Hinamizawa Hell

"Revealing Demons" Arc: 2

Ch. 6: Lost Friends


"Huh? Rena, are you ok? You look tired and feverish…are you coming down with a summer cold?"

"Oh, hey Dad. I'm fine, really…I just didn't sleep well last night, so don't worry…"

Rena's Monday morning was the most tiring that she ever felt in her life. The previous night, Rena had tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Every time she tried to drift into a peaceful dream, she felt a weird sensation in differed parts of her face. They were hot and almost stinging when she woke up, and for several occasions she rushed to the bathroom. However, all she found in the bathroom mirror were sweat drops and flushed cheeks. Even checking her bed for any biting insects, Rena only found her sweat-dampened sheets.

Maybe she really was coming down with a cold, but today Rena didn't want to think about it. She had plans with Rika, Satoko and Hanyuu to go out to the city and swim at the local pool. Lately, with everyone so busy it was hard to get everyone together with so much going on. Rika and Satoko were always free now, but for Shion and Satoshi they held jobs to build up financial funds for themselves. Shion was even beginning to do some summer courses at her school to obtain credit for early graduation, while Satoshi took up a summer position with Dr. Irie's clinic. It was a desk job, but Dr. Irie paid him well enough to do clerical work, such as filing papers and helping incoming patients. Meanwhile, Mion was home probably doing family work, so Rena thought it best to invite her next time. The idea came up to call her sometime that morning, but lately Rena felt it best to give Mion some space. Her cold glares and intimidating looks had caused Rena to avoid her somewhat.

For now, her father gave her some medicine to help with whatever caused her to feel feverish. The hot day, her father thought, was probably just causing her to dehydrate a bit.

"Drink plenty of water today, ok Rena?"

"Ok Dad, I will. Thanks," she replied. Rena grabbed her swim gear and was about to head out, but her father caught her once more before her departure.

"By the way, how is Maebarra-san doing? And how was your date with him yesterday?" her father asked, grinning.

"Hehehe…Dad, I can't tell you that! Besides, it was just the usual. We went out to the city, ate lunch and took a long walk around the park," she stated.

"Well, I hope you two can make time for dinner here once in a while. That Maebarra boy seems like a good kid, so I would appreciate it if you brought him over to let me get to know him."

"Ok, will do. Goodbye!"


As it was almost noon that day, Rena rushed on her bike as she grew closer to Okinomiya. The swimming pool would be packed that day, so she hoped to get in before the rush to have as much fun as she could. Whizzing past the zooming cars heading in the other direction, Rena had finally arrived not too long later at her destination. Parking her bike in a bike rack, she paid her small admission fee and went to the changing rooms, eager to see her friends again.

Sporting a cute, yellow two piece bathing suit with various flower designs about it, Rena's sexy pose could sway any man to her feet. However, she had no care except for the person she loved, who now was probably hard at work on one of his weekly tasks. She missed him during the week, not being able to see him much at all. Though she did love him, she couldn't enjoy the possibility of being with him 5 days out of the week. So, during those week days she tried her best to enjoy her summer vacation with friends or being out and about in Hinamizawa.

"Rena-chan! Over here!" yelled Satoko. She wore a simple, blue bathing suit today, waving her hand high in the air about the crowds of people. Rena spotted her and rushed to their position with a pool tube to ride on.

"Ah, Satoko-chan! You look so adorable in that swim suit! Can I take you home? Can I?" she asked, drooling at the cuteness Satoko emanated.

"Neh…if you took Satoko-chan from me, then I'd be lonely…Mii…" said Rika, putting on a cute yet sad expression. She wore a pink swimsuit that day, though she had hopes to get new swimwear in the future. Rena only went into overdrive at seeing her adorable expression; hugging them with wishes of taking both home with her.

"Hey, don't squeeze Satoko-chan too hard, ok Rena-chan?" asked Satoshi, sporting a pair of black swim shorts. He smiled at the three of them, while Shion, wearing a sexy, black two piece suit, came up behind him and laughed at the scene.

"My, you three are really lively today!" Shion stated.

"Ah, you guys are here too? I thought you were both working today," Rena replied, happy to see them.

"The clinic was closed today, and my job had enough workers for any few customers coming in. So, we decided to have the day to ourselves," Shion picked up a tube for her and Satoshi to share, smiling back at Rena all the while. It seemed that more company only brought joy to the brown haired girl.

