Temporary Position

Anon 662 found himself in a predicament. Ostensibly, his current situation of being stuck in Gensokyo would be a blessing to any /jp/sy, but the reality of what that entailed was a very different from the fantasy. Namely, nobody in the Human Village spoke a lick of English. A problem which resulted in the the man having a lack of funds, a lack of employment, and a more recent lack of anything to barter with after he sold the last of his oddities to the white-haired merchant just on the outskirts of town.

However, fortune graced him in the form of an ad, actually in English, in what he presumed to be the Bunbunmaru Newspaper. It was an advertisement for job openings at a place he was familiar with; the Scarlet Devil Mansion. There were some reservations about the whole thing. The open position for "gate guard" certainly raised an eyebrow. Steeling himself for the assured oddity of his new work, the man journeyed the the manse of Remilia Scarlet. When Anon arrived, he found himself in awe.

The Scarlet Devil Mansion was always depicted as massive in art, but the reality of its size was undersold. It was gargantuan, the tall clock tower looming over the Misty Lake and standing as a monument to the owner's presence in the land of fantasy. The giant iron wrought gate stood unguarded, confirming the suspicion that SDM's guard dog, Hong Meiling, was gone. Anon glanced around and continued, cautiously approaching the gate before he was greeted with a small entourage led by a silver-haired woman in maid's attire. Izayoi Sakuya, the head maid of Scarlet Devil mansion.

The rest of the group looked to be a gaggle of fairy maids, excitedly whispering among themselves while shooting curious glances to the man. Sakuya unlocked the gate and curtsied toward the applicants. The thought of the other guard dog of the Scarlet Sisters letting a stranger in so willingly without even asking why he was there never crossed Anon's mind. Convenience suppresses wariness, unfortunately. He was led by the procession to the grand mansion, marveling at the squadrons of fairies tending to vast gardens and hedges that populated the grounds within the walls. The massive double doors that served as the main entrance opened with a gentle push from the head maid and she turned to beckon him inside.

Even in the bright sun of midday, the interior of the mansion was incredibly dim. All of the windows were shuttered and the main source of light in the foyer was a grand chandelier supplemented by candelabras that lined the walls at regular intervals. Anon was beckoned to follow by Sakuya once more.

The halls stretched on to infinity, wide and decorated opulently throughout its entire length; the spoils of hundreds of years of life. The only sounds were the clacking of the head maid's heels against the pristinely polished floor and Anon's shuffling behind her. Sheepishly, 662 couldn't help but notice how Sakuya walked with a sway in time with her steps like a metronome and how her stockings gently pinched her thighs. Such thoughts weren't great to hold about a future employer, but who hadn't thought about her delicious legs each time they were depicted in art? Now that they were reality, the thoughts were stronger. They only stopped when they reached a door that had seemingly no real significance besides Sakuya stopping before it and entering the room, Anon following behind.

The room was lit by a solitary candle on a table, a wooden box set on the far side from the door on the table and two plain chairs surrounding it. The perfect and elegant maid pulled out both and sat on the side with the box, waving Anon to take a seat. He obliged, and for the first time Sakuya spoke.

"You're here for the job opening, aren't you?"

The question seemed rhetorical, and 662 got only a single nod off before his interviewer continued.

"Excellent. Due to... special circumstances, the hiring process for these openings are being handled in an expedient and specialized manner", she explained as she opened the small wooden box before her. The vagueness of her words set in a slight confusion in 662, who started to wonder what was in the box. However, the lid was opened toward him and unless he stretched uncomfortably to look over it he couldn't see inside. Better not to push his luck.

"Could you put your hands on the table?"

The question was sudden, and Anon was taken aback by it. Did he hear her correctly? He looked bewildered at Sakuya, only to be met with a genial and disarming smile. "Please, it's only for the hiring process", she insisted. The intention seemed honest, but still Anon hesitated. Maybe this was just how it was in the Scarlet Devil Mansion? He had resolved that the employment here would be bizarre. Slowly, he set his hands on the table, flat against its surface and palms facing down. Sakuya's polite smile grew a little wider and all he heard was a click. Nothing had happened. Nothing was out of place. Anon and Sakuya were still in the exact same positions they had been. The only difference were two long, silver needles pinning his hands to the table. Anon didn't scream. Didn't flinch. He didn't even feel pain. He just stared in shock at what had transpired. What had transpired? His mind couldn't catch up before the next click.

