Hello there. I should have started writing this yesterday, but I was on a sailing trip during school and stuff. Actually, I got out at normal time, but I woke up early and was so tired that I pretty much collapsed as soon as I got home. The sailing trip was epic win, by the way. Except for the part where we sat in the park for two hours.
School is pretty much over. We're going to see a movie on Monday and then on Tuesday we have to go to the graduation, even though I'm not graduating. Oh well, at least there's no more homework or tests!
~34~
~~~~X~~~~
Seven figures ran through the woods, dashing as fast as they could. They tried to avoid the trees that blocked their path as they ran about faster than any one of them had done before. The one in front of the group looked behind at the others, making sure that they were all there and that none of them had been left behind. Every one of them seemed determined to get home as fast as they could after witnessing such a horrid battle.
"Where are we going?" cried Satoko as she ducked under a low branch. "Are we going home?"
Keiichi nodded. "Yeah, we're going to go back to Hinamizawa for now, I think," he spoke, "some of us need to rest for a little bit." He glanced behind him at Rena, who was stumbling behind them all, clutching her wounds.
Rena was finding it hard to stand after losing so much blood. She was by far the one most injured by the battle they had had a few minutes before. Her dress was stained by crimson and her arms were littered with scars created by Mion's scratching and slashing. Her vision was slowly growing blurry as she stumbled forward, trying to stay on her two legs.
"Wait for Rena, everyone!" cried Rika as she halted in place. She whipped around so that she could get a good view of the injured orange-haired girl behind her, feeling worried about her injuries. It was possible that she couldn't even walk to Hinamizawa on her own two legs. "She's really hurt!"
Everyone halted at once and turned around to take a good look at Rena, who was now kneeling on the floor, breathing heavily as she did so. "My vision is so blurry, blurry," she spoke as she looked up at the others. "Is that you, Shi-chan?"
Shion was standing directly in front of her, her eyes wide with fear. While Rena was the one who had received the most psychical damage, Shion was the one who would be scarred forever mentally. Seeing her twin sister in such a form and in a way so different from herself had shaken her mind up to the point where she could barely think anymore. She was looking at Rena's scars with fear, knowing that her twin sister was the cause of them.
Keiichi slowly walked up to her, kneeling down so that he was the same height as her. He glanced at her scars, wincing when he saw them. There were just so many of them. They looked exactly like the scars that Etsuko had when he had pulled up her sleeves. "Wow, Rena, are you all right?" he asked the girl, grabbing her arm gently so he could take a better look at the scars.
Rena nodded. "I… I think I'll be okay. I think I just need to rest for a few hours, though," she told the others, looking down at the wounds on her hands. "It would be nice if I could sleep until tomorrow…"
Keiichi gestured for the rest of the club to sit down, which they did. The figures formed a circle, everyone with their eyes around Rena. "I think we need to discuss what we're going to do right now," he spoke to everyone, causing his or her attention to shift to him. "We need to think a little about this situation."
Rika nodded at him in agreement. "I think so too," she said, looking up at the sky. Rain was still falling, and the sky was still a pitch-black. However, the crashes of lightning had ceased along with the roars of thunder, indicating that Mion had calmed just a little since they had left. "First of all, Mion seems to have calmed down. She was the one controlling all that lightning, and it's not happening anymore," she said, pointing up at the sky.
They all looked up, also noticing that the rain was not falling as heavily as before. "Yeah, I can see what you're saying," Ryota said as droplets of rain splattered against his face, rolling down off his soft skin and to the ground. "However, I think that because it's still raining, it means that Mion-san is still angry," he spoke.
Rika nodded. "Yeah, it wouldn't be like Mion to just suddenly calm down after turning into… that thing," she spoke, remembering the giant, green lynx with the teeth of a saber-toothed tiger. "At least it wasn't something worse," she mumbled to herself, remembering the demons she had seen in the book.
Satoko crossed her arms, looking about the group. "No matter what, I think that we shouldn't go back there today," she said, "besides, we're all worn out and we haven't slept in a forever. Rena-san probably needs some rest, too."
"Maybe Onee will calm down a little more, too," Shion muttered.
Rena looked about. "Would you really wait a little for me, for me?" she spoke, looking around at her friends. "R-Rena… needs to rest a little," she said, gesturing to her wounds, the amount of blood leaking out slowly decreasing. "After all, I've lost quite a bit of blood and I haven't slept in a while. It's still Watanagashi…"
Rika winced. It seemed like it had been years since they were at the Watanagashi festival, playing around at the stands and having eating competitions. Yet, it was still the same, dreaded day. She had hardly gotten any sleep the night before since she stayed up worrying about what was to happen to them. "I think we should go back and take a good rest," she agreed. "We can all sleep at my house to make things a little easier. We'll tend to Rena's wounds there."
Ryota titled his head to the side. "Why don't we just get a doctor? I'm afraid we might not be able to help her," he said, glancing over to the girl he liked. He hated seeing her in so much pain, and now feared for her life. There was no way he wanted to lose her.
"Like the director?" Satoko said, imagining herself being chased by Irie while he tried to convince her to wear a maid outfit for her.
"You mean the creepy guy who likes to make little girls wear maid outfits?" Ryota asked, recalling the faded memory of Irie.
Satoko nodded. "Yeah," she muttered, "that guy…"
Instantly, Rika shook her head. "No," she said to the others. "As much as I'd like to, I think that taking Rena to Irie-sensei would be a bad idea," she spoke. She used a single finger to point at Rena's scars. "You see those? Etsuko had the same ones, as Mion was the one who killed her. I told Akasaka Katashi to bring his dad over to her dead body, so Irie will probably be there to check it out as well to check the cause of death. If Rena appears with the same ones, he might ask Rena who caused those scars or something similar," she explained to them. "I want to avoid telling other people about Mion's true form."
They looked at each other, unsure if they should abandon the idea of getting professional help for Rena to protect Mion's secret. Then again, Rika's explanation made perfect sense to them. In the end, they decided to go with her idea and tend to Rena themselves. It would be hard for them to explain how Mion transformed into a demon cat and scratched them to death. Not only that, but they wouldn't really want to explain it in the first place.
"Then, it's decided. We'll go back to Rika's house and sleep there for the night. After that we'll come up with a new plan since the old one didn't work out," Keiichi said, looking around to make sure that everyone was listening to them. "Then, we'll execute that plan and we'll save Mion for sure!" he cried out.
All at once, all the club members nodded. They stuck their fists up in the air, raising them high. "Yeah!"
And so, the seven of them set off down the hills, supporting Rena's body as they did so. The rain was beginning to calm down a little, though the droplets were still heavy. They were all pretty much soaked by this point, but they knew that they had to carry on. They needed to get home. As they went along the way, each and every one of them thought about how they were going to turn Mion back to normal. The last plan, Keiichi confessing to Mion, was a complete failure. Mion was just too distracted by Rena to hear him.
Keiichi had to wonder if it was even possible to turn her back to normal. What if she would never turn to normal? What if she was doomed to forever remain in the form of a demonic lynx? Keiichi hated that thought. He'd still love her, of course, but he couldn't picture himself doing anything romantic with her. He couldn't really kiss her and they couldn't really go on dates if she was in that form. He could imagine snuggling with her, but he couldn't do anything else. He gulped, then wondering how the club would be. They couldn't play card games or board games when she was like that! It was impossible. She didn't have any hands!
