I dragged my body to school, hoping that Satoko might be there.
But, just as I expected... there was no one sitting in her seat.
...I felt all the more devastated just seeing it empty.
I had nothing left to bet on. All I could do was get hurt and suffer devastation.
Blood flowed from my broken heart and found its way out through my eyes in the form of tears.
"Is something wrong, Furude-san?
Is Houjou-san absent today...?"
The whole class was wondering why I came in late today, and why Satoko wasn't with me.
...But even if I felt sympathy from everyone's eyes on me, I didn't feel any promise from them.
No one here was able to save Satoko.
No one. No one could save her...!
Why should I have to keep smiling at all these useless people?
...This world is finished anyway.
If l leave matters alone, then a few days after the Watanagashi festival, my movie reel will be cut as I'm murdered like usual, and I'll return to the beginning of this month again.
And so I'll continue to live forever in June 1983.
Trapped here.
Even death won't set me free from that prison.
"Furude-san, please talk to me if something happened.
Where is Houjou-san?
Is she sick?"
"........Shut up."
The whole class gasped.
No one expected Rika Furude to talk like that.
...I, myself, made such blunt statements a few times in several past worlds, but it was always the first time anyone in that world heard anything like that.
...That must have been very easy for them, and I envied it.
"F-Furude-san......"
Chie was standing there dumbfounded.
I stood up from my seat.
If Satoko wasn't around, I didn't want to be locked up inside of this humid place.
"I'm going home..."
I'm not coming here anymore. Good bye.
...I felt like saying something like that.
However, I retained the small hope that Satoko might go to school the next day, so I kept it to myself.
However, Chie wouldn't let me go.
She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the teacher's office instead.
Chie told me to take a seat on a couch by the principal's office.
......She had no right to tell me what to do.
I could just escape through the open window.
As I didn't have that kind of energy, however, I sat on the couch as she told me to.
...I realized then that I didn't even have the energy to be rebellious.
...Maybe... Satoko felt the same.
She lost the energy to rebel, and so she was simply obeying her uncle...
"Furude-san.
Please tell me what's going on.
I'm sure I can help you."
Chie spoke to me, but I already knew that her words were empty.
All she would do was call the child consultation center.
She wouldn't go to the Houjou residence and pull Satoko out of there.
So there was no point... in even discussing the topic with her.
If I told her, she wouldn't keep it to herself.
...And shortly, everyone would know about what was happening with Satoko.
That would only result in chaos.
If they call the child consultation center, the staff from there will go and visit Satoko.
Her uncle will deny the abuse, and Satoko will also deny it because of the guilt she feels over Satoshi leaving.
Shortly after, they'll find out about the false reports Satoko made before, and they'll decide to not proceed any further.
Her uncle will allow Satoko to go to school for a few days, but his abuse will get worse because he'll think she's the one who called the child consultation center.
He'll do horrible things to her, just like her aunt did last year.
Calling the child consultation center will not help Satoko. It will instead put her in an even worse situation.
It's better not to notify them at all.
...But if we don't report it, then how else is this world supposed to improve...?
No.
Nothing is going to change.
There's nothing that can be done once this unfortunate fate overtakes Satoko.
"You say Houjou-san's uncle is back...
Is that true...?"
"............"
I had somehow answered all of Chie's questions without noticing.
I knew that nothing would change, whether I spoke to her or not...
So I just told her everything...
because I had no energy to rebel.
"I understand what's going on now...
This is horrible..."
"So...
now that you know what's going on, what can you do...?"
Chie answered right away, without faltering, already used to my spiteful tone.
"I will visit her house today.
I need to see Satoko-chan and talk to her first."
"Then if there's a problem... You're going to call the child consultation center, right?
They have it on record showing that she made false reports in the past.
They'll never do anything unless there's proof of abuse...
They're just like the police, who don't start investigations until after someone's dead.
They won't do anything unless Satoko is killed.
When that happens, this is what both the school and the child consultation center will say:
'We never saw this coming. She was such a bright girl.' They'll just repeat the same words as if they were scripted.
Ahahahahaha. You people are idiots.
Ahahahahahaha..."
"I believe...
that the people from the center will do something about it.
I will make sure to tell them that she needs help."
...You've done the same in previous lives, too.
I wasn't denying her passion, but I couldn't say that there was meaning to it.
The problem wasn't with Chie.
The problem was with them.
No matter how hard Chie tried to seek help from child services, it meant nothing as long as they held biased notions about Satoko.
"It doesn't matter if they find proof of abuse or not!!"
