News of her best friend's death was devastating. Especially regarding the way she died. Asphyxiation by a gas leak? That just didn't sound right to Fumi. When the police explained it to her, she squinted, eyes clearly expressing disbelief. They couldn't REALLY be telling her Ayako died like THAT? The girl bit her lip and nodded, though, when they asked if she understood.

"Hai... I'll be leaving, now..." The police had asked to speak to the girl many other students had pinned as a close friend of the recently deceased Schizophrenic. Hell, they'd caught Fumi on her way home from school. She still wore her uniform. The Suginami ward schools always had uniforms for the high schools. The uniform on this girl's petite body consisted of a dark blue pleated skirt, a white button-up with a cream-coloured sweater vest, a blue button up blazer, and a black pair of loafers. She'd worn it the whole... "discussion". She'd thought it more of an investigation considering they'd asked more than they'd the time she'd escaped the police, night had fallen. The girl cursed under her breath and increased her walking pace, both hands curling around her shoulder bag straps. It wasn't as if she was at all afraid of the night streets. They were generally safe. Plus, in her bag was a can of pepper spray. Her parents wanted to keep her safe, after all.

As the female strode to her home, images began flashing through her mind. Of the home on the hill around Takaido. Of her lost friend. It'd been about five days since she'd last seen her friend. Three if you didn't count the days she was dead. She had been nervous to enter the house that was supposed to be haunted, and Fumi couldn't blame her. However, the paranoid girl was her best friend, and she hadn't wished to enter alone. So, as a loyal companion, Ayako had gone with her. The moment they entered, both had sensed something off. There was no "do not enter" tape. The doors weren't even locked. The interior was messy, and the aroma of gasoline had spread through the home. It was dark, and no light of day protruded. Instead, the girls used their cell phones to illuminate their way. The lower floors were where the odour remained. The upstairs didn't reek so badly. The halls were narrow, and the rooms were small. One in particular had a closet that was lined with cheap brown duct tape. Against their better judgement, the girls had torn it off, and hesitantly slid the door open. THAT was when Ayako had seen the ghost. She said it was a woman with hair covering a good portion of her face in dark tangles. Her flesh had been white, and here eyes were a solid black.

It had startled her friend into a panic attack. Fumi had dragged the hyperventilating teen out, and, once they were a safe distance away, the taller girl just started spewing stuttered, terrified words. A few times, she'd been cut off by what the shorter assumed had been a hallucination, of which drew out a scream. It had been enough to convince Fumi that Ayako needed a break from school. That her mind was too stressed to function well. Maybe her friend HAD seen something, though...? Just because Fumi didn't see it, didn't mean it wasn't real... The curse, maybe THAT had been what did it...? She could only ponder.

Passing by storefront after storefront with dimmed glass display cases, one in particular caught the teen's bright blue eyes. One of them held a small male. He was sheer white, and his hair was of the deepest ebony. His eyes were pure onyx, and, he proded his small hands at a black cat that strutted around the case. She jumped at the sight, and he glanced up at her innocently. His gaze sent a chill up the student's spine, and he opened his mouth as if he were going to speak. The noise that came out though, was an animalistic, cat-like screech. Fumi's hands rushed to cover her ears, and she gasped, running from the window. The shop owner stared at her with a sort of wonder clear in his eyes.

A few buildings ahead was where the girl stopped to catch her breath. Her hands covered her chest, and she inhaled in slow, steady ways. Though, her body trembled, and her knees knocked, threatening to give out from under her. Turning so her back faced the wall of the store she stood in front of, the girl sighed, leaning back against a wall, hands sliding from her chest to run through her light brown locks, oceanic orbs cast out into the street before her. Almost directly across from her was an alley way, in which she saw that boy again. It nearly gave her a heart attack, with the way he just stared at her. Eyes unblinking, completely still. From behind, she felt cold hands place themselves on either side of her face. Her back was to the brick wall, and nobody could have POSSIBLY stood behind her. When Fumi reluctantly looked up, she screamed, and she could feel her heart nearly leap into her throat.

Standing above her was a woman with black locks that were messy and strewn about, eyes just like the boy's. Except, hers were bloody, and, a dribble of the deep crimson substance dropped onto the female's almond cheek. The girl's mouth contorted into a weak sort of pleading form, and she could only whimper. Her eyes yanked themselves closed. These... These were the people Ayako had ranted about seeing for the past few days! That COULDN'T be right! There was NO WAY Fumi was going crazy! Her eyes ripped open just a couple of short seconds later, and, the woman who'd held her face was gone, as was the child with his feline. What was this...? Did that house REALLY have a grudge...? Did things like this actually exist, or was Fumi slipping from her sanity just like her best friend?

