Crimso's Notes:
Today was an interesting day. I actually spent it doing something. I went to see some horse races with my Dad because he insisted on taking me… really, my days of camp were spent at the horse barn doing work. It was interesting. Then I got to have steak, my favorite food. Yeah, so I spent some day doing something aside from writing.
This is it, guys. This is the end. This is where everything is concluded and I say goodbye to another fanfiction. Well, not really. We still have the epilogue but the last chapter certainly does feel like the end to me.
I can't believe it. I've written two fanfictions in one year with a total of 600,000 words. That's a huge accomplishment in my mind. 2011 has been a good year in writing for me and I hope to continue on with this in 2012 by starting out with WAN.
I have no notes for you, I'm just thanking you from reading this. I don't want to hold the end off from you any longer, so here we go.
~~~~X~~~~
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Closing Ceremony
The crowd of remaining Onigafuchi residents were all standing before the Furude Shrine, where Kimiyoshi Masaru was now standing as he looked upon the people of his village. No one else was onstage, not even the group that had saved Onigafuchi from its horrible fate. He looked nervous as he stared at number of people in front of him, watching him with curious and rather fearful eyes. It was a lot lower than before, but there was still a large amount of Onigafuchi citizens. By the looks of it, it seemed as if many Onigafuchi residents had survived than died.
"Is this everyone?" he called out to the crowd.
No one said a word.
He gulped and took that as a cue to continue onwards. "Well, I suppose there are a few more people at the Furude home. Irie and Takano are caring to them; don't worry about them…" he spoke. He realized that he was getting off track and it seemed unprofessional, so he shook his head. It seemed as if his confidence from the last time he was on stage had faded away, and for a pretty good reason, too. "Ah, anyways. I think we have some important things to discuss."
Keiichi was standing amongst the crowd, looking up at the man as he spoke. He was standing in between Mion and Shion, along with Satoshi. Satoko and Rika were standing rather far away in the crowd, and none of them really wanted to push their way through the thick crowd to greet them. It wouldn't be appropriate during a meeting to speak, anyways. The two of them had appeared after hearing the news. They left the tending to Irie and Takano, who had insisted that the two of them go to hear whatever announcement the man had to make. Akane, on the other hand, had gone off to talk to her family a while ago, and was probably there somewhere amongst the crowd.
"So we all know what just happened, and why it just happened. I have been informed of what had happened a short period of time ago by a few villagers, so thank you for that." He didn't mention who the names of the villagers were, which was something that made Keiichi curious. It had been him that explained everything that had happened before, but he seemed uneasy about mentioning any names. "While there isn't much we can do today, the main clean up and recovery will start tomorrow. We will be doing a bit of work tonight. Or, rather, I'm going to be ordering my remaining demons to take care of the corpses. We've already moved them all to a location in the forest, but we will continue with what we are to do with them later. I have spoken to Furude Rika and she said that she would lend the remaining Furude demons to me."
Rika nodded but said nothing.
"Right, moving on. As you all probably know, Sonozaki Takeru pretty much declared war when he sent out demons a while ago during the Watanagashi festival after I interrupted the ceremony, proclaiming that he was not the Hero, but a villain instead," he spoke out loud to everyone, shaky confidence in his voice. "Well, I have just been informed that he committed suicide. The reason behind it is unknown, but before he died, he ordered all demons to cease attacking and as such, they have."
There was some murmuring across the crowd at the revelation.
"This is indeed true… he was not the Hero and the whole legend was really a lie. When I read the copy of The Legend of Makoto and Koichi Kimiyoshi Koichi himself wrote, I found out that the whole legend was flipped. So I knew I had to do something about it, hence the interruption. I hope that you don't mind." He cleared his throat as he thought of what else to say. "As for what we're going to do about the interrupted ceremony… we're not going to continue with it. There's been too much death and the accused Maebara Keiichi never did very much wrong in the first place. We're letting him go."
Keiichi felt relief wash over him.
"That being said, some of you are probably wondering what we're going to do about the Sonozaki situation. He was the heir, after all." He paused for a moment to look over at the crowd. "I actually haven't received word on the Sonozaki's opinion on what is going to happen." He paused again, somewhat nervous. "S-So moving on from that… the death toll." He sighed. "We don't know the numbers yet. We are going to take roll call tomorrow morning and find out who is dead, who is missing, and who is still alive and we'll give out the numbers when all of that is done. I'm suspecting a hundred or so dead, maybe two hundred. I… didn't really get a good look at the number of corpses that were being moved."
Keiichi knew for a fact that the numbers had to be well over a hundred. When he was tied up, he saw many massacred and slaughtered within seconds, and probably more when he was off talking to friends. Every second spent without the Furude demons counterattacking probably meant more death, and that number probably decreased when they arrived. Though it did take them awhile, so that meant many already lost. He had seen so much death…
"And now we get to the point where we talk about the major changes and what we are going to do tomorrow morning." He took a deep breath. "After this meeting I request that you all go back to your homes and sleep well, then wake up early so that we can get on with the roll call. I assure you that all the fighting is over and there will be no demons out to kill you in your sleep, so you can rest well. During the night and most of tomorrow morning, the demons and a few humans will be working on cleaning up the place. I will be in charge of roll call. It will be set up right here in front of the Furude Shrine, so just tell me your name and I'll check you off the list. It will be up all tomorrow and the next few days, and after a week or so, or when we stop getting new names, we'll release the information. Others may tell us who they have saw die, but only if they know for sure if they are dead."
Keiichi winced. He was sure he would be the one going up there and signing Rena off as dead. It would be incredibly painful.
He looked around the crowd again. "And now, we get onto the big part. We are going to have major changes in this village to prevent this sort of thing from ever happening again. I have spoken to the Furude Rika and a little to Sonozaki Oryou about the changes and they have agreed to them."
Keiichi grew curious at the mention of this. They were to have major changes, and Keiichi was sure that they would live up to the "major" part of their name, judging by how big this incident was.
"We, Onigafuchi, have been living in the dark for much too long. We have lived in a village named Onigafuchi with tales of curses and the like. As such, we have decided to switch and change this whole village entirely. It will take a ton of effort, but we are sure we can do it and every head agreed to it. First of all, the name. We all know that Onigafuchi means 'Demon's Abyss,' which is by no means appealing and welcoming. To fit in with the new village and atmosphere, we are changing the name." He took another moment to look down at the crowd. "From the day all clean up and preparations are finished, we will take on the name of Hinamizawa."
Hinamizawa. It was a much more peaceful and friendly sounding name than Onigafuchi, that was for sure. Maybe if it had been called that before, Keiichi wouldn't have been so reluctant to move to it, even if the legends about demons living there still existed. It was a wonderful change and Keiichi was very glad about it. Maybe more people would move in and he would be able to gain new friends.
"But that being said, we have a lot to do to reach this goal. And to make this a peaceful place, we have decided on something big." He gulped and played with the collar of his shirt. "Because of how demons are easy to manipulate, and how they caused this whole problem in the first place, and because they are the reason we have been known as a dark town, he have decided to terminate every demon in this town."
Gasps and murmurs sounded out from the audience, and Keiichi felt himself freeze to the ground. Were they really going to kill all the demons? He looked towards his friends. Satoshi was shifting a little uncomfortably, Satoko looked shocked, and Rika was staring at the ground darkly. He slowly turned towards Mion and Shion, who were now both wearing a look of horror and fear on their faces.
As much like a human as they had become, Mion and Shion, in the end, were still demons. The execution and termination would include them.
