I'm back!

All right – so I took a LOT longer than I thought I would. Go figure. I'd like to thank Kerrianne Harrington and Dying Redemption for reviewing - it was much appreciated : ). I may change the "Supernatural" to "Horror", 'cuz that might make more sense. After all…who wouldn't expect there to be supernatural elements in a Fatal Frame II fan fic? Whatever.

Oh, and I don't know Japanese formalities, so I'll be using...AMERICAN FORMALITIES! So don't be too upset when you see things like "Mister Makabe".

Ryokan stood in the center of Whisper Bridge, thinking, worrying. Tomorrow he was going to summon the villagers and hold a celebration in honor of the visitors. He tried to picture it in his mind's eye – how could they make it not seem flattering? Or maybe it would be easier if the folklorists believed that they were being worshipped. He shook his head, trying to unscramble his thoughts. How long would it take? They'd have to get comfortable…Ryozo would certainly take longer to drop his guard…not that he mattered, anyway, there only needed to be one

"Mister Kurosawa?"

He turned to face the speaker.

"Ah, good evening, Ryozo. Do you need something?"

Ryozo walked forward. "I was hoping that you could tell me where someone lives…a boy named Itsuki Tachibana."

Ryokan raised his eyebrows. This boy knew Itsuki? How was that possible? After a half-second, he smiled. "How do you know Itsuki?" he asked, praying that he did not sound alarmed.

"We met a long time ago," Ryozo said. Beyond that he would not elaborate.

"Well, Itsuki lives just across the bridge, in the house to your left. Have you met his sister, Chitose?"

Ryozo shook his head. "I haven't seen him in a very long time," his murmured. "I hoped that we could meet again, at least while I'm here…"

Ryokan nodded, satisfied. So Itsuki hadn't told him anything about their village. He wouldn't have known what they did until two or three years ago, at any rate. And surely he wasn't foolish enough to tell him now, not when they needed a Kusabi so badly…

After Ryozo departed, the Ceremony Master returned to his manor to begin the preparations.

The little girl started at the knock on the door. Visitors again! She scrambled over to the door leading to the entrance of the Tachibana house and peeked around the corner. Itsuki was greeting…the stranger! The stranger had come to their house! She closed the door silently with her trembling hand.

"Hide, hide, hide, hide, hide…" she whimpered to herself in a sort of mantra.

She scrambled to her feet and ran for the stairs. If she could get to the row of tatami rooms, she would be safe. The stranger couldn't possibly find her there, especially if she hid in the closet by the doll mechanism.

She reached the stairwell and began climbing. She tripped over herself several times, but managed to stay standing until she reached the top. She slowly made her way to the final tatami room and stumbled into the closet.

She closed her eyes and began to breathe steadily. Tears crept down her face. What if he found her hiding? She shook her head. "Stop being silly…"

She sat in the closet for thirty minutes, hoping that the stranger would leave soon. Why did they have to come here? There was going to be a ceremony tomorrow, and Itsuki would have to leave her all alone at the house…

She finally mustered up the courage to open the closet door. She walked over to a picture on the wall and began staring at it – Itsuki, Mutsuki, and herself. To this day, Itsuki hadn't told her where Mutsuki was. Why had he left them? They had been so happy together…

When she heard the front doors close, she let out a sigh of relief. He was finally gone…

Chitose Tachibana returned to the ground floor to find her brother.

In All God's Village, there were two graveyards – one for the "normal" dead, and one for the "special" dead – the Remaining. The Remaining were enshrined in an old tree by the shrine, as a monument to their lives.

This cemetery, while special, was not spectacular. The gravestones where small rocks inscribed with the Remaining's name. Several of these were lined around the inside of the tree, many fairly new.

In this ring of stones was a grave marked Akane Kiryu. The grave itself was not unlike the others...but its inhabitant was.

Six feet under the surface, Akane Kiryu began to move.