KYOKO

The young and pretty Kyoko Suzuki walked towards her brother's real estate business.

"What could he possibly want this time?" she muttered to herself as she walked through the sliding door. Her brother Tatsuya greeted her and offered her some sake.

"Tatsuya, isn't Nobuyuki waiting for you at home?" she scolded.

"Fine, let's get down to business. I need you to look at a property with me."

"Why?"

"This house has a history. Everyone that's lived there has died. You're psychic, so I was wondering if there was anything…unusual there."

"Fine…where is it?"

It was now late in the afternoon, and Tatsuya was unlocking the door to the Murakami residence. When he was finished, they stepped inside and into the foyer.

"I hope the buyer doesn't mind buying the house as is…" Tatsuya said.

Kyoko felt a presence towards the window on the second floor. She could've sworn she saw a woman. She blinked…and it disappeared.

"Are you alright?" Tatsuya questioned.

"It's not just those people who died here." Kyoko whispered.

In a trance, she moved upstairs and into the master bedroom. The light inside flickered on and off.

"Tatsuya," she shouted downstairs. "Get me some distilled alcohol!"

Tatsuya did as she requested, bringing her the bottle of sake. She took a big swig from it and spluttered. She ran towards the window to the outside and spat it out, coughing. She turned towards Tatsuya.

"Distilled alcohol is used in exorcism," she said raspily. "Because it's able to absorb large amounts of psychic energy. Leave the sake in this room. Whenever someone wants to buy the house, make them sip this sake. If they spit it out, they can't be allowed to live here. Promise me, Tatsuya!"

"I don't understand." Was all he said.

"There's nothing more I can do here." Kyoko said quietly as she descended the stairs and out into the night sky.

In Tatsuya Suzuki's new apartment, Nobuyuki Suzuki was sitting in the TV room, a glazed look on his eyes. Everything that had happened in the past few weeks was a blur: his parents getting in that car crash, him moving to another part of the city, losing his friends…at least he had his Uncle Tatsuya and Aunt Kyoko. As he mulled this over, the TV signal started getting worse and worse. He moved forward to fiddle with the TV…and saw the most disturbing image he'd seen.

He stumbled back and gasped for breath. This stopped when he felt a hand crawl up his back. He turned his head over his shoulder to see a woman looking at him, her hand on his shoulder.

"What? You sold it!" Kyoko shouted into her cell phone.

"It's alright. I made them drink the sake." Tatsuya replied as he sat in his office.

Kyoko had nothing more to listen to as she shut off the phone and ran towards the Saeki house.

When she finally arrived, the front window was drawn open. Kyoko stood paralyzed in fear, finally realizing what the curse, the Ju-on, had become.

The placard that read "Kitada Residence" was to her a farce. Standing at the window, looking straight at her, was none other than…

Kayako Saeki. The woman, smiling, turned away from Kyoko and into the confines of the house.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a camera's flash go off. She turned to see a policeman walking off, a sullen expression on his face. Was he crying?

Kyoko pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Sato, her assistant in her detective agency.

"Suzuki Detective Agency." His voice rang out on the phone.

"Sato? It's me."

"What do you need now, Kyoko?"

"I'm going to need all information connected to the Murakami disappearances and anything related to it. Think you can do that, Sato?"

"Why do you need this?" Sato replied inquisitively.

"Just do it, Sato." Kyoko retorted, and hung up.

The next day, Kyoko was watching the children play in the park, laughing and having the time of their lives. She wished she could have some of that innocence back. An arm came to rest upon her shoulder. She turned to see Sato, smiling and holding a stuffed blue folder.

"Kyoko…I've read some of this stuff and it's pretty creepy. You sure you want to read this stuff?"

"Positive."

"Kyoko…I don't want you to die." Sato said as he patted her shoulder and walked off.

Kyoko started flipping through the folder:

Well-Known Artist Slays Family in Saitama Prefecture House…

…Takeo Saeki (24), is still missing after brutally murdering wife Kayako (22) and son Toshio (6)…

…Murderer Saeki found dead in neighborhood street…

…Saeki has been connected with another brutal murder…

…body of Toshio Saeki still missing…

…Murders and disappearances in Saitama home…

…Noriko Murakami, Kanna Murakami, and Yuki Murakami were all found inside the attic of an infamous house…

…Shunsuke Kobayashi (26), a local teacher, was found inside the Saeki house…

…wife of elementary school teacher found brutally murdered in Apt. 205…

The last article stuck in Kyoko's mind. What made it so familiar? Then it clicked. Kyoko ruffled through her purse and eventually dug out Tatsuya's new apartment address: the apartment number was 205, in the exact same complex.

She froze as she received one of her "psychic feelings": the Ju-on had spread to more places than just that house. It was in that apartment. Where Nobuyuki was.

She sprung up and ran to Apt. 205, where a lingering evil lay.

It was nighttime when Kyoko arrived to Tatsuya's apartment. Kyoko, out of breath, pulled out her key and tried the door. It was already unlocked. Kyoko walked fearfully into the inky-black apartment. The first noise she heard was the static of a nearby television. She ran into the TV room and tripped over an outstretched leg on the floor. It was Nobuyuki.

"Nobu-chan! You'll die if you stay here!" She yelled to the boy. He just stared towards the double sliding door of the living room.

The doors were slid open just a little, revealing a slice of gray light emanating from the room. Kyoko moved forward, flung open the doors, and immediately recoiled in terror.

It was like a flashback, except it seemed all too real. A bloody Takeo Saeki was in front of a very dead Manami Kobayashi, pulling out…something from the woman. Then Takeo slowly turned around to look at the fear-driven individuals in the back of the room. Kyoko's world went black as the Ju-on spirit approached.