Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni

[Bazza]

Evangeline lowered herself into the luxurious sofa that had pride of place in the living room setting of the house she and the girls had recently been shacked up in, on the offer placed down by the Major General. Beside her sat Misaka Mikoto, her life-long partner. Across from the two lovers sat Kana Fujiwara, the chocolate-haired space-case who served as the pacifier for the young warrior princess, Fumika Minami. Fumika had herself propped atop a bean bag; Kana enjoying the comfort offered by her lovers’ folded knees as she lay curled up on the floor.

As the snow fell outside in the dim light of Berlin’s excruciatingly drawn-out winters; the fireplace bathed the room in a warm orange glow, giving off the much-needed warmth to keep the residents of the room comfortable.

The now noticeably pregnant Evangeline had been revisiting the day she met, and fell in love with, the clearly bashful young maiden who was now using her left shoulder as a pillow whilst her eyes fixated upon the soon-to-be mothers’ face as she told of the pairs' history, occasionally butting in to add – or correct – details of her “old war stories”.

Kana and Fumika were listening intently to the tale; yet to have heard the article in its entirety. Evangeline retraced the pairs’ footsteps from shortly before they met to the admission of the “firecracker” and “space-case” into the family.

Sakura, however, had long grown weary of the evenings events and had retired to sleep – lying underneath a cotton blanket to shield herself from the cold; Evangeline periodically pausing from her tales to observe the undeniably adorable sleeping face of her adopted daughter.

As was to be expected, with the cessation of juvenile ears from the conversation, it took on the romantically erotic nature of much of Evangeline’s life. She retold the first time she and Misaka kissed; the first time they encountered each others’ naked bodies and the first time they engaged together intimately. The atmosphere of the room begun to resemble the Alsatia’s bridge on a typical day – the oversexed blonde woman bringing a blush to the cheeks of all those present to hear her biographical anecdotes.

As she reached the conclusion of her own account, she observed an unusually softened Fumika staring intently into the eyes of her own lover who to whom she had leased her legs as a substitute headrest, no longer aware of what was going on around her. Evangeline, seeing this as an opportunity to extract another interesting yarn, questioned the two about the beginnings of their own relationship.

As something of a rare and unexpected occurrence, Fumika was caught off guard and stumbled as she attempted to maintain her aura of composure. Her gaze returned to match that of Kana, and she begun to retell her own story – A story that begun two years prior inside the gates of the St. Miatre Girls’ Academy.



When I went to school, I had always received many admirers amongst the girls who had yet to develop an interest in boys. The fact I stood several centimeters above even many girls in years above me combined with my tomboyish delinquency meant I was often approached by girls of all years seeking to garner a relationship with me. At the time, though, I was as straight as a die. At least, I thought I was. These girls weren’t bad people; and I felt horrible rejecting confession after confession; but having that kind of…. affair with another girl just didn’t interest me. I suppose it means nothing now, but at the time Kana appeared in my life I actually had my eyes set on a certain delinquent boy who was part of the gang I was in. Looking back on things now, if I’d gone with him I’d likely be in prison if not dead by now.

Even though I was forced to live at the school by my parents, I didn’t really enjoy being there. I laboured through classes – if I attended them at all – and repeatedly broke curfews to stay out late with the other gang members trying desperately to be on the wrong side of the law – the Bosozoku thugs. We spent the night driving around Tokyo city on motorcycles, picking fights and committing petty crimes. I carried my katana with me… I consider myself fortunate I had the stability of mind to never use it on another person.

…And then, by absolute chance, Kana was added to the dormitory room I had staked my claim to. It was meant to be a two-person dorm but I had long since chased out the other girl living there. I can’t even remember her name; it was so long ago now. But here comes this…. this child… lost in the grown up world… arriving at the front door with an escort comprising of the few people I actually feared in that school – the headmistress and her pseudo-female student representative thugs.

At first I was absolutely fuming. I just about tore the place apart in selfish anger, but this girl just stood there staring blankly. I remember I made her cry back then… and I think that moment… when she was in the middle of the room… all alone… crying…

That was the day my life changed.

My heart broke at that sight. The knowledge that I’d made such an innocent girl cry… I couldn’t bare it. I leant down close, and scooped this child up in a hug that seemed to last for hours – I can remember the only words I said to Kana then were “I’m sorry”.

The fact that she returned a smile to me after I let her go… made me stop and think what I was doing with my life. I know it sounds clich? but that is the effect she had on me.

After lending her one of my handkerchiefs I helped her get set up in the dorm. Later that day I showed her around the school grounds. The class rooms, the gymnasium and sports fields. I showed her the greenhouse, containing the spot I preferred to hide myself away in when I didn’t feel like confronting the world.

I went to classes the next day, and to the amazement of everyone, I actually gave a damn. I didn’t want to make Kana upset again, and that became my motivation. I rejoined the judo club I’d left at the start of the year and continued my training. I could feel my own vitality returning, and it was all because of this one little girl.

Of course, at the time all of this happened, we were just friends. We became almost inseparable from each other and spent every possible waking moment side by side. The only times we were apart were during classes, as Kana was two years my junior. We prepared ourselves together in the morning; we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together; I helped her study for her tests – surprising myself that I actually had the knowledge to do it, having ignored most things when I was in her year. We bathed and even slept together – Kana becoming insistent on sharing a bed. Back then it meant little to me; as we were both women; simply an act of mutually rewarding companionship.

