The Amakura Promise: Back to All Gods Village (Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly)
Chapter two
By: Lurdokyle
Disclaimer: I do not own Project Zero or the Fatal Frame franchise, but i'm saving up...xD
Chapter two --- Towards the North
-rate as you as you see fit )
Mio regurgitated and redigested the revelation over and over in her head. It was worth a try, this plan, and the outcome was definitely more beneficial than the amount of effort she would be able to input.
'Mayu…I'm going to bring your spirit back with me…were going to be sisters again soon…' thought Mio sadly, but that thought was followed by the first smile she'd made in more than a month.
The bitter chill of loneliness greeted her with each step she took alone.
She felt that spark of warmth in her chest when she walked with another girl, or her parents. She set aside this feeling, however, because facing loneliness was better than running from it. But as of late, Mio walked with a bounce in her step, and the reason was enlightening. She finally found a way to get her sister back while reminiscing her tragic twin, though it would be difficult, no obstacle she could imagine would stop her. But their was.
Today was the day! This perfect sunny day would be the most gracious of hosts for her endeavor!
Presently, Mio was running down a sidewalk next to a busy street. The sweet smells of wild flowers wafted through the air, and a humble breeze met with her ever slightly paled legs.
She sported a thin, yellow sleeveless shirt with a white mini-skirt that had a floral pattern woven into the hem. The outfit was not too casual, but she wore them for a reason.
Cradled in her arms, a large parcel bounced with the irregular steps, and she had trouble controlling down it the steep hill.
On her left was the reservoir only about a hundred yards off, but the metal barrier prevented her from jumping over, plus a lofty fall into the forest would sort of hurt, to say the least.
It was a perfect day to execute the plan, the sun was warm and the wind was almost non-existent, people were walking outside and the moods were high on this much anticipated Saturday.
Mio caught the bottom of the incline haphazardly and stumbled awkwardly to the pavement. Unfortunately, as this happened, a blue and white police car drove lazily past, but it wasn't until she collected her belongings and picked herself up did she realize the car turned around swiftly, from the high hill from which she had descended. With a quick glance, she glimpsed the patroller turn around in mid-street, which was answered by a volley of angry pedestrians and the chime of horns that followed the maneuver. Rubber screeched against asphalt. It was time to run, and that was what she did. With all the 'special' treatment lately, Mio was used to being spied upon by cops under the payroll of her parents. Whether or not her tale was true, it would not seem ethical for a possibly psychotic teenager wandering the streets.
'Oh No! Mother must have called the police when I ran!' thought a panicking Mio.
Mio swiftly returned her focus to the task at hand, and booked-it full speed ahead. Cold sweat formed on her brow, and she began to shake; never had she imagined herself actually fleeing from a policeman. She knew what would happen to her if she were caught.
But more importantly, she needed to know what became of her dear Mayu.
Mayu………… Mayu…………
Her pink sandals crashed into the pavement with renewed vigor, and Mio felt deep in her heart that with every step she made, her sister was closer to her, huddled tighter in her arms. How warmer she felt when the distance between Mio and Mayu began closing.
Mio could not feel anything since then but the loathsome emptiness of her own soul calling Mayu to her once again...
Mayu! Mayu! I want to tell you so many things! I want to talk together…
The pedestrians littering the sidewalks scattered slowly away from the road, the cop's siren now blaring into the air, drowning away the peace.
I want to play together again, and cry together, and smile...
Suddenly, the car veered off the road, and bumped over the curb, directly into Mio's path. The driver's door began to open, but the scrawny officer inside was taken by complete urprise when Mio's foot plowed into the side of it, crashing it shut in his face with a howl of pain that rivaled the shriek of the sirens.
"Mayu I'm coming for you NOW!" she wailed over the awe-struck crowd that encircled the audacious spectacle, before bolting down the next street with parcel in-hand.
Spectators in the street were pointing and shouting, some of which knew Mio, and laughed horribly at policeman that was cuffing his face in pain and putting the squad vehicle in reverse at the same time.
Murmurs of excitement erupted into the air when the car veered off the walk and shot down the street in pursuit of the young girl. With one hand he steered, leaning his head into his navy blue arm sleeve to comfort his nose, and with the other he radioed in the whereabouts of the missing girl.
