3. Chapter 3: Murder
Chapter 3: Murder
Part A
We were driving away from the scene and pushed on to Hinamizawa. I was quiet for the rest of the trip. Kasai tried to instigate a conversation, but I ignored him. I was thinking about what that officer said.
Two people were fighting near the Onigafuchi Swamp. One was beaten to death and then dumped into the water, but the corpse hadn't been retrieved yet. I gave it a lot of thought. It couldn't have been me. There was just no way! I didn't do anything!
That dream I had, when I fought that monster in the forest, it felt so real. I felt all of that pain, the adrenaline rushing through my body, the thrill of slaying my enemy, and the rapture I tasted when I kicked him into the blood-red water, where the demons dragged it under. My body ached when I woke up this morning and it was still aching. No…that couldn't be! Was I hurting because **I** was one of those people that fought last night?
I wasn't! I couldn't be! Kasai even said I was tossing and turning in my sleep! There was no way I could sleep walk all that way near Hinamizawa and kill someone. Another concern filled my head: who was the person that died in reality? I killed a monster in my dream near the swamp, and this person was killed near the swamp as well, so who was this person? Half of me wanted the police to find that body while the other half of me wanted that corpse to remain hidden. I didn't do anything! I didn't kill anybody!
Kasai stopped at the Irie Clinic. We needed some painkillers for my apartment's medicine cabinet because we ran out. Kasai volunteered to grab the medicine, but I told him that I would retrieve them. He waited in the car for me while I was away.
I was the only person in the clinic besides the head nurse at the front desk and the doctor who was in his office. I said I was there to see Irie and she went to collect him right away. Irie exited his office and found me. That goofy smile was plastered on his face.
"Shion-chan! So go to see you again!"
"H-Hey…Manager."
"Huh? Is something wrong? Your skin doesn't have its usual radiance!" He chuckled.
"Well…" I looked down at my feet. I was twiddling my thumbs together. "Manager…can you…give me an examination? I think I might be sick."
"Sick? Uh, all right. Come into my office. I'll give you a quick look-see."
Irie examined me and ran all sorts of tests. He checked my heartbeat, my muscles (which I flinched and squealed a little in pain when he check them), my eyes, and looked at my tongue. He checked my blood pressure, my ears, my reflexes, and even looked at my skin. He was extremely thorough, sometimes a little more thorough than he really should be.
"Hmm," he thought to himself. "I don't see anything seriously wrong with you. Your muscles do seem to be a little sore. What were you doing last night? Exercising a little too much? Haha! Or were you beating off boys with a stick?"
I didn't laugh at all. My thoughts drifted back to my awful dream.
He looked me right in the eye. "Poor Shion-chan! She's so beautiful that she attracts all sorts of boys, doesn't she?"
"So, are you going to give me something for this pain or what?" I said quickly. I didn't mean to sound irritated, but I just really wanted to get out of here to see my friends.
Irie was taken aback by my sudden attitude. He adjusted his glasses and laughed nervously. He motioned to his nurse who went into one of the rooms in the back. She came back with a pill bottle in little brown bag. Irie thanked her and handed the bag to me.
"You're not sick or anything so that's good. You just have some sore muscles. Just take two of these pills every six hours to relieve the pain." He cracked a small smile at me. "You're sure everything is alright, Shion-chan? You can tell me if something else is bothering you! I can help!"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me." I snatched the bag and walked out of his office. "Thanks…Manager…"
"Oh, excuse me, Shion?"
"What now?" This time I was genuinely losing my temper. Wouldn't this guy shut up for once?
"Um…did you hear about the fight last night?" Irie was suddenly serious. "You know, how two people fought near the swamp?"
I swallowed hard. He knew about it? Was he there checking out the scene with the cops? And why did he suddenly bring it up? Was he deliberately trying to freak me out or something?
"I actually just came from that road…they told Kasai and me everything…"
"It's a real shame." Irie walked up to me. "I was there early this morning, trying to help find the body of the person who was killed."
I faced him partially, but I didn't look him in the eye. "D-Did you find anything?"
"No, but the police and I did notice that the body was kicked into the swamp. There are tracks along the cliff that leads down into the water. It shows that the body slid down there. Despite that, nobody could find the corpse. It should have been floating around that area, but it seems to have vanished without a trace!"
