Chapter 2 - A Teacher At The Threshold
One time, I had 665 hits in this story and when I told my friend about it, he made the 666th hit. Oh my God! Does evil and the powers of darkness have some sort of attraction for me? I hope not, especially the 'other' kind of attraction. I've read about the triple disaster that hit Japan. The earthquake, tsunami and reactor plant explosion in one row is simply unbelievable. My sympathies go out to Japan, who suffered the worst nuclear plant catastrophe since Chernobyl and for enriching the world through their literature. Hope they recover and that God keeps all manga authors/artists safe, together with their colleagues in the anime industry.
Why are we never quite at ease in the presence of a schoolmaster? Because we are conscious that he is not quite at his ease in ours. He is awkward, and out of place in the society of his equals. He comes like Gulliver from among his little people, and he cannot fit the stature of his understanding to yours.
-Charles Lamb(The Old And New Schoolmaster)
Naomi Kimura was sitting on the living room table helping her daughter with her homework. Already, the clock showed 7:59 and her husband has still not arrived. She was starting to get worried. She looked at the table. The table was set and laden with food. And the rain had stopped already, almost an hour ago. She hoped he wasn't getting into any sort of trouble. By 'trouble', it not only means an injury along the way or even a dreadful mugging, it also meant something else to her, considering her husband's nature. He was staying at the house of one of his female students for the duration of the downpour and he hoped he hasn't done anything wrong there. She sighed as she looked back at the clock. It's 8:00.
Kimura finally arrived at his house, feeling a little tired from rushing down the street. He knocked on the door.
The knocking of the door jolted her to her feet. She stood up and rushed to the door.
She opened it.
"Sorry, I'm late honey." Kimura said as he entered the door. Naomi hugged him tightly and kissed him on the check. Kimura returned the gesture with his own kisses.
"That's alright." She replied. "I'm just glad you're okay."- she led him inside- "I have dinner ready."
"Oh, thank you." Kimura replied cheerily. "You make me hungry when say that." It was no joke. His wife is such a great cook. Her sunny smile made him warm inside.
She looked up to his head. "Oh my goodness. Are you alright?" Noting from one of his students informing her about her husband's injury, she's naturally concerned.
"I am," he replied. "The girls patched me up pretty good."
"I'm so glad that someone had helped, even if it was the girls." It's no secret to her his husband likes the girls in his school very much. She's glad that he kept only in words, nothing serious enough to get the boot.
He scratched the back of his head with a blush. "Well... they couldn't just leave me there at the sidewalk, right?" He chuckled and walked in.
"By the way," she added, "you didn't have dinner there, did you?"
The question stopped him in his tracks. He almost forgot about his affair with his two students. While it sounded like an innocent question whether he ate at their house or not it seemed to direct a jab, a subtle inquiry on his fidelity and control of his thirst for high school girls. It made him sweat a little, frightened that his wife might be curious or that he might slip up and give her a hint unintentionally. He gulped nervously as he spoke up. "No." He finally managed. "Just a light snack."
"Oh." She said cheerily. "That was nice of them."
"Yeah..." He replied absently, chuckling nervously. "They're quite generous."
"I hope they didn't stuff you too full though." She replied happily as they entered the dinning room. He breathed heavily, still tense about his close brush with revealing his secret to his wife.
"Where's out little angel Hanako?" He asked. He sincerely wanted to see her daughter. He also wanted to rid himself of the feeling of guilt and self-loathing he had. That 'little time' he spent with them. He wanted to get rid of it, at least for now.
"She's upstairs doing her homework." She replied.
He smiled. "That's a good girl."
His stomach rumbled. Naomi chuckled. "Let's not keep the food waiting." They sat down on the chairs. "I'll lead the service tonight."
He remained silent as he raised and clasped his hands in prayer. They trembled as Naomi recited the prayer. He said that prayer as well back at the house, where he had his meal with them before consummating their affair. Brief, random dreamlike flashes of memory flitted into his head as each word is said. He breathed slowly and heavily. He looked directly at his plate in order to divert his mind away from those glaring flashes.
The prayers are finished and they started dinner. They made small talk about how their day went. Kimura happily went along until the part about his stay at the house. It made him uneasy as he began his alibi.
"After I got up, I stayed with them for a while and review some of their homework," he said.
"That's nice but wouldn't it be like...," she replied, "Uh... I don't know. Helping your students with their homework?"
"Uh... Well, they need help with some areas they didn't understand. I'm a teacher after all."
"Oh, I see. Well now, you were there to help them."
"Yes, but they understood after a little bit of work."
His wife nodded and smiled. "Well, I'm glad to see that your students trust you to help them with things they don't understand."
Something in the back of Kimura's mind jarred him with pain, but outwardly, he just grinned. He looked at his wife. She looked lovely just like when they first met. Her beautiful eyes, her wavy hair the color of dark honey. Her sweet personality. Those are reasons why he was drawn to her. Anyone would kill somebody just to have her. He really felt terrible as he looked on, feeling he betrayed her by having sex with his two students. He realized about how selfish he was back there; he should have told them off rather then give in to his weakness...
