Divide and Conquer (A Higurashi When They Cry FanFic)

Chapter 6: Revelations

When Keiichi woke, he was very confused. His head throbbed lightly, and his eyes hurt. Sunlight streamed through a nearby window, almost blinding him. He had no idea where he was. Last thing he remembered was playing tag with Mion and then...

Then what? He scratched the back of his head, then noticed that the top his head was firmly bandaged.

What the...? He looked around and finally began to make sense of everything around him. He was in a hospital room.

I remember... he thought. Something hit me on the head, but... what happened after?

His hand suddenly tightened around something. He looked over to see what it was. He was holding someone's hand. He looked up, expecting to see his mother, but... it was Mion, seemingly fast asleep.

Mion Sonozaki was holding his hand. His face felt hot... and her hand felt just as warm. He felt his heart flutter.

He couldn't deny it. He was in love with her. He probably didn't admit it before because she seemed so out of his league. She was the next head of the most powerful family in the village. And on top of it all, she was just so simply amazing, in both the looks and talents department. She absolutely infuriated him at times when she would single him out when they had club activities. But he couldn't imagine anyone else being his best friend.

He tentatively squeezed her hand. Her eyes flew open, and she said, "Keii-chan?"

Oops! Keiichi blushed. "Uh, hi! I didn't know you were awake."

"Well, yeah. It's almost noon!" She smirked. "You don't think I'm that lazy, do you?"

"Of course not! I... uh... I just..." He was still very aware of his hand in hers, and apparently so was she.

She quickly pulled her hand away and cleared her throat. "So... how are you feeling?"

"Well, my head is throbbing, but that's about it." He looked in her eyes. "Mion, what happened to me? I don't remember anything."

She blushed suddenly. "So... you don't remember last night?"

He tilted his head. "What happened last night?"

If it was possible, she seemed to turn even redder. "Nothing! Nothing happened!" She cleared her throat again. "Someone tried to kill you, Keii-chan."

Keiichi's eyes looked at his friend. "Seriously. Don't you think you're exaggerating just a tad bit?"

She shook her head. "It was deliberate. An oilcan filled with several gallons water was rigged to fall on you when you ran under there. The bottom was cut and sharpened in order to cut you deeply, and it worked. You should've seen all the blood when I found you... I thought you were dead right there..." She seemed to withdraw into herself, and she put a hand on the side of the bed in order to steady herself. "I should've been more aware of everything around me, I could've kept you from getting hurt..."

Without stopping to think, he put his hand over hers. "Hey, Mion. Don't think like that."

Her eyes bore into his, surprised at his actions. "What do you mean?"

"I'm trying to say that I'm okay now." He winked at her. "You don't need to worry about me. I'm a lot tougher than I look. Besides, you got more important things to worry about than me."

Mion suddenly bristled. Keiichi winced. "I get the feeling I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you shouldn't have." Mion said flatly. "Of course I'm going to worry you. There's nothing more important to me right now than taking care of you." She stared at him, then blushed again, realizing what she just said. "I mean, because you're an important member of the club. Can't have much fun without you, right?" She laughed nervously.