The teen rushed home. It didn't take long to make it to her home. On the gates, her family name, Nakamura, was proudly painted in thick, black kanji. Inside, the chilled air disappeared, and a sense of relief began forming. Her family could protect her from these beings. With slowness, the girl slipped her shoes off, then set her school bag down. Her steps through the house were silent, and the noises were reassuring. Her sister was in the living room, watching television, while her parents were being playful, as always, in the kitchen.

Fumi's younger sister, Chieko, smiled up to her from the couch, with missing teeth. The girl was only about eight or nine years old, and in a young grade. Her uniform was removed and replaced with a pair of flannel pajamas. She looked comfortable, but noticed her sibling's unusual sort of alertness. So, she crawled off of the couch and scurried to her sister, taking the small hand within both of hers and dragging her to be seated at the couch. "Kobanwa, Fumi-san. Are you alright?"

"H-hai... I'm fine, Chieko-chan..." She let out an uneasy laugh, and, the girl smiled unsurely. Her head cocked to one side as she plopped down beside her sister. Soon enough, Fumi's parents began drifting into the room, singing and chirping brightly, as usual. The girl's had good parents, who always found a solution to any problem. Who always had a positive outlook and can-do attitude. The girls appreciated it growing up, too. A lot of other parents were strict and stern.

"Kooooobannnnwaaaa, my daughters~" Their father seemed to serenade as he leaned down to each girl, planting a tender kiss on their foreheads. Fumi whined, and Chieko giggled. When the elder sister made a disapproving noise, he leaned down further, big hands taking her face into them while he rubbed. She pushed away, trying not to laugh.

"Awww Fumi-Chaaaan what's the matter?"

"Daaaad! I'm not seven anymore!" She declared, pushing him away with a huff. The man laughed, and nodded. "That's right. You're what... Eleven, now?"

"Daaaad!"

"Alright, alright~! Girls, go wash up for dinner! We're having sukiyaki tonight!" Both girls cheered and paraded to the bathroom of the home. Both shoved each other aside to gain access to the sink. For a while, Fumi forgot all about the creatures that had terrorized her earlier. They completely slipped her mind. Her family had a way of curing things like that. She smiled, and, once her hands were washed, dashed from the bathroom, for the kitchen, where her mother was setting their dinner out on the kotetsu.

Fumi gently slid her skirt to rest smoothly beneath her, and sat on her feet, while her younger sister raced into the room, nearly slipping once her socked feet met the hardwood floor of the kitchen. As quickly as her sibling had, Chieko dropped down, while her parents divvied up the meat and stew into bowls, and served the meal. The family prayed, before digging on in. Everyone let out sighs of relief with the taste of a successful meal. The conversations started up, about the going of everybody's day, and, when it came Fumi's turn to share, she'd nearly forgotten about the horrifying events from her walk home.

"Well... The police wanted to talk to me about Ayako..." She started solemnly, "And I had to agree. When I left, it'd gotten dark..."

"Haaaaiiii, so THAT'S why you were so late." Her father nodded, as did she.

"Hai. On my walk home... Well, I thought back..." She swallowed. It'd be difficult to explain intruding upon the house believed to be haunted. Her parents would likely be disappointed. However, the girl knew it was important, and trudged on through the story. "About the house Ayako and I checked out..."

"Which house?" Her mother blinked. Her tone was acquisitive, and, it made her daughter wince.

"The house on Takaido..."

"The Saeki house!?" Her father nearly choked on a bit of steak in his mouth, and her mother rubbed his back. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "What in the world were you doing there, Fumi!? Don't you know it's cursed!?" Of course, the last part of what he said was teasing, and her mother slapped his back lightly.

"Well... Yeah, that's why I wanted to check it out... Ayako came with me because I was too scared to go alone... And, when we got to look in a closet, she had a panic attack, so, we left... She said she saw things. I didn't really... Understand. I thought it was her Schizophrenia acting up. But, she described to me what she saw..."

"And what, exactly, did she see?" Her father questioned pointedly, eying his daughter up and down.

"Well... I think I saw it, too... I couldn't before, but... She described a woman who was a pure white, in a white dress... Her hair was messy and dark, and so were her eyes... Her eyes were blood shot. And... And she made this weird croaking noise! Then, there was this little boy... He was also white, with black hair and eyes... H-he made cat noises and always has this black cat with him..."

