'The older must kill the younger for the sake of the village,' Akane whispers to herself, staring at Azami. 'The ritual will be performed.'

Akane and Azami's last moments together before the ritual, the ritual itself, and the thought of the doll.

No cleansing either because it would make the chapter longer, but I doubt anyone will really care. Enjoy?

Chapter 3-Sacrifice

Azami stared at herself in the mirror. Her pure white kimono was slightly itchy and she didn't like the color. She loved her blue, gray, and purple kimonos with the design at the bottom of each. Her father had a hard time to convince her to keep it on, but she didn't argue as much because her father was sad enough. Every time he looked at her, his eyes teared up and he had to turn away from her.

Azami glanced over at her sister and saw her shift back and forth uncomfortably and twirl the red rope that hung tightly across her waist. With every twirl Azami was moved forward, since the same rope was tied around her waist as well. Akane was avoiding her sister's eyes at every cost. She didn't want to think about what she had to do later tonight…the thought of strangling her sister was too much for her young mind to comprehend. Azami sighed and grabbed the blue stone around her neck; a sudden thought came into her mind. She tore the thread off her neck and walked over to Akane.

"I want you to have this," she said, handing her sister the necklace.

"Why? It's yours."

"Keep it, so you won't forget me," she smiled brightly.

"But…but…" Akane stammered. "I won't forget you."

"Just take it. Keep it for dad or give it to a close friend. I won't need it when I…"

Azami stopped, her voice caught in her throat. Akane hung her head and put the necklace around her neck, just over her purple stone. She gave her sister a small smile and turned around when footsteps could be heard. The two girls temporarily stopped breathing when they saw Mr. Kurosawa stroll into their room, followed by two priests and their father. With a small inclination of his head, Ryokan Kurosawa made the two priests usher the girls forward. They stumbled slightly, the red rope making sure that one wouldn't run without dragging the other. Azami glanced up at her father as they passed him in the doorway, he smiled slightly but the smile only worried her more.

The small group turned from the indent in the hall to the left and walked to a reddish door, the only door in the Kiryu house that wasn't wooden brown. As they entered the doll room, Ryokan laughed derisively as he saw the two life size dolls of Yoshitatsu's daughters standing on pedestals.

"This," he said, still mocking the older man. "Is the passageway to the X?"

"It's very effective, Ryokan." Yoshitatsu said. "The Tachibanas have a similar set-up; two dolls facing each other are the only way to open their sky bridge. Just as ours is the only way to open the earth bridge."

"I meant no offence," Ryokan said, still smiling in a mocking way.

Azami tuned the two arguing men out and looked around the room. The tables with the red material draped over them and the soft lights from the lamps, was a gentle scene. She loved to look at the many dolls stored in this room. Her father made some of the most intricate designs it seemed to even surprise him. She walked over to the nearest doll, Akane moving slightly by the rope, and reached up for it. Her hand barely grazed the top of the lowest display. She tried again, standing on her toes, but she still couldn't reach it. Her sister grabbed at her sleeve and tugged her away from the stand.

"Leave it alone," she whispered in her ear.

Azami frowned, but stood silent with Akane while her father turned the knobs on the small altar and with Ryokan watching him. The young master turned his head and looked at the twin girls. Akane looked at him fiercely, but Azami looked down at the floor. The two priests stood guard and almost looked bored. A small noise could be heard as the two dolls turned to face each other. Yoshitatsu stepped back and the mechanism slid back to reveal a hole with metal bars on the side to hold the ladder in place. The priests moved forward, but Ryokan shook his head.

"After you," he muttered to the two girls.

They glanced at each other and moved to the hole. They looked down it and they suddenly wondered how they would be able to climb down with the rope tying them together. Akane looked pleafully at her father when Ryokan took it upon himself to tell the girls how to do it.

"One goes down first and the other follows, it's really rather simple."

Akane opened her mouth to say something back, but Azami was already climbing down the ladder. The two girls reached the bottom and looked at how big it was. A huge cavern that intertwined to the other houses. Azami looked behind her and could see a turn that probably led to the Tachibana house. She briefly saw herself and Akane running away and going to wherever the turn led.

