16: Wasurerareta Yakusoku: Forgotten Promise

Author's Note: the death of Satoko is pretty much disturbing no matter what your standard of "horrible" might be. For that reason, I've set aside this chapter for the fate of Satoko, to make it easy to skip over if desired. I don't write truly gruesome horror, but I also don't try to make the little girl's death any less violent than it is in the anime. If you want to skip to chapter 17, all you need to know is that Satoko was killed and Shion continues to lose her mind.

I felt incredibly tired as the search for Satoko dragged on. Many people don't know, but depending on individual neurochemistry, lack of sleep can sometimes lead to symptoms of psychosis. People with stable chemistry and healthy amounts of neurotransmitters may stay up three nights in a row and only experience fatigue and some slight visual distortion. Others with less healthy neurochemistry (such as those suffering mental disorders) may start experiencing paranoia, delusions, or even hallucinations after staying awake three nights. Some experience drastic mood swings and impulsivity after only one night without sleep.

As for me, I had only slept two hours last night. The nocturnal hours had been spent "searching" for Kimiyoshi, torturing him for information, and throwing his body down the well. The night before that, I hadn't slept at all, having accidentally killed Oryo and leaving my sister locked in the underground dungeon. Now, on this third night, Rika had died. The "search" for Rika was extending past midnight. My thoughts, as a result, were about as clear as mud.

"Thank you for checking the swamp area," I said to a couple of the villagers. "The ladies have prepared a batch of miso soup, so please take a break and help yourselves."

"Excuse me," one man interjected. "Who was it that first discovered Rika was missing?"

"Oh, it was Kei-chan," I half-lied.

"That's awfully suspicious," the villager said.

Wait, I thought. Had I just made Keiichi the bad guy with that one remark? People would suspect him now, especially since he wasn't born in Hinamizawa. Why did I feel happy about that? Wasn't Keiichi my friend? Then why did part of me rejoice at the thought of him being a suspect? Some part of me must have known that it was me, after all, who was guilty.

"What a pleasant smell," said Detective Oishi, sauntering into view and shattering my short-lived hope. "Is that pork miso? I'd love to join you for that meal."

He smiled at me knowingly, the same way he had after my fingernails were ripped out. Did he suspect me, after all? Did he have a reason to? He just might. Damn that Oishi, I thought. And then, as I headed home that night at three A.M., my will and mind faltered. I couldn't sleep even when I tried. The hallucinations of Satoshi's ghost—or Oyashiro, if he existed—drove me further up the wall. In my weakness, I had no choice but to let Haruka take over again. I would have fought against her harder if I knew that Satoko was in the dungeon, but as Shion, I couldn't remember a thing.

When I became vaguely aware of myself as Haruka, a smile crossed our face. It was time to deal with the Hojo.

***Satoko's Fate***

Haruka prepared with anticipation. She dressed in the traditional outfit of the male family head: cream-colored kimono and divided hakama bottoms with a teal obi tied in front. Our weapon this time was the hunting knife Mari found earlier. Haruka walked to the center of the dungeon, where a strong, thick, wooden cross stood.

Tied to the cross like some little figure on a crucifix was little Satoko. Her wrists, upper arms, and feet were tied to the cross so she was held in place with her arms stretched out to either side. A final strap was fixed around her waist to further restrict her movement. Haruka had made sure it was cruelly tight.

Satoko had been hanging there on the cross for several hours straight, probably awaiting her death with dread. However, when Haruka showed up, standing before her with a smile, Satoko still looked defiant. The last thing Haruka had done was show her that Rika was dead. Satoko glared at her captor boldly.

"Murderer!" she shouted us. "Rika, and Grandpa Kimiyoshi! How dare you murder them?!" She closed her eyes in grief. "Rika…" she murmured. Then her eyes flew wide open. "And what are you going to do to me?"

"I'll simply kill you," Haruka replied with a cruel smile.

"No!" screamed Mion, as Satoko began shaking in terror. "Please don't kill Satoko!"

"Oh, NOW you beg for mercy," chuckled Haruka. "You didn't beg for Satoshi-kun. That's your crime."

