This article or section contains untagged major spoilers for all of the original Higurashi When They Cry story and possibly the console-exclusive arcs. Readers who have not completed the story are advised not to proceed further. |
Nekodamashi-hen Part 4 (猫騙し編 其の四 Cat-Deceiving Chapter Part 4) is the seventeenth episode of Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU and the fourth and final episode of Nekodamashi.
Synopsis[]
Japanese[]
死の連鎖の果てに梨花が辿り着いた世界は、惨劇のない、オヤシロさまの祟りから解放されたような、梨花のまったく知らない雛見沢だった。
English (Translated)[]
At the end of the cycle of death, Rika arrives in a world where there is no tragedy, where she is free from Oyashiro-sama's curse, and where Hinamizawa is completely unknown to her.
Preview Gallery[]
Plot Summary[]
Prologue[]
The episode begins with a flashback to Minagoroshi's ending, where the Mountain Dogs have subdued the club. A shot rings out from Takano's gun before she moves on to Satoko, pressing her gun to her head and asking a question: is broccoli green, or is it cauliflower? Satoko is bout to answer cauliflower but says broccoli instead. Takano fires her gun and kills her, saying it was correct. She cackles as the corpses of Mion, Shion and Rena are shown.
Takano walks over to a subdued Rika, who looks up and asks if she's going to kill her now. Takano points her gun at her and affirms it.
First Half[]
Rika speaks to Takano and Tomitake on the night of Watanagashi, Rika looking sad at first but perking up when she says she never wanted to interrupt Takano and Tomitake's date. Takano walks up to Rika and surprises her, but she starts crying while saying sorry. Rika asks why she's apologizing and Tomitake says she's gotten involved in a little conspiracy; Takano thinks it's a kind thing to say, as it was her own decision to get involved. Rika is still confused, and Takano says this Watanagashi is her chance to cleanse herself of her sins. She was planning to kill Rika and all of her friends. Takano cries and apologizes some more, and Tomitake places his hand on her shoulder. He tells Rika they're planning to leave Hinamizawa tonight, as Takano's a key witness; he promises to keep her safe. Rika wants to confirm there won't be a tragedy, and Tomitake affirms it. He and Takano walk away, and Rika asks why she decided to give up on her plan, as the Takano she knows would never change her mind. Takano says Rika wouldn't understand, even if she explained it.
At home, Satoko sleeps soundly while Rika changes the calendar's date from June 19th to June 20th, Monday. Rika leaves her house and is called out to by a uniformed man. Taken aback by his appearance, Rika tries to yell out Satoko's name but the man stops her and apologizes, explaining that he's with the Bloodhounds from Tokyo with orders from First Lieutenant Tomitake. After confirming she'll stay quiet, the man lets go and Rika asks if Tomitake's alright; the Bloodhound affirms it and says Tomitake's ordered them to keep her safe.
Elsewhere, a ponytailed man opens the shutters to his business and takes in some customers, who ask to get their hedges trimmed. He prepares some tea for them and asks where they're from, noting that outsiders stand out around here. The man especially takes note of their Tokyo accents, suddenly pulling out a gun. Just then. Bloodhounds armed with rifles invade the building and point it at the man: First Lieutenant Okonogi has had an arrest warrant issued for him. Outnumbered, Okonogi lowers his gun and is cuffed by the Bloodhounds as he asks why he's being arrested. A Bloodhound replies that he's being taken for attempting an arbitrary execution of Emergency Manual 34 and mutiny.
Okonogi demands to speak with his superior Miyo Takano, but he gets denied. This reply makes him understand that Takano has caught on to the cuckoo's plan. A group of Mountain Dogs then arrive and the Bloodhounds aim their guns on them as well. One of the Dogs calls out to Okonogi and he tells him that the king has disappeared from the chessboard; there's no point to them continuing on. The Dogs surrender.
