Author's note: Hey Everyone, thanks for supporting "Hinamizawa Hell". I'm doing my best to come out with more chapters in a timely manner, so usually I should be able to get at least 1 chapter a week. Also, fair warning, this fanfic can be lemon, pairings, even gory at some times. So please, no flaming or ranting about the story.
I am always open to suggestions and ideas from readers. Also, consider this chapter the hardest one written yet, as I probably deleted 5 good pages of story to re-edit and head in the right direction.
So from here on in, enjoy.
Also, I do not own any of Higurashi. All other characters I do take credit for.
Hinamizawa Hell
Ch. 3: Enter Twilight
Rika awoke, with dreary eyes, at the sound of someone struggling outside. She lazily got out from her futon, leaving Hanyuu and the others to remain in peaceful slumber. She rubbed her eyes, trying to focus on where the sounds were coming from. As she moved to the window, she noticed that someone wearing heavy winter clothing was dragging a large bag on a sled through the terrible snow storm. She noticed his grunts and almost now vain attempts at pulling the bag, and soon after collapse into the heavy snow. His body sunk into the snow, and almost seemed like he met his end, however, Rika awoke Rena and Hanyuu quickly, fearing the worst.
"Auu…*yawns*…" Hanyuu, as did Rena, woke up slowly and dreary eyed. Rika pointed outside, and soon saw the same situation as Rika had. They quickly put on their clothes and boots, and went outside into the winter storm.
"Hold on Mister…" yelled Rena. She began to help the man up, who seemed like he was now succumbing to hypothermia. Rika and Hanyuu pulled his massive bag inside the house, and closed the door shut once everyone was in. They quickly began to check on the man's wellbeing. Satoko, who had awoken from all the noise by this time, watched as her friends cared for the man.
"Mister, are you awake?" Rika checked the man to see if he was conscious, however, once she put her small hand to his forehead did she noticed the high fever. As well, he seemed to be panting for air, as was he murmuring a lot of words. Rika listened closely, and heard words such as "Twilight" and "Evil".
"Satoko, go get some towels and warm blankets. Hanyuu, boil some hot water into a bowl. Rika, we need to take him into the other room and get these wet clothes off him." Rena began to give orders to everyone without any objections. She and Rika pulled the man into the other room, and once given the blankets, towels, and hot water, began to undress the man. With some towels and warm water, they began to wash his body of the cold sweat, from which seemed to calm his breathing patterns. It seemed to be a minor hypothermia, so Rena figured that he wasn't in any real danger yet. Once cleaned, they dried him with some towels, and gave him the spare futon to sleep on. The blankets were warmed near the heater, and placed over his naked body for the time being.
During the undressing, Rika noticed the characteristics of the man. He was an adult, probably at least 20, with medium length black hair. He had a somewhat muscular build, and seemed to be about 6 feet in height. He had scars over his body, from his hands to his back, but the most unusual feature of the man so far was a tattoo on his left shoulder. It was of a Yin and Yang design, with exactly 8 trigrams surrounding the symbol. However, the symbol of the Yin and Yang had a dragon design to its opposites, which made it somewhat unique. Rika felt a strange aura from the man, and couldn't understand why he seemed so.
"I wonder who he is," stated Satoko. She yawned a bit, and rubbed her eyes, wondering why he was traveling at such a late hour, even so, in such a terrible storm. The snow made it nearly impossible to travel in, and why the man chose to travel at such a time was beyond her.
"Maybe he's new to the village, like a new resident to Hinamizawa," replied Rena. She noticed Rika staring at his bag, which held quite some interest to her.
"I wonder what he has in his bag. Let's take a look…" Rika went over to the bag, and just as she was about to look inside, Rena prevented her.
"You shouldn't go into other people's things without permission, it isn't right…" Rena smiled down to her friend, which reassured her "…besides, look, there's a number lock on it. You can't open it without the right combination," she stated.
Rena was right. The bag couldn't be opened without a number combination. Rika sighed, and looked at her friend.
"You're right. It was wrong of me to. I'm sure we'll get answers in the morning when he wakes up…" Rika and the others left the man in the safety of the room, while they went back to bed. It didn't take long for them to drift off to sleep, but Rika was the only one who remained awake. She couldn't help but feel this man had some sort of presence in Hinamizawa, even a purpose, which needed to be met. She began to then question whether it was her just overreacting or some inner sense of knowing, but like the others, she succumbed to sleep and drifted off to her dreams.
