The second game, released on December 29, 2002. Adapted into the 2006's anime Episodes 5-8. Meakashi-hen provides context for this arc.
Keiichi recieves a phone cal from Mion, who tell him that the Games Club have planned a Sunday activity, asking if he is up for it. Keiichi says that he will gladly join them as he has nothing planned anyway, and cheekily adds that he figures that if he should refuse, she will just declare him the loser by default and force a penalty on him. Mion replies that he is absolutely correct and that she still wants to avenge her loss the other day. Keiichi reminisces about the past Friday where he narrowly won the Game Club's poker tournament; when all points were counted up, Mion ended up in the second place, just one point behind him.
Keiichi meets up with Mion and Rena, who inform him that the club's game tournament will take place at the larger neighboring town, Okinomiya. While Keiichi is only really familiar with Hinamizawa and the area around Okinomiya station, Mion turns out to be very familar with the town. She guides Keiichi and Rena to a toy shop, where Satoko and Rika are waiting for them. The rules are explained; the participants may compete in whatever they want, as long as it is something found in the shop. The winners will move on to the next round until there is only one man standing. All of the club members win their games and are bound to face each other in the next round, but Mion declares her the final showdown will have to have to wait to a more opportune time, as she has a part-time job to attend today. Her uncle called in and said that it is a busy day at the family store, so she has to show up and help out. Rika suggest that maybe they should stage the second round at the Watanagashi festival, to which Mion agrees. Keiichi, being an newcomer to town, doesn't know what this festival is (and, notably, this is quite different from how he learned about it in last arc).
The store owner (who is revealed to be another uncle of Mion's) then shows up to thank the Games Club for making a good show at the event, and to show his gratitude he gives them each — except for Mion — a small present from the store. Keiichi discovers he has ended up with a doll in a frilly dress. Deciding that it is too girly to be his kind of toy, he gives it to Rena while Mion is looking at it. Keiichi, sheepishly basking in Rena's gratitude, admits that he was thinking about gifting it to Mion for moment, since she didn't get anything, but he reconsidered, since she isn't exactly the girly type either. Mion laughs it off and banters a bit with Keiichi over the fact she might act a bit boyish at times. Keiichi jokes that it is probably for the best that she is a girl, because if she was a boy he would have killed her a long time ago over the stuff she has pulled on him. She replies that he had better kill her as soon as possible, while he has still has the chance (despite their mutual joking tone, Keiichi internally admits that he finds this line of conversation a bit disturbing).
The next day at school, Mion suggests a word association game for the after school club activity. Keiichi proceeds to completely tank at the game, further embarrassing himself in the process by outing himself as a bit of boring stiff in front of his friends with his rather insipid answers. Even more to his embarrassment, as a penalty for losing, Mion, who is the winner, orders him to carry her backpack home while dressed in a frilly maid outfit, and proceeds to rub a little salt in the wound by prodding him over the fact that he actually makes for a rather good-looking girl. Keiichi vows revenge for this humiliation. Much to his relief, Keiichi doesn't encounter any other people on the way to Mion's house or on his way home. He attempts to quietly slip into his family's house to change back to his regular clothes, only to open the front door and encounter his dad. Keiichi immediately tries to explain that this is Not What It Looks Like and that is related to the club thing he has at school. His father just puts a gentle, but firm hand on his shoulder and quietly tells him to come into his studio, saying that they need to "have a little talk" about this man to man.
In the evening, Keiichi's mom comes home late and is too tired to cook dinner, suggesting that he goes get grab some food with his dad instead. His dad says that he knows a good place and proceeds to drive with him to Okinomiya. Turns out that the place his dad knows is a little Cosplay Café, named Angel Mort. Keiichi takes a look at the cars parked outside, and from the license plates he notices that the place seems to be pretty popular, with some guests having come in from several towns over. Keiichi and his dad are seated, and begin their dinner in earnest, during which he notices that the food severed is pretty average, and points this out. His dad slyly replies that the food is not the reason why he comes here. Keiichi immediately figures out what he is hinting at; the place might brand itself as "family restaurant" but the clientele is predominately younger men, and he guesses the waitresses and the costumes they are wearing might have something to do with that. His dad is quick to insist that he isn't here with any "impure" intentions, but rather for "inspiration" for his artistic work.
Keiichi's dad flags down a waitress. Keiichi takes a bit to realize that he knows the waitress, because she isn't extruding the confident attitude he is so used to, but it eventually dawns on him that the girl serving his table is in fact Mion. He is at first surprised to see her working in a place like this, but once the shock settles, he decides use his position as customer to humiliate her a bit to get back at her for what she did earlier today, and when his dad excuses himself to use the bathroom, he strikes, commenting on how sexy her outfit is and how refreshing it is to the see the high and mighty Mion in such a state. The waitress is at first utterly flummoxed at his comment, but eventually gathers herself enough to tell him that she isn't Mion, instead introducing herself as Mion's younger twin sister, Shion Sonozaki, and comments that he must be Keiichi from her sister's class, telling him that she has heard a lot about him. Keiichi is convinced that this claim of being a twin is only some flimsy cover story, since "Shion" knows quite a bit of stuff that only Mion could know. But he reasons that "Shion" must be Mion trying to be girly in secret, and it makes him a bad friend if he mocks her for wanting to explore another side of herself. Instead, he decides to go along with the "Shion" ruse.
After the strange encounter with Shion, Keiichi tries to do a bit of investigation into her story, but is unable to find any clear answers. He learns that Mion has a large family, most of whom lives in and run buisnesses in the local area (something he already suspected), but also that Mion herself lives alone in Hinamizawa with her grandmother. As for her twin sister, she seems to be a rumor. It turns out amongst his classmates, Rika is the only one who has heard of Shion, but she apparently hasn't seen her and Mion in the same place at the same time. When he asks Mion herself, she acknowledges Shion's existence, but also turns uncharacteristically flustered about the subject (very much like Shion did at the café) and claims that they aren't really close, so she hasn't spoken to her for a long time. She also stresses that Shion is a "conceited" and "cold" person and if he ever meets her, he shouldn't trust her no matter what she might tell him. Her reaction only further convinces Keiichi that Shion might be a fictional persona of hers.
