Yuuki stood at the front of the classroom with a sour look on her face. It wasn't that anyone had done anything wrong to her or had said anything rude, it was just her nature. Her amber eyes scanned the sea of faces dotted around the room, not pleased with any of them. They didn't look like a bad gorup, but being the new kid in Hinamizawa, Yuuki didn't want to take a chance.
"C'mon Mii-chan!" a schoolgirl's voice called out mockingly in the hallway "You're late! You too, Rena, Ke-chan! Park you bikes and come in!" followed by short and very loud laughter that anyone would recognize.
Yukki turned to the door just in time to see a brown-headed boy, green-haired twin girls, and a small blond girl come into the classroom. Yuuki snorted. "Baka, morons."
"It's not like all of you to be late," Chie-sensei said with a hand on her hip. "Is something wrong? Sonozaki Shion, Mion? Maebara Keiichi?"
"G-Gomen . . ." Shion, the youngest twin, said as the rest took their seats.
Mion, the oldest twin, shifted in her seat, staring straight back at the new girl with green eyes narrowed.
Hanyuu looked up to see Mion's evil glare and a shiver ran down her spine. "Rika-chan? Why's Mion staring at her like that?"
Rika's blue hair moved in a wave as a voice that surely didn't belong to such a young girl responded "Why would you want to ask me?" as she turned to the violet-haired girl.
Hanyuu flushed as she forgot she didn't have to talk to just Rika anymore. She stood and slowly walked over to where Mion was seated. "Mii-chan?"
"Mm?"
"Why are you staring at the new girl like that?"
"She . . . has some kind of balls if she comes in looking like that the first day," Mion said with a straight face.
Hanyuu flinched "Hauu! You shouldn't say such crude things!" she hissed under her breath.
Yuuki caught Mion's glare and glared back, pulling her lip up just enough so the Sonozaki Head caught a glimpse of her teeth. I don't like her already.
"Before we start today," Chie-sensei said, "I'd like you all to meet the new transfer student, Yuuki. Her family's moved here from America so make her feel welcome."
Keiichi's eyes lit up. "America? So cool!"
"That's kind of far," Shion added. "Wonder why she decided to move here."
"Ooh! She's so cute I wanna take her home!" Rena swooned.
Only Satoko noticed the sour look on Yuuki's face. "She looks so sad. We should try and cheer her up. She doesn't look that bad."
Hanyuu rushed back to her seat with Rika as they looked back at the girl. Hanyuu mused, "She looks pretty . . . But I've never seen her before" she added worriedly.
"Yes, how will she play into this world, I wonder?" Rika agreed, nodding her head and using a deeper voice.
Mion shifted in her seat again and broke into laughter behind her cupped hand. "She's perfect." She looked back at the girl, smiling with eyes still narrowed.
"Yuuki," Chie-sensei said. Yuuki met her eyes. "There's an open seat in the back right by Satoko Houjou. She's the blonde one with the green dress. Don't worry, she's really nice."
Yuuki moved her eyes to Satoko, who shrunk back in embarrassment.
Yuuki smirked. And easily scared. She walked to the back and took a seat, resting her arms behind her head.
Satoshi, Satoko's older brother or "Nii-Nii" was sitting next to them and extended his usual greeting of putting his hand on Yuuki's head "Hello there! Welcome to our class!" he said with a smile.
Yukki's lip rose into a snarl and smacked Satoshi's hand away, throwing his wrist down so that it hit the desk. "A simple 'hey' would have done," she murmured.
"Nii-nii!" Satoko cried she cradled Satoshi's wrist and stared back at Yuuki. "Why'd you do that? He was only trying to be nice."
Yuuki's smoldering eyes held no warmth. "I don't like being touched."
Rika looked back at her book, uninterested as Hanyuu gasped slightly.
Satoshi looked up at her apologetically. "Well sorry then. It's jus' a habit."
Mion watched closely.
"Be sure to break it," Yuuki snorted.
Keiichi leaned over enough so that he whispered into Shion's ear, "I've heard about Americans' rude behavior but that was a little far. Where do you think in America she's from?"
Shion shrugged. "I don't know, but wherever she lived it must have been pretty harsh for her to treat Satoshi like that."
