Story: HHL Film Project: Self Realisation

I wasn't one hundred percent sure on this one. I hope it came out okay.


He could hardly believe it. This last hour had been like some strange dream. Any minute now he feared he might awaken, any minute he would sit up in bed and regret that it wasn’t even remotely real. Each click he made of his camera made his heart rate spike briefly, for fear it was the sound of an alarm clock beginning to chime.

But no. It was real. It was all real. It was really happening right in front of his disbelieving eyes. He was doing it. He was really doing this! He had started with pictures of Akane in her school uniform. Demure. Cute. Her inner radiance shining brightly as any star in the sky. Nothing particularly erotic. Nothing, shall we say, perverse about it.

A few pictures later, and he moved on to gym equipment. Akane had hesitated a little, but needed surprisingly little prompting to duck behind the curtain and slip into the tight bloomers and shirt. He took several shots of her stretching or reclining against the gym equipment, permitting him the opportunity to draw in every detail of her body. Little was left to the imagination in terms of her body’s remarkably fit shape. It was during this “phase” that his confidence began to swell. Confidence in himself. Confidence in this ability.

It was a new feeling. And Hikaru Gosunkugi rather liked it, if he was honest with himself. It felt like he was really getting to know, getting to understand Akane Tendo and - on top of that - she was starting to trust him. He could tell, somehow.

“That’s enough of the gym clothes for now,” he said, reaching into the costumes for something else. Let’s see, what should be next? Aha! Gosunkugi drew it out, the school’s swimsuit for girls! A modest one-piece outfit! Internally, he was drooling at the thought of her letting him take pictures of her in that, but on the outside he endeavoured to remain cool and professional.

Unfortunately, the expression on Akane’s face was rather concerning him. Was this too much too quickly?

“If we’re going to do this,” he said. “We should try to get the full flavour of the school. It wouldn’t be right to leave something out, would it?”

“I… Suppose not?” Akane replied, hesitantly reaching out for the swimsuit before backing off behind the curtain. She peered at him over her shoulder with a questioning look, and Gosunkugi smiled in response.

“Don’t worry, I won’t peek. If I did, you’d flatten me. Right?”

She nodded and pulled the curtain closed. Gosunkugi wanted to punch the air, but somehow managed to restrain himself. She was doing it! Even now she was taking off all of her clothes because he’d asked her to. After about a minute, the curtain opened and she was standing there with a faint blush on her lips. So cute! He snapped a picture on the spot, which seemed to snap her out of it.

“So where do you want me?” she asked, fidgeting cutely.

“Why don’t you lean against the pommel horse, and we’ll work from there?”

So she did, and Gosunkugi had to very nervously swallow. His hand was shaking as he took the picture, so he really hoped it came out alright. Leaning against it. Such a simple instruction, so how had she taken it so… Wow. What was it about that pose in particular? Was it something to do with the position she’d taken, the angle she was leaning somehow further emphasising her figure? Was it the fire in her eyes? Was the position of her arms making her seem more approachable, or rather making it seem like she wanted you - specifically you - to approach her?

Whatever the reason might have been, there could be no mistaking this as an ordinary modelling picture. Had Akane even realised how erotic she had looked just now? He honestly couldn’t begin to speculate.

“I-I think you should try sitting on it now,” he said, and she did. Spreading her legs wide open and staring at him as if waiting for something. It took a moment, but Gosunkugi realised she was waiting for him to take a picture. So he did. And he did with great gusto. Well. As much as one can take a picture with gusto.

“How do I look?” she asked several increasingly erotic pictures later.

“Stunning,” he said with complete honesty. Never before had more truthful words passed his lips. How many pictures had they taken of her now? He couldn’t honestly recall anymore. They all blurred together. Completely entrancing. A bewitching enchantress becoming slowly unchained.

“Th-thank you,” she said. “But it’s only because you’ve given me the key.”

Gosunkugi blinked and shook his head. Had he said that out loud?

“Yes. Yes, you did. And that too.”

