5. Chapter 5: Deception

Chapter 5: Deception

Part A

I lay there in my bed, just looking at the sight before me. Shion stroked my face with her hand. I was afraid to get up. I was afraid to stay in my bed. I was too frightened to do anything.

"You really should lock your windows better!" Shion giggled as she pointed to the window.

I looked over and I could see it was open ajar, and that there was something on the sides of the window. "Is that a ladder?"

"Of course it is!" Shion smiled. "How else was I supposed to get in here? Your door was locked! Ahaha!"

I put my palms on my sheets and tried to slowly push myself out of my bed. Shion saw that and pinned me down. She had her hands on my shoulder and her knee on my waist.

She fluttered her eyes at me. She leaned over and whispered into my ear. Her sweet voice and her honey-laced words were knifing at my eardrum. "What do you think of me ?"

I tried to move my shoulders, but the pressure she put on me was too strong. I lifted my hands and grabbed her sides to try and shove her off, but she wouldn't budge.

"Answer me "

"You're not well," I said. "You're not thinking straight!"

"I've never seen things so clear before in my life!" She kissed my ear. "I didn't want to lose another moment this is the right time I was too afraid to say anything before now I have the perfect opportunity!"

"Stop it! Get off!" I tried pushing her again. She moved a tiny bit this time.

"I don't want to though." She licked my cheek.

"Stop it "

She laughed. She kissed my forehead. She moved to my neck.

"Get off!" I kicked her off to the side.

She fell over on her hip. Shion got back up and looked at me. Her smile was still on her face and her eyes were blank. She was just like before. A small laugh emitted from her, it was very dark and sinister. What was she planning?

"What's wrong? You don't like girls? Hahaha "

I bolted over to the door. She rushed over and grabbed my arms before I could even open it. She kicked me hard in the stomach and pushed me down to the floor. I fell on my side and held my stomach, coughing and breathing hard.

She stood over me. "Where are you going? I'm not done with you yet "

"What are you going to do?" I shouted, despite the pain.

Her mouth slowly opened. Her vermillion eyes never left my face. I saw her tongue lick the corners of her mouth.

"WHAT?" I shouted even louder.

Shion chuckled.

" I want to give you everything take me now "

My eyes shot open and I scurried over to the wall. I clutched at it and struggled to get on my feet. What did she just say? What the hell was wrong with her?

"What's wrong? You seem frightened! We both love each other so what's wrong with it ?"

"You're not yourself!" I was yelling loudly, as sweat rolled down my face. "Shion wouldn't act like this! She would never act like this! What happened to you? Why are you doing this?"

"I love you "

"Stop saying that!"

Shion slowly walked towards me. She staggered as she did. Her eyes were wide open now. They eyed my body dangerously slow. I heard her laughing.

"What do you think me ?" She said darkly. "Ohhhh do you love me ?"

"Huh? Is that what this is about?" I waved my arms around in frenzy. "I'm not Satoshi, dammit! You're delusional! I'm Keiichi! Maebara Keiichi! Don't you remember me? Shion, please, listen to me! It's Keiichi, your friend!"

Shion halted her approach. She looked at me with that same blank smile.

"I've only had eyes for you." She began her approach again. "I've been so patient ! This is what you wanted, right? You wanted your Shion! I'm right here! You can have me!" She reached out to me. "We can be together! We can live together and be happy!"

I moved away from her, but she kept following me with her hand outstretched.

"Don't you want that?" She hand got closer and closer to my face. "Don't you ?"

When her hand got close to me, I swatted it away. I looked her square in the eye. She was shocked at what I did. She stared at her hand.

"Don't touch me!" I moved away from her again. I went to the door of my room. "Shion you've lost it you've really lost it! I'm Keiichi, not Satoshi! I'm sorry I ever went out that night with you I'm sorry that I rubbed your head! I'm sorry I caused all of this! I'm the reason why you're seeing this illusion! But you need to stop!

"Stop obsessing over him! It's killing you! It's hurting you and it's hurting everyone around you! Stop thinking about what you want and start thinking about what you're doing to everybody!"

Shion was still looking at her hand.

" You hit me "

"Shion?"

"He hit me " She turned to face me. Tears were in her eyes. I heard her whimpering. "Don't you love me ?"

