Nekodamashi-hen Part 2 (猫騙し編 其の弐 Cat-Deceiving Chapter Part 2) is the fifteenth episode of Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU and the second episode of Nekodamashi.
Synopsis[]
Japanese[]
あと5回だけ、惨劇の運命に立ち向かうことを決めた梨花。
次の世界で、部活のメンバーとともに興宮のおもちゃ屋を訪れた梨花は、懐かしい人物との再会を果たす。
English (Translated)[]
Rika decides to face her tragic fate only five more times.
In the next world, Rika and her club members visit a toy store in Okinomiya, where she is reunited with an old friend.
Preview Gallery[]
Plot Summary[]
Prologue[]
Monday, June 13th. The club compliments Keiichi for being able to get others hyped up during club games. He's going to be part of the Watanagashi Festival planning committee, but he has no idea what to do. Mion says Keiichi will become head of the festival auction, much to his dismay.
First Half[]
At the toy store Da Vinci, Keiichi learns his role: he'll be auctioning off donated prizes at the festival, and if he does well he'll get three months' worth of tickets to Angel Mort's Dessert Festa. Satoko and Rena assure Keiichi that he'll do well. The group heads into the store, with Rika the last one to enter. At first Mion's uncle Yoshirou doesn't know if he can give them any toys, but he agrees when Mion mentions that Oryou's looking forward to the auction. The group eye the shelves for toys that people might want. Satoko picks up a plush, thinking it'll be great.
Keiichi notices a mahjong game set up in another room. The other club members mention how they used to play it in club, with Satoko being especially skilled. Yoshirou explains that earlier, a customer said he could perform a tsubamegaeshi and was demonstrating it to him. Keiichi is shocked by the mention of the phrase tsubamegaeshi: a difficult technique where you swap your hand of tiles with the wall. Rena excitedly asks Satoko if she can perform it, but she says she's only practiced it and succeeded a few times before.
Satoko sits down at the table and tries to do the technique. Keiichi asks why she practiced it anyway, and Mion says Satoko plants traps way ahead of time. Satoko grabs the wall of tiles but winds up spilling them everywhere. Keiichi and Rena sit down to try it themselves when Ooishi arrives. Mion asks why a detective is here when he should be working, which surprises Keiichi. Ooishi says he's off that day, having come to get a new mahjong mat. He voices his surprise at seeing kids trying to play such a complicated game, especially trying to perform a tsubamegaeshi. Yoshirou mentions that Ooishi was the one performing it for him earlier, and Keiichi jumps up and asks him to do it for them.
Ooishi takes his place and asks everyone to watch. The anticipation on the club members' faces is shown as the detective successfully pulls off the move. Keiichi begs Ooishi to teach him. Meanwhile, Rika comments to herself that she can't believe Ooishi and Keiichi are getting along playing mahjong. A voice then calls out to Ooishi, having found him. Ooishi asks the man Akasaka if he had any trouble finding the store, and Rika turns to look at the visitor in surprise: Mamoru Akasaka.
Rika walks up to him and asks if that's really him. Akasaka is delighted to meet Rika, with the others surprised that they're acquainted. Rika and Akasaka comment on how much each other has grown, with Akasaka saying he's come to Hinamizawa on vacation with his wife Yukie. His daughter meanwhile is with his parents. Ooishi says Akasaka is very devoted to his wife, mentioning that five years ago he first came to Okinomiya for work but went back home after being worried about his wife. Akasaka says he went back because Rika told him something bad would happen otherwise. He went to Yukie's hospital and discovered that someone went up the stairs Yukie normally went on and fell off and got hurt. Akasaka is thankful to Rika to warning him.
Satoko mentions that Rika has always said prophetic things, and Mion thinks it's because she's always called Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation. Akasaka promises to repay Rika in any way he can. The scene then cuts to June 19th, 1978. An injured Akasaka speaks to Rika at the Furude Shrine, where Rika explains that in June of 1983, she will be murdered. Rika professes that she wants to live a happy life surrounded by friends; she doesn't want to die. Akasaka heard that five years ago and now has the experience to help her. Rika whispers that she wants to talk to him, and they leave the store.
Akasaka says he and his wife will be at the village until the Watanagashi Festival, though they'll be staying at a hot spring, which is a little ways away. Rika asks him to stay in the village all the way until the festival, pleading for his help. Akasaka agrees, intending to tell Yukie to go to the hot spring without him. He wants to help however he can, though he wonders if Yukie will get a little upset.
Rika says that's not good when the scene suddenly cuts to a bloodied Rika lying on the floor, a dumbfounded smile on her face. Akasaka laughs manically, holding a bloody knife and yelling that he's finally found the source of the parasites. His neck shows signs of scratching, with blood pouring from them. Akasaka scratches some more and says there are more parasites inside of him. As Rika looks at him horrified, Ooishi calls out on a megaphone from outside the building. The police have surrounded Rika's house, with Ooishi asking that he release Rika while offering to meet any demands Akasaka might have. Akasaka yells out that he'll be finished once he's gotten rid of the bugs in his brain. He then goes up to Rika and says he's come to help her, stabbing her in the neck while saying all the parasites in her are gone now. Akasaka then pulls out gasoline and sprays it all over the room, intending to burn all of the parasites to death. Rika raises her hand up to the ceiling.
