Crimso's Notes:

English Writing assignments are tedious, really. I mean, I enjoy them and all, but my English teacher is so damn picky that it gets hard to do anything without him pointing out one, tiny mistake that doesn't make a differences at all. I'm used to it because I had him last year, but it's still annoying. Really, it is. …Looking over what I just wrote, I realize that my assignment is really getting to my head. …We have to write from the main character's point of view. Yeah, you can guess which book we've been reading pretty easily. I think.

Notes: No notes necessary for this chapter. Just remember that Mion's hair isn't in a ponytail, it's down like her sister. Shion doesn't have ribbons in her hair, either. I know you tend to picture them like that… but… yeah, that's how things are here. Please take note this chapter is mostly for development and sort of MionXKeiichi stuff. Sort of. Sort of. Sort of. It was orginally going to be more MionXKeiichi, but eh... things happened when I wrote it and all that. And yes, I'm actually writing this part in the document uploader, seconds before this chapter is added..

Read on, people!

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Chapter 15: Sunset

Keiichi returned home after going to the store that day, carrying his backpack over one shoulder. He had promised the twins that he would get them quite a bit of meat, which he had done. Rika fed her demons almost every day, and she had thirty-five of them, so getting meat for the two twins every day shouldn't be very hard. He placed his backpack down on the ground before fishing within it, grasping onto the packed meat. It appeared to him that his parents still hadn't come home, for whatever reason, so he cleared his throat.

"MION! SHION!" he yelled out into the house. "I BROUGHT MEAT!"

Scrambling could be heard, and soon enough, Mion and Shion's figures came down from the stairs, both of them instantly standing in front of him. They caught sight of the meat at once, staring it with hunger clear in their green eyes. They were both trying to hold themselves back from ripping it right out of there hands, and they were doing a pretty good job of it, too.

Keiichi opened the meat and placed it down, watching as the two of them instantly leapt at it. He took a few steps back from them, his eyes wide as they quickly tore chunk after chunk out of the slab and into their mouths. Judging by the way they were acting, one would think that the two of them hadn't eaten in months rather than a few days.

They finished the meat pretty quickly, both of them looking quite satisfied with what Keiichi had brought them. "All right then, now that's done," Keiichi spoke to himself as he crossed his arms, looking at the two of them. He would have to get used to feeding them every few days, and maybe even every day if that was possible. His goal, at the moment, was to make them feel a little better, to make them happy. Of course, they wouldn't be able to understand that, but the teaching of emotions would come a little later. He'd try his best, but he figured that it would take a while. Trying to describe the concept of love to the two twins had been extremely hard for him. He was sure that describing any other emotion would be just as hard.

"Man, you're really nice, Kei-chan," Mion commented as she ran her hair through her loose, green hair. "This demon here can't remember the last time she ate!"

Shion nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Kei-chan." She grinned at him. "Yasuo wasn't a very nice person, unlike you. He'd come down every once in a while to taunt us, but he wouldn't feed us or anything like that." Suddenly, she stiffened, a memory triggering in her mind. Mion noticed this and looked towards her, realizing what she was thinking about.

"Something wrong?" Keiichi asked.

Mion shook her head. "You shouldn't worry about it, Kei-chan. It's nothing."

He decided to shrug it off and not bother to ask them about what it was. Usually, something meant nothing, but they were probably just recalling unpleasant memories of Yasuo and the other demon keepers. They weren't very nice to them, to say the least, and the memories of them surely weren't very pleasant for them to remember. Moving on from the topic of Yasuo and the other demon keepers, Keiichi remembered his promise to the two twins. He was to take them outside today, away from most people, so that they could play a little bit. They surely had been eagerly awaiting his return so that they could spend more time outside than they did yesterday. "Okay then, how about if we go outside now?" he asked them.

Both of them nodded instantly, excitement filling their green eyes. Keiichi couldn't help but smile at this. Of course, he had to consider where exactly he was going to take them. He could go behind their house and no one would see them, though that didn't have the nicest area, despite being rather big. There weren't very many flowers or anything like that, and it was mostly just grass. Still, though, it was the safest place he could take them. They probably wouldn't mind, anyways. All the twins wanted to do was go outside, and the area wasn't specific.

