Title: Souichi Phobia
Author: CerebralSocko aka Mr. Kaiyanwang
Disclaimer: "Souichi", "Tomie", and all other characters used are the sole properties of Junji Ito and Asahi Sonorama Co.
Thanks to Mutagene at http://junjiito.mutagene.net/ for the characters' names
Chapter 1: Pedophobia
"Didja hear what happened?"
"Yeah, Yamamoto-san told me about it last night."
"It was so weird..."
.........
In the corner, a boy sat by himself and listened in on the conversation. A satisfied grin formed on his face as he stared at the two classmates. "Ah, the sound of sweet success. That chatter right there makes it all worth it."
The two students overheard the boy. But, rather than scold him for eavsdropping on their private conversation, they instead seemed revolted and wanted to get away. The students merely shook their heads in disbelief and returned to their own conversation.
"You might be wondering what I'm talking about, and that's fine -- you were only there to see the aftermath of my curse." the boy resumed, as though unfazed that his fellow classmates had just brushed him off. "Yes, that's right, it was a curse. You see, I'm in the cursing business. Not the type where I shout obscenities, mind you -- I'm talking about real curses. Things that make people afraid..."
The two classmates turned their heads toward the boy again, and this time they had a look of pure disgust on their faces. Just as he had heard their discussion, they could also extract everything he said.
"Ugh.. that weirdo is talking to himself again."
"I know, Miko... yuck."
Souichi smiled. "Yes, things like voodoo dolls, Ouija boa.. er, dolls, and other occult items are my forte. I think I can safely say that if there's anyone you need to curse, I'm the man to come to."
Right then, he stood up from his desk and casually walked over to the window panel. This was the same window panel that he had stood by the day before, and the same window where he watched his magic unfold. As he looked at the playground below to see the rest of his class in recess, his grin widened.
"But enough about me. I'm sure you'd like to know exactly what happened a day ago. You see, it was all due to a special request that I'd received from a certain student. Well, actually, she never specifically asked me, but she didn't have to. One good look at her face and it was obvious she wanted my help."
Souichi stared down at the kids playing soccer below. His eyes searched about the entire field until he found his target. It was a young girl with a ponytail in gym clothes. As Souichi laid eyes on her, she abruptly intercepted the ball from another player, then kicked it towards the goalie. Souichi's eyes widen merrily.
"Ah, yes, Momoe-chan." he whispered as his head perked up. A nail he'd been nibbling on became visible in his mouth, and his eyes were lost into the cloudly sky as Souichi recalled the events prior to the curse...
*FLASHBACK*
"Nakanishi, can you explain why you're the only one in the class to not have the assignment done?" Yanagida-sensei, our teacher, demanded as he smacked a stack of paper into his hands. As you can tell, he can be quite the animated guy when he needs to be.
Momoe stared down at the floor in embarrassment. The poor girl, I could tell that she would've loved to answer him back, but she couldn't. Apparently because her grades were falling. I and the rest of the students watched as the sensei continued to berate her.
"Just because your mother is the staff of the PTA doesn't mean that you don't have to work like everybody else. Do you understand?"
I glanced over at Momoe. She was visibly shaking... was it in terror, or in anger?
"Come to think of it, I think you've been making light of my entire class, Nakanishi."
Momoe had her hands clenched into fists now. I stared at her face, and I can see the embarrassment, anger, and resentment swelling to the top. She was going to be erupting soon.
"You should know that your athletic abilities won't excuse you from my assignments, either. As a matter of fact --"
Bingo.
"Sensei, SHUT UP!" Momoe screamed.
Heh heh heh heh, here we go.
The rest of the class gasped, and so did the teacher. If there was anything that Momoe-chan was proud of, it's the fact that she possessed this extremely gifted athletic ability. I placed my head into my hands and watched as she and the sensei began to argue.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Momoe yelled. "You're not my parents. You're not my coach. You have no right to be talking to me like this."
I glanced over at the teacher. His face was contorted with shock. I bet he felt his authority was being challenged. This was a nice change of pace, as we rarely get to see him like this. How fun.
Momoe wasn't finished, either. "Do you think you're a big man by yelling at us like that?! What kind of a man works for such long hours and so little money, anyway?!"
I could feel a smile spreading on my face while the other students watched in horror. Haha, wimps. The oppressed anger she had within her was pouring out like a volcano. I wish I had a video camera.
On the other side, the sensei just stood there quietly. He was still in shock, and at a loss of what to do. I imagine he must've never had someone defy him like this. Momoe continued to scream and yell, and it seemed like she was nowhere near finished. This caused me to ponder how much rage she still had within her, until...
