Chapter 6, A Hidden Foe

"Today was just unbelievably incredible." Was all Mion could think to herself as she was walking with the others. They didn't just manage to win back the match with odds, but embarrassment on the enemy's side as well. But it wasn't just that which amazed her, but Keiichi as well. There was just something about him that she was getting a somewhat alluring vibe to. He pulled off the impossible, an amazing home run that made the whole game, set and point there, that almost the entire Oshima team just went and gave up, even Koichi himself. Lately, he was just pulling off amazing things left and right. In fact, she'd even say that he was, how could she say it, attracting her, with his cool attitude, those stunning arms, and who knows what's under his shirt...

"Hello, Earth to Mion?"

She jumped out of her trance, shaking her head as she turned to Rena who had been trying to talk to her for quite some time now. Though thanks to her daydreaming, she didn't hear her at all. Hopefully, she wasn't talking to herself as well. They were all going to the Angel Mort diner, to celebrate their hard-worked victory, to go eat some delicious cakes and such. Perhaps there were some specials today too, which would be terrific. For now, she gave her attention to Rena.

"Yeah Rena?" Mion asked her.

"I was just saying how awesome Keiichi was today, right? Right?" She asked Mion, though she probably already knew her answer. Mion obviously didn't just want to agree, she had to keep up her snarky way with him, otherwise he'd be getting the soft treatment from her, which she didn't want.

She scoffed Rena, holding her head high, "Yeah I guess, though he could have done it a lot sooner than later ya know." In a way, she was right. After all, Keiichi had only done it after about three or so rounds, as if he was building up tension or something. Oh wait, that was exactly what he did. Keiichi however looked unamused at her remark, along with Rika.

"Hey, at least I did something" He replied at her. "Besides, didn't you get your ass kicked whilst Satoko used her brain to get me here?" Mion flustered in annoyance at his comment, completely overtaken by his somewhat insult. She swore she could hear Satoko behind him snickering as well.

"I-I wasn't losing! I was bu-buying time for you to get here! Yeah, that's it!" That however, was a lie. In truth, she had intended to take on the Oshima team, along with Koichi by herself. In the end however as shown, she got annihilated, since she lacked the skills to even play at all. Just because she was the club 'master', didn't mean she was the baseball master.

"Right...well," Keiichi pointed at Mion's face for a moment, "You've got some drool on your face." She quickly responded to him, wiping off the saliva that had come from her mouth. "Shit!" She thought to herself in a slight panic. She must have not noticed, whilst again, daydreaming over him, which she didn't want him noticing.

Shion peered behind the brown-haired boy, a smug look on her face. It seemed that she would be taking this as an opportunity to tease her sister yet again, knowing exactly what she was thinking about.

"Oh my! ~" She cooed annoyingly, grabbing Mion's full attention of her evil antics. "Was someone having naughty thoughts about a certain someone!?~ Such a naughty sis of mine! ~" Mion once again flustered up, waving her hands frantically in the air.

"I wasn't! I swear! You're just being a pervert, Shion!" She tried to defend herself, but her dominatrix-loving sister didn't believe a single word. She laughed coyly as Mion was a blushed mess, along with the others. Except Keiichi.

That laugh...that evil laugh was all he could remember from last night. The dream where he went into the basement, the dream where he saw one of his own friends murdered, the dream...where Shion was a murderer. He lightly shoved Shion away from him, getting a bit of distance away from her, still moralised by fear from last night.

This caught the attention of everyone else, surprised of his sudden action, whilst Shion was rather annoyed, regaining her balance as she struck daggers at him. "Hey, what gives?" She asked in a bitter tone. He didn't answer immediately however, as he was trying to think up some bullshit reason. How could he help it? For all he knew, it was merely just the bad reminder of what he saw. In fact, he remembers Hanyuu saying that this was from another world, some cruel, twisted world where Shion was a psychopath.

But then again, that was just that one world, right? It couldn't just happen twice in a row...right? Unless that's what he was supposed to believe. For all he knew, she could do it again in this world, she could go out and kill people like she once did. For now, he'd be watching her closely, making sure she doesn't do that.

He regained himself, standing up straight. "Well, you did just burst out laughing next to my ear you know" he started off, "so of course I'm gonna get startled like that." It was a dumb reason to be sure, but one that could be easily believed.

Shion huffed in annoyance, "Yeah alright. Just don't do it again scaredy cat." She retorted back at him. Though whilst everyone else believed him as well, Rika however was somewhat suspicious of him. After all, this morning surprised her all too much in a way. She thought the events were just going to be the same; predictable and nothing new. But she was wrong, so wrong. Instead, she witnesses Keiichi do something that seemed near as impossible to anyone else, almost like a stronger force of power than anything. That, and she hasn't heard from Hanyuu since...well, then. Right now, she had no idea what was going on, or maybe what was going to happen next. But all she did know, was that Keiichi Maebara, was somehow going to be making changes to this world. And she was ready for it.

