Summary: What might have happened if there had been a pair of visitors to the village before Makabe and Munataka? What if one of those two had been a woman? What if she and Itsuki discovered they had a special connection?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fatal Frame games, I do not own Tecmo, I am not getting paid in any way for this, etc, etc. I usually only write Devil May Cry fics, but Crimson Butterfly got me thinking. If it sucks, deepest apologies. Flamers will have gasoline poured on them and be danced around sometime around midnight.

Queen's Quornor: It's the never-ending chapter! Seriously, this one just would not let me end it and move on to the next chapter. It's a sad one, and there's a lot of stuff I wanted to put in here that just didn't seem to fit. So that will show up in the next one. Hope you all enjoy this chapter; I had to really wrack my brain figuring out how to put it all together and how to get a certain person in here. It all fit so well in my head... Why is it that it's always so difficult to get your best stuff down on paper?

Family

Tsuchihara storehouse... Which house was Tsuchihara again?

Michiko and Nozomi moved carefully through the village, trying their hardest to avoid attracting the attention of the spirits that haunted the darkness. They had to move slowly due to their lack of a torch, no way to view their surroundings with certainty. Nozomi held tight to her mother's hand, still frightened but attempting to put up a brave front for her mother's peace of mind.

Ghosts were everywhere, all around them. The pair managed to avoid the duos and trios calling out Yae's name, and several times they viewed more horrific deaths from that long-ago advent, replaying endlessly in the darkness of their afterlife. Once, Michiko was surprised to find the ghosts of two young children playing with a ball in the middle of the street. That vision, more than any other, seemed far more surreal due to its sheer normalacy than the moaning wails that had chased them down the street at one point. It scared Michiko, because here was proof that some of the villagers had never even noticed their own deaths.

What did that mean for Itsuki? Or Chitose?

The Soul-touch grew in strength as she advanced through the village. Michiko had decided to simply allow it to lead her as it would, to utilize the connection as a kind of lodestone, and follow it to Itsuki. She paused in the middle of the fork near the village's entrance, trying to gauge from which direction the pull was the strongest.

"Mommy, look." Nozomi pointed at something in the left fork. When her mother followed her daughter's outstretched fingers, she saw that it was one of the statues of the village's twin guardian dieties. "Butterflies."

"Yes, I see them." More blood-winged insects, fluttering lazily about the carved image. She was really starting to dislike the things. After all, it was a crimson butterfly which had led her to this cursed village, through that gate she was unable to locate once more. What did they want now?

"They're souls, aren't they?"

Itsuki had told her of the significance of the crimson butterflies. "Yes, they are. The souls of the sacrificed twins."

Nozomi looked up at her, dark blue eyes wide. "Sacrificed?"

Through here.

The voice again, the same one that had saved them from Sae. She turned in the direction it had come from, and noticed a pathway of stones leading to a door. The Soul-touch grew stronger and stronger as she neared it.

Not there. Here.

A double-door was apparent beneath the awning. But when Michiko tried it, she discovered that it was locked.

The pull was so strong, this had to be the storehouse. And Itsuki was within.

Frustrated, she banged her hand against the door. "I am so close... Do not make me go back out there to search for the key!"

You do not have to.

Something hit the ground beside her. Nozomi bent down and picked it up. "Look, Mommy. A key."

Michiko took it from her, turned it over in her hand. There was an octogon engraved on the upper half of the key. An octogon that matched the one displayed on the lock. Who are you? she queried.

Someone who cares about Itsuki too.

Are you...

You already know the answer to that question. I can take care of her, if you wish.

If it comes to that, I shall call for you.

I shall be waiting. I miss him, too.

"Thank you." The words slipped from her lips as she carefully inserted the key into the lock. It fit perfectly, and she turned it. There was a click! of tumblers sliding against each other, and the door opened easily when she pushed it.

Taking a deep breath, Michiko entered the shadowed darkness of the storehouse, looking around as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light.

It was empty.

No...

She fell to her knees, tears obscuring her vision. This was the final blow. She had hold onto this hope, this dream of seeing her Itsuki again, throughout this nightmare of deadly specters and laughing, blood-smeared madness. It was all that had kept her alive when her father had turned away from her, when even her daughter's sunny prescence was not enough to stave off the despair of her loneliness.

And now, to have her hope shattered like a mirror by a hammer...

It was too much to bear.

Sobs wracked her slender body, bending her forward until her breasts were pressed nearly to her folded knees, her back curved in her grief. Her hands flew to cover her face, her tears slipping between the curved digits to splash against the dirtied silk of her kimono.

