Mizu's eyes widened. "R…rika-chan?" She got up from the floor and looked at Keiichi. Keiichi shrugged and Mizu turned to the door. She walked town his stairs and looked at Rika. "Rika-chan! Why are you here?" Rika looked at her and smiled. "Mii! I came to see you!" Mizu smiled. "That's really nice but…how did you know I was here?" Rika looked down. "I just knew." Mizu's eyes widened, "Well, I went to your house and you weren't there, just Karen was! Nipah!" Mizu calmed down a little. "O…Oh….okay then." Mizu sat on the stairs. "Mizu-chan. I wanted to ask you something," Rika said. "did you ever know about……what happened here?" Mizu tilted her head. "No….what happened?" Rika looked around to see if anyone was watching. Rika's voice turned into ice. "The dismemberment murder." Mizu's eyes widened. "The what…?" Rika looked around again. "Mizu. Do some research. There's something only you and I should know about this town." Mizu stood up again. "I'll ask Keiichi! He's sure to know! …….right?" Rika looked up her. "No! Mizu-chan! He doesn't know! Please don't tell anyone!" Mizu looked down. "Okay." Rika looked at her. "If you do. The future will repeat itself." Mizu stepped back a little bit. "I understand." Rika smiled. "Bye-bye, Mizu-chan!" Rika smiled and moved her hands like a cat, "Nya-nya!" she said. She trotted out the door. Mizu was freaked out. She ran up to Keiichi. "Keiichi, I have to go home." Keiichi blinked. "Why?" Mizu looked at him. "I can't say." Keiichi smiled. "okay…" He said sweetly. Mizu smiled back and waved goodbye. She ran down the stairs and out the door. She ran all the way to the shrine.

"No! Dismemberment…?! That's not the Hinamizawa I know! No! But….Why did she tell me? Because I'm the shrine maiden?"

She reached the shrine and saw Karen standing at the gate. "Mizu-sama! There you are!" Karen smiled and ran to her sister. Mizu patted her on the head. "How are you, Karen? Were you okay by yourself?" Karen nodded. "Yes! Rika-sama came by and gave me something." Mizu tilted her head. "What was it?" Karen turned away. "It was a Anzen-charm." Mizu's eyes widened. "A….safety charm…?"Karen smiled and turned back at Mizu. "For next years Watanagashi." Mizu smiled. "Well, that's nice! Keep it safe!" Mizu said, cheerfully. Karen nodded. "I will! I will!" Mizu took her hand and walked home with her. (It wasn't that long of a walk, considering they lived right next to the shrine.) Mizu took off her shoes, and walked into the kitchen. "I'll get some dinner ready." She opened the small pantry and bent down to see if there was any instant ramen. "Hmmm….nothing." She looked around some more and found some ramen. "Grilled pork bone and ginger flavor…..ew I hate this flavor." She pushed it behind the other ingredients and sighed. She walked over to Karen. "We have to skip inner….sorry…" Karen pouted. "Then go to the store tomorrow, Mizu-sama!" She smiled. "I'll go with you! Can Rika-sama come too?" Mizu smiled. "Sure." She bent down to Her sisters height and poked her nose. "If Keiichi-kun gets to come too!" Karen blushed. "Mizu-sama! You do like him!" Mizu smiled. "It's a secret! If you tell anyone else, I'll make you swallow one-thousand needles! Kya-ha!" Mizu stood back up again. "Karen, go on and take a bath okay? I need to call someone…." Karen smiled. "Okay! Mii!" She ran to the other room. Mizu waited a minute until she heard the water running. She walked over to the phone. She picked it up and dialed Keiichi's phone number. She waited a few rings and then—

"Hello?"

"Keiichi-kun! this is Mizu! I-I'm sorry for calling you so late but…"

"Ah, It's okay, I was just watching T.V." He replied.

Mizu smiled. "Good….I didn't want to bother you…."

Keiichi stood up and started walking upstairs. "Actually Mizu, there's something I wanted to ask you…"

Mizu blushed. "Huh?"

Keiichi went in his room and closed the door. "Oyashiro-sama's curse."

Mizu spaced out for a moment. "Oh! That? Heh….In my opinion it's a stupid legend. Why'd ya bring it up?"

Keiichi sat down on his bed. "I was just thinking. I heard Takono and Jirou-san talking about it….and now I just have an uneasy feeling…"

Mizu smiled. "Oh….So you want to know more about it then?" she heard a muffled "yes" on the other line. "Okay….let's see….

A long time ago, Hinamizawa used to be feared as the "Village Where Demons Live", so pretty much, that's a bad thing. Um….There have been a series of deaths starting from a long time ago…about 5 years…all happening on the same day….The Watanagashi Festival. Of course, in my opinion, it's a bunch of crap…you know, this whole "curse" thing….so I never really thought of it."

Keiichi sighed a little. "Oh….Okay…" he said quietly. "But Mizu, you're the shrine maiden! shouldn't you know?" Mizu lowered her head. "I'm sorry...I don't really know much. Like I said, I'm not that pulled in by all of this, so I don't want to think about it. Sorry…" Keiichi plopped down on his bed. "Well, it's okay. I'll see you tomorrow…" Mizu smiled. "Oh, an' Keiichi-kun….?" Keiihi blushed a little. He liked talking to mizu. "Hm?" Mizu blushed. "Can I come to club tomorrow too?" Keiichi smiled. "Well, if You can get past Mion! Of course, then you have to deal with the penalty game. You okay with that?" Mizu nodded. "I guess so. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Mizu."

"Bye."