Without further ado, and with a surge of pleasure almost like a drug, Haruka struck. She drove her knife into the meat of Satoko's left arm. The little girl screamed, and when the knife was pulled back slightly, blood began spurting from the broken artery. Haruka drove the blade deeper and then twisted it to cause even more pain. Satoko could only groan and gasp.

"Please let Satoko go!" exclaimed Mion from her cell. "I don't care what happens to me. Just please let Satoko go!"

Haruka talked over Satoko's cries. "Seeing you shout for mercy, Mion, is just like looking at myself a year ago. But no matter how much you cry, no one hears and no one will be saved."

This time Haruka drove the knife into her victim's chest, carefully avoiding the heart area in order to prolong the pain and suffering. Satoko cried out piteously as blood poured from the wound. Her eyes were big as plates, her face frozen in terror with her mouth hanging open. Shudders of pain shook her body, making her jerk and twitch against the restraints.

"STOP!" Mion screamed, sick, and white as a sheet with horror. "Stop, stop, stop!"

"How about this?" said Haruka, pulling the knife out of her victim again. "Mion, say that you're sorry a thousand times. Then I'll let Satoko go."

Of course, Haruka had no intention of keeping such a bargain. She was intent on killing Satoko tonight. Mion must have known that. But what could the poor girl do? As long as there was any chance at all of saving Satoko, she had to play along. Resisting the urge to vomit, Mion grasped the bars of her cell. She began speaking rapidly and shakily.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

With a grunt of satisfaction, Haruka stabbed Satoko's right arm. Again the little girl screamed, and Mion's voice rose to a shrill shout as she desperately continued apologizing. Haruka only felt alive when causing pain to others. She laughed, enjoying herself.

The amount of blood running from Satoko's three wounds was surprising. The girl could bleed to death in ten minutes at this rate. The grunts and moans of pain from Satoko had rapidly switched to high-pitched squeals. Tears fell from her wide eyes as she suffered, unable to move.

"It looks like crying really is your forte," Haruka said in a pleased voice. "Is your brother Nii Nii going to come help you when you cry?"

Satoko gave a strangled shout as Haruka stabbed her right wrist. The knife went clean through and stuck into the wood of the cross. We yanked the blade out, causing a spattering of blood. Satoko's eyes looked empty. She was weeping in a subdued and high pitched tone, and her clothes were soaked in blood. The blood loss must be starting to make her dizzy, and the pain was such that she could barely remain conscious to endure it. Mion had stopped shouting "I'm sorry" and started throwing up in her cell.

"Satoko, can you hear my voice?" She didn't answer, so Haruka slapped her face. "Listen up, you C***! Do you understand your crime? Do you know how much you hurt Satoshi-kun?"

"Nii nii," Satoko squeaked at the mention of her brother.

"That's right. All you ever did was cry 'Nii Nii.' Satoshi came to your aid each time you cried. Did you never consider what a burden that was for Satoshi-kun? In the end, Satoshi wasn't your hero, nor was he immortal. And neither are you."

Haruka held the bloodied knife before Satoko's terrified eyes for a moment. Then she brandished the weapon and dug the blade into Satoko's thigh. It was high time we actually killed this one, Haruka thought. She was going to lose consciousness and die of blood loss shortly anyway, so we might as well make her last moments as horrifying as possible. As Satoko screamed, Haruka stabbed her again and again. She covered the right side of Satoko's torso and shoulder with five holes. The joy and thrill of it was almost too much for Haruka to handle.

"What's wrong?" she asked mockingly. "Have I hit all the nerves? Have you lost all feeling in the right side? Alright, then, let's go back to the left."

Much to Haruka's surprise, Satoko did not yell when the blade pierced the center of her left hand. She had stopped crying. Some slight light had returned weakly to her eyes. Haruka found this unpleasant.

"Are you keeping quiet because you think your screams will bring me pleasure?"

"I thought the same thing as you," Satoko spoke breathlessly. Hearing her speak in her condition shocked us into silence. Then again, it wasn't unheard of—in their last moments, some people turn out to be extremely strong. "Nii Nii disappeared because I was too much of a burden," the little girl elaborated. "It must have been painful for Nii Nii when I depended on him so much, but I didn't know how to stop myself."

"This is a bit surprising," rejoined Haruka coolly. "I wasn't expecting you to be conscious of your crime."

