinic. She's gone into shock from seeing all this…" said Akasaka. He gently brushed her hair, trying to get her to snap out of her daze of what seemed like hell to her.

"Take my car and bring her there. Just like we discussed before, stay with her until we sort this out. Her friends already know what happened by now, given that Satoko-chan was on the phone before we left. Meantime, I'm going to stay here and close the scene up. I'll contact you later tonight for an update…"

-"…autopsy revealed AS in his bloodstream, impossible doses…Oishi believes that…Spector…this…"-

-"…if he's here…everyone's in…danger…"-

-"…Wake up!"-

Rika woke up from her daze, surprised to have found that an entire day passed in the real world. Her eyes stung with dryness and instantly watered to relieve what felt like a desert. She rubbed her eyes, and slowly regained her normal vision. Peering into the room around her, she found herself in one of the Irie Clinic's medical rooms, resting in a large, white hospital bed. She had IV's in her arms, probably to keep her hydrated.

As she looked around the room, Rika noticed that Hanyuu, Satoko, Mion, Keiichi, and Rena were sleeping next to her, slouched into chairs and spare cots. Hanyuu, amongst all of them, remained awake, and the closest member to her.

"..Rika-chan…how are you feeling?" she asked, unusually calm in her tone of voice.

Rika got up, and curled her knee's close to her, resting her head on them. Hanyuu went onto the bed with her, and held her close, trying her best to comfort Rika. No matter how old in wisdom Rika was, she would never reach Hanyuu's god-like levels of intellect.

"...why him…why couldn't he get what he wanted in the end?" Rika began crying again, trying to ease the pain in her heart with tears "…what will it take to end all this killing and insanity…"

"…Rika-chan…do you think this is the greatest torment of mankind? The sins of those in Hinamizawa were washed away the moment Takano tried to kill me. This isn't another game Rika-chan…this is life now…" Hanyuu whispered to her friend.

"THIS ISN'T LIFE! THIS IS ANOTHER HELL!"

Rika's shrill yells of anger rang through the room, instantly awaking her other friends. Rena jumped up from her cot, holding what appeared to be her wicked meat cleaver in the air at imaginary enemies. Mion awoke, dazed, holding two duel pistols at her side, this time, probably real ones. Keiichi, likewise with his bat, fell forward into the floor, slipping over his own feet when attempting to block some unseen attack . Satoko, however, remained asleep, though, it could be seen that a tiny, nearly invisible thread was tied to her right toe, indicating a nearby alarm or trap was set up.

"Wah! What the hell, who's the enemy, whose attacking?!" Keiichi yelled in his dazed sleep. He opened his eyes after hitting the floor hard, from which Mion only rubbed her eyes, and picked him up gingerly.

"No one's attacking, Kei-kun. It was just Rika waking up, right?" she said, smiling over to Rika and Hanyuu.

"Rika-chan, you ok now, now?" asked Rena, yawning.

Rika looked at all her friends, confused as to why they all had weapons with them. Her looks said it all, giving Mion an opportunity to explain.

"When…we heard about Komoto…we were worried that something else was going down. So we rushed here to protect you. Kasai and my family's men are outside working with police to lock down the area. You're completely safe here, Rika." She said, confident in her plan.

"…he's gone…Komoto…" murmured Rika. She put her head back on her knees.

"…Rika-chan…" said Rena. She felt sad now, just as sad as when she heard the news from before. She was in a similar state as Rika, tearful and not wanting to accept the truth. But she had to remain strong for the sake of others and whatever may lie ahead.

"…What happened? Dr. Irie mentioned an autopsy…I want to know everything…"

"I'll answer that for you then, Rika…"

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Everyone turned to find Dr. Irie standing in the doorway with Detective Oishi at his side. Akasaka was in the hallway, speaking with another officer about the crime scene findings. For Rika, seeing Dr. Irie without a smile on his face was almost unheard of. He must have felt the same pain she was over his death.

"…a medical examiner came in and performed a pre-autopsy on Komoto's body. He reported to me that, among high strains of the syndrome in his body, that he had incurred high levels of a stimulant drug called AS, otherwise known as Adrenaline Stimulant…"

Everyone around them listened intently, trying to piece the following clues together somehow, at least, to make sense of it all.

"Those syringes we found at the crime scene were injectors for that drug. From what Dr. Irie told me of his medical history, it can be assumed that Komoto used those drugs during his time in combat. Must have been a soldier thing to stay awake during long bouts of battle, but I the medical examiner didn't find that as the cause of death…" replied Oishi. He was going over this all with his notepad filled with notes and ideas.

"However, Komoto had clearly died from major blood loss. We won't know the full results until a complete autopsy is completed…"

"Why all this? Who did this to him and why?" said Rika. A hint of annoyance was in her voice, from which everyone cringed a bit from. Hanyuu continued rubbing her back, trying her best to keep Rika calm.

"…Well…so far, I can only assume that this is the work of the Dark Spector. He's an unknown mass murderer whose victims span well across Japan. We believe that the assailant is a sadist and may very well be even a Satanist. Coming to Hinamizawa, it's likely he came here to kill for the sake of the legends of "the Demon Village". Komoto was probably attacked unknowingly sometime early this morning, and then posed in a crucifixion style upside down on the Mill's wheel. Blood loss from being inverted like created a quick bleed out. However…many things don't add up here in leu of the evidence."

