"W-What are you saying, Amuro?!" Mion got upset upon hearing his words.
"*sigh* You saw what happened with that luminous being. That was a Watcher, and there are three others that could be here any moment with the same intentions" Apothéose explained.
"But you stopped the last one, you can do it again, right?"
"It wasn't me... If it wasn't for Evhron, we'd all be dead by now" He replied bitterly.
"Evuron?" Mion repeated with her Japanese accent.
"It's in French, so no wonder you have trouble pronouncing it, hahaha" Evhron joined the conversation.
"Is he... Another fragment?" Mion seemed to catch a glimpse of the situation and couldn't take her eyes off him.
"Exactly, Mion. Nice to meet you" Evhron saluted her and blushed a little since she was still looking at him.
"Oh, sorry. I was just shocked by how similar you are to Amuro, even though you are actually different in some way"
"No worries. Going back to the last topic, what Amuro says about the Watchers is true, they are out of his league for the fact that his powers are still incomplete-"
"But maybe-" She was interrupted.
"Mion... Please don't make it more difficult than it already is. I know how you feel, this is hard for everyone, but it seems that there is no other way..." Amuro said with a hint of sorrow.
"Onee, Amuro-kun is right. All he wants is for us to be safe" Shion told her.
"But will Amuro-senpai be happy with that?" Keiichi asked.
"It doesn't matter if I'm happy or not. All I care for now is that this world and its people are safe" Amuro abswered.
"Tsk, heroes..." Bernkastel thought while smirking.
"Now now, if you kids would let me talk, I'd be glad to inform you that there is a way for Amuro to stay here..." Evhron smiled.
"There is?!" The couple exclaimed, Amuro with a face of amusement and Mion with the happiest expression she ever had.
"It's very simple actually. All I need is your fragment, Apothéose"
"But... it's a part of me, isn't it?" He touched his chest.
"Not really. The fragments are a physical part of the Scythe, but our bodies are completely independent from one another. We can fuse, but if one of us wants to stay an individual, it doesn't matter. All we need for Tsugaru Amuro to come back is one physical body and the complete Death's Scythe"
"Really? Then that means..." Amuro looked at everyone.
"Welcome to Hinamizawa! Your new home..." Evhron greeted him.
"I can't believe it Amuro, you get to stay!" Mion hugged him kissed him on the cheek.
"But Evhron, what will happen to you?" Keiichi asked.
"I will erase the remaining Watchers as well as the Sentinel. Apart from that, I guess I'll be watching over you all until all Fragments are awakened"
"Will you go back to our World?" He meant the original Universe where they came from.
"Who knows... To be honest, I don't think so, but it all depends on if the Fragment I'm thinking of wants to become Tsugaru Amuro"
"Who is that?"
"Dasein, the weakest of us all"
"I see. Will he be alright on his own?"
"I believe so, he is still strong compared to normal humans. Oh, that reminds me, I guess you understand that you will lose all powers of Apothéose, and of course, that includes Voracité and Psychan"
"Obviously. I thought that much was self-explanatory"
"Very well then, let's do this" Evhron put his hand on Apothéose's chest and chanted a spell.
"Mon esprit, mourant entre ciel et dunes.
Je diverge, j'atteins l'inatteignable"
Upon saying these words, the fragment of Apothéose was retrieved by Evhron and stored in an extradimensional case that he summoned. Amuro's eyes lost their red shining Dingir rune as well.
"Well, I guess it's time for an interloper like me to leave this World..." He gave a glare at Bernkastel.
"Humph, what's that? I wasn't planning on staying much longer either..." The Witch replied.
"I was just kidding, you cannot leave yet"
"And why is that?" She seemed surprised.
"I think what Evuron-san means is that we haven't properly thanked you" Rena said with a shameful expression.
"Oh, right!" Keiichi snapped too.
"Bernkastel-sama was so good to bring Mion-san back..." Satoko said.
"...And she didn't ask for anything in return" Satoshi added.
Mion let go of Amuro and walked straight to Frederica. She stood there for a moment, and then she bowed.
