Title: Song and Dance || Part: I || Series: Boundless Kakera, Chapter 6
Fandom: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Synopsis: Upon return of the dastardly uncle, Satoko cries out in despair. Springing into action, Keiichi steps in and moves to her plea.
Notes: Based on the new Tataridamashi-hen with hints of Tatarigoroshi-hen and Minagoroshi-hen but doesn't follow the arcs entirely
Pairing: KeiToko (Keiichi/Satoko, M/F, vague).
Posted: January 31, 2021
It hasn't been that long since Keiichi settled into Hinamizawa, though already he takes a liking to this village. Carpets of greenery roll on the vast land, basking in the openness that's so unlike those cramped, cruddy streets and skyscrapers back in Tokyo. The imagery will forever be etched into his mind whenever he reminisces about his time in Hinamizawa.
He enjoys the air—the way it whistles along the rhythm of the swishing grass, how refreshing it is for him to breathe. The air's unpolluted by the odor of city streets and busy cars, so it feels like it's cleaning his lungs.
Keiichi hasn't realized how much he's yearned for the countryside over city life until experiencing it himself. Since his arrival, he's spent his free time outdoors because of this.
The most distinguishing attribute of Hinamizawa, though, has to be the cicadas. When they cry, it's eerily soothing and he can't explain why.
The tune does seem ominous—unsettling, even, almost like there is more to something then what it seems (whatever that something is...).
But to him, it chimes, "Home sweet home", as though it meant to remind him that Hinamizawa is a place he's lived in for so long.
Longer than he knows.
No, must be just him. Whatever the case, at least the village has good soundtrack for him in the morning and evening.
Lunch period rolls around and Keiichi sits with his friends at school.
He and the girls salivate at the plethora of delectable treats stocked in Mion's bento. The snacks look like they originated from a bountiful feast.
Damn it, what he wouldn't give to wolf down on them!
Mion merely waves off their ravenous stares, chuckling.
"The mayor and his friends came over to drink and hang out last night, so I swiped the leftover food for lunch today."
Keiichi nods, scrutiny glued to her food, "Should've figured you'd be able to piece together a great lunch."
"Rena's look just as good, too!" Rika chirps.
He tears his eyes off Mion's leftovers. Looking to where the bluenette is gesturing, he instantly agrees. Rena's creations do have a certain charm to them. Many of her fruits and veggies are gingerly cut out to resemble what she deems the cutest animals. He watches Rika stroke the carved apple skin jutting from the corner of the slice. It's shaped like a beetle's antennae.
Rena beams, "Thanks! Not sure if it's as good as Mii-chan's, but I did pour a lot of love into it, and I think that's what matters."
"So, that must be your secret ingredient, then? Love," Mion grins, "If that's the case then my lunch can't compete."
Satoko laughs, "We better learn from their example, Rika."
"And what did Rika-chan make you for lunch, this time, Satok—Woah!" he is taken aback at Satoko's assortment of food. Her and Rika's. Their lunches are well-balanced in nutrients, albeit protein-heavy. It isn't often he sees high-quality meat such as theirs.
He isn't the only one impressed. Rena passes along a look of praise to Rika.
"Rika-chan will make her future husband happy if she keeps this up!"
"I shall have a tight grip on him and his stomach," she does a playful salute.
"Then we have Satoko," Keiichi quips to the blonde in question, "whose yet to grace us with her handiwork."
Naturally, she gets offended. "Bite your tongue. I'm just as qualified as Rika to be a chef."
"Confirm the difference between broccoli and cauliflower. Which of the two is green?"
"Uhh, ermm..."
He stifles his laugh. Her color blindness would never allow her to get the correct answer.
"Surely for someone claiming to hold her own in the kitchen, she would know."
"I do know!" Satoko huffs and racks her brain, pondering, "Broccoli is supposed to be green... but what about that yellow one...?" her cheeks flush when Keiichi cackles. She wails, "You're being mean!"
"Good answer!"
Keiichi ruffles the top of her head. Tufts of her lemon hair bristle against his palms. Any frustration Satoko bears against him dissipates by this point and she's a scarlet, self-conscious mess. He chuckles at her chagrined silence.
Out of the bunch, Satoko's the most interesting to him. She stands out to him as being the loudest and most devious and astute. Not that this is a bad thing; he prefers Satoko like this, in fact. It tells him she isn't afraid to be herself and it speaks volumes when she's expressive of it.
Her antics—springing up snares for him to trigger—certainly are a pain in the ass, but he puts up with it anyway because Satoko's just having fun being who she is. Also, her strong sense of self is enough to make him respect her for it.
Mion feels the need to chime in. She sneers.
"Don't be the pot calling the kettle black, Kei-chan. We know ya can't cook to save your life."
Keiichi is quick to interject and deny her claims (which are a hundred percent true, but he doesn't need Mion of all people knowing that). He lives with the policy to deliver when one's dignity is questioned, and that's what he will do.
At some point during this discussion, Mion challenges him to cook food for himself, and then bring his 'masterpiece' to school, tomorrow. She knows he'll be home alone for the next few days. He did tell them that his parents went to Tokyo to help out a bedridden mentor of his dad's, and that leaves him with nothing to eat but refrigerated food. Mion is certain he'll fail since he can't cheat his way out.
Pride twists his words around, and forces an agreement to the proposal out his lips.
He stands and proudly puffs his chest out, pointing at the sly Mion. "Condemn me to eternal humiliation if I lose, but I won't lose," his eyes narrow, "I'm gonna dish out the best lunch you'll ever see!"
His resolve does not faze her. Mion smirks, "Better not choke on those words, little fledgling."
By then, Satoko fully gathers the crumbs of her composure and stitches them back together. She joins Mion in goading him. Rika and Rena smile fondly at the scene.
Regret piles up on his chest like sacks of rice after pride returns to slumber, as do their taunts. Part of him wants to reconsider his hasty decision, but at the same time he thinks cooking can't be that hard.
...Can it?
When it comes to the art of cooking there is a distinction in watching and doing.
Merely observing does not grant you capabilities to perform the art so easily; it's by truly immersing oneself in the practice and experience that lets them master this talent. Taking the time to do so is just as consequential.
Something Keiichi would have liked to know earlier before messing up, because three minutes screwing around aren't tantamount to Mom's years of working to the bone, feeding her almost-always-famished family.
So from this lesson, Keiichi realizes, yes. Cooking can be hard.
He slumps on the couch with Rika, waiting for Satoko to finish cooking food.
His attempt at vegetable stir fry didn't proceed accordingly. Hell, he nearly got the whole kitchen engulfed in flames. If not for Satoko and Rika's impromptu visit, that inferno would reduce his house to cinders right about now. He frets telling Mom why their ceiling is singed once she and Dad return from their trip, but that will be another worry for another time.
What really bothers him is the scathing reception he had received from Satoko.
He recalls how sharp-tongued Satoko is in her words once she's rescued him from his incompetence. She certainly has the scowl and attitude to back that up, too.
Though there's something off about the way Satoko chastises him. While exasperation is palpable in her words, Keiichi discovers undertones of apprehension, making her voice crack at sporadic intervals. The glint in her eyes flicker, too.
Like she's... worried?
Can't be. Worry isn't a word he'd describe Satoko, a person so sure of herself she only flusters as a pretense for her mischievous ways.
But, how does that explain his observations? Keiichi contemplates this shortly, before heaving a sigh. His mind must be playing tricks. Maybe he's lying to himself subconsciously that Satoko worries for him, just so the pang of shame of nearly burning down his home doesn't gnaw away at him, and he can pretend she isn't fuming currently.
"Satoko's not mad at all."
Violet orbs dart to Rika. Dubious, he raises an eye ridge.
Much to her credit her cheery exterior doesn't waver. She's nonchalant about reading his mind.
Rika explains, "She hasn't done this in a while, so she's having a lot of fun."
His eye twitches when he overhears Satoko grumbling how pathetic he is in the kitchen. So that kind of fun, he grouses internally, Hilarious.
"You remind her of Satoshi, her Nii-Nii; you're even a dead ringer for him."
The last lines take longer for him to register. Soon as he does though he stares blankly at Rika and blinks. Never mind the term Rika used is akin to baby talk, the revelation of an older brother he had not known about until now stuns Keiichi.
He comments, "I didn't know Satoko had an older brother..."
Absentmindedly, she mutters, "Satoko was always this happy when she was with Satoshi."
"Was?" he echoes, stressing the past tense. "What happened?"
"It's complicated."
Keiichi plans to pry more into this Nii-Nii business, but hears Satoko proclaim, "Food's ready!", before he gets the chance to do so.
Rika hops off the couch and on her feet, sauntering towards the dining table to be seated. He frowns at the abrupt end of their conversation, but joins Rika in silence regardless.
When dinner is served he forgets why he's disappointed. Keiichi has no second thoughts scarfing down all this exquisite food before him. Each one that he devours tastes better than the last. Rika enjoys the food, too, though she isn't as wolfish eating it.
The sight of him gulping the miso soup amuses Satoko. She lifts a hand over her smirk in a snobbish manner, cackling.
"Loving the food, Keiichi-san?"
