Found But Not Lost

Disclaimer: I don't own Higurashi

Rena carried the unconscious Keiichi on her back. She called for a cab to take them back to Hinamizawa. All that mattered to Rena was knowing what was wrong with Keiichi. She told the cab to stop at the Irie Clinic.

Rena ran in with Keiichi still slung on her back. "Where's Irie-sensei!" Rena yelled to the secretary working the desk. "He's in his office at the moment."

"Thanks!" Rena ran over to his office and banged on Irie's office door. "Irie-sensei open up! Something's happened to Keiichi-kun!" Irie opened the door.

"What's happened to him?" Rena recollected the events of the day and told her what had happened to Keiichi.

"Damn! Follow me Rena-chan." Irie said motioning for her to follow him down the hall. "And here, let me carry Keiichi-kun." Irie unlocked the door at the end of the hall, once inside Rena couldn't shake off an extreme feeling of unease.

As she walked further into down the mysterious hall, she felt as though she's been here before. Then it all came back to her. Images violently rushed into her mind. She fell onto the floor in shock. Her and Keiichi in this hall…She kissed him and then…and then she killed him…and then herself…

Rena's eyes flooded with tears as she grasped what she saw. "I killed Keiichi-kun…why would I ever do that!?!?"

"Rena-chan! What's wrong!? Are you okay!?"

Rena brought herself back to reality, she remembered her situation, Keiichi was alive, but he needed help. "I'm sorry about that…" Irie brought Keiichi down further and further and Rena followed. Then Rena saw something that shocked her further.

"Satoshi-kun!" Rena saw Satoshi sleeping soundly in a hospital bed through a large mirror. "What's Satoshi-kun doing here?"

"I can answer that later Rena-chan" Shion Sonozaki answered. "Shi-chan…"

Irie had placed Keiichi in a room similar to Satoshi's. Irie then hooked up Keiichi to different monitors to check on his consciousness. "Come here Rena-chan." Irie motioned for her to Keiichi's room.

"I have some explaining to do. This may be a lot to take in at the moment, but it seems Keiichi-kun has contracted a disease known as Hinamizawa Syndrome.

Rena's memory recalled her encounter with Miyo Takano prior to her date with Keiichi. "What really worries me is that he went to the Final Stage so quickly…Did he show any signs of paranoia or mistrust?"

"No…He acted like he usually did…"

"Then his case must be more advanced…He'll have to stay here under constant surveillance."

"Can…can I stay by his side?...Help him any way?..." Rena said, tears in her eyes.

"Yes you can…" Irie answered.

Rena now broke into tears. "Thank you…" She then cried into her hands. Shion walked into the room and embraced Rena, trying to comfort her.

"Thank you Shi-chan…" Rena did her best to stop herself from crying any further. "Shi-chan…Does Satoshi-kun also have Hinamizawa Syndrome?"

"Yeah…He got it during Watanagashi one year and he's been in a critical condition since then…I've been helping him get better…"

"Does Mi-chan know?"

"Yeah she does…She visits on occasion…She'll find out about Kei-chan soon enough. I'll tell her for you Rena-chan."

"Thank you Shi-chan…" Rena cried as she sat in the chair located next to Keiichi's bed."

Irie left Rena by herself to have a few moments with the unconscious Keiichi. She held his hand as she continued to cry. She refused to let go of it, she felt as though if she released his hand, she might lose what remained of Keiichi.

After about two hours of sitting with Keiichi, Irie walked in with a clipboard and papers. "Sorry Rena-chan, I have to perform some tests on Keiichi-kun."

Rena agreed to leave the room for the moment. When she got she realized how long she had sat. It took her a while to get used to walking again. She stood outside the window while Irie performed his tests. These consisted of various things, he checked his pulse and wrote down the results, checked his overall body temperature, and checked his heartbeat.

As Rena watched through the window her memory remembered the horrid vision she witnessed when she first walked down the hall. The vision in which she had killed both herself and Keiichi shook her to her very core. "I would never do that…I love Keiichi-kun…Why would I kill him." The vision began to resurface in her mind. Rena held her hatchet in hand and pressed it against Keiichi's neck. With a single quick motion she sliced his neck open with the hatchet. The look on Keiichi's dying face made it clear that he never saw it coming. Once he bled to death, Rena brought the hatchet to her own neck and sliced it just as she did with Keiichi's. Rena fell to the floor once she died from the loss of blood.

"Rena-chan!" Mion cried. Rena was immediately brought back to reality. She saw Irie still performing medical tests on Keiichi and looked for who had called her name. She saw Mion running towards her, eyes full of tears. Mion ran up to Rena, embracing her, crying her eyes out.

"Rena-chan…I heard about Kei-chan…I'm so sorry…"

Rena hugged Mion back. "It's okay Mi-chan…I'm glad you're here…"

"Don't worry Rena-chan…Kei-chan said if I ever needed help he would be there for me…What kind of friend would I be if I didn't do the same for him…"

"Thank you Mi-chan…Thank you…I don't think I could do this by myself…" Rena said as she cried into Mion's arms.