Hinamizawa Hell
"Revealing Demons" Arc: 2
Ch. 2: Day of Days
The weather on the 4th day into the summer was almost brutal. Not a cloud in the sky, and yet, even the cool shade of the forest didn't falter the heat-wave. In addition, not even the wind was blowing, making it quite humid for everyone to be walking on such a day. However, for Keiichi Maebarra, as long as he was wearing his cutoff red shirt, shorts, and sandels could he travel anywhere. That is, had he actually remembered to bring along his canteen filled with ice cold water.
"Ugh…Damnit! Not my luck again! I'm gonna die out here if I don't get some water soon!"
With Rika, Hanyuu, Satoko, and both Satoshi and Shion helping out at the shrine for the day, Rena off with her boyfriend in the city, and Mion at home for unknown reasons to him, Keiichi decided to go off on a walk into the forest. He was a little irked at the moment, wishing at least someone was around to hang with for the day. Given his circumstances, he tried his best to see if Mion wanted to go out or something, but she seemed so depressed to him over the phone.
"I wonder what Mi-chan's up to that's so important? Geez…I thought she'd like to spend the day with me, but it can't be helped I guess…"
About two miles out on the dirt path Keiichi aimlessly took, he suddenly realized that with no water within the next two hours, that heat stroke or dehydration would likely occur. He sat under a tree to conserve his energy till he figured out a plan. In the meantime, however, Keiichi listened to the beautiful music of the cicadas, almost falling asleep to their songs. As much as he wanted to pass out, however, Keiichi was visited with a sudden splash of water over his face. After sputtering the cool water from his mouth and waking out of his sleepily daze, Keiichi recognized that a tall man with black hair stood before him, wearing brown, cut off khakis and a white tank top. He knelt down next to Keiichi at eye level, checking him to see if he was ok. Bending down, he put his weight on a large walking stick.
"You ok there Kei-chan? You looked like you were about to pass out…your face is completely red."
"K…Komoto-san? What are you doing out here?"
"Heheheh…" Komoto helped Keiichi up and allowed him to brush off his clothing. He handed Keiichi a bottle of water, seeing that he was quite thirsty. "Well, if you hadn't already guessed from my stories and this past winter, I hate the cold. I'm more suited to hot weather, so when its summertime I find it quite peaceful to hike and do a lot of outside activity. I'm finding these trails to be rather nice…so, what brings you out here? Where's the gang?" he asked. Komoto put on his sunglasses, a rather dark, slim pair for that matter, and went back out to the parts where the sunlight was present.
"Actually, everyone seems tied up today, so I decided to just wander out here. I really appreciate the water. I think that if I fell asleep under that tree that I would have been a goner!" he said, happily drinking down the water. They began to walk back towards Hinamizawa through the dense forest.
"So how's the summer going for you Kei-chan? You and the others having fun?"
"Yeah, everything seems like its going well. I can definitely look forward to the pool this year again."
"Hmm….that sounds like fun. Maybe I can get Mizu-chan in a sexy bikini…"
"EH! Komoto-san!"
"Aww, I'm just kidding. Come on, I bet you have the same thoughts about Mion, right?" he asked, smiling.
"W…well, yeah, but…I guess I didn't think about that…." Komoto seemed to put Keiichi off track at that statement, but he kept going along the trail, making sure to watch where he stepped.
"That reminds me. How are you two doing anyway? Have you had your share of girlfriend problems yet?" he asked in a serious tone.
"Well, Mi-chan and I have actually been pretty good lately. Well, except for…you know…those times of the month…" he hinted.
"…yeah…don't remind me. Mizu-chan can be…unusual at times?" Komoto replied. He sighed at the thought of Mizuho going from extremely happy one moment to full on bitch the next, though, he bore it all.
"…but I mean, lately, Mi-chan's been a bit, well…distant."
