After the hilarious punishment game of Keiichi, the rest of the day felt really short.
Amuro had the idea of going for an ice cream, so everyone went to eat one of their favourite flavour. Mion had Chocolate-mint chip, Rena had Strawberry, Rika and Satoko had Maccha and Keiichi had Vanilla. He decided to copy Mion's choice, since he had already tried Maccha and he used to like many of the things that his best friend chose. He was sappy to find out that once again, Mion's choice was of his liking. He wished that he could love her, but he was hollow, or so did he believe after all he had gone through.
After enjoying the ice cream they spent some time in Okinomiya and by dusk they were back in Hinamizawa.
Back in the house Amuro thought of how much he had enjoyed that day. He could call all of the club members his friends, regardless of his emotional problems. They were people that would stand up for him and made him laugh, and that was enough for him to decide that they were worth saving, especially Mion.
"They are good people aren't they?" The evil voice in his head started saying. "Too bad that they have to die..."
"It's always you isn't it? I don't remember when I destroyed you but I perfectly understand why I did it, and wouldn't mind doing it again"
"That's why I took countermeasures"
"Huh?"
"Remember that emptiness you felt while sticking your tongue down that gir'ls throat? Well, that was me, taking shelter in your heart... or should I say our heart"
"So all these feelings, my lack of empathy, all of that was-!"
"Me, me, me! Fufufufufufufufu... It's not all on purpose though. Just like you once said, I am not human, I am a hollow demon that wants to destroy to fill a void"
"Your very existence is evil. Your choice or not, you are a menace to my life. For as long as you exist, I will never be able to share Mion's feelings. Still, I don't understand what this countermeasure is"
"I fused myself with your being, so you won't be able to destroy me, unless you want to destroy your own self in the process hehehe... We are one but we are separate entities too! And only one of us can rule in the end, so keep enjoying those moments with your friends and that girl, cause once I take over it will all be over!"
"Like I'd let you!"
"It won't be easy of course, but little by little, the moment for my rebirth is coming closer! Until then... Psychan"
"CURSE YOU VORACITÉ!"
He felt terribly stressed, and without realising it he started scratching his neck.
He ate, took a shower and later went to bed.
He had a terrible nightmare. He was chasing a woman whose face he couldn't remember. He found her, she screamed and he slashed her throat open with a sickle. Then he saw himself eating a bunch of corpses. His body was enjoying it, but his mind made him feel awful. It was a nightmare to remember.
He woke up covered in sweat. He hated how disgusting the sheets got with sweat, but he couldn't help it. He decided to leave them drying in the couch and since he was awake, he made breakfast and had a shower to start Sunday. Sunday was always a strange day. Many people love it, but many others hate it because you live through the whole day thinking about going back to the routine. For him it was irrelevant though. In medieval Europe you worked every day, so having days off in any form was a treat for him.
Today he would meet Rika at the Furude shrine to talk about the plan. If everything was going well, there shouldn't be anything left to worry about. Shion hadn't shown signs of a premature awakening of Hinamizawa syndrome.
They would meet early in front of the Saiguden, just like before.
"Rika-chan!" He called.
"Amuro-kun, you arrived" She greeted him as she got out of the Saiguden.
"So, how did everything go?"
"Perfect. Akasaka will arrive a couple days before Watanagashi. I spoke to Irie and he seems to believe me, the same goes for Tomitake-san. What's exactly the plan?"
"First things first, Takano has a counter-intelligence unit called Yamainu backing her up, so we have to alter the information she's receiving. What you did in the other world was disappearing a day before Watanagashi and you faked your death, however, in this world we need the festival to be held normally, so I thought that you could "die" after the festival ends"
"Sounds good to me. And then?"
"We try to gain as much time as possible before the military unit that can defeat the Yamainu arrives. We could surround ourselves with traps in the mountain, that worked before"
"I understand"
"Oh, one more thing. Did you tell them anything about me?"
"I just said that you know about everything, but only because I told you. I'm pretty used to lying by now so nobody suspected anything"
"Good. As for me, It doesn't seem like Shion will be hard to handle. I would like to meet Irie-san though, just to make sure..."