“Oh, uh. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I just wish Ranma would say things like that more often. What’s next?”

Next? He reached into the pile of costumes, not really paying attention to them. It was kind of difficult to when Akane was gently tugging on her swimsuit to make sure it fit correctly. Even something as simple and innocent as that seemed to be completely charged with something, a hypnotic energy. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

Which may explain why he pulled out a hula girl outfit. Both of them stared at it for a little bit. A grass skirt and a lei and nothing else. Gosunkugi could feel his confidence waning a little. Stupid! That was so stupid of him! Now he was going to push her too far, too fast and a stupid costume like this would drag her right out of -

“Okay. Back in a moment.”

Or she might just agree to put it on. He looked over the costume box with an eyebrow quirked and a racing heart. He fumbled through the costumes. If she would wear that, then she’d probably wear about anything… For example…

By the time Akane came out, Gosunkugi was feeling completely self composed once again. He’d picked out the remaining outfits for her to wear. He had a plan. He had - expected Akane to be wearing her swimsuit underneath the lei, rather than walking out with only it and the grass skirt.

“It is so like the principal to have something like this in storage,” Akane observed.

“Yep,” Gosunkugi agreed, trying hard to not stare at her cleavage. “Why don’t you give us a hula dance, and I’ll snap a few pictures?”

“W-Well, I’m not sure I know how to do that,” she admitted. “Besides, I’m pretty clumsy, so -”

“Nonsense,” Gosunkugi said. “You’re pretty, but you’re not clumsy. Just let yourself go, and you’ll feel yourself becoming as graceful as a swan.”

Akane closed her eyes and began what really amounted to a belly dance more than a hula dance. She really didn’t know anything about it at all, but hell if he was going to complain. If only he had a film camera right now, this would be absolutely perfect.

“How was that?” she asked.

“Perfect,” he replied. “What did you think? Are you having fun?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “Yeah, I kind of am. This is the most fun I’ve had in a while, now that I think about it!”

He perched himself on a bench next to her and stared up, confident enough now to take her hand without fainting. “Well then, why are you so hesitant about how you’re doing?” he asked. “I mean, so long as you’re having fun what else really matters? Right?”

“I… I guess,” she said. “But… It’s so weird. It’s like… It feels like I’m putting my body on display, and I shouldn’t like that. For some reason, I can’t get enough. I feel so -”

“So what?” he asked, and gasped when Akane threw the lei to the floor… leaving her breasts bare for him to look at.

“Sexy and powerful,” she said, breathing slightly heavier than usual. “I can’t help it. If Ranma were doing this, I’d -”

She stopped herself, and Gosunkugi suddenly felt like he was right on the very edge of something. A doorway which could easily lead to something wonderful, if only he could find the right key. Which was bluntly quite amazing given that Akane had left her chest completely bare to him just now without seeming to realise she’d done it. Before today the possibility of something more than that might have sent him fainting, but he was no longer that same man. He could feel the very edges of her boundaries stretching back and back, but his own were also pushing more and more forward!

“If Ranma were doing this, you’d what?” he asked.

She fidgeted a little bit, so completely adorable. “If Ranma were posing like that, I’d say he was being a shameless flirt.”

“Well, in one sense he sort of is,” Gosunkugi began. “But I guess sexiness is sort of different from him than it is for you. Right? I mean, doesn’t he usually use it to manipulate people?”

“Yes, he does! The jerk!”

“Well then, don’t you think that’s part of it? You don’t like that he uses sex appeal like a weapon. It’s another form of martial art to him.”

Whoa. Where had that come from? He almost sent himself reeling with that, but there Akane was nodding her head in complete agreement.

“But you’re different,” he continued. “You don’t fight for the sake of fighting, right? You fight to protect people, yourself included. Not to show off or anything. So I guess for you, sex appeal is something you’re sharing with people around you because you like to make them happy. Or something like that. Does that make sense?”

“I-I’m not sure,” Akane said. “This whole thing still feels so strange. What’s wrong with me?”

“N-Nothing’s wrong with you,” Gosunkugi assured her. “Would you like to continue for now?”

