Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Keiyodoshi-hen (The Treacherous Chapter)

I love you,

I long for your tender embrace.

I love you,

I await the day you return to me,

I love you,

But why do you seem so different?

I love you.

Why don't you love me too?

Chapter 1: Punishment

Part A

The sun was in my room. Its light shone down upon my face. My eyes twitched and my body rolled over in my bed. I was so comfortable under my covers. I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to move at all. I just wanted to stay in bed, snuggling in the warm embrace of my blanket.

The night before, my parents left for a business trip. My father had an opportunity to hold a exhibition for his new paintings. I never got the chance to see them since he wouldn't let me. I didn't know if they were any good or not, but I didn't know much about my dad's art anyway. I knew he had bizarre mood swings based on his creative flow and strange taste in crafting his new projects, but I never saw much of his works. I hoped he would do a good job regardless.

My parents were going to be gone all week. I could have gotten use to this new rhythm. I could sleep later and stay up later than usual. I could basically do whatever I wanted. My only problem was cooking. I was wracking my brain the night before trying to figure out what I could do for food. I could make rice, instant noodles, and curry, but who in their right mind who want to eat curry all the time? It was inhuman! I probably would have gotten tired of noodles if I had tried that too. I had to come up with some way to cook.

My phone began to ring. Its obnoxious sound tormented my ears. I decided to just ignore it. I was still sleeping. The phone finally stopped ringing. Thank God, I muttered. Now if I could just get a few more minutes of sleep. The phone was ringing again. I ignored it once more. It rang another time. No matter how much I ignored it, the phone just kept on ringing. I suddenly rose from my bed and seized it from the hook.

"Leave me the hell alone! I'm sleeping!"

I slammed the phone back on its cradle and jumped back in bed. I flung the covers back over me and closed my eyes. It was Sunday. Who would bother anybody on a Sunday? It was asinine! Who had the right to disturb me from my slumber? I'd kill whoever called me if I saw ever saw him!

About twenty minutes later, my door bell started to ring. I had enough. I seriously had enough. I threw the covers off of me and stomped downstairs. I swung the door open and glared at whoever was standing at the threshold with a face full of rage.

"WHAT? What the hell do you want?" I shouted.

"Hey!" The voice was female. "That's no way to treat a friend, Kei-chan!"

"Huh?"

Mion stood at my door. She was smiling with her eyes closed, with an arm behind her back. She was in her casual clothes. Her BB gun was pointed right at my head.

"Wakey wakey!" She said, shooting me in the head.

I fell back and writhed in pain on the floor. I stood up with a small red dot on my forehead. I was yelling at her. "What was that for? What's your problem, Mion?"

Mion pulled the hammer back on her gun. "Still cranky? Uncle Mion will fix that!"

She fired again. This time, the plastic bullet hit my shoulder.

"Ow! Knock it off!"

"Ahaha!" Mion returned her weapon to her holster. "Did you just wake up or something, Kei-chan? It's a little before noon!"

"Yeah I just woke up! I was trying to sleep but some asshole kept calling my house! And then you ring my doorbell and shoot me in the face! Of course I'm cranky!"

Mion was still smiling at me. She pulled out her gun and shot me in my other shoulder.

"Ouch! Cut it out!"

"I want an apology, Kei-chan!" Mion looked at me with an evil grin. "You know that 'asshole' that called you? That was me!"

I blinked a few times.

"…What…?"

"And you say I'm the rude one! You never picked up and then you have the nerve to yell at me!" Mion turned her back to me and began to walk away. She sounded like she was going to start crying.

"H-Hey, Mion, wait! I'm sorry!" I ran after her and put my hand on her shoulder. I turned her around to face me. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell!"

Mion placed her hands on her hips and stared me down. She didn't look like she was going to cry at all. She tricked me! "Do you know what today is, Kei-chan?"

"It's Sunday."

"You know what that means don't you? It's adventure time!" Mion pulled out coupons from her pants pocket. She shoved them in my face. "You haven't eaten today, right? Uncle Mion has five special coupons to an all-you-can-eat lunch at Angel Mort today!"

"Seriously?" I held the coupons in my hand and examined them. "Where did you get these?"

"My family owns the restaurant, remember? I can get as many coupons as I want anytime I want!"

"So, you're inviting me to come along with you?"

Mion snatched the coupons from my hand. "I'm not so sure anymore." She grinned again. "Good little boys get treats while bad boys don't get anything!"

"I said I was sorry! What do you want from me?"

"Hmmmm." Mion put a finger to her forehead and thought for a second. "How about 10,000 yen and we'll call it even?"

"Are you kidding me? You have enough money as it is! Why do you want mine?"

"Ahaha!" Mion slapped my shoulder. It still hurt from when she shot me. "Just kidding! Go change and we'll get going! Everybody's going to meet us at the restaurant!"

"Alright!" I pumped my fist and smiled brightly. "I can't wait to have some of those delicious cakes and cream puffs!"

"Ahaha! You're pretty excited, huh?"

"Of course I am!"

"I can see that pretty well, Kei-chan!" Mion's eyes weren't looking at my face anymore. They were looking at something below. Her hand was on her chin and that evil grin grew wider. It took me a minute before I realized that she was looking below my waist. I was still in my pajamas, consisting of a short sleeved shirt and shorts. She could make out my features.

I covered myself and blushed uncontrollably. I raced into the house and ran up to my room.

I could hear Mion laughing at me maniacally. It made me more ashamed of myself!

When I came out in my own casual clothes, Mion was still laughing.

"It's not my fault!"

"Sure it's not!" Mion got onto her bike. She had it resting against the side of my house. "So I guess it's my fault then? This old man's beautiful face made you perky, am I right?"

"Shut up!"

Mion and I rode off to Okinomiya. I was counting down the moments until I stormed through the door of Angel Mort and begun shoving cakes, cream puffs, and other food down my throat. This all-you-can-eat event was perfect for my predicament! I could eat lunch here and take some home to have for supper! Who cares if I had dessert for supper? It's still food! If it could keep me alive one more day until I figured out a food strategy that would last me all week, I was fine with it!

