Hoshiwatashi-hen Chapter 5 (第5話 Dai Go-wa) is the fifth chapter of Hoshiwatashi-hen.
Summary[]
Tamaki, Kihiro, and Sakiko are exited to go to the Watanagashi Festival tomorrow since Aunt Shion is supposed to be coming too. They're still waiting for Keitarou to rejoin them.
Inori struggles to say something to Keitarou and hides behind a tree. Kururu encourages her, and Inori asks if Keitarou would like to come to Polaris's festival. Kururu explains that tomorrow they're having a festival at the Polaris settlement full of feasting and fun, and it's an important festival to them. Keitarou is excited to go, but then he realizes it's going to happen at the same time as Watanagashi. Kururu says it starts during the day and goes on through the night. Kururu asks if he already has plans, and after looking at Inori, Keitarou smiles and says he doesn't. He bids farewell to Inori.
Keitarou tells Tamaki, Sakiko, and Kihiro about it, who are very shocked. Kihiro asks if he could at least come to the final Watanagashi, and Tamaki remembers he invited other Polaris kids to theirs, but Keitarou says tomorrow's festival is important to Polaris. Sakiko is saddened that Keitarou broke his promise, and he says they could do it next year. Keitarou is excited to get to know Polaris better, but Sakiko says she was an idiot for trusting and pitying Polaris, and voices surprise that even Keitarou got taken in by them.
Sakiko gets angry at Keitarou for choosing to attend the Polaris festival rather than the Watanagashi
Keitarou tries to downplay the situation since it sounds like he's fully a member, but Sakiko asks if he belongs to Hinamizawa or Polaris. Keitarou argues that Polaris are also citizens of Hinamizawa and questions Sakiko's earlier support of him making friends with them. Sakiko says she never supported that and was just watching over him. Sakiko wonders why Keitarou is getting angry like this and decides to get angry herself, yelling that she doesn't care about Polaris at all and doesn't want to get involved.
Sakiko turns around to head to the bus, and Tamaki follows her. Keitarou starts speaking to Kihiro, but he says he needs to be with Sakiko now. At home, Keitarou wonders why his friends were rejecting his decision so much, even though they liked Kururu. He believes nobody understands Polaris and is sure they're just like everyone else. Just then he gets a call from Rika and tells him about what he's doing. Keitarou admits he messed up for breaking his promise of five years, but he still wants to attend Polaris's festival since he may not get another chance to understand them. Rika asks Keitarou to go and tell her everything he learns about Polaris, confident he can discover the truth. Rika ends the call and hopes Keitarou can be a catalyst for harmony with Polaris this time.
Keitarou sees Polaris's home for himself
Preparations for the Watanagashi go underway, with some villagers thinking the curse of Oyashiro-sama is going to target Polaris this year if it were real. Keitarou bikes to Yagouchi, having never been there ever since he and his friends explored the vacant place as kids. When he gets there, he admires the housing, revived fields, and clothing worn by the residents; he thinks the house are Western style additions onto the old ones and the clothes are ancient European. Kururu and Inori greet him, also wearing Polaris garments. Kururu says it's their everyday clothes while they're in the village.
The girls give Keitarou a tour, where they see people pouring into an auditorium building. A woman talks to Kururu, and Keitarou introduces himself to her, thinking she's Kururu's mom. The lady giggles, and Kururu explains that they treat Polaris as one big family and refer to other adults as Mother or Father no matter what. Keitarou is surprised the lady talked to him, and Kururu says he's being treated like a guest since they told everyone else about him earlier; their doctrine allows it. Keitarou asks if there's anything he shouldn't do to scare the other villagers.
They enter the auditorium, where a huge crowd waits before the Holy Mother. She addresses the congregation and announces that festivities will now begin. Villagers start playing music and dancing. Kururu explains that Polaris is fundamentally Puritanical, so they don't smoke or drink except on festival days, where they do the latter. Keitarou sees some kids playing competitive games, and Kururu says it's typically forbidden since it counts as conflict but they also allow it during festivals. Keitarou is excited to join.
Keitarou plays games with Polaris kids
Keitarou plays some games with other Polaris kids and gets tired. Kururu shows him to the food table, where a delicious lineup has been prepared. Keitarou eats some food and compliments it. A nearby lady asks if that's disgusting, but Keitarou happily says he would join the festival every day if there were food like this. The lady accepts his compliment, not reacting emotionally at all. Keitarou is confused by that. A girl comes up to ask Kururu and Inori something, but shrinks when Keitarou addresses her. Keitarou realizes what's up and says he needs to use the bathroom, leaving the girls to speak.
Keitarou is distracted by a sudden camera flash, and a man holding a camera sees he isn't a Polaris kid judging by his clothes. He introduces himself as freelance writer Marutake. He isn't a member of Polaris, but he got permission from the Holy Mother's aides to cover the festival. Marutake says he was investigating Hinamizawa at first because they're becoming a World Heritage site, but after hearing about the Polaris situation, he wanted to show people that Polaris isn't as bad as they seem. Keitarou is happy to get a comrade who feels the same way he does. The outburst draws attention from some villagers, so Keitarou and Marutake go behind a building to talk more privately.
Marutake shows Keitarou some graffiti
Marutake is surprised that Keitarou is so supportive of Polaris despite being form that Hinamizawa. Keitarou asks what he means, and Marutake says Hinamizawans don't really like Polaris, to the point of harassment. He shows him a picture of vandalism against Polaris, which Keitarou can't believe. Marutake wouldn't be surprised if Hinamizawans really did do it, and explains the dam war to Keitarou. The villagers developed a strong sense of unity, but grisly incidents kept happening that they referred to as Oyashiro-sama's curse. Last year, the curse even happened again during Watanagashi. Keitarou can't believe that, as last year the person died from illness. Marutake believes that some people in Hinamizawa nowadays want the curse to resurface and get rid of Polaris. If the curse did happen, the villagers would believe Oyashiro-sama was angered and would have an excuse to stand behind their god. Marutake begins to explain what angered Oyashiro-sama as Keitarou watches in shock.
Meanwhile, Aunt Satoko is happy that Keitarou's going to be attending the Watanagashi for the first time since he returned, but Sakiko explains he went to the Polaris festival. Kisaku appears after finishing a call with someone about tonight's preparations. He asks Sakiko about Keitarou going to Polaris and gets mad, thinking the cult is taking advantage of children now. He gives Sakiko a slap on the back and promises that they're going to drive Polaris out of Hinamizawa and open Keitarou's eyes. Kihiro and Tamaki arrive, telling Sakiko the three of them can have fun at Watanagashi and gloat to Keitarou afterwards. A sad Sakiko agrees.
Characters[]
- Tamaki Sonozaki
- Kihiro Ryuugu
- Sakiko Kimiyoshi
- Kururu Isshiki
- Keitarou Maebara
- Inori Mikazuki
- Rika Furude
- Holy Mother
- Marutake
- Satoko Houjou
- Kisaku Kimiyoshi
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