Chapter 5
I dragged my heavy body all the way up the hill as I struggled to keep my eyes open.
Thanks to a series of unfortunate events that had happened the past few days, I had gotten little rest, and was as beat as an athlete after running a triple marathon.
As I approached my shoe locker, I noticed a very big object, wrapped in old newspaper, at the foot of my locker. I sighed as opened my locker and caught sight of the oh-so-familiar letter, this time numbered #5.
I once again entered the washroom, and tore open the letter immediately.
“Please kindly deposit wrapped object in the dustbin of Class 2-2. After that, please head towards the Hinami Shrine and approach the 23rd railing on your right after the stairs. Give the railing three hard kicks, and leave the area immediately. Do not bring Asahina Michiru with you.”
Huh? What was the meaning of this? Kicking the railing? What purpose did that serve beyond giving me a massive pain in my toe? Was this supposed to be punishment for playing that prank few days ago, even though it was an order from the future?
I sighed loudly as I picked up my bag and headed for the class room.
Today’s lesson passed by without much happening, and soon school was over. Haruhi sped out of the class room, and headed presumably towards the club room. I picked up the package that I hid in my drawer, and threw it into our class dustbin. I then proceeded to carry the dustbin out of the classroom under the guise of “Classroom Duty”.
I headed towards Class 2-2, which was conveniently located near the door that lead towards the dumpster. While no one was looking, I quickly threw the package into Class 2-2’s dustbin, and quickly fled the scene. After that, I returned the dustbin back to our class, having made someone happy by relieving them of their class duty today.
How long do I have to keep doing this?
And more importantly, what did all of this mean?
Sighing again to myself, I headed towards the direction of Mount Hinami.
The Hinami Shrine was a shrine located right behind our school, and from what I heard it was a place everyone avoided. Local legends tell the story of a priest who was wrongly put to death. Enraged by this, the spirit of the priest continues to haunt the shrine until today.
I had no idea who would want to enter the shrine, as it was located up a steep flight of stairs that had a countless amount of railings by its side. It seemed that I would spend my entire afternoon climbing stairs now.
I silently lamented my ill fate as I began counting the railings. As I neared number 23, I noticed that it was located near a sharp bend, and had a spectacular view beyond it. Too bad the legend of the local priest scared many off. This place would be any photographer’s dream.
Pulling my leg back as far as I could, I gave the old railing a hard kick.
Pain shot up my entire foot as the railing made a dull clang, as if taunting me. I ignored this and followed it up with another kick, and this time the railing creaked loudly. My foot was also shouting out in pain, as I drew it back and once again aimed a flying kick towards the rail.
CLANG!!
There was a loud clang, as the entire railing shook violently, threatening to give way any moment. It was only then that I realized I had almost wrecked government property, and if they knew about it, they would certainly be after my head. Ignoring the pain in my throbbing foot, I took off as fast as I could towards my house, trying to ignore how worse the whole situation could have been.
“A young couple fell to their deaths off Mount Hinami yesterday, after leaning on an old railing that had mysteriously gave way. Although it seems like an accident, police believe that it could have been foul play and are currently investigating the matter…”
You have to be kidding me.
“The deceased couple left behind their 14-year old boy Houjou Satoshi and their 8 year old girl Houjou Satoko…”
I’ve murdered someone.
That very thought ran through my brain.
Calm down. Nobody saw you there. There was no one there at that time. No one approaches that area now, ever since it’s been labeled a haunted area. Just go to school, and pretend like nothing happened. Everything will be just fine.
With those words in mind, I slowly made my way to North High.
The news of the Houjous falling off the cliff had spread like wildfire as everyone discussed the incident.
“Hey, Kyon.”
That noisy girl behind me said in excitement.
“I bet someone did this! Not someone normal, but perhaps an alien, a time traveler, an esper, or a slider! There was no way a railing could have just given way like that!”
You’re not helping you know? Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to come to school after all.
“I’m sorry.”
I said as I hurriedly stood up, ignoring Haruhi’s surprised gaze.
“I have to go to the washroom now. Pardon me!”
With that, I sped towards the washroom.
Cold water ran down my face, as I struggled to regain my breath.
Calm down. Panicking isn’t going to help. You have to stay calm at times like this.
