Jubutsu Gakuen
By Rowan
Part 1: Ken plays with Toys.
"So that's the specs. It's a focused strobe of light, sound and
compressed digital information. You fire, and the pulse hits the
target. Instant trance. A perfect hypno-gun."
"That's great!"
"Thanks."
"So the problem is…"
Hiro's eyes began to water. His lip trembled. It was only a brief
moment before he began bawling openly.
"We can't make it!"
Ken sighed. Being president of the Saimin club at Jubutsu
Gakuen had its ups and downs. Depending on the success of
the club projects, it was either the most beloved club or the most
reviled. He patted the sobbing Hiro.
"There there…Just relax. Come on, Hiro. This is the last club on
earth to be tense."
Hiro nodded, wiping his eyes. "It's just that this is –perfect-. DJ
N-Trance made the perfect sound pulse, the lighting is spot on, It
should work…"
"But…"
"We can't get the devices to work in synch. We need a timer, and
none of us knows how to make one."
Hiro looked disconsolate. His `assistants' simply looked sleepy.
Then again, at any given moment in the club, half the members
looked sleepy. Heck, half the members were `recruited' by the
other half. Off and on, the Saimin club was –very- popular.
"There's got to be somebody in the club to do it. Let me check
the roster."
Ken left the disconsolate Hiro and made his way to the
computer, typing in his codes to avoid the countless hypnotic
traps built into the computer. Lord…Did every application have a
trap? At last he found the roster. Some search code…
"Got it."
Hiro scampered over immediately. "Who'd you find?"
"Rowan. She's an inductor, and in multiple clubs. Specifically the
Karakuri club."
"Karakuri…Robots?"
"Yep"
"Sweet! She'll definitely know what to do. Check it out! Her
induction technique is a metronome…That she built! This is
perfect!"
A voice emerged from behind them. "No."
Ken and hiro turned around, behind them was Shinji, the
vice-president. Shinji adjusted his glasses, shaking his head.
"What?!?"
"She's creepy. She makes toys."
Ken blinked for a moment. "Shinji, This is Jubutsu Gakuen. All
the clubs make toys!"
"Rowan makes…" he waved his hands mysteriously. "Creepy
toys. She's into dolls."
Ken shrugged. "So?"
"So? Remember Anna? That foreign exchange student?"
"Yeah. The quiet one."
"Well it turns out she wasn't a student…She was just a wind-up
toy Rowan made!"
"No wonder you couldn't hypnotise her!"
"That…That's beside the point!"
"I won twenty bucks and the presidency off of you for that…"
"NO ROWAN!"
Ken frowned. "Look. We're not exactly flavor of the month at this
school. Most of the other clubs are wierded out by what we do.
And since that crazy catgirl joined up…"
They all groaned "Sue-chan…."
"Everyone thinks we're as crazy as she is. We need a solution.
And since working to promote brotherhood and understanding is
–lame-, we need a working hypno-gun."
Shinji whined. "But…Creepy dolls…."
"Enough! I am the president, and here's my decision. Through
fair means or foul, we will win Rowan back to the Saimin Club!"
Hiro looked nervous. "But she's an inductor herself. She knows
our tricks."
Ken smiled, putting on his cap. Upon it was a silver pentacle. A
symbol of faith, power, and a damn handy induction tool.
"Everyone has a weakness. I'll find Miss Rowan's, get us the
timer, and return her to where she belongs…In blissful servitude
to the glory of the Saimin club!"
Shinji glowered. "Twenty bucks says you can't do it…"
"You're on."
END PART 1
Part 2: Discipline is all important
Ken made his way out of the club, strutting through the halls of
Jubutsu Gakuen. If there was ever anything resembling school
spirit, Ken had it. He loved the place, watching everyone
challenge their limits in every field. Besides, it seemed the whole
student body was involved in one extracirricular acttivity or other.
From the restrictive nature of the shibari club, to the culinary
delights to be found at the nyataimori club, everyone seemed to
be following the path that was the hallmark of this school.
He walked smiling past the doorways of people practicing their
art, until he heard a sharp tone behind him.
"Ken Takagi!"