"Daisuke, what's wrong?" She asked.
He realized that he was stare at his half-eaten food the whole time. He quickly faces his and said, "Oh, I was just thinking about what to do tomorrow."
"Oh." She replied. "I think you should finish dinner first. You can't do anything on an empty stomach." She giggled a bit. He turned to his food, eating and enjoying his wife's cooking with gusto. His wife's cooking is the best he ever knew. He asked for seconds and ate happily.
"My, my," she said happily, "I never knew you were that hungry. I think that light snack of theirs was just hold off your appetite for the moment."
Dinner was finished and Daisuke Kimura planted a kiss on her cheek, thanking her for the wonderful dinner. After that, she cleared the table and proceeded to wash the dishes while he went to the living room to prepare tomorrow's lessons. As he sat down he heard his wife hum a song. He shuddered again. His hunger only offered temporary relief from his guilt. As his wife song he also pictured Sakaki humming like that too. Yes, she hummed a song while preparing snacks for herself, him and Yomi. He tried to concentrate his mind on his work but it felt like century to not allow his mind to drift back to the house, their gay voices, their angst, their hospitality... He finally shook his head and got through his work, which he finished in three minutes.
His wife left the kitchen and dining room. She went upstairs to check on their daughter. Kimura slipped behind and ran to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and filled it with water. He drank in one swig, breathing heavily. He wiped the sweat of his brow and sat down. He undid his tie, relaxed himself and tried to think of other things.
Naomi emerged into the kitchen. Kimura turned his head quickly. "Oh, Naomi. I thought you were out."
"Out?" She said in puzzlement. "I was just checking our daughter." She went to the fridge to get a pitcher of water and took out two glasses.
"How is she?"
"She's sleeping." She smiled brightly as she handed a full glass to Kimura. "Would you like to see her?"
He thought for a moment. He decided against it, not wanting to wake her up. A growing child needs her sleep, he thought. He looked at her. "Can you finish early?"
"Why?" She asked curiously.
He gave her a knowing wink. "You'll find out."
She paused for a while then said, "Wait for me upstairs. Be sure to freshen up."
He nodded like a small boy. He got out and left in a hurry. He got up the stairs and went into the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror. He removed his jacket, his tie and was unbuttoning his shirt when he noticed some dark-colored marks on his neck. Hickeys! There were four or six love bites on his neck. He was frantic, not knowing what to make of this.
"Honey, I'm done. I'm coming up now." He heard his wife call out to him. Quickly, he turned back to the mirror when he noticed that the marks have disappeared. He blinked in disbelief, surprised to see that his marks just vanished. Then his head pulsed a bit.
He sighed in relief. He said to himself, "That's just my overactive mind playing tricks on me again." But he was not sure if it is his imagination. He looked at himself back at the mirror. He touched the places were they used to be. Not even a trace. The love bites, telltale signs of his affair, might have made Naomi curious and demand answers from him. His wife reached the top of the stairs.
"Are you done, Daisuke?" She asked.
"I'm just about to freshen up." He replied.
"Okay, hurry up. I wanna what your surprise is."
"Alright." He finally peeled of his clothes and gave his body a quick wash. After that, he picked a towel and dried himself up, trying to stop thinking of those bites. He went out. "I'm done~," he sang.
His wife went inside as he got out. At the bedroom, he changed to his shorts. He sat down on it, pondering about what he'd done back there. Peeping at high school girls is one thing. Committing adultery and having sex with them is an entirely different matter. It would more than just a slap in the wrist. He would receive suspension, his poor wife would suffer from the stigma of being his wife, bearing the memory of his sin. And his daughter too. He shuddered at the thought of his daughter going on with the rest of her life without her father and taunted by people about what he did. And his in-laws, who do not approve of his love to his wife to begin with, would hound him mercilessly and demand Naomi to divorce him. The very thought of divorce from his love tore his heart.
He lay down on the bed, shutting his mind out of the thoughts before they could get to him. Sighing slowly, he turned his head as the door opened. His wife entered, clad only in towels. She disappeared into a folding screen were she changed. Naomi didn't seem to mind as her husband is in the room. To Kimura, however, her very presence had filled the room. She left the screen dressed in a pink nightgown, giving her an angelic air. Kimura's mouth went gaped at her beauty. She seemed to float as she walked towards him. She slid herself beside him in bed.
She pulled in the covers and turned her head to him. She stroked his shoulder lovingly. She then said, "It feels like our honeymoon, isn't it?"
He adjusted himself so he was facing her. She looked both sensuous and innocent. Her smile seemed heavenly, lighting up the room with her brilliance. He stroked her hair and her face. "Yes. It does. You looked beautiful." His hands strayed to the buttons of her nightgown.
She then said slowly, grasping his hand, "Shall we?"
"Yes..."
