A/N: The following events take place during Episode 24 of the anime series, after which an alternate future unfolds for the Azu-girls.
Disclaimer: I don't own Azumanga Daioh. Don't sue.
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Chapter 1 – It Hurts!
"Hee hee hee hee! Gao, gao gao! Whoo!"
Yomi watched her childhood friend entertain herself thoroughly, her expression one of worry. Despite the bespectacled girl's earlier warning, the wildcat had paid her words absolutely no attention and carried on waving Mayaa about in front of Mr. Tadakichi's nose. She cringed a little, watching Tomo aggravate the Iriomote mountain cat like that.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and Mayaa bounded from Tomo's clutches, the wild cat finally free from the wildcat. There was a pause, and then Tomo slowly turned her head to look at Yomi.
"Hmm?"
"It hurts."
Yomi did a double take and gasped in shock; the girl's hand was bleeding profusely. Tomo clutched her wound, her eyes watery with tears of pain.
All hell broke loose.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurrrts!"
"Ah! Blood! There's blood; there's blood! Ahh!"
"See!" Yomi cried, rushing to her best friend's aid. "What did I tell you!"
"Someone call an ambulance! Now!"
Sakaki bopped the Iriomote kitten over his head. "You shouldn't hurt people like that", she scolded, looking down on the feline disapprovingly. Mayaa looked up at her, and then back at the howling waste of flesh than he had just infected.
The deed was done.
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"Dammit, my hand hurts so much", Tomo whined, still clutching her hand, which was now heavily bandaged. They had managed to stem the flow, but apparently, the attack from Mayaa was still throbbing like crazy underneath the dressing. Or perhaps Tomo was just being whiny, which was also a plausible explanation.
"And whose fault is that?" retorted Yomi.
"Like hell I'll ever trust another animal again!"
"You started it; Mayaa didn't like what you were doing to him", chipped in Kagura, who was also reprimanding Tomo for yet another show of immaturity.
"Yeah, if you had been nicer to him, he wouldn't have scratched you."
An angry silence was all they got from Tomo. The teen still believed they had ganged up on her just because she had lost this time round and wanted to get back at her for every time she beat them. Ha. As if. The wildcat would always win. That last one didn't count. Mayaa won't be so lucky next time, she thought to herself grumpily.
"Hey, look, it's a cat…kitty-nyaa." chirped Osaka, distracting the group of four for a minute. Indeed, a small black cat had approached the girls, the street lamp casting a light on the small creature.
"Hey, look, an example", Yomi said, thinking that it would be a good opportunity to teach Tomo a lesson in handling cats. "Here, I'll show you how it's done."
The bespectacled girl crouched down. "Here, come on", she cooed, holding out her hand as the cat approached it, innocent-eyed. "See, nothing to be afraid of."
Kamineko took one sniff of Yomi's fingers, and grinned back at her, revealing a very, very sharp set of pointy teeth, not unlike those of a bear trap.
Sensing danger, Yomi quickly snatched Tomo and replaced her own hand with her friend's already damaged one. "Nothing to fear..."
"W-w-what the-?"
The black cat brought its open maw closer to the trembling teen's fingers. It hesitated. Then, its demented grin faded and just as suddenly as it appeared, Kamineko bounded away into the darkness of the nearest alleyway.
The group of friends stared.
"That was odd", commented Yomi.
"Kitty-nyaa ran away."
"Wh…wha…" Tomo turned to face her best friend. "Why the heck were you using my hand for?"
"Well, I didn't want to get bitten."
Tomo made an odd yelp of fear and indignation.
"It's good to have the fear put into you once in a while", quipped Kagura.
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"Seriously", Kagura muttered, as the athlete and her taller friend walked home together. They had just passed the Takino residence (Tomo was still whining about cats and casualties when they left her at the gate), and were on their way to Yomi's. "You've gotta be some kind of saint to put up with the crap Tomo does. How the hell d'you do it and stay sane after all these years?"
Yomi just smiled faintly. She'd gotten used to this question over the years, by various people who bore witness to the seemingly never-ending chaos to the pair. To them, they were polar opposites, otherwise impossible to get along. So contrasting, to the point that they complimented each other's antics.
"It's not always like that. You'd never believe it, but there's a side to Tomo that…well, isn't that knuckleheaded at all. Just don't tell her I said that, I'd never hear the end of it from her."