“Damnit!”
Failing to control my anger, I slammed my fist directly at the mirror. It made a sick shattering sound, as blood dripped down my very knuckles.
What in the world was happening? Why was I told to murder someone? What did they do to receive such a fate?
Before I could think more about the matter, another shattering noise could be heard from just outside the toilet. Curious to know what happened, I left the washroom and gazed outside.
Before me was a shattered windowpane, and as my brain tried to absorb this fact, another windowpane was shattered by a female student with a metal cleaver in her hand. Screams of all sorts filled the air, along with desperate pleas for help.
“Please calm down, Ryuugu-san!”
“Reina-chan, put down that dangerous thing, okay?”
“Ryuugu-san, can’t we talk about this?”
Before my eyes was Ryuugu Reina sempai from class 2-2. I had seen her on a few occasions, but never really paid any special attention to her before.
Looking up towards me, Ryuugu-san smiled and said:
“Thank you, Aizawa-san.”
Huh? Why was she calling me by my given name? And more importantly, why was she thanking me?
“It seems that there is no escaping Oyashiro-sama’s curse after all.”
Ryuugu-san said menacingly as she headed towards me.
“This little present you left me in the trash was pretty useful.”
It was only then that it downed on me. The wrapped package was actually a giant cleaver. I desperately told my feet to move, but just like the time Asakura Ryouko had confronted me, my feet just refused to.
“Thank you, Aizawa-san. And in return, let me show you a little graditude.”
With that said, Ryuugu-san swung her cleaver over me, as everything turned a shade of red.
Before everything went pitch black.
A couple of months have passed since that incident.
I heard Ryuugu-san was finally subdued and sent to a remote village in the wilderness. Doctors said that I was lucky to escape with such minor injuries after being cleaved nearly apart.
After that near-death incident, I have since left North High and headed south, towards a small town where I used to live.
Hopefully everything will be better this time around.
Sounds of light footsteps danced in the wind.
So she’s finally here, eh.
I lifted my head, and gazed into the loving eyes of a cousin I had not met for a very long time.
“You have snow piled on you,” was her first comment.
That’s to be expected after waiting here for two hours!
“Huh?”
Her head cocked in one direction, as she looked at her watch. She blushed slightly as she said:
“I’m sorry. I thought it was only two…”
Even then you’d still have been an hour late.
A gentle smile creased her face, as she shrugged off my statement by saying:
“Say, do you remember my name?”
More importantly, do you remember mine? And don’t call me Kyon like your mum used to. It’s horrible enough to be called that for a few years now.
The smile on her face widened, as she gently said, “Yuuichi.”
I smiled too, relieved that she had forgotten all about the stupid Kyon nickname her mother (my aunt) had given me.
“Hanako”
Her smile turned into a slight frown, as she said, “That’s not it…”
Jirou.
Her frown grew more apparent, as she said, “I’m a girl…”
A cold gust of wind blew at that very moment, as I shivered due to the cold. I’m cold, let’s just go home, shall we?
“But what about my name...” She protested softly. I ignored her as I started walking.
“My name…”
It looked like she was about to cry. Sigh. I shouldn’t make women cry on my first day here.
Turning back, I looked at her and said,
“Let’s go… Nayuki.”
The frown on my cousin’s face disappeared immediately and was replaced by a great big smile. Without saying a word, she hurried by my side, as I headed towards a new future in a totally unknown town.
(~To Be Continued~)
HolyCow: In case you STILL haven't noticed, this is a fake translation ;P It addresses some of the questions not answered in the Higurashi no naku koro ni anime (Who killed Satoshi's parents?)(It's revealed in the game BTW), and answers the million-dollar question: Why is Kyon so like Yuuichi? Well now you knowIt also explains where Kyon's nickname came from. One of his aunts gave him that nickname right? Well now you know which aunt we're talking about xD
Disclaimer: The above work was NOT done by Tanigawa Nagaru. All respective characters are the rights of their respective owners. The true chapter will be posted after Chapter 4 is done, as agreed earlier on. If for some reason you hated this entry, then I'm dreadfully sorry. It is merely one of my parody translations. Every group needs one!
Edited by Onizuka-GTO: No need for spoiler tags.
