Furude, Rika

古手梨花

Rika is a younger classmate at Keiichi's school and shares the same grade level as Satoko. Naturally, she is close friends with her, as they live together in the same house. The villagers revere her as the heir to the local shrine, and she serves as a miko during the annual Watanagashi Festival. She has headed the Furude household since her parents died, but rarely attends town meetings due to her young age. Although she does not speak much, she likes to say nonsense words such as "mi~" and "nipa~" and often ends her sentences with "-nano desu," which inflames Rena's passion for cute things. She also likes to describe events using sound effects, such as "The cat was going 'nya nya' and 'scritch scritch'" or saying "Clap! Clap! Clap!" when clapping her hands.

Spoiler

In Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, Rika assumes the role of the series' protagonist as the perspective shifts to her side of the story. With this it is learned that each story arc is a parallel world, often referred to as fragments, and that Rika is able to navigate between such worlds (through a place known as the Sea of Fragments) upon death. Thus Rika is the only one (together with Hanyuu) who has memories of previous worlds, although eventually her friends become aware as well. She was gifted this ability by Hanyuu, though Rika often regards said ability as less of a gift and more of a curse.
Rika's true personality is worlds apart from the childish front that she puts up around others. As a result of hundreds of years worth of powerfully traumatic memories of worlds past and of that she is seemingly incapable of escaping that tragic fate, her personality has malformed into that of pessimism, cynicism, apathy, and even hostility. This persona, sometimes referred to as "Dark" Rika, is characterized by her mature tone of voice and choice of words, including her use of the pronoun "watashi" as opposed to her childish persona's use of the pronoun "boku." During depressive bouts and after Satoko falls asleep, Rika will often be seen drinking wine (a wine branded 'Bernkastel'), which she dilutes with orange juice, usually earning her the disapproval of Hanyuu. Despite this, Rika is not without her redeeming qualities, as she values greatly her friends and the time they spend together in Hinamizawa. And beginning in Tsumihoroboshi, she begins to learn of the value her own efforts present and of the need to have faith in and to rely upon her friends in order to elude her fate and bring about what she refers to as "miracles," such as the liberation of Satoko from her abusive uncle in Minagoroshi.
Rika often claims that she is not truly Rika but a witch whom she has named Frederica Bernkastel (Frederica derived from her name in Japanese format and Bernkastel from her choice brand of wine). She cites her ability to move between fragments as the reason and claims that upon entering a fragment she merely assumes the role of Rika Furude, who she firmly believes she is not. But by the end of Saikoroshi, she begins to denounce her previous assumptions and reassumes her identity as simply Rika Furude. She also notes that she does not doubt that somewhere, existing perhaps on a higher dimension, Frederica Bernkastel may still be wandering the sea of fragments.
It is also revealed during Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai that Rika is the "Queen Carrier" of the lethal Hinamizawa Syndrome, and in turn keeps the virus under control and prevents it from spreading. Any that leave her presence will exhibit symptoms of the disease, which explains why anyone who leaves Hinamizawa is immediately stricken. According to the late Doctor Takano's research, in the event of Rika's death, within days the entire village of Hinamizawa will fall victim to the disease, and it is also said to spread to neighboring villages if this occurs. For this reason, Rika is sought out and mysteriously murdered in each arc by command of Miyo Takano as the disaster would prove Hifumi's research as legitimate. Rika's death in turn directly triggers the Great Hinamizawa Disaster in most worlds.