One day earlier…

Luka was furiously typing away at another important e-mail. One she absolutely had to get right if her news agency had any hope of covering the upcoming arrival of a foreign super star who was supposedly very selective and particular about their media appearances. This was after a meeting with the CEO of a different news agency to make sure their respective reporters didn’t get in each other’s way at the site of that large house fire earlier that day. There was also still a litany of phone calls she had to make but at least, those could wait until after lunch time.

When she was finally finished checking and double checking what she’d written, she sat back in her chair and let out a sigh. As CEO, her workdays were filled with numerous different stresses and problems and though she wouldn’t give it up for the world, she knew that tonight, she would likely come home absolutely exhausted, collapse into bed, and do it all over again tomorrow.

She stood up and opened her office doors to talk to her secretary. “Hanako, could you come and spell check something for me?” she asked. Hanako was quite young and lacked experience but she was very diligent at her job and often noticed things that others did not.

The secretary stood up. “Of course, Miss Matthews.”

Luka put up a smile. “What would I do without you?”

As Hanako entered the office, she gave Luka a bit of a funny look. “Are you alright, Miss Matthews?” she asked.

“Well, yes. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Luka asked surprised.

“It may be none of my business… but there are bags under your eyes,” Hanako said.

Luka blinked a few times before taking out her phone and looking at herself through the camera. Her secretary had been right. “Ah… don’t worry about that. I stayed up late last night to fix up some of those contracts I told you about the other day.”

At this point, Hanako actually looked a little concerned. “But Miss Matthews, shouldn’t you take your rest in the evening? You will burn yourself up if you don’t take a break.”

A genuine smile formed on Luka’s face in response. “I appreciate your concerns, Hanako, and you’re probably right. There’s just a lot of things that need to be done and not enough time in the workday to do it in.”

“Then… at least let me help you ease your burdens,” Hanako proposed as she went to sit down behind Luka’s laptop to begin her spell checking.

Ease her burdens, huh? Well, for Luka, that was actually quite tricky. She wanted to be personally responsible for most, if not, all of her tasks. Not because she particularly enjoyed them all but because she could never quite shake the feeling that others might not do as good of a job as her.

But Hanako was right. She couldn’t keep going forever and if she didn’t delegate some of her tasks, then the consequences could be dire. But before that, there was something else that needed to be done. “Say, Hanako,” Luka started.

“Yes?”

“What do you do in order to destress?”

Hanako’s bewildered face poked out from behind Luka’s laptop. “Destressing?”

Luka retreated slightly. “Ah, maybe I shouldn’t ask you about that. Sorry.”

“No! No, I was just surprised,” Hanako said. “Because there is something I do that might be nice for you too.”

Luka looked up again. “Really?”

Hanako nodded with a smile. However, she then bit her lip as her face grew a little red. “Actually, on second thought… forget I said that… it’s perhaps a little embarrassing.”

Luka tilted her head. “Embarrassing? Now you’re only making me more curious.”

Hanako hid her face behind the laptop and let out a sigh. She gulped and began talking again. “Have you ever heard of hypnosis?”

Well, that was certainly an unexpected question. “Are… you talking about those shows where they make people think they’re chickens?”

Hanako looked a little uneasy. “That’s the popular view of hypnosis… but that’s mostly just staged. I’m talking about the practice of actual hypnosis.”

“Actual? Hmm… can you explain that a little more?” Luka asked curiously.

“Well, actual hypnosis is very relaxing and lets you experience a deep sense of focus and comfort. At least, I think so. It’s all meant to give the hypnotised subject a great experience,” Hanako elaborated.

“Hmm, I see,” Luka mused. “So no chickens then?”

Hanako burst out laughing. “I mean, it’s not impossible but it’s not very common in actual hypnosis,” she said.

Luka was quite amused at the prospect as well but she was still mostly rather curious. “How is it possible then?”

“Well, you have a consciousness and a subconsciousness. A hypnotist talks to your subconsciousness and is capable of telling it to do or to imagine certain things, including ‘being a chicken’,” Hanako said.

Luka pondered about that explanation. “So… is it mind control or not?”

Hanako looked a little surprised at the fact that Luka was taking this so seriously. “It’s not really mind control but… I guess it kinda is. A hypnotist wouldn’t be able to make you do something you would never ever do but they could convince you to do something you wouldn’t normally do. They could make you so relaxed, focused, and open to suggestions that you have little choice but to go along with it.”

