This chapter's set while Kiyone and Mihoshi are still away, btw. Let's
say...umm...a week after the last chapter? That'll do. And this one will NO
be as long as Chapter 3. *sweatdrop*
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Washu sat, hands folded in front of her. The only light in the lab was the flickering glare of the computer screen. It was all she'd been doing for the past couple of days. Type, type, type. Clack, clack, clack.
She'd collected as much data as she could. But there was still a very big gap in her research. She'd tried all the experiments she could think of. Well. Except one.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tenchi sighed, and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Leaning on the hoe, he gazed around him.
Snuffle, snuffle.
He looked down when he felt a little rough nose nuzzle under his trouser leg and sniff at his ankle. He looked straight into the wide, pleading eyes of Ryo-oki.
"Myaaa!"
Tenchi smiled. "Oh, you want a carrot?" He lifted one out of the basket. "Yes?"
Ryo-oki gave her cabbit-grin, scrunching up her eyes so that her nose twitched. "Mya!" She batted a paw at it.
"Sorry, you'll have to wait. Sasami's going to cook a huge dinner tonight. You'll have all the carrot's you want then. But until then, you'll have to save your appetite, okay? So no carrots."
Tenchi plopped the carrot back in the basket to demonstrate his point, before starting to work again.
Ryo-oki mewed for a few more minutes - but when it dawned on her that she was definitely getting no carrots from Tenchi, she started to run towards the house.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Washu carefully balanced a pencil on her top lip. What else could she try? She now had everything she needed to know about the outside appearance of the stupid tablet. But as for the actual composition...
She allowed herself a smug grin, causing the pencil to roll onto the floor. She'd designed it so that no one would be able to find out what it was made of exactly, so no one could steal it. She'd never for one minute thought that SHE would be the one trying to break it down...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ryo-oki knew that going to Sasami and begging probably wouldn't do much. However, it never hurts to try. At least, it never used to hurt.
Sasami hit Ryo-oki on the nose with her ladle. "For the hundredth time, no, Ryo-oki! You'll have no room for your dinner!"
"Myaaaaa..." Ryo-oki tried the puppy-dog eyes yet again.
"No. No. And no. You can wait like the others, okay?" She turned back to the several boiling pots, humming.
Ryo-oki shifted her weight to leave-
"And there's no use trying to ask anyone else, silly. They all know."
Ryo-oki stopped, mewed pitifully one last time, and then went to sulk, carrots dancing through her mind relentlessly. She stopped by the television. Ryoko was sprawled out along the couch, the remote control dangling in her hand. It slipped from her fingers almost as soon as Ryo-oki looked at it, landing on one of its buttons.
The television flicked channels. YumYum the Carrot-Girl popped into the screen, halfway through her speech.
"...Percent organic! And, know what? They're YumYum Yummy!" She posed and winked at the camera, before the advert changed to one about toothbrushes.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By this time, Washu had decorated her hair with a multitude of pencils. She was still trying to figure out what to do about making another batch of metamorphosis tablets. There was still one experiment she hadn't tried.
If she gave her tablet to a guinea pig of some sort, them maybe she'd pick up on something that triggered it all. If she monitored every aspect of her guinea pig, she should be able to find out what reaction was taking place to cause the transformation...
But that would mean giving up her tablet. No more research would be able to be done after that...unless she used one of the other girl's tablets...
No, that wouldn't be fair. Besides, if she was going to figure this out, she wanted to do it on her own. It had been some time since she'd had an interesting challenge. So she'd have to sacrifice her tablet. But what would she use it on...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ryo-oki slumped against the wall by Washu's lab.
"Mya," she complained to no one in particular. But someone seemed to have heard her meow, because the lab door shot open behind her.
"Ryo-oki? Where are...oh." She looked down. "There you are. Come on, I've got a job for you."
Ryo-oki turned her head away. She was too hungry to do whatever it was Washu had in mind.
"No? ...Not even if I give you a carrot?"