SMACK!
The force of the strike knocked young Momoe onto the ground. The sensei stood over her, grasping for small breaths of air. His hand was raised high into the air. The students were stunned by this turn of event, and even I felt surprised -- I didn't think he had it in him. "Nakanishi..."
At that point, Momoe pulled herself off the floor and ran out of the room. I heard her sob, and frowned as a result. I mean, she was becoming such a strong girl, and now she cries because the sensei smacked her? Hmph, wimp.
"Nakanishi! Get back here!" Yanagida-sensei shouted as he ran after her. The classroom remained silent at what they'd just seen. After a minute or so, chatter and gossip began to pick up. I stared intently at the clasroom door, waiting for any signs of life.
"Kiyumi.. I can't believe what just happened!"
"I know, I know... geez."
Minutes passed, and when it was obvious that neither of the two were coming back, I decided to investigate for myself. I got off my desk and left the classroom, to the obliviousness of my classmates. I looked down the hall to see any signs of life, but nothing. I continued down past the boy's bathroom, then the girl's bathroom... wait a minute...
I stopped and remained still. I could heard a distant sound.. sobbing? Yes, I recognized it. I placed a nail into my mouth and entered. I listened for the sounds of Momoe's tears, and my walking made light tapping noises. Momoe must've heard me, because I could hear her gasp inside her bathroom stall.
"...hello?" was the cautious greeting I received.
"I saw what Yanagida-sensei did to you. We all did." I spoke to her, my voice raspy. It's not my fault though, I was born with it. But anyway, at that point, Momoe slowly began to walk out of the stall she'd locked herself in. Her head poked out from the door, and she gasped when she saw my shadowy eyes and pale features.
I ignored her shock and resumed speaking. "Of course, the only difference between me and the rest of those pedestrians is that I can actually do something about it."
Momoe stared at me in confusion. Her eyes were swollen and red from the crying. I could smell her fear, and would've loved to taste it. I might have to do that later, though.
"Yes, I can see that you're curious, and that's good. That's very good. Heh heh heh..."
I took one final glimpse at Momoe, and her expression reflected the fact that she had probably grown more curious by my words. Or revolted, but who knows. I had a job to do, and promptly left to do it.
*END FLASHBACK*
* * *
Author: CerebralSocko aka Mr. Kaiyanwang
Disclaimer: "Souichi", "Tomie", and all other characters used are the sole properties of Junji Ito and Asahi Sonorama Co.
Thanks to Mutagene at http://junjiito.mutagene.net/ for the characters' names
Chapter 1: Pedophobia
"Didja hear what happened?"
"Yeah, Yamamoto-san told me about it last night."
"It was so weird..."
.........
In the corner, a boy sat by himself and listened in on the conversation. A satisfied grin formed on his face as he stared at the two classmates. "Ah, the sound of sweet success. That chatter right there makes it all worth it."
The two students overheard the boy. But, rather than scold him for eavsdropping on their private conversation, they instead seemed revolted and wanted to get away. The students merely shook their heads in disbelief and returned to their own conversation.
"You might be wondering what I'm talking about, and that's fine -- you were only there to see the aftermath of my curse." the boy resumed, as though unfazed that his fellow classmates had just brushed him off. "Yes, that's right, it was a curse. You see, I'm in the cursing business. Not the type where I shout obscenities, mind you -- I'm talking about real curses. Things that make people afraid..."
The two classmates turned their heads toward the boy again, and this time they had a look of pure disgust on their faces. Just as he had heard their discussion, they could also extract everything he said.
"Ugh.. that weirdo is talking to himself again."
"I know, Miko... yuck."
Souichi smiled. "Yes, things like voodoo dolls, Ouija boa.. er, dolls, and other occult items are my forte. I think I can safely say that if there's anyone you need to curse, I'm the man to come to."
Right then, he stood up from his desk and casually walked over to the window panel. This was the same window panel that he had stood by the day before, and the same window where he watched his magic unfold. As he looked at the playground below to see the rest of his class in recess, his grin widened.
"But enough about me. I'm sure you'd like to know exactly what happened a day ago. You see, it was all due to a special request that I'd received from a certain student. Well, actually, she never specifically asked me, but she didn't have to. One good look at her face and it was obvious she wanted my help."
Souichi stared down at the kids playing soccer below. His eyes searched about the entire field until he found his target. It was a young girl with a ponytail in gym clothes. As Souichi laid eyes on her, she abruptly intercepted the ball from another player, then kicked it towards the goalie. Souichi's eyes widen merrily.
