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Return to Hinamizawa IV – Conspiracy Chapter

2
Angel Mort

It was Saturday the seventh, and the summer sun was sweltering in the sky. We only had a half-day at school; Mother said she had to sort things out for the Watanagashi festival, but I think she was just exhausted and wanted a break as much as we did. There was a loud clatter as everyone joyfully packed away their things.

Kotone sidled up to me. "Where are we going today, big brother?"

I shot a glance at Miaka. "Hey, fancy a trip to Okinomiya?"

She looked doubtful. "I'm not supposed to leave the village..."

Yeah, I forgot to tell you about the special circumstances. Irie-sensei wanted her kept under observation in case her Hinamizawa Syndrome showed any signs of resurfacing.

"It'll be okay," I assured her. "We're all here to look after you, and Irie-sensei knows I'm a responsible club leader."

Saki laughed, the little pest. Fortunately, Miaka seemed inclined to trust me.

"All right," she said after a while. "How do we get there?"

"We normally ride bikes," said Naoya. "Of course, we could get the bus, but they're not frequent, and we could end up having a long wait." He gave a thoughtful frown.

"Can you ride a bike, Miaka-senpai?" asked Saki.

"Of course! But mine's back home in Kyoto."

"I have a spare you could borrow," said Naoya. "Actually... it's Rena's old bike, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind you using it."

"I promise I'll be careful with it." And she reached out a hand and placed it over Naoya's clenched fist, as if comforting him. Wait – does she even know who Rena was? I don't remember ever telling her...

Saki elbowed me in the side. Hard.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"You just gonna sit there all day staring at them?" she whispered.

I shot her a look of contempt, which was all the response she deserved. Although – yeah, if I'm being honest, I had to admit I was staring at them just a little bit. Have to stop doing that. It's all right when it's the waitresses in Angel Mort – they wear skimpy outfits that positively invite you to stare – but it's different when it's a club member. But it's a bit odd that she should put her hand on Naoya's like that. I suppose she must have heard about Rena somehow. But how?

I sighed and leant back; the legs of my chair made a heavy scraping sound across the floor. Naoya and Miaka looked up.

"Let's go."


And so, a few minutes later, we were all on bicycles, riding like the wind towards Okinomiya. Rena's bike fitted Miaka perfectly, and she was clearly a good rider; after the first few minutes there was no excuse to keep watching her.

Sunshine, and a slight breeze in our hair – what more could we ask for? All worries and cares were forgotten at once; I just wanted to enjoy the moment.

It was not a long journey. We soon reached the crest of the hill, and the town of Okinomiya came into view below us. The sight renewed our energy, and what seemed moments later, we were sliding through the streets towards the town square. I drew to a halt and waited for the little ones to catch up.

"So, where are we going?" Miaka asked when we were all together.

"To get a drink, first of all. We'll go to Angel Mort."

Her reaction was not what I had expected. She tensed for a moment, as if gripped by some fear. It passed, and left her staring downwards with wide eyes and trembling lips.

"What's wrong?" I said. Had someone told her about the café and given her the wrong impression? Surely not – except for the club members, she didn't know anyone in Hinamizawa. There was Irie-sensei, but he has an open mind about it. I think he was a keen girl-watcher in his younger days.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. Just a weird mood. Please don't mind me."

"Well, okay," I said doubtfully. Then I shook my head as well. This wouldn't do; I had to keep my club members happy. "Come on, Miaka-chan," I said. "You'll feel better once you're sat down inside with one of their famous milkshakes."

"All right, then," Miaka said with a broad grin. "Lead on!"

We rode into the parking lot, and left our bikes in the rack that ran along the side of the building.

"Don't you put locks on them?" Miaka asked.

"Heh, this place is owned by the Sonozakis. We don't have anything to worry about."

"Okay." She sighed, and then looked up at the façade, with the name "Angel Mort" in bright letters running over the entrance.

Something really was wrong. She was standing staring at it, as if she'd suddenly forgotten that the rest of us were there.

"What is it, senpai?" asked Kizuna.

"This place – Angel Mort –" Miaka said slowly. "Wasn't there a murder here?"

Naoya and I exchanged blank looks.

"A murder, Miaka-san?" said Naoya. "Whatever makes you think that?"

"I'm sure someone told me." She frowned and shook her head. "In fact – wasn't it you?"

Naoya started.

"Me?" he said. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken, Miaka-san. There hasn't been a murder here since – I don't know –"

"There hasn't been one as long as the café's stood here," I said firmly. "I'm a Sonozaki, remember. I would have heard."