Some Hinamizawa villagers go to the Irie Clinic, which is filled with Bloodhounds, and ask what happened to Dr. Irie. The uniformed men say that they'll be doing renovations, and so the clinic will be closed down for a while. The villagers leave, wanting to come back some other time. Inside the clinic, many armed Bloodhounds are stationed in the halls. Irie opens a door with his security credentials for some Bloodhounds, who thank the Lieutenant Colonel for his cooperation. As the soldiers walk in, Irie asks them to drop the military title, as he's just a doctor. One Bloodhound asks him to accompany them for the remainder of the inspection, where Irie will be handed over to the Investigation Team afterwards.
Irie looks into a room where Satoshi Houjou is sleeping, an oxygen mask and IV bag attached to him. Irie thanks the soldiers for working without waking up Satoshi, explaining that because he's in the late stages of Hinamizawa Syndrome, if he woke up he would be enveloped by paranoia and see everyone as his enemy. A Bloodhound asks about the giant teddy bear in the room, and Irie explains that Satoshi bought it as a present for his sister Satoko. Irie promises to come back, continue to treat Satoshi and definitely cure Hinamizawa Syndrome. The Bloodhound says that's the disciplinary committee's decision to make.
On the radio, a Bloodhound announces that they've discovered the locked briefcase Major Takano outlined in her confession that's supposed to contain H173 samples; Irie is shocked to hear this. The briefcase is pulled out and unlocked, and Irie explains the drugs inside: H173, a substance that causes victims to develop Hinamizawa Syndrome symptoms and progress to its terminal stage, L5. Irie believed the 170 series was all destroyed, yet here they are.
The date changes to June 22nd. During recess at school, Rika chases a ball and runs into Tomitake at the school gate. Rika is relieved to see he's alright and muses that seeing him after Watanagashi is strange. Tomitake supposes it is because he always goes home after, and Rika says that's not really what she meant. She asks what happened since then and Tomitake explains he and Takano escaped the village from right under the Mountain Dogs' noses and talked with the Bloodhounds. Rika asks if she's still in danger and Tomitake assures her that she's fine; they took control of the Dogs and their front company Okonogi Gardeners, along with the clinic. Irie is being held in Tokyo's custody, but Takano's testimony denied his involvement, and they found evidence to support it too. He also says the underground lab will be closed, but the clinic will stay open. Tomitake knows the village needs a clinic as well as a syndrome cure.
Rika asks what happened to Takano next. Tomitake isn't sure, but he's grateful that her confession prevented a tragedy. Tokyo's higher-ups are trying to handle interfactional conflict, so Takano should be innocent in the end. He says they all treat Hinamizawa Syndrome like an unexploded bomb, that nobody wants to touch it; Rika figures they don't want to handle Takano either. Tomitake promises that after Takano is let off the hook for her involvement, he's going to take her home. The photographer waves goodbye and leaves. Rika talks to herself and wonders if this is really how everything is going to end. There is no tragedy, and the dice rolled a 6 every time. She wonders if the dice of fate even exist here.
Rika enters the ritual warehouse near the Furude Shrine and examines the Onigari-no-ryuuou fragment she discovered earlier. She wonders why so many good things are happening to her after rolling a one over and over again. Rika says the result was decided beforehand without her knowledge, almost as though someone else was rolling the dice. She remembers Hanyuu's message about how the ancient sword could kill those who live in loops. Rika clutches her heart, getting a foreboding feeling from all of her luck; this perfect world is unsettling to her.
Second Half[]
Rika overlooks the village from atop the shrine. Satoko goes up to her, having searched everywhere for her. She notices how down Rika looks and asks what's wrong. Rika says only good things have been happening to her lately, and it scares her. Satoko says she feels quite happy now, looking down on Hinamizawa with her best friend, who should be feeling the same joy. She says worrying about being too happy is just wasteful, so Rika must not have realized the true nature of happiness yet. Rika is confused, and Satoko explains that painful moments stay in their hearts forever while tiny moments of happiness are forgotten quickly. Forgetting these happy moments makes you forget how blessed you are, and so you desire happiness greater than you can handle.
