Classmate1:
Where do you think he went?

Classmate2:
No one seems to know.

Classmate3:
Where did he go?

Rika:
I think he is probably just lost.
Like I can be sometimes.

Rena:
Lost!? That sounds great.
Yep, wow, I wanna take you home.

Keiichi:
He's kinda old, right?
So maybe the guy just got all senile and wandered off?

Satoko:
I don't know.
The head of our village is pretty active.
I mean he still teaches kendo and calligraphy to everyone.

Keiichi:
Then, what could have happened?
You guys don't really think the curse of Oyashiro could have anything to do with this?

Keiichi:
Yesterday afternoon, the leader of this village left his house to attend a meeting at the shrine.
The meeting went on for a while and ended long after sunset.
For whatever reason, nobody has seen him since.


Keiichi:
This means that for five years in a row now the curse of Oyashiro has been real.

Takano:
Do you believe in curses, Keiichi?

Shion:
If what she is saying is the truth, then the culprit is probably someone from Hinamizawa.

Keiichi:
Shion and I broke into the shrine.
So if the curse really is true, then she and I will probably...

Keiichi:
Oh, it's you, Rika. What's wrong?
Did you fall down?

Rika:
Uh-uh. I didn’t fall.

Keiichi:
Then, what's gotten you so upset?

Rika:
There is no need to worry about me.
I gotta ask. Tell me Keiichi.
On the night of the festival, did you do something bad?

Rika:
Keiichi?

Rika:
I'm sorry for having to ask you such a strange question.
Just forget I said anything, OK?

Keiichi:
Hey, Rika!

Keiichi:
I really wanna say something.
But Rika, as the shrine maid at that temple, she is the last person who's not gonna forgive anyone for breaking that taboo.

Rika:
I heard that on the night of the festival.
A kitty cat broke inside the shrine where all the ritual tools are kept.

Keiichi:
A cat?

Rika:
Yep, a kitty cat. They go "Meow, meow" like this.
The cat saw what's inside and suddenly got all scared nervous.
The cat ran out of there as fast as he could, but he still keeps on shaking and saying, "Meow, meow."

Keiichi:
Wow, that poor cat. So what should he do now?

Rika:
Mi?

Keiichi:
The cat just snuck in on a whim, not knowing there were dogs watching him the whole time.
And now, the dogs keep coming up and asking the cat questions.
Like whether or not, the cat really did go into that shrine.

Rika:
Don't worry. It'll be fine.
I like the kitty cat.
So, I'm gonna protect him.

Keiichi:
Huh?

Rika:
I think that one of the big dogs just misunderstood exactly what the kitty cat was really up to that night.
It might be kind of tough.
But I'm going to set them straight on this.
You just leave it to me.

Rika:
There is more. The big sister cat is really mad.
She's mad at the little sister cat for doing something that she really shouldn't have done.
Maybe, we shouldn't have club meetings for a while.

Keiichi:
Huh?

Rika:
I think it's best that we get the big sister kitty cat some space, so she can calm down a bit.

Keiichi:
Big sister cat? Does she mean Mion?

Rika:
Listen, Keiichi.
The dog that misunderstood things bit the village leader.
If he tries to bite the kitty cat, please let me know.
Keiichi:
Later that night, I totally regreted telling Rika anything.
Even though all we were doing was talking in metaphors.
Rika's story was so weird.
But what really freaked me out was that she sounded as if she was actually there.

K's dad:
Keiichi, you got a phone call. It's from a Miss Sonozaki.

Keiichi:
Hello.

Shion:
Hi, it's Shion.

Keiichi:
Shion. Hey, sorry about yesterday.
I just got nervous.
I figured out now that we're both in the same predicament.
I'm sorry that I rushed out and tried to blame it all on you.

Shion:
If you really do regret it, then I forgive you.

Keiichi:
Thanks.

Shion:
From now on, Keiichi, when one of us learns of something new, let's try to let the other one know, OK?
Like it or not, we are in this thing together, you know?

Keiichi:
Yeah, I know that now.

Shion:
So, is it true that old man Kimiyoshi has really gone missing?