"Thank you, for bringing me back to life!" She couldn't believe how weird that sounded.
"Bernkastel, if there's anything you want, I'll do my best to get it for you" Amuro added as well.
"Just your gratitude is enough for now. I do wish to be well received every time I decide to come to this World to visit" She finally decided.
"Of course! Feel free to come whenever you feel like it!" Shion told her with an honest smile.
"You can stay at the Furude house next time..." Rika said with a strange expression.
"I'll be glad to do so"
Then Rika came closer to her and whispered in her ear:
"When that time comes, I'll make sure my chest is as big as Mion's. I won't lose"
"My, I'm looking forward to see that. Even with magic, I haven't been able to fix that issue myself..." The Witch replied. "Until we meet again" She opened a portal and left through it.
"I also should be going, for real this time... But before that, I remembered that there's something I've always wanted to do..." Evhron said as he approached Mion.
He gently put his hands on her shoulders and started talking:
"You know, I'd love to say that I did all this for free, but the truth is that I also want a little gift..."
"And what would that be...?" Mion got a bit nervous and looked at Amuro.
"Hey Amuro, would you mind if your girlfriend gave me a little kiss?" Evhron asked in the most carefree way.
"EH?!" Everyone was in shock.
"W-W-Wait! You... You are not being serious, are you?!" Mion was blushing.
"I..." He stared at her face for a while. Her cute lips, her beautiful eyes and the pure red tone of her face. "I am. I love you, Mion" Evhron confessed.
Mion boiled and seemed to pass out.
"Wait Evuron-san! What's the meaning of this? Do you even know her?!" Keiichi interfered.
"Hahaha, I guess there's a truth I have to tell you all, before going any further..."
"You mean..." Amuro seemed to calm down as he heard those words.
"Yes. That, as well as some things not even you know"
"Now that I think about it, I remember Amuro-kun saying his name in his fight with the Watcher. That enraged him so much..." Satoko pointed out.
"You see, I'm not liked a lot by the highest authorities of the Multiverse, for putting it in a way. That's because, I don't follow the rules that apply to this Multiverse.
I won't go much into detail, but, despite my young looks, I am the most ancient existence of them all.
I perished because of my own obsession at some point, but of course, I designed a plan to return to life after that so-called death. That plan, was based on the creation of Dasein, the Spell that allowed Tsugaru Amuro to fragment its self at the cost of the Death's Scythe.
Tsugaru Amuro is a reincarnation of me, and deep within his Soul, the Fragment of Evhron already existed. All it needed was to restore its complete self.
Of course, there were many other details in that plan, but that's not important.
What's important, is that I was in love with Mion and a couple other girls before this Multiverse was even born.
Actually, thanks to you Apothéose, or well now, Amuro, I discovered that you, my dear Fragments, were also born with that love in your hearts. This will help a lot actually, because now it will be easier to find some of the others.
As I said before, I gotta admit that Mion's not the only girl in my heart. Where I come from, there is another green haired lady I'm interested in, but I'm not sure if my destiny is with her either...
All that said, I would love to kiss her once in my endless existence..." Evhron concluded.
Everyone was speechless at his declarations. Of course, the fact that he was a being superior to the Watchers was already a shock, but what had everyone muted was his bizarre request, along with the most awkward love confession any of them had ever heard.
"I... I don't know how to reply..." Mion was like all the rest.
Amuro was doubtful at first, and how wouldn't he? Even if Evhron was, in a way, himself, it was still a different entity and it was his girlfriend. After overthinking the confusing idea of what the event was, in essence, he decided to leave the choice to Mion:
"If you feel okay with it... Do it. I won't love you any less, and I know that neither will you. I know Evhron doesn't have any bad intentions either" He finally said.
"Amuro..." She knew him very well, and thought that he was an understanding man, but she didn't expect him to be so calm at such a turn of events.
"I think the same. Do it only if you feel comfortable. I won't do anything if you decline" Evhron said with a sincere smile.
