Chapter 11 - Secrets at Mecchen House (cont.)

‘Keiko’ didn’t seem too bothered by what Nina said, even though I found her tone rather harsh. The usage of ‘Keiko’ soon slipped from my mind again, despite my best efforts. Ami and Tara paused towards the end to listen better, and Mami kept her nose in the tome while her ears seemed to perk up. The two power-readers were unaffected by this little display, but they paused with what came next.

Jamie grunted, fussed, and uttered a near-mournful whimper. I looked to see a curtain of hair encircle him. His locks were the same color, perhaps a shade lighter. They had something of the feathered traits of Nana’s hair, only with bowl-like wings outstretched.

The hair didn’t settle as far down his back as Nathan’s did but its fullness was unmatched compared with anyone in the room. He sneered at an especially long lock that settled near to his cheek and trickled onto his chest. My eyes lingered at his nipples. I didn’t notice any growth there. My own were also unchanged though they still felt large and irritated.

He tossed the book on the floor. Katsumi sniffed and said, “If you’re done, I’ll take that one too.”

Jamie shook his head. “Just frustrated. This hair is impossible to cut. We’ve tried.”

That finally drew Katsumi away from her book, as she had to test that assertion personally. No matter who tried the scissors, and Tara did with cute gusto, not a single hair could be removed from any of our heads.

When the spectacle was done, everyone went back to their books. I noticed Nathan was cautiously peering over my shoulder at the book I’d been given. I positioned it so he could read.

Of course, then came our next interruption, when Jamie tried to adjust his pants and they were still falling off. He checked the waist and let out another grunt. “My waist shrunk. Look at this. Geez, it’s so tiny it makes my hips look huge.”

Katsumi poked his side. “Not bad. I still have a smaller waist.”

I could hear the proper comeback percolating in Jamie’s mouth, but he kept it inside. I took it upon myself to express it. “That’s not the only smaller thing.”

That barely registered a reaction from Katsumi. She just poked again and aimed a finger around at us. “So, longer hair and feminine waistlines are next for all of you. How fun. I bet some girlish hips are soon to follow.”

Ami clapped her hands. “They won’t be, because we’ll solve this and set everything right.” Tara gave a quick, playful salute and aimed hawkish eyes into their book. Mami rubbed an arm and mused, “It’s really quite amazing to see. I didn’t notice the skin color change at first. This one happened while I was watching. The hair just kinda blew out all of a sudden. But think of it, I could be the first to catch a gender change in action. Imagine the prices gender-bender fans would pay for copies of that. I better go get my camera.” Mami scampered off.

I wasn’t too excited about being filmed like this. Sumi already had a picture of me with the phony boobs Katsumi glued on. I didn’t want to be photographed if/when real ones came in. Jamie was of the same mind. “It’ll be an incomplete project because I’m never going to be a girl. I’ll fight it and I’ll win.”

“No chance, girlie. I’ll find the solution before you.” Katsumi set her eyes and carved through the book in her hands. With all this competitive energy, it was a shame Miki was absent.

The front door slid open and closed. I leaned forward. I knew who was left to arrive, unless someone had snuck out or Shiori had decided to visit. The footfalls were subdued but steady. I heard a light cough and some shifting. Around the corner came Miki with her pack over her shoulder, stretching her head left and right as she walked and groaned a soft, “Ahhrooo…whew.” She paused and looked over at the group of us.

She gave off a half-grin. “Hey there, everyone! Friends from school? Study group?”

Her eyes passed curiously between us. There was no recognition. Nathan looked over at her. He started to speak but then lowered his head.

Katsumi gave a wave to Miki and said, “Nope. We’re trying to find the answer to gender-changing and dimensional travel.”

“Sounds fun and like what you’d be interested in. Inspired by those three to do more research or something?” She set her bag next to the couch and looked to the kitchen.

“You could say that.“ Katsumi flipped the page she was on with a coy gesture that pointed in our direction. Miki didn’t catch it.