"This will be so much fun, Hau!" went Hanyuu, smiling more cheerfully than usual at everyone. She finished a small snack before jumping into the pool, landing in the cool water and sighing in relief. Rika followed in suit and joined her, splashing her with water jokingly.

"Well, we'll have fun today, right? I just wish Mi-chan and Kei-chan could be here. If he wasn't…"

"SHH! Rena, behind you!"

"Hey guys, I see we all had the same idea today, huh?"

Rena looked at Shion with wide eyes, but quickly turned to the person who was clearly behind her. Expectantly, Rena found Mizuho with Mion, both drinking some soda before heading into the pool. Mion was wearing her favorite violet, two piece suit while Mizuho wore a white two piece with red flower designs. She also wore dark sunglasses, shielding her eyes from the sun that day.

From Rena and Shion's perspective, however; Mion seemed a bit solemn for some reason, probably because she was not invited. She only came on the instance that Mizuho mentioned about going to the local pool today, so she decided to make the best of it. However, now seeing everyone else almost felt like she was out casted to some degree.

"Umm…hey guys. How's it going?" she asked, wishing she didn't come today. She felt knots in her stomach grow tighter just at the sight of them. However, she felt a bit better once her sister rushed up and embraced her in a hug.

"Sis! Glad you could make it! I was worried you would be locked up in that house for no reason!" Shion did her best to lighten the mood, with Satoshi and everyone else except Rena coming to greet her. It was the first time Mion had really gone outside for enjoyment with everyone since the previous week, so today felt different to everyone. They did their best to remind one another that Oryu's passing was now in the past, and now was the time to move on from all that.

Mion smiled to everyone, but once her gaze passed to Rena, time had slowed down and she instantly noticed how awkward it could be. Rena felt her face heat up, almost feeling like the pain from the previous night, while Mion felt a mixture of guilt and anger, relapsing from her dream. Neither of them moved to greet each other, but with everyone else looking at them it now seemed appropriate to do something.

"Uh…Hey Rena-chan. How are you and your boyfriend doing?" Mion asked, raising a hand to her head in embarrassment. However, from Rena's perspective and no one else's, she caught the same cold, dull gaze from Mion again. She smiled weakly, rubbing her face as if it were itchy.

"We're doing well Mi-chan. Umm…hey, everyone, let's get in line for the water slides before it gets crowded!"

As quickly as it was announced, it was agreed by everyone to do just that. The group members grabbed tubes and rushed over to the line, just in time before the crowds gathered. As everyone sweated with each step towards the top of the stage area, Rena noticed that as fast as she got away from Mion, the next moment she was standing right near her. Mizuho didn't notice any of this, standing in the far back of the group. It was her first time on a water slide, so it was pretty new to her even now. She was a bit flustered over the massive slide to pay any attention to her peaceful surroundings.

As they waited in line, Mion intentionally bumped into her friend's shoulder, trying to get her attention for a bit. Rena slowly turned to her, but in response only saw Mion solemnly smile.

"You ok Rena-chan? You and I haven't really seen each other lately, huh?" she asked, being sincere. If Mion was masking some sort of hidden anger, she was doing it well in front of Rena, who only grew increasingly defensive by the minute.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night actually. My face was on fire, and it felt like I was almost choking too. It was weird…" Rena moved forward, as did Mion, but at that instant she was completely bewildered from Rena's words.

*Wait…did I hear her correctly? Her face…was hurting? And she felt like she was choking? But…my dream…there's no way…* she thought.

"Umm…Miss? Will you be going down? Or would you like to step out of line and try again some other time?" asked the water slide operator. He waved his hand in front of Mion's face, who blushed quickly after falling out of her thoughts.

"Ah, yes! Sorry about that. Wish me luck guys!" Mion quickly got on her tube and rushed down the winding turns and tunnels of the slide, enjoying the cooling feeling of the water on her body.

As she dived into the rushing water at the bottom of the ride, Mion's mind still fell on those thoughts and her inner turmoil. Her body floated in the deep water, almost like time had stopped. She kept her eyes closed, trying to reach a state of mind where she could think clearly. She felt like she would never want to leave that peaceful state, where she could feel nothing as her body soared through nothingness.

"…Mi…on…"

*Hmm…what?*

She burst through the water and breathed deeply. Looking around, her friends were looking at her with an expression of concern. Hadn't she realized it, Mion was actually underwater for at least a minute, freely drifting deep in the pool.

