Chapter Text
Mio wakes slowly to the sound of steady, electronic beeping.
Her head aches. Her eyelids are so heavy, so hard to open. She has no idea where she is or how she got here. All she knows is something vital is missing.
No. Not missing.
It was taken from her.
Violently ripped away. Torn red wings fluttering against a black sky...
Where...? Where is...?
Here.
I'm here.
Gingerly sitting up, weak and disoriented, she looks around, taking in her surroundings and trying to make sense of them. She's all alone in what appears to be a hospital room, surrounded by monitors and hooked to a mess of wires. The steady beeping that woke her appears to be her own heartbeat, displayed on a screen.
Proof of life. One life. One heartbeat.
Just one.
Why...?
As she watches the glowing red line fluttering across the screen, the memories slowly begin to trickle in. The rhythm starts to build, sharply increasing in tempo.
Mayu.
Where is Mayu?
She had just been with her. They had just been together. Somewhere dark. Somewhere scary. Somewhere unfathomably dangerous. Where is she now? Is she all alone too?
She has to find her.
Fighting through the mess of wires, Mio clumsily pushes herself from the hospital bed. The moment her bare feet touch the cold linoleum, she starts scanning for an exit, ready to start running. She doesn't know where yet, but she needs to find Mayu. Mayu needs her. They're supposed to be together, always. They promised–
One of the wires catches, sending a sharp pain shooting up her arm. A whimper tears past her lips.
She looks back and down, trying to find the source. A wave of panic swells inside of her. It's not a wire. It's a tube. It's running straight into her arm.
In the back of her mind, she knows exactly what it is. She's seen them plenty of times with her mother in her revolving stays at the hospital. She knows that it's there to help her, but it's also currently holding her back. It's scary. She wants it gone. She wants it gone right now.
She starts to tug. The pain flares. Her eyes fill with tears. She sobs but keeps tugging–
Stop!
It's hurting you!
She stops, gritting her teeth in pain and frustration. She still wants it gone. She can't stay here. She's alone. She's not supposed to be alone, she has to find–
Okay... pull off the tape then. There’s a needle attached to the end, remember?
Pull carefully, Mio…
Please don't hurt yourself.
Tearing off the tape securing the tube to her arm, she slowly, gently, pulls the needle out, looking away and whimpering the entire time. The sight of the metal leaving her skin makes her stomach churn and her vision blur, but she perseveres.
Once it's out, a small stream of blood rolls down her arm. She paws it away, staining her hand, and then weakly detaches herself from the remaining wires too, ignoring the beeping alarms when the machines can no longer detect her pulse. Vaguely, she acknowledges that she's only wearing a thin hospital gown, but she can't stop to look for her clothes. She's starting to remember. She has to go back.
Back to the forest. Back to the darkness. The water is coming. If she doesn't go back, then...
"Hey! Wait!"
As she steps out of the hospital room, a loud voice startles her, making her jump and cower. Faceless people in uniform, first one, then two, and then several. They were likely alerted by the alarms behind her. Now, they're all moving towards her, holding out their hands, trying to appear nonthreatening, but slowly closing in as if she's a small, wounded animal in need of capture.
Her vision is flickering, flashing between the bright sterile lights of the hospital hallway and endless darkness and bloodstains, disorienting her further. All she sees is villagers, torches, and weapons. All she hears is chanting and the crashing of ceremonial bells, steadily growing louder.
She looks between them frantically and then bolts past, hearing them call after her as she takes off in a random direction but refusing to stop. She hears a loud commotion behind her as she runs, escaping down unfamiliar hallways, all twisting and turning.
Her palms are starting to burn. It feels as if they've been branded, scarred by a pulse. The pulse is growing weaker, fading beneath her fingertips–
No!
Mayu!
Wait! They're trying to help you!
Finally, she catches sight of a large door, beyond which must lie her freedom. She darts towards it, blinded by tears and driven by desperation. She nearly makes it out too.
