Chapter [1]

'Two years,' Iris thought, ’Two goddamn years.’

She had to be extra careful with the disposable razor the Corporation had provided, running it as gently as she could across her face with nothing but warm water.

'But I did it.’

Iris finished her upper lip and flung the cheap blade in the trash bin. Next was tying her hair into a sensible ponytail. She had to look as proper and professional as a soldier could that day.

As she exited the small bathroom into the barracks, she caught another view of the Narikin Unit pin-up someone had hastily pasted to the wall untold years ago.

‘Haven't changed a bit, huh?’

Sexy, badass, and augmented to the extreme- there weren’t many women in the Yatagarasu Corporation’s army that didn’t dream of being in their shoes. Of course, with all of the chassis being female, most of the men were content to ogle them. 

Critics found the decision of creating an elite fighting force out of voluptuous androids dubious at best, but it was precisely that power fantasy that made the Unit call to Iris like it did. Clad in their iconic leotards, kimono, zori, and kote armguards, the Narikin flaunted their sensuality and raw combat prowess simultaneously. With their level of strength, the Narikin didn’t need plate carriers or armor. 

'I wonder which one it was,’ the young woman mused, her eyes pouring over the identical cyborgs.

She easily recalled the night she set out on this path. She was a child back then, living in a crowded apartment block within the inner city. A huge corporate sponsor had chosen to route their parade only a few blocks away, and all her friends had to check it out. It was a standard affair, until someone emerged from the crowd brandishing a revolver.

In an instant, the would-be assassin took a shot at the executive, grazing his arm, before turning their attention to the crowd. And Iris was right behind them. 

However, before anyone else could be shot, a Narikin in hiding already had the assailant in their sights. She moved so fast she appeared to slide into place in front of Iris, her oversized katana shimmering and poised to rend the bullet asunder. From that stance the enhanced soldier simply sliced the assailant’s gun in half before Iris’ eyes.

The gunman had no chance to retaliate before another three of the blonde-haired Narikin  descended, placing him in an elaborate and painful submission hold. 

None of the Narikin had spoken even a single word. And just as silently, the one in front of Iris turned around, lowering her blade. 

She was beautiful from head-to-toe, with flawless skin that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The pattern inside her kimono reacted similarly, reflecting orange-gold to further her otherworldly allure. 

For a brief second they made eye contact.

“T-Thank you,” Iris stammered.

Despite the hollow clarity of her artificial eyes, the woman’s gaze pierced Iris. Iris felt no particular intention behind them, yet her stare felt coldly analytical. The two lingered on each other but a moment, yet within those two seconds a new feeling blossomed in Iris.

The woman who had just saved her was gorgeous beyond comparison. Her ethereal grace and power were inhuman, but in that moment… Iris wanted to be like her in every way. Elegant, powerful, and undeniably feminine. Iris knew in her heart that if she could live like that, nobody would ever give her trouble again.

Iris’ reverie was cut short when the cyborg soldier approached, signaling the crowd back from the crime scene. As quickly as it began,the girl ran back into the arms of her waiting mother. 

Yet it was the chaos of that day that planted the seed in Iris which had now finally borne fruit. After two long years as a grunt, she had finally been approved as a candidate for the Narikin Program. Not only was the opportunity prestigious, but it carried an immediate salary increase.

'I can finally see a doctor,’ Iris fantasized. 

Yes, some things had been put off until now. Very important things to Iris, like hormone replacement.

But now was not the time to get caught up on that. Iris donned her training attire, a leotard worn by Narikin beneath their kimono. Iris’, however, was emblazoned with the image of a crow, just over her heart. This was the corporation’s logo, and the words ‘NARIKIN PROGRAM CANDIDATE’ were positioned around it. 

Chunky off-white sneakers were also provided by the corporation, and Iris had the idea to style them with legwarmers. A personal touch that didn’t violate any protocols.

Iris checked herself in the mirror one last time, doing her best  to shake the undercurrent of shame she felt seeing herself in such feminine attire. 

’Acceptable, I think,’ she thought before spinning around and heading straight for the door.

The commute from the candidate barracks to the briefing room, where she’d meet her new commanding officer, was graciously short. The Yatagarasu Corporation’s North American headquarters towered over the cityscape, with over 120 floors above ground and 20 hidden below. The Narikin Program briefing room was Iris’ destination, and it was there that she would be under the jurisdiction of Research and Development , who called the innermost depths their home.

The hallways were lined with gold-colored floors, tastefully accentuating black walls adorned with the occasional filigree. Even within the subterranean depths the corporation’s branding was ever-present, with their seal emblazoned on signage and stationery.

