Haunted
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By Guardian795
Author's Note: Not many reviewed the last chapter. I think it was because no one noticed that I erased the NOTICE chapter and replaced it with Chapter 7: Miyako. I hope you all will read it now, so that I can get some feedback. Once you're done, you can answer the questions I put, and start on this chapter. This is a continuation of Masumi and Miyako's story. Basically, all that has been written down in the game was that Miyako ran after Masumi, who went missing. She found him in the village, and they stayed together…for awhile. See what happens next to our beloved couple!
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Chapter 8: Never Ending Darkness
Miyako's dream of seeing her love again finally came true that night. Feeling his arms around her waist as she slept reminded her of that; she would often wake to wonder if he was a dream, but his touch reminded her of the reality – that she had found him. She tried to sleep well that night, in that haunted village. The thoughts of Masumi and her going home together was a beautiful picture in her mind, brightly colored and filled with happiness. But, that night, her dreams turned the colors into black and white, then completely tore the picture apart. Miyako's dreams made her toss and turn, despite Masumi's hold on her waist. She couldn't stop sweating, and her body felt like it was on fire. HELP!
"Why do you kill?"
"Akane…what are you doing?"
"Itsuki...Oh please, Itsuki, help me…find me…"
"Don't kill…don't kill."
"Why didn't you kill me back then? Since my birth…I've been waiting for your hands to descend upon my neck…"
"MIYAKO, HELP!"
She woke with a start, terrified of what she had heard. Terrified, angry, sad voices cried out to her in the night. Were they real? Or had she just imagined them? They seemed awfully real to her, no matter what anyone said. Masumi, lying beside her, slept soundly, despite her jump. The last thing she heard was him screaming…but if he screamed, why didn't he wake up? Why was he fine? She stood slowly, carefully, keeping Masumi's jacket around her shoulders. Though happy he was with her, they were still in this nightmarish village. She sighed and smoothed down her skirt. How long had it been since they had fallen asleep? Hours? Days?
Miyako walked to the nearest lattice window and looked out. The darkness that had greeted her when she first came had not lifted. The luminous and frightening fog that also had accompanied her was still there as well. "How long…?" she whispered. "How long must this continue…?" Clutching Masumi's jacket tightly around her, she nearly broke down into sobs.
Miyako's eyes fell to a broken mirror on a table nearby. She walked over to it and kneeled down so she was leveled with the tiny glass. She gaped at her own reflection. The beautiful woman had become haggard and worn from her escapades in the village. Her skin was twice as pale as normal, her eyes were sunken in, and her hair was messy. Having a bit of decency not to look like a lunatic, she pulled out her brush and ran it through her long, black hair. She smiled at herself in the mirror when she was finished; she may not look as well as she did before she came to the village, but she at least looked better. She looked down at her shirt and smoothed the wrinkled fabric down with her hands.
"Dear sister…are you leaving me again?" she heard. Her head lifted, and in the mirror, she saw the teenager in the white kimono, the kimono covered in blood. The teenager did not look angry this time. Instead, she looked…amused. Miyako almost smiled at herself. She probably looked like a terrible mess compared to the ghost, who was dead! "Hello, Miyako," the ghost said with a smile. The young woman whipped around and came crashing to her butt as she stared at the teenager.
"You can see me, can't you, Miyako?" the teenager inquired, the smirk still on her features. "You're the only one that can. Your boyfriend can't, and all of the rest run from me. They can see me because I killed them." Miyako crawled backwards and her back met the wall behind her.
"Miyako?" Masumi called. She looked past the ghost and saw Masumi there, looking at her with a mixture of fear and shock. "Miyako, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Go ahead and tell him," the teenager drawled. "He'll think you're crazy, because you are! No one in this village stays alive, Miyako. No one leaves my village alive. You'll waste away unless you're stupid enough to run into me again. I'll remember to kill you slowly," the girl said.
Masumi, meanwhile, had walked through the girl and kneeled down beside Miyako. "Miyako…what is it? What do you see?"
"It's…it's her…the girl in the bloody kimono…" she whispered. The ghost smiled at Miyako.