But right now? She knew he didn't get startled randomly, he seemed freaked out, somewhat still driven by something that scared him. Unless...did he know about Shion and what she did in another world? Was that memory what startled him? Or is he going to end up like the last world a long time ago...beating his friends to death? She could only be patient and...no, she couldn't just watch, not this time. If anything, she needs to get closer to Keiichi, find out what's with him. If she can do that, then perhaps, there could be just one last chance to change fate.

Satoko was the first one to break the silence, "Hey Keiichi, didn't you forget something?" She asked, though she knew what she was talking about.

He however, didn't. "Huh? Like what?" He asked her, curious.

"Your bike and the bat. Weren't you paying attention?" Shit, now he remembered! He'd just gone off without them. How stupid could he be today? Well either way, it was an excuse to get away from the awkward situation that he made. For now, he just made up an act.

"Ah damn it. I knew I was forgetting something." he turned around, setting off back to the baseball court.

"Hey, you're going back? Can't you just get it tomorrow?" Mion asked him.

He shook his head, "Nope, don't wanna risk forgetting again. Besides, I'll catch up with you guys when I get my bike, so don't wait for me."

Mion shook her head, though he did have a good point. "Alight then" She allowed, as if he was going to listen to her. "Don't be too long Mr. forgetful."

"I won't Miss red face." he joked back, running off before she could go after him, as she went beet red for the third time today, ranting at him whilst he went off. Nope, he will never not find that funny.

Keiichi had so far made it to the marketplace of Hinamizawa, still making his way back to the others. He had gotten back his bike, along with the bat, but he decided that he would take a leisurely stroll before he went on back to the others. He looked back at the bat that he used, during the baseball game. He remembered being given it by Mion and the others, a 'gift' or something for joining the club. It apparently belonged to Satoko's brother, Satoshi, though he transferred months before Keiichi appeared. So far, it's been incredibly reliable to him, he'd even go far in saying that it somewhat gave him luck. The bat however had better days, as it still had a couple of cracks in it from the impact that he put onto it back when he used Hanyuu's powers.

Note to self: fix the bat...and next time, use less force.

Something, however, was odd today. As he strolled through the marketplace, he noticed that, well, no one was around. That's odd, real odd. It was hardly even lunchtime, so that should mean there are people out and about, selling and buying things, right? Maybe his new friend would know.

He'd call out Hanyuu, who appeared immediately. "Yes Keiichi?" She asked.

"There's no one around here. What's up with that?" He questioned her. As Hanyuu looked around, she could also notice the strangeness in this all. She put her hands to her face, unable to understand.

"Au, au, au. I have no idea" She responded, "There should be people all around us, I don't understand what's going on." So, it was obvious to him, this was unusual. But it was more than that, he had an uneasy feeling. As if someone...was watching them. Hanyuu could also sense this, closing up next to him. "Can you feel it too?" She asked him.

He nodded, dropping his bike as he slowly took out his bat. "Yeah, it's like someone else is here. I don't like it." He carefully looked around him, assessing the situation right in the middle of them. Though he wasn't as calm as he wanted to be, sweat dripping from his forehead, gripping the bat harshly as he paid caution. Hanyuu however, showed less calm in her situation, but she was going to stay brave for Keiichi, she was going to help him no matter what, and keep him safe.

He turned to look over at the noodle shop, analysing the building. There was no sign of someone there, so that was clear...but wait, what was that? He looked over to the opening of an alleyway next to it, a tall figure standing by it. He wore a grey uniform which consisted of a shirt and pants, along with a grey cap and black shoes. In fact, he looked like those men he usually sees, who drive by in the white vans. But he looked somewhat different. For example, he was taller, and his sleeves were rolled up. He also had long, ruffled hair, but he couldn't see his face clearly.

It was well clear now that they weren't alone, but something felt threatening about him. Why was he just watching him? Or worse, why was he following him? Either way, he wanted answers. "H-Hey! What do you want!" Keiichi shouted over at him. It was all he could muster up to ask, anything else he could ask, he couldn't think of out of the fear that was freezing him on the spot. The man didn't respond however, continuing to stare at him. It made Keiichi feel rather uncomfortable, almost as if he was studying him, as the man looked from up to down of him. When he was done, the stranger turned around, walking away down the alleyway.