"Of course." There was an awkward pause. "Sorry, I didn't mean to spoil the mood. Um... shall we go in?"

"Sure," I said. But I stood back, and let Saki slip in and take my place at Miaka's side. I'd caught a glimpse of a serious expression on Naoya's face, and I knew that he wanted a chance to talk to me alone.

"What is it?" I whispered once the girls were inside.

"I hope it doesn't mean anything," Naoya whispered back. "But – we have to be especially watchful of Miaka. You know why."

"Yeah." There was no point in saying anything more. Besides, I wasn't sure I could bring myself to say the words out loud. She was such a sweet girl – she never deserved to have anything like that happen to her! The Hinamizawa Syndrome had already messed her life up enough. Though I suppose you could say that, on the plus side, without the Hinamizawa Syndrome she'd never have met us, and that had to be a good thing, right?

When we stepped into the café, Saki had already chosen a table and bagged the best seat, beside the window with a view of the people going by. Not that Naoya or I would be thinking of watching outside when we're in Angel Mort, of course. But it's different for Saki because she's a girl.

Miaka, oddly enough, was reading a newspaper.

"Anything interesting there?" Kotone asked.

Miaka blinked as though she'd just woken up. "Oh – I just felt I ought to check the date," she mumbled.

"Saturday, the seventh of June," Naoya said at once.

"Thanks. Okay, let's sit down." And she drifted towards the table.

I followed her with a determined stride. If she really did have something on her mind, then I had to distract her to stop it troubling her.

Miaka was sitting beside Saki. I took the window seat opposite them. "Have you decided yet, Saki-chan?" I asked.

Let us draw a veil over the next few minutes. Suffice it to say that Saki immediately burst into a long list of ingredients that sounded fine individually, but disgusting as a mixture; while Miaka just stared at the menu until Saki was done, then pointed half-heartedly at a boring lime milkshake and said, "I'll have that."

Naoya, who had slipped onto the seat beside me, was looking over his shoulder, already getting several minutes' head start over me. A waitress caught his eye, and slithered over to our table and bowed.

"The usual, Ryuuguu-kun?"

"You know me so well, Yuri-chan." We knew all the waitresses here by name.

"And the rest of you?"

Saki burst into her recital all over again, while Miaka just sat back listlessly and let Naoya order for her.

We all gave our orders, and Yuri bustled away, with Naoya still staring after her.

"Miaka-senpai?" Kotone said timidly. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. Fine."

I sighed. This was all going wrong, and I didn't understand why. What was all this about a murder, anyway?

"Miaka-chan, if something's troubling you, I wish you'd talk to me –"

She suddenly leant forward, her eyes blazing.

"Fine!" she said. "All right, something is trouble me. Maybe I'm going crazy, but I'm sure I remember Naoya telling me about a murder in Angel Mort. It was a young girl, one of the waitresses – I think you said she was shot. And you're all denying it. And I don't want to, but I can't help thinking, what if there was a murder and you all know about it and you're keeping silent because you think it would upset me? Can't you see that keeping silent like this is only making things worse?" She took a deep breath and screwed up her face, holding back a sob.

"Miaka-chan," Naoya said softly, reaching out towards her.

"I'll handle this," I said. "Miaka-chan, I promise you, there has been no murder, and if there had been, we would tell you."

"Really," said Kotone, nodding fervently.

"Thanks," Miaka said weakly. "I'm sorry, everyone. I just can't get that thought out of my mind."

"Just enjoy your milkshake, and all your negative thoughts will go away," said Saki.

"All right."

Yuri had returned with the first round of milkshakes by then, and Saki grabbed hers, and pushed Miaka's across the table towards her. Miaka bent over it, and half-heartedly gave it a sip. I didn't blame her; you can't get excited about a shake as insipid as that one. But Miaka seemed contented enough, so I left her to it.

Saki slurped her shake down in about half a minute, and was fidgeting impatiently as she waited for the rest of us to finish. I frowned. It was so hard to know what to say. It was tempting to talk about the weather, sports results, anything to break the silence; but it would have been far too transparent an attempt to change the subject.

It was another waitress who arrived a moment later with Kotone's and Kizuna's milkshakes. She was a girl of about my age, new on the job, to judge from how nervously she handled the tray. She was cute, in an everyday kind of way, with a round face and a mop of red-brown hair.

"There you go," she said as she placed the drinks on the table. "Nice to meet you. My name's Anzu; just give me a shout if –"

There was a heavy crash.

We all looked round. Miaka's glass had fallen from her hand and was rolling across the table, sending a mess of green slime spreading everywhere. Miaka was trembling like a jelly.

