This is the seventh chapter of the manga only arc Onisarashi-hen.
Plot[]
In the hospital, Natsumi wakes up. A nurse tells her that she had been asleep for three days.
Tamako meets Chisato, who is on her way to buy a cake, on the street, and Chisato scolds her for reading books about Hinamizawa when they are going to visit Natsumi. Tamako finds it strange that, despite only a week passing since the incident with the Kimiyoshi family, no one is talking about it. Chisato tells her that everyone is treating what happened to Natsumi as a movie plot and says, no matter how tragic it may be, that it's easier to deal with something that people think isn't real.
When Chisato and Tamako get to the hospital, Natsumi tells them that she's happy they came. The two of them seem surprised to see Akira with Natsumi. Natsumi tells them he's helping her with school work, because she doesn't want too get behind. After teasing Akira about his knowledge of Math, Chisato suggests they go to the roof to eat cake. She says having so many teenagers around a bed would be obscene, and Akira tells her that she shouldn't be talking. Chisato demands Akira to put flowers in a vase.
Akira is seen sitting on the floor in a hospital hallway. (In the background, Chisato can
Natsumi waiting for Akira on the hospital roof
be heard asking when Akira and Natsumi became so close.). Oishi and Akasaka meet him and give him his change from the restaurant. Oishi asks him if he has a moment.
On the roof, Chisato is wondering what is taking Akira so long. Akira is shown telling Akasaka and Oishi that they're lying and proceeds to the roof. On his way, he sees Chisato and Tamako, who wonder if they treated Natsumi normally and if she enjoyed their company.
When Akira arrives on the roof, Natsumi tells him that she has been having nightmares recently. She tells him that she thinks about what happened and wonders if it really was "Oyashiro-sama's Curse". Akira tells her that it isn't a curse. He says that someone told him Natsumi's heart was tired, and it is necessary to bring joy back to her heart. However, Akira doesn't agree with that. He says what he wants might hurt her, but he wants
Natsumi cutting her grandmother's corpse into pieces
to live in the same world she does. He tells her he wants to know the truth. He tells her that she testified her mother killed her grandmother, but, in reality, she died of cerebral contusion. He says the injuries were caused after death, and wants to know what Natsumi actually saw. Natsumi wonders what he is saying. He goes on to tell her about her father's death.
Akasaka told him that Natsumi said her mother had stabbed him from behind, but an analysis stated that he was stabbed from the front. Oishi said that blood would have gushed out of the wound and cover the person who killed him. He noted that Natsumi was covered in her father's blood. Akira told them that Natsumi asked for help on the phone, but Oishi asked him if he was sure that person was Natsumi. He says that th phone she has supposedly used to talk to him had no blood on it. Also, he said that the pot used to hit Akira on the head had Natsumi's handprint on it.
Akira tells Natsumi that there is still time. He says that people from Hinamizawa usually commit murders and kill themselves, but she is still alive. He tells her not to give into the madness, because she can still be saved. Natsumi backs away from him, telling him what he's saying is weird. She tells him she knows what she saw. Akira tells her that the exact date of her grandmother's death has been determined, and it was on the day he had first gone to her house. Natsumi remembers that, when she was calling her mother for help, she had pushed her grandmother away. She remembers that the fall had killed her grandmother. She told her mother not to worry, because Grandma was gone. She said they could go back to living normally. Haruko asks her daughter if she knew what she is saying. She also remembers her suggestion of cutting her grandmother's corpse into tiny pieces to hide her and asking her parents to help. She starts to say that no one wants to be friends with a person from Hinamizawa, but Akira says that he understands. She told herself that Akira didn't need to know about the murder of her grandmother, and she has to make it seem as if someone else had done it. At that moment, Haruko had walked into the room where Natsumi was wondering what her daughter was doing.
Akira tells her that he was there when she started to lose control. He tells her that it freaks him out when he thinks that a murderer was just around the corner. He wonders if
Akira hugging Natsumi after promising to be by her side forever
Natsumi was planning on killing her friends like she had done to her family. She tells Akira that she didn't want anyone to know about this and hate her for it. Akira asks her if she thought he'd like her for doing that. Natsumi frighteningly looks around the roof, and Akira tells her that they're the only ones up there. She asks Akira if he hates her, and he hugs her and says he doesn't. Natsumi denies it, but Akira tells her he wants to protect her. Then, Akira states his relief at saving Natsumi. Natsumi tells Akira that she likes him as she picks up a knife from when she had eaten cake. After stabbing him, she reminisces about seeing one of his drawings when she first moved here. She remembers that it was the landscape one could see from the school window. At that moment, she had a premonition that her new home was going to be a lovely place to live. He tells her that it
Natsumi realizing that Akira is the only important thing she has left
took a lot of pain to get the paint's color just right. He says that he will tell Natsumi, because they both like it that way. Furthermore, he promises to always stay by her side and embraces her.
Akasaka and Oishi, as well as two policemen, are seen running up the stairs of the hospital, and Akasaka is scolding Oishi for letting Natsumi out of his sight. Oishi asks if Akasaka thinks that Akira is the one. Akasaka thinks that Akira is at a crossroads. One path leads to death and the other leads to a life of despair. Oishi asks if he thinks Akira chose to live in despair, and Akasaka says he chose to walk alongside Natsumi.
On the roof, Akasaka, Oishi, and the two policemen spot the wounded Akira, and Natsumi, crying, says that it was her fault. One policeman calls for a doctor, while the other holds Natsumi. Akasaka tells the officer to let her go and asks her if she now understands. Oishi, who is helping to care for Akira, calls Akasaka and Natsumi. She goes to Akira and holds his hand. She tells herself that she has made a lot of mistakes and has lost a lot. She realizes that she only has one important thing left in her tragic world.