Keiichi tried to push that thought out of his mind. Surely he'd turn Mion back to normal. Surely there was a way to do so.
…Right?
It took them a little while, but they managed to reach the house of Rika and Satoko without much trouble. Rika welcomed them inside. They all found the feeling of being inside after such a long time comforting. There were no more heavy drops of rain pounding on their heads. With a sigh, they all sat down at the table that was located near the kitchen for further planning.
"All right, let's talk this out a little," Rika spoke to the others. "There are two floors. The girls will sleep on the top floor, and Keiichi and Ryota have to sleep downstairs. At no time are the boys allowed upstairs or are the girls allowed downstairs. We'll let you know when we get dressed. Same for you, boys," she said, glancing from Ryota to Keiichi. "Now, I don't think I have enough futons for you all. I have one for me, one for Satoko, one for Rena, one for Shion… uh… Ryota was using one… and I don't have one for Keiichi."
Keiichi looked alarmed. "W-Wait a moment, does that mean I have to share a futon with someone?" he asked, looking around at the others.
Rika shook her head. "Ur… I'll share one with Satoko. Rena can use Satoko's," she said to the others. "If you don't mind, Satoko,"
Satoko glanced over at Rika. "No, I don't mind at all," she replied.
"Good. Then, are we all good?" she asked the others.
"No. What do we sleep in?" asked Shion.
Rika paused. She hadn't thought about that. There really wasn't much she could do at this point. After all, none of them really wanted to go running in the rain through that forest and back. "Uh, I'm sorry, but I guess you're going to have to sleep in what you're wearing right now, if that's okay with you guys," she murmured.
"Well, it was fine for me from the beginning," spoke Shion, "I was just worried about Rena, seeing as how her clothing is coated with blood and all that."
Rika looked over to Rena, who was soaked with both blood and rain. She winced at the sight, feeling bad that there wasn't much she could really do about her. "Rena, I think you should lie down in the futon right now," she said to her. "Shion, Satoko, if you could go to the bathroom and get the bandages, I would be really happy. Then, you should bandage her wounds up," she told them.
Shion and Satoko nodded before they both stood up and wandered over to the bathroom. Rika grinned as she turned back to the others. "I'll help you up the stairs, Rena. Ryota and Keiichi should just stay down here for now."
They both nodded as Rika took Rena's hand gently, guiding her up the stairs to her room. Rena had a little trouble walking up, but she didn't need so much help. She sat down in Satoko's futon and lay down, taking a deep breath out of relief. It had felt like a forever since she had lay down. She closed her eyes, basking in the joy of relaxing. Rika smiled, thankful that she'd be okay.
It wasn't much later when Satoko and Shion walked in with the bandages. "Just bandage any area that's bleeding," she instructed them. "If you'll excuse me for a little bit…"
Rika wandered over to the window in the wall and climbed up on the windowsill. She sat down on it, gazing at the moon through the thick, black clouds that were slowly disappearing. She let out a large sigh as she continued to stare at it, contemplating the events of that day as well as the nearby future. What could they possibly do to save Mion? She didn't quite know.
"Hanyuu," she whispered ever so quietly, "what do we do?"
The faded goddess shook her head, letting out a sigh. "I don't know, Rika," she said to her. "I honestly have no idea."
Rika shot her an annoyed glare. "But aren't you a goddess, Hanyuu? Shouldn't you know what to do you? You of all people should know!" she snapped at her, trying to be as quiet as possible. She gave a quick glance to Satoko and Shion to make sure that they hadn't heard her before returning her stern, angry gaze to Hanyuu.
Hanyuu let out a sigh. "Rika, you can't be so dependent on me," she told her. "I may be a goddess, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm no better than you are."
"B-But!" cried Rika.
"No!" Hanyuu said, instantly cutting off any of her protests and silencing her. "No, Rika. As I said before, you're being to dependent on me. You've always been a little too dependent on me, and now, I'm telling you that you have to decide what you're going to do for yourself. Of course I'll help, but," she spoke, looking away. "I… I don't think there's anything we can do to save her."
Rika looked alarmed, for a moment believing that her words true. "No, there's got to be a way! We'll certainly save Mion. We will, we have to!" she cried out to the goddess.
Then, she decided to cease conversation with her. It wasn't doing her any good, and she couldn't risk one of her friends noticing that she was having a conversation with someone who seemed to not be there. Letting out another sigh, she gazed up at the sky. The silver rays shined down on her, the black clouds parting away to reveal the glistening stars. She placed a hand gently on the windowpanes, gazing at the barely visible reflection in it.
"I wonder… I wonder if there really isn't a way," she whispered.
Satoko placed the bandages down on the ground with a sigh. She glanced over her friend, smiling at her. She was now calm, a smile on her face. Upon further inspection, she had discovered that her injuries weren't too bad and that she should be able to move around just fine after a few hours of rest (or so she supposed, anyways).
"Rika, it looks like she'll be fine!" she cried out to the girl in the windowsill.
Rika slid her body off of the window, blinking down at the orange-haired girl on the futon. She walked up to her, giving her a closer look. "Rena, are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked the girl.
"She'll be fine," Shion spoke up, "just give her a few hours of rest and it'll all be good."
Rika gave the girl an unsure look, but then decided to believe in Shion. It would be fine, wouldn't it? She just had to believe in everything for now. That was the key to success. She let out a small yawn as she walked away, sitting down on her futon. She craved wine, but she knew that it would be inappropriate to drink it with so many people around. She slowly burred her tiny figure under the soft blankets, snuggling into the pillow.
"We'll save Mion," she whispered to herself, "for sure, we'll save her."
~~~~X~~~~
Morning came slower than Rika had anticipated. Her friends had fallen asleep almost immediately, exhausted from having stayed up so late in the night without any sleep. Rika, on the other hand, stayed up late worrying and coming up with plans. She had come up with one thing, but she decided that it wasn't a really good plan and tossed that idea out the window almost instantly.
Shion, Rena, and Satoko were sound asleep, enjoying the warmth of their futons. She gave a quick glance to the clock, discovering that it was around ten AM. It was certainly time to wake them up. She slowly pushed herself out of the covers and staggered to her feet, then stretching her muscles. She let out a small yawn before she poked Satoko in the stomach.
"Five more minutes," mumbled a sleep Satoko from under the covers. She began to kick and shift uncomfortably, grumbling as she burred her face into her pillow.
Rika let out a large sigh as she poked Satoko once again. When she made no movement, she rolled her eyes and began to poke her over and over again until her whole body began to flail. "Satoko, we have to get up right now!" she cried out to the girl. "Satoko, get up right now! I really mean it, Satoko!"
Satoko shot up, giving Rika sleepy glance as she did so. She rubbed her purple eyes once before letting out a huge yawn, stretching her arms out as she did so. "What time is it, Rika?" she asked her in a tired voice. "I wanted to sleep a little more…"
"Ten in the morning," she answered her friend, "it's time to wake up. We have a friend to save and there's no time to waste."
