"We have the crystals. Why are we in a hardware store now instead of being at home and testing them?" Brad wanted to know.

"To teach you patience," admonished Miss Kirin. She led him straight to a shelf with spools of rope. "Do you know how to choose a good rope?" she asked Brad.

"No. I don't even know for what purpose we need them," he admitted confused but curious.

"Well, the purpose I demonstrate you later. I promise you that. For now, you have to judge which rope is best. We are looking for one that is synthetic for now. Look for one that has the diameter of your pinkie or slightly smaller. Yes, like that one. Now we try to judge how the friction is. Take a length of it and lay it over your hand. Slightly close over it and pull the rope slowly out of your grip. The warmer your skin feels the higher the friction. High friction can be good, but not for our purpose this time. Try finding one with low friction and is tightly braided."

It took Brad quite a while to follow the instructions and judge the available ropes. In the end, he settled on a dark blue synthetic rope with maybe a quarter of an inch in diameter.

It was tightly braided and quite solid at its core. 60 feet of it ended up in his shopping cart. It quickly got company with some special scissors, a thick sewing thread the same color as the robe, and a sewing kit.

After paying they headed home and Brad was eager to find out what exactly was in store for him.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Okay. The coast is clear," announced Miss Kirin. She had made a last sweep through the area to make sure she was the only ghost around.

"You want me to open it now?" Brad asked. He held the satchel close that contained the Komoro crystals.

"Yes, empty the satchel on your bed and then step back," she instructed him.

He complied and emptied five elongated hexagonal crystals on his bed cover. For a moment nothing happened. Then one started to glow and pulse in a light varying between red and purple. It slowly started to float and to spin around itself. A second one reacted and joined the first one a moment later in a dance around themselves. Gradually they moved closer and closer until they finally touched. A bright light erupted and Brad heard a sound that reminded him of two snowballs pushed into each other. When the light dialed back a single crystal remained. Flawless and the size of both previous crystals combined. Another crystal started to float and the spectacle repeated itself. Soon all of the five crystals had fused into a big dim glowing single one.

"I told you I learned some tricks," Miss Kirin told him with a smirk.

"And now you can touch things?" Brad wanted to know.

"Let's find out, shall we?" she said with an amused smile. Leisurely she walked over and let one of her fingers trace Brad's cheekbone. He could feel it. Not just the cold feeling he had expected. He felt the slight dent in his skin as her fingertip traveled. It wasn't as uncomfortable as he imagined. His mind had anticipated the coldness of an ice-cube. Instead, he got the chilly caress of a raindrop running down his face.

"That felt strange," he admitted.

"Well, you will feel stranger things. But for now, we have some crafting to do," Miss Kirin told him with a mischievous smile.

Their little crafting project involved the rope. They cut it to specific lengths. Then they used the needle and thread to secure the frayed ends of the rope pieces.

"Good," Miss Kirin commented when they were done. They both sat on Brad's bed. The many lengths of rope between them. "Now the fun part can begin."

Brad watched intently as Miss Kirin picked up a length of rope and skillfully found the middle. She then used the point to fold it into a length of double thickness. Brad could tell, even without her saying it, that she had done this before. The familiarity and confident movement told him that it was an often practiced skill. He also saw her elated mood.

Of course, his mind also came to the conclusion for what the intended use was for these ropes. "You will use these to tie me up, right?" he asked with certainty.

"Smart boy. You are right, but can you tell me why?" she challenged him.

"As a challenge? To endure physical discomfort?" Brad guessed.

"Ahh, there you are thoroughly wrong. Don't worry. At first many get it wrong. Tell me why do you think someone would let themselves be tied up?"

"I am not sure. Maybe they get pleasure out of it?"

"For some, sure. But not everyone. At least in the traditional sense. Some like it for the discomfort or the signification of their submissive status. Others enjoy the suspense of responsibility as they give all of it away to the person who ties them up. No matter what the reason they all have one thing in common. They have to give their consent to being tied up. At least if you want to stay legal. Now in order for a dominant person to get the consent of a submissive person, there is always one thing needed."

"Trust," came Brad's guess.

"Correct. Trust is always needed. It is won the hard way and is easily lost. Trust itself can differ. If you are in a private setting then you trust your partner. If it's a professional then your trust in their professional image. Which brings us to you. Yes, I want you to feel and learn how it feels to be powerless. How uplifting it can be to give up your freedom, even if it is only for a short while. But most of all I want to give you something I think you lacked for quite some time now. Tell me honestly, besides me, who would you trust enough to tie you up?"