"That sounds great. Changing the topic a bit, how have you been doing with your problems"
"Honestly, not so well. I just found out that my fragment in particular is none other than the twin fragment of Apothéose. As such, there are two entities that are meant to find this fragment, and unhopefully, we are stuck in the same body. He's not a help in any way, and actually, I'm starting to believe that he could be even more dangerous than Takano..."
"So you have a split personality?"
"Yeah. I've managed to control it, but there are some things he does that make me miserable. Just for existing he makes me feel empty, devoid of any feeling of happiness, even after Mion has tried so hard..."
"Mion knows about that?"
"Since I came here I've become pretty close to her. She's my best friend, but I'm afraid that she could have feelings for me again, so I've been more distant"
"AGAIN?"
"Oh... I guess I shouldn't have said that. *sigh* what the hell... Mion fell in love with me once already. I won't go into detail, but I had to use my special ability to make her forget about that and a couple more things"
"You are able to do such thing?"
"It's not easy, and it's not like I can do it a lot either. It consumes Mana too, and as long as I don't get the fragment back it's not as powerful as it was. Psychan is an ability that only I have and can use. It allows me to control the minds of other beings, but I think that in my current state I can only alter memories a bit..."
"Even so it's one heck of a power. I bet Hanyuu would never be able to do such thing"
"~Hauauauau~ You're saying those bad things to me again Rika!" Said the horned girl.
"Still, what was the problem of Mion falling in love with you anyway?"
"That as long as this demon lives inside of me I won't be able to share her feelings. Believe me Rika-chan, I really like her a lot, but as my heart is now, I'm not even sure that I can claim to love her..."
"Amuro-kun, don't lose hope. I may not be of great help with all this mistic stuff you're dealing with, but I'm sure that there is a way that we can all help you"
"I really wish it was that simple. Sorry, but this is something I have to deal with myself"
"Maybe you're right, but don't discard the possibility. If there's something I've learned after dying so many times in different worlds, is that the power of friendship and bonds can get really close to defeating fate itself, and you mentioned that we managed to do it in another world, so why not this one as well?"
"I'm not sure..."
"The only thing I'm trying to say is that you must start relying on us as well. It's true that we don't have special powers like yourself, but there are other ways in which we can help you. Just don't forget that we're here to back you up ~nipah!~" And she smiled with that cute little girl face only she has.
"I won't forget then"
"Just do your best! We're all rooting for you!"
"Thank you. Well, I guess that's all for now. Is Irie-san at the clinic on Sundays too?"
"Yes, he is. Good luck, Amuro-kun"
"Same for you Rika-chan"
He left and walked in the clinic's direction. He thought about the events that were developing at the same time as he was planning that world's destiny. Keiichi should meet Shion that day, and he would still think that she was Mion pretending to act more girly. One week from here he should uncover the truth about the twins.
"I wonder if I could use this opportunity to draw Keiichi closer to Mion..." He thought. "Maybe I should tell him to buy that doll and give it to Mion. No, if I does that he will give it to Shion anyway... That only leaves one option: I could give that doll to her" He blushed at the thought of her embracing the doll. "No, I mustn't! She never received the doll anyway, it would be too risky to do that... But something inside me wants to do it. I... I don't want her to feel sad"
"Go ahead. All you want is to squish those huge tits once again..." That evil voice resonated.
"Shut up! Shut up! and SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He screamed as he scratched his head and neck.
"Fufufu, I can talk all day long if I want to. And I'm not lying either"
"Yes you are! I like her because she's a wonderful person. The fact that she's pretty is just a plus, but you won't ever understand it"
"Don't lie to yourself Psychan, as long as I'm within you it's impossible that you feel love towards any other thing that's not yourself. The only thing you have is lust for her body"
"I guess you won't just go away will you?"
"As long as you're alive... Nah"
"Fine then. I declare war upon you. In this moment, I promise that I will kill you"
"That's what I was waiting for! Okay then. One of us will kill the other and assume total control over this body"
"I don't know how, but I will surely win. Try to enjoy your last days alive, after I'm done with you I'll finally be able to find happiness. This is a chance I won't miss!"
"Neither will I. Until next time, Psychan"
He felt how the evil presence somehow dissipated from his mind.
He hadn't realised the long distance he walked while fighting Voracité in his mind. He was arriving at Irie clinic already.
He entered the building and was greeted by someone unexpected.
