Putting the Pieces Together

[kj1980]

[Pre-requisite: Ryuguu’s move back to Hinamizawa]
[Pre-requisite: Sonozaki’s watermelon]

Spoiler:

Uncle Hiroshi: “Oh, look at the time. I should get going now. Thanks for the tea.”
Oryou: “No problem. Come back anytime.”
Mion: “I’m back! ..hey, Uncle Hiroshi! How’s it going-!”
Uncle Hiroshi: “Hey, look who’s here, it’s Mion-chan! Just came home, eh? I was just about to leave to give pick up the prospective buyers.”
Mion: “Buyers? Oh, it’s about your real-estate business, I see.”

The Sonozaki family is one of the largest landowners of the Hinamizawa area. However, much of these lands lay rusted and undeveloped. Recently, the lands owned by the Sonozakis were put onto sale in lots. There were debates within our family during the family meeting about whether it was the right choice to start selling off lands that were handed down through our ancestors, but grandma shut them up with her usual stingy vocal snap. Several of the unused fields were reformed into vacant lots, and were released to the public for sale in lots.

But, …even I had my doubts to my grandma’s decision at first. Yes, I guess you can say that the Sonozaki family is rather rich. We have bunch of land, and a bunch of money. So, I couldn’t figure out the rationale of why we had to sell our lands.

What surprised me the most was that grandma herself was the first one to bring up the idea to sell our ancestral lands to some strangers. I would’ve thought that she would’ve exploded in anger with vein popping out on her forehead if anyone dared to bring up such a thought.

Uncle Hiroshi: “Well, come by to my place the next time you are near the train station. I’ll treat you to some nice cold barley tea.”
Mion: “Thank you. How’s the market going?”
Uncle Hiroshi: “Actually, I’m surprised how so many urbanites are taking interest in our area! I don’t comprehend why these nouveau riche would be so interested in living in such an inconvenient place”
Mion: “My, my. I suppose there are so many curious and whimsical people out there!”

Uncle Hiroshi: “We even had a call where one wanted to actually move here. He said he wanted to build an art studio out here. I think he’s some sort of artist or something.”
Mion: “Really? That’s interesting!”
Uncle Hiroshi: “Oh shoot, look at the time! I’ve gotta go get the bus!”

He set up the real-estate tour, and he was the one driving the bus. I guess it’s almost time for the sales pitch to end. Uncle Hiroshi hurriedly walked out of the house for his awaiting visitors.




Mion: “…Can I ask you something, grandma? I know you dislike outsiders. But then, why did you decide to sell our land in lots?”
Oryou: “I do hate outsiders, and especially urbanites. …But this village needs new air. It’s like re-freshening an old house.”
Mion: “You’re prospecting that…some kind of positive effect to occur for this village by bringing in new people?”
Oryou: “This village is a great place. …But the world is changing at a fast pace these days. Before, very little change occurred even after ten or twenty years passed in this village.”
Mion: “Yeah, well that rural life for ya! In this village, there’s nothing different between yesterday, today, or tomorrow. …To me, it’s pretty boring!”
Oryou: “But you gained a friend, didn’t ya? Ryuguu’s Rena was it? She moved back here and she instantly became your friend. Even you said it that you were happy to finally have a friend close to your age.”
Mion: “Yeah that’s true. It is fun to become friends with someone so unexpectedly.”
Oryou: “I remember you always saying ‘I’m bored, I’m bored’ when Rena-chan didn’t go to your school. Kukukuku!”

Mion: “So you’re saying that this is just one example of a positive effect of brining in new people here?”
Oryou: “No matter how cold the winter, you need to re-freshen the stale air that got built up inside. Otherwise, you suffocate with the polluted air that gets built up from the fireplace. So you brave the chilly air and open up all the windows.”


Mion: “…Will a new person be able to re-freshen this village?”
Oryou: “Of course. And that person will bring in fresh air and polluted air like us will need to be shoved out.”


If I uttered the word about the Houjou family here, I’m sure she’ll blow her anger. …But I can tell that grandma is actually talking about the need to rejuvenate all the negative aspects of this village, including the lingering ostracization of the Houjou family by the villagers. …Though she might still might be pissed off she is reminded of the verbal argument she had with the Houjous at the meeting several years before, deep down inside, she probably wants to put an end to this whole stigma.

But forgiving someone for their actions is a bit difficult for grandma’s age. In order to save face of her reputation, she can’t openly say that all is forgiven.

…I think she shows signs of a personality trait like a schoolgirl where she actually likes that person but puts on mask that she doesn’t in order to repress her true emotions. …Perhaps people return to children once they age old enough. This holds true to all the elderly in this village. …And this soil promotes the evil practice of this village.

This is probably the true meaning of grandma’s rhetoric in using the symbolism of “bad air.” Polluted air will never be cleansed no matter how much you try to circulate the air within a closed space. One must open up the windows and let the new air in to purify the stale air.


Mion: “Well, I still dunno if anyone wants to move here. Besides, isn’t it a bit too much a burden to hold the new person with such a high expectations? Kukuku!”

Oryou: “Well, even you changed a lot with just Rena-chan moving here. This whole village will change even with one new family. …All I hope is that their kid will be a energetic young’un who has the charisma to lead the village from our hands by wreaking some havoc in this little village. That young’un needs to be like the one who’ll put us old folk down away into the neverland.”

Mion: “Kukuku…what the heck is that? Are you talking about grandpa again?”

Oryou: “Dumb-ass! Who said that I was talking about your grandpa!! Here, shoo. Go help the housekeepers and carry these cups of tea back to the sink.”

Mion: “Yeah yeah, sure sure.”






Oryou: “………..Mion.”
Mion: “Hmm?”
Oryou: “…The day Houjou Satoshi disappeared. ….You confronted me.”
Mion: “…Oh yeah, I think I did that. …Ahaha.”

Oryou: “That was when I opened up my eyes. …All this time, I thought this whole thing against the Houjou family would go away when all the old folks like me die away. …But that takes too long. I need to get it resolved faster than that.”
Mion: “But since you can’t do it yourself…you’re leaving that task up to an outsider?”

Oryou: “…….It’s the only option that I could do.”

Mion: “No matter what bad of a hand you have, if you draw another card that hand might become a hand that might change the course of outcome. …And perhaps, it is a good strategy to start drawing more cards from the stack of cards…”
Oryou: “Mion, the new wind that’ll be coming in will be in the same generation as you. …Welcome the new wind in to our community. And you are going to be driving wind within our community who is going to provide momentum to that new wind. Your task is to create a gale so strong, it’ll blow us stale air out into the horizon.”
Mion: “Salvation by others, eh? Sheesh. You’re the one who started the fire, but you ask your grandchild to wipe your ass.”

Oryou: “…Oh come now. I want you to welcome the new wind into the village…and I’m saying that to you as the incoming head of the Sonozaki household.”

Mion: “….If it’s the job I have to do as the next head.”

Oryou: “…Thanks. Mion, I’m old. The only role I have left is to be despised by others. That’s all.”



The wind-chime clinked softly.

I will recall this moment later that soothing cool wind was a foreshadowing of the gallant storm that was about to come…

[kj1980]

[Pre-requisite: Ryuguu’s move back to Hinamizawa]
[Pre-requisite: The fourth year’s curse]

Spoiler:

...Hmm, I guess I’m in a bit of a predicament here right now.

My name is Maebara Ichirou and I’m in a particularly in a great mood right now…but at the same time, I’m stuck in a jam…

I came to Hinamizawa on a tour of find a new place to build a home. After the realtor explained the details of this area to our group, he told us to enjoy a bit of free time until time.

…And so I wandered off as I experienced the wonderful nature and the smelled nice aroma of clean air. As I was attaining great inspiration from this area, I realized…well…that I was lost.

Fortunately, there is still a bit of time until the time I was supposed to be back with my group. …But, that still doesn’t change the fact that I’m lost. Okay, calm down. Even though this is a rural area, people reside here. So long as I continue walking, I’m bound to meet up with someone whom I can ask for directions.

No worries, no worries. Ha-ha-ha. …Well, except for the time I’ve gotta catch the Shinkansen…

However, my plan to meeting someone on the road seems to have backfired. ...It’s been hours, but I haven’t seen anyone passing by. …I think I really am lost. I should’ve been more careful in paying attention to my surroundings. I guess this shows how much of an urbanite I am…

So, I was very relieved when I heard voices nearby. It was the playful sounds of two little girls having fun. …Since little kids are here, this still must be safe place to be lost. I immediately turned my legs towards the direction of their voices.




