Hey guys! Seeing as you're reading this, you've probably realized that I have returned! Yay! A whole bunch of stuff happened that I want to tell you guys about, but I'm saving that till Crimso's Corner at the end because I'm sure you guys just want to get to reading this chapter. Before that, however, I want to say that I am astonished by all the reviews I got! And I mean that in a good way, by the way. Seriously, I don't think I'd be writing this now if it weren't for all the reviews. You guys really encourage me to keep writing, so I encourage you to keep up with the reviews! Sound like a deal?
All right, now I think I'm going to save the rest for the Crimso's Corner of this chapter. So yup, let's get moving.
~~~~X~~~~
Maebara Keiichi was asleep, barely feeling or sensing his surroundings. His eyes felt heavy, and for some reason, he couldn't seem to open them. His eyelids felt like lead, unable to be moved even when his body commanded it to. He soon gave up trying to open his eyes and simply lay there, deciding it would be better to sleep for a little while longer, anyways. After all, sleeping was one of his favorite hobbies.
His sleep did not last very long. A large rumble of thunder roared through the area around him, causing him to jolt up. How was it still thundering? He had never been in a thunderstorm that had lasted from the time he went to sleep to the time he woke up. Besides that, he hadn't even felt any rain. Keiichi rubbed his eyes, yawning. He had to get up; otherwise he'd be late for school. The moment he opened his eyes, however, he realized that the area he had been sleeping on was certainly not his room or any place resembling it. He had been lying in a meadow, covered with flowers and other planets. Confused, Keiichi pulled himself to his two feet to look around the area. The peaceful atmosphere of the meadow was diluted by the ominous storm clouds coating the sky in a thick, gray blanket. The sun was unable to be seen. Giving the ground another quick scan, Keiichi noticed that the grass covering the meadow was swaying violently.
Rain pattered onto his hair and rolled down brown strands. The rain was very harsh, and in a few seconds, he was almost completely caked with rainwater. I need to get out of here. Where's shelter?
Keiichi glanced about the meadow. There were no shelters able to be seen within the area. If there were any, the constant rain falling down to the sky shrouded them and obscured them from view. A bolt of lightning ran across the gray sky as Keiichi began to run through the seemingly endless fields. No matter where he ran, he felt as if he was seeing the same scene over and over again. Rain trickled down his chest as he continued his futile searches for shelter. There was absolutely nothing in the meadow save for endless grass and flowers.
After a few minutes, Keiichi gave up on his search for any kind of shelter. He sat down on the wet grass and lay there, thinking. How in the world did he get here in the first place? He was sure to catch a cold if he stayed here any longer. Yet, at the same time, he knew all search for any kind of shelter was hopeless. He sighed as he rolled in the green grass, unable to find anything to do with himself. By this time, his whole body was soaked. His clothes clung tightly to his body. It was getting rather uncomfortable to wear them. With a sigh, Keiichi removed his shirt and held it above him, using it to shield him from any more rain. That was the best he could do for now.
Suddenly, a whimper sounded out from nearby, almost unable to be heard underneath the sound of heavy rain. He shot his upper body up, looking around to find the source. Was someone there besides him?
Keiichi pulled himself on his two legs with his hands. He slung his shirt over his shoulder, finding no more use for it. It didn't really work well as an umbrella. Keiichi found himself wandering about the meadow, attempting to find the source of the noise. With the loud rain and the roars of thunder, it was almost impossible to find the source. He considered the option of just giving up. What good would it do to him if there were someone else there? It's not like they could cover him or anything like that. With a sigh, Keiichi's footsteps slowed down. He trudged through the grass, unable to find anything in it.
Then, he felt the tips of his toes ram into something. It was a rather odd object that Keiichi was unable to identify just by touch. It certainly didn't feel like a rock or anything similar. Curiosity got the best of Keiichi, and he looked down to see what the object was.
"M-M…Mion?" he stuttered in disbelief.
Keiichi was shocked, to say the least, when he realized that the object he had rammed into was in fact Mion. She was huddled up in a ball, sobbing slightly. The clothing she was wearing was painted with water. As a roar of thunder sounded out, Mion hugged herself tighter. She too seemed to have given up on finding shelter and was now lying down in the thick grass, her hair almost blending in with the green grass that decorated the meadow. A small tear trickled down from her eye, almost unable to be distinguished from the rain that was constantly pattering down on her body. Like Keiichi, her clothing was hugging her figure tightly, causing the young male to blush intensely.
