A man groans as he lies on the ground unfamiliar to himself. Alone in an alley. Maggots and worms writhe from trash to give themselves into him, rats which become their carriers keep him company, the stray cats that would feast upon them purr as they nuzzle into his side.
The unwanted and unbeloved creatures of the night which are stained with the evil of the world give their lives as nourishment for his essence. Consumed whole.
As they become one within his darkness, he slowly recalls a shattered past, a broken life and stumbles to his feet.
"Who... Am I?"
Leaning against the wall of the narrow pathway, he finds a thrown out mirror in the trash, his reflection an insane sight.
Shadow is his skin and black is his uniform. A crimson trench coat whose coattails extend and split as an otherworldly shroud. Hate-filled eyes of vengeful green glow with sorrow deep rooted in self-loathing. A police badge with a name is on the left breast of the coat, but is corroded by the darkness, slowly overtaken. He can see a number and a family name.
Niijima.
"Niijima... Who's... Niijima...!? Am I...?"
His hands, claws that dig into the mask which obscures his face, eyes locked onto the badge number as it changes with the name.
"You're Spawn."
"Spawn...?"
He looks back to the voice which mocks him. Unfamiliar yet recognizable. A short stocky fat man with balding hair and clown make-up. Clothes, stained and with holes that barely fit the large frame of the clown, stretch with each passing movement. The sight and smell of this creature alone is enough to make the man desire to gag. The Clown laughs at his reaction.
"Hellspawn to be exact. It's what you are, babe. Plus, you gotta be a bit more specific! There's only two Niijima's left you know."
"You're lying...! There's three! I would know, I... I know them!"
"Then uh, why dont you go find them? Try Shujin Academy! It'll be morning by the time ya get there on foot!"
"Shujin... Academy..."
"Just don't forget about our deal, now!~"
Spawn stumbles on his feet with a clumsy walk ahead, slowly gathering his bearings, he instinctively recedes himself further into the cost he wears. The streets soon fill with people as he leaves the alleyways, and the town flashes quick memories of a time before, the structures unchanging yet he finds himself unable to recall it as home.
Was it ever his home to begin with?
He notices a growing number of teenagers in school uniforms. The emblem on many of them reading Shujin. As he follows the crowd he finds himself obstructed by a toll gate at a subway station.
"Sir!"
An officer standing watch at the gate calls out to him. With a cold sweat beading down his brow, he watches a goliath of a man whose coattails seemingly move on their own turn to him, eyes of baleful green that glares harshly at him. The face in his perspective is hidden by both the collar of the cost and the shadow cast by the hat.
"Y-You... You have to pay the toll!"
"... For the trains. Right. Of course."
Spawn pulls out from his pocket a card and pays. The elctronic gateway let's him through, unbeknownst to the officer and the bewildered on-lookers, one of the coattails slips the stolen card back into the guard's pocket.
He rides the train, much to the crowded populace's dismay with his broad frame, and finds himself following the high schoolers once more. Finally stopping at his destination.
Now what?
Is he supposed to go inside, looking like this, and with a voice low yet threatening as rumbling thunder? He terrifies people with his mere presence...
"Oh! S-Sorry about that, dude!"
A blonde boy bumps into him running without looking. Spawn grabs his arm to hold him.
''Wait. I desperately need a favor."
"L-Listen dude, I gotta get class soon or else my ass is gonna get burnt red."
"Niijima. Is there a Niijima in this school?"
The boy looks him up and down with a skeptical glare.
"Why do you need to know...?"
"Please... I just need you to relay a message to her... Tell her Badge, nine-twenty two-nineteen-ninety one is here."
"You a cop? Why the whole creeper act, man! Sheesh! She ain't in trouble or anything is she?"
"No... Just... I just wanted to know if she's okay."
"Niijima-senpai sure has some strange friends... But alright."
Spawn releases the boy and watches him leave... He stands there all day, unmoving, ignoring all but the building inside. The time comes for school to end and he quickly finds the blonde boy.
He retreats into the shadows of the alley in front of school, by way of convenience or not, the boy finds him there without searching.
"Goddamn-! Stop popping up from nowhere like that! How'd you even blend into place like that?"
