Prayer Beads

Miki has been depressed due to the disappearance of her husband Akira. Her friend Hiroko attempts to comfort Miki, but is very worried about her friend. Miki spends all of her time in her apartment with the draperies shut, and she isn't taking very good care of her son named Takuya, who leaves for school before she awakens. As the story unfolds, it becomes quite clear that both Miki and Hiroko and both hiding deadly secrets from one another.

A young couple, Mayu & Kota, travel to a mountain cabin for a getaway. They arrive late and find that the cabin has no water. When they contact the manager, they are told that they must wait until the next morning for repairs, because no one in that area goes out at night -- people are afraid to. Kota ventures out to get Mayu something to drink and comes across an ancient vending machine. The couple both drink the unfamiliar brand of soft drink and suddenly find themselves behaving very strangely.

Yuki and his sleazy business associate scam money from innocent people by pretending to be distant relatives in need of funds. When Yuki goes to visit a old woman, posing as a friend of her grandson, strange things begin to happen.

Azuma is a surgeon who is plagued by headaches, which are affecting his work. Despite the fact that his friend and colleague, Nagai, attacked Azuma and injured his wrist, he takes the man's advice and seeks help from an underground healer. This man gives Azuma a drug which causes him to begin having very vivid and disturbing visions. Are these hallucinations or is he beginning to see the world for what it really is?

Kuni, Yuu, and Maki meet in an online chat room and decide to go mushroom hunting. (?!) While climbing the mountain, they meet an old man who tells them that no one ventures into the area due to a local legend about a witch. Undaunted, the friends continue their quest. They soon meet a kindly old woman in the woods. There's nothing suspicious about that, right?

The public is captivated when a seal-like animal, nicknamed "Eddie", appears in the Edogawa River. Everyone, that is except for young Ikuo. His Grandpa is the leader of a group who wants to save Eddie, but Ikuo is the only one who seems to dislike the creature. This may be because many people dislike Ikuo as people tend to die around him. Even Grandpa finds Ikuo a little creepy. Should Grandpa trust his instincts and help to protect Eddie, or trust his grandson?