Eventually, hallways gave way to the elaborate and luxurious central lobby for the Narikin Program. For Iris, it almost felt like the entrance to a grand hotel or convention center; with its  high ceiling, curved walls, and multiple, massive monitor displays. Various women, distinguished only by the callsign printed on their kimono and their weapons, dotted the room. It was Iris’ first time seeing a Narikin since she was a child.

“Guide us, Yatagarasu!” she overheard one of them intone.

“Guide us, Yatagarasu!” the others saluted back.

But Iris had no time to be starstruck. In the back of the lobby was an escalator which led to the Narikin Briefing room. That  large, imposing door was Iris’ destination. She hurried down the stairs into the central area, but her path was cut off by a security checkpoint.

“You flesh?” a masked guard probed, waving a wand all around Iris’ body.

“Y-Yes, no implants!” 

“Step right in,” the guard ushered her along.

Iris cautiously strode inside of the booth, letting its advanced sensors take in every detail of her body. Signals were passed through which would detect any foreign objects or potential weapons. 

“100% flesh and bone, huh?” The guard appraised, giving Iris one more look over, “Doc’s gonna have fun with you.”

Iris paused, considering just what exactly that meant.

“Alright, you’re clear.”

Before she could ponder those ominous words, Iris shuffled through the checkpoint and onto the escalator. She looked over her shoulder, giving the lobby one more view from above. 

’This is it. The start of my new life,’she thought with a smile.

—

The briefing room felt like a completely different world. The dimly lit and massive space was covered in an unknown fog. Immediately Iris followed the haze- and its ambiguously floral scent- to incense that billowed from a small shrine in the corner.

A shrine to the company’s logo, the Kami Yatagarasu.  It seemed the whole room had been designed to match it, as the rest of the decor gave Iris the feeling of being in a Sengoku Castle. 

Iris recalled her lessons on company history when she first enlisted. Yatagarasu was a god of guidance, and the sun. A fitting deity for the Narikin- ‘Narikin’ itself being a shogi term for a promoted pawn. For those within Yatagarasu, the Kami was seen as the path towards power and wealth.

The candidate’s gaze trailed to the center of the room and up the long, low, table. Numerous cushions dotted the wooden floor around it, a sign this space was meant for many others like herself. 

But Iris’ amateur assessment of the room was cut short when she noticed a single shadowed figure standing still in the back. The shilloulette was tall, thin, and dressed to match the room’s unusual atmosphere. Iris could just barely make out a blue and gold patterned kimono, and a long smoking pipe completed the look of nobility. 

“Sergeant Iris Haze, welcome to the Narikin Program,” the stranger spoke with a deep, raspy voice. She spoke in greeting, but there was no friendliness to her tone.

“T-Thank you,” Iris stuttered back.

“I am your commanding officer. My samurai, my Narikin, know me as Daimyo.”

The woman, the Daimyo, stepped ever-so-slightly towards the light. Her messy, almost spiked, hair barely reached her chin and just beneath her bangs was an icy stare. Her features were handsome, but Iris could see her eyes had narrowed.

“Until you’ve sworn yourself to me, you may address me simply as ‘commander’.”

Iris shifted. The Narikin Unit had always been known as samurai, but she hadn’t anticipated how committed to the theme they would be. Was ‘swearing herself’ simply an initiation ritual?

“Yes, commander,” she answered.

“First, I must ascertain your intentions for joining my Unit. Why have you come, sergeant?” the Daimyo exhaled, an unknown smoke pouring from her lips.

“My intentions…” Iris wondered aloud. Her eyes struggled to focus on the imposing woman before her.

“May I speak candidly, commander?” she asked with a noticeable quiver.

The Daimyo’s eyes narrowed. 

“I’ll allow it.”

Iris swallowed before speaking the truth-

“I want the body of a Narikin.”

There was silence. The Daimyo hit her pipe again as she mulled the answer.

“Really now?”

“I mean… When I was very young, one of your Narikin saved my life. And I had never seen someone so beautiful and strong.”

“One’s body is an extension of the self, or so some say. Your pursuit of beauty is understandable, but seeking it in this way may not leave you as yourself.” 

Iris looked away timidly. Full-body augmentation was a daunting proposition philosophically. She put a lot of thought into it over the course of years, but one feeling always won out in the end: this cannot continue. She could not continue with the body she was given. She would not accept it, she would never accept it. ‘Lying down and taking it’ was not her way.

“I’m aware, commander…”

Again the commander lingered on her statement. The resolve in Iris’ voice was the only hint of strength she had sensed from their encounter thus far. When she finally spoke, the shadows on her face seemed to contort.