When we arrived at the restaurant, Mion and I were greeted by a very cute waitress. She showed us to a large booth after Mion presented the five coupons. We sat there perusing the menu, waiting for everybody else to show up.

Mion was humming as she looked through the menu. She was incredibly cheery. I wonder what had her in such a good mood. Maybe a new game came in the mail and she was counting on using it for the club activity. That's when a thought struck me.

"Hey, Mion." I said with a suspicious face. "You didn't just ask me to come out to have lunch, did you? What have you got planned?"

Mion snickered. "You saw through me, huh? Just wait and see, Kei-chan! You'll need all the energy you can muster before the next club activity!"

I knew it! That was her motive all along!

"Yeah, well, whatever it is, I'm going to win for sure! Bet on it!" I threw her a thumbs up.

"Is that so? You've been on such a terrible losing streak though! I'm sorry, but I'll believe it when I see it!"

I hung my head in sorrow. "You're so cruel…"

Mion reached across the table and patted my head. "Heehee! I wonder what punishment you'll have to suffer…"

I groaned. "No more maid outfits, bikinis, skirts, or aprons, please! I don't think I can take it!"

"Play better then!" Mion lifted my head up with her finger. She had her finger under my chin. "Do whatever it takes to win! You remember?"

I nodded, though my fears still swirled around in my head.

Mion only laughed at my suffering. What a good friend she was…

"Hey, Mii-chan! Keiichi-kun!" Rena walked in through the door. Her white dress and hat dazzled in the sunlight. "Am I late?"

"Nope!" Mion waved her over. "You're right on time! Kei-chan and I just got here!"

Rena sat next to Mion and they shared the menu. Rena looked at me with a worried expression. "Are you alright, Keiichi-kun? You look tired! Did you get any sleep? Did you?"

"I slept fine, but I was so comfortable in my bed and some jackass kept calling my house and wouldn't leave me alone!"

"Huh? Who would do that to you?"

"Someone evil!"

Mion reached for her gun. I hid my face behind my menu so she couldn't hit me. Although she couldn't shoot me, I shouldn't have been focusing on my face because Mion kicked me hard in the shin. I yelped and cringed at the pain.

"Keiichi-kun! What happened?"

"N-Nothing…nothing at all…"

Mion giggled. "You should have seen Kei-chan, Rena! He was so perky this morning!"

Rena blushed. "Perky? What are you talking about…? Hauuu…"

"Stop giving her ideas!" I yelled at Mion despite my pain.

"What was Keiichi-kun so perky about? Hauuuu…"

"Gahahaha!" Mion swung her head back and laughed to the heavens. This girl was such a sadist! She got so much pleasure out of torturing me!

"Keiichi-san! Mion-san! Rena-san!" A high-pitched voice called out from the door.

It was Satoko. She came in with Rika, who was smiling brightly as much as she was. They ran over to the table. After greeting Mion and Rena, they turned to greet me. Satoko sat next to me. Rika was about to, but Satoko had taken her spot. There wasn't any room for her to climb over the both us and take the spot next to me. I was going to say that she could sit with Mion and Rena, but before I did, she sneaked under the table. She sat in the empty spot near the window that was next to me. I looked at her funny, but I was met by her cute smile.

I shared my menu with Rika and Satoko. Rika looked at the various cream puffs and the mouth watering pictures depicting the chocolate cakes. Satoko was eyeing those fluffy cakes. I personally wanted a healthy mix of both worlds. Mion was thinking about some of the other pastries and Rena was interested in my plan of having both.

We sat there, sharing some stories and just enjoying each other's company. Our waitress took our orders and skipped off to get started on them. I watched her back as she skipped. I noticed the way her body moved, the way her skin flashed in the light, and how her hair bounced. That costume filled my head with dirty thoughts. I was starting to drool. It was getting so bad that the table was getting wet. Satoko had to slap me out of my trance before I returned to reality. I wiped my mouth with a napkin, only to daydream a few minutes later. I felt like I was in one of Rena's "cute modes."

"Gross, Keiichi-san!" Satoko slapped me again. "You're so disgusting!"

"What's Keiichi-kun thinking about? I wonder!" Rena clapped her hands.

"Something's never change!" Mion laughed.

"…Keiichi's drool is dribble drabbling!" Rika smiled much cuter than before.

I wiped my mouth again. "I can't help it! Such pretty girls, such pretty outfits…haauuu! I want to take them home with me!" I saw Rena giggling as I stole her words.

"Here we go guys!" Another waitress came over to our table and delivered our food. We all got our dishes and looked lovingly at them. "Are you going to stare at them or are you gonna eat them?"

I knew that voice. I couldn't believe I didn't recognize it before.

"Sh-Shion!" Mion was flabbergasted. She saw her sister wearing the Angel Mort uniform with such shock in her eyes. Her voice was rising even though she didn't mean to yell. "What're you doing here?"

"I work here, Sis! Don't tell me you forgot!" Shion winked.

"Nee-nee!" Satoko got out of her seat and hugged Shion. Shion held her tight.

"Having fun everybody?"

"We were until you showed up!" Mion was still yelling.

"Don't be that way, Sis!" Shion reached over the table and patted her hand. "I just wanted to say hello and see how my big sister was doing today!"

"Shut up! J-Just get out of here!"

Shion giggled and spotted me. She walked to the booth behind us. She stood on the seat with her knees and draped her arms over the top of our booth. Her arms wrapped around my neck. She was stroking my collar bone with her thin and delicate fingers. Her chest was right behind my head. She pulled me back so I could feel it. The back of my head snuggled against her. I was in Heaven! I thought I was going to die because of all these tingling feelings I was getting!

"How's my Kei-chan doing today…?" She said seductively.

"Kei-chan's fine!" I was blushing and shivering all over.

"Mii~!" Rika said. "Keiichi's drool is dribble drabbling again!"