"Mommy? Mommy!" Nozomi stroked her mother's hair, pawed at her silk-clad back. "Mommy, there's a man here! Can't you see him? He's over by the window!"

But I do not see him!

Soul-touch... So strong...

He is close.

But where?

Itsuki? Answer me!

"Michiko? Is that you?"

It was his voice. Even after so many years apart from him, she would still know that voice anywhere.

She lifted her head.

It was him. The same handsome face, the same silky white hair. The same blue eyes he had passed on to his daughter. He stood by the window, as solid and real as she remembered. His face bore an expression of mingled astonishment and joy.

"Itsuki!" She stumbled to her feet, wrenched open the door to his cell, and crossed the room in seconds to embrace him. But he stepped away from her, shaking his head.

"Do not touch me, Michiko. You know why."

Her heart sank. It was true, then. "You are a ghost. For me to touch you could mean my death."

"Yes." He crossed his arms, wrapped his hands around himself, as if to stop himself from reaching out to her in turn. "The only reason I can recognize you is due to the Soul-touch. Without that, I would not have known who you were."

She stared at him. "What?"

"My mind is entrenched in that night, Michiko. All I truly recall are those final hours. I can think, I can interact, I can feel emotions, but nothing else."

Michiko crossed to the wall, and sat on a bench beside where he stood. "What happened to you, Itsuki? Why did you, Chitose, and the Kurosawa twins not come to the mansion? I waited for you..."

He blew a sigh and looked out the window, his eyes becoming distant. "I kept my promise to Mutsuki. When the day of the ritual, the festival, arrived, I helped Yae and Sae escape the village. Then I allowed the villagers to capture me, and lock me in this storehouse to distract them and give the Kurosawas a chance to get away. I was so certain they would escape, I decided to join Mutsuki in death.

"I undid the sash holding my inner kimono in place, and went to the second floor of this storehouse. I hung myself, Michiko. I took my own life, and my last thoughts among the living were of you and our unborn child. About how much I wanted to see you, one last time.

"The next thing I remember is waking up in this place, lying on the floor. My body was gone, so I assume it was entombed with the other Remaining twins. But when I looked out the window..." He shuddered. "You already know what I saw."

"The unceasing horror. The darkness consuming them all, and Sae and the rope man killing the rest." She shuddered lightly, and heard Nozomi shuffle a bit at the entrance to the cell.

"The roped man was the last Kusabi, a folklorist my friend Ryozan Munakata brought with him when he came to see me. They were going to help me get the twins out of here, but the priests captured Mr. Makabe and used him in the Hidden Ceremony. He was given to the Hellish Abyss, and came back with Sae to carry out the Repentance." He sighed. "So many sins, so much tragedy, all because of me. Maybe I deserve this, to never rest, to never see Mutsuki again." He finally looked at her, sorrow and self-pity filling his gaze. "To never be with you again."

"Itsuki, none of this was your fault." Michiko started to reach a hand out to him, but he flinched away. Her hand dropped back to her lap. "None of this would have happened if that ritual was not performed. If nobody had decided to stay here, to offer their own sons and daughters to that pit, none of this would have occured." She beckoned to Nozomi, who crept over to cling to her mother, unnoticed by the spirit of her father. "You, Mutsuki, Yae, and Sae all had the courage to say 'this is wrong.' You are not, and never were, to blame for this nightmare."

Itsuki shrugged, and squinted at his daughter. "Michiko... Who is that at your side? I can barely see..."

"After what you have told me, I am surprised that you can see her at all." She lifted the little girl onto her lap, brushed some hair away from her face. "This is Nozomi, Itsuki. Our daughter, concieved in love and by the grace of the bond we share." She lifted her gaze, and saw the fear in his face. "Fear not. She did not have a twin sister."

"A single girl..." He started to reach a hand out, the desire to touch this child of his almost unbearable, but quickly snatched it back and cradled it against his body. Michiko understood; he did not wish to take away from his daughter's life-force. "Why did you bring her here?"

"I did not know any of this had happened. How could I? All God's Village does not share correspondance with the outside world. But I would still have come, Itsuki. I made a promise to you, and I never go back on my word." She considered her daughter with thoughtful blue eyes. "Although, I would not have brought Nozomi. I would have come alone."

"You're my daddy?" Nozomi looked at Itsuki, then smiled brightly. "Hello daddy!"

A smile blossomed, and spread across his morose countenance. "Hello, Nozomi. So you can see me too, eh?"

