"Wow…"

Mikoto, Katsu, and Yoshiko stood in the open doorway of the storeroom. It was so big – much larger than any of them had expected. It even had a second story – how many storerooms had two floors?

Yoshiko rushed forward, Mikoto and Katsu on her heels. They crawled all around the room, looking for various points of interest. Katsu even braved himself enough to walk across the narrow beams on the second floor, although he didn't find anything of interest.

"This house is so cool!" Yoshiko said in admiration. "It's nothing like the haunted house everyone says it is!"

"Yeah," Katsu added from his perch on the board above them. "We'll have to get Mitsuko up here soon."

Mikoto slid onto the ladder and began climbing back down. "I'm gonna go see if we have any snacks," she called to her friends.

She touched down on the ground and turned to leave. Her mother was probably in her favorite room – that would be a good place to

Come along with me.

She came to a halt.

"…Mikoto?" Yoshiko called from the upper level. "Are you okay?"

Mikoto blinked once, and then grinned. How silly she was being! "I'm fine!" she called cheerily. "Just got lost in thought for a sec…"

She went out in search of her mother, and hopefully a treat or two.

Ryozo wandered into the area beyond the Cherry Atrium. He wasn't sure what its use was, exactly – Yae had jokingly referred to it as the Abyss, and that's pretty much what it seemed like to him. A Hellish Abyss.

Will you stop it? Ryozo chastised himself. You are being an imbecile!

He walked to the center of the…place…and examined his surroundings. He still needed a clue. Some way to unlock the backyard door. He had tried to unlock it using the same method Katsu had on the Storeroom door, but it had failed (as well as pinched both of his index fingers). There had to be a text or something…

He walked across the wooden bridges to the rock formation on the other side – what he suspected was a grave. Nothing of interest. Again.

Or was there?

He bent forward and examined the rubble. Yes…there it was! A small carving. Perhaps it would fit in one of those doors with the sliding puzzles on them.

"Well, progress is progress…" he whispered. He closed his hand around the stone and stood back up.

Maybe the burial room would have a clue.

Within fifteen minutes, he was standing in the backyard. As it turned out, the burial room did have a clue – or, to put it more accurately, the combination for the lock. It also had some very interesting text referring to a "Blinding Ritual"…he would have to study that further…

He looked to the shrine in the distance. There should be something of interest over there. And, of course, a locked door. These people sure had been paranoid…

Do you ever think that they had a good reason?

Ryozo rolled his eyes. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't.

It was his job to find out.

Yae wandered through the house, looking for her daughter. Mikoto had said that they might go to the storeroom, so she checked there first.

As she walked inside, she saw feet suspended from the rafter above her. "Katsu!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure you should be doing that?"

Katsu looked down at her and laughed mirthfully. "Don't worry Munakata-san," he answered. "I've got a great sense of balance."

Yae looked at him nervously. "Okay…just be careful." She shifted her gaze so that she could see Yoshiko too. "Is Mikoto in here?"

"No," Yoshiko answered. "She left a few minutes ago looking for you."

"I see…thank you." Yae turned to leave. She turned around

Come along with me.

Yae slowly turned around. "Did you say something?" she asked the children.

Katsu shook his head. Yae paused for a second, and then walked out of the room.

Yoshiko shot Katsu a questioning glance. "I dunno," he said, shrugging. "Maybe they have some kind of family hearing disease."

The Munakatas stood on the balcony overlooking the Cherry Atrium, watching the sunset.

"You know," Mikoto started, "something really weird happened to me today…"

Ryozo looked at his daughter. "What?"

"Well, I was in the storeroom with my friends, and when I started to leave…"

Yae's face suddenly tensed. "You heard something," she finished.

Ryozo switched his gaze to Yae, while Mikoto cocked her head. "She called to you, too?" she asked her mother.

"Who?" Ryozo asked.

"I don't know…" Yae shook her head. "I was leaving, and I heard a woman's voice. I thought at first it was Yoshiko, but…I don't know…"

"She said she wanted me to go with her somewhere." Mikoto amended.

Ryozo turned back to the Cherry Atrium. "How strange…" he murmured.

Yae slid the door open and walked into the room beyond. This place…it was so familiar! She didn't remember being there before, but still…at the same time, she knew that she had.

The room was large and dark. There was a sunken fireplace in the middle of it, and several partitions all around.

She began to walk through it. But as she passed the doorway…

"Yae…where?"

She turned to the sunken fireplace. Standing before it was a teenage girl. Yae stared at her for a second, before slowly approaching.

"…Sae…"

When Yae woke up, she was covered in sweat.

"Who was that?" she whispered to herself. "Who was calling to me?..."

Yay! Chapter three, complete! I hope you liked it. : )

See you next update!