Higurashi Second Phase

[anbukurono]

(prologue)

I lying on the ground face up, my head bleeding as the rain pored down around me. Everything around me was slowly growing darker and darker as everything around me was fading from my view. How is it that it came to this? Why did this have to happen to me of all people? Well let me take you back to explain to you just how I got to this point.

For starters, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kohta Miamoto. I'm 17 years old and a second year in High School living in Kyoto, Japan. I suppose you could say that my life up until now has been about the same as any other normal teenager my age, I go to school, hang out with friends, play video games, watch anime and read manga. It wasn't perfect, but it was fine with me. Or at least that's how it used to be.

You see, as of late, my father's business has been keeping him away from home and it's having a negative effect on my parent's marriage. It seems that because of this my mother is losing the trust that she had held in him. Whenever they're around one another, they seem to be arguing about one thing or another, whether it be about me or their marriage. Constantly being exposed to this pressure has had an adverse effect on me to say the least. In school, my grades have begun to fall, I've begun to lose interest in some of the after school clubs that I used to take a part in and worst of all, I've begun to get into trouble with others.

My mother was becoming concerned about my sudden behavior, knowing what I was usually like but had let it slide with a lecture to me each time, but I knew that even that had it's limits. The final straw had been a final incident at school. It had started like any normal day in school until lunch. I had been minding my own business when another of my classmates began picking with me about what had been up with me as of late. That had been strike one. He continued egging me on, talking about my father and how he was sure he was having an affair. That was strike two. Finally he mentioned about how this would be the end of my parents marriage. That had been strike three. The next thing that I knew, I had gotten up from my seat and struck him with it repeatedly, before finally my teacher had gotten me off of him.

Needless to say, my mother was less than pleased about this situation, despite the fact that the boy's family said they wouldn't press charges. My mother that night had gotten on the phone with my aunt out in the countryside about sending me to live with her and my uncle for a few months, hoping that the country air would be of help for me. My mother had me pack up that night to have me shipped out the following week. There was no way that I was getting shipped all the way out to the countryside, especially about something like that. It seemed they wanted me gone, so that would be what they got, but on my terms.

That night when my parents were asleep, I took my bag and climbed out my window, careful not to wake anyone, taking my bike, I was off. I had already begun to take the higher roads as I had made my escape from the place that I had called home, but unfortunately for me, it had steadily began to rain and the roads had become slippery. As I rode downhill across a ridge, I saw a car coming in my direction from the other direction. i swerved to avoid it but in the process lost control of my bike and was sent crashing into the guard rail and fell off my bike and over the rail, falling tumbling down the side before finally coming to a stop at the bottom, hitting my head on a rock.

Why did this all have to happen to me? Why did it have to come to this? Am I really going to die, like this, alone in the rain, at the bottom of a mountain trail? Everything was growing darker and fading. Last thing I heard was the sound of footsteps and the words 'I'm sorry', then nothing.

[anbukurono]

( Just a warning, the focus is going to change between first and third person, but the first person will always be from Kohta's point of view)

Chapter 1: Awakening

Kohta would begin to stir as he slowly awoke. He reached out to grab anything to try to get himself up only to realize that there was nothing to grab hold of. This realization quickly shocked him back to his full senses as he, shot up, sitting upward looking around at his surroundings, however it seemed that no matter where he looked, all he saw was a dark void that seemed to be filled with small shimmers of light around him. " W-what? Where am I?" Kohta called out into the darkness, not speaking to anyone in specific, but to his surprise, he received a response.

" Ah I'm glad that you've finally regained consciousness." A voice seemed to respond. Kohta looked around for where the voice had come from as a young looking girl with purple hair and horns on either side of her head wearing a shrine maiden outfit appeared in front of him.

" Wah! Who are you?! Where is this place?!" Kohta asks frantically, taken by surprise by the girls sudden appearance to the point of stumbling back.

" Oh I'm sorry that I scared you with my sudden appearance." The girl says bowing in apology. " My name is Hanyuu. I am the manifestation of the shrine god of Hinamizawa. As for where we are, this is the space between dimensions. It is here in which the different Hinamizawas all reside, though without interacting with one another. Each bit of light represents a different world."