I didn't know where it went, but frankly, I was really trying not to care.
"It doesn't make sense to me! It's like he was spirited away or even demoned away!"
I clenched my fist tightly. I didn't want to hear that phrase!
"I hope this gets solved soon…the cops didn't tell you anything new did they?"
I couldn't hear the cicadas chirping outside. All I could hear was our voices and my rapid heartbeat. "No…I didn't hear anything. They were still looking for that body."
Irie sighed heavily. "What in the world happened?"
"I really should go!" I said a quick goodbye and I ran out of the clinic.
I ran to the passenger's side of Kasai's car. I dropped the pill bag into the cup holder and sat in my seat. I slammed the door shut. I held my head tightly and breathed hard.
"Shion-san? Are you okay?"
"I don't want to hear about that murder! I don't want to hear about it at all!"
Kasai jumped in his seat as I screamed. "I-I'm sorry! Did the doctor say something about it?"
"He wouldn't shut up about it! I don't want to talk about it! I don't want to hear about it!" I swung my fists down on the dashboard. The plastic cracked. "I don't want to hear about it anymore!"
"Easy, Shion-san! Take it easy!" Kasai shook me a little. "We're not over there anymore! It's over now! Just take it easy!"
I took deep breaths and ran my hands through my hair.
"…I'm sorry, Kasai." I looked out ahead of me into the green fields and into the bright blue sky. "It's just…it really made me uncomfortable…I'm sorry for flipping out like that."
"It's understandable, Shion-san!" Kasai patted my shoulder. "Nobody enjoys hearing news like that. Let's just take it nice and easy. I'll take you to the head house right away so you can see Mion-san and Satoko-san. I'm sure seeing them will make you feel much better!"
His voice was so calm and so caring. Kasai's always been with me through thick and thin. I always trusted him. He was there when nobody else was. He wasn't just my bodyguard, but he was one of my best friends.
"Thanks, Kasai." I managed to smile at him.
After waiting for another minute to see if I was fine, he put the car in drive and we moved on to Mion's house.
Kasai dropped me off at the front door of the Sonozaki house. He wanted to go run some errands in the village and then he was going back to Okinomiya. He wanted to see if I was fine with his plans. I personally didn't care what he was going to do, but he told me just in case if I needed him. I could reach him using a radio he gave me. I could call his own radio in his car if there was an emergency. He was worried about my sudden lashing out and wanted to be sure if I would be fine.
I left the pain pills with him. I was going to take some to ease the pain in my muscles, but I didn't think I could stomach them for now. Kasai wished me farewell and reminded me three times to call him if I ever needed anything. He cared about me so much right now. But I was a tough girl! Coincidences weren't going to kill me! I just needed to take a breather and enjoy myself! Satoko, Mion, and Kei-chan would definitely help me!
I rang the doorbell on the front door. There was no answer at all. I rang it a few more times, but I got the same result. Where was everybody? Instead of waiting around to be noticed, I decided to go a different way.
I walked around the house to the main garden. As I walked, I heard the birds singing and the water flowing majestically down the stream. The flowers were blooming very beautifully. Did they know the tragedy that happened today? Did they know that someone was killed? I had to stop thinking like that! I forced those thoughts out of my head. I was supposed to be happy! I was going to be with my friends today! Nobody was going to spoil that, not even Houjou Teppei! He could search high and low for Satoko, but he would never find her!
I arrived outside the living room near the main garden. I heard laughing and grunting. I peeked around the opened door to find Mion and Satoko giggling, while Kei-chan was rolling on the floor, gripping his head, crying like a baby. They were playing some board game. I didn't recognize it at all. I think it was one of Mion's imported games. She had this thing for these games, it was like an obsession. I swear, one day she would open her own shop, or museum for that matter, to display all of the games she acquired. I wouldn't put it past her!
"That's another round you've lost, Kei-chan!" Mion cackled. She looked at him deviously, "You know what that mean, don't you?"
"Oh man…" He was cowering in the corner of the room.
"You have to pay the price, Keiichi-san!" Satoko was walking over to him like a zombie. Mion joined in as well.
"You guys are scaring me! Knock it off!"
"Keeeeeeeeeei-chwaaaaaaaan!" Mion stuck her hands forward.
"I want to eat your braaaaaaaaaaains!" Satoko groaned.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Kei-chan covered his head with his arms.
