Rika Furude

Not to be confused with Riku Furude.

This article is about the version of Rika as featured in the main Higurashi When They Cry story. For other pages titled Rika Furude, see the disambiguation page.

	This article is about a character in Higurashi When They Cry.

Overview

Other Appearances

Gallery

Sprites

Rika Furude
Identification Details
Japanese	古手 梨花
Nicknames	Rika-chama (梨花ちゃま) (elderly villagers, Shion) The Charmer (萌え落とし, Moeotoshi) (Club) Tanuki (たぬき) (Club) Frederica Bernkastel (フレデリカ・ベルンカステル, Furederika Berunkasuteru) (herself) The Cat (猫, Neko) (Eua)
General Information
Born	August 21
Age	11
Gender	Female
Blood Type	A
Likes	Wine, spicy food
Dislikes	Summer, the word "fate"
Occupation	Student Shrine Maiden Furude Family Head
Affiliation	Hinamizawa Branch School The Club The Three Families (Furude) Hinamizawa Fighters Hinamizawa Village Council Onigafuchi Guardians (retired) St. Lucia Academy
Portrayal
First Appearance	Onikakushi
Japanese VA	Yukari Tamura
English VA	Rebecca Forstadt (2006 anime) Apphia Yu (Gou/Sotsu)

"Nipah~☆"

— Rika's catchphrase

Rika Furude (古手 梨花, Furude Rika) is one of the main characters of Higurashi When They Cry. She is a member of the Hinamizawa after-school games club and a shrine maiden who works at the Furude Shrine.

Profile

• Visual Novel
• Gou/Sotsu

Rika is Keiichi's junior and in the same school year as Satoko.

She is very quiet and reserved for her age, which makes her almost the polar opposite of Satoko. However, the two of them can often be found in each other’s company. Whenever Satoko is in tears after losing against Keiichi, it is Rika who cheers her up. When Satoko wins, Rika comforts Keiichi instead. When Keiichi teases Rena, Rika comforts her.
In fact, Rika comforts whomever is in need of comfort. She seems happy with it.

(Edited from the MangaGamer store page, which is translated from the 07th Expansion website.)

The only daughter of the family that runs Furude Shrine. Is in the same grade, and lives in the same house, as Satoko. She plays the role of shrine maiden in the Watanagashi Festival, which is held every year in June. She's cute like a little kitten, and always brightens up a room. But she has a strange air about her, and sometimes she can be calm and collected in a manner that belies her age.

(Taken from the Gou website.)

Appearance

Also see Rika Furude/Gallery and Rika Furude/Sprites

Rika Furude appears as a petite pre-pubescent girl with violet eyes. She has straight long hair down to her waist and patsun bangs, although the Steam version has replaced it with a hime-cut. Her hair color mildly varies across adaptations ranging from shades of azure to indigo. She carries herself with grace, bearing a calm and gentle disposition exuding innocence—defined by her tareme eye shape. Often, she will sport a bright smile, accentuating it with a "Nipah". Rika distinctly resembles her deceased mother—particularly her eyes and her hair.

At times, she catches people off guard when her face takes on a rather apathetic and condescending expression along with a deeper voice—all of which make her seem uncharacteristically mature far beyond her years that people begin to doubt whether she is the Rika they know. When she becomes like this in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu, her irises assume a red-blazing tone.

All adaptations which feature a more grown-up version of Rika portray her as a slender, elegant young woman. In Gou and Sotsu, her height is shorter than average as a teenager.

Outfits

Rika's Design Across Anime Adaptations

• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai[1]
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei[2]
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira[3]
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira[4]
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou[5]
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sotsu[6]

1/7

• Uniform
  Rika's school uniform comprises of a white short-sleeved button-down blouse with a pink bow at her collar and a dark-grey pleated skirt with suspenders, along with frilly white knee-length socks with small red bows at its hems and matching dark-red Mary-Jane shoes.

• Casual Wear
  Outside school, she usually wears a light green knee length dress with spaghetti strap sleeves and a white (sometimes yellow) ribbon holding the small slit at her neckline closed—along with matching white block-heeled mule sandals.

• Watanagashi Festival
  During the Watanagashi Festival, Rika dons a traditional miko outfit comprising of a bright red hakama and a pure white kosode, sometimes with a matching red false layer. In most adaptations, she leaves her hair loose for the entirety of the festival, but in some—particularly in Gou and Sotsu, she wears a traditional headpiece (花簪(はなかんざし), Hanakanzashi, lit. flower hairpin) along with a Danshi (檀紙(だんし), lit. Mulberry crepe) ribbon in a Takenaga (丈長(たけなが), lit. full-length) hairstyle tied back with a Mizuhiki (水引(みずひき)) cord for the ritual performance. This is more appropriate as miko are always expected to have their hair tied back neatly.

