Divide and Conquer (A Higurashi When They Cry FanFic)

Chapter 5: The Heart That Cries In Silence

Pain. That was all he knew. It was all encompassing, a beast that demanded attention and severely punished anything and anyone that denied it. He felt it in his bones, he felt it in his heart, he felt it in his soul.

Is this it? He thought. Is this where I die?

The beast roared, and he began to fade again.

Great. Just when things started to make sense...

Right before he faded, an image flashed in his mind. It was quick, but it gave him some strength.

It was a girl's hair... the color of emeralds...

Mion simply stared at the wall, suddenly very interested in the texture of the dried paint. It crisscrossed and jutted at weird angles, and at such irregular intervals that normally it would be interesting to no one in their right mind. But Mion was certainly not in her right mind. Not at the moment. If anything, she wished she could stop feeling and thinking and just be.

The pain she felt in her heart was agonizing. It tore at her and mocked her as she dared to hope for the best. It drove her absolutely mad.

Keii-chan is gonna pull through, she thought. I know he will... he has to...

You know he won't, the pain told her. You saw the blood. There's no way Keiichi could survive that. It was everywhere.

Yes, but, Keii-chan has been through a lot. He's pulled through!

But there was never that much blood. And you know he hasn't been this messed up before... He's going to die, Mion. You know that...

I... I can't...

The internal debate continued like this, running around her mind in circles, with neither side getting anywhere. She continued to stare at the wall blankly, unaware of the others watching her worriedly.

Shion watched her sister, all too aware of what was going on with her. She was torturing herself over everything, just like when Shion had found out Satoshi was hidden here at the clinic. She felt hope, that he would pull through, but also despair at the fact that he might die as well. Those two emotions did not belong together, so they battled constantly, until one was proven right.

She teared up, feeling sorrow for her sister. She had prayed that Mion would never have to experience the pain she'd known, that she could be happy being with Keiichi. But here she was, a hollow shell sitting two feet away from her, unaware of anything around her, and unwilling to feel.

Rika and Hanyuu sat on the couch opposite her, keeping to themselves, but emotions were etched deep into their faces. Rika seemed as if she had aged, her eyes were dark and brooding, and they seemed to be writhe with thought and worry.

Rena had rode with them as they followed Keiichi to the hospital, but she'd had to leave to go take care of her father and dinner. She promised she would be right back after she'd finished at home. She seemed in a daze. Everyone did.

Keiichi's parents had rushed over immediately after Chie called them and told them of the situation. Keiichi's mom seemed like she was barely holding it together while his dad seemed stone-faced. Shion guessed that was because if he even tried to show emotions, his wife would lose it because he'd be unable to hold back the tears. She knew how much the man loved his son.

Satoko held firmly onto Shion's shirt, whimpering slightly. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, as if she was remembering the accident. All the blood, the look of Keiichi so defeated... It was too much for any of them to comprehend.