38Grimoire
Prologue Arc: Depraved Desires
Disclaimer: Azumanga Daioh is the property of Kiyohiko Azuma and J.C. Staff. No copyright infringement intended.
I thank Elred Bluegreen, Solarius Scorch, Hwikek and Miz-KTakase for helping me with this story. This is my first horror story set in Azumanga Daioh which makes a serious take on our favorite ero teacher, Mr. Kimura. Inspired by Clive Barker, HP Lovecraft and Japanese horror. Please review rate and suggest. The prologue would consist of three parts. If it doesn't scare you outright, it will disturb you and make you question my mental state. This kind my not be for the squeamish so skip if you want. Tell your friends about this too.
Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.
-Japanese Proverb
He was in the park watching from the bushes. He carried a camera, binoculars, and a bird watcher's guide making people think he had an interest in birds. He was sightseeing, but not for birds. He watched the most elusive of pleasures he had ever known, high school girls. He had always desired them for their beauty and innocence, especially the latter for he wished to claim it for himself. He moved around the park during weekdays at around 3:30 PM when all the students left school for home or for some other diversion. He preferred it that way. He never liked the weekends because the school girls appeared merely as faces in the crowd, bland and dull. It was their uniforms that carried the magic, that always turned him on.
He was sometimes inconspicuous in a crowd, clicking his camera at his unsuspecting 'game'. Sometimes he would take cover in the wooded areas of the park, when he felt himself being watched. And when he wanted to linger on, to watch and take one more photo of his favorite girls, using one of his telescopic lenses. The girl who was under his watch always thought she was alone. Or 'they' if they were in a group. And that was exactly what he had in his sights. There were seven of them in all. It was his lucky day.
"Hey, let's go play Krazy Kart!" Tomo shouted with glee, "We have lots of free time today!"
"Don't forget, we have a test tomorrow." Yomi reminded everyone. She took out a tetra pack of iced tea from her bag.
"Oh my,Yomi. Try to forget everything once in a while and relax. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, you know."
There was a pause for a while. Finally, Yomi replied, "I don't want to. And the reverse is true for you." She stabbed the pack with a straw.
"I'm not stupid, Miss Smarty-pants! And don't kill the mood!" Tomo snapped.
"By the way, whose test tomorrow is it?" Osaka airily asked. He noticed that she was least attractive. There was nothing that made her appealing to him.
"It's Mr. Kimura's quiz." Sakaki quietly replied. The girls shuddered. The teacher who announced his desire for high school girls in class left a lot of them shaking. The 'bird watcher' grunted in envy. The bastard gets to be with them for a whole day, he thought. He had heard something about him during one of those culture fests. He heard it from some students who where talking about him and some faculty too. Not a very good impression from the girls and teachers for sure but the boys loved him. He turned back to the girls.
Tomo finally broke the silence. "O…kay, let's not forget that and besides, Kagura is taking time off from her exercise routine. This is her only chance to join us."
"Yeah! I can't wait till I play Krazy Kart!" Kagura exclaimed. She was giddy like a child now that her friends were here.
Chihiro called out from behind, "Hey guys! Wait for me!"
"Hey Chihiro! Just in time to join us!" Tomo said as the girl caught up to the rest of the group.
The conversation became indistinct as he put down his binoculars and took out his camera. Just in time! One more girl today! He carefully took his photos and stalked behind the bushes. He positioned himself for a good shot while staying in the shadows, knowing being caught in his hobby would be most...troublesome. The man did not want to contemplate the consequences.
The "bird watcher" followed them until they left the park. He decided to call it a day. He methodically scanned his surroundings and let out a sigh of relief. He never ventured far beyond the park in his forays. The man always made sure of he was never followed or watched throughout his time in the park. And always had an alibi prepared if he was ever spotted. But so far, he had never needed to use it. The atmosphere outside seemed to turn cold and with that he fled the park as the day turned to dusk.
He arrived at the local Gold Mart; a convenience store chain to which he was a franchisee. He arrived at this time of day to inspect the normally bustling store. Looking from the window at a distance surprised that it was rather sparse. Only a few costumers scattered around the aisles. An employee spotted him walking to the entrance.
The employee greeted him just as he got out, "Good afternoon, Endaka-san. I didn't expect you to be early today."