"For the last time, I'm not-"

"ANSWER ME!" She screamed. I could see a slit in her reptilian eyes. She furrowed her brow at me. This terrible aura surrounded her. It was malicious aura that spread throughout my room. It was starting to choke me.

I didn't respond at all. I was frozen by her screeching voice and those horrible eyes.

Shion looked down at the floor. Her voice was calm now. "You don't do you ?"

"Shion ?"

Shion walked over to me. I jumped out of the way, but she was not trying to attack me. She opened the door to my room and proceeded down the stairs. I remained in my room for a few seconds, but I followed after her. What was she up to?

I found her in the kitchen. She was looking out of the window near the sink. She was holding her arms and she was sobbing. It killed me to hear her cry. It broke my heart and it almost made me want to cry too. I did all of this to her. I was the reason why she was like this. I was the only one to blame, not her.

I saw that the floor was wet where she was standing. She was crying profusely.

"I've waited so long," she said, as she tried to stop weeping, "I've tried to tell you so many times. But you don't love me like I love you. You don't understand how much you mean to me. I love you so much yet, why don't you love me too? Did I do something wrong? Can you forgive me for whatever I've done? I suppose not though haha who would love me ? My sister is very lucky. She has someone to cling to I don't. You won't even look at me now. You don't love me

"She has someone so why not me? Why can't I have the one I love?"

She turned to the sink. She opened a drawer and started rustling through it.

"Shion? What're you ?"

She turned to face me. She had a knife in her hands.

I backed into the wall and stared at the shimmering blade. I could see my death right before my eyes. "Shion! Stop! You won't accomplish anything with that! Put it down!"

Shion approached me. She was smiling as she held the knife up to her face. She was going to kill me! I was going to die!

"I'm sorry for what I did to you...to everybody. I'm sorry I deceived you I thought if I did this then you would love me too." She placed her hand on my cheek. "Please allow to do one more selfish act."

"Shion! Please, don't do this!"

" I'll always be faithful to you. Please remember that."

I closed my eyes tightly. I couldn't escape from this one. I was going to die.

" Goodbye "

She used the knife. I heard flesh being ripped open by the blade. I felt blood splatter onto my face. I didn't feel any pain though. I opened my eyes. Shion was standing right before me, with blood spurting from her slender neck.

Her eyes were closed and she was smiling. Her body twitched here and there, until she finally collapsed. Her blood covered my floor. It splashed across my feet and my face was bathed in the crimson water. It entered my mouth. I could taste it.

I looked down at Shion. She was lying still, her body wasn't moving anymore. Her hair fell across where she laid. More and more blood poured from her neck. I was frozen. My brain didn't register the sight I had just seen. I didn't understand what she just did or why she wasn't moving anymore.

I knelt down and lifted her into my arms. Tears were still on her face, amidst the blood that was splattered on her nose, cheeks, and mouth. She was smiling at me with her eyes closed. She looked happy.

"Shion?" I asked as I shook her body. "Hey wake up come on, stop it. Shion ? Shion? Shiooooooon!" I shook her body hard. I didn't want to accept the awful truth that I witnessed. "Shion why ?"

I felt tears flow from my eyes. I was sobbing. I held Shion's body close to me. I cried into her shoulder. I cried until there were no more tears left.

The police arrived at my house twenty minutes later. I had called Akasaka and he sent over a crew of men to come and investigate what happened to me. Hanzaemon was at my door, along with a few other men and Irie. They saw my disheveled appearance and all of the blood that was on me. I led them into the kitchen to Shion's body. Irie sighed heavily and had the biggest frown I've ever seen him wear. Hanzaemon took me outside to his car while Irie and the other officers checked over Shion.

Hanzaemon had me sit on the hood of his police car. He handed me a handkerchief and I wiped my face clean. I wiped my hands and tried to clean my clothes, but the blood had already stained them. I relieved my face of it, but I felt that it was still there. My flesh was stained by Shion's blood. I was never going to be rid of it.

Hanzaemon pulled out a tape recorder from his jacket pocket. He fiddled around with it in his hands. He saw I was silent, and how I looked off blankly into the distance. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him frown, just like Irie. This was his first case in Hinamizawa, and it had to involve me and Shion.

"We can start whenever you're ready, Maebara-kun," he said very friendly. "Just take your time okay?"

I didn't acknowledge him. I remained still. Not even my eyelashes moved a centimeter.

