Chapter 9
"Somebody always dies."
It can't be.
"See for yourself. This village is forever cursed."
I will save this village and my friends in it!
"My friends in it," Rika mumbled as she woke up, still feeling very groggy. She sat up quickly and stared down at her covers weakly. Her head felt fuzzy and she had a sore throat. "Just what I need," she said to herself, "a cold." The girl glanced up at the ceiling as the room remained quiet. It was almost time to get up and get ready for school. Rika forced herself up to her feet, wishing she could go back to sleep.
The morning felt fuzzy to Rika. She moved like a zombie as she got dressed, sat at the table with Satoko and Hanyuu, refusing to eat her breakfast. They asked her if she was alright, but she only had told them that it was just a cold and that she didn't want to talk anymore about it. The girls didn't push her into going to the doctor.
The walk to school was a blur to Rika, and somewhat irritating. The bright sun gave her such a headache, and the chirping birds made her want to throttle them. She tuned out the conversation Satoko and Hanyuu were having as they walked.
This village is in trouble, Rika thought, and I don't know what to do about it.
As Rika dragged herself inside the classroom, Mion and Shion were on their feet, leaning on each other's back for a pose. Akio, who was in his desk, sketching away.
Most of the class surrounded the boy, beaming at his work. "That's very good!" one of the girl's said.
"Keep posing you two," Akio said as he continued his drawing.
"Class is gonna start soon," Mion announced, standing as still as she could.
"I'm fast, so I can get it done in five minutes."
The class cheered, as Rika sat in her desk. She ignored everything, including the cheer that came from the students when Akio was finished with his very realistic sketch. And she completely tuned out the lesson Ms. Chie was giving them.
Rika scanned the room, watching everyone study and do their schoolwork. Mion and Shion were both working with Akio, while Satoko kept her eyes glued to her paper. She looked like she was having an argument with herself inside her head, trying to figure out her assignment. Hanyuu was working on hers, but she seemed distracted, probably thinking the same thing Rika was.
Rena was focused on her schoolwork too, only she was smiling as bright as the sun that hurt Rika's eyes. She was obviously understanding everything she was learning and probably planning on what fun activity she would be doing after school.
In front of her, Keiichi had the same expression Satoko did, trying to understand his assignment. In seconds he had figured it out and wrote down the answer on his paper.
No matter what it was, Keiichi could solve anything, and Rika had no doubt in him. He was always the first person Mion and Rena came to when they needed help with their schoolwork. And he was always up in a jolt to help his friends in need.
Keiichi, why haven't I gone to him before? Rika thought. This time she wasn't going to hold back. She got up from her seat, and slowly made her way to Keiichi. She couldn't think of anything else to do. It was her last hope. She stood only a foot away from the boy and stared at him quietly.
It took him around ten seconds for Keiichi to notice that Rika was there and gave her a curious look. She still didn't say anything as he remembered the girl giving him the same looks yesterday.
The staring lasted for half a minute before Rika had Keiichi follow her out into the school hallway so she could talk to him privately. "What's wrong, Rika-Chan?" he asked curiously.
She took a deep breath and told him everything she knew about Akio and didn't leave out any detail. When she finished, Keiichi was giving her a concerned look.
"I knew something was wrong. It's worse than I thought. He's dangerous! And so is his dad. I saw the two of them talking a couple of weeks back. A father and his son working."
"And their bodyguard," Rika added. "He's involved too. You can't miss him, Keiichi."
"What does he look like?"
"He's very tall and very big, has dark brown hair, and is wearing a black suit in shades. If you ever see him, make sure he doesn't catch you staring."
"Okay, we are going to figure this out."
"What are you going to do, Keiichi?" Rika's eyes were pleading for a plan. If anyone could think of something, Keiichi could.
"First thing I'm gonna do is talk to Mion. Then she can take care of everything."
It was a start, and Rika couldn't stop thinking about it all day and during the club after school. Even with the cute and embarrassing outfits Mion had chosen for them.
"Oh, look at everyone!" Rena shouted with glee and twirled around. She was wearing a ranger suit, with matching clothes and a matching hat. She adored it. "I'm gonna take you all home with me!"
Satoko was wearing a pink gymnastic outfit with a matching tutu and headband. She felt awkward as everyone, especially Rena, stared at her.
Both Rika and Hanyuu were in matching dessert suits, Rika's being a cupcake, and Hanyuu being an ice cream cone with a cherry top on her head. "You two look so delicious! I could eat you up!" Rena hugged the two of them, who were turning red.