“Very well.” the commander stated with a barely visible smile. “If such is your desire, and you have the loyalty to back it up, you will find no trouble here.”

In the darkness of the room, Iris tried to read her expression., However, the shadows left no indication of the Commander’s intentions towards her. In the dimly lit room, the Daimyo’s features seemed exaggerated. Only the corners of her mouth seemed to smile while her eyes focused threateningly on the candidate before her. In Iris’ gut, it made all of her words seem like they were dripping with venom.

“T-Thank you, commander!” 

The Daimyo stifled a haughty laugh, just audibly enough for Iris to catch it. 

“There’s no need to thank me, your service will suffice,” she added, “But service to Yatagarasu is no small matter. I ask: Will you give your life to our cause?”

Iris thought for a moment. She wasn’t brainwashed, she knew the corporations weren’t innocent. Not a single one of them. Enlisting wasn’t an ideological decision, but a means to an end. But there was no way they could know that.

“For my dream of becoming Narikin, anything.”

“The Narikin mean much to you,” the Daimyo continued, “You will find they mean even more to me.”

“A-Ah, yes. Of course,” Iris nodded. It usually wasn’t a good sign when a company tried to make you think they cared, but for Iris it it was unclear if the Daimyo knew of that at all.

“There will come many trials to prove your loyalty, candidate. I hope you have the resolve to overcome them.”

“Yes, commander.”

For a moment Iris could only smell the smoke wafting from the Daimyo’s pipe. And in the next instant, all trace of the enigmatic woman was gone. tThe room’s lights brightened and the incense even seemed to dissipate.

Iris flinched, dumbstruck by the encounter. For as much as the Narikin were propaganda poster girls, little was known about their leader. Had she been modified too? Was her disappearing act a display of cybernetic speed?

Yet there was little time to think. The room’s fresh illumination had revealed another presence in the corner.

“Greetings!” came a nasally voice.

If the Daimyo had seemed exaggerated, the petite woman before her was a full-blown character. With an asymmetrical bob, thick rimmed glasses, and a labcoat she might have passed for a trendy young doctor. But with her jean shorts, fishnets, and skate shoes she seemed more like some emo kid off the street. 

“Hiiiii,” she chimed again, hoping for a response the second time, “I’m Doctor Morinagaaa!”

“O-Oh, Doctor!” Iris laughed, trying to play the last minute off.

“Yeah, I remember. They said you would do my orientation. And the pre-op for the implants, right?”

“That's right!”

The doctor practically skipped over to her new charge, her hair bouncing with each step. She was considerably smaller than Iris, who couldn't help but feel somewhat envious.

“You remembered my name! Oh, that's so sweet! I love sweet little things like you,” she purred.

Iris turned beet red from an entire spectrum of emotions. 

“I have so many questions for you! Your physical came back good, but those jarheads didn’t tell me anything about your bone density or your central nervous system,” the doctor pouted.

“But first, tell me-” she leaned over and winked, “Do you plan on taking estrogen?”

Iris was hit again. 

“Uh-Uhmm, yes… But, why…?”

“Awesome!” the doctor cheered, “Well, we’ll have you on it in no time. We need to get your brain used to working with those hormones. For when you’re in your full-body!” 

That made some amount of sense, at least on paper. A full-body replacement typically simulated the endocrine system to maintain the brain’s chemical balance.

“Just go easy with the augs, okay?” Iris tried to joke.

“Hmm…” Morinaga put her pin in her mouth, eyeing the other woman’s body like a hawk, “You’re gonna need optics for sure, and there’s the OS implant… Probably gonna need to do something about those legs…”

“Oh, but there I go again! Always rambling, right? See what you made me do?”

Doctor Morinaga wrote something on a piece of paper, checked a few boxes, and gave a satisfied nod.

“Now come, to my secret laboratory,” she said with nauseating self-awareness, motioning for Iris to follow her. 

Through a narrow out-of-place door, the two women came into a brightly-lit corridor. Compared to the moody, atmospheric space before this seemed like a hospital.

“How long have you wanted to be on HRT? Have you tried any DIY stuff? Oh, and do you have any recent bloodwork? Chromosonal testing?”

And on, and on.

The barrage of questions made it difficult to discern the woman’s intent. She seemed interested. Keenly interested. Iris chalked it up to curiosity, if not medical necessity. But trying to focus on the screening and layout of the massive headquarters was hopeless. Its winding ways and twisted halls felt purposefully constructed to entwine around themselves within the subterranean passage, which ultimately only beckoned Iris deeper.