As I waded through the tall pampas grass, I suddenly came to a very astonishing field filled with the beauty of nature. And there, I saw two little girls playing with each other. The portrait of the cute girls innocently dancing in the field blossoming with flowers were so spectacular, that it blew away all the great artworks that I have seen since. ...I could be over-exaggerating, but the sight was holier than any other religious art works too.

I wondered why we feel such salvations from seeing innocent girls dancing the field.

...That’s because we are all live our lives tainted with sin. Living life is not all pleasure and glory. ...We build up sins and guilt just by living life as well. That is why we sense holiness at the sight of innocence which reminds us of the time we weren’t corrupted with the sins of our world.

We grow up as a natural process of life, …in the meanwhile, we begin to realize the innocence that we lost through maturity. Henceforth, we see adoration and admiration to such cute little children which symbolizes innocence like these girls…

Rika: “…Mi-. There is a stranger who is looking at us while mumbling about difficult things.”
Hanyu: “Auauau. …Rika, that person is no stranger.”

Ichirou: “…huh? Whoa!! Oh, I…I’m so sorry!! No, no, I’m not a stranger. Wahahahaha…!”

Rika: “…Yet, his eyes are hooked to my breast and my legs. Nipa~☆”

Ichirou: “No, no, I wasn’t looking in there! Please don’t tell the station officer-!! I was using this mirror to fix my hair…!!”

Hanyu: “….Ahahahahaha. I don’t understand what you are talking about, but I’m sure it’s something very funny.”
Rika: “I guess father and son really are alike.”


The two girls made fun of me for a while, but they seemed to have gotten bored with it rather quickly and began to playfully dance in the field once again.

I realized that whatever I said will backfire against me, so I left the two alone and watched them play as I rested my butt on a dead wood.

…I wonder how old they are. They look rather young, …but they probably aren’t too far apart from Keiichi.

If we’re to move here, Keiichi might be one of their schoolmates. Kids that meet each other at the school means…that they are residents of this area. …If the kids here at Hinamizawa are all like these innocent little girls….even if living a rural life may have its inconveniences….there is a good reason to move our home here.


….We were a failure as parents.

We didn’t know anything about Keiichi’s internal problems, we couldn’t grasp his disenchantment, and we practically forfeited parenting him by leaving him alone.

Any parental guidebook says that….the first signs of delinquencies in a child…are signals for help towards his or her parents. It’s not the actions itself; it is the motive to do such actions which are an emotional appeal from the child to yearn communication with his or her parents.

…Yet people are used to formal methods of communication through speech…which makes it difficult for one another to sense such subtle pleas of help. We could only hear vocal communication, and we couldn’t hear the emotional signs of distress from our own son.


Keiichi….probably thinks he is the most one at fault.

…Of course, what Keiichi did was wrong. People are different from cats and dogs. As a human being, it is one’s own responsibility to understand and differentiate between right and wrong.

…But…as parents…we too are also at fault.

It disgusts me to call myself as a parent that I let my own son spiral down to such a level to cause such an incident to make us realize his emotional pleas. If we really listened and saw Keiichi, if we hadn’t put so much pressure on him, Keiichi would never have made such an sub-conscious call for help in such a terrible manner.

So, that incident was not all Keiichi’s fault. …Everyone in the Maebara family was at fault.

…I wanted to tell Keiichi this, but Keiichi is still much too young and still hot-blooded to understand this now.

…Right now, Keiichi is at home with the guilt of what he had done crushing him. He seemingly has lost the will to live.

His mother, my wife, is also the same. …She is at home blaming herself for putting so much pressure on our son; how she only focused on his good grades and nothing else; which lead our son to cause such an incident.

…And me. I blame myself for my disinterest in my parental duties. The forfeiture of looking after my own son triggered this incident.

The crucifixion cross will forever linger on our backs even though the injured child accepted our apologies and was released from the hospital. And the coldness of society will mock at us to crush ourselves to death with our sins.

…But we continue to live. We acknowledge our sins, we carry the burden on our backs…and we continue to live.


Perhaps we can start a new life here in this village. …I sincerely began to think that way as I was watching the two girls play.

The types of friends that Keiichi needs are children like them. …I’m sure that children in this village will definitely teach Keiichi something that he has never been taught by the children whose main discussions were about cram schools and preliminary exam results.



Then, I realized that the two girls were playing near a sign post that didn’t fit in to such an open field like this. The sign read “lot for sale” and it advertised the real-estate agency that had just brought me here for a tour.

…Then…this means that…if we desire to do so, we could live in a such a beautiful scenery such as this place.

The girls then came up to me as if they had read my mind and said,

Rika: “….This is a wonderful village. There are things here that cannot be found in a big city.”
Ichirou: “Yes, that maybe right. I have a feeling that there are too.”
Rika: “…But you too will be able to bring something beneficial to the village.”
Ichirou: “I don’t know…Do you think…we have such a thing?”
Hanyu: “Yes, you do. Auau.”

Rika: “….We have lived in this village for several hundred years. And no one has come, and nothing has occurred. …That’s why nothing drastic happens, and nothing can be changed.”
Ichirou: “But isn’t having no change the best part of the village?”

Rika: “…But you came here to this village to seek change…right?”
Ichirou: “Yes, …you have a point there.”

Rika: “…And we too are eager to welcome the new people into our world. In our perspective, it is like blasting open the dike that keeps the stale water in the marsh from draining. Water purifies because it streams. A lake that has no streams leading in or out of it is just a dank marsh.

Hanyu: “Yes it’s true that this place was called a village with a ‘fuchi’ (marsh) up until recently as the Meiji era. …But, that name changed into the village as we know today – Hinamizawa. …Waters in the ‘fuchi’ (as in Oniga[i[fuchi[/i]) becomes stale because they don’t flow. But waters in ‘sawa’ (or ‘zawa’ of Hinamizawa, sawa/zawa = stream) doesn’t go stale.

Rika (Frederica-mode): “….Chuckle. And besides, you guys are gonna teach us that a dike can be, no, must be, blasted open.”

I wonder if the girls are playing riddles with me. I couldn’t understand a tiny bit of what they were saying.

But, I did understand…that these girls were eagerly waiting for a newcomer into their village, and that they wanted to build a new future for the village along with the newcomers.


I once again took a good look at the ad sign behind them, to remember this exact spot.

…My heart was already set.


Rika: “…We’ll be anxiously waiting for your family to move here. ….Maebara.”



Uncle Hiroshi: “Ahhh~!!! There you are!! Sir~~!! You shouldn’t wander off to such a far away place like this--!!”

The daydream like moment came to a sudden end as I heard the raspy voice from the distance. …It was the real-estate agent. He must’ve been looking all over for me because I hadn’t returned back in time.

Ichirou: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! I got kinda lost on the way…”
I apologize to the agent as I scratched my head.

…I look back to take one more glimpse of this girls…but they were nowhere to be seen….

[kj1980]

[Pre-requisite: Putting away the teacups from the room]
[Pre-requisite: Maebara Ichirou’s tour of Hinamizawa]

Spoiler:

Keiichi: “…This….this is the school? Dang, I guess this really is a rural area.”
Ichirou: “Keiichi, you shouldn’t say such things. This is the beloved school for people living here.”

That was my first impression of Hinamizawa’s school. Besides, how can anyone think of this place as a school? There’s even a sign there that reads Hinamizawa Forestry Preserve.

Principal: “Wahahahaha! Well, you got me there, kiddo! We are actually borrowing this building from the forestry preserve!”

The man who introduced himself as the principal guffawed.

Chie: “Even though it doesn’t look like one, it really is a school. However, the school life here is going to be very different from what you attended previously. So, are you ready for it, Maebara-kun?”

Keiichi: “Huh…oh yes, of course!”

I’ve heard the rumors that the school life here is like a constant battle royale in which all the students who attend here are placed into one classroom. …I guess the rumors were true. From what I gathered, most of my classmates would be children younger than me, so it kinda feels like I’m going back to kindergarten again. But what the hey, that’s what interested me the most. …Beats going to a school with monotonous classmates who all look the same! This is gonna be fun!

Chie: “Maebara-kun, when you transfer here, you’re going to be the eldest boy in the school. Hence, not only will you have to keep up with your studies, you’re also going to have the responsibility to be an example for the rest of the students as well. Especially since younger students tends to be heavily influenced by the actions of older students. I will caution you when you go to far, but I want you to always be aware to not be a bad influence to the younger kids, okay?”

Keiichi: “Oh, of course. I will do my best.”

Ichirou: “Keiichi. Studying is not just reading textbooks all day. You’re gonna have to set an example to the rest of the children as an older classmate.”
Keiichi: “I know, I know…!”

After that, Chie-sensei showed me around the empty classroom and told me which one was going to be my desk. …Since we are in the stages of growing up really fast, there were bunch of desks big and small. Yet the desk total was still only around 30. But, I can already tell that this place is going to be filled with excitement with totally different age groups and sexes all jumbled up into one classroom.

