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By process of elimination, if “he “ is a character we’ve met already it would presumably be either Tomitake or Ooishi, since Keiichi isn’t a burglar or anything… Even though I’ve read the manga of this arc, memory’s fuzzy on key stuff and I literally can’t remember anything about Takano or her possible motives, but she just really comes off as devious or sly. …maybe this whole time she’s been a thief?
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Sep 7, 2021 17:06
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I watched a couple of episodes of the anime, since I figured we'd gone far enough into the story here that I wouldn't get super-spoiled, and something occurred to me while listening to the dialogue that for some reason didn't in text. Rena might have palilalia, a disorder where the person speaking repeats the last word or couple of words of a sentence - it's something I've heard in friends who have Tourette's, but it can happen with other neurological issues, too. The Japanese VA seems to be leaning into this a bit, or at least, it sounds the way I've heard it sound in real life.
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Sep 7, 2021 17:25
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idonotlikepeas posted:I watched a couple of episodes of the anime, since I figured we'd gone far enough into the story here that I wouldn't get super-spoiled, and something occurred to me while listening to the dialogue that for some reason didn't in text. Rena might have palilalia, a disorder where the person speaking repeats the last word or couple of words of a sentence - it's something I've heard in friends who have Tourette's, but it can happen with other neurological issues, too. The Japanese VA seems to be leaning into this a bit, or at least, it sounds the way I've heard it sound in real life. That… could be true but does she repeat her own lines or what others say? Because it’s a bit of a Japanese language “tick” that when one person is speaking or especially explaining something the listener will occasionally repeat what’s been said to show deference or at the very least indicate they’re paying attention. Solid Snake and Ash Ketchum are notoriously prone to repeat any poo poo told to them because of this facet of speaking Japanese..
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Sep 7, 2021 19:12
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TKMobile posted:That… could be true but does she repeat her own lines or what others say? Because it’s a bit of a Japanese language “tick” that when one person is speaking or especially explaining something the listener will occasionally repeat what’s been said to show deference or at the very least indicate they’re paying attention. Solid Snake and Ash Ketchum are notoriously prone to repeat any poo poo told to them because of this facet of speaking Japanese.. Reminded of Skeptic from My Hero who really hates this.  idonotlikepeas posted:I watched a couple of episodes of the anime, since I figured we'd gone far enough into the story here that I wouldn't get super-spoiled, and something occurred to me while listening to the dialogue that for some reason didn't in text. Rena might have palilalia, a disorder where the person speaking repeats the last word or couple of words of a sentence - it's something I've heard in friends who have Tourette's, but it can happen with other neurological issues, too. The Japanese VA seems to be leaning into this a bit, or at least, it sounds the way I've heard it sound in real life.
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Sep 7, 2021 20:22
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I'd be hesitant to call anything resembling a vocal tic in 99% of anime anything more than a childish attempt to be kyute. The 1% is where they go out of their way to describe the character has having issues.
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Sep 7, 2021 20:46
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killer_robot posted:I'd be hesitant to call anything resembling a vocal tic in 99% of anime anything more than a childish attempt to be kyute. Well, we already know Rena was grossly misdiagnosed last Arc with a problem she had virtually no symptoms of…. And there’s the character in Umineko who is implicitly autistic… So it may very well be an intentional “tell”?
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Sep 7, 2021 20:59
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TKMobile posted:That… could be true but does she repeat her own lines or what others say? Because it’s a bit of a Japanese language “tick” that when one person is speaking or especially explaining something the listener will occasionally repeat what’s been said to show deference or at the very least indicate they’re paying attention. Solid Snake and Ash Ketchum are notoriously prone to repeat any poo poo told to them because of this facet of speaking Japanese.. Her own lines: quote:"Ah, yeah. Rena thinks so too. Thinks so too! Keiichi-kun is a lot kinder than he looks!" quote:"Keiichi-kun probably couldn't even begin to imagine. Begin to imagine! ...Hehehe!" quote:"Ah, that little sister you were talking about, right!? Could it be her? Could it!? She resembles her! Resembles her!!"
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Sep 7, 2021 21:08
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TKMobile posted:That… could be true but does she repeat her own lines or what others say? Because it’s a bit of a Japanese language “tick” that when one person is speaking or especially explaining something the listener will occasionally repeat what’s been said to show deference or at the very least indicate they’re paying attention. Solid Snake and Ash Ketchum are notoriously prone to repeat any poo poo told to them because of this facet of speaking Japanese.. It's definitely hers, yeah. (There is actually a similar disorder called echolalia that involves repeating what someone else has said and also shows up in people with Tourette's and Autism, but man, that must be a hell of a thing to try to diagnose in Japan.) I think I skimmed over it in the thread here because I was also just interpreting it as making her extra-kawaii; it was only when I actually heard it being acted out that it rung a bell for me. MonsterEnvy posted:I may have that, once in a while I repeat my words when talking, and don't really notice. It's possible! It's generally an unconscious thing, although usually if it's pointed out the person who is doing it will remember having done it.
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Sep 7, 2021 21:41
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VIDEO: Watanagashi-hen | Day 8 Part 1    - - - BGM: Afternoon in Paris  Rena was ecstatically waving her arms at me, already brimming with energy.  "What do you mean 'good morning'? It's already evening! Just say 'hello' or something." "But, but... This is the first time I've seen you today, so I think 'good morning' is right. It's right." "...I got it, I got it. Okay, then good morning it is. Good morning, Rena."  "Ah... No, it's my fault. Sorry for making you wait so long." "Are you talking about setting up for the festival yesterday? How was it, Keiichi-kun? Did you do your job properly?"The slight muscle pain throughout my body and my sluggish movements were already obvious...  "I did great. I'm pretty worn out now, though~!"I grin dryly and the three of us break out into laughter. "Where's Satoko and Rika-chan? Are we meeting up with them at the festival?" "Yep. Rika-chan's actually been there since yesterday because she has such an important job. I think Satoko-chan stayed with her, so they're already at the shrine."Right, I just remembered! Today was Rika-chan's big performance. She'd been practicing especially hard for this day. ...As her friend, I needed to make sure I went and cheered her on!! "All right! Let's go right away!!" ""Yeeeaaahh~~~!!""     "K-Keiichi-kun, you're going too fast... ...Wait for meee~~...!!" "Man, Kei-chan, you're such a little kid." "Wow! They went all-out this year too!! Amazing, amazing!!" "They're coming from Hinamizawa. Huh? The bedridden old man from the Kimiyoshi branch family is here too! I think that old guy went home from Watanagashi last year and stayed in bed ever since."Yeah, there were a lot of villagers here that I didn't really know. They must have all been pouring in just for today. "Oh! It's Satoko-chan! Heeey!"BGM: Hello!  "Yo, Satoko. There's a lot of people today!! Don't get lost in the crowd, okay?" "W-Who do you even think you're talking to!!?"Satoko, too, seems somehow energetic. Of course, I'm the same way.  "Huh? Where's Rika-chan? She still has free time, doesn't she?" "Rika was giving her respects to the mayor and other important people. She shall come before long."I see. Rika-chan is the shrine maiden for today's festival, after all. ...It's probably a pain for her to say hello to all the elders.   "Ha... hau~~~~!!!! Rika-chaaaaan!! I-I-I want t-to t-take you hooomee!!!"Rika-chan wore an immaculate shrine maiden outfit that looked fresh off the shelves. ...It was a perfect fit for her somehow mystical appearance! "How does it fit? It's not too long, is it? My grandma gave me some safety pins just in case the sleeves are too long." "......It's all right. It really is comfortable."As she spoke, she began to do some twists and stretches.  There was approximately one person here getting a nosebleed from watching Rika-chan move. "K-K-Keiichi-kun, don't you think she's kyuute? Don't you? If you don't, then she'll be all mine, and I'll take her home with me~~!!" "I think she's really kyuute. Totally cool. Enough that I want to pretend to be her big brother or dad and take pictures with her. If we take a picture from two different places and make it stereoscopic... we can eat—or, rather, stare at—a real-life Rika-chan at our houses whenever we want~~!!" "Hau~~~!!!! That sounds great, that sounds fantastic~~~!!!!"Rena's eyes and mine glittered with stars as our noses bled and we drooled.  "......Yes, or I might get locked away in a basement somewhere." "A-ha-ha-ha! You look like you're enjoying it, though, Rika-chan!" "......Mii, you're being harsh."We all laughed together again. "Okay, let's not hang around here! Let's get to the festival!! There's not much time left until Rika-chan's big debut." "You're right. Great!! Let's go, everyone!!" """Yeeaaahh!!!"""BGM: Digital Network  "Gotcha, old timer! The yakisoba this year looks like quite an achievement. You have squid, too... You put a ton of time into this, didn't you!?" "Wow! It's tasty! It's tasty!!" "Yeah. The squid is delicious, but the aroma is just fantastic. It wonderfully compensates for how soft it tends to be. There's a delightful amount of squid and pork in it, too. ......Yep! Not bad at all, I say!" "Haha. Kei-chan, you sound like you could walk into a cooking program and become the host!" "Yeah. When I see Keiichi-kun acting like it's so good, it somehow tastes even better." "I don't discriminate among delicious food! So anything that I say is tasty has got to be worth trying out, right?" "......Then, Keiichi. Please, give us your opinion of this yakisoba again!" "I'll do it in two words. ...Absolutely Scrumptious!! If I had a second stomach, I'd buy another one right now!"Having heard my three-star rating, a whole line of people suddenly formed in front of the yakisoba stand. "Wow, that's amazing. Kei-chan said it was so good that a little crowd started to form... not bad!!"It was nothing to brag about, but I still decide to stick out my chest and put on airs. Mm-hmm.  Satoko bought a stick of takoyaki—balls of fried octopus—from the adjacent stand, and after blowing on it, put one of them into her mouth. "How is it, Satoko-chan? If you give it a good rating, then Rena will buy it too~!"Chomp, chomp, chew, chew. Gulp.  "Now, it's time for Hinamizawa’s very own food critic, Judge Satoko Houjou, to give her impressions!" "......Ummmm......”  “............Mgh......"Though she was all for it a moment ago, Satoko hesitated to give her thoughts. ...Hey, now, what's the matter? Everyone else takes one of their own and puts it into their mouths. BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi   "......Mine's bad, too. ...There's no octopus in it."BGM: Digital Network ...This takoyaki vendor… Could this be some sort of summer festival only 'octopus-free takoyaki' stand!?!? An evil takoyaki stand that skimped on the octopus because they figured it would make them good money today...!! "Ah, mine has some. ...Yeah. It's pretty good, considering there's octopus in it." "...How am I supposed to... explain that this octopus-free takoyaki is any good...?"Everyone wondered about that. ......Our quizzical looks seem to be drawing equally dubious stares from the people in line...  After hearing that, several surprised guests left the line. It had the exact opposite effect... "Alright, then I'll give it a try next.”  “A self-inspired take on takoyaki, in which you can clearly taste the simple flavors of the flour, green onions, and pickled ginger! The unaffected taste is bolstered by the absence of octopus..."...It wasn't half bad, but after hearing the 'there's no octopus in it' clause, even more people left the line. "...R-Rika-chan, any good comments? ...You can be honest." "......400 yen is too much for this."Gehah! That was too honest!! BGM: Sutakorasassa (Helter Skelter) ...Even more customers leave the line, dealing a lethal blow. There were other takoyaki stands around, after all.  "Mgh... I cannot do it!! How do you expect me to lavish praise upon takoyaki without any octopus in it!?"Gah, you idiot!!! Satoko's angry outburst was the finishing blow.  "Ah, ack! The customers are all gone...! Huh? The guy is staring at us. ...Why is that? Why is that? Hau~~!!!"BGM: Digital Network Sigh. ...There's no saving this crowd. Perhaps I, Keiichi Maebara-sama, will lend a generous hand...  "...Don't smile as you say something so bitter. ...All right, fine. This may be the only chance you'll get to see a pro at work, so watch carefully."I shoved the stick into an octopus-less takoyaki and crammed it into my mouth. As before, there wasn't any octopus in it. ...But Mion's had some in it. ...That was the important point. "The man who runs this takoyaki stand... He truly loves takoyaki, in every meaning of the word. No, it could even be said that he adores it." """Ehhh...?!?!"""Everyone gasped in surprise. ...Including the takoyaki vendor glaring at us. "This man truly does love takoyaki. And because he loves it, he doesn't want to create halfhearted, random ones. ......Isn't that right?"The takoyaki vendor looked down, unsure. Those watching were listening intently, wanting to know why octopus-less takoyaki deserved such a high rating.  "You may be right. In one sense, it is a betrayal. However...... It's the best possible compromise this man could find. This man is making real takoyaki today, as he always does! However, only one or two of them on each stick are the real ones." "Well, you're right. The one I ate had octopus in it... ...and considering it did actually have it, it didn't taste bad at all, you know?" "Right. That was a bona fide takoyaki... ...and as for the other ones... It was the biggest compromise he could make against the biases of the general populace, who all think that there need to be eight pieces on the stick, or else it's not real takoyaki." "Huh? Keiichi-kun, I don't understand what you mean. Why is one of them the real thing, and all the other ones are fakes? Why?" "The secret... lies in the octopus. Mister, this octopus... It's true Akashi octopus, isn't it?” “In recent years, the number of octopuses caught in Akashi has decreased, and their prices have risen drastically. The prices are now so high... that you wouldn't think of using them in takoyaki." "...Yeah, that's right. Akashi octopus... It's very expensive..." "But this man absolutely had to have the Akashi octopus! He could have bought much worse-quality octopus for cheaper, as much as he wanted, and he would have still been able to fool everyone!” ”There are plenty of other scamming takoyaki vendors who claim theirs are from Akashi, even though they're not!! But this man wouldn't accept it! He wouldn't tell lies! Akashi octopus are supreme!!! He would never relinquish this one stubborn conviction!!! This man loved takoyaki! That's why he never lied!! Yet... There was one point that he absolutely had to compromise on." "W-What might that be...?" "The number. The popular opinion is that a stick of takoyaki should have 8 pieces on it. Even if it's real Akashi octopus, he couldn't charge 400 yen for just one piece, could he?! If he didn't have eight pieces, nobody would buy them... ...This man wept over it!!  Oh, whoooahhhh!!! The octopus-free takoyaki vendor burst into tears. I gently clap one of his shoulders. "No matter what anyone else says, I will never forget how genuine you are. You, sir, are a true vendor of takoyaki!!! You are the only one in the world with the right to call himself that!!!!"Clap clap... clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap...!!!! As I embraced the shoulders of this man, shedding his manly tears, those watching delivered a round of applause, moved by my speech! "Everyone!! I beg of you, please, eat some of this true takoyaki vendor's takoyaki!! If we don't treasure genuine men like this, then how can we protect the true path of the takoyaki!? If nobody else will eat them, then I will eat them aaaalllll!!!"BGM: Hello!   "I think it's more they thought Kei-chan's propaganda speech was interesting rather than that the takoyaki actually looked good. ...Kei-chan, you could probably sell plain old rocks if you tried!" "......You would do well at product demonstrations in a supermarket." "...I suspect he would be good at selling off suspicious wonder-knives."Absolutely stunned at my successful pitch, the guy manning the stall next to this one called out to me.  "Great! You all get the gist of it, right? It's your turn this time, Rena!"BGM: Digital Network "Okay! I'll do my best~!!” “......Hau~~!!! When apricot sweets are cold, they're very, very good~!! The apricot is sitting so quietly an' nicely on top of the syrup. Hau, it's sho kyute!! I wanna take it home~~! Hau~~~~!!!!!"...It looks like she lost herself in this midway through... ...but a girl giving it such natural praise was itself bringing in some customers!! A line was quickly forming behind Rena! "Next up is the okonomiyaki stand!! Satoko, you're up!" "Umm, rather, well... The crunch of the fried tempura batter mixed with yakisoba is simply to die for!! With a huge piece of bacon laid on top, when you bite into it, it all comes flooding out... chomp chomp chomp!!" "Yeaahh!! That's freakin' great!! N-Now I want to try some, too!!"Then, a huge line formed at my words!! What on earth is this? ...So basically, all these onlookers are just following us around to all the stands.  So that's it. Even Rika-chan was gorging herself on the food, getting sauce on the bib she'd put on to prevent her shrine maiden outfit from getting dirty.  "Right! Mion, you go to the stand next to that!! Show them the depths of your power!!" "Huh? B-But Kei-chan, the stall next to that is..."BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi Whoops! A goldfish-scooping stand! A bit out of our element. "No, as club president, I won't flee no matter who or what my opponent. Let's get started!" "...I look forward to a splendid performance, Mion-san!!!"The onlookers were also watching Mion with hopeful eyes. "Welcome, welcome! Here's your net and bowl."  BGM: Sutakorasassa (Helter Skelter) "...Mi... Mion-san... wh-what in the world are you saying...?" "......Mii-chan... You eat them? Did you... did you eat the one Rena caught last year too?" "N-No... I-I didn't say anything like that...!!"Mion's face went red and she shook it vehemently in denial. "Well, I mean... You just said so yourself that they really look delicious." "......If they taste good, then maybe I'll try one next time." "N-N-N-N-N-N-No, Rika-chan, don't! You'll get sick...!!!"...Wait a second. Hey, what the hell? Shion... How long have you been here!?!? BGM: Hello!  "Ah... aaahhhhaaaaaaaahhh!!! Where did you come from, Shioonnnn!?!?" "I've been here since the bit with the yakisoba. You were all so loud that I found you right away." "Geez!! You've got nothing to do with this, do you!?!? Go somewhere else already!!" "Geez, Mion, don't treat me so cruelly. ...Right, Kei-chan? You're okay with me being here, right?"she asked, grabbing my arm and pushing her chest into it. Bounce. BGM: Sutakorasassa (Helter Skelter)  "When you squish a jelly donut, the jelly comes out, right? It's the same. This isn't something I have any control over..." "Heh, is that right? Then will more come out if I squeeze harder? Eei! ☆ Squeeze."S-Shion's... her cleavage, it's... it's right up against my chest...... Driiiiiiip. "Gyaahhhh!!!! Shion, what the heck are you trying to dooooo!!?" "...How vulgar!! I seem to have misjudged you!!" "......What about my flat chest?"Rika-chan clasps onto my other arm, too. Rub. A plentiful, plump feeling on my left shoulder, and the sour sensation of a young, unripe fruit on my right...... Ha... Hau~~~~!!!!!  Boom boom baaaang!!!!! Shion, Rika-chan, and I, our faces now bruised, fell to the ground, limbs sprawled.  "E-E-E-E-Everyone's so dirty...! Hau..." "......Rena punched me. It really hurts..." "R-Rika, you get what you deserve..."Sh-Sheesh... Now that Shion was here, the energy around us had increased by 120%...  "Agh, right. If you weren't here, it would be way more fun, you know!!!" "Ahahahahaha! I want to stay with you all, but if I continue seducing Kei-chan, my sister looks like she's literally going to bite my head off. So I'll retreat for now. I'll be back. See you, Mion!" "Don't be back!!! Get the salt! Someone get the saaaaalt!!!"After teasing her older sister so much, Shion ran away into the crowd of people and disappeared.  "When Mii-chan is with Shii-chan, she looks kinda kyuute!!"Rena smiled happily, earning her a whack on the head from Mion. "Don't say dumb stuff! Let's get to the next stand already!!"We went about just like that, really noisy and lively, to the other stands. We were paying money towards the beginning, but midway through, the guys running the shops thought we were just too funny, and we ended up being able to fool around without paying much more. - - - Thuuump! The vigorous sound of a big taiko drum echoed through the air. BGM: Afternoon in Paris  "Ah... Yep, looks like it."Right, it's just about time for Rika-chan to appear in the offertory dance... "......I'm a little nervous." "Believe in yourself! All of your sweat will definitely amount to something, Rika-chan."Mion slapped hard on Rika-chan's back!  "That's right. You'll do fantastic, Rika!!" "......I'll do my best." "Yeah! That's the spirit~!"I ball my hand into a fist and raise it into the air. "We're rooting for you, Rika-chan!! Go for it, yay! Remember?!" Rika-chan gave the best smile I'd ever seen, then pivoted on her heel and ran off. "Okay... we should get going too!" "Right. Let's go cheer her on!!" "You mustn't! You must keep silent during the performance!"I got it, geez! I rubbed a hand through her hair. She was worried about her good friend up to the end. "Then we'd better hurry! All the good spots will be taken!! Come on!!"Mion ran off, and everyone else followed a moment later. A large amount of people had already clustered into the tight space to watch the edifying dance.  