***Mari's Second Appearance***
"You snake!" the old woman shouted. "First you shamelessly return to Hinamizawa. Now, I find you with the son of a cursed traitor!"
Oryo Sonozaki: the woman who owned me, with the face of the devil. I remembered years of emotional and physical abuse at her hands. Seeing her icy eyes and cruel features sent shivers down my spine. Even before I met Satoshi, I never doubted the fact that she was easily capable of eliminating people by killing them. Her intolerant glare threatened to shatter me. If this kept up, I would end up cowering. I would become vulnerable, again, to her twisted manipulation and concentrated hatred. I couldn't let that happen. I dared to speak up.
"You can't blame Satoshi for what his family did. It has nothing to do with him…"
"Damaraseru!" the Hag screamed. "Every Hojo carries the blood of traitors in his veins."
Then Mari woke up. I lost track of what I was doing, didn't remember it, but Mion told me later.
"You damn Hag!" Mari cried in a voice of righteous judgement. "Why do you want someone to blame?"
Oryo stood up and took an aggressive stance. "You dare talk back to me!"
"Shut up!" Mari retorted, walking closer to the hag instead of maintaining the respectful distance. "Listen! You don't know a damn thing about Satoshi-kun! You don't know shit, yet you're treating him like some kind of parasite! Is reasonable to be so angry just because a Sonozaki was seen with a Hojo? Do you not see how stupid that is? Your way of thought is outdated. It's useless. It's worthless!" Mari stomped her feet for good measure, clenching her fists, putting her righteous anger on full display.
"You know very well what kind of horrible mistake that boy made!" exclaimed the Hag.
Mari understood the implication: everyone in this room believed Satoshi had murdered his aunt. They had reached the same conclusion I had. Or perhaps… perhaps they were told by Mion, the only person to whom I revealed my suspicion about Satoshi.
Mari accused Mion of snitching, and the heiress said nothing. She only stared indifferently. Why would Mion rat out Satoshi?—and rat me out too, for that matter? The answer seemed obvious to Mari: Shion simply disliked the fact that we had feelings for a Hojo. There wasn't a single person here on Mari's side—on my side. Not even Mion. Her formal silence and emotionless face proved once and for all that she would not help me—Mari— out of this.
Pausing to take a breath, Mari became aware that she was sweating and her hands were shaking. She thought to herself that the accusations against Satoshi might very well be true. We—Mari, Shion, Haruka—we might be disrespecting the town leaders in the name of defending a murderer. Even so… even so… we were in love. We were different personalities, but we had all fallen in love with Satoshi. Love, thought Mari, is freedom. And freedom, she thought, is part of justice. So she—we—threw back her head and let out a long, dramatic laugh. Laughing was the only way to hide the fear… the fear we would feel when we took the next step.
"It's true," Mari said, smiling boldly, and standing condescendingly with one hand on her hip. "I don't care one bit that Satoshi is a Hojo and I am a Sonozaki. I don't care one bit if it makes the family look bad. Yes, alright—I'll admit it! I am in love with Satoshi Hojo! I love him! Is love such an evil thing?! Do you people need a reason or a personal gain just to love somebody?"
"That's enough, Shion," said Mion resignedly, while my mom and dad shook their heads in disapproval.
She walked over and leaned against me, moving her face just inches from mine. Her teal eyes were grim.
"We understand that you must feel strongly about this issue," Mion began in a flat voice. "However, after what you just said, nobody here will defend you anymore. You'll just have to take responsibility for your words and deeds. You will need to distinguish yourself before the family head."
"Distinguish yourself." I—Mari—instantly recognized that term. Oryo told many stories about town conflicts from her younger years; many of them were "peacefully" resolved after the rebel or troublemaker properly "distinguished himself." According to Oryo, perceived rebels would be hated indefinitely unless one or more of the troublemakers received personal punishment that would distinguish him from his comrades. The more cruel and painful the punishment, the more a person has distinguished himself. It was a way of voluntarily accepting physical punishment to earn grace from the cruel Sonozakis. Mion would say that accepting punishment is the way to "take responsibility," but in this case, it's just a way to beg for favor from a tyrant.
When we heard Mion's words, Mari backed away. "Why?" she asked, beginning to get a chill of fear as she remembered all the torturous instruments in the room. "Why should I have to do this?!"
"This is Hinamizawa," Mion answered sternly, "and we are the Sonozaki family. We are one of the Three Great Families, and the de facto leaders of Hinamizawa. And you are the twin sister of the Sonozaki family heir. As such, we must all learn to take responsibility for our misdeeds."
