Once again Hikari and Mafuyu were running away from the monk with the back pack, well more like Mafuyu was running with Hikari thrown over his shoulder while she waved her fist threateningly at the ghost behind them. "I'm sick of this bastard! Put me down and let me at him! I'm gonna kick his ass!" Hikari yelled and struggled slightly in Mafuyu's grip. "I'm not going to let you get yourself hurt just because you're angry at a ghost," Mafuyu said and then grunted when Hikari's fist hit his back. "That ghost is a fucking stalker who has been following me around since I first got here, he needs to die!" Hikari growled and struggled harder. Mafuyu made a quick turn and ran into the doll room, quickly slamming the door shut right in the ghosts face.
After a few minutes of nothing happening Mafuyu let out a sigh of relief and set Hikari down on the pillow in the room before giving her a stern look. "You listen to me well Hikari, if you go after that ghost again I will be forced to knock you out if I have to," Mafuyu said with a serious expression on his face and Hikari just gaped and nodded, shocked slightly by the threat. "Alright good, now lets get moving were not too far away from where I need to go," Mafuyu said and took Hikari's hand, helping her up. "I still haven't seen Dawn in here, maybe, hopefully she isn't in here," Hikari said softly as they walked out of the doll room and back out to the cherry artuirum. Hikari looked out at the barren yard with sadness', I bet this place was beautiful back in the day,' she thought with a sigh. Hikari jumped when a hand suddenly touched her shoulder and she turned to see Mafuyu looking at her with worried eyes. "Are you alright Hikari, you were spacing out," Mafuyu said and Hikari blushed with a laugh. "Yeah I'm alright, sorry when I see places like this that I just know used to be beautiful I can't help but feel sad," Hikari said with a slightly sad smile on her face and Mafuyu nodded. "I can understand, I feel that too when I see these places and in my line of work I tend to see a lot," Mafuyu said and gently rubbed Hikari's shoulder.
"You know you sure do touch me a lot," Hikari said with a slight blush, causing Mafuyu to quickly move his hand away and blush as well. "I'm sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?" Mafuyu asked, the blush still on his face. "No, I don't really mind it at all," Hikari said shyly before quickly making her way down the steps and into the yard so she could look up at the sky. "Its so dark here, you can barely see the stars and the moon because of all the clouds," Hikari said as she heard Mafuyu follow her into the yard and come to stand by her side and look up as well. "Hmm your right, but you're also trying to ignore what we were talking about before... do you like me Hikari?" Mafuyu asked bluntly and Hikari felt her face burn as she sputtered. "W-well I won't lie, I do feel something for you, but before I really decide what it is I'd like to get out of this mansion and get to know you better," Hikari said and turned her head to the side with a blush when Mafuyu smiled widely at her. "I'm ok with that," Mafuyu said and gently brushed some of Hikari's hair behind her ear. "You're going to make my face burn off," Hikari mumbled and Mafuyu laughed.
"Come on, the sooner we figure this place out the sooner we can get out and I can take you on a date," Mafuyu said as he turned and started walking away. Hikari sputtered," W-wait I never agreed to a date!" she yelled and right as she was about to run after him she stopped when a noise came from behind her. Turning around she froze and her eyes widened at what she saw. 'Is this who Mafuyu was telling me about? Kirie?' Hikari wondered as the ghost started drifting closer to her, the rope hanging from her neck moving slightly. 'Holy shit I can't move,' Hikari thought as she tried forcing her body to move, but it wouldn't obey. "Hikari!" she heard Mafuyu's panicked voice came from behind her along with the sound of him running back to her.
'Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,' Hikari thought and whimpered in her throat as the ghost reached for her and grabbed her wrist roughly. "Feel my pain," she heard a whispered voice say before her sight was suddenly overtaken with a vision. Ropes wrapped around her throat, wrists, and ankles, slowly being pulled tighter and tighter until... the vision suddenly ended and she gasped for air before everything went dark.
