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Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter

12
The Melancholy of Furude Rika

Dark clouds were spreading over Hinamizawa as I approached the shrine, a thick veil of inky blue billowing out until it covered the sky. The air was bitterly cold, surprising for that time of year, and I found myself hurrying. It seemed the other villagers didn't like it any more than I did, for there was no-one out on the streets. A lantern stood above the gate to guide travellers onto the shrine precinct, and a few lights were on in the main building, giving the area a kind of ambient glow. With the trees all around it, the precinct was a little haven of light fighting back against the oncoming darkness. There was no wind, but the leaves just above one of the buildings were rustling. For a moment I felt uneasy, as if I was being watched. Then a soft voice called down to me, and I knew that it was only Rin, the Furudes' black cat. She was almost invisible through the leaves, an ever-vigilant sentinel; but she knew I was a friend, so she let me pass and faded away to keep watch elsewhere.

I let myself in; Rika never keeps the door locked. The hallway was silent, but a flickering light came through the large door halfway down, which led to the main prayer room. So Rika was there? I hastened my footsteps. This wasn't her regular hour for prayers. I only hoped that she wasn't overexerting herself, in her present condition.

I slid the door open gently, but it still made a creak that could not be missed. Rika sat in front of the altar with her head bowed; she did not look round.

I stood there for a moment, feeling awkward, and then coughed gently. "Rika-chan?"

"Shion-chan, is that you?" she said, still not looking round. "I was expecting you."

I made a sound that was part gulp and part chuckle. "Did Oyashiro-sama tell you?"

"No." Now that I was closer, I could hear that she was breathing with difficulty. I knelt down close by her and rested a hand on her shoulder to relax her, telling her there was no need to hurry her words. "I knew you'd want to speak to me – as soon as I heard the terrible news."

"Oh, so you already knew about that." I felt deflated somehow. "Who told you?"

"Mion-chan."

"Of course." I gripped her hand tightly in mine. "Rika-chan, I'm so sorry."

"I know," she said in between deep breaths. "But it's not your fault. We have to hope... that Oyashiro-sama watches over Satoko-chan and keeps her safe."

"Rika-chan..."

She closed her eyes and swayed back and forth a little. Then, at last, she looked up and smiled at me, and spoke with renewed energy. "Nipaa! Don't be cross, Shion-chan. I know that you would rather take action; that is your nature. But one must be careful not to act too hastily."

I blinked as I tried to understand this. Rika's warnings were often cryptic – unfortunately, that's her nature. Was there some specific action she was trying to warn me against? Perhaps she meant that I mustn't jump to conclusions about who the culprit was. In which case, since Hiroshi was clearly the obvious suspect... I shook my head. It was simplest just to ask.

"Rika-chan," I said, "do you know who has kidnapped Satoko?"

"No." She took another deep breath. "Help me stand up, please, Shion-chan."

I took hold of both her hands and lifted her slowly. She really had grown heavy, and swayed awkwardly as she struggled to keep her balance; but she held on to me with the lightest of touches, showing that she trusted me to keep her steady. She smiled gratefully, and then, quite suddenly, threw her arms around me, dropped her head onto my shoulder, and started to cry.

"Shion-chan... you're so strong... and I don't know how you manage it... I envy you..."

"Don't talk nonsense," I said. I held her close against my chest, hoping that the steady thumping of my heart would replenish her energy. "Why, Rika-chan, you're the strongest of us all! Didn't you prove that, when we fought together to defeat Takano?"

"I don't know what's happened to me, Shion-chan," she said. "Perhaps it's because I'm married now... after everything I've been through, if I knew that I had to die, I would face up to it and do my best to smile. But I'm scared about what will happen to my children..."

I shuddered a little. "I know what you mean," I said. "That's what frightens me the most too... Hiroshi's lost his son, and I'm scared that he might take revenge by hurting Akito or Kotone. But, Rika-chan, why are you thinking about death? There's no reason for Hiroshi to kill you!"

"I know," she said quietly. "But, Shion-chan, I can feel it coming closer all the same..."

"Death?" I asked her.

Her head was still nestling on my shoulder, so that I couldn't see her face. "Fate," she said.

I gave a deep sigh. "Don't say that, Rika-chan!" I said. "What's come over you, all of a sudden? We defeated fate together once, didn't we?" I stepped back and tilted her head upwards. "Look at me, Rika-chan. Is this all just something Yanagida's been saying?"

She squirmed. "Did... did Kizuna tell you about that?"

"Not directly; I heard it through Akito," I said. "Rika-chan, why are you listening to him?"

"He has a lot of support," said Rika. "He's been warning people that the time has come for the curse of Oyashiro-sama to strike again, and now, after Masashi-san's death and Tomitake's disappearance, I'm afraid that people are going to believe him."

