Disclaimer: I do not own When They Cry Higurashi no Naku Koroni, it belongs to its original creator.
When They Cry Higurashi no Naku Koroni
Tachiagari-hen
Hyakunenmai no Hatsukoi
Chapter 8 "Fate"
That day, Keiichi and Rika cheerfully made their way to the school, yet unknown to them, unseen eyes were set upon them.
"Target is moving to school." A voice said as the sight followed the two lovers into the building.
And just as they entered into the school, Rika noticed the eyes that were upon them. Yet, she decided to ignore it feeling that it posed no danger.
"What's wrong, Rika-chan?" Keiichi asked after noticing Rika slowing down her steps.
"Nothing." That was all Rika said as she quickly caught up to Keiichi and entered into their classroom.
"Inform the command that all is proceeding as planned." The voice spoke again after Rika made her way inside.
The day went by very quick as Keiichi and Rika spent the day together in school. The sadness that surrounded them for the past few days had finally receded as Keiichi and Rika went on living with each other side by side.
"Let's go." Keiichi said as he stood beside Rika's seat.
However, the only response he received was silent as Furude Rika starred out the window into a nearby bush.
"Rika-chan, are you alright?" Keiichi asked as Rika suddenly turned around.
"Sorry, I must be too tired." Rika replied and then added her trademark mii trying to show that she was alright.
At first Keiichi wanted to say something as Rika continued packing her bag, but the right words would not come. Thus, he remained silent.
"Is there something that she is not telling me?" Keiichi wondered as he waited for Rika to finish.
"That's not possible, after all we live together." Then with that wishful thinking, Keiichi waved off the idea that Rika was hiding something from him.
Soon after that, the two of them exited the classroom and walked slowly on the country path as they spoke of things that had happened during the day.
"Did you see how she threw that ball?" Rika said happily as Keiichi walked by her side.
Keiichi then smiled as he recollected what happened during physical education.
Then moments later, they arrived back home.
"Tadieemma." Both of them said in unison and hearing it, they both laughed.
"Okaierinasai." Aiko said as she came out of the kitchen
"Why don't you two get changed, snack will be ready in a moment." Hearing that, both Keiichi and Rika went to their own room and changed.
Moments later, Keiichi and Rika came back to the dinning room, finding their snacks ready from them on the table.
"Thanks mom." Keiichi said as he sat while Rika nodded her head slightly, showing her thanks.
"You are welcome." Aiko replied as the two started eating the slices of melon that were placed before them.
The afternoon went on in peace, but it was disturbed when Aiko spoke of Isachiro's work.
"Speaking of which, we have to go to Tokyo for a couple days for your father's work and we will leave early tomorrow morning." Aiko informed them and hearing Keiichi sighed in defeat.
"Matta?" Keiichi was a little frustrated, but at the same time was numbed to it as his parents often had to travel when he still lived in the city.
"Yes, your father has an urgent project that he needs to finish, so I will be going with him." Aiko continued on as Rika studied their face and listened in.
"Does that mean there will only be the two of us?" Rika's question then spiraled the conservation in another direction.
"Speaking of which, don't try anything funny okay? As I said before, although I would like to have grandchildren, but not now." Hearing that, Rika and Keiichi's face became bright red like tomato.
"Mom!!!!" Keiichi screamed at the top of his voice as soon as his mother finished while Rika was silent as her thoughts moved to the subject of their future
Soon night came and everybody in the household all attended to their own business as dinner was prepared by the two females in the house.
Then time went by quickly as life carried on in a routine manner.
Very quickly, time for bed came as Keiichi sat on his bed pondering on the recent occurrences.
"It's really being crazy." That was Keiichi's comment on everything that had happened ever since Rika moved in.
Aside from all the explanation they had to give to the others in the class, they also had to be accepted by the elders in the villages due to Furude family's status as one of the leaders in this village. Then as these thoughts moved in, Keiichi heard a knock.
"Keiichi, it's me." A soft female voice followed the knock and Keiichi could tell that it was Rika.
"The door is open so come on in." With that said, the door opened and Rika walked in.
"So what is up, Rika-chan?" Keiichi asked as the young girl stepped in.
"Well, just wanted to talk to you a little bit before going to bed." Rika's reply made his heart beat faster as they both sat down.
For a moment, there was silence, but then, the young miko moved her lips and spoke.