Keiichi and Hanyuu were somewhat confused. He just, looked at them, he was literally stalking them, and now he has the audacity to just play it cool and walk off? No chance. "Hey!" Keiichi called out, chasing after him. He ran over to where the alleyway was, the man continuing to casually walk down. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Keiichi ran up to the man, his bat in hand, ready to defend himself in case. He wasn't just going to let this guy get away, not a chance. For all he knew, this man probably had answers that he and his spirit friend needed. He reached for the stalker, just about to grab his shirt...only to grab thin air.

He was confused...real confused. He wasn't in the alleyway anymore, in fact, he was back outside. Where did he go? What happened? He turned to Hanyuu to ask her, but as he did, he saw her, staring at the building next to them, the look of shock on her face. What was freaking her out? He immediately got his answer as he looked at the building. He was...no, it wasn't possible.

He was back in front of the noodle shop, where they saw the grey shirt man in the first place. But that didn't make sense...how did that make sense? How could he be in the alleyway, to end up back where they started? It felt like Gods World but...that couldn't be true. There wasn't anyone else like Rika and Hanyuu...was there?

Before he could think any more to himself about the situation, the same man was right behind him. He was about to ready his bat, but he was too slow as the mysterious figure elbowed him in the side of Keiichi's face, making him fall to the ground, dropping his bat. He reached out for the weapon, but it was useless as his hand was stepped on, digging it to the ground, groaning in pain. The strange man crouched down to him, grabbing him by the collar, making the brunette look right into his eyes, giving Keiichi no chance to see his face properly. The man's eyes were somewhat jagged, like demon eyes if even anything else, with a crimson colour to them. If the devil existed, then this guy was the clear reincarnation of it.

The man hummed to himself, as if he was thinking for a moment. "As I thought" was all he said, as he picked Keiichi up, lifting him in the air. For a guy whose body type seemed like his, he was much stronger than his appearance showed to the naked eye. Suddenly, his fist came into contact with the brown-haired boy's face, sending him into the nearest post. The impact gave Keiichi some great damage to his head, making him slightly nauseated, as he struggled to get back up. It didn't help when the stranger grabbed him by the back of his neck, pounding him back into the hard ground. He could already feel the blood dripping from his nose, his breathing became harsh, but this person was cruel in his punishing attacks on him, picking him back up as he kicked his face into the wall of the nearest kiosk, keeping his boot on his cheek as he grinded his head on the wall.

Hanyuu was powerless to do anything, just like many times before, she could only watch in horror as this happened. "I'm sorry Keiichi" she said, her eyes filled with fear, tears streaming down from them. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Yesterday, Afternoon…

Keiichi was at his desk, writing something down on his notebook as Hanyuu sat patiently next to him. "Alright, let's run through this again" He started off, turning to her, "So basically, this 'Gods World' pretty much stops time for around ten seconds, meaning me and you can just do things like move chairs and all, and no one would know why?"

"Basically, yes" Was her simple reply. He nodded, continuing to write down on the notepad.

"So, are there any negatives other than the time limit? You know, in case we run into a threat."

Hanyuu thought to herself for a moment, before replying, "Well there are two negative issues. The first is to not rapidly lose the power, otherwise it becomes less effective each time." So pretty simple, the more you use it, the less time it has to recharge. In any threat or danger, that could be fatal if anything happens.

"Alright, what's the second?" Keiichi asked.

"The second," Hanyuu began, "Is physical contact. For example, if someone was holding down on you, as in holding you hostage, then you wouldn't be able to use Gods World, since that connection with someone else would be interfering with the power." So, in any case the last thing he wanted was to be grabbed by someone else, or in a tight grip of some beefy dude. Hanyuu continued, "I do hope that you won't get into a situation involving the second one, au au…"

Keiichi stopped writing for a moment, putting down the notepad and pen, gazing back at the spirited loli. "Why do you care so much?" he asked her bluntly, a sound of curiosity in his voice.

Hanyuu however was confused in what he meant exactly. "About what?" She asked him.

"About me? I mean, I'm not your ancestor like Rika is, and you've only known me for a few days…well ok more like hundreds of years or so, but you were never close to me. So, what changes things now?" He wasn't wrong to ask that of her, after all it was a genuine question to ask. To Hanyuu in a way, everyone who lived in Hinamizawa in her eyes were her own people, and that she swore to protect as their angelic guardian. Rika and her friends however were closer to her, as in her own children if she were to put it that way. They had come so far together, through hardships and kindness, through tragedies and friendships, they were destined together as friends, or perhaps family even.

What she said however, was a lot less heart-warming than intended. "Well, er…it's just um…au au, you're uh…like a son I never had!"