"Yeah!" Keiichi affirms instantly. He sets down the bowl, scrutinizing her with praise. "I was wrong, Satoko. You really are an amazing cook, the best even!"
Satoko stares back at him, looking flabbergasted. His smile falters at this.
This is the second abnormality of Houjou Satoko he's witnessing. First that tincture of concern when she scolds him back in the kitchen, then this hesitancy. She acts as if expecting him not to praise her cooking skills. Is his perception of the blonde skewed? The demure Satoko he's facing is unlike the boastful, conniving Satoko he knows.
"I, uhmm..." he notices her face redden somewhat, "I'm honored by your compliments, but the meal isn't that extravagant. I only made the rice and miso soup. Everything else is store-bought."
"The miso soup and rice are my favorites of this meal, coincidentally. You know your stuff!"
He doesn't lie. Her rice has perfect degrees of fluffiness that's very comfortable for his teeth to sink in, and her miso soup isn't anything he's tasted in his life ever.
The lovely shade of crimson that is blossoming from her cheeks becomes much more apparent.
Satoko turns away from Keiichi, saving face. "Hmph! Well, what matters is that you know I can cook," she huffs.
Rika adds, "It's fun eating together, just like we did with Satoshi."
Like a light switch has been flipped, suddenly Satoko isn't glowing in delight anymore. Another Satoko emerges, taking her place, and Keiichi already disfavors this dark, distant, gloomy counterpart. Then there's that mention of the older brother again.
"Yeah. Makes me question his whereabouts..." she mumbles, crestfallen, before sensing Keiichi's bemused expression. "O-Oh!" her eyes animate, then she's happy again. "Satoshi is my Nii-N—" pausing, Satoko quickly corrects, "no, I mean, my Onii-chan. He, erm, ran away."
"He what?" His brow furrows at this. "And you couldn't go with him?"
"No."
Gloomy Satoko pops in, as subtle shadows cast over her magenta orbs.
But her appearance is momentary. Once she's gone, Happy Satoko makes a return, radiant as ever. "I'm sure he has his reasons, though. He'll come back, I know it!"
Quiet, Keiichi grimaces. A runaway brother. It baffles him how someone can have the audacity to desert their sibling outright, especially one at a tender age. Keiichi doubts the prodigal son will ever return. If he really did leave, then what reason would he have to come back? Satoko? Unlikely, judging his abandonment of her in the first place.
His gaze focuses on the blonde opposite from his side. She's still the same child he knows, but from this new revelation of her and her older brother, he's seeing her in a new light.
Not only expressive and possessing a strong sense of self, but is also self-sufficient without her Nii-Nii. Precocious. Wise beyond her years to be a responsible lady, who, if not for her appearance can easily be mistaken as an adult, what with her cooking skills, and likely so much more.
"Satoko," he stretches a hand out, rubbing her head. This elicits a soft gasp. "I misunderstood you. You're such a strong person."
"I always have been!" is her indignant reply. But Satoko means well.
Her tiny digits timidly work the back of his hand as he pats her.
By the time they're done eating, darkness dims the skies, unveiling an ocean of stars that flood the black heavens.
Keiichi watches Satoko and Rika embark on their bikes. He did make the offer to escort them both home since venturing out during nighttime is dangerous, but they politely declined saying they have nothing to fear if they have each other. He trusts them, so he doesn't argue.
"See you tomorrow," Satoko chirps, then sternly adds, "And brush those teeth before bed!"
"Yeah, yeah."
His answer, though curt, is enough to satisfy Satoko, so she pedals on ahead. Though Rika stays behind for some reason.
"What's wrong, Rika-chan?"
"You earned an A+ today, Keiichi!" Rika applauds, "Clap, clap, clap!"
"Why?"
"Satoko's really happy, I can tell. When you are around her, it's like she's with her Nii-Nii again."
Keiichi strains a smile, "I hope he returns someday." even if I'm sure he won't.
"Satoko and I do too, but until then we only have you. You're the only person who can play the same role Satoshi did..."
Her big, amethyst eyes stare off into the distance of her right, at... at something. He doesn't see anything else, other than the open fields when he traces her fixed look. Rika seems to see something though, and a gut feeling tells him it isn't the greenery.
Keiichi turns to her, ready to ask.
He shivers.
Her eyes are glowing, and they aren't amethyst.
They are blood red.
But then Rika blinks. She makes eye contact with him, and Keiichi gets a better look at her this time, just to be sure.
Amethyst. No glow.
He curbs a sigh. I must be more exhausted than I thought if I'm seeing things, he surmises.
"Keiichi," Rika calls out to him, "I want you to play with Satoko more often. She needs you more than you know. To tell you the truth, that's why we visited today. She couldn't bear the thought of you hanging out to dry without food to eat."
"Rikaaa! Quit lollygagging!"
The two glance around, finding the source of the third voice. They see an impatient Satoko waiting nearby. The lone street light towers above her. From it a beam drenches her skin and garments, dancing along with the shadows clinging onto the contours of her dainty form.
Keiichi and Rika chortle at the pouty look she wears on her face.
"Of course. Nothing would make me happier than seeing Satoko have fun, like today," he says.
"You should know, you've done this before."
"Yeah."
He pauses. The word slips off his tongue faster than how he grasps its meaning. Just as startling is Rika's parting statement. It's an absurd claim, yet he believes her words to be true somehow!
Keiichi has no memories of Satoko ever having dinner with him, but the light-hearted and peaceful ambience behind today's events are familiar to him. He just can't place his finger on it. Seeing how Rika seems to know, he prepares to ask that she elaborate.
Alas she's already accompanying Satoko to make the journey home, so he wounds up gaping like a koi fish desperate for air instead.
The girls bike away into the distance pressing farther and farther and farther until darkness devours them. He can still hear their laughter, carefree and bliss as they depart. Particularly those childish giggles from Houjou Satoko, which blares the loudest between them.
At this Keiichi smiles.
Screw the cicadas. Satoko's happiness is music to his ears.
Steadfast at the honorable request of Rika, Keiichi spends more of his time with Satoko.
They exchange banter every now and then like always, except this time, it feels customary—like they're teasing one another as a pair of close siblings, rather than as friends going at each other's throats.
It isn't just that. The longer Keiichi's stuck with Satoko the more he learns. She gives him advice on grocery shopping every time they go to Sevens Mart, such as limited-time sales and how to exploit that to get foods at half price, instead of relying on family packs.
She also tries teaching him the basics of cooking, in case she, or Mom cannot be there for him. He isn't making great progress, though Satoko is patient, which is another lesson he keeps in mind.
After all patience does lead to the best things in life (like actually being able to cook!), which is worth waiting for, as they say.
The time they spend together leads to recurrent visits from her to his house, cooking him meals out of her own accord. And he couldn't be any more grateful of her for that. He loves gobbling up all her meals, and he can tell she enjoys cooking him food just as much. Outside of that, they joke, laugh, chat; pretty much anything else they can do, they do to get closer.
Barely a week and he's never felt this attached to Satoko. In fact, he questions if the days have been that short, because it feels like this is something they've done in years.
"You should know, you've done this before."
Ever since that night Rika's words constantly replay in his mind. This piques his interest because of the rumors he picks up revolving around her: like how she can predict the future, how she's the guardian deity of Hinamizawa who underwent rebirth. Something along those lines. Rika is idolized for being the resident miko, but he's never considered her to be that much a phenomenon.
Still, it leaves food for thought, begging the questions of whether or not these rumors correlate to their conversation back then. Or if Rika have actually foreseen the bond growing between him and Satoko. He may never know...
What he does know, however, is that he likes Satoko.
Satoko brings out the fun in ways he never could, and when she does he has the time of his life. She's the best friend he always wanted.
Her voice is like music, too. Listening to the blonde hum, or talk, or use speech in any other form mesmerizes him. It pulls Keiichi into her world—joy, vibrancy, utopia; he experiences everything Satoko does the longer she continues singing, and he loves the world that she presents through it.
Even when Keiichi's buried under pots and pans in his bathroom and she laughs at her handiwork all the while, he joins her, crooning the tune of her euphoria.
This action doesn't go unnoticed by Satoko.
"What is it, Keiichi-san?"
Sitting, Keiichi smiles up at her. "I'm an only child, so moments like this are nice."
Satoko blinks, her cheeks flaming hot red.
"W-Whatever you say," now she folds her arms, unheeding the falter in articulation. "Anyway, your parents still aren't gonna be home anytime soon, correct?"
His head inclines to signal 'yes'.
"If you like I'd... I'd be willing to stay here with you, for the time being."
"Eh?!"
Magenta orbs cast downward, she grows fascinated in watching her right foot pivot. Her arms retreat to her back, and her fidgety hands couple themselves together. She shuffles.
"I-I mean!" she slurs and splutters, "You're so, so far from mastering the art of cooking! Somebody's gotta be here to be sure you don't kill yourself over it. We certainly can't have you start another house fire after all!"
Her patronizing words are hollow; the reason behind her request delves far deeper than a concern over his cooking skills. Keiichi knows this, and for that he sees through her obvious bluff, made from her plucking out lame excuses at the drop of a hat.