As they reached the main road, Komoto looked back to Keiichi and walked with him along the closest wall, heading back towards the village. At this point, however, Komoto gave Keiichi his full attention.
"Well, girls can be like that Kei-chan. You just need to give them space. That and just be there for them."
"I know that, but lately I get the feeling Mi-chan's been hiding something from me…"
Komoto stopped in his tracks, surprised to notice how insightful Keiichi could really be. He looked closely at Keiichi through his sunglasses, deciding whether or not to tell him the truth. With a sigh, he moved up to Keiichi and put an arm around him, giving him a strong nudge with his arm.
"Ok…listen, if I tell you why will you promise, and I mean promise, to just keep this between us and no one else?" Keiichi looked up at Komoto, nodded hesitantly, and listened.
"I promise."
"…Has Mion ever mentioned anything to you about her grandmother lately?"
"No, not exactly…why?"
"Well, at the Christmas party last year, Oryu approached Mizuho and I. She wanted us to make sure that Mion wouldn't have any interference in her studies when…well…" Komoto began to pick his words carefully.
"When…what?"
"When Oryu passes…and from I heard Kei-chan, that could be any time soon this summer. Oryu's been sick with a disease these past months, and lately Mion's been taking care of her a lot along with her mother and family. I don't think Shion was even told about all this, but I can only guess it was to not make her upset. I only know because Mizuho now has the responsibility as Mion's teacher to keep her up in studies." This news took a few moments to sink into Keiichi, at which after a while of silent walking had he responded.
"So…Mion's been under a lot of stress…and its only going to get worse when her grandmother moves on. Well…all I can say is that I'll be there for her…"
"Good answer. I don't know what more as men that we can do. Just be there for her and help her get situated."
Komoto and Keiichi walked for some more until they came within distance to Komoto's house. Mizuho was outside packing a car for some sort of trip, which sparked Keiichi's interest. From what he could see, she had packed ammo boxes, cleaning supplies and gun cases.
"You and Mizuho-sensei going somewhere today?" he asked.
"Yeah. She and I are heading to the range, since Mizu-chan hasn't had a lot of time to hone her skills. We're going to do some rifle, pistol and maybe even some automatics…depending on time."
"Heh, that's pretty awesome. I've always wanted to try a pistol ever since I was a kid really."
"Hmm…if I recall, I remember you made a bet with me a while back about beating me in pistol. Why not try that out today?" he asked, smirking down to Keiichi with an evil grin.
"Umm…I said I'll be better than you…after some training! I've never shot one before…"
"Then it is time to learn then! So what do you say? Not everyone gets a chance like this."
"I'm up for it as long as you don't kill me…"
"That's the spirit!" Komoto slapped Keiichi on the back, cheering him on. However, Komoto and Keiichi's stomach growled intensely at that exact moment, killing their sudden burst of energy. "Yeah…let's eat first. I'm starving…"
About an hour later, and after a satisfying meal courteously of Mizuho's cooking, the three headed to Okinomiya's police gun range. Given that it was a Saturday, Komoto was confident that the range would be full of people, giving Keiichi an insight into the world of guns and tactics. Arriving at the gravel bedded area, Keiichi hopped out of the car eagerly watching as others stepped up to the gun lines and practiced. It seemed like today was a training day for the police; witnessing Det. Oishi even practicing with his revolver.
"Ah, Hagara-san, just who I was looking for. Can you please teach these knuckle-headed new recruits how to properly fire a weapon?"
"Not today Oishi-san. I've brought Keiichi here to train with me. It's his first time, and given that in addition to it being my day off, I'm gonna have to say you reschedule them for Monday's training session, ok?"
"Ugh, fine. More headaches for me I suppose. So, Kei-chan, you ready to become a man today?"
"Heheh, lay off him you guys. Last time I checked, I beat you in rifle, which means you're not even men yourselves if you can't beat a little woman like me."
