Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Kanashii-hen (The Sorrowful Chapter)

When a story ends, is it really over?

What happens to the characters?

When a story ends, can it be really be over?

What happens to the character's hearts?

When a story ends, can it begin again?

Chapter 1: Return

Part A

I heard voices all around me. They were laughing at me. They were laughing at the vulnerable state I was in. I was defenseless. They could do anything they wanted to me and they could get away with it. I couldn't even put up a fight. The second they saw me in this state, I was as good as dead.

I heard a voice calling out to me, amongst the laughter.

"Kei-chan!"

I opened my sleepy eyes. I was in my classroom. Chie-sensei just finished her lecture. The school day was finally over. I didn't get much sleep the night before, so I took it upon myself to make up for that lost time in class. It felt great, but something was amiss. I could sense it. I wasn't about to let my guard down that easily, despite being a tad bit groggy.

"Yeah, what?" I replied to the voice behind me.

"Get over here! We gotta discuss something!"

"Fine."

I looked around me. Nothing out of the ordinary. This was the perfect moment for a certain mischievous little princess to pull a fast one. All the kids were leaving the classroom and nobody was hovering around me. My desk didn't have any traps set. I should've realized, however, that I shouldn't have been focusing on my desk so much.

I stood up and turned my body to face the person who was talking to me. When I tried to put my foot forward, it wouldn't move. When I tried to move again, I fell flat on my stomach with the chair falling onto my back. I yelped at the pain and gritted my teeth. I knew exactly who was responsible for this.

"S-Satoko…!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho!" That triumphant laugh knifed at my eardrums. The golden haired demon stood above me with her hand at her mouth. "I can't believe you fell for such a simple trap, Keiichi-san! You're pathetic!"

"I'm just tired…that's all! It wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't so…!"

"Oh ho ho ho! Stupid Keiichi!"

"You little brat!"

A hand patted my head. It was a small hand and it was nursing the wrong area, but it comforted the pain I felt in my stomach.

"…There, there." Rika-chan smiled at me as she petted me.

"Thanks, Rika-chan…"

"Keiichi-kun! Are you alright?" Rena knelt down to my level. She untied my foot which was tied around the legs of my chair. At least two people cared about my condition.

"I'm fine, Rena." I smiled weakly at her. I really didn't need to be putting up with Satoko's pranks in this state, but I should've known better. Satoko would kick you when you're down if it meant defeating you.

"Don't go easy on him, you two!" Mion stood next to Satoko with her arms crossed. She was snickering at me. "And you, Kei-chan, you're getting sloppy! Just because we're finished with all that stuff last month, don't think you can take a break!"

"Yeesh! Give me a break, Mion!"

She laughed. She helped me up to my feet and helped me pull my desk and chair over to the back of the classroom where we held our club activities. After all that was settled, our club president meandered over to her student locker and began perusing through her collection of games.

"Now," she muttered to herself. "What kind of game shall we play today?"

Rena clapped her hands together excitingly. "Let's pick something we haven't played in a while! I can't remember the last time we played Old Geezer!"

"Yeah!" Satoko chimed in. "Pick something where we can go all out! I have to humiliate Keiichi-san one more time before we go home!"

"…I'm fine with anything," Rika said with her cute smile.

"Hmm." Mion bent over on her knees and looked through her locker from top to bottom. It looked like she was having trouble finding a game to play.

I peered over at Rena. Her face was slightly red. She was looking at Mion's backside.

"Hauuu! Mii-chan's skirt is so cute today!"

Mion stopped searching and looked over her shoulder at Rena. I knew what she was thinking, and I definitely knew what Rena was going to say next.

"You can't take her skirt home with you, Rena!" I rubbed her head roughly, with a grin on my face.

"But it's so cute…"

"I personally wouldn't mind taking it myself!" I shot a dazzling smile at Mion.

"Oh really?" Mion stood up and placed a hand on her hip. "I have another one just like this if you want it, Kei-chan. But I didn't know you were into wearing girls' clothing!"

"T-That's not what I meant!"

Rena's face turned bright red now. "Hauuuu! Keiichi-kun in Mii-chan's skirt!" Her eyes were closed and she was swooning over the idea. I didn't want to think about the horrible fantasy that was going on in her mind!

"Stop it!"

"I knew Keichii-san was weird, but I didn't know he enjoyed wearing clothes like that! You think he likes to wear girls' underwear too?" Satoko cackled again.

I looked to Rika for some support but she simply smiled and patted my head again. "There, there!"

Mion held her stomach because she was laughing so hard. Her laugh stopped suddenly. A wicked smile curled across her lips. Her hand held her chin and she was looking at me with such an evil leer.

"W-What?" I seriously felt afraid. Whenever Mion got that look in her eyes, it never meant well for me!

"Well," she began, placing her hand back on her hip. Her eyes were closed and that grin was still on her face. "Having looked through the club's inventory of games, and can't find anything exciting enough to play, I am officially postponing the club activity!"

Satoko pouted. "That's not fair!"

Rena and Rika-chan didn't look happy at all. I, on the other hand, was as happy as could be. I couldn't participate in a club activity when I was sleepy. I would be a sitting duck if I tried to!