Satoko thinks this is an unfortunate thing to experience and says Rika should be happy now, so there is nothing else she could want. Rika says she's happy that she can be with Satoko like this, so happy that she feels like something bad will happen. Satoko says their lives will be happy from here on since this is Hinamizawa, and Oyashiro-sama will protect them. The two girls grasp hands as Satoko tells Rika to never leave them.
The next day, June 23rd. After school, Mion announces the start of club activities, with the game being poker. Rika comes out on top, claiming all of the winnings. The other club members lament their loss, as everyone except Rika has to do a penalty game. Rika has already planned what she wants to do, passing out folded notes to everyone while telling them not to look at each other's notes. Mion, Keiichi and Rena read their notes, immediately agreeing to Rika's requests. Satoko is confused at her own note, which just says to go shopping with Rika.
Satoko and Rika walk home with groceries from the store, with Satoko confused since this "penalty" is the same as their regular store trips. Rika says this is more luxurious, as they bought more ingredients than they morally do. Satoko asks what Rika wrote on everyone else's notes and Rika says it's still secret. Rika stops and says that thanks to Satoko, she now realizes how happy she really is. She wants to make Satoko even happier and asked everyone to help.
The next day, June 24th. At school, the club pops party crackers and cheers happy birthday to Satoko. The birthday girl is speechless, and Rena says Rika planned the whole thing. All of their notes asked to get a great present for Satoko. Satoko thanks them for the wishes but has some misgivings, with Rika understanding that this day is hard for her; Satoko mutters nii-nii in response.
Satoko cheers up, feeling happy that her friends want to celebrate her birthday with her. She unwraps Keiichi's gift first, an encyclopedia of vegetables; with this, she can now tell the difference between broccoli and cauliflower. She opens Rena's gift next, a strange egg-shaped mascot. Mion pulls out her own gift: three tickets to Angel Mort's Dessert Festa. Satoko thanks them all for the gifts, with Rika saying she's planned to cook a big feast for everyone, explaining the big shopping trip yesterday.
Rika says she has another present for Satoko and goes to a locker to retrieve it. Seeing her pull out a certain box, Satoko reflexively hits the ground and covers her head. Rika asks how she knew, and a scene from Onidamashi-hen is replayed where Satoko got hit by a boxing-glove trap from that same box. Satoko quickly stands back up and laughs, having anticipated that Rika had a trap gift all along.
Rika says nothing and puts the box on the table, opening it to reveal a small teddy bear. Satoko is surprised, and Rika says it was indeed a trap gift until last night. Rika flashbacks to her own musing that someone else was rolling the dice and says she changed the trap into a gift that would make Satoko happy. She reminisces on Hanyuu's message again about the Onigari-no-ryuuou's ability to kill those in loops and asks again how Satoko knew, her voice changing.
Satoko's eyes glow red as she raises a gun and grins.
Soundtrack[]
Start Time | End Time | Track | OST | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
0:11 | 0:52 | TBD | TBD | Minagoroshi flashback |
0:53 | 2:24 | I believe what you said | I believe what you said | Opening |
3:25 | 4:41 | Takano apologizes | ||
9:09 | 11:13 | Setsunakute [Painful] | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack | Rika speaks to Tomitake |
11:41 | 12:50 | Rika goes to the warehouse | ||
13:40 | 15:15 | TBD | TBD | Rika and Satoko share their happiness |
15:28 | 16:47 | Shoubu! [Match!] | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack | Mion begins club |
19:35 | 21:00 | Yasuragi [Tranquility] | Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack | Satoko opens her gifts |
22:15 | 23:44 | Kamisama no Syndrome | Kamisama no Syndrome | Ending |
External Links[]
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