Chapter 4: Finding the Willing Girl

Noriko stretched, waking up lazily for a change, since for once, she didn't have to walk to school. From now on Bethany would be picking her up and driving her. After showering, she checked her reflection in the mirror, to ensure her fangs were retracted and her tongue and eyes looked normal.

After putting on her school uniform -- luckily, N'gath'tu had a wide range of magical talents and had recreated it -- she stopped in the kitchen for a quick bowl of cereal, just finishing when she heard the knock on the door. Checking the peephole, she saw that it was Bethany.

"Good morning, slave," she said as she swung the door open.

Bethany blushed, but a smile flickered across her face as she replied, "Good morning, mistress."

"Sit down. I want to talk to you before we leave for school."

The blonde took the indicated chair, a look of uncertainty on her face. "Yes, mistress?"

Noriko smiled, reaching out and taking her pet's hand. "I just wanted to talk about today. How do you want to handle it at school?"

Bethany blinked in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Well, I know I talked about using you as my toilet at school, and I like the idea -- but I don't know if it's a good idea for everyone to know our relationship." She hastened to reassure Bethany as her face fell, "It's not that I'm ashamed of it, Bethany -- you are beautiful, sexy property -- but while they might understand us having a relationship, I'm not sure how they'd take me owning you. It could get ugly. Personally, I don't care; thanks to N'gath'tu's changes, I'm immortal and hard to kill, and the opinions of the small minded are of no interest to me. But you haven't had those changes -- yet -- and I don't know if you are ready for that."

Bethany's brow furrowed. "Mistress, I can't see that it matters. I'm your slave, and I will do as you say."

"Yes, you are, and you will, but that doesn't mean I won't take your feelings into consideration, Bethany." She squeezed her lover's hand. "Bethany, I never liked you. You were a total bitch, and you made it clear that you thought you were better than all of us."

The older girl's chin quivered, and tears began to form in her eyes. "I know, mistress. I'm sorry. I'll -- I'll go."

Noriko kept a firm grip on the hand she was holding when the other girl tried to pull it free. "You'll do no such thing, slave. You'll stay here and let me finish."

Bethany looked down at the floor, tears running down her face. "Yes, mistress."

"I said you were a bitch, and that I hadn't liked you. Bethany, do you understand that you weren't sane?"

"What do you mean, mistress?" She still refused to look up from the floor.

"Exactly what I said. You never really understood that other people were real, did you? They were just objects for you to manipulate."

The blonde hesitated. "I hadn't thought of it that way, but... I guess you are right. I didn't realize they were, well, people, like me."

Noriko nodded. "There's a name for people like that. Sociopath. I think that's what you were, Bethany."

"I'm sorry, mistress."

"No," the smaller girl shook her head, "Don't apologize for that. For what you did, yes, but you didn't choose to be a sociopath. Bethany, you aren't a sociopath now, thanks to N'gath'tu. He fixed you so that you could understand." She squeezed the older girl's hand tightly. "I haven't had very long to know the new you -- but I like what I've seen."

A tremulous smile grew across Bethany's face. "You mean it?"

"I mean it. I think you've got a lot to give, pet. You'll have to work at it, and you have a lot to unlearn, but I'll be here helping, and I believe in you. You can do it."

"I'll try, mistress, and if you are there, I think... I think I can do it. But..."

"What, lover?"

Bethany's smile firmed at the endearment. "But do we have to hide our relationship? I don't care if other people know. I don't care what they think. I'm not ashamed of belonging to you."

Noriko pursed her lips, thinking. "Ok, I tell you what. We'll openly be lovers, but we won't announce that I own you. You will call me Noriko, not mistress, and if anyone suspects, we'll just let them wonder."

Bethany looked up at her mistress, eyes bright. "You mean it? I can really call you by your name?"

"Yes, love -- unless you've been bad. And I'll let you decide if you've been bad; I think you will be able to do a better job at that than I could, since not all of our classes will be together."

"Thank you, mistress. I will try not to be bad."

"I know you will." Noriko raised the hand she was holding to her lips, kissing it gently. "Let's get to school." As they walked down the steps to Bethany's car, she added, "One other thing. I'd like you to start thinking about the changes you'd like N'gath'tu to make in you."