Ryo-oki's ear twitched, but she didn't turn.
"Okay. One to start with? More to follow once you've helped me."
Ryo-oki spun round, and gave a happy mew.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Washu tied the last strap, pulling it slightly tighter than necessary, for good measure. When she was certain Ryo-oki was secured to the board, she whipped out the visual aids.
She held up a card showing a biology diagram of the human body.
"Okay, Ryo-oki, think hard about a person."
No, that won't work, Washu scolded herself. Knowing Ryo-oki, she'll turn into a humanoid carrot or something. This would work better if I implanted an image.
She ran upstairs to look for a picture to use.
Ryo-oki watched her go unhappily. Why was it that whenever Washu needed her help, she always ended up being strapped down? Her stomach rumbled its two cents worth. The one carrot she had thought would satisfy her a little longer had made it worse. It was all she could think about now...so hungry...
Washu ran down with the first thing she had found, a fashion magazine of Ayeka's. She flicked through until she found a full body picture, and then held it up for Ryo-oki.
"Okay, it's not the best example, but it'll do. Now, Ryo-oki. You see this woman?"
Ryo-oki nodded as much as the small helmet would allow her to. "Mya."
"Think really hard about her. Okay?"
Easier said than done.
...carrotscarrotscarrotscarrots...
Washu took the magazine away, and pulled out the tablet and a small glass of water.
...carrotscarrotscarrots...
Washu carefully slipped the tablet into Ryo-oki's mouth, and washed it down.
...carrotscarrotscarrots...
"Now, this should pick up any changes anywhere in your body. Thus determining how to recreate the tablets. I think."
...carrotscarrotscarrotscarrots...
"...Why isn't it working?"
...carrotscarrots...
"You are thinking about a person, aren't you?"
...carrotscarrotscarrots...
"It won't work unless it's a human."
...carrotscarrotscarrots...
"Ryo-oki? Do you understand? Human! No carrots!"
Only two words reached Ryo-oki.
...Carrot...plus human...equals...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Heh heh. Can you see where it's going? ^__~ Next bit coming soon - hopefully later today!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Washu sat, hands folded in front of her. The only light in the lab was the flickering glare of the computer screen. It was all she'd been doing for the past couple of days. Type, type, type. Clack, clack, clack.
She'd collected as much data as she could. But there was still a very big gap in her research. She'd tried all the experiments she could think of. Well. Except one.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tenchi sighed, and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Leaning on the hoe, he gazed around him.
Snuffle, snuffle.
He looked down when he felt a little rough nose nuzzle under his trouser leg and sniff at his ankle. He looked straight into the wide, pleading eyes of Ryo-oki.
"Myaaa!"
Tenchi smiled. "Oh, you want a carrot?" He lifted one out of the basket. "Yes?"
Ryo-oki gave her cabbit-grin, scrunching up her eyes so that her nose twitched. "Mya!" She batted a paw at it.
"Sorry, you'll have to wait. Sasami's going to cook a huge dinner tonight. You'll have all the carrot's you want then. But until then, you'll have to save your appetite, okay? So no carrots."
Tenchi plopped the carrot back in the basket to demonstrate his point, before starting to work again.
Ryo-oki mewed for a few more minutes - but when it dawned on her that she was definitely getting no carrots from Tenchi, she started to run towards the house.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Washu carefully balanced a pencil on her top lip. What else could she try? She now had everything she needed to know about the outside appearance of the stupid tablet. But as for the actual composition...
She allowed herself a smug grin, causing the pencil to roll onto the floor. She'd designed it so that no one would be able to find out what it was made of exactly, so no one could steal it. She'd never for one minute thought that SHE would be the one trying to break it down...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ryo-oki knew that going to Sasami and begging probably wouldn't do much. However, it never hurts to try. At least, it never used to hurt.
Sasami hit Ryo-oki on the nose with her ladle. "For the hundredth time, no, Ryo-oki! You'll have no room for your dinner!"