"Follow me, but be very careful. We can't be caught," he told them both. If he were to be caught… then… Keiichi shuddered at the thought.

Keiichi led them both out of the door and around the house silently, looking about to make sure that there really wasn't anyone around. People really didn't tend to come that way around that time, so he really was only looking to be super sure and careful. After all, the consequences, if he were to be caught with the two of them, would surely be severe. When they were behind the house, Keiichi leaned against it and watched the two of them. There was no way anyone would see them unless they walked behind the house, which he was sure no one would do, unless they were his parents.

Speaking of his parents, where were they? Perhaps they had been delayed on their travel back or something similar, or they just had to stay a few more days. Still, though, it was strange that they hadn't bothered to contact him at all.

Mion began to poke at a flower that had been growing, one of a light blue color. There weren't many, but it was enough for her. "What is this strange thing?" she asked as she observed it. "It's a very interesting color."

Keiichi smiled at her, walking over to stand beside her. "That's a flower," he explained to her. "You see? Smell it. Most flowers smell really, really nice."

Mion bent over to sniff it. "It smells really good!" she cried out after taking a single whiff of the flower's pleasant aroma. She sniffed it again, and then again, and again. Then she moved on to sniff another flower, this time one of a dark purple color. "Oh, this one smells good too. Sis, why don't you come over here and smell it?"

Shion had occupied herself with studying the bark of a tree, though she stopped when she heard her sister call for her. She turned around and walked over to the patch of flowers, bending over to sniff the same light blue one Mion had been sniffing. "Ah, it really does smell good! I've never smelled anything like this in my life."

"There are all different types of flowers, you see. There are ones with similar colors but different shapes, and similar shapes but different colors. Some of them even smell differently, depending on the type of flower," Keiichi explained to the two of them. "Flowers can also represent an emotion or a feeling of some kind. People give flowers to other people sometimes based on what they mean. They're very interesting."

Shion poked the pink petals of a flower. "Do they ever get old? Do they ever die?" she asked him.

Keiichi nodded. "All things die eventually. Flowers need a lot of sunlight and water to survive, and if people touch them too much, it can also hurt them."

Upon hearing that, Shion jerked her hand away from the flower, a look of guilt in her green eyes.

"Ahaha, don't worry. If you poke it once, it won't hurt it," Keiichi reassured the girl.

Shion relaxed a little upon hearing that. "Good, I don't want to hurt anything anymore…" she said to herself quietly, though Keiichi was able to hear it. It certainly sparked the boy's interest, but he decided not to comment on it and just think about it for a little bit instead. Had she hurt something before? It was clear that she felt guilt for almost "murdering" the flower, in her mind. Destroying a flower was sad, but Shion seemed to treat it as if she was killing a person or something similar.

Upon further inspection, Keiichi realized that Shion could only feel guilty for the flower if she felt something for it, if she understood how sad someone could be if he or she got hurt. Of course, sorrow was something that Shion probably understood better than anything other emotion, since she had taken in so much of it due to how she had been treated. Looking over to Mion, he could tell that she felt the same way. They feel something for it. They just don't know what they feel for it.

Mion went over to the same tree her sister had been inspecting and began to trace the patterns on the bark. She was very intrigued by it, trying to figure out all the patterns that were embedded within the surface of the bark. Shion went over to her and began to continue her study of the bark, feeling it's rough surface with her fingers.

There was a slight breeze, and a single leaf shook free from the tree. It landed on top of Mion's head, who began to grow very confused as to what had fallen on her head. She took the leaf off of her head and looked at it closely. Her attention then went to the leaves that were growing on the tree, and she realized that the leaf had probably fallen off of the branch. "Is it hurt?" she asked as she stared at it. "Did it hurt when it fell off of the top?"

Keiichi shook her head. "No. Leaves don't feel pain," he explained to her. "The leaf just fell off because of the wind, which was what you felt in the air before."

"Ah," she replied. Mion stood tiptoed and placed the leaf on top of the lowest branch. She smiled at it when she did, adjusting it slightly to make sure that it didn't fall off. "Okay, I think it's all better now…"

Keiichi smiled. She really had the ability to emphasize with others. He really didn't understand why Mion wasn't able to grasp the concept of her own emotions when she felt bad for the tree leaves, though it was possible that she just didn't understand what she was feeling towards the tree leaves either, and she was just acting on her own. It was similar to the warm feeling she got. She knew how that felt, but not what it was.