More needles were stuck in his body, seemingly just about everywhere and he found himself stripped down to nothing. Sakuya still sat in her chair opposite from him, smiling innocently just as before. No pain came from the piercing needles nor blood from where they punctures, and soon enough Anon shook off the shock. The man tried to move his mouth, only to find discomfort at even trying to vocalize. He became distinctly aware of one needle lodged in his windpipe, mercifully not through anything that would've been lethal. He tried moving his hands next, only to find them unresponsive to his mental commands. At most, he could wiggle his shoulders and even that was slowly going away. Icey blue eyes watched Anon's weakening struggles with bemusement.

The needles were special acupuncture needles made specifically for one whose supernatural nature required larger implements than those flimsy traditional needles meant for humans. They were Hong Meiling's personal set and had been used by her countless times. The current absence of whom had led the Scarlet Devil Mansion to its current predicament. The gate guard had gone missing, and the gate remained unguarded. This wasn't too much of a problem on the first day, but a week and many stolen books later it was decided by the mistress that they needed a temporary replacement. However, ordinary humans wouldn't cut it.

It's said that objects that are kept by, near, or in this case in youkai for long periods of time inherited their essence. It clung to them, and with this Patchouli was tasked with the creation of a temporary transfer of essence. Just long enough to keep the gate guarded till the real Meiling was found again. A human from the outside world, not really under the protections of Gensokyo's laws, was a perfect choice for this. Surely, an advertisement that could only be understood by one such individual would bring one into this trap. The head maid rose from her seat, not bothering to stop time. Something about the transfer process would lead to a messy end if she were to pull the needles in too short an amount of time.

Anon struggled in his chair, only able to weakly twist his midsection before that too became little more than twitching of his obliques. A particularly discomforting needle had been lodged in his belly button and each errant movement made its presence there known with a sickening feeling of being nearly impaled. The discomfort only grew as Sakuya approached, and he desperately wanted to cry out or run or do anything to stop her. She walked around to his back and reached down gently, grabbing the cold metal spike and pulling slowly.

A tightening afflicted his core. Anon couldn't control the flexing of his abdominal muscles as Sakuya pulled at an achingly slow pace. He was racked by spasms as centimeter by centimeter the needle came out. Anon held his head down against the table, watching with horror as his stomach contorted, muscles shifting under his skin in contortions that suggested horrific cramps at the very least. However, he could see that some were settling into more defined shapes as the process neared its end. His abs for certain were now hard as rock, even as they relaxed back into their paralyzed stupor. The needle was fully pulled out now, and the spasms settled completely. Anon stared in awe at what had become of his midsection; toned to perfection, each muscle group easily traced just under the skin, and his waist tapering neatly down to his hips.

Even in this paralyzed state, 662 could feel the newfound strength in his core like a coiled spring. What sort of hiring process was this? He guessed she was attempting to make him fit into the gate guard job opening, but he hadn't expressed any wishes for such a position and he certainly didn't know just how accurate his guess was. His thinking time was cut short by Sakuya reaching for a pair of needles lodged in both of his pectorals. Anon mentally braced himself for the next onslaught of change.

The pulling commenced, but as she pulled the needles refused to come out. For a second, Anon thought that Sakuya was merely playing with him, but the sensation of the metal sliding out there. It wasn't until he really paid attention to the changes that he understood why. His pecs were swelling beyond merely building muscle mass, and in fact were building up what seemed to be more fat than muscle. He really began to panic when the growing mass started to take on the shape of dangling breasts.

The swelling boobs kept pace with the needles pulling out, creating a feedback loop of growth. Anon's skin was taut against the swelling mammary glands till it gave a little slack, areolae stretching to accommodate the new tits behind them. The sensation quickened his breath, pleasure building with each inch added to his chest. The spasming was minimal, but each small shake caused his growing breasts to shake too. A-cups turned to B-cups, B to C, and C to D before Sakuya finally yanked the needles with a quick motion all the way out. The final pull caused one last expansion that elicited a silent moan from Anon's throat. He watched in a daze as a creamy liquid dribbled from his new teats, falling to the floor drip after drip after each heave of his massive chest.