“I missed lunch, so I’m just gonna go serve myself. Also, is the chicken bowl still in the fridge? Anyone claim that yet?”

Katsumi turned her page again. “You know Ms. Ishida’s rules on leftovers. And Mami isn’t here, so you’re free to claim it, I guess.”

[Miki]

Miki raised an arm in celebration and fluttered her shirt. “That’s great, because I am sooo hungry. We had long-distance running today. My thighs are burning hot and cramped. At least it was a decent day. Ooo… Soba!” She came back with a full plate and a bowl of chicken with soy sauce over it. She scooted over next to me with her food on a wooden tray. She announced, “Hi! My name is Yamamoto Miki. It’s nice to meet you. Which class are you in?”

I figured there was no point in drawing this out. I told her, “I don’t go to Azako High School. It’s me, Kelly. And this is Jamie and Nathan.”

Only Nathan’s name really got a reaction out of her. She tried to stand up and nearly toppled her tray. She held it close and blinked a few times. Finally, her mouth began to move. Then, it stopped. Her eyes stayed on Nathan and his changed visage. I imagined she was trying to reconcile the face with the name.

After a few quiet moments, she rubbed her mouth-line and proclaimed, “Well, clearly this is not Katsumi’s doing. But I’m guessing it doesn’t bother her much.” Katsumi folded her arms while still holding her book. Miki set the tray aside and crouched in front of Nathan. She touched him on the shoulder and asked, “Is that really you?”

He nodded slowly, looking down at his hands. Miki touched them and asked, “Anything I can do to help?”

Nathan chewed on his mouth-line and shook his head. “I feel lost. This face doesn’t look like mine. It’s not the face my mother gave me.”

Miki wrapped her arms around Nathan and hugged him tightly. “I’m here for you, buddy. If you need anything, just ask. I’ll sit with you as long as you like.”

Nathan shook his head. “No. You don’t have to. I’m not as strong as I was. I’m not as tall or as muscular. I won’t provide you with a good enough challenge.”

Miki laughed. “Are you kidding me? You know who gives me the biggest challenge at school? The smallest girl in the class. Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter how big you are.” She pulled gently on Nathan’s hand.

He said a soft, “You’re sure it’s okay?” Miki nodded and grinned. He made a careful effort to mimic her smile which quickly faded into the question, “But what about my mother?”

Katsumi chimed in abruptly, “Mothers are overrated. Don’t bother being like her. Try being better than her instead.” That made me feel uncomfortable, considering what I knew.

Tara seemed bored by her reading, so she added, “Your mom is still inside you, in your heart! You’ll never lose her.”

That was really cute. Katsumi turned to gag with a flash of red tongue projecting from her mouth, though she offered no further commentary. Nathan's mood was better after that. I wasn’t sure who actually helped him, but I figured it was the combination of things said.

With my mind at ease about Nathan, I looked through the book I’d been given. It was the “Out of the World…” one. It laid some groundwork. The names it quoted looked vaguely familiar. It’d been many years since I took science classes, so I wasn’t the one to ask. I recognized ‘Einstein’. That was about it. Perhaps history wasn’t too different in this world.

It established space was essentially infinite. Good for it. It also theorized the universe was composed of a holographic membrane from which all matter emerged. Matter then deformed that membrane. In places, particular defects in the membrane were stretched like fingers in a glove. These openings extended like tendrils into new membranes, or parallel universes, existing alongside one another. So far, my viewings of sci-fi movies had me covered enough to grasp the principle. Then, it got weird.

It said your mind slides through the fingers of the glove because your brain is connected like a transmitter between the very structure of the universe. Did this mean our minds were here rather than our bodies? I opted to skip that part of the book.

My pants felt suddenly loose. I tugged on them, thought of Jamie, then touched my hair. It was just as long and red as a moment ago. Miki was chatting quietly with Nathan about her day and his. I caught a quick, “That barber is someone you know? I’ve seen him around. He seems cool. Is he happy with what happened?” Nathan offered a careful nod.

