Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness Falls ❯ The Story of Matilda ( Chapter 7 )

Yoho~! I'm back!! Sorry if it took me a while to get this up, but I did it!!! *Yay*

Anyways, know you've guys been waiting, so let's start!!

Warnings: ... what warning?

Pairings: Working on it!!

Rating: PG-13

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"So Youji is your brother?" Reina looked at Crawford with a `you-should-know' expression on her face.

"Don't sound so surprise - you knew I had a younger brother!"

"I know; I just didn't think it was... him!" The last word held on a bit longer, indicating a strong feeling. Reina noticed, ever since they've all stepped out of the room, the tension that hung in between her brother's three friends and Crawford. She looked between them with her eyes, seeing the thin hate that seemed to linger in the air.

"Why do I get the feeling you guys aren't on good terms?" She cocked her head to the side, a narrow look on her face.

"Maybe because we aren't! What are you doing here?!" Ken spat out, glaring at the dark-haired man standing across from them. Reina turned to look at Crawford, a questioning look on her.

"Yes, why are you here Mr. Crawford?"

"I was here for a checkup - and to be honest, I wasn't expecting to see you, or you Ms. Kudou, here..." The dark-blond glared at him for a only a moment, before staring down at the floor holding her arms across her chest. Omi came up to her, carefully leaning over to see the expression on Reina's face.

"Reina-san, daijoubu ka?"

"Mm - daijoubu desu. I think it is time for the truth to be told..." All four look at her with slight confusion, before the three Weiss members understood what she meant.

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The five had moved to a different area to sit down, since it was a long story. Crawford had joined in out of pure curiosity, not to use this problem as an advantage; he received quite a few glares from Aya and Ken when he asked to listen in as well. Reina leaned her elbows on the table, closing her eyes in deep thought.

"I should probably start with a little history, before I tell what happened... Over 100 years ago, there was a small village - and in that village lived a woman named Matilda Dickinson and she was adored by the children..." Reina placed her hands down on the table, still keeping her eyes closed as she continued on.

"Every time a child lost a tooth, they would go to her and in return receive a gold coin, earning her the name `tooth fairy'. However, life was unfair to Matilda - a fire broke out in her house, half of her face was burned." She paused for a breath, thinking through the rest of the story. The others sat patiently, waiting for her to continue on with the history. Reina continued on after a few minutes.

"Her scarred face became sensitive to the sun - she could only go out at night and wore a white, porcelain mask. One day, two children didn't return home one day - the villagers blamed Matilda and dragged her from her home to the square... where they hung her." Omi made a small noise, sliding to the edge of his seat; Reina stopped hearing the `eep' from the young blond. She looked over to him with an apologetic expression; Omi nodded his head, sitting back on his seat properly. Reina let out a sigh and continued on.

"They pulled her mask off, exposing her distorted face to the light. With her dying breath, she placed a curse on the village. The next day, the two children were found unharmed and safe - the village buried their guilt with Matilda's body..." All four pairs of eyes stared intently at the *older woman, waiting for what was to come next.

"They say though, that the last tooth a child loses, she appears seeking out her curse: `What I have taken in kindness... I shall take forever in revenge!'" Reina leaned back in her, finally opening her eyes since she started the story. She looked around the room, noticing the tense expression on everyone's face - including, surprisingly, Crawford's. A silence passed between for what seemed an eternity.

"Ano - Reina-san, how does the myth of the tooth fairy tie in with Youji?" Ken broke the silence, shaking off his shocked expression.

"It's not a myth, Ken-san. That did happened, and Youji had see her ghost... now she will kill him as part of her revenge!!"

"What I don't understand is why though? Why him?" Reina looked over to Crawford with a slightly surprised look; she had known him well enough to know he rarely asked questions and that he seemed to know things.

"When you lose a tooth, haven't your parents ever told you to put it under your pillow and not peek when she comes?" All four nodded their heads. "Why do you think that is?"

They all looked blankly at her, before glancing at each other.

"You don't get a token if you look at her, then!" Aya answered, seeing as no one else was going to say anything. Reina let out a light grunt, staring off in a different direction.

"That's the children's version... The reason why you shouldn't look at her is because she'll kill you!!" The four men just blinked at her; Crawford leaned one arm on the table, recovering faster then the three Weiss members.

"That's stretching it a bit... I mean, you can't just..."

"She killed our mother!!" Reina snapped at him, her expression pulling between anger and desperation. Crawford held back, shocked by the mix of emotions the older woman was suddenly showing. Reina buried her face in her hands, trying to force back her tears; Omi, being the closest, carefully reached a hand out to gently place it on her shoulder. Surprisingly, she didn't shake it off.

"Youji never was a heavy sleeper... that's why... that's why it happens..."

** "O-nee-chan... O-nee-chan? O-nee-chan!!" Youji gently shook his sister's shoulders till she woke up, batting at his hand. She looked at him with a slight glare, grumbling a little at being disturbed.

"What is it? And what time is it?" The boy held the flashlight tightly in his hands, making sure he had some of the light shining on his sister.

"O-nee-chan, I... I have to go to the washroom..." He lied, but he was never good at it and hoped the older girl would believe him in her tired state. Reina sat up in her bed, scratching the back of her head.

"You're old enough! And you know where it is!"

"But I'm scared!! I don't want to go down there by myself!!!" The light blond bit his lower lip, his hands tighten around the object he was holding; Reina ran a hand upwards through her head, letting out a frustrated sigh. She crawled out of bed, taking her brother by the hand and led him down the hall towards the bathroom. She turned the light on and gently shoved him towards the toilet.