"I don't know why I am saying this now, but I just wanted to thank you, Keiichi." Rika said as she broke the silence.
"Rika-chan…" Keiichi was lost of words as he looked at the young miko.
"When my parents passed away, I thought that I would never be part of any family again." Rika explained as she looked out the window while images of the past began to appear.
"But now I believe differently." Rika continued as she then looked at Keiichi.
Seeing this, Keiichi smiled with relief.
"Rika-chan…" Keiichi then gently called out her name, but then Rika seemed to have something more to say as she looked down.
"Also, ever since coming here, I have had given this a lot of thought." Rika's voice became smaller and this caught Keiichi's attention further.
"I don't mean now, but in the future…" Rika's voice trailed off and upon hearing this, Keiichi had a bad feeling.
"I want to have your children." Rika's voice was smaller than a whisper as her face became red like a tomato, but Keiichi could hear it clearly. And when the words were processed, he cried out, "Aeeeee!?!?"
"I don't mean now." Rika then smacked Keiichi on the head, pacifying him.
When Keiichi recovered, Rika then continued after taking a breath.
"What I mean is that…" Before she could finish, Rika was once again stopped by Keiichi, but this time by his action.
"Keiichi…" Rika was wordless as Keiichi held her in his arms, then silence followed.
Then after several seconds, Keiichi spoke.
"It's okay, Rika-chan." Keiichi then gently combed through her hair with his fingers.
"So when we are both old enough, we will marry and be together for eternity." Hearing these words, Rika cried, but unlike before it was tears of joy.
Then suddenly there was knocks on the door and immediately, Keiichi and Rika broke off the embrace.
"Keiichi, I need to talk to you a little about the arrangements while we are gone." Then the door opened as Aiko entered.
But then Aiko paused a moment as she saw Rika and Keiichi sitting together.
"Am I interrupting something?" Aiko then gave an evil smile.
"No, you are not." Keiichi and Rika quickly denied it, thus Aiko then continued.
Aiko then went on for several minutes as she spoke of the things they need watch out for. When she was finally done, she then added one final comment.
"Now, Rika-chan, let's go and let Keiichi sleep." With her intentions clear, Rika gave up and simply followed the older woman out of the room.
"Good night, Keiichi." After saying that with a cute voice, Rika left the room.
Keiichi then sighed in relief as he lay on his own bed after turning off the light in his room.
"For eternity..." Keiichi then slowly drifted into sleep as he mumbled those words.
A day had passed since Keiichi's parents left, and for the past day Keiichi and Rika had been enjoying the time they were allowed together by themselves.
"Keiichi, can you pass me that?" Rika asked as she readied the meal while Keiichi stood next to her in the kitchen.
"Okay." Keiichi replied as he passed the plate to Rika.
Throughout the entire day, Keiichi had watched Rika. Despite the fact that she was happy, he felt that something was wrong. As to what it was, he could not figure it out, as nothing was out of place.
But he soon put away the thoughts as they sat down around the table and beginning enjoying their lunch.
After taking a bite, Keiichi paused for a second and this caught Rika's attention.
"Something wrong, Keiichi?" Rika asked worriedly.
"No, it just that food tastes really good." Keiichi then added, "Rika-chan, you will be a great wife."
Hearing that, Rika froze for a second. When her brain actually processed, her face became as red as it could be.
"Miii…" Rika was quiet as their meal went on due to the embarrassment in her caused by Keiichi's statement. But when she gave further thought to it, she felt happy.
While happiness surrounded them, others things were been set into motion.
"The target has not yet discover anything." A voice said as eyes watched the Maebara estate from afar.
"Roger and will co. Proceed as planned." Unknown to the two, darkness has just begun.
When night came, Rika stood quietly in the front porch.
"Who are these people?" Rika wondered as she could see from afar figures of people surrounding the house.
Then before she could go back inside, Keiichi came out wondering why Rika was outside.
"Doshdano, Rika-chan?" Keiichi asked as he stepped out behind Rika.
"Nothing, Keiichi." Rika tried to pretend that nothing was wrong as she tried to push Keiichi back into the house, but Keiichi could tell that something was wrong.
"Tell me what is wrong?" Keiichi then insisted as Rika closed the door behind her.
For a moment, Rika was silent as she did not know whether she should say of the situation for there was little that she knew.
Then Rika looked at those words and she gave in.
