This one begins from here.
Ryoko Mendo revelled in chaos. She didn’t do what she did for profit, didn’t do it for her own advancement nor out of malice or hatred. She simply did what she did because it was fun. Her usual target was her idiotic big brother Shutaro, but recently she had discovered a brand new spark to toss into the powderkeg.
His name was Ataru Moroboshi, and he was so interesting! Some might have snarkily observed the word interesting and its appearance within a well-known curse, but if given the choice between living in interesting times and boring times… Ryoko would smile politely and chuck a grenade at the feet of whoever offered the choice. It’s just the kind of person she was.
There was so much about this Moroboshi to find interesting. His perverted nature. The alien girl hanging on him like a bad cold. A delicious cake by itself, all truth told. But there was an icing on that cake. A delicious frosting with an unusual flavour called: Rivalry. Oh, but how sweet it was! Poor, stupid Shutaro hated Moroboshi. Despised him with enough fervour to drive him into yet deeper irrational depths.
Could anyone blame this beautiful sadist for finding Ataru as fascinating as she did?
But Ryoko did not desire simply one spark, nor one powderkeg. She was at her happiest juggling them, or better yet getting someone else to do so. Keep a few in reserve, hidden away to spring on those around her when they were least suspecting. Which is why she was reading this old Chinese book on the subject of mind control.
It isn’t exactly difficult to picture the scene. Leaning back in a comfortable chair, the book perched just off to the side at a comfortable reading height and distance. Ryoko occasionally swirling or sipping the contents of a wine glass - full of fruit juice, as it wouldn’t do to research while dulling her senses - and turning a page with an innocent smile hiding thoughts that were anything but.
Until she came to a complete stop on a certain page that caught her attention. Unlike most of the others, this one seemed to be well within her ability almost immediately. If it worked as described… If it let her do as it promised…
“How very… Very… Interesting,” she said. A mile away (and within the same building) Shutaro shuddered, but decided to blame Moroboshi because that sort of feeling was inevitably his fault anyway.
<hr>
“Whatcha up to, Ryoko!” one of her classmates asked her the next day at school. Her name was Tansho Okabe, a fellow prankster and mischief maker. Though not quite at her level obviously. None of her precious friends were, sadly: She was the de facto leader of the group, and their inspiration to improving themselves in sowing the seeds. Ryoko had heard gossip call them the Golden Apple. A bit cliche, but why not?
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Ryoko replied.
“Aw, come on! You can tell us! You only get that sparkle in your eye when you have something in mind!”
“If that were true,” Aya Kinoshita interrupted, “then that sparkle would never leave her eye to begin with.”
A truer statement was never spoken. Even so, she could hardly keep them out of something like this. It would be a wonderful educational tool for each of them, to learn how to properly sow some seeds while remaining completely untouched by the rising storm.
“Very well! I shall tell you. Of course, it goes without saying that this remains between us. Understood?”
All nine of them nodded. Quite the little club, wasn’t it? Tansho Okabe, who looked up to her with a sort of hero worship. Aya Kinoshita, the snarky observant one. Kiko Kiski, a wallflower with a vicious streak. Sachi Morisue, a girl who broke hearts as easily as she drew breath. Toyoko Yanagimoto, compulsive and convincing liar. Hitomo Uboshita, who couldn’t tell a lie to save her life but - conversely to Toyoko - was brutally honest and could at least keep a secret. Eri Fukuyama, an expert at blackmailing. (Who had only made the mistake of trying that on Ryoko once. Just once.) Then there were the newest additions to their little group, Kioko Iwakura and her identical twin sister Saeko. Not only did those two delight in tricking people by switching and pretending to be the other, but they also had a tendency for pulling more immature pranks. Joy buzzers, gluing coins to floors and the like.
All of them were learning. Each of them brought a unique talent to the group that Ryoko could exploit. Each of them was the closest to what she could call a friend.
“I was performing research into an ancient method of hypnosis and discovered something rather promising. However! Before we try anything too large a scale, we need to perform an experiment.”
Sachi flipped her hair in that way that drove men wild. “Hmph! Why bother with mind control, when I can already make men do my bidding?”
“Beauty has its limits,” Hitomo bluntly stated. “Especially yours. Remember that time you tried to fleece that one guy, and it turned out he was gay?”
“Given another five minutes, I’m sure I could have changed his mind!”
“Sure you would have,” Aya rolled her eyes. “I’m sure all it would take to make him realise what he was missing out on was to have some chick jump all over him. That’ll change his mind!”
“Actually,” Toyoko said, “I did meet this one guy -”
“Hey! Shut up! Can’t you see Miss Ryoko already has someone in mind?!” Tansho shouted. Next to her, Kiko winced and elbowed Tansho hard enough to send her crumbling back into her seat and gasping for air. Right in the ribs!
“She is correct. I do have a test subject in mind, and I fully intend to invite him to visit and play with us tomorrow.”
“Who is it, Miss Ryoko?” the Iwakura twins said at the same time. “Is it anyone we know?”
“His name is... Ataru Moroboshi!” she declared, just as casually as if she was announcing the weather conditions for tomorrow.
“... Isn’t he that stupid-looking perverted kid that hits on every girl he sees?” Eri asked.
“He is!” Kiko whispered, wriggling shyly in her seat. “He asked me out the other day! I didn’t know whether to run or skin him alive and cover his remains in wax! It was so embarassing!”
“Proof positive that he’ll go after any girl. Any girl at all,” Hitomo said, nodding sagely. Seconds later, her face met the floor, and she crawled back onto her seat as though nothing had even happened. “That was a little weaker than yesterday. You need to work out more.”
“A simple mind like him will not only be easy to entice,” Ryoko explained, “but easy to enslave. I have plans for Ataru Moroboshi. Oh yes. I have such wonderfully fun plans!”
<hr>
The ingredients had arrived. The invitation had been sent out, and so had her personal guard. Oh yes, her Kuroku would faithfully bring him along within the hour, no question of that. All she had to do was mix it all together, just like the ingredients said. The rest of the Golden Apple were crowded around the desk, watching in rapt attention. None of them could wait. None of them could bear the anticipation of the fun they would have toying with one who so sought to toy with women.
All it would take was a single drop, and it would be complete. One single drop, and the rest could be stored for a later date. She held the dropper over the mixture and gave the rubber end a small squeeze, forcing a tiny amount of the contents to drip a single drop down, down into the rest. It hit and for a moment nothing happened, prompting Ryoko to smile slightly as she reached for the lid to the container…
But in the instant before it snapped shut, there was a rather sudden burst of pink smoke into the room that struck Ryoko and several of the Golden Apple clear in the face. It died down just as quickly as it happened, but it wouldn’t have mattered if it hadn’t as the lid was closed in the very next moment. Not that this stopped any of them from sputtering in a most unladylike manner.
“Now, we wait for Moroboshi!” Ryoko said. The container was brandished like a weapon, and some of the girls playfully giggled. Oh yes, this was going to be beyond merely interesting! This was going to be downright fascinating!
...Except that none of the girls could have known of the effect these ingredients had on anyone that breathed in even trace amounts. Each of them was now highly susceptible to suggestion, and would remain so for the next hour. An hour is a long time to wait, and during that time it was inevitable they’d have a conversation of some sort. Whatever topic they approached, whatever subjects they discussed, only one thing could be certain: By the time Ataru Moroboshi would make an appearance, these girls would not be quite the same as they were yesterday….
They discuss what they’ll have Ataru do.
They discuss rumours about Ataru.
They talk about Ryoko’s brother.
Some other topic of conversation.
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