"D-Don't you touch him! Leave him alone!" Mion picked up a knife on the table.

"Haha! Or what? Don't you see my lover is happy?" She leaned her head over my shoulder. I felt her breath kiss my ear. "Does it feel good…?"

I couldn't speak. My vocal chords were tied up in knots.

Mion growled and threw her knife at Shion's head. She pulled her head back and twirled from the booth behind us, just before the knife connected. She was at the side of our table now, laughing loudly. The knife was a few centimeters from my ear. It was stuck in the head rest of the booth. I was paralyzed.

"Hey! You can hurt somebody if you're not careful, Sis!"

"Just leave!" Mion picked up another knife.

"Okay, okay! I'm going! Have a good lunch, you guys!" Mion waved to us and danced off into the kitchen.

Mion growled again. She spoke angrily, with her eyes closes and with her arms folded. "Kei-chan? Can I have my knife back?"

"Oh ho ho ho ho!" Satoko elbowed me. "I've never seen Keiichi-san so scared before!"

I couldn't move at all. The knife's handle was in the corner of my eye. I was sweating profusely and guttural sounds emitted from my throat. Rika removed the knife from the head rest and handed back to Mion. How did I suddenly go from Heaven to Hell in such short time?

Five minutes later, Rena tried to ease the tension in the air. "You said your parents are on a trip, Keiichi-kun?"

I smacked my face hard to revive myself from my near death experience. "Uh…yeah. They're gonna be gone all week. Dad's got an important exhibition and he's showing off some new paintings."

"I hope it goes well!"

"Pooah Kei-chwan!" Mion munched on some of her pastries as she spoke. "He's not gwonna have anything to eat! Pooah baby can't cook a shimple shuppah!"

I had to listen to her closely to pick out some of her words. "I can cook just fine!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho! Keiichi-san's going to eat rice and curry all week!" Satoko laughed hard. Some cream from her cream puffs was on the corner of her mouth.

I leered at her. "You stay out of it! I can cook just fine and you know it!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Rika and I save you from burning your house down on one occasion?"

I recalled that incident. I was trying to cook a simple meal but I had the gas turned on too high. I burned my ceiling and almost the whole house. My home would have been destroyed if not for Rika and Satoko.

I turned my head away from her and huffed. "I have no idea what you mean!"

"You're hopeless! You're going to die from starvation or food poisoning, that is, if you even attempt at making dinner!"

"You little brat!" I flicked her forehead with my finger.

"Waaaaaaah! Keiichi-san hit me!" Fake tears streamed from her eyes.

Rena's face blushed. Her whole face contorted at Satoko's cute appearance. I foresaw what was going to happen next. I could see Satoko making an offer for Rena: if she could beat me up, Satoko would let Rena take her home! Now I had done it!

"Mion! I need your gun now!" I reached out toward her holster.

Mion covered her chest and her gun with her arm. "Oh no you don't, you pervert!"

"N-No! That's not what I was trying to do! I was trying to-"

BAM! CRACK! CRASH!

Rena had twisted my arm as I was reaching out to Mion. She nearly broke it! She dashed from her seat and picked Satoko up. She twirled around in circles, singing her mantra of taking Satoko home.

"Okay, okay! That's enough!" Mion tapped her glass of water with her spoon. "We gotta decide on the next club activity!"

"Are we having one today? Today?" Rena grew more and more excited, along with Rika and Satoko.

"Of course we are! What Sunday isn't complete without one?" Mion placed her elbows on the table. She folded her hands together and rested her chin on them. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Let's do something exciting and intense!" Satoko pounded her fists on the table. "I can't wait to humiliate Keiichi-san!"

"I do have one idea," Mion said mysteriously. "It's pretty intense and it'll get your blood pumping for sure! And the loser can get humiliated pretty badly!"

"Ooooh! I like the sound of that!"

"Are we playing baseball?" Rika looked at Mion. "I like baseball a lot!"

"I was thinking about a special baseball game we could play, but it'll take too long to get things ready. Maybe we can do it some other time!"

I heard Rika sigh. Nobody else seemed to hear her but me. She looked sad and disappointed. Did she really want to play baseball that much? Come to think of it, hadn't we played baseball already? I know we played it a long time ago, that time last month when I rushed in with a golf club. Wasn't there another time though?

As I sat there thinking, Rika was looking at me. She was staring at me. I thought I had some frosting from the cake I was eating stuck to my mouth. She didn't say a word though. When I caught her watching me, she closed her eyes and struck me with an adorable expression on her innocent face.

"Nipa~!"

"Nipa~…" I scratched my head sheepishly.

"So what's your idea, Mii-chan?" Rena held her hands together in suspense.

"Well," Mion fingered the grip on her gun. "Let's just say…it has something to do with death."

The table got very quiet. I couldn't turn away from her. The way she said that sentence made my skin crawl.

"Uh-huh, that's right. It'll be an intense battle to the death! We'll be having this one in the forest next to Rena's hideout! I'll bring the gear! You guys just need to show up! Make sure you guys wear something you can easily move around in! Wear your P.E. uniforms or something!"

Gear? What did Mion have planned? I didn't like the way she spoke about it at all.

After our lunch, we all went our separate ways from Angel Mort. Satoko stayed behind to be with Shion though. Those two had really gotten close. It made me smile to see them become such good friends. I thought about my own relationship with Satoko. When we first met, I hated her so much for all the tricks she pulled on me. After a while, I grew to care about her. She was like the little sister I never had.

We had been spending time together, more time than usual. Sometimes I visited her and Rika-chan at their house. They treated me to a nice lunch and dinner whenever I came to visit. Sometimes I invited her over my house for a meal or two. I knew life was tough for her. All she had in the world was Rena, Rika, Mion, me, and Shion. Her Nii-nii was gone and I didn't know if he was ever going to come back.