"That's where you and I have differed ever since my return," Mari said, calling up my hazy consciousness briefly. "The customs of Hinamizawa. The honor of the Sonozaki family. What about them? I don't care at all about any of that."
"You had best listen," my sister ordered. "Did you stop to think about the people who have been taking care of you in Okinomiya? Mr. Kasai and our uncle Yoshirou are restrained in the back room."
***Jun's Appeal***
As I realized the horror of Mion's words, the lion of justice inside me—Mari—shrank and faded away. But I was not quite myself, not quite Shion, either. Jun was a personality that came out even less often than the others. She was my subconscious' second line of defense if Shion's reasoning failed or Mari's fiery passions evaporated. The most sweet-natured and girlish version of us, Jun had come out once or twice when I was with Satoshi. When I'm Jun, I am kind, frail, and submissive to a fault. This personality developed as another way to deal with the abuse I suffered when younger. If one is sweet and feminine enough, surely the pain will stop. Surely I will win sympathy.
Having just switched from being Mari, it took Jun a couple of seconds to establish what was going on. Oryo Sonozaki was demanding punishment. Mion Sonozaki had just said that Shion's two loyal caretakers—her uncle and bodyguard—were locked in the back room. By this point, me and all my personalities were convinced that Oryo ordered the deaths of her enemies and blamed them on the Curse of Oyashiro. Oryo and her agents were capable of killing. Were they really threatening to kill our uncle Yoshirou? And…
"Why Kasai?" Jun asked in a high, fearful voice.
There was no way they could kill Kasai. He was an agent of the Sonozaki house too! He was just like my brother, too. Did Oryo and Mion hate Shion so much that they wanted to talk away the only ones who ever protected her? Why Kasai?
"Shion," said my sister firmly but calmly. "Apologize to Grandma, and no one else will be hurt."
"But Mion!" Jun's voice was adorably innocent, but shook with anxiety. "Did I… did I say anything wrong? Was what I said really that bad?" Jun had no way of remembering Mari's bold words.
My twin responded by turning to face the wooden door to the offertory chamber where Kasai and Yoshirou were held. What was she going to do to them? There was not an ounce of pity on her face.
"Kasai and our uncle have been affected even though they had nothing to do with your crime," Mion stated. "In the same way, Satoshi-kun might be affected, even if he has nothing to do with this."
"Wait!" Jun pleaded, running over and clinging to Mion's arm. "Onee!"
"What is it, Shion?" The heiress pulled her arm out of her dependent sister's hands.
The personalities that made up my consciousness—Shion, Mari, Jun, Haruka—had, for the last four years, developed immense courage. We were no longer afraid of Oryo. We could live through anything she did to us and she could still not make me apologize. We, the collective Shion, vowed never to submit to Oryo. However, we had only considered threats and harm done to ourselves; none of us had thought about what would happen if Oryo threatened loved ones. There wasn't a choice anymore; to keep Kasai alive, to keep Satoshi unhurt, I would need to submit. There was no better personality than Jun for groveling.
"I'm… sorry." Tears fell from Jun's dark blue-green eyes, and I felt them too.
Jun dived into a deep bow. No, it was groveling. She was on her knees with her body held low and her forehead on the floor between outstretched arms. The sound of her small sobs should have broken her family's hearts. But they let her continue begging.
"I'm sorry! I was wrong! Please forgive me, my master!"
Mion's cruel-but-detached expression did not change. "Well then, Shion. If you're sorry, how do you plan to take responsibility for this?"
Before the docile Jun could think of a reply, Mion went to a shelf and picked up a strange device. She brought it back with her and placed it on the small table next to the dais. The base was made of iron, and on one end of it was an indentation just the right size for supporting a human wrist. There were strong leather restraints to keep the wrist and hand in place. A finger's distance away down the base, there was a small, slender, two-pronged metal fixture. This was attached to a lever that stuck out from the far end of the base. When the lever was pulled down, the metal fixture would be forcibly jerked upward. Jun—and I—began trembling severely, guessing the purpose of this device.
"This is a tool to remove fingernails," Mion indicated. "Do you know how to use it?"
"No," Jun squeaked. "Why—how would I know?"
"This method was used before surgical denailing. It pulls off the nail with brute force. Sometimes, this can damage the cuticles, but if you're careful, the nail will regrow in about six months. This is a relatively light punishment used for troublemakers within the Sonozaki family. Our mother, Akane, distinguished herself by removing one of her nails. In this custom, each nail you remove corresponds to a sin you committed. Shion Sonozaki, you will remove three of your own fingernails."