I turned around to look at everyone else, but nobody was there. Wh-Where did everyone go?! ...They probably got lost among all these people. Finally, I spotted the back of Mion's head on the other side of the crowd. It definitely doesn't look like I can get over there. ...Well, we got separated. No big deal. We can just meet back up when Rika-chan's dance is over. I gave up on finding the others and wandered around, trying to look for a place where I'd be able to see better. ...It didn't take long for me to realize I'd have to settle for watching between the heads of the people in front of me, though. BGM: Silence Thuuump! Once again, an even louder taiko drum resounded. This one was to announce the beginning of the dance. BGM: Seijaku (Quietness) SFX: Shrine Bells  I heard low exhalations of admiration and the seniors rubbing their prayer beads in gratitude. Everyone's heads were in the way, and I couldn't see. It was really frustrating. We should have cut playtime short and come here to get good spots earlier... After Rika-chan intoned the prayer, she took the festival hoe and walked to the pile of quilts stacked on the altar. That's right. The point of the ceremony was to purify bedding and to hold a memorial service, wasn't it... Then, the solemn offertory dance began. She had practice using a mochi-pounding mallet... The awkwardly-shaped festival hoe Rika-chan held seemed really heavy. Back and forth, up and down. It was doubtlessly difficult to even lift in the air, but she sweated and waved, raised, and dropped it, again and again. She couldn't just deal with it and do it grudgingly. As the shrine maiden, she needed to retain the dignity and solemnity present at this festival. ......There must be a ton of pressure on Rika-chan's shoulders right now... ......drat!! Why am I cheering her on from a place I can barely see her?! I'm her friend, so I should be right up in the best spot rooting for her! BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  Someone tugged lightly on the back of my shirt collar. ...It was Shion. She beckoned me outside the crowded ring of people. She had a mischievous grin on her face, and I took it as her saying she knew a good place nobody else knew of. "Shion? ...What's up?" "Shh! Just be quiet and come with me."After she told me so, she ran in a big detour around the throng. Man, it's great to have someone who knows the lay of the land here at times like this! Impressed though I was, I nearly lost sight of her right away. No more getting separated for me. I ran after her so that I wouldn't be left behind. As I wondered in anticipation what kind of secret spot Shion had in mind, we left the crowd of people and went around to the back of the shrine grounds.  "Shhhh! Just stay quiet and follow me. You'll understand soon."Shion gave me a wink that reminded me of Mion as she said that. No sign of people, and not much moonlight—it was dark. We had gotten pretty far away from the crowd of people on the shrine grounds. ...How are we supposed to see Rika-chan's dance from here? "I see. ...There's some high spot around here, isn't there? Like a rooftop, or somewhere we can look down at it, right?" "What? Why do we have to climb onto the roof?" "Well, how else are we supposed to see Rika-chan's dance?" "Did you really want to see Rika-chama's dance? Kei-chan, could it be that your strike zone is really low?" "...I don't think we're understanding each other here. Weren't you going to show me somewhere I could see Rika-chan's dance from easily?" "What? ...Who made that promise?"BGM: Sutakorasassa (Helter Skelter) Ngahhh!! What's going oonnnnn??! Why me?! Why do I always misunderstand Shion?! Is it my fault?! Am I just reading the wrong things into it?!?!  With an expression that indicated she wasn't fooling around, Shion pressed her index finger to my lips and said slowly and quietly, (...This place is a dark, dead, empty spot. You can't see it from the festival grounds, and now a male and female of the same age are all alone together.) ......Eehhhhh?!?! C-C-C-Could this be?!?! Shion... She's not planning something crazy again, is she?!?! BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  (Shhhhh! Look over there...! See?)Shion whispered, pointing into the dark underbrush... And there we saw... two figures, one male, and one female. (Wha... What's that? ...............I-Is that...) (We're right at the scene of a rendezvous, of course~. See, look closely. Can you tell who they are?)I peered intently into the dark at Shion's suggestion. ...Oh, it's Tomitake-san and Takano-san...!  (...Wait, Shion. ......Could this be what you wanted to show me?) (Kei-chan. You can see Rika-chama's dance any year, but you won't ever get another chance like this, okay?)......I had thought the Sonozaki sisters each had their own personalities, but at times like this they seemed all too similar... (I'm going back! Don't call me for something like this again!!) (Ah, if you move now, they'll see us...!!)At our noisy argument, Takano-san suddenly turned around!  We held our breaths and tried to wait it out, but it seemed like Takano-san was now acutely aware of our presence. Shion and I exchanged glances, then gave up and climbed out from behind the bush.  "Well, hello there. The moon sure is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" "My, my. If it isn't Shion-chan and Maebara-kun. Good evening. Yes, the moon certainly is pretty." "What's this...? Keiichi-kun, you sure are smart, you know that? Having a secret date in a place like this? Then I guess we accidentally interrupted something important. A-ha-ha-ha!!"You're the ones who were meeting up secretly!! Tomitake-san and Takano-san laughed to themselves, and it got on my nerves for some reason. "Wait, so you two weren't having a little rendezvous, then?" "O-Of course we weren't. Though I don't dislike that kind of romance." "Heehee... Unfortunately, this wasn't the location of a rendezvous either of you would want to see. Sorry for not living up to your expectations." "Hmm. If this wasn't a rendezvous, then what were you doing? Tomitake-san, were you messing around with the padlock on the door just now?" They were hunched in front of a warehouse door, fiddling with a pretty heavy-looking padlock. "......Guess we've been found out, huh? We were trying to break into the warehouse...but don't tell anyone, all right?" "D-Don't tell anyone...? Are you thieves or something?!"I demanded unthinkingly, just because of how absently Tomitake-san was grinning. "Nah, never. Thieves are people who steal things, right? It's not like we were trying to take anything out of here." "I see... Then why are you trying to unlock the door? This is the forbidden storehouse for ritual tools. They say only the Furude family and a mere handful of others are allowed in."Forbidden storehouse...? I took a few steps back at that and looked on the entire warehouse. It certainly looked like one, built removed from any signs of people, almost as if in secret. ...It was filthy, revealing how little it was ever opened. And...it was built to be durable, giving it a strange, overpowering impression... Now that I looked at it more closely, it was certainly different than normal warehouses.  “The ritual hoe Rika-chan is using for the offertory dance was inside here until today. Of course, if anyone but the Furude family enters... ...they bring 'impurity' into it, so absolutely no one is allowed a single step inside it. ......It's a sanctuary."Shouldn't we absolutely NOT be coming to a place like this, then?! However, Takano was wearing a childlike expression—an innocent smile at best, and terribly cruel grin at worst. "I told you I was researching Hinamizawa's folk tales and legends out of an interest in them, didn't I? A lot of the answers to questions I'm curious about are hidden away inside here. I've waited all this time until today for this chance."A chance. ...Everybody's eyes were fixed on the dance at the shrine grounds today. This was the ultimate blind spot.   "...Stop it. I don't want to be doing this, okay?" "Sorry for taking you along with me, but this was all thanks to you, Jirou-san. I really am grateful." "Sheesh... This is the only time, understand, Takano-san? I don't want to be sneaking into places like this." "Heehee... You really are a good person, Jirou-san."Ker-clink. ...Tomitake-san undid the padlock and placed it to the side.  "It's open." "Thank you. ...At long last."
limeicebreakers fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Oct 12, 2021 |
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Sep 8, 2021 17:16
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TKMobile posted:Well, we already know Rena was grossly misdiagnosed last Arc with a problem she had virtually no symptoms of…. And there’s the character in Umineko who is implicitly autistic… So it may very well be an intentional “tell”? Grossly misdiagnosed might be reading too much into it. Unless the VN starts bringing up the symptoms and showing that she DOESN'T fit the diagnosis, I'd be likelier to assume it's something we're just not supposed to think about too hard. Like all the violence/sexual harassment in the group. loving horrific if you think about it realistically but it's pretty clearly supposed to be played just for laughs. Honestly, this whole mystery could be solved with just everyone having severe brain damage from being knocked unconscious or hit in the head so many times.
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Sep 8, 2021 18:46
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No, dude, she totally was misdiagnosed. We had a big discussion about it in the thread after it was revealed; Rena displays practically NONE of the symptoms of dysautonomia. What she was diagnosed with had more to do with parts of your body shutting down, and hardly anything to do with her apparent mood swings and fits of violence. The implication was clear that something was going on and covered up rather than deal with bad press or scrutiny which has been a theme of Higurashi. TKMobile fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Sep 8, 2021 |
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Sep 8, 2021 19:45
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Maybe I'm misremembering but I thought the discussion of the symptoms was from someone looking it up on like wikipedia. Did they talk in game about what the symptoms were? Totally fair if so.
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Sep 8, 2021 20:35
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To be fair, I think it's totally possible that the misdiagnosis stuff is true. But I don't know if we have enough info yet to come to a conclusion on it vs the author putting a syndrome that sounds cool and accidentally getting the wrong thing or something. Which is the tricky thing in series with lots of clues like this! What weirdness is intentional and what is just a mistake. And like I said, I'm going off memory that the discussion of symptoms didn't happen in game. Once it gets introduced that "wait this doesn't track", then yeah totally it makes sense.
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Sep 8, 2021 20:46
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Another thing I’m worried about is while I’m fairly certain we’re currently dealing with the real Shion (she doesn’t give a poo poo about supporting Rika, being culpable with this B&E caper here, etc) her being able to sound like Mion to Keiichi’s ears is likely foreshadowing that at some point she will impersonate Mion. This whole arc is a shell game of misdirection and I feel the key to solving it will be to discern which twin is doing what and which one is being interacted with.
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Sep 9, 2021 15:21
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VIDEO: Watanagashi-hen | Day 8 Part 2 BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  I had claimed curses didn't exist, but... in this situation, I could believe in them. ...If we went into such a holy place with our shoes on... it feels like we could be punished somehow. "How about it? You're accomplices, too. You came all the way here, so why not come in and take the tour? It'll be a little field trip to a museum of precious cultural artifacts that conceal the secret history of Hinamizawa. ...And it's only open today. Heehee..." "W-We're not... accomplices, or anything..." Shion said, predictably, linking her arm with mine. "B-But... We definitely shouldn't be doing this...! This is a holy warehouse, isn't it? You said ritual implements, right?! I really feel like we shouldn't go in...!" "I'm a part of the Sonozaki family, so I have a good guess as to what we'll find in there, but I want you to see it too, Kei-chan." "You want to show something to me...?"I thought it was just a ploy, but Shion's eyes looked entirely serious. ...Of course, she was the sort who could lie with a straight face. Of course... I was an average boy, too. My curiosity was at least twice that of a normal person. Sleeping, forbidden treasures, never to leave this warehouse. Chances like this don't come around too often. If I had to choose, then... I want to see! Until the locked door is open, though... I dunno about this...! "If you're not interested, Kei-chan, then you can leave now. I think you'll wonder about it later, though."Tomitake-san spoke after listening to our discussion, himself having sat down on the stairs to take a short rest.  he said, laughing mischievously. There was no ill will in his laughter. "Tomitake-san, do you know what's in here?" "Kind of. Takano-san told me all about it." "Must be a pain to have to go along with your companion's unique hobbies, huh~?"Tomitake-san didn't answer that, only responding with a pained smile. Takano-san had this kind of scary air about her, like she'd drop absolutely everything else for something she had an interest in and go straight for it, but... Tomitake-san, on the other hand, seemed like the gold standard of what a normal person should be. ...Having him tell me so frankly to go check it out suddenly made the guilt feel lighter.  ‘You got it!’ Shion gave me another Mion-like wink. "Looks like we're decided. Shall we go inside? ...Jirou-san, we'll leave this to you."Tomitake-san waved his hand to see us off.   "I appreciate the concern. ...Okay, doorman, keep a good watch. We're shutting the door now."Takano-san smiled spitefully, as if leaving Tomitake-san out of something fun, and began to close the door. "Man... ...All right, everyone, have fun."BGM: Silence There was a low, heavy, and loud noise... and we were completely cut off from the outside world... and covered in silent darkness. ...Takano-san's lantern was the only light we had.  Looks like Takano noticed my uneasy expression. ...I couldn't help but blush a little and avert my gaze. Deeper inside, there was a heavy and old-but-sturdy door with solemn decorations on it. ...It was the last door sealing away what was within... "Strange how it has an antechamber even though it's just a warehouse, isn't it? ...I believe it's set up this way so that you open one door at a time, never letting the room with all the tools be seen from the outside."Takano-san explained this, awfully impressed by the construction. ...But still... it's really dark in here. ......Huh? That, over there, it's... I spotted a circuit breaker hanging from a clump of wiring, clumsily attached to the wall. "Oh, here, isn't this the light switch or something?"I flip the biggest switch I can find, and with a *click*, the pitch-black room was illuminated by an old, bare light bulb. Everyone scrunched up their faces at the sudden strobe-like brightness.  Before she even finished, Shion slapped my hand and flipped the switch back. There was another loud *click*, and the room returned to darkness, with only the lantern for illumination... "Oww..." "You can't, Kei-chan. We snuck in here, remember? If you turn on the light, it might give us away...!"I'm scolded by Shion fairly harshly... It looked like she was worried about whether someone had seen them from the momentary light.  Takano-san remained a relaxed adult. ...It seemed like she was confident she could talk her way out of it if someone did see us... "Let's go in. ...Here we go... There."The even heavier door opened... and this time, it wasn't just the dust that came out with the air—there was also a nasty smell. ......One smell was like opening a dust-filled cupboard in the back of a kitchen that hadn't been opened in years... and the other smell, the nasty one, was hard to explain... but it was like the raw odor of a fish market. From how the sound echoed, this room felt far larger than the first.  "...Whoa...!!"At the back wall of the storehouse, right in front of us...was a Buddha-like holy object, standing there, looking down at us. I was taken aback by its unseen force, lit up by the slender beam of the lantern.  "...It's far grander than the one at the shrine."Oyashiro-sama. ...So this is the spirit protecting Hinamizawa. The one guarding the holy land of Hinamizawa from the impurities of the outside world, and the one delivering punishment after punishment upon those who attempted to sully the land with the dam construction... "...It looks like... there are far more tools stored here than I thought, but... This is so sad. None of them have been maintained. ...How unfortunate that they're in such a state..." Takano-san, speaking as if in a trance, was infatuated by the various implements filling the dark room. ...They weren't very festival-like, or traditional, but instead... this was more like the workshop of a blacksmith or a carpenter... There were a lot of large wooden and metal tools packed in here. Putting it bluntly, it was all pretty boring stuff. I'd imagined there would be more artistic things in here from the Heian period, but... these are a far cry from being cultural artifacts. My expression betrayed my dashed hopes, and they caught on right away.  "I'm not into literature or art, so... ...I can look at this stuff, but I don't really understand its value." "Fufu. ...Keiichi-kun, you really do look like you don't get it. I guess that's only natural."Takano-san reached into a paper bag that she'd been holding the whole time, took out a worn scrapbook, and began to flip through it.  Telling stories... in such a dark, creepy place? ......She must have a horror story in mind. Shion's face belied nothing but calm. If she had the same personality as Mion, she'd have found fault with me being scared. ...I'll endure it for now and pretend to be calm. "Okay? All right... I'll read it."After confirming that I was going to be quiet and listen, she began to speak softly, like a kindergarten teacher reading a picture book… BGM: Seijaku (Quietness)  The rumors said that it was deeper than the ocean, and that anyone it swallowed would sink into the underworld—a bottomless swamp. Its name was Onigafuchi... ...Wait. I thought back to the story I heard yesterday about the sacrifices sinking in the bottomless swamp. ...Could that be the swamp she's talking about? "...So then the village... was Hinamizawa, right?" "Onigafuchi Village... ...That's a pretty inauspicious name..." "It evokes quite the image, doesn't it? I hear that the name was changed in the Meiji period."...The name of the swamp connected to Hell was called Onigafuchi, which meant 'The Demon's Abyss'. ...And the true name of this village, Hinamizawa... ...was Onigafuchi Village. "The villagers belonged to that abyss—or to hell, in other words. ...They lived their lives worshipping the swamp said to connect to it. But then, one day..."  ...The villagers feared...that hell was overflowing.  They could only watch in fear. ...They could do no more than hide themselves and tremble... "...So did someone exterminate them?" "Unfortunately, there is no Momotarou or Superman in this fairy tale." "Then... did they get the whole village together to fight them?" "Heavens, no. The villagers weren't nearly strong enough to fight on equal terms with the demons." "...Then... the only recourse would be to flee the village..." "They couldn't do that, either. ...To the villagers, it was their beloved homeland. It didn't matter how terrifying the demons, they wouldn't have run away so easily." "...Then... what did they do? Wouldn't they just get wiped out?" Then, when everyone had lost hope... ...their god... 'Oyashiro-sama' descended unto them. "I see... So Oyashiro-sama came down from the sky and beat up all the demons, then." "...You're such a boy, Kei-chan. You always jump straight to using force to resolve things,"Shion sighed, a little annoyed. Embarrassed, I held my tongue.  The strength of Oyashiro-sama descended from the heavens couldn't be compared to that of the demons. They didn't even fight—they simply prostrated themselves before his radiant authority... Oyashiro-sama urged them to go back to Hell from whence they came, but the demons wept and challenged him, saying they could never return. "The world of the demons, too, has harsh commandments. They claimed they had been banished from Hell."Demons... who didn't have a place to go, either in Hell or in the human world... Of course, they were at fault for attacking the village. They deeply reflected on it and were sorry.  "A lot of fairy tales have them being exterminated or driven away... but you don't often hear one where they live in peace." "You're right. Demons are supposed to symbolize all evils. A story where they decide to live together with humans is certainly strange." The villagers had given them a place to live. It was said that in payment for this good deed, the demons shared their many kinds of power and secrets with the villagers. "Oyashiro-sama was very pleased with this happy exchange. He gave the demons the bodies of humans so that they would be indistinguishable from the villagers. He himself decided to stay on the surface and watch over the everlasting peace between them." ...I had thought the word 'demon' was a noun meaning 'evil that needs to be exterminated.' A god may have mediated for them, but you don't often hear happy endings like that where both sides live in harmony. ...I see. I guess it is kind of interesting. "Although the normal fairy tale ends there, it was revised quite a bit during the Edo period into a much longer story."After that, the humans and demons intermixed, and eventually there was no difference between them. "So the demons ended up disappearing?" "No. Not at all. Half of them stayed just as they were." They were well aware the power they had was heresy, and as those below worshipped them, they lived out their lives in secrecy... "This story is the root of many derivative tales and pieces of fiction. It's the foundation, I mean. The basis." "What do you mean by 'root'?" "She means the part about the villagers having demon blood. ...What I mean is, all of the legends from around here are based on the premise that the villagers are descended from demons."There was a hint of amusement in Shion's face as she said that. ...It was like she wanted to say that she, too, had demon blood in her. ...Is there any proof, though? Maybe it's somehow rooted in historical fact beyond just fairy tales.  "......Hmm, well, it's not that I don't believe it, but..."When she said 'demon', she meant the ones from Hell, but... ...In ancient Japan, the word wasn't necessarily used to denote only that kind, right? The more well-known use involves the 'drifting foreigner theory.' As the story goes, Westerners who were shipwrecked in nearby seas had such markedly different customs that they were called 'demons.' Japanese people were relatively similar in appearance to other Asians, but everything about those from the West was different—their physiques, their faces, and their skin color. In Japan, terms like 'red demon' and 'blue demon' evoke images especially of Westerners. Lacking in skin pigments, Westerners would sunburn easily and turn red. Being fair-skinned, I think blood vessels appearing on their skin would look blue, too. A handful of accidental aliens would drift into Japan and came under persecution, being called demons. They would flee into the mountains to survive, turn into bandit groups, and attack villages for food and the like.  