"Hello, I haven't seen you around. Could you be by any chance Tsugaru Amuro?" Asked the blonde woman.
"Yeah, nice to meet you" He didn't really have a grudge against her since he knew about her past.
"Takano Miyo" She introduced herself. "So, what brings you here?"
"I wanted to know if Irie-san was here. I have to talk to him about something..."
"Is that so? Well, he is in his office. Second door to the right"
"Thank you very much" He said as he started thinking. "It's too dangerous to speak about that topic here, I have to find a way to be alone with Irie-san"
He entered the room and found the man in white coat filling some papers, possibly of research.
"Ah Amuro-kun. I thought that I had seen an unfamiliar face yesterday at the field, but you guys left even before I could say hi"
"Sorry for that, but here I am"
"The name's Irie Kyosuke, so what brings you here today?"
Amuro grabbed a blank paper and a pen that he saw laying in the desk and sat in a chair by his side.
"Well the thing is Irie-san, that I would like to join the baseball team"
Irie understood the meaning of his actions and went on with the game. "So it's about that! haha, so you want me to sign you up?"
"Yeah. Please understand that I've never played before, but I would like to try it at least once" He was finishing writing.
"There's no problem with that at all! You're free to join the team whenever you want to"
"Great, thank you a lot" He said as he showed him the paper:
"Takano is here. Let's meet at Okinomiya's library at 6 PM"
"It's no problem at all. Take care"
Amuro grabbed the paper, silently turned it into a ball, put it in his pocket and went outside.
"Take care Amuro-kun, I'm looking forward to knowing you better. Make sure that you are not disappeared by ogres in the meantime" Takano told him.
"Yeah, me too, until next time!"
He went to the bus stop and took one to Okinomiya.
With a whole day left he wanted to distract himself. There were many things to do in town, so he assumed that he wouldn't get bored so easily.
"I've been playing the Shamisen a lot lately. Maybe doing something different won't do any harm"
He started walking down the street and noticed a sign that read Arcade. Inside there were kids pressing buttons and moving levers while looking at a screen.
"Just what are they doing?" He thought as he entered the dark place.
Rows of giant machines with dark screens filled with colour stood around. He checked a kid playing one of them called Space Invaders.
The kid moved the lever and a weird thing moved around in the same way as the lever indicated. When the kid pressed buttons some stuff was shot from the thing and seemed to kill other strange objects that were moving on screen.
The kid destroyed all objects and then a larger one appeared.
"Boss time!" The kid muttered to himself.
"What's the objective of this game?" Amuro asked him.
"Well, you move around this spaceship and shoot aliens. There isn't much science to it, but I guess you're supposed to save the earth or something" He explained.
"I see" He lied, since he didn't know what a spaceship was, or an alien either. He understood how to play it though and also noticed how the kid put some kind of coin in a space to play.
He continued looking at the different game titles: Galaga, Pac-Man, Q*bert, Dig Dug, Burgertime... One called Donkey Kong seemed especially fun, so he decided to buy a bunch of tokens to play.
Once he started playing he realised that it seemed a lot easier when he saw how other people played instead of actually playing the game. With each try he became better and better at it though.
After 5 tokens he was already able to finish a whole level. He kept playing for about an hour. Now he understood the fun of that place, and it was so fulfilling to see yourself grow. Starting off as a rookie who only smashed buttons to become an expert who uses self-taught techniques. It was really gratifying.
"Man, I'm getting good at this" He said to himself as he saw his score enter the Top 10.
"Dammit! Freaking ghosts always catching up to me after level 5! I will never enter the top scores like this!" Shouted a characteristic girly voice coming from his back.
"M-MION?!" Amuro was surprised to find her there.
"Amuro! I never thought I'd find you here of all places!" She greeted him with a hug.
"Neither did I... What are you doing this early in Okinomiya?"
"Remember when I mentioned my uncle from the toy store? Well, I work for him on some days. One of my turns is on Sunday, but it starts at noon, so I come here and play videogames in the meantime"
"I see. I came here cause the place itself looked interesting. I had never played in these machines before"
"Really? Well, that's an advantage of Japan. Even in far away places, the whole country is filled with the newest videogames! Isn't that awesome?" She said excited.
