Chapter 5: Helping Hands

A/N: It's been a long time since I've updated this fic. One of the problems for me was that I'm always suffering from writer's block plus life. The old gang has all but left and Azumanga Daioh's tide is receding. It's lonely here doing this all by myself and I kept pushing myself despite interest for my fic, thus support having dwindling it's way to nonexistence but the urge to write still remains quite strong. That sorta makes me a stubborn moose and perhaps I'll remained one. Thanks to Miz-KTakase for helping me come up with a title for this chapter. I'd appreciate a review or PM from anyone who still has interest. Length kept short in order to keep it simple as I've found out.

Disclaimer: Azumanga Daioh is the property of Kiyohiko Azuma and J.C. Staff. No copyright infringement intended.


"I think you've got to keep an eye on Kimura," Yomi warned. "I don't think he's thinking of anything good."

"Why's that?" Kagura asked curiously. "Is there anything good about him? It's not like the hottest tabloid gossip."

"She was trying to hit on Sakaki," the glasses girl answered.

"What? Really?" The tomboy cocked an eyebrow like at that. Still, it was only half of that. What she wanted to say was I so them yesterday but she bit back her tongue over yesterday's events.

"It was after his class yesterday. She remained behind and Kimura didn't leave. He was ranting about that they should stay a while. Thank goodness I got there in time. I came around and she was scared as a dormice at a cat shelter."

"Wow, that creep is really stepping up his game." Her voice held some disdain. On the other hand it was distressing to think that the tall girl was playing damsel in distress one minute and Jezebel the next. This was not making sense and it bothered her a lot.

"He had her in a corner. And tried to to get me to join in whatever sicko thing he planned for her." She frowned darkly.

"He must have think that you're jumping in," she noted wryly.

"The only thing he'll be jumping in is in jail," Yomi said sharply. "Have you ever seen a pervert come towards a lone girl?"

Actually, I'd like to ask you about Sakaki but I don't think that's gonna help was in her mind but instead said, "Well, he might jump bail. Maybe in those H-fantasy scenarios, usually the opposite."

Yomi scoffed in agreement. "No doubt. Must have been that conk on his head."

"Hey, I noticed that bruise he had. He looked like he ran into a bucket of dry concrete." She grinned at the thought of the teacher getting a conk on the head.

"If that's what's causing his slight personality change, then I think he needs a check up with the doctor."

"Or his parole officer." They both laughed at that. Kimura had never been caught anything beyond his "innocent" hobby, which may be coming to an end, seeing that Principal Hajime was serious about cleaning house.

"About time for once," she agreed. "Shame about Yukari. Anyway, I gotta find coach."

"Alright, see yah." She waved Yomi farewell. Both girls went on their separate ways, Yomi to her sentence of cleaning the school with Tomo and she to Nyamo. Kagura could not help how unusually grey it was today. The overcast clouds outside serve to provide a contrast to the well-lit interior of the school, the temperature was going down and the rain promised to come in buckets. Global warming, she mused. She passed by a few girls talking amongst themselves about something mundane. Not that she mind. Those were not the sort of things that held any interest to her.


Yomi and Tomo were sweeping the yard of dead leaves outside of the school building. The rains left them wet and soggy, turning a simple job turn into a noxious chore.

"Dang," Tomo noted as she raked off a wet messy pile into the larger one they have.

"Arrange your leaves, Tomo," Yomi said curtly. "If not, keep to your own friggin' pile."

"Hey, hey," Tomo replied. "I'm not in a hurry. Why be in a hurry when I got you?" She let out a grin.

Yomi's eyes twitched in annoyance. She knew what the wild cat meant. "Get back to work, Tomo."

Seeing Yomi did not rise up to her bait, Tomo did just that. "Fine, sheesh. Sour puss." Only the raking of soggy, dead leaves accompanied their lonely task, no banter between the two, or even humming a song. The taller girl had some anger to burn away. She started sweeping away from the wildcat, wanting a little solitude, without any banter to spoil it.