The walls were covered with calligraphy and art lessons from different grade levels. Just by looking at them, I can see this classroom is always full of joy and fun…in sharp contrast to the previous schools that I attended. …It reminded me of the days when I actually enjoyed going to school.



Keiichi: “Dad, I love it. I’d rather go to this school than going to that other school in the town.”
Ichirou: “My son loves this place too. Well to tell you the truth, I actually wanted him to attend this one as well.”

Chie: “Are you sure? …But the school in Okinomiya has much more resources and better teachers…”

Despite what she just said, I could tell that Chie-sensei was delighted that she would be able to welcome in a new transfer student into this school.

My dad went into the faculty room with the principal and Chie-sensei to file some paperwork for my transfer. In the meanwhile, I decided to walk around the classroom and to look at the things plastered on the wall.




…To tell you the truth, I really wasn’t interested in moving in the first place.

I was on the verge of giving up on life for the stupid shit that I did. I practically had no will to live, and I spent my days curled up inside my bed.

So when my parents told that we were moving, I was initially unenthusiastic because it seemed like I was running away from what I’ve did…



But as soon as we moved here, my thoughts changed. I became optimistic to start a new life here from zero. …I made the decision to reconstruct my life in the way that I always wanted to live my life.

With Hinamizawa and this school, it’ll be possible. I’m never going to put myself down into such sorry state that I was then. I’m not going to be an obtuse asshole that I was back then, who childishly thought that being smart and getting good grades was all that mattered in the world. I can safely say that this school will be able to teach me all the important things of what school life should be about; this school will re-educate me on the aspects that I had thrown out the window before.

What I’m saying are probably embarrassing to say out of my own mouth. But these things are the most important lessons a person can get. …Without them, one will not be able to mature into a healthy-minded adult.

These things are probably just the norm for the kids that go to this school. …But for me, I’ve gotta re-learn everything from the start.

How to….make friends.
How to….play.

Play. And through playing activities, one learns the vital lessons of life such as opening and ways of socializing with others, etc. etc.

It probably looks easy, doesn’t it? …But I can tell that I’m going to take a bit of time in order to learn these things. It’s my own fault that I pushed these things aside to blindly focus on weightless studying.

….I’m not saying studying itself is not important. But overstudying is. People that say studying and grades are the most important thing for a child, they are completely wrong and it is just plain idiotic.


….I can start from scratch with this school.
I can finally become the Maebara Keiichi that I always wanted to become.



Keiichi: “…………?”

I saw two girls peeking through the window from the school ground.

This school ground is like a playground for the local children. There were some kids playing there a while ago. …Perhaps these two became interested in me walking around in their classroom or something.

…Well duh. To them, I’m still a stranger.
I’m gonna start seeing them from next Monday so…maybe I should say hello?





Rika: “….You’ve finally moved here. I was getting tired of waiting for you.”
Hanyu: “Auauau. But because of this, it’s going to change once again. ….That’s because Keiichi is the six of the dice.”

Rika: “…He certainly is, but the dice that Keiichi rolls himself frequently comes up with a one too.”
Hanyu: “Auauauau…, but those aren’t Keiichi’s fault.”

Rika: “…Yep, it’s all Hanyu’s fault. All your fault. Here, go and apologize to Keiichi.”
Hanyu: “Auauauauauau…”

Keiichi: “Huh? …You guys know my name?”
I thought that they said my name. …Nah, it’s probably just my imagination. It’s my first time seeing them.


Rika: “…Nipa~☆. Are you a transfer student?”
Keiichi: “Huh? Oh…Yeah! Hey, wassup! My name is Maebara Keiichi. I’m gonna be coming here starting next Monday. Take good care of me, will ya!”
Hanyu: “Auauau☆ Of course, we’ll be the bestest of friends.”



Rika: “…Keiichi, the priestess of the Furude Shrine has a vision for you. You’d better becareful when you open the door to the classroom on your first day of school because it is cursed. And, there’s also gonna be a thumbtack stuck onto your chair, so watch your back. Oh, and there will also be a plastic frog inside your table too.”

Rika: “…Sigh, but Keiichi will always fall for them no matter how many times I caution him. Pity pity, your Monday is going to be in pity…”

Rika: “Chuckle chuckle. Oh well, I guess that’s why it makes it fun. But still, I would like to see a world where you can smash through that little fate. Will you? Chuckle chuckle chuckle. You’re gonna teach us how to do that, you know? Like the time you did in that one world out of all the hopeless ones.”

Keiichi: “Huh? ……………??????”


The prophecy that the two made that day will come true the next Monday due to the fangy and bratty little prankster who uses honorifics in the wrong way.

…Of course, I realize this too late.

But still, I fell in love with this place.



My name is Maebara Keiichi.

It’s a fresh new start for me, but I’m gonna relive my life to the fullest this time around!
I’ve gotta a lot of re-learning to do on all the things that I’ve missed out. But I’m gonna assimilate everything I can.

And I’m gonna be the Maebara Keiichi that I always wanted to be.
…It might take a bit of time to learn all of that.
But I’m gonna make it happen!

[Sushi-Y]

[Takano Miyo's revenge is required]
[Maebara Keiichi's transfer is required]

Spoiler:

...............With this, are all the game pieces now lined up at 1983, I wonder? Just lining up the game pieces at June 1983... we really had to go through a long and tiring trip, didn't we?

But with this, we're finally at the start line. Starting from here, we begin from zero.

......But... now that we have seen all these different pieces,
we can understand just how much thoughts and beliefs are gathering at June 1983.

In the past, I have said that the thoughts of people who aren't related to me are completely useless.... But that was totally untrue.

In order for Furude Rika to..... overcome the fate of June 1983, she will need to make every effort that she's capable of making.

There were two efforts that she made.

First, her contact with the Irie Institution, who is the most capable of protecting her from the disaster that is to befall upon her.
...Ironically, the Takano from that Irie Institution is aiming for my life, but... for Rika at this point, this is the best move.

And the other one... is for making Maebara Keiichi's whole family move to Hinamizawa.

The truth is, Maebara family's move to Hinamizawa is not absolute.

......Maebara's decision to move first came from that lot for sale tour day after meeting us and feeling deep emotions about it.
That's why, it was a neccesity for us to play at that empty field, and also an important key for Maebara family's move.

Can you imagine just how long it took for us to realize that?
Turning various conditions on and off over and over again, we finally realized that our meeting with Keiichi's father at that empty field was the key.

Maebara Keiichi is... the important key to breaking one of the chains that binds me, Rule Z.

The new fresh wind of power that has the ability to smash the old traditions and immoral habits of this village that tends to interpret everything in a twisted way.

He has created many chances......and provided me with an important key by letting me know that a strong will and the will to believe is important in standing up against a powerful fate.

...But, I wasn't the only one who wished for him.

It was also something that the people of Sonozaki family, who wanted to wipe out the immoral habits of this village, wished for.

Sonozaki Mion's heart pained at seeing the unreasonable angers from the villagers directed towards the Houjou family, at Satoko and Satoshi, and has sworn that she would at least try to protect them herself.
And on the night that Houjou Satoshi disappeared, she exploded on Sonozaki Oryou, and delivered her strong thoughts.

That thought... has reached Sonozaki Oryou.
Oryou has noticed the village's immoral habits somewhat herself, and wanted something to be done about it.

But she regretted for not having that power...... and entrusted the task to a new wind from outside instead.

That's why the land that the Maebara family will be moving into was put up for sale.

Even if I danced in that empty field, if Oryou hadn't put that lot up for sale, then Keiichi wouldn't have been able to come.

Also, Ryuugu Rena, who has provided various important clues to Maebara Keiichi, was hurt deeply from her parent's divorce, even reaching terminal condition once, yet was saved by returning to Hinamizawa.

Maebara Keiichi's prayer of wanting to reset everything that happened at the place he previously lived at, and restart everything anew was the same thing that Ryuugu Rena prayed for one year ago.

It's because Rena's like that... that she's able to understand Keiichi so well, I think.

And that, gave birth to a miracle... allowing someone from within a particular world piece to recognize events from another piece.
.........If we can make use of the things that we have learned from the other pieces, then nobody would make mistakes.

The game pieces will show their best moves, and the chance of winning against this game of June 1983 would skyrocket.

In other words, without realizing it herself, Ryuugu Rena is playing a very important role among the game pieces on this game board.
The powerful Rule Z that surrounded the Houjou siblings were eventually smashed beautifully by their great actions. (note: Minagoroshi-hen)

Of course, Sakoto overcoming herself from within was also a big help.
It was because both sides extended their hands that they were able to reach each other.