"Your face is red as if someone hit you."
"That's cause she did! I told her your badge number and she got all huffy at me. I kept telling her what I saw but she just called me a liar! Don't you gotta badge to prove it?"
Spawn pulls off the badge from his coat. The number is still different from what he remembers. He puts it away before speaking with a softer tone.
"What year is it...?"
"Two-thousand and sixteen, why?"
"I can't recall the time I saw... Her... Isn't there another one? Another Niijima?"
"Said her sister would find you, if you were real, and get you dealt with. Her words not mine. Just don't hit me too."
"I won't... You've been... Very helpful. Thank you so much... What's your name?"
"Sakamoto. You, Detective Creep?"
He thought about it. His name... Even he can recall it isn't normal. It Isn't who he is. He nods slowly at the mocking nickname.
"Let's go with that for now. Thank you, Sakamoto-San. I owe you."
Sakamoto scoffs and moves past him to walk home.
"Whatever man. You really wanna pay me back? Do your job and check out that asshole Kamoshida."
"What did he do?"
Sakamoto looks back scowling.
"He's that perverted volleyball coach who thinks he's the king of a castle! He's nothing but rotten inside... But it ain't like you'll believe me when you meet him. None of the adults do."
"We'll see...''
Spawn turns to the school gates and leaves his dark cover. An athletic man gives fond farewells to the students, but one in particular he stops, another blonde girl. Natural, unlike Sakamoto who had brown eyebrows, with a face and figure most gifted in the realms of beauty. A boon and a curse for any teenage girl as he recalls some a memory from her.
For a moment, as the teacher stops her, he sees a different pair in the room of a house he owned once.
("Wait! At least take Makoto with you! She's your sister!")
("She's seven! I spend enough time trying to teach her ahead of her class!")
("Instead of being her teacher, why not be her sister for a change, huh?")
("Where do you get off trying to act the family man?! You're never around! When you are you're with her anyways!")
("I'm with you both! We can all go together-!")
("Just get away from me.")
The grey haired teenager walks away as the memory fades. Spawn narrows his eyes at the scene of the present. A father and his indignant daughter is something any family has to deal with.
A teacher and the student however...
"Hey!~ Takamaki-chan! It's along ways away from your home, isn't it? I can just drive you there again!"
Takamaki tenses as he approaches. A wave of anxiety seizes her shoulders, paranoia takes hold of her breath, she shakes her head quickly and answers eager to leave. A simple front of shyness in the eyes of many but one.
"N-No sir, I wouldn't want to be a bother... Maybe next time, Kamoshida-sensei?"
Kamoshida chuckles at her. Confident posture, an air of accomplishment and pride surrounding him, but a filthy noxious stench permeates that very air. A putrid scent of body sweat and other fluids that make Spawn sick.
He could tell from how the other students beamed at him and how they complimented his cologne in off-hand comments, he is the only one to smell this awful odor, and he is the only to approach the two as Takamaki shrinks under pressure.
"Now don't be like that! It's dangerous out there, and I wouldn't want you or any other students of Shujin to be hurt, right?"
"There are others...? I-I..."
"You live the farthest from here so you'll likely be in the most danger! The others I can take home first and personally escort you to safety! As any role model should!"
That only strikes more fear into her heart. Were she the first, maybe even middle drop off, she would not have mind. However, even if only a gut feeling, she can tell he planned it like this. If she says no in front of all these people like this, it will be seen as disrespectful, and she gets enough of flak from the student body as is.
She opens her mouth to reluctantly answer.
"She said, no."
Both of them turn to the larger man now before them. Takamaki steps away from him with a gasp while Kamoshida stares in surprise.
"Ex-Excuse me?"
"The girl said no. A good teacher should know the boundaries between them and their students."
Kamoshida's bewildered stare becomes a threatening glare, but it soon turns into one of a cronered fearful man, for the glare of the Hellspawn is far more intimidating.
Eyes are often said to be the gateway to the soul, and as Spawn looks through the windows of Kamoshida's soul, he becomes filled with rising fury.
