Chapter 15 - The Blossoms of Mecchen House (cont.)

I bowed my head to Nathan and him, resolving, “I’m sorry. This is all very disorienting. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be now.”

Jamie looked right at me. “Be you.”

“And I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be with you guys.”

He shrugged. “I dunno. But I consider you my friend.”

Nathan nodded. “I’ll always be a friend to both of you, no matter what.” Jamie gestured with a hand to Nathan and nodded as well.

I appreciated that. I didn’t know why it should be such a big deal. It wasn’t like either of them were going to be male for much longer with the way things were headed.

I needed to focus on what could resolve this and restore us. The books. Ami’s room. Carolyn, Shioriko, or Nina? The recipe. What Hitomi or Nana might be able to find out with our help?

Half the girls had left the living room area. Just Katsumi, Sumi, and Tara remained. Tara said Miki had to get dressed for something relating to sports, Mami was bored, and Ami stormed off after a few choice words with Katsumi.

The remaining girls had to leave soon as well, but Katsumi wanted to make sure she didn’t miss any further changes by rushing off. Tara wanted to make sure I was safe, and Sumi had a seductive look on her face. Katsumi had her same camera aimed at me and took a photo without a flash. I shivered, bowed my head, and told them, “It’s confirmed. I’m a girl.”

Sumi smirked. “What kind of underwear did you change into?”

I didn’t give her the satisfaction of blushing because of that. I just said, “One that fit a lot better.”

“I bet they’re pretty. Probably pink.”

I knew she couldn’t see through my pants. Still, I put the couch between myself and her. Tara rushed near to me and grabbed my arm. She uttered a soft, “Shh…” and looked around. She pulled me behind the couch, crouched on the floor, and then darted up to grab the cushions. She formed a little fort. I hadn’t played in forts in as long as I could remember. But then it’d been a long time since I’d been this small. We both fit in the little fort like two young kids.

She blew through her mouth. “Oooooo… the wind is right outside. It’s cold. Fortunately, we’re safe in here. No one knows we’re here.”

Except for everyone who was listening to and probably hearing us through the cushions. I played along. “Yeah, it’s really chilly out there. But why did you bring me way out here?”

“For something very important.”

She lowered her voice to a careful whisper and said, in a hushed tone, “You gotta promise super swear not to tell anyone the secret girl handshake. If you tell then you will be cursed to have eternal wedges!”

I figured she meant wedgies, but either sounded painful. I could see Tara, but not very well. I could see her better than I would’ve expected. It was almost as though she gave off a subtle glow. Probably my wide eyes again.

She pulled what looked like a penlight from her pocket and laid it on the ground. I could see everything now. The air was rather stagnant under the cushions but, with the penlight, it felt like we were in a whole other world. Her face looked artistically-shaded.

I agreed to her terms and she smiled. “Okay. We’re ready. Now do just like I do.”

Tara pointed two fingers at her eyes in a military movie ‘watch’ motion and pulled her hand back and lower into a clench. She pointed back to her eye with one finger on the side. I mimicked her that far. It seemed pretty simple. Not a lot of handshaking though.

Then she held her hands up facing one another sideways and waved them back and forth like a pair of leaves fluttering to the ground. One hand came up and crossed her face like a swan. I was lost, unsure if I was supposed to interact with her in some way, but I copied the motions as best I could.

She brought a thumbs up to the tip of her nose and dropped it to her chin. I got lost in the right motion, but she wound up holding it sideways, the tips of her thumbs meeting.

I understood her next gesture as she padded her chest with the flat of her palm. She leaned forward and held out her pointer finger. She then jousted with mine one way, then the other, and held onto my finger. She bent close and kissed it.

There was no way I’d ever be able to do all that again to tell it to anyone. I had to wonder if she would even remember it in ten minutes. She smiled and gave me a hug.

I tumbled backward and plopped out of the fort into the fresh air of the living room. Tara helped me up and smiled.

“Now you’re a totally-official girl! You’ll receive the Girl magazine in six to eight weeks!”

I looked over at Jamie and Nathan, who were standing nearby with strange looks on their faces. Sumi smiled and pressed a nail against her chin. Ms. Ishida was back with her apron on. I helped her replace the cushions. Sumi slipped around me from behind and brushed my shoulder. “You feel warm. You started sweating a little under there. You smell so very nice.”

