The Truth Hurts

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Fatal Frame II.

Author's Note: This story was inspired by 'Silent Hill: Shattered Memories'.

The old, white-haired doctor poured himself a drink as he looked over the case file for his newest patient, who was due to arrive any minute. They had only had a few sessions, but it was proving to be the most interesting case he'd ever handled since becoming a therapist. He was only the most recent in a string of doctors the patient had seen, all of whom had been unable to do anything and had labeled treatment impossible.

Dr. Tachibana looked at the photo that accompanied the case file. It was of a young girl-only in her early twenties, according to her chart. She had dark, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes with bags under them. Her complexion was as pale as the snow falling outside the office window, and while it was not shown in the picture, he knew her frame was small and thin. Overall, the image was that of a young woman that was unhealthy-emotionally and physically.

Her story was one heard often enough in his line of work. She had fallen into a deep depression after losing her twin sister seven years ago, when the two of them were only fifteen years of age. However, it was the particulars of the case that were unlike anything he had ever heard.

Seven years ago, the teenage Amakura sisters-Mio and Mayu-had gone to visit the area where they had lived in their childhood, which was due to be swallowed by a dam at the end of summer. They had gone alone, as their father had vanished in the area when they were both very young, their mother was ill and in the hospital, and their uncle-who had been taking care of them-was busy. They were supposed to return later that day, but they never did. It was theorized they might have missed their bus or decided to stay over, but after a few days, their uncle had become worried and alerted the authorities. Around a week after the girls had last been seen, one had been found unconscious. She was unable to tell them anything even after she had awakened.

Unable, or perhaps…unwilling…

The Minakami area, where the twins had gone, was well-known for its vast forest and the old, dilapidated village buried in its depths. It was quite easy to get lost there, and only a year prior to the sisters' visit, a young man involved in the dam project and his girlfriend had gone missing there, and despite an extensive search, were not found. There was talk of the pair being "spirited away" just as the inhabitants of that now-abandoned village had. Of course, there was evidence the villagers had actually fled the area after some kind of natural disaster had left the land and their homes devastated-not that that did anything to quell the rumor mill,-and it was eventually discovered that the two had eloped and were enjoying a honeymoon outside of the country. But since this was not as exciting as their disappearance, it was not widely reported, and few people knew about it.

Dr. Tachibana could see why such legends and rumors existed and thrived. His patient's tale alone was like something out of a movie or video game. Twin sisters disappear into the forest. Only one returns, and that girl is unable to cope with the loss of her sister and falls into a deep depression, shutting out everyone and everything. She blamed herself for what had happened. Her case file was a mess of papers, all regarding her and those connected with her. The guilt and sorrow Mio Amakura had felt, scribbled in red on an old, crumpled scrap of paper… Mayu Amakura's diary, which described her fear of being left behind by her sister one day… Newspaper articles detailing the deaths of the twin Kurosawa sisters only a month before the Amakura sisters had gone missing…

Even though no one else had been able to help this girl, he was determined not to give up on her. He could understand how she had felt better than anyone else. Many years ago, when he himself was only fifteen, his beloved twin brother had died in an accident. He had been told his brother couldn't play outside due to his weak constitution, but he was sick of always being cooped up inside and had convinced his sibling to play outside for a bit. The two had been playing Tag, and he'd run onto the narrow mountain path leading out of their village, ignoring his brother's pleas for him to slow down. His twin had always been such a crybaby. Then there had been a strange sound, followed by a scream, a rustling of leaves, and then an eerie silence. He had stopped and turned around, but his brother was nowhere to be seen. It was only when he peered over the edge of the path that he saw his brother's body, lying broken at the bottom…

Their younger sister had not understood what had happened, but his parents and the rest of their family had blamed him. Heck, he had blamed himself. And just like his patient, he had fallen into a near catatonic state. It wasn't until the deaths of his parents that he had finally snapped out of it. His sister, whose poor eyesight had finally given way to blindness in her teenage years, had relied on them for everything. With them gone, he was the only one who could take care of her.

The Amakura case had brought back a lot of painful memories, but he had attempted to use those to help his patient. He had told her his story and even shown her the photo of him with his brother and their younger sister, taken just before the accident. But she had just worked the story into her delusions, replacing him and his brother with her and her sister and even occasionally their old next-door neighbors, the Kurosawa twins.