"Changes, Noriko?"

"Yes, like my fangs, my tongue... think about whether there are any particular things you'd like him to do for you. If I like them, and they won't interfere with my plans for your body, I'll have him make them."

Bethany looked thoughtful. "Thank you, Noriko. I will think about it and decide. Although, aren't you afraid people will notice your fangs?"

Noriko smiled broadly, opening her mouth so that the older girl could see her tongue. "No; I can change them back and forth at will."

"I see, Noriko."

Noriko knocked on the door to the counselor's office politely, waiting to enter until she was told to, even though the door was open. Closing it behind her, she sat in the chair in front of the desk, hands folded, back straight.

"You wished to see me, Noriko?"

"Yes, Miss Sasaki," Noriko said politely. But rather than continuing, she hesitated.

"What do you need?"

"Miss Sasaki, is what I say here confidential?"

The counselor smiled. "Yes, it is, Noriko."

"Even if what I tell you involves something, um, illegal?"

The smile vanished. "Yes, even then, Noriko."

Noriko bit her lip for a moment. "Then you wouldn't mind swearing that you won't tell anyone?"

"If it worries you that much, Noriko, then I swear I won't tell anyone."

Noriko shook her head. "No, like this: If I try to reveal any of this to anyone without Noriko's permission, may the demon N'gath'tu take my voice and stop me."

Asako raised an eyebrow, but then smiled indulgently. "'If I try to reveal any of this to anyone without Noriko's permission, may the demon N'gath'tu take my voice and stop me.' Now, please, tell me what has you so worried."

Noriko hesitated, trying to decide how to start. "Miss Sasaki, do you know what a sociopath is?"

The counselor looked confused. "Yes, I do."

"If someone was a sociopath, and suddenly gained the ability to empathize with others, how would you go about teaching them all the things they never learned?"

"I'm... not sure. I don't think that's possible; I'm not sure that sociopaths can learn to empathize with others."

"Oh, she has."

"Noriko, dear, if someone who is a sociopath is trying to convince you they've changed, you are in danger. They may believe it, but it's simply not possible."

"Miss Sasaki, I will accept that under normal conditions it's not possible, but these were not normal conditions. Do you believe in magic?"

The counselor looked flustered. "I... I'm not sure. I've never seen anything I would call magic, but I try to keep an open mind."

"If I could prove to you that magic exists, will you believe me that it can grant a sociopath the ability to empathize with others?"

"I suppose so, depending on what you give me as proof." The counselor looked skeptical. "It'll have to be something that couldn't be counterfeited."

Noriko closed her eyes, her expression calm and serene as she concentrated. When she opened her eyes, they were a bright golden color, with vertical slits, like a cat. "Does this suffice?" she asked, opening her mouth widely enough that her fangs were visible, and flicking her tongue out a full foot, twisting and curling it.

Asako sat there, shaken. "Yes... yes, I think it will. I think perhaps it would be best if you told me the whole story from the beginning."

Noriko nodded. "I suppose so." With that, she began her story.

Asako Sasaki sat, stunned, as Noriko finished her story. The fourteen year-old hadn't been particularly explicit in her tale, but even so the counselor had blushed bright red several times. She'd had no idea that such a young girl could be so... enthusiastic. She'd have worried, given the story's start, but it was quite obvious that Noriko was not only willing, she'd greatly enjoyed herself. Still...

"Noriko, are you sure you should be doing this?"

Noriko gave her a disbelieving look. "Yes. No one forced me into it -- well, Bethany thought she was forcing me into it, but I'd have done it willingly if she'd given me the chance. I didn't get hurt in any way I didn't like, and I did come out of it better than I was."

Asako looked at her skeptically. "I can see where your new tongue could come in useful in... certain situations, but does it really make it better?"

Noriko shook her head. "Not that, though you wouldn't believe how useful it is." She winked, causing the older woman to blush and nearly choke. "No, he made a few other changes. May I?" She gestured to a letter opener laying on the table.

"Ah, sure, Noriko." The way the girl's tongue curled and twisted made her intensely uncomfortable... and fascinated her. She kept having to force her attention back to Noriko's eyes.

