Maya Mikogami

Shadow Priestess Character Maya Mikogami "I like ruins, but ghosts are another thing entirely." Kanji/Kana 御子神 真矢 Alias — Occupation Urban explorer Status Alive Cause of Death — First Appearance Chapter 9

Maya Mikogami is a character in Fatal Frame: Shadow Priestess. She is one of four members of the urban exploration group Moebius. In the past, her family members were shrine maidens, hence her family name, and she knows a little about Japanese folklore.

Maya's great-grandfather was involved in the construction of Karasawa Elementary, and helped to cover up the murder of Suzume Umishima, burying her body beneath the school. Although he never spoke of what had happened, he was plagued by guilt, and his feelings of regret lingered in a charm he left to his family.

Maya, hoping to solve the mystery of the charm, visits Karasawa Elementary with the other members of her group. There, they happen to meet the modern architecture class from Fujisawa University. When Maya learns that the building has a reputation as a haunted spot, she becomes anxious and says she would have stayed away if she'd known.

Both groups go together to the pool, where they are attacked by a host of evil spirits. The whole building is trapped within a Dark Seal, and the groups are scattered. Soon two members of Moebius, Mikiko Hashiki and Takeru Ugajin, are dead, and Maya is distraught. After Takeru's death she asks the others to leave her behind, and though she changes her mind, her grief and the relentless attacks by evil spirits take a toll on her.

The final straw is when she sees an illusion of words like "corpse" and "rot" appearing in welts on her face, and nearly peels her own skin off before Sara's Camera Obscura dispels the illusion. Mentally exhausted and unable to go on, she explains to the others about her great-grandfather and the charm he left behind, and asks Sara to investigate on her behalf.

Having given Sara the charm, Maya passes out. Mozu and Tsugumi set up barriers to offer her some protection against evil spirits, but the others have no choice but to leave her behind.

Eventually, Sara and the others begin to learn the truth about Suzume Umishima and the curse on the school. At that point, the charm falls from Sara's bag and vanishes into the floor.

After the final battle with the Necromancer in Chapter 58, Maya rejoins the others, just in time to escape as the school begins to collapse. She and Reiji are seen mourning their dead friends at a graveyard. When Suzume Umishima's body is discovered and exhumed, the charm is found mysteriously stuck to its chest.