Mion looked at him again. He looked like a more mature Amuro, in every sense, but she also felt that he was a completely different person at the same time. She also didn't exactly like the fact that he wasn't only in love with her, but she appreciated his sincerity over that.
She started getting closer to his face, Evhron did the same.
As they did this, everyone was expectant at what would finally happen.
Amuro was sweating bullets, even though he tried to act as calmed as possible.
The rest were biting their nails or chewing their fingers out of nervousness.
Mion was now a centimeter away from his lips, her head thinking "It's only a kiss" trying to convince herself that it wasn't a big deal, while preparing her own lips for the encounter.
Finally, they touched each other, but not like they were expecting. Mion had decided to kiss his cheek only and Evhron seemed happy with that. He knew her too well to have expected anything else, so he was smiling anyway.
"Sorry! I tried to do it but..." She started apologising.
"It's okay, I couldn't ask for more, could I? Hahaha" He petted her head the same way Amuro did.
"Sorry" She hugged him to show that she had affection for him, but that he wasn't her Amuro. "I hope you have luck with the other girl..."
"Ahahahaha, thank you! But it doesn't matter, after all, I just remembered that there's still one thing Amuro can do for me" He approached him.
"Huh? What would that be?" Amuro seemed oblivious.
Evhron put his hands on Amuro's shoulders and said: 「Omni」
As he did, he started seeing everything Amuro had experienced as in a flash. Not only was it in a visual way, but in a sensorial one as well. He could feel in his own flesh all the sensations Amuro had had through his journey and, even though there were negative feelings, the happiness he had managed to grasp was so much more, that by the end of the flash, Evhron was crying of happiness.
"I always wanted to save this world and live here... Now that you managed to do it, please take care of it for me" He smiled at Amuro. "By the way" He whispered. "I saw and felt all the crazy stuff that happened between you and Mion-"
"EH?!" He let out a yelp.
"...But that's not what I'm concerned about.The problem I came across was the things Voracité did with Takano..."
"Oh. Oh... Shit" Amuro remembered and got all stiff.
"Yeah, shit. But don't worry, I can use the Fragment of Apothéose to erase her memory about those things. I'll just replace them with the events of Matsuribayashi-hen"
"Please do" He said, and then decided to say goodbye to him. "Hey, take care, Evhron. I wish you the best against the Watchers, and in anything you want to do after that. I may not even grasp the idea of being an existence like yourself, but I believe that all you have to do is do what you love and be happy" He said with a smile and put his hand in Evron's shoulder.
"That is what I believe as well. Goodbye, Amuro, and don't you ever stop playing music!"
"I'd never do such thing"
"Bye Mion, Amuro is a really lucky guy. He can sometimes be quite foolish, so try to guide him through the right path. Also, keep him away from alcohol" Evhron said to her with the same smile Amuro gave her.
"Sure thing, I'll do my best as a wife and as a woman. Even as a Demon if that's what it takes!" She seemed to cheer up with his words.
"Hahaha. And everyone else, I wish you the best of luck in your lives. Enjoy this World, it's one of my favourites!"
"Sure thing! Good luck Evuron-san!" Keiichi told him.
Everyone else waved their hand in sign of goodbye as Evhron sliced reality to create a wormhole.
"I lied... This is my favourite isn't it?" He smiled as he entered the wormhole.
Once he was gone, everyone was ready to go home and call it a day.
"Is everything really over?" Shion seemed exhausted.
"It looks like it. Even if a Watcher came here, Evhron will take care of it" Amuro said.
"Amuro-kun, what was Evuron-san's special ability?" Rika asked out of curiosity.
"To stop Time, for now. Once he awakens the fragment he should be able to manipulate it to a great extent, if not completely"
"That's too powerful!" Satoshi exclaimed.
"No wonder he defeated the Watcher..." Keiichi added.
"The other reason he's so powerful is because he has all the powers Tsugaru Amuro had. He is a complete God of Death"
"He is at a completely different level!" Mion exclaimed surprised.
"Yeah, he'll be alright. I just hope he doesn't get lonely..."