Kohta, having gained back some of his composure, finds that he is able to stand up now and looks over into the different lights, seeing different scenes playing out from within each, some seeming to involve some of the same people. After looking confirming what Hanyuu said, Kohta looks back over to her. " Alright so what does any of this have to do with me? Why am I here?"

" Well it's unheard of, but by some miracle, your world became connected to the worlds that reside in this dimension." Hanyuu says as another light appears in between the two of them. Kohta looks into the light and sees the events playing out before his eyes of what had just happened that night, up until he fell over the guard rail. He finally saw as his body lay on the cold wet ground, as it began to stop moving as the life seemed to drain from it. Moments later, the scene changed to a police scene as his mother sat over his body crying over it. It was after seeing this that Kohta couldn't look anymore as the color drained from his face and he felt sick to his stomach.

" So....it really happened. I...died. That incident really killed me." Kohta said, his composure he had gained up slowly slipping away. It was then that a comforting hand would be felt on his shoulder as he saw it was Hanyuu. " You aren't dead, not just yet. I was able to pull you from your world just before the point that you died. You see, my friends and me need your help. " Hanyuu responds floating in front of Kohta, explaining the situation to him.

" My help, but with what?" Kohta asks, still a little shaky from what he had just seen. As Hanyuu went to respond, he saw that she had taken a more serious tone in her voice as she explained to him about her and Rika's thousand year journey to change the fate of Hinamizawa and of how their friends and they had finally been able to defeat this sad fate. " But from what you tell me, you had been able to surpass fate and stop the deaths from happening. So why do you need my help?"

" In truth, we had believed that everything had been over when we prevented the tragedies from occurring again, but it seems that someone or something is attempting to revive Oyashiro-sama's curse and we alone had been unable to stop it. " Hanyuu responds with a tone of regret." Though I swore I'd never use this power again, it had become necessary to create another Hinamizawa as well as to bring you in to help as you alone exist outside of the chain of fate. After all, the addition of one card can make all the difference. But I can't force you to do this, it's your choice."

" And what if I chose not to help?" Kohta asks looking over to her, meeting her eye to eye.

" It's like I said, I cannot force you. If you choose that, then I will send you back to your own world, though I can't say of what would happen to you from there." Hanyuu responds with a look of regret.

" As easy as it seems to be able to just walk away from all of this, I've decided that I'll help you." Kohta says suddenly, his eyes changing to a stronger look. " You told me of all the struggles that everyone had gone through to attain a bright future no matter how hard things became. I just tried to run away from my problems, I need some time away from my world to be able to think things through. Maybe meeting your friends will be good for me."

" In that case, since you don't truly exist in our world, then take this pendant, it contains some of my power and thus will give you a solid form." Hanyuu says as she removes a pendant from her neck and places it in Kohta's hands. "but once in the world, don't ever take it from your possession, it's the only thing that is keeping you tied to the world. Now good luck and remember that your fate is never truly decided." Hanyuu smiles sincerely to Kohta as a bright light envelopes him as he blanks out.

When Kohta comes to, he finds himself lying on a bench. The sun seems to be setting for noon as the birds cry out from all around. Sitting up from the bench he sees that his bike is parked a few feet forward against the guard rail, his backpack on the handlebar. Getting up and walking forward to the guardrail, Kohta sees a small town extending out into the distance. " Well looks like I made it to Hinamizawa." Kohta says as he looks on over the village.

[anbukurono]

Chapter 2: First Night

Kohta rode his bike down the streets of Hinamizawa as it began to get dark. Kohta looking for shelter, finds a nearby bus stop, where he takes refuge in. Parking his bike at the side, Kohta lies on the bench as he looks up at the darkened sky. ~ Ugh what was I thinking? I don't even have any place to stay here in Hinamizawa and the fact that my family doesn't exist here either makes it even harder. Either way, I guess I'll have to figure it out in the morning.~ He thinks to himself as he closes his eyes.

Kohta only has his eyes closed for a few minutes when he hears a voice. " Excuse me, are you lost?" The voice says to Kohta causing him to open his eyes. In front of him he sees a young girl with blue hair wearing a green sundress. Kohta instantly recognizes her as Rika Furude from his talk with Hanyuu.

" Well I guess you could say something like that." Kohta responds sitting up. " I'm kinda new around here, just got here today so I don't really know my way around. Do you think you could tell me the way to the nearest hotel?"