Oishi began to rub his temples from a long day of work and stress. He later decided to take out a cigarette, and open the nearby window for a smoke. After lighting it up, he inhaled and exhaled a cloud of smoke, soothing his strained mind. Rika, at hearing this, just felt nauseated.

"Oishi-san, what doesn't add up with the evidence?" Keiichi was direct with his question, seemingly on some path of sleuthing to solve this new riddle. Rika, for the most part, had to admire that about Keiichi at this time of despair.

"For starters, I looked over Komoto's declassified records. With his kind of military experience, he should have had no problem defeating anyone in a fight. By the looks of it, and that the Dark Spector's own attacks were never this short-lived, I'd have to say that Komoto may have never even put up a fight. That, or Komoto was just blindsighted…"

Even at hearing these words, Rika's eyes narrowed. Her mind, connected with Hanyuu's, began to mentally converse with herself.

*Komoto-sempai's fighting style…even on that day in the alley he was able to take on so many enemies. What made this battle any different? He should have been able to stop this Dark Spector person.*

*But if that's true, then shouldn't Komoto-san have been able to at least fend him off? Oishi could be right, maybe Komoto-san was unable to fight back.* replied Hanyuu.

*But why?*

"…second…this killing was completely unlike the Dark Spector's style."

"But wait. Didn't you already assume that the Dark Spector did this?" asked Mion.

"I did, but you see, the spector has always left a couple behind, or at least a pair. Two victims, not just one, would have been more believable. I'd assume this would have to be going along with some sick and twisted Satanist idea, reaching a number of 66 victims. The Spector would have had to kill at least a pair to do this, not one person," replied Oishi.

*A killer's unusual attack method? Again, why?* thought Rika.

"…Third, there was no more blood or tissue samples at the crime scene. If Komoto-san fought him off, then I would have assumed that there would have been some samples under his fingernails or hair fibers around the crime scene, but there were none. This leads me to believe that Komoto-san, again, put up no fight. Furthermore, the syringes had to have been self injected by Komoto himself, since the markings on his neck where he would initiate the medicine doses were not lacerated or bruised as if stabbing them forcefully. And lastely…the physics around this whole attack are almost impossible…"

Rika looked at Oishi with earnest interest. Her eyes went a bit wide at hearing this.

"…Komoto-san weighed around 200 pounds. The Dark Spector, from the few eyewitness accounts, revealed a description of a man with at least 160 pounds, and very thin in body type. In addition, the Mill's wheel was at a point where that kind of body weight differential and height additions would make it impossible to pose such a body. Unless the spector was really that strong, then I can only articulate that if not him, then more people were present to commit such an act…"

Everyone remained silent at hearing the specifics of the crime. Keiichi rested back down into his chair, holding the bat in the crook of his arm. Satoko, all the while, remained asleep the entire time. The stress, it seemed from everyone else, may have caused her to become exhausted. For the rest, they said no more words, their heads remained down casted.

Oishi sighed, finishing his cigarette. He threw the bud out the window, and exited the room, hoping to get some sleep soon and get back on the case with a refreshed body. Dr. Irie remained in the room with the kids, taking it all in slowly.

"I think Rika is more than safe with you guys tonight. But Rika, with all this going on, we can't afford to risk your life. If you'd agree, we want you to stay here under the hospital's watch. Akasaka will stay with you and be your guardian until this mess is sorted out…" said Dr. Irie.

Rika didn't reply. She just looked at the others with earnest eyes.

"If it's alright with everyone, I'd like to be alone for awhile. I just…need some time…"

They looked at her, hearing her request fully. They nodded in agreement, and all exited the room without another word. Hanyuu stayed behind, thinking that Rika wanted her to remain. When everyone except Hanyuu left, they began to converse in privacy.

"Rika…I understand you're going through a lot right now, but …"

"There's this dream I always have, Hanyuu, where a little girl is walking through the woods one day…"

Hanyuu stopped in her conversation, and listened. Her interest was keenly ignited at this story somehow, and even unknown to her, she listened for the first time.

"…she was idly playing at the base of a great stair case, overshadowed with many gateways. She played with an unusual ball, and once done with her follies she pocketed the unique ball. However, as she left, she did not realize that the ball fell out of a small hole in her pocket, and the ball remained behind at the base of the stairs. This child returned after realizing that she lost the ball, and in panic, never found the ball. She was scorned somehow for losing this ball, and from that day all happiness in her life was shadowed by some evil entity, causing every painful emotion and sorrow to befall her life…"

Rika eye's were glossed over in an unusual state again, one which Hanyuu began to see a little more of day by day. It frightened her a bit, it was true, but she assumed that was part of Rika's aged mind.

"…if the reason was only that simple, then we would know why so much despair can appear in our lives….but it is only a dream. This is another hell to go through, and if that's certain I'm not going to give up. For his sake, I won't give up. I'll go along with this hell again, and I'll emerge again as a victor, for I am the one who finds the miracle. Hanyuu…" she turned to her friend, who was a bit fretful now "…we won the last game by bringing you into our game. This time, we'll play no lies and no deceit. You and the others and I will figure this out. That is why we will succeed. If this is truly real life, then Komoto-sempai can not return…"