(A/N) Hello, hello! Gasp! End of the first chapter! Chapter 2, the Rope Pulling Chapter, will be up soon! And yknow what? I have totally forgotten this and I just remembered, my thousand apologies...

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HIGURASHI, NOR FATAL FRAME. SAVE THAT FOR RYUKISHI07, 07TH EXPANSION, KEISUKE KIKUCHI, MAKOTO SHIBATA, AND TECMO. I JUST LOVE THESE GUYZ so you see I'm a fan :D This counts for the entireeee story. ^^;

Enjoy!

Morning sunlight trickled through the window blinds, like golden blood. It poured into the bedroom, seeping onto the twin beds and onto the faces of the twin sisters, Mio and Mayu.

The twins' eyelids fluttered open, and their day began. They brought themselves out of bed, and half an hour later, they shuffled into the kitchen.

A note on the counter said "Out shopping—Here's breakfast—Kei." Next to it was a plate of rice balls.

The sisters were silent, then Mio murmured, "Do you think she'll leave us alone now…?"

"I don't know…I don't know," Mayu shook her head.

Mio let out a puff of exhausted air and grabbed her sister's hand.

"She may never leave us alone. She may turn everyone against us…but, at least we have each other."

Mayu nodded, and asked, "No school today, right?"

Mio nodded back and beamed. "Let's play squirt guns in the front yard!"

Her twin agreed and they raced to their destination.

That's right, Mio thought to herself, No matter what they do to us, they can never tear me and Nee-chan apart.

The clouds spilled out onto the pale blue sky, their torn edges tinted silver. They overflowed onto the sun like grey syrup, dousing the flames of its summer warmth. Instead, a melancholy breeze stung the two young girls' cheeks as they stood on their quiet lawn. For a strange reason, this scene reminded them of a time they could not quite put their finger on. A crimson butterfly fluttered through the morning air.

A sudden thought struck Mio, as she realized she couldn't remember when those mysterious crimson butterflies began appearing in Hinamizawa. Had they always been there? Was there ever a time in which the only insects known in Hinamizawa were the wailing cicadas, yet then the next day those silent creatures began dancing through the air, tearing gaps in the tattered clouds with their scarlet wings? Or had their existence slowly became noticeable overtime—their presence bleeding into the background of Mio's life subtly, until the day came that they were an accepted fact, that they were known, that they were there? Is that possible—to slowly grow into existence, like a seed blooming into a flower?

Mayu brought Mio back to reality when she announced she'd fill the buckets with water for the squirt guns.

As Mayu strolled away with two buckets and the plastic toy guns inside, Mio concluded to herself that she was over thinking things—those butterflies probably came by every summer, they're just too forgettable to have been very much noticed. Quickly her thoughts of the crimson butterflies became fleeting ideas, as she declared to herself that she would not let the horrors of the past get to her that day. Even if Rena tried messing with her or her sister, Kei-oji-san would protect them—and no matter what, she made a promise to always protect Mayu, even if it was from Ryuuguu Rena.

Rena…Mio remembered she used to be so nice, so friendly and fun to be around. But, just like the butterflies' presence, she had suddenly became bitter, brutal, an evil thing. It was almost as if she believed the twins were not the culprits, yet was attempting to make them out to be. Had she always had such a nasty personality deep inside her? Kei-oji-san did discover she smashed all the windows of her old school…was there a flaming rage buried deep inside her, hidden by her girlish giggling and love of cute things? If there was, why direct it towards Mio? And not to forget when Rena snickered, "Dearest sister, I won't forgive you anymore…"?

The other used-to-be friends had just turned into Rena worshippers. Mio still remembered Miku's hoarse shrieks and hateful words the day after the Watanagashi Festival. Back then, Rena must have told them the twins were obviously the culprits, and all of them truly believed Mio and Mayu murdered the photographer, and genuinely hated them. But, as Rena slowly started snapping more and more, the rest of the sisters' ex-friends must have went along with the girl's crazy schemes out of fear. Mio realized Mion and Keiichi were probably dying to have things back to the way they were; Miku was shattered inside, crying to herself, asking herself why things had to be this way; Satoko most likely was truly afraid of Rena, and didn't want to upset her. Rika…

Suddenly, Mio remembered how every time the gang tried harassing the twins, Rika was not included. Perhaps she stood up against Rena, and she left her alone? So, maybe Rika was someone Mio could trust! Maybe, just maybe…

Mio, thinking to herself as she waited for Mayu in the front lawn, violently shook her head and said to herself: "Don't worry about that today! Water guns!" clenching her fists.

