As Amuro woke up, he realised that Mion was fast asleep on his side. He marvelled himself at her sight.
"I can't believe that such a girl loves me... It's strange when I think about it, but I have a weird feeling, like I've always been in love with her... Even before, existing" He thought while glancing at her while sleeping. "No, that's impossible, I don't belong in this world. I guess this is just a feeling you get when you're in love" He discarded his previous idea.
She opened her eyes as he was exiting the bed. "Is it too late?"
"No, I was just getting up cause I'm not able to go back to sleep once I've opened my eyes, but you can rest a bit more if you want" He looked at the clock. "It's 7 AM"
"Your belly's gonna start growling soon then, I can't let that happen"
"Don't worry about that, I know how to cook on my own you know?"
"I know love. I just want to show you how much I love you in the best way possible, and you can't lie to me saying that's not food"
"Haha, you really know me, don't you? I love you Mion"
"I love you too, so don't worry, I'll make breakfast and you go to the shower. We have a big day ahead of us"
"Careful not to cut yourself though"
"I know, I know. It's almost healed by now, but I don't want to harm another finger" She said as she looked at her wound.
"It will get well soon" He kissed her finger.
"That will help for sure!" She replied with a smile. "Now go"
"Yeah" He got up and went to the shower.
They got up as usual and holding each other's hand, they went to the Furude Shrine.
As they walked, he noticed that the road was a lot more crowded than usual. Most people where going at this hour too, since only the stall holders had to prepare their stands to sell their stuff.
On their way people started to notice the couple: one of the workers they had met on the previous days saluted them, as well as the owner of the 7th mart and several other villagers who knew Mion or Amuro seemed really happy to see them together.
"See Mion? Nobody is making a fuss over us being together" Hd whispered in her ear.
"You were right! Actually... I think people are starting to see you as part of this village" She looked at him in his eyes.
"I won't lie, being here, breathing this countryside air, around these cheerful people, holding your hand... I can't help but love Hinamizawa more than anywhere else. But even if I do, I am an outsider to this dimension, Mion"
"But see how everyone looks at you, how everything seems to smile upon us. This world is accepting you, Amuro. You are a wonderful person, there's no reason for this world to deny you"
"You don't understand Mion... It is more complicated than that" He caressed her hand and gave her a sad smile.
"*sigh* I know... I know nothing about this magical stuff... But I want you to know that we would all be happy for you to stay here. This world is better with you" She hugged him.
"Not all hope is gone. There might be a possibility for me to stay, but in case I can't, are you sure you don't want me to erase your memories?"
"Not in a million years" She replied seriously, but then she looked at him and smiled full of love.
"I won't ever forget you either" He pat her head, as there were too many people to kiss her.
They started walking up the stairs and noticed a group of friends waiting at the top.
"Mii-chan, Amuro-kun!" Rena shouted from the distance.
"Rena-chan, just wait a little while we get to the top!" Mion shouted back.
"Okay!"
They rushed to the top to meet all of their friends.
"We were waiting for you two" Keiichi remarked.
"Thanks a lot Kei-chan. I'm sorry to say that I have to leave now, though" Amuro told them all.
Mion whispered something to Satoko.
"No way! Amuro-kun, come to eat Takoyaki with us at the very least!" Satoko told him.
"Hmm... Welp, I guess I can do that bit"
Satoko and Mion smirked as he agreed. Her girlfriend knew that he wouldn't deny a chance to eat delicious food.
"Let's go to the Takoyaki stall!" Mion lead everyone.
The path was really crowded, Amuro had never seen so many people in the village.
"The festival is really popular isn't it?" He said to his friends.
"Yeah. People come from Okinomiya and other nearby towns too! Watanagashi is really popular in the area" Mion replied.
"It's one of the reasons for us to put so much effort into it ~nipah!~" Rika added.
"~Hau~ I can't wait to take Rika-chan in her maiden costume home!" Rena started saying.
"Please don't, Rena, try to supress your urges to take anyone home today" Amuro told her.
"Rena knows, Rena knows..." She said with a disappointed face.
