Disclaimers: Everything from Fatal Frame belongs to Tecmo; Characters from Silent Hill belongs to Konami. Story idea belongs to me~

Chapter 1: Butterflies

Heather had finally defeated Claudia Wolf and her cults "God" in a terrible battle in Silent Hill. It was all over. She and Douglas were supposed to return home, a new home. Douglas decided he would care for Heather like family since they both had none. Everything they had gone through was enough to keep them connected like father and daughter; especially since Harry Mason, Heather's father, was killed by the Order.
Even though Silent Hill was not going to be a threat to Heather anymore, Douglas still wanted to leave the country for awhile. He hoped that Silent Hill would not call for Heather anymore. Instead, they decided to settle down in Japan in the Minakami region. Heather had claimed that she was not hiding anything anymore but Douglas eventually persuaded Heather to leave the country for just a few years; just to be safe.

They had finally settled in a nice town that was nearly surrounded by a vast forest that allowed sun to rain through the leaves and make the moss and grass sparkle. Their small house rested before the forest on the east side of the town. It had just enough room for a growing teenager and an adult to reside in. They did not live to far from town and the journey would be an easy bike ride or walk to and from. Douglas, however, kept the car. The town was quaint but had a nice school so that, hopefully, Heather could belong and get an education in. The school was smaller than she had seen before but it still held 500 students and more. It was built longer rather than built higher with only two stories. Heather did not mind walking long distances anymore, she was used to it.

The only thing that bothered Heather was the fact that none of her classmates called her by the name had originally wanted them to call her. Her real name, Cheryl. She had only made the fatal mistake of telling her new friend, Keiko, what her previous alias was before she had changed it back to 'Heather.' If she had not mentioned that in her small classroom, surrounded by at least twenty-three of her classmates on lunch break, then no one would have even known. Apparently, her entire class liked 'Heather' better than 'Cheryl' for reasons that were unknown to her. Even trying to correct her classmates failed, especially after their homeroom teacher caught on. It was only a matter of time before Cheryl no longer existed and only Heather remained. As much as if bothered Heather, she slowly got over it since Douglas took on the task of calling her 'Cheryl'.

Adapting to the Japanese style of schooling and teaching, along with their language was incredibly difficult to Heather since she had never thought of learning Japanese before. It did not matter as much as Heather originally thought since her friends all helped translate their notes for her to understand better. Keiko told Heather that eventually she would pick up on their language after being in school with them for a long while. Heather only nodded at Keiko's advice and random facts. Eventually, in class, Heather was caught up on the upcoming break that the school usually has during this time. She felt incredibly relieved that she would not have to suffer any longer.

The two week long break was surprising to Heather since she had originally thought that their breaks would not be as long as this one was. Heather shrugged it off. She was glad since she was planning on exploring the forest area where the ruins of the dam construction rest. Keiko had explained to her, a few weeks back, that the Minakima region was previously getting ready to evacuate so that a dam could be built. Oddly, some of the construction workers had disappeared while on break or arriving to work during the weeks of the dam's construction. Complaints from the surviving workers spoke of seeing movement the in trees around them or hearing unearthly whispers whenever they went to take a break. Their superstitious complaints were often overlooked. The government even tried their best to ignore the situation but after ten more disappearances, the construction of the dam was cancelled.

All that exists now is the ruins. Even though the dam building ended just a year ago, the remains are considered to be dangerously unstable. Keiko warned Heather about the ruins being stable but Heather just waved it away. She knew it was dangerous but Heather always had that need to explore unusual things. But it is not like monsters are going to jump out and attack her while she explores the dam ruins. This was reality and reality does not have those kinds of creatures on the prowl.

Keiko pressed her lips together in a thin line. "You're crazy, ya know?" Her accent was thick as she spoke English to Heather. "I've only been out there once. It was with my older brothers but it was still creepy."

Heather tilted her head at Keiko's words. Her eyes flashed with confusion. It was the first day of break and she and Keiko had gotten together at a café in town. They previously had been talking about the dam ruins since the last day of classes before break. It seemed today would be the day that Keiko would have decided to voice her concerns and opinions about Heather's curiosity of the ruins. As much as Heather enjoys talking with her friend, she sometimes wishes that Keiko would stop waiting till the day before the adventure to voice her concerns.