• Others
  She is also seen in her navy blue one-piece school swimsuit when the club engages in water-based activities or for punishment games. In Hajisarashi-hen, she wears a triangle string bikini set—which Keiichi Maebara notes is quite daring for her age. For PE activities, she wears the classic PE uniform consisting of dark red bloomers and a matching white T-shirt with puffed sleeves along with white sneakers and socks. For her punishment games, Rika is made to wear an array of outfits—including a makeshift Angel Mort uniform and a set of cat ears and tail amongst others.

• Gou & Sotsu
  In Gou and Sotsu, Rika's middle school uniform features a long-sleeved dark blue on white sailor uniform matching that of Satoko Houjou's, along with a navy blue scarf tied into a bow, her frilly socks replaced for calf-length ones. In the winter, she swaps her blouse for a dark-grey sweater blouse of the same uniform.
  For her St. Lucia Academy high school uniform, Rika opts for a long sleeved white blouse but retains her frilly white socks which now end at her calves; maintaining an immaculate appearance overall.

Personality

As expected of a girl her age, Rika Furude has a cutesy and childlike personality. She likes to pat people on their head when they're feeling down and often says things like "Nipah" (にぱー！, onomatopoeia for a big grin) and "Mii" (みー, lit. meep). Rika often uses her cuteness to her advantage, manipulating classmates to gain easy wins in club games. She also has a habit of making cat sounds. In Japanese she uses the pronoun "boku" (ボク) when referring to herself. Rika has a habit of saying "nanodesu", which in the manga is translated by having her say "sir" at the end of many of her sentences.

Anecdotes from Rika's mother in Himatsubushi describe a younger Rika as being very distant and bored during recess and school. Rika's apparent disinterest in her mother caused her to hit Rika on the head at times.

Rika dedicates a lot of time to practicing the Watanagashi ritual dance, even though it's physically taxing on her.

Minagoroshi shows that when by herself or with Hanyuu, Rika completely drops her cutesy and child-like personality and displays a much more cynical, mature, apathetic, serious and occasionally hostile personality, developed as a result of her 100 years of traveling through the Sea of Fragments. The difference between her personalities is exemplified in the Japanese text since Rika uses the pronoun "watashi" (私) in her mature persona, which is generally done by adult women. Voiced works such as the anime and console ports portray this aurally by showing Rika speaking with a deeper voice when in her mature persona. This serious, or "Dark" Rika (黒梨花, Kuro Rika), as it is often called in side materials, can be considered Rika's true personality as her cutesy personality is merely a facade she puts up when with others. She tends to be abrasive and insulting towards Hanyuu and to others she has shown her true nature to, like Shion in Meakashi and Rena in Tsumihoroboshi. Over the years, Rika began treating Hanyuu more rudely. Because of their linked senses, Rika sometimes bullies Hanyuu by eaing spicy food and drinking wine. Mature Rika at times feels like she's disassociating from the innocent Rika.

Background

The Furude Family has long served as priests and shrine maidens for Hinamizawa's god Oyashiro-sama. Female family members were subject to much honor by villagers. It was believed that if firstborn daughters were born to the Furude Family for eight generations in a row, then that eighth generation would be Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation. Rika Furude was that eighth generation, becoming greatly beloved by the villagers as Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation and messenger. The villagers' praise of Rika was to a point where at a young age, she was allowed to take candy from a store without paying for it.

1981 marked the third year of Oyashiro-sama's curse. Rika's parents were the victims, with her father dying of an unknown illness and her mother drowning herself in the Onigafuchi Swamp to placate Oyashiro-sama. Rika became the only known living member of the Furude Family. The mayor of Hinamizawa legally adopted Rika and serves as her guardian, however Rika lives alone in a disaster relief shelter near the shrine. After the fourth year of the curse in 1982, where Satoko's aunt died and brother disappeared, Satoko began living with Rika.

Minagoroshi reveals that Rika's status as the eighth generation allows her to interact with Hanyuu, the true form of Oyashiro-sama. Hanyuu acted as a mother figure to Rika ever since she was born and taught her skills such as cooking. It is also revealed that Rika is believed to be the queen carrier for the Hinamizawa Syndrome disease that is endemic to Hinamizawa and willingly does research with the Irie Clinic to find a cure. If Rika were to die, then every villager infected with the syndrome would exhibit terminal symptoms and cause chaos within 48 hours. Unbeknownst to Rika, Miyo Takano plans to kill her and make this chaos a reality, enacting the Great Hinamizawa Disaster. Takano is responsible for many of Rika's deaths in various worlds. With Hanyuu's power, Rika travels to new Fragments, or timelines, every time she dies to try and prevent her own death and earn a happy ending.

In Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU, Rika attends St. Lucia Academy with Satoko several years after Takano's defeat. A rift between Rika and Satoko develops when Rika starts making new friends and leaves Satoko behind academically. In 1988, Rika dies and is brought back to June 1983, forced to relive the time loops again.