An uncomfortable silence settled as Brad thought about persons he knew. Judged them step by step. In the end, he remained silent.

It was Miss Kirin who spoke up first. "There are none, right? There are some you would like to trust. Your parents maybe? It is hard to trust someone who is barely around. I guess Sarah is on that list too. The crush for whom you endured so much. Yet you don't know her well enough. Besides those, the pickings are slim. Come. Hold your hands up like this."

She held her arms and hands straight away from her chest. Both parallel and close together. When Brad did as he had been told Miss Kirin picked up the rope and started her work. She placed a small loop near one of his wrists and then started to wrap the rope around his wrists. It wasn't tight like he expected. In fact between his wrists was a good two inches of space. After five windings neatly coiled around his wrists she suddenly changed her pattern. Instead of wrapping the rest around him she wound it around the strands that connected his wrists. It pulled those parallel strands together and in turn tightened the slack between his wrists. A moment later he felt his hands thoroughly secured. There was only a small slack left as both of his wrists were connected by the stiff coil of rope.

"Now, we are nearly done," Miss Kirin told him. She held up with one hand the loop she had placed aside earlier and with the other the rest of the rope. Around four feet in length.

"If I use both of these, I can bind a knot that effectively binds your hands and makes them useless. Without the knot, you probably could slide out pretty fast. These are synthetic ropes after all. Now is the time to decide. Do you trust me enough to risk this? Being helpless in my hands?"

His eyes were riveted at her hands. In a moment she could give the rope slack and set him free or tie a knot and seal his fate. Yet her hands remained unwavering and steady above his wrists. Could he trust her? Over the past weeks they had often talked and Miss Kirin seemed to be an infinite supply of stories, wisdom, and teachings. Yet, he realized, he still hardly knew any facts about her. He knew that so far she had kept her word, but would her path really led to him getting together with Sarah? She had been the carrot on a stick for him the whole time. In the end, he came to a conclusion. He didn't trust her completely. Just enough to take yet another leap of faith.

"I trust you. Do it. Please tie the knot," he said with conviction.

"Very well," Miss Kirin replied in a muted, but cheery way. The knot tightened the ropes further. Seemingly taking away the rest of the slack. A small amount remained, but Brad knew it was not enough to escape.

"Helpless, but not as helpless as you think. You see a submissive holds more power than most realize. It is their consent that gives the foundation. You and every other one has the right to withdraw it. To do so you need a safeword. One that lets me know if it is going too far or if there are some physical problems. Think of one thing that you connect with the feeling of being safe."

Brad had to think long and hard. Nothing came to his mind. There was not a thing that made him instinctively associate it with safety. It took some thinking till he found a word that most would associate with protection. "I think I go with *shield*."

"Shield it is," confirmed Miss Kirin. "Now the most important part of a safeword is that we both know it works. On the side of the submissive, it is hard to judge. Hence the need for trust. But the dominant also needs to trust that the submissive will use it. Brad, I want to make this clear. To use or not use a safeword is not a challenge. There is no shame in using it. But there is shame in failing to use it. Got that?"

Brad nodded.

"Well then, let's get started. After all, we still have a lot of rope left," Miss Kirin said as she pulled the rope's end that held the knot to the headboard of Brad's bed. Putting aside the ropes, she made space for him to lay on his bed.

One rope found it's spot around his ankle and it pulled it aside as it was wound around a bedpost. The other ankle followed soon after. She let him stew for a few minutes. Letting him test his limits of the restrictions imposed by the ropes. The was a slight give, but not much. He was thoroughly caught in her web of ropes.

After ten minutes she removed the first rope around his wrists, only to redo them individually. He felt quite helpless, yet felt no danger. She always made sure he was as comfortable as he could get given the circumstances.

Another ten minutes later she untied his legs. He was instructed to cross them like if he was sitting in a lotus position. Each foot on the other leg's knee. A few ropes later and he couldn't uncross them even if he wanted too.

Slowly she added another rope around his chest. He wasn't sure what it was for as it didn't restrict him further even with it being snug. The purpose became clear soon after. Miss Kirin untied his arms only to tightly bind them to his chest. Using the harness made of rope as the fixing point.

She left him like this for a few moments. Not tied down to anything, but with all of his limbs made useless there was no need. All he could was wiggle slightly. Soon she took even that by using one rope to connect his chest harness to the ropes around his legs. With a steady pull, she made him fold like a clam until his legs touched the arms. A knot later he was a human ball. Robbed of even the slightest movement.