"Hey, you ok? You were under there for awhile," asked Shion. She looked deeply into her sister's eyes, as if analyzing her inner turmoil. When it came to Shion, she had the natural ability to read people like a book…most of the time.

"Umm…yeah, I just wanted to see what its like to drift underwater like that. Anyway, what's next Rena-chan?" Mion smiled and looked to Rena, who thought for a bit about the next thing to do.

"I'd like to just hang in the pool for a bit. Then we can probably get some lunch after that."

"NAH! That's too boring. I have a better idea. Let's have a tag-team water wrestling match! We'll duke it out till only one pair remains with their partner still on the other."

"But…Mion, isn't that dangerous?" asked Rena, concerned. She was a bit worried that someone would get hurt.

"No way, we're the game club, and we're tough as nails!" she replied, raising a fist into the air. The last word sent shivers down Rena's spine for some odd reason, even though no ill intent was seen.


"So, since this is a game, what's the penalty?" asked Satoko. She, Rika and Hanyuu had been paired in the match, each getting on one another's shoulders. Their combined height would be a formidable match, given that they also had two extra pairs of arms.

Satoshi, meanwhile, was paired with Shion, whom got on top of his shoulders with ease. He, however, started spurting a nose bleed for no reason, probably from having Shion's thighs around his head.

And last but not least, Mion had been paired with Rena, who cautiously got on top of her friend's shoulders. Mion wobbled a bit at first, but was playing around with Rena a bit jokingly, much to her displeasure.

"Hmm…if we just make this a match of winners, it'd be too boring I think. Why not have the losing team submit to each other's wishes, just so that they can experience the failure together. What do you think?" asked Mion. Everyone except Rena was in agreement. To Rena, something wasn't right about any of this, however normal it may seem.

Meanwhile, Mizuho had found Chie-sensei at the snack bar, eating some curry with a mound of rice. Mizuho, as of late, was rather hungry for some odd reason, so she joined Chie and ate her own meal too. They conversed while the others played their game together, making sure to check on them from time to time.

With everyone ready, they all charged against each other. Mion was more than ready to go, swimming headfirst into the group. However, much to Rena's concern, she used her teammate more like a weapon than a partner, pushing against the others to see who would topple the opposing team first. Rena was almost knocked out from being tossed and turned; trying her best to defend their team.

Rika's team, however, had an advantage with so many arms. Hanyuu and Rika tried their best holding off Shion and Satoshi with grappling and, with an underhanded tactic, tickling when the chance arose. Shion could barely contain her laughter as her sister came up behind with Rena and nearly knocked her off. Though the attempt failed, Mion just grinned.

"Hey Rena-chan, come on, we need to win! Go for her breasts if you have to…"

"Umm…Mi-chan, I'm doing the best I can…I'm not as strong as Kei…" spoke Rena. Her body flailed a bit as Mion tried to go back into battle. While Shion wrestled against Rika's team, however, Mion stopped short unbeknownst to the others, a dark expression on her face. The mentioning of Keiichi's name set something off in Mion, something she tried her best to control.

"…yeah…Kei-chan's much stronger. If he was here, I could have had him for a partner against Sis, and you could have invited your boyfriend here too…that's the way it should have been…right!?"

Mion, who had been holding Rena's legs firmly on her shoulders, now dug her nails into Rena's calves, hard enough to cause bruises. Rena only gasped in pain, trying to calm Mion down.

"Mi-chan…can you stop squeezing so hard? It hurts…"

The next instant was a complete surprise to the both of them. Mion, gritting her teeth hard, suddenly threw Rena into a complete face plant into the water. The others stopped what they were doing and saw the scene. Both of them were in the water now, completely drenched. Once coming to the surface, Rena's eyes welled up with tears, as she rubbed her now painful face.

"AH! It hurts…aaahhh…" Her eyes stung a bit from the impact, to which the others quickly came to help. Mion, holding her ankle, looked as if she had hurt herself in the process.

"Ah…Rena-chan…I'm sorry, I must have tripped when I tried to go back…are you ok?" she asked, sincerely.

Seeing Rena hurt immediately sent Satoshi and Shion to help. As Satoshi rushed, however, Shion accidentally fell off due to the quick motion, to which she reached out and accidentally tore Rena's top piece in the process of shielding the impact. Rena cried as she tried to cover her decency.