The twins were really having a blast exploring the outside. It must have been so new to them, so wonderful. He couldn't imagine how they felt, seeing a whole new world for the first time. Sure, he went to new places and saw new things, but the outside was something totally different from the inside world they had been trapped in, especially since they had been in a cell with nothing in it all their lives. But they were enjoying themselves now, and it was all thanks to him. He felt a little arrogant as he thought that, but he really did help them. If it weren't for his actions, they would still be trapped underground, having no idea how the outside world looked. But the job is not done yet. No, it's far from being over. I have to teach them emotions, and they have to have an understanding about life. …And there's also the obstacle of what I'm going to do with them all their lives. Sure, I'm keeping them for now, but how long will that last for? Will someone ever find out?

After a little bit more of exploring, Keiichi cleared his throat. "Hey, you two, do you want to play a game?"

Shion and Mion turned to look at him, and he saw clear interest in Mion's eyes. "Ooh, a game? Tell me," Mion spoke, a smirk growing on her face.

"It's an outside game, it's not something like Go Fish that you play indoors. It's a very special game that you can only play outdoors," he explained to her. "And it doesn't involve cards or anything like that. No. It's a lot different from that."

Shion looked to her sister, who was grinning. "Ah, sis loves these kinds of things. She can really play cards well. I can't even beat her!" she laughed, nudging her sister.

Mion certainly did look interested in what he had to say. Was there really games that could only be played outdoors? "Tell me!" she cried out. "Does it involve sword fighting? If so, then I could beat you in a matter of seconds! Heck, this demon here could probably beat you in any game!"

Keiichi laughed at her eager attitude towards his game. "Ahaha, well you certainly seem excited for this!" he chuckled. "Well, the game is a very simple game that kids of all ages play. It's a game called Tag, and the rules are very simple. One person is 'it', and everyone has to run away from that person. If 'it' touches someone, then they become 'it' and the previous 'it' becomes a normal player, and they have to run from them. Do you understand?" he explained to her.

"Question," Mion asked. "How do you win?

Keiichi looked up above him at the blue sky. "We'll play until sundown, and then we'll watch it. …That's when the sky turns a different color, by the way. Who ever is 'it' by sundown loses, and who ever isn't 'it' is the winner. Of course, that means that there will only be one loser and two winners," he told them both.

Mion looked to Shion and nodded, then returning her gaze to Keiichi. "Understood!" she cried out. "…Wait a moment, who is 'it'?"

Keiichi pointed to Shion. "She'll be 'it' first!" he cried out, startling the poor green-haired twin. "Just remember not to go in front of the house, where people can see you. Start!"
He dashed off and away from Shion, who instantly went after him, and not Mion. Mion ran behind the tree, hiding in its shade as she watched her twin sister chase the poor brown-haired boy. He was running in circles with the demon tagging closely behind him. Shion was rather fast, Keiichi noted, as he tried picking up the pace. The circles continued until Keiichi made a dash towards the tree, causing Shion to follow him. Spotting Mion, Shion grabbed her and grinned.

"You know what that means, sis? It means that you're 'it' now!" she cried out as she dashed away from her sister with Keiichi, a grin on her face.

"Not for long!" she cried out as she chased after the two of them, a determined look on her face. Keiichi knew that Mion could be pretty competitive when it came to card games, and it looked as if her competitiveness would pass on to outside games, as well. She was running at a fast pace, though she was being careful not to run out from behind the house. She chased her sister and friend about the yard as they proceeded to dash in all different directions, confusing her.

Mion managed to catch up with them, and then tagged Keiichi as soon as she got close enough. "It looks like you're going to be 'it' now, Kei-chan! Can you catch this demon here?" she taunted as she turned around as fast as she could and ran away. Keiichi took this as a challenge and ran after her, his eyes focusing on the older one of the green-haired twins. He tried to make a dash for Shion, hoping that she would be an easier target, but she was just as fast as her sister. Even though she was less competitive, Shion appeared to be just as hard to catch.