"There it is, the stall with the drawn octopus!" Mion pointed. "Let's see who can eat the most in the span of a minute"
As they got near, a man who seemed to be the stall holder spoke: "Good morning Mion-san! Like always, you and your friends can eat as many as you want. I'll charge you when you finish" He showed them the large quantity of Takoyaki that there was on the table.
"Thank you! So, are you all ready?" She asked them all as she held a cronometer in her hand.
"Yeah!" They all replied.
"Start eating!" She said as she put the cronometer to work.
They all started munching as fast as they could. Keiichi was having trouble eating because he had picked the most recently made, so they were really hot. Halfway through the minute, Mion had eaten 10 balls, and she would have been winning, if it wasn't for a certain person that was competing. Amuro had already eaten 20, and wasn't slowing down at all, in fact, he liked the Takoyaki so much that he was speeding.
"STOP!" She said as she stopped the cronometer.
"Dammit, I only was able to eat 15, and my tongue is burning!" Keiichi seemed angry.
"Stupid Keeichi-kun, you were eating the hottest ones, there was no way that you could win... I ate the same amount despite my short age..." Satoko mocked him.
"I ate 14, but it's because my tummy is full..." Rena said in a sad tone.
"I munched as fast as I could and I ate 20 ~nipah!~" Rika seemed to have a dangerous appetite as well.
"Sorry guys, but it seems that I win, cause I ate 23!" Mion said triumphantly.
"M-M-Monster!" The man of the stall exclaimed, but didn't point at Mion...
"Eh... how do I say this... I... I ate 52" Amuro confessed while scratching the back of his head.
"52?!" Everyone exclaimed.
"*sigh* Remind me to never give you an all you can eat coupon..." The man was out of shock, but made clear that in other circumstances, he would be a threat to his business.
"Well, this is the result of inviting Amuro... But I can tell that he's so happy!" Mion hugged him as he smiled because of the good food and his girlfriend's love.
"Aww" Everyone found that it was cute of her.
"What are you looking?! Dammit these brats..." She muttered as she blushed with an angry look.
She payed the man and they went to the next stall, but Amuro had to leave.
"Love, I gotta go" He whispered in her ear. "I know you want me to enjoy this day with you all, but if I fail, there will be zero possibilities to save this world..."
"I understand... I just wanted you to stay for a bit longer... But you're right, it would be irresponsible of me to ask you such a thing... But I still get worried" She sadly replied.
"I'll be just fine Mion. I won't let some random grunt just come and kill me. I've planned everything to attack first. There's no way I'll fail!"
"Promise me you'll come back alive, from everything"
"I promise you. Now go, enjoy the festival with everyone. I'll just make sure that everything is going smoothly"
She stopped for a moment and hugged him. "I need you. If you cannot keep your promise, I won't forgive you!"
"Hahaha, I know Mion. I love you"
He gave her a long passionate kiss regardless of being surrounded by people and more importantly, by their friends.
"Go save us all" She told him as her eyes got humid at the thought of losing him forever.
"Yeah, see ya!" He patted her head and went away.
She turned back to her friends and turned completely red.
"You better not say a word!" She shouted at them as she noticed the way they were looking at him.
"~Hau~ Amuro-kun is so romantic... I wonder when Rena will get a boyfriend..." Rena daydreamed and spoke in third person like she always did.
"I gotta admit that he is. I love him" Mion said as confident as ever. She looked at him going and thought "Please, don't die..."
~~~~X~~~~
He went on his way to Rika's house. Irie and Akasaka would be there waiting for him, and he would get the definitive cure for Hinamizawa syndrome.
"Sorry Voracité, but this is my winning card..." He said to his evil self as he went through the woods.
The evil entity did not say a word.
"You've been quite absent lately, haven't you? Well, if you are listening, I want to thank you for at least letting me enjoy my time with Mion these days. I don't hate you anymore, in fact, I've started to pity you. If you are hollow now though, I doubt you feel anything towards my words, but I wanted you to hear them anyway"
But no one answered.
"Yeah... Whatever" He felt a bit uneasy about this, but he let it slide. After all, he would take the cure and Voracité's plan would be smashed to pieces.
He continued to move through the woods, careful of not making a lot of sound and inspecting his surroundings. Nobody seemed to be in the area though.
As he got to the house, he gently knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Asked Irie from the other side.