"Can you hear me, Maebara-kun?" Hanzaemon gently shook me.

He woke me from my trance. I rubbed my head. "Yeah I can hear you."

He smiled weakly at me. "I know this is gonna be hard, but please work with me. I wanna help you as best as I can."

I nodded.

"Are you ready? Do you need more time?"

I sighed. "No."

Hanzaemon clicked a button on his tape recorder. "This is Hanzaemon Takuma, Okinomiya Precinct. Investigating reported suicide in Hinamizawa village, Shishibone City. I'm with resident Maebara Keiichi-san, the witness to the suicide. Please tell me everything you can remember, Maeabra-san." He held the recorder's microphone to me.

I was quiet for a few seconds. "I just returned home from taking a friend of mine back to her house."

"Who was the friend?"

"Houjou Satoko. I brought her home after we hung out at my house. I came back home and got into bed when I saw Sonozaki Shion was waiting for me. She was hiding in my bed in the whole time. She was hallucinating she thought I was Satoko's brother, Houjou Satoshi."

"Was this the first time she acted like this?"

"No. There was another time. We were in Okinomiya on a small get-together and she hallucinated then as well. Both times, she came on to me, thinking I was Satoshi."

"Why did she commit suicide tonight then?"

I paused. "I have no idea. She was waiting for me to confess my 'love' for her, believing I was Satoshi, the one she loves, but I didn't. I told her that she was hallucinating, that she was being obsessive that it was hurting her. I think that drove her to to " I was tearing up again. I guess I still had tears to shed.

Hanzaemon paused his recording. "It's okay, Maebara-kun! Let it out if you need to!"

"No ! I can go on "

"You sure?" He patted my shoulder. "You're doing great here!"

"Yeah. Let's finish it."

Hanzaemon began recording again. "So, she thought you were her old boyfriend? When you didn't tell her what she wanted to hear, she killed herself?"

" I think so." I wiped my face with my hand. "She was obsessed with this guy, you know? She got sad whenever he was mentioned. He left Hinamizawa long before I came here, so I don't know much about the two of them. All I know is that she loved him. She took care of his sister, Satoko, as well I. Maybe that's what also made her see me as Satoshi, because I was so close to Satoko.

"Friends of mine told me to stay away from Shion. I tried to, but I didn't think she was going to come after me."

"I see. Is there anything else you want to-"

"Oh God!" I gripped my head. "Satoko's going to find out! She's going to know Shion's dead! It's all my fault! Oh God I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I was yelling.

Hanzaemon saw me grab my head. He stopped the recording and held my shoulder. "Easy, Maebara-kun! Stay cool, alright?"

"She's going to find out! She's going to be devastated! She's going to she's going to !"

Hanzaemon shook me violently. "Snap out of it, Maebara-kun! Take it easy!"

I was trembling uncontrollably. My eyes were popping out of their sockets. I was squeezing my head so hard that I thought I was going crush my own skull. I was breathing hard. Drool was dripping from my mouth. I started to scratch at my head. My nails dug into my scalp and I was beginning to tear my flesh apart.

Hanzaemon called for Irie. I could barely make out his words. Soon, Irie came running over to me. He stood at my side, while Hanzaemon held my arms at my side with all of his might. His grip was so strong that he almost broke my arms. I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I suddenly felt tired. I fell into Hanzaemon's arms and my eyes grew too heavy to keep them open. I fell sound asleep.

I found myself in a dark void. I was floating in a never-ending Limbo. I opened my eyes, but all I saw was darkness. There was darkness in every corner. I couldn't find my hands or my feet. I couldn't find any part of my body. I was lost in this vast void, floating in this ocean of black water.

_"I'm sorry "_ I heard something say to me. The voice was quiet and it sounded like it came from someone who was crying. _"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry "_

"I'm sorry too," I said to the voice.

I floated on for hours and hours. I felt my body suddenly spin around. It made me sick to my stomach. I was lying on my back now. My arms were at my sides and my eyes were closed tight. I tried to open them, but I couldn't. Every time I tried, they hurt. They stung.

I tried to open them one more time. When I did, I saw that the void was gone. I was in a white room. I was lying on a bed. There was a window beside me, where the sun was shining brightly outside. Was it morning? Did I sleep through the night?

My head hurt. I had a combination of a splitting headache and a stinging sensation on my head. It was probably when I was clawing at my scalp. I had a bandage over my wound.