Noriko picked up the letter opener, and before the stunned counselor could react, stabbed it completely through her left hand, leaving two inches sticking out of the underside. She sucked in a sharp breath. "That hurt more than I expected."

"Oh my god, Noriko! Don't move, I'll go get the nurse. Why did you do that?"

Noriko reached out and caught the counselor's wrist as she went by, holding her in an unbreakable grip. "No, don't bother. Watch." Her tongue snaked out, wrapping around the letter opener, and pulled it loose, the tip cleaning the blood off before returning it to the desk. As she lapped up the blood that was flowing freely from the wound, she pointed out that it was visibly shrinking. "I heal quickly, see? And I don't age unless I want to. In fact, I don't really age at all -- but I can choose to look as if I am any age I want."

Asako gasped. "My god, Noriko! That's amazing!" Cautiously, she examined the almost-healed wound. "And you don't age?"

"No. I'm more or less immortal, unless something happens to damage me beyond the point I can regenerate from."

"Wow. I suppose I'll have to admit that this does qualify as 'better'."

Noriko nods. "So, yes, I think I should be doing this."

Asako made her way back around to her chair, sitting down. "Will the," she hesitated, "demon do that for anyone it has, um, sex with?" She blushed.

Noriko shook her head. "No. Some changes, but not that. That was..." She hesitated. "A special circumstance. It's possible there would be one or two, but... not likely."

"I see."

Noriko grinned at the counselor. "Are you interested in him? He'd probably like you."

Asako turned bright red. "No, of course not. I was just, um, curious." She was uncomfortably aware that her skin was flushed and her breath was coming in short, sharp, spurts; she wondered if the younger girl could tell. Surely not.

"Oh. Well, if you change your mind, just let me know." She paused. "That brings up another issue, Miss Sasaki. I'm hoping you can find a way to help me. I need to find some girls who would be willing lovers for N'gath'tu. Can you suggest anyone?"

The counselor frowned. "Noriko, even if I did know something that led me to believe any of the girls would be interested, it would be highly unethical for me to tell you. You wouldn't want me to tell someone your secrets, would you?"

Noriko sighed. "I suppose not, but I really need to find them."

"Why? You seem to be in a hurry; is there any real reason to be?"

"Yes." The younger girl nodded. "I need to find him some willing partners, to prove that he doesn't have to rape them. The problem is, he's only come across half-a-dozen in several thousand years, and thinks that's just the way things are. I think he's wrong; most of the girls he's had contact with were those selected as the victim in a summoning ritual."

"I see. And if you fail to prove this, he'll continue raping them?"

"Exactly. So if you can help..."

The counselor fought with herself. On the one hand, what Noriko was asking would be decried as an unbelievable breach of proffessional ethics and would certainly cost her her job -- and probably jail time -- if it was discovered. On the other hand, refusing might mean the rape of some of the girls who would most definitely not be willing.

"Noriko, why would you want to associate with someone who wants to rape women? Why would you want to be near them?"

Noriko looked down for a moment. "I don't want to, Miss Sasaki. But it's not a matter of 'want' for N'gath'tu. His kind are dependent on sexual energy the way we are on food, and Bethany and I, well, we're not enough. Not unless we want to end up in the hospital suffering from exhaustion in a month."

"I... see. So you are saying he doesn't want to rape them?"

Noriko thought for a moment. "I don't know that I would go that far yet, Miss Sasaki. He doesn't understand... I guess why he shouldn't rape them. That's part of what I'm trying to teach him. That it's better with someone who wants it." She smiled. "I may have been a virgin before this, but I certainly read everything I could get my hands on."

Asako pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I tell you what. Let me think about it, and come see me after school. If I can find a way to do it that doesn't violate my ethics, I'll try to help you. I'd like you to bring Bethany as well, if you could. I think she needs to see me on a regular basis. This isn't going to be easy for her, you know."

"Yes, Miss Sasaki."

Coming out of her first hour class, Noriko found Bethany waiting subserviently to one side of the door. "May I carry your books, Noriko?"

"Certainly, Bethany," Noriko replied, ignoring the shocked expressions on the faces of all the girls around them. They walked to Noriko's next class, chatting happily, while all around them were expressions of shock and disbelief.