"It's all right," he answered. He entered through the door and approached the clerk. He asked him, "How are the sales going?"
The clerk smiled and replied, "Things are going well, sir. Sales rates are up by 200 percent this week and Mr. Nagata is proud of our performance."
"Hmm, that's something." He mused.
"And he'll be coming tomorrow to discuss about your performance and expanding this branch."
"Oh. I'll be with him at his earliest possible convenience." His mind thinks otherwise, I hope it's just another discussion of employee performance and restocking of goods for the next month. He hopes it's just that. It's a really long story. His liking for high school girls have been acquired… from a long time ago. Outside the day turned to a kaleidoscope of pink, orange, red, and purple. "I have to go. There's stuff I have to settle at home."
"Alright, Mr. Endaka," replied the clerk, "I'll see to it that everything is in working order." After that, Endaka went to his office to check his inventory and other mundane affairs in the store. Not that he has to stay cooped up in his office everyday and this is some of those occasions where he can take the day off. He is not worried since the ever-reliable clerk and another employee manages things for him on those days. He stays in an office in the store room to monitor the CCTV system installed in the store. When something wrong or something important shows up, he would give him a call from his cell phone. Endaka smiled with satisfaction.
He then left through the back of the store. Not very much activity there either. He moved to his car, a Toyota sedan, parked in the corner of the lot. He walked to the car and he reached into his pocket. He fumbled with his keys until he found the right ones. He opened the door and got in. He started the car and slowly steered around the parking lot. He then maneuvered it out onto the road for the trip home.
He arrived at his house and he quickly got out of his car to open the gate. He got back in his car to wheel it in. Then he got back out to close the gate. Endaka walked to his front door and taked out the bunch of keys from his pocket. He glanced at the clock. It was already five, time to watch the news. He wearily took off his shoes and placed them on the shoe rack. He then took a pair of slippers from the rack and put them on. With a sigh of relief, he sat down on the couch and effortlessly took the ever-present remote from its perch on the arm. He turned the TV on. The news appeared right on time. Today's feature was teh same as always. A traffic accident here, a violent robbery there, a cabinet meeting scheduled for next week, a terrorist attack somewhere around the world, the weather report, the value of yen, and the hit song and the latest fad.
Not that everything he saw is really interesting. But he always had apprehension, whenever a face of a suspect shows up on the tube. Endaka had chills down his spine on those occasions. On the surface, he is a solitary but respectable fellow, franchisee of a convenience store and a level-headed and easy-going man. However, barely a soul has any idea about his real life and Endaka is not even his real name. He had something that lay below the surface of people's everyday understanding of him.
Several years ago...
Inside an orphanage in the woody outskirts of an unknown city, a two-story house sat in a high walled enclosure. The night was essentially silent, save for the occasional chirp of crickets. If one scaled the decrepit walls, cracked with peeling fading paint and covered with vines. Silently moving towards the house, one would hear the heart-wrenching sounds. The whappack of canes, the crack of leather belts, the shouts of abuse, screams of pain, and the sobbing of children. Fists making contact with flesh and bone. All of this echoed throughout the building with distressing regularity.
The children ate, slept and do their daily activities in fear. The personnel loomed over them menacingly.
"Eat your shit, you fucking brat!" A man grabbed a fistful of hair from a small boy and lifted him up. He then smashed his face against his spilled curry and rubbed him hard against the mess. The other children in the dark eating hall huddled.
The man, finished, quickly turned to some of the other children and shouted, "Finish your food or you'll end up like him too!"
The children meekly turned to their plates and resumed eating, albeit pathetically. At a corner table, four girls huddled in fear as they ate their meager meals. They have disheveled hair, making them look pitiful. One of them was squirming with fright. She turned to one of her companions, "Amaya, I'm scared. I don't think I can keep this up any longer."
"Hush, Hisako!" Whispered her friend. "Just finish your food and they'll leave you alone."
Hisako turned to back to her food. A shout rang from behind her.
"Hey! Why are you not eating!"
Another inmate, this time a girl, got beaten. Her screams and cries echoed throughout as she was half dragged out of the room. They cowered even more and proceeded to finish the remains of their food. Their meal time ended when the clock rang. It's time for them to go bed. The children made a march to their bed rooms. Here the five girls cherished the relative safety of the room. Outside, they could hear the beatings and the screams that became a common nighttime occurrence, only to abate the lateness of the hour. The girls lay down in bed to contemplate their preparations amidst the oppressive atmosphere.
