The Azumanga Murder Files
Chapter One
Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga stood in the "International Arrivals" section of the airport. She marveled at how big it was. The only time she had ever been on a plane was that time back in her senior year of high school when the whole class went to Okinawa. Osaka closed her eyes and thought back to that trip, a big, goofy smile on her face. She remembered the temples, particularly the shisaas, lion-like figures made out of stone that protected the temple from evil, she remembered the hotel and the time that Tomo almost threw Chiyo-Chan off a cliff into the ocean. Osaka even thought she could hear Chiyo calling her name,
"Osaka-San!" It was almost as if Chiyo were standing right in front of her. Osaka sighed. She missed those days. She opened her eyes and jumped at what she saw. Two orange pigtails stood in front of her, attached to them was Chiyo Mihama, the now thirteen-year-old genius from Osaka's school days,
"Chiyo-Chan!" Osaka cried, throwing her arms up into the air. Chiyo laughed,
"Thank you very much for picking us up! Tadakichi-San appreciates it very much." She gestured at an enormous pet carrier containing a Great Pyrenees who looked like he could barely fit inside.
"We missed you so much, Chiyo-Chan. What's it like in America?" Chiyo and Osaka searched the carousels for her luggage. Osaka placed her friend's three red suitcases onto a trolley next to Tadakichi-San.
"America is amazing," Chiyo said, "I live in a city called New Haven. We have a friend of the family there, and I got into Yale University's drama program." Osaka's eyes widened,
"Are you going to be a movie star, Chiyo-Chan?" Chiyo smiled,
"I hope so," She said, "I'd like to be an actress some day." Osaka and Chiyo walked out of the terminal and hailed a taxi. As the driver loaded their luggage into the back of the car, Osaka began to think what it would be like if Chiyo-Chan became an American movie star.
An exaggeratedly long stretch limousine pulls up to a long, red carpet. Photographers are taking pictures on either side of the carpet and there are so many fans that they need to be held back by a line of security guards. A chauffer opens the door to the limo and out steps Chiyo Mihama. Fanfare erupts throughout the crowd.
"Chiyo, Chiyo!" the photographers accost her as she walks down the red carpet, wearing a red, puffy dress with a massive bow on the front.
"There she is! It's Chiyo, it's Chiyo!" girls shout as she walks by, all sporting Chiyo's trademark pigtails.
Several months later, at the Oscar Awards, Chiyo has been nominated for best actress. She sits in the audience awaiting the announcement of the winner.
"…And the Oscar goes to…" Chiyo grabs the hand of Brad Pitt, who is sitting beside her as her co-star, "Chiyo Mihama for her role in "Azumanga Daioh: The Much Longer Movie" Chiyo tries not to cry as she makes her way to the stage,
"It's such an honor to receive this award," she says, "There are so many people I want to thank, but most of all, I'd like to thank my friend, Osaka. Osaka. Osaka…"
"Osaka-San, we're here!" Chiyo said. Osaka snaps out of her daydream and looks at Chiyo,
"Is your Oscar going to sit on your mantelpiece or in your bedroom?" she asked. Chiyo looked at Osaka but said nothing. She didn't know how to react to something so out of the ordinary. Chiyo paid the taxi driver and began to unload her luggage. Osaka was already at the door. She rang the bell again and again until they didn't even sound like separate rings anymore, but a constant hum After about thirty seconds, a tall, long haired woman answered the door. Osaka smiled,
"Good afternoon, Sakaki-San!" She said. Sakaki nodded and led the two of them inside.
"You'll be staying upstairs, Chiyo-Chan. I'll show you to your room in just a moment."
"Sakaki-San," Chiyo looked around the small living room, "Is this really your house?" Sakaki smiled and nodded, she had missed her little friend. Suddenly, Tadakichi-San, who had somehow broken out of his crate, began sniffing around furiously. He finally emerged, followed by a striped, brown cat. The two animals cased each other warily for a moment before remembering that they were old friends.
"Pikanyaa!" cried Osaka, pointing to the cat,
"Mayaa's gotten big." Said Chiyo, referring to Sakaki's pet Iriomote Mountain Cat. Sakaki smiled again,
"Let me show you around." She said.
That night, all six of the former classmates had gathered at Sakaki's house. Chiyo looked at her friends. It was almost like old times again. The six of them sitting on the ground, drinking juice and joking around.