Relationships

Overview

The Club

• Satoko Houjou (best friend, roommate, classmate, rival)
• Keiichi Maebara (friend, classmate)
• Rena Ryuugu (friend, classmate)
• Mion Sonozaki (friend, classmate)
• Satoshi Houjou (friend, classmate)
• Shion Sonozaki (friend)

The Three Families

• Hanyuu (ancestor, mother figure, friend)
• Riku Furude (ancestor)
• Ouka Furude (ancestor)
• Kiichirou Kimiyoshi (legal guardian, friend, co-leader)
• Oryou Sonozaki (co-leader, friend)

Other

• Mamoru Akasaka (friend)
• Frederica Bernkastel (alternate self/manifestation of despair)
• Miyo Takano (enemy)
• Tsukuyami Rika (clone)
• Keitarou Maebara ("nephew")

Satoko Houjou

Rika and Satoko are longtime friends, living together after Satoshi's disappearance. Satoko understands Rika more than anyone else thanks to the interaction between the two, although she has difficulty understanding certain things, especially in Tsumihoroboshi's TIPs where Rika seemingly speaks to herself late at night.

Both are very concerned about each other's well-being. Rika will even protect Satoko with her own body, as shown in Meakashi when Shion attacks Satoko at school. This is also shown throughout Minagoroshi where Rika is desperate to try to save Satoko from Teppei's mistreatment.

Due to the contempt for the Houjou couple due to their support for the dam project in Hinamizawa, Satoko suffers from strong ostracism from the village, which Rika tries to mitigate by staying by her side. Despite this, Rika is aware of how much Satoko depended on Satoshi and believes it is one thing she cannot fix herself. Until Minagoroshi, Rika was one of the few people besides Kyousuke Irie and Miyo Takano who knew that Satoko needed regular injections so that she doesn't succumb to Hinamizawa Syndrome; everyone else, including Satoko, believed that she was taking experimental remedies, until the truth was revealed to them. Rika has been cooperating with them exclusively to help Satoko recover.

On the other hand, the relationship of the two receives a great focus on Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou, especially in the arcs of Nekodamashi-hen and Satokowashi-hen which reveals that after the events of Matsuribayashi-hen, Rika shares the dream to study together at St. Lucia Academy with Satoko. With much effort and dedication, the two manage to enter the school, but their relationship begins to deteriorate as Rika's popularity and intelligence keep her busy with new friends, while Satoko is unable to keep up with the demands of the school and finds herself increasingly distant from her best friend. After a misunderstanding resulted from Satoko's attempt to reconnect with Rika through a trap that ends badly, Satoko encounters an unknown entity and is empowered to go back in time after death like Rika used to do. After discovering Rika's 100-year struggle to escape her fate in 1983, Satoko becomes determined to prevent Rika from going to St. Lucia Academy in 1987 by any means necessary.

Keiichi Maebara

Keiichi appreciates Rika's kindness, and Rika seems to respect him. Their relationship develops such that in Tsumihoroboshi, when Keiichi becomes the first person to start remembering events taking place in other worlds, Rika starts to believe more in Keiichi.

The extra arc Miotsukushi-hen develops a different relationship between Keiichi and Rika. Rika discovers that for being forgiven by her in Tsumihoroboshi's world, this Keiichi was able to solve his problems with his past and gained an unparalleled resolution to solve the problems that usually caused the tragedies of the previous arcs.

Other Club Members

Rika is sometimes a target for Rena's affections when she enters kyute mode.

Rika loves playing club games with Mion. Minagoroshi shows that Rika is especially fond of Mion because over the many worlds, Mion rarely repeats the same club activities.

Mamoru Akasaka

Rika has been attached to Akasaka ever since they met in 1978. Rika seems to act cold towards Akasaka by warning him to go back to Tokyo and then seemingly stalking him while cutting the lies of every phone he goes to, however she had well-meaning intentions in wanting to save his wife from death.

Minagoroshi shows that Rika greatly values Akasaka as an ally since he's one of the few people who knew of Rika's premonitions of the future.

Role in the Story

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Question Arcs

Onikakushi

Rika Furude is first introduced comforting Keiichi when he gets hit by Satoko's trap. Rika is established as a caring and supportive young girl. Two days later, Rika and Mion tell Keiichi about the Hinamizawa dam project, explaining that it was cancelled when the village fought against it. Later, Rika plays with Keiichi in his induction into the games club through a game of Old Bachelor. Two days later, Rika returns from a private meeting in the school's staff room, and the other club members explain that Rika is part of the committee for the Watanagashi Festival. The club then plays a card game where they write down penalties on paper slips and draw them when they lose a round. Rika winds up having to wear a set of cat ears and act like one.

The night of the Watanagashi Festival, Rika plays with the club in stall games, later playing with Tomitake. During the main event, Rika performs the watanagashi ritual dance as the club watches amidst the crowd. The club members say that Rika's been practicing hard the last few days. After the ritual, Rika and the other club members punish Tomitake by writing on his shirt.

Three days after the festival, Ooishi explains to Keiichi that Rika's parents died on the third year of Oyashiro-sama's curse, with her father dying from an unknown illness and her mother drowning herself in the swamp shortly after. Keiichi begins to grow suspicious of Rika and his friends.