As Oishi and Komoto were pulling out ammo crates, Mizuho's sudden statement shot swords through their hearts. They suddenly became depressed, hanging their heads low with a cloud of rain over them. Keiichi just laughed at their predicament. As they all pulled the gear out of the car and placed it on a table near three firing lanes, it was only a matter of time till everything was prepared to shoot.
"So…what will I be shooting first? The .50 cal. Rifle? Or how about this 9mm gun…"
"Kei-chan…this is what you'll shoot."
Komoto held up a small pistol, a .22 to be exact. He looked it over before giving a confused look to the others.
"We all start off small our first times. If we think you can level up, we'll let you try the 9mm," stated Mizuho. She smiled behind her long dark hair, giving Keiichi a sweet look. That gave him some confidence, as he nodded to the offer.
After an hour of teaching Keiichi proper handling techniques of the weapons and how to use them, Komoto felt he was ready to try out firing a real gun.
"Ok, you have a target set up out there Kei-chan. I've already instructed you on how to fire, so you're ready. Fire at will!"
Komoto watched on, ready to see Keiichi most likely fail his first time. When the buzzer sounded, and after witnessing Keiichi make a common mistake of firing off his rounds too fast, Komoto made sure the line was safe, and had a recruit cadet go down and pick up the target.
"So, how was that Keiichi?" asked Oishi. He patted the teenager on the back, praising him on his first time.
"Actually, that was pretty easy. I thought it would be worse than that really…"
"Nah, don't worry about it. It's always hardest at first, but with some practice and slowing your…trigger pull…down….what the hell?"
Keiichi noticed Komoto and Oishi's faces turn blank white. As he stood confused, Keiichi turned around to see the recruit hold up the target, which held nearly perfect center shots on the paper. Keiichi was amazed at the target grouping, but looked to the others for confirmation.
"So…is that good?"
They just looked at each other, nodding.
"Yeah…really good. And you said you never shot before?"
Everything Keiichi shot started receiving almost perfect scores. It was true: the higher the calibers that Keiichi shot, the less the score was when compared to the .22 target match, but still, his groupings were impressive. Oishi even chided the recruits for letting Keiichi get the better of them, thus, ordering them to be punished with cleanup for the day.
"So, how's that Komoto-san? Think you still stand a chance against me?" Keiichi asked confidently. However, Komoto still smiled, sending chills in Keiichi's entire spine.
"Nice, I must say. I'm definitely impressed. However, when you compare you're skills to mine, you're still just larva. I'm nearly perfect with pistols; however, Mizuho will have everyone else beat with her rifle. See for yourself…"
Keiichi watched Mizuho not even three lanes down, practicing with the .50 cal. Rifle of hers. Keiichi just then realized what Komoto meant: Mizuho was a force to be reckoned with. With at least three targets set up down the firing line, Mizuho wasn't even breaking a sweat hitting complete perfect scores. It was almost terrifying to see how she shot. It hit him then, remembering back to the night of the Dark Spector. It took insane amounts of training to have hit their enemy like that; even with a rifle. It brought back the memories of the Dark Spector's hands being blown off with such force and precision.
"Man, I wonder how I can ever be that good," Keiichi stated, watching in wonder at Mizuho's skill.
"Practice and practice. We didn't get to be gun fanatics by doing nothing. If I can, I'll take you up here more often during the summer. I can train you even if you'd like," Komoto was sincere in his offer, to which Keiichi happily accepted.
"Hey, wait. I haven't seen you shoot all day. Are you even going to practice?"
"Just wait, you'll see…"
"Sir, we're ready down there if you are," asked one of the officers on the line to Komoto.
Everyone, including Keiichi, moved down to where Komoto took the line for the first time that day. They watched as if something amazing was about to happen, but try as he might Keiichi couldn't see what was about to occur. Down the range, multiple targets were set up, and Komoto wasn't shooting with one, but two pistols for the training round.
"Three…two…one…Fire!"
