Fugitives

Suddenly in the night I awake. Beside me, Rena is breathing heavily and there's another sound I can't identify at first. But then I see she's scratching the bandages on her wrists badly, which makes a creepy noise.

"Rena, stop it, please!" It seems she was not really awake. She cringes when she hears me. Then her eyelids move and I look into eyes full of intense fear. I clutch her wrists resolutely but she's stronger. She breaks free from me and makes me fall down to the wooden floor next to the futon. Will she kill me now?

The next moment, Rena's face is right above me. Her right hand is scraping at her neck. "Rena, you're bleeding ..." For a moment, she stops scratching and just looks down at me. The same moment, I hear a distant voice. I can't understand a word. I only know it's a male voice.

"Quiet," Rena whispers. We both lie there and try to listen, but we can't hear anything. Whoever spoke just now, seems to be gone.

I'm curious about the voice, but I want to distract her, so I ask something. "Rena ... You said, you had seen Oyashiro-sama while we were talking?"

It takes a while until she answers. Obviously she wants to make sure that person has gone. However, she speaks very lowly just to be safe. "It's not like seeing a person. It's more like a presence, staring down at somebody. But one time, when I was very desperate, I saw something special. It was like horns. Funny, isn't it? I was so exhausted then. It felt almost like dying. Everything was swimming in front of my eyes, but the presence of Oyashiro-sama ... I never saw it as clearly as then. I couldn't see a face, but these horns ... when you imitated her, I felt so reminded of that vision. I'm sure you didn't lie when telling me you saw her. I told some people that she apologized, saying 'I'm sorry' again and again, but I never told anybody about the horns, because it looked so strange. I feared they might just laugh at me."

Rena lies down again. After thinking for a while, she looks at me. "Rika-chan, you told me there was a chance for a new life for me. What do you think about your own life? You didn't tell me about that. What are you planning to do? I can't go on forever like this, but the same goes for you."

"You're right ... but to be honest, I have no idea. I know only one thing ... I can't live anywhere outside Hinamizawa. Even if no-one knows me anymore, I don't feel like I could go to another place and live there. Such a life would feel like suffocating slowly. You know, in a former life someone told me that something terrible would happen if I left this place. Not only to me, but to the whole village. Now I even like that idea because I still feel like there's some kind of meaning to my life. That's horrible, isn't it?" My throat hurts again and I feel thirsty, so I look at some bottles of water which Rena keeps in here. As soon as she notices what I'm thinking about, she smiles and hands me a bottle, which I open thankfully.

While I'm feeling the cool water running down inside me, Rena continues. "That must be because if you're from the Furude Family, like you say, you would surely be most beloved by the villagers. I'm sure they would make a lot of fuss around you and spoil you with all kinds of treats. I'd do that if I could, haooo ..." For a moment, she dives into her dreamy cute mode. Having seen her condition, I'm nearly surprised that this side is still alive in her.

I sigh with my thirst now relieved. "Well, now I feel like nobody needs me. I don't know what to do in this world."

Rena thinks for a while. "I think ... you should tell Furude-san."

"Tell her ... what?" This is not what I imagined, but I don't know what I was imagining anyway. I just don't want my life to be empty until it ends which can't take too long. That time, a few days after the 19th of June, will come soon. I can't stay in this life for too long.

But while my thoughts are drifting back to myself, Rena still thinks about my mother. "I think if you keep dying in all these worlds, as you describe it, maybe she will die in this one. She's in your place, isn't she? The queen, as you said."

"Actually, she should have died already. It doesn't make a big difference, does it?"

"That sounds cruel. But actually, I have no right to talk." Rena's face becomes sad. Of course she's right though. I know I think about my parents in a cruel way, blaming them for their own deaths. Although I've managed to convince myself of these events as necessary and inevitable, maybe deep down I still wish that I could grow up in a peaceful relationship with my mom and dad. But in this world, they aren't even my parents. Why I should I bother to save a woman called Furude who hasn't got anything to do with me? Because she protects Satoko, maybe. But when I think of this world's Satoko ...