"M-Mion? Are you alright?" he asked her.
A green eye peaked open. "K-Kei-chan? Is that you?" she spoke. Her body did not move. She was so petrified by thunder and lightning to the point where she couldn't even quiver.
Keiichi nodded. "Yeah, it's me. What are you doing in the meadow like this?" he asked her.
"…I… couldn't find shelter anywhere," she spoke. "K-Kei-chan… I'm so afraid…"
Keiichi sat on his knees and looked down upon the green-haired girl lying in the grass, completely paralyzed by fear. He blushed a little more as he got a closer look at her. Her figure was clearly visible through her tight, wet clothing. Shaking, Keiichi held out a hand for the green-haired girl to take. "Take my hand, Mion," he instructed her softly.
The young Sonozaki was almost unable to move her hand, but she mustered up enough strength just to grasp onto his wet hand with her own. Slowly, Keiichi pulled her upwards on her knees. "There's no need to be afraid, Mion," Keiichi spoke.
A giant bolt of lightning lit up the dim sky, causing Mion to jump in alarm. She quickly covered her ears with her hands, not wanting to hear anymore of the thunder and lightning. Her whole body shook with fear. A single tear drifted down from her eye and dripped down on the ground like a raindrop. Keiichi couldn't help but grow a little protective of the girl in front of him. Sure, thunder and lightning was a childish thing for her to fear. But Keiichi didn't want to say that to her. He had had a small phobia of thunder and lightning when he was a child, too. Without thinking, Keiichi wrapped his hands around the green-haired girl's shoulders and pulled her to him, though their chests did not touch. She whimpered a little and pushed herself closer to him. Keiichi couldn't help but let out another blush when he felt her large breasts press against his bare chest. He quickly shook off that blush, though as he looked down on her lovingly. He began to run his fingers through her wet, green hair in an attempt to comfort her.
"Don't worry, I'm here now," Keiichi spoke. Mion found that Keiichi's words soothed her fear in just the slightest. She nodded and pressed her head against Keiichi's.
An unexpected rumble of thunder sounded out, echoing across the endless meadow. In a panic, Mion grasped onto Keiichi and pulled herself as close as she could. She buried her head into his neck, sobbing a little.
"Shh… it's okay. I'll protect you," whispered Keiichi, rocking her body in their embrace. She seemed to calm a little, though she let out a small whimper from fear. Keiichi continued to run his fingers through her soft, wet hair, hoping that it would comfort her just a little. "The thunder will stop soon, so please…"
Mion shifted a little, but said no more. On the inside, Keiichi hoped that he was doing a good job of comforting her. He realized that Mion would probably kick his butt when the storm was over for treating her as if she was some kind of weak person, but for now, he decided it was best just to comfort her and keep her warm.
Perhaps he wasn't thinking, but the next thing Keiichi did caused even him to become shocked. He wrapped his arms tighter around Mion and pulled her down with him. Slowly, he rolled over so that he was on top of her, staring down at her stunned green eyes. He pressed his body to her closely, feeling every detail of her figure. He flustered when he realized the suggestive pose they were in, wondering why he had done such a bold act. "I'm going to shield you from the rain," he explained to her so that she didn't get the wrong idea.
Mion herself blushed when she caught sight of the half-naked Keiichi. She hadn't really been paying attention to his appearance when she had seen him, as she had been too afraid of the thunder to notice. "Y…You… You're really muscular, Kei-chan," she commented.
"Er… I guess," murmured Keiichi, unable to find any other words to say to her. He mentally slapped himself for being so rude to a girl. Now was not the time to act like a fool. He had to keep her warm and safe. He pushed himself closer against Mion, if that was even possible. He felt a little like a pervert for doing something so bold, but he ignored that thought. Right now, Mion's safety meant more to him than anything. They two of them would probably catch a nasty cold from being outside in the rain so far.