I did my best to fill in for Satoshi. I put up with Satoko's pranks more often than I should have, while teasing her a little more than usual. I had been nicer towards her however. I also bought her a few things from a toy store whenever we were in Okinomiya, when Mion dragged us to the latest club activity. Even though she constantly abused me with her traps and taunts, there was a charm to Satoko. I loved her.

I decided to head over to Rena's hideout and wait for everybody there. I was already dressed for the occasion, so I didn't have to waste time getting ready. I made it there in no time at all. I was the only one there.

The junkyard was unusually quiet. I didn't hear anything at all, no chirping of insects, no birds cawing, and no debris falling from the many piles Rena had made. It made me feel uneasy. This was one of the few places in all of Hinamizawa where no one could hear you and where no one could see you. Rena told me that one of the first times I came here. This place was the perfect site for a murder. All you had to do was lure the poor soul here and strike him down. No one would notice anything. No one would hear anything. Only the cicadas would know.

I sat atop Rena's trailer. I looked up into the blue sky above me. I couldn't find a cloud at all. It was days like these that lifted my spirit. It was days like these that made me fly. I didn't have to worry about anything. Nothing was on my mind at all.

I breathed in the crisp air. I hadn't felt this good in a long time. I hadn't had a chance to relax like this, to be able to play with my friends in so long. I wished everyday was like this one. I wished Hinamizawa would stay this serene.

"Keiichi-san! You're here already?"

"Satoko?" I saw her looking up at me. She was standing at the door to the trailer. "Aren't you going to get changed for Mion's game?"

"These clothes are fine! I wouldn't want to waste time getting into my P.E. uniform when I'm already in these!" She was wearing her pink blouse and shorts. She was thinking just like me.

"Good point."

She wanted to come up and join me. I extended my hand out to her. She grabbed it and put her foot up on the trailer door. She kicked off of it to jump up to me as I hoisted her, giving me a little help when I lifted her.

She sat next to me and watched the sky with me.

"Have you been sitting here just staring at the sky this whole time?"

"Yeah." I smiled lightly. "I decided to come straight here and wait for everybody to show up. I've been looking up at the sky ever since."

"You're so weird, Keiichi-san!" Satoko grinned at me.

"You're one to talk!" I placed my hand on her head and rubbed it roughly.

She blushed a little and threw my hand off of her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Awww, does wittle Satoko not like her head wubbed?"

Satoko punched me in the arm hard. She huffed and looked away from me. I could see the corner of her mouth, even when she thought her face was completely out my sight. I saw her smile.

"Are you picking on Satoko again?"

I now saw Shion standing at the door to the trailer. She was in a P.E. outfit similar to Mion's. She furrowed her brow at me, although I knew she was just kidding around.

"Hey! I thought you were right behind me, Nee-nee!"

"Oops, sorry!"

"Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked.

"I told my uncle that Sis was going to have one of her crazy games and asked if I could leave for the day. He was very nice and let me go!" She giggled. "Or, does Kei-chan not want me to play with everybody?"

"Doesn't matter to me personally."

"Don't be mean to Nee-nee!" Satoko punched my arm again.

"You...!"

We both swatted at each several times, but missed. We then grabbed hold of each other's cheeks and starting stretching them. Our cheeks turned red and are faces became so warped after our fight. We finally gave up and caressed our wounds. Shion merely laughed at us. She came up on the top of the trailer and sat next to Satoko and I. We joked and laughed as we waited for everyone.

It wasn't that long of a wait for the others to arrive. Rena came next, and then Rika. Mion followed afterwards. They were all in their P.E. outfits. Satoko and I were sticking out like two sore thumbs. Mion was hostile toward Shion's presence at first, but after thinking for a moment, she allowed her to participate in the club activity. I could see Mion's dark intentions written all over her face. I knew this wasn't going to be good at all!

Mion was carrying two large briefcases in her hands. She led us into the forest near Rena's hideout like the leader of marching band. When we were deeper into the forest, Mion spun around and threw down the cases. She placed a foot on top of a case and smiled that classic smile of hers.

"Today," she said full of pride. "We will be having a new variation to a club activity we've already done in the past. You guys remember our squirt gun duel?"

Rena jumped up and down. "I remember! I remember! That was so much fun!"

"Well, you're in luck! 'Cause today, we'll be playing that game again. This time, however, will be more serious than before!"

Mion opened both of the briefcases swiftly. Our eyes were dazzled by the contents. There were eight pistols, one shotgun, one sub-machine gun, two rifles, and a large revolver. Among the weapons were multicolored balloons filled with water. Mion smirked as she ran her eyes over each weapon.

"These are the rules of the Cooperative Deathmatch! We will be split up into three teams of two! Each participant will carry two weapons, a larger gun and a pistol, and three water grenades! It's like the water tag game we played, but this is gonna be a bigger challenge! Each team will fight against the other teams until there is only one team left standing! Even if one member is killed, the surviving member can still win the game for their team!

"We'll be using a sophisticated play style! I want this to be as realistic as we can make it! Meaning, I'm incorporating a Body Damage System!"

"What's that?" I asked.

"Easy! Let's say Kei-chan got shot in the arm. If his arm is hit, then it is incapacitated and he can't use it for the rest of the game! If his leg is shot, he can't use it either!"

"Sounds tough," I grunted.

"Don't get shot then!" Mion wagged her finger at me. "Now, if you get shot the in the head, then it's a kill! You're eliminated! If all of your limbs are shot, then you're also eliminated! We'll be using a scoring system too! If you shoot somebody in the arm or leg, you get five points! If you score a headshot, then you get ten points! The team with the most points by the end of the game is the winner! Those with the least amount of points will have to play the punishment game!"

"What's the punishment this time?" Rena was getting pumped. She couldn't wait to begin.

"The loser has to do whatever the winner says! And I mean whatever…within some reason of course!"

My eyes lit up. I put on my own evil smile. So I could make the loser do whatever I wanted? I chuckled. This was going to be a piece of cake!

"Hehehe," Mion chuckled too. "What's with that look, Kei-chan? What are you plotting?"

