hi everyone! this is suppose to be a fun chapter. and hey, i feel motivated to write when i know people are reading. So please send me a review, even if its just a couple words. Just so I know my story is being read! I really want this to be shared!

Chapter 7

Counting to a hundred was the perfect amount of time to give everyone a chance to find a hiding spot, especially since the game was going to take place all over Hinamizawa. Keiichi usually lost the games they played in the past; like card games and Zombie Tag. Water gun fights were something that he was good at, but he had never thought of the idea of winning a game of Hide and Seek.

Today, though, the boy was convinced that he would win. He was just as confident as he had ever been. Sure, he had only been living in Hinamizawa for a couple months now, and he still didn't know how to find places as perfectly as the others. But he knew enough to get around a lot better than when he first moved there.

"Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three," he said, with his face and arms against the school building. That would be seven people to find, all hiding in different spots all over the village. Keiichi stayed motivated. He would find each one of them.

He was then reminded of how amazing he felt about his new life, after he moved here. He felt refreshed, adventurous, and he had the best group of friends a guy could ever ask for. He was proud to be playing such a game with them. "Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, a hundred. I'm ready!" The boy turned around, and just as it was expected, the schoolyard was empty. Everyone had already gone into hiding.

The first thing Keiichi did was scan around the whole school building, just in case someone tried to be clever and hide right where he was counting. So far nobody was near, but what Keiichi didn't know was that Hanyuu was perched up on top of the school roof. She was the only one who had the ability to float up there, although anyone could have gone inside and climbed out the window. She laid low and watched the boy intently. That thought of the roof never crossed his mind, so he finally left the school grounds.

Hanyuu watched, knowing she picked the perfect hiding place. This is what she had wished for since day one. She wanted a life where she could be living happily with everyone, and now she had it. Playing this game with her new friends was the best. She hoped that it would stay this way forever.

Keiichi ran across the bridge and hurried down the line of houses. He checked them all, one by one. They could be anywhere! he thought, but then shook away the negative thoughts. But I will find them. I will find them all!

He continued searching, even through the woods. He browsed, tree by tree as if he were on an Easter Egg hunt. Only a lot more important and a lot cleverer. "The whole village!" he exclaimed to himself out of frustration. "You would have to ride a bike to get through everything! What was Mion thinking?" And that's when it hit him like a strike of lightning. If Keiichi had to use his bike to search for his friends through the whole village, then so did they. It was then obvious that Mion was tricking him into spending his time searching for everyone that he wouldn't be able to find them. So, he would lose. "So, they couldn't have gotten too far." He smiled proudly, knowing that he had thought just like Mion would. And that's what he had to do; he had to think like his friends. Rena. There was one place that Rena loved more than the rest. A place she always went to find her treasures. It was so obvious.

The garbage dump. Keiichi immediately bolted in that direction. Whenever Rena had been missing and nowhere to be seen, the garbage dump is where he always found her. Unless Rena was just as clever as Mion and was making Keiichi think that she would be there. He slowed down at that thought. If that were true, then he would just be wasting his time. But after learning from the past, Rena could be using that trick to make him think that she wouldn't be there. He growled in annoyance.

"Dammit!" He kept on running ahead, through the forest and toward the construction site. He didn't care if it was a trick or not, it was worth the time. When Keiichi got there, he kept low and stayed quiet as he searched for the orange-haired girl. Pile by Pile he looked, staying as silent as possible. If anyone hid here, it would be Rena.

After a few minutes, though, he was starting to think that he was wrong. Still, he continued forward when he saw something over a pile of garbage. Someone. Someone with her back facing him while holding her legs close. "Found you Rena! You lose!"

She jumped, startled, and then turned to him with a smile. "Yes, you did find me, Keiichi-Kun!" She bounced to her feet with a giggle and climbed over the garbage and stepped up to the boy.

"You really should have hidden somewhere else; this is the first place to look to find you."

"Yeah, I didn't think that one through. Okay, I will help you find the others."

