Saikoroshi-hen
| Saikoroshi-hen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | 07th Expansion | ||
| Publisher | 07th Expansion | ||
| Released | December 31, 2006 | ||
| Word Count | 42,219 (~141 pages) | ||
| Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Chronology | |||
| |||
Saikoroshi-hen (賽殺し編, Dice Killing Chapter) is the first arc of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei and a direct continuation of Matsuribayashi-hen. The story follows Rika Furude as she struggles in new world she created by overcoming fate.
Plot
After the events of Matsuribayashi-hen, Rika Furude and the rest of the club go to Okinomiya for a day at the pool, enjoying the summer that Rika had never experienced before. On their way back to Hinamizawa, Rika and Satoko Houjou poke each other on their bicycles. While they are playing, Rika speeds up considerably and bikes into the street, where she is hit by an oncoming truck.
Rika wakes up in the Hinamizawa school infirmary, being visited by Rumiko Chie and Satoko. However, Rika notices that Satoshi Houjou is visiting as well, an impossibility seeing as Satoshi is not supposed to be conscious. Rika is then visited by a doctor from the nearby clinic whom Rika doesn't recognize. Satoko apologizes to Rika, revealed that the reason Rika had been in the infirmary was because Satoko hit her in the head with a ball. The confused Rika is then taken to the clinic to ensure she hasn't sustained any significant brain damage as a result of the hit. On the way to the clinic, Rika tries to determine what year and month it is. Seeing as Satoshi Houjou and Rena Ryuuguu are both present, Rika figures she is somewhere between April and June of 1982, as Rena doesn't arrive until April 1982 and Satoshi disappears in June 1982. Once Rika arrives at the clinic, she notices several inconsistencies: The Irie Clinic is now named the Takano Clinic, established by Hifumi Takano, who is now a well-respected doctor. Kyousuke Irie, Miyo Takano, and the Mountain Hounds are nowhere to be seen. The doctors at the clinic have no idea what Hinamizawa Syndrome is, nor do they know that Rika is the "queen carrier". Rika spots a calendar in the doctor's office and sees that it is still June 1983. After being discharged from the clinic, Rika returns to school where she notices more inconsistencies: There are half as many students in the class as before and Keiichi Maebara isn't present. Furthermore, none of her classmates seem to be friends with her and the club doesn't exist. Rika learns more when she walks home with Rena: The Dam War never happened as the three houses of Hinamizawa resolved the issue peacefully with the government. As a result, Hinamizawa is due to be flooded in a year, thus many of the residents have begun to move away from the village. Furthermore, Rena's name is still "Reina Ryuuguu" as the Ryuuguu family never moved from Hinamizawa and thus never divorced. Panicked from the bizarre world she is in, Rika attempts to contact Hanyuu but realizes she can't find her. Eventually Rika makes her way to the Saiguden and finds a small crystal ball inside that Hanyuu's voice can be heard from. Hanyuu reveals that a fragment from the realm of gods somehow slipped into Rika's world and is actively preventing Hanyuu from entering it. In order for to escape, Rika would need to find the fragment in the human world and destroy it. Furthermore, since Hanyuu isn't around to protect Rika, if Rika dies here she will die permanently. Vowing to escape her confusing reality, Rika promises Hanyuu that she'll find the fragment and return to the world of Matsuribayashi-hen.
Over the course of the next week, Rika searches the Saiguden exhaustively for the fragment. One day, a case of beer and three bottles of wine are delivered to the Furude House, intended for an assembly meeting taking place that night. Rika steals one of the bottles of wine and gets drunk. While drinking, Rika has a crisis of identity regarding the "Rika Furude" who inhabited this world before her. To distance herself from that Rika, she decides to internally change her name. Seeing the word "Bernkastel" on the bottle of wine she stole, Rika decides to name herself FURUDERIKA-Bernkastel.
Rika begins her search with her parents, but doesn't sense the fragment within either of them. She then considers that the ancient documents within the Saiguden could contain clues. Rika attempts to read the documents while at school, however Satoko and a few other classmates steal the documents and bully Rika. Annoyed with the world she has found herself in, Rika assaults Satoko and pins her down with a chair. After the fight, Rika learns from Reina and Mion why the rest of her classmates don't like her: in this world, Rika has been a "little princess" who manipulated the boys in class into pampering her and fighting over her, drawing the ire of the other girls in class. These boys, including Tomita and Okamura, have since moved away from Hinamizawa, leaving Rika lonely. In order to help rebuild her relationship with the class, Reina and Mion suggest starting a club with Rika. This causes Rika to question herself and whether she has the "right" to return to her old world. She briefly contemplates giving up on her search and dedicating herself to this new world she is stuck in. While thinking to herself at the Furude House, Rika's mother sees Rika and believes she is stressed. She attempts to console Rika and tells her a story that culminates in shocking information: in this world, Rika's mother is the reincarnation of Oyashiro, not Rika. Rika finally senses the fragment within her mother when her mother hugs her. Realizing that she would have to kill her mother to return, Rika attempts to consult Hanyuu. Hanyuu reveals that her powers have grown weak. By the next day's sunset, the fragment within Rika's mother will lose its power, trapping Rika in this world forever. At the end of their conversation, the crystal ball Hanyuu had been speaking from goes cold and loses its power.
Rika wakes up the next day and goes to school, joins in on club activities and attempts to rebuild her relationship with her classmates. She goes home and spends time with her family and watches the sun set.
Rika wakes up in a hospital. Kyousuke Irie informs the rest of the club members, who all rush in and see her. Rika learns that she has been in a coma for a month. Though happy that she has managed to return to her old world, Rika asks Hanyuu to explain what has happened. Hanyuu feigns ignorance about the events of Saikoroshi-hen. Rika comes to the conclusion that she must have killed her mother and forgot.[1]
Characters
Villagers
- Rika Furude
- Hanyuu
- Satoko Houjou
- Satoshi Houjou
- Reina Ryuuguu
- Mion Sonozaki
- Rika's father
- Rika's mother
Mentioned
Deaths and Disappearances
All deaths and disappearances are listed only as they are told in Saikoroshi-hen and apply only for the individual arc, not the overall series.
Deaths
- Rika Furude's mother, killed by Rika Furude.
Poem
|
Bread came falling from the sky. A number complained because it was not meat. Frederica Bernkastel |
Trivia
- Saikoroshi-hen is deemed a "perfect world" because virtually none of the tragic events from other worlds happen in this one.
- Keiichi Maebara never begins shooting children with his airsoft gun.
- Rena Ryuuguu's parents' company never goes bankrupt, thus they never move to Ibaraki, thus they never divorce.
- Mion and Shion Sonozaki don't switch places on the day the successor is branded with a tattoo.
- Satoko Houjou never kills her parents, and instead manages to foster a strong relationship with her stepfather.
- The Dam War is short and resolved peacefully.
- The Houjou family is never shunned by the village.
- Hifumi Takano's research is respected by the scientific community.
- Miyoko Tanashi's parents don't die in a train crash, thus Miyoko is never orphaned and never becomes "Miyo Takano".
Notes
- ^ Rika frequently experiences retrograde amnesia when she switches worlds, often forgetting the events immediately preceding the switch, thus this is a plausible belief.