"Don't worry Amuro-kun, I'm sure someone nice like him will make friends in no time!" Rena said to comfort him.
"You're right Rena. As long as he's not foolish enough to push people away, he won't be alone" Mion added and looked at Amuro with a grin.
"Yeah, I know I was foolish, but I won't do that again"
"Hey, I don't mean to bother you, but we should head back now. Everyone at the village must be worried" Satoko reminded.
"Yeah, it's late and we're still up here... Let's start going back" Keiichi agreed.
Everyone started walking down the hill to return to the village, where people had heard the noises of the fierce battle that had taken place, but associated it with the storm.
While going down, everyone was relieved that it was finally over. It felt somehow unreal, but this was reality. Rika in particular had a feeling that this was a dream and that she would wake up to a hopeless Hinamizawa once again, but as time passed, she slowly started accepting this new World full of opportunity and expectation.
As they arrived in the shrine, they found Kasai, who was still covering for them, even though the battle had ended long before.
"Kasai!" Shion exclaimed and went straight to hug him.
"Oh, Shion-san!" He didn't expect that.
"The mission was a success Kasai-san, thanks for everything!" Amuro shook his hand.
"Don't mention it. I see that you also did well, kid" Kasai showed his respect for Satoshi.
"It's nothing compared to what she has done for me..." The boy replied and gave a thankful look to Shion who blushed instantly.
A group of villagers seemed to hear their voices and went straight to the source.
"They are here!"
"Thank God..."
"Where were you?!"
It seemed that it was the group of elders of the village that had noticed the youngsters' disappearance.
"Hey, everyone was really worried! How could you disappear for a whole day?" The old man Kimiyoshi was quite upset.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Kimiyoshi-ojiisan, but you see... When we heard that Rika had disappeared, we didn't really think about the consequences and decided to look for her in that same instant, and look!" Mion made up a pretty credible excuse.
"~nipah!~" Rika showed them that she was safe and sound.
"Rika-sama!" The old men were relieved.
"I'm so glad that you found her... But, why did you disappear Rika-sama?" Kimiyoshi wanted an explanation.
"Mii?" Rika pretended not to understand to escape his questioning.
"W-Well, you see..." Mion tried to come up with an idea.
"Rika-chan discovered that there were bad people that wanted to abduct her, so she ran off to the mountains and we, knowing her, went to look for her as soon as we knew she was missing" Keiichi told a convincing story.
"I see... It was a reckless choice, I gotta say!" The old man scolded them. "But... I thank you deeply for your help" He finally bowed and showed his gratitude. The other elders followed.
"We just couldn't leave Rika behind!" Satoko said.
"Such a kyuut girl like her missing... Rena couldn't bear it!"
"To go uphill into the unknown and face danger... Even if you brought things to defend yourselves, please don't ever do something like that again!" Kimiyoshi was back at reprimending them, as he noticed their weapons, even though he thought they mere tools.
"We're really sorry Kimiyoshi-ojiisan, we won't do it again" Shion apologised.
"Well... I guess you've had enough for today. Please, hurry to your homes so your families know you are all righ... EH?!" It seemed that the man was getting a heart attack (he even opened his eyes).
"What's wrong Kimiyoshi-ojiisan?!" Mion became worried immediately.
"No way... I-It's... It's... The Houjou boy!"
As Kimiyoshi saud those words the other men became just as upset as him.
"H-He's alive?!"
"No way!"
"What in the world...?"
They all looked nervously at each other. No one had thought of the effect that Satoshi's sudden apparition would have, not even Amuro. However, the blonde boy decided. to take a step further and explain the situation on his own.
"I... I hated this village. I wanted to run away as soon as I could... And once our evil aunt died, I thought Satoko would be fine on her own, so I took that chance and left!" He said it in the most convincing tone. "But the regrets were killing me... So after a year of thought and introspection, I decided to come back..."
"So that year... Who was the one that disappeared?" Kimiyoshi asked to the air in reply.
"I guess that's something we will never know..." Shion said to help her loved one.
