Oniokoshi

Oniokoshi-hen (鬼熾し編, Demon-Kindling Chapter) is an upcoming manga arc written by Ryukishi07 and illustrated by Natsumi Kei as part of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei. It will be serialized in Gangan Online starting in November 25, 2021.

Characters

Plot Summary

Chapter 0

It is 2019, and the Watanagashi Festival in Hinamizawa is lively with people eating food and taking pictures. A narrator says that on the night of the festival, one person dies and another goes missing, and the second person's corpse must never be found but demoned away. A bloodied man is seen in the trunk of a car, and another bloodied woman in a kimono with stab wounds is seen on the ground; Oyashiro-sama's curse will be revived in 2019 in the Reiwa Era.

At Shishibone University Hospital, a doctor asks how the bedridden Rika Furude is doing. Rika says she'd be a lot better if not for certain circumstances. The doctor says she must rest for a few days, and then they'll test if she's still leaking cerebrospinal fluid. Rika asks to have some spicy kimchi and complains about being bored. The doctor understands how bored she is when she travels the world a lot and asks what kind of work she was doing. Rika says she just travels as a hobby and hates being forced to stay in one place. The doctor leaves her alone.

Rika intended to visit the Watanagashi Festival incognito, but she fell down the stairs at the train station and ended up in the hospital. Rika wants to see her friends again after so long: Keiichi, Mion, Satoko, and Rena. Rika is excited to reunite with them once she leaves the hospital and meet their kids, including Keiichi's.

Just then, Rika gets a notification from the club's group chat, where Satoko is asking Rika to call her urgently and if she's heard from Keiichi. Rika calls her and jokes about Keiichi being by her side and going on about how sexy she is. Satoko asks if Keiichi is really there but Rika says she was kidding. Satoko asks if he could be anywhere else, and Rika becomes concerned.

Satoko explains that Keiichi has gone missing and Mion was found murdered with several stab wounds in her chest and neck, and this all occurred on the night of Watanagashi. Rika says this is just like the curse of Oyashiro-sama, and Satoko asks her to explain since she's Oyashiro-sama's shrine maiden. Rika insists there is no curse, but Satoko asks her to explain why this is the second year it happened; last year, one person died and another disappeared on the Watanagashi, and it caused a big commotion. Satoko starts to cry and wonders if this happened because they broke Oyashiro-sama's rules.

Rika can't believe this is happening, as she knows for a fact the curse is over. Many incidents did occur in the past, but they joined together to overcome 100 years of tragedy; scenes of Keiichi killing Mion and Rena, a disguised Shion holding a stun gun, and Tomitake forgiving Takano are shown.

Since the curse happened last year without her knowledge, Rika decides she needs to go to Hinamizawa. She attempts to get out of bed but starts suffering a headache and coughing. Rika wishes she still had Hanyuu's advice and remembers a prior meeting: Hanyuu disappeared and bestowed Rika with a magic bracelet so she could live a life free of regrets. The Ekusurika Jewels were a Furude family treasure, and each bead would allow one to loop back from death. There were only 3 beads, meaning 3 loops. Even if Rika loops, she can't go back far enough to reach the time before she was hospitalized to do things over again. Even if she goes back, she wonders if she can eally bet on a miracle that can save Keiichi and Mion from tragedy.

Rika thinks of her friends again and starts laughing. She'll bet on that miracle and entrust things to Keiichi's son Keitarou Maebara. If Keiichi can break fate, then surely his offspring can do the same. Rika prepares a noose and hangs herself as she pleads for Keitarou to save everyone in her place. One of the beads breaks.

Oniokoshi

Contents

Characters

Plot Summary

Chapter 0

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