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..
Notes
I think my pairing will be KeiichixRika unless I get votes saying otherwiseFufufu. Sorry for not updating recently. I'll try to get back in the habit of updating constantly D
. A R C . T H R E E .
The Bleeding Promise Chapter
C h a p t e r 0 1 2 : Memory
The necklace, Mikan noted, looked oddly good on her. It had a thin, delicate silver chain with one tiny gold link and a cutesy black heart hanging off it. The heart was made of some simple but shiny stone an d had a deep scratch across it that made it look like someone had tried to write with it. But even with the scratch, it was gorgeous and made Mikan feel like a pretty adult.
As for the teddy bear keychain, she'd tied her hair back in pigtails and the keychain hung from the left pigtail. It swung with every movement and was surprising light weight, barely bothering her at all.
"Wow, Mikan. Did you really just find that?" Nanaha asked in awe when she saw the necklace and keychain, her eyes sparkling all ready, "We HAVE to go back before dark and see if those pretties had friends in the trash, okay?!"
Mikan giggled and nodded. "Of course. I want to look around more too. Lots of good junk today, huh?"
Nanaha 'mm mm'ed and nodded, fists clenched and eyes still starry, "Yes! Yes yes yes!"
None of the rest of the conversation stuck out to Mikan. They chatted together about finding a cute toy-friend for the teddy bear and maybe even a matching necklace for Nanaha; they decided it looked like a couple's necklace, so surely there was a match for it somewhere. When they reached the cafe, Nanaha adjusted Mikan's hair and clothing to be "more adorable" and then dragged her in. As predicted the baseball team was present, as was Kain and Ayu. They had a booth not too far away and still had their menus.
"Perfect timing. Oh Kain!" Nanaha called, walking with Mikan following, "We're hungry."
Of course, Kain frowned playfully at first. "So? What do you want me to do about?"
"Offer to buy us food before I go and talk to the baseball kids." Nanaha said, a slightly threatening tone in her voice. One could assume something had happened in the past because the threat worked; Kain scooted into the booth so Mikan could squeeze in next to him while Nanaha took the spot next to Ayu. They hadn't even gotten to look at the menus when Mikan's new necklace was noticed.
"Ah? Mikan? Where'd you get that?" Ayu asked, perking up and staring at the necklace. Proud to have her lady-like jewelery noticed, Mikan giggle and leaned forward a bit to make it easier to see from across the table.
"I found it!" She exclaimed happily, "In a white box!"
Ayu seemed to twitch a bit, leaning forward to get a better look. "Mmm...? You don't say... In the dump?"
"Uh-huh!" Mikan was very pleased with herself and thought nothing of Ayu's running her fingers all over the pendent, "Doesn't it make me look grown up?"
Kain chuckled and nodded, leaning back with his hands behind his back, "Sure does. You look old enough to be married off."
Catching on to the joke, Nanaha laughed and nodded, "In deed-y you do, Mikan! I wonder if Hinamizawa supports same-sex marriage..."
"It won't matter if I get her first, Nanaha."Kain replied, the teasing making Mikan giggle and blush in a giddy fashion. It felt kind of nice to be a "big girl".
Ayu continued to touch the necklace. In the middle of the teasing she realized she could not lean any closer, so instead, Ayu jerked the chain to bring Mikan closer.
She squeaked and tried to pull back a bit, but Ayu just tugged more.
"H-Hey! A-Ayu! That hurts!" She whimpered, feeling the chain dig into the back of her neck, "Let go!"
When Ayu didn't let go, but instead, pulled the chain even closer, Kain and Nanaha dropped the joking.
"Hey, Ayu, you're hurting her..." Nanaha said quietly, "Please stop..."
"Yeah, Ayu. What are you thinking?"
"The scratch!" Ayu exclaimed in a whispery voice, her eyes losing any sanity as her finger crept up the chain, soon around Mikan's neck. It sent chills down the girl's spine to have two thumbs searching for her windpipe and she began to make alarmed, childish noises as she tried to protest.
"Ayu! Ayu, stop that!" Nanaha pleaded, noticing the terrified look like Mikan's eyes. Twenty seconds with no air...
"Ayu! AYU!" Kain was now trying to reach over the table to Ayu, but his arms weren't long enough at the current angle.
... Twenty five...
"May I take your order...?" A half awake very-out-of-it six-hour-shift Nina asked, walking over with a tray.
"Nina! Do something!"
... Thirty...
