The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

In Defense of Cartoon Villains

Episode Roku – Press A to continue

The sky was blue, the sun high in the sky. A bell chimed in the distance, even though the time was of no significance whatsoever. It was in the middle of lunch break. Tatsuki was on the school’s roof, forlornly looking at the clouds. Her once fiery eyes looked dead. In her new clothes, a standard schoolgirl uniform, she looked nothing like the strong-willed Mystery Girl she was before that fateful mission in Skull Island.

“Beep. Holy shit, I made it ! Hey, jap girl !”

“Hmmm...” Drearily sighed Tatsuki.

“Hey, wake up ! Beep.”

Sensing he wasn’t going to get through to her by audio alone, Guru Meditation reprogrammed the game world a bit so that Tatsuki’s bracelet could also serve as a cattle prod.

“YEEEOOOWCH HOLY SHIT !”

Tatsuki jumped three times her height, howling, her skeleton apparent. Once the shock had passed, she stood up and assumed a fighting stance, all geared up, ready to helpfully help karma crash down on the mysterious electrocuter. Of course, the culprit was simply on her wrist.

“Beep. It’s me, Guru Meditation ! Beep. Sorry to give you an instant X-ray but you were in la-la-land just now. Beep.”

“Oh...” She looked back at the bench. “I guess I was. I...I’m powerless here.”

Her voice broke down in a whisper at “powerless”. She tried to conjure up the strength to form fists, but couldn’t even manage that.

“Beep. What ? What happened ? Beep.”

“The game treated me like a new transfer student. It gave me an uniform, a shitty apartment downtown, and even a family in the countryside that sends me letters every day. The moment I was introduced to my class, I was all “okay motherfuckers, I’m real and I need to get out of here ASAP”. Those virtual assholes took it like a funny quirk.”

“Beep. Who the hell thinks a high school student that believes the world isn’t real is quirky ? Beep. No offense.”

“Because...well, there are quirky students everywhere in this craphole. And by quirky, I of course mean train-stoppingly insane. My “quirk” is pedestrian in comparison.”

“Didn’t you try to beat some sense into them ?”

Tatsuki made an empty-hearted laugh.

“Yeah, and turns out that when you pit a “strong tomboy” type from an american cartoon against one from a manga-style visual novel, ‘murica gets its ass fucking kicked.”

“Bee...Wow wow, what ? You, getting served a knuckle sandwich ? Beep.”

“The whole assembly line, if not the country’s gross annual export in sandwiches. If women can’t get pregnant from earthquakes, then nobody can explain that blonde-haired bitch.”

“Oh. Beep. So if they dismissed your claims as a quirk and if you’re a weakling compared to their standards...beep.”

“Then I’m completely powerless. It’s been a week, G-Med. I tried to convince them. I ran all around this unnamed, suburban town to look for a portal or something. Nothing. A fucking week. I’m at my wits’ end. Tell me Thorn and Clover escaped the island...Please.”

“Huh...Beep...How do I...wait, what ? Did you say a week ? Beep.”

“Yes.” Said Tatsuki, crossing her arms. “What of it ?”

“Beep. It’s only been seven hours in the real world ! Beep.”

Tatsuki pressed her index finger against her forehead.

“Wow, the time passes twenty-four times faster here ? I guess that explains why Skull hasn’t sent SAI to translate the game yet.”

“Huh...Beep...It could also be because the boss is...otherwise occupied. Beep.”

“Yeah, I bet she’s tracking down Thorn and Clover. That means they’re okay...Phew...”

“Beep. She’s occupied with Thorn all right. Beep.”

Pause. The asian girl finally got where Guru Meditation was going.

“...I’m not going to like this, am I ?”

“Beep. Nope. Beep.”

“Okay, out with it.”

“Thorn’s been turned into a succubus and is fucking the unholy beelzebub out of Leona and the boss.”