Sakuya gingerly pinched a nipple, Anon giving out another thankfully inaudible moan and spurt of milk while also snapping himself out of his stupor. She needed him focused or at the very least mentally present for the transfer. Seeing the changes solidified the form, or so Patchy had explained. If that meant doing some uncouth things, then so be it. The perfect and elegant maid pulled Anon to an upright position in his chair, his breasts resting heavily with gravity and rivulets of milk beginning to stream down his chest and into the crevices between his statuesque abdominal muscles. Anon's panic was evident once again in his eyes as Sakuya moved her hands down to his waist. More needles stuck out of his upper thighs and his pelvis, and he tried averting his gaze to what was to come. Despite his fear of the transformation inflicted on him, his cock was erect and dribbling fluids much the same as his chest was.

Thickening. Anon could feel his thighs thickening, ropes of muscle building and coiling like steel cables through his legs as they built layer by layer. The seat below him started to feel more cushioned before a cursory glance down to his sides made him aware of his hips widening and ass raising him up slightly with a newfound firmness. However, the extra width from his hips didn't afford his privates space from his now thunderous thighs, which encroached upon their space. Sakuya had just the solution, and pulled a needle from his pelvis. Each length it extended from his skin an equal length was taken from his dick, shrinking away to nothing. Anon wanted to scream bloody murder, but the tip of the needle exiting his skin caused a change so violently pleasurable that he finally made an auditory yelp. His penis let loose the last of his masculine essence, splattering his thighs and joining some of the other liquids he had leaked earlier on the floor.

Another click happened, and Anon's eyes darted around in terror only to find a mirror where Sakuya's chair had been. What stared back at him was his head upon the body of an incredibly well endowed and fit woman. The body of whom he suspected he knew. The silver-haired maid stood behind him, the same smile upon her face as earlier. The only needles left were two in his hands and one in his throat. "His", as if he was still male. However, the undeniable truth stared back fearfully. Sakuya moved to make the final changes, and pulled the one from her neck.

Hair lengthened rapidly, turning crimson and spilling down Anon's shoulders and back and framing her now softening facial features. Her nose slimmed down and lips puffed out; now blue eyes framed with long black lashes. The needles pulled from her hands produced much less dramatic changes with only the build up of muscle being counter-acted by the slimming of his hands to create a decidedly feminine look. Staring back in the mirror was only Hong Meiling, the gatekeeper of Scarlet Devil Mansion. Anon's breathing was heavy, even her exhales betraying the unshakeable reality she was now female. She couldn't bring herself to look away, and sat there for seemingly hours before movement started to return to her limbs. She could only marvel at her new body.

Unsure fingers tentatively explored, tracing everything from her muscles to her breasts to the lip of her honeypot unabashedly in the presence of Sakuya. The other woman cleared her throat, causing Anon to nearly jump out of her skin. The rest of her new employment was laid bare in a paper contract. She read only a small bit of it, and turned to question the head maid before she found herself in a bathroom, tub already filled and the clothes of the real Meiling already hanging on the door.

The job was simple: Anon would take on the role of Hong Meiling and in return he'd be taken care of and paid accordingly until the true Hong Meiling was found. The work was easy enough, as SDM's fearsome reputation warded off many would-be intruders. However, it was standing for long periods in one spot. Standing for hours in the same spot Hong Meiling stood. Just as with the needles, even places where youkai dwelled for long periods can be suffused with their essence and while usually this alone would have no effect, Anon's new body was perfectly attuned to it. Soon enough, Anon found herself able to sleep through shifts. Her body felt more natural, though she chalked it up to her nightly explorations. Anon had gained a deep admiration for how her muscles flexed powerfully during her "self-care" time, and began exercising to keep them maintained. Sometimes she'd practice martial arts under the supervision of Sakuya, quickly going from clumsy flailing to well-trained form. Her progress confused Sakuya, and one day she went to check on Anon out of worry that perhaps too much essence had been passed. They were looking for a temporary replacement, not a permanent one.

Anon was found chatting idly with servants in a language she didn't know two months ago. Sakuya quirked her brow before being greeted happily in Hong's birth language. Indeed, her suspicions were just as they were. Anon was no more, overwritten by the essence of a Meiling that didn't seem to realize anything was wrong or that the real her was missing. However, as Sakuya sat with the perfect copy of a dear friend, she couldn't help but think that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. After all, surely Patchouli could fix things when the real Meiling came back, right?