"I don't see her. Are you sure she's there?" Masumi asked. The young woman only nodded as she continued to stare at the bloody teenager. The girl gave one last smirk before disappearing. Masumi looked at his girlfriend in fear – fear for her life. She was gaunt, pale, and was a wreck before he came. He only hoped they could leave soon. "Come on, get up, Miyako. I have two more houses to check." He stood and helped her to her feet. She handed him his jacket.
"Two more houses?"
"Yes. I went searching for the way out, but I couldn't find it up where I entered. I started to search the houses for clues. There's a passageway below us. The passage connects all of the houses, but it's impossible to reach other sides of the path because they're blocked by the rock wall. One of them is the way out, but I don't know how to open the path, nor do I know where it is," Masumi explained as they walked out of the room and to the entrance of the house.
"Masumi, I wasn't able to leave this house, last I checked…" Miyako muttered behind him. He opened the door with ease and moved to let her through. Stunned by this, Miyako could only walk past him as he closed the door behind them. "How…?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was stuck when you tried it," he said. "Do you know the name of this house?" When she shook her head, he said, "It's the Osaka House." He led her outside into the cool air and the darkness, holding her hand to reassure her. "I've been through this village several times in the past few days."
"Masumi…you were gone for 10 days," Miyako said.
He turned to look at her. "10 days…?"
"I came to look for you, because the search parties gave up." He seemed to be processing this information through his head, but he seemed more shocked than anything. "Let's just keep looking, then," he said, pulling her in the direction of a path. She followed him, being pulled by his strong hand. He took her down a long path, then took her around the corner to another house.
"Masumi…what's this?"
"From my notes, this is the Kiryu House," he said, pointing to the left. "And this one is the Tachibana House." He pointed to the right to a broken down house. Miyako looked to the side and saw large gashes in a side wall, and a scythe's blade sticking out. She clutched Masumi's hand tightly.
"I've already explored the Kiryu House," he assured her. "I need to look through a little more of the Tachibana House, and I need to look in the shrine." Miyako's eyes followed a staircase down to another path.
"Where does that go?" she asked.
Masumi looked in the direction she spoke of. "Oh…that leads to a gate. The gate is locked though, and I have a feeling that the most powerful house is behind it. I wonder why the gate is locked, though…No one has been here for years."
Though Miyako seemed more nervous now than ever, Masumi pulled her with him as he opened up one of the back doors to the Tachibana House. The inside of the house looked no better than the Osaka House. Deep gashes caused by rotting wood were on all of the walls, and the whole first rooms looked out of shape and ready to collapse. Masumi led her to a larger section of the house. In the middle of the room, there were knocked over scrolls and several pieces of wood everywhere, like they had been knocked over. There was a close at the far end of the room, and a piece of what used to be a table lay in front of it. Masumi walked up to it and pushed what was left of the table away.
"I wonder what's in here," he muttered. Miyako looked over at him.
"What's in where?" she asked.
"This closet here," he replied. He pulled against the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Damn…something's blocking it from the inside." He gave up and shrugged. Finding more interest in the unrolled scroll on the floor, he walked over to it. Miyako spotted something near the closet, and she walked over to it. It was part of a writing brush, sticking out from underneath the door. It had whittled away at some of the wood, like something was trying to break the door open…from the inside.
She kneeled down and took hold of the brush, trying to slip it out from under the door. As soon as she did, she could hear a small tinkling of bells. Miyako looked up. The tinkling of the bells came back, a little louder, from inside the closet. She turned to look at Masumi, who was reading the scroll. "Masumi?" she called. He looked up. "Do you hear that?" she asked him.
"Do I hear what?" he replied, confused.
"Can you hear those bells?" she asked. He stood and walked over to her. "What bells?" She pointed to the closet door. He kneeled beside her and listened. Miyako again heard the bells, louder, protesting, clinking together in the closet.
"Yeah…I hear them now. What is that?" he asked. He tried once more to open up the closet, but couldn't get it to budge. "Damn it!" he cried, pulling harder. Masumi finally gave up. "Forget it, Miyako. I can't open it. Besides, the bells have stopped," he told her as he walked back to the scroll.
