June 19, 1983

Hinamizawa

I adjusted the scope of my sniper rifle as Tora set up the stand for me. To make a long story short, we went with Shion's plan and are currently waiting for the anti-tank to come to our view. Originally Kasai was about to do it but I decided to do it because I felt like I needed to do something other than stand around and watch. Some people may say that I did enough already by helping with the operation but I want to do more. I want to be useful.

"It's been awhile since you used this huh?" Tora asked while setting down the stand lightly.

"Yeah. Let's hope that I'm not too rusty to miss a shot." I replied, looking through the scope. I laid down on the grass to level with the stand. I placed the weapon on it gently and let it stay there.

I look up as gray clouds start to cover up blue streaks in the sky. It's about to rain, I could tell by the humid smell and temperature. I hope it;s just a sunshower and not heavy rain or that will really fuck up our operation.

"Satoshi." I hear Tora mutter.

"Hm?" I turned my head to face her.

"Oh nothing. Just remembering something." She waved off my suspicion.

I looked back at the sky while still holding my suspicion at bay. Ever since Tora left that room with Shion and Irie, she's been acting a bit weird. I don't know what she saw but her head has been in the clouds recently. I tried to ask her what's wrong but she would always brush off my concerns. Though, what if nothing did happen and it's just me. Yeah, it's just me. There's nothing wrong with Tora at all.

The both of us laid on the grass in silence as we watched the gray sheet takeover the blue sky and the cicadas buzzing away. I was about to say something when Tora spoke up and said,

"What do you know of the H-173?"

The question was so sudden that I barely forgot about the file that was given to us yesterday. I tried to remember it to the best of my ability but all that came out of my mouth was,

"Uhhh."

"Haha, forget I asked." Tora chuckled.

"Why did you ask?"

"I just wanted to know that's all." Tora turned to her side.

"Are you sure?" I pressed on.. "You don't seem like yourself" is what I wanted to tell her but nothing came of it.

She gave a sigh and turned to face me once again.

"Was there anything on there that mentioned 'Hinamizawa Syndrome' or symptoms of terminal illness?"

"I don't think so, no." I tried to make a mental image of the file and its contents.

"Damn!" Tora cursed.

"What?"

"I remember Irie explaining about the Hinamizawa Syndrome and its terminal side effects. Pretty creepy if you ask me."

"Everything in this village is," I half joked, while sitting up and looking at the hill that towered over the highway. "So, this 'Hinamizawa Syndrome' has terminal symptoms. Is it related to the H-173?"

"I…don't know." Tora hung her head.

"I see." The both of us sat in silence for what seems like hours but was actually minutes until Tora opened her mouth to say something again.

"He was just a kid. He didn't deserve to be there."

"Who's the kid?"

Tora scooted over to me and looked over at Kasai and Shion who were talking about something until turning her attention back to me.

"Okay, so when me, Irie, and Shion went into that room…there was a boy," Tora stopped herself to catch a breath before continuing. "And Shion knew that boy. His name was Satoshi."

So that was the name that Tora muttered a while ago. I nodded slowly as she began to ramble on.

"He was on the medical bed, IV wires connected to him and all. Just thinking about it makes me shiver."

"So that's what's been racking in your brain ever since then?" I answered.

"Yeah, and the bad thing is that we don't know anything about it!" Tora raised her voice a little which alerted Shion and Kasai to look over at us. I sheepishly waved at them and tried to comfort my partner.

"You're right but don't get hung up about the whole situation. Remember what we came here for?"

"To find the H-173."

"And?"

"And to get a happy ending."

"Correct," I leaned over and ruffled her purple hair. "You can't blame yourself for things like this. It's not in your nature to do such a thing."

Tora's face turned red either from me ruffling her hair or my soft spoken words of encouragement. Well whatever it was, it brought her back to her "cool and cocky" mood. There we go. That's the Tora I know and love.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Kyle." She smiled softly. Her hazel eyes sucked me in. My cheeks get warm. I don't know what to do next. Should I make the move?

Wait…what am I saying? I don't see Tora like that! I mean she's attractive, but I don't like her like that. And this makes me wonder, does she see me as a friend or as something more. If I don't want to hurt her feelings or make our friendship awkward, I better keep that mystery to myself.

"You're welcome Tora." I replied.

"Kyle, Akasaka and Tomitake are coming in quick. Get ready." Kasai informed us.

"R-right," I stuttered over my words from sheer embarrassment. I placed the sniper rifle on the stand laid on my stomach. I adjusted the scope to get a better view and slipped my index finger on the trigger.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Tora get off the ground and take out her phone from her pocket. It was probably the General calling her to pester us again. But of course he has to call now when it's not the time. But that doesn't matter because what I'm about to do is either gonna save the operation or fuck it up completely.

"Here they come!" Shion pointed out.

"Get ready!" Kasai ordered.

"Roger!" My finger around the trigger tightened as I saw the two cars move across the scope.

Come on Ky, remember what your old man taught you.

Breathe in…

Breathe out…

I finally pulled the trigger, hitting the tires of the enemy vehicle that resulted in it swirling out of control.

I let my eye off the scope and gave a loud sigh.

"Good job Mr. Kyle!" Shion cheered.

"Thanks kid." I breathed, assuming that what she said was a compliment.

I look over and saw Tora give me a thumbs up, "Good job on not fucking it up Kyle."

"Ha ha very funny." I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smile.

"I'm serious," Tora approached me and playfully hit me in the chest. "You're known for fucking things up."

"Hey, not everyone's perfect," I held my hands up. "Besides, that shot was good luck."

"So you're undermining your true skills?" Tora mocked.