Fear lit up in Keiichi like never before as he realized just what was going to happen to them, and he felt it burn right through every vein in his body, like the feeling of fire turned liquid.
"That's right… after they are done with the clean up, we will begin executing demons. There will be no exceptions." His voice was very, very shaky as he spoke those words, knowing how dramatic of a change it was. "Every single last demon here will be executed. I will start with my own demons and then call up the Furude and Sonozaki demons to be executed, and then we will move on and kill the remaining demons that are held by families. I have a list of demons in the village and who they belong to, so I know who you are. I will not allow any demon to remain alive and there will be punishment if any of you try to hide demons. At the roll call, please bring your demons and check them in."
He took another deep breath. "T-That's all. Please wake up early and sign in for the roll call, then report anyone who is dead. Thank you for listening… and this meeting is dismissed."
Keiichi found that everyone in the crowd was moving away, but he found that his legs would not budge, as if they had been paralyzed completely. Mion and Shion stood at his side, neither of them moving an inch, having been frozen along with him in the blizzard that was the announcement of execution.
"Mion… Shion…" was all he could get out.
Neither of them dared to say a word.
The silence, however, was interrupted when Satoko and Rika ran over to the group of them, calling out Keiichi and Satoshi's name as they did so.
"Satoko, Rika!" cried Satoshi as he ran over to the two of them. "I'm glad to see that the two of you are all right!"
Satoko shot him a toothy grin. "Well, my traps are always the best, so that was expected," she boasted.
"We're glad to see you all right, too," Rika said with a smile. "We were taking care of the poor injured people over back at the house with Irie, so there's a lot of people over there right now. Irie can't transport them all to the clinic right now so he offered to let us sleep in the clinic."
"Uh, sure," Satoshi spoke, not sure what to say to that.
"The clinic was too far away to take people to," she explained. "Mii, I don't think that the clinic will be too uncomfortable. They have all those unoccupied patient beds and the couches, too!"
Satoko was looking around the area, a confused look on her face.
"Where's Rena?" she asked.
Satoshi let out a large sigh, a mournful and solemn expression on his face. That was all that needed to be done for Satoko's face to contort in horror, and Rika to look down at the ground with her bangs overshadowing her eyes.
"Oh… no…" Satoko whispered.
"She did her best, Satoko…" whispered Satoshi.
Keiichi did not make a move. He just stood there, as still as a statue. The twins were looking at each other, wondering what the two of them should do about the whole situation.
The Houjou siblings and Rika noticed this, and a dark expression grew on Rika's face as she realized what the problem was. Satoshi suddenly remembered what the execution meant for the two of them, and it hit him hard, like a stone to the stomach.
"Shion, Mion, Keiichi…" Rika spoke. "I'm sorry, but there was no way around it. We can try to find a way to stop it, but…" She shook her head. "It will be tough to hide them. He does know about them and he will be looking for them."
Satoshi walked over to Shion, placing a hand on her shoulder. It caused her to break out of her paralyzed state and look over at him, a curious yet fearful expression on her face. He simply smiled at her, trying to reassure her that things would be perfectly fine. They would have to find some way around it. He then went over to Mion and did the same, nodding firmly to her.
It was doubtful, though. Masaru knew they were alive and that they existed. It was going to be nearly impossible.
No, that wasn't it.
It would be impossible to stop this.
He gulped, looking over to Mion, the girl who he had spent the weeks in Onigafuchi with, and then to Shion. Would he really be able to save the two of them? He doubted it.
~~~~X~~~~
The next day came, and Keiichi had no choice but to leave the house with Mion and Shion at his side. They came to the Furude Shrine, where all the commotion was going on. Demons were hard at work, most of them splashing the ground with water and washing away the blood-stained ground. A few of them were monitoring the area, and there were several in the back, moving corpses around. A table was set up in front of the Furude Shrine for roll call, and a long line stood in front of it. Kimiyoshi Masaru was searching through his papers, checking off villagers as they spoke their names and crossing out villagers as people told him of their deaths, as well as noting the demons that came with the villagers.
He took a deep breath as he and the Sonozaki twins joined the line.
Mion and Shion had a determined and yet dark expression on their face, knowing that they had already been seen and their fate had been sealed a long time ago. It was impossible for them to hide from the execution, anyways. Keiichi looked over to them, his heart slowly dropping with every last second. He was practically walking them right to their deaths.
Eventually, he was at the front of the line.
"You know I'm alive," Keiichi spoke.
Masaru nodded. "I have you down."
He took a deep breath. "I brought Mi-… Sonozaki Demon Number Twenty-Seven and Sonozaki Demon Number Twenty-Eight," he said, looking over at the two demons. It killed him on the inside to use those two names, but in this situation, he really didn't have a choice. The two of them looked to the side, solemn expressions plastering their faces as those so-called "names" were mentioned. They knew he had to, though.
"Right." He checked them off. "Their execution will take place shortly after the Furudes are done. The estimate is three pm this afternoon." He looked up at him, noticing the pained expression on his face but deciding to pretend he took no notice of it whatsoever. "Don't try to hide them or anything like that, we have our eye on you."
Those words sent shivers up Keiichi's spine, and he nodded. He was sure that he said that simply because he knew how attached to them he was.
"Anything else?"
"Y-Yes…" he managed to stammer out. "Ryuuguu Rena was shot by Takeru in the forest… s-she didn't make it."
Masaru let out a sigh as he flipped through his papers, reaching the name of the girl. It pained him to see him put a long, blue line through her name with his pen. "Another youngster, huh? That's just too cruel." He put the pen down. "And I thought that the two of them had a good relationship. That's just too bad. Oh well. Thank you for the information." He paused. "Next!" he called out.
Keiichi sighed as he walked away from the roll call, moving to sit on a stone wall that surrounded the shrine. He had nothing to do until three. Mion and Shion took a seat next to him, not saying anything either.
He took the time to watch the demons.
"Forty, there's more blood over there," Kai explained as he pointed to an area that had yet to be cleaned. "Take care of it, please."
The demon grumbled in annoyance, then wandering off to fill up her bucket with water.
Meanwhile, two demons that Keiichi recognized as Number Fifty and Number Forty-Nine were working on a certain area of the ground, spilling water on top of the dirt and making sure that no blood traces remained.
"I think I recognize you two," Kaede spoke as she walked up from behind the two of them.
Number Fifty blinked in surprise, not having expected the head Furude demon to suddenly walk up and start talking to them. "Hm?"
"You two used to be Furude demons until Rika sold you for money to use on meat," Kaede explained. "Furude Demon Numbers Six and Seven, I believe."
Number Forty-Nine scratched the top of her head. "Yeah, we did use to be Furude Demons."
Kaede nodded. "Correct me if I happen to be wrong, but… Ayano and Hanako, right?" she said, looking from one of the demons to the other one.
Number Fifty looked unsure. "Well, those were our names… but then…"
"I know." Kaede suddenly smiled at the two of them, something that was somewhat rare for the older demon to do. "You two were amazing hunters."
It was an interesting sight to see, Keiichi noted. Kaede was smiling on what was chatting going to be the last day of her life, knowing that she was soon to be executed. After with the two of them, she moved onto another demon and began speaking to them about who they used to be before their name was stripped away. She was speaking of Makoto, and how much of a great leader she had been. She spoke these words with nostalgia, enjoying herself on the last day she could.
Keiichi looked to Mion and Shion. They weren't doing too much, both of them just in shock knowing that these next few hours would be their last few hours. It was eleven AM when Keiichi woke up, and it took a while to to reach the Furude shrine and wait on line, so he guessed that it was around twelve thirty now. Two and a half more hours… if Masaru was correct.