Movement catches her eye, running in sync alongside her.
It's familiar, it's identical, it must be–
Mayu!
Mio skids to a halt, turning towards it and reaching out. Her palms slam against solid glass. She blinks, panting heavily, trying to make sense of what she's seeing. It's her, it's Mayu, it has to be. The image is dim and blurry through her tears, but she's there, right there on the other side–
No. That's not me.
Mio, that's...
That's you.
Mio lets out another raw whimper. She scrubs at her eyes, trying to clear her vision. One palm remains flat against the glass, pressing as if she can reach through and pull Mayu back to her.
Then her eyes track downwards, towards a strange red mark branded across the image, right in front of its throat.
It's in the shape of a butterfly.
It all finally comes flooding back.
Crimson butterflies. The ritual. The abyss. Her hands... they...
She didn't mean to. She didn't want to.
Why...?
No. No, please. Come back.
Don't leave me behind.
Her hands fold around her throat. She doubles over, fighting back a wail of agony.
Mio!
Mio, it's not your fault!
"Mio!"
Strong arms wind around her, scooping her off her feet. The panic swells, inundating her senses. She smells death and decay again, feels claws digging into her skin, sees a mangled, emaciated shadow draped with dangling ropes–
Kusabi!
No, look, it's–!
Please don't hurt me anymore!
Mio fights back, thrashing in his grasp, trying to break free. Her nails dig into his shoulder, nearly drawing blood as she tries to push him away. It doesn't register that her captor is solid and warm until–
"Mio!" The shadow shifts her in his arms, setting her back down so that she can see him but not letting go. The darkness slowly melts away. The sterile white lights return, bringing her back to the hospital. He cups her face in gentle hands, guiding her to look at him. "It's me! It's just me."
It's okay. It's just Uncle Kei.
"I'm here now." Kei brushes her hair out of her tear- and terror-clouded eyes, looking so painfully contrite. He's being so careful with her, as if she's something delicate, something terribly fragile. As if he's afraid she might break. "I'm sorry. I only stepped out for a moment... I shouldn't have left you alone."
Mio whimpers when her mind finally allows her to recognize who it is. Alone. The word rings painfully in her head.
She's all alone now.
All of the fight abandons her. She wobbles and then collapses in his arms. A sob tears its way from her chest excruciatingly. Then, she can't stop.
It hurts. She can't breathe. She doesn't want to anymore.
She's sorry. She's so sorry.
Please keep breathing.
Please don't give up.
Kei pulls her back against him, cradling her to his chest. Then, gingerly, so gingerly, he lifts her. Guided by somber hospital staff, he carries her back to her room, whispering solemn promises that from this moment on, he'll stay.
***
Mio is finally home.
No more IV, no more sedatives, no more round-the-clock monitoring.
The silence in the house is suffocating.
She's jumping and flinching at every sound. She's never been alone like this. Kei is still around, and her mother will come home when she's in remission, but the place she once considered home now feels so empty and broken. It doesn't feel safe anymore. It feels haunted.
She's been avoiding mirrors, ducking past every reflective surface in the house. Every time she sees herself, she's reminded again– it's not Mayu looking back at her. It's just her. The final Remaining. The mark branded into her throat is proof, her badge of anguish and shame.
She can feel it when she grazes her fingers over her neck, just barely distinct from the rest of her skin. A twisted bruise in the shape of a butterfly. A crimson butterfly. Like crossed thumbs pressing down, squeezing around–
Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it burns. It's painful enough to wake her out of her perpetually fitful slumber, painful enough to make her whimper and cry. She's not actually sure if it's the mark itself that still hurts anymore or if it's possibly just the vacant and violent memories from when it appeared– of what happened– bringing back the agony to torment her.
It doesn't feel like a normal scar. It feels like a curse.
Eventually, she can't restrain the need any longer. She has to face her fears. She has to look. It's not curiosity she feels. But she needs to know. She needs to understand.
