The Remainings

Disclaimer : I do not any characters in this fanfic. They belong to the creator of this game.

Chapter III

Mutsuki

Both of the remaining twins and the little Chitose were on their way to find the lost Mutsuki. The Crimson-kimono girl kept hiding behind Itsuki's back, not wanting to have an eye contact with Mio. She gave a peak at Mio every once in a while, but burried her face back in Itsuki's arms when she got caught stealing a glance at whom she thought as Yae's reincarnation.

"Chitose..." Itsuki called out, pushing his sister toward Mio. "She's not going to hurt you, you know. So you don't have to keep hiding from her."

Chitose whimpered a little as she stood in front of the smiling Amakura. Mio bent down a little, until she was at Chitose's eye level. They both looked eachother for a minute. Mio held out her hand slowly, not wanting to make the little crimson kimono girl even more scared than she already was.

Chitose only looked at Mio's hand confusedly, not knowing what to do.

"I know you're afraid of new people, Chitose-chan. But if we're going to find your brother together, then we have to start trusting each other from now on." Mio said, still holding her hand out for Chitose to shake. "So what do you say? Truce?"

Chitose stared at Mio's hand for a moment, then back at her brother. She gave him a hopeful lk, as if asking him whether she should trst Mio or not. Itsuki only nodded at her while smiling, letting her know that she should.

The little girl averted her gaze back at Mio before finally shaking Mio's pale hand with her own. "T-Truce." She said while smiling shyly.

Mio smiled back at her, releasing her hand as they both finished handshaking. She stood back upright, facing Itsuki who was standing next to his little sister.

"Well then ladies, ready to continue our journey?" he asked rather playfully, making Mio smiled at him in return.

"Hai, let's go."

*****

The three of them had been walking around the house for hours. Chitose was now sleeping soundly on Itsuki's back. Mio was as worn out as her, she had been walking around the village all day, without any rest nor food to refill her drained energy.

Itsuki seemed to notice this. Mio's face looked even paler than its original colour, and her speed kept going slower and slower by the second. He felt a bit guilty since he was the reason that made her ended up searching for his twin brother in the first place.

He led her to where Chitose's room was, putting Chitose in her mattress in process. He tucked his sister in then went out of her room to meet back with Mio.

"You're leaving her there? Are you sure it's safe?" Mio asked as Itsuki slid the door shut behind him.

"It's okay. Chitose is also the owner of this house, so the other spirits in this house still have some respects not to disturb her." Itsuki explained.

They were both silent at first, not knowing what to do nor say. Itsuki decided to break the awkward silence which they were in. "Maybe you should also rest for a while, Mio-chan."

Mio shook her head, "No need to. I'm perfectly fine," she smiled. "Come on, the sooner we find your brother, the better."

"Well, if you say so..." Itsuki said.

The both of them then continued their walk in silence; through the hall and down the stairs. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Itsuki suddenly halted and slapped his forehead with his palm.

"Baka! I forgot to leave a note for Chitose, telling her where you and I are heading!"

"Should we go back and tell her?"

Itsuki shook his head, "No, I'll go. It's kind of a long way back there, and you're already exhausted. You stay here and wait for me, okay Mio-chan?"

Mio was about to contradict, but Ituki had already fleeted from the room, "Oh no." She whispered, taking a glance at her dark surroundings. Feeling the tensity slowly crawling up her feet, she decided to sit on the staircase, waiting for Itsuki's return. She locked her gaze onto the floor, not wanting to spot any inhuman figure inside the room. She started humming a lullaby slowly, hoping to ease the fear in her chest.

Kirakira hikaru, osora no hoshi yo

Mabataki shite wa Minna o miteru

Kirakira no hoshi yo.

CREAK

Mio froze. That creaking sound was not part of her lyrics. She swore she heard it coming from behind her. She hugged her knees and forced herself to keep singing and shrug the nose away from her head. But as she opened her mouth, the sound came back again.