He spun on his heels, the smile never fading. Saiminjutsu was a
calming art, a dedication to calming others. It would never do to
have the head of the saimin club lose his cool. Even in front of
Miss Megumi…Or Queen, if you crossed her.
"Miss Megumi?"
The teacher glowered at him. She was beautiful, there was no
doubt. But the severity of her face, along with the riding crop that
never left her hand made her someone to respect. Besides, her
classroom was the only one with a crossbar.
"You're out awfully late, aren't you supposed to be running a
meeting?"
Ken bowed deeply. A sign of respect, and a chance to gaze
without his eyes being seen. Her form was a masterwork of wire,
whalebone, and lycra. It was rumored that it took her over an
hour to get the gear to shape her body in place, and another hour
to zip and tie into the tight narrow facsimilie of a teacher's garb.
Besides, Ken always liked stockings and heels, and a chance to
bend down and see his own reflection in her patent-leather
boots was impossible to pass up..
"I'm sorry Miss Megumi! But I'm on club business!"
The crop tapped against her thigh, as she walked around him.
He knew better than to rise. "Club business, you say?" she
snarled. "Of what sort?" Ken took out the roster from his pocket.
"I am searching for a fellow Saimin member in the Karakuri
club!" He offered the roster, and she examined, tapping him with
the crop, bidding him to rise. She examined the sheet, and
glared at him, seeming to scan him for the slightest impropriety.
"Well, it seems to check out. She is in both clubs…" She sighed
disconsolately. "And I bet if I searched you, I'd find nothing?"
"You're welcome to, Ma'am."
Miss Megumi lowered her head, pouting. "No, it's all right. You
never have anything on you. You're…"She glowered. "…An ideal
student. It's no fun being hall monitor if –everyone- behaves."
"You've trained us too well, Miss Megumi…"
She bit her lip, biting back the sorrow. "I suppose…"
"But…"
"But?"
"I'm sure if you caught me in the hall next week, and searched
my pockets…I might have some contraband…"
Her eyes lit up. "Really? And it wouldn't be something cheap like
bubblegum or a pocketknife?"
Ken raised his eyes to meet hers, His smile, and soft low voice
disarming. "No, Miss Megumi, I'm sure it would
be…scandalous."
She squealed like a schoolgirl before regaining her composure,
deliberately looking away from Ken's eyes. "You shouldn't have
told me, young man. The penalty for such behavior can
be…Severe." She rested the crop against his cheek, trying to
contain her delight as Ken lowed his eyes demurely.
"Yes, Miss Megumi. I'd be forced to accept your punishment"
"Delightful. Next Thursday at 4?"
"Yes Miss….Queen Megumi"
Miss Megumi tapped him twice on the cheek, smiling
delightedly. "Good boy. Be sure to be out of uniform as well." She
clicked off, a cheerful bounce in her step as she swatted the crop
against her thigh.
Ken loved his school.
END PART 2
Jubutsu Gakuen Part 3: Shop Class
Ken made his way to his locker, once again having to disarm his
own hypno-traps. Was there a connection between
hypnofetishists and paranoia? It could be worth a paper or two.
He marked down his `appointment' with Miss Megumi on his
calendar (Punctuality –was- important with Miss Megumi), and
pulled out some additional gear he might need. Snacks, CD's,
the official club pocketwatch… Now it was off to the karakuri club!
He wandered through the halls, searching for the right room. It
really wasn't a good idea to find the wrong room at Jubutsu
Gakuen. Things happened. Worse things happened if you got
lost. Fortunately, he knew some of the patterns for the room
assignments of clubs, and after some travel, knocked on one of
the endless doors.
The head that peeked out gave him quite a start. It was a full
fiberglass mask shaped in traditional anime style. Bright pink
hair, pink eyes, and cat ears and a rigid open-mouthed smile
that seemed to hold the face in an eternal `Nya!' Ken stepped
back as the door opened, reveailing a short figure dressed head
to toe in lycra `skin' and wearing a ruffled pink dress straight out
of `Tokyo Mew Mew'. The figure waved cheerfully.