When Noriko sat down, the girl in the seat next to her leaned over. "My god, Noriko, how did you get Queen Bitch to be nice to you? Did you blackmail her or something?"

Noriko shook her head. "No. I just had a long," she hesitated for a fraction of a second, "talk with her. She's not as bad as she seems once you get to know her. I think mainly she wanted a," another split-second hesitation, "friend. She's going to try to be nicer."

The girl looked at her skeptically. "Yeah, right. Sure she is." Before she could say more, the teacher entered, and they turned their attention to class.

Noriko opened her locker, surprised when a folded piece of paper fluttered out. Written on it, in block letters, was the message "Please meet me in the restroom. Sit in the second stall. There's something I need to tell you about Bethany that you really need to know." The word 'really' was heavily underlined several times.

Curious, she made her way into the indicated stall. "Yes?" She whispered.

"Noriko?"

"Yes. What do you want."

"It's Bethany. She's not what she seems like, trust me." The voice was bitter. "I know. She's so nice at first, and then she -- she --" the voice broke off, seemingly on the verge of tears, before resuming, slightly more controlled. "She'll hurt you. Bad. And then she'll do things that are so disgusting..." The voice broke off again, and Noriko could hear sobs.

"You are one of her victims, aren't you."

She heard a gasp. "Oh my god. If she told you about us, and you are still with her -- Oh god. Please don't hurt me, Mistress. I'm sorry. I just -- you seemed so innocent, I couldn't bear to think of you hurt, but I promise I'll never do it again."

Noriko paused, confused, before realizing that the girl must have assumed she was a willing partner to Bethany. "Come in here, and tell me your name."

She heard the other stall door creak open, and saw feet shuffling around to the front of her stall, pausing. She heard muffled sobbing, and then the door swung open, revealing a girl she'd seen around the school a couple of times.

The girl never raised her eyes from the floor, tears running down her face. "Please, Mistress, I know I'm never supposed to stand in your presence, but the floor is so disgusting -- could I please be punished instead?"

"You don't have to kneel. Come on in, and tell me your name."

"I'm Inoue." Keeping her eyes down, she stepped into the stall, closing the door behind her. "May I ask what my punishment will be for not kneeling?"

"Look at me." Hesitantly Inoue raised her head. "You will not be punished. Bethany has changed, Inoue. I was there when it happened, and I know why it happened. She won't hurt you again, I promise. In fact, she feels very badly about what she did to you and the others. She wants to make it right, but she doesn't know how."

Inoue studied Noriko's face for a long moment. "Do you mean that? She's not going to hurt me again?"

"She won't hurt you intentionally. She... doesn't really know how to be human, so I can't promise you she won't hurt you by accident, but she won't do it deliberately."

Inoue sagged with relief. "Oh, god. I never thought I'd be free again."

"You are. Inoue, is there anything she can do to make it better?"

"Make it better?" Inoue's eyes flashed. "How? She raped me -- I lost my virginity to a dog. She cut me -- look!" She unbuttoned her blouse. "See these scars? She did that! Make it right? Ha!" She spat the last words.

Noriko sat, shocked, by the scars covering the other girls chest; there was hardly an unmarked patch of flesh on her breasts, and her nipples were nothing more than a mass of scar tissue. "My god," she whispered.

"Yeah. I've got a reputation for being a total prude, because I have to be so careful to make sure no one ever sees me naked. How could she ever fix that?"

"I'm sorry, Inoue. I'm truly sorry. I don't know if she can ever fix the emotional damage she did to you, but would you accept it as a start if she repaired the damage she did to your body?"

Inoue thought about it, and nodded, grudgingly. "Yes, I suppose so. But even a good plastic surgeon couldn't restore feeling to my nipples, could they?"

"I don't know. But I promise you, I will find out."

"OK." Inoue turned to leave. "I've got to get to class. But -- tell her to stay away from me, ok?"

Very quietly, Noriko answered, "Ok."

Noriko didn't get much of a chance to see Bethany until lunch, and there were too many people around at lunch for them to talk. Bethany did cause a stir in the cafeteria when she ignored her old friends and went to sit with Noriko. Due to their class schedules, they only saw each other in passing that afternoon as well, but Noriko passed along the news that they would be staying late to talk to Miss Sasaki.