"Even if we ran," Akane said, looking at her sister and seeing her concentration. "They'd still find us, you know?"

"Yeah, but we should've tried it."

"It wouldn't work." Akane pressed.

"How do you know?" Azami asked loudly. "Anything's possible, right? That's what you said a couple of days ago. Remember?"

"Ssssh!" Akane said loudly, cupping her hand around Azami's mouth as the rest of the group climbed down the ladder.

Ryokan led the way with the priests on either side of the girls and with Yoshitatsu trailing behind. They walked down the cave, occasionally shivering from the cold drafts of wind or flinching from the sudden torches that lined the cavern's walls. Azami reached for her sister's hand and grasped it tightly. Akane looked down at her hand and tried to wriggle it loose, but Azami's grip was too strong. Azami glanced at her sister as she tried to free her hand and Akane stopped, looking at the cave as if she were more interested in it. 'What's her problem?' Azami thought. 'After this…we'll never see each other again. Why's she acting like she doesn't care?' She turned her head to see her father and what his reaction was, but with the darkness of the cave it was impossible to see anything but an outline.

The walk took longer than what the two girls thought. There were sudden turns, many openings that led to the other houses, and lots of stairs. Akane's and Azami's greatest shock was when they saw a Mourner. After the group had taken a turn and went into a bigger opening with a large set of steps that led down, a man with ropes tied across his chest and with a fabric over his eyes, had stepped from a small corner. Ryokan hadn't paid any attention to him and continued to walk, the priests had to force the girls to move on, and Yoshitatsu only glanced at him almost sadly. The twins both tried to shake the vision of the gangly, blind man from their minds but it was too hard, especially with the sound of shuffling feet from behind their father. Akane braved a quick glance back, but couldn't see if he was there.

They continued to walk down, eventually the air became a bit less stuffy, the cave was brighter, almost purple, and the walls started to widen out so there could be a little more space between the twins and the priests. Azami started to shake a little, realizing how close they were to where the ritual will be performed. Akane looked at her sister as her shaking hand was starting to annoy her. Azami stopped shaking after seeing her sister's glare.

'Is she mad at me?'

'I wish you would stop. You think I want to do this? I don't want to kill you.'

'Just because I'm weaker than her doesn't mean anything.'

'I wish we had tried to run away, even if we never saw Dad again…why did I keep saying no to you?'

'She won't forget me, right?'

'I don't want you to leave me.'

Akane and Azami were too deep in their thoughts to realize that they were standing in a large, open area with thousands of lit candles, making the place seem redder than bluish green. A small tatami mat was in front of the largest bunch of candles. Azami was the first to look up. She gasped in surprise and Akane took in the surroundings. Footsteps echoed in the "room" from everywhere. Azami turned around and saw more veiled priests and Mourners. Her father had moved to the right, just out of Azami's view. Akane watched Ryokan as he stood near the mat, in the candle light he seemed to look paler than usual.

'Does he feel our pain?'

'If he felt anything of ours, he wouldn't be making us do this.'

Ryokan made a slight hand motion and the girls felt hands on their shoulders, lightly forcing them to move forward. Kurosawa backed away and let the girls stand on the mat. With the girls properly aligned the priests backed away to either side of them, making a line. Akane looked sadly at her father, who had his face in his hands.

'Dad…'

'I don't want to kill her…'

'I'll be with her…'

'She said she'd watch us…'

Ryokan was muttering something, it almost sounded like a low chant. Akane smiled slightly noticing his cockiness had faded along with his pallor. Azami tightened her grip on her other's hand, Akane returned the sentiment. A light breeze ruffled the twins' kimonos and made their long hair cover their faces again.

"Face each other," Kurosawa said, weakly. He walked over and cut the rope that bound them.

The two girls did as they were told, slowly dropping their clasped hands. Akane's hands twitched, knowing what they were to be used for. Azami stared into her sister's eyes. Akane almost cried seeing how strong they were, not her usual weak shine making it seem as if she was always holding back her tears.