“I see… how curious,” Luka said. She didn’t know why but there was something almost… appealing about this idea. To surrender yourself so completely to relaxation and focus that even something as silly as acting as a chicken wouldn’t seem like the weirdest thing to do. “And you engage in this yourself?”

Hanako was already blushing explaining all of this but that was made worse now as she nodded.

Luka couldn’t help but laugh as she raised her hands and pretended to cast a spell. “You’ll now think that you are a cat,” she said.

Hanako gave a meek giggle in response. “I’m uh… actually not usually the subject. I tend to be the hypnotist,” she admitted.

All of Luka’s amusement left her face and made way for the surprise of this revelation. Meek little Hanako who always found it difficult to speak her mind… liked hypnotising others and telling them what to do? It was quite hard to imagine that. “... Really?”

Hanako nodded. “I enjoy hypnotising people and making them do whatever I want beyond mere relaxation and making them act like chickens. I find it exhilarating and it makes me feel powerful.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she seemingly realised what she had just said in front of her boss. She closed up and buried her face behind the laptop again.

There was a deafening silence that fell for the next few minutes. The only noises that could be heard were the clicking of the mouse and Hanako’s typing as she quietly edited her boss’s e-mail. Luka was simply too lost in thought about what she imagined Hanako would be like as a hypnotist. What she was referring to when she mentioned ‘beyond relaxation and acting like chickens’. As the one in control for a change. It was amusing. It was unusual. It was… it was… 

… strangely appealing.

The thought went through Luka’s mind for just a moment but she couldn’t just dismiss that! Where did that come from? She was the CEO here. She was the one in control of her life and not anyone else. So then why was there that thought just now about relinquishing that, even for just a bit?

“I think the e-mail is fine now,” Hanako said. Her face was still very red and she talked even softer than she usually did. She quickly stood up and almost raced towards the door. “I’m… gonna go for lunch.”

Luka barely had a chance to say anything to her as she was left alone in her office. Her mind was far too occupied with what had just transpired. What a strange thing to have learned about her secretary.

All throughout Luka’s lunch break, she was still thinking about the earlier exchange. She saw Hanako only a short moment before the latter already bolted upstairs again to finish her lunch there. Perhaps they shouldn’t have had that conversation at all. If Luka hadn’t insisted on Hanako’s explanation, things wouldn’t feel so awkward right now.

And Luka wouldn’t be plagued by her thoughts of Hanako the hypnotist, for that matter.

So when her lunch break was over and she reentered the lift upstairs, she made up her mind. She did not want things to remain as they were for too long.

When the lift doors opened, Hanako was very much pretending to work very hard so as not to have to engage in another conversation but Luka wasn’t having any of that. Confidently, she strode up to her secretary’s desk, where Hanako’s eyes went wide with a slight twinge of fear in them.

“Will you hypnotise me?”

Luka surprised even herself as the words left her mouth. However, she meant it. She was genuinely curious and intrigued. She wanted to experience this now, and Hanako was the one who was going to help her do that.

Of course, things wouldn’t be that easy as Hanako sat there in stunned silence.

Luka blinked a few times. “... Well?” she asked.

This shook her secretary out of her stupor. “You… really want me to hypnotise you?”

Luka nodded.

Hanako gulped. “But… but I could make you do whatever I want if… if you let me.”

“I know,” Luka said. Even as she said that though, her mind started second guessing herself. It was indeed true. Though it wouldn’t be possible for Hanako to order her to, for instance, punch someone in the face or to destroy important documents, she could potentially order Luka to do something embarrassing. It was a risk for sure but Luka was determined. If she didn’t go for this now, it would continue to plague her for the rest of the day and perhaps even into tomorrow as well.

It was at this point that Hanako actually surprised Luka. She stood up to her full height, which was still a little shorter than Luka, but it was still a little curious to see. “Miss Matthews… do you give me consent to hypnotise you? Do you consent to me being in control over you, knowing the full extent of what that might entail for you?”

Luka took a step back, in awe of this complete tonal shift in her secretary’s demeanour. She gave it a moment’s thought but finally nodded. “Yes, I consent.”