"I know I can't convince her, telling her that her life is in danger. Her personality doesn't allow any thoughts of strange things like seeing the future. I don't know much about this danger myself. No, I'm afraid she's going to hand me over to the police when I talk to her. I can't let that happen."

Rena is looking at the ceiling. "We're both fugitives, aren't we? Yet we love Hinamizawa so much, that leaving would break our hearts."

"I think we should sleep now, Rena. You look exhausted." With a big yawn, I place my head on the cushion. "Let's talk about these things in the daylight, so everything will look brighter."

She doesn't answer but keeps looking at the ceiling. She seems to have calmed down. Is she still thinking about that voice earlier? I still can recall what it sounded like, but I couldn't distinguish any words. Possibly one of them was ... "panic". Though my mind may be making it up now ... I need some sleep.

Hanyū, if you won't talk to me, but Rena can actually see you ... will you at least watch over us while we're sleeping? In the morning I'll ask Rena if we can eat some spicy food together. Though I will eat sweets too, if I can make you talk to me that way. I'm going to do whatever it takes ...

Oh, Satoko, you're tickling me! Stop it! Ahaha ...

I can feel her breath stroking my cheek softly, her delicate fingers touching my hair. Though I would normally laugh and get up, I don't feel like getting up right now. I'd like to enjoy her gentle touch and being next to her in secrecy, pretending to be still asleep. At least for a few seconds. Go on, Satoko ... don't go away.

"Rika-chan, we should get up. It's already around noon."

Rika-chan? That's not what Satoko calls me.

Oh ... the memories of yesterday come back. Something in her breath was different, too ... It's Rena. With the memories, the sadness returns. I know I awoke in the middle of the night, and then were talking until I fell asleep again ... But what were we talking about?

"I'm sorry for waking you up ... I've been looking at you for a while, thinking I was going to take you home. But this is sort of my home, you know. It's funny that I had to murder somebody to be granted that wish."

"Rena, I don't think you're a murderer."

She looks at me without a clear expression. "Thank you. Anyway, we have to think about what needs to be done next ..."

"You're right, Rena. Maybe I could go to the village to buy some things. But you will have to give me some money."

All at once, Rena looks at me in terror. Is it because I mentioned money?

"I don't want to run away with your money, if that's what you ..."

She grabs my arm and holds it with a strong grip. It hurts.

"Footsteps!" Rena whispers, staring at me with wide eyes. "Very near ..."

A chill runs from my neck through my whole body. Rena and I must ask ourselves the same question right now. Who have they come for?

Though the Watanagashi isn't here yet, I feel like this could be my murderer. But that's impossible. Is it the police, looking for Rena? That's much more probable. But then ... they might also find me and take me away. Damn!

Rena loosens her painful grip but she's still holding me tightly. "These are rather light steps. It's not an full-grown man."

I still don't hear anything. But Rena, with her syndrome rising high, must experience an abnormally high level of sensual perception.

"Let's wait until the steps have disappeared."

So we wait for quite a long time. Though it may only seem very long to me, because time feels intolerably long when you don't do anything but wait for something to pass by.

"OK ... I don't hear anything," Rena tells me, still whispering. "Rika-chan, please take a look outside the door. We really need some things from the village, like matches to light the oven. But you must be careful."

We push the backside of the cupboard aside and I enter the front room carefully. It's quiet. Friendly beams of sunlight fall into the room. It must be nice and warm outside. All of a sudden, I long for the open air. I walk up to the front door and open it cautiously, poking my head outside to take a good look around. All seems so peaceful outside. I cross the threshold and tread the ground of the forest, with the dead leaves rustling beneath my feet. I remember running through the forest in a distant summer, playing with those old brown leaves which were all dry and rotten. But I liked them, for any reason. I take a few more steps.

Then I see something unusual between the trees. It's a face. I know that person, but she shouldn't be here. Have I returned to my dream, just before Rena woke me up? That dream was so nice. A very dear friend was caressing my hair and my face, trying to wake me up gently. Please don't wake me up ...

A malicious voice cuts through the air and tears my dream apart. "So you've decided to come out, finally. I wondered how long I'd have to wait."

"... Satoko?"