"Of course not! I'm an honorable marksman!"

Tora laughed heartily. "Whatever turns you on Ky~"

I blushed a little at her statement while holding my head in shame. She's really unpredictable.

"So, what do we do now?"

"We wait." Kasai replied coolly.

"For what?" I asked.

"Don't you remember? My friends are still in the mountains taking out the Yamainu." Shion replied.

I gave the girl a confused look and turned to Tora who was still a little kiddy from our short back and forth shenanigan but cleared it up for me.

"She said that her friends are still taking care of the Yamainu in the mountains," she then turned to the girl and bowed her head. "Sorry, my friend here is not good at speaking Japanese. He's still a beginner."

"Hehe, I understand. Thanks for the clear up." Shion giggled.

Wait, shouldn't we be down there with them than just standing around up here? Those Yamainu are some mean motherfuckers, they'll eat those kids and spit them out! That wouldn't look good…

"If that's the case, then we should get going. We can't leave those kids alone. It's too dangerous."

"Don't worry, they're fine." Kasai added. I look at him in complete shock.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked him seriously.

"Yes," The bodyguard confirmed. "After Akasaka and Tomitake come back from contacting the Baken they will be in the area."

"And how long will that take?!"

"Not long."

"Tch."

"Hey," Tora grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. She looked at me with her hazel eyes again. "Don't get too worked up. Those brats will be fine. Trust me."

After looking in her eyes for what seemed like hours, I gave a tired sigh and came up with my answer.

"Okay, I trust you."

Tora smiled at me as everyone stood in silence, waiting for the outcome of this nightmare. I could only hope that those kids don't come out unharmed.

An hour. It took one hour for everything to come to its conclusion. Takano and the Yamainu surrendered, the war was won.

When Shion told us the good news, I didn't know how to react. Tora jumped up for joy with her while I stared at them in surprise.

You mean that this nightmare is finally over?

I need a cigarette…and a vacation far away from here and the U.S.

Even though we had info on the Yamainu, more facts surfaced about the group of mercenaries. Turns out that they were supposed to protect Rika but were bribed by Takano to carry out her plan to destroy Hinamizawa.

Looks like money can turn a blind eye.

Moving on to Miyo Takano, real name Miyoko Tanashi, was the adopted daughter of a professor named Hifumi Takano which is where she got her pseudo name from. She later joined this group named "Tokyo" which has little to no information about it. The only important thing that was recovered was this mysterious woman named "Nomura" and something by the name of the "Alphabet Project." My best bet is that they were the real ones pulling the strings and using Takano as a pawn of sorts to carry out their plan. But from the looks of it, their plans were thwarted due to Takano's downfall so we don't have to worry about them. And if they do pull any slick shit, we're coming for them too.

While on the subject, some of our men came to help the downfall of the Yamainu which surprised me a lot. Turns out that phone call Tora answered earlier was Yellow Yankee asking for our current location so they can help the cause. Looks like he betrayed the General's order as well.

I wonder if we'll get any chest candy for this. We'll probably get a medal of honor and a big celebration with jets and pretty ladies!

Okay…maybe it won't be that big but you get the picture.

"We did it Kyle! We got those motherfuckers!" Tora cheered. She seriously has no shame cursing in front of kids. And here I thought her mother taught her better.

"Heh, heh, yeah we did." I said, trying to calm the woman down.

"We should celebrate this victory at Angel Mort!" Shion chimed in.

"Now we're talkin'!" Tora agreed. She turned back to face me. "You want in?"

"Uhhh…don't we have a plane to catch?" I replied.

Suddenly, Tora's silly facade changed to a "scared shitless" expression, as if she forgot to turn off the oven. I was laughing my ass off in my head from the sudden change in her demeanor.

"Oh shit, you're right," She muttered. "The General will have our asses on a silver platter if we're not back by tomorrow."

"I agree."

The both of us turned around to see Red Sox and Yellow Yankee with their usual expressions.

"It's time to go home Corporal Richardson and Private McCoy. Your job here is done."

"Red Sox? I thought you went back to the U.S." Tora questioned out loud.

"That's what I wanted the General to think. I actually stayed for a bit so I could help with the operation." The agent explained.

Damn, it's like everyone is ditching the General for this mission. It's like their lives depend on it.

"Well I'll be damned." My partner whistled.

"Couldn't agree more." I muttered.

"Are you ready to go home?" The agent asked once more.

"Yeah, I'm a little spent out. Right Ky?" Tora looked at me for confirmation.

"Yeah…let's go."

The four of us began to walk into the sunset before saying goodbye to Shion and Kasai.

Home…never thought I'll hear that word again.

June 20, 1983

Okinomiya Airport

Where is she? I looked at my watch, it read 9:30 am. Thankfully Red Sox was able to persuade the General to give us a little more time to get back.

I took a quick sip of my coffee and a small bite from my donut. This combination is really good. Don't know what I'll do without it.

Suddenly, I felt something tugging on my arm. I looked down and saw Tora looking up at me with those mischievous eyes.

"Kept you waiting huh?" She asked.

"You always do," I smiled at her. "Ready to go, partner?"

"Sure Kyle."

The both of us walked to our flight, putting this nightmare to rest. Looks like we finally got our happy ending.

And it feels really good.

THE END

And here we are folks! The last chapter of my fanfic. I have to admit that this took a little longer than I expected. I was tied up with school and an original story in the works that I couldn't get around completing the fic. Thankfully I was able to find the time to wrap it all up just in time. It was a wild ride and I thank everyone for staying with me. I think I might make another Higurashi fanfic in the future but I might take a break for now.

For now I'll see you all later! Chao!