"We will instead have the activity tomorrow, on Sunday, in Okinomiya! You all better get a good rest tonight!" Mion walked up to me. She poked at my chest with her index finger. "You're gonna need it…!"

I gulped hard. My happiness was brutally murdered by those words. What the hell did Mion have up her sleeve this time? What was she going to make us do? Most importantly, what was the punishment going to be like?

"Club president!" Satoko raised her hand. "What'll we be doing in Okinomiya?"

"Oh, don't you worry about that, my dear Satoko! All will be revealed in time!"

"What's the punishment going to be?" I blurted out. I regretted saying that the second it escaped my mouth.

Mion looked at me again with her serpentine eyes. "Just wait and see, Kei-chan! Just wait and see…"

We all left the school early. Mion left for Okinomiya to help her uncle at his store, while Satoko and Rika decided to go shopping. Rena asked if I wanted to come treasure hunting with her. My parents didn't need me for a while, and I didn't feel like going home anytime soon, so I accepted her request.

We passed through the fields and the woods of Hinamizawa. The air was as crisp as ever. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The wind kissed my face and caressed my body. The sound of the cicadas soothed my soul. While the sights and sounds were the same, the feel of the village was different. It was absent of any malicious presence. We had fought long and hard for this. After thousands of trials and tribulations, we could finally be at peace. Hinamizawa was ours now! Nobody could take this joy away from us! That was our reward.

We came to junkyard. Rena dived in and immediately began hunting for something "adowable." She clawed at trash and threw pipes, lumber, and rusty metal over her shoulder into another pile. It wasn't long until she spotted a target. When she saw what she was after, her face flushed and began to swoon.

"Hauuu! It's so cuuuuute!"

I looked at the rumble she was clawing at. I threw a few more pieces of lumber away and saw what she was referring to. It was a small teddy bear, with a little bit of dirt on his nose. A little red scarf was around his neck. "Is this it, Rena?"

"I want to take him home with meeeeee!"

I laughed. I loved to see Rena so carefree like this. This cute mode scared me the most when she activated it during club activities or when I was her target, not to mention when she tried to steal things as well. We could be walking through a toy store, where anything could be cute, and she would try to rob the store blind! Luckily, she was never caught for theft.

"Do you want this, Rena?"

"Yes! I do! I really do!"

I examined the pile the little bear was trapped in. He was stuck in there pretty deep. The lumber and some of the other debris around it looked too heavy for just two people to move. "Looks like we're gonna need something to break some of this stuff up."

"Oh! I'll be right back!" Rena scampered off towards the trailer, nearly falling over herself because she was so excited.

This seemed very familiar to me. This reminded me when I was visited the junkyard for the first time with Rena. She scared the crap out of me when she had a large hatchet in her hands, looking down at me. This time, I was prepared.

Rena returned with the same tool I was just thinking about. I took it from her and quickly got to work.

Crash! Crash! Crack!

I swung the hatchet down in slow but strong swings. I broke large pieces of lumber into small portions. Rena and I moved them out of the way when I was taking a break. I dented large pipes, slashed more wood, and cut through pieces of old furniture. This thing was heavy! How did Rena carry it with just one hand? I didn't think she was that strong!

After twenty minutes of breaking, cutting, and removing debris, the teddy bear could finally be rescued from his prison. Rena seized the bear and smothered him against her chest. I desperately wanted to be that bear. She dusted his nose off and his body, and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Keiichi-kun! You saved him!"

"Hehe!" I stuck out my chest and flexed my bicep at her. "Not a problem! I guess this means we had a successful operation!"

"Yeah! Oh, wait!" She knelt down, still clutching the teddy bear. She saw something else hidden beneath the debris. "There's another one!"

"Another bear? Seriously?"

"Yeah! You have to save him too!" She looked at me with these big watery eyes. I thought she would never forgive me if I didn't rescue this other bear. She might've killed me too if I didn't!

I didn't need the hatchet anymore. I put it aside and stuck my hands into the rubble. I clawed and clawed until I freed the second the bear. It looked identical to the one Rena was holding, but this one had a green scarf around his little neck. For some reason, it made my heart feel warm and made me smile at it. It really was cute. This must be how Rena felt whenever she saw something adorable.

"You saved him! You saved him!" She smiled at me brightly. She patted my shoulder.

"It was no problem!" I held the bear out to her. "Here! I'm sure he can use another friend!"

"Thank you, Keiichi-kun, but I don't want to steal what shouldn't be mine!" She looked into my eyes for a moment.

"What do you mean? Don't you want it?"

She shook her head. "It isn't mine. I'm sure you can make someone else happy with him! You already made me happy!"

I didn't understand what she was getting at. "You want me to give it to somebody else? Who?"

"Ahaha!" Rena picked up her hatchet and ran back to her trailer. After she returned it to her toolbox, she came back to me. "Come on, Keiichi-kun! The sun's going down! We should be going home!"