The Mystery Girl let out a anguished scream, punching the metal fencing protecting the roof out of frustration. She cried out Thorn’s name. Her best friend, her comrade. Tainted by Skull’s plan. Turned into a supernatural evil slut. Leona and Bettina had been a blow, but this was a knockout hit. Tatsuki wanted to crawl down into a hole and die. Because it was her fault. She had wanted to play the reliable one, to watch over her two remaining friends as they slept. That was exactly what Skull was waiting for to spring his trap. Why hadn’t she trusted her friends to be equally as vigilant as her ? She had failed Thorn. She had failed the human being she was the closest to in the world. She was a failure as a hero and as a friend. She deserved to be reduced to a bunch of pixels.

“Beep. Clover’s AWOL though. Beep.”

Tatsuki opened her eyes. Clover. This wasn’t over yet. She couldn’t afford to wallow in self-loathing. As long as Clover, the public’s sweetheart, existed, the Mystery Girls would live on. She dried her tears and gathered up her willpower.

“Okay. I need to get out of here. But as I said, I tried everything. Any ideas, G-Med ?”

“Beep. I might have one. You basically just ran around a lot, threw punches, and tried to convince people of the truth, right ?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Beep. There’s your problem. You’re acting like an american cartoon character ! Beep. Of course you would, you are one after all. Beep. But you’re still japanese. You should be able to fit in. Beep. Use your homeland’s cultural stereotypes to your advantage. Beep.”

“Oh...Shit, why didn’t I think of that ?”

“Beep. Because you’re too hung up on stereotypes. If there’s even a hint of one, you always flip the fuck out. Beep. Skull is winning because he has destroyed the american cartoon rules ensuring the underdog always wins. But he has no control here ; you should be able to exploit the japanese manga rules. Just accept them, and chill the fuck out for once, you anal-retentive bitch ! Beep. Huh, sorry.”

“You kept that one inside for years, didn’t you.”

“Beep. Pretty much. Beep.”

“But you’re right. It’s time I try to live with the formulas.”

“Beep. Okay, advising you to be more japanese might not have been my brightest moment. Beep.”

Tatsuki got out of the hair salon with a confident step, a steadfast gaze, and electric blue hair.

“I understand your qualms, Guru-kun. But there are four main types of strong girls in the mangaverse. Long-haired, silent types with sword skills, big sister types, cute non-humans and yankees.”

“But you’re already an american. Beep.”

“Nah, yankee means delinquent in japanese. So bam, colored hair. That should at least double my strength.”

“Beep. Just tell me you’ll stay away from tentacles and we’ll be cool. Beep.

“Har har. Anyway. I’ve thought about it, and there is one stereotype we can use to find a way to the real world if we track him down.”

“Beep. And he is ?”

“The super-nerd. A school manga always has an intellectual type that knows fucking everything. The students, the town, highly advanced nuclear physics, everything.”

“Beep. Wow, that guy already sounds amazing. Beep.”

“Yeah. Unfortunately, he can’t know anything about the current plot. Too easy otherwise. But since there’s no reason to believe a door to the real world is in the main plot, it’s at least worth a shot. Let’s find him !”

The newly minted blue-haired girl strode back to the school. Birds chirped in the background, and the few clouds in the sky hadn’t budged an inch. Some students were out playing sports, but it was obvious the main building was still populated.

“Beep. I don’t get it, when I found you it was lunch break. Then you went to the hairdresser for an hour. Beep. It should be class time right now, so why the hell are these yahoos playing baseball ?”

“Afterschool club activities. Pretty much every student joins a club to be in after classes. You’re just seeing the softball club.”

“Beep. Hey, meatbag, I know that math is to your kind what gravy is to phytoplancton, but I just said it should be class time right now. Beep.”

“It’s not. The game considers you like a player, so it lets you skip on the classes you don’t give a shit about. Me ? I spent three hours listening to boring crao before even going to the hairdresser.”

“Beep. Sucks to be you then. Beep.”

