Azami Returns
The hour was growing late but he couldn't seem to encourage sleep into his body. There were too many things weighing on his mind. His daughter was growing very ill and he feared she was also losing her mind. She honestly believed that he doll he created was her sister returned to her. She had given his dolls a kind of life in the past through her imagination, but this felt too real to be just an act. It concerned him and for the second time after the Ritual he felt hopeless.
He could hear the floorboards creaking outside his room. So Akane couldn't sleep, either? He rose and quietly exited his room. Sure enough he saw a small figure wandering down the hall. But its gait was not like his daughter's at all. It moved in slow jerking motions, its head rolling from side to side. He could feel his heart racing frantically inside him as he watched.
"Akane?" he called out. The figure made no sign that it heard him. Trembling, he stepped back into his room and slid the door closed behind him. Something horrible was happening. That was the doll he crafted for Akane, he was sure of it. But how could an inanimate object move on its own? He forced himself to calm down and think rationally.
Akane spent all of her time with the doll. She was constantly whispering things in its ear, and she treated the doll as if it were her dead sister. Could it be that she had put so much energy into this fantasy that it somehow gave the doll a life of its own? He didn't know what to think of this. All he knew was he had a deep sense of fear in his heart. He heard that if a spirit took possession of a doll, it could steal the soul of another. He trembled at the thought.
The next morning he could see that the spirit was already doing its work. The doll and Akane had exchanged roles: the doll was the one guiding Akane, and the girl was now lifeless. He fought for composure sitting in the same room as the two. He couldn't see the doll's eyes from behind its long hair, but he could feel that it was staring at him. As if were mocking him with its triumph.
"Did you sleep well, Akane?" he asked his daughter. The girl didn't answer, or even lift her head. The only assurance he had that she was even still alive was the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. "Akane," he tried again. "Let's go for a walk today."
"Why…?" she croaked out at last. "Why kill?" Swallowing down his fear, her father rested his hand on the girl's shoulder.
"No one's going to kill," he assured her. But that was a lie: he knew that the only way to free his daughter was to get rid of the doll. He had to throw the doll into the X, and only then would his daughter be free of its control. I am so sorry, Azami.
He had everything planned out. He would have to take the doll when it was at its weakest. Since it was feeding off his daughter, he assumed it wouldn't be quite as strong while she slept. He would tie up the doll and hang it. Somehow he sensed that this part was very important. The original Azami had died by suffocation; it was only fitting that her doll form would perish in a similar way. Once he hung the doll he would throw it into the X. There was a passageway to the X in his house.
He left the house to purchase the length of rope needed for the hanging. He didn't like leaving Akane alone with that evil spirit but he felt confident that soon he would rid them both of its presence. He returned home after a while, hiding the rope in his room, and went to check on the passageway. He wanted to be sure it still worked after so many years of disuse.
What he saw when he entered the room was a complete shock. There were statues of twin girls that acted as the key to the passageway. However, one of the statues was missing its head and arms. He didn't need to wonder who was responsible for it. He just needed to find the missing pieces quickly. But he was in for another surprise when, as he turned to leave the room, he saw Akane and the doll standing side by side in the doorway.
"Akane…" The girl stepped forward, her little hands stretching up trying to reach him. The doll was following close behind her with its arms in the same gesture. Frightened, he pushed the doll out of his way and ran to another part of the house.
He found himself in his daughter's room. He pressed his body tight against the wall and calmed his breathing so he could hear if footsteps were approaching. The hallways were silent, for now. He was grateful for this moment of peace to gather his thoughts together. This doll was using his daughter against him, in more ways than one. It looked just like his departed child and it was controlling Akane. There was no doubt in his mind that the evil spirit intended to kill him.
Soft, steady creaking noises alerted him to the approach of the doll and his daughter. He quickly left the room before he could be cornered. The doll must have somehow figured out his plan and instructed Akane to dismantle the mechanism. Now he had no way of opening the passage to the X. Unless he somehow found where Akane hid the missing parts. But how could he do that? His house was fairly large, and the doll had no need for sleep so it could keep pursuing him until he died.
He walked down the hallway praying for help. His feet guided him to one of the storerooms. Without hesitation he slid the door open. His hands clamped around his mouth just in time to catch the startled yelp that escaped. Standing in the small space was none other than Azami. He could tell it was her in spite of his fear.
"Kill the doll, Papa!" she cried, though the voice seemed to come only in his mind. "I know where Akane hid the parts! Look!" The figure of his dead daughter pointed inside one of the boxes. Slowly he shifted the boxes until he found one of the statue's missing limbs.
So the last two missing pieces would have to be hidden somewhere in this house. Most likely Akane would choose small spaces just like this storeroom to hide the parts. He could think of two other places in the house… and each of the places would be hiding one more part.
First he investigated the room on the second floor. He could hear the steady clump of shoes on the floor below. Then-- his heart picked up its pace in reaction-- the sound of stairs groaning under the weight of someone ascending. He peeked inside the room and was relieved to see Azami standing there as before. She silently pointed him to where the next limb was hidden. He took the limb and hurried to another set of stairs that would carry him back down to the first floor. He had only one piece left to go. Then he could finally be rid of that cursed doll.
The final piece was found. Heart pounding hard against his chest, he quickly moved back to fit the three pieces back into place. Carefully he turned the two figures so they were facing each other. He waited… but the path didn't open. A chill of fear swept through his body. What could have gone wrong? He had the limbs, he had faced the statues in the correct direction… He turned both statues back, hoping his crafter's eye would catch the problem.
Wait… eye. That's what was missing! He hurried through the house searching for the glass eyes. He found himself near the front of the house, where he now kept most of the dolls he had yet to sell. A creaking noise alerted him to another presence. He turned and saw Akane standing in the doorway, blocking the entrance to the hall. He turned to the other door, but the doll was blocking that exit.
"Papa," croaked Akane's voice. He couldn't tell if it was his daughter speaking or the doll. "You promised… not to kill."