Approaching tentatively, she stares at the ground until she stands directly in front of the mirror. Taking deep, shaking breaths, she squeezes her eyes shut over tears before finally lifting her gaze to meet her dreaded reflection. The memories flicker in her mind as she finally takes herself in: the gaping abyss, the stone beneath her knees, the pulse pounding beneath her palms, growing weaker, fainter, fading into nothing...
A glowing crimson butterfly fluttering away, leaving her all alone.
She whimpers, squeezing her eyes shut again as the tears roll down her face. She tries to steady herself, pressing her burning palms to the cool glass. After a moment, she tries again. Avoiding her own gaze but meeting her reflection, she lets her fingers trace over the mark again, trying to be gentle but aching to claw at it, to get it out from beneath her skin, to make it go away.
Deep crimson butterfly.
Mayu had told her...
She said the ritual would make them one. Mio didn't want to become one. She just wanted her sister.
But if the ritual succeeded and the curse was broken, then where... where is...?
Drawing forth her raw and ruined voice for the first time in what feels like an eternity, she whispers hoarsely to the aching and endless silence.
"Are... are you here? Why can't I...?" Gritting her teeth, she shakes her head, her fingers digging into the butterfly despite her efforts. "I can't feel you."
I'm here. Still here.
We promised.
Mio chokes down a sob, persevering through her tightening throat. "I– I don't want to do this without you. I don't want to do this alone. I'm really scared..."
I'm sorry. So sorry. Sae made me, she–
I didn't want this. I never wanted this.
Why can't you hear me...?
They were supposed to be together. Always. What happened? The memories always come back to her as if she was out of her own body when she did it, as if she had no control over her actions. Mayu wasn't acting like herself either. It was as if they were both possessed.
But she said... she promised...
So, why...?
I can't... I can't stay awake. I'm so tired. But I am here. I'm always right here.
Please be kind to yourself.
Promise me... you'll be kind…
Mio slowly sinks to her knees. Both hands fold around her throat. The sob she had been fighting finally escapes. The sound slips out from beneath her clenched fingers.
She dissolves fully into broken tears.
It's her fault. It's all her fault.
***
Creeping down the hallway one early morning, Mio carefully makes her way towards the kitchen.
She woke from her restless sleep to the sound of an unfamiliar voice mingling with her uncle's. Their voices are low, as if they don't want to disturb her, but the unfamiliar presence was enough to do so anyway. Who is in their house? A colleague of her uncle's? A friend? Why are they here? She's not sure why she cares or if she truly wants to know, but she abandoned the solitude of her room to find out.
They seem to be lost in conversation. They're discussing her, of all things; she can't make out everything they're saying yet, but she's heard her own name several times.
She is not pleased.
As she draws closer, hiding in the shadows, her uncle's words reach her ears first.
"... used to be the more lively and outgoing of the two. Her sister was always more docile and withdrawn. They were close. Really close. Completely inseparable. Now, she's barely spoken a word since she was found out there, all alone in the forest. She's a really good kid. I'd do anything to help her through this..."
Peeking just barely out from around the corner and into the kitchen, her gaze finds the back of her uncle's head. He's facing away from her towards who she can safely assume is the owner of the unfamiliar voice. The man himself is just as unfamiliar. He looks about her uncle's age, maybe a little younger, with kind eyes and a calm, patient demeanor.
Still, Mio can't help but be suspicious.
The man seems to sense her somehow. Maybe she made a slight movement or maybe he's just particularly astute. He turns towards her, meeting her gaze and greeting her with a soft smile. The sudden attention, however, makes her jolt. She draws back behind the threshold even further, silently glaring back.
Noticing his friend reacting, Kei finally turns too. He lights up when he sees her, oblivious to her already mounting irritation.