"Yeah, it's quite amazing. I really enjoyed playing Donkey Kong. I managed to get to the Top 10, so I left my score with an AA nickname"
"Really? I have a Top 7 in Galaga with the nickname MII, but I wanted to try to beat the high scores in Pac-Man now. It's hard as hell though..."
"Just do your best Mion. You're the best at all kinds of games, I'm sure you'll get to the top scores if you keep trying"
"You really think that?" She asked blushing a little and touching her ponytail.
"Yeah Mion, you're our club leader. It's only natural that you're the best"
"Hahaha... Amuro you're so sweet saying that" She was very happy to hear that compliment.
"I just say what I think, that's all" He smiled at her.
"Hey I know! Why don't we have an ice cream before I have to go to work?"
"If it's food we're talking about, you won't get a no from me... EVER"
"That's what I wanted to hear. Just to make things clear, I haven't forgotten about my punishment game, but Ba-chan has been teaching me a lot of cooking lately, so I want to keep practicing until I can cook something delicious and special on my own"
"Take your time, just tell me when you are"
"Changing the topic, I've been feeling a bit uneasy lately"
"Why is that?"
"Last week, Keiichi met Shion. That itself isn't a problem, but he doesn't seem to believe us that we're different people"
"Why don't you call Shion and prove it to him?"
"Because Shion told me that he thinks that all of this is an act I made to prove him that I can be girly"
"It's a possibility. I mean, if I didn't know your sister I'd immediately think that it's you"
"The point is that I saw this as an opportunity. I'm going to show him that this old man deserved that doll!"
"Do you need him to recognise that so badly?"
"I don't really know... but I will surely teach him, that's for sure!"
"*sigh* Just don't let that bother you so much ok? I think I've already shown you how much of a girl you are"
"I'll try. It's just that I feel like I can't let this be"
"Yeah I know that feel..."
"How have you been with your... other self?"
"Terrible. He torments me from time to time, and I can't just ignore him cause he is literally inside me. He's in my head, my heart, I sometimes feel that my very soul is not my own"
"That's impossible! You told me that he has no soul, so the only soul inside that body is yours. I don't know much of that mystic stuff, since the demon on my back is just a tattoo, a symbol, but logically thinking that's the conclusion I get"
"I guess you're right... Hey, you have a tattoo? And a demon's specifically?"
"When we were little, not even our family could distinguish me from my sister, so I, the heir, was tattooed with a demon that simbolizes the blood that's supposed to run through our family's veins. The Sonozaki family didn't allow twins to be born, so in theory..." She had difficulty completing her phrase: "I should have never been born"
"Huh? But Mion... You're the heir" He actually knew the truth, but wanted to hear it from her cause he was sure that this was something she had never told anyone about.
"I was born as Sonozaki Shion. Since no one could tell us apart, we used to change places sometimes. The day of the tattoo was one of those, so technically, I stole my sister's identity and her position as head of the family, I... I am a fake..." She said with a very sad expression that even Amuro could tell that it was authentic.
"Oh c'mon Mion... Don't say things like that, I'm sure your sister thinks that it was all an accident" He lied, cause he knew that in reality, Shion thought that it was on purpose at first and he wasn't sure if she had changed her mind about that.
"I really hope she does. When I went to her appartment, she said she forgave me. But that's not all, I think she blames me and Ba-chan for the disappearance of her boyfriend"
"For real?"
"I mean, he wasn't technically her boyfriend, but he did disappear"
"And you didn't have anything to do with that"
"Not at all, but we did things that could make her think that..."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because we made her go through a lot of pain just for confessing her love for him"
"Mion. I'm no one to judge. I've killed more people than I can count, I have massacred entire villages like it was nothing, but I want to know... why did you do that?"
"I... I was jealous of her. I actually liked Satoshi-kun a little bit, and when I found that out I told Ba-chan about it knowing the consequences"
"What happened to her?"
"She was forced by us to rip three of her nails off..." She made a face of pain, but Amuro's expression suddenly changed to a happy one.
"Woah... You're savage girl" Voracité grinned.
She knew that face, those hollow eyes, that evil smile. "Who. Are. You?!"
"What do you mean Mion? You know me well, I am Tsugaru Amuro, your best friend" And he smiled at her mocking the expression of his other half.
"You may share the same body, but your eyes tell you apart. My best friend's eyes are full of hope and dreams. Yours are completely devoid of emotion" She said seriously and a bit scared.
