A New Fear

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Fatal Frame and I'm not making any money from this fic. The character. The character Akemi Kagoshima belongs to me

Summary: An AU of Fatal Frame I. After receiving a premonition of her brother's death, Miku enters the mansion before Mafuyu is able to; and it falls to her brother to try and save her

Warning(s): Extreme, somewhat graphic descriptions of violence and murders; original characters; spoilers for Fatal Frame I; slight 'tweaking'

Author's Note: In spite of giving me way more than my daily scare limit, Fatal Frame has been a really good game to play. This idea has been nudging at me since I first started playing, so here it is. For those of you who don't know the game, there are a lot of websites – via Google – on it.

There are going to be some big differences from the game. It wouldn't be interesting otherwise. I hope you enjoy.

"Miku... I'm home." Mafuyu pushed open the door to his apartment and let out a quiet sigh as he saw the books and papers scattered all over the floor and most of the available surfaces. "Hey! Miku, can't you pick up your things for once?"

When there was no answer, Mafuyu frowned. A cold prickle of unease trailed down his spine. Miku should have been at home, studying.

Where was she?

Mafuyu stepped into the apartment, letting the door close behind him. Maybe Miku was in her bedroom... As he headed in that directon, he passed the kitchen. When he peeked through the door, he saw that there were still dishes piled in the sink and on the sides.

No matter what else he could say about Miku, she'd always been neat when it came to housework. Not very organised when it came to her schoolwork, but it wasn't like her to leave dirty dishes unattended; not unless there was something seriously wrong.

A wave of panic rushed over him when Mafuyu opened the door to Miku's room, only to find that his sister had gone. He fought to keep from losing his mind. There was no need to panic; Miku had probably just gone out for a walk or something. And as for the dishes? Well, everyone had the right to an 'off' day every once in a while.

So why couldn't he shake the feeling that something was wrong?

Mafuyu was about to leave the room again when he noticed the note that was taped to the wall. Frowning, he walked over and tore the piece of paper off. He quickly scanned the writing.

Big brother,

I know you're going to be really mad at me for this, but I have to go. I had a vision of you with ropes around your neck, ankles, and wrists. If you go into that mansion, you'll die. I don't want to lose you as well, so I'm going to enter Himuro mansion so that you don't have to.

I love you, Mafuyu

Miku

Mafuyu crumpled up the note and threw it to the floor. For a moment, he just stood there, struggling to stay calm. Why couldn't Miku have talked to him about her vision? He'd always been understanding about his sister's psychic abilities. He knew better than to just dismiss them out of hand. Miku had been right more often than not.

Mafuyu realised that he couldn't just go rushing off after his sister, as much as he might want to. He'd wanted to learn more about about the mansion, which was why he hadn't immediately gone after his friend. More research wasn't an option now – but he could at least take the time to collect a flashlight... couldn't he?

Mafuyu had to admit that Himuro mansion had probably seen better days. As he played the flashlight over the first room, he thought it looked like a war had been fought there. He picked his way gingerly over the rubble; and the light ghosted over something child-shaped, covered with a cloth, behind a metal grate.

Miku? No... his sister was small, but not that small. He wanted to see who – or what – was under the cloth, but couldn't see any way of getting past the grate. The shape wasn't moving, anyway.

Half of the stairs had collapsed, but the other half seemed sturdy enough. Still, Mafuyu was careful walking up. Miku was lighter than he was, after all.

There was a screen near the top of the stairs. Mafuyu played the light over the surface, but couldn't make anything out; though he thought he could hear the sound of someone breathing. Miku?

As he edged round the back of the screen, Mafuyu glimpsed a figure huddled behind it. As he moved nearer to her, though, his view was obscured by blue fire, through which he could see the face of Mr. Takamine's editor – Koji Ogata.

Now there's another rope, the ghost whispered, before disappearing.

The girl behind the screen wasn't Miku. Mafuyu pushed away the bitter disappointment and crouched down beside her. For a brief, awful moment, he thought that she was dead – she was huddled into herself, her arms wrapped around her knees and her head bowed. Mafuyu realised that she was breathing, though, and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. "Hey..."