Kagura nodded, deep in thought. Another side to the wildcat? She tried to imagine Tomo, straight-faced, seated at her desk upright and all proper, and actually focusing on math, of all things, for more than ten seconds instead of causing the next catastrophe that could destroy a nation. The un-Tomo Tomo looked at her straight in the face, and asked, in the politest, sweetest voice she had ever heard, "Do you have anything you need me to help you with?"
The girl shivered. It was actually bordering creepy.
"But you're right", Yomi sighed, bringing Kagura back to reality. "There's no denying she drives me up the wall. Far too much for sanity's sake sometimes."
"Well…y'know, you could always turn to someone else who isn't as…knuckleheaded", Kagura suggested, scratching the back of her head. "Could…could do you wonders for your health and stuff."
Yomi raised an eyebrow. "This coming from a fellow Knucklehead?"
"H-hey! I'm not the Queen of the Knuckleheads!"
"Kagura, you scored the lowest on that test."
"It was just one stupid test", she grumbled, a tinge of red on her cheeks. "'Sides, you don't see me doing stuff like she does."
"You always join in anyway, sooner or later."
"Not always."
Yomi shook her head. "You argue just like a Knucklehead, in any case." Then she noticed something. "Say, Kagura, don't you live in another part of this area?"
Kagura started, averting her eyes from Yomi's gaze. "Uh, well, that is…" In trying to look for an explanation for following Yomi, the girl realised that the two were just a few metres away from the Mizuhara residence. "Oh, look, we're here! I guess this is where I say goodbye, huh?" she gabbled, flashing an over-enthusiastic grin that put Kamineko to shame. She backed away as quickly as she could, trying to get away.
"But, wait-"
"See you in school tomorrow!"
"Yeah, but-"
"Sleep well, take care!"
"Kagura-"
"I'll be thinking of you till then! Aw, shit! Uh, I mean…"
"You- wait, what…?"
"Uh, bye!" And with that, Kagura careened round a corner at top speed and disappeared from sight.
Yomi blinked. "What was that all about?"
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Meanwhile, Tomo was walking towards the front door when she gave a tremendous sneeze. She spun round, giving her front gate the dirtiest look she could muster. "Those two", she growled to herself, "they're probably backbiting me right now. I'll get them someday", The wildcat proceeded to enter the house, still in a huff. "I'm home", she called out, a little too grumpily.
Takino Tetsuo put down the evening newspaper he had been poring through. "What's with that tone of voice, young ma'am? And why are you late?" he boomed, a frown on his features.
"Sorry, sir. I had a rough day", Tomo replied, grumbling a little. "And I was at Chiyo-chan's house earlier on. I've had dinner."
"Hnh", the heavyset man grunted in reply, picking up his paper again. "Give me a call next time, if you're going to be this late. Understood?"
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir"
Tomo entered her room and dumped her schoolbag on the floor, and herself on her bed. She groaned into the covers. Yep, it had been a long day. Tomo rolled to lie on her back, and raised her bandaged hand to the ceiling. Her fingers filtered out the ceiling light that shone down on her. She cringed, realising that she would have to undress and dress her wound again. And she had to do it herself.
"Oh well", she groaned, her features sagging. "Better now than never." She grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower", she called out to her father.
Letting the hot water cascade over her body, Tomo slowly undid the bandages on her hand, grimacing as she went. A patch of dried blood caked over the deep gashes where Mayaa had hurt her. "Stupid cat", she muttered, washing away the dirt. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…"
After that, she dried herself off, carefully dabbing away at the wound. Strangely enough, the jagged gash looked less severe than it did a few minutes ago, and now appeared as angry red thunderbolts on the back of her hand.
Tomo grinned at this thought. It was just like that American movie she watched, where a rad…ready...radio…an alien spider bit some nerd on his hand and he became a really cool spider superhero guy, beating up bad guys and saving the day. She had enjoyed the movie thoroughly, and was about to give a standing ovation when Yomi held her down and spoiled her fun. This was just like that, except cooler, 'cause she wasn't a nerd, and Iriomote mountain cats were way cooler than dumb spiders…even if they were jerks. Still, the thing had to be bandaged.
Tomo opened the medicine cabinet and took out a box of bandaids. She then closed it.
And let out a long, loud, wildcat yell.
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A/N: And that's it for Chapter 1! Please note, I'm NEVER going to abandon any of my fanfics, so no sweat. However, it may be a long stretch in between chapters. I have a life, yanno. Please R&R! Thanks!