She nodded. Alright. So she was further along than he’d thought, but needed a bit more of a push. Now for him to enact his real plan. He passed her a cheongsam and she stared at it with blurry eyes before grabbing it and walking off towards the curtain. Her fingers hesitated around the curtain and she slowly dragged it closed, as if she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to leave it open or not.

And out she strode like a Chinese goddess, swaying her hips and showing nothing but confidence that he suspected was an act. No. He knew it was an act. She was confused about what she was feeling right now, and merely going with the flow until she knew to act otherwise. Well then. He’d better help her sort herself out.

“How Akane look?” she said in a slightly higher pitch than normal. “Too, too, good. Yes?”

“Oh, you’re far cuter than Shampoo,” Gosunkugi said with a sigh. To his eyes, that was certainly true. Then again, to his eyes he could see the crack in her confidence start to widen. “Is something wrong? Ah, no. Don’t tell me. You’re thinking about how Ranma never calls you cute, right?”

“Something like that,” she said. “There are times when I think he might be right, and I-”

“And you should ignore him,” Gosunkugi said, casually snapping a picture and prompting Akane to unconsciously adopt a pose. “You’re plenty cute. I see your problem now. It’s confidence, right? I bet that’s why you’ve never really wanted to show off your body before today. You didn’t have confidence in your looks.”

“No, that can’t be right…”

“Well, think about it. How often does he say you’re uncute? How often does he insult your figure? No matter what, wouldn’t that sort of thing get to a person eventually?” He snapped a picture, prompting another pose. “You shouldn’t hide yourself away.” Snap. “Let your confidence rise up to the surface.” Snap. “Don’t let his insults get in the way of the real you.” Snap. “Cut loose a little and have some fun!”

It was an amazing thing to behold, but Gosunkugi wasn’t sure exactly what it was he was seeing. It wasn’t anything there in a physical sense, it was more like - More like he’d pushed past that final boundary and unlocked something inside of Akane that she had been hiding away from the world. She planted her foot firmly on a bench with her hands on her hips, revealing her bare leg for anyone who cared to see - And at the same time Gosunkugi saw the chance to leap forward with the next part of his plan.

“Oh dear,” he said. “Akane, that slit is rather high up, don’t you think? It looks like I can see your panties in side shots!”

It was funny, but he almost could see the gears turning in her mind. Almost an hour of her boundaries being pushed upon, little by little with each successive picture taken, clearly had a cumulative effect on her mind. Instead of blushing, instead of becoming indignant, she simply reached under her dress, and oh my goodness, Gosunkugi very nearly fainted dead away.

“There,” she said, tossing the offending items off towards the curtained area. “That rather takes care of the problem, doesn’t it?”

“I’ll say,” Gosunkugi said. Careful now. Best not to rush to the final stage. Best to let it come naturally. He would take several more shots, then move onto the final phase. If she did this, then she really was ready for anything!

“You know, I just realised we could use the pole for posing,” Akane noted. “Something like this.”

It was far from the first time he’d had the thought since starting, but he could hardly believe his eyes. Akane Tendo was standing with her back to the pole gripping onto it with both hands and grinding against it. Well. He could hardly stop her now. She didn’t even seem to need direction anymore. All he had to do was stand there and take pictures, and try not to let his dick get ahead of the game at all. A difficult task, he could certainly assure anyone that asked.

He pressed the button on his camera… And a sound filled his ears that made his breath stop. He knew that sound. It was the sound of no more film. No more pictures. Which meant -

“Something wrong, Hikaru?” Akane asked. Sweet as ever, concerned only for him as she wrapped her leg around the pole and leaned backwards.

“No, no,” he lied. “Nothing at all. I was just thinking it might be time for a change of outfit. Like, say, this cheerleader outfit.”