"Oh, that's right, you're the one who doesn't need to use honorifics when talking to people she just got to know."

"Cut it out," I say, feeling rather disappointed than annoyed. Is this Satoko always looking for other kids' mistakes to look down at them? "Why are you here? What are you doing in Takatsudo?"

"You could call it ... setting a trap, I think. I heard noises from your cabin."

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"The same goes for you. I left during lunch break, because taking care of your problem is more important."

It sounds like I am a problem rather than she wants to help me with a problem. Folding my arms, I try to look more cool than I feel like. "So you want to trap me? How did you even know I'm here?"

"O-ho-ho-ho!" Satoko's formerly lovely laughter now makes her look mean-spirited. "You're not very cautious, strange girl! I let you get away with your stolen goods yesterday, but I only did that because I wanted to follow you after I was sure you felt unwatched! When I saw you going to Takatsudo, I had to call it quits though, because my parents were waiting for me. I can't spend all day walking after suspicious people."

"So why did you follow me in the first place?" I squinch up my face. "You're really a stalker, aren't you?"

She doesn't lose her temper, though she's visibly annoyed by my remark. "It seems you don't know the difference between a stalker and a trap master ... Being a stalker doesn't require any skills, while being a trap master means that you're always in control, anticipating the other person's actions before she even knows what she wants to do!"

"Well, actually it's a pure coincidence that I appear here right now."

"That's what YOU think. Anyway, what are you doing here? This is not your home, is it?"

"None of your business. I live in Okinomiya, if you really have to know."

"Then our school is nothing of YOUR business. Why were you hanging around there yesterday? You don't know anybody there, do you? But you made everybody nervous with your question about that Ryūgū person. Stop that, will you? Okamura-kun seemed very troubled because you had asked him these things."

It's interesting that she mentions him. I smile at her. "Oh, you mean that stubby guy?"

Satoko frowns. "Don't call him that ... He talked about you a lot. It seems you really unsettled him. I don't want you to talk to him again."

I think I got her. "You like him, don't you? And Tomita. Are they your little admirers? You'll have to choose one of them some time, you know?"

Satoko blushes slightly. "They have enough reason to admire me. But it's not what you ..."

I feel I can't stop now, though it won't help. "You're jealous, aren't you?" I just want to come back at her. What am I doing?

She looks rather helpless now. "That's not true ..."

"Well, you're right! I felt he liked me. So how can you stop me from talking to him? I'll come back whenever I like." I can't believe what I'm telling her right now. My dark side is taking over.

Satoko walks up to me. "Too bad you're still trapped. I won't let you get away this time. You're a thief and a snoop. I think it's time for the police to take care of you."

What a nuisance she is. "Where is the evidence for me being a thief? And you can't report me to the police for asking questions about somebody."

Satoko grins. "Let's take a look at the evidence, then." She rushes towards the cabin, before I can do anything.

"Stop, Satoko! You don't have the right to enter my place!"

"Remember when you trespassed into my house? This is only fair." She opens the door with a hasty movement and finds Rena, who obviously was listening to us. Now she's just trying to get into the back room. But she was to slow. I push Satoko aside and enter the cabin, to stand between Rena and Satoko who looks totally shocked.

"Satoko-chan ..." Rena tries to talk to her but doesn't come up with anything but her name.

"You ...!" Satoko sounds disgusted. "So that's behind this girl's strange behaviour. She's something like your little helper, isn't she - Ryūgū? What did you do to her to make her your servant?"

"Shut up." I feel my body hardening inside. This Satoko is an awful pain in the neck. I want to slap her face so hard she falls to the ground. But that wouldn't help us at all ...

"No, YOU shut up!" Satoko yells. "This person is the most terrible creature around." I turn around and see Rena's face slowly convulsed into a mask of sorrow. Looking at her, I decide to stop Satoko's rant with all means.

"And what do you think she did to deserve such mean words, Satoko?" I'm speaking with my adult voice instinctively.

She looks amazed, but my deep tone is not enough to change her hateful attitude. "Don't tell me you don't know! This person ... murdered her own mother!"

"Well, so did you!"