"YOU saw them...? Are you sure her crazy didn't rub off on you?" Chieko asked innocently, and, her mother frowned, brows knitting.

"Chieko!"

"No! I'm NOT crazy! I-I saw something...!" The teenager nearly whimpered, and her father scooted closer to carefully hold her while she ranted. "S-she grabbed my face! A-and the boy was playing in the Kojima General Store window! H-he HISSED at me! A-and, some of her blood hit my face!" But, her flesh was clean, untouched. Maybe her friend's death was stressing her out in a way that was thoroughly unhealthy.

"Fumi... You're just stressed out, Honey... You're mind's tired... Why don't you take the day off tomorrow and just relax, hai?" Her father spoke soothingly, holding his child close and humming lovingly. Tearing up, the girl nodded, sniffling to stifle sobs. Chieko groaned. Her dinner was gone, and, it was time for a bath. When she asked, her mother decided her older sister got the first bath of the night. Gratefully, Fumi stood, and straightened out her skirt before starting towards her bedroom.

Nothing was abnormal, or out of place. Nothing was there that shouldn't have been. It was relieving. Her heart beat was steady, and her body wasn't trembling. She browsed her bedroom until she found her towel and a clean change of pajamas for herself. Instantly, she left, flicking the light off behind her and sliding her bedroom door closed. Down the hall, and up the stairs, she made her way to the bathroom and shut the door behind her, sliding the lock into place and setting her clothes on the counter. Fluidly, the teen slipped out of her school uniform, tossing it into the laundry bin and stripping herself of her underwear, as well.

Once she was completely ridden of clothing, she started up the bathwater. Hot, as she liked it. Slowly, the tub filled. The water nearly reached the brim when Fumi turned the faucet off and slid in. It was relieving, the steam and the hot water that smoothed out the goosebumps on her tanned flesh. Her hands rubbed her arms, and a look of calmness spread over her features as her eyes closed. It was nice to again forget about what she'd seen that day. Maybe she WAS just stressed. After all, these sort of things happened to people grieving all the time, right?

However, when she felt a hand sliding up the inside of her thigh, her eyes bolted open. There, at the foot of the tub, was the woman. Fumi's blue eyes widened, and she whimpered pathetically. The white hand seemed to explore her skin, while the black eyes of the ghost examined their prey's body. Small in both height and weight. Her mouth opened, and that groaning noise was emitted. She appeared to be halfway through the wall. The teen let out a shrill shriek, and her father and mother immediately perked their ears and called up to her.

Before Fumi was aware of what was going on, the woman's ebony locks found their way around her neck and pulled her around, slipping in the tub. Water sloshed onto the floor, and she was dragged to the drain, under the water. She couldn't breathe, and her bright eyes were opened to stare at the ceiling as she tried desperately to escape the hair around her neck. Her body thrashed about, and her hands yanked at the tight, unrelenting locks. Soon enough, her father was ramming at the bathroom door. He'd not been able to simply enter due to the lock. Damn teenage girls and their need of privacy!

When he finally broke the screen door down, he found his daughter's lifeless body floating in the tub. Her lips were parted, and her eyes were open. He yelled out, and his wife close behind, screamed at the sight. Chieko tried to enter the room, but, upon her father's command, her uncontrollably sobbing mother pushed her along into the living room. The man slowly walked to the sight. There were thick black tresses wrapped around the girl's neck. Had they not cleaned out the drain...? His wife DID have long, dark hair. But... This dark? No. Not that dark at all. He could only helplessly break the things that seemed to be made of steel but a few moments ago. His darker orbs looked her over, before he fell to his knees in the wet mess, sobbing, head resting on the edge of his home's bathtub that had drowned his daughter at the age of sixteen. It just seemed so awful. Not once did he think to link it back to the sight she'd claimed to have seen earlier that day. His mind was too grief wrapped.

The mortified family went on the next few days to grieve the loss of their eldest daughter. Her room went unused, and, over the days, they just tried to forget about the girl. Sometimes, Chieko would pass by her sister's room, and see a shadow in there. It would coo her closer. A girl in white. She looked like a ghost of her sister. But, when the figure claimed to be Fumi, she showed no fear. Just joy. Joy to have her sister back. A few months later, the Nakamuras lost their younger daughter. She fell out of a window. And, shortly after, the parents Emiko and Masao Nakamura, were found dead. They'd hung themselves with black ropes. Another family broken. Neither Toshio, nor Kayako looked back. They did what they had to. The intruders were dealt with, and their presence went undetected. Exorcists were left to wonder.