You Promised…Remember?
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fatal Frame II.
Chapter Five
Sisters
Poor sister…You've been in such a fragile state since Mariko's disappearance. I do my best to assure you when you call, even though I know you'll never see her alive again. That's what sisters do, after all. You'd probably think me horrible if you knew what I had done, but it was an accident. It was just like back in the village, when I had been possessed by that ghost. I was wrapped in a crimson fog, barely aware of anything. Mariko was you, who should have killed me that day, so that we could be together all the time, never having to part. If you had just done that, none of this would be happening. It's all your own fault. Besides, it's not like you've never lied to me.
If only you'd kept your promise…
"Mayu?"
It was Mio again. Her voice was stressed, and it was clear she had just finished crying yet again.
"What is it, sister? Has Mariko been found yet?"
"No." She sobbed. "I don't know where else to look. We've already searched the whole house and called all her friends, but no one has seen her. She was playing outside the day she disappeared-just out back,-so where could she have gone?! Do you think someone kidnapped her?!" The panic was rising in her frail voice. Oh, how pathetic you sound, my sister. Aren't you glad that you have me?
It had been only been a day since I had strangled the child, mistaking her for her mother-my sister-in a hazy moment. I had intended to dispose of the body where no one would ever find it, but had decided not to at the last minute. Mio would need closure. I didn't want her to spend all her time focusing on finding her missing daughter or wondering if she was still alive somewhere. No, I wanted her to come to terms with losing someone that she loved and come to me when she needed comfort. I could imagine her crying on my shoulder at the funeral, just like she had when Mother had died, and became that much more eager to make sure she discovered the body soon.
I pretended to think for a moment. "Have you tried the soccer field near the school?" It was still the weekend, so I doubted anyone had thought to look there. I remembered she had once run away and gone there when she was younger and didn't know any better. They had found her happily kicking a ball around the empty field, unaware of the worry she'd caused or the danger she'd put herself in.
"No…She does love it there, but would she really go and stay overnight?" Mio did not sound convinced, much to my irritation.
Hiding those feelings, I tried to convince her. "Kids can be strange like that. If she was mad at you for something and decided to make you feel guilty, then she probably would. Have the two of you fought at all lately."
Mio broken down crying. "She wanted a new soccer ball, but Shiro thought it would be best not to give her one until Christmas. He didn't want to spoil her. I wanted to buy her one, because she could barely even practice with that old one, and soccer is so important to her, but he's my husband, so…That must be it!"
I smirked. This was getting better and better. Not only had she managed to make her sister feel guilty-a feeling that would only increase once she found Mariko at the soccer field,-but I had managed to plant the seeds of hatred against Shiro. It was only a matter of time before she blamed him for not letting her have something as simple as a soccer ball. With any luck, that would spark a fight that would tear them apart forever, allowing her to have her sister back again.
"Don't blame yourself, sister. No one wants that." I lied, knowing well that I did indeed what her to blame herself-herself and that wretched husband of hers. "Just head over to the school, and see if you can find any trace of Mariko, then call me and let me know, okay?"
"Okay." She sniffled. "Oh, Mayu, can you do me a favor?"
"Of course. What is it?"
"Well, Shiro's mother was watching the twins this weekend, and she's supposed to be dropping them back off today, right around now. He's at work, and I want to get to the soccer field, so can you come over here and wait for them? It would only be for a few minutes-they're going with their friend Michiko to the mountains,-and she's supposed to stop by with her mother to pick them up." Mio was rambling now, a cute little thing she did whenever she was nervous. It made me smile. "I normally wouldn't let them miss school, but they've been so upset about Mariko, I thought it would be nice for them to go and get their minds off it, so-"
"Mio," I interrupted, knowing she would go on for hours if I didn't. "I'll be right over." Hanging up, I started to chuckle, my lips slowly curling into a menacing grin. Before I knew it, I was laughing like that woman from All Gods Village-the one who had slaughtered all those people after her sister had abandoned her. Maybe we were more alike than poor little Mio had ever imagined.