And with that chock-up of a sentence, Keiichi was speechless, completely silent, nothing to say, or even think of to say. "Ah! I-I didn't mean it like that! I-I- "

"Thank you"

She completely stopped to a halt after he said that. For him, he felt touched in a way, being compared to a son in her eyes. Of course, he had his own mom and dad, but him and their relationship together was…well it wasn't bad, they just didn't really interact much in a way, so it was hard for him to get attached to them. With Hanyuu however, he could see it in her eyes, the way she expressed herself, and how she acted. To him, she was somewhat motherly in how she was. She wanted to protect the people she loved and cared for, she worried for him and acted like any mother would when hearing their child talk about inappropriate things in public.

He gave Hanyuu a bright smile, looking in her dazzling eyes. "Thanks for looking over us. For everything you're doing to help. Thank you." The violet-haired goddess couldn't say anything now, completely joyed and touched by his words, as if he knew exactly what he thought. After all, at this point, they were connected the same as her and Rika are.

Tears of joy struck down her face, worrying Keiichi as she bawled in happiness. "Auauauauauau!Thankyousomuchohmygoddess!"

He didn't do anything at the moment but laugh to himself over Hanyuu's overreaction. But this time not out of humour, but of kindness.

Present Time, 11:39am...

Keiichi struggled, attempting to pry off the boot of the man squishing his head on the wall. But alas, there was no use, as the adult was far stronger than he was, his own strength unequal to his. The stranger removed his footing from him, once again picking him up by the collar and raising him up to his eye level. Keiichi's view of the man's face was still not clearly visible. It was obvious that this guy was making sure to hide his view of him, though he didn't know why. It was hard to think when you've been pummelled, bleeding and held up, feeling vulnerable and against your own will. The worse part was that there was no one around to help him. For all he knew, this man was going to kill him, right here and now, and no one will even know. Mion, Rena, Rika, Satoko, Shion, Hanyuu, and everyone else. "I'm sorry I failed you all..." Was all he could think to himself, as he grew unconscious, about to pass out any moment now.

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

He heard someone's voice, a girl's voice in particular, that caught both his and this man's attention. It seemed that he still had a small string of luck at this very moment, which he was thankful for. The stranger was sure to be wasting no time, as he let go off Keiichi, dropping him onto the ground. He crouched down to the ground, his mouth close to his ear, to be sure he heard him. "You're not ready." Was all he said, as he ran off back down into the alleyway he came from, disappearing from Keiichi's view as he was about to pass out. As he was losing consciousness, he could see the figure of the girl he heard earlier, though he was unable to see any detail as his view went blurry.

"Oh shit...it's going to be alright. I'll call for help. Just, stay with me...

"...chi? Keiichi? Are you awake?"

Keiichi was still trying to recover from the beating from earlier, his vision clearly still blurry as he lay himself up with his elbows. He winched from the pain in his head as he rubbed the specific part that guy beat. He was in what seemed a white room of some sort, laying a hospital bed. He wasn't the only one in the room it seemed, as Dr. Irie was there next to him, sat down on a chair.

"Ah, thank goodness, you're awake." Irie said, relieved for him. Ah, now he knows where he is. He must be in the Irie Clinic, thank God- well er, Goddess for that. He always did find this place more reliable any ways. Keiichi was still in his casual clothes, so he wasn't changed into anything. But he had a patch where his head split open, including his nose from the bleeding earlier, so nothing too serious. At least he still had his memory.

He turned to Irie, still having some slight pain as he moved. "You probably weren't expecting to see me again like this today, huh?" He lightly joked.

Irie laughed lightly, though awkwardly. "It's a real shock to be honest. We were all just playing baseball, then the next thing I'm here patching your wounds." He had a fair point there, though in all fairness, it wasn't his fault. He felt threatened by someone, no in-fact, he was being stalked by someone, and merely defended himself in a way. In the end, he was completely beaten to a pulp. He could still remember that stranger's final words; "You're not ready." What did he mean? Why was he after him? What did he want? These were answers that he needed answered.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Keiichi said, apologetically.

The doctor chuckled slightly, "It's alright, I'm sure you didn't start it." Well, he was relieved about that he was just waiting for him to say- "Though I'd like to know, who did this to you?" ...And there it was. How was he going to answer this? What was he supposed to say? That some random guy in a suit just beat him up for trying to follow him? He could just lie and say he didn't...no, enough lies. Him lying was going to get no one anywhere. He just had to be as honest as he could be.

He sat up slightly, thinking as much detail of this man as he could, and what happened. He started off, "Well, I was walking through the village, the store area to be exact, but no one was there, completely silent." Irie contemplated for a moment, sitting back down on the chair as he put a hand to his chin in thought.