Keiichi:
Huh? Kimiyoshi?
Are you talking about the head of the village?
Well, that's what everybody seems to be saying.
You didn't hear this, Shion?

Shion:
I didn't. What should I do?
I spoke to him yesterday and told him everything that's happened.
This is all my fault.

Keiichi:
No, it's not. You don't have anything to do with this.

Shion:
You are wrong. It's totally my fault.
Right after I told him, he disappered.
He disappeared that very same night.
I told him everything, and now he's dead.
He is dead, [that's why/now xxx] it’s all my fault.
He is dead, because I talked to him.
He is dead, because he knew something he shouldn't.
He is dead, because of what I said to him.

Keiichi:
I talked, too.
And I told her everything as well. Rika!

R's dad:
Hey, Rena. You've got a phone call. It's Keiichi.

Rena:
Let me make sure I have got this straight.
You tried calling Rika's phone?
You let it ring over and over again, but no one never answered right?

Keiichi:
Yeah, right. I let the phone ring for like 10 minutes.

Rena:
Well, that is weird, 'cause their house isn't very big.
And Satoko lives there too, so there's no way they wouldn't hear it.

Mion:
Hey, Rena. Keiichi.

Rena:
We should go check it out.

Keiichi:
Yeah, OK.

Rena:
Wow, that's strange.

Keiichi:
What's strange?

Rena:
Where their bikes are gone?
Rika and Satoko always park their bikes right there.


Rena:
Rika? Satoko? You, home? Rika? Satoko?

Rena:
They locked it all.

Keiichi:
What about upstairs?
Maybe the windows up there are open.

Mion:
Look! I found a ladder.

Keiichi:
Great.

Rena:
I'll go check the main house and see if they're there.

Keiichi:
Main house?

Mion:
It's the Furude family's main residence.
But from what I understand, no one's gone in there since Rika's parents died.

Keiichi:
Oh, yeah, I forgot about Rika's parents.

Mion:
Satoko's, too.

Keiichi:
Huh?

Mion:
The reason her parents fell off that cliff, and her brother Satoshi went missing.
It's all just the result of Oyashiro's curse.
And so, that's why Rika and Satoko decided to move in together.

Keiichi:
Man, that's gotta be hard on them.

Mion:
That girl is cursed.

Mion:
I said that girl is cursed.

Keiichi:
Mion?

Mion:
Satoko Hojo is a cursed little girl who's been stained by Oyashiro's curse.
Satoshi did everything he could to help that little sister of his.
But in the end, the only thing that ever got him was erased.
Satoshi did everything for her, and got nothing in return.
I'm telling you she is evil.
Anyone who goes near her will either die by a curse or erased by the curse.
She'll never have any peace.
If Rika has disappeared, then it has to be Satoko's fault
It has to be her fault.
It has to be her fault.
It has to be her fault.
It has to be her fault...

Keiichi:
Hey. Come on.
Calm down, Mion.

Mion:
It has to be her fault.
It has to be her fault...

Rena:
Mion. Keiichi.
One of the neighbours has the key.

Mion:
Oh, saved by Rena.
Right, Keiichi?

Keiichi:
Maybe there is a whole other Mion that I don't know about.
That was the first time that I ever thought that.


Rena:
Satoko? Rika? Are you guys here?

Keiichi:
Where'd they go?

Mion:
I think there is more to it.
I hate to think like this.
But the village leader did disappear last night.
We can't say for sure it's unrelated.

Keiichi:
No way.


Keiichi:
Is this all my fault?

Rena:
Are you OK, Keiichi?

Keiichi:
It's me. It's all because of me.
I'm the one who did this.

Rena:
Keiichi, they are saying that all the kids should go home now.

Keiichi:
It's all my fault that they disappeared.

Rena:
What makes you say that, Keiichi? What?
I know you, Keiichi, and I know you care about your friends a whole lot.
Guess what.
There is a few other things that you don't think I know but I do.
Like how I know that it's not your fault for sure.

Keiichi:
How do you know that?
I didn't tell Rena anything.