Takano gave me a weird smile when, having come up with such an impromptu hypothesis, I unconsciously followed it up with self-deprecation. Still, she didn't smile as if to make fun of me.  "It's not ridiculous. There are a lot of people who subscribe to the drifting foreigner theory. Even so, nobody actually knows what happened. Were they groups of foreigners who had turned to banditry, or were they really demons who had come from the bottom of the world...?" "Then, ...er... Takano-san, which one do you believe?" "The truth of the matter aside, I'd rather believe the more fantastic explanation. It's more fun that way, isn't it?"Her answer made her sound a wee bit like a romanticist. Here I'd thought she'd reject unrealistic stories like that. "Now then. ......This is where...the fun begins."Takano-san brought an end to her storytelling and waits for a moment as if to tantalize us.  Suddenly, Shion looked around, as if something had caught her eye. ...Her head bobbed to and fro, like she was making sure nothing had changed. "...? What's wrong, Shion?" "......I'm sorry. Please don't worry about it."Shion pretended as though nothing had happened. Takano-san also made sure nothing had happened, then cleared her throat and broached the next subject.  "...Man-eating demons? ......That escalated quickly."BGM: Silence  I thought the fairy tale had a happy ending, with the humans and demons living in peace... but it began to suddenly change into a brutal, bloody story… BGM: Doukutsu (Cave)  “So when this happens, it's said that they descended on the human villages and conducted Onikakushi." "What's an... Onikakushi?" "Broadly speaking, it's when a demon kidnaps someone when a person is 'demoned away.' They say that the villagers of Onigafuchi would overwhelm unfortunate human villages, in order to kidnap sacrifices."Takano-san's explanation was plain and simple... but when I imagined what it must have been like... it was terrifying. They lose their human reason... The villagers turn into real demons en masse... They attack the villages they loathe, in the dirty world of the masses below... ...and then they kill and eat their sacrifices.  "Oyashiro-sama knew about it, of course. Onikakushi isn't indiscriminate. The villagers apparently never kidnapped anyone other than the sacrifices decided upon by their god. In the texts, it's usually one or two people."......A village inhabited by those both human and inhuman. ...It was like the heart-warming episode's colors had inverted, like negative film... ...revealing the painful... ...and ugly truth... "So on the nights when they raided villages... they would feast on their kidnapped sacrifices, which is why the nights came to be known as 'Watanagashi.'"Watanagashi. ...Tonight's festival was Watanagashi. ...I just couldn't reconcile the fun festival with the horrible tale Takano-san was telling me. "Watanagashi, well, wasn't it... wasn't it about giving thanks to the futons we use over the winter or something?!" Shion, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "Entrails? ......Oh, yeah, I guess that's true. Like, fish guts. ......Wait, what?!"Like a jigsaw puzzle, the fun times I had today and Takano-san's grotesque tale clicked together in my mind. BGM: Silence  I didn't think saying that could ever feel so nauseating… BGM: Mazoku Kenkyuusho (Demonic Institute) "Yes. It's as you imagine, Maebara-kun. ...Right now, the Watanagashi Festival might just be a somewhat early summer festival occurring every June, but it used to be different. It used to be a ghastly, cannibalistic feast... held on the night the villagers had collected their unfortunate dinner." "Th-That can't be true!!!"I had no real reason to say that, but I couldn't help it. "Maebara-kun, you said that Watanagashi is a ritual about purifying futons, right? What do you think the futons, filled with cotton—with 'wata'—represent?" "Futons are futons!! They're beds! They're things for sleeping in! What else could they possibly represent?!"I was rattling on, desperately attempting to deny the horrible festival that Takano-san was describing... Deep down, however... I found myself understanding all too well what she meant.  If the cotton represented entrails in both pronunciation and meaning, then entrail-filled futons... would have to be humans. "Why don't you think back to the offertory dance Rika-chan performed? Do you know... what she was doing up there?" "No, I don't! I didn't even watch the whole thing, anyway...!!" "Shhh! Kei-chan, you're getting too worked up." "Rika-chan was carrying a festival hoe. ...You've probably realized it already, but that's not a hoe for plowing fields. ...It's a tool for dissecting human bodies."I didn't see the dance all the way through, so I don't know what kind of performance Rika-chan was putting on after I'd left. When I told this to Takano-san, she kindly explained Rika-chan's dance to me. To summarize what she said... After what I'd seen, Rika-chan would pierce the futons with that hoe, cut them open, and pull out the cotton inside... She'd cut the cotton out, one bit at a time, and set it afloat. ......That's the kind of ritual it was.  “It's thought that afterwards, the villagers, each with a different role, dismantled the flesh piece-by-piece and feasted upon it. ...Heehee."...At Takano-san's strangely happy giggle, I felt, for some reason, violent displeasure. Rika-chan... Every day during our lunch break, she'd take a rice-pounding mallet into the schoolyard... and she'd work so hard, sweating bullets, to practice for the offertory dance she had done today... ......All that effort... All that work... ...Takano-san disgraced it. ...Even though she worked so hard to practice for today......  A moment before I opened my mouth to express how angry I was, Shion stopped me. ...Shion must have been fully aware of how that story made me feel. "I'm sorry. ...I thought you'd like a story with that sort of shock value, since you're a boy."Takano-san spoke without a hint of malice as she smiled gracefully. "After hearing all that, ...Did you figure out what kind of stuff is in this storehouse, Kei-chan? See, look.”Shion pointed out one of the walls vaguely illuminated by the lantern's light. ......There was... ...Mere moments ago, they hadn't held my interest... They were just boring-looking tools lined up on the shelves. BGM: Seijaku (Quietness)  All those uninteresting tools that I didn't understand how to use... They all suddenly took on a new meaning...... and I couldn't help but let out a groan... At first they had looked like carpentry tools, like chisels or planes. ...However... when I thought back... I'd seen pictures of these sorts of tools before. ...Yeah, they... They came up in a Japanese history textbook. Yes...... on the page introducing the Kaitai Shinsho, or the New Text on Anatomy. "These sorts of things... They're printed realistically in the literature of Germany, capital of the medical world."These... aren't carpentry tools. ...These strangely-shaped tools... They're for dissection. Everyone knows that in the Edo period, they would dissect the corpses of those who had been put to death in order to gain knowledge about Western medical techniques. Illustrations of the dissection tools they used at the time came up in textbook supplements. ......The things hung up on this wall... all looked exactly the same as those.  Takano-san, holding the lantern, the only light source in the room, led us along the wall. ...She had the only light, so I had to walk after her whether I liked it or not. "...Look."Takano-san illuminated a coiled chain which left a bigger impression than the other things we saw. The chain in itself was nothing unusual...... but further along it were metal fetters that were like hinges, clearly meant for binding people.  Shion tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to... ...a restraining table... that was clearly shaped like a person. My spine froze...... My blood felt like it was turning into sherbet as it crawled up my back. On each of the joints, there were things like chains and iron balls attached... It was like the table was searching for its next sacrifice, ready to spread their arms wide and close them in...  The words 'chopping block' sent a jolt through my body...... When I looked more closely...... there were many dark slices carved into it, as through from a knife or a saw... They were the most clear-cut signs of usage you could ask for. ...It proved these tools weren't just for show—they were used for their original purpose. If someone was strapped tightly onto this table... they probably wouldn't be able to move even a muscle. ...Their guts would be defenseless...... you'd take one of those eerie cooking knives lined up over there... stab them with it... ...and then you'd slice open their belly and dissect them......?  "......I'd heard the stories...... ............But this is incredible........."Before coming in here, Shion had mentioned she had a good guess of what was inside... but it seems to have exceeded her imagination.  Takano-san had this happy expression like she was visiting a toy store for the first time. ...I don't get it. This Miyo Takano person has nerves of steel. Are these... these bizarre, grotesque objects... that fascinating to her? I, for one, was not enjoying myself. ...I'll be frank. This was all too weird for me. Still... there was something even more horrifying than all this. That would be... none other than Takano-san herself. Takano-san, holding the lantern giving off such a thin beam of light... If she suddenly turned it off... ...Then I would... What would I do when, the next moment, everything went totally dark......? That's why I was scared. ......Takano-san had the only light... and anyway, I was scared.  It was a little annoying to walk like that, but... I didn't shake her off. ...That minor sensation allowed me to feel the presence of an ally, here and now...... Before we had even walked halfway through the storehouse... the air I felt on my skin changed completely. These cruel tools lined up, all crammed together in this place... Some were horrible ones made to take away sacrifice's freedom, and... Some were tools made to efficiently disassemble and prepare the bodies for consumption. ...Those were just the things I understood. There were plenty of other strange-looking objects that I couldn't even guess the purpose of.  ...At the very least, they were all completely different from the sort of clean, simple killing function of a katana. Tools to kill people were, obviously, constructed in such a way that they could kill people. If that was the goal, then the person you used them on would, obviously, end up dead. The kinds of tools here, however, were different. ...The tools that were here... were for cutting people... for crushing them... for boiling them and cooking them... and for grinding them. ...They were tools of torture. ...They weren't made to kill people. People dying was just an incidental result. ...Actually, they might not even kill them. ...If the sacrifices could die during such a horrifying ritual process, that would be nice, but... ...They don't even die in the end. ...They remain in a state of hellish pain... perhaps they were only being allowed to live... Only now, in this moment, did I fully realize... just how terrifying and fearsome... that difference was.  Takano-san, as if reading my mind, displayed a shocking smile... "Burning at the stake, the famous method of execution for witches, will kill the person immediately.” “When the body suffers extreme burns on the skin all over, the decomposition of the skin's chemical makeup produces poison-like symptoms and causes an immense shock to the victim. ...Though I suppose it's still very cruel—compared to the guillotine, you have to wait far longer for that to happen."......She described such horrors in a strangely medical way. ...Shion immediately answered the question I had. "Takano-san is a nurse."...There's a saying that nothing can scare a doctor...... I guess it's true.  To think the memories of when I went to a day camp with my family... would come rushing back now, of all times, so vividly... "...That's what it was like. Apparently they wouldn't die too easily for some reason.” “According to one source, even if they roasted one side of a person to a crisp for an entire night, they would still be conscious and able to speak fluently."...That's insane... You'd grill someone the whole day... and they'd still be conscious...... It's said that ancient Rome, famous for their executions, thought of plenty of ways to execute someone while having the victim stay alive as long as possible...  Shion was behind me, clinging to me. ...Not just because she was scared. ...She was protecting her stomach... "You would think someone with their intestines pulled out would die instantly, right?” “Actually... ...As long as you do it tenderly and thoroughly... It's apparently possible to pull them all out while the person is still conscious."I felt a sick feeling in my stomach... It was like my organs were coiling up... just from Takano-san's stare... "Though pulling them out with a winch was a rather... exaggerated method. In a more barbaric way, they might slice open the gut, then cut the intestines out and throw them everywhere... It's quite imaginable that they did dreadful things like that too, isn't it?”  She spoke with pleasure, as if she had come here on a sightseeing trip. ...I heard Shion gulping multiple times near my ears...... "Perhaps Hinamizawa—or, rather, Onigafuchi Village—did something like that for the Watanagashi Festival. ......Listen. If you try hard...... can't you hear it?"I wanted nothing more than to not hear anything at all... So why? Why only at times like these do I begin to hear things I shouldn't be able to… SFX: Temple Bell  ...Then, she turned on her heel, raised the lantern, and began to walk again. ...If Takano-san left us here, we'd get even further away from the light... Shion and I... no matter how scared we were, we were forced to follow Takano-san along on her field trip through the ritual storehouse...... limeicebreakers fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Oct 12, 2021 |
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Sep 10, 2021 19:40
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Yeah. Yeah, let's all go into the temple murder shed with one light source held by a woman who's either a sociopath or mysteriously obsessed with all this poo poo. While also in the presence of a girl who's been lying to you AND is clearly trying to drive a wedge between you and her poor sister. Keiichi you numbskull... Still can't get a bead on Takano for all of this. If she's trying to prove something or get evidence the whole town's been butchering people, why bring two witnesses along? Including one with heavy ties to the murderous townies? As bait? If she's just an urban legend junkie or she moonlights as an occultist researcher/magazine writer or something, having witnesses with her in case she gets caught would probably work out better for her, but this all STILL seems incredibly dangerous, even for some intrepid reporter type that she's willing to endanger minors like a Japanese Policeman. I'm not sure why she's going to all this trouble, honestly, but I suspect this is why she and Tomitake were this years victims last time.
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Sep 11, 2021 11:53
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VIDEO: Watanagashi-hen | Day 8 Part 3 BGM: Silver Mirror  she says, raising the lantern high in the center of the storehouse. The dim lighting didn't change... but for some reason, it felt like I was able to see all of those horrible tools at once...  Shion stammered while grabbing the nape of my neck. "Uh..............."I couldn't tell because it was so dark, but... there were a lot more tools hanging from the ceiling as well. They all looked like they were made of iron bars... but then I figured it out. Cages. For cages... they were very small. Cramped cages just for one, like a casket. ...If you got locked up in there... No, you wouldn't get locked up inside it. It was another tool meant for restraining people... where the iron bars would squeeze you tightly... All the... so many, big and large... Things of all shapes... were hanging down... ...Takano-san's mention of execution by grilling crosses my mind... We weren't just surrounded on all sides... by these terrifying instruments. Things crowding the ceiling... were even hanging over our heads...  "Ke...... Kei-chan, ......Is there... something in there?! A person? A mummy?!" "Eh?! Wh-Where...?!"Shion desperately pointed to one of the many human-sized bird cages hanging from the ceiling, but I couldn't tell which one she meant. ...Being that dark, there wasn't any way you could tell if something was there in the first place. "...I don't see anything. You sure you're not seeing things?" "..............."Shion didn't seem convinced... but without a means to confirm for ourselves, we couldn't do much but wonder.  It's got nothing to do with believing in them. ......Now that I've been shown the real thing like this, there's no possible way to deny it. ......Even the nations of Europe, with all their beautiful landscapes and legends, were like a maelstrom during the terrible witch hunts in the Dark Ages. It's well known that the era gave birth to countless gruesome forms of torture and execution. Japan was the same way. Didn't it have its own era of hellscape-like torturous feasts because of religious suppression and things of that nature? ...Hinamizawa itself had such a period. ...It had that much history behind it. Even in Europe, land of the witch hunts—that was all far in the past, no more than a series of historical events, and in this age, nothing that abnormal would ever happen. That must apply to Hinamizawa as well…  “...Even if these things all really happened in Hinamizawa, ...they're all long past. ...They don't have anything to do with the people living in Hinamizawa right now."BGM: Silence "Maebara-kun, you really do like this village..."It didn't sound like she was making fun of me. Takano-san gave me a light smile.  Shion suggested something... that made my heart leap into my throat. ...Are you telling me... that all these horrible things... are still going on even today?! BGM: Doukutsu (Cave)  “...If things go awry, I could be ganged up on and punished."Shion flashed a devilish smile, as if reveling in the immorality of it. "Maebara-kun, you keep it a secret too, okay? If this gets out, I could suffer Oyashiro-sama's curse, or be made into a sacrifice.” “If it's the curse, then I wonder what kind of death it'll be this year? If it's the sacrifice... then will I be thrown into the Onigafuchi Swamp while still alive? ......It is tonight, you know. The night of Oyashiro-sama's curse,"Takano-san said, bringing her face right up close to ours. ...As if to say that if she had the choice, she'd rather suffer the curse. ...That was what she seemed to be implying.  There were all sorts of references and newspaper clippings attached to them, and it had all manner of things written inside. The letters were very small and bunched together, so I couldn't tell at a glance what it was about. "What I'd really like to do is search through the national library for newspapers from the era, but... ...Here it is."......A photocopy of a page from some book was slid into the notebook, and it, too, was written in small, tight lettering. Like the other pages, I couldn't tell what it was about just by glancing at it.  An old newspaper clipping attached to the page spoke of something that was no mere rumor or fairy tale. "We don't have most police documents from the time anymore, so it's all based on oral traditions and memories. ......See? It's not very clear, but it looks like a cut-out of a newspaper from the Meiji era.""...Never before has there been a corpse treated with such cruelty and inhumanity / Could it be the work of a demon...?" Being a copy of a copy, it was very hard to make out, but it was more than enough to make me feel strangely tense.  In old Onigafuchi Village, a mangled corpse was discovered. The identity of the corpse was unknown. ...It wasn't even in a state where it could be identified in the first place. It was missing a head, and each limb was separated from the body. Skin had been peeled off the entire body, and there were markings that implied terrible torture in every place imaginable. Not only that, but the belly had been cut open by a sharp knife, with the entrails completely dragged out. The police immediately began an investigation, but since they couldn't even determine the identity of the victim—much less the criminal—finding answers was extremely difficult...  I couldn't imagine such a strange sight... even if I tried. This was the first time I was ever thankful for my lack of imagination... "The victim was skinned while still alive, underwent all kinds of torture, and was killed brutally… ...The author here also thinks that even after death, the remains were divided and dissected even further—the epitome of inhumanity.” “......I'm of the opinion that the entire 'process' was performed while the person was still alive, though. What do you think, Maebara-kun?"...She spoke in a way intended to make me imagine even more vicious things... As my brain was already far over capacity, however, there was no way I could imagine anything more brutal. Then when I broke my gaze from Takano-san's... those strangely-shaped weird tools were... all around us. I wonder if you could faithfully reproduce the mutilated corpse discovered at the end of the Meiji era... with the tools found in this place... I want to deny it. ...I don't want to admit that something so terrible could have happened at all. ...Even so, they were so strange, so terrifying, these tools... and as if they had seen through my attempt to escape from them, they did nothing but ridicule me silently...  "The author says that... regarding Onigafuchi Village's dreadful customs, they've survived into recent post-Meiji days... and that perhaps they lasted until around the beginning of the Showa period."This corpse, which, at a glance, had been brutally killed after a period of torture... In actuality, however... it was... the pitiful sacrificial remains of the man-eaters' terrifying feast... ......The corpse was just leftovers... It was so fantastic, so strange, that it didn't feel real. ...Was this an extension of the legends, too...? ...It happened in the Meiji era, though, which is just too recent to be called a 'legend'... Also...... there's a newspaper clipping right here suggesting it...... "O-Okay, but... even if it really happened... it was a long time ago, right? I mean, the Meiji era ended a hundred years ago..." “That story was taboo, wasn't it...?"Takano-san immediately stopped talking as if worried about Shion. ...Shion briefly looked somewhat angry, but that expression soon disappeared. "......Huh? Takano-san, what did you just say? Canned flesh...?" Everyone whipped around to look!! BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  "Ah-ha-ha-ha. Did I startle you?" "Oh, Jirou-san, could you not resist seeing inside? ...This is a splendid treasure trove of torture devices." "I'll pass on that. ...Ahahaha... I'm bad with this sort of thing by nature."Takano-san held her stomach and had to muffle her laughter, as if she wanted to make a comment about his masculinity. "In any case. The dance and ceremony are over, and everyone's going down to the stream. The festival will be over within minutes." "Oh, that's no good. Maebara-kun is just such a good listener that I couldn't help telling stories."