Poor Jun tried her best to remain standing, to resist cowering on the floor, to curb the urges that told her to run away. She tried to think straight even as she trembled wildly, her eyes wide with horror. Alright, so this was the only way to satisfy Oryo. But Akane Sonozaki only had to remove one of her fingernails to distinguish herself back in the day. Why three, in Jun's case? Wait—Kasai, Yoshirou, Satoshi—there were three. Shion's three sins were plotting with Kasai, secretly working for Yoshirou at Angel Mort, and spending time with Satoshi Hojo. It should follow, then, that paying for her three sins would ensure the safety of the three men we cared about.
"Will—will you really let them go if do this?" Jun asked, sounding almost crazed with fear. "Mion, promise me! If I rip out my nails, you'll let them all go! Promise!"
"This is your way of taking responsibility," Mion rejoined apathetically. "This is in no way meant to be a trade. If you don't want to do it, then…"
Mion began walking toward the door to the back room again. Her long, thick hair swished in its ponytail. She knew it would be her job as heiress to silence Yoshirou and Kasai in whatever way suited her.
"Wait!" Jun implored. "Please wait. I'll do it."
***Removal of Sins***
My consciousness as Shion was returning. The personality of Jun was slowly fading off. When I had become Shion again, I had no idea what was going on, but my left arm was on the table, fixed to a denailing torture device. Mion was fastening the straps to hold my wrist and hand steady. Oryo watched from the stone dais behind us. I tried to figure out what was going on. Why was I doing this again?
I slid my pinky forward, sweating profusely. I let the thin, double-pronged chip of metal slide under my nail as far as it would go without inflicting terrible pain. I tried to think, but I was sick to my stomach and panting just to get my breath. Why was I doing this? Uncle Yoshirou? Kasai? Did they have something to do with this? Then an image crossed my mind: the sight of a golden-haired boy smiling at me with dark brownish-purple eyes.
Satoshi! Of course, this was all for Satoshi. I would remove my nails to remove my sins, and save Kasai, Yoshirou, and Satoshi all at once! I reached for the lever. My breath came in wheezing gasps. My right hand gripped the lever. Sweat dripped off my face and splattered onto the hardwood table. I took a deep breath, screamed, and pulled the lever down.
The metal chip under my nail was propelled upward in one single, forceful movement, taking my nail off with it. The pain made me so lightheaded I almost collapsed. Despite my best efforts, I began to weep piteously. It felt worse than any broken bone or muscle sprain I had ever experienced. First, the dreadful feeling of ripping and tearing. Second, the burning sting of the exposed skin and bleeding cuticles. Third, the throbbing ache that made me feel like my pinky had been crushed by a metal bat.
My voice was light, broken, and breathless. "Mion," I pleaded, "Please stop this. Please forgive me. You know… you know this really hurts. …This really fucking hurts, Mion…"
"Are you giving up already?" my sister asked coldly.
I was starting to panic, but I kept trying to stay strong. "No, no, I'm not giving up. Don't hurt anybody else. I can do this. This is easy. This doesn't hurt at all."
With a scream, I slammed my right arm downward to hit the lever again. My arm, however, trembled on the way down, and only hit the edge of the lever. The pain was unbearable, and my head swam when I saw what I had done. Only part of my ring-finger's nail had come loose; it remained attached to my finger by its base. This was probably worse than having the whole thing yanked off.
"Hmm, you missed," Oryo remarked indifferently.
"No way," I breathed. "You mean I have to do it again?" I shrieked, "No! Iya da!"
"Shion, you're almost done." Mion took hold of my shoulders and tried to steady me as I thrashed like a stricken animal. "Try your best to finish it!"
"No!" I screeched, blinded by the tortuous pain. "I can't do it! It hurts! No! No! No!"
Defeated, I let my head fall onto Mion's chest. I was screaming and weeping. I didn't understand why my pain-tolerant personality, Haruka, had not appeared. My other personalities hadn't helped me. I desperately pleaded for Mion's sympathy one more time as I cried in her arms.
I became vaguely aware that Mion had looked over and nodded at the three Sonozaki agents who had entered the room a few minutes ago. They walked over to me. Mion let me go.
I kept repeating "Iyada" as one agent restrained my free arm, another put a hood over my head, and a third stood ready to pull the lever on the nail remover. I screamed to the top of my lungs as the agents took over the torture. I remember them slamming the lever down and pulling off the rest of my ring-finger nail. That's all I remember. I was unconscious when they removed the nail of my middle finger.
I remained out cold as Kasai was released and sent to take me home. The appalling torture had dragged well into the night. I would not awaken till the next morning.