No words were exchanged between them afterwards. Keiichi simply thought to himself about the girl that lay beneath him, gazing lovingly into her green orbs. She was the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen. He wanted nothing more than to have her for his own. Yet, at the same time, he knew that that was probably impossible. She probably didn't like him back. But, then again, it was worth asking her. Things could only get better if he confessed. If she didn't like him back, he could move on. And if she did, then they could live together happily. No, I can't move on from Mion so easily, Keiichi realized, staring at the green-haired girl. I… I love her too much just to move on like that.
But at the same time, he knew. He had to tell her soon. Besides, Rika told him to confess.
Mion grew a little red from seeing Keiichi gaze at her with intense amounts of affection in his blue eyes. She averted her eyes from him, causing Keiichi to frown a little. Did she not like him gazing at her like that? Seeing that action made Keiichi a little upset. He reached his hand out to touch Mion's chin, bringing her eyes back to his. She looked a little confused by his actions, but he did not let that bring him down.
He continued to look into her green eyes filled with confusion with his blue ones, filled with love for the green-haired girl beneath him. And then, he opened his mouth to speak those words he had been dying to speak for so long.
"…Mion, I love-"
~~~~X~~~~
"KEIICHI! WAKE UP OR YOU'LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" bellowed a voice coming from downstairs.
"…You?" Keiichi finished. His blue eyes shot open in confusion. His clothing was perfectly dry and he was certainly not located in the meadow. He was in his futon, dry in his home. He glanced about his room, clearly confused.
Letting out a sigh, Keiichi allowed himself to fall back on his futon. "A dream, huh?" he sighed. He was a little embarrassed to admit that he wished it hadn't been a dream. After all, he and Mion had been so close together in that dream. A tomato red blush formed on Keiichi's face at the thought. The dream had felt so real. He could have sworn he felt Mion's body pressing against him. It certainly hadn't felt like a dream when he had been in it. Of course, he should have been able to figure it out from the beginning. Why would he be in a meadow in the first place?
Grumbling, Keiichi got out of his futon. He pulled out his school clothing from his closet and changed out of his nightclothes, all the while thinking about the dream he had. Should he confess to Mion like Rika said? He had promised her that he would do it, but he wasn't so sure. Mion didn't seem to show any clear signs of liking him. No, I shouldn't let her down. After all, Rika predicted Takano trying to kill her and everything. I think she's trying to prevent something bad from happening. I can't see what could happen from not confessing, though.
With a sigh, Keiichi walked down stairs and gobbled up his breakfast, all the while thinking of the girl he was in love with. He felt upset the more he thought about that girl. She probably doesn't love me…
Keiichi trudged down the muddy paths of Hinamizawa, not even thinking about where he was going. He almost failed to notice Rena waiting for him at their usual meeting spot. He would have completely passed by her if it weren't for her calling out to him.
"Keiichi-kun! Good morning!" she called to him, waving her hand. The brown-haired boy didn't seem to notice her, as he walked on with his hair covering his eyes. He looked upset for some reason that Rena couldn't point out. It was a beautiful day, so why be upset? The only thing that seemed to be bad about the day to her was that the pathways were covered in mud from last night's storm. Otherwise, the day was beautiful. Was there really a reason to be so depressed on a day like this? "Keiichi-kun! Good morning!" she repeated.
Once again, Keiichi failed to notice the orange-haired girl. He walked along the pathway, kicking the mud as he went along. He felt as if nothing could cheer him up besides seeing Mion's smiling face once again. Come to think of it, when was the last time he had seen her smile? Mion had been acting really funny recently. He hadn't seen her smile in days. Now he remembered that he had spoken to Rika about Mion's strange behavior several days ago. Did him confessing have anything to do with her behavior? If so, did that meant that…?
"Keiichi-kun! What's wrong with you today! I said good morning!" Rena practically screamed at the boy. This caused him to break away from his thoughts and snap his head over to the orange-haired girl waving frantically to him. Rena frowned when she saw Keiichi's upset expression, growing a little curious as to why he felt so upset on such a wonderful day. "Ah, Keiichi-kun finally responded! Hello there, Keiichi-kun!" she spoke. She decided it would be better not to ask him. She shouldn't intrude on his personal affairs.
"Hello, Rena," Keiichi responded, his voice sounding a little robotic. "How are you?"
Rena smiled. "I'm fine, thank you!"
