Higurashi/Umineko series » Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kan: Kanashii hen
WOLFEDEN Stories
5. Chapter 5: Denouement
Rated: T - English - Horror/Mystery - Keiichi M. & Rena R. - Reviews: 20 - Updated: 02-04-11 - Published: 01-24-11 - Complete - id:6683917
Chapter 5: Denouement
Part A
I sat in my bed in a hospital in Okinomiya. I clenched my fists every now and then. My eyes didn't leave my hands at all. They were clean, but I could still see Shion's blood on them. I couldn't get her out of my mind. My shoulder and my leg were still hurting.
I had killed her. I killed her to save my own life. It was self-defense. She was going to torture me and kill me like she did to Mion. I couldn't wait for the police to come. If I did, I wouldn't have been alive. I did nothing wrong. I did the right thing.
The door to my room opened. Akasaka passed through the threshold and closed the door. He approached my bed and sat in a chair that was near the medical equipment. He tried to crack a smile.
"How are you feeling, Maebara-san?" He asked. His voice was in a low tone. He was still grieving over Rika. I caused this guy so much trouble and he was trying to help me. I felt bad for him.
"I'm fine," I replied, still looking at my hands. "I just…can't believe I…"
"It was self-defense, Maebara-san, you're fine." Akasaka held my shoulder. "You had to protect yourself. You're not in any kind of trouble, don't worry!"
I was quiet.
"I'm sorry to have to bother you so soon, but I'm going to need your official statement. We can start anytime you're ready." Akasaka fished out his notepad.
I took a deep breath and rubbed my head. I scratched at my neck a little. "I basically stayed in my room two days ago. That night, Shion disguised herself as Mion and came by my house. I was going to knock her out with the golf club I was holding onto, but she got the better of me. She took me to the Sonozaki head house and tried to torture me and kill me. I saw she…I saw she killed…Mion…and then I killed Shion to protect myself. That's really it…"
Akasaka nodded to himself as he wrote my last few sentences down. "Why did she kill Mion?"
"She thought Mion killed Satoko and Rika. She wanted revenge because she was so close to Satoko."
"Now, is that for certain? Is it true that Mion killed them?"
I sighed and looked out of the window. "To be honest…I really don't know anymore. I thought she did, but after the things Shion said to me, I don't know if Mion is guilty. The crime doesn't fit her at all."
Akasaka shook his head. "I guess she had a side to her that you never saw before."
I tried not to listen to that.
"If we only got to Mion before Shion did, then maybe we could have learned something from her. We might have found out the truth."
I knew something: the fight. The fight where Satoko threatened to tell me that Mion loved me. The fight where Mion got so hysterical, because of it, that she had a motive to kill Rika and Satoko. The fight where the two of them both made up and put the misunderstanding behind them. The fight that robbed me of Mion, Rika, Satoko…and it made me kill Shion.
I wanted to tell Akasaka about everything. I wanted to tell him about the fight, but I still had no idea what was going on. I was left out of the loop so much that it all confused me. The major issue at hand was that Rena hid the fact that the argument was indeed a misunderstanding, and that Mion and Satoko made up. If they did, then why did Mion kill them? I was thinking that Mion lied about forgiving Satoko and held a grudge against her. Mion loves her friends though. She wasn't like that at all. She wouldn't betray us.
Nothing made sense to me anymore. I was alone in the world. Rena was the only friend I had left, but because she hid all of these things from me, I was questioning whether or not I should trust her. Could I tell Akasaka though?
"I'm still going to investigate Mion. Someone has to know something about her motives."
"I might know something," I said. I had to get it off of my chest.
I sat there and spoke with him about what Rena told me. I then informed him that Mion threatened Rena's life, and then some of the holes that Shion filled. He wrote down every detail. I couldn't do anything else with this information, but hopefully Akasaka could do something. I was in no shape, as I was physically and mentally exhausted, to figure this out now.
"I see," he said with his hand on his chin. "So they made up before they were kidnapped?"
"Apparently."
"That doesn't sound right to me." He twirled his pencil around in his hands. "If they put it behind them, then why would Mion attack Satoko, and Rika for that matter?"
"I know Mion very well." Saying her name hurt me more. "She gets over something that bothers her, she always did that. I just…don't think she really did this. It's not like her."
"But we found the bodies of the two girls in the secret tunnel, which is on Sonozaki property. It's the perfect place to hide the crime and it was convenient for Mion to do. The evidence is all there. Mion knows the terrain of Hinamizawa. She knew where Rika-chan and Satoko lived. She knew the perfect place to catch them off guard. As far as I can tell, Mion is the killer."
"I don't know…I just don't…"
Akasaka folded his arms and titled his head for moment. He was thinking. "If Mion didn't kill Satoko and Rika, then who did? I don't think anyone else has a motive for murdering them. That's the main problem here. Unless we find concrete proof of Mion's innocence, she's going to be officially branded as a killer when I close this case." Akasaka shut and pocketed his notepad. "I'm sorry, Maebara-san, without that proof I can't do anything but close the case. However, I'm going to look into this more closely just be on the safe side. Maybe I'll find something out, but don't get your hopes up, please. Anyway, you really need your rest. I'm sorry to bother you, but I had to get this statement to help you and make everything official. Take it easy and let me handle this, okay?"
Akasaka patted my shoulder and wished me well and walked over to the door. "Oh, and when you get back to Hinamizawa, you should get more medicine for your allergy. Your neck's all red."
I sat alone in my room again. I scratched at my neck. It hurt every time I scratched, but if I didn't scratch it, it would itch even more. I ran out of the cream Irie gave me so I had to cope with the itch. I even peeled off my bandage before Akasaka came to talk with me so I could scratch at it. Why did it itch so much? I didn't get it. Shion's grip on it would cause a rash, but it wouldn't spread like this. This was crazy.
