Changelings: Origins
Kyoto
Some years ago
“Haruo – bring me the files for the October issue, will
you?”
“Yes,
Tanaka-san,” the nineteen year old boy said as he picked up the collection of
folders from his desk and walked into the office of the Fashion Editor of the
leading fashion magazine. Which one it
was doesn’t really matter – suffice to say it was a leading one. Suki Tanaka was standing behind her desk,
wearing a long sleeved top and long skirt made of a beige hound’s-tooth
pattern, a brown roll neck sweater under the top and a silk scarf tied round
her neck under that, and light brown leather boots.
“The files you
requested,” he said with a bow as he handed them over. With his flaxen hair, thin body, and wearing
a powder blue suit and white t-shirt, he looked like he should fit in, but somehow,
he never quite met the standards she wanted.
“Hmmm – unacceptable. You will accompany me home tonight to work on
this with me.”
“But…”
As Suki looked
at him, Haruo bowed his head and said “as you wish.”
“Excellent – be
ready for seven…”
Returning to
his desk, Haruo frowned and looked at the document
lying face up. It was a report in the
local paper of unusual events in the area.
“Poppycock,” he said to himself as he read of one find – paintings that
seemed to date from the time of the Samurai, which seemed to depict a man who
could change his form into any woman, and roamed the country doing good or harm
as he saw fit. They apparently depicted
the women left in various forms of restraint – something that Haruo readily admitted excited him.
He then read of
an inscription found on vellum near the drawings, which the author claimed was
linked. “Oh come on – like reading
something like this really worked,” Haruo laughed as
he read out loud the inscription.
“Katachi no chenjā, katachi no chenjā, torikkusutā to dorobō
to jackanape. Sā, kono
ningen no katachi o otozurete, koko ni anata no ie
o tate, kesshite arukimawaru koto wa arimasen!”
“What utter
nonsense,” he said to himself before he suddenly started to feel faint, and
stood up. Shaking his head from side to
side, he stood up and walked to the door of Suki’s office, putting his hand on
the door frame as he looked in.
“Haruo – what do you want now,” Suki said as she looked over
– and then stared at the young man, before closing her eyes and falling to the
floor. Haruo
was feeling strange, as if he was shrinking and growing at the same time, but
he also felt empowered, different…
Eventually, he
walked over and looked out of the large glass windows – only to find himself
looking at his boss! He turned and saw
Suki lying unconscious on the floor, and then at his reflection, the way he
looked just like her, and was dressed just like her…
“What
the…” Looking again at the unconscious
editor, Haruo panicked and knelt next to her, taking
the scarf from round her neck and pushing it into her mouth, before he picked
up a roll of yellow packing tape and secured her wrists together in front of
her, as well as her ankles.
There was a
store cupboard in the office, and Haruo picked up his
boss, surprised at how strong he was as he carried her in, sat her against the
wall, and locked the door. Breathing
heavily, he looked round and down, unsure of how he felt – save for the
exhilaration of what he had just done.
Picking up Suki’s handbag, he put it over his shoulder, and walked out
of the office.
“I will be at
home for the rest of the evening,” he said, surprised to hear Suki’s voice, “if
there are any calls, tell them I will answer tomorrow. You may have the rest of the day off.”
“Yyyyyesss of course,” the secretary said as Haruo walked to the lifts, beginning to enjoy the feeling
of being a woman as he walked in, and rode the car down to the car park. Stepping out, he saw Suki’s Daimler, smiling
as he got behind the wheel, but her handbag to the side, and started to drive
off.
Stepping into
the penthouse apartment, Haruo looked round, placing
the car keys and the handbag on the small table before he walked further in,
the heels of the boots – no, of her boots sinking into the plush carpet. “I could never afford anything like this,” he
said quietly as he looked round.
“Of course you
could, Suki darling – on your wage?”
