A/N: Hello everyone! I'm Fae and this is my first fanfic! Thanks for taking time to read it and I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fatal Frame games; I am just borrowing the wonderful ideas presented in them.

The Repentance

I bowed low, my ebony hair falling to surround my face. Beside me, my younger sister mimicked my position as the priests led the lonely twin towards the Kurosawa household.

I slowly straightened as Lady Sae and the priests disappeared around the corner, passing under the expanse of the Heaven Bridge. My eyes darkened with apprehension.

Something must have happened. One twin was absent. Lady Yae was not there, standing by her sister's side, the red ceremonial rope connecting them.

I shook off the sudden feeling of dread. Clasping my sister's small hand within my own lager one, we headed to the Tachibana house.

--

I smiled as I watched the two children play with the kimono-clad dolls. Chitose's bells sang softly as her small hands moved to give the doll a semblance of life. My smile faltered slightly as the young girl squinted at the doll in her hands. The poor child had been born with partial blindness, the bells given to her by her doting older brother, Itsuki, so he would know where she was if she needed help.

Suddenly, an earthquake shook the house, tossing us onto our sides. The creeping feeling of dread I had felt earlier in the street came back full force. Without thinking, I grabbed Tsuki and Chitose's hands. They must have felt it too, for they did not protest.

We ran as fast as we could in our kimonos, Chitose's bells marking our path. We passed the other inhabitants of the Tachibana House as they came out of their rooms, yelling questions, their eyes belying their fear.

As we reached the top of the winding stairs near the tatami rooms, the screams began. We froze, horror halting our steps. The feeling of dread came stronger now. It was then that I realized one of the small hands I held had disappeared, along with its owner.

Chitose.

Where was she?

Panic seized my racing heart. I turned to the steps, determined to find the crimson-clad child, when something stopped me.

Tsuki was whimpering softly at my side and I felt the evil coming closer.

Whispering a small prayer for Chitose, I turned my back on the stairs and raced to the first of the tatami rooms, Tsuki pulled along behind me, her hand in mine.

Weaving our way through the tatami rooms, we headed towards the Heaven Bridge. Reaching the door, I ran to the twin dolls set up to the right. To open the door, they had to be facing each other.

In my haste, I missed the combination to the dolls. I almost cried in frustration. Why were these infernal dolls even here? I finally succeeded on my third try, and heard the soft click of the door unlocking.

As Tsuki and I stepped out onto the high bridge connecting the twin houses, the door clicked shut behind us. We hadn't moved far before we stopped, horror twisting our faces.

There, balancing precariously on the wooden railing, stood a young woman.

I faintly remembered her. She had been a part of the Tsuchihara household before it had burned down. Now she belonged to the Osaka house. She must have been visiting a friend in my own house, Kiryu, which lay on the other side of the Heaven Bridge.

She didn't seem to notice us as she stared far below to the cobbled street.

She calmly spread her arms and fell.

I covered Tsuki's ears just as the woman hit the ground below, the sickening sound of flesh hitting stone echoing in my ears.

I dragged the trembling Tsuki along, keeping her on the opposite side of where the woman jumped. As we passed I glanced down. The woman's neck was twisted horribly to one side. She had landed headfirst. I hurried along, forcing the image of the woman's body out of my mind as we reached the other door.

My shaking hands grasped the handle of the door to the Kiryu house, praying that the darkness creeping towards us would cease in its course. I could see now that it had emerged from the Kurosawa house. With a feeling of dread, I came to realize that the ritual must have failed; the abyss had sent this malice to destroy us. It had wanted twins and only received one half of the whole.

I quickly rid myself of these dark thoughts as the Kiryu door sung open. I stepped forward, clutching Tsuki's hand to reassure myself of her presence.

My first thought was that it was too dark, too cold in the house. I began to experience the now-familiar feeling of uneasiness as Tsuki and I neared the stairs that were only a few yards from the door. Then, I heard it.

It was an awful clicking sound, as if pieces of wood were rocking and scraping against each other. Tsuki gave a terrified gasp. She tugged at my kimono, silently telling me to look behind.

I turned slowly, the origin of Tsuki's fear coming into view. I froze in terror.

There, standing on the landing near the door we had just come through, was Azami Kiryu. The awful sound came from her as she moved towards us, her head rolling around, her black hair covering her eyes. Then, I remembered.

After the ritual, Akane, Azami's twin, became so lonely without her that a doll was created to ease the pain. It was crafted to be an exact replica of Azami, mirroring every feature perfectly. However, the doll had become possessed by a wandering spirit and had convinced Akane to kill her father, Yoshitatsu, the doll's own creator. Both the doll and Akane had been hanged for their crime, so why was the doll here now?

The malevolent doll took a step towards us, its parts once again making that horrible clicking sound. Then, in Azami's voice, she spoke.

"Kill them."

"Don't kill them."

I spun around. There, coming up the steps, was Akane Kiryu, or rather the ghost image of her.

I wanted to scream, but I bit my tongue. I had to be calm and think for Tsuki's sake. They were ghosts, so they shouldn't be solid.

Taking a deep breath and securing my grip on Tsuki's shaking hand, I ran down the stairs, right through the form of Akane, out the door, and into the unprotected street of All God's Village.

I stopped and allowed myself to breathe. Now all I had to do was make it to the outskirts of the village, up the hill, and to the mountain path that led out of the village. I squeezed Tsuki's hand. We were going to make it.

Then, I heard laughter, insane, high-pitched laughter. I shakily turned around, gripping Tsuki's hand and readying myself for what I was about to see.

Sae stood there on the pathway, her pristine white kimono already stained with the blood of the villagers unlucky enough to cross her path. Behind her stood a figure all in white, with a gaping mouth and screaming faces surrounding him. One of his arms was bound while the other was left free to reach out ahead. The Kusabi. I shook. From Hell they had come to exact their revenge.

Sae finally ceased her unnerving laughter and leveled her gaze to us.

I ran blindly. I ran and kept running, Tsuki's hand in mine, until we met a dead end near the storage shed where Itsuki Tachibana had hung himself only hours before.

Gasping for breath, I sunk down against the wooden fence. This was the end; we were going to die here.

I watched as Sae and the Kusabi came closer.

I pulled Tsuki to my chest, her terrified tears staining my dark blue kimono.

I cried. I cried for my sister. She was so young; too young to have a fate such as this one.

As Sae reached out for us, I whispered a final prayer.

--

I stood silently on the Heaven Bridge, alone.

My final prayer had been answered when I discovered Tsuki missing among the many ghosts that now haunted All God's Village. Tsuki had been spared this meaningless existence between life and death; this cursed wandering. She had moved on to the next world.

I stood for only a moment more when a girl in strange clothing with a noticeable limp turned the corner and continued under the bridge. I couldn't help thinking that she had a strange resemblance to Sae.

A moment later, the silence of the dead village was shattered as an identical girl rounded the corner. "Mayu! Wait!"

I watched with sad eyes as they disappeared around the bend leading to the Kurosawa house.

Silently, I turned away.

I prayed that their fates would be happier ones.

I knew, this time, my prayers wouldn't be answered.

A/N: Well, thank you for reading. I hoped you enjoyed reading the sad tale of these two sisters. I know that I enjoyed writing it. Please review if you want to.

-Fae