"It's me Irie-san, don't worry, no one has followed me"
He opened the door and let him enter as quickly as possible.
"I read the letter and burned it afterwards, so I want to know, you are 100% sure that this thing works?"
"Yes. I haven't been able to test it, but I revised my calculations and research numerous times. This is a definitive cure"
"You are amazing Irie-san. You don't know how much you've helped this world..."
"It's the least I can do. After all the awful things I've done... At the very least I had to find the cure"
"And you did. Where is Akasaka-san?"
"Oh, I told him to hide, but now it's alright. Akasaka-san, it's all fine!"
The man came out of a small space in a wardrobe.
"Ah, it's just you Amuro-kun... I'm glad to see you"
"Yeah, same here. Now, I just wanted to check that you were doing fine and that you knew what you had to do"
"When do I come out of this hideout?" Akasaka asked.
"I must admit that I'm not sure, because it doesn't depend on us, but on them"
"Why didn't you call a larger force Amuro-kun?" Irie asked
"Cause there is a high chance that someone dies. I'm sure that Akasaka-san will not die as long as he appears in the right time, but I'm not able to say the same of anybody else that came with him"
"I understand. Irie-san did get the help of the police department, but we have kept them in the dark about a lot of things so the Yamainu doesn't find out in case they have infiltrated the police" Akasaka said.
"Yeah, that much is alright. Tomitake shouldn't contact the Banken until we are sure that the Irie institution's research is secured" He gave a look to Irie as if saying "and Satoshi as well"
"Very well. Do you have an idea at least of when you might need me though?" Akasaka asked.
"It should be by tomorrow's early afternoon. If my calculations are correct, you should go to the Sonozaki manor, just in case we fail to hide Rika in there, which is most likely. We are going to contact you in some way though..."
"Why do you say that it's most likely that they find out? We haven't made any mistakes, or have we?" Irie asked worried.
"Not really, but the Yamainu are a counter-intelligence unit. They are likely to find out sooner or later"
"That is true. We must not underestimate the enemy" Akasaka agreed.
"Very well then. Do you want to take a dose then?" Irie said as he opened a special case with two syringes inside.
"Yes, of course..." He was about to grab one but stopped for a moment to think.
"Is there something wrong Amuro-kun?"
"I... I'm not sure I should take this anymore, haha" He laughed nervously.
"Why do you say that? You could be taken over with the illness at any moment!"
"I know Irie-san, and I'm glad that you care, but I already know of one person who might need it first. Just in case, I'll save the two for later. I'll take the case, don't worry. If it becomes unbearable, I'll take a shot, but I don't want to risk the plan in any way"
"*sigh* I'll trust you because it's you who we're talking about, but I have to tell you that it is tremendously risky to do that" Irie seemed uneasy.
"I know, but it's the only thing I can do... Do you have a dose of the old serum as well?"
"Only one dose remains..."
"It's good enough, I'll take it too, just in case..."
"Do you have a bag or something where you can put this, so that no one spots it?"
"I forgot about that, damn it..."
"Hmm... I wonder if there's something around here..."
"I don't think there is, and the girls' backpacks are out of the question, and believe me, it's not because they are girlish (I couldn't care less about that), but because I would stand out too much..."
"That's true" Akasaka replied.
"I think the best thing I can do is to take it as hidden as possible to the house and put it on a backpack there"
"Are you sure that you can do it?" The policeman asked.
"Yeah, if someone spots me, I'll just make them sleep"
"I believe you, haha" Akasaka had heard about the beat up he gave the street punks.
"I'm leaving now, then. I hope that everything goes out well. Irie-san, you can now return to the clinic. Akasaka-san has enough food for the rest of the day?"
"Yeah, I brought him canned food" Irie replied with a bit of shame.
"Don't worry Irie-san, it's better than yesterday, hahaha" Akasaka replied.
"What did you bring him?" Amuro asked curious.
"Bananas" Irie replied.
"Bananas" Amuro repeated, not believing what the doctor was telling him.
"Yeah, bananas. It was all I could get" Irie replied sadly.
"Pffft... HAHAHAHAHA!" He hadn't laughed so much in a while.
"Hahahahahaha!" The two guys laughed as well.