"Um…Hi. Is this the Karakuri club?" Ken still strove to get his
bearings. Normally talking to people was easy for him, but then
he was often able to look into their eyes…At least their real ones.
The figure slapped her own forehead in frustration, and put out a
small sign on a stand, pointing to it dramatically.
Kigurumi Club: No Girls Allowed.
Ken looked inside, watching four shapely figures on a makeshift
stage, all in fluffy color-coordinated dresses work on their Idol
Singer dance routines. All were skinned and masked like the
figure before him. The figures themselves didn't sing, but mimed
the voices coming from a karaoke machine. Across the walls
were different masks and anime costumes. The figure beckoned
him, but Ken stepped further away. The figure got on her knees
and pleaded silently, but Ken shook his head. "Do..Do you know
where the Karakuri club is?"
The figrue wilted and rose, pointing to the room opposite. Ken
bowed politely and hurried off. Ken always appreciated the wide
variety of student interests at Jubutsu Gakuen, but some were
truly unusual.
Wait…Ken pondered. No girls allowed? But…
Ken shuddered, and knocked on the door.
"Go away!"
Ken blinked in surprise, but undaunted, knocked again.
"I told you to go away!" The door opened, revealing a pale, puffy
young lad, his uniform disheveled. Ken simply smiled broadly.
"Hey, Kotaro."
Kotaro frowned, deliberately looking anywhere except Ken's face.
"Hey Ken, what do you want? Presidential meeting's not until
next week."
"No, It's about a student…"
"I knew it! Look I know nothing about those missing girls! And we
stand by our statement that the borg virus is mythical!"
"Woah, calm down, Kotaro, it's not like that. We have a student in
common. I need to find her. She here?"
"Who?"
"Rowan."
Kotaro rolled his eyes. "Come on in."
Ken walked in to the blue light of arcwelds and flourescent
spotlighting. The room was hung with countless body parts,
some flesh-toned, some chrome, nearly all female. The class
members were either in construction or programming, building
everything from replicas of the student body to Sorayama
gynoids. All looked nervously at Ken as he approached. But in
seeing that he wasn't either faculty or a human female hastily
went back to work.
"Rowan's as much a black spot for us as Sue-chan is for you. I
mean, how on earth did -your- club land that hyperkinetic
catgirl?"
Ken shrugged. "She likes sparkly things…" and as Kotaro raised
his eyebrow said "…And the effect shiny things have on other
people."
Kotaro snorted. "Why didn't you make her a mindless minion?"
Ken smiled. "Don't think it hasn't been tried, but it never
takes…Besides, she adds…spice to the club."
Kotaro shook his head. "No spice here. Our girls are top of the
line. They do what they're programmed to, and that's it."
"Doesn't sound like much fun…Even with our club, there's still
some chase."
"Yeah, and another thing…Ours can't be hypnotized, unlike the
meat walking around the rest of the school. Their eyes don't
register your dirty little tricks." He smirked deviously. "I'll go see
where Rowan is. Don't get into trouble."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Kotaro wandered off. Leaving Ken to look around. Most of the
crew looked just like Kotaro, while all the girls were clearly
stunning and even more clearly artificial. One of the boys,
wearing a t-shirt that declared `My other girlfriend is a SONY', left
his workstation, where a demure looking young lass was
seated, dressed in a scandalous version of the school uniform.
She seemed ordinary, save for the anime-style plastic
earblades. Before the boy left, the boy took from his pocket his
keyring, and squeezed a button on it. The girl chirped, and her
earblades flashed. When the boy left, Ken slipped into the
workstation. The girl smiled up at him.
"Hey."
"Hey, yourself. I'm ken."
"Reika. Pleased to meet you."
"Hey reika…I hope this isn't too forward, but what did that guy
just do?"
"Akura? He's my boyfriend! He's sweet and charming and I love
him to death…"
"That's great, Reika, but what did he do? With his keyring?"
"Oh, that. Anti-theft device. If some boy tries to take me, an alarm
goes off."
"Wow. You're quite an amazing android, Reika."
"Thank you! Akura made me. He's my boyfriend! He's sweet and
charming and I love him to death…"
"I undersand, Reika…Do you have a human emulator?"
