Among the fog capped mountains in rural Japan, there lived a small community of people who made a living through hunting the forest creatures in moderation, crops and animal farms helping to keep their supply of food at a sustainable level. One such group in this isolated community was the Ito family, their young son; Kenda Ito, attending school at the nearby town downhill. He’d been fast friends with another boy; Itsuki, who was a local in that town, only having heard of Kenda’s village up in the mountains and longing to visit it, his chance would come however, when the holidays arrived and Kenda had gotten permission from his family to allow Itsuki to come over for a day.
As the bus arrived by the desolate hillside dirt path, Itsuki looked around for the clearing by the trees where Kenda said he’d be waiting for him. Moving along the path, Itsuki saw the clearing that Kenda had mentioned but saw no sign of his friend. There were two paths though, a larger path with recently made footsteps leading up into the mountain while the other was covered over with mud, sticks and foliage. Curious, Itsuki walked closer, stepping over the bushes to take a peek down the path before someone tugs at his sleeves, spooking him as he spins round.
“Haha it’s just me! Sorry, i had to take care of somethin’ back home before i came down to meetcha...what’s botherin ya?” Kenda stared curiously down the path where Itsuki almost set foot on as his friend breathed a sigh of relief. “I was wondering where you were...what’s that path lead to? It looks pretty old.” Rubbing his bushy crop of orange hair, Kenda answers his friend's question. “I hear it’s got to do with some priest or somethin in my village? I’ve never been there before but I've heard my parents say something about a storehouse or what not...say, since we’ve still got a bit of time before lunch...wanna take a peek?”
A few minutes later and the duo had cleared a path towards the village storehouse at Kenda’s suggestion. Itsuki’s curious mind couldn’t say no after hearing the words ‘priest’ and ‘storehouse’ go together, was it some repository of knowledge? Secret spell? Magical seals with plentiful demons and curses? Itsuki and Kenda had the same thoughts in mind as they pushed past overgrown bushes and piles of leaves.
Finally reaching the long winding path, Itsuki looked back to see the way back covered by tree trunks and bushes, they’d have to be careful on the way back considering how inconspicuous the path was compared to the forest floor, one wrong step and they’d lose their way. “Heeeey! I found it! C’mon over!” At the sound of Kenda’s shouts, Itsuki puts away his worries as he heads towards Kenda, standing in front of a small derelict house constructed out of cracked bricks and rotting wood.
“This the village ‘storehouse’? It looks kinda...abandoned, and empty.” At Itsuki’s questioning, Kenda walks up the creaky stairs as he grabs hold of the large wooden bar locking the doors as he heaves it off with a huff, sending it crashing to the dirt floor as it splinters into two. “Well Itsuki...that’s cuz we haven't looked inside! C’mon! There's gotta be...something in here…” As Kenda’s voice trails off after opening the doors, Itsuki comes up to him and joins his stare of disappointment; the dusty, decrepit shelves lie empty as all that remains in the storehouse is a vintage camera along with a rotted wood table and yellowed papers...that camera looked surprisingly new for how old this place was in comparison.
“Welp, at least there's this thing to look at...what even is it? As Kenda picks up the camera and fiddles with the straps and its bulk, Itsuki carefully lifts it away from him as he explains what the object was to his less-technologically savvy friend. “This is a camera! It’s a bit old compared to what we use these days but...it should still work I think, there's even film in this thing! Here, smile! *SNAP*”
As Itsuki snaps the picture and lowers the camera, he notices something odd, Kenda seemed to have grown a few inches and his previous dirty brown crop of shaggy hair had now been colored a deep black as he blinks away the camera flash, Itsuki catches sight of his eyes, now a bright crimson as he looks excitedly at his friend. “Woah, that's what a camera does? That's amazin! Can I have a go?” Puzzled, Itsuki decides to snap another picture of Kenda as he reaches out for the camera, taking him by surprise as he gets a face full of camera flash *SNAP*.
“Could you not be so rude? At least warn me before you take a picture!” Hearing that girly voice and improved grammar coming from Kenda affirmed Itsuki’s fears as he lowers the camera again, the once rowdy looking village boy Kenda once was now replaced by a young girl with a slender body, rubbing her eyes with small hands, her former t-shirt and shorts replaced with one that Itsuki had seen newspaper boy’s wear when doing morning deliveries and sometimes in detective tv shows, the small bulge in the pants was now gone, a flat space was all that remained. Her face still looked rugged though, giving her a tomboyish look.
“I-i-i think i screwed up Kenda, this things changed you!” At Itsuki’s panic, Kenda stares quizzically at her friend as she walks over to him and places her hands on her hips. “Are you alright Itsuki? I don’t feel any different...though a change of atmosphere would do us nicely...it's getting stuffy in my office.” As Itsuki stared at his friend’s nonchalant reaction to being turned into a girl, he looks past her to see the abandoned storehouse looking just abit more refurbished, the rotted table regaining its original polished look as the broken lamp reignites itself, casting the room in an orange glow. “Wait, your office? Didn’t you say this was a warehouse?”
Before Kenda can reply, she doubles over in pain as she grabs hold of her head in pain. “I-Itsuki! Run! This ain’t me...There's someone else in my head you’ve gotta-Gurgh-stop this...i was so close to freedom you runt!” Itsuki panics as he wonders what to do, seeing Kenda’s tall feminine form contorted in pain as she struggles mentally. “Just take another pic-or-whatever! Just...turn that thing at the top! It's gettin hard to fight her!” Trusting in Kenda’s words, Itsuki dials the wheel at the top of the camera all the way to the right and focuses Kenda’s struggling form into view of it, before snapping the picture *SNAP*.