"Are you kidding? Everyone loves Satoshi's little 'head-pats,' " Mion agreed. "She's got guts but who does she think she is?"
"Mii-chan," Rena said quietly. "You're acting a little strange today. Is everything okay?"
Mion turned to see Rena in her usual attire: a cute white outfit with lots of purple bows and a matching hat. "Hmm, me? Yeah, I feel okay . . . it's just I'm not going to sit idly by while some jerk sits by my friends and treats them badly!"
"She's probably just scared," Rena said. "It's a new country and a new school. She's probably not used to everybody. Give her time to settle down."
"Rena-chan has a point, Sis," Shion added.
Mion laid back into her chair, arms crossed "Fine." She glared at the girl again.
By the time PE rolled around, Yuuki's attitude had not lightened. In fact it had gotten worse. She stepped outside with the school PE uniform and bandages wrapped up to her mid-thighs. She did not run when it was time to, only walk.
When Hanyuu saw the girl walking she also slowed her run to a walk and stayed with her, not asking any questions.
Yuuki shrugged and said in a casual manner, "Hey."
"Hello," she said politely as possible.
"Shouldn't you be up there with your gang?" she asked, purposefully trying to push Hanyuu away.
"Hauu!" she fidgeted a little as she was clearly upset, trying to think of something to say. She wanted more confidence more than anything. That's why she wanted to branch out a little. "Well I wanted to get to know you better—Nipah!"
Yuuki raised an eyebrow. "'Nipah'? What does that mean? Some kind of slang or something?"
"Uhm . . . My friend, Rika always says it . . . We honestly don't know what it means . . . " she shrugged with a smile.
"Well tell Rika she's weird," Yuuki shrugged.
"Hauu!" Hanyuu stomped her feet in clear displeasure but other wise kept walking.
Yuuki sighed and threw her arms over her head, finger laced together. "I didn't catch your name."
"Ha-Hanyuu Furude," she said quietly, glad she made it this far in the conversation.
"Listen Ram-yuu," she tapped one of Hanyuu's horns. "There are a lot better people to hang out with here than me. Like your buddies, for instance. So why don't you mosey on over to them and I'll see ya around."
"R-Ram-yuu?" Hanyuu's eyes teared up a little as she self-consciously felt her horns. "It's Hanyuu . . . Yuuki" she said, trying her best to ignore the insult. She wanted to say more like how she did want to see her again, but she was just so scary and mean! She ran back to her group, not willing to branch out from Rika anytime soon.
Yuuki blinked, her expression softening only a little. She shook it off and continued walking. "Can't take a joke. People here are really a trip. They take everything too seriously."
Afternoon classes ended a couple hours later and it was time for the club(1) meeting. Mion, being the club leader stood up and loudly told everyone the day's game would be . . .
"Baseball! The opposing team may come from a school that's a friend to us, but that doesn't mean we'll let them win! I have an extra-special Punishment Game (2) for the losers today! Now let's kick some butt!"
"Alright!" Keiichi exclaimed, punching the air. "We're totally gonna whoop tail!" everyone else stared at him as if he had grown a second head. "What? I heard Yuuki say it." He grew concerned when he noticed Hanyuu's teary eyes at the mention of the new girl's name. "Did something happen?"
Hanyuu just cradled/hid her horns as she sat by Rika. "Ram-yuu . . ."
Rena blinked. "What does that mean?"
Satoko balled her hands into fists. "Did Yuuki say that to you?"
Rika looked up and waved her arms in front of her defensively. "Um, of course she didn't!"
"Rika-chan," Shion said, "if she did then say so. We'll make sure she never does it again."
"That's right," Keiichi added. "Friends always stick together."
Hanyuu couldn't help but feel a little bit better.
Yuuki grimaced as she shot another dose into her arm. It hurt like fire, but it was mandatory that she take the shot. Removing the needle, she stuck a band-aid on the puncture and stuffed the medicine into her bag. "another day over," she sighed as she walked out of the bathroom. When she passed the classroom she was surprised to see the people she had been next to still in there. They looked like they were having a pretty good time too. She paused by the door and watched.
"Mii-chan, could the game wait until next week? I don't think Hanyuu's in the position to play batter today."