Keiichi and Rena decided to split up in different directions. Just six more people to go. Now he had to think like the others. Where would they each hide? They were not allowed to hide in anyone's house, so that narrowed it down. But there could be a chance that everyone else was a little bit more mischievous. Rena was a bit slow at times, but Keiichi knew for a fact that everyone else would think things through.

Hanyuu. Where would she hide? Keiichi only knew Hanyuu for a few weeks, so he didn't know that much about her, except that she was close with Rika. Rika could be hiding with her, he thought. So now he had to think like Rika. She wasn't the best at winning their club games, so maybe she wouldn't be as brilliant as Mion and Satoko and the others.

Maybe the shrine? The main shrine was a possibility, since it was only Rika's house when her parents were still alive. And it didn't really count as a house so it would be an outside chance. He then ran in that direction. It was a little bit of a walk, but not as far as the town would be from there.

When Keiichi was almost there, he suddenly had a vision of a dream he remembered. Or maybe it was from another world. He found Rika nude and dead at the shrine with her torso cut open. His eyes widened as he slowed down. He wasn't so sure he wanted to find someone there, because chances are, he would find a corpse.

He stood still as he eyed the shrine up ahead. It took him a few minutes to realize that it was a ridiculous idea. Keiichi grinned. All the bad times have perished, and the days with his friends have been happy and peaceful. If he spotted Rika there, she would be alive. Alive and laughing like a child should be.

The boy raced over, eager to find the blue-haired girl. And not to mention Hanyuu. There was a huge chance the two would be hiding together. Keiichi slowed down when he spotted two figures.

But it wasn't Rika and Hanyuu. It was Mion. Mion sitting inches away from Akio, who had his hands on her same hands that attacked the black-haired boy's father a couple weeks back. He wanted to shout "Get off of her" at him, but he controlled himself as he remembered that Mion's happiness came first. Besides, Akio seemed to like her, so he probably wouldn't hit her. Still, it made Keiichi feel fuzzy. It just didn't look right at all.

He slowly backed up, then within a few feet, he ran off, almost tripping down the stairs. He had completely forgotten about the game. That and if he found Mion, the leader of the club, he would be rubbing it in her face.

And so, he ran back to the school, refusing to seek any further. Hanyuu was caught off guard a bit when she saw Keiichi come back with nobody with him. She wondered if he even found just one person. He often got frustrated when things didn't go smoothly for him. Hanyuu knew that. But something in Keiichi's eyes was telling her something else was going on. Something more important.

The boy rested against the school building, out of breath as if he was just chased by a lion. In seconds, Hanyuu was standing in front of him, staring at his face intently. "Hanyuu," he let out, but didn't make any remarks about him finding her or that she wasn't the best at hiding.

"Keiichi, what happened? Did you find the others?"

"No. Well, sort of."

"Sort of?"

Keiichi remained quiet. He wasn't so sure he wanted to tell her what he saw. It was a bit weird, and maybe a little too inappropriate for someone her size. The girl's eyes, though, was begging him to answer her question. "Well, I found Rena." His voice was unusually soft.

"Is Rena alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine."

Before Hanyuu could ask any more questions, Satoko's voice was heard from ahead. "Rena found us! Me and Rika!"

"And I helped find Shion," Rika said in a gentle voice as she smiled.

Shion then appeared after the two. "And I found Mion and Akio!"

Keiichi stared at the ground. He wondered if Shion saw exactly what he saw. She didn't look upset. Then again, Keiichi was the only other person that knew about Akio and his father. So, it wouldn't matter to her.

Mion and Akio came walking forward, arms wrapped around each other, and the two laughing. "I knew you wouldn't be able to find me, Kei-Chan," Mion said with a smirk. "I win this game!"

Keiichi forced a smug grin and shut his eyes. "Yeah, nobody beats you, Mion."

"Wow, you're actually accepting this?"

"Yeah, it was a good game anyways."

Nobody asked anymore questions about Keiichi's odd behavior, and all decided to head home. The boy told himself to let it go. It was Mion's life. Mion's happy life.Rika took a hold of Hanyuu's arm and pointed at Akio, who was saying goodbye to Mion with a hug. "It's time," she said in a deep voice.