Keiko held her hands up as she re-worded her sentence. "What I meant was that it wasn't so much as creepy itself but the area in which it was located had an odd sense to it."

"An odd sense?" Asked Heather, still not getting it.

"It's hard to explain but it felt like something wasn't right in the woods."

"I thought we were talking about the dam ruins?" Questioned Heather, looking even more confused.

Keiko's face dropped and she stared at her friend. "I dunno anymore. Just shouldn't go out there by yourself. Take mister Cartland with you."

"Oh come on, he won't let me go. The moment I mention 'ruins' he'll say no!" Exclaimed Heather.

Keiko tapped her chin for a moment before slipping her long, straight hair over her shoulder. "Well…" She trailed as if thinking whether or not she should continue what she was going to say.

"Well what?" Asked Heather. It was typical that Keiko would try to hold back information from Heather even though she knew Heather hates it when people hide things from her.

Keiko eyed Heather warily before continuing. "Well…I really don't want you to go there alone…so…uh…there's a girl in our school who has like been out there. She used to live here when she was younger. She had a twin…" She leaned in close to Heather and Heather moved in as well. "But her twin disappeared in the forest. I guess she knows that area the best though." Keiko leaned back into her seat and crossed her arms.

"Ahhh," Heather got the hint. "So you want me to ask that girl if she'll accompany me to the dam?"

Keiko nodded. "It's not the best idea…and I don't exactly know if she will agree to go with you…"

"What's her name?"

"Mio Amakura. Class 3-B. She's younger than us but I don't think it'll matter much." Answered Keiko.

Heather pushed herself out of the café chair, smiling. "Thanks, Keiko. Now I just need an address or a place she is seen or known to visit or pass frequently."

Keiko remained seated. She was quiet for a moment before looking up at her blonde-headed friend. "Just please be careful, alright?"

Heather nodded. Seeming satisfied with Heather's small agreement, Keiko pulls out a pad of paper and a pen from out of her pink shoulder purse. She then began to write down the places that Heather asked for. Heather waited patiently as she adjusted her red orange turtle neck and realigned her cream colored jacket vest. After a brief moment, Keiko flicks the piece of paper to Heather in which she gratefully takes and pockets.

"Well, I'll be off. Have a good rest of the day, Keiko." Smiled Heather.

Keiko nodded and then bowed her head slightly. Heather returned the gesture before walking out of the café.

"Hey, I just wanted to call and let you know that I'm hanging out with a new friend today."

"Alright, I'm glad you're making more friends and not scaring them away. Just try to be back before sundown, please."

"What if we decide to have a sleepover?"

"Aren't you a bit old for sleepovers? And why would you spend the night at a recently new friend's house? Seems rather odd…"

"Oh come on, don't be like that. I swear I'm telling the truth."

"Alright, alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks! Bye!" Heather snapped her cell phone close. She was glad that Douglas did not pry as much this time.

For the first month since they arrived in Minakami, Douglas asked a lot of questions, kept tabs and had a sort of distrust with Heather. Although, it only bothered Heather until their fight when he told her he was just worried and he did not want anything bad to happen to her. It became understandable to Heather since she figured Douglas must see her as his daughter. Now it was easier for Heather to do things with her friends or by herself. Douglas had toned down on questioning her all the time. It just took awhile for him to adjust to his new surroundings.

Although, Heather did feel kind of bad for lying to Douglas but it was only half lying since she had not actually met and talked to Mio yet. In fact, one of the places that Keiko scribbled down as Mio's probable hang out spot was at the Boulder Toad Rock that was located in one of the clearings of the forest. The rock was large and at least six teenagers could sit on it at once. It even looked like a toad due to its moss-covered top. That was where Heather was, leaning up against the boulder with her arms crossed. She looked up at the sky and then to her pocket watch. She still had nine hours or so to explore before it got dark out. Truthfully, though, Heather wanted to stay out later than sundown to wait and see if she can hear what those dam construction workers heard.