"Shi-chan! Are you ok?" asked a worried Satoshi, coming from the water in a bursting splash. Satoko and Hanyuu ran to Rena to check on her, while Rika went to get a towel to cover her up.

"Ah…I think I'll be ok…" Her pain would be momentarily, but it was the whole cause which concerned her the most now. Now with bruises on her leg and a red face to show, Rena was downtrodden on her spirit for fun that day. Mion came up behind her, patting her on the back, but oddly enough, giving Rena a cold, dull stare again.

"You'll be fine, right Rena? You've gone through worse, I'm sure…"

Rena's eyes went wide at this, to which she gulped and nodded slowly. Something was definitely wrong with Mion, causing Rena to now fear for something deep down: her safety.

"Sis, what happened? You trip or something?" asked Shion, now coming up from the water and spitting some out.

"Yeah…I twisted my ankle and fell face first…Thank goodness Rena wasn't hurt that bad…" she said, sincerely to the others. She held her ankle as if in pain.

*Tripped? That's a…lie! You did that intentionally and faked it, I know it! What the hell is the matter with you Mi-chan!* Rena thought to herself. She saw through whatever veils Mion was putting up, and knew it was an act from the get go. Years of playing card games honed Rena's detective skills; allowing her to see through the bullshit of a well played bluff.

"I'm…going to get something to eat and head home…I'm not feeling too well right now, so see you guys later…"

Rena got out of the water and quickly left, not meeting the others eyes. Mion saw this and frowned, but deep inside she felt so righteous and proud. It was as if her darker side got a jolly out of doing that to Rena.

*Serves her right for complaining like that. And Shion's accident was just perfect!* she giggled evilly on the inside, her eyes narrowing at seeing Rena's departure.

"Hey Rena, get some rest ok? And remember, we lost, so we have to submit to 'each other's' penalty, ok?" she yelled. Rena stopped for a second, and then continued on to the snack hut, hugging the towel close to her chest.

*Penalty game? What are you plotting? I wonder…* thought Rena.


The group, satisfied with the day's games, even without Rena, began to head their separate ways home. As Satoko, Rika and Hanyuu had finished getting dressed, they waved goodbye to Mion and Shion, finding their bikes outside and heading home. With the twins alone in the locker room, Shion's mood went from happy to serious in less than a second. She turned to face Mion, her back towards Shion as she sat on a bench to finish tying her shoes.

"Hey Sis, what's up with you lately? Back there…what happened with Rena-chan…" Shion narrowed her eyes at her sister, analyzing her again for the second time that day.

"….What do you mean Shi-chan?" Mion's face was darker than usual, unseen by Shion, as she focused on tying a knot into one shoe.

"You know what I mean. Tripping in the pool is as likely as Dr. Irie getting Rika and Satoko to cosplay for him: It just doesn't happen…" she replied, much more seriously.

"Heh…its nothing Sis. I was just having some fun and got a little too rough is all; I'll be more careful next time…" Mion got up and stretched a bit, raising her hands to the ceiling.

The next action was unexpected of Shion. She took her sister by the shoulders and spun her around, trying her best to get Mion to see how serious she was.

"You could have seriously hurt Rena-chan! And I'm pretty sure you hurt her feelings too! Can't you see that at all?" Shion looked at her sister, but instantly went wide eyed when she saw the same cold, dull gaze from her sister. She stopped holding her sister's arms and took a step back, fearing as if the terrifying gaze would give her a heart attack.

"Rena…chan…can handle that. If I can handle…Kei-chan being away for so long, and…everything that has to do with our family, then Rena can deal with…a little accident like that…right Sister?"

*Slap*

Mion awoke out of her daze, feeling the harsh reality of her sister's palm. Her eyes went wide, feeling the stinging pain from the impact. She was oblivious to how much Shion was trying to get through to her.

"We're talking about Rena-chan here, not you Mion! Don't ever mix that up…I know it's hard for you not seeing Kei-chan, but you have to be strong! Besides…If I could handle not seeing Satoshi-kun for so many years, then this will be a piece of cake for the Sonozaki family head…"

Whatever Shion had said to Mion had indefinitely triggered something. Though Shion was absolute in what she said, especially about waiting for Satoshi, Mion's mind had rejected it. All of Shion's points were counteracted with Mion's inner defenses and turmoil raging throughout her mind. In turn, Mion looked accusingly at her sister, her teeth baring.