They both pounced on top of him and began tickling him. He was laughing like a crazed hyena and he was shouting at them to stop. They were merciless! They kept tickling him so he could barely breathe!
"How many times has he lost today?" I chimed in as Kei-chan was writhing on the floor in the agony of his tickle induced laughter.
"Oh? Nee-nee!" Satoko hopped off of Kei-chan and sprinted over to me. She tackled me so hard that I fell over on my back. My sore muscles were throbbing because of the impact.
Mion was still on top of Kei-chan. She looked at Satoko hugging me and laughed. "Shion! What brings you out here? You want to join the festivities?"
"Ahaha!" I got back on my feet and entered the living room with Satoko. She was smiling so brightly at me. Her eyes didn't leave me at all. We walked over to Mion. "I don't want to impose! I just came to see how Satoko was doing!"
"I'm great!" Satoko said happily. "We just finished another round of this new game Mion-san just got! Keiichi-san's lost all of the matches so far! Oh ho ho ho ho! His tears of defeat make me so happy!"
Kei-chan tried to hide his face in shame.
"Poor boy! You'll come around, Kei-chan! Wait a sec." I looked at the way Mion was sitting on Kei-chan. She was sitting on his waist and her hands were on his chest. "My, my, my! Sis, what on earth are you doing?" I smiled widely. "Couldn't wait until tonight I take it?"
"Huh?" Sis looked around herself. She noticed the position she was in. Her face flushed and she fell off of Kei-chan. She stood up and was slurring her speech. "I-I-I…it's not what it looks like! I-I-I was just p-p-p-punishing him for l-losing the game! I wasn't doing anything!"
"Ahaha!" I poked Mion's shoulder. "That's not what I saw! You know, it would work much better you weren't wearing-"
"SHUT UP! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Her arms flailed around violently.
Satoko blinked at this display. "I don't get it! What's Mion-san so embarrassed about? There was nothing wrong with that picture! She was just tickling Keiichi-san!"
"In **all** the right places I imagine!" I put my hand up to my mouth and imitated Satoko's laugh.
Kei-chan stood up and looked just as embarrassed as Sis. He scratched at his head and looked away from us.
"Kei-chan, you dog!" I nudged at him with my elbow. "Although, you have to be real gentle with Sis! She's a very delicate girl!"
"I told you to shut up!" Mion threw a punch at me.
I hopped back, evading her fist with a second to spare. Kei-chan wasn't so lucky. The punch that was meant for me hit him square in the face. He collapsed to the ground like a ton of bricks. Mion gasped and lifted him up. She was holding his motionless body in her arms.
"Kei-chan! I'm sorry! Are you okay?"
He had these funny swirls in his eyes! His mouth was agape and a huge red mark was on his face! "I…I give….I give…please don't make me wear the outfit again…please, momma…!"
"Poor Kei-chan! He keeps getting hurt today!" I laughed again.
"You made me do it!"
"I didn't do anything! Ahaha!"
After Kei-chan came around, I joined in for the next round. We played for a few more rounds until Mion, Keiichi, and Satoko wanted to take a break. The three of them looked so happy together. The tension between Mion and Satoko was completely gone, I could feel it. It was back to the good old days, when all of us were the best of friends.
Keiichi seemed to notice that they were friendlier to each other than usual. I wonder if he even knew about the argument Mion and Satoko had the week before. It didn't seem like it. Well, at least those two girls were back to being friends. I just hoped that Sis had to guts to tell Kei-chan her feelings. If she didn't then I would have to find a way to make her do that.
We were having tea and some of Onibaba's ohagi. The taste was too strong for me. It felt like the roof of my mouth had been stabbed by a needle every time I took a bite out of it. They liked it though. I put mine aside and stuck with my tea.
"You three have been playing all day, huh?" I asked.
"Pretty much!" Satoko was beaming. "We did that all of last night too! When Rena-san and Rika dropped off our homework, we didn't even do it! We just played games and told stories all night long!"
"You really should do your work though! When you go back to school, you don't want Chie-sensei to smack you with a T-square for being lazy!"
"Lighten up!" Sis spoke up. "Satoko will be staying for a little while so why try to dampen her fun?"
"I don't want your behavior rubbing off on her, Sis! Satoko is a growing woman! She needs to focus on her education!"