"Urgh," the glasses girl grunted. "I need freakin' drink." She marched to the vending machines on the far side of the wall.

The wildcat caleld out, "Hey, get me one-"

"No freaking way!"

With a humphed, Tomo kept her nose to her raking. "Shit!" she cursed as her foot almost slip when stepping on a puddle. Her hand shot to the ground, keeping her slamming into the concrete. "Damn..." Then her eyes caught of something on the puddle. She smiled as the 500-yen coin she spotted gleamed invitingly.

"Sweet. My lucky day." Happily, she bent over to grab the coin.

Her fingers clasp the coin and draw it out, something rose out of the water near her hand. A hand black with mud and moss. Wide-eyed and mouth agape, the wildcat had never seen such a sight. The thing started flexing its muscles slowly. Tomo remained mystified as the hand continued its idle movements, eyes focused on the strange, eerie thing.

Then it touched her hand and started carressing it, she was stunned stiff at this thing. Her heart skipped a beat as it slowly grasped massaged her wrist softly. She felt the cold clammy touch of the palm and fingers.

This puzzled her. "Huh-"

The hand slowly clasped around her wrist. Tomo did not notice as she watched until she felt its embrace. She noted it was loose inside the loop formed by the strange hand so she called it a day and tried to yank herself free from its grip. Her wrist remained cuffed by it. Tomo blinked her eyes. She started tugging away from it.

Then hand started sinking back into the puddle, dragging her down.

"What the- Let go!" She quickly gave a sharp tug and actually pulled the hand a bit out of the water to reveal an arm but it squeezed her wrist like a clamp, causing her to whelp and started receding back to the depths. The girl's arm felt like concrete and for some reason her body refused to move. This alarmed her as she stared down at the water to see a figure through the clear dark water. The figure had a vague face and it...

Smiled at her.

Tomo recoiled in horror at the smiling thing and somehow whatever seized earlier had left her body, freeing her. She turned her head free to see to its arm already up the elbow and she got on her knees to keep from plunging into the surprisingly deep puddle, propped by her free arm.

Instantly, she started tugging, pulling like mad to free herself of its grip, which sought to drag her to its dark watery abode, the face promising more than just the prospect of a drowning death. Gradually, with all the wild energy that was rightly her trademark, she was winning the battle for her arm. Eventually, not only did she brought back her arm to the surface but the hand up as well with each forceful tug, the unrelenting grip threatening to strain her captive arm until it popped from its socket.

The moment the hand got beyond the wrist, it started to seethe bubbles around it, almost like gurgling just beneath the surface.

This was her chance! she thought as she stooped from her kneeling and tried to pry her wrist from her fingers with her free hand. The fingers won't release. The puddle gurgled even more dirty, grimy bubbles, angered, it seemed, of its prize trying to break free.

A sharp pain seized her; a shriek sprung out fer throat. The vise on her wrist was like a steel clamp crushing softwood. It started sinking trying to win back its prize. An alarmed Tomo, nearly slipping, took to grabbing her own arm but to know avail.

"SHIT! Let go of me!" She tried to pull her hand out of the puddle but the grip was unyielding, With her left arm on the ground to support her the wildcat tugging away frantically to keep from being taken into the puddle, into the gray water. "YOMI!"

The momentum of pulling back and abrupt release from its grip send her crashing her back on the cold wet concrete.

Drained and out of breath, Tomo laid there and looked at her arm, painful from the ordeal. It was wet and hurt from the struggle with the struggle, her wrist bruised and throbbing from her battle with the hand. Her blood just took a nose dive in temperature just thinking of it and her heart was beating wildly against her chest. Her eyes flicked around, both to see that she really was still around in the yard. And to see that there was nothing which can harm her - or help her.

Then Yomi appeared above her with a look that not even her glasses can obscure. "What fuck was that all about!?"

Tomo, back still on the ground, tried to speak but how can she tell what just happened to her to a friend who had been pissed already?

"Well?" Yomi demanded.