"You…think that was hard? You had him with you this whole time in the village! And you got away from our family's responsibility by becoming out casted! I was picked from the beginning to uphold our traditions, and for what? Meanwhile, you lived life content with the one you love, while I'm prevented from marrying until our parents choose a worthy suitor! I love Kei-kun more than anyone could ever know, and yet, I'm starting to doubt how much people see that nowadays!"

Mion ranted loudly and softly at various points, her eyes narrowing at her sister ever so threateningly. Shion actually fell back as Mion moved closer towards her, tripping over a bench in the process. She hovered over Shion, looking down at her with those terrifyingly cold, dull eyes.

"…Sis…wait…"

"Kei-kun and I were supposed to be together this summer! But with grandmother's passing I've been left again to uphold our family's responsibility at such an early stage of my life! While you can spend joyful days with Satoshi-kun, Satoko, Rika…Everyone else…I can't even see my boyfriend! By the way, Sister, it's becoming more apparent to me day by day that I can't even enjoy spending time with him because…because…"

From Shion's perspective, Mion had suddenly hit a wall like never before in her lifetime. Mion broke down in tears, trying to manage whatever was hitting her so hard reality wise. She sat down onto the bench, letting a few tears fall to the ground whilst clutching her sides with both arms. Meanwhile, Shion slowly rose up and inched closely to her sister, knowing that right now more than ever she needed to get something off her chest.

But today, that wouldn't happen, for as she reached out to hold Mion in a hug, the next second her sister pushed away and wiped away any remaining tears, keeping her back towards Shion.

"…Listen…I'm tired and just stressed out. I'm going home…I'm sorry…"

Mion quickly turned to leave, not giving Shion any chance to help the situation. She kept reminding herself that she was strong, that she was the head of the Sonozaki family and nothing could harm her as she ran down the halls to exit. She continued to imagine this power at her hands while rushing out to find Mizuho and to go home.

And yet, the same name ran through her head; that one person who could diminish whatever problems was on her mind and soul.

*Kei-kun*


Rena didn't talk to her father when she returned home, as he was out on a business meeting and wouldn't be back till later. Arriving back to her darkened house as the sun now set over the horizon, Rena quickly entered through the door and locked it shut. She rushed through her house into the darkness, searching for her room. When there, she turned on all the lights and embraced one of her few sanctuaries in Hinamizawa: her bedroom filled with cute things.

Though it was some kind of childish nature of Rena's, she felt safe and at ease when here. Nothing could harm her, even after all that her day threw at her. Sitting on her bed and picking up a stuffed doll that her boyfriend had given her on their third date, she held it close to her heart, nestling her head in its soft blue hair. The doll, in a strange way, looked like that of Mizuho but clearly different in clothing and being of chibi size.

Replaying all that had happened to her that day, Rena softly cried into the doll, wishing that her boyfriend could be there to console her now more than ever. Unfortunately, he was probably at his home now, lounging around or just waking up to make dinner for himself. He was a loner after his aunt and uncle died, that much was true, but otherwise incredibly independent when it came to living on his own. That much was surprising for someone of his age, not being much older than Rena actually.

Deciding that she had enough of her day's problems, Rena had placed her doll back onto the bed and proceeded to undress for a shower. After a nice long, hot soaking Rena's mind felt a bit more at ease, but still troubled. While slipping into her futon, Rena thought to herself what to do tomorrow.

"If I'm lucky, maybe I can see him tomorrow. I can surprise him…and he can wish away my worries…I wonder…"

As Rena turned in to sleep, her tired gaze passed over an old item of hers, one that she hadn't the need to use for half a year now. Its rusty edges yearned for a sharpening, and the whole wanted an overall cleaning. Her most trusty weapon, a wicked meat hook cleaver, now rested in the corner of her room. As she smiled at her trusty companion, Rena's last troubling thoughts drifted on the very thought of using it again…sometime very soon.


The car ride back to the estate was awkward at best for Mizuho. Mion remained quiet for the most part of the trip, not even looking at her once. She steadied her gaze outside the window as if every little leaf and rock was interesting. All in all, Mizuho had fun that day, but couldn't believe how much she ate. Chie-sensei even freaked out when Mizuho polished off dish after dish of curry, accusing her of being some demon from curry hell. However, Mizuho wondered if it was just her appetite acting up again, so the next day, she thought, would be perfect to exercise and burn off any calories.