“-Oh, and I’ll need your old name, too. For science!” Morinaga blurted, before abruptly stopping.

“And we’re here! Take a seat wherever’s comfortable, okay?” 

Futuristic metal doors slid open, and revealed a room that was disconcertingly large for its content. Behind a plexiglass wall in the corner, was an array of various monitors and computer equipment. Thick, massive cables connected the haphazard assembly to an ominous examination chair at the center of the room. The seat was flanked by an IV stand and a nursing cart with… Something on it.

Iris squinted to make out that last unknown device. To her inexperienced eyes, all she could see was a pasta strainer with a crown of computer cables. 

“What’s this for, m-m’am?” she asked, as she cautiously approached the only seat in the room.

“Oh, just a therapeutic device. Nothing to be afraid of, I promise. I know you already did a psych eval, but…” The doctor rambled in response.

“Eleectric Encephelaptic Stimulation Therapy is a wonderful new science! With a few well-controlled zaps, you can hardwire better habits into any patient! The sound system is to die for, too- It has to be, to deliver the kind of trippy binaural effects it uses. Can’t forget the visual display, either! You know it’s less like a screen and more of a filament between panes of glass that we can project images onto from the inside!”

After her zealous advertisement of the device’s capabilities, Morinaga got to the point.

“So we’ll get that IV in, set up the EEG, and then you’ll just relax while we get to work ironing out some…. things!”

Iris had only half paid attention, so she hadn’t wondered what they could be “ironing out” in her brain. 

“So just sit back, huh?” she muttered. 

The chair was solid metal, save for the pleather cushioning that made up its seat and back rest. The metal armrests were chilled by the ambient air, and despite the device’s cleanliness and care, it still managed to appear old and worn from continued use. 

’How many other candidates have sat on this thing?’ Iris thought to herself before another detail of the device drew her attention. The presence of thick leather restraints on each arm gave Iris pause. 

“What are those for?” Iris asked cautiously as she pointed to the restraints. 

“Oh, it’s just for safety.” Dr. Morinaga said, waving her hand dismissively.

“In extremely rare instances, I’m talkin’ like 1-in-3,400,239 cases ‘rare’, candidates may have a… Seizure-like reaction to the procedure and such restraints help reduce the risk of any long term skeletal, or muscular damage during convulsions. Again, it’s super rare, so just don’t worry about that! Besides, I’ll make sure you’re nice and comfy!” 

Iris nervously bit her cheek, but she stifled her questions and placed her trust in the doctor.  She had given her employer the benefit of the doubt so many times already, all she could do was swallow her unease and proceed. 

“It’ll tingle a little, but nothing too bad. You’ll see,” Doctor Morinaga added.

Settling in beside it, Iris got a good look at the bowl-like device she saw earlier. The wires were all connected to circular electrodes across the domed surface. The sides drooped down to reveal speakers and headphone padding, while a visor assembly hung from the front. 

Whatever it was, it seemed like she’d be wearing it. Iris gently sat herself down onto the chair as the doctor looked on.

“Very good, Miss Candidate!” Morinaga teased as she began restraining Iris to the chair. The doctor’s soft hands belied their skill as she coldly subdued Iris with each of the leather straps on the arms of the chair.

Iris nervously chuckled to herself as she felt the cold metal of the buckle tighten against her skin. If she had any thoughts of struggling, they now vanished as she felt the pressure against her wrist. As she was adjusting to her newfound restraint, Iris was taken aback as Doctor Morinaga crouched on the floor and grabbed at her ankle, her grip far stronger than she anticipated. She had not noticed the leg fasteners attached to the base of the chair, but the Doctor did, and she ensured the candidate was now firmly locked in-place as intended.

“There! Snug as a soldier in a toaster!” Doctor Morinaga said with a giggle.

There was a sharp poke as the IV broke Iris’ skin. 

“What’s this for?” she idly asked.

The doctor looked down at her with a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Hydration! You’re gonna be here a minute, sorryyyy.”

The helmet looked hefty in the woman’s hands as she lifted it from its base. She held it above her head with a quizzical look, scanning it, before gently lowering it on Iris’ scalp. 

It was definitely a snug fit, and the padding around Iris’ ears deafened the world around her. Her vision was also obscured, as the visor acted as an opaque filter of the world. Iris could only vaguely make out the distorted shape of Doctor Morinaga as she moved towards Iris’ torso.

As soon as Iris was completely bound- she overheard something about ‘safety’ through the padding- the doctor stepped back behind the plexiglass wall. 

“Heyyyy, you can totally hear me, right?” 