Tomo tried to speak but what came out was just stutters as her mind cannot find a way to make sense of how a muddy, grimy hand snatched her.

The glasses girl sighed her frustration. "Get up. I've just finished our pile," she pointed to the large heap of soggy leaves that used to be two, "and I'm picking your butt up. Go play your tricks somewhere else." The grumbling Yomi left Tomo to her device.

Tomo slowly got up, still shaken by her experience. She finally found her voice as Yomi disappeared inside the school building, well out of earshot. "It wasn't me... Did you just see that hand?" Her voice sounded hopeless and for what good it would do. Looking around worriedly, she ran back inside, not wanting to meet the hand again.


Sakaki kept close company with her friends ever since that incident at the classroom yesterday. She felt it prudent to stick close to them, especially with Kimura now. He didn't seem like a creepy old man anymore, not since that afternoon in the classroom yesterday. The more she thought back, however creepy in itself, the more she thought of him quite capable of being more than just a pervert. He had a look that said he wanted more out of her. She could see that may not actually go through with it. That was something she did not want to find out. Hence on, they will all have to stick together from now on. At the moment, she was keeping company with Chiyo and Osaka out of the library.

"It'sa wonderful thing to learn some'ting strange, "Osaka drawled. "Cats bein' worshiped as gods."

"It's really interesting to see how animals are valued in other cultures." The shorter redhead beamed a sunny smile. "I never knew they actually pampered them throughout their lives."

"Yeah, who knew they'll get buried as well, wrapped in them bandages," Osaka said sleepily. "Bet they got those painted coffins too."

Sakaki cringed a bit at the thought of dead kitties and burying them. Why did it have to be so? she thought crestfallen.

"It's quite interesting," Chiyo commented. She was not at all fazed by that thought greatly, some of the benefits of being a highly-intelligent child full of wonder at the world.

"I wonder if they give funerals to other pets? Or other animals? Did they give funerals to animals that show up dead nearby or those that have owners?" Chiyo sweatdropped at that. Osaka has a knack for musing a topic into any sort of direction, however absurd or senseless it was. "Oh! I know, how we prepare a funeral for Mr. Tadakichi, Chiyo-chan?"

That left the little girl bone white at the thought of a funeral - for Mr. Tadakichi! She felt like shivering but didn't because of Sakaki's calming hand on her shoulders. However, something else turned their thoughts away from it.

Around the corner they can hear Yomi and Tomo arguing as they walked down the hall. That got their attention so they approached the duo.

Yomi had the glare of a thousand suns boring down on her friend. "Admit it, Tomo. That cheap trick was your doing."

"Come on, Yomi," Tomo replied vehemently, waved her arms in protest. "I wasn't faking it. It grabbed me by the hand."

"Prove it," she sharply challenged.

"Here!" She thrust her arm into the air before Yomi, for everyone to see, wet and covered in patches of black mud.

"What happened?" Chiyo asked as looked at.

"What happened, Chiyo? Something tried to drown me!" exclaimed Tomo. Tomo was excited and brief yet surprisingly coherent as she described her battle with the hand, a hand that tried to drag her down to bottom, starting from the yen coin, the tug of war, to moment she fell flat on her butt. Sakaki and Chiyo blinked twice as Tomo explained rapidly. Osaka had looked of curiosity transfixed on her face.

"That's why I'm not buying it," Yomi replied, unconvinced. "Grow up."

Tomo frowned adamantly. "Hey! If you weren't taking your sweet time eating a pork bun outta nowhere, I wouldn't be telling this to you. Hell, you didn't her me scream?" She looked at Yomi, with mixture of perplexity and accusation. How could she not hear her cry out in pain?

"Oh yes, I did. I heard you scream my name. You got me worried." Yomi had rushed in urgency at that point, bewildered by her friend screaming. "What the hell we're you doing?"

"Fighting for my life," Tomo bit back.

"With a shallow puddle?" the glasses girl accused skeptically.

"Last time I checked, it looked a flooded manhole. I wouldn't be standing talking to you." Tomo refused to recant with a stubborn look.