"Mio, hey!" He speaks softly but excitedly, happy to see her out of her room for a change. It's a first without hours of careful coaxing prior. Still, he treats her like a wounded animal, ready to bolt at any wrong move– an expectation that isn't entirely unfair, she supposes. He takes a few calculated and slow steps towards her, holding out his hands in an intentionally innocuous manner. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is my friend, Yuu–"
Mio shies away, vehemently shaking her head. Her eyes flicker between the two, between her uncle and his friend. She refuses to come closer. There's something about this man that has her on edge. He's not dangerous, she can tell, but there's something about him, something more than what lies on the surface.
It feels as if he can sense the impossible too.
Mio, it's okay...
He seems gentle.
Kei falls still and sighs. He offers a small, understanding smile but doesn't move any closer. "It's okay. You don't have to come out if you don't want to. Yuu is a good friend of mine. He's going to stay with you today while I take care of something really important."
Mio freezes up, holding her breath. A wave of panic starts to swell inside her.
He's... he's going to leave her? He's going to leave her all alone with this stranger? After he promised he'd stay?
"Hey, easy, it's okay," Kei soothes, stepping just a little closer again. Mio takes a step back in the opposite direction. "I won't be gone long, only a few hours. And as soon as I'm finished, I'll come right back. I can't take you with me, but I wanted to make sure you weren't left all alone–"
Mio lets out a sharp growl, expressing her furious contempt before darting off. She refuses to listen to anything else he has to say. He's leaving her behind. With a babysitter, no less. He doesn't care that he's leaving her all alone; he's just trying to keep her from running back there again.
The door to her room shuts with a resounding slam– it feels as if it shakes the entire house. In a way, it's satisfying, but the feeling is cold and comfortless. She slumps to the floor against it. Despite her best efforts at trying to cling to her frustration, it melts away, revealing what's truly hidden beneath.
He's leaving her.
He promised he wouldn't.
She's going to be all alone again, left behind with nothing but a total stranger.
She whimpers, clutching at her throat, before dissolving into tears.
Oh, Mio…
She hides in her room the whole rest of the morning. She spends her time alternating between lying despondently on her bed, sitting on the floor, curled in the most secluded corner, and staring apprehensively out her window, pacing in agitation. She frequently catches herself pawing at the mark on her throat. She's not always conscious that she's doing it anymore; not until she looks down and finds blood beneath her fingernails. She doesn't know how to stop.
Her thoughts are so loud, horrible memories and agonizing regrets, all trying to drown her, as they do almost every day anymore. Except now, she doesn't even have her uncle to face them with. She could call her mother, but her mother is so fragile; the sickness is leaving her frail, and the grief of losing both her husband and her eldest daughter is crushing enough. Mio can't add her own. She's certain her mother wouldn't survive it.
She's all alone.
Yuu checks on her a few times, knocking and quietly calling her name. When she refuses to answer, he sighs before politely peeking in, making sure she hasn't slipped out. He's respectful enough, but her uncle must have informed him of her current penchant for running. So, at her uncle's request, he makes sure.
She scowls at him each time, eyeing him like an intruder and drawing away, sometimes physically and sometimes merely deeper into herself. She just wants to be forgotten.
Eventually, though, she starts to get hungry.
She should just ignore the hunger pangs, she tells herself. The house isn't safe anymore– especially not with Kei abandoning her. She'd have to face that man to get back to the kitchen. She hasn't been eating much lately anyway. She doesn't want to eat.
She doesn't think she deserves to.
Hey... stop.
You deserve to eat.
Despite her self-loathing, it feels like there's something deep inside that is encouraging her– a soft warmth, a small push, both trying to dissuade her from acting so cruel towards herself. She doesn't want to listen to it. It feels foreign and out of place, in perfect opposition to how the rest of her is feeling. She doesn't deserve softness or warmth.
But she's really hungry.
She chokes down a sob of frustration. Scrubbing angrily at her tears, she rises to her feet.
That piece inside of her, whatever it is… it's enough to get her begrudgingly moving.
Sneaking back down, she keeps her senses sharp, trying to locate where he is in the house. To her dismay and ongoing frustration, she finds he's still in the kitchen. He's leaning against the counter and reading a book, stirring a pot on the stove full of something that's steadily simmering.