Ooishi calls out to Akasaka again, and Keiichi and his friends arrive. Keiichi steps over the boundary and tries to get in but Ooishi stops him, telling him to leave it to the professionals. Just then, the windows explode outward, spraying glass everywhere. Keiichi tears open the front door as Satoko and the rest watch the blaze. Akasaka continues scratching his neck amidst the flames as Rika laments how the dice controlling her fate never amaze her and how it was Akasaka killing her this time. Rika counts down on her fingers to four and laughs before snapping her fingers.
Second Half[]
The next loop takes place on June 15th. At the Sonozaki main house at night, a bloodied Akane Sonozaki steps over some corpses and slashes with a katana at a door, felling someone and finishing him off despite his pleas. Akane tells him to blame the village, not her. She scratches her neck and complains about the itchiness when Mion gets up. Akane is surprised to see her daughter's still alive, as she was about to walk by her. Mion asks why she did all this, and Akane replies that their blood cannot be allowed to persist. She yells that she must put an end to the demon blood inside of them, then swiftly decapitating her daughter, and her terrified and bloodied facial expression bleeds into view as her head bounces against the tatami.
Akane continues scratching her neck and says it must also be painful for Rika, looking down at her slumped form. Rika agrees, though she can't even move her arms to scratch because of what Akane did to her. Akane gives her condolences for Rika being born into the Furude family and says she herself would've preferred not to be born in Hinamizawa. Rika also agrees, as they all fall victim to the village's curse when they're born. Akane says she'll make the itching feel much better and raises her katana. Rika asks for a quick death so she can move on to the next world, counting down to three on her fingers. Rika is then decapitated.
The next loop takes place on June 21st. A tied-up Rika is being dragged across the ground by the mayor Kiichirou Kimiyoshi, who's saying the entire village will fall victim to Oyashiro-sama's curse at this rate. Rika asks to be let go and Kiichirou says he really doesn't want to do this, but it's the only way. Since Rika is the only pure one, she must be demoned away and drowned in the swamp. Rika asks Kiichirou to just kill her already, but the mayor keeps worrying about Oyashiro-sama's wrath. Rika begs for death again, but Kiichirou says the point of a sacrifice is to be alive when they're offered.
Kiichirou and Rika get into a boat and ride out to the swamp. Kiichirou scratches his neck crazily while saying that the village will be swallowed up by demon miasma. Since the Sonozakis won't do anything, Kiichirou felt like it's the Kimiyoshi's job to do something. He calms down from his scratching and asks Rika if she knows the women of the Furude family must be sacrificed to quell their god's wrath. He lifts her up and says she should be proud to follow in her ancestors' footsteps. Kiichirou continues to deride the Sonozakis for not doing their duty, and Rika snarks that the mayor should finish his monologue after he throws her in the swamp. He takes this to mean that Rika understands The Three Families's responsibilities but she immediately replies that his breath stinks. Enraged, Kiichirou finally throws Rika into the swamp. As she sinks to the bottom, Rika counts down to two.
The next loop begins on June 13th. At Angel Mort, riot police are gathered outside the restaurant. Many dead waitresses and customers lie inside the place, with a bloodied Rika trembling and sitting at a table as sounds of smashing ring out. A bat-wielding Keiichi scratches his neck and says things are finally getting fun, with Rena saying this isn't fun at all. Keiichi says it'll be fun when he splits open Rena's head and swings his bat down, and she narrowly avoids it. Satoko is shown to be among the dead. Rika says this never ends.
Keiichi says this reminds him of club and attacks Rena again, who blocks his bat with a bar. Rena grabs him and says nobody wants to live in this world, but she gets thrown down. She says that this is just a bad dream and wants Keiichi to wake up, but he swings his bat down on Rena's head and kills her. Rika says she doesn't have time to move or catch her breath, wondering why she's the only one who has to go through this. She sheds tears as she ponders what kind of sin she committed to be sentenced to an eternity of torture.
Keiichi goes up to Rika and asks her about the secret cure to get rid of the maggots crawling around in his skin, scratching his neck all the while. Rika laughs and looks up at him, her eyes flashing red as she says the cure's inside her head. She asks Keiichi to split open her skull and eat her brains, which will cure him. A crazed Keiichi raises his bat as Rika wishes it were just a bad dream. She wishes that she could wake up in her dorm at St. Lucia Academy and head to a brand new day.
Rika wishes she could have just that one little thing as Keiichi bashes her head in.
Soundtrack[]
Start Time | End Time | Track | OST | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
0:14 | 1:17 | In Class | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack | Keiichi has to join the festival committee |
1:18 | 2:47 | I believe what you said | I believe what you said | Opening |
3:21 | 4:15 | Warudakumi [Wile] | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack | Yoshirou won't just give them toys |
5:12 | 5:58 | Match! | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack | Satoko attempts a tsubamegaeshi |
7:10 | 7:39 | Stroll | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack | Ooishi performs a tsubamegaeshi |
7:41 | 9:14 | A Long-Cherished Desire | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Soundtrack Vol. 1 | Akasaka appears |
10:56 | 11:19 | Setsunakute [Painful] | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack | Akasaka promises to help Rika |
20:29 | 22:12 | Hayashi [Main Theme] ~Orchestral~ ~Piano Ver.~ | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 | Rika ponders her suffering |
22:17 | 23:44 | Kamisama no Syndrome | Kamisama no Syndrome | Ending |
Trivia[]
- The plush toys at the beginning reference some of Ryukishi07's other works:
- The first toy resembles a wanya, a mascot character and author avatar that has appeared in many of his works. It even has an "07" medal.
- The frog toy resembles Keropoyo, a character in Ciconia When They Cry.
External Links[]
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