A Dragon's Tail Ch. 04-05

DISCLAIMERS: Any person involved in a sexual act is above the age of 18. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This story contains some supernatural events, but is not intended to disrespect any religion.

This story also has fictitious members of the Imperial family of Japan. Presently, there are two unmarried princes in the royal family, ages 6 and 62. My characters are not the same ages as existing members of the royal family. I have made up two unmarried brothers, ages 18 and 26, whose mother is now a widow, or dowager princess. There are presently no dowager princesses in the royal family, either. I am hoping that I have treated the royal family, even my fictitious members, with respect.

As for sex, there is little in this one. It has some graphic descriptions, because the main character goes through an involuntary Transgendering from a man to a woman. I am posting it here because I am not sure how it would go over on a non-sexual literature posting site. The story is meant to be open ended, so that the character can be used in many additional stories.

Chapter 4 -- Home and Warmth

Somewhere in the Amori Prefecture, Japan.

As we crunch through the falling snow, the only light I can see is the beam of the flashlight. There are no street lights, and the road reflectors have been covered up by the snow. We are near the end of the road, and I look around for a house. The only thing I could see was a sealed up tunnel.

"Where is your house, Ahiko?"

Ahiko points at the tunnel, "Straight ahead."

I look forward again. The road stops just before the tunnel. The tunnel is crudely carved, and there are metal doors covering the entrance. There is water is flowing under the door, running down the hill, and into the river. Steam is rising from the water, as if flows into the river. I again use my flashlight to check to either side of the tunnel entrance, but I don't see a thing.

"The tunnel? There's water running out! You can't possibly live in there!"

"You're right! The main tunnel was flooded when an underground thermal spring was hit. I live in the upper service passageways. They are about three meters wide, and it goes clear thought the hill. It's winter, so I'm living in the lower one, because it's closer to the thermal spring."

I am still puzzled, but she continues to push the wheelchair to the end of the road and down a small walkway that goes towards the tunnel.

Near the entrance to the tunnel, we turn and zig-zag around a corner. We then go up a concealed ramp and to a door that was hidden from view by some red pines. She unlocks and opens the door and pushes me through. After she closes the door, she turns on a small light and checks me again for vital signs.

"I don't have very big batteries, so we can't use this light for very long. I have a cooking fire in the main area, and it will be warmer there. You need to let you eyes get accustomed to the light in here."

I look around the service tunnel. The walls are wet, and there are channels cut into the floor along each wall to catch and drain off the water dripping down. There seems like an endless series of greenhouses going down the tunnel, and water drops are hitting the top and sides of the greenhouses and dripping into the channels. The greenhouses are the plastic kit type that one would purchase at the home improvement store. After she checks me again, she turns off the entry light, and my eyes start to adjust. There are little night lights on each section of greenhouse that give off a soft amber glow. The dripping sound is similar to a spring rain, with an echo of course. The amber glow gives a warm cast to everything.

She walks down to the first glowing light and turns around. "Each of these lights uses only 1/20 of a watt each. I have 400 of these things, so I am using the same amount of energy to light my home as that 20 watt light we used in the entry."

"How long did it take your father do all of this, Ahiko?" She looked back with a hurt and puzzled look. "I did it all myself. It's not bad, is it?"

"Oh! It's wonderful! You are a very smart girl! But where are your parents?"

I had struck a nerve. She starts to cry again. "I work very hard! I'm a big person, and I can take care of myself!" She reaches into her coat, pulls out her doll, and hugs it.

I try my best to recover, "And you're doing a very good job, Ahiko. Would you like to come over and let me hug you? I'm thankful for being helped by a wonderful lady like you."

She sniffles as she walks back. She takes off her coat and gently leans over the wheelchair. I reached around her and gave her a gentle hug. Something was strange about the hug. I felt around a bit and felt two bony lumps below her shoulder blades. Oh, my! She's deformed!

She gently hugged me back. Ahiko feels my hands touch the lumps on her back. "It's OK; I have several genetic defects, and have a second pair of shoulder blades, along with a few other things. I call them my wing pods. You can call me angel if you want. I like that. We can go now, you're not bleeding, but one of your legs is hurt. I'd like to clean you up and fully examine your leg."