“If you say so,” she said, picking up the outfit and almost skipping off towards the curtained off area. Now came the moment of truth. Now he would see if his work had paid off! “How do I look?” she asked, throwing the curtains back and revealing something that very nearly made him lose control on the spot! That tiny skirt, that shirt that clung to her chest and revealed a tiny peek of her navel! It was amazing to him how much each costume transformed her completely. Maybe she really could do modelling work? Maybe she -

“You know, you are so right,” she said, hooking her leg around the pole and twirling completely around it. An action which revealed the simple truth, just as he’d intended, that she had completely forgotten to put her panties back on. “I should stop being so insecure.” She gave a high kick, providing further confirmation. “Con-fi-dence!” she sang in a mock cheer.

“That’s right!” Gosunkugi agreed. “Embrace how sexy you feel! Don’t deny it! Don’t fight it!”

“I’m not!” she declared. She looked so free. She looked so happy. Showing off the full range of her athleticism, all trace of clumsiness and hesitation simply gone. “Oh, Ranma! I wish you were here right now! I wish you could see me! I wish you could see the real me!”

Hikaru lowered the camera and felt something inside him that he’d never really felt before. For the first time in his life, he was properly looking at Akane Tendo. Not at the beauty. Not at the nice girl that everyone in school seemed to want. For the first time, he saw her and he realised something that had never even occured to him before.

What did he know about her? What, really, did he know about her beyond that? She was nice. She was pretty. She was athletic. She was a martial artist with a fiance that was an even better martial artist than her.

It might seem to some that an increase in confidence might reduce a person’s self perspective, but keep in mind that perspective can be just as easily reduced by lacking that confidence. Over the course of about an hour, Hikaru Gosunkugi had increased his impossibly low self esteem to the more normal level, where he could obtain the perfect amount of clarity. Not too confident. Not too little. And it was making him ask an uncomfortable question.

Did he love Akane Tendo, or the idea of Akane Tendo?

It ran into him like a car, and he had to sit down to really think that one over. A few moments later Akane had skipped over with an expression full of concern, leaning over to peer into his face.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

“No, it’s nothing,” he lied, looking up into her face. Strange though, the way she was looking at him. Concern on her cute face. A furrowed brow of concentration. “I think we have all the pictures we need, so -”

“You ran out of film a while back, didn’t you?” she asked. “Oh. Duh. Of course. You have a crush on me. Just like every other boy in the school.”

“… You didn’t have to put it quite like that, you know.”

“Well, it’s true though!” she said, sitting down next to him with a weary sigh. “Still. I think I like you more than the others. You at least seem to give more of a damn about things other than what I look like, and you’re kind of fun to hang out with.”

“But you don’t like me that way, do you?” he asked, and it hurt him to see it in her when he looked. Like his heart was being stomped on, over and over again. “All that time, you were imagining it was him taking pictures and complimenting you.”

“Sorry,” she said, and it actually did sound like she meant it more than words could convey. “But you are going to find someone. I want you to believe that. You will. Right? Get it?”

She meant every word. She really did believe he would find someone that could feel for him what he felt for her. Someone that he could love. Someone he could be loved by. He remembered all those television shows he had watched growing up, how a common element was of first loves never really working out. Maybe it wouldn’t feel like it now, but maybe some day it would hurt so much less… “Sure,” he lied. “You should get dressed and head off home.”

“Oh no, I’m not leaving you here to mope by yourself like this,” she said, pressing a finger to his lips. “You helped me. Now it’s time for me to help you.”

She had been so close that he hadn’t even noticed her hands until the moment they started pulling his trousers and underwear out of the way, revealing an erection that he had been hoping she hadn’t noticed for almost as long as they had been taking pictures. Akane licked her lips, and before he could say another word she had descended her open mouth over its intended target.i

So this was what heaven was like? He could already feel himself tensing up. No, no, not so quickly, not so soon! A whole hour’s worth of arousal threatened to cut this all short, too short but then another miracle happened. He felt Akane cup his balls in her hand, and the feeling abated. Good. He didn’t want this moment to be over so quickly. He wanted to savour it. Gods above, but she was a natural!