A very broad, very sinister grin formed on Hanako’s face. It almost made Luka regret her decision. Almost.

“Then please go into your office. Take care of what you still have to do and I’ll make sure to cancel any appointments you have in the afternoon,” Hanako said.

She had suddenly become so firm and almost forceful! What in the world had happened? But Luka wasn’t really one to argue with her at this point. After all, she had consented. With a simple nod, she entered her office and picked up her phone. Those important calls weren’t going to make themselves, after all.

Within only half an hour, everything had been taken care of. Luka had made her phone calls, though they were a little bit more difficult to make than usual. Her mind was simply too occupied with thoughts about her upcoming hypnosis session with Hanako and what in the world could happen. Was Hanako only going to make her relax? Or was she going to allow her secretary to pry a little deeper into her mind?

There were butterflies fluttering around in Luka’s stomach as Hanako finally entered her office and locked the door behind herself. This was going to be it! She had no idea what would happen next but she wanted to experience this now or her mind would never leave her alone about it.

“I’ve let everyone know that you are unavailable for the rest of the day,” Hanako said.

“The rest of the day?” Luka asked. “Will your hypnosis really take that long?”

“A hypnosis session can last for as long as we want it to. We could be done in half an hour, or we could take hours. It’s going to depend on you entirely.”

“I see, I see,” Luka said. She still carried herself with a good level of composure but her thoughts were beginning to go a little haywire about all of this.

Hanako smiled as she retrieved something from her pocket that she held from view for now. “Before we begin, you should get yourself comfortable. Make sure the chair is in a good position and put your feet on the ground.”

Luka did as instructed. So far, so good.

“Now… I will once again explain to you what I’ll be doing,” Hanako said. “After that, you can still tell me to stop. If not, then we’ll begin.”

Luka nodded. “Very well.”

With that, Hanako finally showed what she had in her hand. It was a little pendant with small crystals adorning it hanging from a chain. “I will be using this to help you relax. I technically don’t need it but it will be a nice visual image to focus on while you listen to my words. Throughout all of this, you can still back out and stop it. But If all goes well, then I’ll be putting you into a deep hypnotic trance. You can break out of it but you’ll be far too relaxed and at peace that you won’t even care to try. Once we’re there, I’ll slowly pull you back up and out of it, and we’ll see how things go from there.”

That last comment had Luka quite curious. “What do you mean by that?”

Hanako smirked. “Whether you’ll wish to keep going or not.”

Luka couldn’t help but feel a little bit unnerved by that. She gulped and eyed her secretary with concern but rather than backing down, she nodded. “I understand.”

“Very well. Last chance then. Do you want to begin?” Hanako asked.

“... Yes.” The word had a sense of finality to it. As if she resigned her fate over in its entirety to her secretary. The young woman who had always seemed so meek and hard pressed to stand up for herself. But she did not want to take it back. She wanted to see this through now.

With that, Hanako let go of the pendant in her hand and let it dangle from its chain in front of Luka’s face. “Good… then let us begin.”

The CEO nodded as she eyed the pendant that was beginning to softly sway back and forth in front of her eyes. It was quite pretty, and the crystals caused some light from outside to gleam off it.

“Focus on the pendant,” Hanako started. “Maybe you want to focus on the light of the crystals, or maybe you’d rather look at the pendant itself as it sways back and forth, back and forth.” Her voice was a lot softer again now. As if she was speaking to an infant.

“Relax as you focus on this pendant. Let your body rest on the comfortable chair. There is nothing you need to do right now. Nothing you need to worry about. Just relax.”

The soothing words of Hanako rang true. For Luka, there was always something to worry about. Always something she had to take care of. Something to prepare for. But now… she just had to sit there and stare at this pendant. To just be in the moment. It was an alien feeling for her. One she could not quite easily get used to. She frowned a little as she tried to let go of her usual sense of urgency but try as she might, it was simply too big of a presence in her mind.

And Hanako must have noticed it too. “Your body is filled with worries. With tensions. With thoughts. But don’t worry, we’ll take care of that. As you watch the pendant, I want you to start focusing a little on your breathing, and I want you to start imagining something. I want you to imagine that each breath you take in is filled with relaxation. A small cloud of relaxation that is entering your body. And then, when you breathe out, I want you to imagine that that breath is filled with some of your worries and tensions. That phone call, those meetings, tomorrow’s news articles, all of that can wait. All of that is not important. Let them flow out of you with each breath.”