Satoko stands before me motionlessly with wide eyes, unable to say anything for a while. I hurled the words at her in my desperation, like an ultimate weapon to stop her from hurting Rena. But I know these words have much more power than to stop her from doing anything. It's the power to destroy everything that me and Irie did to help her, although in this world it was my parents and Irie. What I just told her in my fury, is enough to rip open the almost lethal wound which took so long to heal.

Satoko starts talking with her eyes staring fearfully at me. "What ...? How can you ... No ... I mean, you weren't even there! ... No, shut up, shut your face!" She seems to try very hard to look angry, but still her fear is stronger than her anger. I don't even know how much she remembers of the event. But considering her reaction, the memory must be clearer than it would be good for her. I can see small drops of sweat forming on her forehead.

For a moment, while I'm looking at Satoko's now pitiful figure, I'm torn between my receding anger and the wish to try to mend my mistake. I can't think of anything, though. The feeling of fate hanging above me like a black cloud is overwhelming. Now it seems that the darkness got the better of me and made me turn things worse than they already had been before.

Satoko is pale and trembling now. She looks so fragile. Her arrogance has vanished, leaving behind the little girl tortured by the hatred of the villagers and the horror of what they call Oyashiro-sama's curse. "Sa ..." Before my hesitant voice forms even her name, Satoko turns around and dashes away suddenly. "Satoko!" I manage to call her but it's no good. Maybe she didn't hear it or maybe words can't even reach her anymore.

I'm so pathetic. Should I run after her? I don't want to leave Rena now. What is Satoko going to do? I hope she will turn to my parents and they will comfort her somehow.

When I turn and look at the cabin. Rena is still standing in the doorframe without any motion. "She's right ... I killed her, after all. I think they all know about it, anyway. And you know it too ..." She laughs lowly with a self-derisive expression.

"But you're not alone, Rena. Let's face all this together. Okay?" Though her pain hurts me too, I force myself to smile. She looks to the ground, making her uncombed hair hang down, concealing her face. She's standing there silently and without motion, lost in thought. While I can't see her features, the scratching wounds on her neck are still speaking to me somehow.

"Satoko!"

Suddenly I hear a voice calling from somewhere behind the cabin. Somebody is approaching quickly. As I'm very surprised, the person sees me before I can hide. It's Mion. She can't see Rena, though, who is still standing in the doorframe. As she hears Mion's voice, her face turns into a tense and cautious expression. She steps back inside the cabin without a sound.

It's too late to run away after Mion has seen me, so I just don't move while she's looking at me. She's not taken aback.

"Hey, there you are."

She's not smiling but seems also not to be angry. I don't know if I can trust this Mion, and obviously my face shows what I think, her laid-back expression gets darker.

A little hesitantly, Mion continues. "I'm looking for Satoko ... She told me you had probably gone here. We're a little worried about you." Now she tries to smile, but obviously her mixed feelings remain. I have to smile sarcastically when I hear about Satoko allegedly caring about me.

"That sounds nice ... however, Satoko has a strange way of showing her worry to me."

Mion looks down. "Well, you know, she can't admit easily that she cares for somebody." She starts to look around. "Where is she now, by the way? It seems I missed her."

The question hurts when I think of what I said to Satoko. What I did, was far more than a fair retaliation. Full of regret, I'm searching for an answer. "I'm sorry, but we exchanged some nasty words, then she ran away."

"Oh, I see. You know, Satoko can hurt people sometimes. But on the inside, she's very fragile. I think she needs someone her age. A girl, preferably, who can look right into her soul. I don't think Tomita-kun and Okamura-kun can do that. Neither can her foster parents, I'm afraid."

I can't reply anything to that. Mion is right, I'm afraid. Satoko's arrogant attitude must have been her way to cope with her horrible past, while there was no-one her age who could act as her counterpart.

Mion continues, though I don't really want to hear what she has to say, because she's only confirming what I'm afraid to hear because my mistake seems even worse now. "What Satoko said about you, didn't sound bad at all, you know. Well, at least if you can grasp what she wants to say, that is. I think she finds you rather interesting and wants to know you." She smiles.