After Satoko got out of bed, Rika crawled over to Shion and began to shake her body until her green eyes fluttered open. She gave Rika a tired look, but she didn't waste any time. She stretched her body and stood up on her two legs, knowing exactly why Rika had gotten up so early. It was now time for them to eat and plot their plans. Then, they'd have to go save Mion.
"I'll go cook some breakfast," Rika told her. "You go wake Rena up," she ordered the green-haired girl.
Shion nodded before she crawled over to Rena's futon. Giving them one last look, she began to descend down the stairs. Before she did so, however, she placed her hands to her mouth to form a cup around them. "Ryota, Keiichi!" she cried out to the two boys who were sleeping downstairs. "It's time for you guys to wake up!"
She heard some shifting from downstairs, and then she went down the rest of the steps. Ryota and Keiichi were sitting up in their futon, tired looks on both of their faces. Keiichi rubbed his eyes before he gave Rika a look, smiling a little through that exhausted face of his. Ryota was finding it hard to pull himself out of the comfort of the futon, but he eventually did.
"Hello, Rika," Keiichi greeted her.
"Hello, Keiichi," she said to him. "It's ten in the morning right now. I'm going to go make some eggs. I hope you like eggs," she said to him. "Ryota, please be ready soon. I know you're tired, but we have a friend to go save."
He nodded his head. "All right, just give me two minutes and I'll be ready," he mumbled as he pulled himself across the floor and to a cushion placed in front of the table. Rika grinned before she turned around to go upstairs and cook eggs for her waiting friends, knowing that she had to be quick. They could discuss while eating, but Rika was more worried about what Mion would be doing while she was out. What if she had invaded Hinamizawa? No, if she didn't, they would probably know already.
She yawned as she cracked an egg and poured its contents on to the frying pan, hearing a sizzle come out from the pan. She narrowed her eyes as she watched it carefully, murmuring a few things to herself as she did so. She then cracked another egg on a separate pan and waited for that one to cook all the way.
"Rika," whispered Hanyuu as she appeared next to her. "Do you think any of the others have come up with any ideas?" she asked her.
Rika shook her head. "Hopefully they have, but I don't think they have seeing as they fell asleep so quickly," she spoke as she took an egg off of the pan with a spatula before putting it on a plate. "We'll certainly come up with something, though. That's just the spirit of our club," she reassured the goddess.
"Au au," whispered Hanyuu before she disappeared, allowing Rika to finish cooking her eggs in peace.
Once she had finished cooking enough eggs for the seven of them, she took two plates in her hands and went downstairs, placing them on the table. She went back up and down with two more, and did this until each and every one of them had a plate in front of them. They were all seated at the table by this time.
"I decided to cook eggs, because they're really easy," she explained to the rest of them. "I hope you don't mind something so… Ur…"
Keiichi laughed. "Oh, it's all right. We need to discuss a few things right now," he said to her. "I don't mind a quick breakfast, even though I'm not a really big fan of eggs."
Rika nodded as she began to eat her eggs slowly, wincing a little at the taste. She herself was not a big fan, but she decided that she'd just deal with it and eat it as fast as she could. "So," she spoke after taking a gulp of her egg, "have you guys come up with any plans at all?" she asked them all.
Rena swallowed what with in her mouth and then shook her head. "No. I don't really know very much about demons and true forms and that kind of stuff you were explaining to us," she said to her. "I think it would be better if we had information on them. There's surely some place that says how to turn a demon back into their human form!"
Keiichi glanced over to Rika. "Don't you know anything about demons? You were the one who explained the whole true form thing to us before," he asked the blue-haired miko sitting across from him.
Rika looked behind her back, giving a glance to Hanyuu who sat behind her with a worried look on her face. "I think it would be a good idea to see if we could find any information," she said, speaking to the goddess behind her though loud enough so that the others could hear it. "I do know a little bit of information, but otherwise…"
"Well then, tell us all you know," Shion said before she went to picking at her egg, staring at it with disgusted eyes.
Rika let out a large sigh. "Well, there was a tale that used to be shared throughout all of Onifaguchi. However, in the last few years, it has been long forgotten amongst the people. This tale is called the Tale of Sonozaki Ayame," she explained to the club members.
"The Tale of Sonozaki Ayame," Shion repeated. "You know, Mion was telling me something about that earlier. She said that she'd tell it to me one day. Also, she mentioned it having to do with twins in the Sonozaki family," she said.
Rika nodded her head. "Yes, it has to do with twins, but we'll get to that part a little later. I won't tell you the whole thing, but I will summarize the tale as best as I can," she told the others.
"Is it really long?" Satoko asked while she still had a mouthful of egg. "Because it might be a little confusing if you don't tell the whole thing."
Ryota winced at Satoko's lack of table manners. "Er, I think it should be okay if she just explains it to us. We don't have very much time and who knows what Mion-san is doing in the woods all by herself. She could have killed some random wanderer for all we know!" he said.
"Yeah, it's a little long," she said. "So I'm just going to summarize."
Rika gave all the club members seated at the table a long glance to make sure that all of them were listening to her carefully. This could be the time where they came up with ideas and the part where they would finally be able to come up with a flawless plan to save their club leader from her horrifying true form, a part of her that they would rather not spend the rest of their lives staring at. Just as she was about to open her mouth, however, they heard someone knock on the door.
"Excuse me," murmured Rika as she stood up and walked over to the door. She slowly pulled it open, revealing a tall, masculine figure behind it. He was smiling down at her.
"Hello, Rika-chan," he greeted.
"Akasaka!" cried Rika, mostly out of surprise. She hadn't been expecting him to show up at this moment. For a few seconds, she considered the idea of getting him to help her with Mion. The idea of telling him was a risky one, but with adult help, they should be able to conquer Mion's true form and save her from a terrible fate. Besides, Akasaka was a very strong man and could surely give them a whole load of help with fighting or anything related that they might need to do. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"I heard about that girl who was killed," he said to her, "my son told me he showed you and that you told me to contact me. So, here I am."
Rika grinned. "I'm glad you're here, Akasaka! We have a huge issue on our hands and it has to do with the murder," she said. Then, for a few moments, she paused, looking up at him with a grim expression. "I know you're a police officer, but could you do me a huge favor and not tell anyone about what I say here? It might be a little… unbelievable. But I assure you that everything I tell you is true."
Akasaka gave her an unsure glance. "Well, I'm not sure if I can do that," he murmured.
Rika looked upset. "Well, Akasaka, you'll understand why you can't tell anyone when I tell you what happened. It'll all make sense to you. Then, you won't tell anyone. So will you do me a huge favor and sit down with us?" she requested, pointing to the table where everyone was busy finishing up their breakfast.
He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, I guess I can, if it's you…"
He went inside the house and took a seat at the table, gazing at all the club members. He was surprised when he didn't see Sonozaki Mion, their club leader, sitting with them, but he didn't make any comments. Surely Rika would explain everything to her including her absence from the group. He settled down and watched as the others finished up their breakfast (save for Shion, who spent the whole time poking at her eggs). When they were done, Rika pushed her plate to the side and smiled up at him.
"Well, I guess I have to explain everything to you first, then?" she spoke.
Akasaka nodded. "That would be nice."