Morinaga’s voice was clear, spoken through a microphone directly into the helmet’s audio system. Iris nodded in confirmation.

“Good! Now, Miss Candidate, I’m gonna start the program in just a moment. It seems crazy, but trust me- It’s all working as intended.”

Iris steeled herself. In truth, her first day with the Narikin Program had been nothing like she imagined so far. R&D seemed to be staffed with the most eccentric people in the company- It was a feeling wholly different from the trenches of the corporate war. 

As she was mulling over the day’s events, she hardly noticed a flat tone fading into her hearing. It snuck up on her, capturing her attention when it reached full volume. 

It should have been grating, but there was an almost atmospheric effect to it. As if the sound was echoing and bleeding into otherworldly synth. It was monotonous but nonetheless captivating and soothing. The kind of thing Iris could see herself relaxing to, which she had been instructed to do.

“Seriously, loosen up,” the doctor’s voice faded in, not as loud as before, “Stretch your legs, take some deep breaths.”

Loosening up wasn’t one of Iris’ strong suits either, but she tried nonetheless. Iris closed her eyes and inhaled, counted to 5, and exhaled. 

“Oh, but eyes open, okay?” Morinaga half-whispered.

Iris followed along, opening her eyes. As soon as she did, four small prongs unfurled from the helmet and held her eyelids in place.

“Sorry, forgot about that,” Doctor Morinaga giggled.

The mad science vibe had gone up by a factor of hundreds. But as Iris started to feel the first clawings of panic, a different feeling settled in her chest. A strange, but altogether pleasant, warmth.

A prolonged shock followed. It wasn’t painful, not in the sense that it really did any harm. It was like a dozen gag toys had been pressed to Iris’ head at once. She flinched against the restraints, but her muscles suddenly felt too heavy and groggy to move anymore.

She didn’t know just how dire the situation was. 

One of the bags on the drip stand was innocuous saline solution for hydration, but another was more insidious. A potent cocktail of drug ’ had been introduced to her body, a small dose but just enough to inhibit her cerebral cortex. 

Doctor Morinaga smiled at the beginning of her favorite part. Sedating the area of a subject’s brain responsible for decision-making and conscious thought made the whole process that much simpler. Combined with the initial widespread shock, Iris’ suggestive vulnerability had increased to acceptable levels for the Narikin conditioning. 

“Wha- Wha’s happenin’?” Iris slurred softly, as if through stuffed with cotton.

Behind the monitors, Doctor Morinaga's smile morphed into a Cheshire grin as she observed her unaware subject. 

Iris willed herself to move in vain, a futile attempt of her addled mind that she could, but she was simply too tired, too calm to resist. 

After several moments, the visor flashed to life. For Iris, the dazzling display was like a dizzying burst of light from the paparazzi. Her dilated pupils were helpless and forced to watch, but with reassurance from the  doctor, Iris let herself focus.

“You’re doing so well, not as much thrashing as usual…” Morinaga spoke to her, “Whatever you’re experiencing, it’s perfectly normal and safe. Seriously, do try to relax.”

At the doctor’s prompting, Iris thought about her dreams. At the back of her mind, she felt a warm- if somewhat foreign- comfort pushing back at her unease. 

‘This isn’t some back-alley mad scientist, this was the Narikin Program’ she told herself.

She’d do anything to make it through this trial. She’d do anything to have that body.

With renewed resolve Iris steadied her breath and tried to zone out, aided by the drugs now coursing throughout her system. Yet even this attempt at focus was met with another, much smaller, zap. And another. Then another. Each volt threatened to rouse Iris from the state she was working herself into, but as the onslaught continued she found herself numb to the shock. 

Each ‘corrective’ shock peeled away a layer of fear and apprehension that obstructed the most direct neural path to Iris’ subconscious. After several jolts  her brain was sufficiently saturated and prepared. 

“Smoothed” was the term Dr. Morinaga preferred to call the state, where electric stimulation served as a metaphorical sander. A sander that removed all friction to the subsequent levels of brainwashing to come.

Iris was comfortably numb and vulnerable.Even blinking was no longer an issue, as the helmet gently misted her eyes. 

She effortlessly took in the dazzling spectacle before her unblinking pupils. The random flashing lights had now given way to a more distinct pattern, twirling delicately into the center of the visor. Shooting stars spun around a gravity well, intense flashes leaving behind streaks of brilliance. 

’Woah, the doc’ gave me the good stuff…’Iris mused from within her drug induced fugue. She was a million miles away in her mind; her mouth had gone agape simply from the ease of not keeping it shut.