They stopped laughing about a minute later.
"He's being serious though" Akasaka said as he cleaned his tears with his hand.
"O-Oh..." Amuro changed his expression completely. "Well, I-I'll see you later, then" He replied and left the house.
"How did that happen anyway?" Akasaka asked Irie.
"It's a long story..."
"No, don't worry. I'd rather not know"
~~~~X~~~~
Amuro had no trouble on his way home. Everyone seemed to be at the festival, and through the woods there were no spies. Once in the house, he emptied his backpack and put the case with the two syringes with the cure inside it, as well as the one filled with the incomplete serum.
He went to the phone and called a number.
"Hello?" A deep man's voice was heard through the phone.
"Kasai-san, are you available now?"
"Yes, Amuro-kun. Do you need anything?"
"Could you come pick me up at my house. I have to leave some things in Mion's house"
"I understand"
"Shion is not there, is she?"
"No, she just went to the festival"
"Perfect. I have something to tell you, but I'll wait for you to arrive"
"Okay, I'm gonna go now, then"
"Yeah, see you later" He said as he hanged up.
Then he sat on the couch and looked at his Shamisen. He began thinking about everything he had done in the past weeks.
"It's funny" He started talking to himself as the images went through his mind. "I came here only waiting for this moment, and now that it has arrived, I miss the days I could play games with everyone, as well as the days I went on dates with Mion... I don't want to leave this place... I don't want to leave you, Mion..." He had a sad smile.
About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
"Amuro-kun, it's me" Kasai said from the outside.
"I'm going" He replied.
As he opened the door, the tall man greeted him with a handshake.
"It's true what Akira said... You shake a hand like real men do"
"R-Really? I never thought about it myself" He blushed a little. He noticed that ever since he had started to spend time with Mion, he had gotten a lot more human. He reacted towards the rest, which is something he was completely unable to do when he had first gotten into this world.
"I mean it, and you look people in the eyes too. I feel kind of ashamed now that I think about it..."
"For your shades?"
"Y-Yeah"
"Don't worry Kasai-san, it's part of your being to wear those"
"You really think so?"
"Yes, for real. I bet Shion thinks the same too, which reminds me of the fact that I have good news, so let's get in the car"
"Of course. Just sit in the back, don't mind me. I'm used to be alone on the front" Kasai opened the door to the backseats.
"Thank you, Kasai-san"
"It's nothing compared to what you're doing for Shion-san"
Kasai closed his door and started driving. "So... What are the good news?" He asked Amuro.
"Irie created a definitive cure for Hinamizawa syndrome. Even if I can't make Shion come to her senses, I'll be able to inject the cure to her"
"Really?! I-I'm glad..." Kasai lost to his emotions for a moment, but he went back to his cool self.
"You really worry about her don't you Kasai-san?"
"She... She's like the daughter I never had"
"I understand. I'll do my best to save her, as well as the person she loves"
"You don't say... Satoshi-kun is alive?!"
"He's at the Irie institution, but in an induced coma. He had gotten to the final stage of the syndrome, so there was no other way... But after this is all over, we'll be able to cure him and he'll wake up"
"I can't believe it... Poor Shion has been so lonely and miserable without him... I just want to see her real smile again"
"And you'll see it Kasai-san, all we have to do is survive"
"Now I'm determined to win this fight"
"That's what I wanted to hear"
Kasai entered to the Sonozaki Estate and left Amuro in it.
"Is Oryou-san here?" Amuro asked him.
"I believe she is. How will you convince her of staying here?"
"She's quite fond of me, I'm sure she'll let me if I use the right words"
"Good luck Amuro-kun"
"Thank you again, for everything, Kasai"
"Don't mention it. You kinda remind me of me when I was younger... But you're stronger, in every way"
"I'm not half as cool as you though"
"Hahaha... Well, see you later"
Amuro stepped out of the car and went inside the house. He left hia backpack inside Mion's room. He knew that if everything went the right way, Mion wouldn't be back in her room that night, so it was the perfect spot.
"Just to make sure however, I hope I accumulated enough Mana to do this..." He thought as he walked towards Oryou's room.
"Mion? Is that you?" The old woman had a great sense of hearing.
