1 You Will Marry Me 8

"Hey, Aki!" That voice, that everpresent voice, called out to me once again. My body was covered by shadow as the wind blew my short, red hair slightly to the side. I rubbed some strands away from my amber eyes since I was currently deeply invested in one of my textbooks, the one that was given to us for our math class.

"What do you want, Nakumi?" I groan out of instinct as my skin was bathed in sunlight. Jumping down from the bench that she walked on to look over me, the small child that had a strawberry lollipop in her mouth was Nakumi Tano. She jogged slightly ahead of me and raised her arms to block any path that I could've taken to circumvent her. Long black hair, soft hazel eyes, and a wide grin plastered on her face, she looked at me like she was planning something, which she usually was.

Now, her plans were usually nothing special. "Let's race! The first one to make it home from school wins!" And that one was no different. That girl, sometimes I wonder what goes on in her head. I agreed to her little contest, seeing as she was blocking my path and that I was on my way home anyway. She walked over to stand to my side, wanting a fair fight. I stretched my knees to try and get my blood pumping, strapping my school bag to my back. There was one thing that I forgot to mention about Nakumi, and I only just remembered it as I took a look at the ribbon that was pinned to her own school bag. "Ready, go!" She was faster than me.

Our street wasn't very far, only around a five-minute walk for a pair of eight-year-olds. We both ran as fast as our legs could carry us, her speed already sending her a meter ahead of me in under ten seconds. But I wasn't going to go down without a fight, so I took a turn before she did to take a shortcut. Admittedly, I've never been to this street before, but I did see that it connected to our normal route home.

It wasn't very busy, heck it was practically a ghost street. It looked like it used to be filled with small stalls, but most of them had been shut down and closed their doors. With only a handful of people walking around and even fewer operating the remaining stores, I felt a chill run up my spine that made me run a little faster. I looked over my shoulder after a few seconds, seeing nothing behind me. Maybe I was just paranoid, but... No, there was no use in thinking about it, I had a race to win. But, now that I slowed down a bit, I noticed that I was lost. The street that I thought would connect me to our normal route wasn't here; I had to go look for it.

Nakumi was probably already halfway there, and I don't know how to get back on track. I sighed, I guess it's another loss for me. With no point in running anymore, I walked the rest of the way at a leisurely pace while looking around the shops, though they were things that creeped me out like an old liquor store or a rundown arcade. I happened across a bookstore near the bend that led back to my route, so I decided to stop and take a peek. I wonder if I'll be able to buy a new book.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The store clerk smiled at me. He seemed to be expecting me, and he kept looking at me creepily as I walked around the place. I snuck occasional glances back at him. I don't know why, but I felt another chill run up my spine, one that was similar to the one that I felt a few minutes ago. I decided to ignore him to the best of my abilities, heading as far away from him as possible. That gave me some peace of mind and let me actually browse the selection of books that were here.

Wandering around the room and glancing at all of the covers that lined the shelves, Comics, manga, novels, everything was here. Though, with this wide selection, the amount of each type of literature was limited; nothing really caught my eye in the comics or manga sections. A bit disappointed, I left the manga section and browsed a bit more absentmindedly until a book caught my eye. A thin, leatherbound book that simply had the words "How to Hypnotize" on its spine. Pulling it out to examine it in my hands, I flipped through a few pages.

"Simple Hypnosis: Using this method, you can hypnotize one person and it lasts until you clap three times within your target's line of sight, at which point they'll realize that they've been hypnotized. The easiest and most used type of hypnosis. Takes one minute." I muttered as I read the words that were inked onto the paper, the rest of the page detailing the procedure with a few guiding illustrations. It seemed to call out to me, so I decided to buy it to take it home. I had no idea that it would be one of my best purchases. Stuffing it into my bag, I walked out and turned the corner, finding the street that would lead me back home. It was surreal, and even stranger was the fact that I turned around and found that the bookstore closed down and abandoned.

"What took you so long!?" She practically screamed into my ear, chewing the stick of her candy so much that it had deformed as I walked up. She puffed up her cheeks as she firmly grabbed my wrists and dragged me into the house next to mine. It was a simple home, pictures of her family were hung around the hall as the noise of a TV acted as background music to her forceful act. "Mom, I'm home. Aki's with me," she hollered out in the direction of the TV.

"Akira? Just don't keep him too long Tano, his family might get worried. And don't forget to study, your teacher called me earlier. No sweets until I see you pass your next test." Tano's mother, Nakumi Yuki, replied, but her voice originated from a different room than the one the TV was in. After hearing those words, Tano pulled my arm harder and forced me into her bedroom.

It looked like a pigsty, and it was close to making me want to turn around and head home. The first thing that caught my eye, as it always does, was a large trophy that was currently resting beside her bed, toppled over. Her bed itself wasn't made, the pillows were on the floor beside it, amongst the multiple magazines, most of which seemed to have been pilfered from her parents' room judging by their content and covers, that littered the floor. "Alright! Let's play!"