"Of course! I'm human in just about every way."
"hm…So you're programmed to react as a human does?"
"To most things, yes."
"I was wondering. Some friends of mine and I made a CD.
Would you give me your opinion on it?"
Reika frowned, staring at Ken. "Well, sure. But I'll warn you. I
have antivirus programs. If you're trying to fool me, Akura will be
mad. He's my boyfriend! He's…"
Ken put his finger to Reika's lips. "Sweet and charming. I know. I
promise there's nothing on it but music."
Reika warily looked at Ken. "All right." She plugged a cable into
her earblade, and another into a CD-drive on the workstation.
Ken put the CD in. "Scanning" said Reika in a flat monotone
voice. "Disc is 100% virus free" Her voice returned to normal. "It's
just music mp3's! I'm so sorry! I'll feed them right into my
emulator and give you a review in less than a minute, okay?"
Ken smiled broadly, nodding.
Reika smiled, nodding her head to the music being fed into her
core persona. She began blinking, and in a few seconds her
eyes simply closed, her head lowered. After a few moments, her
head raised and she had that sleepy smile that Ken adored. Ken
looked into Reika's eyes. "What did you think?"
"They were lovely….master…"
"I think so. It's DJ N-trance's greatest hits. Your human emulator
is great. I'll have to compliment Akaru."
"Who?" Reika said sleepily.
"Good girl. Can you take me to see Rowan?"
"Suuuure…" She rose, clutching Ken's arm, leading him deeper
into the club facilities, her alarm never going off.
Kotaro came back, looking around. "Hey Ken, she's…" Kotaro
looked around, and slapped his face. Both Ken and Reika were
missing. Akaru returned, and screamed in shock. Kotaro had
warned Akaru that his device did nothing if Reika chose to go off
on her own…
"Where's Reika?!?" Akaru screamed helplessly…
Kotaro looked at him, and said flatly. "Dude. Your girlfriend's
been hacked."
END PART 3
Jubutsu Gakuen Part 4: New Toys
Reika dreamily guided Ken through the machine-shop facilities
of the robot club, and made her way down the stairs into storage.
It was a maze of cables and circuit boards. Pieces of discarded
engineering that went as far back in time as vaccuum tubes and
tin. Ken looked around in amazement. It seemed Jubutsu
Gakuen had been around a lot longer than Ken had ever
surmised. He stopped, staring at it all, as Reika tugged at him.
"Master?"
"Just a moment, Reika. Where's Rowan in all this stuff?"
"Just this way, master." Reika tugged again.
"Reika. Do me a favor."
"Of course master!" Reika smiled dreamily.
"Do a cold reboot of yourself."
Reika giggled. "Yes, master!" She lifted her shirt and pressed
inside her bellybutton. With a –beep!- Reika slumped to the floor,
eyes closed. Ken knealt beside her, waiting to hear the whirring
sounds deep inside her. Momentarily, Reika opened her eyes.
"Hey."
"Hey, yourself. I'm Ken."
"I'm Reika. Pleased to meet you."
Ken nodded. "Where's your boyfriend?"
Reika blinked. "My boyfriend? He's Akaru! He's sweet and
charming and I love him to death. Where is he? Akaru?
Akaruuu…"
Reika trotted off, completely oblivious to Ken. Ken chuckled, and
made his way deeper into the storage space.
It was no longer a matter of going back in time as he wandered
deeper into the space. Rather, a matter of intent. Rather than
boards and chips, there were shelves of toys. Models, figurines,
stuffed animals…What robots there were looked like old
japanese toys from the 50's. He examined a few, and noticed no
brand name, no serial number. Whether wood, tin or plastic, all
of them were constructed by hand. He kept moving.
The toys seemed older, and yet were definitely newer. Stuffed
animals and dolls, countless puppets. Miniatures that seemed
perfectly lifelike. Life-size dolls that seemed too deliberately
doll-like. Clothes for dolls of all sizes, and as he moved through
it all, a small worktable with soft lights. Sitting primly at the table,
apparently preoccupied with her work was a girl, fairly small,
dressed in the traditional Jubutsu Gakuen uniform.