* * * * * * * * * *

Brad rubbed his wrists and made sure that the marks of the ropes couldn't be seen. He had been surprised how quick Miss Kirin was able to undo her work. In under a minute he was free of every rope. She advised him to take it slow. Just to be safe.

At first, he was more surprised that their session had ended so quickly. Of course, Miss Kirin had a good reason. His parents had come home. A whole week too early.

Now, not even two hours later, he sat at the dinner table. Lazily he picked at his food. This was typical for his parents. They spend all their time traveling and amassing money. Once home they order takeout. Brad sighed. He had offered to cook. Eager to show off what he had learned in the past weeks. They had looked if he had grown a third eye and then blandly ignored his suggestion.

As much as they traveled one might think there was a lot to talk about. Yet their talking had stopped not long ago. The silence that had settled over the room that was all too familiar to him. Sometimes he wondered why they even had him in the first place. He was hardly part of their life. Practically living alone if it wasn't for the maid. This thought made him nearly jump as he had an epiphany. He might as well live alone.

"Father, I have been thinking," Brad started. "You always told me it was important for you to stand on your own feet. To be your own man. I think I have to do the same. I would like your permission to move out."

Brad's heart was beating hard as he expected arguments against his decision. Yet none came. His parents pretty much rolling over. They even agreed to his suggestion for a private tutor and on leaving public school. He chose not to tell them that the private tutor was undead. Then again they probably wouldn't have cared either way.

In the end, he got his wish. Documents signed by them allowing him to move out and renting an apartment, as well as papers for the school. It had been easy. Too easy. Shouldn't they be more concerned? Question his motives more? He felt sad, but most of all he felt disappointed.

As he entered his room he saw Miss Kirin nearby. He half expected her to praise him. On the other hand, she might be disappointed that he hadn't confronted them more.

"I know you deserve more," was all she said. Pulling him into a hug. He didn't mind that she was cold as a corpse. Just glad there was someone there that cared. Someone who understood. Not surprising was that the hug lasted very long.

* * * * * * * * * *

Brad swiped away the sweat after emptying the last box from moving. It had all happened so fast. Finding the small apartment in the artistic part of the city. Packing up his stuff and realizing he hadn't that much, to begin with. He remembered all the teasing in school. The rich kid that could have anything. Yet here he was. Hardly anything of note.

Looking around he somehow felt proud. His own flat. Already furnished as the previous renter hadn't bothered to clean out. The landlord happy to have a new renter who didn't mind the stuff.

Exhausted, but happy, he let himself fall into the armchair he now owned.

"What are you searching for?" he asked his private tutor, Miss Kirin. She was busy surfing the web. After gaining the ability to touch she started to spend a lot of time on the web. Once Brad had asked how a century-old ghost was so good at using a computer. Promoting a long lecture about how being dead doesn't equal to being stuck in the past. That you could still learn and become better at things.

"Class stones. I think it is time that you switch yours," she calmly replied.

That got Brad's attention. It was a decision he had put off for now. Something he could have done for nearly two years. His parents had given him an account for just this purpose. The enormity that he had about a half million sometimes was heavy on his mind. It was a big responsibility to choose the right class. Did Miss Kirin know about that account? While he trusted her a lot he chose to not divulge it for now.

"A class change? Do you have some in mind? They are pretty expensive, so I am kind of curious. What type of class do you think would be good for me?" he asked.

Miss Kirin turned around and gave him her full attention. "I am looking for two specific classes. One of them is perfect for you or rather it is perfect for you in your quest to conquer Sarah's heart. It is called the Majune class and is a monk-like class. Luckily this class won't be as expensive as you think."

A monk? That was curious. He heard stories of dedicated monks who stood out in certain areas. Some were quite religious. For a short moment, he saw himself at Sarah's feet praying at her like a goddess. The mere thought made him smirk a little.

"If it is a good class why would it be cheap?" he asked intrigued.

"Well, as most monk classes it thrives on dedication. Dedication takes time and in modern times that is a commodity that becomes more valuable by each year. Let me tell you a little about the Majune class. Did you know that the world record holders for highest strength, stamina, and dexterity are all held by a person with the Majune class?"

Brad shook his head and motioned for her to continue.

"You can look it up yourself. In fact, I insist you research the class by yourself later. Now then. Before I continue let me ask you: do you know that Sarah had been held hostage a few months back?" Miss Kirin asked.