It smells really good. Despite her reservations, it draws her a little closer.
As if somehow sensing her again, Yuu notices her presence immediately. He turns towards her with a soft smile. "Hi, Mio. It's good to see you. You must be hungry."
She freezes, peering back at him from the kitchen threshold, still nearly hiding herself behind the wall. She can't move. She can neither push forward nor retreat. Her body wants to run, but that warm piece of her is still gently pushing, pleading with her to stay and eat.
Inexplicably, she feels like she'll let it down again if she turns and flees. For some reason, the mere notion makes her want to cry.
So, she remains frozen, shaking, hiding, and staring back at the stranger, her uncle's friend, as he waits for an answer. He remains calm and patient with her the whole time.
Finally, she works up enough nerve to peek out a little further, revealing a little more of herself from behind the threshold. His soft smile falls to a concerned frown. His eyes are locked on her neck.
"Hey... you're bleeding. It's alright, let me help–"
He takes one single step closer.
It's too much.
The panic immediately overwhelms her.
Before she even knows what she's doing, she's blindly flinging several objects off the nearest shelf at him before tearing back through the house towards her room. She can't think. She can't breathe. She has to get out of here. She has to go back. She has to find Mayu!
Mio, wait, don't run!
There's nothing back there for you!
You... you know that...
Mio's frantic gaze flickers around her room before locking on the window. Her bloodied fingertips fumble with the latch in her scrambling haste. Finally, she's able to pull it open. Slipping out, she jumps off the sill without stopping to think it through.
It's a bit of a drop to reach the ground. She lands awkwardly on her knee. She whimpers when a sharp pain shoots up through it.
Her memories are dark and convoluted, but they paint a clear picture of what happened– of what she did. The mark on her throat seems to prove the harrowing reality. Still, she needs to know. She needs to make sure. What if her memories are wrong? What if Mayu is still out there, waiting for her to come find her? What if she accidentally left her behind again?
She has to go back!
Pushing herself back to her feet, limping a bit, she steadies herself, ready to start running. She doesn't make it far. The moment she rounds the corner of the house, she collides with a warm body and is immediately scooped off her feet. She flails and fights, trying to break free to no avail.
"Mio!"
A familiar voice pierces through the panic, but she doesn't stop right away– she can't.
"Mio, it's okay, it's me!"
Mio, breathe!
It's okay, look!
Mio falls still, panting and exhausted. Finally looking up, she finds her uncle staring back down at her worriedly. She whimpers weakly before falling limp against him. He shifts her in his arms and then carries her back inside, hushing her softly all along the way.
"It's okay. I'm home now," Kei whispers remorsefully as they step back in through the foyer. Footsteps approach from down the hall. Mio turns away from the sound, squirming in his arms and refusing to look at their guest as he joins them. Yuu is likely returning from following her to her room after she tried to bolt.
Kei greets his friend with a grateful smile. Then, as he takes in the scattered objects lying strewn across the floor near the kitchen, he frowns; it's obvious that they'd all been thrown from their proper places at a high velocity. It doesn't take him long to piece together what happened.
He turns his saddened gaze back to his friend. "You okay?"
He doesn't make excuses or apologize on her behalf for her actions, lost in her grief. He's not ashamed of her. He just holds her close and checks on his friend.
"Of course." Yuu's voice is still gentle and unperturbed; he even sounds like he's smiling softly again, as if he understands completely without any sort of offense. "It was my fault anyway. I'm the one who spooked her."
Mio can't help but huff.
Clutching a little harder at her uncle's jacket, she glares at the front door behind them. He didn't "spook" her. He's not scary; not like the other things she's seen anyway. She's not even sure why she reacted so violently now.
She can feel their eyes on her, watching her sympathetically. She stubbornly ignores them both.
"Lunch should be ready soon," Yuu continues, leaning against the kitchen threshold. Then, more quietly and mostly just to her uncle, he mutters, "She's hungry..."