"Play what?" I asked as she reached for something from under her bed. Not wanting to look at her in that compromising position, I turned my head to glance around this familiar place. More magazines were piled up on her desk, with her copy of our schoolbooks placed on a shelf while still having the sleeve they came in when they were given. She hasn't opened them, which explained her bad grades. Eventually, she stood back up and held up a video game console with red and blue controllers attached to the side of the screen.

"I'm sure this team will beat you!" She declared, holding the screen up to me as she patted the side of her bed. She loves challenging me if you haven't noticed, and our current tally was seventy to twenty-nine in her favor. It was getting frustrating, how she put these stupid contests before everything else; this time, thankfully, I had a reason to refuse.

"I don't have mine with me. I can't play." I said, raising my hands up in surrender as I sat down on her bed. It was soft, and it smelled kind of bad with the dried-up drool that had penetrated her mattress. She pouted again, switching on her game and she instantly went to release her frustration by catching more potential members of her team with an abundance of balls. She didn't seem to mind me, letting me do what I want while she played. I could have gone home and be done with her for the day, but I did find her company comforting. And I was curious about my new book, so I pulled it out and began reading. "Hey, Nakumi..." I said, causing her to pause her game as she was riding her bike on the water. I showed her the book and her reaction seemed like she was interested. The two of us cleared some space on the floor as we sat facing each other.

"Alright, let's do it." She smiled enthusiastically as I mimicked the illustrations in the book. Placing my index finger on her forehead, I asked her to close her eyes as my other hand tapped various parts of her face in the specified order. Now that it was done, it should've worked.

"Open your eyes," I said and she followed. Her pupils were dilated and she had a distant stare. "Did it work?" I asked, but she didn't answer. Well, she probably couldn't have answered anyway. "Alright, let's test this. Uhh, I don't know, clean your room." I say bluntly as she slowly got up and systematically picked up what we didn't clean up earlier. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. This girl, who was careless or lazy enough to leave a gold trophy lying on the floor for someone to trip over, was now willingly tidying up a mess that was, by my guess, a month old. Admittedly, she was doing it rather slowly, but that was something easily corrected by telling her to hurry up. She then looked at me once her job was complete, still in a trance.

I grinned, which people have told me was sinister-looking, rising to my own feet and walking over. I had her wrapped around my finger, and I couldn't wait to boss her around. Maybe I'd finally be able to tie our record, though that was something that wasn't really all that important to me. But, if she stayed like this, it would get suspicious; having her act like a robot around the school and obeying me without so much as a second thought.

"Listen to my commands, even when you're not in a trance," I said, causing her eyes to return to normal. She looked around her room, surprised that it was now sparkling.

"Did it work?" She asked me, tilting her head as she reached for my book. I instinctively pulled it behind me, wanting to keep her from releasing herself from my control.

"Don't," I say, causing her to walk backward and sit on the bed. I smirked again, making her a little scared. "Now that I have a way to get you to listen to me, we're going to have some fun." I slowly made my way to the bed. "And you'll never remember it for as long as you're hypnotized. You won't remember that I put you in a trance." I say, making her forget about the book until I released her from hypnosis. "Yes! Now, let's get started!" I glanced around, making sure that nobody was eavesdropping as I made my way to her bed. I cracked my knuckles, wiping some sweat off of my brow as she slowly backed up until she hit the wall. It was futile to resist, and I would work her to the bone until she either died or I grew bored.

She moaned through the night, unable to end my command on her. It had barely been an hour when her mind reached its limit and she lay panting on the bed, her eyes weak and her eyelids wanting to shut from the ordeal she had just been through.

As for me. I was satisfied with my work, returning home with a sinister-looking smile that would become my trademark for the rest of my life. I couldn't hear it clearly, but it sounded like she said "No more..." as I left her room. Unfortunately, this would become our daily routine very quickly.

Over the next few years, the same thing would happen between us. She would always remember that it happened and that it was me doing it to her, but she'd never figure out how I did it or why she was letting it happen. Seeing her squirm and struggle made me smile.

"The bath is ready for you, Aki" I could hear my wife's voice from the other side of the door, it was submissive as if she'd said those words under the effects of a magic spell. The next part of this story would have to wait for another time, ladies and gentlemen. Because it's not over, and there are more stories relating to hypnosis regarding the two of us.

"Join me tonight, Tano." I gave out a command to my wife as I walked out of the room. She greeted me with towels in her hand, her long black hair tied into a ponytail, and her hazel eyes looking at my face longingly. She smiled wide, eager to join me as the two of us entered the bathroom. I could feel my mouth forming my signature smirk. That book really was the best purchase I ever made.