I took another look around the room I was in. I was in a hospital. I was in this very same room before, I know I was. I think Akasaka was with me in this room with me once. He was sitting at my bedside and he was talking with me about something. Why I was thinking of that, I didn't know. My head was so screwed up. I wasn't thinking straight.

"You're awake! Thank God!"

I looked to my side. It was Akasaka! He was sitting right beside my bed. He was smiling at me. This was too strange to be a coincidence.

"I'm happy you're doing just fine! I was worried about you!"

"Ak-Akasaka-san?"

"That's right!" Akasaka nodded. "Irie-sensei brought you here after you were given a sedative. Sorry about the rough treatment you got, but they had to stop you from tearing your head open!"

Oh yeah, last night I was talking to Hanzaemon when I went nuts. Irie must have given me a shot to knock me out. Man what happened to me?

"You were a little crazy after the incident at your house last night." Akasaka was reading my mind. "I'm really sorry you went through all of that " He looked ashen.

I wiped my forehead with my hand. " Shion "

"I'm sorry about everything." Akasaka patted my bedside. "You're going to be okay from now on. I'll make sure of it! Hanzaemon-san and I are going to help you get through this!"

The door to my room opened. The man in the black suit entered. He was missing his jacket though. He had his shirt sleeves rolled up. He loosened his tie. There was a brown bag in his hand.

"Speak of the devil, here's Takuma now!"

"How's Maebara-kun, Sempai?" he asked worryingly.

Akasaka fully turned to face Hanzaemon. "He just woke up. He's still pretty beaten up."

"That's a shame. The poor guy's been through a lot but at least he's awake now, that's something! 'Had us all fretting over him, he did!" He smiled. "I brought something for you, Maebara-kun!" Hanzaemon handed me the bag.

"What is it?" I asked as I fished through it.

"I just brought a couple of things from the store around the corner. I figured you could use them!"

I fished out a few bars of chocolate, some assorted candies, and a couple of magazines. They featured scantily clad and busty women in cat outfits, school girl clothes, and some in really really short skirts. "What the hell is this?"

"Hahaha!" Hanzaemon held his gut as he laughed. "I didn't know what kind of girls you liked, so I just grabbed a few at random! I figured you could use some reading material! I hear the articles are pretty good this month!"

Akasaka looked at him, embarrassed. "T-Takuma! You're really giving those to him?"

"He's a growing man! He needs to know what kind of women are out there!"

I quickly put the magazines into the bag and put it on the table beside me. "Um thanks Hanzaemon-san " I was just as embarrassed as Akasaka.

"He's been through enough! It's not right to be doing this right after what happened last night! Besides, aren't you married, Takuma?" Akasaka raised his brow. "Does your wife know you buy these things?"

"Hey, they're not mine, Sempai! I don't read them!" Hanzaemon laughed again. "C'mon, don't you act all high and mighty now! I know you go to Angel Mort every now and then! I know the desserts aren't the only thing sweet there!"

Akasaka turned his face away. I could a shade of red run across his nose.

"Um, Akasaka-san?" I spoke up. "Uh where's Shion?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and was quiet. He was struggling to find the right words.

"She's in the morgue for now," Hanzaemon spoke for him. It hurt as he said that, but it was the truth. He didn't sugarcoat it at all. It would be wrong if he did. "She'll stay there until the Sonozaki family can claim her body. We haven't made the official announcement yet, so nobody but Irie-sensei, me, Sempai, Ryuugu Rena-san, and you know about it. We called her this morning saying you were in the hospital. She should be here to see you shortly."

"Which reminds me." Akasaka looked to his partner. "Did you get in touch with Sonozaki Oryou at all?"

"I've been trying all morning, Sempai. Nobody at the head house is answering my calls! There's no one there!"

"But Mion should be there!" I said, feeling a drop of sweat roll down my temple.

"It's in the morning, Maebara-kun, she's probably at school."

"Oh yeah that's right."

"We'll wait a little bit and call later," Akasaka stated. He looked to me again. "We'll give Mion-san some time to get home; we should also inform Kasai-san. He was Shion's bodyguard. He can relay the info to Oryou. I also want to visit Rika-chan again. I called her house last night to see if she got any better, before you called the department about Shion, but Satoko-chan answered. Rika-chan was sleeping and Satoko hung up on me because I could have waked her up. She wanted her to get enough rest."