I was still holding the bear as we walked away from the junkyard, unsure of what to do with it. I tried two more times to give it to Rena, but she turned me down. She kept saying someone else needed it more than she did. She was content with the first one I retrieved for her. She was playing with it as we walked. She spoke to it and told it to thank me for saving it. I figured she could be even happier with this second teddy bear, but she kept insisting that another person would want it more. It made no sense at all to me. Rena never turned down anything cute before.

We finally came to my house. I offered to walk her home, but she said she would be fine making the trip alone.

"Make sure you bring that bear with you to the club activity tomorrow!" She called out to me as she ran off.

What was so special about this bear? Why did she want me to bring this thing to the club meeting? Rena was always a peculiar girl, but this stumped me big time. Did she want me to give it to somebody else in the club? To Rika, or Satoko? Rika never really showed much attention to something like this. Satoko was still a little girl, despite her acting older than she was. Maybe I would give to her. She could use something like this. Her mean uncle was finally gone, but she still missed her NiiNii, her real NiiNii. Maybe this could hold her over until Satoshi came back, whenever that would be.

I entered my home and greeted my mom. My dad was painting in his workshop so I didn't disturb him. He was always happy when he was in a creative mood, but he quickly becomes irritable when he loses his idea. I didn't want to be the guy who did that!

I had dinner with them later on. Afterwards, I took a quick shower and curled up in my bed. The teddy bear I pulled out of the junkyard was sitting on my desk looking at me. I watched it and a small smile filled my face. The person who would this bear would be really happy, I hoped. The thought of the club activity forced its way to the front of my mind now. My smile turned into a grimace. I was afraid of what Mion had in store for us. She rarely postponed things. Knowing how difficult the regular club activities were, I could only begin to imagine how hard this next challenge was going to be.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my mother calling me down for breakfast. After eating breakfast, I was ready to go! Nothing was going to stop me today! I was going to win the activity and make Mion play the punishment game! It was about time someone gave her a taste of her own medicine! I was on a bad losing streak, but this would be the day when that all changed. I was going to win!

The phone rang. My mom answered it. She called me over to take it from her.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Kei-chan!"

"Mion? What's up? It's not every day I get a call from you!"

"Ahaha! I just called to tell you of the location of the club activity today!"

"Okinomiya right?"

"Yes! We'll be having our activity at the baseball field in Okinomiya!"

"The baseball field? We're gonna be playing baseball?"

"I didn't say that, Kei-chan!" I heard her snicker. "You remember where the field is right? Get over there as soon as possible! You better be ready!" She hung up.

"Oh boy," I said to myself. "I don't know if I like the sound of this…!"

I got dressed, readied my bike, and was about to go when I remembered the teddy bear on my desk. I took it and hopped back on my bike. I unlocked it from the chain I had on it and peddled onward. I peddled to my destiny! I wasn't going to lose!

Okinomiya was quite busy by the time I got there. Cars were passing by, people entered and exited the various shops and restaurants, and I could see a bunch of kids running in the direction of the baseball field. They were all kids from my class. I saw Tomita-kun and Okimura-kun, and bunch of other kids. Most of the kids were members of the Hinamizawa Fighters, while the others were just regular kids from Chie-sensei's class. Were we going to play against a team today like last time we were here? Mion was unclear about her motives, but it seemed like we weren't going to play any old baseball game.

When I arrived at the field, the kids were sitting on the sidelines and in the dugouts, waiting for the spectacle to begin. I chained my bike up near some other ones and proceeded onto the field. I looked around for Mion and the gang, but didn't see them anywhere. Tomita-kun and Okimura-kun spotted me and cheered for me. I waved back and saluted to them.

"Hey, Keiichi-san!" Satoko called out to me. She was in a dugout opposite the other dugout where the kids were hanging out in. I ran over to her.

"Hey, Satoko! What's up, everybody?" I now saw Mion, Rika, Satoko, and Rena sitting on the bench. They were all in their casual clothes like me. I looked at Rena and Rika. How were they going to play baseball in their dresses? Satoko, Mion, and I were all set, but I didn't know if they were going to be able to play in these clothes.

"Kei-chan!" Mion stood up and punched my shoulder. "Glad you didn't chicken out!"

"I'm always ready, Mion! Don't you worry about that!" I winked at her.

She laughed. "You better be!"

"So what're we doing today? I wonder!" Rena smiled with her eyes closed.

"I can't wait to defeat Keiichi-san! His tears of defeat will make me so happy! Oh ho ho ho ho!"

"Shut up!" I flicked Satoko's forehead.

"Waahhhh!" She began to cry fake tears. "Keiichi-san hit me! I hate you! I hate you!"

"Hauuuuuu! Satako-chan's crying! I want to take her home!"

"Make Keiichi-san pay and I'll let Rena-san take me home! Waaaah!" More tears streamed from her eyes.

I waved my hands in front of me furiously. "H-Hey wait, R-Rena! This is a big misunderstanding! I didn't-"

WAM! POW! BANG!

I fell to the dirt of the dugout. My face was throbbing. I was paralyzed by Rena's surprise punch attack…or was it her knee? After all this time that I knew her, I never truly figured out what she hits with. She was tightly hugging Satoko, twirling her around in the dugout. When she stopped spinning, Satoko looked at me with a condescending smile. You win this round, I told myself.