"Wha? There's no way we can . . ." Mion trailed off as she saw Hanyuu tie the rag that was around her bento over her head, making an odd bandanna. She knelt down to look at Hanyuu. Rika was right. "We'll have to forfeit," she said sadly.
Yuuki swallowed hard, hating to be the cause of their little forfeit. I shouldn't ruin everyone else's fun, she thought. That's not cool. Taking in a deep breath, she knocked on the classroom door, drawing everyone's attention. "Hey, hey," she said in a calm voice.
"It's not the same without everyone," Rena argued. None of the group was paying attention to the newcomer and Yuuki couldn't blame them.
Yuuki cleared her throat and walked into the room, keeping a decent distance from the gathered group. "I couldn't help overhearing you conversation . . ." she looked over at Hanyuu and bit her lip.
Hanyuu didn't look up. It looked like she couldn't hear anyone. Mion got into a defensive position and Rika motioned for Satoko to stay by her and Hanyuu. Satoshi encouraged her to as well.
"Yes?" Mion said, trying not to sound like she was about to kick her in the ribs.
Yuuki held up her hands in surrender, "Cool down, Chica. I just came in to apologize." She looked past Mion and stared directly at Hanyuu. "If it's all the same with you."
"What's she trying to pull?" Shion whispered to Rena. The red-haired girl shrugged.
Mion blinked "Chica?"
The gang looked at Hanyuu, waiting to see how she would respond to Yuuki's proposition.
"It's okay," she said softly, holding her bandanna in place.
"Okay, so what do you want?" Mion demanded stepping in front of Hanyuu again.
"For you to stick a drumstick in your mouth and call it a day," Yuuki retorted. She pushed past Mion and knelt down in front of Hanyuu, softness in her amber eyes. "I want to apologize for what I said to you. I hope you're not angry . . ."
Rika smiled. She was a new person in this world.
Hanyuu looked up slowly with a confused look on her face. "Why would I be angry with you?"
"Because I flat out insulted you!" Yuuki laughed. "Nice to know you don't hold grudges. Put 'er there." She extended a fist out to the purple-haired girl.
Hanyuu's eyes widened as she backed away into the corner even further. "Hau, Hau, Hauuuuu!"
Rika grabbed her shoulders and held her gently. Anything to make her calm down.
Yuuki blinked in astonishment. "What's the matter? It's a hand, not a shark. It's how people in my hometown say goodbye to each other. See?" Yuuki took her other fist and bashed the two together. "Just like that."
Satoko "oohed" in fascination. "What kind of goodbye is that?"
"The homey goodbye," Yuuki said. She held her fist out to Hanyuu, determined to make things right.
"They have odd customs in America, don't they?" Rena said to no one in particular.
Mion and Shion both nodded as Hanyuu blinked and extended her own fist, looking up at the girl in wonder.
Yuuki touched her fist with Hanyuu's and smiled. "There. See? Not so bad huh?" The American's demeanor changed when she decided she had overstayed her welcome. On her knees, she wattle over to a bar of parallel desks and pushed herself up on to her feet. She did a two-fingered salute and took her leave. "Don't play too hard!" she said in goodbye.
Hanyuu got to her feet and removed the garment from her head.
"You feeling alright?" Rika asked quietly.
"M-Much . . . I think I'll try to meet people and branch out more often," she concluded with a blush.
Mion stood in awe. "H-Hey!" she called out, reaching for her.
Yuuki was already in the front office when she heard Mion's call. She looked over her shoulder, a warning look on her face. "Help you, Cous?"
Mion's face dropped. "What did you call me?" The baseball game will have to wait.
"You know," Yuuki said, turned around, hands in her pockets, "Cous. Homegirl. Sis. Pal. Any of these synonyms help?"
Keiichi, Shion, Rika, and the rest all peeked out of the door, eager to see the confrontation between their club leader and the transfer student from America.
Mion's eye twitched. "I know you're trying to be a friend, but before I ask you something I need you to get one thing down," - the ponytailed girl put her hands on her hips as she ranted – "My name is Sonozaki Mion, Club Leader and eldest of my class, and heir to the Head of the Sonozaki Family." She crossed her arms and smiled, "Not 'Cous', 'Homegirl', or 'Pal', and the only one who calls my 'Sis' would be my sister, Shion, who I know is watching so get back in the classroom!"
