55 pages • 1 hour read
Strange Houses
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Chapter 4-AfterwordChapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness, bullying, mental illness, sexual violence, self-harm, death by suicide, graphic violence, ableism, child death, pregnancy termination, and emotional abuse.
Chapter 4 Summary: “House of Chains”
Yuzuki shares information about her mother while she and Uketsu travel to meet her. Yoshie Katabuchi moved to Saitama Prefecture when she married Yuzuki’s father. Yoshie later divorced her second husband, Kiyotsugu, and now lives alone in Kumagaya City.
Upon arriving, Yuzuki nervously leads Uketsu to her mother’s apartment. Inside, Uketsu observes a family photo taken at an amusement park when Yuzuki and Ayano were still children. Yoshie admits that she promised Yuzuki’s father that she would keep the truth a secret. She always hoped that Yuzuki would escape the “family curse.” However, she cannot avoid telling her the truth now that she has received a letter from Keita Katabuchi, Ayano’s husband.
In the letter, Keita explains that he and Ayano desperately need help. He recalls how he and Ayano met in high school. Because of his studious nature, Keita was the frequent target of school bullies. Ayano was the only person who ever expressed sympathy for him. This became the basis of their relationship, which turned romantic after two years. Uketsu observes that Ayano went to high school in the same prefecture where the grandparents’ house was located, which aligns with Kurihara’s theory that they were indoctrinating her.