CREAK

CREAK

CREAK

Mio hugged her knees tighter to her chest and buried her face in it. The creaking sound grew louder and louder until the formed themselves into the sound of footsteps. They were heading closer in a fast pace. Mio prayed them to be Itsuki's, but she knew well enough that Itsuki couldn't be back this soon. The noise drew closer to her ears and Mio gathered all the courage she had left to get up and run away, but 2 arms wrapped themselves around her as she stood up, preventing her from moving further. She gasped and attempted to struggle free from the firm grasp, but the arms were too strong.

"Yae-chan! I can't believe I've finally found you!" her captor said and Mio stopped squirming in instance. "You have no idea how much I've missed you!"

Mio turned around as the arms around her loosened their grip, only to come face-to-face with a black-haired version of Itsuki Tachibana, "You..."

The boy smiled down at her, "Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already. I don't think I've been dead for that long."

Mio didn't know what to say. She didn't know what shocked her more; the boy in front of her or the fact that she found him solid and alive.

"M-mutsuki?" she stuttered hesitantly.

"There you go, now you remember!" he grinned widely, hugging her again.

"Uh, I'm sorry to break our reunion but, I'm not Yae." Mio said and pulled herself away from Mutsuki's embrace. "I'm Mio, Amakura Mio"

"You're not... Yae?"

Mio shook her head briefly.

"F-forgive me, miss! I mistook you for an old friend of mine!" the boy repeatedly bowed in shame.

"It's alright, I get that a lot," the pale girl chuckled lightly at Mutsuki's reaction.

"But if you're not Yae," Mutsuki said as soon as he regained his composure, "How come you know my name?"

"It's a long story, not to mention complicated as well..."

"Oh."

"Anyway, now that I've found you, we have to go see your brother!"

"My... brother...?" Mutsuki trailed off, eyes gleaming with shock and delight. "My brother is here too?"

"Yes!" Mio exclaimed, taking a hold of Mutsuki's hand. "Quick, we have to find him! He'll be so happy to see you!" Without further ado, Mio dashed toward the way she came, pulling Mutsuki along with her. She couldn't wait to bring the twin brothers back together.

*****

Itsuki was walking in the hallway when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around to see Mio with Mutsuki - much to his surprise - running towards him. His eyes immediately widened as his brother stopped in front of him.

"Mutsuki...?" he asked in disbelief.

There, standing right in front of his eyes, was his twin brother whom he hadn't seen in ages, and whom he hadn't expected to see again in his life. Mutsuki seemed as shocked as he was, but apparently not shocked enough to stop himself from tackling Itsuki into a hug.

"Itsuki!" the black haired boy cried in joy. "I can't believe it's you!"

"And I can't believe it's you!"

"You don't know how much I missed you!"

"You don't know how much I missed you either!"

"Hey, stop repeating after me, will you?" Mutsuki retorted playfully.

Mio could only smile seeing the reunion of the twins. She looked at Itsuki's happy face and felt something churning inside of her - in a good way. Once the boys had finished embracing each other, they both turned to face Mio. Itsuki approached her and suddenly grabbed both of her hands in his own, holding them firmly.

"Mio-chan, thank you very much for your help. You have no idea how much this means to me," he said, eyes gleaming at her.

"You're welcome, Itsuki," Mio gladly smiled back at her.

Mutsuki stared at the both of them with a sly grin forming on his face. "I believe I had only been gone for a few years, but, wow. I'd never thought you would've found yourself a girlfriend during that time."

"WHAT?" Itsuki yelled, "She's... she's not my girlfriend, who gave you that idea anyway?"

"You," Mutsuki pointed at Itsuki's right hand, which was still attached to Mio's.

Realizing that he was still holding onto Mio's hand, Itsuki quickly pulled away, cheeks reddening ever so slightly.

"It's okay, I don't mind really. It's great seeing you having a girlfriend like her."

"I told you, Mio-chan is not my girlfriend!"

"No need to be embarrassed, Itsuki. You have my blessing."

"But I-"

"Promise me you'll take care of Amakura-san, okay? You are really lucky to have her."

Itsuki sighed and hung his head low, "You just won't listen, will you?"

Mutsuki only grinned at both his brother and Mio, "Do I ever?"