But the EEST helmet wasn’t finished. Just below the lightshow’s surface, a new image flickered into focus. Iris hadn’t noticed it at first, but with each repetition the image became more defined. It was footage, combat data recorded through the optics of various Narikin on deployment.

As a sergeant in the Yatagarasu’s private millitary, Iris wasn’t a stranger to gore. She’d seen all manner of injury and bloodshed on the battlefield. However, none were inflicted with the speed, spectacle or sadism of a Narikin. There was an intensity to bladed combat lost on soldiers of the modern day, such that Iris managed to wince as one Unit disemboweled two men with the flick of her katana.

’Oh my god, what the hell?!’ the voice at the back of Iris’ mind panicked.

But another jolt from the EEST machine swiftly robbed Iris of her revulsion and resistance. A wave of comforting numbness and apathy washed over her thoughts as the compilation of carnage continued unabated.  Although Iris’ mind felt detached, the drugs ensured she could feel her adrenaline rise, and her heart rate increase. 

Along with something else.

“Zap!” Morinaga giggled, gesticulating exaggeratedly as she pressed the button to administer shock. 

A Narikin sawing through reinforced bone to disable her enemy.

An armed insurgent’s skull splattering from a deflected bullet.

Blood gushing all over those beautiful white kimonos.

Every time a horrific bloodbath began to wake Iris from her languor, a controlled shock to her brain would pacify her- and even soothe her with a spike of pleasure.

Doctor Morinaga bit her bottom lip in excitement as she marvelled at the perverse synthesis of stimuli pouring into her subject’s skull. In actuality, The Narikin training program was of her own design and even she couldn’t help but swell in pride at the juxtaposition of sex and savagery she created.

It had served her corporate overlords well in creating living tools of destruction, ever since its creation all those years ago. It even served to satisfy her carnal desires, when she got to use it.

 'Oh, you girlies are so cute when you’re so suggestible and stupid,’ she thought to herself as she proceeded apace with Iris’ programming, ’Why don’t we study ahead for some extra credit and both really enjoy this?’

The doctor knew it was against the scant regulations to begin the combat conditioning program so early- but Iris’ mind was simply too subjugated. Too open, too ripe to ignore.

'After all, it’s all for the sake of the company, riiiight?’ Morinaga told herself as she pressed onward with the mental assault.

And a truly inspired assault it was. The bloodshed and butchery were a shock to Iris’ nervous system- her autonomic reflexes armed just from seeing the grotesqueries before her eyes. And in this mentally vulnerable and deadened state, Doctor Morinaga was free to traumatize the candidate in any way she liked. 

With the Narikin training program and EEST equipment she could control and condition the subject’s response and associate any feeling or emotion with the stimuli pouring into Iris’ open and waiting mind. 

For all candidates like Iris, that feeling she chose was “pleasure.” The corporation  needed fresh, malleable minds like her to associate the brutality of war and the obedience demanded with pleasure. They needed her to chase that high more than anything- because for a Narikin, that was the only feeling there was. 

Iris’ mind struggled to process the stimulation, which only made her intoxicated brain more pliant to the cruel conditioning. At this stage she couldn’t take her eyes off the horrors, and very soon she wouldn’t want to.

Further pulses of electricity passed through Iris’ brain, each jolt precisely calibrated to safely spark her neural pathways in the exact order necessary to cultivate the creation of new ones. Deeper ones. Deeper neural connections that would one day serve to strengthen the newly minted mind in its journey. The journey she, like all Narikin, traveled towards control and synchronization with the corporate crafted perfection that would become their new form.

But before that reality could come, Morinaga made sure that she’d be coming first- so the programming continued. Minutes dragged on into hours, as Iris grew more suggestible, and Morinaga grew more damp between her thighs.

The complex readouts on her monitors showed the flush Doctor exactly what she wanted to see. Saliva coated lips curled into a smile as she quickly tapped one of the touchscreens and began the next phase of the training. 

Faint, high-pitched, whispers seeped into the droning audio at a range Iris could barely hear. But the messages within were inescapable.

‘The Daimyo deserves my respect.’

'I have dedicated my life to the Yatagarasu Corporation.’

‘I obey my superiors.’

'Pleasure motivates me.'

’I am property, I am an investment.'

These subliminal suggestions flooded into  Iris’ ears, drowning whatever fleeting conscious thoughts were unfortunate enough to remain beneath their torrent. In her fugue, Iris couldn’t even tell if she was truly hearing them. The electric shocks from the EEST helmet allowed information to be freely associated with any stimuli. Conscious awareness was never a prerequisite or even preferred state of mind for efficacy. 