...I'd really rather you not mention me in a place like this. "Jirou-san, could you wait out front? I want to take a few pictures. There are actually a lot of tools I'd like to bring home, but we obviously can't do that."Takano-san took a camera out of her paper bag and began to snap photographs. ......She looked like she was having fun, like she was on a scavenger hunt.  "......I've seen enough. ...Shion, you're good too, right? Let's get out of here. ...I want some fresh air." "I agree. Let's leave."I did feel a bit of hesitation at leaving Takano-san by herself in this darkness... When I thought about it, though, I realized that whatever kinds of evil spirits and ghosts lurked in the darkness, none of them could hold a candle to how scary she was. Even if a phantasm were to appear, she'd be overjoyed and flash her camera at it. It seemed like Shion shared my somewhat-rude mental images. We exchanged glances and smiled painfully. We left Takano-san there, bathed in her strobe of camera flashes, and decided to go leave the ritual storehouse. BGM: Afternoon in Paris  The voices of the bugs, on the other hand, were clear... lending an empty feeling of isolation to the place.  Tomitake-san gave us a somewhat mischievous grin. He should have been able to tell by looking at how pale our faces were. "...I should have kept watch outside with you, Tomitake-san." "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!"Tomitake-san laughed so delightfully that it wiped away our dark feelings. "How did you fare, Shion-chan? Were you scared?" "...I was prepared for it, so I wasn't too afraid, but... seeing the real thing was... powerful."Shion spoke like she wasn't scared at all. ...She really had been quite afraid, but seeing as how I was in way worse a state than her, I didn't have much room to talk. As Tomitake-san grinned candidly, my mind, exhausted and locked up by nervousness began to calm itself...  Both Shion and I laughed, and left that as our answer. "Hopefully she was only looking at things. I'm worried she'll sneak something out of there, or mess with a ritual implement too much and break it or something."...Right, that's quite possible. ...She is alone in there right now. She might pilfer something small and easily concealed, hiding it in her pocket. "Ahahahaha, yeah. I can see that."Shion said what I was thinking. "You're sure she didn't break anything? I could clearly hear some noises like someone jumping up and down. I was getting pretty nervous..." Takano-san suddenly appeared while we were talking about her, taking everyone by surprise. Tomitake-san smoothly grinned and responded as if nothing had happened. ...He's pretty mature. "Ah, ah-ha-ha-ha! I'm all out of spare film. Sorry about that..." "...Geez. You won't win any Pulitzer Prizes by not stocking enough film for any occasion, you know. ...I suppose that's it, then..."Tomitake-san scratched his head apologetically. Without film, we're done here. ...Takano-san seemed to have given up because of that, too.  "Takano-san... You didn't sneak anything out, right...?" "How rude. I'm trying not to be that childish."Ker-clack. Tomitake set the padlock back to the way it was before. ...From a cursory glance, it didn't look like thieves had snuck in at all. "Okay. Let's get over to the stream ourselves. If we don't at least set some cotton afloat, there won't be any point in coming to the festival!"Tomitake-san spoke brightly, urging us all on. ...Setting cotton afloat down the stream... ...I shake my head a few times, driving away my dismal thoughts as to the double meaning.  "Let's just leave it at that, all right? You saw enough to sate your curiosity, didn't you?" "Oh, not at all! Everything I found only renewed my interests. All those stories and legends suddenly hold water. After today, I'm going to have to change the way I look at all this!”Wow... She's truly indomitable. Her curiosity really is something else—still interested in all this, through and through… BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  Near the bottom of the stairs, we could clearly see people receiving cotton that had been cut out for them, then wishing upon the cotton and setting it afloat down the stream. ...The festival was already over.  "Oh, but it's not too late. I'm going to go and set some afloat. Perhaps you could take pictures of me?"Takano-san, with an impish expression, brought her head to Tomitake-san's shoulder. Despite his age, he looked embarrassed... I felt an honest respect for Tomitake-san, man to man, for dating such a handful of a woman... "Good bye, then. Maebara-kun. Shion-chan." "We're going down to the stream. Would you like to come with us?" "No, no. I couldn't get in your way. Please, take your time~"Shion waved her hand to them with an expression just as impish as Takano-san's. ...Tomitake-san, on his part, seemed to want us to come... but whatever...  "Ehehe... I'm pretty worn out." "...Same here. ......I'm exhausted too." "Kei-chan, this is your first Watanagashi, isn't it? You go on. Don't mind me. I'm tired, so I'd like to stay away from the crowd."Yeah, if we were to go now, we'd barely slip into the end of the cotton-drifting ceremony. "My sister and your other friends might be looking for you, too. Go on." "Oh... yeah, right. They've been by themselves ever since we got separated. I'd feel bad if they were looking for me..." "My sister is the type that gets really jealous. If she knew I was hogging you this whole time, she'd never let me hear the end of it, so keep tonight a secret, okay?"...Keep tonight a secret... ......Don't say things that are so embarrassing! "Not only because of that, either. ...Considering what we were doing tonight, we really need to keep it secret. ...Oyashiro-sama's curse might happen tonight... and we four would be the prime candidates.The loosening threads of tension became taut again. Shion, however, burst out laughing.  "I can't tell if you get along with her or not." "We... get along."Though as she said that, her vague expression explained that there are a lot of oddities in a relationship between twins. "I'm an only child, so I don't really get it. Make sure you get along with her, okay?" "Right. Thank you kindly for your meddling. ...Okay, I'm gonna go. You should hurry up if you want to make it, Kei-chan. Watanagashi really is about to end."Shion stood up and brushed the dust off her backside. After watching her do so, I returned my eyes to the final ceremony of the Watanagashi Festival below me.  BGM: Silence "Huh? What sound?" "..................The sound. You know, the banging noise. ...It was really loud, wasn't it?"I was giving her a blank expression, so Shion stared hard at me. I stared hard at her, too. "Sorry, Shion. ......Could you give me the short version? What was making noise?" "......Wait, Kei-chan... ...It didn't bother you?"When all's said and done, it was like we were speaking two different languages. SFX: Night Higurashi "Shion. ...Explain it to me, without jokes, from the beginning, will you? What's this about a noise?" "...Kei-chan, you quit joking around too. ......Really, honestly... it didn't bother you?"Neither of us was giving any ground, and both of us were staring at the other in disbelief. We were answering questions with more questions, with no sign of an actual conversation in sight. Baffled, I held in the urge to shout at her... and asked politely one more time.  Shion nodded silently. "...Okay, here goes. ...You said there was a sound. What are you talking about?" "The banging sound. It was like a kid was jumping up and down on floorboards, somewhere far away. ...It really didn't bother you...?" "...There was nothing to be bothered by. ...When did you hear this? I never heard anything." "Wait, Kei-chan... are you... are you serious?"Shion, as if she didn't understand my plain and simple answer, pressed me further, her expression serious. ......I have no clue what she's talking about, but if it has Shion acting so like this... Whatever it was, it gave me the creeps, and sent a chill down my spine.  She heard a banging sound, like a child jumping on distant floorboards...? "That can't be true. Don't start trying to scare me after all that!"I didn't hear anything at all. ...In fact, it was so utterly silent in there that my own heartbeat was almost deafening. "Please don't try to scare me either, Kei-chan. ...It was like something was making noise in time with Takano-san's scary stories, and... I was totally creeped out the whole time."......The chill rose from my spine to the back of my head. ...My blood turned cold as it crawled up my body. When it reached my head, my mind froze over... "You and Takano-san weren't paying any attention to it at all, so... I pretended not to hear it either, but... ...You heard it, right? It happened a bunch of times, and it was really loud." ...I had no doubt, however, that my own eyes suggested something entirely different—a 'you've gotta be kidding' look. ......In that storehouse, we were surrounded by brutal ritual tools that looked like they were from another planet, listening to terrifying old stories. ...The whole time, Shion had been hearing a sound that we couldn't hear, by herself. ...Should that make Shion, who heard it, tremble, or should it make me, who didn't hear it, tremble... I didn't know the answer to that at the time. ...For now, Shion seemed to have made that decision before I did. BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  "What are you laughing about..." "I really got you, Kei-chan. I was fibbing the whole time!" ".........Whaaatt?!?!"Shion laughed, saying how easily scared I was, and clapped me on the back. ...Her smile seemed somehow artificial, and actually made me feel worse.  All I could do was look after her... my mouth agape. ...At the end of the day... ...I didn't have a clue what was going on. Shion laughed it off and said she had been lying, but... ...she couldn't possibly have been lying. Of course not. And now that I think back... Tomitake-san said the same thing, didn't he?  Tomitake-san, the most neutral party present at the time, had said he'd heard something. ......Then...... that noise... ...It was real...? The banging sounds. Sounds as though a child was jumping up and down on some kind of floorboards, far away. Oyashiro-sama's curse... which happens every year, might happen again tonight. The most plausible victim candidates were Takano-san, Tomitake-san, Shion... and me. The bustling of the people sounded further away than I would have liked, and the sounds of the insects sounded too close for comfort. ...I'm near so much human warmth... and yet I can't ever go back there again. ......That was the ominous idea that sprouted in my mind.  BGM: Hello!  It was Rika-chan. ...When I turned round, Mion and Rena were there too.   "You're right. It's a festival, so we should all be together!"I listened to Mion's happy declaration with a little bit of guilt. "......Keiichi, did you root for me while I was dancing?" "Ah, yeah! I saw it all! You did a great job, all the way through. No mistakes, either." ".............................." "...Yeah. That's right, Rika-chan. That didn't count as a mistake~"BGM: Silence I tensed up as I realized I'd made a mistake of my own...   "...Did you do it too, Kei-chan? Did you get some cotton and send it down the stream?"...You haven't yet, right? is what I could feel her saying. ...Without the courage to tell any more lies... I lifelessly shook my head. "Huh? You haven't, Keiichi-kun? You should go now or it'll be over! It'll be over!" "S-Sorry… This is my first Watanagashi, so... I don't really understand the rules and stuff..." ".........That's right. I'm sorry."Mion took my hand and we started walking down the stone steps. "...Hey, Kei-chan." "What...?" My heart skipped another beat. ...Maybe Mion could sense my surprise through my hand. "N-No...... Oh, well... ...I sort of think I saw her...... You two look so alike, though... so it might have been you..." "...You wouldn't have gotten that wrong. We're wearing different clothes." "Huh? ......Oh... ...that's right......"Mion's momentary silence was like a deathgrip upon me...  Mion's expression returned to her former, usual smile, and we continued down the stone steps, her firmly pulling my hand along...  - - -  TIP 11: From the Scrapbook IV TIP 12: From the Scrapbook V TIP 13: After the Festival limeicebreakers fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Oct 12, 2021 |
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Sep 12, 2021 17:08
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Okay. Takano is... or possibly WAS.. more than likely a cop, an informant, or a reporter/writer of some kind who planted herself in the village for just this opportunity. Tomitake sure seems complicit too. It doesn't make ANY sense that she dragged two kids along for her investigations, however, unless she really WAS going to use them as bait/distractions in case they were all caught in there. Two people always die and she dragged two kids along...  Ooishi continues to suck, btw. On another topic...Shion and Mion CLEARLY have some beef with each other, if not outright despise one another. They don't even live in the same loving house, let alone want to see one another apart from the moment Shion flaunted her being arm in arm with Keiichi. Which she only did to gently caress with Mion. I cannot believe she actually cares about Keiichi even if he did come to her aide against those creeps at Angel mort. I'm starting to go back to that theory I had last arc about lying triggering the creepypasta poo poo the more I've been thinking about this. Because: what if Shion was created by a lie? I'm tossing out some Silent Hill levels of mysticism here, but I am starting to see a pattern here that anyone who egregiously lies or grossly tries to break trust with someone they're close to ( exception: playing games and bullshitting each other doesn't count or else the game club would have killed the whole prefecture by now) causes some reality warping hoobajoo that will bite them in the rear end ultimately like a Monkey's Paw effect. Keiichi broke trust with the girls last time by lying about his involvement with the cops and two of them slowly turned into the creepy cultist murderers he was afraid of. Here, Mion lied about being/having a sister and suddenly that sister actually arrives, trying to drive a wedge between her and the friend she lied to. ...And then Shion lies about not hearing noises Tomitake confirmed...which...I don't know where that's leading if the lie starts to lie... ...Okay this idea has some holes, I admit, (for one, I'm pretty sure Rena was being a little creepy before Keiichi met Ooishi) but it's the only thing close to a pattern I can see.
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Sep 12, 2021 18:52
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TKMobile posted:It doesn't make ANY sense that she dragged two kids along for her investigations, however, unless she really WAS going to use them as bait/distractions in case they were all caught in there. Two people always die and she dragged two kids along... Ooh that'd be so fitting. And would be a good reason for her to drag people with her since it otherwise just messed with her plan (Keiichi turning on the light and Takano distracting herself with stories and running out of time). That's so devious!
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Sep 13, 2021 21:01
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I'll be posting updates earlier
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Sep 14, 2021 15:45
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VIDEO: Watanagashi-hen | Day 9 Part 1 BGM: Silence SFX: Birds  It was like morning had arrived just as I got to sleep... As Mom set up breakfast, she gave me a pained smile.  "What's the matter, Keiichi? What time did you go to sleep last night?" "Well, I wanted to go to sleep at midnight... but I had some trouble with that..." "You were probably all worked up from the festival." "N-No, that's not it...! Crunch crunch!"I crunched down hard on the pickled radish to hide my embarrassment.  ...That banging noise, like a child far away, jumping up and down on a wooden floor. The story wouldn't get out of my head, so I had trouble sleeping... It was a long night... ...and I kept jumping at the slight sounds of faraway tree branches, which should have been either unhearable or too insignificant to notice. When I woke up to the morning sunlight and birds chirping, it made me feel pretty ashamed about it, but... ...I felt far from refreshed this morning. BGM: Afternoon in Paris SFX: Birds  "Oh, hey, good morning. I didn't get much sleep last night. So I'm sleep deprived today. ...*yaaawn*" "The festival yesterday was a lot of fun...! Rena's excitement took a long time to go to sleep, so I took a long time to go to sleep too! To sleep!"In Rena's case, her excitement seemed to still be wide awake...  "They should have this kind of festival more often! So we can have lots of fun together again. Hau!" "Mm, ah... Yeah."Rena talking about the festival yesterday made me remember everything I had nearly forgotten from last night. BGM: Seijaku (Quietness)  All those stories that Takano-san told me, too... The mysterious incidents that occurred on the day of the Watanagashi Festival every year. The strange incidents where one person would die, and one would disappear. ...The old stories of Hinamizawa, flickering like a candle behind them. The numerous and horrifying traditions of Onigafuchi Village. The villagers with demon blood in them. The terrible, cannibalistic feasts. The poor sacrifices kidnapped from human villages, victims... ...of the Onikakushi. To quell the rage of Oyashiro-sama... the ritual involving living sacrifices. ......There were also many, many others. ...There were so many stories that just remembering them put me in a foul mood. Most of them weren't fiction, either—they were true. ...We didn't need to fear them just because they were real, though. ...Since it all happened so long ago. Such a very long time ago. BGM: Afternoon in Paris  "Huh...?"Before I realized it, we had arrived at the place where we'd usually meet with Mion. ...Probably because I was so lost in thought.  "We agreed that if she isn't here by now, we can just go on ahead, right? ...Should we?"Mion being late wasn't too rare an occurrence... but today she was unusually late. ......A few of the ominous tales from the night before came back to life in my mind again. Who would die this year, and who would disappear... ......I-It couldn't have been... Mion...? "What should we do, Keiichi-kun? ...If we don't get going, we'll be late." "...She'll be here. She didn't call to tell us she'd be staying home today, right? Let's just wait five more minutes. Okay?"Rena looked at her watch and seemed a little worried, but then she nodded with a satisfied smile. Hmm... If we had to wait five minutes, we'd have to run as fast as we could to school or we'd be late... As soon as I thought that, we spotted Mion, running towards us, out of breath. "Mii-chaaaaan!! You're laaaate!!"BGM: Spring Step (Mion)  ...Mion was breathing heavily, and her face was all red. ...Her house was right down this road, wasn't it? It wasn't far enough away for her to end up like this, was it?  "......Mii-chan, ...Are you not feeling well?"Huh? ...Now that she mentioned it... ...Rena pushed Mion's bangs away and put her hand to her forehead.  "...Rena, your hand is pretty cold." "Mii-chan... You're a little bit warm." "It's no big deal. ...Give it half a day and I'll be fit as a fiddle." "Are you really okay? ...You don't have to push yourself, you know." ...That answer wasn't like Mion at all. ...She must have had it pretty bad. "I-I just think you shouldn't push yourself so hard. We can tell the teacher you had to take the day off." "I'm fine, I'm fine! I took some medicine. I think it's already working."Mion forced an energetic expression onto her face and flexed her biceps at us. "Okay... then let's go. Don't overdo it... but, of course, there's... ...the time." "Wah?! W-We need to run or we won't m-make it~!!"BGM: Digital Network  Hey, wait... You're sick! Don't go overboard...! Mion began to run vigorously anyway. “Mii-chan is older than us, right? She knows her own body better than anyone."I decided to leave it at that and assume she was fine. "Great, then we should get going too!!"We began to run after Mion…   BGM: Hello!  The hours passed listlessly, and my lack of sleep took its toll... If there was a sport where people competed by sleeping, I'd be world champion right now. The trick to overcoming this sort of dangerous situation was to hold your pencil upside-down. ...Why, you ask? So you don't draw strange patterns all over your notes while half-asleep. If you were holding your pencil upside-down, that wouldn't happen, would it? Bump bump bump! Bump bump bump! Something that felt like an eraser hit me in the head six times. "Ow, ow... What was that for, Satoko?!" "Who else would play a prank on me like this?! Oh, it was chalk, not an eraser. ......Eh?"BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi Behind me... like a female outlaw might hold razors, was the teacher's shadow, holding three pieces of chalk in each hand... Rumble rumble rumble......  "Uh, ......R-Right, g-gladly...!"That alone was enough to wake me up... but I flew out into the hallway, as if shoved out by the pressure exuded by the teacher's sheer power.   I turned the faucet, and with a lifeless bubbling noise, lukewarm water came pouring out. ...If I let it run for a few moments, would it get cold? ...I looked at it absent-mindedly for a little while.  "Hm... Mion? ...*Yaaawn* No cutting class now~"I stuck my hands into the water to find it had gotten so cold that it seemed strange it had ever been warm. I scooped it up and splashed it against my face. Once I was done, I moved out of the way and Mion did the same.   "Hm? ...Ahahahaha. Actually, this is a secret, but... after the festival yesterday, I got wrapped up in the party my relatives were having.”  “And well... I had a bit."A bit. She made a gesture like she was tilting a cup into her mouth. ...Which means you didn't have a cold or anything... "A-Are you hung over?! How old are you?!!" "Nahahaha...! Give me a break. I really don't feel well, you know!"...I suppose she'd be feeling lousy either way. Still, you treat colds and hangovers in completely different ways.  Mion scratched her head, a little embarrassed. ...She didn't seem to be feeling well, but now that I knew it was a hangover, I didn't need to worry too much. It would go away with time, after all. "Oh, but my head really is pounding, so the teacher told me I should go home early." "Ack, you cheater...! So are you going home now, Mion?"Now that I looked again, Mion had her bag with her. She must have been on her way home. "Yep. I feel bad about it, though. I'll get some rest at home like a good girl. ...Sorry I can't make it to the club. Would you take over as leader for today, Kei-chan?" "......I don't know if that will happen. We have that unspoken rule where we don't do the club unless everyone is there, don't we? We never did it when you had to go to your part-time job, did we?" No matter how much fun we have, though, I think that feeling guilty about friends who can't share in it is the sign of a really fantastic friendship. In that sense, the club Mion has created is a wonderful thing. As I thought about it, the moisture on my washed face dried up. ...I suppose we were talking too much. If I didn't get back to the classroom soon, I could get in trouble. "Okay, later. I'm going back. Be careful on your way home. Don't wobble into a sewer or a brook, got it?"I left it at that, turned around, and started heading back to the classroom.  