Tatsuki shrugged and entered the building. She walked to the announcement boards to look for clues pertaining to the super-nerd’s whereabouts. And there, conveniently, was a list of all the school’s clubs along with the numbers of the rooms hosting them. The Mystery Girl perused it, trying to find the club that most elicited a desire to punch the members in the face. For her, it was a tie between anime culture club and origami club. For Guru Meditation, it was a tie between half of them.

“Beep. Whaaaaaat in the everloving fuck is an “occult” club doing in there ?”

“Well, when joining a club is the norm, it’s inevitable to get a few oddballs clubs.”

“No. Beep. It’s oddball when scottish men wear kilts. Letting an occult club exist in a place of education and knowledge is fucking insane. Beep. And look at that shit ! Maid café club ? Insect fight club ? Doll making club ? This can’t be legit. Beep.”

“Yeah, yeah, if you’re done being a gaijin, I’m off to the anime club.”

She made her way to the third level and walked to the aforementioned club’s door. Unwilling to take any shit from some otakus, she kicked the door open. Startled squeals were heard as some fat boys fell out of their chairs.

“Not one word, dweebs.” Growled Tatsuki. “I want to speak to the super nerd character, NOW.”

“What an utterly pedestrian way to describe me.” Sounded a voice from an uncertain point in the room. “If you told it within a two meters radius of a automobile, it would turn into a bicycle.”

“You suck at similes, nerd. Try this one : This was so uncreative, 60% of all the world’s fan fiction writers snapped awake and decided they had a shot at a legitimate writing career.”

“Hmm...Alright, you win this round.”

Suddenly, the speaker faded into existence at Tatsuki’s side. It was a small kid with thick eyeglasses. Instead of looking at his conversation partner like a sane person, he looked, as she did, at a point above the dialog box;

“Himenaka Tatsuki-san, transfer student from Okayama prefecture, 1,60 meters tall, brown eyes, black hair -update : just turned blue- with short boyish cut. Tsukkomi type, tsundere potential low, likes video games but somehow refuses to admit it. Possibly stuck in the 80’s perception of the medium. Which wouldn’t be surprising since she actually comes from an american cartoon.”

“You’re good.” Tatsuki said while raising an eyebrow. “But the first two bits of info were generated when I was transferred in here. I don’t actually have any family name or birthplace.”

“Well you have now, himenaka-san.”

“They couldn’t even have the decency to give me a manly-sounding family na...Hold the fuck on, what ? You know I’m not from here ?”

The nerd pushed his glasses up a bit and chuckled.

“Of course I do. You think a trans-medium interface device wouldn’t have at least a few characters aware of its abilities ?”

“Do I look like I know about trans-medium doohickeys ? I’m an action figure seller, not a technobabble-dispensing character !”

“Fear not, my technology impaired friend. I won’t be too condescending.”

“Swell. So, can the magic console be operated from the inside to get me out of here ?”

“It can, theorically. There has to be a game-side interface. In your cartoon world, it was a game console. In here...well, it could be anything, really.”

Tatsuki crossed her arms and looked up, thinking.

“I guess it makes sense, but I never saw anythin particularly out of place.”

“Of course not, you ape. You kept running around in the CG sets. VNs are character driven, you won’t find it in a place. In all probability, it’s in a character’s possession.”

“Oh crap. You mean I have to use diplomacy ?!” Yelped Tatsuki.

“Well, yes. Why do you look like you’ve just been tasked to milk a tiger ?”

“Because I’m a cartoon character ! We dissolve in meaningful dialogue and character development !”

“Well, I guess it’s a good think you’re part VN character now.” Chuckled the bespectacled boy. “But here you go, your ticket out of here is to play the game !”

“Shit shit shit...At least tell me who’s the character that’s most likely to have the interface !”

“Oh, you know that, Himenaka-san.” He grinned. “It’s all in the stereotypes.”

The nerd then faded out from existence, leaving Tatsuki to sweat bullets over her partially blueish face. With nothing more to say to the anime club, she left for the hallway.

“Beep. That went pretty well, we’ve made progress. Beep.”

“Speak for yourself, I’m plenty uncomfortable talking to just one manga stereotype.”