With the obedience module activated, Doctor Morinaga’s hand slid into her shorts. The fertile soil of the candidate’s mind had been tilled and the thought of Iris being twisted by her work sent Morinaga into throes of ecstasy. Yet, the doctor remained a consummate professional, even while aroused and pleasuring herself on the job. She monitored the subliminals and Iris’ brain activity, shepherding Iris’ mind with one hand as her other desperately led her to stilted, silent climax. With her first orgasm complete, Morinaga meticulously monitored the steady warping of her mind, ensuring the seeds she planted blossomed as intended.

Iris’ quiet, breathless gasps confirmed the doctor’s newly tended tangles of brainwashing maintained their twisted growth within Iris’ mind. Each subliminal repetition choked Iris’ ego tighter, suffocating her free will beneath the pleasurable death of violence, obedience and arousal. 

Her unfocused and dilated eyes stared outwards into the lights, her conscious mind unaware of the reconstruction within. She couldn’t perceive the power or presence of the corporation’s state of the art subliminals, let alone realize how the drugs had impacted her cognitive functions. All she could do was relax, focus, and feel the pleasure while s the procedure worked as intended 

Another unconscious gasp escaped from parted lips, followed by a soft, husky moan of pleasure. 

'I’m sorry, Miss Candidate. You’re just so… Easy!’ Morinaga smiled to herself.

It was always the ones with low self-esteem she liked to work with. Helpless little runts who just want to move up in the world, that was the type she could coax into the chair most easily. But Iris was something different, something even more vulnerable.

Oh yes, you’ll do anything! Anything for me!’

A transgender woman desperate to metamorphose into her ideal body. A woman completely at the mercy of the doctor who can give her what she needs. The natural human desire to fit in her own skin had led her straight into the maw of a predator. That was the power dynamic Morinaga craved.

Even if Iris could see the doctor’s wanton masturbation, she probably wouldn’t mind. 

’That’s right, her brain’s cracked wide open for me! I’d tell her to accept it and she wouldn’t spare another thought.’

As if to answer the doctor’s lascivious thoughts, Iris had now begun to openly drool. Her expression equal parts fascinated, relaxed, docile, and most importantly aroused. It was just so hard to think, and so much easier to relax. Squirm. Enjoy the carnage, the beauty, the pleasurable purpose of Narikin combat. What little remained of her thoughts just replayed the mantras and the doctor’s assurances. 

For hours, electric crackling and Doctor Morinaga’s continuous lustful panting filled the sterile examination room. In just half a day Iris had stopped thinking altogether, the clear readouts being what finally sent the eccentric doctor over the edge. 

“Oh, fuck! Yes, you’re soooo empty,” she cried, her fingers furiously rubbing her clit, “Such a perfect little subject, mmmpph!”

Propping her fashionable sneakers up on the equipment, toes curling within, Morinaga easily pushed herself to her third climax. Her eyes rolled back as she bit her lip, almost looking like the subject of mad science herself. The waves of arousal made her see stars.

“That was great,” she purred, “I hope it was as good for you.”

Yet there was no response. There couldn’t have been when Iris was so preoccupied; lost in a tingly, foggy, stupor that made her limbs feel full of honey.

Doctor Morinaga sat up straight, halfheartedly fixing her hair. 

“But a good doctor’s work is never done, hm?” she sighed as she zipped her shorts.

With a wistful expression she strutted over to the chair, her own legs still wobbly from multiple climaxes on the job. She waved her hand in front of the helpless patient’s face.

“God, I love doing that…” she bit her lip muttering.

The metal doors slid open, and nurses poured in. The doctor met their gazes with an embarrassed smile as she entrusted Iris’ care to them. 

‘The Daimyo deserves my respect.’

‘I have dedicated my life to the Yatagarasu Corporation.’

‘I obey my superiors.’

’Pleasure motivates me.'

’I am property, I am an investment.'

She was in for a long night.

—

Exactly 14 hours, 3 minutes and 25 seconds had passed with Iris beneath the EEST helmet. When Doctor Morinaga returned, the helpless woman was completely limp in the operating chair. 

Before, Iris had been casually yet neatly dressed, prepared for physical and mental examination. Now she was a heap; her hair slightly tussled, jaw hanging open, and eyes wide. For Yatagarasu, Iris was the archetypal brainwashing victim. Her lips had even begun to quiver as if she were trying to repeat the suggestions.

“What I wouldn’t give to go again right now,” Morinaga muttered as she appreciated the sight.