When Keiichi gets ahold of a bat and claims to be practicing his swings, Rika takes notice and tells him not to lose it.

In the manga, when Keiichi, Rena, and Mion die, Satoko bawls her eyes out the next day. Rika comforts her and says they'll see them again.

Watanagashi

Rika plays with the club at a game tournament in Okinomiya, where she uses her cuteness to snatch an easy win at a fishing game. At the tournament's end, everyone except Mion receives toys as prizes. In the next few days, the club plays Sympathy and partakes in a curry cooking competition. At Angel Mort, Rika joins in Keiichi's plan to humiliate the otakus there as revenge for Shion's treatment.

At the Watanagashi Festival, Rika performs the ritual dance. The next day, Keiichi goes to water the curry garden at school and runs into Rika, who seemed to be hurt. Rika acts like nothing is wrong and asks Keiichi if he did anything bad on the night of the festival. Keiichi is afraid since he believed nobody knew about him, Shion, Takano, and Tomitake trespassing into the ritual warehouse that night. Keiichi feigns ignorance and Rika begins to leave when Keiichi calls out to her, wanting to tell her about what really happened. Keiichi struggles to figure out what to say, and Rika starts talking bout the ritual warehouse.

Rika says that on the night of the festival, a cat snuck into the warehouse. The cat couldn't restrain its curiosity anymore and was frightened by the many things it saw. Keiichi comes to understand that the cat Rika is referring to is Keiichi himself, and he asks what the cat should do now. Rika says the cat should just keep meowing any everything will be fine, but Keiichi says there was a dog who wanted the cat to admit to sneaking inside. Rika smiles and says she'll protect the cat, and that all the dogs are just misunderstanding. Rika gives Keiichi a headpat, and he starts crying and apologizing. Rika tells Keiichi to forget about Tomitake and Takano, and to just forget everything he knows. She declares that even though they died, Keiichi had nothing to do with them. Keiichi asks about Shion, and Rika replies that the big sister cat, Mion, is angry, so they should leave her alone for a while. Rika says they should stop having club for a while. She begins to leave but gives Keiichi a parting message that if the misunderstanding dog tries to bite the cat, then Keiichi should tell her; this dog should be the same one who bit the mayor. Seeing how frightened Keiichi is again, Rika apologizes for scaring him.

That night, Keiichi calls Rika's house to ensure she's alright, thinking she'll disappear or be killed because Keiichi told her about the trespassing. Rika's residence doesn't pick up despite Keiichi's repeated calls, and his worried thoughts turn to horror when he learns Satoko lives with Rika, and she didn't pick up either. Keiichi, Rena, and Mion go to the shrine and find their bikes aren't there, and decide to check Rika's shack just to be sure. Rena goes to find a key to the shack as Mion holds a ladder for Keiichi to climbs and knock on the second floor window. Mion ominously mentions that Satoko is cursed, and she might be the reason Rika disappeared.

Rena returns with the key, and the trio inspect Rika's home but find nothing. Villagers start crowding around since Mion spread word of Rika's potential disappearance, and they all search the village but to no avail. Later, Ooishi tells Keiichi that Rika had the lock to the ritual warehouse replaced a year ago since the old lock was difficult to open; this made it easier for people to break into the warehouse. Rumors say that villagers gave punishment not only to the people who broke into the warehouse, but also to Rika and the mayor for enabling it to happen.

The next day, Rena shares her deductions that Rika and Satoko must have gone somewhere to get soy sauce since she noticed their big soy sauce bottle was missing. The day after that, Rena determines that Mion is responsible for their disappearances. Mion put out flyers saying that the Sonozakis were giving away soy sauce, and Rika went to the Sonozaki main house that night to refill her soy sauce bottle but never came back. Mion called Satoko and told her to come over since Rika was already eating dinner, and Satoko did so. Keiichi and Rena go to confront Mion with this information at her house, and she confirms that is is the correct order of events. Mion confesses that she did torture and kill Rika as punishment for the lock, throwing her corpse into a well afterwards.

At the hospital, Ooishi tells Keiichi that when the police recovered the corpses of Mion's victims, they found a syringe on Rika's corpse.

Tatarigoroshi

Rika and Satoko go to Keiichi's house to stop him from burning his house down making dinner. As Satoko cooks dinner for them, Rika tells Keiichi that Satoko is happy to be doing it and talks about how Satoko had a good relationship with her older brother Satoshi, whom Satoko called Nii-nii. Rika brings up Satoshi again while eating dinner, and Satoko wonders where he is now. After dinner, Rika tells Keiichi to go along with Satoko's teasing every now and then since Keiichi could work as a replacement for Satoshi.