“Beep. Well, what’s the most likely one to have the key to another reality ? Beep.”

“Quite frankly, I don’t know...”

“Beep. Walk up around the school, maybe you’ll have a sudden epiphany somewhere, “Himenaka-san.". Beep.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Her head hanging down, Tatsuki began to walk. She had no idea where to go and certainly didn’t have any desire to see a particular person or place, but she needed to get the gears grinding. Bettina’s AI probably hadn’t caught on, but the conversation with the nerd had shaken her pretty deeply. She didn’t know exactly why, barely able to pinpoint exactly what felt wrong. After all, everything around her was crashing down spectacularly.

“Beep. Hey, now that I think about it,” said Guru Meditation, breaking her out of introspection, “isn’t it weird that you don’t have a last name ? Beep. Even the boss doesn’t. I only have family name data for Leona. Beep.”

“Yeah, Leona Summers. It was mentioned in a story arc during the 90’s series.”

“What, there was one before that ? Beep.”

“Oh, yeah, I forget you only appeared in the second series. We had a first run in the 80’s. Less technology, Thorn was a sports girl instead of a goth, Bettina was a book nerd instead of a computer one, and, well...”

Tatsuki buried her face in her hands.

“I don’t even want to try describing what I was back then.”

“Beep. Oh, let me just pull some old first season footage then.”

Out of the Mystery Girl’s comlink appeared a holographic screen. In stark contrast to the technology at play, it displayed a crude, poorly animated cartoon. Five girls were walking into a factory. Only one of them was holding a flashlight. It was Leona, only with a decidedly more conservative outfit and haircut than usual. She had to save big on beauty products though, since her skin was entirely smooth, featureless even.

“Okay, the tracks from the so-called monster of the lake lead here. We’ll find out the truth once and for all !”

“Yeah !” Shouted an excited girl that kind of looked like Thorn, but was blonde with a ponytail. “Then the swimming contest won’t be cancelled !”

“Right, Tiffany ! The truth awaits !”

They hadn’t made the first step on their path to the truth, however, than the metal shutter behind them fell down. On the metal was painted an all too familiar image. The five girls gasped.

“Oh, no ! Who would have thought Doctor Skull was behind this ?!”

“Ain’t there none monster thingies that ain’t the doin’ of that villain ?”

“Evil in mysterious ways work, like serpent down moonrit mount...”

With a record scratch, the video came to a halt.

“Beep. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Beep.”

The figure in the still image was undeniably Tatsuki, and yet, it couldn’t be further from her. Her skin had the tint of a much too artificial yellow, her lips painted in a dainty red and her face topped by an ideally proper hairdo kept together by jeweled pins. Her demeanor, was the clearest difference still. Far from the hot blooded tomboy she now was, the Tatsuki of then seemed well-mannered, even courteous.

“Beep. I’ve heard about racist characters, but I guess you just don’t get it until it hits close to home. Beep.”

“Yeah...Back then, we were mostly a run-of-the-mill, traditional american kid detective story. The writers didn’t give a fuck. Clover was much closer to a hillbilly, Thorn was, well, just a sporty Leona, and I was the japanese mystical karate mentor stereotype as a young girl.”

“Beep. Seems you were more the “china doll” type to me. Beep.”

“Well, yeah, that too, there wasn’t much of an action element back then, so I was mostly used for the deep-sounding jap that let the white girls do all the deductive thinking. But when the studios did felt that they could throw in a milligram of excitement, a thug would come our way and I would kick his ass to protect both the other’s ass and their reputation as proper young girls.”

Guru Meditation had more than enough time and processing power to regret having opened that can of worms. He hoped to be able to find an appropriate answer.

“Beep. So basically, the first incarnation of the Mystery Girls had nothing to do with who you are now. Beep.”

“Yeah. When the 90’s came, edgy was where it’s at. It was decided to retool our series from a mostly localized mystery story with a profoundly silly, low-level scheming villain into an action series. Bettina was upgraded to hacker, Clover was focused on the role of the mandatory damsel in distress, Leona had to remain the same for the sake of brand recognition, and it left me and Tiffany to become the action heroes.”

