Dr. Ozaki is convinced that Nao Yasumori has contracted the same illness that killed Megumi and several other in the village. He conducts numerous tests, all of which return conflicting results that do not match any known disease. Nao dies just like the others from an unknown cause.
Meanwhile Natsuno wearily continues his daily life with his best friend Mutou Tooru. The words of his frenemy Murasako Masao, "Megumi might hate you so much she'll come back to visit you!", leave Natsuno shaken. A terrifying thought that the feeling that someone is still watching him just like Megumi did could be real.
The monk Seishin is visited by a young girl named Sunako and tells him she really enjoyed his novels.