Irotoutoshi-hen Chapter 1

Irotoutoshi-hen Chapter 1 (第1話, Dai Ichi-wa) is the first chapter of Irotoutoshi-hen.

Summary[]

Rika wakes up in her hospital bed in fright and is met by a concerned nurse. Rika asks what date it is and confirms it's June 13th, being reminded that she's been hospitalized after falling down at the train station and needs 10 more days of rest. Rika realizes she looped again and that all of the jewels in her Ekusurika bracelet are broken. She recalls what happened in the previous loop: she was on the phone with Keitarou and was told that the people of Polaris are ordinary people, and no tragedy had occurred at all yet. After Keitarou hung up, someone entered Rika's room and hit her, and killed her. Rika could only remember the intense pain.

Rika asks the nurse to leave her alone. She panics at only having one last chance to avert the tragedies, and takes a moment to calm down. She thinks about how she was saved by so many people and adults when she was a kid like a princess and will now make it her goal to protect the club member's kids. Rika picks up her phone to make preparations.

At the Okinomiya school, Keitarou introduces himself to Inori and some other Polaris girls, but they just watch him in silence. The teachers Torano and Koneri greet students as they're leaving and run into Keitarou, noting how he's grown accustomed to the school. The Polaris girls use this chance to leave, and Keitarou talks to the teachers about how it feels wrong to just disregard them and watch from afar, and that even the teachers don't want to get involved with them. Torano says it's not disregarding but consideration, as the Polaris group have trauma from communication and so the teachers are doing their best to accommodate them without forcing them to communicate. Keitarou considers this angle.

In private, the Polaris girls talk about how annoyed they are at Keitarou trying to talk to them and are met by Kururu, who apologizes for not getting there in time to protect them. Inori thanks her and thinks about how Keitarou is amazing for being able to talk to anyone.

Meanwhile, Keitarou and his friends reminisce on their last Watanagashi competition five years ago. Keitarou looks forward to joining his friends for this year's festival. At home, Kihiro and his mother make dinner and talk about Keitarou making friends with Polaris kids. Kihiro thinks it's amazing he can do that; Rena asks if that's really alright, and a shadow falls on Kihiro's face as he ponders it.

At the Sonozaki household, Mion goes off to a meeting and tells Tamaki to take care of her grandmother. Akane reminds her not to mention the Polaris issue and says that things will go bad whether or not people side with the town council or Polaris. Mion leaves, and Tamaki voices her concern to Akane that even the Sonozakis are being criticized due to Polaris refusing to fit in with Hinamizawa. Akane says that she was the one who vouched for taking in Polaris, so of course they're taking the heat for it. Akane believes that Tamaki will become a strong leader since she's having uncomfortable thoughts but isn't feeling bitter. They're certain that Keiichi will be able to take action when he arrives.

At the Kimiyoshi household, Sakiko uploads a video of herself and her mother advertising yukata rentals for the Watanagashi, and watches the view count grow. Sakiko then switches to an alternate account to check the reception for a different, unseen video.

At the hospital, Rika recounts the situation: five hundred Hinamizawans and five hundred Polaris members are living in Hinamizawa and have divided it into two. Akane accepted the Polaris Family Society, a shelter for domestic violence victims, into the village. Rika was consulted about the decision since she's a member of the Three Families, but she felt she had no right to speak out since she doesn't live in the village and travels instead. Kisaku and the mayor Shotarou however were vehemently opposed. Polaris forbids communication with outsiders, causing divide with Hinamizawans who prefer close relations with others. Last year, when Polaris moved in, a villager died of illness while a Polaris member went missing; both incidents occurred the night of Watanagashi, and so villagers believed it was the curse of Oyashiro-sama.

It was believed that Oyashiro-sama's curse would appear when Hinamizawa's guardian deity Oyashiro-sama was angered and cause one person to die and another to disappear, however Rika knew that the real Oyashiro-sama wasn't violent and hated people cursing in her name. Rika can confidently say the curse isn't real, but she knows there are people who will use the concept to act maliciously. Rika remembers the previous Fragments: in the first Fragment, Mion was killed and Keiichi went missing the night of the Watanagashi; in the next Fragment, Kisaku went missing while his aide died; and in the previous Fragment, Rika was killed, leading her to believe someone else went missing as well.

With Hanyuu's spirit encouraging her, Rika compares the situation to her hundred-year journey: overlaying the Fragments and seeing that the same event occurs in all of them shows that someone with a strong will is making them happen. In past tragedies, the victims on Watanagashi were certain and immutable while these Reiwa-era tragedies are random, leading Rika to believe the culprit doesn't care who dies under the curse or how. She wonders why the culprit would want to make Oyashiro-sama's curse happen, and thinks her own death, the murder of Oyashiro-sama's priestess, is the ultimate curse. Rika regrets not remembering who killed her, as she'd be able to identify the culprit right away, even if they were an entire organization.

The culprit is someone who knows about the curse; such lore is easily available on the Internet nowadays, even the things the adults don't tell the kids, who will look it up anyway. Hanyuu tells Rika to narrow down the culprit based on the victims; Rika sees the victims were all people with influence and power, and assumes that Polaris would be the most likely suspect due to being in direct conflict with the village. Polaris even caused a tragedy in the first world, which conflicts with Keitarou participating in their festival in the next world and saying they're regular people; Rika notes how Keitarou didn't sound threatened or that he was lying. Rika wonders if it's even possible for Polaris to be regular up until the festival and then become cultists, and wonders why they even attacked Keitarou's family when he was on good terms with a Polaris girl.

Hanyuu tells Rika that all her information is based on what Keitarou told her, and suggests that his perception may be skewed because he developed Hinamizawa Syndrome, just like Keiichi once did. Remembering the symptoms of Hinamizawa Syndrome included clawing at one's throat, Rika considers the possibility that Keitarou had it and remembers that Kihiro talked about feeling uncomfortable around Keitarou; after Keitarou's house burned down in the first Fragment, Kihiro told her on the phone that Keitarou was scratching his head often and was fixated on everyone getting along with Polaris, seeming like a different person.

Rika is confused by this, as Keitarou scratching his head doesn't seem like Hinamizawa Syndrome. He shouldn't even have it in the first place, as the number of infected villagers increased drastically ever since Hanyuu disappeared, and the disease has become so stable after 30 years that Rika the queen carrier is able to leave the village for extended periods of time. Rika struggles to think about the culprit's objective, and Hanyuu reminds her that she's not alone. Rika replies that she knows that and has already made the call to her reliable friends. Just then, Keiichi, Mion, Satoko, and Rena arrive to meet Rika.

Characters[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

The teachers Torano and Koneri are stand-ins for Dlanor A. Knox and Cornelia from Umineko When They Cry, and share their same speech patterns.

Irotoutoshi-hen Chapter 1

Contents

Summary[]

Characters[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

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