After her last class, Noriko found Bethany waiting outside the door. "How did you get here so fast?"

Bethany wrinkled her nose. "I never stayed for my last class before. I think the teacher was actually surprised that I waited 'til nearly the end to leave."

"Oh. Well, let's get moving." As she turned towards the counselors office Bethany shyly offered her hand, smiling when Noriko took it. Ignoring the outright stares from the others in the hall, they made their way to the office.

"Come in," Asako greeted them. "I've been thinking about what we discussed, Noriko, and I think I have a solution for you. But first I want to talk about Bethany."

Noriko sat in the chair she'd sat in earlier that day, but both she and Asako were surprised when Bethany sat on the floor in front of Noriko.

"This looks like a good starting point. Bethany, why did you sit there, rather than on the other chair?"

"Because I am her slave, Miss Sasaki, and this is where I belong. It makes me happy to be here."

"Why are you her slave?" Asako fought to keep her face straight. Certainly Noriko had told her of the relationship, but seeing it was another matter; it seemed surreal to see Bethany Wilson, of all people, in a submissive role. Her college classes had mentioned such things, but this was the first time she had come face to face with it.

Bethany glanced up at Noriko uncertainly before looking back to Asako. "I'm not certain how much she told you, Miss Sasaki. Yesterday I wasn't a very nice person. Noriko says that I was a sociopath and I think she might be right. I know people never really seemed real to me, they were just things to use for my pleasure. In fact, I was going to -- I did -- use her as a sacrifice in a rite to summon a demon. Luckily for me, the book I was using was flawed, and so I was not able to control it."

She drew a deep, shuddering breath. "To be honest, Miss Sasaki, the book implied that the sacrifice would not survive the summoning, and I think -- I think the thought turned me on. I'm not sure; just having her tied up and raped by a demon had me so horny that I don't know for certain. That's about the only thing I'd never done, that and killing someone, and I don't feel that way anymore, so... I just don't know."

She looked up, her eyes bright with unshed tears, but smiling. "But Noriko saved me. I don't know if she told you, but the demon gave me to her as a toy. She could have done anything she wanted to me, anything at all. She could have had it rape me until I died. But she didn't. I'm still a virgin... at least as far as penetration is concerned." She blushed. "My mouth's not, though. But she made sure I was willing for that. Then she had the demon fix me, so that I could -- what was the word? -- empathize with people. It's... kind of like suddenly seeing a new color, and realizing you were throwing paint on priceless artwork."

"I don't know how to be a normal human, Miss Sasaki, and to be honest, I'm not particularly interested. I belong to Noriko, and I like it that way. What I do want to do is learn how to be the best slave I can, and how to behave around people without hurting them." She smiled. "I've started trying, today. I tried to do what I thought Noriko would do. I'm not sure it helped, but I tried."

Asako sat back, a little surprised at the flood of information coming from the blonde girl, and tried to collect her thoughts. "You know, Bethany, that as far as I know -- and I did a bit of research today -- sociopaths are considered incurable. Your case is unique, and I'm not certain yet how to help you. I will try, however. Give me a little time to think about it."

"Yes, Miss Sasaki."

Noriko reached down and took one of Bethany's hands. "There's something else we need to talk about, love. I talked to Inoue today."

Bethany stiffened. "Oh, god. What I did to that poor girl..."

Noriko nods. "She showed me the scars. Tell us about them, Bethany."

Bethany looked down at the floor, and swallowed tightly before beginning. Her voice was so quiet Asako had to strain to hear it. "I took her a year ago. I seduced her, just to see if I could. Once I'd succeeded, I started pushing her harder, just to see what I could get her to do without force. I wanted to see how far she would go before she refused."

She swallowed again. "I found it. When I told her to crawl between my legs and drink my piss, she refused. I'd had to push a little to get her to lick my ass; she really didn't want to do it, but when I pushed, she did. She flatly refused when I told her to let me piss in her mouth."

"So I made her. I grabbed her by the hair, and shoved her face between my legs, and pissed on her face. Then I made her lick me clean, and then lick the floor clean. I came several times, when I first pissed on her, when she licked me clean, and when I saw her tongue lapping at the piss on the floor." She refused to meet their eyes.