'I'm never gonna smell right again' , he grimaced as he thought.
"She's heading to the dam!" he yelled into the receiver while a new surge of pain shot through his face, "Get this damn kid's mother here already!"
Mayu, if I find you, I'll take you back and we'll show everyone! We'll stay together forever. You asked me to promise. You asked me to promise!
She cut off the road and down into the forest toward the lake. She was not far now, but the memories she hated flooded through the elegant corridors of her mind,
And then it hit her like a blow to the stomach. That time she spent in the folklorist's cell. Mio had promised. Mio ran that memory through her head slowly…
"Mayu c'mon", beckoned Mio through the adjoining hall, but Mayu did not move from her cell.
Mio glanced around curiously, and saw the heavy marble door begin closing…on its own. Nothing could be done before the door slammed shut, enclosing Mayu in a prison.
A small window with no bars was cut intricately through the heavy marble of the door in an interesting pattern. Mayu was so scared… pleaded me to stay with her…
"Wait here for just a little while I find a key Mayu!"
"Bu-But Mio! You….promised!"
"I know I'll only be a little while" Mio had declared through the window.
Defeated, Mayu lowered her head silently and shut her eyes, "but…you promised", came a timid murmur.
"…Mayu…"
No response.
And with that, Mio left wordlessly in search of the key.
"I had already broken our promise" Mio whispered to herself, as she trotted onto a wooded dock over the dammed lake.
She emptied the contents of the plastic parcel onto the new wood: A flashlight, fresh rice balls wrapped in a handkerchief, a clear transparent dive bag, some bandage and wound kits, a pair of goggles, and of course the Camera Obscura.
Hearing the siren disappear in the distance, she neatly organized them on the warm wood. When everything was to her liking, she stood up and stretched casually, taking in the cool breeze as well as her sublime surroundings.
'That officer must not have predicted I would be heading for the lake' she thought distantly.
'But if that guy radioed Mother than she would surely know I am by the lake…'
This was true. This part of the city held no interest for her except sitting before the lake and falling into deep thought.
The lake had become quite popular for kids, to frolic in the shallower parts to the east and the west. The north was where the dam was built, so it was the deepest there. Mio was on the southern shore, a heavily wooded area that was almost impossible to see from the busy high road.
Nearby a father and a son fished off the shore in bright clothes, and there was an older boy not too far off who laughed at the pair of fishers, whose efforts were fruitless in the turbid and rocky water.
Mio kicked off her sandals and smiled, bending lower to remove her skirt, followed by her shirt, exposing a purple one-piece swimsuit that was underneath, decorated with a duo of sunflowers on the side that were colored in segments of green, yellow, blue, and orange. The suit was tight and complimented her curvaceous frame. She never really looked at herself that way anymore, it used to be a hobby of her and Mayu's to compare outfits and other accessories.
Mio was a just a tiny bit short for her age, but this was not too recognizable at once. After changing she knelt back to the dock and carefully placed her clothes and items set forth into the dive-bag. She produced a smaller dive-bag from the first that looked as if it could hold no more than a basketball in it. This is where she put the Camera Obscura
Satisfied, she compressed the bags and locked the goggles around her face.
'This is it Mayu.'
Two days ago the plan took form in her mind. She was so excited that it was happening for real. She was going to bring her sister back.
She ran the childhood map through her mind, closing her eyes in anticipation…
Our secret base was…
past the Sad Oak stump…
and…
over the ridge of the baby waterfall…
…
That's where we were…
when Mayu chased the butterflies…
and we past that stone …
that statue of the two deity figures…
…
is what lured us in…
Yes…I'm sure of it!
Her expression hardened as she thought.
She took hold of the dive-bags and ran the length of the dock leaping into the air, ending with a splash as she crashed into the chilly water. When she surfaced, she allowed the bags with her supplies to fill partially with air, so they could help her swim. Grabbing the bags in front, one under either arm, she kicked her way calmly towards the north, towards the Dam, in spite of thelawmen that down the East and West shores.
Author's Notes:
Sorry for the wait...life got in the way...goin to italy next wednesday (woohoo) so you can expect the next submission in about a day or two, promise!
The story gets happier, I swear! It will flow together in time...
But for now, I shall dance+dances+
I really hope you like it and thanks for the great reviews! -
Lurdokyle