He felt pain in his heart. These would be the least two and a half hours he could spend with the two girls that he had grown so attached to over the last few weeks, the two girls he had watch grow and learn. He had been their teacher in that. But at the same time, he had become their greatest friend. He played with them, he taught them, he spent time with them… there were just so many great memories. And Keiichi was sure. Even when they were long gone, he would never forget them.
He placed a hand on Mion's, and then another on Shion's, squeezing them tightly as if to comfort them.
After this, he would only have the Houjou siblings and Rika, which was a good four people down from his amount of friends. It would be a very lonely time.
"Shion!" a voice suddenly cried out, and the girl whose name had been yelled looked up to find Satoko running over to her.
Shion blinked at the yellow-haired girl. "Huh?"
She smiled at the girl. "Come with me. Nii-nii and Rika want to show you something."
She looked over to Keiichi and Mion, who just nodded their heads. The green-haired demon then disappeared off into the distance with the yellow-haired girl, who was explaining something excitedly to her. She knew what was coming to the girl, and it seemed as if she was adorning that kind of attitude just to cheer up the girl, to make her happy in the last hours of her life. It seemed to be working, for there was a very slight smile on Shion's face.
Keiichi and Mion didn't say a word, though his hand was still on top of hers, squeezing it tightly.
He didn't like it. It was too silent, and he knew he had to do something for her, something to make her happy.
"I'm sorry, Mion," was all he could find to say to her.
"No, it's fine," Mion muttered. "It's not your fault…"
Keiichi knew that it wasn't, but he still felt guilt for some reason. He shot her a look, a look full of pain. The girl was wearing a dark expression on her face, one even darker than the one that she would wear when she spoke about how cold the basement she lived in for most of her life was. But, at the same time, it seemed kind of sad to Keiichi. It looked kind of like she was on the verge of tears, only just being able to hold up the dam with the strength she could muster.
"Mion?" he spoke.
"Yes?"
"…Thank you."
She looked at him, confused.
"For what?" she asked.
"Everything," he answered, looking into her confused green eyes. "Just everything that you've ever done for me. I can't even begin to describe how much you've done for me in the time that I've met you." He sighed. "I know it may sound strange to you, but did you know that I was a complete loser before I moved here?" He chuckled darkly at the memory. She didn't answer, so Keiichi continued. "Well, it's true. I was a no one. I had no friend and, really, I didn't care about having friends. All I cared about was doing well in school."
Mion said nothing.
"But one day, I got the taste for adventure," he explained. "So I bought a model gun at the store with the money I got from my parents. I decided that I wanted to be a bad guy and I went around every day after school, shooting little children from the shadows." The memories tasted bitter in his mind, though the adventure that he tasted before was still there, though faded. "I shot many children. I think I had a number, but I either lost count of it or I forgot about it during my time here. In any case, it was my little form of an adventure, a way to escape the boredom my life was."
Once again, the girl was silent.
"But one day, I accidently shot this girl in the eye, and she screamed out in pain. I instantly felt guilt wash over me, and I ran home, reading the guide of the model gun. Right there was a warning, a warning that said not to shoot it in someone's eye or it could cause permanent blindness." He sighed at the thought, wondering where that little girl was now. She was probably cursing him in her mind for taking away her eyesight. "I felt so bad that I told my parents about everything, and they understood. They were disappointed not in me, but in themselves."
Mion listened intently though did not make comments.
"So one day, they told me that they found this little old village named Onigafuchi, a village infested by demons. They told that if I wanted an adventure, I would look there. So, we moved there, even though I did not want to." He sighed. "Mion, I was scared of the village. I was scared of demons. Even when I got there, I was scared. Whenever someone would mention demons I would get scared that one of them would jump right out and kill me. I even did research on them." He looked into the girl's eyes, right into her soul. He was trying to read her. "But one day, I saw this old, steel door at my friend Sonozaki Takeru's house. I didn't go in, but I went back the next day and did just that. I wanted to know what a demon looked like, and I figured it was the best way to face my fears."
He took a breath. "You know what I found when I went in there? I found not a ugly, hideous demon with yellow, twisted fangs and blood red eyes, something inhuman. I found a beautiful, young girl with the most wonderful shade of green hair and eyes. She was not something I would call a demon. If I didn't know any better, I'd probably call her a human." He smiled at her. "Then I met her twin sister, who was very much the same. They told me about how they were treated, and I realized that demons were not the evil beings that were told about in the legends. So I came back day after day, sometimes with meat, to feed these demons. There was this one time where the oldest demon played cards with me." He smiled fondly at the memory. "She was very good. I couldn't beat her."
"But then one day, the demons asked me three questions. That was when I realized something. I could not stand there and wait for the demons to get better. I had to do something. So, the next day, I let the demons free and took them with me to my house. There, we did many things. We played outside and I taught them both many games. I also taught them emotions. It was tricky, though. I did not know how to explain what happiness was to them, but I was surprised when they one day explained to me that they knew what it was, and that I didn't have to explain," he continued.
"However, there was this one emotion neither of them could grasp. It was called love. They both called it the warm feeling and got it around each other, and it was something that kept them going when they were still in the basement. I did not know how to explain it to them. I tried many times, but failed." Suddenly, the boy's face twisted into a frown. "And then, one day, a man appeared. He came right into my house and killed my parents, and then we ran into the forest, badly injured from the fight. We ran in random directions. After losing him, I came across one of the demons, but could not find her twin sister. We looked everywhere, but we had to go home in the end. We could not find her."
Mion looked sorrowful at the mention of such a thing, she too recalling such a memory.
"So I went home. The demon tried to sleep, but she couldn't. So she crawled into my futon and hugged me tightly, saying she needed someone by her side. Suddenly, she looked up at me, surprised. She said that I was warm, and that her heart raced whenever she was around me." He clenched his fists as he remembered it. "I knew what that feeing was at once. After all, I was experiencing it to. It was another form of love, a romantic form of love. And that night, I knew. I was in love with her."
"The next day, we went searching for her sister again, but we could not find her. So, we had to leave without her. I decided to go out with a friend of mine, who had contributed quite a bit in taking care of my demon friend, and leave her behind. So when I left, I gave her this bracelet. When I came back, we talked a little about the bracelet and the feelings of love, where I once again failed to explain it. B-but… I did tell her to think about me whenever she saw it, and that warm feeling called love." He looked down at his wrist, where the bracelet still was.
"But one day, when she had finally figured out the meaning of the bracelet and love, the man came back and took her away from me. I looked everywhere for her, but I could not find her." He felt pain well up in his chest as he thought about the memory of searching for the girl everywhere he could, and not being able to find her. "So I had no choice but to go home alone. She had been captured, and I knew it. I didn't know what to do. So I sat there and waited for the man to come to me, for my death. And yes, he did. The next night, ended up… as the sacrifice to the ceremony." He breathed deeply. "And my demon friend had to execute me."
Mion looked down when he mentioned such a thing.
"She was so strong. She stood up to the man who was trying to force her to do such a thing. I admired her for it. But it wasn't enough. He had this orb, The Orb of the Demon Kings, which could control any demon. So he controlled her and made her try to kill me. Thankfully, it was interrupted. However, she ran off into the crowd, ready to kill." He sighed. "I don't know how many she killed by the time I got to her. But… when she saw the bracelet, she snapped out of it. The orb exploded. And that's when… that's when I told her I loved her, and she said the same. T-Then… we kissed. Very briefly." He didn't realize that as he was saying this, he was clutching the girl's hand a little tighter. "And we killed that man together."
