The phone in the Sonozaki residence rings. Mion answer.png.pngs the phone with her left hand while her right appears to hold onto Shion's collar as Shion sits stunned. Mion sternly speaks into the phone: "I understand. Please handle the situation. Also, be sure everyone remains silent." After Mion hangs up the phone, Shion asks her what "remain silent" means. Mion curtly asks her if she was listening. Shion tries to tell Mion that she does not know what she is talking about.

Mion grabs her shirt with both hands and brings her face close to her: "It's exactly what you heard." She explains that Takano Miyo and Tomitake Jirō were "cursed" by Oyashiro-sama. She explains to the shaking Shion that Jirō clawed his own throat out while Takano was stuffed into a barrel and burned deep in the mountains. When Shion asks what it means, Mion wonders why she does not understand. There is only one explanation: "Oyashiro-sama's Curse."

There is a sudden flash of electricity, and Mion falls to the floor. Shion watches her fall as she holds her taser. "Satoshi-kun, I finally understand," she thinks, "As I thought, everything was done by the Sonozaki family." As she looks down on her unconscious sister, she vows to him to take revenge and not be killed like him.

Sonozaki Oryō sits in her bed taking a pill. Her door slides open, and, expecting Mion, Oryō asks who called on the phone so late. Shion shocks her.

Shion drags the unconscious Mion into the torture room of the Sonozaki bunker. Oryō sits motionless next to the doorway. Shion tosses the stripped Mion into one of many cells. Mion regains consciousness in time for Shion to lock the bars. When she asks Shion what she is doing, Shion merely notes that her sister probably never imagined she would be locked up. Mion tries to order Shion, "as the Sonozaki head's representative," to open the door. Shion laughs and scolds her that "the head" should be more arrogant. Shion continues to compliment her on having Takano stuffed into a barrel and burned, but then asks her how she arranged to have Jirō tear out his own throat. Mion has no idea. Shion warns her not to take on a rebellious attitude. She continues that since Mion acted this far, Shion can no longer stop herself. She specifically asks if the Hinamizawa serial murders, also known as "Oyashiro-sama's Curse," are responsible for the dam war.

Mion's defiance leaves her, she looks away sheepishly, then admits that she thinks so. Shion "wonders" how the next head of the Sonozaki family could be so "vague." Mion protests that she is nothing more than Oryō's spokeswoman. When pressed, she responds that Oryō, alone, decides the "super-risky issues." She claims that she is only a spokeswoman, but she suspects that, "there's another person who does the rest."

Starring at her intently, Shion reminds her that Jirō and Takano are not tied to the dam war. She asks if they were sacrificed because they entered the Saiguden. Mion is shocked by this. Shion shares this surprise and confesses that she thought Mion already knew. Mion concedes that if they did do that, "then it's already given." Shion darkly reminds her of the rule that one person dies from the curse while another vanishes as a sacrifice; yet, both Jirō and Takano are dead.

Mion is not sure, but then she guesses that perhaps four people snuck into the Saiguden and were "spirited away by the demon." Inwardly, Shion is startled by the possible implication that she and Keiichi will be the ones who disappear. She walks over to her grandmother and gives her wheelchair a swift kick to wake up her "hideous granny." Shion suspects that Oryō feigns sleeping. She brings a lighter to her face only to discover that Oyrō is, indeed, dead: "Without saying a word and without an apology to Satoshi-kun." Enraged, Shion takes a whip from the wall and repeatedly whips the body of her grandmother. Shion then hears the quick patter of feet. She asks the noise of the footsteps if it is "the Oyashiro-sama Rena talked about," and she screams, "fool!" ( 馬鹿・baka) as she throws the whip in their direction. She returns to Mion to remind her that one of their relatives said, "a long time ago," that a hidden well exists in the underground torture room that also has a secret path that leads to the outside. Mion looks down without answer.png.pnging. Shion genially warns her that if she maintains "that attitude," she will have to "ask" Oryō again with the whip.

Mion directs her to the cell that leads to the well. Shion finds it, then asks Mion if she ever been down it before. Mion angrily replies that she does not even want to. Shion laughs and reminds her that "it is said" that the corpses of those tortured were thown down the well. She begins to push Oryō's wheelchair as Mion protests. Shion reveals to her that their grandmother is already dead.