Mion stepped out onto the pitcher's mound. She raised her hands in the air and told all of the spectators to be quiet. After the kids were silenced, Mion stuck out her chest proudly and explained what today's event involved.

"Today, we will be holding the toughest club activity ever spawned! As this event is the toughest one yet, it will also carry the harshest punishment!"

All of the children ooh'd and ah'd loudly. I saw Tomita-kun and Okimura-kun shaking in their seats. Were they worried about what would happen to me if I had to face the punishment? Such great kids, worrying about the safety and welfare of their role model! Too bad I wasn't going to give Mion the chance to embarrass me this time!

"Today's event is the Deadly Danger Homerun Faceoff!" Mion flung her arms into the air again.

All of the kids began to cheer.

"A home run faceoff? What the hell is that?"

Part B

Rena looked at Mion's body language. She knew this was going to be quite the challenge. "What is it? What is it, I wonder?"

"Each participant," Mion continued, "will be given ten chances to hit homeruns in two separate rounds. The person with the lowest score in the first round will begin the second round. The participant with the most homeruns by the end of the game is the winner! The participant with lowest amount of homeruns by the end will have to play the punishment game!" Mion scurried back to the dugout where we were sitting in and retrieved a small brown bag from underneath the bench. Nobody else saw the bag. We all had looks of inquiry as to what could be in it. Knowing Mion, it had to be something awful!

She raised the bag over her head for everyone to see.

"Within this bag lies the punishment for the loser! For the record, I have no idea what the contents are! However, I like to thank my uncle for providing me with this lovely item, whatever it is! So, sit back and enjoy the show!"

The children cheered once more.

Mion placed the bag down on the ground. "Our participants for this home run faceoff are as follows: I, Sonozaki Mion, the club president! Ryuugu Rena! Houjou Satoko! Furude Rika! And last but not least, Maebara Keiichi!"

We all went onto the field and waved back at our fans. Tomita-kun and Okimura-kun looked conflicted. They cheered Rika-chan's name and Satoko's name, but quickly switched back to cheering my name when I glared at them. The traitors!

"And now!" Mion and pointed to the fence near the dugout we were just sitting in moments before. "Introducing our special guest pitcher: Kyousuke Irie-sensei!"

Irie appeared in his Hinamizawa Fighter's uniform, carrying a heavy bucket of baseballs. He smiled in his traditional goofy fashion and waved to everybody.

"Brining up the rear is our special guest nurse and cheerleader: Sonozaki Shion!"

Shion jogged to catch up to Irie. She was in her casual skirt, smiling away. She had a couple of metal baseball bats over her shoulder with a pitching glove hooked on the end of one. She saw me and blew me a kiss. I blushed, while Mion stamped her foot and cussed at her. Shion, in reply, stuck her tongue out at her sister and giggled.

"A-Anyway" Mion recomposed herself and faced her audience one last time. "We will begin shortly, so hang tight! Refreshments will be passed out to you all in a few minutes!"

Mion stepped off of the mound and approached me, Rena, Rika, and Satoko.

"Mii-chan, you were amazing!" Rena smiled brightly at her.

"Heh! No biggy!"

Irie and Shion came up to us. He dropped the bucket of baseballs next to one of the bleachers. He was sweating. "Man! These things are heavy! Why didn't you help me, Shion-chan?"

"It's the man's duty to do the heavy lifting right?" Shion laughed. "I'm a very delicate girl you know!"

"You could have helped me somewhat…"

"Don't expect too much from Shion, Manager!" Mion crossed her arms and scoffed at her sister. "She's always been lazy and weasels her way out of everything!"

"Is that so?" Shion dropped the bat and glove. She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She pushed her chest into mine tenderly. Her slender finger stroked my skin; it made my body quiver. She buried her face into my neck. I could feel her warm breath massaging me. I might be mistaken, but I think I felt her lips graze my skin. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love every minute of this!

"Kei-chan…?" She whispered to me.

"Y-Y-Yeah?"

"Will you take me out later…? I've missed you sooooo much…"

Mion grabbed Shion by her collar and threw her off of me. "S-Stay away from him!"

"Haha! What's wrong, sis? Kei-chan's a big boy! He can go out on a date with me!"

"He'd never go out with a sleazy bitch like you!" I could see the vein pulsing in Mion's forehead.

"Haha! Really? Then why did Kei-chan give me this cute little teddy bear?"

My eyes widened when I saw her holding the teddy bear in her arms. I was holding onto it ever since I left my house.

Mion stared at it, and then she looked to Shion, and then to me several times.

"Look at him!" Shion stuck the bear right in her face. She was rubbing salt into Mion's wound. "Isn't he adorable? Too bad you didn't get one! You see, Kei-chan and I are lovers!"

I blushed once more and shook my head swiftly. "N-No! That bear wasn't meant for you! Give it back!"

"Then who's it for? Surely you weren't going to give it to Sis, right? She doesn't even like things like this!"

