Chapter 7: Death too early

The following day:

Megumi was still curious about Kanemasa, though this reason was different. She noticed that Chizuru's hand was cold...cold as ice. She thought that it was because of the rare medical condition she had, according to her husband. But she noticed something else...something that shouldn't be real. Fangs...she didn't know if she imagined them or not, but she wanted to find out, despite what Natsuno said to her—"Let me know when you think about going back to that house, I want to know more about those people."

Like yesterday, when she stood in front of the gate, it opened.

Several hours later:

"Kaori. Did you see Megumi today?" Kaori's mother received a phone call from Megumi's parents.

"I met her in front of the gate when I took Love out for a walk." She responded, not wanting to bring up their argument. "Her mother said she hasn't come home." Kaori was surprised—even though Megumi hated the village, she always returned home—"What? Megumi is missing?" Akira couldn't help but blurt out. "Don't be stupid! She's just a little late!"

"But, look at the time!"

Word of Megumi's disappearance spread quickly(as rumors in small villages do), even Old man Ookawa heard, and he took nothing lightly. "What was that!?" He was yelling into the phone, "Shimizu's daughter went missing in the direction of the mountain!?"

"Atushi, let's get going!" He yelled for his son.

"Do I have to go too?" He was in his 30s and was still scared of his father. "Isn't Shimizu the one from lower Sotoba? Shouldn't we leave this to lower Sotoba's fire department..." his father punched him in the face(Not the first time, and certainly wouldn't be the last), "Let's go on a mountain hunt!"

Everyone was searching the area for any sign of Megumi. No luck. Even Natsuno noticed that she didn't call him to check on him like she normally did for the past three days. He walked out of his room to find his father about to leave. "What's going on?" he asked. His father responded, "Shimizu's daughter went missing!" Natsuno became concerned when he said this, Is that why she hasn't called today? he wondered to himself. He knew her well enough to consider her a friend, and as her friend, he had to search as well, so he grabbed a flashlight and went with his father. "Wait, I'm coming too!"

Past midnight:

"I found her!" Natsuno yelled out to the others. Megumi was laying unconsciously on the ground, her neck had what appeared to be two insect bites.

Later that day:

"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice Doctor Ozaki!" Megumi's parents were scared for their daughter's health, "She won't eat at all, she just stares blankly into space!"

"Megumi, it's Ozaki." The village doctor spoke softly, "Your parents said you haven't eaten anything. What's wrong with your appetite?" She didn't answer. He checked her heartbeat with his Stethoscope, and recognized some of the symptoms. "She doesn't have a fever, and apart from some insect bites, there are no signs of external injury. Her pulse is a little fast. Blood pressure is considerably lower than normal." He said to her parents, "It's anemia, but apart from that, nothing out of the ordinary. She might recover in a couple days. As a precaution, I'd better take a blood sample for a test."

Just as Dr. Ozaki finished taking the sample, Megumi spoke softly, "Sleepy." he was surprised as anyone before she spoke again, "So sleepy."

Meanwhile:

Natsuno was confused about why he went searching for Megumi in the first place. As far as he was concerned, he would've been better off without her. I hardly even know Shimizu. He stopped wondering, and continued studying - It was best not to think about her(For an unknown reason, her father banned him from seeing her).

Megumi only got worse the next day - Her skin was starting to shrivel up, as if she was drying out.

Kaori came to visit her and noticed. Kaori, I'm sorry for not listening to you. Megumi thought to herself. "Megumi, here's something wonderful! I was totally shocked!" her friend said excitedly, "I met the lady from that mansion!"

"She's incredible. She's so stylish, like an actress! I was only in a T-shirt so I felt a little embarrassed!"

"I know..." Megumi responded softly, "What a beautiful person...very..." She's not normal. Something's unnatural. she thought to herself, Her hand...it was as cold as ice...and...she had fangs!

Dawn:

The phone rang in Dr. Ozaki's clinic. "This is Ozaki." The doctor had just woken up, when the shocking news came to him, "WHAT!?"

Megumi was dead. Everyone heard about it, and was shocked at how sudden and unexpected it was, even Natsuno. "Shimizu's...dead!?"

Connor:

Dammit!

Was this the doing of Inferno?

Is my ignorance what caused this?

Wrapped with grief over the death of one of his first friends, Connor's resolve to find and destroy Soul Edge only strengthened.