Sapphire09: Another Story! I'm so irritating, aren't I? And I haven't fished my other stories! Whew...

Warning: OOC-ness, misspelled words, and probably grammar.

Now, Enjoy!

(Friday, November 20th, 2009 : Edited)

A sound of piano being played can be heard throughout the forest, in a forest surrounded by fog.

"Ouchi wasureta kohibari wa"
(The larks that forgot their way home)

The voice is clearly owned by a child girl.

"Hi no hi hatake no mugi no naka"
(In the wheat fields day to day)

The singing continues to ring, along with the sound of the piano. It was inciting.

"Kaasan tazunete naita kedo"
(I cried after asking my mother)

The singing and the piano that accompanied it are still ringing inside the forest. Birds and other animals that lived nearby shook their head, looking for the source.

"Kaze ni omugi ga naru bakari..."
(The wheat are crying to the wind)

But when the music stopped, all creatures scrambled away. The birds flew away, up to the sky, before flying to the opposite direction.

After that, incomparable silence washed over in the fog-shrouded forest.

~|Silent Haze|~
by Sapphire09

One more soul to the call, for all, in silence...

Comes two more souls to the call, for all, and in time!

Three more souls to the call, they fall...

Unknowing that four more souls to the call, won't be all, and you know it!

— OST Silent Hill 3: Homecoming; One More Soul To The Call

I. The Missing Manor

I felt the coldness creeping on my skin. The breath I let out turned to white puffs. I even shivered as the four of us walk through the forest.

"Sensei, its cold," the only female in my team said. I can even hear her teeth are clattering her body is shivering. Her pink hair damped, thanks to the humid atmosphere. I then unzip my orange jacket and gave it to her.

"Here, Sakura-chan," I said. She took it gratefully and wears it to warm herself up after she thanked me.

"Sakura is right, Sensei," my other teammate said. His black hair is also damped and he is shivering a little. "Added to that, it seems that there's mist setting in," he said.

True, the forest where we are standing is beginning to be engulfed in mist. Our sensei sighed before he said to us to stay the night here.

"We have no other choice, it seems. The mist will hinder our sight especially that it's getting dark out. We can't take any chances. We'll continue our journey when the mist dispersed, hopefully by morning," Kakashi-sensei said. After that, we set the camp, and I got the first watch. As I watched the campfire in front of me, I began thinking on why we got in this situation.

This was supposed to be a simple mission. Go to the Waterfall Village, retrieve the scroll, and then go back to Konoha. We managed to get to the Waterfall Village faster than we thought, so we decided—no, more like that I asked my teammates and sensei to stay there for a while. They agreed, although Sasuke is rather reluctant. What I wouldn't do to annoy him?

An old lady then came to us. She wore a dark-colored kimono and her hair is already grey with some hints of black, tied in a bun behind her head. "Be careful on your way back," she suddenly said. "You'll never know what lies hidden in the mist."

I raised my eyebrows in curiosity. "Why? What's wrong with the mist?" I asked. My teammates ignored her, except me. That's why they left us alone. The old lady seemed to be frowning at their ignorant attitude, but she seemed to be kind of glad that I stayed.

"Ignorant brats," I heard she muttered to my team who disappeared from our view. She then turned to me.

"You see boy, in the woods near here, at the border between the Land of Fire and this land, there's a part of the forest that sometimes shrouded by fog. Many people were lost in there. Every time when the mist came, another one gone missing," she said.

"Long ago, there was a manor there," she continued. "No, a village used to exist there, but it was wiped out in the last war. The manor is the only thing that left from the village. No one knows whether that manor still exists or not. No one ever found it again, since it was hidden in the mist. Even if someone found it, they never came back to tell the story. You can say it's missing inside the forest."

I became even more intrigued, but I couldn't help to be scared. I immediately thought about ghost. And I'm scared of ghosts. She also told me about the urban legend related with the Missing Manor and a tale about it. Before I can ask more from her, my teammates called for me. Despite my fear, I'm curious. So, I asked the old lady the close position, if not exact.

