Hey, people.

Chapter 5 The meeting, and the Saiguden

Rena sighed as she sat down on the bed that Shinichi and the others had given her. Their suite was two rooms, so Shinichi and Ran slept in one bed together, while Heiji and Kazuha slept in the other one together. Shiho agreed to sleep on the floor.

Rena found that quite odd. Perhaps the blonde didn't like people that much. Other than Kudo, she didn't seem to like any of the others that much. She also seemed very mature for her age. Quite unlike Hattori, Mori, or Toyama. She seemed more reserved, like she was holding something back.

And Shinichi, even though he was polite and kind and funny, it seemed like he too was holding something back. Rena had always been very observant, even as a child.

She thought back to when Hattori mentioned something about "the impossible" happening to Kudo, and Kudo had immediately told him off, saying there was no time to talk about "that."

Well, I remember I was like that when I went to Ibaraki Junior High, and after the disaster. I refused to let anyone get close to me at all. I just stayed locked up for about 18 years. Then, five years ago, I escaped. Those detectives were there because they wanted to get me. And then.....

Rena stood up, and walked over to Shinichi's room, and stared at the sleeping Shinichi, who was lying on his stomach in his pajamas, his posture relaxed.

Kudo was quite strange, but then again, she herself wasn't exactly normal. He seemed very astute, so if Rena let anything slip, he was bound to catch on to , there was the fact that he was a detective. He was bound to find out that she had killed two people sooner or later. What would he do then?

She got scared just thinking about it. Then, she remembered how she was going to meet Shion and Satoshi tomorrow, and she smiled. "I'm just letting my brain get carried away. Kudo wouldn't do that. He's just a teen. Why am I thinking like this?"

She relaxed, and pulled the covers over her bed. After all, they do know about my experiences during the disaster, so there's no reason for them to be wary of me. I should just relax, and try to get some sleep.

Shortly after that, she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Satoshi stared at Shion in disbelief.

"You...you mean...you actually mean you talked to Rena? I thought she was dead!" He uttered in shock.

Shion smiled at his shocked demeanor "You act like you've seen a ghost, Satoshi-kun. I didn't think she was alive either. Until that boy rang me up the other day and told me. I'll tell you everything he told me."

Satoshi smiled, then a confused look passed over his face as he said, "That kid did that? Why would he do that for a couple of strangers?

Shion said reassuringly, "Not everybody is as mean as the people you knew in Hinamizawa, Satoshi. You need to learn to open up more. Just because they treated you bad doesn't mean that everyone's going to treat you badly. Just give these kids a chance."

Satoshi sighed. "Well, I guess. You always have been the naive one, after all...." he said teasingly.

"Hey, hey, who do you have to thank for saving your life?" Shion said, amused.

"You, my dear." Satoshi said shyly, blushing as he did so.

Shion pulled him by the arm. "Let's go downstairs for breakfast. We're meeting Rena and those kids today, remember?"

Satoshi smiled, "Okay. I'll do my best to stay positive."

Shion grinned. "That's the Satoshi I know!"

Satoshi shook his head in amusement. "You haven't changed one bit since you were 14!"

"Hey....." Shion said.

"Hey, Hattori, do you know where we can see Hinamizawa?" Shinichi asked, making Ran and Kazuha pale in fear.

"Hey, Shinichi, are you serious? You heard what Sonozaki-san said! Demons dwell there! And besides, it's off-limits." Ran stated.

"Well, sometimes rules are meant to be broken!" Shinichi said, flashing his famous smirk.

"Sometimes I think you're more like that thief KID than you realize, Kudo!" Heiji teased.

"Hey! I'm no filthy jewel-stealing, fish-fearing common criminal!" He cried, clearly offended by Heiji comparing him to a thief.

"I was just kidding, Kudo! Lighten up, will ya?" Heiji said, grinning cheekily.

"Hattori-kun, I think you offended him. That was too mean for a joke." Ran said, glaring at the Osakan youth, who jumped back.

"It was just a joke, Ran-chan! Lighten up!" Kazuha echoed.

"See! Even Kazuha approves! I bet she'd even approve if I told her about the-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT, HATTORI!" Kazuha cried, grabbing his arm threatenlingly.

"Oi, Kazuha, put me down, okay?" Heiji uttered.

Kazuha sighed in reluctance and thrust him on the ground.

Shinichi sighed out loud. "Ok, now that that little matter is settled, would anybody mind telling me just how on earth we go to Hinamizawa?"