"Alright, I will tell you." Rika said after sighing in defeat as they headed inside.
"For the past few days, I had been followed." Rika explained. "I was nearly ran over by van driven by the same group of people."
Hearing these things, Keiichi was shocked as he had no idea that it was this serious, but he soon gathered enough will and courage to act.
"Rika-chan, I have a plan." Keiichi said as he pulled his girlfriend closer and whispered into her ears.
Several minutes went passed since Furude Rika stood outside the Maebara estate and the group of men awaited as they watched the house and despite they knew they were spotted, they expected that the two would not be able to escape the house with the entire house surrounded.
And when they saw the lights go dark, they made their move.
"All teams, standby for entry." One of the man who appeared to be the leader said as the group moved into their position.
Then everything started that night.
The unknown group stood by the door as the count down begun and finally the words came.
"Go." Then everything happened.
As the door was flung opened, something exploded sending the first couple of men flying backwards. Then two of the men were knocked unconscious by a dull object.
"Rika-chan, this way." Keiichi said as he held onto Rika's hand while they ran away.
"Keiichi, where did you learn that?" Rika was curious as they ran.
"Learned it from Mion." Keiichi replied and upon hearing that, Rika really wondered, "What in the world is in her head?"
But then both of their expression saddened as they remembered their friends that had passed away in the short few weeks.
And so it was silence as they continued making their way towards the outside of the village.
As they ran, they made their way towards the shrine, which has a path that leads into the mountain and can take them out of the village.
"Just a bit more." Keiichi said as they made their way up the stairs. Although they were still running, their speed had slowed down a lot, after all they had been running for the past twenty minutes. Fortunately, if they were able to make it into the mountains it would be almost impossible for their pursuer to capture them.
Several moments later, they were inside the shrine and they continued their way to safety.
"Something is wrong here." Keiichi thought as their steps continued. "Those people are not following us."
Rika could tell what Keiichi was thinking, but there was little her exhausted and tired body could do.
Then as they neared the entrance into the mountain, everything happened, but there was nothing that could be done.
All soon as they stepped onto unpaved ground, the trap was sprung as several men appeared from the bushes standing in between them and the path.
"Darn it." Keiichi cursed under his breath as he readied himself while he made sure Rika stayed near him.
Then without a word, Keiichi swung the bat.
"Uah." The first man cried out in pain as Keiichi's bat made contact with his face at full force, meanwhile Keiichi struck at the second man as he tried to approach the two minors.
These motions continued as they stepped forward little by little, but regardless, Rika and Keiichi were both tired and nearing their limits.
"Just a bit more." Keiichi told himself as Rika held onto his hand.
Then a loud noise rang, shattering the hope.
"We have the target secured." One of the man said as Keiichi laid in pain on the ground, and Rika seeing this immediately rushed to his side.
"Keiichi…Keiichi…" Rika's face was full of tears as she shook her lover while crying out his name, but then she looked up as she could hear the footsteps approaching.
Despite that she could not see their faces, yet Rika was so full of emotions against these people that if her glare could kill that these would have all died. Still, that was not the reality as they surrounded them.
"What about the other one?" Then another voice said something over the radio.
"Understood." Then with that, the men forcefully pulled Rika away from Keiichi.
"Let go of me." Rika screamed at the top of her lungs as she struggled to return the side of her lover.
But then, when an object appeared before her, it quieted her for a moment, but then made her cries stronger.
"Yamaedeeee…" Rika cried onto of her lungs as the pistol was pointed towards her lover, but yet there was nothing she could do.
"Silence the target and take her away." The leading man said. "And set her up as the Major commanded."
Immediately, Rika was muffled as she was pulled away and when Keiichi was out of sight, the last thing she heard was the sound a single gun shot.
And tears fell as she was pulled away into the eternal darkness while the young miko mourned for the loss of her lover.
"Let it begin." One of the man said as the men started to press Rika down.
"What are you…" Before Rika could finish, her dress was pulled away from her body. Moments later, her hands were tied as she was laid on the altar. But just as she thought that she would be assaulted sexually, it stopped.
Then a shiny object appeared in the hands of one of the men and Rika immediately knew what it was.
"Sorry, nothing personal." The man spoke calmly as he approached Rika with the knife. "But orders are orders."
Rika was numbed as the scene played out before her. Having lost her friends and carrying the sins of her own was already hard enough, but now with her loved one gone, she could no longer have any hope.