And it was Keiichi and Rena who taught us that.
...Mion was the one who made it possible for them to move here and become familiar with the village.

That's not all. Irie is also an important game piece that carries significant thoughts and functions.

Feeling empathy for Satoko, he also carries the biggest influence within the game board called Hinamizawa Syndrome, and is the biggest existence poised to smash Rule X.

Keiichi and Rena's determination and awakening simply taught us that it's possible to fight against Rule X, but does not break it.
To break through it in a true sense, the existence of Irie, who holds a strong will for the treatment of Hinamizawa Syndrome, is required.
I didn't know that Irie had this much thought and beliefs within him either.

I have always thought of him as nothing more than a silly person, but...... he was actually such a powerful game piece.
If all these powers gathered...... will we be able to win against Takano's thoughts and beliefs?

......We have seen Takano's thoughts too.

They are powerful to a point of being tragic... it will not be easy to break through them.

No matter how much we fight, it's obvious that the fate of June 1983 will not be shaken easily.

Since it contains so much more thoughts and beliefs then what I had managed to gather.
......I, who had given up on fighting and chose to live on lazily, and she, who has always risked her life to fight on, the weight of our game piece is different.

......Sulking and getting drunk with wines as an escape, just how light of a game piece was I?

...............With only these... it's still not enough to win against Takano.
In order to win, I have to gather more game pieces.

Oishi from the police has also shown us the possibility of becoming a powerful ally. (note: Minagoroshi-hen)

...However, there's still a big misunderstanding where Oishi believes the death of his admired friend was done by the hands of Sonozaki family. As long as that is not resolved, he won't become an ally.

...Although I don't know what I have to do to resolve that misunderstanding.........I can only believe that it will be resolved, and continue to throw the dice.

And then...... just like how Keiichi, Rena, and the others became a chance to change fate... Doesn't Akasaka also have the power to provide that chance?

The curse of 1983 is also the curse of Hinamizawa.
......A curse cannot be resolved with only powers from within. A power from outside is also required.
Our hands won't reach unless both sides extend them, just like what happend with Satoko.

But there hasn't been once where Akasaka remembered us and came to our help.
......Even if he did, it was always too late.... Too slow. Just too slow.
Even then, if I believe in him and continue throwing the dice...... Will a game piece named Akasaka appear on the game board as an ally one day?

The final Rule Y are the evil masterminds who's playing Takano like a pawn.
...To break through that, a powerful, powerful game piece is needed.... A game piece with that much power is... probably none other than Akasaka, who works at the police headquarters in Tokyo.

......There should still be more pieces who would lend their strengths.
Without having them all...... we can't win against that Takano.

The preparation of the game board is complete. But there's not enough pieces.
...Everything is still starting just now.

[Sushi-Y]

[The game board's preparation is required]

Spoiler:

This piece is the only one that's really twisted.

Because this something from before June 1983.

So whether this piece exists or not has no effect whatsoever for our fight on the game board.

...But, it is really a useless piece with no effect at all?

By now, the true identity of Rule Y has been completely exposed.
With the power of a great organization, it has the power to easily swallow up a small solidarity of individuals.

Against this unreasonable power, I almost gave up on this game time and again.

That's why... I thought...... that maybe there's a game piece hidden within this world piece, who is capable of standing up against even such a strong enemy.

Akasaka Mamoru works at the police headquarters in Tokyo... and has the power to stand up against a big conspiracy.
That power will be enough, even against Rule Y as an enemy, it will be enough for sure.

Just like how Maebara smashed Rule Z so cleanly, won't he also smash Rule Y for us cleanly as well?

......We need everyone's strength. Akasaka's strength is definitely needed as well....

[Sushi-Y]

[The game board's preparation is required]

Spoiler:

In order for Maebara Keiichi to grow into a game piece that will lead everyone... this is the painful, pitiful, sad piece that he must learn first.

To learn his comrades, and to learn not to doubt.

He doesn't know yet of the weight of the words "trust your comrades".

Developing paranoia from a slight mistrust, Maebara Keiichi became trapped within Rule X.

Leaving behind a sad will, at the end of Rule X, Keiichi dies.

Although that is a very sad thing......... It's an imporant process for learning something important.

...Hey, Hanyuu.

You didn't have to apologize after all.

In the few days that he had to leave Hinamizawa for a relative's funeral.
...It's tragic that he had an outbreak during that period, but I think it was something that he needed as the first step towards learning what's important.

As the very first step of smoking out Rule X, and eventually, to defeat it.
Back when we only had this piece, we didn't even think about these kind of things though.......

[Sushi-Y]

[Onikakushi-hen's piece is required]

Spoiler:

This piece meant something very important to us.

Because it has shown us, for the very first time, that it was possible to poke a hole within June of 1983, which I had given up on as an inevitable fate.

To start from the conclusion, everything was taken in by Rule Y in the end, and the whole thing went to waste.

But, we challanged the great law that governed this game board, Rule X, head on... and proved that we could defeat it by making good use of the knowledges we have learned from the other pieces up to this point.
By learning, we can grow.
In a game with no hopes of winning, we can discover a slight chance of victory.

This was the piece which has taught us that....

With this piece, Rule X was completely shattered.
Maebara Keiichi and the others will no longer be lead astray by something pathetic like the Hinamizawa Syndrome, and dance in a tragedy anymore....

It has also taught us that a Rule is not an invincible existence, but something that can be defeated.
In other words, it has also given those of us who are outside the game board a sense of hope.

...This is an important piece which became the cue for everything, as well as the game's turning point....

[kj1980]

[The preparation of the Game is required.]

Spoiler:

Whatever happens within this Game, one speculates it as a curse or concludes that the Sonozaki Family are pulling the strings because of this fragment.

Or, if I were to reiterate this in my words, it is the fragment that makes one aware of the presence of Rule Z, I guess.

It is difficult to realize this through this fragment however. …By observing Sonozaki Mion, who is confined by Rule X, as she is mistakenly ridiculed by Rule Y, which allows one to be aware of the existence of Rule Z through this complex fragment.

But, it is an important fragment as it shows all the rules governing the Game.

…Come to think of it, the piece Sonozaki Shion also, from the Game’s point of view, might be considered a foreign piece.

While in the beginning she is apathetic to Hojou Satoko, …through this fragment and another fragment, she learns an important lesson, challenging Rule X, and develops into a powerful piece to combat Rule Z.

In any case this fragment is laughable, ……as it hides that fact with exceptionally slyness, by just glancing at it, one cannot see this.

Learn, Learn from the mistakes.
And then please become a powerful piece lending me your strength to defeat our enemy…

[kj1980]

[The Watanagashi fragment is required.]

Spoiler:

This fragment is where Sonozaki Shion goes mad taken by Rule X.

With no room for sympathy, this is a painful fragment where one can only have pity.
…But no doubt it distinctly identifies the keyhole to the pad lock destined as Rule Z.

That keyhole will eventually be pried opened by Maebara Keiichi who becomes the Key.
Then, just as Sonozaki Mion wished for, …he will cleanse this shrouded air that has starched the village.

This fragment also is an important session where one is to learn from.
Sonozaki Shion learns from this fragment, and hereafter, becomes a strong ally of Hojou Satoko.

……Come to think of it, Hojou Satoko could be a piece that represents Rule Z in its entirety.

If she is not saved, Rule Z will not be broken.
By saving her, it exhibits that Rule Z has been broken.

What this fragment demonstrates, is that alone.
What Sonozaki Shion learned by gambling her life, is that alone.

But, this is something very important, now that I think of it.
Every time I see Satoko and Shion joking about pumpkins, you see.

[kj1980]

[The preparation of the Game is required]

Spoiler:

This fragment shows us the existence of the unreasonable Rule Z surrounding Satoko, and reveals the most powerful adversary governing the game board, Rule Y.

With this, can one see the outlines of Rules X, Y, and Z?

The enemy we need to fight; What we need to learn; The assembly of all of that, is what the fragment reveals.

At this point, the existence of Rule Y is not distinguishable.
…At the very best, one is wrapped up combating Rule Z surrounding Satoko.

But, in this fragment, we were mistaken in our approach to fight it.

The outcome gained from our erroneous way could only result in being flawed.
……That is what Maebara Keiichi gains from his experience, and learns from it.

The power to defeat this tragedy, isn’t another tragedy.
The power to defeat this carnage, isn’t also gained from carnage.

If he can learn from that, ……the pieces on top of this game board will learn the true way to fight.

But, ……Takano is overwhelming powerful.
The severe end that waits at the finale of this fragment ……does not even allow one to learn that easily…

[kj1980]

[Pre-requisite: Tatarigoroshi-hen's piece]

Spoiler:

This is the piece that uncovers the evasive Rule Y that has been pulling the strings on everything from the beginning of this game.