Mion stopped me, and I turned my head to listen. "What's up?" "This may sound weird, but don't think too hard about it." "Well, that depends on what it is." ......I suddenly tensed up. "You know Tomitake-san and Takano-san, right? You remember, Kei-chan, when the four of you were talking during setup the day before?"If I could, I wanted to forget about sneaking into the storehouse that night as soon as possible. ...So hearing the names of the people I was with at the time really got to me. ...Besides that, though. ...Why was Mion... asking me a question like that...? I ended up staring at her, unable to answer immediately... ...Was she asking to see if I had seen them or not, or was she asking the question knowing that I had...? I couldn't tell. "......W-Well... Maybe? ...I might have seen them around, I don't know..."My vague response was clearly not to Mion's liking. ...What answer was she expecting from me...? There was no way for me to know.  My heart leapt into my throat again. ......The tiny needles buried underneath Mion's words pricked into me. "...That... didn't you ask me that yesterday? ...I think I told you that I wasn't sure if I had or not..." I suddenly noticed something in Mion's eyes... something indescribable. BGM: Doukutsu (Cave) Tomitake-san and Takano-san. Shion, too. ...She was asking me about them. ......There was no doubt about it. ...Last night, the four of us snuck into the ritual storehouse... she knew everything. ...S-So... So what?! There's not really a curse anyway......! ...That's right. Even Shion and Takano-san said yesterday during the festival that there was no curse. ...And that rather than a curse, it was the doing of the villagers... ..................................My blood curdled. ...Mion was... ...almost without a doubt... ...aware that we snuck into the storehouse...? It was nothing strange. ......I screwed up bad flipping on the light switch last night. ...If Mion had been searching for me, it was simple to imagine... that she had seen that momentary light and come to find out what was going on. BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  "W-Why are you so intent on knowing if I did or not?" "It's not important. ...It's just that there are some people... ...who are speaking poorly of Tomitake-san, Takano-san, Shion, and you, Kei-chan. ......I didn't really hear what they were saying, though."Unpleasant sweat dripped down my arms... and the sound of it hanging from my fingertips was so annoyingly loud... "I don't believe that you were doing something bad. ...I just wanted to ask a bit about it, so I did. ...Sorry for making you uncomfortable, okay?"......I found myself unable to reply. ...My reaction must have made it obvious what the truth was... and yet I couldn't explain myself. "Kei-chan, you weren't with Tomitake-san, Takano-san, or Shion. ...Right?" "......Um. ......Yeah."I finally wrung out an answer between ragged breaths. Mion's expression softened a little.  ...Yeah... please do. ...Tell them I wasn't... doing anything bad. ...To everyone... make sure... ......Everyone. ......Everyone... who is everyone...? "Okay, later. I'll be better tomorrow! Bye-bye!"W-Wait, Mion!! What do you mean by 'everyone'...?!!   ......It was the teacher. ...I was taking so long she came out to get me... "Ah, I'm sorry... I was just speaking to Mion......"I turned around, but Mion had crossed through the schoolyard without me realizing it and was now standing at the gate.  "Come, back to your studies! Quickly now."The teacher was being insistent. We returned to the entrance. ...I looked back one more time, and Mion was nowhere in sight. SFX: Bell  BGM: Silence   "I don't want to be told that by the one who got lost. Your face was all red and you were nearly crying!" My friends did their best to try and cheer me up... but it didn't lighten my mood. Was it far worse than I thought? ...Had I really done something that terrible last night...? These thoughts remained with me... for the rest of the day. BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  By the time I realized it, I was in front of my own house. "...Mii-chan had a cold, right? ...Could you have a cold too, Keiichi-kun? Could you?" "Huh? ...I'm fine. I may look scrawny, but I've never missed school because of a cold!" "Both you and Mii-chan didn't look so good today, though..." "...Thanks for worrying about me. I'm fine! Idiots don't catch colds, remember?"Rena smiled, then waved to me and left.  ...With my shoulders bobbing up and down from breathing heavily, I entered the house. As soon as I got back in, Mom called out to me.  "Keiichi? I'm sorry, but could you go to the library and return a few books for me?" "...Huh? I don't feel like it...!" "Your dad and I have to wait inside the house for a phone call right now, so we can't leave. I need to return them today. Could you please do it?"......Sheesh. Did it have to do with Dad's job? No point in arguing if they bring that up. "I guess so... but I don't know where the library is." "Oh, you don't? It's a little bit past Okinomiya Station..." My parents' faces immediately turned grim. ...Mom snatched up the receiver. "Hello! Maebara speaking. ...... I'm sorry? Yes. He's right here."Then she thrust the receiver at my face. "It's for you, Keiichi. Don't take too long, okay?"I tried to ask who it was from, but asking the person on the phone directly would be faster. "Hello?"BGM: Spring Step (Mion)  It was Shion. ...The older sister had a hangover today, but the younger made no reference to it. "Shion? I thought you'd be sleeping in today with a hangover, same as Mion." "What? Mion had a hangover? Ah-hahahaha! That's so like her~~!"She laughed warmly, but Mom glared at me, silently telling me to finish up. "......Whoops... sorry. My parents are waiting for an important call, so I can't talk for too long. ...What do you need?" "...There's something I wanted to talk about... but if we can't talk long, I guess that's that..."She sounded a little disappointed. ...What would Shion want to talk to me about? Now I was interested. "Then how about we meet in person? If you could show me where the library is too, that would be great." "You mean the public library near the station? Yes, that's fine. I go past there on my way to work anyway." "Okay, then you know where I usually meet up with Mion? At that intersection where the small path from the Sonozaki house splits—" "Oh, Kei-chan, did I not tell you? I don't live at the main house I live in Okinomiya. If we could meet by the ticket machines at Okinomiya Station, that would be great."Main house? Living in Okinomiya? ......Now that she mentioned it, it's always seemed like the Sonozaki sisters weren't communicating... did they live in different houses? Also now that she mentioned it, Rena said she'd never met the younger sister, despite going over to play sometimes.  BGM: Afternoon in Paris I set the receiver down, and Mom immediately thrust a large pile of library books in my face. ...Six volumes of long-form mystery novels. ...Mom had her own hobbies. "Thank you, Keiichi. Be back by nightfall." "Got it. Okay, I'm going."I supposed I'd change my clothes and grab my bike key. I climbed the stairs to my bedroom. - - - BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  "Wow, Mion never keeps her appointments... I mean, honestly." "Ahahahaha. Making my sister the standard for everything will get you in trouble."Hm? Shion seemed a little unsteady too. ...She was drinking with Mion last night, wasn't she? "You were drinking last night too, weren't you? Don't try and hide it! You definitely went home from school early." Hey... I don't think you can call playing hooky 'smarter'... "You should finish your errand first. We don't have that much time. ...We're going to the library, right?" "Yeah, thanks. My mom had to return some books by today. ...Is the library far?" "No, it's really close by." If it was this easy to find, then I guess I didn't need Shion to show me where it was after all... We rode around a bend and the building was right there.  We lived in the country, so I hadn't expected too much... but it was pretty big. The first floor was actually a government office, so the library was only on the second floor, but it still looked large enough to fit a decent collection of books. BGM: Silence  The cicadas had been loud outside, but it was quiet inside the library. The air conditioning inside was keeping the temperature at an ideal level for the books, which had that mildewy smell unique to old paper... "...I guess every library is basically the same."If there was one difference... it was that people studying for tests weren't taking up all the seats. I was one of those people, but now that seemed like a distant memory. "Hello, I have books I'd like to return."The librarian went through the process of checking them in, and then returned my Mom's library card. Shion was going around the bookshelves with a deeply interested look on her face, like she wasn't the type who went to libraries very often. "...Sorry for the wait. I'm all done." "Don't know whether to call that boring or dependable... It's a pretty small dream compared to your sister."Mion would definitely want to be a hardworking employee for an international trading company, or some other crazy job that involved her running all around the world. Compared to that... what Shion said is pretty heart-warming. "Well, we need to keep our differences dear to us. We're not copies—we're two different people, called Shion and Mion." "...Twins have a lot to think about, huh? Still, it sounds like fun. ...I don't have any brothers, so there's just me and my parents at my house. It can get a little uncomfortable." "It's the same for me. I don't live with Mion, after all."Oh, right, she said something like that, didn't she... Why, though? Sisters living apart is unusual. We were getting tired of talking while we were walking. ...We ended up going to the lounge area, which was vacant, and continuing the conversation.  "What do you mean by 'main house'? ...You make it sound like you're nobility." "It's just the main house. The Sonozaki family's main house. Mion's the successor, so she lives with Nana and apparently studies all sorts of things as preparation to be the head of the family."Mion... the head of the family? It kind of fit her personality, but kind of didn't, too... "Kei-chan, you just moved here, right? ...This will sound like I'm boasting, but we of the Sonozaki family are kind of personages around here. "Huh? ...Seriously?"The word 'personage' didn't really match the extremely sociable air that Mion and Shion gave off. From what Shion explained... The Sonozaki family goes way back to the beginnings of Hinamizawa. After the war, they had a bunch of successful ventures and extended their influence to a wide area.  The entire family would provide backup to help one relative with a business venture... They were like a huge, living company. This let them avoid tax-related problems and help relatives' ventures succeed, one after another, using large amounts of money. "If you ever go for a walk through Okinomiya, pay attention to the signboards and stuff. There's a ton of shops that are managed by members of the Sonozaki family. "...Now that you mention it... That toy store looked like it was managed by relatives as well. Does that mean your relatives operate Angel Mort too?"...Even what few shops I was familiar with were involved with the Sonozaki family... It was definitely surprising.  “There are Sonozakis in the city council and the prefectural assembly, too, since they have the Okinomiya area giving them strong electoral support." "......Wait a minute. ...This is all... escalating pretty quickly."Her relatives operate shops in downtown Okinomiya, and they're especially strong in finance and real estate...? On top of that, a lot of those in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry are relatives, and there are even people elected to local offices... "...So then... ......The Sonozaki family, it's... it's pretty famous in this area...?" All of a sudden, a cigarette-smoking, overweight old man interrupted our conversation. ...Wait... I know this guy......  "Hello! Good afternoon. Are you on a date today? Ah, what I would give to be young again." "If you thought we were on a date, then why are you bothering us... Ooishi-san?"That was it. He was Ooishi-san, a police officer. ...I thought it was this person who came to my rescue when I got involved with those delinquents before. ......Now that I thought about it, Mion didn't seem to like him very much.  Ooishi-san laughed coarsely, not showing any sign of giving up. ...As Shion watched him do so, I didn't feel the same sense of malice from her as I had from Mion. "Maebara-san, right? You're one tough guy. Two-timing the Sonozaki sisters, are you?" "No, I... I'm not two-timing anyone..."I turned around to look at Shion and plead for help, but she grinned and maintained her silence. Her gaze wandered. ...She looked at the clock.  "Huh? Oh... did you?"Wait... Didn't Shion have something to talk about today...? ...Now this weird man is here, though... "Yep. I'll see you later... Oh, I'll give you a call after I'm done. It'll be okay to call at night, right?" "Yeah. Probably okay." "Then I'll talk to you later tonight. Bye!"Shion left so fast she was practically running. ...Ooishi-san was waving at me with a grin. ......I felt like I'd been left here as bait so she could get away. ...Maybe she was lying about having to go to work...  Ooishi-san put a coin into a vending machine as he said something a bit appalling. "Is iced tea okay with you? Do you want milk in it?" "Huh?! Oh... no, I—" "I'll put some in then, all right? Here you are."He handed me a cup of tea, filled to the brim with ice, as I looked on absent-mindedly. ...I don't think I'm obligated to have a guy like this buy me a drink, but... He did get it for me, so I'll thank him. Was Ooishi-san just killing time? We didn't know each other well, but he still engaged me in conversation about all sorts of dumb things. ...When I thought back to how I talked with Shion, this seemed like a total disaster… BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  "...Other than what I heard just now, nothing."Until then, I hadn't known anything about either Mion or Shion other than the fact that they were interesting. I really did only just learn that she was the daughter of some prestigious family. "The Sonozakis are a yakuza group with this entire region under their thumb. Plus, her father is a high-ranked executive in the ×× yakuza association. Did you know that?" "What...? An executive...?" "Have you ever seen where Shion-san lives? It's the very picture of a gang boss's house, protected by high walls, barbed-wire fence, and security cameras. If you have the chance, you should go and visit her." "............"She'd mentioned Mion being a successor...... but... to a yakuza group...?  “...I'll leave it to you to mull over what exactly that means."Ooishi-san had spoken lightly about all this from start to finish, but what he was saying wasn't light in the least... it was abrupt and unbelievable. "If Mion-san wanted to, she could kill someone in the middle of the street and still cover it up. Not only would witnesses not show up, but she'd put pressure on the police, too." "M-Mion would never kill someone...!" "Na-ha-ha-ha... She wouldn't, she wouldn't. I'm just speaking hypothetically." "...Umm... Your name, it was... Ooishi-san, right?" "Yes, that's right." "Then, Ooishi-san. ...Whatever family Mion comes from, it doesn't change the fact that she's the best friend I could ever have, and I'm proud of that. I don't appreciate people speaking ill of her."I let my quiet anger show through in my gaze as I stared at him. ...Of course, I could never seem to tell what he's thinking, so I didn't know if it had any effect.  Suspected? Incidents?! You can't just say terrible stuff like that on a whim! BGM: Doukutsu (Cave) "Then it would be a misunderstanding, of course! Mion may say some dangerous things... but she's not the kind of person who would do something so awful!!" "Maebara-san, keep your voice down... We're in a library."Ooshi-san shushed me, but in a state of heightened excitement as I was, I wouldn't be calmed so easily. "...Please, calm down. As I said before, the Sonozaki family holds a lot of power in this region, for better or worse. So if anything happens, they would immediately be suspect. ...I'd appreciate it if you understood that."...Well... I know what Ooishi-san is trying to say. Combining it with what Shion told me before, the Sonozaki family is huge, and controls everything from Hinamizawa to Okinomiya. Mion, meanwhile, is its successor, who apparently holds strong influence over the entire family. Still... that's all? That's the only reason they're suspecting her?!  ...He could talk a dog out of a meat truck. He was the definition of a shrewd, unfair adult. At this point, I began to think... ...that it was no coincidence I'd met him. "...Ooishi-san, do you need something from me?" "Yes, I do. Keiichi Maebara-san."...he answered in an absent tone of voice. "...Mion's being suspected of something, and you came to hear from a friend of hers: me. ...Is that it?" "No, no, that isn't it. I didn't come to talk to a friend of Mion Sonozaki-san. I came here to talk to Keiichi Maebara-san. It would probably have bothered you had I visited your house." "To me...? What do the police want with me...?" "Na-ha-ha-ha. You don't need to be so tense. Calm down, and just answer a few questions." "Am I... being questioned...?" "Let's call it a chat with a guy you happened to run into. Nfu-fu-fu-fu!"Ooishi-san freely suggested that I relax. ...That said, behind his eyes was a light, which I could only see sometimes, that was sharp as a hawk. If I tried in vain to run away, he might actually take me in and bring me to an interrogation room or something. ...That was an undoubtedly unpleasant thought. "...You had a roaring good time at the Watanagashi Festival last night, didn't you?" "Don't beat around the bush, please...! I can't do small talk right now..."BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  ......Gulp. I could plainly feel myself give a start. "Hmm? ...Where did I put those pictures? ...Oh. Here they are."He opened a small notebook and removed two photographs. ...I didn't have to look. "I... Well... Who knows? I might have seen them around, I don't remember..."I was asked the same question for the second time today. ...I gave the same answer for the second time, too.  Here, too... I got the same answer as I had from Mion. ...I realized he wasn't taking my vague reply well... Why... is he asking me... the same thing Mion did...? The dark feelings I had nearly forgotten due to my conversation with Shion came rushing back in a hurry. ......We snuck into the sacred ritual storehouse—a punishable act. ...It was on a tiny impulse... While it may not count for much now... I do feel sorry about it...  His tone was soft... but there was a dreadfulness in his voice, clearly different from the first time he asked. ......I'm scared. That was exactly how I felt... "...Er... Even if you repeat the question… m-my answer won't change..."I don't really remember. ...There wasn't any better answer I could give him. I didn't have the balls to say I didn't see them... nor the courage to admit I had.  "I see. ...I just thought that maybe I'd get a different answer if I asked a second time."I'm too scared... to look Ooishi-san in the eyes.  Ooishi-san grabbed my shoulders and squeezed them, as if trying to give me a massage. ...It mostly just hurt, though. Still...... why... would he ask the same things as Mion? ...If he's asking the same things, then the next question must be...  ......*clatter* *clatter* *clatter* ...I wondered what that sound was, and when I looked down, I saw that it was the unmelted ice in the cup I was gripping in my hands. ...My hands were trembling, rocking the ice back and forth. ...Realizing that, I hastily put the remaining ice in my mouth and crunched down on it. BGM: Doukutsu (Cave) "...S... Sorry... I may have seen her... but... well, you know, she looks just like Mion... ...I might have just mistaken the two..." "Na-ha-ha-ha. ...But that can't be."Suddenly, Ooishi-san grabbed both my shoulders and hunched down to give me a level stare. ...This must be what it's like... to be a deer in the headlights. I want to look away... but I can't... This is the first time I've experienced... such a piercing stare...  His voice was harsh. ...Harsh, the same as when Mion said it. I could feel my heartbeat quickening. ...When I realized he could feel it through the hands on my shoulders, I got even more scared. ...Why... why are Mion and Ooishi-san... both asking about last night...? Was sneaking into that storehouse so... bad...... urgh......... ...I shouldn't have let Takano-san talk me into it. Tomitake-san casually said to check it out, too... so... ...Even Shion... If she hadn't encouraged me... No... I understood. I was the one most at fault here. I shouldn't have let my curiosity get the better of me. I shouldn't have gone into the forbidden storehouse… BGM: Silence SFX: Night Higurashi  A young man wearing a suit came into the lounge. ...From the way he held himself, I knew immediately that he was Ooishi-san's subordinate. "Hm? Oh, so it is. Closing time already?"I hadn't realized it until he said something. ...The jingle and announcement telling patrons the library had closed had started playing without me realizing it. ...I was so irritated, so overwhelmed, that I couldn't even hear it. "Well then, Maebara-kun. We're out of time, so allow me to take my leave. I'd like to talk with you more about this at your leisure, when we have more time."...This isn't a joke. If I never saw him again, it would be too soon...  "Oh, right, Maebara-san." "...Wha... ...What is it...?" "Those two questions I asked you before. ...You don't remember well enough to answer either of them, correct?" "......Eh... r-right......" "Just so you know... ...You saw them all yesterday. You were walking along, the four of you, having quite a pleasant time. ...Near the stone steps. I saw you with my own eyes." "Ugh............"...I caught my breath, and my heart seemed like it was about to stop. ...What a detestable person. ...He... he knew... and he was testing me... "We'll meet again. Have a good year."I sat there like a rock, unmoving... until I could no longer hear the clacking sounds of their footsteps… 
limeicebreakers fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Oct 12, 2021 |
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Sep 14, 2021 15:45
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Stuff appears to be popping off. Also the reveal about the Sonozaki's is kind of creepy.
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Sep 14, 2021 20:22
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Takano and Tomitake are either dead or missing right now. I have a feeling at least one was grilled.