"Hello?" Ken asked, still staring around at the collection.
The girl just heaved an annoyed sigh, and tapped a device next
to her. The device began swinging back and forth, back and forth.
The ticking within the metronome had an added hum that was
soft, gentle, soothing…So easy to just drift…
"Bat da…da da dum." Ken started singing, his bad rhythm and
worse attempt at scat singing was an easy break to the steady
rhythm of the metronome. Ken continued to sing as he got closer
to her. The girl tensed, and finally screamed in frustration as she
stopped the metronome. "That's enough! Just stop singing!" Ken
chuckled. Every hypnotic trick had a counter, but none so irritating
as his own singing voice.
"Look, Shinji, I did what you said. I left your damned club. Now
just leave me alone."
"I'm not Shinji."
She turned around. She was a few inches shorter than Ken, with
soft brown hair spilling past her shoulders, and glasses that
framed dark eyes. On seeing Ken she seemed to get a little
shyer, but the stubborn anger was still there. "Ken…Doesn't
matter. I told Shinji I'd leave the club. If you want something from
me now, just screw off."
"He told you to leave?"
"He said I embarrassed the club with Anna. But it wasn't a
stunt…I just wanted to build a toy."
Ken sighed. Trust Shinji to take his own embarrassment out on
someone else. "Well, it was our loss then…"
"You're damned right it was…Wha???"
Ken smiled. "Well, yeah. Look at all this stuff. Did you build all
this yourself?"
Rowan nodded. Wow. She was even cute when she blushed.
"They're all so real…so lifelike…This doll even looks like Emiko
from 4th period…"
"It is. Well, it was." Rowan chuckled, as Ken took a step back.
Rowan giggled. "Well, I didn't learn hypnosis for nothing…"
"Wow…I bet you made the costumes, too. Gothic Lolita
patterns?"
"How…How did –you- know?"
"I've seen them on occasion." Ken tastefully neglected to
mention that Miss Megumi had made him wear them on
occasion as well. Ken was all for a little mystery. "It all fits into
this total whole that's your fixation on toys. Designing them,
constructing them, caring for them…I bet they all have names,
too."
Rowan nodded, the anger being replaced by shyness. Ken was
having a hard time keeping his eyes off her. All her emotions
were revealed on her face. She was crazy, obsessed, and utterly
fascinating. "I bet you were glad to get out of the hypnosis club…"
Rowan got upset again. "Well, it's not like this club is any better!
Gynoids! Sexdolls! They're just like you guys. Just more
mindless thralls to hide their fears of actually saying `Hi', to a girl!
I had to become an inductor at the hypnosis club just so that I
could –avoid- being someone's faceless acquistion-"
"As opposed to the toy you yourself wanted to be."
Rowan fell back into her seat, stunned. She stammered, looking
more than a little frightened. "No…That…"
"You make toys, Rowan. You cherish and care for them, you even
make your friends into them. They're objects of total adoration for
you. But that's not the whole story. You want to be one, too. But
not some plastic Barbie to be tossed away when they're bored.
You'll only be a toy for someone who will cherish you, who
knows and respects what he's getting when he gets you. You'll
be someone's perfect little doll if only they'll treat you like you
treat your own toys. You want to be…"
"Special…" gasped Rowan.
Ken smiled, kneeling beside her chair. "I understand, Rowan.
Don't get upset over your fixation. Your obsession is the perfect
practice of Jubutsu. You're fixated. Locked…"He smiled up at
her.
"Hopeless…" she smiled back, wiping her eyes.
"I'm like you, Rowan. I don't quite fit. I only took the club from
Shinji because he's a total ass. I don't have a girlfriend. Not even
a bevy of minions." He shrugged. "I never thought I could be
happy dominating someone at this school, if…They weren't
willing to return the favor."
With that, Rowan's eyes lit up. At Jubutsu Gakuen, most people
were one thing or another. For Ken to tell her this…"I…I…" Ken
touched her lips.
"The club needs something from you, Rowan. I will admit that.
But I think we can have some fun with it. But, more than the club,
I think I need something from you…And perhaps you from me?"