"I was just thinking of what I'm going to make you do for me when I win!"

Mion's smirk curled all across her face. "I like that, Kei-chan! I like that a lot! Show me what you've got!"

"I call Rika for my team!" Satoko grabbed Rika by the arm. Satoko picked up a sub-machine gun and her handgun as Rika picked up two pistols.

"Oh! Rika's feeling confident!" Mion laughed.

"Mii~! I like to deliver twice the amount of pain. Nipa~!"

Rika scared me. Her duel wielding pistols? I wasn't sure if that was going to bode well for me.

"I want Mii-chan for my team!" Rena seized a rifle and her pistol. "Hauuu! I want Keiichi-kun to play the penalty game!"

Mion looked surprised. "I thought you would be on his team, Rena!"

"If I did, then I wouldn't have the chance to take him home with me!"

My worries only increased. By "whatever," did Mion really mean whatever? I saw the look of ecstasy on Rena's face. She was so overjoyed of the thought of making me suffer the punishment game. Just what exactly was she thinking about?

"I guess that leaves you and me, Kei-chan!" Shion picked up a shotgun and wrapped her arm around mine.

Mion was angry at first, but her scowl morphed into her sinister smile once. "Hehehe! Isn't this quaint! I get to humiliate Kei-chan and Shion at once!"

"I won't let you beat me this time!" I said to Mion as I picked up a rifle and a pistol. "You're mine, Sonozaki Mion!"

"And you're mine…Maebara Keiichi…!"

We scattered throughout the forest. We were given ten minutes to get to any part of the forest that we wished, as long as we weren't near any of our opponents. After our waiting period, the game had begun. I raised my rifle and pumped it. I was ready for battle! Shion readied her shotgun and followed beside me.

I decided to let her lead the assault when we got deeper into the woods. She had a close range weapon, so she could take care of anybody who tried to rush us. I stayed a little bit behind to cover her back. This way, if there was an ambush, I could take care of the attacker with just one shot.

As we walked, I noticed that the shotgun was pretty big. I was surprised that Shion could lug it around.

"You sure you don't want this rifle, Shion? That gun looks way too big for you."

"Are you kidding?" Shion looked at me as if I had two heads. "You saw me use that huge Kalashnikov last month, didn't you? That was a real gun! I think I can handle a toy gun just fine! Thanks for your concern though!"

"Oh that's right."

"What about you? Can you handle that big rifle?"

"Of course I can!"

"Ahaha! Alright then! Let's keep going! Be careful of traps though, no doubt Satoko has a lot of them in store for us!"

I forgot about Satoko. This wasn't going to be easy at all. Shion was right; Satoko probably had a bunch of traps lying in wait. They could have been anywhere in the forest! They were all camouflaged! They were waiting for me to trigger them!

Shion and I walked at a slow and steady pace with our weapons trained in front of us. I was getting nervous. My finger was brushing against the trigger of my rifle. Mion was out there waiting for me. She was waiting to shoot me dead! Satoko was out there, waiting for me to spring one of her traps! Rika and Rena were waiting for anything to happen.

I felt that I was going to be ambushed so many times. I felt all of their eyes upon me. I was waiting for them to surprise me and attack. I was counting on it. I knew that's what they were going to do! They were going to be patient until I let my guard down just once, and then that would be it.

Shion saw my troubled face. She tried to ease my nerves with a warm smile. She mouthed to me.

"We can do this!"

I nodded to her. I was psyching myself out before I even begun. That was no way to play a game like this! I buried my fears and tightened the grip on my gun. I wasn't going to give up! I wouldn't stop fighting until I had Mion under my control!

We came across a clearing, where there were many piles of leaves. They formed a walkway to the other side of the clearing. The leaves were traps; there was no question about it! It was so obvious! We could just walk around it! Wait a minute, no we couldn't. The trap was right out in the open. Satoko knew that. She wouldn't have set a trap so easy to detect and evade. There must have been another trap to go along with it!

If I stepped into the piles of leaves, nothing would happen. It was a walkway leading to the other side. If I stepped around it, then I would get hit by the real trap. But then again, what if the leaves were the real trap? What if walking around the piles was the safest idea? Satoko always got me with these mind games!

I chose to try the leaves. Shion stood back and watched me. I could see the fear on her face as I approached the first pile. I put my foot into the pile. Nothing. I placed both feet into the pile now. Still nothing. I sighed in relief.

I went on to the next pile. I stepped in it. Nothing was happening to me at all. Shion stepped into the first pile behind me; she was fine. I was about to step into the third pile, when my fears began to cloud my mind again. What if…? No, there was no way. Unless…

I stuck the barrel of my gun into the third pile. Something snapped. I immediately ducked, yelling to Shion to get down. We both hit the ground with hard thuds. We covered our heads and laid there.

Nothing happened. I lifted my head and poked at the pile a few more times. I didn't hear any more snaps. I stood up, along with Shion. I placed my foot into the third pile now. I heard a louder snap. I heard the air being sliced in half by a projectile. I lifted my eyes to see a water balloon hurtling right to my face. I ducked just in time; the balloon just grazed my hair. Shion jumped to the side to evade the balloon, but another snap sounded off.

Another balloon came at her. She ducked and it soared right over her head. After the balloons popped and water splashed about, we heard a terrible snicker. We aimed our guns toward the sound. There stood Satoko, with her hand near her mouth, laughing at us. She held her sub-machine at her side.

"Oh ho ho ho! I'm impressed, Keiichi-san! I didn't think you would be that smart and quick!"

"Heh! You're getting rusty, Satoko!" I cocked the gun again. "I saw right through your traps!"

"Did you?"

"Kei-chan, behind you!" Shion yelled.

I whipped around to see Rika standing behind me. She was smiling with her eyes closed with one pistol aimed at my head and one aimed at my leg. My eyes widened.

"…Keiichi's going to die now!"

She pulled the trigger on both of her pistols. A water blast flew at my forehead. I dodged in the nick of time, but my right leg was hit by her. I aimed my gun at her and fired. She jumped to the side, but Shion intercepted her. She fired her shotgun.