"You certainly know Satoko well." I'm surprised that Mion thinks about her friends that deeply. The Mion I knew before is fun and carefree. Brooding over the secret feelings of other people is not really like her.

As if she had read my thoughts, she stops smiling and looks very serious at once. "I'm not sure about that. When that ... happened ... you know?" It seems she can't mention it without tearing up. She seemed very different to me at school. Now her authority is crumbling, revealing an insecure and anxious personality.

Mion goes on very lowly. "I thought I knew that person, but I was totally wrong ... I found out I had never listened carefully, I had never asked about other people's problems, like there were no worries just because I ... played and laughed with them."

Now she's bowing down and whispering to me. "I think I sort of ... lost my innocence when that horrible event took place. And now, when I'm at school, I long for her to turn up again, only to tell her that I'm ready to listen to her. Because I want to understand her. That would be the least I can do to make up for not noticing her troubles before she ... did what she did."

Suddenly she straightens up and restrains herself. "I can't talk about that at school, though. We try to keep that subject away from school, because the young ones can't deal with it. Even Chie-sensei can't stand being reminded of her. She was one of her favourite students, you know? Not that she would admit she had favourite students, of course. Students' parents also don't really talk about it. So I was angry when you came and asked for her just like that." Mion smiles apologizingly. "You can understand that, can't you? I didn't want to rail at you."

"It's OK ..." That's all I can say, before Mion steps back and blushes. "Oh dear, I can't believe I'm telling you all this. I don't really know you, after all ... though it feels somewhat different. You won't tell anybody, right? I trust you ... please imagine you're a shrine maiden and a believer confessed to you, relying upon your holy discretion!" She grins, but I know she's not joking at all.

"A shrine maiden ... what a strange idea. OK, I won't tell anybody." I hold out my little finger and Mion thankfully joins in the gesture. What if I told her that Rena is just a few metres away? But I don't know if Rena wants to meet Mion, so I'm not sure what to do.

"So ... what about you, then?" Mion seems to be back to her stern and self-confident class representative personality.

"What do you mean? Don't worry about me." I fold my arms reluctantly. Now that I'm the subject of the conversation, I feel rather uncomfortable.

"Hey, don't be afraid." She smiles a little but doesn't seem less decisive. "Just come with me and we'll talk about what we can do for you."

"I'm fine, thanks. You don't need to do anything for me."

Mion frowns. "Don't try to tell me it's OK for a little girl to be hiding in Takatsudo just like that. This is a ghost village, there's nothing here, and it's not safe! You don't know who you could run into in such a lonely place, and there'll be nobody to help you!"

Is this really about my safety? Maybe this is not just Mion. It's Sonozaki Mion, whose family gets worried when a little stray cat runs around in the area of Hinamizawa without them knowing where it comes from. What will they do if they find out I belong to no-one in Hinamizawa and Okinomiya? Apart from that, I can't leave Rena now! I dig my fingernails into the flesh of my folded arms, like I could protect myself by doing that. But it doesn't help me from feeling very weak, being reminded of the childlike body I'm trapped in.

"I told you it's all right! Listen, I appreciate you caring for me, but I'd be really thankful if you left me alone!" I start slowly walking away from Mion who seems hurt by my frightened behaviour.

"Why are you afraid of me?" Her face tells me she's upset, seeing I don't trust her after all she told me about herself. "Just come with me and we'll get you a nice cup of tea and a warm bed. You haven't got that here, do you?" Suddenly, she walks up to me and grabs my arm. "I just want you to be safe, so let me take you to ..."

"... the underground Saiguden of the Sonozaki family, I suppose?" A harsh voice interrupts Mion.

"Rena!" Mion looks at her with wide eyes. "Hey, did you know she was here?" She asks me, tightening the grip on my arms.

Rena has come out of the cabin with her cleaver, clutching the handle tightly so her knuckles are white. "Let go of her, Mii-chan." As she comes nearer, the blood on her neck glistens in the sun. The bandages are gone and it seems she's just been scratching the wounds again.