Standing alone in Mio's spacious house, I was frightened when the eerie silence was suddenly shattered by the sound of the phone in the kitchen ringing. Answering it, the speaker identified herself as the mother of Michiko, the girl the twins were going away with. She seemed to be in a rush, and before I could say a word to her, she informed me that she didn't have the time to stop by the house and would just pick the girls up from the school on the way-thinking they were there for some kind of practice,-then hung up on me.
I frowned, wondering what I was supposed to do now. The girls were already on their way here, and I certainly didn't feel like watching them until their mother came home. I could hear them bounding through the front door already and grimaced.
"Aunt Mayu!" I heard a cheerful voice exclaim behind me. Forcing a smile onto my face, I embraced Kasumi-the older of the twins.
Right behind her was the younger, Natsumi, who regarded me with a sneer. "What are you doing here?" she demanded to know. "Didn't we move to get away from you?"
Is it any wonder I hated that brat?
As much as I hated to admit it, she reminded me of Mio a long time ago, before my accident. We still loved eachother back then, but Mio was the more outgoing and adventurous one, while I was more reserved and quiet. She was always getting upset with me, because I insisted on following her everywhere, but couldn't keep up. That meant she either had to slow down or run ahead, which would cause me to tell our parents, getting her in trouble. It was a no-win situation for her.
But I continued to love her, even when she despised me. Taken over by my memories, I started making a lunch for the girls, not really focusing on the task at all.
"You shouldn't say things like that!" I could hear my younger self saying in my head. I was probably upset with Mio for saying she wished she didn't have a sister-something she frequently said back then.
"It's the truth! You're such a pest!" Why was young Mio so cruel?
My fingers tightened around the handle of the knife I was using to chop vegetables for the sandwiches I was making, as I continued listening to the argument in my head.
"I am not!" How hurt I sound…
"You are! I wish I didn't even have a sister!"
Before I could stop myself, I was swinging the knife, slashing Mio's younger self on the side of her abdomen. She collapsed to the ground, her blood spilling onto the white tiles of the floor, seeping into the cracks. I could hear my own past self screaming in horror. She was such a brat, but I hated watching my sister in pain…
Poor Mio was dying, but it was taking too long. She was desperately crawling along the floor, trying to get away. That just wouldn't do at all. I didn't enjoy watching her suffer. I raised the knife and moved towards her, intent on finishing her off.
"No!" My younger self jumped between us, her arms out at her sides. How brave and selfless I was; willing to die for the sister who had just been insulting me moments ago. "Why are you doing this?!" She was crying.
Mio was always causing me to cry, wasn't she? Even her dying hurt me. I couldn't bear to watch it anymore.
With agility I didn't even know I possessed, I plunged the knife into the stomach of my past self and watched her crumple to the ground beside her sister, their blood joining together on the floor in a way they had never been able to do in life.
Turning away from the sordid scene, I cleaned the knife at the sink, then finished making the sandwiches. When I finished, I set them onto the table and went to find Natsumi and Kasumi, nearly tripping and killing myself on the way out of the kitchen.
Looking down to see what was responsible, I found Natsumi and Kasumi cuddled cutely together, in a pool of their own blood. Though Kasumi had died almost instantly from the stab wound in her abdomen, her sister was still alive. She was crying as she slowly bled to death, clinging helplessly to the corpse of her twin.
Smiling at the sweet scene, I retrieved the knife and knelt down beside the younger of the twins, careful not to get any blood on my new skirt. She looked up and me with fear and opened her mouth to try and say something, but never got the chance. Mio would always be forgiven for her treatment of me, but this girl was not my Mio. She didn't deserve to be forgiven.
Taking advantage of her open mouth, I grabbed her tongue and sliced it off. I watched her panic for a few seconds, then sent her to be with her sister forever-as it should be,-plunging the knife into her heart.
I looked down at what I had done with a blank gaze, then smiled lightly and shrugged.
"Oh, well. They're supposed to be in the mountains anyway, so it's not like Mio will miss them."