He understands her intentions.
And it warms his heart.
Keiichi approaches Satoko. Crouching, he runs a hand through her hair, flashing a grin. He drifts off to space further and further the longer he stares, into those bright ponds matching in color with the blush of her flustered countenance. Barely can he get his words across.
"Satoko, I really would like if you—"
Brrrring!
The sound of the house telephone anchors him back to the real world.
Wood croaks from the stress of his nimble footfalls. Faster than light, Keiichi reaches for the phone.
"Hi, Keiichi! It's Mom. We finished up earlier than we anticipated, so we'll return home tomorrow morning. See you then!"
Click!
Keiichi turns to Satoko, who has been eavesdropping from behind.
But the person who expressed her sensitive side to him earlier doesn't greet him.
The disappointment on her face introduces him to a ghost of a familiar person he wishes to never see again.
The music stops.
"Kami... it hurts..."
"This is nothing! What you did to Satoko... hurts worse than this!"
The baseball bat plunges into a cracking skull.
Keiichi wakes up with a start. That's the third consecutive nightmare, counting today.
Sweat foams around every pore as he pants. He looks down at his hands, moist and twitchy. His fingers grapple air as if trying to get hold of something.
The feel of smooth, cold metal.
He shakes his head shrugging off the unease. It's just a bad dream and nothing more.
Nonetheless he broods. Not Mion or even Rena could lift up his spirits as they meet up and amble en route to school. He has seen neither hide nor hair of Satoko for some time. Rika did admit that she's bedridden, having succumbed to a heavy cold and that's it. Everybody else accepts this answer. Except him. Something about that information is off.
Like why did Rika look so depressed? Why dramatic over a simple cold?
Rika also seems distant. She's not as talkative now, and has estranged herself from their group outright. They are neglecting club activities due to this.
The trip to school has mostly been dead silence. Mion and Rena are the chatty sort usually, though the tension affects them greatly like him, thus they don't say much.
"The cicadas sure are noisy today," Rena comments more to herself than either of them.
He lends an ear to the cicadas.
It hurts to listen, so he blocks them out.
Upon arriving at class minutes before lecture begins Keiichi discovers five empty seats, three reserved for them, and the other two meant for the only people he can't find right now. Satoko and Rika, both absent. He worries. This isn't like them to be tardy. Is Satoko still ill even after the last three days? Maybe Rika caught the same bug Satoko did.
He glances at his two companions. Rena is just as confused.
But Mion spaces out. She's seated, staring off to nowhere particularly while wearing this lost look on her face.
"Mion?"
The girl in question flinches, before looking back at him. Her emerald eyes droop upon seeing his periwinkle variant. His words get lodged in his throat at what he notices beneath the glint in her gaze; a glimpse of somberness. He opens his mouth ready to ask about her behavior, but the words still won't come out.
Mion turns away once she realizes there's going to be no discussion.
Keiichi sulks for letting the proverbial cat catch his tongue. Bizarre though. He's never had issues articulating before. Furthermore he gets a hunch that it isn't necessary to ask Mion what's wrong.
Almost like, he already knows...
It's at the tip of his tongue.
Sadly he has no time to figure it out because Chie-sensei emerges from the door, sauntering to the center where the chalkboard is.
"Morning, class," she studies everyone present, mainly Mion. "Will you get us started, Sonozaki-san?"
"R-Right!" Mion snaps out of her thoughts, "Please rise!"
As class representative, she stands readily, preparing to initiate the usual bow they do before starting lecture. However, Mion is stopped by another visitor entering the room, as are the rest of the class.
Head down, obscuring her face, Rika quietly makes her way to her seat.
Chie-sensei is the first to voice her concern.
"Furude-san, you're late. Where's Houjou-san?"
"Satoko might be a little late today."
Suspicion tugs down the corners of his lips. Rika sounds more monotone and despondent this time. She can't bring herself to stare Chie-sensei dead in the eye.
"Rika-chan?" Keiichi pipes up.
She hears him call her name and they engage in eye contact. Keiichi tries not to flinch over this startling resemblance Rika has with Mion. Both have those same glints in their eyes matching with their grim, pensive expressions. Why is it familiar?
Then it clicks.
The sound of footsteps slapping wood reverberates down the corridor.
Satoko shrieks, scampering to the nearest corner of the classroom.
"U-Uncle!" she crumples to her knees, holding her head. "It's uncle!"
Keiichi and his peers surround Satoko, witnessing the mental breakdown unfold. Even the culprit of the footsteps, Principal Kaieda, stares on terror-stricken as he steps in.
While Satoko goes howling her head off, Rika tends to Satoko, cradling her. That does little to ease her.
The despair oozing out of Satoko... those lamenting, defeated faces of Rika, Mion, and all his friends; it haunts him.
"Uncle's come! Come to take me home!" Satoko wails, "Nii-Nii, help me! Nii-Nii!"
"Satoko's uncle," he blurts out, "Bastard took her home, didn't he?"
The venom and hatred in those words leave a bitter taste in his mouth, nearly making Keiichi vomit. He dismisses the astonished stares of the class thrown his way and instead fixates on Rika.
The Furude girl gapes, trembles, then barrels into his chest, sobbing.
Keiichi lingers in the corridor beside Rika. His shirt's all wrinkled, doused in two spots of hot tears, making the cotton fabric soggy. Rika didn't stop her weeping until several minutes after. Their teacher has been kind enough to let him usher Rika out of the room, comforting her while she tends to placate her panicking students.
"So, you remember."
Her words barely reach Keiichi from the way she murmurs. She's perched atop the windowsill. Bloodshot eyes peer distantly into the front yard of their campus, shying away from eye contact with him.
He can't help scratching the nape of his neck.
"I think so? The information I got—it's...scattered. But I think I can understand, Satoko is in peril."
"Yes," Rika confirms, "Grave peril. Satoko was never ill. Teppei lied, keeping her around the house. It is already beginning to get severe. I noticed bruises scabbed over her shoulder, thighs and side of the neck as I caught her grocery shopping for him yesterday."
"You mean to tell me these past few days, Satoko has been with—?!"
"Yes."
His fists ball up, clenching so firmly his palms nearly bleed from how his nails are digging into his skin.
There's a slam made by the side window of a house he can't recognize.
Keiichi gasps, looking at the splotches of purple on Satoko's skin. He instantly seizes her shoulders, causing her to drop her groceries, and demands to know what happened. He's promptly pulled back by someone, a bespectacled, brunet man telling him to calm down. Kantoku (Irie), the guy running the Hinamizawa Fighters?
But Satoko brushes off his concerns, hollowly smiling.
"Just now, you looked like my real Nii-Nii. I thought you were him."
Staring into those dull magenta eyes, he's not reassured.
He shakes his head. The imagery of Satoko, whose appearance accurately depicts Rika's description, is the last thing he wants to see. It does nothing but make him angrier.
Immersed in his ire, Keiichi doesn't sense Mion joining their presence until she speaks up.
"The rumors of Teppei's reappearance really are true. I didn't want to believe it when someone in the neighborhood council addressed this, so I chose not to say anything, but now..."
Keiichi rounds on the dejected Mion, who he sees standing beside Rena, similarly solemn.
"You planned on being elusive about this?!"
"Calm down, Keiichi-kun!" Rena admonishes.
His teeth grits, but he doesn't say anything otherwise.
"How'd you know about Teppei, anyway, let alone him coming back?" Mion inquiries, suspicious.
Before he can respond, Rika cuts in, "I told Keiichi everything, prior to today; Teppei, the abuse, Satoshi's disappearance. He has the right to know."
He sends Rika a grateful look for that smooth lie, which Mion and Rena are none the wiser. Mion nods, not pushing her suspicions further. As she backs off he stares down to his feet. If the premonitions he's got really are true, as Rika confirms, who knows what this will entail for Satoko.
"Don't worry, Keiichi-kun," he hears Rena assure, "Chie-sensei decided to visit the Houjou residence and check up on Satoko-chan after school today. She's alerting the principal about this issue too, as we speak. We should be patient until then."
Keiichi grunts, begrudging to reply, "Fine."
"You say Satoko-chan might come to school late today, Rika-chan?" Mion asks. When Rika nods she looks pleased. "Good, we can at least see her current state for ourselves. Let's head back to class and wait for her and Chie-sensei."
She and Rena depart, but Keiichi doesn't follow suit. He seizes Rika's arm right as she's about to join the others.
"Rika-chan, has-has this—" he gestures around him, "occurred before?"
The bluenette closes her eyes and sighs, "It has. In another world not unlike this one."
He laughs bitterly, "Funny, I always hear the elders here gossip about you being a seer. Guess there's some truth, just not in the way anyone expects. So, does this mean we can save Satoko?"
"We can."
"How do we?"
"I cannot tell you. The other you in that world told me fate is like a wet sheet of paper you can tear through, easy to destroy. That is what makes it fickle, though. Telling you may do more harm than good in the future. Sorry, you will have to figure it out yourself."
Keiichi scowls.
"You've done this once, yet you won't tell me how to repeat it."
Her eyes widen in genuine shock. "Keiichi, this isn't like you to rely on predetermined destiny."