Well then, Keiichi thought as he glanced between the girls. I'll go for Mion, because I need pay back for what she did to me during out game of Go Fish! His mind set, Keiichi turned towards the green-haired girl and ran after her without thinking. She was fast, but Keiichi was fast, too. He quickened his pace as he reached for her shoulder, then gently touching it with his fingers.

"Ha, I got you, Mion!" cried Keiichi, pride in his voice at having tagged the girl who had been cheating before. He had gotten her fair and square, and while it wasn't a complete victory, it felt good.

The girl whipped around, a confused look on her face. Keiichi's heart sank when he read her collar, realizing the girl he had just tagged was Shion, and not Mion. Her back had been facing him, so there was no way that he would have known. "Ah… hi, Shion," was all he could say as he rubbed his head awkwardly. "My… tongue slipped?" he lied.

In his state of shock, Shion grabbed him. "Nice one, Kei-chan. You're 'it' again," she told him before running off with her sister as fast as she could. Feeling cheated, Keiichi ran after her, chasing her as fast as his legs would allow him to run.

He was running as fast as he was when he was trying to avoid the detection of the villagers now. He was humiliated at having grabbed the wrong twin, but he knew that he would catch them this time. Looking at the sky briefly, he realized that it was beginning to change color just a little bit. He didn't have very much time until sundown would fully start, and he would lose. He picked up the pace, running as fast as his legs could possibly take him. Sticky sweat trickled down his forehead as his feet pounded against the grass, his strength slowly diminishing.

Finally, he grew tired. He stopped for a little to catch his breath, clutching his chest as he breathed in and out. The twins dashed off behind the tree, leaving him behind. He tried not to think about it as he breathed more, feeling extremely tired from all the chasing he had done. Really, when was the last time he had played a game of tag this intense? Never. I played tag at school when I was a kid, but I was never into it. …I never cared for anyone there. This is different. I'm actually having fun with this.

Feeling that he had his breath and strength again, Keiichi stood upright. The twins were still behind the same tree, and they surely weren't expecting his return. He ran at them with the speed of a cheetah, starling the two demons. Before Mion could even react, his hand was already placed against her back, a grin on his face as he looked at her. "Aha… I got you now, Mion!" he yelled out, though he sounded a little exhausted. Before she could say anything after that, he ran off without thinking about where he was going at all. He just ran and ran, not bothering to look behind him.

He stopped and looked behind him. One of the twins was chasing after the other, the one that was 'it' intent on tagging her sister. Shion ran at Keiichi, hiding behind him. "Kei-chan, let's go to the trees!" she told him, pointing towards the trees. "Hide from my sis with me! If we want to win, we're in this together!"

Keiichi glanced at the sky briefly. Sundown was coming quick, and it would only be a minute before it really begun. "All right!" he yelled. If he could keep this up, then he could beat Mion and earn payback for the cheating she had done when she was playing Go Fish with him. They ran about, trying to wear down Mion, before they dashed behind the tree. Mion was catching her breath, which left them with quite a bit of time to do the same. They could both beat Mion now! There was hardly any time left!

"Kei-chan," spoke Shion, turning to look at him.

"…Yes, Shion?" he asked her.

Suddenly, he felt Shion's hand on his chest. He stared into her face, finding that a smirk was slowly growing on it. "…You're 'it'," she told him.

Wait a second, wasn't Mion it? "No, Mion's it, remember, not you!" he cried out.

Shion smirked. "I am Mion, though," she told him.

Keiichi glanced to her collar quickly, finding that she had rotated it so that the name was unreadable. She flipped it back around, revealing the name Mion written on the piece of paper he had attached to it. What the hell? They switched so that they could trick me! Keiichi felt cheated for the second time. Was doing such a thing against the rules?

"When?" he asked her.

"…When you tagged me and ran off. We took a little bit to switch our collars around." Mion then looked at the sky. "…Goodbye!"

She ran away as fast as she could from him, moving to join her sister as they ran about the yard, away from Keiichi. He was too stunned to move for a little bit. Mion and Shion had just pulled a really, really nasty trick on him, and he had fallen for it. He was about to run after him, but he could hear Mion and Shion shouting something as they pointed up at the sky. The sun was moving down, creating pink and yellow shades in the sky.

