Celebration (祝言 Shuugen) is the ninth chapter of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Oni.
Summary[]
Okai calls Oryou inside for dinner. Oryou has been looking absentminded ever since Seiji left town. Oryou asks how Ritsuka and Souhei are doing, and Okai replies that Ritsuka's been giving prayers for all of the villagers sent to war, and Souhei's happy to work for the sake of the village.
Okai goes off for a walk and remembers Heishichirou asking about Souhei receiving a draft notice and saying that Oryou's in love with him, so they need things to go well here or else things will be hard. Okai meets Souhei suddenly and confirms that he got a draft notice, and that he seemed intent on leaving without saying anything. Okai explains that Oryou has been down lately because of the stress of being the only Sonozaki family heir, and that Souhei must know about the mark of the demon on the Sonozaki's backs.
Souhei has a flashback to when he was a kid and played with Yuuki, Seiji, and Kiichirou in a river. Souhei asks Yuuki to join them, but Yuuki says he can't get undressed in front of others because of the demon mark on his back. It was given to him when he was chosen as the next head of the Sonozakis, and it's not something for other people to see.
Okai asks Souhei to get together with Oryou as a favor. Souhei is confused. Okai bows while explaining that it'll be a temporary wedding, and that Oryou now has the demon mark on her back. Souhei doesn't care about Oryou's back but her feelings. Okai says Oryou is acting cheerful but worries about her back, and says that her her heart couldn't take it if her feelings were unfulfilled while Souhei went off to war. Okai begs Souhei to promise to return, but he's still concerned about Oryou's feelings. Okai sees he'll agree to the wedding once he finds out, and tells him to come to the Furude Shrine tomorrow.
Oryou and Souhei meet Okai, Ritsuka, and the other Three Families members at the shrine for the wedding. Oryou is confused, and Ritsuka explains that Souhei was drafted, so there was little time to prepare a wedding. Souhei is shocked at the fact Oryou didn't know and tells Okai this wasn't what they promised, and Okai responds that Oryou told her how she felt just now.
Okai chides Souhei for trying to leave for war without saying anything, and says that men with no place to return end up dying on the battlefield; Oryou is necessary for Souhei to come home safely. Even though he knows about the Sonozaki family's customs, he's still willing to accept Oryou. Ritsuka asks Oryou if she's okay with keeping her feelings locked up and pleads her as Oyashiro-sama's priestess to marry Souhei. Oryou sees how much Okai really understood her, as even she was able to bow her head to Souhei because of that, and understood that these were difficult times. Souhei is also doing his part to protect the village.
Ritsuka shows Oryou the wedding robe that Souhei is to wear, which he borrowed from Kiichirou. Oryou and Souhei formally perform the wedding ceremony. Afterwards, Souhei shaves his head and heads off to war as Oryou and the rest of the Three Families tearfully watch him go.
At an army infirmary, a doctor gives medicine to a sick man and reminds him to take ten deep breaths if he's ever anxious. A general calls the doctor to come meet the colonel.
Characters[]
- Ryou Sonozaki
- Okai Sonozaki
- Heishichirou Kimiyoshi
- Souhei Origuchi
- Seiji Kimiyoshi (flashback)
- Yuuki Sonozaki (flashback)
- Kiichirou Kimiyoshi
- Ritsuka Furude
- Hifumi Takano
Gallery[]
| ||||||||||||||