~8~
Dawn groaned as she slowly woke with a sharp pain in her wrists, 'God what happened?' she wondered. When she opened her eyes she saw rope marks on her wrist before they slowly faded away. 'Now I remember,' Dawn thought with a frown. Miku and Dawn had been running all around the mansion following ghosts, much to Dawn's displeasure, and it had ended with them following the ghost of some man named Takamine to a shrine out in the woods. Miku had ended up having to fight his ghost while Dawn hid behind a large tree until it was over then they had to do some creepy puzzle with these Buddha figures that had a limb missing and fake blood (Dawn was hoping it wasn't real) painted on the missing spots. When they had completed the puzzle the small little cabinet had opened to revile a shard of a mirror and right as Miku had picked the damn thing up Dawn had turned to look at the mirror in the room and saw the same female ghost from earlier in it. Of course Dawn proceeded to freak out and run around the room while Miku just stared until the crazy ghost bitch suddenly came right out of the fucking mirror. This caused Dawn to snap and make a run for the door, which wouldn't budge no matter how much she slammed herself against it. The very last memory she had of the incident was turning around to see the ghost right up on her before she passed out in a dead faint.
Dawn suddenly turned to glare at Miku who was pacing around the room and mumbling to herself. "I so blame you if I die in this crazy ass mansion," Dawn said, causing Miku to jump and look at her. "Were not going to die here, were going to find my brother and your friend and were going to get out of here," Miku said with determination and Dawn looked at her blankly. "For some reason I'm sensing a but at the end of that sentence, spit it out already," Dawn said, not in any mood for stalling. "Well you see, when I woke up there was this kid in the room and he had the shard of the mirror and kind of ran away with it," Miku said slowly and Dawn just sighed. "I'm guessing we have to go look for it then?" Dawn asked as she slowly stood up and stretched out the cramps in her muscles, couldn't have cramps when you need to run from ghosts. "Yes, now come on, we need to get this done pretty quickly," Miku said and walked out of the doll room. Dawn looked around the room and shivered,' Creepy ass dolls,' she thought before quickly following Miku out of the room. "Hey Dawn, I just saw that little boy run toward the staircase hallway, lets go," Miku said and started prancing toward the door leading to the staircase hall. 'Why can't you run like a normal person?' Dawn wondered before following Miku. When they got into the hallway, they rounded the corner past the stairs and suddenly the little boy's ghost appeared, running down the hall with amazing speed.
As they chased after him, before they could even get to the door for the fish tank room they jerked to a sudden stop when hands suddenly appeared on the side of the wall before the head slowly followed and the ghost looked at them with wild eyes. "HOLY SHIT ITS YOU AGAIN!" Dawn yelled in terror before quickly turning and running for it, managing to squeeze behind the mirror and hide there. From her hiding place Dawn could hear the clicks of the camera and the pained scream of the ghost each time Miku took a shot with the camera. When everything suddenly went quiet Dawn slowly peeked out from her hiding spot to see Miku breathe a sigh of relief before turning and looking at her. "Yes Dawn it is safe to come out now," Miku said with a smile and amusement glittering in her eyes. Dawn just huffed," Lets just go find out where that kid ran off to already," she said and the made their way to the fish tank room, where the boy made another appearance and they had to solve another puzzle to get through the other door. "I really hate this part of the mansion, this yard is pretty creepy," Dawn said and with a shudder remembered when they had come through here last time that the lid on top the well had moved and a little girls voice had come out. "H-hey Miku wait what are you doing?!" Dawn yelped when she noticed Miku had walked over to the well and was now moving the lid off of it. "I don't know, I just feel this is what I need to do," Miku said as she pushed the lid all the way off the then looked down into the well.