"Predetermined destiny? Screw that, I only care for Satoko!" he points an accusatory finger at Rika. "You're the one who suggested I be there for her, but how can I do that if you, and Mion, and possibly everyone else keeps their damn mouth shut, refusing to do anything to help?! If there's information you have that can save Satoko, then talk."
Rika pinches the bridge of her nose. "You are heading down a slippery slope."
"If it means meeting Satoko down those depths of hell, I will pull her out and save her."
"Dammit, Keiichi..."
Quietly she hisses out an expletive at his response. Keiichi is caught off guard that Rika, a child, would ever use such profane language. He then hears her grumbling about regretting the request she made on that night, saying she got him too involved or whatever. Not that he minds, Satoko's well-being is all that matters.
"Fine," she grunts in relent. "Let us compromise, I won't relay events of that world, but, I'm willing to give you advice that can push us to achieve the happy ending we got there."
Seeing that as fair, he agrees.
"Good. What you should do is trust your friends."
He frowns over her vague words, "Like Mion and Rena, who skirt around the issue and let Satoko suffer? What good will that do?"
"Change your attitude, you will know when that time comes. Your double certainly did. That's how he helped us win."
Rika turns to depart, then pauses for a moment, pondering. She looks back at him and adds, "Also, beware the fat pig who feeds on conspiracies. He is not a nice man."
This time Keiichi is puzzled. If Rika hadn't sounded serious there, he would have guessed she's pulling his leg.
Rika has zero intention to elaborate further nor to give Keiichi more advice, so she leaves.
"Satoko! You're here!"
Keiichi shoots up from his seat. By then, lunch period has just begun, but better late than never. True to his exclamations, Satoko makes her presence known.
Strangely, there's another person adjacent to her left, an elderly man with a cigarette lit up.
"Ooishi," Rika intones, appearing displeased. Keiichi notices this.
Mion stares at the pair, also feeling the same way as Rika, while Rena ignores the man and observes Satoko in worry, exactly like the rest of his other classmates who wisely stay silent.
Satoko smiles faintly, "Why so worried, everyone? I was merely running errands for Uncle."
"Nffu-fu-fu!" Ooishi chuckles, "Awfully tardy to class during a school day. No need to panic, Houjou-san's safe and sound now that I escorted her here, though not without quest— ...ah, never mind. It's nothing of importance."
Keiichi eyes Ooishi suspiciously. He is a tad overweight, and has this weird vibe to him that rubs him off the wrong way. But when he recalls the discussion with Rika back in the corridor he comes to discover the true meaning behind her metaphor.
Beware the fat pig who feeds on conspiracies.
He jolts when 'Fat Pig' becomes aware of him and acknowledges, "What's this? I've never seen you around these parts before."
"I'm Maebara, Maebara Keiichi," he introduces, weary of this man.
"Oh I see," Ooishi smirks and strokes his chin. "Tell me, Maebara-san, have you heard of Oyashiro-sama and the curse?"
That last bit piques his interests (and he's tempted to ask), but Mion not so much.
"We appreciate your assistance, Detective. Now, leave," she interjects brusquely.
Ooishi sends the ponytailed girl a knowing smile.
"Insistent on my departure, aren't you, Sonozaki-san."
"Smoking is prohibited on school grounds."
Pinching the tobacco rod using his index and middle fingers, 'Fat Pig' guffaws.
"Of course, silly me, forgetting. My apologies," while leaving, Ooishi tosses a side glance and sneers, "We'll see each other again," he eyes Keiichi, "And Maebara-san, hopefully you'll be wiser than Sonozaki-san not to make enemies around these parts."
Seconds later Ooishi is gone, and the miasma of cigarettes wafts along with him.
Mion huffs, "Do not mind him, Kei-chan. Ooishi-san is the detective of the Okonomiya Police Station. He takes things too seriously, so he has a penchant for unnerving people. Threatening them, too."
Witnessing the display for himself, Keiichi believes her. That Ooishi, quite the shady character to disturb even the outgoing Mion.
Enough about him. He redirects his focus to Satoko. Deathly quiet, she hasn't budged an inch from where she stood beside Ooishi earlier.
"Satoko?"
The blonde maintains her silence. She tries heading to her locker, but he refuses to have any of that. His hand clasping on her shoulder. Ire bottles up within him.
"Satoko, did that geezer upset you? I'm gonna have some words with him if he has!"
He feels Satoko tremble under his hold.
Rena tries separating his hand off from her shoulder. Her voice softly murmurs, "Enough, Keiichi-kun... Don't scare her..."
But Keiichi presses, "You aren't alone; I am here, if you need me. You told me about your brother, the one that ran away, remember? I promise I won't do the same! I won't abandon you like that coward."
"Keiichi-kun!" this time Rena's words are sharp and firm.
Satoko finally looks him directly in the eye. Those sparkling, magenta orbs that he yearns to see again are dull, shaded with a dirty purple, and contracting. The grief plastered on her face tells him Satoko is close to bursting into tears.
Aware that he's crossing boundaries, Keiichi backs off, and readies an apology.
Only to choke on his words at a peculiar sight he notices.
A bruise.
Keiichi gasps, looking at the splotch of purple on Satoko's skin. It's only over the side of her neck, barely concealed by her collar, but it is there. Then, a memory. Rika told him about this. It isn't just one, but two more on the thigh and shoulder. He can't find those two, since her school outfit eclipses them, but no doubt in his mind that they're there, too.
He instantly seizes her shoulders again, "Satoko, how did you get that bruise?! Oi!"
Rena grabs Keiichi, forcing him and Satoko apart more harshly than the previous. As she tells him to calm down, Mion and Rika grimace. No, he doesn't need her to say anything, on second thought. There is only one other person in his list of despicable people who could have done this and it isn't Ooishi.
That bastard uncle!
Satoko brushes off his concerns, hollowly smiling.
"Just now, you looked like my real Nii-Nii. I thought you were him."
Hearing those statements he tenses. Déjà Vu, they call it; that's what he must be feeling. Unexpectedly, her remarks do not deter him like in that other world.
He knows this has happened before. It's the same old song and like the same old song, he wishes to do the same old dance, with Satoko. Like a gentleman, he makes the offer to the lady first.
"...Satoko, may I pat your head?"
A bob of her head is the closest thing to a 'yes' he gets.
Keiichi rests a hand on her head without a second thought. Considerate, he caresses it delicately, not wanting to give Satoko a migraine after everything that she's enduring. The forest of lemon locks occasionally tangle with his fingers but they don't clog up. They pass through like how the morning breeze weaves through his body, the sensation of touch not lost but accepted in the flow of movement.
"I am so proud of you for being strong, despite everything now. That's why I'm rubbing your head."
"Thanks," she whispers.
"I'll always be right beside you, even if I am not there. Never forget that."
Her tiny hands raise over her head to cup his bigger one, the sight equivalent to an embrace. Satoko closes her eyes as she relaxes under the presence of her guardian angel.
"I know, ******i."
The last word is muffled, so neither he or anyone else around can hear it, but they know enough to see that she understands.
Tears roll down Satoko's cheeks.
The better part of two days has passed, and Keiichi spends his morning fuming.
Chie-sensei did a half-assed job, "checking up" on Satoko; she had not seen her at all! No, she instead cowered under Houjou Teppei's hostile demeanor when demanded her intentions, unable to muster enough courage to force her way through. Her apologies after explaining her situation yesterday had his respect for the teacher drop tenfold.
It's painfully obvious Satoko is being abused, judging from the bruise he saw yesterday. But no matter how hard he tries convincing her to do so, Satoko refuses to admit it.
"Don't do it, I beg of you!"
"Run away if you want. I'm gonna burn your brother's room to ashes."
"No! I won't run, I swear I'll never run! Please!"
Satoko and a man sporting a Hawaiian red shirt stand next to a door of a bedroom. The little girl is in hysteria. She jumps up and down, arms reaching for the lighter inches away from the door.
The tiny ember flickers. Under the dead of hour there are flashes of a face—wrinkly, ugly, and permanently contorted in sadism. Somehow these unappealing traits mesh well with the widow's peak slicing half of his forehead asunder.
Teppei cackles, looking down at his niece and her desperation.
Times like this make it very tempting for him to bash his head against a wall, if only to relieve himself of these visions. He can't tolerate staying by the sidelines knowing that Satoko puts up with her uncle to salvage what little of her brother she has left.
Calling out the abuse even without Satoko's consent is also out of the question. According to Mion, Child Services would only "keep an eye on things" since they want the story from various sources. Except the problem is, there are no witnesses to record the abuse, since it occurs within Houjou residence, so the situation worsens.
His friends make it explicitly clear the only reason Satoko persevered for so long was because of her brother's protection.
Except this time, there is no Satoshi for Satoko to depend on.
All the more reason for him to spite the runaway.
Satoko still attends class; Thank Kami or Keiichi may have thought the worst. She does hang out with them when they get together like always, making quips and telling jokes.
But it's not the same. Her antics lack the higher levels of enthusiasm it usually has. He can tell, recalling all the times he and her shared together. Not helping how Satoko no longer springs up traps or attends club activities, she rushes home to tend to the ungrateful bastard who bruises her, no doubt.