In school, Keiichi eventually learns more about the local Watanagashi festival from Mion and Rena, and is told that it will take place the following sunday. Meanwhile, he continues to have several more encounters with Shion, who is very much the opposite in personality the though and brash Mion, being polite and gentle. Keiichi, however, still finds it all a bit too convenient that the two of them never appear together, and always seem to have a pretty good idea of whatever the other has been up to, despite Mion's claim of them not being close.
During a visit to Okinomiya, Keiichi have a tense run-in with some rather violent delinquents, only for Shion to intervene on his behalf and scare them away by using her presence to rally the townsfolk against them. The delinquents are arrested when the local police show up, lead by a certain detective Ooishi. Shion exchanges some brief formal pleasantries with Ooishi, but Keiichi can tell from their tones that their relationship is anything but friendly. Ooishi takes his leave, and the townfolk all calm down, and greet Keiichi as if he have lived in town for years. Keiichi is impressed by the incident, being awestruck by how Shion's kind surface hides a much stronger personality, as well as the status her family holds in the local community. Keiichi thanks Shion for helping him out, but she tells him to Think Nothing of It, saying she if should ever find herself in trouble, she hopes he will return the favor. She ends up inviting him for a pancake lunch at Angel Mort.
Keiichi and Shion end up having a pleasant conversation over lunch, and discuss how Shion was able to rally the Hinamizawa villagers. Shion says that Hinamizawa is a pretty close-knit community, especially with the kind of battles they have had to fight together, and asks Keiichi if he has heard about the government's dam project from a decade ago. Keiichi says that he has only ever heard about it passing, but don't know the details, so Shion fills in him on the history. She tells him that she was involved in the protests against the project too, despite being just a child at the time, and she actually ended up getting seriously hurt when the riot police got called in to crack down on one of the protests. But in the end, the villagers prevailed and won over the government, which fostered a great sense of solidarity. Something Shion takes great pride in. Shion is eventually called back to work, and Keiichi takes his leave, telling her he hopes he can return favor she did for him today at some point.
That evening, Keiichi gets a phone call from Shion. She tells him that Angel Mort are holding a dessert tasting event tomorrow, and she happens to have a ticket for him if he is interested. Keiichi accepts the offer of free desserts with gusto. Shion tells him that if he comes by tomorrow after school, she will give him the ticket, and asks if he would maybe want to hang out after the event. Keiichi realizes that she is flirting with him, and with him still convinced that "Shion" is actually Mion, he notices that he finds it a bit weird that someone he sees as a friend is hitting on him, but he also thinks that another opportunity to be around Shion sounds pleasant, so he accepts.
The next on the way home from school, Rena discusses with Keiichi how Mion seems to have been in a better mood lately. She is relieved by this, because Mion called her up a couple of nights ago and was crying. Keiichi is a bit shocked to hear this, noticing that there is a clear implication to her telling him this, but he cannot quite figure out why.
Later in the afternoon, Keiichi shows up for the event at Angel Mort. He encounters a crowd of people outside, who beg him to let them with him inside, as his ticket turns out be good for four guests, at which he regrets not inviting Rena over for the event. He enters the cafe and notices that the crowd and atmosphere in the place is remarkably different than it has been his previous two visits, with many young men, many of whom are very obviously Otaku, filling up the restaurant. Some of these event customers begins openly sexually harassing Shion, something which Keiichi finds himself perturbed about. One of the older waitresses explains to him that these Otaku are quite infamous for these kind of antics, but the experienced waitresses are wise to their tricks. Shion, who is only a temporary hire, isn't, and they have noticed her weakness and are trying to exploiting it. Keiichi sees this as an opportunity to help Shion out in return for the times she helped him, and tells the Okatu to back off her or they will have to deal with him. But to his surprise, the Otaku turn out to be no pushovers, with one of their number being a practitioner of obscure martial arts, who lays Keiichi out with two punches and a throw.
After that embarrassing beatdown, Keiichi recovers in a booth. Shion comes over, and apologize for him having to go through that for her sake. Keiichi, in turn, apologizes for not being much help. Shion replies that she still appreciates the gesture, but Keiichi is determined to get back at the Otaku for harassing Shion, and decides to use his four guest spots to call in Rena, Sakoto, and Rika. He explains the situation to them, telling them that Mion's sister is in need of help. The three other club members promises him that they will take care of it; nobody messes with a member's family unpunished. One Laxative Prank and a couple of blocked bathrooms later, and the Okatus is send packing, with their tickets not being valid for re-entry. Shion, and the rest of the waitresses, express their gratitude at the club for getting the unpleasant customers to leave. Keiichi notices that it is pretty awesome to see some more of that famous Hinamizawa solidarity in action for himself.
While Rika and Sakoto leave early, Rena and Keiichi still linger a bit at Angel Mort, as Shion brings them coffee. Rena is happy to meet Mion's sister in person, and greets her in an affectionate manner, which leaves Shion flustered and she excuses herself. Keiichi is nervous that she might be able to see through the Shion ruse and embarrass Mion, and in an attempt to be candid about the subject, he instead asks her about Mion calling her and crying. He has figured out that Rena was implying that he was the reason why Mion cried, but he cannot figure what he might have done to hurt her feelings. Rena gently assures him that she herself is not mad at him and doesn't think he hurt Mion on purpose, but he will still have to figure it for himself if he truly wants to apologize. She will, however, give him a hint. She points to Shion, and notices how physically similar she is to Mion, wondering if Shion and Mion is really the same person. Keiichi, noticing internally that Rena really is much sharper than people tend to give her credit for, asks why Mion would pretend to be someone else. Rena replies that it is this what he will have to think about, she then heads home, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Keiichi waits for Shion, who finally gets off the clock just as it has gotten dark outside. The two of them decide to go for an evening stroll through the shopping district. Shion tells him it is time that the two of them they got properly introduced. She playfully gives him a formal greeting, saying that though she closely resembles her older sister in her looks, she herself is more composed and methodical where she is brash and hotheaded. Keiichi remembers what Rena told him, and asks Shion what Mion has told her about him. Shion admits that Mion seems to have taken a liking to him; she tells her a lot of "boyish" stories about how her and Keiichi compete in games and prank each other, but it is also obvious that the two of them are close. Keiich is caught on the word "boyish" and notices that Mion did seem upset when he said that she wasn't very girly, and wonders if that was how he hurt her feelings. Shion soon turns overtly flirty in her conversation with him. He asks her if she is sure she isn't Mion pretending to be Shion, because it would be just like Mion to make him flustered like this. Shion asks him if he could talk with Mion like this, to which he admits that if it was her, he would probably be worried about her trying to start a fight or competition with him. Shion says this is typical of her sister; she has never been that good at expressing tender feelings, especially not with boys, and that she has a awkward lifestyle, being unable to decide whether she wants to seen as a girl or a boy. Keiichi notices that since the subject turned to Mion, Shion's tone has grown somewhat cold, so he asks her if she doesn't get along with her sister. Shion assures him that the two of get along well enough, but there still some things Mion has done to her that she is not sure she will ever really forgive her for.