So Akasaka needed proof of Mion's innocence before he would close the investigation. I took that as a favor. Not many cops would do that, especially to a friend of the criminal. When you get your evidence and piece the puzzle together, that's it. You close the case; you don't go back and look it over because everything fits. Akasaka was different. Maybe it was a real favor for me, or maybe it was a gut feeling after this talk, but he decided to investigate further. I desperately hoped he would find something to prove Mion's innocence.
I didn't want to think that my best friend was a murderer. But even if she did really commit murder, I would always remember her as Sonozaki Mion, my best friend…who loved me. I didn't condone what she did, or why she had done it, but Mion was still and would always be my friend. I gripped my chest. My heart ached. I felt so alone.
My whole world was falling apart around me. Every one of my friends was dead, save for Rena. My perfect Hinamizawa was no more. The place we fought for, where we defied all the odds and came out on top, was crumbling under my feet. I was falling and I couldn't grab on to anything to break my fall. I was falling in a vast chasm of nothingness. My world was that of a broken vase. It could never be repaired. It would never be the same.
The door to my room flung open. It startled me. I saw someone in white leap through the threshold and grab my head.
"Keiichi-kun!" Rena smothered my face into her chest. "I was so worried!"
I was losing air, but I loved the position I was in.
"Are you ok?" Rena held my face up to see her.
"Yeah, I'm okay! I'm okay!" I held the back of her waist with my hands. "You can stop squeezing my face now!"
"When I heard about what happened, I rushed over here as quick I could!" Rena hugged me again. She was stroking the back of my head. It felt wonderful. Her soft hands traveled up and down and massaged me. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I'm okay, really!"
Rena ignored my words and kept stroking me. She sat at the side of my bed and held me. She kept rubbing the back of my head with one hand and massaged my shoulder with her other hand. "Are you sure?" Her voice sounded so cute.
"Yeah, positive!" I smiled warmly at her. My heart was still heavy with everything that happened in this week, but she was sitting here with me now. Rena was all I had left. She was the only person who made it out with me. She hid the details of the fight from me though. She had to have had a good reason, I believed, or else she wouldn't do that. She would tell me everything, but maybe Shion was right: maybe she just didn't want me to worry after all. Rena was all I had left now. I couldn't afford for her to disappear.
I suddenly pulled Rena closer to me. My head rested over her shoulder. I gripped the back of her waist tightly. I was afraid to let go of her. If I did, I might have lost her too. I knew she was blushing. Her cheek was hot and it was touching the side of my neck. I had no more tears to cry, but I felt so emotional towards her. I brought her closer to me and rubbed around her hips with my hands. I wanted to make sure this was real and that this wasn't a horrible dream.
"Keiichi-kun!" Rena's face got hotter. "Hauuuu…Keiichi-kun…if you keep doing that…"
"Don't leave me," I whispered to her. "Please…don't ever leave me!" I couldn't help but hold her so tightly. She was my only friend in Hinamizawa. She was my last precious friend.
"Hauuu…Keiichi-kun…"
She saw how much of a mess I was. She pulled my face back to look into my eyes. She smiled at me. It warmed my broken heart. She placed my face into her neck. Her skin was so smooth.
She smelled great. The scent was delicious. I breathed her in and never let go of her. Everything about her made my body warm. It felt like I hadn't seen her in years. I forgot how cute she was, how weird she was, how she got so embarrassed when you touched her a certain way, and how her voice sounded. I couldn't control myself because I missed her so much. I think my lips slid over a part of her neck.
I heard her moan a little when I accidentally did that. She just held me tighter.
"Promise me something: please don't ever leave me!" I said strongly to her. "You're my only friend in the world now! I don't ever want to lose you!"
"I-I-I promise, Keiichi-kun…" Her voice was so quiet. She was taken aback at my sudden request. "I promise!"
I was still holding her hips and my face was still in her neck. She brushed her cheek against my head and sighed happily. She continued to rub the back of my head.
"Promise Rena that you'll never leave her too…" She whispered to me.
"I promise…Rena…"
"I'll always be here for you, Keiichi-kun," she whispered again. Her skin became hotter. Her delicate fingers traced along my neck now. It was so good. "Rena will always be here for you…"
I returned to Hinamizawa the next day. The doctors advised against it, as my wounds were still healing, but I wanted to get back to my home. I was using a cane to walk and my arm was in a sling. I looked terrible, but it felt great to finally come home. I got to see my parents and we shared a nice dinner. I slept soundly that night. It was the best sleep I had gotten in a long time.
I awoke the next morning and hurried down for breakfast. I was surprised, I had completely forgotten about my neck. My parents didn't even notice the large rash there; they were preoccupied with the wounds Shion gave me. They gave me seconds without me even asking and they helped me get up whenever I wanted to walk around the house.
It was the weekend now. I didn't have to worry about school. I was very happy about that. I didn't think I could face it so soon. I wasn't mentally prepared for that yet. I was thinking about the old days, when all of us were together. It was sad to remember, but I still had something to hold on to. I still had Rena. I needed her. I wanted her to stay with me as long as possible. I had to know that we were going to be alright.
Rena came by my house and invited me to go for a walk. My parents were about to decline for me, but I wanted to go. I was sure about it. I didn't want to stay cooped up in my room all day. I wanted to breathe the fresh air in Hinamizawa. I wanted to start anew.
Rena and I walked at a slow and steady pace. She helped me walk, even though I had the cane. I heard the cicadas chirping. They were still singing that dirge for all that happened.
We ran into some people along the way to Rena's hideout. We were stopped a few times where people asked how I was doing and that they heard about what happened to me. They were even telling me how sorry the Sonozaki family was. These people heard that the family was so infuriated by Shion's actions, not to mention Mion's own crimes, that they felt so dishonored. They were going to extend a formal apology to me when the case was finally over. I was shocked. I had forgotten Shion and Mion were daughters in a big yakuza family. I was afraid that they were going to come after me because I killed Shion; maybe that's why Akasaka wanted to get my statement so soon. He wanted to keep me safe from any misunderstanding. That didn't help repair the pieces of my broken heart though.