The two of them continued down the paths of Hinamizawa. Mud clung to their footwear as they stomped through it. The storm had done quite a bit of damage, as a few branches from trees now lay broken in the muddy pathway. The higurashi cicadas didn't seem to mind, however, as they buzzed happily while flying from tree to tree. This reminded Keiichi of that fact that the Watanagashi was to take place tomorrow. And that reminded him of how he promised Rika that he was to confess his feelings to Mion.
Sighing, they continued to walk until they reached their next meeting point. The twins both stood there, waiting for Rena and Keiichi. Shion looked annoyed for some reason that Keiichi could not point out, and Mion just looked emotionless. She was staring at nothing. If Keiichi looked hard enough, he could see a little fear in her eyes. He brushed it off as being fear from last night storm, though. "Hello there, Mion, Shion," Keiichi greeted.
"Hello, Kei-chan," they both spoke in unison. However, the tones in which they spoke were different. Shion sounded happy and cheerful while Mion sounded depressed.
Rena titled her head to the side. "Mi-chan seems down today," Rena commented.
Mion said nothing, however. She was indeed feeling a little down. The storm that had occurred last night had only added to her trauma from being stalked by the Green-Eyed Demon. She had barely gotten any sleep, as usual. Mion was slowly growing used to not getting any sleep and was now used to running on an hour of sleep a day. There would be times where she didn't even get sleep for a few days.
Rena, Shion, and Keiichi started walking on ahead, chatting with each other happily. Unbeknownst to them, Mion was still standing behind, watching them with jealous eyes.
"I wonder what Keiichi and Rena do when they're walking to school?" the Green-Eyed Demon commented, unable to be seen by anyone besides Mion. "Maybe they kiss or do other romantic things?"
This time, Mion didn't try to argue with the Green-Eyed Demon. Mion figured she was probably right on that one.
~~~~X~~~~
School was boring, as usual. Mion sat at her desk, tapping it with her pencil, bored. She didn't want to even bother with her math problems. There was no point in asking Keiichi, as he was busy helping Etsuko and Rena. She let out a sigh as she watched the three; envious of the attention Rena and Etsuko were receiving. Why couldn't Keiichi teach her as well? She usually had more trouble with math problems, anyways.
Keiichi, on the other hand, was getting a little sick of having to teach people constantly. Rena had already demonstrated a great understanding of different topics, so why did she need him to constantly help her with math? It was a little annoying, but Keiichi ignored whatever thoughts he had that were negative towards his friends. Right now, he had other issues to be concerned with.
"…Where's Hisao-kun?" Rena asked suddenly.
Etsuko looked a little alarmed for a moment, but she quickly brushed that off her face. "Oh, he's sick today. I don't know when he's going to get better," she lied.
Keiichi frowned a little. "Well that's too bad. Do you know if he's going to be okay? You know, since the Watanagashi is tomorrow," he said.
Etsuko shook her head. "I don't know if he's going to be okay. I hope he'll be able to enjoy his time with you guys at the Watanagashi, though. It would be terrible for him to miss his first Watanagashi festival."
At that moment, Keiichi couldn't help but grow a little suspicious. He had already been informed of the fact that Etsuko was from Hinamizawa, but what about Hisao? Was it really his first Watanagashi festival? Then again, Hisao did lose his memories a few years ago. It was completely possible that Etsuko was lying and saying that his was his first Watanagashi. There was also that time when Keiichi asked about Hisao's role seven years ago and received no response. Was there some reason why Etsuko didn't want to respond? Though he did feel as if Etsuko was lying when she said that Hisao was sick. He seemed to be perfectly fine the day before. There were a lot of questions he had concerning Hisao and Etsuko's relationship, but he felt as if it would be rude if he asked her.
"I hope Hisao-kun will be okay, okay," spoke Rena. Keiichi could see visible upset in her eyes. She looked very worried for the black-haired boy's wellbeing. Now that he thought about it, Rena and Hisao were really close, weren't they? They were often hanging out with each other and Hisao would only really talk to her. He had joined the club but he never spoke to Keiichi. He seemed to be of the shy sort, so Rena was probably the perfect person for him to talk to. Then again, her take-it-home mode might be a little scary for him.
Keiichi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, then we can't have the Watanagashi club activities with all of our club members. And we can't have that, now can we?" he spoke, looking over towards Rena.