Shion grimaced and shrank away into the room, the others following. They had hung around Mion long enough to know when she was being serious.
Yuuki watched them depart and said, "Hey you can't order them around like that. They can decide for themselves."
"I know" she smiled and shrugged. "If they're really interested, they'd make a stand." She laughed openly "I'm just messing with them. We both know this school is pretty small so they can still hear us if they could hear us back there." She chuckled again. "I like you. I'm glad you came here." she tilted her head to the side. "Would you mind helping me, Hanyuu, all of us with something?"
Yuuki did a double take. "I'm sorry . . . am I being punked?" she started looking around the school, opening random doors and shutting them when she found nothing. "I know there's a camera crew somewhere . . ."
From her position by the door, Satoko raised an eyebrow. "Camera crew? What's she talking about?"
"What does she mean by 'punked'?" Keiichi shook his head. "Americans are weird."
"Punked? And why would a group of school children have a crew of cameras?" she looked at the girl as if she were insane. Try to change the subject. Maybe she'll come around. "Do you want to help us? We could really use you!" she said in an almost singsong voice.
Yuuki did another double take and chuckled, laughing. "I'm just waiting for Ashton Kutcher to come and say 'You just got owned!'" The girl stood to her full height. "That's a good one! Help you? Weren't you the one glaring at me when I first got here? Or was that your Yang? I don't know, maybe she's you're Yin. Twins confuse me!"
Shion's jaw dropped. "She did not use that stereotype!"
Mion's eyes narrowed. "Yin and Yang? That's the best you could come up with?" she exploded. "Leave my sister out of this! And who's Ashton Kutcher? It's 1983!"
Yuuki hid her blush. "How do you know? You may be stuck in a parallel universe or something and not know it!"
Keichii looked at everyone around him. "Are we sure we want her to be on our team? She sounds a little . . ." he twirled his finger by his head. The group couldn't help but nod.
"You're not kidding," Rika mused to herself.
Mion took a step back. Who exactly was this girl? "Are you okay?" she asked, clearly as worried as the rest of the group.
"Umm . . ." Yuuki put her fingers to her lips in thought. "Yeah!" she breathed with a smile as she put her hand on her chest.
Mion blinked a couple times and her mouth became a tight line. Something was wrong with her . . . seriously wrong. "Could you get a good night's sleep for us when you get home?" she finally added as she walked back to the classroom. "I think you're sick."
"Hey! Where're you going?" Yuuki asked following Mion back to the classroom. "Thought ya wanted to ask me something, Sono!" The blonde sat on a desk and chuckled into her shoulder. She ran a hand through her shoulder-length blonde hair and fiddled with her crimson barrettes.
"'Sono?'" Mion crept toward the others, wary that if she went anywhere near the American her head would start spinning. "Is it just me . . . or is that not the same girl I was glaring at this morning?"
"I'll say," Shion agreed in a whisper. "Do you think something happened to her?"
"Maybe she hit her head," Rena suggested. "It could have been during PE today."
"All we did was run," Keiichi pointed out. "We weren't playing dodge ball or anything so I don't see how that's possible."
Rena shrugged. "It was just a suggestion, Keiichi-kun."
Hanyuu leaned toward Rika "Do you think she has the syndrome?"
Rika was quiet then answered "Is she trying to kill us? Then no."
"What do we do with her?" Mion asked the group.
Yuuki suddenly grimaced and held back a groan. Her head throbbed and the punctured spot on her arm pulsed with a dull pain. She inspected the band-aid on the underside of her arm and hissed. "Geez, I should have used a better bandage and more pressure." She pressed her thumb down on the band-aid, hoping to staunch any prolonged bleeding. Momentarily out of her medication's effects, she said, "I'm sorry all. My meds kind of make me like that." She clenched her fist repeatedly and kept the pressure on the injection site. "They should have read me the fine print."
Rika's eyes shot open.
Hanyuu held her hands in front of her, concerned, "What kind of 'meds' do you take? Hauu."
"Do you have a death wish?" Mion snapped. "You used a needle in school?"
"Do you know what kind of trouble you can get in if the Principal or Chie-sensei catches you?" Keiichi added.