Luka thought about that for a moment. Letting it go with each breath, while replacing it with relaxation somehow seemed a lot easier than just… trying to relax. And so she began imagining what Hanako had told her to for a moment. Each breath was taking in relaxation and letting go of stress. After a few deep breaths like this, she actually began to imagine her breathing like waves on a beach. Washing in relaxation and washing out her stress. It felt… nice.

“Good. You’re doing so well,” Hanako said. Once again, she was just able to tell the state of Luka’s mind. She must have been very experienced with this. How often had she done this, Luka wondered.

“Now, just keep going like this, relaxing more and more with each breath. There is nothing else to worry about. Just focus on your breathing, my pendant, and my voice. You don’t need to think about the noises from outside. You don’t need to worry about work. You don’t even need to consider the chair you are sitting in. Just relax,” Hanako continued. Her words were expertly crafted and Luka couldn’t help but be drawn in by them. They had only just begun and already, Hanako had made her boss feel so at peace.

“I want you to imagine something again. I want you to visualise a lift. You are currently on the fifth floor but in order to have you go deep, you are going to need to go down. And with each floor you reach, your state of relaxation will be twice as deep as it already was. And when you reach the bottom floor, you will be fully under my hypnotic trance. Do you understand that?”

Luka nodded wordlessly. It felt weird to be moving her body even though she was already so relaxed but she managed it. For now at least.

“Now, enter the lift and press the button to go down, and as you do so, I will be counting down alongside you,” Hanako said. Luka complied without question. She found it quite easy to imagine, after all.

“Five, see the doors close as you embark on your journey towards a hypnotic trance.”

So far, that was easy. She was still here. Still so relaxed already.

“Four, you arrive a floor lower, feeling so much more relaxed. Just a little bit closer to your destination.”

Luka had not expected this new wave of relaxation to hit her quite this hard. It was so nice. So peaceful. As if she was descending towards a lovely garden or a silent library where there was only Hanako and herself.

“Three, halfway there, your relaxation levels reach new depths, but you know you still have more to go.”

Another wave of relaxation washed over her. Submerging her. Luka understood now what Hanako had meant when she talked about not even wanting to escape earlier.

“Two, another floor down. Feel your eyelids growing heavier as you fall so deep into this hypnotic trance. You are almost there.”

Just as Hanako mentioned it, Luka began noticing that she was blinking quite a lot. Had her eyelids already been this heavy and did she only just now notice it, or had Hanako caused them to grow heavy only just now? Well, it didn’t matter. She was far too relaxed to even begin to question things anymore at this point.

“One”

The moment the word was spoken, Luka felt as if she had reached the bottom of the abyss. A level of relaxation she had never thought possible. Her eyes snapped shut as she let this hypnotic trance take a hold of her. No longer did she even care to consider breaking out of this. She was hypnotised and there was no escaping it for her.

She was now at Hanako’s mercy.

“Good, very good. Now then, Luka. Can you hear me?” Hanako’s voice was still able to reach her down there, even though all other sounds had been drowned out completely.

In response, Luka’s head nodded just slightly. She did not want to move more than she had to.

“Very good. Very good. Now then, Luka. I’m going to be talking to your subconsciousness. The part of your mind that you are not aware of. Meaning that you do not need to consciously pay attention to my words anymore. Simply let yourself drift in relaxation until I say your name again. Do you understand?”

Once again, Luka could only nod very slightly in response. Of course, drifting even further into relaxation sounded very nice and to know that her subconsciousness would follow Hanako’s voice without her even having to do anything was comforting. 

And so, she drifted. Deeper and deeper. More and more relaxed. She hadn’t had a proper moment of rest like this in quite some time. Down here in this blissful abyss, there were no e-mails to write. No meetings to have. There was only her. Even Hanako’s words had started fading into the background now but that was okay. Her subconsciousness would pick up on it for her.

“Luka,” Hanako said. The sudden mention of her name brought Luka back to attention, despite how relaxed she was. “I will bring you back up now. Back out of this state of trance and back to being fully awake.”