I turned from her hand. I did feel a little damp from being under there. I scooted away. Tara grabbed my arm again. “I have so many pretty things for you to try out. You gotta come try them. You’re a girl now, so you gotta act like it!” She giggled and tugged at me.

Katsumi appeared pleased with that.

Nathan looked at me. His hair fluttered a little. His eyes went wide. I thought for a moment something else had happened to me. Then he started to scuttle carefully around the floor. Jamie inspected him. Ms. Ishida seemed to realize what had happened before the rest of us. She held Nathan’s hand.

She asked, “Would you like me to sit with you for a little while?”

I could just imagine all the waves of thoughts going through Nathan. I wondered if she thought the same things I did. Jamie seemed to have figured out what had happened from the lonely look in her eyes. He turned away to clench his arms and glare at a wall with movies set below a row of books.

Katsumi wasn’t pleased. She sliced a finger through the air at Jamie. “Grrr. I missed two of three.” She snapped a photo of Nathan, before she showed her a bewildered look. She took another of Jamie, who didn’t bother to turn.

“Now at least I have proof that you three are girls, no matter what.”

Jamie huffed.

Sumi lurked around a little longer as Ms. Ishida spoke with Nathan. With a slow bow, she said, “Well. It’s been fun but I look forward to the final results. I wish the three of you… very soft, warm futures.”

Mami came down the hall, in her uniform, as Sumi was leaving. Sumi grabbed her hand. Mami didn’t seem surprised as Sumi stroked her hand like petting a kitten. Pussy bounded into the hall and curled around Sumi’s legs. She meowed for attention.

Sumi whispered something to Mami, who nodded and said, “I still have them. Do you want them? It’ll cost you.” Sumi nodded back and asked, “The usual price?”

“Of course.”

My brain was not in the mood for another mystery on top of the tottering pile I had set before me.

Sumi picked up Pussy and scratched her furry neck. Mami, book bag over her shoulder, smiled and waved before leaving out the front door. Nathan clung near me. Tara kept close too.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Katsumi sword dueled the air with her finger. “At the very least, you both need severe training in how to be proper ladies. If you don’t follow the rules of girls, then you’ll be forced to be the girliest girls the world has ever seen. Perpetually! You’ll learn so much about being female that you won’t be able to think a single masculine thought ever again! I’ll make sure when I get home that you all get proper instruction! But ‘till then, I trust Ms. Ishida...and Tara to do what they can in my place.”

[https://i.imgur.com/3x5GeU6.jpg]

[Awesome Katsumi sketches by Alexis Rillera/Anirhapsodist]

Tara saluted and Ms. Ishida bowed. Nathan shrunk away with a shy, red face. Katsumi’s eyes dug into Jamie and he returned the look with an apathetic shrug. She walked off with a pounding stride which sounded loud even for her.

I wished I could do something for Jamie, but I felt like this would just take time. I had to focus on Nathan right now. But, before that, I slipped a bookmark out of one of the books on the floor and read over the same, strange words as I’d read yesterday. I didn’t know if it would help me any, but I had to work on it and see what I could find while sorting Ami’s room the way I promised her I would. I kept the bookmark in my pocket.

Tara gestured for me to follow her to her room and Nathan stood on the other side. I knew Nathan needed me more right then. I told Tara I would be up later.

She looked between me and Nathan and smiled. “Okay, Keli-chan! I just want us to have lots of fun before I have to leave you. I want to make you feel so super-great that you won’t frown or feel bad for a single moment today! Jamie-kun and Nathan-chan too! I want to cheer you all up lots and lots! But it’s alright. We’ll have tons of fun later to balance it all out.”

She really seemed unbeatable in her spirit. Her words held no hidden note of concern. She spoke as she felt. I couldn’t help but smile when she was near. She skipped around and waved. “I’ll see you soooon, Keli-chan! Can I call you Arisu-chan, like Katsumi named you?”

I gulped. I wasn’t quite ready for that. I told her, “We’ll see.”

“Yay! I love pretty names!” She waved to all of us in turn, which garnered a quick, sympathetic look from Jamie.