Shion changes the subject by turning his attention to the same toy store the Games Club visited last Sunday. She admires the dolls in the window, noting how cute they are. Keiichi tells her that he doesn't really get the fascination girls have with dolls and other cute things. She tells him that these dolls, however, are special; they are imported from England. Even Mion, tomboyish though she might be, has expressed admiration for them. Keiichi realizes that these are the same dolls before that were gifted to the Games Club members that Sunday. And something clicks into place. He realizes that back then, Mion was actually sad that she didn't get anything, and that she really wanted the doll he got, but he it gifted to Rena, with the excuse that it seemed too "girly" for Mion. He realizes now even though Mion was laughing it off back then, she was just trying to hide her hurt feelings. He thinks back to all the times he has contrasted the "girly" Shion and the "boyish" Mion, and how they reacted strangely every time. He is now convinced that this was the point of the whole "Shion" ruse; Mion did this whole thing, so she could show him a more feminine side of himself and bring him back to the toy store, so he could gift her a new doll as a gesture of apology.
Just then, back in the present, Shion carefully asks if there could be a chance he would buy said doll for her. Keiichi reasons that he really should, as it would make up for what he did. Shion is taken a bit back, noticing that it is pretty pricey. Keiichi replies that this isn't a matter of money, but of emotions. Shion tells him that she is grateful for everything he has done for her today and says that she can understand why Mion likes him. Keiichi realizes that he kind of likes her too, but he is too overwhelmed by emotion to say anything right now. He quickly takes her inside the store and hastily asks for the doll in the window. It takes him a moment to recognize that the clerk is none other than Mion, in the flesh. Turns out Shion is actually real. Mion is equally surprised to see him, and is even more at a loss for words when Shion informs her that her and Keiichi is here on a date. Shion, now very confident, tells her that she wanted to see for herself about this Keiichi person that her sister was so infatuated with. With this, Shion declares that she cannot stay and chat, she wants the doll and she needs to follow Keiichi home.
Shion calls for a car driven by a butler-looking type that arrives to pick up her and Keiichi, and his bike. During the ride Keiichi tries to ask her about, well, everything from the past few days. Shion giddily tells him that her and Mion has done this whole Twin Switch act several times in the past, but she managed to sneak this one past Mion. The driver, who name is Kasai, has a private moment with Keiichi as he unload his bike outside his home and expresses his sympathies, saying that he probably finds this situation difficult to navigate, but he assures him that sooner or later Shion will grow tired, so he will just have to endure this for now. Keiichi can clearly tell from Kasai's tone that he has had to deal with a lot of these kinds of antics from the Sonozaki sisters over the years. Shion then bids Keiichi goodbye, saying she will probably check in on him again sometime soon.
The next day, Keiichi notices that things between him and Mion are miserably awkward in school, with them spend most of the time trying to avoid to talk to each other. Rena eventually comes over to him during recess, telling him she has spoken with Mion and she would like to pretend that the past few days didn't happened and that he should too. She also ask him to give her some space today. Keiichi asks her if it is really that simple, to which she replies that it really isn't, but Mion needs some time to get her feelings in order, so it is the best they can do for now. She adds that, if nothing else, Keiichi hopefully has learned from this whole mess that Mion can get her feelings hurt too. As long as he remember that, maybe the past few days can just something the three of them can laugh about in the future.
The next day is Saturday. The day before the Watanagashi festival. Mion seems to be somewhat back to normal, so Keiichi tries to small talk a bit with about the festival. She explains that the festival takes place up by the shrine, functions both as a regional cultural site and community center, and most of her family are up there today, busy at work preparing the festival. Keiichi asks if they are looking for any volunteers to help out, since it seems like a good opportunity to learn a little more about the local community. Mion says that they could always use more hands, so he heads to the shrine after school. Keiichi spends a few hours working with the villagers; though it is hard work, he kind of enjoys as he gets along well with everyone else. He spots Rika practising the festival ritual at the shrine, and realizes that her family name is after all Furude, the same as the shrine's name, so there is obviously some family history there. Some of the adults mentions in passing that it was sad her father die so suddenly and wasn't able to see his daughter taking over the family tradition, but the subject changes before Keiichi can ask further questions.
Keiichi spends the rest of the afternoon working. As evening begin to fall, Keiichi sits down for a rest and encounters Shion again. He is still rather mad at her for what happened two days ago, but she playfully defuses his anger, pointing out that she has never lied to him about who she was, and adds she wants to make up for what she did. Somewhat reluctantly, Keiichi decides to hear her out. But before they can talk, Mion shows up, and upset to find her sister near Keiichi again. Shion, meanwhile, decides to use the opportunity to needle Mion a bit. Keiichi finds it rather disturbing just how good Shion is at pushing her sister's buttons, and realizes that she was just playing up the helpless maiden act when he met her at Angel Mort. Just then Keiichi, Shion, Mion meet Tomitake and Takano, the latter of which is revealed to be a nurse at the local clinic and knows the twins pretty well. Ooshi also shows up, with Keiichi recogizing him as the cop from the other day, and exchanges some quick pleasantries with Tomitake and Takano, telling them that he is looking forward to the Watanagashi himself. Keiichi notices that Mion is staring daggers in Ooshi's general direction while he is there.