"It was nice prank, Tomo. You're just upset that I'm not kissing your ass." Equally stubborn Yomi would not suffer any of Tomo's inanity.

"Then what's that bruise?" It was Osaka that spoke in her soft Kansai accent. The others looked at her.

"Then you believe me?" Tomo said, finally someone who believed her.

"Yup." Tomo pulled back her sleeve to reveal her bruised wrist. "It still hurts." The girls marveled at it, its black and blue had seemed lend credence to her story. They also noticed Tomo's sleeve and back full of dirt.

"How bad?" Osaka asked as she examined it with earnestness of a child looking at wild flowers.

"Like some robot arm grabbed me and squeezed me." Tomo winced a bit.

"Hmm." Osaka observed the bruise with her always wide eyes. Yomi looked the airhead curiously. If anything, Osaka had a tendency to space out while looking at an object. Then she softly pinched Tomo's wrist with her thumb and index finger.

"OW!" Tomo blurted, snatching her arm back. "What gives!?"

"It does hurt." Osaka noted. "Tomo's tellin' the truth."

The wildcat soothed her aching wrist with her hand. "That's what I was trying to tell you guys!"

Yomi blinked as she examined her friend's wrist. She then did as Osaka did, pinching the wrist.

"OH!" Tomo cried. "Hey!"

"I see..." Yomi said softly. "Let's go to the nurse's office." The tone of voice was soft this time, not neither angry nor skeptical, just wondering how her friend got hurt. She led her away to the clinic while the rest looked on.

"I thought there'd be another fight," Osaka commented.

"I don't think a fight would be in their minds," Chiyo noted. "Especially after the principal and Yukari."

"I agree. I think Yomi is more concerned with that bruise." Sakaki said.

"Let's go with 'em. Maybe we'll know caused all that." The other girls nodded at Osaka's suggestion and followed the two.

"This is rather strange," the nurse noted as she examined Tomo's bruise. "Where did you say it happened?"

Tomo can't exactly say about how she got the bruise, the fight for dear life against the hand from the puddle. What a cheesy horror movie name, she thought. But she knew better than to scoff it. She replied, "Outside." Vague but at least it save her from having to explain it, for now anyway.

"I see." She took a cursory look at the wildcat. "What were you doing?"

Yomi answered that, "We got a little scuffle and the principal had us cleaning the yard. We're expected to do this a whole week."

"I see..." She went examining the bruise with a detached eye. "Do you have strong hands, Miss Mizuhara? Because I never seen anything of this sort unless you're handling some machinery."

"What?" The wildcat shot the nurse a look of surprise.

"Before I took a job at this school, I used to be in a hospital near some factory district. We get cases involving machinery from time to time."

"Oh, I see." Yomi's answer was calmer done she actually felt. This was news to her, a "hand" that this nurse claims has a grip of a clamp or something, something no human hand was capable of unless you're a body builder or wrestler. "I don't think I have the strength for that sort of thing." She turned to Tomo. "Ill have to report to Yukari about this. She'll really get pissed if she thinks either of us is schmoozing off."

"Yeah, she might," the wildcat agreed plainly. Having your wrist squeezed certainly took the wind out of her usual wittiness.

Tomo winced as the nurse touched gently her wrist and gave it a one last look-over. "It shouldn't be that bad though," the nurse noted. "Just don't think about using your hand for a few days and you'll be right as rain. Stay a while though." She applied an ice-pack around.

"Thanks," Tomo said in subdued gratitude as the cooling pack soothed her wrist. The cold almost relaxed and slumped on her seat. The nurse secured the compress with bandage.

"You're welcome." She helped Tomo up. "I need you to stay awhile. You need at least half an hour on that compress before you can go home." She led Tomo to the bed. "Just lie down there for the moment. That wrist of your needs to be elevated above your heart so rest your hand on the nightstand beside you."

"Gee, thanks," Tomo replied, regaining a small sliver of her usual energy.

"By the way, I need you take off that blouse."

"What? Why?" Tomo wondered about why the nurse needs her blouse.