"More important than that... Maybe you should go back and tell everyone that Rika-chan is okay. We are all very tired after such a long search, so I guess everyone's going straight home now" Amuro helped.
"Ah, yes, that's right. We'll be leaving now, thank you again for finding her. The village would never be the same if Rika-sama went missing... Or worse" Kimiyoshi concluded.
"Oh, how right you are" Amuro thought.
As the old men left, everyone started walking towards the Furude Residence.
"S-Satoko! I hope you understand that what I said back there... It was just a lie to get away of that situation" Satoshi was worried.
"Don't worry Nii-Nii! I knew you weren't saying the truth. You would never think of doing such a thing, would you?"
"Thank God... Of course not, Satoko" He smiled at her sister. "Now, I wonder where will I sleep this night though..."
"Hey Rika, I hope you don't mind if Nii-Nii stays to sleep tonight"
"~Mii~ Of course not, Satoshi-kun is always welcome" Rika replied with a smile.
"Thanks Rika-chan"
"Well, that's unless somebody else wants to take Satoshi-kun home!" Mion said and gave a glare at her sister who blushed in defeat.
"Mii-chan, Rena wouldn never take Satoshi-kun home after all the time he's missed with Satoko..." Rena replied, thinking Mion's words were directed at her.
"I don't think she meant you, Rena" Amuro said.
"~Hau?~" She acted obliviously, but was teasing them all along. "Rena knows..." She finished with a smile.
"*yawn* All that fighting and magic has me beat... Kasai-san, can you take the twins and I to the Manor? I hope Oryou-san doesn't mind..." Amuro asked him.
"No problem. I can bring one more person actually" Kasai offered.
"I'll pass Kasai-san. My house is in the opposite direction" Keiichi replied.
"I'll tag along with Keiichi-kun!" Rena added.
"So it's just the four of us. Take care, and don't do anything reckless on the way back" Kasai told them seriously.
"Of course not. Don't worry" Keeichi replied with a smile.
"Let's go then. Amuro needs to rest" Mion pressured.
"Already worrying about your darling, Onee?" Shion took her chance to get revenge.
"Sh-Shut up..."
"Fufufu..." Amuro laughed.
"H-Hey! Don't laugh like that, it brings bad memories!" Mion reprimended him.
"Sorry Mion, but I told you, I'm neither Voracité nor Psychan, I'm the two of them combined, so it's inevitable that I laugh like this sometimes"
"Sorry, it's just that I don't like to remember that guy..."
"Don't worry. He was evil because he was empty and alone. I'm not alone anymore..." He put his hand on her head.
"And you'll never be..." Mion kissed him.
"I just can't tease Onee when I see her so happy" Shion thought.
"Until tomorrow!" Satoko said goodbye.
"Yeah, let's meet at the Manor. We could ask for a banquet in Rika-chan's name" Mion said.
"It'd be great ~nipah~" Rika approved.
"I'll gladly help" Shion said.
"And of course I'll lend a hand too. Anything for the food" Amuro added.
"All right! An all you can eat buffet tomorrow at Mion's house!" Keiichi raised his fist in the air.
"It's settled then" Mion smiled. "Let's go Kasai"
"Yes, Mion-san" Kasai opened the door to the backseats and let Amuro and Mion inside. After that, he took his place at the driver's seat at the same time as Shion entered the car by his side.
"Bye bye!" Shion waved her hand to the rest as the car left.
In the backseats, Amuro laid on top of Mion's legs and fell asleep, while she cuddled him during his slumber happily.
"Enjoying that, Onee?" Shion noticed.
"Actually... A lot" She grinned evilly at her. "If you had enough courage, you'd be doing the same to Satoshi-kun right now..."
"You think so...?" She was caught off guard.
"Go for it, Shion!"
Kasai only smiled as he drove to their destination. "I'm glad that they are back to being the twin sisters they used to be" He thought with his hands on the steering wheel.
That night, everyone could sleep delightfully knowing that it was all over.