On the other hand, Mion's next day would be just as unfulfilled as the previous. She did wrong today, that much was sure to her, but her darker part didn't care at all about it. Though her good side yelled out for Mion to make amends, her darker voice sometimes had the better influence in the matter. Throughout all this, however, one thing was apparent for Mion to do sometime soon: apologize to Rena as soon as possible.

"So…Mi-chan, did you have fun today?" asked Mizuho, trying to spark up some conversation.

"Ah…what? Oh yeah, I did. I pummeled enough punishment games into everyone to make up for the past few weeks, heheheeh…" she replied with a weak smile.

"Nice. I ate way too much today, so it's just training for me tomorrow. I should even stop at the gun range soon this week too. Would you like to come with me?" she asked.

"Guns? Umm…ok…I don't really shoot a lot, its more of just me sparring against Kasai every now and then in martial arts, but…ok, if you insist," Mion, for the first time that day, smiled genuinely. Mizuho was being kind to her, giving her opportunities to take her mind off of her problems.

"Eh? It won't be bad, I promise. Kei-chan's extremely good at guns, a natural even. He's got Komoto-kun on the ropes, and I'm pretty sure he'll be able to protect you and everyone else if he ever owns up to it…" At hearing these words, Mion blushed and held her head low, hoping Mizuho didn't see her face. Every mentioning of Keiichi's name made Mion that much more envious of him, more respectable of him, and most importantly, that much more lonely without him.

They arrived at the estate not too long later, pulling up to the main gate. Mion hopped out of the van and turned to Mizuho, bowing respectfully to her.

"Thanks a lot today. I think it did me some good to get out of the house."

"No problem. We can keep each other company over the next two weeks, so it'll be fun. And remember…keep your chin held high. They'll be back together laughing their head off and us punching those same heads in no time at all!" Mizuho, cracking a rarity of a joke, balled up her fist and punched into the air, managing to make Mion smile again that day.

She waved Mizuho off, watching the van speed down the road. With the day over, Mion was hungry enough to go prepare dinner and then plan to lounge around the house for awhile, trying her best to relax for the remainder of the day. As much as she tried, she hoped to take her mind off things for awhile and rethink her problems for a bit. That much, she believed, would quell her worries and turmoil. But incessantly, never leaving her mind was the thought of Keiichi and his feeling as he held her in his arms. It would be all that she hoped to dream about later that night.

But still, nightmares wouldn't let up that easily.


"Good job today Keiichi. We're making good time already…" stated Komoto.

"I'll say. Just getting here takes it out of you pretty much, huh?" replied Keiichi.

They sat under the starry sky on an open field, cooking some food over a fire near their tents. Sitting on roll out mats, Keiichi and Komoto were drenched in sweat from a long day of hiking. With no hot springs in the area yet, they made due with their circumstances and passed it off, not caring about hygiene for the time being.

"That's training for you. And it only gets harder from here. You think going up a rocky hillside was bad, well wait till be conquer the next part of the map. It'll be at least three days from here hiking, and then after that we'll have to manage climbing a pretty crazy cliff to get onto the final phase of the peak. The Sonozaki family really knows how to…"

"We'll be fine I'm sure. I'll tackle this like everything else that comes my way!" With confidence in his voice, Keiichi sounded off his triumphant goal.

"Heh, good luck with that. But I can't help you, remember? I can only give you advice or step in when I feel you're gonna die on me, you hear?" Komoto replied.

"Much appreciated. Now pass be some of that grilled fish please?"

"Hmm…only if you can take it from me?" joked Komoto. Keiichi just stared at him with an annoyed expression.

"…"

"What?" asked Komoto, looking at Keiichi in a weird way.

"Still sore over losing to me?" mused Keiichi.

*Minor punch*

"Ouch!"

"Don't tempt me, Keiichi. You may have beaten me, but I underestimated you. That's all! Besides, that gives me a good idea for when we get back. Only if you succeed that is…"

"Oh really? Go on…" he asked, earnestly.

"Nah…it's a secret. But I think you and Mi-chan will enjoy it…trust me."

They sat a little while longer under the stars, just listening to the nighttime sounds of the forest and hills. Though peaceful and serene like as it was, Komoto still had a lot on his mind besides their current task at hand. All his thoughts again went back to his research and everything that the Dark Spector said. Feeling some need to talk about it, Komoto wondered if others were getting the feeling that something was wrong in Hinamizawa.

"Hey, Keiichi, I have a serious question to ask you."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Have you gotten the feeling that…something bad may be coming to Hinamizawa?" Komoto looked at Keiichi a bit, studying his response. What Keiichi said next somewhat confirmed his thoughts.