Haruo turned sharply to look at the woman who
had just come in, wearing a taupe dress coat with a thin brown belt around her
waist, and matching leather boots. She
had a green woollen hat over her brown hair, and a brown tartan shawl tied over
her shoulders.
“Hey – no word
of greeting for your darling Ikuko?”
“Sorry – it has
been a tiring day,” Haruo said, as Ikuko walked forward, but her hands round Suki’s head, and
gently kissed her – Haruo responding after he had got
over the initial surprise.
“That was
nice,” he said in Suki’s voice, and then noticed the way Ikuko
was looking at him.
“You’re not
Suki – who are you,” she said, and then she stared at the other woman as her
eyes turned yellow, and she tipped her head to one side. A fog seemed to pass over her eyes as she
gasped, Haruo just catching her as she fell forward,
and then lifting her and carrying her to the long couch in the main room.
As he looked
on, he felt his body changing again, and walked quickly to the bathroom – only
to see in the mirror Ikuko’s reflection. This time, he smiled as he turned himself
round, and walked to the bedroom.
It was as he
opened the wardrobe door and looked through Suki’s dresses that he saw the box,
and opened it to find lengths of purple silk rope. He had often wondered what it would be like
to really tie a woman up, and the opportunity was there…
Walking back
in, he removed Ikuko’s hat and scarf, then rolled her
onto her stomach, taking her arms behind her back and crossing her wrists. He tried to remember how he had seen someone
do this in films, and then wrapped the rope around and between the young
woman’s arms, forcing them together before he tied the ends off.
Taking a second
length of the rope, he crossed and bound Ikuko’s
ankles tightly together, then pulled her ankles back and tied them to her
wrists. Taking her shawl, he rolled it
up and used it as a cleave gag, before he stepped back.
“I tied her up
– I need to make this look like a robbery,” he said quietly as he walked into
the bedroom, emptying jewels into a pillowcase before he stuffed that into the
handbag, and left the apartment…
Looking round
to make sure nobody else was there, Haruo quickly
crossed the road and opened the door to his apartment block, taking the stairs
two at a time before he opened the door to his own flat and walked in. As he closed the door, he felt a strange
feeling, like warm water flowing down him, and as he looked in the mirror he
was himself again.
“What – what
happened,” he said to himself as he walked to the room, wondering what he was
going to do the next day.
“HARUO!”
As he walked
into the office, Haruo looked in to see Suki and Ikuko standing by the editor’s desk.
“Is something
wrong,” he asked as he looked at them.
“We were robbed
last night – I remember talking to you, and then woke up taped up in my
cupboard. Did you see anything?”
“No – I took
the corrected proofs to the printer, and when I returned you had gone for the
night. Are you both all right?”
“We are,” Ikuko said, “thank you.”
Haruo returned to his desk, and looked at the
article again, before getting back to work.
“Hello Haruo – how are you tonight?”
Haruo looked at Junko, his neighbour, as he
unlocked his front door. She was a
younger woman, and today was wearing a white coat over yellow blouse and tartan
culottes, with knee length white leather boots.
“Very well
thank you – would you care to join me for some tea,” he said quietly. He had carried a torch for the young woman
for some time, but his natural shyness had stopped him from saying anything
before – well, before the events of yesterday.
“I’d love to,”
Junko said as she came in, looking round as Haruo
closed the door.
“Please, make
yourself comfortable,” he said as he indicated a low seat, and made his way
into the kitchen. As the water heated,
he looked back in as she sat down, her legs crossed as she looked round. When he returned, carefully carrying a tray
with the pot and cups, he set it down, and then sat beside her.
“I’m glad you
invited me,” Junko said, “I have been wanting to get to know you for a while
now. You work in the fashion press, don’t
you?”
“I do – an
assistant,” Haruo said as he handed her a cup, “but I
am learning how to do research, and to ask questions.”
“Oh – what are
you researching at the moment?”
“Tell me
first,” Haruo said, “what do you do? As a profession?”