Masumi was wrong; the bells hadn't stopped. Miyako could hear them still, ringing loudly from the other side of the closet. Slowly, the bells grew softer, and she could hear the soft crying of a little girl. She reached out slowly, fearfully, to the door. Her hand collided with it, and she gasped as a vision exploded in her mind.
"Itsuki…come for me, please! I don't want to be alone…"
Miyako stood there, in the room once more, beside the closet. The room was spotless – nothing in the room was wrong. The wood was brand new, and well taken care of. The wood was stacked in a neat pile. The scrolls were on a nearby table, and the table once in front of the closet was gone.
"Hello?" she heard behind her. She turned around, and there stood a beautiful young girl, 10 at most, in a red kimono with butterflies on it. Her eyes looked almost sightless, as she looked around. A loud rumble caused Miyako to fall to the floor, as immediate darkness flooded the room. The little girl screamed. The shock of the darkness nearly forced Miyako to pass out, but she kept herself steady.
The little girl looked around frantically, then crawled to the nearby closet, a bell on her wrist tinkling in her wake. She slid open the door and ducked inside, shutting it almost all the way. Miyako stared in curiosity at the little girl, before loud screams sounded down the hall. She looked in that direction, shivering lightly. The screams grew ever closer, and Miyako stared until she heard it. The laugh that haunted her nightmares.
The girl in the bloodstained kimono came around the corner, smirking in delight at the pain she was causing. The red rope hung at her side and dragged across the floor as she walked. Miyako heard the tiny girl gasp in fear. Villagers scurried about in the room, trying to run away from the teenager, but she killed them…one by one.
One man knocked over the table, sending the scrolls to the floor and the table into the closet door, knocking it shut. Miyako heard the small girl pound on the door in fright. Another villager ran to the closet to hide, but was killed by the teenager. The pounding on the door stopped.
The teenaged girl laughed, then walked to the door. She stopped once at the doorway and looked back, her eyes meeting Miyako's.
"I'll be waiting for you, Miyako…" she drawled, then left the room. Within moments, a faint ringing came from the closet.
"Itsuki…" she heard from inside. Miyako walked over to the closet. "They're everywhere, Itsuki…I can't get out…"
Miyako looked at the closet door, then heard within the closet a shuffling and scratching. The girl was trying to get out! Miyako pushed the table away from the closet, then pulled on the door. It wouldn't budge at first, and Miyako stopped pulling. Suddenly, the door shuddered, and creaked open…
Miyako was back in reality…or so she thought. The door slid open, all on its own, and sitting there, was the little girl in the crimson kimono. Miyako gasped in surprise and fear. The girl crawled out of the closet and looked at her. "Why…!" the girl screamed, grabbing hold of her waist. Miyako screamed in pain, as she felt the fear of the tiny girl, the starvation and dehydration she felt from being in that closet for so long. She couldn't keep herself up, and collapsed to the ground, senseless.
§ § §
Masumi helped his girlfriend along in the darkness of the village, holding Miyako's flashlight in front of him. It had been two days, or so he calculated, since Miyako's collapse in the Tachibana House. She had stared for a long time at the closet, before passing out to the floor. Upon awakening, he found that she was just stunned and afraid, but fine. Her condition deteriorated from then on in. Within hours, she developed a fever, became paler than ever, and her limbs would not function properly.
Masumi looked back at her. She was looking around in fright at the village, muttering about the darkness. "It won't go away, Masumi…" she whispered. "It's always here…it never ends…"
He grimaced at her words as he led her up the long steps to the shrine. This was the final place in the village he had not tried, save the Kurosawa House. He opened up the shrine, whose door opened with a loud creak. He moved the light around, then stepped inside, helping Miyako in after. She clung to his arm in fear as soon as they entered. "Masumi…they're watching us…" she whispered.
"Who?" he asked her, his tone serious. Since she had begun to see more and more ghosts, his belief in her grew and grew.
"The priests…" she whispered. "They're talking to themselves about…a Kusabi?" she inquired, looking at him.