~~~~X~~~~
"Who's there?!" Takano screamed from her bed. She was trapped and couldn't move her hands or feet.
"Calm down, I'm here to help you" Evhron said in an understanding tone.
"I'm beyond help..."
"That's not true, now there's a cure for Hinamizawa syndrome"
"And you think I care about that? I could never face anyone in the village again. Even now, I can't believe that I was saved in the last moment by Jirou-san, eveb after all I did..."
"So Tomitake saved her from the Banken in this World as well, interesting..." He thought. "I think that if you atone for your sins in the right way, everyone will forgive you after some time. Nobody aside from those kids and the involved afults know that you were behind this, so the rest of the village will continue to see you as the nurse of the Irie Clinic"
"I don't think there's anything I can do to earn their forgiveness. On the other hand, I couldn't fulfill my objective either. I was too ambitious and now I've lost everything" She smiled as tears ran down her face.
"Well, at least you recognise that you were at fault. For that, I'll give you a hand, you earned it, Psychan" He used his power and altered her memories. "See ya" Evhron disappeared.
"H-Huh?"
Suddenly, Tomitake entered the room.
"Did something happpen? I heard you scream earlier" He was actually worried.
"Sorry, I think it was an hallucination" She wasn't sure if what she had seen was real or not.
"I see. Irie-san is working on your vaccin, so try to withstand it a little longer" He was going to leave.
"J-Jirou!"
"What is it?"
"Do you... Do you hate me?"
"Hmm... Hate is a really powerful word. I don't think I hate you at all. Actually, I might sound naïve, but I don't think I dislike you in the slightest. I was just... Sad. Sad that you never shared your true feelings with me. Sad that I didn't make an effort to understand you. I was just disappointed, by everything, not by you specially"
"Would you be willing to know my story?"
"If it's true, I'm all ears" Tomitake sat down.
"I will never lie to you again. I promise"
Jirou doubted her for a moment, but after seeing her face, he decided to take her vow and smiled at her. "Okay then, let's hear it"
~~~~X~~~~
The next day, everyone in the Sonozaki Estate was helping for the banquet's preparations.
"Amuro, could you help to move some tables?" Mion asked him while she was in the kitchen.
"Sure thing"
"Thanks, I love you"
"I love you too"
Amuro went outside and helped the men (most likely Yakuza) to move some heavy wooden tables to the yard where the banquet would take place.
"Thanks a lot Amuro-san"
"You are tougher than you look eh?"
"I guess, haha. Are you guys staying for the meal?"
"Nah. The boss told us to help around here, but after that, we scram. I guess we don't give a friendly aura..."
"Too bad. Well, see you around" Amuro said as he left.
"See ya!" The two men replied.
After a couple more tasks, Amuro decided to have a rest.
I could just lay down here, but it would be boring...Unless" He remembered a certain object. "...I had that with me. There's still an hour or so before any guests arrive, so it should be fine"
He quickly went to his house and took the Shamisen with him.
"It's been a while since I play it" He thought as he put it in its special bag.
He gave a look at the house. It was funny to think that it had only been 3 weeks, but Amuro felt that it was as good as a lifetime.
"Even if I had left... I'd have the same smile" He thought as he remembered all he and his new friends had gone through.
"I will never forget the people of the previous world either. Specially, my dear Mei... And my only brother, Taka... I wish you the best"
He left the house and went back to the Manor. Just like he had estimated, no one had arrived yet, but the preparations were almost complete, so it was a matter of time.
He went to a more quiet room in the manor he had never entered before. Inside there was the same bamboo rug, but instead of a tea kit (which was what he expected) there was a beautiful 17-string Koto.
He couldn't let go of the temptation of playing the long strings to create the most authentic Japanese sound he could think of.
"If only I knew how to play this thing..." He said to himself.
"...I can teach you! I-If you want..." Mion had opened the door without him noticing.
"Oh right, you once told me that your grandma taught you how to play it"
"It's kind of a tradition in the family. I'm not a master or anything, but I think I can play it pretty well"
"Show me" He gave her that smile. That smile she loved so much that she would never deny any request that came from his lips.
