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This article is about a character in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei. |
Ayaka Furude (古手 絢花 Furude Ayaka) is a character who appears exclusively in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei. She is the head of the Furude family in an alternate world.
Contents
Appearance
Ayaka is a teenage girl with short purple hair that has two things going off to the sides. A mole is located under her mouth. Her casual outfit is pink and her school uniform consists of a white shirt, black skirt and red bow. At other times Ayaka wears a shrine maiden outfit.
Personality
Ayaka is helpful and thoughtful.
Background
Ayaka is the head of the Furude family, living in an alternate world where Rika Furude and her parents died in 1978. She seems to have knowledge of time travel, given her interactions with Kazuho.
It is revealed that Ayaka is actually Aya Saionji, a distant relative of the Furude family who was adopted by researchers and transformed into an artificial queen carrier for Hinamizawa Syndrome to replace Rika after her death.
Relationships
- Kazuho Kimiyoshi (ally)
Role in the Story
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei
Ayaka is first introduced in the Showa section of Part 2. Kazuho, Nao, and Miyuki enter the ritual warehouse of the Furude Shrine at the end of Part 1 and instead of returning to 1993, Kazuho is separated from the other two and ends up in a different 1983 Hinamizawa. Kazuho prepares to destroy the lock to the ritual warehouse to go back inside when Ayaka appears and stops her.
Ayaka explains that only the Furude family head is allowed to enter the ritual warehouse. Kazuho brings up Rika and Ayaka shows confusion as to who that is, explaining that Ayaka herself is the family head. Asked for the date, Ayaka reveals that it is currently June 4th, 1983. Kazuho runs away in shock.
When Kazuho falls unconscious shortly after meeting Satoshi, she is brought to the Takano Clinic where Ayaka, Satoshi, Satoko, Irie, and Dr. Miyoko meet her. Ayaka tells everyone that Kazuho is the mayor's granddaughter and just transferred from Tokyo. Everyone except Satoko seems to freeze before accepting that information, similar to what Kazuho saw Miyuki do in the previous world.
Ayaka brings Kazuho to the Furude main house and allows her to stay there for now. She says that Kazuho will be going to the Hinamizawa school the next day, and her uniform and books should materialize before then. Kazuho is confused as to how she knows about that phenomenon and then asks what happened to Rika, Ayaka replies that she died 5 years ago.
Kazuho and Ayaka head to school together the next day, where Ayaka goes off to talk with Chie. Later she gives Kazuho lunch and tells her to head home alone since Ayaka had after-school business to attend to. Kazuho walks home with Reina and learns that a man named Minoru Kimiyoshi serves as Ayaka's guardian, who has the same name as Kazuho's father.
During dinner, Kazuho asks Ayaka about Hinamizawa Syndrome however Ayaka gets upset and asks where she heard that phrase from. Kazuho says she heard it from Takano, and Ayaka promises to explain everything later but demands that Kazuho not look into it herself or ask anyone else about it. Ayaka alss needs to discuss Kazuho's treatment with someone else and stresses that Kazuho not break their promise. Ayaka cleans up after dinner and Kazuho discovers a magatama hidden near the TV. Ayaka seems to avoid Kazuho over the next few days, always staying out late and leaving early.
Kazuho reunites with Keiichi and learns that Ayaka is an outsider, an adopted child from a distant branch of the Furude family who became the head three years ago.
Nao suddenly travels to this world and Kazuho reunites with her. Ayaka meets them at the Furude house and explains the truth about herself: her real name is Aya Saionji, a member of the Saionji family which is related by blood to the Furudes. Because of Rika's death, a new queen carrier for Hinamizawa Syndrome was needed for fear of the disease resurfacing, and so researchers adopted Aya under the name Ayaka Furude and transformed her into an artificial queen carrier; this information is only known by Takano and Irie, and the Three Families are completely unaware.
Ayaka asks Kazuho and Nao not to let anyone else know, or else people will die. The girls ask why she revealed this to them, and Ayaka says a certain someone told her to reveal it to the right person at the right time.