Nina met my eyes. She held onto the edge of the couch like a protective column, with her book as a shield ready to rise if her defenses were breached.

Mami finally returned with a flash, holding up a digital camera. “Anything change while I was gone?” Katsumi tossed her book on the floor and Mami frowned. “What’s up with you?”

Katsumi hissed at the book, pronouncing, “This is so useless! There’s not a thing in here about boys turning into girls. There’s only one thing interesting. It talks about immortal beings that… I dunno. They sound really stuck up. They can manipulate all sorts of stuff. But they exist in a different realm. We’re like ants to them.” I peered at the book. Reading the upside-down letters subbing for kanji, I saw hers was the one we were all initially excited over: the Will of the One.

Ami fanned her book. “We have something like that in this one.” She had the “Unseen Paths” book. She described a similar concept. Mami flipped through her book with one hand on her camera and found mentions of them as well. Jamie found a brief note on them too. Each book had its own interpretation. Some called them an embodiment of natural principles in human form. They sounded more like deities. Katsumi yawned and asked, “So, does it say anything about them being able to change genders of themselves or others?”

None of us could find anything of the sort for Katsumi, but I did find a note that they would not be bound by our minimal perceptions. It compared them to a kaleidoscope of images existing in perfection all at the same time.

It was a possibility for who or what could be the cause of all this, but if they were so far above us, then what did it matter anyway? We would have no chance in the face of something like that.

So far as naming these forces, we had a multitude of answers. One called them “The Eternal Ones” and “Endless” in the same chapter. That chapter read rather like a comic book. Another said they were “Prionari” and the “Original Ones”. Another delved into what seemed like Latin, though it was hard to tell and I was sure it made up its own language later in the book. Awakened. Undying. Wisest. The names kept coming and none really stuck for me. Katsumi leaned back and looked over at Nina. She asked her, after yawning, “So, what do you think of all this?”

Nina froze. She looked around and Katsumi nodded. Nina fumbled with her words till she finally said, “I really have no idea.”

“But you have your paranormal connections, so you’d be closer to them than the rest of us. Is this all a bunch of nonsense, and, better yet, does it have any chance of making girls out of boys?”

Mami snapped a photo of Nina. Nina glared and Mami shrugged in return. “If she’s an alien or something, a photo of her could be worth a lot.”

Katsumi huffed, “I assure you, she’s not an alien.”

“Then what is she?”

Katsumi fidgeted and offered a series of half-sounds.

Ami touched her chest lightly. Nathan touched his pants and tugged at them. He touched his head. It seemed to me that while Jamie had gotten a load of hair and a smaller waist, I and Nathan only lost some size on our waist. I was glad my hair had retained its shortness, but I figured Jamie would be ticked that I got off so easy for this change. He blew his hair out of his eyes with an aimed jet through his mouth-line.

Jamie said, “She’s a psychic. Just spit it out. Frankly, I also think these books are useless, but I’ve only read this one.”

Katsumi shook her head. “Psychic is not the word… it’s… umm… it’s hard for me to say.”

“It’s long and weird?” He yanked his pants up and combed his hair with a hand.

“No. It makes my teeth chatter.” We all paid attention to that, except for Tara, who was asking Ami about parts in their book. Ami looked like she had a case of indigestion.

Mami stretched her head forward and asked, “And what would that be?”

Katsumi delayed it as long as possible until she finally spewed it out like her curses on our manhood, “She’s a demoness!”

We turned to Nina. Her brow furrowed with a slightly-reddened, intense look. She began to mime words but said nothing, shaking her head slightly.

I wondered if there was a punchline coming and opened my mouth to give a harsh retort when Ami slumped on the floor, groaning.

She whimpered, crystalline sweat rippling across her features, and said, in strained words, “It’s so cold. No! I can’t move. Help me!”