Wait… already? Luka didn’t want to go back up yet. She wanted to stay here where it was nice and calm. Where she had to do nothing but listen to Hanako’s words. It was so comforting…

“I want you to get back into the lift and go back up. Back to the fifth floor. And when you reach the fifth floor and you wake up again, you will feel refreshed and energised as if you’ve just had a good night’s rest.”

A little sullen, Luka entered her imaginary lift again and waited for Hanako to start counting up. She really felt hesitant about this. Down here things were nice and peaceful. It felt far nicer than all of the stresses she’d be feeling again up there.

“One, entering the lift again and starting to feel some energy returning to you,” Hanako began.

With a heavy heart, the lift doors closed behind her as it hummed to life. With that, however, she also felt energised again somehow, just as Hanako had said.

“Two, going up towards the waking world.”

As she went up, Luka had not expected to feel this newfound vigour. Just moments earlier she’d wanted to just fall asleep down in the comfortable darkness but now, her ascent was beginning to feel good too.

“Three, slowly becoming aware of your surroundings.”

Upon Hanako mentioning it, that’s when Luka indeed started noticing it too. The tweeting of birds outside. The feeling of the chair she was sitting on. The clattering of rain on the window. The soft breathing of Hanako standing over her. Even the warmth of the sun shining through her window. It was actually so much. How had she stopped noticing all of that so easily?

“Four, almost there, feeling very good and refreshed.”

She was almost there and it was starting to feel quite good to be awake once more. To be out of her trance. As nice and relaxed as it was down there, she couldn’t wait to start making use of her newfound energy.

“And five, waking up and coming back to your senses fully.”

As soon as Hanako had said that, Luka opened her eyes and looked at her secretary’s smiling face. She blinked a few times before shifting in her chair and stretching her arms.

“How are you feeling?” Hanako asked.

“That felt… really good,” Luka said. She really did, too. And to think that it was her secretary of all people who helped her experience that.

There was a very giddy smile on Hanako’s face now. “It did? Great! I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“And is this… what you do for more people?” Luka asked.

“Yep! I bring them under into a hypnotic trance, give them a trigger word to bring them back down easily, and then I wake them back up again,” Hanako explained.

This prompted Luka to tilt her head. “A trigger word? What is that?”

“Well, a trigger word is a word I can say directly to your subconsciousness and, if it has accepted the command, will follow it. Like… I could give you a trigger word ‘bark’ which should then cause you to start barking,” Hanako explained.

    “Huh, I see. And when did you give me this trigger word then… and why?” Luka said, a little sceptical. The idea of one simple word causing her to obey without question seemed quite laughable but, then again, the idea of hypnosis seemed quite silly to her before all of this as well.

    Hanako placed her fingers together nervously in response. “I gave it to you when I was talking to your subconsciousness. You probably don’t remember any of what I said. And why? Because… most of the time… my subjects don’t want things to end after just one hypnotic trance,” she admitted.

“Ah…” The answer felt more like an accusation to Luka, for she, also, felt that way. This experience had been such a pleasant one that she already knew that this wasn’t going to be her last time. She wanted to experience that level of relaxation again, and perhaps again after that as well. As she thought of that, she could feel her face glowing red. She quickly looked away to hide that fact but knowing her secretary, she was likely already busted.

And of course, Hanako leaned into that fact. “I take it… that you would also like to keep going, don’t you?”

Luka gulped. “Well… ah…” How did this happen? How did their roles reverse this easily? Normally it was she who could make Hanako stammer like this but now, she felt so flustered herself. She just really wasn’t used to any of this.

“You know,” Hanako said while leaning over forwards, “... I could make you go even deeper…”

Luka sank back into her chair as she looked back at her secretary. What… was happening? Why was this happening? Why was Hanako being so domineering? And why was Luka letting it happen?

Hanako, however, did not stop her advances. She leaned in even further. Luka could feel her secretary’s breath on her own face, as the younger woman spoke in a soft, sensual voice. “... If you want me to… I could make you obey me… and I will make you do anything I desire…”

If someone had told the CEO that this would happen that day, she would have laughed in their faces and called them a lunatic. Now, she could barely talk at all as she sat there in stunned silence. Her breathing was a lot heavier as a nervous sweat broke out. Butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach again as her mind raced. She should scold Hanako for this. She should maybe even fire her for this. But instead, Luka could do nothing but sit there. Could it be? Could it be that a part of her… wanted this?

