A/N: Uh, idea based from Fatal Frame. This story contains a lot of chapters. Standard disclaimer applies here. Thank you Tecmo for making Fatal Frame and thank you Kamijyo-sensei for SDK.
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Hour One – The Wake House
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"Yuya-san, you know what you're actually doing, right?" the driver smiled to the girl at the back seat. Yuya just smiled.
"Of course, this is my first time being in Japan… I've lived in Europe for a long time… Leaving Britain to be here was just so hard…" Yuya sighed. The man laughed. "What is it, Kyoshiro?"
"Your brother sure is unlucky to have a whiny sister like you…" he looked at the side mirror. "Hey, I thought there was a car tailing us before… where'd it go?"
"It must be your imagination…" Yuya looked into her backpack and took out a picture of her and her brother, Nozomu who died in an accident 4 months ago when he went to Japan to investigate about a house. He was a renowned photographer who'd put family aside for his work. Yuya hated him for that reason.
"He was a jerk…" Yuya said mainly to herself. Kyoshiro looked at her for a second and continued driving.
"Who? Nozomu?" Kyoshiro whistled hearing Yuya's groan. "Hey, he was doing this for your sake too…"
Yuya slammed her fist to the window near her. Kyoshiro jumped at hearing that. "My sake? He didn't even write, he didn't even call and he would only come back when he's out of money or is out of ideas!"
"Don't wreck my car!" Kyoshiro pleaded.
"I'll wreck it if I want! When can I reach that place!" Yuya whined and threw her backpack aside.
"We're near his house… you behave, you hear me?" Yuya stuck her tongue out. "Huh… you really ARE sixteen… anyways… Kyo hates it when you whine a lot, don't ask too many questions, don't bother him and lastly, lock the bathroom door when you're in it."
"Like what? He's gonna barge in like he owns the place?" Yuya sneered.
"He DOES own the place. It's a three-bedroom house equipped with every aspect a localized house has. There are rooms where you have to get his permission to enter and only cook when he allows you to. Oh, and maybe he'll ask you to do the laundry…" Kyoshiro told her.
"Oh, he's the king of the world?" Yuya remarked sarcastically.
"Nope but he acts like one… don't comment on his eyes, he'll always glare at you… when we reach there, I'll leave you at the doorstep and the rest is up to you 'cause he hates me… oh, there it is!" Kyoshiro trailed off while he pointed to a descent looking house painted white with a decorative charcoal black roof.
"Wow… and he lives alone?" Yuya imagined what this Kyo guy looked like whilst she looked at the towering house. She imagined him to be a smart looking guy with a knack of dark deco in his house. 'That might be boring…'
Kyoshiro parked the car in front of the gate. Yuya stepped out of the car and was amazed at how eerie looking it was close range. Yuya grabbed her backpack and ordered Kyoshiro to carry her luggage. Kyoshiro reluctantly did so.
"So, that big shot lives here huh? Talk about bad karma… it's like this house is meant for a funeral…" Yuya walked to the front door and examined the handiwork done for the door design. It looked like a carving of a cheery blossom tree etched to it.
"A lot of people died in this house, well, actually had its wake here. There's this house your brother used to investigate… a lot of people died there. Kyo bought this house because it was near to the site, and Nozomu worked here with him." Kyoshiro placed the luggage at the doorstep and bowed his head to Yuya. "Well, this is where we part, ring the doorbell once I've drove far enough and honked to signal you."
"Okay, thank you to you too, I'll call if there's anything… Give my regards to Yukimura-san for letting me stay at his house…" Yuya waved goodbye.
Kyoshiro waved back and had his arms at his pocket. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, here… it's from your brother." He gave Yuya a key, a notebook and a photo. "The key is for opening his chest, the notebook's was his and that is the photo of the house he was investigating…"
"Oh… what for?" Yuya looked at the items she was given. Kyoshiro just shrugged and left for his car.
"Changing plans, once I've drove off, ring the bell." Kyoshiro lowered his car window and winked. "See ya!" and he drove off.