She doesn't put as much energy in her voice as she used to either, so the tunes coming out her mouth are off putting.
Then there are the eyes. Bearing the reddish-purple that he remembers, yet dull, not bright; depleted of energy, not brimming with it. Satoko is tired and depressed, and he knows it. She could feign happiness for as many times as possible, and he'll know anyway. The emotion stirring within the beholder's sight betrays whatever masquerade she displays.
As the proverb goes, the eyes don't lie.
Alas, he fights off the impulse to storm Houjou residence and confront Teppei. Rika, Mion and Rena cling onto the slimmest prospects of Child Services taking action; it's best he do the same.
Trust them, like Rika advises.
Keiichi hopes things get better from here on out.
The sound of footsteps slapping wood reverberates down the corridor.
Satoko shrieks, scampering to the nearest corner of the classroom.
"U-Uncle!" she crumples to her knees, holding her head. "It's uncle!"
Like a prophecy being realized, one of his visions plays out. What has been nothing more than closest friends eating and joking around during lunch together promptly turns into a perturbing spectacle.
The despair oozing from Satoko, the lamenting, defeated faces of Rika, Mion, and all his friends; it's haunting him on replay.
No, Keiichi dreads, Not again...
"Satoko-chan?!"
Sonozaki Shion enters the classroom, horror-struck at the discovery of her surrogate sister breaking down.
"Kami," she rushes to her, preparing an embrace. "Satoko-chan—"
Before her arms reach their target Satoko shoves her back. "Get away!"
"Satoko-chan..." Shion is visibly hurt while Satoko sobs louder.
"Uncle's come, come to take me home!"
"Your uncle isn't here—it's only me! Please, Satoko-chan..."
"Nii-Nii, help me! Nii-Nii! Nii-Nii!"
His stomach churns from listening. By this point, Satoko isn't singing and more so shrieking like a banshee. Her voice is discordant, and the lyrics that come out her mouth is reduced to the nonstop mantra of Big Brother Satoshi.
For the first time, Keiichi doesn't want to hear her talk anymore.
Giving his classmates the once-over, it's abundantly clear to him that no one is going to do anything about this. They're scared of consoling Satoko at the risk of exacerbating her mental breakdown. Surely all of them think, if even Shion can't soothe her, then who can?
They obviously don't know Maebara Keiichi.
"Satoko."
Her mantras persist.
"Satoko," he calls out a second time, steadily approaching the blonde, not one footstep receding in hesitation. "Please, calm down," his arms coil around her small, cradling figure curled into a ball.
Everyone is shocked. Satoko doesn't resist, and her mantras subside in silence.
Keiichi contemplates what to say next. Really, his silver tongue makes him more a morale booster than a shoulder to cry on.
Then again, intimacy is a language unbound by words.
He ultimately decides that a one-arm hug and caress to the head should suffice. Keiichi also goes the extra mile to croon a tune, same as the songs that he used to hear her hum whenever she was happy, or whenever she cooked for him, or when they just played together; just the two of them.
Satoko buries her face in his chest—sniveling, quivering, weeping; but she reciprocates the hug nonetheless.
The lullaby hushes her to sleep.
School concludes for today. Barring himself and the Gaming Club, Shion and the underclassmen are all gone—though Shion has long since vacated the room to watch Satoko before class, whereas the latter hurried home after the lesson.
Having cried herself to sleep, Satoko is resting at the infirmary. For the best, really. Last thing that they need is the uncle retrieving an unconscious niece to pummel later.
Keiichi exclaims angrily, "We're at the point when I put my foot down! We need to do something."
"But if we wait a little longer—"
"Wait for what? Child Services hasn't done jack shit! Rena, you aren't seriously expecting anything from them?"
"...a... a broken clock is right twice a day," she counters weakly.
"A broken clock is still broken. With Child Services being unreliable, there's no telling how long we have before—" his words trail off, then seconds later, tentatively, he forces out, "—before Satoko reaches the point of no return."
Rena opens her mouth, only to snap it shut. Pensive over his rant, she glances down at her feet.
"Then, what does Keiichi-kun suppose we do?"
"I got the answer to that!"
Everyone turns towards the door, watching Shion practically barge into the classroom, stomping and scowling and seething.
"We're gonna ambush Teppei and beat him to a bloody pulp!"
"That's not right, Shii-chan!" Rena interjects.
Shion bristles, "But waiting for a lost cause is? You plan on dawdling longer until Satoko drops dead?! Satoshi-kun has entrusted me the task of protecting his little sister, a good kid at heart. I'll be damned if I fail him and Satoko."
Keiichi clutches his head due to a sharp pain, followed by a plague of images:
Houjou Teppei, face-flat in the dirt motionless, his head squashed and blood oozing. Then of him looming above the corpse with expressions of hatred and judgement. He plops himself on the dirt looking heavenward, smiling, giggling, showering in the rain, while cheering at the morbid death.
No, he shakes his head. Rena is correct. Killing is not the answer. If he pursues this path, the worst of their future is ensured. There must be another way, he racks his brain.
Shion purses her lips. "Fine. I shall do what needs to be done myself." she whirls around and strides to the door.
The vision flashes, and the previous pictures replay, except this time flickering between him and Shion as the subjects; the duo, separately, playing similar roles of murderer, committing the same crime.
His face hardens when the visions cease and he sees Shion storming out with the intent to kill.
"Stop," he places a hand on her shoulder, impeding her.
Shion wrenches his hand off. She glowers at him.
"Piss off! My Satoko needs her Nee-Nee, she needs me!"
"Wrong. She needs me."
Emerald orbs briefly contract into pinpricks, before they reshape into slits.
"Onee has not warned me that you would be this arrogant."
"Not arrogant, certain. If you truly knew what Satoko needed you would know she'd need her big brother. I'm the only one suited for the role, not you."
"Really?" Shion chortles wryly, "What a role model, not being there for Satoko thus far."
"Satoko expects a lot out of those she loves. Murder is something that she will never tolerate. You kill Teppei and Satoko won't ever forgive you. She wouldn't forgive me either if I did the same, or if I allowed another to commit the crime. She wants a world where everyone is happy and is there for her. That can't be possible if someone ends up paying the price, is it?
"That is my job—fighting for Satoko but also keeping everyone that she loves together, making sure her world is intact. This is what it means to be her Nii-Nii, and it is up to me to accomplish that."
Out of indecision, her aggressive stance falters, his points beginning to get to her. But a daring look surfaces.
"What if I ignore you and leave, anyway?"
"I..."
What you should do is trust your friends... Those familiar words enter his mind.
Similar words escape his mouth. "...I trust you. In the times we spent together, Satoko trusted me, just as I trusted her. An old friend reminded me that it applies to others, too. So I'm willing to do the same. For you, Shion."
Time seems to freeze. There is no sound, no actions, no words, not for a minute.
Eventually, Shion discards her opposition. His words manage to convince her to deter murder. She shuffles past him, heading towards the window where Mion stands to sulk. Lost in her thoughts, Shion stares out into the evening skies.
Beside her, all Mion could do is observe her sister with sympathy. And Keiichi understands. This situation is as aggravating for him as it is for the Sonozaki twins. Satoko is in trouble, and they can't help feel helpless at times like this.
He feels a light tug at the hem of his shirt.
Rika coos, glowing as she faces up to him.
"Meeep! I was worried initially, but now I know for certain that I can count on you, Keiichi."
Reciprocating the cordial gesture Keiichi strokes the curvature of the backhead of her indigo hime cut.
"I know. I'll do everything I can, I promise."
"Yet what can we do?" Shion mumbles, "Making reports to Child Services is futile. They will simply take us for granted. It does not help that Satoko-chan has made false reports in the past..."
"While this world may seem to lead towards a dead end, we are far from finished," Rika adds, "We have a chance, still."
"If one attacks us, two strike back."
All eyes swarm to Mion, who prattles on, "If two attack, then four. If four, then eight. If a thousand comes to attack then the whole village rises against them."
Shion glances at her twin. "Onibaba used to say that back during those Dam Wars."
Rika peers up the ceiling.
"Mii has made a valid point. Hinamizawa's greatest strength is derived from its spirit of community."
Keiichi closes his eyes, having understood. This notion does appeal to him. What better way to overwhelm adversities than with the aid from a multitude of allies?
"Of course!" Rena cheers, "If we recruit the entire class then perhaps Child Services will listen to reason."
That sounds like a good plan. But he gets this gut feeling it won't be enough. In the end they are mere children through and through. Keiichi doubts that Child Services will regard them earnestly because of this, no matter their numbers or how they'll assess the severity of Satoko's peril to them.
But... what if it isn't just the school... or just them children?
That's it!
"No, Rena, we shall do more than that. We need the adults, the elderly and as many from Okinomiya; better yet, we recruit everyone within the population—all of Hinamizawa! Satoko is as much of an Hinamizawan here as the rest of us, so we must fight back for our brethren!"