Blinking away the glare, Itsuki calls out for Kenda as everything falls silent again. “Kenda! Is it over? Is that thing gone from your head? I'm so-” He freezes as he hears a delicate girls laugh coming from the table as the white spots in his vision clear, he catches sight of the girl that Kenda had become moments before, only this time she’d aged a bit more into maturity as her wider hips and pinched in waist attest to, her hourglass figure and thin slender body hidden behind a plain white buttoned shirt as she hangs up her coat on the newly restored clothes hanger by the polished wooden walls, exchanging it for a small red cap, Itsuki blushes, glancing away as he catches sight of her underwear in clear sight as it rides up her ass cheeks as she turns towards the drawer, grabbing a skirt hanging from it which he now notices is full of clothing. Fully dressed in fitting female attire, the newborn woman turns to face Itsuki, her crimson eyes staring deep into his soul. “Your friend isn’t here anymore. Ahh it was so easy to trick you, human...just copying that runt’s manner of speech was all i needed for you to finally free me, thanks for that, boy!”
A chill runs down Itsuki’s spine as he watches the woman pace the room towards him as he notices her inhumanly long ears hidden behind her now long locks of silky hair as her long slender legs cross the distance in a second. “Aww what's the matter? No need to be afraid! If anything that runt had it coming...how blissful he was, ignorant of his family’s role in sealing me in this dingy hellhole for years! I couldn’t even do anything...but now, thanks to you! The Great Aya Shameimaru is free to walk this earth once more, finally I can get back to writing the next big hit scoop to hit the news!”
Initially afraid, Itsuki’s fear turns to confusion as he looks at his former friend-turned-woman laughing as he processes her weird declaration. “W-wait...so you’re a reporter? And Kenda’s family sealed you? What did you even do to him in the first place?” Her laughing fit at an end, Aya sneers at Itsuki as she snatches the camera away from him as she crushes it in her hand. “I did away with him!”
“Y-YOU KILLED HIM?!” At Itsuki’s sudden rise in volume and angry tone, Aya puts on a front as she places tender digits across her pouty lips, a mockery of a look of fear spreading across her dainty features as crocodile tears drip down her rosy cheeks, Itsuki’s eyes watch in awe as bird wings sprout from Aya’s rear, raven black feathers glowing yellow in the light as she moves closer, hand under her bosom to elevate their size. “Aww the little boy’s being a big meanie to me! Relax! When I say ‘did away with him’, I meant more of a...bonding! He and I are one now...I share his memories, but his personality? His will? They're mine now...I was simply too strong for a measly runt like him! Believe me or don’t, it's up to you...”
Refusing to accept his friend was gone, Itsuki balled his hands into fists as he rushed forward and tackles Aya despite her being a supernatural being that could very easily erase him from existence, barely fazing her as his small fists only served to send small waves of pleasure rushing through her as his attempts at anger come across as unintentionally massaging her tits with each pound against her. “G-Give him back demon! I want Kenda back!” Laughing, Aya crouches down to Itsuki’s level as she holds him in a hug, like a big sister comforting her little brother. “Haven’t you been listening? I am Kenda...but still Aya! I may be a yokai, but rest assured I don't do things to harm others...most of the time.” Sniffing back tears, Itsuki sobs as he questions Aya further. “B-but if you aren’t bad...why were you in that camera in the first place!” Blushing, Aya pulls away from Itsuki as she looks to the side in embarrassment. “I...wrote a bogus news article...that sorta caused a major uproar...but it wasn’t intentional I swear! The money was good though…”
Softly laughing at her words, Itsuki’s cries stop but his eyes watch Aya with wariness as he remains seated on the now cleaned floorboards of the building. “B-but what about his family? Kenda still had a life back outside...how are you going to fix that?” Laughing again, Aya smirks as she replies confidently. “Never underestimate Aya boy! The ru-ahem-Kenda’s family may have had the smarts to ambush me into that trap but once I took over him, I made use of my powers to wipe his existence out of this world! Neither his family, schoolmates or associates will ever remember anyone by that name...besides you, Itsuki.”
Glancing back down, Itsuki felt awful, he’d caused this to happen and now, Kenda was gone, replaced by this long-sealed woman with wings. “I'm so sorry Kenda...if i hadn't used the camera none of this wouldve happened!” Giggling, Aya grabs his face with two soft palms, wrapping her winds around him. Itsuki was surprised at the warmth of her hands and the sense of ease her wings made him feel despite his guilt. “Don't apologize you dummy, if you really do feel responsible, you could help me in writing my articles! Kenda’s still in here, remember?” As Aya thumps her jiggly bosom while extending her other hand towards him, Itsuki slowly reaches out to grab hold of it as she pulls him in closer, the boy blushing as he gets a faceful of her ches, her feminine scent and otherworldly aroma easing his tension further.
“After all, I feel a mighty good read from you boy! The story of a human child and his growing bond with an almighty crow tengu of yore? That’s sure to turn heads and make it a sensational scoop!”
From that day forward, Itsuki would spend his school days alone with barely any friends, he was still a good kid and managed to get together with his classmates, but they found it weird how he never spent the after-school hours playing or hanging out, always heading to the mountain village where Kenda formerly lived as he went off the dirt path to visit a certain someone who he claimed was his old friend he’d made a promise with.
Not long after however, a new newspaper article would be published to the nearby towns and even the mountain village, with no traces of an author, publishing house or courier. Some of it were just reports of local happenings around town while others were over exaggerated alterations of incidents and tall tales, the thing that grabbed people however, was the attached stories in each volume about a human child and his meeting with a crow tengu within the mountains as their bond with each other grew over time.
The tales would end one day however, years later, with the two marrying once the boy came of age...but like the incredulous articles and tall tales, who could say for sure?
THE END