"She can do that in school! This is 24/7 play time mode at the Sonozaki house! Gahaha!" She laughed evilly. "Working is against the law over here!"
Kei-chan frowned. "We really should do some of the work. Having this stuff to do at the last minute will destroy us!"
"I'll worry about that when the time comes! Ahaha!" Mion slapped his shoulder.
"Mion-san!" Satoko tapped her arm. "I just remembered! Didn't you say you wanted to find something in the mountains? That special 'thing' you were looking for?"
"Oh yeah! I said I wanted to get that done sometime soon, didn't I? Let's go do that right now! Shion! You stay with Kei-chan, alright?" She looked at me seriously.
"What? What are you up to?"
Mion and Satoko laughed. Sis leaned over to me and whispered. "It's something for Kei-chan! I'm getting ready to tell him! Everything is going according to plan! Thanks for having him stay here for a while! Hehehe!"
I cocked my head and my eyes nearly came out of their sockets. She was going to tell him soon? I wished she'd just do it now! I nodded and winked at her. Satoko gave Keiichi a quick hug and Mion waved goodbye at the both of us. They would be back in an hour or so. After they left for the passage way into the mountains, via the secret chambers toward the end of the main garden, it was just me and Kei-chan.
"I'm very relieved that Satoko's happy!" I smiled as her and Sis ran off.
"Yeah. She doesn't know a thing about her uncle." Kei-chan was sitting next to me now. "Good." I rubbed at my shoulder. It was starting to hurt again. The pain disappeared after Satoko tackled me, but it returned. I should have taken one of those pills before I left Kasai.
"Are you sore?"
"A little. I think I slept the wrong way last night. I had trouble sleeping…I had a nightmare…"
"I'm sorry. Can I do anything?"
"I wouldn't mind a massage, but I'll just wait until I get home. I'll take a pain killer then!" I smiled at him. "I don't think you'd be comfortable giving a massage!"
"I can give you one, if you'd like." He said flat-out.
My face was hot for a moment. His sudden response really threw me off. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted. I sat on my legs and turned my back to him. He sat behind me and laid his hands on my shoulders gently. I was trembling under his touch.
He gently squeezed my shoulders and rubbed them. He even rubbed around my neck for a few minutes. It was wonderful. The pain I felt was going away. He was untying each knot in my muscles. I couldn't believe how good it felt. I moaned quietly to myself. I thought he heard me, because he continued rubbing around that same area. I didn't want it to end. But at the rate this was going, he was going to drive me crazy. I didn't think I could contain myself.
"You're pretty good," I said softly. I moaned a little louder as he squeezed my shoulder a little harder.
I knew he was blushing. "T-Thanks…"
"No, thank you." I closed my eyes. "I didn't get much sleep last night because of that nightmare. Kasai said I was tossing and turning all night."
"What was your dream about?"
I hesitated. I remembered the crime scene. "I don't know if I should say…"
Kei-chan stopped massaging me for a moment. "It's just a dream. You know it can't hurt you, right?" He chuckled.
"I know…but…"
"If it's bothering you that much, maybe you should get it off of your chest? I bet it'll make you feel much better! It'll be like throwing up! When you get that nasty stuff out of your system, you'll feel as good as new!"
"…What a lovely image…"
"Sorry! It's true though!"
He was right. I was bottling this terrible dream inside of me. If I talked about it, maybe I could feel at ease. All of my worries could go away. I trusted Kei-chan with my life. He would listen to me and make me feel better. He really would. He had that amazing ability.
"Well," I held my arms tightly. He began massaging me again as I spoke. "I dreamt that I was in the forest next to the Onigafuchi swamp. I don't know I got there, but I was walking through those woods. I was being chased by somebody. This person turned out to be a monster and he attacked me. I fought back and I…ended up killing the monster. I threw the body into the swamp where it was eaten by these dark creatures.
"I was so happy I killed that monster. He showed up in another dream of mine before, where he was assaulting this smaller creature. I fought him then too. I've been having these terrible dreams lately, and this one about the swamp was the worst."
"It's over now though, there's no reason to be afraid of it!" Kei-chan smiled at me. I could feel the warmth his smile upon me, though my back was facing him.
I wonder if he knew about the crime scene. "…Did you know that there was a crime scene near the actual Onigafuchi Swamp?"
He stopped massaging me again. "There was?" He sounded shocked.