Rena:
Let me guess.
You're thinking to yourself ,"oh no, something Rena might disappear on me too."
But don't worry about that.
I won't disappear. I promise.

Keiichi:
But how do you know that for sure?
There is no telling who's gonna go next.
It could be any one of us.


Rena:
I really doubt Mion's gonna wake up on time today.

Keiichi:
Oh, you're right.
It was just two nights ago that she was up till dawn trying to find the village leader, too?

Rena:
Come on.

Keiichi:
I wonder where Rika and Satoko could have gone.

Rena:
Well, the old woman who runs the Tomita tofu shop said she remembered Satoko stopping in to buy tofu yesterday.
According to her, she was on a way back from school.

Keiichi:
Tofu?

Rena:
Yeah. When we were inside Rika's house yesterday, I noticed there was a pot of miso soup still sitting on the stove.

Keiichi:
Yeah, but does that mean anything?

Rena:
Well, when you are cooking miso soup, the last thing you put in is Tofu.
So, knowing that, it's pretty safe to assume that Rika was probably right there in the kitchen until just minutes before they were about to eat dinner.

Rena:
I also looked inside the rice cooker.
She had cooked enough rice for both of them.
And then I looked inside the refrigerator.
There were too freshly cooked dishes untouched and covered with plastic wrap.

Keiichi:
And that means...

Rena:
Well, when you wanna save the dishes for later, what do you do?
You put plastic wrap on it, right?
So, what does that mean to you?

Keiichi:
That they were getting ready to eat dinner, and for whatever reason didn't need to eat suddenly?

Rena:
That's right. Suddenly.
Because if they planed on leaving, they wouldn't have been cooking in the first place.

Keiichi:
Right.

Rena:
So they disappeared right around the time the dinner was prepared.
I'm thinking like 7 o'clock.

Keiichi:
OK. But what made them wannna leave their house?

Rena:
Did you look on the table?
There was a bunch of condiments on there including a bottle of soy sauce.

Keiichi:
Yeah.

Rena:
But the soy sauce bottle was empty.
So I checked under the sink to see if the big bottle of soy sauce they used to refill the little bottle was still there.
But it was missing.

Keiichi:
What does that mean?

Rena:
Well, I'm sort of assuming the rest of this...
But I think she went over to a neighbour's house to get some more soy sauce.
Rika left with the idea that she would come right back, but for some reason she didn't.
So Satoko began to worry and called the neighbour to see what was taking so long.

Satoko:
Did Rika stop by your house at all tonight?

Rena:
Now I'm just guessing, but this is what I think happened next.
The neighbour said, "Rika's here, and just sat down to eat with us.
Why don't you come over and enjoy us, too?"

Keiichi:
OK. But which neighbour did Rika go to get soy sauce from?

Rena:
Sorry, but my guessing ends there.
I'm afraid that's all I've got.

Oishi:
Morning, Maebara.
How are you?

Rena:
Why does the policeman know your name, Keiichi?

Keiichi:
I'm not the culprit, OK?

Rena:
Oh, yeah, at all.

Keiichi:
I'll meet you inside.

Rena:
OK. Bye.

Keiichi:
What's going on?
Do you wanna bring me in or something?

Oishi:
No. Not at all.
I just thoght we should talk in the car.
It's much better than standing outside, don't you think?

Keiichi:
So, how's the investigation going, detective?

Oishi:
Well, I don't know. It's hard to say.
There's been a lot lately which one you'e refering to.

Keiichi:
All of them.

Oishi:
Oh, all of them, huh?
Well. There is nothing new on Mr. Tomitake.
And the same thing goes for Miss. Takano.

Keiichi:
Then, what about the village leader's case?
Have you guys found out anything new about that one yet?

Oishi:
Yeah, we did make progress on that one.
He went missing the day before yesterday, turns out that he's simply gone to see a proctologist first thing in the morning at university hospital in Shikabone city

Keiichi:
Proctologist?

Oishi:
Yeah, he was trying to keep it a secret from his family and friends.
Guess, it was too embarrassed to tell everyone he was in need of a good proctologist.
On his way back from the hospital, there was a train accident.
and he was delayed.
So on his way back, he went straight to the meeting at the shrine.