So, I told my teammates to go by that route instead of the usual route, without telling them the old lady's story. Thankfully, they agreed without raising questions.

At first, the route seemed normal enough, but in the middle of our way, we can feel the temperature dropped. Of course, it's not instantly dropped, but I can feel as we move on, the temperature dropped little by little. Not long after that we decided that we were lost.

And that's how we're here now, lost, cold …but at least with food.

I then looked up. I can't see anything but the mist. 'Damn… It's thickening…,' I thought.

Suddenly, I heard music. A piano. I was startled when I heard it. The notes are… sad, for me. I was paralyzed by the music.

"…Couldn't save you from the start…" I heard the singer sung.

"Love you so it hurts my soul…"

It was quite heart breaking, I must say. But, I ignore the feeling and went to Kakashi-sensei, which is currently sleeping inside the tent. I think he was awakened when he heard the flapping of me opening his tent, though.

"Can you forgive me for trying again…"

"Sensei, do hear that? The music?" I ask him.

"Your silence makes me hold my breath…"

It seems that he strained his ear to hear, so I thought he heard it. But to my surprise, he said he didn't hear anything.

"Oh, time has passed you by…"

"I don't hear any music…. Am I even supposed to hear something?" he asked.

"Ooh, for so long I've tried to shield you from the world…"

I still hear the singing quite clearly, as if the singer isn't that far from me. I can feel myself sweating cold sweat as I realized that Kakashi-sensei didn't hear the singing that ringed clearly in my ears.

"Ooh, you couldn't face the freedom on your own…"

I opened my mouth to explain what I heard, but I can't get out the answer I wanted. I can't get my voice out. So, I gulped.

"Here I am left in silence…"

I put on a grin to disguise my tenseness. "Ne, I think I misheard. Maybe it's the wind whistling on my ears," I said finally.

And after that, I can hear the sound slowly disappearing.

I then heard Kakashi-sensei sigh. "Naruto, I think you're already tired to hear imaginary sound like that. Go to sleep. I'll take on the rest of the night," he said.

I think I want to scream. I wanted to tell him that I'm not imagining things—I mean, come on! I heard it too clearly for it to be imaginary—but I can't found my voice. So, I just nodded.

He then put his hand on my head and walks out from the tent. I'm still shaking, scared. I don't think he noticed it, though. He's already outside when I looked back.

I was scared, not because of the fact that I heard singing, but because of the tune. It was a high tune, but I also heard a childish touch in the voice that sung it. I can tell the one that sung it was a child. A child girl, maybe.

The fact that it sounded so desperate… so lonely… is what scared me. It was as if the voice can pulls me to the singer, out of empathy.

But, despite my fear, I'm also curious. When I finally moved from where I'm standing, I found myself walking outside the tent. Once my right foot stepped out the tent, I hear the piano sound again. It seems my curiosity is greater than my fear, because I feel my feet are walking toward the sound.

"…I watched the clouds drifting away…" I hear the singing again. The voice is still the same. High and childish, yet…

"Still the sun can't warm my face…"

"Naruto, where are you going? I thought I told you to rest?" I was startled when Kakashi-sensei suddenly asked. I can still hear the music in the background, though.

"I know it was destined to go wrong…"

I was hesitating in answering, but still, I answered. Not the truth, because no matter how I tried, my voice won't come out.

"You were looking for the great escape…"

"I need to check up on something. I won't go too far, so don't worry. I'll be back soon," I said to him as I ran to the source of the sound, letting my ears to guide me.

"…To chase your demons away"

Behind me, Kakashi looked at my disappearing back worriedly. But soon he's back to his orange little book.

"Ooh, for so long I've tried to shield you from the world…" I still hear it. Now it's even clearer than before. I felt sure that I'm in the right direction.

"…Ooh, you couldn't face the freedom on your own…"

I looked back, and that's my mistake. I can't see the way I'm coming from. I can't even see the tent.