"Two people were fighting and one died. No one found the body yet, even though it was thrown into the swamp."
"That sounds exactly like your nightmare!" Kei-chan was quiet for a minute. He turned me around to face him. He knew what I was thinking and how I was feeling. "Wait…you mean to tell me…"
I had to be totally honest with him. He knew how I felt, but he wanted me to say it. Usually, I knew what he was feeling and tried to get him to talk about it, now he was playing my role. It was a strange shift in our jobs, but I kind of liked it.
"I am…I am afraid of it…" I looked at my hands. "It felt so real…and someone really died at the swamp. The person died the exact same way I killed that monster. What if…by some weird chance…I killed that person? "
"Stop talking like that right now!" Kei-chan looked at me so sternly. He gripped my shoulders. "You're not responsible! Why would you feel guilty for something you didn't do? You wouldn't kill anyone! That's impossible!"
"But I…"
Kei-chan shushed me. He covered my mouth and just smiled at me.
"You shouldn't think like that at all! It was just a dream and nothing more! So what if it was a coincidence? I know you! I know you wouldn't kill anybody!"
I was silent.
"Look, the police will find out who's responsible and put him away! I know somebody else did this! They'll find him and lock him up!"
I slowly nodded. I was starting to listen to him. I was just having trouble sleeping. Kasai confirmed it. I didn't leave my room at all. I didn't know what I was thinking or why I was worrying about something that didn't involve me. I must have been losing my mind. Ever since Takuma mentioned demons that time, it's been slowly eating away at me. It was my own fault for letting it tear away at my heart.
Keiichi placed his hand on my head and he rubbed it. "You worry too much about the tiniest thing that doesn't concern you! I'm like that way too sometimes, but we gotta learn to think logically! Hehe!"
He had a strong point. My dream was so real, but everything was just a coincidence. Somebody was pulling a prank on me. Somebody wanted to see me go crazy.
Keiichi took back his hand and smiled brightly at me. "Feeling better?"
I stared at his hand. "…Yeah…" Why did he stop? Couldn't he do that a little bit more? I would have like that…just a few minutes longer…
Part B
I left the Sonozaki head house a while later. Mion and Satoko hadn't returned yet and I didn't want to distract Kei-chan any longer. If he kept massaging me and rubbing my head, I might have lost it. It was better this way. I said my goodbyes to him and walked off. I was walking down the road, just enjoying the crisp afternoon air.
Kei-chan set me straight. I was mad to believe that I was the culprit. I just had a nightmare. That's all that it was. It was just a really bad dream.
I was walking past the junkyard now. I didn't know where I could go now. I wanted to stay with Keiichi, but I'd just be getting in Sis' and Satoko's way. I didn't want to overstay my welcome. After that huge speech I gave to Mion about her feelings, it would look weird if I hung off of Keiichi. I had the urge to do so, to make him rub my head again, but I controlled myself. I didn't know how I did it, but I did. He was Mion's, not mine…
I heard clanging sounds coming from the junkyard. I had an idea of what, or who, was causing them. Mion told me stories about how a certain individual would rummage through the mountains in search of something cute. Maybe I could pay this person a visit while I was here.
I hopped over pipes, plywood planks, and broken sofas and chairs until I came to the center of the junkyard. I found a trailer, four mountains of trash, and a girl in a sailor fuku outfit. She was trying to move this large pipe that was covering more piles of junk. That pipe looked way too heavy for her to move just by herself!
I approached the girl and grabbed a piece of the pipe. I helped her yank it out of the pile. When she saw that someone had helped her, she turned to see me.
"Hiya!" I waved.
"Shii-chan!" Rena jumped up enthusiastically. "You came to help me treasure hunt?"
"I was in the neighborhood so I decided to drop in!" I examined our surroundings. There were mountains of junk everywhere. It was like a barrier from Hinamizawa. I was in Rena's world now. "There's so much in here! I gotta say, this is some hideout you have!"
Rena smiled. "Yes! It's my favorite place in the whole village! It's very special! No one but the club knows about this place!" She looked at me with these big eyes. "And no one can hear anything from here either."
"Ahaha, is that right? You could probably kill someone here and nobody would know, huh?" I laughed a little.
Rena didn't join in my laughter. She only stared at me.
"You okay, Rena?"