"Hey, I don't want to do anything bad to her, you know?" Mion's voice is trembling. She doesn't release me, though. Obviously she needs to recover from the shock from seeing Rena unexpectedly.

"And what are you going to do with her?" Rena comes nearer with a severe look on her face.

"Well ... I want to take her to the village! To take care of her, instead of leaving her in this desolate place!" She hesitates, then smiles timidly. "Of course, you can come with us ... you'll be both protected by the Sonozaki family."

"Of course", Rena sneers. "We'll be both given the perfect concealment of the Sonozaki estate. No-one will ever know we're there, am I right?"

Mion's smile freezes. "Maybe you could hide there ..."

"And never come back, I presume?" Rena's harsh voice cuts through the air like a knife.

"No, what are you thinking, Rena!" I can tell by Mion's voice that Rena's suspicion towards her family is hurting her pride. "We may be doing some things secretly, but we're no murderers!"

"So the series of strange deaths in the village is not arranged by the Sonozaki family? Many people think that, I can tell you." Rena holds the cleaver in front of her, as if she's expecting to be attacked by Mion suddenly. "Don't think I'll be as stupid as those poor victims and fall for you. You were attacking the dam construction workers constantly, you made the Houjou family outcasts, you blamed the priest for being an opportunist. And you want me to think you had nothing to do with these murders? What if we come with you now? Will you lock us up a few weeks so that they'll find one of our bodies after the festival and declare the other one missing?"

Mion's expression is dead serious now. "I'll say it again, and I won't repeat it anymore. The Sonozaki family doesn't murder people."

Rena grins spitefully. "Of course. You just let somebody take care of it."

"Enough of that!" Mion replies with an angry voice. "Now will you let me take this girl, or her and you, to the Sonozaki estate so we can think about what to do next? Or will you be rotting in Takatsudo like a pair of bums, stealing food now and then, until somebody calls the police? Rena ... You're wasting your chance for a new life! And this girl's life, too!"

"I'm not staying because she made me to." I feel I have to say it, but Mion hardly hears me while still holding my arms tightly.

"Let go of her, Mii-chan. I won't tell you again." Rena smiles, but it creeps me out.

Mion seems dumbfounded. "What do you mean? What are you going to do, anyway?"

Suddenly Rena attacks Mion who barely manages to dodge the blow and lets go of my arms. From the way she holds the cleaver, I can see Rena tried to hit her with the blunt side, but I'm not sure that won't change. I'm not sure if Mion also saw it or if she thinks Rena tried to kill her.

Mion steps back. "Hey, Rena!" She looks around to check out the spot, which is a rather large open space with a few trees and small wooden houses nearby. "Don't you make this worse than it already is!"

But Rena is just glaring at her with a fierce look. "I remember you bragging about your martial arts training, Mii-chan ... I always believed you back in the good old days. But they aren't going to come back anyway. Now show me what you've got!" She swings the cleaver again towards Mion, which makes a vicious sound in the air. Mion bends her upper body backwards in a surprising angle. She does indeed have some physical skill.

Her opponent gets ready to swing her weapon again, but Mion is more concentrated now. When the swing comes, Mion clutches Rena's right arm and holds it so firmly it looks painful to me. "I hate to do this," she mumbles. "This is only for your own good."

Rena is gritting her teeth while her arm is twisted a little bit. "What I'm doing is for everybody's good", she replies. "The curse will end. Those people who sneak around here at night, preparing for murder ... I can't stand it anymore."

Mion keeps holding her arm. "What people do you mean, Rena? Stop talking like crazy!"

"And you stop playing innocent, Mii-chan." The cute name she normally uses now sounds almost offensive. "Make sure there's no escape route ... Avoid any panic ... you've been preparing for this for some time, haven't you? Where are your thugs hiding, Sonozaki Mion?" Suddenly she breaks free from Mion with a violent movement and swings her cleaver so she hits Mion's shoulder with the blunt side, making her screw up her face and hold her shoulder for a moment.