"Just be quick about it - I'm really tired and I have practices tomorrow!" She turned her back on him, to give him a little privacy. Youji only looked at it, knowing he didn't have to really go - it was only an excuse to get out of his room. After a few minutes had passed, Reina spoke, slowly turning her head around.

"Are you going to go or not! If not, then why did you drag me in here?!" Youji dropped the flashlight, the plastic clashing with the ceramic tiles. He let himself drop to the floor, huddling into a little ball; Reina turned around and went over to him, firmly tugging on his arm to get up, but the lighter blond shook his head, refusing to budge.

After a few minutes, their mother came in through the door.

"What's wrong, Reina?"

"Youji said he needed to go the bathroom, so we went and now he won't go back in to our room!" The younger blond had himself wrapped tightly into a ball, face buried in his knees. The mother knelt down near Youji, gently running a hand through his hair getting him to look up at her.

"What's the matter, Youji?"

"Mama, something is the room and it wants to get me!" Reina sat cross- legged on the bathroom floor next to her brother, hands resting on her legs. She sighed and pouted at her little brother.

"There's nothing in there! I keep telling you that! You're being such a baby!!"

"Reina, hush!" The dark-haired woman turned to her with a slight stern look; the darker blond looked down to the tiled floor, biting her lower lip. The mother turned back to Youji, standing up to her feet, she signaled the two to follow her; she headed down the hall towards their room. Youji stood at the door, with Reina standing behind him, hand on his shoulder.

// Stay in the light... //

Their mother got closer to the room, and farther from the light of the bathroom; she looked back briefly to see the two were still standing there.

// Please... stay in the light! //

Finally, she reached the door to their room, looking inside to see nothing out of the ordinary. She turned back to them, stepping into the room fully. Youji closed his eyes, repeated in a whisper what he was thinking; Reina looked down at him, then looked back up to their mother.

"See, there's nothing to fear - no ones here."

"MAMA! STAY IN THE LIGHT!!" He yelled, seeing the shadow move behind the woman.

"O-kaasan, behind you!!" The mother looked behind to face the shadow, letting out a scream that was quickly cut off when she was grabbed. Not sparing another moment, Reina pulled Youji back into the lit bathroom, shutting the door tight. **

"We moved after that... Youji was never the same after that happened..." Reina managed to get out in between sobs, her hand over her mouth. Omi had attempted to try sooth her with a hand movement, but it felt too uncomfortable for both of them, so he just let his hand rest on her shoulder. Reina slowly halted her tears, reducing them to small sniffles; regaining what little she had left of her posture, she looked to her brother's friends.

"You should go check on Youji... I'm afraid I... I'm not in the right condition to see him quite yet..." Ken nodded, standing to his feet; Omi let his hand slid off her shoulder, getting up to his own to follow Ken and Aya out the room and to where Youji was. Crawford stayed behind, feeling that his overseas partner might need some company. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him.

"You don't have to stay! You have a report that was due in to me quite a while ago... and since you have the time now!" Crawford understood the hint, but he ignored it and just sat there with Reina. After a couple of minutes had past, Reina stood up to her feet, letting out a sigh.

"I should probably look into a hotel - since I'll staying here for a while." She was about to leave, when Crawford spoke up, standing to his own feet.

"Ms. Kudou... how do you know it's the fairy who is after Youji and not just night terrors?" Crawford watched her back, waiting for a turn or movement from the older woman; the dark-blonde stood there, staring at the space in front of her.

"Because... I have no other reason why he acts the way he does..." She turned to face him, for once, without an anger expression or a glare. He walked towards her, keeping a bit of distance between them in case of a wild mood-swing.

"I didn't know how else to explain! His self-inflicted injuries were caused by her, his fear of the dark was cause by her... everything that changed him was caused by her! I didn't know what else to believe in, I just..." Reina buried her face in her hand again, her tears spilling from her dark green eyes. Crawford cautiously reached a hand out, knowing her well enough for her mood-swings, but not her emotions. Before he had touched her, Reina let her hand drop, moving towards him a little, leaning her head against his chest.

"Ms. Kudou!?" Crawford tense a little, completely shocked by the unexpected action. Her shoulders shook slightly as she cried, the sounds becoming audible; unsure whether it was right or not, Crawford wrapped his arms around her, letting out a sigh as he stared up at the ceiling.

// This is going to be a long day! //

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*Just a note... Reina is older then Crawford by one year... soooo that make her - 28 years old!! ^__^ 7 years difference between her and Youji!!

Anyways, some thank yous!!

Misura: Arigatou!!! *hugs* Don't worry... I just had Crawford come for a checkup and of course get in trouble with Reina in the beginning, but anyways... thank you for reviewing me!! ^_^

Anna Hibiki: Arigatou gozaimasu!!! Glad you are liking!! And yes, poor Youji-chan! ;_; I'm so mean to him (even though I like him too). His sister is also going through a lot pain seeing him like this. *Sniffle* Arigatou!!! (Still waiting on Patient and other stories!!)

Snowshoe Koneko: Arigatou!!! *glomps* Sorry if I'm scaring you a bit, but this only a small bit of what's going to happen next... hope you have something cuddle in case.

Well... thank you minna-san!! Hope to see you next time!! And watch out, cause going to start coming after them!!

Hikari!! ^_^ (Hikari12)