"Then I started getting rough. I told her she had to be punished for refusing me, and that if she ever refused me again, I'd tell everyone that she'd come to me and begged me to do it. And then I'd... kill her. Slowly. She didn't believe me, so I grabbed a razor and sliced it across her nipple. When she started to scream, I knocked her down on the floor and shoved my cunt over her mouth. I'd always liked to cut people -- most of my victims have at least a few scars. But I went further with her than any of the rest. I discovered that she hated drinking my piss so much that she'd keep her mouth closed until I actually cut her. Some of the scars... I'd piss in a glass, hold it to her lips, and then bite down on her nipple. I kept increasing he pressure until she opened her mouth and drank. I wouldn't lift the glass, either; she had to do that."

Bethany studied the floor. "I nearly bit her nipple off once. I didn't take her to the hospital. I just took a needle and thread and sewed it back on. I pissed in her mouth while I did. It was one of the best orgasms I'd ever had."

She finally gathered the courage to look at them, and was relieved that they didn't seem to hate her. Noriko's face showed nothing but interest; the counselor's face was a mixture of shock, horror and pity. "I used knives, needles, candles... after I sewed her nipple back on and it healed, it didn't have much sensation. So I took a clamp, and just kept twisting it. It..." She looked faintly sick, "It actually... um... let's just say she doesn't really have a nipple on that side anymore. I really tortured her." She fell silent for a few moments, and then jumped up, rushing for the trashcan. She barely made it before she threw up, her stomach heaving violently as tears streamed down her face.

"Are you ok?" Noriko asked, concerned.

"No, no I'm not," Bethany forced out between heaves. "I'm sick. I'm not even human."

"Yes, you are," Noriko said firmly. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again. You were sick, but N'gath'tu fixed that. That's why you feel the way you do. That's a good thing, Bethany. It means you understand why what you did was wrong."

"Yes, mistress," Bethany said, wiping her mouth with tissues Asako handed her. "I won't say that again."

Spotting the loophole, Noriko immediately closed it. "I don't want you thinking it, either. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Good. Now, Inoue doesn't want you near her, and I can understand that. So try to stay away, ok?"

"Yes, mistress. I don't blame her. I wouldn't want me around if I was her."

"I know. Do you think a plastic surgeon could fix those

scars?"

Bethany looked thoughtful. "Most of the scars, probably, but I don't think that they could fix the nipples. There's so much scar tissue..." Her voice trailed off sadly.

Noriko nodded. "I know. I can think of a way to heal them... but I'm not sure if she'd participate. Unless..." She paused thoughtfully for several moments, then looked at the counselor. "Miss Sasaki, do you think that it would help Inoue to treat Bethany the way Bethany treated her?"

"I don't know. Normally I'm not in favor of vengeance, but in this case it might. I don't think it would hurt, anyway." She hesitated a moment, then continued. "As long as there was no permanent damage done."

Noriko looked at Bethany. "Would you be willing to let her?"

Bethany looked down at the floor, then back up. "If it will help her, I'll cut off my nipples myself," she said, her voice determined. "Anything I can do, I will." She looked at Noriko steadily.

"Anything."

They spent another hour or so working out a way for Asako to arrange to help Noriko in her search to find willing girls for N'gath'tu without violating a confidence. What they finally came up with was that Noriko would wait in the other room while Asako talked to the candidate. If the candidate seemed interested, she would then go into the room and talk to Noriko. If not, she would leave, and Noriko would never know who they were. Further, to make sure that no one figured out why various students were being called to the counselor's office, she would discuss various test results with them -- and half the students she called would only be there to get the results.

Asako had put together the list she wanted that day, so they would be able to start the next morning. Unfortunately, as much as they wanted, Noriko and Bethany couldn't be together that night; Noriko's family was going out to dinner together, and it would be late before they got back. Asako politely turned her back while they kissed each other goodbye, knowing that they wouldn't be able to do so outside.

The ride home was subdued, neither girl wanting to leave the other but knowing it had to happen. When Bethany pulled up in front of Noriko's house, Noriko was surprised to find her crying.