"Rika, don't give up." Then a familiar voice called out as her fate drew close, bringing her out of her numbness.
But it was too late as the knife jammed into her body, pain shot through her body.
Yet no matter how hard, she could not make any noise as the men continued the process.
Then the final step came.
She stomach was cut open and while everything inside was taken out as her consciousness remained.
"Han..nyu." Rika weakly called out the name as the ghost like figure appeared next to her.
"Rika…Rika…" The figure cried, and it was no other than the deity of this little village and Rika was not surprised to see her in her final moments.
Then with a faint smile, Rika slowly closed her eyes as her consciousness slowly faded away from reality.
"So this is death…" Rika thought to herself, but just as these thoughts came, she felt a force pulling her away, as if sucking her away from this world. And feeling the strong force on herself, Rika then opened her eyes.
"This is…" Rika was silenced as she looked around her.
It was total darkness. There was nothing, but herself standing there.
Then another figure slowly appeared and Rika immediately called out her name.
"Hannyu." Rika then approached as the deity opened her eyes.
"Rika, I should have intervened earlier." The deity said regretfully. Despite what legends said, Hannyu looked like an average human girl near Rika's age, but with one exception, the horns on her head.
"It's okay, after all, I am dead now." Rika noted sarcastically, then she continued, "He is gone too."
Rika then looked around her and noticed the unfamiliarity of the place, so she decided to ask.
"What is this place though?" Rika asked.
Then Rika looked at Hannyu and with a serious expression that she had never seen before, the deity started to explain.
"This is a plane above the world we know." The small deity explained as she approached Rika.
"It is also a place where we can touch the other possibilities." That caught Rika's attention.
"What do you mean?" Rika inquired further as Hannyu stopped before her.
"With the power I have, I can take you back to another world where you are not yet killed." Hannyu said as a shard of glass appeared to her right, which Hannyu slowly took into her hands.
Rika was in awe of what she had heard, then she thought of it for a moment. What was there for her to lose? She had already lost everything; her family, friends, and her lover. There gripping her fist, she answered.
"I will go then." Rika replied and hearing her answer, Hannyu smiled.
"Let's go then." With that, Hannyu took the hand of Rika as they ascended into mid air while the darkness around them slowly disappeared.
"Sayonara, Keiichi." Rika said as she watched the darkness fade away as light engulfed her vision.
"I promise I will save you and everyone." Rika then slowly closed her eyes as she felt herself being pulled away into the eternal loop.
And so it begins…
"Rika, wake up." A voice called as the young miko slowly opened up her eyes.
"Mii… Satoko, Ohaiyonanodesu." Rika said as she got up while rubbing her eyes.
In her mind she knew that this is her second chance.
"I will not give up, Keiichi." Rika then stood up as she once again faced her own fate. "I will save everyone."
With that it all began.
---------
There is happiness in this world,
For he is here.
There is happiness in this world,
For I knew not the truth.
But now, the eternal misery has begun,
Dragging everyone in with it.
彼がここにいたから、この世には幸せが満ちた。
真実を知らなかったから、この世には幸せが満ちた。
しかし、今は全ての者を引き込んでしまった無限の悲劇が起きた。
Frederica Bernkastel
Completed: October 22, 2009
Edited November 15, 2009
Author's Note: This the actual end of the story. I was inspired by Kataribanashi-hen's "Hyakunen mei no Yamai" (Or so I thought the title is) as I might have said it before. Actually, I was uncertain as to how to write the ending scene, but decided on this as I went along. Also, I actually made up the poem, and had a friend translated it into Japanese. Anyway, there is still an epilogue, so stay tune for that.
Also, here is another version of the poem above in more classical Japanese.
彼がここにいたから、この世界は幸せに満ちた。
真実を知らなかったから、この世界は幸せに満ちた。
しかし、今は果てなく全ての者を引き込んでしまいそうな惨劇が起きた。
Translation:
["Tadieemma."] translates to "I am back."
["Okaierinasai."] translates to "Welcome back."
["Matta?"] translates to "Again?"
["Doshdano, Rika-chan?"] translates to "What's wrong, Rika-chan?"
["Yamaedeeee…"] translates to "Stop." With on the ending syllable.
["Sayonara, Keiichi."] translates to "Farewell, Keiichi."