"Sorry Oryou-san, but this is for everyone's sake, Psychan" He used his ability on her and said: "You don't think that anybody is at home and you will not get close Mion's room for the next 12 hours"
The ancient woman looked at him with a lost expression for a couple of seconds and then replied: "Yes, master"
"Great" He thought and left her alone in the room like nothing had happened.
"I didn't think that I'd be able to manipulate other's minds further than their memories, but it seems that with enough Mana it is possible" He thought as he grabbed and unfolded Mion's bed to lay down on it. "*yawn* I am super exhausted now though, so I will sleep for a couple hours. I will be ready for the night too, so it's a good idea to get some sleep..."
As he mashed his face against her pillow he was invaded by thoughts about her. "Oh Mion, your scent is so comforting" He thought as he fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Hours passed while he slept. He was so exhausted that it was already dark when he opened his eyes.
"I hope it's not so late yet" He carefully went to outside Mion's room and looked for a clock. There was one that showed the time: it was 8PM.
"It's a great time to wake up actually, Rika should be about to do her dance. Kasai will pick her up and bring her here afterwards... Shion should arrive at around 10 PM and sleep until 3 AM if I'm not mistaken, so I should already get out of bed" He thought as he stood up. He made the bed and left it as he found it, folded and on a corner of the room.
He went outside of the house and went for a walk. He wanted to feel the air of being in Hinamizawa one more time, in case he would have to leave it, so he went through the woods, the dirt roads and the rice fields.
As he walked through the dark rice fields, he felt that he stepped on something made of metal.
"Hmm... What could this be?" He kneeled down to pick it up. As he did, he noticed that it was quite sharp, so he looked for the handle.
As he got hold of the tool by wooden handle, he noticed what it was. "Th-This is!"
It was a sickle. It was a pretty common tool in the rice fields, but it was more than a mere tool for Amuro.
As he grabbed it, he could feel an urge for blood, for pain, for death. He remembered how his whole self was able to summon thousands of sickles in battle. Thousands of men had died before him with such a simple tool.
"I have to let go..." He thought. But his hand refused as a voice inside of him spoke: "Not until you've fed me with blood, I know that deep inside you, you want this..."
"Fuck all you know! Fuck all you say! All you've ever wanted is a hole in my heart!"
"Hehehe, it might be, but I'm not letting go" Voracité replied.
"Fuck" He replied in anger as he noticed that he couldn't let go of it. He decided to carry the sickle, as it didn't seem like he could move the hand. When Voracité became distracted, he would throw the sickle away.
He came back to the manor, got the keys to the torture chamber and sat in a big rock in the gardens to wait. As he looked at the sickle, he bit his arm to force his hand to open. It worked, as the nerves couldn't be controlled by the mind. "Yes!"
An hour later, Kasai had arrived with Rika in her maiden clothes.
"How did you do Rika-chan?" Amuro asked her.
"Good, but I made a little mistake nearly at the end..."
"So that ocurred the same way..." He thought. "Too bad, but maybe not many people noticed"
"I hope" She then changed her voice to her mature one. "Now, where are we going to hide?"
"Here" He said as he put a big key in the keyhole of a fortified door.
"Let me help you open it, Amuro-kun" Kasai said.
"Thanks Kasai, but it's not as heavy as it looks. After all, Shion managed to open it by herself once"
"For real? Wow" He muttered.
Once they were inside, they noticed the instruments and objects that were in there. Some were recognisable, but others were so weird that it was impossible to decipher what kind of torture could they be used for.
"Here it's a perfect spot" Amuro said pointing at the room with the cushions on the wooden surface, made to watch as someone was being tortured. "It might not be glamorous, but it's comfortable enough" He said with a funny attitude.
"Are you hungry Amuro-kun?" Rika asked.
"I tried to withstand my hunger through the day and night, but I am losing the battle, to be honest" He confessed.
"Don't worry Amuro-kun, I brought you a box full of takoyaki. I thought you'd be hungry" Kasai replied.
"Really? Thanks a lot Kasai-san!"
"You're welcome. I'll give it to you when we exit this place. It's in the car"
"Neat"
They left Rika alone in that room and went to the car.