“Oh – I teach
in a junior school,” Junko said, “but one day, I hope to be a writer.”
“I am sure you
are a very good writer,” Haruo said with a smile,
“what are you writing at the moment?”
“A crime story
– a woman finds herself held hostage in her own house.”
“And it goes
well?”
“I am actually
a little stuck – I want to describe how the woman feels when the men have made
sure she cannot stop them, but I have never experienced anything like that
before.” She smiled as she sipped her
tea, and said “of course, if I was to experience that…”
“You wish for
someone to take you hostage?”
“No,” Junko
said with a smile, “but to act it out… Haruo, I feel I can trust you. Will you help me?”
“If I can be of
service, of course I will help.”
“Good,” Junko
said as she put her cup down, and took his hand, “come with me.”
“Where
to…” Junko did not answer, but Haruo barely had time to get his door keys before she took
him into her own flat, and left him in the main room as she went to fetch
something.
“What do you
want me to do,” he said as Junko put a clear Perspex box on the low table, and
then carried a high-backed chair in and placed it in the centre of the floor.
“Tie me to the
chair, then make sure I cannot talk – I can then feel how it truly feels.”
“Are you sure,”
Haruo said in a hushed, shocked tone.
“I am sure,”
Junko said as she sat down, “start by taking my arms round the chair back, tie
my wrists together, then tie them to the chair back.”
Haruo took a deep breath, and then took
Junko’s arms around the chair back, having selected a length of white rope from
the box. He doubled the rope over, and
then tied her wrists firmly together, before tying the ends to the chair back.
“Is that too
tight,” he whispered quietly. Junko
shook her head, biting her lower lips as she said “no – but I cannot move my
wrists now. Please, take more rope, and
tie my ankles to the front legs of the chair.”
“Together or apart?”
“Apart,” Junko
said as she watched the young man take more ropes, and bind her ankles to the
front legs, taking the rope round the leg and the cross beam to hold them in
place. He then took a longer length of
rope, tied it to where the back met the seat, and wrapped it round the seat
back and her upper body. Haruo made sure not to touch her if possible, but when he
had finished she was firmly secured.
“Are you sure
this is the first time you have done this,” Junko said as she looked at
him. “Haruo?”
“I have – never
done this before,” he said, putting the memory of last night into the back of
his mind. “How does it feel?”
“Snug,” Junko
said with a smile. “Now, can you keep me
quiet?”
“How would you
like to be kept quiet?”
“There is a
white wool scarf in there – use that, and then leave me alone for a few
minutes. There are cold drinks in the
refrigerator in the kitchen.”
“Open wide
then,” Haruo whispered, and as Junko did this he
pulled the scarf between her lips, tying the ends at the base of her neck as
she closed her lips over the thick band.
“Fnkkuuu,” she said as Haruo
looked at her, and then walked to the kitchen, shaking his head as he started
to feel warm. He found a bottle of Coke,
but as he opened it he heard the front door open and close, and then an older
female voice saying “JUNKO!”
As he looked
in, an older woman turned and looked at him.
She was wearing a hooded light taupe jacket, with a matching waistcoat
over a white open necked blouse, and a matching long skirt with brown leather
boots on her legs. A large black cross
hung around her neck, as she said “Did you do this? Are you robbing her?”
“No – she asked
me to do this,” Haruo said quietly, “I swear…”
“LIAR! I’m calling the police.”
“NO!” Haruo grabbed the
woman’s arm, and as she looked at him he felt the warmth from the previous
night returning, her eyes open and staring before she fainted. He looked at her as he lowered her to the
floor, and then at his arms, clad in the same way as Junko said “Whshshppnnn?”
“Nothing,” Haruo said in the second woman’s voice, “are you doing
research for that book?”
“Ysss – cnnucmbckckltrrr?”
“Well – maybe
your friend will do me as well. In your
bedroom?”