Ken took off his sunglasses, his signature of coolness and
distance. There was a strange pulsing noise, soft and soothing
that he heard in the background.
"Rowan, did you turn on the metronome again?"
"No…"
"Wow…It must be the beating of my heart…"
And with that, they stared deeply into each other's eyes…
Shinji smiled. He knew Ken would fail. Rowan was just bitter
enough to trap anyone that came within a hundred yards of her.
Double revenge. Rowan was an outcast in just about every club,
and Ken was about to become one of Rowan's creepy dolls…He
relished the idea of Ken strung up like a marionette.
"Did you miss us?"
Shinji spun around as Hiro shouted in joy. Ken arrived, dashing
and calm as ever, and Rowan stood beside him, cheerful,
wicked, and clearly not hypnotized. She strutted right over to Hiro
and began talking.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Vice President."
"Ken…Fine, so you conned the psycho into helping you out. I
guess I owe you twenty bucks."
"Wrong."
"What?"
Rowan rose, holding the completed hypno-gun. Before Shinji
could adjust his glasses, there was a loud humming sound, and
his eyes flashed a spiral of sparks. Obey…Obey…
Rowan grinned. "You owe Ken fifty bucks."
"I owe ken fifty bucks…"
"And you're a complete ass…"
"I'm a complete ass…"
Ken smiled. "And, you're definitely in violation of the rules. You
told Rowan she was kicked out. Probably our best engineer. And
yet you didn't tell anyone else. You took out your embarrassment
on her. You're out of the club. And…You will spend the rest of the
week signing up for every club this school has…As a fresh
beginner. Starting now."
Shinji marched out like a robot. Hiro whistled low. "Ken, that's
harsh. You know every club has an initiation…"
Rowan –glared- at Hiro.
"Which seems like just punishment!" Hiro added hastily. Rowan
and Ken sat beside each other, smiling.
"So…"
"So…"
"When are you available? I'd love to see you dressed up as a
doll…"
Rowan purred. "And vice versa. Always wanted a raggedy
andy.…How's Thursday?"
Ken winced. "Thursday's…Bad."
Rowan smirked. "Miss Megumi?"
"That's Queen Megumi, and…er…Yes."
Rowan giggled. "Skip it. It will only make her angrier at you…"
she leaned against him, smiling evily.
Ken loved his school.
EPILOUGE.
"Nya, nya nya…." Sang sue-chan, skipping into the saimin club. It
had been a lovely day of games and fun, but people seemed to
keep running away screaming wherever she showed up. Ah
well. It made the thrill of the chase spicier. And as she skipped,
she spotted something on Hiro's table, something bright and
beautiful…
…The ultimate shiny.
"AW SWEET! A HYPNO-GUN! BOW BEFORE ME, ZOMBIE
SLAVES!!!!!!"
"Sue-chan!!! NOOOO!!!!"
ZAP!
Some of you may be unfamiliar with the japanese I've been
casually throwing about. Hopefully, you've been doing google
searches. :)
Jubutsu: Fetish, and the practice of said. Hence, Jubutsu
Gakuen is Fetish High School.
Saimin: Hypnosis. Back in the day, Saiminjitsu was a ninja
technique to hypnotise an opponent while in combat with them.
Karakuri: Karakuri are wooden cloclwork toys. Since the
japanese word for robot is 'roboto', I went for something cooler.
Another word for clockwork is 'zenmai'.
Shibari: An elaborate form of bondage developed by the
japanese with great restrictive and stylistic qualities. Shibari has
been around for centuries.
Nyataimori: Sushi served on the bodies of naked women. In
broader terms, anytime a woman's body is used to display
anything.
Kigurumi: A bit of pop culture turned fetish. In japan, kid's anime
has live shows attatched to it, with actors in lycra skin, anime
costumes, and fully enclosing masks, depicting the
character...And then the fetishists got into it. Fetish kigurumi
ranges from trying to be your favorite anime character, to trying to
be a living doll. Nearly all fetish kigurumi are males dressing as
females.
I think that's it. google searches on any of these terms bring up
fun results. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
I hope you have enjoyed this story. *bow*