"Oh, Rika..." I shook my head. "Who cares what he says? You know the truth. There is no Oyashiro-sama's curse, and there's no fate that's too strong for us to defeat it."

"Thanks, Shion-chan," she said. "I want to believe that, but... I feel fate creeping up on me all the same. Every time I turn around for a moment, it gets a little bit closer... it's watching me all the time, waiting in the shadow, letting me know that I can't escape..."

"Oyashiro-sama will protect you. You know that."

"I know," said Rika. "And I will ask Oyashiro-sama to watch over your children. You know that Oyashiro-sama loves you, Shion, because of the bravery you showed when we fought Takano."

I sighed and shook my head. "I wasn't brave, Rika-chan. I was just a stupid teenager, throwing myself into danger because I believed I couldn't die. I was selfish."

"Don't say that!" Rika pressed her nails into my arm, and I winced.

"But it's true." I shut my eyes. "I was so reckless. I nearly threw my life away back then, and I didn't even think about what I was doing. What if I'd died? How do you think Mion would have felt – and Satoshi, when he woke up?"

Rika took her nails out of me, and ran her hand smoothly down my arm. "Don't say that, Shion-chan. No matter what you might say about yourself, you are brave. You couldn't have defended us like that if you weren't. You sacrificed yourself because you cared about your friends so deeply – and you still do. That's why you're here now, isn't it? You want to do whatever it takes to save Satoko, even if you have to storm Hiroshi's house single-handed."

At last! Here was the understanding I'd been waiting for for so long. My own family refused to appreciate what Satoko meant to me – but Rika knew at once. Of course she did. She loved Satoko too. If it hadn't been for her pregnancy, I knew I could count on her to stay by my side until we rescued Satoko together.

"Hiroshi's house?" I said after a while. "Do you think that's where she is?"

Rika shook her head. "I'm sorry, that was just an example. Let's not jump to conclusions."

"But who else would want to harm Satoko?"

"I don't know," Rika said slowly. "But considering her close connection with a yakuza family, there will be many people who have a motive for kidnapping her, or..." Her voice trailed off, and I knew why. The possibility that something worse had already happened to Satoko was just too horrible to think about.

"No-one in these parts would dare to make an enemy of the Sonozakis," I said cheerfully, trying to lift her spirits a little.

"Even now – when the Sonozakis seem to be preoccupied with fighting each other?"

There was a long silence. I looked away. I couldn't meet Rika's eyes just then.

"Damn," I said.

"You have an idea, Shion-chan?"

I nodded and took a deep breath. "It's the Kanahebi. It must be. This is what they've been waiting for all along, to give them their chance to strike. Damn! Why didn't I think of it sooner, that Satoko would be in danger? She's the niece of Houjou Teppei as well, after all."

"Teppei?" said Rika. "How does he fit into all this?"

I explained, as briefly as I could, the story of the news I had heard from Tsushima.

"Hmm." Rika waddled over to the window, and rested leaning on the sill. "You should sit down, Shion-chan. And can I get you a drink?"

"No, I'm fine. I really don't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble. I just want a little time to think," she said sweetly. "So, you think that the Kanahebi have kidnapped Satoko to get information about Teppei's money, and you think they killed Masashi in order to create a rift among the Sonozaki family and stop you fighting back. But what about Tomitake's disappearance – how do you explain that?"

"I don't know," I said. I paced around the room; I couldn't bring myself to sit. "Tomitake was staying in Okinomiya, and so was Kikuhara. Perhaps Tomitake found out about their plans, and had to be silenced?"

"Perhaps," Rika said carefully. "It still seems strange that he should disappear at Sonozaki Manor, when it would have been easier for the Kanahebi to kidnap him in Okinomiya. Also, how would this agent, Kikuhara, have known about the quarrel between you and Hiroshi?"

I frowned. "I don't know. I'll have to ask Uncle Yoshirou whether anyone visited him..."

"I'm afraid that you probably won't find anything out. He must have known he would be under observation, so I doubt he would let himself be seen meeting his contact," said Rika.

"But then how else could he have known about the quarrel?"

"Perhaps someone told him over the phone."

"And who in Hinamizawa would know his phone number?" I retorted; and then I caught my breath. "Rika-chan, are you suggesting there's a spy in the Sonozaki family?"

She had turned away, and was staring into the fire. "It does look that way," she said. "Only the people who were in the Manor at the time would have known precisely when Satoko left."

"But – that's crazy!" I cried. "That's me, Mion, Satoshi, Mother and Father, Akito and Kotone, and Oni-baba. One of them a spy?"

"I suppose Oryou-sama can be eliminated," said Rika. "What about the servants? And wasn't Karen-san with you?"