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Sep 14, 2021 20:49
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Oh yeah, Tomitake and Takano are probably very dead right about now. ...Unless either Mion or Shion are dead and the still living twin is impersonating the other one. I feel like they've foreshadowed that Shion will impersonate Mion at some point, and maybe it's starting to happen here? Keiichi is too clueless to pick up on the cues of who's who; he has to rely on what the girl's wearing to tell them apart. I always focus on where characters are and if they can move around easily during these mysteries (helped me out alot during the first Dangan Ronpa LP on here, I gotta say,) but right now it seems purposely obfuscating. Unlike during the curry 'episode' where it seemed very likely Mion was running around impersonating Shion (because otherwise, the real Shion would have had to have somehow heard Keiichi skipped lunch and loving teleported in order for her arrival timing to work,) whichever Twin Keiichi met in the morning today had plenty of time to go back home, put on the Shion outfit and call him to set up an impromptu date. I do admit though it could be Mion impersonating her sister again but... at this point...why would she do that? Shion's current trying to get her hooks into Keiichi/driving him and Mion apart, so the only reason Mion would disguise herself again would be to counter that. Like Mion'd impersonate her sister but behave horribly so Keiichi would stop fawning over her or some poo poo. But here "Shion" was being as peachy and superficially pleasant as always, and yet again badmouthing her sister. Also? First example of Keiichi lying (and poorly at that) and triggering some creepypasta reactions in his friend; going to be seeing if my Lies and Broken Trust = Supernatural Payback theory holds true. If it weren't for the fact that the two sisters have been seen together in the same room a couple times, I'd wonder if all this lying and trust breaking causes Mion to turn into Shion like a Jekyll and Hyde affair. EDIT: ...OOOORRR... Shion is dead. Either Oyashiro's curse or murderous townies killed her for loving around in the temple's torture shed. But Mion AND Keiichi lying about Shion is going to trigger a Jekyll/Hyde situation in the former now. TKMobile fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Sep 15, 2021 |
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Sep 15, 2021 01:57
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VIDEO: Watanagashi-hen | Day 9 Part 2 BGM: Silence SFX: Night Higurashi I was on my way back home. ......The cries of the higurashi accentuated the already-lonely evening. ...More time had passed than I'd thought. The orange of the dusky sky was being chased down, little by little, by an indigo color approaching from the east. Exhausted from the slow climb towards Hinamizawa... without even noticing, I'd gotten off my bicycle and was pushing it uphill.  I don't understand any of this... ...No one had told me to my face that I'd done something wrong. ...No... In fact, it might have been much easier on me that way. BGM: Gear | BGM: Gear (Radiata Alice Version) What happened yesterday... really was just my curiosity. ...It really was no more than a quiet prank... no more than having the courage to cross at a red light as long as you did it with other people. The storehouse for ritual implements—hallowed ground, only accessible to the family of the priest. For sure, I'd seen terrifying things that I'd never imagined would be there.  ...What the four of us did... Mion seemed to know about it. ...For some reason, even the police were trying to learn what the four of us did. Did we do... something so bad......? Really... ...It doesn't matter how wrong it was. ...I did something wrong. It was nothing more than that, and yet... I couldn't accept it. I didn't apologize to Mion or Ooishi-san—all I did was shield myself with ambiguities... I did something wrong yesterday. ...I set foot into a forbidden storehouse for a little bit of mischief. I'll forget everything I saw in there. I won't ever do something like that again, either. ...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. If I apologize like that... would they forgive me...?  ...In the end, the evening air was correct. If I trudged along such an isolated road, regrets would pile on top of regrets, but nothing would change. Let's go home. I'll go home, go to my room, put on my favorite music or something, and go to bed. ...That might sound plain and boring, but it's probably the strongest I've felt all day. "............Hoo..." I pushed hard on the pedals. I rapidly advanced forward. I steadily gained speed. The wind was cutting and mercilessly cold, but it actually felt good, as if it were softly punishing me…   BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  My mom called me from downstairs. "Keiichi~ You have a call! It's from Sonozaki-san!"Sonozaki? Was it Mion? ...No, it was Shion. ...I just remembered. She'd had something she wanted to tell me today. Ooishi-san had interrupted us, so she didn't get the chance. ...Shion had said she'd call tonight... BGM: Silence  "Hello. Ran into a bit of trouble today, didn't we?"She said it so plainly that I got a bit annoyed. ...She was the one who left me there and ran. "Don't say that. I gave you the signal to run away with me, didn't I? You just sat there looking dazed, Kei-chan." "I-I wasn't dazed! ...All of a sudden you left me there, and after that, I had to put up with that Ooishi guy for ages!" "Don't complain to me about it."...I-I can't believe she passed it off like that! She looks just like Mion, and yet inside, she's this different? ...I got a little irritated at myself when I realized I was, somewhere in my mind, hoping for the same reaction I would get from Mion, even though she's a different person.  "Hey, it's ladies first. Ahahahahaha!"Shion laughed refreshingly. ...When I heard her voice, I realized that she wasn't really that angry or anything. ...It was just as she said. ...The cause of my temper was because it was my own fault for not leaving immediately. ...I'll stop blaming it on others. Blaming it on others would be… BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  "Oh, yeah. .........I mean, if you already know, then it's not something that bears repeating. ...Umm... ...Do you already know?"Shion lowered her voice suddenly, as if she were glancing around. ...I had no idea what I could already know. "...Sorry, but I have no clue what you're talking about. At least give me a hint." "......So that means... ...you don't know."She seemed to take my stupid-sounding question as evidence. However, her voice didn't sound disappointed or exasperated in the slightest.  My entire body jolted as I was assailed by a terrible feeling... ...I-Is Shion... going to ask the same thing...?! "Hello? Kei-chan, are you listening...?" "...Uh... yeah. I am. ...What about last night?" "The four of us... went in there, right?"...She didn't beat around the bush. Whether or not I wanted to admit it... that was the actual, honest truth, and I couldn't act like it hadn't happened...  “I went over to see some relatives." "...Yeah. Why do you ask?" "......We won't make any progress if we keep asking each other questions... so let me ask this question first. Okay?" "You mean... did I see Tomitake-san and Takano-san last night?" "......Huh? ...Oh, yes. ...Did you see the two of them after that?"...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised. ...This is the third time I've been asked this question today. Why? Why? What the hell was going on?! BGM: Doukutsu (Cave)   "No, Kei-chan! I'm asking the question. Please answer me." "D-Did you, Shion? If you answer first, then I'll answer...!"My shabby response betrayed how scared and small I felt now... after everything that had happened today. Shion didn't say anything for a few moments. ...Just as I was beginning to think I'd really put my foot in my mouth with that response, she finally answered me.  "...I didn't see them either. People can vouch for me, too—like Mion, Rena, and everyone else."Now that we knew our answers matched, she let out a sigh that sounded more relieved than anything else... "Thank you for answering me honestly. ...Okay, then... I'll tell you."BGM: Silence  "......Sorry, Shion. ...What was that you just said?" "Apparently, last night, Takano-san and Tomitake-san died. Takano-san was found burned to death. Tomitake-san was... well, it looked like a suicide. ...I found out this morning. ...I heard my dad talking to a relative on the phone about it..." A police car on its way back from festival security duty had discovered Tomitake-san lying in the middle of the road heading towards Okonomiya. He had...clawed out his throat, and died. BGM: Mazoku Kenkyuusho (Demonic Institute)  "The police did an autopsy! He did it with his own fingernails! He scratched at his throat so hard that he ruptured his blood vessels and bled out! He died in a pool of his own blood, that's what they said!!" "I've never heard of such an insane suicide!! You can't just... scratch open your own throat like that!!"I realized I was yelling too loudly, so I lowered the force I was putting into my voice... I didn't want my parents to hear me, so I switched to the cordless phone and ran up to my own room. BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  "In her case... it's a little unclear......" Employees at a rest stop nearby reported to the police late that night that they could see flames in the mountains. The firefighters dispatched there were the first ones to find her. An autopsy concluded that it was the burned corpse of a half-naked female. They initially considered the body beyond recognition, but directly after, there was a request for a dental comparison from the ×× prefectural police station in Okinomiya, and the results concluded that it was Miyo Takano. The cause of death wasn't confirmed, but it was highly likely to have been a homicide, since she was in her undergarments, and her clothes were nowhere in the area. BGM: Mazoku Kenkyuusho (Demonic Institute)  "I-It couldn't possibly have been suicide!! If you're going to die, there are plenty of easier ways, aren't there?! This is... this can't be suicide!!" "That's what I think! It's unthinkable that Tomitake-san would kill himself, too!"After the two us rattled on at each other, there was a silence as we paused to catch our breaths. ...And as we calmed our nerves... right then, I understood what Shion's story actually meant… BGM: Silver Mirror  "D-Deserve...? Y-You've gotta be kidding!! It's not like I...!!"Shion wanted to see it with me! I just went along with her!! ...I tried to say that, but I fell silent. ...Nothing would come of me blaming others. ...It didn't matter how much everyone else encouraged me... I could have put my foot down. I lost to my own half-assed sense of adventure and agreed to go in with them...... Yes, it was my fault, and no one else's...  "...Of course not. I mean, I thought it was pretty risky... but I never even dreamed something like this could happen."Shion's words were probably her true feelings. ...She knew she could get in trouble if we were caught, but that was the thrill of this little adventure. ...It was the same for me. "Besides that, Kei-chan. ...Think about it for a moment. ...Didn't Oyashiro-sama's curse turn out a little strange this year?"...It was already plenty strange, seeing as how Tomitake-san and Takano-san died like that. Given all that, what could possibly be stranger...?  "...That may be true... but that's not a huge deal, is it?" "It is, Kei-chan. ...Think about it harder. Listen. If two people died because of Oyashiro-sama's curse, then in order to quell Oyashiro-sama's anger, two people would need to be sacrificed." "...Is that how it works...? So what? Tomitake-san and Takano-san died, so now two people are going to go missing this year...?"...I don't understand why, but... ...When I said that, I felt my spine freeze.  Shion, like me...was obviously getting the same feeling crawling down her back. "Two people... have yet to, disappear......?"Shion didn't answer. I couldn't say any more than that, either. ...A chill crept in through my clothes and tried to wrap into a fist around my heart... cold hands, feeling about on my chest... "............"Neither of us could say anything. Tomitake-san opened the lock, and he died. Takano-san exposed the ritual storehouse, and she died. ...If two more people were to be sacrificed... Then... they would be... none other than the ones who entered with them... none other than us… BGM: Silence  I wanted so much for her to pass this off as a joke, even now. ...That, though, was such an incredibly difficult and selfish request. If Tomitake-san and Takano-san had died in a common way like a car accident, I could tell myself it was coincidence. ...Instead... he clawed out his own throat... and she burned to death, drowned in oil, in the mountains... ...The two deaths were so out-of-the-ordinary... that I couldn't possibly dismiss it as mere coincidence. It was as if... in exchange for sneaking into the ritual storehouse, there must be someone punishing us... some sort of cruel will working behind the scenes. ...Even so... I still didn't want to accept that terrifying truth. ...If I did, then I would have to acknowledge that a horrible crisis was growing near for Shion and I... ...That's why I argued against it. ...I argued, knowing I was running away. BGM: Mazoku Kenkyuusho (Demonic Institute)  “Magazine writers would flood the village, too, thinking it'd make for an interesting story...!!" "Of course it's not getting reported by the media. ...That's how it was in the past, too."When the incidents occurred for the third year in a row, there were some third-rate magazines that sniffed out the story and ran issues full of gossip columns about Hinamizawa. Fearing that the region would develop a negative stigma, they negotiated with the prefecture and the police. ...Since last year, it became a big conspiracy, where no information about the incidents was allowed to be leaked to the media...  "Then you mean... their deaths... are going to be dealt with in total secrecy?!" "That's how it is. ...Of course, the police are investigating it. That's being performed in secret too, though, so I hear the investigation itself is very restricted in what it can and can't do. You could essentially say they're interfering with a police investigation."...This story was unbelievable. ...People died... and yet they don't publicize it and deal with everything in secret... "If we break it down further... it means that no matter who dies on the night of Watanagashi, it won't go public." "...Th-That's the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever heard...!" "Kei-chan. ...Before, I said how the villagers could be the ones carrying out Oyashiro-sama's curse. ...That's what I mean.”  When someone dies on the night of Watanagashi... it turns into the curse of Oyashiro-sama. The curse turns into the serial murder incidents. ...In order to avoid exacerbating the negative stigma surrounding Hinamizawa... those incidents are dealt with in secret... "That's insane!! Dead and missing people turn up every year!! However bad the stigma gets, the police have to draw the line somewhere, don't they?!" "...You could say the incidents happening every year is mysterious, but the police can get the job done when they need to.” “After all, the incidents always get resolved individually. ...It doesn't end up being a 'string of incidents', you know? It just so happens that something unfortunate happens on the night of Watanagashi every year. ...That's all it turns into." The last one managed to get and stay away... but the events were totally exposed and elucidated, so it was, in essence, resolved. The dam-supporting couple who died in an accident on the second year—that was an accidental death, plain and simple. ...They made a lot of investigations into the possibility of it having been a homicide, but they didn't turn up anything. It ended up as an accident. It was resolved. On the third year, the priest fell ill and passed away. There were doctors present at the hospital at his deathbed, and they all had trustworthy medical certificates. They even did an autopsy. It concluded that it wasn't a homicide. ...That was resolved, too. On the fourth year, the sister-in-law of the dam-supporting couple was murdered. The criminal was an abnormal man with a history of regular psychostimulant usage. He confessed that he thought Oyashiro-sama's curse was so interesting he wanted to try it out. The criminal died of an accident while imprisoned, so this incident was essentially resolved as well. ...That's right. None of the incidents had any relation to another, and each was independently resolved… BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  “...Yet, every year, someone always dies, and someone always disappears!"The story Takano-san told me on the day before during the setup... now that the curse really had occurred this year, I couldn't just laugh it off. SFX: Night Higurashi "......Then... ...does that mean... ...it'll come for us too...? Just like how one person dies and one disappears every year... are you saying we'll be... taken along with Tomitake-san and Takano-san and erased too...?!"...My lips had, at some point, become completely dry... and just saying that was... difficult. Shion didn't respond. ...Her silence, however, was the clearest form of confirmation she could give me.  I was already regretting having committed such a wrong... Even so... was it really so bad... that Tomitake-san and Takano-san deserved such cruel deaths?! "...Besides, I didn't care about anything I saw in there at all! Takano-san was the only one getting so happy over it, wasn't she?! Takano-san was the only one at fault!! I don't have anything to do with this!! I'm not interested, I'm not involved, I don't give a poo poo about what was in there!!!"I knew saying so wouldn't solve anything. I could feel myself, my cold self in the innermost depths of my heart, disgusted at my pointless howling. ...However... my emotions had broken through the dam, and I couldn't stop them anymore.  ”I don't give a rat's rear end whether those two were trying to steal something or try to meet up secretly or whatever!!! That's right! You're the one who made me go in there in the first place, Shion!!” ”You were all, 'Kei-chan, you need to see what's inside', and you convinced me and then pulled me in!!! Why the hell did you do that?!?! I didn't have anything to do with this!!! What will you do? What are you going to do, drat it?! How are you going to take responsibility for this?!?! Huh?! Hey, are you listeni......... agh!" Without any warning, the phone cut off with the soft sound of a receiver being slammed down. ...Shion was just as terrified as I was...... I just said some really self-centered things... My riled-up emotions disappeared as if they'd never existed, and in their place surged waves of deep regret at having run my mouth so irresponsibly. I could try to call out Shion's name from beyond the disconnected phone... but it was too late. .........What have I... ......done? ...Shion was only trying to tell me as much as she could about this 'thing' about to descend upon us... ...As for me, I... could only whine like a child about it... I went to call her back, but then remembered she lived in Okinomiya. ...I didn't know her phone number. .........Since I had declared to Mion that I hadn't seen Shion last night, I couldn't just call Mion and ask her for Shion's phone number... I was too scared. ...I couldn't even call her back...! I was stricken with hopeless regret... ......I return the receiver to its stand, and I simply prayed... that Shion would call me back again. Please, Shion...... ......Calm down... and call me again......!  "H-Hello, this is Maebara!!"I swept up the receiver as though it wouldn't go through if I didn't grab it at that exact moment.  It was the voice of a girl who clearly wasn’t Shion. ...All my hopes rushed out of me. "No, it isn't. ...If you need Dad, I'll go call him."I went to put the receiver back down, but the man stopped me hurriedly. "Oh, no no, if he's busy, then it's fine. ...This may be a strange question, but... is my old man paying you a visit?" "...No, nobody's here at the moment." "I see! Again, I apologize for calling you so late at night. Good-bye......"Clack. ...I don't know who that was, but what if Shion tried to call while I was on the phone?! ...I thought, bubbling with egotistic anger.  ...These are the selfish emotions that made Shion mad at me, aren't they...? ...The more I thought about it, though, the more I thought that Shion... ...had given up hope in the short time since we had our conversation, and didn't want to call anymore... Calm yourself, Keiichi Maebara... ...If Shion does call again, then first, apologize in a calm voice... ...If you do that, then Shion should understand... ............ However... no matter how long I waited... ...The phone didn't ring again that night…  - - -  TIP 14: From the Scrapbook VI TIP 15: From the Scrapbook VII TIP 16: Late-Night Phone Call limeicebreakers fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Feb 19, 2022 |
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Sep 16, 2021 18:19
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Current guess: Mayor Kimiyoshi has been demoned away.
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Sep 16, 2021 22:25
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I'm still sticking to my crazy rear end theory one of the Twins is dead and the remaining one is impersonating (or possessed by) the one who's dead. The Mayor is a red herring. It's interesting though that this time around there's (at least) one extra murder victim here on the same night as the festival. If there is a curse, it's got to play by rules, so why did someone else die? Probably means someone is using the Watanagashi as a cover for other murders. In other words, the very, VERY frustrating scenario that both supernatural and mundane killings are taking place in this loving place, which makes it even more difficult to figure out.
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Sep 17, 2021 04:52
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I'll be posting today's update tomorrow because I, uh...Deltarune. You know how it is,
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Sep 18, 2021 17:18
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Hey, we all have our vices that distract us. I spent most of friday watching the new He-Man cartoon; I can be patient. (Also, uh... not to sound like a kiss-rear end or anything, but if I've been remiss in not thanking you for the work you've done here, and given me the chance to be a motormouth about theories and how much I hate Ooishi (and now Shion,) please know that this LP has been a blast and I appreciate all you've put into this.)
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Sep 19, 2021 19:19
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TKMobile posted:Hey, we all have our vices that distract us. I spent most of friday watching the new He-Man cartoon; I can be patient. Thank you  I also want to extend a thank you to everyone for engaging with Higurashi. It's really encouraging to see other people invested in the story, as well.