" You see, Hinamizawa is a small town. The closest hotel would be in the town over from here. But it's getting cold and dark so you might end up even more lost. I know, how about I let you stay at my house for the night, that way it'll be easier." Rika responds with an innocent smile

" Huh, are you sure? I mean you don't even really know me." Kohta responds, a bit in shock from the sudden invitation.

" Well I can't just leave you out in the cold now can I? Besides, I invited you so it's alright nipaa." Rika responds continuing her smile. " Follow me."

" Uh alright, wouldn't want to oblige." Kohta responds as he gets his bike from the side of the bus stop and begins to follow her. Based on what he had heard about her from Hanyuu, Kohta was kinda surprised by this behavior, especially for all that she had been though. He hadn't expected for her to be so soft and inviting, especially to a total stranger such as himself.

After a short trek through the forest, they arrive at a set of shrine stairs where Rika parks her bike. " It's just up these stairs behind the shrine." Rika says as she starts up the stairs, followed closely by Kohta. Kohta looks closely at the scenery, finding it a bit of a strange place for a house to be. As they arrive at the top of the stairs, Rika guides Kohta past the shrine to a small house. " Well here we are, home sweet home." Rika then opens the door and motions for Kohta to follow.

As Kohta enters into the house, he hears another young girl call out to Rika. " Rika who is this?" A girl with short blond hair, wearing a pink sleeveless shirt and shorts, who Kohta recognizes as Satoko Hojo, asks as she enters the room from the kitchen.

" I found this lost nya nya over at the bus stop. I invited him to stay here for the night so he wouldn't be stuck out in the cold." Rika responds making paw like motions with her hand. Though Kohta didn't quite understand, he knew she was referring to him.

" Alright, but he'll have to sleep in the other room." Satoko responds as Kohta bows.

" Thank you very much for your hospitality." Kohta says as his stomach suddenly growls. Kohta, in all of what had happened to him that day, had forgotten he hadn't eaten since lunch time back in his world. A slight blush would come over Kohta's face as he apologized, rubbing the back of his head.

" Well I guess it can't be helped if you're hungry. Don't worry, I made extra than what we had needed, you can have some. I was worried it would go to waste." Satoko says as she goes into the kitchen and returns with some of the food.

Kohta would look at the food set down in front of him, hungrily as he would pick up his chopsticks, clapping his hands together. " Itadakimasu!" Kohta says as he begins to eat the food, scarping it down as though he hadn't eaten in days. All the while, Rika and Satoko look on at the display of Kohta. " Oh wow this is delicious. You're really a great cook for someone so young."

" Well, as you can see, we both live alone so needless to say, we needed to learn to fend for ourselves." Satoko responds motioning across the room. " But the way you ate that was unlike anything I've ever seen, even from Kei-chan."

Kohta would blush as he rubbed the back of his head. " Umm sorry about that, I'm normally not like that when I eat. I guess it's just that I haven't eaten all day." Kohta responds as he picks up his dishes and takes them into the kitchen where he begins to wash them.

" So what brings you to Hinamizawa anyway?" Satoko asks as she walks into the kitchen behind him.

" Well, I came here as a way to get away from it all back at home. I have some relatives that live around here, so I guess I'll be staying with them." Kohta says making up a story as he goes along, managing to keep a strait face as he finishes his dishes. " So I guess you'll be seeing more of me for the time being."

" Well I hope you enjoy your time here in Hinamizawa anyway." Satoko responds as she leaves the room, coming back with a futon. " Well the other room is just that way. Enjoy your night."

Kohta takes the futon as he goes over to the other room, setting it down, as well as his bag. Something he had wondered though was the fact that, despite having seen 3 futons in the other room, he had only counted Rika and Satoko in the house. ~ I wonder where this third person is.~ Kohta wondered to himself as he lied down on the futon, getting under the covers, quickly falling asleep, unaware that from the other room that he was being watched by that very third person, Hanyuu.

As the sun rose the next day, Satoko had woken up first to prepare breakfast for the four of them. She had gone into the room Kohta had been sleeping in to check on him only to find that his futon was neatly folded and there was no one there. The only thing she found there was a note from Kohta thanking them for their hospitality the night before.