He can see it. The acts of abuse towards his own students. He can hear them. The muffled cries of female students having to undergo his groping with no resistance. He can feel the anguish of the students and the glee it brings the volleyball coach to have power over those weaker than them. He can taste the ever growung lust this pervet has for Takamaki. All of this mixes with the pungent miasma that is his sinful soul has Spawn rigid...
He refrains from desires of his own, desires he has never forgotten, the unadulterated violence to those who would harm others for the sheer sake of it.
"Leave Takamaki-San."
She stutters and stammers at this mystery figure's knowledge of her name. Was he eavesdropping? Whoever or whatever he was, his presence alone made the always larger than life pervert into a much smaller man, the two looked more like a father scolding his son rather than two grown men.
She turns and leaves glancing back at the badge number on his coat. Spawn takes a step forward to Kamoshida.
"T-That's close enough...! What do you want?! I'll have you know I've got connections in the Police Force! Won't even need to ring the emergency line to put you away, creep!"
"Makoto Niijima, do you know here, yes or no."
"And if I did...?"
"Then you should know it's in your best interest to seek out women instead if girls... Keep your hands to yourself, Kamoshida."
Spawn turns and walks away... Leaving Kamoshida irritated. Then furious. He goes back inside the school to meet with the principal in his office.
"Suguru? What's the matter?"
"Some freak in a coat came at me like he knew me... Did you tell anyone, Kobayakawa? I know you know-!"
The portly man raises his hands passively.
"Now, now, you are our star! What I want is for this school to surpass all others in the country. I can't do that if a scandal is revealed. I may have to play janitor and get somethings... Swept up."
Kamoshida relaxes sighing in relief.
"Th-That's good... But what about the creep? He looked like a detective, even had a badge, but I didn't recognize him or even see his face..."
"I'll look into it. Here, try this bar on Shinjuku. They have a rather relaxing stimulant to their drinks."
Kobayakawa hands over a card to his cohort.
"Crossroads... In the Red Light District? I'll see if they have my favorite in there."
"You do that! You work so hard for us! It's only right you get a break every now and then!"
"Of course, yeah, I'll go do that..."
As Kamoshida leaves, the principal sits down with a grim expression on his face, could he be betrayed? No... He calls his associate just to reassure himself.
"Yes sir, it's me. I'm sorry to interrupt your busy schedule, but something of utmost importance has shown up, and all I need is your word. Have you sent a detective down here to investigate us?"
He nods his head slowly.
"I see... Then, could you send someone to investigate this pretender? He's harassing one of my finest teachers."
Kobayakawa rolls his eyes at the comment.
"Yes sir the one who likes them young... Thank you sir. I'll have my own people looking into the matter. Goodbye."
He hangs up and waits after a quick announcement. A bright young girk walks in with studious red eyes.
"You called for me, sir?"
"Yes, Niijima-san! I heard you had quite the altercation with Sakamoto today."
She looks down woth disgrace on her face and in her heart.
"It won't happen again sir..."
"Now, now, I'm not here to scold you about it. Although, may I inquire why?"
"Today is the anniversary of my father's death... Sakamoto brought up his badge number, but that was buried with him, no one should know it unless they actively searched through public police records."
"And we both know he isn't the type for that."
"So I confronted him about it and he spouted nonsense... My father is a sensitive subject, so my emotions got the better of me, I apologize."
"I assure you there's no need for that. He stepped out of line. I'll be sure to teach him a lesson he shall soon not forget... Now! I need you to look into something for me."
Makoto leaves the school slightly unnerved. Exams are approaching soon, and although she has been studying diligently, this new task frightens her. Why would she, a mere third year student, have to look into a potential danger in school.
The only reason she accepted it is because of her duty as Student Council President, her duty to her fellow students, even if her duties don't include the caring if their well being...
She does.
Her first act would be to find clues, a witness, and the only witness she can think of is Sakamoto. That will have to wait.
She makes her way from school, to the trains, to a well kept and beloved cemetery for family members. Some entire clans rest together in the ground below. She approaches a lonesome hill where a single tombstone lie. Unfortunately, it was the only spot for him left, away from his family and wife.
Makoto looks at the grave and places flowers at the foot of the stone. Grey clouds darken and grow heavy as she pays her respect.