“Ucnsskhhmmm,” Junko mumbled, “ffutlmmwhtsslkkk.”
“Of course I
will,” Haruo said as he came in, smiling at Junko as
he collected some ropes and a long blue scarf, and then took them into the
bedroom, placing them on the bed before she lifted the unconscious woman and
placed her on the bed. Stroking her
cheek, he then crossed her wrists behind her back, and started to bind her.
A short while
later, he looked at her, her arms held to her sides with ropes and her wrists
behind her back, ne rankles bound tightly together, and a band of rope round
her skirt above her knees, the scarf sitting between her lips and tied round
her head, before he felt the sensation like warm water again, and looked at
himself in the mirror. Walking in, he
looked at Junko and said “who is she anyway?”
“Mssstrrr – ssshllrht?”
“She is – but
she may tell you she fainted when I looked at her. It’s part of her story, so don’t worry…”
A week later
Haruo sat in the café, looking at his notes
as the steam from his coffee gently rose from the cup. Since he had got to know his neighbour, they
had agreed to go out on a date – a nice feeling. But he had also been studying the drawings
that the inscription he had read out were found with – and some of the stories
and legends down the years.
“A changeling
spirit – I wonder how it works if I don’t panic, if I plan to do it,” he said
as he looked round, and then saw a woman in her forties at the counter. She was wearing a checked short jacket with
wide lapels, a white and blue striped scarf tied like a cravat round her neck,
a long hound’s-tooth patterned skirt and straight black leather boots.
As he watched
her place the order, he noted her voice, her style – and then packed his things
away and left the store, waiting until she left before he followed her. He had no idea why he was doing this, or what
he would do – only the voice in him saying to follow her.
She walked into
a door at a car park, Haruo following but getting
closer, as she fished into her black handbag and took out a set of car
keys. Unlocking a red Toyota, she
suddenly turned around and saw Haruo standing there.
“Can I help
you,” she said, and then she looked closer as his eyes seemed to turn yellow,
and his body started to blur, to shift, to change…
As she watched,
Haruo seemed to grow a few inches in height, his
chest filling out and his hair growing longer and darker, but it was his
clothes, which changed from the bomber jacket, sneakers, jeans and shirt into –
her clothes?
She shook her
head as the yellow eyes continued to stare at her, to overpower her, to make
her feel so sleepy…
Haruo picked her up as she fell into his –
well, her arms, before he managed to open the trunk of her car and put her
inside. Picking up her handbag and keys,
he looked round and closed the boot, then looked at her home address.
“All right then
– let’s get you home, and see what happens after that,” he said quietly as he
got behind the wheel, and drove off…
The garage door
opened automatically as s/he drove up, and parked the car inside, turning the
engine off as the door slid closed behind him.
Haruo was in one of the more salubrious parts
of town, a single storey house on a quiet street. Getting out of the car, he looked round, and
then used a set of keys from the handbag to open a side door, walking into a
kitchen and then a large open plan room.
Picking up the
mail, he put it on a low table, and then walked into the master bedroom,
opening the doors of a wardrobe and taking out four long silk scarves. Laying them on the bed, he smiled as he went
to the bathroom, and looked in the cabinets, taking out a roll of white medical
tape.
Putting that on
the bed as well, and struggling to contain his excitement, he went back to the
garage, opening the trunk of the car and picking the still unconscious woman
up. He carried her into the bedroom,
smiling as he laid her down, and then removed her jacket, pulling it to the
sides and slipping it down her arms, before he used two of the scarves to tie
her wrists to the headboard, her arms spread above her head.
Gently, he
removed her scarf, not quite believing he was doing this, then folded it and
eased her mouth open before he pushed the scarf in, taking care to make sure it
did not obstruct her breathing. Tearing
a strip of tape from the white roll, he eased her lips together, and then
covered them before binding her ankles to the foot of the bed, her legs apart.