However, while that Rule must've left a stronger impression, one must not forget that this piece also showed the path to smash Rule Z completely to smithereens.

Rule Z was the foremost tragic of all of Furude Rika's fate and she had once completely given up when this came along. But, she learned that with the help of Maebara Keiichi's own enlightenment, this Rule was nothing more than child's play.



They realized the correct way to fight it, and fought within the boundaries of the rules of the game.

The prize that was won from this...was indeed a valuable one for ourselves.

And Maebara Keiichi also taught an important lesson; that we must not subject ourselves into any fate. The will to believe can smash through anything.



...The fate that has always subjected me is created by Takano Miyo's strong will and her blind beliefs. ...Hence, what he said is absolutely correct.



In order to win against such a strong will as hers, we need to have a stronger will than her in order to not lose against her. The only way to go up against a strong will is with a stronger will.

We fought and won against Rule Z and went up against Rule Y, ...but we still didn't have all the pieces yet. Each of the individual pieces gave their best, but the strength of our enemies' pieces lead by Takano Miya were just too overwhelming. She didn't even gave us mercy; she squished us like little ants and made us restart this game from the start all over again.

But...yes we may have lost that time, but we did not give up our resolve in our hearts. That's because...we've finally found the true culprit that we were always after, and we finally found the clue how to fight against her.


But, we still cannot win with the amount of pieces we have on ourside. We still have a little more pieces to collect to strengthen our resolve and the will to believe.

So me and Hanyu will do this over and over again. We will keep continuing to roll our dice, to land with the greatest result, collect valuable pieces, and keep on fighting. ...So that in the end, we will have accrued a stronger will against Takano's own will.

You too must've thought several times to give up didn't you...?
But, you believed in me and followed me along through all of this.
We're almost there...let's get it on.
Let's create the final piece together.
That piece will be the greatest piece, so we won't need anymore. ...So it's going to be the last one.

So, let's get going shall we? Let's collect all the miracles.
Put your hopes, desires, and dreams onto me...

[kj1980]

[Pre-requisite: The seven chapter pieces)

Spoiler:

After collecting the miracles from the seven pieces...I am finally able to lay my hands onto this piece.

...This piece holds the final fate that awaits us.
But...I want you to wait a minute before taking a peek inside this piece.
The fate inside will be decided the moment we take a look inside this piece.

...Did I ever tell you about the story about the cat in the box?

It's the one about the cat inside the box was alive or dead. ...The answer is just to open the box and see, but you don't know that until you do so.

It could be alive, or it could be dead.

So in a way, the state in which the cat is alive and it is dead co-exist right up until the moment you open the box. And, when the truth is revealed...poof! The incorrect answer disappears.


...The answer that lies within this piece is exactly the same. The future that we desire co-exists with the future that Takano desires. Right now, they are constantly trying to negate each other's future. And as soon as we take a look inside it, one of the future will disappear forever.

If...we believe that we have collected enough pieces...we can go ahead and take a look inside this piece.


...But.

We've collected the same pieces that we've done before on this game board. And the result of still ended with Takano pawning us. This was proven and shown in the Minagoroshi-hen piece.


That means...we still need one more piece to use to our advantage. A piece that is so strong, it will help us blast away Rule Y from our fate.

...So, until I get ahold of that piece, ...I'm am still scared to take a peek into this piece.



But, how do I get ahold of such a piece like that? It's a piece that I've never gotten ahold of yet?



...In order to grasp that...I need one more.
Just one more miracle to make that happen...

[kj1980]

[Do you need one more miracle?]

Spoiler:

…Hmm? What’s this…?

I’ve never noticed such a small piece like this before. Some pieces have their own cracks which breakdown into fragments. …Just like how the fate that we sincerely believe their own cracks.

A fate whose fragments are lost…is a totally different fate in itself. …Then I wonder which piece does this fate originally belong to?

I picked up this sliver of a piece…and tried to match it with some of the other pieces that I’ve picked up along the way.

…And I kept on trying to fit it together..until I came down to the Himatsubushi-hen piece.


The shape of this piece was twisted from the beginning. I began to match that sliver with this piece and….see? It matches. …I wonder what a different fate awaits in this world with this sliver of a pieceintact? What kind of miracle would occur in this world…?



The world began to spiral. …I guess a fault line was created in this world because I re-attached a broken piece onto it. …But that doesn’t mean I can take a peek inside this world…

This world is set in the year 1985. …It’s set in a time beyond the story where Furude Rika and her friends have died on June of 1983.













Beep! Za-za! The order to move came through the headset.

“All teams, the chief has a message for all of you. Listen up!”
“All right everyone! The local police has given us 15 minutes to wrap this up. Let every second count!! Don’t let a single person escape!! The main target is that one diplomat. Don’t let him suspect you’re a cop! Just grab him and go! But becareful not to lay a single bruise on him! It’ll lead to diplomatic troubles if we do!!”

“He’s a dirt bag who hides under diplomatic immunity to deal with the local yakuzas. He launders money from drug dealing and forces people into the sex-slave trade by means to pay off high interest debts. The embassy over there gave us the report that some of their victims are younger than teenagers.”
“…What a shit bag.”

Usually these types are cases are handled by the department that handles criminal organizations. …But since this case included a foreign diplomat, this whole thing became much more difficult to handle.

Diplomats have a thing called diplomatic immunity in which it prevents us from arresting them. …But that diplomat is an important figure in this scheme and there is no doubt that he is the middle man between the illegal activities conducted by the foreign criminal organization and the Japanese yakuza. We cannot let him escape.

He’ll probably be sent out of Japan, but that doesn’t solve anything. We’ve asked the embassy he works for numerous of time, but with no avail. Hence, this case was put on a standstill…

But then, we’ve gained intel that they are going to be selling our SDF’s classified radar and missile technology secrets. The Public Safety Division set the move on the premise to protect classified government data.

…And today was the day that this operation was set to go…

“Two men from the front. Two from the underground entrance. Four from the back. All suspects believed to be armed!”
“Two more than usual”
“Don’t worry, it’ll only take two seconds more for that man. …He shows no mercy to these things.”

“You got that Akasaka!? You’re gonna be the lead man. Watch your back! Alright, let’s move!”


“…This is Akasaka, copy. Let’s go.”



A man suddenly appeared from the darkness of the mean streets. …It was Akasaka. But he doesn’t have the naiveness that he showed when he first met Rika.

…Akasaka came down to the underground entrance to the club. A bouncer with a thick foreign accent stopped him from entering.

“Dis, need membership. Dude, you have membership card?”
“………………”

Akasaka whipped out the membership card. …It’s a card that’s very difficult to forge, so they were only able to get one. So, they gave that card to Akasaka since he’s the lead man.

The bouncer stepped aside once he saw the membership card and allowed Akasaka to go down the steps.


“…Akasaka-san has cleared the first bouncer. He’s now walking downstairs…!”
“C’mon…Akasaka…”

The underground entrance was extremely lavish like the ones you see for those high-class clubs. The cocktail lights shined like venom, as if it was foretelling that this is the entrance to the poisonous cave.

“…Hello sir. May I see your membership card?”
“…………………”
One of the guards to the entrance took his card and swiped it through the reader on the wall.

BEEP.

Error. …A slight perspiration is seen on Akasaka’s forehead.

…But the guard tried two or three times over and over again thinking he made a mistake in swiping the card.

…BEEP. ….BEEP.

“…Akasaka seems to have hit a snag…”
“Shit, don’t tell me they made a change to the system…?!”
“…If Akasaka gets into trouble, we’re gonna have to change the plan. Get ready to secure the safety of Akasaka…”

The other guard began to get irritated. He started to move his right hand into the inner pocket of his jacket…mostly likely reaching for his concealed gun…

….DING DONG.

The buzzer suddenly rang a delightful tone, and the reader flashed a green lamp. It was immediately followed with a loud sound of the lock opening the entrance door.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Here you go sir.”

The other guard subsequently laid his right arm down and opened the door. A well dressed guard then came up to the door and began apologizing to Akasaka as he welcomed him in.

…Akasaka cleared the obstacle.

This signaled all the teams that it was a go, …while at the same time Akasaka was in dangerous territory deep within enemy lines.

This door was the largest obstacle to make our ambush. It’s the state-of-the-art auto-lock system which locks itself once the door is closed. The door is made with high-end security in mind so it takes time to open it from the outside.

…Hence, someone has to get this door opened and secure this area for a few seconds in order for this raid to begin. And the chief himself selected that Akasaka was the only one who could handle such a dangerous task.