We arrived at Rena's trailer in the junkyard. She was extremely careful with me. She took it upon herself to make a walkway out of wooden planks and metal walls that appeared to be from broken down sheds for me. We sat in her trailer and just talked. She brought tea and some ohagi she made just for me. She was smiling at me the whole time. She was trying to make me feel better after all that happened.
"I'm sorry," she said to me at one point.
"For what?"
"I never told you what was going on. We all kept you in the dark. Friends shouldn't do that…"
Rena looked so remorseful. I think I saw a tear in her eye. I got so tired of tears and crying. I wiped it from her eyes and smiled.
"Stop that," I said. "It's all over now."
Rena nodded with her cute smile. "At least we have each other!"
I thought about Mion. I wished she was here with us now, along with Rika and Satoko…and Shion. It was empty without them. Rena was doing her best though. No doubt she was hurting inside like I was. We had to be there for each other. No more crying, no more thinking of the past, no more of anything.
"Rena…I miss them…"
"I do too, Keiichi-kun. I'm sorry that all of this happened. I never knew Mii-chan was like this."
I didn't want to hear about Mion's crimes. I still wanted to think of her as my best friend. I wanted to remember her as she was.
Rena must have seen the large frown on my face when she said that. She covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry…"
"It's alright," I said lowly. "I don't think any of us knew what she was going to do." I hoped Akasaka would find that proof soon. I couldn't take this anymore. "Actually, you had a hunch, huh? That's why you came by that night to tell me, right?"
"I wanted you to be careful." Rena played with her fingers.
"You know, now I'm not trying to accuse you of anything so please don't take it that way...but before Shion…well…she said knew about the fight between Mion and Satoko. Shion said that Mion and Satoko made up and that the whole fight was a misunderstanding."
Rena listened to me. She was very quiet.
"Please don't think I'm angry with you, but why didn't you tell me?"
Rena looked away from me. She rubbed her arm. "We didn't want you to worry about them, like I said before. We thought it was all over and that everything was going to go back to the way it was, but it sounds like Mii-chan didn't forget about the quarrel. We didn't want to trouble you with something that was already over. When I heard Rika-chan and Satoko-chan were captured, I thought for the worst. I came to tell you that night to warn you, but I wanted to leave before anybody saw me at your house. Mii-chan had many allies in high places, you know, since she was the next head for the family."
"I saw Rika's body in that pit, along with Satoko's." I recalled finding them in the tunnel. I felt so sick.
"Mii-chan…" she paused for a moment. "Shii-chan told you about her feelings, did she?"
I nodded.
"Mii-chan really did love you." Rena looked back at me. "That's why I wanted you to give that teddy bear to her, to make her happy. It was supposed to calm her too. But it didn't really work out."
I shook my head. "I just don't understand why."
Rena placed her tea aside. She came over to me. She got on her knees and sat on her legs. She touched my shivering hand. The thought about Mion and her emotions were dragging me back into that world of anger and sin. I didn't want to go back there again.
Rena held my hand in hers. She smiled at me again. "I don't think we ever will. But we can still remember everybody as they were. They're our friends! We'll never forget them!"
"I would never forget them."
"See! As long as you honor your friends for who they were, they'll never be gone! I don't care what they say about Mii-chan; she's a very good friend!"
"Rika, Satoko, and Mion, they're my best friends. You are too, Rena."
She giggled. She looked at my hand. She traced her finger all around it. She was still trying to make me happy. I felt great to start anew, but feeling great and being happy were two different things to me. I didn't know if I would be truly happy again. I lost all of my friends, except for Rena, and I would never see them again
She lifted my hand and placed it on her cheek. She pressed my palm into her cheek and held my hand there with both of her hands. "I…I'm happy you're here with me."
I stroke her cheek with my fingers. "I am too."
Her smile grew wider. She sat closer to me. She wasn't sitting on her legs anymore. Her lower body was touching the floor while her legs were at her sides. She rubbed her cheek into my hand.
"Hauuu," she said in a low voice. That voice made me tingle all over. "Keiichi-kun's hand is so warm and soft…I want to take him home…"
My eyes were casting some kind of spell over her. I didn't know what they were doing, but I think they were just flirting with her. This time was totally an accident though; I didn't mean anything by it. I always flirted with her to bust her chops. She knew I was joking with her those times, but was always subdued by them. This time was different. She took me seriously.
I didn't know how it happened, but her lips connected with mine. She was frozen stiff. My hand traveled to her hip and I held it tight. Her hands held my face. She kissed the corners of my mouth. One of my hands went to her legs soon after. My finger grazed her thigh. She trembled. I even kissed her neck a little. I heard her "hauuu" and gasp a few times. She gripped me tightly and shook where she sat. When I pulled my face away from her I met her eyes. Rena was bright red. She pressed her forehead against mine.
"…Keiichi-kun's making Rena so happy…" she whispered. She kissed me again.
My body was acting on its own. I had no control over what I was doing. All of my pain was gone and my neck wasn't bothering me. I honestly didn't want this moment to end. It felt so good. I felt so secure in Rena's arms. She was protecting me from all the terrible things that plagued me. Rena was everything to me now.
I lay in bed that night thinking about Rena. I made her happy? What did she really mean by that? I thought she was talking about sticking together like I was. It didn't really matter to me. All I knew was that the two of us were left in Hinamizawa.
Rena surprised me though. She seemed hesitant, but she seemed willing to go farther than where we stopped. I couldn't figure out what her deal was. I think she got too wrapped up in the moment. I know I was. It felt wonderful, but I was beginning to feel guilty. Shion's words were buzzing through my head. It felt like her stun gun was zapping me again.
"She loved you."
I turned over on my side in my bed. I looked at my wall. I closed my eyes tightly and tried not to think about it. Shion's words kept assaulting me though. She was torturing me, even though she was dead.
