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Return to Hinamizawa III – Inheritance Chapter

narrated by Fujiura Saki

Today you still suffer from the many, O man set apart:
today you still have your courage whole and your hopes.

But one day solitude will make you weary,
one day your pride will bend and your courage break.
One day you will cry: "I am alone!"

There are emotions that seek to kill the solitary;
if they do not succeed, well, they must die themselves!
But are you capable of being a murderer?

1
The Day We Caught the Rain

Finally! I thought we'd never get to the end of that. I don't know why Aunt Shion has to go on for so long about her feelings; she's only an old woman. This, on the other hand, will be a story well worth listening to. Because this is my story.

Let's start on the Monday, the day after Watanagashi. I arrived at school in my usual fashion, bursting with energy and brimming over with ideas for tricks to play on the new girl, Miaka-senpai. It's such fun to have a new girl in school, especially in the middle of the year when we weren't expecting it. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy taking Kotone down a peg or two, or paying Kizuna back for those – those things she puts down my dress sometimes. But they've been with our group long enough to know what to look out for now.

Besides, the club games are a lot more fun now with six of us. And I think Akito-senpai may have taken a liking to her. I've certainly caught him glancing in her direction more than a few times. It's so cute how he thinks I won't notice if he looks away again quickly enough. I'm not that stupid. It's a pity that she's only staying for another two weeks; it would make things interesting if she was around long enough to become a love interest. As it is, I guess Akito and Naoya will just have to fight over me when I'm a bit older. Not that I wouldn't like that, but – those two are such a funny pair, it would be a real shame to see them fall out.

Anyway, getting back to school. I arrived exactly on time, as usual; what's the point in being early and then having to wait around? Just as the nine o'clock bell sounded, I threw the door open with a loud bang. That's my way of letting Aunt Shion and the others know I've arrived. Everyone looked round. Akito just grunted, as if he'd been hoping I wouldn't show up. Naoya was staring into the distance, lost in thought; I'm not sure if he even noticed me. Miaka was pleased to see me, of course; as we're the only two big girls in the group, we've naturally become very close.

As for Kotone and Kizuna, well, I'm almost like a big sister to them. Ever since Akito inducted them both into the club, I've taken responsibility for bringing them up in the ways of mischief. Not that Kizuna ever needed much persuading; she has a natural mischievous streak a mile wide, and I have to keep a careful eye on her. She has a powerful weapon that I never had – she's so cute that adults always want to believe the best of her. They fool themselves into thinking she couldn't possibly be up to anything, and I'm usually the one who takes the blame.

Kotone, on the other hand, was a harder nut to crack. You look at her now, all sweet and smiling everywhere she goes, and you wouldn't believe how shy she was when she first joined the club. She used to cling to Akito like he was her shield against the world. It took a lot of prodding to get her to stand out of his shadow and open up to the rest of us, even a little bit. She's never opened up completely. Except maybe to Kizuna, I don't know. I just know that when I look at her, I have no idea what's going on on the inside, how she feels about me or the club or her own family. Her smile has become a new shield, in a way. It doesn't matter, though. She's one of us now.

Monday was a good day. Aunt Shion was exhausted after the Watanagashi festival, so we spent most of the day doing fun things like painting and modelling, anything that would let Shion give us our instructions and then catch half an hour's sleep behind her desk. Akito took charge at keeping us out of mischief, which he's pretty good at. Aside from one heated moment when Kizuna took it into her head that she needed to go out and fetch some mud for her sculpture, the day passed without incident.

After school, we gathered round as we always did, to see what game Akito had in mind.

"All right," he said, clapping his hands to bring the meeting to order. "As you know, it was the Watanagashi festival yesterday. Kotone, as you came last in the eating contest, you have to wear Kichi's shrine maiden costume every day this week. But more importantly, I won no fewer than six prizes at the hoopla!" Akito beamed. "But I have enough toys already." Understatement of the century. "So, I've decided to give these prizes away – and that's today's game!"

We all tensed up as we waited for Akito's announcement. One thing was certain – this was going to be a game to remember.

"It's a treasure hunt!" he cried out. "I've hidden the six prizes at different places in the village, and made a trail of clues leading to each one. The first clues for each trail are here." He took six identical envelopes from his bag. "We'll do this in pairs, and I can't take part when I set the clues, so we need one more person. Kichi, will you ask Eiko-chan to step over?"