“Beep. And they cut down the racism. I guess that reboot was your saving grace, heh ? Beep.”

Tatsuki sighed.

“For us, it happened overnight. We went to sleep after finding the truth behind a haunted house with the threat level of a pillow airstrike, and we woke up being the only ones to stop Doctor Skull from stealing all the gold in Fort Knox. Boy scout preparedness ain’t shit. I was a contemplative, well-mannered japanese girl devoted to my friends, and then I was a karateka with anger threatening to burn my heart away. I hate what I was in the first series, fucking despise it, but still...”

Tears dripped down her eyes as her hand gripped some skin on her chest. Her whole mind swam with emotions, flashes of her life parading in her mind’s eye.

“It was me. And just like that...all I was disappeared. In the first series, I was raging racism on legs, but I didn’t know it. I was myself, nothing more. Then I became someone else, just like that. Finally a decent character, yes, but someone else all the same. I still knew about Japan’s customs and culture, but for all intents and purposes, I was now a westerner. An american with the name and body of a foreigner. I still had to be born in Japan to preserve continuity, but they didn’t even want to touch my origin story with a laser-blasting ten foot chainsaw-halberd, and I still, to this day, have no freaking idea why I emigrated to America.”

“Beeeeeeeeep. Okay, you know what, forget I asked anything. Beep.”

“Here, they gave me a name. A homeland. Back in our dimension, Skull destroyed the gang. The only true home I ever had. But even if we hadn’t come to this island...even if everything was alrighgt, we’d only be chalkboards. Without a past or future. Only each other.”

The AI was now completely lost. It had been programmed to override security systems or the occasional monopoly game, not to deal with nervous breakdowns ! Tatsuki didn’t even have a reset button. But as Guru Meditation frantically searched its databanks for a solution, Tatsuki’s heavy step came to a stop. Then, after one second, she clenched her fists, and grinned.

“The Rich Heir, of course !”

“Beep. What ? Beep.”

“The nerd said it was all in the stereotypes. And he’s right ! No matter how weird or farfetched an item is, there is always one character that’s happy to provide. The Rich Heir.”

“Beep. What happened to the self-pitying chalkboard thing ? Beep.”

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow.

“The fuck are you talking about ?”

* * *

Guru Meditation dared not press on Tatsuki’s sudden recovery, afraid, in part, to see her as an uncharacteristic wreck, but also afraid to confirm she had completely forgotten about that episode somehow. As she walked purposefully towards a destination that was unknown to him, the AI decided instead to inquire on the subject of that “heir”.

“Beep. I mean, even if a rich oil magnate’s son was in your school in America, I wouldn’t expect him to possess the Ark of the Covenant. Beep.”

“Yeah, I mean, even if we are routinely obligated to ideologically fellate the American Dream, at least we won’t put too much of a rich kid into the story. Certainly not one that can buy anything in existence and defeat virtually any challenge the plot could come up with. Well, I’m sure the rumor has reached your ears at some point, but Japan doesn’t give a fuck.”

“Beep. Come on. Surely they give at least one fraction of a fuck. Beep.”

“No.”

Tatsuki stopped in front of another door, her arms akimbo, her teeth bared. The door seemed unremarkable. In fact, the corridor was exactly the same as the one leading to the anime club. None of the doors had any plates on them. Then what the fuck was the club list with the corresponding room numbers for ? How did Tatsuki even find the right rooms ?

All these questions faded away from Guru Meditation’s RAM when the Mystery Girl swung the doors open.

“Behold, the Student Council.”

The AI’s first algorithmic response was to activate emergency countermeasures against logical paradoxes. Beyond the door, where should lay a drab, white school room, instead was a western-style manor’s interior. A velvety carpet of a rich burgundy color. Sofas lined with gold. Mahogany bookcases with glass doors. Solid, antique desks. A scandalously massive crystal chandelier. Guru Meditation had to refrain from calculating the costs involved.