"Then we went to the enemy's house and the girl met up with her sister once again, and then finally met her parents. It was very emotional, and… she was so… happy. It was so wonderful to see her reunite with her loving sister and her mother…" He felt a single tear trickle down his face. "The enemy escaped, but we gave him time to think and tracked him down into the forest. H-He killed one of my best friends ever, but we still offered him redemption. B-But he shot himself… and we had no choice but to leave."
"When the war was over, they said something. They would change the name of the village to Hinamizawa, and more than that, they were going to k-kill all the demons. I-including her." He felt a lump of lead grow in his throat, and for some reason, he found it hard to control his breaking up voice. "A-And I became so confused a-and I wanted to save her… b-but it was impossible… and now they're going to k-kill her…" More tears followed this, dripping off his chin and to the rocks below. "A-And now, here I am, saying good bye to the girl I love more than anything else in the world." He clutched her hand, looking down at the ground.
"You know what? Some say that it would be a horrible adventure to have… b-but… but… I'm so glad I had this adventure. Even if my parents died, even if some of my friends died, even if the girl I love and her twin sister died… it was one hell of an adventure." More tears yet. "And you know why? Because I'll always have these memories, even when she's long gone, even when everyone I know has left me. And I'll always know… that… I loved her. No matter how old I am, no matter where I am. Those memories of her… will stick."
This concluded his little tale, and he said nothing more. He was trembling, holding onto the girl's hand tightly. He knew his words were true. He would always have the memory of that girl, even when he was an old man, maybe even with someone else and with new friends. It would always remain in his mind, and he wasn't about to forget or let go. This was why he was glad. It was because of the memories.
The girl grabbed his hand tightly, making the boy looked up into her eyes.
"Kei-chan…" she spoke to him. He looked directly at her, into her green eyes shimmering with tears. "I don't want to go…"
Those few words hit hard, like someone threw something heavy right on top of his head. The next thing he knew, he was grabbing onto the girl, holding her tightly into his chest as tears flowed out of his eyes, down onto the girl below him. He could feel salty tears from the girl begin to stain his shirt as she bawled into his chest, holding him tightly, trying to feel that warm feeling.
"I don't understand!" she yelled out. "I don't understand why I have to go! Why are they going to kill me, Kei-chan? Is it because I'm a demon? Is it because I have these horns? But… that shouldn't matter! I'm a human, too! Even if not biologically, I became human because of you!" she cried. "I just met my sister again, and I finally found out who my mother was. A-And I met you, Kei-chan! I fell in love with you! And now they're going to take that all away from me! Why, Kei-chan? Why?"
He held her tightly, now unable to control his own tears. "I'm sorry, Mion. I'm so sorry. So… damn… sorry…" The grip he had on her tightened with those words. "It's not fair, it's just not fair. You're human, too. Even if you have those horns… you're still a human in my mind. You shouldn't have to go out like this…"
It was too cruel. The girl had just learned about the wonders of the world after spending seventeen years locked up in a basement with nothing but her sister to comfort her. She had met her mother and she had met friends along the way. They were so happy to see her, so happy to meet her. And she was happy, too. But they were going to crush all of that. They were going to take her away from her happiness, away from the people she had met, away from the things that she had learned, just a little bit after obtaining all of it.
"It's not fair, Kei-chan… I want to stay here… with you and my sis, with your friends, with my parents…" she whispered into his chest, the boy just barely being able to pick those words up. "Why are they doing this?"
He shook his head and held her even closer to him. "I don't know, Mion. But all I can say is that I'm sorry…"
Mion said nothing after that, just allowing herself to cry into his chest. He held her there and did the same, savoring the warm feeling he got from holding her. This was the last time he would be able to feel that warm feeling, to experience her so close to him. There were no more days to be shared, no more new, happy memories to make. There were just sorrowful ones, ones of parting and last words.
Their time alone came to an end when Shion appeared once again, and they pulled away from each other, tears still in their eyes. She was standing there, tears also in her eyes. In her hand there was a single flower, one that was very beautiful and of a purple color. He couldn't put a name on what kind of flower it was, but it was a very pretty flower.
"H-Hey, Sis," Mion whispered.
"H-Hey…"
None of them said anything for a little while. Shion just twirled the stem of the flower around in her hand.
"W-Where did you get the flower?" Keiichi finally asked.
She looked down at it, staring at its purple petals. "…Satoshi-kun gave me the flower. I love flowers. Satoshi-kun, Satoko, and Rika-chan would always garden flowers outside, and they taught me many things about flowers. They smell nice and they're pretty." She gently touched a petal. "H-He told me to hold onto the flower during the execution, so I can be happy when I was dying. So I could remember how pretty flowers were… and the times we spent together… a-and…" She couldn't say anything anymore. There were too many tears.
Mion ran up to her sister and embraced her tightly, and the other twin did the same to her sister, though still holding onto the flower as she did so. The two of them did nothing but hold each other for a while, crying in each other's embrace, feeling that warm feeling that kept them alive in the basement for the last time.
Neither twin said anything for the longest time. They just stood there, savoring the last moments that they were alive for. Keiichi was doing the same, just watching the two sisters spend their last day together. It was heartbreaking. Why anyone would be so cruel as to kill them after they had found out who they were, after they had found out what life could really be, was beyond the boy.
~~~~X~~~~
About an hour later, everyone in all of Onigafuchi found himself or herself in front of the Furude shrine, staring up at Kimiyoshi Masaru as he stood in front of the crowd. In his hand was a single sword, and behind him was a thick, tall, wooden pole. There were several piles of rope over to the side, on a table. It looked as if the restraining board was not going to be used in this ceremony. He looked nervous as he looked upon everyone, but that was to be expected.
"Hello, and thank you for coming. In the next hours, we will be removing all demons from Onigafuchi by execution. The order will go like this. First, we will have the Kimiyoshi demons go, and then the Furudes, and then the Sonozakis. Then, we'll take care of any demons owned by other members of the village. We have a list of demons and we have checked all of them off that are still alive." Masaru gulped as he looked around. "We'll start from the lowest number and go up from there, though we will skip the head demon. The head demon will be saved for last in their section." He paused for a moment, fidgeting a little. "...They will be tied to the poll and done two at a time, one on either side. We will kill them quickly with this sword. I'll be the one doing the executions…" He gulped. "With that, let's get started."
He looked at his list. "Number Two died, Number Three died, um… we'll start with Kimiyoshi Demons Number Four and Five."
Two demons emerged from the crowd, dragging themselves up the stairs. They looked defeated, like there was nothing else in the world for them to do but accept their deaths. They did not look like they were going to rebel or anything. The two demons were tied up against the pole with a long rope, one on one side and the other on the other side. Masaru gulped as he walked forward with the sword, towards them.
Keiichi turned his head away from the scene before him. He didn't watch as the sword cut through the demons fatally, killing them.
The bodies were removed, and Masaru cleared his throat. "Number Six and Number Eight!" he yelled out.
Once again, the demons who were going up looked defeated. They were accepting their deaths. He did not watch as they died, though. He focused his eyes on the people around him, on their reactions. Rika was standing by her demons, looking very uncomfortable. One of her hands was on Kaede's, a troubled and saddened expression on her face as she held her head demon's hand. They had been rather close. Mion and Shion stood by his side, both of them holding onto his hands but not looking at the executions. They didn't want to see what fate would soon befall them.