'Oh this is not going to go well, it never does. Must find hiding spot!' Dawn thought to herself and right as she spotted the shed, a little scream came from Miku. Dawn turned to see Miku backing away from the well and a small girl that looked as if she had been burned slowly crawling out. "NOPE," Dawn yelled and flew towards the shed, noticing that there was strangely enough an old camera stand with the camera on it, she quickly latched onto it. 'Thank god for whoever put these stands in random places around this mansion,' Dawn thought as she watched the battle between Miku and the girl went on outside. After a few minutes the battle was finally over and when Dawn let go of the stand her arms were slightly numb from holding onto it so tight. "Hey Dawn, she dropped one of those weird carving things!" Miku called out and Dawn just sighed. 'Great, more puzzles,' she thought before getting up to join Miku and talk about where to go now.
~8~
Hikari groaned as her eyes slowly fluttered open, her vision slightly hazy at first before finally clearing and she saw a worried Mafuyu leaning over her. "Mafuyu? What happened, my head and wrists hurt," Hikari said and gasped when she was suddenly pulled into a fierce hug. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't get to you fast enough! I never should have walked away from you in the first place, I will not leave your side for the rest of the time were in this place!" Mafuyu said and held Hikari tighter. "Ma-Mafuyu let go, need a-air," Hikari gasped and sucked in a deep breath when she was released. Hikari frowned and looked down at her wrists, gasping when she saw deep rope marks in her skin. Hikari gulped," S-so I'm cursed now huh? I'm going to die in here?" her voice wavered as she said this and her shoulders were suddenly grabbed. "No you will not die, I wont let you die," Mafuyu said with a determined look in his eyes and Hikari gave him a shaky smile.
"Thanks Mafuyu, I'm just kind of scared right now," Hikari said softly and slowly stood up with Mafuyu's help. "Careful, when you passed out you fell to the ground and hit your head on a rock," Mafuyu said and Hikari gave him a teasing smile. "Are you going to start being overprotective of me now that I'm injured?" Hikari asked with a laugh before stopping when she noticed Mafuyu's serious look. "Yes I am going to be overprotective, I can't let you die in here, I still haven't gotten that date yet," he said with a slight smile and Hikari laughed. "Well like I said before, I never agreed to a date, but if you get me out of here alive I might just think about it," Hikari said with a teasing smile. Mafuyu smiled at her and flicked Hikari's bangs," Come on, lets get going were almost to where we need to go," he said and opened a large door that lead into a shrine looking hallway. "This is actually kind of pretty if you take away the creepiness factor," Hikari said as they walked down the hall and she watched Mafuyu as he worked on some weird puzzle on the door until it opened. "I want you to stay where I can see you Hikari, I feel that it's very dangerous down here," Mafuyu said and Hikari nodded in understanding, walking until she stood right beside him. As they entered the room Hikari frowned and looked over the edge of the wooden railing to stare at the large stone door, getting a strange forbidding feeling from it. A hand suddenly grabbed hers and squeezed gently, she turned to look at Mafuyu who was smiling softly at her. "Don't worry I'm here with you," he said and Hikari smiled back at him. "Thanks, I don't think I would be this calm without you here," Hikari said and Mafuyu laced their fingers together before tugging gently so she would start walking. They went down two sets of ladders before they were down in the large dug out part where the stone door was. "Got to figure out how to open this thing," Mafuyu mumbled as he went closer and started examining the door.