But alas, there’d be more sessions. More candidates. More hapless, desperate, grunts with eager minds waiting to be cracked. Not even Iris was finished, but there was something special about that first time under the helmet. The doctor regained her composure as a nurse handed her a clipboard affixed with several documents and a pen.

“Typically, coming out of an EEST procedure requires a level of ‘aftercare.’ A transitory state between utter trance and wide wakefulness” The doctor quickly signed off on the documents and smiled. “But for you, that isn't in the cards.”

“She’s all yours,” the Doctor sighed.

As if from nowhere, the Daimyo appeared behind her and flashed a wicked smile- but its meaning was not entirely clear.

“I thank you, Doctor. Your work continues to please Yatagarasu-sama,” she spokewith a noble, refined, aura. “And you seemed to enjoy it rather much as well.”

Morinaga’s heart skipped a beat, a faint red rushing to her cheeks.

“You were watching meeee?” she whined.

“Always,” the Daimyo laughed, “Now let’s get this pawn on the board.”

The mysterious woman sauntered to the middle of the room, in full view of Iris’ hollowed form. Nothing would be hidden this time. It was necessary that Iris take in every detail of her future Lord’s appearance. 

The doctor pouted some more before she pecked at various screens, force-quitting the operation. The electricity zapping into Iris’ brain abruptly stopped, the visor fizzled out, and the audio fell mute. 

But still, Iris had sunken like a rock. While the objects of her enthrallment were gone, she easily stayed in trance until something caught her attention.

Doctor Morinaga was at her side now, gently removing the helmet. 

“D-Doctor…” Iris groaned, her lips chapped from hours of breathless moans and mouth breathing.

The doctor simply nodded and turned towards the Daimyo. 

“Daimyo…!” she gasped, recognizing the shilloulette from the briefing room.

The young woman instinctively tried to salute, yet found her muscles were too soft. Dizziness captured her consciousness as if a silent rebuke of her weakness and inability. 

’No, I must obe-’ She was left with only enough energy  to hold her head as her conditioning sprang to life within her psyche.

“Arise, aspirant,” the Daimyo commanded in a sultry tone, cutting through the pawn’s mental anguish. “Only at my feet may you pledge your life to me.”

Iris looked up. The woman’s voice was powerful, too powerful. After hours of hypnotic suggestion, her mind folded again at the order. 

’The Daimyo deserves respect, she is to be obeyed,’ the thought rang loudly in her skull, as if it were hollow. 

“Y-Yes…!” She stuttered, shambling to her feet. 

Under any other circumstances the sight of a young woman tripping on herself, only to crawl on the floor, would have been too pitiful to watch. Yet the Daimyo stared on in rapt attention. A bemused smile danced on her lips as she watched Iris realize her fall had done her a favor by putting her in prostration. Inside the grogginess of her mind, there was only feverish desire. 

“I will… I will pledge my life…!” she muttered to herself, crawling closer.

And as Iris grew tantalizingly close, the Daimyo took one step back. 

“My life… Yatagarasu…” Iris continued.

Finally, she reached the Daimyo’s geta and wrapped her arms around the woman’s soft, smooth legs. With reverence, Iris proffered each foot a kiss, savoring the intimacy and touch with a fervor she had never felt for herself or even a lover.

“Do you swear to honor me?” The Daimyo asked, her voice stern and unmoved by the pawn’s worship.

“Yes, Daimyo. P-Please, be my Lord…” Iris begged, eyes watering in awe and the faintest hint of arousal.

“Do you pledge your blade against my enemies? Do you pledge to slaughter your fellow man for my advancement?” 

“Yes, Daimyo!” Iris managed to shout, her eyes compelled to stare lovingly up at the incarnation of power that towered before her.

“Will you pledge your eternal soul to the cause of Yatagarasu?”

Iris nodded her assent, lightheaded from the effort it took to maintain her lucidity within the presence of such divinity and dominance. . 

“Y-yes, I will…!” she managed to finally gasp. 

The Daimyo looked down, blowing odd-smelling smoke in Iris’ face. She cupped the woman’s chin and pulled her gaze up until their eyes met.

“Rejoice then, as I name you Provisional Unit 8 of the Narikin Program” The Daimyo said with a smile.

“Oh, thank you, my Lord! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Iris was overwhelmed with joy and pleasure. She cried in relief as she pressed her face onto the tops of the Daimyo’s feet, unaware of the precum that had now stained her panties just from those words of affirmation alone.

It was as if the world of her dreams had just laid itself bare to her. Desires- authentic and implanted- were realized right before her eyes. 

Being christened Narikin by her sworn Lord was the happiest she had ever been.