Kizuna nodded, and ran to fetch Eiko. She is the daughter of Tomita Daiki, one of Mother and Rika's friends from their school days. As she's only six, she isn't an official club member yet, but she joins in the games when we need an extra person. She'll most likely be a candidate for full membership when the next school year starts in April. Sooner or later, we'll need new blood to replace Akito and Naoya when it's time for them to graduate – which is also when I'll be taking over as club leader. I already have a few ideas about how I'm going to run things.

Anyway, Eiko was just on her way out the door with her friend Ryouko when Kizuna stopped her. She ran over to us, waving a hasty goodbye to Ryouko, and beamed up at Akito like a little puppy waiting for a treat – that's how excited she always is when she gets to join in a game.

Akito had to explain the rules all over again.

"All right," said Naoya, getting out the pack of cards. "Shall we cut for partners?"

"No, we all know how that would end," said Akito. He took out six cards, shuffled them, and spread them out face down. "Take one each, and whoever has the same suit is your partner."

Kotone was the first to call out. "Diamonds! Who's got a diamond?"

She looked hopefully towards Kizuna – but it was Naoya who responded. Well, well. That was an interesting pairing: the shy girl and the quiet boy. It would be rather funny to listen to the two of them discussing the clues. I wished I could have followed them with a video camera – but I had to look for my own partner. My card was the four of spades, and peering round at the others' cards confirmed that I was with Miaka. Excellent. I've got nothing against the younger kids, but a village-wide treasure hunt like this is much more fun when you don't have to babysit.

"That means you're with me," said Kizuna, taking Eiko's hand. "This is going to be fun!"

"On the count of three, team leaders choose one envelope and go," said Akito. "The other three envelopes will stay in the classroom. Once you find your first treasure, you can come back here and take another one!"

We all nodded and stood round the table in a circle, in tense anticipation.

"One, two, three!"

Naoya, Kizuna and I all dived towards the envelopes, so rapidly that the remaining three fluttered up in the air and glided to the floor. I grabbed the first envelope I could get hold of, and nodded to Miaka. We ran outside and stopped in the shadow of the building to open our first clue.

A sweet wrapper and an acorn.

Miaka took the wrapper and gazed at it in bewilderment, turning it over and over as if she expected to find some kind of secret message written on it in tiny characters.

I laughed.

"What's so funny?" said Miaka, sounding a bit hurt.

"Admit it, senpai, you'd be lost without me."

"All right, I'd be lost without you." The beautiful redhead huffed. "I've only been in Hinamizawa for two weeks, and you've lived here all your life. So, go on, what does it mean?"

"This wrapper is from Satou's sweet shop, and the acorn comes from an oak, of course. Let's go to the shop and see if we can find an oak tree nearby!"

"Okay!"

We grinned and high-fived, then ran off together. Miaka has just the same go-getting attitude as me; it's no wonder we get on so well. She's an amazing runner, but I was so thrilled about the game that I very nearly kept pace with her. Each time I was about to draw close, though, she tilted her head towards me, laughed, and picked up speed. By the time we reached Satou's sweet shop, I was just about ready to collapse. Damn Miaka! I'll have to find a way to pay her back.

The old widow woman who owns the shop greeted us both with a friendly smile.

"Well, if it isn't young Saki-chan. And who's your friend? What can I get for you today?"

"Sorry, we're not here for sweets, Satou-san," I said. "We're looking for an oak tree."

She blinked. "An oak tree? There must be many of them around. But I can't help you with that; I'm too old to take part in these treasure hunts of yours."

"Is there an oak tree by your shop? You must know, Satou-san!"

"Saki-chan," Miaka said quietly. "You could look, instead of asking. It's right there."

She pointed through the window at a huge tree that stood just outside the shop.

"Oh," I said. "Is that an oak?"

Miaka laughed. "You don't know how to tell different types of trees?"

"Well..."

She prodded me gently. "Admit it, Saki, you'd be lost without me!"

I ignored her, and lifted my head and sauntered off to examine the tree. This was the one, there was no doubt about it. I walked round the back of the tree, and almost at once found the little hollow in which the second envelope had been placed. I tore it open.