"Haha!" Rena closed her eyes and kept smiling. "I'm fine! I'm just looking for something cute like always!" Rena turned around and was moving pieces of lumber away from the pile she was working on.
I moved to help her, but she stopped me.
"I met a friend of yours today, Shii-chan!"
I blinked. "A friend? The only friends I have are you guys! I don't have anybody else!"
"No! I met Hanzaemon-san!"
That weird cop entered my brain. I couldn't help but shiver when I heard his name. All I thought was that time when he spoke so coldly to me over the phone. He was getting very familiar with the lore of Hinamizawa, since he spoke of demoning away. I seriously hoped he was just playing a dumb joke. I hoped he didn't actually believe in demons or any of that.
"Oh, Takuma! You met him?" I asked, still retaining my composure. "What do you think of him?"
"He's really nice! I met him in 7th Mart yesterday! He's a very handsome and intelligent man!" She put her hands on her cheeks. "And that suit he was wearing…hauuuuuuu! I want to take it home with meeeeee!"
I shook my head at Rena. "I don't think I'll ever understand your tastes, Rena!"
We both laughed.
Rena moved another large piece of lumber. "I'm happy we have a new friend we can talk to! Now we have Akasaka-san and Hanzaemon-san!"
"Yeah, Takuma's not bad…" That phone call was lingering in my head.
"They're making sure Teppei stays away from Hinamizawa! They're making sure he goes back to jail! He promised me he would lock him up when we spoke in the store last night!"
"You were out last night?" I was shocked.
Rena faced me and nodded. "I ran out of ingredients to make my lunch for school today so I went to the store. That's when I met him."
"Is that so?"
"Why do you ask, Shii-chan?"
"N-No reason, I was just curious."
Rena's eyes never left mine. I shifted my eyes around because I was becoming uncomfortable as she stared at me.
"Did something happen last night?"
I perked my head up. My heart rate picked up. "Well…you did hear about the crime near the swamp, didn't you?"
Rena nodded. "I did. Chie-sensei let us out early today, so I came here. Hanzaemon-san saw me today when I was leaving school. We talked for a while. He told me all about the incident." Rena's voice wasn't as cheery as it was before.
"What was Takuma doing in village today?"
"He was exploring to memorize where everything is."
"I see." I scratched my arm and sighed. "Man, I wonder who was murdered over at the swamp…I really hope Takuma gets that guy!"
Rena took a step toward me. She smiled cutely at me. "What makes you think what happened at the swamp was a murder? Nobody said anything about a murder!"
I blinked at her. I took a step back. "I-I just assumed that that was the case!"
"Why would you think somebody was murdered, Shii-chan?"
"Well, I heard that somebody was beaten to death and then thrown into the swamp! That's constitutes murder, doesn't it?"
Rena took another step. "Think carefully, Shii-chan. Two people were near the Onigafuchi Swamp. One person vanished and another person disappeared into the night, never to be seen again. Where did that person go, I wonder? It makes perfect sense!" Her eyes were on the ground.
I, in turn, stepped back again. "What are you talking about? It's a murder! One person was killed and dumped in the water!"
"A murder? Why do you insist that this is a murder?"
"The cops said somebody witnessed the brawl and the killing!" I was getting angry now. Wasn't she listening to me?
"Somebody saw the crime? Who did? Who was the source that confirmed it was a murder?"
"H-How should I know?"
Rena was still looking down at the ground. Her voice sounded monotone. "Do you believe them?"
"They're the police! They're experts! They know that this is a murder! Why shouldn't I believe them?"
"Again…why are you so hung up on that idea?"
I shouted. "Haven't you been listening to a word I've said, Rena? Because it is! They have a source and they say it was a murder!"
Rena shot her head up and glared at me with these reptilian eyes.
"THAT'S A LIE!"
Rena's scream echoed into the forest near us. The ravens flew from their branches and cawed loudly. They flew over me. Their shadows cast down on me. I instantly felt cold. My pulse trembled and my body was frozen stiff.
Rena walked up to me. "This wasn't a murder, Shii-chan…Rena knows…"
I couldn't speak at all. Those horrific eyes paralyzed me. Rena's aura was different now. I could see the dark miasma pouring out from her.
"Rena knows who's responsible…you shouldn't always think a person is behind everything!"
"Then…who's responsible then?"