[anbukurono]

Chapter 3: First Day

Satoko stood looking at the spot where Kohta's futon lay, folded with a note on the middle wondering where the occupant had gone. She bent down to pick up the note that had been left behind and read it's contents.

Thank you very much for your help last night. You were very kind in supplying me with a place to stay and a warm meal to eat, especially for me, a total stranger. I will remember your kindness and find some way to repay it. Maybe we'll see each other around sometime, but until then, thank you.

Sincerely, Kohta.


Soon after, Rika would enter the room and look over to Satoko, seeing her reading the note. " Satoko, what're you doing, where's Kohta?" She asks yawning, looking around the room.

" He was gone when I got up this morning. All that he left was this note on his futon." Satoko responds handing Rika the note.

Rika would look over the note as she would lay it down on a nearby table. " Well maybe he hasn't gotten far yet, let's check." Rika says as Satoko nods in agreement as they begin to search the house grounds for any signs of Kohta. This search however proves feeble upon the discovery that Kohta's bike is missing as well, proving he is no longer there.

" I wonder why he left in such a hurry and before anyone was even awake." Satoko wonders out loud as she and Rika return from their search outside.

" We'll have to figure that out later, if we don't hurry, we're going to be late for school." Rika responds as Hanyuu suddenly motions for Rika to come over to her. " Rika, there's something that I have to talk to you about." Hanyuu says as Rika's expression suddenly changes.

The remainder of that morning went by normally as though Kohta had never even been there as Rika, Satoko and Hanyuu walked to school meeting up with their friends Mion, Shion, Keiichi and Rena along the way. The friends chatted for the rest of the walk, none of the 3 bringing up how they had had a guest stay with them the night before. Everything was exactly like it always had been with the group of friends walking to school together.

Arriving at school, the 7 friends all went to their classroom where they each took their seats as everyone in the class talked amongst themselves. This all commenced as always until Ms. Rumiko entered the classroom. " Alright everyone settle down, I have an announcement." She says to the class as they all stop their talking and look over to her. " It would seem that we have a new student transferring into our class today. Come on in." She motions to a figure standing in the hall way.

Seconds later, the person she was motioning to walks into the classroom revealing himself to be none other than Kohta standing before the class, smiling slightly shyly, resulting in a shocked look from Rika, Satoko and Hanyuu alike. " Now now, don't be shy, introduce yourself." Ms. Rumiko says to Kohta, patting him on the shoulder.

" Alright....My name is Kohta Miamoto...I come from Kyoto. I'm 17 years old. Pleased to meet you all." Kohta says slightly nervously, bowing respectfully before the class. " Now Kohta, feel free to take a seat where ever you like." Ms Rumiko says to Kohta as he nods in response, going towards the side of the room, taking a seat near Rika and her friends, taking out his books as the school day began.

The remainder of the school day passed normally after that point, Kohta kept to himself during lunch and gym, receiving occasional glances from Rika as though she was studying him. Kohta deep down knowing what she had gone through previously along with his sudden disappearance that morning didn't blame her and thus kept quiet about this the whole time. When the principal rang the school bell signaling the end of the day, the students began to file out of the classroom until only Mion, Shion, Satoko, Rika, Hanyuu, Rena and Keiichi remained.

" Alright it's time for the meeting of the Game Club to begin." Mion says to the rest of the group as they go over to the lockers. Mion opens her locker and takes out a deck of cards. " Today's game is going to be Pig."

" Alright this time I'll win for sure." Keiichi says smiling confidently, raising his fist. Rena laughs slightly at Keiichi's reaction. " Kei-chan's really getting into this already." She says with a smile.

Kohta takes this opportunity to approach the group from his seat. " Umm...would you guys mind at all if I joined in." He says scratching the back of his head slightly. " You see, I love to play games and since I'm new here, it seems like a good way to get to know some of you better."

" Sure, of course you can join in, the more the merrier. But be careful Kohta-kun, there's a penalty game for the one who loses." Mion responds as Kohta sees a twinkle in her eye at the mention of 'penalty game'. " But since you're new to this, we'll go easy on you, but just this one time."