"This is one of those balls of cotton from the festival," said Miaka. "Does that mean that one person didn't get their sins washed away?"

"Nah, I'm sure Akito just took a spare piece," I said. "What else is in the envelope?"

Miaka felt around and drew out a straight, very thin stick.

I looked it over carefully. "Huh, that's a cat treat," I said. "Akito is making the clues really easy – well, I suppose he has to when Eiko's taking part." I waved the stick in front of Miaka's eyes. "Come on, senpai, even you can get this one, can't you?"

"I sure can," said Miaka. "Let's go!"

Satou stood watching us from the side door. "You girls and your energy," she said as we raced off. "It does my old heart good to see you."

The Furude Shrine stood on the edge of the village, and by the time we got there, I had given up even trying to keep pace with Miaka. I would have to find some way to pay her back.

Rin was waiting in the courtyard, as cute and beautiful as ever; even my excitement about finding the next clue didn't stop me sitting down and throwing my arms around her and nestling my face close to hers as I tenderly stroked her soft black fur. Miaka just touched her gently and said "Hello, Rin-chan," and took our third clue out from under her water bowl.

Before we could open the envelope, however, a shadow fell over us, and I looked up to see Rika – the village priestess and Kizuna's mother – waddling towards us.

"Good afternoon, Saki-chan, Miaka-chan," she said. "Kizuna isn't with you?"

"No, we've split into teams," I said.

"Ah well. I'm sure she's having a good time. Akito-kun always organises such fun games. Would you two like to come in and have some tea?"

"Sorry, but we're in a hurry," I said quickly, before Miaka could say anything. "It's a treasure hunt, you see – Akito has hidden clues for us to find, all round the village."

"Ah, so that's what it's about!" Rika laughed. "I saw Akito prowling around the shrine at midnight last night, but I didn't want to let him know I'd seen him, in case he felt embarrassed."

"But what were you doing, still awake at that time?" I said.

"Oh, nothing." Rika suddenly looked a little embarrassed herself. "I just couldn't sleep. You know how it is, sometimes. It's so tiresome having to wait..." She sighed and patted her bulge.

"It must be very exciting for you," said Miaka. "Will it be a boy or a girl?"

A wry smile played over Rika's face. "I chose not to find out," she said. "You know me – if I knew which it would be, then I'd want the opposite, just to say 'screw destiny!' "

Miaka laughed with her. "It's good to see you again, Rika-sama."

"And you. I'm very glad to see you've settled in so well. You're looking very cheerful."

Miaka bowed. "Everyone's been really friendly." She placed an affectionate hand on my shoulder. "But we really should be going."

"Of course – you have to enjoy your games while the sun shines," said Rika. "Be careful, though. I think there's a storm coming."

I snorted. "Huh, what are you talking about?" It was a bright, stiflingly hot day; there was barely a cloud in sight.

"You may not see them, but the clouds are gathering all the same," said Rika. "Please take care, both of you – and especially you, Saki-chan."

"Huh! I'm old enough to look after myself!"

She bowed. "I know you are. Your mother's very proud of you."

We said our goodbyes and hurried away; I was impatient to examine the next clue. As soon as we were outside the shrine precinct, we stopped to open the envelope.

It contained a padlock and a paintbrush.

Miaka and I stood together for a moment in silence.

"Well?" she said at last. "I thought you would get this one at once."

"Trust Akito to give us a tricky one after fooling us with all those easy ones earlier," I said. "Wait, don't tell me you've got it, senpai!"

Miaka chuckled. You know, I like her a lot, but I have to say that when she laughs, it is the most annoying sound. She sounds like a creaky old CD player.

I stamped my foot. "Miaka! Tell me!"

"And I thought you were the resident clue-solving genius..."

I bit into my lip. This would definitely have to be repaid later. "All right, all right, I give up. So tell me what it means, O wise one."

Miaka grinned. "Nah, I don't know either."

"Miaka!" I howled. And I'm sure it could be heard halfway across the village. Not that I mind. Everyone here knows me and likes me.

"All right, let's look at what we've got," she said. "Going by the pattern of the clues so far, one object is a hint to the general location, and the other tells us where specifically to look when we get there."

"Yes, and so?"