I suddenly heard a voice from the hallway.
It was Shion's voice.
Chie shouted, "Who's there?!" and I heard Mion gasping, "Crap!"
They must have been listening to our conversation.
They were having a quiet discussion outside the door, but Shion accidentally raised her voice.
She gets so violent sometimes...
Four people entered into the room from the hallway.
Mion, Shion, Keiichi and Rena.
"I told you to stay in class!
Go back to the classroom!"
"We can't, not in this situation!
What are you going to do if something happens to Satoko?
Do you want to be responsible for that?
There's no time to waste!
We have to do something right now!!
My sis is saying that things will get worse unless there's some kind of proof of abuse, but it'll be too late once there is!!
Do you want to see Satoko dead, Mion?!"
"That's not what I'm trying to say!
Like I told you, Satoko once made a false report to the abuse hotline, and they have that record at the child consultation center!
Without proof, they won't investigate her case any further.
Just think about what that means!
It'll only make her uncle more furious!
Satoko's situation will get even worse!"
"What the hell!
They're supposed to help her before something happens, right?
Are they really not going to do anything unless she's seriously injured?"
"Calm down, you two...
I feel the same as Shii-chan and Keiichi-kun.
I don't want to wait until something bad happens.
But we need to think about what we can do!"
"What can we do?
Talk to the child consultation center, right?
If we had the guarantee they'd help her, it'd all be fine, but Mion, you're saying it's highly likely they'll put her case on hold, right?"
"......Yeah.
Unfortunately, that's what I think they'll do, just like last year.
On top of that, she was in an even worse situation then.
They put her case on hold even though Satoko was already in horrible shape.
But this time, it's only been a day since her uncle took her away.
Plus, her uncle has legal custody of her..."
"We don't need to be so roundabout!!
All we have to do is ambush that bastard and kill him!!"
"Shii-chan, you can't do that!!
Satoshi-kun wouldn't want that!"
"Then how should we save Satoko?!
Satoshi-kun entrusted me! He trusted me to look after Satoko!!
If anything happens to Satoko, I could never face him again!!
Having our hands tied until after Satoko's been thoroughly abused isn't an option!!
When a crime is taking place right before your eyes, is reporting it the first thing you do?
No, it isn't!!
You stop it!
We have to stop this ourselves!!!"
"Calm down, Shion..."
"You're the head of the Sonozaki family, aren't you?!
Use your power to save Satoko!!
You can do it, can't you?!
You have enough power to save her!!
...I know. The hag's policy is to stay completely out of Houjou affairs because of her grudge over the dam conflict, right?!
No matter what happens to Satoko, the Sonozaki main branch intends to ignore it, don't they?!!
If neither the child consultation center nor the Sonozaki family can save her, I have to do it on my own!
I'm going to do it. I'm going to kill that pig!
I'm going to do it right now. It's not going to take more than 1500 seconds for me to get to her house and stab him to death!!
What can you do in 1500 seconds?!
You can't do anything, can you?!
I'm going to do it. I'm going to help her!!
Let me go!!
I'm going to kill him right now! Waaaaaaaaah!!"
"Shion-san, settle down!
Stop saying that, or you're going to get into big trouble!"
They were desperately discussing how to save her.
...I just sat on the couch and stared at them vaguely.
I had seen this same discussion many times, in many different situations.
...I was tired of listening to it.
The only difference was that everything was happening a few days earlier than usual.
"...............Rika..."
"...It's okay.
...I'm not going to expect anything good anymore.
I don't have any hope left in my heart....."
Hanyuu made a sad expression.
I couldn't tell if she was sad about our fate, or if she was taking pity on me...
Just as she promised, Chie went to Satoko's house after school.
It had only been a day since Satoko's uncle took her away.
She wouldn't be able to tell if he'd hurt her already or not.
If the students hadn't made such a big fuss about it, Chie would have waited a couple of days before going to her house.
She already knew, however, about what happened to Satoko the previous year.
She also knew that her uncle was abusing her just like her aunt, and that he had neglected to act as her guardian for the whole year.
Considering those factors, it might not have been too soon for her to visit the Houjou residence.
Satoko hadn't shown up in school that day.
No one called the school to explain her absence.
That alone was proof that her uncle wasn't taking responsibility as her guardian...
Chie was going to her house to see what was going on with her own eyes.
She parked the car in the street and checked the map she brought from the school.
It said "Houjou Residence" on the sign in front of the house.
Chie was certain that this had to be the place.
The window on the second floor was open, and she could see a curtain hanging there.