Kasai gave Amuro a squared box with a cartoon octopus drawn on the center. He devoured the content, but politely asked Kasai if he'd like one. Kasai didn't accept though, so he just ate it all.
"That was delicious, so once again, thanks Kasai-san!"
"It's nothing..." He smiled at him.
"Now, just leave the car there. We don't have to act until 3 AM, so we can be with Rika in the meantime"
"Understood. What do I have to do when that time comes?"
"To be honest, nothing really, I will confront Shion. You can stay here and guard Rika"
"If that's all you need then it's alright"
"When the sun rises we'll have to get the big guns though"
"I know. Are you ready to...?"
"I've killed before, and I believe that more than you" Amuro gave him a stoic expression followed by a sad smile.
"I see. Then there's nothing else I have to say to you"
The ambient was really calm at the moment. There was a party being held at the Sonozaki Estate, so music, laughs and people talking could be heard. It was impossible to predict that such a tragedy would take place, or at least try to. If Amuro and everyone did the right thing, the village's destiny would be one full of happiness. If they failed though, it would take some worlds of suffering before they could escape this fate, but this was Amuro's only chance.
They went back in the chamber and sat there to talk and wait. Rika seemed calm about everything, and Kasai didn't show signs of nervousness either, even though this was expected. Amuro couldn't help but chew his fingers at the thought of Mion being attacked by her sister. Unfortunately, he knew that he would have to interfere after she was tased.
"Maybe I... I'll have to use the sickle after all..." He shivered at the thought of not being able to let go of the tool once again.
"Are you okay, Amuro-kun?" Rika asked him.
"Y-Yeah, I'm a bit anxious, that's all. After all, I've been planning this since I arrived" He lied.
"Have more trust in you. You are amazing Amuro-kun, I know that with your help we'll be able to pull this off with no problem"
"Rika-chan is right. If it wasn't for you, I'm sure that achieving this would be almost impossible"
"Thanks, guys. Changing the topic a bit, does the public know about Rika's disappearance?"
"Not yet. Akasaka planned to do it tomorrow morning, so that the party in the Sonozaki Estate was held. If it had been now, everyone would be looking for me, and that wouldn't help the plan" Rika answered.
"And it was a great idea" Amuro was happy with the thoughtful choice of Alasaka.
They waited as the hours passed. Rika was tired, so Kasai and Amuro told her to rest. Kasai had brought a comfortable blanket, so she covered herself with it and put a cushion on her head. A while after she was fast asleep. It was 1 AM, which meant that the last people at the party should be leaving and Mion and Shion were possibly in bed.
"I know this may come out of the blue, but have you ever been in love with someone, Kasai-san?
"Hahahahahaha, of course. But to be blunt, there has only been one great love of my life, but my best friend won her"
"You don't say..." Amuro knew who his best friend was.
"Yeah... I was in love with Sonozaki Akane" He said with a slight blush Amuro was sure no one had ever seen.
"You used to know each other since you were really young, weren't you?"
"We weren't childhood friends, we met as teenagers. Akira and I came to Okinomiya from different cities. Akira was born in Roppongi, Tokyo, while I came from Osaka"
"I see, so you're not from Hinamizawa"
"No, but we really liked the area. Akira and I went to the same class, and we didn't really like each other at first, but on one opportunity I saw him getting picked on by two upperclassmen, and I stood up for him. Being two against two we were able to win that fight. After that we were inseparable"
"Where does Akane enter?"
"Now, now. A year later, she joined our class, and as boys we were, we discussed what we thought of her, but to be honest, we thought she was pretty, but nothing else. It did happen that some guy in the school became kind of obsessed with her, and on an opportunity we saw her as she punched him in the face. We both fell for her in that moment, but we didn't realise it until later on"
"What happened after?"
"Well, this guy was too persistent, and later on he brought two guys along him to chase Akane to an alley to leave her in a dead end, but what he didn't know is that we were worried about every move he made, cause we knew his type. We brought bats and we broke the shit out of those grunts just before they could touch her. She tried to keep her tears inside her, but in the end she couldn't help but cry as she said thank you. She started to hang out with us for the rest of our time in High School, and during that time, well... I guess Akira made a move before me, and the rest is history... Or well, after Oryou-san made her relinquish the title of heir to the family for marrying an outsider we could say the story is truly over..." He gave Amuro a sad smile.