Rena nodded. "Yup! We do it every year with EVERYONE! It's always so much fun, fun!" she cried out, throwing up her arms in the air for emphasis. "Then again," she added, "Rena has only been here for two years…"
Keiichi laughed. "Oh, don't worry about that, Rena! I've only been here for ONE year!" he joked. "I mean, at least you've been here for an extra year!"
Etsuko grinned sheepishly. "Well, I've only been here for zero years, so," she spoke. Keiichi and Rena both laughed at this joke even though Keiichi knew that it wasn't true. Surely she had seen previous Watanagashi festivals when she lived in Hinamizawa.
Rena smiled. "Well, the Watanagashi is great! Provided that you don't get the punishment game. Mi-chan can be sadistic at times!" she spoke, remembering each and every one of the punishment games she received.
Keiichi laughed at that. "Oh yeah, Mion won't be nice with punishment games on the Watanagashi festival! You can trust me on that one!"
A chorus of laughter broke out from the three friends. Mion watched as the three of them continued to joke around. It was painfully obvious that they weren't doing any schoolwork. Chie was busy reading a book on the history of curry and did not seem to notice the loud laughter that echoed through the classroom. Mion couldn't really tell what they were talking about as she had mentally blocked out most of their conversation, but she was beginning to get the idea that Keiichi was growing a little too close to Rena and Etsuko. It sure looked like that to her, anyways. Maybe the Green-Eyed Demon was right. Maybe they really were trying to steal Keiichi from her.
The Green-Eyed Demon smirked with satisfaction. She was sitting on Mion's desk with her hand cupping her cheek as she watched both Mion and the group of friends laughing at the table. Mion was finally beginning to accept her. "I bet you anything that they're both in love with Keiichi," the Green-Eyed Demon remarked.
Mion nodded. Yeah, I think they are in love with Kei-chan.
"Oh, Rena!" Keiichi spoke, interrupting their laughter. "I need to speak with you alone for a little bit. Just you and me, okay? I need to tell you something."
Rena titled her head to the side, curious. "Okay, Keiichi-kun. Whatever you need!"
The two of them stood up and exited the classroom, leaving Etsuko to finish up her work. Mion watched as the two friends exited the classroom. Yeah, friends, Mion thought with a sigh. What were they doing? People would usually say such a thing when they wanted to confess their love to someone. Was that what Keiichi was doing now? Was he confessing his love to Rena? Mion felt heartbroken. He was really in love with Rena. He wouldn't ever love her. Rena and Keiichi would fall in love, get married, and perhaps have a few kids. And all she could ever do was watch them as a friend. Mion stood up from her seat and ran out of the classroom. Once again, Chie failed to notice. "I got to go to the bathroom," she lied to her confused sister. She made her way down the hallway, holding back whatever emotions she had. She found it rather hard to contain them, however. She kicked open the door to the girl's bathroom, hoping that no one was inside. Luckily, it appeared that no one else was there besides her. She ran into one of the stalls and slammed the door shut, locking it.
After that, she let all of her emotions out. She sunk to the floor and hugged herself. Then, she began to cry. He doesn't love me, she thought, tears streaking down her cheeks. She attempted to wipe them away with her hand, but found that she could not. There were just too many. She gave up the attempt to stop herself from crying and buried her head into her knees. Uncontrollable tears fell onto her knees and rolled down her legs. Kei-chan… I love you so much. I love you more than anything else in the entire world. So why, why don't you love me back?
The Green-Eyed Demon looked down upon the girl with a large frown. "It's all Rena's fault, isn't it? If it weren't for her, perhaps he'd love you."
Once again, Mion didn't deny the Green-Eyed Demon. She was too upset to think about the demon in front of her. She was just being a nuisance right now. Besides, the words she spoke were probably true.
Back outside, Rena and Keiichi stood parallel to each other. Keiichi looked down at the ground, kicking pebbles with his feet. How was he to phrase this? He wasn't sure how to admit such a thing to her. It was rather embarrassing, really. He wasn't sure how Rena was to react, either.
"Rena, I need your help with something," spoke Keiichi. "I'm in love with Mion and I don't know how to tell her."
Delight spread across Rena's face. "Finally!" she cried out. Then, she did a little dance out of pure happiness. "Keiichi-kun and Mi-chan make such a cute couple! I've been waiting for you to fall in love for ages, ages!"