But first..." She suggested. Remembering their custom for evening prayers, the made the sign of the cross and prayed. Naomi prayed serenely, not noticing her husband's trembling hands or shaky voice.
Their clothes strewn on the floor, the Kimuras slept soundly, the blanket the only thing covering their bodies. Daisuku Kimura's arms are grasped around his wife's body. It seemed like a long time since their lovemaking ended. His eyes stirred and he opened slowly. Awake, he gently slid his arms of her body and rose. His sight was blurred since he was not wearing his glasses. He felt lightheaded. The room was still dark save for some light from the window. He noticed a silhouette sitting on the sill. It was almost spectral, seeming to float in place where its fringes looked loose. He turned to the nightstand to pick up his glasses. He put them on and looked back at the window. It was gone. He blinked his eyes in surprise. He laid back on the bed and pulled the covers.
He noticed something on the blanket. Something seemed to crawled underneath the blanket. He groped his hands to inspect it. He felt it move upward he looked at the blanket to see a portion of it raised up and begin moving towards him. He could feel hands grasping his limbs and his body. He tried to back away but it held him in place. Finally, it stopped. Kimura can't do anything about it, not knowing whether to get away or fight back. Then Yomi emerged headfirst.
"Don't be afraid, Kimura-sensei," she said reassuringly.
Kimura opened his mouth but no word came out. Slowly, she stroked his face. Then wrapped her arms around him; her naked body on top of the teacher. He embraced her in return. Then their mouths met. Their hands exploring each other again. He enjoyed it. They undulated slowly, savoring again passions only minutes old. Then his wife moved all of a sudden. He froze in fright. She just tossed and turned her back on him.
Relieved, he sighed slowly. "Yomi, I don't think we should do this." He shuddered slowly and slowly removed himself from her arms.
She lay at his side. "What's the matter?" She teased, "I don't see any reason why she shouldn't wake up."
"Seriously, Yomi!" He whispered desperately. "If she catches us together, she'll kill us."
"Well, I would like it if she joined us. It would be fun and you might like it too." She giggled and nudge her head on his shoulders.
"Yomi, please." He pleaded again. "For the love of God-"
"God?" She hissed. She rose up into a sitting position, not even bothering to cover her body, nude above the waist. Her eyes glared angrily at Kimura. He cringed and tried to back away. "Why did you utter His name here? He has no authority here."
He trembled at the tone of her voice. It sounded cold, angry and confident. She then continued. "Do not amuse me by feigning ignorance. How do you justify your impiety towards your vows?"
"Vows?"
"Your vows of fidelity. The vows you swore to keep during your marriage. Tell me about us. Were we good?"
In terror he could not answer her. She smirked darkly, "Go wake your wife." Almost hypnotically, he turned to his wife. He screamed horrifically.
Naomi is now a shriveled gray corpse. Her eye sockets are empty with a dark reddish smear sipping from them, across her now wrinkled face. Her mouth was agape like that of a fish. Putrid stench escaped her body. She croaked in a dry voice. "Daisuke? Why did you lie to me?" She raised a bony hand at him. "You promised me you will love me."
"I'm s-sorry," He stuttered, trying to back away. His heart beat so fast that he could barely hear his own troubled breathing. "P-please forgive me."
"Forgive you? How pathetic!" She wheezed demonically. "You should crawl back to a hole like the worm you are, wretched dog." Her hands slowly sprouted horrific claws. He was about spring off but Yomi grabbed him and held him in place. He struggled but her grip was too tight, too strong.
"Isn't she beautiful?" She cooed with a twisted smile. His bones shook. Then his wife stood, her body a grotesque parody of her youth and life. She let out a horrible shriek. Kimura whelped helplessly and tried to turn his head but Yomi grabbed a fistful of his hair and held his head straight. Naomi picked his glasses and threw them away. She glided one of her nails to glide a nick above the edge of his eye. She then pushed it a little into it, causing him to wince in pain. Blood seeped slowly from the rim, stinging his eye and blurring his vision. He whelped even more, wailed in terror as she ripped his eye apart.
"Ah!" He jolted upward, breathing heavily. He looked around.
His vision was blurred and he realized he wasn't wearing his glasses. He scolded himself for his forgetfulness. He shakily picked up the glasses from the nightstand. He hastily put them on and turned on the bedside lamp. He looked around again to see if there was anything unusual. Nothing. Sighing in relief, he turned to the alarm clock, which registered 3:00 AM. He looked at his wife, who was sleeping soundly next to him. She seemed sensuous with the blanket covering her bare body. Feeling regret and remorse for his selfish affair with his students, he leaned down and kissed her on the check. Feeling uneasy, he lied down again shut off his eyes, hopefully to relieve himself of this guilt feelings.
Naomi Kimura finally woke up from from her sleep, alerted by the alarm clock, registering 4:00 AM. She clicked it off. She then turned to Daisuke lying down beside her. She smiled and gave him a kiss. She then slid off the bed and picked up her panties and nightgown and put them on. She silently left the bedroom and went out the door. As she went down the stairs, she felt a cold chill from her back. She quickly turned her head to the direction of the chill. She felt apprehension at the suddenness and strangeness of the chill. She looked around and shrugged her shoulders, going to the kitchen to prepare food for breakfast and lunch as she happily did in each late pre-dawn morning.