I blinked. "Rika-chan, the servants have all been with the family all their lives. And Karen – how do you know about her, by the way? – Uncle Saburou took Karen and Chiharu away before Kumagai left with Satoko." I frowned thoughtfully as I tried to remember. Had they left before Kumagai did? All the events of the last few days were now blurring into each other in my mind.

"I see. They can't be entirely eliminated, all the same," said Rika. "Any of them may have made a reasonable guess that Kumagai was going to arrest Satoko. It would only be a guess, but they may still have thought it worth acting on."

I took a deep breath. "But why, Rika-chan? Why would any of them betray the family?"

"I'm sorry, Shion-chan... you probably will not want to hear this..."

"Tell me!"

She turned back to face me. "Well, you know that Satoko and Satoshi-kun were seen as outcasts, ever since the Dam War. Someone may have felt that it was for the good of the family... to get rid of her..."

"No!" I cried.

"Shion-chan, please be calm," she said. She was trying to move across towards me, and since she was clearly uncomfortable and very tired, I made myself calm down so she could relax.

"You must admit," she said, "the family have never exactly welcomed Satoko."

"But Oni-baba herself ordered the family to accept her!"

"But Oryou-sama is a dying woman. You know that she must return to Oyashiro-sama soon."

"It wouldn't surprise me if the old lady lives to be a hundred," I snorted. "I swear, she's more demon than human..."

"But the family expect her to die," said Rika. "They have been expecting it for years. And when she does – some people might find it convenient to be rid of Satoko."

I gritted my teeth. I understood what Rika was saying, but – she couldn't be right! She just couldn't! "But who?" I said. "Mother and Father love Satoko like their own daughter, I promise you. Saburou approves of her – well, he would, she's almost like his female clone. Satoshi's her brother, and the kids love Satoko and Saki-chan." I took a deep breath. "We come back to Hiroshi again..."

Rika nodded. "Please be careful, Shion-chan."

"Oh, I will," I said. "But there's no way I'm letting him get away with this! Kidnapping a police officer, too... the police will be down on him like a ton of bricks as soon as we have proof."

There was another silence.

"But, Shion-chan," said Rika, "how will you get proof?"

"I'm going to Okinomiya right now," I said. "No, Rika-chan – please don't interrupt. I've got to find out about Kikuhara. If there's been any contact between him and Hiroshi that we can prove, then we can go to the police. Hiroshi can't hold out against us and the police together."

"All right," said Rika. "That sounds like a sensible plan – but, please be careful, all right?"

"I promise," I said. And I walked over to her and hugged her tight. "And you make sure you get some rest, all right?"

"I promise," Rika said in return.


Soon afterwards, I was in Uncle Yoshirou's office in Okinomiya once more. He was in his usual seat, puffing one of his never-ending supply of cigarettes, and when I entered the room, he looked up at me with the blank expression that was the nearest he ever came to showing surprise.

"Uncle Yoshirou." I bowed. "I'm glad to see that you, at least, haven't been browbeaten by Hiroshi into taking his side."

"No," Yoshirou said smoothly, "but I've been given dire warnings about the consequences if I took yours."

I sighed. "I'm not here to ask you to take any sides, Uncle. I just want a report on your mission. Has anyone called on Kikuhara at the hotel?"

"No," Yoshirou said at once. "I can tell you that straight off. In all the time he was here, he never had any visitors."

"All right." I said, frowning deeply. It looked as though Rika was right; it would not be so easy to find evidence as I had thought. I was about to leave, when the significance of Yoshirou's exact words struck me. "Wait – all the time he was here?" I said. "He's gone?"

"He's gone," said Yoshirou.

"You mean he's left the hotel?" I said sharply.

Yoshirou took a slow drag on his cigarette. "Just for you, Mion, I had a man shadow him as far as Shishibone. He caught the Shinkansen back to Tokyo."

"What!" I cried. "But, then... he must have got what he came for!"

Yoshirou leant forward and looked at me intently. "So, you do know what he came for," he said. "I did wonder, after our conversation earlier. And are you going to enlighten me?"

I sighed. "Uncle, I..."

"No, I suppose I should have known better than to expect it," he said. "But listen, Mion – you can't expect me to help you if you're not going to be honest about what's going on. I don't want to end up with Hiroshi breathing fire down my neck."

"You won't," I said mechanically. "I just need to know about Kikuhara. Um... did he go out at all while he was here?"

"I couldn't get someone to shadow him all the time," Yoshirou said, a little crossly. "Yes, of course he went out of the hotel. He never caught the bus to Hinamizawa, I can guarantee that. But he may have been picked up by car and gone there at some point..."

"You're hopeless, Uncle!" I cried.

"Well, what did you expect me to do?" he retorted. "You give me a damn impossible task, and you won't even tell me why keeping track of this man is so important –"

"He's a lieutenant of the Kanahebi!"