The next morning, Rika woke up before the others. She got up in her usual style, and started to boil water for some tea. After getting two cups and making the tea, she went into the other room to check on the man from the previous night. Upon entering the room, she noticed the man curled up in the futon, sleeping with ease. She checked his forehead, and noticed his fever had left. After looking him over, she left a cup of hot tea for him, and sat down. She noticed him stir soon after, and sprung up, his eyes closed, and looking around his environment.
"Nippah!" replied Rika, happy that the man finally awoke. He, however, didn't open his eyes, but rather just turned his head to her. He didn't bear any smiles, and he seemed a bit hasty, looking around for his clothes. He held the blanket around his body, all the while seeming angry.
"Where…am I?" the man seemed a bit distraught and mad for some reason. Rika was taken back by how he reacted to being in someone else's house.
"It's ok Mister, you're safe. I found you late last night trying to travel about the storm, but you collapsed in exhaustion with illness. My friends and I cared for you till you seemed fine on your own…" Rika tried to sound calm and reassuring to the man, but all she noticed besides his eyes being closed was his temple's throbbing in anger. She watched as he put his head in his arms, and begin murmuring curse words at himself, probably for succumbing to sickness last night.
"Um…Mister, are you ok?" Rika had a look of concern for the man, but he merely didn't acknowledge her kindness.
"Where're my clothes?" he stated bluntly.
"They're actually near one of the heaters. They should be dried by now. I'll be right back." Rika left the tea cup for the man to drink, and left to fetch his clothes. Once she returned, she noticed he drank all the tea, and now held his bag closer to where he sat. Rika laid his clothes next to him, from which he began to redress. Once changed, Rika hoped to get some answers from him.
"May I ask your name, Sir?" she smiled, trying to look happy for him. She figured her innocence would keep whatever anger he had at bay. Besides, who could resist such a cute girl like herself?
"…." The man didn't respond. He seemed like he was straining his eyes a bit, while still closed. He fumbled the number combination lock, managed to open it without seeing, and put his hand inside. He revealed a black headband, and from there wrapped it around his eyes. He seemed a bit calmer after that, but still did not respond to Rika at all. He turned to Rika, and sighed.
"Nippah!" Rika said. The man looked at her, now confused.
"What is it?" he asked, a bit coldly. Rika, now getting somewhat annoyed at the man, calmed herself and regained her composure, that of her wiser and aged self.
"What is it? Merely that you've been taken in by the care of children during a night of turmoil and snow, and yet you seem unthankful for it…" this time, the man was slightly taken back by her response. He didn't budge, though, however tried his best to seem more formal to her.
"Sorry…" was all he said. Rika eyed him intently, wondering what this man was all about.
"Why travel at such a time, with luggage unknown to me, during Hinamizawa's worst storm ever?" she asked. This time, the man responded a bit.
"Traveling…last night was best. I needed to get to the Irie Clinic. I was being expected," he answered. This made Rika more interested in the man.
"Is it for your eyes…Mr. …"
"My name is of no need. As for my eyes, no, it's for something…different…"
Rika was shocked to see the man start touching his neck. She feared the worse, and now felt more cautious around the man. She had some leftover syringes hidden away to vaccinate the Hinamizawa Syndrome, but if this man saw her come at him with it, she could consider her happiness now out the window.
To the man, he noticed her eyes go wide as he touched his neck a bit. He now believed she had realized something about him, and his caution went into overdrive. He reached his hand into his bag, trying to obtain a deadly weapon.
"Sir, it seems you have finished your tea. I think I'll go refill some for you, and maybe you'll talk some more once you've had some break…" Rika closed her eyes for merely a second, hoping to get away to obtain a syringe, but in that moment, once her eyes opened she was looking down the barrel of a gun, held in one hand by the man she previously showed kindness to. The cup of tea in her hand fell to the ground, with a loud crash.
Rena slowly moved from her sleep, hearing Rika softly talking in the other room. She thought that the man had woken up, and that Rika was now talking with him, but at the sound of hearing glass break did Rena realize something was wrong. She got up, and rushed to the door fast, hoping everything was alright.
To her horror, seeing a gun aimed at Rika was just a stab through the heart from the past….
"Rika! What's going on!" Rena yelled. She was staring down the barrel of the gun as well, and went in front of Rika, shielding her from any harm. "Mister! What are you doing? We're only trying to help!" she yelled at him. The man flinched a little, and wondered what he should do from there.
Rena's yells woke up Hanyuu and Satoko by this time, and likewise ran to the source of the commotion. They saw the same situation, and the man gritted his teeth, not knowing how many more people were in the house.