She bounced her way along the floorboards, barely making a sound as she went, moving at twice Katsumi’s speed.

Ms. Ishida asked if Jamie was alright. He shrugged. She gave a sweat-drop look and we led Nathan over to the same bathroom I’d used.

Nathan looked so girlish as she moved. She let me enter the bathroom first and crouched when Ms. Ishida joined us. Once the door was closed, she drifted over to the mirror. She looked at the image staring back at her and held her arms against one another in front of her slender form.

She removed her pants and boxers with a single motion. The boxers actually looked like a decent fit on her body. She saw the same, awakened blossom I had seen. She squeezed it back a little, clutching her legs, red flowering across her features. I could sense her throbbing, quick heartbeat from where I stood. Nathan looked to me as though she expected me to say something in confirmation or denial.

I told her, “You’re a girl.”

She huddled close around herself, and when she finally spoke, she asked, “I’m like my mother?”

“Yes. You’re just like your mother now. And I know she’d smile if she saw you.”

The words weren’t really much stronger than what I’d used when we were in Ms. Ishida’s room, but things had changed. They seemed to flow into Nathan. There were fewer points of denial now. Still, she said a soft, “I don’t deserve this. But if it is to be, then I will do my best for my mother and all women. I don’t claim to be one. I just want to help.”

Ms. Ishida comforted her like she comforted me. Nathan began to tremble like I had. Ms. Ishida steadied her. It felt strange to watch her and know I’d been in the same position. I still was in the same position. That notion renewed all the sensations.

I offered to get a selection of clothes for Nathan. She blushed back at me and said softly, “I don’t… I don’t mind any types… if you find something nice for this body.”

I smiled for her. I had a feeling Nathan might be wearing a skirt before too long. And it was still a possibility for me.

I slipped out, looked through the clothes, and ferried over several options. Miki came out of her room, fully-prepared for class. She hustled and almost didn’t see me before she paused and waved. I told her, “Nathan is a girl now, too.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? Is she okay?”

“Ms. Ishida is tending to her.”

“Very good. Hmm… I feel bad about leaving so quickly.” Miki shouted a quick, “Bye, Nathan! I hope you have an awesome day!” She didn’t get much of a reply. She turned to me, gave me a playful pat, and said, “You take care of her, alright?”

I assured her I would, and she rushed off. But, before she left, she turned to say, “Oh and could you check on Ami? She seemed pretty upset when Katsumi and she had their thing and… I dunno. Probably nothing but I just got a weird vibe when I had to grab something from the second floor a minute ago. Her door was locked, and she wasn’t responding. I would’ve kept trying, but I am gonna be so late if I don’t catch the next train. Bye!” And she was gone.

I looked up at the ceiling. For a moment, I thought I saw an unnatural shadow spreading in the wood above me. But then I really had no idea what would be unnatural in this place.

I passed Jamie on the way. He didn’t notice me. I climbed the still-sweet steps and lost the lingering wind again. I realized what awaited me behind Ami’s door. I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to face it again.

The door wasn’t locked for me. I took a long breath. It was completely black inside.

Tara’s door was closed behind me.

I clenched my fists and stepped through the threshold. I made my way over the hidden hills on the floor. Even the glow of the hall seemed eaten up inside.

Ami wasn’t in the far corner. I could hear her sobbing. She was over by the closet. I could sense her hugging the clothes around her.

She whimpered, “I want to go back. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to hurt. It hurts. I don’t want to hurt. I want to be normal again.” It was her voice. Then came another voice from her lips. It wasn’t her words.

“You are worthless. Give in. Give up your humanity and you won’t suffer ever again. It’s what you want. It’s what you are. You were never meant for humanity. It was a mistake your mother made.”

I knew what Nina meant. Something was hooked into Ami. I could sense it, like a leech sucking on her and giving off a nauseating cloud of dust.

I felt prickly and angry near it. It rubbed me like a raw sore. Something inside me burned and yearned to attack. I felt like a flame on the verge of igniting.

Then, I felt something else. It turned. Despite the dark, I could ‘see’ the features of a presence around Ami. I recognized it.

I had seen it before.

I knew its name.