"What is it?" said Kizuna.

"A... Anzu?" Miaka mumbled.

"Yes?" Anzu was already busy clearing up the spill; she paused and looked round at Miaka with an expression of concern.

"No – it's too horrible!" Miaka screwed up her face, as if she couldn't bear to look at us any more.

"What on earth is the matter, Miaka-san?" said Naoya. This time I made no attempt to stop him.

Miaka stood up – still trembling. She turned, and her hand roved, as if seeking some particular point. It settled pointing beyond Kizuna towards the corner of the room.

"He was there. He screamed out, 'Anzu!' – and there was a loud bang, and blood everywhere..."

"What?" Anzu said faintly.

Miaka whirled round and stared at me with a sudden fierceness.

"Hey!" she said. "You said there hadn't been a murder – and Anzu's here – what if I'm seeing the future?"

"Don't make jokes about that, Miaka-senpai," said Kizuna.

"It's not a joke." Miaka gripped Saki's shoulder for support, so tightly that she winced. And Saki's so strong that I sometimes wonder if she's made of rock.

"I saw it, I tell you. As soon as Anzu said her name, I could see it so clearly – I was there. No – I will be there. It's going to happen, I just know it!"

By this time, the other waitresses had come up to see what was going on. They were keeping a respectable distance, forming a semicircle around us. "Is something wrong?" said Yuri.

"This weird girl says that someone's going to murder me," said Anzu.

Yuri's eyes were cold with suspicion. "Nonsense. Why would anyone want to murder you?"

"Miaka was just having a vivid dream," I said quickly. "Don't look at me like that, Miaka-chan. For a start, we don't allow anyone to bring weapons in here."

"It was not just a dream!"

"Don't make a scene, Miaka-san," said Naoya.

"I've got to say this." She looked imploringly at Anzu. "You'll stay away from here, won't you? Promise me you'll stay away!"

"I... um..." Anzu flushed and backed away. She looked frantically from one of us to the other, then turned, saw a convenient gap in the semicircle, and ran for it.

Yuri stepped forward. "Sonozaki-san," she said. "I understand that this girl is here as your guest. Nevertheless, I can't allow my staff members to be harried in this manner. I will have to ask her to leave."

"You can't do that!" Saki burst out.

"Quiet, Saki-chan," I said. "It's all right. You stay and finish your milkshake. I'll take Miaka-chan home."

I glanced at Miaka, to see how she would respond to the suggestion. She looked close to tears, staring in the direction Anzu had gone as if hoping desperately that a wish could bring her back.

"Come on," I said. "You'll feel better once you've had a lie-down."

"This isn't about how I feel!" she burst out. "Don't you understand, Akito-kun? That girl's going to be murdered!"

"We won't allow that to happen," I said. "Look – I'll admit that I don't believe any of this, but I'll inform the family and tell them to keep a lookout. The Sonozakis won't stand for a murder happening on their territory."

"But what can they do?" Miaka sounded desperate.

I looked around. Now that Miaka seemed calmer, a few of the waitresses had drifted off to attend to their duties, or perhaps to find Anzu and make sure she was all right. Yuri still stood there, impervious, watching us.

Miaka seemed steady enough to walk now, so I took her hand and led her outside. It was such a natural action that it wasn't until we were standing by the bicycle rack that the thought struck me. I was holding Miaka's hand. Her skin was soft and smooth; I could feel her tremors and hear her heart beating. For that moment, her fear was shared between us.

"We'll do something, I promise," I said. "Look – tomorrow's Sunday. I can go to Shishibone and speak to cousin Toshio. He handles the family paperwork. He can find out all there is to know about this girl and who might want to kill her. If we can find out who it is, then we can get cousin Karen to give them a call and scare them off. She's good at that; she even scares us." I managed a not very convincing laugh. "If not, we can arrange things behind the scenes, get her transferred away out of danger."

I smiled, and tightened my grip on Miaka's hand. She didn't pull away.

"Is that good enough for you?"

"I... I guess so," she said. "But – I feel so helpless, Akito-kun. I don't understand what just happened, and I'm frightened. Up until now, I don't think I believed in such things, but it was all so vivid, so real... I think something horrible really is going to happen, and this must be a sign – it's almost like I've been chosen to prevent it – does that sound crazy, Akito-kun?"

"A little."

She took a deep breath. "Well, at least you listened, and that's something."

"Yeah."

We lapsed into silence.

Just my luck. We get a gorgeous new classmate, and she turns out to be a headcase. And now I've promised to give up my Sunday and go and visit my relatives. I suppose, if it's to make a beautiful girl happy, I can't refuse.