I seized the bear from Shion's grasp. I handed the bear to Mion. She was astonished and her eyes were locked on its face. She didn't move a muscle as I was finishing this dispute.

"It's Mion's! I was going to give to her as a thank you for all the things she's done for me!" I said strongly, narrowing my eyes at Shion.

"Kei-chan…" I heard Mion mutter.

Shion scratched at her cheek. "I see. Well then!" She clapped her hands together and smiled at me. "I wish you the best of luck with her! You have my permission!" She ran off to the pile of refreshments near home plate to begin passing them out to the audience.

Mion hid her face behind the teddy bear and she was shivering. I didn't really understand what Shion meant by "permission," but it seemed to hit Mion pretty hard.

"That Shion," Irie laughed. "She's one of a kind isn't she, Maebara-san? Now if only she could cheer you guys on in that maid's outfit I picked out!" His goofy smile conquered his face. "That would make my heart melt!"

I watched as he skipped after Shion to help pass out the refreshments. I stared at him with a gigantic question mark over my head. Irie had to be the weirdest person I've ever met in all of Hinamizawa. He had a charm to him though. He was a great guy, but he was just very eccentric.

"I guess we should start the activity soon huh, Mion?" I tried to ease the tension made after Shion arrived.

"Yeah, let's do that." Mion was still hiding behind the bear. She sounded kind of happy, even though she was fuming at Shion just a minute ago. "Thank you for this…Keiichi. I'll treasure it always…"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I hope you like it." I kicked sheepishly at the ground for a second. "C'mon," I took her hand. "Let's go start the game!"

"Y-Yeah…"

The Deadly Danger Home Run Faceoff started ten minutes later. Irie donned his baseball cap and took the mound. He practiced his pitching with a member from his team. As he readied himself, the club members and I took the initiative to prepare as well.

Rena played around with the grip on her bat. She tried different stances to see which was best for her.

Satoko swung wildly at the air. There was a lot of passion behind each one of her swings. I think she was imagining her NiiNii watching her, cheering her on.

Rika didn't swing her bat at all. She sat on the bleachers talking to someone, but there was no one around her. Was she talking to herself? I never saw Rika do that before.

Mion was swinging her bat like I was doing. Nice and steady swings, with not much force behind them. These were practice swings after all. You didn't want to burn up your energy before a big game. You do that, you doom yourself from getting a hit.

While I was swinging my own bat, I felt a set of eyes on me, watching everything I did. I looked to the bleachers. Shion was watching me. She was holding a container of juice bottles and snacks. She stopped passing out the refreshments to watch me swing. When she caught me looking at her, she shook her head and resumed her duty, acting as if nothing happened. It was really odd. It made me feel uncomfortable. I told myself she was probably just teasing me. She was doing one hell of a job.

After a little while of practicing, Irie was ready to go. He called up the first contestant, and his catcher repositioned himself behind home plate. Mion went first. It was her sworn duty as the club president to make an example for all of us. She donned a batting helmet, spat onto the ground, and dug into her batter's box. She raised her bat up and stared Irie down.

"Gimme your best shot!" she yelled.

The first pitch was like a bullet. It hurtled through the air towards Mion. It was a regular fastball; she could do it. He swung her bat. A loud metallic bang echoed all across the field. The ball flew up into space and crashed down to the earth like a meteor. I didn't see where it landed, but it had to be somewhere out into the faraway street.

"That the best you got, Manager?" Mion was getting excited. She tightened her grip on the bat and took up her stance again.

Irie fired ball after ball at Mion. He threw every type of pitch he knew, but they were no match for Mion's spirit and skill. By the end of her round, she had hit eight homeruns out of her ten pitches. I knew Mion was good at everything she did, but I didn't know she was this good! It was going to be hard to beat her score.

She left the batter's box, waving to her fans, even bowing in gratitude to them. She passed the helmet to Rena. Rena was nervous. She waddled to the box and got into a weird stance. I know she was my opponent, but I hoped she could hit at least a few homeruns. Irie threw the first pitch, it was a foul ball down the right line. The second ball came, Rena missed. She became more nervous now. She looked to me for something. I cheered her on; it was all I could do. She was a friend and she was also my rival, but I didn't want to see her fail in this first round.

Before the third pitch, Satoko ran up to Rena. She whispered something into her ear. Rena's face turned bright red and her eyes lit up. She focused on Irie. Her cute mode had been activated!

"What'd you say to her?" I asked Satoko.

She giggled. "I told her that if she can beat Mion in the next round, I'll make Rika where cat ears and a little tail!"

I knew where this was going. "You're so bad!" We high-fived each other.

Irie's third pitch closed in on Rena. Without even batting an eye, she clobbered it. With the remaining pitches, she hit them the exact same way. Irie was stunned after the final homerun. Rena skipped off of homeplate, twirling around in circles over to us. Her face was still red.

"Oh ho ho! Rena-san hit seven homeruns! Good job!"

Rena was breathing hard. "I-I-I'm taking Rika-chan home with meeeeeeeeee!" She threw her bat aside and grabbed Rika, who was sitting not too far from where we were standing.

"Mii~…" she whined as she was crushed by Rena's inescapable bear hug.