"Juice is alright," said Tomo, the most energetic of the group, "But how about we tap into something a little bit stronger?" she promptly pulled out a bottle of sake. Yomi sighed,
"Tomo, why do you have to be so stupid?" Tomo smiled,
"Why do you have to be so smart?" Yomi sighed again and punched Tomo hard in the gut,
"I don't think we can trust you with this kind of thing," said Yomi, "I don't want to have to apologize to Sakaki when you puke all over her brand new wood floors." Tomo burst out in fake peals of laughter,
"Yomi-Chan," she said, "You are so funny! Ha, ha, ha!" Yomi looked across their little circle at Kagura. Kagura immediately understood the message and punched Tomo again in the stomach. Chiyo, ever the peacemaker, tried desperately to calm things down, but it was no use. The sake flew from hand to hand, each person trying to keep it away from Tomo-Chan. There was an enormous tussle between the girls, finally, however, they collapsed into a pile of heaving and wheezing and laughing.
"It's too bad we have to leave soon," said Tomo. Sakaki perked up,
"Why don't you all stay the night?" She asked. Tomo, hoping that was what Sakaki would say, jumped up,
"Alright," she shouted, "sleepover at Sakaki's pad! Woohoo!" Osaka smiled,
"We can tell scary stories!" she said. Tomo shouted some more but Yomi put her hand over her friend's mouth.
"Go ahead, Osaka." Said Yomi. Osaka turned out the lights,
"Once, on a night much like this one," She began, "Six girls were having a sleepover. They awoke in the morning…"
"Yeah, what next?" Asked Yomi,
"There was a dead person in the foyer!" The girls looked intrigued, if not a little disappointed by Osaka's delivery,
"What next?" Asked Sakaki,
"One by one, more people began to die, people they barely knew, all showing up in that one house…then finally…they woke up on the last morning, and their rooms were all drenched with blood!"
"Whose blood was it?" Chiyo asked, shaking in her slippers.
"Nobody knows!" Said Osaka. The girls stared at her for a while longer,
"Is that it?" Asked Kagura. Osaka nodded.
"I think it's high time we went to bed." Said Yomi, and they did.
The next morning, a terrible scream awoke all the girls but for Sakaki. She was standing on her front step, paralyzed with fear. The others quickly gathered around her and saw what had frightened her so. A young girl lay on the sidewalk right in front of Sakaki's house. She was drenched in her own blood, which pooled around her head almost like a halo.
"Oh my God," said Kagura, "that's—"
"Kaorin." Sakaki finished. It was indeed Kaorin, the girl who had been so infatuated with Sakaki in high school. She was dead. It was clear what had killed her, a perfect hole in the middle of her forehead, a bullet hole. Chiyo turned her head and looked as though she might vomit,
"I'll call the police." She choked, she ran back into the house and quickly found the phone.
"Time of death seems to be about three o'clock this morning." Said the constable, "One shot to the head killed her right off the bat." Another officer approached him,
"Any signs of a struggle? Robbery? Anything?"
"Doesn't look like it." The constable continued, "Probably just some crazy who got his hands on a gun, take her away." Sakaki approached the constable,
"Is that all you're going to do?" She asked, furiously, "I knew that girl! She was my friend! You aren't going to even try to solve her case?" the officers looked at Sakaki and shrugged,
"We get so many of these each year. I'm sorry for your loss, but there's not much I can do for you." Sakaki's eyes began to well up with tears,
"At least call me when the autopsy results come back. Please, I need to know exactly what happened!" The constable shrugged and they loaded Kaorin's body into a truck, under a blanket labeled "evidence". Chiyo came up behind Sakaki and patted her back sympathetically,
"I'm sure there was nothing they could do." She said, tears streaming down her own face. Sakaki turned on her,
"That's not true," she said, "They could have at least tried! If they won't do it, I will."
"Wait!" Chiyo called after her friend, "It's too dangerous to—"
"I've made up my mind, Chiyo-Chan! I'm going to solve Kaorin's murder and nothing you can say will stop me!" Chiyo sighed,
"I was going to say…it's too dangerous to go it alone!"
"What?" Sakaki stared at her little friend; she looked so mature right at that moment. There was an undying devotion behind those big, brown eyes of hers. Kagura, Yomi, Osaka and Tomo stood behind Chiyo,
"That's right," said Yomi, "You can't do it alone." Kagura nodded, Osaka stared blankly at Sakaki, but Sakaki knew what it meant,
"Time to solve a mystery! Yeah, alright!" Cried Tomo, before receiving two more crippling punches from Yomi and Kagura together. Sakaki knew they were right. If they were going to find Kaorin's killer, they would have to stick together.