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, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Note

Whee... Not much to say. I hope to end this Arc with the next chapter so... Yay! ;

. A R C . T W O .

The Screaming Mirror Chapter

C h a p t e r 0 0 9 : Six Sins

It was hard not to hear the sound of a scream of a young girl, even when it was mixed with the screams of cicadas. Birds flew from their perches, joining the screams, though the crows were just excited about the fresh new blood and flesh they got to enjoy.

"I'm going after Nanaha." Nina said quietly, slowly pulling away from Sanyu and Kain. The white haired girl moved her head to Kain, resting it on his chest and blushing under her tears.

"You coming back?" Asked Kain, who was turning a bit red as well. His brown haired friend was silent for a moment, then shrugged.

"I'll try. Wait a few minutes, ok? If I don't come back, go down to the festival and I'll probably be there waiting." With this said Nina hurried off into the forest.

Minutes passed. Kain and Sanyu didn't move, waiting patiently for Nina. Sanyu had drifted off a bit when the first person came by.

It was a panting Mikan, who had obviously run quite fast up the steep hill to the shrine.

"H-Have you seen Nina?" Mikan asked, still breathless.

"Mm. She went that way to find Nanaha..." Kain said slowly, "But, Mika-."

"Thanks, gotta run!" The little girl cut him off and headed off.

Silence took over once more.

Cicadas warned of a coming evening. It was the sound of their cries that made Sanyu wake up. It had been a good hour or two and Kain had not moved, staring in the direction Nina had gone.

"Auu... Sorry, did I snore...?" She asked nervously, face redder than before. Kain turned to her and shook his head.

"Naw, I didn't hear anything... It's weird. I thought Nina and Nanaha would be back by now."

Sanyu gave a little nod, moving her head and sighing. "She did say she might go right down to the festival... Let's go find her."

For a moment, Kain's only response was silence. Then he nodded and gently pushed Sanyu back so that he could get up. She followed slowly as he headed down the hill, his pace fairly quick.

He's really worried about her.

More than about me.

For some reason, that simple observation made Sanyu feel a bit cold inside.

Kain and Sanyu could not find Nina or Nanaha anywhere. But their arrival did not go unnoticed. When the two came down frown the shrine hill, a swarm of concerned adults came from seemingly no where, embracing the two in tight, protective hugs.

"Oh thank goodness!" Exclaimed Kain's worried mother, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Kain honey! We thought you'd died!"

"Eh? How come?" Kain and Sanyu asked together. The hugging had stopped, but all the village adults had formed a circle around the two.

"There have been five deaths tonight, Kain! Five!" His mother was sobbing again when she came to hug him once more. It was at this time that she properly noticed Sanyu.

The woman stared at her, then screamed and backed away.

"Oh my god! It's Ayu!" She exclaimed in terror, "B-But how? We found your dead body..."

The little fact reminded Sanyu of watching Ayu die and she hung her head.

"No... That was my sister... I'm Sanyu..."

Gasps were exchanged among the crowding adults.

"Impossible! We found Sanyu's dead body too!"

"Right up by Nanaha's."

"Where we found Nina..."

Kain's eyes went a bit wide at the mentioning of Nina. "Is she ok?!"

Sad faces turned to Kain, though Sanyu turned her sad face away from he.

"Miss Takano, Mr Ryouno, Nanaha, Ayu and... Sanyu... we found dead. Nina was alive but in a state of shock. She's with some adults calming down by the ice cream stand... But..." The adult who was talking turned to Sanyu, "How can you be here...? You're supposed to be dead..."

Sanyu shook her head, indicating she didn't know how this worked out either.

"I-I don't know... S-Sorry..."

The adults murmured among one another, then a kind hand patted the backs of the two teens and began guiding them away, towards the ice cream stand where Nina sat.

Her eyes were blank and she was staring at an ice cream cone she held in her hand. When she heard their footsteps, Nina looked over at her two friends and tried to smile.

"Sanyu... Kain...! You're ok..." She whispered, before licking the ice cream and looking away.

Tears rolled off her cheeks.

"Nina... What happened...?" Sanyu asked, walking over to her friend and taking the seat next to her. They sat under a tent in folding chairs with the dark coming over them.

"I... I..." She shook her head, dropping the ice cream on the ground and covering her face. Nina began to sob, so Kain hurried over to try and comfort her.

"It's ok... Sorry for asking.." Sanyu whispered, "I'm so sorry... Nina..."

Nina looked up at her friends, then gave Sanyu a tight hug and continued to cry. "Ayu..! Nanaha!!!" She wailed. This listing of names ended with her crying suddenly cutting off and she sat up straight, looking alarmed.

"Mikan!" She exclaimed, "Where's Mikan?!"

Kain and Sanyu gasped.

"Wait, you mean you never saw her?" Sanyu asked, sounding alarmed.

Nina shook her head, "Why would I...?"

"She was looking for you." Kain explained quickly, "She should have been..."

The news made Nina stand. "Oh no...She's lost! I have to go get her!" And off she went. Or, off she tried to go. Kain grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Wait! Nina, you shouldn't go alone with a killer on the loose..."

"It's fine! I'll be just fine!" Nina argued, trying to break away from his grip.

"How do you know?! You could be killed!" Kain retorted; he was clearly worried, which just added more to Sanyu's growing discomfort.

"I just know! Now let me g-Gya!" Kain had yanked Nina close and grabbed her other hand, the simple movement seeming to stomp out Nina's will to fight back.

"If you're going, I will too. It'd be better if there were two people out." He explained. Hearing this, Nina turned a bit red and glared stubbornly while Sanyu gasped and walked over to them.

"Me too! I'll come too!"

"No, Sanyu. We need someone to tell the adults where we are."Kain said firmly, "Nina and I will go. I can't leave her alone to guard."

That was that. Sanyu had no time to argue as Kain and Nina dashed off , hoping to sneak past the 'adult radar' by going through the woods and taking another route to the shrine. She watched in shock, letting Kain's last words replay over and over in her head.

Over and over.

Nina and I.

I can't leave her alone.

Sanyu clenched her fists and took off after them.

This was supposed to be her happy ending.

Chapter End

A girl's heart is a delicate thing

And when broken into seven pieces

A mirrored heart's sin

Is everyone's price to pay

Can you believe?