The devious grin on Hanako’s face couldn’t be broader as she placed a knee on Luka’s lap and a hand on her shoulder. She spoke again. “How about this? I will count to three. Before I reach three, you can simply use the word ‘stop’ and I will back off. It will be as if none of this happened at all. However… on the count of three, I will use your trigger word and then… I will have my way with you.” She then leaned into Luka’s ear and whispered “In whatever way I please.”

Those final words sent a chill down Luka’s spine. Her secretary was practically lying on top of her now in her office chair. It wasn’t… unpleasant though. Plus, She had been given a way out. An escape route. All she had to do was say ‘stop’ and this would all be over. It sounded so easy.

“... One…”

With just one simple word, Hanako would be off again. They’d simply go on about their workday like they had done before. It would be fine.

“... Two…”

They could leave this whole hypnosis business behind and pretend that it was all just a dream. A strange dream where their roles had been reversed for an hour. They could go back to being the boss and her secretary.

“... Crystal…”

As soon as Hanako uttered that word, Luka felt herself falling. Falling down into an abyss she could no longer escape from on her own. The feeling of relaxation and peace that she had experienced earlier was now back in full force as it pulled her deep. Deep down into a hypnotic trance. She could have escaped earlier but now, it felt like she was shackled. Captured by Hanako into a trap. No… it was a trap that Luka had willingly walked into herself. No longer could she hope to claim that she was in control. She had given those reins away. Discarded them carelessly. And she was at Hanako’s mercy. And it was all thanks to that one word. Her new trigger word.

And just like before, she lost all sense of what was going on outside of her little world. It was just her in this dark, blissful abyss. Did that mean that Hanako was once again talking to her subconsciousness? If so, then that begged the question. What was she going to do? Was she installing more trigger words? More commands to follow? Or perhaps something else entirely?

Well, none of that really mattered to Luka now. She was relaxed. She was entranced. She was finally getting some rest from her busy life. That was far more important now than anything else.

And rest she did. She had completely lost track of time as she simply drifted along the seemingly endless stream of relaxation. It was like she was asleep, only she was fully aware of exactly how good it felt. At least, it did, until suddenly, she heard Hanako’s voice again, loud and clear.

“Five, opening your eyes, feeling refreshed again.”

“Huh?” Luka opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and looked straight up into the eyes of her secretary. She was… awake? Fully? She hadn’t noticed a thing! Not even the fact that Hanako had stood back up.

“How are you feeling, Luka?” Hanako asked sweetly. She had always said ‘Miss Matthews’ but now, she was being very casual.

“I’m… feeling quite good…” Luka said. “What did you do?”

Hanako wagged her finger at her boss. “Ah, ah, I’m not going to just tell you what happened. That would ruin the surprise.”

“... Surprise?” Luka asked. She was beginning to get a little bit scared now.

“I guess I can tell you one thing. I’ve had a very insightful conversation with your subconsciousness and have learned some very unexpected things about you. Things that you had buried inside there quite deeply,” Hanako said. Her voice sounded almost teasing.

“Wait… you talked to me? I had no idea…” Luka said.

“That’s the power of hypnosis. Of the subconsciousness. But I don’t think that’s what you should be concerned about, Luka. You should consider all of the wonderful new trigger words I’ve given to you,” Hanako said with glee.

Luka gulped. More trigger words. Currently, the only one she was aware of was ‘Crystal’, and that one simply brought her back under hypnosis. What were these new ones going to do to her? And what had her subconsciousness revealed about her? This was getting quite frustrating now.

But seeing as there wasn’t going to be a vocal answer to her questions anytime soon, Hanako leaned in once again with a wicked grin on her face. “How about we try them out? I’m sure it will be a learning experience for both of us..”

Luka looked honestly quite scared. What was she going to be made to do? What had her subconsciousness accepted as new commands? The anticipation was nerve wracking. Maybe she could try to resist. Maybe none of these new trigger words would work.

“Attention,” Hanako said.