"All right then," she spoke, "it goes a little like this…"
Rika opened her mouth and began to explain everything to Akasaka. She told him all about how Etsuko had tricked Mion into believing that she and Rena were in love with Keiichi, she told him all about why Etsuko had bothered doing this in the first place including the incident from seven years ago, she told him all about how Mion grew jealous slowly, she told him all about how she had finally killed her, and she told him all about how she was now looking for Rena and about her transformation into her true form. Akasaka gasped at all the right places, surprised that something like demons actually existed and that Sonozaki Mion herself was one.
"…And that's the problem here, Akasaka. We need to turn Mion back to normal so that we can play with her again, but," she looked a little sad, "we tried to get Keiichi to confess his feelings to her, but that didn't work. She was too distracted by Rena to listen to what he was saying to her."
Akasaka crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Hm… well it would help if I knew a little more about this whole true form thing…" he murmured.
Rika grinned. "Well, I was about to explain The Tale of Sonozaki Ayame to everyone in this room when you walked it. It's an old story of Onifaguchi that used to be famous around the villagers. No one knows about it now, know. It has a lot to do with demons and true forms as well as the Sonozaki family. I'm not telling you guys the whole thing, though," she said. "It's much to long for that. However, I am going to summarize everything you need to know."
He nodded. "All right, would you begin, then?" he requested.
"All right. Beginning, now," she said. Rika took a deep breathing, knowing that she'd have a lot to explain if she were to include all the important details. "A long, long time ago, there was an evil demon named Madoka. She was a very bad demon who had claws and fangs. She had been terrorizing Onifaguchi for months, killing off human after human. The leader of the village, Kimiyoshi Toshi, was not a very good leader. He forced a bunch of men against their will to keep watch for the demon and fight her when she appeared. Many men could not fight, and as such, they were killed in seconds," she began to explain.
"Now, there was a young woman named Sonozaki Ayame at that time. She was the heiress of the Sonozaki family, and her father, Sonozaki Takeshi, was the current head. At this time, the Sonozaki family was looked down upon by the Furude family and the Kimiyoshi family as the weakest of the three great families. So one day, Sonozaki Takeshi got a great idea. He'd go off and slay Madoka and give the Sonozaki family the pride they needed so badly," she spoke, going over her words in her head to make sure that she didn't leave a single detail out.
"However, his attempts failed. Madoka soon returned, causing Ayame some great panic. She informed her identical twin sister, Sonozaki Hana, that she was going to finish up her father's work. She went up the hills with a single weapon, a knife, and searched the area for Madoka. When she ran into her, she attacked her. However, she soon discovered that the girl was not Madoka at all. She was Sayuri, Madoka's identical twin sister. There, she told her all about Madoka as well as true forms. At the end of her explanation, she offered to let Ayame absorb her and become a demon to give her the strength she needed to slay Madoka, something that she had wanted to do herself for ages. She accepted, and thus, became a demon. Sayuri told her something, however. There wouldn't be another demon in the Sonozaki family unless there was a pair of twins born. If there were, then one of them would not be human, but a demon." Rika spoke. She took a deep breath, knowing that she hadn't even finished half of the story.
"Madoka was surprised when she met face to face with Ayame, discovering that she had become a demon. She was a little shocked at first, but that did not let her down. Ayame had a new strength now, and she found it easy to keep up with Madoka's demonic strength and her attacks. However, Madoka grew angry. She suddenly transformed into her true form, a mix of many animals. However, this did not last long. Ayame soon managed to cut her head off using her father's katana as well as Madoka's katana, which was said to contain the spirits of a thousand demons. She was the victor. She returned to Onifaguchi, where she was crowned a hero. She had finally given the Sonozaki family the respect it craved for."
Keiichi tilted his head to the side. "Wait a moment, is that it?" he asked her. "I didn't really see too much about true forms and transformation there. Surely there's something else," he spoke.
Rika nodded. "Yes, there is a second part to this tale. I will tell you that now," she spoke to the others. "You see, fifteen years later, she was living a life of luxury in the newfound pride of the Sonozaki family. She had had a daughter with her husband a few years ago, and named her Sonozaki Rion. She made sure she raised her daughter to fight well and all that stuff to make sure she was fit for the new, strong Sonozaki family. However, Sonozaki Hana was not like her sister. She spent her whole life being lazy and took up the hobby of cooking, something she enjoyed. Sonozaki Ayame ran into Kimiyoshi Toshi one day, telling him that everyone in the Sonozaki family was strong and a good fighter. She was challenged and told to bring Sonozaki Hana into the Kimiyoshi Manor to fight in front of his eyes," she explained to the people.
"Sonozaki Rion tried to help her, and soon Sonozaki Hana managed to gain some skill, but not enough. She failed to impress Kimiyoshi Toshi, leaving Sonozaki Ayame enraged. When she got home, she became so upset with the destruction of the pride of the Sonozaki family; she killed her husband and her sister. Sonozaki Rion walked in on this mess, and became afraid of her mother. Ayame came to her senses and held her daughter in her arms. Then, she explained the whole story to her, about how she was a demon and how her demonic side had taken over her and killed the two. She then ordered her daughter to kill her, which she did. Sonozaki Rion promised that she'd never allow a pair of twins to be born into the Sonozaki family, creating the rule," she said to them.
"…And that's how it ends," she finished. Her breaths were heavy and she found that her mouth was a little dry from talking so much. She took a deep breath, relieved that she had finished.
"What did Sayuri tell Ayame about the true forms?" Keiichi asked her curiously. "That could have some information…"
Rika let out a sigh before she explained the whole of Sayuri and Sonozaki Ayame's conversation to the rest of them, which was chock full of information on true forms. Their eyes were wide throughout the whole telling of the tale, knowing that all this information also applied to their dear leader.
"Hold on a moment!" cried Keiichi, "doesn't that mean that we have to…?"
Rika shook her head. "I'm sure there's some other way. And I'm sure you guys have ideas now, so let's discuss."
And so, the club members discussed, and discussed, and discussed. Each and every idea that came up within the first hour or so had holes, and they had to shoot them down. However, that didn't mean they were totally terrible ideas. They used those ideas to come to one, big idea. There was some yelling and arguing when the idea was brought up, and tons of panic, but every one of them realized something.
They may have not liked the idea, but on the inside, they knew, it was the only way.
"I'm not going to do it!" cried one club member, "no way, no way am I going to do it!"
"Listen, I don't want to either!" cried another club member, "but it's the decision we have come to. It's the only way we can!"
A club member nodded. "She is… right…"
With a large sigh, one of the club members looked about the table. "Have we come to a decision?" she asked them all.
Slowly, they all nodded.
"All right, then. Let's move."
And so, finally, the club members decided on what they were to do.
And unfortunately, it wasn't the plan they wanted.
But in the end, they all knew.
It was the only way.
~~~~X~~~~
Mion prowled about the forest of Hinamizawa, finding that there wasn't much to do. She lashed her tail against a tree, causing the tree to fall down to the ground, crashing into another one in the process. She let out a growl as she felt a branch prick her paw. "Damn," she hissed as she flicked the branch away, sending it flying over the forest. She glanced up at the sun, narrowing her green eyes as she felt the bright rays hit them.