“…Akasaka clear. Entrance secured.”

”GO!! GO!! GO!!”

The building across the bar was getting a new tenant in, so there were two moving trucks parked in front of it. But this was all a disguise. One of the truck’s door opened and out came several dozen casually dressed investigators!! The same thing was happening to the back entrance.

Several of the bouncers and the guards noticed that something was happening and began to draw their guns. However, they were immediately taken down by other investigators nearby who were posed as innocent bystanders.

Dozens of investigators quietly but calmly descended the stairs to the underground entrance. …This tight space was also a major obstacle to the plan.

This entire debacle was being recorded through their security camera. Hence either way, this ambush was going to be known in a matter of seconds. If they press the security button, the door would be locked preventing any entrance from the outside no matter what the investigators did. Therefore, it was absolutely vital to secure the entrance before it closed.

The two guards immediately sensed that something was wrong when they heard the sounds of loud but focused footsteps descending the stairs! The well-dressed guard that greeted Akasaka also sensed that something was wrong…!


The three guards shifted their attention from Akasaka to the stairs and began to make their move towards the stairs. Akasaka instinctively sensed their shift of attention. ...Akasaka silently took a small breath...and stopped his breath.




The two guards standing beside him suddenly lopped into the air...!!

Akasaka figured out where he stood alongside the two guards next to him. Hence, he didn’t even have to look where they were at with his eyes. …But still…!

His fists drove into their face with millimeter accuracy. His moves were well trained, as if they showed his resolved to never back down against evil. And his force against evil were destructive as to pierce through no matter how strong the evil’s wills were!!

He retracted his arms at the same speed as he struck...!!

His speed was so fast, word cannot express the lightening of his moves!! The man watching him directly must’ve been dazed in comprehending what had just happened.

The two guards whipped up into the air, and the man who was just standing next to him was now crouching below low. The time that seemed to have stopped suddenly began to move at crashing speed!!



The well-dressed guard literally hit the ceiling and crashed down into the ground! This man will forever try in vain as he eats through a tube in his mouth to recall whether it was Akasaka’s fists or leg that broke his jaw. It was so fast he couldn’t even remember!!

This guard rolled into the door like a human door stub. Lucky for Akasaka for now he didn’t have to worry about keeping the door open for the other investigators to rush in!

“…This is Akasaka. I’m going in.”
“W, wait!! Akasaka! You’re gonna need back up! At least wait until they come down!! Hey, Akasaka!!”


The club room was filled with loud music, but everyone seemed to have noticed the brouhaha at the entrance.

“GET DOWN!!”

As soon as Akasaka bellowed his warning, screams filled the club.

Most of the people immediately ducked to the ground as if they were trying to proclaim their innocence from their sins. But a mob of guards reacted quickly up against Akasaka!

In the midst of this, there were a few people who were trying to make their escape through the back with several bodyguards.

Akasaka once again sucked up his breath…and chased after them with the speed of a fox!!



He jumped up onto the table smashing bottles of wine more expensive than his own monthly salary and splashing ice cubes made from the icebergs of the arctic!!


A foreign bodyguard who previous profession must’ve been a professional boxer thoughtlessly stood in front of Akasaka. His accent was too strong to comprehend, but it seems he was trying to taunt Akasaka. But, Akasaka’s didn’t pay any attention to him nor did he show any care towards him either.

The only show that this man was able to show was that he was able somehow able to block Akasaka’s move. But, blocking Akasaka’s move is just futile!! The power of Akasaka’s punches were so incredible it just broke the man’s bones in his desperate attempt to block them!!

The ex-boxer yelled out in pain as he saw his own arms twisted in a disgusting way. But he was immediately shut up as Akasaka’s left arm grinded into his ugly face!!


Akasaka is right-handed. So the ex-boxer should actually be grateful that he got away with an orbital fracture!

Another man saw this as a chance and tried to go up against Akasaka from his behind. No matter how strong a guy is, he’ll go down easily if his back is unprotected…!! If he’s focused on what in front of him, he’s surely have no attention paid to an attack from the back…!!

But that theory only holds true IF Akasaka was actually focused on the man he just defeated. …In fact, Akasaka only saw the person he just defeated more like a fly, so the theory was wrong from the start!!

Hence, Akasaka knew exactly when and what was about to happen. …The experience that he had built up to this day was recorded into his body, and he could instantly tell the timing and method when menaces to society like these would make their move from his back…!!

His move continued fluidly from the left arm that he struck against the ex-boxer.

His left arm retracted and at the same time he arced his left feet around beautifully like a piece of art as it crashed into the man approaching from the behind.

The nasty crunching sound was heard, signaling that he had just broken the nose of the man behind his back. …But Akasaka already knew that before his leg hit him!!

Akasaka continued his motion like water and directed an decisive right blow to the side of his head!!!

The man slammed into the wall and bounced back onto the ground like a rag doll.


Akasaka let out a deep breath once again.

At this moment, all the guards realized underneath the glare of the club lights that they were up against a demon!

Like hell we’re gonna go up against him! We’re getting paid to fight against humans, not against the devil himself!!


And finally the back-up arrived into the club room.

But I shouldn’t use the term “finally.”

…Besides, all of this happened in a matter of seconds!
Akasaka put down five grown men in just the span of two short breaths!!

“Put your hands above your ahead!! I won’t guarantee your life if you resist!!”

Thanks to Akasaka’s blitzkrieg, the flow of the clamor stopped immediately. The impressive first strike that Akasaka showed shattered the will of the gang leaders. They all gave up and crouched onto the floor with their hands above their head as they were just told to do so.

But, there was one man who put an ugly smug on his face.

“Hey, don’t you guys dare touch me. It’ll evolve into a diplomatic scandal if you do, you know?”

But Akasaka grabbed his collar and smacked his body onto the concrete wall.

“Hey, you—you a cop? I—I have diplomatic immunity!!! I am a diplomat!!”
“Oh really, that’s nice. What’s your salary?”
“This—this is gonna lead to a diplomatic scandal! At least…hey, let me call my embass…
“OaahhhhH!!”

Akasaka let out a dragon-like growl and delivered a powerful right blow to the wall behind the diplomat, just a few microns to the right of the diplomat’s head.

He immediately followed suit with a left blow a few microns to the left of his head. In less than two blinks of an eye, Akasaka pounded the wall with seven blows just a sliver away from his head. The wall had a huge crack which was about to topple. The diplomat was fearing for his life as he knew that one blow from him can bust his head open!

The diplomat began to piss in his pants and fell down onto the ground as he realized his diplomatic immunity status meant nothing!

“…Ha….hahii……”
“…This is Akasaka. Target, acquired.”



An investigation later would reveal that the club had a secret escape route that the Public Safety didn’t know about. They would find dozens of Soviet military-grade AK-47s from there, and if Akasaka had not secured the club with his blitzkrieg, they might’ve jeopardized the entire operation. Even worse, this operation might’ve have ended with a brutal death toll on both sides.

It was all thanks to Akasaka that this operation was put down with not a single shot fired.

“…Let’s get going. Hurry! The cops will be arriving soon. Cattle them into the stable, hurry!!”

We must take precaution so that it must look like this whole thing was not carried out by the police, due to the diplomatic nature that is involved. This operation was made to look like it was just an ordinary yakuza war.

We’re going to dump the useless gang members on a field in the middle of nowhere. Then, we’re going to make the scumbag barf everything he knows about this scheme he’s involved with before turning him over to the police.

This diplomatic pig will then probably be used as a negotiating device by another part of our department. We already have proof that the pig is tied to an underground criminal organization. And since his embassy and his government wouldn’t want such a persona non grata on their hands, they would most likely cut off any ties with him. What happens after that, is left to the jurisdiction on another part of our department. We are the guys that does the job that the normal police cannot step their feet into. We’re the janitors of the small space between the furniture known as society.



“Akasaka, are you alright?! Come in, Akasaka!!”
“…This is Akasaka. We’re on our way.”

“Sheesh, why do you have to be so rash all the time…! Come up to the chief’s office immediately once you get back in!”



“Like I’ve been saying, Akasaka-san is the devil. Five men in two seconds?!”
“…Man, his moves are beyond karate! His hands need to be registered as a deadly weapon…”
“But he’s very lucky that they didn’t draw their weapons. …You know how brutal Akasaka-san is. He could’ve been capped dozens of rounds.”
“….Hey shut up. I can hear you guys. Don’t try to make me like some kind of assassin. I’m just a man who shows no mercy against evil.”

The pigs that they’ve caught today are not you average criminals. …They were the scumbags of earth who have done things that are so inhumane that their deeds can never be forgiven. The powers that go into Akasaka’s fists are proportional to their sins. The heavier their sins, the stronger his blows are towards his enemies!