"Yes. And the Bad Lady, too."

He raised his brow. "She inherited your Gift?"

"Yes." Michiko hugged her daughter. "Ever is the Sixth Sense both a blessing and a curse."

He went to sit beside his lover, and she fought not to flinch away from his closeness. This was the man she loved, but he was now a ghost. He was so cold...

"She has my eyes and your hair. Your face." He smiled at the woman, pride in his eyes. "She is perfect, Michiko. Absolutely perfect."

"All of the servants back home adore her. The horses and my business associates love her." Her gaze lowered, and saddened. "The only person whose heart she did not win was that of her own grandfather."

"Your father did not take pleasure in the blessing of his granddaughter?" Itsuki inquired, surprised.

Michiko nodded. "Father was disappointed that I gave in to the Soul-touch, despite his knowledge of the bond. Furthermore, he was enraged that you had fathered Nozomi. For three years, until the very hour of his death, he refused to acknowledge her as my daughter, his granddaughter, and the rightful heir to the Shibata Stables after myself." She hugged the little girl, rested her cheek atop her head. "But minutes prior to his passing, Father acknowledge her. Nozomi is a full member of the House of Shibata, and next in line as Head of the family." At Itsuki's sideways, incredulous look, she elaborated. "You see, my family is an odd one. One our our ancient beliefs is that it does not matter if the Head is male or female; they are Shibata and so if you marry into the family you become Shibata as well. Once she comes of age, Nozomi will have her pick of the flock for certain. Shibata has enough power and wealth that any young man would be willing to give up his name to gain access to them. She can choose whoever she desires when she decides she is ready to wed."

Nozomi wrinkled her nose. "Boys are icky."

Her parents looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Gods help us, she sounds just like me!"

"I used to say the same thing, when I was little." Itsuki leaned his head back against the wall, still laughing quietly. "Mutsuki used to tell me that I would change my mind, but I never believed him." He rolled his head to face Michiko, a fond grin pulling at his lips. "Now look at me."

"Now look at us." She mirrored his expression, still holding their daughter in her lap. "A family. Together."

"Yes, but..." His happiness faded, and he became sorrowful once more. "You are both yet flesh and blood. Still alive. I am just a ghost, trapped in the limbo between death and the afterlife."

"I am not leaving you, Itsuki." She knew what he had been about to say. "Do not bother to ask; my mind is made up."

"And who are we supposed to raise her? All God's Village is not a location I would wish my daughter to grow up within."

"Nor would I. And so, she will be returned to the mansion whilst I remain here."

Itsuki raised a brow and crossed his arms. "You are planning on sending her out into the village, into the forest, by herself? Sae would catch her before she ever made it past the Osaka house!"

A soft whimper escaped Nozomi at that comment.

"She will not be going alone." Michiko had done some thinking, and figured out the puzzle. She raised her head to look at the opposite wall. "Is that not correct, Mutsuki?"

"What?" Itsuki goggled at her. "Michiko, that is impossible. Mutsuki is..."

"For once, you are sadly mistaken, brother."

A pale mist collected and swirled against the far wall, gathering into the form of a male ghost. He was identical to Itsuki down to the very last detail, but his hair was shining black rather than snowy white. There was a small, sad smile on his face. "Not that I am upset by this, you see."

"Mutsuki?" The younger twin was stunned. "How is this possible?"

"You are not the one who failed the ritual, brother. I loved you too much to hate you for what was demanded of us, to resent the strength you possessed and which Fate had denied me." He crossed to his brother, staring into his eyes. "I have remained in this village by choice. Chitose, and now Nozomi, need me to protect them."

"Why did you not talk to me, if you were here the whole time?" Itsuki threw his arms around his twin, hugging him tightly and burying his face against his shoulder. "I missed you so much..."

The older twin returned his embrace with equal fervor, closing his eyes and resting his head atop his brother's. "As did I, brother. As did I."

"Mommy, who is that man?" Nozomi whispered loudly into her mother's ear.

Michiko smiled and shifted, settling her more comfortably on her lap. "That is your Uncle Mutsuki. You can trust him." Her eyes darkened, but she gathered her resolve. She had decided her course of action when first she had laid eyes on Sae. "He will take care of you until you reach the horses."

"Mommy?" Her daughter twisted to look at her. "What're you talking about?"

The woman reached up and pulled her milky pendant, the remnant of her own long-dead twin, over her head. She slipped it over her daughter's, pulling the silky hair out from beneath it so the leather thong would lay flat against her neck. "This pendant belonged to your Aunt Chi-oh, my twin sister. Whenever you wear it, whenever you put it on, remember me." She kissed her cheek and helped her off her lap, standing up to brush off her kimono. "The stables belong to you, now, as does the position of Head of the House of Shibata."

