A woman informs her teenaged daughter, Kotone that she had tracked down someone who may be able to help them remove a curse which befell her body as a horrible skin condition. After a bit of hesitation due to the past failures of others who sought to help her, Kotone agrees. The following day, they visit a Shinto shrine where the priestess deduces that enemies of their ancestors had brought the curse upon their family and proceeds to evoke a ritual that night which seemingly cures Kotone. At their home as an apparently cured Kotone prepares to leave for school, her mother receives a phone call from the priestess' aide. He informs her that the priestess died as the curse was passed on to her, and he relates her final message to Kotone in which she laments her failure to help them but expresses her hope she can live a full life. As the mother receives these words and Kotome walks with a friend, it begins to rain and the skin condition erupts on her neck, forming a hand that begins to tighten its hold around her throat.