Keiichi blinked at the girl's strange behavior. "Er… can you help me, then?" he said, not knowing what else to say. He didn't know Rena was going to have such a strange reaction. Seeing someone so happy over two people finding their love for each other seemed strange to him.
Rena nodded. "Of course I'll help you, Keiichi-kun! After all, Mi-chan likes you too!" she cried out.
Keiichi looked unsure. Rika had said the same thing to him. Was it really true, then? Did Mion actually like him? "Okay, so how do I tell her? I was planning on telling her at the Watanagashi tomorrow after Rika's performance… but I just don't know how to phrase it."
The orange-haired girl smiled. "It's really easy! Just say that you've been in love with her for a long time and describe to her how much you love her. I'm sure Mi-chan will be delighted! She loves you so much, you know," she said with a wink at the end. Keiichi seemed a little confused. Was Rena really telling the truth or was she just playing with him?
Rena began to picture images of Mion in Keiichi in her head. She imagined them kissing, and then she imagined them on their wedding day. Then, she pictured the cute children that they'd have when they'd grow up. Would they look like Mion, or would they look like Keiichi? Maybe they'd have green hair like their mother and blue eyes like their father. The idea was just too much for Rena. She had never pictured so much cuteness before. Steam began to rise out of Rena's head as she fell over with a projectile nosebleed.
Keiichi stood there with a shocked expression, his jaw practically touching the ground. What the heck was she thinking about? "Rena! Snap out of it!" he cried out as he ran over to the girl lying on the floor. Her face was completely red and her whole body was shaking. At that moment, Keiichi couldn't help but feel a little confused and worried. Why was Rena acting like this? Was she sick or something?
Suddenly, Rena shot up. "HAUUUU! I WANT TO TAKE MI-CHAN AND KEIICHI-KUN'S CHILDREN HOME WITH MEEE!" she cried out. Keiichi's eardrums began to ring. Her voice was even louder than the thunder last night! Then, Keiichi processed what Rena had just said.
"Wait a moment, Rena! Mion and I don't have any children! We aren't even married!" he cried out, embarrassed by such an idea.
Rena didn't seem to hear him, however, as more thoughts began to pop up in her head. "I wonder if Mi-chan and Keiichi-kun would have a boy or a girl? I wonder, I wonder!" she practically screamed out. "I think they'd have a girl that looks like Mi-chan and a boy that looks like Keiichi-kun! Hau! Mini Mi-chan and Mini Keiichi-kun! CUTEEEEE!"
Keiichi had to take a few steps away from the crazed girl in front of her. He had never seen her this obsessed with something cute. And this cute thing she was obsessing over didn't even exist! A sweat drop formed on his forehead as he watched the girl obsess over the idea of him and Mion getting married and having children. This girl… is really strange.
"So, will you help me?" repeated Keiichi, trying to break away from the awkward topic Rena was bringing up. Just the topic of him confessing to Mion was awkward enough. He didn't need to talk about having children right now. Rena instantly snapped out of her thoughts and glanced over to Keiichi. She looked perfectly sane for a few moments, as if she had returned to normal. Unfortunately for Keiichi, she certainly hadn't.
"OF COURSE!" Rena cried out. "I'll help Keiichi-kun! Just ask me anything and I'll help you with it!"
Keiichi smiled. "Thank you, Rena."
~~~~X~~~~
As soon as school ended, Rika made her way to the Saiguden. As usual, she needed to record what had happened during the day. Not much had happened that day. However, she decided it was necessary to record every single little detail that popped up. Due to this, the book was almost overloaded with her writing. After figuring out what was happening to Mion, she had written almost ten whole pages of theories. She didn't know if anyone was ever going to read it, but she wanted to make sure that everything stayed down in Hinamizawa history forever. This was a story that needed to be shared with the villagers of Hinamizawa for centuries.
As she went up to the Saiguden, she noticed something very strange. The lock was unlocked. "Hanyuu, someone broke in again!" she cried out in alarm.
The invisible goddess looked at the lock, inspecting it closely. "You're right! Someone has been inside here! Again!"
Rika practically tore down the door to the Saiguden. What did the intruder do now? Were they looking at more books? In that case, she needed to find what books they had read. Perhaps she would find more as to what was happening to Mion. She had a pretty good idea, but that idea could be wrong.