She pushes me down the tunnel, and I noticed several openings to either side. Openings on one side lead to a railing that overlooks the main tunnel. I can hear the water splashing and flowing down into the main tunnel. Most of openings on the other side opened up to small chambers, but there is one with a ramp going up. We stopped at one of the openings that overlooks to the main tunnel where water was bubbling out of the wall. A stone wall had been constructed to form a huge bath and the excess water cascades like a waterfall into the main tunnel. Seats and reclining positions had been carefully formed into the walls. There were many safety bars placed throughout the pool.

"Did you make this too?"

This time she was beaming with pride. "Yup, it took a while to get the temperature right, there's a hot pool, closer to the spring, and a cool pool that's over here. I want you to use the cool pool after we wash the blood off your body. It's just below body temperature. The hot pool may cause your leg to swell up. Will you excuse me while I get us some towels, and fresh clothes to wear?

"Why sure dear, you're being a perfect hostess".

She walked down thirty meters and knocked on a piece of wood on one of the outer chamber walls. "Hello, I'm back now. I did find a lady in the car, and I brought her here. I'm going to clean her up and treat her wounds now. I will then make dinner for the three of us. Sir, do you need anything before I do this?.....Yes, she was bleeding, but I think she's OK now. Do you need to go to the bathroom?.....Are you sure?......OK?....I caught two fish today, so we'll have some protein other than bean curd. I am going to add some wood to the fire and grab some towels and some clean clothes. I'll be back in a little while to cook."

Ahiko then went into a side chamber and returned shortly with the towels and some clothes. Oh my, she must be taking care of her father. I looked around the bath. It is set up for someone in a wheelchair to use. The safety railings were everywhere, and seats were set up around the bath so that it was easy to transfer out of the wheelchair and bathe oneself before entering the bath. She quickly moves me out of the wheelchair and onto a seat. When she goes over to the bath to draw some water, I look at the wheelchair and notice that it is small. It is a child's wheelchair. She must be taking care of her brother. Why did she call her brother sir? How can she do all this? She's just a little child herself! She came back and carefully removed my clothing, washed my body, and examined my leg.

"Your right ankle is twisted. It will be OK to walk on in a day or two. I'll fix that before we go to bed. I want to help you with the cuts on your face right now. Do I have your permission to treat them?"

I nodded. She gently placed her hands on either side of my face. "I want you to stay calm. Please don't be frightened at what you see. Can you do that for me?"

I wasn't ready for that. My face must be a mess. I have not looked into a mirror yet. I must look hideous! Yet, Ahiko had not made a face or winced once when she looked at me. The only thing I see in her eyes was concern for my well being. I take a deep breath, and slowly let it out. OK, I can do this. I nodded and looked into her eyes. "You're going to be a great doctor someday."

"I already am." She smiled and her hands became warm. A golden glow appeared around Ahiko, expecially around her head. I looked forward and cracks started to form on Ahiko's face. Even when blood started to drip from the cracks, she simply smiled and gazed at me with those soulful and caring eyes. In the end, I can only see a smile and two cheerful golden eyes, surrounded by a golden aura of light. Even as the glow around Ahiko subsided, and I see that she has blood dripping from her face, she continued to smile at me. Her hands cooled down, and she removed them from my face, grabbed a washcloth, and started dabbing the blood from her face. She handed a mirror to me, along with another washcloth. I looked into the mirror and found small red lines of blood on my face, a mirror image of the bloody cracks that appeared on Ahiko's face. I dipped the washcloth into the water and started cleaning my face. The cracks washed off, and my face was clean of marks. I looked over at Ahiko's face and see that she now has scars all over hers. What have I done to this child? My hands started to shake, and tears started to run down my face, but she stops me.

She holds my hand and smiles back at me. "I am an empathic healer, and my body regenerates quickly. These scars will be gone in the morning. I still need to walk around and cook dinner, so I will heal of your ankle before we go to bed. I will heal the ankle only a little bit, so that I will be able to walk and take care of you tomorrow. My ankle will be completely healed before tomorrow afternoon, and I will be able to go fishing again.

"My word, you ARE an angel!"