Miaka held out the two objects. "Well, does this padlock suggest a location to you?"

I took it and looked it over. "It's just an ordinary padlock. For locking a shed or a gate or something like that. Not the Saiguden – that has a much bigger lock, and Akito wouldn't put the next clue so close to the last one. If it's a house shed, it could be anywhere in the village."

Miaka nodded. "So maybe the paintbrush is the clue to the general location."

"An art shop? The nearest one's in Okinomiya."

"Perhaps there's a painter living in the village?"

I screwed up my face. "I can't think of anyone."

Miaka frowned. "I'm stuck, then."

"Wait!" I said. "I'll phone Naoya. He knows all the adults. I bet he'd know."

"Naoya?" Miaka blinked. "But he's on another team."

"Yeah, but I know just how to get round him. You'll see."

I took my phone out – but Miaka grabbed hold of it.

"Wait," she said. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"Offer them a clue exchange. We'll tell them ours if they tell us theirs. Then, when they try to poach our clue, we follow them, and they'll lead us straight to it!"

"Saki-chan..."

"What? This game's getting boring anyway. Not enough interaction."

I snatched the phone back from her and typed Naoya's number, swivelling round as I did to keep the phone away from Miaka's prying hands.

"Hey there!" I called out as soon as I got through.

"Saki-chan? What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to know how you're getting on with your clue."

"I don't see that that's any of your business."

"Aww, Naoya-kun!" I scowled, even though I knew he couldn't see me. "Do you want me to be unhappy?"

"If it'll keep you quiet, then maybe it's not such a bad thing."

I refused to rise to his baiting. "If you're stuck, then maybe I can help you..."

He chuckled. "I'll pass. Kotone-chan's all the help I need."

"Can I talk to her?" I said casually.

"Sure, but don't be too long, we've got a prize to find, remember."

I glowered at him through the phone. And then moulded my face into a perfect little smile to be ready for Kotone.

"Hi there, Saki-chan!" she called out, cheerful as always.

"Hey there," I said. "Naoya tells me you've been solving all his clues for him? I never knew you were such a genius!"

Kotone's still at that age where you can get anywhere with a little flattery.

"Um... they weren't very hard clues," she said.

"I bet that's not true," I said. "Come on, tell me about some of them."

"Well, our last clue was one of those badges that Irie-sensei gives me when I've been a good girl, so that was easy," she said. "Before that –"

"Don't tell her any more," Naoya's voice cut in. "All right, Saki-chan, that's enough trying to wheedle information out of us. You have to learn to accept defeat sometimes."

"Aww, come on!" I said. "You can at least tell me if you know anyone who's a painter..."

Beep. The call was disconnected. I looked round at Miaka and grinned.

"Well?" she said. "That didn't sound like much of a success."

"That's just what I want them to think," I retorted. "I've got them just where I want them now. They know our clue and we don't know theirs, so they'll try to steal ours first. And their last clue was at the clinic, so we know where they're coming from. Shouldn't be hard to find them!"

Miaka nodded, and we set off at a run. It didn't take us long to reach the clinic – or rather, the last houses before the road leading to the clinic, where we stopped. There was no sign of them.

"Now what?" said Miaka.

"Let's head north. We've just come from the shrine, so it only makes sense the next clue would be close to the north side of the village."

And indeed, a few minutes later we caught sight of Kotone's unmistakable green ponytail swishing behind her. I nodded to Miaka, and we went into stealth mode, creeping forward silently.

Naoya and Kotone soon went into the grounds of one of the houses – an impressively large one, looking quite modern and well-kept, with gleaming white walls and long sloping roofs.

"Who lives here?" Miaka whispered.

I screwed up my face as though this would squeeze the information out of my memory.

"Maihara or something like that. One of Naoya's father's friends."

Naoya and Kotone had gone straight up to the front door and rung the bell. Well, Naoya is getting to the age when people expect him to be more sensible; and a friend of his father might not be too happy to catch him prowling around his garden without announcing himself first. But the clue certainly wouldn't be hidden inside the house, so this was the perfect chance to get ahead of them. I crept round the hedge, silent and invisible, and worked my way around the shed.