"I hope I'm making you proud, Father... Ten years since you left and, it's only gotten so much harder for me and Sis, but we keep on. She's moved so far up in the world all on her own. She's an inspiration... It's easy for me to forget we're even related. I miss you. She won't say it but she misses you too. I love you, Father."
She offers a silent prayer before leaving the grave. Rain begins to fall as she swears under her breath.
"I should've brought an umbrella...! Huh?"
Such an item had found itself with the flowers. She looks around, but no one but an old lady and young man with a hoodie was around. He held an umbrella over her but is too far away to have given her this one.
She takes it and smiles.
"Thank you, Father."
Spawn, having followed her here, comes from behind the sole tree which hangs over the grave after she leaves. He stares at the tombstone for what felt to be hours.
A hand caresses the stone before pounding it with his fist, sending several cracks through it, he falls to his knees wailing to himself.
"Ten... Years...?! A Whole Decade?! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"
His claws tear from his pockets and dig through the earth in frantic rage.
"This isn't real! This Isn't Real! I'M STILL ALIVE!"
His claws scratch at wood. He excavates the rest of the coffin out and tears open the lid as rain pours down.
A corpse greets him in a police uniform with medals on the left breast, gloved hands stained by time and decay wrap around his throat, a voice he once had echoes to him as he shouts out first.
"WHAT ARE YOU...!?"
"All you left behind... Did you forget? All those convicts we arrested, the men we stopped, the people we killed as we drove them far from town..."
"I WAS A GOOD OFFICER! I'VE ONLY EVER FIRED MY GUN IN ONE SHOOT OUT!"
"Yes... That was the first... But that was the day you took the law into your own hands... You stayed a beat cop, but did the work of a soldier, investigated crimes and arrested several detestable criminals... But you'd never make the arrest public..."
"I DID MY DUTY..."
"You took those who we knew would get out of jail on bail, who had friends in high places, who'd hurt our little girls and blew their fucking brains out!"
"I NEVER KILLED ANYONE... NEVER... I...!"
"YOU SENT THEM TO HELL YOU MOTHER FUCKER! AND WHEN YOU DIED THEY WERE ALL WAITING!"
The corpse jerks Spawn's neck wildly with unearthly force.
"I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WITH MY WIFE! I SAW HER PAST THE PEARLY GATES!"
His head is slammed against the dirt wall.
"YOU AND YOUR KILLING GOT US INTO THIS MESS DAMMIT!"
Another slam disorientes his vision.
"AND THEN YOU MADE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU'RE WHY WE'RE STILL DOWN HERE IN HELL!"
"NO!"
He throws the corpse off of him with all his might. Shattering it to big pieces as lightning flashes. Loud thunder booms as his eyes and mind flashes with memories returning. Resurfacing to a twisted soul. Deranged madmen, vile psychopaths, men and women unfit to live yet with privileges that will allow them to walk free.
Each roar of thunder became more and more like the cry of a gunshot. Each flash of lightning is another face of a criminal he apprehended. Each filthy dog he put down.
Pedophiles. Murderers. Rapist. Drug dealers. In a twisted way, he had become an arbiter of peace, but no action is without consequence. This was not out of vengance for a partner he lost in a shoot out in his early years. It was not the thought of his family in harm's way that drove him to do this. These are certainly factors, yes, but the prime motivator was righteousness.
It was his right to clean the Earth of deplorable, defective, human garbage... Unaware that by doing so he had becone that which he most hated of all.
He uncurls from the fetal position he had taken and pats the now still corpse down. Only his badge, the medals he had received on duty, and a family photo save for the uniform itself.
He then checks under the gloves, and to his surprise finds a wedding band, he and his wife's name engraved in it. He takes the badge, the photo, and the ring before putting the body back together. He after placing the lid back on, filling the hole he dug, Spawn overlooks the cemetery from his hill.
How many people did he kill are here now? Did it matter? Not anymore. He's stopped by a boy in a hoodie.
"Yo-You again?! Geez dude was that you makin' all that noise earlier? You sounded like you were being murdered!"
Sakamoto looks up from his hood abd thumbs to the old lady behind him.
"I was takin' my neighbor to see her husband until the storm kicked up... Why are you here though?"
"... I was doing some self-reflection."