Sakaki walked to school as she usually did. The air was crisp and made cold by last night's rain. The birds whistled cheerfully as the sun warmed the the chill away. She was musing about what to do in school when Chiyo appeared. "Good morning, Miss Sakaki," she greeted.
"Oh, morning, Chiyo-chan." Sakaki greeted back at her friend. The cute genius jumped at her and embraced warmly. Chiyo smiled brightly as she looked at her eyes. Cute and adorable as always, the tall girl let out a smile.
"The rain's really heavy last night. I got scared of the thunder so I went to sleep early." Chiyo said.
"That's why you're early today," Sakaki noted. She too is afraid of thunder, together with earthquakes and construction workers who might sometimes be clumsy on the job. "I thought I might meet you later."
"Well, it's good to see you. We'll go to Osaka's house."
"I see. We'll drop by at her house." The two of them walked on as they chatted about yesterday's events, the coming storm didn't give allow them to walk home together.
"There's something in the internet I want to search about," Chiyo said as they stopped by Osaka's house.
"What is it?" Sakaki asked.
"There's a goddess in Egyptian mythology named Bastet," She answered cheerfully. "She's cat deity."
"Cat... deity," Sakaki said to herself softly. It sounded very differently to her. For sure, she knew from previous lessons that people worshiped animals during ancient times. They worship dogs, cows, and all sort of things. But cats... It was just too good to be true. How do people worship a cat? She thought. She knew about Ancient Egypt with its mummies, pharaohs, temples and other things. Then something hit her!
In her mind, she imagined a kitten sitting on a throne inside a magnificent palace. In front of it, everyone bowed down to it to pay their respects, singing songs of praise, offering choice fish and generally revering it. Such a cute scene made her eyes sparkle with glee. Chiyo looked at her friend, who shook giddily with joy. She wondered what she's thinking right now.
"Um... Miss Sakaki?" She asked.
Sakaki was taken from her revelry. She looked at Chiyo, who was looking at her curiously. She hastily and awkwardly composed herself. "What is it, Chiyo-chan?" She asked quietly, blushing in a little embarrassment.
"Uh... nothing," Chiyo simply said, deciding to drop the topic as it is. The gate opened and Osaka stepped out.
"Good morning, Chiyo-chan," She greeted sleepily.
"Monrning, Osaka," Chiyo greeted back.
"Good morning," Sakaki joined in.
"What 'cha stopping for?" Osaka asked airily. She just closed the gate behind her.
"Well, you're here now. Let's go," Chiyo said. They all march into the road to school.
"You know, I had a weird dream last night," Osaka began as they walked.
"What's that?" Chiyo asked. They passed by a truck.
"I don't know." Osaka's eyes strayed upward. "It's kinda funny and a little scary."
"What's your dream like?"
"Well... I forgot most of it." Chiyo and Sakaki's eyes popped blank and white. Then Osaka added, "But it has like houses, thick rolls of paper that smell like moths and..." Osaka went on to describe forests of gnarled trees, big old dusty houses, ruins in hot deserts, and generally anything from benign to strange in between. Sakaki knew that any dream described by Osaka makes no sense whatsoever. But some of her descriptions seemed to bother her, especially of dark places, deserted locales and old books in claustrophobic corners. She shuddered a bit and purged such thoughts from her mind.
Classes have started. Yukari was beginning her English class as always with her usual antics. As she discussed, Tomo is also doing her own little slapstick with Yomi.
"Hey, Yomi," Tomo called her.
"What?" Yomi replied in an annoyed tone.
"Did you see that YouTube video I sent you the other day?"
Yomi fumed with anger. That video is about Gary Brolsma and his Numa Numa video. It was sent to her by Tomo, entitled, Great Workout Video. That and other sets of videos of dancing fat people pissed her off. "Yeah... I did." Her voiced seethed with annoyance and anger.
"Did you like it?" Tomo mewed with puppy dog eyes, clearly trying infuriate Yomi.
The meganneko didn't even look at her as she cooked in rage at her latest insults. She wanted to pounce on the wildcat and pound her to pulp but she had to contain it, Miss Yukari's still around. Yukari had finished writing on the board. She turned to her class, "Okay, class. Copy what's on the board and we'll discuss this later. To the bathroom!" She swept through the door and ran out. Everyone sweat dropped.
Tomo commented, "Wow, Yukari probably drank too much last night." She referred to her party-like drinking habits which most people knew about. It was no secret at all about that.
Seeing their teacher gone, Yomi can finally erupt in rage and attack Tomo. "DOUBLE CHOP!" She shouted, striking Tomo on the head and knocking her out hard.