"Rika! Rena! Wh..What's going on?" Satoko looked horrified at seeing her friends on the verge of death. Hanyuu looked at the man intensely, her eyes starting to turn slightly red.
But amongst all this commotion, Rika stood up and addressed the man with a fire in her eyes. She was going to protect her happiness and the lives of her friends no matter what.
"Listen to me Sir! We helped you last night from the storm. If we were going to kill you, we'd of left you outside! But more importantly, you're infected with a certain illness! You're already showing signs of its progression, and soon you'll claw out your throat from its effects. I still have some of the vaccine left, and if you left me help you I can save…."
The man looked at Rika, and for once put a smile on his face, though, a dark one. He slowly put his gun to the ground, but in a low ready position. This reaction stunned the girls. He shook his head.
"Hinamizawa Syndrome…mine is beyond vaccination…" he stated to the girls. He sighed, and looked at his bag. He stood up, put his boots and winter gear on, and looked as if he was going to leave. This surprised Rika, who believed he was about to become paranoid.
"W…wait Sir! Where are you going? And what do you mean 'yours is beyond vaccination" ? TELL ME!" Rika yelled, feeling threatened by this man more than once in 10 minutes.
He went to the door, carrying his original possessions, and turned to Rika and the others. He didn't smile, but merely said something to them.
"Komoto. Komoto Hagara is my name. I'm sorry for intruding, but I owe my life to you in the long run. For that, I thank you…" He left without another word, and for the group, dumbfounded them.
The girls looked to each other, not understanding what happened. However, Rika and Hanyuu seemed upset, and didn't talk with the others from that point. Satoko, trying to lighten the mood, went to make breakfast with Rena. They talked amongst themselves, but didn't understand what or why the man acted so violently to Rika. They were just happy to have the man out of the house, and with the doors now locked.
Rika spoke in silent with Hanyuu, who was equally concerned with the man's presence in Hinamizawa. Her eyes still glowed red like before, but she slowly calmed down to her normal state.
"Rika, he clearly has Hinamizawa Syndrome, but he said that vaccination was beyond helping him." Hanyuu stated.
"This Komoto Hagara said he was going to Irie's Clinic. I'm fearful that something has happened with this man. His connection to the syndrome and curse of this village is troubling. Is it possible that the Hinamizawa Syndrome has evolved to a point beyond vaccination? And if this is true, then why hasn't the man tried to kill himself yet? He was scratching at his throat, but if he was higher in the infection stages, then he would have definitely self-inflicted himself with injury by now." Too many questions revolved around in Rika's head. She felt threatened that the nightmare would return, and that things wouldn't be the happy ending she hoped for.
It took a few moments to occur to her, but when it did Rika finally got up the nerve to call Dr. Irie and demand some answers. She went into another room with Hanyuu for privacy, and called up the doctor with the spare phone. After dialing the number and some rings, he picked up.
"Irie Clinic, Dr. Irie speaking."
"Dr. Irie, its Rika. I have an urgent matter to discuss with you," Rika was serious in her tone, and Dr. Irie instantly became worried.
"Rika, what's happening?" he immediately asked.
"Komoto Hagara. Who is he, and what is his involvement with the Hinamizawa Syndrome?"
Dr. Irie sounded surprised at this comment. He coughed at bit, and sounded less distressed than before. He made sure that Rika was in privacy, and from there answered her most dire questions.
"He's a member of a former special operations military unit in Northern Japan, but he's an original inhabitant of Hinamizawa. How do you know about him Rika?" he asked.
"We found him late last night trying to get to your clinic, but in the fury of the snow storm he succumbed to exhaustion and passed out. We brought him to my home and cared for him, but in the last hour he awoke and became somewhat hostile. I learned he was infected with the syndrome by his presence of scratching his throat…" she trailed off, trying to remember every possible detail of Komoto. However the moment she paused, Dr. Irie was heard to be chuckling. Rika and Hanyuu were both confused now.
"I didn't mean for him to come so quickly when I called him, but I guess that's his nature. Rika, I want you to listen clearly and completely to me. Komoto Hagara is indeed infected with the Hinamizawa Syndrome, but its astonishing Rika. He's immune to the negative effects of the illness, but at the same time he's not. Did anything happen during the hostility?"
"Does a gun sound familiar?" Rika responded, sarcastically. Dr. Irie knew she was becoming angry, but continued.