Rika calls Keiichi to help the club during a baseball game. Two days after that, in an unusual sight, Rika arrives to school without Satoko, saying she might be late. Satoko still doesn't show later, and the club asks Rika what happened. Seeing Rika's silence and the unpleasant atmosphere, Keiichi begins to feel uneasy. Rika brings a bento for Satoko despite her absence and keeps doing this for the next few days, still acting calm despite seemingly knowing something about Satoko's situation. Satoko finally comes back to school after three days and Rika happily hands her a bento, but becomes sad again later when Satoko goes home instead of playing club games.

The club asks Rika more about her living situation with Rika, who explains how she's considered the mayor's daughter. They tell Chie about the situation with Teppei and she informs the child consultation center, who sends the Houjou residence a call. Rika later tells Keiichi that Satoko denied abuse was happening, explaining Satoko's prior history of faking an abuse call with her stepfather.

Rika and the other club members take Satoko to the festival for Keiichi. The next day at school, Rika and the class talk about how fun the festival was and all the things Keiichi did there, which confuses him since he never attended the festival to kill Teppei.

A few days later, Satoko and Keiichi head to Rika's shack to retrieve clothes for the former and discover Rika's naked corpse in front of the Furude Shrine. Crows were feasting on the girl, her intestines cut out of her.

At the bridge, Satoko recalls a time of falling into the ritual warehouse, breaking the Oyashiro-sama statue inside, and causing Rika to get punished by her father for it.

Himatsubushi

A young Rika meets Mamoru Akasaka when he visits Hinamizawa in 1978 to investigate a kidnapping. Rika quickly takes a liking to Akasaka and, upon hearing he likes to take pictures, calls him "Tomitake Mk. II". Rika joins Akasaka on his tour of Hinamizawa and takes him to the Furude Shrine. Akasaka shows belief that the dam protests are too violent and Rika asks him how they should save their village when they can't live anywhere else. Akasaka realizes that this isn't a problem an outsider can solve easily and apologizes.

At the shrine, Rika takes Akasaka to the outlook and says the dam project will definitely fail, and Hinamizawa won't sink. Akasaka asks why she thinks that, and Rika mysteriously says it has already been decided, regardless of what Akasaka does. Akasaka is confused as to Rika's apparent confidence, and she suddenly tells him to go back to Tokyo. Rika tells Akasaka to go back to Tokyo or else he'll regret it, coming off as a completely different person than the cute girl Rika was acting like a minute ago. Akasaka thinks she's been possessed and asks Rika who she really is, but the girl laughs in response. Akasaka sees some other villagers watching them nearby who don't seem to find anything wrong with the situation. Rika falls over and gets up, going back to her old self. Akasaka asks if she really just told him to go back to Tokyo, but Rika has no idea what he's talking about.

Akasaka tries to call his wife the next night and finds that every phone he goes to has had its wires cut, with Rika following him, seemingly the perpetrator. Rika says it's already too late, and Akasaka takes this to mean it's too late for visitors to call. Rika takes Akasaka to the Furude Shrine and confirms she already knew Akasaka's true purpose for coming to Hinamizawa, just like everyone else in the village. They look at the impromptu Watanagashi Festival being held and go back to the outlook, where Rika starts telling Akasaka of the future. Rika lists the names of those who will die on Watanagashi in later years, ending with Rika's own death. She wishes she could live a happy life with her friends.

The "Mother's Diary" TIPS describe Rika's mother's frustration at Rika being treated as Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation and Rika's apparent coldness towards her. She's allowed to take candy from a store without paying for it, even Oryou dotes on her, and Rika shows good cooking skills at school despite Mrs. Furude never teaching her anything like that.

Akasaka reunites with Ooishi in 1985 in Sapporo and learns that every death Rika predicted came true. Rika's brutalized corpse was found next to the donation box of the Furude Shrine around noon on the day of the Great Hinamizawa Disaster. After the state autopsy, her remains were entrusted to one of the shrine's followers to be returned to her family grave when the quarantine on the Hinamizawa area was lifted.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

Meakashi

In 1982, Shion disguises as Mion and goes to school to berate Satoko for always relying on Satoshi. She beats up Satoko and prepares to hit her with a chair when Rika shields Satoko and begs Mion to stop. Later, Rika tries to cheer up Satoko and asks if she'll feel better if her evil aunt disappeared, saying it has already been decided.

In 1983, a few days after the Watanagashi Festival, Shion disguises as Mion again and inquires Rika about people breaking into the warehouse that night. Rika says that if the trespassers feel bad about it, then they should be fine. "Mion" takes offense to Rika's passiveness and grabs her by the collar, asking if she understands just how sacred the ritual warehouse is supposed to be. Rika knows that two cats have already been punished and two cats are remaining, but she wants to forgive those two. Shion is still angry that she won't do anything and Rika says that Oyashiro-sama doesn't get angry when people enter the warehouse. Shion refuses to believe that Oyashiro-sama is fine with trespassing and says he cursed Rika's father, but Rika says the god had nothing to do with that. Shion slaps Rika bit and then lets go of her, who begins crying. Shion confirms that the trespassing happened because Rika allowed the lock to change and says Kichiirou has already been punished, disappearing as a result. Shion supposes that the Furude family will deal with Keiichi later and leaves Rika by herself.