It was Satoko's turn now. When she took her position, Irie was looking at her funny. She mouthed something to him and made this odd but adorable face. Now Irie's face turned bright red. His pitches were slow and they were easy to hit. Satoko sent all of her pitches into the next city with each swing. It was all a scam! She bewitched Irie to help her get a high score!

I looked to Mion for some help, but she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms behind her head. "That's our rule: do whatever it takes to win!" she said to me. That was one of our most important rules of the club. I couldn't argue against it.

Satoko received a perfect score. She smiled at me maniacally and challenged me to defeat her. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, especially since Irie was on her side. I had to come up with something to shut Satoko down.

Rika came up. Irie threw the first ball and it suddenly broke apart when Rika's bat made contact with it. This happened to the other pitches she hit. All were smashed open and hurtled outside of the field. She received a score of eight, just like Mion! How the hell did she do it? When she left home plate, she was speaking to herself again. When she caught me watching her, she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Nipa~!"

I was up. This round didn't go well for me. I hit six homeruns as opposed to everyone else's good scores. Sweat was running down my face. I glanced at the brown bag sitting next to Mion. She pointed at it with a devilish grin. I was trembling at the thought of was what was in it. If I didn't do better this next round, I'd be playing the worst punishment game yet. I couldn't lose! I wasn't going to let anyone get the better of me!

During the break before the last round, I found Irie washing his face by a fountain. He noticed my shadow in the sunlight and looked at me with his bizarre smile.

"Maebara-kun! What brings you here? Time to wash your soft skin before the next round?"

I tried my best to ignore his usual humor. "Hey, Manager. I got a question for you?"

"Oh? What kind of question?"

"What did Satoko offer you?" I got straight to the point.

Irie feigned a look of confusion. "What did she offer me? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Is that so?" I turned my back on him and crossed my arms. "Sorry! I guess I'm becoming a sore loser! I can't help it! I'm really competitive, you know. I never knew Satoko could be so good at sports!"

"She's very good!" Irie cleaned his glasses. "You saw for yourself! Not many girls like her can pull off a feat like that!"

"Yeah." I looked back at Irie. "Not many can wear a maid's dress like her either."

Irie's eyes flashed in the sunlight. "W-What did you say…?"

"Satoko's a real cute girl, huh? I bet she would look adorable in a maid's outfit, calling someone 'master' all day long!"

He was listening intently to me.

"But, it's too bad that that's just a fantasy. It would be great to see something like that! Especially on a day like today."

"Maebara-kun," he spoke quietly. I could hear his voice tremble. "What are you implying?"

"I'm just saying," I smiled at him, "wouldn't she look better in a maid's outfit than with just cat ears and a tail? Or better yet: what if she wore cat ears and a tail with a maid's uniform?" I approached him slowly, like a murderer stalking his target.

"W-W-What?" His nose began to bleed.

"Let me get a perfect score this round, Irie-sensei, and I'll make Satoko wear all that for you! All you have to do is let me hit ten homeruns, drop your agreement with Satoko, and she'll be all yours!" I said clearly for him, grabbing the collar on his uniform, grinning Mion's devilish smile.

He backed away from me. He fell to his knees hard. He looked up to me with tears in his eyes. "You would do that for me, Maebara-kun?"

"Of course I would! We're friends aren't we?" I held out my hand to him.

He grabbed it as he got back on his feet and we shook hands. Our grips were strong and our eyes were locked on each other. "I will help you! I will help you get a perfect score! And then Satoko-chan will be all mine!"

I smirked. When Irie went back to the mound, I cackled loud. My laugh was full of evil and pride. I got what I wanted; now all I had to do was win the game! No one, not even Satoko was standing in my way now! I grabbed my bat, my helmet, and took my batter's box. I held my bat high and winked at Irie. He winked back and winded up for the first pitch.

"I won't lose!" I cried out, swinging the bat as hard as I could.

I stood in the bathroom, covering myself up. I couldn't believe this was happening. I felt like I had died and went straight into the depths of Hell. I felt a great shame upon me. I was never going to live this down. I was never going to be the same again.

I lost the competition. I got ten homeruns in the last round, thanks to the alliance Irie and I formed, but it still wasn't enough. Mion hit nine homeruns, bringing her score to seventeen. Rena hit nine as well, tying Mion. Since she didn't beat her, she couldn't take Rika home. Satoko hit seven even without Irie's help, bringing her up to seventeen, and Rika hit ten. I was in dead last, so I had no choice but to play the punishment game. I hated my life.

"Kei-chaaaaan!" Mion sang. "Come on out of theeeere!"

I wanted to get this over with as soon as I could. I held my head up high and straightened my posture. I stomped over to the door of the bathroom and flung it open. When I stepped out with my hands on my hips, all of the kids, and all of the club members, Irie, and Shion, stared at me. The kids didn't laugh at all. They all trembled at the sight of what happened to me. Irie tried to look away. Shion held her chin and chuckled.