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Sep 19, 2021 19:45
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VIDEO: Watanagashi-hen | Day 10 Part 1 BGM: Silence ...There was no way I'd be able to sleep.  I waited with bated breath for Shion to calm down and call me back. What would I do if the phone rang while I was sound asleep...? No matter how long I waited, however, it never rang. ......Exhausted, whenever my mind started to wander, I would jolt awake as though I heard the phone ring. In the end, I brought the cordless phone with me into my futon and went to sleep with it in my arms. ...Though it still didn't amount to anything... Morning came, and by that time, I was pretty sure she wasn't calling back. ...That was when a fierce drowsiness assailed me. SFX: Birds  I slapped myself in the face a few times. Then, I went to the washroom and washed my face, which was something I usually didn't do. ...That wasn't enough, either, so I even brushed my teeth. After that, I was finally wide awake. When Mom saw how strange I was acting, her eyes went wide... "What's wrong, Keiichi? Are you going somewhere today?" "...Going somewhere? ...Yeah. ...To school."BGM: Silence SFX: Bell SFX: Birds   "...I'm not sick, I just didn't get much sleep. If I space out and start talking nonsense, just humor me..." "Ahahahaha! I wonder what kind of nonsense you'll say! I wonder! ...Now I'm looking forward to it. Hau."I felt utterly shattered, and I still hadn't picked myself back up this morning—and for precisely that reason, Rena's honest smile was a sight for sore eyes.  "Whaaat? Mii-chan, you look like you didn't get much sleep either! Either!"...Mion had gone home early yesterday with a hangover, but she didn't look too good this morning, either. Her usual cheerfulness was completely buried in shadow.  "...Yeah. I went to bed at like, three. ...I'm a little tired." "Th-Three?! Hey, now... You can't keep staying up late! You probably read the first volume of a manga, thought it was interesting, then read the entire series, didn't you? I understand, I've done that before."I joked, trying to shake off my sleepiness. I was trying to be considerate. ...However, neither Mion nor Rena smiled—in fact, they didn't even pay attention. Rena's expression immediately darkened.  "......Nope." "Hey, wait a minute. What are you talking about? You can't find the mayor?"Even the classroom, which was normally bursting with bright, joking voices seemed filled with a different sort of murmur today.  "...I don't really know this mayor person... but he's an old guy, right? Couldn't he just be wandering around, senile?" "The mayor is certainly not senile. He's a sprightly man who can teach both calligraphy and swordsmanship." "...A-A lost Rika!☆ Hau~~~! I wanna take you home with me~~!!"...Getting lost is only 'kyute' because children like Rika-chan do it. ...A worn-out old man getting lost isn't moe in the slightest! ...While my mind entertained dumb thoughts like that, our teacher arrived. Everyone rushed to their seats. SFX: Higurashi  Good morning! The class greeting was normal, but... ...the atmosphere in the room was heavy.  "Some of you may have already heard... but last night, despite the late hour, the mayor never came home. Is there anyone here who saw the mayor yesterday?"...One or two hands went up in the silence, and they told her about having seen him. ...None of it seemed to be vital information, however, and everyone began whispering amongst themselves... "If anyone has seen the mayor, please tell an adult about it, all right? ...Now then, let's begin class."After that, the same old lessons began. - - - SFX: Bell  BGM: Silence  ...I could hear a few different conversations. They were mostly related to the mayor's disappearance. ...Summing them all up, I came out with this. Yesterday evening, the mayor went to a meeting at the shrine's assembly hall.   ...It was already late, and Hinamizawa doesn't have a lot of lights outside. ...Nobody saw the mayor after the meeting. However, because he would have been hungry, he wouldn't have taken any side trips—he would have gone straight home. ...However, no matter how long his family waited... ...he never returned. BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  ...They left no stone unturned—they searched from the irrigation channels to the water wells, and even in the rice paddies, but they didn't find him. Of course... there was a limit to how far they could search in the middle of the night. The police were going to wait for daylight, then have the young men of the town help search. If after all that they still didn't find him, they were apparently even going to go looking in the mountains. Even now, at this moment, the adults were probably all searching for him... ...The more they searched in vain... ...and the more time passed... ...the only thing that came to mind was... ...the curse. The rumors of Onikakushi—of the 'demoning away.' ...Had he become this year's sacrifice to Oyashiro-sama's curse, which had recently been occurring every year...? That scary possibility, which everybody thought about but nobody could say aloud, was slowly but surely spreading throughout the village... Was he demoned away... and offered as a sacrifice to quell Oyashiro-sama's anger...? My classmates were whispering to each other that the curse didn't happen this year, so there shouldn't have been any sacrifices. ...I, on the other hand... I knew. The curse did happen again this year, and there were two people that died. ...This may sound strange, but... I hadn't exactly thought the elder would be the one to go missing. My reason was clear. ...Shion and I should have been a higher priority than him. The four of us were thieves that broke the taboo and set foot into the sacred ritual storehouse. If Tomitake-san and Takano-san had suffered mysterious deaths... then it should have been mine and Shion's turn next......  ...I laughed painfully to myself. I'd yelled at Shion over the phone that I didn't want to end up in such a terrifying situation, but... now that someone other than me had disappeared, I could only think that I should have been the first to go. ......Onigafuchi, the bottomless swamp said to have been the place where they drowned sacrifices long ago. ...Just as it ran through my thoughts, the villagers must have also considered the swamp. Maybe police divers were plumbing its depths even now... ...They probably wouldn't find anyone. ...Not a single missing person had ever been found. They'd always suspected Onigafuchi, but not once have they ever turned up a corpse from it. ...After all, it was a devilish, bottomless swamp from which no one who sinks can ever return... ...I could hear someone telling their friend that in the classroom...  Huh? Satoshi? ......I've heard that name before. ...He was... right, he disappeared because of last year's curse. The conversation was happening in the seat next to me, so I could hear it clearly. "...Didn't we search the whole village like this for Satoshi-san, too?" "We didn't find him, either. ...Hmm... What did we decide that was? ...A demoning away, right?" "Yeah. I heard he withdrew all his savings and ran away from home. Someone from the police said there was someone who saw him get on the bullet train at Nagoya Station!".........Ran away, huh? I wasn't that interested in the reason, which seemed understandable in this case. Everyone else who disappeared had their own reasons too. Either they were still on the run because they were criminals, or they were a corpse that couldn't be found. ...It's not like any of them suddenly disappeared into thin air for no reason.  ...Someone disappeared whenever the curse took a life, as if by design. They may have had various understandable reasons, but they still disappeared. .........From that point of view, it really might have been a demoning away this time. The mayor's disappearance was the first such incident without a clear reason behind it. ...Of course, coming to that realization didn't help to resolve anything...  Normally, Rena would have devoured her lunch immediately, but today there was still a ton left. ...That wasn't because Rena's lunch didn't taste good or anything, though...  Satoko dips her chopsticks into Rena's bento box and pulls bits of food out one after the other.  "Yes, delicious indeed! Today in particular, in fact! Chomp chomp!!" "Ahahaha... Huh? You know those are pumpkin croquettes, right? Are you okay?" "......Nggh......,”  “...Y-Yes! If it's your pumpkin, then it's delicious!"...Did Satoko dislike pumpkin? Regardless, she forced herself to smile and shoved more into her mouth.  Nobody's lunch tasted very good today. Satoko kept shoveling it down, repeating her remark on how good it was. "...If it's that good, then I guess I've gotta have some, too. Satoko's gonna eat it all if we let her." "I-It's just so good, so I would certainly like it if Keiichi-san were to eat some as well...!" "Well, sometimes I have to show my adult generosity, right? Okay, don't hold back on my account! Eat enough for the both of us today!" "Fu... fuwaaaaahhhh...!!"...She really, really hated pumpkin, didn't she? That made it all the more touching to see Satoko's own brand of generosity. ...I grabbed her head and started stroking it. ...Satoko, in a somewhat exaggerated fashion, was bawling, tears streaming down her face.  The voicelines say he has oden. "...Yeah! The daikon radish has such a pretty color going through it. It looks delicious. I guess I'll have some, then~"Rena reached out with her chopsticks, ...and at last, the usual lunchtime atmosphere began to return. That was only at our desks, however. ...The dark tales of Oyashiro-sama's curse, which had recurred for five years in a row, didn't cease. The whole classroom remained stuck in this somber mood… SFX: Night Higurashi  Everyone had wanted the previous year to be the last. ...What was Oyashiro-sama's curse, anyway? They were going to build a dam in Hinamizawa. The people building it were bad. So they were cursed. ...I would admit that much. ...Still, the dam project was frozen years ago, wasn't it? So why was the curse stubbornly persisting...? I hit myself on the cheeks to perk myself back up. Everyone was trying so hard to brighten the mood—I couldn't go straight back to thinking about the curse like that...! I forced the grim story out of my head. ...Driving Oyashiro-sama's curse out of my thoughts was actually a good idea. ...In the end, that meant I would also be driving away the most terrifying thought of all—that I could be the curse's next target… BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  Mion had said she was going to wash her hands and left, and she hadn't come back yet. "...Ahahaha. She's probably taking a little afternoon nap somewhere.” “...I think she was up pretty late last night looking for the mayor, after all."...I smiled wryly and let out a sigh. ...Today was no good. However much we tried to lighten the mood, things always came back to the mayor. ...It was just a no-good day. ...I had just transferred here recently, so the shock of a curse happening five years running was... an unimaginably big one. ......Maybe I do need to appreciate that.  ......I see. ...Mion was in shock, too. Someone disappearing at all because of a curse was a very scary thing. ...If the sacrifice was someone you knew, though... then the shock must be a hundred times worse. Satoko, as if she'd come to the same conclusion, bit her lower lip and looked downward...   "...Rika wasn't out that late. ...As soon as she yawned, everyone gathered around her and started saying 'good night, good night!'"Now that she mentioned it, there were a lot of old people rubbing their prayer beads in fervent gratitude towards Rika-chan during the festival, too... An image of the indulgent elderly came to mind. ...Had Rika-chan discovered a way to get herself to be pampered like that...??? "...Is there a reason the old people treat Rika-chan like an idol? Is she their ideal image of a granddaughter or something?"BGM: Sutakorasassa (Helter Skelter)   "......I don't personally think it's that cute. ...It's more of a 'gwahh,' and she opens her mouth really wide so you can see the back of her throat...?" "H-H-H-H-H-Her throat, the thing in her throat, all wobbly~~~! Hau~~~~!!!!"Rena's handy at times like these... I finally managed a heartfelt laugh. ...Oh, right. I'm on day duty today, aren't I? I need to go water the flower garden. The garden is right outside the teacher's lounge, too, so they can immediately tell if you don't do it right.   "Gh-Gh-Gh, gheehehhhh~~~...!! Can't... breathe......" "H-Hau~~!! I got a glimpse! It was so kyute!! Satoko-chan's is kyute too! I'm gonna take you home~~!!!!"...Rena was squeezing her hands around Satoko's neck and was trying to get a look into her throat... ...You know, Rena is... ...... I can't say it out loud... but she's a notorious... [censored], isn't she... (sweat) Hearing Satoko make a weird noise like a chicken being strangled was kind of hilarious, and I couldn't help but laugh. At some point, the classroom had erupted into laughter too. ...Maybe Rena was doing it on purpose. Even if she wasn't, this nonsense was a welcome sight. BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi Anyway. ...Let's get over to the flowers while I still have time. Slowly and quietly, lest I destroy the room's newfound peace, I left the classroom. BGM: Silence  This building had originally been an all-male forestry service building, so there was apparently nothing so thoughtful as a garden here before. When they decided to have a school share the space, they built one there as a modest gesture of appreciation. But, well, the flower bed... it was a little... longer than you'd expect. It went all around. It went all over the place. It was so big one would need to refill the watering can five or six times to get it all done. I was doing this together with a kid who was also, thankfully, on day duty today... She was in the lowest grade, though, and a full size smaller than even Rika-chan. I couldn't make a kid who would struggle just to lift the full watering can help me with this... ......For this, if one was placed on day duty with someone who liked this sort of thing, they'd do it all for you, so it'd be cake. "No point in blaming her. ...I give up. I'll just get started."Watering can in hand, just as I was about to leave the building, the old man from the forestry office addressed me.  "Oh, you mean that curry vegetable garden? The one with the potatoes and carrots, and other things that are only ingredients for curry?"It's definitely the personal garden of our curry-loving teacher, but... Making students responsible for its upkeep is getting them involved in her personal affairs. I couldn't say that to his face, though, so I gave up and decided to carry out my day duties. BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  ...The great chorus of cicadas was strongly underlining how nothing was different today than yesterday.  While I was gone, the kids had arranged all the desks in a circle, forming a ring, while everyone was cheering them on. ......Yeah. That's how it should be. Once school ended, we would need to return to reality, where talk of the elder's disappearance would once again be all over the place. I wanted everyone to forget about everything and have fun, just like yesterday, if only while they were at school. In that sense, Satoko's whirling elbow and Rena's backwards flying spin-kick made for a pleasant sight. ...Even if, as a result, they flipped over my desk... Agh, that's my pencil box!! ...Guh...... I'll just let it happen today.  That should about do it! No sooner had I thought that than I remembered that I had to water the teacher's curry vegetable garden too. "...That's such a pain... but I have a feeling that it'll come back to bite me if I don't."I gave up, filled the can with water again, and headed behind the warehouse.   "Whoa!! Oh... it's Rika-chan. ...Don't scare me like that..."Rika-chan was just standing there like a puppet... devoid of life... ...I was the only one who was startled here. Rika-chan didn't even seem to react to my appearance. ".........Rika-chan...?"...Finally, she noticed me.  ...There was red under her eyes... stained with tears and dirt. ...There were blades of grass stuck in her hair, too, and her clothes looked as though she'd fallen to the ground. "Rika-chan...?! Are you... are you hurt? Did you fall...?!" "......*hic* ...N-No. ...That isn't it,"Rika-chan said in the brightest voice she could manage as she rubbed her eyes... She didn't look anywhere near normal, though. "What happened? You weren't sleeping on the storehouse roof... and then fell off or anything, did you...?" "......Don't worry about me. I have something I want to ask you, Keiichi." At first, I thought she was playing a trick on me. ...Eventually, however... I realized it was so that I wouldn't run from the question she was about to ask... I shuddered. "What... ...what do you want from me?"She looked straight into my eyes. Her upturned eyes... bored right into me. ...It was as though they were trying to pull the answer out of my own eyes, without actually asking me the question. It was scary... so I averted my eyes from hers… BGM: Silver Mirror  My body gave a jolt from its very core. ...Rika-chan, who was clinging to me, might have felt my shiver. A nervous tingle crawled up from my feet... and after going up my back and freezing my entire body... it made its way into my brain...  "......Keiichi. Do you really not remember?" "............"My head... began to throb... ...I don't... I don't understand anything. Mion asked me, Ooishi-san asked me, Shion asked me, ...and now Rika-chan was asking me... We thought nobody knew... about what we did last night, but... In fact, everyone knew...?! They all knew... and they came to ask me. Again, and again... until I admitted it.  ...After all... don't Tomitake-san's and Takano-san's deaths prove it? "......Keiichi?"...I... how should I respond? We never should have entered the forbidden storehouse... and even though I regretted it so much, was she saying it wasn't enough...? ...However... I had all but decided what I was going to say. "I... I'm not exactly a good kid, you know? ...I've done lots of bad things, so I can't remember anything specific."Just as I had with all the others... I evaded the question. Rika-chan... stared up at me with innocent eyes. ...Her eyes were so painful that I had to look away. After a few moments of mutual silence, Rika-chan released me.  she said, smiling her usual smile. BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  ...As she retreated in silence, I could feel her accusing me... ............ ......... "...Ri... Rika-chan...!"If she didn't hear my voice, then I was going to give up. ...However, she heard it.  ...I was the one who had questions now. Still... asking any of them could just be... a half-assed way of admitting what I did... "...Hey, Rika-chan." "......What is it?"...If everyone knows anyway... then I should be able... to at least ask this, right? Why is everyone asking me about the night of the festival? ...That evening... ...Had I done something... that wrong...? I felt plenty sorry about it... and I only looked, anyway... I didn't break anything, or steal anything. ...Really! ...Still... Tomitake-san... and Takano-san... they died so miserably. ...Since those two had come to such an end... there's obviously no way 'it' would forgive only me... "............"Rika-chan cutely tilted her head in confusion... and waited for me to say something.  ...That would make sense. ...Rika-chan... was the shrine maiden... She was the least likely to forgive me for breaking the taboo, wasn't she? Upon reflection, wouldn't telling her... be more terrifying than telling Mion or Ooishi-san...? "............"...Rika-chan could just give up and leave, couldn't she? ...She didn't. ...She only, she only... was quietly, quietly waiting... for me to say it myself. ...Say it, Keiichi Maebara. ...If you really are sorry... then you should say so. Of course... it's normal to hesitate, given the crazy way Tomitake-san and Takano-san died. ...A pulping machine called 'chaos' was grinding up my brain... ...The juice wrung out of it... turned into big droplets of sweat... which began to fall...  Rika-chan suddenly straightened up... trying to pat me on the head.  "......I don't really understand what you're worried about, Keiichi."...I had nothing to say to that. ...I lowered my head a little so that Rika-chan's palm could reach it. ...She petted me, kind of like one would a cat. "......Do you know about the big storehouse a little way behind the shrine grounds? It stores the implements we use for rituals."...My breath literally stopped. ...Rika-chan, though, wasn't acting in a coercive way at all. BGM: Silver Mirror  "A... cat...?" "......Yes. A cat. Meow, meow."Rika-chan knew. ...She realized I was in fear. ...I could tell she was desperately trying to choose the right words so that she wouldn't scare me. "...The cat always wanted to explore inside the storehouse, but... ...I was mean to it, and never let it go inside. ......So, on the night of the festival... ...the cat couldn't hold itself back any longer, and went inside."The cat... ...It was clearly supposed to be Takano-san. ...Or, wait... was it... supposed to be me...?  Rika-chan made a cute gesture like a ghost was coming out to frighten me. "......The cat was both terrified and amazed. ......It ran away as fast as it could, clatter clatter, shiver shiver, meow meow. It was terrible." "Th...... This cat... who are you saying it was?" "......The cat is a cat. Meow, meow."Rika-chan still avoided saying it. ...The cat, though, was without a doubt... me. "Rika-chan... ...Please... tell me. The cat... what should it do now?"...Maybe it was a desperate question to ask. ...I had sort of admitted to being the cat. BGM: Silence SFX: Higurashi  "E-Everything will be fine... that's stupid...!" "......Shouldn't it just keep meowing?"Geez... Rika-chan and I have put together an entire conversation... using 'cat' as a codeword. I didn't say it directly... but... I had already admitted it. I didn't want to end up like those two. ...I didn't want to be... a sacrifice, like Shion said. ......That's what I thought... so I stubbornly remained silent. ...But now... that's enough...... "...It can't just keep... meowing. ...The dog saw the cat... making mischief and sneaking inside." "......The dog." "...That's right. ...It was the dog. ...It keeps coming to the cat... and trying to get it to say that it snuck inside." "............"After I said that, Rika-chan's expression clouded over. ...She was trying to hide it, but I'd already noticed her eyes darkening. "...Rika-chan......"The silence was frightening... so I spurred her on. ...At that point, Rika-chan grinned.  ...Huh? ...I thought for a moment... that I had misheard those words, so dependable they were. "......The cat is really scared... but it really isn't all that bad. I think all of the dogs are just misunderstanding." "Eh...? It's not all that bad...?" "......The cat is worrying too much. I'll do something about it for sure."Rika-chan will... do something about it...? ...I don't even know left from right at the moment... so Rika-chan didn't look all that dependable.  She clenched her fist and stuck it in the air. ...Rika-chan said that the cat can just keep meowing. ...She said to leave it all to her. ...I-Is that... really all it took... to resolve this whole thing...?! "Will you... really be all right... Rika-chan?" "...If I don't do my best, then something bad could happen to the dogs, too.".........I had no idea what Rika-chan was talking about anymore. She had been talking to me under the assumption that I was aware of certain things. ...So at first, I understood her. ...Around the middle, though, I stopped understanding anything. ...However, one thing I did know was...... to not worry, and to leave it to her... Rika-chan straightened up once again, patted me on the head, and smiled. ......I was so moved... by that reassuring feeling... that I couldn't help but start to cry...  "......It's too much of a scaredy-cat. ...That's why it should never have seen the storehouse."...She was right. ...It was far too shocking for someone to see based on a little bit of interest alone... ...That's why they made it so difficult to look at in the first place, wasn't it...? "Rika-chan. ......What will happen... to the cat? ...Two of the cats that snuck in... well... that night, they......"...I'd heard Tomitake-san and Takano-san's deaths were being kept a secret. ...Rika-chan might not have known about it. "............Tomitake and Takano?"I gave a start at the sudden mention of actual names. ...Though it's weird to do that at this point.  Thp...... my spine... froze again. "Fo... Forget...?" "......Yes. It won't do you any good to remember those two, Keiichi. ......The more you think about it, the scarier it will get. So you should forget about them as soon as possible."She said something so enormously terrifying... without letting the smile on her face waver at all. "......I don't know where you heard about it from, but you should forget everything. Make your mind as clean as a scrubbed bathtub." "F-Forget? ...Rika-chan... you know, don't you?! You know... how those two died......!!!" "......No matter how they died, it has nothing to do with you, Keiichi,"Rika declared this in a flat voice. ...Nothing to do with me. ...So forget about it. ......The girl before me... she was innocent and lovable... and even seemed trustworthy... but suddenly she took on another dimension. ......Don't get involved with their deaths. ......I'll help you, Keiichi. Those two contradictory statements... twisted and distorted my image of the girl in front of me. BGM: Doukutsu (Cave)  It might have been dangerous to mention Shion's name, but... ...I couldn't stop myself from asking. ...Rika-chan saw through everything anyway. ...There was no way I was going to fool her or keep anything from her at this point... "......The younger of the sister cats? Meow, meow." "Y-Yeah. ...The little sister cat."Rika-chan appeared to think upon this for a moment. ...It was hard for me to endure even this momentary silence.  "The big sister cat......"...That could only mean Mion... ...I recall being questioned by her yesterday. "......Keiichi. ...The big sister cat is not in a good mood at all. ...I think we should leave her alone for a while."Not in a good mood... Those words sent a shiver through me... ...Mion... was mad. She was mad... that we entered the ritual storehouse...  "Huh? ...Wh-Why...?!" "......I think we should leave her alone."Rika-chan ended her sentence with such force that I couldn't say anything in response. ...Hey, Keiichi Maebara. ...Don't disobey Rika-chan right now. ......She's the only one... who said she'll help me right now... I'll leave things to her, just as she said to. ...I mean, she even said... that the cat should just keep meowing... ...I'll forget everything... like she said. I'll leave everything to her. ......I'll forget everything—about Takano-san and Tomitake-san, and what I did that night...! BGM: Silence SFX: Bell  "I... guess we should go back to class..." "......Keiichi."As if she had noticed how miserable I was, about to leave everything to her and flee the scene... Rika-chan called out to stop me. ".........If the misunderstanding dog comes to try and bite the cat, please tell me, okay?"The misunderstanding dog... ...She put it in such a cute-sounding way... but the true meaning behind those words... was an eerie one. "......Who is... the misunderstanding dog?" ...The flow of blood in my body... felt like it completely stopped for a moment. ......Rika-chan had admitted it. ...The sacrifices of that terrible calamity... ...she admitted that if they were to happen again, it would be Shion or I. This... I didn't know what was true about the girl standing before me... ...My suspicion gave way to fear... and nearly began to change into anger... Was she... a savior who would protect me... ...or a stranger... trying to capture and kill me for the sake of a horrible tradition? ...I had no idea what was true......  Rika-chan bowed so quickly it looked like her head had been pulled downward. ...Still... she was right. I was cowering. ...I could distinctly feel my body shaking violently. So when Rika-chan reached her hand out to pat me on the head... I pulled away without thinking...  "...Ah... I'm s—..."Rika-chan made a very sad face... but I just couldn't bring myself to put out my head for her again...  There's always vetoes when someone doesn't feel up to it. ...Rena and the others seemed really disappointed... ...The big sister cat is not in a good mood. I remembered Rika-chan's words... and quietly stole a glance at Mion's expression. If I could forget the way she questioned me yesterday though, her behavior was the same as it always was… 
limeicebreakers fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Oct 12, 2021 |
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Sep 19, 2021 19:47
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K-man, you dunderhead. If ANYBODY, you could probably trust Rika... And... I feel like some important things have been laid out but, as always the truth of them is obfuscated. I think it's a safe bet to assume that Rika is telling the truth about all this even if she's using allegory and not naming names... But, as with everything else, who's who and what does it all mean? Keiichi's actions didn't lead to Tomitake and Takano getting murdered... But I am honestly unsure if they were this year's Sacrifices anymore. For one thing, they were BOTH found. For another... all the victims after the foreman have usually a more than tenuous connection with one another. Usually a guy and his wife, or related characters. It doesn't add up that either of the Temple Burglars were the murder sacrifice and the mayor is the disappearing sacrifice while the remaining burglar was killed just cause. Curses have to abide by rules or there's no way to solve any of this. ...And Rika just told us that the Mayor and Mion were close... ...gently caress. Mion really is dead or being possessed by Shion, isn't she? And what happened to Rika? It seems like she was pushed down, or maybe even assaulted. ...And Mion, or whomever it is wasn't in class. And isn't showing up either.
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Sep 19, 2021 23:27
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A thought I just had, could all this be a power play by the Sonozaki family?
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Sep 20, 2021 00:30
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What, like, literally everything we've been seeing is all part of a Yakuza power bid? I know there are, like, what, 3 big families, the Mayor's, Rika's, and the Sonozakis. Thing is, Yakuzas are kinda big on upholding social order, even if they're profiting via hustles, drug dealing and all the other kinds of organized crime. I'm just not seeing what would be worth killing half a dozen plus people and constantly being on the cops' radar over some long game ploy that's lasted four years. Let's be honest...Hinamizawa ain't got poo poo. And even if the people who've died need to be killed, waiting a year between each murder to kill some new people who might squeal on whatever's going on here is an incredibly risky game plan. What's stopping the victims from going to the cops any other time of year? More and more I'm becoming convinced there's one supernatural thing going on that leaves people dead, and some mundane group of murderers that's ALSO killing people.