"It's only me, stupid little girl, and I don't know anything about any persons who talk about things like that!" Mion takes a fighting stance again, preparing for the next attack. I think desperately how I can stop Rena from hurting her badly. While Mion is stronger physically, Rena's insanity makes her a dangerous opponent. I could jump between them so she would hit me instead of Mion, but if she kills me, maybe she would suffer even more if she recovers. No, I must make sure she kills neither of us. But I just don't know how.

"You're lying!" Rena yells at Mion. Her rage is still going on and it seems she is totally convinced of what she's saying. Her cleaver is moving up and down slowly, as if it's got a life of its own. She seems to be ready to strike at any moment.

Mion is glaring at her. "Since I can't convince you with words, you leave me no other choice, Rena ... Resistance is futile. I'm the club leader and I'm bringing you back to reason!" She darts at Rena who seems surprised only for a hundredth of a second. But Rena is quick enough to evade her grip and hit her.

I scream in fear because I fear it could have been a fatal blow, which would make this world irreparably lost, if it isn't already with Rena having killed her mother. Mion falls down to the ground and I can see her forehead bleeding. She is groaning and I'm relieved to see the blade didn't split her skull. Rena is looking at her in rage, clutching the cleaver with the blunt side pointing towards Mion.

"It seems I've lost," Mion whispers, smiling to my surprise. Rena just stares at her, kneeling and holding Mion's shoulder, to hold her down. Her face is still angry, but something seems to be happening within her.

"Rena, don't ..." I hear myself whimpering in a pathetic voice. She doesn't even seem to hear me.

"Game over, Mii-chan," Rena says calmly, savouring her triumph.

Though Mion should be afraid for her life, she doesn't stop smiling, while blood is trickling down from her head. I can't stand to see my friends bleed anymore, so I look to the ground while my body begins to feel cold, sensing the inevitable tragedy.

"Good job, Rena ... You finally caught up to Uncle Mion, didn't you? It makes me proud, being your club leader," she speaks under her breath, so I can barely hear her words. "Though you had a weapon, while I didn't. But there was no rule against it, right? I just wasn't smart enough."

"This isn't a club activity," Rena answers. I look up to her and see she looks puzzled. "You shouldn't make fun of me, or ..."

Mion touches Rena's hand which is still resting on her shoulder. "Or what ...? I'm helpless, so what are you going to do to me?"

Suddenly Rena pulls back her hand. "Stop that. Talking like that, it's totally not you. What are you planning now? Where are your goons hiding?"

But Mion grips her arm and makes Rena face her. "If there were any, do you think they wouldn't have come out yet, seeing me in this situation?"

"I still thinks there's a trick behind this," Rena replies doubtfully.

Mion seems to realize there's no use in trying to convince her. Her gaze seems to drift far away and her voice sounds softer as she talks to Rena, who is still holding her down with a firm grip.

"Do you still remember ... about a year ago, when you first came to the school? You seemed very shy back then. It made me smile, and I was glad. Finally a girl about my age."

"It all seems so unimportant now," Rena replies. But as she looks down at Mion, the memory seems to return to her mind. "You kept making fun of me at that time, Mii-chan. Because I didn't want to win with any possible means, like you did."

"I must admit you're right. When I noticed I wasn't as good at games as I wanted, I started cheating and sort of made that the philosophy of the club. What a poor leader I am." To my surprise, she speaks without any irony. She seems to honestly regret her dirty ways.

Rena frowns at Mion's words. "Don't say that. You know how much fun it was back then. We were enjoying the club just as much as you."

"But now, all the fun has come to an end, hasn't it? The little world of our club will perish as you go on."

"I'm sorry, Mii-chan ... I really thought about killing myself, before I took my revenge. But I have made the decision to live this miserable life, and go on until they hunt me down and shut me away from this world."

Mion smiles sadly, with her forehead all bloody. "I remember looking at you last year, thinking 'I must make that shy girl an independent, strong person who follows her own will.' It seems I have accomplished that. Should that make Uncle Mion happy? I really don't know."

Suddenly Rena's voice starts trembling. "Independent, strong? You must be joking? You know, don't you? At this moment, there's nothing I want more than to return to being that shy girl. I want that time back when you asked me to join the club. I felt I deserved a new beginning back then ... Now I don't feel like that anymore."