"Those are clean sheets and you're wearing a dirty blouse. Unless you have nothing else underneath I need that blouse." Then she winked. "Don't worry. I won't look." She turned around.

The wildcat took off her blouse, an awkward chore with one good hand and the bad one giving her a painful throbbing. Fortunately, she was wearing a white shirt and she handed the dirty blouse to the nurse.

"Thank you," she said.

She slid into bed. She cringed. "Brrr, it's cold."

"Well, we never had any serious cases so the that bed been unused for some time." The nurse tucked her in.

The cold was like steel knifing through her nerves. "Dang, lady. What did you keep this? In a fridge?"

"You don't need to worry," the nurse assured. "Just rest well. You need to take this. You also need to this." She handed her a few pills.

Tomo looked at the pills. "What's that?"

"Antibiotics. You need this to stop the swelling."

Tomo accepted it and drank a cup of water handed by the nurse. The nurse got an ice pack. "This too for the swelling. Don't forget to rest your hand on the nightstand."

She did as she was told. "Hey, thanks, lady. Man, I should do this more often." The thought of cutting classes and sleeping in a comfy bed in the nurse's office appealed to Tomo, who realize slacking come reach to new heights. She would have enjoyed this had coldness brought her back to the incident with the arm from the puddle.

The nurse noticed her staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. "Feeling comfy?" She had a tone of sweetness which the wildcat had find very annoying.

It snatch her from fleeting back into her mind. "Yeah, I'm definitely fine." The wildcat relaxed on the bed. The struggle at the puddle has taken a backseat as her body eased itself on the downy softness of the bed. It felt like she was in bedroom. "I wish this was everyday for me."

"So do I." She looked thoughtfully over Tomo, eyes looking thoughtfully on the wildcat.


Yomi bade the rest of her friends goodbye as she choose to stay with Tomo. Sakaki, Chiyo, and Osaka walked together in a little knot. It felt weird to them not to go with Tomo and Yomi. Maybe it was their banter, Tomo's wisecracks and wittiness, and Yomi's retorts and occasionally wry commentary, something from a manzai comedy. Or perhaps it was their presence, the two girls standing for contrasting qualities, the glasses girl standing for order, common sense, and maturity while the wildcat for impulsiveness, spontaneity, and whimsy. That's felt they're altogether, even when they're not talking to each other. Also, there were times when any of them did not go home with either of the two girls so it shouldn't be unduly irregular.

And it could also due to what happened. When Tomo told her story and revealed her bruised wrist, they felt their spines run cold. What caused it? She doesn't know and until they hear from them again, it's another question for another time - yet it nagged away at them in a tiny voice, wanting answers.

"I hope Tomo's alright," Chiyo voiced her concern. "How did she get a bruise that bad?"

"I don't know..." Sakaki had been a bit disturbed by Tomo's account of her bruise. "Do you think Tomo and Yomi had gotten into a fight?" They just left the school building. The air getting cold.

"Well... they do fight and Tomo usually riles up Yomi." It was also a matter of fact that they fought. "I don't think it would be anymore different than the last time, except they got caught by the principal."

"But that bruise, it looked bad." Sakaki winced at that thinking about it. "How strong do you think Yomi is?"

"I don't know," Chiyo replied as recalled the argument at the hallway, Tomo showing her bruise, the clinic and Osaka's own musing. "I mean that bruise looks awful..."

"Ah think we should ask them tomorrow," suggested Osaka. "We need to hear the 'ole story 'fore we jump to conclusions."

"I agree," Sakaki said. "Maybe we should check up on Tomo as well. Something that bad should put her off from coming to class tomorrow."

Chiyo nodded. "Alright. We should see Tomo on our way first thing in the morning."

"Oh, by the way, whaddabout Yukari?" Osaka asked next. "If anythin', Ah think she got caught by Principal Hajime shortly after the ruckus with Tomo and Yomi."

"I hope it's not something bad." Chiyo liked Yukari in spite of her many flaws. She's a good, if rather unconventional, teacher. That was what also could get her in further trouble.