From that window, she could hear the laughing voices of several old men.
No one had answered the phone when she called right before leaving the school...
She could also hear the clicking noise of mahjong tiles along with the voices.
She had never played mahjong before, but had a pretty good idea that was it from the way the men were talking.
If they were playing mahjong, there must have been three other men inside the house.
Her students had told her that Satoko's uncle was a very violent man.
Chie was a teacher, true, but she was also just a young lady.
She felt hesitant to ring the doorbell after hearing their disgusting laughter.
But courage drove her forward.
She made her decision and rang the doorbell.
She heard the bell ring inside the house.
But the laughing voices continued to echo from the second floor. It seemed as though they didn't hear the bell.
She rang the bell again, and this time the laughter stopped for a moment.
Someone must have heard the sound.
But soon after, they started laughing again.
It didn't sound like anyone was coming to get the door...
She thought someone heard the bell, but perhaps not...
Chie was sure they were home, of course.
She couldn't leave just because no one was answering the door.
She knocked and yelled loudly this time.
"Hello...!
Are you home, Houjou-san?!"
Finally, the laughter stopped and a man with a scary look on his face opened the door.
"Who the fuck are you?
Shut up and get the hell out of here!"
Chie felt intimidated by him, but her heart was filled with a teacher's pride and responsibility.
"Hello. Are you Houjou-san?
I am--"
Before she could introduce herself, Teppei screamed at her.
"Just shut up!!
I don't need no newspaper, no milk, no insurance!
I'm busy right now.
I'm working."
The people in the room laughed when he told her he was working.
Chie wouldn't give up.
She continued to speak.
"I'm the teacher at Hinamizawa Branch School. My name is Chie!
Is Satoko Houjou-san here?"
"Huh?
What the hell? What do you want with Satoko?"
"I came here because she didn't come to school today. I wasn't able to get ahold of her, so I'm wondering what happened."
"Huh...?
School...?"
"Yes. Is she home?
I need to talk with her."
"She's sick. That's right... she has a cold.
Satoko is resting because she has a fever..."
"I need to give her some handouts. May I please see her?"
"Fuckin' idiot.
Weren't you listening to what I just said?
Satoko is sick!
She's sleeping right now!
I can't let you see her!"
"I see...
Do you think she can come to school tomorrow?"
"Who knows?
I won't know until then!
You idiot!"
"............I, I see.
All right...
Please tell her that I came by...
Thank you..."
Chie bowed, but by the time she lifted up her head, Teppei was no longer there...
When Chie returned to the school, several students emerged from the classroom.
They were Keiichi, Rena, Mion and Shion.
Rika was also still inside the classroom, but she wouldn't come outside.
"Ch-Chie-sensei... how did it go?"
"You went to Satoko's house, right?"
"You were all waiting for me...?"
"Chie-sensei, how was Satoko doing? Was she okay...?"
".......Well... I didn't get to see her..."
"What the hell were you doing?!
You're a teacher, right?!
You came back just because he didn't let you see her?!"
"Stop it, Shion...!
That's about what we expected...!"
"I'm sure Satoko has a bruise on her face by now!
That's why he didn't want you to see her!
You should've just ran into the house!!
I can't even trust you anymore!!"
"...I'm sorry."
"Stop it, Shii-chan.
She did the best she could."
"Now we know for sure.
...Satoko's uncle definitely has her locked inside the house..."
"We knew that from the start!
Rika-chama's been telling you all day today!
We wasted half a day just to find out if that's true!
How the hell do you think you can help Satoko?"
"Calm down!
Let's make a plan.
We care about her just as much as you do!
We're not going to abandon her. Let's come up with a way to save Satoko!"
"I already gave you my opinion, didn't I?
It's the best solution we have. I can handle it all by myself!
I only need your help to hide his body..."
"Stop it, Shii-chan!
Stop saying such violent things!!
Murder is a serious crime!!
It's the worst thing you can even think about!!"
"Then give me a different idea!!
If my idea is wrong, then give me a different one, even if it's only a little bit better!!
Come on!
Come on!!
See? You can't even say anything!
I can save Satoko in 1500 seconds!
I'll just drag his body to the Onigafuchi Swamp and dump him in there! I don't even need your help, Sis!
What's wrong? Why don't you come up with another idea for saving her?"
"That's not the point!
If you try to figure it out by yourself, that's all you'll think of!!
Let me tell you something...
1500 seconds?
That's taking way too long!
I would save her within 1000 seconds!
If I were you, I'd just leave here silently and do what I want to do!