I felt guilty. The small happiness I had was gone again. I was back into the hell I thought I left behind. This was supposed to be a new life for me, but the chains to the past still held onto me. I tried to break from them but I couldn't.
"I'm sorry…" I said to myself. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"
It was Sunday now. I stayed in my room for most of the day, just thinking. I couldn't stop thinking about the past week. It was finally over, but why I was I having such a hard time accepting it? Something was eating at me.
I thought about my experiences of déjà vu, the rash around my neck, and about Rena. Everything was so weird. Shion and I did things we know we didn't do, but we felt a strong connection to those instances. This itching at my neck was getting so bad that I cut myself scratching at it. I put an adhesive over it, but that didn't stop the itching. The rash never went away, even with that cream or that shot Irie gave me.
I think Rena was the most peculiar case. She never acted so alluring like that before. The past times when I flirted with her, it was all fun and games. She was the one who was flirting with me now. She instigated the first kiss and was the first to touch. It was so odd. I had suspicions, but I was just being paranoid. I was supposed to be feeling better now.
I was supposed to go with her to the junkyard that day to help her with treasure hunting. I agreed to do so before she left me the night that I was in her trailer. It gave me the perfect opportunity to get these bad feelings off of my chest again. Rena could help me. She could help me solve everything.
Rena stopped by my house around late afternoon. She helped me over to the junkyard. I was walking much better than before. I could jog a little now. My wounds were healing pretty quickly, despite being home for just one day. I would be as good as new in no time!
When we got to the junkyard, Rena immediately got to work. She pulled and shoved debris off of her designated area. She did all of this in her white dress too. I was impressed. She was strong and determined to find something in that heap. She never gave up when she had her eye on something, especially when it was "adowable."
I sat against the door of her trailer, tapping my cane against my foot.
Rena took a little break from her digging. She sat next to me. Her hand touched mine.
I wasn't expecting it and I jumped.
"Keiichi-kun!" She was startled too. "Did I scare you?"
"It's okay! I was just thinking…"
"About everybody again?"
Guilty as charged.
She smiled. "It's okay! It's only natural!"
I tried to laugh it off, but my thoughts were eating at me again. "I just…you know…"
"We've been through a lot, Keiichi-kun!" Rena took my hand and caressed it. "Rena's here for you! She'll make you feel all better!"
"I have to thank you, Rena. You're doing a lot of nice things for me. I appreciate it."
She giggled. She took my hand and placed it on her leg. She made me keep it there.
"Rena, what are you doing?" I was blushing.
"I liked it when Keiichi-kun touched my leg before." She blushed. "I liked a lot of the stuff you did before…hauuuu…"
I laughed a little. I took my hand back and rubbed her head roughly.
She looked away sheepishly. She stood back up and began digging again.
Mion would have teased me if she saw me like this. Wait, no she wouldn't. She loved me. She might be hurt if she saw this.
I looked down to the ground.
Rena saw me out of the corner of her eye. "Are you okay, Keiichi-kun?"
"It's Mion." I spoke so depressed. "I was just thinking about her ag-"
"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" Rena was shouting.
I was on my feet. My eyes were glued on Rena. Her body was shaking and her hands became fists.
"Rena…?" I reached out to touch her. I held her shoulder.
"Stop talking about her!" I heard her sniveling.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring her up like that…"
She turned around and buried her face into my chest. Her arms were around me. She was crying loudly. I held her close to me. Rena continued to cry for a while. I was so insensitive! I shouldn't have been talking about Mion every time I saw Rena! She was still grieving like I was. It wasn't doing us any good to keep talking about what she did. I felt so guilty that I made her cry.
"We have a new life," she moaned. "Just you and me…but I'm not happy! I'm not happy at all! This was supposed to be great…I wanted for us to be happy…but everybody keeps talking about her! I want it to stop!"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! You're still sad about her, along with the others. I am too. I just can't stop thinking about it! I'm so-"
"I should have put them somewhere else," she said coldly.
What did she just say?
"Rena?"
"I should have put them somewhere else," she repeated, even colder.
"Rena, what's gotten into you? I said I was sorry!"
I felt her nails dig into my back. "This wasn't supposed to happen…"
What was she talking about?
"Rena, what do you mean?"
She lifted her face to me. I looked into her eyes. They weren't the same. They had that reptilian look just like Mion's did that one day. They flashed in the setting sun. I was petrified by them.
"I should have put Rika-chan and Satoko-chan someplace else!"
My heart rate increased. Did she mean…? No, that's impossible. Rena wouldn't do that! This wasn't real! This was a nightmare!
"All my hard work, gone." Rena's nails dug deeper into my back. I couldn't escape from this grip she had on me. I tried to push her off of me, but she was stuck to me. I couldn't get her off!
I couldn't speak. My mouth was dry and my throat was hurting. I could hear my heart beating rapidly.
"What's wrong, Keiichi-kun?" Rena said darkly. Her hand held my chin now. She stroked it. "You seem kind of sick."
"…Rena…what do you mean…what do you mean by you should have put them somewhere else…?"
"Ufufufufu…isn't it obvious?" Rena pulled my face closer. "I killed them," she whispered.
The cry of the cicadas cried all around me. They blocked out the sound of my heart beat. This was the warning they tried to give me. All this time, since Rena came to my door and told me about Mion and Satoko's quarrel, they had been crying a warning to me. They were warning me about her! I never listened much to it. I thought I could trust Rena then. She did all of this?
"…You…?"
"That's right…I killed them…I killed them…and I hid their bodies in Mii-chan's house!" Rena continued to whisper to me. "It was all me!"
"…Why…?"
"Why?" She blinked at me; her terrible eyes struck me even more. They pierced me like a sword. "Because…Rena likes Keiichi-kun…very much…"
"Why…why would you do this…?"
