Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI

When They Cry Again

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, and Ayu..

Note

Woo! This is the first chapter with an actual killing! I apologize for my crappy murder, I suck at gore DX

If you know how I can make it better, please let me know! Thanks for reading!

. A R C . O N E .

The Blood Tears Chapter

C h a p t e r 0 0 4 : Bloody Tears

Hearing that one of your best friends was going to be demoned away is never a pleasant thing. It often doesn't help if you don't have any idea what it means to be 'demoned away' in the first place. Such was the case of Shirogane Kain. The blonde boy was staring at his white haired friend, stunned by the news she had offered him.

"Demoned... away? What does that mean...?" He asked as a few seconds.

Ayu sighed.

"They really didn't tell you much before you moved here, did they?" She asked quietly, before trying to laugh, "I guess it wouldn't look good on an ad... 'Come to Hinamizawa! Only two people die every year! Usually'..."

She sighed sadly, looking down at the apartment floor again. It took her a few minutes to find the words for an answer and construct it into a proper sentence, at which time she blurted. "To feed the demons! We all have demons in our hearts, that's why we were chosen to live here... And in order to feed their lust for blood and death, Oyashiro-sama kills one person and then one vanishes... We're told that the one who vanishes is fed to the demons in our souls... Weird,I know, but it keeps the rest of us from becoming mass murderers..."

It made enough sense to Kain. Mass murderers... The word made him shudder and wonder why he was there in Hinamizawa... Was it for his parents or him? Or both? And did this mean his friends could be killers too? Was their happy life a lie?

Noticing his discomfort, Ayu laughed weakly and waved her hand. "Hey, calm down, Kain. Whatever Oyashiro-sama does works and after five years our demons should be gone forever... Hinamizawa really is a wonderful place..."

"But what about Nina?! Is there anything we can do?" Kain asked quickly, remembering how the conversation had started, "Will she really...?"

"I don't know." Ayu whispered, "Some of the deaths have been random... Others have made perfect sense... But Nina did wish to..." Her voice faded away, as if she were afraid speaking on Nina's sinful wish to leave would condemn her for sure. After a moment, she whispered words she obviously hated herself for thinking, "If someone else dies tonight... Then he wouldn't have to take Nina...But.."

Kain looked away.

"Right when we were about to get our own place and be happy..." He muttered, his words becoming harsh and dark, "Damn it... DAMN IT!"

His fist came down hard on the floor and Ayu jumped, startled.

"What kind of God does that to people?! Feeding them to demons... What type of sick thing do you people worship?!"

"Kain!" Ayu yelped, trying to drown out his word so Oyashiro-sama wouldn't hear by yelling his name over and over. He obviously caught on since he stood up, glaring.

"So tell me! How can you worship such a disgusting God?!"

"Because..." She got up too, looking at him pleadingly, "Because Oyashiro-sama is helping us! I know it's sad, but it's for everyone's own good!"

"I thought Nina was your friend! How can you say her dying is 'for everyone's own good'?!"

"Kain I...! I just can't go against Oyashiro-sama... What he says is right! I'm sure Nina agrees with me... But if dying could save everyone Nina loves I know she'd die with a smile... I would too if meant protecting all of you!"

There was a short silence, then Kain clenched his fists and looked up at her, glaring hatefully. "Then die."

Another silence.

Ayu stepped back.

"Wh-what? Kain?"

"Then you should take her place and die if you'd be so happy to!"

Something in her friend had snapped. For the first few seconds, Ayu was stunned. The words were sinking in slowly, and perhaps a bit too slowly for her own good. By the time she realized what he was suggesting, Kan had grabbed one of the folding chairs from breakfast and lifted it above his head.

"Kain..! Kain, STOP!" Ayu shrieked in terror, just barely managing to avoid the chair that he swung at the ground. He didn't say anything after the first swing, just ran after her and swung the chair at her again. It hit this time, but even at his hardest, all it seemed to do was bruise her. Given her strength compared to his a simple chair wouldn't do the trick.

"I thought you said you'd be happy to die to help your friends, Ayu! Was that a lie?" He snapped, dropping the chair. Ayu was on her knees, panting and shaking in a corner by the kitchen part of their small apartment.

"I-I... I would! But... Kain, this isn't..." She was beginning to sob, "You can't kill me! It won't solve anything! Oyashiro-sama...!"

"Oyashiro-sama Oyashiro-sama Oyashiro-sama... Can you say anything else?! If I weren't mistaken, I'd say you approved of all this killing! It really doesn't bother you one bit, does it?"

A high pitched whimpering-squeak came from Ayu when she looked Kain in the eyes. She shook her head, her sobs more noticeable now.

"Kain! Kain, please stop!"

He noticed that the kitchen still had knives out. When Ayu saw where he was headed, she screamed and got to her feet. Something told her he was beyond being reasoned with.

"Kain! Please, STOP IT!"

There wasn't much place to run. The apartment was small and Ayu was shaking and crying so much that she couldn't go far fast. Her legs were getting numb and, no sooner than she'd gotten up, she fell back down.

Ayu has cornered.

And Kain was armed.

It only took a minute for the sacrifice to Oyashiro-sama to be mad. Her screams were annoying, so her throat was the first then Kain decided to put out of order. By the time he was done, a puddle of thick red liquid had expanded under her battered body. His friend's bleached hair was picking up color and she was barely breathing, the life draining from her blue eyes. Blood ran from a wound on her head caused by the chair and mixed with with the tears rolling down her cheeks.

Kain was breathing hard, exhausted from his sin. He didn't shed a single tear; Ayu's blood poured enough for all the tears he could have cried anyways.

Then he brought the simple butcher's knife down one more time, forcing the last glow of life out of her eyes, before leaving his weapon in her when he hurried to the sink. Kain washed his hands and his breathing became regular again. Then he grabbed a baseball bat from the corner and headed out the door. If he planned to guarantee Nina was not the one killed that year he had to be sure the two sacrifices made did not include her.

But how did a human 'demon away' another?