10

This wasn't her world.

It hardly even seemed like reality at all sometimes. Without being allowed to separate completely from the witch, she may as well be on the separate plane of existence. Though there were memories of such a place, it seemed the ability to travel there had been lost. So she was stuck here, pretending to be a human, though not quite being one, even when considering her origins as a human.

After all, this wasn't her Hinamizawa.

Or at least, it hadn't been. The place that had been sunk beneath the water had been nothing like the one she'd been familiar with. That one had a soul, not just the one she spoke to personally, but also one fueled by all the residents. The true Hinamizawa would never have allowed itself to be sunk, the collective of villagers never would have nonchalantly gone along. With few exceptions, they wouldn't have left such a beautiful place behind, shunned their community for the sake of anything.

And now, this wasn't her school.

Where had the small, cozy, one room school with the friendly teacher and helpful older classmates gone? Of course, Rika would have had to have moved on at this age anyway. But a place like this was hardly a good replacement. It might have been fun, that's what Rika had thought at first. But without close companions, she hardly belonged there. Where could the connections she sought be found?

Certainly not with her family. This hardly seemed like her family at all.

Neither her mother nor father understood the realities of a person who had lived through so much, for so many more years than their own limited human experience. Trying to explain things to either was pointless, given their reactions in previous fragments. It was all entirely useless anyway, since they were all in a state of bland safety, so doing so would be for other reasons, such as acceptance, understanding, and love. Of course, even in other fragments, Rika had only found that with one person.

That person couldn't be found here. The Satoko wasn't her Satoko at all.

The true Satoko had been humbled by her experiences, her strength shining through despite everything. She was so fun, and vibrant, and had a strong love for Rika. There was no bullying or serious teasing or too much discussion of any of her idiosyncrasies, just an honest love and unbreakable bond. They were together all the time too, none of this conversing here and there or meeting up every one in a while. The true Satoko wouldn't have stood for such crumbs of affection. She would have wanted all of Rika, wouldn't she?

Or how would she have reacted?

That was something to consider in-between the drab tasks of being a student in an intense academic environment. In any case, Satoko probably would have cried at the current reality of being just a person who passed Rika by in the hall without comment. Rika would have gladly hugged and made up with her right away upon request. Maybe even kissed, though that went beyond anything she wished to imagine in the moment. Such thoughts only made her more lonely. There was much more to concentrate on than that, anyway.

A reminder came as Ange met her in an empty classroom on a day Rika had arrived early. "Still lamenting your terrible fate?" she asked.

No, actually, no lamenting had been done as of late. The ache in her chest and overall malaise was enough to slow her down, but she overall pushed through each day. Her current thoughts had been on her assignment. She'd even found another friend group to discuss things with, this one preferring popular music. Even not having been a fan before, it was an easy enough topic to learn about, and company to be had. A different group was perfect for studying, and now Rika had more time to do so. Even without Satoko, somehow she managed to find a place, even if it was boring and unfitting.

"I'm fine," Rika finally answered.

"Good." Ange nodded. "Guess you don't have to deal with any kind of bloody, murderous meltdown from the pressure of your tragedy."

"It really is still a tragedy," Rika declared blankly. "Maybe I will decide to do something like that. I can't completely erase the witch from my heart, after all."

"What would you do if she was gone?"

Rika turned her head to stare directly at Ange. "Are you saying you can help with that?" she asked.

Ange rested her chin on her palm and stared forward without much interest. "Not really." She shrugged. "But what if that was already the case?"

"Now you're not making sense," Rika muttered. "Can't you try and express yourself better?"

"What if I could only 'express' myself as well as you wanted?" Ange asked, standing up from the desk. "What if I was only your imaginary friend? What if there was no Sea of Fragments that held an endless tragedy, and there was only this one world after all?"

Of course, that was how it would be for a normal human. And that mindset was what had been decided to adopt. Of course, Rika hadn't done so completely, and that was why she was having difficulties in that moment. This was something that had already been realized before this suggestion had been spoken. And why did the Witch of Resurrection of all possible entities have to say it? Hadn't she implied there was some kind of resurrection of what had been lost?

"What if you never had any special powers," Ange continued. She smirked, giving a brief chortle as she saw she had her one person audience's rapt attention. "No ability to see the future from having lived it, no talking to gods, and no status as the reincarnation of Oyashiro-sama. And of course, no friend group to love you for being the cute one, even with how awkward you are."

"I'm already dealing with all of that here."

"Are you?" Ange's tone seemed to accuse her. "Or aren't you? No, I don't think you are. A person like you could never tolerate not being allowed to be special. Not in general. And even though you might have been something to this Satoko girl, you aren't worshiped by her like you imagine, are you? No matter how much magic I expend, it's useless. You'll always trample over it because you can't accept a resurrection of feelings that doesn't involve you being the blessed center of her worshiped attention."

The accusation was biting, inciting anger. Of course, trying to think of a response only brought to light that yes, Rika did want to be the center of Satoko's attention, loved and cherished beyond a doubt. Of course, she would feel the same. Or would she? Even though the Satoko here started to like Rika back, she'd only been compared to previous incarnations of Satoko. The seeming reality was that this Rika had been more valued by this Satoko than valued in return.

Ange kicked the desk, getting Rika's attention. Two other students had entered, and looked over at the noise. Rika nodded at them, then tried to make it seem she wasn't paying mind to an entity they couldn't see.

"Consider it further," Ange advised. "Are you willing to be the Rika who was just an eccentric little girl to the people of Hinamizawa? Or do you need to be someone more powerful and special - maybe the esteemed Lady Bernkastel, Witch of Miracles?" With this question, Ange glared down at the human who, if accepting such a name and title, would certainly be her better. "Maybe something could develop between you and Satoko. But of course, you'll always be the weird, quiet girl who wrote creepy stuff in notebooks and pretended to have special witch powers like a freak, and not the one who was practically the center of her world."

The classroom eventually filled with all of the actual students, leaving no room for the witch. The teacher then entered, starting the lessons. Such topics were simple enough to follow. As the lessons ended, she went to the library to have a better place to study. Satoko came in, making a face as Rika turned her way. Rika just smiled and nodded, and Satoko's own expression appeared to relax in turn. "Would you like to study with me?" Rika asked.

Satoko shook her head, a brief smile crossing her face. "Thank you very much, Rika-san, but I believe we work at different paces."

"Do your best, then."

With Rika's well wishes, Satoko found an empty table. Rika turned her attention back to her own work. Yes, though Rika might have fun slowing down to work with someone else, they did seem to work at separate paces. Rika could more quickly finish what she needed to do. Afterward, she observed Satoko, who was indeed working hard despite seeming frustrated. An interruption, even with encouragement, had been undesired. Despite how casual, just the fact there had been such an easy exchange despite how Rika had acted, ought to be appreciated. Opening up her notebook and taking out her favorite pen, Rika did just that.