"And that doesn't mean he's come here to do any mischief."

"You are so obtuse," I snarled. "So – did he get any phone calls while he was here?"

"Not on the hotel line. As to his own phone, I really couldn't say."

I clenched a fist. So, Kikuhara had outwitted us, in spite of all my precautions! But – if he'd left by train, then at least he couldn't have taken Satoko with him without his shadow noticing.

"But he must know that Satoko's been secured," I said, thinking out loud. "That's why he's gone back to Tokyo. I don't suppose I could have a look round his room? There might be clues..."

"It will already have been cleaned, and there might be another occupant in it now."

"Damn!" I cried, slamming my fist against the wall. "They planned this too well. Uncle, I've got to go. Oh, if they've harmed a single hair on Satoko's head, I'll never forgive myself!"

And I ran out of the room without even giving him a chance to reply.


I was back at the Manor ten minutes later. All was quiet. Judging from which lights were on as I approached the house, Mother and Father were having one last drink together in the library, while Satoshi was upstairs taking care of Oni-baba. I wondered whether he would tell her about what happened to Satoko. The old woman was very fond of her, and she would be just as worried as any of us, all the more because there was nothing she could do except lie in bed and wait for news. Perhaps Satoshi would decide it was best not to worry her. But surely, she would have noticed by now that something was wrong, that the mood of the whole house had changed. And from what I knew of Oni-baba, she wouldn't give Satoshi any peace until she'd wormed it out of him. But I had no time to spare for the old woman now. I had business of my own to attend to; and if the others were all busy, that was all the better. They didn't know I was back; if I returned later than expected, I could just say I had stayed to talk with Rika until I felt sure she was all right.

I slipped carefully through the corridors. Just in case anyone saw me, it was better to go this way than round the back of the house; easier to invent an excuse. But I met no-one, all the way to the back door. Taking one last look round to make sure that no-one was in sight, I slid the door open and headed across the lawn to the bunker – and the entrance to the Labyrinth.

The door was sealed with crisscrossing tape, and a fresh padlock gleamed smugly up at me. The police had firmly closed it off.

I snorted. Did they really think they could keep me out so easily? I am a true Sonozaki. I've known my way around the Manor, the Labyrinth and the lands beyond since I was smaller than Kotone is now. And when Mion was chosen to be brought up as the heir, I knew I'd have to be sneaky to keep up with her. I know a few entrances and secret passages that even she doesn't. But there was no need to go that far. The nearest entrance was the one through the wine cellar.

The door at the back of the cellar opened easily. Just as I'd expected, the police had given no thought at all to closing the other entrances. Simple fools.

I closed the door behind me with a heavy boom, and the last shaft of light coming through the cellar disappeared. Alone in the dark, I stood for a moment with my head turned upwards, and laughed. I would show them all – the police, Hiroshi and even the Kanahebi – what it meant to have Sonozaki Shion as your enemy. They might think they had me beaten, but I still had some weapons at my disposal. Soon enough, they would realise how foolish they had been.

The door was a long way behind me now. I was in a long passage, sloping downward; I knew it so well that I didn't need any light to find my way. Just around here, there was a cranny in the wall where I would find a torch – yes, there it was. I turned it on and shone the beam down the passage, over the racks of weapons and implements that stood lined up on either wall. And, on the left, artfully concealed by a jutting-out wall of rock, was a tiny gap that you could just squeeze through. But before I went in there – I selected a knife from the rack of weapons, and touched the point against my palm to make sure it was suitably sharp. That was all I would take; everything else I needed for the ritual would already be in the room.

I took a deep breath. The touch of the knife had reminded me of what I was about to do, and how much it would cost me – but I could not turn back now! I would show the world that I still had the strength of the Sonozaki Shion of the old days. I could put up with a little pain, for Satoko, for Rika, for all of them. I gripped the knife tightly, and slipped into the gap in the wall.

Mion has a tattoo on her back representing the Sonozaki demon – a tattoo that the oldest child of each generation has been given as far back as our history can remember. Legend speaks of a distant ancestor, Sonozaki Mao, who made a bargain with the Black Demon, a bargain to gain the power that made us one of the three Great Houses of Hinamizawa. In return for a terrible price, the demon promised Mao his services whenever she summoned him. And that power has been passed down through the Sonozaki bloodline ever since, to whoever bears the demon tattoo...

But there is one secret that no-one knows, except for the two of us. On the day Mion was given the tattoo, we had been playing together, exchanging clothes and hairstyles as we often did, and they had taken her and given her the tattoo by mistake instead of me. I was really the first-born Sonozaki. Even if Mion had the tattoo, even if no-one except for us knew the truth, the power to summon the Black Demon still belonged to me!

And now, as I stepped into the little circular room on the other side of the passage, that was exactly what I was about to do.