The blast hit her arm. She dropped one of her pistols and shot back at Shion. As they fought, Satoko charged me. She fired squirt after squirt. I moved back to the entrance to the clearing, dragging my leg, and firing back. I hit her arm. Just as I was about to get a headshot, she tossed her sub-machine gun up. She tossed her last few water balloons at me, while Rika threw hers at Shion. Satoko caught her gun and they fled, as Shion and I were too busy dodging the explosions.

"Dammit! We had them!"

"No, they had us!" Shion came over to me. "They're using hit-and-run tactics. They weren't counting on killing us so soon. They knew you were going to avoid the traps; that's why she distracted you so Rika could sneak up on us. They want to get as many points as they can before they finish us off. We were lucky they only got your leg."

"Yeah." I pumped my gun again. "I'm not gonna fall for anymore tricks!"

We got past the rest of the traps, if there were anymore there, and exited the clearing. We trudged on through the forest, waiting for the next ambush. We were expecting Rika and Satoko to ambush us again, but they never did. We did come upon one more unusual sight ten minutes later.

Rena was sitting up against a tree in another clearing. Shion and I hid behind two trees of our own. We examined her from this distance. Both of her legs were wet. Rika and Satoko must have hit her with a trap or with one of their guerilla ambushes. She held her rifle, nervously looking to her right and her left. She struggled to look behind her, but she didn't see anything. We were to her left. What luck! Rena was down! All we had to do was score a headshot and we wouldn't have to worry about her!

I stepped forward a tad and aimed my gun at her head. A branch broke under my foot. Rena shot a look to me and aimed her gun at me. I shot her hand that held the weapon. She dropped the pistol and watched me in terror as I approached her. She was trembling. I stepped on her gun so she couldn't pick it up with her uninjured hand. I smiled at her as I aimed for her head.

"Hauu," she whimpered. "Are you going to kill me, Keiichi-kun?"

"I'm afraid so!"

"Well…okay…as long as it's you, I don't mind…" She closed her eyes and hung her head.

My finger was about to pull the trigger.

A blast of water came from my right. The water hit my arm. I spun my body as quick as I could to fire back, but another blast came at me. It was aimed at my other arm. I couldn't move my arm out of the way quick enough while I was holding the rifle. I dropped it and drew my pistol. I aimed at my attacker. The assailant got up close and put her finger behind the trigger of my gun. I couldn't fire now!

Satoko placed the barrel of her pistol on my forehead. She was laughing.

"Bye-bye, Keiichi-san!"

"Shion! Where are you?" I cried in desperation.

Another blast came from behind Rena's tree. The blast of water splashed against Satoko's head. She screamed and fell on her butt. Mion came from behind the tree with her revolver. She was chuckling, approaching Satoko. Satoko cursed and stamped her foot down.

"Dammit, Mion-san! He was mine!"

"Sorry, Satoko!" Mion looked at me with a hideous smirk. "But Kei-chan's mine!"

"Rika! Where are you! Kill her now!"

"Mii~…" Rika also came from behind the tree. Her leg and head were damp. "She killed me…"

I gulped hard.

"Hehehe! Let's finish this, Kei-chan!"

Mion wanted to settle this honorably. She stood away from me several feet. We both had our pistols at our sides. She wanted to settle this as if we were cowboys in a duel to the death. We were to stand still for two solid minutes. Satoko was counting down for us.

Rika and Satoko sat on the sidelines. Rena was still in the game, though she couldn't use an arm and both of her legs. She took back her pistol and had it trained on me, in case I tried anything.

Mion's smirk was still plastered across her lips. She was so calm. I could tell that she loved every second of this. She lived for these kinds of situations in club activities. She loved it when she faced a rival or placed herself into a position of sudden death. Mion loved the rush.

I stood there, staring her down, with drops of sweat running down my temples. Could I do it? Could I shoot her? Could I get a headshot and eliminate her? If I did, then that would leave Rena. She was in no condition to fight me and she was right behind Mion. All I had to do was shoot her and she'd be gone too. I had to get somebody. I wasn't going to be eliminated without scoring a kill!

I looked to Mion and then to Rena. I looked at the tree that Rena was up against. I saw the glimmer of something behind the tree. I was the one smiling now. I knew what I was going to do. The plan was set! All I had to do was aim and shoot! I was going to do this! I was going to win!

"Draw!" Satoko called out.

Mion reached for her revolver. I reached for my handgun. We both pulled our triggers. A jet stream of water splashed against my face. I was dead. My shot flew over Mion's shoulder. I had missed.

"Ahaha! I got you, Kei-chan!" Mion spun her gun around on her finger and holstered it. "Looks like I win! And you missed me too! Ahaha!"

"Heh!" I laughed. "Who said I was aiming at you?"

Mion had a look of inquiry on her face. She turned around and spotted Rena. She had water dripping down her cheek. I had shot Rena! Rustling came from behind the tree Rena was sitting against. When Mion saw the cause of the rustling, her eyes shot open and her skin turned pale.

Shion charged at Mion with her shotgun pumped. Mion tried to draw her pistols, but it was no use. Shion fired once…twice…three times! The first shot hit Mion's leg. The second hit her arm. The last struck her right in the face. Shion placed the shotgun over her shoulder triumphantly.

"Looks like it's game over, Sis!"

The game officially ended. We tallied up our scores now. Satoko and Rika received five points for hitting me in the leg, and fifteen points for hitting Rena's legs and arm, totaling twenty points. Rena and Mion received five points for hitting Rika's leg, and ten points for hitting Rika head and another ten for hitting Satoko's head, totaling twenty-five. Shion and I scored five for hitting Rika in the arm, another five for hitting Satoko's arm, ten for shooting Rena's head, ten for hitting both Mion's arm and leg, and one more ten for the headshot. Shion and I got forty points! We won!