She wasn't exactly sure where she was anymore. She had passed the camping ground and was now somewhere on the descent down the mountain, but she wasn't sure otherwise. She grumbled as she smacked into a tree, tempted to knock that one down as swell. However, she decided to ignore it as she continued on her pursuit for the one person who was screwing her life up.
"Where are you, Rena?" the giant demon hissed as she wandered about the forest. "When I get my paws on you, I will surely kill you…"
She suddenly halted as she heard chatting coming from nearby. She bent down low to the ground and crawled forward, narrowing her eyes. Nearby were two policemen, chatting to each other.
"How do you think she died?" one of the policemen spoke.
"Maybe with a knife?" suggested the other policeman.
The previous policeman sighed. "I don't know. They must have had a lot of knifes to make five perfectly straight lines like that," he spoke. "Though I guess that a knife is possible. Maybe a weapon with a larger blade. Although those were scars from a long time ago and probably not what killed her. I wonder how they opened her chest up like that?"
"This is a very confusing case. Don't you think so, too? I wonder who was sick and twisted enough to rip a girl's heart right out and throw it against a tree," sighed one of the policemen, placing his hands on his hips as he gazed up at the sky.
"I know," sighed the other, "people these days, huh?"
Mion felt a little annoyed that someone had found out about Etsuko, but it was bound to happen, right? She felt a little bothered by the policeman's words, as well. They were calling her sick and twisted? No way was she sick and twisted! She was just punishing pests that deserved punishment! She couldn't help but let out a growl, something that caused the policemen to turn around and look at the trees.
"Uh... do you see that, Tanaka-san?" spoke one of the policeman as he pointed at Mion's glowing, green eyes. "They look kind of like eyes but… they don't have any pupils."
The policeman nodded. "Uh… yeah. I see that, Sato… maybe I should take a closer look?" he said.
"You do that," the other police officer spoke.
The policeman nodded as he began to walk towards Mion. Mion, however, stood her ground. If they found her, she could just kill them without any problems. The policeman rubbed the back of his head as he walked forward, then bumping into Mion's furry figure. He gasped as he looked at her, his eyes wide as he realized that the thing he had bumped into was certainly not a human at all.
"My gosh, Sato! It's a gigantic cat with horns and freaky teeth!" he cried out.
The other policeman laughed. "Oh Tanaka, what are you on this time? Giant cats with horns and giant fangs? Yeah right," he laughed once again, clutching his chest to control his hysterical laughter. "Oh boy, what a sight that must be! Ohoho!"
"But I'm serious!" cried the policeman as he stared into those evil, glowing eyes which were now looking very angry. "There's a demon lynx here! Take a look for yourself!" he yelled out as he pointed towards a disturbed Mion.
Annoyed, Mion raised her paw high in the air with her claws unsheathed before she brought it down on the policeman's side, skewering him. She held up his punctured body before throwing it at the unsuspecting policeman. It hit him directly, knocking him over.
"Man, Tanaka, what was tha-" he began to speak before realizing that blood was flowing onto him. He gulped and threw the dead body off of him, his eyes wide. "Oh my god, there really is a demon cat!" he cried out as he stood up on two feet, staring right into Mion's eyes. He took a few steps backwards, looking from his dead companion to the demon with scared eyes.
"Nice demon kitty," he said as he backed up, "don't kill me, don't kill me…"
Mion stared at him, but said nothing. Blood was still dripping from her claws and forming a red puddle beneath her.
"Yes yes, good boy…" the policeman said.
Mion felt anger rise up inside of her. Did that policeman just call her male? She let out a large roar to show how angry she was, not used to being mistaken for the opposite gender. There was no way that the policeman would know when she was in that form. He let out a shriek and jumped up in the air, his hair blown back by the roar.
"Ah! I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" he asked. "Man, he's an angry one all right!" he commented to himself as he glanced back behind his shoulder, ready to run for his life.
Annoyed, Mion ran forward and lunged for the surprised man, who promptly turned around and ran for his life. Mion let out large roars as she opened her mouth, readying her giant fangs for the kill. The man looked back behind his shoulder, his eyes wider than flying saucers as he continued to run as fast as he could. "W-What the heck is that thing! I've never seen anything like him before in my entire life!"
Mion swiped her claws and managed to scratch his back open, causing him to scream out in pain. He cried out as he fell to the ground, unable to stand up. Then, just before Mion brought her claws down on the guy, she said, "I'm a girl."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" the policeman cried out as he looked up upon the bloody claws that she held above him, threatening to puncture his body. Then, the realization dawned on him. "Oh hell, did she just talk?"
Mion growled as she stabbed her paw downward, sending blood splattering across as the man let out a dying shriek. She picked up the dead body in her mouth before she tossed it to the side, not caring one bit about the life she had just taken. With a sigh, she looked about the area, deciding what she should do next.
"Damn, I guess I'll just have to keep looking for Rena," she murmured.
She ran down the mountains until she reached the forest just outside Hinamizawa. She began to look around, wondering to herself if they had decided to hide from her and go home. She growled, annoyed at the very idea of that thought. There was no way she could just run into Hinamizawa in the daylight and try to murder someone. Surely just the very sight of her would surprise them.
Unbeknownst to her, from behind a tree, Rena, Ryota, and Rika were watching her with wide eyes.
"Do you see that?" Ryota said, pointing to her claws. "They're covered in blood!"
Rika felt her heart sink to her stomach. Who had she killed this time? Hopefully it wasn't someone important to them. "Man, we leave her for a day and she goes off and kills someone else," she murmured. "Luckily, it'll all be over once we finish this plan."
Rena nodded, pulling out a walkie-talky that Rika had found in her house. "Rena to Satoko. We've spotted the target. Over," she spoke into the walkie-talky.
"Satoko to Rena. Where is she? Over," a childish yet shrill voice spoke out from the other side of the walkie-talky.
"Rena to Satoko. She's close by the Saiguden. You know what the plan is. I'll come from the north, all right? Over," she spoke into the walkie-talkie before she slid it back into a pocket on her bloodstained white dress. "All right, so we know what to do now. I'll go out right now. Rika, Ryota-kun, be sure to watch my back carefully. I'll be fine… so don't worry! If she tries to attack, you know the plan. Just make sure she doesn't get too close."
Ryota looked a little unsure. "Rena-chan, are you sure you'll be all right?" he asked her. "If you really want, I'll be the one to do step one," he said.
Rena shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. Just watch my back and everything will turn out fine," she said to him. Then, giving them one last smile, she stepped out into the open where Mion could clearly see her. Mion's eyes instantly lit up with rage and angry the moment she set eyes on her. Rena could see her claws bury into the soft ground as if to prevent herself from killing Rena on the spot.
"Hey, Mi-chan!" she greeted her, grinning cutely. "How are you today? You're not looking so good!"
Mion growled at her. "Of course I'm not looking so good," she hissed, "I mean, have you taken a look at me since yesterday? Of course you have."
Rena giggled. "Oh, I was just playing with you Mi-chan," she laughed, causing Mion to grow very irritated with her. Rena stopped after a little bit and looked up at her, smiling. "Hey, Mi-chan. Rena has something very important to say to you, so would you listen to her just for a few seconds and put your thoughts of killing people away? It's very, very, very important and I'm sure you'll want to know what it is!"