Mion blinks. "Kei-chan, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying we reinvigorate the spirit of Hinamizawa, let the infernos of our convictions scorch those that dare defy us! For the safe return of Houjou Satoko, we storm Child Welfare Services and mount a riot!"
He stands ramrod straight before his bewildered companions. A shaft of evening's sunbeams leaks through the windows. Enveloping Keiichi, heat licks at his pores, fueling the firestorm of resolution flaring in the eyes of the beholder.
Rena shrugs off her disbelief. She applauds, "I'm with you to the end, Keiichi-kun!"
"Count me in!" Mion pumps a fist.
Even the gloomy Shion becomes impressed and smirks. "I suppose you are the Magician of Words for a reason. Fine, I shall lend you my support."
Rika studies him—the beacon of hope. His radiance illuminates her pale complexion, the intensity rivals the hope divulging itself through her cheery expression. "This... this is the power to tear fate apart!"
He lifts his chin high, fists over his hips. Satisfaction wells inside his chest.
With the impenetrable army of Hinamizawa, Satoko can be saved!
Rallying members of their boarding school had been manageable. From there, the domino effect becomes set into motion. Their numbers amass at an alarming rate. The recruits they garnered are scouring Hinamizawa and Okinomiya, seeking more and more allies for their cause.
Okamura and Tomita know a neighbor who can attest to Teppei's 'normal' behavior, Shion has ties to associates from Angel Mort; and all of the frequent patrons there, the Okinomiya Titans, feel their priorities to be placed in aiding a victim during her hour of need. Even Chie-sensei and Principal Kaieda have called professional adults—Nurse Takano-san, Tomitake-san, Kantoku and more!—to advocate for Satoko.
As more people join, recruitments become more and more common from how everyone seems to know one another.
Hinamizawa is a small village teeming with a population of 2,000 after all. Connections among the masses do exist in some ways, no matter how infinitesimal.
Standing proudly in the spectacle, Keiichi folds his arms as he cracks a grin.
Here they are—crowding right outside the child consultation center, as a militia, protesting their negligence by unleashing mighty roars that make a lion seem tame like a kitten comparatively. They even come with banners and protest signs framed around Satoko.
"Protect Her Now!" "CWS, Act Immediately!" "Save her ASAP!"
There's hundreds of them by this point, and the quantity keeps rising!
Not to be trifled with, the spirit community of Hinamizawa shall make their voices heard.
Keiichi is positive they can attain victory.
At least, until the nightmares...
"Little shit! You really this inept to do anything properly!?"
"No, I'm sorry, Uncle! Please!"
"Tch! Rot in hell!"
"No, NOOO!"
"..."
"Mercy, mercy!"
"..."
"Nii-Nii...! Nii-Nii...!"
"..."
"NIII-NIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Lately, Keiichi suffers night terrors. They may have commenced not too long ago (or have occurred far earlier but he himself can't remember), but the dreams are becoming more prominent, either way. Yet truly it's the context behind the night terrors that disconcerts him.
His memories trace back to the battered and bruised Satoko, shriveling and sobbing beneath the authority of her uncle. She must have incensed him, somehow—messing up his meal, neglecting to purchase him alcoholic beverages, or enraging him without so much lifting a finger because he is that much of a temperamental prick—something! Whatever the case may be, Satoko has got him displeased, and he makes the executive decision to do away with her.
The executions vary from every dream—Teppei beating his niece to death using his bare fists, or throttling her until her neck made an audible snap!, or flinging emptied bottles of beer at her like target practice and having the shards dig deep into her cranium.
Each scenario becomes more severe than the last but they're all rooted to the anguish and torment of the lone, helpless girl, whose pleas for Nii-Nii would be unheard.
And none ever diminished from being so eerily vivid.
Is it the clairvoyance infecting him again? Or, are they merely nightmares manifesting from his fears?
Of losing Satoko?
That remains to be seen, and that alone terrifies him.
The situation with the protests at CWS is beginning to take a turn for the worst. No progress has been made from having CWS do something that isn't to give the same, contrived excuse of "checking things out", or, how they plan to reach a decision in about a month. Satoko's in a race against the clock for her life, there is no telling what damage she'll sustain under that duration.
Then Fat Pig Ooishi rears his pudgy face threatening them to cease and desist, because unleashing an unlawful assembly against a municipal office is disruptive, and apparently grounds for him to make arrests.
They have no choice but to comply, at least for the day.
Smug at his success the detective retreats, leaving behind the pungent miasma of cigarettes.
Keiichi scoffs behind his back.
Bastard.
Irie sighs in relent, advising everyone to rest and recuperate for the next day. He also reminds them about the festival planning meeting for Watanagashi tonight.
"Shoot, I have to go to that, too!" Mion blurts out.
"You do?"
"Oh! Kei-chan, why don't you come? Word of the protest has reached the council. They'll want to discuss this with you."
Keiichi considers the offer. These elders are the same individuals who defied the dams from being built during the Dam Wars, according to his vague knowledge about it.
But, if he recalls correctly, the Houjou family was part of the seldom supporters to have them built... Would they be willing to advocate for them, even with the person they're saving being a Houjou? Still, these people possess the power to oppress the government. Surely, they could set aside their differences with Houjou Satoko and become great assets to their battle.
"Sure, why not?"
Once again he believes, placing his trust in his friends.
While the nightmares of Satoko worsen.
Convincing the village council at the meeting to help them resulted in a resounding success.
Kimiyoshi has zero qualms with the Houjous, now. As do the rest of the council, though they warn him that even with their aid, it still won't affect the current state of CWS. The only person who has the authority to change that is the one that Kimiyoshi believes is still bearing the Houjou grudge.
Oryou-sama, head of the influential Sonozaki family—that Onibaba Shion and Mion fear.
That is their next objective, persuading Oryou into granting them full public support. Kimiyoshi has given her the heads-up already and she's expecting the audience tomorrow. Now they're a step closer to rescuing Satoko.
On that note, Keiichi misses Satoko.
He longs for her presence, longs for her childish antics, her cooking, that lavish "Ohohoho~!" she does—almost like she sings while he swings his head side-by-side, relishing her way of expressing happiness.
Keiichi wants her to invite him into her world again.
The night terrors are unbearable. They constantly rob him of sleep. He tosses and turns like he experiences the exact pain Dream Satoko does, and despite the saving grace of escaping the dreams, he can still hear the cacophonies of her blood-curdling screams. Echoing, tormenting his mind so he won't forget and could expect what is to come the next time those nightmares resurface.
The team managed to get this far, but he ponders if their actions will turn out in vain.
Nonsense. It won't.
But will it?
It is going to succeed.
But will it?
Keiichi shudders, crouching and curling into a ball, in his futon. His feelings about this—mixed between optimism and doubt—wrestle with each other. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one side, he and the gang do the best they can and it shows. But on the other, he can't ascertain if Satoko is doing the same.
Or if what they're doing can prevent her demise in time.
All he has to answer those questions are his nightmares, and they seem to tell him that Satoko...
Wanting ease for his troubles, Keiichi hums the tune Satoko used to do just as he remembers. Desperation spurs him into making the attempt to relive those times, where things didn't fall apart at the seams and it is only him and Satoko and their promised land. No worries, no bastard uncles, no nightmares.
Only sweet, sweet music to his ears.
No, Keiichi cringes. He isn't doing it right. His voice cracks every so often.
...How did Satoko hum again?
There isn't anything or anyone in his room who can answer the unspoken question so he ends up sitting alone in bed, silent. Still, Keiichi is persistent in harking back to the halcyon days of him and Satoko.
It's all that can serenade him at this point—her melodies and figuring out how they went.
In the end he doesn't.
But her blood-curdling screams come into mind.
"Everything alright, Kei-chan?"
His eyes squeeze shut momentarily, massaging the dark heavy bags under his lids.
"Yeah," he drawls, voice feeble. "Just fine, Shion. Haven't had a shut eye, is all."
He, Irie, Kimiyoshi and the Gaming Club await Oryou's arrival. They're at Sonozaki Manor, just outside. It won't be long before their summon.
"You really are worried for her," Shion remarks, "You care that much."
"I need her back."
"We all do," she sighs.
He leans against a wall folding his arms, half-lidded scrutiny fixated on the sitting Shion. While everyone minds their business he and Shion stay next to each other, being estranged from the others as they speak with hushed tones.
"Kei-chan," Shion says, "You know how I went off to check up on Satoko that time in school?"
Before Shion started plotting to murder Teppei and that he trusted her enough to reconsider? What does that have to do with anything?
"Satoko was crying in her sleep when I arrived, murmuring something in delirium."
Curiosity gains the better of him. "What did she say?"
"...Keiichi-san, don't let uncle kill me..."
Shion chokes the words out, and Keiichi finds it hard to swallow. This has to be a joke. Except he notices Shion looking nauseated, clutching to her stomach as if bile is churning inside. The words she's spat out make him feel sick.
Images of the nightmares assault him at full force.
"Y—You tell me this now? Why?"
Her slender digits rake the fabric of her black skirt. Waves of linen fold onto each other.
He averts his gaze. The dreams these past nights really are prophecies after all. No, Keiichi has suspected as much, this only solidifies the truth. But there's no timetable for them. No way to predict when those events transpire. It could be days, weeks, maybe a month from now. Or, minutes...