Mion can only cry and ask Shion how she could do such things. "Who knows?" (さあね・saane) is her response. Mion finally understands that Shion is taking revenge for Satoshi. This causes Shion to stop. She cheerfully announces to Mion that she now thinks she had a prior reason to kill "hideous granny." It is "not just because she's the one behind Satoshi's murder," it is because she lied. She slaps Oyrō's face as she accuses Mion of telling the same lie: that if she tore off her fingernails "all would be forgiven."As she kicks Oryō's wheelchair again, she reminds Mion that after Satoshi vanished, Mion assured her that the responsibility for Shion and Satoshi's relationship had been settled and that the Sonozaki's did not know anything about his disappearance. When Mion tries to protest, Shion repeats that she "lied (嘘だ・usoda)!" She eventually starts kicking Oryō's corpse while screaming "Liar  (嘘つき・usotsuki)!" She then demands that Oryō return Satoshi to her. She finally falls to her knees in exhaustion. Mion covers her ears and cowers in her cell in fear.

Shion calmly apologizes for frightening her. If Mion really did not know, as she claimed, Shion promises not to torture her. However, is she also lied, then it will not matter what happens to her as she laughs hysterically.

The phone in the Sonozaki residence rings again. Shion answer.png.pngs it without identifying herself (園崎です・Sonozaki desu). Kimiyoshi Kiichirō apologizes for calling so early and asks if Oryō is sleeping. Shion responds that she is, and Kimiyoshi asks if she can leave a message next to her pillow. When Shion agrees, Kimiyoshi explains they have set an emergency meeting in the shrine assembly room at 5:00 P.M. Shion agrees. When she hangs up the phone, it immediately rings again. Kasai Tatsuyoshi thinks he is speaking to Mion. He asks if Shion is still there. Shion replies that, "Shion is just washing her face," and she will get her. After a pause, she greets Kasai. He asks her if she has a way to return to Okinomiya as it is revealed that he is calling from a cafe. Shion tells him not to worry then asks him if he heard about, "Why the two sacrifices last night were cursed by Oyashiro-sama." He does not. Shion tells him he suspects that it is because they picked the lock to the Saiguden. "How foolish," Kasai replies. Shion confesses that she was there as well. After she explains that Takano invited her and Keiichi inside, Kasai sighs then asks how she plans to take responsibility this time. She jokingly suggests five fingernails, then apologizes She explains that she grew up in Okinomiya because, "Granny hated me." She was then trapped in the girl's academy so she does not really understand Hinamizawa.

"Shion-san, I am on your side," Kasai measuredly replies, "but there are things that even I cannot stand up for." Shion listens in shock. She then pretends that Mion is back and makes her excuses to end the conversation. She steps away and then sits on the floor in front of the hallway phone. She admits to herself that her situation, "is not good," then scolds herself to calm down. She rationalizes that if she becomes Mion, "then Shion will disappear." Since she admitted to Kasai that she entered the Saiguden, then the disappearance of "Shion" will be explains as a spiriting away by the demon. She then realizes that the only one left is Keiichi, and, to her internal regret, he may lure out the enemy.

Encouraging herself not to miss the opportunity to use him, Shion, dressed as Mion, approaches him as he washes his face in the sinks outside the school. Keiichi remarks that she does not look well; she confesses that she and her family drank after the Festival. Keiichi teases her about having a hangover: "How old are you?" Shion laughs. She turns serious and asks him if he saw Takano and Jirō the night of Watanagashi. He looks down, sweats, stammers, and denies it as she inwardly notes his incompetence at acting and lying. She then asks if he saw Shion. Keiichi reminds her that she asked him that question the day before. Shion tries to play coy while she inwardly believes Mion lied to her when she said that she did not know about us entering the Saiguden. She recovers to claim she is glad he did not see anyone, then adds that she should she might get a different answer.png.png if she asked again.

She turns away cheerfully announcing that she will let "them" know that he was not involved in anything "bad (悪い・warui)." As she starts to run, she repeats that she will tell "everyone (皆・mina)." As she runs away, Keiichi repeats, "everyone?"