"You mean like fire her?" Osaka asked.

"I think that's a little rash. One warning would be enough."

"See that's the trouble," she pointed out. "Yukari won't be deterred by one warnin' but she's Nyamo-sensei to keep her out of trouble."

"I think that would only bring more headaches for Kurosawa-sensi," Sakaki observed.

"I see," Chiyo agreed. That would have been Yomi's response, she thought. The taller girl did not make such statements before. However, she shrugged it off. That was something new from her.


The crowds in the streets were slowly growing as dusk was making its snail pace. Among the many people gradually filling the streets were the three girls. They stopped at the steamed bun shop. Chiyo got herself a curry bun, Osaka a pork bun and Sakaki a sweet bean bun.

"You're right to about this place, Chiyo," Sakaki said. "The buns are delicious."

"My father tried this place out and bought a few last summer." She took a bite on her curry bun.

Osaka was sort of a slow eater. As she chewed on her bun, a thought appeared in her head. "Oh yeah, Ah noticed Kimura's sportin' a bruise on his head lately."

"Yes, I saw it too. It looked like he hit his head on the floor." Chiyo finished her bun just in time.

"I noticed too," Sakaki voiced her interest. "He seems... out there."

"He'd been turnin' his head more often." Her eyes looked intense. Her tone was a bit pointed - like it had something to do with lollipops. "He might be plannin' somethin' big. Somethin' not nice."

Chiyo felt like shaking as she thought about what Osaka implied.

"He needs to go the clinic too," she said. "That bump oughtta be taken cared off."

They both sweatdropped. "Osaka, you really scared me." Chiyo was positively frightened. She clung close to Sakaki.

"Oh, sorry, Chiyo-chan." Her eyes returned to usual wide and sleepy expression. "It's just that I think that bump on the fore'ead of his is making him act little weird."

"It certainly makes him stand out," Sakaki noted. "And it might affect his teaching carreer" That earned an odd look from Chiyo. She looked down, "What's up?"

"Uh... nothing, Miss Sakaki," she replied. "You seem a little, how should I say this, expressive lately."

Sakaki blinked. "Really?" She smiled. "Maybe my day had gone well."

"Oh... I see." Chiyo sweetdropped again.

I think I'll need to go, Chiyo," Sakaki said. "I have something to do. Bye." She waved at Chiyo and took off.

"Uh, bye..." Chiyo was a bit taken aback by Sakaki's new demeanor. Why was she somewhat open all of a sudden? She watched her walk away into the now crowded streets.

Osaka turned to her friend. "Does she have hemorrhoids?"


Endaka had not shown up at the Gold Mart for the third consecutive day which was the time when they make a review of the store's fiscal health and stocks. This prompted the manager to call the police, who promptly sent for his residence. After knocking several times, the police knocked into his house and began to search the premises. This lead the lone officer to the bedroom and when he entered, he was appalled by the what he saw: this was stalker's mini-studio. Photos of underaged girls where scattered on the floor. Further search yielded albums and more photos as well as some obscene literature and paraphernalia. The beat cop immediately alerted the precinct and a full search was on. The house was cordoned off and neighbors were questioned about Endaka. Forensic specialists began sweeping and tearing the place apart, finding and documenting every fingerprint found and paper scrap. At the same time an APB alert was sent out and police began to ran his name through every database and being checked against their "rogue gallery" of known suspects and fugitives. This was only the start of a full-scale investigation.

"What a sick fuck..." said one cop in disgust.

"Yeah," agreed another. He gulped his disgust down. "Seriously. And I think this is only the start."

At the precinct, everything that wasn't nailed down on the crime scene was brought to the labs to examined. The lab people were now scanning and documenting every shred of physical evidence they held with them. In preliminary findings were traces of semen in the photos. The senior supervisor winced in discussed as they were getting an increasingly clear picture of who "Endaka" was. The computer yielded even more evidence of his unnatural interests. Of all the items confiscated the radio was not one of them.