There was some chatting during the executions. Not everything was quiet, but no one seemed to care, not even Masaru. There were families standing their with their demons, saying goodbyes to them and last words. Kaede was having a small conversation with Kai, and would sometimes speak words to the demons who were about to go up.
"Number Thirty-Nine, huh? I don't recognize you…" Kaede spoke. "But I do know you, Number Forty. You were bought from the Sonozaki family. You were one of the hunters. Katsumi, was it?"
Number Forty nodded.
"Just remember that." She looked up at the stage. "And I think it's your turn."
"Thank you," Number Forty spoke before turning to go up the stairs with Number Thirty-Nine, who looked a little nervous. It was probably one of the first times that a demon who was about to die displayed an emotion other than complete and utter defeat, obedience plastered within their faces. He looked sort of like he didn't want to go.
"You two, Number Forty-Nine and Number Fifty. I wish you two good luck," Kaede said to the two demons who were preparing to go up on stage.
"Thank you, Kaede. And thank you for speaking to me about the past. It reminded me of the good times," Number Fifty said happily.
She nodded. "Makoto is waiting for you two. Go, it's your turn now."
Number Forty-Nine smiled. "Thank you, and goodbye."
They were actually smiling at each other as they went up to the stage, probably trying to enjoy those last few moments. Keiichi looked over to the two demons on his right and left, clutching their hands a little tighter. He didn't know if the two of them would be able to do that. Shion was looking morosely at the purple flower she was twirling in her free hand, and Mion was looking at the ground.
"All right then." Masaru took a deep breath. "…W-With almost all my demons d-dead…" He seemed shaky about saying that. The Kimiyoshi family was known for their high number of demons and they often took pride in it. "I… have to ask my head demon, Kai, to come on stage…"
Kai turned to Kaede, who simply nodded at him.
"Go on," Kaede encouraged him. "Makoto has been waiting for you for a long time now. You don't want to make her wait anymore."
Kai smiled at her. "Of course. I'll be with my best friend soon. That's why I can leave you with a smile." He paused. "But before I go, I want to thank you for being on my side with the last battle. It was actually very nostalgic, fighting alongside you."
"Yes, and I thank you for the same thing," the orange-haired demon responded.
Kai looked at her for one last moment before he went up on stage, not looking sad to be going. He had lived for such a long time, after all. The demon was probably just happy to go and join Makoto and the rest of his fallen demon friends. He did not struggle as he was tied to the pole, and he did not protest as his owner held the sword to his stomach, one that was plastered with the blood of the rest of his fellow demons.
Keiichi wondered how he could be so happy to go. But then again, he was old. He looked over to the demons on his side. They were young and they had just tasted what real life could be. It was for that reason why they could not accept death.
"We'll be moving on, now. Furude demon killing will begin with demons Two and Three."
Rika was trembling and she looked over to two of her demons, nodding to them. She looked upset to see them go. They had served her for such a long time, after all, and it was hard seeing someone you got to know disappear. Even if they weren't very close, it was still rough. The demons wandered up to the stage obediently. They did not protest one bit, just like how some of the demons had been before.
The execution went on, and Keiichi simply watched as Rika and Kaede saw them all off. Mion and Shion were lost in their own thoughts, not speaking a word to anyone or each other.
"Now, if the head demon would please come," Masaru yelled out.
Kaede turned towards Rika, a smile on her face.
"Don't worry. I'll be with the other demons and Makoto." She reached out and patted her master on the head. "So please stop crying."
There were indeed tears in Rika's eyes as she stared up at her head demon. She looked about ready to protest her death, but she knew that she couldn't do anything about it at this point.
"You still have your friend," she reminded her.
Then, Kaede turned around to face the stage. She took a deep breath, and then spoke. "I'll be there, Makoto, Kai, Kenji. Shame I have to be the last to go…" With those words, the demon walked right up the wooden steps to her doom, where she too was bound by ropes and positioned with a sword at the stomach. There was also a smile on her face and she shut her eyes, ready to take impact and join her friends.
Keiichi clenched his fists. Kaede was a demon that had told him the truth about demons, and a large contributor in his adventure. It was sad to see her have to go as well, but she was happy. She too was an old demon and was just wanting to join her friends, as she had been the last of the three guards to die.
"All right. Moving on. Sonozaki demons…" He looked at his list and sighed. "Really, there's only two. Oryou killed most of her demons for the same reason I'm killing them all now. Her actions actually gave me the idea." He shook his head. "But now we're going to get off topic. Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight, please come up."
Keiichi took a deep breath as he stared at the two demons, who were slowly beginning to advance forward. But before that could happen, he caught their hands and looked at them straight in the eye as they turned around.
"Mion, Shion," he spoke to them both.
"Yes?" they said in unison.
He took a deep breath. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to do. But there was no time.
"I won't forget you two," he told them both.
They smiled sadly at him. "We know, Kei-chan. Thank you. For everything," Shion said to the boy, walking back over to him and grabbing his hand. She was smiling, but yet, there were tears in her eyes.
"Same," Mion replied, going up to the boy and taking one of his hands in hers. "Thank you for everything you've ever done for us. For releasing us, for teaching us about emotions, for teaching us games, for showing us our family." She smiled weakly at the brown-haired boy, grasping his hand a little tighter. "Thank you."
Keiichi could feel salty tears drifting down his face, and he nodded. He looked over to Shion, who was holding the purple flower in her hand and staring at it. Slowly, he reached for the bracelet on his wrist and slid it off. He slid it on Mion's arm slowly, smiling sadly at her.
"Look at this when you die. A-And… remember what that warm feeling is. What it means. And remember me… and all the times we spent together," he told her.
Mion looked at the bracelet curiously. It was the bracelet that taught her about love, about what emotions were. It was the bracelet that had snapped her out of her mind-controlled state and to her true self. "Of course I will," she whispered as she drew her eyes away from the bracelet to take a look. "I'll remember everything."
"And Mion? Shion?" he asked.
They blinked at him.
"Yes?" they asked.
"Thank you," he said.
"For what?" Mion asked.
"For the adventure," he finished.
The two of them simply smiled at him. It had been one big adventure that they shared together, and Keiichi knew it was something he would remember. They just nodded at him when he spoke those words. They were smiling, and yet, there were still tears.
Suddenly, a figure appeared beside them. Keiichi turned around to look, and when he did, he met the tearful gaze of Sonozaki Akane.
"Mom…" Mion whispered when she saw her.
Akane looked at her daughters with eyes filled with tears yet to be shed, though it was likely they would not remain unshed for very long.
"I wanted to say goodbye," she told them both.
Shion nodded. "Goodbye, Mom."
"Goodbye, Mom," Mion said as well.
Akane nodded. "Goodbye… and thank you for letting me know you two, even if it was for only a short period of time. I'm glad that I… finally got to meet my little twins…"
The two of them stared at her, looking tearfully at their mother. They had only just met her, but they surely felt a strong bond with her, just because of the fact that she was their mother. They had begun to recognize her as such.
"Number Twenty-Seven, Number Twenty-Eight?" called Masaru. "Please come up! We're waiting!"
Mion turned towards Keiichi, looking deeply into his blue eyes. She nodded at him, knowing that it was the last time that the two of them would see each other. Slowly, she walked over to him, placing her face close to his. Keiichi felt her lips gently touch his, and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently for the last time. It only lasted a few moments, but to him, it felt like it lasted years.
She pulled apart, nodding to him with a tear filled gaze.
"Goodbye, Kei-chan. I love you…" she whispered.
"G-Goodbye, Mion. I-I love you, too…" he whispered back to her.