Hikari stood still, looking around the room before spotting something in a far off corner and slowly started walking toward it. 'Is this some type of mask,' Hikari wondered and carefully picked up the mask that had two large spikes sticking right through the eyehole. When she examined it closer Hikari wrinkled her nose in disgust at the small amount of dried up blood that was left on it. "Hikari? Did you find something?" Mafuyu called out and Hikari turned around and showed him the mask as he approached. "I found this, can you take it please, I really don't want to hold something that has some ones blood on it," Hikari said and Mafuyu quickly took the mask away from her. "I think this thing is what is used to open the door," he said and walked over to a small stone mechanism beside the door, the mask fitting in perfectly in the small space on it. As the large stone doors suddenly started to creek open Hikari quickly moved over by Mafuyu. When the door finally finished opening Mafuyu took Hikari's hand again. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," he said and Hikari gave a small laugh. "Well don't you worry either because I'll protect you too," Hikari said and Mafuyu laughed as well before gently tugging on her hand so she would start walking. "HIKARI!" Came the sudden yell of a voice she knew well and Hikari turned around with a gasp. She started looking around the room wildly, but didn't see Dawn anywhere. "Hikari are you alright?" Mafuyu asked and Hikari turned to stare at him with wide eyes. "Y-you didn't hear that?" Hikari asked and Mafuyu shook his head. "I didn't hear anything Hikari, maybe the house is making you hear things again," Mafuyu said and took her hand again. "Come on lets get going," he said and Hikari gave one desperate look back before letting Mafuyu lead her through the door.
~8~
"I swear to god if that crazy blinded lady pops up one more time I'm going to just grab you and run for it until we lose her," Dawn said with a slight growl. "I'm just happy I finally got you to come out from that hole under the stair case you fell in, really Dawn you should at least be a little more careful when you freak out and run away," Miku said with a little pout and shook her head when Dawn pouted as well. "Its not fault I freak out so bad, I just can't handle the paranormal well, put anything else in my way and I'm ok, but ghosts are the one thing scare me to death because you can't hit a ghost with your fist," Dawn said as she held the door to the alter room open for Miku before walking in herself, looking back to make sure nothing was following them before closing the door. "At least we have two of those carvings, maybe one of them will open that big door we saw in the rubble room," Miku said and walked quickly into the rubble room with Dawn right behind her, once again turning around before she shut the door to see if there was a ghost.
Dawn paled before slamming the door shut as fast as she could and shivering. 'Creepy ass kid ghost in the white kimono, I swear that thing is stalking us,' she thought to herself before looking at Miku who was already at the big door and trying to figure out the puzzle. "Ah hah!" Miku said with excitement as the door clicked and she was able to push it open. "Lets go Dawn!" Miku said and grabbed Dawn's hand, dragging her through the door. "What have I said about rushing Miku? It usually ends up in a ghost randomly appearing and scaring me half to death," Dawn said as Miku continued to drag her down the hall. Right as they neared the turn in the corridor a flash of red caught her attention and she saw both Hikari and Mafuyu once again. "Miku, you see that too right?" Dawn asked and Miku nodded before they both jogged and turned the corner just in time to see the other two disappear at a large door with yet another puzzle on it.
"What is going on here?" Miku said to herself before running to the door and starting on the puzzle. 'Maybe there's some weird wall or rift between us? That would explain why we can only catch glimpses of them and why they don't seem to hear when we call for them,' Dawn thought with a frown and looked up when she heard a click, Miku had figured the puzzle to the door out and was already pushing it open. "Dammit stop rushing!" Dawn yelled and followed Miku into the room. "Mafuyu," Miku said as she looked down into the small square area below. Dawn looked over the railing and saw Hikari and Mafuyu walking towards the large stone doors. "Hikari!" Dawn yelled loudly and saw Hikari whip her head around and start looking before both of them disappeared once again. "She heard me," Dawn gasped out, slightly shocked.
Dawn and Miku looked at each other with wide eyes before quickly making their way towards the ladder, Dawn having to help Miku down on the last one before they walked over and examined the large doors. "Hey it looks like something is supposed to go in here! Like a type of mask maybe?" Miku said and Dawn sighed, her head hanging. "Nothing can be easy can it? More running around and running into ghost now I'm guess?" Dawn said and Miku gave her an apologetic smile and Dawn sighed once again. "Lets just get it over with," she said and started walking back to the ladders.