"Myaaaaa..." Ryo-oki tried the puppy-dog eyes yet again.
"No. No. And no. You can wait like the others, okay?" She turned back to the several boiling pots, humming.
Ryo-oki shifted her weight to leave-
"And there's no use trying to ask anyone else, silly. They all know."
Ryo-oki stopped, mewed pitifully one last time, and then went to sulk, carrots dancing through her mind relentlessly. She stopped by the television. Ryoko was sprawled out along the couch, the remote control dangling in her hand. It slipped from her fingers almost as soon as Ryo-oki looked at it, landing on one of its buttons.
The television flicked channels. YumYum the Carrot-Girl popped into the screen, halfway through her speech.
"...Percent organic! And, know what? They're YumYum Yummy!" She posed and winked at the camera, before the advert changed to one about toothbrushes.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By this time, Washu had decorated her hair with a multitude of pencils. She was still trying to figure out what to do about making another batch of metamorphosis tablets. There was still one experiment she hadn't tried.
If she gave her tablet to a guinea pig of some sort, them maybe she'd pick up on something that triggered it all. If she monitored every aspect of her guinea pig, she should be able to find out what reaction was taking place to cause the transformation...
But that would mean giving up her tablet. No more research would be able to be done after that...unless she used one of the other girl's tablets...
No, that wouldn't be fair. Besides, if she was going to figure this out, she wanted to do it on her own. It had been some time since she'd had an interesting challenge. So she'd have to sacrifice her tablet. But what would she use it on...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ryo-oki slumped against the wall by Washu's lab.
"Mya," she complained to no one in particular. But someone seemed to have heard her meow, because the lab door shot open behind her.
"Ryo-oki? Where are...oh." She looked down. "There you are. Come on, I've got a job for you."
Ryo-oki turned her head away. She was too hungry to do whatever it was Washu had in mind.
"No? ...Not even if I give you a carrot?"
Ryo-oki's ear twitched, but she didn't turn.
"Okay. One to start with? More to follow once you've helped me."
Ryo-oki spun round, and gave a happy mew.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Washu tied the last strap, pulling it slightly tighter than necessary, for good measure. When she was certain Ryo-oki was secured to the board, she whipped out the visual aids.
She held up a card showing a biology diagram of the human body.
"Okay, Ryo-oki, think hard about a person."
No, that won't work, Washu scolded herself. Knowing Ryo-oki, she'll turn into a humanoid carrot or something. This would work better if I implanted an image.
She ran upstairs to look for a picture to use.
Ryo-oki watched her go unhappily. Why was it that whenever Washu needed her help, she always ended up being strapped down? Her stomach rumbled its two cents worth. The one carrot she had thought would satisfy her a little longer had made it worse. It was all she could think about now...so hungry...
Washu ran down with the first thing she had found, a fashion magazine of Ayeka's. She flicked through until she found a full body picture, and then held it up for Ryo-oki.
"Okay, it's not the best example, but it'll do. Now, Ryo-oki. You see this woman?"
Ryo-oki nodded as much as the small helmet would allow her to. "Mya."
"Think really hard about her. Okay?"
Easier said than done.
...carrotscarrotscarrotscarrots...
Washu took the magazine away, and pulled out the tablet and a small glass of water.
...carrotscarrotscarrots...
Washu carefully slipped the tablet into Ryo-oki's mouth, and washed it down.
...carrotscarrotscarrots...
"Now, this should pick up any changes anywhere in your body. Thus determining how to recreate the tablets. I think."
...carrotscarrotscarrotscarrots...
"...Why isn't it working?"
...carrotscarrots...
"You are thinking about a person, aren't you?"
...carrotscarrotscarrots...
"It won't work unless it's a human."
...carrotscarrotscarrots...
"Ryo-oki? Do you understand? Human! No carrots!"
Only two words reached Ryo-oki.
...Carrot...plus human...equals...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Heh heh. Can you see where it's going? ^__~ Next bit coming soon - hopefully later today!