"Yeow!" Tomo yelled. Her back got to the floor with a thud. Yomi was about to jump on her when she rolled away. She then flippd and taunted her some more, making stupid faces and sticking her tongue. Even angrier, Yomi gave chase to Tomo as they rolled around the classroom in a exact remake of a Benny Hill chase scene. Tomo laughed happily while her 'best friend' growled angrily. The commotion was loud enough for someone to hear it outside.
"Well, you're starting to get the hang of it!" Tomo sneered, ducking around Yomi's grab. "You sure you don't need to stretch out first?"
"I'll tear you limb from limb if you keep saying that!"
"Fatty can't keep up!"
Tomo shouldn't have been tempting fate like she was. Almost the instant she said that, she ran into the chalkboard, bouncing away a few feet before getting a good knock on the head from Yomi. Triumphantly, Yomi pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, looking down upon her fallen adversary with a vicious grin.
"At least I can see." She glowered.
"What in the devil is going on in there, Tanizaki?" The door slid open, and the burly new principal took a step into the room. "You'd better not be..."
Yomi looked up in terror, knowing full well what it looked like had happened. The principal knew nothing of Tomo's provocation, and saw only what was presented, which was Yomi standing over another, unconscious student.
"What is going on?" he demanded. He was surprised to see a fight occurring during class hours. Yomi's mouth went wide open, not knowing what to say. The principal stepped inside the classroom. "I assume that all of you have good explanation about this ruckus so you better start answering questions," he demanded tersely.
All the students backed away carefully, not wanting to be in his line of fire. In just a few months his no-nonsense approach to school discipline made it clear that he is in charge, exerting effective control and has made quite an impression on the student body, which had collectively learned that being sent to the principal's office was, once again, a sentence to be feared, something they had forgotten since leaving grade school.
"Um... she... started it?" Yomi managed weakly.
"I expect to see both of you in my office directly after school. If you're not there, I'll call your parents and they'll have the opportunity to drive you here, something they will not like in the least." He turned around. "Don't even think about skipping out. That is all for now." He left the room.
Everyone went back to their seats. Tomo and Yomi limped back to theirs without any word, realizing that that their long-running sitcom would have to end. Chihiro whispered to Kaorin, "See, that's why you never break school rules while he's around." Kaorin nodded in glum agreement.
Yukari, cheerily skipped back to the classroom when the principal accosted her. "Miss Tanizaki, where were you when you're students were fighting?"
"What?" Yukari was puzzled, "Who's fighting... Oh yeah~, Yomi and Tomo, they fight all the time." She replied plainly.
"And you let them be? Where were you again?" He demanded again.
"What? I was at the bathroom," she explained, waving her hand emphatically.
"At the bathroom," he gave her a sharp look, eyebrows raised, "Miss Tanizaki, you better straighten your behavior and drinking habit. I will no longer tolerate study halls and unproductive shenanigans. Better get back to your class, Miss Tanizaki. Don't waste anymore of my time." He walked off, straightening his back. Hajime was also very firm towards the faculty, clearly reminding them they are accountable to him and their parents as well.
Yukari fumed and swore under her breath. She stomped towards the classroom, angry about being dressed down yet again by Hajime. That principal's such a prick, she swore mentally. She rushed into the room and faced her students angrily. "You brats! Thanks for getting Mr. Hajime on my ass! You better start pushing your pencils or it's your butts!"Everyone did as they are told, writing an essay about how to behave more properly, sweat dropping and shuddering in fear while they did. An angry Yukari is someone they shouldn't trifle with. They averted their gaze from her, fearing that she might find someone to take her rage on. She thought to herself, Just thinking him and that earful he gave me just pisses me off!
Osaka was having some trouble trying to write the essay. She tried to think of a better way to define 'proper behavior'. Her eyes wide open, she seemed to look through the pad she was writing on for a solution that might appear. Her eyes seemed intent to stare its way through the pad, seeking an answer from beyond. It took her a few seconds to realize that she couldn't think of something unconventional to write in an essay about good behavior. She asked Chiyo, who sat in front of her, for help.
"Hey, Chiyo-chan," She asked slowly, "how do you write an essay differently? I wanna write something different."
Chiyo sweat dropped. Ordinarily, she might have given Osaka a little advice on the matter, although it might have gone differently than what Osaka intended. But not today. With Yukari fuming, the last thing she would want is the English teacher bearing hard down on them. "Osaka," she replied, "I don't think it's the write time to ask."
"Why not?" Her smile is practically affixed on her mouth, her eyes still wide open, seeking to explore the solution.
Yukari's eye caught her, her veins popped crosses of annoyance. She then marched to Osaka's seat and stared down on her. She then smiled, "Having a problem, Osaka?" Chiyo shuddered and focused on her work, fearful of Yukari.
"Well... I have a little problem with the essay." Osaka's eyes closed cheerily.
"And what's that~?" Yukari asked cheerfully.
"Oh, I just want to write in another way-" The airhead suddenly realized that she talking to Yukari. She then relented, her arms woobly, "No! That's not what I-"
SMACK!