"Kusabi means 'wedge'," he told her. "But, a wedge for what?" he asked himself, walking to the altar. Every step they took, Miyako held tighter to her lover's arm. When they reached the altar, Masumi took a good look at it. It was neat, organized, and filled with old artifacts. Masumi glanced around the room slowly, and spotted a fence behind the altar. A large piece of it was broken off. Masumi took a step towards it, and as he did, Miyako's arm loosened from his own, dropping to her side. He looked back at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked her.
"They…they don't want us to leave…" she whispered, her eyes wide like a deer in headlights. Masumi looked at her, then at what she was looking at. As he looked, he could've sworn he saw something move, but it didn't matter. Miyako let out a shriek and looked as though she were struggling with something. "LET ME GO!" she screamed. Masumi grabbed her by the arm and wrenched her away from whatever held her, urging her after him as he ran out the door. They ran down the steps, well at first, but Miyako slipped on the bottom few steps and fell to the ground with a cry.
"Miyako!" Masumi yelled, kneeling beside her. She forced herself up and they continued running, across the small bridge, down into the village. They stopped running down one of the paths, when Masumi realized Miyako was no longer beside him. He turned around, and saw her hurriedly limping towards him. He waited until she was close, then he picked her up in his strong arms and walked to the Osaka House with her.
They went back into the living room, where the fireplace was. He laid her on the wooden floor, then sat beside her. "Miyako, what happened back there?" he asked, panic in his voice. The woman beside him only shivered in fright. Masumi looked down at her leg. Her pale skin was dark purple, almost black, and a long cut spewed blood. Masumi took part of his shirt and ripped it, wrapping it around her injury.
How many days have I been in the village? 2? Maybe 3? It feels like I've been here for years. In this village of endless night, it's easy to lose all sense of time.
Miyako is utterly exhausted. Sometimes she manages to give me a weak smile, but it only makes me more uncomfortable. Physically and mentally, she's running on empty. I haven't found my way out yet, but sifting through the material I gathered in the village again, I found a clue.
A gigantic undeground tunnel, called a passageway, connects all the important locations in the village. It is used for travel between the houses during the ceremony, and also to store important items.
It is difficult to estimate the scale of the passages from the map, but there is sure to be a way through there. I didn't find any information about the entrance to a passageway. However, there must be a clue somewhere in the Kurosawa house, as they presided over the ceremony.
I've decided to leave Miyako here and search the Kurosawa house alone. I'll find a way out of the village and then come back for her.
"Miyako…I'm going into the village to look for a way out, okay?" Miyako nodded, and began to get up. Masumi gently pulled her back down. "No…you have to stay here."
"But, Masumi…"
"No buts. You're tired and hurt. I'll only be a little bit, okay? I'm going to look around, but I'll be back." Miyako looked sad and rejected by his words. Masumi leaned down and kissed her gently.
"Please…come back soon…" she whispered. "I don't want to be without you…" Masumi gave her an easy smile, kissing her hand. They embraced quickly, before the surveyor left his lover to search the never ending darkness.
He walked along the pass towards the Kurosawa House, thinking to himself. He dug his hand deep into his pocket and brought out a small, fragile and important item out. He gazed at the ring intently, wishing he had gotten up the courage to ask Miyako before he left. The engagement ring he held was engraved with the words "Together Always" on the inside. He smiled, and remembered how happy he was when he bought it – just two days before he became lost in this village. He wandered down to the gate that led to the Kurosawa House, still musing over how to ask Miyako for her hand in marriage. He rounded the corner and immediately came to a halt.
There was a path of crimson butterflies, leading up to the gate…which was now unlocked and open. The butterflies fluttered about, one landing on Masumi's shoulder. His eyes grew dark as he felt himself pulled in the direction of the gate, the bare outlining of a girl in a white kimono before him…
§ § §
Miyako sat at the top of the stairs, holding onto her red notebook, as she wrote slowly, her hand shaking furiously.