Later, Rika heads to Mion's house to retrieve soy sauce and is met by a disguised Shion again, seemingly forgetting how Mion treated her earlier. Shion plays along and escorts Rika inside the kitchen, preparing to get the sauce when she notices Rika standing very close to her. Shion thinks Rika seems like a different person when Rika suddenly sprays her with something, knocking her to the ground. Rika straddles Shion and procures a syringe, preparing to inject her with it. Shion struggles and Rika sprays her some more, accidentally inhaling some of the substance herself. Shion uses this chance to overpower her and takes the syringe, injecting Rika with it. Rika starts convulsing and sweating, struggling to keep her balance. She mutters "Hanyuu" and starts coughing as Shion voices her intent to torture Rika in the underground chamber. Shion prepares her taser and Rika grabs a knife, saying she won't give Shion the satisfaction of killing her. Rika starts repeatedly slashing her own throat with the knife before tearing it open and falling over dead. Shion throws her corpse in the well afterwards.

The epilogue shows Rika attending school happily with Shion in her ideal world.

Tsumihoroboshi

Rika and the club play in a water gun fight at school, with Rika as one of the losers. As punishment she wears an Angel Mort outfit while at the establishment two days later.

Rika and the club play club games without Rena one day and want to play mahjong, but they find some of the tiles are missing. They change plans and go to the junkyard to do treasure hunting, but Rika says the place is haunted and jokes about being able to see ghosts since she's a shrine maiden. The club goes anyway, and they stumble upon the dismembered corpses of Teppei and Rina, whom Rena killed earlier. Rena explains herself, saying that none of her friends ever bothered to help Satoshi last year when he was going through a similar ordeal. Rena puts some blame on Rika, saying that her word carries a lot of weight in the village yet she did nothing; Rika only sympathized with Satoshi and pretended to be his friend. Rika admits it, acting mature and saying she didn't know how to save Satoshi, so she could only give consolation.

The club reinforces their friendship with Keiichi's encouragement, as they're the only ones who knows about Teppei and Rina. Rika joins hands with them and tells Rena that she accepts her, as she wasn't afraid to dirty her hands to do what she needed to do. Rika forgives Rena's sin and hopes she can forgive her too and accept her as a friend. The group buries Teppei and Rina's corpses in a forest soon after.

Four days later, Rena keeps staying home from school. Keiichi wonders what to do and Rika tells him that he can listen whenever Rena wants to talk. As her friends, it's important for them to be there for her. A few days later, Rena goes to the junkyard to be by herself at night and Rika suddenly appears. Rena thinks she isn't really Rika but some otherworldly creature and asks who she is. Rika giggles in response, saying Rena is one of the few people who've penetrated her disguise and that she hasn't called herself Rika in over 100 years.

Rika knows Rena is afraid of something and says she came to help her, pulling out a syringe. Rika offers to inject Rena with this and make her feel better, but Rena believes it was the same drug that killed Tomitake. Rika promises that it's a different drug. Rena asks what she plans to do and Rika says she used to try giving injections by force, but it never worked so she's letting Rena decide. Rena vehemently refuses to take the injection and swears to fight to the end. Rika accepts, saying this world is going to end anyway. She says she's lost interest in "this" Rena Ryuugu and Hinamizawa and hopes to get along with the next Rena. Rika says she used to try really hard to fix problems when they occurred, but she got tired of it. Rika wishes Rena the best and leaves, laughing and amused over this conversation.

The next day, Keiichi talks to Rika, Satoko and Mion and confesses his past about how he used to shoot at little kids in his old city. Rika wonders why Keiichi told them this, as they can't give forgiveness; he has to get it from the kids he attacked. Rika says there's a difference between things you should confess and things you shouldn't, and after you're forgiven you shouldn't keep confessing. The club members treat Keiichi as their friend and don't really care about what he used to be like since he's clearly different now. Rika compliments Satoko for being a strong girl when she used to be weak.

Keiichi starts crying and then recalls memories from Onikakushi's world, where he killed Rena and Mion. Keiichi confesses this fact to Mion, that he beat her to death but Mion is confused and says that never happened. Rika however asks Keiichi if he really does remember, and Keiichi laments never being able to forgive this sin. Rika pats his head and forgives him, saying that noticing sins he committed in a previous world is an unbelievable miracle. Rika says Keiichi should now understand what Rena is going through. Keiichi promises to save Rena, and Rika decides to put some more faith in this world after giving up last night. Satoko is confused as to what they're talking about, and Rika says that someday Satoko should remember that Keiichi risked his life for her one time.