“Beep. What in the blue hell is the Student Council ? Some kind of IRL money sink ? Beep.”

“Oh, it normally has nothing to do with opulence, it’s just some kind of super evolved class rep system. Students manage certain aspects of school life such as festivals. You can see it as a CEO club of sorts. But what is of interest is that in manga, the Student Council is generally where you find the richest kid in school.”

“Beep. You mean the one responsible for turning this room into a victorian noble’s orphan-taunting lair isn’t the school’s management but a student ?! Beep. Are you taking the fucking piss, meatbag ?”

“I told you, G-med. America only thinks they know how to not give a fuck.”

Tatsuki then strode confidently in the dazzling room. There was only one person inside, sitting behind the desk closest to the window. It was a young woman with long, wavy hair of shiny gold. Her features were both mature and delicate, and her makeup, flawless. She was feminine in a way some girls can only dream about, all the while exuding an aura of respectability and subtle power.

“Oh, my, aren’t you Himenaka Tatsuki-san ? It has been a week since you transferred here, is it not ?”

“Yes. I assume you are the Student Council president ?”

“Ha ha ha, what a direct girl.” Quietly laughed the blonde, the back of her hand in front of her mouth. “Yes, I am. Hitachi Haruka. Delighted to finally you, Himenaka-san.”

Haruka spoke in a calm, deliberate manner, her voice softly gliding from syllable to syllable like an instrument following a music sheet.

“Yeah, well I can be even more direct.” Said Tatsuki, her angry voice like a tiger’s roar interrupting Haruka’s violin solo. “I went to the student council to find the school’s rich kid and you’re every bit the typical oujo-sama. I bet your daddy’s money comes from a conveniently nondescript financial entity called the Hitachi group.”

“Why, Himenaka-san, how knowledgeable you are ! My father indeed owns the Hitachi group.”

“Beep. How did you know that, Tatsuki ? Beep.”

“Because only a thoroughly faceless corporation could reasonably provide to this little princess the equivalent of several countries’ GDP in pocket money.”

“Beep. Say what ? Beep.”

“I know someone has the interface device between this world and the cartoon world. And there’s no way you, who are both the Rich Heir archetype AND the Student Council president wouldn’t be that someone.”

Tatsuki slammed on the antique desk.

“Hand it over.”

“Ara ara !” Amusedly chimed Haruka. “I like you, Himenaka-san ! Lots of people want something from me, but they always try to get in my good graces first !”

“I don’t give a shit about your good graces. I have somebody to save.”

“Oh ? Who ?”

“Family.”

“Is that so ? Aren’t you a commited, reliable girl ! I cannot ignore you, Himenaka-san. But I also cannot abide someone as reliable as you being part of the “go-home club.””

Guru Meditation beeped loudly.

“Oh for fuck’s sake ! There’s a club for just going home, too ? Fucking Beep !”

“Down, G-Med ! It’s only an expression for those who don’t commit to any club. It’s often frowned upon.” She turned to Haruka. “I won’t join shit until you can prove me you have the interface. But if you do, I’ll even join the Student Council. Right here, right now.”

“Ha ha ha ! I definitely like you, Himenaka-san ! Wait just a moment !”

The princess got out of her chair and took out a cell phone.

“Beep. Hey, Tsuki.” Whispered Guru Meditation. “Why are you letting that bitch call you by a fake family name ?”

“Because if she did call me Tatsuki, that’s where the creepy would begin. Only really close friends use each other’s first names here. It’d be a little like if I called you “my widdle AI-poo”.”

“Beep. Well, go fuck yourself with a satellite dish and sing the yodel on top of the Everest, you...Oh. It was just an example. Beep. Sorry. Beep.”

“Believe me, I understand.”

Suddenly, as they were talking, the two cartoon-born characters saw something through the window. Something awesome. In the sky flew a gigantic bald eagle, a bound and gagged Doctor Skull in its claws. Tatsuki instinctively made a military salute. Haruka turned around and laughed softly, her hand once again covering her mouth.