Those around watching, even Mizuho, were amazed at the impressive skill. Komoto rapidly starting hitting the metal targets, plopping them down with insane accuracy. As multiple targets began moving, Komoto began to hit them as well. Every shell casing expended fell to the ground with a clang, leaving piles of casings to form. Komoto just kept loading magazines and unloading them, never stopping to give the pistols time to cool down.
With the last round being expended from the gun, and both of their slides in the open chamber position, Komoto raised his guns into the air, letting the smoke rise from the hot barrels of the guns. All targets were successfully hit, a total of 100 in all. He holstered the guns once they cooled down, and looked to the crowd in the back, enjoying their awed faces and expressions.
"And that is my skill Kei-chan. This is what I can teach you someday…"
As the storm clouds finally began to form after such a long, hot day, a young woman with long, green hair slowly walked down the road towards a rather large mansion, or what was considered a mansion. After some time of walking, Mion finally arrived at the destination, bearing a small smile for the first time that day. She walked up to the door, and knocked on it, however, no one was home. Deciding that it was ok to sneak in, she found a spare key under the doormat, and entered the dark house. Noticing no one was home, Mion walked into the kitchen, hoping that maybe someone was either using the bathroom or out of hearing distance, preferably Keiichi. She cursed herself somewhat for entering the house like she did, but her heart ached to be with the one she loved, given that her day was not one of her best.
At seeing the answering machine on a nearby countertop, she pressed it to hear the recordings come over the speaker. The first one was from Keiichi's parents:
"Hello Son. I'm going to be with your mother at a friend's house tonight like I told you this morning, so I left you some money to get food if you need to. There's still some ramen in the cupboard, so you should be fine. We'll be back tomorrow around noon. Take care, bye…oh, and if Mion comes over just remember to…oh, dear!..."
It seemed to Mion that Keiichi's father was bashed over the head by his wife, to which she laughed. However, upon hearing the second message had her hopes finally sunk.
"Hey Mom and Dad, I'm going with Komoto-san and Mizuho-san to the firing range today, so I'll tell you all about it when you get back. I hope you get this message in time. I'll see you soon, bye!"
"…I guess this really is one of my worst days…just great…"
Mion left the house quietly, leaving the key under the door matt as she exited. As she stepped out onto the road, the sky finally let down a torrential wave of rain, instantly soaking Mion in whatever clothing she was wearing.
However, she just looked up into the sky, smiling at the irony. Her hair soaked down below her shoulders, completely drenched in water. She sighed and let the rain hit her face, as if trying to sooth her weary mind. She began to walk back home, not caring about the mud or the wet clothing. All she wanted at that point was to be with Keiichi, and that wasn't going to happen tonight.
Sadly, she left the area and went about her way towards the main road. Just as she began walking, she saw a pair of headlights heading her way. Quickly thinking, Mion ducked behind a bush, not wanting to be seen in such a depressive state by anyone. Hoping no one saw her; Mion peered out through the leaves of the bush, seeing a van drive by and drop off Keiichi at his house. She noticed Komoto shake his hand before waving Keiichi off and backing out of the driveway, heading back to his home probably.
Seeing Keiichi cheered Mion up a bit, but somehow deep down she felt angry. As Keiichi stepped inside his house, Mion moved from the bush and headed to the doorway. Hoping to see Keiichi, she attempted to knock on the door, but just before she connected with the hard wood, Mion noticed her state of attire. Mud covered her shoes and ankles, her clothing was soaked to the bone, and her hair was a complete mess. She contemplated whether she would talk to Keiichi or just call him later, but her heart ached to see him none the less.