And there it was. Though Luka did not know that it was a trigger word, she realised that it was soon enough as her body began moving seemingly on its own. Without any of Luka’s own input, she simply stood up, placed her hands behind her back and raised her chin. It was as if she was presenting herself for appraisal. While standing there, Luka’s eyes went wide with surprise. She had obeyed this command without even questioning it. And she was still obeying it now as she found herself unable to stop standing like this. She wanted to scream or even to ask what was going on but she couldn’t even do that anymore. She just had to stand at attention in silence, waiting for her next command like a good little subordinate.

But what was perhaps stranger than all of that was the fact that she felt a tingle, down between her legs. Was she… enjoying this?

“Attagirl,” Hanako said moments later. “How did that feel?”

Finally, Luka found her voice again. “I… I can’t believe this…” Was she not allowed to speak unless spoken to? Had she truly been made into a servant now? Had she really lost that much control?

Hanako laughed. “What, that you obeyed so willingly?”

There was something about the word ‘obey’ that sent another tingle down towards Luka’s womanhood. “Yes…” she admitted.

“You were very eager to start obeying my triggers though. Especially the next one.”

    Luka gulped. However, once again, she could not ask further questions, proving what she had theorised before. She could not speak unless spoken to. It was like she was a prisoner in her own body. She could not sway her movement and she could not use her voice to get herself out of this either. How could this have all gone so far, so quickly?

    Hanako’s teasing, however, carried on relentlessly as she walked around Luka in a circle, as if inspecting her. “My my, you are being very obedient already, aren’t you? Standing perfectly still, waiting for your next order from me. I bet you really want to ask what the next trigger is. You really want to know everything. But I will leave you hanging for just a little longer.”

    Luka blinked nervously a few times. It was the best she could do to give any sort of reaction.

    “The first thing I asked your subconsciousness when I brought you under was how you felt about obeying me. Do you know what you told me?” Hanako said.

    “No…” Luka said. It was all she could say.

    “You said that you were quite eager to do so. Eager and without question,” Hanako said evilly.

    No way. That couldn’t be true, could it? Was she really that eager to obey? But she was the CEO! She was the boss! She was always in control! Why would she want to give that up?

    Then again… she had consented to this hypnosis. Maybe there was some truth to this after all?

    “Now then. Let’s get to your second trigger word, shall we?” Hanako said.

    “Yes,” Luka said. The word had left her mouth before she even realised what she had said. She wanted to ask so many more questions first!

    Hanako’s grin only went wider now as she uttered her next words. “Present yourself.”

    At first, Luka was very curious to see what was going to happen. That curiosity turned into abject horror as her hands started moving on their own… and unbuttoned her blouse. No. No way! Was this really happening? Was her secretary really making her do this?! But no manner of struggle or resistance was going to stop her body from moving. It was as if she was a robot, mindlessly carrying out its tasks and she was simply there to watch it happen.

    After Luka took off her blouse fully and tossed it behind her, there was a slim sense of hope that that is where it would end but of course, that is not where it stopped. She mentally screamed as her hands unzipped her pencil skirt which proceeded to fall uselessly down to the floor. She then stepped out of her discarded skirt and began taking off her shoes. All the while, Luka tried to resist. To stop herself from taking off her clothes but it was no use. Her body simply carried out its task by lifting her shirt over her head, fully revealing the bra that she was wearing.

    Of course, Hanako was watching the show unfold intently. Not only were her eyes all over Luka’s body which was revealing more and more of itself as time went on but also to stare into Luka’s eyes with that same wicked smile she’d held for some time now.

    And still, Luka continued undressing, right there in her office. She pulled her tights down her legs, which revealed her panties.  Perhaps this was it, right? Hanako wouldn’t make her strip fully, right? But of course, even that hope was dashed as her hands reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. She then shook the garment off her body and gave Hanako a good look at her breasts. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cover herself up. She wanted to put her clothes back on and run away. But all that happened was that she now also moved her hands down to take off her panties and to fully expose her whole body.

    And just like that, there she was. She was naked in front of her secretary Hanako, in the middle of her office, on the top floor of her office building. Her face was red with shame and humiliation. When she agreed to be hypnotised earlier, she absolutely did not expect this outcome at all and yet, here she was. And she was powerless to stop it as, once again, her body moved back into the position she’d held before with her hands behind her back and her chin up. She could not cover herself up. She could not voice her displeasure. She could not put her clothes back on. She just stood at attention with her whole body on full display.