As Ooshi moves on, Takano, Tomitake, and Shion discusses Oyashiro-sama's curse and whether it will keep the police busy this year. This piques Keiichi's interest, but Mion hurriedly asks him if he wants to join her at the drinks tent, nervously adding that what the three of them are talking about is just something silly. Shion decides to push the issue, asking Mion if she hasn't told Keiichi about the curse. Mion coldly replies that she makes it a point not to spread those kinds of stories. She moves to leave, telling Keiichi he really ought to go with her to the drinks tent, but he is too intrigued by this curse talk and he promises to join her in a bit.
Tomitake says the story of the curse is a bit disturbing, but Keiichi says that he still wants to know. Shion adds that as a newcomer, he has a right to know, and overtly uses it as a point against Mion that she hasn't told him. And so Tomitake, Takano, and Shion tell him everything about the curse, and the more rational explanation behind it too, namely that its a local conspiracy carrying out the crimes. Shion adds that this is why Ooshi has been sniffing around so much lately; he hopes to expose the human culprit who is presumably behind it. This time, since Shion is also around to fill him in, he learns about Satoko's older brother, Satoshi Houjou, and his disappearance too, instead of finding out later. Keiichi gets the impression that Shion knew Satoshi very well, judging from the pained tone of voice she uses when mentioning his disappearance, that she leans towards a village conspiracy as the explanation behind the curse, and doesn't appear to hold Hinamizawa in very high regard. He that she truly differs from Mion on the last point.
Shion, Tomitake and Takano eventually realize that their story have held up Keiichi for some time, and say their goodbyes, hoping that they will get a chance to talk more at the festival tomorrow. Keiichi goes to the drinks tent, but Mion is nowhere to be found. He is told that she followed some relatives home, so he decides to head home as well, with a head full of questions regarding the so-called curse and a sting of regret over not being there for Mion this evening, just when they got talking again.
The next evening, the Watanagashi starts. Keiichi attends alongside the other members of the Games Club. Mid-festival, however, Mion suddenly gets uncharacteristically tongue-tied, signalling Shion's arrival. Her mood doesn't get any better when Shion starts to shamelessly flirt with Keiichi. The rest of the club, however, cannot help but find her usual confident and brash attitude turning into almost childish embarrassment a funny sight. Rika is then called by her duty away to perform the festival's ritual. Keiichi loses sight of the others, and finds it hard to get a good vantage point. Shion appears and tells him she knows a great spot, and guides him a ways a away from the crowd. But she reveals that she is not here for the ritual; she instead directs his attention towards to Tomitake and Takano, who are fiddling with the padlock to the doors to the shrine's storehouse. Shion confronts them and the pair take being caught in breaking and entering in stride. Takano explains that the storehouse is where the tools used in the local religious rituals are kept, and her and Tomitake just wanted to have a look at them, and invites the two kids to join them for a "tour". Keiichi is reluctant at first about the idea, but gives into peer pressure when Shion also expresses curiosity.
While Tomitake stays outside to keep watch, Keiichi, Shion, and Takano head inside. Keiichi is shocked when they suddenly encounter a buddha-like statue staring down at them. Takano introduces it as "Oyashiro-sama himself". She comments with disappointment on how some of the ritual tools in the inner chamber seem to be in disrepair and poorly maintained. Keiichi, meanwhile, fails to see what is so "ritualistic" about the tools; he notices how the place reminds him more of an artisan's workshop than a holy place or a cultural site. Takano notices his boredom, and tells him some factoids about Hinamizawa's past — back when it was still known as "Onigafuchi Village". There is a legend that some of the villagers are partially descended from man-eating demons, who settled down in the village back in ancient times. Shion turns out to be familiar with this part — with Keiichi noticing that she seems weirdly amused about the idea. Takano believes this story to be the basis for the local folklore about cannibalism, ritualistic killings, and mysterious disappearances, which is what she is trying to research. Keiichi cannot help but notice that Takano seems a little too excited about this macabre tale. Shion, matter-of-factly, asks Keiichi, that in light of the story he has just been told, if the tools really seem so boring after all. He feels a cold shiver as he now realizes that they are actually implements for restraining, torturing, and dissecting people.
Shion says that she has figured out that what Takano is trying to find out; if these bloody old rituals are still practised in the present day. Takano doesn't confirm it, but doesn't deny it neither. She says, half-jokingly, that if someone where to find out she was in the storehouse this evening, Oyashiro-sama's curse might strike her down, and asks Keiichi and Shion to keep what happened here secret. Keiichi is insistent that all this human sacrifice stuff must be things of the past, but Takano suggests that she has found traces of rumors of these practises taking place as far up as the immediate aftermath of World World II. They are interrupted when Tomitake appears, telling them that the ritual part of the festival is almost over, so they should get out of there. Takano wants to stay inside and take pictures, but Keiichi has had enough and asks Shion to leave with him. Outside Tomitake apologies to Keiichi and Shion if Takano have creeped them out, saying that she sometimes gets too excited about this scary stuff. He also asks them if they messed with something, because he thought he heard the sound of someone jumping up and down. Keiichi says didn't notice something like that. After a bit Takano reappears, stating that they have lingered for long enough. The four of them split up in pairs and head their separate ways.
Shion tells Keiichi he should go see if he can find his friends while there is still some of the Watanagashi left. She will stay and rest for a bit, since she doesn't feel like mingling with the crowd right now. She also reminds him to keep what they were doing tonight a secret, and not just because Mion would get jealous about the two of them hanging out. Shion has one thing more to add, however; she heard the same weird noise Tomitake talked about. She then casually admits that she was just pulling his leg and bids him a hurried goodbye. Keiichi is not entirely convinced if her claim about just kidding him was true.
Keiichi thinks back on what he has just learned about the Watanagashi, but he is not alone for long. Mion, Rena, and Rika find him asking where he has been. Keiichi quickly claims that he went up here to get a better look at Rika's ritual, but he manages to give away that he missed it. Apparently, Rika made an embarrassing misstep while carrying it out. Mion, suddenly grows deadly serious and asks him if he has seen Shion lurking somewhere around here. Keiichi lies that he might have seen her, but he also might just have mistaken her for Mion. Mion, still serious, wonders how that could have happened, since the two of them are wearing different clothes. Keiichi stumbles over his words as Mion glares at him a bit. Suddenly, she casually laughs it off, commenting that her sister is always up to mischief and she will have to do something about it one of these days.