Shiho said, "I'm already on it, Kudo. I looked it up online, and I found some info on it, including how to get there, which I assume we'll do within the next day or so?"

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to put Ryuuguu-san, Sonozaki-san, and Hojo-san in the place where they went through so much tragedy."

Ran agreed. "You're so thoughtful, Shinichi."

Shinichi said, "Yeah. Now, where is Ryuuguu-san, speaking of her?"

Suddenly, they heard a loud thumping. Rena was carrying a large suitcase of sorts. "Hi, guys! I'm all ready!"

"What are you carrying in there?" Kazuha asked.

"Oh, just every cute possession of mine I could find. I wanna show Shii-chan how cute they are!" She said, rubbing her head affectionately against the large suitcase.

Everyone sweat-dropped. "Okay, you can take that with you, if you insist." Shinichi said, a little startled at how childish Rena could be.

As they all walked into the lobby, they saw two familiar figures awaiting their arrival.

"Is that really...... SHIICHAN?" Rena cried, racing down the lobby, drawing much attention from the other guests.

"RENA-CHAN!" Shion cried also as the two friends fell into each other's arms, hugging each other happily.

"It's really you, Shiichan! You've changed a lot!" Rena said, stunned by her friend's change.

"And so have you! Oh, let me call him over to you! Satoshi-kun! Rena is here!" Shion cried.

Satoshi came racing over to Rena, with surprise and excitement written all over his face. "Rena? You're alive!"

Rena smiled the first real smile she'd had in years. "Satoshi! I'm so glad you're alive!"

Satoshi just patted Rena on the head happily. "I'm glad you're around, Rena. I missed you a lot."

Shion sat down beside the two of them. "Well, you two, let's talk about life for now, okay?"

As the three friends chatted away about this and that, Shinichi signaled to Heiji that it was time to go. Heiji nodded.

"Hey, Sonozaki-san, Hojo-san, and Ryuuguu-san, we're going to go out for a little while. We're going to go shopping in Okinomiya for a few hours. Enjoy your time here, okay?" Shinichi said.

The three of them looked up at them, and smiled. "Okay. Have fun!"

Shinichi and pals nodded and said, "Bye!"

Shion gave them a brief glance before turning back to Satoshi and Rena. "How about we get a snack? I saw that the machine down the hall has a few treats. I can buy us some."

Rena nodded. "Yes, I'm quite hungry. Let's go down and get something."

Satoshi nodded as well. "Let's go."

Shinichi and his friends drove in their car while Shinichi read the directions. "I don't understand. Are we lost?"

Ran shook her head. "Baka! The map is......upside down!" She said.

Shinichi's eyes widened before he frowned at his crush. "No, it isn't." He said, pointing to the map, and sure enough, he was right.

Ran said, "Oh."

Shinichi said, "We should make one turn and.... WHOA!" The car slid to a stop right in front of a swamp.

"You idiot! You could've gotten us all killed!" Heiji said.

"Sorry, guys." Shinichi said, and pulled the car up and drove away from the swamp.

After Shinichi made a few more turns, they found themselves in front of a huge sign that clearly read: NO TRESPASSING.

"Are we here, guys?" Ran asked, staring out at the gates.

Shinichi stopped the car, and attempted to pull the gate open. "It's no use. It's padlocked, and the lock is so tight, I can't even get it to open."

"Is there another way, Kudo?" Heiji asked.

Shinichi glanced around. "Yes, there is a fence with a few bent holes in it that might be big enough for us all to sneak in through."

Everyone gulped, and got out reluctantly.

"Come on, let's try and bend these gates a little better." Ran said.

Ran, Kazuha, Shinichi, Heiji, and Shiho all pulled at the fence and managed to pry a bigger hole.

"What are you guys waiting for? Let's go." Shiho stated.

"Okay." Shinichi said, crawling through first, and he grabbed Ran's hand gently and helped her through.

"Thank you, Shinichi." Ran said, blushing.

Heiji went through next, and then Kazuha and finally Shiho.

"Do you think our car will be fine?" Shiho said.

Shinichi smiled dismissively. "C'mon, let's go."

They crawled through long, overgrown grass and found themselves on some kind of railing.

Kazuha peered out, and turned to Heiji, trembling. "Is that what I think it is?"

Heiji stared and looked where Kazuha was looking, and said, "Yep. I think we're here in Hinamizawa."

Everyone gazed in astonishment at the looming shape of the deserted village.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Shinichi said, as they all stared, unaware of another person also watching them, from in the shadows.

Now the fun begins! :)