"Y…yeah. I've had that feeling for awhile. Quite some time actually…"

"Quite some time? What do you mean?"

"Well…I'm not sure really. It's just been nagging in the back of my mind that something might happen soon. I mean, I've had it ever since the end of…winter break really…" Keiichi closed his eyes for a bit and thought for awhile, trying to discern how he felt about it. "…What about you Komoto-san? Are you afraid of something?" he asked.

"No…but I just have my worries. Someone told me that a "demon born ages ago" would be coming back, but I can't make sense of even that cryptic message. I don't get it really, but I can't get it off my mind too. I just have this bad feeling is all…"

"But in Hinamizawa that's commonplace. It's also hard to just think nothing of it really…everyone's so used to having some problem to deal with that we can't sit tight and have some quiet peace for once. Wouldn't you agree?" asked Keiichi, smiling a bit.

"…yeah, you're right. Demon's can't be real I guess, but only in our hearts. We…all have a demon inside of us, but it takes a great power to restrain that demon. Kinda like how I did a long time ago…" Komoto got up and brushed himself off, then headed to his tent. "Night Keiichi. I'll see you in the morning bright and early."

Now alone for a bit, Keiichi pondered the aspect of a demon appearing in Hinamizawa. He didn't believe in demons, but after thinking a bit he remembered in a past life two well known individuals who did. Dwelling on this fact, he remembered how Shion had succumbed to Hinamizawa Syndrome and became mad with rage over Satoshi's mysterious disappearance. In that, she went on a killing spree; judging and carrying out death warrants to those she deemed guilty. She killed so many people, and as such he was a casual factor to it all. Because of a doll he hadn't given to Mion in that world, Keiichi indirectly caused his love to cry out to Shion, whom of all people would dwell on her lost love even more than anyone else and cause thoughts to resurface: thoughts of searching and revenge. She barraged him with those demonic ideas while being crucified to that wooden altar; Shion stating how he had caused the demon to win "Mion's" mind in the end. After losing Rika, Satoko, Shion and even Mion in that world, he remembered the chilling words of Detective Oishi rendering their death certificates to him.

When the old man left the room, as Keiichi remembered it, he was looking out a nearby window when the broken and ragged hand grabbed his own. Only then did Keiichi remember that horrifying demon grasping his hand. He couldn't gasp for air at the sight of Mion's demonically possessed corpse, her dirty and bloodied green hair falling in tangles over her body, her unmistakable broken neck appearing underneath her chin with its cartilage and bone protruding through skin. This horrid sight of what he thought was his love coming back from the depths of hell to take his soul, made him wish he could go blind from seeing something so wretched and sad.

Flashing back to that memory, he heard her twisted and sickly sweet words…

"Back then, I granted you one wish. But in the end its looks like I couldn't keep it!"

"A..Augh!"

"…EHEHEA! AHA HA HA HA HA!"

The feeling of her cold, dead hands on his own, the way her demonic eyes looked at him in pure joy and wrath against his very existence, and the hatred in her heart for his failures in their life brought the same nausea and immovability to Keiichi's present body as it did in the past. Even remembering the pain caused from each nail driven into his finger joints and the latter torture, where Mion's demon sliced open his stomach and unraveled the intestines from his body, all brought back memories he wished he could forget. He felt almost like vomiting that instant, but thankfully he was able to keep down his food for hopes of using its nourishing energy the next day. These thoughts couldn't damper his efforts for his goal, so Keiichi just brushed it off for now.

*If there was a demon in Hinamizawa…then…*

He shook his head to blast his thoughts away from such a topic. However, in Keiichi's mind, her name went over in his head again and again, as if crying out to him in warning. His reason, his goal, and his driving force into completing this task overshadowed this warning, but it didn't take away the caution he would have upon returning to Hinamizawa. He learned from his past mistakes, but for now the task that he strove to complete for them, something that would seal their meaning in Hinamizawa forever, took priority.

*Mi-chan…stay strong. I'll be back soon, I promise…*


The journey is hard and long

But what waits at the end of the golden road?

And what consequences do we face to have our wishes granted?

Can love prevail or will something evil triumph?

These questions can only be answered by those who can see love.

Next time on Hinamizawa Hell, "Revealing Demons" Arc: Ch. 7: Falling Angel

Can you believe in this?