“So, can I assume you’ll join the Student Council ?”

Tatsuki opened her mouth, but found herself paralysed. As she struggled to utter a single sound, two thin translucent stripes appeared in front of her head.

Okay, you did deliver and it doesn’t sound too bad.

No way, I don’t have time to play class rep.

“Beep. Oh, I assume that’s what visual novel creators call “gameplay”. Beep.”

Tatsuki hesitated. She had a path to choose. If she knew her visual novels, taking the first answer basically committed her to all sorts of Student Council shenanigans, probably dealing with bullies and the like. It also meant that Haruka would become her boss, but she clearly had the interface to the cartoon world. Refusing would keep her infinitely rich, entitled ass away, but held no guarantee to access the interface. Rationally speaking, there was only one possible answer.

“Okay, you did deliver and it doesn’t sound too bad. I’ll join.”

“You made the right decision, Himenaka-san ! I’m happy ! Here, just sign this form.” Said Haruka, handing Tatsuki a sheet of paper and a pen of solid diamond.

“What ? You already wrote a fully-filled application form ?”

“I made the Hitachi group print two for each student. Why make people eager to serve our school go through bureaucratic drudgery ?”

“Because it’s not insane ? Ah, whatever...” She took the two items and quickly signed in the designated area. “Here.”

Haruka took the form, smiling, and filed it in a drawer.

“Congratulations, Himenaka-chan ! You’re now part of the Student Council !”

“Yeah, yeah. I’d love to partake in the complimentary shenanigans, but I really have to use the interface and get back into my world.”

“Are ? Really, you’re a stubborn girl...But I can’t say no to my cute subordinate ! Alright, I’ll let you use it...”

Haruka snapped her fingers and a thankfully figurative army of maids in full fetishistic attire entered the room.

“Yes, Ojou-sama ?” Chanted the maids in unison.

“Please take us home.”

“At once, Ojou-sama.”

The servants scattered across the room, activating hidden panels and making futuristic-looking equipment sprout from the carpet floor.

“Hey, hey, what the fuck is this ?” Inquired Tatsuki.

“I had the Student Council room outfitted with the latest aerospatial technology. The last one was much too noisy.”

“You had another one before this ?!”

Vibrations shook the entire room. Tatsuki outstretched her arms to keep her balance as she saw, through the window, the school building’s top getting lower and lower.

“Beep. Nope. Nope. Noooooope. Beep.”

But the room was indeed getting off the ground. Though it was vibrating, it still kept a surprising amount of balance, as scarcely anything in the room fell down. Soon, they were high up in the air.

“We have lift-off, Ojou-sama. Setting course for the Hitachi manor.”

“Beeeeep.” Beeped you-know-who, emitting smoke out of its comlink shell. “Bullshit buffer overflow, registry damaged. Beep. Attempting system restoration...failed. Too much bullshit. Kill all humans. Kill all bullshit. Be-be-be-beeeeeeeep.”

“We have reached our destination, Ojou-sama. Commencing descent.”

“What the...already ?”

Tatsuki went to the window, and looked down. Her hand mechanically slapped her forehead.

“It’s just across the fucking street ! We could have just walked !”

“Yes it is, and no, it’s faster that way, Himenaka-chan.”

The room-ship touched the ground, and Haruka got up. She didn’t have so say anything for Tatsuki to know she had to follow her. As could be expected, the manor was a traditional japanese one, with sliding doors, long wooden corridors and inner, perfectly kept gardens. The Mystery Girl felt weird, seeing her country’s traditional beauty with her own eyes for the very first time. She wanted to go in the gardens, to listen to the bamboo fountain’s soft wodden “clunk”, to admire the koi in the ponds. To feel at home. But she knew she couldn’t. Her only true home was the Mystery Girls gang.

Haruka led her to a room unlike any other. Presumably anyway. There was a heavy amount of machinery, the two principal pieces of which being a big metallic pod and a big command console.