The girl recoiled sharply, arm raised as if to ward off a blow. Mafuyu glimpsed a pale, smudged face framed by tangled dark hair. He held his hands up, shuffling back a few steps. "It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you. My name's Mafuyu."

Slowly, the girl lowered her arm. "Are you... real?" she asked hesitantly.

Mafuyu nodded. "I'm real. What's your name?" He kept his voice gentle, as if speaking to a frightened animal, while his mind raced. Had a similar girl gone missing in the mansion? He hadn't read about one – but he hadn't had time to research properly.

By now, the girl seemed to be calming down slightly. "Akemi." After a brief hesitation, she added, "Kagoshima. My friends dared me to come here. I have no idea how long it's been. Can you get me out? The lock on the front door is broken."

"It's broken?" Mafuyu stood up.

Akemi grabbed his arm. "Don't leave me!"

Mafuyu gently pulled his arm free. "I'm not leaving you," he replied. "I just want to go and check the door. You can stay here; I'll be right back."

When Mafuyu walked round the screen, though, Akemi got up and followed him. True to his word, Mafuyu simply walked over to the door and shone his flashlight on the lock. "That's strange," he muttered, seeing that it was indeed broken. "How could I have got in if it was broken?"

"We should just stay by the door and try to open it," Akemi said, a note of desperation in her voice.

Mafuyu shook his head. "My sister came into this mansion. I'm not leaving without her. You can stay here, if you'd prefer. I'll come back for you." He straightened and started heading up the steps again.

Once more, Akemi started following him. "Your sister's already dead."

Mafuyu paused and glanced at her. "Why do you say that?" A sudden image of Miku with her limbs and head missing came into his mind. He shook his head, but couldn't dismiss the vision entirely.

"I'm the only person alive here," Akemi replied.

"But you don't know for sure." It wasn't a question. Mafuyu struggled to keep the note of desperation out of his voice.

"What does your sister look like?"

Mafuyu considered that for a few moments. "She's seventeen years old," he answered. "Short, auburn hair. She'd be wearing a plain necklace and her school uniform, which is a white blouse and a short skirt."

Akemi frowned, then lowered her head slightly. "I'm sorry. I saw a ghost who looked like that..."

It took Mafuyu a few moments to fully register what she'd said. "That's impossible," he replied, trying not to lose control. "Where did you see her ghost? Take me there. I'm not leaving unless I know for sure that she's dead – and I refuse to believe that. I'm not just going to leave her."

"I'll let you know when we're there." Akemi's expression didn't reveal anything.

Mafuyu nodded briefly and headed towards the door to the side of the screen without saying anything. As he did so, he noticed a few sheets there which he was sure he hadn't seen before. Frowning, he bent and picked them up. Though they appeared to be notes from Koji Ogata's diary, the words seemed to be merely delirious nonsense; a repeat of what his ghost had said.

Akemi hovered by the door, watching him.

Fighting back his feelings of worry and unease, Mafuyu walked over to the door and opened it, peering through before he tentatively took a few steps.

There were ropes hanging in the hallway – five of them. Peering closer, Mafuyu thought he could make out bloodstains on them. He looked at Akemi over his shoulder. "What do you think this means?" he asked, playing the light over her face.

Akemi shook her head. "I have no idea. I only stayed in that entrance area. You're the only living person I've seen since coming here."

Mafuyu was about to ask her how she'd managed to see Miku's ghost, but he saw that she was looking past him. He turned, and jumped when he saw another figure... but he relaxed a little when he saw it was a mirror. He also saw something glinting on the ground and bent to pick it up.

It was his mother's antique camera.

Had Miku dropped it? Where was she now? Mafuyu started to pick up the camera, intending to look at the photos his sister had taken, but stopped when he heard Akemi gasp. He looked up to see a woman standing in the mirror behind him. He whirled round.

There was no one there.

Mafuyu turned back to the mirror and found himself frozen as the woman came closer. He could only stare as her hand seeped through the glass...