Yuuki looked from one face to the other, mildly annoyed. "Would you all relax? It's not like I'm shooting meth or anything." She withdrew a fresh bandage from her bag and ripped the old one off. It was stained with dark blood, a pool of it still on her arm. She swiftly placed the new band-aid over it, making a point to apply as much pressure as possible.
"Are you okay?" Satoshi asked, his eye on the bandaged puncture.
"Yeah," Yuuki nodded. "It's nothing. A daily routine."
"If it makes you bleed . . . why do you do it?" Rika asked, trying to be innocent.
Mion stared at the girl, fists clenched as memories of a bad dream flooded her mind (3). Hanyuu looked worriedly at Mion, wondering what was going through her mind.
Yuuki blinked, slowly removing herself from the desk. "Okay, you guys are really being stupid right now. I have a medical condition. That's why." She looked at Mion, serious and sober. "Look, if you have something you want to ask me then say so or else I'm outta here."
Mion swallowed hard, shaking loose the gory nightmares. "Sorry for the trouble, but you got real balls, kid. Wanna be in our club?" She didn't know any other way to phrase it.
Yuuki grinned at Mion's choice of words. "Now you're speaking my language!" Though she didn't mean the club membership. "Up high!" She raised her hand.
Mion grinned deeply, high-fiving the girl easily. "Just don't bleed everywhere," she joked. "You know, you're alright."
Yuuki laughed, relaxed. "You too. Well, nice to meet . . . some of you." She nodded her goodbyes to the group before her amber gaze rested on Hanyuu and she extended her fist. "No hard feelings, home-slice?"
Hanyuu shook her head rapidly. "Oh no – none at all!" She was at a standstill on whether or not to bump the blonde's fist.
"Coolio," Yuuki saluted and walked out of the door, stumbled some in the hall, but otherwise made it out safely.
"Certainly is a weird one, isn't she Maebara-kun?" Shion asked.
Keiichi nodded. "Without a question."
"I wonder if it's common for Americans to behave like that," Shion said. "What kind of condition do you think she has?"
"Beats me." Suddenly an idea struck her and a Chshire smile spread across her face. "NEW TASK!" Mion shouted, putting her foot on the nearest desk and raising a clenched fist. "Find out why the Yuuki is acting so weird! Satoko!" - she pointed at the girl - "This should be easy for you."
A Cheshire smile crossed Satoko's face. "Sounds fun . . ." She giggled mischievously.
"Anyone who hasn't figured it out by the end of this year's Watanagashi(4) is going to get the worst Punishment Game ever!" she added, hungry for a good Punishment Game. "Club Dismissed!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the group said as one.
Oh she loved this job. She jumped down from the table and briskly went to grab her things. "You coming Shion? I'll meet you at the bikes."
Shion nodded. "Coming, Sis! Let me get something really fast, okay?"
"M'kay," Mion shrugged.
Shion waited until she was the only one in the classroom and secretly went over to the far corner of the room, removing a floorboard to pick up a razor-sharp dagger. "Very soon, Sis. I'm not going to be beneath you anymore. I'll become the Head of the Sonozaki clan and you will know what it feels like to be second-rate."
"YOU COMING OR WHAT?" Mion's voice rang from outside the school. "Or do you have a ride from Kasai you weren't telling us about?"
"Coming!" Shion called. She hid the dagger and placed the floorboard back, running out just in time to meet her twin. "Sorry."
"We were about to leave you! Come on, Sis!"
"Coming," Shion said. She got on her bike and pedaled after her sister, though she kept her eyes on her sister's back. Very soon . . .
AN: For those of you who haven't seen Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni . . . I feel sorry for you. I didn't necessarily have the attention span to edit beyond spell check so it might be cruddy.
1. The Club is just a little gathering of Mion, Shion, Keiichi, Rika, Rena, Satoko, and Satoshi after school. Kind of like a play date. They just play card and board games for a little bit then retire home afterwards. Their meetings are held every day after class.
2. The punishment games are the consequences that happen to the loser after he/she has lost. Normally they are very embarrassing and are meant to humiliate and degrade them.
3. For a while, Mion has been plagued by violent dreams in which she is being killed or she is killing other people. One of them just happened to involve a needle similar to the one Yuuki uses.
4. The Watanagashi or Cotton-Drifting Festival is an annual celebration that occurs in Hinamizawa.