"They're giving him the casket punishment." Hisako said quietly. The boy's screams and the brutish guard's shouts pierced the night's calm. It made the darkness more sinister.
"I don't think we'll make it." One of the girls said. She began sobbing.
"Don't worry, everyone, we'll get out of here if we stick together." Amaya whispered to everyone. "Mai, please calm down. We need you."
"But what if we get caught. They'll kill us or give us to Oni-sama."
The very utterance of the name sent chills down their spines. They heard about that some of the girls who were really troublesome were sent to him. Every one of them who goes through whatecver it was are no longer themselves. Whatever unspoken horrors they endured, they kept eerily silent. They were lifeless and catatonic. Everyone wondered where he broke them, but no one dared to find out where 'Oni-sama' does his work.
"Mai, you are the only who sneaked out without being caught. We need you in this one." Amaya reminded. There were footsteps outside echoing through the night.
The last of the girls, Sora, said to everyone. "Hush, everyone, the guards are making their rounds. We have to wait till one o' clock." At that everyone uneasily lay down and shut their eyes pretending to be asleep.
At the house night had fallen. The news had ended and a drama series began to play. The man got up, turned off the tube and went towards the kitchen. There he fixed himself up a sandwich and a drink. As he ate, he contemplated about his life. Ten years he hid ever since that orphanage incident. At the first sign of danger he betrayed his colleauges by taking their money and leaving them for good. For months the police hounded him from place to place searching him from the seediest back alleys to the remotest towns. He had to leave sooner or later. Then came a day he had chanced upon a lonely grave in a cemetery where he was taking shortcut on one rainy foggy day. There he found it in a deteriorated condition. The broken stone pillar was slightly leaning, making appear it was sinking into the muddy ground it was set on; the surface worn smooth with cracks on the edges and overrun with vegetation, no doubt from years of neglect. He squinted to see the name written on the tombstone: Takeo Endaka.
Then an idea hit him. If he took the dead man's identity, he would be off the hook but he would have to disappear and lay low for a while. From that day on he started his new life. A month later he had his new identity forged and later one night he escaped the police and the country, taking the slow boat out to the Middle East and freedom. There he worked as a supervisor in a construction company for seven years. But he missed Japan. It seemed the winds of the old country were calling to him. He mulled over that thought for days, until he decided to return. Perhaps the police had given up on him already. He quit his job and took all the money he had saved for going home. One of the most memorable things in his life happened to him three days before his return.
He was walking on the crowded busy souq where he scouted for souvenirs to bring home with. Walking in the hot, crowdy and dusty streets was something he wasn't used to since he had spent time in his work station. He surveyed the many shops that lined the souq until he noticed one a bearded man banging a radio. The man, a shopkeeper, was somewhat idle at this time of the day in his rather crowded shop, not unusual here in these parts. "Blasted radio," the shopkeeper muttered banging the set.
Endaka greeted him, "Good morning."
"Oh, good morning," the shopkeeper replied with a good-natured chuckle. "I didn't notice you. I wasn't expecting customers until the next hour and was just getting this piece of junk here working." He pointed to the radio.
"No argument there." He said. "May I have a look around here?"
"Oh, most certainly. Follow me." He offered. Endaka follwed the man. There he showed him all the wares in his shop with the grace of someone who prides himself in his trade. He watched it with a little boredom since he is just like all the other shopkeepers in this place, although he had to admire this man since he took his livelihood seriously enough to put everything in his shop in meticulous order. As his eyes gazed around he noticed a small radio set that was seating in a corner. It was an old set like the ones used in the 1940's. It was worn and it had a little dent.
He asked him, "What's that radio doing over there? Is it for sale?"
The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow and turned to the direstion of the object, "You mean that? Well, that thing was seating on my shop for quite a long time. I never used it or sold it to anyone."
Endaka was puzzled, "How come?"
The shopkeeper replied slowly, a dark cloud had cast over his eyes, "A merchant from down south came to my family one night. I was helping out at the shop when he arrived. He was fleeing the unrest that gripped that country during that time. My father and him were talking about the fighting that raged all over there. After that he should him his wares including an old radio, which he was going to give it him for free."