"Mommy?" Michiko's heart ached when she observed how frightened her daughter was. "Mommy, what do you mean? The stables belong to you!"

"Do not forget us, your father and I." She hugged her one more time as Mutsuki stepped back from his twin, holding out his hand. A soft kiss was placed against the little girl's brow, and she released her into the specter's care. "I love you, Nozomi. Never forget that."

Itsuki seemed to realize what Michiko was doing, and came to stand beside her. "You possess your father's love as well, daughter. You had it even before I knew you were a girl." He looked at Mutsuki. "Will I see you again?" His calm words were at odds with the powerful emotions swimming in his eyes.

"Someday, yes. But not until the Final Sacrifice is completed."

"Final Sacrifice..."

Mutsuki's eyes became distant, as if he was listening to someone far away. "Twin girls, born outside this village. Shrine Maidens by chance, unaware of their destiny. Sae and Yae born anew, recreated to end the Repentance, and release this village from its eternal torment." He shook his head, as if to clear it of a haze obscuring his senses. "I do not know when they shall arrive, but they will. It will be many years... But you shall have each other for comfort." He looked at Michiko. "My touch will not harm her, and my prescence conceals her from other ghosts. She will be safe until we reach the horses, I promise."

"How will you carry her, brother? You did not possess that strength before," Itsuki pointed out.

His twin smiled sadly. "Death bequeaths many benefits, brother. The weaknesses I possessed in life, no longer plague my spirit in death. I can carry far greater weights than ever before; Nozomi should pose no problem whatsoever."

"Thank you, Mutsuki. There are two men waiting with the horses. They will take care of Nozomi once you give her to them, and they will take her back to the mansion." To Nozomi, who was realizing what her beloved mother was saying, she reiterated "Farewell, my daughter. Remember, I will always love you.

"We will meet again, and be a family. I promise."

"Mommy! Mommy!" Her cries pierced the woman's heart, but she did not obey her instincts to comfort her frightened child.

Her place was here, beside her love.

Nozomi's cries faded as Mutsuki picked her up, putting her arms about his neck to hold her steady. His very touch seemed to lull her into exhausted slumber, and she rested her tear-streaked face against his shoulder, fast asleep. Mutsuki smiled softly, then offered his brother and spiritual sister-in-law a slight bow before disappearing out the door and into the night.

"He's gone..." Itsuki looked about ready to cry. Michiko longed to go to him, to hold him close and tell him that everything would be all right. But she could not.

Not for long, that is.

"You will see him again. As I will one day rejoin Chi-oh. But for now..." She approached the cell door, closed the portal that led to the waking nightmare outside. "We have each other."

"But not as we once did." He sat back down on the bench, head cradled in his hands. "I am dead. You are not."

"That is easily remedied."

Her voice came from up above. Itsuki raised his head to look for her...

And had he been alive, he would have had a heart-attack.

Michiko was crouching above the trapdoor in the cieling, her outer kimono hanging open and the sash held ready in her hands.

"Michiko," he asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "What are you doing?"

"Nozomi is taken care of, and she will be well-provided for." She wound the fabric around the rafter twice, then unbound the sash holding her inner kimono and tied it onto the dangling length. Carefully, she worked it into a loop and tied it in place. She raised her head to meet his terrified gaze. "I promised myself I would never leave you again, my Itsuki. And I mean to keep that promise."

"But you do not have to resort to this!" His voice was frantic. "You are with me; you do not have to kill yourself!"

"Itsuki, I was doomed the moment I set foot in this village once more. Either Sae or one of the other ghosts will kill me, or I will starve to death." The loop finished, she slipped it over her head and around her neck. "This is the only way I can guarantee that I shall be with you. The only way I can die painlessly."

"Michiko...!" He was standing now, frozen by helplessness. What could a ghost do to prevent a living woman from taking her own life?

"Hush, my Itsuki. The decision is made." She glanced up at the roof. "Forgive me, Honored Mother, Honored Father, beloved sister Chi-oh.Forgive me for making you wait a little longer." Her eyes, oceans of blue serenity, met Itsuki's frightened ones. "I shall see you soon, my Itsuki. Then we can be together...

"Forever."

Her name rang from his lips as she fell forward and jerked to a sudden stop, the sharp crack! of bones breaking the last thing Michiko Shibata ever heard.