Then something changed. I received notice from my parents that they’d given my hand in marriage to the son of the director of an allied business. That undid, in a matter of hours, everything I’d been doing to better myself for Kana’s sake. That night, in an almost blind rage, I nearly killed my parents.

I left the dormitory late one night, against Kana’s wishes, broke into the judo hut, stole my sword and after contacting the boy I – up until recently – had affection for, returned to my house to seek out my vengeance for what my mother and father had done. It was raining heavily that evening, the only light being artificial.

I confronted my parents as they got out of the car in the driveway, my katana unsheathed; I demanded a reason for being effectively sold off to a company. The answer I received only furthered my anger. By that time I was past the point of no return. I drew my sword into position and lunged at the people who were once my parents.

One moment I was running towards my mother, intent on ending her life; the next, I was looking at Kana. I now had my sword aimed at her chest; where but a moment ago it had been trained on my mother. She had jumped in my path and was now staring me down as I pelted towards her. The split second it took me to grasp my thoughts saved the lives of Kana, both my parents and my own future.

That day I saw a side of Kana I deeply regret ever forcing into existence. She begged… pleaded with me to put the sword down, tears running down both mine and her own cheeks. All I could think of was removing the life of the people she was protecting. As I stood there, body taught, ready to move at any split second, mind running a million-miles-an-hour, I felt a warm embrace overtake me. Kana had walked past the end of my sword, down the blade and straight in to my heart.

She stood there, pressing herself against me, crying. Appealing to me to put my weapon down and end it all. As her warmth overtook me, the deeply-seeded anger I possessed was disposed and replaced with an unexplainable feeling of bliss. This sweet, innocent child had put her own life at risk, to be close to me.

I collapsed to the ground, sword falling to my side. I broke down and cried. I cried for what seemed like an eternity, the feeling of Kana’s beating heart felt through her soaked pyjamas. She had chased me down, in the cold and in the rain, with no shoes, no protection from the elements, in a pair of baby-blue pyjamas.

I eventually collected myself enough to rise to my feet, finding my mother and father still standing where they had been.

I stared my mother straight in the eyes and told her this: "I will not marry to suit your own interests. The person I will marry is right here. This is Kana Fujiwara, I will take her as my bride – there is nothing you can do."

My mother, attempting to reinstate the aura of dominance she’d fought to maintain her whole life, said to me: “If that is what you wish for, I can no longer lead your way. You are not a member of the Minami family. Take this girl and leave now. Do not return”.

I paced back to the motorcycle I’d arrived on; sheared the helmet out of the arms of the boy who’d brought me there, gave it to Kana and took off. From there I rode as far and as fast as I was able, until I reached a shrine at Cape Sata – the most southern point of the island we lived on. We ended up breaking into in one of the shrine’s outbuildings to shelter from the weather that night.

The warehouse we ended up in, to our great fortune, had a cupboard full of spare bedding, towels and other such items. We made use of this lucky find and took comfort in the mere fact we’d found a place to sleep that was warm and dry.

That night we were no longer friends – we became lovers. We settled beside each other, naked, bundled together underneath a grey woollen blanket and shared each others’ warmth whilst our uniforms dried overnight. I received my first kiss that night, and gave Kana hers. In amongst the garden tools, the boiler and the dust-laden sports equipment we committed ourselves to each other. I would see through the claim I had made earlier – that I would take Kana as my companion for the rest of our days. Deleting everything that had brought us to this point, we saw only each other, separated by absolutely nothing on the floor of that warehouse.

We were awoken the next morning by an elderly gentleman who we later learnt to be the grounds keeper at the shrine. While there was some shock to be had on all sides, the man stopped short of kicking us out. Upholding the honour instilled to me by my parents, we spent the next two weeks working at the shrine in exchange for basic meals and being allowed to use the warehouse to sleep. During the day we helped the old man with the upkeep of the shrine, performing menial tasks such as weeding, pruning and mowing the lawns as well as basic maintenance on the buildings themselves.

We were surrounded by an apparent gift of Eden, a pristine slice of unspoilt woodland situated on a hillside, the shrine itself at the top with a winding pathway meandering around the entire property from the base to the steps of the shrine. On the north side sat the expansive New Tokyo City, stretching for hundreds of kilometres beyond. To the south lay the pristine blue-green ocean, teeming with a species of algae, giving the water its’ green hue. Throughout the forest a local species of cicada could be heard, their melancholic cries in stark contrast to the indescribable bliss we were experiencing together. Our evenings were spent cuddled together at lands’ end, a small cliff at the absolute southern tip of the island, a small memorial to an unknown hero marking the point, the cicadas the only sound bearing over the gentle lapping of the waves below.

While we enjoyed that time in our life, it couldn’t last forever.

Eventually we departed the care of the shrine and begun our journey into space. Neither of us at that time had ever left the planet before, and when the nondescript Kusarian freighter arrived at the terminal to collect us, we held each other close; knowing that, as we ascended through the atmosphere of New Tokyo, this would be the last time we ever saw our homes.

Fumika, now visibly distressed, ended her story there. As she looked down upon the young princess who’d given her back her innocence, a tear fell from her own cheek and landed upon the cheek of her companion – now soundly asleep and completely unaware. Fumika gently stroked Kana’s hair as she wept in happiness – happiness stemming from the day this chocolate-haired angel suddenly entered her life and changed it forever.

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