Mion titled her head to the side. "And what would that be?" she growled at her, her tone unfriendly.
"Well, you see, this whole time you've been making a very terrible mistake. You see... you're under this strange impression that I'm in love with Keiichi. Well, right now, I want to tell you that I am not in love with Keiichi. Keiichi likes you, not me," she explained to her, looking up at her with dead seriousness in her expression. "Trust me on this one, okay?"
Mion did not look amused in the slightest. "Stop lying to me about this!" she yelled out to her, her tone full of a ferociousness that made Rena want to run away. "I know the truth, I know the truth! I know how much you love Kei-chan and how much you'd love to be with him! You even admitted it back a while ago in the cave!" she cried out to her, causing Rena to grow a little confused. "You were taunting me, saying how Kei-chan was yours and not mine! So stop lying when you say that you don't like Kei-chan, because I already know that it's true!"
Rena blinked in confusion. When did she say such a thing? She certainly didn't say it, that was for sure. "Look, Mi-chan, I don't know what you're talking abou-"
"STOP IT!" yelled Mion, cutting off any protests she had. "I know the truth, I've been telling you that for ages!" she yelled out to the world. A giant gray cloud formed over them, blocking off the sun from view. More clouds began to drift in at a rapid pace and soon covered the sky in a blanket of gray. Raindrops fell heavily onto them both. With a yowl, Mion swished her tail about. She whipped it against the ground and a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking the land.
Rena felt the whole area illuminate in a white hue, causing her to fall backwards. Fire broke out nearby, sending a cloud of smoke over to them. Mion let out more cries as she whipped her tail about in the air, lightning crashing everywhere as thunder roared throughout the land.
Rena knew it was time then. She tried to turn around to run, but then remembered that she had something else to do before she could move on to the next step. She pulled the walkie-talky out of her bag. "Rena to Satoko. As we thought, it was a failure. I'll send to a message when I'm ready to proceed to step B. Over," she spoke into the electronic device. She then pocked it, standing in front of Mion with a strong and determined look on her face.
"Why you, Rena!" she screeched out as she lunged a paw forward, intent on knocking her over. Rena jumped over the green paw as it glided near her, dodging it masterfully. Mion cursed as she sent another paw flying at her. Rena dodged once again, tumbling out of the way before the sharp claws could pierce her flesh.
"Give it up, Mi-chan!" she cried out as she dodged another paw. "It's useless all ready! I don't like Keiichi-kun and he doesn't like me!" she yelled.
"I know you like him!" she spat as she sent another blow at her. "I know you like him, I know! It's just too obvious! You always talk to him, you always follow him around, you always joke with him, and you always blush at him! I know that you like him more than anything else in the world, so give it up!" she yelled out. She swiped her paw at her, this time successfully knocking her into a tree.
Mion walked over to her, her eyes filled with the intent to kill. Rena was smashed up against the tree's bark, staring into those glazed eyes belonging to her best friend. She took a few deep breaths as she lost herself in them, taking time to understand how she was feeling. It was obvious that she didn't believe a word that she was trying to tell her. "There's no way you don't like him," Mion growled as she got closer to the orange-haired girl.
Rena shook her head. "I don't like him," she denied, her voice full of bravery.
"Well then," growled Mion as she took another step closer. "Prove it to me!"
Rena narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth as she pulled herself upwards so that she was sitting straight, using the tree for some support on her back. "I don't like Keiichi-kun," she bellowed out to the world, "because I'm in love with Ryota-kun!"
Mion froze to the ground. "What?" she hissed at her.
Rena looked at her sternly, showing no sign of fear. "I said," she spoke bravely, "I'm in love with Ryuga Ryota, not Maebara Keiichi!"
For a few moments, Mion said nothing. They simply stared at each other, gazing into each other's eyes. For a moment, Rena believed that it had worked. There was no sign of insanity in Mion's eyes, no sign of hostility. Rena felt a smile grow on her face. Had it really worked? Had Mion finally killed that flame inside her that's smoke was fogging her ability to see the truth?
"…You…" Mion whispered. "You… LIAR!" she bellowed.
Rena felt any hope she had melt into a giant lump that was now sitting in the back of her throat, causing her worry to grow. "I'm not lying!" she cried out to the insane demon, "I swear to god I'm not lying! I really love Ryota, really love him! He's been so kind to me since we first started talking. He ate lunch with me, he bought me animal-shaped crackers, and he even went treasure hunting with me! But most of all, he gave me someone that I could love! I love him so much, you don't even know!" she yelled out to the whole world.
From behind the tree, Ryota felt himself freeze. He couldn't even believe it. Was Rena really saying what he thought she was saying? Did she really return his feelings for her? Even at this moment in time, where hope was so slim, he felt himself grow warm and a happy feeling begin to engulf him. If Rena was really telling the truth, then that meant he could finally reach his own happiness.
"Ryota," whispered Rika as she stared into those shocked, purple eyes.
"Is that so?" growled Mion. "Well then, you would know exactly how I feel about you pretending to do this and getting in the way of my Kei-chan. So why don't you shut your mouth, stop your stupid lies, and just die?"
Rena gulped as she slowly brought herself on her shaky feet. "Well then, Mion, if that's really how you think," she spoke, glancing behind her to the burning forest. "I have no more choices."
Without any warning, Rena turned around and dashed into the forest tinted with an orange and gray hue from the smoke created by the strikes of lightning Mion had made. She couldn't see much besides what used to be the lush, green trees encased in burning oranges, shriveling them up into lifelessness. Mion instantly followed her, whipping her tail to create more crashes of lightning, which added to the fire. The rain pouring down refused to stop the endless amount of fire that was now taking over the forest. There was just too much of it.
Rena was finding it hard to breath with so much smoke floating into her lungs. She ran as fast as she could, every once in a while looking over her shoulder at the demon that was pursuing her with fast paws. The gray smoke was clouding her vision and she could no longer see anything besides orange flames ruining the forests of Hinamizawa. Rain splattered on her head, but it was no good in stopping the fire.
She felt herself trip on a branch lying on the ground from a tree collapsing, and she fell face first into a path of still-green grass. She tried to take a few breaths, but began to cough violently as she did so. There was just too much smoke. She struggled to stand to her feet, blood seeping from her knees from the great fall she had taken. She turned around, just barely making out the figure of Mion's true form bounding over her with an open mouth through the endless clouds of smoke that now ruled the forest.
At that moment, she knew she couldn't give up. She turned herself around and searched desperately for an area that was not burning. Mion lashed her tail, sending a column of lightning striking down on the area directly in front of her. The whole spoke ignited in an orange flame, causing Rena to quickly curve around it. She couldn't mess up her route. No matter what, she had to go forward in this direction. Otherwise, nothing would work.
"YOU BITCH!" cried Mion as she jumped over the flames. "COME BACK HERE SO I CAN RIP YOUR GUTS OUT!"