Shion and I hugged each other tight and danced around in a circle. Mion kicked at the ground. Rena clapped for us. Rika and Satoko, on the other hand, were awaiting their punishment. When Shion and I finished our celebration, we approached the two girls. A wicked grin was on my face.

"Well, well, well! Looks like I won!"

Satoko grumbled and Rika pouted.

"Now…what am I going to do with you two?"

"Don't be too hard, Kei-chan!" Shion folded her arms and gave me a cold look.

"I won't!" I looked at Rika. "I want Rika to…wear cat ears and call me master all week!"

Rika didn't frown all that much. I think I was going way too easy on her.

"As for Satoko…"

"Enough with the suspense!" She shouted at me. I could see her little vampire fang sticking from her mouth. "Just tell me already!"

"You're going to have to," I stopped there. A thought hit me. This was going to be perfect! All of my problems would be solved now! "You're going to have to cook dinner for me all week!"

Mion, Rena, Rika, and Shion were perplexed at that. They all expected a heinous punishment from me. They all looked at me as if I was some alien from space. Was that too easy for Satoko as well? I didn't care! It was humiliation or food.

Satoko blinked at me. "…What?"

Part B

I was sitting in my room. I was waiting until I could eat. I could smell the delectable dishes Satoko was making downstairs for me. It smelled so divine! My stomach was roaring. It couldn't wait either! How much longer was it going to take? I was starving!

Satoko had come by my house around evening. She was carrying a couple bags of ingredients and side dishes to prepare for me. Shion accompanied her, helping her carrying one of the bags. I was surprised she decided to come. I guess she wanted to help Satoko and to make sure I wasn't cruel to her.

She became very protective of Satoko over the past month. Most of the time, Shion visited Hinamizawa just to see how Satoko was doing. I saw her a few times riding a bike all the way here, and other times she was with her bodyguard, Kasai. She always hung out with her and Rika at least twice a week. She even brought a few presents for them, mostly candy. It was one of the sweetest gestures I had seen Shion do for anybody.

The wafting aroma was penetrating my room again. It filled my nostrils and kissed at my nose. I tingled all over. I couldn't wait! This was going to be great! I got to eat such great food while having it with two of my good friends! It'd be like this all week! I really could have gotten use to that!

"Keiichi-san! It's ready!"

I sprung from the floor of my room and flew down the stairs. Before Satoko could turn around and serve me, I was already in my chair with my hands on my lap. Shion giggled at my display of hunger while Satoko gave me an odd look. When we all had received our dinner, I said a quick thanks and immediately dove in. The taste…the flavor…the texture...it was fantastic! It was wonderful!

I had this huge smile on my face. A little bit of sauce was on my mouth. I felt it but I paid it no mind, I just wanted to eat.

"Slow down!" Satoko looked at me. "You're gonna kill yourself if you just gobble everything up!"

"I can't help it! It's so goooood!"

Shion tapped Satoko's shoulder. "I think you're a hit, Satoko!"

She blushed.

"And I thought you were a good cook before, but you've gotten a lot better!" I swallowed down my plate of rice after wiping my mouth. "I still can't believe you can cook this well!"

"It's not really anything special," she said with a small smile. "I was in a rush to get something quick."

Shion took a bite of her supper. "She was so worried that you were going starving to death! She wanted to get as many things as she could before you keeled over!"

"S-Shion!" Satoko blushed even more. "I-I-I just wanted him to eat as soon as possible because I thought he'd do something stupid like try to burn his house again!"

"You tried to burn your house, Kei-chan?"

I shook my head in shame. "I tried to cook my own meal one time and almost killed myself. Satoko and Rika saved me."

"Ahaha! You're so clumsy!" Shion patted my hand.

"Don't mock me…"

Satoko chimed in. "He's so clumsy that he sometimes cooks his instant noodles wrong! Oh ho ho ho!"

"I do not!" I stood from my seat with my fist raised. "I'll have you know I'm like a chef when I cook those noodles!"

"Calling yourself a chef is a disgrace if you can only cook noodles! Instant noodles don't even count anyway!"

"They do so!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho!" Satoko had her hand to her mouth. "You're so stupid! I wouldn't trust you to boil water for me!"

The veins in my head were pulsing.

"You don't even organize your refrigerator properly! You're lucky you won the club activity and made me cook for you! No, you should be honored that you're have me cooking for you!"

"Shut up, you twerp!"

"Oh ho ho ho ho!"

Shion could barely hold her own laughter in. She covered her mouth with her hands and had her face near the table. She hunched over and tried to laugh as quietly as she could. I could still hear her though.

"You be quiet, Shion!"

She wiped some tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry! It's just that the thought of you cooking…!"

"He's awful!" Satoko's fang was sticking out again. "Keiichi-san can't do anything without me! He's so pathetic!"

I sat back in my seat and hung my head. I was being ganged up by two girls. This was so embarrassing.

"Keiichi-san, where's your bathroom? Or do you not know where to find that?" The blonde demon cackled at me again.

"Over there." I pointed down the hall without even looking up.

Satoko thanked me and ran off to the restroom.

I sighed. My manly honor was gone. What more was there to live for? I was done. I had nothing anymore.

I felt Shion's hand on my shoulder. She knelt next to my chair. She was smiling very warmly at me.

"What?" I raised my eyebrow at her.

"Nothing." She rubbed my shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For going easy on Satoko. I really thought you were going to kill her with a really bad punishment!"

"I wanted to eat, so she got off lucky." I chuckled.

"Still, thanks. And thank you for having her here with you."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

Shion made sure Satoko wasn't hiding somewhere. She said quietly, "She really wanted to be with you. She was so excited when we were out shopping for the ingredients!"

I blushed a little and scratched at my head. "She was, huh?"

"She was looking forward to cooking for you. She's also excited that she gets to do this all week! She hasn't had a chance to have a great supper like this in a long time!"

"Isn't she happy eating with Rika though?"

"She is, but it's been a while she got to sit down with you. She cares about you, a lot!" Shion's smile grew brighter. "Don't tell her I told you though! She'd kill me! Ahaha!"