Satoko even denied Akasaka to speak to Rika, and it was over the phone. What was her problem?

"I wonder how she is "

"When I took Satoko home last night," I said. My hand was shaking. "I wanted to talk to Rika, but Satoko didn't let me see her. She didn't want me to catch Rika's illness, in case it was contagious."

"She didn't let you see her at all?"

"No. I kept bugging her about it, but she always refused to let me in to see Rika."

Hanzaemon rubbed his chin. "That seems kinda odd. She turns down both Sempai and Maebara-kun. You just wanted to see her and talk with Rika for a minute, that's not long at all. Anyone would allow that but why not Satoko-chan? Something's fishy if you ask me."

"You might be overreacting, Takuma," Akasaka was pondering too. His voice was low and very serious. "But then again, you may be on to something."

I was trying to figure this out. Why wouldn't she let us talk to Rika? What was she hiding from us?

"I'll keep this in mind. In the mean time, we should really let Maebara-san rest. He needs some time alone."

"Yeah, you're right."

Akasaka patted my shoulder. "I'll talk to you soon, Maebara-san! Get well, alright? If you need anything, just call me! I'll come running!"

"Catch you later, Maebara-kun!" Hanzaemon gave a quick salute to me. "Have fun with those magazines! They'll make you feel _much _better! Hehe!"

The two cops left my room. I sat in my bed, just thinking about what had just occurred. I was thinking about Satoko. Maybe we were just too suspicious. After what happened last month, we were still jumpy. Still, Satoko was always the one who said Rika was sick and that she wouldn't let me or Akasaka see her. I didn't like this one bit. Maybe Rika was really sick and her illness was contagious. Satoko said her immune system was very strong, but no one is immune to illness. What was she doing?

Shion. I held my head in my hands and replayed her death over and over in my mind. Her smile would be forever seared into my brain. She looked so happy when she drew the knife across her neck. She was peaceful when I held her limp body. Damn why did this happen? It was never supposed to be this way !

The door to my room opened again. A figure in a sailor fuku outfit flew through the threshold and lunged at me. The figure shoved my face into its chest and shook be around.

"Keiichi-kun!" Rena smothered me into her. "Are you alright?"

I pulled my face back and looked at her. "I'm fine! Hey, shouldn't you be in school today?"

"I don't care about that! I'm more concerned about you! Are you really okay? I heard about what happened from Akasaka-san! I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry!" She rubbed the back of my head and rested my chin on her shoulder.

I hugged her back and patted her head. "I'll live! I'm feeling much better today!"

"Physically yes, but I know you better than that Keiichi-kun! I know how close you were with Shii-chan I know how you're feeling! I'm here to help you! Please, let me take care of you!"

Rena continued to stroke my head and whimper over me. She really did know me. I felt great on the outside, but on the inside I was broken. I hid it with my smile, but she knew very well the turmoil my heart was in.

"I told you I'd always be here for you! Please let me take care of you " Rena squeezed me tighter. "Let me help you!"

I pulled my head back again. I looked into her beautiful blue eyes. I smiled; this time, I wasn't trying to fake it.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer now "

She smiled too. She held me close and remained with me for as long as I wanted.

Part B

Rena spent the entire day with me. She brought me lunch and dinner, fluffed my pillows, and kept hugging me every chance she got. She was like my personal nurse. The only thing she was missing was the outfit. I bet if I asked nicely should wear one for me. She was so devoted to me. When she said that she wanted to help me, I never expected her to care so much. I was lucky to have Rena. She was always my loyal and closest friend, next to Mion.

I was back home the following day. I was outside, sitting against my door and just watching the grass sway in the breeze. I didn't want to go back inside my house. I didn't want to be reminded of Shion's death. I didn't want to relive it again.

I heard the cicadas chirping. It was very low and mournful. They understood the tragedy that hit my peaceful Hinamizawa. They understood everything.

Rena appeared at my house on her bike. It was past our usual time to meet. She saw me sitting in front my front door. She walked up to me. She was in her school outfit and her satchel was in her bike's basket.

"Keiichi-kun?" She asked, looking very concerned. "You're not going to school today, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Good." Rena squatted down to my level. "I was hoping you would stay home today, but why are you outside all by yourself?"

I groaned quietly. "It happened in my kitchen."