"I'll try to remind him not to do that. But Rika, though he's immune to the killing effect, he's not to the paranoia and the cautiousness…"
"So he's a raving madman with a gun in our village now…" The anger in her voice grew, surprisingly to even Hanyuu.
"Rika, I want you to calm down and listen to me. Komoto isn't like that. And allow me to finish from before. Though he isn't immune to paranoia, it doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing. He's not going to go around and believe people are his enemy, but quite the opposite. His senses and abilities are heightened. Which leads me to the main reason he's in Hinamizawa. Komoto Hagara's here to be studied…"
"Studied?"
"Yes. For the past few months, I've been reviewing his medical records, and from what I learned I was able to figure out a way to speed Satoshi Houjou's recovery process. If I'm correct in my deductions, I may be able to find a definite cure to the syndrome, or at least permanently contain it to the point of no risks or danger." He responded.
Rika didn't sound so mad anymore. Knowing Komoto was here to help Hinamizawa's inhabitants with its own curse somewhat made her feel better. However, she still felt that something wasn't right about the whole situation.
"…Rika, I know that this must be worrying you, but don't. Komoto is a good person. If anything…he just wants some peace and quiet away from his past. You must understand, though he's here to live in Hinamizawa after a long time away, he's not here to threaten us. Trust me; this man is like all of us who've gone through similar problems here."
"Just…like us…" Those words repeated over in Rika's head for a bit. She sighed, and now felt worse than before. Had she managed to vaccinate Komoto could have meant any loss of hope for a possible cure, and through her own fault the end of her happiness. Dr. Irie, noticing Rika's pause in the conversation, tried to reassure her, but Rika had one more question left to ask.
"Dr. Irie, what's wrong with his eyes? He's traveling to your place as we speak, but he's wearing his black headband over his eyes. Not once while he was here did he ever open them. Is he blind?" she naively asked. At the sound of Dr. Irie's serious tone, Rika realized that there was more to Komoto Hagara than meets the eye.
"His eyes…are an effect of the increased levels of the syndrome. He's not blind, but otherwise…I don't want to say. If anything, he's doing that as a favor to people…hmm…Rika, I need to go, it seems Chie-Sensei has come in with a cold…I need to attend to her, but if you have more questions, I'll be more than happy to sit down with you later when the storm is over. Goodbye."
Rika heard Chie-sensei begin to cough and sneeze on the other line, and then, the click of the receiver being hung up. Rika hung up the phone, and went back to the others with Hanyuu for breakfast. She decided to tell the others that Komoto was there to help, and that's all she knew for the time being. Over breakfast, however, it was less enjoyable than usual.
Elsewhere, Mion and Keiichi were just waking up in each other's arms. Mion slowly opened her eyes, and realized how peaceful it was to listen to Keiichi's heartbeat. She curled up closer to him, and watched him for a while, as he slept and drooled like his usual self. She chuckled a bit, and waited till he woke up.
Once so, Keiichi yawned and looked down to Mion, who had a red blush on her face. He smiled, and kissed her on her forehead, which attained a much larger blush.
"Morning Ojiisan…"
"Hey, you don't have to call me an old man anymore Keiichi. Why not something better than that?" she said, trying her best to look serious but at the same time hold back her laugh.
"Fine. Good Morning Mi-chan. I hope you slept well." He smiled, which Mion started to become a bit gitty at.
"I…slept well. Infact…the best I think I've slept…" She started to get up and stretch, happy to remember the previous night's events.
*We really did it. We kissed finally, and got out our feelings to each other. I'm really happy.* she thought.
Keiichi got up likewise, and yawned a bit, still tired.
"How about breakfast Mi-chan? I'd love it if we could make it together." Keiichi helped her up, and went into the hallway, smiling at Mion to follow. She nodded happily, and followed quickly. She eagerly awaited to spend the day with Keiichi, and to her surprise, was happy to know that the snow storm still went on. If it did, then they probably wouldn't have school at all this week until Monday.
And likewise to Mion and Keiichi, Shion and Satoshi got up together. However, much to anyone else's surprise, they laid down, completely naked, and under the warmth of the blankets, in each other's arms. Shion had a big smile on her face throughout the night's sleep. It was wonderful for her the previous night, better than anything her fantasy could ever offer.
Satoshi woke up, with renewed energy in his body. He looked up to Shion, who now brushed his hair. She bent over, and kissed him while he lied down. This entailed him to pull her on top of him, and go for a "second round" in two days. Shion had no objections, but still, wondered how her sister had done with Keiichi.