Mio finally turns, whipping her head towards him to scowl at him from her uncle's arms.
Why can't he just mind his own business?
Why can't he leave her alone?
Be nice.
He's just trying to help...
Yuu meets her fierce glare with another gentle smile, a smile Kei mirrors as he nods, still deeply appreciative.
While Yuu retreats back into the kitchen to finish cooking, Kei sits them down on the couch. A first aid kit– left out from the last time she left herself bleeding– waits close by as they settle.
She fights him at first, batting at his hands. Folding her own around the mark, she hides it, ashamed.
Slowly, he coaxes her into letting him tend to it.
He knows better than to try and cover it– even the slightest pressure around the area sends her into terrified meltdowns, unable to keep the memories at bay until the weight, however slight, is removed. He’s very patient with her. She still squirms and whines, fighting off tears and the urge to run as he cleans it, but he never berates or derides her for struggling and fighting him with what should be a simple and effortless task. He always calmly pauses and waits when she paws his hand away or starts to breathe a little too fast, as if the panic is going to overwhelm her all over again.
It's not a perfect process; it always takes time. The flow of blood has to be wiped away in gentle, featherlight swipes– never scrubbed or pressed down upon to stem. He knows she hates it. When her neck is cleaned, he gently cleans off her fingertips too, gingerly removing the evidence of the wounds they inflicted upon her– for as long as she'll tolerate it. Getting the red out from under her nails is often a painstaking challenge, one she rarely remains patient through.
Once they're finished, she's always exhausted and sniffling, drained from the small act of care. Seeing all of the fight has finally left her, he typically encourages her to rest, reminding her that he'll be right there when she wakes. This time, he merely lets her lean her head tiredly against his shoulder as the savory smell from the kitchen permeates the entire house.
When lunch is ready at last, keeping his distance, Yuu gathers his belongings and starts to leave. He's not staying to eat. Kei retrieves a plate for Mio, encouraging her to give it a try, before following to see him off. While they talk briefly on the front stoop, in sight but out of hearing range, Mio begrudgingly tries the neatly prepared meal.
To her surprise, the food is tasty. It's obvious that it was crafted with a lot of care.
Good, Mio, that's good.
You need to eat...
It's a familiar dish, something her father used to make for them when they were little, back when he was still around. Vaguely, she wonders where Yuu learned the recipe.
Maybe his family used to make it for him too.
Kei doesn't stay outside terribly long; he returns shortly after bidding his friend goodbye, smiling in relief when he sees she's already cleaned her plate. She pouts at him and looks away. Pulling her knees to her chest, she makes herself very small in the corner of the couch.
Approaching her slowly, he kneels down in front of her, drawing back her grumpy gaze. When he remains quiet for a long moment, stirring her curiosity, she wonders if he's waiting for an apology; she truly does feel guilty for how she treated his friend. She really didn't mean to.
He still doesn't seem angry, though. Honestly, he just seems drained.
"I found something for you..." He finally whispers, swallowing roughly. His demeanor has fallen, returning to something sad.
Mio blinks, her annoyance with him swiftly shifting to worry, then to unease. There are tears building in his eyes– just the sight sends her heart pounding with dread. She hadn't noticed before, but he's got something clutched loosely in his palm, as if whatever he's holding is a great burden to carry. He seems hesitant to show her what it is, as if he's worried that it might send her spiraling.
Fed up with his uncertainty, she finally lets out a small impatient growl, her eyes flickering from his sorrowful gaze to his burdened hand. It's enough to shake him out of his reservations.
Letting out a shaking sigh, he reluctantly opens his palm.
Hey, that's–!
Mio gasps. Her fingers instantly close around the object before drawing it back and holding it tightly to her heart. She stares at her uncle, furious and betrayed but devastated.
She knows. She knows exactly where he's been.
He went there. He went there without her!