Satoko laughed like a hyena, Rika smiled and patted my head, and Mion was blushing uncontrollably but laughing at the same time. Rena scurried next to me, just watching how my body fidgeted. She played with my strings and tried to get behind me to see my backside. I ran away from her, but she kept catching up to me and choking me with her deadly embrace. I escaped a few times, but she continued to capture me.

"Hauuuuuu! Keeichi-kun's behind is so cuuuuute! I'm taking him home with me!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho! Keeiichi-san has lovely legs!"

Rika snickered as she patted my head. "…There, there!"

Mion snapped pictures with a camera she borrowed from one of the kids. She used up the whole film cartridge in the camera. "This is going to be plastered all over the classroom tomorrow!" She laughed.

"DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" I cursed at the top of my lungs.

The content of the brown bag was an article of clothing. It was an extremely revealing bikini that Mion's uncle got from a friend. It was so uncomfortable. I had to wear it until I returned home. Thank God that the sun was going down when I was forced to wear the bikini; I'd be home in just a short while. As I squirmed about it in, trying to avoid Rena, I could only begin to imagine if I had won the homerun faceoff.

What if Satoko lost? Or Rika? Or better yet, what if Rena lost? Or…what if Mion lost? I'd be able to see their legs, their thighs, their backs, their slender necks…it would be heaven on Earth! But my fantasies were destroyed when I came back to reality. I lost and now I had to pay for it. At least I wasn't the only one going down!

Irie approached Satoko. His eyes flashed again. He had a maid's outfit and a pair of cat ears and a tail in his hands. "Now, Satoko-chan," Irie said happily. "Time for Irie-san to collect!"

"What do you think you're doing?" She backed away.

"Maebara-san said if I gave him ten homeruns in the second round, then I could have Satoko-chan where these and call me 'master' for the rest of the day! And I can have Rika-chan too! Remember our agreement from before?"

"What? Grrrr! Keiichi! You bastard!"

Irie chased Satoko all around the field, waving the costume and props about. I was the one snickering now. Though I lost, I won a small victory by exacting my revenge on Satoko! Poor Rika, she got caught up in all of this too. But as we all say, the club is a serious thing!

We all had a great time today, despite me wearing the horrible swim gear. Everybody went home after the game ended. While Mion, Rena, and I were riding our bikes home, Rika stayed with Satoko, trying to save her from the misfortune I brought onto her. After helping Satoko and Rika hide from Irie, Shion joined up with us. Mion hated every moment her sister spent with us, but looked back at me occasionally to get a few more laughs from my bikini.

"That was a nasty trick you pulled on Satoko, Kei-chan," Shion scolded me.

"Do whatever it takes to win!" I replied back, regretting nothing at all. "Right, Mion?"

"Right!" She called back. "Kei-chan's become a master at this sort of thing!"

"Still, that was going a little too far." Shion grimaced.

"And shouldn't you be back there saving her and Rika?" I laughed

"They're safe now, no thanks to you!"

"Shii-chan cares a lot about Satoko, huh?" Rena smiled at Shion. They were riding next to each other.

"I do. I really do!" I saw Shion smile brightly. "She's all I have left of him. I promised him I'd take care of her."

"You mean Satoshi?" I asked plainly.

Shion hesitated to speak at first. "Yes," she said lowly.

"He left her in good hands!" I smiled warmly at Shion. Satoko was our connection. We both cared a lot for her, ever since the situation with her uncle. I was her big brother and Shion was her big sister. We loved her. We never wanted anything to keep her from smiling. We always wanted her to laugh and smile for the rest of her life.

Shion gave me a funny look, as if I looked like somebody else. She turned her gaze back to the road, blushing a tad. "We should get Kei-chan home before anybody sees his cute bikini!"

"If anybody sees him, it's his own fault! He lost the game!" Mion said playfully.

"Hauu! I want those pictures you took, Mii-chan!" Rena pleaded. "I want them! I want them!"

"Once I get them developed, I'll give some to you! You want some too, Kei-chan?"

"NO!"

"Hahaha!"

We arrived at my house and not a moment too soon. I was extremely lucky. Nobody was wandering around Hinamizawa. A few people saw me in Okinomiya when we were leaving, but we managed to slip past them before they could catch a better glimpse. When we came to my house, I waved goodbye to my friends. Even though I had to wear this ridiculous bikini, I still had a blast. Rena wished me a goodnight, as did Shion. Mion thanked me again for her teddy bear. I told her to think nothing of it. They rode off into the sunset, laughing and recalling everybody's performances at the game. I watched them as they left my house with a huge smile on my face. I loved these people. I absolutely loved them.

I was about to touch the knob on my door when it was opened. My dad stood at the threshold. He heard me coming and wanted to greet me. He noticed my bikini and looked at it for a whole minute.

"Uh, hi, Dad." I said ashamed of how I looked. "I lost the club activity again, haha…"

"That outfit," he said darkly. He grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it tightly. Tears filled his eyes and he turned his free hand into a fist. He was crying tears of joy. Damn my father's artistic mind! "Keiichi! You don't know how happy this makes me!"

"Eh?"

"Let's go into the studio! I don't want to waste another moment! I have to capture this image! Oh, and don't tell your mother about this!"

"What? Let me go! Dad! Knock it off!"