A few days later, Rena takes the school hostage by tying up the class and threatens to blow it up. Keiichi starts searching for the bomb while Rika manages to get free from her bindings and distracts Rena before she can attack Keiichi. Rika says this isn't the first time she's helped Keiichi like this and regrets that Keiichi could've made it last time if Rika tried harder. Keiichi doesn't understand but he accepts Rika's help. Rika grabs a mop and takes a fighting stance against Rena, saying she's died hundreds of times before so there's nothing to fear now. Rena attacks with her hatchet and Rika parries her blows, ultimately losing because of her small stature and getting knocked to the side. Rena chases after Keiichi and Rika escapes the school after freeing the other students, where they watch Keiichi and Rena's duel on the school roof. Rika says that this sight is something she's never seen before, believing that Keiichi can truly break the maze of tragedies.

The final TIP "The Demon's Script" reveals that Rika died on the day before the Great Hinamizawa Disaster.

This information is based on adaptational scenes in the anime and might not be considered canon.
Rika is playing cards with the club when Chie asks her to meet Ooishi outside in a scene implied to take place on the day after the Watanagashi Festival, where Ooishi then talks about the deaths of Tomitake and Takano the night before. In Reunion, it is mentioned that Rika's brutalized corpse was found in front of the Furude Shrine before the Great Hinamizawa Disaster.

Minagoroshi

An unknown narrator speaks to the reader about the many worlds Rika's traveled to over her 100 years and the Rules X, Y, and Z that persist in each one. The narrator says they were born from Rika when she gave up trying to break these rules. Rika is nearing the end of her mental lifespan, not helped by Hanyuu losing her powers over time. In the next world, Rika will only have two weeks.

In the manga, shortly after Rika's death in Tsumihoroboshi, she wakes up in an unknown space. An entity similar to Rika in appearance and calling herself Frederica Bernkastel appears, educating Rika about the many Fragments and the Rules.

Rika wakes up in a new world alongside Hanyuu and struggles to remember what she was doing. She sees that the club was playing behind the shrine and Rika fell off a tree branch and rolled down a hill, but she can't remember anything that might've happened leading up to it. Hanyuu tells her that there's only two weeks until the festival. Rika attempts to recall what happened in the previous world: after Rena was arrested, Rika was given a checkup at the clinic and walked home afterwards. Her memories are fuzzy since she has trouble remembering things before violent deaths, but Rika knows that someone covered her mouth with a handkerchief and knocked her out.

The club tends to Rika's injuries but she insists she's alright. Keiichi is relieved that she's okay and Rika talks to him privately, despite Hanyuu's negativity, to see if he can remember anything form previous world again. Rika asks if he remembers climbing on the school roof, but he has no idea what she's talking about.

Rika and Satoko go to the Irie Clinic for Satoko to get her regular injection. Rika speaks with Irie after and hears that Satoko's condition is getting better, but she's still L3 negative and will never recover from her critical state. Rika is saddened at the thought Satoko will never be cured in her lifetime but trusts that Irie will continue his work towards a cure. Irie says they'll be doing another test with Rika at the end of the month.

After the checkup, Rika and Satoko join the club at a games competition in Okinomiya. Rika becomes depressed at the thought she cannot enjoy life properly as Rika Furude and confides with Hanyuu over this. Rika thinks about how Mion rarely plays the same club game twice in the many worlds she's been to, but the Okinomiya tournament has a low chance to occur and is like fate when it does. Seeing that the rules are the exact same, Rika regrets holding on to that small hope. Keiichi notices Rika's sadness and asks what's wrong. Rika says they've already done this before and admits that school is torture, listening to the same things every day. Keiichi says games is different since they're not predetermined, but Rika says otherwise. She predicts that when the names are drawn, each club member will be separated with Keiichi playing Billionaire. Keiichi sees that this is what Rika calls "fate" and is encouraged to smash it to pieces.

The club members draw lots, with Keiichi surprised that Rika's prediction came true; Rika thinks Mion rigged this box to ensure the club members would be separated. She accepts her fate of playing the fishing game like in previous worlds and informs Keiichi that the store owner will have his group play the Game of Life. Sure enough, the store owner pulls out the game, further showing Keiichi that Rika's predictions are coming true. Keiichi remembers hearing about Rika being Oyashiro-sama's reincarnation, and Rika says shes seen this world before. Keiichi declares he will break fate and stands up, telling the store owner that he owns the Game of Life and knows everything about it. He asks the store owner to pull out a different game since it wouldn't be fair, and he agrees.

Rika is surprised that Keiichi succeeded in playing a different game, and Keiichi notices Rika never wanted to play the fishing game. He encourages her to go back, and Rika tells her group she wants to play something else. The group agrees, and Rika promises to herself that she'll use these two weeks to overcome her fate.

After the tournament, everyone except Mion receives dolls as prizes, with Mion feigning disinterest in Keiichi's doll. Hanyuu asks Rika if she remembers, and the player is given a choice here. The first choice has Rika remembering that Keiichi not giving Mion the doll caused a tragedy, resulting from his complex relationship with Mion. Rika pokes Keiichi and is about to say something but Keiichi says he knows and gives Mion the doll without encouragement. Rika is surprised again since Keiichi might remember previous worlds after all.