"Hahahaha…" Rena was as close to me as she could get. She looked up into my eyes. She was smiling happily at me. "Oyashiro-sama…"
I took back my fortitude and grabbed her shoulders. I gritted my teeth at her and shook her violently.
"Don't give me that! Oyashiro-sama's just a myth! He's a superstition created by the village to scare people! He's nothing but a false god! There are no such things as demons or anything like that! Quit living that stupid fantasy world of yours!"
Rena continued to smile at me. "You don't believe in Oyashiro-sama?"
"Of course not!"
"Hahahaha…then you'll be cursed too…!"
What did she say to me?
"You're cursed now! Because you denounced Oyashiro-sama, you'll be cursed! Hahaha…!" Rena took my hands off of her shoulders. She brought her face closer to mine. "He'll curse you! You'll be demoned away just like that person was at the swamp! You'll be eaten by the demons that lurk beneath the water!"
What the world was she saying?
"Demons exist, Shii-chan!" Her cold breath blew onto my face. "Rena knows! Everybody has one deep inside of them too! I have one…I know I do!" She held my face in her hands. "Does Shii-chan have one too? I wonder!"
I felt an excruciating pain in my stomach. Something inside of me was trying to come out! It was trying to break free from me! It was speaking to me! I could hear the cold voice in my head! I could hear him putting thoughts into my head!
Why didn't she shut up about demons? Why didn't she shut up about Oyashiro-sama? I wished she wouldn't talk anymore! I wish she would just be quiet! The voice inside of me wanted to kill her…it wanted me to kill Rena! I should kill her! Nobody knew about this place! Nobody could hear anything! I could kill her and get away with it! Nobody would have to know! She started this! She started this whole talk about demons! She needed to learn her place!
I saw a pipe lying next to my feet. I could just reach down and pick it right up. I could hold it over my head and hit Rena with it. I could keep striking her with it! I could keep hitting her until she didn't move anymore! I could do that! That's what I wanted to do! Those were my thoughts, right? I could just kill her right now! I could kill her be done with it! I could kill her and never hear another word about demons!
_"Shion doesn't have a demon! She's a kind, loving, beautiful woman! She loves her friends very much, just like I do! How is it that she's a demon when she loves us so much? Demons can't love!"_
I reached down. I picked up the pipe. Rena was still smiling at me. Didn't she know that these were her final moments? I lifted the pipe up high. I was grinning. I could almost taste her blood. I wanted to taste it! I wanted it!
"_Demon's can't love!"_
Why? Why couldn't I swing it down? Why couldn't I kill her? It was so easy to do! I just had to swing this thing down and crack her head open! What was so hard about that? If it's not hard…then why couldn't I swing it down?
I dropped the pipe and I fell on my backside. I looked down at the ground. My sweat fell to the ground and it was making a puddle. My breathing was shaky. My body was on fire. My head was pounding and my heart was about to burst.
"Shii-chan!" Rena knelt down to me. She held me close and rubbed my shoulders. "What happened? You blacked out!"
"What?" I looked at her. "What…happened…?" I said very dumbly. I looked at her. Her eyes were back to normal.
"We were talking and then you picked up that pipe for no reason! I thought you were going to kill me!"
I turned to see the pipe. I really did that? I really did try to kill Rena?
"What…were we talking about?"
Rena looked at me oddly. "We were talking about the crime at the swamp! You said it was a murder and I made a joke about demons! You took it so seriously! I was only kidding, but you looked so afraid of me! You even tried to kill me because of your fear!"
"I…did….that?" Tears built up in my eyes. I threw my face into Rena's chest and I began to cry.
Rena held me close and caressed my back. She was very gentle with me and she tried to calm me down.
"Shhh! It's okay now! Rena has you! She'll take care of you, Shii-chan! It's alright!"
"Hic…hic…I almost killed you…it came back…it's tormenting me again…!"
"What is?"
"It's angry with me! It wants me to suffer! I told it to go away and now it's making me pay! I'm so sorry, Rena! I'm sorry….I'm sorry…!"
I cried louder and louder, and I gripped Rena much tighter than before. I tried to kill her! I tried to kill Rena! But I stopped myself! I managed to stop the demon again! No…wait…I didn't…I didn't stop it. I couldn't have. I heard his voice…I heard his kind and understanding voice…he helped me. He saved me again.