"Oh I'm sorry "

"I don't want to go back in there. I don't want to get inside that house again."

"Keiichi-kun. I'll stay with you again today if you want me to. I don't mind at all!"

"Nah, you should go. Chie-sensei's gonna chew you out if you don't come in again!" I chuckled dryly.

"You're more important than class." Rena placed her hand on my knee. "Rena's going to take good care of Keiichi-kun! She wants him to get better real soon!"

I placed my hand on top of hers. "Thanks Rena!"

She giggled. "Let's go to my hideout! I'll share my lunch with you there! I have a bed there you can sleep in if you're tired!"

I nodded. "Alright. Let's go!"

We got on our bikes and I followed her down the road from my house. We went a different way to the junkyard. Rena knew I didn't want to talk to anybody. I couldn't face anybody yet. I couldn't face Mion. She was at school, more than likely, going about her day normally with Satoko. She didn't have any idea of what happened to her sister. She was going to be crushed when she found out. Mion would never be the same. Satoko would suffer as well. We were all going to suffer, if we weren't already.

We made it to the junkyard very quickly thanks to this new route. Rena led me over to her trailer. She sat me down inside and made me tea. She even shared her lunch with me. She was at my every beck and call. I could have gotten use to that! She talked with me about her recent excavations to take my mind off of everything.

She found a few toys buried under the rubble, a small chair, and a companion for her Kenta-kun doll. She had the most bizarre taste in cute things. I understood the toys, but how in the world was a chair cute? It was beyond me. The inner machinations of Rena's mind were an enigma.

Rena sat behind me when I finished the tea she made for me. She touched my shoulders and began to massage them. I closed my eyes. It felt wonderful. She squeezed them hard and rubbed all around them and my neck.

"How's that?"

"It's fantastic " I leaned back into her.

I heard Rena laugh lightly. She continued to rub.

"I'm happy you're here with me, Keiichi-kun!"

"Me too." I looked down at my hands. "Thank you for taking such good care of me. I really don't deserve a friend like you!"

"Ahaha! I'd do just about anything for you! Rena cares about you very much!"

Every word she said warmed my body. It made feel good to know I still had someone like Rena by my side.

"So did anybody else besides me visit you in the hospital by any chance?"

"Um, Akasaka and Hanzaemon did. He gave me a bag full of dirty magazines! It had pictures of pretty women in cat outfits and school girl clothes! I don't use them really "

"Dirty ? Hauuuu "

"Rena?"

"Hauuuuuu! Cat outfits! I want to see them! They must look adowable! I want to take them home with meeeee!"

I looked over my shoulder to Rena swooning. I could just see the images she was getting in her head. She really was the weirdest girl I've ever met!

"Rena do you even know what's in a dirty magazine?"

Rena tilted her head. "Just beautiful women in outfits, right? I bet those clothes look so cute!"

I blushed just by thinking of some of the covers of the magazines. "Oh they are more than just cute heeheehee!"

Rena squeezed my shoulder very hard. She nearly broke me in half!

"Too hard, too hard!"

"Hauuuuuuuuuu!"

"TOO HARD!"

"Sorry!" She lessened her grip and ceased rubbing for a minute.

Something entered my mind at that moment. "Hey, Rena? Random question: you haven't heard anything about Rika or Satoko have you? Or Mion? Hanzaemon tried to call the Sonozaki house to talk to Mion's grandma, but she never picked up."

"I'm sorry, Keiichi-kun," she said lowly. "I haven't heard anything from them. You're the only one I've seen and talked too since yesterday."

" Is that so?"

"Mii-chan must be in school so that probably why Hanzaemon-san couldn't reach her. Although now that you bring up Rika-chan, Keiichi-kun, I've been getting these bad feelings about her. I haven't seen her since that day I visited her house! What if her illness has gotten worse?"

"That's what not all that I'm afraid of." I sighed. "There has to be some way we can find out what the hell is going on with her!"

Rena thought. "What if we go by her house? Rika might still be sick and resting, so maybe you can finally see her!"

"You said you saw her that time when Akasaka visited her, right?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Then she must still be there or she might have returned to school."

"We can sneak over there and peek through the window!" Rena had a serious face on. "We need to take this seriously, Keiichi-kun! We have to make sure Rika-chan's okay!"

"Right!"