"Ah, yes, Momoe-chan." he whispered as his head perked up. A nail he'd been nibbling on became visible in his mouth, and his eyes were lost into the cloudly sky as Souichi recalled the events prior to the curse...
*FLASHBACK*
"Nakanishi, can you explain why you're the only one in the class to not have the assignment done?" Yanagida-sensei, our teacher, demanded as he smacked a stack of paper into his hands. As you can tell, he can be quite the animated guy when he needs to be.
Momoe stared down at the floor in embarrassment. The poor girl, I could tell that she would've loved to answer him back, but she couldn't. Apparently because her grades were falling. I and the rest of the students watched as the sensei continued to berate her.
"Just because your mother is the staff of the PTA doesn't mean that you don't have to work like everybody else. Do you understand?"
I glanced over at Momoe. She was visibly shaking... was it in terror, or in anger?
"Come to think of it, I think you've been making light of my entire class, Nakanishi."
Momoe had her hands clenched into fists now. I stared at her face, and I can see the embarrassment, anger, and resentment swelling to the top. She was going to be erupting soon.
"You should know that your athletic abilities won't excuse you from my assignments, either. As a matter of fact --"
Bingo.
"Sensei, SHUT UP!" Momoe screamed.
Heh heh heh heh, here we go.
The rest of the class gasped, and so did the teacher. If there was anything that Momoe-chan was proud of, it's the fact that she possessed this extremely gifted athletic ability. I placed my head into my hands and watched as she and the sensei began to argue.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Momoe yelled. "You're not my parents. You're not my coach. You have no right to be talking to me like this."
I glanced over at the teacher. His face was contorted with shock. I bet he felt his authority was being challenged. This was a nice change of pace, as we rarely get to see him like this. How fun.
Momoe wasn't finished, either. "Do you think you're a big man by yelling at us like that?! What kind of a man works for such long hours and so little money, anyway?!"
I could feel a smile spreading on my face while the other students watched in horror. Haha, wimps. The oppressed anger she had within her was pouring out like a volcano. I wish I had a video camera.
On the other side, the sensei just stood there quietly. He was still in shock, and at a loss of what to do. I imagine he must've never had someone defy him like this. Momoe continued to scream and yell, and it seemed like she was nowhere near finished. This caused me to ponder how much rage she still had within her, until...
SMACK!
The force of the strike knocked young Momoe onto the ground. The sensei stood over her, grasping for small breaths of air. His hand was raised high into the air. The students were stunned by this turn of event, and even I felt surprised -- I didn't think he had it in him. "Nakanishi..."
At that point, Momoe pulled herself off the floor and ran out of the room. I heard her sob, and frowned as a result. I mean, she was becoming such a strong girl, and now she cries because the sensei smacked her? Hmph, wimp.
"Nakanishi! Get back here!" Yanagida-sensei shouted as he ran after her. The classroom remained silent at what they'd just seen. After a minute or so, chatter and gossip began to pick up. I stared intently at the clasroom door, waiting for any signs of life.
"Kiyumi.. I can't believe what just happened!"
"I know, I know... geez."
Minutes passed, and when it was obvious that neither of the two were coming back, I decided to investigate for myself. I got off my desk and left the classroom, to the obliviousness of my classmates. I looked down the hall to see any signs of life, but nothing. I continued down past the boy's bathroom, then the girl's bathroom... wait a minute...
I stopped and remained still. I could heard a distant sound.. sobbing? Yes, I recognized it. I placed a nail into my mouth and entered. I listened for the sounds of Momoe's tears, and my walking made light tapping noises. Momoe must've heard me, because I could hear her gasp inside her bathroom stall.
"...hello?" was the cautious greeting I received.
"I saw what Yanagida-sensei did to you. We all did." I spoke to her, my voice raspy. It's not my fault though, I was born with it. But anyway, at that point, Momoe slowly began to walk out of the stall she'd locked herself in. Her head poked out from the door, and she gasped when she saw my shadowy eyes and pale features.
I ignored her shock and resumed speaking. "Of course, the only difference between me and the rest of those pedestrians is that I can actually do something about it."
Momoe stared at me in confusion. Her eyes were swollen and red from the crying. I could smell her fear, and would've loved to taste it. I might have to do that later, though.
"Yes, I can see that you're curious, and that's good. That's very good. Heh heh heh..."
I took one final glimpse at Momoe, and her expression reflected the fact that she had probably grown more curious by my words. Or revolted, but who knows. I had a job to do, and promptly left to do it.
*END FLASHBACK*
* * *