Oishi:
What? Something bother you about all that?

Keiichi:
No.

Shion:
I broke down and told the old man Kimiyoshi everything yesterday.

Keiichi:
When could she have done that?

Shion:
Last night I heard that Mr. Tomitake and Miss Takano died.

Keiichi:
The village leader disappeared two days ago.
Shion said she found out about Mr. Tomitake and Miss. Takano's dead that same morning.
But according to Oishi, the village leader was already on this way to the hospital by then.

Shion:
I told him everything yesterday.

Keiichi:
So when did Shion tell him?

Oishi:
Maebara, you're awake back there?
Listen, kid. It's alright. Don't worry.
I don't think you had anything to do with all these murders.
However, I do know that the four of you snuck into that shrine, and I did everybody died.
By the next day, there were already people mumbling about it.
I could interrogate you for trespassing for that offense alone.
But what I really wanna know is what the heck was inside there.
People who sneaked into that shrine [tended to be/xxx and end up] dead and I wanna know why.

Keiichi:
All I saw were a bunch of torture tools they supposedly used a long time ago.

Oishi:
Are you sure?

Keiichi:
Yeah, I'm positive.

Oishi:
Sure you didn't find anything in there was so awful you couldn't possiblely repeat it to anyone?

Keiichi:
No, all I saw were a bunch of tools.

Oishi:
Well, I wonder if there might be something there for whatever reason you just didn't see it.
I'm trying to figure out why you save and everyone else who was there [at] that night is either dead or missing.
What's so special about you that you could come out this [unhurt/unharmed].

Keiichi:
What are you talking about?
You said three.
I got that only two people were hurt that night, Miss Takano and Mr. Tomitake.

Oishi:
Hahaha, I guess technically only two people were hurt that night.
Shion Sonozaki is simply gone missing.
You are the only one who's gone into the shrine and can still talk about it.

Keiichi:
What? Shion is gone missing?

Oishi:
I guess technically only two people were hurt that night.
Shion Sonozaki has simply gone missing.

Keiichi:
Hello.

Shion:
Keiichi? It's me, Shion.

Keiichi:
Did you hear what happened to Rika and Satoko?

Shion:
No, I heard they were missing.
Have they turned up anywhere yet?

Keiichi:
No, they're still missing.

Shion:
Keiichi. Please don't blame yourself.

Keiichi:
The more this person starts to really sound like Shion, the more freaked out I start to get.
Whoever this is, it isn't Shion.
But if it isn't her, who is it?

Keiichi:
Hey, Shion. When, when did you talk to him?

Shion:
What?

Keiichi:
Did you know the village leader had hemorrhoids and had to go to the hospital to have them checked?

Shion:
Well, I knew he had hemorrhoids, because he always looked so uncomfortable whenever he sat down.

Keiichi:
Then, do you know which hospital he just went to?

Shion:
No, sorry, I don't know that.
But I don't understand.
What does that have to do with anything, Keiichi?

Keiichi:
She doesn't know which hospital he went to.
So, she couldn't have gone to the hospital to talk to him.
And according to Oishi, the village leader went straight to the meeting from the train station.
So if he went straight from the station to the shrine, when did he have time to listen to the Shion's confession?

Keiichi:
When exactly did you tell the village leader that we broke into the shrine?

Shion:
Keiichi. Why are you interrogating me about this?

Keiichi:
There is no possible way you could [have] met up with him in that morning.
Did you go to the meeting that night at the shrine, too?
No, you didn't. You know why?
Because Shion Sonozaki had already gone missing one day earlier.

Keiichi:
Listen. If anything I just said is wrong, please tell me.
Shion, Is this you?
You never talked to the village leader, did you.
The only time you could've talked to him would've been right after the meeting,
which would've been right about the time that he went missing,
which means you know where he is, don't you.

Shion:
Hahahahahahahahahaha.

Regret you cannot stop
A story with no apologies
Curved into that is the other me

When They Cry,
"Cotton Drifting" Chapter, Episode 4, Wish

Can you believe in this?