Give Me Back My Brother

Disclaimer: The rights are not mine

Chapter Nine: Repentance

IMPORTANT NOTE: Same as before. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS! IF I DO NOT GET AT LEAST FIVE REVIEWS FOR THIS CHAPTER, I WILL NOT BE CONTINUING THIS STORY. Sorry to be so strict, but BE TRUE-PLEASE REVIEW. :P

Chitose was running through the village as fast as her little legs would carry her. It was still very dark outside, but hundreds of crimson butterflies lit her path. She was almost to the Shinto gate…

The well Itsuki had been dropped into made her stop dead in her tracks. A strange black and red mist was billowing from it like smoke and there was a strange sound that she could not make out from where she was standing. She dared to edge a little closer, and listened.

"Laughter..?" Chitose thought that was what the sound was, but… "Is someone inside the well?"

"Everyone…"

Chitose heard the surprisingly loud whisper and recognized the voice. "Sae..?"

"Everyone just DIE!" Sae's voice screamed, causing Chitose to stumble backwards.

Darkness exploded from the well, expanding to cover the entire village. The butterflies were the only light for poor little Chitose, who was now crying. She worked up the courage to scramble to her feet and ran towards the Shinto gate. But it was now overgrown with weeds and there was no visible way to get through.

"Chi...to...se..." called Sae's haunting voice.

Chitose turned, trembling. The voice was coming from inside the scary well, as the ground started to tremble violently. Terrified, the little girl took off back down the hill and ran for her own house.

The main entrance was sealed up after the door had been broken when the villagers were looking for Itsuki and the Kurosawa twins. She would have to go through the Kiryu house in order to reach her own. The thought of just barging into that house frightened her, but this was an emergency!

Chitose rounded the corner just in time to see a woman smash violently into the ground before her, face-first. The little girl screamed and quickly ran past the broken corpse, up the hill and into the Kiryu household, which had been abandoned for quite some time. She ran upstairs and through the door that led to the bridge that connected with her own house.

Just as she was starting to pull open the door to enter her home, she heard that voice behind her again.

"Chitose…"

The little girl slowly turned. When she saw who had called her, she screamed and scrambled to get the door open. Finding it to be sealed shut, she turned back around and pressed her back against it.

Sae Kurosawa was slowly floating towards her, her now yellow eyes were filled with madness and malice, and her smile was twisted evilly. There was a frightening indent around her neck and red stained her previously all-white kimono. She let out a mad laugh and extended her hand towards the child.

"Won't you help me look for Itsuki?"

At the sound of her brother's name, Chitose almost went towards her, but quickly realized that something was very wrong with this Sae. She tried the door again. This time it opened, and she bolted through it.

Mutsuki had been right about something terrible happening. Maybe she couldn't leave the village, but maybe everything would be okay if she hid somewhere until it was over?

Chitose ran to the nearest closet-the one where the kimono boxes were kept-and pulled the lid off of the one on the floor, There was just enough room for her to fit inside, but it would be even darker in there than outside…

Sae's insane laughter and calling of her name was enough of a push for her to climb in and pull the lid back on. She lay there in the darkness, curled up into a little ball for what seemed like an eternity-too afraid to even cry.

New sounds were mixed in with Sae's laughter. People were screaming and pleading in terror, and an agonizing howling sound nearly made the poor girl go deaf. As the sounds got even closer and louder, her little heart felt like it was going to burst she was so afraid. Even with all the other sounds, the panicked racing of her heart was the loudest one to her.

"Help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me help me…" she continued to whisper her desperate plea over and over, silent tears starting to pour down her cheeks.

"Chitose…Come out and play…" Sae's voice drawled, as the kimono box lid started to move.

Chitose tensed and held her breath, unable to hear anything now but her frantic, pounding heartbeat. She didn't breathe, nor move. Her heart was so loud now, she no longer even seemed to noticed that the lid was slowly being lifted up. It raged in her ears until she felt like she was going to explode.

And then, she couldn't hear it anymore.

Sae slid the lid off to the side a little and peered inside. Chitose's lifeless silvery eyes looked up at her, frozen in terror. Her body did not move at all, and there were still tears on her little porcelain face.

Looking truly remorseful, Sae replaced the lid. "I'm sorry…Chitose…"