"Alright" She gladly accepted. "You are supposed to put these picks in three of your fingers to play it" She told him as she finished putting the white objects on her nails.
"Damn it, I was doing it wrong..."
"Don't worry, as long as you don't damage the Koto, it's alright"
She gently passed her fingers from the higher strings to the lower ones, creating a beautiful harmony before she started actually playing.
"It's been a while, but I think I can do one well enough"
"Don't sweat it, just do your best"
"Mm!" She made a sound of agreement"
As she started playing the melody, Amuro recognised it. It was Sakura, a traditional Japanese song that's quite famous.
Mion was definitely being modest. As she played, not only did she hit the original notes perfectly, but added a couple extra ones on her own as well, and it sounded wonderful. He was done sitting and watching only though.
"You are amazing Mion!"
"Haha, thank you!" She blushed a little but she didn't miss.
"I can't just sit here anymore though... Would you mind if I join you?" He showed her his Shamisen.
"Not at all!"
And so the two played together their own version of Sakura. Sometimes playing a little solo over the other's harmony and other times sticking to the basics, but it was a show worth seeing and listening.
As they played, they looked at each other and felt a connection that they hadn't experienced before. Music is truly wonderful.
When they finished Amuro decided to say:
"Aishiteru"
"Amuro..." She looked at him and felt a tremendous happiness to know that they were both alive and that they could finally be together.
"That was awesome!" Satoko shouted.
"Yeah, to think that we would've missed it if se hadn't looked for you..." Shion said.
"~Hauu!~ You two are truly meant to be together" Rena seemed to shine.
Only then did the two notice the fact that everyone had arrived and enjoyed their musical event.
"W-When did you all get here?!" Mion asked upset.
"A couple minutes ago. We looked for you around the manor and heard some music coming from here. I wasn't expecting to find you guys here though!" Keiichi replied.
"So you liked the show" Amuro took it well.
"Of course, you guys kill it! Right Nii-Nii?"
"Yeah, you are very good" Satoshi agreed.
"Well, now that everyone's here, we can go eat!" Amuro was eager for a taste of the banquet.
"Of course, let's go right away!" Mion was in a good mood after all.
For the rest of the day, the club members ate, laughed and played to their heart's content. The Sonozaki Estate had never been lively, and Mion's parents seemed to like the atmosphere, or at least the fact that both their daughters could be seen happier than ever before.
As for the next days, the police closed the case and considered Okonogi to be the principal culprit of the plan to assassinate Rika. The fact that the Yamainu were trying to prove Takano's hypothesis was kept a secret, as well as the truth behind Hinamizawa syndrome.
Takano remained at the Irie Institution for a couple months until she recovered completely and started working as a nurse again. She is dating Tomitake for real this time, and seems to have left her evil intentions in the past. She hasn't built up enough courage to apologise to the Club members, but it's on her mind to do such some day in the near future.
Tokyo decided to forget the whole Hinamizawa incident and relinquished Irie, Takano and Tomitake from the organisation to prevent more trouble.
The whole rest of the year, the Club members continued their activities normally, with a few changes. Satoshi and Shion joined the class to course their year of 2nd High School, so things were even better.
Houjou Teppei went back to Hinamizawa to start trouble, but was confronted by Satoshi and later threatened by the Yakuza to leave the area and never return. Satoshi and Satoko went back to the Houjou residence afterwards.
By the end of the year, Rika felt lonely and decided to carry out a very specific ritual. Furude Hanyuu joined the class on the second semester of the year 1984.
In February, love was as strong as ever. For Valentine's Day, Mion made tons of chocolate for Amuro, possibly due to the fact that he remembered her birthday a while ago.
More importantly though, Shion confessed to Satoshi and gave him the traditional handmade chocolate. They have been a couple ever since. Rena did give Keiichi this gift as well, but she chickened out and said it was a friend's chocolate. Good luck Rena.