    As Luka took her position again, Hanako started clapping her hands slowly. “Wonderful. Excellently done, Luka,” she cheered before bending over and picking up each piece of discarded clothing. She then placed all of them into Luka’s bag and closed it shut. Luka, of course, could only stand there and helplessly watch it happen. “You won’t be needing those anymore today.”

    Wait, what?! Did that mean that she was going to be naked for the rest of the day?! The thought was almost too much to bear.

    “Aww, look at you. You want to struggle so bad. You want to cover yourself up. You want so desperately to fight all this. But you can’t, can you?” Hanako teased as she stood back up.

    “No!” Luka managed to yell, which was made louder by all of the built up frustration.

    Hanako merely laughed in response while approaching her hypnotised subject and fully inspecting her trophy from all angles, which only further added to the latter’s humiliation and shame. “But you don’t truly want to fight this, though,” she finally said.

    What?

    “You want this. All of this. You’re enjoying this. Quite a lot, in fact.”

    No…

    “You’ve told me so yourself. Well, your subconsciousness did anyway.”

    That couldn’t be true!

    “This is the dirty little secret you’ve been hiding from the world and, to a degree, even from yourself. You enjoy being humiliated. You enjoy having your body exposed like this. Deep down, you adore everything about this.”

    Luka started shivering and looked incredibly uneasy. She could not believe what she was hearing. Was that… really what her subconsciousness had said?!

    As if reading her mind, Hanako leaned in. “Don’t believe me? The evidence is right there between your legs.”

    This caused Luka to shrink into herself when she only now finally noticed it. She had felt a few tingles down there earlier but now, she was full on wet. She was turned on like never before.

    Once again, Hanako gave a haughty chuckle while she moved behind Luka’s line of sight. There, Luka could hear her sit down on her chair, further adding to the complete role reversal that had taken place here. “Turn around, Luka. I want to look you in the eye as I humiliate you further.”

    Luka gulped as she simply did as she was told, only to be faced with the mocking display of Hanako, sitting there with her head lazily leaning on her hand and her legs crossed.

    “You really were made to obey me. That wasn’t even a hypnotically induced trigger. You could have disobeyed but you didn’t. I simply commanded you to turn around and you obeyed, like a good little pet,” she said.

    This was getting ridiculous. Hanako was just mocking her at this point. But she was right. She could have disobeyed it. She hadn’t felt compelled to turn around the same way she had earlier when she was told to strip. She could have stayed put in defiance. But she didn’t.

    And the wetness between her legs only grew more and more.

    “I gotta be honest, Luka. You are surprising me. I didn’t think you’d give me this much consent already,” Hanako said.

    This prompted Luka to blink again. What did she mean by that?

“I’ve asked your subconsciousness several times. What will you consent to? What are you willing to do and what not? It was back then that you agreed to all of this,” Hanako explained.

Luka gasped. But that means…

    “That’s right,” Hanako said while leaning in. “Everything I’ve made you do so far are things you are letting me do… including making you strip.”

    This realisation was almost a little too much to handle and Luka’s shivering only grew in intensity.

    At this point, Hanako burst out laughing. “I’m not doing anything you didn’t want me to do to you. Just the things you’ve consented to. Oh, but if you don’t agree, then you can try and disobey”

    Disobey… she could try it. She could try and put her clothes back on. She could try and cover herself up and be done with this! Her bag was lying right there, with all of her clothes inside…

    But she didn’t move. No matter how badly she wanted to, her body simply would not respond. She was still just standing there, fully naked, exposing everything. She could not cover up. She could not put her clothes back on. She could not disobey. It was all true. Luka had given up that control and now, she could no longer fight it.

    This prompted Hanako to start laughing again. “Awww, look at you. Aren’t you an obedient little subject?”

    “I…” Luka started but she couldn’t finish her thought. It was no use. She had relinquished all sense of control of the situation. Everything was now decided by Hanako and Hanako alone.

    “How very amusing… but this is only the beginning. I’m sure you are curious about the true depth of your obedience. How much control you’ve given me exactly. Well, let us find out then, shall we, Luka?” Hanako said.

    This wasn’t something Luka could really argue against. She was actually quite curious about it as well herself now. How much had she willingly given up? How obedient was she really? Well, regardless of any of her thoughts, she was going to find out one way or another, all very much thanks to her secretary… no… her mistress.