"Free?"
"The thing had a bizarre history. The merchant begged for my father to take it. From what I heard this radio, they say, belonged to some archeologist. He said about all sorts of strange things about that set. There was one story that told about how it came to him. The original owner died during the Catastrophe." His breath grew heavy and his hands curled into fist.
Endaka noticed his change of mood. He knew that the 'Catastrophe' was when the new nation of Israel was formed, "I'm sorry...You don't have to continue..."
"But I must continue." the shopkeeper said. He then continued, "During the fighting, the poor man was looted by bandits when he tried to flee the country. Interestingly, all had was his notes, logbook and the radio. The ringleader, according to one tale, betrayed his men and went off to the desert alone. Some say he killed his men during in their sleep. Whatever version each tale they say the same thing: he came to a camp of Bedioun one night and started crying insanely into the air. Something like, 'The end is near! Ignorance is bliss! Satan shall again walk the earth!' He fell on the sand and died three hours later. The frightened folk found the man with his torso ripped open and all his innards are gone. And the thing he was carrying with him was that." The two men turned to the radio before facing each other again.
The pervert felt his spine run cold, "Really...?"
"It's just a third of it." He replied. "An autopsy was performed by a missionary doctor who found out that he was already dead for three days. Then some time later and by whatever means it turned up in a market in Aden. Another man who bought died in his sleep three days later. It finally ended up with the merchant who lost his family even before the war started. His wife was beatened to death while he was away on a business trip. Then his eldest son died when he slipped off the roof of his house. And tragically, his second son and his daughter were killed during the fighting."
"My God...that thing is cursed..."
"True. He told us of the radio turning on by itself even in the absence of power and uttering voices. Voices of the dead including that of his poor family, plus voices of which he could not comprehend. And worst, voices so unearthly that some claim to come from hell. He begged us to take it of his hands and said to say prayers before destroying it. After that he left."
"Did anything happened to you after that?"
"First, my father. He was going to destroyed that thing as promised but he died of a heart attack while he was going to the mosque. Then a passerby told us about it and gave us back to radio. Then their was my mother. She was killed in a cooking fire while preparing food before dawn." His voice had betrayed some sorrow. "Then there was my brother. He started using damn thing and had became consumed by it. He died after we had a very violent argument. He walked out of the house and got killed by a passing car." The man felt exhausted and limp. He took a seat on a nearby stool.
Endaka was silent. Then the man continued, "Before my brother died, he said something about the radio that will fulfill his heart's desire. And there some more stories surrounding it, that it turns on during least expected hours of the night even when no one is touching it, wailing all sorts of things. At times myself I would just hear ordinary radio broadcast. Then it would change to the voice of the love of my heart. Then I can hear the voices of Mother and Father, and then...that of my brother after he died. Then those unearthly voices saying things I couldn't understand. At times it would persist to the wee hours of the morning. I don't know if all of it is real or not."
Endaka felt sympathy of the man. He said to him. "Alright...I'll take it?"
The shopkeeper raised his head "What?"
"I said 'I'll take it.'"
"I'll give it you for free."
"No, no. I'll pay you. It should be worth of all the trouble you've been through." So they discussed price, although the merchant is less than enthusiastic about it than Mr. Endaka. He got it at a rather cheap price. At his room one night, he wondered whether the shopkeeper made it up or told the truth as pondered about the new radio. It worked perfectly, blaring the tunes of popular American songs. He decided he was telling the truth...as he sees it... since he is willing to give it away so much. Two days later he was on a plane home and ready to start over with a clean slate.
Already it was nine o'clock, the gibbous night sitting complacently above the world. Time to get those pictures ready. He walked upstairs to his bedroom and opened the door. Inside his bedroom he couldn't contain his excitement as he sat on his desk. There he turned on his computer and took out the SD card. He mused while he waited for the computer to load. Soon he'll add today's new set of pictures to his collection for him to gaze in glee.
In his albums he already had a gallery of beauties to grace his dreams from his trips to Kasukabe and Nishinomiya including a girl with green eyes, long blue hair, a catlike mouth and the body of a sixth grader; a taller glasses-wearing girl with long pink hair and an excellently proportoned body, who somewhat resembled one of his recent prey; another one with orange ribbons on her hair and a playful, if annoying and mischevous, bearing; her friend with wavy autumn hair and a large bust size, and pale, gray-haired girl who looks lifeless. He would normally like to watch them but he was always irritated by the two boys that always escort them home. One of them is a brunette so handsome that he doubted if he liked girls while the other has a dispassionate look on his face. Just then, he forgot forgot to turn on his radio.