"I really really REALLY hate this fucking house," Dawn growled as she rubbed at a place where once of the ropes in the rope hallway had come down and slapped her in the face. After running around and having to get different masks, getting stuck in a room with the ghost of what Dawn was guessing was Miku's great great grandfather who was trying to kill them and getting stuck in a very small room with that crazy blinded lady Dawn was in a very bad mood. "At least we got the blinding mask, now we can open those doors," Miku said as she opened the door to the rubble room and Dawn snorted. "Can we at least sit and rest for a few seconds, I really need a break to calm down," Dawn said and Miku nodded so they went and sat down by the old camera and stand in the room. "So I don't think I ever asked you how old you are," Miku said as she looked at Dawn who relaxed back against the stand. "Well I'm 20 and Hikari is 19," Dawn said and Miku nodded. "My brother is 21 and I'm the same age as your friend, how did you two end up here anyway?" Miku asked and Dawn just sighed. "We really just stopped for a rest because we were driving to visit one of our friends and Hikari ended up wondering off so I tried coming and looking for her and found this house, I thought she might have wondered in here so I came in and suddenly the door slammed shut behind me and wouldn't open," she said and Miku suddenly hugged her.
"Um why are you hugged me? Not that I really mind, just wondering," Dawn said and Miku let go to smile at her. "I was just trying to comfort you, you had this pained look on your face," Miku said and Dawn resisted the urge to grab the sweet girl and squeeze her to death. "You know, your too sweet for your own good Miku," Dawn said with a smile before carefully standing up. "I think I'm ready to get back going now," she said and helped up Miku before they walked back to the place where they had last see Hikari and Mafuyu. As soon as they entered the room the Folklorists ghost suddenly came at them once again and Dawn yelped running to the other side of the room and staying away from Miku since it appeared the ghost was just after her.
Once that battle was over the both climbed down the ladder and went to sit the mask in its place before they both paused when they heard singing and everything went dark before it stopped and everything became light again. "What the-" a hand was suddenly slapped over Dawn's mouth and she turned to look up at Miku who held a finger up to her lips and Dawn nodded in understanding. 'Just don't move and the crazy blinded lady wont get you,' Dawn started chanting in her head as Miku started battling her. Dawn was doing pretty well until the ghost suddenly appeared right in front of her. She let out a scream of terror and ran to the other side of the room and started up the ladder. Still screaming she was about to go up the next one when a yell from Miku stopped her.
She looked back to see that Miku had dropped the camera and the blinded woman had hold of her. "Miku!" Dawn yelled and suddenly dived over the railing, hitting the ground hard but ignoring the pain and picked up the camera, aiming it at the ghost and taking a quick shot, making it fly backwards before it let out a scream and suddenly turned into a wisp and flew into the camera. Dawn let out a sigh and suddenly flopped onto the ground, dropping the camera. Miku ran over to her and started checking her over frantically. "That was crazy you shouldn't have jumped over the edge like that!" Miku yelled and Dawn just rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't have gotten to you in time otherwise, that and I panicked and wasn't thinking really," Dawn said before picking up the camera and standing up and handing it to Miku. "Come on, lets get that stupid mask in the thing before anything else shows up," Dawn said and Miku nodded, running over to the spot and putting in the mask, the doors slowly creaking open on their own once it was in.
Dawn glared into the darkness, trying to make sure nothing was moving around in there about to jump out at them. "Alright I think its safe," she said and started going in with Miku right behind her. They were walking for a few minutes before Dawn's foot suddenly hit something and she frowned, looking down before paling drastically. "DEAD BODY!" Dawn yelled and suddenly ran and hid behind Miku who then crouched down to look at the body before reaching out to it. "No don't touch it that's not sanitary!" Dawn yelled before Miku suddenly stood back up and waved a piece of the mirror in her face. "Oh," was all Dawn was able to say before feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up and Miku's eyes widened as she looked over Dawn's shoulder.
"Let me guess, its that Kirie lady again?" Dawn said and let her head hang when Miku nodded. "Whelp, that's my cue to pass out," Dawn said before everything went dark.