"May I join?"

A low, familiar, slightly amused voice sank Mio's heart to her stomach as she turned to face its direction, eyes bulging.

"Water guns sound fun."

Rena slowly slid her feet towards Mio and her yard, the slightest of smirks painted on her pale face, her dead eyes wide and rimmed in crimson. Her arms dangled, dragging a large billhook axe through the grass of her "friend's" lawn.

Terrified eyes frozen on Rena's axe, Mio could only choke on her breath and tremble in shock.

"Aa, wondering what this is for?" the orange-haired girl lifted the heavy blade, causing Mio to flinch. "I found it in the dump one day. You can find the most useful little things there! Well, this isn't exactly little, but it gets the job done. It worked well for getting Rina out of the way, and that thug, Teppei."

Mio's eyes then focused on Rena's snickering face, and the horrified girl backed away. She felt as though she was suffocating. "Aa…aaa…"

"Are you trying to scream? Pathetic," Rena abruptly hacked her axe into a nearby tree and stood still, startling Mio so much she stumbled on her own feet and fell. "Kei-oji-san is out buying groceries, remember? And Mayu-nee-chan can't hear you, either."

Tears welled in Mio's disbelieving eyes. "Why…" she mumbled, her voice quivering, "Why…are you…!"

Rena merely sneered and lifted her axe above her head, glaring down at Mio. "Worthless," she muttered through her bared teeth, and all the panic that was building in Mio's frozen body burst out of her. She shut her eyes and shrieked, "STO—"

Before the girl could finish a word,

Before Rena could swing her blade,

A loud splash interrupted them, along with a young girl's screech:

"I DID IT!"

Mio's eyes fluttered open. Rena slowly turned her head. No one noticed the cries of the cicadas had ceased.

Behind them, Mayu stood with clenched fists next to a toppled over bucket of water. Tears streamed down her eyes and she bit her lip.

"Nee-chan!" Mio cried out.

"I…I killed him! Tomitake!" Mayu's voice was hoarse and trembling. Her confession did not affect Rena; Mio cut her breath short.

Mayu went on. "I admit it! Mio did nothing wrong!"

"Nee-chan, no way!" Mio cut in, but Mayu persisted.

"I-I FORCED HER TO KEEP QUIET!"

Mio's tears slid down her pale cheeks. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and pain.

"Nee-chan! YOU'RE LYING! DON'T LIE!"

"STOP IT MIO!" the sister exclaimed through her sobs, her eyes shut. Mio could only wail. Her sister was protecting her. Why must it be this way?

Rena stood like a statue the entire time, her arm still over her head. Shadows fell over her eyes and her evil smirk was replaced be a bitter scowl.

Silence drowned the air for a moment more until Mayu at last murmured, "So please, don't hurt—"

"Idiots." The axe-wielder interrupted with a disgusted mutter.

"…eh?" Mio's eyes bulged once more.

Rena threw her head in the air and burst into an insane laughter. Her hoarse, maniacal shrieks frightened even the birds, who leapt out of their nests and flew high above the darkening sky. A gust of ice-cold wind sliced through the air as Rena continued laughing a horrifying laugh that kept both Mio and Mayu statue-still for what felt like eternity. Even though the crazed woman's smile stretched unnaturally across her face, her ear-shattering screams were laced with a hint of pain.

"AHAHAHAHAHA HA! AHAHA, AHAHAHAHA!"

Every exaggerated breath tied the laughter together like a string tying together blades that sliced straight through Mio's utter existence.

At last Rena inhaled one last gulp of air and swung her head into Mio's face, her eyes consumed in craze and insanity.