Yuya smiled sourly and turned to face the door. She made her index finger to the buzzer and pushed it slowly. A loud chime was heard. She heard footsteps trudging towards the door. The door slowly opened, revealing a man wearing a white unbuttoned shirt, black trousers and had messy hair. He was wearing glasses that Yuya considered to be reading glasses as he was holding a black book. What caught her attention were his deep red eyes.
"Who're you?" he said with a deep voice.
Yuya bowed her head and said in a British accent, "My name is Shiina Yuya, pleased to meet you, Kyo-san." She reached out her hand for a handshake but there was no hand to shake it. "Uh… a hug perhaps?" she spread out her arms and tucked them back when Kyo didn't move. "Oh, no way to break the ice?"
Kyo tilted his head in amusement. "A foreigner? Well, if you are lost, get lost. I'm expecting a guest to be arriving soon… is that okay?" he mimicked Yuya's accent.
"Oh, gomen! I was just testing you! I'm Nozomu's kid sister. You're expecting me." Yuya bowed her head again. "Wow, your English is quite good, no wonder my brother worked with you!"
"I'm a graduate from Oxford, met Nozomu there even though he was a senior back then… come in, the fog's getting thicker…" he welcomed her in with a shove at her back.
"Hey! Watch it!" Yuya grabbed her luggage and frowned at the towering man. "Treat me with respect, I'm your dead friend's sister…"
"A younger girl than me, why should I treat her with respect? Anyways, hurry with what you're doing… your room is next to mine… dinner will be ready at 6.00 pm sharp, any late than that, cook for yourself." And Kyo left her after locking the door.
"How very rude…" Yuya carried her luggage slowly upstairs and searched for her room. It was located next to Kyo's unfortunately…
"Ugh… and I have to live with this guy? I hope the room's okay…" she entered the room that was prepared for her arrival. It was plain white. The bedspread, the curtains, the bed lamps, the vanity table… it's like somebody died here…
"This is my room? Quite not me…" Yuya stood still at the door until a voice made her jump inside. "Whoa!" she collapsed on the bed.
"What are you doing in Nozomu's room?"
"Uh… Kyo-san! Uh, I'm sorry! I thought this was mine!" Yuya got to her feet and bowed her head. "Uh… where is my room actually?"
"Down the hall to your left, next to MINE, remember? Next to THIS room is the study and next to it is the bathroom… how stupid are you?" Kyo smirked. He had his glasses off and looked quite dashing than before although he looked smarter with the glasses…
"Hey! You only told me that it's next to yours! I don't even know where's the bathroom, where the study is! You didn't even tell me where's YOUR room!" Yuya snapped.
Kyo sighed. "I just told you, pinhead… you really ARE stupid…" Kyo snatched the luggage from her and grabbed her wrist. "I'll show you…"
"H-hey!" Yuya tried to wriggle herself free but his grip became tighter. "Kyo-san! Kyo-san! Let me go!"
"Stop calling me 'Kyo-san', it's annoying…" Kyo stuffed his left ear with his finger.
"Then what should I call you!"
"Just Kyo…" Kyo opened the door they had just reached and threw her on the bed. "Now, this is YOUR room. I was just wondering… what do you want for dinner? It's been a while since I cooked for two…"
"Uh… I like pasta… and ow… you didn't have to be so rough…" Yuya massaged her abused wrist.
"Nice underwear by the way… red… I like…" Kyo smirked cynically.
"Ah!" she grabbed her skirt. "Y-you pervert!" she blushed deeply. 'A guy seeing and commenting on your panties on the first meeting is SO embarrassing!' she mentally said.
"Amusing… pasta eh? All right, remember the rule, you still have half and hour to spare, do what you like except entering the room downstairs and the study…" Kyo left the room still having the smirk on his face.
"Do what I like? Fine! I'll smash your room!" she made her hands into fists and prepared to march into Kyo's room until…
"And also… except MY room!"
"Oh crap!" she fell back on her bed. "Now, what can I do!" she looked outside her window and saw that rain has poured down. "Oh yeah! The things nii-sama gave!"
Yuya grabbed her backpack and emptied its contents. "Uh… I'll read his notebook first… and what an eerie looking house in this picture… looks so deserted…" she flipped the notebook open and began to read it.