Do you know why I'm not doing that?
It's because someone told me once
that even if it's the only option you have, murder is still something that you should never do.
It's not the right thing to do, and it's never the best thing to do either!
You just think it's the best solution, because you're not thinking properly!"
A long time ago...
I don't know who told me this,
but someone taught it to me.
If there's something that troubles you, you can't think about it all on your own.
You can't think that your own solution is the best way to conclude things.
"We should all think about it together!
If we all brainstorm, I'm sure we'll come up with a better solution!"
"It's not about whether my idea is wrong or right.
Just think about it. Every minute we waste puts Satoko in more danger!
Do you hate the Houjou family that much?
No one is supposed to help Satoshi-kun and Satoko, no matter how much they're struggling?
I'm going to help her!
Get out of my way!
I'm leaving right now!
I'm going to stab that loser and save Satoko!"
"No, Shii-chan... Shii-chan!!"
"You guys should curse yourselves!
Curse your powerlessness!!
Fine, brainstorm for another idea. You'll never come up with one!
Just go ahead and neglect her!!
You've never really cared about Satoko!!
You only think of her as someone you can play with!!
But I'm different!!
She's more than just a friend for me!!
She's like my family!!
I care about her more than you guys do!!!
I'm going to go kill him now!!
Goodbye!!"
"......Wait a minute."
"What is it? Are you trying to stop me...?"
"Shion...
You're not understanding even half of what Rena is trying to tell you."
"What? I totally understand what she's saying.
We can save her right away with just the little courage needed to murder him, but she's spouting hypocritical garbage to hide that fact!"
"...Shion.
Do you think Satoko would appreciate it
if you saved her by committing murder?"
"I'm not trying to seek her appreciation.
I don't care what happens to me.
Her happiness is all that matters!"
"That's not right.
You're talking tough, but I know you're scared.
In fact, you asked Mion to help you hide the body.
In other words, you want to have a normal life after killing her uncle.
You want us all to be happy, just like a few days ago.
You want us to be back where we were.
But if you murder him, we'll never be like that again!!
Do you think you can really commit a perfect crime? You'll be arrested for sure!!"
"I'm prepared to face that!!
If I could end Satoko's suffering by doing time behind bars, I'd gladly pay that price!!"
"No. No. That's absolutely not true!!
You would curse yourself, and I'd bet on that.
You would curse yourself and regret it, wondering how you drew the short straw and became a murderer.
Then you'd finally realize what you really wanted.
It wasn't killing her uncle.
It was returning us all to our happy lives!
Your wish will never come true if you commit murder!
Satoko will also curse herself.
She'll blame herself, thinking she's the reason Shion became a murderer.
...In fact, who's going to force Satoko to eat her squash if you get locked up?!
Who's going to talk about setting up mean traps with Satoko...?!
You're supposed to do those things!!
Shion Sonozaki!!
You have to be by her side at all times!!
Don't kid yourself!!
What you're trying to do is not for Satoko. It's just a huge mistake!!!"
"If that's what you're saying, do you have any idea for how to save her?
You don't, do you?!
You're such a hypocrite!!!
I said move!!
I'm killing him!
I'm going to kill him now!"
Keiichi blocked her way by standing in front of the door.
Shion gave him a hateful glare, but he just sent her back a confident smile.
"I can't let you go, Shion.
The world we all long for doesn't exist without you.
I'm not going to let you go."
"Is that so?
That means you're siding with Teppei Houjou.
You're just as guilty as he is. I'm going to bust your head open and kill you first!!!"
"Hey!!
Don't be stupid, Shion!!
Quit it already!!!"
"Shion-san!
What are you going to do with that chair?!
Stop it!
Put that chair down!!"
"He doesn't understand that I'm serious.
I have to show him how determined I am.
You better get the hell out of my way, now!"
"Shion... I admit that right now, I have no better idea.
But that's just for the moment.
I'm sure that we will come up with a better idea eventually!
I guarantee it.
I promise you that we're going to save Satoko.
So please, okay?
Trust your friends."
"If you're afraid of committing murder for Satoko's sake, you're not my friend anymore.
I'm not going to tell you this again!!
Get the hell out of my way!!!"
"Calm down and think about what you're saying!!
We will save Satoko somehow!
Just trust us!!
Don't try and look for a shortcut!!
Trust your friends!!
Trust me!!
I, Keiichi Maebara, am going to save Satoko for sure!
You can bet on it!!!"
"Shut up!!!
I can't trust you!!
What do you think you can do for her?!"