Shion looked towards the boy. "Goodbye," was all that she could say before she turned around with her sister. The two twins looked at each other and nodded. They had said all the words that they needed to say. The two of them looked at Keiichi and their mother for the last time, only a few seconds, and then they walked down through the crowd, and to the wooden steps.
"So..." Akane whispered. "That's the kind of relationship you had with her…"
Keiichi nodded. "Yeah," he whispered back. "It… was…"
The twins were then tied up to the poll, Shion still clutching the flower in her hand and Mion looking at the bracelet. There were tears in their eyes as they did so, knowing that it would be their last moments alive. They wanted to savor that feeling in their heart, letting it be the last thing they saw and felt before they left forever.
Keiichi watched with tears streaking down his face. This was the end. The last time he would see their beautiful faces again. Those were the faces of the people who had shared this adventure with him, the ones who had perhaps created the adventure. He would have never had this adventure if he didn't meet them that day, under the ground in the cold, lonely Sonozaki basement. It was because of them that he had become a better person, and because of them he had spent his life doing something rather than homework.
"You know," Akane whispered to him. "I wish I knew them a little more. I mean, I met them a day ago… but I didn't really get to know the type of people they were." She was shaking. "I-I'm sure that you can tell me all about it."
He watched as Masaru advanced towards them with the sword in his hand. He took a deep breath as he looked at them, nodding to himself.
This was it. This was the last moments that they would spend alive, the last moments that the people he had spent an adventure with him would be on this earth. They would soon be gone, to be forgotten about by most people. But he knew that he wouldn't forget about them. They were people who had changed his life, and there was no way he would let go of the memory, no matter how painful it would be in the coming years.
Images flashed through his mind. He thought about the time where he had first seen them in the basement, and then the time where they had played cards. He thought about the time they had escaped and gained names, and how excited they had been to see the outside for the first time in their lives. He thought about the time they had played tag and how they had won with their trickster tactics, and then the time they had played Clue and how Mion, being the competitive person she was, managed to come up with a strategy to beat him the first time she had ever played it. There had been so many fun moments he had spent with them. It was not just fun moments that were rushing through his mind, though. There were sad memories, too, like how heartbroken Mion had been when they were separated. But to contrast that, there were warm memories. Like the time Mion and him held each other as they slept, or the time where they figured out their feelings for each other.
He looked over to Akane. They had just figured out who they were and met their family, and now they were being ripped right away from her. There were tears streaking down her face. She had really wanted to know what type of people her daughters were. She had only known them for one day, and yet, it was enough to make her happy. She had finally met her little twins, the twins she would spend every day thinking about. But fate was cruel, and had to take them away after a single day.
He had only known them for a few weeks, too. He got to know them well in those weeks, but he realized that he really wanted to spend more time with them. They could play more games and have fun outside, with Mion coming up with more strategies to beat him. Actually, he really wanted to beat her at just one game. He had never won one, after all. Was that too much to ask? Just another game? But his heart was telling him he wanted more than that. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with them at his side. He didn't just want these memories. He wanted them.
Did it really have to end now?
And as Keiichi thought that question, an answer popped in his mind almost immediately.
No. It did not. No, in fact, it couldn't end here.
The next thing the boy knew, he was running towards the stage with speed that would make a cheetah growl in jealousy. He was pushing through the crowd, running up those wooden stairs like there was nothing else in the world he needed to do more. Without thinking, the boy found himself standing right in front of one of the twins, the twin who was about to get killed by the sword that was about to be placed in front of her.
"STOP!" he yelled out so loudly and with such ferocity that he wondered if it was really him speaking.
Masaru looked horribly surprised as he stared at the boy in front of him, who was wearing a face with such great determination that it scared him.
"What in the world do you think you're doing, Maebara Keiichi?" he questioned.
"Don't kill them!" he yelled out. "No, in fact, I won't let you kill them!"
Masaru gritted his teeth. "Maebara Keiichi, move out of the way. I discussed this with you earlier. All demons have to be executed so that we can become Hinamizawa and not Onigafuchi. We cannot allow another incident like the one before to happen again!" he yelled out.
"Why?" he yelled out. "Why is it nessesary to kill all the demons? Because you want a peaceful land without demons?" he questioned. "Well yes, we do want a peaceful land, but why without all demons? ! Why do we have to get rid of them all? ! Listen, I know why you need to get rid of the demons. To avoid what happened before. And why did it happen before? Yes, because the demons were too willing to listen to what Takeru had to say! They had no right to say no to his orders!" He turned towards the twin that was tied up behind him. "But this demon here and her sister are different!"
Masaru was scowling. "I told you, all demons need to be—"
"Listen!" he yelled. "These two demons are different! I took them away and taught them things, and now you can basically call them human! They will not listen to people's orders and they would certainly never hurt an innocent person!" He narrowed his eyes at the man before him as he spoke these words, challenging him. "The only reason why they hurt someone before was because Mion was under control of The Orb of the Demon Kings, which has been shattered! She would never do such a thing if weren't for that. And she never will, because the orb was shattered!" He took a deep breath, just letting the words flow out naturally. He just hoped that it was enough to convince him. "You saw Mion on the stage during the Watanagashi! She refused to kill me. She disobeyed orders! If she can do that, then there's no way that she would listen to an order to kill innocent people! Shion's the same way." He took a deep breath. "They're human, too! So let them live!"
Everything was completely silent. Masaru looked around nervously, to the crowd and then to Keiichi and the twins. He gulped.
"As I said, Keiichi-san, we cannot—"
"But what if they don't listen to orders?" he yelled out. "Your whole reason for killing them all is because they listen to orders too easily! These two don't! You have no reason to kill them! If you do kill them, then you're just a worthless murderer who doesn't understand people! I knew someone who understood people no matter what, and she could look deep into their hearts and see the good in people. Can't you do the same? Can't you too see that these demons are not evil, but good?"
Masaru looked very taken aback, and he was hesitating. He looked scared now that he had brought up the accusation of him being a worthless murderer for killing demons who understood humans. The man said nothing for a while, and the crowd was completely silent.
"…You, Maebara Keiichi, are the strangest man I have ever met," he sighed. The man walked by him, and much to Keiichi's delight, undid the rope binding the twins. "This is the only exception I'm making. If you dare try to prevent any other demons from dying, then I will execute you for going against the leader of the village. Do you understand?"
He nodded eagerly. "Of course!" he yelled out. Even if it meant the rest of the demons had to go, he had saved Mion and Shion, and that was enough for him.
Masaru sighed as the rope became fully undone. The twins quickly ran over to Keiichi, their eyes widened with delight as they stared at him.
"Kei-chan!" cried Mion.
"Hey, you two," he said, a silly grin on his face, which was still a little red from crying before.
Masaru glared at them. "Get off the stage! We need to continue onwards!" he yelled at them.
Keiichi looked startled. "Y-Yeah!" he cried out as he looked towards the twins, who quickly nodded. They ran off the stage in a hurry, back within the crowd.
He smiled as they reached the spot that they were standing in before. He had managed to save them. Akane burst out in tears as she hugged her daughters, who accepted it happily. They looked very happy to be back in the safety of their mother and their friends. There would be no death for them today. It would have to wait. He smiled at the scene before him, finding it rather touching but a little embarrassing to watch.
"Hi, Mom," Mion said. "I'm back."
"Oh thank god…" she whispered as she held them.
Shion was still holding onto that purple flower as she hugged her mother. She just didn't want to let it go even now, it seemed. The shock of almost dying was still there.