"Don't you know, Keiichi-kun?" Rena smiled. "I've seen the way Mii-chan looked at you…I've seen the way Rika-chan looked at you…I've seen it! Mii-chan liked you for so long, but I did too. I think Rika-chan might have as well. They wouldn't do Keiichi-kun any good! They would only hurt him and break his heart!"
What the hell was she saying? Why was she doing this to me?
"The night after the homerun faceoff, I waited for Rika-chan and Satoko-chan to come home. When they did, I surprised them. I took a hatchet and hit them hard with the blunt side of it. I took them to Mii-chan's secret tunnel…and then I killed Rika by stabbing the hooked end into her brain. I then cut Satoko…many times before I finally ended it. It had to be convincing, after all, she and Mii-chan did have that fight…hahaha.
"Mii-chan and Satoko fought before. Mii-chan was thinking of telling you that she liked you, but I convinced her not to. That would have ruined everything! After they made up, I knew I had to act. Mii-chan was so furious with Satoko-chan before, so I had to hurt Satoko-chan the most. I had to make it look like Mii-chan did it!
"I put them in the tunnel, hoping it would frame Mii-chan. It worked, as Shii-chan thought she was the culprit. With her gone, I didn't have any more obstacles! I didn't mean for Shii-chan to attack you, but you killed her in the end, so that's good! However, even though Mii-chan is dead, you still cling to her…everybody keeps talking about her! Maybe it was a mistake telling you to give her that teddy bear. I wanted her to have one last moment of happiness before she died. Why do you think about her so much? Did you like her too, I wonder?
"But don't you see, Keiichi-kun? I did this all for you! I really do like you! I have for a real long time! I waited so long for you to hold me, kiss me…and share your love with me, although I'm still working on that part…hahaha…"
I couldn't believe this. All my friends were dead because of Rena? That made no sense. What possessed her to do this? Why would she tear apart our happy lives and make us suffer? What drove her to this? This wasn't Ryuugu Rena! Rena wasn't like this!
Rena narrowed her eyes. "I'm the only one for you now. I'm the only one who can make you happy. I can comfort you." She stroked the sides of my face. "I…can save you from this sad world…"
I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. "Rena…they never did anything to you…"
"They were trying to take you away from me. Rena had you first…"
"They never did anything to you…why then…?" I furrowed my brow. I shook her violently. "Why did you kill my friends!"
Rena looked at me blankly.
"Aren't you happy, Keichi-kun?" Rena was still holding my face. She didn't smile or blink at me. She stared at me for a solid minute. She sounded confused.
"You murdered my friends! You had Mion killed! You made…you made me kill Shion!" I squeezed her shoulder hard. "What the hell is wrong with you!"
Rena let go of my face and stepped away from me. She held the sides of her head with her hands. "No…no…no no no…this isn't right…you're supposed to be happy! This isn't right!" She was gnashing her teeth together. "We were supposed to be happy! What did I do wrong! Where did I go wrong!"
She shrieked and collapsed to her knees. She was shivering. I heard her muttering something.
I picked up my cane and held it tightly. I looked at it and then to Rena.
"Everything was going so well…what did I do wrong!" Rena was suddenly quiet. She stood up again, dangerously slow. She stood like a statue.
"Rena, I don't understand what's going on here…"
"Of course you don't." Rena shot a look at me. Her mouth was open as wide as it could be and her neck bent over to the side as she looked at me. It appeared as if her neck had been snapped. She was laughing at me.
I held my cane at my side. I was ready to use it if I had to.
"Tell me, Keiichi-kun: has something been bothering you lately? Something that's been scaring you?"
I gulped hard. "I'm-I haven't been scared of anything!"
"Liar." She laughed again. "Have you been feeling something strange lately? Have you been remembering things you didn't do before, although you felt like you did?"
"How-How did you know about that?"
"There's nothing that Rena doesn't know! Hahaha!" Rena took a step towards me. I stepped backward. "Rena's been feeling it too, even now!"
Rena was feeling déjà vu as well? Now I definitely knew this wasn't a coincidence! Me, Shion, and now Rena. Something was at work here! It made us remember these things that never happened before!
Rena took another step towards me. "What else are you afraid of, Keiichi-kun? You can tell me! I'll protect you!"
I pointed my cane at her. "Don't come near me!"
She dashed at me. She knocked the cane from my hands and pinned me to her trailer's door. She laughed when she caught me.
"Now," she hissed at me. She brought her mouth closer and closer to mine. "Let me share my love with you…"
I mustered all of the power I had in my body. I pushed her off of me. She fell to the dirt and the debris with a thud. She was on her back. I grabbed my cane and ran off to the side, as fast as my injured leg would let me.
I ran into the nearby forest. I could still hear her laugh. It followed me wherever I went. It was like she became one with the forest, with Hinamizawa. I ran and ran and ran. Her laugh still haunted me. Rena was chasing me! I didn't see her running after me, but I knew she was around me! She was following me!
I hid behind a tree to catch my breath. I raised my cane and looked to my left and right. The woods were quiet. I didn't hear anything.
My life was in danger again. Rena became a demon too. How was I going to stop her? I didn't want to kill her! I didn't want to kill another person! My head was hurting so much. All of my thoughts and beliefs were in conflict with one another.
I was unsure about everything. I was unsure about my feelings towards Mion, I was unsure if I really was right in taking Shion's life, I was unsure about everything I did. How did things get so messed up? Where did everything go wrong?
I realized something. I realized the truth. Rena was the cause of everything! She was the enemy the whole time! She was responsible! It was her fault! She made me suspect Mion and she framed her! She killed everyone dear to me! She ruined my life! She ruined everything! That was it! Screw it, I said to myself. She was going to pay for what she did to me! I was going to kill her! I was going to kill Rena!
Part B
I moved from tree to tree, hiding behind each one. I didn't see her. I didn't hear her either. The adrenaline was rushing through my body just like it did when I was fighting Shion. Despite the situation I was in, I enjoyed the feeling.