"That's why you care so much for Shion-chan isn't it?"
"Yeah. She reminds me a lot of her mother. Don't think wrong about it though, in no way do I feel that... You know..." Kasai was having trouble finding the rifht words.
"No, I understand. You don't feel attracted in that way to her" Amuro got what he was trying to say.
"Yeah, that's correct"
"In my case it was really weird. At first, I tried to make Keiichi and Mion fall for each other, cause I thought that was best for everyone. I was unable to feel love at that time, so the last thing I wanted was for Mion to fall for me, but that's what finally happened. However, she taught me to feel, to love and to live happily, which is why I want to make her as happy as I can"
"Shion was really jealous of you two. She hasn't told me, but I can feel that in her words when she talks about Mion"
"Yeah... But I understand her. She believes that her own family betrayed her, and she has her reasons. However, I can't allow her to start any bloodshed. I'll make it up to her by scolding Oryou-san"
"Please, try not to harm her" Kasai said in a worried tone.
"I'll try not to. I don't want to harm anyone really, but sometimes, there is just no other way..." He said as he thought of all the times he had lied to his loved one.
"Thank you"
With a couple minutes left for 3 AM, Amuro stood from his cushion, took a syringe of the case and went out of the chamber.
Once outside, he noticed how the sickle shined with the moonlight.
"You don't control me" He said to the tool and to his evil self as he picked it up. "I am Death"
He quietly stood outside the house, waiting. A minute, two minutes, three minutes had passed after 3.
"Only one left" He thought in his head.
He quietly waited, until he felt the sound of a phone ringing.
"This is it" He muttered.
He waited, until he felt how someone fell to the floor. A shocking pain went through his body. He knew that Mion had just been tased.
Amuro entered the house and walked towards the agressor with a mixed expression of a smile filled with rage. "I knew I would catch you red handed…" He said to Shion playing with the sickle.
"Amuro! What are you doing here?! At this hour, in this moment?!" Shion was shocked.
"You know, I love Mion, I can't let you do any more harm to her. However, the main reason I'm here is to save you"
"Now what nonsense are you spouting? There's no saving me! As long as Satoshi-kun is gone!"
"That's exactly why I'm here, Shii-chan"
"Don't adress me so lightly. You don't know shit about me!"
"Oh, but I do Shii-chan. I know everything about you all"
"Oh really? Then you should know that you are dealing with a DEMON!"
"Fufufufufufu… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Psychan started laughing madly and posed in the same way Voracité did subconsciously.
"EEK!" Shion squealed with fear.
"You? A Demon? You have no fucking idea what it is to have a Demon inside! You're just a sick brat that is about to do senseless killings for a person that's not even dead!"
"Satoshi-kun is ALIVE?!" She stood there doubtful for a second. "AHAHAHAHAHA! You're just bluffing aren't you? My sister must've told you about him just so you could save her when I wanted revenge for my beloved Satoshi-kun… Oh and I almost fell for it hahahaha..." She was mad.
"*sigh* Well, I guess I'll have to use one of these" He said pulling one of the syringes with the cure for Hinamizawa syndrome.
"You can come and try!" She threatened with the taser.
They charged against one another at the same time, Amuro broke the taser with the sickle before she could even react though.
"I-Impossible! How could you...?"
"For real Demons this is a piece of cake…" He said as he injected Shion with the serum.
"YEEAARGHH!" She screamed.
"What's this whole scandal?!" Oryou came out of her room and saw the scene: Mion unconscious, Shion shivering in the floor and Amuro with a sickle in hand.
"Oryou…" He told her as he got close to her.
"Get away from me! What are you?!"
"You should apologise to Shion once she is back to sanity. You're one of the reasons she is like this now"
"W-What? What is happening here?!"
"I'm saving you and your family. Oh, the sickle, I bet I looked quite the dangerous fella, hahaha…" He put the tool on the floor.
Shion started breathing normally as time progressed. "I… I… I'm sorry!" She started crying.
"Here we go…" He muttered to himself as he got close to Shion.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone, but Satoshi-kun is gone and everything pointed to the family! I was so mean to Mion when she needed me the most!"