It was past lunchtime when we arrived at the school. We hid our bikes behind some bushes and we crept about the school grounds. We were hiding under the window that allowed us to look into the classroom. We were at the last window, looking into the classroom from the back. If we were at the middle window or near the window by the front of class, we would have been spotted. Rena skipped school look after me. I didn't want her to get in trouble with the faculty.

We peered through the back window. We saw Tomita-kun, Okamura-kun, some of the other kids Rena was acquaintances with, and Chie-sensei was at the front, holding a T-square in her hand. I looked all around the room. I didn't see Satoko. I didn't see Mion. I didn't see Rika.

It was official: something definitely was amiss here. Why would Mion skip school? The only explanation I thought about was Shion, but Akasaka said nobody but the police, along with Rena, Irie, and I, knew about her death. Mion couldn't have known. As for Satoko, maybe she skipped to look after Rika, but for right now, I wasn't so sure of that.

Hanzaemon's words about Satoko buzzed through my head. She wouldn't let anybody see Rika at all, even for a minute. That was suspicious. I didn't like any of this. I tried not to think of the worst, but after the things I've been through, that was all I could think about.

Rena and I sneaked into the changing rooms, the lobby, and somehow we managed to get through the main office undetected. We didn't see our friends anywhere. We looked all around the school, just in case if they had duties to attend to, like watering the plants or running an errand for Chie-sensei. Nothing turned up at all.

Rena and I decided to go to Rika and Satoko's house now. We rode up the road until we came to a hill. We peddled up the hill until we reached their home. It was very quiet there. We didn't even hear the cicadas chirping. This silence was making me uneasy.

I walked up to the front door and knocked. "Satoko? Rika-chan? It's Keiichi! Are you home?"

I waited for a response. There was no answer.

I knocked on it again. "Rika! Satoko! It's Keiichi! I just wanna talk!"

Nothing.

I tried to open the door. It was locked tight. I moved over to the shed. It was locked as well. "What the hell?"

"Do you think they left to go get medicine from Irie-sensei?" Rena asked, trying to think positively.

"I really hope that's all it is." I looked up at the window on the top floor. "I wonder if we can get in through there!"

Rena ran behind the house. She seized a ladder and positioned it against the wall of the house.

She held the ladder for me as I climbed to the stop of it. I looked through the window, into their bedroom. I couldn't get a good look at anything. It was too dark. I tried to open the window. It was stuck, but after a few tries, I managed to get it open. I hopped inside and investigated the room.

There were no signs of life in that bedroom. Both of their bedrolls hadn't been slept in. I didn't find any pajamas lying around. I did find their backpacks against the wall.

For curiosity's sake, I started to go through them. Rika's bag didn't have much of anything. She had school books, a notebook, a highlighter, a pencil and a pen, and the cat ears she wore for me after Mion's water gun deathmatch. Besides that, there was nothing.

I checked Satoko's bag next. It had similar school supplies like Rika's bag. I dug a little deeper until I heard rustling. It felt like another bag. I took it from her backpack and got a better look at it.

It was the brown paper bag that Irie gave us the other day. I took the bottle of pills out of the bag and examined it. The seal wasn't broken off yet. Wait, why wasn't it broken? You have to do that in order to open the bottle. So the bottle hadn't been touched at all?

Satoko came home after she hung out with me. She should have given Rika her pill by now. If not the night when she returned home, then Rika would have to take it in the morning. Why didn't Satoko give Rika her pill? I felt a chill run up my back.

I didn't know what this unopened pill bottle truly meant, but it was evidence that something had happened to Rika and Satoko. I put the bottle back into the bag and carried it with me. I checked the rest of the house but didn't find anything. The whole house hadn't been touched. The cooking utensils were in their cabinets, the girls' empty lunchboxes were on the sink, and nothing in their refrigerator was out of the ordinary.

I returned to my point of entry and tossed Rena the bag. She caught it and held the ladder for me one more time. When she put it away, she examined the pill bottle for herself.

"What is this?"

"Satoko and I got Rika these pills from Irie," I explained. "She was supposed to take one every six hours to help her stomach. Look at the cap on the bottle. The seal's not even broken!"

"But Rika-chan should have taken one already by now! Why is it still sealed?"