I knew Rena was going to try to attack me. I couldn't place my finger on it, but I just knew. Deep down in my gut I knew that was what she was going to do. I had to be prepared for anything. I wasn't going to let Rena pull anything over on me! I had to get out of this!
I ran to another tree. The soil around this tree wasn't soft like near the other ones. The earth was hard. I planted my feet firmly in it. I pressed my back against the bark of the tree. I took my arm out of the sling. It was still hurting from the stab wound, but I had to use it. I gripped my cane with both hands. This as a weapon would serve me well. It was made of sturdy wood and it was very light. I could swing it swiftly and keep on swinging it. I could do this! I could do this! Now all I had to do was wait for Rena to come by and ambush her!
"What're you trying to do? Surprise me?"
I hear her voice. I whipped around to see Rena smiling at me with those terrible eyes. She was holding a hatchet.
"You left me with no choice, Keiichi-kun." Rena lifted her hatchet and looked at the blade. She was looking at her reflection. "I'll have you all to myself…I know I will. I will."
I took a stance with my cane. I didn't feel so confident holding that thing anymore. It wasn't going to last against her giant cleaver. She would cut this thing in two if I wasn't careful and then she would cut me. I needed to get a better weapon. The junkyard was too far behind me so I couldn't run there for a weapon. Think, Maebara Keiichi! I yelled at myself. You need to find something to match her hatchet!
"I won't be gentle, Keiichi-kun!"
Rena leaped into the air and swung her hatchet down. I rolled out of the way. The hooked end of the weapon was stuck into the tree. She swung it so powerfully that she couldn't yank it out so easily. I took that as an opportunity. I swung my cane at her as hard as I could. She released her grip on the handle of the hatchet and evaded my attack. She punched me square in the face. I flew into another tree. I knew that punch! She used that when she was in her "cute" mode! She was using it now as she was trying to kill me! You had to be kidding!
Rena yanked the hatchet from the tree and charged at me again. She swung it down at me, as I was lying still against the tree. I dodged; her blade sent rocks and soil flying through the air. I ran from there, though my leg still hurt. I wasn't fast enough. Rena closed the gap quickly. She swung at me horizontally. I ducked and swung with my cane. She blocked it with her blade and swung again. I evaded once more and kept swinging at her.
I couldn't block or parry with the cane. She put so much power behind each of her attacks that I didn't have any hopes of deflecting a strike. I kept bobbing and weaving and rolling away from her. I only attacked after she finished one of her swings, but she was too fast for me. She blocked all of my attacks and always countered.
I had no hope of beating her at that rate. My cane was getting chips in it. With one strong attack, it would be destroyed. I needed it to last until I could get a better weapon. That's when it hit me. The Saiguden! I heard stories that it held all kinds of torture tools that were used back when the village was known as Onigafuchi. I also heard stories that only the priestess of the Furude family could go inside, or else the guardian deity of Hinamizawa would curse the poor soul who entered. I thought the Saiguden may have held a more suitable weapon.
I wasn't afraid of that anymore. All I feared was this demon that stood before me, who wore Rena's flesh and clothes, who wielded the gleaming steel of that hatchet. Whether I would be cursed or not if I entered that temple, I didn't care at all. I needed to beat this monster. I had to live!
I decided to make a run for the Furude temple. Rena had other plans. She attacked me with one more powerful swing. I ducked and swung my cane at her legs. She plopped down to the hard ground. As she was down I hid behind one of the trees in the forest. She looked everywhere for me. Every time her back was turned, I advanced slowly but surely. I avoided bushes, fallen branches, and pebbles that lay along the road. If I disturbed the area around me too loudly, Rena would spot me and attack me again. I even covered my tracks as best I could so she wouldn't follow me.
I made it out of the forest and arrived at another road. I jogged along it until I came to a large set of stone steps. I wanted to sprint, but my leg prevented me from doing so. I cursed at my pain quietly and moved up the stairs.
After the millionth stair, I arrived in front of the Furude shrine. If my memory was right, the Saiguden was behind the shrine. I remembered seeing it when I had lunch with Rena, Mion, Rika, and Satoko here when they were showing me around Hinamizawa. I was warned not to go inside, but I had no choice. That was the only place closest to me that had a weapon.
I checked all around me. Rena was nowhere to be seen. That was when she was the most deadly. She had become one with Hinamizawa and chased me through the forest. She seemed to know where I was and what I felt at all times. I was counting on her to find me soon. I had to get a better weapon before she did!
I ran up the road to the Saiguden. When I arrived there, I saw that there was a padlock on the door. It looked old and it was rusty. With a few good swings of my cane, I could break it off and get what I needed.
I took my cane and raised it as high as it could go. I struck the padlock with all of my might. After four good swings, the padlock broke off of the door. My cane also snapped. The door was opened slightly from when the padlock broke. I hesitated before going in, but I had no choice now. My cane was broken. I had to get that weapon!
The temple was very cold. I arrived there around evening, so the night air didn't help my troubled nerves at all. I stepped slowly, examining every tool I came across. I found most of the same equipment in the Sonozaki torture chamber. I didn't want to use a hook since it was way too short, and I didn't want to use a ceremonial knife because it looked too flimsy.
I came before the great statue of the deity. I was afraid to look up, but I did anyway. Oyashiro-sama stared down at me. His face held no emotion. There was an altar before him. On it laid my weapon, the ceremonial hoe Rika had used for this year's Watanagashi.
I picked it up and held it firmly in my hands. It was heavy, but my body quickly adjusted to the weight. I felt afraid to hold it because I wasn't going to be using it for any ceremonial purposes. I felt Oyashiro-sama's eyes watching me as I picked it up. But I needed it; I needed it to defend myself against Rena. I had no choice. I apologized to Oyashiro-sama, and to Rika. I would return it once I was safe. I apologized once more and left the temple.
The moon was looking down on Hinamizawa. It cast its light on me. I gripped my weapon tightly and held it with both of my hands again. I was ready!
