Akarigurashi-hen Chapter 4 (明暮し編 其の四 Akarigurashi-hen Sono Yon, Light-Inhabiting Chapter Part 4) is the fourth chapter in Akarigurashi and the eighteenth chapter of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Meguri.
Summary[]
Rika is shocked to see Satoko with the fragment of the Onigari-no-ryuuou. Satoko prepares to slit her throat with it as Rika rushes to stop her. Satoko remembers good times with the club and thinks this is the end, however she finds that she can't hurt herself with the shard at all. Satoko is confused as the Onigari-no-ryuuou should be sharp as a sword and breaks it in every loop, yet no matter how shard she cuts, she can't draw blood. Satoko panics and keeps trying to cut herself with the shard, but to no avail. Mion then arrives and shoots the shard out of her hands with a toy gun, kicks it away, and restrains Satoko. She says she's not letting anyone die as the club president.
Satoko yells as Keiichi thanks Mion for saving them, and the still wounded Rena arrives. Rena says it was thanks to Mion and Keiichi that she could put her life on the line to protect Rika. Satoko starts yelling for someone to kill her over and over, feeling that they're all mocking her. Mion pats her head and tells her to stop saying that, and that nobody will hate her for something like that.
Mion asks Satoko what she thinks of all the traps she set, as it was difficult getting everything done when they're going against a trap master like Satoko. She cites the second club rule and lists off the preparations she made, including tweaking her model gun so Rika could use it. They made their preparations in the Sonozaki house basement where it has food and electricity, so it was easy to keep hidden while they surveyed Satoko. Mion is relieved that nobody died and Satoko didn't kill anyone.
Satoko chuckles and says it's too late now, remembering the club member's deaths from previous worlds. Satoko tells Rika to kill her with the fragment already, since she should fully understand. Rena grabs the fragment and apologizes for not understanding what's going on between Rika and Satoko and being unable to help, but Satoko still allowed her friends to be by her side, and so that's why she can't use the fragment anymore. Rena safely draws her finger across the fragment, to Satoko's shock.
Satoko thinks about how she searched for the Onigari-no-ryuuou as soon as possible and discarded it, and didn't think Rika even knew about it. She made sure to dispose of it in every loop, and kept a single shard of the sword just in case; the shard was kept inside of a dictionary locked inside of a school locker that only Satoko had the key to. Satoko doesn't understand how Rika got the upper hand despite her careful planning.
Keiichi carries off the wounded Rena as Mion binds Satoko's thumbs together with zip ties. Satoko wearily asks Rika why, and she replies that Satoko should know Rika already knew what she was doing. Satoko thinks about how she never noticed Rika acting any different in the worlds up to now, and doesn't know how Rika could know about the sword fragment unless she had enough time.
Rika reveals that, in the Fragment where Satoko was exposed and killed her, Hanyuu used the rest of her power to help her remember her deaths just once. Though Rika knew Satoko was looping, she could never understand why she was doing everything, but just kept struggling forward. Rika says she learned strength and courage from all of the club members, and that while pretending to act normal towards Satoko, she was investigating and gradually making progress while gathering miracles, all for a moment she could physically subdue Satoko, ultimately going through 127 Fragments. Satoko sees that Rika was always thinking of her despite keeping up that facade for so long.
Throughout all the loops, Rika was able to see Satoko hiding the fragment of the Onigari-no-ryuuou in the exact same location every time. She didn't know for sure if it was the sword Hanyuu told her about, but Rika still took it in secret and handed it to Mion, who dulled it so it couldn't cut. Rika is happy that the power to kill loopers was never used, but still doesn't understand why Satoko wanted her to kill her.
Rika wonders what happened to Satoko to break her and questions if she met someone like Hanyuu. Satoko starts giggling and says there's nothing but despair in the future, talking about how humans can't do anything about fate and that everyone in the club as well as Satoshi will just die in the future, leaving nobody left for her. Rika says that isn't true but Satoko insists it is, recalling all of the loops she experienced when she first got her powers. Satoko claims that she killed Rika and the club all the time because she loved them, but Rika doesn't feel the same. Satoko asks to always be together in the present and doesn't want to lose Rika or for anybody else to die, and so she wants to kill Rika to stop the future from disappearing. Satoko screams and asks not to be helped as Rika looks on in concern.
Characters[]
- Rika Furude
- Keiichi Maebara
- Satoko Houjou
- Mion Sonozaki
- Rena Ryuugu
- Hanyuu (flashback)
- Shion Sonozaki (memory)
| ||||||||||||||