Yae and Sae Kurosawa were another tragic case. They had been neighbors, classmates, and friends of the Amakura twins for years. In many ways, they were like mirror-images of Mio and Mayu. They were similar-looking, the same age, lived with a male relative-in this case, their father,-and shared a close relationship, with the younger sister, Sae, clinging to the older sister, Yae. Unfortunately, their story also shared a sad ending…

In junior high, Yae had started going out with one of her classmates, Ryozo Munakata. Sae was unhappy about this relationship, as she was left alone while her sister went off on dates. The two got closer and closer, until Yae wound up pregnant. Sae's diary showed she had been happy about this, as she believed their father would forbid Yae from ever seeing Ryozo again. Instead, the very opposite had happened. He had insisted that they marry, then had sent Yae away to stay with distant relatives, to ensure no shame would come to their family. Sae had been distraught at this, falling into a state of despair. In hopes to return her to normal, her father had agreed to let her visit her sister. But their reunion was nothing like what Sae had been hoping for. Yae was far too focused on her new husband and daughter to pay much attention to her sister, and Sae, having seen that her sister had gone on and started a new life without her-much earlier than she had feared-had made her emotional state worsen.

Though Mayu Amakura was the one who could truly understand how Sae was feeling, it was Mio who had stepped in to help the girl. She had said it was because Sae was their friend, and she also reminded her of Mayu.

But despite her efforts, Sae Kurosawa had taken her own life. She hung herself in the basement of her home. Yae was wracked with guilt upon hearing the news, and not long afterwards, her husband had found her hanging from a tree outside, having opted to take her life in the same way as her sister.

The good doctor shook his head, brought back to reality by the sound of his intercom buzzing. He pressed the button on it and was informed that his patient had arrived. Dr. Tachibana asked that she be sent in.

Moments later, the door opened, and the young woman from the photograph came walking in slowly, her eyes downcast.

"Nice to see you again, Miss Amakura." the doctor greeted. He gestured towards the couch. Please have a seat.

The girl did so, neither responding or looking up. In her arms, she clutched a doll. 'Akane', if he remembered correctly. She had told him that her mother had made the twin dolls-one for her and one for her sister. Her sister had always kept the doll close to her, and ever since the girl's disappearance, she had taken to doing the same. The doctor had noticed during their few sessions that his patient treated the small doll like an actual living person, talking to it and calling it by her sister's name. Even now, she was stroking its hair and whispering to it softly.

Dr. Tachibana looked at the items included among the papers on his desk. There was an old antique camera and a flashlight that their uncle had lent them for the trip...a long piece of red rope that appeared to have been cut at both ends-the rope Sae had used to kill herself… But what had currently caught his eye, was the poorly-made stuffed doll with long black hair that covered its eyes. It was dressed in a bluish kimono with fans imprinted on it, though the colors had long since faded. The doll was tattered and covered in dirt, and it gave off an unpleasant odor. Unlike the other items, it had been found buried in Minakami Village only recently. The dam project had been called off soon after the disappearance of the twins, due to the locals insisting this occurrence was a warning from the gods. Someone exploring in the area had made the discovery, thanks to the area where the doll had been buried being affected by being exposed to the weather for such a long time.

This doll was 'Azami', the twin to the Akane doll, though it had not been treated so kindly over the years. Dr. Tachibana picked it up and sat down in his chair opposite his patient. He showed her the doll, watching as her eyes widened, and asked her the same question he had asked at the beginning of all their sessions.

"What happened to your sister?"

The girl did not respond, instead clutching her doll tighter. But her face never left the one in his hands.

Dr. Tachibana sighed. "You know what the discovery of this doll means, don't you? I want you to tell me what happened all those years ago. What happened when you went to Minakami?"

The girl still said nothing, her mind drifting off as she stared at the tattered doll.

Calling my sister's name, I looked around frantically. There she was-running deeper into the forest. But where was she going? I did the only thing I could do and hurried after her, calling out for her to wait. My arm reached for her, but the minute my hand touched her shoulder, she jerked away, stopping as she turned to face me.

Struggling to regain my breath and hide my hurt, I asked her what was going on. She asked me if I knew about the legends of the area. Looking around, I realized we had wandered into the abandoned village, which meant we were pretty deep in the forest. Stating that it would start to get dark soon, and we might miss our bus, I had suggested we try and find our way back, unable to hide the fear in my voice. She had ignored me and continued speaking about the beliefs of that place.