"Hahahaha…" A laugh came from above me. I turned around and looked up. Rena was looking at me with her hatchet raised. She jumped down.
I blocked her attack with the shaft and pushed her away from me. I lifted it up and swung at her with the golden blade. Rena jumped back and slashed once more. I blocked it and then blocked another strike. She continued to swing and push me back until I was down on the ground. We were in a deadlock. She was standing over me, tying to force her blade into my throat, while I pushed back against her.
"You went into the shrine," she said with a sneer and snicker. "Oyashiro-sama's going to curse you!"
"I don't care!" He spat back. "He can curse me all he wants! All I care about is beating you!"
I shoved her off of me and got back onto my feet. As I was standing up, she was about to swing again, but I swung my weapon first. It was just to scare her from attacking; it bought me time to get back into a stance. I raised the tool again and prepared for another one of Rena's strikes.
She was laughing at me. "Keiichi-kun! This seems so familiar doesn't it? Didn't we do a club activity like this one other time? I'm sure of it!"
Something in my mind clicked. I smirked. I remembered. I remembered everything now! I remembered it all!
Rena saw my smirk and her smile widened. "You recall it, don't you?"
"I do!" I smiled back at her. I pointed the blade at her. "Except this time…this time I'll win!"
She busted out laughing. I saw spit flying from her mouth. "Are you sure, Keiichi-kun? You don't look like you can go on any further. I think your wounds are starting to open up!"
She was right. My arm and leg were bleeding again. I had to finish this quick.
"Let's settle this once and for all, Rena!" I readied my weapon. The decorations on the handle jingled.
"What's the punishment going to be? I wonder!" She giggled. "If I win, I want Keiichi-kun to be with me forever! I want him to greet me when I wake up in the morning, spend all of the day with me, and wish me goodnight before I go to sleep! I want Keiichi-kun to be with me always!"
"And if I win, I want you to turn yourself in. I want you to make all of this go away! I want you give me back the Hinamizawa I love!"
"Haha," she took her hat off. She tossed it on the ground. "I don't think that's possible, Keiichi-kun!"
"I'll make it possible!"
We both attacked simultaneously. Sparks flew off of our blades when they connected. We swung and they clanged against the other. The clang deafened my ears. I couldn't hear anything at all. I was so focused on this battle. I was so focused on defeating Rena!
After our final deadlock, she ran over to the side, where there was another road. I chased after her. I didn't feel any pain in my body. The rush I was getting numbed my body. I loved it! I didn't want it to stop! I wanted to keep feeling this way!
We came to a suspension bridge. It wobbled as I took my first few steps on it. Rena stood in the center of the bridge with her hatchet raised. She was edging me come closer. I acknowledged and slowly approached her.
We were just a few feet from each other. We raised our weapons and swung them again. She parried with her hatchet and hacked at me, but I blocked with the tool's blade and with the iron shaft. Sparks flew through the air. We grinded our teeth every time we struck the other's weapon. The vibrations I felt through my body with each attack and block filled my body with more adrenaline. My brain was on fire. I think I was smiling at this. I think I was enjoying this!
I swung one more time. I knocked the hatchet right out of her hands. The force sent her over the railing of the bridge. Everything was moving in slow motion. She was falling, with her dress's tails flowing in the air. Her face was one with shock. I had beaten her! I won!
Miraculously, she gripped one of the ropes of the bridge. She was dangling, looking down at the water and the jagged rocks below. She wouldn't survive if she fell down there.
Another memory clicked in my head. I was on this bridge one time. Although, I wasn't standing up here that time. I was right where Rena was. I remembered it clearly.
"Keiichi-kun beat me," Rena said calmly. She was so calm that it frightened me. She looked up at me. She smiled at me sweetly. "You really did grow up, Keiichi-kun…"
I dropped Rika's tool. It fell onto the bridge. I grabbed the railings and looked down at Rena. My heart was beating faster now. My world returned to that world of scarlet. Rena was a silhouette. I couldn't make out her features anymore.
"I guess we couldn't keep our promises," she said, although she smiled. "I was wrong to do this…I wanted to make sure your heart wasn't broken, but I ended up being the one who broke it…"
"DIE!" I shook the bridge. I wanted her to fall. I wanted her to fall onto the rocks below! "Just fall! Fall!"
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry for everything, Keiichi-kun. Maybe…maybe I can still fix this. I promise…I promise I will do better in the next world...I promise I won't make the same mistake. I wish we can still be friends."
I raised my voice. The demon hanging there looked like Rena and sounded like her, but I knew that wasn't her. "Give me back Rena! How dare you desecrate her! How dare you take everything from me! Die! Die DIE!"
Her hands let go of the rope. She reached out to me one last time before she fell to the waters below. I watched her fall until I couldn't see her anymore.
I returned to my world. I was under the moonlight. I heard the waters below. I heard my heart beating. I heard the cry of the cicadas.
I scratched at my throat. The itch was getting worse. I kept scratching at it. I was laughing. I was laughing hard. My eyes were shifting rapidly. My body was hot and my brain was still on fire. I felt so different. I felt all of my emotions all at once. I think I finally lost it.
"I did it! I did it!" I cried out. "I killed the ones who took my friends away from me! I killed who I wanted to kill! I did it! It was all me! Praise me, Rika! Praise me, Satoko! Praise me, Mion!" I kept laughing. I kept laughing and scratching at my throat until I lost consciousness.
Epilogue
I opened my eyes. They were so heavy. I looked up at the ceiling. I looked to the window. Where was I? There was somebody at my bedside. I couldn't make out this person's features clearly. When my eyes adjusted more properly, I recognized him.
Irie sat beside my bed. He saw me open my eyes and smiled.
"Maebara-san! You're awake!" His smile was warm and genuine.
"Doctor…? I…am I…?" I was groggy. I could barely open my mouth.
"You're at the clinic! You had a rough night!" He chuckled. "I'm so relieved you're okay!"