The next morning, Keiichi is exhausted, having had trouble sleeping as he kept pondering the terrifying stories about Hinamizawa's past. On the way to school, him and Rena is a bit alarmed when Mion shows up unusually late at their usual meeting spot, being out of breath and appearing to be running a low fever. Mion insists she can still go to school just fine. During class, Keiichi suffers from sleep deprivation and so steps out of class for bit to splash some water on his face, where he finds Mion during the same. She admits that her own drowsiness isn't due to being sick, but being hung over, admitting that she went partying with some of her relatives after the Watanagashi. She tells Keiichi that she has been allowed to go home early, so he asks him to fill as the leader during club today. Before she leaves, however, she asks him if saw Tomitake, Takano, or Shion around near the end of the festival. Caught off guard by the question, Keiichi stumbles a bit, before claiming that he maybe saw them, but he isn't sure, and points out that she already asked him that last night. Mion says that she is asking again now, because she was hoping for a different answer, and Keiichi notices that there is something scary about the look in her eyes as she says this and considers if maybe she knows that the four of them broke into the storehouse last night. He still tries to play it cool and asks why she is asking these questions. Mion replies that she has overheard "people" who were "talking poorly" about them. Of course she doesn't want to think that Keiichi has been up to something bad, but she still wants to know if he has seen anything strange. Keiichi denies known anything, and Mion is happy to hear he is not involved, and she will make sure to spread the word. He wants to ask her what she means by this, but the teacher calls him back inside, and Mion leaves while he is distracted.
An exhausted Keiichi comes home after school, and is greeted by his mother, who wants him to run a little errant for her; returning some books to the local library over in Okinomiya. Keiichi reluctantly agrees, but before he leaves, he gets a phone call from Shion, who says she needs to tell him something. Keiichi replies that he is coming by Okinomiya within the hour, so agree they meet at the station.
Keiichi bikes to Okinomiya Station and finds Shion there waiting for him. Keiichi notices how Shion seems to be unsteady on her legs, just like Mion was, and comments that in some regards the two sisters aren't that different. Shion slyly replies that she still smarter than Mion; she stayed at home the whole day. Together, they go to the library, where Keiichi returns the books. As they find a seat in the cafeteria, Shion muses that she would like to be a librarian some day. Keiichi comments that he couldn't imagine Mion having a quiet job like that, and Shion says that they might be twins, but their circumstances are quite different. Mion is the main heir to the Sonozaki family after all, so she is living apart from Shion with their grandmother, who is training her to be the head of the family one day. Keiichi notices that it makes it sound like the Sonozaki family is some sort of nobility, and Shion explains that around these parts they pretty much are. Their family is one of the oldest and most storied in Hinamizawa and the surrounding area. Her grandmother is the current head of the family and she sort of runs it like a corporation, with the Sonozakis controlling the majority of the businesses in the area and are also being ready and able to exert a lot of political influence if need be.
Just then, Ooishi shows up and reveals that he has been listing a bit in on their conversation, and confirm that the Sonozakis are indeed quite famous. Keiichi notices that Shion doesn't seem to share Mion's intense dislike towards Ooishi. Ooishi slyly comments that Keiichi seems to be a pretty lucky guy, what with going on dates with both of the Sonozaki twins. Keiichi frantically denies that he is doing something like that, and looks to Shion for support, only to notice that she seems amused by the situation and doesn't feel like intervening. Shion then excuses herself by saying that she is running late for her job and moves to leave. Keiichi notices that she didn't get around to tell him the thing she wanted to talk about, and thinks it might have something to do with the fact that Ooishi is listening. Shion promises to call him tonight, after she is off work.
Keiichi is now alone with Ooishi and notices that Shion left in a hurry and considers that she maybe just used him as bait to get Ooishi off her back. The cop buys a coffee for himself and ice tea for Keiichi, and plops down in the seat across from him. Keiichi has a hard time phrasing Ooishi's strangely casual behavior, so much so that he doesn't at first realize that Ooishi is overtly trying to interrogate him. He starts by asking him what he knows about the Sonozaki family. Keiichi replies that aside from what Shion just told him, nothing really. Ooishi says that she sugar-coated the story: it's true that the Sonozaki are an influential family, but he thinks they are much better described as an region-wide mafia, as they in thick with the Yakuza. And Mion is about to inherit all of their business and political influence. He also tells him, that Mion, despite her young age has already accrued quite a rap sheet with the local police, and wonders aloud what she would use the Sonozaki family's power for. Keiichi is more than a bit peeved about the cop making these insinuations about one of his friends, but Ooishi claims that he just wants to clear some suspicious about Mion's involvement in certain incidents. Ooishi asks him if he happened to see Tomitake, Takano, or Shion at the Watanagashi last night. That Mion asked him the same question earlier today isn't lost on Keiichi. He tries to give the cop the same vague, non-committal answers he gave her. All the while, Keiichi suspects that that Ooishi can see right through him, as he is doing a bad job of hiding his guilt. Keiichi is then literally saved by the bell, as the library's closing time comes around, and Ooishi's colleague, Kumagi, show up to tells him they'd better get out of here. Ooishi begins to leave with Kumagi, but not before making sure to tell Keiichi that they will talk again. He also tells him that there actually is one more thing... Ooishi personally saw him with Shion, Tomitake, and Takano at the Watanagashi, so he had better rethink his answers next time.
Returning home as evening falls, Keiichi nervously thinks on how it's weird that so many people already seem to know about the break-in. As he is about to go to bed, he gets the promised call from Shion. He is still annoyed with her for leaving him to face Ooishi alone, but Shion replies with the half-excuse, half-joke that she clearly gave him the cue to leave with her, and Keiichi, clearly in spite of himself, finds his anger disarmed by her demeanor, so he instead says there was something she wanted to tell him back then. Shion's voice turns low and serious, as asks him if he saw Tomitake and Takano after the four of them went their separate ways at the Watanagashi. Keiichi, now quite annoyed at getting asked this question again, says he didn't. Shion thanks him for being honest with her, and she informs him that Tomitake and Takano are dead. Takano's burned body was found by the police and Tomitake died from what appears to be an unusually violent suicide, namely from tearing out his own throat. Keiichi, shocked by the news, asks if Takano's death was also a suicide. Shion replies that its unclear; apparently her body found in an oil drum that had been set alight and she was identified from dental records.