"Well, given the circumstances I guess I have to introduce myself. We're both Tsugaru Amuro, but I am the half known as Voracité. My little brother Psychan is quite fond of you, I'm sure that you would be so happy together... But as long as I exist I cannot allow that to happen..." He said as he started caressing her hair and her face, but it was in a menacing way, not in a gentle and tender one like her friend's.
"Leave him alone! All you do is make him miserable. Now I understand just how bad he's been having it because of you"
"I'd love to have a body of my own Mion, but unfortunately, my demonic existence is damned to live in this mortal carcass. I, the God of Death, have to endure this torment!"
"Well you've earned it! Now go away, I want my friend back! AMURO!"
"Fufufufu... You think that by calling our name loud enough he will- ARGHHH!" He grabbed his head with both hands and his eyes filled with Psychan's shine.
"Sorry, I hope he didn't scare you"
"I freaked out a little bit, but I'm alright now. So... your true name is Psychan?" She asked him.
"I wouldn't consider it a name. It's just the special ability we have, so we recognise each other after it"
"Special ability?"
"Now you won't make heads or tails about it, but I'll tell you when the time is right"
"You don't trust me enough now?"
"It's not because of that, it's just that in order to save this world, there are things that are better left unsaid... Or at least for a while"
"I wonder what that means, but okay..." She looked a bit down for a moment but seemed to recover pretty quickly. "What do you plan to do about Voracité?"
"I want to kill him, but I have no idea how, and believe me when I say that all I want is to be free of this torment"
"Then all you have to do is destroy that bastard and take what's yours with your own hands! I believe that you can"
"I'd do it if I had a clue of the way to do that. For now, it seems that everyone is too concentrated on their games to have noticed anything strange... let's go for that ice cream, before it's too late... In the sense that you still have to work" He completed.
They exited the Arcade and went to a café that seemed to have delicious ice cream.
"What will you order?" Mion asked.
"I don't really know this time... What about you?"
"Chocolate-mint chip is my all time favourite, how was it the other day?"
"It was delicious. I think it is my favourite one too, cause it leaves an uncomparable fresh taste in your mouth and its colour is so pretty. It actually reminds me of your hair, haha" And he patted her head and gently played with her ponytail.
"AH! I-Is that so?" She muttered red as a tomato. She loved the way he touched her hair.
"Hahaha, yeah, I mean it"
"Here are the ice creams" Said the waiter as he gave the desserts.
"Thank you very much" Amuro said.
They sat at a bench and enjoyed their food.
"How's working with your uncle like?"
"It's pretty cool actually. I get to sell all kinds of games and toys, so I get to know many cool ones that can later be used in the club"
"I'd like to get a job myself, but I don't know what I could do"
"I've got many relatives with business in the area... but I think my dad wanted to talk to you about that"
"Your dad? Now that you mention it... He said something like that the last time we met at the manor"
"You could speak to him, but I feel a bit uneasy about it though"
"Why is that?"
"I think he might offer you work as part of the Yakuza. I'm not really sure, but after you beated up those punks he got quite interested in you"
"I wouldn't mind doing that again"
"But you said that you came her looking for peace, quiet and to get out of that harsh environment in Italy!"
"Yeah, but in the end that's what I'm best at, after music of course, and as long as I'm in this area I think I could get to enjoy it. Any way you look at it, Hinamizawa is a rural area without much happening"
"I guess that's true, at least if you put aside the dam wars and the deaths that occur every year..."
"What's that about?"
"Oh! I misspoke, that's nothing really, haha"
"Mion, I know it's something important from the tone of your voice, so just tell me about it"
"It's just that I think that you might get scared and leave town..."
"I'm not afraid of those things, and I don't believe in anything supersticious..."
"Promise me you won't leave!" She said with a worried face.
"I promise that I won't leave you Mion..." He said as serious as he could get, until he realised "I mean Hinamizawa! Of course..."
"Ok then. 4 years ago, there was a conflict with the government, because a dam was going to be built in the river. The dam would cause the flood of not only Hinamizawa, but plenty other villages in the area as well. This resulted in many protests and pseudo-violent actions that were taken by the locals, including me and Shion, we actually got arrested a couple times hahaha, but in the end it was all worth it, the dam project was stopped and Hinamizawa was peaceful and quiet once again..."
