Title: Absolution
Fandom: Fatal Frame V: The Raven-Haired Shrine Maiden
Prompt: Fall from Grace (HC Bingo), Vivid (Ladies Bingo)
Medium: Fan Fiction
Wordcount: 1216
Rating: T
Warnings: Warnings for Character Death, Referenced Suicides, and Referenced Violence. Spoilers for Fatal Frame V: Nuregarasu no Miko.
Summary: Yuuri performs Mitori on Ouse just after defeating her and witnesses the priestess's final moments. Her sympathy touches the corrupted spirit and in doing so frees her from taint, lifting the curse from Mount Hikami. Ouse and her host of Yomi disappear beneath the lake, and just as Ouse reminds her that she's never alone, Yuuri is reunited with Hisoka.

"Where am I?" Yuuri's eyes opened wide.

A voice echoed somewhere outside of her cocoon, "O Mighty Goddess, deity and guardian of the sacred Lake, take your child now into your bosom. Let her become a pillar for thine resting place, a stone in the bridge between here and your domain, the Hidden World."

It was so dark and suffocating inside of Yuuri's prison that she couldn't breathe. Her regular clothes were replaced with the white robes of a bride. A veil also covered her hair and head, and a pair of lilies were tucked behind her right ear.

"May Fortune favor your journey," finished the wispy voice above, "Kurosawa Ouse."

Fear gripped Yuuri as she felt something sliding beneath her prison, and then she bounced around as the box tumbled from solid ground into…water? It came dripping into the box little by little, and then it was streaming inside.

"I-I can't…Why do I…?"

Yuuri looked around frantically, trying to locate the source of her voice. "Ouse? Where are you?"

"I thought I was ready to become a pillar, but I…"

That was when Yuuri realized: these were the priestess's final moments.

Fear, loathing, unrequited love and pining all struck at Yuuri simultaneously. Her heart fell so full of death and life that she thought she'd burst open like a corpse left to rot too long in the sun. Skeletal hands crept through the walls of her wooden, black tomb and crawled towards her.

"Kunihiko…"

One hand clamped over Yuuri's eyes and she felt a crushing blow delivered from above, dousing her sight. Screaming and wriggling, she beat on the box's lid and begged for someone to open it. The hand faded and so did the pain shortly after, but Yuuri's relief was short-lived; a second hand settled on her eyes and the same pain returned.

"Stop it! Please!"

Unknown shrieks filled her ears so much that they bled and ached. Multiple hands clasped her limbs and gown, and she felt the stinging sensations of knife wounds, slashes. Several fingers danced across her neck and she felt the agitated wounds of a thousand suicides performed under Ouse's watchful guidance; ropes strangled the life out of her, blades sliced her neck and wrists open, and poison robbed her of breath.

"MY EYES! MY EYES! STOP IT!"

"I-I can't breathe…Are you…sure about this?"

"I'll just go to sleep, right? I won't feel any pain if I drink this?"

"Are you watching me, m' lady? Should I jump yet?"

"MY EYES!"

"I can't take it anymore!" cried Yuuri and Ouse together, holding their heads and sobbing. The water rose above them and filled the box completely. They opened their mouth to scream again, but Yomi and water rushed in, corrupting them. "Some…one…"

Yuuri's vision of Ouse's death faded and her eyes bolted open. Tears ran wild down her cheeks and she stared across the void of water below her. Something shifted against her breast and she glanced down with wide eyes to see the blackened form of Kurosawa Ouse clinging to her. Yuuri choked out a reply, "I-I'm so sorry…"

A thick miasma still surrounded Ouse and taint dripped from her lips as she echoed, "So-rry?"

"Sorry for all of the pain you endured," explained Yuuri with another sob. She ran her fingers through Ouse's thick, oily hair beneath her veil. "Sorry that you had no one to be with during your final moments." Sighing, she bent down and lifted Ouse's head, kissing her cheek. Were those tears she tasted?

A shaft of light pierced the ghost in her arms and exploded into a golden shower of sparks around them. Yuuri shut her eyes because it was so radiant, and when she opened them again, Ouse was no longer in her embrace.

"Kozukata Yuuri," spoke the dazzling woman in front of her, "I can never repay you for the gift you've given me."

"O-Ouse?" spluttered the mortal girl, her mouth agape. "Y-You're…"

The priestess smiled and offered her a hand, helping her stand up. Then she fully embraced the girl and kissed her forehead. "Goodbye, dear one," she whispered. "It is time that I rest."

Yuuri stepped up to the edge of the cliff as Ouse floated away from her and hovered over the shining surface of the water. Flashes of light emitted all around her as other Yomi were also purified, and the curse was lifted.

"Come," called the priestess at the center of the lake, "it is time, children. Shed your malice and find peace at long last." She gestured to the glowing surface of the water beneath her feet.

The spirits heeded her call with joyous cheers and comforted smiles all around. They clamored to get in the lake and congregated around Ouse, reaching towards her. Some of the smaller spirits, those of children, tugged on her robes and laughed along with her.

"Are we going home?" asked a young girl with white hair and red eyes.

"Yes, Shiragiku," Ouse answered and took her into her arms. "We're finally going home." She met gazes with Yuuri again and nodded to her before disappearing below the water with her host of Yomi.

"Yuuri!" called a voice behind the nineteen-year-old suddenly.

She turned around and there stood Hisoka, bent over and out of breath. The older woman ran towards her and almost crushed her with a hug.

"Thank the Gods," breathe Hisoka against her hair. "I thought I'd lost you."

Yuuri shook her head and placed her arms around Hisoka, tracing circles over her back. "It's all right now. Ouse and the other spirits are gone."

"Gone?" Hisoka straightened herself and glanced out over the lake. "It does seem calmer, but how? Did you…?"

"We did," replied the younger woman, taking Hisoka's hand in hers. "You, me, Miu, Ren, Rui, and Ouse; we all helped them find their way home."

Relief lifted the heavy weight of guilt from Hisoka's heart. She gripped Yuuri's hand and laughed in spite of herself. "If it weren't for you, I'd have died in the shrine."

Yuuri countered with a smile, "If it weren't for you, I'd have died by jumping from the spot we're standing on." She tugged Hisoka down some and shyly pecked her lips. "Thank you…for everything."

"You're never alone."

Yuuri glanced around at the sound of Ouse's voice wafting on the wind, but she saw no sign of the priestess. A loud horn blared behind her and Hisoka in the distance, snapping her back to reality.

"That Ren," murmured Hisoka, "he's so impatient."

The shorter girl frowned. "He drove all the way up here in a storm? I thought the bridge was out…"

"We'd best not keeping him or Rui waiting. I'll never hear the end of it," Hisoka added and led Yuuri down the steep slope to the boat. They climbed in and Hisoka pushed off the dock, taking the oars. "That's not Ren I'm talking about either."

Another chuckle escaped Yuuri. "Rui's lectures are the worst…or so Ren-sensei tells me."

After a few minutes of silence, Yuuri cleared her throat and asked in small voice, "How do you feel about dinner tonight? Just the two of us?"

Now Hisoka laughed, and she answered with a brilliant smile, "That sounds lovely."