Keiichiro was driving Ryou and I home from my gymnastics class. I sat in the back seat while Ryou sat in the front with Keiichiro talking about sending us to some university.
"If you go to a university, you'd find more people to talk to." Keiichiro said. "You'll probably learn a few technical terms though."
"Hey, Keiichiro, why are you helping Dad's research?" I asked leaning forward and sticking my head between the two front seats.
"Who knows why?" Keiichiro replied.
"You have so much ability yourself, right Oniichan?"
"Yeah, you should be able to get a lab of your own, don't you think?" Ryou added and I nodded.
"My research title right now is 'The Best Way to Serve Tea and The Scientific Analysis of Teacup Curves.'" Keiichiro replied with a smile.
I pouted and sat back in my seat, folding my arms. "You're always avoiding questions like this!" I groaned.
"Besides, the doctor is a very charming person." Keiichiro said.
A minute later we heard a huge explosion and Keiichiro slammed on the breaks.
"What? What's that noise?" I asked leaning forward and grabbing onto the side of the front seats.
"I don't know. But the sound is coming from…" Keiichiro said.
"Look!" I yelled pointing toward a pillar of smoke.
"Somewhere near our house!" Ryou exclaimed.
"Let's hurry!" Keiichiro said slamming on the accelerator.
In a few minutes we reached the house. We ran out of the car and stared in horror at our home. The entire house was on fire and the pillar of smoke stretched high up into the sky.
"Papa… Mama…" Ryou said walking forward, but Keiichiro grabbed him.
"It's dangerous!" Keiichiro yelled.
"Papa! Mama!" I cried running forward, but Keiichiro grabbed me too.
"Himeka, you mustn't!" Keiichiro yelled over the roar of the fire.
"Let go!" I yelled as Ryou and I struggled to get free. "Mama and Papa are in there!"
"Let us go! We have to help them!" Ryou yelled.
"LET GO!!" Ryou and I screamed in unison.
The Next Day
"It looks like everything burned to the ground. Everything…" Keiichiro said.
"It hasn't burned down." I said. I looked at Ryou and he nodded, taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"We'll take over father's research." He said. "We'll go to Japan, where we'll perfect father's project… the Mew Project!"
"Ryou… Himeka…"
"We remember… we remember everything in the research log." I said giving Ryou's hand a tight squeeze. "We do remember."
5 years later
"Okay Ryou, I've finished cleaning up the store." I said walking into the back room. "Is there anything else you want me—"
I froze. Ryou was standing in front of Keiichiro holding the gun that had the Mew Project sample in it to his neck.
"Ryou… what are you doing?!" I yelled running forward. Keiichiro ran forward and grabbed me. "I thought you said that it was finished—that we'd done all the tests to make sure it was safe!"
"Himeka, Ryou knows what he's doing!" Keiichiro said, struggling to hold me back.
"Himeka, I entrust the rest of the research to you and Keiichiro." Ryou said. "This is the last experiment."
"NO!!"
Ryou was engulfed by a bright blue light as I broke out of Keiichiro's grip. When it dissolved, there was a Russian blue-Siamese cat standing where Ryou had been with the gun beside it. I slowly knelt down beside the cat, my eyes wet with tears.
"You must have a specific gene type to use this, or you'll just be turned into an animal!" I said picking up the cat. I hugged him tightly in my arms as tears rolled down my face. "You knew that too well, yet still…"
"Himeka…" Keiichiro said.
"We have now completed all the experiments." I said opening my eyes. "Now I will start the Mew Project."