"...Until someone was murdered" He completed what Mion had difficulty saying.
"Right. That same year, on the day of Watanagashi, a headworker of the dam project was murdered and mutilated. They say one of his arms was never found. The next year, a couple of supporters of the dam project died in an accident... They were Satoko's parents"
"I see..."
"The third year of the curse, Rika's father died of an unknown disease and her mother commited suicide by throwing herself in the marsh. By the fourth year, it seemed like everything was calm, but once again, a relative of Satoko died. Her aunt was murdered and the murderer was found dead. I think she was a horrible person, but the point is that someone always dies..."
"...While another one disappears, and all happens in Watanagashi, which is in two weeks from today" He finished the story.
"That's why I was worried about telling you. You're not gonna run away are you?" She asked again with that worried look that Amuro found cute, but felt a bit insulted that she doubted him.
"Mion, who the hell do you think I am? I promised didn't I? I must admit that this event in particular seems very odd and has a supernatural air around it, but I couldn't care less about such a thing. As long as no one I care about dies, I couldn't care less about this curse" He replied with a sceptical tone, possibly to the fact that he knew the truth behind the so told "curse".
"That day we're all going to be seeing how Rika performs a ritual dance. It's technically impossible for any of us to die, so don't worry"
"About that... I... I think there's something I've got to tell you. Remember when I said that I had to save this world?"
"Yeah, I remember something like that"
"What happens is that someone is planning to kill Rika-chan on that night"
"Who? Why? Just... What the hell?"
"We will have a little reunion in a while. We're still making some arrangements, but when the time comes we're going to tell you all"
"And why did she tell you out of all people?" She seemed hurt.
"That's because I know more about this world than any of you. I talked to her to find a solution to the problem, and we're solving it step by step, but please don't tell anyone about this conversation"
"Well, if you want it that way it's alright I guess..." Finally she accepted her friend's decission.
"Yeah, don't worry too much about it. We're looking into it, and I'm experienced with crime-related stuff. For the time being, enjoy the days that are left, and by the way, here!" He gave her a paper with a phone number.
"Is this your house's number?"
"Yep. Call me whenever you need it, or if you want to... I don't know, just use it to your hearts content hahaha"
"I will. I think there was something I had to tell you... But I forgot! Well, I don't think it was that important, but it's a pity that I can't remember" Mion looked annoyed by her own memory.
"Welp, tell me if you remember. If not don't worry, I bet it wasn't a thing of life and death"
"Yeah. I gotta go to my uncle's shop now. See you tomorrow!"
"Take care and do your best!"
And once again, he felt really happy. He had never experienced one bad thing when he was with her. There were difficulties sometimes, but from Mion herself, all Amuro received was happiness and love.
"Fuck! I'm overdoing it again!" He said as he kicked a can out of the sidewalk.
Why did Voracité exist? Why did he have to deal with the twin fragment? All these thoughts and feelings circled with violence through his mind and he couldn't help to fiercely scratch his stingy neck.
"Huh? No, no, no, no, no... What am I doing?" He said as he realised what was happening. "This... this is... the behaviour of people with Hinamizawa syndrome!"
He thought about this. He had lived there for a couple days and he was already infected? It was possible, due to drinking the town's water. Still, he couldn't believe that he was already affected by this.
"This must be due to the stress this guy gives me, of course! This is part of his plan to get rid of me for sure... But I won't let him win!" He thought. Maybe his other half could hear him, but he didn't care.
"I'll try to relax and lower my levels of stress. Just in case I'll ask Irie to give me a shot or two of that treatment he has developed"
With about 5 hours left, he decided to rest in a park he saw for a couple hours, if possible, take a nap. By 4 PM he was awake.
"I guess I was more tired than I thought I was..." He said and right away his stomach growled. "And I'm hungry too... guess I'll just go eat something then"
Not thinking about it twice, he decided to have a bunch of burgers at the place he'd gone with Mion.
He asked for 3 Rodeo Burgers cause they were pretty tasty. They had cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, BBQ sauce and mayonaise.
While he was eating he overheard a person at a nearby table: "Oh my God! You know who that is... That's the guy I told you about, A!"
"The one who ate 4 Rodeo Burgers in like 7 minutes with fries and milkshake included?"