Mion strokes Rena's hand. "I can't promise you a new beginning because your future is not in my hands ... and I can't help you become that shy girl once again. But I'm sure that if you kill me now, that shy girl will also die. You may as well go on without her. It's just that I have alway kept my memories of that Rena, comparing them to what you have become since then. And I love both versions of you equally. It would be sad to part from them, though I'm ready if you really ... want to end my life."

"End your life? You really think I'm such a monster?" I can see tears in Rena's eyes. She lets go of Mion, still kneeling on top of her, but with her hands hanging down now.

Mion slowly shakes her wounded head, obviously in pain. "It's just that ... I would bear a grudge if somebody else was going to kill me. But to place my life in your hands, it just feels all right."

Rena sniffs once, then, to my surprise, chuckles softly. "It seems I can't beat you after all. Whatever I horrible things I wanted to do to you ... I don't feel that hate any more. There's just sadness." She stands up, releasing Mion. After a brief hesitation, she offers her club leader a hand. "I'm ready for the punishment, Mii-chan."

Mion stands up slowly, with blood trickling from her head wound, looking into her eyes with a stern expression. "I really should decide on a punishment game for you." Suddenly she pulls Rena into a tight hug. "Just to have a reason for you to come back to us." Rena seems not to know what to say. Her hands are moving along Mion's back like she's afraid to touch her. She closes her eyes, while her nervous breath becomes slow and almost relaxed.

After a long quiet moment, Mion lets go of Rena and looks at me. I feel almost surprised because I felt like a spectator, watching the strange reunion, rather than a part of what is happening. "So ... if I can't convince you to come over to my place," Mion continues, "please take care of yourselves. Just for now, I'll pretend I didn't see you here, if that's what you want." She sighs, obviously still worried about Rena's resistance. "If you change your mind - you know where to find me."

Rena looks down. "Thank you, Mii-chan ... I'm sorry for those things I said about your family and the underground Saiguden."

"I think it's OK." Mion smiles wryly. "After all, our family is to blame for most of those rumours. Sometimes I just want to rip all our stupid family law to shreds, sell that creepy old mansion and buy a fancy apartment in the city. Well, one day ... But hey, don't tell anybody from the village about that."

We both grin. Mion turns hesitantly and leaves. We are watching her pony tail swing and her skirt bulge while she is walking away from our cabin. Is she really going to tell nobody about us?

While I'm still pondering over that question, Rena turns to me suddenly.

"Hey, Rika-chan ... I'm sorry you and Satoko-chan had some kind of argument about me."

"Don't worry about that ..." While I'm replying to her without much emotion, I start feeling a chill and a fear, which is related ... to the name of Satoko. Yes ... We had some sort of argument before Mion turned up. I can hardly remember what I said then because the fear that Rena or Mion might die has not yet fully dissolved.

"Not that I can still say anything about right or wrong ... but do you think it was all right to say that to her?" Rena continues with a dark expression.

"I did ... say ...?" I try to remember, but a part of me doesn't want to know.

"That ... she xxxxed her mother?" Rena mumbles the word so I can barely understand it.

"What are you talking about, Rena ... -san?"

"Oh yes, you said that. I wonder why, I wonder."

I feel like the darkness of my memory which I'm trying to push away from me is looking at me through her eyes. But it seems I can no longer pretend I didn't attack Satoko's most painful hidden wound with brute force. I finally understand ... that I must ...

"I'll be back soon, Rena-san!" I start to run.

"Hey! Wait, Rika-chan!" Rena calls me. But I can't take her with me because Satoko hates her now, and she will say more dreadful things to hurt Rena. That will make everything more complicated. Well, she probably hates me too. But I must find her. Whatever foul words she said to me, she did nothing to deserve her scars ripped open. I must apologize ... and convince her it didn't happen ... but where has she gone? The shrine? Is she going to talk to my parents? I'm afraid she won't open up to them about that subject. So she will be all alone with the fears and the questions. I hate myself. I run through the woods randomly in case Rena is following me, but when I stop for a short while, I can't see or hear her.

Ah ... I think I know where Satoko could have gone.