But he didn't... he didn't find…
She tries to cling to her fury again. It feels safer, less desperate to drag her down and drown her. She can't hold on. It quickly slips through her grasp.
All that remains is despair.
Her panicked breaths devolve into agonized whimpers. She starts to brokenly sob, clinging to her sister's charm instead.
It's all she has left.
Mio...
I said I'd forgive you whatever happened. I swear I still do.
My charm is yours now. I know you'll take good care of it. Please let it remind you that I'm always here with you wherever you go.
I'm still right here. Always.
***
According to the officials at Mio's high school, bereavement only lasts seven days.
Mio strongly disagrees.
So do her mother and her uncle. The pain of loss never seems to end.
Regardless, it was insisted upon that she go back– time apparently stands still for no one.
Mio strongly disagrees about that too.
She saw an entire village frozen in time, forced to suffer the same eternal night for years and years and years. Perhaps time only stands still for the dead, though she's not so sure what's left of her life could be considered living anymore.
Her uncle was able to convince the powers that be that she needed more time for her recovery, but eventually, he could push no further. She had to go back to school. Her homeroom teacher has been keeping a close eye on her– likely to make sure she doesn't try to run.
She hasn't tried since Kei came home with Mayu's charm, but the concern apparently still lingers.
Thankfully, she's been permitted to do her classwork mostly on her own. She's barely said anything to anyone since her return.
Consequently, the day passes in a blur.
She walks the halls to each of her classes alone, keeping to herself. She nearly makes it through without incident. The final bell is only a half an hour at most from ringing.
Then it all finally catches up with her.
Her teacher stepped out for a mere moment. Her peers took the opportunity. They quickly closed in on her.
Now, Kei is arguing with her principal, defending her valiantly.
The principal wants her suspended; to his knowledge, Mio struck first. Kei points out that she fought back in an unfair fight against multiple students, many of whom were much bigger than her– several of whom are already on record for tormenting her and her sister in the past. He demands to know why nothing was done prior to her finally needing to defend herself. The principal falls sheepishly silent, as if at a loss for an answer.
Mio doesn't care either way.
The newspaper published Mayu's disappearance.
Her bullies called her a freak, selfish and cold-hearted. Her sin? Surviving.
But she didn't ask to survive. She was never given the choice. If she had been, she would have chosen differently, she would still be with–
Stop. Please stop. You have to survive.
I want you to survive.
"She probably left her sister to die on purpose," they sneered and snickered behind her back, knowing she could hear every word. "Mayu was weak, just like their mother. It's no wonder she wanted to get rid of her. She was nothing but deadweight."
Mio vaguely remembers her vision going white. Then her fist connected with the closest of her tormentors' noses.
She kept swinging.
The next thing she knew she was on the ground, dizzy and bleeding profusely. As soon as the fight began, it was over. The details are a little fuzzy, but she remembers looking up and seeing her attackers suddenly scattering as if something spooked them, shouting to each other as they fled.
"She's cursed! She'll curse us too!"
Her homeroom teacher, however, was nowhere in sight.
Something else scared them off.
I just...
I just wanted them to stop.
Kei finally comes out, looking serious and stern. Despite the look, he crouches down in front of her and gently cups her face, examining each of her wounds: the cut splitting her eyebrow that wouldn't stop bleeding, staining her uniform shirt; her mismatched pupils; her split lip; her knuckles, bloodied, swollen, and bruised.
His voice is just as gentle when he finally speaks.
"The school nurse says that you have a concussion and that I should make sure you get plenty of rest."
She doesn't say anything. She just swallows, squeezing her aching fist down harder around the charm hidden in her palm. Another tear rolls down her cheek. She still won't look at him.
"Hey... I'm not mad at you," he continues, heartbroken by her pain but patient and understanding, as he always is. "You're not in trouble. At least not with me. We don't have to tell your mom if you don't want to. And you don't have to come back here for the whole rest of the week." He tries to catch her gaze. Her lower lip wobbles, but she keeps her eyes fixed on the floor. He sighs, his shoulders falling. "You still have to go to school. But if you want to go someplace different, I can help with that too."