"The one and only. Man, he's unreal! Everyone says the same after the pretty girl who was with him muttered that phrase in defeat. She was not bad at all, but against A she didn't stand a chance..."
Amuro felt flattered as he chewed his hamburger. He was now recognised as A, and secretely that title made him feel comfortable. That Legend-like complex brought him a smile.
After finishing his meal it was time to head for the library. He would be a bit early, but if he got bored he could read a book. With half an hour to spare when he got there, he decided to grab a book about science to have an idea of what other inventions had been made in all that time he had skipped.
During that time he learned about important historical events such as America's discovery, the French Revolution, both World Wars and the Cold War. He also read about electricity, radiation and various other technological advancements to be up to date in that matter.
He was reading the book as he noticed that someone was sitting in the same table. It was Irie.
"Hi Amuro-kun, I left Takano in charge of the clinic, so it's not possible for her to follow us"
"What did you tell her to come here?"
"It wasn't a big deal, cause on Sundays I don't officially work, I just continue my research"
"I see. Well, I wanted to speak to you about something very important regarding Sonozaki Shion"
"Shion-chan? What's the deal with her?"
"She has been developing Hinamizawa syndrome after Satoshi's disappearance"
"What? But that..."
"I'm going to be straightforward with you. I know more things than any of you guys. For instance, I know that Satoshi is being held in an induced coma due to L5"
"But how?!-"
"When the time comes I'll explain everything, but for now, I wanted to know if there would be a problem with Shion seeing that Satoshi is alive. It wouldn't be right away though, I think two weeks from now would be precise"
"I don't think there would, but she wouldn't be able to interact with him in any way..."
"I'm sure that just seeing him will be enough"
"If that's the case then it's no big deal"
"I also want you to keep this a secret from everyone. Not even Rika knows about this"
"I understand"
"Another thing that has me worried is the fact that I... I have started developing the syndrome"
"What? That's terrible, why did it happen?"
"I think it's necessary for me to explain this much at the very least, but I have Personality Disorder, and my other half has been stressing me out a lot lately, so much that the syndrome has started developing. I haven't got any dangerous psychological symptoms yet, so I'd say I'm an L2, but just to be safe, I want you to give me a couple doses of that treatment you've developed"
"It's still in progress, but it's pretty functional. Satoko-chan is under treatment, without it she could get as worse as her brother. You've done the right thing telling me. I'll give you a couple shots next time we meet"
"Perfect, thanks a lot Irie-san"
"Is that all?"
"For the time being yes. If I need anything else I'll contact you in some way"
"Ok Amuro-kun. Take care, and try to keep your cool as much as you can, that way you'll develop the syndrome a lot slower. I can't promise that you'll heal completely from it given your circumstances, but I'm sure of that much"
"Yeah. You take care too, and keep up the good work with Tomitake"
"By next week Akasaka-san will arrive, then the whole team will be complete"
"The plan is going smoothly then. Until next time!" And he shook the doctor's hand.
He went back to the village and called it a day. He wasn't sure of calling this a success due to the unexpected apparition of his evil self, but the plan was going pretty well. He was ready to go to bed early after eating, when the phone started ringing.
"Amuro!" It was the green haired girl.
"Huh? Mion, what is it at this time?"
"I just remembered what I had to tell you. Buy fresh vegetables and meat for this friday"
"Huh? What for?"
"Oh, and spices. Don't tell Kei-chan, but this Friday, we will have to cook curry"
"What is curry?"
"Oh, not again. I'll cook you some tomorrow to fulfill my punishment then"
"Okay... Have a good sleep"
"You too Amuro, sweet dreams!" She ceerfully answered through the phone and hanged up.
"This girl..." He went to bed thinking about her. This seemed to help him wear off the nightmares for that night.
~~~~X~~~~
Hahaha, sorry to anyone expecting Pokémon, even though I'm working on it, I have to admit that the motivation i have to write it is A LOT less than the one I have when writing this. This story is my favourite fanfic written by me by far, and I hope that its first follower is enjoying it. I also hope that people are liking those cute moments I put in between the tension. Higurashi is great material to write and I'm always excited to write a new chapter. I had a hard day today, but finishing a new chapter fills me with joy.
Darkmatter17 out for today.