In her cell, Mion crawled forward again. She had heard Satoko's words and saw the surprise on my face. Perhaps she had begun to hope that Haruka might let Satoko go after all. My ignorant sister must not have realized that it was already too late. Not even the best doctors could save the little girl now.

***Satoko's Courage***

"Nii Nii will come back," Satoko stated with astounding strength. "When he comes back, I'll show him how much I've grown up. I'll show him that I don't need to hide behind him anymore."

We laughed at Satoko's near-death delusion. "Oh yeah, haha, I hope Satoshi comes back too."

"Nii Nii will definitely come back!" insisted Satoko, knowing that she was being mocked. "I'll wait patiently for him until then. When he comes back, I'll apologize to him for what I've done! Listen, I won't lose heart until that day. No matter how bad things get, I won't depend on Nii Nii. Nothing will change if I cry, so I'll stand my ground no matter what!"

This dumbfounding show of true bravery felt, to Haruka, like an annoying insect. The smile vanished from her face and she looked deadly. Haruka told the little bitch not to get cocky.

"If you want to stab me," Satoko continued, struggling to keep her voice going, "then do it as much as you want! But I won't cry. I won't! Absolutely not!"

Haruka angrily stabbed her again. Once, twice, thrice… we lost count and kept going, but Satoko was numb to the pain. She did not shout or whimper. The light in her eyes was fading, but she kept speaking in a weak voice.

"Are you watching me, Nii Nii? Your Satoko has grown to be this strong. I won't lose heart, no matter what happens to me." She shuddered as the knife continually pierced her small body. "This won't break me. This isn't enough to break me. This won't make me cry!"

The torturer decided she had had enough. It was unpleasant to see a victim turn confident at the end. Haruka shouted in rage and stabbed Satoko's throat. As she pulled the blade out of the flesh, she made sure to hit the Carotid artery. Blood spurted up and splattered against the little girl's face, as well as running down her neck and to her chest. Mion gasped, and Satoko fell silent.

Unable to speak now, Satoko lost consciousness. Her eyes rolled back. Her body stopped its anguished twitching. The little girl would never wake up. In just seconds, her heart would stop forever. Even though she had killed her prisoner painfully, taking about fifteen minutes with it, Haruka felt like she had lost. Somehow, Satoko had beaten her. Haruka grew weak, while Shion and Mari struggled to take control of us.

For a moment, I came to as Shion, and I saw Satoko's corpse. She was a deathly shade of white where she hung on the cross, body littered with slits and holes. I knew at that point that everything was my fault. I had failed to keep Haruka under control. The Demon inside me had destroyed my life and ended the lives of four others. A mad fit took over me, I heard Oyashiro's footsteps, and I felt the ghost of Satoshi watching me. Why did it feel like something was eating away at my brain? Rational thought was impossible.

"Satoshi-kun," I said hoarsely, "I was waiting for you, too. I've been waiting since we last spoke!"

My mind played back memories of my last meetings with Satoshi. The very last time we spoke was in front of the toy store, when I protected him from Oishi by giving a false alibi. That time, Satoshi hadn't said much. He seemed out of sorts. When was the last time we spoke when Satoshi was feeling like himself? Of course, I thought, it was that phone call. Satoshi asked me to take Satoko to Watanagashi while he handled an issue at work. He had also said something strange at the end…

"Mion," I remembered him saying. "…Please, protect Satoko."

Upon remembering this, I let out a bloodcurdling scream. Not only were my other personalities guilty of multiple murders—and thus I was guilty too—but we had also gone and killed Satoshi's precious little sister. Haruka hadn't known about the promise to protect Satoko. As a result, I failed to do the one and only thing Satoshi ever asked of me. If by chance Satoshi was alive, he would never want to have anything to do with me again. I was so horrified by everything, I barely noticed that I wet myself.

I felt like weeping, but… as I had always told Satoko, and as Oryo had always told me, nothing can be changed by crying. So I laughed. I laughed hysterically. The parasite had almost complete control of my mind. My throat was so itchy I could barely tolerate it. At last, at around four in the morning, I collapsed into sleep upstairs. I already knew the game was over. I no longer had a plan. I simply wanted, more than anything, to live out the violent urges that this parasite plagued me with.