Or now.
Keiichi doesn't feel his sharp nails digging in his palms, skin nearly tearing apart from the stress. He can't stop thinking about Satoko.
Nor can he block out the discord of her caterwauls, deafening him from the recesses of his mind.
"Oh, Kei-chan..."
The soft whimper from Shion brings him out of his rage. He notices her scooting closer to him. Her typical cross nature is substituted by the nuances of devastation, and this is unlike Shion, that shrewd girl who fiercely seizes opportunities when fortuitous. Briefly, Keiichi almost believes he is talking to Mion with this softer side of her.
"I refused to accept it, but I see it now. You were right. Satoko-chan really does need you more than me," Tears brim at the rim of her eyes. Shion tries her hardest not to break down. "It hurt Satoko-chan and I when Satoshi-kun no longer existed in our lives. You, Kei-chan, resemble him in more ways than one, but the greatest similarity between you two is your undying compassion towards your loved ones; specifically compassion from a boy qualified to be an older brother. Satoko-chan saw that in you that I didn't."
"Shion..."
"I can't bear the thought of Satoko-chan being all alone. I'll always be there for her as Nee-Nee, but that won't fill the void in her heart yearning for Nii-Nii. You're the closest thing she has to what Satoshi-kun was to her."
Keiichi rubs her head soothingly, "I'm willing to assume his mantle if it means we can restore her world. I won't give up on her."
"Thank you... for saying that. I know I can trust her in your hands."
Shion yields to his consoling gesture.
He smiles. The banshee abomination of music subsides and the only song that plays in his head is the snoozing of a friend at peace.
Then, he sees Akane open the divider blocking them from her and Oryou.
Now there's nothing in his head but silence.
They have failed. He and his friends lament outside Sonozaki Manor.
Akane fixes them with a solemn stare, the glimmer of condolence streak across her irises fleetingly. She retreats back into the household and tends to Onibaba.
Didn't matter what he had done or said, his silver tongue rusts under the scalding resentment of a senile hag in the end. Grudges can last a lifetime if a person is stubborn enough. Oryou has been a testimony to this. As someone chained to the past, her grudge of the Houjous is the unbreakable shackles that can not be removed.
Even the new blood having no involvement with the Dam Wars like Satoko isn't spared. Oryou is content with letting her perish.
Shion grovels, miserable and weeping. She questions how Onibaba can be so cruel.
Mion and Rena stare off sideward, eyes vacant. Both teenagers reflect on the alternative ending of this plight, how things might have panned out had Oryou agreed.
Keiichi grounds his teeth, fuming. He dwells on what'll happen to Satoko, and if he can still make a difference.
Reality soon pulls him away from his thoughts when he notices Rika marching up to him dangerously. "You," she hisses in a clipped voice.
He stands up straighter, steeling himself for the imminent fury.
"You did this, you are the cause of this failure! In order to create a miracle, we must unite and work in tandem. That also applies to faith, but you didn't believe," she shakes her head, "No, you did, but then you lost faith in this pivotal moment, didn't you?!"
"...Yes. I did."
He truly feels guilty about this. Somewhere down the road, Keiichi did believe. Then the 'what if's went on in his mind, distracting him enough to slip off from the final stepping stone that may, or may not, have led to their supposed victory.
"Oryou would have taken the grudge with her to the grave. Yet you didn't prove you could be trusted to take Hinamizawa out of her hands, so Oryou hesitated. I...I asked you to trust your friends, but instead you condemn Satoko to hell!"
His temper gets the best of him. Without a second thought, he lashes out before she can rant further.
"Don't say that! It isn't too late to rescue her, just not like this!"
"By making the last resort of violence?" Rika scoffs, "You ensured her fate!"
"Fate? Rika-chan, you shouldn't toss that word so brazenly."
"You... You...!"
It is startling to see Rika snap. She screams and shouts at him with frustration. The likes of Mion and Rena make futile attempts to calm her, but Keiichi doesn't stop her. Rika, understandably upset as are the rest of them, needs something to vent her frustration towards. Playing that role is the least he can do.
After some time, Rika collapses to her knees, a bawling mess. "Nothing can be done, not for Satoko... It's all over..."
Regret and sympathy creep up on his face.
"Rika-chan," he mutters, "You told me once fate is fickle. Our plan to rescue Satoko may have failed, but that doesn't mean Satoko's death is set in stone. There's always another way. We just need to find it. And I know where to look. I promise I'll make things right."
Rika says nothing, not batting an eye. The others do not feel inclined to act, either. Losing must have placed a heavy toll to make them this despondent.
He exhales sharply out his nostrils.
So be it. Next destination, the Houjou household.
Keiichi spins around, heading off.
He paces sluggishly enough to catch Rika's last words: "Fine. Let this world's Hinamizawa and its denizens spiral in shambles for all I care. It's a doomed world."
The wind whistles among the rustling trees of summer, the evergreen shrubs that grow off its branches litter the dirt, grass, and asphalt during its shedding season. At the pace his bike is travelling, nature and its breeze is driven in a frenzy. Fortunately, evening has passed, so there aren't many villagers present outdoors for him to bother.
Keiichi pedals vigorously, sweaty and adamant. The barrel of the baseball bat elongates to his right, the grip is fastened to a handle by one of his hands. Within his clutch, his thumb ghosts the metal of the weapon he obtained from school.
The smooth, cold metal.
He can't describe it, but the weapon has been "calling out" to him. It told him to stop by the school, bust open the locker it was stored in, and equip it on his person. There's nothing particularly special about the bat in terms of condition—it's old and tattered; yet, inscribed on the face of the knob are the kanji symbols that spell a name.
悟史 (Satoshi).
Satoshi, the runaway who entrusts him the Nii-Nii's duty of protecting the little sister in his stead.
Everything makes sense now. The visions, the nightmares, the incessant comparisons of him and this boy he never met—it has been a message all along.
He, Keiichi, is Nii-Nii.
Only Nii-Nii can rescue Satoko. Nobody else.
That's who he is, what he's meant to be.
Furude Rika, Sonozaki Shion and everyone else keep reminding him this, but they don't dig for the deeper truth to their words. They undermine his significance. How laughable that they give themselves far too much credit, for their duties to cater the whims of a child who, evidently, wants only her Nii-Nii.
Personally, Keiichi has to thank Satoshi. He needed that revelation of his purpose and how he shouldn't regard it offhandedly. Satoko's world is fragile. The only person who can augment her world is Nii-Nii since Nii-Nii's the closest to Satoko. Nii-Nii's the sole individual who she would fully proffer her world towards.
Who better for that job than him, Nii-Nii?
Shion comes close to that but will never be that. She is that far, far runner-up who'll never catch up.
Oh, and that other guy Rika reveres for some reason.
His double... Keiichi supposes he has some resemblance to him. They may look the same, act the same, share the same name. But there's a stark contrast between them beneath the surface.
Place one Houjou Satoko beside the Keiichis standing at opposite ends, then that distinction becomes as transparent as glass. One sees her as a simple friend, the other sees her as much more. They, he and him, have different perceptions on this singular girl, and that's enough for them to be complete strangers.
They were, quite literally, worlds apart in that regard.
In that contrast resides the true cause behind their botched scheme. A miracle of that scale only works if done by people with indestructible friendship among themselves. The double possesses the means to fulfill that miracle, so obviously it would work to his favor, given that he's all "buddy-buddy" with everyone, including Satoko.
Yet he himself didn't. The plan failed because what he has with Satoko isn't friendship. It's something much better, something that makes him vastly superior to that knock-off.
He's been going about this the wrong way, this whole time. He has been trying to rescue Satoko as a friend, but not as her Nii-Nii. He should have known better than to mimic a cheap imitation. It wouldn't get him anywhere being someone he isn't truly supposed to be. Only the best is brought out of a person if they stay true to who they are.
Keiichi should have broken into Houjou residence from the get-go. That is what he's supposed to do. The requiem of despair is different here, as evident with the added lyrical bits of his clairvoyance and dreams.
Satoko's also crying a different tune (not the calls for a dear friend but the calls for Nii-Nii), so naturally he should account for that by performing a different dance.
No more mistakes. Not this time.
Now he's gonna do things the right way.
...Hmm. His neck is itchy.
Upon arriving at the front of Houjou residence, Keiichi parks his bike on the footpath nearby.
"Little shit! You really this inept to do anything properly!?"
"No, I'm sorry, Uncle! Please!"
"Tch! Rot in hell!"
The exchange of those icy words makes him blanch, his face whiter than anything the chilly gust brewing from the approaching night could do.
No... Not this soon! Satoko!
Cognizant of the tragedy that would transpire from the conversation he springs into action. His hands reach the sliding door, fingers clawing at the gaps of the edges to pry it off. He's strong enough to make the door budge but it persists in denying him entry!
"No, NOOO!"
Is this what it is like to suffer heart palpitations? His heart pounds like it's ready to burst out his chest, and beads of sweat form at the melting skin of his temples.
"Mercy, mercy!"
Then the screams increase in volume.