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Sep 20, 2021 03:01
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TKMobile posted:What, like, literally everything we've been seeing is all part of a Yakuza power bid? More of spiritual/ritual power, than temporal power grab. Satoshi was the last son of the Furade family and he's now gone, along with the other male members of that family. My feeling is that by making members of the Furade and Kimiyoshi disappear around the festival, they are showing that they "unworthy" and no longer kin to the demons. Edit: This all goes out the window of Mion or Shion have been taken. Maigius fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Sep 20, 2021 |
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Sep 20, 2021 03:49
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So I wonder if Either Mions grandmother or the major is the director. I wonder if Mions grandmother is still alive, given that Mion seems to be leading the village now. If so, for how long? Someone arranged for the lock change, so the entering the shed was clearly a trap set by someone. Mion did seem to hate Tomitake in the first act. Maybe for try to expose an internal power struggle? Also, the police seem to work for the major in some regard, given he indirectly hampers their investigations.
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Sep 20, 2021 07:55
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Maigius posted:More of spiritual/ritual power, than temporal power grab. Satoshi was the last son of the Furade family and he's now gone, along with the other male members of that family. My feeling is that by making members of the Furade and Kimiyoshi disappear around the festival, they are showing that they "unworthy" and no longer kin to the demons. Just a correction, Satoshi was a Hojo, not a Furude -- Satoko's relative, not Rika's. But your point stands, Rika is as far as we know the last surviving member of the main Furude family.
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Sep 20, 2021 11:09
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limeicebreakers posted:Then, I went to the washroom and washed my face, which was something I usually didn't do. Gross Keiichi, come on.
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Sep 20, 2021 21:08
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Maigius posted:More of spiritual/ritual power, than temporal power grab. Satoshi was the last son of the Furade family and he's now gone, along with the other male members of that family. My feeling is that by making members of the Furade and Kimiyoshi disappear around the festival, they are showing that they "unworthy" and no longer kin to the demons. That's a pretty baller theory. It could even explain why the Foreman doesn't fit the pattern if you wanna claim the "true" demon killings began in earnest the following year, when presumably after the Dam project was over the Sonozakis started chopping up poor sods they found unworthy, disloyal/not loyal enough, or both. However... I'm still not sure if it completely holds water because if the Sonozaki family is doing that, then Satoko's family members who were murdered don't quite fit the pattern; they have no blood connection to the Big 3. Also, not to sound creepy, but Rika couldn't possibly be that hard to kill. Why haven't they killed her yet? Saving her for last or some poo poo? The only thing that I could imagine keeping her from being an easy target during and after the Festival, both times, is that she's always been surrounded by too many witnesses and or non-horrible people unwilling to let Yakuza murder a ten year old. But this last update DOES tell us Rika was probably recently threatened even if she hasn't been targeted. I noticed Mion was out of class well before this happened; maybe she (or Shion disguised as Mion) got the drop on Rika for whatever reason and tried to shut her up. That would also explain why she was so desperate for Keiichi to tell her the truth. SHE knows some of the truth and may have been looking for someone she can trust. ...Kinda think K-man blew that chance, though.
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Sep 20, 2021 22:17
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VIDEO: Watanagashi-hen | Day 10 Part 2 BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  I told Rika-chan anything and everything. ...She had seemed trustworthy at the time... but had that really been the right choice...? The more I looked back on it... the less I understood what Rika-chan was saying. ......Not only did she know about Takano-san and Tomitake-san's deaths... but she spoke of them as if she were a concerned party. ...After all this time... in my futon... I began to tremble fiercely... Had I been... lured in by Rika-chan's sweet smile... and told her things I shouldn't have...? ...I should have continued to feign ignorance... I shouldn't have shown her such a weak side of me... My emotions are a mix of regret and fear... and it colored the darkness of the night with an additional layer of terror.  ......I might have yelped. That's how surprised I was.  "Keiichi! I've been calling your name for a while! You have a phone call. ...It's from Sonozaki-san."It was Dad. I reached out for the cordless phone through the gap in my door. "S-Sonozaki-san...... which one? The older sister, or the younger...?" "...I don't know. Ask her yourself."...I took the receiver... and buried myself in my futon again. "......H-Hello...? ......Mion? ...Or is it Shion?" I practically jumped out of bed. ...It was Shion—who I hoped so desperately would call me back last night. BGM: Silence "Shion! ...Umm, ...Sorry about... last night. ...I got all riled up..." "............"I heard what sounded like a deep sigh on the other end... "...You and me are in the same position, aren't we? ...I shouldn't have blamed you for everything like that. ...I'm sorry. I'm sorry, so please, cheer up..." "I called you because I'm in a better mood. ...If you're sorry, then I'll forgive you, so please stop apologizing."Shion's tone still sounded a little angry, but for the moment, she said she'd forgive me. "...You're right, too—we're tied to the same fate. Making sure the other is alright is the only way to guarantee our own safety." "...Yeah... I agree." ...Gulp. ...I forced myself to swallow a solid drop of saliva.  "Then... let's continue from where we left off. ...You'll listen without getting angry this time, right?" "...Yeah. ...I'll be fine."BGM: Silver Mirror  ............Takano-san and Tomitake-san's miserable ends, terrible enough that you could call them a warning... they were more than enough to make me believe that... "......The culprits killed those two, the ones responsible for sullying the storehouse... and they'll come for us next. ...I know you want to deny that... but please accept it. ...It'll be too late to believe me after you've disappeared, okay?!" "I-I got it. ...You can never be too careful, after all." "I don't... want to accept it either. ...To think that sneaking a peek at that museum of torture devices deserves a death like that... I don't want to believe it...!"......That's what a taboo is. ...For those who honor it, if one breaks the taboo... no matter how small or innocent their intentions were... they wouldn't be forgiven.  “We could find the key that'll resolve everything." "...Mm... you're right. ...You're right about that."All I was doing was waiting in fear... but Shion had already thought that far ahead... ...Given how trustworthy she felt, I became embarrassed over how passive I was being... BGM: Silence  "What...?!?!" "......It might be my imagination, but... I'll tell you anyway. ...I think it's just me, but... if you feel like you're being watched too, Kei-chan, then... ...Maybe it's not just my imagination..." "W-Well... Don't worry. ......At the very least... Everything's been fine for me."SFX: Crickets ...I think. ......As I spoke with Shion, I thought back on today. ...I had no grounds to say that everything was fine... "......I see. ...Then I suppose it was my imagination... but you be careful too, Kei-chan. Be especially careful when you're by yourself in public. ...I'm in Okinomiya, so I won't be alone very often, but you live in Hinamizawa. ...There will be a lot of times you'll be alone. ...Please be extra careful." "......You're right. Yeah... I'll be careful."BGM: Doukutsu (Cave)  "Your sister... oh, Mion, right. ...What do you mean by... 'acting strangely'...?" "...Well, yesterday, I... she came to me and asked me where I was on the night of Watanagashi." "What?! Th-That's... She asked me, too. ...The day before yesterday, I think... Mion asked me..." "......I see. ......I told her I wasn't there. ...What did you say?" "I did the same thing. ...I just dodged the question."...Both of us gave a quiet sigh of relief.  ......Mion was acting strangely... .........Aside from her asking me about the night of Watanagashi...... she hadn't seemed too out of the ordinary. ...At least, from my point of view. ...Her twin sister, though, was saying she was acting weird. ...Maybe it was such a slight change that a stranger like me wouldn't be able to notice... "......Got it. ...I'll start being careful. ...I'll always have Rena with me on my way back from school, so I shouldn't end up alone with Mion very often..." "Please, be careful. ...If there's anything that's bothering you, you can tell me." "All right."BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets "...Okay, then is there anything you want to tell me, Kei-chan?"......My turn. ......That's right. Maybe I should report on Ooishi-san asking me the same question at the library.  "Yeah. Ooishi-san asked me pretty forcefully... whether I was with Takano-san and Tomitake-san that night, and whether I had seen you. ...Ooishi-san seemed to have seen the four of us together." "...From the police's point of view, that would make us the last people who had seen them. I suppose, given that, it's only natural that they'd be interested in us." "...I evaded the questions then, too... but that might have just made them more interested."There was no way I could have tricked that sly old fox Ooishi-san. ......My troubled countenance would have only made him even more certain...  Shion didn't answer right away. ...For a few moments, all I could hear was her breathing as she thought about it. "...Now that I think of it, Ooishi-san said there was something possibly shady about Mion... At least, I think that's what he said. ......Yeah. ...Yeah, he definitely did." "...As I explained yesterday, the Sonozaki family holds a lot of influence over Hinamizawa. ......Ooishi is under the impression that the whole village, with the Sonozaki family at the center of it all, is responsible for the recurrent freak deaths." "...The whole village is behind them... with the Sonozaki family at the center...?!"...Please, don't get angry like you did yesterday, and just listen. I hammered that home before I got too upset. BGM: Seijaku (Quietness)  “...My sister told you about all the battles that happened, right?" "...Yeah. All of Hinamizawa got together and fought as one. They held protests, brought it to court, and even appeared on TV..." "In reality... there were many things that happened that were far more extreme. Under the surface... the Sonozaki main house was doing all sorts of illegal things to oppose it." "......They were acting illegally...?" "...Sugar in their gasoline tanks?? Why would they..." "You don't know?! It's practically the representative guerilla tactic. It was used by underground organizations in France in WWII, for one. When you put sugar in, the engine gets burned out and breaks down."......That's... that's pretty bad, though, isn't it? It was destruction of property, and nothing less... "When they beefed up the guard at the construction facility, the family turned to attacking important construction personnel who worked there.” “...The government officials who had given permission for the construction, for example, received all kinds of threats. Not just people from the prefectural office, either—apparently this reached as far as the Ministry of Construction. ...As far as I've heard... they even kidnapped a child once." "K-Kidnapped?!?!"BGM: Silver Mirror  “...Then, one day, all of a sudden, he was rescued in the Takatsudo Mountains, which are upstream from Hinamizawa.” “...Apparently there were never any criminal accusations... but people whispered that it had been a threat to stop the dam construction from happening. ...Besides that, there are stories about so many different threats that I couldn't possibly list them all." "...That's... wow, that's... sort of bad, isn't it...?" “...People whispered that the Sonozaki family had bought out the principal offender... but of course, he fled and they still haven't found him."......When she put it that way...... the Sonozaki family definitely seemed suspicious. "Ooishi-san even seems to think that the criminal was 'erased,' so he wouldn't talk. ...Which is pretty reasonable of him. ...It's even enough to make me think... ...that the Sonozaki main house is doing some really shady things behind the scenes, even though I'm related to them." "......Are you telling me... to believe that...? ...That the Sonozaki main house, where Mion lives, has done all those bad things... you're telling me to believe it...?" “...Everyone believes that—that they fought at the front, so they'd take the brunt of the criticism. ...So they're respected as sort of heroes of darkness." "............" "I think I only really know one part of it. ...For example, the really bad stuff, like the kidnapping—I think only a handful of people even know about it, including Grandma. ...The Sonozaki family is secretive, after all." "......Secretive, huh..."......A family so unforthcoming that even Shion, who is related to them, doesn't know everything about them. The Sonozaki family. ...Unlike Shion, her older twin, Mion, was deeply involved with everything... and that was not a fun thought to entertain… BGM: Silence SFX: Night Higurashi  "Mion was...?! Wh-What do you mean...?" "Well, our dad is a big-shot yakuza. ...Even when she was little, my sister managed to subjugate a bunch of young street rats. Then she played all sorts of tricks on them and just generally got in their way." "......Mion did... that...?" "...Now she's pretty laid-back, so it might be hard to imagine. They put her in charge of everything, from property damage to threats and even acts of violence. ...Though since she was a kid, they could get her released pretty easily. ...She learned that her age could be used as a weapon."...It may have been indiscreet... but I couldn't help but chuckle dryly. ...She may have been young... but she was certainly still Mion. Even back then, she had already been known for her craftiness… "It's nothing to laugh about!! Please, take this seriously!!" "Ah, ...sorry. ...I didn't mean to..."Shion had gotten pretty angry at me.  BGM: Silver Mirror SFX: Crickets ............For a few moments... I was dumbstruck at the tales of Mion's past. None of them matched the image I had of her. ...A younger Mion, dirtying her hands with all sorts of crimes, giving the dam construction project hell. ...As the successor to the Sonozaki main family, she was always right at the center of the vortex of strange incidents occurring year after year... ...Was that... really the Mion I know...? Maybe the one I know... isn't the real Mion? I couldn't figure it out. ...I couldn't bring myself to accept these images of Mion I was hearing from another person.  .........I didn't want to understand. ......Mion was a fantastic friend. ...She would never do something to back me into a corner like that... ...She did ask me pretty harshly about the night of the festival... but even that... it wasn't like she'd said it in a mean way or anything...... ............  "We're sisters related by blood... but within the Sonozaki family, we're basically of a different class. ...I want you to recognize how distant they are from me. ...Please."......The more Shion tells me about Mion... the less I understand who Mion is. ...The Mion I know... wasn't a dangerous person... ...She joked around... smiled a lot... and was full of passion............ Now that I'd realized I held such a view towards her... Shion was telling me to change it. .........To be careful around the best friend ever. ...To doubt her. ...The idea was very sad... and painful… BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets  "...You thought so too, Shion...!" "...It's just... at the moment, like I explained, the police have their eyes on the Sonozaki family already. Ooishi in particular completely believes that they're the masterminds behind the serial incidents.” “...That includes me, of course. ...So... I don't really want much to do with Ooishi."......I see. ...If Ooishi-san had found out about the Sonozaki family's strife-filled history... then he probably wouldn't be very happy with Shion, either. ...At last, I understood Mion's instinctive dislike for Ooishi-san. "...It's probably out in the open at this point, but try not to give my name to him. ...If you agree to that, then I don't think there's a problem with you telling him anything." "I got it. ...I won't mention your name." "...The police's investigative ability should be quite a reliable weapon for us right now. ...If Ooishi tells you anything interesting, then let me know as well." "Yeah, of course. We'll share information and investigate together. ......Who killed Takano-san and Tomitake-san? ...Who was after us? ...Until we know... we need to defend ourselves..." "...Anything else? Besides what Ooishi told you, I mean? ...If anything has happened, no matter how minor, please tell me."...Aside from my discussion with Ooishi-san? ...Oh, ...should I tell her... that I revealed everything to Rika-chan? ...Rika-chan was acting like she knew something I didn't. ......She told me to leave it to her...... but what......... Ah, that's right... When I was talking to her... I mentioned Shion's name, too. ...Was that a mistake...? ......I felt like Shion would get angry...  I had remained quiet for a little while, so Shion encouraged me to speak, unable to bear the silence. "...Ah, ...ummm..."As I struggled with what to say, Shion addressed me instead.  ...The old man Kimiyoshi? ...My gut told me that was the name of the mayor. "You mean the mayor...? ...Wait, Shion... you haven't heard?" "I don't know anything! ...I just overheard my dad talking about it on the phone again."I realized I shouldn't have said that. ......Here in Hinamizawa... the things that happened around this time, when Oyashiro-sama's curse would recur... would all be covered up. "...Yeah. Actually... last night, after a meeting, he didn't come home, so all of Hinamizawa was confused. They searched all through the village, but if they've found him, then I haven't heard... The police should be searching for him as well......" "Wh-Why didn't you tell me something that important right away???!!"She shouted angrily at me, bringing all her emotion to bear...! "S-Sorry... I thought you already knew... I didn't want to hide it or anything...!"The receiver was silent. ...Did Shion... get mad again and hang up...?! "Hey, Shion! Hello?!"BGM: Doukutsu (Cave)  Shion's tiny, confused voice sounded like it belonged to a different person than the one yelling a few seconds ago. "...What's wrong? ...Tell me. We're not keeping secrets from each other, right...?"Shion hesitated for a long while... but then she confessed. "...I'm sorry. ...I... well, I didn't mean to hide it. ...It was just that, well, the conversation got turned around and..." "...We're on the same side, right?! I won't get mad, so tell me honestly..."...Shion still hesitated for a few moments. ...Then, in a resigned voice, she continued.  Shion seemed to think I would yell at her right after she said that, so I heard her catching her breath. ...Contrary to what she thought... I was a little relieved. ...Shion had done the same thing I had when I confessed everything to Rika-chan. ...So... in as gentle a voice as I could, so as to not set her off, I responded. "......Old man Kimiyoshi... he's someone you feel comfortable confiding in, Shion...?" ".........Yes. ...He would... when I was little, he was really nice to me..." ...She had a different kind of strength from Mion... and as she continued, her voice sounded truly sad and pained. "...All I did was play tricks on him... but he would always just smile... ...He listened to anything I had to say... ...He was such a kind person......" "...C-Calm down, Shion. ...It's not like he's dead, right? Don't lose heart so easily..."......Shion didn't answer. ...Even as I said it myself... I didn't think we'd ever find the missing mayor again. ...We probably... wouldn't even figure out if he was alive or dead. ...Shion must have been thinking the same thing...  "...Does the mayor know how absurdly Takano-san and Tomitake-san died...?" "......Yes. ...He knew about it. ...I told him that they died by Oyashiro-sama's curse... and that I could be made a sacrifice to calm his anger. ...I just said it straight out." "......Right. ...What then?" "...Old man Kimiyoshi... didn't get angry. ......He smiled, then told me that if I was properly sorry about it, there was no way I'd be demoned away... ...He was really... ...smiling... ...and he told me to leave it to... him...... ...ngh...!!"Until Shion stopped sobbing... I was unable to find any words for her. I couldn't imagine what kind of person the mayor was, nor what Shion's relationship with him was like. ...Words of comfort, however, mean so much to us when we're about to be crushed by anxiety... ...Today, Rika-chan taught me that, too... If someone who gave me such a sense of security were to disappear...... ...Then I could guess what kind of shock Shion was in...  "...Stop it, Shion... ...It's not your fault." "No!! It is my fault!! I... I told him everything...! Old man Kimiyoshi found out about everything...! So... he has to have been killed!! ...It was right after I told him, after all!! He disappeared the same night that I confessed... and he told me everything was going to be all right!!!"He found out, so he became involved. BGM: Mazoku Kenkyuusho (Demonic Institute)  “All of this... should have just been our fault! Only the four of us!! It wasn't something I should have told to someone else!! He got killed because I told him! He got killed because he knew! He got killed... because I revealed it!!!!" "Hey, stop!! If they were doing that... then they would obviously have killed you before killing the mayor! The order is all wrong!! You or I should have been killed first!! Why the hell would someone else get killed first?!!" "No, it's in order!! They must be planning to kill us last of all!!" "...Hah...? Wha... ...What?!" "...They're not killing the first people who come to mind... they start by killing those we're close to... and then after they've caused us so much pain, they'll kill us... That must be what they're doing!!" "I said, calm down!! Shion, you're in shock! You're panicking!! The mayor's disappearance has nothing to do with you! It's unconnected! It's not related to Takano-san and Tomitake-san dying at all, either!!"...My words came out as a scream... as if I were shouting them at myself.  She repeated the same thing as before as though she were in a delirium. ...Despite my trying to console the crazed Shion... for some reason, the shadow at my feet began to freeze...  It was a horrible... chill. ...A freezing cold, numbingly frigid. ...It was an inviolable... chill of fear. ...Though I sympathized with Shion, I had been naive in thinking it was something only she had to worry about... ...In my head, Shion's eerie words repeated again and again. He was killed because I told him. He was killed because he found out. I confessed everything... so he was killed. Those words echoed through my head like a monotone mantra... and finally, those even repetitions took on meaning. ...The quiet shaking that had already overtaken me... turned into a violent shiver that shot up my spine!!  "......What? ...What did you say just now...?!" "I... I, well... ...The truth is… ...I... ...I told her about it. ...I told Rika-chan... ...today!!" "Rika-chan... You mean Rika-chama? The one from the Furude Shrine?" "Yes, Rika-chan! ...I felt... I felt so scared and uneasy... that I did it. ...I told Rika-chan." "......When you did...... what did she say...?" That's what Rika-chan said... and then she smiled. ...She smiled, just like the missing mayor had when he encouraged Shion… BGM: Silence SFX: Crickets "......I-I'm sorry, Shion! I-I-I... I'm a bit... I'm worried about Rika-chan...!!" "Ah, right! ...If you're that concerned, then don't worry about me. Please, go find out whether she's safe." "...Y-Yeah!! I'll do that!" "I'll call you again tomorrow at the same time. When I do, you'll know I'm still alright." "...I got it. I'll be waiting. Okay, bye! Sorry! I'm hanging up!!"I put down the receiver without waiting for Shion to say good-bye. ...The danger to Shion and myself was secondary at this point. ......My sixth sense was blaring alarms in my head. ...I don't like this feeling. It's really bad. ...It's definitely, definitely bad!!!   - - -  TIP 17: From The Scrapbook VIII TIP 18: This Punishment Isn’t Over? limeicebreakers fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Oct 12, 2021 |
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Sep 21, 2021 15:58
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