Damn…

"And here I am left in silence"

Too late to regret it now, I thought to myself. I then turned to the voice again and run.

"You gave up the fight, you left me behind…" when I heard the new line of the song, I slowed down. In front of me, I can see a giant gate—but run-down—colored in black. It seems it was burned, though. I gulped again and collecting my courage before I walk forward to pass the gate.

"…All that's done's forgiven"

As I walk, I can feel the mist thickening. I gulped again and shivered a bit. It was cold and my jacket is still with Sakura. It's even colder here when I realized it. After I pass the gate, I knew this place used to be a village, but trees and other wild plants are covering the remains, as to hide the remains.

"You'll always be mine, I know deep inside…"

I'm really scared, so I found myself running to the voice. Before long, I see a big manor, surrounded by trees. It was grand, and pretty, I mused.

"…All that's done's forgiven"

I walk closer to it. In front of the manor, there's a white grand piano. I almost missed it because of the mist. That's the front yard, I think.

"…I've been so lost since you've gone…"

I then realized that the music came from the white piano. I then braced myself and walk closer to it. The singer's voice is still ringing in the air.

"Why not me before you…"

I gulped as I come closer.

"…Why did fate deceive me…"

I still haven't passed the gate that's bordering the manor, but I still feel nervous. It was as if I'm imposing on something.

"Everything turned out so wrong…" slowly, I walked up to the piano. Behind it, I find myself staring at a girl, no older than my age, maybe younger by a year or two. Her voice sure is high, but it still ringed nicely in my ears. Her hair is sleek and straight, also maroon-colored. Her bangs fell to her eyes and the hair that's framing her face is as long as her chin. The rest fell nicely behind her back. Around waist-length, I think.

"Why did you leave me in si—who are you?" the child asked as she abruptly stopped her play. It seems she noticed me. I flinched when her wide brown eyes are staring at me intently and curiously. I can see that she is surprised too, but it seems she quickly gets over it.

"A-Ah! I-I'm…," when I tried to talk, I realized that I'm shivering too much to be able to talk properly. I don't even notice my body is freezing. Who wouldn't be if you only got a layer of plain simple shirt on you? I guess I'm too enticed by her play to actually notice the cold…

It seems she noticed my problem, because she suddenly stands up and went closer to me. I can see her outfit clearly then. She wore a white dress with a half-jacket that have long sleeves in the same color and bell-shaped skirt that went under her knees when she stands. Her dress is also adorned with laces and ribbons. She also wore a pair of white mary-jane shoes with white socks that went up to her knees. She looks really cute and sweet—and so 'white', I added mentally.

"Onii-chan, aren't you cold?" she asked worriedly when she's in front of me. I only nodded, since I'm too cold to say anything. She then grabbed my hand and pulls me into the manor.

I don't feel anything from her when I thought I should've felt heat from where she touched me. Maybe the cold makes me gone numb?

The interior the manor is also grand, like what you expect from a manor. She told me to sit inside a room that I think the living room. She left me there and I patiently wait for her to return.

Before long, she's back with some blankets. She also gave me a cup of hot cocoa.

"Thank you," I said gratefully when I feel my heat returned. She smiled then. She then took a seat at a chair in front of me.

"Onii-chan, are you alright now?" she asked as she stared at me with her curious wide eyes.

I nodded and smiled. "Yes, thank you, Ojou-chan," I said. She then smiled too. I then realized that I haven't introduced myself to her.

"Ah! By the way, my name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?" I asked. She then smiled again and replied.

"I'm Yuuko. Kirizuki Yuuko. But you can just call me Yuu-chan. Nice to meet you, Naru-niichan."

Sapphire09: The first song is from Jigoku Shoujo episode 16. The second one is 'Forgiven' by Within Temptation.

I have a feeling that the second one didn't match... But the lyric is pretty well-matched for this story. The only thing that doesn't fit is the fact that it was sung by a child....

If you know a japanese song, or any song that can match better with this chapter, please tell me. I want it to have the similar meaning with this song...