“Let get these pigs into the stable! Akasaka, hurry it up! The cops are coming!”
“…This is Akasaka. Roger. You guys heard that, right? C’mon, let’s get going.”
“Ye…yes sir! Uh command, we have five injured! Need meds ready!”


Akasaka has clearly evolved with no signs of naiveness that we’ve seen back when he was still a rookie in Hinamizawa. He has grown up to a vigilant ace within his department, and a dedicated investigator…





We see Akasaka training inside a dank dojo filled with the smells of sweat and fungus.

This dojo was a single room which was occupied in a small building in the mean streets of Tokyo. It was small and there were no signs of expensive training equipments either. By the looks of it, it was a very shoddy dojo for such a skilled person like Akasaka to go to. There weren’t many students at this dojo as well. There were only three or four people training at this dojo including Akasaka himself.

…But this was the dojo that Akasaka chose to attend.

For Akasaka, karate was his own personal weapon to defeat his enemies. …But Akasaka had other motives as well… And that other motive could not be attained by going to a dojo that taught actual physical lessons with a group of hot-headed young students. He went from dojo to dojo until he came to this old dump…

The heavy pounds and the cranks of chain that can be heard often were from Akasaka delivering his blows towards a sandbag.

…He doesn’t punch the sandbag blindly. He silences his mind, develop his thoughts deeply and…

Strikes!



The sounds that are made from those are more like deep, low vibrations.



Drops of sweat splash around, and the dusts in the dojo wells up into the air. One can easily tell the heaviness of that blow. It was a brilliant all-for-one type of strike.

But Akasaka was not satisfied.

He shut his eyes once again, …he set his breath straight and relaxed the tensions in his muscles as if he was hearing the cries of the cicadas he once heard…and strikes again!


He probably looks like he is taking rests between the two blows to the casual observer. …But to his fellow trainees, they can feel the monstrosity of each propelled clouts enough to send chills down their spine…



“…Dude, did you hear? They say that Akasaka-san works for the police…”
“You’re shitting me… Heck if a guy like him is in the police, I swear I’m never gonna do stupid shit to be arrested by the cops…”
“But man, …look at that focus he has! Akasaka-san doesn’t know the word of exhaustion.”


Akasaka comes to this dojo starting early in the morning on his days off. And he continues to train quietly all by himself.

The level of his training has surpassed regular strength. It was if he was training for the mind and his soul. And his fellow trainees knew that the secret to his strength was his unconditional focus that he had.

But to actually do such a method of training is easier said than done. …After all, a man lives in a world filled with personal problems and ecstatic thoughts. For a person to submit all his will into such singular focus is more like trying to attain enlightenment than the realm of martial arts.

Man has tried various methods throughout the ages to achieve such enlightenment. …And man has realized that there are many ways to attain such goal; that any man can get there so long as he focuses onto one subject and excels in that arena.

As for Akasaka, his choice was karate…


“According to a rumor that I heard…he seems to have lost a wife. And that’s the reason why he’s devoting himself to karate.”
“Oh really? I heard different. …What I heard was that he began doing karate because he felt pain and sorrow for not being able to save a young girl on one his investigations.”


“…..Hey, I can hear you guys. Stop talking about other people and focus on your own training!”

“Y….Yes sir!!!”


Just then, a beeping sound echoed in the dojo. It was someone’s watch notifying that it was lunch time.

“A…Akasaka-san. We’re gonna go out to buy something for lunch. Do you want something too?”
“…..Thanks. Can you go get me something? I’ll leave the decision up to you guys.”


To Akasaka, he was more delighted to have the rest of the trainees out of this dojo for a while so that he can train in the dojo quietly. The other trainees started putting on their shoes and hurriedly rushed out of the dojo to go buy lunch. The dojo became eerily quiet…


“…Damn it. My focus dissipated because of them chattering.”

But he was saying that to himself. He noted that he had much more training to do since his focus can be shifted for such a small thing like that. …He still had to train harder if he wanted to achieve enlightenment.

He tried once again to focus and delivered a strike to the sandbag, but the sound of the blow was much fainter and weaker compared to the previous ones. It was apparent that he had lost his momentum. Akasaka realized that he needed to take a rest. He took out a sports towel from his duffel bag and sat down onto the ground.

The cries of the cicadas seep into his body. The window was open, but this dojo is placed in a section of the building in which the wind doesn’t come in. But Akasaka was still able to feel a slight breeze to cool his body.




….The main reason why Akasaka started karate was exactly what the one of the trainees said. …It was Yukie’s death.

Of course his initial defeat against the conspirators who kidnapped the minister’s grandson was a reason in itself that he needed martial arts training, but the largest reason was to escape the emotional pain that came from Yukie’s death.

Yukie….died when she slipped on the stairs at the hospital while I was on an investigation at Shishibone City. The pain that came from the sadness was too overbearing…and that was when I decided to take up karate.


But…something happened on June of 1983. The Great Hinamizawa Disaster. …That’s when I realized something very important.

My Yukie’s death was…prophesized by one young girl. And in exchange for those prophecies, she also made a desperate plea for help to save her.

…Yukie’s death was an accident. No matter how much I grieve, it was something that couldn’t have been prevented.

But the little girl’s death…the death of cute little Furude Rika...was not an accident. She knew that she was going to be killed five years prior.


Right after the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, I immediately recalled the name of the Oishi, the good-hearted local police investigator who took care of me while I was there. I called him to hear what happened over there...and that’s when I found out about the bad news…

The moment I learned of everything…I fell into despair all over again.

Furude Rika might’ve been the turning point of my life. If I had believed her prophecies, and if I had accordingly, perhaps Yukie’s death might’ve been averted. I took the oath of serving the public as a police officer, yet I couldn’t catch a plea of help from a little girl. I shoved aside a conspiracy that surrounded her until it was all too late. I had FIVE YEARS to do something, but I didn’t. I…practically killed her.

Visiting Hinamizawa on the kidnapping case of the minister’s grandson was…. definitely turning point in my life.

If I had just…listened to the girl a bit more seriously…

Yukie would’ve never had died.
I would’ve been able to save Furude Rika when she needed the most help.

…These are the two greatest regrets that I have…which haunts me to this day….



The Hinamizawa Chain Murder Case that I heard from Oishi was put on indefinite hiatus because of the Great Hinamizawa Disaster. …But both of us saw that it was all too apparent that there was some huge conspiracy behind all of this.

I needed all the strength and the experience that I could get in order to unravel the mystery of this bizarre event. …That is why I have devoted myself to work and training…but it’s all too late. What happened…already happened.

When I was stuck in this dilemma, I was chosen to be the lead master of this dojo.

I can’t undo something that has already occurred. …So the only thing that I could do is to train myself diligently, so that if something similar should occur again, I would be there to save a person in need.

It was all too late. It was done.

Yukie died in an accident, and Hinamizawa was wiped off the map because of the gas disaster. …And Rika-chan was brutally murdered as her guts were torn out while she alive….


SHIT…!!!


I was too immersed on the death of Yukie, I didn’t have the focus to pay attention to the plea of a little girl’s cry for help…!!


…DAMN IT!!…DAMN IT….!! SHIT…..!!!



As Akasaka was clutching the hairs on his head with the thoughts of regret, …he saw a small [Shinto] shrine overhead that protected this dojo.

While Akasaka respects religion, …he has never sought to seek salvation at times of despair. …But today, Akasaka decided to ask for help to a divine being for the first time in his life.

If I could do it, I wouldn’t pray for help. …But since I can’t, I did.

His prayer was to ask for something that was too good to occur. If his wish were to be granted, everyone in the world would want the same thing.


“…Please…give me another chance to go back to that time…! I swear…I will come to both of their aid and save them from their deaths…!!”


…But at that instant, Akasaka’s body suddenly felt light.. It was if he suddenly lost balance of his body…as if he had a sudden onset of a faint…

Perhaps it was because I suddenly let out such a strong shout that my brain lost its oxygen. …However I couldn’t get my eyes off of the shrine…


“….Thank you Akasaka. …We really needed your strong will that you showed us right now.”

….Am I hallucinating and hearing things? Perhaps my brain is really deprived of oxygen.
Akasaka was undergoing a weird experience as if he was communicating with someone he has never met before.

“No matter how much we wish for a miracle…it won’t happen unless you too wish for a miracle too. …That’s because a miracle will not happen if everyone doesn’t wish for it; just like one cannot help save the other when the other is not extending his hand…”

…I have no idea what she is saying…but I can tell it was something that I should listen carefully to. …She was trying to tell me something very important…

“…Akasaka. If you wish so strongly, …I will grant you this miracle. And it will be a miracle for us. …A small piece will combine into one larger piece. …Your single resolve…can make a huge difference in the lives of many.”