Shion is convinced that it is Oyashiro-sama's curse at play. She speculates that with the "tradition" involving one murder and one missing person, with two corpses now being found, they are probably targeted as the next ones to go missing. Keiichi asks if these violent deaths won't attract plenty of outside attention from the national press. Shion replies that she doesn't think it is likely. She knows that the Sonozaki family has already used their influence to pressure the local police to keep a tight lid on the investigation and claims that it has always been like this; in Hinamizawa, you can essentially get away with murder once a year, as people will simply chalk it up to being Oyashiro-sama's curse. Keiichi finally breaks under the stress and fear, and angrily accuses Shion at length of dragging him into this whole thing, as it was her who suggested they go see what Tomitake and Takano were up to. He eventually regains his composure, only to hear Shion hang up on him. He realizes that Shion was probably as scared as him and is beset by regret. As Keiichi thinks on how he is going to apologize to Shion — he doesn't know her phone number and he can't really talk to Mion about any of this — another call comes in from a young girl who identifies herself as Kimiyoshi. She wants to know if her "old man" is visiting his house right now. Keiichi replies that his family aren't having any visitors over right now. Kimiyoshi quickly apologizes for bothering him and hangs up.
Keiichi goes through another sleepless night, but still shows up for school, despite looking haggard from his lack of sleep. A concerned Rena comments that he is not looking very well today. Mion then shows up, also looking sleep-deprived. Rena asks her if it is because of the missing mayor. It turns out that the local mayor, Kimiyoshi, have gone missing the previous day, and the Sonozaki family are heading the community effort to find him, which of course means that Mion is involved with the search. Rena also privately informs Keiichi that Mion and the mayor were pretty close when she was a little girl, so his disappearance weighs extra heavily on her.
Later that day, Keiichi is on class duty, and is tasked with watering the garden near the school's supply shed. There he suddenly encounters Rika, who looks very grim and serious. Concerned, he asks her if she has been hurt. Rika, instead, hugs him tightly and, speaking in an uncharacteristically glum voice, asks him if he did something "bad" on the Watanagashi. Keiichi, at first tries to dodge the question like he did with Mion and Ooishi, but noticing her earnestness, he begins to give in to his guilt, but cannot quite get the words out. Noticing his hesitation, Rika angles the conversation to be about a metaphorical cat that got into the storehouse by accident, allowing Keiichi to "hypothetically" confess to him and Shion having been part of the break-in, that he meant nothing bad about it, and that Ooishi is trying to make him confess. Rika quietly thinks on it, and says she believes that he is genuinely remorseful. She calmly tells him he ought to forget about Tomitake and Takano and their deaths, because they had nothing to do with what he did or didn't do. Keiichi then asks her about where Shion stands in all of this. Rika says that Shion did something very bad, and that Mion is angry about it, and that they should try not to come between the sisters and their feud. She also assures him that she will protect him from the the "dog" who "bit" the mayor. She then wonders aloud why the "dog" went after the mayor; she thought it would go for the "tricky cat" first. Keiichi realizes that he doesn't know whether Rika acting as his friend who is trying to protect him or is just trying to make him confess. Rika notices his ambivalent expression, and apologizes; she thought she would make the "cat" feel better, but it has only gotten more scared.
At home, Keiichi receives another phone call from Shion. He apologizes for yelling at her and says that it appears that they are in this thing together. Shion accepts his apology and agrees, telling him they should share what information they have and starts out by saying that she thinks someone is stalking her, and advices him to watch out too. She also says that Mion has been acting strange lately, having asked her some of the same questions she asked Keiichi. Keiichi explains that Ooishi was leaning on him, because he saw the two of them with Tomitake and Takano at the Watanagashi; Shion says it makes sense, as it would mean that they were the last to see them alive. Keiichi then brings up the missing mayor, and Shion tearfully admits that she confessed about her part in the break-in to the mayor the day before he disappeared, as she had known him since she was a little girl. Now she fears that he was made to disappear because she told him. Keiichi panics about this, admitting to Shion that he confessed to Rika this afternoon, and now he is afraid that she will be targeted as well. Shion questions him on why he would do that, and he admits that Rika somehow suspected that the two of them were involved with the break-in and this made him spill his guts. Shion tells him that it indeed sounds concerning and he ought to check in on Rika.
Keiichi is unable to reach Rika and Satoko's residence by phone, so him, Rena, and Mion go investigate. Rika and Satoko turns out to live in a small shack on the outskirts of the shrine grounds, with both of their bikes missing. Rena suggests that they split up and try to find a way inside and while Keiichi is alone with Mion, he notices that she starts acting very weird with her getting a weird look in her eyes, as she mutters, mostly to herself, that Satoko's family is cursed as each of them have become victims every year. Mion quickly goes back to normal as Rena returns. The three of them get into the residence, and notices that there is no trace of Rika and Satoko, with the last thing they appeared have been doing is preparing for dinner. Mion organizes the adults who show up to ask questions, telling them that they are not just looking for the mayor, any more, but Rika and Satoko as well.
The next day, Ooishi confronts Keiichi once again, and chats with him about the case. He tells him of Mayor Kimiyoshi's schedule that day, and Keiichi notices that though Shion claimed to have confessed to the mayor, there doesn't appear to be any window of time where this conversation could have taken place, other than just before he disappeared. Ooishi also says that the last time any one has seen Shion, was when him, Keiichi, and her briefly met in the library cafeteria. She didn't show up for work after that and has officially been reported as missing for the past couple of days.
With the information he gained from Ooishi, Keiichi wonders if he has really been talking to Shion for the past few phone calls. When Shion calls him again that evening, the two of them vent how unreasonable the village is being. Shion also states she is thinks Rika is probably dead just like the mayor, noting that the culprit seems intend on making her and Keiichi feel as miserable as possible before they make their move to kill the two of them. Keiichi decides to confront her, asking her directly about the contradiction of how she could have been talking to Mayor Kimiyoshi on the day he went missing, if there was no window of time when that could have happened. The person at the other end only responds with hysterical laughter and hangs up.
