Saikoroshi-hen

Saikoroshi-hen ;
Developer	07th Expansion
Publisher	07th Expansion
Released	December 31, 2006
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 and killed 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 burn 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.

Characters

Villagers

Outsiders

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, struck by an oncoming truck while bicycling.

Disappearances

Poem

Bread came falling from the sky.

A number complained because it was not meat.

Meat came falling from the sky.
A number complained that bread was better.

God came down from the sky.
Until he understands what makes everyone happy,
for the time being, he'll make water fall from the sky.

Frederica Bernkastel