"Calm down, Rena," Keiichi said with his arms folded. He was wearing a traditional kimono with a clown look to it, including the red ball nose, lacking the painted smile.
"Ohh, Keiichi-Kun is so cute too!" Rena expressed. "I wanna take him home, too!"
"Hey, stay back!" Keiichi started running around the classroom, being chased by Rena.
Akio chuckled. "This is too good." He and Mion were the only two that looked normal, since they were both hiding together during Hide and Seek and were the last ones found.
"Just wait, you will have to face this fate, too," Shion said excitedly. She was wearing a purple jump suit, which didn't hide 100 percent of her female features. And on top of that, she had bunny ears and a tail. Keiichi tried not to stare.
"If he ever loses," said Mion who was gazing at Akio. "He's almost as good as me."
"Almost," Akio said with a modest grin.
Keiichi tried not to glare. He knew now that Akio was not their ally, but he was also making the boy jealous. On purpose, too, he thought.
To make everything perfect, Mion made sure that she got lots of pictures of everyone with her old camera, then promised everyone she would get them developed right away. "And you guys have to wear all that until you get home," she said excitedly.
When it was time to go home, Akio told Mion he would wait for her outside as she cleaned up the rest of their mess with the cards they played. "Don't worry," Mion said, "we have plenty of time for our date tonight."
Keiichi's eyes enlarged when he heard that and hurried over to his friend as everyone else exited the classroom. There was no way he was going to let her go out on a date with this guy. It was not worth the risk to lose her.
"What's wrong, Keiichi? You look weird." Mion finished putting the cards away and glanced at him as she planned to put the desks back where they were.
"I need to talk to you," you said in a very serious voice.
"Can we just talk on the phone tonight after my date?"
"No!"
Mion jumped a little, surprised to see the boy like this. She gave him a funny look as he eyed her contentedly. She let him talk before she could ask why.
"You can't go out with him, Mion."
"What are you talking about? Keiichi are you just trying to keep me here, so you won't have to walk home in that outfit?"
"No." He yanked the fake ball nose off his face and threw it to the side of the room.
Mion looked a bit concerned now. She had never seen Keiichi throw a fit like this. It was very rare for a happy-go-lucky boy like him. The girl could tell that he was not playing around.
"He is up to no good. He wants to rule this village. He's playing you, Mion!"
Mion's eyes widened. "That's not true, Keiichi! He's a very good person and is nice to everybody."
Keiichi had prepared for this. He knew at first that Mion wasn't going to believe him, but he would be able to use his magic of words to convince her otherwise. Even if he had to keep her here all night.
"He and is dad are up to no good," Keiichi continued. "And he's violent. You can't hang around him anymore."
"What?" Mion looked angry, and she, along with Keiichi, remained silent for a whole minute. The only thing they could hear was the cry of the evening cicadas. "You know what, Keiichi? I think you're just jealous."
Keiichi gasped, feeling a sharp pain in his chest as if Mion had stabbed him with words. "Jealous?"
"Yes, jealous. Cause Akio is a lot better than you at playing games. And gets a lot of attention. And you're scared that he might replace you."
Keiichi was heartbroken. Sure, he felt a little jealous that Mion was spending most of her time with Akio now these days, but that was far from his problem. He needed to save her.
"I am not jealous! You need to listen to me!" He swung his arm back and shouted in full rage at the girl. "I am trying to tell you that Akio is dangerous, but you can't see that because you are blinded by love! Love that isn't real! You're acting so stupid to realize it!"
"Stupid? Keiichi, go home!" Mion crossed her arms as she shouted and looked the other way.
Keiichi was quiet as he stared at his friend with sadness. But it wasn't working on her as she turned back to watch him. She was only glaring, waiting for the boy to leave. Keiichi had nothing else to say, and finally made his way out.
Mion sighed deeply and took a moment to catch her breath before fixing the classroom up the way it was before. She had never felt so angry with Keiichi.
Still trying to fight off the sickness, Rika dragged herself home with Hanyuu and Satoko. She scanned her surroundings, the road, the trees, the houses that belonged to her only home. Here in Hinamizawa, she and her friends have experienced so much pain and suffering.
It has finally ended, Rika thought, and I am not gonna let that end. I will fight and protect my friends. She paced up, catching up with Hanyuu and Satoko, and kept a face with determination.