Osaka earned a smack on the from Yukari. She wailed softly from the blow. "Ow, ow, ow." While this happened, another commotion is in the making.
Yomi wrote on sullenly, her head low in shame. She didn't want to think of what was coming for her and Tomo, and she certainly didn't want to get a helping of it from Yukari first.
"Hey, Yomi." Tomo whispered, "I wasn't paying attention. What're we writing about?"
The pencil in Yomi's hands snapped in half, and with a noise not unlike a rusty, creaking barn door, her head rotated until it was fixed on Tomo. "You didn't hear what Yukai-sensei just told us?"
Tomo replied dumbly, "Uh, no."
Yomi was enraged by her friend's idiocy. It was bad enough for them to get into trouble with the principal but it was maddening to listen to her ignorance. She seemed unrepentant of the fight they had a little while ago. She said, "Why don't you figure it on your own and leave me in peace."
"Come on, Yomi. I honestly didn't hear it."
"Shut up!" She snapped at her, annoyed at her friend feigning stupidity to get her jollies. She could hear Tomo snickering.
"Quite, you two!" Yukari shouted. The two girls shuddered in fear. The English teacher approached them. "Because of you two, you made me an idiot in front of the principal. I've got a special penalty for both of you after you get out of his office." Her glare hovered over them menacingly, angry eyes red with fire.
In fear, they dug their back to writing, not wanting to say anymore. At a seat near the window, Sakaki ignored the commotion and went on writing. While she did, contemplated about what she would do after school. She was thinking about that cat goddess Chiyo was talking about. Bastet was her name, right? She thought. After she finished, she looked outside to see storm clouds gathering. They were gray and heavy, threatening to bring rain over the school. She looked at a fluffier cloud. To her, it looked like Kamineko. She really wanted to pet the gray cat but it seemed unreasonably hostile to her. She wanted to reach out to the Kamineko cloud to pet him, even if it might bite her for sure. The bell rang, indicating lunchtime. Everyone got up and passed their essays. The class walked out of the room uneasily after that incident, hoping nothing else happens during the day.
Lunch began and everyone rushed to the canteen for food. Some of the teachers too but most of them would eat at the faculty. Kimura went to his desk to sit down. There was a cloth-wrapped lunchbox laid on top of his desk. He smiled. He had forgotten to bring his lunch again and Naomi has to bring it over to school. He should start bringing his own lunch instead of making poor Naomi walk all the way to school. He sighed a little and sat down and overheard two teachers talking about two students Hajime caught fighting. He stood and asked them about the students. He stood and went away.
"No, Kimura," the principal replied brusquely, "that I won't do. Those two were caught fighting while Tanizaki was away. I have to make an example of those two."
"But you don't have to punish Yomi, uh, I mean, Miss Mizuhara. She was annoyed by her." Kimura knew that if any fight between the two erupts, Tomo is the instigator. It's about time Tomo learned her lesson.
"I do not care much about who started it. As far as I'm concerned, they were disturbing the peace, therefore they should be penalized for such an offense." He crossed his arms.
"Come on, she's a good student," he pleaded again, "if you can't let her off, at least give her a lighter sentence-"
Hajime cut him off. "Kimura, I know about your behavior, your antics. From your record and from what most of the students and teachers say about you, your behavior is quite distasteful. I should advise you to behave decently in front of your female students. And many of the boys see you as some sort of role model. They seem to agree with your 'antics' and have acted accordingly with a little of the same etiquette as you. I have seen some of them in my office in the past few days. You have anything to say for yourself?"
"Uh... I like high school girls?" He replied squeamishly. "But I didn't mean to-"
"That's the point. 'I like high school girls'. Your conduct forms a paradigm for borderline sexual harassment. And you seem to disregard social distance with your female students as much as Yukari disdains authority somewhat. Since no one ever filed a report about you, my predecessor has overlooked that but I will not."
"I see..." Kimura replied dejectedly.
Hajime sighed and softened his voice. "I know that you're trying to keep the peace but I'm in charge now, which means you don't try to undermine my authority. There will be no such exceptions here." He then he gave Kimura a sharp look. "If you're planning anything involving her, don't."
Kimura didn't reply for a while. Then he finally said, "Alright, I see what you mean."
"I think we have an agreement. Behave yourself at least. This discussion is finished."
The Classical Literature teacher was about to leave when Hajime asked, "By the way, what happened to you?" He pointed to his bandaged head.
Kimura, inwardly frightened, mustered himself up. "I fell on the sidewalk on my way home."
Satisfied with the explanation, he nodded. "I see. You can go now. You better have that checked in the nurse's office."
With that he returned to his desk, feeling a little spent. He decided to eat lunch alone, quietly. It seemed not a good time to mingle with his fellow teachers.
At the library Chiyo sat at one of the computers used to search the internet. Sakaki, who was looking for a book about animals, noticed her and approached her seat.
"Chiyo-chan. What are you doing?" She asked her.