"That's what I want to know!" I took the bottle back and looked at it one more time. "This is evidence right now. We'll hold on to it for a while and we can give it to Akasaka later. We should check on Mion now! I didn't see her anywhere at school either! We have to find her too! Maybe we can also learn something about Rika and Satoko while we're at it!"

We got back on our bikes and made our way to the Sonozaki head house. I remembered going into Rika and Satoko's house like that one time. I think it was in a dream. I climbed up the ladder and tried to get in through the window, although Mion was with me that time, while Rena was elsewhere trying to figure out another way to get in. It was strange. I dismissed that dream. I had to stay focused! Mion needed me! Satoko and Rika needed me!

Rena and I approached the Sonozaki property. We ditched our bikes when we got to the main door. I walked up the door and knocked. Just like before, I didn't get a response. I even ringed the doorbell, but no one ever answered me.

Somebody should have answered me. A housekeeper, Mion, anybody should have came to the door. The entire property is surrounded by security cameras. Mion told me that once. Somewhere in the main house, or somewhere else, someone had eyes on every nook and cranny of the perimeter thanks to those cameras. To think that no one at all was watching these cameras bothered me. The whole house was basically unguarded.

We walked to the main garden. We were looking at another door. It was like the door to my room, it was practically nothing. I had to get inside and find Mion. There had to be some kind of clue here. I found something at Rika's house, so why not here?

"Rena," I said, "You go look in the house." I peered to my right. I noticed the pathway we stood upon led further down the garden to another part of the house. I think I knew where it led. "I'm going to go check down there."

"Okay. Just be careful!"

Rena opened the door and peeked around. She entered and began her search. I turned to the face the pathway I mentioned to her. I passed through the garden, gritting my teeth. Mion had to be here! She just had to be!

I came across a large rusty iron door. I remembered this place. This was the path leading into the torture chambers. I was assuming the worst the second I placed my hand on the door.

I descended down the stairs and bypassed the equipment room and the first torture room. I didn't want to even look at the torture tools that loomed over me. I opened another door. It led out into the prison chambers.

I walked slowly and carefully. I looked in each cell. I couldn't find anything except for the rusted jail doors and the awful stench that came from each of the cells. It smelled like vomit and other waste. It was making me sick. I almost threw up myself at the aroma that penetrated my nostrils.

A small groan came from further down the chamber. My slow walk turned into a run. I knew that voice! I came across one cell. This was where the groan came from. I knelt down to look inside. I saw a person sitting there, gazing at the cold hard ground.

It was a woman with long greasy and messy hair. She was in a short white night-gown. It stopped just right over her thighs. She was writing into the ground with her finger. Her fingernails were black and brown. I saw dried blood on her arms and on her forehead. She was badly bruised. She was mumbling to herself. I think she was praying.

"Mi-Mion?" I asked rather loudly.

"Huh?" The woman looked up at me slowly. "Ke-Kei-chan ? Kei-chan? Kei-chan!" She smiled brightly. Tears of joy were streaming down her face. She crawled over and gripped the rusty iron bars of her cell. "Kei-chan! Kei-chan!"

"Are you alright? What happened to you?" I held her hand in mine.

"I'll tell you later now please, get me out of here! I don't want to spend another minute in here!" She grabbed my hand and kissed it. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank God you came! I thought I was never going to get out of here!"

I smiled warmly at her. "It's alright now! I'm gonna save you!"

I scanned the area. I needed something heavy to break this door down. I found a heavy rock laying next to one the cells opposite Mion's cell. I picked it up. Mion crawled away from the bars. I beat them repeatedly with the rock until the door broke apart.

Mion bolted out and embraced me hard. She cried into my chest and thanked me up and down. Mion looked up to me. "You came for me you really came for me!"

"Of course I would! You really had me worried! I couldn't find you at school or anywhere! I thought something awful happened to you!" I caressed her back. "It's over now. You don't have to be afraid of anything anymore! I'll take care of you!"

Her tears kept flowing. "Thank you !"

"Now, come on, Mion! Let's go find Rena! I brought her here to help me find you!"

"Mion?" Mion looked at funny. "What're you talking about?"

"I came to rescue you, Mion! Is something wrong?"

She blinked. She shook her head at me. " I-I'm not Mion!"

"What?"

What did she say? Her name was Mion! She looked just like her! She sounded just like her! How could she not be Mion? No no way no way in hell! That couldn't be !

"It's me, Kei-chan! It's Shion!"