Heather sighed and looked around. Still no sign of Mio. Even though Heather had no idea what Mio looked like, she figured that it would be best to just ask anyone who comes by if they are the girl she is looking for. Heather closed her eyes and waited. She took in the sounds and smells of the nature surrounding her. She figured this open area was one of the least popular since it was so small. There was a low breeze that slightly rustled Heather's short dirty blonde hair. Her natural brunette hair color was starting to show through the dyed blonde.

As she waited, listened to her surroundings. It was something she had learned to do in the mysterious town of Silent Hill. Although, this was not Silent Hill but everything around her was rather quiet. The rustling of dried leaves and small snaps from sticks where small critters were moving about was pretty much all Heather heard. Not that those sounds were a bad thing but it was rather peaceful. After a few moments of peacefulness, an odd flutter of wings broke through the peace. Heather snapped her eyes open in response before whipping her head to her right. She saw it, even if it was just for a brief millisecond, she saw something glowing red disappear behind a thick tree just a few feet away from her. Heather eyes the area suspiciously and pushes off the mossy boulder to go investigate. However, she stops and brings her head to look straight ahead. Just across from Heather stood a young girl about sixteen years old with brown hair that nearly touches her shoulders. The girl wore a brown short-sleeve school shirt with a red bow that was shaped into a butterfly and a white skirt over a pair of black leggings that look like pants. She wore black shoes over white socks.

The girl eyed Heather warily. "Excuse me," she started in Japanese, "But um, who are you?"

Heather gaped and tried to translate what the girl said. However, she only got the first part and the rest she gave up on translating. It was still too early in her move for her to fully understand and translate the Japanese language. Heather resigned to just introducing herself, hoping that it was what the girl asked.

"Uh, I'm Cheryl Mason. I just moved here a couple of months ago." Heather smiled. She hoped that this girl did not know about her other name like everyone else. She would at least like it if someone other than Douglas called her by Cheryl.

The girl's face lit up a bit. Heather noticed that look as it was the face that everyone had made when they realized that she can only speak English. She prayed that the girl knew English so that this conversation would not be as awkward as it was starting out. Luckily for Heather the girl began to speak in English.

"Oh, you're Heather! You're a year ahead of me. I'm Mio Amakura." The girl responded with a smile.

So much for Heather being known as 'Cheryl' in this town. Fortunately this was the girl Heather was looking for. Heather grinned and walked up to Mio.

"It's nice to meet you Mio. Hey I was wondering, ya know, about those ruins. My friend Keiko doesn't want to visit the dam ruins with me and I thought it would be nice if you went with me. I'm not really afraid of anything anymore and I've heard that you know your way around the forest and whatnot." Explained Heather, humming a few words.

Mio's face died a little and she began to twist a hole into the dirt with her right shoe as Heather talked. "I don't know…" She looked down at her shoes.

"I just want to see the ruins. Nothing else. I promise!" Begged Heather with a desperate smiled.

Mio looked up into Heather's face. Her eyes carefully began to read Heather's as if she was travelling through her soul. Mio finally stepped back after a few minutes and made a reluctant sigh.

"Just the ruins." She mumbled.

"Awesome! Wait, 'just the ruins'? Are you saying there's something else in these woods?" Questioned Heather.

Mio looked startled and began to wave her hands in front of her, frantically. "No, no! That's not what I meant at all!" She looked panicked.

Heather laughed. "Don't worry! I just want to see the dam ruins."

Mio calmed down, giggled and then nodded. "We should go now; before it gets dark." Mio began to walk down a small and nearly covered path that lead into the woods.

Heather followed behind but stopped to look behind the thick tree where she saw the red disappear behind. There was not anything there which left Heather confused but she decided to shake off the odd feeling she was having. Mio was up head and called to Heather telling her to hurry up. Heather nodded and sped up her walking pace till she reached Mio. They still had a long hike ahead to get to the ruins of the dam. While Mio was silent for most of the trip, Heather could not help but wonder about what the girl had meant by 'just the ruins.'