What greeted her inside shocked her. On the floor lay Hisao, hugging himself tightly. His backpack lay next to him, looking as if it was about to explode. It seemed to be stuffed with a whole bunch of things. Rika raised an eyebrow, confused. What was he doing here? "Hisao! What in the world are you doing here!" the Furude demanded. She was more confused than mad. It didn't look as if he had stolen anything from the Saiguden. Everything was in place on the walls.
The boy jumped up, startled. "Furude-san! I'm sorry!" he cried out.
Rika gave a glance to Hanyuu before returning her vision to the boy on the ground. "Don't you know that only Furudes are allowed inside of here?" she asked.
Hisao nodded. "I know that! I know that very well!" he spoke. "I'm sorry, please forgive me! I can explain everything to you!"
Rika calmed down a little bit. The box containing all the books was tightly shut. It didn't look as if anyone had gone digging through it since yesterday. She slowly walked up to the black-haired boy on the ground and sat down in front of him. "Can you please tell me then? I'm not mad at you… so don't worry. I'll only be mad if you have stolen something," she spoke softly.
The boy nodded. At first, he did not say anything. He needed to think about how he was going to explain this to the Furude. He didn't want to give anything about Etsuko's scheme away to her, as much as he wanted to. Otherwise, Etsuko would surely kill him. "Okay, so it goes like this. Ur… well, I got mad at Nee-chan. Then, she told me she hated me and she kicked me out of the house. It was raining, and I needed to find some shelter. This was the first place that came to me. So… now I'm here," he explained to her. Of course, he had left out many details. He didn't include the parts about Hajime and such. Those were private matters and sharing them would surely get him killed.
Rika frowned. "Is that why you weren't at school today?" she asked him.
Hisao nodded. "Yeah, I didn't want to show up. I'm afraid that Nee-chan would have hurt me or something."
Rika let out a large sigh. What was Etsuko doing? She had been the one that had broken into the Saiguden in the first place. Was she planning on doing something? If she really was planning on something, Hisao would probably know about it. There was probably a lot more to his story than what he had shared with her. "Hisao, can you tell me about your sister? I know she broke into the Saiguden a few days ago. Katashi told me," she requested.
Hisao looked a little surprised. He surely wasn't expecting her to know about that little incident. "Well, I can't tell you about that. Nee-chan will get very mad and me and she'll surely kill me for sharing. I suggest that you ask her yourself if you want to know. I… I doubt she'll tell you, though," he spoke.
The Furude frowned. "Wait a moment, she would kill you if you told me?"
Hisao nodded his head. "Yeah, she probably would."
There wasn't much point in squeezing out any more information. For now, Rika gave up on the idea of asking Hisao about Etsuko. She knew that she wouldn't receive any information judging by the way he was acting towards the matter. Instead, she wandered over to the box located in the corner of the Saiguden. She opened it up and took out the book with the blank title that she had been writing in. She pulled out a pencil from one of her pockets and began to write down what had happened.
Not much happened today at all. I caught Mion watching Etsuko, Rena, and Keiichi while they were having a nice conversation. When Keiichi asked Rena if they could talk alone, Mion looked very upset for some reason. Moments later, she ran out of the classroom claiming that she needed to use the bathroom. Shion seemed to fall for this and didn't chase after her sister. Besides that, school was boring. I practiced the Watanagashi ceremony a little, but that's it. As if I need anymore practice!
On the other hand, I caught Hisao in the Furude Shrine. He said that Etsuko had kicked him out of their house after yelling that she hated him. I tried asking for further details, but I received none. I am beginning to grow a little suspicious of Etsuko. What is she trying to do? Why did she break into the Saiguden? It doesn't make any sense to me. Hisao wouldn't explain, either. He simply told me that if he said anything Etsuko would kill him. I don't want anything bad to happen to him, so I'm going to leave it at that.
Tomorrow is the Watanagashi. I am wondering what is in store for my friends and me. I'm worried. Keiichi promised me that he'd confess but I do not believe him. I have a feeling that he won't. He seems to the type of person who'd chicken out of confessing. I don't understand why. Is love really that complicated?
~Furude Rika, June 1984.