“Wow, you have all that ? In the cartoon side it’s only a game console !”

“Well, in your old world it was made for minaturization and ergonomy. Here, the full power of the world-changing technology is fully available. But of course, you would only be interested in the basic transfer function, right, Himenaka-chan ?”

“Yes. Every second I spent here could mean Clover succumbing to Doctor Skull.”

“Then step into the pod !”

Tatsuki didn’t hesitate. Leaving Japan so soon was a bit of a heartbreak, but she knew what was important. She stepped into the pod, and let the doors close. She heard Haruka activate the console, doing a few electronicky things, and the pod filled with light. She felt her body tingle. Any second now, she would be back in her world. She reviewed all the proper ways to deck Skull in the face and put an end to this.

The light receded. The doors opened. Tatsuki grinned, readied her fists, and...gasped in shock and disbelief as she saw she was still in Haruka’s manor.

“Hey...Hey, what gives ?! I told you, I have to get home !

The princess only burst into a high-pitched laughter.

“My cute little Himenaka-chan ! I told you you could use the interface, but I didn’t make any promises as to how !”

“You...” Snarled Tatsuki. “You fucking bitch !”

The Mystery Girl charged at the Student Council President, fully prepared to unleash a meteor kick to her pretty head. But she found herself just stopping in front of her.

“Shit ! What did you do ?!”

“Oh, I tweaked you a bit as a character. A member of the Student Council can’t attack her beloved President ! But most conveniently...”

Suddenly, Tatsuki could hear Haruka’s voice whisper seductively in her ears. “You love me, don’t you, Tatsuki-chan ?” A chill went down her spine as she reached for her ears. Big, ear-covering earphones had appeared on her head. She tried to remove them, of course, but it was as if they were fused to her skull.

“Yare yare !” Sighed Haruka. “You can’t remove them, I added them to your character sprite. They’re part of you now !”

“What game are you playing ?” Growled the tomboy, gunning the princess down with her glare.

“I cannot send you back to an uncaring foreign cartoon before you’ve really tasted home !”

“I don’t have time to waste on your bullshit !”

“Ha ha ha ha, don’t worry !” I’ve also increased the time dilation. Now, by the time one second passes in your cartoon, a whole year will have passed here !”

“A...A year ?”

“What’s wrong, Tatsuki-chan ? I told you you would not miss any time for rescuing your friend. You should be grateful...I’ll have to properly raise you !”

Haruka’s eyes had grown contemptuous. Tatsuki stepped back. She didn’t like this one bit.

“What’s your plan, you arrogant bitch ? Why are you calling me by my first name ?”

“I told you, I like you, Tatsuki-chan. I’ll make you my pet.”

“Like Hell you will !”

“Such spirit !” Giggled Haruka. “Core command set relationshiprank tatsuki_himenaka 3.”

Tatsuki felt a jolt.

“What...did you do, bitch ?!”

“Oh, I set your relationship to me to trusty retainer. You’ll obey formal orders. Like this one : from now on, you will call me “Oneesama.” Understand.”

“Yes...O...Oneesama.”

She had desperately tried to say “Haruka” or “Bitch” but she was compelled to call her like by this honorific title. Like a particularly revered big sister. Definitely a demeaning order to obey.

“Good ! Now, I could have set you directly to the “slave” rank of 5, but I’d like you to reach it the old fashioned way !”

“Are you seriously saying you plan on enslaving me ?!”

“Yes ! Don’t worry, it won’t take you one year. In fact, I’d wager than in seven days, you already won’t be able to live without me ! Ha ha ha !”

Tatsuki gritted her teeth as she realized she had walked right into a trap. How could have she been that naïve ? Of course Skull would send her into an erotic game. And she had engaged herself on the SM path. Worse, Guru Meditation was out of commission. This was beyond bad.

But just as she had said that, she could hear her now permanently fixed headphones say, in her Oneesama’s voice : “Don’t worry, my dear little pet. You’ll love it.”