Endaka got up and went to the nightstand to turn it on. He then tuned it in to a channel where he listens to good music. Then he went back on his seat. He plugged the SD card to the comp. He then proceeded to copy the files in a folder. Finally, he began printing. He got his first picture hot off the press, the seven girls that he stalked in the park. He was enjoying his prize and letting his mind wander off.
KZZZZT! KZZZZ KZZZZ
The static noise from the radio took him out of his revelry. He looked at it. He stood up and turned to it. As always, he turned the knob to change station. It switched to a radio comedy. He turned his back to continue printing his gallery. Then it turned back to blaring static again. Somethings wrong. He tuned in to several stations but it was the same thing. He broke cold sweat when he remembered the shopkeeper's story. No, it's just plain nonesense, he thought. He got back and turned it off. Just as he returned to his chair the radio slowly crackled back to life. Endaka felt unease, not knowing what to make it. The radio crackled static that squalled variably from high to low pitches, like an unseen hand turning the knobs. The printer hummed away at the back added to the eerie ambience. He stood there like a statue, his heart seized with fear and confusion as he couldn't decide on what to make of it, whether to flee or stay. The squalling persisted on what seemed to be an eternity. Then it stopped. Each second became an hour as he feebly shuffled his feet a bit. Finally, the radio uttered back to life.
It whispered electrically, "Se..iji...Seiji..."
Something dark and primal crept into him, it mentioned his his real first name. Mustering all the courage that he could scrape, however, he answered weakly, "Yes...?"
The radio replied, "Come...hi...ther...Seiji..."
That really chilled him. His mind was screaming him to move his feet and bolt for the door. The radio continued, "Do...not...be...afraid..."
His voice got shaky, "H-how t-the hell did you know my name?"
"I...have...been...with...you...quite...some...time..."
"W-what do y-you want from me?"
"Please...come...hither...I...have...things...to...show...you..."
Perplexed, he approached the thing slowly, his heart pounding so loudly that it was practically the only thing he could hear as he made each feverish step to it. He remembered his talk with the shopkeeper. About the voices that could be heard at night. But this is totally different! They are calling to him out front. And he wasn't sure why he obeyed it. Finally, Endaka stopped in front of it and knelt before it. He spoke, "What...things? Why do you call to me?"
"Your...desires...," it replied cryptically, "I...can...fulfill...them..."
He suddenly recalled the part about shopkeeper's brother saying that it can grant anyone's wishes like some goddamned magic lamp. It continued, "Do...not...heed...his...words..."
"W-who's words? You mean the shopkeeper?" How in the hell does it what I'm thinking?
"Yes...he...is...unworthy... He...refuses...to...let...go... To...open...his...heart...to...me... But...I...bear...no...ill...will...on...you..."
"But he said you're-" He retorted.
"Cursed...? I...never...wished...harm... But...some...of...them...clung...to...their...fears...hatreds...and ignorance... Others...feel...they...I am...only...worth...a...day's...bread..."
"How about his brother?" His distress had subsided a bit.
"He...was...too...rash... Too...excessive... His...folly...was...his...love...for...mammon... I...never...desired...his...expiration...but... he...merely...thought...of...me...as... a mere trinket...for...his...grandiose...schemes... I...had...to...act...swiftly..."
"You...killed him? You had to, I mean."
"Yes... Yet...your own desires...are...much...more...simpler... I...shall...grant...them...as...token...of...my...gratitude..." At those words, Endaka went back to high spirits. He was both overjoyed and relieved. He asked it, "You mean it?"
The voice became more coherent, "I...never...broke...my...word... Invoke to me...your desires...and...I...shall grant...them..."
Endaka could not believe his ears, it was too good to be true. He said to it, "I am in your debt. Shall I begin?"
It whispered its reply, "Please. Take your time."
He began with his job at the orphanage and about how he attained his desire for school girls. Their youthfulness and innocence he first tasted.
This the longest first chapter I've ever done. The next part of the prologue would come shortly.