The game was over, and he had lost.

"DARN IT!" he cried out.

The twins grinned at him.

"Mion, is this one of your strategies?" he asked her, turning to her, remembering how she looked at the back of his cards and read them, claiming that doing such a thing was not cheating and just strategy.

"Nowhere in your set of rules did it say that we couldn't switch places," Mion pointed out, waggling her finger. "And you were the one who gave us the idea, remember? When we were still in the basement and you were speaking about identical twins swapping, and then when you mistook Shion for me. You were the one that gave us the idea of swapping places." She shrugged. "The game's over. Don't be such a sore loser!"

Keiichi rubbed his temples. Mion had weird ways of winning, that was sure. For once, he wanted to play a game with her that didn't involve some kind of weird strategy that most people didn't use. Most people didn't memorize the back of their cards, and most people didn't have identical twins that they could swap with. He was a little frustrated, but he realized that it was really just a game. She just wanted to have fun outside for the first time in her life. Keiichi looked up at her, a huge grin spread across his face. "Well then, we'll play tag another time, and when we do tht, I'm going to beat you!"

Mion laughed. "Oh, so you think that you can beat this demon here? I'm not so sure about that…" she replied, crossing her arms. "I'm pretty damn good at everything I do."

Shion simply smiled at Keiichi. "My sis has strange tactics she uses to win, but it's all a part of the rules!"

"I guess so," replied Keiichi. Then, he looked up at the sky, which was beginning to change into a gradient of different colors. He sat down on the grass, looking up at the sky. He never usually watched the sunset. It wasn't something he used to appreciate when he was in the city. He gestured for the two of them to sit down next to him, which they did. "You see? That's the sunset. The sun goes down and the night starts. Then you can see the moon and the stars."

Mion and Shion stared at the sky as the sun slowly went down, changing the sky into a combination of blue, pink, and yellow. It was incredible for demons like them, who had never seen the sunset before. "That's so pretty. Is it like that when the sun comes up, too?" Mion asked him, leaning on her sister as she gazed at the disappearing sun.

"Yeah, but you have to be up early for all that," Keiichi responded as he too looked at the many colors that painted the sky. "It's a little annoying, waking up early. Sleep is wonderful."

"I agree. I like sleeping," Shion commented. "Especially when sis is by my side. Then everything is warm, and I feel a lot better."

Warm, huh? Keiichi sighed. That warm feeling she was talking about was the love she shared with her sister, how much they liked to be together and near each other. They only had each other for all of their lives. Sure, they met many servants, but none of them ever had an interest in either of them. They just wanted to do their job so that they could receive money, and didn't care about the actual demons. They had always had each other, and held a deep love for the other. The bonds between siblings were something that he couldn't understand, as he was an only child, but they were certainly strong.

Would Takeru love the two of them if he were to meet them? Well, he was sure that he already knew about their existence, but they hadn't been able to grow close, as they were demons and he was a human. If the twins had been spared, then Takeru would be able to know them as humans, and perhaps grow to love them just as much as they loved each other. The only reason he held no love towards his siblings was because he never got to know them as people. He only knew them as the two demons that were stuck in their cells, who were also his sisters.

For that matter, did Mion and Shion know that Takeru was their brother? Judging by the fact they were unsure of the definition of mother before, it was possible that they didn't know brother, either. They did, however, know that they were sisters, though not twins. I suppose they think of him as the heir to the Sonozaki family and nothing more than that. It was for the same reason that Takeru didn't get to know his sisters, because they were demons and he was a human. They couldn't think of him as anymore than the human heir of the Sonozaki family. They wouldn't get to know each other with that barrier in the way.

The two demons were holding hands as they sat close together, with Mion leaning on Shion. Their fingers were intertwined, the two of them enjoying the warm feeling they were getting from being close to each other. Keiichi smiled at the two of them, knowing that one day, they would be able to understand that warm feeling even more, and perhaps the happiness they were getting out of seeing the outside world and the sunset for the first time. They were enjoying it, but they just didn't understand it.

He was sure they had emotions. The reason why they didn't understand was probably because they hadn't been taught them when they were little, and it was unlikely that the two of them received much affection from anyone other than each other. They didn't have their mother when they were little, which was probably a huge factor in why they couldn't understand love or affection. A mother's warmth was something that all children received early on in life, and yet, these two didn't receive any of that.