It was incredible! While he might not have any basis for comparison, part of him expected a girl that usually went in for things far too wholeheartedly to be far too rough, use too much of her considerable strength. Yet somehow, she seemed to know the exact amount of pressure to use with her glorious tongue. Somehow her touch was gentle, precise. Somehow it seemed as though she knew exactly what he wanted her to-

“Ugh,” he grunted, unable to keep himself from releasing into her mouth even a second longer. To his further surprise, she swallowed every drop and did so with a smile.

“Feel better now?” she asked. He nodded. “Good. Do you think it would be a problem if I borrowed this costume?” she asked, rising and giving a quick twirl in place. “I’m developing a few interesting plans for this tonight.”

“S-Sure, shouldn’t be a problem. Just clean it and return it when you’re done.”

Off she went behind the curtain once again, but this time it felt like a barrier was being drawn between the two of them. He stared at his camera. He knew he had power within it. But that was the trouble. He didn’t think there was much else he could really do, without turning Akane Tendo into a full-out raving nymphomaniac. Which, you know, wasn’t remotely what he wanted. He wanted her to himself. He wanted to experience something like that all to himself.

She stepped out from behind the curtain with the uniform in a bag, but before she left she stopped by where he was sitting and leaned down. She grasped his hand with both of hers, and leaned down to peck him on the cheek. “This is further thanks for helping me realise a few things about myself,” she said, and skipped off out of the room. “Good luck out there.”

Gosunkugi watched her go with a smile on his face and tears forming in his eyes while he pulled his trousers back up. He wiped at his eyes a little, then suddenly realised he didn’t bring a handkerchief with him. So what was he -

“Ah! Akane! You’ve forgotten your panties!”

“No. I didn’t,” she said, not even breaking stride.

It suddenly occurred to Gosunkugi that virtually every single guy she met wound up falling for her charms while she was keeping her sexuality repressed. What sort of demon had he unleashed upon the world today? He almost felt a twinge of envy for that fool Ranma Saotome. Or was it pity? Perhaps a mixture of the two? Regardless. He wouldn’t know what hit him, for just this once. Maybe he could take solace in that? Or maybe a little solace in the pictures he had taken… He would do well to hurry off home to get these developed in any event. So off he went, leaving the building and stepping into tomorrow.

Stepping into tomorrow... Further down the path. So far as the path was concerned, he was being held back by two main factors: His lack of self-confidence and his own emotional ties to Akane Tendo. In one fell swoop those issues had been at least partially resolved. Now, clearly the path is not a living thing. Nor can it have goals, per se. However, that is a rather startling coincidence. Right? That Hikaru Gosunkugi would find both obstacles preventing him from further progression eroding away at the same time? Not to mention that, as strange as it might seem, the path may well have picked up a new adherent as well, even if she didn’t know it yet…

And the path certainly didn’t happen to lead Gosunkugi in a slightly different direction than he might normally take, where he might happen to overhear something in particular. After all. That would mean the path was sentient and had some measure of control over those following it.

“Hey, did you see that new vampire movie last night? God, it was so stupid!”

“I know, right? Sparkly vampires! Get real! Wasn’t scary at all.”

“I dunno. He was watching her while she slept. That’s kind creepy, but for all the wrong reasons.”

Gosunkugi’s ears perked up automatically, and he felt his sight fall upon three female students. For a fleeting moment he didn’t know their names. Then, they came to him automatically. Their interests. Their turn ons and turn offs. The fact that not a single one of them had a boyfriend because the boys were put off by their fascination with horror and the occult… He felt a smile grow upon his features as he stepped forward, holding out his camera towards the attractive trio.

“Excuse me, girls,” he said, merely pointing his camera at them. All three automatically adopted a variety of different seductive poses. “My name is Hikaru Gosunkugi. I was wondering if we could maybe get to know each other a little bit better?”

1. Gosunkugi is quickly able to arrange a foursome with the girls.
2. Meanwhile, Ataru works his magic.
3. Akane really has started down the path. What is she thinking as she returns home?
4. Akane tries to seduce Ranma while he's getting into his villain role.
5. Something else