Laughing, Shion continues running down the road congratulating herself that she has seeded Keiichi with doubt and fear. She stops and declares that she will act as Shion to keep an eye on him. She then rushes up the steps of the Shrine to see Kimiyoshi, his son, Makino, and other Unidentified Elders. Kimiyoshi greets her as "Mion." Inside, she sits next to him to chair the meeting. Makino, sitting at the end of one of the tables, starts the meeting by thanking everyone for attending then calling for "the Village headman's greeting," from Kimiyoshi. He apologizes for preferring to remain seated. As he talks, Shion narrates that his greeting proved both long and boring, indicated by the Sun setting and lights being turned on. She begins to pay attention when he starts discussing the serial murders. She notes that all became silent. Finally, he turns to her and asks if Oryō said anything. All present look at her with serious attention. She formally identifies herself as "Sonozaki Mion, the Sonozaki head's representative," and states her position as her spokeswoman. Inwardly, she takes a moment to calm herself as she remembers how Mion behaved towards her during her punishment. She declares that "that," that bearing and character, must also exist in her since they are twins.

She regrets that Oyashiro-sama's curse has happened for the fifth year in a row. She asks if any know why. The men look at one another cluelessly, but Shion announces that it is because the Saiguden had been violated. This shocks the men. Makino stands in disbelief, Kimiyoshi's son calls those responsible, "fools," while his father denounces them as "cursed fools!" The usually calm Kimiyoshi's reaction surprises Shion. Shion concludes that the one who connects Oyrō with Oyashiro-sama's curse and conveys her secret intentions is in the room. She asks for silence, then explains that "four thieves" snuck into the Saiguden. She identifies two as "Sonozaki Shion" and "Maebara Keiichi." She starts to say that "Sonozaki Shion has been . . ." only to notice how "frightenly apathetic and emotionless" everyone in the room is. Kimiyoshi calmly asks her about Keiichi. She looks at him, and he now seems stern again. "Not yet," she responds.

That night as the members file out, Shion asks Kimiyoshi to stop by her house. He asks if Oryō is calling for him. Shion quickly replies that Oryō wishes to tell her something in person. Inside the Sonozaki home, Shion offers him tea and tells him that Oryō will come as soon as she has changed. Shion then sadly informs him that she thinks Oryō wishes to talk to him about Shion. He asks where "Shion-chan," is, and Shion replies that she is in "the basement." He sighs and notes that she did enter the Saiguden. Shion continues that she feels sad for Shion since Shion has always been kept away from Hinamizawa. She "suspects" that while Shion knew it was wrong, she did not think it was a "big deal."

Kimiyoshi calmly asks "Mion-chan" if Shion feels sorry. Shion replies she does, but "at this rate, she might be spirited away by the demon like Hōjō Satoshi last year." Kimiyoshi assures her that as long as Shion feels sorry, she will not. "Leave it to me!" Shion's eyes well will tears as she happily feels that Kimiyoshi was on her side after all. He then continues to state that "Unlike that cursed Hōjō brat, I'm sure she'll be forgiven." This triggers Shion. She repeats, "Hōjō brat?" and Kimiyoshi continues that they cannot help the Hōjō family who betrayed the village. Shion protests that Satoshi's case should have been overlooked since Shion took responsibility. He does not understand; she reminds him of the three fingernails. He quickly explains that those were for Kasai, Yoshirō, and Shion.

Shion sits completely shocked by the revelation that her third finger nail was not meant for Satoshi. As she looks at her now healed fingers, she remembers that Mion came to her and said that "everything would be forgiven."

She grows very serious as she "wonders" why Satoshi had to be spirited away by the demon. Kimiyoshi does not follow. She explains that his parents did try to betray the village, "but what sin did he commit?" She answer.png.pngs her own question by declaring that the three great families decided it. Kimiyoshi protests that that is not the case; however, Shion continues by observing that the Hōjōs are cursed "no matter what." She repeats the prejudice, declaring it a type of thinking that spread and infected everyone's thoughts. As Kimiyoshi looks at her in shock, Shion declares that she cannot forgive him since, "People like you accused his family and blamed them so." She continues to openly speculate what "sin" he could have committed. She finally screams as there is a flash of electricity causing Kimiyoshi to yell and fall to her taser.