"Do you like it?" Keiichi asked the two of them, deciding to break the silence.

"Like what?" Shion asked.

"The sunset," Keiichi responded.

Shion nodded as she grasped her sister's hand a little tighter. "Of course I like it. It's nothing like anything I've ever seen before," she commented. "There was no color in the basement. There was just… nothing. It was cold."

"I'm glad that I got to see it. I never thought something like a sunset could exist when I was in the basement. …Before you came, Kei-chan, I had no clue what the outside world could look like. The servants were talking about what was behind those doors, and where they would go, but I didn't understand it, and I couldn't picture it," Mion spoke out as she stared at the changing sky before her, her body still resting against her sister's. "Thank you for that, Kei-chan. I feel better with you here."

"I agree with sis. I'm sorry for doubting you before, Kei-chan," she said, thinking back to the time where she was doubtful that Keiichi would actually do anything to save them. It was only to be expected. No one had actually tried to help them before or shown any sign that they cared, so why should she have thought any better of Keiichi? "But thank you for what you have done. I… I would hate to be in that basement right now. It just seems so gross…"

"And cold," Mion added on.

Shion nodded. "And cold."

Once again, Keiichi took note of the cold feeling they were talking about. It wasn't actually the feeling of being cold, but rather emptiness or sorrow. The basement was nothing comforting; it was nothing that one would like to be around. It seemed cold and empty to the two of them, unlike the affection the two of them shared with each other.

"I'm glad that I managed to do something for you two," Keiichi responded as he watched the sun disappear. "…It makes me feel…" He paused. He didn't want to use the word happy. "…Well, let's just say that I'm glad I did something for you two."

Yes. He used to be someone that didn't care about anyone, someone who had no friends. Now, he was actually doing something. He was helping two girls who were lost in the world, teaching them about the life they had been missing out on and the world around them. He was doing something to help someone, something that would alter the two twins' lives. It was a huge change from the old him, who used to care only about grades and nothing else.

But there's still more. I'm not finished. Keiichi glanced over to the twins, who were still cuddled close together, their fingers locked in a tight embrace. I'm not even half done. …After all, these two… still don't understand themselves… He balled his hand into a fist. That's right, Maebara Keiichi. You've got to work harder, you have to help them! From now on, there's no slacking off! You've got to help them… and you have to help them now!

He nodded. Yes, he would definitely try harder now that they were free of the basement and more open to the world around them. They would feel different emotions as they passed through the world, and he would teach them about them. There was no doubt that he would do it. After all, he was already set on his goal, and when Maebara Keiichi was set on something, there was no turning back.

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Crimso's Corner v.2

Dude. So it's Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. Not Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Wednesday. I actually uploaded a chapter on the weekday. …God, maybe I had homework or something that I didn't do, because I'm usually as busy as hell and can't work on anything. I mean, I have to read more of my book for English, but that can be done at break and is usually done at break for me. I had it right before lunch, so I have time to do it during break. I usually end up doing a lot of my homework at break and lunch, anyways…

Let's not talk about school. So, the new Higurashi OVA, file three, DOES have KeiRena in it. Guys, stay calm. This is where I summon Mion from Green-Eyed Demon and have her tear KeiRena to shreds. …Actually… I wish I could really do that. I knew it would happen, but… GAAAAAH. The KeiMion looks cool, too. The ending theme is going to be sung by Yukino Satsuki, which is awesome. I mean, Yukino Satsuki is my favorite voice actor. Why? She can do duets with herself. But really, have you seen the cover of File three? I think it's pretty nice~. (It's Mion and Shion's turn to get all the attention on the official artwork, by the way. Yay~).

Please review! People who review can get a ticket to Crimso Beach, which I gave out before in GED. I'm offering it again. Really, I am. I actually hate the beach, so if you hate the beach, you can go to the many restaurants on the side of it. Pointing out typos will get you a ticket to bring a friend. Tell me what you liked about this chapter and all that. Also, please tell me any predictions you have! I love hearing them, because I know what's going to happen.

~Crimso

P.S: I've noticed my paragraphs scrunches have stopped for some odd reason. Wonder why?