A/N: Hola! I, the wonderful and magnificent Miss Scarlet, have decided to post the first chapter of Katie's and my latest foray into the Oofuri Kink Meme. I do hope you all enjoy~!

Chapter 1: Hypothesis

"Don't you get sick of those things?" Hanai asked as he came into the kitchen.

Nishihiro lifted the half-peeled banana in question.

"Yeah, those."

"Not really. Do you get sick of protein shakes?"

"Yes."

Nishihiro shrugged at his roommate. "How do you think Abe-kun did with Mihashi last night?"

"You tell me. You're the one whose room backs his, and don't name them. You'll get attached, like Akimaru did with Haruna."

By the time the roommates left their apartment Abe was sleepily locking his door at the apartment over.

"Hey, Abe."

Abe grunted.

"Have you heard anything about Akimaru-kun yet?" Nishihiro smiled at his obviously tired associate.

Abe shrugged. "Just that he won't be out of the hospital for a while."

"It's too bad Haruna was so stubborn. He would have been successful otherwise." Nishihiro sighed.

"I guess. At least Mizutani and Izumi can take orders." He yawned.

"Did you ever get him to settle down last night?" Hanai avoided using the male's name.

Abe shook his head. "The guy's a spaz. Couldn't get him to quit blubbering for more than two minutes."

"It's too bad. Wonder when they'll send us one that's functional."

"Well, they've all been functional… Just not perfect…"

"Only N08 can be considered functional," Hanai scoffed.

Nishihiro sighed. He would like Hanai more if he wasn't so harsh sometimes. He didn't need to be so distant from the bio-humans. Did he?

They each swiped into the building and donned their lab coats. Suyama and Sakaeguchi, their lab assistants, were watching the monitors that were spitting out data on two boys on treadmills.

Izumi Kousuke, N08, and Mizutani Fumiki, N07.

"Good morning," Nishihiro greeted them politely.

"Good morning, Dr. Nishihiro," the answered in unison, Mizutani's voice cheerful and Izumi's a bored drawl.

"How does everything look today?" he asked Suyama.

"Not much change with these two, but there is progress on a certain project you and Dr. Hanai are particularly invested in."

Hanai was at Nishihiro's side in an instant. "N05?"

"N05. He seems close to being ready to leave incubation. Early tomorrow morning at the latest, but realistically it'll probably be late tonight."

"We'll stay," Hanai said quickly. "Nishihiro—"

"Right," Nishihiro interrupted, and they pushed through the door into a long hallway, toward the end of which was the room in which N05 was currently suspended in fluid.

Hanai's excitement was barely contained; his hands were shaking as they pulled open the door to N05's room. Nishihiro couldn't blame him; N05 was, currently, their best bet at a perfect model.

Despite the fact that he was, admittedly, rather short—he had reached adulthood without passing 170 centimeters—N05 was strong, and highly intelligent from what his brainwave patterns suggested. Haruna, M10, had been too, and that was worrying; M10 had been as excellent a candidate as N05, moreso even—he had a larger build—but they weren't looking for violent models. N05 had to be obedient and, most importantly, even-tempered if he was going to be a success.

Hanai was already checking N05's stats to confirm Suyama's earlier assessment that it was ready for "birth." Sure enough, Hanai gave him a thumbs up and a rare grin a moment later. "He was right. Forget tonight, it should be within the next few hours."

"That sounds about right..." Hanai's hand lingered over the button that would drain the viscous cobalt liquid.

"I think Suyama was right. You two are too invested in this. Wait until tonight." Abe was leaning against the doorframe.

"What do you know?" Hanai grumbled.

"I checked it when we first came in instead of going to see Suyama and Sakaeguchi. Mihashi's worried about him."

"What's N01's attachment to him?" Hanai asked.

"Not sure." Abe shrugged.

"When do you think, Abe-kun?"

"Wait until tonight." Abe turned with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Nishihiro's and Hanai's shoulders slumped.

"I guess... I guess it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah, we don't want another N01 or 07 on our hands."

"But we can't leave him in too long either, you know that's why Haruna..."

"Hmm..." Hanai nodded. "I guess we should get to work then. There's still the reports on M10 to complete and file, Hamada should be here with another shipment this afternoon, and Oki and Shinooka will be here soon too."

"Right."

—

Hanai tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk. Other employees were trickling out, having finished their work for the day; Hanai himself had been done for the last half hour, and while he had been relatively fine for most of the day because he had various odd jobs to distract him, his patience was wearing thin. He still had an hour before Abe deemed it appropriate to release N05.

Hanai had to admit that it was better this way; it was less risky to leave him in just a little bit longer than necessary than to take him out too early. N05 was an exemplary bio-human; they absolutely could not risk a screw-up at this stage.

So he would wait, minutely comforted by the fact that Nishihiro seemed to be just as antsy as Hanai himself was.

"Geez, Hanai, try a little enthusiasm," Abe said sarcastically. "Seriously. Just what is it about this one that's got you so worked up?"

"What is it about N01 that's got you so worked up?" Hanai shot back. "N05 could be a breakthrough. The next M10, without the tendency to malfunction. What we've been working toward for years. And I don't know about you, but I'm sick of manufacturing people for the sake of—science, the war effort, whatever the rumor is these days. If N05 is the one, we can all get out of here. How are you not worked up?"