"Nii-Nii...! Nii-Nii...!"
At last, he's done it!
The relief of pressure from ripping that door out and casting it aside feels incredibly satisfying. Somehow he is invigorated. Maybe Satoko's distressed calls are the instruments he needs to muster strength, like how her singing kindles the elation he never knew he has?
He charges inside the foreign residence. Even despite how the interior is something of a labyrinth he doesn't get himself lost. Keiichi knows exactly where to go, which direction, which corridor, which room.
That voice from the baseball bat in his grip again—it's guiding him to where he needs to be.
"NIII-NIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"SATOKOOOOOOO!"
Keiichi intrudes the room housing Satoko and the culprit.
First to capture his attention is that face—wrinkly, ugly, permanently contorted in sadism, coupling with the small widow's peak slicing half the forehead asunder.
Teppei whips around in alarm, and Keiichi gets a clearer look of blood on his knuckles.
Followed by an unmoving, bleeding Satoko at his feet.
Keiichi bellows in rage.
The bat he brandishes into the air shrieks alongside him—the unbridled spirit of Satoshi, endowing him with the blessings of Nii-Nii, demands Teppei's comeuppance.
Suddenly the fearsome strength from earlier floods every tendon of his body, dousing the searing sensations of having strained himself to get to Satoko, replenishing his sorely-lacking energy.
Roaring, Keiichi lunges at Teppei.
"Kami... it hurts..."
"This is nothing! What you did to Satoko... hurts worse than this!"
The baseball bat plunges.
Keiichi towers over Teppei, his bat over his shoulder. The bastard lies on the floor, flat on his front side and unmoving.
But not dead.
Death is a kind fate for the scum of Planet Earth, a gateway to escape their problems. Keiichi wouldn't allow this man that satisfaction.
No, Teppei is going to live with his mistakes. Any harm he inflicts on Satoko, Keiichi will deliver back double. Should he attempt to instill pain on her again, Keiichi will quadruple the favor.
When he has to, then he intervenes, but he won't resort to murder.
Besides, this is Satoko's world, which he is indisputably part of. She needs him to be the protective Nii-Nii that doesn't kill and makes her happy and keeps his hands clean as much as possible in the process, so she doesn't get sad and lonely.
Her one and only heaven is living beside her Nii-Nii. Keiichi couldn't fathom him, as Nii-Nii, being separated from Satoko, for her heaven to turn into hell.
So for her sake, he'll dance to her tune.
Keiichi steps away from the unconscious man. The concussion he left as a parting gift should render him incapacitated for a short while.
Nearing Satoko, he crouches and inspects her.
A lump swells from the crown of her head, undoubtedly the cause of the bleeding that was gushing some time ago—what with the dark red pond pooling around it (this explains Teppei's bloody knuckles). Below, cuts from previous beatings have scabbed over several regions of her arms.
Satoko appears malnourished, as well, skinnier in comparison to how he remembers her.
He could name the rest of the bruises and protrusions, but that'd take a while.
I... I should have been here sooner to prevent this. Damn it!
"..mmm...mnnn..."
Keiichi starts when Satoko shifts with a groan.
"Satoko?" he cradles her in his arms.
Stirring, Satoko opens her eyes. He perceives her struggle to focus on him. Her eyes are half-lidded, presumably from heaviness, and they are opening and closing sporadically.
Once Satoko recovers from limbo, she makes clear eye contact with him.
She gapes.
"...Nii-Nii?"
"Satoko!"
He draws her into his chest, desperately clinging to the girl like she could disappear at any given moment. For so long he's been stuck at an impasse figuring out a proper way to rescue Satoko.
It matters not now, because all that counts is that Satoko is safe and sound, snuggled in his protective embrace.
"Nii-Nii," her muffled voice vibrates from his shirt.
"Yes, it's Nii-Nii! He—I, I'm here for you."
They separate. Satoko cups his cheek, misty-eyed.
"I'm sorry..."
"Eh? Whatever for?"
"You weren't around because I kept acting like a baby. You did so much to protect me, but I had been ungrateful. The pain that you were in as a result, I... I took it for granted. I didn't consider how unbearable it was for you to put up with me until it was too late."
Unsure how to respond, Keiichi furrows his brow in concern. Has Satoko really been conjuring up these kinds of thoughts when she's been alone here? He didn't think he left that impression on her with his delay of her rescue. Based on the way her voice cracks and is far shriller than usual, however, he knows it is an earnest confession and no joke.
"But I have changed," Satoko brightens. The bittersweet emotion behind her countenance eclipses her melancholy. "I understood my sin when you disappeared, and I vowed to atone by being independent. I am so strong now. I've been taking care of myself, for you!"
His lips replicate the joy Satoko illustrates from her own.
"Satoko, I always pegged you as a strong person. Nothing less."
Instinctively his hand reaches for her head before rubbing it.
Her gold mop of hair is disheveled and is sullied by dry blood, so his fingers cannot drift through the forest as easily, but Keiichi doesn't let that stop him from expressing affection.
"I will always be proud of you. And it's okay to not be independent at times. There's no shame accepting help from those who love you."
Satoko blushes at his words. "Right..."
He strokes her hair the way she likes it. Satoko traces her fingers up to the back of his hand, her hands sway along his like the swings of a playground. Even his racing heart slows itself to about the same pace, no longer pounding in anxiety.
Satoko closes her eyes, humming.
Thought to be lost in the realms of oblivion, their music plays in the background starring its lead singer again.
Except this time Keiichi tags along, singing with her in a duet.
Together.
Keiichi and Satoko walk out of Houjou residence hand in hand. He keeps a watchful eye on his dear companion.
Her wounds are all patched up. Fortunately, the house has an emergency kit stored in a drawer in Satoshi's old room, where Satoko was heavily insistent to show him, anyway. She wanted him to wait there, while she could change wardrobe before they left.
"Our reunion is a momentous occasion, Nii-Nii!" she justifies, "I must look the part for a time like this."
She sports a snowy top, the frills blooming at the shoulders. An amber jewel, he sees at the front band of her collar, ornaments her shirt; a lime-green skirt cascades to her knees—an elegant ribbon is knotted by the middle of her waist keeping the bottom wear suspended. Finally she wears inky mary janes, which her dainty feet, clad in knee socks, sink into quite easily. The attire is a far cry from her casuals, but it is by no means an unpleasant change.
This day must really be special to her, Keiichi assumes.
"Are you sure you don't wanna stay in the house anymore?" she prods.
He gives her a stern look.
"Absolutely. It's too dangerous to reside in, and I won't let you stay there either. We won't ever return."
At this Satoko pouts.
Keiichi cringes. Earlier she told him how she has been sprucing up the place for him, and now her efforts have basically gone down the drain since he forbids her from returning. It's for the best, though. Teppei is still in there, very much alive. Better safe than sorry.
Much to his relief, Satoko doesn't make a fuss about this for long.
Her twig arms coil around his larger, thick one. She nuzzles her cheek against it. "I'm just glad we're together again."
He shares the sentiment. "Likewise. Not only that, but this time it is gonna stay that way. We'll never leave each other's side."
"I will follow you forever..."
"And I won't let you get lost as you do. You know how much I care for you."
"I know, Satoshi."
Keiichi guffaws. Satoko giggles.
They scratch their necks as they bask in each other's bliss.
Sauntering down the road, Keiichi keeps Satoko close to his side while towing his bicycle along.
He's not sure where he plans on taking Satoko; Rika's residence is out of the question, since Teppei can easily track her there. Mion's manor won't cut it either, not with that Onibaba. Shion has her apartment in Okinomiya, but out of all the available options for locations, that is the farthest.
He could take her to his place, though there might be complications if Mom and Dad get the wrong idea...
In the end he opts to visit Rena, whose residence isn't far from where they are. Rena is an approachable person, too, so she won't raise too many questions about the situation.
He darts a sideways glance.
Satoko embosoms the baseball bat from Satoshi. She's capering and beaming as she moves beside him. He can hear her crooning.
Keiichi joins her, humming along.
This time he's gotten the correct verse to her melody. He's precise at keeping up with the tempo, his voice doesn't crack nor go off-key. Joy and vibrancy—the essentials to Satoko's utopia—are encapsulated in his voice.
Singing her song suddenly becomes as simple as breathing. Satoko is no longer miserable. She is at peace and can express her happiness to her heart's content, and he's able to revisit her paradise, making it easy to remember how her songs went and how he danced to them. However, the stage for their dance is different. It is broad; expanding not just to the market or the school or his house but to everything in Hinamizawa. Their entire home village is the platform set for them.
Merrily, Keiichi rubs her head.
Satoko looks up at him. Glowing at the sight of his praising look, she hums louder. He does the same.
They both carry on their stroll in concert. Even the crickets welcome them with their chirpy tunes as the two move along.
All the while, the miasma of cigarettes waft towards them from behind.
Author's Note:
Oh, boy. 2020 sure has been quite a year. I honestly felt dissuaded from writing more stories just from how terrible it was. I didn't bother writing a 2020 special simply because I didn't feel like writing anything in tribute to that year. But with Higurashi Gou, I've become motivated to continue writing again!