Mikan was getting dizzy when Nina snapped awake and dove forward, landing on Nanaha's lap when she tackled Ayu. For the first milliseconds of the fall, Ayu took Mikan with her, but her grip loosened in surprise and Kain yanked Mikan away and into a protective hug before Mikan banged her head on the table.
A few seconds of silence, except for the sound of Mikan gasping for breath and Ayu's crazy breathing becoming normal again.
Then, with a unison sigh of relief, Nina got up, Ayu got up, and Kain let Mikan go.
All the curious eyes of customers left the scene, embarrassed by their gossip-y habits.
"W-Well! Can I get an order now?"
"I'll have a girl on my lap!" One of the baseball players called in response to Nina, who turned bright red and looked down.
"Th-that's not on the menu..." She said quietly.
"But if it was..." Nanaha and Kain, the local perverts, said in unison, "And maybe it is for friends...?"
Nina flushed.
"H-Hey! Order something!" She said firmly, trying to be brave and threatening, "Okay?"
Kain and Nanaha chuckled evilly, still struggling to brighten the mood. But Mikan was still a bit shaken. No, very shaken. Ayu had almost strangled her to death!
"Mikan? Would you like a chocolate shake?" Nina asked, leaning over her and smiling. The comforting warmth of her 'Ninee' made Mikan relax a bit and she nodded.
Nina smiled and petting her head. "Okay then. It's on me. And I'll get some ice for your neck."
"Eeee... Yow." Kain commented when he looked at the red marks left by the chain, "What a battle scar."
"I-Is it that noticeable?" Mikan asked shyly.
Kain nodded and Nanaha kicked him from under the table.
"No, it's fine. You still look good."
Obviously not convinced, Mikan let her hair down and sighed.
"Niii... Now you can't see it." She said quietly, trying to laugh and be cheerful like her friends. She didn't know why, but they seemed to want to forget about the whole choking incident... Which was almost disturbing to her.
Maybe they just want to forget about it... And not upset Ayu? She thought, biting her lip.
Yeah, that had to be it...
Her train of thought was broken when Nina set the chocolate milkshake down in front of her, straw bent and pointing at her lips.
"My treat." The older girl reminded her, "I'll bring the rest of you what you ordered shortly."
"Your shift is almost over, right, Nina? Order yourself something. I'll pay." Kain offered with a grin. Nina smiled faintly and nodded.
"Okay Only because you're paying." She chirped before turning and heading off to get another order.
As soon as Nina was off work and joined them, the tension melted into happiness. Mikan couldn't see any reason to be sad or scared anyways; Ayu had clearly spazzed. After all, when the 'family' was together like this, nothing could possibly go wrong.
Nothing.
Mikan was too busy enjoying the meal to notice Ayu wasn't joining in.
They finally finished around sunset. After a long conversation, the older kids had chosen to join the evening treasure hunt. Of course, Mikan and Nanaha were ecstatic to know they'd be getting Kain's help with the treasure, but while Nanaha was showing him what to get out for them, Mikan had decided to go and get the rest of the box's contents. Maybe she should give them to Ayu...
Would she like that? She was pretty scary when she saw the necklace... Did she think it was pretty?
Mikan's thoughts were a bit confused as she hurried over to the heap of trash in which the box had been. The girl dropped to her knees and pulled out the box, confident that none of the others knew where she was; keeping the box's location a secret was sort of exciting!
"Mmmk The book and however many dresses I can get into my bag now..." She murmured, swinging her back off her back and plopping it on the ground. The process was quick; she didn't want anyone to stumble on to her secret treasures. Each dress was a little too big for her, more suited for an older woman, but Mikan was confident Nina could help her make them a bit smaller. That, or she'd grow into them.
"Ah..." Mikan blinked, having knocked the book out when removing a dress. It opened to a random page, only to reveal its very journal-like format... And an entry that caught her eye.
"June 19th, Awayuki Ayu."
Awayuki Ayu...
Mikan gulped, curiously reaching for the book. From the looks of it, this was Ayu's journal... But...
"Today, Mi-kun didn't show up for our date. He promised me that we'd go somewhere together if I babysat Mikan-chan yesterday."
She shut the book, a reflex to the shock of seeing her name on the journal pages
And "Mi-kun"...
Mile-nii?
Something moved behind her and Mikan turned. The sun was setting, casting a shadow over the face of the young woman who stood over her now, a pipe in her hand.
It was Ayu.
. End Notes .
This is about to the shortest of the arcs. XD HURRAY! Then I'll actually do an answer arc 3