I must be tired. If I start to relax, I pass out. Even in a crazy place like this. The darkness here is creeping into my dreams. Slaughter, rivers of blood, fallen people, a woman in a bloodstained kimono, insane laughter, and twin sisters calling out "Don't kill me!".
That woman's laugh is seared into my mind. I don't want to sleep anymore.
I can't move...
I'll wait here.
He'll be back
He'll find the way out.
If he comes back
Miyako looked up as she heard the door creak open. She peered down from the staircase, and saw a figure walk through the hall, then pass under the drape. Something lay on the ground where the figure walked.
He came.
She put her book down, limping down the stairs slowly. She went over to the hall and kneeled down, looking at the item dropped. Her flashlight! She looked up and towards where the figure went. Masumi! It had to have been him – he took her flashlight with him! She picked the flashlight up and hurried towards the drape, then stopped. Something…something in the air didn't feel right to her. She shivered involuntarily and pushed the drape out of her way.
"Masumi…" she said slowly. "Where are you?" she called. When no answer came, she proceeded into the hallway further. As she walked, things began to be blurry, unreal. The panels of the wooden walls turned new, and two twins were hanging by ropes from the ceiling, their throats in the nooses. A moment later, and they were gone once more. She continued on, and saw Masumi round the corner, back to the coal brazier room. She followed him as best she could, her leg throbbing. The face in the wall peered at her as she passed, and she could've sworn the eyes moved to watch her. She walked down the new hallway, to the door at the end. The voices came back to her, screaming at her.
I don't want to kill her…
Akane, stop!
Mutsuki, we'll always be together, I promise…
Why do you kill?
Sae, we made a promise…
…Yae, you didn't keep it.
The Kusabi is coming…
Itsuki, help me! PLEASE!
I dON't WanT tO KiLL AnYMorE
Miyako opened the door at the end and came around the corner of the wooden painting in front. Her eyes immediately fell upon the figure before her, and she recognized the shirt to be Masumi's. "Oh, Masumi…you came back…" she said, smiling. She stepped towards him.
dON't CoMe NeAR mE! she heard from him. She stopped, looking at him in confusion and fear. His voice was cracked, rough. She looked at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked. She stepped forward again, and shone the light on him. She froze once more. There were deep slashes in his shirt, through to his skin, which bled openly. A large stab wound by his chest was coming through his brown shirt, and his hair was a mess. Deep cuts in his exposed skin were easy to see in the new light, and she gasped in horror.
"Masumi! Oh god, Masumi!" she cried, shaking terribly. "Oh lord, what happened to you! What did this to you!" she screamed. She had really lost it this time, her mind had split in half. She could not take this tragic event. Masumi turned around to look at her, and she saw the various cuts and wounds on his chest and face. His eyes were lifeless, sunken in, and he looked at her with raw hate. He stepped towards her, and she moved back, smacking into the painting. Within one moment and another, he rushed her, bringing her weak form to the floor. She struggled, crying, trying to make sense of it all.
"Masumi, stop! Oh dear god, stop! MASUMI!" she screamed. He straddled her body, bringing his hands to her throat and squeezing with all of his might. So close to him now, his face mere inches from hers, she could see his form blur and shudder on its own. It was his spirit…his spirit had come to kill her, as his body had already been dead.
A loud scream erupted in her throat, a scream that tore through the darkness and pierced the night air. Her scream shattered her mind and soul into fragments of its original form, and her eyes overflowed with tears. Her scream died within her throat as he added pressure to her windpipe, and she gasped in pain as he strangled her. "Why…!" she cried, loudly enough for him to hear. Deep inside her mind, she heard only one thought through the broken shards of her soul.
Miyako…help me…
It was Masumi, his dying words come back to her, as she saw her dream happen all over again. She saw the man with slashes on his body, white hair back and clothes torn, reaching out his clawed hands towards her Masumi, ripping through his body and soul and destroying his very existence. Her love went to find the way out in the Kurosawa House…and met his end. Behind her lover's vengeful soul that was killing her, Miyako glimpsed the woman in the bloodstained kimono, laughing insanely…always laughing.
Even though we finally met…
Masumi…why…?