The next day, Rena tells him that she has been doing some investigation of her own. She noticed that Rika and Satoko had stored their away dinner instead of eating it, that it was a kind of dinner that was no good without soya sauce, and that their kitchen was out of the sauce. She shows Keiichi a flyer that was handed out to the households in the area, wherein the Sonozaki residence proclaimed that they was doing a giveaway of soya sauce, and that any interested parties should contact Mion. Rena believes that this flyer was meant to lure in Rika, who went to get the sauce. The culprit, realizing that Satoko would probably wonder where Rika was, would then have subsequently lured her to the Sonozaki house under the pretense that Rika was having dinner there to get rid of any loose ends. Keiichi notices the part that she leaves unsaid; that it was Mion who was listed as a contact, and therefore she probably orchestrated it.
Rena tells Keiichi they need to go confront Mion at the Sonozaki residence and make her confess and turn herself in to the police, believing this is the best they can do for their friend. They both go to Ooishi and fill him on what they know and what they are going to do Turns out, Ooishi was prepared for this scenario all along, and he tell them that he will arrange for two squads to be place outside the Sonozaki residence to keep watch and be ready to move in to arrest Mion in at their signal.
With nothing left to do, Keiichi and Rena venture into the large private plot of land that contains the Sonozaki residence. It turns out that Mion is already waiting for them at the house, and has prepared tea for them. Rena tells her how she figured that she was behind Rika and Satoko's disappearance. Mion is taken aback and admits to be surprised by Rena's detective skills. She quickly composes herself and readily and casually confesses to the disappearances and murders the last few days, claiming they were threats to Hinamizawa and its reputation and it is the "Sonozaki's responsibility" to take care of such threats. Mion wants to turn herself in, but she asks for thirty minutes alone with Keiichi, so she can show him where Shion is kept captive. Still trusting her as their friend, despite everything, both Keiichi and Rena agree.
Mion leads Keiichi to a secret bunker further back at the Sonozaki residence. He sees that the place is filled with the same tools he saw at the shrine storehouse, except clean and well-maintained. She tells him that though the Watanagashi ritual was frowned upon for being bloody in modern times, it never really stopped. The Sonozaki family instead kept carrying it out in this bunker every year. She leads him further into the bunker to a room full of cells, with a haggard-looking Shion sitting in one of them. She panics upon seeing Keiichi, begging her sister not to kill anymore people. Keiichi realizes too late that Mion has sunk up behind him and he is knocked half-away unconcious by her. He can still overhear Mion taking sadistic pleasure in taunting Shion, telling her that she might consider showing Keiichi mercy, but only if her sister prostates herself before her and apologizes for everything she has done against her. When Shion complies, Mion coldly says that she will spare his life, but she will still torture him a bit first.
Keiichi wakes up strapped to an operating table, with Mion looming over him, preparing to use a hammer and set of nails on his fingers. Keiichi defiantly declares that he refuses to believe that the person in front of him is Mion, begging her to fight the "demon" that has gotten hold of her. Mion admits to be impressed with his conviction and says that she might grant him a request or two for his bravery. Keiichi asks her to turn herself in, spare Shion's life, and maybe also not torture him. Mion considers it for a moment, and matter-of-factly says that she cannot grant the first two. She doesn't want to get caught and insists that Shion must be punished with death for her transgressions. She admits to still being found of Keiichi though, and that is why she will grant him the third request. She takes out a stun-gun and tells Keiichi that should he ever meet her again, he had better try to not talk to her, because she will kill him if he does, and then knocks him out.
Keiichi comes to as he finds himself rescued by Rena and the police. In the aftermath, Shion was also found alive, but was very traumatized by her experiences and borderline catatonic. She has continued to suffer delusions about her sister trying to kill her, and as such has been taken away to a secret address to recover mentally. The Sonozaki family, wanting to make the bad press from Mion being revealed as a serial killer to go away, bribes Keiichi's family into leaving Hinamizawa. He bids an emotional goodbye to Rena, who sadly wonders how she will fare alone in the village. The night before his family moves away Keiichi sees Mion lurking outside his house, and as a final apology he attempts to give her the doll she wanted despite her previous warning. She promptly stabs him and runs off laughing in triumph.
Keiichi survives the stabbing, however, and is taken to a hospital to recover. Ooishi shows up to talk to him, telling him that the police has had a field day with investigating the secret bunker at the Sonozaki residence, with them having pulled out several bodies from a tar-pit deeper into the complex, which has lead to several cold cases finally getting resolved. He informs Keiichi that they have found Rika's body and, curiously, she was carrying a syringe on her person. The syringe was broken, however, so they have not able to analyse its contents. He also tells him that it turns out Takano faked her death, having altered her dental records and used another corpse as a stand-in.
Ooishi also says that he also has some sad news, Shion died last night from a broken neck after falling from her apartment window, with the only witness, her body overhearing her having a violent argument with beforehand, with the police being unsure if it was suicide or murder. Keiichi says that it obviously sounds like Mion was behind it. Ooishi says that would seem that way, but something about that theory bothers him though, so he asks Keiichi if he really is sure that it was Mion who stabbed him. Keiichi insists that he is sure, which Ooishi tells him it seems impossible, because there is a detail the police has not made public yet. One of the corpses found in the bunker was Mion's. She apparently fell off a ladder and died of a broken neck as she tried to make her escape. Keiichi is shaken at this revelation, so Ooishi says that he will let him rest for now and bids him goodbye.
Now alone, the injured Keiichi sees Mion's blood-cover zombie creeping up from under his bed with hammer and nails in hand, and he passes away from the shock.
Tropes:
- Absence of Evidence: After Rika and Satoko go missing, the remaining club members visit their house to look for clues. Rena notices that their bottle of soy sauce was missing, and with some other circumstantial evidence, deduces the possibility that Rika could have visited the Sonozaki estate to borrow soy sauce and was abducted there, with Satoko taken with her.
- Alternate Timeline: While the chapter initially appears to be starting off as some sort of flashback, it soon becomes very apparent that some events from the previous chapter now play out differently, and some can't happen chronologically. This should tell the players to expect all other scenarios in the series to diverge from each other.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Played with. When Mion has Keiich at her mercy and is about to torture him, she is rather amused that he somehow still the ability to show trust in her, and tells him that she might grant him a final request for his bravery. Keiichi says that he actually has two; he wants her to turn herself in and spare Shion's life. This amuses Mion further, as she notices that those are some rather selfless requests and asks him if he really isn't going to ask her to do anything for him. Despite the penurious situation he finds himself in, Keiichi still manages to sheepishly joke that if she still feels like taking requests, then his third one would definitely be if she would maybe consider not to torture him.