"In this village, it was thought that twins were originally one being split in two. They thought of the firstborn twin as the younger, and the second as the elder. And every few years, they would perform a ceremony that would rejoin the twins' souls as one, so they could be together forever."

We had always talked about being together forever, but in my heart, I'd always thought it was nothing more than an impossible, childish dream. Eventually, we would grow up and go our separate ways.

"Do you know how they did it?" My sister's voice pulled me from my thoughts. She was approaching me with a strange look on her face. The thickness of the trees made the area look much darker than it was, and it made her expression seem unsettling. Shivering, I turned away.

"We really should start back-"

My words were cut off as a something was suddenly wrapped around my throat, digging into my flesh as it tightened. My hands flew to my neck, trying to pry it off. I could tell that it was a rope that was wound there, its ends being pulled tight and cutting off my air supply. My throat burned as I tried to breathe, tears welling in my eyes.

Why? I couldn't voice my question aloud, but still my sister answered.

"The older sister would kill the younger, strangling her to death. Her soul would become a butterfly, and she and her sister would be united as one forever. Isn't that what we've always wanted?"

Yes….but no-not like this. It hurts… Sister, please stop!

"Yae left Sae all alone-forgot about her and went on to live her own life. She was happy, even though they were apart, and it destroyed Sae. And in the end, her selfishness drove her sister to suicide. When she realized that, she took her own life. By dying, Sae was able to be with her sister again…forever."

The pain was unbearable. I could feel my consciousness slipping away, but still I tried to break free. With the last of my strength, I managed to elbow my sister in the stomach, causing her to double over in pain.

Untangling the rope from my neck, I fell to my knees, coughing and gasping for breath. I looked up just in time to see my sister jump at me.

We rolled around in the dirt, fighting. She always was the stronger one, and she managed to gain the upper hand, pulling me up by my hair, so that we were both on our knees. I saw her reaching for the rope again, and I lunged forward, catching her by surprise. My hands closed around her throat, forcing her to the ground and slowly squeezing the life out of her. She struggled for a while, just like I had, but eventually, her whole body went limp. When I pulled my hands away, all I could do was stare at the mark they had left behind on her throat.

A lone butterfly with blood-red wings fluttered down from above, landing on the mark. It lingered a moment, then took off and disappeared into the night sky.

"Mio?"

I looked up from the doll, my eyes truly open for the first time in seven years. My memory of that tragic day had finally come back. We had gone to the forest. It was really my sister's idea. Yes, we had lived there as kids, but that was it. But she kept insisting it was special and that we had to see it one last time. If only I'd realized something strange was going on...

My sister hadn't been the same after Sae's suicide. She was the one who found the body-the one who had cut it down and tried desperately to resuscitate her. Afterwards, she had held onto the rope. It wasn't the kind of thing a normal person would do. And she'd spent hours and hours locked away in our room.

Still, I never expected she would try and kill me. And I never expected I would end up killing her in order to save my own life. Afterwards, I had gone into shock and passed out. For seven years, I would remain trapped in my delusions, twisting fact and fiction and creating a new reality that was easier for my damaged psyche to handle.

"Mio, are you alright?"

I nod. He can see there's something different about me, and he repeats his earlier question.

"Would you like to tell me about what happened?"

I nod again, knowing the truth now. But what I tell him is the same story I've told everyone else. A tale of twins who became trapped in a village full of vengeful spirits and lingering regrets…Of an elder sister who desperately searches for her beloved younger sister, even as they both fall deeper under the influence of the ghosts around them…Of Mio killing Mayu and escaping alone, then falling into a catatonic state as a result of the guilt she felt…

For years, I had believed this tale woven from delusions and lies. Everyone had known it couldn't be true, and now, even I knew it was a lie. They knew there were no ghosts or possessions or rituals. And the discovery of the doll meant they had found the body that had been buried with it. I knew I would not get in trouble-I had been pronounced unstable long ago. They would never know the reasons behind my actions, but they would all know I was what they had always suspected-a murderer.

But they would never know that Mio was the one who died that night. They would never know my beloved older sister tried to kill me.

For as much as this lie hurts, nothing hurts worse than the truth.