"DUMBASS!" she spat at the poor statue in front of her, her teeth bared like a shark, her voice cold and deep and absolutely merciless.

Behind her, a quivering Mayu quietly stuttered, "Wh…wh…"

Rena left no room for interruptions.

"I KILLED HIM!" she exclaimed to the sky. "YOU WORTHLESS FOOLS! I DID IT, ME! ME!" her laugh suffocated the air once again as the two twins gawked and threw their hands over their mouths.

The laughter abruptly shut off, yet Rena's head remained aiming up at the chilling grey sky.

"'Strangle him with your bare hands,' she said," the mad woman's voice returned to its deep, unusual tone, rich in filthy joy, "'And kill any witnesses.' Miyo saw. I chopped her up and hid her in the woods!" her coarse cackling returned. Then she turned around to face the teary-eyed Mayu, scraping her axe along the ground.

In a strange, low and quiet voice, that sounded as though it was on the edge of bursting into laughter once again, Rena spoke to her.

"You're a witness."

She moved closer to the crying girl.

Never more in her life did Mayu wish she didn't have a limp leg than right at that moment.

Rena lifted her hook axe.

"NEE-CHAN!" Mio shrieked, but Mayu only closed her eyes and sighed.

"NEE-CHAN, get away from her, QUICK!" Mio desperately attempted to stand and race after her sister, but tripped over herself and fell to the grass in a sobbing heap on her stomach.

Mayu's words stopped Mio dead.

"Goodbye, sister."

"Wah…?"

Rena snickered through her clenched teeth.

"I guess…we can't be together forever."

These words were a bullet that shot through Mio's very being.

"But I'll be okay." Mayu opened her eyes confidently and gave a small, reassuring smile. It only created new tears in Mio's tired eyes.

Rena's grin merely grew wider as she muttered, "Worthless!" and swung the axe down onto Mayu's neck. An immediate kill.

Gash after gash, Rena's axe dripped in blood and Mayu's body collapsed on the cold, rustling grass. Gash after gash, Mio died inside, like a crushed insect.

A full minute later, Rena finally finished and stood over the pitiful heap of torn flesh and broken bone. A low chuckle rose inside of her. She slowly turned to face a broken Mio, her head lowered.

"Finally…finally."

Rena made each step closer to Mio last as she mumbled, almost to herself,

"Oh, how long I have waited for this chance. Years, perhaps. Decades. Centuries…the time I stood still, waiting for you, blurred and flowed by me, and every single day became an eternal night of torment. Every second my love for you decayed more and more, and my true desire to destroy you spread inside me like a growing fire. Nee-chan,"

Her head tilted up the slightest bit, and she glared at Mio with a stretched, teeth-baring sneer.

"I hate you."

Her deep, dark snicker engulfed Mio's mind. The girl lost the last thing that mattered to her—Mio was defeated. She lay on her stomach, limp, emotionless. But Rena couldn't kill her just yet.

Her snickering faded away when Rika came into her vision, standing in the distance, watching her with pitying eyes. Strangely, fearless eyes.

Rena's lips curved into a long, sad-clown-like frown. Her eyes were wide, yet void of emotion.

"Rika."

She, however, quickly snapped back to her huge, eerie smile and giggled a bit more high-pitched than before.

"You're a witness." She bolted towards Rika, who shouted with fury, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"

"Because she told me to," Rena replied with bitter joy as she swung her hook axe in the air. "Goodbye, Rika-chan."

Her sickening laughter was the last thing Rika heard before the world faded to black.

(A/N) o3o This one was pretty emotional. Whatcha think? :D Rope Pulling Chapter will be up soon!

Random end-of-chapter babblings with Koe:

I noticed sometimes I don't do this cuz when I publish a story I'm tired and wanna go to bed D: BUT HERE YOU GO :D

My charm bracelette my auntie gave me just snapped and fell to pieces ;A; IS THAT A BAD OMEN? Does that mean I won't be able to go to my friend's house this weekend...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I WANNA SEE HER FAT FLUFFY DOGGEHS!11oneone/murdered whodunit-style

WHODUNIT? ...was it you? o=o