"Grasp the neck," Kurosawa's voice rang clearly.

Akane twitched and placed her hands delicately on Azami's neck. She tried to muster the strength to strangle her sister, but it seemed impossible. Azami lowered her gaze and stood still, waiting for her sister to begin. Reluctantly, Akane squeezed her sister's small neck. Azami's breath slowed after a while, but she still stood. Akane forced herself to squeeze tighter and when she did, Azami fell to her knees. Akane followed suit, her hands never leaving her sister's neck. A small red mark could faintly be seen under Akane's thumbs. Azami's eyes closed, but she was still able to breathe. After more time passed Ryokan made another motion to a priest to help the young girl. He leaned down and put his hands over Akane's. Azami's eyes opened and with a strangled voice she yelled to the priest.

"I…only want…Akane…to do…it!"

Akane's eyes teared up after hearing how much pain her sister was in. The priest let go and backed away to his spot in the line. Azami smiled slightly at her sister and her eyes closed again, her breathing almost nonexistent. With one last squeeze, Akane pressed the tightest against Azami's neck. Azami's smiling mouth opened, and one long breath escaped her lips.

'Her last breath…'

Akane sat there, motionless with her hands still on her sister's neck, while the priests banged their staffs to the ground in short bursts, making their rings clank together. The Mourners moved forward and groped blindly for Azami's body. Akane's hands dropped to her sides and Azami's body fell into a Mourner's arms. Akane could see the mark on her sister's neck shining brightly in the candle's light. Her eyes were tightly closed and her lips were still in the same smile. Akane looked down, unable to hide her pain. Tears fell down her cheek and slid down onto her kimono sleeves. She heard footsteps as everyone went downstairs.

"Akane," her father whispered, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go…we should follow…"

Akane nodded but couldn't stand up, her whole body felt like lead. Yoshitatsu lifted her into his arms and walked down the stone steps. When they reached the bottom, Akane stared at the torii gate and looked farther past the large gathering of priests to see a giant square hole.

"The X…" her voice echoed quietly.

Yoshitatsu breezed past the priests and came to the front in a matter of seconds. The Mourners were swinging Azami's body back and forth, making sure that she wouldn't miss because of her size. Akane cried at the sight and tugged at her father's sleeve to be put down. Yoshitatsu gently placed her on the ground just as the Mourners released her arms and ankles. Akane screamed as she saw her sister's body fall. She ran to the edge of the hole and almost looked down, but her head was caught in Ryokan's hands. He half dragged from the edge.

"You're not supposed to look down there…" he muttered, only for her to hear.

Akane freed herself from his grip and stared hopefully over the hole for her sister to fly back as a butterfly.

'Please, I didn't fail her…I didn't fail her…'

She wiped her eyes as she saw a small crimson butterfly rise slowly from the hole. The priests cheered and Ryokan smiled satisfactorily, patting the girl's shoulder before he turned. Yoshitatsu stared in amazement, tears streaming from his eyes. Akane stepped forward and raised her hand out to the butterfly. The butterfly floated lazily to her hand and stayed on her forefinger. It flapped its wings lightly sending small gold sparkles over Akane's wrist. The butterfly finally flew from Akane's finger, and flew to her neck, staying there momentarily before flying away to the sky. Akane placed a finger on her neck and knew that the same mark she had given her sister was stained on her.

My hands closed around Azami's neck.

It was soft, warm. Alive. My grip seemed to cause her so much pain. At the very end, the veiled priest came to help me. But Azami said she wanted only me to do it. I became one with Azami...but now she's gone.

I can't talk about it anymore.

Akane has become a Remaining.

To comfort her, I'll make a doll that looks like Azami. She has been emotionless since the day of the ritual. I'll make the doll look exactly like Azami, so that when they are together, no one will be able to tell them apart.

Ta-da. Chapter four will be up soon, and then I'll finish another Himuro ending. Tell me what you think, alright?