The cicadas chirped very loudly outside of the classroom the next day. I fell asleep during one of Chie-sensei's lectures, but they woke me up during half of it. Not realizing that class was only half way through, I yawned. I must have yawned pretty loud because all of my classmates were staring at me, even Chie-sensei. She glowered at me.

She calmly strolled to my desk and rested the edge of her T-square on my desk. She looked down at me.

"Are you paying attention to me, Maebara-kun?" she asked in a demonic tone.

"Huh? Oh, uh, haha! Yeah, of course I am!" Sweat ran down the back of my neck.

"You were? Then tell me, what's the significance of this line?"

What line? Were we talking about poetry? Or were we reading a textbook? I had no freaking clue what we were doing! Anything I said could be used against me. I was as good as dead. Unless...

That's when it hit me. I could get out of this. I was going to get out of this!

I cleared my throat and spoke confidently. "Well, it's very obvious. The significance of this line reminds me of the significance of something else in life. It reminds me of the greatest fruit that the earth has ever bore. It reminds me of curry!"

Chie-sensei blinked. "What?"

"It's exactly like curry! Without curry, we could not enjoy one of life's greatest pleasures! We'd be doomed to a life without curry! We'd be doomed to an existence without the most lip-moistening delicacy that ever blessed this planet! It's the very same case with this line!"

Chie-sensei blinked several times before opening her mouth. She looked delighted. Her simper was so wide and her eyes beamed at me. "What a wonderful thought! I never would have thought of it that way! Maebara-kun, you're a genius!"

I chuckled. "Why, thank you! I try my best!"

My head suddenly hurt. Her T-square had smacked me hard. I clutched my wound and yelped.

"Speaking ill about curry is a heavy crime," she yelled at me, "but sucking up to me by using curry is unforgivable! How dare you?"

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Lunch time rolled around. Mion, Rena, and I brought our desks together and began to pick at each other's lunchboxes. It was only us three. Rika and Satoko didn't come in today. Rena looked worried.

"It's not like Rika or Satoko to miss school." She was frowning. "I wonder what happened."

"They're fine!" Mion said with a mouthful of rice. "I wouldn't worry!"

"I agree with Mion." I wiped my mouth clean. "They probably overslept or something."

"I hope they made it home alright yesterday."

Mion stopped eating for a moment. She looked at Rena reassuringly. "Shion called me last night. She called Kasai, her guard, to drive them home after they ran a few errands in Okinomiya before she rode with us. Kasai said they made it home safely last night, he confirmed it!"

"Well, that's a relief!" Rena smiled.

"They must be exhausted from yesterday's game! They did a great job!"

"Maebara-kun!" Chie-sensei called me. "There's a visitor at the front. He wishes to speak with you."

I stood up and approached the threshold of the classroom door. She huffed at me and walked back to the teacher's office. I was beginning to think that philosophical faux paw I made about curry wasn't such of a good idea.

I exited the classroom and treaded down the hall. When I reached the main entrance, I was met by a familiar face.

"Maebara-san, right?" a man asked me. He had short black hair and wore a yellow jacket with blue trousers.

"Oh! Akasaka-san!" I was happy to see him. The last time I saw him was about a month ago, back when we were fighting Takano. Rika-chan seemed really fond of him. I remembered the hug she gave him when we first met. "What brings you here?"

Akasaka scratched his head. "I transferred to the Okinomiya precinct. Ooishi-san's retired and on vacation, so I decided to fill his space."

"That's good news! How's Oiishi-san doing?"

"He's fine." Akasaka looked around us suspiciously. "Hey, Maebara-san, can we talk in my car over there?" He pointed to his vehicle. "It's a little hot out here and I can use the AC right about now."

I raised my eyebrow at him. This was all too familiar. "Uh, ok."

We walked to his car. I climbed into the passenger's seat while he sat in the driver's spot. He flicked on the AC and sighed in relief. His face was sweating and his eyes didn't blink once.

"That's much better!"

"So, what's going on, Akasaka-san?" I asked.

He pulled out a small notebook from his jacket pocket, along with a pen. "Were you with Rika-chan and Houjou Satoko-chan yesterday afternoon?"

"I was. We were playing a baseball game in the city."

"When did you last see them?"

"Around sunset. My friends, Rena, Shion, and Mion and I rode on our bikes back to Hinamizawa.

"You were on a blue bike?"

"Yeah…?"

"Oh! So you were the guy in the bikini!" he laughed to himself. "I was talking to bystanders before I came here and they said that they saw you-"

I was embarrassed, but something about his laugh bothered me. It didn't sound genuine. It sounded like he was faking it. His appearance bothered me as well. His eyes, the way he sweated, and the way his fingers twitched when he wrote in his notebook. Something wasn't right. My head was filling with thoughts and concerns. It wasn't like a cop to just stop by and say hi when you're in the middle of school.

"What's going on, Akasaka-san?" I said sternly this time, interrupting him. I wanted him to get the point.

He sighed again. It sounded as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I don't know how to put this, but," he peered directly into my eyes, "Rika-chan and Satoko-chan are missing."