'I've made several different researches on this house… and it all gave positive results that it is haunted. I've conducted a few experiments like taking pictures, using the special microphone to catch the messages they're trying to tell me but none worked. Using the video camera also gave me negative results. I've tried everything but none of them worked.'
'I wanted to give up but Kyo told me there's this camera called Camera Obscura that can connect with life from the Other World… I searched every shop but found nothing. Kyo told me to look for it at antique shops because that camera is very old and rare and most of them are broken and only a few remain.'
'I also had negative results with the antique shops. I really wanted to give up but before I did, a package came, addressed to me. It contained the camera! I was quite surprised and the one who sent it remains a mystery…'
'I made the best with the camera and caught lots of spirits wandering in the house, but a few days after I did… I felt there's more to this house than just spirits… some of the spirits were crying, moaning and some even chased me away! I was afraid to go any further so I just did away with the pictures that I managed to catch on film.'
'I did researches on folklore concerning the house. I got little info form the net so I went to the library to borrow some books. What I found out thrilled me to get into this mystery further. I found out that this house was used by a clan for its rituals that involved sacrificing… the clan remained unknown now but I'm still digging for the answers.'
'Kyo wanted to follow me but I forbid him to do so as it was dangerous… to connect with the spirits further, I must not bring extra people to disturb them. I just asked him to take care of my things and write to my sister, but I doubt he did that. He always said that Yuya won't understand any katakana, hiragana or kanji characters.'
'But what I found out in the house was much more interesting than ever. I saw lots of flashbacks amazingly… with the help of the camera; I see traces of blood that cannot be seen by the naked eye… I'm quite afraid to enter this one room. It's closed by some unknown power and when I direct the camera to it, a blue miasma covers it and the last time I visited this house, I saw Uraha-san.'
'I left the door as it is and walked out the house. I looked at the house one more time… I'm surprised that it was not like what's inside. Inside was bigger and looks like a mansion, a castle to be exact. Outside, it looks like a normal house, an old one though… I'm confused with what I'm writing in this book. It's now acting like my diary rather than a notebook.'
"I think so too… and Kyo said I wouldn't understand Japanese characters! I learnt all of them already!" Yuya flipped the next page but it was blank. "Over already? The date… it was on the day nii-sama died… what exactly happened!"
Yuya looked through all the remaining pages but all of them were blank. There is a scribbling
at the back of the book that says 'Fret not, the sacrifices made is for a good reason, may you rest in peace'.
"Sacrifices? Rest in peace? What the hell!" Yuya threw the book aside and rested on the comfy bed Kyo prepared. "Ouch!"
She got up immediately once she felt a stabbing pain at her back. It was the key her brother gave. "Oh yeah… the key…"
Yuya left her room and slowly walked to her brother's. She opened the door and gulped. The eerie feeling of being in a dead person's room overwhelmed her. "Nii-sama… are you here?"
No answer.
"Okay, where's the chest to this key? Where is it? Where is it?" she searched high and low (meaning she searched on top of the closet and underneath the bed). But the chest was on the study table all along (heh…). "There it is! Quite small…"
Yuya opened the chest and found a letter and an old camera. It was also accompanied by a number of photographs taken by Nozomu in the house. "A letter…? Wait, it's addressed to me!" she took out the letter from its envelope. "It looks new…"
'Dear Yuya,
When you come across this letter, I'll be long gone. I'm sorry for neglecting you. I'm not asking for your forgiveness but I do hope you find happiness in the end. Enclosed with this letter is the Camera Obscura that I used to capture spirits on pictures.
I already foresaw my death but I didn't know when it would exactly happen. On which fateful day, I do not know. I didn't tell Kyo about this but I told Kyoshiro to put the camera in this chest if I did so. He was confused but I guess he understood the message I wanted to tell.
Please do not ask Kyoshiro about anything concerning me. Ask Kyo if you want anything; don't tell him about this letter. Yuya, I hope you understand what I'm telling you. I'm so sorry.
Loved
Nozomu'
"Nii-sama… you foresaw your death? But how! Does it have something to do with the camera? Camera Obscura… what is this thing?" Yuya folded the letter and placed it back into the chest. She then brought the chest back into her room.
"Dinner's ready!"
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A/N: If I get better responses here, I think I'll just continue here, yah? R&R! SDK is not mine.