"...Sh-Shion!!!"
Shion threw the chair at Keiichi.
It hit him hard, and the chair fell to the floor with a loud noise.
But Keiichi was unfazed even after being struck.
He just stood in front of the exit without even covering his face.
Wait... he wasn't unfazed.
...A trail of blood was pouring from his forehead where the corner of the chair hurt him.
"Heh heh, that was nothing...!!
You thought I would move out of the way?!
I'm not going to move from here even if you kill me.
If I let you go, we might never see you again.
Satoko will think about you every day, and her heart will be filled with sadness.
If that happens, there won't be anything we can do... to make her happy.
...It's going to be a very sad life for her.
I don't want Satoko to live in a sad world like that.
The future that we want is a wild and riotous one
just like what we had until a few days ago!!
Of course, I won't let Satoko's uncle threaten her any longer!!
I haven't decided how I'm going to do it yet.
But I will know soon!!
I promise!!
So, please!
Just trust me!!!"
"............"
Shion wasn't yet convinced...
but even so, she walked to the window and took her seat.
Somebody rested a hand on Keiichi's shoulder.
It was the principal... He had been standing there and listening to him for a while.
"Principal..."
"Well done.
Chie-sensei... I've heard what's going on."
"...I'm sorry... for being so powerless..."
"I know it's only been a day, but I think this is an emergency.
We should report this to the proper authorities."
"But, sir... She has called the child consultation center before..."
"They're not going to help her anyway!
It's just a waste of time!"
Shion raised her voice.
The principal looked at Shion and started talking.
"Shion Sonozaki-kun...
There's one word that I really don't like.
Do you know what that is?
It's what you just said...
the 'anyway'
that came out of your mouth.
That is the cruelest word, which means admitting defeat before you even fight.
By the time you've uttered that word, you've already lost your battle!"
"I agree with him.
I think we should try various options.
Calling the child consultation center should be the first on the list.
If that doesn't work, we can try our second and third options.
Don't give up before you try. That's just as bad as not helping her at all!"
"Principal, if you're reporting this, then...!!
You'll make sure to convince them that Satoko needs saving, right?!"
"Of course.
Houjou-kun is my precious student.
I'll do my best so that they will save her."
"They will try to take action as quickly as possible, so if we call now, they should get to her house later tonight."
"I hope they will help her...
But what if they put her case on hold...?"
"If that happens, we should come up with our next plan.
As long as we don't give up, we can help her somehow."
"Aha ha ha ha!
Whatever you guys say!
Satoko is getting hurt as we speak!
Who's the one abandoning her here?!!"
"Shion.
I just promised you.
We are going to save Satoko!!
Not by committing murder,
but by saving her in a way that will make her happy!
You just watch us.
I, Keiichi Maebara, am promising you this!"
Shion stared out the window without looking at Keiichi's face.
"...I'll try and find out what the consultation center decides tonight.
I'll call everyone when I do."
"I hope they'll take her into custody..."
"We can't be optimistic about this.
I think there's a huge chance that they'll put her case on hold.
What are we going to do if that happens?"
"......If that happens...
Well...
...Damn it...!"
"Chie-sensei.
Let's go to the teacher's office.
We need to make this call."
"Yes.
We need to make sure they really understand..."
They left the classroom.
Keiichi, Rena and Mion got together and discussed their other options.
Shion was looking down and crying...
Rika was...
...just vaguely looking at them as if staring at a boring TV drama.
...........Nothing will change.
The child consultation center will put her case on hold.
I've seen it so many times in previous lives.
I almost hope that they will take her into custody just this once...
But I have no more coins left to gamble on a hope like that.
In a previous life, Keiichi killed Satoko's uncle...
...but Shion was not there when that happened.
...When she is, I suppose she's the one who takes on that role.
Their pathetic hopes will be crushed by tomorrow morning.
The social worker will be at her house tonight, but Satoko will deny that she's being abused.
Her uncle will assume that she was the one who called the service, and he'll abuse her even more.
She will come to school tomorrow because he doesn't want the child consultation center to be suspicious of him...
We will feel more and more hopeless when we see the dead look in Satoko's eyes...
I've been living for more than a hundred years, but I've never defeated this fate.
The fate of her uncle's return.
I was blessed with so much luck
and I thought I could defeat it this time.
But in the end, it all came down to the same thing...
It was a waste of energy to put in any effort.
It was worthless...
all worthless...
The more I thought about this inescapable fate, the more I pitied these people for talking endlessly about how they were going to save Satoko...