She smiled back. "I like being called an angel sometimes, but I am a simple shrine maiden. I tend a shrine near here, and I go on pilgrimages to other shrines. I have been given the power to heal, and to see spirits. I get frightened by crowds. And if I see too many spirits, I get frightened, so I live by myself in this tunnel."

"Were you talking to a spirit when you went for the towels?"

She shook her head, "No, that was some local boy who I don't recognize. He is lying to me about his identity. I am healing his leg right now. He has a double fracture on his right leg. There is a spirit that led me to him, and the same spirit led me to you. He's here right now."

I grabbed a towel and covered my body. "He's watching us right now? He can see me naked?"

Ahiko gets up, walks a few paces, turns around to face me, and holds out her hand. A dull image starts to appear. "Yeah, he's got a dirty mind, and he wants me to do something that I won't do, but he does have a good heart, and he helped me save you and the boy in there, so I think he's OK. You may have frozen to death in the car, so I think you owe him a bit of gratitude for saving your life."

The image slowly became clearer and more familiar to me. "Father? Is that you?"

The spirit bowed. Ahiko looked over at the spirit. "You know this lady? Are you really her father? I'm sorry lady. I didn't mean to disrespect your father by telling you he has a dirty mind. Please accept my sincere apology." With that, Ahiko bowed at me.

I bowed back at Ahiko, but kept my towel around me, covering my privates. Today was turning out to be more than I could take. I started to review the past three hours of my life, because my world had just been stood on end. It was hard enough to comprehend that this little girl had pulled me out of a car wreck, but now she was some sort of psychic healer, and she made my father's ghost appear before me.

I stared at the ghost and reviewed the information a second time, trying to remember everything that Ahiko had just said, it was important. "Ahiko, did you say that the boy in the other room has a broken leg? And that you don't recognize him?"

Ahiko smiled at me and nodded. The ghost pointed first down the hall where the boy was, and then at me, and then positioned his arm like he was holding a baby.

"Do you sometimes call yourself the 'Angel of the Mountain'?"

Again, she nodded. She turned sideways and placed her free hand on her back. "Sometimes I use that name. I was told not to use my real name. I have these things on my back. Wait....Did I already tell you about my wing pods?"

"Yes, you did." I fished into the pocket of my coat that was neatly folded up next to me. I pulled out a piece of paper, opened it up, and showed it to her. "An officer found this flyer, and I've been looking for you. The boy on this flyer is my son. Did he by any chance tell you his name? Did he tell you he was Prince Takeshi?"

It was time for Ahiko to take a moment to reflect on the last three hours. Ahiko turned and looked at the ghost and then at me, her eyes widened and her jaw started to quiver. "I though he was pulling my leg! Is he really a prince? He's your son? B.b.but that would m.m.mean, th.th.that you are the Empress!"

The image of my father faded out as Ahiko lost her grip on the ghost and immediately prostrated before me. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me, your highness! I didn't believe him! I...I...I have never met royalty before. I'm sorry. Oh, No! I just lied to you. I have never met LIVE royalty before. I didn't believe he was telling the truth!"

"Please don't kneel, Ahiko. I accept your apology, it was just a misunderstanding. You are a wonderful and kind little girl. If you rescued and healed my son like you did me, then I am grateful to you for your acts of kindness."

Ahiko had pulled out her doll again and was hugged it, she looked up at me and then quickly returned to the floor, clutched her doll, and shivered before me. "This is my fault! I should have believed him! Bad! Bad! Bad!"

"Ahiko, please look up. That's better. I am not the empress. My husband died in an accident, when the helicopter he was riding in crashed, and I am a widow princess. I want to thank you." I dropped the towel and drop to one knee. I then reached for her and caressed her shoulders. "Can I have another one of your wonderful hugs?"

Ahiko lunged forward and grabbed me around the waist and nestled her head against my chest. I held her as she cried and stroked her long golden hair for about a minute before she settled down and relaxed. "Ahiko, can I see my father again? I think you were right, and I need to thank him for helping you save my son."