Rena ignored her and continued to maneuver through the forest, fire constantly getting in her way. A tree in front of her collapsed covered in a veil of hot fire, blocking her route. With a gulp, Rena jumped over the burning log, just missing the tickling flames. Looking back behind her one more time, she ran forward, breathing heavily. Smoke filled her lungs once again and she coughed uncontrollably, stopping to clutch her chest.
"COME TO YOUR PREDATOR, PREY" cried Mion as she came up behind her. "DON'T YOU WORRY, I'LL KILL YOU SLOWLY AND MAKE SURE YOU SUFFER!" A maniacal laughter followed, causing Rena's heart race to increase. She looked forward, seeing a small opening where the blue daylight could be seen. She gave Mion once last look before she sprung to her feet and ran forward, aiming for that blue.
"Satoko! Shion!" she cried out to that area, "I'm here!"
Several burning trees began to lean to their sides, looking like they were going to fall over any minute. Rena narrowed her eyes with determination as she stared at them, knowing that she had to run and make it before they fell down and created a wall too big for her to jump over. Increasing her speed, she swiftly ran forward, her eyes set on that patch of blue before her. It was tempting her, reminding her of what it was like to breath the fresh air and to see green trees.
Then, just as the trees began to fall, she ran past them. They fell behind her in a heap, sending orange sparks flying up into the air. She passed the fire, reaching the untouched, fresh area of the forest. Orange flames licked at the green grass, threatening to set it on fire only to be stopped by droplets of rain hitting them. She turned herself around as she stared back into the cave of fire created by Mion's lightning, allowing herself to take breaths of fresh air.
"I made it," she whispered. "I made it…"
She took a deep breath, fresh air mostly free from smoke filling her lungs. She sighed as she let the air flow out. It was an amazing feeling, one that she had missed even though she had only been in that burning forest for a few minutes.
Suddenly, a giant figure jumped over the burning logs, landing in front of Rena. Mion stared at her prey as she growled, taking a few steps forward. Ash was left where her paws were standing, tainting the green grounds.
"Oh Rena," she spoke in a sing-song voice, "there's nowhere for you to run now…"
"I know," Rena spoke between her panting, "but that doesn't mean you're going to kill me here." Rena looked up at a tree above her, untouched by the flames behind them. She created a cup with her hands around her mouth as she raised her head high. "SATOKO! NOW!"
Mion had no time to react. Out of nowhere, a huge net fell down on top of her, covering her body. Shion appeared from out of the trees. She began to pin the net down to the ground so that it stuck, preventing Mion from moving. There were tears in her eyes as she secured it so that there was certainly no way that she could escape. Then, she gave her sister once last tear-filled look before she ran back into the green trees.
"What are you?" she spoke as she thrashed about, soon realizing it was impossible for her to escape. However, being strong-willed Mion, she refused to give up. She flailed her limbs about, desperate to escape from the net that she was trapped in. She let out roars of panic when she found that she couldn't move her paws. Something sticky had been placed to the ground so that she could not raise them and cut through them with her claws.
Suddenly, Rena moved aside, revealing a masculine figure behind her. Keiichi stepped out, moving closer towards the beast he loved oh so much. He kept his hands behind his back as he reached her, staring at her with his sapphire blue eyes. When Mion sensed him, she automatically stopped her struggle and looked at him.
"Kei… chan," she spoke as she recognized the boy in front of her to be the boy she loved.
Keiichi smiled at her sadly. "I want to thank you, Mion, for being my friend. I want to say that you're the best friend I've ever had and nothing can change that, not even the fact that you're not a human," he began to say to her.
Mion titled her head to the side, confused as to why he was saying such a thing. It seemed strange to her that he was so suddenly bringing this up. What was the point? No matter what it was, Mion decided that she'd listen to him.
"You know, before I moved here, I was a lame guy. I admit it, all right? I was very lame. You see... the only thing I cared about was my grades and homework. Everyone in my school made fun of me because of it, but I didn't care. I didn't need friends when I had the praise from my teachers and my parents!" he spoke to her. "Then… you know, there was the whole toy gun incident and I ended up moving here. When I was here, I met you. You, Mion, changed my life completely. You taught me the value of friends, you taught me how to have fun, and you changed me. I was no longer that Maebara Keiichi that only cared about schoolwork and grades. I was Maebara Keiichi, a boy who could enjoy his life and have fun with all his amazing friends."
Mion was still rather confused as she racked her brain for reasons as to why he was suddenly saying this. She searched that face she loved of his for any sign, any emotion he had that would give her a clue. Then, she realized something.
Why, thought Mion, why is he crying?
Tears fell down Keiichi's face as he spoke, almost undistinguishable from the heavy rain that was pouring down on their heads. "You were the most amazing person here. At first, I thought of you as boy forever doomed to be trapped inside a female body. That was only at first, though. Through time, I realized something. Even though you're our fierce club leader, our irreplaceable club leader, you were a girl. You were no different from Rena; you were no different from Shion. You, Sonozaki Mion, were a girl," he spoke.
Silence followed in which nothing could be heard besides the crackling of the fire behind them and the sizzling sound it made as it burnt right through the green leaves that hung of the remains of trees. The tears that now fell down his face were coming out at a pace faster that the rainfall itself, and yet, a sad smile was still on his face. "And soon, I realized something," he spoke. "I, Maebara Keiichi, was in love with you, Sonozaki Mion." He felt a huge weight on his shoulders suddenly disappear as the task he needed to do for such a long time suddenly disappeared. However, he knew in his mind that his confession had already come a little too late.
"I don't care if you're a demon or anything like that," he whispered, "I still love you, no matter what," he spoke. His voice was now shaky and the effect of him crying was beginning to show. He shut his eyes to try to control the unstoppable tears just for a few moments before he opened them again. "And that's why… Mion… that's why I'm sorry…"
Mion didn't have any time to process what he just said. Within a matter of seconds, Keiichi had already reacted. He pulled his hands from behind his back and revealed what he had been hiding this whole time. In his hands, he now held up a black, sharp gun. His hands were shaking like crazy as he held it up, and he found that it was hard to keep a grip on it.
Slowly, he placed his hand on the trigger. It felt like lead, like if he used all his strength he still couldn't pull it. Then, with a gulp, with all his might, he pressed down on that trigger and fired.
At what seemed to be the speed of light, a bullet shot out from the gun and flew into Mion's chest, piercing right through her heart. She gasped as she felt it erupt in pain and she looked down, her eyes growing wide as she saw crimson leak out onto her green fur, staining it. She felt herself grow weak and she found that she could no longer remain standing. She fell to the ground in a heap, her whole body breathing heaving up and down with every heavy breath she took.
Keiichi ran up to her, instantly dislodging the net from the ground. He looked down upon Mion's demonic body and smiled. And then, slowly, it happened. Her body was enveloped by a bright light with small, stray particles swirling around her. The light molded and shifted her body until it returned to that of a human being, then leaving her body.
Mion lay on the floor. She had no claws, she had no teeth, she had no horns, she had no tail. She was a perfectly normal human being again. Keiichi slowly picked her up and held her dying body in his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. The blood leaking from her was trickling down onto his clothing, but he found that he didn't care. His salty, heavy tears dripped down onto her white face as he stared down at her.