The second choice is Rika standing by and watching because she wants to believe in Keiichi. Rika hopes that the strong emotion of Keiichi regretting the decision prior will reach him. Keiichi gives Mion the doll regardless. Hanyuu says it may just be a coincidence, but Rika truly believes Keiichi made a miracle because he remembers something in his heart, even without his past memories.

Keiichi becomes chosen to work as an auction director for the Watanagashi festival, and Mion brings him ohagi to celebrate. Keiichi feels like something is mixed in with the ohagi and that he's received ohagi from Mion before, but Mion says this is the first time. Rika comments on this and tells Keiichi that if he's remembering getting ohagi before, then it definitely happened. She encourages Keiichi to not feel mistaken if he ever gets deja vu like that. Rika asks what happened before, and Keiichi explains that Rena and Mion gave him ohagi when he stayed from school, and he found a needle in it; the same events from Onikakushi's world. Keiichi believes that this ohagi is safe however, but Rika asks what he'd do if he really did find a needle in it. Keiichi insists that Mion would never put a needle in it, and Rika apologizes for asking that before smiling. Later, Rika hears from Rena that her dad found a new job and that she had a dream about killing his girlfriend. Rika says it definitely wasn't a dream.

That night, Rika goes to have a drink to herself, believing that this world is definitely a good one. All of her friends are remembering things from previous worlds and averting tragedies. Rika wonders who would benefit the most from killing her, as all the villagers love her. Hanyuu says they should get Irie's help, and that Tomitake and Takano's deaths might have to do with Rika's death. Rika remembers trying to avert their deaths in the past by telling them about it, but they never listened. Rika gave up on them just like she gave up trying to prevent her parents' deaths. Rika considers getting the help of Takano and Tomitake as well, despite disliking the former and finding the latter useless because of his infrequent visits. Rika remembers how at one point she tried running away from the village and hiding in the forest, but she only made it to July. Rika goes to sleep and remembers Rena's advice of talking to other people; Rika considers getting Keiichi's help as well, but he never listened in previous worlds.

The next day, Rika goes to the shrine and finds Takano and Tomitake trying to break into the ritual warehouse.

When Satoko's uncle comes home and starts abusing her, Rika gives her the strength to stand up for herself and call for help. Later, the club learn of Rika's plight and try to help her, but they are all murdered by Takano in the end. Rika is tortured alive by Takano as the spirits of her friends watch, and they all encourage Hanyuu to get involved as well.

Matsuribayashi

Rika looks over several fragments to piece together the variables needed for her happy fragment, and in the end the rest of the club become more prepared in fighting Takano.

In the final confrontation, Takano shoots Hanyuu, but Rika freezes time and grabs the bullet, ending the cycle of sin that was present for so long.

Other Appearances

Main article: Rika Furude/Other Appearances

Trivia

• According to a production diary entry on January 6, 2002, Rika was supposed to carry a stuffed toy around with her.
• The original Comiket release of Onikakushi contained references in the files to a character named Karin that were removed from Watanagashi onwards. The kanji for Karin (花梨) are the same as the kanji for Rika (梨花) but backwards. There was also a removed audio track by the name of Karin.

• Rika has numerous references in later works related to Ryukishi07. In particular, Bernkastel from Umineko When They Cry is implied to be the same character as Rika.
  • Bernkastel may be the same as Frederica Bernkastel due to their similar names. The Umineko side story Bernkastel's Letter also ends with a poem from Frederica.
  • In regards to appearances, Rika and Bern have similar blue hairstyles, and Bern wears a cat-tail and can transform into a cat while Rika has referred to herself as a cat on many occasions.
  • In the Turn of the Golden Witch ???, Bern uses Rika's "mii" and "nipah" catchphrases and acts like they were something Bern herself used to say.

"...Umm, in times like this, what did I used to say again? ......Umm, uh, ......g-go for it, yay.
Mii, nipah~☆
......It's so embarrassing, doing this."

— Bernkastel trying to cheer Battler up in Turn of the Golden Witch

• • In Dawn of the Golden Witch, Lambda and Erika talk about how Bern was trapped in a Logic Error in the past. The manga adaptation of that scene (Chapter 20) shows what looks like Rika wearing her dress and Hanyuu with her shrine maiden outfit.
  • Also in Dawn and in Twilight of the Golden Witch, Bernkastel refers to Featherine Augustus Aurora shorthand as "Auaurora", referencing Hanyuu's tendency to mutter "au au".
  • In an interview, Ryukishi answered a Higurashi question about Rika and Frederica Bernkastel's connection by saying that Frederica is the manifestation of Rika's despair. He also says that he enjoyed making Rika evil, strengthening the connection.
  • In the final episode of Higurashi Sotsu, Rika and Satoko's final conversation mimics the end of Umineko, where Bernkastel and Lambdadelta go separate ways and promise to reunite when something else cries. The last lines of Rika and Satoko's dialogue are verbatim Bern and Lambda's.