Itsuki Tachibana

"Itsuki" redirects here. For the character in Fatal Frame: The Movie, see Itsuki Kikunobe.

Itsuki Tachibana
"I want you to live the life my brother and I could not."
Japanese	立花 樹月 たちばな いつき
Alias	White-Haired Boy
Age	16
Family	Mutsuki Tachibana (twin brother) Chitose Tachibana (sister)
Occupation	Remaining Former Altar Twin
Cause of Death	Suicide by hanging
Date of Death	Night of the Repentance
Encounter	Storehouse (non-hostile)
Games	Fatal Frame II Deep Crimson Butterfly Crimson Butterfly Remake
Notes	Bound Diary
Spirit Stone	Crystal Ore
Japanese Voice Actor	Soichiro Hoshi (FF2) Takeo Otsuka (FF2R)
English Voice Actor	Sam Saletta (FF2)

Itsuki Tachibana was a "Remaining". Mio first meets him in when she is led by crimson butterflies to the Storehouse where he is imprisoned. He calls Mio "Yae" and urges her to save her twin sister, Sae (who is Mayu). Throughout the game he helps Mio by telling her where to go and how to solve puzzles in the village.

Past

Itsuki, Mutsuki, and Chitose

Itsuki and his brother were twins born in Minakami Village, and from a young age, Itsuki was afraid of the ritual he and Mutsuki would one day perform. As children Itsuki and Mutsuki were close friends with Sae and Yae Kurosawa, another pair of twins a year younger than them, and they also befriended the Ryozo Munakata, the son of a travelling merchant who visited the village. Itsuki and Ryozo would continue exchanging letters for the next decade. Notes in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake describe how Ryozo's visit made both the Tachibana and Kurosawa twins aware of the outside world as something other than the impure, dangerous place the villagers taught them to expect.

When the time came, Itsuki and Mutsuki served as Altar Twins and performed the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual. Itsuki had no choice but to kill his brother, but he loved Mutsuki so much the ritual ended in failure. Itsuki's hair turned white overnight. Despite the failure of the ritual, Itsuki was considered a Remaining, treated with both respect and fear as one who had glimpsed the Hellish Abyss and come close to death.

Because the Tachibanas' ritual had failed, Sae and Yae were due to become the next Twin Shrine Maidens. Before the ritual, Itsuki had made a pact with Mutsuki that he would not let Sae and Yae suffer the same fate as they had, and he intended to get Yae and Sae out of the village if possible. He wrote a letter to his childhood friend Ryozo, asking him to come for Yae and Sae on the day of the ceremony.

Fatal Frame II

Itsuki helping Sae and Yae escape

Itsuki kept his promise to Mutsuki and distracted the villagers as Yae and Sae escaped. He was then locked up in the storehouse and later committed suicide by hanging himself. From his diaries, it is clear that he had planned to do this as well, as he stated that he planned to remain in the village with Mutsuki and that helping Yae and Sae escape might be the last task he would ever perform.

When he committed suicide, he left behind his sister, Chitose Tachibana. Chitose was very young and did not understand what was going on at the time. She never understood why her other brother, Mutsuki, disappeared, and did not know why Itsuki was being punished for what Yae and Sae did.

Sae finds Itsuki's body

After the Kurosawa twins escaped, Sae was captured by the villagers and brought back to the village alone. Before the ritual, she asked to see Itsuki one last time, but when the Storehouse was opened he was already dead.

Crimson Butterfly Remake

The Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake adds several side stories expanding on Itsuki's backstory. Ryozo's side story describes the childhood friendship between Ryozo and the Tachibana twins, and Ryozo's strong feelings for Itsuki despite not having seen him for many years; meanwhile, Itsuki decided not to meet Ryozo again, for fear that Ryozo might endanger himself by attempting to save Itsuki. Itsuki's side story includes a new note in the form of a letter to Chitose, explaining to her that he had to go "far away" and asking her not to blame Yae and Sae. In Chitose's side story, she finds the note and accepts his wishes, hoping that someday she, Itsuki and Mutsuki could be together again. The Tachibana Family side story describes a dream Itsuki had of waiting for something on the Heavenly Bridge with Mutsuki and Chitose. Meanwhile, Yae's story shows Yae visiting Itsuki at the Storehouse one last time before their escape attempt, when Itsuki said he had something important to tell her. In the end he claimed he had forgotten what it was, but Yae understood his feelings anyway. After the Repentance, Sae also returned to the Storehouse, struggling to accept that Itsuki was really gone.

Alternate Endings

Promise Ending

In the Promise Ending of the game, Itsuki is once more shown with his brother Mutsuki and his little sister Chitose, watching the crimson butterflies ascending into the sky from Misono Hill.

Shadow Festival Ending

In the Shadow Festival Ending of Deep Crimson Butterfly, Itsuki is shown in the Storehouse with a crimson butterfly as the Darkness erupts from the Abyss once more. While this ending is not included in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake, a similar scene of Itsuki with a crimson butterfly is shown in the cutscene where Mio meets him for the first time.

Sprouting Wings Ending

In the Sprouting Wings and Remaining Sun endings of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake, as in the Promise Ending, the Tachibana siblings are shown standing on the Heavenly Bridge and watching as the butterflies fly through the village.

Gallery

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Misc. Info

• There is evidence to suggest that Sae deeply cared for Itsuki, illustrated by her text and production artwork.
• Until Fatal Frame III, Itsuki was the only clear case of a Remaining with white hair.
• At points in Fatal Frame II, Itsuki gives Mio advice on what to do to aid her escape from the village.
• Itsuki was originally conceived as an older, female character who stood as a warning for Mio about the consequences of the ritual, but this was changed during development, and the character design for female Itsuki was later given to Kureha in Fatal Frame: Deep Crimson Butterfly.

See Also

• For quotes by Itsuki, see Quotes: Itsuki Tachibana.
• For fan theories of Itsuki, see Theory:Itsuki Tachibana.
• For other members of the Tachibana family, see Tachibana Family.
• For other altar twins, see Altar Twins.
• For other rituals in Fatal Frame II, see Fatal Frame II Rituals.
• For other helpful ghosts in the Fatal Frame Series, see Helpful Ghosts.
• For other twin pairs, see Twins.
• For other suicides in the Fatal Frame Series, see Suicide.
• For images related to Itsuki, see Images of Itsuki Tachibana.