This year's Watanagashi was the best to its date. The boys helped with the preparations and Rika practiced her dance with Hanyuu's help, so that part was covered. However, what made it so special was the fact that evedyone was there having a good time along the people they loved. It's true, everyone suffered along the way, but the reward was totally worth it.
After finishing school, Mion and Amuro decided to travel to Europe. They would be away for six months, so everyone was sad that they wouldn't be seeing them in quite a while, but they all knew they'd be alright.
By the time they came back, Mion was no longer oblivious of what the rest of the world looked like and Amuro got to know it as well. They had photos of Italy, Germany, France, Spain, the U.K., Norway, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Turkey and a couple other countries of the East.
After coming back, Mion decided to formally take the place of head of the Sonozaki family and Amuro started working as Sonozaki Akira's right hand.
On 1987, Amuro and Mion got married, and the next year, a boy was born.
"...And that boy was you, Nagato" A much more adult Amuro finished telling his son.
He was 9 years old, had Japanese facial features, European eyes, one green and the other purple, and white hair with a green fringe.
"Like, it was a nice story and all, but some parts are really hard to believe. I know that magic exists and all, but you going to Hell? Or fighting a being higher than Gods? Mom getting killed and coming back to life? I'm not sure if I can believe all that"
"Welp, you're free to think what you want. As for me, I gotta sleep, there's work at night..."
"There are troublemakers in the village?"
"Something like that"
"But why do you have to go personally? You're the boss aren't you?" Nagato was confused.
"Sometimes in chess, it's necessary to move the king in order to lead the other pieces to victory, you know?"
"I see. Well, I guess I'm gonna go play with Ryuu for a while"
"Hey, don't forget to invite Mikoto as well. She might be a year younger, but she is your cousin and enjoys playing with you"
"Okay. Please tell Kasan, cause it seems that that meeting with the Ancients is gonna take forever"
"Hahaha, I'll do for sure. Have fun" He played with his son's hair and let him go off.
"See ya!" Nagato went out of the Sonozaki Estate and ran towards the center of the village until he arrived at what his aunt called, the Sonozaki Residence.
He knocked on the door and was welcomed by his uncle.
"Hi Satoshi-ojisan, is Mikoto at home?"
"Nagato-kun, I'm glad to see you. She is in her room. Are you going somewhere?"
"Well, I was planning to go play at Ryuu's house, but my dad said that I invited Mikoto as well"
"I see. I think she'll be glad to tag along. Mikoto!"
A beautiful little girl with long green hair and fuchsia eyes came to the door.
"Nagato-oniisan!" She was happy to see him and even went for a hug.
"Mikoto... Why are you always hugging me around?" He recalled scenes of this since they were toddlers.
"Because I love you, Aniki!" And she held him tighter.
"Ahahahaha. Give Nagato-kun some space, Mikoto" Even Satoshi thought she was overdoing it.
"Okay..." She set him free.
"Hey, let's go to Ryuu's house!" Nagato invited.
"Yeah!"
"Take care and be sure to be back for dinner" Satoshi told her.
"Fine"
"Oh, and say hello from me to Shion-obachan" Nagato was very fond of his aunt since he was little, because she had always been caring and playful with him.
"Of course, I'll tell her when she returns from the clinic"
Now the two had to go to the village's periphery, to the Maebara House 2, since the first one was still occupied by Keiichi's parents. The house was slightly smaller than the original, but it was still a big house for Japanese standards.
"Ryuu!" Nagato called.
Maebara Ryuu opened the door. He was a year younger than Nagato, had orange hair and the same blue eyes as his father.
"Nagato!"
"Hi Ryuu-kun!" Mikoto saluted.
"Oh, hi Mikoto-chan! So... what do you guys want to do?"
"I don't know, but we could just play hide n' seek" Nagato proposed.
"Yay!" Mikoto seemed happy with that idea.
"Alright, I'm gonna start counting..." Ryuu accepted.
And so the kids played with the same enthusiasm that their parents had before them. What future awaited these kids? Would they be able to lead quiet lives? Or was there tragedy awaiting them as well?
"Only Time, will tell"
THE END