"That's strange," He stated, "There should have been a lot of people there today."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Right, continue."

Keiichi continued his story, "I was alone, and at a point felt like I was being watched. Of course, I was, and saw a guy standing by the alleyway of the noodle shop." Irie got out a notepad and pen, ready to write down something.

"What did this man look like?" He asked calmly.

He sat there for a moment, making sure he got everything correct in his explanation. "Well he wore a grey uniform, a shirt and pants to be exact, but the sleeves were rolled up. He had a grey cap and long, messy hair at the back. I couldn't even get a good look of his face, but his eyes were right in front of me at some point, and they were creepy, as in they were crimson, and jagged too. If I were to say what he looked closer to, I'd say one of the grey shirts that drive those vans."

Irie had paused after that last sentence, almost like he couldn't believe what he heard. "A Yamainu employee..." Was all Keiichi could hear him mumble. Yamainu? What was that? Some kind of secret company? Was that what this was about? And how did Irie know about them? Unless...he has some tie with them, and one of their employees are just going around, spying on brown-haired, young boys? So many questions that needed answering, though he was sure that Irie wasn't just going to tell him about this. At least not yet...which reminded him of something to ask.

"Hey uh, so how did I end up here? Did someone rescue me or something" He asked Irie, curious to who his rescuer is.

"Ah, or course" he replied. "She's outside, in the waiting room. She's been waiting for you to wake up." Huh, so it seemed that someone was able to find him and bring him here. props to them, he'll be sure to thank them, well, her to be exact. But who was 'her' exactly? Guess he'd find out if he'd go talk to her. Also, how nice of them to wait for the damsel to wake and greet the knight in shining armour...some western saying or whatnot.

"Thanks, if you don't mind, I'd like to get up and see this 'rescuer' of mine." He joked.

"Oh course, I need to look through this information you've given me any ways." Irie replied, looking at his notepad. Keiichi nodded, heading out of the room. Irie sat there, all to himself and his thoughts. This didn't add up to him. A Yamainu employee, one of the people meant to be in secret on this job, going after Keiichi? At least, that's what it sounded like. If this was the case..., what was she up to?

The waiting room seemed rather empty today, then again, there weren't people like him ending up here so often. The only two he usually sees go here is Rika and Satoko, but other than that not much. There was however, only one other person in the room with him. It was a girl, of course, though she had a unique appearance to her. She's wearing a pink shirt with three, small, and thin black stripes that run down vertically and wears short, similar sleeves. She's also wearing a short, navy-blue skirt with a light-coloured checkerboard pattern on it. Her hair was also interesting. Her hair is a dull green colour, tied in two buns, while some of her hair can be seen sticking out, and her eyes are a brown colour. She looked about fifteen years old, close to Rena's age at least. To be honest, she was pretty cute as well.

She noticed him, getting up from the chair and going over to him, a look of thankfulness on her. "Thank goodness you're up. I thought you'd never wake up." She said in a kind voice. Jeez, even her voice was nice too...who the hell is this girl?

"Right, how long have you been waiting?" He asked her. "Actually, how long have I been out unconscious?" It would be nice to know how long it's been since today's incident. Hell, if it's even still the same day at least.

"O-Oh, right." She fumbled a bit to answer him. "Well, it's been about two hours since." Two hours!? Jeez, Mion and the others are probably worried as all hell. After all, he did say he wouldn't be long. Look how that was going so far. But wait...this girl waited for him, for that long? He didn't even know her.

"You waited for that long?" He asked, surprised at her actions. She merely nodded, still smiling.

"Well, it would have been rude to just dump you here without knowing who you are." Well, that was fair. I mean it's not every day some stranger helps you out. "Besides, I don't even know who you are. You're new in Hinamizawa, right?" Ah, right, that too. Sometimes he forgets that he wasn't born here after all. Makes it better that she even wanted to save an outsider from this town. Technically he wasn't to him, but still. He guessed that introductions were finally in order.

"Ah, right." He started off brashly. "I'm Keiichi. Keiichi Maebara. And you are...?"

She raised her hand, forming a peace sign, and answered him simply, "Natsumi Kimiyoshi."

...Wait, what!?

End Chapter 6

A/N. Wow, shocking right? Natsumi, a console arc/one-shot character being added to the story, along with a newly made-up antagonist. I had some mixed feelings for adding these two characters, but I wanted to show that I was going to be adding characters from other arc, and making my own characters to spice up the story. That and honestly, I feel like Natsumi deserved more attention, that and I just love her design and such 3

But either way, hope you enjoyed this action-packed chapter of surprises, and seeya in the next one.