*He'll think I'm atrocious the way I look now…and I shouldn't burden him I guess…*
Mion stood there for a few moments, just staring at the door as if hoping for Keiichi to come back outside and find her standing there. Alas, he never came, as Mion could hear him in the kitchen making dinner. She sighed and turned around, heading down the road quickly in pace. With every step hitting large puddles of water and splashing droplets all around, Mion cried for the first time that day. The rainfall, as much as it poured, now mixed with her tears as they fell to the earth. She was stressed, tired, emotionally drained and, more importantly, lonely for once. She tried her best to restrain herself, but she couldn't help it. However, as her thoughts tried to console her inner turmoil, something else arose in her mind; something that hadn't come to light in a while.
*If Komoto and Mizuho didn't take Keiichi out today, none of this would have happened…damnit!*
The door to the Sonozaki Manor creaked open quietly as Mion returned home. She was dirty from head to toe in water and mud, aching for a long hot bath. As she took off whatever clothing she could to prevent any messes in the house, she noticed an eerie quietness. She couldn't get her mind around it, but something was wrong.
After cleaning herself up, Mion decided to look around to see if anyone was home. She noticed many shoes were piled in the main entrance, but yet, she couldn't find anyone around in the immediate area. Just as she was about to go to the bathroom, Mion heard a soft cry away in the back of the house. She recognized her mother's voice, now hearing a soft hum of prayers from many people. Her heart rate skyrocketed upon hearing this, as Mion feared the worst.
She ran to the back of the house, rushing past the hallways and rooms in the large manor. As she neared the back, Mion saw one of the Sonozaki family members standing outside the room. It was her sister, Shion, looking at the floor as if dazed. Stopping to a halt and catching her breath, Mion looked into her sister's eyes for confirmation of what she feared. Shion looked to Mion, giving what seemed like a weak smile but none the less sympathetic in turn.
"Sis…is it…"
"…You know, I thought that I would hate her all my life for what she did to me…how she separated us from birth. I thought that when she died…that I would laugh at it all and say she deserved it. But…why can't I feel that way? I feel sorry for her and at the same time…I…"
Shion started to cry again, walking away from the door to let Mion slip by. Mion placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, but until she saw it for herself she couldn't let her emotions get the better of her. Shion nodded for the gesture, but decided to go back to her old room for a bit and be alone. Mion turned to the doorway and without hesitation opened it, knowing full well what would be in front of her.
She stepped into the candle-lit room, seeing a group huddled around in a circle near a cold, lifeless body. Her mother and father sat at the front, with her mother softly crying for what seemed like an eternity. Everyone at that moment acknowledged Mion as she entered the room, her eyes wide as she saw the body of her grandmother lying still with a cloth over her face. The prayers stopped, as she moved into the room and collapsed to her knees in front of her now deceased grandmother.
Her mother noticed this and got up, trying her best to kneel down next to her daughter. She held her close and began to whisper into Mion's ear, just as the tears began to form for the first of much mourning for Oryu.
"There was nothing that we could do…she just looked at me and told me she was sorry…and kept saying that till she stopped breathing. She smiled, though, in the end Mi-chan…" her mother squeezed Mion tightly, beginning to shed tears again.
She was at a loss for words, unable to say anything. It dawned on her that this wasn't a dream, but quite real. Her grandmother was gone from this world, and there would be nothing else left of her memory. As Mion was about to sob like never before, she heard her mother say one last thing before letting Mion mourn with the rest of the family.
"…Your time has come Mi-chan. You are now head of the Sonozaki family…the responsibility of this family lies with you…"
It was truly her worst day ever…
Did you know…that if one learned a lesson…that the lesson was learned?
Did you know…that if the learning was experienced…that it will be remembered?
Did you know…that lessons can be forgotten?
Did you know…that forgotten lessons lead to tragedy?
Next time on When They Cry: Hinamizawa Hell: "Revealing Demons" Chapter 3: Dark Skies: Can you believe in this?
Author's Note: Back again guys. It finally came that Oryu has left the story. Does this entail better times in Hinamizawa? Or will it spell disaster for the Sonozaki family? Stay tuned to upcoming chapters, as a new twist will unfold for the gang.