“A…Are you…saying that you are able to grant my wish to turn back time to that day…?”

“…Unfortunately, I can’t do that. …All I could do is to make you aware. …The only thing that I can do is to give you a light-bulb blink inside your head on the things that you cannot learn from just one piece. …So all that I am going to do is to return this piece to where it belongs. …And this will transform itself into one huge miracle. …Of course, you won’t be able to know that it’s a miracle in there.”



….Thank you Akasaka, for remembering me.
You have no idea how long I have asked for your help.
And my plea had finally reached you.

So I say this once last time.

…Please help me…no that’s not right…

Please help US.

[kj1980]

Spoiler:

...It was long. ...It really was a long journey, wasn't it?

Are you okay...? Is your conscious still alive...?

I hope we've collected everything we can to our advantage on this game board. This is everything that we have in our hands to go up against Takano on the outcome of June 1983.

...I think...yes, we do have everything we need.

And last but not least...it's you, Hanyu.

Your powers have weakened so much that the time alotted for you to be a pivotal piece is very limited...

But that doesn't mean you yourself cannot physically show up in the game.



....So, ready to begin?

I lived a hundred years for this moment...

[kj1980]

[This is not a piece, but it's something to show you one very big difference between the rest of the chapters...]

Spoiler:

He told us that "to believe" is the same thing is betting the coin engraved with "hope" onto the table. Hence, ..."to believe" is to shoulder risk onto yourself. When you win, you gain tremendously, but if you don't, you lose something valuable.

Just like every gambler out there, we try to bet our coins on a match that can be won. But just like any other game out there, there is no such thing as a game that can be won absolutely.

You win some, you lose some. And that how you start accruing the hope coins.

But if you start to constantly lose, you begin to become reluctant in betting. ...And that's when you realize; if you don't bet anything, you don't lose anything.

However, not betting anything is equivalent to not believing in anything. Not believing in anything, is the same as not being involved in anything. And when you're not involved in anything, that's the same as saying that you don't even exist in the first place.

Hence, she was "never here" all this time.


She has one coin left. If she loses that, she will disappear.

...All this time, she was afraid in losing that final coin, so she never placed that on the game table. She constantly was running away from the game board for the fear of placing a bet.

But just like in the game of poker, you also lose a coin when you fold. The last time, she came very close to losing that coin for folding.

And finally, ...she failed to realize one last thing. ...Well actually, I didn't know this either.

Your chances of winning...increases with the more amount of coins you have in your pocket to place bets on

So it was inevitable that we have been losing all this time. The more we feared, the more we lost.

It's exactly the same as carrying a mikoshi. It is impossible for one person to carry such a heavy thing all by himself. But once everyone helps out, that thing can be carried unbelievably simply.

There is a simple boundary that lies between it being so heavy and so light. It's the same as how a little addition to a scale can tip it from its equilibrium.


Everyone is having so much trouble trying to lift that mikoshi up in front of me. Everyone is trying their best, but they can't lift it. I'm looking at them doing their best, but I don't even try because I judge myself that I can't lift such a heavy thing either; just like I don't enter into a game because I don't think I can win it. Hence, I don't place a bet with my coin.

...But that's where I've been wrong.

Maybe, just maybe, that mikoshi might be lifted really easily if I help out.

I have submitted myself to being an observer all this time. All this time, I thought myself as being a spectator watching people placing their bets, seeing and prospecting if they were going to win or lose. And I thought wrong!! I'm not just a spectator, and I shouldn't be one. I should join in!

The game in front of me may look unwinnable. It looks as if I'm going to lose my bet anyway.

But maybe, just maybe, the odds of winning this game would turn around with me joining in and placing my bet on the table!


Betting something is equivalent to believing in something. Believing in anything, is the same as being involved in anything. And when you're involved in anything, that's the same as saying that you exist.

That's why she is "here" right now.









































School bell clanging

Chie Sensei: "Alright, back to your seats everyone! It's this morning's homeroom time!! Talk time is over~. Class leader, go ahead."
Mion: "Kiri-tsu! Rei!" (Stand! Greet!)
Everyone in class: "Good morning!!"
Mion: "Chakuseki~!" (And sit~!)

rustle rustle rustle

It was morning as usual. The only thing different about today was that the homeroom started a bit later.

Chie Sensei is the type who always follows the time accordingly, and she comes into the room always at the same time. But today, she came a bit late.

The reason of her being a bit late crossed my head. It was the rumor that I heard in this classroom this morning.

Sensei turned her head toward the hallway and asked someone to come inside. And one cute little girl entered...

Hanyu: "......auauau...."

Chie: "Her name is Furude Hanyu, and she's a new transfer student. She'll be your new classmate starting today"
Male kids in classroom: Oh hell yeah---!!!

The classroom was immediately filled with clamors of welcomes, joy, and surprise.


Rena: "Furude? Hmm, does that mean she's related to Rika-chan?!"

Rika: "....Yes. She is a very distant relative of mine."
Satoko: "I was very surprised when I first learned that too, you know?! I never knew Rika had a relative."
Mion: "Yeah, ojisan here was surprised too! Oh well, the family tree of the gosanke is very difficult to understand, so it doesn't surprise me that I didn't know either."
Rena: "But, I can tell she's related to Rika-chan! Hau~, kaiiyo~!!"
Hanyu: "....auauau..."

The classroom was filled with excitement with the newcomer. I can tell this new student is a bit taken aback by the commotion surrounding her.

Rika-chan is calm and easy-going, but I can already see that Hanyu is a direct opposite of her. Let's see...she is a bit shy and similar to small cuddly animal. ...Simply said, she's exactly the type in which Rena would jump at.

...See, look at that. Rena's getting ready to gobble her up to take her home at this very instant...


Chie Sensei: "Alright, quiet everyone! Let's have Hanyu-san introduce herself to this classroom! Are you ready, Hanyu-san?"

Sensei left the teacher's stand and told her to go up front of everyone.

The class became eeriely quiet and she seemed to be a bit shy under the pressure. ...I understand her feeling that must be going through her now very well. These things tend to be a bit nervous, right?


Hanyu: "...um...auau..., ...um, my name is Furude Hanyu. ...Well, auau...I am Rika's relative...."
Rika: "....Mi~! That's right, she's my relative. Please be friendly to her."

Rika instinctively knew that she was nervous in introducing herself.

Yep, I understand the difficulty of the pressure of introducing one's self in a quiet room, so we decided to lend a hand to loosen things up a bit as well.

Rena: "She's the same Furude-san as Rika-chan~. Hau, now there are two Furude-sans in this classroom."
Satoko: "Then why don't we call her Hanyu-san instead? If we say Furude-san, then Rika might answer mistakenly, you know?"

It is our rule to call our friends and classmates with our names. Since she's one of us starting today, we should let her in on this rule.

Mion: "So it's decided! We'll call you Hanyu starting today! By the way, I'm the class leader, Sonozaki Mion! You can call me Mion-!!"
Satoko: "O-hohoho!! I'm Houjou Satoko! Nice to meet you, Hanyu-san!"

Tomita: "Um, uh! I'm Tomita Daiki! My house is the tofu store, so please feel free to drop by anytime!"
Okamura: "My, my name is Okamura Suguru! Uh...If you have anything that you need help in, feel free to ask me anything...!"
Other kids: "Hello~. Let's be friends! What year are you in?"


The other students in class began to crowd up around Hanyu and started greeting her with their introductions. It is joyous to see everyone wanting to open and welcome a new student into the class.

I too was a recent transfer student to this school. And they welcomed me with such warmth just like they are doing now. It really helped me loosen up as I was a bit nervous in meeting new classmates.

And as a student who has the most recent experience in transferring here, I must give her advice and lead her into becoming one of us!


Rena: "That's right, we should help her become assimilated into this classroom."
Kei: "Oh that's right. You transferred here too right, Rena? Were you nervous when on your first day of school too?"
Rena: "Mm-hmm. But Mii-chan helped me tremendously and I quickly became friends with everyone."
Mion: "Yep! It's part of the gosanke's duty to welcome newcomers too."

Kei: "Pfft. You become the gosanke when it's to your advantage. But, I guess there's some truth to that. It's pretty quick and easier to get to know this place with your help, Mion."
Mion: "Okay, then let's make it equal. Why not let you guys handle the new comer here then?"
Kei: "That sounds great! You helped both me and Rena when we transferred here, so now it's our turn to lead the new transfer student into this class!"

It's very interesting to see how much the atmosphere of this classroom changed with just a new transfer student. And I feel great since I've gained a new responsibility too!

We immediately decided to have Hanyu be the topic of the day during our lunch hour....