Utahime practically stumbled and crawled out of the doorway.
Her foot caught on the hallway carpet, pitching her forward. She nearly fell. Bracing a hand against the opposite wall, she steadied herself, then immediately turned around, planted both hands on the door, and shoved it shut. It closed with a bang. She leaned against it, head lowered, trying to catch her breath.
The carpet was dark gray, soft and silent underfoot. A stale smell hung in the air, like damp wood mixed with moldy fabric.
Utahime closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. But the scene she had just witnessed kept replaying in her head-that room, that bed, and those three rats underneath it...
"Ugh..." she muttered under her breath. "If I'd known it would be this creepy, I wouldn't have come..."
An abandoned Western-style house, reports of successive disappearances, no witnesses, scarcely any clues, and traces of cursed energy so faint they were almost undetectable. She and Mei Mei had spent hours wandering through the house, finding nothing, discovering nothing. Yet the feeling that "something was watching" had never left them...
A hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
"Aah!"
Utahime screamed and sprang away from the door as if she had been electrocuted. She whipped around, flailing both hands in front of her.
A face appeared in her field of vision. Long white hair, pale skin, and the faint suggestion of an amused smile.
"Hey, Utahime."
Mei Mei stood before her, holding her black, long-handled umbrella with its tip resting on the floor. Her expression was calm, a hint of mischief in her eyes.
Utahime patted her chest and let out a long breath.
"You scared me to death... Mei Mei, weren't you checking the first floor? Why are you up on the second?"
Mei Mei tilted