"I heard she was trapped in a building with a lot of others. But I don't know any details," he admitted.

"Well, long story short Sarah and her mothers escaped their cage. They chose to stay and fight instead of fleeing. While posing as a formidable threat to the kidnappers, in a critical moment the fight came to a stop. You see one of the enemies managed to breach their defenses and take Sarah hostage again at gunpoint. Well, knife tip to be exact. Do you know why that happened?"

Brad shrugged his shoulders. He had no clue how serious the situation had been.

"Sarah has grown to quite the talented Necromancer, but like most mage classes she has a weakness. One that I shared in my lifetime too. Physical weakness. If she had more dexterity she could have maybe avoided getting caught. More strength and she could have broken the hold on her."

"So as Majune I could be her counterpart?" Brad asked. "Giving her support in the areas she lacks?"

"Yes, but not quite like the way you think. As much as I hope you and her come together, you still can't be always by her side. A Majune can support her even when not around. You see Majune's can transfer part of their physical stats or attributes if you so will. You could literally strengthen her even when you are not around. But here is the thing: as every class that has an overpowered ability it has an equal weakness. Namely that the stats are transferred. What she gains you would lose. It would be temporary, but a hindrance to your own life nonetheless."

Brad needed a moment to stomach it. Become weak so someone else grows strong. In a way, it was submitting to someone too. It reminded him of something Miss Kirin had said weeks before. "The ultimate gift," he said aloud.

"Ah. So you remember. Good. However, there is more to the Majune class. Most of the physical stats are determined by your muscles. Now, what do you think happens if you transfer your physical stats?" Miss Kirin challenged him.

"Oh, they would atrophy, right? Muscles physically reflect the strength stat and vise versa."

"You would think so, but no, they do not. The normal system, for the lack of a better word, glitches. Majune's keep their physical bulk even if their stats are below what is warranted. The same counts for their targets. Their stats are higher, but their physical build doesn't reflect it. Now here comes the real rule breaking of the class. Their muscles can regain their stats through training. Up to their previous level. If they undo their transfer they suddenly have more than they had before. Of course, that un-glitches the muscles and they try to mediate with their stats. Resulting in rapid muscle growth in a few days. Of course, a Majune can simply transfer the overhang again together with some of their retrained stats."

"So they can slowly build up enormous stats," Brad mused.

"Provided they are dedicated enough. That's why they are technically a monk class," Miss Kirin confirmed.

"Is that why you had me train more the last few weeks?" Brad wanted to know.

"Correct. Not so much for stats gain for now. More for getting used to training in general. You see one of the more frustrating parts of a Majune is that with glitched muscles you don't see progress and with each new transfer you start anew. Someone with a weak will might give up easily."

Brad nodded. It was a very intriguing class, but he could see how others might judge it as not desirable. It required a lot of work, but after weeks of steeling himself in body and mind, he was certain he could make it. There was, however, one other thing on his mind.

"You said you are looking for two classes. If the Majune class is so perfect why look for another class?"

"Ah. Well. That is complicated. It is more of a favor to ask of you. There is another undesirable class that is very powerful, but very hard to master. I should know. After all the class was named after me. Yet even I could never unlock its full potential. I would be very grateful for the opportunity to try again."

"But how can that be? You are a ghost," Brad pointed out.

"Yes, I am. But I am not really dead. I told you before. Ghosts are just trapped in a very undesirable class. One that lacks the ability to interact with things. But in recent years three spirits so far found their way back. All that was needed was a specific crystal of high quality and a class stone."

Brad glanced at the Komoro crystal slowly pulsing on a nearby shelf. So there had been a hidden motive. As if she could read his mind Miss Kirin continued. "Of course, once I am back as a living being, I can look for work and pay you back. Not just for the class stone, but also for the crystals. I know that is a lot to ask. Please promise me to think about it."

"I will," he promised. "But what makes you sure you will find work?"

"Oh believe me a sorceress with over three hundred years experience is hard to come by. Even with me being most of the time sort of dead. If we find my old class then it will be a whole different thing. Back then I managed with that class to defeat half an army."

"What happened to the other half?" Brad teased.

"What do you think killed me in the end?" she replied seriously.

That made Brad hesitate for a moment. There were clearly some aspects of her he hadn't a grasp on yet. "I think I need time. That is all a lot of information to take in."

"I understand," she replied. "Don't forget to research and check the facts." She vanished to who knows where and left Brad alone to think.