" Uh thanks, I think." Kohta says with a bit of a nervous laugh as the game starts. By the end of the first game Kohta notices that everyone has their finger on their nose except for him and Keiichi. " Looks like you've lost this one Kohta." Keiichi says confidently as he passes a card to Kohta. Kohta looks at the cards in his hand and picks up the card Keiichi passed as a smile light up his face as he passes a card. " Looks like you lost Keiichi." Kohta says as he puts his finger at his nose.

" Eh?! How did you pull that off?" Keiichi says in shock of Kohta's win.

" Simple, as the game went on, it seemed a bit odd that you all seemed to know what you got before you got it, so I theorized that you know these cards. So going off of that, I held my cards in a way that hid, portions of them, throwing you off." Kohta responds in a matter of fact tone.

" Wow you actually got Kei-chan with his own trick." Shion says in an impressed tone, congratulating Kohta on his victory. " And from the sounds of it, you're warming up to us pretty fast. You've even lost that nervous sound in your voice."

" Heh yea I guess I have after that game." Kohta says winking one eye, laughing a bit. Suddenly Kohta would feel a hand on his shoulder and would turn to see Rika. " Huh? Is there something you want Rika?"

" There was just something I wanted to talk to Kohta-kun about mii." Rika says smiling sweetly. " It's just out in the hallway."

" Oh alright Rika." Kohta responds as he gets up from his chair. Rika then walks towards the hall without another word as Kohta follows after her, closing the door behind them. Rika then walks down the hall way a bit as Kohta follows after her. " Huh Rika where're you leading me?"

No sooner had Kohta finished his question that Rika stopped suddenly and turned around to look at him. She no longer had the sweet look to her expression, instead it was replaced with a serious expression and when she she spoke, her voice was much lower and in a darker tone. " No more lies, who are you really and what are you here for?"

[anbukurono]

Chapter 4: Explanation

Kohta would be taken slightly aback by the sudden change that Rika had displayed. Despite him having heard about this being the hidden side of her, he hadn't expected that he would come face to face with it, at least not this early into his time there. Kohta would try to keep his cool, clenching his teeth behind his lips.

" I won't repeat myself again, who are you and what are you here for?" Rika says again in the same dark tone, with a hint of frustration with Kohta's silence. " And don't try lying, Hanyuu was able to sense something about you, emitting from you."

" Alright I'll drop the charade that I had been putting on. You're a lot more perceptive than I thought, but I guess that's to be expected from one of the head families of this town." Kohta responds with a now serious tone, being able to read the sudden look in Rika's eyes as if asking how he knew. " The truth is, as far as who I am and where I come from, I've been honest, but I haven't been honest about everything. You see, I do come from Kyoto, however, I didn't come here to visit relatives here, nor do any such reletives even exist in Hinamizawa."

" Well then how are you here in Hinamizawa much less lying about the reason that you're here?" Rika demands from Kohta, still wanting an explanation from him.

" The reason I'm here, well I wish that I could tell you that myself, but unfortunately I don't even understand." Davis responds thinking back to the events that had transpired to him in less than a day as each event flashes through his head. " It's just as you had said last night, I'm a lost cat."

" And what is that supposed to mean?" Rika asks, her tone having taken a slightly less rough sound, though still showing a sign of distrust to it as she crosses her arms, looking Kohta straight in the eye.

" Personally, I don't know what exactly is supposed to happen or why I'm here in Hinamizawa. But I guess it was for the best that I came here. I wish that I could tell you more, but in truth, it's still a total mystery to even myself and that's all I know. In a sense, my life as I had known it up until now is over. " Kohta would respond, having revealed the true nature of his presence. He would then turn and begin back towards the classroom. " I think that if I stay here in Hinamizawa for a little while, I'll be able to find for myself what it is that I'm really after here in this town and maybe then I'll be able to find myself."

" Well then, if you're going to be staying in Hinamizawa, then you'll probably be needing somewhere to stay. You can stay at my home, it'll at very least allow us to keep an eye on you just in case." Rika responds, though this time Kohta couldn't tell whether it had been a case of generosity or suspicion coming from Rika. " I'll settle things with Satoko about you staying with us."

" Well then, I suppose that it would be rude to turn down such a generous offer and I promise, you won't regret it. I won't let anything happen. Thank you for your generosity and this time, this comes completely sincerely." Kohta would say, turning his head to her as he gives her a genuine smile with a determined look. " Just trust in me."