Phew...I finally got things up and running again! To all the FF fans from Beyond The Camera's Lens forums, this is Kirie The Rope Miko. I got my awful pc problems straightened out and I was able to renew most of my accounts.

Anyway, I am back with a vengeance! Back to writing FF fics, oh joy!

Epilogue

As I hear the sickening sound of a lock clicking, I know it is over.

I had failed yet again.

I sink to my knees on the dirty floor of the storehouse and bow my head in remorse. I can only hope that Sae and Yae made it out of the village safely. It will be the only consolation in this case to know that they are alive.

But I don't know anything for sure anymore. My world is just limited to the silence and darkness of this rather cramped storehouse. I have nothing here save for a few kimonos, my journal and probable false hopes.

From here, I can hear the villagers speaking in hushed, agitated voices. I try to listen, but it is futile. You can barely heat anything clearly from in here. If I could only get out of this cell and put my ear to the door, I would surely have more to tell you. But alas, things are not going my way.

Then I notice that small window in the corner. I approach it, just to get a small view of the outside world which I am no longer a part of now. I unlatch the rusty clasp holding the small doors together and carefully push them open. It opens to the small yard behind the storehouse, where I can see nothing but lush greenery and a statue with the Twin Shrine Maidens engraved on it. I refuse to look at it, since it reminds me of the cruel ritual almostevery twin in this village has to go through. I myself am a victim of this tragedy. A Remaining, as we are called.

And I do feel like a real Remaining now. I have no friends and family to turn to now.

Mutsuki…my brother. How can I ever beg for your forgiveness? I do believe I failed you twice already. I was not able to make you a butterfly and I think I may have broken the promise I made to you before I subjected you to such suffocating torture. A million apologies will never grant me redemption.

I walk away from the window for some place to rest comfortably…when I felt something brush against my shoulder. I look up to see a long rope, probably forgotten in here for quite some time. To you, it may just be an ordinary rope. But to me, it was escape, freedom and redemption all in one. If I end everything now, I won't have to suffer any more guilt. And Mutsuki may forgive me if I pay for everything with my life.

I move the small desk in the corner right under the rope. I climb on the desk and make a loop using the end of the rope. Slowly but surely, I slip it around my neck. I close my eyes, and kick the desk away. I feel the tightening of it around my neck and suddenly feel what my brother must have gone through. My breathing is getting more and more restricted as things around me start to blur.

And eventually…I feel nothing.

Author's note: I hope you liked it! It's only the beginning of the story, so stick around for more if you wish. Please don't forget to read and review because I appreciate those very much. Thank you.