"I won't!" I winked at Shion.

"You know," She stood up from me and leaned against the table. She was looking down at me. "You've been really great to her. I hope you know I appreciate everything you do for her."

"What do I do?" I was playing dumb. I wanted to hear what Satoko was saying about me to Shion.

"Come on, you know! I know how you buy her a toy or some candy when you're in Okinomiya with everybody! I know how you invite her over here occasionally! Aunty Shion knows!" She sounded exactly like Mion. No wonder why they were twins.

"She told you about all that, huh?"

"I really do appreciate how you treat her."

"I love her," I said with a warm smile. Thinking about Satoko made me feel warm all over. "She's like my little sister."

Shion was quiet for a minute. When she spoke, her tone was low. "She calls you…she calls you her Nii-nii."

That was name Satoko used for Satoshi. It was her special term of endearment for him. She called me by that name a few times, but I don't think she ever called me that when I was around Shion. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't. Satoshi is a real touchy subject when it came to Shion. I knew how she felt about him.

"She…told you that?" I asked quietly.

"She loves you enough to call you her Nii-nii. That's a really special name, you know." Shion rubbed her arm and looked down at the floor.

"Shion?"

"She really does love you…" She was squeezing her arm now. "…So much…"

"Shion?" I repeated a little louder. "I want you to know something."

She turned to face me.

"I hope you know…I'm not trying to be Satoshi or anything like that." I paused for a moment. "I don't ever wanna replace him. He's special to her. I'm just filling in for him until he comes back. I hope you know that. I would never do anything to take his place."

Shion cracked a tiny smile. I could see a little shade of red run across her nose. "…Thank you, Kei-chan…"

I stood up to her level. I smiled warmly at her too. I reached out my hand towards her head. She stared at it as it got closer. When I realized what I was doing, I pulled my hand back swiftly.

"I-I'm sorry!" I waved my hands in front of me furiously. "I didn't mean to do that! It's just a reflex!"

Shion blinked at me. She smiled after a minute. "It's okay."

Satoko entered the room. She saw us standing there looking at each other. "Um, what are you two doing?"

The both of us gasped and dashed back to our seats. We acted as if nothing happened at all.

We finished dinner a little while later. I helped Satoko clean the dishes as Shion placed the leftovers in a few containers. When we were done, we noticed it was already late. We would have to wake up early for school the next day. I saw Satoko and Shion out. Satoko teased me some more as Shion whispered another quick thank you. I told them I would see them tomorrow.

Shion took Satoko's hand and they departed from my house. I watched them until they disappeared into the night. I sat back at my kitchen table and leaned back. I thought about Shion and Satoko together. I also thought about Satoshi. I remembered Mion telling me that Shion got touchy about him if he was ever mentioned, as well as if someone rubbed her head.

Luckily I stopped myself before that happened. I wouldn't want to give her the wrong idea. I loved them both, but I didn't want to replace Satoshi. I wanted them to know that I would never get between them and him. I was just filling in for him. I wasn't trying to do anything else.

My doorbell suddenly rang. Maybe it was Satoko or Shion. Maybe they forgot something and came to retrieve it. I went to the door and opened it. I didn't see anybody.

"Mii~!"

I looked down. It was Rika-chan. She was holding a large bottle in her arms and a funnel in her hand. What was she up to and why was she out so late with nobody with her?

"Rika-chan?"

"…Hello, Keiichi!" She smiled cutely at me.

"What're you doing out so late?"

"Satoko and I ran out of soy sauce. I was hoping if I could borrow some from you!"

"You came all the way out here for soy sauce?" I thought about where she lived. "Doesn't Mion live closer to you? How come you didn't go see her?"

She wasn't answering me at all. She just kept smiling at me.

"Is it okay if I borrow some soy sauce, master? I'm really good at pouring it through the funnel!"

"Wha-?"

"Meow!"

She titled her head. She was wearing cat ears and she called me master. That's right. That was her punishment. I knew she must have ridden her bike here, but it was already passed dinner time. Why did she come so late when she could've saved time and visited Mion? Nevertheless, Rika worked her magic over me. I invited her in.

It was weird. As we walked toward the kitchen, I didn't hear her footsteps at all. She was so quiet. Was she matching her footsteps to mine to be funny? It made me feel off somehow. What was she up to?

I led her to the kitchen. I took out a few spare soy sauce bottles from the fridge and placed them on the table for her. She picked them up and placed her large bottle on the floor. She stuck the funnel through the top and poured the smaller bottles' contents into hers. She was humming a song as she worked.

"Did you eat already, Keiichi?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah. Satoko was over here and cooked for me. She was serving her punishment you know!" I snickered.

"Was it good?"

"Yeah! Satoko's a real good cook! You taught her well! You should have came along to! I'd love to have you over!"

Rika smiled again.

We were quiet until she poured the last bottle. "Was Shii here with her?"

"Shion? Yeah, she was."

"I see." She put the last bottle on the table and screwed the cap back on her own bottle. She was still humming that song.

"Um, Rika-chan," I had to ask. This was really bothering me. "How come you came all the way out here for soy sauce? I'm sure you could've saved time if you went to Mion's. I don't think it's good for you to be out this late either for that matter."

"Didn't you want me to visit you, Keiichi?"

"No, it's not like that! I just want you to be safe."

Rika reached for me. I knelt down to her. She patted my head.

"…Keiichi doesn't need to worry about me!"

Her hand was so small and light. It felt really nice against my head. I didn't notice it at first, but I saw her mouth move. I didn't hear what she saying.

"-ion." That was all I heard.

"Huh?" She was talking so quietly too. "I'm sorry, Rika-chan, could you repeat that?"

"I said…"

Her hand traveled to my shirt. She gripped the collar tightly. She pulled my face closer to hers. Her eyes were blank. Her voice became deeper. It was like a grown woman's voice. She sounded so stern.

"…Stay away from Shion."