Rika set her pencil down and closed the book shut. It was no longer covered in dust as Rika had been using it so often. She threw it into the box carelessly and then shut the top. With a sigh, Rika allowed herself to sink down against the old, brown box. She had a lot to think about and a lot to worry about. The Watanagashi was coming, and that was usually around the time where everything went wrong. After the Watanagashi festival, there was usually no chance of fixing a world. Right now, she feared for the worst.
"I'll let you stay at my place. You can sleep downstairs," Rika spoke.
Hisao's head perked up. "Wait, what? You really mean that, Furude-san?" he said, his voice hopeful. There was no way that he wanted to stay in Saiguden another night. It was extremely uncomfortable, especially when there was hundreds of elaborate torture equipment lining the walls.
Rika nodded. "Sure thing. Just remember to sleep downstairs and not in my room."
That was probably the best solution right now. She couldn't allow him to stay in the Saiguden for any longer. Besides, she needed to respect her ancestor's wishes and prevent anyone who wasn't from the Furude family from going inside the Saiguden. She had already let too many people trespass on the shrine's grounds.
Hisao grinned. "Thank you so much, Furude-san!"
"Welcome," Rika responded.
The Watanagashi Festival was tomorrow, and now, Rika feared for her safety. Now she knew. Something big was coming. Something that she had never seen or experienced before was coming. She could just sense it in the air. And now, she knew. This Watanagashi was to be the bloodiest that had ever occurred in all of Hinamizawa and Onifaguchi.
~~~~X~~~~
Crimso's Corner.
Okay, I'm going to quote myself from Chapter 11 and say that you are probably thinking "what the hell, Crimso! NOTHING happened!"
I know! I know, okay, I know! I am aware that nothing happened in this chapter. However! The next chapter is the Watanagashi festival and things are sure to happen! I added that foreshadowing in the end to prove it! No more build up. From the next chapter on, things are going to get serious. I'll promise you that. I never thought that it would take me so long to get to this point. When I first wrote this, I was expecting it to be around 15-20 chapters. Well, now we're at Chapter Twenty-Five and that's a good five chapters above what I said. Now, I'm going to make another prediction. 30-35 chapters. Yes, that sounds about right. I haven't done calculation, so. I need to sort out what's going to happen in the next few chapters in my head so it's not so confusing to me. I hope you are all looking forward to what I have in store for you all. I'm looking forward to writing it for you all! Oh yeah, about this chapter. I realize Rena got a little worked up about the idea of Mion and Keiichi together. It might be a little strange, but I'm sure we're all guilty of doing it, too.
Okay, so let's start talking about life. My trip was great. Well, sort of. I believe I've said before that I hate most of the people in my grade, yes? Well, I'd like to say that again if I have. If I haven't, now you know. I don't know how I survive staying with them for seven hours a day. The highlights were that the food there was amazing. I was expecting it to be terrible, but no. I was blown away by how good the food was. I'm very picky with food. The cabins were nice, too. It was like a mini hotel. My room was next to the teacher's room, though. I hope they didn't hear my friends and I chatting. I brought Higurashi with me, by the way. I know, I'm lame… but. On the bad side, the people on my bus forced me to watch the Hannah Montana movie with them. No offense to you Hannah Montana fans, by the way. I personally can't stand her. It was torture. The teachers were trying to come up with some way to say no to them watching it, but they're just too nice. Sigh. Oh well, that's hardly anything. They were acting annoying during the whole time we were actually there, too. By the way, the reason why this wasn't uploaded earlier was because we had a pretty bad situation at the end of the trip. One of the buses got stuck in the mud and we had to wait an extra two hours for them to tow it out. Yeah, so we arrived home really late and that killed a lot of my writing time. I am sorry. I really am! See look, I'm sorry! *gets down on knees*.
That's enough about that. I want to have the next chapter up soon, so it should be up soon. Oh yeah, thank you to those of you who pointed out typos. Ayame plushies are now available to people who point out typos. Particularly in this chapter as Spell Check broke down on me and isn't working for some reason. *kicks spell check*. Reviewers get to spend a free day at the Crimso Beach in Crimso Land. It's a cool place, I promise. I also added a FAQ section on my profile, just cuz. If you need any clearing up on anything about this fanfiction, please message me. If you want to ask me a question, message me. I'll answer.
This is getting too long. I am ending this.
OUT.
~Crimso