"Not everyone is quite as eager as you to leave, you know." Abe's face took on a rather wistful expression. "Some of us are happy to stay as long as we can."

"Some of us are too attached to the projects. You don't want to leave because you don't want to lose N01."

"Mihashi," Abe corrected automatically. "And don't confuse me with Akimaru."

"Shouldn't I?" Hanai waited for Abe to answer; when he didn't, Hanai continued, "Why are you still here, anyway?"

"Look around, Hanai. Twice as many people are here than normally are at this time. They're all waiting for N05's release."

Hanai felt a stab of annoyance. N05 was his project. His and Nishihiro's. Besides, they didn't need a ton of people around when N05 came out—it might confuse him, frighten him.

Apparently his apprehension showed on his face, because Abe said, "No worries. They aren't quite deluded enough to think they'd be allowed in the room. Everyone who doesn't absolutely need to be there—that is, you, Nishihiro, and Director Momoe—will be safely behind a one-way mirror."

"...Good." Hanai caught himself drumming anxiously again. "What time is it?"

Abe checked his watch. "Seven-fifteen. Another forty-five minutes."

Hanai glared at him. "Go home to your puppy. I'm sure he's trashed your apartment by now."

"He's not a—" Abe stopped, his face pale. "Stop being an ass. See ya tomorrow."

Hanai sniggered. Making Abe uncomfortable always put him in a better mood, though he was sure that the man's apartment was a mess. He almost wished he could see Abe's reaction when he walked inside, but N05 was more important.

There went the good mood.

He tapped a pen against the desktop impatiently.

Nishihiro stepped up to his desk then. "Want to go get something to eat before it's time?"

"Yeah, maybe it'll take my mind off of it."

"Exactly." Nishihiro's friendly smile made him feel better about being so antsy.

They sat down at a small corner table in the building's nearly deserted cafeteria. Suyama and Sakaeguchi were having coffee on the other side of the room. Nishihiro gave Hanai a small smile and nodded at their assistants. They'd watched them dance around each other awkwardly for months now, and from the heavy blush on both of their cheeks it seemed that they were finally getting around that awkwardness.

"They need to be careful. Who knows what these guys thinks of dating in the workplace." Hanai glanced at one of the many security cameras used by their bosses to monitor them.

Nishihiro nodded and bit into his sandwich. He missed real food. They all did. The stuff in the cafeterias and vending machines wasn't bad, but they didn't often get homemade food anymore, unless Dr. Oki's nurse, Shinooka, brought them something.

"You think he'll be the one?" Hanai asked.

"I hope so... But if he is, what then?"

"What do you mean, what then?"

"I mean, will they take him away after we finish our testing here? That's what they do with the ones that never... live."

"Who knows. They haven't asked for N07, 08 or 01, as long was we continue to send them daily reports."

They ate in silence for a minute.

"What do you think he'll be like?" Nishihiro asked.

"Hopefully he'll be obedient, and a quick learner, and strong."

Nishihiro nodded. "He'll need a haircut when he gets out."

"Definitely."

"Are we going to put him in with Mizutani and Izumi for tonight?"

"I guess."

"I wonder f they're sleeping or not yet..."

"We could always ask Suyama and Sa-"

"I don't think we should interrupt them." Nishihiro glanced at the boys who were now standing, Suyama putting a hand on Sakaeguchi's lower back to guide him around another table.

"Right."

"He could always stay with us for tonight."

"No way," Hanai protested. "He's going to be N01's bunkmate when he gets back from Abe's. We can't let him stay with us."

"I guess you're right. I just don't think it's a good idea to leave him alone for the night in a strange place."

"He's been here for six months."

"Unconscious in a locked vat of liquid. He's not familiar with the lab; to him it's a strange place, no matter how long he's been here. You know how they are when they first come out—disoriented, clumsy. I don't want him stomping through the lab breaking things because he doesn't know what's going on."

"Good point." Hanai went quiet for a moment, thinking. "Well, I suppose we could stay for the night with him, if you don't mind. Go home early morning when the others start coming in to shower, take a nap, come back around noon. The Director would understand."

Nishihiro shrugged. "Or we could do it in shifts so we can both be here on time tomorrow and have him on constant watch. You stay with him for the first half of the night, I'll come back around three or four and you can go home."

"Actually, that's a lot better than my idea. I don't want to leave him alone either—not this one." Hanai glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes. Let's get going."

They dumped their trash into a receptacle and hurried back down the halls to N05's room, where a crowd of observers was growing steadily. Hanai shot them a glare and firmly shut the door behind himself when he and Nishihiro were both inside. Director Momoe was already there, standing near the incubation machine, taking notes on a clipboard. She looked up.

"Hello, boys. Ready for this?"

They both nodded vigorously.

"Who wants to do the honors?"

Hanai and Nishihiro looked at each other. "You were on this before me," Nishihiro pointed out. "Go ahead."

Looking rather guilty but nodding anyway, Hanai raised his hand to the button that would drain the fluid and pressed it with a trembling finger.