Suddenly, a group of people came running over to them, causing the twins to break away from their mother's embrace and look over to them. "Shion, Mion, Keiichi!" yelled Rika as she stopped right in front of them.
"Guys!" cried Keiichi, recognizing the three people as the Houjou siblings and Rika. Satoko had some tears in her eyes, and when she saw Shion, she instantly ran over to her and hugged her tightly, sobbing into her stomach.
"Shion-san!" she cried. "I thought you were really going to die!"
Shion smiled down at the yellow-haired girl, running her fingers through her hair. "I'm fine now, Satoko. It's okay."
Satoshi put a hand on Shion's shoulder, smiling at the girl. "We're both glad you're all right. Keiichi was very brave to break in like that."
Keiichi rubbed the back of his head. He actually had had no idea what he was doing when he broke in the ceremony. Something just ignited within him and he found himself running up there. He was very glad that such a thing had happened, though. If it hadn't, the twins would really be dead by now.
"I'm not too surprised," Rika said. "Mii, I mean, I was surprised when it happened, but after it did I realized that it was just like our Keiichi to do that! He deserves a round of applause! Clap clap clap!" she cried out loud as she clapped her hands together, smiling cutely as she did so.
Mion smiled as she looked over towards Keiichi. "I'm glad that Kei-chan managed to do it, too. I was very surprised when he jumped in front of me like that. I was going to be a goner in five seconds!" she cried out. She was still trembling from the incident, and for a very good reason, too.
Keiichi turned around to her, grinning. "I didn't know what I was doing, to be honest, but I'm glad I did!"
"Me too!" cried Satoko. "I never want Shion-san to leave. Never!" She grabbed Shion's arm and held it protectively by her side.
Shion smiled. "I'm here to stay from now on, Satoko," she said to her.
"Where are you going to stay now?" Satoko asked the older girl. Her face was still red, and her eyes were glimmering with a few tears, but her voice had mostly returned to normal. "I-I don't think at our house, but c-could you please come and visit some time? We can teach you how to take care of the flowers and you can work on taking care of them with Rika, Nii-Nii, and I!" She turned towards her brother, a small smirk on her face. "I'm sure that Nii-Nii will really love having her there!"
Satoshi 's face turned red.
"Of course," Shion responded. "I'd love to take care of the flowers with you! I don't know where I'll be staying, though."
Suddenly, a voice unlike anyone else's burst through the current conversation. "About the matter…" It was Oryou, much to everyone's surprise. She was staring at her granddaughters wearing her usual unreadable, gruff look. "The two of them will be moving into the Sonozaki Manor and they will live there." She looked at Mion. "I don't have a heir anymore, so as the oldest, Mion will take Takeru's position and become heiress as she rightfully is." She narrowed her eyes. "Training begins tomorrow. I hope you are ready."
Mion looked startled. "Uh…"
"Mother," came Akane's angry voice. "Why in the world did you agree to killing all the demons when you knew it included the two of them?"
Oryou sighed. "What was I supposed to say? Besides, I was going to go intervene if this boy had not." She stared at Keiichi.
Mion blinked. "Really?"
"Yes, really!" cried Oryou, annoyance in her voice. "I know I tried killing you about three times but seeing someone kill you did not settle well with me. Besides, I needed a heiress and you are the only one available." The old woman grumbled. "Whatever, come here, Mion, Shion."
The two of them blinked at each other, but they went ahead and walked towards the old woman.
"Turn around and bend over," she ordered them.
They did as they were told, not wanting to argue with the old woman.
Oryou suddenly pulled out a golden key, and Keiichi was about to ask what it was for, though he didn't have time. The old woman inserted the key into the lock in the back of Mion's collar and twisted it, and the collar opened and fell off. She then proceeded to do the same to Shion, and then collected the fallen collars.
"You are now officially Sonozaki Mion and Sonozaki Shion," she told them both. "Forget about the silly numbers and being demons of the Sonozaki family. While there is no method known to turn a demon into a human we can easily try to forget about the whole species matter." She looked at her granddaughters. "I am sure I can find a big enough hat to hide those horns of yours in public. While I can easily ignore them and so can your friends, it will not be the same to many villagers and it is best we keep them hidden."
Mion turned to her grandmother, a huge smile on her face. "Thank you, Mas— I mean, Grandmother!" she cried out.
"Yes, yes," grumbled Oryou. "You're welcome."
The old woman began to go to talk to her daughter, but as she did so, the group of children began to chat with each other excitedly.
"This is great!" cried Satoko. "Now I have two more friends! Which means… two more people to test traps on." There was a mischievous smirk on her face as she stared at the twins. "Ohohohohoho! Do you think that you two can keep up with Trap Master Satoko?" she asked.
"I wouldn't say that," Keiichi intervened. "Mion here is the greatest stagiest I have ever met and she's wonderful at games! I'd be asking if you could keep up with her, Satoko."
Satoko placed her hands on her hips as she stared challengingly at Mion. "Well then, we'll just have to see how that works out tomorrow morning when I set up the biggest trap I've ever—"
"Satoko, you just gave yourself away," Rika sighed.
Satoko wore a look of surprise on her face. "Oh no, you're right! Now I need to think of something else…"
Everyone laughed at her childish behavior.
"Well, I'm pretty good at cards myself," Satoshi said. "I want to play with Mion sometime."
Mion smirked. "Well, we'll see if you can beat me. This demon here is—" she paused, scratching her head. "I guess 'this demon here' doesn't work anymore, since I'm not technically a demon anymore…"
Shion shrugged. "What else are you going to call yourself? An old man?" she joked.
Mion laughed at her sister. "I think I'll do just that! Well then, this old man is the best at cards, ever! I don't know if you can beat me."
Shion sighed. "It was a joke, sis."
Mion waved her hand dismissively. "Hey, I need some new catchphrase, don't I?"
"Well, whatever the case is, I can't wait to start playing with you, Mion!" laughed Satoshi. "And I can't wait to start gardening with Shion, and I can't wait to return to the happy days!"
Keiichi sighed. It wasn't going to be that easy. "Takeru and Rena…" he brought up.
Suddenly, the mood turned quite solemn. No one said a word.
"W-Well, I think Rena would want us to have fun, even without her," Keiichi said to lighten up the atmosphere. It was true, though. Rena would not want everyone to stay in the dark for the rest of his or her life because of her death. She was probably watching them now, wanting the best for them and wanting them to go on and have fun, even without her. "I think we need to respect what she would want. As for Takeru…" He sighed.
"Just forget about those dark things he did. I know it's hard, but I think he wants us to have fun, too," Keiichi spoke. "In fact, if he were here, he would probably be teasing me and Satoshi about finding girlfriends or something like that! So let's lighten up and have fun for them, like how they would want us to."
Satoko smirked. "Speaking of girlfriends…" she stared at her brother and the younger Sonozaki twin. "Hm… yes. I think it would work out nicely!"
Satoshi blushed. "It's not like that!" he cried out.
Shion looked confused as to what they were talking about.
"On the other hand, we have Mion and Keiichi," Rika brought up as she looked to the two of them. "I saw them kissing."
Everyone gasped.
"Ooh, Mion and Keiichi sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S…" Satoko began to sing, only to be silenced by Satoshi placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking his head.
Keiichi laughed nervously. "Ahaha, well it's fine, Satoshi. It's kind of like that with us," he admitted.
"Really?" cried Satoko.
Mion nodded her head. "Ahaha… yeah."