- Arc Villain: It's assumed by Keiichi that Mion have killed Tomitake and Takano for breaking into the warehouse. At least she explicitly kidnaps Keiichi and Shion.
- Ax-Crazy: Mion struggles between being the heir to the head of the village and needing to punish Keiichi for trespassing, and being deeply in love with him. In either state, she is too dangerous.
- A Day in the Limelight: Subverted. While the chapter ostensibly focuses on Mion's character, with her even turning out to being the appearent Arc Villain, Meakashi-hen later reveals that Shion actually abducted Mion half-way through the story, and then proceed to impersonate her for most of the second half of the chapter.
- Dragged into Drag: Mion suggests being forced to wear a French Maid Outfit as the penalty for losing the word association game, and she follows through with gusto when Keiichi comes in last. Reading between the lines, it is obvious that it is at least partially about her still feeling slighted about Keiichi's previous comment that he doesn't consider her very feminine.
- Gainax Ending: After it looks like Keiichi has managed to survive this time, Mion appears to be Back from the Dead and in his hospital room.
- Foreshadowing:
- When seeing Rika dressed in her Miko outfit, both Rena and Keiichi has a major "kyute!" moment. Rika is creeped out by this and dryly comments that she feels she gonna end up being locked inside a basement. Three guesses as to what happens to Rika later on in this story, and the first two don't count.
- Of course, there is a lot towards the Twin Switch Shion has pulled on Mion, as revealed in Meakashi-hen:
- Mion doesn't like speaking about Oyashiro-sama's curse and treats like an ugly rumor of sorts. Shion believes it to be true, if only in a mostly metaphorical sense, and has no problem openly talking about it. Later in the story, "Mion" has no problems speaking about the curse and even believes its true.
- Mion has a general dislike for the police and an intense personal dislike for Ooishi in particular. Later in the story, "Mion" agrees with Keiichi's suggestion that they should try to get the police on their side by telling Ooishi what he knows.
- Mion likes to act like a cultural ambassador for Hinamizawa and clearly takes great pride in the local community and their sense of solidarity. Later in the story, "Mion" criticises the village's respect for ancient traditions and disparages the local community for enabling and even aiding the Sonozaki family's more shady activities.
- Mion and Rena are best friends, and Mion would therefore defintely know that Rena is much sharper than her somewhat airheaded demeanor tends to give away. "Mion", meanwhile, is caught completely off-guard by how Rena managed to figure out her trap for Rika.
- When "Shion" desperately begs "Mion" to spare Keiichi's life, "Mion" mocks her for being able to beg in a "cute" voice, telling her that it suits her much better than the "unnatural bravado" she kept putting on. Which one of the sisters though the other one was acting "unnatural" again?
- In-Universe Factoid Failure: During the word association game, Keiichi has the word "Fish". He picks "Sushi", while Mion and Rena picks "Whale" and "Dolphin" respectively. Keiichi immediately complains that their answers makes no sense, since whales and dolphins aren't fish, but sea mammals.
- Irony: After Shion brings Keiichi a lunch box as a compensation for his own lunch getting ruined, Keiichi, not really convinced that Shion isn't simply Mion in a disguise, ruminates on if she has tampered with the food in some way, since it would be right up Mion's alley to put hot sauce or a maybe even a needle into it to prank him. Keiich immediately catches himself and wonders where that last thought about the needle came from, since Mion definitely wouldn't anything that messed up. This was of course, a plot point in the previous episode.
- Painful Confession: Keiichi finds himself struggling to talk to Rika, when she more or less directly asks him if he had anything to do with the break-in during the Watanagashi. It takes Rika cloacking their conversation in metaphorical lanauage, before he talk about it.
- Raging Stiffie: When Keiichi is Dragged into Drag, Mion decides pushes him a little bit extra by getting physically close to him and whispering seductively in his ear. He quickly realizes what she is doing and that is unfortunately working, as he feels his "manhood" shift a bit, something he realizes to his panic will be very auspicious now that he is wearing a dress.
- Second Episode Introduction: Mion's twin sister Shion joins the cast, but she wasn't even mentioned in the last arc.
- Tomboy Angst: Keiichi gives a doll he won at the game tournament to Rena instead of Mion, citing that it wouldn't suit a tomboy like her. It's what starts the domino effect for this chapter.
- Too Dumb to Live: Keiichi and Rena interrogating Mion while Ooishi is standing by very far away with no communication is already bad. Then Mion invites Keiichi into the Torture Cellar alone after admitting to being a Serial Killer. He was pretty much asking for it for still trusting her. Then, Keiichi manages to escape and Mion explicitly tells him to stay away from her. The following day he notices her outside the house, goes out to ask how she's doing and gets knifed for it.
- To the Pain: As Keiichi is Strapped to an Operating Table and at "Mion"'s mercy, she takes out a hammer and a gnarly looking set of nails, describing in detail how she is going to hammer a nail in every joint of his fingers. For extral cruelty, she admits that she wanted to try out this method of torture on Rika and Satoko, only to find out that their hands were too small for it to be possible.
- Twin Switch: Keiichi figures out that at some point, Mion has already kidnapped Shion and pretended to be her.
- The Unfair Sex: Discussed. Rena manages to convey to Keiichi that he has somehow hurt Mion's feelings, and Keiichi asks her to tell him what he has done, since he is terrible at these kind of things. Rena says that she can't — as it is not her place, and she feels she would seriously betray Mion's trust if she just straight up told him. It is something he must figure out himself if he wants to apologize properly. She also muses that when looking objectively at the thing Mion is upset about, it is maybe kind of unfair to blame Keiichi for what happened. But on the other hand, it is also the kind of thing that would be also unfair to blame a girl for being upset about.
- Yakuza: It wasn't explicitly stated in the previous chapter, but the Sonozaki family are shown to be a very traditional, rich and ruthless, with many subordinates and government connections.
- You Will Be Spared: As she is about inflict a bit of Fingore on Keiichi, "Mion" realizes that she is ultimately still found of him, and decides to allow him to leave with his fingers intact.