She turned around and faced Sakaki. "Oh. Hi Miss Sakaki. I'm just searching for Bastet the Egyptian cat goddess."
"The cat goddess you told me about?" Sakaki asked, taking a seat beside Chiyo.
"Yup. I'm curious about her. I heard something about her from a National Geographic documentary about ancient religions last night."
Immediately, Sakaki's head was filled with adorable images of a cat-goddess... she blushed and smiled at the thoughts, as they became more and more cripplingly cute by the second.
"Goddess of protection, cats, and the sun... viewed as a good mother by her worshipers... this is really cool, Miss... Sakaki?" Chiyo turned around, seeing Sakaki lost deep within her own thoughts, and giggled softly.
"Um... Miss Sakaki... Is there anything wrong?" She asked, a little bothered by Sakaki smiling happily on her own.
Sakaki instantly snapped out of her musings again, noticing Chiyo is watching her.
"Nothing, Chiyo." She dismissed, looking away quickly. Chiyo went back to her research again.
"It's always interesting to read about the understandings of ancient civilizations like this." She said idly, "This was absolute truth way back when. I wonder, will our beliefs be ancient history some day?"
"That's a deep question." Sakaki straightened herself a little.
"Oh. I see. I'm not sure how long will that be." She clicked to on another part of the article called Bubastis. She called Sakaki, "Oh look, Miss Sakaki. This is Bubastis. This old city is where her worship is centered around on."
Sakaki couldn't believe this. "She... has... her own city."
"Yeah. The Greeks gave the city its name. And it's even mentioned in the Bible." Chiyo clicked on the 'Bible' then recited the verse Ezekiel 30:17, "'The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth -Bubastis- shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.'" Then they read about by how the city fell.
By 525BC, Egypt was essentially the only empire not conquered by the Persians. At that point Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, set out to do just that. Cambyses and his army crossed the fifty-six mile stretch of desert to the Egyptian outpost of Pelesium on camelback; they then clashed down upon the Egyptian army who were reluctant to strike back at the sacred symbol of the cat upon the Persian shields.
"That was somehow harsh," Chiyo noted. "I guess the Egyptians can't bear to hit their own holy animals."
"I know how they feel," Sakaki added, noting her experiences with Kamineko. No matter how much she got bitten by him, she never got angry at the gray cat.
"They died to preserve the image of their faith." Chiyo shook her head. "I can understand why you would do that, but... I never think I'd be able to follow through with something like that."
"It's a tough thing to understand."
"Yes, it is..."
Having said this, Chiyo sighed. "I don't really like to think about that. Reading about defeated armies is one thing - imagining how that must've looked way back when is another."
"It couldn't more worse. How about those Danish cartoons?" Sakaki referred to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.
"I know. Everyone who was offended by them went angry." Chiyo shuddered at the thought of sacrilege bringing people down or inciting hatred. Those cartoons fueled violent backlash that at first threatened to bring war all over the world. She then added, "I don't think we should talk about religions and war right now."
"Yeah, I think I agree," Sakaki quietly said. She too shuddered from thinking about blasphemy and bloodshed put together in one place. The bell rang. Chiyo and Sakaki got up and turned off the computer. Then they left for afternoon classes.
Outside, the rain had begun. The downpour pounded furiously on the windows of the school as afternoon classes proceeded. Everyone was busy during Kimura's period. They recited and discussed the choice literary pieces, along with his obligatory rants, before they took a quiz. As they started Yomi felt miserable, now that she would be visiting the principal's office. She also fumed at Tomo for jumping into this mess with her. Now their parents are gonna have a talk with them. She focused on her quiz to quite out the rage and irritation inside, writing furiously with popping veins on her head.
On the table sat the king of perverts himself, stationary like a windmill. The one thing they noticed was that his head had bump. It looked quite recent though. Some of the boys joked he got it from a jealous boyfriend of some girl he was harassing.
"What happened to his head?" was all Osaka had to say of the change in appearance.
"Oh, I don't know," Tomo replied with a mock matter-of-factly tone. "Maybe he got his on the face by the girl he tried to jump on."
Yomi gave Tomo an angry glare at that remark, she whispered sharply, "Tomo, that was not funny. If that's true then he's gonna get-"
"Uh-um," Kimura rasped to get their attention, "we're still in the middle of class here."
The three girls ceased their talking at that and buried their heads back in their papers.
Writing down her quiz, Sakaki lifted her head a little and noticed Kimura. The Literature teacher had an odder than usual look. He moved his head like a CCTV cam, sweeping from one place, briefly staying put before hovering to the next one; repeating the cycle again. She also noticed that he moved his head back and forth from Yomi's seat to hers. Then his head turned back to her seat. He smiled without closing his mouth. She found it creepy and looked back to her paper. She felt a chill on her back looking at him. For some reason, she felt he was... different. As she observed a little more she noticed Kimura was agitated a few seconds later. His head shook a little, his hands had a slight tremble. She decided to ignore that before they looked to disturbing.