Satoko flustered red and looked at the ground. It appeared that she enjoyed teasing, but when an actual relationship was brought up she became heavily embarrassed. Rika let out a sigh as she patted her best friend on the back.
"Well, anyways, I wish for the best for you and Mion!" Rika said. "Now that everything is happy again, you two can spend all your lives together!"
Keiichi laughed. It was true. Now that that obstacle was out of the way, they could spend the rest of their lives together in happiness. Just thinking about this made him reach out to Mion and grasp onto her hand tightly. "Well, yes. We're planning on doing that," he spoke. "But that's not just it! We're planning on spending the rest of our lives having fun with all of you! Now that we're all happy again, we can forget about all of this and live our lives on as happy friends!" He turned towards Mion and Shion. "And I'm sure you're all willing to let these two into our little group."
"Of course!" cried Rika.
"Definitely," Satoko added.
"I'd love to have more friends," Satoshi said with a smile.
Mion and Shion looked around, a little hesitant.
"Ah, you mean it?" Mion asked.
"Yup!" Satoko cried out. "As I said before, more friends means more people to trap test on. And, well…" she smiled. "Just more friends in general."
Satoshi patted his sister on the back, complimenting her silently for saying something so nice and sweet to the two girls rather than commenting on how she was going to trap them.
"Even if we're demons?" Shion asked.
Satoshi nudged the girl. "Oh, you're not anymore, remember? You're human now."
Shion blinked. "Oh, yes."
While they were biologically still demons, what remained was the fact that they had become human in a sense, and that was how everyone was going to view them. Their group of friends was so tightly knit that they could ignore the horns on top of their heads and just shake it off like it was nothing, saying that they were completely human. They would forget about that aspect, and they could move on and become very happy without it.
"So…" Mion said. "When does it start?"
"When does what start?" Keiichi asked her.
"When does the whole happy friend thing start?" she clarified.
Such a question caused the boy to laugh, much to her surprise. It seemed as if there were a few things that she didn't get, but time would fix all of that. "Oh Mion, 'When does it start.' It already started!" he cried out.
She blinked in confusion. "Huh? When?" she asked.
"Right now!" he explained. "They accepted you as their friends, and so, it's started!" He gestured towards the group of friends, who were all smiling at her.
She sighed and placed her hands on her hips as she stared at them. "Well, I wasn't aware that it had started, so can we start over?" she asked.
"Eh?" he asked.
"Yeah. Let's start over so that this old man knows that it's a beginning so that she can start out these days with a bang!" She laughed loudly as she said that. "Like…" she turned towards the boy, gently touching him on the arm. He was confused until he looked deep into the girl's green eyes, which were full of its usual mischief. "Tag! You're it!" she yelled out.
"Huh?" Keiichi cried out in confusion. "What do you mean by 'tag?' We aren't playing tag!"
"Well now we are! Catch me if you can, Kei-chan!" yelled Mion as she dashed further into the crowd, disappearing amongst the masses of people.
"Hey, come back here!" he yelled out. "This is an execution! We can't just leave and play tag like that!"
However, much to his surprise, the others began to run away as well, deeper into the crowd.
"Hey!" he yelled. "Where do you think you're going? !"
Shion turned around as she was about to leave, smiling at him. "Who cares about the execution? No one will notice if we leave. And besides, shouldn't you be more concerned about catching sis? You want to beat her at a game, don't you?" she pointed out. With that, the girl ran off into the crowd, following her new friends out of the execution area.
A fire ignited in his soul as soon as she spoke those words. Oh yes, he was looking forward to beating Mion! "Oh you Mion, I'm going to catch you!" he declared as he ran into the crowd, trying to find the group that had run off. He pushed his way out of the crowd and found himself running down the pathways of Onigafuchi, leading away from the execution area. They were now running around in a grassy spot, staring at him with a look of expectance on their faces.
He smirked as he saw them. They were waiting for him to catch them, huh? Well then, he was going to catch them!
They yelled out as he ran at them. However, the first thing he did was grab Mion by the shoulder, surprising the poor girl.
"You're it now, Mion!" he declared.
"Not for long!" she yelled back. "This old man is going to catch you!"
He laughed at her as he ran from her. Yes, this was the ending he had been hoping for. Mion and Shion were alive, and they had returned to their days of being happy. While Rena and Takeru were gone now, they knew that they had to move on for their sake. They would be wanting them to do such a thing. And Keiichi was one to respect people's wishes.
"It!" cried Mion as she tagged Keiichi.
"No, it's you!" cried Keiichi as he tagged her back right away.
"You!" cried Mion, tagging him.
"You!"
"You!"
"You!"
The two of them burst out into laughter as this kept going on and on, realizing that they weren't going to make any progress. They laughed so hard that the two of them could barely stand up, resulting in Mion falling back on the ground, hooting with laughter. Keiichi did the same, falling back into the meadow with his body right next to hers.
They laughed for what seemed like ages, until Mion stopped and put a hand on his.
"It," she said, a smile on her face.
Keiichi smiled at her. "All right, you win that one. But you know what? The game is still going. And even if I lose this one, there will be many more to play!" he yelled.
Mion laughed. "Of course! We'll spend the rest of our days happy, right?" she asked, turning to look at him with happiness gleaming in her green eyes. "There will be no more people trying to control me, and there will be no more returning to that cold basement. And most of all, there won't be any more death. Right, Kei-chan? We can be happy from now on, right?"
Keiichi stared at her, and nodded. Yes, all of these things would be true. The rest of their days would be spent by playing around and being happy, and there would certainly be no more returning to that basement. Most of all, no one would die until they grew old and it was their time to go. There would be no more early death. All there would be were positive, emotions living, and just pure happiness.
"Right," he said.
That was right. While his adventure full of death and darkness had ended, there was still another kind of adventure that was waiting for him. It was one that he had been hoping for, one above ones consisting of pretending to be the villain by shooting people with model guns and trying to stop a plan that would kill the village. The next adventure waiting for him was a happy one. It would be one that he would spend the rest of his life within.
"Let's go, Mion," he said to her.
Mion blinked at him. "Huh?"
"To our next adventure," he said
She smiled at him, nodding determinedly. "Yes!"
"Together," he added on.
"Yes," Mion responded, reaching out for the boy's hand, which she then squeezed tightly. "Together."
~~~~X~~~~
Crimso's Corner V.2
Oh...
...My...
God.
I can't believe it's over! BFB is really over. Yes, there is still the epilogue; but there goes the main story! Oh my god. I can't believe that it's over. Did I already say that? Yes I did? Oh my god. I'm sorry, I need to calm down. Finishing a story is something that is very, very, very exciting, and also a little bit sad. I am very sad that there is nothing more to write of this lovely story aside from the epilogue. Really, this whole story has been wonderful and I enjoyed writing it. It is going to be very hard to end it the next chapter but all good things have to come to an end eventually, and that includes this. I-I mean it was good, right? I did well, right? I think I did better than I did with GED. There was definitely some improvement that I can sense in it, which is rare for me, who can barely judge herself. I think so, anyways. Huh.
Thank you all for sticking with me this far into the series! I will give thank yous and such in the epilogue, and it will be then that I will ask for you to review with a whole story review. No, not this chapter. Next one. Why? Because last time I asked for it and no one actually commented on the content of the last chapter, which was kind of… sad. The ending is something I need comments on and as such, I will ask for that later. Please hold it until then. I'm sure you can.
I have nothing more to say here. I am satisfied with this ending and I hope you are too. Stick around; we have the epilogue coming up!
Oh, and Happy New Year! It's still New Year's Eve, but I can say that, yes?
~Crimso