She started to
breathe in and out through her nose as Haruo watched
her, and then turned round, starting to search through her furniture for
jewellery. He knew morally this was
wrong, but as he looked at it, she was stealing from himself - and the feeling
it was giving him was exquisite.
She had some
fine items as well, as Haruo put the items into a
handbag, and then looked round again, wondering if he should do anything
more. Something inside me, however,
warned him that was wrong, it was inappropriate. So he smiled as he put the handbag over his
shoulder, and walked out of the front door, waving to some of the neighbours as
he made his way to the local train station.
He didn’t see
the man watching him, or following him as he walked along…
“Of course I’d
love to go for a meal tonight Junko,” Haruo said into
the telephone, “I’ll see you in an hour.”
As he put the
handset down, he looked at the handbag, wondering what he was going to do, when
he heard the knock on the front door.
Stuffing it into a drawer, he went and looked through the spyhole.
A man was
standing outside, wearing a black jacket and jeans. Wondering what was the problem, Haruo opened the door with the security chain on, and said
“can I help you?”
“I am here to
help you,” the man said quietly.
“In what way?”
“Because I saw
what happened in the car park.”
Haruo stared at him, before saying “I don’t…”
“I’m not the
police,” the man said quietly, “I’m like you.”
“How do you…”
“I read the
incantation, many years ago. Let me in –
we need to talk.”
Haruo looked at him, seeing the faint yellow
tinge in his eyes, and opened the door, standing to the side as he came
in. “Look,” he said as he closed the
door, “whatever you think…”
“It excited
you, taking her place, binding her, robbing her, didn’t it?”
Haruo nodded as the man said “of course it
did – it is a mischievous spirit that inhabits us, grants us our wishes our
desires. Do not fear- contact this man,
he will dispose fairly of what you took.”
He handed Haruo a card, before saying “let me
tell you my story – see if it sounds familiar.
“This would
have been in about 1976 – I lived in Tokyo, and worked as an assistant in an
old bookstore. It was a good job, if
boring – and then one day I found the book of old tales, and read the rhyme out
loud.
“I thought
nothing of it, and started to head home.
I had to pass a record store on the way, and as I did so one of the
girls who worked there came out as well.
A beautiful young lady – long black hair, thin, wearing an orange silk
long sleeved mini dress with a butterfly on the front, light tights, and
burgundy red laced up long boots. I
smiled at her, she smiled at me, and we got talking.
“It was when we
reached my car that something happened – I started to feel faint, and hot, but
as I looked at her…”
“She could not
take her eyes off you, before she fainted,” Haruo
said quietly. The man nodded as he sat
forward, his hands together.
“It felt to me
like my body was changing – but it was only when I looked at my arms, saw the
red silk, and then saw I had breasts that I realised I had somehow become
her. I panicked – opening my car, I saw
a roll of black tape, so I lifted her into the back, used the tape to secure
her wrists together in front of her, her ankles side by side, and covered her mouth
with several strips. I closed the door, got
into the car, and drove to her address – I checked her identity card.”
“And when you
got there?”
“Somehow, I got
her in without anyone seeing, and laid her on the low couch in her home. I then had a look round, but was scared she might
see me, so I left her there. I walked
down the street, but started to feel faint, so I walked into a side alley, felt
as if warm water was running over me, and...”
“You were
yourself again,” Haruo said. “The girl?”
“I met her the
next door. She remembered us talking,
and me walking off, but nothing until she woke up in her room, bound and
gagged. With you?”
“The same
thing,” Haruo whispered. “But are we the only ones?”
“No – I was
approached a few days later by a woman, who explained what had happened, and
brought me into the circle. And now, I
do the same to you – just as one day, you will for someone else. You will hear the call, and you will help
them.”
“But there is
this girl I love…”
“I am married,
with children – it becomes your secret, your release. But I also want your help.”
“With what?”
“To translate
the rhyme, put it in stories across the world – grow our fellowship…”
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