The bell rang. It was the last period of the day, PE. Everyone went out, the girls shifting their feet more hurriedly than the boys, obviously wanting to avoid the ecchi teacher and his 'sincerity'. The room emptied rapidly.
"Oh yeah," Kagura said excitedly, "we're playing volleyball today." Some of the students voiced their agreements. The class rapidly emptied and now there were only to people left in the room now: Sakaki and Kimura.
Kimura remained on the desk as the tall girl sifted through her bag for a few things she needed. Kimura looked at her and smiled. He relished that night he spent with Yomi and Sakaki. It was quite the best time in his life. The passion, the warmth, the touch of their bodies - his forbidden fantasies come true - seemed eternal and fulfilling. The rain got louder and some thunder claps growled.
Sakaki winced at the thunder. She feared thunder more then anything else. That reminded she had PE class and had to catch up when Kimura accosted her. She startled by his sudden appearance in front of her.
"Hey there. " He asked.
"Hm?" She regarded him. Then she replied politely, "What is it, Mr Kimura?"
"Oh, I'm feeling super. Just like last night." He replied. His smile widened to something more creepier than his previous faces. Sakaki shuddered a little. She was puzzled by his statement. Last night? What happened last night? She thought.
He continued, "That was nice and all, how about we do it again tonight? "
"I don't know what you mean." She became fearful, unable to comprehend about what he meant.
"Oh you do." His eyes bore down on her, seemingly to scan her from head to foot.
"Um... what? "
"No... not nice... that was INCREDIBLE! " His grin widened, affixed.
"Kimura-sensei, whatever are you talking about... " She backed away a little, wanting to put a little distance between him and her.
"YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" He shouted excitedly.
"I'm going to be late for volleyball if you keep me any longer, Mr. Kimura.," she reminded him.
He then suggested, "You can change in here if you want. " He still kept his stare.
It was too much for her already. "No, that's fine. My locker is... in the locker room." She replied hesitantly.
"Oh, I see. May I escort you there?" He offered. Her legs wobbled and she backed away some more. She whimpered a bit. She was definitely frightened. She looked at the door. It looked quite distant from where she stood. She wanted to bolt for it but looking at him, she though she might not make it for Kimura might block her if she did. She thought about pushing him away if he did but she wasn't sure if she can pull it off. Fear seized her body, refusing to permit her flight. Those eyes glared unnervingly at her. They told her about what he was thinking, casting no doubt of something unwholesome. She heard his slow breathing. She wanted to run, to scream for help but her mouth held tightly. Like a groper from a subway he stepped a little closer.
The door opened. Yomi said. "Hey, Sakaki. Are you there? It's PE time, we're gonna be..." Her voice trailed off when she saw Kimura and Sakaki at the corner of the room. She could see the tall girl visibly frightened at the staring pervert, who doesn't seem to let go of it. Kimura's open-mouthed smile was truly horrid. He then turned his head slowly to Yomi's direction, the face transfixed in its dreadful expression.
"Hey, Yomi," he greeted lively with his abhorrent beam. "It's nice for you to join us-"
"Like hell!" She retorted angrily, cutting him off. She marched towards them and stepped in. "Come on, Sakaki. We're leaving this creep." She grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from him like a mother with an unwilling child on tow. She found it disturbing when he said her name her friends called her. Being called by your nickname by someone the likes of him is definitely not something she'd want from him. Not wanting to dwell on it, she made it all the way outside, then to the hallway some distance from the classroom, ignoring his frantic pleas for them to 'stay a little bit.'
They finally made it the changing room. The two girls changed to their PE gear just in time for Miss Kurosawa to get in the gym. As she did, she noticed Sakaki fumbling with her shirt. She then approached her helped her tidy up her shirt. She then asked concernedly, "Are you okay?"
"Yes..." She replied hesitantly, "I'm fine." Yomi could tell from her voice and face that she is not.
"You really don't look fine," she said sympathetically, "what did he do to you there?" Sakaki explained with reluctance about what happened in the classroom. Yomi said, "Oh my. That Kimura's crossing some serious lines there. Tell you what. You can report to the principal about what he did." She patted her shoulder reassuringly.
"I don't know. I don't think we should just jump into conclusions."
"Sakaki." She sighed. "People like Kimura don't know about keeping their distance. They need to learn some decency. Don't be fooled if he has some sob story. They'll do anything to justify their antics."
Sakaki didn't smile but felt a little better inside. Yomi went on, "Don't worry, Sakaki. Just stick with us and don't go anywhere near him. You'll fine."
Sakaki let out a soft smile. "Thank you."
"No problem. Let's play volleyball before Kurosawa-sensei calls us." With that, the two girls walked out of the the room to join their friends at the gym. It was good to have friends who are there for her during those bad times. The more she thought about it, the more she felt she needed it for something in the back of her told her something to fear. A fear of something obscure, hidden away at the corner she couldn't quite point out. She had that strange feeling that it may not be last she would ever hear of Kimura.
Okay, folks. This is latest chapter is for you to read to your heart's content.