Mio slowly closes her eyes, obscuring her blurry, tear-clouded vision. She doesn't see why it matters. Nothing matters anymore. Especially not school. School is for people with bright futures ahead of them, aspirations, and dreams– things she decidedly lacks.
There's nothing left.
She's not even sure what she's defending anymore.
***
The dam is complete. The forest in Minakami is flooded. The Lost Village– or what was left of it– is no more. Mio watches the news with Kei, numb and vacant. She finally stops trying to run back.
Instead, she falls deeper into her depression.
Mio...
You know I'm not there.
The deeper she sinks, the more she sleeps.
And the more she sleeps, the more she dreams.
She's been seeing an old manor, frozen in time beneath perpetually falling snow.
There's something wrong there. It feels so much like Minakami– in fact, pieces of the village are there somehow, places that she's been, as if the dream is building them from scrambled scraps of her darkest memories. It makes her nauseous. She knows she shouldn't be there.
But Mayu is there.
She's seen her, slipping through the doors and around corners, always just out of reach. Mio wants to be with her. She wants to be together again. They promised.
Mio, please. I told you. That's not me.
You have to stop... please…
There's someone else in the old manor too; someone incredibly dangerous. She's caught glimpses of her around corners too, a woman covered in violent blue tattoos. The aura she radiates is heavy and powerful, steeped with anger, agony, and grief.
"It hurts," the woman's hoarse voice always echoes down the hallways she endlessly roams. "It's my fault... all my fault..."
Mio can tell the woman is cursed and vengeful, like Sae, though not nearly as unhinged or unpredictable. As she follows Mayu, she avoids the woman, ducking behind partitions and slipping through the shadows, out of sight and out of reach.
It's only a matter of time before she gets caught.
She's already come close several times. Too close.
The deeper she wanders, however, the more she wonders if getting caught would really be such a bad thing. The woman seems to share her pain; maybe she lost someone important too. Maybe they're more alike than she thinks. Maybe getting caught would bring her closer to Mayu.
Maybe letting the cursed woman catch her would allow her to stay with her in the dream.
A soft knock at her bedroom door momentarily pulls her from her spiraling. She doesn't respond.
"Good morning," Kei finally greets her as he tentatively peeks in. He always knocks first. Not that it matters; she's always in the same position, buried and motionless beneath the covers of her bed. "Well, actually, good afternoon, I guess..." He winces, eyeing the clock on the bedside table. It's well past noon. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come with me to see your mother today. You haven't been in a while, and she misses you terribly..."
When she doesn't answer, he moves a bit closer, carefully treading forward until he can sit on the edge of her bed. A gentle hand finds her shoulder. She barely reacts.
"Listen..." He pauses and sighs. There's no judgement in his tone. Only compassion and care. "The truth is we're worried about you. You've been sleeping a lot lately. Not that that's necessarily a problem, but I was thinking maybe some sunshine would be nice. We can go for a walk and find a nice place to eat. There's even a festival going on not too far from here... unless that would be too much. Then I understand."
Mio's silence persists. Eventually, she rolls over, turning further away from him. She knows he's trying to help, but the weight on her chest is too heavy. She's in too deep for him to reach her.
She hears him sigh softly again. Still, he doesn't push.
Instead, he just whispers as he carefully rises to leave.
"It's okay, Mio. I'll always be right here when you're ready. We'll face it together."
Mio's eyes burn with tears. She buries her face into her pillow, fighting them back until she hears her bedroom door fully shut. They fall without her consent shortly after.
She just wants to sleep.
She doesn't care if it's not real. She wants to see Mayu again.
Mio, don't. Stay awake.
That's not me!
It doesn't matter that she feels like she's losing herself the more she chases after her. It doesn't matter that she feels herself slowly slipping away.
All that matters is that she finds her.
This time, she'll go too.