Got it! There was a loose brick with a cavity behind it. This had to be the hiding-place. I slithered my hand inside –

– and then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kotone, not even trying to be inconspicuous, though her green hair and bright red shrine maiden's garb put her at a sizable disadvantage.

"What are you doing here?" I said. "Go and find your own clue!"

She gave me a disarmingly sweet smile. "How do you know our clue doesn't lead here?"

I wasn't fooled for a second. "Miaka!" I called out. "Get her!"

Miaka jumped out from where she had been hiding in the hedge. Kotone took one look at her and ran off. Unfortunately for her, the garden was not large (most of the space had been given to enlarging the house), and there was nowhere for her to go except right past me. I leapt onto her and tackled her to the ground.

"Got you!" I crowed. "Now, it's two against one. As penalty for trying to poach our clue, you have to surrender yours."

Kotone was still smiling. I wasn't actually going to hurt her; and if I had managed to score a victory, she would just save it up and try to find a way to pay me back later. As we always did.

"Here you go." She took an envelope from her pocket and handed it over. "Can I go now?"

I got off her and let her get to her feet, which she did with a quiet dignity. She smiled at me, and then started to walk off. I frowned. Something wasn't right. Was this all a ploy to distract us while Naoya took our clue? But he was talking with Maihara or whatever his name was, and the old man wasn't going to let him go without a cup of tea at the very least. Still, just to reassure myself, I had to make sure the clue was still there. I felt again in the cavity in the wall. It was gone.

I swivelled round, but Kotone had gone, leaving the garden gate swinging behind her.

"No!" I cried. I couldn't believe this. It wasn't just that I'd been tricked; what really hurt was that I couldn't even see how it had been done. Kotone hadn't been anywhere near the hiding-place, and Naoya was stuck inside the house...

Then I had to slap myself in the face for being so stupid. Kizuna, of course. Kotone and Kizuna would always help each other out, even when they were on different teams!

There was nothing for it now but to admit we'd lost this round. But we could still win the game! I now had the clue Kotone had given me. But she and Naoya had probably worked out at least the general location before I phoned them. So, it made sense that she was headed there now. The clue they'd stolen from us would wait - Kotone knew that I'd not had time to look at it.

"Come on, Miaka!" I called out. "We've got to catch Kotone!" And after all, if there's one thing Kotone can't do, it's run. She would stand no chance against us, especially in her ceremonial outfit that just isn't designed for fast running.

And so, yet again, we were running through the village streets, with Miaka effortlessly outpacing me. And each time I struggled to catch my breath, I filed it as one more injury that I would have to pay Miaka back for. Kotone had a good head start on us, but we soon had her in sight. We would catch her.

And then I felt something touch my skin. Was that a drop of rain? I came to a stop and looked up. How had I not noticed it growing darker? It had gone from a bright afternoon to as dark as night in a few minutes. There was an odd stillness – the usual sounds of the village had died away, and were replaced by the shrill whistling of the wind through the trees on the hillside. The rain came down, faster and faster. The road was uneven, and puddles formed very quickly, and drops landed in them with a monotonous drumbeat.

Miaka slid to a halt next to me. "We're going to get soaked," she said. "Let's forget Kotone and get under shelter."

"Good idea," I said at once.

"Where shall we go? Your house?"

The wind seemed to wrap itself around me in an icy blanket.

"I know somewhere that's closer. Follow me!"

Author's Note

I'm back! And very excited to be updating again. Though I must explain, life is still very difficult for me at the moment, and updates will be slow for a while.

However, I haven't neglected RTH completely while I've been away. I'm now up to Part IV Chapter 10 in the draft, which is the furthest ahead I've ever been. It's a little tricky to flip back and forth between the two parts – but it does have the benefit that now, as I return to the beginning of Part III, I know exactly how the arc will play out, which hopefully will help to make it more coherent and require less revision later. (Also, Saki is enormous fun to write.)

I should warn you that this arc gets very dark later on, even by Higurashi standards. That wasn't part of my original intention. During the first draft of this arc, I reached a block at one point, and sorting out the chronology of how Part III relates to Part II led to a sequence of events I hadn't expected. Nevertheless, once I reached that point, I realised that those were the right events, "what really happened", as Tolkien would put it. I don't like making my characters suffer, but sometimes it's what I have to do.

Hope you enjoy the arc, and please leave me a review!