And then, slowly, her green eyes fluttered open. They were no longer soulless, nor did they glow. She smiled as she saw him, feeling those insane, demonic thought vanishing within seconds. She no longer felt the intent to kill, nor did she feel any hatred towards Rena. She hadn't done anything, after all. That smoke clouding her ability to see the truth finally cleared up and diminished into nothing. Rena was right this whole time.
"Kei-chan," whispered Mion weakly as she gazed up into those eyes she loved so much.
"M-Mion…" he spoke back, his voice shaken by those tears. He reached out to brush a strand of green hair away from her face that had been covering one of her eyes. As he revealed it, he saw not anger in her eyes, but love and affection. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Mion. It was the only way and-"
"I understand," whispered Mion. "I was stupid, I was selfish. I was blinded by my demonic thoughts. Kei-chan, you saved me," she said to him, reaching a hand up to touch his cheek. Keiichi gasped as he felt her hand, realizing that the warmth was almost all gone. Her hand felt like stone, like cold ice.
Keiichi didn't know what to say to her. He knew that he only had seconds left with her, but he didn't know what to say. He knew that he had to say something now otherwise it would never reach those ears of hers.
"I love you," he whispered to her, shifting her in his arms so that she was pressed further against him, his warmth warming her body of the cold death that was slowly enveloping it. "I love you more than anything else in this whole world."
Mion smiled at him despite the fact that she knew death was coming for her, doomed to take her away from her friends in a matter of seconds. "And I love you, too, Kei-chan."
Everyone watched as they exchanged words of love, as they gazed at each other with affection in their eyes. They all wanted to say farewell, to apologize, but none of them wanted to break the romantic moment they were sharing with each other. They had been interrupted too many times before, after all.
It felt like a forever before one of them finally did decide to break their romantic moment. They had shared their words of love, so it was now time for them to say goodbye. "MION!" cried a figure as she ran up to the two lovers, as she crouched down next to her, gazing at her with eyes full of salty tears.
"Shion," whispered Mion as she gazed into two, beautiful green eyes identical to her own. "Thank you for being my twin, Shion."
Shion grabbed Mion's hand, intertwining her fingers with her twins and holding it close to her chest. Tears dripped down from her eyes and onto their hands locked in a tight embraced as she gazed at her sister for the very last time. "I don't want you to go, I don't want you to go!" she cried out.
Mion smiled sadly at her. "I'm sorry, but it's my time," she whispered, causing Shion to grasp her hand tighter. "But Shion, I promise you when I'm reborn, we'll be identical twins again. Will you agree to that promise, Shion?" she asked.
Shion nodded her head. "OF COURSE!" she cried out. "I… I want to be your identical twin no matter how many times we're reborn! In fact, let's be identical twins in every life that we have! Every single one of them!"
"Sounds nice," whispered Mion as she felt her strength decrease as well as the grip she had on her sister's hand that she was so desperately trying to maintain. "It's a deal, Shion. We'll always be identical twins."
Slowly, the rest of the club wandered up to her. Every single one of them was crying, unable to control their tears for their club leader, the one who had lead them to victory oh so many times. She was the one that founded the club, the one that had brought them together, the one who had made them so close, the one who had taught them all about fun and friendship. Now, she was leaving forever.
"I'll miss you, Mi-chan," said Rena as she wiped away a tear. "I'm glad you've finally seen the truth, now, and I'm sorry that this was the only way."
"I don't want you to go!" cried Satoko. "You were the one who brought me up after my uncle came back! You were the one who healed those wounds he created!"
Ryota nodded. "Yeah. Mion, thank you for creating the club. The club was what helped me overcome my old self and helped me find who I truly was. I finally have friends now, thanks to you," he spoke to her, a few tears in his eyes.
Out of Rena, Satoko, and Ryota, Rika was certainly the one crying the hardest. What was she to do now that her irreplaceable leader was gone? Hanyuu was out of power. There was no way that she could be saved now. "Mion," she sobbed, "we won't ever find another leader like you. We won't ever, ever. You're irreplaceable."
Mion smiled up at them as she looked over from person to person. "And you're the best friends I could ever ask for," she spoke to them. "Thank you all for being my friend and making this old man happy," she said to them, wearing a sad smile on her face. Then, she looked up to the boy who she loved, the boy who held her in his arms, and smiled. "Thank you, Keiichi," she said, finally speaking his true name. "You gave me someone to love. I didn't think I'd ever be able to love so strongly in my life, and you proved me wrong. I love you more than anything else, and I hope you remember that for the rest of your life."
Keiichi nodded. "I won't forget!" he cried out between his tears. "I won't forget how much you loved me, and I certainly won't forget how much I loved you!"
Mion smiled. "That makes me happy," she whispered under her breath. Then, she looked over to the rest of them, gazing at each and every one of their tear-filled eyes, and then let out a large sigh.
"Please don't forget me," she spoke. "Always remember me as Sonozaki Mion, your friend, and not the demon Sonozaki Mion. That's my final wish."
Every one of them nodded. And then, in unison, they all said, "we promise!"
Mion smiled. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she spoke over and over again. She spoke those two words on her lips until they finally faded away into silence. Her emerald eyes closed for the last time and her whole body grew cold and limp. Shion felt the grip Mion had on her hands loosen until it fell away, dropping back to her side.
And then, each and every one of them cried like never before for their club friend, their club leader, and the person who had changed all their lives as they looked down at her now lifeless body.
Sonozaki Mion, the Green-Eyed Demon, and the leader of the club of Hinamizawa was dead.
~~~~X~~~~
Crimso's Corner
(SPOILERS BEWARE)
WAAAAAAAAH. I bet you're all surprised that I did it, huh? Yeah, I just did it. I, Crimso, writer of this lovely fanfiction, just killed off my favorite character in the whole universe. Seriously, I felt like crying as I was writing that. Really lame, I know, since it's my own fanfiction. But I really can't help it. My fanfiction, not my character. Mion is property of the 07th Expansion, which I am in no way related to.
And I bet you're all angry with me. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I'll explain how they got to the decision in the next chapter. I didn't want to tell you their decision because I felt that that killed the whole mood of her death scene. I mean, if you see if coming, it isn't the same. Some of you might have seen it coming, but I didn't tell you, so it's different. Now, this is the end I have planed since the beginning. It's probably one of the only things that hasn't been changed since I first came up with this fanfiction back in… October? September? July? I don't remember. I always wanted to write a scene where someone is forced to kill a friend ever since I read a book with an ending like that all the way back in 7th grade. And if you are wondering why Mion didn't die straight away even though the bullet pierced her heart, it was because she's a demon. Demons are more powerful and they die slower. I know, seems strange, but still.
THIS. IS. NOT. THE. END. We have two more chapters to go, so hang on! Either that, or three. Don't stop reading just because I killed Mion, please. I know you're upset, but keep reading for me. Not only that, but keep reviewing! Reviews are awesome. For this chapter, each review will help Mion rest in peace and be happy in death. I'm sure you want that, right? Right? RIIIGHT? Also, please point out typos. I will go over and fix them after I'm done writing this, but I don't have any time really. I have school tomorrow (which is basically just going to a movie and going back to school) and I haven't taken a shower. I just really, really, really wanted to finish this chapter!
~Crimso