"Now now, just let it all out Shion. Breath, Breathe In... Once you've found the breath you lost, breathe again" He told her with a smile and he hugged her to comfort her the same way he did to her sister, with the difference that he had no deeper feelings for Shion.
"Why do you do this? I was going to do horrible things to her…"
"Because I'm sure that Mion wants to see you happy. She always tells me how much she suffers because she can't feel your pain of losing Satoshi-kun"
"Onee…" And she continued crying in Amuro's embrace.
After a while she stopped her tears and he let go of her.
"Now Oryou-san, I think there's something you have to tell her…"
"As much as I hate to admit it… You're right Amuro-kun"
"What is it Ba-chan?" Shion asked her gently"
"I-I'm sorry. For everything. I neglected you since your birth, and later on I made you go through a lot of suffering…"
"I'm sorry too Ba-chan, for taking the family name so lightly"
"No, no. It was my fault that things turned out that way. Can you forgive me?"
"Only if you're completely honest with me. What happened to Satoshi-kun?"
"*sigh* I was expecting that question. The truth is that we knew that he murdered his aunt, but since you showed responsibility that day, I took the liberty of creating a scapegoat for him…"
"Then that means!"
"Yes. I was willing to let you have a relationship with him… But the next day, he disappeared. Shion, I swear I have no idea what happened that day, and I feel legitimately sad for his dissapearance. Mion actually knew less, so if you want to blame anyone, blame me, but she didn't do a thing aside from telling me"
"Onee was telling me the truth all along, but I didn't want to listen…" A few tears came out of her eyes as she remembered the time when Mion came to see her and how she had ripped her own nails to make up for her.
"I think almost everything is alright now. There are still a couple things you should talk about once Mion wakes up, but for now, I need you Shion, and I'm sure you won't say no to this request"
"What is it?"
"In the afternoon we're possibly having an armed combat in this very place. I need you to protect everyone while I fight alongside Kasai"
"I don't understand why that would happen"
"Kasai will explain it to you, he's in the chamber, as well as Rika-chan. Now I need you to accept or decline my request… I know it's dangerous, but if everything goes well, you'll see Satoshi-kun tomorrow"
"How?!" She had never been so astonished by mere words.
"He is alive Shion, and I know where he is. Now it's too dangerous to go, but after reducing their numbers I'm sure we'll be able to get to that location"
"I accept. I'll do anything for Satoshi-kun"
"Then we're ready. If you don't mind, I'm gonna leave Mion in her room and sleep by her side. I recommend you two to get good sleep now"
"What will happen to me?" Oryou asked.
"You will be left in the manor Oryou-san. This house shouldn't be touched, I made sure of that"
"I understand, I'm going back to bed, even though I'm worried about you all"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to let anyone touch any of my friends" He smiled at the old woman with confidence.
"I'll go to the chamber and then to sleep too. Onee is very lucky to have you…"
"I'm the one lucky to have her. Oh, and one last thing: If you betray me, ripping your nails off will seem like a manicure in comparison to the Hell I'll make you go through before killing you" He said in a menacing tone.
"I would never!" She shouted with a hint of fear, but more with decission.
"I trust you Shion-chan, but I hope you understand that I can't let anything happen to your sister. She's the only reason for me to live"
"You're far more romantic than Kei-chan. Don't worry, I love my sister as much as you do"
"Good night Shion-chan"
"Same for you Amuro-kun. Please explain to Onee-"
"I'll do it the moment she wakes up" He said with a smile, picked up Mion from the floor and carried her bride-style to her room.
He gently left Mion in her bed, cuddled her a little and then he laid on the one where Shion was sleeping.
"Good night my love, I promised I would save your sister" He whispered in her ear even though she was unconscious, and kissed her in the cheek.
She smiled.
~~~~X~~~~
Well, it was hard to find the time and inspiration for this one, but now with action and all it may be smoother to write the next chapters. Even though I have like two followers, I'd love if you left a review, just to know what you think of the story so far. I've never written such a rich story, and I'm so happy I started writing this. I can't say when the next chapter will be ready, but I'll do my best to bring it in two weeks or something.
Evhron out.