She nods, but continues to hug me for a while. Slowly, Ahiko released her grip, helped me back into the seat, and returned the towel to me. As I cover myself back up, she walked back over and held my father's hand. "Were you an emperor?...Were you a prince?...You are not royalty...So, your daughter MARRIED a prince, and SHE became royalty...And the boy is your grandson?...OK." She turned back to me. She talked to the spirit like it was an everyday occurrence.

I bowed forward. "Father, please accept my gratitude for watching over my son." The spirit bowed back. "Ahiko, you mentioned my father wanted you to do something, can you tell me what he wanted you to do?"

Ahiko blushed and lowered her head. "Please don't ask me to tell you that."

At this point, the spirit did what Ahiko would not do. He pointed at the other room that my son was in, then masturbated an imaginary penis, and then rubbed his hand in Ahiko's groin area.

"I think he wants me to inseminate myself with you son's seed." The spirit gave a nod and bowed.

I could only drop my jaw in shock. My father wanted her to do this?

Ahiko was blushing and not looking up at me, but continued her story, "Your son was bleeding from his thingy. And... and... I was cleaning up your son and...and... I was healing him when he... well... HE DID IT. I didn't mean to make you son do it, and I didn't do what the spirit wanted me to do, either. I did make his thingy bigger, and that made the prince very happy." She turned and glared at the ghost. "I would have desecrated the Royal Family with this...this...this...MUTANT BODY!"

Ahiko let go of my father's spirit and buried her face in her hands, and start to cry again. My father's image faded out when Ahiko moved her hands, but reappeared when he touched her shoulder. "Ahiko, you're right! My father IS a dirty old man! Why would you want this child to do such an act! She is clearly under the age of consent."

Both father and Ahiko shook their heads. "I'm old enough. Your son looks be over 13 years old, and that means he is over the age to have consensual sex here in Japan. I didn't think it would be right to take the boys seed because he is below the age of 20, so he was not an adult."

"Ahiko, Just how old are you?"

She looked down at her feet and clutched her doll again "Do I have to answer that question?" Her eyes looked towards my father's image for a moment as if to get an assurance, and returned back to looking at her feet. While Ahiko fidgeted, I looked around at the bath, and the hallway with the series of greenhouses that were connected together. She had built all of this, and she had been here a while. This must have taken years for one person to do. Other than her emotional reaction to her doll, she acted in a very mature way. The officer that gave me the paper had even said that the 'Angel of the Mountain' was a local legend, and that this was just a prank flyer. If she was a legend, than she must have been here for many years. "Ahiko, are you an adult? Are you above the age of twenty? "

She nodded in consent. "Please don't ask me anymore about that. That's a secret."

It was my second time to have my jaw drop. Her body was not aging! She could have looked like a nine year old for the past five hundred years for all I knew. I looked at the child, who was really NOT a child, and then back to my father, who was trying to console her. "Tell me father. Why would you want her to do that?"

The spirit first placed his hand on Ahiko's chest and slowly drew his hand slightly away and cupped them, once on each side. Ahiko looked down at the motions. "Yes, my breasts may grow, and I will have a baby and have to nurse it."

The spirit waved his hand around and shook his head. The spirit then placed his free hand on top of Ahiko's head, and then slowly raised it up until it was the same height as the top of his head. Ahiko tried to follow his actions, but could not see what he was doing. The spirit repeated the action and Ahiko shook her head in confusion. "I can't see what you are doing, but I will have a baby."

The spirit shook his head, and again, repeated the action.

I tried to guess at his motions. "She won't have a child, but she will get taller? Is that what you are trying to tell us? Will she mature into a woman?"

The spirit nodded and then bowed to me.

Ahiko's face lit up. "Is it true? I finally get to grow up? Can I do this with any boy?"

The spirit shook his head, and pointed in the direction of my son.

Her face scrunched up, and she shook her head. "It is still wrong. The boy is not an adult. I've waited this long, I can wait a few more years until he's old enough."

She turned to me. "Princess, I think I should start on dinner now. Please allow me to help you into the bath, and I will come back to get you when dinner is ready. Is it possible for me to visit your son in a few years?"

I was astounded at the change I saw in her. She had made her decision about what was right course of action, and turned her attention to the immediate matters at hand. Once again, I thought back to when I was a nine year old, and couldn't fathom myself acting so mature. She helped me get into the bath and then went off to make dinner.