"What happened to me…?"
"Somebody found you on the bridge last night. You were unconscious! You lost a lot of blood and you fainted!"
That's right. I was fighting Rena there. That was the previous night? I really did that?
"The person who found you was old man Kimiyoshi. He saw you with some gardening tool. What were you doing up there so late at night? Going out to farm, were you?" He smiled in his traditional goofy fashion. He looked like he was feeling much better.
"I was fighting Rena," I said. I realized my words and sat up straight. "Rena!" I winced in pain. My arm and leg hurt.
"Easy, Maebara-san!" Irie laid me back down on my bed. "You're in no condition to move around like that!"
I pulled my covers back over my body. "What happened?"
"Well, Kimiyoshi heard some strange noises when he went out for a walk. He wasn't sleeping well, you see. He heard two people shouting at each other, and he heard a girl with this really creepy laugh. He also noticed the lock to the Saiguden was broken. The next thing he found was you, all bloody and holding onto Rika-chan's ceremonial hoe. You know, the one she used for the Watanagashi Festival?"
It was slowly coming back to me. I remembered I was fighting against Rena and that I broke into the Saiguden to take that tool. I used it as weapon. I knocked Rena over the side of the bridge with it. She fell into the water below, where all the jagged rocks are. I killed her.
"Do you remember at all what you were doing there? Did you and Rena-chan get into a fight or something?" He showed me her hat. He was holding it this whole time.
I was trying to organize all of my thoughts. "…Rena…she was trying to kill me."
Irie's looked at me funny. He was about to say something, but I continued to talk.
"I needed something to fight back against her. She had this axe and she was trying to kill me. I broke into the tools shrine and borrow Rika-chan's ceremonial tool. I'm really sorry I sneaked inside, but I used it to defend myself…I needed it. I used to protect myself and…"
Irie stopped me there. "It's okay now! You're not in any kind of trouble, don't worry! Kimiyoshi's not mad at all! He saw how badly hurt you were and brought you here! You're gonna be fine!" Irie smiled again. "I called Akasaka-san a little while ago. I told him your condition and he said that he's going to come visit you. He wants to ask you some questions about last night. You should take some time to get your strength back before he comes. I'll be right outside if you need me, alright? I just want to inform him that you're awake."
I slowly nodded.
"Oh! I put some more cream on your neck. Try not to scratch at it, okay?" He patted my bedside and exited the room. I heard him talking with a nurse outside. He told her to get me anything I needed.
I laid my head back onto my pillow. I looked up into the ceiling. It was all over. It was finally over. I wasn't in any trouble with the village leader, Oyashiro-sama, or anybody. I was alright.
I breathed deep and closed my eyes. I felt peaceful. I had been through a lot. I won the battle against Rena. I was going to live. I was going to live.
I was all alone in Hinamizawa now. I didn't have any of my friends around me. I was the only one left in the world. How was I going to cope? How was I going to make it without my friends?
I felt a tear fall from my eye. I thought I didn't have any more tears left to shed. I was crying again. I was crying for my friends, I was crying over the life I had lost. I was never going to be the same again. I was going to be alone.
Could I have done something different? Could I have done something to prevent these horrible events from happening? I would never know now. I would never know what I did wrong or what I could have done better. I was at a loss. I sighed. Where did it all go wrong? When did it all go awry?
"Hauuuuu…."
I heard something. It came from beside my bed. I opened my eyes and looked. Rena was standing next to me. Her neck was snapped and her dress had tears and holes in it. Her head was cracked, her arms and legs had deep gashes in them as well, and blood was pouring out of her stomach. She was crying bloody tears. She was smiling at me though. Her reptilian eyes were watching me.
"Hauuuuu," she moaned. "Keiichi-kun's head is so cuuuuuute…"
My neck was itching again. I was scratching at it hard.
"….I want to take it home with meeeeeee….!" She raised high the hatchet that was in her hands.
I was tearing at my neck. The itching wouldn't stop. I felt my skin peel.
She swung it down.
Okinomiya Precinct
Akasaka Mamoru (Case File XXXX)
On the night of July XX, two residents of Hinamizawa village, Shishibone City, went missing. These residents were Furude Rika and Houjou Satoko. They were found dead on July XX, in a secret tunnel hidden beneath the Sonozaki head house located in Hinamizawa. Furude was stabbed by some type of blade on the side of her head. Death was instantaneous. Houjou suffered multiple cuts before being stabbed through the forehead. The murder weapon has not been found.
On July XX, two residents of Hinamizawa village, Shishibone City, were found dead. These residents were Sonozaki Mion and Sonozaki Shion. Sonozaki Mion was found dead in a torture chamber beneath the Sonozaki head house located in Hinamizawa. She suffered multiple cuts before being stabbed through the heart with some type of blade. It presumed that this weapon maybe the same weapon that killed Furude Rika and Houjou Satoko. The weapon is still missing.
Evidence suggests that Sonozaki Mion murdered Furude Rika and Houjou Satoko as their corpses were found on her family's property. They do not appear to be planted at all. It is believed that she was the one who murdered them. It is also notes that she threatened the life of another resident of Hinamizawa before her death. Proof has not come forward that exonerates Sonozaki.
Sonozaki Shion was found dead in the Sonozaki head house. She was beaten to death by a wooden sword. She had tried to kill another resident of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi. He slew her in self-defense.
On the day of July XX, a resident of Hinamizawa village, Shishibone city, was found dead. The resident was Ryuugu Rena. She had fallen from the suspension bridge near the Furude family temple. Death was instantaneous. A source from Hinamizawa claims she was trying to murder someone in the village. There is no evidence to prove this.
On the same day, July XX, another resident was found dead. This resident was Maebara Keiichi. He was found in the Irie Clinic in the morning. He committed suicide by clawing out his own throat. Any relation to previous deaths, except the case for Sonozaki Shion, is unknown. This case will be further investigated.
