Title: Crimson
Series: Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly
Genre: Drama / Angst
Summary: Following the successful Crimson Ritual performed by the twins Mio and Mayu, Mio stays in the All Gods Village for a bit to reminisce.
Disclaimer: Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly copyright to Tecmo Games.
-----
The red-tinged sun rose above a thick forest, leading out for as far as the eye could see and reaching higher than even the sun could rise. The village set within the forest never got much sunlight due to these surrounding trees, splattered with various shades of green and brown. The stones set as pathways leading to and from where ever in the village were hardly sunbleached, leaving instead a simple grey pathway amongst dirt and pebbles.
Overall, to most people, the village would seem quite plain and solitary. Large houses loomed over smaller homes, the larger homes naturally belonging to the more prominent families of the village. Years before, villagers wandered the paths, laughing and playing, but in recent years, everyone had died out. Killed, rather, leaving the forest to become overgrown, and the village to become unknown, except as the subject of many a story.
One particular house had just a gentle sliver of sunlight shining through the windows. A window on the upper floor, however, had only a sliver of a sliver of filtered light shimmering through the makeshift curtains. A girl lay just below the covered window, lying upon an old, slightly tattered but otherwise still in good condition futon. A thin blanket, worn almost through in some places, was thrown haphazardly over her small figure.
Large brown eyes fluttered open, their owner sitting up quickly, her short, dark brown hair falling into her face. Mio stared ahead at her lap, carbon dioxide escaping her lips in short breaths. Shaking her head slowly, her eyes closed and an exasperated sigh was expelled from between her soft lips.
She glanced around slowly, her head turning gently, in a soft bobbing motion, as she sat upright, her hands clasped in her lap. Details of the darkened room were taken in easily once Mio's eyes had adjusted. After days in the village prior to that morning, the darkness wasn't too hard to adjust anymore.
One thin black strap slid off Mio's delicate shoulder. Shifting it back to it's usual spot along her collarbone, she reached over with her free hand to take her neatly folded tee-shirt and unfold it in one twitch of her wrist. The brunette female tugged the tee-shirt over her head, pulling it down tightly over her tank top. Leaning over to where her camera and flashlight lay, she pulled both closer towards her body.
Flicking the flashlight switch to the 'on' position, sheglanced to the closed makeshift curtains, made of another blanket Mio had found. Ignoring them for the time being, she placed the flashlight gently upon the tatami ridden floor and began to fold the futon she slept on with precision and perfection, the only light being the dim beam emitted from the head of the dying flashlight.
Standing up with the folded futon clutched tightly in her arms, Mio wandered over to a closet opposite where she had lay through the night and slid the aged door open with a quiet squeak. She set the futon upon the pile of other unused bedding, and slid the door shut again, a louder squeak emitting as she did, causing Mio to flinch involuntarily.
The house was silent, as was everything around the house. The previously restless All Gods Village had come to rest for once since the Repentance, leaving Mio entirely alone in the village. At the thought of what she and her twin had gone through in this village to accomplish such rest within the area, small tears sprang to Mio's large eyes. After years passed with Mayu by her side, Mio was alone.
A single tear streaked it's way down Mio's soft, pale skin, falling off her jawbone and landing upon her collarbone. Leaving a gentle red trail along Mio's collarbone, down to a point beneath her tank top and tee-shirt, she simply lifted the Camera Obscura from it's place on the floor and slung it around her neck.
Quiet pattering sounded out against the thin pane of glass in the window of the room, shocking her for a moment. Tears continued to fall down her defined cheekbones as she took the camera in one hand and padded slowly over to the window, pulling the curtain away. Small raindrops splattered against the glass, reminding Mio of her own tears.
Deep in her heart, Mio had wanted to hurt her sister. She had wanted to hurt Mayu for being such a burden. From time to time, Mio even had thoughts of Mayu purposely hurting herself, simply to create a closer bond between them. Now that Mayu was gone however, Mio wanted her back. Being the Remaining of a pair wasn't what she wanted at all.
Turning away from the reminiscent weather outside, she sat down quickly, pulling on her socks and shoes, then shoved herself up from the floor, walking bitterly to the doorway and throwing the door open. Mio hardly even made time to aim the flashlight's beam down the hallway in the direction she was going, her mind was flooded with so many thoughts. She stomped down the stairs, the heels of her shoes clicking angrily at the ghosts residing in the house, as though it was all their fault.
"Not that it isn't…" She mumbled to herself indignantly.
She made her way through the house effortlessly. It was laid out the same way as the others, thus making it easier for her to find her way through the rooms. Throwing open each door as she passed through a room, thoughts intruded too much on Mio's mind for her to be kind enough to shut each door behind her. Instead, the doors slid shut with an ominous moan and a click.
Pushing open the double doors of the mansion and stepping out, Mio raised her eyes to the sky, squinting to see the clouds through the raindrops pouring down from them. Tears mixed with the downpour, soaking through Mio's plain outfit of a blank tank top, brown tee-shirt, black capri pants, and a white skirt over top. The skirt had already been saturated, allowing the pants to be seen through.
"Mayu…" Mio moaned quietly, her expression of anger fading to a worried expression of loss and pain. Loud sobs began to wrack the area, causing the few ghosts who were left wandering the village to moan along with her. Her face still turned skyward, tears streaming down her cheeks as though there was no tomorrow, Mio collapsed to her knees at the slightly mud-spattered paths. Rain plastered her hair to her face and scalp, as Mio's wails faded to loud peals of insane laughter.
It felt like hours had passed before Mio finally collapsed onto her side, her chestnut hair falling into the thin layer of mud soaking the ground. Her dead-looking eyes stared blankly out, staring out into nowhere – nothingness. Soft breaths escaped her lips in a natural rhythm. Rolling onto her back, Mio lay with her limbs dispersed as though she was being pulled in five directions. Her pale face was expressionless, tears still stained her cheeks.
Above her, a small crimson butterfly flapped it's wings a few times, capturing a gentle breeze to float up further into the sky.
"Mayu…"